Matt Hardy says Bray Wyatt and Vince McMahon had a very strange working relationship behind the scenes.

Hardy recently took to his podcast, “The Extreme Life Of Matt Hardy,” and reflected on his last run with WWE. During the show, Hardy touched on working with Wyatt, and what it was like seeing Wyatt interact with McMahon backstage.

The multiple-time Tag Team Champion detailed how McMahon would praise Wyatt when he did something he liked. However, when Wyatt did something he didn’t like, it was almost as if he was going to lock Wyatt away for good.

“Windham (Bray Wyatt) has always had a very strange relationship with Vince, very strange, like, I almost felt like Vince looked at him like a son in some ways,” Matt Hardy said.

“When he would do things that he liked, he would love him and he would really give him everything that he could possibly give him. He would bend over backwards to try and accommodate him. But then when he did something he didn’t like, he hated, like he was going to lock him away for good.”

“It was almost like a really weird, a really strange and different duality that Vince shared with Bray. When he liked him or loved him, he was all about him. But when he disliked him, oh my god, it was really bad and he would like punish him and insult him. To me, it was so strange. It was almost like a parent.”

Wyatt was released from WWE in July of 2021. Much has been made about his professional wrestling future, as Wyatt has scarcely made any professional wrestling appearances since his release.

With All Elite Wrestling (AEW) now very much a viable alternative for talents, many wonder if Wyatt will end up working for Tony Khan next. Or, perhaps, Wyatt and McMahon can reconcile their differences, and he’ll return to WWE.

Quotes via WrestlingNewsCo

Sasha Banks has unfollowed several prominent WWE accounts over the past few days, ahead of her and Naomi’s walk-out during this week’s Raw.

During the show, Banks and Naomi left the Scope Arena, forcing WWE to change their announced six-pack challenge main event into a singles match between Becky Lynch and Asuka.

On Twitter, Banks has unfollowed the accounts of WWE, Vince McMahon, Bayley, Becky Lynch, SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Usos, Seth Rollins, and Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns.

Now, “The Boss” is following only six accounts: Naomi, John Cena, Tamina Snuka, her cousin Snoop Dogg, and two fan accounts.

During Raw, Corey Graves said the pair had acted “unprofessionally” by walking out.

In a statement, WWE said that the WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions placed the titles on the desk of John Laurinaitis before leaving.

Why did Banks and Naomi leave?

The duo left Raw after Sasha Banks expressed her frustration with creative and had a meeting with Vince McMahon to discuss changes.

When McMahon refused to budge, Banks left and Naomi sided with her tag-team partner.

Fans have compared this to a 2019 incident, where Banks requested her release after losing the Women’s Tag Titles (then held with Bayley) to The IIconics at WrestleMania 35.

• Original Plans for Sasha Banks & Naomi Revealed (May 2022)

AEW President Tony Khan has said he doesn’t understand why a wrestling promoter would rip up a script before a show, in a dig at WWE and Vince McMahon.

The WWE Chairman is known for making edits to scripts, or even tearing them up completely mere hours before his programming goes on air.

Speaking with Forbes, Khan said that while he accepts that changes need to be made on the fly, ripping up a script implies that those in charge haven’t done enough preparation.

“To be honest, when I hear about somebody going in, and they have a TV show on Monday that they rip up. My first thought is, ‘what were you doing all weekend?’ Because I work my ass off on the weekends,” he claimed. “I have to come in with a plan for Wednesday, and Friday night, I want to make sure Dynamite’s great, and Rampage.

“I don’t do everything myself, but I do make the final decision on everything. I put the format together, I put an outline of what the show is going to be for Dynamite and Rampage, and I write it by hand. I don’t understand why you’re going to come in and rip up a show that you have a pretty good idea of what it is. And you should have approved it, where Monday, we know what we’re doing.”

“When I hear about somebody going in, and they have a TV show on Monday that they rip up. My first thought is, ‘what were you doing all weekend?’”

Tony Khan

McMahon’s War on Scripts

Vince McMahon employs a large team of writers to produce WWE content each week but the Chairman is seemingly very difficult to impress.

In March 2020, McMahon tore up the script for Monday Night Raw and was reported to have “changed everything.”

That same year, it was reported that McMahon had ripped up the script for Raw an hour before the show went live.

An October 2020 script for WWE SmackDown was finished very late in the day as the company could not decide what should make it on the show.

• Big Cass on Vince McMahon’s Reaction to him Going Off-Script (December 2019)

Thanks to Wrestling Inc for the transcription.

Vince and Linda McMahon are putting their Park Tower Stamford penthouse located in downtown Stamford, Connecticut up for sale.

According to The News-Times, the couple appears to have listed the penthouse for $4 million.

