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RAW Talk Returning, Talking Smack Could Be Next (Update)

Anutosh Bajpai
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Update: WWE has now confirmed the return of Raw Talk with the official announcement of a free tier for the WWE Network.

Original: Raw Talk and Talking Smack, the featured talk shows that followed Raw and SmackDown after the return of brand split in 2016 might be coming back to WWE Network, as soon as this week.

The Raw aftershow is currently listed on WWE Network schedule for a premiere at 11 PM EST following this week’s episode of the Monday night show.

While there is no preview available for the show as of yet, and it could change over the course of the day, the program is currently listed on the Network schedule publically.

Talking Smack and Raw Talk

In addition to this, WWE Network News is reporting that they had heard a few months back that both Raw Talk and Talking Smack were likely returning to the streaming service.

The shows were planned for the free tier of WWE Network after its redesign. This was prior to the pandemic creating delays for many major plans.

Both Talking Smack and Raw Talk premiered after the company re-introduced the brand split and once again created distinct rosters for both Raw and SmackDown in 2016.

The shows became famous for their unscripted nature and fans started liking the programs because it allowed the stars to show some more personality outside of regular WWE programming and gave screen time to the underutilized talents.

The return of these shows has not been confirmed officially but the possibility is enticing and we will have to keep an eye on how the story develops throughout the day.

Backstage Update On WWE Coronavirus Testing

Anutosh Bajpai
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WWE mentioned on their programming this week that all the talents have been tested for coronavirus but latest report on the matter disputes these claims.

On the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer discussed these claims and he reports that the company did not actually test any of the superstars for COVID-19.

Their testing policy included doing temperature checks on people and asking them if they did not feel well. Previous reports have suggested that they made the talents fill a form asking them about any coronavirus related symptoms.

Many people in the company were “shocked” at this, considering the fact that UFC fighters have tested positive for coronavirus in the past even after passing temperature checks.

It has previously been reported that many people within the promotion are not comfortable being part of these shows in the current environment but they have continued working due to fear of their jobs.

WWE has started using development talent for their programming from this week to add some noise and excitement to their empty arena shows.

Now this report on their coronavirus testing policy creates big concerns regarding the health of wrestlers, not only the ones performing in the ring, but the ones being used outside of the squared circle as well.

Haku On How Andre The Giant Was Outside Of The Ring

Anutosh Bajpai
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Wrestling veteran Haku recently appeared on the In the Room Podcast where he talked about his wrestling career in detail among other things.

The former WWE star first discussed his position on the card saying never working on the top never bothered him. He ran with whatever the officials gave him and did his part.

Talking about his team with Andre The Giant, Haku said that he respected the legend very much and he later explained how Andre was in real-life, outside the ring:

“'(Andre thought) he was the same as you; he never thought that he was bigger.  If he drank 16 beers, you had to drink 16 beers with him. 

If he drank two or three cases, you had to drink two or three cases with him.  There were so many times I had to find the door on the way back to my room; he thought it was funny”

Haku continued to explain that he knew Andre before he came to WWE. He claimed that it was fun to be around the Monster Sized Athlete and it was fun to be in the ring with him.

Haku and Andre The Giant were put in a tag team known as The Colossal Connection in 1989. The two tagged for a year and they even won the Tag Team Championship once before disbanding in 1990.

Indy Promotion GCW Announces Wrestling Event That Will Allow Fans In Attendance

Anutosh Bajpai
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The coronavirus outbreak has forced the wrestling world to make drastic changes to its programming and bigger companies like WWE and AEW have been running their shows without an audience for a while now.

On the other hand, the smaller companies of the independent circuit have ceased their operation completely because their business is centered around the revenue from the live audience. Though now at least one of them is returning to business.

Indy Wrestling promotion Game Changer Wrestling or GCW has announced an event for later this month which will allow the fans to attend the show.

