Bryan Danielson has spoken out about the latest wave of WWE roster cuts.
Nov. 4 was a dreaded day in the wrestling business. On that day, 18 WWE wrestlers were released by the promotion. Among the names were Keith Lee, Nia Jax, Karrion Kross, Scarlett Bordeaux, Ember Moon, and Franky Monet.
Bryan Danielson On WWE Releases
During a chat with Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour, Bryan Danielson said that while he can understand things from WWE’s point of view, he feels the company shares some blame here.
“You offered them a contract to be with you for three years or whatever. If you overpaid them, that’s your bad and you’re still a very profitable company. That’s kind of my take on it. I wish they wouldn’t, you know what I mean? But I also understand it’s business in America [and] profits tend to be the most important thing a lot of times. You can even talk to the people within the companies. Like I love Vince McMahon, I do. I’ve learned so much from him but companies are not people anymore. They’ve taken on this whole — legally, they are their own corporation. For whatever reason, even good people make decisions that benefit a company that actually hurt the people that have worked so hard for the company. That’s hard on me mentally but that’s also the system that has been rewarded financially here in the United States.”
Danielson is currently a member of the AEW roster. He admits that he’ll keep tabs on WWE since a lot of his friends are still with the company. Not to mention, Danielson’s father-in-law, John Laurinaitis, works for the company.
Danielson is preparing for the finals of the AEW World Heavyweight Title Eliminator tournament. He will be taking on Miro in the finals at Full Gear on Nov. 13.
H/T to Paul Davis of WrestlingNews.co for the quotes.
Bully Ray has given his take on the reports that Charlotte has been difficult to work with.
Charlotte made some waves recently in the wrestling industry, although not in the way she intended. Things went array on the Oct. 22 episode of SmackDown. During a title exchange segment, Charlotte went off the script by dropping the Raw Women’s Championship instead of engaging in a tug of war with Becky Lynch.
This reportedly led to a verbal argument between Charlotte and Becky backstage. PW Torch later reported that many within WWE have found Charlotte to be increasingly difficult to work with.
Bully Ray Speaks On Charlotte Situation
During an episode of Busted Open Radio, Bully Ray said that a wrestler being difficult to work with could boil down to many things. One of the main ones is when a performer takes pride in how their character comes across on TV.
“Difficult to work with also comes down to knowing your worth. You see, the wrestling business has morphed into this weird, quirky yes-man, yes-woman territory. If you don’t just say, ‘Yes’ to everything, if you stand your ground and fight for what you believe in, you’re deemed difficult. By that definition, don’t you think wrestlers like The Undertaker, or Stone Cold Steve Austin, or The Rock were difficult to work with?”
Bully also went on to say that he doesn’t agree with the “difficult” label being tossed around in that situation.
“Is that truly difficult? No, it’s just somebody believing in their convictions the way their character has been portrayed. It’s not always, ‘Well this is what the office wants, you have to do it this way.’ There’s talking, there’s negotiating, there’s working it out. So, when I hear the term ‘difficult’ I really try to put it under a microscope and find out, how is this person so difficult to work with? You mentioned Charlotte Flair. Charlotte is top of the food chain.”
Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter reported that Charlotte isn’t likely to face repercussions for what transpired in the title exchange segment. The reason given is that if Charlotte is punished, then a few others would have to face the consequences as well.
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Bryan Danielson has unveiled his contract length with AEW.
Danielson made his AEW debut back in September. He has already proven to live up to the hype, delivering some highly praised matches. Danielson has shared the ring with the likes of Kenny Omega, Minoru Suzuki, Nick Jackson, Eddie Kingston, Bobby Fish, and Dustin Rhodes.
How long is Bryan Danielson’s AEW contract?
Bryan Danielson was a guest on the latest episode of The MMA Hour. During the show, Danielson revealed to Ariel Helwani the length of his AEW deal.
“Three years.”
Danielson was then asked about whether or not he’s allowed to work for other promotions internationally.
“Obviously, I have to clear it all through AEW first. AEW has to be my priority but even going to Japan right now is hard with COVID and all that kind of stuff. I’m able to do that but to be fair, WWE was gonna let me do that as well. With the contract that they offered me and when I was talking to Vince about it cause that was one of my big things. I was like, ‘I wanna be able to go and wrestle these guys all over the world’ and that sort of thing, and they were gonna allow me to do that.”
