Jim Ross has updated his blog with a fantasy booking scenario for The Undertaker and Brock Lesnar, involving their match at SummerSlam and culminating in a final encounter at WrestleMania 32 next April.

JR suggests that Brock Lesnar should once again defeat The Undertaker at SummerSlam. Two straight losses to the Beast Incarnate would then the Undertaker to challenge Brock Lesnar to one last match, putting his career on the line against Lesnar at WrestleMania 32. Taker would go over at WrestleMania, avenging his broken streak at what’s shaping up to be WWE’s biggest show of all time. Ross wrote at JRsBarBQ.com:

“In Taker’s last match, he wins a legit, Slobber Knocker after which, much to the shock and awe of everyone watching, eyes Lesnar, relaxes his expression and either embraces or shakes hands with his toughest foe ever out of respect for the Beast Incarnate who broke ‘The Streak.’ Taker figuratively passes the torch to Lesnar s the toughest animal in WWE which makes Lesnar an even bigger fan favorite.”

With Lesnar signed to WWE for years to come, this latest passing of the torch would enhance Lesnar’s star power even further as the company’s top special attraction.

On his Ross Report podcast this week, JR laid out an alternative scenario for The Undertaker’s final match at WrestleMania 32 involving John Cena, which you can hear about at PodcastOne.com.

WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross recently updated his official Q&A section, answering questions from fans on a wide variety of topics. Below are some of the highlights:

On if he was on the infamous WWE “Plane Ride from Hell.”: “There was one plane ride from hell and yes I was on it. Of course we knew the details would become public. What in wrestling doesn’t?”

On if Tyson Kidd getting injured in match with Samoa Joe will hurt Joe in WWE: “I think not…just one of those things that can happen in the ring unfortunately.”

On possibly having a big Divas elimination match at Survivor Series: “That might work but I agree that something needs to be done with the main roster Divas. Any creative idea is all about the build and execution as many things solely look good on paper.”

On if WWE will have Conor McGregor at WrestleMania 32: “Haven’t thought that aspect of it through but if Rousey is in Wrestlemania Texas she would likely be the only UFC star involved.”

On Undertaker’s future: “I don’t share the feeling that the match has been overlooked. I see Taker perhaps having one more match this year and calling it a career at Wrestlemania Texas.”

Check out more Jim Ross Q&A online at JRsBarBQ.com.

• BACKSTAGE NEWS: USA Network UPSET w/ WWE Over Tough Enough!

As reported last week, former WWE Superstar Rey Mysterio performed a Terminator-themed ring entrance at the AAA iPPV event in Mexico, one that many who saw it say it was better than the one Triple H did at WrestleMania.

Mysterio has actually signed a deal with Paramount Pictures in Mexico to work as an ambassador.

Prior to movies airing in theaters across Mexico, there are clips shown that feature Mysterio giving a personal introduction.

Mysterio is scheduled to do similar introductions for the upcoming movies Mission Impossible, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Transformers.

NEW PHOTO GALLERY: CONTROVERSIAL Pics Of RONDA ROUSEY In SKIMPY Outfits

(Credit: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)

– As announced earlier this week, WWE is offering another free month of the WWE Network in June, the third month in a row that they have gone this route. Because the free month promotion seems to be a success in terms of subscriptions, it is believed that WWE will continue to offer free months on a pretty regular basis going forward, with August, January and the WrestleMania months as the likely exceptions.

– Following his surgery to repair his injured shoulder, former NXT Champion Sami Zayn is expected to remain on the sidelines until October. Whether or not he returns to the NXT brand or the main roster remains to be seen, as prior to his injury, WWE had plans to move Zayn up to the main roster. With the lengthy absence, it is expected that Zayn will return to NXT before moving up to the main roster.

• Photos: Ronda Rousey Turns Heads With Revealing Outfit At Entourage Premiere!

(Credit: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)

WWE and DK Publishing recently released the “WWE: Attitude Era” book, which looks at one of the biggest boom-periods in WWE history. John Canton of WhatCulture.com has a new article up about one of the stories from the book, where Sting spoke about nearly signing with WWE in 2003.

“I had been negotiating with Vince [McMahon], and one of the ideas was for me to debut at the end of WrestleMania XIX and confront ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin,” Sting said in the book. “Negotiations fell apart and it never happened, but it makes you wonder, ‘What if?'”

Sting continued, “That was one of the times I was talking with Vince, and it would’ve been an incredible night that would’ve translated into some major, major rivalries and match-ups for years to come.”

Check out the complete article at WhatCulture.com.

