Sasha Banks (Mercedes Varnado) has landed her first movie role. Details have been scarce, but we’ve been able to piece together some details based on clues we’ve tracked down on social media.
On Sunday, December 4, Banks tweeted that she just wrapped her first movie in her hometown of #Bosston.
DeNucci’s latest project in development is, The Collective. IMDB lists Yale Productions as the production company, First Row Filmed Entertainment as the distributor and 2024 as a tentative release date. The synopsis reads:
“A young recruit to a mysterious agency of assassins finds himself going rouge on his first assignment, tracking down a dangerous group of human traffickers.”
The Collective (IMDb)
We also have this (brief) behind-the-scenes clip of Sasha Banks on set:
Behind-the-scenes clip of Sasha Banks on the set of her first movie
While this is Banks’ first film role, she isn’t new to Hollywood. In 2020, she set the internet ablaze when she appeared in two episodes of Disney’s The Mandolorian. She played Koska Reeves.
Claudio Castagnoli has spoken about the reports regarding William Regal’s wrestling status as he is expected to leave AEW to make a return to WWE.
Castagnoli became a member of the Blackpool Combat Club at AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door when he replaced Bryan Danielson against Zack Sabre Jr and made his promotional debut. Regal founded BCC alongside Jon Moxley and Danielson.
Regal is reportedly leaving AEW and returning to WWE as his AEW contract reportedly expired in December, where he will be working in a backstage role again.
“I mean, I guess we have to … we have to wait and see. You know, we’re still talking, I think we have to have a little group meeting to figure out what’s next, or if there’s a next. So yeah, I’ll leave it at that,” he said.
Claudio also talked about what it means to him to work with Regal since he arrived in AEW. He said he never stopped learning from Regal and he was the reason he got into WWE in the first place. He was also the man to end Regal’s in-ring career.
Claudio is set to challenge Chris Jericho for the ROH World Title at ROH Final Battle this Saturday.
2022 was quite arguably the most tumultuous year in WWE history. Most notably, the unthinkable happened when Vince McMahon announced his retirement. While Stephanie McMahon and Nick Khan took on shared responsibility as the co-CEOs at the tip-top of WWE, an even more immediate impact felt by fans saw Triple H take the reins of both creative and talent relations.
Helmsley’s presence was felt in a series of surprise returns from late summer through the fall. Moreover, Survivor Series saw the emergence of the first ever War Games matches on the WWE main roster after decades of the company owning that intellectual property. That’s not to mention the choice not to run a December PPV, not to mention canceling the Day 1 New Year’s show.
Between Triple H’s sensibilities as a wrestling traditionalist and the changes to the PPV calendar, the question arises—should WWE bring back Starrcade, the former flagship annual PPV of WCW?
The History Of Starrcade
Starrcade predates WrestleMania, with its first iteration going down in 1983, and immediately establishing itself as a truly top tier annual event. Over the years, the event saw main events like Harley Race vs. Ric Flair and Flair vs. Dusty Rhodes, as well as legendary undercard attractions like the Dog Collar Match between Roddy Piper and Greg Valentine and the I Quit Match between Magnum TA and Tully Blanchard. Later, Flair would represent tradition against monster heel Big Van Vader, and the year-and-a-half-plus Sting vs. Hollywood Hogan angle would come to a head at Starrcade 1997. Starrcade also infamously played host to the end of Goldberg’s streak at the hands of Kevin Nash, as well as the end of Bret Hart’s full-time wrestling career when Goldberg gave him a stiff kick to the head.
While Eric Bischoff has, on his podcast 83 Weeks, denied that he viewed Starrcade as the biggest show of the year (alternately putting more weight on Halloween Havoc and Bash at the Beach), the consensus among fans still placed Starrcade as The Grandaddy of Them All. As the longest continual running PPV under the NWA and WCW banner, it certainly earned its place in history.
WWE Has Revisited Starrcade
WWE actually has promoted its own Starrcade-branded events. Starrcade was a SmackDown house show in November 2017. The company did broadcast this show via the WWE Network in 2018 and 2019, but it was contextualized as more of a novelty show—largely inconsequential to ongoing storylines—than a proper PPV-style event.
Indeed, WWE seemed mostly concerned with tapping into nostalgia. In 2017, Goldust shed his garb and signature entrance music in favor of returning to his old school WCW gimmick as The Natural to callback to not only his own earlier WCW performances, but his family’s—and specifically his father’s—history with the event. Moreover, the 2017 edition emanated from WCW stronghold, Greensboro, North Carolina, and 2019’s happened in Duluth, Georgia, another area favored WCW and Jim Crockett Promotions.
A New Vision For Starrcade
Triple H finally bringing War Games to the WWE main roster seems to bespeak his commitment to wrestling history and his own past enjoyment of the traditional style Dusty Rhodes, Ric Flair, and others were historically known for. Reviving Starrcade would be a natural extension of representing that aesthetic.
