Johnny Knoxville pranked Sami Zayn by putting his phone number on a plane which resulted in Zayn receiving over 20,000 text messages.
Knoxville and Zayn are scheduled to face off against each other in a match at WrestleMania 38. Knoxville had challenged Zayn to a match, but Sami only accepted when the Jackass star helped Ricochet take the Intercontinental Title from Zayn
The Results Of Knoxville’s Prank On Sami
In an attempt to annoy Johnny, Sami spammed his phone number with text messages. Knoxville did not take too kind to this and found a way to get him back.
On the 11th of March, TMZ Sports released a video that showed Knoxville had pranked Sami by putting his phone number on a plane banner. Zayn has since received hundreds of calls, thousands and thousands of texts, and it seems like this won’t be ending any time soon. Sami blames Knoxville for this prank and for him losing his Intercontinental Championship.
WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley announced he has a new podcast on the way.
Foley is POD
Foley recently announced that his new podcast “Foley is POD” is coming soon. However, a premiere date was not announced. We will have to stay tuned for that information, along with the format of the podcast.
Foley, a man of many identities, was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame as a part of the class of 2013. He is a three-time WWE Champion. He has been a competitor in WWE, WCW, ECW, IMPACT Wrestling and many other companies across the globe. Foley is more than just a wrestler. He is also a successful writer and stand up comedian. He has been on the New York Times bestselling list many times due to his autobiographies.
Wrestling Legends In Podcasting
Many wrestling legends have created their own podcasts that reflect on their career and current life. Ric Flair, Jake “The Snake” Roberts, Arn Anderson, Tony Schiavone, Eric Bischoff, and Booker T are some of the legends who have entered the podcasting world.
Stephanie McMahon, WWE’s Chief Brand Officer announced WWE Moonsault at SXSW.
WWE Moonsault
WWE Moonsault is WWE’s new NFT platform. The platform will be the “official marketplace for WWE NFTs,” and it will be dropping soon. Fans can sign up now to receive updates about the new platform.
Yesterday at #SXSW, WWE Chief Brand Officer @StephMcMahon announced WWE's new NFT platform, WWE Moonsault!
Stephanie commented on exploring the Metaverse during the WWE fourth quarter 2021 earnings call.
Stephanie said, “We are absolutely exploring the Metaverse as an opportunity for WWE, especially as the theory unfolds that that’s really where more and more people are going to go to connect and socialize.
WWE is a community-based business and is all about our fans coming together and sharing this experience. We think there are huge opportunities to expand upon that in the Metaverse itself.
In terms of our approach, we’re doing our due diligence. We’re meeting with various partners and learning as much we can. We don’t want to be hasty in this space. That being said, we certainly don’t want to be behind, we always like to be slightly ahead of the curve. It is something we are actively involved in and investigating and looking into.”
Sarah Logan plans to get back into the ring, one day, likely part-time.
WWE released Logan in April of 2020. She stayed away from wrestling after her release and then announced her pregnancy shortly after being released. Logan gave birth to her son Cash in February 2021.
The former Riott Squad member made a surprise appearance as a part of the 2022 women’s Royal Rumble. Logan plans to wrestle again, one day, but she says that it is up to her son when it happens.
Sarah Logan Provides An Update On Her In-Ring Career
During a virtual signing with East Coast Auctions, Logan commented on the future of her career.
Sarah said, “I am planning on wrestling again, one day, but I think I need to sleep more than two hours throughout the night. That’s up to Cash when I wrestle again.”
Logan On Wrestling Full-Time Again
Logan even commented on the possibility of wrestling full-time again, “Full-time? I’m not sure. I really like my farm and life right now. Part-time wrestling, one or two shows here and there? Probably, I don’t know though. Who knows.”
It is unknown when Sarah would make an official return to the ring. She has joked and teased about surprise appearances before. Sarah also added that if she really wanted to make a surprise appearance, she wouldn’t tell everyone.
H/T to Jeremy Lambert of Fightful for the transcription
WWE hasn’t used Elias in several months after killing off his old musical character.
Fightful reports that new vignettes have been filmed for him and he’d been tentatively slated for a return to Raw. However, the report cited a source stating that “doesn’t really mean anything until firm plans are set.” It was added that a name change has been pitched, but there’s no word yet on what it is.
This past December, WrestleVotes reported Elias was given new gear but Vince McMahon scrapped the look because he felt that Elias looked too much like Hall Of Famer “Macho Man” Randy Savage.
