SEScoops

Author: Anutosh Bajpai

  • CM Punk\’s UFC Opponent Reacts To Recent Controversy

    CM Punk\’s UFC opponent Mike Jackson has taken a dig at the controversy surrounding the AEW star\’s recent Dynamite promo.

    The AEW world champion had a promo battle with Jon Moxley on this week\’s Dynamite. Before this confrontation, he went off script and called out Hangman Page.

    Reports that have since come out reveal that there has been real life tension between Punk and Page. It started with a promo Hangman cut during their feud earlier this year.

    It\’s also been said that CM Punk is not happy in AEW. He has expressed his displeasure so blatantly that some even thought he might quit the company.

    Mike Jackson Jokes About CM Punk

    Mike Jackson reacted to one such report, which stated that Punk had made it clear that he won\’t be losing to Page. The MMA star posted a photo of him beating Punk and joked that he could help with the situation:

    CM Punk made his UFC debut against Mickey Gall at UFC 203 in September 2016. The former WWE star was taken down by his opponent immediately and he lost the match via a rear naked choke submission in the first round.

    His second match came at UFC 225 two years later in June 2018. Punk managed offense in the first round in the bout against Jackson. However, he became fatigued in the second round and lost the bout by unanimous decision after being dominated by Mike.

  • Karrion Kross Reveals His Reaction To WWE Return

    Karrion Kross had strived to become a WWE star from the moment he stepped foot in a wrestling ring. So it was a heart-breaking experience for him when he finally got the opportunity but it didn\’t turn out the way he expected. Thankfully for Kross, things have changed very quickly. According to the former NXT champion, finally getting the chance to showcase his talent in WWE is pretty incredible.

    Both Kross and Scarlett recently appeared on Corey Graves\’ After The Bell podcast. Among other things they talked about their WWE release and return. When asked how he felt upon his comeback, Karrion Kross said that it\’s hard to put in words:

    \”It\’s really hard to find the words man. To want something so bad and then to have to accept that that\’s not a reality anymore. Then to get a call one day out of the blue, and to be offered everything you were striving for. It\’s pretty incredible.\”

    – Karrion Kross

    Karrion Kross had a successful NXT career after signing with the company in February 2020. Unfortunately for him, it didn\’t translate into a successful main roster run. Vince McMahon did not see potential in his NXT gimmick. Both him and Scarlett were released in November 2021 after a lackluster run on Raw.

    Things have changed since then. He is one of the first people Triple H has brought back after taking over creative. Kross has not only gotten his old gimmick back but he has been presented as a monster since day 1.

    You can relive Kross\’ WWE return below:

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  • How Was AEW Dynamite Viewership With Kenny Omega\’s Return

    This week\’s episode of Dynamite featured an explosive CM Punk promo and the much-anticipated return of former AEW champion Kenny Omega, but it doesn\’t seem to have helped the TV ratings of the show.

    The August 17 episode of the show featuring Omega\’s return and the first match of the Trios Title Tournament in the main event drew 957,000 viewers on TBS, according to ShowBuzzDaily.

    This is a 1.5% decrease from last week\’s episode of the show and the second lowest Dynamite viewership since July 20.

    In comparison, last week\’s Quake by the Lake special featuring the Jon Moxley vs Chris Jericho AEW World Title match in the main event and the surprise return of CM Punk had averaged 972,000 viewers.

    The show finished second on the cable charts for the 18-49 demo. The episode drew a 0.30 rating. This is a 9.1% decline compared to last week\’s 0.33 rating and the second lowest key demo rating the show has garnered since moving to TBS.

    AEW has announced a big title unification match between CM Punk and Jon Moxley for next week\’s Dynamite from Cleveland, OH.

    This, coupled with the drama that has followed Punk\’s controversial promo on the show may help the Wednesday night program regain some viewers next week.

  • Two AEW Stars Express Frustration With Their Booking On Dynamite

    Brian Pillman Jr. and Griff Garrison collectively known as Varsity Blondes in AEW have joined the list of stars who seem to be frustrated with their position in the promotion.

