Brock Lesnar has turned out to be one of the biggest stars the pro wrestling industry has ever seen. However, Vince McMahon wasn\’t thrilled with his signing at first when he found out how much they were paying him.
Current AEW commentator Jim Ross talked about his time as the WWE\’s Head of Talent Relations on the latest episode of his Grilling JR podcast.
Speaking about signing Lesnar, Ross revealed that they had initially contracted him for $250,000 a year. Per the former WWE star, the boss wasn\’t happy when he found out about this:
\”When I told him what I was going to pay Brock Lesnar, he looked at me like I was insane, and he was pissed because I think my first offer to Lesnar that I was going to sign him for was [$250,000]
I think Rock got a million.\” revealed Jim Ross, \”But they’re on this deal where you get paid by your performance, or on your performance, and much sooner than later, those guys are blowing those numbers away.”
The wrestling veteran later claimed that it was the same story with Chris Jericho. According to him, they initially paid less money to Jericho than he earned in WCW.
Ross told Chris that he will do alright if he was as good as he thought. Y2J was soon making a seven-figure salary in WWE.
Michael Elgin has admitted that he was detained in Japan, but the former ROH star is disputing the claim that it was due to him stealing protein powder.
It all started when the former Impact wrestling star missed a couple of Pro Wrestling Noah events on July 9th and 10th. The statement from the company addressed his absence but didn\’t reveal the reason behind it.
A report that came out earlier last week then claimed that Elgin had been arrested for stealing protein powder and that he was still in custody.
The wrestling star initially disputed these claims on Twitter. He then posted a lengthy statement on Facebook earlier today, stating that he didn\’t steal anything.
Michael Elgin\’s Statement
The Canadian star admitted that he was taken into custody for questioning on an issue. Michael Elgin revealed that he couldn\’t inform Noah because the police didn\’t allow it:
\”I was not deported, I was not banned from the country and I took my originally booked flight of today since my work visa was only valid for 3 months, I arrived in Japan in April. DO THE MATH.
Now, I was indeed questioned about an issue. This did make me unable to let NOAH know I could not appear on 7/9 and 7/10 events.\”
Elgin further stated that the police let him go after looking into the issue. If he was guilty of any offense, he would have been held for 2 months awaiting trial.
Michael Elgin has since explained the situation to Noah officials. He has returned to the United States after his work visa expired. You can check out his full statement here.
The women\’s Money In The Bank match this year made more headlines for various botches and missteps than anything else but Alexa Bliss feels what\’s important is that they are all safe.
The former women\’s champion recently had an interview with Metro. She talked about WWE\’s most recent PPV in detail.
Speaking about the criticism their ladder match received, Bliss claimed that all the competitors felt good after the match and they are all safe.
\”Everyone felt good, we’re all safe – which is what’s important, It was a chaotic day from start to finish. We all got through it, we all had fun. We were all really happy for Liv – it’s her time, it’s long overdue.\”
The one thing that did get a positive reaction was Liv Morgan\’s win. Alexa Bliss mentioned that the match wouldn\’t have been perceived as well if someone else had won the whole thing:
\”If it was anyone else, I don’t think the match would have [been] perceived as well. We wanted to see Liv win, and the crowd wanted to see Liv win. She’s the choice,\”
Bliss also discussed how Morgan deserves the win and the spot she is in now. The Goddess mentioned that the current SmackDown women\’s champion has trained very hard and she is very passionate about what she does.
Baron Corbin has an old school mentality of wrestling. He is not worried so much about impressing the audience with high flying moves. When Corbin is in the ring, he is more concerned with putting a good story and making everything he does mean more. Per Madcap Moss, this business approach rubbed some people the wrong way in NXT.