More than a specially promoted house show or quietly marketed WWE Network special, though, the Starrcade brand deserves to be recognized with a proper PPV event. The PPV calendar is already crowded, and it seems The Game means to be more critical about promoting fewer events more soundly. Nonetheless, running Starrcade, particularly in its traditional spot around the holidays (it originally happened in November, then moved to December to not conflict with Survivor Series) would be a powerful way of tapping into old school wrestling nostalgia at a time of year when the general public is already predisposed to feeling nostalgic.
To offer Starrcade a distinctive identity, it would only make sense to focus on tapping into the past. WWE is no stranger to bringing back part-time legends to work matches here and there. Additionally, they could conceivably could tap into some of the ethos of another WCW PPV, Slamboree, by focusing its new vision of Starrcade on legends past returning to work matches with each other, or with current talents. There have been rumblings about WWE seeking to move its Hall of Fame proceedings away from WrestleMania weekend, given how crowded the two-night structure of the event has made the weekend. Starrcade’s history as a premium event and this focus on nostalgia could make it fitting new home for when inductions would happen.
The future of the Starrcade brand is unclear. The nostalgia-based smaller events WWE ran from 2017 to 2019 served a niche audience and casually took advantage of the intellectual property at WWE’s disposal. Like so many things, Starrcade’s continuity was disrupted by the pandemic in 2020. As the world continues to settle back into sense of normalcy, there’s a real opportunity for WWE relaunch this event under a new vision.
Sunday, December 4 marked the 13 years since the passing of former WWE Superstar Umaga (Edward Smith Fatu). He was a member of legendary Anoa?i family.
Bloodline member Jey Uso honored The Samoan Bulldozer on social media on the anniversary of his untimely death.
As seen below, he posted photos on Instagram remembering his late uncle. The caption reads, “Dec 4th be a sad day. Then, ALL the great memories brightens it up.??? Love u mane.”
Several wrestling personalities liked and commented on the post, including Chris Jeriocho, Chavo Guerrero, Bayley and Renee Paquette.
Jey Uso is very proud of his uncle and his family heritage. In a 2021 interview with Yahoo! Sports, he credted the Samoan people for ‘making’ wrestling.
“I think the Samoan people have made wrestling,” he said. “Pro wrestling is right down our alley, we’re just physical people, strong, quick. I feel like we were just made to do this. Being a part of it now and seeing all of the blood that has been laid before me, the whole family tree, it’s very humbling and I’m so proud I am part of this.”
Both Uso brothers have spoken candidly about the way Umaga changed their lives:
Umaga Lives on
The Bloodline faction is comprised of Roman Reigns, Paul Heyman, The Usos, Solo Sikoa (plus honorary Uce, Sami Zayn). WWE broadcaster Corey Graves recently compared Sikoa to Umaga on the After the Bell podcast.
“His reactions reminded me very much of Umaga,” said Graves. “I said it on the air with all due respect, because I know in what regard the family looks at Umaga and with what reference he is viewed within the family. So I would never say that as a flippant comment. A smaller, more compact version, but the same hard-hitting impact. The same savagery once he gets going.”
Remembering Umaga
WWE has created this playlist recapping some of Umaga’s greatest in-ring moments. He was an active Superstar from 2001-2003 (as Jamal of the ‘Three Minute Warning’ tag team) and later 2005-2009 (as Umaga).
AEW filed a new trademark application last week. On Wednesday, November 30, filed an application on the phrase, “Hat Trick.” These trademark applications often provide a glimpse what wrestling companies and wrestlers have planned in the coming months.
According to the United States Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) database, the Attorney of Record for the live trademark is Bradley M. Stohry.
The Goods and Services usage description for the Hat Trick trademarks includes:
Entertainment services in the nature of live wrestling performances; Entertainment services in the nature of production of television shows and multimedia entertainment content featuring wrestling programs and events;
Entertainment services, namely, live appearances by a group or individual wrestlers;
Hat Trick is a phrase that means, “three similar successes” and is often used in sports when three goals are scored in a game/match.
AEW has utilized sports-related phrases for its special events, including Grand Slam and The First Dance, so it could be an event name. There’s also Jake Hager of the Jericho Appreciation Society, who really likes his purple hat.
Wrestling Trademarks
Here’s some more recent news about pro wrestling trademarks:
WWE’s new regime may have big plans internationally, but don’t count on seeing a promotion be acquired anytime soon.
Last month, WWE co-CEOs Stephanie McMahon and Nick Khan appeared at the Wells Fargo TMT Summit to address plans in the post-Vince McMahon era.
At the event, Stephanie McMahon spoke about plans for WWE to branch out “international is the focus for us.”
Problems
WWE’s plans to stretch its reach even further across the world is nothing new, but the company has yet to establish its brand with a promotion outside of the U.S. and the UK.
Speaking on the latest Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer explained why WWE will continue to struggle.
“The key is that they have a lot of money right now, and so they want to do mergers and acquisitions and stuff like that. Their business is wrestling so they’re looking at buying some wrestling companies. Them trying to run something in Mexico is probably a bad idea.
Japanese companies do not want to sell to Americans.
