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Jim Ross Reveals How Steve Austin Felt About WrestleMania 38 Match

Jon Fuentes
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WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross and fellow Hall Of Famer Stone Cold Steve Austin have been close friends for decades, so it’s no surprise that Ross has the inside scoop on how “The Texas Rattlesnake” felt about his performance at WrestleMania 38.

Austin made his highly-anticipated return to in-ring action at “The Show Of Shows” from Dallas, Texas earlier this month, taking on Kevin Owens in a No Holds Barred match. Initially, Austin was scheduled for a special edition of “The KO Show,” where he was to be Owens’ guest on the program. However, after Owens challenged Austin to a No Holds Barred match right then and there, Austin was quick to accept.

The pair battled all around the arena before Austin ultimately picked up the win with a stunner inside the ring, giving him a victory in his first match in over 19 years. Austin had been very vocal about not wanting to wrestle again up until returning for WrestleMania this year, mainly worried about not being able to perform to his standards given his age and injury history.

However, on the latest episode of his podcast, “Grilling JR,” Jim Ross revealed that Austin told him he was “really happy” with how things played out.

“He and I talked going into that thing and we communicated on Saturday after the show,” Ross said (via WrestlingNews.co). “He seemed to be really happy and almost relieved that they pulled it off. He and Kevin Owens deserve a hell of a lot of credit for what they did.

“To show you what kind of ballplayer Austin is, he hadn’t been on the field for 19 years or something like that and he didn’t look like he missed a step. They kept the match in their lane. I thought that was really smart how they strategized and laid out that match.

“It was just absolutely a masterpiece in my view, and Kevin Owens deserves a lot of credit as well. You gotta have a dancing partner to make these things work, and Steve had a great dancing partner.”

Prior to this, Austin’s last match took place in 2003 at WrestleMania 19, where he suffered a loss to The Rock. Austin and Rock were longtime rivals throughout the Attitude Era, headlining WrestleMania opposite each other a total of three times – WrestleMania 19 being their last.

Tommaso Ciampa Lists WWE Main Roster Dream Opponents

Jon Fuentes
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In a move that was long overdue, former WWE NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa was called up to the main roster this week.

Ciampa appeared on Monday Night RAW in a brief segment with Kevin Owens and Ezekiel, but has yet to compete inside the ring on the red brand. However, this is only the beginning of what looks to be a very promising run for Ciampa. Recently, Ciampa spoke to Metro UK on a variety of topics, including recently getting the main roster nod. During the interview, he listed out his names of dream opponents that he’s looking forward to compete against.

“There’s so many people that I can look at right now on those Raw and SmacKDown rosters and think, ‘Man, what if?’ I haven’t been in the ring with so many of them,” he explained. “Whether it’s Edge or Rey Mysterio, I’ve never really had a singles match with AJ Styles, done stuff with Roman Reigns. There’s so many – you can just go down the list forever and ever.

“It’s all stuff that now, the more I’ve done it, the longer I’ve been doing it, you keep checking off boxes and keep building that resume. It’s stuff that, if five to 10 years from now, I can check off all those things and have those be part of it, that’d be awesome.”

Now that Ciampa is on the main roster, any of those matches are certainly a possibility. He brings in quite an impressive resume from his days in NXT, sporting two NXT Title runs and an NXT Tag Team title win alongside current free agent Johnny Gargano. Not to mention Ciampa is also a former Ring Of Honor (ROH) World TV Champion.

After having helped bring NXT to new heights and providing fans with some of the brand’s most compelling rivalries and matches, Tommaso Ciampa is ready to replicate that on an even grander stage – Monday Night RAW.

Sasha Banks Invites Jon Moxley Back to WWE

Michael Reichlin
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Sasha Banks would love to see AEW stars Jon Moxley, Dustin Rhodes and Ruby Soho back in WWE some day.

The Legit Boss appeared on NBC Sports Boston’s Ten Count podcast to promote Friday’s SmackDown from her hometown at the DCU Center.

During her chat with host Steve Fall, Banks spoke about Cody Rhodes’ return to WWE, her history-making win at WrestleMania 38, her role on Star Wars: The Mandalorian and much more.

Sasha Banks Invites Jon Moxley Back to WWE

While discussing Cody Rhodes returning “home” to WWE, Banks said she’d like to see several other AEW stars join him. She specifically named Dean Ambrose (Jon Moxley), Goldust (Dustin Rhodes) and Ruby Riot (Ruby Soho).

“It’s good to see the Rhodes’ back in WWE, you know.. Next, let’s bring back Goldust,” said Banks. “Let’s bring them all back. Dean Ambrose, you want to come? Let’s go! The more the merrier. Let’s do it!”

Banks wasn’t done name-dropping AEW talent. She’d also like to see Ruby Soho back on the WWE roster.

