Marty Scurll was recently spotted training with several WWE stars.
Recently, WWE star Matt Riddle took to Instagram to post a photograph of himself, along with several other WWE stars, following a workout. It appears the group were doing some jiu-jitsu training with one another.
Those stars included Shinsuke Nakamura, Karrion Kross, Cameron Grimes, and more. However, one more interesting name was training with the group. That being former Ring Of Honor (ROH) and All Elite Wrestling (AEW) star Marty Scurll.
Check it out here below:
https://www.instagram.com/p/Ch7RkUHOc5g/
Scurll has slowly been making his way back into the professional wrestling fold. He was essentially blackballed from the industry after allegations surfaced in 2020 that Scurll slept with a 16-year-old girl in the UK.
Since, Scurll has only appeared sporadically in professional wrestling, with promoters such as ex-WWE star Santino Marella facing blowback online for booking Scurll for shows.
Scurll himself has since responded the allegations against him with the following statement.
“I am aware that a young woman has bravely come forward with her account of sexual abuse by some members of the wrestling community in the UK 5 years ago, a community I was a part of.
“Although I truly believe that our encounter that evening was consensual, and the fact that the encounter was legal; is almost not the point. I understand that she now views our encounter as part of a bigger problem within the wrestling community.
“What concerns me at this moment is that from what I have been reading, she is a fan of wrestling and was made to feel unsafe within that community. This is not acceptable. I also understand that people have been attacking her on social media, and I implore you to please stop. She has a right to her voice and it is our responsibility to listen.”
Fury made his WWE in-ring debut in 2019 by wrestling Braun Strowman at Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia. Fury ended up beating Strowman via count out.
With Clash at the Castle taking place in just days, WWE will likely have him as a surprise rather than being announced ahead of time.
Fury was in talks with WWE about a return this summer, but its unclear what happened for an in-ring return to not happen.
There had been speculation that WWE may book Fury vs. Drew McIntyre at Clash at the Castle, but with Fury not being available, WWE booked McIntyre in another big match as he will challenge Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship.
Austin Theory is “”pretty confident” he’ll get to face off against John Cena at WrestleMania 39 next year.
Theory was recently interviewed by CBS Sports, where he discussed the comparisons he’s received to Cena in recent years.
The former United States Champion and current Money In The Bank briefcase holder admitted to modeling his career after the 16-time World Champion.
“It’s so weird to meet somebody and pretty much have to explain to them, ‘I modeled my whole life after you.’ It’s one of those things as a kid getting bullied, my dad not being in my life a lot. Cena, I could watch him and just escape.
“It was the connection to his personality,” Theory said. “And that’s something I learned from him. He told me, ‘Don’t ever think people go out there and want people to connect to their performance.
“Nobody will connect to your performance unless they connect to your personality.’ I started thinking, even with that process through NXT to finally being drafted to Raw officially, it was a time to figure stuff out. How can I connect to them with my personality?
“This is a world in WWE where everybody can kill it in the ring. Everyone can go hard in the ring. So what’s going to set you aside from killing it in the ring? I learned that from him.”
With the comparisons between Cena and Theory running so rampant, there have been rumors about a potential match between the pair. Things really seemed likely for this past SummerSlam, however, that didn’t pan out.
Now, many speculate that the match could take place at “The Showcase Of The Immortals,” WrestleMania 39. Next year’s WrestleMania goes down from SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. It will be a special two-night event on both April 1 and April 2.
“To have that moment with him, the person that — I had to put in my own work — but somebody that got me to the dance mentally, it takes the words out of my mouth to think of that actually happening,” Theory said.
Ric Flair and Adam Scherr, better known as Braun Strowman, are working together on a business project.
The Nature Boy revealed the news on the latest edition of his To Be The Man podcast with AdFreeShows. While he doesn’t disclose the exact details of their collaboration, he does state that the plan is legitimate and could be quite lucrative for them both.
“We’re kind of working on a project together, it hasn’t really come to fruition yet, it’s a promotional scheme that somebody brought to me that, it’s legitimate, but we just haven’t gone to work on it yet.”
Flair adds that the Monster Among Men will have to make a decision soon, although doesn’t rule out that the former Universal champion could return to WWE.
“He’ll probably have to make a decision if he wants to do that. It could potentially be very lucrative, or go back to WWE.”
How He Feels About Strowman Personally
Flair would later discuss his personal feels on Scherr. He states that personally he does like him a lot, but admits that he hasn’t spent too much one on one time with him.
“I like Braun a lot. I haven’t spent any time with him, I’ve seen him once or twice, I think I saw him at WrestleCon, but I haven’t spent any time with him since he left. But I like Braun a lot, personally.”
Scherr and Flair both exited WWE over the last year, with Scherr being surprisingly let go during a round of budget cuts. He has since been a huge part of the Control Your Narrative promotion launched by EC3, as well as a brief one-off appearance for Ring of Honor.
Meanwhile Flair is coming off his “Last Match Ever,” which was considered a financial success on pay-per-view. Despite the claim that he won’t compete anymore the Nature boy has hinted at potentially returning to the ring again.
(If quotes are used please credit Sescoops for the transcription)
Kenny Omega is feeling “pretty good” following his spectacular return to action on the August 17th edition of AEW Dynamite.
Omega was revealed as The Young Bucks’ surprise partner in the ongoing tournament to crown AEW’s first Trios World Champions. It was his first match in approximately nine months.
The former AEW World Champion fought back from a string of injuries that kept him out of action since late 2021. Omega looked good in his return match, but was a bit rusty and missed a few spots. AEW is portraying that he is not 100% just yet.
The Elite have their work cut out for them if they hope to advance to the Trios Tournament finals. They’ll battle Will Ospreay and Aussie Open in the semi-finals tonight on Dynamite.