• Ronda Rousey On Shaquille O’Neal’s Comments About A Fight With Her

WWE Hall Of Famer Ric Flair recently spoke with the folks at the Inside The Ropes podcast about a number of topics. Below are some highlights from the interview.

On his recent comments about getting back in the ring: “Physically I’m more than capable but it’s a cosmetic issue now so I’d need time to prepare. I’ve always wanted to manage Dolph Ziggler but ya know if they were to ask me to get back in the ring tomorrow my answer would be yes and I could work with anybody. I’ve actually worked with Ziggler before when he was in the group (Spirit Squad) I love all those kids. I think I’ve had enough of Brock Lesnar, I don’t think I could do that one again. I don’t think I could take 17 German suplexes. I could work with any of the kids but I don’t think that’s going to happen, I just meant I’m physically cleared to go out there and bounce around or drop an elbow on a sports coat. I’d love to be a part of it again.”

On The Undertaker’s legacy and saluting Flair during his retirement: “First of all, I think the world of him personally. He’s a wonderful person. On top of being one of the top ten performers of all time, he’s got the greatest gimmick in the history of the business. When I first started coming to Europe with him in the 90’s, I had no idea. There were ten thousand people dressed up like The Undertaker. I had no idea how much of an impact he made over here. I was very surprised he did that. Not because he doesn’t respect me but he just doesn’t come out in public. You know you’re never gonna see him at the front row at the Hall of Fame. He’s backstage listening to every work. It’s not that he’s not in attendance, he’s back there with Vince. He’s a wonderful guy.”

On his memories of his match with Randy Savage at WrestleMania 8: “It’s funny because it was just an average match. There was so much tension at that time between Randy and Liz. As a matter of fact, that was the last time they were together, they split the next day. It was just very uncomfortable. Not working with Randy or Liz individually, they’re great people but there was just tension between them and that was the last time they worked together there. I thought the match was OK but it could’ve been better and it wasn’t out individual abilities there was just a lot going on behind the scenes that people weren’t aware of. I felt bad. I was honored to be a part of it and be in a main event at WrestleMania but there was so much going on behind the scenes that I felt bad for everybody involved.Not for me, but they were going their separate ways and it was difficult. He cared for her a great deal.”

Check out the complete interview at Podomatic.com.

• Alberto Del Rio Makes Interesting Comments About Goldberg Fight Rumors!

– ESPN and FOX have both expressed interest in hiring Renee Paquette (Renee Young) to do mainstream sports news reporting for them once her deal with WWE expires. Whether or not Young is entertaining these offers is unclear as of right now.

– The talk going around backstage in WWE among the staff is that Vince McMahon has made it abundantly clear to everyone that WrestleMania absolutely has to sell out next year at the Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

– The ESPN E:60 piece on NXT, which focuses primarily on Xavier Woods, Corey Graves and Adam Rose, will be replaying on ABC on June 21st at 5pm EST.

• RONDA ROUSEY Worried About Nude Photos Of Her Leaking Online!

(Credit: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)

The Chicago Tribune has a new article up on Vince McMahon’s induction into the Boys & Girls Clubs of America Hall Of Fame, and during the interview, McMahon spoke about CM Punk.

When asked if he is tired of the “CM Punk! CM Punk!” chants in Chicago from WWE fans, McMahon simply replied, “No. No.”

McMahon also spoke about WrestleMania possibly being held in Chicago.

“I wouldn’t say Chicago is out of the running. We can do colder environments. We went to (MetLife) Stadium (in New Jersey). People wear coats to football. Why won’t they were jackets and so forth to Wrestlemania? They will.”

McMahon concluded, “Chicago will definitely be in the running in the future.”

Check out the complete article at ChicagoTribune.com.

• Ronda Rousey The Latest Victim Of Celebrity Nude Photos Leaking Online?!

With all the things you can criticize WWE for these days, the company should be commended on doing an excellent job in elevating their secondary championships.

If you flashback to around this time last year, the WWE World Heavyweight Championship was virtually ‘on ice,’ only being defended on major pay-per-view events due to the champion at the time — Brock Lesnar — working under a special, limited-date contract.

Now, at the time, you could make sense of it, and even Vince McMahon himself did when asked about the topic during his interview on the short-lived “Steve Austin Show” live WWE Network podcast, as he pointed to the fact that having Lesnar defend the biggest title in the company on an infrequent basis made World Title matches feel that much more important.

Fast forward to the present day, and when it comes to championships in WWE — all systems are “go.”

