AEW President Tony Khan was recently profiled by Forbs for their Daily Cover feature which includes an interview with the wrestling promoter and a photoshoot with several wrestlers from the company.
The AEW owner talked about their competition with WWE and he said that he doesn’t want his promotion to be the next wrestling company of the past:
“I don’t want to be the next ‘blank’ wrestling company of the past—fill in the blank, We love wrestling of the past, wrestling of the present and wrestling of the future…” said Tony Khan, “That’s what gives us a great chance to retain and gain audience share.”
The co-owner of the Jacksonville Jaguar then also discussed the rise and fall of WCW and he interestingly claimed that he is glad that WCW failed:
“I’m glad that WCW failed because it created a vacancy for us to come in and succeed, but it made it a fairly bleak period for the wrestling business.”
Reiterating their commitment of providing an alternative, Tony Khan then said that the business is hotter than it’s been in a long time.He explained there is no reason why there needs to be only one wrestling company.
The interview also featured comments from the AEW president’s father Shahid Khan who revealed that he didn’t believe in the idea of the promotion at first. You can check out his remarks at this link.
WWE did an angle at the end of Sunday’s NXT TakeOver: In Your House special where NXT General Manager William Regal said it’s time for a change before walking away.
This week’s show opened with Regal coming out and saying that he’s been with NXT since the start from working as an announcer. He said he’s watched everyone develop and the product grow. Regal was clearly emotional and crying. He said that he has given everything he can and doesn’t think he can do that anymore.
Karrion Kross came out and said that they always knew this day would come, but wanted to see it for himself. He mocked Regal for crying and called him pathetic. Kross said that he told Regal that he lost control.
Samoa Joe came out to the ring and said that Regal wanted to speak with him. Regal said that Joe is the right man to become the new GM. Joe declined and said that Regal has large shoes to fill. Joe said that Regal deserves the respect from everyone and he will ensure that happens. Regal said Joe can’t be a competitor and lay a hand on anyone unless provoked. Joe accepted the offer. Thus, Joe is Regal’s new enforcer.
LA Knight’s Million Dollar Championship Coronation
Ted DiBiase presented LA Knight’s Million Dollar Championship Coronation.
This came after Knight beat Cameron Grimes at NXT TakeOver: In Your House in a ladder match to win the title.
This segment saw DiBiase show a video package to further hype Knight. LA came out for a promo where he talked about how much he respects Ted and is so thankful to carry the Million Dollar legacy. He said that all the pain he went through was worth it.
Ted gave him the title and they both started laughing with pyro going off. Knight said that now it’s time to drop the dead weight he doesn’t need and punched him. Knight told him that he is the only Million Dollar Champion. Knight put the boots to him before Cameron Grimes ran out to make the save.
Io Shirai returned to address the fans after making her return last week.
Shirai made her return to NXT TV after Poppy was called out by Candice LeRae and she brought out Shirai to beat down LeRae.
Shirai cut a promo about how she’s back and her next target is…LeRae walked out. She said that Io picked the wrong time to screw with her. Indie Heartwell attacked her from behind. Io fought back, but the numbers game was just too much. Zoey Starks eventually came out to even the odds and the babyfaces stood tall in the ring to close the show.
NXT Cruiserweight Champion Kushida defended the title in an Open Challenge, which was answered by Trey Baxton.
WWE aired a video package to hype Baxter’s arrival. This is the former Blake Christian. The fun back and forth match ended when Kushida hit his finisher. It was revealed after the match that Kushida would face Kyle O’Reilly next week.
Kushida has issued these open challenges since winning the title and has beaten the likes of Oney Lorcan and Carmelo Hayes.
Kushida won the title after accepting an open challenge that was issued by then-champion Santos Escobar back on April 13. They worked a rematch, which was a two out of three falls match, back on May 11th.
Tomasso Ciampa and Timothy Thatcher faced The Grizzled Young Veterans in a Tornado Tag Team Match.
The match saw them put on a strong style type of match with the heels mostly dominating. Ciampa hit a powerslam on the announce table. Ciampa and Thatcher hit their double team submission hold for the win.
We can only think about @NXTCiampa's surgically repaired neck. This match is BRUTAL. #WWENXT @JamesDrake_GYT @ZackGibson01 pic.twitter.com/MZYhCQO9rU
Last week on NXT, The Grizzled Young Veterans were in action against August Grey & Ikemen Jiro. During it, Ciampa and Thatcher came out to watch and tried to distract the rival team, but they still won the contest.