The young star recently had an interview with Ryan Satin on Out of Character. Speaking about his early interactions with Baron Corbin, Moss revealed that they became friends during Corbin\’s NXT days. Though he also mentioned how The Lone Wolf\’s mentality rubbed some people the wrong way:
\”He was in NXT when I first got there, and honestly, me and him were always real cool. We weren\’t super close. But he, you know, he rubbed a lot of people the wrong way. I actually appreciated his take on the business. It was just a very business-like approach. When he went up to the main roster, I really started to admire his work. The more I learned about what we did. Just the way he worked, the way he got the most out of everything that he did, the way he protected his finish all of these things.\”
\’I Had No Idea\’: Madcap Moss
Madcap Moss went on to join Corbin on SmackDown. This pairing helped him finally find his footing in the main roster. Speaking about how it all came together, Moss revealed that he only found out about it the day before:
\”I was thoroughly entertained by the broke Corbin stuff. I had no idea that they were thinking about putting me with him or anything like that. I actually was training at the Performance Center, kind of finishing up my rehab. They told me then that I was gonna do, they had me flying out to SmackDown for a dark match. Then the day before, they told me that I\’m actually gonna be debuting with Corbin.\”
WWE is the biggest wrestling company in the world. Everyone who decides to pursue a career in sports entertainment naturally dreams of joining the promotion. However, not everyone prepares for it the same, and the officials have to go through dozens of potential recruits just to find a worthy signee. The story of Madcap Moss\’ disastrous first tryout highlights this fact.
The SmackDown star recently appeared on Ryan Satin\’s Out of Character podcast. He told a funny story from his first WWE tryout:
\”The first tryout was a bit of a disaster. Not so much for me. There was only five guys total, including myself. The other four guys, with all due respect, were not ready for the intense cardio and training. So like five minutes into the first session, the other four had either pulled a muscle or were puking on the outside. I was the only one still going. As I\’m doing this, there\’s a legendary line in here.\” said Madcap Moss, \”I won\’t say names but the head coach at the time asked one of the guys. He said \’How long have you known about this tryout?\’ The talent responded \’Four weeks sir.\’ He said, \’What did you do to prepare?\’ \’Drank beer, sir.\’ Everyone looks at [him and go] \’Well, he\’s honest, at least.\’ Obviously, that did not go over well with the coaches
He continued: \”So anyway, long story short. I went all out, and I was just by far in the best cardio shape and had the best performance. I thought, \’well, this one\’s in the bag. This one\’s easy.\’ At the end, they told me \’Look, we didn\’t even get to half the stuff that we normally get to. We like you and we want to see you again, but we can\’t offer you a contract just based off this tryout.\’\”
Thankfully for Madcap, he got another tryout soon after this. The 32-year-old was offered a contract based on his second tryout and he is now entertaining fans on SmackDown.
John Cena and Shay Shariatzadeh are getting married in Canada, and TMZ Sports has a photo of the famous couple as they hit up one of the swankiest clubs in Vancouver. https://t.co/uJnS46WCwt
Prior to Shay, John was engaged to fellow WWE star Nikki Bella. They started dating back in 2012 and stayed together until 2018.
The 16-time world champion has not hit the ring in some time. His last televised match was against Roman Reigns at SummerSlam 2021. During his most recent WWE appearance, Cena said he doesn\’t know when he will wrestle again.
Goldberg\’s WWE contract expired after his match with Roman Reigns at Elimination Chamber. However, he is still hopeful about making a return. The former Universal champion recently had an interview with New York Post to promote the A&E Biography: WWE Legends episode on his career.
Speaking about a potential WWE return, Goldberg claimed that he is still waiting to get a call from WWE for one more match:
“I’m still waiting for that one [call] to happen one of these days, but I suppose you never retire in the wrestling world until you’re dead, so who knows.”
Goldberg also talked about his injured shoulder. Before Elimination Chamber, he had revealed that he has a “destroyed shoulder” that requires surgery. His injury was said to be so bad that the former WCW champion couldn\’t pick up a five-pound weight, but he put off surgery because he wanted to wrestle again.
The former WWE star confirmed that he still hasn\’t gotten the surgery. Though he has been rehabbing and the wrestling veteran claimed that he feels almost normal again:
“I have worked my ass off day, after day, after day to get to a point where I feel almost normal again,\” said Goldberg, \”I just kind of needed that break. I needed the mental focus of understanding that surgery wasn’t an option at the time and I needed to put my ass to the grindstone.”
A return is not guaranteed at his age and the 55-year-old knows that he \”may never get the call.\” Although If he does get asked to make the comeback, the WCW legend says that he will be ready.
Claudio Castagnoli is set to challenge the current ROH World Champion Jonathan Gresham at the upcoming Death Before Dishonor PPV.
Gresham took part in the latest AEW Dark Tapings prior to his title defence. However, his appearance may have spoiled the result of his upcoming match.