First and foremost, we finally have a fighting WWE World Heavyweight Champion. Sure, the storyline surrounding Seth Rollins, the current world champion, is that he chickens away from ‘the big fight.’ At the end of the day, however, the bell eventually rings, the referee raises the golden belt up high, and two or more competitors end up vying for the richest prize in all of sports entertainment.

Now, move down one level to the two secondary championships. For the longest time, the WWE United States Championship and the WWE Intercontinental Championship, for all intents and purposes, were viewed as a total joke by the WWE Universe — and rightfully so.

Not anymore.

WWE came up with a great idea heading into WrestleMania 31 this year — put more significance behind their secondary titles. First, slap the U.S. title belt around John Cena’s waist. In a bit of irony, it was Cena who really launched his career off of his first U.S. title run, so in a story-telling fashion, his story comes full circle.

So, basically, WWE decided that now that they want to elevate some new blood into the top spots in the company, they decided to put one of their secondary titles — in this case the U.S. title — on arguably the biggest star in the company today.

On the flip side of the coin, when it comes to the WWE Intercontinental Championship, WWE decided to put that belt on the most popular wrestler in terms of the fans — the leader of the “Yes! Movement,” Daniel Bryan.

And that brings us to Monday’s WWE Payback ‘go-home’ edition of RAW.

After being unable to defend his WWE Intercontinental Championship against Bad News Barrett at the recent WWE Extreme Rules pay-per-view as originally scheduled, WWE played the waiting game to find out how the latest round of the Daniel Bryan injury-bug would work out. As it turns out, whatever Bryan is going through is serious enough that WWE felt they had no choice but to have him surrender the Intercontinental Title on live television, much like they had him do shortly after he won the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania XXX last year.

The idea behind his forefitting of the title last night was where the plan regarding secondary titles in WWE remains in tact. The reason given by Bryan, delivered in a passionate way I should add, was that the WWE Universe deserves a fighting champion. A top contender who deserves the right to bust his ass day-in and day-out, city-to-city, state-to-state, country-to-country and even continent-to-continent, all for the right to try and earn what is now once again slowly being viewed as a title of importance. One of value. One worth fighting to obtain.

Where WWE goes next with the Intercontinental Championship in particular remains to be seen in terms of how far they are willing to go to try and elevate the perceived importance of the title.

Basically put, the company can go one of two ways, as I see it. You can follow the mandate that they have been following since this year’s WrestleMania, which is find the most over performer with the fans, give him the I-C title, and try and get the belt over that way, so that in the future, the belt can make the man, as opposed to the current formula, where the man makes the belt.

Their second option is to try and do the opposite. Put the title on an up-and-comer who has the goods to deliver, but just needs something to put him over the edge so he is viewed as a bigger deal than he already is. Names like Neville and Sami Zayn come to mind.

Zayn, depending on his injury, would make a great impact on the main roster by giving U.S. Champion John Cena all he could handle — with an injury no-less, in his first high-profile match on RAW since having his run as NXT Champion in WWE’s developmental system, and then go on to win the next high-profile match he is in and become the brand new WWE Intercontinental Champion.

Keep reading on Page 2 …

– The Authority are officially scheduled for tomorrow night’s episode of Raw.

The TV Guide preview reads: “With WWE Payback looming, The Authority, Triple H and Stephanie McMahon, return in attempt to stabilize RAW.”

Stephanie has been off television since the post-WrestleMania edition of Raw due to a trip she took overseas for the Eisenhower USA Fellowship, an international leadership exchange program for outstanding professionals.

– The latest WWE Special Editions issue available exclusively on newsstands recaps WrestleMania 31.

– In this newly released interview, Finn Balor talks about his time in NXT and the brand’s growth in recent years, what it’s like being backstage at WrestleMania, and some dream matches he’d like to have with WWE main roster talent.

• Did Randy Savage and Stephanie McMahon Have A Relationship?

WWE Chairman Vince McMahon took part in a Q&A session at “The Corner Office” and spoke about whether or not it was more difficult to make WWE a success in the beginning than it was to keep it a successful business today.

“Both are challenging,” McMahon replied. “At WrestleMania 1, we mortgaged everything we owned, hoping it would be a success.”

“It was a huge gamble that paid off. Today, the challenge is to stay relevant, take advantage of new technologies and continue to evolve. The one constant is to approach every day like it’s my first day on the job with fresh thinking and new ideas.”

McMahon concluded, “But to answer your question directly, it is extremely difficult to get to the top but even more difficult to stay there.”

Check out more from Vince McMahon’s Q&A at Advisornet.org.

