Chris Jericho and Jon Moxley will face each other in the main event of AEW Revolution with the world title on the line. According to comments Jericho recently made to SI.com, Jericho is the one who recruited Moxley to come to AEW.
“I recruited him,” Jericho said of Moxley. “I don’t even think he knew what AEW was at that point. He is a guy that I knew would be big for us, but I never expected he would be this different, and I mean that in a good way. This is not the guy who was Dean Ambrose. Dean Ambrose is a f—ing nothing compared to this guy. There is a fire inside of him, a creativity, he’s free.”
Jericho then said it is his job as AEW champion to help create new stars.
“This is my job as champion. I make stars. I’m already a star. Mox is a star. This company may have started on my back, but six months later it’s now on a bunch of backs, and that was the idea.”
Jericho would then continue to talk about other members of the AEW roster who he feels he has helped elevate.
“Jungle Boy. Scorpio Sky. MJF’s promo against Jericho. I heard, ‘MJF held his own! He might have even been better than Jericho!’ Gee, you think so? Who wanted it that way? Cody is another guy who’s been a completely different performer.”
Jericho also noted during the interview that while he had nothing to do with it, Hangman Page has become a different performer over the months that Dynamite has been on the air.
“I had nothing to do with this one, but look at Hangman from when we worked in August until now. He’s a totally different guy. That, to me, is why this is working so well. Everybody is starting to grow.”
The full interview with Chris Jericho can be read here.
Tito Ortiz defeated Alberto “El Patron” Rodriguez in December for Combates Americas. The fight result was briefly changed to a no-contest earlier this week, however. The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation briefly changed the fight result to a no-contest pending an investigation.
The department issued a statement to MMA JUnkie recently stating its reasons for the investigation.
“A urine sample provided by Jacob ‘Tito’ Christopher Ortiz on Dec. 7, 2019, at the Combate Americas MMA event showed a potentially disqualifying substance that Ortiz claimed was prescribed by a physician,” the statement reads. “Pending the outcome of the TDLR inquiry into whether the substance was indeed prescribed by a physician, TDLR marked the fight results as ‘No Contest.’ TDLR confirmed with the physician that the item was prescribed to Ortiz. TDLR has reinstated Ortiz’s victory in the Dec. 7 bout.”
The fight result has now officially been changed back to a 1st round submission victory for Ortiz. The win is Ortiz’s 3rd in a row having defeated Chael Sonnen and his longtime rival Chuck Liddell in his previous two fights. Ortiz has also been spotted recently training at the WWE Performance Center though he has not signed with the company.
Macaulay Culkin has been a wrestling fan for a very long time. He was shown in the live crowd at WrestleMania VII just months after Home Alone became a smash hit in movie theaters. Culkin has attended numerous other wrestling events in the nearly 30 years since as well but he won’t be attending WrestleMania 36 in Tampa Bay this year.
Culkin made a comment in reply to a Twitter thread about the Goldberg vs Fiend match at Super ShowDown that he has canceled his plans to attend WrestleMania 36 in Tampa Bay, Florida.
Culkin is the host of the Bunny Ears podcast. The podcast features notable guests such as Tony Hawk, Bob Saget, Andy Richtor, and more. Culkin has also been involved in wrestling at the independent level. He interfered in a match for Joey Ryan’s Bar Wrestling and used many tactics his character from Home Alone once did to fend off a pair of would-be burglars.
NXT star Rhea Ripley is all set to make history at WrestleMania this year by becoming the first NXT Champion to defend their title at the Show Of Shows.
The 23-year-old Australian professional wrestler recently had an interview with Mirror.co.uk where she talked about things like the competitiveness at the WWE Performance Center and more.
Discussing her upcoming match against Charlotte Flair at the Grandest Stage Of Them All, Rhea Ripley said that the achievement is awesome and she loves making history:
“To be able to be the first person from NXT to defend their NXT Championship at WrestleMania is awesome and I love making history. Don’t get me wrong, like I love it.
And then to be able to challenge Charlotte, the winner of the women’s Royal Rumble,” said Ripley. “It’s just like it’s not really heard of, the champion challenging the challenger.”
The NXT star also discussed Mick Foley’s recent comments where Foley said that her upcoming match can steal the show at WrestleMania.
The NXT Champion said that it’s pretty cool to have someone like the Hardcore Legend take the time to tweet about their match.
Rhea Ripley challenged the 2020 Women’s Royal Rumble winner, Charlotte Flair for a match at WrestleMania 36 and WWE has confirmed this bout for the event after Flair accepted the offer. You can check out the updated card for Mania here.