Elias was last seen in vignettes in August but hasn’t wrestled since July on Raw where he lost a “Symphony of Destruction” match to Jaxson Ryker, who is no longer with the company.
At the time, the vignettes teased him getting a new gimmick and the Elias character was dead with the idea that he was focusing on wrestling more than music.
Typically, WWE waits to debut or re-debut a wrestler around this time of year as they’re focused on WrestleMania storylines so if WWE does come up with plans it won’t be until next month at the earliest.
Last night, two major wrestling events took place. WWE hosted one of their live shows, or house shows, in Roman Reigns’ hometown of Pensacola, FL. Beyond Wrestling also hosted one of their independent shows under the name of ‘Munky Business’.
We have compiled the results for both shows. There is also a link to Beyond’s Munky Business show, if you wish to stream it.
WWE Live Event
WWE held one of their usual live events last night in Pensacola, FL. The event took place on March 13 from The Bay Center.
WWE Live Event Results From Pensacola, FL (3/13)
Rick Boogs def. Ridge Holland
Happy Corbin def. Shinsuke Nakamura (w/ Rick Boogs)
Beyond Wrestling hosted their Munky Business event in Somerville, Massachusetts. It took place on March 13 and it emanated from Arts At The Armory. The event aired live on IWTV and is available for streaming there.
Beyond Wrestling Munky Business Results (3/13)
Marcus Mathers def. Dustin Waller (w/Kylon King)
No DQ: SLADE def. AC Mack
Kimber Lee def. Billie Starkz
Brian Milonas def. Max The Impaler
Rickey Shane Page def. Mark Sterling
VSK attacks RSP. Atticus Cogar made the save and tried to skewer VSK.
The Kings Of The District (Eel O’Neal & Jordan Blade) & Trish Adora def. Encore & Waves And Curls (Jaylen Brandyn & Traevon Jordan)
Jonathan Gresham def. Angel Ortiz. Jonathan Gresham called out Biff Busick.
Channing Thomas & Sidney Bakabella def. Little Mean Kathleen & Teddy Goodz
Kamille discusses the ‘forbidden door’ and possible matches in other promotions.
Kamille & The ‘Forbidden Door’
The current NWA Women’s Champion Kamille is no stranger to the ‘forbidden door’. In the past, she has shown up on AEW Dynamite before when she confronted Leyla Hirsch who was her NWA EmPowerrr opponent.
Kamille tends to have the overwhelming power advantage over her opponents. However, fans have begun to wonder what could happen if she challenged another powerhouse, specifically Jade Cargill.
Kamille recently was asked about the possibility of a match with the current TBS Champion on the Battleground podcast.
“That would definitely interest me. To be honest, and this might be controversial or people think I’m crapping on stuff, I’m not the biggest fan of the forbidden door and how open it’s been lately. Contracts are contracts for a reason. People should stay at companies for a reason. If not, why have contracts? If everyone can go everywhere. It’s been taken away the specialness of [appearing for a different company] when it happens. I wish we’d pull back a little bit and everyone stay at the company for a little while. Then, imagine something like that if no one has been switched around for a while.
How big a deal it would be because I do get all the time ‘Kamille and Jade, that’s what I want to see.’ How would I fare against her? I think I’d fare very well. She played college basketball, I played college softball. We have that athlete’s mindset to win and do whatever it takes to win. It’d be an interesting matchup and I definitely think people would be tuning in to watch,” Kamille said.
What’s Next For Kamille & Jade Cargill?
Cargill is undefeated with her record being 29-0. She defeated Tay Conti at AEW Revolution and then went on to issue an open challenge. Cargill recently had a back-and-forth on Twitter with Athena, formerly known as Ember Moon, which teased a possible match up between the two of them.
Kamille will be defending her NWA Women’s Championship in a triple threat match against Chelsea Green and Kylie Rae at NWA Crockett Cup.
H/T to Jeremy Lambert of Fightful for the transcription
Lita has been announced as the next guest on Broken Skull Sessions.
A New Broken Skull Sessions Episode
WWE has announced that Lita is going to be the next guest to join Steve Austin on his Broken Skull Sessions show. The show will premiere on Peacock on Friday, March 25.
Some of the recent guests on Steve Austin’s Broken Skull Sessions have been Ron Simmons, Diamond Dallas Page, Becky Lynch, Seth Rollins, and etc.
Lita’s WWE Career
Lita was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame as a part of the class of 2014. She was a part of the first ever women’s Steel Cage Match back in 2003. She is a four-time Women’s Champion.