The ROH Champion competed in a match against Jordan Oasis at the tapings. What\’s noteworthy is that he appeared without the title belt around his waist.
The Dark episode is scheduled to air after Saturday\’s Death Before Dishonor show. Many believe that it\’s a confirmation that Gresham will be dropping the title to Castagnoli on the upcoming PPV.
The plans had to be altered due to Bryan Danielson\’s injury. The former WWE star ended up making his debut at the Forbidden Door PPV instead.
Though keeping the original plans in mind, it wouldn\’t be a surprise if Castagnoli picks up the victory as predicted and becomes the new ROH world champion.
Apart from this title match, the show will feature bouts such as a rematch between FTR and The Briscoes, Samoa Joe vs. Jay Lethal and more.
A biography on Kurt Angle\’s life is set to air on A&E later this month. Turns out, WWE has their own plans for this documentary.
The WWE Hall of Famer talked about a number of things on the latest episode of his podcast. This included his storyline with Jason Jordan and more.
Speaking about his upcoming documentary, Angle revealed that WWE has bought the rights to it. Per Kurt, the company plans to make it more pro wrestling oriented:
\”The WWE bought the show from us, the documentary, they changed it up a little bit and made it a little more pro-wrestling oriented but we made a deal with them that this will air on Peacock next year.\”
The one next year on Peacock will be more about my personal life growing up and before the WWE.\” said Kurt Angle, \”It\’s a really well-rounded documentary but the one that WWE is showing will be pro-WWE stuff,\”
Apart from this, the former world champion also talked about Jordan\’s career-ending injury. He revealed that the young star is suffering from its effects to this day.
The A&E documentary focusing on the WWE career of Kurt Angle will air on July 31, 2022 at 8 PM Eastern.
Fuego Del Sol fuelled the rumors of leaving AEW with some recent steps. It turns out the real meaning behind his actions was something completely different.
The AEW star got people talking about his future when he blacked out his Twitter profile. He also sent out an ominous tweet reading that \’change is going to come.\’
Fuego then posted a photo of himself in a different mask than usual. All this led to speculations that he could be leaving Tony Khan\’s promotion very soon.
Real Meaning Of Fuego Del Sol\’s Tweet
As it turns out, all this was an indication of a character change for the high-flying star. The photo he posted was from the latest AEW Dark tapings.
He competed against Ariya Daivari during the tapings. Fans who attended the event noted that Fuego Del Sol was not his usual cheery self in the bout. All this indicates that we will be seeing a new version of his character in the coming times.
Del Sol made regular appearances for AEW during the pandemic era, competing on Dark and Dark: Elevation. He was offered a contract following his loss to Miro during the August 13, 2021 episode of Rampage.
This isn\’t the only noteworthy event from the latest Dark tapings. A former NXT star also made his debut on the same day and joined a new faction.
Santana suffered a legitimate injury during the Blood and Guts match on the June 29 Dynamite. He appeared to have tweaked his knee during a move and was taken away by the medical staff.
Not much was known about the AEW star\’s injury at the time. Though a new report from Fightful Select has provided an update on his condition.
Per the site, AEW sources have indicated that the Proud-n-Powerful member suffered an ACL Injury. It\’s what Santana himself told several people within the company.
The former Inner Circle member attended a LAWE Wrestling event over the weekend. He was there to relinquish the LAWE world championship due to his injury.
The injured star was on crutches and told people he had not yet had surgery. You can check out Santana\’ promo from the show in the video below:
The Blood and Guts match this year saw The Jericho Appreciation Society fighting against the team of John Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli, Santana, Ortiz, Wheeler Yuta, and Eddie Kingston.
The ending of the bout saw Kingston locking Jericho in a submission. When Matt Menard tried to interfere, Castagnoli locked him in as well. Claudio picked up the victory for his team when Menard tapped out.
While there hasn\’t been an official announcement, it\’s believed that Santana will be out of action for 8-12 months.
The ending of Jason Jordan\’s WWE career is one of the most unfortunate stories in the wrestling world. He was being pushed as a future star by the company. The officials had plans for Jordan to face his storyline dad Kurt Angle in a match at WrestleMania 34. However, he suffered a neck injury two months before the event. He was written off TV with a backstage segment where Angle sent him home. Later reports suggested that Jason will be back on WWE programming in a year, only for him to be never seen again.