Featuring three bedrooms and four bathrooms, the condo is 3,351 square feet and is one of the highest-priced condominiums in Connecticut.

The McMahons’ condo is in the tallest building in Stamford, located at the corner of Broad Street and Washington Boulevard. It was formerly known as Trump Parc Stamford when Donald Trump joined the project but was renamed by the condo board after the 2021 storming of the United States Capitol.

James Wood with JFW Realty/Keller Williams is the listing agent for the property. The penthouse became the third-priciest condominium available in Connecticut as it hit the market. The top two priciest ones are Milbank Avenue units in Greenwich listed for $5 million and $4.5 million.

WWE’s headquarters is also located in Stamford. On March 20, 2019, the company announced that it will sell Titan Towers after using the facility as its global headquarters for more than 30 years. WWE will move to a new location on 677 Washington Boulevard, which is nearby Vince and Linda McMahon’s condo. The company intended to relocate its headquarters to this new location by 2021, but the move was later delayed to late 2022.

The New Day has been the most successful faction in WWE for years but the original pitch wasn’t exactly hitting home with the group’s members.

Together, Big E, Kofi Kingston, and Xavier Woods have had great success in WWE. They have won tag team gold 11 times. In singles action, Big E and Kofi have both had WWE Championship reigns, while Woods won the 2021 King of the Ring.

The initial pitch for The New Day didn’t exactly give E, Kofi, or Woods the chills but they knew they could knock it out of the part.

Vince McMahon’s Initial Plan For The New Day

Kofi Kingston was a guest on Out of Character with Ryan Satin. During his appearance, Kofi said that Vince McMahon had serious gospel vibes with The New Day when he first pitched the idea (h/t 411Mania.com).

“When we were given the gimmick of positivity preaching preachers, I’ll never forget it. We had been going back and forth with Vince about what we wanted to be. We wanted to be some guys who were not pleased with our positions in the company.

“He’s like, ‘Okay, well, how about you guys be preachers and you guys come out here and there’s gospel music.’ We’re just sitting there and we know that the people are going to reject this idea because nobody comes to WWE to go to church.

“But this is what he wanted us to do. We told him, ‘Whatever you give us, we’ll make it succeed because of our chemistry. We believe in it.’ He’s like, ‘Alright, I’m going to put that to the test. You guys are going be positivity preaching preachers. Go get it over.’

“We’re just like, alright, this is our chance, and we supported each other. There were a lot of people who took a big dump on our aspirations. They didn’t believe in us. They made fun of us when we were just trying to get over.

“But now you fast forward, and those same people have come back around, and they admitted that they were wrong. Not that we do it to prove people wrong, but we proved them wrong.”

Kofi certainly isn’t playing revisionist history. He’s absolutely right when he says people panned The New Day gimmick at first and didn’t think it was going to work. The faction quickly turned things around and has become one of the hottest acts in WWE.

Unfortunately, The New Day is currently down a member. On the March 11 episode of SmackDown, Big E suffered a broken neck after landing awkwardly off an overhead belly-to-belly suplex from Ridge Holland.

E recently gave an update revealing that his recovery has hit a snag due to his C1 not healing the way he had hoped. He’s keeping his neck in a brace for the next month or so in an attempt to avoid fusion surgery.

Vince McMahon is known for egging others on to do ribs but this one, in particular, was quite scary.

Ribbing was quite common behind the scenes in the wrestling business. To this day, wrestlers still get ribbed although it doesn’t appear to be as intense as it used to be.

This one rib that was backed by McMahon ended up going south when the person getting pranked suffered an injury.

Vince McMahon Rib Causes Concussion

During an edition of AdFreeShows.com’s Monday Mailbag, former WWE referee Mike Chioda reflected on the time he was egged on by Vince McMahon to prank a cameraman.

Things went awry in a hurry (h/t WrestlingInc.com).

“Vince used to hate to see people sleep. This one camera guy, I love him, he was a great guy and I remember he said, ‘hey, cut him down.’

“I remember I climbed all the way up this thing cause he had his hammock on something, and I cut it by his head and he went straight down into the steel. He had a concussion.

“I felt so bad, it backfired on me so much. We stopped in Ramstine Germany because we always did, and I remember, he had to go to the hospital there and he went back home.

“I remember apologizing and calling him and everything. I couldn’t say ‘Vince and them made me do it.’ I didn’t want to say that, I had to do it.

“I shouldn’t have listened to [Vince] but it was Vince and them guys, but the f***ing rib backfired.”

Surely, current WWE talent will settle for the more harmless ribs today. For example, back in 2009, Drew McIntyre captured the WWE Intercontinental Championship.

He went out to eat at Applebee’s with some of his fellow performers when Randy Orton told Drew it was tradition for a first-time champion to actually wear the title when eating out. McIntyre did so, which got a big laugh out of the boys.

