Jim Ross was the one who introduced Vince McMahon to Brock Lesnar and the boss’ first reaction to the beast was exactly what you would expect. The former WWE commentator recently had an interview with Talk Sport where he talked about his other role in the company as the head of talent relations.
Ross has previously explained how they did not tell Vince about Lesnar earlier as they wanted the former WWE champion to complete the senior year of his college. Speaking of the time he and Gerry Brisco finally brought Lesnar to a TV taping, JR revealed how Vince reacted when he first saw him:
“I said to McMahon ‘that new kid I’m recruiting is here tonight. If you get a chance I’d like you to say hello him. So McMahon is walking about with his Mr. McMahon walk and he happens to glance over and Gerry Brisco is standing by this monster. Vince made a U-turn and beelined right to Brock – he had never seen him. Never watched him wrestle.”
Jim Ross mentioned that they had hyped Lesnar as an extraordinary talent to the boss before bringing him in. When Vince McMahon finally laid his eyes on the monster-sized athlete, he knew that Brock was ‘the guy’:
“So when Vince laid eyes on him he knew that we had the guy. If he had any aptitude whatsoever – we knew athletically he was going to be great, he’d already proven himself as an athlete – but if he could get the showbiz side of it and have the aptitude to be a pro wrestler, he was going to be our guy for a while. And that worked out.”
Brock Lesnar was then signed to the biggest rookie contract of that time and sent to OVW in 2000. He had a successful run following his main roster debut in 2002 but he famously got burned out and left the promotion only two years after his first main roster match in 2004 to pursue other interests.
WWE Superstar The Miz is set to take some time away from the ring. It was reported that the former WWE Champion was injured the ‘zombie’ lumberjack match at the WrestleMania Backlash show. Although the severity has not been publicly revealed, he sustained an ACL tear.
With Miz now out for some period of time, that leaves his tag team partner John Morrison open to pursue a singles run on Monday Night RAW. Speaking to Forbes, The Miz recently said that WWE needs to have John Morrison near the top of the card as soon as possible.
The Miz on John Morrison
“I don’t see myself and John Morrison splitting up for a very long time. If ever,” The Miz revealed to Forbes. “I don’t see that happening. We’re too connected, we have too much chemistry and we still have more to go.”
“John pushes me more than anybody else in WWE” The Miz added. “Right now, he is just absolutely incredible, he is on a tear. I think if he’s not in the main event scene going for the WWE or Universal Championship in the next year? I think this is something we’re missing in WWE.”
With The Miz now out, do you want to see Johnny Drip Drip start competing for the top titles in WWE? Let us know in the comments
Tenille Dashwood, better known to WWE fans as Emma recently appeared on Taylor Wilde’s ‘Wilde On’ podcast where she revealed the story behind her ring name in the company.
The female star signed a contract with the company in 2011 and made her debut for the FCW brand right before its rebranding as the NXT in August 2012.
Talking about her ring name, Dashwood discussed how the company did not allow people to use their real names at the time. So the officials asked her to give a list of suggestions for her ring name:
“So, when I first started, they said ‘give me a list of names’ and I remember I gave a list of like 20 names or something and they were like two-part names too,
like I had a last name but they just went ahead and went ‘out of all of these, we’ll just take this name but without that…so, just Emma,’ and I was like oh, okay.”
Tenille Dashwood continued her story mentioning how the officials had finalised two names from the list and she chose the one which felt catchy to her:
“Well, they came back with two options, it was like Emma or like Adeline was the other one and I thought, Adeline? What is that?
I guess it’s a nice name but it’s not like catchy, it’s not easy to say, Adeline is easy to forget and Emma is simple, everyone will be able to say it,”
Dashwood made her main roster debut in 2014 as Emma, making her the first Australian woman to debut on WWE TV. At a time it was said that the company had big plans for her character.
However, Emma was sent back to NXT in 2015. While she did return to the main roster in 2016, she didn’t stay in the company very long after that. She was released from the promotion in October 2017.
Since his departure from WWE, EC3 has been a loud voice for real storytelling in wrestling. Disillusioned with the authoritarian control that lingered above everything during his WWE tenure, EC3 has been vocal about real wrestling.
His upcoming Free the Narrative event which features a match between him, and Matt Cardona is the result of his voice. The fully-independent event has no overarching corporate governance and will be a match about real professional wrestling.
While talking about the event on The Wrestling Inc. Daily, podcast, EC3 also brought up a memory that is equally poignant as it is indicative of the level of frustration felt in WWE right now.
