Cody has quickly become a polarizing heel in wrestling. From turning on Kenny Omega, to tearing the Bullet Club apart, Cody has garnered some serious heat. His recent announcement has created some more buzz and even hatred.
The former Ring of Honor World champion recently took to Twitter to claim he is changing the Bullet Club logo next week. The logo has become iconic even outside of the wrestling world. In it, fans have even been seen wearing the faction’s shirts at WWE events. We’re not talking just one or two people, either.
The All In event may be getting a former WCW World champion, although it’s not one who many are expecting. Actor David Arquette is still a huge fan of wrestling. In fact, on an episode of Monday Night Raw back in 2010, he teamed with Alex Riley to take on Randy Orton. It didn’t go so well for Arquette, as he was powerbombed through a table.
Arquette recently went on Twitter to show support for Matt Hardy’s new shirt on WWE Shop by saying, “I’m in.” Nick Jackson of The Young Bucks asked Arquette if he was “All In.” Arquette replied with the following:
Brock Lesnar will once again become the most coveted free agent in professional wrestler or mixed martial arts in just a matter of days.
The reigning WWE universal champion has a contract that reportedly runs through WrestleMania 34 where he will compete in the main event against Roman Reigns. Now it’s entirely possible that Lesnar will opt to remain with WWE but there’s also little doubt that he would love the opportunity to fight in the UFC again.
Lesnar is a former heavyweight champion but at 40 years of age, time will begin ticking away on how much longer he has left to compete with the best fighters in the world so his next contract negotiation may decide that.
Paul Heyman, who has worked alongside Lesnar for nearly two decades, knows that Lesnar is seriously considering a return to the UFC even if some believe that’s just a negotiating tactic to get the WWE to offer him a bigger deal.
‘I don’t think it’s any secret that Brock is looking to get back into the Octagon,” Heyman told Newsweek about Lesnar’s future. “He is obviously eyeballing another fight in UFC. There’s no secret. He’s posing for pictures with Dana White wearing a UFC shirt in the UFC offices in Las Vegas.
“That’s not a negotiating tactic, Brock Lesnar wants to compete inside of the Octagon. There’s no leveraging that; it’s a fact.”
“That’s not a negotiating tactic, Brock Lesnar wants to compete inside of the Octagon.” ~ Paul Heyman
While it might seems that Lesnar is stuck in an ‘either/or’ situation, Heyman suggests that it’s still entirely possible that the hulking heavyweight has an opportunity to do both at the same time.
Lesnar’s last fight inside the Octagon took place at UFC 200 while he was still under contract with WWE. Vince McMahon signed off on allowing Lesnar to fight again while UFC president Dana White was more than happy to have him back if only for one night.
There’s no telling if that would happen again but it’s entirely possible Lesnar could use that as part of his deal to re-sign with WWE so long as they allow him to pursue another fight in the UFC.
“Brock Lesnar fought Mark Hunt at UFC 200 and, six weeks later, main evented SummerSlam against Randy Orton,” Heyman said. “Brock Lesnar can do both and he has proven that time and time again.”
Because Lesnar rarely makes public appearances much less does interviews, he’s been quiet on any decision making about his future behind his current contract.
As for Heyman, he’ll certainly address Lesnar and much more during WrestleMania 34 weekend when he conducts a popular one man show in New Orleans where he engages with fans and answers questions on stage.
Will Brock Lesnar return to WWE or go back to fight again in the UFC? Sound off in the comments and let us know!
This past Sunday night (March 25), Strong Style Evolved took place from the Walter Pyramid in Long Beach, California. In the main event, the Golden Lovers (Kenny Omega & Kota Ibushi) took on The Young Bucks. Also featured on the card was an IWGP United States title match between champion “Switchblade” Jay White and Hangman Page.
A replay is set to air on AXS TV tonight (March 30) at 8 p.m. ET. Below is the card for Strong Style Evolved:
6-Man Tag Team Match: Sho, Yoh, & Rocky Romero vs. Christopher Daniels, Frankie Kazarian, & Scorpio Sky
Tag Team Match: Hiroki Goto & Gedo vs. Juice Robinson & David Finlay
Tag Team Match: Killer Elite Squad vs. Chuckie T. & Toru Yano
Tag Team Match: Guerrillas of Destiny vs. Cody & Marty Scurll
8-Man Tag Team Match: Tetsuya Naito, SANADA, Hiromu Takahashi, & Bushi vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi, KUSHIDA, Ryusuke Taguchi, & Dragon Lee
Special Singles Match: Will Ospreay vs. Jushin Thunder Liger
Tag Team Match: Kazuchika Okada & Tomohiro Ishii vs. Zack Sabre Jr. & Minoru Suzuki
IWGP United States Title Match: “Switchblade” Jay White (C) vs. Hangman Page
Tag Team Match: Golden Lovers (Kenny Omega & Kota Ibushi) vs. The Young Bucks
Tenille Dashwood has heard the demand for her arrival in Bullet Club.
