Queen Zelina Vega has disappeared from WWE TV in recent weeks. New reports suggest that the reason behind this is an injury she suffered recently.
According to PWInsider, the winner of the Inaugural Queen’s Crown tournament has undergone surgery recently.
While the nature of her injury is not known, Vega is expected to stay out of action for another 6 to 8 weeks. This means she should be ready to return around SummerSlam.
The report also noted that the female star’s hard work and her willingness to do what was requested of her have been noticed behind the scenes.
There have been talks of the former women’s tag team champion receiving a push because of it when she makes her return to WWE programming.
Zelina Vega returned to WWE back in July 2021. She defeated Doudrop to win the Queen’s Crown tournament during the Crown Jewel PPV in October last year.
She also won the women’s tag team championship with Carmella back in November. Their reign lasted for 132 days.
Queen Zelina last wrestled during the April 4 episode of Monday Night Raw. The episode saw Bianca Belair defeating Vega in a match that lasted less than 3 minutes.
Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford, collectively known as The Street Profits have been a tag team since 2016. In this time, they have won tag team gold in all three of the WWE’s televised brands, including NXT, Raw, and SmackDown as well. When it comes to WWE this tag team run is on the longer side. Many wonder if the company may now be looking to break them up.
These talks have specially picked up after Montez Ford had a one-on-one match with Roman Reigns last year and showed that he had the potential to make it big as a singles star. Though if Angelo Dawkins is to be believed, there hasn’t really been any talk in this direction behind the scenes.
The Street Profit member recently had an interview with NBC Sports Boston. He was asked if there has been any discussions about the two going separate ways. Dawkins responded to it negatively, but he also explained that it’s not only Montez Ford who has the potential to make it big if the split does happen:
“No, not really. I mean obviously Tez had his match against Roman last year, I think. So like, obviously he’s proven that he can go out there and handle business by himself. I [have] just been around, you know, just handling business. The cool part about it is, Tez is so good. I know everybody wants to see him and I want to see [him] do great things as well.” said Angelo Dawkins,
He continued: “But the cool part about all of that is nobody knows what I can really do. So I’m like, I can hide over here. Like still do our thing in the Tag Team division and it’s like, ‘oh, Tez is the athletic one.’ Then here I come with [my own moves]. One time I dove. Everybody was like ‘Wait, what?’ I was like ‘yeah. I really ain’t gotta worry about that because Tez is the one that usually does all that stuff.’ So obviously I’m the guy that comes in and just beats people up, throw them around. [So] that’s that. But nobody knows how much of an arsenal I really have.”
CM Punk has taken a shot at WWE amid the company’s decision to ditch Allegiant Stadium for its Money in the Bank event in July.
MITB ticketholders were surprised to receive an email notifying them that they’d be getting a refund since the premium live event has been moved to the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
Fans who had purchased tickets to the Allegiant Stadium show will get first dibs on the pre-sale for the MGM Grand tickets.
CM Punk Burns WWE
CM Punk caught wind of the news and took to his Instagram Stories to fire a shot at WWE over the venue change.
The post has since been deleted but you can see the screencap below.
He referenced the time when the company moved to a smaller venue for WrestleMania VII due to slumping ticket sales.
The event was going to take place inside Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. It ended up being moved to the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena.
WWE claimed the change was due to bomb threats over Sgt. Slaughter’s anti-America gimmick.
Punk will be in action this Sunday night (May 29). He’ll challenge Hangman Page for the AEW World Heavyweight Championship in the main event of Double or Nothing.
Stick with SEScoops for live coverage of the event this weekend.
Angelo Dawkins knows The Street Profits are due for some gold again.
Dawkins is one-half of The Street Profits along with Montez Ford. The two have held the Raw and SmackDown Tag Team Championships and performed at WrestleMania 38.
A Matter Of Time
Heading into June, The Streets Profits want to ensure that they don’t go all of 2022 without some gold around their waists once again.
“Look, our time is coming. We’re just biding our time. We’re scheming, we’re coming up with the next plan to see how we’re gonna get these Tag Team Titles around our waist.
“Whether we do it on Raw, whether we do it on SmackDown, whether we do it at the pay-per-view or premium live event, it don’t matter to us.
