The first choice of career for Britt Baker was her profession of a dentist. It were a few specific WWE stars that made her chose wrestling as an alternate path. The AEW women’s world champion recently made an appearance on Throwing Down with Renee Paquette & Miesha Tate. She confirmed during the interview that WWE had shown interest in signing her after she had made her AEW debut.
Speaking of WWE, Baker also revealed what actually motivated her to pursue a career in professional wrestling in the first place. She said that the matches among the four horsewomen in NXT were her inspiration:
“When I first started training, when I first said this is something I wanted to do while I’m in dental school, what really motivated me was when I started watching the Sasha, Bayley, Becky, and Charlotte matches that were happening on NXT at the time. It’s crazy because we are now, ‘competing against each other.’ Those are my idols. Those were the girls I enjoyed watching.”
Britt Baker also admitted that her original goal was to get to WWE because there was no AEW at the time. She recalled her WWE tryout alongside people like Bianca Belair and Lacey Evans when she was still in the first year of her dental college. However, the then talent development director Canyon Cemen told her to complete her dentist degree first and the rest is history.
The female star enrolled in the University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine in 2014 and graduated in May 2018. She started her wrestling training the same year from the International Wrestling Cartel. She made her professional wrestling debut in an IWC event in 2015. Baker made her AEW debut at Double or Nothing in May 2019.
Johnny Gargano is either having some fun or he’s dropped a hint on his wrestling future.
Gargano has been a treat to watch on the NXT brand since 2015. From his tag team run with Tommaso Ciampa as DIY to his rivalry with Ciampa as well as his NXT Title win over Adam Cole, “Johnny Wrestling” has provided some incredible moments. With that said, there has been a lot of speculation on Gargano’s future.
Fightful Select reported that Gargano’s WWE contract expires in December. The company is expected to be in the renegotiation process soon if they haven’t already.
Gargano recently took to his Twitter account to ponder what’s next after capturing every NXT Title he’s been eligible to compete for.
While some might think this will lead to a move to the main roster, Gargano was never drafted. On top of this, Johnny Gargano has removed any mention of NXT on his Twitter bio. His WWE superstar page remains linked in the bio.
As mentioned, Gargano could very well be trolling fans. At the same time, WWE could find a way to put “Johnny Wrestling” on either Raw or SmackDown regardless of the draft results.
Stick with SEScoops for the latest on Gargano’s future with WWE as those details become available.
A massive Twitch leak has allegedly unveiled the payouts of streamers, including WWE and AEW stars.
4Chan (via VICE) has been the home of many leaks over the years and this time, an anonymous poster shared 135GB of data revealing the payouts of popular Twitch streamers. Someone uploaded the pay wrestling streamers received on the platform, which has since been deleted on Pastebin. Fear not, we’ve got the totals here.
Severalstreamersconfirmed on Twitter that their data inside the leak is accurate. Jason Koebler of VICE also says the figures appear legitimate, based on internal knowledge of what their own channel earns.
Twitch hack/leak appears to be real, we verified by testing against our own revenue numbers https://t.co/vEIqAKNprM
The following is the Twitch revenue data for the largest wrestling-related accounts for September 2019 through September 2021.
Keep in mind, these payouts are from subscriptions and bits. They do not include donations, which is a huge chunk of pay for streamers on Twitch typically.
Paige (@SarayaOfficial) – $478,224
Zelina Vega (@theatrinidad) – $341,748
Adam Cole (@TheCHUGS) – $318,080
Impact Wrestling (@impactwrestling) – $69,140
Tyler Breeze (@thesweetzlive) – $43,755
Evil Uno (@eviluno) – $35,742
Colt Cabana (@coltcabana) – $32,479
Xavier Woods (@AustinCreed) – $25,431
As you can tell, there’s a substantial amount of money to be made on Twitch for these wrestlers. WWE has a policy in place that prevents its talent from streaming on Twitch. Paige is an exception as the rule isn’t a part of her deal and she isn’t an active wrestler.
Zelina Vega had been released by WWE over the issue of not being able to stream. She eventually ended up signing with the company again. Vega’s husband, Malakai Black, had been taking over the channel but there hasn’t been a new stream for the past month.
WWE made a strong push to re-sign Adam Cole before he decided to jump ship to AEW. Adam Cole’s wish to keep his independent Twitch channel was said to be a non-negotiable stipulation during those negotiations.
Bryan Danielson believes AEW is all in on the wrestling aspect of the business.
Danielson made the jump from WWE to AEW at the All Out PPV on Sept. 5. Since that time, Danielson has had two matches and is gearing up for his third on the Oct. 6 episode of Dynamite. Danielson has gone to a 30-minute draw with AEW World Heavyweight Champion Kenny Omega and defeated Nick Jackson on Rampage.