The event will take place from Indianapolis, IN on June 20. The ticket info for the event will be released later on but the company announced some social distancing guidelines for the show from their Twitter recently:

Both WWE and AEW have been forced to cease their regular operations due to coronavirus and they have been producing shows with no audience since mid-March.

The March 13 episode of SmackDown was the first WWE show to be produced from an empty arena and since then the company has continued the production of their shows from the Performance Center.

The PPV events have also seen the effect of this change and this year was the first time WWE produced WrestleMania as a two night event from multiple locations, without any audience.

AJ Styles On Why His WrestleMania 34 Match With Shinsuke Nakamura Didn’t Live Up To Expectations

Anutosh Bajpai
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AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura are considered to be two of the greatest in-ring performers of the current generation so fans rejoiced when WWE announced a match between the two for WrestleMania 34.

However, the bout between the two wrestling veterans failed to live up to the expectation of the fans and during his recent appearance on the After The Bell podcast, the Phenomenal One explained the reasoning behind it.

Styles first explained that the expectations for their match at the Show Of Shows after their Wrestle Kingdom 10 match were too high and Nakamura also thought the same:

“Expectations are way too high, I know Nakamura [thought so] too because no matter what we would have done in that match, the expectations were way too high.”

AJ Styles On The Difference In Crowds Of NJPW And WWE

AJ then claimed that the crowd is everything. He said the fans set the tone on what is a great match and their match in Japan would have not been declared great in WWE:

“It’s how they respond to it, and in Japan, they’re so respectful. When they do respond, it’s huge. Wow, this is such an amazing match, but had that same match been done in a WWE ring without the same response, it’s not going to be declared as that great of a match.”

Fans are everything. They dictate a great match.” said AJ Styles “It’s just the reality and the truth of the whole thing, and a lot of people don’t understand. The expectations, they were so high because what we did at Wrestle Kingdom. I was like, ‘oh man.’ I still think it was a great match.”

The Former WWE Champion gave the example of the match between The Rock and Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania 18, saying that the crowd reaction made it a classic match.

Shinsuke Nakamura challenged AJ Styles for his WWE Championship at WrestleMania 34. Though Styles managed to win this bout after countering a Kinshasa from the Japanese star into a Styles Clash.

Chris Jericho On What Kind Of Match He Would Like To Have With Mike Tyson

Anutosh Bajpai
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Chris Jericho reignited his 10 years old feud with Mike Tyson during last week’s episode of AEW Dynamite and it looks inevitable that the two will have a match in coming future.

The former AEW World Champion recently had an interview with Sports Illustrated where he talked about things like his upcoming cruise, his stadium stampede match and more.

The interviewer compared Jericho’s interaction with Tyson to the rivalry between Roddy Piper and Mr. T, and responding to it, Y2J revealed the kind of match he would like to have with the former boxing champion:

“I loved the concept of Piper-Mr. T, but the actual execution was not good. We’ll never do a boxer vs. wrestler. Either we’ll do a straight up boxing match—I’m not kidding. So what if I’m knocked out by Mike Tyson? I’ve been knocked out by worse — or we’ll do a street fight.

Right now, the match is secondary to the pomp and circumstance that we will have in getting to the spectacle of the pay per view. That’s what wrestling is all about, it’s the story.” said Chris Jericho “People are so focused on the in-ring, which is great, but if there’s no story, there’s no match.”

The former WWE star then explained that they don’t know what’s going to happen but the build-up for whatever they decide to do needs to be great.

Apart from this, Chris Jericho discussed Jim Cornette’s criticism of the stadium stampede match, the bonding between inner circle members, and more.

You can check out his full interview at SI.

Another NXT Star Headed To WWE Main Roster

Chris Stephens
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With Matt Riddle having been announced as the newest addition to the Smackdown roster, it appears RAW will be bringing in a former NXT star as well. According to comments made by Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio, Dominik Dijakovic is headed to the RAW brand.