Kurt Angle talked about his storyline with the former American Alpha member on the latest episode of his podcast. He first explained the minimally invasive neck surgery for herniated disk that Jordan underwent:
\”What happens is your vertebrae, you have discs in between each vertebrae. When you injure your neck, the disc slides. What happens is it slides to the side. So it\’s sticking out of the vertebrae. You have nerves that come out of the vertebrae, and those get blocked by the disc. Then you can\’t feel your arm and you don\’t have motor skills with one arm or both arms depending if they slide both ways. So usually, it\’s just one way. You can\’t feel one arm and you can\’t use one arm. That\’s what Jason was having trouble with. His disc sled and blocked the nerves to his arm.\”
\’He Has Problems To This Day\’: Kurt Angle
Kurt revealed during the show that he has gone through the same procedure himself. When asked if he was able to fix all issues with the operation, Angle replied negatively:
\”Not really, I can\’t feel my two pinkies at all. I\’ve had a lot of problems with my motor skills and my arms went numb for periods of time. I\’ve lost about three inches in both arms. So my arms have atrophied. It\’s tough. When you do these quick fix surgeries. That\’s what Jason did. That\’s what I did. Instead of doing fusion. You\’re gonna have some problems down the road. Eventually I\’m going to have to have fusion. I should have had it already, and I didn\’t.\”
Kurt Angle then talked about Jason Jordan\’s new role in WWE as a producer. He claimed that the young star has found his calling in his new position. Later on, he also revealed that Jason is struggling with the effects of his career-ending injury to this day:
\”You know what\’s crazy he has problems to this day. His motor skills, his hands are on and off all the time. He just can never get right. I\’m not sure why that\’s occurring with him because with me at least I got relief at times. With him, he\’s never gotten relief. He has been really struggling with it for years.\”
You can check out the episode of The Kurt Angle Show where they talk about Jason Jordan below:
A lot of things have been said about Goldberg defeating The Fiend to win the Universal championship at Super Showdown 2020 in Saudi Arabia.
Bray Wyatt\’s new gimmick was being booked very strongly until that point and he was on an undefeated streak. Everyone believed that he was going to pick up the victory against the former WCW champion and go on to face Roman Reigns at WrestleMania. This was until plans changed and Fiend was told to put over the 55-year-old star.
Goldberg talked about this bout during a recent interview with Shak Wrestling. He addressed the rumors that he lobbied for the match finish to be changed. The former champion claimed that he flew to Saudi Arabia thinking he was going to lose:
\”I’m a talent and I do what the boss tells me to do. I flew to Saudi Arabia knowing I was going to lose. Then somehow it changed and the finish was different. It surely wasn’t me because it’s an extremely selfish move to do. Number two: truly it wouldn’t be about the business. It would be about myself. Number three: who the hell am I as a part-time guy to come in and demand anything? Truly, I’m not.\”
The planned match between Goldberg and Roman Reigns would end up being canceled as well after Reigns pulled out of the event. The two would finally meet at the Elimination Chamber PPV in 2022, where Reigns came out victorious.
You can check out Goldberg\’s full interview below:
Bayley hasn\’t been seen on WWE TV for almost a year. Though latest reports suggest that she might be returning to the ring very soon.
The former SmackDown women\’s champion is rumored to be headed to Nashville for Summerslam weekend.
Where has Bayley been?
Bayley
Bayley has been out of action since last June. She torn her ACL while working at the Performance Center prior to WWE\’s return to touring.
The former champion last competed in a mixed tag match where she teamed up with Seth Rollins. The duo defeated Bianca Belair & Cesaro during the June 26, 2021, episode of SmackDown.
The female star is not the only out-of-action athlete who will be in Nashville for the SummerSlam week. Big E will also be making his first public appearance since his injury.
The New Day member broke his neck due to a botched suplex from Ridge Holland back in March. The former WWE champion will be working at a talent tryout for college athletes between July 27-29 in Nashville.
It was reported initially that Bayley will be out of action for 9 months. We have been hearing rumors of her potential return since WrestleMania.
With a big name such as Sasha Banks leaving WWE, SummerSlam may finally be the event where the officials green light her comeback.