Drew revealed that story in his book, A Chosen Destiny.

Dana White has shared a very interesting story about WWE Chairman, Vince McMahon.

The UFC President appeared on the Pivot Podcast to discuss the early days of the COVID-19 outbreak, and how the president at the time, Donald Trump, wanted to hold a conference call with all the heads of the major sports leagues in the United States to determine how they would move forward with events.

When talking about the call…White recalls feeling like everyone one of the league owners were not actually going to achieve the plan they laid out for Trump, noting that he felt only one person would actually push forward.

“So we were on the call with the President one time and I remember I was listening to everybody get on there and talk and I was like, these guys are all full of sht. None of these guys are gonna fcking roll or really wanna do what they’re saying they’re gonna do except for one and when we hung up the phone, he fcking texts me…Vince McMahon.”

That man as mentioned above was McMahon, who later texted White and berated him for not asking enough questions during the conference call. He reveals that McMahon wanted him to back him up on the call, but White remained quiet.

“Vince McMahon starts texting me and basically berating me after the call like, ‘Why didn’t you talk? Why didn’t you back up what I was saying? ‘Because I think everybody’s full of sht, that’s why, except for you. You’re definitely not full of sht Vince,’ you know? Vince is a fcking killer. Vince was putting on his events down in Florida at the time too.”

UFC and WWE both kept events going during the height of the pandemic. WWE specifically were able to run shows from their Performance Center before later landing a deal to launch the ThunderDome at the Amway Center, and later Tropicana Field.

(Quotes via Post Wrestling)

Booker T has lost all respect for Ryback after the Big Guy’s recent comments about WWE boss Vince McMahon.

Ryback was cut by WWE back in 2016, although he maintains that he left the company voluntarily.

Since then, Ryback has consistently bashed WWE and Vince McMahon, claiming the company is illegally suppressing his social media accounts.

Recently, Ryback attacked Vince McMahon on Twitter, calling the WWE Chairman’s deceased mother Vicky Askew a “wh*re.”

Askew died in January 2022 at the age of 101.

Speaking on his Hall of Fame podcast, Booker addressed Ryback’s vulgar comment:

“When you’re talking about somebody that you don’t know, that right there for me is taking it to another level…  I have no problem or personal issues with Ryback or anything like that but I’m not someone that hides up under a rock or anything or that’s afraid to tackle a situation like this one right here. My thing is this. Ryback didn’t make it in the WWE, right? That’s a fact, he didn’t make it in the WWE.

“A person that says something like that, I just do not have a whole lot of respect for him. The thing is, if I saw him in his face, I’ll tell him, ‘I don’t have a lot of respect for you at all if any.’ Seriously, that’s just the type of person I am. I do know if I ever was to run across Ryback ever again in any form, he would not be receiving a handshake.”

Despite claiming to stand by the comments he made, Ryback has since deleted the tweet where he insulted McMahon’s mother.

WWE Raw Tag Team Champion Randy Orton has said he has experienced “meltdowns and breakdowns” in front of company Chairman Vince McMahon.

The 14-time WWE World Champion and McMahon have worked closely both behind the scenes and on-screen, even having a match on the April 6, 2009 Raw which ended in a no contest.

While speaking to Metro, Orton discussed his relationship with his boss:

”He’s seen me in dark periods where I’ve had meltdowns and breakdowns in front of him. I’ve beat my head against the wall in front of him, as a 25-year-old man just emotional f***** – ‘Arrrr!’ – not knowing how to express myself. He’s witnessed that in close quarters. I think he sees a little bit of my crazy in him – even if it’s just a little bit.

“From an early age when I was f****** up like that, I think it almost made him want to nurture that part of me. We’ve grown together in that regard, so now our conversations are a lot different. If I knock on his door, peek my head in, nine out of 10 times, no matter who’s in there he’ll tell them to f**** off so I can come in and talk to him. Which is pretty cool, you know?”

Last month, Orton celebrated the 20th anniversary of his WWE main roster debut on the April 25, 2022 Raw.

Orton will team with Riddle and Drew McIntyre to face Roman Reigns and The Usos at WrestleMania-Backlash.

WrestleMania-Backlash will take place this Sunday at the Dunkin Donuts Center, in Providence, Rhode Island.

Certain words are not supposed to be used on WWE television. In fact, WWE has developed its own alternate verbiage for wrestlers and announcers.

• They’re not wrestlers, they’re Superstars and Sports Entertainers.
• They’re not fans, they’re members of the WWE Universe.
• It’s not a belt, it’s a championship. (A belt holds up your pants!)
• It’s not a title match, it’s a championship opportunity.

Earlier this week, United States Champion Theory competed on Raw. His title was not on the line and the match was referred to as a “non-title championship contender’s match.”

