Sasha Banks revealed a few details on how she and Bayley pursued Vince McMahon to bring the WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles in the company.

Banks says that they would visit Vince McMahon’s office every week asking for the introduction of tag titles and would be met with mixed reponses.

“It felt like the whole of last year we were asking, like we would be knocking on the door of Vince’s office every week,” Banks told Sky Sports.

“Me and Bayley would go up to him and some weeks he’d say no and some weeks he’d say yes and then bam, it’s here. So that just proves that you should never give up on your dreams. If you’re annoying enough you can make things happen and that’s probably what happened, he just got annoyed with us.”

Despite constantly “annoying” McMahon for the titles, Banks hopes that the CEO understands how much it means to them.

“I hope he understands how important this is to us and we’re going to make it really special. That’s just Vince every week – you never know how he’s going to be. You just have to keep on trying.”

The titles were established in December of 2018 and were unveiled on the January 14, 2019 episode of Raw. The inaugral champions were decided in a tag team Elimination Chamber match on the Elimination Chamber event, which took place on February 17. Sasha Banks and Bayley as The Boss ‘n’ Hug Connection won the match, making them the inaugral champions.

The duo will be seen defending their titles against The Divas of Doom (Beth Phoenix and Natalya), The IIconics (Billie Kay and Peyton Royce), and Nia Jax & Tamina at WrestleMania 35.

WWE CEO Vince McMahon is cashing in even more of his WWE stock to help fund the upcoming relaunch of the XFL.

McMahon sold off 3 million shares of his WWE stock — valued at approximately $270 million — as he continues to funnel money to Alpha Entertainment, which is the entity he created to help bring his football league back.

McMahon still owns over 36-percent of the WWE with over 80-percent voting rights when it comes to decision making for the professional wrestling organization.

When he first announced plans to relaunch the XFL, McMahon sold off another $100 million worth of his WWE stock to help get the company off the ground.

At the initial meeting to announced that the XFL would be coming back, McMahon stated that it would take a lot of money invested to get the football league off the ground. The original version of the XFL came out in 2000 but after an initial interest from fans, the league floundered and failed.

Now McMahon is determined to bring back the XFL in 2020 while promising to keep the focus on the game and giving fans a chance to watch more football during the entire year.

The timing of McMahon selling off his WWE stock to fund more money into Alpha Entertainment/XFL comes on the heels of the news that the Alliance of American Football (AAF) could be in serious trouble.

On Wednesday it was revealed that the AAF may considering shutting down its operations without additional support from the NFL Player’s Association.

“If the players union is not going to give us young players, we can’t be a development league,” AAF chairman Tom Dundon told USA Today Sports. “We are looking at our options, one of which is discontinuing the league.”

Obviously, McMahon would likely jump at the opportunity to fill that void with the XFL launching next year.

Regardless of the future of the AAF, McMahon is definitely putting the full brunt of his financial power behind the XFL with this latest cash injection.

Gail Kim believes Impact’s television product is superior to WWE’s and chalks that up to Vince McMahon’s sub-par booking.

Late Tuesday night, the Impact Wrestling Hall of Famer admitted she had a few drinks before throwing shade at WWE Chairman Vince McMahon and his “shitty” booking. Apparently there will be more to come later today from the former Knockouts champion.

A fan responded to Gail Kim’s tweet and disagreed with her. She replied, “You obviously haven’t watched lately. We kill them in creative.”

As you can imagine, her claim that Impact is superior to WWE was a controversial take and led to a mixed reaction from her followers. She deemed the people who disagreed with her opinion “trolls” and promised to always speak her mind, no matter how unpopular her opinions may be.

We’ll provide an update if Gail Kim does in fact elaborate on Vince McMahon’s sub-par booking, as she said she would.

• Gail Kim Accuses WWE Management of Racism

It’s been widely believed that WrestleMania 35 would feature the RAW Women’s Championship match in the main event. This would be a history making first for the promotion.

In case you have somehow missed it, one of the biggest storylines this year revolves around the feud between Ronda Rousey, Charlotte Flair, and Becky Lynch. The long-standing belief being that these women would close out the show come April 7th.

This may not be the case, according to Ryan Satin of Pro Wrestling Sheet.

Satin shared that, apparently, Vince McMahon has yet to finalise his decision over which matchup will main event WrestleMania 35.

From what I’ve been told, the actual WrestleMania 35 main event that will be closing the show still hasn’t been set in stone by Vince McMahon.

Do you think there will be major fan outrage if Becky/Ronda/Charlotte aren’t the last match?

