In the wake of Lana taking to Twitter in order to call Ronda Rousey “overrated,” she has since launched a YouTube channel with Rusev. Her bitterness initially stemmed from being replaced on ‘Total Divas’ due to being “strongly disliked by the demographic” that watches the show.

Lana responded to a Tweet by Ruby Riott in the build-up to Riott’s matchup against Rousey at Elimination Chamber, jumping at the opportunity to get her anti-Rousey opinions in.

In a new video uploaded to her YouTube channel, she has continued her campaign, admitting that she is “salty” when it comes to Ronda Rousey.

“I’m just going to address the elephant in the room,” she said. “Yes, I’m very, very salty. B***h, you know I’m salty.”

“[…] I thought all you did was diss reality stars, diss the Bellas, and now you’re taking my spot on ‘Total Divas?’ Yes, I’m salty,” she exclaimed. “[…] I’m so furious. You know, I’m so proud of you Ronda for being the ‘Baddest Woman On The Planet,’ but you’re no reality star and guess the one thing you will never, ever, ever, ever, be? As entertaining as me.”

The video ends with a request for people to write into her and share what they are salty about to be featured in her “I’m Salty” series.

With the two women on separate brands, it’s unlikely that any of this will lead to a feud. So the question inevitably becomes: why is Lana doing this?

https://youtu.be/IH7pLNeEIDE

Rusev & Lana have launched a new YouTube channel together, not long after having been removed from the cast of Total Divas. The channel was actually created in 2012 to serve as a home for Lana’s acting reels. The couple has since re-branded and released new videos on the channel in the last couple of days, however.

“Technically, I’ve had this page since, like, 1992 (actually 2012),” Lana said. “So, I’ve had this page awhile just never used it so you’re going to see maybe some videos on there that maybe have been a long time ago. This is the official launch of Miroslav and CJ Barnyashev’s YouTube together.”

Lana would go on to say the couple plan to have “a lot of different series” on the page. She then seemed concerned Rusev didn’t seem interested enough.

Rusev claims to have a Superhero series he plans to debut on YouTube. He said HBO is interested and YouTube might not be ready for his superhero just yet, however.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7d1XSmWChc&t=24s

• Rusev and Lana Removed From Total Divas Cast

Rusev and Lana on WWE Smackdown

Shinsuke Nakamura and Rusev have recently been aligned on Smackdown. 2 weeks ago, they teamed up and defeated Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows. Earlier this year, Rusev lost the US title to R-Truth on the Royal Rumble Kickoff show, a title he had just taken from Nakamura.

Lana hasn’t wrestled on television yet in 2019. She was on the WWE live events tour in January, however, teaming with Naomi in matches against Sonya Deville and Mandy Rose.

With the news breaking that “Rowdy” Ronda Rousey might be joining the cast of ‘Total Divas,’ it was bound to garner a reaction. Considering that Lana and Rusev have been axed from the show for being “strongly disliked by the demographic,” you’ve suddenly got yourself the start of a potentially personal feud — despite the fact it’s actually Sonya Deville who is replacing Lana’s spot on the show.

Taking chagrin with the shakeup to the ‘Total Divas’ casting lineup, Lana took to her social media. Responding to Ronda’s Elimination Chamber challenger, Ruby Riott, Lana would proceed to call Rowsey “overrated,” stating that she “can’t bring ratings.”

Ruby Riott was initially responding to a Tweet by Rousey, where she would say:

“Who cares about what’s best for business or what these people want?! You’re so focused on giving the #WomensEvolution what they deserve, that you’re not even looking at #EliminationChamber. So I’ll gladly take your title & main event #Wrestlemania whether they like it or not.”

Who cares about what’s best for business or what these people want?! You’re so focused on giving the #WomensEvolution what they deserve, that you’re not even looking at #EliminationChamber. So I’ll gladly take your title & main event #Wrestlemania whether they like it or not. https://t.co/aLZSBJWtey

— Ruby Soho (@realrubysoho) February 13, 2019

It would at this point that Lana would insert herself into the conversation:

“I would be thrilled if you took her place ! So overrated she is ! I mean she claims to change the game yet she can’t bring ratings …. soooo ummm”

I would be thrilled if you took her place ! So overrated she is ! ? I mean she claims to change the game yet she can’t bring ratings …. soooo ummm ?

— CJ Perry (@TheCJPerry) February 14, 2019

Given that Lana isn’t even on the same brand as Raw’s Ronda Rousey, it would appear unlikely she is harnessing Twitter to foreshadow a feud in the way that talent has done for, say, a Four Horsewomen confrontation.

What do you think? Is this just bitterness on Lana’s part? Does she have a point?

As reported earlier, Lana and Rusev have been dropped from the cast of Total Divas due to them being “strongly disliked by the demographic.”

To fill in Lana’s spot, it was officially revealed that Sonya Deville will join the Total Divas show as a new cast member.

On the AfterBuzz TV’s SmackDown After Show, Sonya Deville called in and said that she will be on the Season 9 of Total Divas.

