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The Rock Gives Cody Rhodes His Flowers In Tense Segment During 4/8 RAW After WrestleMania 40

Aaron Varble
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WrestleMania 40 saw Cody Rhodes finish his story, but this is just the beginning. The RAW after WrestleMania included a very interesting segment indeed.

Cody Rhodes started off WWE RAW this week as Triple H introduced him in the ring. They played a video package for Cody, and then he was left in the ring to start his first promo as champion.

The Rock interrupted Cody Rhodes’ speech, and he received a total heel reaction. He got in the ring, and he didn’t even get to say a word before the Philly crowd chanted, “shut the f*ck up” at him over and over again. They even had to bleep it on television.

Finally, The Rock said that he was out there to give Cody Rhodes his flowers. He also said that Philly broke another record for the biggest gathering of trailer park trash.

Fans were on fire for the segment, as they didn’t give The Rock any love as he raised his People’s Championship. They obviously didn’t want to show respect to The Great One.

The Rock then said that fans can chant whatever they want, because this was between himself and Cody. After reminding Cody everything that he went through on the road to WrestleMania, Dwayne Johnson then said that Dusty Rhodes had a big smile on his face during Mania.

After saying that Dusty was his hero, The Rock said Cody’s new belt looks beautiful with his American Nightmare name plate. Then he asked if there’s any way that The Rock can hold the title.

Cody agreed to The Rock’s request to hold his title for a moment, if they can switch titles. Then Cody took the People’s Championship from The Rock as Johnson took a closer look at Cody’s championship.

Fans chanted “this is awkward,” as The Rock said it “feels right” to hold the Cody’s title. They switched titles again, and The Rock said he has to go away for a while. This made the fans very happy to hear.

The Rock said that he’s coming back to Cody Rhodes, whether he’s champion or not. Cody said he’s looking forward to it, and then Rock reminded him that he pinned Cody at WrestleMania Saturday.

The People’s Champion said that Cody ended his story with Roman Reigns, “but our story has just begun.” That received a rousing “Cody” chant from the crowd.

Before the segment ended, Cody reminded The Rock that he may be the boss, because he’s on the TKO board of directors, but The American Nightmare is still champion. Then The Rock gave Cody something, but we didn’t see what he gave him. Rock simply said that Cody doesn’t even need to look at what it is, and “don’t you ever break my heart again.”

WWE’s Original WrestleMania 40 Plan

The Rock’s return on the road to WrestleMania 40 did not start out with the destination we ended up in. Rock wanted a match against Roman Reigns, but fan reaction played a huge part in changing that booking.

Cody Rhodes was initially supposed to go out of action with a kayfabed injury to take him out of the match, with him getting his match against Roman Reigns down the line. After The Rock conceded that Cody should face Roman Reigns instead, WWE changed up their booking plan for the show of shows. 

The Rock Spotted Before 4/8 WWE RAW After WrestleMania 40

Aaron Varble
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The Rock won his tag team match during WrestleMania Saturday, but things didn’t go so well for the Bloodline on WrestleMania Sunday. Now, it appears the Final Boss is at WWE RAW.

WWE RAW is at the Wells Fargo Center for their episode after WrestleMania. The Rock has been spotted before show at the site of RAW this week.

A video is going around social media showing The Rock arriving at the Wells Fargo Center. It appears that he will be on hand, but it is unclear if he will appear during the show.

WrestleMania 40

The Rock and Roman Reigns beat Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins in the main event of WrestleMania Saturday. That meant the main event of WrestleMania Sunday would be Bloodline rules.

During the Undisputed Universal Title match on April 7, Cody Rhodes finished his story and beat Roman Reigns for the title. The Rock was around as well, where he did interfere, but he also ate a chokeslam from The Undertaker, which put him out of the match.

WWE’s Samantha Irvin Receives Huge Praise From Legendary Ring Announcer Michael Buffer After WrestleMania 40

Aaron Varble
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WWE’s biggest show of the year had many highlights. WrestleMania 40 is over now, but fans can still hear Samantha Irvin’s voice in their heads.

Samantha Irvin’s performance at WrestleMania 40 drew praise from fans all over. Her emotional announcement of Cody Rhodes as the new Undisputed Universal Champion will go down in history. She also received accolades from one of the greatest who ever picked up a microphone.

Michael Buffer is a legendary ring announcer. His “Let’s Get Ready To Rumble” catchphrase is known throughout the world. He posted on Twitter/X to praise Samantha Irvin in huge fashion, as he commended her timing, energy, and overall performance.

Ring announcer Samantha Irvin ruled @WrestleMania last night & her emotional final announcement was awesome! She was featured on camera-ring center-that was a smart production move & she was just brilliant! Her timing, pace, drama, energy was perfect!

Samantha Irvin’s Special Skills

Strangely enough, WWE told Samantha Irvin to nix the special entrances she gives talent. After fans noticed, it seems that she is allowed to call their names in whatever manner she sees fit.

Irvin has many talents, including playing the flute. She can also sing like nobody’s business, and she demonstrated both of those talents as she rocked out Razor Ramon’s theme song at WaleMania 2024. You can check out her performance there, along with many other highlights from that night, here.

Ricochet is certainly proud of his fiancé as she continues receiving praise from all over. This just goes to show that her talents are being recognized outside the pro wrestling bubble. 

WWE Raw Preview (4/8): The New Era Begins

Ella Jay
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With WrestleMania 40 now in the rearview mirror, the fallout is soon to follow, beginning with tonight’s episode of WWE Raw, which emanates from the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Although no matches or segments have been confirmed for Raw, several WWE talents are advertised to appear, including:

  • Newly-minted Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Cody Rhodes
  • New Intercontinental Champion Sami Zayn
  • WWE Women’s World Champion Rhea Ripley
  • Seth “Freakin” Rollins
  • “Main Event” Jey Uso
  • “The Man” Becky Lynch
  • Ricochet

Interestingly, WWE SmackDown star Kevin Owens is also slated for the show, per WWE’s official website.