“As long as we get those titles back that’s all that matters to us.”
Dawkins went on to say that performing at WrestleMania back in April was a huge deal for The Street Profits. He says the team is now pushing forward.
“Now, I will say WrestleMania, a lot of fun. That was the big one that we wanted to be on.
“Now, the goal is SummerSlam obviously. The goal is Money in the Bank. But yeah, our goal was definitely set on being on WrestleMania. We got to handle business there.
“So, now the goal is get those tag titles. Maybe even throw a little party, a little after party.”
One AEW star who hasn’t been seen in almost two months was injured and had to undergo surgery.
That star in question is “Legit” Leyla Hirsch.
She suffered the injury during an AEW Dark: Elevation taping. Hirsch ended up tearing her ACL after landing awkwardly off a moonsault.
Despite the circumstances, she appears to be in good spirits.
On April 5th, during AEW Dark Elevation, I suffered an injury. After landing on my feet from a moonsault, I tore my ACL. Today I was finally able to get my surgery.
Thank you to everyone for the support . I promise to come back an improved, leaner, meaner more Legit Athlete. pic.twitter.com/dzDEFcRGCo
“On April 5th, during AEW Dark Elevation, I suffered an injury. After landing on my feet from a moonsault, I tore my ACL. Today I was finally able to get my surgery.
“Thank you to everyone for the support. I promise to come back an improved, leaner, meaner more Legit Athlete.”
It’s a rough situation for Leyla Hirsch, who signed with AEW back in March 2021.
She was in the midst of a new phase in her character. She turned heel and had amassed an impressive 12-3 record in 2022.
The Get to Know Series looks at The Jobber Tears Podcast. The podcast is having great success, with all three hosts making strides in the professional wrestling business. The group will also hold its second live wrestling event called JobberSlam this Summer.
A strong work ethic and consistency can be crucial to a successful content creator. The wrestling podcast business has grown in recent years, with independent content creators getting opportunities in the wrestling business. In the case of The Jobbers Tears Podcast, they’ve grown to be one of the most popular wrestling creators amongst wrestling fans and talent.
Their success didn’t happen overnight, as they had to work hard to produce content consistently. However, it has earned them the ability to commentate on wrestling and helped them gain opportunities in the wrestling industry.
I recently had the chance to speak with the group. Here’s the video of our discussion, followed by written highlights.
How Did The Jobber Podcast Begin?
The road to becoming a popular podcast didn’t start well for The Jobbers Tears Podcast. It began in 2017 with Wilkins “Sir Wilkins” Petit-Frere and Janelle “Janella From The HR” Garcia from HR as the wrestling debators, with another individual acting as a moderator. The original podcast called Yep, I Got a Podcast only lasted a few episodes before the moderator went on vacation, leaving Sir Wilkins and Janelle from HR to find another member. Sir Wilkins’s brother Yardley “Mr. Blacc” Petit-Frere replaced the moderator, and the group began to find their stride.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CO264AFrgAK/
Unfortunately, the moderator returned and had creative differences, which resulted in the individual erasing the first six episodes from streaming platforms.
“…In general, he deleted all the episodes, got rid of them, whatever. So I asked my brother, would you want to do a podcast with me. I still wanted to continue it because I knew it was something there, said Sir Wilkins. Along with their ex cameraman, the group got together at a bar to figure out the new name of the podcast. “…We literally sat there, and then we googled names. Ironically, all of them were taken. Anything that was like somewhat wrestling related it was taken,” said Sir Wikins. He continued, “So then we went with Jobber and then we have this friend named Larry, who we are cool with, who used to always troll on sports websites. I got a cup of tears of Giants fans or I got a cup of tears of like Knicks fans stuff like that. So then Janelle was maybe like tears and then we were like Jobber Tears!”
The Jobbers Tears Podcast officially started on Jan. 11, 2018.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CWlvq6APw1A/
Spotlighting The Independent Wrestling Scene
Once the podcast officially started, the group began to think of ways to differentiate themselves from most wrestling content creators. Instead of focusing on popular wrestling companies like WWE, they also spotlighted the indie wrestling community. They networked with talent by interviewing independent wrestlers and going to events and rose in popularity.