Lita recently returned to the ring for a singles match at WWE Elimination Chamber. Lita took part in the 2018 Royal Rumble, and then returned in that match in 2022. Following a great performance in this year’s Royal Rumble, Lita challenged Becky Lynch for the RAW Women’s Championship at WWE Elimination Chamber. Even though it was a losing effort, Lita proved that she can still go.
Wardlow recently got his first big promo segment on the March 9 episode of AEW Dynamite, due to his huge win at AEW Revolution. He’s always been a dominant character, but he mainly did it without talking. Mostly due to his partnership with MJF, Wardlow’s TV time was limited to his in-ring dominance.
Wardlow said, “I was very excited to show that and I’m excited to have the opportunity to have a microphone in my hand more often. But yeah man, I’m just ready to be myself. I’ve had to be the silent bodyguard… and realistically there is a side of me that is very quiet and to myself.
But, I’m ready just to show the world every aspect of Wardlow. And everything that I can do, because I have so much more to give than what people have seen.”
AEW Revolution Was The Best Night Of Wardlow’s Life
Wardlow also was an integral part of the AEW Revolution pay-per-view. He won the Face of the Revolution ladder match to become the Face of the Revolution. Through that match, he earned the opportunity to challenge for the TNT Title, and that will happen on this Wednesday’s Dynamite. He also interrupted CM Punk and MJF’s Dog Collar Match. He helped CM Punk to defeat MJF when it originally seemed like he was there to help MJF.
Mr. Mayhem also talked about this moment and how the show in general made him feel.
“When I say that was the best night of my life, I truly mean it. I mean, the moment of grabbing that ring and putting it over my head at the end of that ladder match and hearing that crowd and then hearing them again in the moment of placing that ring… When I turned around and I was walking up the ramp and I heard behind me the entire arena chanting my name, best moment of my life. I’ve been dreaming of that moment since I was in elementary school. I knew it would be a big moment. I just didn’t comprehend that it would be received that well,” the Face of the Revolution said.
Wardlow will challenge the new TNT Champion Scorpio Sky on AEW Dynamite this Wednesday.
Kurt Angle has looked back on the reaction that Goldberg vs. Brock Lesnar from WrestleMania 20 received.
WrestleMania 20 took place 18 years ago. The show was held inside Madison Square Garden in New York City on March 14, 2004. One highly-anticipated match was Goldberg vs. Lesnar but things went south quickly as fans roasted both men for leaving WWE.
Backstage Reaction To Goldberg vs. Brock Lesnar
During an episode of The Kurt Angle Show, the Olympic gold medalist revealed what the backstage reaction was to Goldberg vs. Brock Lesnar turning into a disaster (h/t 411Mania.com).
“I was backstage watching it on the monitor and it was crazy. The fans really turned on those guys. They sh*t on the whole match. This was a big feature match, this was a money match for the WWE. It’s a dream match that everybody wanted to see, but because both guys were leaving the company, the fans didn’t want to see it anymore.
“They were surprised, but then again, they weren’t surprised. We do understand that the fans are loyal to us, as long as we’re loyal to them and I do believe they felt cheated that Brock and Goldberg were leaving. The boys, they weren’t laughing, but they were like, ‘Holy sh*t, I can’t believe this is happening.’ The match was such a big match, it was something everybody wanted to see.
“Even the boys wanted to see it. When the fans crapped all over it, it was like, oh gosh, this is crazy. Some guys were laughing, some guys were like, oh crap, this is horrible. Everybody treated it differently.”
Goldberg and Brock ended up leaving the company but returned under far more fan-friendly circumstances. Goldberg defeated Lesnar at the Survivor Series PPV back in 2016. They had a rematch at WrestleMania 33 and it was far better than their 2004 match. Lesnar emerged victorious in that encounter.
Rhea Ripley understands why WWE fans do not respect the Women’s tag team titles. She says most women’s tag team matches are “very very quick” and the champions are not featured prominently on television.
However, she wants to change that. She loves the tag titles, she loves tag team wrestling and she wants to elevate the WWE women’s tag team titles.
Ripley and Liv Morgan will challenge Carmela and Zelina for the gold at WrestleMania in a 3-team match that also includes Sasha Banks and Naomi.
Just a few weeks ahead of that match, Rhea Ripley spoke with the Under The Ring podcast and shared her vision for elevating those belts. It all starts with having a great match at WrestleMania.
Rhea Ripley’s Plan
“The Women’s Tag Team Championships, they sort of get looked down upon by a lot of people, I see it on social media all the time,” said Ripley. “I get it, we don’t really get good positions on the show and a lot of matches are very very quick, so it’s important to put it on WrestleMania and remind everyone exactly what we can do and how much these titles do truly mean.”