Another one of these banned phrases has come to light. According to Dave Meltzer, “non-title” has been added to WWE’s banned words list.

“Well, they can’t say non-title. That’s a banned term.”

– Wrestling Observer Radio

Instead of non-title, these contests will be referred to as “Championship Contender’s” matches in the future.

WWE Banned Words

WWE has a long history of “banned words” and instituting its own jargon. Vince McMahon is a master of promotion and branding, so he knows what he is doing in this respect.

A few times over the past few years, there have been leaks of lists WWE has sent to media partners about what not to say when discussing the product.

This “banned words” list is not set in stone, but included “insider” terms such as kayfabe, babyface, heel, job/jobber, house show, push and “over.” There are also certain words related to violence, including head shot, trauma and curb stomp.

If WWE shows MJF the money, he’ll be more than happy to leave All Elite Wrestling (AEW).

Maxwell Jacob Friedman (MJF) has established himself as one of AEW’s top heels over the course of the past three years. The 26-year-old began making a name for himself during his early days in the business, working for promotions such as Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW) and Major League Wrestling (MLW).

He eventually signed with AEW in January of 2019 and has been a huge part of the promotion ever since. However, MJF has been very open about his contract with AEW being set to expire in 2024, and WWE reportedly has interest. MJF discussed the matter further during the “For The Love Of Wrestling” convention in Liverpool recently.

In regards to potentially signing with WWE, MJF said that, if Vince McMahon is willing to shell out the cash, he’ll be more than happy to depart from AEW.

“I don’t know if you guys are aware of this, but on January 1st of 2024, I’m going to be a free agent,” MJF said. “Who here would want to see me in WWE? So let me explain something to you people — I did not get into this business to make any of you happy.

“I got into this business to make as much money as humanly possible. And if Vincent Kennedy McMahon is willing to shell out more money than my good friend Tony Khan, then yes, I would go to WWE.”

Recently, there have been many WWE stars who have departed to join AEW. Its been very rare that an AEW talent leaves for WWE instead. In fact, the only notable name to have done so is Cody Rhodes, who returned to WWE at WrestleMania 38 earlier this year after his AEW contract expired.

Perhaps MJF will follow in Rhodes’ footsteps come January of 2024 when his own WWE deal is up.

Quotes via Wrestling Inc.

It appears WWE is looking to freshen things up with its main roster.

Some fans were taken aback by the return of Xia Li on the April 22 episode of SmackDown. Li hadn’t been seen for months on WWE TV since being established as a babyface. All of a sudden, she is now presented as a heel.

Li’s turn could be a sign of things to come.

Vince McMahon Changing Roles For Several Superstars

A report from WrestlingNews.co notes that Vince McMahon believes that many main roster talents are “miscast.” As a result, the plan is for more babyface and heel turns to take place in the coming weeks.

WWE has a reputation for starting plans and not following through. Stephanie McMahon even admitted this once and said WWE has the ability to “pivot on the fly.” She has also insisted that the company listens to its fans.

Who do you think will be changing roles in the coming weeks?

Vince McMahon always looks to put on a massive show, and that was no different back in 2000.

On the heels of McMahon finally taking WWE to the New York Stock Exchange, McMahon actually had plans to put one of his biggest stars – The Rock – inside the ring smack in the middle of Wall Street. And his opponent? A bear. Yes, an actual, live bear.

WWE Senior VP Bruce Prichard broke the idea down during an episode of his podcast, “Something To Wrestle,” saying Vince McMahon seemed pretty set on the idea at the time.

“Vince came into my office on a Thursday, and I believe it was going to be a Tuesday or a Wednesday that we were going to be on the New York Stock Exchange, to ring the bell on the Stock Exchange, and Vince wanted to put a ring in the middle of Wall Street,” Prichard said (via Wrestling Inc.). “Shut Wall Street down and put a ring there and have matches at noon.

“Huge spectacle, we’re gonna go live on WWF.com, so it’s like, okay, cool. I thought he was just kind of telling me this. So I knew that ‘Okay we need to put on a show, we need to come up with something. But what he was telling me was ‘Hey, I want to do this, get it done.’ As he trails off he goes ‘and I want a bear…! I want The Rock to wrestle a bear.’ The Brahma Bull versus the bear. The honest to God living wrestling bear which used to be an attraction back in the day.”

Obviously, the idea never materialized. Prichard explained that there likely would’ve been issues with animal rights activists; on top of the fact that you probably don’t want a bear in the middle of Wall Street the day your stock goes public on the New York Stock Exchange.

