The Undertaker opened up on why he doesn’t watch WWE programming as often as he’d like to.
He did so during an interview with USA Today. Taker had been a prominent television figure for wrestling fans worldwide, but that has changed as he has gone from full-time to part-time and now retired.
He talked about watching sports and various TV series. He noted that he doesn’t watch much of WWE as often because he feels like he should be there.
“I can to a certain degree. But a lot of times I catch myself talking to the TV like they can hear me. It’s hard to be just a straight fan, because I want everybody to succeed and to develop into their potential. So I’m kind of like, ‘Oh man, don’t do it. It didn’t make sense.
Don’t do that. Why would you do that?’ You would actually laugh if there was a camera watching me watch wrestling. I have these conversations and it’s pretty amusing, I’m sure.”
The Undertaker is set to do his ‘Final Farewell’ at Survivor Series on Sunday night. He has confirmed in various interviews that he’s retired from pro wrestling.
Even though AEW has faced some challenges from WWE, Kenny Omega isn’t against the idea of the promotion working with WWE should if a potential scenario comes up in the future.
The All Elite Wrestling EVP spoke about the idea of WWE approaching AEW for a potential working relationship while doing an interview with Wrestling Observer Radio.
“If, for some reason, WWE came knocking on our door and said, ‘hey, we would love to do a talent switch or tradeoff, or work together on something, I’d be all for it,’”
Omega joked that he wasn’t sure whether AEW President Tony Khan would welcome such a deal. He does think a talent exchange would help pro wrestling’s popularity.
“Whatever benefits the wrestling fan must always come first,” Omega stated. “When you start thinking about fantasy scenarios, if wrestlers crossed over like that, it gets really exciting.”
Omega thinks it would be a win-win situation for current fans and they won’t ever know until they try.
Omega challenges Jon Moxley for the AEW World Heavyweight Title on the December 2nd episode of AEW Dynamite on TNT.
Shayna Baszler ruled the women’s division for a long stretch of NXT’s recent history.
Aside from her singles accomplishments, Baszler was NXT Women’s Champion for over a year during her second reign as champion. That came to a halt when she was dethroned by Rhea Ripley.
Earlier this year after the Royal Rumble pay-per-view, WWE decided to move her to the Monday Night RAW brand permanently.
The WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion did an interview with Kayla Braxton on her IGTV series where she admitted that she does miss a part of NXT.
“When you watch Monday, Wednesday, Fridays, there’s a certain aura, energy, that each show kind of specifically has on its own. There is this kind of gritty energy that NXT has, you know, and it is something that I miss.
But I ruled that division and so it was time to move on. If you want to keep fresh, you gotta do stuff like that, even if it seems like it sucks. It’s like graduating high school. It sucked kind of, but you have to do it.”
Baszler is one half of the WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions with Nia Jax. she also wrestled then-RAW Women’s Champion Becky Lynch at WrestleMania 36.
Drew McIntyre did an interview with Sports Illustrated to promote this Sunday’s WWE Survivor Series pay-per-view event where he’ll take on Universal Champion Roman Reigns in a champion vs. champion match, which means it’s non-title.
The WWE Champion spoke highly of Reigns and the new character that he’s portrayed since he made his return back in August.
“Roman is fully embracing his character, without restrictions, and he’s gone to another level. He’s got Paul Heyman by his side, and he’s genuinely so compelling. This is the ultimate opportunity, in the ring with him, to prove I am the top guy in WWE.”
The two stars did work a notable program heading into WrestleMania 35 two years ago. However, McIntyre understands that at the time it was Reigns’ moment because he had just returned from his battle with leukemia.
How this matchup differs from their WrestleMania 35 showdown:
“This is way different than 35. He’s done a lot since then, but I have risen up the card, too. I have a lot to prove to him this Sunday.”
The card for Sunday’s (November 22, 2020) WWE Survivor Series pay-per-view event has been finalized.
The company hasn’t officially announced the main event of this event that takes place in Orlando, Florida at the Amway Center that will air on the WWE Network but it will most likely be WWE Champion Drew McIntyre vs. WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns.