• JERRY LAWLER: WWE Stars FAR Outshine UFC Stars In Popularity [READ >>]

WWE Superstar Ryback recently spoke with Slam! Wrestling to promote next Monday’s edition of WWE RAW in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Below are some highlights from the interview.

On WWE developmental: “It constantly evolves. We are very fortunate to have that developmental system now, with guys from the past, legends of the WWE. Triple H has gone out and brought some of the best wrestlers in the world to NXT and when you’re bringing great wrestlers like that it does nothing but step-up the competition from everyone around it. It’s a very exciting period for WWE right now because what it does is when these guys will come to the main roster, it makes everybody work harder. When you have a competitive environment like that, everybody wins.”

On crowd reactions and the post-WrestleMania fans: “I’ve learned from John Cena early on that as long as the crowd is making noise, let them make noise. The whole point of this is that this is entertainment, this is WWE, you pay for a ticket, you come out, you want to have a good time. Ultimately, we would like to be the ones that dictate the responses, but sometimes, that’s not the case. And if we have a crowd like that that just want to have fun, who wants to do the wave, who wants to chant, let them chant whatever they want to chant.”

“In my head we’re stupid to try. The best thing to do is to have fun and let go and just soak up the moment and just live the moment. I’m at a point in my career where I’m having so much fun. I don’t want to say being in the ring is getting easy, but everything is like a baseball player who sees the ball really slow and who’s on a hot streak. I feel like my mind is working very efficiently in the ring right now and I’m very confident. The crowd was having the time of their life screaming and so was I. I know sometimes, guys get a little upset when they’re in there wrestling and doing moves and the fans chant whatever they want to chant. Well, my thing is just slow down, take it all in, and quit doing so many moves and just listen to the crowd — because you can get control over them again if you know what you’re doing. I love people having fun here. This is why we all do this for. It was a special night after WrestleMania. I’m not saying that’s what we want all the time, but once or twice a year, it’s a really fun time.”

Check out the complete interview at Canoe.ca.

• WWE Still Convinced Ronda Rousey vs. Stephanie WILL Happen At WM32

Roman Reigns was Michael Cole’s guest on this week’s WWE.com sitdown interview. Reigns spoke about how his match at WrestleMania against Brock Lesnar changed him, Big Show’s recent attacks on him and more. Here’s a recap:

(more…)

– UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Ronda Rousey is the guest on the latest edition of Roddy Piper’s “Piper’s PIt” podcast. You can download the show right now at PodcastOne.com.

– As noted earlier today, NXT standout Finn Balor will be backstage at Monday’s edition of WWE RAW, which emanates from the O2 Arena in London, England. Balor posted the following teaser on his official Twitter account for tonight’s show.

"Ok Vince.. Well, I'm here AND they're here, too… " #BálorClub #WWELondon #RAWLondon #WWE pic.twitter.com/m1AZopJESI

— Finn Bálor (@FinnBalor) April 13, 2015

– The latest edition of WWE’s “What’s Wrong With This Video?” web-series, which you can see below, features ten mistakes purposely added to The Rock vs. Hulk Hogan match from WrestleMania.

• CM Punk TRASHES WWE Stars Trying To Get Into MMA

– Coming out of this year’s WrestleMania, it’s worth noting that all but two of WWE’s current male champions (John Cena and Tyson Kidd) came from Ring Of Honor. WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins, NXT Champion Kevin Owens, WWE Intercontinental Champion Daniel Bryan and one-half of the WWE Tag-Team Champions, Cesaro, all spent time in ROH.

– This week’s edition of NXT featured a look at Hideo Itami’s “Road to WrestleMania,” which led to the following back-and-forth on Twitter between Itami and NXT Champion Kevin Owens.

Thank you for watching @WWENetwork @WWENXT this episode.

I have to study English more…

I will be next NXT CHAMP.#fightOwensfight

— KENTA aka Lil’K (@KENTAG2S) April 9, 2015

https://twitter.com/FightOwensFight/status/585984758167031808

• Former WWE Star Says He Has Beef With CM Punk Over Eve Torres!

When Triple H and The Rock shot an angle during a backstage promo segment on last year’s anniversary edition of WWE SmackDown, there was an understanding that it would lead to a WrestleMania match involving the two.

The reason Triple H vs. The Rock didn’t happen at WrestleMania 31 earlier this year was because The Rock’s schedule was not going to allow him to go through with it. Rock was busy with a long list of media obligations tied to his role in the current box office smash, “Furious 7.” As it turned out, Rock was able to fly to Santa Clara on the day of the event for a promo segment, but nothing more.