“The bear, thank God, was reconsidered on several fronts,” Prichard said. “Because, first of all, you had the animal rights activists that would not look kindly on a wrestling bear. Even though the human rights activists that probably should have been alarmed. Because trust me… the bear always goes over. So anyway, as we’re getting closer to this, the idea becomes ‘well, do you really want a bear hanging around on the New York Exchange the day your stock goes public?’ Well, ‘the bear was out today on the New York Stock Exchange.’

“No you don’t want that. You want the ‘Brahma Bull’. You know, it’s a bullish market not a bear market, for God’s sakes. So we had the ‘Brahma Bull’ we didn’t have any bears having around there.”

While The Rock didn’t get to wrestle the bear, he did end up headlining WrestleMania several times – three opposite WWE Hall Of Famer Stone Cold Steve Austin. And even though his best days inside the ring are likely behind him, “The People’s Champ” might have one more WrestleMania headliner left in him.

Vince McMahon has released new rules when it comes to naming WWE Superstars moving forward.

The Wrestling Observer Newsletter recently touched on the name changes that have been going on within WWE, revealing the roster recently received a memo about Superstar names. Vince McMahon has instructed that he doesn’t want anyone using their real names anymore, or names they used on the indies before WWE.

As noted, WALTER recently had his name changed to Gunther. Also, Raul Mendoza is now Cruz Del Toro as of this past week. However, there’s no news on if he’s being called up to the main roster just yet. Pete Dunne also had his name changed to Butch after being called up to the main roster.

Raquel Gonzalez was also called up to the roster with a name change, now going by Raquel Rodriguez, seemingly being allowed to keep her first name. Of course, there will be obvious exceptions to this rule for the likes of Gable Steveson and Cody Rhodes. But for the likes of Austin Theory, who now goes by simply, Theory, no such luck.

For those who don’t know, the “Austin” from Theory’s name was dropped as his real name is Austin White. There was speculation the change was due to Stone Cold Steve Austin’s involvement in their WrestleMania angle, but this is said to be untrue.

WWE has been pretty weird about changing names randomly for some time now, however, it sounds like they’re getting a lot more strict when it comes to naming their Superstars. What do you think about Vince McMahon and his new naming decree? Sound off in the comments!

Austin Theory was front and center for Vince McMahon’s horrendous stunner sell with Stone Cold Steve Austin at WrestleMania 38, and knows better than anyone how the locker room reacted once McMahon returned backstage through the curtain.

Speaking to Mark Andrews: My Love Letter to Pro Wrestling, Theory revealed that the locker room, especially the female talents, teased McMahon for the botched stunner once he returned backstage. However, it sounds like the boss took it all in stride and laughed it off.

“It was really cool. When Mr. McMahon walked to the back, everyone was screaming at him,” Theory said (via Fightful). “It was a lot of the female wrestlers, they were screaming at him and messing with him. He was like, ‘Okay, okay.’ It was proud, like being proud of your dad.

“Pat comes through and everyone was proud of what we did out there and everyone enjoyed it. You know it went well when everyone in the back enjoyed it. It was awesome. Even days after and now, hearing so much about it, you know you made that WrestleMania moment, which is really cool to me.”

McMahon was initially sitting ringside for Theory’s match with Pat McAfee, but angrily entered the ring after Austin Theory came up short against the SmackDown Live commentator. After ordering an impromptu match between himself and McAfee, it didn’t take McMahon long to put the ex-NFL punter down for a three-count. After the match, however, Austin hit the ring to give stunners to all three men – Theory, McAfee, and McMahon.

“The Chairman” is no stranger to taking stunners, probably having taken more than anyone over the years given his famed rivalry with Austin throughout the Attitude Era, but this one was one of the worst of all time. While Night Two of WrestleMania didn’t offer the best closing stunner, Night One certainly did.

Austin made his in-ring return after over 19 years, defeating Kevin Owens in a No Holds Barred match after nailing “KO” with the stunner. His appearance the following night wasn’t advertised, nor expected, but it was a tremendous treat nonetheless.

WWE Hall Of Famer Kurt Angle is the latest professional wrestling legend of note to chime in on Vince McMahon’s horrendous sell job of Steve Austin’s stunner at WrestleMania 38.

Angle took to his podcast, “The Kurt Angle Show,” to reflect on WrestleMania 38 weekend and all of its big surprises. One of those surprises being Stone Cold Steve Austin making his in-ring return. Austin took on Kevin Owens in a No Disqualification match, his first official bout in over 19 years, winning with a stunner to close out the show.

The following night, Austin returned for Night Two, interrupting Vince McMahon’s celebration for his win over Pat McAfee. Austin hit stunners on Theory, McAfee, and McMahon – the latter being one of the worst sold stunners of all time. “The Olympic Hero” described the moment as a “disaster.”