Danielson has made it to the finals of the AEW World Heavyweight Title Eliminator tournament. He will be meeting Miro to determine the tournament winner at the Full Gear PPV on Nov. 13.
Jon Moxley and Kevin Dunn aren’t likely to exchange Christmas cards this year.
Moxley made his exit from WWE back in 2019. Moxley would appear for AEW and NJPW. In his time outside of WWE, Moxley has become a former AEW World Heavyweight Champion and a former two-time IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion.
Jon Moxley Blasts Kevin Dunn
In his new book, “MOX,” Jon Moxley recalled a conversation he had with longtime WWE employee Kevin Dunn back in 2019. Moxley claimed Dunn spewed lies behind his back following a disagreement.
“If I had gone in there and been an a—–e, why didn’t he just say, ‘F–k you, then, you’re being an a—–e.’ No, he let me go through the whole song and dance, while being completely phony, pretending to accept my apology, pretending it was all good and we were friends. Then five minutes later this little c–t rat goes right to the rest of the office and says I didn’t give a sufficient apology and whatever other b——t he probably said about me, behind my back, no less. This dickless m———-r … and it was 48 hours later. Why didn’t you just call me on the phone right when it happened and say, ‘F–k you, we’re all mad at you, and if you do it again, you’re fired.’? That would have been easy to understand. Instead, I got summoned to the secret castle to meet the Magical King Wizard who lives in the truck and controls the universe to beg for forgiveness? What are all these stupid little games?”
Moxley went on to say that there are plenty of other stories on how Dunn has been “messing with people’s careers.” He ended his rant by saying, “F*ck Kevin Dunn.”
Moxley had been a participant in the AEW World Heavyweight Title Eliminator tournament. He was expected to meet Bryan Danielson in the finals at Full Gear on Nov. 13. Instead, Moxley relinquished his spot in the semifinals as he has entered an alcohol treatment program.
Former Impact Knockouts champion and current NWA star Taryn Terrell has joined a class action lawsuit against the Biltmore Hotel in Miami. The suit alleges that she was sexually assaulted by massage therapist, Oscar Ojeda, in 2017, while staying at the hotel.
Ojeda was arrested in May and charged with battery based on statements from Terrell and one other victim. In total, 4 women are alleging the massage therapist touched them inappropriately.
“I may be a wrestler, I may be a stunt woman. I may be all of those things but at the end of the day I am a human and when someone invades your intimate private space it is not okay,” she said to NBC 6 Miami.
“The Biltmore’s top priority is ensuring the well-being and safety of our guests,” said the hotel in a statement. They also noted that Ojeda is no longer working with them in any capacity.
Terrell’s suit against the hotel alleges that Ojeda continued to work there despite a previous complaint against him being lodged. As a result of Ojeda’s continued employment at the hotel, two other women were then assaulted as well.
Terrell’s interview with NBC 6 Miami is below:
Terrell was with WWE from 2007 until 2010. She was then with Impact/TNA from 2012 until 2017. Terrell started with the NWA earlier this year where she has both worked on commentary and wrestled.
Arn Anderson wants everyone to know that he’s not the kind of guy you should attempt to car jack. In a now somewhat famous promo he delivered on the September 29th edition of AEW Dynamite, Anderson spoke about carrying a “Glock.”
“A man jerks your door open and says, ‘Out of the car, I’m taking your car.’ You can, ‘take it, just don’t hurt me.’ You know what I do? I pull out the glock, put it to his forehead and spill his brains all over the concrete. I’m Arn Anderson and all that implies and I’ll be damned if I’m gonna coach a loser!” Anderson said in the promo.
Recently on his podcast, Arn clarified that he has never carried a gun. The imagery he created in the promo was just a metaphor.
“That was meant to be a metaphor. And to let everyone know that I am through being a victim,” Anderson explained. “I’ve had enough and I am not a victim, I am a predator. I just used a very extreme example. I don’t carry a gun, I have never carried a gun on my person.”
“It was meant to be what it was and I think the shock value was the ‘Spilling of the brains, painting the sidewalk with the brains,’ which is what I think had everybody go ‘whoa, okay alright.’ 99% of everything I read or saw understood don’t take it literally, people got it.”
Bryan Danielson was recently on the Bellas podcast with his wife Brie Bella and sister-in-law Nikki Bella. Danielson’s decision to leave WWE was discussed on the show. Not only do the Bellas have a relationship with the company, but WWE’s Head of Talent Relations, John Laurinaitis is married to the mother of the Bella Twins as well.