When the realization that Rock wouldn’t be able to work a match became clear, that’s when the idea of Triple H vs. Sting became the new direction. When that was decided, it was agreed that HHH would win the match with Sting, keeping him strong and in position heading into WrestleMania 32 to work the originally planned match with The Rock.

As things stand now, Triple H vs. Rock is still the match WWE hopes to promote as one of the special attraction main events for next year’s WrestleMania, however it’s dependent upon a number of factors, most of which remain to be seen, such as Rock’s movie schedule for the next year.

• Former WWE Star Says He Has Beef With CM Punk Over Eve Torres!

(Credit: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)

Former NXT star CJ Parker recently spoke with Inside The Ropes Radio regarding his departure from the company, his last day at WrestleMania 31 and more. Here are some highlights of what he said about:

What Led To His WWE Departure:

“It was something that….It wasn’t an overnight decision. I began to feel that I needed to step away from NXT for a while and broaden my horizons and earn my stripes. Get some experience all over the world. Over the past couple of years, I’ve seen guys come in who are great friends of mine that have made names for themselves all over the world and then they come to NXT and you name it, the rest is history, they take off they do great things. I wanna say a lot of it is prior to their experience in NXT and I wanna go through that. I wanna live out of a suitcase for a while. I wanna wrestle in front of different types of crowds and try to get over all over the world, start from the ground up. I finally said, I’m 25, if I’m gonna do it, I gotta do it now.

His Final Day With WWE, WrestleMania 31:

“It was a beautiful thing actually, my last day and I watched my best buddy in the world win the World Heavyweight Championship. What a great day. To see him go out and accomplish that and just to know how hard he worked and as long as I’ve known him. I felt good. I was happy. I’m really excited about the future so there was no sadness.”

His Experience Working With Bill DeMott in NXT:

“The one thing about Bill that nobody can argue about is that he was extremely, extremely, extremely passionate about NXT and he was always… you could ride up at 7am, think you were early and he was there. You could think you were leaving late, he was still there. He put everything he had into the Performance Center and he put everything he had into NXT, he helped it get off the ground and he was truly… He was proud to be a coach and that’s all I really wanna touch on.”

WWE Hall of Famer “Stone Cold” Steve Austin has addressed several rumors about his relationship with WWE in the latest “Steve Austin Show” at PodcastOne.com. There have been a lot of reports regarding Austin’s status with the company, why he didn’t appear at WrestleMania weekend, the reason he’s not involved in the new season of Tough Enough and more. Here’s what he said:

– He was never supposed to be on The Undertaker’s flight to WrestleMania weekend. He’s not even sure exactly where Taker lives these days, but at no point was Austin supposed to travel with him.

– There were no creative discussions for him to participate at WrestleMania. He didn’t turn down any ideas, he just wasn’t booked to be there. He watched the entire event from home.

– He denies that he has heat with WWE for turning down Tough Enough. He had been in talks with WWE for quite some time to be one of the coaches for the show. They were supposed to start filming in February and March. Because it’s such a big production, things got delayed. By the time WWE was ready to start filming, he had already committed to CMT for a new season of Broken Skull Challenge. Participating in Tough Enough would have been an “absolute blast” because that was his first TV hosting gig. It was a scheduling conflict and nothing more.

– As for his Steve Austin Podcast on the WWE Network, Austin said the reason another installment hasn’t been booked is because the two sides couldn’t agree on a deal.  There is no truth to the reports that Vince McMahon was unhappy with the questions he asked during their interview. There was an offer on the table but they couldn’t get a deal done. He’s on great terms with WWE and is completely open to working with the company again.

There is no animosity from any standpoint between him and WWE.

Google has released the search data for WrestleMania 31. “WrestleMania” had over 1,000,000 searches on Google back on March 31st, the most of any topic online. Here’s a full break down of the top WWE-related searches from WrestleMania Sunday:

• Ronda Rousey (100,000 searches)
• The Undertaker (81,000 searches)
• The Rock (56,000 searches)
• Brock Lesnar (56,000)
• Triple H (52,000)
• Roman Reigns (48,000)
• Seth Rollins (46,000)
• John Cena (41,000)
• Bray Wyatt (22,000)
• Rusev (21,000)
• Stephanie McMahon (15,000)
• Randy Orton (13,000)
• Hulk Hogan (10,000)
• Daniel Bryan (6,000)
• Kevin Nash (6,000)
• Scott Hall (3,000)
• Dolph Ziggler (2,000).