Post-match, The Grizzled Young Veterans said that they’re focus on getting a title shot, but Ciampa said they won’t get it until they go through them.
The Grizzled Young Veterans were in action on NXT tonight, facing August Grey & Ikemen Jiro. During the match, Ciampa and Thatcher came out to ringside and watched on from steel chairs. The Grizzled Young Veterans were momentarily distracted but still got the win. This led to this match getting booked.
Their first match took place last month where Ciampa and Thatcher went over. Three weeks ago, The Grizzled Young Veterans cost Ciampa and Thatcher their match against Legado del Fantasma’s Raul Mendoza & Joaquin Wilde.
The first match has been confirmed for the Great American Bash edition of NXT.
Adam Cole will face Kyle O’Reilly once more at this show. On Wednesday’s episode, they were shown in a backstage brawl which was broken up by Samoa Joe, who is William Regal’s new enforcer. Regal said that the match was official, but it will be a singles match.
Karrion Kross defended the NXT Title against Cole, O’Reilly, Johnny Gargano, and Pete Dunne in a fatal 5-way match at Sunday’s NXT TakeOver: In Your House.
O’Reilly and Cole have been locked in a feud since Cole turned on his former Undisputed Era friend. They previously worked an unsanctioned match at the NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver special.
NXT’s Great American Bash takes place Tuesday, July 6 on the USA Network starting at 8 p.m. Eastern time.
WWE brought back this theme last year and it marked the first time that WWE had done so since an episode of SmackDown that took place in 2012. Last year’s show took place over the course of two weeks.
The first night was headlined by Io Shirai defeating Sasha Banks while the next week, Keith Lee defeated Adam Cole in a title vs. title match where the NXT Championship and NXT North American Championship were both on the line.
Monday’s edition of WWE Raw averaged 1.742 million viewers with a 0.49 rating in the Adults 18-49 demographic, according to Brandon Thurston of WrestleNomics. This is up from last week’s 1.640 million viewers and the 0.48 rating.
This was the go-home edition of Raw for Sunday’s Hell in a Cell pay-per-view event that will feature the top match from the red brand of WWE Champion Bobby Lashley defending against Drew McIntyre with the stipulation that if McIntyre loses then he can’t challenge for the title again as long as Lashley is champion.
There’s no word yet on the hourly viewership numbers, but we will update the post when they become available.
Last week’s hourly viewership numbers were 1.667 million viewers in the first hour, 1.651 million viewers in the second hour, and the third hour had 1.602 million viewers.
This episode featured RK-Bro (Randy Orton & Riddle) vs. The New Day (Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods), Drew McIntyre vs. AJ Styles, Eva Marie’s return, and more.
SmackDown Viewership
The episode drew an average of 1.853 million viewers in the overnight ratings, up from the previous week that did 1.800 million viewers. In the 18-49 demographic, it did a 0.40 rating, which was down from the 0.50 rating the week before. The final ratings were 1.944 million viewers, up from last week’s 1.883 million viewers.
Samoa Joe is back on WWE TV as part of his return to NXT.
It happened on Tuesday’s episode when it was revealed that William Regal had declared that he can’t give anymore of himself to the brand and was about to say that there needed to be a change. NXT champion Karrion Kross came out to mock him and wanted to hear Regal say that he was right that he lost control. This led to Samoa Joe coming out and declining the offer to replace him as the GM.
Regal said Joe can’t be a competitor and can’t lay a hand on anyone unless provoked, but Joe can be his enforcer. Joe accepted the offer and Regal is still the GM.
At the NXT TakeOver: In Your House special, Regal hinted that there would be a change coming and so it did. There had been rumblings among NXT talent and staff that WWE was interested in bringing Joe back after the company released him from his contract back in April due to budget cuts.
He was last seen as part of the commentary team at WrestleMania and had been in that role for over a year. He was moved from an active in-ring performer to being an announcer after he suffered a concussion in early 2020 during a Raw commercial shoot for the USA Network.
It was recently reported that Triple H wanted to get Joe back as soon as possible because he wasn’t happy that WWE released him. He’s been a supporter of Joe for years and would rather see him in NXT instead of being in a different promotion.
In 2015, Triple H was the person who initially brought Joe to WWE for NXT. During his stint on the brand, he became an NXT Champion and was the top star for the promotion until he was called up to the main roster in 2017.
Moose is sticking around in Impact Wrestling. It was first reported by Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer that Moose had signed a new contract. Now, Fightful has details about the deal.