All signs are pointing towards The Revival leaving WWE once their contracts expire and it appears that the company is also preparing for their departure.
PWInsider is reporting that the company has filed an application to trademark terms The Mechanics as names for wrestlers and No Flips Just Fists as a tag line for merchandise.
The Mechanics is the original tag team name the Revival used during their initial days in NXT, and No Flips Just Fists is the popular catchphrase that has been used by the duo.
This move comes after the former Raw Tag Team Champions
applied for a number of trademarks themselves including the name Top Guys and
phrases such as ‘Say Yeah’, ‘No Flips, Just Fists’ and ‘Shatter Machine.’
While not confirmed, it’s believed that the Revival is trademarking the terms in preparation for their post-WWE careers and Top Guys is the name they are planning to use.
On the other hand, WWE is likely trying to trademark the terms to try and stop them from using them in indies or any other promotions if the duo does leave the company.
Scott Dawson’s current contract is set to expire in April while WWE has added 10 weeks to Dash Wilder’s deal for the time he missed due to injury, meaning that he will become a free agent sometime in June.
Roman Reigns was involved in the opening segment of SmackDown this week where he set up his WrestleMania match but it wasn’t the last of him the fans in the arena got to see.
The former World Champion came out once again after the show
was over and he competed in the dark match of the night against none other than
King Corbin.
Corbin had introduced a weapon in the match and he was
trying to use it against his opponent but Reigns managed to avoid the attack
and hit a spear.
After this, the Former Shield Member pinned King Corbin to pick up another victory over him after Super Showdown to send the crowd home happy. You can check out some videos of the bout below:
The opening segment of this week’s episode of SmackDown saw the new Universal Champion Goldberg celebrating his win over The Fiend at Super Showdown.
Roman Reigns then came out to confront the former WCW star
and WWE later confirmed that these two will meet at this year’s edition of
WrestleMania.
The show also had a number of other interesting moments including John Cena’s return and the start of his WrestleMania rivalry. You can check out the takeaways from this week’s SmackDown here.
WWE SmackDown aired live from the TD Garden in Boston, MA. Universal Champion Goldberg and John Cena appeared on tonight’s show.
WWE SmackDown 2/28 Results
Lacey Evans & Naomi def. Sasha Banks & Bayley
Robert Roode def. Kofi Kingston
Daniel Bryan def. Curtis Axel
The Usos def. John Morrison & The Miz
Here are 5 takeaways from this week’s show:
Roman Reigns Will Face Goldberg At WrestleMania
New Universal Champion Goldberg came down to the ring to a chorus of boos as Michael Cole pointed out a photo of him with the belt got a lot of Instagram likes.
Goldberg asked “who’s next?” and dropped the microphone. Roman Reigns’ music hit and he joined Goldberg in the ring as the crowd chanted “you both suck!”. Reigns said that he is next and dropped the microphone. The match was then officially announced later on the show.
Opinion: Well, there is now at least one match I don’t care about at this year’s WrestleMania. Michael Cole stated that people were getting goosebumps during this segment. He didn’t clarify whether they were watching while cold or were excited for this match. It also doesn’t make sense to me what Roman Reigns did to earn the title shot besides beating King Corbin several times. I was assuming that Reigns would win the Elimination Chamber match to get a shot at the title. Instead, all Reigns had to do was walk to the ring and say he was next.
Bayley was set to face Naomi again tonight. Sasha Banks returned and joined Bayley in beating down Naomi. Lacey Evans rushed the ring and a brawl broke out. It was then announced that it will tag team match. Naomi hit Banks with a Crossbody outside the ring. Lacey connected with an awkward hop over the top rope followed by clumsy fall onto Bayley as you can see in the GIF below.
Match Recap: Banks and Bayley controlled the match early and isolated Naomi in the corner of the ring. Evans brought Sasha outside and threw her into the ring apron. Naomi capitalized on the distraction and rolled up Bayley for the victory.
Opinion: Sasha Banks made her triumphant return in her hometown only to lose a random tag match. It was great to see the SmackDown Women’s Champion get pinned in this match that nothing as well. I’m also looking forward to watching WWE desperately try to get Lacey Evans over once again in the coming weeks.
Braun Strowman Will Defend The IC Title In A Handicap Match At Elimination Chamber
Renee Young moderated the contract signing for the Intercontinental Championship match at Elimination Chamber. Braun Strowman will defend the title against Shinsuke Nakamura at the PPV. Sami Zayn and Cesaro accompanied Nakamura to the ring for the segment.