As a reminder, we will be providing live play-by-play coverage of this special on Sunday evening starting at 6 PM EST.
WWE Champion Drew McIntyre vs. WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns
RAW Women’s Champion Asuka vs. SmackDown Women’s Champion Sasha Banks
WWE United States Champion Bobby Lashley vs. WWE Intercontinental Champion Sami Zayn
RAW Tag Team Champions The New Day vs. SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Street Profits
Team RAW (Keith Lee, AJ Styles, Sheamus, Braun Strowman, Matt Riddle) vs. Team SmackDown (Kevin Owens, Jey Uso, Seth Rollins, Baron Corbin, Otis) – Men’s Traditional 5-on-5 Elimination Match
Team RAW (Team Captains: WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax, Peyton Royce, Lacey Evans, and Lana) vs. Team SmackDown (Bianca Belair, Ruby Riott, Liv Morgan, Bayley and Natalya) – Women’s Traditional 5-on-5 Elimination Match
No competitors have yet to be announced – Dual-Brand Battle Royal (pre-show)
WWE Hall of Famer and co-host of SiriusXM’s Busted Open Radio Bully Ray recently discussed Zelina Vega’s release from WWE.
Thea Trinidad/Vega’s release came as a shock last weekend, and may questions have been raised regarding WWE and their ongoing ‘independent contractor’ status for their on-air talent. Bully Ray would give his perspective on the situation, saying that there may be more than meets the eye.
Bully would also address Aleister Black’s situation now in WWE. When talents leave the company and their partners are still on contract? It’s not always plain sailing, with Ray suggesting that Lana is a major example of this.
Lana has been put through the announcer’s table on RAW over the past few weeks, and he indicates (as many fans have) that this is clearly due to her husband leaving the company and heading to AEW. This whilst Miro/Rusev has made disparaging comments about WWE pubicaly and on AEW Dynamite.
Bully Ray on Aleister Black
“Obviously, Rusev comes on this show, says something that WWE doesn’t like, and now his wife is paying for it” Bully Ray began on Busted Open. “And she has been paying for it. Now whether you like it, or you don’t like it? Blah blah blah. Trust me, that’s what’s going on.”
“It’s gonna be interesting to see what goes on with Aleister Black” Bully Ray would continue. “Because, of course, they let Thea (Zelina Vega) go. He might be just fine? But now let’s see if they toy with him. This is how they [WWE] get you.”
Do you think that WWE will mess with Black on television? Let us know in the comments
WWE has a job advertisement out at the moment looking for a new lead writer. Both former WWE writer Brian Gewirtz and CM Punk responded to a story about WWE’s search for a new writer and cracked a couple of jokes at the company’s expense.
Gewirtz, who now works with the Rock’s “Seven Bucks Promotions”, joked about being the new writer and then pointing out problems with WWE’s booking of Survivor Series:
“Happy to get started! I assume we all realize the folly of fighting for brand supremacy one month after a draft when brand loyalty/identity cannot be properly established and with no meaningful stakes, the matches can feel forced and meaningless… I’m fired aren’t I?” https://t.co/JephYtfWrr
“The Lead Writer will have the opportunity to manage, mentor, and develop experienced Writers/Producers with a diverse creative background while simultaneously being accountable for compiling, editing, and developing weekly/long term scripts, storylines, and character development,” reads WWE’s job advertisement.
Gewirtz also recently gave a humorous response to a question posed by New York’s Public Theatre. The venue asked, “What ISN’T Shakespeare but FEELS like Shakespeare?” Gewirtz’s answer was when Eric Bischoff was revealed as the official of the marriage between Billy and Chuck:
Jon Moxley casually mentioned that he had a pregnant wife at home during a promo on this week’s episode of Dynamite and this is how the world found out about the pregnancy of Renee Young.
Young opened up about her pregnancy after the big announcement in her interview with People.com and said that they are beyond excited to start this new chapter of their lives:
“We are so beyond excited to start this new chapter, and now finally having the world know feels like a weight has been lifted off my chest.
I am the worst at keeping fun secrets! However I definitely couldn’t have predicted that the world would have found out on AEW Dynamite.”
