Despite not having been in WWE for over a year, Ronda Rousey is one of the most talked-about stars in wrestling at the moment. Rousey’s comments on Jackass star Steve-O’s podcast recently where she referred to wrestling matches as “fake fights” garnered strong reactions from some in the WWE locker room.
After public comments by Lana, Nia Jax, and Alexa Bliss, Rousey Tweeted out a statement about the difference between real MMA fights and choreographed wrestling performances.
Hulk Hogan Co-Signs Rousey’s “Work Yourself Into A Shoot” Tweet
Hogan responded to Rousey’s social media posts on Instagram:
“Wow that’s how I need to wake up every morning instead of coffee, marks always work themselves into a shoot especially when they are in the ring ,truer words have never been spoken, yo Travis love u guys. HH”
Rousey then responded:
“Thank you Balgrin!! I learned from the best!!” Rousey’s reply reads. “the Browsey House loves you!!??”
Rousey has stated previously that she could not pronounce the name “Hulk Hogan” as a kid. It came out “Balgrin” for some reason, so that’s what she referred to him as here. It’s also the name of a character in World of Warcraft.
MLW’s Super Series with AAA began airing on BeIN Sports and YouTube this weekend. This week’s Fusion featured the first two matches in the series. The main event was a National Openweight Championship match between Alexander Hammerstone and Laredo Kid.
The full episode can be viewed in the player below:
MLW Fusion 4/11/20 Quick Results:
Tijuana Street Fight Mortiz & Pagano defeated Mance Warner & Savio Vega
National Openweight Championship Alexander Hammerstone (c) defeated Laredo Kid
It would be impossible to give a full description of all that went on in this match. Suffice to say, the MLW vs AAA series got off to quite the hardcore start when Mortiz & Pagano took on Mance Warner & Savio Vega in the opener. Warner put Mortiz through a flaming table, a car hood was somehow placed in the ring and used, and Savio Vega stabbed Pagano with a series of skewers (like for kabobs), highlighted the many crazy spots in this match.
Warner looked as though he had the match won after putting Mortiz through the flaming table. The referee was distracted, however, as he had to put out the fire that threatened to engulf the ring. This allowed Hammerstone (who left the commentary table after claiming a pharmacy called and his prescription was ready) to interfere. Hammerstone then took out Warner with a bicycle kick, continuing the Warner vs Dynasty rivalry.
With Warner out of the picture, Pagano was able to hit Savio Vega low with a chair before delivering a rolling neckbreaker for the win. AAA goes up 1-0 over MLW after getting the first victory in the series.
Later in the show, it was noted that Mance Warner was furious at the Dynasty backstage.
Before this match began, fans saw an episode of “Lifestyles of The Rich & Dynastic” featuring a hungover Hammerstone and Richard Holliday. The two had gone to a Donkey show the night before and gotten quite drunk evidently.
Laredo Kid broke out many high-flying moves on his much bigger opponent and looked to have the match won at one point. Hammerstone hit the ref with a clothesline and this led to Laredo Kid hitting a Spanish Fly but there being no referee to count the pin. As Laredo Kid turned his attention to the referee, this was all the opening the champion needed. Hammerstone gave Laredo Kid a series of power moves capped off with his Nightmare Pendulum for the win.
Hammerstone gets the win but it seems clear now that he’ll eventually have to face the Southern Psychopath Mance Warner.
At the MLW Fightland show in Philadelphia, King Mo and American Top Team merged with Team Filthy. Mo attacked Killer Kross in the back, essentially sending Kross out of the territory. MLW suspended Mo for the attack but he was allowed to compete while the suspension was being appealed. This week, MLW announced that the courts ruled in their favor and Mo’s suspension was being upheld. The former MMA fighter was suspended for 1-month and fined $10,000.
Tom Lawlor sent in a video reacting to the suspension of his new stablemate. Lawlor said Team Filthy will adapt and that he and Dominic Garrini will enter the tag division. They are setting their sights on the Von Erich brothers and tag team gold.
The 3 members of Injustice have been fined $10k each for their attack on Brian Pillman Jr. recently. They stated in a video this week that they don’t plan on paying the fine. Later, they interrupted an interview with Konnan. Konnan then granted the trio an upcoming title shot against the AAA trios champions Los Jinetes del Aire (El Hijo del Vikingo, Myzteziz Jr. & Octagon Jr.). That match will take place on a future episode of Fusion.
Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson recently answered a series of questions from fans on Instagram. During the conversation, the Great One was asked if he watches AEW.
The Rock confirmed he does watch AEW programming and is happy for the success the company has achieved thus far.
“Yeah I watch AEW, of course I do,” Rock said. “I’m very happy for the success of that company cause it’s always a good thing and it creates a hunger, which is good.”
Ronda Rousey has become the talk of the town recently after calling out the WWE fans in a recent interview and labelling the members of the WWE Universe as ‘ungrateful’.
Her comments led many to believe that WWE was planting seeds
for the former UFC star’s return as a heel, but latest reports suggest that
this is not the case.
Dave Meltzer talked about Rousey in the latest edition of Wrestling Observer Radio. He revealed that there are no immediate plans for her return and confirmed that her recent comments are not a work.
While Meltzer said that he expects the former Champion to
work WrestleMania 37 in Los Angeles next year, she is not expected back on WWE
programming anytime soon.
Ronda Rousey’s Controversial Comments
The controversy sparked from Ronda Rousey’s comments on the
Wild Ride! with Steve-O podcast where the former Champion talked about her time
in WWE.
“So it’s just like … what am I doing it for if I’m not being
able to spend my time and energy on my family, but instead spending my time and
my energy on a bunch of f*cking ungrateful fans that don’t even appreciate me?
I love performing. I love the girls. I love being out there
… but, at the end of the day, I was just like, ‘F*ck these fans, dude.’ My
family loves me and they appreciate me and I want all my energy to go into
them.”
These comments from Ronda Rousey have created ripples in the wrestling world and sparked negative reactions from WWE stars such as Lana, Nia Jax and more.
What do you think about the former UFC Champion’s remarks about the wrestling business? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.
WWE Superstar Cesaro recently appeared on The New Day’s ‘Feel The Power’ podcast. The ‘Swiss Superman’ discussed a number of topics from his WWE career, including the incidents involving ‘beach balls’ in the crowd. The most infamous was during SummerSlam 2017, when Cesaro went into the crowd and ripped up a beach ball on camera.
“Magic things like that just happen and you cannot plan that.” Cesaro began, recalling the moments. “I love it right. So, that was in Brooklyn. And I remember it must have been, I think it was like SummerSlam right? I think it was SummerSlam or something like that.”
Royal Rumble 2017?
Cesaro then talks about an incident that may or may not have occurred, unfortunately there’s some inconsistencies in the story. “Maybe a couple of months earlier it was me and Sheamus against Rollins and Ambrose, and it was at the Royal Rumble. We ended up going on after the Men’s Royal Rumble match and I think that was when Shinsuke won it.”
Nakamura actually won the Royal Rumble in 2018, and after that match Sheamus and Cesaro faced Seth Rollins and Jason Jordan. Watching the match back there doesn’t appear to be any incident, so he may have just got confused with another bout.Potentially from a house show around that time.
“So the crowd just was crazy (following Shinsuke’s win) and we go out and it’s just really hard to get them back into the match. Certain spots on the card are sometimes tougher to get the crowd into it. But I’m always like ‘no, forget it. Don’t worry, we’ll, we’ll get them out, I’ll find a way.’ We all find a way to do something.”
Frickin’ Beach Balls
Cesaro elaborated further, talking about the crowd not reacting to the match itself. “You’re look up and there’s frickin’ beach balls, and I’m like ‘why are they not paying attention?’ I look over there’s a beach ball. We’re all just trying our hardest to make it great right? I think Sheamus and Rollins are in there and like Sheamus is like ‘what’s going on?’ Because like he doesn’t see the beach balls he’s focused on [what’s going on] in the ring right? And I just look at Sheamus, I see the beach balls jumping around and I’m like ‘I don’t want to jump in the crowd, and then not get the beach ball. I’d look like an idiot (laughs).'”
‘SCREW THAT BEACH BALL THIS IS MY MATCH!’ – Cesaro
Cesaro finished by discussing how cathartic the feeling was of destroying the distraction to his match. “I wait till like one of our security or something just secures it, so now it’s in one place. And I just look at Sheamus he goes like ‘DON’T MOVE’ (laughs). I run over and grab it. It’s just like one of those like ‘no screw you (the fans) this is OUR thing.’ So when I saw that beach ball I was like ‘okay I’m not gonna let that beach ball ruin my match.’ I was like, ‘SCREW THAT BEACH BALL THIS IS MY MATCH!’. Again an organic moment that was authentic.