“I would love to see Ruby Riot back in the WWE Universe, yes,” she added. “Yes, absolutely. That’s one of them.”

It remains to be seen if Jon Moxley, Dustin Rhodes and Ruby Riot have any interest in going back to WWE. However, it’s interesting to see Sasha Banks at least extend the invite.

Check out Sasha Banks’ interview with Steve Fall of NBC Sports Boston:

Brock Lesnar Removed from WrestleMania Backlash Promotion

Jon Fuentes
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Brock Lesnar might not get his rematch with Roman Reigns for the WWE Championship after all.

Lesnar dropped his WWE Title to Reigns in the main event of Night Two of WrestleMania 38 in Dallas, Texas earlier this month. While WWE WrestleMania Backlash is usually supposed to be focused around WrestleMania rematches, “The Beast” might not be on the show at all. Initially, Lesnar was advertised for both WrestleMania Backlash and Money In The Bank later this year.

Although he was still advertised for both shows shortly after WrestleMania, now, WWE has updated their events page, and Lesnar is no longer being advertised for Backlash. As of this writing, Lesnar is still being advertised for Money In The Bank, which is slated to go down from the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday, July 2.

It remains to be seen what’s next for Lesnar in regards to his professional wrestling career. There are currently no reports as to whether or not a rematch between he and Reigns is even on the table creatively. Currently, Reigns is on both Monday Night RAW and SmackDown Live, now holding the WWE and Universal Championships. He seem to be focused on accumulating as much gold as possible for The Bloodline, urging The Usos, already the SmackDown Live Tag Team Champions, to unify the Tag Team Titles with RAW Tag Champs RK-Bro.

It will be interesting to see who WWE decides to pair Reigns with for the WrestleMania Backlash event with Brock Lesnar now seemingly being pulled. WrestleMania Backlash will go down live from the Dunkin’ Donuts Center in Providence, Rhode Island on Sunday, May 8.

Becky Lynch Named One of the World’s “Top Female Game-Changers”

Michael Reichlin
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Glazia Magazine has named WWE Superstar Becky Lynch one of the Top Female Game-Changers in the 21st Century.

Big Time Becks is in pretty good company. Some of the other honorees include:

  • US Vice President Kamala Harris
  • First Lady Michelle Obama
  • Activist Greta Thunberg
  • Model and beauty queen Agbani Darego
  • World Trade Organization Director General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala
  • Media mogul Mo Abudu

Glazia’s profile on Lynch says, “Lynch stands for [equality] and women empowerment in every sector.

The multi-time WWE Women’s Champion is also quoted saying, “With women empowerment and women coming together, it’s not about being better than the guys or whatever. It’s not just about collaboration; it’s about being equal people and having more of a highlight on women’s athletics, and just women being equal in every aspect.”

Congratulation to Becky Lynch.

Sonya Deville vs. Bianca Belair Official for WrestleMania Backlash

Michael Reichlin
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Sonya Deville has stepped up as the first challenger to new Raw Women’s Champion, Bianca Belair. Deville will get her title shot at WrestleMania Backlash on May 8th.

The EST of WWE regained the title from Becky Lynch at WrestleMania. At Monday’s Raw, she made short work of Zelina Vega. After the match, Deville came out to present Belair with a contract for her next title defense.

Deville hyped up the mystery opponent and called for a drum roll and as part of the elaborate introduction. She proceeded she proceeded to attack Belair from behind, revealing herself to be the #1 contender for the Raw women’s title.

Later in the show, Deville’s colleague Adam Pearce approached her backstage and accused her of abusing her power as an authority figure. Deville brushed off the comment and promised to shock the world by winning the championship.

On Wednesday’s episode of WWE’s The Bump, the match was made official. Sonya Deville vs. Bianca Belair has been signed as one of the top matches for WrestleMania Backlash 2022.

Bianca Belair Ready for Sonya Deville

Backstage correspondent Sarah Schreiber caught up with Bianca Belair after Sonya Deville’s attack at Raw.

Belair said she “stays ready” for challenges like this.

“I stay ready, so I don’t have to get ready, and while Sonya Deville has been wearing suits and making matches for a year, I’ve been wearing titles and making history. So, let’s do it,” Belair said.

WWE UK PPV Tickets Seeing Record-Setting Demand

Michael Reichlin
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WWE will have no problem packing the house for September’s big UK event from Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales.

Earlier this week, WWE announced it is bringing a stadium event to the UK for the first time in nearly 30 years.

John Porco, WWE Senior Vice President, Live Events, says the show will leave a lasting memory “on par with SummerSlam at Wembley Stadium in 1992.”

Former WWE Champion Drew McIntyre took a victory lap over the news, writing on Twitter, “WE DID IT!!!”

WWE UK PPV Tickets

Fans who plan to attend have been encouraged to sign up for an “exclusive presale opportunity.” (Register here).