“Dijakovic is going to be on RAW,” said Dave Meltzer. “I don’t know starting when but pretty darn soon.”

The 33-year-old’s last match on NXT was a loss to Johnny Gargano on the episode from May 6th, 2020. He was trained by Chaotic Wrestling and made his debut in 2013. He was offered a contract by WWE in January 2017 but a contract dispute with Ring of Honor delayed his reporting to the WWE Performance Center until that summer.

Dijakovic made his NXT debut on May 10th, 2018 in a loss to Ricochet. In January of 2019, he wrestled in the Worlds Collide Tournament. He made it to the quarter-finals before being eliminated by Tyler Bate. In October he was given an NXT North American title shot against Roderick Strong in a triple threat match along with Keith Lee. Strong retained the title.

Dijakovic was on Tommaso Ciampa’s winning team from the men’s War Games match in November as well.

Backstage Update On Buckle Bombs Being Banned In WWE

Chris Stephens
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It was reported yesterday that WWE has banned the use of Buckle Bombs (power bombing someone into a turnbuckle). In an update to this story, Dave Meltzer noted on Wrestling Observer Radio that the botched move from Nia Jax to Kairi Sane in a match on RAW from April is what led to the move being banned.

“Remember the show a couple of weeks ago where Nia Jax wrestled Kairi Sane and she threw her in there and we were all worried?” Meltzer asked his co-host. “I think she was going for the middle one and I think she hit the bottom one but whatever, it didn’t look good. That was the one that caused it.”

It was also stated that there were those in the company uneasy with the move after Sting’s injury from 2015. Sting suffered an injury after taking a Buckle Bomb from Seth Rollins at Night of Champions 2015. It was the final match of Sting’s career.

“Because of what happened to Sting, I was almost surprised it didn’t happen then,” Meltzer continued. “There were people who were wanting it banned before that. It was one of those things where there were people against it and then when that thing happened it was kind of like that was the straw that broke the camel’s back and Vince banned it.”

He would continue to say, however, that he has not heard of powerbombs onto the ring apron or barricades being banned.

Vince McMahon Biography In The Works

Chris Stephens
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A biography focusing on the life of Vince McMahon is in the works. Author Abraham Riesman noted on Instagram that he is hoping to publish the book in 2022. Riesman is the author of a similar book, a biography on comic book legend, Stan Lee.

Simon and Schuster’s Atrium Publishing group will be publishing the book.

Riesman made his announced on Instagram, “I come bearing good news: I’m writing another book! This one’s a biography of Vince McMahon, the emperor of professional wrestling. It’s for @simonandschuster’s @atriabooks imprint. Release date TBD, but I’d guess 2022. Many thanks to my amazing agent, @rossharris1, and my tremendous editor, @amardeol. Wish me luck!”

https://www.instagram.com/p/CAxyTOdj9RJ/

Books About Vince McMahon

An unofficial Vince McMahon biography was written by Michael Essany and is available Amazon here.

Much of McMahon’s life is covered in the novel “Sex, Lies, and Headlocks” as well.

“Sex, Lies, and Headlocks is the ultimate behind-the-scenes look at the backstabbing, scandals, and high-stakes gambles that have made wrestling an enduring television phenomenon. The man behind it all is Vince McMahon, a ruthless and entertaining visionary whose professional antics make some of the flamboyant characters in the ring look tame by comparison,” reads a description of the book.

Mustafa Ali Says He Wanted To Change Policing From Within

Chris Stephens
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WWE Superstar Mustafa Ali issued an interesting statement on Twitter recently. Ali is a former Chicago area police officer and recently made a comment in reference to George Floyd’s death at the hands of police. According to his comments, Ali became a police officer in order to help change policing from within.

“I’m a former police officer. I joined the force because I believed the only real way to bring change to policing is from within. I remember being told “empathy will get you killed.” No, lack of empathy allows you to kill. We have to change policing from within. #GeorgeFloyd,” reads Mustafa Ali’s Tweet.