The new contract is for two years, and will carry Moose into the Summer of 2023. His original deal was slated to expire in June. It was said the deal has a significant improvement over his last deal, though there’s no word yet on the financial terms.
It was noted that Moose figures into Impact’s plans in a major way. He did have interest from other promotions in signing him, but it’s unclear which promotions wanted Moose.
Moose reacted to the original report about signing a contract last month on Twitter by writing, “Not True,” then following up with another tweet that stated, “Plz get your news from me and me only.”
Impact Wrestling nor Moose have publicly announced that he’s re-signed with the promotion.
Moose lost to Impact World Heavyweight Champion Kenny Omega in the main event of the Against All Odds special this past Saturday night that was taped one week prior at Daily’s Place in Jacksonville, Florida.
Vince McMahon is a man who likes to be in control. The strength of his grip on all things WWE is well known and documented. Despite many different rumours swirling right now, Vince is still very much in control of things.
In a new turn of events, Vince McMahon has decreed that a new rule be imposed on each and every match shown on television.
According to Ringside News Mr McMahon has issued a ban on all cold matches. Every single match now needs to have a reason for being. Nothing will occur just for the sake of a seeing two wrestlers compete head-to-head.
This new ruling explains why Jeff Hardy’s career was suddenly on the line in his recent match with Cedric Alexander. This ruling is an interesting one. However, given WWE’s creative issues in recent years can they rise to the occasion? Will we be seeing a random run of matches with non-sensical stipulations, or will this be a change in storytelling? Time will tell. The Ringside News source specified that the point behind the matches should all form part of a larger storyline.
WWE have the athletes, and they have the fan base. However, it is the creative side that many believe let the shows and the company down. A rule like this allows the creative side of the business to set a base from which it can grow.
However, Vince McMahon changes his mind with alarming regularity. Therefore, there is a chance that this will not be around long enough to come to fruition.
Legendary wrestling broadcaster Don West has been diagnosed with a brain lymphoma.
In a letter posted online Tuesday afternoon, West explained his recent hiatus from the Don West Show, a talk sports radio show based out of Seattle, Washington.
West revealed that he’s been diagnosed with a brain lymphoma and will be undergoing immediate treatment.
The former voice of TNA Wrestling thanked his wife Terri for her love and support, along with the rest of his family and co-workers.
“I am praying the chemotherapy will help me heal faster and hopefully I’ll be back on the radio soon,” he wrote. “I can’t wait until this is all over and I can be back with you all again, I love you all!”
Many fans wanted to see Cameron Grimes leave the show as the champion, but LA Knight is the perfect choice for the revival of the prestigious title Ted DiBiase made famous. Saying that a wrestler looks “like a million dollars” is a tired compliment at this point, but it applies to Knight more than anyone else in recent memory. He walks, talks, and acts like a movie star, and he’s got the looks, too. So when Knight entered the storyline between Grimes and DiBiase, even before WWE officially reintroduced the title, it was easy to connect the dots and hope that the man formerly known as Eli Drake would hold the gold sooner rather than later.
As soon as Drake arrived in NXT, many fans pictured his bright future on the black-and-gold brand. With his background as a former world champion in IMPACT Wrestling, Drake was one of the brand’s most buzzworthy signings in recent memory. Even though his run in the NWA was cut short, Drake’s remarkable character work during his time with the promotion solidified his status as a major player once he hit free agency. Needless to say, when he debuted on the WWE NXT TakeOver: Vengeance Day pre-show, it seemed like the sky was the limit for the newly named LA Knight.
Unfortunately, while his promo skills remained exemplary, the beginning of Knight’s run on NXT was a mixed bag. An uneventful program with future North American Champion Bronson Reed and a transitional feud with Dexter Lumis gave Knight a spot on the show, but the former IMPACT star was floating around aimlessly, searching for a defined place in NXT. Thankfully, DiBiase’s rivalry with Grimes set the stage for Knight’s breakout moment.
Whereas Grimes’ new character has been defined by his love of money, Knight’s gimmick had been relatively vague; he was clearly wealthy, but this trait wasn’t the heart of his persona. At least, it hadn’t been until Knight made his case to be the man who carried on DiBiase’s legacy. Then he cut a classic heel promo from his mansion, where he was lavishly partying with women and living the high life. Suddenly, the path forward was clear — Knight needed to win the Million Dollar Championship.