According to journalist Alex McCarthy, more than 59,000 people signed up for the Cardiff PPV in the first 24 hours. He wrote on Twitter that this demand marks a company record, including all WrestleMania shows.

It’s important to note these are pre-sale sign-ups, not tickets sold). However, the demand is certainly there for the WWE UK PPV tickets.

According to Wikipedia, the all-time attendance record for Principality Stadium is just over 78,000 fans for the Anthony Joshua v Carlos Takam boxing fight in October 2017.

SEScoops will provide an update when we learn about when tickets are going on sale for the September 3rd WWE UK PPV.

If you’re interested in wrestling ticket sales data, follow @WrestleTix on Twitter.

WWE NXT Results (4/12): Three Title Matches, Natalya Appears

Andrew Ravens
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The April 12, 2022 episode of WWE NXT aired live on the USA Network from Orlando, Florida at the Capitol Wrestling Center. 

WWE NXT Results 

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Cameron Grimes def. Solo Sikoa to retain North American Title. 

Von Wagner (w/Robert Stone) def. Ikemen Jiro.

Mandy Rose def. Dakota Kai to retain the NXT Women’s Championship.

Xyon Quinn def. Draco Anthony.Pretty Deadly wins gauntlet match to become new WWE NXT Tag Team Champions.

Here are the takeaways from this week’s show:

Natalya Appears

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Cora Jade cut a promo about how she fell short in a fatal 4-way at Stand & Deliver to win the NXT Women’s Title. She promised to bust her ass until she becomes champion and be like the heroes from her childhood like Natalya, Bayley, AJ Lee, and more. 

Natalya came out to the ring. Jade brought up meeting Natalya the night she made her debut. Natalya brought up a DM she sent Jade in 2011. Natalya said destiny is always chasing. They praised each other and Natalya cried. Natalya said Jade is the future of NXT, but the future is bleak. Natalya slapped her and locked in the sharpshooter. 

They will wrestle next week. 

Family Fallout 

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Bron Breakker beat Gunther last week to retain the NXT Title. Post-match, Rick Steiner was seen locked in a shark tank. Joe Gacy said let’s see if we can teach this dog new tricks.

This week, Breakker came out for a promo where he stated that Gacy wanted to get his attention and he got it. He said his dad is home now, but Joe had some nerve to do what he did. Bron said his father is a legend in this business and wanted Joe to come out. 

Joe was seen over a fire in the woods. He said he got to understand Bron and he knows why Bron is so tough because Rick took a beating like a man. Joe had Rick’s Hall Of Fame ring. He said a family can only be tested by fire and dropped the ring in the fire. 

Women’s Title Match

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Mandy Rose defended the NXT Women’s Championship against Dakota Kai on this show. 

The match was back and forth. Kai had a nearfall when she hit a double foot stomp. Another close call was when Kai hit a reverse neck breaker. Kai kicked off Jayne and Rose hit a big boot for the win. 

Rose was involved in the finish of last week’s NXT Women’s Tag Team Title match that saw Jacey Jayne and Gigi Dolin regain the titles from Kai and Raquel Gonzalez. Kai promised to get revenge. Raquel was called up to SmackDown last Friday. 

North American Title Match

3 nxt

Cameron Grimes defended the NXT North American Championship against Solo Sikoa.

Silkoa had a strong performance. Trick Williams tried to interfere by attacking Silkoa, but was laid out. Grimes won with a stomp. Post-match, Carmelo attacked Grimes. Williams laid out Silkoa. 

Last week, Grimes came out to celebrate his North American Title win, but was interrupted by Sikoa, who said the hard part about being a champion is defending the title. Grimes said he had to fight every day to be here and told Solo that the match was on.

Gauntlet Match

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Grayson Waller & Sanga, Legado del Fantasma, The Creed Brothers, Josh Briggs & Brooks Jensen, and Pretty Deadly battled it out in the gauntlet match with the winners becoming the new NXT Tag Team Champions. 

The titles were vacated by MSK once Nash Carter was released by the company after domestic abuse allegations were made against him by his wife, Kimber Lee, and a photo of Carter posing as Adolph Hitler came out. 

The match opened with Creed Brothers and Legado del Fantasma. Next in were Briggs and Jensen, who put Brutus through a table. Brutus tackled Jensen for the elimination. Waller and Sanga were next. The Creeds eliminated Waller and Sanga. The final team in were Pretty Deadly, who won the match when they hit their finishers to Brutus. 

Pretty Deadly Wins Vacant NXT Tag Team Titles

Andrew Ravens
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Pretty Deadly are the new WWE NXT Tag Team Champions after winning a 5-team gauntlet match on Tuesday’s episode of NXT 2.0. They outlasted Grayson Waller & Sanga, Legado del Fantasma, The Creed Brothers, and Josh Briggs & Brooks Jensen in the match. 