Dave Meltzer on one of WWE’s potential struggles for global expansion.
“Them buying a Japanese company [is a bad idea] if they can because it’s already so hard. Japanese companies do not want to sell to Americans. It’s hard to do. They tried to buy Stardom, but Stardom sold to Bushiroad. They tried to buy NOAH, but NOAH sold to [CyberFight.] There are a million companies in Japan they could buy. I suppose they could run them, but there’s not really a lot of money to be made. I think they would screw up in Mexico. I don’t think they would understand the culture, and Japan has an even more difficult culture to understand than Mexico.”
Boxing
WWE’s talk of branching out internationally is nothing new, but talk about boxing took everyone by surprise.
At the event, McMahon said that WWE is interested in getting into the world of professional boxing, saying it would need to line up with WWE’s standards.
On his show, Meltzer explained that boxing is an industry WWE would be wise to avoid.
Boxing would be the one that would surprise me. Dana White is a big Boxing fan and for years he’s talked about doing something in boxing. And when push came to shove [he didn’t.] If you want to get into boxing, you have two choices. You either work at such a small level and make no money, or you try and do something at the big level. And the problem is at the big level there’s high risk because the guarantees for the big-name fighters are so high. They’re way higher than UFC guys are used to paying their fighters. And they are WAY higher than WWE is used to paying.
“I don’t know if that’s a business they want to get into. Especially right now.”
Dave Meltzer.
“I don’t know if that’s a business they want to get into. Especially right now, because boxing’s not really that popular. They have a few names that are big. If they go into the gimmick side, they are late in the game. We’ve already seen the Anderson Silva Vs. Jake Paul Pay-Per-View didn’t do well.”
Meltzer concluded that he expects WWE to back off the idea of getting into boxing once they have a closer look at the financials of the matter.
Larry Zbyszko’s contributions to the wrestling world earned him a WWE Hall of Fame induction in 2015, but the ‘living legend’ was reportedly high throughout the ceremony.
On the night before WrestleMania 31, Zbyszko was inducted by his good friend Bruno Sammartino, who had been inducted two years earlier.
Zbyszko’s induction was part of a stacked class, which included the late ‘Macho Man’ Randy Savage, Rikishi, Alundra Blayze, The Bushwhackers, and Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Stoned
That year’s WWE Hall of Fame also saw the singles induction of Kevin Nash for his work in WWE as Big Daddy Cool Diesel.
Speaking on his Kliq This podcast, Nash recalled Zbyszko mellowing out for his induction speech.
“I went into the Hall of Fame. So it’s 2015 and [Mean] Gene’s next to me, and Zbyszko had gotten stoned before [the show began.] Larry had gotten stoned before he went out and did the Hall of Fame. Of course, you think in your mind ‘I’ll get stoned and I’ll be really entertaining.'”
While Zbyszko believed that being high would help, Nash gave Mean Gene’s scathing review when the three were on a plane to leave San Francisco.
“I’m in [Row] C. Gene is D and Larry is on the other side of Gene in the aisle. And he says ‘how did I do Gene?’ And he replies ‘it was the absolute drizzling sh*ts. The worst thing I’ve ever seen in my life Larry.’ And Larry was waiting [for Gene to say something good about the speech] and he just turned back to me and was talking.”
“It was the absolute drizzling sh*ts!”
Mean Gene Okerlund’s review of Larry Zybszko’s WWE Hall of Fame induction.
WWE and Marijuana
WWE has always had an interesting relationship with marijuana and has both allowed and banned the substance multiple times.
Speaking about his own experiences, Nash recalled being able to use it during his first run, and not being allowed when he returned in 2002.
“The first three years we could smoke. The three years after that we couldn’t smoke. WWE had the ‘no steroid, no marijuana’ policy.”
Kevin Nash.
Nash also named his favorite person to smoke with, and picked someone fans wouldn’t have expected.
“One of my favorite people to hang out with on the road that I never got a chance to do much with is Chris Masters. The Masterlock. We were at a signing somewhere in Jersey. He made a pipe out of an apple and he and I got whacked! We ended up in lookers drinking Coronas. It was a good signing, a couple of hours. We went up the room and got baked.”
In April 20, of this year, it was reported that WWE would no longer be penalizing talent for the use of marijuana.
Kurt Angle is ready to don his singlet and wrestling boots for a rematch with Shane McMahon, but the match won’t come cheap.
At the 2001 King of the Ring Pay-Per-View, Angle wrestled three times, defeating Christian in the titular tournament semi-finals, before losing to Edge in the finals.
Angle’s third match of the night saw him defeat Shane McMahon in a Street Fight which continues to be considered one of the best matches of both men’s respective careers.
Shane McMahon
Shane McMahon did not spend years honing his craft on the independents before wrestling for his father’s company, but he made up for any lack of experience in the ring.
McMahon’s death-defying stunts would not look out of place in any hardcore indie promotion, and on his podcast, Angle had nothing but praise for Shane O’Mac.