For over six years, Dashwood performed for the WWE. In August 2012, she used the in-ring name “Emma.” Dashwood was released back in Oct. 2017 following her match against Asuka at the TLC pay-per-view.
Dashwood has quickly found success in the independent circuit and Ring of Honor. She is a heavy favorite to win the Women of Honor tournament. The winner of the tourney will become the first ROH Women of Honor champion. Dashwood will meet Sumie Sakai in a semi-finals match at Supercard of Honor XII. The winner will advance to the finals that same night on April 7.
During a recent ROH live stream, Cody said he wants to add women to the Bullet Club and has two names in mind. He didn’t reveal those names, but Dashwood has been someone who fans have been wanting to see represent the faction.
During an interview with WrestleZone.com, Dashwood talked about potentially joining the Bullet Club:
“It all just depends on the situation. They would have to do some sweet talking and we’d have to work some things out. You never know what’s ahead. I’m not saying yes or no, I’m saying it depends.”
Paul Heyman spoke with Digital Spy this week to promote next weekend’s WrestleMania 34 pay-per-view. Heyman will be ringside for the main event when his client Brock Lesnar defends the WWE Universal Championship against Roman Reigns.
Just days before WWE’s biggest show of the year, Lesnar’ advocate will be the star of An Evening With Paul Heyman, a one-man stage show at the Joy Theater in New Orleans on Thursday night, April 5th.
Heyman spoke to Digital Spy about a number of topics, including his role as Bill Goldberg’s Hall of Fame inductor, CM Punk’s UFC career, the recent controversy surrounding the Fabulous Moolah, The Undertaker’s in-ring future and much more.
Here are some highlights of what Heyman said about:
Hulk Hogan Returning to WWE
“I’m not a ticket buyer. Nor am I part of the target demographic that is catered to to subscribed to the WWE Network. So whether or not I want Hulk Hogan back in WWE is irrelevant. It’s whether the audience and the advertisers and the sponsors and the chairman of the board want Hulk Hogan back in WWE.
“And when those stars align Hulk Hogan will be back and until then he won’t. My opinion on Hulk Hogan coming back to WWE, whether pro or con, is irrelevant and so is everyone else’s besides the audience itself, the sponsors themselves and the chairman himself.
“As for Hulk Hogan stepping into the ring with Brock Lesnar, Brock Lesnar is focused on April 8, he’s focused on Roman Reigns, he’s focusd on the main event of WrestleMania. We have not discussed any potential WWE opponents past April 8 because Brock’s focus is on delivering a main event for the ages at WrestleMania this year.”
Ronda Rousey in WWE
“Ronda Rousey is a woman of extraordinary accomplishment and anything that Ronda Rousey does is going to come with extreme scrutiny because she is such a pivotal figure in not only American sports but in global sports as well.
“Just remember Dana White was asked about a woman fighting in the Octagon as UFC was negotiating to buy out Strikeforce where Ronda Rousey was the biggest star. And Dana White said not only would a woman would never main event UFC, a woman will never fight in UFC.
“Within a year of that statement Ronda Rousey was main eventing a major UFC event. Ronda Rousey is a groundbreaker. She is one who charts through territory that has never been explored before and is one of the biggest sports stars in the world, male or female.
“I don’t think anything Ronda Rousey does is going to be the norm. I think everything she does is going to be to set a new trend and blaze a new trail.”
Visit Digital Spy to check out the full interview.
While Triple H got a bad wrap for marrying Vince McMahon’s daughter when he was still an active wrestler, not many people thought that he would be in the position that he is now.
While it was believed that Triple H would be an executive in WWE, it was pretty much ruled out that he would be the guy in control of everything. Triple H even went on record by saying that he didn’t want to wear a tie and suit.
However, that all changed when McMahon pushed for his son-in-law to slowly but surely become someone he could lean on not only with creative but business related things.
Triple H recently did an interview with Raute Musik to talk about various topics. During the interview, he was asked if he’ll be in the business as long as Vince Vince McMahon.
“I think for Vince McMahon, it’s his passion and his life. It’s just who he is as a human being and as a person. For Stephanie, this has been her family business and her life, and a passion as well. Same thing for me. I’ve had a long career and deeply into this. Vince McMahon will do this until he can no longer do it. I think we feel the same way. We have a strong passion for this, and for us to take his vision is very important for us.