“[Brie] was very good about not pressuring me either way,” Danielson said on the show. “Because it would be very easy to say, ‘hey, it would be a lot easier for my career if you stayed where you’re at.'”
Bryan Danielson Considered Not Signing With Any Company
Danielson continued to say that Brie was also very patient with him taking a long time to determine what he would do. During his decision-making process, Danielson also considered the idea of not signing with any company.
“It would be, like, not signed anywhere. Wrestle kind of if I wanted to, kind of when I wanted to,” Danielson said.
He continued to say that he really wanted to have this summer off so he could spend time with his daughter, Birdie.
“That was one of the things I wanted is the summer off before Birdie goes to preschool so I could be with her every day, because I’ve never gotten to be with her every day,” Danielson continued. “Because I love being a Dad.”
Although part of him just wanted to stay home and be a father, Danielson wanted to take advantage of the hot free agent market in wrestling right now.
“There’s never been a better time to be a free agent since I’ve been a wrestler,” he continued. “Since the late 90s when there was WCW and WWE kind of going to war. There’s never been a better time from a financial perspective to be a wrestler. I can only imagine Brie’s frustration when I was like ‘yeah, I’ll just turn down all the money and I’ll just be a Dad.'”
I want to make this clear I let @bryandanielson make this decision on his own!!! But dang… did he take a long time to decide ??
The war of words between AEW and WWE has heated up in recent months. Shots have been traded from both sides not only by the officials but performers from both companies as well. Though Billy Gunn doesn’t seem interested in joining this fight. The wrestling veteran recently had an interview with Riju Dasgupta of SportsKeeda.
There are many fans who want a full-blown war between the two promotions and believe that AEW can take WWE down. Talking about the notion, Billy explained that he doesn’t necessarily want to take the rival promotion down:
“Do we really want to take them down? Is it better that we just have competition? I think that’s what made the Attitude Era and the thing with WCW and WWE good is that there was competition. If you don’t have any competition, then I feel, and these are my opinions, I feel that we thrive on competition,”
Billy Gunn and DX were inducted into the Hall Of Fame in 2019
Billy Gun explained that taking shots at the other promotion means that they are not focusing on their own product as much as they can:
“The minute we try to start poking the bear or try to say we’re better than them, I feel that we’re not concentrating on the best that AEW can do. Like WWE is always going to be WWE. AEW’s going to be AEW. So let’s just be us. If our paths cross and it becomes something like that, let it happen naturally.”
Billy Gunn has had a number of runs with WWE. His longest tenure started with his debut for the promotion in 1993 and lasted through 2004. The former DX member was hired as a coach by AEW in January 2019. He has since started making TV appearances as well.
A number of main roster stars were sent to NXT for extended runs when the brand started competing with AEW. It turns out, Kevin Owens could have been one of them if Vince McMahon hadn’t changed his mind.
The former Universal champion recently had an interview with TalkSport. He discussed things such as his WrestleMania 37 match against Sami Zayn and more.
Discussing his one-off return to the development brand in 2019, Owens revealed that there were plans for him to have an extended run but the boss nixed them:
“Before I did the War Games return, there were concrete plans for me to go back to NXT for an extended period before coming back to the main roster.
At the time Paul Heyman was in charge on Raw” said Kevin Owens, “and those were just plans we had and Vince [McMahon] had signed off on all of them and, eventually, he changed his mind and nothing happened.”
The former NXT champion claimed that it wasn’t something he had floated about. It was a plan they had made before things went in a different direction.
Kevin Owens made a one-night return to NXT during the 2019 WarGames event. He was revealed as the mystery member of Team Ciampa in their fight against the Undisputed Era.
The content creators of UpUpDownDown are apparently unhappy with the way WWE is treating Xavier Woods and they want a better deal for the New Day member.
Only two short-length videos have been posted on the gaming YouTube channel over the course of the past three weeks. This had made fans wonder about behind the scene rift among the minds running the channel.
The content creators have stopped producing videos in a show of solidarity to Woods, according to FightFul.
The creators reportedly feel that WWE is taking advantage of King Xavier and they want company officials to give him a better financial arrangement for the show.
Xavier Woods started the UpUpDownDown channel by himself in 2015. He later sold it to WWE but he has continued to be the face of the brand.
People involved with the channel believe that the SmackDown star has been the key force behind the growth of the brand and he should be rewarded for that.
