The NWA Hard Times 2 PPV featured not only a number of interesting matches but it also saw a few former WWE stars making surprise appearances at the show.
The first of them was the wrestling legend Mick Foley who brought the Christmas spirit with him. He said he is keeping a close eye on the show and warned the talents against crossing the line.
Dirty Dango also made his debut for the promotion during the Hard Times 2 PPV. He showed up with JTG after the tag team titles match.
The bout saw La Rebelión defeating The End to retain their championships. Dango and JTG pointed at the winners from the curtain before heading to the back.
Though probably the most impactful debut of the night was of Matt Cardona. He showed up after Trevor Murdoch defeated Mike Knox to retain the NWA worlds heavyweight championship in the main event of Hard Times 2.
Cardona pretended to come out to congratulate Murdoch. This allowed Knox to hit Murdoch with a low blow. The whole incident upset Mick Foley.
The hardcore legend sent Da Pope after Cardona but Pope was taken out by the former WWE star. Matt Cardona then got in the ring and held up the world title, to make his intentions clear and end the show.
NWA presented the Hard Times 2 PPV from the GPB Studios in Atlanta, Georgia tonight. The event featured several highlight moments.
The show saw the current NWA heavyweight champion Trevor Murdoch retaining his title against Mike Knox in a singles match while Chris Adonis retained the national heavyweight title against Judais in a one on one encounter.
NWA titles were not the only championships defended during the event. Both the Impact Knockouts title and ROH tag team titles were put on the line as well.
The show also featured surprise appearances from a number of former WWE stars including Matt Cardona among others. Here are the quick results of the PPV:
NWA Hard Times 2 Quick Results:
NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship Match: Trevor Murdoch defeated Mike Knox
NWA World Women\’s Championship Match: Kamille defeated Melina
Fatal Four Wat Match For NWA Women’s World Tag Team Championship: The Hex defeated Missa Kate & Natalia Markova and Kylie Rae & Tootie Lynn and Paola Blaze & Jennacide
Qualifying Gauntlet Match For NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship: Homicide defeated Alex Taylor, Ariya Daivari, CW Anderson, Darius Lockhart, Jeremiah Plunkett, Jamie Stanley, Kerry Morton, Luke Hawx, PJ Hawx, Sal Rinauro, Victor Benjamin, and Ricky Morton
Impact Knockouts Championship Match: Mickie James defeated Kiera Hogan
ROH World Tag Team Championship Match: OGK defeated Aron Stevens & Kratos
No DQ, No Time Limit NWA World Television Championship Match: Tyrus defeated Cyon
NWA World Tag Team Championship Match: La Rebelión’s Bestia 666 and Mecha Wolf 450 defeated The End’s Odinson and Parrow
NWA National Heavyweight Championship Match: Chris Adonis (c) defeated Judais
Singles Match: Matthew Mims defeated Jax Dane
Singles Match: Austin Aries defeated Rhett Titus
Singles Match: Nick Aldis defeated Thom Latimer
Singles Match: Colby Corino defeated Doug Williams
Taya Valkyrie signed with WWE back in February this year. The promotion officially confirmed her new ring name Franky Mone in April. Though her NXT career didn\’t include a lot of highlights.
The now-former WWE star was released from her contract on November 4 alongside people such as Keith Lee, Karrion Kross, and Ember Moon.
WWE also released Valkyrie’s husband, John Morrison a few days later on November 18. Though due to his main roster contract, Morrison will have to wait a couple more months before becoming a free agent.
Taya Valkyrie has already started making appearances for other promotions. She showed up at AAA Triplemanía tonight and issued a challenge to the current AAA Reina de Reinas Champion Deonna Purrazzo.
The former NXT star has been announced for several upcoming indie shows as well. This includes shows of Outlandish Paradise on 15 January, Prestige Wrestling on 20 February, and Nation Extreme Wrestling on 25 February.
There is no word on if any of the big promotions are interested in bringing Valkyrie in but it\’s more than likely that she will be signed by a brand sooner rather than later.
Jim Ross is keeping his spirits high and aiming to return to the AEW commentary booth sooner rather than later after completing his cancer treatment.
The wrestling veteran provided another update on his treatment in a new episode of Grilling JR. He confirmed that the doctors have removed cancer from his back:
“They got all the cancer out of my back, I don’t have any more cancer in my back.\” said Ross, \”Just two places: my shoulder and down lower.”
“That was all me, I didn’t have to ask Tony Khan for permission,\” Ross said. \”He’s supporting everything I do and that’s just how I rolled it out because we hadn’t said anything about it the entire show.\”
He added, \”\”I’m going to be fine. Everybody just has to understand I’m going to be fine because I like to battle and I like to be competitive, I’m a little hard-headed. Consequently, whatever it takes to get past this and solve this cancer issue is what we’re going to do.”
Jim Ross revealed last month that he wouldn\’t have to undergo chemotherapy. He has begun a series of radiation treatments and the AEW star hopes to be back on TV before the end of this year.
When asked what are his goals for 2022, Danielson explained that he wants to put together a group with some younger talents:
\”If I can get a group together, I’m thinking of a younger talent or two, and that develops into stories within that. Look at Sammy Guevara and Chris Jericho. By Sammy joining the Inner Circle, he’d become a bigger star.