Drew McIntyre is at the top of the wrestling world right now after defeating Brock Lesnar and winning the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 36 from the Performance Center.
However, he had hit rock bottom at a point and the former
champion did not know what the future held for him after becoming a jobber and
then subsequently getting released from the company in 2014.
McIntyre talked about the time during his interview with The Guardian. Revealing his reaction to his WWE firing, the former TNA star said that he blamed his own self for it:
“When I was fired I told myself: ‘This is on you.’ The only person I had to blame was myself. I said: ‘This was the dream you wanted. You’re gonna have to prove to everybody you are who they thought you were in the beginning.’ “
Drew McIntyre went on to say that after this, he started
working as hard as he can. He travelled as much as he could and took every
booking he got to build himself back up:
“And from that moment on, I was in the gym, working as hard as I could. I was travelling as much as I could. Anybody who would have me, I would wrestle for them. Any interview I could do to practise getting better at situations like this, I would do, just to build myself up in every possible area.”
The hard work he put into his career finally paid off after McIntyre got rehired by WWE in 2017. After having a lengthy and successful run in NXT, he has finally achieved the biggest goal for any WWE star by main eventing WrestleMania and winning the world title.
Former NXT Cruiserweight Champion Lio Rush has taken issue with WWE’s recently announced Cruiserweight Tournament. The round-robin tournament will be held to determine an Interim NXT Cruiserweight Champion while current champion Jordan Devlin is stuck in the United Kingdom due to the coronavirus pandemic. This renders him unable to defend his title, hence the decision to crown an Interim.
Taking to his Twitter account, Lio Rush wrote: “Is this still April fools!? Face with tears of joy. No Man Of The Hour? No 25-year-old piece of gold? No Versace Doctor? No Former Cruiserweight Champion? No LIO MF RUSH!?”
Rush followed up with another message. This tweet highlighted how he hasn’t been featured in a WWE video game, doesn’t have an action figure, and has been excluded from the Cruiserweight Championship Tournament. He ended it by asking, “@WWE y’all want to tell me something?”
Lio Rush previously held the NXT Cruiserweight Championship for 63 days. He lost the belt to Angel Garza last year on the December 11 episode of NXT.
Eight men have been announced to vie for the title. They include KUSHIDA, Tony Nese, Jake Atlas, Isaiah “Swerve” Scott, El Hijo del Fantasma, Akira Tozawa, Gentlemen Jake Gallagher and a returning Drake Maverick. The tournament begins this Wednesday night on NXT.
All Elite Wrestling announcer Jim Ross has reflected on “Stone Cold” Steve Austin’s heel turn at WrestleMania X-Seven. He also shared details on his current relationship with Vince McMahon.
Ross shared how he doesn’t believe Austin’s heel turn would have worked at any point during that time because of his popularity with the fans. He likened it to Western director John Ford casting John Wayne to play a Nazi. Ross contextualized how the turn took place in Austin’s home state at a WrestleMania. This created a situation where Austin “could do no wrong.”
“[…] if you go back and watch that on the WWE Network or wherever, you’ll see that the ovation Austin got coming out was nothing short of extraordinary,” Jim Ross told Top Rope Nation Podcast. “So I just don’t think it ever would have worked because he was that great of a babyface. ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin was a folk hero, he was a hero to many working, blue-collar people. I just never saw it working very well.”
Jim Ross & Vince McMahon
Having become a part of WWE’s competition, Jim Ross shared that he still casually talks with Vince McMahon. He divulged that they speak during the holidays, acknowledging how Vince is an incredibly busy man. This makes a sit-down, casual catchup pretty unrealistic. That being said, they do text one another, with Ross noting he had messaged him over WrestleMania 36’s success given the coronavirus pandemic.
“I’d say our relationship is casually friendly at best, at worst, I mean. If I needed something, I know that I could call Vince and the request discussed, it’d be, I think, accommodated. And he knows I’m the same way.”
Jim Ross stressed that this doesn’t mean he’s going to work with him again. He stated how he’s got a great job in AEW and has just started the second year of a three year contract. As far as he’s concerned, he made the right move for himself by signing with AEW.
WWE Champion Drew McIntyre has sent out a message of thanks to Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. Speaking with TMZ Sports, McIntyre shared how Johnson had previously pointed to him as WWE’s next breakout star. This recognition meant a lot to McIntyre who stated he was “doing nothing” of note at that time.