Take that vision, which he has done really well, to take that vision from where it is and beyond where it will be to bring the brand, the company, the business and all of it, like he did. To have a vision beyond what it is today and where it can go. I think that the WWE, in the form of entertainment, as a media juggernaut, and a content creator, and all of that, I think is just scratching the surface of where we can be in the future, and I look forward to that future. When Vince McMahon will no longer be around, I hope Stephanie, and I can do it justice and in the future of where it needs to be and hopefully, futures beyond that will take it beyond anywhere we can imagine it to be.”
“The Game” was also asked about potential holding a pay-per-view event in the UK again, which hasn’t been done since 1992.
“Any pay per view, or promotional event of that caliber are all difficult to put on and are all challenging. When you are talking about WrestleMania and a week-long series of events, that is difficult to put on in the United States, the difficulty level multiplies exponentially outside of the United States. That being said, we are definitely looking at possibilities into a lot of things. One thing we have shown, over the years is never say never. I know fans are hungry and excited for it if it happens. It is something we think about, and are logistically trying to figure out how it can work. Whether it is one of our standard pay per views, or WrestleMania, we are certainly open to all of it, and as we always say, you never say never in WWE. We are open to all options, and without sounding cliches, but if it is best for business then we will certainly be open to doing it.”
Dave Meltzer reported in the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that WWE Champion AJ Styles might have suffered an MCL injury earlier this month. Styles and WWE have been quiet about the nature of the injury that kept him out of the ring for more than a week. The word going around within the WWE is that it was related to his MCL.
Styles returned to the ring at last weekend’s WWE live events but did not wrestle again on this week’s SmackDown Live. He’s slated to defend his title against Shinsuke Nakamura at WrestleMania 34 in just over one week.
The WWE Champion an interview with USA Today for the Win. During the interview, he talked about various topics including the most recent injury that kept him out of action. Here is what he had to say:
“A little of nothing. It was just one of those… got hit in the back of the knee. I think it scared more people than it actually scared me. I knew I was going to make it to WrestleMania, there’s nothing wrong with me.”
“Yeah, I mean it really does bother me because they don’t know the extent of it. They started worrying, more than anything, which I appreciate that, but it’s just one of those things where you’ve got to wait to hear the facts and information before you get so worked up about something. It is what it is, and we can’t stop this from happening, but why don’t we hear from the guy who actually has the issue before we jump to conclusions and get worried?”
The final NJPW event before Sakura Genesis took place earlier today (March 30).
Stars of NJPW hit the ring inside Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan before heading to the Ryogoku Kokugikan on April 1. In the main event, Kazuchika Okada teamed with fellow CHAOS member YOSHI-HASHI to take on Zack Sabre Jr. and Taichi. Okada will defend his IWGP Heavyweight title against Sabre Jr. at Sakura Genesis.
All members of Los Ingobernables de Japon took on most members of Suzuki-Gun on this road show. At Sakura Genesis, Tetsuya Naito will team with SANADA and EVIL to take on Minoru Suzuki and the Killer Elite Squad.
Peep the results for the March 30 Road to Sakura Genesis show below:
Singles Match: Tetsuhiro Yagi vs. Ren Narita ended in a draw
Singles Match: Yuji Nagata def. Shota Umino
Six-Man Tag Team Match: Togi Makabe, Michael Elgin, & Ryusuke Taguchi def. Tomoyuki Oka, Manabu Nakanishi, & Hiroyoshi Tenzan
Six-Man Tag Team Match: Hiroki Goto, Jay White, & Tomohiro Ishii def. Juice Robinson, David Finlay, & Toa Henare
Six-Man Tag Team Match: Toru Yano, Sho, & Yoh def. Hiroshi Tanahashi, KUSHIDA, & Tiger Mask
10-Man Tag Team Match: Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito, SANADA, EVIL, Hiromu Takahashi, & BUSHI) def. Suzuki-Gun (Minoru Suzuki, Davey Boy Smith Jr., Lance Archer, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, & El Desperado)
Tag Team Match: Zack Sabre Jr. & Taichi def. Kazuchika Okada & YOSHI-HASHI
WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair has taken the WWE by storm since being called up to the main roster in 2015 during the Women’s Revolution storyline. She has won championships both in NXT and on the main roster.
At first, she was portrayed as her real-life personality then she started to come out of her father’s spotlight and become her own person.