“Shane was great. I always loved working with him. Whether we were wrestling or cutting promos. We’ll never live down the match at King of the Ring. No matter how many times I wrestle Shane we will never duplicate that match, ever.”
Kurt Angle.
The King of the Ring match is perhaps best remembered for Shane being thrown through the show’s glass staging, twice.
The Rematch
In total, Kurt Angle wrestled for 45 minutes and 9 seconds at King of the Ring 2001, an impressive feat considering he’d been a WWF Superstar for little over a year.
Speaking about facing Shane in a rematch, Kurt said that to do so would cost a lot of money.
“man, that’s tough. Well, that would have to be a lot of money, I’m talking ten million.”
Kurt Angle.
Angle hasn’t competed since his WWE WrestleMania 35 loss to Baron Corbin in April 2019.
Boxing star Tyson Fury is ready to get back in a WWE ring if it means getting his hands on Jake and Logan Paul.
In 2019, Fury competed in his first (and to date, only) WWE match, defeating Braun Strowman at that year’s Crown Jewel Premium Live Event via count out.
Fury’s most recent appearance came at WWE Clash at the Castle in September of this year, preventing then-Mr. Money in the Bank Austin Theory from cashing in.
The Paul Brothers
In the years since Crown Jewel 2019, Fury has teased a return to WWE, something the promotion’s management would love to see.
Speaking to Boxing Social this past week, Fury again expressed his excitement at a return to the WWE ring.
“I can’t wait, smashing a chair on somebody’s head.”
Tyson Fury.
When asked about a tag-team match, pitting the Pauls against Tyson and his father, the former boxer John Fury, the ‘Gypsy King’ was on board.
“Yeah that sounds good, let’s do it!”
Tyson Fury.
This past weekend, Fury retained the WBC World Heavyweight Championship and dominated Derek Chisora before the referee stopped the fight in the tenth round.
Fury’s Other Match
Tyson Fury may have his sights set on the Paul brothers, but Drew McIntyre is also a potential opponent for the Boxing megastar.
Over the years, both McIntyre and Fury have teased a match that would take place at a WWE Premium Live Event in the United Kingdom.
While both men appeared at Clash at the Castle, they didn’t come to blows but instead serenaded the crowd in Cardiff, Wales to close out the show.
The WWE 24/7 Champion is officially retired as part of Triple H’s new regime as Head of Creative and Head of Talent Relations.
The championship debuted in 2019 and despite initial hostility by fans over the design, became popular for providing comedy segments during WWE programming.
After winning the title last month, Nikki Cross dumped the title in the trash, signifying the end of the championship.
The End of the WWE 24/7 Championship
After Triple H took the creative reins from his father-in-law Vince McMahon in July, the 24/7 Championship was immediately featured less and less on TV.
The green-and-gold title played no part in the Game’s plans for WWE in the post-McMahon era, Fightful Select reports.
A source who spoke to Fightful said that the title “was almost never mentioned in a creative sense” backstage in production meetings, but allowed for some fun moments at live events.”
The source added that “the future of the title seemed to be up in the air and it wasn’t something that we heard Triple H ever talked about.”
Despite the title appearing on TV during the Triple H era, no championship matches were held until Dana Brooke lost the title to Nikki Cross.
The WWE 24/7 Championship
After being introduced by Mick Foley, Titus O’Neil became the first 24/7 Champion by winning a battle royal but quickly lost the title moments later.
R-Truth holds the records for both the most reigns (53) and the most combined days as champion (415 days.)
Pat Patterson’s win at Raw Reunion in July 2019 aged 78 made him the oldest champion in WWE, while Kelly Kelly would become the first woman to hold the gold, also winning at Raw Reunion.
The Revival (now AEW’s FTR) was the only tag team to win the title together, while Maria Kanellis-Bennett’s reign made her the first pregnant champion in WWE.
Former WWE NXT GM William Regal is reportedly returning to WWE following a short stint with AEW.
Regal formed the Blackpool Combat Club with Jon Moxley and Bryan Danielson. It appeared that AEW was onto something with the group but the booking quickly made them an afterthought. Claudio Castagnoli and Bryan Danielson chased after the ROH Championship and have been feuding with Jericho Appreciation Society for an eternity while Moxley was doing his own thing as AEW World Champion.
William played a prominent role in the AEW World Championship match at Full Gear. Regal betrayed Jon Moxley and slid him the brass knuckles. MJF would then betray William Regal on this past Wednesday’s edition of Dynamite and bashed him in the back of the head with the brass knuckles.
There have been reports of AEW talent questioning the decision to have Regal be the focal point of the AEW World Championship storyline when it was known he was leaving the company.
Former WWE Superstar EC3 joined former WWE writer Vince Russo and Dr. Chris Featherstone for the latest edition of Sportskeeda Wrestling’s The Wrestling Outlaws Show.
During the conversation, EC3 stated that Regal’s value is in a developmental system where the talent listen and that was not the case in AEW.
He’s too valuable to not be in a developmental system. And I know we can say ‘oh he’s there mentoring the people in AEW’, the thing is they are not listening.