    During the August 17 episode of Dynamite, the two AEW stars were squashed in a match by The Gun Club. This bout lasted for only about 30 seconds.

    The match ended so quickly that Pillman Jr. never even got to tag in. He was jumped by Colten Gunn. Colten went on to hit a Colt 45 on Garrison and picked up a pinfall victory.

    This short match was a way to set up a heel turn for The Gun Club. They turned on their father Billy Gunn after this bout and joined forces with Stokely Hathaway.

    The Varsity Blondes Are Not Happy

    The Varsity Blondes seemed to be unhappy with the fact that they were used as enhancement talents on the show. Griff Garrison took on his Twitter after this bout and wrote \’Frustrated\’:

    His partner Brian Pillman Jr. then started retweeting posts that criticized how the tag team was used during their appearance on Dynamite.

    These two have now joined Miro and Andrade, who recently expressed frustrations with their AEW booking on social media in a similar manner.

  • CM Punk vs Jon Moxley Match For August 24 Dynamite Was A \’Late Decision\’ (Report)

    AEW surprised everyone when they announced a AEW world championship unification match between CM Punk and Jon Moxley for next week\’s episode of Dynamite.

    Latest reports have now revealed some more details on the bout. They suggest that this wasn\’t part of a long term plan the company had for the title.

    According to reports from Fightful Select, the Mox vs Punk match for the August 24 Dynamite was \’a late decision.\’ Though they couldn\’t elaborate on when exactly the decision was made.

    CM Punk made his return from the foot injury at last week\’s episode of Dynamite. He saved the interim AEW champion Jon Moxley from a beatdown at the hands of the Jericho Appreciation Society.

    The two title holders then had a confrontation. Many expected this face off to lead into a title unification match at the upcoming All Out PPV on September 4.

    However, this week\’s episode of Dynamite featured a promo battle between the two AEW stars. Punk went into business for himself during the segment, calling out Hangman Page. He later had a brawl with Mox.

    Everyone was left surprised when AEW announced after this segment that the title unification match between the former WWE stars will take place on next week\’s episode of the show instead of the PPV event.

  • DDP Was Asked To Wrestle In Ric Flair\’s Last Match

    Diamond Dallas Page or DDP was part of the Ric Flair\’s Last Match event. The 66-year-old got physical during the show but it appears that Flair wanted him to do even more.

    The former WCW champion was the most recent guest of Renée Paquette\’s The Sessions podcast. He talked about things such as helping veteran wrestlers with his Yoga program and more.

    Speaking about the grand spectacle that was Ric Flair\’s Last Match, DDP revealed that the 16-time world champion actually wanted him to be part of the main event:

    \”Ric actually called me and asked me if I would be in the match with him, do a six-man. At first he said, \’D, how old are you?\’ [I replied] \’66.\’

    [He said] \’I\’ve seen you, you\’re in great shape. I\’d really love to have you be in this match.\’ I said, \’Ric, I can\’t do it. I feel so good, I can\’t take a chance on hurting myself.\’\”

    After DDP refused to join Flair for the match, the two-time WWE Hall of Famer convinced him to take part in his roast instead.

    Page made an appearance at the event as well and he delivered a diamond cutter to Matt Cardona. Ric Flair on the other hand, teamed up with Andrade to face Jeff Jarrett and Jay Lethal.

    Quotes via Fightful

  • Shawn Michaels Receives New Title In WWE

    Shawn Michaels have received a brand new title in WWE. The Hall of Famer is now recognized as WWE Vice President of Talent Development Creative by the promotion officially.

    After uneasiness over the future of NXT UK in the last several weeks, the company finally revealed what\’s next for the development brand yesterday.

    The promotion sent out a press release and confirmed that the UK brand will be expanding its scope and will be relaunching as NXT Europe in 2023.

    Another curious thing in the press release was that Shawn Michaels, who had been working without an official title so far was listed as a Vince President now.

    HBK retired from in ring action back in 2010 to spend more time with family. He returned to the company in a backstage role at the Performance Center in 2016.