Zayn said that they were trying to conduct business like gentlemen and asked Strowman to grab a seat. Braun obliged and grabbed the computer chair and launched it out of the ring. Sami stated that Nakamura couldn’t enjoy his birthday last week because Strowman Powerslammed him onto a piano.
Strowman told Sami to shut up because everyone is tired of hearing him bitch and moan. Braun added that he doesn’t care what is in the contract, even if he has to fight all three of them, and just signed it. Zayn amended the contract so that Strowman will have to fight all three of them in a 3-on-1 Handicap match at Elimination Chamber.
Nakamura and Cesaro beat Strowman down in the corner and Sami followed it up with the Helluva Kick. Sami hit another one before Nakamura hit the Kinshasa. Cesaro and Shinsuke then Suplexed Strowman through the table.
Miz & Morrison Will Defend Their Titles In A Tag Team Elimination Chamber Match At The PPV
John Morrison and The Miz. Image Credit: WWE.com
SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Miz and John Morrison came down to the ring and boasted about winning the titles at Super ShowDown. Miz said that they proved all the haters wrong and now they can choke on their pancakes.
Miz and Morrison tried to start a chant for themselves before posing in the ring as Miz’s entrance music played. Ring announcer Greg Hamilton interrupted and announced that Miz & Morrison will defend their titles in a Elimination Chamber match at the PPV. Heavy Machinery, New Day, Roode & Ziggler, Lucha House Party, The Usos, and New Day will be the other teams in the match. The Usos then battled Morrison and Miz in a tag match.
Miz and Morrison battled back and started to start a chant for themselves once again. Jimmy tagged in and hit Morrison with a boot to the face and hung him up in the Tree of Woe. Jimmy then planted John with a Destroyer as Jey tagged in. Jey hit a Frog Splash for the pinfall victory.
Opinion: I will forever be dumbfounded as to why WWE has many of their champions lose non-title matches on television. I don’t understand the point of having Miz and Morrison win the titles 24-hours ago and then lose their first match the following night.
John Cena made his return at the conclusion of this week’s episode of SmackDown. Cena got a great reaction from the crowd as John stated he will always be a WWE superstar.
Cena said that he is doing something different at this year’s WrestleMania and that he always prides himself on listening the to the WWE Universe. John added that the crowd is all passionate about the future of WWE and he is to.
John claimed that he is doing the right thing this year and that WrestleMania should go on without him. Cena said that WrestleMania spots should be earned and not demanded. Cena thanked the crowd and exited the ring. Cena gave a salute on the entrance ramp before the lights went out. The Fiend appeared on the entrance ramp and pointed at the WrestleMania sign. John tipped his cap at The Fiend and the lights went out again to end the show.
Opinion: The final few seconds of SmackDown were very well done with The Fiend challenging Cena at WrestleMania. I loved the shot of Cena slowly turning around to reveal The Fiend behind him. The rest of the show was a letdown unless you are a diehard Goldberg or Reigns fan.
John Cena made his long-awaited return to WWE television.
The former WWE Champion did so on Friday’s episode of SmackDown on FOX in Boston, MA at the TD Garden. As seen on the show, Cena closed the show with a promo about how he needs to answer the question of what he’s doing at WrestleMania 36.
Cena made it known that he always will be a WWE star. He said that he’s doing something different because he knows how hard the WWE stars work for one moment at Mania. He said that WrestleMania should go on without him because it’s the right thing to do.
Cena stated that he’s not going away but doesn’t know when he’ll be back. Cena says WrestleMania should be earned not demanded. Cena put the microphone down and walked up to the stage.
The lights went out then back on with The Fiend standing behind him and pointing at the WrestleMania sign. Cena tipped his hat and The Fiend disappeared to close the show.
Dave Meltzer was initially able to confirm earlier this month that not only will Cena wrestle at WrestleMania 36 but he’ll be wrestling Elias. WWE thinks that Elias will “get the rub from losing to Cena.”
However, that was later changed and reported that Cena would be feuding with Wyatt that would ultimately lead to a match between the two stars at WWE’s biggest event of the year, WrestleMania 36.
A new match has been announced for the upcoming WWE WrestleMania 36 PPV and it’s a big one.
WWE Universal Champion Goldberg vs. Roman Reigns was confirmed. WWE did so on Friday’s episode of SmackDown in Boston, MA at the TD Garden on FOX in the opening segment.