On the topic of the idea of having cameras outside of the ring and how she’s adapting to that, Deville said:

“Part of being a WWE Superstar to me is showing the fans what happened outside of the ring. Who I am in the ring, and in my personal life, is important to defining my character. I am tough for a reason. I have been through things and I am the person I am for a lot of reasons and I love sharing those stories for the fans because it’s relatable.”

“And on that topic, I’ll be on Season 9 of Total Divas, which is something I am super excited about.”

She also revealed that the filming of the show will be starting this week but a bit of the filming was already done during the Royal Rumble.

You can watch the episode below:

Add Rusev to the long list of wrestlers expressing frustrating with their position in WWE.

Rusev and Lana were Lilian Garcia’s guests on the latest episode of the Chasing Glory podcast. During the interview, the married couple spoke at length about the steps he’s taken to improve himself and stand out to Vince McMahon. He’s lost over 50 pounds, he’s changed his look but “nothing changes.”

Rusev recently lost the United States Championship to Shinsuke Nakamura during the Royal Rumble kickoff show. Nakamura’s reign was short-lived and he dropped the belt to comedy wrestler R-Truth last week on SmackDown last week. Rusev takes pride in the United States Championship, since it’s the first title he held in WWE.

“It hurts me because nobody cares about it,” said Rusev. “It feels like I’m the only one that cares about the title. I wanted to make it bigger. I wanted to make it what it was back when I wrestled John Cena for it. But it seems like every time somebody else has it, nothing happens. Now that I’ve lost it, the title is probably going to get lost again. And I’m going to get lost probably too.”

Rusev said he tries to stay optimistic and envisions himself competing at WrestleMania. Unfortunately, it’s growing more difficult to keep a positive attitude.

“We became so strong and we’re featured but the more you hang around, the more you’re forgotten,” he said. “It doesn’t matter how good you are. I think I’m good. It doesn’t matter what I do. It kind of ends up the same thing.”

Lana chimed in and offered up some encouragement. “We’re not going to be forgotten,” she said. “We’re going to fight for our careers. We’re going to knock on Vince McMahon’s door and fight for it. If you do not fight for your career, you will be lost. We’re going to do everything possible. If it’s not meant to be, we’re going to look back and say, ‘We did everything possible.’ And if that was the way the journey was supposed to go, then that’s the way it was supposed to go.”

In an effort to improve his standing with Vince McMahon, Rusev decided to get into better shape. He began training cross fit and has lost over 50 pounds. He cut his hair short, changed up his look and is in the best shape of his career. He’s still not getting the results he’s after.

“I would be pissed if I was him,” Lana said.

Rusev added, “I do all these things but nothing changes. I’m trying to catch Vince’s eye. We pitch, we talk and it never comes to anything,” said Rusev.

Listen to Rusev and Lana on Lilian Garcia’s Chasing Glory Podcast:

Listen to “Lana & Rusev – Dealing with Frustrations & Past Traumas” on Spreaker.

While we don’t know when WWE is actually going to introduce the Women’s Tag Team Championships, they keep the discussion for it alive by having various superstars talk about it. This time it was Lana’s turn to do so.

The SmackDown Star was recently interviewed by Markeia McCarty where she talked about a number of things related to women’s revolution as seen below:

https://youtu.be/9AfJnVUOGWA

Discussing the recent Evolution PPV, Lana claimed that it was incredible and many of the female locker room members couldn’t have even imagined having an all women’s PPV.

She then said that she is very thankful for the experience to be a part of it and brought up the topic everybody has been discussing for the past several months.

The female star said that she was hoping that they will announce the Women’s tag titles on the same night and she felt like it was going to happen when they called everyone on the stage at the end of the show.

While this didn’t turn out to be the case and the angle was just a way to culminate the event, continuing on the topic, Lana said that it’s still exciting to be able to work towards these things. She hoped that one of these days they are going to get the tag titles.

Was Evolution the best opportunity to announce the Women’s Tag Titles which WWE missed? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.

Lana was involved in the Smackdown vs Raw women’s division melee on Raw Monday night. A fan on Twitter noted that at one point, Lana stopped her attack on Dana Brooke on the outside. Lana responded to the fan by noting several distractions she was experiencing at the time.

I saw blood on Dana’s face so I stopped from hitting her & also was being told to get a doctor and ref because of what just had happened to Becky. We are out there fighting to win but not out there to legitimately hurt one another. https://t.co/El0T8PlmZz

— CJ Perry (@TheCJPerry) November 14, 2018

“I saw blood on Dana’s face so I stopped from hitting her & also was being told to get a doctor and ref because of what just had happened to Becky. We are out there fighting to win but not out there to legitimately hurt one another.”