WrestleMania 40 Fallout

Despite the uncertainty surrounding the specific contents of the Raw after WrestleMania, fans can likely expect a new era, or at least a new story, to begin tonight.

Coming out of WrestleMania, seven new champions were crowned, four of which have major implications for the red brand. The biggest title change, of course, occurred in the main event of night two, as Cody Rhodes unseated the long-reigning “Tribal Chief” Roman Reigns. With Rhodes’ victory, Reign’s historic title run officially ends at 1,316 days. For Rhodes, his victory marks the official finish to his story, as he is now the first member of the Rhodes family to claim the WWE Championship. As that story closes, though, another one will shortly start, which begs the question — what is next for Cody Rhodes?

Roman Reigns wasn’t the only WWE Superstar to have a historic reign ended at WrestleMania. After a grueling battle on night one, Sami Zayn now holds the honor of snapping the longest Intercontinental Championship reign in WWE history – a reign that was set by “The Ring General” Gunther. How will Gunther respond to his shocking loss? That question may soon be answered.

The WWE World Heavyweight Championship also changed hands, not once, but twice, at WrestleMania. In the opening match of night two, Drew McIntyre defeated Seth Rollins to claim his third world title in WWE. Unfortunately for McIntyre, his celebration was soured by a series of kicks from CM Punk and a successful Money in the Bank cash-in from Damian Priest.

Heading into WrestleMania, the WWE Raw and SmackDown Tag Team Championships were held in unison by The Judgment Day’s Damian Priest and Finn Balor. Coming out of a six-pack ladder match, though, both sets of titles now have their own homes. While Grayson Waller and Austin Theory claimed the SmackDown Tag Team Championships, R-Truth and The Miz are now the proud owners of the Raw Tag Team Championships. How will the separation of the tag titles impact WWE’s tag team division?

WWE & Nick Khan Exploring Potential Collaborations With Other Wrestling Promotions

Thomas Lowson
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WWE is more open to the idea of working with other wrestling promotions than ever before, with Nick Khan at the helm to make this a reality. 

In contrast to other, smaller promotions, WWE has almost always refused to work with other companies, especially any it sees as direct competition such as All Elite Wrestling. Justin Barrasso of SI reports, “one of WWE’s potential explorations is to engineer a collaboration with other professional wrestling promotions.” 

Khan is certainly more open to working with others compared to the four decades of the Vince McMahon era. CM Punk recently disclosed that it was Khan who reached out to him in late 2023 which led to his return at Survivor Series in November. Khan also reached out to TNA Wrestling in early 2024 which resulted in Knockouts World Champion Jordynne Grace competing in the Women’s Royal Rumble Match.

Playing Nice

While WWE almost never works with other companies, there have been some rare instances of the Sports Entertainment juggernaut aligning with other promotions. In 2022, then IMPACT Wrestling Knockouts World Champion competed as part of the Women’s Royal Rumble match. James (like Grace would two years later) would wear her Knockouts Championship to the ring. 

In June 2022, John Cena reached the 20th anniversary of his debut for WWE. To celebrate, WWE shared videos of several of Cena’s former rivals praising ‘Big Match John.’ Among these were Daniel Bryan, The Big Show, and Chris Jericho, all of whom are with AEW. 

In 2012, WWE reached a deal with TNA that allowed for Ric Flair to be inducted into the Hall of Fame as part of the Four Horsemen, a move that made the Nature Boy the first two-time WWE Hall of Famer. As part of the deal, WWE granted TNA use of Christian who inducted Sting into TNA’s Hall of Fame. 

John Cena Wants Hollywood To “Pump The Brakes” For One More WWE Run

Aaron Varble
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John Cena returned for a cameo at WrestleMania 40, as he helped Cody Rhodes finish his story. He has hopes that he will be able to make it back to WWE soon enough, but this year isn’t looking likely.

During an interview on the Pat McAfee Show at WWE World, John Cena expressed his desire to temporarily step away from Hollywood to return to WWE for one final run.

He mentioned his hope for the Hollywood system to slow down a bit, allowing him the chance to reunite with his WWE “family” and embark on this journey.

“I’m crossing my fingers and my toes and my heart that maybe, maybe, just maybe I can tell the Hollywood to pump the brakes for a while and come back to my family for one last run. I hope, I hope, I don’t know. I’m trying. We’ll see what happens.”

John Cena’s last run with WWE was thanks to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA Strike. He started making preparations to come back to WWE as soon as the strike started. Once they worked out a deal, Cena had to go back to Hollywood.

Cena is Booked Until Christmas

John Cena managed to participate in WrestleMania because Honda rescheduled a prior commitment. He mentioned that his calendar is packed until approximately Christmas 2024, but after that, he intends to return for a final stint.

So, I was grateful enough that Honda kind of bumped a commitment I had to be able to do WrestleMania, so I’ll go from here to do something with Honda.”

“So I’m going straight to that. I have a cool keynote appearance with Samsung in Las Vegas. Their theme of the convention is ‘time is now’ so they called on yours truly to speak there. I’m very grateful for that. I have some more branding stuff to do before I leave for Europe to finish a movie that we started filming before the strike called ‘Heads of State’ with Priyanka Chopra and Idris Elba and then straight from that to Peacemaker season two. That’ll take us through just about Christmas and I’m crossing my fingers and toes and my heart that maybe, just maybe, I can tell the Hollywood world to pump the breaks for a while and come back to my family for one last run. I hope, I don’t know, I hope, I’m trying, I hope, we’ll see what happens.

The Peacemaker’s second season is starting filming in the Summer. He also has a ton of other offers for projects of every genre. His recent film, Ricky Stanicky, is still making waves as a breakout comedic performance for the 16x World Champion. He even opened up an OnlyFans page to promote it.