Talking about the way the world found out about her pregnancy, Young revealed that she was still thinking about ways to make the announcement when Mox decided to let everyone know:
“I was thinking about all of these cute different ways that we could break the news to everyone and then bam, Jon just haphazardly spills the beans on Dynamite! But we’re a kinda no-frills couple, so I guess it actually fit perfectly.”
Renee Young then revealed that they don’t know the gender of the baby yet but said that they have options for baby names for both the scenarios.
The former WWE star also claimed that her maternal instinct is telling her that it’s going to be a girl. You can check out her full interview at this link.
Bianca Belair made her official main roster debut during the WrestleMania 36 event earlier this year and she then established herself as a member of the Raw roster the next night.
The former NXT star recently had an interview with Bleacher Report where she talked about a number of things and also revealed when she found out about her WrestleMania appearance.
Belair revealed that she knew there was possibility of her debuting at the Raw after WrestleMania but she then got a call at the day of the Show Of Shows telling her that she was needed for the PPV:
“I believe it was that morning I got a phone call saying, ‘Hey, you’re needed.’ ‘For WrestleMania?’ ‘Yes. You’re debuting with The Street Profits.’ ‘Oh, OK. Cool, great.'”
Belair went on to explain that it’s the nature of the business that you have to stay ready all the time and you might miss out on the opportunity if you are not ready.
Apart from this, Bianca Belair talked about her time on the main roster and a possible move to NXT. You can check out her comments about a possible return to the Black and Yellow brand at this link.
A lot of people still believe that Brock Lesnar was not the right choice to end the undefeated WrestleMania streak of The Undertaker and during a recent interview, The Dead Man revealed who he thinks should have done the job.
The former world champion recently had an interview with Sports Illustrated where he talked about many things and discussed the ending of his famous WrestleMania Streak in detail.
Taker first mentioned how he thinks that Brock Lesnar did not need the victory and the Last Outlaw later went on to explain that the win would have done much more for Roman Reigns:
“I don’t think Brock needed that victory,” said Taker. “Brock was huge. Brock was just coming back from UFC and he’s an attraction all to himself. And whether he loses to The Undertaker isn’t gonna hurt his stock one bit. He’s still gonna be the Beast Incarnate.
“It would’ve done much more for Roman Reigns than it would’ve for Brock Lesnar.” said The Undertaker, “Roman Reigns would’ve made a lot more sense for me than Brock.”
The WWE Legend was asked if he ever tried to change Vince McMahon’s mind about the decision and he mentioned how they have had several disagreements about various storylines over the years.
The Undertaker then recalled how Vince McMahon came down to the dressing room on the day of the show. The two had a discussion and it was there that they made the final decision to end the Streak.
You can check out Taker’s full interview at this link.
WWE is often criticized for scripting the promos and matches of the superstars and during a recent interview, Chris Jericho revealed why Vince McMahon started doing this.
Y2J was recently joined by Court Bauer on his Talk Is Jericho podcast where the two discussed the evolution of wrestling from the attitude era to this day in detail.
During the interview, Chris revealed that Vince McMahon originally started incorporating writers into wrestling because he wanted to beat Friends:
“The reason why writers became a thing was when we started SmackDown, which was right after I got there, August ‘99; Vince made it his motto that SmackDown was going to be bigger than ‘Friends’.
‘We’re going to beat ‘Friends’ on Thursday’, and his reasoning and idea and strategy was well ‘Friends’ has writers” recalled Chris Jericho, “Then we need writers too.”
Bauer then discussed how WWE is a hybrid system where they take aspects of TV, sports and show biz and combine them all to create the ‘WWE gumbo’.
Apart from this, Chris Jericho also talked about this transition and recalled how there were no writers when he first arrived in WWE and confronted the Rock during their famous segment on his debut.
NXT expanded its weekly programming from a one-hour show to a two-hour program last year and latest reports suggest that we might see a further extension of some sort for the Black and Yellow brand in the future.
According to reports from Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Triple H is going through the budget and trying to find a way to expand the NXT programming with some type of show.