It opened with Creed Brothers eliminating Legado del Fantasma before Briggs and Jensen came out as the third team. A spot saw Brutus get slammed through announce table. Finally, Brutus eliminated Jensen to bring out Waller and Sanga as the fourth team. The final team was Pretty Deadly. The former WWE NXT UK stars hit their finishers on Brutus to win the bout and the titles. 

Last week, WWE announced the titles had been vacated but didn’t mention MSK or what led to the titles being vacated. MSK won the titles in a triple threat match at Stand & Deliver. However, Nash Carter was released by the company just days after winning the titles. Wes Lee is still with the company. 

Carter faces domestic abuse allegations made by his wife, Kimber Lee, and that is reportedly not the reason why the company let him go. Instead, the decision to fire him was due to the photo of Carter posing as Adolph Hitler.

MSK was originally scheduled to defend the NXT Tag Team Titles against Grayson Waller and Sanga on Tuesday’s show.

The Rock Teases Roman Reigns WrestleMania Match on Young Rock

Andrew Ravens
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The Rock has planted the seeds for a WrestleMania match with his cousin and Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns via Young Rock. 

During Tuesday’s episode of the NBC show about the early life of Dwayne Johnson, we see the actor playing Johnson watching wrestling with his family when a child actor playing Reigns jumped on him.

When little Reigns wanted to wrestle and told him to acknowledge him, Johnson’s actor stated that a match like that can only happen at WrestleMania. 

Here’s a clip from the show, courtesy of our friends at WrestlingNewsCo:

Over the last few years, there has been talk about this bout that would likely be Rock’s final match. It all came down to The Rock’s schedule as it would have to be clear and in addition to his movie commitments, he is also deeply involved with the XFL when it re-launches next spring.

As recently as last month, Dave Meltzer talked about the working plan for next year’s WrestleMania and he said that The Rock wants to do the match but nothing is etched in stone.

The other big match expected for next year at WrestleMania 39 is Becky Lynch vs. Ronda Rousey.

Rok-C Makes WWE NXT In-Ring Debut With New Name

Andrew Ravens
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At Tuesday’s WWE NXT Level Up tapings before NXT 2.0 went live on the USA Network, Rok-C made her NXT debut with a new name. 

She is now going under the name Roxanne Perez and defeated Sloane Jacobs. This marked her first match since WWE confirmed her signing last month.

She was trained by WWE Hall Of Famer Booker T at his Reality of Wrestling promotion. In 2021, she started to make a name for herself during her time in Ring of Honor. She worked in a tournament to become first-ever ROH Women’s World Champion as she beat Miranda Alize in the finals. 

She defeated Willow Nightingale to retain the championship at Final Battle in December before the promotion went on hiatus. She lost it to Deonna Purrazzo on the episode of Impact Wrestling that aired on January 13. Prior to signing with WWE, she also held the AAA Reina de Reinas Championship.

Damon Kemp vs. Troy Donovan and Tatum Paxley vs. Kiana James were other matches taped at the show that will air this Friday night on Peacock. 

WWE Shows Off New NXT Championship Belt Designs

Andrew Ravens
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WWE has changed up the designs of the two top titles for the NXT brand.

Bron Breakker currently holds the NXT Title while Mandy Rose is the Women’s Champion. To reflect the change in the brand, the company has added some more colors to the belts. 

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Bron Breakker became a two-time WWE NXT Champion when he defeated Dolph Ziggler on the Raw After WrestleMania episode earlier this month. Ziggler won the NXT Title on the March 8 edition of NXT 2.0 in a triple threat match that featured Tommaso Ciampa and Breakker. 

Breakker got his rematch for the WWE NXT Title against Ziggler in the main event of the Stand & Deliver event, but Ziggler retained despite being a huge underdog. Breakker won the NXT Title for the first time from Ciampa at New Year’s Evil in January. 

Rose defeated Gonzalez to win the NXT Women’s Championship at Halloween Havoc. Also at Stand & Deliver, Rose defended her title against Cora Jade, Kay Lee Ray, and Io Shirai in a fatal 4-way bout.

On Tuesday’s episode of NXT 2.0, Rose defended the title against Dakota Kai. On this same episode, WWE will crown new NXT Tag Team Champions after the titles were vacated. 

5-Team Gauntlet Match Will Determine New NXT Tag Champs

NWA Powerrr Results (4/12)

Tyriece Simon
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The Apr. 12 episode of NWA Powerrr took place at the Skyway Studios in Nashville, Tennesse.

The main event saw NWA World Heavyweight Champion Matt Cardona defend his title against The Pope. The episode also had the debut of Kilynn King, who challenged Natalya Markova. Besides the main event, NWA promoted King’s debut as an important part of the show. The episode is available on video on demand on FITE and will premiere on Youtube on Friday.