Talking more about this Smackdown dark match with the late Brodie Lee (then Luke Harper), EC3 comments on how they were forced to perform as many different, counterintuitive spots as possible in a reduced time window.
EC3 Shared Fond Memories of the Late Brodie Lee
During the interview, the legacy that Brodie Lee created is clear in the way EC3 talks about the man. It also encapsulates everything that is currently wrong in WWE. Why many of their talents are leaving or accepting their lack of narrative control as the way of modern business.
“Whatever, that’s the business, but Jon was a great man, very fortunate to have worked with him in that sense. I always hold on to that memory. When I got fired, he actually texted me. He said, ‘Hey man, remember when they told us to do all this stuff, and you and Drake did really good at your job and then we all got in trouble?’ And I said, ‘Yep.’ He’s like, ‘Well, hopefully, see you around,’ and I did not get to see him since. That’s unfortunate, but that’s the story.”
EC3 never named his previous employers and asserted that no three-letter companies are going to be involved. The landscape of professional wrestling is changing. Hopefully, for wrestlers and fans alike, it is a change for the better.
Another rivalry looks to be reaching its conclusion in NXT. William Regal has sanctioned an NXT tag team title match between MSK and Mendoza and Wilde from Legado del Fantasma.
The match came about after Mendoza and Wilde picked up a win over Tomasso Ciampa and Timothy Thatcher. The match itself served as a device for escalating two different feuds. The MSK feud for one and the growing storyline between the duo of Ciampa and Thatcher and the Grizzled Young Veterans. The British pair being the reason Legado del Fantasma picked up the victory on Tuesday night.
The group have been feuding with the current Tag Team champions for a while now. MSK beat Mendoza and Wilde on the opening night of NXT Stand and Deliver to claim the then vacant belts. In recent weeks, the pair have been teaming up with Cruiserweight champion Kushida. Kushida himself is locked in a feud with Santiago Escobar, the leader of Legado del Fantasma.
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MSK are currently enjoying their first reign as champions in WWE. The championship fight, which is set for June 1st, will be the second time they have defended the belts. At this time there are no stipulations attached the bout. However, expect to see Escobar show up at some point to try and steer the odds in his teams favor. Hopefully Kushida will be on hand however to even up the score.
It could be hard to pick a winner between these two groups, but either way, the match is bound to be a show-stealer.
The internet has been abuzz ever since the undead invaded the WWE Backlash event last Sunday. The latest superstar to make a comment is Bray Wyatt. The man whose Fiend character who, despite being absent since Wrestlemania is a largely supernatural and somewhat horrific entity.
Wyatt is not the most active of social media superstars. However, when he does use it, he uses it to good effect.
In a simple tweet sent out on Tuesday night, the demonic Bray Wyatt simply asked if the WWE universe were missing him.
For such a short message, there are a lot of layers worked into it. The Fiend Bray Wyatt was an unstoppable force when he first arrived. Many fans criticised his character for his supposed invulnerability. In his tweet, Wyatt is clearly venting a little frustration at what happened.
Wyatt has not been seen in a WWE ring since Wrestlemania 37, when Alex Bliss cost her partner in his match against Randy Orton. The match itself was disappointing, with a single RKO enough to slay the fiend.
The rumoured reasons behind Wyatt’s absence are that he has been suffering from some mental health problems and asked for some time away to heal. His return was immediately lambasted by Vince McMahon which led to Wyatt taking further time off to heal.
Mental health is an important thing to take care of, especially in a world like professional wrestling, and it is good that stars are not afraid to speak up when they need to take a break. Hopefully, though, it won’t be long before Bray gets another storyline, and the Fiend can be unleashed once more.
In a recent session talking with Briscoe and Bradshaw, WWE legend Fit Finlay opened up about this son, David Finlay. David Finlay has been a star for New Japan ever since graduating through their dojo system. He is currently one-half of the IMPACT world champions with his NJPW colleague FinJuice.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CMYlBGEJP-_/
However, according to his father, there may be some doubt as to whether David will stay in Japan for the long haul. The Covid pandemic and recent outbreaks within the NJPW ranks have forced wrestlers to review their current position.
“So I guess Japan have had an outbreak of COVID and so they started cancelling shows. He works for New Japan Pro-Wrestling. They started having an outbreak. A lot of the talent got COVID so they were sending them home.” Finlay told the show.
The wrestling legend then went on to talk about how his son is finding his feet as a wrestler. He is at that pivotal point where a decision can be made without having to build a reputation back from the bottom rung of a company.