Though the report notes that it doesn’t mean the channel is done. Things may return to normal in terms of content production once the situation is ‘rectified.’
There is no word yet on how WWE officials or Woods himself is reacting to the news. We will keep you posted on any development with the story.
Malakai Black has made a number of changes to his character since joining AEW. Though it appears that he hasn’t reached his final form just yet.
The mysterious star recently had an interview with Fulton County Post. He talked about things such as the circumstances leading to his WWE release and more.
Speaking of his AEW persona, Black claimed that fans will get to see a very interesting change in the behavior of his character in the coming two weeks:
“There’s a lot of things that I put into Malakai that I haven’t even shown, the interesting thing is that in the next two weeks you’re going to see a very interesting change within the aesthetics and the behavior of said character.”
Malakai Black also went into detail of the effort he has put into his current character. He described the various places he has taken inspiration from for his act and detailed the meaning behind the aesthetics of his entrance.
The former WWE star has been feuding with Cody Rhodes since his debut for AEW in July. He has also recently formed an alliance with Andrade El Idolo. We will have to see how the teased character changes affect this partnership.
Xyon Quin is one of the rising stars of the rebranded NXT. He has delivered some impressive performances in recent weeks and he paid tribute to Shawn Michaels with one such performance.
The NXT star had a confrontation with Robert Stone where the two competed to see who can do a better singing and dancing performance.
Quin chose Michaels’ theme song for his act. During a recent interview with SportingNews, he revealed how the people backstage reacted to the segment:
“I got a bit of a standing ovation when I came back through the curtain, so that was pretty cool, it was a group effort, we all came together and had a meeting about it and talked about it.”
Xyon Quin On How Shawn Michaels Reacted To His Performance
Xyon Quin then claimed that it was about bringing something different to the table before revealing how the heartbreak kid himself reacted to it:
“That was a bit interesting. Shawn Michaels was happy with it, he said he forgot how good his song was, so it was pretty cool to hear that from a legend such as himself.”
Xyon also discussed how it feels on having people like Shawn Michaels and Triple H providing guidance. He said that you don’t get used to such an experience and he still has to pinch himself sometimes.
Booker T was one of the selected talents WWE brought in after purchasing WCW. Though according to the wrestling veteran, he never wanted to join the promotion.
The former WCW champion recently had an interview with Notsam Wrestling Podcast. He discussed things such as the failed relaunch of WCW and more.
Discussing the transition from WCW to WWE, Booker claimed that he never actually wanted to go to WWE. He would have rather stayed where he was and finished his career at the defunct promotion:
“No, I never wanted to go to WWE, I would rather have stayed in WCW forever and finished my career out there, but then again, when you get put in a situation, you’ve got to deal with it.
I went from being a kid on the street that got locked up in prison, the first time being in jail. I’m going to tell you right now, if you don’t know how to deal with any situation you’re put in,” said Booker T, “you’re going to find life really, really hard.”
The WWE Hall Of Famer also continued his praise for Nick Gage. He said that many young guys in the business could learn a lot from the hardcore star.
Booker T joined WCW in 1993. He had 4 reigns with the WCW world championship and won over a dozen other titles in the promotion. He made his WWE debut in June 2002.
WWE NXT superstar Zoey Stark has confirmed that she underwent successful surgery for a torn ACL and Meniscus and she is already rehabbing.
The female star provided the health update on Twitter. She explained that she suffered the damage due to the attack from the current NXT women’s tag team champions the Toxic Attraction, before promising to come back stronger:
“Sadly, I tore my ACL/Meniscus due to Toxic’s attack, here’s the bad news for the ‘champs.’ Surgery went great and I’m already rehabbing.” wrote Zoey Stark “I’ll be back BETTER & STRONGER with three targets in mind! Until then @shirai_io @KacyCatanzaro @wwekayden kick their ass tonight!”
Sadly, I tore my ACL/Meniscus due to Toxic's attack. Here's the bad news for the "champs". Surgery went great and I'm already rehabbing. I'll be back BETTER & STRONGER with three targets in mind! Until then @shirai_io @KacyCatanzaro @wwekayden kick their ass tonight!@WWENXT
The NXT star last competed during the NXT: Halloween Havoc special last month. She was a part of the scareway to hell triple threat ladder match on the show.
Stark and Io Shirai defended the NXT women’s tag team championships on the show. The team of Gigi Dolin and Jacy Jayne became the new champions after winning the match. Indi Hartwell and Persia Pirotta were also part of the bout.