    The former world champion initially only helped train recruits at the PC but he started helping with the creative side of things for NXT in 2018.

    Shawn Michaels stepped up and became the godfather of NXT when his best friend Triple H had to take time away due to his health issues in September 2021.

    Now this new title suggests that Michaels\’ responsibilities have increased further, and he might be overseeing the NXT Europe brand as well as any other development brands the promotion may be planning to launch in future.

  • Sylvester Stallone Defends Pro Wrestling Against Criticism

    Sylvester Stallone understands that wrestling is as real as it gets because talents take legitimate risk and people get hurt doing it. The Hollywood veteran recently spoke to Sports Illustrated. He was promoting his upcoming prime action film Samaritan, releasing on August 26.

    Speaking about wrestling, Stallone expressed his love for the sport. He mentioned how he wants his daughters to watch wrestling for the story:

    “I love wrestling, it’s all about getting swept up in the drama. I love wrestling’s mythic qualities. I made my daughters watch wrestling—I wanted them to watch for the story.\”

    \’That\’s Real\’: Sylvester Stallone

    Sylvester Stallone also addressed the criticism wrestling gets for \’not being real.\’ He mentioned how things like jumping off the top rope or people bumping on you are real:

    “I understand what goes into it. I hear people say it’s not real. Really? Gravity is real. Jumping off the top rope or having 300 pounds landing on you, that’s real.

    Stallone later claimed that he feels the same way about action films. He discussed how the action genre is dismissed by people for being an act but the Hollywood star revealed that he has had over 30 operations due to action films.

    Sylvester Stallone also named people like Bruno Sammartino and Gorgeous George. He credited them for helping forge his personality. You can check out his interview here.

  • Vince McMahon Paid $5 Million In Unrecorded Expenses To Donald Trump Foundation (Report)

    New details have come in light regarding the $19.6 million in unrecorded company expenses by former WWE chairman Vince McMahon that were uncovered recently. According to a report from Wall Street Journal, the WWE owner made two donations to the now defunct Donald J. Trump Foundation in 2007 and 2009, in addition to the payments made to former employees.

    The former American President made appearances for the promotion in the mentioned years. This included his role in the Battle of the Billionaires match at WrestleMania 23. WWE attorney Jerry McDevitt issued the following statement to the site in regards to the unrecorded expenses from Vince McMahon:

    “Mr. Trump and WWE entered into a contract whereby WWE agreed to and did pay him personally an appearance fee of $1 million. At the same time, the McMahons made a personal contribution to the Trump Foundation of $4 million. There was no additional fee paid to Mr. Trump, or any additional contribution to the Trump Foundation, due to the success of the event.”

    WrestleMania 23 saw Bobby Lashley battling Umaga in a singles match. Both Donald Trump and Vince McMahon were in the corner of Lashley and Umaga respectively. The stipulation for the bout was that the billionaire on the losing side will have his head shaved, which turned out to be Vince McMahon.

    A WSJ source noted that Trump directed McMahon to send a $4 million appearance fee to his charity. The billionaire businessman also had his associates review the contract to ensure that under no circumstances will McMahon be allowed to shave his head, even if Lashley \’dropped dead in the ring.\’

    You can relive the Battle of the Billionaires segment from WrestleMania 23 below:

  • Wrestling Veteran Describes His New Role with AEW

    Veteran wrestling commentator Tony Schiavone has received a big promotion in AEW. In addition to his broadcast duties, he is now working in a talent relations role as well.

    The AEW commentator opened up about this on the most recent episode of AEW Unrestricted. He revealed Tony Khan has promoted a number of people recently:

    \”I\’m very honored to have been promoted by Tony Khan. It\’s a crew of us that have been promoted. It\’s QT Marshall, Sonjay Dutt, Pat Buck, and myself. [We all] have been promoted within the confines of what\’s going on.\”

    Tony Schiavone\’s New Job Title

    \"Tony
    Tony Schiavone (Photo: AEW)

    Tony Schiavone also confirmed his new job title and explained his role behind the scenes. Schiavone noted that when he is not helping Khan with something, he makes sure that all the talents are happy:

    \”My job is now Senior Producer, Special Advisor & Talent Relations. I love that special advisor role. I do a lot of running during the day, trying to talk to talent. Then what I\’ll do is when I don\’t have a specific thing to do, like run go get this person because Tony wants to talk to them and we need to hammer out some things and bring him back into Tony\’s office.