— Ryan Satin (@ryansatin) March 13, 2019

The WWE Universe is heavily invested in the feud for the WWE RAW Women’s Championship. Equally so for the women involved. WWE has placed themselves into a position where they could still headline, if Vince McMahon decided.

Kofi-Mania

For what it’s worth, SmackDown Live announcer, Tom Philips, has shared his thoughts on what should main event WrestleMania this year. He admitted that being a SmackDown guy, he “selfishly” would love to see Daniel Bryan vs Kofi Kingston for the WWE Championship close the show.

"I gotta be honest. If it's @TrueKofi that somehow gets a WWE title opportunity against @WWEDanielBryan, I selfishly as the #SDLive guy, would love to see that in the main event."

@TomPhillipsWWE tells @davidlagreca1 & @bullyray5150 why Kofi V Bryan is the WM main event he wants pic.twitter.com/CKJ6S8hQ2U

— SiriusXM Busted Open (@BustedOpenRadio) March 13, 2019

If WWE wanted to finally give Kofi an opportunity with the championship, ending the show with a feel-good moment like that would be an amazing way to do it — one that juxtaposes nicely with Daniel Bryan’s own victory at WrestleMania 30.

Which match would you close the show with? Does the Bryan/Kofi feud have enough momentum to justify main eventing at ‘Mania?

The WWE Universe has quickly invested in the concept of Kofi-Mania. His journey has famously taken him 11 years to scratch and claw to a main event spot. Now he’s on the cusp of finally competing for a major championship.

However, Vince McMahon has put another obstacle in Kofi’s way: a gauntlet match.

If Kofi is victorious, he will get a WWE Championship opportunity at “The New” Daniel Bryan. The men in his way include Randy Orton, Sheamus, Cesaro, Rowan, and US Champion, Samoa Joe. It’ll be no easy feat.

WWE has since uploaded a video with The New Day being interviewed by Kayla Braxton. She presses the point regarding his opportunity, which prompts Kofi to provide a passionate response:

“This is definitely a big mountain to climb, it’s definitely a big mountain to climb,” Kofi admitted. “But my entire career…I realized a very long time ago, that I was never going to be the guy who, ‘Oh, you look so big, let’s put him in the main event scene,’ ‘Oh, this guy’s got the best physique ever, let’s put him in the main event scene.’ For me, it was always going to be the hard way. It’s been hard getting here to this point,” he said.

“It’s been a battle, it’s been a struggle. I would expect it no other way to get to WrestleMania, but if this is the path that I have to take to get to WrestleMania, to fight for the WWE Championship title, I’m going to do it. I’m going to do it.”

B+ Player

When asked how he felt being called a “B+ player,” much in the way that Daniel Bryan was once referred to, Kofi replied:

“They’ll say anything, right? They’ll say anything. They know damn well I’m not a B+ player,” he said. “You can call me whatever it is that you want to call me, you just give me that match and I’ll have to show you otherwise.”

Turning his thoughts to next week’s gauntlet match, Kofi reflected that he was happy to simply have the opportunity.

“That’s the first step, that’s all that I’ve ever wanted. I told you last time, I just need a chance and if it’s going to be through 5 different Superstars, then so be it, y’know. We just…we just got to make it happen.”

“Let’s Get Our Mountain Boots On And Get To Climbing”

Kofi Kingston would later post a tweet, capturing his feelings on this latest obstacle being thrown in his way.

“I’ve always known that my road to the WWE Championship was never going to be an easy one, but next weeks gauntlet match will be a tough and seemingly insurmountable mountain to climb…so let’s get our mountain boots on and get to climbing. #LFG”

I’ve always known that my road to the WWE Championship was never going to be an easy one, but next weeks gauntlet match will be a tough and seemingly insurmountable mountain to climb…so let’s get our mountain boots on and get to climbing. #LFG

— Kofi Kingston (@TrueKofi) March 13, 2019

With WrestleMania 35 now under a month away, and Vince McMahon allegedly undecided over what matchup to close the show with, could we be on the cusp of full-on Kofi-Mania, something that has been 11 years in the making?

The CEO of WWE will address Kofi Kingston’s warning on tonight’s episode of SmackDown Live.

For those who are unaware of what took place at Sunday’s Fastlane event (full results here), Kofi Kingston was told during the pre-show that Mr. McMahon wanted to talk to him about the WWE Championship match which was set to take place later in the night.

McMahon told Kingston that he would be added in the WWE Championship match between Daniel Bryan and Kevin Owens (who replaced Kingston in the first place), making it a triple-threat match, with the condition that The New Day will be banned from ringside. When Kingston made it to the ring he was informed that McMahon actually lied and he was set up for a two-on-one handicap match against The Bar.