“…We had these built with certain people because we met them through the independent scene or we spoke to them. One of my first interviews was Austin Theory,” said Sir Wilkins. He shared that signed talents like Theory and Carmelo Hayes know them because they networked with them before WWE. The podcasts have numerous high-profile interviews, including Shad Gaspard, Tasha Steelz, Nick Aldis, and Thunder Rosa.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CdD3uq4glyQ/
The group also became more involved in the professional wrestling business by getting into independent wrestling. They better understand the decision-making behind wrestling, which Janelle from HR believes sets them apart from other podcasts.
“…As we progressed with the podcast, we’ve also been understanding to the business side of wrestling, which I think a lot of podcasts and it’s not a shade or anything or a shot to anybody, but a lot of podcasts don’t do, because they are in that fan realm,” said Janelle from HR.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CcmBTtQOx52/
What’s Next For The Jobber Tears Podcast?
Although the podcast has reached success, the group is getting more involved in professional wrestling both together and individually. Mr. Blacc is training to become a referee and is working on a lifestyle project with The Dirty Heelz Podcast called The Sped Ed Kids Podcast. Sir Wilkins is preparing to have his first wrestling match and is working for Complex alongside Church of Joshi’s Alex Lajas for Complex Unsanctioned on Spotify. Janelle from HR has become part owner of Battle Club Pro Wrestling, which has an upcoming event Welcome 2 War on Jun. 19.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Cd4baPlukS0/
The group is preparing their second live wrestling event under Battle Club Pro Wrestling called Jobberslam for Aug. 20. The event is still in development, and shared that more information will be released later. The Jobber Tears Podcast is also planning their AEW Double or Nothing watch party for fans at Legends Bar in New York, NY, on May. 29.
The Jobber Tears Podcast hopes to have a legacy as great wrestling content creators who also have positively impacted the business. The achievements that they have earned are a reminder that a great work ethic, consistency, and ambition can lead to incredible opportunities.
Cody Rhodes took to his Twitter account to respond to a fan who brought up a lingering rumor that “The American Nightmare” had a falling out with Tony Khan over money and creative power.
The former AEW EVP poured cold water on the rumblings.
Full stop: the money and creative story that misguided brudda put out there has already been rebuffed by all parties
I’m proud of my peers/kids there and my accomplishments as competitor/EVP
“Full stop: the money and creative story that misguided brudda put out there has already been rebuffed by all parties.
“I’m proud of my peers/kids there and my accomplishments as competitor/EVP. It was just personal and it was just time to go for the big one.”
Cody has been treated like a big star since making his return to WWE. He’s a top babyface on the Monday Night Raw roster.
Rhodes is scheduled to face Seth Rollins a third time at the Hell in a Cell premium live event on June 5.
Since making his return to the company, Cody Rhodes has made it clear that his main goal is to capture the WWE Championship for the first time in his career.
Danielson worried fans when he accidentally hurt himself during a post-match altercation at AEW Rampage on May 20 with the Jericho Appreciation Society. It took several minutes for AEW staff to help free his leg from between the ring and ramp.
Thankfully, it doesn’t seem like he will be out of action.
The AEW star joked that he’s getting clumsy as he gets older.
“…I laugh at myself because it was my birthday yesterday. I just turned 41, and I’m just like, I’m just this old man who falls into these cracks, and I can’t get out,” said Danielson.
He joked that he felt like he was Steve Urkel in that moment.
“My ankle and just below my knee are a little bit swollen. You know what I mean, but it’s interesting my life I like physical things.
Bryan Danielson on freak accident
“Right so even when I’m not wrestling, I like to do jiu-jitsu or kickboxing or hiking or whatever it is you know what I mean and so I’m kind of used to things being swollen.
“I’ll be at Dynamite on Wednesday and I’ll have to get the trainer to check on it, just to make sure everything’s okay.”
Bryan Danielson (Photo: AEW)
Will Bryan Danielson Compete at Double or Nothing?
Danielson hasn’t shared if trainers believe he should not compete at Double or Nothing on May. 29.
That interview was done before he said he would get a check-up from trainers at AEW Dynamite on May. 25.
AEW is still advertising that Danielson will team with his faction, the Blackpool Combat Club, alongside Eddie Kingston, Santana, and Ortiz to challenge The Jericho Appreciation Society this Sunday.