Knight is the modern-day DiBiase; with his great look, his renowned mic skills and his outstanding presence, he truly is a million-dollar star. At NXT TakeOver: In Your House, it would have been disappointing to see Knight lose because there’s a lot of money to be made with a potential pairing between the former Eli Drake and DiBiase. Following Knight’s victory, even if he doesn’t wind up working alongside the WWE Hall of Famer, the fact that he now carries such a legendary title cements his place as a power player in NXT.
It remains to be seen what his short-term future holds; he could continue his feud with Grimes, work alongside DiBiase, or possibly face another competitor who wants to represent DiBiase’s legacy. He could also defend the Million Dollar Championship as a legitimate title. Each one of these options could be compelling. But now that Knight has a signature win under his belt, his future looks brighter than ever. He could avenge his previous loss to Reed by taking the North American Championship, and he could even contend for the NXT Championship in a matter of months.
No matter what, Knight’s path forward is an open road that should be full of prosperity, and as he would say, that’s just a fact of life.
Jon Moxley took over the hosting duties of “Oral Sessions” from Renee Pacquette this week. He tried out his best radio/podcasting voice and answered questions fans asked him online. One of the questions asked was how his nickname of “The Titty Master” came about.
Moxley has sort of given his autobiography the tag line “The Book of Zero F***s. Tales of the Titty Master.”
Using his best podcaster voice, Moxley explained the story of the Titty Master. It was a fairly ridiculous tale.
“Here is the thing that you have to understand. That one does not simply wake up in the morning and put on the Titty Master. One does not come home at night and take it off. This is a life you live when you are bequeathed with the energy of the Titty Master,” Mox began the tale.
He then detailed the Titty Master origin story. Marvel couldn’t have written it better.
“I woke up in a cold sweat, cold sweat. I had a nightmare and I was given a message through the ether, I knew where I needed to go. Somehow I knew, the universe put me on this path and I set out on a journey to Mount Titicaca.”
Jon Moxley Climbs Mount Titicaca
“I climb to the top of this mountain, lightning crashing, wind, dust in my face, hot ash flying. I see the Titty elders at the top of the mountain standing around a tree and they all raise their hands in the air and then lightning strikes and it hits this big oak tree,” Moxley continued. He would then say that he was not sure if it was an oak tree or a ficus, however.
“Then out of this lightning strike I see red glowing, two pieces of wood. I’m called to them. I feel a pull and the elders look at me and I look at them and I look at the wood and I see it come into view. And I see it’s just a pair of nunchucks inscribed into the wood with the lightning. A ‘T’ is inscribed in the wood with burning fire and lightning and an ‘M.’”
Moxley continued to say he knows that these inscribed nunchucks mean he is the Titty Master.
“The elders they put their heads up and they walk away and they leave me alone on top of the mountain with these. I realized at that moment that I am the Titty Master.”
You can listen to this full and ridiculous story in the player below:
Renee Paquette and Jon Moxley are the proud parents of a baby girl. Paquette took to Twitter to announce the news this morning. She also stated that she will not be hosting her podcast for the next few weeks. Renee has lined up some guest hosts to cover for her, however.
“Baby girl is officially here, so I’m checking out and becoming a mom. (She’s absolutely incredible!!” Paquette Tweeted. “I have a bunch of guest hosts lined up for you guys and I started with none other than my baby daddy, cool dude husband.”
Baby girl is officially here, so I’m checking out and becoming a mom. (She’s absolutely incredible!! ?) I have a bunch of guest hosts lined up for you guys and I started with none other than my baby daddy, cool dude husband @JonMoxley check it here- https://t.co/YC3k4fqOwN
“For me it’s not the wrestling,” Paquette began. “The wrestling side of wrestling I love. It’s the production side of things that can be a kick in the lady d*ck. Just being micromanaged.”
“I don’t like being micromanaged” Renee Paquette added. “I don’t like being under the magnifying glass as much as one is or can be in that world. You think you go through it once and ‘okay, I’m safe!’ and then like, another year later or so its ‘you’re back under the microscope again.’”
Becky Lynch is one of the big names people want to see back in WWE as the company returns to the road next month and Sheamus recently commented on the possibility.
The current United States champion recently had an interview with Vibe Wrestling where he talked about things like possibly winning the IC title and becoming a grand slam champion in WWE and more.
When asked about The Man possibly making her return alongside fans, Sheamus said that he doesn’t know if it will happen but he will be excited if Lynch does come back because everybody misses her:
“I don’t know when she’s gonna come back. I am not gonna ask her, it’s not of my business to ask for that or what are her plans for the future. But I think that going into the live events with the fans we’d love to have her back.