NWA Powerrr Quick Results

  1. The show opened with Nick Aldis discussing the main event. He shared that regardless of the result, he still has intentions of challenging Cardona.
  2. The Commonwealth Connection defeated The Dirty Sexy Boys
  3. Austin Idol did a backstage promo. Idol revealed that he is Cyan’s father.
  4. Kilynn King defeated Natalya Markova
  5. Mims did a backstage promo shared that he wants to challenge Tyrus to the bodyslam challenge. He was also asked about the main event and felt confident about The Pope chances of winning.
  6. La Rebellion did a promo at the podium to call out the Briscoes. However, The Briscoes didn’t appear. Mecha Wolf expressed that The Briscoes will have to kill them to win to NWA Tag Team Championships.
  7. Aron Stevens appeared in a backstage sitdown segment called Heart 2 Heart. He was asked about how he felt about getting attacked by Trevor Murdoch last week. Stevens expressed that he was hurt by Murdoch actions and discussed how close they were.
  8. The Miserable Faithful with Father James Mitchell defeated Colby Corino & The Fixers
  9. Jennacide did a backstage promo to reveal that she is going to be a singles wrestler moving forward in NWA, after her split from Taryn Terrell and Paola Blaze on Mar. 22.
  10. Matt Cardona defeated The Pope to retain the NWA World Heavyweight Championship

The show ends with NWA Commentator Velvet Sky expressing displeasure at Cardona’s win as he leaves with his title.

Adam Scherr & Buff Bagwell Get Into Verbal Spat Following CYN Diss

Fernando Quiles Jr.
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Adam Scherr, formerly known as Braun Strowman in WWE, found himself beefing with Buff Bagwell before cooler heads prevailed.

Scherr has been at the center of controversy with the CYN promotion, which is the brainchild of EC3. The promotion has gotten its share of flak from those on social media. Some have accused CYN of being an escape for QAnon and alt-right groups.

CYN has become a bit of a joke on Twitter and Scherr has seen enough.

Adam Scherr & Buff Bagwell Trade Barbs

Former WCW star Buff Bagwell hopped on Twitter to crack a joke about CYN.

“I just joined CYN. Wait, never mind, it was just gas.”

Scherr didn’t find the joke amusing and he fired back, bringing up Bagwell’s history of legal troubles.

“Funny you gonna try and throw shade cause what you think it’s the cool thing to do. You wanna look edgy?? Cause you sure were a mark asking to take a picture with me. You should probably worry about your narrative.”

Bagwell fired back, bringing up one of Scherr’s past incidents.

“Should I have done it on the water? Adam Scherr something about glass houses. I’m open about my past mistakes, and tend not to bring others up against them. You got offended because I made a joke about something I didn’t even know you were part of because I didn’t know you.”

Scherr insisted that most of the image that Bagwell posted was fake.

“Did I get a driving ticket on a boat? Yes. The rest of that picture you posted is fake. I wasn’t with WWE, definitely didn’t spend the night in jail. Paid my ticket and went on about life.”

The former WWE Champion later called for peace with Bagwell.

“And I’ll man up right now and admit I came at you too hard. I went for the kill. And shouldn’t have. I understand you didn’t know I was a part of CYN. But imagine you being one of the boys taking shots at a place giving work to other wrestlers.

“We should be sticking together to better the industry. It’s toxic enough with the IWC. We shouldn’t be going at each other on social. Best wishes.”

Bagwell agreed, thus ending the brief Twitter spat.

“I agree we should be sticking together, but we also need to listen to the fans, even the ones we don’t like because they pay our bills. Let’s all be better, much love brother.”

Johnny Gargano Not Ruling Out WWE Return

Jon Fuentes
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Arguably the hottest free agent in professional wrestling, former NXT star Johnny Gargano isn’t ruling out a return to WWE.

Gargano’s contract with WWE ran out back in December, and the former NXT Champion decided not to re-sign. Over the course of his run with WWE, Gargano was a huge part of the NXT brand, racking up an NXT Title run, three NXT North American Championship wins, and an NXT Tag Team Title run with Tommaso Ciampa.

However, after several years on NXT, Gargano felt his character was getting a bit stale, and decided to set out for greener pastures. Now, a few months after leaving WWE, Gargano opened up about his free agency situation during an interview on Your Story with Mike Wexler.

In regards to where he could end up next, Gargano says a WWE return is possible, as he has some unfulfilled goals in the company he hadn’t yet accomplished.

“I mean all my options are open right now, I am very open about that,” Gargano said (via Wrestling Inc.). “I don’t know what I want to do yet. It’s one of those things where I am kind of in a time period of my life where I am figuring that out. I am figuring out what my goal is, what lasting legacy I want to leave. I do have a lot of unfulfilled things in WWE that I still want to accomplish.