Speaking to 6ABC, Bryan Danielson laid out the big difference between AEW and WWE.
“This is one of the things that drew me to AEW and why I kind of wanted to come to AEW is that AEW is like a wrestling-first company. It’s a wrestling company for wrestling fans. If you’re a wrestling fan, and sometimes WWE is more just based on general entertainment. They wanna reach as many casual viewers as possible. Where I think AEW is like, ‘hey if you love wrestling, here’s this. But also, even if you’re not a wrestling fan we’re putting on wrestling and the wrestling itself is gonna bring you in.
“I think that’s one of the really unique things about AEW. If you were to do a comparison of the two, like just watching the shows, you’ll see that there’s a lot more wrestling in the two hours of Dynamite than there is even in a three-hour Raw. And sometimes there’s more wrestling on an AEW Dynamite show than there is on Raw and SmackDown combined. So that’s one of the things that drew me to it because as a fan, when I was in high school everyone loved The Rock and Steve Austin. They were my least favorite people cause all they did was talk. So I like the wrestler wrestlers, ya know?”
AEW has been able to snag some big names as of late including Danielson, CM Punk, and Adam Cole. AEW head honcho Tony Khan has said that a big roster is a good problem to have and that he does all he can to ensure that everyone gets the spotlight.
One thing’s for sure, AEW has had no issue getting Danielson on TV.
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Tensions have been running high in the IMPACT Zone recently, specifically between reigning Knockouts Champion Deonna Purrazzo and three-time champ, Mickie James.
Months of brewing animosity reached a climax on last week’s episode of IMPACT, where Purrazzo shocked James with an unannounced visit to her personal home, in Nashville, Tennessee.
In the horse stalls of James’ backyard, the two Bound For Glory opponents traded strikes and fiery words in one of the most hectic brawls in IMPACT Wrestling history. There is certainly high levels of tension between these two fierce wrestling competitors, but perhaps, not ALL love is lost.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54xXiI88Pzk
SEScoops correspondent Ella Jay recently appeared on the latest edition of IMPACT Wrestling Press Pass and chatted with current IMPACT producer, Gail Kim, alongside the Knockouts Champion, Deonna Purrazzo, and “Hardcore Country”, Mickie James.
In the spirit of celebrating women’s wrestling this weekend at IMPACT’s Knockouts Knockdown event, James and Purrazzo shared one admiration they each had towards their fellow women’s wrestler.
“I will say what I admire most about Deonna is what she’s done since she’s walked into IMPACT Wrestling and she’s really carved out her own name,” James explained. “I think that you’ve done a remarkable job, Deonna. I will say that, from professional to professional. She’s an amazing talent. I’ve watched her matches and her ability to go in there with all of her opponents and have what I like to say is the match of the night, and I know that at Bound For Glory, regardless of what anyone says, you’re going to be up for the fight of your life, and I expect nothing less than that from you. So, the real winners, hopefully, are the fans.”
Deonna Purrazzo on Mickie James
Deonna Purrazzo then similarly expressed a positive regard towards Mickie James:
“I admire most how headstrong Mickie is about women’s wrestling, and how much she loves it, and wants, again like we’ve been talking about, to put it at the forefront of professional wrestling. That is something I dreamt about doing myself as a child growing up, wanting women to be more than they were perceived to be. So to be working with women who feel that same way, and are in a position to make it happen, is very special to me. So that is what I most admire about you [Mickie].”
Deonna Purrazzo is scheduled to defend her Knockouts Championship against Mickie James on October 23rd in Las Vegas, at IMPACT’s popular Bound For Glory pay-per-view in a dream match anticipated by many.
It will be interesting to see if the conversations held at Press Pass will hold any value to either competitor going forward, or if things will continue to heat up ahead of this historic bout.
You can view the entire 10/5 edition of IMPACT Press Pass on Facebook or in the player below:
Mark Henry and Bully Ray have a piece of advice for WWE star Keith Lee.
Lee has recently taken on a new persona in WWE. His nickname is “Bearcat” and he’s been showing a more vicious side of his character. The nickname is in honor of legendary wrestler Bearcat Wright.
Speaking to Bully Ray on SiriusXM’s Busted Open Radio, Mark Henry gave his take on what Keith Lee has to do in order to make his new persona work.
"The best thing for Keith Lee to do right now is own it to the max."
“Own it. He’s not owning it yet. He’s feeling like, ‘well who am I? Who is Bearcat? What does Bearcat do?’ It’s a lot of studying right now, a lot of practicing. Eventually, we’ll get to the point where he’s got it. He’ll roll with it and he’ll be fine.”