The company also announced that he would face Matt Sydal on a live episode of AEW Rampage on May 27.
The AEW star revealed that he laughed about it with Eddie Kingston and Jon Moxley after the incident.
“…I was laughing afterward with Eddie Kingston and Mox. This would have never happened to me at 28. I would have been very aware of my surroundings, but this old clumsy man who slips in things,” said Danielson.
Danielson seems to be in good spirits and ready to compete. Hopefully, the swelling will subside before he clashes with the Jericho Appreciation Society at Double or Nothing.
This year’s WWE Money in the Bank PPV won’t be taking place inside a stadium after all.
WWE has sent out emails to MITB ticket holders on Thursday announcing that the i being moved from Allegiant Stadium to the smaller MGM Grand Garden Arena.
The event is still scheduled for Saturday, July 2nd.
Fans who purchased tickets to the stadium show will receive refunds, and will get the first opportunity to purchase the next round of tickets, when they go on sale.
Allegiant Stadium has a max capacity of over 70,000 people. However, WWE knew that would not a realistic target.
WWE formatted the seat configuration to accommodate 25,000 fans. According to WrestleTix, only 16,826 tickets had been sold as of a month ago.
#WWE sold ~17,000 tickets for #MITB at Allegiant. A sellout at MGM is going to be in the 11-12,000 range.
Per the last ticket update from @WrestleTix (see below), a good chunk of the tickets sold at Allegiant were upper deck seats. Expensive lower level seats were not selling. pic.twitter.com/8l4XiPR6rr
— Ryan Droste (@ryandroste.bsky.social) (@ryandroste) May 26, 2022
WWE had announced the MITB venue would be Allegiant Stadium back in Aug. 2021. At the time, WWE President and CRO, Nick Khan expressed excitement over the plan.
The company will now have just one stadium show in the month of July.
That show will be SummerSlam, which is set to take place inside Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee on July 30.
Renee Paquette really wishes her husband Jon Moxley would stop licking opponents’ blood during matches.
Paquette recently took to her podcast, “The Sessions,” and talked about her husband’s tendency to lick the blood of his opponents during their matches. This was in response to being asked what she’d like for Moxley to stop doing in the ring the most.
The former WWE broadcaster explained she doesn’t think the spot is necessary.
“Licking people’s blood. I hate it. I hate it. I hate it. I don’t get it. I hate it. That definitely ranks really, really high for me. Anytime he does it, I’m like, why?
“What is happening? Why are you doing this? I don’t think it’s necessary. That would be number one for me. I hate it.
“I also don’t like slap spots, like a slap to the head I could do without. I actually don’t like spots with chairs either.”
In a follow up question, Paquette was asked if she gets turned off to kiss Moxley later after a match in which he has licked an opponent’s blood. But Paquette doesn’t pay it too much attention in that regard.
“I actually don’t think about that at all. You would think I would think that, but at that point, I’m like, eh, some time has passed. I don’t really think about it. I worry more about the long term effects.
Moxley’s next big match will take place for All Elite Wrestling (AEW) at the Double or Nothing pay-per-view (PPV).
He’ll team up with Eddie Kingston, Santana, Ortiz, and Daniel Bryan to take on The Jericho Appreciation Society (Chris Jericho, Matt Menard, Angelo Parker, Daniel Garcia, and Jake Hager) in a Anarchy in the Arena match.
It looks like more than one unannounced match has been listed internally for AEW Double or Nothing.
Earlier this week, Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer reported that Sammy Guevara and Tay Conti vs. Scorpio Sky or Ethan Page and Paige VanZant was “tentatively planned” for the PPV.
It seems like there’s another match that could be added to the show late.
Fightful is now reporting that Darby Allin vs. Kyle O’Reilly has been discussed as a possible last-minute addition.
It would make sense given that Kyle injured Sting in storyline by placing his ankle through a chair and crushing it with a knee off the top turnbuckle.
Darby recently promised that he will have a presence at Double or Nothing:
— Aaron Rift of NoDQ.com (@aaronrift) May 26, 2022
Ricky Starks in AEW
Starks made his debut for AEW in June 2020, and immediately made an impression upon his arrival.