There is no word yet on how long the former champion will stay out of action but a successful surgery is good news for her fans. We will keep you posted on her recovery.
Former Universal champion Finn Balor is currently out of action due to some undisclosed issues, according to reports from PWInsider.
The Raw star was expected to compete at the recent WWE live event from Leeds, England on November 9 but he was kept off the show.
The site notes that holding off Balor from competing at the event was a precautionary decision from the officials for what is believed to be a ‘minor issue’.
The former NXT champion was supposed to face Sheamus on the show. These two faced off at a live event the night prior as well.
Before Sheamus, Finn Balor had been working in fatal four-way bouts alongside competitors such as Kevin Owens, Seth Rollins, and the current US champion Damian Priest on live events.
The former champion is expected to compete at the upcoming Survivor Series PPV. He is announced as part of the Raw team for the traditional elimination match.
There is no word on the exact issue Finn Balor is facing. So it’s hard to say how long he will stay out of action or if his issues can affect the match at the upcoming PPV. We will keep you posted on his status.
The November 9, 2021 episode of WWE NXT 2.0 aired live on the USA Network from Orlando, Florida at the Capitol Wrestling Center.
WWE NXT Results
Toxic Attraction defeated Kayden Carter, Kacy Catanzaro, and Io Shirai
Kay Lee Ray defeated Sarray
Joe Gacy defeated Boa via DQ
The Creed Brothers defeated Jacket Time
Cameron Grimes defeated Ru Feng via pinfall
Solo Sikoa defeated LA Knight and Grayson Waller
Elektra Lopez defeated Erika Yan
Pete Dunne defeated Carmelo Hayes
Here are the takeaways from this week’s show:
Raquel Gonzalez Speaks
Raquel Gonzalez saw Mandy Rose and the rest of Toxic Attraction outside of the arena. While driving on her motorcycle, she told Rose to keep her belt warm for her. Of course, Rose won the NXT Women’s Title from Raquel at Halloween Havoc after Dakota Kai made her grand return to cost her former best friend the title.
Raquel came out to the ring for a promo where she told Kai to get out to the ring. Kai did and was laughing at her. Kai said it felt so good to hit Raquel with the shovel. Cora Jade came out to get into a brawl with Kai. Raquel told Jade that Kai is her’s first. This was the end of the segment.
Kay Lee Ray vs. Sarray in a singles match was booked. The match was mostly Ray in charge although it wasn’t one-sided as some might think as Sarray got in some offense including a tease finish spot where she had Ray in a submission but Ray got to the bottom rope. Ray went over with her finisher.
This marked Ray’s first match since she defeated Amari Miller on the September 21 episode of NXT. Last week, a video aired where Ray hyped that she would “start to rage” beginning with tonight’s show.
Ray held the NXT UK Women’s Championship for 649 days before losing it to Meiko Satomura this June. Starting this past August at NXT TakeOver 36, she joined NXT. Sarray was previously in action when she defeated Katrina Cortez on 205 Live two weeks ago.
Kushida & Ikemen Jiro vs. The Creed Brothers (Julius & Brutus Creed) took place.
The match took place right before the second hour. The babyfaces got the early offense in before going to commercial.
Kushida and Ikemen Jiro are going by the Jacket Time name. On last week’s 205 Live, they lost to the Grizzled Young Veterans. The company filed for the tag team name over the weekend so they clearly plan on keeping these two wrestlers together for a while.
Toxic Attraction (Mandy Rose, Gigi Dolin & Jacy Jayne) vs. Io Shirai, Kayden Carter & Kacy Catanzaro was booked. This was the biggest bout to be announced in advance and it opened the show.
The match was lengthy and went over 10 minutes so everyone got their spots in. There was a distraction outside the ring that caused Dolin to knock Carter off the top rope. Dolin hit her uncaged finisher for the win.
This match was set up last week when Carter and Catanzaro saved Shirai from a beatdown by Toxic Attraction.
At Halloween Havoc, ose defeated Raquel Gonzalez in a Trick or Street Fight to win the NXT Women’s Championship while Dolin & Jayne won the NXT Women’s Tag Team Titles in a Scareway to Hell ladder match.
Pete Dunne vs. Carmelo Hayes served as the main event of this show after there was a backstage segment where Dunne was doing a promo before being interrupted by the North American Champion and Trick Williams.
Williams was trying to talk “street” and essentially telling Dunne if he was looking for a fight they could settle that for him. Dunne brushed off what Williams had to say before they went to commercial. During the latter part of the first hour, the match was made.