“But, he’s a little bit confused at the minute as to what to do next, you know? Is he going to stay in Japan, does he want to try here, like WWE or whatever. But he and I are gonna sit down when he does eventually come home and try and figure it out but he just needs a little bit of wisdom put in his head.”
It is an interesting conundrum, Fit is a WWE legend, while David Finlay’s tag team partner Juice Robinson has experienced the darker side of the current generation of WWE executives.
Whatever happens, David Finlay has an exciting wrestling future ahead of him.
CM Punk recently had some fun with a famous habit of Vince McMahon while replying to Charlotte Flair. The multi-time Women’s Champion has has since responded to his remarks.
Flair posted a photo of herself on commentary and asked her followers to provide a caption. Punk provided a cheeky response and poked fun at McMahon’s habit of shouting instructions at WWE commentators during live broadcasts.
Doing his best Vince McMahon impersonation, Punk wrote, “GODDAMIT PAL WATCH THE MONITORS AND STOP SAYING WRESTLING PAL”
“GODDAMNIT PAL WATCH THE MONITORS AND STOP SAYING WRESTLING PAL”
When asked about Punk’s reply to her post in a new interview with Hindustan Times, Charlotte claimed that no one was buzzing in her ear during her time in the commentary booth:
“No one is buzzing me in my ear, I have known Byron Saxton and Corey Graves for a very long time. It was just great to be out there with them, feeling as confident as ever. No, Vince doesn’t buzz me in my ear about anything.”
Charlotte Flair also talked about her recent storyline with Ric Flair and Lacey Evans. She explained how she wasn’t very enthusiastic about the storyline and said that she didn’t want to share the screen with her dad.
The former champion expanded on her comments saying that she still love to share the screen with her dad but she also wants to be acknowledged as a separate performer after everything she has done.
Bronson Reed emerged from the steel cage victorious after a brutal bout with Johnny Gargano on NXT this week. The pair have been locked in a feud for some time. In recent weeks Gargano has been seen doing everything he can to try and avoid a clash with the big Australian. However, their clash was inevitable, and with the addition of a steel cage, the mountain Gargano had to climb grew even bigger.
Reed is a fan favourite in WWE and a fourteen-year veteran. The title is his first in WWE and it caps off quite a rocky road for the high-flying big man.
Having been rejected by WWE on several occasions in the past, he finally got his chance in 2019. Grasping it with both hands, his hard work paid off on Tuesday night.
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‘It’s been a long journey but I’m finally a champion in WWE. It’s overwhelming. I didn’t think in these sorts of moments that I’d cry, but I did,’ Bronson Reed told the Adelaide Advertiser.
2021 has been a good year for Australian wrestlers in WWE. Bronson Reed and Reah Ripley – both Adelaide natives – hold singles titles. While fellow Australian Indi Hartwell is one-half of the newly crowned NXT Tag Team champions.
We have so much untapped potential and talent in Australia. We’re starting to put the world on notice that Australia is a big wrestling company,’ Bronson Reed told reporters.
With the steel cage behind him, it is unlikely that Reed will get long to celebrate his victory. NXT is full of superstars who are willing to go to great lengths to claim gold. It is not clear who Reed will feud with next, but there will no doubt be a rematch with Gargano in the near future.
Shinsuke Nakamura hasn’t had a whole lot of interaction with Brock Lesnar in WWE but the King Of Strong Style is still interested in a rematch with The Beast from their NJPW days.
The former NXT champion recently appeared on the Oral Sessions podcast hosted by Renee Paquette, where he talked about a number of things.
During the interview, Nakamura was asked about Lesnar and his behavior during his NJPW stint. Replying to it, he said that he would be open to a rematch before claiming that Brock’s behavior was very unprofessional:
“If I have the opportunity, of course, I want [it]. [on the reaction to Brock Lesnar’s NJPW run] I was young, and he was young, I don’t know, [It was very] unprofessional.”
For those who don’t know, Brock Lesnar had a short stint with NJPW after his WWE departure and he won the IWGP World Heavyweight title in his debut match for the promotion in October 2005.
The Beast defended his title against opponents such as Shinsuke Nakamura. However, Lesnar’s unwillingness to defend the title regularly led to the company stripping him of the championship in July 2006.
Apart from this, the Japanese star also talked about things such as struggling with English, talking to Vince McMahon, and more. You can check out more of his comments at this link.
A lot of people believe that going their separate ways would be better for the careers of both John Morrison and The Miz but the latter believes that they will continue being partners for a long time.
He recently had an interview with Forbs. It was conducted before the former WWE champion suffered a nasty injury in his WrestleMania: Backlash match against Damian Priest.