She added, “I love the tag titles, I love tag wrestling, I love everything about it. We just have to remind everyone how much they love it as well. That’s what we’re trying to do.”
Ripley is a former WWE Women’s tag team champion. She and Nikki A.S.H. held the titles for 63 days before losing them to the current champions, Carmel and Zelina.
Listen to Rhea Ripley on the Under The Ring podcast:
The Undertaker is sharing his pick for the WrestleMania 38 main event between Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar.
The Dead Man racked up an incredible 21 wins at WWE’s grandest event before that streak was broken by Lesnar (2014). He retired with a WrestleMania record of 25–2, with the other loss dealt to him by Reigns (2017).
The only two men to defeat The Undertaker at WrestleMania will clash once again on April 3rd at WrestleMania Sunday. Ahead of this epic encounter, The Undertaker spoke with WWE to share his prediction for the Winner Take All Championship Unification match.
The Undertaker thinks it could go either way, but feels The Tribal Chief will be victorious.
“I’m going to go out on a limb, I say, Roman, what possibly would be an upset.”
– The Undertaker’s WrestleMania 38 Prediction
The Phenom says Roman Reigns was on the rise when they wrestled. He was still ascending to where he is now. Today, Reigns has a calmer demeanor, but still possesses lots of energy and charisma, as well.
“It’s really entertaining to see guys that size be able to move the way they can and be able to do the things that they can—physical, brutal, especially on Brock’s end,” said The Undertaker. “Roman, much more calculated, but again, explosive athleticism, really athletic big man.”
Rok-C has signed with WWE, as first reported by PWInsider. She will soon join the NXT 2.0 developmental brand.
A well-known student of Booker T, Rok-C is seen as one of the most promising young performers on the independent scene.
Last month, Booker T told Ariel Helwani of The MMA Hour that his former student had signed with WWE.
“One of my girls, Rok-C, WWE just signed her. She was my youngest champion in Reality of Wrestling. Started with me in a fantasy camp. At 13 years old, her dream was to be Reality of Wrestling Champion.”
It turns out Booker T was mistaken and his comments about Rok-C signing with WWE were a bit premature.
Rok-C held the Ring of Honor Women’s World Title for 119 days before dropping it to Deonna Purrazzo on an episode of Impact. The loss led many to speculate that Rok-C was on her way to a major promotion.
Rok-C is just 20 years old and would fit the bill with WWE’s youth movement in terms of snagging new talent. She also has experience facing seasoned veterans and could be ahead of the curve with fellow wrestlers that are her age.
Roman Reigns ‘broke character’ at Sunday night’s WWE live event from his hometown of Pensacola, Florida.
The Tribal Chief competed in the main event of WWE’s latest stop on the Road to WrestleMania tour.
Reigns teamed up with The Usos as the Blood Line squared off against The New Day (Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston) and Drew McIntyre, who was subbing in for Big E.
Reigns hit a spear on Woods to get the victory for his team. After the match, Reigns cut a promo and spoke candidly about what it means for him to return home.
“Man, it feels good to be home! You guys know the travel schedule. We’re all over the world all the time. Obviously, we’re going through this pandemic, we’ve been fighting through lockdowns and quarantines. And we’re still here, you know?”
Reigns said he was thinking all day about what to say to his hometown crowd. He told them he is grateful and feels a massive amount of gratitude that the WWE Universe stuck with them throughout the pandemic.
“Our journey is our journey. We did it our way and you know – that is what it is. But I challenge everybody here to follow your journey and whatever your destination is. Do what you gotta’ do to get there but enjoy the run, enjoy your ride, enjoy being from such a great community. I say it all the time …. I run into New Yorkers, people from L.A. and they’re like ‘where you from?’ and I’m like – I’m from a small little beach town.”
Reigns said he’s been all around the world, but called Pensacola the most beautifully-built, best kept secret in the whole world.
“I’ve been all over. The Tribal Chief ain’t scared to go on vacation, you know what I mean? I’ve been to a lot of different beaches. I’ve been to a lot of different small towns. And this one, I’m not just being biased. This is the best one.”
Reigns then challenged all the young children in the audience to set goals for themselves and follow their journey, no matter what type of adversity they face.
“Just like all of you should feel, this is my city! This is my little beach town! And I will never say this anywhere else in the world. I don’t care if I go to Rome, Paris, London, New York. Pensacola, WE acknowledge YOU!”