    Basically, what I do [is I] walk around during the day and ask people how they\’re doing and ask them if they\’re happy. If there\’s anything we can do to make it better. That\’s very very important, I think we are really making good strides. I really do.\”

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  • Spoiler: Claudio Castagnoli To Defend ROH Title Against 34-Year Veteran

    Current ROH World Champion Claudio Castagnoli will be challenged by a 34-year veteran in his next title defense.

    This week\’s episode of Dynamite gave us many notable moments, including the AEW return of Kenny Omega and the surprising announcement of the AEW world championship match.

    Though things didn\’t end there as the company also taped this week\’s episode of Rampage after the Wednesday night show went off air.

    During one of the segments on the taping, ROH world champion Claudio Castagnoli came out alongside ROH Pure Champion Wheeler Yuta.

    Castagnoli first mentioned how it was great to come out before the crowd as the ROH champion, especially with Ricky Steamboat in attendance.

    Claudio Castagnoli\’s Next Challenger

    \"Dustin
    (AEW)

    The former WWE star then issued an open challenge for next week. Dustin Rhodes came out to accept this challenge, and officially became the #1 contender for the title. This match will take place on the August 26 Rampage.

    Claudio Castagnoli won the ROH championship by defeating Jonathan Gresham at the Death Before Dishonor PPV. He previously defended his title successfully against Konosuke Takeshita.

    Apart from this, the Rampage episode also featured matches such as Keith Lee & Swerve Strickland vs. Private Party, Buddy Matthews vs Serpentico and The Best Friends & Orange Cassidy vs. The Trustbusters in a first-round trios title tournament match.

  • Watch What Happened With Kenny Omega After Dynamite Went Off Air

    Former AEW world champion Kenny Omega made his grand return after almost 10 months of absence on this week\’s episode of AEW Dynamite.

    The Cleaner teamed up with The Young Bucks to compete in the first round of AEW Trios Title Tournament. They defeated the team of Andrade El Idolo, Rush, and Dragon Lee in the main event of the show.

    Andrade turned on Dragon Lee after this loss. The broadcast ended with the former NXT champion dropping Lee with a Hammerlock DDT.

    The Elite then hit the ring to save Lee from the attack. They stayed in the ring afterwards, and Kenny Omega addressed the crowd following his grand return after almost 300 days.

    Kenny Omega Talks To The Fans

    Omega first mentioned how they were able to survive the match on the show because of The Young Bucks. The Bucks pointed that the crowd has been booing them the past year and Kenny then explained why he probably should be mad too:

    \”Maybe I should be mad, too, because the reason why I\’m in this state right now, the reason I have to have three, sometimes four sessions of physical rehab every single day, is because of you. Maybe I should hate each and every one of you, because I come back out here for you guys. It\’s never for me.\”

    However, Kenny Omega then claimed that deep down, he has an appreciation for all the fans. He ended the promo by thanking the crowd for their support:

    \”So, on TV, I may blame you guys, I may hold resentment towards you guys. But perhaps, deep down inside, as long as this never gets aired, I do very much appreciate you. Thank you very much.\”

    You can check out Kenny Omega\’s post Dynamite promo below:

  • Watch: Kenny Omega Makes His Grand Return On Dynamite

    Kenny Omega is back!

    The former world champion had been absent from AEW programming since November last year. He dropped the AEW title to Hangman Page at Full Gear and took time off due to multiple issues.

    The Cleaner had been overseeing the development of AEW Fight Forever video game in the meantime but keeping his distance from the wrestling side of things.

    In his absence, Adam Cole became the unofficial leader of The Elite for a while. However, he turned on The Young Bucks and left the group along with Bobby Fish and Kyle O\’Reilly a few weeks ago.