During the talk, The Miz was asked about their team splitting up and he said that he doesn’t see it happening for a long time:
“I don’t see myself and John Morrison splitting up for a very long time, if ever, I don’t see that happening. We’re too connected, we have too much chemistry and we still have more to go. John pushes me more than anybody else in WWE.
Right now, he is just absolutely incredible,” said The Miz, “He is on a tear, and I think if he’s not in the main event scene going for the WWE or Universal Championship in the next year I think this is something we’re missing in WWE.”
These comments from the former champion are interesting in light of his recent injury. While not many details about his condition are known yet, reports suggest he could miss up to 9 months of action if he ends up requiring surgery.
The Miz staying out of action for that long would force WWE to make a decision about John Morrison. It’s very likely that he will be moved to singles competition instead of being taken off TV.
Former WCW star Chuck Palumbo had a couple of stints with WWE in the early and mid-2000s, but the runs didn’t last for very long and he ended up leaving the company after a short while.
During a recent interview with WrestlingInc, the former tag team champion talked about his wrestling career and explained the reasoning behind his departure from the company.
Palumbo explained that the first time he left WWE in 2004 after a three year run with the promotion, it wasn’t really his choice:
“The first time, it really wasn’t my choice. I didn’t want to, but they weren’t doing anything with me, they did for a while, but then it got cut short.
I thought the FBI stuff was good. In this business, it’s kind of weird. One or two people, their opinion of you can often dictate your career.”
Chuck Palumbo was brought back to the promotion in 2006. However, his second run was even shorter and the former WWE star explained that he knew that it was going to be his last run:
“They paid me to sit home, and then I finally started to use the motorcycle gimmick. I signed a two-year deal in ’06. I knew in my gut that that was going to be it for me.
I didn’t want to stay any longer than that, unless things were really good. I knew I had the two-year deal. I tried to do the best I could with it, but I started making plans at that point for my future.”
Palumbo continued wrestling in independent circuit several years after his departure from the promotion. He quietly retired from the sport in 2012.
The May 18, 2021 episode of WWE NXT aired live on the USA Network from Orlando, Florida at the Capitol Wrestling Center.
WWE NXT Results
Toni Storm def. Zoey Stark.
Jake Atlas def. Cameron Grimes
Killian Dain def. Alexander Wolfe.
Legado del Fantasma def. Timothy Thatcher & Tommaso Ciampa
Sarray def. Aliyah
Hit Row (Top Dolla & Ashante ‘Thee’ Adonis) def. Tony Nese & Ariya Daivari.
Bronson Reed def. Johnny Gargano to win North American Title
Here are the takeaways from this week’s show:
Killian Dain vs. Alexander Wolfe in a singles match took place.
Three weeks ago on NXT, Imperium stablemates Marcel Barthel & Fabian Aichner defeated Drake Maverick & Dain when Aichner & Barthel hit the Euro Bomb on Maverick to get the win
Going into the match, Maverick made it known that he was worried that Dain was going to turn against him and join Imperium, which was teased in the match, but didn’t happen. Wolfe was formerly a member of SAnitY with Dain.
This latest match saw them work a short bout. The finish saw Wolfe try to bring a chair into the match, but Dain speared him for the win. Post-match, Marcel Barthel and Fabian Aichner attacked Wolfe.
Sports writer and radio host Arash Markazi interviewed Pete Dunne. Two weeks ago, Dunne was one of three wrestlers (Kyle O’Reilly and Finn Balor) who interrupted NXT Champion Karrion Kross.
This is where Dunne said that he’s already proven he can beat Kushida and that’s a title he could win. He said he has history with WALTER and could go after the NXT UK Title. The North American Title with Johnny Gargan is an option, but he’s only been in the ring with him once and he hit him with the Bitter Ending. He said he wants the NXT Title and Karrion Kross has it.
Dunne doesn’t care about respect from his peers as his work speaks for itself and even if he drops a loss, he changes his opponents forever. He said he doesn’t set goals anymore, but if he wants to do one thing and that’s the NXT Title because he’s already dominated the NXT UK scene, so he wants to dominate the American scene.
"I feel like my work speaks for itself… I've never had a bad match."
Toni Storm vs. Zoey Stark took place in a singles match.
The bout kicked off the show and was a fun back and forth bout. At one point, Stark kicked out of the Storm Zero, which was a big near fall. In the end, Storm went over with her finisher.
The last few months have made fans question what WWE is doing with Storm. It appears she is going in the right direction now.
Also, post-match, Franky Monet appeared on the stage and had a staredown with Storm. It was announced Monet will make her in-ring debut next week.
