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Jack Swagger Talks About His WWE Run, Working With Dutch Mantel & More

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Former WWE Superstar Jack Swagger was the latest guest on The Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling podcast. In this hour-long interview, the “All American American” opened up about the start-and-stop pushes he received over his ten years with WWE, being paired with Zeb Colter (“Dirty” Dutch Mantell) and much more. Here are the highlights of what Swagger said about:

His WWE Departure:

“The main thing was my contract wasn’t up until January ’18 and they picked up an option (which they only had the option for) I didn’t have any control over it and they picked it up and extended it for another year. The timing of when they did that was when they took Dutch (Zeb Colter) away from me and put him with Alberto, so it was kind of like a two-fold punch in the face. About six months after that I felt like I needed to renegotiate and it was now the brand split again and moving me back to Smackdown, so I was thinking maybe we are going to do something and for whatever reason they didn’t like me over there so I said lets push the contract negotiations.

Pretty much they told me that I deserved a raise and they wanted to sign me for another five years and into my 40s. What they were offering and what I had averaged over the decade that I had worked for them was way off. So after ten years with the company, I needed a change and like I said earlier I need to journey out and become the best professional wrestler I can but also I needed a change to make them miss me and want me back. I need to make them want me and the main thing is they were not growing my brand anymore. Bottom line. It happens and you can get angry about it but it is all business and it is all dollars. I was angry for a long time but once this all came down and I looked at it as a business decision so I understood their side, understood my side and we left on good terms and it is just something we had to do. I look forward to getting out there and showing everyone ALL of the Jack Swagger brand not just what they wanted to show you guys.”

Was taking Zeb Colter away from him the key point in knowing they were losing faith in the character:

“It wasn’t the tipping point, it was just another thing added on to the long list of the same thing of where it is very hard to get momentum going and it is even harder to be natural like “We The People” had become. “We The People” was transforming into a whole different climate and it was no longer a political movement it was simply a movement for the people and it was not more evident than when I went out of the country and went to Mexico and these were the very people we spoke of so harshly and they would stand up and say “We The People”. It was such a cool movement and it transformed so naturally and they tried to cut it off on so many levels but it kept coming back. They took Cesaro away from The Real Americans and tried to cut off “We The People”, we turned baby face, we wrestle a Russian, we have one of the biggest match ups of the year and one of the biggest matches of my career against Rusev and I turned baby face instantly over night. That is “We The People”. After that, nothing and they cut the legs out from it again. I am not complaining because I am very grateful for the ten year career I had and that is way above average but it is just another thing because it is not my company and I don’t make the business decisions but one thing that Dutch always said about these types of things that I always took to heart was; “You can either do it or you can go start your own wrestling promotion.” So when you put it like that it puts it in perspective.”

His relationship and pairing with Dutch Mantell:

“It was one of the biggest honors of my career for me to drive him for two years and to listen to him complain about my driving (laughing) for two years. But it was such a blessing and such an honor to listen to this guy. The first show we did together and if you know Dutch you are going to believe this. We wrestled our match right before intermission and Taker had come by and we were talking with him and I was watching the rest of the matches and Dutch was ready to go and get on the road. I said that they kind of want us to stay here and watch all of the matches out of respect and Dutch said: “Respect? Well don’t you want to learn? You can learn more from me riding in the car in thirty minuets than you will in two hours watching matches, I promise you.” After that we got done wrestling and we got in the car and that is just the way it was. Dutch isn’t a cocky person but he knows what he is talking about and after that I laughed and I never doubted him.”

What was the best advice Dutch gave him:

“That is a great question. There is so much he gives without even most people picking up on it. One of the biggest things with me was if you watched my career I’m 6’4” and 270 pounds but I move very well and I like to wrestle almost like a smaller guy than I am so when he came aboard he saw that right away and he always worked with me on protecting my size and protecting myself. You can do so much more when you can work the size that you are and he really helped me on that side of things but also on a personal level and just as a friend I would almost say that his advice was even more valuable on that side of things. He is so endearing and he is so caring and has been through so much that he just knows and understands so many situations. Having him as a friend was just as good as having him as a teacher.”

Who came up with “We the People”:

“I came up with the t-shirt and was trying to sell it to WWE for the longest time and I just had it made myself and I wore it on the Money In The Bank pay per view and literally as soon as I came back through the curtain the entire merchandise department was there waiting for me and headquarters had called them and they wanted the shirt made. That is how that came about and it is good advice for anyone listening that is still in there. Go ahead and make the shirt you want made and wear it on TV and they will want it.”

The “We The People” is such a cool story. We just so happened to be in Nashville where Dutch lives a couple of weeks after the Elimination Chamber where I beat Randy to go on to WrestleMania with Alberto. They were looking for a mouthpiece for me and they say I can’t talk (but I think I am doing just fine) so being in Nashville and I think it was Hunter’s idea to bring him in and they had Dutch do a couple of promos on video and would play it for Vince later in the day. He did one or two and on the third one he added in “We The People” at the end and everybody when he said that to close it were like; “WOW”. When he said it, it was just one of those moments where you get goosebumps and it was just something that Dutch and his brilliant mind had just thrown in there and event though he didn’t say it in the first two promos he said it in that third one and when Vince watched it he said that’s my guy. So you can add “We The People” to the long list of brilliant things that Dutch has come up with.”

Subscribe to the The Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling on Podomatic, Player FM, Tune In Radio and The IRW Network

Kurt Angle’s WWE 24 Episode, Female NXT Ref Debuts, Update On UK Indys On WWE Network

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– WWE.com has a photo gallery looking at 15 classic Superstars who wrestled barefoot, including Yokozuna, Haku and Kamala.

– RAW General Manager Kurt Angle announced on Twitter that his WWE 24 special will premiere on the WWE Network in July.

– WWE is close to bringing UK independent promotions Progress and Insane Championship Wrestling (ICW) to the WWE Network. According to the Wrestling Observer, “there are deals in place” with both companies and it’s now a matter of Vince McMahon giving it the final approval.