He expanded on his thoughts in further Tweets:

Responses To Mustafa Ali’s Tweet

“As a current police officer, I totally agree. I will continue to support you. Thank you for everything,” reads one response to Ali’s Tweet.

“I’m a black man and just got my Criminal Justice degree. I’m working to join the force. After this event I was thrown into flux. I nearly gave it up because I “didn’t want to be part of the problem.” You’ve changed that for me Ali. Thank you, I really needed this,” reads another.

Mustafa Ali Responds To Desmond Monroe Comments

Independent wrestler Desmond Monroe noted on Twitter that he has received messages from people stating he’ll lose bookings as a result of his comments about police/race relations. Ali responded to him and offered to cover his booking for Freelance Wrestling.

AEW Removes Match From Dark After Wrestlers’ Controversial Tweets Come To Light

Anutosh Bajpai
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AEW has removed a match from this week’s episode of their YouTube series AEW Dark after some controversial tweets from one of the involving wrestlers have come to light.

Indie wrestler Clutch Adams was announced to face the self-proclaimed chairman of the company Shawn Spears in a one on one match this week.

However, the company vice president Cody Rhodes was made aware of a series of tweets containing homophobic and racial slurs made by the wrestler seven years ago by the fans.

After this revelation, the AEW official announced on Twitter that Adams’ match has been removed from the upcoming episode of Dark and the company’s official twitter confirmed the same:

https://twitter.com/CodyRhodes/status/1266954028145160194?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

Clutch Adams’ had made his AEW debut during the May 19th episode of Dark where he competed against QT Marshall. There is no news on his future with the company but he is most likely done with the promotion.

It appears that the indie stars’ Twitter profile has since been deleted or made private as it’s no longer accessible. Below is the updated line up for the AEW Dark episode for Tuesday:

  • Billy Gunn with Austin Gunn vs. John Skyler
  • Brandon Cutler and Peter Avalon with Leva Bates vs. QT Marshall and Dustin Rhodes with Brandi Rhodes
  • The Butcher and The Blade with The Bunny vs. Jon Cruz and Joe Alonzo
  • Santana and Ortiz vs. Big Game Leroy and EJ Lewis

Kane Talks Moment That He Knew The Undertaker Respected Him

Jake Skudder
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WWE Superstar and Mayor of Knox County Glenn Jacobs/Kane recently appeared on WWE’s The Bump. The Big Red Machine was appearing on the WWE Network show to discuss the ongoing The Last Ride documentary that features his on-screen brother The Undertaker.

One of the points raised was the respect between the two performers, with Kane being asked if there was a specific moment or moments that he knew he had earned the Deadman’s respect.

Kane Talks Respect

“I actually do, there’s a couple” Kane vegan. “First of all, let’s keep in mind that from the beginning of my career? even before I was in WWE? He was always a big advocate of mine” Kane revealed.

“Even when I was having a lot of trouble early on? This person was there pushing for me and talking with me and making sure that I was doing what I needed to do eventually to become successful” Kane would continue. “I got a lot of that. The conversations weren’t always the most pleasant (laughs), they could be sometimes a little harsh! Nevertheless, they were much needed.”

Glenn Jacobs would then praise The Undertaker for the way that he treated him as a ‘peer’ when he first appeared in the company. “When I came in as Kane, and just overall the whole like 1997 into 1998 and working with him so much? The whole time he treated me as a peer, and as an equal. Then I remember, wince 2003 when I had taken the mask off? We were actually at a wedding, and he told me how proud he was of the transition, and not only my in-ring work but also my work on the microphone.”

Do you think that Kane’s character developed and changed as well as The Undertaker’s during his run in WWE? Let us know in the comments

Also Check Out:

The Undertaker On His Reaction To The Montreal Screwjob

Anutosh Bajpai
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The Montreal Screwjob is one of the most notorious incidents in the wrestling history and the Undertaker, who was the locker room leader at the time, was not very happy about it.