Needless to say, The Bar was heavy on Kingston as both Sheamus and Cesaro were allowed to be in the ring at the same time. Big E and Woods came out to the aid of The New Day member, but Shinsuke Nakamura and Rusev stopped them. The Bar won by hitting a double White Noise on Kingston.

• Related:10 Takeaways From WWE Fastlane 2019

In what must have been very hurtful for Kingston, Mustafa Ali was later added in the WWE Championship match, making it a triple-threat. The arena was filled with “We want Kofi” chants during the majority of the beginning of the bout.

Kingston rightfully took to Twitter on Monday afternoon to tell McMahon that he is not going anywhere and he will see him on SmackDown. It was later confirmed by WWE that McMahon will appear on SmackDown to address Kingston’s warning.

I’m not sure what Vince was trying to accomplish last night, but one thing became very clear: He does not want to see me as WWE Champion.

After 11 years, I finally have your attention…and I’m not going away. See you Tuesday @VinceMcMahon ?

— Kofi Kingston (@TrueKofi) March 11, 2019

There's SO MUCH to unpack on tomorrow night's #SDLive, streaming LIVE at 8/7c on @USA_Network! pic.twitter.com/3FfjHPiW7d

— WWE (@WWE) March 12, 2019

Tonight’s SmackDown Live will be taking place at the Nutter Center in Dayton, OH. Make sure to visit SEScoops for full coverage.

• Related: Segment And Matches Set For SmackDown Live

The storyline involving Kofi Kingston’s chase to become WWE Champion will continue on Tuesday’s WWE SmackDown Live episode as he has sent a warning to WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon.

The latest development in this storyline came during WWE Fastlane pay-per-view event where WWE teased Kingston challenging for the strap when McMahon told him that he would be added to the WWE Title Match with champion Daniel Bryan and Kevin Owens.

That didn’t happen as instead, he competed in a 1-on-2 Handicap Match with The Bar, which he lost. Later in the show, it was revealed that Mustafa Ali would be added to the WWE Title match and saw Bryan successfully retain his title. This comes after Kofi replaced Ali in the Elimination Chamber Match at last month’s pay-per-view event.

Kofi sent out the following warning on his official Twitter account when he wrote, “I’m not sure what Vince was trying to accomplish last night, but one thing became very clear: He does not want to see me as WWE Champion. After 11 years, I finally have your attention…and I’m not going away. See you Tuesday @VinceMcMahon”

For the last few weeks, the belief is that Kingston will indeed get his chance to challenge Bryan for the WWE Title at WrestleMania 35 next month.

Former WWE Superstar Rob Van Dam revealed touching advice that Vince McMahon gave to him about taking chair shots to the head years ago.

While promoting his new documentary ‘Headstrong‘, Rob Van Dam spoke to TV Insider and discussed about a conversation that he had with Vince McMahon when he first signed with the company. RVD revealed that McMahon advised him to put his hands up to protect his head from the chair shots but he didn’t want to do it because he wanted to show how tough he was.

“I never knew I could be doing long-term damage. For me, one of the things I enjoy about professional wrestling is showing how tough I am. That’s an outlet for it. I would get hit in the head with a chair, and I knew it would knock my senses a little loopy. This was part of the job for me. I just thought I was really tough because I could take it. Now I feel very fortunate that at this point in life that I don’t have the CTE that the football players have suffered…Vince McMahon told me when I first got into WWE to put my hands up to protect my head from those chair shots.”

Eventually the former WWE Champion argued with Vince McMahon but the boss “went all fatherly on him.”

“I was arguing with him because I was stupid because I thought I was tough. He went all father on me, ‘I’m your father telling you to put your hands up. He was really serious. Now I won’t be cheering on chair shots to the head, but most of my concussions have probably come from landing and hitting the back of my head. So, I’m going to be cautious of that as well. There’s been once or twice I’ve had similar things happen since shooting the movie. Thankfully, I didn’t get concussed.”

RVD also talked about his his wrestling schedule, his upcoming marquee match teaming up with Sabu to face Pentagon Jr. & Fenix at Impact Wrestling’s United We Stand event, AEW, and more. You can read the entire interview by clicking here.

Jim Ross has confirmed he is leaving WWE when his contract expires later this month.

The Hall Of Fame announcer addressed the situation on this week’s Jim Ross Report podcast. After recent discussions with WWE Chairman Vince McMahon, both parties decided they’d be best off going their separate ways.