Unsuccessfully challenging for the TNT Championship, held at the time by Cody Rhodes, Starks was signed to a deal by Tony Khan shortly after.
At July 2021’s Fyter Fest, Starks would capture the FTW Championship from Brian Cage, marking his first title in AEW, though it is not an officially sanctioned title.
Starks has had seven successful title defenses since winning the title, against the likes of Cage, Strickland, Matt Sydal, and others.
Since September 2021, Starks has also worked as part of the commentary team for AEW Rampage, replacing Mark Henry.
Multiple wrestlers from GCW have denied the allegation that the company faked negative COVID-19 tests to allow sick wrestlers to appear.
Earlier this week, independent wrestler “Dirty” Ron McDonald claimed that he faked COVID-19 testing results so GCW could run events from October 2020 to January 2021.
On Twitter, Tony Deppen denied the claim, saying that talent was given specific deadlines for when they had to submit test results.
Deppen adds that he was forced to miss two shows due to not submitting a result in time, which reportedly came at the request of Brett Lauderdale.
Before every show we had a group chat where we’d talk about her recautions and the deadlines for our covid tests. I also had to sit out two shows cause my tests didn’t come back in time – and that was at the request of Brett.
This matches with a tweet from January 2021, where GCW announced that Deppen would miss an event in adherence to COVID-19 protocols and “an abundance of caution.”
Joey Janela responded to McDonald’s claim by sharing screenshots of the group chat Deppen mentioned and said everyone working for GCW is vaccinated.
“We always had groups like this on social media apps, many wrestlers have been told to sit out before… Roster is vaccinated now, see everyone in Vegas. Most will ignore this because they ‘Wanna smoke that GCW PACK’ whatever the f*ck that means.”
Brett Lauderdale has been advised by lawyers not to respond to McDonald’s claims.
GCW will host their Downward Spiral event this Sunday, which will be headlined by NWA World Heavyweight Champion Matt Cardona Vs. Blake Christian.
Bobby Lashley has officially thrown out the challenge to Brock Lesnar for a WrestleMania 39 match next year in California.
Lashley was recently a guest on WWE’s “The Bump” this week, and talked about a showdown with Lesnar at “The Show Of Shows” next year. “The Almighty” said it’s going to be a huge stage, and he and Lesnar still have a score to settle.
“We’re in L.A. next year, right, for WrestleMania? If we’re in Hollywood it’s a big matchup.
“For me, I’ve always had these really tough challenges going into WrestleMania, which, of course this one- it has to be another big one.
“Me and Brock [Lesnar], we still have a little score to settle. I have a win over him and then he ended up winning my title back but we’re not done. We’re not done.”
Lashley has been calling out Lesnar for a match for years now. He’s even suggested the pair compete against one another inside the mixed martial arts (MMA) world, as both are decorated inside the cage.
However, their paths have never crossed in either sport. Currently, Lashley is feuding with Omos and MVP on Monday Night RAW. Lashley will face Omos at the upcoming Hell In A Cell event in Chicago.
Lesnar hasn’t competed or been on WWE TV since his WrestleMania 38 defeat to Roman Reigns in Dallas, Texas this past April. He dropped the WWE Championship to “The Tribal Chief,” who now reigns as the WWE and Universal Champion, working both brands.
Should WWE decide to book a match between Lashley and Lesnar next year at WrestleMania, the potential is certainly massive.
It will be interesting to see if the two monstrous athletes ultimately cross paths before their time in the professional wrestling business is done. Lashley is currently 45-years-old, while Lesnar is 44.
Will Ospreay has been making headlines with his comments about WWE recently. He has now called out WWE stars in a manner that is sure to get some attention.
Speaking about WWE stars, Ospreay told them that they aren’t wrestlers. Per the high-flying star, it’s not a dig but the reality of the situation:
“You guys aren’t wrestlers, you’re actors and you just do wrestling and I don’t think that’s a dig. You guys make way more money than me like, good on you, but I just feel like when I say proudly, ‘That’s a wrestler. I am a wrestler, I am not an actor,’
But I know you guys can wrestle, you’re just not really allowed to show it, I guess.” said Will Ospreay, “But other than you want to make a lot of money and retire, that’s what WWE is kind of for these days.”