Preach girl! You totally checked on me as an athlete is trained to do here in this profession .. and told officials! Haters gunna hate but never could take 2 steps in our shoes knowing what we have to do! People are idiots

— Ash By Elegance (@Ashamae_Sebera) November 14, 2018

Raw vs Smackdown Melee and Becky Lynch’s “Broken Face”

WWE reported that Becky Lynch suffered a concussion and broken face during the melee as a result of a punch from Nia Jax. Upon researching, facial fractures are a legitimate medical diagnosis and refer to any broken bone in the face. Unlike other bones, however, facial breaks are said to heal much quicker and return to normal in weeks as opposed to months. The more serious condition Becky is dealing with is her concussion.

WWE is cautious with concussion injuries, which have also sidelined Alexa Bliss for the time being. Bliss is reportedly being sidelined at the moment due to suffering multiple concussions in a short span of time.

Rusev & Lana Make Interesting Survivor Series Tweets

Rusev and Lana had fans talking online after sending out some interesting tweets regarding not making the WWE Survivor Series teams this week. The Men’s Elimination Tag Team Match will see Team RAW (Kurt Angle, Braun Strowman, Bobby Lashley, Drew McIntyre & Dolph Ziggler) vs. Team SmackDown (Daniel Bryan, Samoa Joe, Rey Mysterio, The Miz & Randy Orton).

It’s possible that Lana is added to Team SmackDown for the women’s match at this show. One of the tweets including Rusev stated that he was going to “restart” in WWE developmental. You can see the tweets here:

Interesting i beat Bryan and Miz and yet they are captains and i can’t even make the roster. NOT EVEN QUALIFYING MATCH!!!

— Miro (@ToBeMiro) November 7, 2018

Apparently the women are just picked with NO qualifying matches ? FAVORITISM! @RusevBUL & I will not be celebrating #RusevDay & #LanaDay at #SurvivorSeries #SDLIVE

— CJ Perry (@TheCJPerry) November 7, 2018

Time to Restart at developmental ???? #NXT #TakeOver #ThisPlaceWorks #WeAreNXT pic.twitter.com/lyZMisOlDl

— Miro (@ToBeMiro) November 7, 2018

I can do whatever i want , guy https://t.co/F39ZVq3wbY

— Miro (@ToBeMiro) November 7, 2018

It’s facts , guy ….. not complaining https://t.co/gxIhWFjM45

— Miro (@ToBeMiro) November 7, 2018

You are my favorite… Lana is the beeest Lana number 1 https://t.co/pmi5gZ2K2c

— Miro (@ToBeMiro) November 7, 2018

NXT Matches Announced

WWE has announced a few matches for next week’s episode of NXT on the WWE Network. Those matches include Mia Yim vs. Bianca Belair, Candice LeRae vs. Nikki Cross and Hanson vs. NXT Tag Team Champion Kyle O’Reilly with the winner earning the War Games advantage for their team at this upcoming event. The episode was taped back on October 17, 2018, from Winter Park, FL at Full Sail University.

The beef has been brewing leading up to #NXTTakeOver: War Games II…#WWENXT pic.twitter.com/c855Fk0Xh3

— WWE NXT (@WWENXT) November 8, 2018

The NXT TakeOver: WarGames II event takes place on Saturday, November 17, 2018 in Los Angeles, California at the Staples Center and will air on the WWE Network.

Backstage News On Trish Stratus And Lita’s Future After Evolution

Both Trish Stratus and Lita are expected to return to ring at the upcoming Evolution PPV but it appears that this won’t be their last match in near future.

According to Pwinsider, WWE expects these two to work more matches in the future. The company is planning to use them for big events like Royal Rumble and WrestleMania in upcoming times.

They both are set to face Alexa Bliss and Mickie James at the Evolution PPV. As we noted before, Bliss is scheduled to appear at the event but whether or not she will wrestle at the show is not clear.

Lana Gets Hacked

Strange posts started to appear from Lana’s Instagram account yesterday. The last few posts from her account claimed that she is giving away a number of iPhones and Apple Watches.

The SmackDown Star took on her Twitter account to address this situation later in the day and revealed that her Instagram had actually been hacked:

My instagram has been hacked !!!! Every message you are getting, post or IG story you are seeing in the last 2 hours is a HACKER

— CJ Perry (@TheCJPerry) October 24, 2018

Lana is currently scheduled to take part in the announced Battle Royal for the Evolution PPV, with the winner getting a future title opportunity. You can check out an updated match card and betting odds for the event here.

– Chelsea Green signing with WWE was confirmed on Thursday as the organization announced the latest batch of talent to join the Performance Center. Green’s NXT debut is imminent as she is scheduled to appear at two live events next week.

Green announced tonight on Instagram that she will appear at Thursday’s show in Cocoa, Florida and Friday’s show in Largo, Florida.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BpIcBvIHzTV/

– Rusev and Lana will appear on a future episode of Drop the Mic on TBS, which pits celebrities against one another in a comic battle rap competition. Lana revealed the news today on her Instagram Story.