“After talking a couple of weeks ago with Vince McMahon, we have mutually agreed that I need to move on,” said Ross.

JR says that he still wants to call wrestling, but that either McMahon, or those close to him, do not share that view.

“I still want to play the game, I still want to stay busy, I still think I can do play-by-play, even though others that surround Vince may think I can’t,” Ross said. “I don’t know.”

Ross leaves with no hard feelings, he says.

“I will not be returning to WWE after the 29th of March. I’m leaving with great thoughts, very positive,” said Ross.

“I made a lot of money. Vince was amazing to Jan and myself. He set us up for life, financially, for which I can never repay him.”

JR makes it clear, though, that he is not retiring. In fact, the opposite seems to be the case, as Ross reiterated his desire to call wrestling matches.

“I’m 67. I still feel like I can get the job done doing wrestling play-by-play. So I want to explore that opportunity and that possibility,” Ross said.

Ross admits that though he has his critics within WWE, he does not regret working there, or leave with any animosity.

“I have no regrets. The smartest thing I ever did was come to work for Vince McMahon in 1993,” Ross said.

So, what’s next for JR?

Ross says that his upcoming podcast with Conrad Thompson “looks to be a go”, and leaves the door open to pursuing other opportunities in wrestling.

“We’ll see where the next step takes us… I don’t think I’ll be out of work long.”

Forbes has published its annual Billionaires list. WWE Chairman & CEO Vince McMahon ranked 691 on the list with an estimated personal wealth of $3.2 billion. His net worth nearly doubled over the past year and increased by $1.5 billion.

A new Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing sent out to WWE stockholders on Tuesday has new details regarding the compensation of the company’s top executives.

According to the filing, Vince McMahon took in over $5.6 million for his salary in 2018. This was up from approximately $3 million the previous year. The increases primarily came from over $1.5 million in stock awards and a significant increase in his non-equity incentive plan compensation.

Triple H (Paul Levesque), WWE’s Executive Vice President, Talent, Live Events & Creative, made over $5 million last year. $3 million of that was categorized as “other compensation” consisting “principally of performance fees and royalties paid to Mr. Levesque as one of the Company’s top talent.”

WWE’s top paid executives for 2018 were George Barrios (Co-President, Principal Financial Officer) and Michelle Wilson (Co-President). They each netted around $9.1 million, largely in part due to $7 million in stock awards. Executive Producer Kevin Dunn made $5.9 last year, with $4.1 million coming from stock awards.

As of this writing, WWE stock is valued at 82.60 per share, giving the company a market cap of $6.45 billion.

You can view a PDF of the SEC filing here.

A new lawsuit filing has shed some light as to why WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon decided to revive the XFL.

Sports Business Reporter Darren Rovell noted on his Twitter account on Monday that a new lawsuit was filed by Robert Vanech against the Alliance of American Football and Charlie Ebersol, who is the son of Dick Ebersol.

In the lawsuit, Vanech alleges it was his idea to come up with the league and that he is entitled to 50% ownership due to the ideas he had for the league now being credited to others.

Also, it was noted that the original plan for the AAF to resurrect the XFL name themselves. The AAF officials went as far as having a meeting with McMahon and NBC officials to offer them $50 million to buy the XFL property.  It turns out that after this meeting, McMahon decided to relaunch the league on his own.

Charlie Ebersol was the director of ESPN’s 30 for 30 documentary on the XFL. The relaunch season for the XFL kicks off in 2020 on Saturday, February 8 and Sunday, February 9. It should be noted that this is the weekend following the NFL’s Super Bowl. The following cities will host teams of the rebooted XFL:

• Dallas
• Houston
• Los Angeles
• New York
• St. Louis
• Seattle
• Tampa Bay
• Washington, DC

Vince McMahon has been the creative force behind WWE for over 30 years. There are WWE wrestlers who weren’t even born yet when Vince booked Andre The Giant vs. Hulk Hogan back in 1987. For all the moving parts that make up the WWE machine, the global empire we know today was built on his vision.

Over the weekend, the WWE Network Twitter account posted a throwback clip from Vince’s 2014 appearance on the Stone Cold Podcast. The clip featured McMahon talking about the Monday Night War and WWE jumping to WCW.

There was a time when WCW had many advantages over WWE. WCW was backed by a billion dollar corporation, while WWE was privately owned and struggling to stay afloat. WCW lured away key talent by offering big-money guaranteed contracts. Some of those wrestlers were given control over their characters, which Vince saw as a vulnerability for his competition.