Bully Ray agrees with Henry and he added the following.
“If Vince thinks of it and Vince gives you the name and Vince is the one that says, ‘my God he reminds me of Bearcat Wright,’ Vince doesn’t wanna be wrong about a gimmick that he puts on you. So the best thing for Keith Lee to do right now is own it to the max. Make it your own. Take just a little bit of that throwback of Bearcat Wright and mix it in with a lot of modern-day Keith Lee.”
Lee was a part of the WWE draft. He will not be switching brands as Monday Night Raw decided to keep him on the show. “Bearcat” has been earning victories in dark matches and even squashed Akira Tozawa on an episode of Raw in late September.
If you use the quotes in this article for your website, please drop a h/t to SEScoops with a link back to this article.
Rhea Ripley misses being part of the NXT brand and wants to go back. Though she is not sure how she would fit in after the rebranding of the show.
The former NXT women’s champion recently had an interview with Battleground podcast. She discussed things such as teaming with Nikki A.S.H. and more.
When asked if she would like to go back to the development brand, Ripley admitted that she would love to do it. She explained that the new NXT is not bad but it’s more focused on the newer stars:
“I would love to. Honestly, I miss NXT. Right now, how it’s all changed, I don’t know if I would really fit in. When it was the metal scene and very grungy, I loved NXT.
I’m not saying the one now is bad or anything, but it’s definitely more for the up-and-comers, and everyone is trying to make a name for themselves.”
Although despite the change, Rhea Ripley later claimed that she would definitely go back in a heartbeat, especially to help Raquel Gonzalez. She explained that she doesn’t like the way Gonzalez gets jumped.
The former NXT star won the tag team titles with Nikki A.S.H. during the September 20 episode of Raw. Though with all the female tag teams being broken up in the WWE Draft, it would be interesting to see who steps up to challenge them next.
Both Kofi Kingston and Big E have now won the WWE championship. This naturally makes people wonder if the third member of their group Xavier Woods will get to hold the title someday as well. The current champion recently had an interview with comicbook.com. He discussed things such as trying to get WWE to make “Big Meaty Men Slapping Meat” merchandise and more.
When asked if Woods can become the WWE champion one day, E explained that his long time partner is very underrated and he deserves to be pushed more:
“I think so. I think he’s a guy who is still underrated, still very underrated. I think he has all the tools. I think it’s just a matter of changing perception and getting him the opportunities that he deserves to be pushed more, to be given that opportunity. I think he’s incredible in ring.”
Big E Thinks Xavier Woods Has All The Tools
Xavier Woods has not won a singles title in WWE yet
Big E recalled watching a random match of Xavier Woods with Riddle from a Raw episode in May and said that he was blown away by it. The former NXT champion said that Woods has all the tools necessary for success:
“He’s so incredibly talented and such a great talker, charismatic as hell. He has all the tools. He just has to be given those opportunities that Kofi and I have been given in our careers. Once he’s given those opportunities and you see him shine, you see him taken more credibly, you see him in those (big matches).”
E also mentioned how Xavier Woods has been talking about competing in the King Of The Ring tournament. He said that he hopes Xavier gets the opportunity so he can show what he can do. Once the perception changes, the door will open for him.
Dana Brooke has apparently responded to the criticizing comments of Corey Graves he made during her match on this week’s episode of Monday Night Raw. The female star posted a story on her Instagram account mentioning that you cannot entertain everybody. She claimed that you should let people talk:
“You cannot entertain everything regardless if its indirect or direct!! Let people do what they do best. talk!! Y’all act like y’all gone die because somebody said something about you.” wrote Brooke, “It is not that deep!! You cannot stop and throw stones at every dog that barks. once you entertain a clown, you become one.”
Dana Brooke apparently responding to the shots taken at her on #WWERaw commentary (via Dana's IG stories) pic.twitter.com/h5y5h996y0
For those who don’t know, the female star had a match with Shayna Baszler on this week’s Raw. At one point during the bout, Graves who was on commentary claimed that Brooke has not accomplished anything:
“I am all for giving people time to develop, giving people time to realize their potential. But in a long enough timeline, you got to cut your losses. Dana Brooke has not accomplished much of anything.”
Baszler won the match on Raw and she went for another post-match attack on her opponent. Brooke was then saved from the assault by Doudrop. Prior to this, Dana Brooke was seen during the September 9 edition of Main Event. Her last Raw match was against Charlotte Flair on May 3.
Sharmell has been the partner of Booker T both on and off-screen and the former WCW champion gave her some very valuable advice. The female star recently had an interview with WrestlingInc. She talked about things such as the women’s revolution, her favorite segments, and more.