– Ahead of WWE Evolution, Alexa Bliss is Lilian Garcia’s next guest on Chasing Glory with Lilian Garcia. Alexa is teaming with Mickie James at the all-women’s pay-per-view and she will discuss her match against Trish Stratus and Lita. The interview will be available starting Monday.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BpHvGsTnjHs/

• Lawsuit against Charlotte Flair alleges that she made racist comments

Several members of the Smackdown Live Women’s division responded in interesting fashion to news of the battle royal at Evolution. The match was added to the upcoming all-women PPV last night during Raw.

WWE tagged each confirmed participant of the battle royal on Twitter last night. Several of the competitors then responded to the news. They don’t seem that impressed.

The #WWEEvolution #BattleRoyal field so far…

– @TaminaSnuka
– @BillieKayWWE
– @PeytonRoyceWWE
– @WWEEmberMoon
– @AliciaFoxy
– @NiaJaxWWE
– @DanaBrookeWWE
– @WWEAsuka
– @WWE_MandyRose
– @SonyaDevilleWWE
– @CarmellaWWE
– @LanaWWE
– @NaomiWWE
– @Torrie11

— WWE (@WWE) October 16, 2018

Smackdown Women Respond To Evolution Battle Royal Announcement

The winner of the first-ever WrestleMania Women’s Battle Royal, Naomi, doesn’t seem too enthused about the match.

pic.twitter.com/8SoTrkf269

— Trinity (@TheTrinity_Fatu) October 16, 2018

Lana then gave a similar response:

pic.twitter.com/4bQ9NErJje

— CJ Perry (@TheCJPerry) October 16, 2018

Naomi and Lana’s posts then seemed to start a trend for other women on the roster. Mandy Rose posted the following to her social media account:

pic.twitter.com/2JenJMa5kv

— Mandy (@mandysacs) October 16, 2018

Former Smackdown Women’s Champion, Carmella, also responded with a reaction GIF. She didn’t respond in the actual thread, however, but she did post the following:

pic.twitter.com/zMmZLoSbK7

— Mella Is Money ? (@CarmellaWWE) October 16, 2018

The Iiconics didn’t respond in the WWE thread about the match either but their recent social media activity seems to have a similar theme to Lana, Carmella, and Naomi.

Billie Kay:

pic.twitter.com/wk1cDMi98R

— Jessica McKay (@JessicaMcKay) October 16, 2018

And of course, Peyton Royce with a similar response:

https://twitter.com/PeytonRoyceWWE/status/1052046785806553088

Other WWE Evolution Battle Royal Participants React

Torrie Wilson seemed fine with the news, however. She added her response under Naomi’s GIF:

??????????

— Torrie Wilson (@Torrie11) October 16, 2018

Dana Brooke then indicated she misses either Torrie Wilson or Naomi, it’s not clear who.

I miss you !!! ?

— Ash By Elegance (@Ashamae_Sebera) October 16, 2018

In addition to the battle royal, WWE Evolution will feature Ronda Rousey defending her championship against Nikkie Bella. Becky Lynch will also face Charlotte Flair in a Last Woman Standing match.

Rusev, Sheamus, and Lana all participated recently in the WWE 2K19 roster reveal. During their live stream of the roster reveal, Sheamus took a crack at Total Divas. He said something to the effect of “we’re not watching that s**t!”

Evidently, Rusev and Lana asked Sheamus to housesit for them recently. Sheamus posted the following to his Instagram followers, insinuating he’s changed his mind about the show.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BoNXn96F5ib/?taken-by=wwesheamus

Sheamus and The Bar

Former WWE Champion, Sheamus, is currently part of the Bar with Cesaro. The team recently celebrated their 2-year anniversary, having wrestled their first match together on September 16th, 2016. Originally, the team was a mismatched pair, as fans would cheer for Cesaro and boo Sheamus. Over time, however, they just became a regular team.

Now known as the Bar, Cesaro and Sheamus are 4x former Raw Tag Team Champions. They have yet to win the belts since moving to Smackdown, however. They will have their chance to earn gold for the first time on the blue brand in Australia at Super Show-Down, however. The Bar will take on current champion, the New Day.

Lana continues to make the media rounds to promote the upcoming season 8 of Total Divas. She recently spoke with Inquisitr’s Carter Lee about various topics including her romance with Rusev.

She reflected on meeting him the second day at a tanning business while in WWE NXT where he told her that he was from Bulgaria and she spent time in Bulgaria, which made them have an immediately connected.

“Then on the third day, I had a promo with Dusty Rhodes—he was the artistic director of NXT, and he ran all the promo classes and character development—and I had about five different pitches. My first one, I just started speaking Russian, and then I switched to perfect English. Dusty pulled me aside afterwards and he’s like, ‘I want you to work with Rusev.’ [Laughing] I’m like, ‘Rusev? Who is that? Oh, the tanning Bulgarian!’ I’m so passionate about the business, and I’m so passionate about storytelling, and I made him come to my house every day and practice promos and vignettes. We would shoot vignettes on my phone. I was a nut. A complete nut.”