Ted DiBiase Sr. was booked to appear for another segment with Cameron Grimes.
The past three weeks have seen segments with “The Million Dollar Man” and Grimes, but this marked the first time the WWE Hall of Famer was in the building.
DiBiase is involved in a storyline where he’s used his wealth to repeatedly upstage Grimes. Just last week, DiBiase outbid Grimes at an auction to buy a mansion in Orlando, Florida. Of course, Grimes’ character became wealthy after investing in GameStop stock and purchasing Dogecoin earlier this year.
On this episode, Grimes aired a video package of embarrassing moments throughout the career of DiBiase. Grimes then worked a match with Jake Atlas. The finish saw Ted come out to the stage to distract Grimes, who got pinned by Atlas for the win.
Post-match, Grimes chased Ted out to his limo and Ted mocked him before driving off again.
Bronson Reed got his title shot from NXT North American Champion Johnny Gargano in a steel cage match on this show and rightfully so, WWE saved this for the main event.
The match was good with Gargano getting the majority of the offense. They did a powerbomb spot off the top rope. At one point, Austin Theory tried to pull Gargano out of the ring only to fail.
Theory closed the door on Reed, but he pushed Theory off the steps. There was a near fall with Theory hitting Reed in the head with the door and Gargano connecting with a spring board DDT. Reed did hit a powerbomb of his own off the top rope. Reed won it with a splash off the top rope.
Reed defeated Gargano’s The Way stablemate Austin Theory three weeks ago to set up this match. Of course, Reed and Gargano have history as Gargano defeated Reed to retain the title at TakeOver: Stand & Deliver night two last month.
The ongoing storyline between Bronson Reed and Johnny Gargano for the WWE NXT North American Title continued on this week’s episode of WWE NXT as Gargano defended the title against the rising star.
It happened inside of a steel cage and took place in the main event. Throughout the match, both stars tried to climb out of the cage only for each star to stop one another. They got about 15 minutes to work. Reed won it with a splash off the top rope.
This match was set up when Reed defeated Gargano’s The Way stablemate Austin Theory three weeks ago. It marked the second time that the two stars had worked with each other for the strap as Gargano defeated Reed to retain the title at TakeOver: Stand & Deliver night two last month.
The first night of this special saw Reed win a number one contender’s Gauntlet Eliminator match, which set up the title match the following night.
Just last week, there was an angle shot where Gargano and Theory had attacked Reed backstage. Reed then stated Gargano is a dead man, which led to later in the night, Reed cutting a promo and announced that NXT general manager William Regal had agreed to make the match a steel cage bout.
All Elite Wrestling has announced more participants for the Casino Battle Royale at Double Or Nothing on Sunday, May 30, 2021 in Jacksonville, Florida from Daily’s Place.
The reveal took place during Tuesday’s episode of AEW Dark. The new names were Powerhouse Hobbs, 10, Evil Uno, Colt Cabana, Matt Hardy, Private Party (Isiah Kassidy & Marq Quen), and Jungle Boy.
They join Christian Cage and Matt Sydal in the match as the two wrestlers declared last week on Dynamite. The winner will receive a shot at the AEW World Championship.
During Dark, Hardy cut a promo about the Hardy Family Office’s war against the Dark Order and promised to embarrass them then win the Casino Battle Royale for a future title shot.
Jungle Boy also did a promo where he talked about his loss to Darby Allin for the TNT Championship and recalled how he was in the first Casino Battle Royale so now he hopes to win it this time around.
Other top matches booked for the show include AEW Women’s Champion Hikaru Shida vs. Dr. Britt Baker, “The American Dream” Cody Rhodes vs. Anthony Ogogo, and AEW World Heavyweight Champion Kenny Omega vs. PAC and Orange Cassidy in a triple threat match.
The full card will be announced on Wednesday’s Dynamite.
Monday’s edition of WWE Raw averaged 1.823 million viewers with a 0.48 rating in the Adults 18-49 demographic. This is mixed from last week’s 1.817 million viewers and the 0.53 rating.
This week’s episode featured the fallout from the WrestleMania Backlash pay-per-view event. Here’s the hourly viewership breakdown for Monday Night Raw, courtesy of PWTorch:
The first hour did 1.790 million viewers
The second hour did 1.932 million viewers
The final hour of the show had just 1.748 million viewers
To compare, last week’s hourly viewership numbers were 1.912 million viewers in the first hour, 1.828 million viewers in the second hour, and the third hour had 1.710 million viewers
This episode featured AJ Styles vs. Elias, Kofi Kingston vs. Randy Orton, Sheamus vs. Ricochet, WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Natalya & Tamina vs. Nia Jax & Shayna Baszler, Asuka vs. Charlotte Flair, Damian Priest vs. John Morrison, and Kofi Kingston vs. WWE Champion Bobby Lashley in a non-title match.