Drew Barrymore, Jake Paul & All The Celebrities Who Were At WrestleMania 40

Ella Jay
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The stars were out this weekend as WWE presented its 40th annual WrestleMania premium live event from Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

In addition to the WWE Superstars, WrestleMania 40 also featured a stacked lineup of celebrity guests, some of whom held notable roles in the grand showcase.

Grammy-award-winning recording artist Coco Jones kicked off night one of the WrestleMania 40 festivities with a beautiful rendition of the United States National Anthem. Jones wasn’t the only musical act to appear this weekend, though, as the likes of Lil Wayne, Motionless In White, and The War and Treaty treated the audience to live performances as well.

While Motionless In White offered up live vocals for Rhea Ripley’s “Demon In Your Dreams” entrance song, rapper Lil-Wayne sang his popular single “A Milli” before accompanying Jey Uso to the ring for his match against twin brother, Jimmy Uso. Similar to Coco Jones, Grammy-nominated group The War and Treaty performed “God Bless America” ahead of WrestleMania night two. 

WrestleMania 40 spectators were also surprised with the appearance of rapper and WWE Hall of Famer Snoop Dogg, who assumed double duty on night two. After providing special guest commentary in the six-man Philadelphia Street Fight, Snoop later announced the attendance numbers for night two while surrounded by the Philadelphia Eagles cheerleaders and mascot. 

The recently retired Jason Kelce also emerged on the WrestleMania 40 stage, as he and former Eagles teammate Lane Johnson, helped Rey Mysterio and Andrade prevail over Santos Escobar and Dominik Mysterio on night one.

YouTuber IShowSpeed found himself in a precarious position as he came face-to-face with “The Viper” Randy Orton during the United States Championship match. While he concealed himself in a blue PRIME bottle costume for most of the match, Speed later revealed his identity, only to be greeted by an unamused Orton. Speed’s WrestleMania outing would ultimately end in him taking an RKO from Orton onto the commentary desk.

Other celebrities in attendance include Jake Paul, George Kittle, Meek Mill, Lil Baby, Wale, 2 Chainz, Druski, Lilly Singh, Vanessa Hudgens, Winnie Harlow, Wallo, O’Shea Jackson Jr., Gabriel Iglesias, Michael Rubin, Mark Kerr and Drew Barrymore, who was seen getting ready for the event with former WWE Champion The Miz.

https://www.instagram.com/p/reel:C5cHMPdvylg

Cody Rhodes Says “Validating” WWE Universal Title Win Was Willed Into Existence By the Fans

Thomas Lowson
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Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Cody Rhodes will never forget that it was the fans who helped make his historic victory at WrestleMania 40: Sunday a reality. 

At the April 7, event, Rhodes ended the 1,316-day reign of Roman Reigns to become the new champion. Rhodes’ desire to ‘finish the story’ and capture a WWE World Championship (a feat his father never reached) has been pivotal to his career since returning to WWE in 2022. 

Speaking on The Today Show, Rhodes reflected on his historic victory inside Lincoln Financial Field. 

“Oh, it feels just so sweet. And it’s validating, because this main event yesterday, WrestleMania 40, it was totally willed into existence by the fans. We were going to go one way, we were thinking Rock Vs. Roman Reigns. They made it clear they wanted something else and we got to the finish line.”

We Want Cody

Rhodes’ win may have never happened if not for the WWE Universe. Despite Cody’s victory in the 2024 Men’s Royal Rumble match, WWE teased a match between Reigns & The Rock during the following SmackDown. 

Outraged at the prospect of the Hollywood star taking the opportunity from Rhodes, the WWE Universe responded in droves both at events and on social media. Chants of ‘Rocky Sucks’ would fill WWE events, a stark contrast to the usual reaction to the ‘People’s Champion.’ 

Realizing a change was needed, WWE had The Rock turn heel and Rhodes was thrust back into the Universal title picture. According to The Rock though, the plan was always for Rhodes Vs. Reigns, despite what was teased on-screen. 

CM Punk & Charlotte Flair Look At What May Lay Ahead For New WWE Champion Cody Rhodes

Ella Jay
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Cody Rhodes officially finished his story at WrestleMania 40, but an important question remains – what’s next?

Following Rhodes’ victory over Roman Reigns in the night two main event of WrestleMania 40, WWE Superstars Charlotte Flair and CM Punk shared their thoughts (via ESPN) on what may lay ahead for the brand new Undisputed WWE Universal Champion. According to Flair, Rhodes’ win over Reigns could simply be a marker for the start of his story. 

“I really think his story is just beginning,” Flair said. “He’s exactly where he should be, but the biggest takeaway is Cody was here. He went away, he came back. Kind of like Paul Heyman’s speech at the Hall of Fame, people kept telling him ‘No, No, No’ or things kept failing and that never wavered either person’s confidence. Cody is a testament to knowing your worth and I think that’s what we need to take away from tonight is he believed in himself and he knew that he deserved more. That’s why he walked out WrestleMania 40 as champion.”

CM Punk Issues A Stark Reminder

With his WrestleMania win, Cody Rhodes becomes the first member of the Rhodes family to win the WWE Championship. This also marks the first world championship reign of Cody’s individual career. 

While there is a natural excitement surrounding Cody’s triumph, five-time world champion CM Punk has issued a stark reminder that just because one has reached the proverbial mountaintop, doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll stay there for long.

 “Now listen, a black belt is a white belt that didn’t quit. He just earned his black belt. and unlike his finishing maneuver. we are no longer at a crossroads. I think the path is clear, possibly the Cody Rhodes era,” Punk said. “But I will warn him it is much harder to stay on top than it is to get there and we all saw how hard it was for him to get there. There’s a lot of people gunning for him.” 

As one story ends, another typically begins. With that in mind, it seems as though Cody Rhodes has now teased the possibility of introducing a new title design as well.

Cody Rhodes Teases Introducing New WWE Championship Title Belt After WrestleMania 40

Aaron Varble
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Cody Rhodes finished his story at WrestleMania 40, and that could come with a change for the title he will carry. It’s a new era in WWE, and The American Nightmare just teased another change.