Flair was recently interviewed by Planeta Wrestling. During the interview, she was asked who she would want to face if she were in the main event match at WrestleMania. Here is what she had to say:
“If this wasn’t the main event, me vs. Asuka, I would definitely say a Fatal 4-Way against the Four-Horsewomen.”
Flair is slated to defend her title against the undefeated Asuka at WrestleMania 34. Also in this interview, she was asked about Jim Ross saying that she is the Hulk Hogan of women’s wrestling.
“I guess I’m tall, blonde and tanned. It’s a very big compliment. It’s really nice for JR to say that about me.”
Since 2014, WWE has attempted to establish Roman Reigns as their next “face of the company.” Reigns had headlined multiple major WWE pay-per-view events, including the last three WrestleManias (31 lost to Seth Rollins, 32 beat Triple H and 33 when he defeated The Undertaker).
There has never been a babyface that has been pushed like Reigns that is disliked more by fans in the history of professional wrestling. Historically, when a babyface is not getting over with the crowd, the promoter or booker would turn them heel. Reigns is truly a different case in that sense.
Reigns was recently interviewed by NBC Sports to promote Wrestlemania 34 and his match against Brock Lesnar for the Universal Title. In this interview, he was asked about potentially being paired with Paul Heyman on WWE television.
There have been rumors that this could happen if Lesnar decided to leave WWE. Here is what the “Big Dog” had to say:
“I think it would be really cool. Obviously, it comes down to a couple of different things creatively, but I think it would be really neat. I think it would be able to show a different aspect of myself. It really just depends on the route that we want to take my character; if there’s any type of evolution that needs to be made in the next couple of years. I think with a character like Paul Heyman, the different things that we could do would be really cool. It would show not only myself, but also him in a totally different light. I wouldn’t just be the guy bouncing around not saying anything. If there’s something I need to say, I’m going to step up and say it because regardless if I’m with a guy like Paul Heyman, I would not be a Paul Heyman guy, he would be a Roman Reigns guy, that’s the way that would work.” Reigns added, “My role is my role and I don’t plan on changing that for anybody. If there’s something that needs to be said or if someone needs to step up in the locker room and mention something, that’s always going to be where I want to be. As long as nothing crazy or drastic would change, I think we’d be able to do a lot of really cool stuff. I’m into it.”
WWE RAW Superstar Nia Jax has been quickly moved up the ladder in WWE. She was positioned as a big star while she was competing in WWE’s developmental brand, NXT, and when she was called up to the main roster. Slowly but surely she has gone from beating jobbers to being a big name in the women’s division on the RAWbrand.
Jax was recently interviewed by the Mirror. During the interview, she spoke about WWE using real-life issues like body-shaming in her feud with Alexa Bliss.
Jax is slated to challenge her best friend for the RAW Women’s Title at WrestleMania 34 next month. Here is what she had to say:
“I think it’s amazing. I think it’s something that people know but they don’t want to talk about it, they always want to keep it hidden. I feel like we’re tackling it head-on and it should be [tackled]. Young women and young girls, and boys, should actually be hearing this and seeing the conflict that we go through and seeing somebody stand up for themselves and not have to allow somebody to bully them, because of the way they look, what their shape is, or the color of their skin is. You should always stand up for yourself. So I think it’s amazing. I’m very honored to be a part of it.”
She added, “Oh yeah. You know, growing up… it’s crazy how real this storyline is to my real life. And especially with Alexa being such a close, best friend of mine for so long, she has seen it. She [her character] has hurt me [my character], because I’ve confided in a lot of these stories that have happened to me. It surprises me that it has become such a big storyline in WWE, because it relates to me completely.
You could make an argument that the Attitude Era in the WWE would not be the same without two WWE Hall of Famers. Those WWE Legends are Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler, who have called some of the biggest and historic matches/segments in the history of the sports entertainment company. They were featured on the Raw brand for the majority of their time with the WWE. It’s safe to say that they are if not the best commentary team, they are at least in that conversation that was ever put together by WWE Chairman Vince McMahon.
Jim Ross was a recent guest on WrestleZone Radio. During the interview, he commented on the criticism of his commentary at the recent NJPW Strong Style Evolved event. Here is what he had to say:
“I read some of the criticisms about my work and the broadcast in general but essentially people want, the die-hards who follow New Japan World, they want their team. They want Kevin Kelly and Don Callis to do the show. I don’t blame them. I don’t even get mad about it. The only thing that gets frustrating is when you’ve got wrestling fans who’ve got like 40 followers on Twitter that tell you, “your career sucks,” and that you should be dead or not allowed to be on television. That’s kind of crude, I think. Does that really feel necessary for not knowing the certain name of a certain hold? I have a pet peeve about that deal, to be honest with you. A bodyslam is a God damned bodyslam. You can give it 18 different names to sell t-shirts, that’s fine and I don’t care but to me it’s a bodyslam. We find ourselves talking about this variant or that variant and worry about not pissing off the talent because we didn’t give their hold a name or use the name they use in their niche marketing. I find it almost embarrassing to be quite frank about it. I enjoyed the show, I enjoyed working with New Japan, I love working with the guys who produce AXS TV.”