Kenny Omega Health Update
Omega appeared on Busted Open Radio on Wednesday and spoke about his return to action. He likened getting back in the ring to riding a bicycle.
“It was very cool, very fun, he said. “I ended up coming out of it unscathed, which is nice. I didn’t bang up anything else. I didn’t get any inkling or feeling that there wasn’t something that wasn’t ready to be back. “
As long as there were no red flags, for me, I’m just going to keep easing back into things without biting off more than I can chew.”
– Kenny Omega on Busted Open Radio
Omega says The Elite’s match against Andrade El Idolo, Dragon Lee and Rush presented some unique challenges, due to their high-risk lucha libre style.
He’s looking ahead to his next match and making history this Sunday at All Out.
Ricky Starks is sick and tired of backstage drama overshadowing AEW storylines.
Starks appeared on the iHeartRadio’s latest Battleground Podcast to hype his match against Powerhouse Hobbs this Sunday at AEW All Out. The former FTW Champion says he’s got revenge on his mind. He sees this as a big test for himself and a big indicator about how much further he’s going to go.
He believes he was the face of Team Taz because, “no one else was going to step up, but someone had to.” Hobbs has a strong presence and is actually very intelligent and caring, which is what made them a good team. There was a genuine friendship there. Unfortunately, people get greedy. They get paranoid.
Starks says paranoia is one of the worst things in wrestling. You see it from the top of the card all the way down to the bottom. Sometimes, these issues get leaked due to the media and distract from the stories they’re trying to tell on television.
Enough of the Drama
Ricky Starks was asked about the backstage environment in AEW. He says the dynamics have changed dramatically since the early days.
“The locker room has definitely changed,” he said. “Where we were once really really close, we’ve expanded that. We’re still close, we just have more people in the family now. More people that sit at the table.”
“I definitely think that the drama of the backstage stuff, while it does pique interest of people online & whatnot, I f***ing hate it. The reason I hate it is because it kind of overshadows some of the stuff that happens on TV and for that, I’d rather not be involved with it.”
Starks said certain people in AEW have “loose lips” and leak things to the media. He also warned that you can’t believe everything you read online, yet people do.
“But we have people backstage who have loose lips and that’s what happens. Now, we have created the scenario where we just have all the rumors and speculation. ‘Cause that’s all it is. I promise you what you read is not necessarily true.”
You can listen to Ricky Starks’ appearance on the Battleground Podcast below. Please credit SEScoops with a link to this article if you use any of the transcribed quotes.
Jim Ross is excited for Sunday’s AEW All Out pay-per-view and thinks the air of unpredictability surrounding the event is a good thing.
We’re just a few days away from All Out, but AEW has yet to announce the main event. A rematch between Jon Moxley and CM Punk is the most likely scenario, but that’s not confirmed as of this writing.
It’s been a hectic few weeks for All Elite Wrestling, but one thing is for sure. People are talking about the product and the company has momentum headed into one of it’s biggest shows of the year.
Everybody’s Talking
Jim Ross says he’s having a blast as of late, largely in part due to the unpredictable nature of AEW programming. On the latest episode of his Grilling JR podcast, Ross says Tony Khan is keeping a tight lid on what’s planned for Sunday.
“Based on what we’ve seen thus far, it’s hard to predict what’s going to come out of the mind of Tony Khan. I say that in a positive way, because as a broadcaster, when things get too predictable, it’s not fun. I will say I’m having a blast because I love trying to keep up with it.”
“It’s very challenging to do, because there are so many right ways to address these storylines. You have your favorite. If you’re a Moxley guy, you’re a punk guy, whatever the case may be, that’s cool and that’s your prerogative. But man oh man, it’s hard to keep up with whats going on. It makes you think and you hit the key thing, everybody’s talking. That’s a good thing. Everybody’s talking.”
“It’s going to be fun, it’s going to be unpredictable and I can promise you: if anybody knows what’s going to happen, they’re keeping it to themselves, which i think is beautiful.”
– Jim Ross
Jim Ross says he was surprised by Jon Moxley’s 3-minute win over CM Punk last week on Dynamite. He believes we’re on a journey. We’re on a road that’s full of twists and surprises and expects it to end a way that leaves fans satisfied.
Listen to Jim Ross’ Grilling JR podcast at AdFreeShows.com. Please credit SEScoops with a link to this article if you use any of the transcribed quotes.
This weekend’s WWE Worlds Collide premium live event will be a pivotal show for the NXT and NXT UK brands.
Earlier this month, WWE announced NXT Europe, a new brand launching in 2023.
The new NXT Europe brand spells the end of NXT UK, which has operated since December 2016. As part of NXT UK going the way of 205 Live, WWE will be unifying the top championships from the NXT and NXT UK brands.
Worlds Collide 2022 Matches
WWE has confirmed five championship matches for Sunday’s Worlds Collide 2022 premium live event. Here’s the full card:
NXT Champion Bronn Breaker vs. NXT Champion Tyler Bate
The top champions from the two brands will square off to crown the Undisputed NXT Champion. Bronn Breaker puts the NXT Championship on the line against NXT UK Champion, Tyler Bate.
Triple Threat NXT Women’s Championship Unification Match
A new undisputed NXT Women’s Champion will be crowned in a triple threat match. Reigning NXT Women’s champion Mandy Rose puts her gold on the line against NXT UK Women’s Champion Meiko Satomura and Blair Davenport.
North American Championship Match
Ricochet made a surprise appearance on this week’s NXT 2.0 to confront Carmelo Hayes, NXT’s reigning North American Champion. Ricochet says he’s back to collect “his” title.
NXT Tag Team Championship: Fatal 4-Way Elimination
NXT Tag Team Champions The Creed Brothers battle NXT UK Tag Team Champions Briggs & Jensen, Pretty Deadly and Gallus.