Rhodes beat Roman Reigns in the main event of WrestleMania 40 in a very emotional match. John Cena and The Undertaker were on hand to help Cody finish his story, and the celebration was a happy one after the Tribal Chief was defeated.

On the morning after WrestleMania 40, Cody Rhodes dropped a very interesting post on Twitter/X. Along with WWE’s current Undisputed Universal Championship, he also had another belt by its side, a throwback design. The caption that Cody picked leads us to believe he may be contemplating carrying that championship instead.

When one good story ends, an even better one begins.

Cody Rhodes tagged WWE’s official shop in his post. He also tagged Prime, Logan Paul’s hydration company, because the American Nightmare signed a deal to endorse them.

Cody Rhodes tagged WWE’s official shop in his post. He also tagged Prime, Logan Paul’s hydration company, because the American Nightmare signed a deal to endorse them.

Check out our complete WrestleMania 40 Saturday coverage by visiting our WrestleMania 40 hub.

During the Pat McAfee show at WWE World on April 8, Cody Rhodes said it would be special to see a particular championship. Fans chanted for the winged eagle title. Cody said, “You guys are damn right, the wingled eagle. If it doesn’t happen, don’t get mad at me. I’ll do what I did last time (with the IC Title), I’ll try my best.”

Cody Rhodes Wants To Carry The Winged Eagle Title

Some might think that Cody Rhodes is just teasing another title belt for the sake of it, but he has altered his title belts in the past. Rhodes is the one who pulled for WWE to bring back the white Intercontinental Title belt during his last reign as champion, a design that they kept around for a while until Vince McMahon changed it back after Cody bet on himself and left the company.

Cody Rhodes has also made it clear in the past that he would like to bring back the Winged Eagle Championship. He said in the past that, “Through my youth, the WWE I was watching, was really synonymous with the Winged Eagle. I think there’s a lot of people who love the Winged Eagle design, some people like the Big Eagle, but the Winged Eagle was the one for me. Today’s design with the giant W is also incredibly special because it’s this walking billboard for the promotion.”

Although Cody previously stated that it is a “pipe dream” to carry the Winged Eagle Championship, you never know what can happen in the Paul Levesque Era of WWE. 

Vince McMahon Selling Shares to TKO and Endeavor in Multi-Million Dollar Agreement

Aaron Varble
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0

WWE is in a new era under Triple H, and that means the old guard is becoming a thing of the past. Vince McMahon ran the company for decades, but he will soon have even less of a stake in the business. 

New filings indicate that TKO and Endeavor are in the process of acquiring shares from Vince McMahon. 

Through separate agreements, Endeavor is set to purchase 1,642,970 shares for a sum of $142.6 million, while TKO is poised to acquire an additional 1,853,724 shares for approximately $150 million. This amalgamation of transactions amounts to a grand total of roughly $293 million.

Upon the completion of these deals, which are slated to be finalized on Tuesday and Wednesday respectively, Vince McMahon will retain ownership of 8,021,405 TKO shares. A straightforward calculation reveals that post-transaction, Vince’s stake in TKO will go down to around 4.7%.

Vince McMahon’s TKO Stock Sell-Off

Vince McMahon has unloaded a lot of WWE stock in recent memory. McMahon sold even more TKO Stock at the end of March, as he unloaded 3,484,006 more shares. This sale added to the 5,350,000 shares he sold in early March.

McMahon resigned from the company after Janel Grant’s lawsuit went public. Slim Jim pulled their sponsorship just before the 2024 Royal Rumble event, and that was the final nail in his proverbial coffin.

Ultimately, McMahon was urged by TKO CEO Ari Emanuel and TKO President and COO Mark Shapiro to resign. Now, Vince is no longer an active part of the company, and it appears that he will have even fewer shares soon enough.

Daily Drop (4/8): WWE WrestleMania 40 Fallout, Matt Hardy Leaves AEW

Aaron Varble
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Welcome the Daily Drop, your daily roundup of wrestling news and rumors for Monday, April 8. Last night was WrestleMania Sunday, and Cody Rhodes finished his story. 

After WrestleMania 40’s Sunday event was over, the celebrations and stories kept going. You can check out video footage of what happened here.

Check out our complete WrestleMania 40 Saturday coverage by visiting our WrestleMania 40 hub.

There is a lot to get to, so let’s get started! 

WWE:

– WrestleMania Attire: This was quite a WrestleMania when it comes to entrance attire. You may check out our comprehensive article here.

– 2024 Slammys: WWE presented their Slammy Awards before WrestleMania 40. They had a lot of winners, and we provided live coverage of the event.

– Samantha Irvine’s Big Announcement: After Cody Rhodes’ title win at WrestleMania, Samantha Irvine was in tears, and it was quite a video.

– WWE Changes: Triple H made it clear after WrestleMania 40 that there are a lot of changes to come. 

– Cena Interview: John Cena will be on the Pat McAfee Show on Monday, April 8. We will have notable highlights from that interview.

– Triple H’s Gift: Cody Rhodes received an incredibly emotional gift from Triple H after his big Mania win. It was quite a story, and we invite you to check it out.

– Bloodline May Be Growing: Jacob Fatu was spotted in Philly before WrestleMania 40. We will have to see if he makes his presence felt soon. 

– Paul Heyman’s Induction: We ran an exclusive article about the backstage reaction to Paul’s unfiltered WWE Hall of Fame speech.

AEW:

– Matt Hardy Gone: It was reported after WrestleMania 40 that Matt Hardy is now a free agent. His AEW contract has expired at this point.

– CM Punk Footage: Don’t forget that Tony Khan promised to air the footage of Punk and Jack Perry’s All In brawl during Dynamite this week. That video could break the internet. 