"You need someone to be able to sit back and help that talent develop." #StoneColdPodcast pic.twitter.com/9GOYRQ5u6g

— WWE Network (@WWENetwork) February 24, 2019

“You need someone to be able to sit back and help that talent develop,” McMahon said. He stressed the need for one leader in charge who has the final word. Wrestlers refusing booking their own angles and refusing to lose in certain situations ultimately did contribute to the demise of WCW’s creative direction.

Wrestlers Booking Themselves, Creative Freedom

It’s interesting to note the timing of @WWENetwork posting this ‘random’ clip. WWE will soon have legitimate competition for the first time in many years. All Elite Wrestling is gearing up for their first show in May.

AEW executives and talent have been talking about what sets them apart from the competition. One of the competitive advantages AEW has been pushing is, ‘more creative freedom.’ Not only will the performers have more control over how they are portrayed on television, but execs like Cody Rhodes and The Young Bucks will be ‘booking themselves’ in the singles and tag team divisions.

Cody Rhodes spoke about this dynamic back in January. During our exclusive interview with Cody, he admitted there are potential pitfalls in talent wrestlers booking themselves and acknowledged there might be some hiccups with that along the way.

You can check out Cody’s comments below:

• Cody Talks About The Pitfalls Of AEW Talent Booking Themselves

The major discussion amongst the WWE Universe this week has surrounded the recent NXT call-ups to WWE’s main roster.

NXT Champion, Tomasso Ciampa, former-North American Champion, Johnny Gargano, Aleister Black, and Ricochet all performed this week. The Superstars appeared on both Monday Night RAW and SmackDown Live.

Their appearances were announced prior to the shows themselves, surprising fans and backstage talent. It’s reported that Triple H wasn’t fully aware of their call up. Unsurprisingly, the decision is said to have been made by Vince McMahon.

Turns out that Vince’s reasoning lay in wanting to try to improve ratings and shake up what he, allegedly, considers to be “stale” Superstars.

Dave Meltzer discussed the debuts this week on Wrestling Observer Radio. He divulged that “Vince felt that the reason the ratings are down is because the product is stale, the stars are stale, and ‘We don’t have any superstars, and these guys that we have aren’t gonna be superstars so we need to make new superstars, so we gotta get guys that we haven’t ruined.’”

The end result of this was the debut of the aforementioned quartet. It’s worth noting that every match wrestled by an NXT Superstar this week was subsequently won by NXT talent.

Apparently, WWE’s plans for the foreseeable future is to have these four men work all three main brands until a more concrete decision is made.

Not everyone was thrilled by the debuts, with TJP taking to Twitter to vent his frustrations. Although not necessarily connected, Tye Dillinger did ask for his release this week.

One of WWE’s worst kept secrets is the fact that Vince McMahon enjoys control. It’s an incontrovertible truth that has been apparent for decades. His thirst for maintaining that control over the WWE Universe extends to the very language that is permitted by his roster and on-air talent.

Catching up with his friend “Diamond” Dallas Page on his podcast, Talk Is Jericho, Chris Jericho shared a number of terms currently banned within WWE.

The conversation was sparked after Jericho accidentally referred to DDP’s fitness programme, DDPY, as “yoga.” This prompted Page to correct him. That then caused Jericho to remark that DDP sounded like Vince McMahon and his list of banned words.

Common terms, once accepted, are taboo as far as Vince is concerned.

Jericho explained further, using championships as an example: “‘Hey Vince, I don’t know if I should lose the belt. [Puts On Vince McMahon Impression] ‘The what?’ ‘Sorry, the title,’” Jericho joked.

Trying to justify Vince’s logic — the “Vince verbiage” — Jericho added, “You couldn’t say ‘belt’ because a belt is what you use to hold up your pants.”

As far as WWE’s fanbase goes, they aren’t ‘fans,’ per se. Instead, they must always be referred to (by all on-air talent) as the ‘WWE Universe.’

“You couldn’t say ‘fans’ because it’s the ‘WWE Universe’ — and never say ‘marks’ because [Puts On Vince McMahon Impression] ‘They’re not marks, they’re our fans!’”

What do you make of Vince’s banned words? Does it make for a unique product or is it totally unnecessary?

WWE Superstar Kofi Kingston recently spoke to the The Canton Repository. The New Day member stated that the group worked so well due to their incredible chemistry. Kofi stated that he has not argued with Big E or Xavier Woods since their formation nearly 5 years ago.