Former WWE superstar James Ellsworth recently did an interview with Andy Malnoske of Wrestling Inc. to talk about several professional wrestling topics. Ellsworth revealed that competing against AJ Styles for the WWE Championship was his favorite moment with the company:
“If you’re asking what my favorite moment was, it was that, wrestling for the WWE title,” Ellsworth said. “It’s AJ Styles, who’s the best wrestler in the world, in a main event match on SmackDown, favorite moment.”
Back in 2016 Ellsworth worked a match against Braun Strowman as a jobber. The fans’ reaction to him got him over and WWE decided to bring him on as a regular talent. Ellsworth said everything just happened at the right time:
“Luckily for me, it was just lightning in a bottle,” he said. “Right opponent, Braun Strowman, got 15 to 20 seconds of promo time, it just all came together so well. That performance that night with Braun Strowman, fans got behind it after that and I appreciate every fan that’s ever helped me out because of that.”
Ellsworth then discussed what it was like to interact with each of the McMahons – Vince, Shane, and Stephanie:
“Vince is the boss, I’ve had a couple conversations with him up there. It’s like any other job, he’s the boss, so very employee-to-boss conversations,” Ellsworth said. “Shane’s more ‘one of the boys,’ so I’d talk to Shane. Stephanie, I didn’t see her much because she was on RAW and I was on SmackDown, but when I did see her she was very sweet and always said hi. That’s about it.”
Since departing from WWE, Ellsworth has been doing work for NWA (which is now owned by Smashing Pumpkins singer and former IMPACT Wrestling President Billy Corgan). He is also working on the independent circuit as well and hopes to one day make it back to WWE:
“I’m doing stuff with the NWA, Billy Corgan owns the NWA now… So I’m working with them a lot, I’m doing as many indies as possible,” he said. “I get to travel the world still and do my thing, and then when the time is right, I think you’ll see me back in WWE.”
You can read Ellsworth’s full interview with Wrestling Inc. by clicking this link here.
Reigns is set to challenge Brock Lesnar for the Universal Championship, in what is expected to be the main event of WrestleMania 34 in New Orleans.
– Former WWE talent Hornswoggle is set to perform a comedy show from the Allways Lounge & Cabaret in New Orleans on WrestleMania 34 weekend. It all goes down on Friday April 6th at 9:30 pm and combines a stand-up comedy routine with funny storytelling. Click here for more information.
WWE COO Triple H recently did an interview on CBS Sports’ In This Corner podcast and shared his thoughts about gaining creative control over 205 Live recently. “The Game” discussed his attempts to try and make the program more exciting:
“I think it’s a work in progress,” said Triple H. “I think we did the ‘Cruiserweight Classic’ and it was an excitement and an opportunity. We jumped on making it into its own show, but I don’t know if that was totally just kind of thought out in the right way or done in the right way. I think we made an attempt at it that.
“Vince will say a lot that the business is like flavors – chocolate and vanilla – and not everyone is going to agree on the flavors. So we went in the direction of a certain flavor. We gave them vanilla and people weren’t buying the flavor of vanilla, so we went back to chocolate and people are seeming to like that again.”
He also noted that the division is still a work in progress and he’s excited to see the future opportunities in store for its talent:
“The great thing about [WWE] is we can change them on a dime,” said Triple H. “We can put it in a different direction, and if people don’t like something, just keep watching [because] we are probably going to get you there. We are probably going to get you to a place that works for everyone. That is the intent.
“I think 205 continues to be a work in progress. I’m excited about that opportunity for all of the athletes there because, for a lot of them, there was no road in front of them. There was no big path, and it was doing what they were doing but this opened up doors for them. Hopefully it will continue to grow, much like NXT has, much like the [United Kingdom efforts] will and all of that. I think there is tremendous opportunity and in some way we are just kind of nicking the surface of where we will be.”
You can check out Triple H’s full interview on CBS Sports’ In This Corner podcast by clicking this link here.
Braun Strowman is the number one contender for Cesaro and Sheamus’ RAW Tag Team Championships – without a partner.