“I gave him a hug and said good luck to him. I didn’t see him afterward. I’m sure he was a little pissed off about Vince and the way he took the Stunner,” Angle said. (via Fightful). “Yeah, it was crazy because Austin was chugging these beers and you could see his lips say ‘That motherf***er.’ Vince’s timing was just bad.

“You know, he didn’t know when the jump. He didn’t know where you’re gonna go down, up and down. He just thought you’re gonna go up and down and with Austin, he didn’t expect the boot to the gut, he thought he’s just gonna Stun him.

“So when Steve booted him, Vince went to his knees… Steve had to pick him back up and then he tried to get him and Vince backed up into the ropes, and he bounced off the ropes. It was like a disaster.”

Although the stunner was terrible, it was still nostalgic for fans to see Austin and McMahon rekindle their rivalry that helped make “The Rattlesnake’s” run during the Attitude Era so iconic. Not to mention how shocking it was to see Austin make another appearance after everyone thought he was done following his victory the previous night where he closed out Night One of WrestleMania 38.

WWE Hall Of Famer JBL not only had a strong presence inside the ring, but at the broadcast table as well.

Layfield joined WWE back in 1995; racking up runs as WWE Champion, Intercontinental Champion, United States Champion, Hardcore Champion, Tag Team Champion, and more. After getting off a full-time schedule as an in-ring performer, JBL joined the WWE broadcast team in 2006. Although he still wrestled part-time, Layfield became a staple in WWE’s commentating team over the next decade.

Recently, the WWE Hall Of Famer joined The Universal Wrestling Podcast to talk about a number of topics. In regards to his role as commentator, Layfield revealed some advice he got from Vince McMahon himself – who also used to do commentary during the early days of WWF.

“‘John, it’s not radio,’” JBL said (via Wrestling Inc.). “‘You don’t have to tell them it’s a dropkick. You don’t have to tell them it’s a Saito suplex and show off that you know what it was.’

“People can see that. They need to know who this character is and why they should care about them. Once you realize that, you understand Vince’s mind for commentary.”

JBL stepped away from the commentary team in 2017, instead deciding to focus more on his projects outside of the world of wrestling. However, Layfield has made some sporadic WWE TV appearances since then, including his Hall Of Fame induction in 2020. He also served as a panelist for the WrestleMania 38 pre-shows in his home-state of Texas earlier this month.

For as long as professional wrestling fans can remember the discussion as to what will happen to WWE, after Vince McMahon’s time on this Earth is no longer, has loomed over the industry.

Of course, McMahon has no shortage of close family members to leave the company to. His children Shane and Stephanie McMahon have been prominent figures within the company dating back to the late 90’s. “The Chairman Of The Board” also has his grandchildren as potential successors. And, of course, who else loves the professional wrestling business more than McMahon’s son-in-law, Triple H?

However, what if McMahon decides to outright sell the company upon his passing? WWE Hall Of Famer and current AEW commentator Jim Ross believes it’s a legitimate possibility. Speaking on a recent episode of his podcast, “Grilling JR,” Ross noted that McMahon could very well be thinking about doing exactly that.

“One would hope, I assume he does. I just don’t know. Maybe the succession plan is to package it up and sell it,” Ross said (via 411Mania). I’ve said before and I don’t mean to make it morbid, he’s the genius behind the whole damn thing. He’s very protective of what he’s built and I would be the same way. We want to protect what we’ve built.

“I think Vince’s succession plan is, he’s the kind of guy who thinks he’s going to live forever and I hope he does. He’ll probably outlive me, and he might outlive you. He still trains hard and eats right and all those things. He’s got good DNA. So, I don’t know about the succession plan, but I think they have to say they have one simply for the stockholders’ sake. I think that it’s such an attractive property with so many diverse tentacles that spread around the world, I think it’s an attractive buy for some big company.

“It seems like that’s the direction that some big businesses are heading in – they’re selling and consolidating. That might be where his head is at, I don’t know how to answer that question. I just can’t see, today, anybody taking his place at the head of the table. I don’t know who’s there. There’s people who can do it I guess, but I don’t know who they are and what’s available and if Vince trusts them impeccably enough to turn the reins over to them.”

As Jim Ross mentioned, McMahon has shown absolutely no signs of slowing down despite being 76-years-old. He still trains regularly and even participated in a match at WrestleMania 38 this past week. McMahon won his impromptu match against Pat McAfee and even took a stunner from Stone Cold Steve Austin who made a surprise appearance during the segment.

What do you think McMahon’s plan is for WWE after he passes? Sound off in the comments section below!

One of the biggest surprises from WrestleMania 38 this past weekend was the in-ring return of Vince McMahon.