– Kennadi Brink (@LadyKBrink) made her debut as an NXT referee at Thursday night’s live event. She’s now going by the name Jessica, according to JJ Williams, who regularly attends NXT shows in the Orlando area.

https://twitter.com/JJWilliamsWON/status/870428441287557121

New Collections Coming to the WWE Network in June

Chris Stephens
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Yesterday, WWE posted a preview of their new Collections being added to the Network in June.

WWE’s two scheduled-to-be-released collections were previewed by WWE correspondent Cathy Kelley:

New Collections to the WWE Network

WWE will be honouring longtime WWWF champion, Bruno Sammartino, with the collection: “Sammartino: The Legend Lives”. Sammartino and Vince McMahon Jr. have long had a stormy relationship after Vince Jr. took over the territory from Vince Sr.

Triple H is said to have mended fences between WWE and the 81-year old Sammartino, leading to his Hall of Fame induction in 2013. Amongst other things, Sammartino blames Vince for the influx of steroids into the business, and the impact this had on his son David

The other collection WWE will be adding is “the Ladder Match: Reaching For Glory”, and it will focus on the evolution of ladder matches.

NJPW Best of the Super Juniors Day 13 Results, Block B Winner Decided

Jake Skudder
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New Japan’s yearly Best of the Super Juniors tournament is now heading towards its conclusion….

The Best of the Super Juniors (also known as BOSJ) is essentially the Junior Heavyweight version of the G1 Climax tournament that takes place in July. Competitors are split into two Blocks and must compete with every wrestler in their block round robin style. Points are awarded for victories and the eventual winners of the two groups face off in a final match to determine the winner.

Here are the results from Day 13 of the tournament which is now available to view on NJPWWorld.com.

BOSJ B Block Results

Yoshinobu Kanemaru b. El Desperado – Kanemaru took the win via count out and ends his tally on 4-3 (8 Points). Desperado finishes his run on 3-4 (6 Points)

Ryusuke Taguchi b. ACH – Taguchi wins with the Boston Crab to move his tally up to 4-3 (8 Points), ACH ends the tournament on 3-4 (6 Points)

BUSHI b. Tiger Mask IV – BUSHI continues his late surge with a win here over Tiger Mask, he finishes the tournament on 4-3 (8 Points), Tiger Mask ends his run on 3-4 (6 Points)

KUSHIDA b. Volador Jr. – KUSHIDA wins with the Back to the Future in just over 15 minutes, due to his record in the tournament against Kanemaru, Taguchi and BUSHI he wins B Block and will face Will Ospreay in the final (8 Points), Volador Jr ends the tournament on 3-4 (6 Points)

5 Star Wrestling Reschedules Entire 128-Man Tournament, Issues Statement

Robert Lentini
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Last month, 5 Star Wrestling offered CM Punk $1 million to take part in their 128-man tournament that was supposed to begin this month. Punk never responded to the promotion and now 5 Star Wrestling has rescheduled the entire tournament to February 2018. According to F4WOnline, 5 Star Wrestling informed talent that the change of schedule was due to the Manchester bombing that took place on May 22nd. Many are skeptical if that really was the reason for the tournament being pushed back.

5 Star Wrestling released the following statement on their Facebook page:

JUNE 1ST 2017
5 STAR TOURNAMENT AND SHOWS RESCHEDULED TO FEBRUARY 2018.

We have decided to completely reschedule the entire 5 Star Wrestling tournament for February. We know this will be disappointing to many fans as it means we will not be running any further shows in 2017 but we assure you, this is not a decision we have taken lightly and it is a move that will greatly improve the shows we host going forward.

The new dates are as follows and tickets are on sale via 5StarWrestling.co.uk immediately.

LIVERPOOL ECHO ARENA
The show that was scheduled to take place on June 10th will now take place on February 1st

NEWCASTLE ARENA
The show that was scheduled to take place on August 12th, will now take place on February 8th

SHEFFIELD ARENA
The show that was scheduled to take place on the July 1st will now take place on February 15th

LONDON COPPER BOX ARENA
The show that was scheduled to take place on August 5th, will now take place on February 22nd

BELFAST SSE ARENA
The show that was scheduled to take place on June 26th, will now take place on March 1st

ABERDEEN GE OIL & GAS ARENA
The show that was scheduled to take place on July 15th, will now take place on March 8th

MANCHESTER ARENA
The show that was scheduled to take place on September 2nd, will now take place on March 22nd

LEEDS FIRST DIRECT ARENA
The show that was scheduled to take place on July 22nd, will now take place in early 2018, we will be announcing the date in the coming days.

DUNDEE ICE ARENA
The show that was scheduled to take place on the July 8th will now take place on April 19th

BLACKBURN ICE ARENA
The show that was scheduled to take place on June 17th will now take place on April 26th

MOTORPOINT ARENA CARDIFF
The show that was scheduled to take place on July 29th, will now take place on May 10th

IMPORTANT CUSTOMER INFORMATION
If you have already purchased a ticket to one of the events listed, you will be automatically issued a new ticket for the rescheduled date. For example, if you have already purchased a ticket to the June 10th show in Liverpool, you will be sent a new ticket for the February 1st show in Liverpool.

All customers are entitled to a full refund within the next 30 days and can claim that refund by emailing [email protected]

If you have any questions, please contact [email protected] we are expecting a large volume of emails so please understand that we will get back to you as soon as possible.

COMMON QUESTIONS

QUESTION: How can I get a full refund?
ANSWERS: Email [email protected]

QUESTION: When will the new tickets be sent out?
ANSWERS: You should receive an email detailing that information in the next 7 days, if you haven’t please contact [email protected]

Will Ospreay took to Twitter to voice his frustration with the schedule change:

Who Is The Best Opponent For Brock Lesnar Following Extreme Rules? (Editorial)

Robert Lentini
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There will be a Fatal 5-Way match this Sunday at Extreme Rules to determine the #1 contender for Brock Lesnar’s Universal Championship. This match was made after Braun Strowman suffered an elbow injury that required surgery. Strowman was most likely going to face Brock Lesnar for the Universal Championship at Great Balls of Fire. Thus, Seth Rollins, Samoa Joe, Finn Balor, Bray Wyatt and Roman Reigns will compete this Sunday to determine the Superstar that is next in line for a shot at Brock Lesnar.