The talent doesn’t listen to veterans for the most part. The ones that do are knocking him in the back of the head with brass knuckles and are the World Champion.
The other ones are doing moves all the way from Dynamite to Rampage to Dark, and nobody cares.
His value is grooming future generations in NXT, like I think he loved it there. I think he was super comfortable. If people are paid money to listen to him, well maybe they will actually listen to him.
EC3 added that he heard William Regal immediately regretted joining All Elite Wrestling once he signed with the promotion. The former WWE star claimed that he heard those words verbatim.
The word was he said ‘I immediately regret this decision, there’s very much a maturity issue here within management’. Verbatim.
On Saturday night, WWE had a house show in Rochester, NY. That is the hometown of the late, great Brodie Lee.
After a match with Austin Theory, an emotional Seth Rollins paid tribute to his late friend. “Mr. Brodie Lee, aka Luke Harper, was from here and he passed away a couple years ago, about this time. This is the first time that I’ve been here with a microphone in my hand, in this city to tell him much I miss him and how much I love him.” The crowd began chanting, “Brodie. Brodie. Brodie.”
“The Architect” continued with, “I just wanted to say tonight was for him. Every single time we’re in Rochester, in my heart, that means we’re here for him. It’s Saturday and you know what that means.”
As Rollins mentioned, it’s getting close to the anniversary of Lee’s untimely death. He passed away December 26, 2020. Lee’s wife, Amanda, detailed his health issues that started in October 2020. His health declined rapidly and he was not approved for lung transplants. On Christmas Eve, they began preparing him for end of life care.
RAW Women’s Champion Bianca Belair competed in a fitness competition over the weekend and showed off her impressive physique on social media today.
Belair’s team defeated Damage CTRL, Rhea Ripley, and Nikki Cross in the Women’s WarGames match this past Saturday. Becky Lynch returned to the company as the mystery teammate and wound up winning the match for Team Bianca at the premium live event. The Man connected with a Leg Drop off the top of the steel cage on Dakota and IYO below for the pinfall victory.
8 Best Moments from WWE Survivor Series WarGames
Bianca took to Twitter to share several photos from the competition. She disclosed that she has been training for the past 10 weeks for the WBFF Pro Atlantic City Pro Am and got to show off her hard work on the stage over the weekend.
For the past 10 weeks, in between my schedule, I have been training for the WBFF Pro Atlantic City Pro Am. This weekend all of that hard work got to play out on stage!#wbff#ESTofWWEpic.twitter.com/Tn0zym3xHX
WWE Superstars React to Bianca Belair Competing in Bodybuilding Competition
Several WWE Superstars from the past and present praised Bianca on social media today. Charlotte Flair responded with a bunch of emojis and Impact producer Lance Storm praised The EST.
Bianca just wrapped up a long rivalry with Bayley over the RAW Women’s Championship. She defeated The Role Model in a Last Woman Standing match at WWE Crown Jewel and got the better of Damage CTRL once again at Survivor Series WarGames.
What an honor it was to be a part of a LAST WOMAN STANDING MATCH in Saudi Arabia with @itsBayleyWWE I am so proud of us & grateful! This Moment was Special. And I walked as the Last Woman Standing!
William Regal is expected to return to WWE soon, after his release in January of this year left Triple H “very unhappy.”
This week, Regal was written off of TV with an attack by AEW World Champion MJF, who chastised the British veteran for making a deal with ‘the Devil.’
It was reported not long after that Regal is expected to finish with the company and return to WWE when he is able to.
Done
Sources in AEW all are operating on the assumption that he’s leaving the company, Fightful Select has reported.
On the other side, sources from WWE who spoke to Fightful are all under the impression that Regal is rejoining their promotion.
One AEW source said that after the MJF angle that ran last week, William Regal was “done” with the company, and will not be appearing on-screen again.
Unhappy
Regal’s imminent return to WWE comes after the former King of the Ring was released in January of this year.
A WWE source said that it does not come as any surprise that William Regal is likely headed back, given how close he was to Triple H.
Working as a tag team in WCW in 1994, Regal would serve as one of the Game’s groomsmen in 2003, and the pair worked together in NXT until Regal’s release.
That same WWE source added that Triple H was “very unhappy” when Regal was let go, and those in NXT said they believed the Gentleman Villain would be a “lifer” with the brand.
Those in WWE expect him to resume an advanced role similar to the one he had before, but that wasn’t confirmed.
Brock Lesnar was once interested in crossing the line to work for TNA Wrestling. This is according to Kurt Angle, who has been friends with him for years due to their amateur wrestling backgrounds and pro wrestling careers.
Throughout 2003, they had some classic matches over the WWE Title, including Lesnar winning the championship from Angle at WrestleMania 19.
In 2007, Angle wrestled Lesnar for one final time in a match for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. That could’ve been different if Lesnar got the money he wanted from TNA Wrestling.
The Talk
While speaking on the latest episode of his Kurt Angle Show podcast, Angle revealed that Lesnar reached out to him about potentially joining TNA Wrestling in 2007.