NXT Women’s Tag Team Championship Match
Champions Katana Chance & Kayden Carter defend against former NXT stars Nikki A.S.H. and Doudrop.
Plus, we’ll also see Nathan Frazer vs. Axiom in a best of three rounds match.
How to Watch: WWE Worlds Collide 2022
WWE presents Worlds Collide 2022 this Sunday September 4th from the Performance Center in Orlando, Florida.
WWE Worlds Collide will stream live at 4pm (Eastern) on Peacock in the United States and on the WWE Network internationally.
Ric Flair says it’s great that he and Bret Hart are finally ‘best friends’ after decades of not getting along.
Flair spoke about his relationship with the Hitman on the latest episode of his To Be The Man podcast. This week’s show focused on Flair defeating the late “Macho Man” Randy Savage for the WWE Championship on September 1, 1992. This began Flair’s second and final reign as champion. It would be a short reign. He dropped the title just over a month later to Bret Hart due to an injury he sustained during a match against the Ultimate Warrior just days after becoming champion.
Flair and Hart met up this past weekend at an autograph signing in Texas. They shared a nice moment together and he now considers them to be close friends. The Nature Boy tells Conrad Thompson, he can’t believe the held on to a grudge for so long.
Ric Flair & Bret Hart’s Reltionship
Flair and Hart have said some unpleasant things about one another over the years, but that’s all in the past. They’ve since buried the hatchet and Flair now considers Hart a good friend.
“I took a picture and I was just thinking to myself, ‘We used to call each other everything in the world for 30 years. Now, we’re like best friends and that’s the way it should be.”
“The business makes us all a dick at one time or another. Now with social media, it makes it even worse. You just look back and regret the things you said or even thought about because at the end of the day, what did you gain by it? A moment of satisfaction? I mean, it’s just ridiculous. I had a great time with Bret this weekend.”
SummerSlam 1992
SummerSlam ’92 took place just days before Flair won his second WWE championship. That show was headlined by Bret Hart vs. Davey Boy Smith for the Intercontinental championship. The match is still talked about today, 30 years later.
Flair did not compete at SummerSlam ’92, but did get involved in the Randy Savage vs. Ultiamte Warrior WWE title match. Backstage after the show, Ric approached Hart and complimented him on an epic performance.
“I told Bret when I saw him back at the hotel that night, I said, ‘If I knew you could work that good brother, I would have come knocking on your door a long time ago.’ They had a hell of a match,” said Flair.
Flair Drops the WWE Title to Bret Hart
Days after winning the WWE Championship from Randy Savage, Flair was injured during a match against the Ultimate Warrior. Flair sustained inner ear problem that plagued him with equilibrium problems for 8 months.
Due to this injury, Vince McMahon made the call for Flair to drop the WWE Championship to Bret Hart just weeks into his reign. Flair regrets that he was only able to put on a “half-assed match” with Hart due to his injury.
Listen to Ric Flair’s To Be The Man podcast at AdFreeShows.com. Please credit SEScoops with a link to this article if you use any of the transcribed quotes.
Impact Wrestling star Joe Doering is taking an extended break from wrestling due to being diagnosed with cancer.
A two-time Impact World Tag Team Champion, Doering signed with the promotion in 2020, after making appearances for the company (then TNA Wrestling) from 2005 to 2006.
In July, Doering had his first World Championship opportunity, facing Josh Alexander at Against All Odds but was unsuccessful.
The Statement
In a statement to ImpactWrestling.Com, Doering confirmed that he is facing cancer once again, and is thinking positively about the future.
” They told me in 2016 that I would never wrestle again, and I proved them wrong. Guess I’m going to have to do it again
Joe Doering.
Doering told Impact Wrestling officials of his cancer diagnosis at last weekend’s TV taping at The Factory in Dallas, Texas.
The six-foot-five wrestler called the Impact locker room his “family,” and looks forward to seeing them very soon.
Scott D’Amore, IMPACT Wrestling Executive Vice President added that Impact’s employees, fans, and wider community all wish Joe a speedy recovery and are looking forward to seeing him wrestle again.
Joe is set to undergo surgery in the coming weeks.
First Diagnosis
Doering’s recent diagnosis marks the second time the wrestler will battle cancer.
In February 2016, he was diagnosed with brain cancer, and successful treatment including surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation beat the tumor.
Doering was back in the ring in just one year’s time, though doctors told him that his cancer could return.
We at SEScoops would like to send our best wishes to Joe, his wife Lindsay, and their family at this time.
Since leaving WWE, John Cena has become a leading man in Hollywood, working in huge franchises like the Fast and the Furious.
Last year, Cena became Christopher Smith/Peacemaker for ‘The Suicide Squad,’ and reprised the role for the Peacemaker series on HBO Max.
In February, Peacemaker was renewed for its second season following critical acclaim for the show.
The Marine
Before Cena was sharing the screen with the likes of Margot Robbie and Vin Diesel, his first leading role was in The Marine.
The 2006 action film sees Cena as discharged U.S. Marine John Triton who must rescue his wife Kate (Kelly Carlson) after being kidnapped by gangsters led by Rome (Robert Patrick.)
The film was Cena’s first time as the main star, but the 16-time WWE Champion wasn’t thrilled with the final project.
In his book ‘There’s Just One Problem,’ ex-WWE Head Writer Brian Gewirtz recalls watching the final cut of the film with Cena, weeks before the premiere.
“We sat in silence after it was over, both of us realizing it didn’t really capitalize on John’s strengths and probably wasn’t going to make any year-end ‘Best Picture’ lists. Finally, John broke the tension by simply saying ‘we need to go drink.'”
“We need to go drink.”
John Cena’s less than favorable review to his first watching of ‘The Marine.’