Here is the list of the potential opponents for Brock Lesnar that are the most intriguing:

5. Bray Wyatt

If this was a month ago, Bray Wyatt may be at the top of this list. Wyatt won the WWE Championship at Elimination Chamber and was on top of the world. For a brief period of time, Wyatt actually did have the whole world in his hands. His promos actually carried weight because he was winning matches and held the most important title in WWE. Wyatt then went on to have two terrible matches with Randy Orton. He lost the WWE Championship to Orton at Wrestlemania 33, in a match where bugs were projected onto the ring. All of this was done to make Wyatt seem scary and present him as a monster. The problem with that is that Wyatt still lost via an RKO, even though he apparently possesses powers that can turn off lights in the arena and project scary images onto the ring.

Wyatt and Orton followed up their disastrous Wrestlemania match with a “House of Horrors” match at WWE Payback. This was originally supposed to be Wyatt’s rematch for the WWE Championship, but instead turned into a non-title match. Wyatt defeated Orton in a train-wreck of a match, but won with the assistance of Jinder Mahal and the Singh Brothers. Wyatt then switched from SmackDown to RAW and is still cutting promos as if he is some monster who should be feared. His character is a model of inconsistency. How can anyone view Bray Wyatt as a monster when all of his theatrics usually result in him losing a match? It is already highly unlikely that Brock Lesnar will lose his first Universal Championship defense. If Wyatt wins at Extreme Rules, it becomes impossible to convince yourself that Lesnar may drop the title. It is also difficult to believe that WWE would place the Universal Championship on Bray Wyatt after his underwhelming run with the WWE Championship.

4. Seth Rollins

Rollins picked up a huge victory over Triple H at Wrestlemania 33. After that, he has been battling Samoa Joe for weeks on RAW and had a match against him at Payback. Samoa Joe dominated most of the match, but Rollins was able to counter the Coquina Clutch into a pin and defeated Joe. Rollins and Lesnar could certainly put on a great match, we have seen it before. Rollins defended his WWE Championship against Brock Lesnar at Battleground 2015. Lesnar essentially had the match won, but was attacked by The Undertaker and Rollins was subsequently disqualified. Rollins lost the match but kept his WWE Championship at the time.

Rollins is one of the most popular Superstars in WWE right now. It wouldn’t be a negative if Rolling emerged victorious at Extreme Rules. Lesnar and Rollins have a history, as Rollins cashed in his MITB briefcase during the Lesnar and Reigns match at Wrestlemania 31. It would be entertaining to revisit that feud now simply because Rollins is no longer aligned with The Authority. If Stephanie McMahon and Triple H return to RAW, the possibility of Lesnar aligning with them would be intriguing. It would cast Rollins as the major underdog and the WWE Universe would certainly get behind him heading into his Universal Championship match against Brock Lesnar.

3. Samoa Joe

The idea of a match between Samoa Joe and Brock Lesnar is exciting enough without a storyline in place. Samoa Joe is a freak athlete for a man of his size and can put on one hell of show with Lesnar in the ring. It would be an extremely physical match and would be a bout most wrestling fans would want to see. Samoa Joe was an excellent heel in NXT and arrived to the main roster as Triple H’s assassin. Joe targeted Seth Rollins and seemed primed to become the biggest badass in WWE. However, Rollins sustained an injury during Joe’s attack and Samoa Joe hasn’t become that monster everyone thought he would be when he arrived on the main roster.

If Samoa Joe wins at Extreme Rules, it would set up an awesome match with Lesnar at Great Balls of Fire. If The Authority returns and has Joe’s back, Brock Lesnar would then be in the unique position of having to overcome the odds. Timing is everything and it simply doesn’t seem like now is the time to have a feud between Lesnar and Samoa Joe. Unfortunately, Joe hasn’t been built up as an unstoppable force on the main roster. All of that could be changed if he wins at Extreme Rules and The Authority returns to RAW. I don’t think that it will happen, but if it does I certainly won’t be complaining.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AsTeLFUaZRI

2. Finn Balor

All signs are pointing towards Finn Balor winning the Fatal 5-Way at Extreme Rules. Paul Heyman made a random appearance on RAW a couple of weeks back and interrupted Finn Balor’s promo. Heyman praised Balor and even said that his client Brock Lesnar wanted to wish Balor good luck heading into Extreme Rules. Balor told Heyman to inform Lesnar that he will win at Extreme Rules and will then reclaim the Univeral Championship that he never lost. Balor became the first-ever Universal Champion by defeating Seth Rollins at SummerSlam 2016. Unfortunately for Balor, he had to relinquish the title the following night on RAW due to an injury he sustained after being Powerbombed by Rollins into the barricade outside the ring.

Some argue that a match between Lesnar and Balor is ridiculous, simply because Balor is much smaller than Lesnar. I beg to differ, as WWE has already shown that they believe in Balor in the past. Balor defeated Roman Reigns in his main roster debut to earn a shot at the Universal Championship. Balor and Reigns put on a great match and I don’t see why a match against Lesnar would be any different. The days of Superstars being required to look like Arnold Schwarzenegger in Conan the Barbarian are gone. Lesnar and Finn Balor can put on an interesting match and it seems like WWE is heading in that direction.

1. Roman Reigns

Roman Reigns versus Brock Lesnar is the match that would attract the most viewers, which is why it probably will not happen at Great Balls of Fire. It has been rumored that WWE has already made the decision that Lesnar and Reigns will main-event Wrestlemania 34. However, plans may have changed after Braun Strowman went down with an injury. The ratings for RAW have dipped and WWE could decide to bump that match up to Great Balls of Fire on July 9th.