    Fans started speculating about Kenny Omega\’s return when the company finally announced the brackets for the trios title tournament, and The Young Bucks started looking for a partner.

    Kenny Omega Returns To Dynamite

    The tournament began on this week\’s episode of Dynamite. This is where Omega made his return as the surprise tag team partner of The Young Bucks.

    The team of Kenny Omega and The Bucks went on to defeat the trio of Andrade El Idolo, Rush, and Dragon Lee to advance to the semi-finals of the tournament.

    They will meet the winner of the first-round match between Death Triangle and the United Empire. The Elite are currently the favorites to win the whole thing and become the Inaugural Trios champions.

  • Huge Championship Match Shockingly Announced For Next Week\’s Dynamite

    AEW has shockingly announced a huge championship match for next week\’s episode of Dynamite from Wolstein Center in Cleveland, OH.

    They have confirmed that the AEW world champion CM Punk will be facing the Interim world champion Jon Moxley to unify the titles next week.

    Punk won the AEW title from Hangman Page at Double or Nothing in May. Though he had to take time off from the company shortly after due to a broken foot.

    The promotion crowned Mox the interim world champion in the meantime, and the hardcore star has been defending the championship since Forbidden Door.

    Punk vs. Moxley

    \"Punk

    Punk made his surprise return on last week\’s Dynamite and saved Moxley from a beatdown. The two then had a confrontation and many believed they will meet at the upcoming All Out PPV.

    This week\’s episode of the show, however, saw a heated verbal exchange between the two stars. This was followed by a brawl that had to be broken up by security. The championship match was announced for next week after this.

    This surprise announcement has left fans puzzled. The All Out PPV is only a few weeks away, and there is now speculation that this storyline could lead to the return of MJF.

    The Salt of The Earth hasn\’t been seen since his explosive Dynamite promo. Many believed that his return was being held off because of Punk\’s injury and fans are now wondering if we can finally see his comeback next week.

  • Hangman Page Reveals the Most Difficult Matches of His Career

    Hangman Page has wrestled in many competitive matches over the course of his career. The two hardest matches for him are a death match where he suffered a gruesome injury…and wrestling Bryan Danielson.

    The former AEW world champion recently held a Q&A session at GalaxyCon Raleigh 2022. During the talk, Page was asked which are the hardest matches he has had to wrestle. He first recalled his Texas Death Match against Lance Archer:

    \”Probably the hardest match I would say two. One of them would be wrestling Lance Archer in a Texas Death match. I got my eyebrow cut. I didn\’t know there were like vessels and veins in your eyebrow a lot. So I bled so much.\” remembered Hangman Page, \”There\’s blood in my eyes and I couldn\’t see.

    I couldn\’t breathe because it was just like going up my nose and stuff like that. I couldn\’t see anything, I got thrown onto the steel steps and my left arm crashed into the edge of it. I lost feeling in my left arm for a while. It was a terrible combination. So that was a really hard match.\”

    \’I\’m Just Huffing and Puffing\’: Hangman Page

    The second match was Hangman Page\’s very first AEW world title defense against Bryan Danielson. The two wrestled for an hour in a match that ended in a draw. Per Page, Bryan was enjoying this bout while he was looking for an opportunity to throw up:

    \”Secondly, I\’d probably say wrestling Bryan Danielson for an hour. An hour is so long to do anything, especially wrestle someone like Bryan. He\’s just doing jumping jacks and having a good ol\’ time lefts and right in the ring and I\’m just huffing and puffing and trying to throw up. So those are probably my two hardest matches.\”

    You can check out the session featuring the AEW star below:

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  • Becky Lynch Reveals How Much Creative Freedom She Has On The Mic

    WWE is notorious for forcing stars to memorize scripts and lay out every move of a match in advance. However, there are many top stars who have broken this stigma recently. Becky Lynch is one of the names who apparently has the freedom to say what she wants on the mic.