Watch Roman Reigns break character at the WWE Live Event from Pensacola, Florida:
Brock Lesnar’s WWE Championship and Roman Reigns’ Universal title will be up for grabs at WrestleMania 38 in a Winner Take All Championship Unification Match.
WWE has yet to announce how exactly the “unification” will be handled. However, a fan on social media spotted a modified WWE Championship prop in the Dallas metro area (Frisco, Texas) that may provide clues about what the company’s top championship will look like.
As seen below, this new design features red and blue elements that incorporate the color schemes of the Raw and SmackDown brands. The belt also features the words, “World Heavyweight Champion.”
WWE is currently shooting exterior WrestleMania 38 shots using this massive prop in Frisco, Texas. Is this the new unified WWE World Heavyweight title? pic.twitter.com/eRE0RlGnvr
We will find out in a matter of weeks if this oversized prop resembles whatever the “unified” WWE Championship looks like after WrestleMania 38.
WWE has displayed an oversized replica of the WWE Championship in the host cities of past WrestleMania events. This version was erected in Orlando, FL during the buildup to WrestleMania 33 in 2017:
WWE’s previous World Heavyweight Championship (the “big gold belt”) was introduced in 2002, when former Raw General Manager Eric Bischoff gifted it to Triple H. The World Heavyweight Championship and WWE Championship were unified in December 2013. The World Heavyweight Championship was retired and the WWE Championship lineage continued as the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.
WWE eventually phased out the “World Heavyweight” aspect and the belt was known once again as the WWE Championship. The company went less than three years before introducing a second ‘world championship’ once again, the Universal Championship, in July 2016.
The Gimmicks is a new animated adult-comedy series launching soon.
Backed by Mila Kunis’ Sixth Wall production company, The Gimmicks is billed as “South Park meets WWE.”
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) will be a big part of the show’s “choose your own adventure” format. Viewers who own the show’s official NFT’s will have a chance to vote on the show’s plot at the end of each episode.
Several wrestlers will be involved in the show, with The Good Brothers (Doc Gallows & Karl Anderson) and Rocky Romero voicing some of the characters.
Watch the official trailer for The Gimmicks:
Mila Kunis & The Gimmicks
In a press release sent out Monday, Mila Kunis commented on the new project.
“I see the tech and community that comes with NFTs and Web 3 allowing for the audience to directly communicate with and inform creators of what they like and what they don’t,” Kunis said in a press release issued to CoinDesk
“There is space for traditional film and television development as well as this more wild west fun chaos that comes along with developing in Web 3.”
The Gimmicks NFTs go on sale March 18th on the show’s official website. They will be minted on the Solana blockchain.
This will be the NFT-based animated series by Mila Kunis’ production company following Stoner Cats last summer.
Kevin Nash has posted a grim update on the situation with Scott Hall.
Wrestling fans were hit with some sad news over the weekend regarding the health of Hall. The former WWE and WCW legend developed complications from hip replacement surgery.
PW Torch reported that Scott Hall is on life support after suffering three heart attacks due complications from recent hip surgery.
Grim Update On Scott Hall
Taking to his Instagram account, Kevin Nash has confirmed that Scott Hall will be taken off life support.
“Scott’s on life support. Once his family is in place they will discontinue life support. I’m going to lose the one person on this planet I’ve spent more of my life with than anyone else. My heart is broken and I’m so very fucking sad.
“I love Scott with all my heart but now I have to prepare my life without him in the present. I’ve been blessed to have a friend that took me at face value and I him. When we jumped to WCW we didn’t care who liked or hated us. We had each other and with the smooth Barry Bloom we changed wrestling both in content and pay for those……a lot that disliked us.
“We were the ‘Outsiders’ but we had each other. Scott always felt he wasn’t worthy of the afterlife. Well God please have some gold-plated toothpicks for my brother. My life was enriched with his take on life. He wasn’t perfect but as he always said ‘The last perfect person to walk the planet they nailed to a cross.’
“As we prepare for life without him just remember there goes a great guy you ain’t going to see another one like him again. See ya down the road Scott.
“I couldn’t love a human being any more than I do you.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/CbEqfqau6zp/
Scott Hall and Kevin Nash were close friends and were known as “The Kliq” along with Shawn Michaels, Triple H, and Sean Waltman.
Kliq member Sean Waltman has yet to publicly comment on Scott Hall’s condition, but did post a tweet that featured four photos of them together:
Hall and Nash are often credited with helping WCW gain momentum in the “Monday Night Wars” back in 1996 when they jumped ship.
