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Number 10 On Which WrestleMania Match Inspired Him To Become Pro Wrestler

Anutosh Bajpai
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People usually have a superstar they looked up to as a child that leads them to pursuing a pro wrestling career. Though Preston “Number 10” Vance credits a match to have gotten him into pro wrestling.

The Dark Order member recently made an appearance on My Mom’s Basement with Robbie Fox. He discussed things such as the tribute show for Brodie Lee from his hometown and more.

Revealing what inspired him to become a pro wrestler, Vance recalled an exact match that made him want to pursue a wrestling career out of all others:

“I have one definitive match where when I watched it I was like, ‘I want to do this.’ It was Hogan and Rock at ‘Mania at and before they even locked up when they just — that stare down in the Toronto SkyDome going crazy.

They’re not even doing anything and they love it, you know? I’m not someone who’s big on like, ‘Oh what a cool move.’ I like the moments.” said Number 10, “Literally, the Icon vs. Icon moments. So that was the definitive one.”

Later in the interview, the AEW star also offered big praise to John Cena saying that he is a huge fan of the cenation leader. He mentioned that it’s not even so much about what Cena does in the ring.

Number 10 discussed how the cenation leader has delivered the most wishes with make a wish foundation. He claimed that the 16-time world champion has gotten where he is by working super hard.

Tony Khan: “We’re About To Enter Another Golden Era For Professional Wrestling”

Chris Stephens
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AEW President Tony Khan believes that wrestling is on the cusp of another golden era. He spoke recently with DAZN and mentioned that “All Out” was AEW’s Bash at the Beach 96 moment, and the future is looking bright.

“I think wrestling fans should strap in for a big ride,” stated Khan. “We’re not there yet but I feel it’s close. Things are happening and I don’t think it’s going to be too long before wrestling fans are going to feel what I felt in the late 1990’s when WWE and WCW went at trying to provide the best entertainment possible.”

There is some debate to be had as to when the true “Golden Age” of professional wrestling was. Some will say the Hulkamania boom of the 1980s that coincided with an exciting period for Jim Crockett Promotions, Ric Flair and the 4 Horsemen. Others will say it was the late 90s when WWF and WCW were competing with each other on Monday nights. Going back even farther, others will say the 1950s when television sets became more common in households and wrestling was featured prominently.

“I feel like we’ve come so far in the brief time we’ve been around but there’s still a lot more to come and that’s what we are trying to work on all of the time,” Khan continued. “We arrived with some short-term goals relating to talent and TV deals, and now we can aim bigger because we still have a lot to achieve.”

Do you believe Tony Khan is correct? Are we about to enter another Golden Age of professional wrestling? Let us know in the comments section below. AEW Rampage and WWE Smackdown will go head-to-head (for 30 minutes anyway) next Friday night. Khan commented on this in the below Tweets:

Former WCW Wrestler Crowbar To Make AEW Debut

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The former Crowbar from WCW (aka Devon Storm) will make his AEW debut on Dark: Elevation this week. He participated in the tapings held on October 6th from the Liacouras Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He’ll face Joey Janela and be accompanied to the ring by ECW Original, The Blue Meanie. The match will air Monday night on AEW’s YouTube channel.

Crowbar is a former WCW Cruiserweight, Hardcore, and Tag Team Champion (w/ David Flair). He is perhaps best known for his time in a trio along with David Flair and Daffney.

The wrestling world is mourning the loss of Daffney, real name Shannon Spruill, who passed away on September 1st at the age of 46. At one point, Daffney and Crowbar were co-Cruiserweight Champions together after defeating then champion Chris Candido and Tammy Sytch in a tag-team match. They then met in singles action, with Daffney coming out the victor after interference from Candido.

Crowbar spoke with Chris from the It’s My Wrestling Podcast about what a wonderful person Daffney was.

“She was a type of person that would walk into a locker room, or wherever, and would instantly, just, joy would come in,” Crowbar said (transcriptions via Sportskeeda). “She would just light up a room. A very happy, positive person, and we stayed close all these years.”

Adam Cole Reacts To Bobby Fish Signing With AEW

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Adam Cole has given his reaction to Bobby Fish signing with AEW.

Fish appeared on the second-anniversary edition of AEW Dynamite. He challenged Sammy Guevara for the TNT Championship. Guevara ended up getting the victory and many assumed this was a one-off for Bobby Fish.