The idea behind it is to get more ring time and exposure for the stacked NXT roster. Though there is no word on if the company could be considering a second TV show for the brand.
It’s possible that the officials might be looking to do some sort of local event for the NXT stars but it was noted that they won’t be doing regular non televised live events as they were doing prior to the pandemic.
Before the coronavirus pandemic forced the promotion to halt live events, the brand used to run two separate sets of house shows. One set saw the top NXT stars touring the major US cities while another group consisting of younger wrestlers ran smaller venues in Florida.
This is not the first time we are hearing about a second NXT show and reports have suggested that the company was looking to expand the NXT programming before the pandemic hit.
Now it would be interesting to see where these rejuvenated talks about expanding the NXT programming lead and if we see a second NXT show sometime in near future.
WWE has reportedly released the Executive Vice President and Global Head of Sales & Partnerships and Head of International John Brody this week.
According to reports from PWInsider, the company executive was released either on Wednesday or Thursday. A significant portion of his team had been furloughed earlier this year and many were let go later on.
The Global Sales & Partnerships division he oversaw had been shifted under the company’s Chief Brand Officer Stephanie McMahon in August. Brody who was previously leading the department had been reporting to McMahon since then.
John Brody has been with the company for almost 6 years. He worked as an advisor before joining the promotion in a full-time capacity.
John was apparently a key member of the company’s Executive Committee which was responsible for providing strategic vision for their global sales operations.
This is not the only big release which has been confirmed recently and the firing of Zelina Vega after her disputes with the company over their third party edicts is still a hot topic of discussion.
After Brody, there are talks that the company could be looking to terminate more executives in near future and we’ll keep you updated on any such news.
WWE SmackDown aired live from the ThunderDome in the Amway Center. It was the final episode of SmackDown before Survivor Series this Sunday. In addition to the takeaways below, Otis and Bayley were announced for Team SmackDown at Survivor Series.
New Day & Street Profits def. King Corbin, Sami Zayn, Dolph Ziggler, Robert Roode
Natalya def. Tamina via submission to qualify for Team SmackDown at Survivor Series
Murphy def. Seth Rollins
Daniel Bryan def. Jey Uso
Here are the takeaways from this week’s show:
New Day & Street Profits Picked Up A Win
RAW Tag Team Champions New Day kicked off the show to hype up their match against SmackDown Tag Team Champions Street Profits at Survivor Series.
Woods and Kofi posed like Undertaker to give him a tribute before Intercontinental Champion Sami Zayn interrupted. Zayn said we are a couple days away from one of the biggest PPVs of the year and told New Day to start talking about him.
New Day said Sami Zayn looks like a recently divorced dad that just bought an apartment. King Corbin joined the party and complained that New Day are RAW superstars and they do not belong on his show.
Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode interrupted and Dolph stated that he is bros with Corbin but doesn’t like Sami. Ziggler noted that it was really cute that New Day and Street Profits traded titles and claimed that they should be RAW Tag Team Champions. New Day suggested that Corbin & Zayn battle Roode & Ziggler and the winners get a shot at the RAW Tag Team Championships.
Street Profits then rushed down to the ring and hit Ziggler and Corbin with a Dropkick. Montez Ford then flipped onto Corbin, Roode, Ziggler, an Zayn outside the ring as SmackDown went to a commercial break. It turned into an 8-man tag match when SmackDown returned.
Match Recap: New Day and Street Profits isolated Roode in the corner and beat him down. Corbin tagged in and planted Woods with Deep Six for a near fall. Montez Ford tagged in and hit Corbin with a Clothesline. Montez followed it up with a Moonsault for a near fall. Kofi Kingston accidentally leveled Ford with a Crossbody as SmackDown went to a commercial break.
When SmackDown returned, Montez Ford was still trapped in the ring as Corbin beat him down in the corner. Woods and Roode tagged in and Xavier connected with a DDT for a two count. Dawkins tagged in and hit Roode with a Splash int he corner. Roode responded with a Spinebuster and tagged in Zayn.