Along with Hulk Hogan, Hall and Nash formed the NWO. Many agree that the landscape of the wrestling business would’ve been quite different had Hall and Nash re-signed with WWE instead.
We at SEScoops wish Scott Hall’s loved ones all the best during this difficult time.
FTR continue to hold tag team championship gold in Mexico.
Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler retained their AAA Tag Team Championships at a show on Sunday in Merida, Yucatan, Mexico. The bout was originally set to be against the Lucha Brothers (Pentagon and Rey Fenix), however FTR instead wrestled Dragon Lee and Dralistico. FTR won the belts from the Lucha Brothers last October.
The match against the Lucha Brothers was cancelled after Rey Fenix suffered a gruesome arm injury on AEW Dynamite in early January. The Lucha Brothers had been feuding with Dragon Lee and Dralistico, also brothers, recently in AAA as well.
Vickie Guerrero accompanied FTR to ringside on Sunday. During the match, Pentagon came out as Vickie was being ejected from the ringside area. Pentagon attempted to attack Harwood, but Dragon Lee got involved. As Pentagon and Lee confronted each other, Harwood was able to roll up Lee for the pinfall victory.
We would expect the Lucha Brothers to challenge for the titles in the not too distant future, based upon Fenix’s availability of course. FTR has now defended the titles on three occasions, previously on an episode of AEW Dynamite in November and at TripleMania in December.
Sunday’s match did not air live and should air at the end of the month or in early April on Space TV in Mexico.
Check out the Top Rope Nation wrestling podcast for your weekly dose of pro wrestling talk featuring interviews, analysis and exclusive news: Apple – Spotify – YouTube.
In an update on where Rhodes might end up next, Fightful Select issued a report on Sunday evening looking at the lay of the land as it stands right now. There have been multiple offers from several wrestling companies to Cody, though it’s unclear which offers are still on the table. Everyone is being very secretive on the situation and they were unable to confirm if Rhodes has indeed signed somewhere.
Additionally, “at least one” of the Executive Vice Presidents from AEW believes that Cody has signed with WWE and will indeed wrestle Seth Rollins at WrestleMania 38 in just a few weeks.
WWE producers (agents) have reportedly not been briefed about any pending arrival by Rhodes. There was some talk about how Damian Priest did not use The Reckoning (Cross Rhodes) on television last week; apparently Cody himself was not aware of this though WWE producers don’t believe that this would have been an accident or coincidence.
Cody and Brandi were seen in Orlando this past week with their daughter alongside Matt Cardona and Chelsea Green at Disney. Nobody had heard of them being at the WWE Performance Center or taking part in any other business.
Cody and Brandi are continuing to work on television programming, though it’s unclear whether this is Rhodes To The Top, A Shot of Brandi, or an entirely new project for the both of them.
This Monday’s WWE Raw takes place in Jacksonville, Florida, the home of All Elite Wrestling and where Cody has wrestled numerous times over the last year.
Check out the Top Rope Nation wrestling podcast for your weekly dose of pro wrestling talk featuring interviews, analysis and exclusive news: Apple – Spotify – YouTube.
A former WWE physician consultant says Big E’s career is at stake.
Fans who tuned into WWE SmackDown on March 11 witnessed a scary incident on the show. Big E took an overhead belly-to-belly suplex from Ridge Holland on the outside. The former WWE Champion landed on his head and neck and couldn’t finish the match. He ended up being stretched out of the arena.
Big E revealed that he has a fractured C1 and C6. The good news for Big E is that he can move all his extremities, there’s no spinal or ligament damage, he won’t need surgery, and his neck fracture wasn’t displaced.
Big E’s Injury Possibly Career-Ending
Dr. David Chao, a former NFL team doctor for 17 seasons, had a piece on Outkick detailing Big E’s injury. He explained why this could be the end of Big E’s wrestling career.
“The C1 fracture is most dangerous as the top cervical vertebrae is a ring and is commonly associated with immediate death or complete paralysis. Thankfully the fracture was not displaced and he will not need surgery. However, this type of fracture often heals incompletely and it may mean the end of his wrestling career.
“The C6 fracture is likely a compression injury to the vertebral body. This likely requires immobilization but not surgery. One would anticipate a minimum of three-month recovery with return to full function and activities for this lower cervical injury.”
Big E has shown positivity and expressed gratitude throughout a time of uncertainty. He’s also garnered a slew of support throughout the wrestling industry.
PWInsider reported that Big E was initially planned for a six-man tag team match at WrestleMania 38. The site notes that he was going to team with fellow New Day brethren Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods to take on Sheamus, Ridge Holland, and Butch.