She continued by stating that within two months, they were paired together on WWE TV and within a month, she had a crush on him. At first, she didn’t want to just start dating someone in the business and became friends then, later on, they fell in love. She added that he’s a very good man and has really great character.

Total Divas Season 8

Season 8 of the show is slated to premiere on September 19 on the E! Network and will see a few changes to the cast on this season of the show as Alexa Bliss, Carmella and Maryse will not be returning to the main cast. Lana stated that wrestling fans should tune in because this season will feature the return of Paige and her retirement. She noted that Paige opens up, and her story is really powerful.

“Even if you know nothing about wrestling, she has a powerful story and I think that people should definitely tune in. It can inspire a lot of people’s lives. You’re also going to see me take a lot of Fireball shots, per usual, on my days off, which is always entertaining to watch. It’s a little wild. I mean, someone has to bring the entertainment, and apparently, I do a lot of that, for better or for worse. But you’re also going to see how I’m so happy about wrestling.”

She continued by stating that this season is full of ups and downs and has disappointment within the cast. She noted that it shows what they do with their setbacks as it will define their future and destiny. She hopes that it will inspire people and also be relatable. She added that although she’s not the strongest or the fastest or the best in-ring competitor, no one will stop her from achieving her dreams.

Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair will clash tomorrow night for the Smackdown Women’s Championship. According to Lana, she hopes to one day be in the same position.

Lana recently spoke to Hollywood Life and the topic of her starting a family with Rusev came up.

“Rusev always puts on the pressure,” Lana said. “He’s like, ‘I want babies!’ But right now I’m very focused on my career. There’s a lot I want to achieve. I feel like I’m finally starting to get more momentum in the ring and getting more opportunities. There’s a lot I would love to do still — being Smackdown Women’s Champion is obviously a dream of mine.”

Lana On Competitiveness in WWE

Lana also spoke about the competitiveness which can exist in the locker room.

“I’m very competitive,” Lana continued. “We love each other and are supportive and all want the best for each other. We have an incredible locker room and support system, but at the end of the day, we are there to win and there to compete.”

Lana and Rusev will once again form a team in the Mixed Match Challenge this year. It was in the tournament last year that Lana picked up her first ever win on the WWE main roster. Rusev and Aiden English will challenge New Day for the Smackdown Tag-Team Championships tomorrow night at Hell in a Cell.

WWE 2K19 will be the first game to feature a playable version of Lana. In previous games, she was only available as a manager or valet.

2K released an in-game image of Lana yesterday. The Ravishing Russian herself voiced criticism of the job they did in recreating her image, however.

Who is this ?????? Never have I worn that gear or wrestled with short hair so I am very confused who this women is. https://t.co/at8oKeE1JO

— CJ Perry (@TheCJPerry) September 8, 2018

Lana Not Happy With 2K

According to Lana’s Tweet, she’s never wrestled in that gear or worn her hair in that style.

Perhaps in response to Lana’s critique, 2K re-tweeted a side by side comparison of Lana’s model with an actual image of her.

https://twitter.com/WWENewEraGaming/status/1038272937319706624

The above image is not of Lana in a match, however. The image is from a WWE photoshoot from earlier this year. The photoshoot involved Superstars recreating current movie posters. Lana was portraying the lead role of “I, Tonya”.

UPDATE: It now appears Lana is aware of the “I, Tonya” photo 2K used. She responded with the following:

Don’t worry @WWEUniverse the #LanaDay score is not low because this is actually Tonya Harding the professional figure skater making her in ring debut on the @WWEgames ! Can’t wait to see the #RavishingRussian pic.twitter.com/qY7bIUgDxk

— CJ Perry (@TheCJPerry) September 8, 2018

Lana and Rusev Mixed Match Challenge

Things are going slightly better on Smackdown for Rusev Day. The team of Aiden English and Rusev will face the Bar on Tuesday night with the winner earning a tag-team title opportunity.

Lana and Rusev are also once again entered into the WWE Mixed Match Challenge. In the inaugural tournament, Lana was able to score the first victory of her career on the WWE main roster.

The WWE’s Women’s Revolution has made some tremendous strides in recent years.

We have seen a ton of firsts for the women of WWE, and it looks like things are just getting started. The company is gearing up for its first-ever all-female pay-per-view (PPV) entitled WWE Evolution.

Women from WWE’s past and present will be competing on the card, including a few Hall Of Famers. SmackDown Live star Lana spoke to Newsweek to promote the October 28th event recently.

During their conversation, a potential WWE Women’s Tag Team Division was discussed. This has been something WWE’s athletes and fans have been speculating on for quite some time.

Lana Reveals Her Desired Partner

In regards to the potential Tag Team Division, Lana is all for it. In fact, “The Ravishing Russian” would like to partner up with former SDL Women’s Champion Naomi:

“Literally, the sky is the limit. We are constantly continuing to shatter glass ceilings and breaking down doors that at one point we were told would never be broken down. It’s really exciting.