During the interview, Sharmell also revealed the advice she got from her husband Booker T. According to her, T told her to relax and not take things too seriously:
“Your character is what will give you a lasting career. Booker told me, ‘Don’t take yourself so seriously. Just relax and have fun.’ I’ll never forget when they had WrestleMania one year and had a really long ramp. I’m trying to rush down the ramp,
And he stops me in the middle of WrestleMania.” recalled Sharmell, “He says, ‘Take a minute and just look around.’ I slowed my walk and got it,”
The former WWE star continued saying that the job of a sports entertainer is very stressful. A lot of times they are nervous and trying to be the best puts pressure on their stress levels. Though you are able to create magic if you can calm down and remember it’s about having fun.
Sharmell had a couple of runs with WWE and one with WCW. She is probably best known for her pairing with Booker T which started in 2005 and led to T winning the King Of The Ring tournament in 2006.
WWE has announced that Tommaso Ciampa will be defending his NXT Championship against Bron Breakker at the upcoming Halloween Havoc special of the show.
The rivalry between Breakker and Ciampa started on the very first episode of NXT 2.0 itself. The first episode of the rebranded show saw Bron making his debut in the opening match of the night.
Ciampa won the vacated NXT title in the main event of the same show. These two then had a confrontation backstage to end the September 14 episode of the brand.
It has since been reported that officials are high on Bron Breakker and he is expected to be pushed. This has been evident from his booking since debut as well.
WWE confirmed that the October 26 episode of NXT will be the Halloween Havoc special. After this, Tommaso Ciampa issued an open challenge for any potential challenger to face him at the special.
Bron Breakker answered this call from the NXT champion. WWE confirmed this title match for the upcoming event after Ciampa accepted the challenge.
No other matches have been announced for Halloween Havoc so far but the card is expected to be filled in the coming weeks. You can check out the complete NXT results from this week below:
The October 5, 2021 episode of WWE NXT 2.0 aired live on the USA Network from Orlando, Florida at the Capitol Wrestling Center.
WWE NXT Results
Mandy Rose (w/Jacy Jayne & Gigi Dolin) def. Ember Moon.
LA Knight def. Odyssey Jones
Joe Gacy def. Ikemen Jiro.
Cora Jade def. Franky Monet
Pete Dunne def. Cameron Grimes.
MSK retains NXT Tag Team Titles in Fatal 4-Way Elimination Match
Here are the takeaways from this week’s show:
Tommaso Ciampa Speaks
NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa came out to the ring for a promo. He asked who had the balls to take this title from him. Bron Breakker came out to speak as he has been very interested in the title.
Breakker said he doesn’t care about how long he’s been in NXT because he wants to be NXT Champion. He said that at Halloween Havoc, he wants an NXT Title match. He said that he needs this title and to Bron, it’s just a stepping stone to something bigger and better. To Ciampa, it’s exactly that and he accepts the challenge.
"Who has the balls to come out here and take my #NXTTitle from me?" – @NXTCiampa
Mandy Rose vs. Ember Moon opened up the show. The match saw Moon get the majority of the offense. Moon hit a powerbomb on the apron.
Rose beat her down for a few minutes until Moon made her comeback. Moon missed her finisher and Rose hit a running knee strike for the win.
Rose set her sights on the NXT Women’s Championship last week by attacking Raquel Gonzalez after the champion had successfully retained the title over Franky Monet in the main event. Toxic Attraction (Rose, Gigi Dolin, and Jacy Jayne) beat down Monet, Jessi Kamea, and Robert Stone before going after Raquel.
Later in the show, Toxic Attraction interrupted Raquel’s in-ring promo and were about to attack her, but Io Shirai and Zoey Starks came out to even the odds only for the heels to back off.
LA Knight vs. Odyssey Jones in a singles match was booked as the second match of the night.
Two weeks ago, Knight got mad at Jones for pointing out that he lost twice in the same night the previous week. Just last week, there was a backstage segment where Knight was interviewed about challenging Jones to a match. Knight later attacked Jones in that same segment.
The match saw Jones dominate the majority of it until Andre Chase came out and distracted Jones and Knight hit his finisher for the win.
Cora Jade was in action against Franky Monet. Monet took out Jade’s original opponent before the match took place and went quick to work in beating down Jade.
The tide turned when Monet missed a splash in the corner and Jade hit a few moves. Monet hit a spear and went for her finisher, but Jade reversed it and rolled her up for the win.
A romantic relationship between Jade and Trey Baxter has recently been presented on TV.
Tony D’Angelo made his official in-ring debut against Malik Blade. Tony dominated the majority of the match, but Blade did make a quick comeback with a head kick and crossbody off the top rope for a near fall.