McIntyre explained how when Johnson singled him out, he wasn’t showcasing his personality or on a winning streak. “It’s interesting for guys like Vince McMahon and The Rock. When they see something in somebody that maybe others don’t, or maybe you don’t see in yourself—I wanna say thank you to him for seeing that in me, too. It’s pretty cool, these people who believed in me who are so influential in the entertainment industry, and things are coming to be that they saw in me.”
He added how he wanted to inspire others to pursue their dreams and shared that one of his personal mantras is to “never surrender.” McIntyre noted how you never know how close you could be to accomplishing your dreams, and so you should never stop pursuing them because success could be just around the corner.
Drew McIntyre defeated Brock Lesnar on Night Two of WrestleMania 36 to claim the WWE Championship.
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In the wake of WrestleMania 36, there has been much discussion regarding two of the show’s cinematic matchups. Both the Boneyard match and the Firefly Fun House match were shot cinematically. This has led to speculation that WWE could continue delivering matchups in this style.
With the Boneyard match having received positive feedback, it appears cinematic matchups could become a fixture for The Undertaker. If that’s the case, one dream opponent has been brought up by multiple people within the industry: Sting.
On a recent episode of Booker T’s podcast The Hall of Fame, he and Renee Young discussed the possibility of Sting and The Undertaker finally wrestling each other.
Young argued how cinematic matchups shouldn’t be used too frequently. She believes, if they are, they will lose what makes them special. “Either they need to be saved and not be overdone to keep them very special, obviously an Undertaker vs. Sting situation would fall into the category, but is it something we want to see all he time? I don’t know.”
She explained how these pre-recorded clashes should be reserved for special occasions. Young did note that if Boneyard matchups become a WrestleMania staple to help “keep the lore of The Undertaker existing,” then she’s all for it.
Booker T On WWE’s Creativity
Booker T added how the coronavirus pandemic forced them to be more creative in how they delivered WrestleMania 36. He shared how he would have loved to have performed in a similar matchup during his career.
“People always wonder if they are ever going to see that match. Sting vs. The Undertaker. This would actually be a way to go out there and do it because I don’t think The Undertaker took one bump,” Booker T said. “That’s the beauty of being able to go out there and create magic, and I’ll tell you, this is where I thought WWE was really going to shine and really bring out the machine and the magic. I’ll go back to when they brought the hologram Bray Wyatt thing back, and it was so awesome. I was like, ‘man, this is cool stuff right here,’ and they [have] the ability to do great stuff here and to do so many different things with this time we’re going through right now.”
Booker T acknowledged that WWE is going to have to work harder to create original content going forward. He believes there is only so long WWE can perform in empty arena matches before audiences disconnect with the product. The creativity showcased in the Boneyard and Firefly Fun House matchups, however, indicate WWE’s willingness to explore other creative outlets—one he wished King Booker could have been involved with.
WWE Hall of Famer Mark Henry has defended Ronda Rousey from fans and Superstars responding negatively to her recent comments. Rousey shared her opinion on wrestling fans during a recent interview. She argued that she shouldn’t have to spend her time and energy on “ungrateful fans” that don’t appreciate her or what she does.
Speaking on SiriusXM’s Busted Open Radio, Mark Henry stated that Rousey was “100% right” right for feeling how she does. He believes people should show more appreciation for Rousey and other stars who came into pro wrestling from other sports.
Henry argued how, “Yes, you’re judged by a different grade. But every now and then, you get one or two or three people, like a Ronda Rousey and a Kurt Angle, who come into the sport and they’re so damn good, that what would it have looked like if they had been in forever?”
He added how Rousey deserves more respect and that her feelings towards competing full-time could be a result of the lack of respect she feels she has been given. He stated that the WWE Universe paid money to watch her fail, because “that’s what our fans do.”
According to him, fans are interested to see if someone from outside the wrestling industry can come in and succeed. He stressed how Rousey came in, “put both fingers up to the world” and showed everyone she could. Henry stated that she showed the world she was as good and passionate about pro wrestling as “every woman that came before her.”
Ronda Rousey recently discussed her future with the WWE and made comments about WWE fans. ?
— SiriusXM Busted Open (@BustedOpenRadio) April 11, 2020
Mark Henry On Recognition
Mark Henry noted how all she wanted was recognition for her ability and love for the pro wrestling. Henry said that, although 90% of fans gave her props, it was the 10% that “made Ronda Ronda Rousey not want to do pro wrestling full-time.”