SmackDown Viewership
The final ratings for Friday’s SmackDown are not in just yet. It drew 2.282 million viewers on FOX the previous week and did 0.46 rating. What we do know is the episode drew an average of 1.800 million viewers in the overnight ratings, down from the previous week that did 2.080 million viewers.
Ricochet got into some hot water with fans and even went viral on Twitter after sharing a message about former NXT Women’s Champion Io Shirai while in an exchange with a fan.
It all started when he responded to a tweet sent out by WWE that asked fans to name the best high-flyer in the company right now. This led to the fan responding and later named Shirai.
Uhhhh because there's more than one style of high flying sir.
— The Queen of Crop Tops ? (@Gend7296) May 18, 2021
Touche. In that aspect I can agree, but @shirai_io is also a phenomenal high flyer as well. She's the best at what she does ?????
— The Queen of Crop Tops ? (@Gend7296) May 18, 2021
Ricochet then wrote back by stating, “I’m not saying she’s not amazing. She 100% is. But I can do EVERYTHING she can, probably even better. She can’t do what I am capable of, maybe not even half.”
The WWE star deleted the tweet after getting some heated responses from fans.
For the majority of this year, Ricochet has worked WWE Main Event matches. He started appearing back on main WWE programming when he dropped a non-title loss to WWE United States Champion Sheamus on Sunday’s WrestleMania Backlash Kickoff pre-show then followed up with another loss to Sheamus on Monday’s Raw.
On the flip side, Shirai has only been seen once on NXT TV for an interview segment since dropping the NXT Women’s Title to Raquel González at NXT TakeOver: Stand and Deliver in April.
It appeared WWE had plans in place to push Humberto Carrillo once again on Monday Night Raw.
However, whatever plans the company did have, which looked to be with United States Champion Sheamus, are on hold for now. Pwinsider.com reports the reason Carrillo wasn’t used on Monday’s episode of Raw was simply that Vince McMahon decided to focus on Ricochet for now.
Ricochet answered the open challenge issued by Sheamus at Sunday’s WrestleMania Backlash pre-show. They also worked a match on Raw.
PWInsider wrote, “For those who asked why there was no update on Humberto Carrillo, the decision was made to focus on the Ricochet stuff. Much like Mansoor being forgotten a week after he debuted, the decision was made to focus on something else.”
Thus, it looks like WWE is going with the long-term feud between Ricochet and Sheamus.
Carrillo did get hurt last week on Raw when he worked a match with Sheamus as Carrillo landed hard on the floor and had trouble getting up. As a result, WWE stopped the match and declared Sheamus as the winner.
With anything in WWE, plans change all of the time and this is a perfect example of that.
Shinsuke Nakamura is currently entering into a rivalry with King Corbin. The king of strong style is intent on proving that he is the only king in WWE these days. For those wrestling fans that followed Nakamura before he made his way over to America, they know that the Japanese star has a lot more to offer than WWE creative have let him show.
In a recent talk with Renee Young on her Oral Sessions podcast, Shinsuke Nakamura opened up about the struggles he still faces in the wrestling business.
“I’m still struggling in wrestling. Coming to the US and coming to WWE is challenging. I came to challenge myself. That’s why I’m here. I’m waiting to find my timing and my moment. I don’t pitch ideas to [Vince McMahon] a lot. We talk after the match a little or before the match if he has an idea for my promo. I need to get used to [not talking to Vince].” Nakamura told his former colleague.
There is something in his words that speak of possible frustration at things. Nakamura has held four different championships since arriving in America. Starting with the NXT title before he moved up to the main roster.
Shinsuke Nakamura has definitely been wrestling a different sort of game since his arrival, but his recent exchanges with King Corbin definitely hint at a more aggressive Nakamura. Perhaps a quest to re-discover the true King of Strong Style is exactly what he needs to get his career back to where he wants it to be. While there is a lot of talk right now about John Cena making his return, but perhaps the time is now for another superstar altogether.
AEW President Tony Khan recently appeared (again) on SiriusXM’s Busted Open Radio. Khan discussed a number of topics during his time on the show, including the general landscape of pro wrestling.
“Wrestling is hotter than ever,” Khan claimed on the podcast, which is a pretty bold claim to make. “This past week, to have three different wrestling shows ranked number one on their night? And to have AEW be a part of it? It’s huge.”