“The stars aligned, and our chemistry is unbelievable. When we go out there, we’re having genuine fun. We’re not just characters going out there acting like it; it’s actual fun we’re having, and people feel that energy and want to be a part of it,” Kofi commented. “We’ve been traveling together for almost five years now, and we’ve never gotten into a fight ever. We all have the same interests and same hobbies, and we all want to be the best and at the forefront of sports entertainment in WWE. We’re fortunate to be in that position.”

Kofi also discussed what Vince McMahon thought of the group and their original positive preacher gimmick. Kingston also described what vision the WWE Chairman had for the three Superstars. “From the very inception of New Day, we told Vince McMahon no matter what he gave us we would be able to make it work, because we believe in the chemistry we had,” Kofi stated. “Going back and forth with Vince, we had a very different idea of what we wanted it to be. The idea he came back with, we said, ‘OK, he’s really gonna test us on this guarantee we gave him of making anything he gave us work.’ But we just kept doing it, and we evoked a lot of emotion from people, and really, that was what it was all about. Eventually, we kind of got to do what we first wanted, and over time it turned into what it is now.”

More XFL news is coming your way tomorrow (Thurs. February 7, 2019). The first of eight head coaches/general managers will be announced in Dallas, per a report from NBC Sports. The XFL has decided to make the announcement ahead of The Alliance of American Football’s (AAF) inaugural season, which kicks off this weekend (Sat. February 9, 2019).

The report includes that former Oklahoma football coach Bob Stoops will be announced as the Dallas team’s coach. It was also expected that former Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Greg Schiano would join the XFL. However, he was recently scooped up by the New England Patriots as their new defensive coordinator.

More announcements regarding team names, colors, rosters, uniforms, and more are expected in the coming months. It’s rumored that a TV deal is close to being finalized. The XFL has also named Jeffrey Pollack the league’s President & COO. It was already announced that the XFL will officially kick off on Saturday, February 8th and Sunday, February 9th next year, just after the NFL’s Super Bowl.

Eight cities have already been given teams for the inaugural season. Those being Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, St. Louis, Seattle, Tampa Bay, and Washington, DC.

What do you think about the way the XFL is shaping up as 2020 approaches?

The New Day wasn’t always the fun-loving group they are today. Over time, the New Day members were able to add their own inflection onto their WWE characters, eventually turning into the trio known and loved today, becoming a group that may just be around forever.

That’s not to say, however, that New Day has always been popular amongst the WWE Universe.

New Day member, Xavier Woods, recently sat down with Corridor Cast. They spoke about a time when the group were starting to get booed, receiving ‘New Day Sucks’ chants. Wishing to lean into that momentum, Woods wanted to turn the group heel. Vince McMahon, however, didn’t believe that would work — primarily because of long-time babyface, Kofi Kingston.

Xavier would then make a unique bet with Vince: if he couldn’t get Kofi booed in four weeks, he would relinquish his place within the New Day.

“If I Can’t Make Good On This, Then I Don’t Deserve To Be Here”

“When they let us make the group, we were good guys. For the industry terms, we were babyfaces, and we thought we should be bad guys, heels, and after a while, some things happened and people were chanting, ‘New Day sucks,’ and it’s like, ‘Ok, yes, cool. They’ll let us turn a corner and we can be bad guys now,’ and they thought that since Kofi had been a babyface for so long that they wouldn’t boo him, and so, to me, I was like, ‘No, we’re in control of that. I guarantee you…’”

He continued, “I went to Vince McMahon and I was like, ‘If you give us — if you give me a microphone four weeks in a row, I guarantee you that they’ll boo Kofi Kingston, and he was like, ‘You really believe in this that much?’ I said, ‘Yes, I believe that I can do it’, and he goes, ‘Four weeks? And if you don’t do it in four weeks then what happens?’”

Woods’ response?

“I said if I don’t do it in four weeks, you’ve got 60 dudes in developmental that deserve this spot more than I do. [Vince responded with], ‘I can send you home? Get ready,’ and I said, ‘You should if I can’t do it. If I can’t make good on this, then I don’t deserve to be here,’ and he’s like, ‘Alright.’”

Thankfully, his gamble paid off as The New Day would eventually turn heel before establishing themselves as one of the top babyface groups in the company.

It looks like WWE officials are planning on raising the pay of their talents this year. Per a report from Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, talents are being told that the money for WWE’s new TV deal will kick in later this year. As a result, the new contracts will be way up to the ones that they previously signed. WWE recently reached a deal with FOX to begin airing SmackDown Live.

The blue brand will begin airing on FOX this October. WWE also renewed their deal with NBCUniversal, meaning Monday Night RAW will continue to air on USA Network. Also, there has been some chatter of new deals being the equivalent to that of other sports leagues. Meaning, talents are signed for a set price, and anything earned above that is a bonus or percentage of merchandise sales.