Bill Goldberg and Chris Jericho haven\’t had the best of relationships. The two started off at the wrong foot in WCW, and their rivalry continued in WWE. They even had a backstage fight during Goldberg\’s very first week in WWE. However, things have changed since then and both the stars seem to have learned to respect each other.
The former WCW world champion recently had an interview with SHAK Wrestling. Among other things, he also talked about his rocky relationship with Jericho. Though at the end, Goldberg mentioned how Jericho has batted for him. He claimed that it shows that Y2J is a good dude:
\”Chris and I have had a fairly rocky relationship throughout the years but we\’re kind of the same guy a little bit. I think that\’s why we budded heads in the beginning, one of the reasons. I love Chris to death. I do. I\’m actually doing his podcast here in a couple weeks. Life\’s too short. Grudges are something that means he wins. I don\’t know what the saying is but life\’s too short.
He\’s a good dude. He\’s always come to bat for me which was truly heart wrenching for me. To know that we\’ve been through what we went through and this dude would go to bat for me, that just shows what a good freakin dude he is.\”
You can check out Goldberg\’s full interview below:
Former New Japan Pro Wrestling and Ring of Honor star Michael Elgin has been arrested in Japan, according to reports.
The Canadian star was scheduled to compete in Shizuoka on July 10 for Pro Wrestling Noah. The company announced his removal from the show on Twitter, but they didn\’t give any reason for the same:
[7.10 Shizuoka – Notice of wrestler absence & change of match card]
Michael Elgin, who was scheduled to participate in the Shizuoka event on Sunday, July 10, will be absent following the event on the 9th. For this reason, some of the matches will be changed.#noah_ghcpic.twitter.com/0PsduQfqmv
Now Cassidy Haynes of BodySlam.net is reporting that Elgin has actually been arrested. He was apparently arrested last weekend in Japan for stealing protein powder, and he is currently still in Jail
Update: Elgin has responded to these reports on Twitter. He denied the claims that he was charged for anything and revealed that he is returning to Canada to be with his family:
The word going around is that the wrestling star could face up to 5 years in prison. This is unless a deal can be arranged similar to the one Matt Sydal worked out.
Sydal was arrested for possession of cannabis at the Kansai International Airport in Japan in 2016. He worked out a deal where the charges were dropped on the condition that he could never return to Japan again.
This isn\’t the first time Michael Elgin has been arrested. The 35-year-old was also arrested back in July 2021 in US for violating a protection order filed by his ex-fiance.
There is no word on what actions Elgin has taken to defend himself. We\’ll keep you updated on any development in this story.
The Bella Twins started their WWE career as a tag team. The duo used their identical looks to deceive their opponents and pick up wins early in their run.
Turns out their opponents aren\’t the only ones who have trouble telling the Twins apart. Their own kids can\’t differentiate between the two.
The sisters talked about this on the latest episode of The Bellas podcast. Nikki mentioned how Brie\’s kids get confused between her and her sister:
\”Brie\’s kids get so confused with her and I. Buddy goes, \’Mama.\’ And I go, \’No, it\’s Dodo\’… He wouldn\’t like, let it go.\”
Brie Bella then shared a similar experience with her son. She told a story of how Buddy thought her to be Nikki after waking up from a nap:
\”He wouldn\’t stop, yesterday he wakes up from a nap. I walk in there and he literally does this big back bump and he goes, \’No, Dodo. No.\’ And I\’m like, \’No, it\’s Mama.\’
\”I had to like squat down and like look through the crib handlebars. And I was like \’Bud-Bud, it\’s Mama,\’ And then finally he stopped crying and he goes, \’Mama?\’ And I\’m like, \’Don\’t I have a, a certain scent?\’ \”
Brie Bella and Bryan Danielson have two children. Their son Buddy Dessert is 23 months old and daughter Birdie Joe is 5. Nikki Bella has a 23-month-old son with Artem Chigvintsev who they have named Matteo Artemovich.
Former WWE star Parker Boudreaux, better known to NXT fans as Harland, has made his debut for Tony Khan\’s All Elite Wrestling.
The former NXT star took part in the most recent AEW Dark tapings from Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida. He was part of the second session of the tapings.
He was introduced by fellow WWE alumni Ariya Daivari. Daivari, now going by the name Ari revealed Boudreaux as the newest member of the Trustbusters stable he created with former ROH star Slim J.