Gewirtz explained that while The Marine is no doubt an action film, it gave little opportunity for Cena to show his range as an actor and prevented him from sharing his funny side.
The Marine Today
Cena’s role as John Triton would be the first and last time he would be in the franchise.
The Marine 2, starring Ted DiBiase Jr. released in 2009 without a theatrical release, as did the rest of the series.
The Marine films 3 to 6 all starred The Miz in the leading role as ‘Jake Carter.’
This weekend, AEW will present its annual All Out Pay Per View from the Now Arena, in Hoffman Estates, Illinois.
Nine matches have been confirmed for the main card, including the finals of the AEW Trios Tag Title Tournament, and a fatal-four-way for the Interim AEW Women’s World Championship.
While not confirmed, it is expected that AEW Undisputed World Champion Jon Moxley will face CM Punk in the show’s main event.
Kingston Gets a Match
In addition to the main card, AEW All Out 2022 will feature a Zero Hour pre-show before the Pay Per View gets started.
On Twitter, AEW President Tony Khan confirmed the Zero Hour event, which will be free to view for fans, and that it will feature Eddie Kingston taking on Tomohiro Ishii.
Khan hyped up the match as a rematch of their bout from Capital Collison in May this year.
At that NJPW event, Ishii got the win after a hard-hitting 16-minute match with Kingston.
At #AEWAllOut, Zero Hour returns to @NOW_Arena live at 7pm ET/6pm CT/5pm MT/4pm PT FREE before the ALL OUT ppv feed on Sunday 8pm ET/7pm CT/6pm MT/5pm PT
Since Vince McMahon retired from WWE, the promotion has undergone several changes both on screen and behind the scenes.
With McMahon gone, Paul ‘Triple H’ Levesque has replaced him as Head of Creative and replaced McMahon loyalist John Laurinaitis as Head of Talent Relations.
On-screen, there have been several returns, including Johnny Gargano, Dexter Lumis, Hit Row, Dakota Kai, Karrion Kross, and Scarlett.
USA Reacts
For the most part, the changes made to WWE post-Vince McMahon have been met with acclaim from the fans.
According to Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful, NBC-Universal and those at the USA Network have also been pleased with the changes.
The report states that the Network is pleased that Raw viewership has improved, after a difficult few years.
Noting that the pandemic changed “everything” one source said they never imagined Raw would drop below two million viewers, particularly on a consistent basis.
Since the changes were implemented, Raw has consistently been over two million viewers.
Another source said they expect the ratings at SmackDown on FOX to increase as well.
One person from the USA Network said that Raw feels more natural, and it has become “appointment viewing,” a term for a show that people make plans to see.
Another longtime USA Network employee said that the relationship between the network and WWE has been very easygoing, but has gotten even better as of late.
That source said they would be surprised if USA didn’t try to renew WWE programming when negotiations begin next year.
The August 30, 2022, episode of WWE NXT 2.0 aired live on the USA Network from Orlando, Florida, at the Capitol Wrestling Center.
WWE NXT 2.0 Results
Grayson Waller def. Apollo Crews
Katana Chance and Kayden Carter def. Tatum Paxley and Ivy Nile v
Pretty Deadly and Lash Legend def. Briggs, Jensen, and Henley
Andre Chase def. Charlie Dempsey
Zoey Stark def. Kiana James
Gallus def. Diamond Mine
Here are the takeaways from this week’s show:
Ricochet Returns
In the final segment of the show, North American Champion Carmelo Hayes did a promo in the ring about how he’s offended that he wasn’t given an opponent at Worlds Collide. He said he’s not a secondary champion.
Ricochet walked out and told them to shut up. He challenged Hayes to a title match at the show and it was made official. Ricochet laid him out.
This was the go-home edition of NXT for Sunday’s Worlds Collide event where NXT Champion Bron Breakker will meet NXT UK Tyler Bate in a title unification bout.
There was a backstage segment with Breakker and Finn Balor. Finn said that he made the NXT Title the best title out there and gave him some advice. He said that he has beaten bigger guys than him and for Bron not to underestimate his opponent. Tommaso Ciampa also talked with Bron.
NXT Women’s Champion Mandy Rose vs. NXT UK Champion Meiko Satomura vs. Blair Davenport in a triple threat unification title match will happen at Worlds Collide.
Apollo Crews vs. Grayson Waller in a singles match took place.
The match goes back to a segment on last week’s NXT where Crews was a guest on the debut edition of “The Grayson Waller Effect” talk show. Crews referred to Waller as a “low-budget Miz.”
The match opened the show. It ended when Waller was sent out of the ring, but got back in right away and hit a jumping cutter for the win.
Josh Briggs, Brooks Jensen & Fallon Henley vs. Elton Prince, Kit Wilson & Lash Legend was booked.
The match was lengthy with the heels mostly in control. It ended when Joe Coffey delivered a boot to Jensen, which allowed Prince the opportunity to roll him up for the win.
NXT Women’s Tag Team Champions Katana Chance and Kayden Carter vs. Ivy Nile and Tatum Paxley took place. The champs retained after Chance hit her finisher.
Paxley and Nile were two women that Chance and Carter beat in the Fatal 4-Way Women’s Tag Team Elimination Match to win the gold, on the August 30 episode of NXT 2.0.
Post-match, they cut a promo about wanting to be fighting champions, but since no one from NXT UK will step up, they’re going to throw a party in the parking lot at Worlds Collide. Out walked Nikki A.S.H and Doudrop. Doudrp said that instead of dancing in the parking lot, they do a dance in the ring and challenge them to a title bout at Worlds Collide.
Roman Reigns has officially been a champion in WWE for two consecutive years.
He defeated The Fiend and Braun Strowman at WWE Payback 2020 to win the Universal Championship. Two years later, he’s not only still the Universal Champion but has captured the WWE Championship as well. Roman defeated Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 38 to unify the titles and become the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion. The Tribal Chief will have a celebration with The Bloodline and Honorary Uce Sami Zayn this Friday on SmackDown.