Reigns and Lesnar would be the most intriguing match for several reasons. Many WWE fans still cannot stand Roman Reigns and Reigns retiring The Undertaker at Wrestlemania 33 didn’t help that at all. There are also a lot of people that dislike Brock Lesnar as Universal Champion because he doesn’t appear on WWE television every week. Whenever this match does take place, the energy in the arena will be amazing. There will be hatred for both Superstars and their fans will be battling to drown out those chants. Wrestlemania seems like the perfect place to have this match and it wouldn’t feel as special if it were to take place this July. Having said that, it is still the most intriguing out of them all and will be awesome to watch whenever it goes down.

Discussion: Which potential feud for Brock Lesnar intrigues you the most? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Alexa Bliss on If She Cares What Fans Think

Jon Fuentes
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Monday Night RAW Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss is set to defend her strap against Bayley at this weekend’s (Sun. June 4, 2017) WWE Extreme Rules pay-per-view (PPV) event, in a Kendo Stick-On-A-Pole Match. “Little Miss Bliss” recently did an interview with The Weekender ahead of her collision with Bayley, and you can check those highlights out here:

How fans react to her being a heel:

“It’s so much easier to get people to hate you than to like you, and I kind of like to play with that a little bit. Not caring what the fans think and just kind of wanting them to hate me, even though I do kind of care what they think; it’s just so fun to portray this mean person, just to see how people react to it. It’s a lot of fun.”

Rey Mysterio having an influence on her outfits:

“Rey Mysterio used to have different outfits as well, and I used to watch Rey growing up; and I thought he was awesome because he had lucha style, which I liked because I was a gymnast. The fact he used to dress up as all kinds of different characters is where I got the idea to do that myself.”

Jim Ross Predicts Extreme Rules Fatal Five Way Match Winner

Jon Fuentes
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Longtime WWE Commentator and WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross took to his JR’s BBQ blog earlier this week to comment on this past week’s RAW and SmackDown Live episodes, as well as give his prediction for this weekend’s Extreme Rules pay-per-view (PPV) main event Fatal Five Way Match between Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, Finn Balor, Samoa Joe, and Bray Wyatt. Here are the highlights:

RAW’s pair of main events this past week and who he thinks will win at Extreme Rules:

“Enjoyed the two main event bouts including Reigns vs Rollins and the 3-Way between Finn Balor, Samoa Joe, and Bray Wyatt, which all seemed to deliver as expected Monday night. These five will seemingly be counted on to deliver a strong, show closing presentation on Sunday night on the WWE Network during Extreme Rules from Baltimore. As I said on this week’s Ross Report Podcast, I see Finn Balor winning the main event Sunday at Extreme Rules which earns him a title bout with Brock Lesnar. Good luck on that one, Lad.”

SmackDown Live’s upcoming female Money In The Bank Match:

“SDLive saw the five women who were featured arguably ‘Steal the show’ Tuesday night in Atlanta. The SDLive women especially seems to relish in raising the athletic bar and to continue to break barriers previously set by their predecessors. From the cold open, where we heard sound bytes from the participants which made the match have more clout and importance, this was a memorable night for SDLive’s women. The creative felt right and the women including Charlotte, Nattie, Carmella, Becky Lynch, and Tamina all carried their share of the water in successfully building to the first ever MITB Women’s match in St Louis at the Money in the Bank event. It’s arguable that the women of SDLive are seemingly taking more advantage of maximizing their minutes in the ring and on TV in general. The risk/reward ratio is arguably never been higher for any female athlete in WWE to date with the booking of the MITB Match. Obviously these women will do all that they can to deliver a memorable outing at MITB, which likely concerns some fans, as it should.”

AJ Styles doing the job for Dolph Ziggler in his own hometown:

“AJ Styles losing in ATL, his home market, was a bit of a surprise but not totally shocking. Other than seemingly taking the air out of the live audience a bit I see no issues with this outcome and for those who complain about the overall genre generally being too predictable, this outcome should have been acceptable to some degree. I thought the two had an enjoyable bout.”

You can read the full blog post here.

AJ Styles Reveals The One Man He’d Really Like to Get Into The WWE Ring With

Jon Fuentes
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Former WWE Champion AJ Styles is currently on a mission to once again be “The Champ That Runs The Camp”, as he is set to be a part of the WWE’s Money In The Bank Ladder Match later this month at the MITB pay-per-view (PPV) from St. Louis, Missouri. Recently, “The Phenomenal One” joined Rock 100.5’s Bailey And Southside in Atlanta, Georgia to talk about his WWE career, and you can check out some of the highlights below:

Who he’s looking forward to facing the most in WWE:

“Well, I can tell you there [are] a lot of people that want to see Nakamura, Shinsuke Nakamura, and myself in the ring. We’ve done it before for a different company, but never in the WWE.” Styles added, “I think something like that is going to happen. It has to.”

Shinsuke Nakamura’s awkward style:

“He’s a different cat. There’s no doubt about it. He’s a big Michael Jackson fan and you can see that. His performance, everything he does, he’s Michael Jackson, but he’s a heck of an athlete. He’s an MMA guy, he knows his stuff and he will kick your head off. That’s legit. He fought in mixed martial arts, so the guy knows what he’s doing, so he’s kind of a bad dude despite the fact that his stuff is Michael Jackson and that doesn’t come off as very intimidating, but it isn’t a laughing matter when he puts that boot up against your face.”

H/T Wrestling Inc. for the transcriptions

Neville Doesn’t Care if Triple H Likes Him or Not

Jon Fuentes
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WWE Cruiserweight Champion Neville recently did an interview with Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated’s Extra Mustard to talk about a variety of professional wrestling topics. You can check out some of the highlights here below:

Paul “Triple H” Levesque is a guiding force with the Performance Center, as well as the creation of the Cruiserweight Classic and 205 Live show on the WWE Network. What have you learned from Triple H’s guidance?

“Hunter is a role model to everybody. Obviously, I’ve got a lot of respect for Hunter. Right now, I’m not concerned about him or his admiration or respect. All I’m concerned about, right now, is myself. I haven’t always been that guy. For the longest time, I was trying to please everybody, the WWE Universe included. Now, I don’t care. If Triple H likes me or dislikes me, that’s not important to me. What’s important to me is me. It’s taken me a long time to say that.”