Tony wore a white tank top and blue pants. He tossed Blade in the corner then hit a belly-to-belly suplex before finishing him off with a swinging neckbreaker.
WWE has been airing vignettes hyping D’Angelo’s arrival over the past few weeks. D’Angelo’s real name is Joe Ariola and he portrays an Italian character from Chicago whose family has ties to the mafia. He was an amateur wrestler for the University of Buffalo.
Fatal 4-Way Match
NXT Tag Team Champions MSK vs. The Grizzled Young Veterans vs. Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams vs. Josh Briggs and Brooks Jensen in a Fatal 4 Way Title match took place.
Just last week, MSK were interviewed in the ring and during their promo, they said that any team can step up to them and get knocked back. The rest of the teams involved in this match came out for a brawl that ended with MSK standing tall in the ring.
The match was turned into an elimination match. Hayes and Williams were first eliminated. Grizzled Young Veterans were sent packing by Briggs and Jensen after they hit a double team powerbomb. Lee rolled up Briggs for the win. A fun yet match in about 12 minutes.
An NXT star has arrived and he is sporting a new look.
During the Oct. 5 edition of NXT 2.0, Parker Boudreaux made an appearance. The former UCF offensive lineman traded in the football pads for the wrestling ring. He was one of many talents who was recently brought on board the Performance Center.
Boudreaux now goes by the name “Harland” and he has said goodbye to his hair.
Harland made his debut after Joe Gacy defeated Ikeman Jiro. Gacy glanced at the debuting star and appeared to approve. Harland didn’t exactly look all too thrilled when staring down Gacy, however.
Time will tell if there will be any long-term connection between Harland and Gacy or if the new NXT talent will be keeping his eye on everyone in the coming weeks.
A new trademark has been filed by WWE for Riddick Moss.
Moss has undergone a gimmick change. He’s aligned himself with Happy Corbin on the SmackDown brand. He now goes by the name of Madcap Moss.
Naturally, WWE sought to protect the name by filing the following trademark.
“Mark For: MADCAP MOSS trademark registration is intended to cover the categories of entertainment services, namely, wrestling exhibitions and performances by a professional wrestler and entertainer rendered live and through broadcast media including television and radio, and via the internet or commercial online service; providing wrestling news and information via a global computer network; providing information in the fields of sports and entertainment via an online community portal; providing a website in the field of sports entertainment information; fan club services, namely, organizing sporting events in the field of wrestling for wrestling fan club members; organizing social entertainment events for entertainment purposes for wrestling fan club members; providing online newsletters in the fields of sports entertainment; online journals, namely blogs, in the field of sports entertainment.”
Baron Corbin became Happy Corbin after turning his misfortune around. After Shinsuke Nakamura took his crown, Corbin ended up losing his money. Following weeks of bad luck, Corbin hit it big in Las Vegas by having success at the casino.
In the midst of his feud with Kevin Owens, Corbin enlisted the help of Riddick Moss. Moss had been out of action due to a torn ACL. He was previously seen on the Raw brand where he was a former 24/7 Champion.
One former WWE on-air talent believes that Vince McMahon does have some concerns over the success of AEW.
AEW emerged in 2019. The promotion held its first TV show on TNT back in October of that year. The debut episode of Dynamite pulled in 1.409 million viewers, blowing away expectations. As of late, the show has been garnering over 1 million viewers each week.
While Monday Night Raw and Friday Night SmackDown pull in higher numbers than AEW’s shows, the fact that the promotion has had this much success in just two years can’t be ignored.
During an edition of Monday Mailbag, former WWE referee Mike Chioda gave his take on whether or not the Chairman of WWE is concerned over AEW’s emergence.
“As someone who knows Vince personally, do you think he’s truly concerned about AEW now?
“Yes, I think he is. He always wants to be on top. I have seen him demolish and step on a lot of territories around the country and around the world. He wants to be #1. Everybody wants to be #1 whether it’s in their sport, in their career, or owning a company. I definitely think he’s very concerned right now because they’re picking up some good talent. I know Vince. Vince is concerned.”
We recently saw AEW Dynamite top WWE Raw in the key demo two straight weeks. WWE was able to stop the streak from going to three, but it’s been said that many within the company are taking notice. It doesn’t help that Raw also has to contend with Monday Night Football games.
Do you think Vince McMahon has any legit concerns over AEW?
All Elite Wrestling talent Scorpio Sky thinks MMA fighter Jorge Masvidal has a future in pro wrestling.
The Miami Herald Jim Varsallone spoke with Sky about working alongside Dan Lambert and American Top Team fighters. Sky shared that Masvidal could do it when asked about whom he thinks could make the transition to pro wrestling.