The last wrestler to hold the title for two years was Hulk Hogan in 1986. The 37-year-old took to Twitter to comment on his historic title reign.
“A run like never before. Success in every single measure and in every category. This is what the top of the mountain looks like so Acknowledge and appreciate it.”
A run like never before. Success in every single measure and in every category. This is what the Top of the Mountain looks like so Acknowledge and appreciate it. https://t.co/GDnCGxZOdI
Roman has his hands full this Saturday night when he defends the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship against Drew McIntyre at Clash at the Castle. The show will take place in Cardiff, Wales, and is WWE’s first stadium show in the United Kingdom in over thirty years.
Drew was a guest on Sky Sports to promote the premium live event and spoke about his upcoming match against The Tribal Chief. McIntyre noted that Roman has had an incredible past two years but things are changing.
“He’s had an incredible past two years. An incredible 10 years, multiple WrestleMania Main events, and he is everything he says he is. Things have changed about recently, Drew McIntyre is rising up the card. Roman’s situation has changed where he is not as featured on television shows or weekend shows.”
The two-time WWE Champion vowed to crush Roman this weekend at the premium live event.
So as far as I’m concerned, he’s taking a step back, which has allowed me to take two steps forward. Which is going to allow me to crush him at Clash at The Castle.
Drew McIntyre on his match against Roman Reigns this Saturday
Eddie Kingston and Sammy Guevara were recently in a backstage incident. Sammy poked fun at Eddie’s weight in a taped promo on Rampage and The Mad King took offense to it.
Kingston reportedly confronted Sammy backstage and the backstage altercation led to Eddie being suspended for two weeks. He has already served his suspension.
The Mad King has since admitted that he was wrong and the situation is resolved. The Spanish God released a statement through Fightful and called Eddie’s actions unprofessional:
“But Eddie did not do the professional thing and communicate to me, which if he did I never would have said it cause the last thing I want to do is hurt someone for real.”
The former TNT Champion addressed the incident again today in his vlog. Sammy stated that he tries to be a good person and is not going to let rumors on the internet get him down. His comments can be found at the 19:30 mark in the video below.
Jim Cornette On The Backstage Incident
On episode 446 of the Jim Cornette Experience, the legendary manager and promoter discussed the backstage incident between Eddie and Sammy. He claimed that they were both wrong in this case.
“Sammy apparently is getting too big for his britches with his power couple thing with ol’ Tay Melo… He is rubbing people the wrong way and he’s already been disciplined a few times for a big mouth. But in this case, they are both wrong.”
Cornette added that Eddie’s gimmick is that he isn’t supposed to be a star in the wrestling industry and looks like an everyman.
“Eddie Kingston, that’s his gimmick. He looks like a fat piece of s***… He’s everyman, he doesn’t have a tan. He does have a fat belly. He got the chance based on that article written about him, which tells his very interesting and compelling life story. And the whole gist of it was that he wasn’t supposed to be a star.”
In the latest installment of the Get to Know series, we bring you a special interview with UK wrestling podcast Wresthings.
The United States has seen many independent wrestling podcasts grow and expand their reach worldwide. However, it’s not as common to see international wrestling content creators gain popularity in the U.S.
Wresthings have slowly risen as one of the most popular United Kingdom podcasts in wrestling. They’ve already grown a fanbase in their hometown of London, England, but they are also gaining popularity in America. People are taking notice of the Wresthings group, whether it be other podcasters or wrestlers.
I recently spoke with Delboy, N.K, Anarfi, VRSYJNES, and Mekz of Wresthings about their growing successful media career. Sam Blackz and Laps were, unfortunately, unavailable at the time.
Here’s the video of our discussion, followed by written highlights.
How Did The Wresthings Podcast Start?
The Wresthings podcast started as a group of wrestling fans wanting to discuss current wrestling content without being judged and making it cool to watch. Finding people still watching present-day wrestling in the UK may not be easy, particularly in the inner city community.
Working as musicians, Delboy and Anarfi know each other and bonded in an Instagram group chat about wrestling. Having a common interest, both creators decided to start the Wresthings brand.
When talking about coming together as wrestling fans to discuss wrestling, Anarfi said, “…It’s crazy because back in the day, I’d speak to people about wrestling, and the first thing people would say is oh, isn’t that fake or they say something like oh, Stone Cold still wrestling and stuff and it’s like those were conversations there I didn’t really want to hear. For example, there was a moment in time when I didn’t watch wrestling, and Del was my go-to guy.”
He continued, “…It was just nice that we can have this sort of like this forum or community, or brotherhood or sisterhood or family or whatever that we can actually come through, post our wrestling content, speak about other stuff, check on up with mental health and life and stuff. So yeah, It’s gone from us being like wrestling fans and just talking about wrestling all the time to doing other stuff and caring for each other.”
Delboy would also contact VRSYJNES and Blackz to join them as they also bonded about wrestling. They officially launched their podcast on Jan. 11, 2019. As the podcast progressed over the years, other current podcast members joined, and the brand gained popularity.
Dealing with Fame as Content Creators
While the podcast is gaining success, the group members are getting more recognized among their peers. Although it can sometimes be overwhelming, the group takes pride in helping make wrestling popular among the black community in the U.K.
The group noted how they are getting noticed in public by fans and how much it meant to them to see people love their work. Delboy shared what it meant to see his brother watching Wresthings.