The bout was back and forth. Dexter Lumis joined the commentators with about 8 minutes left in the broadcast. Dunne made a comeback with a series of kicks and suplexes. Hayes sent Dunne into the bottom rope. Lumis took out Williams and after a distraction, Dunne hit the bitter end for the win.
The final betting odds have been released for the AEW Full Gear.
The card for the show that takes place this Saturday appears to be finalized as only 8 matches have been announced. It’s possible that a ninth match is added whether that be on the main card or pre-show.
So far, three normal AEW titles are on the line, but with one expected to change hands, which is Adam Page beating Kenny Omega to win the AEW World Heavyweight Title. Some of the notable heavy favorites include CM Punk over Eddie Kingston and Bryan Danielson winning the Eliminator Tournament.
AEW Full Gear Odds
As a reminder, we will be providing coverage of the show this Sunday. The favorites to win are listed as – while the underdogs are listed with +. Here are the final betting odds, courtesy of BetOnline:
CM Punk (-770) vs Eddie Kingston (+400)
MJF (-177) vs Darby Allin (+125)
Bryan Danielson (-295) vs Miro (+200) – AEW World Championship Eliminator Tournament Finals Match
Christian and Jurassic Express (-118) vs Superkliq (-118) – Falls Count Anywhere Match
AEW Tag Team Champions Lucha Brothers (-455) vs FTR (+280)
The Inner Circle (-278) vs American Top Team (+190) – Minneapolis Street Fight
AEW Women’s Champion Britt Baker (-1000) vs Tay Conti (+500)
Adam Page (-625) vs AEW World Heavyweight Champion Kenny Omega (+350)
WWE had a long production meeting before Monday’s episode of Raw from the KFC Yum Center in Louisville.
Pwinsider.com reported the news and noted that while Vince McMahon was said to be present for the meeting in the afternoon, he left before the show went live on the USA Network. It’s unclear why he didn’t stick around nor what the meeting was about.
Bruce Prichard also wasn’t backstage at Raw. Typically, if McMahon isn’t there then Prichard or Triple H will run the show. Triple H is still recovering from having heart surgery. As a result, John Laurinaitis ran things backstage.
The report added that there were no NXT wrestlers backstage at the show.
Fans may have picked up on the unusual format for the show and the meeting may have had something to do with that as it seemed the company was stretching for time to fill with longer matches and segments. Case in point was the main event, which started about 30 minutes before the show went off the air.
On Raw, there were two heel turns – Doudop is now a villain as she started a program with Bianca Belair while Kevin Owens turned on WWE Champion Big E at the end of the show.
Eddie Kingston and Chris Hero have been beloved by wrestling fans but the two just can’t get along.
For years, Kingston fought for every inch of turf he could get in the wrestling industry. It has finally paid off with his AEW run. Chris Hero is someone fans rooted for during his time on the indies and Ring of Honor. Ultimately, his two NXT runs didn’t pan out the way he hoped.
Eddie Kingston Details Chris Hero Beef
Eddie Kingston spoke to GiveMeSport’s Louis Dangoor and he shared why he and Chris Hero don’t see eye-to-eye.
“They know that I’m going to go out there and be a pro and they know that I’m not going to go out there and go into business for myself and hurt them or bury them. They know I’m not going to do that. Whatever I say in that moment is reality, but after, I don’t care. I’ve known a lot of these guys (in AEW) for over 10 years. They know how I am and they know I’m not going to do anything to hurt anybody. Everything I do is for the company. Have I had people on the Independents (be mad), yeah. Chris Hero, me and him don’t like each other, there were a lot of things said by both of us where we were giving each other shots. We were letting each other say things and went, ‘I’ll remember that when we’re in the ring.'”
Earlier this year, Kingston admitted to Wrestling Observer Radio that Chris Hero did help train him early in his career. Somewhere along the line things went south.
Kingston is preparing for a showdown with CM Punk at Full Gear on Nov. 13. Ahead of the match, Kingston penned a piece on the Player’s Tribune, detailing his struggles with mental health.
Juice Robinson has addressed the report that his New Japan Pro Wrestling contract is expiring soon.
Fightful was the first to bring word that Juice’s contract will be up in early 2022. There are certainly options for Juice, who has been seen on Impact Wrestling as part of a business relationship with NJPW. It definitely seems that Juice is at least willing to test the market.