Henry added how, to him, Ronda Rousey is a winner and has accomplished so much in under three years. He stressed how if fans paid her more respect, perhaps she would be more willing to compete and entertain the WWE Universe.
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Returning RAW Superstar Nia Jax has responded to Ronda Rousey’s recent comments regarding pro wrestling. Several Superstars have reacted negatively to Rousey’s comments where she lambasted wrestling fans, arguing that she shouldn’t be spending her time and energy for “f*cking ungrateful fans” that don’t appreciate her.
Nia Jax Wants To “Go Down In History”
Taking to her Twitter account, Nia Jax explained how she couldn’t wait for Rousey to eventually return to the ring. If she does, Jax promised that she will do everything in her power to get an opportunity against the former WWE RAW Women’s Champion. If that happens, Jax promised she would go down in history as the one who “knocked her the F**K out!”
“I can’t wait for Ronda 2 one day return 2 WWE. Even if WWE orders me to make Ronda look good in the ring, which is the ONLY way for Ronda 2 look good in the ring w/me. I’ll risk my job 2 go down in history as the one from this biz that knocked her the F**K out! #TestMeBitch”
Nia Jax returned to in-ring action after being away since April 2019. This was because she had to undergo double knee surgery. It didn’t take her long to assert her dominance, however. She defeated Deonna Purrazzo in a short matchup, using a new finisher that had been gifted from former WWE Superstar Paige.
WWE Superstar The Big Show was the first competitor to face Drew McIntyre for his newly won WWE Championship. Big Show would challenge McIntyre to a matchup in a segment aired on the RAW following WrestleMania 36. He would subsequently lose to the new champion.
Speaking with Sports Illustrated, Big Show explained how McIntyre is the champion that RAW deserves right now. He noted how he has been a fan of Drew McIntyre for ten years, but acknowledged that his initial run “didn’t work out.”
“He’s one tough son of a gun,” Big Show stated. “I’m really proud of him, and he’s the champion that Raw deserves. There are a lot of interesting matches with him in the future that I’d like to see.”
Big Show explained that his return on Monday Night RAW wasn’t necessarily about being a babyface or a heel. Instead, he wanted fans to understand that it was about being a competitor. He explained how “I’ve been a WWE competitor for four decades, and a lot of the locker room was my responsibility—that’s what happens for the old guys.”
Former WWE 24/7 Champion Drake Maverick is gearing up for an in-ring return. Maverick will be taking part in WWE’s recently announced Cruiserweight Tournament. The tournament will crown an Interim NXT Cruiserweight Champion. This decision was made as the current champion Jordan Devlin is unable to travel due to the coronavirus virus.
Taking to his Twitter account, Maverick uploaded a video reflecting on his impending return to action. He shared how, after his matchup with Mike Kanellis on 205 Live, he promised himself he wouldn’t compete in a WWE ring again. However, he “got the bug” to wrestle, admitting there’s no other feeling than the support of the WWE Universe.
Maverick revealed how “[…] since then, I’ve been knocking on the doors about being an in-ring competitor…and that wasn’t working out for me.” This lack of progress caused him to suffer from self-doubt before finally being announced for the upcoming Tournament.
Notably, Drake Maverick shared that NXT General Manager William Regal will be taking over the WWE Cruiserweight division going forward. He took the opportunity to thank Regal for taking the reins as he attempts to capture the Interim NXT Cruiserweight Championship.
“There’s a lot of hunger in here that I don’t think I’ve been able to express or show the WWE Universe, and I’m not taking this opportunity lightly,” he said. “And that’s all it is: It’s an opportunity. But I’m not coming here underconfident. I’m not entering the tournament with anything on my mind but being a winner. I’m gonna be the Interim NXT Cruiserweight Champion.”
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The Undertaker recently did a rare out of character interview with Nine Line Apparel on Instagram Live where the Dead Man opened up about his boneyard match with AJ Styles for the first time since WrestleMania 36.
The two were originally expected to have a regular match but plans changed after the company had to move the show to the Performance Center and the officials made the decision to use the set for the bout which was originally built for a promo.
Talking about the unique match, the Undertaker first mentioned how they envisioned the fight for a live arena until two weeks before the Show Of Shows. Discussing the end result of their efforts, he said that he couldn’t be more proud of the final product:
“The final product — I couldn’t be more proud of it.