“And it’s a great time for wrestling” Tony Khan added. “I feel like we were all there, part of the peak era of fandom, and now it’s a splintered audience. Things are very fragmented, it’s hard to get as many people to watch something as there used to be.”
Tony Khan on Modern Pro Wrestling
“But I believe that, and I see it first hand with the NFL and the great numbers we do, if you deliver a quality, compelling product consistently, people are going to show up and watch it” Tony Khan continued.
“And that’s why we built audience and we’re up year over year. It’s a great time to come and join AEW as a fan” Khan concluded.
Again, it’s interesting for Khan to make such a bold claim when you look at the general lay of the land in pro wrestling 2021. Whilst AEW is doing extremely well in the ratings; compared to the late 90’s and early 2000’s and the Monday Night Wars there’s a gulf in the popularity and mainstream appeal of pro wrestling.
Former WWE personality and host of WWE Backstage Renee Paquette recently appeared on WrestlingINC Daily. Paquette discussed a number of topics during her time on podcast, including her former Backstage colleague, CM Punk.
Paquette and others have answered the question of CM Punk returning to pro wrestling a number of topics over the past few years. When Punk joined Backstage these questions ramped up, but now even with the hype having died down Paquette feels there’s always a chance that CM Punk will return to pro wrestling.
“I think it’s just like anything else with WWE, you just never say never,” Renee began on the podcast. “We’ve seen people come back who none of us ever thought would return. I think Punk is somebody who falls under that category. End of the day, the guy is a wrestler. That’s who he is. I feel like in some capacity, I hope we get to see Punk wrestle someone someday.”
Renee Paquette on CM Punk
“At this point, I don’t think anyone cares where it is” Paquette added, alluding to the other options that Punk has available if he were to return, such as AEW, where her husband Jon Moxley of course works. “Everyone just wants to see him get back out there. Tick Tock, brother. Let’s go. There’s always going to be rumblings.”
“The fact is people just want to see him back wrestling” Renee stated. “And whatever way that happens, if it ever does, I think people would freak. I’ll freak.”
There had been rumors in the past surrounding CM Punk and a potential run in AEW. Punk himself said a few years ago that Cody Rhodes himself had ‘texted an offer’ to the Straight Edge Superstar; something that Punk wasn’t exactly enamoured with.
Almost an age old question at this point, but do you want to see CM Punk return to WWE or AEW? Maybe even ROH or NJPW? Let us know in the comments
AAA has confirmed the date, venue, fan capacity and some matches for TripleMania this year. The promotion held a press conference today to announce the news. The media event was not televised but LuchaBlog has been providing updates through Twitter.
The event has been confirmed for Saturday, August 14th, 2021. A limited number of fans will be permitted to attend. Some matches have been made official for the event as well.
AAA Mega Champion/Impact World Champion/AEW World Champion Kenny Omega will be on the show. He’ll defend the AAA Mega title against Andrade. This comes after Andrade issued a challenge to Omega at Rey de Reyes. Callis and Omega cut a promo that was played at today’s press conference.
“This one, the belt that recommends Lucha Libre, which you so proudly represent, it’s always going to be around my waist,” Omega said. “And you should be thankful because not only do I represent Lucha Libre, I represent all pro-wrestling.”
A Reina de Reinas vs Knockouts Championship match will take place when Faby Apache takes on Deonna Purrazzo. Apache won the vacant title at Rey de Reyes and was then challenged by Purrazzo who was on commentary for the match. Purrazzo also put Apache in an arm-bar at Rey de Reyes.
Faby Apache for her AAA title versus Impact title match with Deonna Purrazzo at TripleMania.https://t.co/GI7OFKRswj
SuperBoletos lists the TripleMania tickets with a (Saturday) 8 pm start time. Tickets run from from $251 to $7298 pesos ($12.67 to $368.29 USD). https://t.co/H0MoS5Pc0f
It has been seven years since WWE had their last hair vs hair match. Back then Enzo Amore beat Sylvester Lefort on NXT. According to Bryan Alvarez, WWE have big plans for Bayley and Bianca Belair to culminate their feud with just this match.
The rivalry between Bayley and Belair has been well managed so far. Belair’s recent victory at Backlash came courtesy of her lengthy lockes.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CO-RBynrgHI/
Talking on the Wrestling Observer, Bryan Alvarez claimed that everything WWE have done with this feud until this point leans towards a Luchas de Apuestas match between the pair.
The Bayley-Belair Feud Could be the Story of the Year
It is highly unlikely that Belair would be willing to shave her head. After all, her long hair is a major part of her current character. For Bayley however, shaving her head would cement her as one of the baddest heels on the roster. Discussing the topic back in February, Belair claimed that she would certainly be up for the challenge.