• WWE Changes WM31 Main Event Winner DURING The Show!

– This week’s edition of NXT on the WWE Network will focus entirely on NXT at WrestleMania week, including AXXESS and Hideo Itami qualifying for the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal.

– WWE has announced the following upcoming NXT live events:

• May 1: Tampa, FL (University Area CDC Gymnasium)
• May 2: Cocoa Beach, FL (Cocoa Beach Armory)
• May 7: Jacksonville, FL (Maxwell Snyder Armory)
• May 8: Largo, FL (Minnreg Hall)
• May 9: Orlando, FL (Orlando Armory)

– Steve Michalek, father of the late Connor Michalek, has responded to former WWE ring announcer Justin Roberts questioning the company’s sincerely in honoring Connor.

Regardless of what said, @JustinRoberts loved Connor and we love him.That's what counts.I will never 4get all he did for Connor, and now me.

— ConnorsCure (@ConnorsCure) April 3, 2015

This is what counts, lets please remember. Actions that bring smiles, like these @JustinRoberts gave. pic.twitter.com/PhDLxRWlqc

— ConnorsCure (@ConnorsCure) April 3, 2015

UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Ronda Rousey dia a Twitter Q&A last week to promote her new movie Furious 7.

There were a few WWE-related questions, including some talk about appearing at WrestleMania with her co-star The Rock.

Here’s what she said:

.@AmorJason Wrestle Mania moment by far. The squared circle fits me much better than red carpets.

— Ronda Rousey (@RondaRousey) April 3, 2015

.@GirlieX29 Like being asked to pinch hit in the world series and hitting a home run.

— Ronda Rousey (@RondaRousey) April 3, 2015

.@Imao_Imao I would definitely win and @therock knows it too. ;)

— Ronda Rousey (@RondaRousey) April 3, 2015

After her appearance at WrestleMania, Rousey tweeted that it was “just the beginning.” However, UFC stated last week that her appearance at WrestleMania 31 was a “one off” appearance. That said, WWE officials are still hoping to use Rousey again in the future in a match with Stephanie McMahon. Whether it’s Rousey vs. Steph or Rock and Rousey vs. Triple H and Steph in a mixed tag match, you can bet WWE will do everything they can to once again acquire the services of the box office phenomenon.

– As reported recently, WWE officials have commissioned artwork for a new United States Championship belt. According to one source, this was done at Cena’s request. WWE is looking to put emphasis on their secondary titles such as the Intercontinental Championship and the U.S. Championship, which is why they were put on two of the top stars in the company.

– It was noted earlier this week that WWE made a mistake in saying that the NXT Takeover specials would become a monthly occurrence, as they will remain a quarterly happening. A lot of the NXT talents were said to be disappointed when hearing the news, but many are also said to be riding a high from being such a big part of WrestleMania week this year.

• PHOTOS: Ronda Rousey Looks STUNNING At Furious 7 Premiere!

(Credit: PWInsider.com)

– At Sunday’s WrestleMania 31 PPV, Sting and The Undertaker shared locker room, while Brock Lesnar and Hulk Hogan also shared a room.

– Earlier this week on RAW, some fans noticed that Seth Rollins’ WWE Championship belt did not feature the Seth Rollins “side plates” that WWE tweeted a photo of after WrestleMania. Apparently the Rollins side plates that were ordered did not fit the belt correctly and new ones have been ordered.

– Speaking of WWE’s championship belts, the company is currently working on a new design for John Cena’s United States Championship.

(Credit: PWInsider.com)

Longtime WWE Superstar Kane recently did an in-depth interview with The Two Man Power Trip Of Wrestling podcast, talking about a lot of the big moments throughout his career. Below are some highlights.

On memorable thoughts reflecting on his participation at WrestleMania: “My most memorable WrestleMania ever was my first; At WrestleMania 14 in Boston against The Undertaker that was a huge high point in my career and an absolute highlight of my career. The next year I wrestled Triple H when DX was breaking up and that led to me and Xpac becoming partners and that was a really great time, after that was WrestleMania that was in Anaheim and I was teaming with Rikishi against X-Pac and his partner, which actually is terrible of me but I can’t remember who his partner was. Then the next year it was against Kurt Angle and after that another match with The Undertaker, there has been a lot of stuff.”