Sheamus has some kind words for his former tag team partner Cesaro.
Many were caught off guard when news broke that Cesaro and WWE couldn’t come to terms on a new deal. This means the “Swiss Superman” is now free to sign wherever he wants without a non-compete clause.
Cesaro’s Journey Doesn’t End Here, Says Sheamus
During an interview with The Dallas Morning News, Sheamus expressed his belief that any promotion would be lucky to have Cesaro on their roster.
“Honestly, when we started, Cesaro was like an acquaintance. When we started The Bar, we became brothers. I just saw him last week when I was staying in Florida. We stay in touch all the time.
“Legacy-wise, I think he’s one of the greatest I’ve ever stepped in the ring with. I never had to worry about anything. He made me a better wrestler, better performer just by tagging with him. To me, he’ll always be one of the greatest.
“I think no matter what he does or where he goes, he’ll be a massive success. He’s a huge asset to anybody who picks him up.
“I always believed the guy would be WWE champion – that’s never off the cards because people have left and come back, but I think that whoever snaps up Cesaro is going to have a major, major talent on their hands. And I think he’s got a lot left in him, as well.”
Cesaro had been with WWE since 2011 under the FCW developmental territory. During his time on the main roster, Cesaro captured the United States Championship but he was mostly viewed as a tag team wrestler in WWE.
Before his time in WWE, Cesaro had been known for being in a tag team with Chris Hero. Together, they were called the “Kings of Wrestling.”
Still, some felt Cesaro had serious potential as a singles competitor but it wasn’t meant to be in WWE. He held tag team gold seven times under the WWE banner.
In the biggest singles win of his WWE run, Cesaro defeated Seth Rollins at WrestleMania 37.
Renee Paquette has reflected on her time working with Paul Heyman.
On camera, WWE fans know Heyman for being the Special Counsel to Roman Reigns and the former advocate for Brock Lesnar. Behind the scenes, Heyman has developed a reputation of being one of the wrestling industry’s most creative people.
Renee Paquette On Working With Heyman
Speaking to Ryan Satin on the Out of Character podcast, Renee Paquette explained why she found working with Paul Heyman to be enjoyable (via Wrestling Inc).
“The first person that comes to mind for me is Paul Heyman. I love working with Paul Heyman because he’s Paul Heyman, obviously, but he and I always had such a great chemistry and he was somebody that always pushed me to push him. I remember we did sit down with Brock and he had just turned on him and he’s distraught, he’s not shaved, I don’t think he’s slept the night before because that’s how Heyman works, he’s method to a T. It was one of those moments where he wanted me to push him.
“He’s sitting in that moment, being so vulnerable that that’s pushing me to go a certain place and then our characters had this push and pull relationship that it made me kind of want to take advantage of the fact like, oh, is Heyman sad about this? How do I get him with this, how do I grind him down? I always really loved working with Paul, he was so generous to me as a performer and one of the absolute best to ever do it. He really gave me a spotlight very early on and I know that he was somebody, whether he was talking to Vince [McMahon], Kevin Dunne, I know he went to bat for me a lot. I just loved working with him, he would get in my face and yell and be Paul Heyman. I always really loved those moments.”
Many have praised Heyman for his work on Reigns’ current “Tribal Chief” era. Legendary play-by-play commentator Jim Ross has gone as far as to say Heyman deserves credit for Roman’s character change.
Big E suffered two fractured vertebrae in his neck as a result of a suplex gone wrong this past Friday night during SmackDown. Now, a WWE Hall of Famer wants to help out.
During a tag team match on SmackDown, Big E was given an overhead belly-to-belly suplex by Ridge Holland. Big E landed directly on top of his head, suffering the injury in the process. Big E later published updates on his status via social, both on Friday night and on Saturday.
WWE legend Diamond Dallas Page saw what happened and wants to help out. In a message posted to his own social media account, Page made the following offer to Big E:
“After last nights #SMACKDOWN my heart goes out to my brother @wwebige If you need me brother I got you, after Ciampa & Ivar got done with their broken neck rehab they both came to my crib and stayed a few days with me to [DDP yoga] Rebuild ? @austincreedwins has my # ? don’t hesitate to reach out my friend! @wwe#wwe YOU got THIS! DDP”
As noted, other WWE stars have stayed with DDP in the past following rehab.
Luckily, Big E’s spinal cord and ligaments were not damaged in the injury and he will not have to undergo surgery.
Four months ago, Big E gave an interview where he discussed the need to protect one’s opponent during a wrestling match.