“…I’m tired of my siblings watching WhatCulture. I’ll be real, said Delboy jokingly. He continued, “I’m tired of them watching What Culture and Cultaholic and Wrestletalk, no disrespect to them. I love them. I watch them all the time, but it brings a smile to my face when I’m going downstairs, and I’m watching my brother watch my podcast. it makes me feel like, yeah it’s just as important as watching Simon Miller or an Adam Blampied. For him to look at us, yeah I want to listen to your podcast. I don’t agree with this, what Anarfi said here was rubbish or what Blackz said here I enjoyed, for me it’s like yeah this is why I do it.”
Delboy also added that “…The fact that there are black kids watching us and being able to have us as an alternative to the majors, for me, it’s like we are doing what we need to do. So we have to carry on and continue until we take over, and we have all these black kids watching us.”
Their Thoughts on Clash at Castle Taking Place in Cardiff, Wales
WWE will hold its next event, Clash at the Castle, on Sep. 3 at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales. Although the event is in the U.K, it’s not an easy trip to make if you live in England.
Wresthings shared that they wouldn’t be able to attend, and the travel would cost more than going to New York. The group is also confused about why the event is happening in Cardiff.
“…No disrespect to Wales, but London is the capital or at least if not London, you know we have big other cities here Manchester, Birmingham, like not too sure why they went to Wales. Maybe it’s availability of the stadium, but those that are going, they’ve done hard work to make sure they are going,” said Mekz. He continued, “…I know people that are going that aren’t staying in Cardiff, which is the city it’s happening in. They are staying in other cities in Wales, just because of availability of hotels and cheaper tickets and they are going to go from those other cities into Cardiff on the day. WWE hasn’t made this show as accessible as you would like really and truly. You know, hopefully it’s a successful show for them and they come back to the U.K somewhere closer to us in general.”
Clash at the Castle isn’t sold out, with tickets still on sale at Ticketmaster. The event also has tickets available for resale.
What Are Wresthings Future Plans?
The future for Wresthings seems to be promising. Each podcast member has goals they want to accomplish for the brand.
One of the biggest things they look to achieve is creating subscription services like Patreon to create more content and earn more financial growth. However, Anarfi shared that it won’t be happening just yet.
Outside of doing weekly wrestling content, they continue to have famous U.K wrestlers sometimes appear on their show, like Will Ospreay or Gabriel Kidd. They recently had Ava White on their Aug. 12 episode, who will be competing in the IWGP Women’s Championship Tournament at Royal Quest 2 Night two on Oct. 2.
The group also discussed doing more things creatively in wrestling, like having their wrestling event under their brand. Wresthings have shown great ambition to take the brand to new levels.
They hope to continue making discussing wrestling fun and entertaining as they flourish. While it started as friends discussing WWE, Wresthings has become a successful wrestling media brand.
William Regal says he’s focused on the Blackpool Combat Club and helping develop younger talent who are interested in learning from them.
Over the past several weeks, there have been reports about AEW talent being disgruntled about a lack of television time. There was also the recent situation involving CM Punk’s shoot comments about “Hangman” Adam Page and the subsequent fallout.
Regal said, “there’s a lot going on” on the latest episode of his Gentleman Villain podcast.
“There’s always a lot going on with us,” he began. “We’ve talked talked about on this show before. We are trying to do our bit to change the views of some people, and younger talent.
Sometimes there’s things that play out on the show, but in reality, there’s the fact that we understand there’s a lot of young talent and they don’t get to wrestle better wrestlers, or people who have been in this for a long time, because the way the job has become, and the way TV is. A lot of the best wrestlers wrestle each other now.”
Blackpool Combat Club Staying Focused
“We’re out to do our thing, let’s put it that way. That’s all I can say. In our world, everything’s good.”
– William Regal
Regal was careful not to get too deep into the subject matter at hand, but you can read between the lines and see he’s alluding to the professionalism of certain people.
“I can’t say too much at the moment,” he continued. “I’m not a gossip merchant and I’m not going to dignify anything that comes out. Nothing seems to happen around me, I’ll put it that way. I know that myself.. Jon’s Jon, and that’s the way he is. But, I know myself, Claudio, Bryan and Wheeler, are all doing our thing. Hopefully it spreads, and as far as trying to be the best professionals we can be, that’s all you can do, and do whatever we’re tasked with.”
“We’ve got a great team of talent and we want to make people have to face people in the BCC. and we are also hoping that it sets sort of standards of how to conduct yourself, and .. this is sort of in reality, just how to conduct yourself as a pro, and not. Let’s put it that way.”
Regal says he’s made mistakes during his long career, so he’s not out to cast judgement on anybody. The Blackpool Combat Club arrives at the arena early when AEW has TV tapings. They train in the ring all day and anybody is welcome to join them.
He also addressed his absence from last week’s AEW Dynamite, noting that he had to tend to a “family incident” and was in contact with everybody at TV.
Listen to William Regal’s Gentleman Villain Podcast at AdFreeShows.com. Please credit SEScoops with a link to this article if you use any of the transcribed quotes.
Miro publicly gave some advice to wrestlers upset about the lack of television time they’ve been given in AEW.
The promotion has a large roster as AEW President Tony Khan has signed many talent to either per-appearance or full-time deals. He also has talent for the ROH brand that he will use on weekly TV, whether Dynamite or Rampage.
Some wrestlers will only work one match per month, while others will wrestle more often. There has been a lot of issues behind the scenes in AEW to the point that Khan had to hold a talent meeting last week.
Miro Shares His Advice
(Scott Lesh Photography)
Miro took to Twitter to share what he thinks wrestlers should do instead of being negative about it:
“Being upset about not being on the show is a good thing. Now use that feeling and get better. Keep training, believing, and don’t be complacent.”
After losing to Bryan Danielson in an AEW Title Eliminator tournament match at Full Gear in November, Miro was off AEW programming for several months and knows what these wrestlers are going through.
At first, Miro was sidelined with a hamstring injury but later medically cleared and just not used by Khan. Miro made his return to AEW television in June.