“People bring it up all the time and they ask do I ever think I’ll ever be a part of that. I think it’s pretty much inevitable because I mean, so much of who I am is my braid. I mean, she even has a name. Her name is Destiny, and it makes sense, right? So, and I think that it’s really fun to have feuds sometimes that aren’t always a part of the title picture and if I have a hair versus hair match… I ain’t gonna say it’s bigger than a title.
A title is pretty big, you know? But, there will be a lot at stake and I think a lot of people could get very invested in it. I don’t wanna lose my braid, I don’t want to lose my hair. I think it would be great. I’d be down for it,” Belair told ESPN Cheap Heat.
Since transitioning into a heel persona Bayley has moved from strength to strength and is arguably one of the more entertaining people on the roster.
It has been well documented that WWE had plans for a hair vs hair match back in 2020. The feud between Mady Rose and Sonya Deville was supposed to end that way. However, Deville’s stalker trial meant she could not shave her head. The plan was shelved, but it is clearly looking likely that it has been dusted off once more.
Drew McIntyre is a man who is loving life right now. He has been the man in WWE throughout the pandemic era. A feat alone that will ensure his name is written into the history books. His story is very much one of the ugly duckling.
Despite losing the WWE title at Wrestlemania, and his subsequent rematches, the big man is still very much the cream of the WWE crop. It’s looking likely that Drew McIntyre will be stepping back from the title race, even if just for a bit. However, that has not done anything to deflate the Scottish superstar.
This past week McIntyre helped Kofi Kingston pick up a non-title win against Bobby Lashley, and in the resulting revelry created not one, but two new nicknames. One of which is certainly a tongue in cheek name, that has the WWE universe in stitches.
While there is no chance of Drew McIntyre being called to the ring with this new moniker, there is something refreshing about seeing McIntyre simply having a bit of fun. His is a man who struggled for so long and tasted the real lows of professional wrestling. Nobody on the roster will begrudge him enjoying the spotlight while he has it.
As for his Drew Day Rocks comment, we can only hope that this becomes a thing, just for a few weeks, because that could be the light-hearted relief everybody needs as we head into the mid-point of the wrestling calendar.
Wrestling legend Don Kernodle has passed away. He was 71 years old. He had reportedly been dealing with health issues prior to his passing.
Kernodle won the NWA World Tag Titles on 3 occasions with 3 different partners. Sgt Slaughter and Kernodle won the belts in September of 1982. He then won the titles along with “Cowboy” Bob Orton in January of 1984.
Kernodle would later win the belts with Ivan Koloff in May of 1984. He also twice held the NWA 6-man titles along with Ivan and Nikita Koloff. Kernodle twice held the Mid-Atlantic tag titles with Jim Nelson. He was recently inducted into the George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame.
SEScoops extends our condolences to the family and friends of Don Kernodle.
Wrestling World Reacts
Numerous people from within the wrestling industry have been posting online in tribute to Kernodle.
“Sorry to hear of the passing of Don Kernodle He was 1 hell of a wrestler loved all his Mid Atlantic stuff former 3 time NWA tag champ Always enjoyed talking w/him every time I saw him,” Tweeted Tommy Dreamer.
“Another day filled with sad news as we learn of the passing of Don Kernodle at the age of 71. We send out our condolences to his friends, fans and family, thank you for the memories Sir. R.I.P. Don,” Tweeted the Cauliflower Alley Club.
The National Wrestling Alliance is saddened to hear about the passing of multi-time NWA Tag Champion Don Kernodle. Our thoughts are with his family and friends. RIP Don pic.twitter.com/t7Dgd80PER
After A Tremendous Day With Mongo Yesterday, I Arrived Back At The Hotel To Hear That My Friend Don Kernodle Had Passed. One Of My Best Friends And A Great Wrestler In The 70’s & 80’s. I Cannot Thank You Enough For The Friendship And Great Times We Shared. RIP! ?????? pic.twitter.com/2m4jGaLYqH
RIP Don Kernodle. Any fan of Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling remembers The Final Conflict in March of 83 in Greensboro. It’s wrestling at its best https://t.co/5f4Ru8qHXj
As a rabid 7 year old wrestling fan, Don Kernodle was the very first man to allow me into a professional wrestling ring. For me, it all truly started there. The trainer of my trainer, and a long time family friend.
RIP, Don.
— Andrew “The Giant” Everett 223cm (@_AndrewEverett) May 18, 2021