What are your goals for storylines and feuds post your work with Austin Aries?

“Domination, baby. Domination. I am going to continue to house keep my kingdom. I’m never satisfied. If you think I’m satisfied now, that would be a big mistake. There is a lot for me to do, and this 205 Live and the Cruiserweight championship are just the first steps. You can mark my words–this is just step one.”

You can check out the full interview at this link.

Early Favorite For Men’s MITB Ladder Match

Jon Fuentes
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The WWE’s Money In The Bank (MITB) pay-per-view (PPV) event is set to go down later this month (Sun. June 18, 2017) from the Gold Bond Ultimate Arena in St. Louis, Missouri. As always, a MITB Ladder Match will be held where the winner is guaranteed a shot at the WWE Championship whenever he’d like.

This year’s participants consist of AJ Styles, Shinsuke Nakamura, United States Champion Kevin Owens, Dolph Ziggler, Baron Corbin and Sami Zayn. Wrestling Observer Radio’s Dave Meltzer was recently a guest on The LAW: Live Audio Wrestling and discussed the upcoming match, and named Baron Corbin as the leading favorite to win. Meltzer noted that the WWE is very high on the former NXT star and that they have been looking to elevate him for some time.

Meltzer did note that he can’t really see a program between current WWE Champion Jinder Mahal and Corbin, therefore it’s possible Corbin would hang on to the briefcase for some time before cashing in.

It certainly isn’t a done deal that Corbin will be the one to walk away victorious from the match, however, Meltzer certainly does raise an interesting point.

Audio: Jim Cornette Reacts To Vince Russo Asking WWE For a Job

Chris Stephens
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Earlier this week, Vince Russo revealed he has been in contact with Vince McMahon regarding a return to WWE. According to Russo, Vince was not enthusiastic about the idea however, and he is not expecting a job offer from the company.

Jim Cornette, a longtime Russo critic, reacted to to this news on his most recent podcast. He posted his comments on his YouTube channel earlier today:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQAyE7PVRss

Cornette’s Critique of Vince Russo

According to Cornette, Russo contacts WWE on a weekly basis, critiquing Raw and possibly looking for a job.

Cornette and Eric Bischoff appeared on a recent episode of “Table for 3”, where Russo, and their complaints about him, were a topic of conversation.

Chris Jericho Says He’ll Never Be A WrestleMania Part-Timer, Might Not Appear On WWE TV Again

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Chris Jericho recently spoke with Brandon Stroud of Uproxx about a variety of topics, including his most recent WWE run, taking time off to tour with his metal band Fozzy, part-time wrestlers who show up only for WrestleMania paydays and his future with WWE.

Although some might classify Jericho as a part-time WWE Superstar since he does take extended breaks to focus on outside projects, he sees a stark difference between his schedule and legends who show up once or twice a year to collect a WrestleMania payday and leapfrog Superstars who have been on the road with WWE all year. This group would include the likes of The Undertaker, Triple H, The Rock and even RAW Universal Champion Brock Lesnar.

When asked if we’ll see him doing the part-time WrestleMania thing as he winds down his career, Jericho said, “No, I won’t do it because that’s not the way it should be. When you’re there, you should go on the road. That’s how you help guys to learn. That’s how I got better.”

Jericho is known for constantly reinventing himself and his most recent run produced some of the best work of his career. His bromance with Kevin Owens, the scarves, The List, Stupid Idiot and “Drink it in, man” have kept his character on the cutting edge of WWE nearly 18 years after his debut with the company.

“This whole year I got way better because of working with the younger guys, who then were learning from me as well,” Jericho said. “They need that. It was a great year with just an awesome locker room, great people, lots of fun. I had as much fun out of the ring as I did in the ring.”

As for his future with WWE, he does plan to wrestle again, but he’d entertain the idea of only working live events.

“And in 2015, all I did was live events. I didn’t do TV at all. It’s like the anti-type Brock Lesnar. I wouldn’t have a problem doing that either. Maybe I’ll never go back on TV again. Maybe I’ll just do live events”

Head over to Uproxx to check out the full interview.

NXT Highlights: Tommaso Ciampa Explains His Actions From Takeover

Chris Stephens
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NXT this week was the brand’s first show taped after NXT: Chicago. Not surprisingly, Tommaso Ciampa came out at the start to explain his actions from the latest Takeover event.

NXT
airdate: May 31st 2017
Full Sail University

Tommaso Ciampa Segment

  • Ciampa was in street-clothes and explained that he felt his knee go out in the middle of his match at Takeover. He knew that after that match he was going to be on the injured list for awhile.
  • He remembered how after he injured his ankle at a house show the week before Takeover, the fans started to discuss which dream partner they wanted for Gargano. This did not sit well with Ciampa.
  • He knew that Gargano would team up with someone else while he rehabbed his injured knee, and Ciampa did not want to be a footnote in another team’s history. So, he decided if he was going away for a “long time”, then Gargano was going away for a “long, long time”.

1. Pete Dunne vs. Danny Burch (non-title match)

  • WWE didn’t post highlights of this match.
  • Somewhat surprisingly, Burch was on offence for the bulk of this bout. A lot of punches, uppercuts, an exploder suplex and a draping DDT made up his offence for the most part.
  • Dunne kicked out after a draping DDT, then somewhat out of nowhere, he landed a german suplex into the corner, followed by the Bitter End, and and got the win.
  • Burch was definitely made to look at, or just below, Dunne’s level.

Winner: Pete Dunne

  • It appeared as though we were going to be shown an interview with the Velveteen Dream, but the former Patrick Clark declared the ambience on the set was not quite right and walked away.
  • A highlights package for the Authors of Pain was shown instead.

2. Cezar Bononi vs. Andrade “Cien” Almas

  • Commentary continued to play up how Almas likes to go out and party all the time.
  • Bononi is a rare Brazilian pro-wrestler, who made his NXT debut in a losing effort to Aleister Black not long ago.
  • Almas was on offence for pretty much the entire match, until Bononi pulled off the surprise win with a small package.
  • The win is Bononi’s first on WWE television.