I miss her, everybody else misses her too. I’m excited if she does come back.” said Sheamus, “That question can only be answered by her.”
The former WWE champion also praised Becky Lynch for making herself a star. He said that despite the bookings and not being on people’s radar, Lynch went there and made herself.
Apart from this, Sheamus talked about the latest WWE releases and commented on the locker room morale after it. You can check out his comments on the matter at this link.
The father of AEW’s Tony Khan recently admitted that he thought his son starting a wrestling company was a bad idea. Tony and Shahid Khan were both interviewed recently by Forbes and spoke about how the decision to start AEW came about.
“I absolutely didn’t think this was a good idea,” Shad Khan said. “But I told Tony, ‘Look, when I’m dead and gone, I’m going to be leaving you and your sister a lot of money. Why don’t you blow some of that while I’m alive?’”
The elder Khan would be pleasantly surprised with the success of AEW, however. The father and son’s history with wrestling actually goes back to 1996. Tony was 13 at the time. His father wanted to incentivize him to go to the University of Illinois Laboratory High School. After Khan took the entrance exam for the school, Khan agreed to take Tony to an ECW show in Philadelphia. Tony spoke about his father’s reaction to seeing a live ECW show.
“My dad couldn’t believe what he was seeing,” Tony Khan said about the experience. “He was like, ‘This is a mix between an underground rock show and a cult.’”
Last year, Tony Khan’s AEW received $43.75 million in rights fees from Turner. Brett Weitz, general manager of TNT, TBS and truTV, spoke to Forbes about their investment in Khan’s company.
“It was very clear we put ourselves in the right hands,” said Weitz. “For someone to have the audacity to say, ‘I’m going to go take on the biggest wrestling league in the world and see if I can be a challenger brand,’ it takes chutzpah. And he nailed it.”
It has been more than 25 years since Scott Hall invaded WCW Nitro on May 27th, 1996. Nitro had just expanded to 2-hours and the show emanated from the Macon Coliseum in Macon, Georgia. Hall was a guest recently on Eric Bischoff’s 83 Weeks podcast and the two spoke about what happened backstage before the show.
According to Hall and Bischoff, Hall didn’t know anything about what he would be doing in the company until he met up with Bischoff earlier that day.
“I remember we hadn’t spoke until that time,” Hall said to Bischoff. “I remember we were driving to Macon, weren’t we E? Yeah, we were going to Macon and we were just kicking around some ideas. My last appearance had been the famous curtain call in Madison Square Garden so I’m really happy. My previous experience at WCW hadn’t been too satisfying but I was in a different spot now. Turner was giving out that guaranteed money and WWE wasn’t at that time. A lot of things changed that night at the Garden. When I left, when Kevin left, everyone started getting guaranteed money. Now, they have these 90-day can’t compete clauses, none of that was going on back in those days.”
Scott Hall On The Day He Invaded Nitro
Hall continued to detail what happened that day on May 27th, 1996.
“We hadn’t spoken at all at that time, everything was just business, it went through Barry Bloom, and we hadn’t talked creative at all,” Hall said after Bischoff pointed out the two had not spoken about creative plans before his debut.
Hall continued to say that there was talk that he would come out of the entrance way and possibly with music. It was then Larry Zbyszko who suggested that Hall come out through the crowd.
Hall came out during a match featuring Mike Enos vs Steve Dunn. Neither were informed ahead of time about what would happen.
“I remember Enos looking at me like ‘what are you doing, man?’ I think that was the start of it being kind of real,” Hall continued.
This week, the guys have thrown the format out the window and are bringing on their first guest! Who better then the man that got the nWo storyline started, Scott Hall! You don't want to miss a minute of this special edition of 83 Weeks! pic.twitter.com/eumXjglnhn
— 83 Weeks w/ Eric Bischoff (@83Weeks) June 14, 2021
Roman Reigns went from the top babyface in WWE to the top heel when he turned on the fans last summer. It was a move many wondered if John Cena would make during his time as the top good guy in the company. It never happened, however.
Cena recently spoke to Chris Van Vliet about portraying a “bad guy” in Fast & Furious 9. According to Cena, his role in the movie shows it is possible for him to play the antagonist.
“I think this is a beginning to showcase the fact that it’s possible,” Cena responded when asked if F9 was the heel turn fans never saw in WWE. “Now as WWE invests and builds its roster and has a wealth of talent, it truly has many different anchors to the ship.”
Cena named Roman Reigns as being a “very marketable” and “definitive” star.