Apart from this, the NJPW star also talked about the upcoming Forbidden Door PPV. He revealed which AEW star he would like to face on the joint show.
What do you think about Will Ospreay’s comments about WWE stars? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.
The NBA playoffs have been crushing wrestling in the TV ratings and many have feared it could negatively impact AEW Double or Nothing.
The PPV event is set for May 29. This Friday, the Boston Celtics will take on the Miami Heat in game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals.
If Miami wins, the series will go to game 7 on the same night as Double or Nothing.
This is a high-stakes series as the winner will advance to the NBA Finals.
(via Lynne Sladky/AP)
DoN Headliner Safe From NBA
AEW President Tony Khan has squashed any concern that the Double or Nothing main event could start while a potential game 7 of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals is ongoing.
During an appearance on the AEW Unrestricted podcast, Khan confirmed that if there is a game 7, he will not run the world title match between Hangman Adam Page and CM Punk until it’s over.
“I promise that Hangman Page versus CM Punk for the world championship is not going to go to the ring until after game seven, if there is a game seven.
“So it leaves it open even for those diehard fans of those teams if there is a Heat-Celtics game seven.
“I promise just like Bob Arum did, another promoter here in Vegas, said that Pacquiao-Bradley was not going to go to the ring.
“I promise we’ll hold it back because we’ve planned ahead in case there was a game seven not knowing who it would be.
“But it might not even happen, but if it does, we’re prepared.”
The time has arrived for a fresh version of an AEW Title
During the May 25 episode of Dynamite, it was announced by Dan Lambert that Scorpio Sky will be receiving his brand new custom TNT Championship.
The custom title belt will be unveiled on the May 27 episode of Rampage.
Sky is the reigning TNT titleholder but his gold was destroyed by Sammy Guevara and Frankie Kazarian. Sky turned his back on Kazarian at the conclusion of the May 13 episode of Rampage.
This led to Kazarian’s alliance with Sammy and Tay Conti.
The custom championship had been expected ever since the TNT Title was destroyed.
Perhaps Sky will be getting a purple and gold spin on the championship given he’s a huge LA Lakers fan.
Seems we have a new TNT Belt to be presented to TNT Champion @scorpiosky this FRIDAY on #AEWRampage!
Bianca Belair may be riding high as the WWE Raw Women’s Champion, but she could soon be competing on Tuesday nights.
Before coming to the main roster, Belair made a name for herself in NXT but never held gold as part of the brand.
While speaking to Lucas Charpiot of VL Media, Belair expressed a desire to go to NXT, now NXT 2.0.
“I have never won the NXT Women’s Championship. It was quite a complicated thing to do at the time. I saw that Natalya was currently there. Natalya is a legend in this medium. It’s great to see her wrestle in NXT 2.0 with these young wrestlers. This isn’t the first time she’s wrestled in NXT. As far as I’m concerned, NXT is where I learned it all.
“NXT is my home.”
– Bianca Belair
Belair gave props to NXT star Amari Miller, saying she’s one of the most passionate performers she’s ever come across.
“NXT is my home. It would be nice to be able to come back there to face these young wrestlers. I’ve always loved Io (Shirai) and had the chance to wrestle her when I was in NXT. I’m seeing Amari (Miller). I love her to death. She’s so passionate. I don’t know if I’ve ever met someone with as much passion as her.”
A policy from WWE has said that at least one main roster Superstar should be appearing for the paint-splattered brand at all times.
Since this policy was implemented, fans have seen AJ Styles, Dolph Ziggler, Natalya, Robert Roode and the Viking Raiders all appear in NXT
Belair will defend her Raw Women’s Championship against Becky Lynch and Asuka at WWE Hell in a Cell 2022.
SEScoops correspondent Mike Chin was on hand for Dynamite and sent in these videos of what happened after the show went off the air.
First, Samoa Joe continued celebrating after defeating Kyle O’Reilly to advance to the Owen Hart Men’s Tournament finals. He’ll battle Adam Cole for the Owen Hart Cup this weekend at Double or Nothing.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CeBQxJCD_rX/
AEW President Tony Khan then came out to address the live crowd.