Winner: Cezar Bononi

  • After the match, Almas walked to the back and appeared to be laughing the whole thing off.
  • A short video of Billy Kay and Peyton Royce at the Performance Centre was shown. They were making fun of Ember Moon for being injured, then Moon walked into the room and appeared to sign papers indicating she is now cleared to return.
  • It was announced that in 2 weeks Asuka will again defend her title against both Ruby Riot and Nikki Cross. This time under elimination rules.
  • Highlights of Hideo Itami and Kassius Ohno getting into a heated verbal confrontation in the back at Takeover was shown. A further video taken from the Performance Centre parking lot was shown, here we saw the two men talking and shaking hands. Well, I guess they patched things up and we will never hear about it again.

3. Kassius Ohno & Roderick Strong vs. Eric Young & Alexander Wolfe (Sanity)

  • Early in the match, Sanity was able to take offence on Kassius Ohno and prevented Strong from tagging in.
  • Killian Dain would get involved several times on the outside, as commentary played up how Sanity has a numbers advantage.
  • When Strong got his hot-tag, he took everyone out until Young blind-tagged himself in and hit a neck-breaker. Young covered Strong, but he kicked out at 2.
  • Ohno then took out Wolfe with a discus elbow, but Killian Dain got up on the apron and looked to interfere.
  • No Way Jose returned (he’d been gone since Takeover: Orlando) and took out Dain, ending Sanity’s numbers advantage.
  • This allowed Roderick Strong to hit the End of Heartache and pick up the win for his team.

Winners: Kassius Ohno & Roderick Strong

Lucha Underground Recap: Johnny Mundo vs. The Mack

Chris Stephens
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3

Lucha Underground returned from their mid-season sabbatical last night. Only one match was scheduled for the show: Johnny Mundo defending the LU championship vs. the Mack in an “All-Night Long” match.

Lucha Underground
S03E20
airdate: May 31st 2017
Boyle Heights, Los Angeles

1. Lucha Underground Championship
All-Night Long Match
Johnny Mundo (c) vs. the Mack

  • Essentially an Iron Man match, this was scheduled to last the length of the program, most pins and/or submissions by the end of the show is declared the winner and champion.
  • The Mack earned this title shot by winning the “Battle of the Bulls” tournament during the first part of season 3.
  • Mundo won the Lucha Underground championship the show after Aztec Warfare III, by cashing in his Gift of the Gods championship for a shot at then-champion, Sexy Star.
  • The Mack got the first near-fall with a fireman’s carry into a double-knee to the midsection move. Shortly after, Mundo hit Moonlight Drive and End of the World, then pinned the Mack. Mundo leads 1-0. 
  • Mundo would pick up the 2nd fall as well with a roll-up while illegally holding onto the ropes for leverage. Mundo leads 2-0.
  • After going down 2-0, the Mack started to pick up steam, while Mundo tried to avoid him and hide outside of the ring.
  • The Mack would get the 3rd fall however, after a sit-down power-bomb to Mundo. Mundo leads 2-1.
  • Mundo would go back on offence and land a diving corkscrew plancha to the outside. He started clutching at his ankle however, and several LU staff came to check on him. A stretcher was brought out, and Matt Striker indicated the match was being called off.
  • With the Mack’s back turned, Mundo did a kip-up and hit a low-blow. Mundo then hit a DDT onto the back-brace from the stretcher and pinned the Mack for his 3rd fall. Mundo leads 3-1.
  • Mundo then did jumping jacks to show his ankle was OK.
  • He would then go back to avoiding the Mack, and crawled under the ring. It appeared as though Mundo came out a different side of the ring and ran to the back, with the Mack in pursuit. As the Mack ran after him, the real Johnny Mundo emerged from under the ring. Then, who we now could see we was PJ Black, ran back to the ring with the Mack chasing him, allowing Mundo to hit him in the back with a kendo stick.
  • Black and Mundo double-teamed the Mack until Son of Havoc came out with 2 kendo sticks to even up the odds. Havoc then revived the Mack with some beers that were handed to him by Dario Cueto (Havoc knocked on his office door and asked for them).
  • The Mack and Havoc beat down the two members of the World Wide Underground and then set up two tables side-by-side on the outside. After briefly losing control of the offence, the Mack gave Mundo a piledriver off the apron and through the two tables on the outside. He then rolled him back in the ring and pinned him. Mundo leads 3-2.
  • While up 3-2, Mundo would again go on offence. This prompted him to instruct the mariachi band to play some celebratory music for him, which they did.
  • Then one of the mariachi band members dove off the stage and landed on Black and Mundo. We would then see that it had been Sexy Star all along.
  • Shortly after, the Mack would hit a Stunner on Mundo inside the ring and pin him to tie the score. Score is tied 3-3.
  • Both went to the outside to get weapons; Mack got a ladder, Mundo set up a table. With not long to go the Mack set Mundo up on the table and started to head up the ladder.
  • Ricky Mandel, who has been used as “enhancement talent” on LU previously, hit the ring and grabbed onto the Mack’s leg to prevent him from going up the ladder. Son of Havoc ended up taking him out, but it slowed the Mack up just enough.
  • The Mack hit a frog splash onto Mundo and through the table. He was finally able to cover him with 2-seconds to go, but the bell rang before the referee’s hand could count to 3.

Result: 3-3 Draw (Mundo retains)

  • After the match Dario Cueto came out of his office and said there were no ties in his temple.
  • The match would continue next week under sudden death rules, even if it takes All-Night Long again.
  • The Mack then gave Mundo a Stunner and celebrated in the ring with the belt to close the show.

Hulk Hogan Featured in WWE Kids Magazine, Continued Speculation About An Eventual Return

Staff
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13

As WWE continues to gradually integrate Hulk Hogan back into the company’s content offerings, there is renewed speculation that Hogan will be returning to the fold sooner than later.

After his sex tape / racism scandal, Hogan was toxic and WWE went to great lengths to distance themselves from the industry icon. During WWE’s Q2 2015 investor conference call, WWE Chairman Vince McMahon stated that Hogan is no longer associated with the company and Hogan’s departure would have “no material effect” on their financial performance.