As it turns out, Fish is actually All Elite. Now that he will be on the AEW roster going forward, it’s led many to wonder if Fish will reunite with Cole. After all, the two were members of the Undisputed Era during their time on NXT.

You may have to hold your horses on that thought a little bit. During an appearance at the 2021 New York Comic-Con convention, Adam Cole addressed Fish’s AEW signing and the possibility of bringing him into The Elite (h/t Fightful).

“The last time I was around Bobby Fish, things with my former group didn’t end so well. I’m not sure we’re on the best terms. However, I am very happy that he’s in AEW, I hope everybody else too. We’ll see if it gets to the point where we invite him into The Elite. I don’t know if I’m emotionally ready for that yet.”

It was reported by Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Newsletter that AEW EVPs, The Young Bucks, were crucial in getting Bobby Fish signed to the promotion.

Fish had been released by WWE as part of a wave of NXT roster cuts. Kyle O’Reilly and Roderick Strong are the only former Undisputed Era members left in WWE.

CM Punk: I Won’t Need 30 Minutes To Beat Kenny Omega

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CM Punk believes that he will eventually meet Kenny Omega and the match won’t go to a time limit draw.

Since making his return to the pro wrestling industry, Punk has been slowly getting back into the swing of things. He hasn’t been thrust into the main event scene right away, although he is getting main event reactions. That’s because in AEW, there is a rankings system and CM Punk is slowly climbing his way up the ladder.

Eventually, Punk does want a piece of the AEW gold. The current World Heavyweight Champion is Kenny Omega. During an interview with Sport1, Punk said that unlike the match with Bryan Danielson, Omega will not be going the distance with him.

“The AEW Title is definitely something I want. I look at my career as being, I haven’t wrestled for seven years, I can’t come in and challenge for a world title right away. I look at the situation with Bryan Danielson coming in and wrestling Kenny Omega in his first match, but it wasn’t for the title. When I wrestle Kenny Omega, it’s gonna be for the title and I’m not going to need 30 minutes to beat him.”

Punk is 3-0 under the AEW banner. He’s picked up wins over Darby Allin, Powerhouse Hobbs, and Daniel Garcia. Many are wondering what will be the next big feud for Punk as we’re a month away from the Full Gear PPV.

As for Omega, he’s been feuding with Danielson but there’s an interesting situation. Hangman Page recently won the Casino Ladder Match, earning him a shot at the AEW World Heavyweight Championship.

Tony Khan On If The SummerSlam Returns Were Response To Recent AEW Debuts

Anutosh Bajpai
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Tony Khan created a lot of buzz for his promotion when he brought in people like CM Punk, Adam Cole, and Bryan Danielson to AEW in close successions. Many believe that WWE reacted to these big debuts by bringing back Brock Lesnar and Becky Lynch at the SummerSlam PPV. Though the AEW president is not sure about it.

Khan was asked if he thinks the SummerSlam returns were a reactive booking from WWE during an interview with Dazn. Replying to it, Tony said that he can’t be sure:

“I can’t say for sure what’s on their minds; Summerslam is a big deal for those guys over there so maybe they had it long in their plans that it would be the place that Brock and Becky returned. We’ve got to keep doing what we’ve been doing so far and that’s trying to give people, our fans, the best possible wrestling product we can.

Tony Khan On If WWE Considers AEW A Competition

Tony Khan
Tony Khan

WWE has tried to undermine AEW as a competition every chance they have gotten. Discussing whether they actually think AEW is a rival for them, Tony Khan mentioned how he has heard that his shows are watched in the gorilla position in WWE:

“Do they see us as rivals or competition? They say we’re not, but I’ve heard that AEW shows are on monitors in the Gorilla position over there, so I take that as a compliment if they’re watching us whilst trying to run their own show.”

Khan went on to claim that he admires them for doing this. According to him, trying to run a show while watching another one is something else. He said that he puts everything he has into producing AEW shows. There is no way he can watch something else while trying to get on with things.

Does Tony Khan Think AEW Has WWE’s Attention?

Kenny Omega Reveals His Favorite Arena In The World

Anutosh Bajpai
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After wrestling in arenas around the globe, Kenny Omega has a very specific pick for his favorite arena in wrestling because of the acoustics of it.

Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer recently made a tweet about the best arenas in the world. Replying to it, the AEW champion picked Osaka-Jo Hall as his favorite:

“Osaka Jo absolutely gets my vote. While sound gets lost in the Tokyo Dome, Arena Mexico, Saitama Super Arena, etc,” wrote Omega, “the acoustics are incredible in that building. It rumbles when you get the crowd rocking.”

Osaka-Jo Hall is a multipurpose arena situated in the Kyobashi area of Osaka, Japan. The arena opened in 1983. It can hold up to 16,000 people at a time.

NJPW has been holding its annual Dominion PPV from the arena since 2015. They have presented a total of 7 Dominion shows from Osaka-Jo Hall till now.

Kenny Omega, who made his name wrestling for the Japanese promotion before signing with AEW, has competed in 4 of these shows. He main evented 2 of them.

His two out of three falls main event match against Kazuchika Okada from Dominion 6.9 in June 2018 received high praise from fans. It was the first and till date the only match to receive a 7-star rating from Meltzer.

Kenny Omega: WWE Is Desperate, AEW Turned The Tables

WWE Talent Frustrated With Recent Women’s Division Booking (Report)

Anutosh Bajpai
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After promoting the women’s revolution for the last few years, WWE seems to be reverting back to their old ways. The talents within the company are frustrated with it.

Fightful Select provided some updates on the backstage reaction to the recent changes. According to the report, there ‘significant frustration’ from talent and staff about the booking of the women’s division:

“We’ve heard significant frustration from talent and staff alike about the booking of the women’s division of late, and the time given in multiple situations.”

This week’s episode of WWE SmackDown featured two women’s matches. The first one saw Zelina Vega picking up a victory over Toni Storm in a first-round Queen’s Crown match. This bout lasted only 2 minutes 14 seconds.

The second bout of the night saw Carmella picking up a victory over the fan-favorite to win the tournament, Liv Morgan. This bout was given even less time and it lasted only 1 minute 36 seconds.

The site also notes that the original plan for Morgan vs. Carmella fight was different. According to them, at one point, Morgan was scheduled to win this first-round Queen’s Crown tournament match but the officials changed the plans.

What do you think about these changes WWE is making to the women’s division? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section.

Brie Bella Can’t Believe How Much WWE Has Dropped The Women’s Division Creatively

D-Von Dudley On Initially Not Liking His Backstage Role In WWE

Anutosh Bajpai
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D-Von Dudley has now settled into his backstage role as a producer in WWE but he didn’t like the position at first because he didn’t want to stop wrestling.

The Hall of Famer recently appeared on The Cut Pro Wrestling podcast. He discussed the Dudley Boyz’ 2015 return to the company and explained that the run ended because his partner Bubba Ray was reluctant to sign a contract extension.

Dudley then claimed that he wanted to continue wrestling but WWE didn’t want him as a singles competitor. He explained that he now enjoys the backstage position that was offered to him instead, but it took him some time to embrace it:

“Just for the record, I never wanted to stop wrestling. I never wanted to be a producer backstage for WWE, I enjoy it now but it took me some years to actually embrace it and like it.”

D-Von Dudley Has Grown Into His New Role

D-Von Dudley continued his explanation mentioning how he has produced matches for the teams he once had great bouts with himself:

“I hated it at first, I didn’t like it. Now, I’ve grown into it, working with guys like the Usos, the New Day, even Rey and Dominik, the Viking Raiders, The Bludgeon [Brothers],

I had great matches with those guys in the ring with them as well as producing their matches. I felt that I was wrong again and not getting the opportunity to wrestle continuously, but you know it is what it is.”

D-Von Dudley has been working as a producer for WWE since September 2016. His partner Bully Ray was offered a similar role by Vince McMahon, but did not like the offer.

D-Von Dudley Claims A Lot Of Young Talents Are Disrespectful And Rude

Bully Ray Recalls Vince McMahon Offering Him A Backstage Position In WWE

Anutosh Bajpai
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Bully Ray was offered a backstage position in WWE by Vince McMahon himself. Though the wrestling legend didn’t feel very enthusiastic about it because of how things have changed over the years.

The WWE Hall Of Famer recently joined Gerald Brisco and JBL for an appearance on Stories with Brisco and Bradshaw. He recalled feeling ‘stifled’ by his 2015 return to the company because of how the creative process has changed.