“I think the reason for me not exploring that side is because WWE didn’t feel confident that they had an alternative. I respect that business choice I really do. But now with them really laying the foundation for their future, I mean even for life in the next decade or so, maybe but I don’t know.”
Fast & Furious 9 premieres in the United States on June 25th. It was released for some international audiences, including the country of Taiwan, last month, however.
The full interview can be viewed in the player below:
Painful bumps are part of wrestling, and Kurt Angle knows all about them. The old line of it all being fake doesn’t hold water with the knowledge fans have of the sport. Bumps are real, bad landings hurt, even good landings hurt. Pulling off a move can hurt just as much as taking a move. Injuries are real. Yes, there are storylines built around them, and certain poetic license may be used, but beneath it, is a single constant. Wrestling is a dangerous sport that hurts those that practice it.
Talking during a recent episode of The Kurt Angle Podcast, the show’s star talked about the most painful injury he ever got in the squared circle. Fans will undoubtedly guess the match, but not the spot that caused it.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CQGrpk5Hwie/
It was 2001, King of the Ring, and THAT match against Shane McMahon. While the infamous glass shot left both men battered and bloody, it was an earlier spot that Kurt Angle credits for causing him the worst pain he ever experienced.
Coming after a suplex on the concrete, Kurt Angle was left in the position of needing to finish a brutal match with a brutal injury that nobody could see.
Kurt Angle is One Tough Son of a Gun
“Yeah, I cracked my tailbone, it was extremely painful,” Angle said. “I never felt pain like that in my life. It ran down my legs, I could barely stand up and I knew I had to finish the match, but I wasn’t sure how I was going to do it. I was clueless about how I was going to finish the match because it hurt so bad.”
“Without a doubt, a 10 or 11, it was that painful. I never had pain like that, especially the way it ran down my legs. It grabbed a hold of my nerves that ran down my legs and it was just thumping the whole time. I couldn’t bend over, I had to stay standing up straight, my positioning was all messed up. I couldn’t really do much, I was supposed to carry Shane back to the ring after the glass spot and I couldn’t. Thank god I grabbed a cart to bring him back.”
Coming from the man who won an Olympic gold medal with a broken frigging neck, it must have been a very painful injury indeed.
The importance of enhancement talent in wrestling should never be underestimated. Much like journeymen in boxing, they play a vital role. Nobody is more aware of this than Barry Horowitz who is possibly the most famous enhancement talent. He believes wrestlers like himself deserve more than just a pat on the back for their efforts.
Barry Horowitz is a thirty-year veteran of the sport. He garnered his own popularity in the mid-’90s that saw him gain attention rarely given a ‘jobber’. Horowitz entered a feud with Bodydona Skip which saw the pair square off multiple times, culminating with a PPV match.
Talking in a recent episode of The Wrestling Inc. Daily with Nick Hausman Barry Horowitz was asked about the WWE Hall of Fame. Hausman asked Horowitz if he could see himself being inducted at some point down the road.
“That hall of fame is all in Vince’s mind,” Horowitz pointed out. “It’s nice to be there, but when you got Kid Rock and Bob Uecker, I mean, in the NFL Hall of Fame, I see nothing but football players. I understand it’s two different venues, two different avenues, two different sports, but you’re telling me of all cockamamie things they’ve come up with in the last five years on RAW, you can’t have, for one year, the people would go insane. I put my house on it, have an enhancement hall of fame or just one enhancement guy every year.”
There is a Lack of Understanding for the Talent of an Enhancement Wrestler
Talking further about the Hall of Fame, Horowitz was quick to say he had no beef with WWE. However, he echoed Jim Cornette’s view on the issue. “Maybe I was too good. I worked too hard, and I never failed the drug test.”
As their conversation continued, Barry Horowitz talked passionately about the lack of understanding surrounding what it really means to be an enhancement talent. His passion for wrestling was clear, and many of the statements he made should be given very careful consideration.
Barry Horowitz held multiple championships during his career. However, he never managed to win one during his time with WWF/E or WCW.
John Cena learned a lot from Vince McMahon during his 15 years long run as the top star and face of WWE but the most important lesson he learned from the boss is very simple.
The 16-time world champion recently had an interview with Chris Van Vliet to promote Fast & Furious 9 where he talked about a number of things.