The Dead Man recently appeared on The Bill Simmons Podcast where he talked about a number of things and also discussed the infamous incident.

Revealing his reaction to the screwjob, Taker claimed that he was ‘p***ed’ about the whole thing and he felt that he could have been used to get what they needed:

 “I was p***ed about the whole thing because I felt like I possibly could have been used to get what we need. Take Shawn out of this, let me do it, and then I’ll do business on the other side and I think Bret probably would’ve gone with that.

“There was such disdain at that time between the two of them, but I was just at the point where if you would’ve just come to me with this too I think I could’ve helped this whole thing out.” said The Undertaker. “I’m right here and you know I’m going to do business. It happened and I was really p***ed.”

The former World Champion continued by saying that he was really disappointed in the whole situation. He also talked to Vince McMahon and told the boss to involve him if something like that happened again because it didn’t have to go down like that.

It’s interesting to note here that Earl Hebner, who was the referee for the match between Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart recently had an interview and he claimed that the Montreal Screwjob was a work. You can check out his comments at this link.

Drew McIntyre On Being Allowed To Cut Unscripted Promos

Anutosh Bajpai
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Drew McIntyre is one of the few guys in WWE who are allowed to cut their own promos and who don’t have to use the script given to him by the writers word to word.

The WWE Champion recently had an interview with SportsKeeda where he talked about a number of things and discussed the change from scripted to unscripted promos.

McIntyre explained that inevitably, it comes down to Vince McMahon being cool with everything and he revealed how Paul Heyman helped him get the approval:

“I mean, inevitably, it comes down to Vince McMahon being cool with everything and, if it’s working, he’s going to be cool with it.

I think, like, a Paul Heyman knows exactly who I am, what I’m capable of and what I was doing outside of the company, and was maybe looking for that opportunity to let me be myself, to allow Mr McMahon to see that.”

Drew McIntyre then recalled a promo he cut after an episode of Raw and the Executive Director of the show told him that it was the start of his transition from a TV character to just being himself.

Apart from this, Drew McIntyre talked about how he doesn’t use the script given to him by WWE writers and more. You can check out his full interview at this link.

Chris Jericho Responds To Backlash Over Drowning Spot Of Matt Hardy

Anutosh Bajpai
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0

The Stadium Stampede match involving Chris Jericho and others during the AEW Double Or Nothing PPV mostly received praise from the fans but there were a couple of instances that were criticised.

Matt Hardy’s drowning spot was one such angle fans believe should have been altered in the light of the recent tragic demise of the former WWE star Shad Gaspard.

Jericho responded to the fan reaction over the spot during his Saturday Night Special live stream and the former AEW Champion said that it was unnecessary:

“The backlash was not unnecessary, there was the big chuck of Santana and Ortiz kind of ‘drowning’ Matt Hardy under the water as he changed his personas. None of us ever even thought about it. I never even thought about it once.

Looking back on it, there’s a couple of things that were said they we shouldn’t have said,” admitted Jericho “but, the spot itself, Matt’s being doing that for a long time. It’s not like we maliciously set out to do anything disrespectful.

Y2J then said that they should be more cognizant about such things in future but he also claimed that Shad himself would have appreciated the match:

“But, I actually think that Shad would really appreciate that match ’cause he enjoy kind of those goofy sides of that sort of thing.” – Chris Jericho

The Stadium Stampede match saw Matt Hardy teaming up with The Elite to face the Inner Circle and the faces ended up winning this bout.

Alexa Bliss On Not Being Sure About Her WWE Future After Suffering Multiple Concussions

Anutosh Bajpai
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0

Alexa Bliss suffered multiple concussions during her 2018 Hell In A Cell match with Ronda Rousey and she was out of action for an extended period of time.