Discussing if he has any interest in taking on a backstage role in WWE, Ray revealed that the boss himself, Mr. McMahon had offered him a position in the past:

“Vince has offered me the position in the past. He has told me, ‘When you’re ready, I’d love to have you here as a producer’. I don’t think the job is the same job that it used to be when [Brisco] were a producer or an agent.”

Bully Ray Explains Why He Didn’t Take The Job

Bully Ray Dudley Brothers
The Dudley Boys are one of the most iconic tag teams of all time

Explaining why he didn’t take the job, Bully Ray mentioned that the producers nowadays just carry the marching orders of the creative team to the talent:

“I believe the producers and agents now just kind of carry the marching orders of creative to the boys, and I don’t think the boys have as much input into things these days. I do consider myself creative.

If I don’t feel like that creativity can be put to work for the guys and the gals putting their matches together, then I kind of feel stifled. I would try it one day.”

The Attitude Era star then questioned JBL how his experience of working as an agent was. Replying to it, JBL said that he tried it for a few months but didn’t enjoy it.

Bully Ray was also asked which generation he thinks had the best tag teams. In reply, the former champion claimed that the tag teams of the Attitude Era sold more arenas and made more money than any other generation.

Bianca Belair On Her Thoughts On NXT 2.0

Anutosh Bajpai
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The NXT 2.0 revamp has divided the opinion of fans with the majority considering it a wrong move. Though Bianca Belair seems excited about the changes and the result they might bring.

The former SmackDown women’s champion recently had an interview with Hindustan Times. She discussed things such as her move to Raw during WWE Draft and more.

When asked for her thoughts on the rebranding of WWE’s development territory, Belair claimed that she is all about it. She mentioned how she is a home-grown talent:

“I am all about NXT because that was where I learned everything. I am a homegrown NXT talent. NXT is amazing – they know how to create superstars. They became the third brand at one point. They are now revamping. They know how to build superstars”

Bianca Belair then listed a number of stars that have come from NXT including people such as Shayna Baszler and Rhea Ripley. She said that it’s fun to see new faces:

“It’s just fun to see new faces and new talent. We have so much talent in the locker room. Even in NXT – who are waiting to show their talent. I know what they can do. I am just waiting for the world to see what they can do.”

Apart from this, Belair also revealed which stars she would like to include in her faction. You can check out her comments on the matter at this link.

Bianca Belair On When She Found Out About Changes In Her SummerSlam Match

Becky Lynch And Lita Teasing Confrontation On Raw

Anutosh Bajpai
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WWE Hall Of Famer Lita and the current SmackDown women’s champion Becky Lynch are teasing a confrontation ahead of this Monday’s episode of Raw.

The Attitude Era star retweeted an article on her profile looking at five dream matches she could have with stars of the current roster. Not very surprisingly, one of the names on the list was of The Man herself.

Lynch took the time to respond to the wrestling veteran saying that she will like to send Lita off with a bad arm. Lita then teased a confrontation between the two:

This week’s episode of Monday Night Raw will be airing live from Chase Center in San Francisco, California. It’s also where the former women’s champion resides.

Becky Lynch was moved to Raw during the WWE Draft. While the changed rosters do not come into effect until after the Crown Jewel PPV, there is nothing that can stop The Man from doing what she wants.

Lita was last seen wrestling in a WWE ring almost 3 years ago. She competed in a 10 woman tag team match during the October 29, 2018 episode of Raw.

Will you be excited for a Becky Lynch vs. Lita match in the future? Let us know your thoughts about a potential clash between these two below.

Drew McIntyre Recalls Hilarious Hotel Story Involving The Undertaker

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Drew McIntyre has reflected on a funny hotel story involving The Undertaker.

McIntyre has become one of the top faces in WWE. He is a former two-time WWE Champion. He hopes to eventually capture the WWE Universal Championship now that he’ll be a member of the SmackDown brand.

There was a time during McIntyre’s first run where he overthought things. Perhaps no example was more clear than when he thought he stole The Undertaker’s hotel room. He reflected on that time during a media scrum when WWE was on tour in the UK.

“I don’t think I mentioned it to him. I probably should. I’m sure he’ll find that amusing. But yeah that sucked. I wish I knew what I knew now back then because I had this lovely, lovely room. It was so gigantic and had like a dining room and a giant kitchen. And all I did was just sit there worried awake all night because I was like, ‘clearly there’s been a mistake. They thought like, Galloway-Calloway, they’ve clearly given me The Undertaker’s room.’ And I just sat there panicking all night, but if I go back now I totally would’ve made the most of that room.”