Sami refused to get into the ring but Dawkins dragged him over the top rope. Angelo followed it up with a Spinebuster and tagged in Montez. Ford climbed to the top rope and hit the From the Heavens Frog Splash for the pinfall victory.
After the match, Sami Zayn was still complaining to referees backstage. Sami stumbled upon Daniel Bryan and told him that he and everyone else needs to start showing him respect. Bryan shoved Sami to the floor and Zayn retreated.
Opinion: The first 15 minutes of the show was spend building up a #1 contenders match between Roode & Ziggler and Corbin & Zayn. That never happened and the 8-man tag match was pretty pointless.
Seth Rollins squared off against Murphy tonight on SmackDown. Murphy came to the ring with Rey, Dominik, and Aalyah. Rollins caught Murphy with a right hand to the face as he tried to get into the ring. Murphy then got into the ring and the match officially started.
Match Recap: Rollins broke Murphy back out of the ring and launched him into the barricade. Seth bounced Murphy’s face off the ring post and rolled him back into the ring. Rollins tied Murphy up in the ropes and grabbed a kendo stick from under the ring.
Seth shouted that he doesn’t give a damn if he gets disqualified and Rey ripped the kendo stick away. Rollins bounced Rey’s head off the announce table and sent Dominik into the barricade. Murphy broke free and climbed up to the top rope. Rollins shoved Murphy off the turnbuckle and into the barricade.
Rollins started walking towards Aalyah and she fell down. Seth laughed at her as SmackDown went to a commercial break. When SmackDown returned, Rollins connected with a Slingblade and went for the cover but Murphy kicked out at two. Seth followed it up with a Superplex and then a Falcon Arrow for another near fall.
Murphy battled back and caught Rollins with a knee to the face. Seth Rollins hit Murphy with the Stomp off the second rope and went for the cover but Murphy somehow got his leg on the bottom rope to break it up. Rollins connected with a Buckle Bomb and went for the Stomp but Murphy hit another knee to the face. Rollins went for the Stomp again but Murphy countered with another knee to the face. Murphy then hit Murphy’s Law for the pinfall victory.
Natalya faced Tamina in a Survivor Series Qualifying match. Bianca Belair joined commentary for the match. Bayley interrupted before the match started and joined commentary as well.
Match Recap: Tamina knocked Natalya out of the ring and sent her into the steel steps. Bianca and Bayley started arguing and Belair told Bayley to stop messing with Team SmackDown’s vibe. Bayley declared herself team captain and the two argued as the action returned to the ring. Natalya hit Tamina with a Clothesline and locked in the Sharpshooter for the submission victory.
WWE has added some things to this year’s Survivor Series pay-per-view.
On Friday afternoon, WWE announced that a dual-brand battle royal will take place on the Survivor Series pre-show. It will feature wrestlers from RAW and SmackDown. However, the participants for the match haven’t been announced.
WWE.com wrote about the battle royal: “The battle of The Best of the Best will start off with fireworks, as Raw and SmackDown Superstars will clash in a Dual-Brand Battle Royal on the Survivor Series Kickoff. Who will step up for the red and blue brands to send the night’s first message?”
During this week’s SmackDown episode, Otis was added to the men’s team while Bayley and Natalya were added to the women’s team to take on Team RAW in traditional 5-on-5 elimination tag team matches.
The men’s team will be Otis, Kevin Owens, Jey Uso, Baron Corbin & Seth Rollins against Team RAW (AJ Styles, Keith Lee, Sheamus, Braun Strowman & Riddle) while the women’s team will see Bianca Belair, Ruby Riott, Liv Morgan, Bayley & Natalya vs. Team RAW (Shayna Baszler, Nia Jax, Lana, Lacey Evans & Peyton Royce).
WWE presents the Survivor Series pay-per-view event on November 22. The pre-show will be an hour long with the main card starting at 7 p.m. Eastern time.
When Randy Orton beat Drew McIntyre to win the WWE Universal Title at last month’s Hell in a Cell pay-per-view event, some fans were caught off guard for two reasons.
The first being WWE booking Orton to lose to McIntyre twice before on pay-per-view. The other being the company building towards a non-title match between Orton and WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns at Sunday’s Survivor Series pay-per-view event.