“There’s a certain level of trust you have with someone in what we do, because it is entertainment,” said Big E. “And I have to trust that you’re not going to dump me on my head and break my neck. So, if you respect me, I’ll respect you, we take care of each other and we’ll go home to our families, we pay our bills and we get to move on with our lives.”
Check out the Top Rope Nation wrestling podcast for your weekly dose of pro wrestling talk featuring interviews, analysis and exclusive news: Apple – Spotify – YouTube.
Last night, various independent promotions hosted Saturday night shows. DEFY Wrestling, Prestige Wrestling, West Coast Pro Wrestling, and Warrior Wrestling all presented events on March 12.
We have compiled results for three independent shows below along with ways to stream them, if possible.
DEFY Wrestling
DEFY Wrestling hosted its Defyant Nights event in Seattle, Washington. The event took place on March 12 at Washington Hall.
DEFY Defiant Nights Results (3/12)
Interim DEFY World Championship: Christopher Daniels (c) def. Wheeler Yuta
PCW ULTRA Women’s Championship: Danika Della Rouge def. Viva Van (c) to win the title
Eddie Kingston def. Big Damo
Tom Lawlor def. Kevin Knight
DEFY Tag Team Championships: The Bollywood Boyz (Gurv Sihra & Harv Sihra) (c) def. The Natural Classics (Stevie Filip & Tome Filip)
All Violence Legal: Eddie Kingston, Josef Samael & Schaff def. Midnight Heat (Eddie Pearl & Ricky Gibson) & Levi Cooper
Prestige Wrestling and West Coast Pro Wrestling teamed up to present their As Real As It Gets event. The event took place on March 12 in Santa Cruz, California. The show took place at The Vets Hall. The event aired on IWTV and is available for streaming here.
Prestige And West Coast Pro As Real As It Gets Results (3/12)
Warrior Wrestling held their 3/12 event titled Warrior Wrestling 20. The event emanated from McGowan Hall in Indianapolis, IN. The event streamed live on FITE TV. The replay is still available now.
Warrior Wrestling 20 Results (3/12)
Brian Pillman Jr. defeated Silas Young
Jake Crist defeated Storm Grayson
Warrior Wrestling Lucha Championship: Sam Adonis (c) defeated Psycho Clown
‘Speedball’ Mike Bailey defeated KC Navarro
Killer Kross defeated Jake Something
Warrior Wrestling Women’s Championship: Thunder Rosa (c) defeated Skye Blue and Athena
Lance Archer defeated Mike Bennett
Lil’ Rascalz (Trey Miguel & Myron Reed) defeated Top Flight (Dante Martin & Darius Martin) and Dante Leon & Arez
Wrestling legend Scott Hall is on life support following complications from hip replacement surgery.
The WWE and WCW legend underwent surgery last week but had serious complications following the surgery according to Wade Keller of Pro Wrestling Torch. This resulted in a blood clot which got loose. Hall reportedly had three heart attacks last night.
According to the report from the Torch, Hall is currently hospitalized at Kennestone Hospital in Marietta, Georgia.
Scott Hall first started making waves as a member of the American Wrestling Association (AWA) in the 1980s. He captured the AWA Tag Team Titles alongside friend Curt Hennig (the future Mr. Perfect) before departing the territory.
After some brief time with WCW, Hall turned up in the WWE where he achieved global superstardom as Razor Ramon. He won the WWE Intercontinental Championship on four occasions, including the most memorable bout of his career – a ladder match for the title against Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania X in Madison Square Garden. They had another ladder match the following year at SummerSlam that also earned rave reviews.
Scott Hall (Razor Ramon) defeats Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania X.
Hall departed the WWE for WCW in 1996 alongside his friend Kevin Nash. Originally referred to as The Outsiders, they helped spearhead a wrestling boom period alongside Hulk Hogan as founding members of the nWo. Hall won the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship twice and the WCW Tag Team Championships six times.
After the collapse of WCW, Hall briefly returned to the WWE in 2002 where he wrestled Stone Cold Steve Austin at WrestleMania X-8 in Toronto. He also spent some time in the twilight of his career with Impact Wrestling, among various others.
Hall was inducted to the WWE Hall of Fame on two different occasions. First, as Razor Ramon in 2014, and later as a member of the nWo in 2020. He is a featured character in WWE’s new WWE 2K22 video game that released last week.
Check out the Top Rope Nation wrestling podcast for your weekly dose of pro wrestling talk featuring interviews, analysis and exclusive news: Apple – Spotify – YouTube.