“Jorge Masvidal, he is a pro wrestler. He can do it. He gets it. I kind of talk to him a little bit; even in the fight game is a fan favorite,” said Sky. He continues, He got a little bit of character, he got a lot of swag, and he kicks ass. So that’s what you want.”
He also adds that Paige Van Zant and Junior Dos Santos could have a bright future in pro wrestling.
ATT Fighters Transitioning to Pro Wrestling
Fighters from ATT have been making appearances on AEW alongside ATT Founder Dan Lambert. He made his AEW debut with Jorge Masvidal and UFC Bantamweight Champion Amanda Nunes on the July 7th episode of AEW Dynamite. Lambert did a promo criticizing AEW fans, and Lance Archer attacked Lance Archer during the episode. Since then, Lambert and ATT fighters like Masvidal joined sides with Sky and Ethan Page’s tag team called Men of the Year.
The Men of the Year and Dan Lambert are currently feuding with Chris Jericho and Jake Hager. The group defeated Jericho and Hager at AEW Rampage Grand Slam on September 25th. The match ended after Sky rolled up Hager for the pin. After the match, ATT fighters, including Masvidal, Dos Santos, and Van Zant, also attacked the losing team.
AEW Reportedly Happy with ATT
ATT fighters and Lambert are reportedly well-liked behind the scenes in AEW. While Sky praised Masvidal and Van Zant, Dos Santos seems to be the stand-out fighter. “…Someone else that might surprise you is Junior Dos Santos. I think he is a wrestling fan and didn’t even know it. He’s been having a lot of fun with us,” said Sky. He also jokingly warned AEW World Champion Kenny Omega that Dos Santos would fight for the title one day.
It’s unclear if Masvidal or other ATT fighters will compete in AEW. However, it seems they have another career in pro wrestling ready for them.
Big E has been killing it when it comes to WWE merchandising but don’t expect one phrase to make it to WWE Shop.
E is the reigning WWE Champion. He is known for his outgoing personality, which has led to some rather interesting moments. One of them being when he dropped the “Big Meaty Men Slapping Meat” line during an episode of New Day: Feel The Power.
If you’re expecting WWE to capitalize on the phrase, think again. Speaking to Comicbook.com, Big E said that the WWE legal team isn’t likely to give it clearance.
“We need to. We need to. I tried to, but legal would not clear it. So, we’re working on something else but, sometimes, you just got to push those through those barriers, so we’ll see. I hope so.”
Of course, never say never in the wrestling industry. After all, WWE has been going for an edgier product as of late. Much like on AEW TV, WWE has been letting loose with the “S” word as of late. Whether or not “Big Meaty Men Slapping Meat” is next on the docket at WWE headquarters remains to be seen.
One thing is for certain, the meme isn’t likely to go away anytime soon.
John Cena has found success in Hollywood after stepping down from his role as the face of WWE. Though his arch-rival CM Punk is not very surprised by it. The AEW star recently had an interview with Shakiel Mahjouri of ET Canada. He talked about the various WWE stars who have gone on to find success in the movie biz.
When asked if he is impressed with Cena’s acting skills, Punk admitted that he is impressed but not surprised. He explained that his skills were developed while working on WWE TV which according to the straight edge star, is similar to theatre:
“100 percent, but I’m also not surprised, I think a lot of people conflate the two. Cena has always been that funny guy. I always thought behind the scenes, and I think anybody who has worked with him always thought. A lot of the guys at that top-level in WWE may not want to admit it, but alls we are theatre actors. We’re doing live theatre every Monday, every Friday, Thursday, Tuesday, whatever the hell the schedule is now.”
CM Punk Is Not Surprised With John Cena’s Success
Their 2011 feud was an instant classic
The former world champion said working on WWE programming gets you accustomed to improv and working on the fly. He then mentioned how Suicide Squad director James Gunn praised John Cena saying that the Cenation leader is the best improv actor he has ever worked with. CM Punk explained that this doesn’t surprise him at all:
“I read James Gunn said that John Cena was the best improv actor he’s ever worked with. That does not surprise me in the least. We do it every week for decades. When we transition to film, I think people are pleasantly surprised like, ‘Oh wow, I thought you were just going to be this muscled up stiff guy.’ I’m not surprised that John is killing it.”
CM Punk had a number of high-profile feuds with John Cena during his time in WWE. Many believe it was their 2011 feud, consisting of moments such as the infamous pipebomb promo that helped establish Punk as a main event caliber talent in the company. The former WWE star recently revealed the backstage reaction to that promo and you can check it out here.
WWE is very careful about how they present their stars. The officials do not like even the slightest appearance changes made by their talents on their own, and Lana found this out the hard way.