Goldberg came out for a promo where he asked not who was last but who’s next. Reigns came out to the ring and said he was next. They had a quick staredown before the segment ended.
This was expected with original plans calling for Reigns to face Bray Wyatt as champion at the biggest event of the year for WWE.
Once Goldberg dethroned Wyatt, it was clear that Goldberg would walk into WrestleMania as Universal Champion as the company changed plans.
WWE presents the WrestleMania 36 pay-per-view event on Sunday, April 5, 2020 in Tampa, Florida at the Raymond James Stadium that will air on the WWE Network. WWE will be announcing more matches for this show in the coming weeks.
Updated WWE WrestleMania 36 Card
WWE Champion Brock Lesnar vs. Drew McIntyre
WWE Universal Champion Goldberg vs. Roman Reigns
WWE NXT Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley vs. Charlotte Flair
What are your thoughts on this match being added to the card? Sound off in the comment section.
Cody Rhodes and The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson) took part in a panel at C2E2 on Friday where they talked about a wide range of topics.
Matt talked about how they were originally going to announce just one show on New Year’s Eve but things changed once the AEW trademarks leaked they decided to announce the whole promotion. They all recalled how miserably cold that night in Tokyo was when they filmed the announcement vignette.
Matt and Cody recalled how one of their original AEW signings took place at the TGIF.
Also, their gathering to do the Jacksonville rally was Tony Khan’s idea. Matt recalled getting ready to go to Disney World with his family but Tony told him to cut the vacation short and sent a private jet.
Originally, AEW’s weekly television show on TNT was going to be called AEW Revolution but Khan had always envisioned the show being called Dynamite so they saw through his vision. Matt added that Dynamite resonated better than Revolution, according to tests they did.
Cody brought up how AEW World Heavyweight Champion Chris Jericho wanted a serious meeting with them early before he signed.
Thus, they invited him to a TGIF in Japan. They got the “backstage” private room and Cody noted Jericho seemed underwhelmed by the meeting.
A new episode of WWE Friday Night SmackDown is here and it’s slated to be an interesting show.
With just hours until bell time, it’s time to look ahead starting with tonight’s episode of SmackDown. The biggest thing to be announced for this episode of SmackDown is the fact that John Cena will make his return to WWE television.
WWE hasn’t announced any details on why he’s appearing on the show but it’s likely to kick off his program heading into WrestleMania 36.
As of this writing, no segments and matches have been announced thus far for this show. In fact, WWE hasn’t released its preview article for the show on their website as of this writing.
As usual, fans should expect more matches and segments to be revealed this afternoon for SmackDown.
The company holds this show from Boston, MA at the TD Garden. WWE is advertising the following items for tonight’s broadcast:
New Universal Champion Goldberg to appear
John Cena to make his return
The fallout from Thursday’s Super ShowDown pay-per-view event
WWE will also be announcing matches for existing feuds that will take place heading into the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view event.
Join us here later tonight for WWE SmackDown Results and our post-show SmackDown Takeaways feature.
Arn Anderson is Cody Rhodes’ manager in AEW and has been by his side in recent weeks as Cody prepares to face MJF at Revolution. Anderson discussed the upcoming match on his podcast recently along with Conrad Thompson.
Anderson first addressed the fans who thought he would turn on Cody on the Dynamite show from Atlanta.
“Ever since day one when Cody decided he was going to solicit my services as a coach, a fair share of people have been waiting for the other shoe to drop. Never trust an Anderson, Cody you know what he did to your Dad, you know what he did to your brother, you can’t trust him, God knows it’s going to go down in Atlanta and it didn’t. So, I’m very happy to say that I told people in advance, this is a new day, this is a new thought process. Cody didn’t offer me a job. He didn’t give me a job. I don’t need a job and I don’t want a job.”
During the cage match last Wednesday, it appeared as though Anderson considered closing the cage door on Cody but then hit MJF with the door instead.
Arn Anderson Talks Cody vs MJF
“One of the mistakes that Cody made is one that a lot of men make. When he agreed to the 10 lashes, he let his ego do his thinking.”
“That would have been a good time to ask me what I thought,” Anderson continued.
Anderson also spoke about what fans can expect between Cody and MJF on Saturday.
“This is just going to be a wrestling match and it’s going to be a – hey, who has more talent? Who doesn’t blow a gasket and get off his gameplan? We’ve got to account for the big guy on the outside because what we did find out in Atlanta is the guy is a monster.”