He was asked about the biggest lesson he has learned from Vince McMahon. Replying to the question, Cena first said that he continues to learn from the boss, before revealing the most valuable thing he has learned from Mr McMahon:
“I think the most valuable of all the lessons is just show up and deliver. And that’s something he doesn’t say, it’s something he does. All the time. He’s always there. He’s always invested. People can question his creative motives or whatever they want. It’s creativity, there’s always going to be opinionated.
He’s always boots on the ground. He’s always invested” said John Cena, “And he always believes and is passionate about the product and I think just showing up and delivering, that’s a huge takeaway.” (Quotes: SEScoops)
The former world champion was also asked if he feels excited about returning to WWE in front of the fans. He said that he is excited for the WWE performers.
John claimed that he thinks he wouldn’t have done very well in the environment without an audience. He is happy for WWE to have crowds again and happy that all the talents can enjoy that feeling once again.
When it comes to wrestling, there is no bigger name than the Rock. While he may have hung up his boots years ago (or did he?) his name is still synonymous with the sport.
Earlier this week, the People’s Champion popped up on social media to answer a tweet sent out by WWE. The simple tweet asked people to name the match they thought to be the most important to WWE history. The Rock answered with a classic match. One that has very solid grounds for winning the debate.
Hulk Hogan vs Iron Shiek in Maddison Square Garden back in 1984.
Hogan vs Sheik. NYC. Garden. 1984. (seminal match with historic implications and a legit bounty thrown in the mix)
There can be no denying the calibre of the Rock’s choice. The match between Hulk Hogan and the Iron Shiek was a pivotal one, not just for the company but for the entire evolution of professional wrestling.
The match was a classic tale of good versus evil, with all the political nods that the ’80s needed. Hogan became the first man to escape the camel clutch and went on to get the pinfall and secure his first-ever world title. More importantly than that, however, were the now immortal words uttered by Gorilla Monsoon.
Hulkamania is here.
The Rock is a wrestler, but more importantly, he is a wrestling fan. He has admitted on numerous occasions that he grew up as a fan of Hulk Hogan. His choosing that match as the most important is no real surprise. The Rock got to face his boyhood idol in an idol vs idol match at Wrestlemania X8, a match he championed and campaigned to Vince McMahon for.
The Rock has his own fair share of legendary matches during his run in WWE. Should rumours pan out, perhaps we will one day be talking about The Rock versus Roman Reigns in the same way we do Hogan and Shiek?
The coronavirus pandemic had forced WWE to put a pause to their relationship with Saudi Arabia but they might be looking to resume it later this year.
PWinsider recently provided some updates on the company’s return to the country. It notes that the expectation is that the promotion will run their next Saudi show in fall.
While a date for WWE’s next PPV in Saudi Arabia has not been locked yet, the officials expect to run one event there before the end of the year.
WWE first started holding live events in Saudi Arabia in 2014. The company held one live event each year from 2014 to 2016 in the Middle Eastern country.
The two parties then began an official partnership in 2018 when the Saudi General Sports Authority started advertising the Greatest Royal Rumble event.
The Greatest Royal Rumble, held in April 2018 was the company’s first televised show produced from the country. It marked the start of a 10-year partnership between WWE and the Kingdom.
WWE has since produced 4 more shows in the country. Their last show was the Super ShowDown event in February 2020 before the coronavirus pandemic halted this partnership.
Now that the world is opening back up, the company is looking to resume its normal business operations and it appears that their expected return to Saudi Arabia is a part of the plans.
Current Impact X Division champion Josh Alexander will be making his debut for NJPW as part of the partnership between the two companies this week.
The champion will be making his debut for the Japanese promotion in a singles match against Alex Coughlin. The two will face off on this Friday’s ignition episode of NJPW Strong. This will be the beginning of Coughlin’s open challenge series.
The partnership among AEW, Impact and NJPW has been growing in the past few months. Stars from all three companies have been making more and more cross-promotional appearances in recent times.
The Walking Weapon of Impact has been one of the stars who previously competed against talents from other companies. Alexander defended his title against NJPW’s El Phantasmo during the May 15 episode of Impact.
NJPW announced a special ignition event for their weekly NJPW Strong show. The two-night special will begin this week and conclude on June 25.
Apart from the match between Josh Alexander and Alex Coughlin, the episode will also feature bouts such as Satoshi Kojima vs. NWA World Tag Team Champion JR Kratos, and Fred Rosser & Adrian Quest vs. Bateman & Barrett Brown.
WWE announced a new match for the upcoming Hell In A Cell PPV during this week’s episode of Raw confirming that Alexa Bliss will be taking on Shayna Baszler on the show.