The former Women’s Champion stayed out of action for almost 5 months and during this time, there were many rumours about her in-ring career possibly coming to an end.

During a recent interview with BT Sport, Bliss talked about the time and revealed that she also didn’t know if she was going to be back in the ring again:

“It was very scary because I didn’t know if I was going to be able to get back in the ring again, because you know we’ve had a lot of WWE Superstars have to retire from that.

And you know, I didn’t want to be one of those.” said Alexa Bliss “But with concussions it’s such a dangerous thing because it could take a week to heal or it could take a year. You can’t just wrap a brain up in a cast and hope it heals.”

The former NXT star then revealed that all of her other symptoms were gone but she was experiencing a really bad vertigo for an extended period of time.

Though Alexa Bliss did manage to recover from the injury and she returned to the ring during the 2019 Royal Rumble event. She has formed a team with Nikki Cross since then and the duo currently holds the Women’s Tag Team Championships.

You can check out her full interview in the video below:

The Undertaker On Why WWE Began Filming Him Backstage

Anutosh Bajpai
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0

The Undertaker has been one of the last protectors of kayfabe but he has started to open up a little bit in recent years by joining social media and giving off character interviews.

The next step in this journey is The Last Ride documentary series on WWE network which documents the thought process of the Dead Man from recent years.

During a new interview with Busted Open Radio, Taker talked about the documentary and revealed that they originally started filming things before his WrestleMania 33 match with Roman Reigns, because he thought it was going to be his last bout:

“It’s kind of strange how [The Last Ride] came about and this process. We didn’t start with the process of, ‘Let’s make a documentary.’ This original concept just started, because when I got to Orlando [for WrestleMania 33] and was going to work with Roman, in my mind that was going to be it.

So I just wanted [the footage], because I protected this character for so long,, and I didn’t know what we were going to do with the footage but I knew that I wanted it and I knew I wasn’t going to have another opportunity to get it.”

The Undertaker faced Roman Reigns in a one on one match in the main event of WrestleMania 33. The Dead Man lost this bout and he left his coat and hat in the ring afterwards, signalling the end of his character.

However, Vince McMahon managed to pursue the Attitude Era star to return to the ring and he has competed in a number of big matches since then.

The Nexus Were Reportedly Set To Return At WrestleMania 36

Anutosh Bajpai
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0

The coronavirus outbreak forced WWE to change a lot of their plans for WrestleMania 36 and a new interview reveals that the COVID-19 crisis forced them to nix a huge angle for the show involving the Nexus.

Former WWE star Darren Young recently had an interview with the VP Show where he revealed an interesting angle that was planned for the show.

The former Nexus member claimed that the group was set to make its return during this year’s edition of the Show Of Shows but the plans were canceled:

“If Nexus would’ve come back… and who knows what would’ve happened, but we were scheduled to come back for WrestleMania. Yeah, this year’s WrestleMania in Tampa.”

The Nexus debuted on WWE television in June 2010. It originally consisted of eight rookies from the first season of NXT, including current stars such as Daniel Bryan and Heath Slater.

There have been reports that WWE had planned a big angle that would have unfolded over the weeks in spring and summer which the promotion canceled due to the coronavirus.

Now after this revelation, the big question is if the Nexus reunion was the angle the company had planned and if the officials could still execute it somewhere down the line.

Triple H Talks Conor McGregor & Daniel Cormier Possibly Working In WWE

Andrew Ravens
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Triple H spoke with TMZ Sports about whether WWE has any interest in working with Daniel Cormier and Conor McGregor. 

First up was Cormier, a former UFC Heavyweight and Light Heavyweight Champion, who could work in the ring as he has a wrestling background or on commentary, which is something that he’s doing in the UFC now. 

Triple H stated that they’ve talked a lot in the past about him doing stuff whether that’s in the ring, commentary, or doing different things.