“We have less and less firsts now, but I would love to see the women main event WrestleMania. I’ve heard that will never happen, but we will do it.

“I’d love to see a women’s tag team division, and I’d love to be tag champions some day. I think my teammate as of now would be Naomi. We would be Ravishing Glow, we already named ourselves that.

“We would do a little dancing. She’s the best dancer in the world, but don’t tell her that. I tell her I’m better, but that’s our friendship.”

Discussion: What do you think about a potential team of Lana and Naomi? Do you think WWE will implement a Women’s Tag Team Division? Let us know your thoughts on the matter in the comments section below!

WWE Superstar Lana was recently interviewed by Newsweek to talk about her professional wrestling career.

“The Ravishing Russian” first revealed the roughest bump she has taken thus far in her career inside the ring. She named a few shots she has recently taken from Zelina Vega as being in particularly uncomfortable:

“When you’re out there doing things, your adrenaline is rushing so much. But getting kicked in the face is never fun.

“There have been a lot of different painful things, but when you’re kicked in the face or kneed in the face, it’s not the most pleasant thing.

“Zelina used the codebreaker knee on me and I started bleeding. I thought I broke my nose or busted my teeth. Then she kneed me to the face again.

“It was definitely not by any means pleasant, and I’m really glad when I came backstage that I was alive still. It’s a contact sport, it’s very physical and intense. When you walk out there, you have to know anything can happen and to keep your hands up.”

Advice From A Veteran

Lana then revealed what Natalya told her before her match at WrestleMania 32. Team Total Divas (Alicia Fox, Brie Bella, Eva Marie, Natalya and Paige) took on Team B.A.D. and Blonde (Emma, Lana, Naomi, Summer Rae and Tamina):

“Oh my gosh, I was so nervous at WrestleMania when I debuted. I never had a live match ever. I’d had practice matches, but a practice match in front of no one is very different from a real match.

“Nattie gave me this pep talk, saying ‘you can’t not be inspired. This is the highest stake thing you’re ever going to have, and you’re going to sink or swim. So you better go out there and prove everyone who doubted you wrong.’

“All of a sudden, you’re like ‘I’m motivated!’ And once you walk out there you realize, ‘I’m born for this, there is nothing in the world like this.'”

Lana’s Dream Opponent For Evolution

With WWE’s first-ever all-female Evolution PPV coming up, Lana was asked who she’d like to face on the card. Interestingly, Lana named Stephanie McMahon as her dream opponent:

“There are so many women on the current roster who are just incredible competitors, and I’d love to fight them. But then there are so many women from the past I would love to fight.

“I mean, who doesn’t want to get in the ring with Trish or Lita or Molly Holly? Trish was my inspiration for so long. But I’ve always been a huge fan of Stephanie McMahon. Growing up, I wanted to be in WWE because of watching characters like Stephanie McMahon and Paul Heyman.

“They just are such incredible storytellers, such incredible, compelling characters. When I look at Stephanie McMahon’s entire career, I’m always blown away at how she just moves your soul.

“Literally, my heart is moved by her. Either I hate her, or love her, or love to hate her. I probably won’t face off with her at Evolution, but just in general she is one of my dream opponents.”

Miroslav Barnyashev traveled to the United States from Bulgaria with a dream to become a professional wrestler. However, the road to becoming Rusev was filled with plenty of detours along the way. Rusev’s wife Lana believes his ‘Coming to America’ story deserves to be told on the big screen.

“He followed his dream to Hollywood,” Lana said about her husband when speaking to “Open Late” with Peter Rosenberg. “I want to make a movie out of your story, it’s so great. It’s literally a Hollywood movie and it’s like Oscar winning.”

According to Rusev, before he finally started attending classes a professional wrestling school in San Diego, he had just about every job imaginable while trying to make ends meet.

“Work here and there, worked a whole bunch of different places,” Rusev said. “I was doing a taxi job, I was security at a strip club, I was doing construction.

“Most of the time, I had two or three jobs at a time because I had to survive.”

It wasn’t until the WWE came to San Diego almost exactly a decade ago that Rusev finally took the initiative to pursue his ultimate goal to become a professional wrestler.

“I was living in Los Angeles and in San Diego they had a WWE pay-per-view like Great American Bash, I think it was 2008. After leaving the show, I saw a flier on my car it said ‘professional wrestling school’,” Rusev stated.

“I was like ‘oh great, it’s only a two hour drive, I’ll make the drive and I’ll start learning what I actually came to America to do’.”

Rusev then began training under former WWE superstars Gangrel and Rikishi before making his debut in late 2008. The rest, as they say, is history — and Lana believes it’s the perfect story that would fit a Hollywood movie detailing Rusev’s rise to fame.

Would you like to see Rusev have his life story translated into a major motion picture? 

Davey Boy Smith Jr. Pulls From Appearances

Former WWE Tag Team Champion Davey Boy Smith Jr. has pulled from his upcoming appearances. After the recent passing of the New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) star’s uncle, Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart, Smith pulled from his scheduled Revolution Pro Wrestling appearances.