    The Man recently took part in an Instagram Live session with Seth Rollins, The Rock and former WWE writer Brian Gewirtz. During the interview, she was asked if she has to memorize promos word by word as well. Lynch claimed that she gets to write her own promos for the most part:

    \”Thankfully for me it\’s not like that and it\’s not like that for this guy [Seth Rollins] either. We get a promo and sometimes there\’ll be lines in it that you have to hit,\” said Becky Lynch, \”They\’ll often be that the lines that you\’re like \’That doesn\’t sound like she would say that\’ But for the most part we\’ve gotten to the point where we\’ve gotten enough equity and we\’ve gotten enough trust that, we get to write our own promos.

    She continued: \”It\’s usually a collaborative process where if I\’m comfortable with my writer, [I\’ll go] \’Well what do you think of this. I feel like it\’s gotta hit more and I think we could do more with this.\’ And a lot of the times they\’ll come up with a good line. It\’s collaborative that way when you\’ve gotten that equity, but I think when you first come up [it\’s different]. Like when I first came up, I was too scared to say anything out of turn. I was like \’oh these are the words on the page, I must say every single word exactly as it is.\’ Thankfully it\’s not like that anymore.\”

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  • Kris Statlander Confirms Timetable For Recovery

    AEW star Kris Statlander joined the ever-growing injury list when she suffered a leg injury during the AEW Dark tapings on August 5.

    The female star provided some updates on her health on the most recent episode of AEW Road To. She revealed that she has completely torn her ACL:

    \”After getting an MRI, I have a completely torn ACL. My lateral meniscus is torn, and there is lateral impaction fractures in my tibial and femoral heads. So just tiny little cracks that are more of a bruise, but still, technically a broken leg.\”

    Speaking about her recovery, Kris Statlander noted that it\’ll be six to eight months before she gets cleared to compete again:

    \”So recovery time, it\’s about six-to-eight months post-operation. Once we got the MRI, we were hoping it was just a meniscus tear. That would have either been a few weeks to three months, at most. But now that we know the ACL is completely torn, that\’s the one you don\’t want to get, children.\”

    The timing of the injury is unfortunate for Statlander as she was gaining momentum in AEW before that. She has reached the #2 spot in the ranking and was making a strong case for a shot at the women\’s title.

  • Watch: Sasha Banks\’ Car Broken Into And Robbed

    Wrestling star Sasha Banks had her car broken into and robbed in Oakland by an unidentified person earlier on Monday.

    The former champion shared photos and videos of the incident on her Instagram account. The video, as seen below, shows that someone broke the glass from behind.

    Banks noted that her car had only been parked there for five minutes. In the caption of one of the stories, she suggested that the thief only managed to steal some hair products.

    Both Sasha Banks and Naomi made headlines yesterday as well when they attended the premiere of the new Marvel series She Hulk.

    The former women\’s tag team champions have been absent from the wrestling world ever since they walked out of a Raw episode back in May. Both the WWE stars were frustrated with their creative direction.

    Earlier reports had suggested that the former champions had decided to leave WWE for good, and at least Banks had gotten out of her contract with the company.

    However, things have changed following Vince McMahon\’s retirement. It\’s believed that both Sasha Banks and Naomi have agreed to make a comeback, and the officials are now looking for a suitable opportunity to bring them back.

  • Multiple NXT UK Stars Show Up At NXT 2.0

    There have been speculations about the future of the NXT UK stars recently. It now appears that NXT 2.0 is going to be their new home for the time being.

    The development brand presented the Heatwave special this week. What\’s notable is that multiple NXT UK stars made their presence felt during the show.

    First The Diamond Mine was attacked by longtime UK stable Gallus. The group was arguing that Roderick Strong wanted to end the faction in a segment.

    This came after Diamond Mine was defeated by Tony D\’Angelo and others during the July 26 episode of the show. Strong cost them the match after he accidentally hit his own team member Julius Creed.

    After attacking the NXT faction, the group of Wolfgang, Joe Coffey, and Mark Coffey went to the back. They confronted the current NXT UK tag team champions Josh Briggs & Brooks Jensen and challenged them for the title match next week.

    Though these three weren\’t the only UK stars to show up on the show. The main event of the episode saw Bron Breakker successfully defending his NXT Championship against JD McDonagh.