He pointed out how Cormier is doing what he’s doing and if he decided he’s done or wants to leave UFC, then yes they would be interested. He added that he loves Cormier and every time he sees him, they have a great conversation.

Triple H noted that Cormier is a good due and that’s what makes him good at commentary.

“I think he’s great, we’d love to do something with him, if the time is right, obviously in respect to UFC and Dana White. We’d love to chat with him and we have an open relationship as far as communication.”

Up next is Conor McGregor, a former UFC Lightweight and Featherweight Champion. 

“I think Conor McGregor versus Vince McMahon with the billion-dollar walk on the line, I think that’s a match made in heaven.” Triple H joked. “I think the nature of what we do — even being entertainment — it lends itself to combat sports. It lends itself to people like Conor McGregor or Ronda [Rousey], as it does with Tyson Fury. It did in the past with Mike Tyson and Floyd [Mayweather]. Entertaining people are what makes those fights, a lot of times.”

Triple H continued by noting that the styles and fight itself is part of that but also entertaining and the ability to capture people as a personality is what makes those fights. 

He thinks that it is the same in WWE. Thus, he thinks if you can transfer that over and really now let yourself go and be larger than life, that’s the key thing.

Jon Moxley Shows Off Bruised Tailbone (Photo)

Andrew Ravens
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Jon Moxley took to social media to show off an interesting injury that he recently suffered. 

The AEW World Heavyweight Champion posted a photo of a bruised tailbone injury on Twitter. As of this writing, there’s no word yet on when he sustained the injury nor did he mention it. You can see the photo here: 

https://twitter.com/JonMoxley/status/1266816718002769920

Moxley made his latest title defense as the AEW World Heavyweight Champion against Brodie Lee at the AEW Double or Nothing pay-per-view event last weekend. This was a hard-hitting affair with a brawling style. 

He also worked the AEW Dynamite TV tapings earlier this week in Jacksonville, Florida at Daily’s Place. Thus, he could have suffered the injury at the TV tapings or PPV event. 

All Elite Wrestling has already confirmed that Moxley will make his next title defense against Brian Cage at the upcoming Fyter Fest special. However, the promotion has yet to confirm when this event will take place. 

Cage won the Casino Ladder Match at Double or Nothing, which served as the opening contest, to earn this title match against Moxley. 

The Buckle Bomb has Been Added to WWE’s List Of Banned Moves

Chris Stephens
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WWE has added a new move to its list of banned-maneuvers.

According to a report from PW Insider, WWE Superstars are now not permitted to use turnbuckle bombs in their matches. These are moves where a performer is lifted up and thrown into the corner landing on the turnbuckle.

Sting’s career-ending injury took place when he took a turnbuckle powerbomb from Seth Rollins. Last month, Kairi Sane took a nasty-looking spill into the corner when a similar move was given by Nia Jax but resulted in Sane landing short of the turnbuckle.

WWE has banned several moves in the past. Some return while others do not. Piledrivers have been banned for some time, though some wrestlers have used the move sparingly including the Canadian Destroyer version in WWE. Rey Mysterio and Andrade used the move on Smackdown last year in a match.

Seth Rollins’ Curb Stomp was also banned for several months by WWE. Rollins has since been permitted to use the move again.

NJPW & Stardom Executives Taking Pay Cuts

Chris Stephens
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The parent company of New Japan Pro Wrestling and Stardom, Bushiroad, will be implementing salary reductions for several of their executives. NJPW has not run a live event since February 26th, 2020.

According to a report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, directors from Bushiroad will be taking pay cuts ranging from 15% to 95% depending on the person. These pay cuts will be in place from May 27th until September 2020. As of this writing, Bushiroad has not released any wrestlers from NJPW or Stardom.

In addition to pro-wrestling, Bushiroad also produces trading card games and smartphone apps.

Harold Meij On NJPW’s Return To Live Events

Harold Meij addressed NJPW’s roadmap to the return of live events recently in a YouTube video.