On his favorite WrestleMania match: “For me personally it was WrestleMania 14 against Undertaker. I believe that the story of Undertaker and Kane was some of the most epic storytelling WWE he’s ever done. It was something out of Greek Mythology and of course that was the culmination of that whole story and for that reason it made it very special. As for my favorite match as a fan, I would have to say that was Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania 25. If I were to tell anyone, that would be the match that I would point them to. In my opinion it is the greatest match in history and it is just incredible what those two guys did, two absolute icons of our industry and they put on a spectacular performance.”

On wrestling Undertaker at WrestleMania 20: “That one was special because Undertaker had just come back after a hiatus a it was the first time he had been seen and it was completely different than the first WrestleMania match. That was two supernatural figures duking it out essentially and leaving a path of waste wherever they went. Whereas WrestleMania 20 was a little more conventional and that you had just a bad guy versus a very popular good guy so in that respect the build was different and certainly my character was different so if you ask is it one of my favorites? I would take WrestleMania 14 over WrestleMania 20.”

On if he was always a wrestling fan growing up: “I grew up in rural Missouri about two hours north of St. Louis and if the wind was blowing right on a Saturday night I could catch All Star Wrestling out of Kansas City which was run by Bob Geigel and some of the stars there were Bulldog Bob Brower and Ray Candy. Harley Race was based there but Harley was often World Champion so he didn’t wrestle as much there. Once a month though we would go down to my grandmother’s house in St. Louis and at the time in question Wrestling at the Chase was one of the most popular promotions and shows in the country, so once a month I’d get to see all the stars that came through there like Harley Race, Ric Flair and the Von Erich’s. Actually, Baron Von Raschke stands out in my mind because he was such a great villain. Unfortunately, this was before cable TV so I fell off for a while and into high school because I was doing athletics of my own and all that sort of thing but I got back into it at the end of high school and in college. I remember it was at the height of Hulkamania in the late eighties and I still remember going downstairs into a lounge in my dorm room and they were watching Savage vs Steamboat from WrestleMania 3 and I thought it was really awesome. Of course Hogan was on top of the world he was one of biggest things in entertainment and you had the crossover going on with MTV so the WWF was extremely hot and I was always a fan after that. I’ll never forget their first live event I went to at the old Checker-Dome in St. Louis and when Hulk Hogan came out and 10,000 people just lost their minds and I thought to myself that would be really cool to do that and have that sort of impact on somebody. I always thought that it was great athletics and great drama combined into one and I am a fan of both of those.”

On how he broke into the wrestling business: “I was playing college football and I hurt my knee very badly my senior year and I didn’t want to get a real job. I am a fan of the wrestling stuff and because it was pretty hot at the time, I said I am going to go try that (wrestling). I was still trying to play football and at the time the now defunct “World League” was still around but my football future looked very dim and I got involved with a local (wrestling) group and probably didn’t learn great stuff but things that would hamper me down the road as far as the business actually works. But nevertheless, through networking that’s how I met Dutch Mantell (Zeb Coulture) at an Independent show in Southern Illinois and he helped me out. I ended up going to The Malenko Wrestling Academy which was run by Dean (Malenko) but Dean wasn’t spending much time there because he was in Japan but I had the great fortune of being with Larry Simon (The Great Malenko) and I actually got to live with him for about six months. That helped me out tremendously. Eventually, I would go back and forth to Japan for Fujiwara Gumi which was a shoot fighting organization and from there Dutch called for me one day and said that he’d like to bring me to Puerto Rico, so that was my first full-time job and that was in 1994. I spent about nine months working for Carlos Colon and then Dutch was able to get me in with Jim Cornette and Smoky Mountain Wrestling.”

On working with the Rock N’ Roll Express in Smoky Mountain Wrestling: “I learned so much from those guys, especially Ricky Morton. As far as being one of the greatest baby-faces of all time, Ricky Morton is and he really taught me a lot. All those guys who had been around so long like Tracy Smothers, Tony Anthony and Al Snow learning from them the inside the ring performance aspect of the business is not something you can learn by going to a wrestling school.”

On working for Jim Cornette: “Jim wasn’t spending a lot of time with us; he was up in the WWF with the Heavenly Bodies. So it was sort of hit or miss. Jim has a great mind for the business and I think his absence really hurt Smoky Mountain Wrestling because he just wasn’t there to do it every day. At that point he had other fish to fry, but nevertheless you are talking bout a guy that understands especially that particular area and that particular crowd, the “Southern” wrestling, Jim gets it and Smoky Mountain Wrestling was a great example. The motto was “how it ought to be and how you like it” and Jim certainly understood that. But it was a lot of fun working there and a lot of fun working for him.”