Drew McIntyre had another humorous story involving The Undertaker. Years back, The Undertaker found McIntyre’s facial hair to be lacking.

“I have done a couple of impressions to him which he doesn’t find as amusing. I reminded him of when I tried to grow the beard when I was younger. It wasn’t going very well when in fact we were on the road full time. I kind of walk down just walking up to him, ‘Sir.’ He’s like, ‘I’ve got more hair on my ass than you’ve got in your face, boy.'”

McIntyre is set to challenge Big E for the WWE Championship on Oct. 21. The title match will be featured on the WWE Crown Jewel card.

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.

Thunder Rosa Says TBS Championship Won’t Make Or Break Her

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Thunder Rosa is making it clear that the TBS Championship won’t define her.

Rosa’s popularity in AEW is substantial. Many believe she will ultimately be the one to dethrone Britt Baker. For now, it looks like Rosa will be a part of the TBS Championship tournament. The TBS Title is a new piece of hardware recently introduced on AEW TV.

During an interview with AdFreeShows, Thunder Rosa said her holding the TBS Championship won’t make or break her.

“At this moment, time will tell. I am really happy that I’m working in a place where I’m happy and able to be me, regardless if I have a championship or not, that doesn’t define me, that doesn’t define who Thunder Rosa is and what she’s all about. I don’t care about the outcome, sometimes, I just care about when I’m in the ring, whoever is in the ring with me is going to get her ass beat. I give everything I have and I’m not going to let anyone punk me, if I’m going to win or not. I did a tournament before to get the number one contendership and Nyla beat me. This one, I’m not going to let anyone beat me easily. Not again.”

The TBS Championship was announced on the second-anniversary show of Dynamite. The championship will be introduced along with Dynamite’s move from TNT to TBS on Jan. 5. This will be the secondary women’s title in AEW, similar to the TNT Championship.

Dave Meltzer had reported that fans shouldn’t expect Thunder Rosa to challenge Britt Baker for the AEW Women’s World Championship until early 2022. There is a rivalry between the two as Rosa defeated Baker in the Unsanctioned Lights Out match.

CM Punk Praises AEW For Being Drama-Free

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CM Punk values AEW for being free of any drama.

Punk made his debut for AEW back in August. This was also his big return to the professional wrestling industry. Punk hadn’t appeared for a wrestling promotion since making his exit from WWE in early 2014. While some may point out Punk’s appearances on WWE Backstage, that show was a FOX project.

During an interview with The Wrap, CM Punk discussed the importance of AEW not having the typical drama he had been used to for so many years.

“I’m here to stay. Trust me, in 10 years, people will be talking about what we have with AEW. It’s such a just hang out, wait and see, and have fun and enjoy the ride kind of thing. Everything is fluid: dates, contracts — literally everything. This has been the best working experience I’ve ever had in the wrestling business, and if there is an issue on either end, everybody just talks. There’s no drama, it’s fantastic.”

Punk had his first wrestling match since 2014 at the All Out PPV event on Sept. 5. He went one-on-one with Darby Allin and scored the pinfall. Since then, Punk has taken on Powerhouse Hobbs of Team Taz and Daniel Garcia. Punk emerged victorious in both matches.

We’ve also seen Punk make quite a few appearances at the commentary table. AEW’s play-by-play ace Jim Ross has said that he feels Punk is a natural at the desk. We likely haven’t seen the last of Punk with a headset on.

Details On Bobby Fish Signing With AEW

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There are some reported details on what led to the AEW signing of Bobby Fish.

Fish made his debut for AEW on the Oct. 1 edition of Rampage. He challenged Sammy Guevera for the TNT Championship. Fish lost the match, and many assumed that this would be a one-off.

As it turns out, Bobby Fish is indeed All Elite. Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio reports that The Young Bucks can be credited with bringing Fish on board. The tag team and EVPs of AEW were said to be very high on Fish.

Fish has already been teasing meeting Guevera again down the line. In the meantime, it’ll be interesting to see who Fish mixes it up against. Fish is once again under the same roof as his ex-Undisputed Era partner Adam Cole. Whether or not the two will eventually become chummy on AEW TV remains to be seen.