    After the bout, the NXT UK champion Tyler Bate came to the ring and confronted Baker. Both the stars held up their belts high as the episode went off air.

    Bate won the vacant NXT UK championship during a match taped on July 7. However, the bout is yet to air and he isn\’t officially recognized as the champion as of now.

  • High Flying Star \’Banned\’ From NXT 2.0

    Former NXT cruiserweight champion Santos Escobar has been \’banned\’ from NXT 2.0 after losing a match on this week\’s Heatwave special.

    The former King Cuerno had been feuding with Tony D\’Angelo and his faction in recent times. The two were set for an All or Nothing Street Fight at the show.

    The stipulation for this bout was that if Escobar wins, then Legado Del Fantasma will be free from the D\’Angelo family. However, if he loses, then he will have to leave the development brand.

    The match featured a lot of interference. The ending of the bout saw D\’Angelo accidentally hitting Elektra Lopez.

    Both Tony and Santos then grabbed a crowbar and brass knuckles, respectively. Though D\’Angelo managed to hit Escobar first and pinned him for victory.

    Santos Escobar has been a part of the WWE roster since 2019. He made his official in-ring debut in February 2020 and has been a featured star of the brand ever since.

    There is no word yet on what the company is planning for the future of the high-flying star. There is obvious speculation that he could be headed to the main roster now that Triple H has taken over the creative.

  • When Drew McIntyre Found Out About Karrion Kross\’ WWE Return

    Karrion Kross made his surprise return to WWE earlier this month. His goal was to establish himself as a main event talent and he did so by attacking Drew McIntyre.

    While a lot of people expected Kross to return after Triple H took over WWE creative, not many thought his comeback will be put together so quickly. Turns out, McIntyre himself also found out about it at the last second.

    The former WWE champion spoke to Chris Van Vliet recently. When asked about the shocking return of Kross, McIntyre explained that he was surprised himself:

    \”I was very surprised. I didn\’t know till the very last second.\”

    – Drew McIntyre

    Drew McIntyre mentioned how Karrion Kross is someone who deserves an opportunity. Though he made it clear that this opportunity will not come at his expense:

    \”[He\’s] somebody who\’s worked hard for an opportunity, deserves that opportunity, and is getting the biggest opportunity of his career. Unfortunately for him, it\’s not gonna come at Drew McIntyre\’s expense.\”

    There are a lot of rumors of what Triple H is planning for the future of the unified WWE Universal championship. Many believe that he will use Kross to somehow split the world titles but there is no word on how it may happen.

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  • Drew McIntyre Reveals Favorite WrestleMania Matches From His Childhood

    Like many other current wrestling stars, Drew McIntyre grew up being fan of the sport. He got to witness the Attitude Era at its peak during his childhood. It\’s no surprise that some of the top WrestleMania moments from that time period are also his favorite Mania moments. The former WWE champion recently spoke to Chris Van Vliet on the occasion of WrestleMania 39 tickets going on sale.

    McIntyre was asked about his favorite matches on the Grandest Stage of Them All. He first mentioned how he was completely obsessed with wrestling growing up:

    \”I was completely obsessed, watched everything I could get my hands on. WrestleMania was such an important event every single year. My brother and I [would] just stay awake to one, two o\’clock in the morning, on a school night, and be very tired at school the next day. It was always, a very big event for us.\”

    \’I May Have Beat Him Up\’: Drew McIntyre

    \"Drew
    (via WWE)

    Drew McIntyre then listed out some of his favorite matches featuring stars such as Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels and Stone Cold Steve Austin

    \”Some of the big memories as a kid for me, as a Bret Hart fan [was when] Bret was on the losing side of a really big one. One of my earliest memories with Bret Hart [and] Shawn Michaels [at] WrestleMania 12. One of my good friends at school was a Shawn guy. I was a Bret guy. The next day he kind of rubbed it in about the result and I may have beat him up at school.