Upcoming Major Pro Wrestling Pay-Per-View Events:

  • AEW is coming to St. Louis, MO with AEW: Dynasty LIVE on PPV on Sunday, April 21st at Chaifetz Arena
  • Backlash France is scheduled for May 4th at LDLC Arena in Décines-Charpieu, France.
  • WWE NXT Battleground is booked for May 26th at Enmarket Arena in Savannah, Georgia, exclusively available on the WWE Network and Peacock.
  • WWE Money in the Bank will be held on July 6th at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, followed by WWE NXT Heatwave on July 7th at the same venue.
  • WWE Bash In Berlin is marked for August 31st at Mercedes-Benz Arena in Berlin, Germany.

Triple H On WWE’s New Production Techniques: “There’s So Much More To Come”

Anutosh Bajpai
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Triple H believes the production changes we have seen in WWE in recent months are only the tip of the iceberg and there is a lot more to come.

Many people have credited the WWE Chief Content Officer for ushering in a new era in WWE. During the post-WrestleMania 40 press conference, The Game noted how there are a lot of people who are helping him bring this change.

One such name he mentioned was the new WWE Head of Media Lee Fitting. According to the former world champion, Fitting is responsible for a lot of production changes people have noticed in the post-Kevin Dunn era:

“Lee Fitting, from a production standpoint, from what we’re doing, from the look the feel, all of it. You see changes happening every week on TV and there’s gonna be more of them. But you see that and I see people excited by them and just loving the changes that are made. I’m telling you, there’s so much more to come.”

There’s A Lot More Coming: Triple H

Triple H claimed that Fitting is a guy that he loves to work with and they’ve made a conscious decision to roll out the changes slowly:

“We’ve made a conscious decision together Lee, Nick [Khan] and myself to slowly roll out some of those changes over time. There’s a lot more coming, but when I tell you Lee Fitting, that I love working with him. He has a passion for this just like we do. Might be new here, but he’s all in.

He’s the kind of guy that I want to go to work for. I want to do stuff to make his job easier. I want to collaborate with him and I want to make things better with him. So I can’t say enough good stuff about him. A lot of the change that you see a lot of the success that you’re seeing comes from Lee Fitting.”

You can watch the full WrestleMania 40 Night 2 press conference below:

If you use any quotes from the article please credit SEScoops with an H/t for transcription

Samantha Irvin’s Ring Announcing Praised as a Highlight of WrestleMania

Thomas Lowson
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WrestleMania 40 was an emotional night for many and Samantha Irvin couldn’t help but get choked up in the closing moments of the show’s second night. 

At WWE WrestleMania 40: Sunday, Rhodes finished the story by capturing the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship from Roman Reigns. Rhodes’ desire to become a WWE World Champion (an accolade his father never achieved) has been the vocal point of his career since returning to WWE in 2022. 

Fans watching WWE WrestleMania 40: Sunday may have noticed that Irvin struggled to make the official announcement that Rhodes had become the new Undisputed WWE Universal Champion. In footage shared online, the Raw announcer can be seen being overcome with emotion seeing her friend finally win ‘the big one.’

This wasn’t Irvin’s only case of feeling emotional at WWE WrestleMania 40. During the Saturday broadcast, Irvin sounded like she was struggling after Sami Zayn dethroned GUNTHER to win the WWE Intercontinental Championship. 

Samantha Irvin in WWE

Irvin’s passionate announcing has earned her praise from several notable names. Former WWE announcer Lillian Garcia has praised the passion of Irvin and has said she is doing an “amazing job” in the role. Legendary sports announcer Michael Buffer of “Let’s Get Ready to Rumble” fame described Irvin as “awesome” and said in May 2023 that believes she should be front and center when making announcements. 

Kayla Braxton said during an edition of the Insight podcast that Irvin is going to be “historical for this company.” In the interview, she added that Irvin has a very hard job but that she’s knocked it out of the park. 

Bayley Responds To Rhea Ripley Saying Four Horsewomen Need To Move Over For Next Generation

Anutosh Bajpai
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Bayley is very happy to allow the next generation of women wrestlers to take their spot at the top but not before she has celebrated her own moment.

After defeating Becky Lynch at last night’s WrestleMania 40: Saturday event, Rhea Ripley was asked if the Four Horsewomen’s time in WWE was over. While The Mami acknowledged their contribution in the women’s revolution, she said that it was time for them to step aside.

At the post-show press conference tonight, Bayley was asked if her win over IYO SKY was an answer to the Judgement Day star. The new Women’s Champion first discussed how the young star is a once in a lifetime talent:

“I think Rhea is…she is once in a lifetime. I get so jealous of her. First I have so much respect for her because she works her butt off. She does everything. You guys see Judgement Day on every single show, like 10 times throughout the night. That is not easy and sometimes not always fun. It’s very hard.

So I have all the respect for the work she does. Plus she puts on incredible matches. She’s so young, so athletic. She does one dropkick, that I can’t even….I can’t do a drop kick to someone’s knees. It’s like everything she does makes me mad.”

I’m Glad To Watch It Happen: Bayley

Bayley then mentioned a number of young female talents that are taking the work of the Horsewomen to the next stage and proclaimed that she is very happy to watch it happen:

“But I feel as the time comes for the four horsewomen to lift the division up and get better and better as we wanted to do from the beginning. I’m glad that it’s going to someone like Rhea Ripley. It’s going to somebody like Bianca Belair, Liv Morgan. You got Zoey Starks.

There is so many women that are itching to get out there. Candice LeRae is finally showing her face out there. You all the girls in NXT Roxanne Perez, Lyra [Valkyria]. This is exactly what we wanted. So if she’s ready to take it on, I’m very proud and I’m very glad to watch it happen. But let me have my damn moment, Rhea.”

Rhea Ripley defeated Charlotte Flair at WrestleMania last year and successfully took on Becky Lynch at this year’s edition of the Show of Shows. While it’s too early to predict the future, this banter turning into a match between The Mami and Bayley at WrestleMania 41 would be very poetic.