Last week’s episode the Red Brand featured an Alexa’s playground segment in the main event. It included Baszler as well and Bliss asked the former NXT women’s champion to apologize to her doll Lilly.
Shayna took the doll from Bliss but she stomped her instead. The lights then started to flicker and Baszler got caught up in the pyro on the stage when she tried to run to backstage.
The Queen of Spades went to the locker room and locked herself inside. However, Lily showed up on the mirror and the segment, and the show ended with Baszler screaming as the lights went out.
The opening segment of this week’s Hell In A Cell go home episode of Raw saw Nia Jax confronting Bliss backstage. Jax said that her partner will see Bliss at the PPV, making the match official.
Updated Hell In A Cell Match Card
This is the fifth match officially announced for the show this Sunday with one or two more bouts expected to be added on SmackDown. Below you can check out the updated card for the show so far:
WWE ChampionshipHell In a Cell Match: Drew McIntyre vs. Bobby Lashley, If Lashley wins McIntyre will not be able to challenge the All Mighty for the title again
Universal ChampionshipHell In a Cell Match: Rey Mysterio vs. Roman Reigns
Raw Women’s Championship Match: Charlotte Flair vs. Rhea Ripley
SmackDown Women’s Championship Match: Bayley vs. Bianca Belair
Singles Match: Shayna Baszler vs. Alexa Bliss
Hell In A Cell this year will take place on June 20 from the WWE ThunderDome at the Yuengling Center in Tampa, Florida
LA Knight picked up a big win during the latest NXT Takeover: In Your House event this past Sunday when he won the Million Dollar championship originally created by Ted DiBiase.
The new champion appeared on Busted Open Radio after his big win on the show. He talked about his journey from being a kid and watching the million-dollar title on WWE TV to holding the belt himself.
Knight then discussed DiBiase’s future in the brand saying that the WWE Hall Of Famer is still going to be around. The NXT star also claimed that he has a big surprise coming for him:
“Ted’s still going to be around, I need him, I want him to be there. I think I have a pretty big surprise coming for him, because I owe him, big time at this point. So I definitely want to make sure that he’s around for sure.”
Ted DiBiase has been making regular appearances for NXT since April and he had been feuding with Cameron Grimes. He recently reintroduced the Million Dollar championship on WWE TV.
The company then announced a ladder match between Grimes and LA Knight to determine the new Million Dollar champion. This match was won by Knight during the latest NXT Takeover: In Your House event.
Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated was one of the names invited to be part of the pre-show panel for this past Sunday’s NXT TakeOver: In Your House event.
The wrestling journalist wrote about his experience at the show after the event and he provided some interesting tidbits from the latest NXT PPV.
He mentioned that people like Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Matt Bloom, and Sara Amato were present throughout the day and they all were very hands-on with the latest TakeOver event.
WWE executive vice president Triple H congratulated the participants of the five-way main event on the success of their bout after they returned backstage.
Per Barrasso, it was easy to see how passionate all five of the stars in the main event were and all of them were trying to create something memorable.
Cesaro and Reginald were two non-NXT names who were backstage for the show at the Capitol Wrestling Center to watch the event and support their coworkers.
There was a conference room where WWE Hall of Famer Ted DiBiase was telling stories about working with Vince McMahon Sr. The famed catering of the company included salmon and vegetables, grilled chicken, and crab.
Apart from this, the wrestling journalist noted how the space to eat was limited and Xia Li spent almost 2 hours in the makeup, getting ready for her match against Mercedes Martinez on the show.
Former WWE star Lana has a lot to say about her time in the company. She is promising to ‘spill the tea’ on everything she had to endure before her release.
The female star recently made some intriguing promises to the wrestling universe while speaking to the fans on a recent live session on her Instagram.
The wife of former WWE star Rusev aka Miro said that she can’t wait to spill the tea. Lana claimed that she is looking forward to standing up and speaking about things she has been silent about:
“I can’t wait to spill the tea, because it’s hot and delicious. I look forward to standing up and speaking out on things that for years I have been silent about,”
The 36 year old mentioned how she cried upon her WWE release while her husband did ‘cartwheels’ when he was let go by the company. Lana then claimed that she can finally speak up for things people exploited:
“It’s a little bit of freedom that I can be the face that I want to be. I can stand up for freedom, I can stand up for truth, I can speak up for things that people exploited and a lot of things,”
Lana was one of the many names released during the latest round of budget cuts. She was released from her contract on 2 June and the female star is currently under a 90 days non-compete clause.