    Bret Hart [and] Stone Cold Steve Austin [at WrestleMania 13], an incredible match. One of the best matches of all time from a storytelling perspective. Physicality perspective and the double turn at the end. Just unbelievable. I remember how much I loved the theatrics, WrestleMania 14, of Undertaker [and] Kane the first match. The build, Takers\’ entrance, just Kane\’s presentation. [The] story overall, and just these two monsters going at it. I can go on and on and on. But just off the top of my head, these are the three that just popped right in there.\”

    More Originals From SEScoops:

    If you use any quotes from the article, please credit Chris Van Vliet and SEScoops with an H/t for transcription

  • Watch: Sasha Banks and Naomi Attend She-Hulk Premiere

    Sasha Banks and Naomi have kept quiet about their wrestling future since their Raw walkout, but the duo have been making public appearances.

    The most recent of these appearances came on Monday when the former WWE women\’s tag team champions attended the premiere for new Marvel series She-Hulk.

    She Hulk is a new Disney+ series from Marvel. The show follows lawyer Jennifer Walters who becomes a superhero after receiving a blood transfusion from Bruce Banner. It\’s set to premiere on August 18, 2022.

    Banks herself posted photos from the She-Hulk launch event on social media. As seen in the pictures below, both the wrestling stars were donning green attires matching the occasion:

    Naomi also posted this video clip of her and Sasha breaking it down for the cameras:

    Sasha Banks & Naomi

    Sasha Banks and Naomi walked out of WWE back in May due to creative frustrations. At one point it appeared they were done with the company, with reports indicating that Banks had gotten her release.

    Things changed after Vince McMahon retired and Triple H took over the creative in the promotion. It\’s now believed that Sasha Banks and Naomi have agreed to return to WWE, and a deal has been worked out.

    WWE has not yet commented on their return, but it\’s believed that they will show up once the ongoing women\’s tag team championship tournament has concluded.

  • Top WWE Star Spotted At GCW Event (Photo)

    WWE superstar Seth Rollins was recently spotted at a Game Changer Wrestling event that took place over the weekend.

    GCW held the Homecoming event from the Showboat Hotel in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The event was split into two nights.

    The first night of the event saw Jon Moxley defending the GCW world championship against Effy. Night two of the PPV featured the Vows Renewal Ceremony of Matt Cardona and Chelsea Green.

    Rollins didn\’t enter the arena with the fans. The former Universal champion however, was spotted catching the action from behind the entrance curtain:

    https://www.instagram.com/p/ChQ4HaAuB3Y/

    There is no word yet on what Seth Rollins was doing at the GCW show. It\’s assumed that he was there supporting his Shield teammate in Moxley.

    The Visionary is currently involved in a feud with Riddle. The two were supposed to have a match at SummerSlam. Though this bout was cancelled and Riddle was pulled from WWE programming.

    The Ultimate Bro made his return to WWE TV on Raw this Monday. He resumed his feud with Rollins and attacked the former world champion on the show.

    There is no word yet on what the company is planning for these two. It\’s likely that we will see them going one on one at the upcoming Clash At The Castle PPV.

  • Unseen Footage Of Dexter Lumis\’ Raw Invasion

    After making a surprise appearance following the main event of Raw last week, Dexter Lumis once again tried to invade the Red Branded show this week.

    The episode featured a match between AJ Styles and Bobby Lashley for the United States Championship. At one point during the bout, The Miz and Ciampa showed up at the ringside.

    Miz was ready to attack Styles while Ciampa distracted the referee. However, Dexter Lumis apparently saved AJ from the attack.

    Lumis stalked Miz which stopped him from taking the shot on Styles. The Tortured Artist was then quickly taken out by the security and disappeared from the broadcast.

    Fans who were in attendance later posted videos from the show. As seen below, they show Dexter Lumis entering the arena and being escorted out by the security:

    The former NXT star was one of the featured stars of the development brand during the Wednesday Night Wars era.

    However, Vince McMahon didn\’t find his character interesting enough and he was released from his contract in April this year.

    Triple H who has been on a hiring spree since taking over WWE creative brought him back last week. He has also re-signed stars such as Karrion Kross and Scarlett.