Khan spoke about this being the anniversary of the first AEW event, as well as the huge show they have planned for the fans on Sunday.
The Undertaker may have spent three decades terrifying his opponents and fans alike, but there is one thing that leaves the recently-inducted WWE Hall of Famer shaking in his boots.
It’s a little-known secret that The Undertaker is afraid of cucumbers and goes to great lengths to avoid the creeping vine plant.
This week, The Undertaker’s wife Michelle McCool explained on the latest episode of the Wives of Wrestling podcast, the power that the humble fruit has on the former WWE World Champion:
“We can’t even have one in the room. Every birthday, [daughter] Kaia gets cucumbers. She’ll like put them under his pillow, she’ll put them in his car. Cucumbers, he can’t even smell them … can’t even be around it. He ate so many cucumbers one day that he got sick, and ever since then, it was just game over.”
“He ate so many cucumbers one day that he got sick, and ever since then, it was just game over.”
Michelle McCool
Getting pranked
The Undertaker may have commanded the respect of every Superstar in WWE, but there was one man who was willing to have fun at “The Deadman’s” expense.
Throughout his career, Owen Hart was known as a serial prankster, and even the legendary “Phenom” wasn’t safe.
“Owen put cucumbers in the bottom of the iced tea so that when Taker drank the tea and drank it back, he didn’t realize the cucumbers were in there until it was looking at his face. Sometimes Owen would hide them in his tights and then put them in Taker’s face during a headlock. It was always fun to place cucumbers in odd places for Taker. Just like a cucumber on top of his bag would freak him out.”
WWE Raw commentator Jimmy Smith has come to the defense of his broadcast colleagues for the backlash some have received over Sasha Banks and Naomi’s walkout.
The pair’s walkout has also forced WWE to change plans for the Raw and SmackDown Women’s Championships, which both Banks and Naomi were scheduled to compete for.
After the walkout, Corey Graves said the pair had acted “unprofessionally” while Michael Cole said the Superstars “let us all down” when announcing their suspension on last Friday’s SmackDown.
Speaking on his Unlocking The Cage with Jimmy Smith Podcast, Smith said that the two are just doing the job asked of them.
“Michael Cole and Corey Graves aren’t making this stuff up. People are getting mad at them like they’re freestyling stuff, they’re not. They’re broadcasters, if Vince [McMahon] had said, ‘Here, read this,’ I would’ve done exactly what Michael Cole did. Vince could’ve said, ‘Hey, Jimmy, I want you to read that,’ and I would’ve went, ‘Ah, okay! Sasha Banks and Naomi let us all down.’ I would’ve read the same thing.
“It’s this weird thing where like, in my sense, on Monday Night Raw, Corey Graves is getting all this sh*t. Corey Graves didn’t make up that statement, he’s a broadcaster and he was told to read it and he read it. So, I understand maybe the ire of the fans but the misdirection of that ire is weird. People getting upset at me or Corey Graves, you’re just getting mad at the wrong people. I don’t get that. Graves was told to say what he said and he said it.”
“People are getting mad at them like they’re freestyling stuff, they’re not. They’re broadcasters.”
Jimmy Smith, responding to criticism of Michael Cole and Corey Graves.
Both Banks and Naomi have been indefinitely suspended and had their merchandise pulled from WWEShop.com.
The contracts of both women are expected to expire later this year, though there is the possibility WWE could freeze their current deals.
Evil Uno and Stu Grayson have been a tag team for most of their careers. The duo were brought in by AEW in 2019 together as well. After Grayson’s AEW’s release, it’s the first time in many years when the two are not competing for the same promotion. The Dark Order member opened up about this change during his interview with NBC Sports Boston. He revealed how he is feeling about entering this new phase of his career.
Evil Uno admitted that it’s a little weird being without his friend. Though he mentioned that Grayson’s release was not a surprise for him. He claimed it was a mutual decision:
“It’s a little weird … You know, he’s my friend so I have an understanding of what he was going through, It’s not like it took me by surprise, this was a mutual decision [with AEW]. He wanted something out of his contract and they did not have that for him and he wasn’t going to continue if it wasn’t for that. And he was fine walking away, and he’s not upset in any way.”