It was reported that the plan as of last Friday was for Orton to face Reigns at Survivor Series but those plans changed by the time they went on the air.
Of course, McIntyre won back the WWE Title by beating Orton on Monday’s episode of RAW.
Dave Meltzer reported in the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that all of the key players were under the impression before RAW went live on Monday that Orton was still planning to wrestle Reigns at Survivor Series.
As a result, things changed between that time and when the decision was made to have a title switch.
Meltzer brought up the belief among many people in the company that Orton likely figured out that he was losing the title when McIntyre appeared on last week’s SmackDown.
In September, John Cena revealed that he would be hosting “Wipeout” on TBS. Unfortunately, a tragic incident has happened on the show.
TMZ is reporting that a contestant has died after competing on the show. Per the report, a male contestant needed medical attention after completing the course. He was treated on-site until paramedics arrived after experiencing chest pain after completing the course.
Per the report, the contestant suffered cardiac arrest just before noon on Wednesday. TBS issued the following statement on the incident:
“We are devastated to have learned of his passing and our deepest sympathy goes out to the family.”
As of this writing, there’s no word yet on how this will affect future episodes of the show as it’s currently in production.
He’ll be joined by co-host Nicole Bayer and Camille Kostek. The show first premiered on ABC in 2008 and moved to TBS this year.
The legendary WWE Superstar and Shay Shariatzadeh were married on October 12th in Tampa, FL. Cena took part in the Firefly Fun House match against Bray Wyatt at WrestleMania 36 earlier this year. This was his most recent WWE appearance.
WWE has found closer to a lawsuit regarding their business relationship with the Kingdom Of Saudi Arabia.
WWE announced the news in an SEC filing, which states a settlement of $39 million will be paid to City Of Warren Police and Fire Retirement System, stockholders who made a complaint earlier this year.
Basically, the lawsuit alleged that WWE executives artificially inflated stock prices, sold shares, and failed to disclose failed negotiations regarding a new broadcast deal in Saudi Arabia.
“The Term Sheet was reached in connection with a voluntary mediation which involved the Plaintiffs and their counsel, the Company and its counsel, and the Company’s insurance carriers. Aside from the Term Sheet, there will be other standard and customary terms of class action settlements in the stipulation of settlement. The settlement is subject to notice to the class and preliminary and final approval by the Court.
The Company believes that resolving the matter is the right business decision and that it is prudent to end the protracted and uncertain class action process.”
The defendants listed in the lawsuit were WWE, Vince McMahon, and former WWE Co-Presidents George Barrios and Michelle Wilson. WWE expects the settlement to be paid by their insurance carriers.
Seth Rollins is expected to take some time off from WWE, but for his fans, the good news is that he won’t be gone for long.
It was reported last week that WWE has planned for Rollins to take some time off next month to be with Becky Lynch as their first child is set to be born.
Dave Meltzer reported in the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that Rollins isn’t expected to miss much ring time. In fact, the belief is Rollins will be back on WWE TV fairly quickly.
As of this writing, there is still no word on the exact date that Rollins’ break will start, but it was indicated that he will be off for the month of December.
With this timeline, it could put him back in time for the Royal Rumble build in January and the beginning of WrestleMania 37 season. As it stands right now, WrestleMania is still expected to take place in late March.
WWE booked Rollins in a singles match against Murphy on Friday Night SmackDown. He’ll also work the Traditional 5-on-5 Elimination Match against Team RAW as he’ll be on Team SmackDown at Survivor Series.
It’s been reported that WWE rushed this singles match and rushed to the blow-off to the Rey Mysterio feud on last week’s SmackDown due to Rollins taking time off.
WWE Hall of Famer and co-host of SiriusXM’s Busted Open Radio Bully Ray recently discussed Zelina Vega’s release from WWE.
Thea Trinidad/Vega’s release came as a shock last weekend, and may questions have been raised regarding WWE and their ongoing ‘independent contractor’ status for their on-air talent. Bully Ray would give his perspective on the situation, saying that there may be more than meets the eye.