Anderson’s comments can be heard in the player below:
Cody Rhodes says that while AEW has never designated one event as its most important, Revolution may end up being the promotion’s WrestleMania level event. The AEW EVP spoke with Newsweek about the upcoming PPV.
“A lot of people ask us, ‘What’s your WrestleMania? What’s your big event?’ We’ve never designated one event as the big event out of our four pay-per-views,” said Rhodes. “But just kind of going with what my gut is feeling and seeing the marketing element, the thematic element, the staging element, I think Revolution may end up being the big one.”
Revolution marks the fourth and final pay-per-view of All Elite Wrestling’s quarterly PPV calendar. The current roster of AEW pay-per-view events includes Double or Nothing, All Out, Full Gear and Revolution. The promotion also holds occasional ‘special events’ including shows like Fyter Fest, Fight for the Fallen, Bash at the Beach and the Jericho Cruise.
Cody is scheduled to take on Maxwell Jacob Friedman Saturday night in Chicago. The relationship between the former close friends imploded at Full Gear (November 2019) when MJF threw in the towel while in Cody’s corner for his title match against Chris Jericho. The action not only cost Cody the match but also the ability to ever challenge for the AEW World title again.
“If I’m wrong,” Cody continued, “that means one of the others is the big one, so it’s OK. But I have just such a good feeling about February 29th.”
There are currently 3 WWE Superstars who could be back from long-term injuries shortly. According to a report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Nia Jax, Jeff Hardy, and Lars Sullivan could all be back soon.
Jeff Hardy was backstage at the recent Smackdown in Glendale, Arizona. He is due to be back from knee surgery at any point. He has been on the shelf since April. Hardy and his brother Matt had been the Smackdown tag team champions when Hardy was injured shortly after WrestleMania. They were forced to vacate the titles. Jeff has had additional time added to his WWE contract due to injuries as well, which is why Matt’s contract is up on March 1st and Jeff is still under contract past that time.
Nia Jax also went on the shelf in April of last year. She had double knee surgery that was expected to take her out of action until early 2020. She’s expected back shortly as well.
Lars Sullivan went down with a knee injury in June and was estimated to be back in 6-9 months. That put his return scheduled for some time around January – March 2020. So, he is due to be cleared for a return shortly. Sullivan was fined $100,000 by the company last year after offensive message board posts from years ago resurfaced and garnered a strong reaction from fans.
WrestleMania 36 will take place on April 5th, 2020 from the Raymond James Stadium in Tampa Bay, Florida. The lineup for the show is said to have been in a state of flux over the last few weeks, however.
2 news matches have been added to the planned lineup. These include Otis taking on Dolph Ziggler and a women’s tag titles match pitting the Kabuki Warriors against Natalya and Beth Phoenix.
According to a report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, here is what is currently planned for WrestleMania. Please note that plans for these matches could be changed.
Planned Matches:
WWE Championship: Brock Lesnar (c) vs Drew McIntyre
Universal Championship: Goldberg (c) vs Roman Reigns
John Cena vs Bray Wyatt
Edge vs Randy Orton
Undertaker vs AJ Styles
RAW Women’s Championship: Becky Lynch (c) vs Shayna Baszler
NXT Women’s Championship: Rhea Ripley (c) vs Charlotte Flair
WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships: The Kabuki Warriors (c) vs Natalya & Beth Phoenix
Otis vs Dolph Ziggler
Men’s Battle Royal
Women’s Battle Royal
5 additional matches to be added:
A match involving Seth Rollins
A Smackdown Women’s title match
Intercontinental title match
Smackdown tag team titles match
A U.S title match
The report would continue to say there have been rumors of Tyson Fury coming in after his victory over Deontay Wilder but they are nothing more than rumors at this point.
Goldberg defeated Bray Wyatt’s “Fiend” at Super ShowDown yesterday to win the WWE Universal Championship. The match result has garnered strong reactions from fans and those in the wrestling industry. Booker T took to his radio show recently to give his thoughts on the matter.
“Always expect the unexpected,” Booker said in a Macho Man voice. “Anything can happen in WWE. My thing is, I didn’t think this was going to happen either, I didn’t see this happening.”
Booker continued to say that he felt there was an opportunity for a big “moment” to occur in Saudi Arabia but he wasn’t sure exactly what that would be.
Booker then talked about a potential Roman Reigns vs Goldberg match at WrestleMania. He joked that it would be “old spear” versus “new spear” and that they should work in a little “Shakespeare.”
“I like it because my thing is right here, how else were we going to get the belt off the Fiend?” Booker said about Wyatt losing.