The former WWE recruit competed in a match against Serpentico, which he won. Later in the night, he accompanied Daivari for his win against Fuego del Sol.
Parker Boudreaux took part in a tryout back in February 2021. The heavyweight star made his debut for NXT as Joe Gacy\’s bodyguard in October 2021.
Harland made his in-ring debut for the promotion in December 2021. He didn\’t last long with the company after that. His last match took place in March 2022 and he was released a month later.
It\’s unknown whether Boudreaux has been signed by AEW. Though his recruitment in the newly formed stable suggests that we will be seeing more of him in the company.
When asked about Ford, The Rock said that he loves the energy and charisma the Raw star brings on the table:
“I love that guy. I love his energy, I love his charisma, I love his work ethic, and, you know, in the world of pro wrestling, there’s nothing like the world of pro wrestling. It’s very unique and it’s also a business.\”
The Rock mentioned how everyone in the locker room works very hard. He then complimented Montez Ford as \’the whole package\’:
\”Professional wrestling, WWE, it’s in my blood, it’s my passion, I love it. So for a guy like him, he’s worked his butt off.
By the way, they all do. Everybody in that locker room, the men, the women, but him in particular, he’s got great athleticism, he’s got the whole package.”
DC League of Super-Pets will be released in theatres on July 29. You can check out the full interview of The Rock below:
“The Badass” Billy Gunn and “The Road Dogg” Jesse James are best known for their time together as The New Age Outlaws.
Now that the latter is not working for WWE anymore, the former wants his tag team partner to reunite with him. He is actually trying to bring James into AEW.
Gunn recently took part in a virtual autograph signing of K&S WrestleFest. Speaking about his former tag team partner, he claimed that they are trying to bring him in:
“We’re trying to get him here, he’s got other things going on, his podcast that I have to hear about every single day.”
– Billy Gunn
Road Dogg was released from his WWE contract in January this year due to budget cuts. This ended his decade long run with the company in which he in worked various on-screen and backstage roles.
The former SmackDown head writer seems to be interested in joining Tony Khan\’s promotion as well. He recently said that he would \’love to\’ join AEW in a backstage role.
With both the partners interested in a reunion, it only appears to be a matter of time before Road Dogg joins All Elite Wrestling. Fans would want to see them reunite on-screen too, but whether or not that happens will be revealed in future.
Vince McMahon has gotten at least one good news amid all the controversy surrounding recent allegations made against him. A lawsuit he was facing has officially been settled.
The WWE chairman had been sued by former XFL Commissioner Oliver Luck. This lawsuit came shortly after the premature end of the XFL’s second incarnation.
Luck claimed that his $25 million contract guaranteed him full pay in case it was terminated without cause. He sued McMahon and Alpha Entertainment for $23.8 million remaining in his deal as well as other damages.
Vince McMahon Gets Good News
The lawsuit was set to go on trial on July 7. It was revealed a few weeks ago that both the parties have agreed to a settlement outside of court.
PWinsider is now reporting that a Judge has officially dismissed the lawsuit against Vince McMahon. They noted that the two parties have come to a confidential settlement. Neither to them will have to pay the legal fees of the other.
This is a good news for Mr. McMahon, who has faced multiple waves of accusations in the last few weeks. The latest of the allegations claimed that the boss has paid over $12 million in hush money to former employees.
Though despite receiving a lot of heat from the fans over the allegations, Vince McMahon is said to be under \’no real pressure\’ to leave WWE.
Khan originally revealed the news while responding to a fan. The fan had commented on the absence of the former NXT champion from AEW programming.
Replying to him, the AEW owner noted that Andrade is actually out with an injury. He revealed that the Mexican star suffered the injury while competing with Rey Fenix three weeks ago. Though TK did not provide any further details on his condition.
Andrade Provides An Update
Andrade himself later took on his Twitter to address the concerned fans. He noted that his injury is nothing serious and he is expected to be cleared in a week or two:
— “EL IDOLO” ANDRADE (@AndradeElIdolo) July 16, 2022
The former US champion was part of the WWE roster from 2015 to 2021. He won multiple titles in the company before asking for his release in March 2021.
Andrade made his debut for AEW in June the same year. While he has been featured regularly on AEW programming ever since, many believe that he hasn\’t been used properly by the company.