“To see the situation surface value? I obviously understand why so many people would be pissed off” Bully Ray began on the show. “But when you’re looking at the surface? When you’re looking at the tip of the iceberg? All you’re seeing is the tip. The majority of the iceberg lies beneath and that’s where the truth lies, all the way beneath.”
Bully Ray on Zelina Vega
Bully Ray would then discuss how the situation is more based on business rather than personal issues. “I’ve said this before when it comes to many instances with talent in the WWE. This is not a ‘hey we don’t like you Thea so we’re not letting you do your Twitch or your YouTube’ or whatever extracurricular things she was doing.”
“It has nothing to do with personal stuff” Bully Ray continued. “This is all business. What people need to realise is this: when you sign a WWE contract as an independent contractor? They basically own every single thing you do. Period. End of story.”
Ray would then talk specifics about WWE contracts, saying “there are paragraphs in a WWE contract that specifically talk about what Thea and other talents are doing with Twitch and third party [sites]. Does it name Twitch by name? I don’t know. An updated version of a WWE contract probably does say Twitch, I don’t know, but I’m sure it specifically outlines Twitch, or YouTube or Cameo or any of these other avenues in which WWE wrestlers can use their persona, name, or likeness to earn extra money that WWE is not in control of.”
Where do you think Zelina Vega/Thea Trinidad will end up? Let us know in the comments
Paul Heyman has described WWE Champion Drew McIntrye as a “god sent to WWE” during a recent interview with talkSPORT ahead of Sunday’s Survivor Series event.
Despite his high praise, however, Heyman stressed how McIntyre will always be the “biggest Superstar with the secondary championship.”
“The problem here is that Drew McIntyre is a god sent to WWE. A magnificent performer. A tremendous human being. A fantastic representative of the WWE brand,” Heyman explained. “He will end up with a championship reign that will be deserving of the Mount Rushmore of championship reigns.”
Heyman stated how the issue lies in McIntyre being the right guy, at the right place, but at the wrong time.
He explained his thought process, sharing how ” Drew McIntyre is always going to be the biggest superstar with the secondary championship because it’s not the championship that makes the man, it’s the man that makes the championship.”
According to Heyman, the “biggest single Superstar” in WWE right now is Roman Reigns. He believes that come this Sunday at Survivor Series, Reigns will demonstrate why he is the “most important champion” in WWE.
Paul Heyman shared how, as great as Drew McIntyre is, the WWE Champion will have to accept that he is simply secondary to the Universal Champion, Roman Reigns.
McIntyre recently defeated Randy Orton for the WWE Championship on Monday Night Raw. This victory means he will face off against Roman Reigns in a Champion vs. Champion matchup this Sunday at Survivor Series. Paul Heyman is set to accompany Reigns to ringside.
All Elite Wrestling’s Chris Jericho has detailed what he believes the promotion could be doing better, acknowledging that it has made a few mistakes along the way.
Speaking with Konnan on his podcast Keeping it 100, Jericho discussed how, despite AEW’s success, there have been “details that sometimes slip through the cracks.”
“We still have quite a few times when very similar angles will happen one after the other. An example of that was a few weeks ago when the big question was if MJF would join The Inner Circle,” Jericho said.
“I think there was a town hall when Bischoff was asking the questions. As soon as we were done, we went to a package where Taz was asking if Hobbs will join Taz’ team.”
According to Jericho, he brought up the similarities in a production meeting, asking how it happened. He stressed how the segments were the “exact same thing” and that nobody noticed.
Looking to try and differentiate the two segments, Jericho pitched a few ideas. This extended to leaning into different wording between the two stories. He explained how they used “Will MJF join The Inner Circle was the tagline for our PPV match, therefore any other joinings should be suspended for this duration.”
He stated how that approach is “common sense” before admitting that, sometimes, “those things fall through the cracks.”
Chris Jericho then stressed how, if there’s one thing AEW can do going forward, it’s to commit “a little more attention to detail.”
Chris Jericho And Comedy
When Konnan asked if Jericho thinks he’s doing too much comedy in AEW, Jericho argued that, regardless, his feuds always have heat.