According to the Wrestling Observer, there’s been talk of bringing Hogan back, probably as an Ambassador. We could see Hogan appearing on WWE Network shows like Table For 3, autograph signings, etc. Many have seen Hogan’s eventual return as inevitable, but WWE wants to be reasonably sure that bringing Hogan back would not generate a backlash of negative media attention.

The latest sign of the Hogan-WWE relationship thawing out was the inclusion of a Hulk Hogan poster in the International version of the WWE Kids magazine.

During a recent interview, Hogan’s longtime friend Jimmy Hart said they’re working on a few projects for Hogan, including overseas tour with “some of the Superstars” that would involve a stage show, autograph signings and more.

Vince McMahon Could be Set For Big WWE Network Appearance

Jon Fuentes
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48

WWE Network’s Table For 3 has been one of the most successful exclusive programs that the WWE has produced.

The concept of the show has three legends of the professional wrestling business sit down at a table for a nice meal, while discussing their journey’s through the industry and telling some great stories along the way. We’ve seen legendary names such as Kurt Angle, Edge and Christian, Eric Bischoff, Michael Hayes, Jim Cornette, Shawn Michaels, and so many more.

Now, “The Chairman Of The Board” Vince McMahon could be joining the club per a report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. The report suggests that WWE officials are discussing the possibility of having McMahon join the program as whatever he’s a part of on the WWE Network always draws numbers. Vince doesn’t regularly do appearances on the Network, however, he has done some such as the Steve Austin Show podcast which performed very well.

If Vince does join Table For 3 there are multiple sets of partners they could pair him up with. One group could be made of the ‘Big 3’ promotion owners from the attitude era; Vince who owned WWE, Eric Bischoff who owned WCW, and Paul Heyman who owned ECW. Group two could consist of The McMahon Family, Vince, Shane and Stephanie McMahon. The third group could pair McMahon with his former ‘stooges’ Pat Patterson and Jerry Brisco.

Discussion: Would you like to see Vince on Table For 3? If so, who would you like him to sit down with?

NJPW Best of the Super Juniors Day 12 Results, Block A Winner Decided

Jake Skudder
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5

New Japan’s yearly Best of the Super Juniors tournament is now heading towards its conclusion….

The Best of the Super Juniors (also known as BOSJ) is essentially the Junior Heavyweight version of the G1 Climax tournament that takes place in July. Competitors are split into two Blocks and must compete with every wrestler in their block round robin style. Points are awarded for victories and the eventual winners of the two groups face off in a final match to determine the winner.

Here are the results from Day 12 of the tournament which is available to view on NJPWWorld.com.

BOSJ A Block Final Day Results

Jushin Thunder Liger b. Taichi – Liger FINALLY gets a win in the tournament to prevent Taichi from winning the block. Liger finishes his tally on 1-6 (2 Points). Taichi finishes on 4-3 (8 Points)

TAKA Michinoku b. Dragon Lee – TAKA takes the upset win with the Michinoku Driver II. TAKA ends his tournament run on 2-5 (4 Points), Dragon Lee is now out of the running on 4-3 (8 Points)

Marty Scurll b. Ricochet – Already eliminated Marty Scrull stops Ricochet from winning the block. Marty ends his tally on 4-3 (8 Points), Ricochet also ends on 4-3 (8 Points)

Will Ospreay b. Hiromu Takahashi – Ospreay hits the OsCutter to win A Block and advance to the final for the second year running in just over 15 minutes. His official tally is 5-2 (10 Points). Takahashi ends his tournament run on 4-3 (8 Points).

To confirm – Will Ospreay wins A Block and will be heading to the final on Saturday June 3rd, his opponent will be determined today at the final day of B Block matches. Any participant from B Block can advance to the finals, however our picks are KUSHIDA or Taguchi

WWE Hypes The First Ever Female Money In The Bank Ladder Match

Jon Fuentes
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9

As we previously reported, the WWE announced its first ever female Money In The Bank Ladder match on last night’s (Tues. May 30, 2017) episode of SmackDown Live. Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch, Carmella, Natalya and Tamina will be competing in the contest, and the winner will receive a guaranteed shot at the SmackDown Live Women’s Title whenever they’d like.

The WWE released the following statement regarding the historic bout:

FIRST-EVER WOMEN’S MONEY IN THE BANK LADDER MATCH TO BE STREAMED LIVE SUNDAY, JUNE 18 ON WWE NETWORK

WWE (NYSE: WWE) announced today that the first-ever women’s Money In The Bank Ladder match will take place on Sunday, June 18 at the Money in the Bank pay-per-view from the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Mo, and streamed live around the world on WWE Network at 8 p.m. ET.

The match will feature WWE Superstars Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch, Carmella, Natalya and Tamina competing for the opportunity to receive a contract to challenge for the WWE SmackDown® Women’s Championship anytime within the next year. The match was made official tonight by SmackDown Commissioner Shane McMahon.

Jerry Lawler Comments on “Hard to Watch” Alexa Bliss Segment on RAW

Jon Fuentes
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27

This past Monday on RAW, Alexa Bliss delivered an angle that wasn’t received well by the WWE Universe as she attempted to host a “This Is Your Life” segment for Bayley.

The angle featured some people from Bayley’s past, such as her ex-boyfriend and former best friend who ended up making out in the end. The crowd wasn’t really into it and the WWE was so ashamed with the segment that virtually all references to the segment were removed from their YouTube page, with the exception of Bliss’ attack on Bayley following the event:

WWE Hall Of Famer Jerry “The King” Lawler took to his podcast, Dinner With The King, to comment on the angle and stated that the WWE needs to “move on” from it:

“Sometimes things happen that just don’t turn out like you envision it. I’m sure that’s exactly what happened there. Here’s the other thing: it’s live T.V. That’s a double-edged sword, believe me. When something doesn’t turn out the way you planned it, there’s nothing you can do about it. It’s there. It was live and everybody saw it. That was just one of those cases. You just gotta move on.”