“Okay, Brock calls me. He’s not in WWE,” Kurt Angle recalls. “He says, ‘Listen, man, can you get me in TNA? —’ I probably shouldn’t even be saying this, but you know what, Brock doesn’t care. So he said, ‘Hey, what are you making?’ I told him what I was making and he said, ‘If you can get me that, I’ll come. I approached TNA, and they said, ‘No, we’re not going to give him that kind of money.”
Angle said that he thinks TNA was at the top of their budget and couldn’t give any more money out at the time. He stated the Carter Family funded the venture for a long time and when TNA started making their own money, it wasn’t enough for them to be able to afford Lesnar.
Angle added that “TNA would have lit up” if a deal could have been reached to bring in Lesnar.
Lesnar would not return to professional wrestling until 2012 when he returned to WWE on the WWE Raw after WrestleMania 28 as he focused on his MMA career.
William Regal’s impending return to WWE will see the British star work behind the scenes in an unspecified role.
On this week’s episode of AEW Dynamite Regal was betrayed by AEW World Champion MJF, who laid out the Brit with some brass knuckles.
It has been reported that this is AEW’s way of writing Regal off of TV and marks his final appearance for the wrestling legend for the promotion.
Gone
There has been some speculation that Regal could still stay with AEW, but all signs are pointing to him both leaving, and to him returning to WWE.
On Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer said that there will be some reference to Regal on next week’s Dynamite.
“Regal’s gone. It’s not like ‘maybe he’s gone, maybe he’s not.’ Regal’s gone. I believe that was his farewell. There’s going to be something on Wednesday’s show, there will be something addressing certain things.”
Next week’s Dynamite will air from the H-E-BArena in Cedar Park, Texas.
Conflicting Stories
Regal’s departure from AEW has come out of nowhere, given that he has been prominently featured since signing earlier this year.
On his show, Meltzer explained how WWE’s version of events differs from what others have been saying.
“He is going back to WWE. That’s just the deal. I’ve had so many different people tell me so many different stories. The primary source story is that his contract was short-term. The WWE side says he had an out. Did he sign a nine-month deal [with AEW?] Doesn’t sound right.
“The closest thing to what I would say is official is that he signed a short-term deal. Others say he had an out or Tony [Khan] gave him an out.”
Behind the Scenes
Regal was an on-screen presence throughout his AEW run, and it is unconfirmed if he had any official role backstage.
When he returns to WWE, the former Intercontinental Champion is set to resume a role behind the scenes, but it is unclear if he will also have an on-screen presence.
“When he signed it was a three-year deal, supposedly and nine months now it’s over. Sounds weird? But if he had an out, he had an out. Or maybe Tony just said to him ‘hey look. He [WWE’s Head of Creative and Talent Triple H] is your buddy. You can go [to WWE] with the restrictions that maybe you’re not going to be on TV.
“He’s going there to work behind the scenes.”
Dave Meltzer.
“I know he’s going there to work behind the scenes but I don’t know if he’s going over there to be a TV character.”
Regal’s departure has yet to be confirmed by Tony Khan in an official capacity.
WWE Superstar Scarlett was close to having her first match in over a year for the company this week, before being pulled from the SmackDown post-show dark match.
Scarlett was released from WWE in November 2021 along with her husband Karrion Kross but both returned in August of this year.
Since then, Kross has been prominently featured on TV but Scarlett is yet to have a televised match in a WWE ring.
Dark Match
After this week’s SmackDown went off the air, Braun Strowman, Madcap Moss, Matt Riddle, and Liv Morgan defeated Joaquin Wilde, Cruz del Toro, Damian Priest, and Zelina Vega.
Sources who spoke to 411 Mania have said that the original plan was for a six-person tag, pitting Riddle, Strowman, and Morgan against Priest, Kross, and Scarlett.
Plans for Kross and Scarlett were set “long before Friday’s taping” but the Smokeshow was never told about her match.
A source said that if Scarlett was told about the match at the taping, it would have been “news to her.”
It is believed that there was an internal error or the match was just pitched and shot down before Friday’s taping.
Scarlett in the Ring
Despite being a trained wrestler in her own right, Scarlett has had just a handful of matches in WWE.
During the Boxing Day 2016 episode of Raw, Bordeaux was used as enhancement talent and was quickly squashed by Nia Jax.
Last year, Scarlett, now with her own character, competed in a dark match for the June 25, 2021, SmackDown taping, in a losing effort to Shotzi.
Cargill did not name the show or when fans will get to hear her in the unnamed role.
Voice Over Work
Bret Hart berates Mr. Burns in a 1997 episode of The Simpsons after the evil billionaire loses his fortune.
Cargill is the latest wrestler to provide voice-over work for a non-wrestling project but is far from the first.
Bret ‘Hitman’ Hart voiced an animated version of himself in The Simpsons episode ‘The Old Man and the Lisa,’ buying the home of Mr. Burns and picking a fight with neighbor ‘The Shrieking Sheik.