“New Japan is an industry leader both in Japan and worldwide,” Meij said. “With that position comes a great responsibility. As the global society holds a magnifying glass up to us, it behooves New Japan to act to the highest possible ethical standards.”

He continued to say that the promotion’s first step would be to run empty-arena show.

“This step will be taken when and only when the state of emergency restrictions are lifted, the number of new coronavirus infections declines and when matches can take place in a properly disinfected and safe setting.”

The full video of Harold Meij’s address can be viewed below:

Backstage Update On Chris DeJoseph’s WWE Departure

Michael Reichlin
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Chris DeJoseph was released by WWE this week, as first reported by Dave Meltzer at f4wonline. He served as one of the lead writers of Friday Night SmackDown.

Some outlets have speculated the departure was a cost-cutting measure related to COVID-19, but that is not the case. DeJoseph was let go Thursday due to inappropriate conduct and remarks during a backstage meeting.

DeJoseph worked closely with Executive Director Bruce Prichard, but it was WWE boss Vince McMahon who made the call to fire him. McMahon was said to be irate over DeJoseph’s “highly unprofessional” behavior.

In addition to this incident, we’re told that people who worked closely with Chris DeJoseph felt he was struggling to keep up with WWE’s grueling schedule.

This is not the only high-profile name to leave WWE in recent weeks. As previously reported, Michael Mansury also parted ways with the promotion. Mansury was Vice President of Global Television Production. He’s a ‘Triple H guy’ and was seen as an eventual successor to Kevin Dunn.

CM Punk Responds To Jeff Hardy/DUI Angle

Chris Stephens
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CM Punk was pretty amused at some aspects of an angle that played out on WWE programming last night. Smackdown this week opened up with a scene that implied Jeff Hardy had driven under the influence, hit Elias with his car and then took off. CM Punk then took to Twitter and pointed out what he found amusing about the segment.

Punk also answered a question about his thoughts regarding returning to wrestling:

The angle led to both Elias and Jeff Hardy being removed from the Intercontinental tournament. AJ Styles was granted a bye to the finals. Sheamus then won a battle royal to determine who would face Daniel Bryan later in the night with Bryan winning the match between the two after Hardy returned and distracted Sheamus.

Matt Hardy Praises Tony Khan and AEW

Also last night, Matt Hardy took to Twitter to note he is happy working at AEW with company President Tony Khan.

Tony Khan also responded to Matt Hardy’s comments:

“You’re one of the greatest pros I’ve worked with across sports, what a privilege it is to spend Wednesdays with you. Thank you for everything you do for AEW, our fans & staff & your fellow wrestlers weekly, as you not only lead by example but are so generous with your time & mind,” Khan Tweeted.

Backstage Update On WWE’s Testing Procedures At Tapings

Chris Stephens
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On last night’s edition of WWE Smackdown, Michael Cole noted that all of the PC trainees and NXT talent who were acting as fans had been tested. Cole did not specifically state what they had been tested for, however. According to a report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, WWE is not testing for COVID-19 but rather continuing with temperature and symptom checks instead.

“Although it was hinted on the air that they were testing all talent for COVID-19, there was no testing done at all again at the tapings this past week past temperature readings and asking people if they didn’t feel well,” wrote Dave Meltzer.

The report would continue to say that many people found this surprising as the UFC has been conducting COVID-19 tests for all athletes. Similarly, AEW has also been testing all of its talents at tapings as well.

PC trainees and talent from NXT began acting as fans in the stands at shows that aired this week.

In an interview with Variety back in March, Stephanie McMahon elaborated on WWE’s testing procedures.

“There’s extensive testing and screening when you first come in the facility regardless of whether you’re a talent, a crew member, or anyone else,” McMahon said. “Working with our doctors, you have your temperature taken. If you have a temperature over 100.4 degrees, you are automatically asked to leave.”

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