He took to Twitter to apologize to fans and said he is already in talks with the UK promotion about rescheduling:

“Sorry to announce to the Uk fans about my withdrawal from this weekends @RevProUK Shows. I was really looking forward to coming back to the Uk. We are in talks about about rescheduling a future booking for @kelitesquad @inc_kes to the UK.”

Sorry to announce to the Uk fans about my withdrawal from this weekends @RevProUK Shows. I was really looking forward to coming back to the Uk ??. We are in talks about about rescheduling a future booking for @kelitesquad @inc_kes to the ?? ?? pic.twitter.com/kgRcN4OHg9

— Harry Smith, “Davey Boy Smith JR” (@DBSmithjr) August 14, 2018

Aiden English’s Message To Rusev & Lana

On last night’s episode of SmackDown Live, Aiden English lost his match against former NXT Champion Andrade “Cien” Almas. Almas will team up with Zelina Vega to take on Rusev and Lana in a Mixed Tag Team match.

After his loss, English was interviewed by WWE cameras backstage. He apologized to Rusev and Lana for his shortcoming against Almas, saying “I tried”:

We officially have a women’s match for tomorrow’s episode of SmackDown Live.

SmackDown Live General Manager Paige has confirmed Zelina Vega will make her in-ring debut on the main roster against Lana:

https://twitter.com/RealPaigeWWE/status/1023968424043659271?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1023968424043659271&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mandatory.com%2Fwrestlezone%2Fnews%2F981305-paige-announces-grudge-match-for-smackdown-live

“Well. @Zelina_VegaWWE and @LanaWWE have certainly been … ahem… vocal about their feelings this weekend. SO let’s take this off the internet and bring it into the ring. I am making it official. Zelina vs. Lana TOMORROW NIGHT on #SDLive”

Lana & Vega’s In-Ring Careers

Both women are primarily featured in managerial roles on WWE TV, so this is certainly an interesting pairing.

Vega, of course, is a lot more decorated in the squared circle. She is a former TNA Knockouts Tag Team Champion and has competed in NXT. Lana has also had some in-ring experience, but not to the degree of Vega.

“The Ravishing Russian” was a part of the first ever Women’s Money In The Bank (MITB) Ladder match. She also competed in the Mixed Match Challenge with her husband, Rusev, and is a former SDL Women’s Title challenger.

Lana appears ready to get back in the ring. The 33-year-old has been on house shows lately but hasn’t wrestled a match on television since the women’s Money in the Bank ladder match last month.

She took to Twitter to challenge Zelina Vega to a match on Tuesday’s Smackdown Live!

What do you say @Zelina_VegaWWE ????? ? pic.twitter.com/yh6ahzuxeE

— CJ Perry (@TheCJPerry) July 30, 2018

“Lana is the best! Lana #1” – Rusev (and some others)

Lana Challenges Zelina Vega

Lana has only wrestled 16 televised (Raw, Smackdown, WWE Network, etc) matches during her WWE career. It took until her 10th match for her to get a victory.

Lana’s first victory in WWE came in the Mixed Match Challenge held earlier this year. Rusev and Lana defeated Bayley and Elias in the first round of the tournament before losing to Bobby Roode and Charlotte Flair the next. She won her first single’s match back in May. She defeated Billie Kay in a MITB qualifying match.

Zelina Vega’s First Main Roster Match

Assuming she accepts Lana’s challenge this will be Zelina Vega’s first match on the WWE main roster. Throughout February and early March this year she teamed with Andrade “Cien” Almas and wrestled Candice LeRae and Johnny Gargano on NXT house shows.

Vega’s only televised match so far in WWE was a single’s match loss to Candice LeRae on the April 11th edition of NXT.

Andrade “Cien” Almas defeated Rusev in single’s action last week on Smackdown. It was his 6th televised match on the main roster thus far. He is 5-1 since being called up. His victories have been over Jake Constantinou, Kevin Bennett, Sin Cara (2x), and Rusev. AJ Styles defeated Almas 2 weeks ago on Smackdown, giving Almas his only loss on the main roster thus far.

Almas has also been using several mannerisms from his Los InGobernables faction from CMLL. Tetsuya Naito re-invented himself a few years ago when he also joined the stable and then brought it to New Japan Pro Wrestling.

WWE Trying To Block ROH

Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc. CEO Chris Ripley had discussed some interesting plans for ROH during a recent interview and he had revealed that they are looking to run a show at Madison Square Garden next year, following the successful sell out of ALL In.

Later it was reported that WWE Officials were not happy with this development and now in an update, Wrestling Observer Newsletter reveals that the company Officials are ‘doing everything possible’ to block this planned show.

No word yet on what moves the company is making to try and block the indie promotion from running a show in the famous arena but we’ll keep you posted on updates.

Lana On How She Gets Boost Before Match

SmackDown Star Lana recently had an interview with Women’s Health to discuss her diet and more. During the interview, she revealed that she sometimes needs an energy boost before going into the ring and she used to rely on Sour Skittles to get the job done.