The former WWE star recently took part in a virtual signing with East Coast Autograph Auctions . She recalled how she once changed the color of her hair to blue.
However, according to Lana, the WWE officials were not very happy with this change. Not only was she confronted by Michael Hayes about it but the female star even got a call from Vince McMahon himself.
“So, I did my hair blue and Michael Hayes walks up to me and is like, ‘What are you doing?’ ‘I don’t know, it matches my costume.’ He’s like, ‘No, no, no. no.’ I showed up with blonde hair the next day and he’s like, ‘Ah, you look great.’ So, there you go,”
Vince’s Reaction to Lana’s Blue Hair
Lana added, “I also got a call from Vince McMahon about the blue hair. I’ll have to be blonde forever.”
Lana isn’t the only one who got in trouble for changing her hair. Her husband Miro (Rusev) has stated that WWE fined and punished him for cutting up his long hair during his early run with the promotion.
Lana was one of the many stars released by WWE earlier this year on June 2. Even though her non-compete clause has already expired, the wrestling star has not confirmed any future plans for her just yet.
WWE superstar Drew McIntyre expressed his enthusiasm for joining Friday Night Smackdown ahead of the WWE Draft.
McIntyre spoke to DAZN’s Steven Muelhausen before the WWE Draft on October 1st. In the interview, McIntyre didn’t know which WWE brand he would be on. However, he shared that he feels he still had something to prove on the Smackdown brand.
Muhlhausen transcribed the following quotes. He asked McIntyre what brand he preferred joining. McIntyre responded by saying, “I’ve thought about this a lot this past week. When I returned to WWE, I returned to NXT initially but then Monday Night Raw, and over the past three years, Raw has been my home.”
He continued, “Finally achieved my dreams, my goals when I became WWE Champion. I became the face of the brand. I have achieved so much, and Raw feels like home, so I can’t imagine not being part of Raw. At the same time, sometimes it’s cool to get a fresh coat of paint to get a change of scenery. I debuted on SmackDown in 2007 and re-debuted in 2009 with the “Chosen One” stuff. I have some unfinished business, so realistically I’ll be happy wherever.”
Drew McIntyre Drafted to Smackdown
WWE drafted McIntyre to Smackdown on Night one of the WWE Draft. WWE seemed to have had McIntyre planned for the Smackdown move for some time. The company advertised that he’d wrestle WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns on the October 1st Smackdown.
McIntyre makes his return exclusively to Smackdown for the first time since his return to WWE. The company released him in 2014. He returned to WWE in 2017 and has only competed on NXT and Raw since.
When asked if he felt going to Smackdown would make the WWE come back full circle, he agreed. “I really do think that’d be the case. I’m very proud of everything I was able to do on Raw especially being champion at the height of the pandemic and leading the charge but at the same time working hard for everyone else to make sure everybody was entertained during those difficult times and be a leader, said McIntyre. He continued, “But if I did end up on Smackdown for me personally, there is unfinished business, so that could be very interesting. I’m torn right now.”
Did WWE Spoil WWE Championship Match
The draft moves will not go into effect until after WWE Crown Jewel on October 21st. He challenged WWE Champion Big E for the title at the October 21st event on yesterday’s episode of Monday Night Raw. While anything can happen, WWE may have spoiled the match results with McIntyre’s move to Smackdown. However, a win over Big E would mean that the WWE Championship would go the blue brand.
Depending on who you believe, the EVPs of AEW haven’t lost their power after all.
The situation with Kenny Omega, The Young Bucks, and Cody Rhodes has been an interesting one, to say the least. We’ve seen reports over the past year claiming that the relationship between Cody and The Elite has soured. It’s been said that while Omega and The Bucks are still chummy, they no longer communicate with Cody.
Cassidy Haynes of Bodyslam.net recently reported that Omega, The Young Bucks, and Cody are now essentially only EVPs by name. Haynes went as far as to say that he’s been told the roles of the EVPs have been “greatly diminished.”
Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio has contested that report. Meltzer says that the roles of Omega, Nick and Matt Jackson, and Cody have gone unchanged since Dec. 2019. While Khan has played more of a hand with the booking, the EVPs haven’t lost any creative say according to the report.
It’s been said that Tony Khan is rather hands-off when it comes to how the talent gets to the end result of their matches. Khan decides the winners and losers and what direction he wants segments to go in, but the talent is given the freedom to do what they please in order to get there.
All Elite Wrestling Women’s Champion Britt Baker confirms that WWE had an interest in signing her.
Baker appeared on Throwing Down with Renee Paquette & Miesha Tate to share WWE inquired about her AEW contract. She reveals that WWE spoke with her boyfriend Adam Cole to let Baker know they wanted to sign her. However, Baker had no interest in leaving AEW.