Juice Robinson Talks Future
During an interview with Sports Illustrated, Juice Robinson confirmed the report and spoke on what the future might hold.
“I’ll be a free agent [in] February. It’s a great time in wrestling to show up anywhere, and maybe it’s the right time for me to spread my wings and fly.”
Few can deny that Juice has reached his greatest career success under the NJPW banner. He requested his release from WWE, where he performed as CJ Parker on the NXT brand back in 2015. Juice quickly shot up the ranks in NJPW and became a two-time IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion.
Juice has also had tag team success. He’s a former IWGP Tag Team Champion and a former Impact Wrestling Tag Team Champion along with David Finlay.
On Nov. 13, Juice will be taking on Impact World Heavyweight Champion Moose. The match will be featured on the NJPW Battle In The Valley card.
SEScoops will keep you posted on the latest information regarding Juice Robinson’s future with NJPW. Keep it locked on our homepage in the coming months as things unfold.
NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa revealed that professional wrestling legend Rick Steiner was going to appear at Halloween Havoc on October 26th. Steiner is the father of Bron Breaker, whose real name is Bronson Rechsteiner.
TalkSport’s Alex McCarthy interviewed Ciampa about his current status in NXT 2.0. McCarthy asked about working with Bron Breaker. Ciampa replied to McCarthy that his father wanted to appear at the event. However, Steiner pulled out of the event at the last minute. He successfully defended the NXT Championship against Bron Breaker at Halloween Havoc.
McCarthy transcribed the following quote.
“So, he was meant to be at Halloween Havoc,” Ciampa started. “He pulled out last minute. Maybe because I retained, but I won’t say that’s why [laughs]. I would love to be friends with him.” However, Steiner hasn’t confirmed that he was going to be at Halloween Havoc.
Tommaso Ciampa Second Reign as NXT Champion
Ciampa became the two-time NXT Champion when he won the fatal four-way championship match on September 14th. NXT 2.0 immediately put him in a feud with Breaker afterward. While he lost at Halloween Havoc, Breaker teased in last week’s NXT 2.0 episode that the rivalry wasn’t over.
New Contenders for the NXT Champion
NXT 2.0 has introduced new contenders to go against Ciampa. Along with Breaker, Carmelo Hayes also teased a feud with the NXT Champion. Longtime rival Johnny Gargano on the same episode also indicated a match with Ciampa may be near. However, Ciampa already has his eyes on another new potential contender. In the interview, McCarthy asked Ciampa what new NXT talent he wanted to work with next. Ciampa responded by saying Solo Sikoa.
“If I could pick anybody, it would be the third Uso, Solo Sikoa. I like his catchphrase, Street King of the Island. That vignette said star to me, said Ciampa. He continued, “When I watch him come out and the way he carries himself, he looks like a star. I think if I can work with him, I can pull a greatness out of him that would turn a lot of heads. It would be amazing.”
It’s unclear whom Ciampa will defend his championship against next. Although it seems he is ready to take on all challengers.
WWE legend Trish Stratus says that Sasha Banks could prove to be a fun adversary.
Stratus has shown that she’s willing to mix it up in the ring to help the current generation of female wrestlers. She put Charlotte over at Summerslam back in 2019. Sasha Banks has been calling for a match with Trish and she might just get her wish.
Trish Stratus Likes Potential Sasha Banks Match
During an appearance on VIBE 105 Sports, Trish Stratus expressed interest in sharing the ring with Sasha Banks.
“If you’re talking about the dream match that everyone talks about with Sasha Banks? Maybe you might be referring to that match?” Trish asked. “Or you might not be, maybe that’s what I’m referring to. She is an amazing athlete. People sort of — they fantasize about that match because we had a little face-to-face at the women’s Royal Rumble. And who knows? That is appealing to me. I think she is a fantastic athlete. She has brought so much to the company, and has elevated the women in the industry from what she’s done.
Sasha Banks and Trish Stratus
“I think fans would love to see that. I would love to whoop her butt and prove that I’m the best, and, you know, stuff like that,” she continued. “So yeah, let’s leave it with that little button and say, ‘Perhaps, one day, if I decide to go back in the ring, I mean, I may have to deliver a little Stratusfaction to The Boss.”
Stratus has also been teasing a match with Sasha. The two had a memorable staredown and an exchange during the 2018 Royal Rumble match. Time will tell if WWE follows through on a singles match between the two.