Evil Uno mentioned how he has navigated most of his wrestling career with Stu Grayson. There was a brief period in 2010 when they weren’t together but this time, he has to adjust to it while being featured on national television.
Speaking about the future of his former tag team partner, the AEW star said that he is pretty sure Stu will do well wherever he lands:
“I’m sure Stu, wherever he does land, will do fantastic as well because he’s truthfully one of the best wrestlers probably in the world and I think most people are just unaware of it.”
Stu Grayson and Evil Uno had been teaming together since early 2000. The two were known as Super Smash Brothers in the independent circuit. They were some of the first names to be brought on board by AEW when the company launched in 2019.
Sting has been pulled from a scheduled meet and greet appearance in Las Vegas ahead of the Double Or Nothing PPV this Sunday.
The announcement was made by the company’s Twitter account. They noted that The Icon will miss the scheduled appearance because he ‘has not been cleared to travel’
“Due to injury last week, @Sting has not been cleared to travel & will unfortunately not be at this Saturday’s #AEWDoN Fan Fest Meet & Greets. For fans who purchased tickets to see #TheIcon, Watch your inbox for information on refunds”
Due to injury last week, @Sting has not been cleared to travel & will unfortunately not be at this Saturday’s #AEWDoN Fan Fest Meet & Greets. For fans who purchased tickets to see #TheIcon, Watch your inbox for information on refunds
Last week’s episode of Dynamite saw Sting receiving a beatdown from The Undisputed Elite. After a superkick from The Young Bucks, Kyle O’Reilly also smashed his ankle.
There is no word on the severity of the wrestling veteran’s injury. It’s unknown if the angle on Dynamite was designed to write him off of AEW programming for some time.
Sting made his AEW debut in December 2020. He aligned himself with Darby Allin and the two have been partners ever since.
The 63-year-old has since returned to the ring. He has wrestled 9 matches in 2 years, all of which he has won. Though neither Allin nor the former WCW champion is booked for a match at Double or Nothing this year.
Being a celebrity comes with many downsides. One such negative aspect is all the hateful comments and threats they receive online. Britt Baker believes there are people who just come online so they spread the negativity.
The former AEW women’s champion recently had an interview with Forbs. She talked about things such as Sasha Banks walking out of WWE and more.
Speaking about the negativity celebrities have to face online, Baker said that many people go to Twitter just so they can say something nasty and mean:
“I think people just go on to Twitter just to be heard in a negative way. They just want to say something nasty and hateful and mean, so they will go on to Twitter for literally no [other] reason and they just say it and make sure they tag you in it, too.”
Britt Baker recalled the suicide of Japanese wrestler Hana Kimura because of cyberbullying. She mentioned how the environment online can sometimes be really toxic:
“We’ve had people in the industry kill themselves over cyberbullying, and you’d think that that would be enough for people to wake up. Keep your mean thoughts to yourself,
You know, the body-shaming and telling me I should go kill myself because I beat so and so in a match, it’s just really, really horrible and toxic.”
Apart from this, Baker discussed her relationship with Adam Cole and how the two have not interacted much on-screen. She claimed that they are on the top of their respective divisions without being paired and this makes them a true power couple.
The situation with Sasha Banks and Naomi has started the debate on the place of the women’s tag team titles in WWE. Renee Paquette believes that the championship has never been important ever since it was introduced three years ago.
The former WWE star revealed her thoughts on the whole situation on Throwing down podcast. She first discussed how plans change all the time when it comes to Raw.
Speaking about the women’s tag team titles, Renee mentioned how they have never been important. She said there has never really been a true women’s tag team in WWE:
“The women’s tag titles have only existed in WWE for a couple of years and as soon as they were brought in to the fold, they were important for about 30 seconds, and then nobody cared anymore.
There was no true women’s tag teams and they just lost their luster really really quickly.” said Renee Paquette, “I guess, best case is that they finally let these women do what they want to do and start really working on the tag division.”
The female star also talked about the future of Sasha Banks. She discussed the possibility of her going to AEW and said that the women’s roster there could use some more star power.
Though later Paquette recalled how Sasha Banks worked with Meiko Satomura in Japan the last time she took a hiatus from WWE. She said that she wouldn’t be surprised to see Banks making a similar move.