Continuing on the topic, the WWE Star said that she has now switched to dark chocolate or coffee to get the sugar before a match and she also claimed to be a dessert person:

“I am more of a dessert person, I don’t have a cheat day. If I really want an Oreo before I go out and wrestle, I’m going to have it and it’s going to be fine.”

Lana is set to compete in the Women’s Money In The Bank ladder match this Sunday.

The WWE Smackdown crews’ stay at the Memphis Sheraton earlier this week did not go smoothly. Rusev, Lana, and Paige have all reported they had items stolen during their stay.

Despite public Tweets from Rusev and Paige criticizing the hotel, Sheraton has chosen not to respond. Looking at their social media accounts, it’s evident the Sheraton has a policy of only responding to positive comments.

Rusev made further comment on the matter today after the Pro Wrestling Sheet stated the Sheraton was not interested in speaking to them.

Dig in. I’m prosecuting. Especially after the head of security said it’s my fault for living my stuff in the room. https://t.co/VFXa5P3bL0

— Miro (@ToBeMiro) June 13, 2018

Rusev, Lana, and Paige Unhappy With Memphis Sheraton

In further Tweets, Rusev stated he had put a “Do Not Disturb” sign on his door as well. He also said they had filled out a police report.

https://twitter.com/WWEMaverick/status/1006753215730339840

Drake Maverick has not made further comment on his Mac.

Paige has not made any further comment on the matter either. Lana does not appear to have commented publicly.

Memphis Sheraton Hotel

The Memphis Sheraton is a 600-room hotel located just off highway 40. It is often used for conventions and big events held in the city.

Previous news reports concerning the hotel also include a shooting which took place there in September and a couple being attacked while walking to their car in October. Following the two crimes, the city has been looking into hiring a safety consultant to discuss a plan to make the downtown area safer.

“A security consultant in crowd dynamics should take a look at the look at street before the task force makes its formal recommendations to city council,” said Berlin Boyd, the city taskforce chairman in a statement.

Earlier this month, the city began reviewing recommendations made to them by the task force. In general, it seems city council believes over-crowdedness is leading to a surge in crime in the area and they are looking at ways to address this.

AJ Styles Misses Live Events Over The Weekend

According to a report from 411Mania, WWE Champion AJ Styles missed WWE Live events over the weekend. Styles hasn’t wrestled in almost three weeks. His last match was a dark match against Shinsuke Nakamura after the May 22nd SmackDown Live tapings.

The Phenomenal One’s last match on WWE TV occurred on a May 15th episode of SmackDown Live. He lost a non-title bout to Shinsuke Nakamura for the right to select the stipulation for their match at Money In The Bank (MITB). Styles is scheduled to return to the ring this Sunday against Nakamura at MITB for the WWE Title in a Last Mat Standing match.

Lana & Rusev Burglarized In Hotel Room

Rusev took to Twitter to Tweet at the Sheraton Hotels, claiming that the people who “cleaned” he and Lana’s hotel room stole his wife’s camera and money out of his wallet:

Thank you @sheratonhotels Memphis for “cleaning” the room and stealing my wife camera and my money from my wallet

— Miro (@ToBeMiro) June 11, 2018

– During a red carpet interview at WWE’s For Your Consideration event in Los Angeles, California on Wednesday night, Brie Bella said she’s considering having a baby “next summer,” but only after she returns to the ring.

Brie said to E! News that she had a conversation earlier with her husband, Daniel Bryan — real name Bryan Danielson — about having another child. Bryan is eager to “start trying,” whereas Brie is eyeing 2019 for an addition to the family.

“I need to kick more butt in the ring still,” Brie revealed she told her husband. “‘Next summer.’ In mom world that’s like really close. So, next summer.”

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBBJ1_vulr0&w=560&h=315]

– Sonya Deville and Lana are in attendance at tonight’s GLAAD + Ty Herdon’s Concert for Love & Acceptance event in Nashville, Tennessee, “featuring a coalition of artists and celebrities appearing and performing to accelerate acceptance for LGBTQ people.”

The SmackDown LIVE Superstars are documenting their experience on social media.

https://instagram.com/p/Bjvnoq4h4ei/

So excited to be here with @SonyaDevilleWWE at the @glaad concert for Love and Acceptance #PrideMonth ?????? pic.twitter.com/gGjLMeZxGL

— CJ Perry (@TheCJPerry) June 8, 2018

??? #LoveisLove https://t.co/yqSO4lraZf

— Daria Rae Berenato (@TheDariaRae) June 8, 2018

– John Cena’s entrance theme briefly played during the second period of tonight’s NHL Stanley Cup finals Game 5 between the Washington Capitals and the Las Vegas Knights (taking place in Las Vegas, Nevada at the T-Mobile Arena).

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NxQgZkWZtBE&w=560&h=315]

• Paige got a huge tattoo on her stomach (Photo)