Meltzer also noted that WWE is no longer a live event or pay-per-view (PPV)-driven business. It’s now a guaranteed TV rights-driven business. There will be plenty of money to go around for WWE stars who opt to re-sign. Thanks to the two big deals from FOX and NBCUniversal, WWE will be making $2.34 billion over 5 years.

What do you think about WWE stars possibly getting a pay raise as a result of the new TV deals?

Tag team wrestling just isn’t what it used to be anymore. Today, tag team wrestling isn’t as big of a focus point for WWE as it used to be. In past generations, tag teams were some of WWE’s biggest stars. Names like The Rockers, Money Inc., The Steiners, The Dudley Boyz, The Hardy Boyz, Edge and Christian, and so many more come to mind. Today, however, there doesn’t seem to be any tag teams that really get fans pumped like they used to.

Much of that can be attributed to the lack of commitment WWE gives to helping the tag team division grow. This is why teams like The Revival are becoming frustrated with their position in the company, and requesting their release. Tag team legends Edge and Christian commented on this during their podcast, “E&C’s Pod Of Awesomeness.”

Commitment To Tag Team Wrestling

During the show, WWE Hall Of Famer Edge questioned Vince McMahon’s commitment to tag team wrestling. He doesn’t believe “The Chairman Of The Board” sees money in the division:

“I don’t know how much Vince [McMahon] will ever focus on tag teams because I don’t think he sees money in it. There can be. We’ve proven there can be, and the Rock ‘N’ Roll Express has proven there can be, and the Dudleys and the Road Warriors.

“And there [are] a lot of instances proving that tag team wrestling, and I know that Steve Austin would be one to throw his hat into this ring. Tag team wrestling can be the best match on the show.” Edge said.

“I just don’t know if Vince is ever going that way. I think any time that tag team wrestling has made any kind of headway on the show it [has] almost been by accident without anybody realizing that it’s happening!”

What do you think about Edge’s comments on Vince McMahon’s commitment to tag team wrestling?

H/T Wrestling Inc. transcriptions

WWE is loading up this week’s episode of SmackDown Live and for good reason. On Saturday, the company confirmed that Chairman Vince McMahon would be making an appearance on this show.

He’ll be moderating a face to face confrontation between WWE Champion Daniel Bryan and AJ Styles. This will be to hype their upcoming title match at the first pay-per-view event of the new year for the WWE, Royal Rumble.

This is not only the latest development in the program between Bryan and Styles but also for the ongoing story between Styles and McMahon, which was started last month once McMahon questioned if Styles still had a fire in him as he slapped the former champion.

Tuesday’s episode of WWE SmackDown Live is slated to go down in Wichita, KS at the INTRUST Bank Arena. Also announced for this show include Mustafa Ali battling Samoa Joe in a singles match and Rey Mysterio and Andrade to collide in 2-out-of-3 Falls Match.

This will be an important show for SmackDown Live as it will serve as the go-home show of the blue brand for the Royal Rumble pay-per-view event that goes down on Sunday, January 27, 2019 in Phoenix, Arizona at Chase Field that will air on the WWE Network.

WWE has hyped up a number of talent that they are calling up from NXT to their main roster. The company played a video package introducing the WWE Universe to those names, helping to create a sense of recognition for the eventual debuts.

This wasn’t enough, however, for Vince McMahon.

Get Familiar

According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Vince McMahon believes that each NXT call-up needs to be seen via backstage segments.

Vince reportedly believes this will help fans know who these NXT Superstars actually are once their main roster plans are finalized. He seems to be of the opinion that most of the WWE Universe will not be familiar with them. This is despite NXT’s popularity and the video package to help introduce them.

This is also why these past few weeks have seen random interactions between established main roster members and the former-NXT Superstars.

The NXT Superstars that have been appearing, waiting to know which brand to call home, include EC3, Lacey Evans, Sanity’s Nikki Cross, Heavy Machinery, and Lars Sullivan.

Do you like this method? Do you agree with Vince, or do you believe there could be a more organic and impactful way to introduce this new crop of talent?

This is probably the best time in nearly 20 years to be a professional wrestler. Especially after the announcement of All Elite Wrestling (AEW), there are so many options out there for talent. From New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW), to Ring Of Honor (ROH), AEW, or WWE, companies are willing to pay big money for top stars. However, WWE has apparently been getting super aggressive as of late.

Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that WWE stars have been told, if they can show an offer on paper, WWE will beat out the deal. Some have even been told they’ll double the contract on the spot if they immediately sign with WWE. This idea came around after Bandido decided to sign with ROH over WWE. Interestingly enough, WWE opted not to match or double AEW’s offer to Chris Jericho.

There’s an extremely competitive market right now for promotions. ROH, NJPW, WWE, and AEW are essentially in bidding wars with one another at times, competing for talent. Probably the hottest free agent on the market will be Kenny Omega, whose deal with NJPW is set to expire at the end of the month. The belief is that he’ll leave NJPW in favor of either WWE or AEW, with the latter being his likely landing point.

What do you think about WWE offering to match offers from other promotions?

Chris Jericho made an immediate impact when he signed with All Elite Wrestling. This revelation occurred during AEW’s recent Double Or Nothing event rally on January 8th.

Since then, pro wrestling fans worldwide have been buzzing with anticipation over what a wrestling renaissance man like Jericho will bring to the startup promotion.

Recently, Jericho spoke with WSVN-TV Entertainment reporter, Chris Van Vliet. They discussed a number of topics ranging from All Elite Wrestling to speculation over other big names that could become involved with the company, and even provided an update on Roman Reigns’ current health. They also addressed how Jericho approached Vince McMahon regarding signing his AEW contract.

When asked when he had decided to sign with AEW, Jericho responded, “As the past year progressed, going from New Japan to All In to The Cruise, and kind of seeing how life was on the other side, I realized, like The Young Bucks, like Kenny Omega and these guys, you can make a good living outside the WWE. Then when you have a billionaire getting involved, suddenly you have the biggest offer of my career — by far — I couldn’t say no. For the next three years, it’s AEW. That’s where I’m signed, and that’s the contract that I have.”

Future AEW Talent?

With the excitement surrounding AEW, names have already been bandied about as to who else could end up with the company. Two that Jericho was asked about included CM Punk and Kenny Omega.

Jericho stated that Punk’s “not so much a free agent as he is a retired wrestler,” though he would love to have Punk involved.

Regarding Omega, Chris said “Once I signed, the last remaining huge free agent is Kenny Omega. Jericho and Omega were the two. Where’s he gonna end up? I hope it’s with AEW, I really do. I guess we’ll find out because his contract ends very quickly.”

Vince McMahon

When it came to telling his former boss, Vince McMahon, over his ultimate decision, Jericho recalled that he “[…] spoke to Vince before I signed, and he knew it. The words we exchanged were very amicable, and it wasn’t like it was a surprise. Business is business. Vince McMahon is my friend; I respect him, I love the guy — no ill will whatsoever, just the business road took me this way. I would’ve been crazy not to do it because I might insult somebody. I think the first guy who would agree with that is Vince.”

The Big Dog

Jericho then provided a health update on WWE Superstar, Roman Reigns, saying:

“He’s doing his treatment, and I think things are going really well. I don’t really know much about leukemia,” he admitted. “I don’t know what the endgame is as far as when you’re ‘cured’ — when it goes into remission, when you can do physical matches or travel or whatever it is. But we talk to him quite a bit. I’ve got a group text with him in it, and I text him on the side quite a bit. He always seems to be doing pretty well and in good spirits.

We love him, and I think it’s just a matter of time before he comes back. But more importantly that he stays healthy for his family, for sure.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZh8yGNUd_4

Vince McMahon At WWE PC

This past Monday, WWE CEO Vince McMahon was in Florida for RAW. During his visit, “The Chairman Of The Board” stopped by Orlando’s WWE Performance Center alongside Triple H, per PWInsider. Such an appearance is likely a rarity for McMahon, who hasn’t been seen at the PC much before.

• How Vince McMahon Initially Felt About Eddie Guerrero

Bobby Roode On WWE Stars Competing For TV Time

One-half of the WWE Monday Night RAW Tag Team Champions, Bobby Roode, was recently interviewed by The Mirror in the UK. Roode opened up about WWE stars competing for television time, and how fortunate he has been to have been involved in storylines on both SmackDown Live and RAW:

“It’s one of those things, everyone wants that opportunity to show what they can do,” Roode said. “But there are so many hours of television… I have been very fortunate to be at the forefront of that and be in storylines on Raw and Smackdown now.

“So it is competitive, but I think everybody has an understanding of how it works and how things are going – you have to be patient and stay positive. If you aren’t on TV one week, hopefully the next week you’ll have that opportunity to go out there, whether it be a five minute match or a backstage promo.

“You just have to make the best of every opportunity you get and hope something sticks.”