Strowman won a Tag Team Battle Royal several weeks ago on Monday Night RAW to earn the opportunity. He now needs to find a partner to challenge for the titles at WrestleMania 34 against The Bar.
There has been a ton of speculation as to who Strowman could partner with, but a recent report from Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated suggests that former WWE World Heavyweight Champion Rey Mysterio could make his return to the company to be “The Monster Among Men’s” partner.
Vince McMahon is reportedly strongly considering the possibility as he likes the big guy and little guy dynamic that he has used in the past.
It was also noted that if Mysterio returned to WWE, it would be under a short-term deal. Wrestling Observer Newsletter recently noted that Mysterio and WWE are still in negotiations, but nothing has been brought up regarding a WrestleMania match.
WWE COO Triple H and Monday Night RAW Commissioner Stephanie McMahon recently appeared on ESPN First Take to promote their Mixed Tag Team match at WrestleMania 34 against Ronda Rousey and Kurt Angle. Host Stephen A. Smith asked the pair who they think is the biggest star in WWE.
Stephanie named WWE Hall Of Famer Andre The Giant, while Triple H named off several stars like The Rock, Stone Cold Steve Austin, and The Undertaker. Here’s what they had to say:
Stephanie:
“For me personally it’s got to be Andre the Giant. I think a lot of people would say The Rock, a lot of people might say John Cena, especially recently, but I would say Andre,” Stephanie said. “He’s a pop culture icon that has transcended media around the world. Of course we have our HBO special that’s going to be premiering in a couple of weeks in April and it’s just going to be an incredible reflection on the life of an icon.”
Triple H:
“For me the answer is kind of mixed because there are different aspects to that,” Triple H answered. “You can talk about the impact of Hulk Hogan or The Rock and him now being the biggest box office attraction in Hollywood, you can talk about “Stone Cold” Steve Austin. But there’s one guy for me within our industry that resonates beyond all else.
“When I go to India or the Middle East or Europe or Japan or Australia, South America, it doesn’t matter – one of the names that’s always brought up first and foremost is The Undertaker. The character, iconic character of that… it just transcends everything and it is for so many people that kind of character that encapsulates what WWE is.”
Co-host Max Kellerman named Hulk Hogan and Stephen A. Smith agreed, before naming others like The Road Warriors, Ric Flair, Randy Savage and Paul Orndorff. Triple H responded with the following:
“That is the thing, when you talk about it, you can talk about the genius of Vince, you can talk about the brand, you can talk about all the things, WrestleMania and all that. Nobody, nobody in any form of entertainment or sports has put out the amount of characters that have transcended generations,” Triple H responded.
“That storytelling, that level of character development that transcends generations, that touches your childhood and makes you feel something, takes you back in time to that moment … those moments transcend time, connect with you on a level and a character level that few things in this world can. That’s really the genius of Vince McMahon, that storytelling and that character creation.”
WWE Superstar Ronda Rousey recently did an interview with Yahoo Sports to promote her in-ring debut at WrestleMania 34. “The Rowdy One” will team up with WWE Hall Of Famer and RAW General Manager Kurt Angle in a Mixed Tag Team match to take on Triple H and Stephanie McMahon.
Rousey discussed how important it was for her to live life outside of the spotlight, get married, and enjoy life before joining WWE:
“It really was myself and Travis [Browne] planning on settling down that made me decide that I needed to go for it. We’re ready to start having kids soon and I was thinking about what I’ve left unfinished in my life because I want to entirely focus on having kids when that time comes. I took a long look at my life and thought that if I don’t try and take a shot with the WWE, I would regret it for the rest of my life.
“I want to be an example to my kids about pursuing your dreams and being able to do anything. I guess this is my way of nesting and getting ready for children. I’m trying to prove to my unborn babies that they can accomplish any dream that they want to go after.”
The ex-UFC women’s bantamweight champion also discussed getting slapped by Stephanie McMahon on an episode of RAW:
“I’ve never been slapped before. Anybody who has ever been slapped tells me that it hurts more than you think. Man, when she hauled off and whacked me, my first thought was ‘Wow, that really hurt way more than I thought it would.’ Everyone was right. Slaps suck and there was a loud noise followed by the crowd’s ‘Ooooh!’ I didn’t see that coming at all.”
Rousey also said that she’s looking forward to paying McMahon back for the slap at WrestleMania:
“Oh man, I can’t wait. As they say, revenge is a dish best served cold and I cannot wait to serve her the coldest dish at WrestleMania.”
You can read Rousey’s full interview with Yahoo Sports by clicking this link here.