Lawler also referenced what RAW commentator Booker T said during the ordeal, as his fellow Hall Of Famer said it was “hard to watch”:

“You know what, that could have well have been a Vince [McMahon] line. I’m not sure, because I wasn’t there. But either way, that was the right thing to say. It was probably conveying the thoughts of everybody watching it.”

You can listen to the show by clicking this link here.

H/T Wrestling Inc. for the transcriptions

Backstage Update on Brock Lesnar’s Plans After Great Balls of Fire

Jon Fuentes
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22

Brock Lesnar is all set to make his first WWE Universal Title defense at the WWE’s Great Balls of Fire pay-per-view (PPV) on July 9th, after winning the strap from Goldberg at WrestleMania 33 this past April.

A Fatal Five Way match will be held at this weekend’s Extreme Rules PPV between Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, Finn Balor, Samoa Joe, and Bray Wyatt to determine who will challenge “The Beast” for the title next. Per a report from Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio, the program between the winner of the match and Lesnar is set to be a “one and done” deal, as Lesnar is still slated to face Braun Strowman at the SummerSlam PPV in August.

Lesnar is currently expected to appear on the June 12th taping of Monday Night RAW from Lafayette, LA, as well as the June 26th episode in Los Angeles from the Staples Center. Local advertisement has Lesnar taking on Bray Wyat in L.A., which is likely to be a dark match seeing as he hasn’t competed in a match on Monday Night RAW since 2012.

As for Lesnar’s other upcoming appearances, he is currently being advertised for RAW on July 3rd in Phoenix (go-home show for Great Balls Of Fire), as well as the next week’s show from Houston, TX on July 10th.

Lana Wants in on The SmackDown Live Women’s MITB Ladder Match

Jon Fuentes
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16

On yesterday’s (Tues. May 30, 2017) episode of SmackDown Live, it was announced that the WWE’s first ever women’s Money In The Bank ladder match would go down at the upcoming Money In The Bank pay-per-view (PPV) on June 18th.

The participants in the match will be Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch, Tamina, Carmella and Natalya, but it seems as though Lana wants to get in on the action as well. Currently, the match only has five women as opposed to the traditional six, leaving a potential empty slot open for one last competitor. Lana took to Twitter to campaign for a chance at the coveted briefcase, which guarantees the winner a shot at the SmackDown Live Women’s Title whenever they’d like:

Lana’s SmackDown Live debut as a singles competitor has yet to occur, but her arrival has been promoted over the past few weeks with various vignettes of her dancing on a chair. Do you want to see Lana as the sixth participant in the MITB ladder match?

WWE Leaves an Interesting Clue on Who Enzo Amore’s Attacker Could be

Jon Fuentes
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53

The storyline involving Enzo Amore being repeatedly attacked backstage might have a payoff that will reward viewers who are keeping a close eye on things.

Last week, Amore was attacked backstage and found by WWE officials laid out on the arena floor. His longtime tag team partner, Big Cass, was enraged by the incident and launched an investigation to find the attacker, prompting RAW General Manager Kurt Angle to conduct his own inquiry.

This past Monday night (May 29, 2017) Amore was again attacked backstage, however this time, a few potential suspects began to emerge. The Revival’s Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder returned to Monday Night RAW and were shown footage in which they were caught snooping around the arena the previous week on RAW. The pair immediately denied being Amore’s attackers and claimed that they’ve been backstage on RAW every week since Dash’s injury, but they were busy doing “top guy things” and wouldn’t waste their time with Amore.

Another interesting twist occurred when Big Cass came out and confronted commentator Corey Graves for his comments the previous week. Graves said that he thinks Big Cass could’ve been the man who attacked Enzo, and also said he’d like to shake the hand of the man who is responsible for the attack. Cass and Graves seemed to smooth things over, however, Cass smiled at Graves and shook his hand randomly:

Discussion: Could Big Cass shaking Graves’ hand be a sign that he’s the attacker and ready to break off on his own?

RAW Draws Lowest Viewership Of 2017, Below 3 Million For 5th Consecutive Week

Scott Lazara
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21

Monday’s Memorial Day-edition of WWE RAW averaged 2.613 million viewers, down from last week’s 2.615 million viewers. This marks a new low for 2017 and the 5th consecutive week that RAW drew under 3 million viewers.

The show featured the final build for Extreme Rules and Seth Rollins vs. Roman Reigns in the main event.

Here’s the hourly viewership breakdown, courtesy of ShowbuzzDaily:

  • Hour 1: 2.689 million viewers
  • Hour 2: 2.681 million viewers
  • Hour 3: 2.468 million viewers

RAW was #1 in viewership and #2 in the 18-49 demographic this week.

Vince Russo Says He Spoke To Vince McMahon Last Week About Returning To WWE

Staff
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45

Former WWE, WCW and TNA writer Vince Russo claims to have reached out to Vince McMahon last week about a potential return to the company. Russo actually heard back from the WWE Chairman, but it doesn’t sound like Russo will be writing WWE television or doing consulting work for WWE any time soon.

Russo hasn’t worked for WWE full time since 1999 but has been very outspoken about the product in recent years. To this day, Russo remains a big fan of professional wrestling. He doesn’t like a lot of what WWE puts out and took it upon himself to reach out to Vince McMahon once again to offer his services.

During an interview with Fightful.com, Russo revealed, “I’ve reached out to Vince McMahon in the past week. He got back to me. I am still a wrestling fan at heart, going back to when I was 10, 11 years old. I hate today’s product. To me, it’s not professional wrestling.”

He continued, “I don’t want to be the guy critiquing the problem without saying ‘Here’s my olive branch, I think I can help you as the numbers go down every week.’ I didn’t use the word help. You don’t tell Vince McMahon he needs help. I said ‘if you want me to contribute, I’d love to once again contribute.’”

Russo said Vince McMahon didn’t seem receptive to his offer. “Vince never seems receptive. His response is always a couple of words. He’s not that guy. He’s the same guy that told me I could get a nanny (to raise) your kids.”

You can see Russo’s comments about his recent discussion with Vince McMahon below:

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