Fellow WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley lent his voice to his role as ‘The Boulder’ in Avatar: The Last Airbender, playing an earth-bending wrestler who competes in tournaments.
Even WWE’s Tribal Chief Roman Reigns has done voice-over work, playing the Kizin, the antagonist of one episode of the Disney show, Elena of Avalor.
Reigning AEW TNT Champion and Ring of Honor World Television Champion will voice King Shark in the upcoming DC Comics video game ‘Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League.’
Jade Outside of Wrestling
This voice-over role is a big score for Cargill, who is continuing to make her name outside of wrestling.
In recent weeks, Cargill has had a (mostly online) feud with rapper Bow Wow, and the Baddies confronted him during a fan event.
Some believe that this will culminate in a match between Cargill and Bow Wow, given that the latter has expressed an interest in wrestling in the past.
Last month, the former WWE Intercontinental Champion stated that he has about a year left on his contract with AEW.
Dustin Rhodes: A Retrospective
Years before becoming Goldust in the WWF, Rhodes worked for the promotion under his real name from 1990 to 1991, where he was aligned on-screen with his father Dusty.
It wouldn’t be until 1995 that Rhodes would don his iconic face paint, wig, and bodysuit, but would occasionally ditch the persona in the promotion.
In 1999, Rhodes would return to WCW, this time as ‘Seven’ but would immediately break character to bash the character.
Returning to the WWF in 2002, Rhodes would remain for a few more years before joining TNA Wrestling as ‘Black Reign.’
It was Rhodes’ final return to WWE in 2013 that would see him team with his brother Cody, winning the WWE Tag Team Championships from The Shield in October of that year.
In addition to competing for AEW, Rhodes also works as a coach backstage for the promotion.
“You know I’ve done a lot in Japan, but I need to prove myself in America and if I’m going to be a superstar on television, then I need that ROH Television title around my waist. Joe, you may be the ‘King of TV’ now…kings get dethroned.”
"You may be the king of TV now… Kings get dethroned" Former 3X IWGP United States Champion Juice Robinson is issuing a challenge to @SamoaJoe!#AEWRampage is on TNT! pic.twitter.com/So3ou5xfXe
AEW was rumored to have signed Robinson last month, with the company having interest in him for several months. He was last seen in the company where he wrestled then AEW World Champion Jon Moxley in a World Eliminator Championship match. Robinson lost and therefore did not earn a shot at the title.
Last year, Robinson and his former tag team partner, David Finlay spent time in IMPACT Wrestling. Under the tag team name, FinJuice (given to them when they were in NJPW’s World Tag League), they feuded with Good Brothers. FinJuice held the IMPACT Tag Team titles for two months.
Robinson is currently feuding with Blake Christian, who is also signed to AEW under the ROH brand, in NJPW Strong. He joined Bullet Club in May at NJPW’s Wrestling Dontaku show when he showed up after allegedly leaving the company to attack Hiroshi Tanahashi.
Robinson was briefly in ROH from 2018-2019 where he was the in Lifeblood. The faction featured Finlay, Bandido, Tracy Williams, Tenille Dashwood, and Mark Haskins.
Final Battle will take place in Arlington, Texas on Saturday, December 10 at 4 PM ET.
Discussions happen all the time in WWE, but some make it to television, and others do not. When Vince McMahon was in charge of creative, some wild pitches were made, with some being approved by the former CEO and Chairman while others were not.
On Friday, it was reported that The Rock appearing in the WWE Royal Rumble “has been discussed within WWE.
Former WWE writer Brian Gewirtz, who worked for the company for over a decade in the early 2000s before going to work for The Rock at Seven Bucks Productions, commented on “discussions” about ideas he had during his time in the company. He shared them with the following post:
The Ideas
“Things “discussed” in my time at wwe: Vince having midlife crisis, growing beard, wearing Hawaiian shirts and singing Black Eyed Peas songs. Kaval being Undertakers secret long lost son. [John] Cena losing to Bray Wyatt via singing possessed child… wait, that one actually happened.”
Kaval is best known as Low Ki, who was in WWE from the end of 2008 to December 2010. He also found success in ROH and TNA Wrestling.
Wyatt defeated Cena thanks to singing children at WWE Extreme Rules 2014. Wyatt gave the following response:
Sami Zayn was recently interviewed by Peter Rosenberg on the Cheap Heat podcast and said he would like to work with AEW World Champion MJF.
Maxwell captured the title from Jon Moxley in the main event of AEW Full Gear on November 19th. William Regal then slid MJF the brass knuckles and he punched Moxley with them to win the title. On this past Wednesday’s edition of Dynamite, MJF attacked Regal with the brass knuckles and introduced a new title design.
11 Best Moments from AEW Full Gear 2022
Sami Zayn competed in the main event of WWE Survivor Series WarGames last weekend. The Honorary Uce was the reason The Bloodline picked up the victory at the premium live event. Zayn hit Kevin Owens with a low blow, a Helluva Kick, and Jey followed it up with a Frog Splash for the pinfall victory.