“Who else taking the title off the Fiend would have been better than Goldberg?” Booker asked. His co-host, Brad Gilmore, suggested Roman Reigns may have been better.
“What is better, Roman conquering the Fiend? Or Roman conquering Goldberg?” Booker questioned.
“One thing about Goldberg is, the guy still has his fans,” Booker concluded about Goldberg.
“People know every time they see Goldberg, it could be the last time, so just savor the flavor,” he continued.
Booker’s comments can be heard in the below YouTube video:
Kenny Omega is often cited as one of the best pro-wrestlers going today. Some even offer higher-praise to the former IWGP Heavyweight Champion.
During a discussion with Jonathan Snowden of Bleacher Report, the AEW World Tag Team Champion discussed his process of putting the matches together that his fanbase enjoys so much.
“A lot of wrestlers are wrestling fans at heart,” Omega said. “I’m not necessarily a fan [of wrestling] anymore. I’m a fan of TV dramas, I’m a fan of video games, and I’m a fan of movies. I like the way that those forms of media are laid out to attract the fan. That’s my study material for how I put together a storyline or a match.”
Kenny Omega On His Unique Wrestling Style
Omega continued to say his matches are more about putting together a story than doing cool moves or his athletic ability.
“Yes, I’m athletic and I can do cool moves and I try to be original with the way I perform them, but I feel the way that I put things together is different from the average wrestler because the average wrestler is just that: He’s just a wrestler. He’s a wrestler who wants to be a wrestler. I am wrestling as a job but trying to tell human stories to pull at your heartstrings.”
Omega would also continue to talk about how he is not a typical “wrestler’s wrestler” but that’s not what he’s trying to do.
“There’s no Kenny Omega copy-and-paste formula. It’s all different. It’s difficult and very mentally draining, and because I do that, maybe it makes me not a true wrestler’s wrestler. What I am trying to do is not attract the wrestler’s wrestling fan; I’m trying to open up the world to what wrestling can be and show there is no limitation to what wrestling can be.”
Omega is currently 1/2 of the AEW tag team champions along with Adam “Hangman” Page. They will take on the Young Bucks with the titles on the line at Revolution.
“How special was it for them? Probably very special. They’ve probably been waiting—how long have I been in the WWE—about seven years for this moment. For Bayley to arrive as the champion, of course. It’s only a matter of time.”
She noted how it was special for her to beat Naomi. Bayley stressed how, in the time she was away, things have changed, including the fact ‘The Role Model’ has taken over. With her win, the champion declared that Naomi can now leave, asking her to “Maybe go away again.”
Bayley Wants A “Bayleybration”
When it was brought up that SmackDown was just around the corner, Bayley stated she didn’t have plans to attend. She noted how her best friend Sasha Banks isn’t there because of how she is currently working on an album. The champion then added with a frustrated sigh:
“I’ll probably be there because I have to and I’m the champion, and it’s in my contract, and they’ll yell at me if I’m not. What? I’m not going to defend my title again, that’s for sure. […] Maybe we can have a celebration, what do you think about that? You know what, we have Alexa Bliss, A Moment of Bliss every single freaking day. Maybe A Moment of Bliss can throw a Bayley celebration—Bayleybration.”
If you use any quotes from this article, please provide a H/T to SEScoops.
With Cody Rhodes having been such an instrumental part of All Elite Wrestling, some may wonder if his dad—’The American Dream’ Dusty Rhodes—would have been interested in joining his son’s venture following Cody’s WWE departure.
Speaking with Tony Schiavone and Aubrey Edwards on AEW’s official podcast, AEW Unrestricted, Cody Rhodes broached the idea. He stressed how, more than anything, his father had a high regard for loyalty.
Cody Rhodes On Dusty’s Loyalty
Cody explained how “Hunter gave him that cushy, one day a week job at the Performance Center teaching promos where half the time they were watching movies and it was more like a life class which is what promo class should be.”
He continued, “It was a pretty cushy gig that he had so I don’t know if my mom would let him come work here. I think she would. He was really loyal, and he might have remained loyal. Who knows?”
Dusty’s legacy in NXT continues since his passing in 2015, with the brand hosting an annual Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic in honor of the wrestling legend.
All Elite Wrestling announcer Tony Schiavone has revealed what he believes is the dumbest thing he’s ever said. His revelation comes after WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley poked fun at Schiavone following this week’s episode of AEW Dynamite.