“…You know, It’s no secret since he’s (Cole) already said it by now. Cat’s out of the bag. I’m not going to get in trouble. That WWE was definitely poking the bear a little bit through him recently when I was still signed with AEW,” said Baker. She continues, “…Without teetering the line of contract tampering. They definitely let me know that they had interest in me, but it wasn’t a mutual thing.”
Britt Baker Picking AEW Over WWE
Cole revealed that WWE tried to inquire about Baker’s contract situation when he left the company for AEW on September 5th. Before his departure, Cole shared that WWE wanted to keep Cole and sign Baker. However, those discussions didn’t go any further.
Baker re-signed with AEW to a long-term contract between August and September. She revealed on the September 1st episode of AEW Dynamite that she re-signed to AEW. However, she didn’t share when precisely she signed the new AEW contract. It’s also unclear when her new contract will expire.
Baker has also publicly shared at Planet Comic-Con that she has no interest in wrestling for another promotion. “I’m not going anywhere because I’m in the hottest professional wrestling company on the planet. I don’t need to go anywhere. They can come here, and that’s fine, but I have no desire to go anywhere because they can all come to us,” said Baker. Although things can change, Baker has expressed her happiness with AEW and plans to stay with the company for the foreseeable future.
Fans will be making their way back to NXT UK shows.
The COVID-19 pandemic made its mark on the wrestling industry. For a while, fans weren’t allowed to travel to shows and wrestling promotions had to adjust and hold events behind closed doors. We’ve seen fans make their return at full capacity in WWE and AEW. Other promotions in Japan still have reduced capacity crowds, although that is looking to change soon.
One brand in WWE that hasn’t been able to see fans in almost 18 months is NXT UK. Finally, there is some good news on that end.
Alex McCarthy of talkSPORT reports that starting on Oct. 14, NXT UK will be held inside the BT Sport Studios with fans in attendance.
BREAKING: NXT UK will have fans back in for their tapings at BT Studios starting Thursday, October 14.
It’s almost 18 months since they had a crowd. I reported last week BT Sport were working hard on it with WWE, glad to see it happen!
“BREAKING: NXT UK will have fans back in for their tapings at BT Studios starting Thursday, October 14. It’s almost 18 months since they had a crowd. I reported last week BT Sport were working hard on it with WWE, glad to see it happen!
“The first episode back has Ilja Dragunov Vs A-Kid for the NXT UK title. Pretty strong damn start!”
As mentioned in the report, Dragunov vs. A-Kid is on tap for the first episode with fans back in attendance. Dragunov ended the 870-day NXT United Kingdom Title reign of WALTER back in August.
WWE had planned Bobby Lashley to be the #1 pick for Raw during night 1 of WWE Draft on Friday’s SmackDown, according to PWinsider. The idea behind it was that the All Mighty’s pick instead of Big E would have worked as a cliffhanger
People would have had to tune in to this week’s episode of Raw to know which brand the WWE champion would land on, especially with his New Day partners Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston being drafted to SmackDown.
These plans were dropped over the course of the day of last week’s SmackDown. The company replaced Lashley with Big E as the #1 pick for the red brand. Bobby Lashley himself was drafted to Raw on Monday.
The officials also seriously considered breaking up The Street Profits. The plan was that Montez Ford would be moved to Raw alongside his wife Bianca Belair while Angelo Dawkins would remain on SmackDown.
WWE cooled down on the idea over the course of last week. So the plan was changed to all three of these names being drafted to Raw instead of two.
The Street Profits did not break up during the show but WWE did end up splitting the team of T-Bar and Mace. The former was drafted to Raw while the latter ended up being picked by SmackDown.
The night two of WWE Draft brought in almost as many surprises as the first night. WWE superstars have been reacting to the picks made during this week’s Raw on social media all night.
Bobby Lashley who was the #1 draft pick of the night for the red brand posted a photo with MVP and wrote that the business will continue to bloom.
Seth Rollins reacted to becoming part of the red roster once again by posting some gifs. He also made a tweet reading: “Monday Night Rollins Forever”
Ricochet was interviewed backstage after he was drafted to SmackDown. He claimed that maybe SmackDown is where he needs to be to achieve what he wants, mentioning how the past couple of months for him on Raw have been a slump.
Finn Balor made several tweets after being brought back to Raw. He replied to tweets from people like Seth Rollins and Kevin Owens. The former NXT champion also sent a tweet to his fellow former Bullet Club member AJ Styles.
Sami Zayn, who became the final pick of the night seemed unhappy with his late selection. He first said that his name might not be in the draft list at all before making another tweet about being the last pick.