Raquel Rodriguez and Aliyah are the new WWE Women’s Tag Team champions, but there’s more to this story beneath the surface.
On Monday’s edition of WWE RAW, Rodriguez and Aliyah defeated Iyo Sky and Dakota Kai in the the finals to crown new Women’s Tag Team champions. Some fans were confused and disappointed by the finish and expected Sky and Kai to win the titles instead.
SEScoops had learned some interesting details regarding WWE’s decision to put the vacant Women’s Tag Team Championships on Rodriguez and Aliyah.
WWE High on Raquel Rodriguez
(via WWE)
WWE has big plans for Raquel Rodriguez and sees her as a breakout star. She’s one half of the new women’s tag team champions, but Rodriguez is already being groomed for bigger things down the road.
The 31-year-old former college basketball star is a former NXT Women’s Champion. This run with the tag titles will help her establish her presence on the main roster ahead of eventually going off on her own once again.
WWE has released a video of the new champions reacting to their win. Rodriguez & Aliyah attempt to describe how special it all is and how hard they have worked for so long through NXT, to the main event of Raw and eventually to the titles.
The new champs are “over the moon” excited about what lies ahead for them.
Former WWE star Velveteen Dream was arrested on multiple charges earlier this month.
As we noted, Dream, real name Patrick Clark, was arrested on August 26 for “possession of drug paraphernalia” in Florida. However, it looks like Clark has been having some trouble quite frequently as of late.
PWInsider reports that, upon checking court records, this wasn’t Clark’s first arrest of the month. Clark was also arrested on the 20th by Orlando Police for First Degree Battery and Trespassing on property after a warning.
Each of those are first degree misdemeanors. He bonded out the following day on the 21st for $1,200 and plead not guilty. Clark had an arraignment hearing scheduled for September 28 at 1pm ET. However, that hearing is now listed as canceled.
The victim in the case has also requested confidentiality. Clark’s only other violation was listed for a March 2021 traffic violation, for which he paid the ticket.
Velveteen Dream
Clark competed in WWE from 2015 to 2021. He was a competitor on the NXT brand where he was a one-time NXT North American Champion. Clark was released from his WWE contract in May of 2021.
This was shortly after some allegations against Clark of sexual harassment against a minor.
WWE and Amazon have filed joint lawsuits against 13 vendors accused of marketing and selling counterfeit WWE Championship belt replicas.
In addition to civil lawsuits, WWE and Amazon worked with the Middlesex County, New Jersey, Prosecutor’s Office to pursue these bad actors which led to felony counterfeiting charges against two connected individuals.
Matthew Winterroth, WWE’s Vice President of Intellectual Property, was quoted:
“Amazon is the benchmark for collaboration with respect to brand infringement online. Official and licensed WWE products, branded by our IP, are trusted by our fans around the world and we go to great lengths to protect consumers from counterfeits and other types of infringements. It’s our hope that other companies look at Amazon’s Counterfeit Crimes Unit as a model of how to partner with companies of any size to help combat this relentless threat.”
Amazon teams up with WWE, filing suit to protect customersand the authenticity of WWE’s historic championship title belts
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. (WWE) (NYSE: WWE) and Amazon today announced joint lawsuits against 13 defendants who attempted to market and sell inauthentic replicas of WWE-branded championship title belts in Amazon’s store including inauthentic replicas of commemorative title belts as well as the historic WWE World Heavyweight, Universal, Intercontinental, United States and NXT Championship title belt designs.
WWE combined its proactive IP monitoring and enforcement program with Amazon’s Project Zero and Brand Registry protection tools to detect infringing listings, and Amazon removed them. Then WWE partnered with Amazon’s Counterfeit Crimes Unit to pursue these lawsuits targeting bad actors who attempted to sell counterfeit products and falsely represent their locations and identities.
One of the defendants was found to be operating their fraudulent business out of New Jersey. In addition to the civil lawsuits, Amazon and WWE worked with the Middlesex County, New Jersey, Prosecutor’s Office to pursue these bad actors which led to felony counterfeiting charges against two connected individuals for sale of counterfeit WWE championship title belts.
“Amazon is the benchmark for collaboration with respect to brand infringement online,” said Vice President of Intellectual Property at WWE, Matthew Winterroth. “Official and licensed WWE products, branded by our IP, are trusted by our fans around the world and we go to great lengths to protect consumers from counterfeits and other types of infringements. It’s our hope that other companies look at Amazon’s Counterfeit Crimes Unit as a model of how to partner with companies of any size to help combat this relentless threat.”
“Amazon is committed to the authenticity of products in our store and protecting our customers from all forms of counterfeits, including those impacting fans of iconic entertainment brand WWE,” said Kebharu Smith, director of Amazon’s Counterfeit Crimes Unit. “We will continue to work with WWE and Middlesex County law enforcement to bring these bad actors to justice.”
WWE’s robust and aggressive IP enforcement program utilizes both internal and external resources to combat counterfeit and infringing products, piracy, and distribution abuse online as well as in physical points of sale. This includes trained internal staff and third-party vendors who consistently monitor online retailers around the world for IP infringements and counterfeit sellers. Amazon’s Project Zero also empowers WWE to directly remove suspicious listings from Amazon’s stores. Amazon’s latest lawsuit with WWE comes after Amazon in 2021 sued or referred over 600 criminals for investigation in the US, UK, EU, and China, an increase of more than 300% over 2020.
Amazon’s Counterfeit Crimes Unit – a team of former federal prosecutors, former law enforcement agents, experienced investigators and data analysts – was formed to work with brands and law enforcement to hold bad actors accountable.