Fish had competed on WWE’s NXT brand since 2017. Along the way, he captured the NXT Tag Team Championships twice. Before Cole left WWE, many felt Fish would be the odd man out after the Undisputed Era disbanded. This was proven to be correct as WWE released Fish along with a slew of other NXT talent.

The IInspiration Appearing At Impact Bound For Glory

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The IInspiration are headed to Impact Wrestling.

Cassie Lee and Jessica McCay, formerly known as The IIconics in WWE, will debut at the upcoming Bound for Glory pay-per-view from Las Vegas. The duo has reportedly signed with Impact, according to PWInsider.

A video package aired during this weekend’s Knockouts Knockdown event announcing their arrival:

The Australian stars joined WWE in 2015 and were paired together on the NXT brand that year. They were widely regarded as one of the most entertaining, yet underutilized acts on the roster. They were released on April 15th, 2021.

Since their departure, Lee and McCay launched the Off Her Chops podcast and have been making appearances at wrestling conventions. Now, they’re Bound for Glory.

Impact Wrestling’s Bound For Glory PPV takes place Saturday, October 23rd from Las Vegas, Nevada at Sam’s Town Live. If you’re in the Las Vegas area, tickets are still available at Ticketmaster.com.

Former WWE Star Recalls Horrendous Gimmick Pitched By Vince McMahon

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One former WWE talent has revealed his own horror story in terms of a gimmick that was pitched to him.

We’ve seen a slew of performers thrive under the WWE banner. The likes of Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, and currently Big E have been able to not only make a ton of money but also have become standout performers for the company.

It doesn’t work out for everyone, however. Orlando Colon, known as Epico in WWE, learned that the hard way. When Orlando was teaming with his cousin, Primo, he was pitched a gimmick that smelled like instant disaster.

Epico detailed the pitch by Vince McMahon during an appearance on the That’s 90s Wrestling Podcast.

“One of the many times we got heat, they came up with this gimmick. We were supposed to be the Puerto Rican Playboys. We’re in the office and Vince goes, ‘Yeah you guys are good-looking. You’re Puerto Rican, I want you guys to dress like Hugh Hefner.’ It was like a mix of Hugh Hefner and Goldust. ‘You’re gonna wear black and gold.’ Me and Primo looked, we almost threw up right there. ‘Here’s your gimmick,’ they had gear and everything. We had the black and gold robe like Hugh Hefner. And we were gonna be in Goldust’s color scheme. ‘Oh god please.'”

Primo Epico
Primo & Epico promoting Puerto Rican tourism

Colon then said that at the last minute, Vince McMahon decided to change his mind.

“We were about to debut and then two hours before we were supposed to debut with that gimmick Vince goes, ‘Ah, it might be too much for TV. Playboys, what is that?’ And that was his idea. So then we get called into the office he goes, ‘Yeah I want you guys to sell me Puerto Rico. Just yeah, sell it to me. Sell me attention.’ And I’m like, ‘we’ll do whatever you want other than Puerto Rican Playboys.'”

Orlando and Primo ended up becoming The Shining Stars. The two were released back in April 2020 as part of WWE’s budget cuts during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Primo Epico Los Matadores
Primo & Epico as Los Matadores

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.

Cain Velasquez Returning To Wrestling With AAA

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During Saturday’s Heroes Inmortales XIV event, AAA announced that Cain Velasquez will be returning to the promotion. The former UFC Heavyweight Champion will return on AAA’s December 4th show. No opponent has been announced for him thus far.

Velasquez was one of several WWE contracted talent released on April 28th, 2020 following the onset of the global pandemic. The 39-year-old only wrestled twice for the promotion. His first match was at Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia on October 31st, 2019. He challenged Brock Lesnar unsuccessfully for the WWE Championship on that show. The match came 9 yers after Velasquez had defeated Lesnar for the UFC Heavyweight Championship at UFC 121.

Velasquez’s second and final match with WWE came in November of 2019 on a house show from Mexico City. He teamed with Humberto Carrillo and defeated Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows.