McMahon took to the ring after Pat McAfee defeated Austin Theory in their one-on-one match, which “The Chairman” was sitting ringside for. After getting inside the ring, McMahon ordered the referee to ring the bell, starting a new match between himself and McAfee. An already beat down and exhausted McAfee eventually fell to McMahon for the three-count. However, WWE Hall Of Famer Stone Cold Steve Austin’s music then hit, as “The Rattlesnake” came down the ramp to hit McMahon with a stunner and close the segment out.

According to a report from Fightful Select, many people backstage weren’t too keen on the idea of McMahon wrestling at WrestleMania this year. However, McMahon made the decision a few months ago and stuck to it despite many being vocal that they thought it was a horrible idea. Of course, after the match McMahon made a few botches; first reacting to Austin Theory’s music as if it were Stone Cold’s, before Stone Cold came out. Also, when he did take the stunner from Austin, it was one of the worst sells of a stunner in history.

However, the report adds that McMahon took it all is stride, laughing about it with everyone backstage. McMahon is of the belief that “as long as people were laughing and entertained, it’s OK.” It’s highly unlikely that Vince McMahon wrestles again anytime soon at 76-years-old, making WrestleMania 38, likely, his last match.

Perhaps the biggest story out of WrestleMania 38 in Dallas, Texas this past weekend was the long-awaited return to the ring of Stone Cold Steve Austin.

Austin was scheduled to be a guest on Kevin Owens’ “The KO Show,” however, it ended up being an official No Holds Barred match between the two after Owens challenged Austin. “The Texas Rattlesnake” accepted Owens’ challenge, and wound up victorious after hitting Owens with the stunner. It was Austin’s first match in 19 years.

The former WWE Champion wasn’t done there, however, as on Night Two of WrestleMania, Austin got involved in the Pat McAfee vs. Austin Theory matchup. After McMahon defeated McAfee in an impromptu match in retaliation for beating Theory, Austin hit the ring to confront “The Chairman Of The Board.” Austin gave McMahon a stunner, which was one of the worst sold stunners of all time, before also stunning McAfee and engaging in his signature celebratory beer bash.

One man who was watching along with the rest of the world was none other than former WCW president Eric Bischoff. Bischoff took to his “83 Weeks” podcast to describe the entire ordeal as simply – awesome.

“I know I’m older, but to see Steve in there doing what Steve is so great at doing – even beyond that, forget about the fact that Steve and I are friends and spent a lot of time in the same industry together and were peers in that era,” Bischoff said (via 411Mania).

“Forget about all of that. The crowd reaction was just awesome. It was just awesome. I just got back home and picked up in the Pat McAfee/Vince McMahon stuff and I can’t say enough good things about it. It was so much fun.”

As for the segment between McMahon and Austin in particular, although Eric Bischoff admits the stunner on McMahon was “horrible,” the former Monday Night RAW General Manager maintains the segment still did its job and was fun for the entire audience.

“I know people are gonna be laughing about the Stunner or whatever, but c’mon, man. You said it, one word – fun. You pay money to be entertained and having fun is a part of that. That whole segment was nothing but fun.

“Yeah, the Stunner looked horrible and I would imagine Vince is very angry with himself [laughs]. But hopefully he gives himself a break because he entertained the hell out of me and a lot of people. Hats off to Vince and the entire team. What an incredible event. In many ways, I think it was one of my favorite WrestleManias in a long time.”

Logan Paul certainly impressed a lot of people with his performance at WrestleMania 38 this past weekend, including Vince McMahon himself.

Paul recently joined Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour this week to discuss what it was like making his in-ring debut for WWE on “The Grandest Stage Of Them All.” During the interview, Paul revealed that he got quite the reception from Vince McMahon backstage.

“Not yet [when asked if WWE had offered him a longer-term deal],” Paul said (via Wrestling Inc.). “Maybe they will, I don’t know. I swear. I will say this. Vince McMahon after my match. He was stoked. I go backstage, we shook hands, it was the good old stepdad Vince thing. He’s like, he goes, ‘trust me, your future is here!’ I was like, ‘cool, sure.’

“That’s Vince McMahon. He’s a legend. Him being excited about, you know, the new guy’s performance, it’s so validating. Like, even just the response and feedback online after the match, haters or lovers, not one negative comment, man. I think people were surprised by my performance and I’m so grateful that they liked it.”

Paul teamed up with The Miz to take on the team of Rey and Dominik Mysterio. The pair put on a surprisingly entertaining match, but what was the most surprising of it all was how well Paul performed inside the ring. Social media was buzzing about how natural the social media star looked inside the squared circle after his weeks of preparation alongside The Miz.

It remains to be seen if Logan Paul has any interest in doing anymore matches with WWE down the line, as he keeps busy with other ventures such as boxing, YouTube, and more, however, it sounds like McMahon would definitely be happy to have him. After The Miz turned on Paul following their win over the Mysterios, there’s certainly a story for Paul to return to should he choose to do so.