You can check out the full WrestleMania 40 Night 2 press conference below:

If you use any quotes from the article please credit SEScoops with an H/t for transcription

Triple H: By Every Metric, This Was The Biggest WrestleMania Of All Time

Thomas Lowson
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WrestleMania 40 proved to be the biggest event in the history of WWE’s mega-show, as far as CCO Paul ‘Triple H’ Levesque is concerned. 

WrestleMania 40 was the promotion’s fifth-annual two-night ‘Mania, a tradition that began during the Covid-19 pandemic. The show has been met with praise from fans with Cody Rhodes’ victory over Roman Reigns in the WrestleMania 40: Sunday main event being a notable highlight. 

Speaking on the post-WrestleMania 40: Sunday press conference, Levesque addressed the success of the show and of WrestleMania week. 

“You hear a lot of hyperbole coming into these things. ‘Greatest WrestleMania of all time, biggest WrestleMania of all time’… A lot of times that stuff and said, and you move on. But I do feel like this was the biggest WrestleMania of all time. I really do. And when you break it down… This was legitimately on every metric the biggest WrestleMania of all time.”

The 14-time WWE World Champion added that whether you look at the gate, social media, or various other metrics from WrestleMania or WWE World, all the numbers back up his claim. 

The Paul Levesque Era

This year’s WrestleMania was truly a historic show, as it marked the first time ever that Vince McMahon did not oversee the show. In place of the disgraced ex-Chairman, Levesque served as the creative head of the show and welcomed fans to WrestleMania at the start of the Saturday event. At WWE WrestleMania 40: Sunday, Stephanie McMahon spoke of ushering in the ‘Paul Levesque Era’ and welcomed fans to the show. WWE also recently filed a trademark for the ‘Renaissance Era.’ 

Dressed to Impress: The Hidden Meaning Behind the Attires of WWE WrestleMania 40

Thomas Lowson
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The Superstars of WWE were dressed to kill at WrestleMania 40 with some unique attires at the two-night supershow in Philadelphia, PA. 

At WWE WrestleMania 40: Saturday, Becky Lynch opened the show with an attire themed around the cover of her new memoir ‘The Man, Not Your Average, Average Girl.’

After being mistaken for D-Generation X by R-Truth, DIY showed their love for the legendary duo of Triple H & Shawn Michaels. 

Given that this show was in Philadelphia, The New Day paid tribute to Rocky Balboa in the six-pack tag-team ladder match. Kofi Kingston wore an attire based on the Italian Stallion, while Xavier Woods’ Apollo Creed-inspired attire also served as a nod to his TNA days as Consequences Creed.

Rey Mysterio wore the colors of the Philadelphia Eagles and included Eagles on his attire. The WWE Hall of Famer teamed with Andrade to defeat Santos Escobar and ‘Dirty’ Dominik Mysterio. 

On WrestleMania 40: Sunday, Logan Paul wore the colors of the show. The Maverick walked into the show as United States Champion and his attire bore the stars and stripes of the flag of the United States of America..

Paul successfully defended his title against Randy Orton and Kevin Owens. The Prizefighter once again wore a shirt based that referred to how many WrestleManias he’s competed at, which declared that the show was KO-Mania 8. Given that the show was in Philadelphia, it was fitting that Owens wore ECW-themed trunks for the match.

Owens didn’t just represent ECW with his ring attire. The Prizefighter’s entrance also served as a nod to the extreme promotion that went under in 2001. 

Bayley walked into her Women’s Championship match with IYO SKY with an Egyptian-themed attire and entrance. As Corey Graves explained on commentary, Rosicrucian Park in Bayley’s native San Jose hosts an Egyptian museum. 

Triple H: The Next Chapter In Roman Reigns’ Story Is Going To Blow People’s Minds

Anutosh Bajpai
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0

Triple H is promising that the story of Roman Reigns is not finished after WrestleMania 40.

The run of The Tribal Chief since his heel turn in 2020 has been one of the most epic storylines WWE has ever produced. Now that it’s over, there has been a lot of curiosity on what’s next for the now former Undisputed Champion.

The WWE Chief Content Officer talked about Reigns in the post show press conference after WrestleMania 40. He claimed that after the latest run, Roman is for certain one of the greatest of all time:

“Before I talk on Cody, let me talk about Roman. There’s a lot of banter about greatest of all time. You can make arguments for a lot of people in that and there’s a lot of metrics that you could measure that by, or opinions or whatever that is. If he is not the, he is one of, absolutely for certain – the greatest of all time.

To do what he has done, to overcome all the things in his career. The positioning and the stuff that he had to get through and hung in there to get where he needed to be. To deal with his physical issues and his health issues to overcome, the pandemic to overcome.

Just everything that he has had to deal with, on the way here. Then to go out there and put on a run like nobody has ever put on before. A run of just epic, epic moments, epic storytelling. I see that word cinema thrown around a lot but it really is.”

Roman Reigns Is Going On A Whole New Story: Triple H

Triple H discussed how Roman Reigns has changed the business in many ways through his run. Though he proclaimed that his story is far from over and teased that The Head of The Table is going to take things on a whole nother level:

“There’s few guys that come along in our business where you say, during that period of time that they were in it. They changed the industry. He changed the industry. I mean that in front of the camera, I mean that behind the camera, he’s changed the industry. He’s that good. I can’t say enough good stuff about him.

Then to do what he did tonight with Cody Rhodes, it’s not completing the story. It’s just getting to the end of this chapter. Because he’s gonna go on a whole new story now that is going to blow people’s minds I think. I know he’s going to take it to a whole nother level, but I can’t tell you how much respect I have for Roman Reigns.”

The last time Triple H promised something like this was when Cody Rhodes lost the WrestleMania 39 match against Roman. He claimed that Cody’s story wasn’t finished and it led us on a year-long journey that concluded tonight. A promise similar to that suggests that there are some plans already in place for the former champion and we should gear up for another epic ride.