Foley uploaded a photo of himself watching the show, writing, “EPIC stuff from @KennyOmegamanX & @BASTARDPAC on @AEWrestling Yes, I’m channel surfing. It’s a good time to be a wrestling fan. Did @tonyschiavone24 just insult PAC after that amazing match? Could be the second dumbest thing Tony has ever said!”
Schiavone then jumped in, replying to Foley. He admitted how his recent comments were only the third dumbest thing he’s ever said. He then listed the other two:
“Third dumbest. 1.) Yes Vince, I’ll come to work for you 2.) Yes, I’ll move to Connecticut”
Third dumbest. 1.) Yes Vince, I’ll come to work for you 2.) Yes, I’ll move to Connecticut https://t.co/0KmnRhy4WB
Although Tony Schiavone worked for the then-WWF for a stint in the ‘90s, he is best known for his work in WCW. Since WCW, he also provided commentary for Major League Wrestling, prior to his signing with AEW.
There was a time that he was hired by coffee chain Starbucks. This history has been turned into an angle on AEW Dynamite, with Dr. Britt Baker often mocking him for his previous job role.
Tony Schiavone is the co-host of two popular podcasts. He hosts What Happened When along with Conrad Thompson. Last week, AEW launched the new AEW Unrestricted podcast, which features Tony and referee Aubrey Edwards interviewing AEW talent.
Macaulay Culkin has revealed he has cancelled his plans to attend WrestleMania 36 following last night’s Super ShowDown results. The ‘Home Alone’ actor, and noted wrestling fan, shared the news via social media, responding to a joke tweet by Twitter account @WWECreative_ish.
When they tweeted how Super ShowDown was all about “building new stars” like WWE veterans Brock Lesnar, The Undertaker and Goldberg, Culkin sarcastically replied “Amen.” He followed up with a message, letting people know how unhappy he was with the event, writing: “I’ve just cancelled my tickets to Tampa Bay.”
When a fan directly asked him if he planned on still attending despite his comment, Culkin replied: “Nope.”
Goldberg, having seen Culkin’s online protest, told the actor that his thoughts were “duly noted dork.”
Last night saw Lesnar squash Ricochet in just over a minute. The Undertaker would claim the Tuwaiq Trophy after entering himself into the Gauntlet match, delivering a chokeslam to AJ Styles.
Most notably, former WWE Universal Champion Goldberg reclaimed the title. He defeated ‘The Fiend’ Bray Wyatt in approximately three minutes, following several spears and a lone Jackhammer. With this victory, it appears as though Goldberg is now WrestleMania bound.
There has been speculation that the WrestleMania 36 card has been changed recently. Goldberg will supposedly be going up against the ‘Big Dog’ Roman Reigns. Given he is now the Universal Champion, their clash will most likely be over the title.
Reigns recently shared how he would have preferred to face Wyatt on “The Grandest Stage of Them All.” This decision, however, has seemingly changed those plans.
All Elite Wrestling’s Maxwell Jacob Friedman (MJF) has shared what he believes makes him stand out amongst today’s wrestling landscape. Speaking with Sports Illustrated ahead of his highly-anticipated matchup against Cody Rhodes, MJF credited his old school mentality as his defining characteristic.
“The funny thing about the independents is you got bookings based off of GIFs, the GIFs you see on Twitter,” MJF stated. “Someone doing a 759-30-splat-yada-yada, Darby’s coffin drops with the f—ing skateboard attached to his back, Orange Cassidy kicking people in the shins real slow, Jungle Boy doing flippity do-dahs and flippity-ays, the list goes on and on. I had a chuckle after my match with Jungle Boy when I saw everybody saying, ‘I had no idea MJF was such a great wrestler!’ Well, I knew. But why on earth would I put myself in a situation where I have to take these stupid moves? I’ll watch other matches and see moves and ask myself, ‘Why?’”
He argued how he’s “as old-school as it gets in this modern era” before stressing how he’s the last of a dying breed. MJF shared how he doesn’t care about GIFs or making people happy. “I didn’t care about people going, ‘Oh, my god, his work rate is absolutely fantastic. I can’t wait to see his next five-star match.’”
MJF On His Old School Attitude
MJF noted how he cares about making sure that people remember him, but only for the right reasons. He wants to be the last thing fans think of when they go to sleep. He stressed how it wouldn’t be because he’s hitting the coolest moves or putting on his body on the line. It would be because of how he captivated them.
MJF stressed how he doesn’t do things to make people happy, he does things his way because it’s what he wants to do. As far as he’s concerned, that mentality is “what makes me different.”