Cody Rhodes made his anticipated return to WWE in what’s being referred to as “the worst kept secret in pro wrestling,” this past weekend when he was revealed as Seth Rollins’ surprise WrestleMania 38 opponent.

Rhodes initially left WWE back in 2016 after being subjected to the Stardust gimmick that he has openly stated he was not a big fan of. Since his departure, Rhodes birthed his “American Nightmare” persona, a play on his father, WWE Hall Of Famer Dusty Rhodes’, “American Dream” nickname. After a successful indie run, as well as helping build All Elite Wrestling (AEW) up from scratch, Rhodes decided to return to WWE when his contract with AEW expired earlier this year.

Now, after having proved himself as a top singles star away from the company, Rhodes is back in WWE with a much different outlook on his potential. When negotiating his return with Vince McMahon, Rhodes tells BT Sport’s Ariel Helwani he told “The Chairman Of The Board” he never wants to hear about the Stardust gimmick ever again.

“There wasn’t any true guarantees, there was a request,” Rhodes said (via Wrestling Inc.). “I said I never want to ever see Stardust ever again and I never want to see, hear it or talk about it and it was a handshake and that was all I needed.

“Then the first thing I did in the match last night was a random Stardust reference, I thought what’re you doing? You’re going back on your own strange request, other than that it was complex to get this all together and maybe one of wrestling’s biggest contracts, which I’m so flattered about. I have a child so yeah.

Cody Rhodes topped Rollins in an excellent matchup during Night One of WrestleMania 38, and is ready to address the WWE Universe tonight on Monday Night RAW. It will be interesting to see what’s in store for “The American Nightmare” in the midst of the WrestleMania fallout.

The confrontation between Vince McMahon and Stone Cold Steve Austin at WrestleMania 38 became even more memorable because of McMahon’s botched Stunner. Mick Foley also had his fun with the spot.

The WWE Hall Of Famer reacted to the whole thing on Twitter. He first made a tweet wondering if this was the worst Stunner ever.

Foley then posted a video of his reaction to the spot and in another tweet, he mentioned that Mr McMahon’s leg seemed to have buckled before the move:

The night two of WrestleMania 38 featured a match between Austin Theory and Pat McAfee. The WWE chairman was at ringside to encourage Theory for this bout.

McAfee won this fight via roll up. He challenged Mr McMahon to a match afterward, which the WWE owner accepted. Vince won this match with some help from Theory.

As Mr McMahon was celebrating his victory in the ring, Stone Cold Steve Austin’s music hit. The Texas Rattlesnake walked down to the ring to a big applause.

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Steve Austin first stunned Theory. The Attitude Era star then turned his attention towards the boss. He offered him a beer before giving McMahon a stunner as well.

Stone Cold then invited Pat McAfee into the ring to share a beer with him but ended up giving him a Stunner as well. The segment ended with Austin alone standing tall.

WWE ended up going with Pat McAfee vs. Austin Theory at WrestleMania 38. However, that didn’t mean Vince McMahon escaped without getting physical.

The match saw McMahon at ringside for the bout and introduced Theory as a future champion. McAfee went over with a roll up. The fans were really behind McAfee.

Post-match, McAfee challenged McMahon to a fight. McMahon got into the ring and the bell rang. McMahon beat him down for a few minutes. McMahon punted a football at McAfee for the win. Steve Austin came out and stunned both McMahon and Theory. He later stunned McAfee.

Theory revealed that he would be McAfee’s opponent at WrestleMania 38 after McMahon offered the opportunity for the SmackDown color commentator to wrestle at the event during an appearance on McAfee’s radio show.

It had been previously reported that McMahon vs. McAfee was internally listed for WrestleMania with the idea that there would be smoke and mirrors. Also, the plan called for Theory to take the majority of the bumps for the WWE Chairman.

Austin worked his first match in 19 years at WrestleMania Saturday when he beat Kevin Owens in a no holds barred match.

Austin Theory is not only getting support on-screen but also behind the scenes from Vince McMahon. 

During today’s Wrestling Observer Live, Bryan Alvarez was talking about what the finish might be for the Austin Theory vs. Pat McAfee match at WrestleMania 38. This is where he noted that McMahon sees Theory like John Cena and there’s a reason he is being groomed and always in McMahon’s segments. 

Alvarez speculated that maybe he wants to teach Theory about being able to lose, but he presumed Theory is winning at WrestleMania. 

Dating back to his time in NXT, there was talk that he would eventually become a top star on the main roster. WWE needs to create top stars. Theory and Bron Breakker could be two names that can carry the company in the future. 

In December, Theory stated that Cena has been his inspiration not just in wrestling but in life and modeled his life at a young age on what he saw Cena do on TV. He also has said that his dream match would be to wrestle Cena in Cena’s retirement match