You can watch the full press conference below:

If you use any quotes from the article, please credit SEScoops with an H/t for transcription

Wrestling World Reacts To Cody Rhodes’ Undisputed Universal Title Win At WWE WrestleMania 40

Thomas Lowson
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The wrestling world has come out in force to congratulate Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Cody Rhodes following his victory at WrestleMania 40. 

In the main event of WWE WrestleMania 40: Sunday, Rhodes ended the 1,316-day reign of Roman Reigns in an emotional ending to the show. After the match, Rhodes celebrated with his fellow Superstars and spoke about being grateful to those who have supported him. 

Wrestling World Reacts

WWE Chief Content Officer Paul ‘Triple H’ Levesque shared a photo with Rhodes and spoke about Cody’s story being history in the making. 

Rhodes’ wife Brandi borrowed a few lyrics from ‘The Greatest Show’ to express her support for her husband after his victory. 

Two-time WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair praised the efforts of Rhodes as well as the work of Roman Reigns. The Nature Boy said the match was one of the most athletic and believable main events he’s seen in a long time and that he respects both the former and new champion. 

John Cena, who aided Rhodes during the match, also congratulated the new Undisputed WWE Universal Champion. Cena was also grateful that he had the chance to be part of WrestleMania and pointed out that the WWE story never ends.

Tommy Dreamer, who had been skeptical as to whether Cody would finish his story, could not have been happier to have been proven wrong. 

AEW’s Amanda Huber, the wife of Jon ‘Brodie Lee’ Huber, echoed Cody’s sentiments that he gave during the press conference about why the ‘story’ means so much to fans. 

WWE Raw Commentator Pat McAfee was pleased to see Cody’s win, as he made clear in multiple tweets. 

The WWE on FOX account also gave credit to the brand-new Undisputed WWE Universal Champion. 

Matt Hardy Is A Free Agent After AEW Contract Expires

Aaron Varble
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Matt Hardy entered AEW during the pandemic, and now, he is no longer All Elite. The tag team specialist is now a free agent.

Fightful Select reports that Matt Hardy is now a free agent. His contract with AEW was set to expire in March. Recent developments indicate that he is no longer associated with AEW.

The reports stated that while his contract was initially set to expire, there were discussions within the company regarding an extension. The idea was that this extension might last a few weeks through WrestleMania.

The reason behind this possible extension remains unclear, because there are no indications of any injury-related absences, given that Hardy continued to make television appearances following a concussion sustained years ago during AEW All Out in his Broken Rules match against Sammy Guevara.

We’ve learned that Hardy and AEW had talks and Hardy had told those close to him that he was allowing his deal to lapse after not signing a deal offered to him.

Jeff Hardy is still under contract with AEW. His deal was originally set to expire with his brother’s, but AEW froze his contract when he took time off to take care of his personal matters.

Matt Hardy’s Road To AEW

On the February 10, 2020, episode of Raw, Hardy confronted Randy Orton regarding Orton’s assault on Edge two weeks earlier. A brawl ensued between them shortly after, during which Orton viciously attacked Hardy. The following week on Raw, an injured Hardy made another appearance, only to be assaulted once more by Orton. This would mark his final appearance in WWE.

On March 2, Hardy announced his departure from WWE via his official YouTube channel, citing differences in creative direction and expressing gratitude towards the backstage personnel. WWE then confirmed that his contract had expired on the same day.

Hardy made his debut in All Elite Wrestling on the March 18, 2020, episode. He brought his Broken gimmick to the company, but it was abandoned during those Daily Place episodes.

John Cena Joining The Pat McAfee Show Before WWE Raw

Dominic DeAngelo
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0

John Cena is making the most of his trip to Philadelphia for the WrestleMania 40 fallout. Cena was a surprise run-in for night two of the “Grand Daddy Of Them All” as the future WWE Hall Of Famer aimed to help Cody Rhodes against Roman Reigns. It was “Bloodline Rules” which meant anything goes and anything went as Rhodes vs. Reigns had several interferences and John Cena was one of them.

Cena saved Cody from a double attack from Reigns and Solo Sikoa as he ran down to take out Solo, putting him through a commentator’s table and giving Reigns an Attitude Adjustment. However, The Rock came out and delivered a Rock Bottom to his old rival from over a decade ago, taking Cena out of the equation. However, it was The Undertaker who trumped The Rock by delivering a chokeslam to ‘The Final Boss’ and Cody ended up getting the job done by hitting three Cross Rhodes to ending Roman’s reign.

Cena was one of many babyfaces to celebrate with Cody after he “finished his story” but Cena will have his own story to tell at WWE World in Philadelphia before WWE RAW.

Cena will be the guest of Pat McAfee on The Pat McAfee Show. He’s scheduled to show up at 1 PM ET, but fans haven’t seen him since last year after making a memorable run over the summer. 

Serendipituosly enough, the last person to beat Cena was Solo Sikoa at WWE Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia.

Cody Rhodes Received A Very Emotional Gift From Triple H After WrestleMania 40 Win

Anutosh Bajpai
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0

Cody Rhodes received a very meaningful gift from the WWE leadership after his big win against Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 40.

The American Nightmare took part in the media scrum after finally finishing the story. He was asked why he thinks people resonated with his journey so much.

Rhodes mentioned how it was a father-son story that a lot of people can connect to. Beyond that, however, it was also a tale of someone who wasn’t considered a franchise player and proved himself to be main event worthy:

“I think sometimes it feels like it’s a father-son story, which is something that father-daughter, father-son that a lot of people can see and relate to. But then if I’m truly being honest, I think it’s a story of as much as I had the legacy and I had the last name I didn’t…[I] wasn’t born with all the tools.

My brother’s six-four. Do you know how pissed off I was when I stopped growing? [laughs] My dad and my sister just had all this charisma. I think people resonate that, that works for them. You can make it to the main event. You can make it to being THE main event. I always wanted to be a winning franchise if that makes any sense. At my age and where I’m at in my career, I know that’s not been the story. But I’m very proud of, of what the story has become.