Prior to signing with WWE, Velasquez wrestled twice for AAA in 2019 as well. At AAA TripleMania XXVII, he teamed with Cody Rhodes and Psycho Clown and defeated Los Mercenarios (El Texano Jr. & Taurus) & Killer Kross. His second match came the following month when AAA presented an “Invading NY” show at the Hulu theatre. He teamed with Brian Cage & Psycho Clown to defeat Los Mercenarios (El Texano Jr., Rey Escorpion & Taurus)

Bryan Danielson Says Lying About Concussions Led To Retirement

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On February 8, 2016 Bryan Danielson, then known as Daniel Bryan, announced his retirement. The next day on ESPN, Bryan revealed that he’d had 10 documented concussions during his career. Bryan recently spoke with WDEL in Delaware about his time away from wrestling. He revealed that lying to WWE about his medical status played a role in him having to step away from the ring.

“One of the reasons I was forced to retire was not because of the concussions, but because I lied about that,” Danielson said. “You have to understand from WWE’s point of view, I had been wrestling for them for six years, but then all of a sudden they opened this Pandora’s box about lying about his medical history, and now we can’t trust him.”

Danielson would be cleared to return in March of 2018. This followed him visiting with several independent neurosurgeons, neurologists, and concussion experts.

“A lot of that was building the trust back, but they were also legitimately looking after my health. Going to see doctor after doctor, and doing everything that I could to improve brain function to show above and beyond that my brain was healthy.”

Bryan’s first match back in 2018 was at WrestleMania 34. He teamed with Shane McMahon and defeated Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn. In November of 2018, he defeated AJ Styles to win the WWE Championship for a 4th time. He’d hold the title for 145 days before losing it to Kofi Kingston at WrestleMania 35.

Kurt Angle Explains Why He Pushed To End Rey Mysterio’s World Title Run

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Kurt Angle admits that he wanted to win back the World Heavyweight Championship from Rey Mysterio back in 2006.

Kurt Angle, Mysterio, and Randy Orton had been involved in a feud leading up to WrestleMania 22. Mysterio won the Royal Rumble but ended up losing his big World Title shot to Orton. Mysterio earned his way back in the match and it was made a triple threat. At the time, Angle was the World Heavyweight Champion.

Mysterio ended up capturing the gold by nailing Orton with the 619 followed by a springboard hurricanrana. It was a memorable moment, as Mysterio’s win was in honor of the late Eddie Guerrero.

During an edition of The Kurt Angle Show, the former Olympic gold medalist said that while he loved the moment that Rey had, he felt there was an opportunity to create a new star had he won back the World Heavyweight Championship.

“Rey won the title and I was all for it. I thought it was awesome. I think that Rey winning the title for the first time and representing Eddie Guerrero was an incredible moment. But I’m the best at making people. That’s what I do and I know Rey didn’t really need that title for very long. And I thought that if I took the title and had a program with somebody else to bring them up, that’s what I wanted to do.

“It’s not like I need more titles. I’ve won real titles in my life. Olympic gold medalist, world champion in 1995, two NCAA Championships. I won the real stuff, I don’t really need the fake hardware. Not fake, you know what I’m saying? In pro wrestling and sports entertainment. But I wanted to do what I did best and that was bringing up younger talent and making them.”

Mysterio ended up holding the title for 112 days. Booker T ended his reign at The Great American Bash on July 23, 2006. Kurt Angle never had a run with the World Heavyweight Championship again.

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.

GCW Heading To Iconic ECW Venue The Hammerstein Ballroom

Jake Skudder
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Game Changer Wrestling/GCW has confirmed that they will be heading to the iconic Hammerstein Ballroom in 2022.

GCW owner Brett Lauderdale confirmed that Game Changer Wrestling will run the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York on January 23, 2022.

A new vignette aired that featured the GCW roster members standing in the Hammerstein Ballroom. Several notable names gave reasons why they would ‘never make it big in wrestling.’

GCW Heading To Hammerstein Ballroom

The Hammerstein Ballroom is of course a major part of Extreme Championship Wrestling’s past, with the iconic venue having hosted events there in the late 90s to early 2000s.

Both WWE One Night Stand 2005 and 2006 were also held at the Ballroom, as part of WWE’s attempt to bring back the ECW brand.

No names have officially been confirmed for the event, however the usual crop of talent in Game Changer such as Joey Janela, Effy, Nick Gage, Ninja Mack, Rickey Shane Page and AJ Gray.