Former WWE Superstar Bray Wyatt (Windham Rotunda) is gearing up for his feature film debut.
Special makeup effects artist Jason Baker spoke to Alistair McGeorge of Metro.co.uk this week and provided the first details about this project.
“He’s a phenomenal collaborator, he’s become a really good friend, and we’re actually – you’re the first person that we’re publicly telling about. We’re starting a film at the end of the month.”
Baker worked closely with Windham Rotunda on his infamous WWE character, The Fiend. The two were spotted in Los Angeles just a few weeks ago.
The untitled horror film will begin filming later this month in Tennessee.
“It’s a feature film and it’s something really new and different,” said Baker. “I’d say probably the best way to describe it is Ichi the Killer meets Xanadu.”
Windham Rotunda knows a thing or two about horror. Bray Wyatt, The Fiend and the Firefly Funhouse were dark characters that had a lot more backstory to dig into. WWE owns all that intellectual property, so wrestling fans should not expect this horror film to have anything to do with the Bray Wyatt character.
“We’re not using any of that – we’re going in a completely different direction, a whole new thing. It should be fun. Hopefully fans of horror and fans of Windham like it!”
Kurt Angle has revealed a wrestlers’ court story involving perhaps the most highly-praised writer to ever work for WWE.
Angle and ex-WWE writer Brian Gewirtz always had solid chemistry. Angle has gone as far as to say that Gewirtz is one of the smartest minds to enter the business. Today, Gewirtz works closely with The Rock, who has become a Hollywood megastar.
Kurt Angle Recalls Wrestlers’ Court Story
Taking fan questions on The Kurt Angle Show, the Olympic gold medalist revealed why Gewirtz was once sent to the dreaded wrestlers’ court.
“I remember there was one case if you wanna call it that [laughs]. It was the writer Brian Gewirtz. He was accused from the prosecuting attorney, Bradshaw, John Bradshaw Layfield, he was accused of favoring certain talent to write for them. That talent being me, Jericho, The Rock, and Edge & Christian. The judge was Undertaker and Brian had to go to court and facing Bradshaw you’re not gonna win [laughs]. So, Brian had to defend himself and Bradshaw was the prosecuting attorney.
“What happened was a lot of the wrestlers got to speak their minds about Brian not writing for them. But listen, Brian was told who to write for. It’s not like he got to pick and choose but he did find chemistry with certain people. When he did that, he would put a little more time and effort into those people that he had chemistry with. So, I understand Brian but I also understand the boys being upset cause Brian did write specifically for The Rock, me, Jericho, and Edge & Christian, I think Hurricane Helms.”
Ultimately, Brian’s punishment wasn’t too bad.
“The end of the court, the end of the hearing Brian had to buy five cases of beer for the wrestlers. So, at least they didn’t do anything physical to him. They only made him buy beer [laughs].”
Angle has said on his podcast that the reason he appreciated Gewirtz is that he was always a wrestling fan. Angle believes that all WWE writers should be fans of the business before being hired.
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WWE superstar Drew McIntyre believes that Roman Reigns is the best wrestler in professional wrestling today. While he wants to challenge Reigns, McIntyre also feels that now isn’t the time.
In an interview with Sky Sports’ Anton Toloui, McIntyre discussed the possibility of working with Reigns soon. McIntyre feels WWE fans want to see him and Reigns in a feud. He also thinks Reigns is the number one wrestler in the industry.
“He’s on fire. There’s nobody close to him in the entire wrestling industry, said McIntyre. He continued “…That’s why everyone keeps saying to me It’s Drew and Roman that’s obviously what’s going to happen. I’m sure it’s inevitably going to happen, but I don’t want it to happen right now.” He explained that he wants to continue to win matches and build up to an eventual feud with Reigns.
Drew McIntrye Move to Smackdown
McIntyre made his return to Smackdown after the WWE Draft on October 1st. He made his WWE debut on Smackdown in 2007. However, his first stint was unsuccessful, which resulted in WWE releasing McIntyre in 2014. Since his return to WWE in 2017, he has only competed on NXT and Raw.
DAZN’s Steven Muehlhausen interviewed McIntyre before the draft and asked if he believes his return to Smackdown brings his career full circle. McIntyre agreed and said, “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.”
He is not involved with a feud right now. However, McIntyre will represent smackdown in the elimination tag team match at Survivor Series 2021. While it seems WWE fans will wait to see McIntyre in a feud with Reigns, he feels the wait will be worth it.