“So, there is WWE, there’s AEW, there’s New Japan, there’s doing a run on the indie scene. There’s a lot of things that I am kind of debating, working at right now. I don’t know when, and I don’t where I am going to return. But, I promise you when I do you all will know.”

Of course, there’s no shortage of promotions for Johnny Gargano to choose from. Obviously All Elite Wrestling (AEW) is a hot spot for talents leaving WWE at the moment. New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) is also an option for the 34-year-old. It will be interesting to see where “Johnny Wrestling” ultimately lands when it’s all said and done.

Minoru Suzuki Warns, “Samoa Joe is Going to Feel a Lot of Pain”

Tyriece Simon
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Minoru Suzuki plans to inflict a great deal of pain on Samoa Joe when they meet in the ring this Wednesday at AEW Dynamite.

All Elite Wrestling surprised wrestling fans last week by announcing Suzuki will defend the Ring of Honor Television Championship against the Samoan Submission Machine. This will be Suzuki’s first title defense he captured the gold from Rhett Titus at ROH’s Supercard of Honor back on Apr. 1.

While fans are excited about the title bout, but the New Japan Pro Wrestling veteran isn’t letting the hype distract him. In an interview with Sports Illustrated the champion shared his thoughts on his upcoming title defense against Joe.

“Many fans think this matchup is very special, but for me, I have to stay true to myself,” Suzuki told Justin Barrasso. “…I am here to hurt people. The opponent truly does not matter. This week, I will make Samoa Joe suffer.”

Samoa Joe Minoru Suzuki

More on Minoru Suzuki’s Thoughts on Samoa Joe

Wrestling fans are expecting Suzuki vs. Joe to be a very physical match. Both competitors have a very aggressive and hard-hitting style in the ring, making for a fascinating title match. The man who is (lovingly) known as Murder Grandpa is ready for the title defense. However, he questions if Joe is prepared for what he plans to do.

“People are brave until they step into the ring with me, said Suzuki (h/t Barrasso). He explained, “Hopefully, Samoa Joe is not scared. I don’t know him well, but he will know me by the time we are done.”

Suzuki concluded by saying, “…I hurt people, that is what I do. Samoa Joe is going to feel a lot of pain.”

The Apr. 13 episode of AEW Dynamite could be an exciting show based on the matches announced. The episode also has the AEW Tag Team Champions Jurassic Express defending their titles against reDRagon. It’s unclear which title match will be the main event of this week’s AEW Dynamite.

Jay Lethal also teased a present for Joe on this week’s episode. Lethal could have some interference in the title bout, which may upset fans. Although, it may lead to a feud between Lethal and Joe, who have a history from their time in Impact Wrestling. Regardless, the matchups of Suzuki vs. Joe and Jurassic Express vs. reDRagon could result in good TV rating numbers for AEW.

Booker T: Is Tony Khan Losing His Damn Mind?

Jon Fuentes
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Two-time WWE Hall Of Famer Booker T recently took to his podcast, “The Hall Of Fame,” to offer his thoughts on All Elite Wrestling (AEW) president Tony Khan’s recent controversial comments.

For those who missed it, Khan claimed that an independent study confirms that an online “bot army” has been deployed to spread negativity about AEW on social media. Khan didn’t name anyone specifically for who was behind the “thousands” of Twitter accounts using bots to derail AEW’s image, but noted “Look closely, these aren’t real people.”

While the AEW frontman didn’t name WWE as the accused, he did ask “Who’d pay for such a wildly expensive thing?” As expected, Khan’s comments were met with a ton of blowback, and Booker T’s thoughts were no different. The Hall Of Famer asked if Khan is “losing his damn mind?”

“Is Tony Khan losing his damn mind? I know he’s off into analytics, I think he works in that field, but people are going to hate, okay? Everybody is not going to like ya,” Booker T said (via Wrestling Inc.). “I know Eric Bischoff said that Tony Khan had thin skin, and this came out right after that. I don’t know if that proves that or not.”

Booker T also went on to suggest that AEW should take such comments as nothing more than exactly that – comments. He also noted that he has only ever seen nothing but positive comments about AEW on social media before all of this. With that being said, despite the controversial comments, Khan seems focused on making sure AEW continues to thrive for years to come.

WWE Reportedly Had Plans to Pair Pat McAfee & Aaron Rodgers

Jon Fuentes
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WWE reportedly had a golden idea for a Pat McAfee and Aaron Rodgers tag team that never materialized.

According to a report from Sports Illustrated, shortly after McAfee’s loss at NXT Takeover: WarGames in late 2020, where he was topped by Adam Cole and The Undisputed Era, WWE had plans to bring McAfee back to NXT. The idea was to have McAfee attack Cole before aligning himself with a new partner. That partner would’ve been Green Back Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

Of course, the idea never came to fruition, but it certainly would’ve brought some mainstream coverage to NXT. That’s not to say the idea isn’t completely out of the realm of possibilities. McAfee and Rodgers are good friends, as the four-time NFL MVP and former Super Bowl Champion is a frequent guest on “The Pat McAfee Show.” With McAfee so highly regarded within the company, WWE could certainly attempt to make the idea a reality down the road.

McAfee in particular recently had his WrestleMania debut when he faced Austin Theory in a one-on-one bout at Night Two of WrestleMania 38 in Dallas, Texas last week. Although he won the match, his victory was short-lived as Vince McMahon entered the ring soon after, ordering the referee to begin an impromptu match between the pair that quickly saw “The Chairman Of The Board” win.

And if a victory at WrestleMania wasn’t enough, McAfee also got to celebrate with WWE Hall Of Famer Stone Cold Steve Austin, who hit the ring for the save after the matchup with McMahon. Austin shared a beer with McAfee before giving him a stunner for good measure as well.

Matt Hardy Reveals First Advice Steve Austin Ever Gave Him

Jon Fuentes
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With WWE Hall Of Famer Stone Cold Steve Austin recently making headlines with his in-ring return at WrestleMania 38, All Elite Wrestling (AEW) star Matt Hardy took to The Extreme Life Of Matt Hardy to offer his take on the situation.

Matt and his brother, Jeff, were on the rise within WWE during Austin’s iconic superstar run in the late 90s, so the tag team legends got the opportunity to brush shoulders with “The Texas Rattlesnake” from time to time. During that time, Matt says he developed a great relationship with Austin, and called him to congratulate him on the in-ring return last week in Dallas.

Austin had an impromptu match with Kevin Owens after what was initially expected to be a special edition of “The KO Show” segment instead. However, after Owens challenged Austin to a No Holds Barred match, Austin accepted and subsequently hit the stunner for the victory in what was Austin’s first match in over 19 years.

While discussing his relationship with Austin, Hardy also recalled the first bit of advice the Texan ever gave him regarding his in-ring work. It’s a piece of advice he still utilizes to this day.

“One of the first things he told me from a serious aspect,” Hardy said (via Wrestling Inc.). “I remember when I would make comebacks. I would come in and I would punch, punch, punch, punch, and if guys were bumping and feeding. He was like, ‘man, just think about this. Maybe come in and just clothesline them, and take their head off.

“To me, it looks a lot more vicious and like, legitimate. And the more legitimate you look, the better it is for you.’ And that’s a piece of advice that I always held dear, and I always followed as well. Like, if I am ever doing something and guys are bumping multiple times in the comeback, I will give a stiff-ass clothesline where I take their head off, as opposed to a punch.

“It always looks better too, and that came from Stone Cold. That’s one of the first pieces of advice he gave me back when Jeff and I were still wearing tights.”

As for Hardy, he signed with AEW back in March of 2020 after his run with WWE ended when his contract expired. He and Jeff have since reunited as The Hardys after the latter signed with AEW in March.

Tony Khan Would Like to See Conor McGregor & Floyd Mayweather in AEW

Jon Fuentes
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Tony Khan isn’t afraid to go all-in with bringing combat sports stars into All Elite Wrestling (AEW). Khan recently signed former UFC and Bare Knuckle FC (BKFC) fighter Paige VanZant to AEW last month.

VanZant has amassed quite a following over her young combat sports career, and will be bringing those eyeballs over to AEW. However, if Khan would like to, there’s a lot more opportunity to be had when it comes to poaching combat sports stars. Speaking to ESPN, Khan was asked what other combat stars he’d consider bringing into AEW.

Khan didn’t hesitate to name the two biggest stars in combat sports today – Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather.

“I’m thinking Conor McGregor or Floyd Mayweather, probably, are the two biggest draws, I think,” Khan said. “I don’t know for sure. I’d probably say one of those two. They’re both huge stars.”

While only Mayweather has some professional wrestling experience, McGregor has expressed his interest in delving into the world on numerous occasions. Recently, McGregor commented on not attending WrestleMania 38 from Dallas, Texas earlier this month. The Irishman is healing up from a leg injury that he suffered in his last fight against Dustin Poirier last year.

He’s currently preparing to make his return to the Octagon later this year, making a potential professional wrestling appearance highly unlikely in the meantime. As for Mayweather, now that he’s retired from professional boxing, perhaps Tony Khan could lure him into the squared circle for the right price. “Money” actually competed at WrestleMania 24 back in 2008, defeating The Big Show in a No Disqualification match.

Ezekiel Provides Convincing Evidence He’s Not Elias

Michael Reichlin
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Ezekiel has produced a photo that should clear up any confusion regarding his true identity.

The handsome, clean-shaved grappler made his WWE TV debut last week on the Raw after WrestleMania. He bears a striking resemblance to WWE Superstar Elias, but maintains they are not the same person.

Ezekiel claims to be Elias’ younger brother and doesn’t understand why anyone would question him on this.

Are Elias and Ezekiel the same person?

On Tuesday, Ezekiel re-posted a photo on Instagram of himself with Elias:

Several wrestlers have commented on his IG post and back up Ezekliel’s story.

Madcap Moss wrote, “I think I took this picture.” AEW star Cesar Benoni added, “I was there that day.”

It remains to be seen if this “evidence” will be enough to convince skeptics like Kevin Owens. For now, we’ll have to take Ezekiel at this word.

On Monday’s edition of Raw Talk, Ezekiel continued answering allegations that he’s actually Elias.

Chris Dickinson Signs with New Japan Pro Wrestling

Michael Reichlin
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Chris Dickinson has officially signed with New Japan Pro Wrestling.

On Tuesday, the “Dirty Daddy” posted a message on Instagram announcing the big career move.

“I am beyond proud to announce that I have officially signed an agreement with New Japan Pro Wrestling,” he wrote. “I’ve heard you all for years say I should sign with other companies and I appreciate everyone of your hopes for my success but this is what I’ve always wanted.”

Dickinson says his decision to sign with NJPW at this time was partially based on the easing of pandemic-related travel restrictions.

He intends to continue working independent dates in the US and overseas, but NJPW is now his home cmopany.

“With the companies expansion in the USA on the rise and Japan finally reopening, the future is brighter than ever,” he continued. “I am still available to work independently in the USA and internationally excluding Japan but NJPW is now home. Let’s continue to bring the highest level of pro wrestling to the world together.”

Congratulations to Chris Dickinson.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CcQKW3Qus7Y/

Watch Fozzy Receive RIAA Gold Record for Judas Album

Michael Reichlin
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Last month, Chris Jericho’s metal band Fozzy was awarded awarded a gold record by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

Judas, the group’s seventh studio album, surpassed 500,000 units sold.

The self-titled lead single from the 2017 album serves as Chris Jericho’s AEW entrance theme. (Judas Lyrics and Music Video)

On Monday, Fozzy was awarded its RIAA gold record before their concert at the Gramercy Theater in New York City.

Jericho posted this video showing off the prestigious award:

Jericho brought Fozzy’s gold record on stage and showed it off to the crowd:

Rey Mysterio Missed Raw Due to Undisclosed Medical Issue

Anutosh Bajpai
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Rey Mysterio was conspicuously absent from Monday’s WWE Raw.

The Master of the 619 was advertised for the show, but was nowhere to be found. Dave Meltzer addressed Mysterio’s whereabouts on Wrestling Observer Radio. According to Meltzer, Mysterio missed Raw due to undisclosed medical issue.

Mysterio was scheduled to face Veer Mahan at Raw. The match was set up after Veer attacked both Reyand his son Dominik during the post-Mania edition of Raw.

When it became apparent that Mysterio would not be wrestling Veer on Raw, Dominik came out in his place. Veer came and defeated Dominik with relative ease.

After the match, Veer attacked the third generation star, who was stretchered out of the arena.

SEScoops will provide an update when we obtain more information about Rey Mysterio’s condition.

Based on the angle WWE had set up for Raw, it looks like we were headed to a showdown between Mysterio and Veer at Wrestlemania Backlash.

Whether or not this happens will depend on when Mysterio’s return timeframe.

JBL Reveals Commentary Advice Vince McMahon Gave Him

Jon Fuentes
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WWE Hall Of Famer JBL not only had a strong presence inside the ring, but at the broadcast table as well.

Layfield joined WWE back in 1995; racking up runs as WWE Champion, Intercontinental Champion, United States Champion, Hardcore Champion, Tag Team Champion, and more. After getting off a full-time schedule as an in-ring performer, JBL joined the WWE broadcast team in 2006. Although he still wrestled part-time, Layfield became a staple in WWE’s commentating team over the next decade.

Recently, the WWE Hall Of Famer joined The Universal Wrestling Podcast to talk about a number of topics. In regards to his role as commentator, Layfield revealed some advice he got from Vince McMahon himself – who also used to do commentary during the early days of WWF.

“‘John, it’s not radio,’” JBL said (via Wrestling Inc.). “‘You don’t have to tell them it’s a dropkick. You don’t have to tell them it’s a Saito suplex and show off that you know what it was.’

“People can see that. They need to know who this character is and why they should care about them. Once you realize that, you understand Vince’s mind for commentary.”

JBL stepped away from the commentary team in 2017, instead deciding to focus more on his projects outside of the world of wrestling. However, Layfield has made some sporadic WWE TV appearances since then, including his Hall Of Fame induction in 2020. He also served as a panelist for the WrestleMania 38 pre-shows in his home-state of Texas earlier this month.

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