Under the circumstances, all the different things going on, everybody pulled
together and put something like that out there that was different and was
intriguing. I can’t speak for AJ, but I’m very proud of what we did.”
The match exceeded expectations of the fans and it received high praise from the WWE Universe and the wrestling world for the cinematic experience it provided.
Undertaker On Why He Returned To The American Badass Gimmick
One of the most discussed aspects of the match was the former Champion leaving behind the Dead Man gimmick to return to his American Badass avatar for this bout.
Explaining the reasoning behind this change, The former World Champion claimed that he had to lean away from the dark side of his character because AJ Styles made the rivalry between the two very personal:
“When AJ threw that first stone and made this personal, then it made it a no brainer, I couldn’t stay that mainstream Undertaker and be able to respond and deal with the things he was saying in that character.”
Taker also explained his reference of the Unholy Trinity
saying that it’s nothing but the unification of his three personalities in the
The Dead Man, The American Badass and the man behind the gimmick Mark Calaway
in one person.
Apart from this, The Undertaker talked about the future of cinematic matches, cutting promos in an empty arena with no audience and more. You can check out more of his interview in the video below:
AJ Styles started his wrestling career in 1998 and he spent the next two decades proving his excellence in the ring by travelling across the globe and competing at the highest levels at various promotions.
However, it took him a long time to join WWE and during a recent episode of The Bump, the former WWE Champion discussed the reason behind his late arrival in the company.
Styles first mentioned how he didn’t stay in one place to face the average Joe’s and discussed how smaller sized wrestlers were not given a chance back when he started:
“I didn’t just stay in one place and face your average Joe’s, I faced Kurt Angle. I mean, this guy was a former Olympic champion. A lot of those guys that were in the WWE came to where I was working. Then, I went to New Japan and did stuff over there.
“I would’ve been there earlier [WWE] if I could’ve. Sometimes, things work out the way they do. It’s a different time.” said AJ Styles. “Guys aren’t as big as they used to be. Guys my size are getting a chance, when back then, guys my size weren’t given the chance to be in the ring.”
The Phenomenal One also talked about his WrestleMania 33
match against Shane McMahon saying that he has a lot of respect for Shane and
their match was one of the better Mania matches he has had so far.
While it took time for AJ Styles to finally arrive in the company, he has claimed his rightful position in the WWE roster since his debut in 2016.
With multiple world title victories under his belt, it’s safe to say that he has earned his position as one of the greatest WWE stars in the history of the promotion. You can check out the episode of The Bump featuring Styles below:
Both the cinematic matches at WrestleMania 36 received high praise from the fans and the Firefly Fun House match sparked a lot of discussion due to its various references.
One such call-back was the reiteration of the nWo storyline
with John Cena in place of Hulk Hogan and Bray Wyatt in place of Eric Bischoff
who was the mind behind the angle.
During a recent episode of his 83 Weeks podcast, Eric Bischoff talked about the match and revealing his reaction to the inclusion of the nWo storyline, Bischoff said that time stopped for him when they started introducing those elements in the match:
“When they started introducing the NWO stuff, time stopped for me. It was such a bizarre feeling, it was like I was in this suspended state of animation and I was frozen in time. It was almost an out of body, out of my head experience. I got such a big kick out of it.”
The former WCW President went on to explain that he was blown away by the angle because it was an inside shoot. It wasn’t being creative just for the sake of it and the angle was done in a way that took the story to the next level.
Eric Bischoff then said that the cinematic matches are probably the catalyst for the next evolution of storytelling in wrestling and WrestleMania 36 may have had more impact on the business than any other WrestleMania in a long time.
Becky Lynch made the brave decision to opt for a career in pro wrestling and this gamble has paid off pretty well for the current Raw Women’s Champion as she is currently one of the top wrestlers in the world.
However, this wasn’t always the case. There was a time when her path to success was not this clear and the former NXT star had to lie to the people closest to her about her chosen career, including her mother.
Lynch recently had an interview with Extra.io where she talked about her start in pro wrestling. During the talk, she admitted that she had initially lied to her mother about wrestling and revealed her reaction when she found out the truth:
“My ma, yes! The freakin’ killings that were in my house when I told her I was wrestling, because I lied to her and told her that it was Brazillian Jiu Jitsu that I was doing. Then when she found out it was wrestling, she freakin’ nearly ripped my head off.”