He explained how his storylines will always have a beginning, middle, and end that is meticulously planned out. Jericho added how he’s not booking anybody else, only himself.
Jericho explained how, to have a captivating, compelling story, “there has to be ups and downs.”
He then argued how the original idea and connection between himself and MJF stemmed from comedy as “they are very similar characters.”
He added how the ultimate end goal is to turn everybody into much bigger stars by feuding with him. “At this point in my career, all I’m about is entertaining and being creatively stimulated and not doing the same old same old.”
Jericho then reflected on the recent Le Dinner Debonair segment with MJF. He credited MJF with the idea before praising him as a “childhood prodigy.”
“The song and dance routine, I wouldn’t do that with anybody, that was MJF’s idea by the way. The guy was a childhood prodigy. He’s been singing and dancing since he was five years old. If there was ever a time to try it, let’s do it. Are we going to do it every week? No. Is it something people will always remember? Yes.”
WWE Superstars The New Day are featured in a new DLC character pack for the popular Gears 5 video game.
Gears 5 is a third-person shooter video game that developed by The Coalition for Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One and Windows PC. It is the fifth installment of the Gears of War series.
The New Day Pack is free with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate Perks. Claim your Perks by going to your Perks gallery on your Xbox console or Xbox App on Windows 10 PC.
New Day in Gears 5
Xavier Woods, Kofi Kingston and Big E are huge video game fans, so this has to be a huge honor for them to be featured in a non-WWE video game.
After playing @GearsOfWar for years (& reading the books ?) I’m happy to announce that myself @TrueKofi & @WWEBigE somehow convinced them make us playable dlc characters in #Gears5@Xbox
If you thought getting popped by gnashers got on your nerves, wait until its us doing it ? pic.twitter.com/nweuRLSzi7
Jon Moxley somewhat casually mentioned he has a pregnant wife at home during a promo on AEW Dynamite this week. According to a report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Renee has been pregnant for some time now and was about to make a public announcement. Moxley was the one who decided to reveal the news in a wrestling promo, however.
At first, Moxley is said to have not wanted to announce anything but realized it was unavoidable. He was shown examples of other celebrities who have publicly announced a pregnancy and did not like what he saw.
“He was shown instagram notices on how celebrities have done it and found them gross and pretentious but never even considered the idea of announcing it in a wrestling promo. Then at 2 a.m. before the show, he came up with the inspiration to do a promo about his dad, which, by the way, was 100 percent real,” wrote Dave Meltzer.
He is then said to have determined the morning of the show that he can tie in Renee’s pregnancy with the promo he was going to deliver that night about his dad. He told Renee her phone would be blowing up during the broadcast and that was that.
Former Smackdown Women’s Champion, Bayley, found out about the pregnancy before others. She noted on Twitter that Renee actually sent her a text about it that was meant to go to Moxley.
WWE announced Zelina Vega’s release Friday afternoon, just minutes after she tweeted her support for unionization. Her abrupt departure from the company and the subsequent fallout have been one of the top stories we’ve been tracking over the past week.
Vega issued a heartfelt message thanking WWE for the experience, as well as several key people who believed in her and helped her achieve the success that she did. She would later describe the past week as “literal hell.”
A new report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter states that Vega was unceremoniously escorted out of the building at Friday’s SmackDown taping after Vince McMahon refused to meet with her:
“According to one person in the company with knowledge of the situation, she was told about it by Mark Carrano, asked to talk to Vince McMahon and Carrano told her that he doesn’t want to talk to you and [she] was escorted out of the building.”
WWE has publicly confirmed that Zelina Vega was released because she breached her contract. Vega is a popular online streamer. In addition to her very lucrative presence on Twitch, she also recently launched an account on OnlyFans, where people can subscribe for $30/month to receive exclusive videos and photos of “cosplays, lingerie, swimsuits and more.”
News of Zelina Vega’s clash with WWE has caught the attention of politician Andrew Yang, as well as the prominent Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) labor union. Her fallout with WWE has brought renewed attention to WWE’s questionable classification of talent as independent contractors.