On taking his mask off: “Actually, it was my idea because I did feel it was at the point where the mask was restricting what I could do. People ask what the advantages are of wearing a mask and the first thing of course is the mystery people don’t know exactly what Kane is thinking. Taking it off, it also made me a much better performer and that really is what our business is all about. What do you do with the emotion of the audience? Do you want them to you empathize with what you’re doing if you’re the bad guy? You want them to hate you. If you are the good guy, you want them to have sympathy for you. It could be thought of as a form of communication in that respect and because I didn’t have my face, which is how we normally show emotion. I had to rely a lot more on body language and I think that really helped me because I had to concentrate on that and had to think of different ways to be able to betray that emotion without using my face. But then I’m thinking it became a hindrance because at a certain point the novelty is gone and at a certain point it’s time for us all to move along and I think that the most successful characters and most successful people in WWE have been able to reinvent themselves. We see that with Undertaker. He has always been able to reinvent himself and tweak his characters or sometimes change it entirely or Shawn Michaels. The Shawn Michaels that we see today or the one right before he retired is not the Shawn Michaels from 1995. Triple H is that way, John Cena is that way. It is just the nature of our business. Eventually, the novelty is going to wear off. The only people who are behind that decision probably were the only two people that counted and that was Vince and I. Everyone else is of the opinion if it isn’t broke don’t fix it but I think Vince had enough confidence in me as performer that he knew I could pull off and I knew that I could pull it off as well. Not to say there was some trepidation because it is true that if you have something successful you don’t want to mess with it. To me it wasn’t that huge deal because you know you could always put the mask back on, which we would eventually do. At the time it was a pretty big risk and what it did actually was gave me an entirely new career and an entirely new character. It allowed me to do things that I had not been able to be before. Which always makes my job a lot more fun.”

Check out the complete interview at TMPTOfWrestling.com.

• WWE Changes WM31 Main Event Winner DURING The Show!

WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross recently appeared as a guest on the Chad Dukes Wrestling Show to talk about a number of topics. Below are some highlights.

On Global Force Wrestling/New Japan Pro Wrestling: “If they do another one I’m very interested in being involved. I don’t know what New Japan or Jeff’s plans are going forward but if they do another one I’d like to be considered. I’m interested in getting back into the game with them because they’re not every week. They’re special occasions, they’re special events, and that’s kind of an environment that’s good for me. So I’m very much emotionally invested in doing more if the opportunity comes about.”

On Ronda Rousey at WrestleMania: “I’ve been saying on my podcast for the last several months that Ronda Rousey at WrestleMania 32 in Arlington, Texas, the home of the Cowboys, if WWE is truly serious about selling a 100,000 seats or more, then attractions like Ronda Rousey versus Stephanie McMahon will help do that. People say she shouldn’t wrestle, or she should wrestle Ric Flair’s daughter, you want her to wrestle the woman who has the most heat, the most angst, and is the greatest villain, and Stephanie McMahon is an incredible villain. People will pay money to see the babyface, i.e. Ronda Rousey, go against a stacked deck, which you know the McMahons can do. What if Stephanie goes, ‘Oh by the way, my husband is going to be the special referee,’ that type of thing. So you can put the heroine in great jeopardy, you’ll get great outside the box publicity, she has a great fan base that will follow her in any of her endeavors, why do you think movie people are using her so frequently? Fast & Furious, Entourage movie, all that stuff. She has a following and they will follow her to WrestleMania.”

On WWE’s use of Brock Lesnar as Champion: “It harkened back to the days of the traveling NWA Champion, it harkened back to the days of the traveling Andre the Giant. You only saw those guys on special occasions, therefore, they always made an impact when you did see them, they were always special. I think Lesnar is exactly that way by not being overexposed. One of the kisses of death in doing a flagship, three-hour show each Monday is overexposure of talent. I like steak, but I don’t wanna eat it every day. My point is a little bit of Brock goes a long way, like you pointed out so astutely, when he did a appear he made an impact. So I like the way that it’s booked and now he’s the big hero, he’s a big babyface, he’s gonna come for retribution. He’s suspended right now on the storyline, I love that, he has a logical reason storyline wise to not be present. I think WWE has done a magnificent job of setting up what I would book as SummerSlam is Lesnar vs. Rollins, and then I would not have Lesnar and Rollins cross paths through hook or crook until Lesnar wins the Royal Rumble and then he goes to WrestleMania 32 to challenge Rollins for the WWE Title.”

Check out the complete interview at ChadDukesWrestlingShow.com.

• HUGE Update On WWE’s Plans For RONDA ROUSEY vs. STEPHANIE MCMAHON!