8 Best Moments from WWE Survivor Series WarGames 2022
Peter Rosenberg asked Sami Zayn if there was anyone outside of WWE that he would like to work with and Sami thought about it for a bit before naming MJF.
The AEW World Champion recently appeared on Sam Roberts’ Wrestling Show and said that Sami Zayn is one of the most entertaining wrestlers on the planet.
MJF’s first AEW World Championship defense will be against Ricky Starks at Dynamite: Winter is coming on December 14th. Starks won the World Title Eliminator tournament to earn the title shot. Ricky will also be in the Battle Royal this Wednesday for the Dynamite Diamond Ring. MJF has won the ring the past three years.
Lacey Evans is set to have her character revamped yet again as fans saw on this week’s episode of WWE SmackDown on FOX.
During SmackDown, a vignette aired hyping Evans’ return to the ring, which saw the Superstar reconnect with her Marine roots as she performed multiple drills.
Evans has competed just once since October 2022, competing in a six-pack challenge that was won by Shotzi.
While Evans hasn’t been featured much on WWE programming this year, she’s had plenty of changes in her character.
On the April 8, 2022, episode of WWE SmackDown, Evans appeared in a vignette as a babyface, speaking about her life as a mother.
Not long after, Evans was moved to Raw and her character became a heel once again.
Weeks later, Evans was moved back to SmackDown, but as a heel, without ever competing on Raw.
On the June 10, SmackDown, Evans turned face yet again, defeating Xia Li and qualifying for the Women’s Money in the Bank Ladder match.
During the post-Money in the Bank SmackDown, Evans turned heel again by attacking her tag-team partner Aliyah.
Lacey Evans
Signing with WWE in April 2016, Evans competed in the inaugural Mae Young Classic the following year but was eliminated in the second round by Toni Storm.
In January 2019, the Sassy Southern Belle was called up to WWE’s main roster and was drafted to Raw after WrestleMania 35.
On the red brand, Evans repeatedly challenged then-Raw Women’s Champion Becky Lynch but was unsuccessful in winning the title.
Evans had reportedly been set to win the title from Asuka in early 2021 before her real-life pregnancy nixed those plans, as well as an on-screen romance with Ric Flair.
Kevin Owens will go down in history as the second-ever WWE Universal Champion, but the Prizefighter did not enjoy his time on top.
Owens won the vacated title on the August 29, 2016, episode of Monday Night Raw, defeating Seth Rollins, Big Cass, and Roman Reigns, albeit with help from Triple H.
The title, which was won by Finn Balor at that year’s Summerslam, had been vacated due to a shoulder injury the Irish Superstar suffered during his title match.
Biggest Lesson
Owens has been with WWE since 2014, but established his name on the independent scene years prior to signing.
Speaking on After the Bell, Owens was asked about what advice he’d give his younger self, and encouraged them to stop and smell the proverbial roses.
“I used to always want more and more and more. What’s next? What’s next? What’s next? There are so many moments over the past eight years that I didn’t properly enjoy because I was always worried about what was the next thing.”
Owens also expressed an interest in a return to the indies, believing it is possible now as part of WWE’s new regime.
Universal Champion.
Kevin Owens’ Universal title win marked the first (and to-date only) World Championship for the Canadian on the main roster.
Unfortunately, Owens couldn’t stop and smell the proverbial roses as he was frustrated during his run on top.
On the podcast, the Canadian Superstar explained why he could not enjoy his reign.
“When I was Universal Champion, I had this incredible run with Chris Jericho and so many great moments, so many fun moments that people still talk about today. I’m ashamed to say that I really did not enjoy that as much as I should have.
“I’m ashamed to say that I really did not enjoy that as much as I should have.”
Kevin Owens.
“I enjoy it now looking back. When I watch the stuff we were doing together, it’s so fun, it’s so good. But in that moment, I wouldn’t take the time to appreciate what I was doing because I was worried. ‘Okay next week, what are we doing?'”
Owens’ reign would end at Fastlane 2017 when he was squashed by Bill Goldberg, after being distracted by his former friend Chris Jericho.
The House of Black proved that they are back and better than ever after this week’s AEW Rampage went off the air.
In September, both Malakai Black and Buddy Matthews announced they were taking separate breaks from AEW, which some believed at the time was a sign of a WWE return.
Instead, both men returned on the November 23, 2022, episode of AEW Dynamite, realigning with Julia Hart and Brody King.
After Rampage
In the main event of last night’s Rampage, AEW All-Atlantic Champion Orange Cassidy retained his title in a Lumberjack match against QT Marshall.
A huge brawl broke between the lumberjacks after the match and when the lights went out, the House of Black emerged and cleared the ring of the performers.
After the show, the beatdown continued, with Brandon Cutler, who was taping the action on his Cutler Cam being singled out by the stable.
Brody King attacked Cutler from behind and put him through the table with a huge powerbomb.
Black told the fallen Cutley that while he has no problem with him, he has problems with those he associates with.
The trio walked away with Excalibur noting on commentary that the House of Black has declared war on AEW.