Amazon strictly prohibits the sale of counterfeit products, and won’t stop until there are zero counterfeits in its stores. Amazon’s efforts to stop counterfeit products is part of an investment of $900 million to protect its stores from fraud, counterfeits, and abuse. This includes using industry-leading tools to verify potential sellers’ identities and ensure product listings are authentic. In 2021, Amazon blocked more than 4 billion bad listings before they were listed in our stores. These listings were suspected of potentially being fraudulent, infringing, counterfeit, or engaging in other forms of abuse.
For more information, including the related court filing case numbers, visit Corporate.WWE.com.
Darby Allin did not have an easy road to AEW. He’s been All Elite since the company’s inception in 2019, but first had to buy out his contract with another company.
Allin was DDP’s guest this week on the DDP Snake Pit podcast powered by Ad Free Shows. During their discussion, he spoke about the circumstances that led him to joining AEW.
In 2019, All Elite Wrestling executives were scouring the globe to sign talent for the upstart promotion. Former AEW Executive Vice President Cody Rhodes attended a show for Northeast Wrestling, where Allin was wrestling Pentagon.
Allin tells DDP that prior to seeing him work against Pentagon, Cody thought he was just a ‘crash test dummy’ taking gnarly bumps. After watching him wrestle in person, Cody saw that Allin could actually work.
“At the time, I was signed with another little promotion. The moment I heard Cody was interested, long story short, I paid $12,000 to get out of my contract. I took a loan out and I remember I used to hit Cody up like every day, just blow his phone up, and he would never really answer.”
– Darby Allin on joining AEW
DDP stopped Darby Allin mid-story and told him Cody’s father, the late Dusty Rhodes, used to be ‘the worst’ about returning calls, and knows Cody is the same way. DDP joked, “Even his texting sucks!” He’s known Cody since he was 12 years old and loves him.
Choosing AEW over WWE/NXT
Allin said he didn’t care about blowing up Cody’s phone, he wanted to be part of AEW. He wasn’t going to take out that $12,000 loan without having Cody’s word that AEW was really interested in him.
AEW hadn’t even run its first show at this point and this was long before a TV deal was announced. However, there was one factor that really sold him that AEW was the right fit for him.
“All I heard, when they were promoting it, were the words ‘Creative Freedom.’ I was like, ‘That’s where I need to be.'”
– Darby Allin
Cody eventually invited him to his house and the rest, as they say, is history. DDP complimented Allin’s persistence. He sad, “What you have to be, is pleasantly persistent.”
At the time, Darby Allin was being groomed for NXT. He says he saw the writing on the wall there.
“This was back when 205 Live was a thing. I was like, hell f*cking no, I’m not going there to do that. I don’t want to be put in a box.”
– Darby Allin
Allin felt his money was wrestling ‘David vs. Goliath’ matches and he’d have a better chance to get over as himself with AEW.
Darby Allin signed with AEW in April 2019. His debut match took place at Fyter Fest just two months later. His first opponent was none other than Cody Rhodes, which says a lot about how much Cody believed in him. That match went to a time-limit draw. Allin tells DDP that before the match, Cody texted him, “20 minute broadway?” Allin had no idea what the phrase meant at the time.
Allin has gone on to become one of AEW’s most successful homegrown stars. He’s a former TNT Champion and is currently aligned with the icon, Sting.
WWE and All Elite Wrestling have been in a battle for years to establish which brand of pro wrestling is dominant.
While AEW would win the Wednesday Night Wars, resulting in NXT moving to Tuesdays, the two companies continue to compete for fans and that all-important 18-49 demographic.
Double-Feature
For wrestlers, competing on AEW or WWE programming can be a huge step in their careers, and now Katie Arquette has done both on the same night.
On this week’s Raw, Arquette, working under the name Katie Arks, teamed with Dani Mo and Kay Sparks, in a squash match loss to Raw Women’s Champion Bianca Belair, Asuka, and Alexa Bliss.
The self-professed ‘Queen of the Silver Screen’ didn’t have much better luck on AEW programming, losing to Serena Deeb on Dark: Elevation.
Arquette is the second person to achieve this impressive feat, after Cameron Stewart competed on Raw and AEW Dark in September 2021.
On the new @WWE RAW: Katie Arquette @TheKtArquette became the 2nd wrestler to compete in both WWE (RAW) & AEW in the same night.
Despite her name, Katie is no relation to former WCW World Heavyweight Champion David Arquette, though the two have appeared in the ring together.
After training, Arquette made her professional wrestling debut at IWC Proving Ground 6 in February 2017, in a losing effort to future AEW star and then-IWC Women’s Champion Dr. Britt Baker.
A year later, Arquette would challenge Baker again for the title, this time getting the win, which she told Daily DDTwas “just incredible.”
Arquette would celebrate with David Arquette, who was also at the show, and would give her a fur coat which she still wears for matches to this day.
AEW has accumulated a huge fanbase since launching back in January 2019, which has in turn made the company a fortune in merchandise sales.
T-Shirts, hats, action figures and memorabilia are all available to buy from the company directly at ShopAEW.com, while shirts can be purchased from their global online shop.
AEW has a lot of merchandise available to fans, but some content is no longer available to buy. Admit discussions about AEW finding a streaming home with parent company Warner Bros. Discovery, it’s interesting to note that all AEW DVD’s have been pulled from the AEW Shop and Pro Wrestling Tees.
At this time, Ring of Honor Supercard of Honor XV, the first ROH after the company’s purchase by AEW President Tony Khan, remains available on Pro Wrestling Tees.
No explanation has been given as to why the AEW DVDs have been removed from both websites.
Streaming Deal Imminent?
AEW has given no reason publicly to pull their DVDs, though the act has fueled rumors of an AEW Network.
The idea of an AEW streaming service, akin to WWE’s award-winning Network, has been something fans have been wanting to see for a long time.
After purchasing Ring of Honor earlier this year, Khan gave an update on plans for a streaming service, saying he was working to make sure ROH’s large video library is available to fans.