You asked, why it resonates? It’s the only answer I really know – because it’s real. I wanted to be this because at first, he wasn’t and I thought he should have been. Then when he passed away, I failed. I didn’t hand it to him. But it became about, I said this earlier, it was in the hype packages and stuff that was playing – the story was beyond me at that point. I still felt the need to finish it. I’ve been saying all week. I think I said it on First Take too that even if I didn’t believe people believed so I had to do it.”

Cody Rhodes Received A Meaningful Gift

Cody Rhodes also revealed a very special gift he received from WWE officials once he returned backstage after winning the Undisputed Championship:

“I know this isn’t what you asked at all, but something that I wanted to share. I came to the back and Bruce Prichard and Triple H and Nick Khan handed me this [watch] which is the same watch that my dad had that he pawned so that I could go to acting school. So the level of investment and responsibility that the company just put in my hands. I hope I can pay it back. Pay it forward, 100 times over.”

Cody had originally written about the watch in his eulogy for Dusty Rhodes back in 2015: 

“My beautiful Sister Teil will tell you all about “angel money”. And that beautiful gold Rolex…he told me if I ever won the World Title, that I could have it. Just the other night I inquired about that watch, come to find out he had sold it so that I could drive to Los Angeles to chase a dream.” 

https://twitter.com/codyrhodes/status/611332890568327168

You can watch the full media scrum below:

If you use the quotes from the article please credit SEScoops with an H/t for transcription

Ric Flair Congratulates Cody Rhodes On “Living Your Dad’s Dream”

Dominic DeAngelo
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0

Ric Flair may be an old rival of Dusty Rhodes, but ‘The Nature Boy’ believes in Cody Rhodes.

‘The American Nightmare’ became the WWE Undisputed Universal Champion by defeating Roman Reigns in the main event of night two of WrestleMania 40, but it was not without its bells and whistles. “The Bloodline Rules” bout between Reigns and Rhodes started off as a single affair until Jimmy Uso got the ball rolling with run-ins that featured the likes of Seth Rollins, Solo Sikoa, John Cena, The Rock and The Undertaker. However, it was Cody who delivered the final blow to ‘The Tribal Chief’ with three Cross Rhodes to become the new champ.

Flair was watching it all unfold somewhere else in Philly and was sure to congratulate ‘The Grandson Of A Plumber’ on a well-deserved win, despite ‘The Dirtiest Player In The Game’ not fully endorsing how he fully finished his story.

“Congrats To Cody Rhodes & Roman Reigns For Providing One Of The Most Athletic And Believable Main Events That I’ve Seen In A Long Time. I Hate The Interference, But It All Played Out In Your Favor And It Made The Show More Enjoyable To Watch. I Respect You Both. Thankful To Know You! Cody, You Finally Lived Your Dad’s Dream! Love You All! WOOOOO! -Naitch”

While Rhodes had two full nights of WrestleMania, Flair also had a weekend full of signings at WrestleCon this year in downtown Philadelphia. Flair’s daughter Charlotte also made an appearance at the WWE Hall of Fame on Friday night.

Damian Priest: ‘I Didn’t Become World Champion Alone, I Had a Whole Culture Behind Me’

Thomas Lowson
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Damian Priest may be the new World Heavyweight Champion but the Archer of Infamy did not reach the pinnacle of WWE on his own. 

Priest cashed in his Money in the Bank contract during WrestleMania 40: Sunday on Drew McIntyre, who had dethroned Rollins as World Heavyweight Champion moments earlier. Speaking on the post-WrestleMania 40: Sunday press conference, Priest spoke about being a representative of Puerto Rico and shared his first thoughts as the new champion. 

“I think everybody by now knows how proud I am and how adamant I am about cultural representation. I didn’t do this alone. I think I had, not just an entire island behind me, I had a whole culture. And it’s one of the most proud things that I’ve accomplished is being able to represent and getting people to represent their cultures no matter where they’re from. So being now a representative of WWE with this championship, I couldn’t be prouder for my people. Gracias.”

What’s to Come? 

During the press conference, Priest was asked about his place in WWE coming out of WrestleMania 40, which also saw Cody Rhodes crowned the new Undisputed WWE Universal Champion. 

“Where we’re going, where we’re headed, I have no idea. This new era of the company, I mean everybody can feel it. Everybody can sense it. We’re on a rollercoaster.”

Cody Rhodes ended the 1,316-day reign of Roman Reigns as WWE Universal Champion in the main event of WrestleMania 40: Sunday. The match was contested under Bloodline Rules and saw plenty of interference on behalf of both the champion and the challenger. 

For the use of quotes, please give an H/T to SE Scoops.

Watch What Happened With Roman Reigns After WrestleMania 40

Anutosh Bajpai
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0

The story has finally been finished and Cody Rhodes can go home to his family with the Universal Championship, but the nightmare is only beginning for Roman Reigns.

The Tribal Chief’s unbelievable run as the top champion of WWE came to an end at tonight’s WrestleMania 40 from the Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.

The match was easily the most star-studded bout in the history of WrestleMania main events. Bloodline rules allowed outside interference which means apart from Cody and Roman, we also got to see names such as John Cena, The Rock, and even The Undertaker getting involved.

In the end, it was Rhodes’ resilience that did the job. He finally overcame the odds to defeat Roman Reigns and present the title to his mother as he had promised.

What Happened After WrestleMania 40

The show ended with The American Nightmare celebrating the biggest win of his career with his family as well as a number of top WWE stars such as CM Punk, Randy Orton, and even Triple H.

There was another side of this story however and in the post-show footage that has surfaced, we can see Paul Heyman consoling his Tribal Chief on the stage after his big loss:

It’s anyone’s guess what WWE has in store for The Head of The Table after this historic run has come to an end. Though The Rock has suggested that his involvement with WWE will continue beyond WrestleMania 40.

The intrigue of a singles match between the two cousins is still there. While The Great One is likely to step away for some time due to his other commitments, it won’t be a surprise if we see him back into the WWE ring sooner or later.

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