Former WWE Intercontinental Champion Ryback was recently interviewed by The Two Man Power Trip Of Wrestling to talk about several professional wrestling topics. “The Big Guy” first offered his thoughts on SmackDown Live General Manager Daniel Bryan getting cleared by WWE doctors to return to in-ring action:
“I am very happy for him. I saw him back at Rusev’s wedding last year and we were talking and it was when he had returned (I believe) he was on TV as an on air role at that time but I could see that it wasn’t fulfilling to him because he didn’t have that outlet to perform and he didn’t have that physical aspect of it.
“You’ve got to understand that when you wrestle and he wrestled for a majority of his life and I could tell you first hand that especially for myself having to back off a bit this last year that it is extremely and mentally difficult when you are used to making money with your body and being told you can’t do something is extremely taxing on the human mind.
“For him to have to still be in that environment, granted not as much as he was but to still show up to TV every week and to watch all these guys he came up with getting their opportunity to perform and not being able to do that is extremely frustrating.
“I felt for him deeply because I knew how bad he wanted to wrestle. It is really cool to see him get another chance because he was so hot when it all got taken away and I was there for that and I witnessed that on different occasions where he went through the different injuries up there and overcame them.
“So to see him return, I’d like to see him take it easy for a little bit and he seems to have thrown himself back into the mix full steam by taking an apron power bomb and doing those God damn dropkicks where he lands on his head but I would have liked to have seen him ease back in but I guess if you are going to go and he only knows one speed and that is why everybody loves him.”
He then commented on the supposed “bad blood” between himself and Rusev. Most notably, Ryback commented on one of Rusev’s live Instagram videos and teased “The Bulgarian Brute” by saying he hopes he’s not involved in Jon Bravo’s steroid controversy documentary:
“I guess there are a lot of people out there that are so smart and they know everything about wrestling and I can’t tell you how many times I talk about Rusev as one of my favorite all time opponents and one of my favorite people. What friends do is they go online sometimes and they bust each other’s balls. He’s done it to me and I’ve done it to him and it is unfortunate that we live in a day and age where people can just cherry-pick something.”
“I see he is doing an Instagram live and I click on it. He sees me, cracks a smile and says ‘big guy’. I leave a comment and he makes a comment about me which we talk about through text. He made a comment about me not being natural and I made a comment back to him that he could lose more weight and I got pegged the bad guy in that one because two friends were having fun and it was one of those things where he says me and Ryback have no beef, well nobody takes that part.
“Everybody just thinks that Ryback was blocked from Rusev’s Instagram and I can assure that I am not blocked and we were just talking earlier today. People have to understand that guys laugh at this sh*t. If I had a beef with someone the last thing I would do is go on an Instagram live and hash it out on that.”
Ryback also responded to the constant comparisons he receives to WWE Hall Of Famers Ultimate Warrior and Goldberg:
“People are always going to do that and the only thing you can do is go out and live your life and have your career. It is unfortunately that you are going to have people that they’re extremely loyal to the people that came before you and I’ve always said that and I never once tried to go out there and replicate being any of those guys. I have a bald head and I have big traps.
“They did short matches and I do longer matches but that is the role that they played and I had played that role as well doing the shorter matches but that is just what people like to compare you to in the guys that came before you. In ten or fifth teen years if another guy comes along wearing an air-brushed singlet he might get compared to me.
“It is just the way that the business is and you can’t really get too caught up in that because we are all our own individual person or wrestler at the end of the day and I think the fans that know our styles were completely different, the move sets are completely different and the characters are completely different.”
– John Cena continues to pursue a match with The Undertaker at WrestleMania 34. “The Leader Of The Cenation” has been calling out “The Deadman” on RAW for the past several weeks.
Cena took to Twitter to post a workout video of himself, taking a shot at Undertaker in the caption:
– Former SmackDown Live Tag Team Champion Big E took to Twitter to reveal the terrible gimmick idea he pitched nine years ago. He called it Mel Mann, who’s character was supposed to be a postal worker:
Almost 9 years ago, when I got signed, my very first pitch was to be a wrestling postal worker named Mel Mann. Shockingly, it was shot down.
– WWE announced that the annual post-WrestleMania 34 conference call will take place on Monday, April 9, 2018. Here is the official statement:
WWE® Network Post-WrestleMania® Conference Call
STAMFORD, Conn.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– WWE (NYSE:WWE) will host a conference call on Monday, April 9, 2018 to provide an update on the growth of WWE Network, including the level of subscribers following WrestleMania. The Company’s Co-Presidents, George A. Barrios and Michelle D. Wilson, will host the conference call beginning at 4:00 p.m. ET (3:00 p.m. CST) to discuss the results.