MJF clashes with Cody Rhodes this Saturday at AEW Revolution. The pay-per-view takes place at Wintrust Arena in Chicago, Illinois.
NXT Superstar Johnny Gargano has previously shared his intentions to stay on NXT. For many, he is synonymous with WWE’s black-and-yellow brand. He has recently spoken about his annoyance at people calling NXT the “minor leagues.” Despite his evident passion for the third brand, however, he did spend some time on WWE’s main roster. Catching up with Corey Grave on WWE’s podcast, After The Bell, Gargano reflected on his brief time as a part of the main roster.
Johnny Gargano Breaks Down The Differences
When Graves described his time on Monday Night RAW and SmackDown as “a cup of coffee,” Gargano joked how “I don’t know if that was a cup of coffee. I mobile ordered, but I didn’t pick it up.”
Looking back at his experience on the main roster, Johnny Gargano confessed that it’s very different to what he knows in NXT.
“Maybe it’s because I’m so entrenched with the NXT system, and I’ve known our writing staff, our creative team, all the camera guys and everyone who works backstage plus it’s at Full Sail every week and that’s 10 minutes from my apartment in Orlando so that’s nice.”
He continued, “The travel schedule isn’t as hectic as RAW and Smackdown, but there is that same sense of urgency that is also on RAW and Smackdown. It’s just different. I feel like it’s a lot more stressful on RAW and Smackdown for some strange reason, but in NXT, it feels like home. It feels like I’m very very comfortable, so I think that’s the biggest difference for me.”
Johnny Gargano explained how on the main roster, there are “literally a million people.” Whenever he was backstage at RAW or SmackDown, he would meet new people all the time. At NXT, because of the smaller environment and familiar faces, it has created a family environment that he enjoys.
Ryback has addressed WWE’s decision to block their Superstars from appearing on Vickie Guerrero’s podcast. This comes in the wake of her appearance last December on an episode of AEW’s YouTube show, Dark. The revelation has sparked some debate from those within the industry. To Ryback, however, people shouldn’t be surprised.
“Not surprising,” Ryback said during an episode of Shooting Blanks Wrestling Report. “There’s some WWE guys, and I’m friends with some of them, that I can get on [this show].”
He continued, “Even guys that I’m friends with, I know they have to go the office to get approval to do [things]. That’s what I remember when I was there. They added that in which is crazy for independent contractors. They’re not allowed to make decisions on their own. WWE says you’re not allowed to do any interviews unless it’s approved by us, so that’s really odd to do that to independent contractors.”
Ryback: “That’s What They Do”
Ryback explained how “that’s what they do.” He pointed to a time he had Dolph Ziggler come onto the show. He highlighted how they didn’t even talk about wrestling and instead stuck to comedy for a full hour. They did this because if they spoke about wrestling, there would have been “repercussions” for Ziggler, be it a fine or punishment.
Although not surprised by WWE’s ruling, Ryback shared how he doesn’t like hearing it happen. “It makes it tougher. I would love to talk to guys that I’ve wrestled with and could share stories with. It’s just the way that it is. It’s what they do. It shouldn’t come to a surprise to anybody.”
Vickie Guerrero appeared on the 12/11 episode of Dark, where she joined Excalibur as a guest commentator.
Former WWE Superstar CM Punk has discussed the possibility of wrestling for All Elite Wrestling (AEW) while still working on WWE Backstage. Joining Kevin in the Mornings with Allie & Jensen, Punk argued that he technically could, but wouldn’t be surprised by a negative response from Fox.
“I think if I was wrestling for AEW, I’m sure Fox would be like, ‘well, it was fun while it lasted.’ I guess technically [I could],” Punk said. “Technically I could do that yeah, but I’m sure Fox would be like, ‘well?'”
He stressed how he can still do commentary on MMA shows while working on WWE Backstage. Punk also reiterated how he is an employee for Fox, not WWE.
CM Punk On Renee Young
CM Punk credited Renee Young with being instrumental in bringing him onto WWE Backstage. He shared how wrestling fans “owe a debt of gratitude” to her if they enjoy seeing him occasionally on the show.
“I don’t think it would have happened if it wasn’t for her. I was talking to Fox for a very long time. They immediately got Renee on board. Renee and I were having conversations every day.”
According to him, Young was suffering from ring fatigue thanks to her commentary duties on Monday Night RAW. With Backstage, however, she still gets to work within a wrestling space—just one without somebody “in her ear yelling at her.” He was complimentary of Young’s passion and mindset for wrestling, pointing out that “she gets it, and that’s what she excels at.”