Becky Lynch On Her Wedding With Seth Rollins Being Pushed Back
Becky Lynch also talked about her relationship with Seth
Rollins and revealed that the couple will have to push back their planned
wedding because of the coronavirus pandemic:
“Yeah it has, that’s going to get pushed back, obviously. Look, at the end of the day, I’m going to be with him forever. So it doesn’t matter if we get married next month or next year or two days from now, it’s all the same.”
While Lynch did not reveal much detail about her wedding, she did confirm that it won’t be taking place in Ireland. You can check out her full interview at this link.
WWE’s NXT brand will be holding a tournament to declare an interim NXT cruiserweight champion. This is due to the current champion Jordan Devlin being unable to participate in upcoming WWE tapings due to travel restrictions.
The promotion released the names of the 8 superstars who will participate in the tournament today. Below are the groups for the tournament:
Group A:
KUSHIDA
Jake Atlas
Tony Nese
Drake Maverick
Group B:
Isiah “Swerve” Scott
El Hijo del Fantasma
Akira Tozawa
“Gentleman” Jack Gallagher
This tournament will not be single elimination as many WWE tournaments are. Instead, WWE will be utilizing a round-robin format to declare an interim cruiserweight champion.
The eight wrestlers will be split into two groups and will each face the other wrestlers in their group once. The wrestlers with the best record in each group will then face off in the finals. The tie-breaker will be head-to-head records of the tied participants. The winner will then be declared the new interim cruiserweight champion.
205 Live General Manager Drake Maverick recently commented on his participation:
Jordan Devlin has also offered his thoughts on the tournament:
.@Jordan_Devlin1 shares his thoughts on @RealKingRegal's announcement of the tournament to crown an Interim #WWENXT Cruiserweight Champion and issues a warning to all of the FRAUDS! pic.twitter.com/eApiLW8A1w
Kurt Angle has achieved a lot of things in his illustrated wrestling career but there is still one thing the former World Champion wishes he had accomplished.
The former WCW Champion talked about things like the
superstar which reminds him the most of himself, his biggest achievement in his
life and more during another recent Q&A session on his Facebook page.
When a fan asked the Olympic Gold Medalist about one thing he wishes he had achieved during his time as an active competitor, Angle said that winning the Royal Rumble match is something he wishes he had accomplished:
“Winning the Rumble, but it wasn’t in the plans. I was injured quite a bit so if I had any opportunities to win the rumble, my injuries most likely ruined any chance of it. I was injured 2 of my 6 1/2 years I performed in WWE from 2000-2006.”
Kurt Angle also talked about WrestleMania 36 from the Performance Center and revealed that the match between Edge and Randy Orton was his favorite match of the show.
Apart from this, the former World Champion also revealed his thoughts on the cinematic matches at the Show Of Shows and more. You can check out his full Q&A at this link.
Edge recently appeared on Corey Graves’ “After the Bell” podcast. During the show, Edge revealed that Bret Hart called him after his match with Orton at WrestleMania 36. Edge continued to say he’s heard the negative feedback to the match but Hart’s comments are the most important feedback to him.
“I’m very, very proud of it,” Edge said about his match with Orton. “I’ve heard that there’s feedback that it was too long and it’s this and it’s that, listen, all of the feedback I’ve gotten personally to myself or through my social media feeds has been all positive.”
Edge continued to talk about receiving a call from Bret Hart about the match. According to Edge, Hart was complimentary of the match due to its resemblance to a real fight.
“When I have Bret Hart call me and tell me that he loved it because it looked like a fight, I don’t care what anybody else says from that point on, because his opinion to me has more weight than absolutely everyone anywhere, nobody’s gonna top his opinion to me, and if he liked it, and he thought it was a fight, good, mission accomplished. Everyone’s entitled to their opinion. It’s wrestling, it’s art, it’s subjective.”
Edge and Bret Hart
Bret Hart had a hand in training Edge after he was signed to WWE. Edge and Christian trained at Bret’s house in Calgary.
“After being signed by WWE, Edge, Christian, Mark Henry, Giant Silva, Test and Ken Shamrock all trained at my house,” Hart said in an interview with WWE.com. “I had a pool room with an indoor pool and a garden behind it. I took out the garden and put in a wrestling ring.”
After Edge retired in 2011, Hart posted the following in tribute to his career:
I remember training w/both Edge & Christian in a ring @ my house back in '97 & he'll always be one of my guys.
Jim Ross will be on commentary for the AEW World Championship match between champion Jon Moxley and challenger Jake Hager on Dynamite this week. JR wasn’t actually in the venue during the match, however. Ross recently spoke to the 411 Mania podcast about both AEW and WWE running shows during the ongoing pandemic.