All interested parties are welcome to listen to a live web cast that will be hosted through the Company’s web site at corporate.wwe.com/investors. Participants can access the conference call by dialing 855-200-4993 (toll free) or 323-794-2092 from outside the U.S. (conference ID for both lines: 6005057). Please reserve a line approximately 10 minutes prior to the start time of the conference call.
The presentation referenced during the call will be made available on April 9, 2018 at corporate.wwe.com/investors. A replay of the call will be available approximately two hours after the conference call concludes, and can be accessed on the Company’s web site.
Last week news broke that WWE and Hall Of Famer Hulk Hogan were in talks for a potential return. WWE actually confirmed this with an official statement:
“We have had discussions with Terry Bollea (aka Hulk Hogan) about how he can help others learn from his mistakes, however, he is not under any contract with WWE.”
Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Newsletter now reports that Hogan and WWE have had regular communication for the past year. He also noted WWE has always been looking for the right time to bring “The Hulkster” back, but feared backlash from sponsors.
Also, company sources say that the idea for bringing Hogan back would be to allow him to talk about how stupid he was for what he said. It would be angled as a redemption/forgiveness plot.
The overall goal from WWE was to ensure enough time had passed so that the return wasn’t controversial. Meltzer also acknowledged the rumors that Hogan could become the next SmackDown Live General Manager, however, they’re only rumors as of this writing.
Last August two-time WWE Hall Of Famer Ric Flair underwent emergency hospitalization in order to remove an obstructed part of his bowel.
This led to several complications, and Flair was held in the hospital for over a month to recover. He suffered from kidney failure, which required dialysis treatment, and was at one point given a small chance to survive.
After returning home the following September, Flair has begun to turn around his life and focus more on his health – and the first step has been giving up drinking.
In a new update, Wrestling Observer Newsletter’s Dave Meltzer reports that Flair is set to undergo a “very serious” surgery on July 9th. The surgery will reportedly remove his colostomy bag.
Flair wants this done so he can return to serious training. He has had the bag in ever since having his life-saving surgery. We’ll keep you updated as we learn more…
Mae Young Classic competitor and current reigning Insane Championship Wrestling (ICW) Women’s Champion Viper/Piper Niven recently faced fellow Mae Young Classic star and Stardom SWA Champion Toni Storm in a bout for their aforementioned titles.
You may remember that these two fought during the Mae Young Classic on episode 7 of the series, Storm took the victory on that occasion but went on to lose to eventual winner Kairi Sane in the Semi-Finals. Going into this match Storm had held the SWA belt for over 600+ days and Viper had recently gone through some gruelling bouts to finally become the ICW Champion…Viper eventually took the win to become a co-ICW/SWA Champion.
There have been rumors surrounding both women and their WWE statuses for quite some time, Australian star Toni Storm is expected to be heading to WWE in the very near future whilst news surrounding Piper Niven has been more sparse of late.
Former WWE Superstar and Hardcore Legend Mick Foley has commented on PROGRESS Wrestling’s upcoming WrestleMania weekend shows at the Pontchartrain Convention Center in New Orleans.
PROGRESS co-owner Jim Smallman and Foley are reportedly good friends having met on the comedy circuit in the UK. Smallman was the support slot for Foley’s 2013 UK stand up tour, he also supported William Regal as part of his speaking tour across the region in the same year.
Foley tweeted “Wishing @ThisIs_Progress all the best this #WrestleMania weekend. Still can’t believe it was only 5 years ago that @jimsmallman said “Mick, I have an idea for a different kind of wrestling promotion.”
Tickets for these massive shows are available to purchase from $25 from TicketFly and several big matches are expected to be revealed in the coming weeks as we head towards WrestleMania.
Former WWE Superstar James Ellsworth has been announced for IPW:UK’s upcoming ‘Chin Up Son’ event on Wednesday May 2nd from Milton Keynes Unit Nine venue.
This UK exclusive match for Ellsworth will be his debut for both IPW and in the United Kingdom in general. Since leaving WWE Ellsworth has been making sporadic appearances for independent promotions across the United States, including an upcoming bout against former UFC fighter Matt Riddle as part of Joey Janela’s Spring Break 2 on WrestleMania weekend.
This event takes place just days after IPW:UK’s International Battle Royale event which sees Austin Aries, Mark Haskins, Tenille Dashwood and more invading the Casino Rooms in Rochester, England.
Tickets for IPW:UK’s ‘Chin Up Son’ are available to purchase here.