What do you think about the former La Sombra\’s career in AEW? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.
Many believe that WWE\’s decision to move Raw back to a TV-14 rating is a result of the rise of AEW. Though Eric Bischoff doesn\’t believe it to be the case.
The former WCW president talked about this potential change on the latest episode of his Strictly Business podcast. His co-host theorized that this change is related to the popularity of AEW.
However, Bischoff opposed this sentiment, mentioning that WWE is not losing market share to their competitor. He also shared his wild opinion on AEW\’s TV ratings:
“It’s not like WWE is losing audience to AEW. AEW is flatter than piss on a plate in terms of television ratings.\” said Eric Bischoff, \”It is what it is and WWE is not losing market share to AEW, so why would they react to something that’s not affecting them?”
The former wrestling executive also said that anyone that believes AEW to be a legitimate threat to WWE is “delusional, and has taken ‘fanboyism’ to a terminal level.”
AEW has seen growth in the year-over-year audience every year since its inception. Their flagship program Dynamite has averaged around 950,000 viewers this year compared to the average of 891,000 viewers per episode in 2021.
Though with both Raw and SmackDown regularly pulling over 1.5 million viewers, there is no doubt that Tony Khan\’s promotion still has a lot of catching up to do.
Liv Morgan has had to go through many ups and downs before finally winning her first championship in pro wrestling. Though the one thing that has been constant throughout her journey is the fan support. Morgan failed many times after coming close to the achievement. However, her fan base only grew with every failed attempt and it finally got her to where she is now.
The SmackDown women\’s champion recently appeared on Corey Graves\’ After The Bell podcast. Speaking about the unwavering fan support, Liv mentioned how she owes them everything:
\”I feel like I owe almost it all to my fans. I feel like I\’ve said this a couple times, so many times I felt like throughout my journey in WWE. I know the fans believed in me. I felt their belief for me. But so many times I felt like I was giving them absolutely nothing to believe in, and here they are just still rooting for me and wanting me to succeed.
I wanted more than anything to actually give them something to believe in. To feel proud. All your years of standing by me, I\’m gonna repay it to you in this moment. That\’s kind of what Money In The Bank and cashing in was for me. This championship is as much for them as this was for me.
\’Everyone Has Their Opinion\’: Liv Morgan
Though despite being one of the most popular superstars on the current roster, Liv Morgan is not protected from criticism. From being called \’too girly\’ to being labeled as someone who is \’playing a pro wrestler\’, the former NXT star has to endure a lot even after proving haters wrong every day. When asked how she deals with all the negativity, Liv explained why it has never bothered her:
\”You could have the most perfect painting, the most perfect drawing, the most perfect meal, [be the] most perfect human in the world and someone\’s not gonna like it. You know? I enjoy the good just as much as I enjoy the bad. It\’s just something that luckily has never bothered me. I don\’t know. Everyone has their opinion and everyone\’s entitled to their own opinion.
It\’s kind of like [I] feel what you think about me is none of my business. If you love me, if you hate me, I can only do what I feel is right. That\’s something that I\’ve kind of done my whole career. I\’ve just tried to stay as true to me as I possibly could.\”
Tony Khan has made a point of not releasing stars mid-contract until it\’s absolutely necessary. Though the AEW owner has also received some criticism for ceasing communication with talents they have decided to let go.
Marko Stunt is one such AEW original whose run with the company ended recently. He made his debut at the promotion\’s Inaugural Double Or Nothing event. He left AEW after the officials decided not to renew his contract earlier this year.
The former AEW talent opened up about his departure from the promotion during an interview with NBC Sports Boston. Stunt mentioned how he didn\’t have any communication with Khan towards the end of his run:
\”I never really had any communication at the end. So I didn’t know if I was getting let go or renewed or anything. I sent out an email and didn’t get a response. I texted him and didn’t get a response.
But about a month before it happened, I did get a call,\” said Marko Stunt, \”And I got told, not by him, but I did get the phone call that I wasn’t gonna be renewed.\”
The former AEW star revealed that he texted Tony Khan after receiving the news. He thanked the AEW owner for the opportunities he was given.
The AEW president did respond to this text from Marko Stunt. Khan thanked him in return and said sorry for not being able to find a spot for him moving forward.
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