Check out the full hype video below:

https://twitter.com/Aregularindyfan/status/1447035968062693381?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1447035968062693381%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fightful.com%2Fwrestling%2Fgcw-coming-hammerstein-ballroom-january-2022

Bully Ray Reveals He Felt ‘Stifled’ On WWE Return in 2015

Jake Skudder
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Former WWE Superstar and Hall of Famer Bully Ray recently appeared on Stories with Brisco and Bradshaw. The Dudley Boy discussed several topics during the show, including when he returned to WWE in 2015.

When Bully and D-Von made their return, they hadn’t been in the company since 2006, so it was a culture shock for the ECW legend when he saw how different the industry was.

“When D-Von and I left in 2006, I remember what WWE was like,” Bully Ray began. “So when we went back in 2015, I remember feeling so stifled as a performer. Because you had to run almost everything by the agent, and being told that two guys don’t bump and feed for a comeback anymore, or that you can’t do this behind the ref’s back.

Bully Ray on WWE Culture

“Everything that worked in the Attitude Era that made all of us a lot of money, now you couldn’t do anymore” Bully added. “And there was not really a good reason why they didn’t want it done anymore. It’s just that they’d not want it done.

“I remember dealing with an agent one time where I came up with something different and I felt passionate about it. I asked my agent to please go run it by Vince. My agent said, ‘Okay, I will’” Bully recalled.

“Then I followed my agent for an hour, he never spoke with Vince, then he came back and said, ‘Yeah, Vince doesn’t want to do that’. I lose all the respect in the world for you. So I would much rather you tell me to my face, ‘You know what, Bubba? I don’t want to talk with Vince right now. You go do it’.”

WWE SmackDown: Final Half Hour To Run Commercial-Free Against AEW Rampage

Jake Skudder
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It was confirmed during Saturday’s Iowa vs. Penn State college football game on FOX that next week’s episode of SmackDown will see the final half-hour go commercial-free.

Next week’s episode will be a ‘Supersized’ episode of the show airing on FS1, with the final half-hour running head-to-head with AEW Rampage on TNT.

This will be a massive night for both WWE and All Elite, with the SmackDown and Rampage overlapping for the very first time.

With SmackDown airing on FS1, it is clear that WWE realises they have a fight on their hands.

Rampage has not been holding steady on the ratings for the past few weeks, but it’s clear that WWE knows they have competition on the night with SmackDown being bumped from FOX to FS1.

WWE SmackDown vs AEW Rampage

The lineup for the show on FOX is absolutely stacked, with Becky Lynch vs Sasha Banks likely to be taking place in that non-commercial final half an hour.

WWE is not taking any chances with Rampage potentially beating them head-to-head on their biggest show; but it certainly means that we’re in for an exciting night of action on both programmes.

Here’s the current lineup for the Supersized version of WWE SmackDown:

  • SmackDown Women’s Champion Becky Lynch vs. Sasha Banks (Non-title Main Event)
  • King of the Ring Tournament Semi-final: Finn Balor vs. Sami Zayn
  • Queen’s Crown Tournament Semi-finals: Carmella vs. Zelina Vega
  • Sonya Deville makes her in-ring return against Naomi
  • Brock Lesnar will be appearing

Court Bauer Confirms MLW Had Talks With WWE

Jake Skudder
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Major League Wrestling/MLW owner Court Bauer has confirmed that he and the company were in talks with WWE earlier this year.

That had been rumors of talks between the two parties after the ‘Forbidden Door’ concept really took off with AEW, IMPACT, New Japan, AAA, GCW and more all working together.

Bauer confirmed the rumors during a media call for MLW Fightland:

“We’re talking with different offices about bringing their talent in and doing some international title matches. As for domestic partnerships, that’s where it gets a little tricky.

Court Bauer on WWE Conversations

“We’ve had talks, people are probably aware, we talked with WWE earlier this year. You have these conversations, try to see how it would work, and the biggest concern you have, at least for me, is you’re kind of inviting tortious interference and allowing it to happen if you go down that road and if you don’t feel like you’re getting enough in return to even take that risk, what are you doing? What’s the strategy there?

“It can be very complicated, whether it’s WWE or another company. It can be risky because often the talent, when they come through, you’re not going to now be able to control the creative for.

“These guys you spent a lot of time building up are now not in your system and now they are main event stars in MLW, but they go over there for a cameo and they’re not treated like top guys, you’re doing a disservice to them and your fans that have invested in their journey.

“It’s a really delicate thing and every conversation with every company is different. It’s a bit of a dance and sometimes it’s the forbidden dance.“

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