According to Ross, both companies are just trying to keep commitments to their broadcast partners.
“I think it’s a matter of fulfilling your commitments. They (WWE and AEW) have a commitment to their various broadcast partners that they’re gonna provide programming, first-run programming, so that’s something we’re both doing.”
WWE will be returning to live programming beginning with RAW this Monday. Vince McMahon is said to have made the call to return to live programming only recently. NXT and Smackdown next week are also scheduled to air live.
“I look at it as they’re honoring their commitments and keeping their hand of the bargain up,” Ross continued. “They’re having to do it in a very unique way, but as long as they can find sound studios or somewhere that it’s legal to do a controlled taping, I perceive that both of them are gonna continue to do exactly what they’re doing until this thing has been eradicated or at least relieved in some degree.”
Arn Anderson answered some questions about the Revival on an episode of his podcast, the Arn Show. The episode was recorded before the Revival were officially granted their WWE release but Arn spoke about the best of the team still being ahead of them.
“I know these guys have patterned a lot of their stuff after Tully and I. Not that each piece of the physicality is the same, but the thought process is the same,” Double-A said about Scott Dawson/Dax Hardwood and Dash Wilder/Cash Wheeler.
“They’re more athletic than Tully and I will ever be, or ever were, even at our peak.”
“The best of those guys has yet to be seen, let me put it that way.” Anderson continued.
Arn also recently commented on what it would be like managing the Revival as well. Arn was asked about possibly managing a 4-person team featuring Cody, the Revival, and Hangman Page.
“You know how I feel about the Revival, they are the best team in the world right now,” Anderson said.
“I would be honored to be the manager of those 4 guys,” he continued.
Scott Dawson showed up in the replies section of AEW’s Tweet announcing Arn’s signing with AEW:
Eric Bischoff remains outspoken about All Elite Wrestling (AEW) and company president Tony Khan.
Bischoff’s 83 Weeks podcast released a video on YouTube this weekend featuring the former President of WCW answering questions from fans. One of the questions was from a fan who was hoping to get a response from Bischoff on comments Tony Khan made in an interview with the Financial Times.
To recap, Khan told the Financial Times that he looks to mistakes WCW made for lessons.
“I’m not taking positive business lessons from other companies. Most of the lessons I’m taking are examples of what not to do…WCW was badly mismanaged. They teased audiences with matches that never materialized and lost tens of millions of dollars on talent, some earning six figures without ever working. It was a real disservice to fans.”
Eric Bischoff did not take kindly to Tony Khan’s remarks and had this to say in response:
“That’s an interesting thing for Mr. Khan to say,” Biscoff began. “He’s been in the professional wrestling business for…what time is it? It’s about a cup of coffee, I think. I think your coffee could still be warm at this point.”
“So far he’s spent – from what I’ve heard, I don’t know if its accurate or not, I want to make sure I say that- somewhere between $30 and $50 million to prove that he can be competitive with WWE’s developmental territory.”
“Call me in a couple of years and tell me what you’ve done that’s really unique. Call me in a couple of years when you’ve changed the industry.”
Bischoff continued:
“Call me in a couple of years when you’re #2, #3, #4 in all of cable programming for the night in primetime and then let’s talk about it.”
Bischoff’s comments can be heard in the player below:
Comments Ronda Rousey made recently on Jackass star Steve-O’s podcast have struck a chord with members of the WWE locker room. Rousey has now fired back at those who have criticized her for using the ever-polarizing “fake” word to describe pro-wrestling.
Rousey referred to pro-wrestling as “fake fights” during the podcast while explaining that she quite enjoys participating in them.
“Running out there and having fake fights for fun is just the best thing,” Rousey said. “I love choreography, I love acting, I love theatre. Live theater and some of the last forms of live theatre. But, I was doing basically part-time and I was away from home 200 days out of the year.”
This led to Lana posting a lengthy Tweet criticizing the former RAW Women’s Champion.
“I can’t wait for Ronda 2 one day return 2 WWE. Even if WWE orders me to make Ronda look good in the ring, which is the ONLY way for Ronda 2 look good in the ring w/me. I’ll risk my job 2 go down in history as the one from this biz that knocked her the F**K out! #TestMeBitch,” Nia Jax Tweeted.
Ronda Rousey Responds
Rousey then issued the following statement on the matter:
