Cody Rhodes made his surprise return to WWE at WrestleMania 38 this past weekend, as he was revealed as the mystery opponent for Seth Rollins. Rhodes emerged victorious after an excellent bout against Rollins, making quite the statement in his return to the company he left in 2016.
While many predicted Rhodes was going to be the one to face Rollins at WrestleMania, WWE still tried to keep his return a secret, keeping him in a bus until it was time for him to make his entrance for the match. However, speaking to The Ringer recently, “The American Nightmare” admitted that he actually ran into Triple H just before hitting the ring.
“There’s no secret Triple H is my favorite wrestler ever, even though I broke his throne, and badmouthed him to the earth,” Rhodes said (via Wrestling Inc.). “He’s the last person I saw before I went out there, and now I have to tell him. But the pedigree itself, everything in there, even the stuff I messed up, I wouldn’t change.
“That one jab felt good. This is my life’s education, I sat under the greatest learning tree for 20 years. It took me a while to figure this stuff out, but I’ve got it now. I just have to keep getting it now.”
After the match, Rhodes returned to Monday Night RAW earlier this week, cutting an emotional, unscripted promo about his father, the late WWE Hall Of Famer Dusty Rhodes. He also declared his intentions to win a WWE World Title, a feat that eluded him during his first run with the company. Also, to close out the segment, Rollins hit the ring to confront Rhodes, and the pair ended up shaking hands in a mutual sign of respect.
It will be interesting to see who Cody Rhodes feuds with first now that he’s back in WWE, and clearly has World Title aspirations to get started on.
XFL is gearing up for a return under new management. Vince McMahon had been adamant about making his own football league work after a dismal attempt in 2001. He revived the XFL and the regular season began in Feb. 2020.
While the XFL was declining in the ratings after week one, many applauded Vince for stepping aside and letting actual football people run the show. The league ended up being canceled amid the COVID-19 pandemic, however.
The Rock Ushers In New Era For XFL
A consortium led by The Rock, Dany Garcia, and Gerry Cardinale now own the XFL. Rock took to his Twitter account to post a video hyping up the 2023 XFL season. Included in the clip is a look at the new logo.
Pumped to reveal our new @XFL2023 logo as we build our organization and shape our one of a kind, hungry XFL culture. X represents the INTERSECTION OF DREAMS & OPPORTUNITY. To all our XFL players, coaches, fans; You bring the dreams – we’ll bring the opportunity. Now LFG!#XFL2023pic.twitter.com/ucbSjiBVwf
“Pumped to reveal our new XFL logo as we build our organization and shape our one-of-a-kind, hungry XFL culture. X represents the INTERSECTION OF DREAMS & OPPORTUNITY. To all our XFL players, coaches, fans; You bring the dreams – we’ll bring the opportunity. Now LFG!”
Next week’s episode of WWE NXT 2.0 is shaping up to be quite a jam-packed show. We now have three title bouts set for the April 12 show.
First, WWE has announced that NXT Women’s Champion Mandy Rose will defend her title against Dakota Kai, shortly after Rose cost Kai and Raquel Gonzalez the NXT Women’s Tag Team Championships to her fellow Toxic Attraction stablemates just a week ago.
After their confrontation last night, WWE NXT Tag Team Champions MSK will put their titles up for grabs against the team of Grayson Waller and Sanga. Waller still isn’t fully healthy after Stand & Deliver, as he has his arm in a sling, but that won’t hold him back from taking up the title opportunity.
And lastly, Solo Sikoa challenged newly-crowned NXT North American Champion Cameron Grims on this week’s episode of WWE NXT. Now, the matchup is official, as Grimes will put his title up for grabs for the first time after winning it at Stand & Deliver.
Also, a pair of singles bouts between Kushida and Von Wagner, as well as Xyon Quinn and Draco Anthony are slated for the show. With all that being said, it’s going to be quite the show next week, live on the USA Network.
Check out the updated card for the April 12 episode of WWE NXT 2.0 below:
NXT Women’s Championship: Mandy Rose (c) vs. Dakota Kai
NXT Tag Team Championship: MSK (c) vs. Grayson Waller and Sanga
NXT North American Championship: Cameron Grimes (c) vs. Solo Sikoa
Cody Rhodes knows the possibility of a showdown with Roman Reigns exists.
Cody made his long-speculated return to WWE on night one of WrestleMania 38. He was the mystery opponent for Seth Rollins. Cody ended up scoring the pinfall victory in a highly praised match.
Reigns was also in action at WrestleMania 38 but he took the stage for the main event on night two. “The Tribal Chief” pinned Brock Lesnar to become the undisputed WWE Universal Champion. That means as of now, there is only one men’s world champion in WWE.
Cody Rhodes vs. Roman Reigns?
On the post-WrestleMania episode of Raw, Cody Rhodes made his intentions clear. “The American Nightmare” said he returned to WWE to become a world champion.
During an appearance on WWE’s The Bump, Rhodes said that a match with Reigns is there but the journey has some more pitstops (h/t PW Torch).
“When I left here, Roman Reigns was on top. And I think Roman Reigns was experiencing some of the negative byproduct of being on top. Some of the pushback that a new face, a new individual, but the thing that makes a champion in any company in anything is consistency.
“And we he said ‘Dallas, Texas, acknowledge me,’ and whether they’re supposed to boo, cheer, whatever it might be, and they acknowledged him? You want to know a term that’s often really overused in what we do? It’s ‘over.’ Oh this guy’s so over, she’s so over. No, over is years and years and years of work to where fans follow you.
“That’s part of my song,” Rhodes said of his relationship to fans. “I’ll follow you to the end. That’s how I feel about the fans and hopefully that’s a mutual thing. He’s (Reigns) truly gotten over via consistency and via hard work. What he has going now with Paul Heyman and The Usos, it’s a very intimidating presence. It exists. There’s a match out there. That is likely ‘the match’ that exists out there. But before the match, you have to cross paths in some capacity and we haven’t yet. And I look forward to that.”
Cody may very well still be involved in a feud with Rollins. The two shook hands on Raw but Rollins didn’t come across as sincere. In fact, even the commentary team hinted that there’s more to come with this rivalry.
Cody Rhodes insists that his promo on the Raw after WrestleMania 38 was not scripted.
While WrestleMania 38 received some solid reviews, even from those who have been known to criticize WWE, the post-Mania episode of Raw didn’t exactly carry the momentum over. One thing that stood out about the episode, however, was Cody’s highly-praised opening promo.
Cody discussed how he made a promise to his father that he’d win the big one in WWE and put the championship on his shoulder. Cody said that while he can no longer hand the WWE Championship or WWE Universal Title to “The American Dream,” he can still put it on around the waist of “The American Nightmare.”
Cody Rhodes’ First Promo Back In WWE Was Unscripted
Appearing on WWE’s The Bump, Cody Rhodes revealed that he simply spoke from the heart during the segment and was unfiltered (h/t F4WOnline).
“I was just able to go out and speak in an unscripted, raw fashion and tell a story about my dad that not everybody knows,” Rhodes said.
“I actually have the title I spoke about but not everybody knows that story. That was my original impetus and whole origin story on wanting to be a wrestler. So, to be able to tell the world that was very special.”
Once the April 4 episode of Raw stopped airing, Cody had a match with Kevin Owens. Rhodes won the match and talked to the crowd for a bit before sending them home.
It didn’t take Samoa Joe long to find his way into a tournament qualifier in AEW.
Of course, this isn’t your average tourney. This is the Owen Hart Cup. Joe will be in a qualifier match against Max Caster on the April 6 episode of Dynamite.
“Arriving last week at ROH Supercard Of Honor, Samoa Joe is signed with AEW & has said that he plans to dominate! Samoa Joe debuts in AEW vs. Max Caster in an Owen Hart Foundation Men’s Tournament Qualifier Bout on AEW Dynamite LIVE @ 8pm ET/7pm CT on TBS Network TOMORROW night!”
As Khan mentioned, Joe made a surprise appearance to close out Supercard of Honor on April 1. The AEW boss later confirmed that Joe is All Elite.
Joe made his intentions clear to media members. He hopes to hold both the AEW World Heavyweight Championship and the ROH World Championship.
The April 5, 2022 episode of WWE NXT aired live on the USA Network from Orlando, Florida at the Capitol Wrestling Center.
WWE NXT Results
The Creed Brothers (Brutus Creed & Julius Creed) def. Imperium (Marcel Barthel & Fabian Aichner).
Dexter Lumis vs. Duke Hudson goes to a double countout.
Toxic Attraction (Jacy Jayne & Gigi Dolin) def. Dakota Kai & Raquel Gonzalez to become the new NXT Women’s Tag Team Champions
Nikkita Lyons def. Lash Legend.
Bron Breakker def. Gunther to retain NXT Title
Here are the takeaways from this week’s show:
Title Match
Toxic Attraction (Gigi Dolin & Jacy Jayne) will get a rematch for the NXT Women’s Tag Team Titles against Raquel Gonzalez & Dakota Kai
Gonzalez and Kai won the NXT Women’s Tag Team titles from Dolin and Jayne on the Stand & Deliver pre-show this past Saturday.
This marked their second reign as NXT Women’s Tag Team Champions. They reunited on NXT last week when Gonzalez saved Kai from a beatdown by Toxic Attraction.
The match had plenty of time and they put on a solid performance. There was a near fall where Jayne knocked Raquel off the apron and hit a superkick to Kai for 2. Wendy Choo came out, but was tossed into the steel steps by Mandy Rose.
Jayne and Dolin hit their finisher to Raquel for the win.
Nikkita Lyons vs. Lash Legend was booked in a singles match.
This match was set up following a “Lashing Out with Lash Legend” segment where they had a heated confrontation. Legend interrupted Lyons’ victory celebration to state she was not finished with the prospect. She wanted to put an end to her business.
The match took place in the second hour and they tried their best. Lyons hit a superplex for 2. Lyons went over with her finisher.
New North American Champion Cameron Grimes addressed his title victory on this show. At Stand & Deliver this past Saturday, Grimes beat Carmelo Hayes, Santos Escobar, Grayson Waller, and Solo Sikoa in a ladder match to become the champion.
Grimes said his single parent father made him into the man he is today. He said that for the past three years, he has been busting his butt to prove that he belongs in WWE. Solo Solkoa came out and challenged him for a title match. Grimes said he respects him and he sees Solo as someone who has fought to be where he is today. Solo said that championships run all through his bloodline. Grimes accepted the challenge.
Although Dolph Ziggler retained the WWE NXT Title over Bron Breakker at NXT Stand & Deliver this past Saturday, Breakker beat Ziggler to win the title for a second time on Monday’s Raw.
So what happened on NXT this week with these two stars? Breakker opened the show with a promo. Some of the fans were chanting that they wanted Ziggler while the others said that they didn’t. Bron got booed. Bron said that this past weekend was a big one from the Hall Of Fame induction of his father and failed at Stand & Deliver. After watching WrestleMania, he decided to challenge Ziggler and got his title back on the biggest Raw of the year. Gunther came out and said that all he cares about is the NXT Title. Gunther said the title means you are the best in NXT and Bron isn’t the best until he steps into the ring with him. Bron challenged him to a match tonight.
The match saw Gunther pretty much dominate and Bron was selling his tail off. There were a few near falls to prove that Bron wouldn’t quit. Bron fought back and hit his finisher for the win.
Logan Paul made his in-ring debut at WWE WrestleMania 38 by teaming with The Miz against Rey & Dominik Mysterio. The heels went over in the match, but after it, Miz turned on Paul by laying him out with the Skull Crushing Finale.
Speaking on his Impaulsive podcast, Paul reflected on his in-ring debut. He noted that doing the frog splash and three amigos was just his way of getting heat.
“When I did the shimmy on the top rope, everyone was booing. No disrespect to Eddie Guerrero. We love Eddie Guerrero.”
Paul said wrestling was more fun than his boxing matches because the energy is different. He noted that he doesn’t have a WWE fan base and thinks that’s why they like him. He thinks he brings value by bridging the gap between the mainstream and the WWE world. He thinks he can make a way to make it mainstream.
“I want to be humble, and I will, but I’m good at this. I realized my whole life, I’ve been throwing my body off of things, I’m flexible, I do these stunts.”
Bron Breakker defeated Dolph Ziggler to win back his NXT Championship on Monday’s WWE Raw. This came after Breakker lost to Ziggler in the main event of the Stand & Deliver event in Dallas, Texas.
Bryan Alvarez stated on today’s Wrestling Observer Live that people close to NXT told him that Ziggler would be WWE NXT Champion for “a while,” indicating a longer title run. This was on Saturday.
Fast forward to Monday afternoon, he heard from several people that we’re gonna have an NXT Title change on the show
He pointed out how later in the show, WWE aired a commercial for Tuesday’s NXT 2.0 where it was all about how Ziggler beat Breakker at Stand & Deliever to retain the title and they would have the fallout from it on NXT. Thus, WWE made the late decision on Monday to have the title change as the original plans were for Ziggler to remain champion.
Alvarez speculated Breakker didn’t win the title on Saturday because they had plans to move him up to the main roster. However, plans changed and they decided to put the belt back on him.
WALTER built up his name over several years prior to getting to WWE and while with the NXT UK brand, he became the longest-reigning NXT UK Champion in history.
Earlier this year, WALTER went through a major name change and is now going by Gunther. WWE abandoned its trademark filing on the original name, Gunther Stark, once WWE received backlash over it. If you do a Google search, it reveals there was a person with the same name who severed as a Nazi Germany military commander during World War II.
Gunther admitted in a new interview that the name change did not bother him at all.
“Not all to be honest,” Gunther told Wrestling Inc. “If it would be the other way around, and it would be Gunther before and WALTER now, it would have been the same uproar. A lot of people react negatively to change. Change is normal in life, and it’s part of it, and we have to go with it.”
The NXT 2.0 star confirmed he is now based in America. At Saturday’s NXT Stand & Deliver special, Gunther beat LA Knight in a quick singles match.
Kevin Owens has spoken out on Triple H’s retirement.
HHH revealed to ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith that he has a defibrillator in his chest due to heart failure. As a result, he has officially retired from in-ring action.
Owens grew close to HHH during his time in NXT. The bond followed him all the way to the main roster when Triple H handed KO the WWE Universal Championship back in 2016.
Kevin Owens Wanted To Wrestle Triple H
Appearing on The Ringer‘s MackMania podcast, Kevin Owens lauded Triple H for doing so much for him in his career and revealed he wanted to wrestle “The Game.”
“Obviously, it sucks that he didn’t get to retire in the ring the way he should have but he’s obviously making the best decision for himself and his family. So, nobody can — that’s not a bad thing, that’s a good thing. I selfishly — he’s done more for me than anyone’s ever done in my career.
“I can say that safely and I always wanted to get in the ring with him. I always wanted to wrestle him. I got to team with him a few times, which was awesome. Never got to be on the opposite side of the ring and now I know I won’t get to.
“Honestly, people would ask me a lot about, ‘Well, who would you like to face at WrestleMania?’ My answers were always, I’d love to have a singles match with Sami Zayn, that happened last year. I’d love to be in the ring with Finn Balor at WrestleMania because next to Sami he’s the guy I’m the closest with, so I’d love to share that experience with him.
“And then obviously, I never thought it would be remotely possible but being in the ring with ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin at WrestleMania is incredible. Besides those three answers, if I could’ve had a dream WrestleMania match it would’ve been with Triple H.”
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The professional wrestling world is still buzzing over the WWE return of Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania 38 this past weekend. Rhodes was revealed as Seth Rollins’ mystery opponent for “The Showcase Of The Immortals,” and the pair put on an extraordinary matchup. It was “The American Nightmare’s” first appearance in WWE since leaving the company back in 2016.
Recently, former WCW president and ex-Monday Night RAW General Manager Eric Bischoff offered his thoughts on Rhodes’ WWE return during the latest episode of his podcast, “83 Weeks.” Bischoff noted how proud of Rhodes he was, calling the return “magic” in every aspect. He even revealed that he reached out to Rhodes after it all went down.
“Magic, just one word, magic,” Bischoff said (via Wrestling Inc.). “Everything from the entrance, the match, the post-match production, the visual reactions to the crowd, what element of that entire presentation was not a 10 on a scale of 1-10. I don’t know, I couldn’t pick it out.
“That was so good, I was so so happy to be able to watch that live. So proud and I reached out to Cody, we connected afterwards and I’m just so proud for him. I really really am.”
Rhodes also made his return to Monday Night RAW last night, delivering an emotional promo referencing his late father, WWE Hall Of Famer Dusty Rhodes. “The American Nightmare” made it clear that he has his eyes locked on a World Championship as he begins his second run with the company.
He closed out the segment by shaking Rollins’ hand in a showing of respect. Rhodes is also slated to be a guest on tomorrow’s episode of WWE The Bump, likely further discussing his return to the company.
Recently, newly-crowned WWE RAW Women’s Champion Bianca Belair spoke to SHAK Wrestling to talk about a wide variety of topics. One such topic was about what type of match she’d like to compete in that she hasn’t had the opportunity to so far. Belair was quick to answer that she really would like to have the “I Quit” match she missed out on against Bayley back in 2021.
The pair were slated to meet in an “I Quit” match at Money In The Bank that year before an ACL injury to “The Hugger” forced the match to be cancelled.
“Oh man, the I quit match that I was supposed to have with Bayley,” Belair said (via WrestleZone). “I still get sad when I think about the possibilities of that match. So hopefully, we can revisit that when she comes back.”
It’s certainly possible that WWE revisits that match down the line. Bayley has yet to return from injury and went undrafted in the 2021 WWE Draft. Perhaps she can make her return to the red brand and rekindle her rivalry with the newly-crowned champ. Belair was also asked if there were any matches that she isn’t willing to participate in. Belair admitted that she’s too attached to her hair to risk a Hair vs. Hair match.
“We all know the answer to this one,” Belair stated. “I don’t even want to say it because I don’t want to put it out there.”
Belair captured the WWE RAW Women’s Championship from Becky Lynch over the weekend at WrestleMania 38. The pair put on one of the best matches of the action packed weekend. Although she emerged victorious on “The Grandest Stage Of Them All,” she didn’t escape unscathed. Lynch left Belair with a nasty eye injury to remember her by.
Young Bucks React to KO Using Their Pose After RAW
As noted, Kevin Owens and Cody Rhodes went one-on-one in a dark match following last night’s episode of WWE Monday Night RAW as it went off-air. The match began with a handshake and hug between Owens and Rhodes, but it was “The American Nightmare” who emerged victorious when it was all said and done. Even The Rock’s mother, Ata Johnson, got involved in the match at one point.
However, another interesting spot saw Owens taunt Rhodes while he was down on the mat, using All Elite Wrestling (AEW) stars, The Young Buck’s, signature pose. As a result, The Young Bucks updated their official Twitter page, placing “Whaddup Kev” in their bio. Check out the pose, and a screenshot from the Bucks’ bio, below.
Kevin Owens has also responded, updating his own bio:
New Match Added to Tonight’s NXT
A new match has been announced for tonight’s episode of WWE NXT, which will also feature fallout from Stand & Deliver. WWE has announced that Nikkita Lyons vs. Lash Legend will take place on the program.
It has also been confirmed that New NXT North American Champion Cameron Grimes will speak on the show. Grimes won the title at Stand & Deliver in a Ladder match this past weekend against Grayson Waller, Solo Sikoa, Santos Escobar and Carmelo Hayes.
Check out the updated lineup for tonight’s show below:
New NXT Champion Bron Breakker returns following title win on RAW
Tony D’Angelo and AJ Galante continue Stand & Deliver celebration
New NXT Women’s Tag Team Champions Dakota Kai and Raquel Gonzalez vs. Gigi Dolin and Jacy Jayne
New NXT North American Champion Cameron Grimes speaks out
The majority of Charlotte Flair’s career has been spent as a heel character in WWE. She is a natural heel and is already criticized for whatever position she is booked in by fans.
The SmackDown Women’s Champion recently spoke with Ariel Helwani from BT Sport about why she doesn’t come across well as a babyface.
“Anytime I try being a face, I think that there’s really nothing in the character other than I have a great relationship with my dad like the father-daughter relationship that people necessarily can relate to. Like when I come across like understand me or this was hard for me, it just comes across as like whining or complaining, or I’m like, ‘No, I really feel this way.’ It doesn’t come across as endearing. So I’ve found like, even though I’m trying to open up and be relatable to the audience,” Charlotte explained, “I don’t think the audience sees it that way. It comes across as entitled. When that’s not really how it’s supposed to be portrayed. So anytime I’ve tried to do that as a face. I think it just comes across as like a cry baby…just whining.”
She cited her match with Rhea Ripley at Money In The Bank 2021 as a perfect example of not coming across well in this role.
“No, with the crowd of Money in the Bank. I truly believe I elicit that response from them to do that with Becky [Lynch] because of our history. So I think the crowd was partially doing that because it was me. And then also, it didn’t help that she’d been gone for how long? A year, year and a half? And she posted a picture outside the venue. So the fans wanted her; they hadn’t seen her. So I was like, Eff you. You’re going to respect Rhea [Ripley], you’re going to respect me, and you’re going to watch this match. And it went from those chants to this is awesome.”
Flair retained her title over Ronda Rousey at WrestleMania 38 Saturday. The finish saw a referee bump then Rousey locked in the armbar and Flair tapped, but the referee didn’t see it. Flair with a big boot to Rousey as Rousey got the referee up for the win.
This week’s episode of WWE Monday Night RAW featured all the fallout from WrestleMania 38 this past weekend, but it also set up a few matches for next week’s episode for the red brand as well.
It was announced that Rhea Ripley and Liv Morgan will be granted a shot at newly-crowned WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Sasha Banks and Naomi next week. Ripley and Morgan initially lost out on the titles this past Sunday at WrestleMania, as they; along with the teams of now-former champions Queen Zelina & Liv Morgan, and Natalya & Shayna Bazler, were topped by Banks and Naomi.
Ripley and Morgan also lost a non-title match to Naomi and Banks on RAW last night, but Ripley convinced WWE officials to grant them a title shot next week nonetheless.
Also, since Damian Priest cost AJ Styles his WrestleMania matchup against Edge this past weekend, the pair will collide in a one-on-one match next week on RAW as well. Priest seems to have aligned himself with “The Rated-R Superstar,” likely being the first member of his upcoming rumored stable.
If you’re in the professional wrestling business, WWE is where the big boys come to play, according to Seth Rollins. Rollins recently did an interview with the Gorilla Position podcast prior to Monday Night RAW last night, touching on a number of topics. During the interview, Rollins was asked about Cody Rhodes leaving All Elite Wrestling (AEW) and returning to WWE.
When asked who else Rollins would like to see make the jump to WWE, “The Architect” noted that anybody who wants to work in the “big leagues” and establish themselves as the best in the world needs to be under the WWE’ banner.
“Oh man, anybody who wants to come work in the big leagues,” Rollins said (via WrestlingNews.co). I said it to him, I’ve said it before, this is the premier professional wrestling company on the planet. I know, ‘Oh don’t say professional wrestling,’ doesn’t matter. We have the best in the world and now we have Cody Rhodes on top of that and he is joining that club. So if you want to be the best, don’t go play rinky-dink, come here, do your thing here.
“We are the best, top-notch, across the board. I’m not taking anything away from anybody else who is anywhere else, I love it, do what you do, you guys are tremendous and there are great talents out there, but this is where you are the best. This is where you find out if you can hack it on the top top top level.”
Rollins was one-half of one of the best matches of WrestleMania 38 weekend. Cody Rhodes was revealed as Rollins’ mystery opponent for the Dallas event, and the pair put on a tremendous matchup. Rhodes left WWE back in 2016 before helping establish AEW to where it is today. After becoming a free agent earlier this year, however, “The American Nightmare” decided to return to WWE, where he has his sights set on becoming World Champion.
As for Seth Rollins, despite taking the loss to Rhodes at “The Show Of Shows,” the pair shook hands following Rhodes’ promo on Monday Night RAW last night, seemingly putting an end to their short-lived encounter.
On this week’s episode of Monday Night RAW, we saw Elias return to WWE TV with a brand new gimmick. Sporting a clean-shaven look and some new ring attire, Elias, now going by the name Ezekiel, confronted Kevin Owens fresh off his WrestleMania 38 loss to Stone Cold Steve Austin. The man formerly known as “The Drifter” noted that he isn’t Elias, but rather Elias’ brother, Ezekiel.
According to a report from PWInsider, WWE internally has Ezekiel listed as a babyface for the red brand. Also, the Elias character has been removed from WWE’s internal roster. For now, it seems that the Elias character is dead, and Ezekiel is here to stay. It should also be noted that Ezekiel is now using Elias’ old Twitter account.
Cody Rhodes Set for The Bump
Cody Rhodes made his return to Monday Night RAW last night, cutting an emotional promo before ultimately shaking hands with Seth Rollins to close the segment. Rhodes made his triumphant return to WWE at WrestleMania 38 this past weekend, as he was revealed as Rollins’ mystery opponent. Rhodes defeated Rollins in a classic matchup, and made it clear that he intends to win a World Title during his new run with the company.
Now, WWE’s Kayla Braxton has announced on Twitter that Rhodes will be a special guest on this week’s episode of The Bump, streaming live on WWE’s YouTube channel tomorrow at 10:00 AM ET. You can check out the official announcement below.
After nearly a decade away from the ring due to a neck injury, Edge returned to competition in 2020 at the Royal Rumble.
Edge knows that his in-ring career is closer to the end than the beginning. He noted in an interview with Steven of Steven’s Wrestling Adventure that he has less than three years left as a wrestler.
“Won’t be ten (years), definitely won’t be ten. I doubt it’ll be five, it’s gonna be before that. I don’t even think it’s going to be three. I don’t know, but I don’t think it’s going to be that long. I know the window is small.”
Edge was forced to retire in 2011 while he was WWE World Heavyweight Champion. He underwent two surgeries on his neck and after being away from the ring for so many years, he started realizing that it was a possibility to come back
“I know it’s not going to last for long and I only have so much in the tank to be able to do that. I want to get out before you start going, ‘his tank is getting low.’ I want to get out while people still have fond memories,” he said.
At WrestleMania 38, Edge was victorious by defeating AJ Styles in singles competition. He is currently aligned with Damian Priest as part of a new direction of having his own group.
Becky Lynch and Charlotte haven’t restored their friendship.
There was a time when Becky and Charlotte were good friends. The two had been chummy dating back to their NXT days and that hadn’t changed on the main roster before things took a bad turn.
The relationship was reportedly strained after Becky called Charlottle “plastic” during a promo a few years back.
The frustration between the two eventually boiled over on WWE TV with Charlotte not engaging in a planned tug of war with Becky during a segment on SmackDown. This was to promote their champion vs. champion match at Survivor Series in 2021.
Becky Lynch & Charlotte Still On The Outs
During an interview with Ariel Helwani for BT Sport, Becky Lynch said that while she wishes the situation could’ve been avoided, she doesn’t regret how she handled herself.
“I wish the whole thing didn’t go down the way it did. It didn’t need to go down that way but I don’t really have any regrets on my behalf.”
When asked where things stand with Charlotte now, Becky’s answer was short and sweet.
“Same.”
As far as interactions go, a simple “hello” is about all that’s left.
“Sometimes, maybe a nod.”
Becky said she realizes that despite the bad blood, the two are still co-workers.
“We have to do live events often two days a week. So, one has to be able to co-exist. We haven’t had to work together though.”
While there is a ton of pride when it comes to the friendship lost, Becky admitted that the split did leave her feeling emotional.
“You talked to me afterwards and I was quite emotional just especially watching the video packages. I think WWE does such an incredible job. That team is amazing at putting video packages together but to see the journey of where we had started to where we are now where we just hated each other and wanted to fight and wanted to rip each other’s heads off.
“It really got to me.”
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WWE Hall of Famer Jerry “The King” Lawler is gearing up for a return to the Raw announcer’s table.
The usual Raw commentary team is comprised of Jimmy Smith, Corey Graves and Byron Saxton. Lawler will be filling in for Graves, who is taking a few weeks to celebrate his upcoming wedding to Carmela.
Lawler appeared on WWE’s Raw Talk digital series last night and commented on his return. “I am looking forward to it,” said Lawler. “I am gonna be back behind the announcer’s table there on Monday Night Raw because that idiot Corey Graves is getting married!”
Of course, Jerry Lawler is no stranger to the Raw commentary booth. He served as the Raw color commentator for many years, alongside Jim Ross, during the Attitude Era. He hasn’t done full-time commentary for WWE since 2020, but does appear on PPV kickoff shows and takes other assignments for the company.
Lawler tweeted on Wednesday that he’s looking forward to being back at the Raw commentary table this Monday night.
Looking forward to being back at the commentary table this Monday night on @WWE RAW! Tune in!!! pic.twitter.com/JbsKGP7WSc
Logan Paul was betrayed by The Miz at the end of their WrestleMania match. Though latest report suggest that it was something the YouTuber himself wanted.
Dave Meltzer talked about the Show Of Shows on the latest Wrestling Observer Radio. He also discussed the celebrity guest’s in-ring debut at the PPV.
Meltzer revealed that the reason The Miz turned on him after the Mania match was because Paul had negotiated to become a babyface at the end of his WWE run.
The YouTube star also worked as a face during his involvement in the Kevin Owens – Sami Zayn storyline leading to their WrestleMania 37 match.
However, fans didn’t buy Logan Paul as a babyface and he was booed even in his hometown of Cleveland. This is why he aligned himself with The Miz this time around.
Paul and The A-Lister defeated The Mysterios during WrestleMania Saturday. The Miz turned on his partner after the match, giving him a Skull Crushing Finale.
Logan Paul has said that he would be interested in wrestling full-time if it made sense with his schedule. Though he did not appear on this week’s Raw. There is no word yet on if WWE has any immediate plan to follow up on his storyline with The Miz.
Cody Rhodes competed in his first non PPV match for WWE in over 6 years after this week’s Raw went off air. The showdown also involved The Rock’s mother.
This week’s episode of Raw opened with the returning star cutting a promo. He was later confronted by his WrestleMania opponent Seth Rollins and the two shook hands.
Though this wasn’t the last of Cody fans in attendance got to see during the night. He came out again to compete in a dark match against Kevin Owens after the cameras stopped rolling.
The opponents shared a hug and shook hands before the match began. The bout lasted about six minutes according to fans.
Cody Rhodes and Kevin Owens with a handshake and a hug before their match tonight after #WWERAW
The Rock’s mother Ata Johnson who was at the ringside got involved in this match at one point. She held up Owens so Cody Rhodes could hit the former Universal champion with some chops and a Bionic Elbow.
KO also mocked the former AEW EVP with The Young Bucks pose during the fight. Though he ended up losing the match to the former TNT champion.
Former WWE producer Pat Buck has confirmed that he has left WWE after accomplishing everything he wanted to with the company at WrestleMania 38.
The former WWE employee helped put together two of the biggest matches of this year’s Mania in Ronda Rousey vs. Charlotte Flair and Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns.
After the show, Pat posted a lengthy statement on social media. He confirmed that he has left the promotion after three years as a producer:
“As a producer/agent, I feel that I have accomplished everything I wanted to do within WWE in the last three years. My endless gratitude beams from working with so many wonderful talents, especially the ultra talented Women’s Division.”
Buck noted that he is looking forward to using his extra time to expand his training school and sleep in his own bed more than twice a week.
Before he joined WWE as a producer in 2019, Pat Buck had a run as a development talent with the promotion. He competed in OVW from 2005 to 2009 and also made some main roster appearances.
The Raw after WrestleMania is usually a show of surprises. One such big surprise was when MVP turned on Bobby Lashley on this year’s show, and aligned himself with Omos instead. Sarah Schreiber caught up with the former champion after the show.
She asked him about his motivation behind this move. Replying to it, MVP explained that Bobby Lashley had forgotten who helped him become the All Mighty. On the other hand, Omos needs someone to help him unlock his true potential:
“The All Mighty Bobby Lashley, this force of nature. Somewhere along the line he forgot about the conversation we had in that warehouse all those years ago. See, all I did was help the All Mighty remember what he was capable of doing.
But somewhere along the way he forgot about who helped him get back on that path.” said MVP, “Now it’s all about, ‘What I did. I’m the Almighty, I did this, I did that.’ Omos, he’s in need of someone that can help him unlock his potential. To truly be the monster that he is. I think I’m just the man to do that.”
Bobby Lashley wrestled his first match since Royal Rumble at WrestleMania 38. He defeated Omos in a singles match. This week’s Raw then saw The Franchise Playa introducing Lashley and cutting a promo. Omos came out and challenged Bobby to a rematch. However, MVP turned on the All-Mighty before the match could begin.