He then stepped up to the plate and hit home runs.\” said Bryan Danielson, \”That’s how you build young stars. A guy that comes to mind for me is Daniel Garcia.\”
The wrestling veteran also compared AEW to Game of Thrones. He mentioned how Game Of Thrones was one of the most popular TV programs that made people come back to watch the show every week.
Bryan explained that doing the same for AEW is one of his over-arching goals. He wants to help the company to gain more viewers and make it feel like a must-watch program every week.
Many people now know R Truth as a wrestling star who also raps but it wasn\’t how things started. Truth actually wanted to pursue a rapping career. However, a number of people with divine inspirations led him to become one of the most beloved professional wrestlers of this era.
The 49-year-old told the story of how he originally got into wrestling during his recent appearance on Ebro in the Morning. He was asked about his start in the business. Truth explained that he was introduced to it by Jack Crockett.
\”This was given to me by a guy named Jack Crockett. I was doing Street things. We all know at that point in my career. So I\’m like, keep making these mistakes and I\’m still trying to get my music on. Well, long story short [I] got jammed up. And this was a time I feel like God gave me [to think] like \’okay, it\’s time for you to sit down and figure out what the hell you want to do exactly. You want to go this way? That way? What you\’re gonna do?\”
R Truth met Jack Crockett while he was in jail. The brother of legendary promoter Jim Crockett was looking to get out of the wrestling business but he said that something was keeping him from leaving. Then when he met the high-flying star, he felt it was his opportunity to give back to the business:
\”I met a guy named Jack Crockett. Jack Crockett was the guy that brought professional wrestling to the south. So, he said he never gave back before. And he said God told him to give back to me. Me and him talk two times in jail. To give somebody your phone number, your information [in the short time was unbelievable]. He believed in me from that point. He\’s like, \’call me when you get out of jail.\’ Now I thought he wanted me to cut his grass or something like that.
He offered me a job. He took me to three WCW shows and this is when Harlem Heat first started coming out. I\’ve never been to a wrestling show in my life. Ric Flair music hit. He comes out. I\’m like \’Oh, shit.\’ 15,000 people goes crazy. And I\’m like, \’Oh, damn.\’ He\’s like, \’See? That could be you right there. All that rapping and dancing he was doing in there. You could come down rapping your own music that you want to do, get in the ring and then you can fight and mix all your moves together.\”
Though Crockett wasn\’t the only person who helped R Truth in reaching his destination. He initially refused Jack\’s offer but accepted it after getting to a place where he wanted to do something different. Once he made the decision to join wrestling, there were a number of other people who paved the way for the wrestling veteran to not only learn the craft but to get to where he belonged:
\”Manny Fernandez, the Raging Bull, saw me wrestle, I think my third or fourth match. And he said \’I\’m gonna train you for free.\’ He said I don\’t know why but I just feel like I have to train you for free. He said to come back to me. Man, He trained me mentally, emotionally, spiritually. He just trained me to like, \’this is a art but I wanted to teach you how to take care of yourself in the ring, take care of yourself around the ring. Just so you have ring awareness.\’
Well after that, Wildside Rick Michaels, he said \’bro, let me make a tape for you. You don\’t belong here. You belong on WWF. You belong there.\’ Rick Michaels and his dad made me a tape. I sent it in. I got a call from WWE within two weeks. Two weeks after that, I was going to meet Vince McMahon. Two weeks after that, I was under contract.\”
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Bryan Danielson thinks WWE overreacted by signing up a lot of talents when AEW originally started and that has led to a lot of people losing their jobs.
The former WWE star recently had an interview with TV Insider. He discussed things such as his character in AEW, getting heat from fans and more.
When asked about the changes in landscape of wrestling in the recent times, Danielson mentioned how WWE released a lot of talents who won\’t get the regular payments now. Per him, they overreacted by signing everyone when AEW started:
\”For WWE, I think there was an overreaction when AEW started. Even when Ring of Honor got real hot with Cody and the Young Bucks. WWE felt they needed to sign up all the talent. They realized, “our business is fine.”
AEW is catching up. They’ve done incredible for a company that has been around for less than three years.\” said Bryan Danielson, \”WWE is still making a billion dollars, so they don’t need to hoard all these talents.\”
The former world champion also praised the Young Bucks. He gave credit to their YouTube show Being The Elite to attract a lot of people to independent wrestling.
He mentioned how all these releases could lead to another boom period in the independent circuit, which will make the industry healthier.
Big E has crossed over to the boxing world a couple of times since becoming WWE champion. He has introduced people like Deontay Wilder and Shawn Porter before their fights. The current champion talked about these cross-overs during a recent interview with The Sun.
He expressed the desire for one such crossover to take place at WrestleMania saying that he would like Tyson Fury to introduce him at the show of shows. If the gypsy king doesn\’t have an interest in accompanying him for his entrance at the PPV event, then Big E would also be open to facing him in a one-on-one match at Mania:
\”Of course, that’s just rumours and speculation, but I think he’s going to find a way to get back into WWE soon. That’s what we do at WrestleMania. It’s about theatrics, entertainment and being larger-than-life. So, if we are going to do it, that would be the place to do it.\” said Big E, \”So I am open to a Tyson Fury WrestleMania match. As absurd as it may be to some, it would be a lot of fun,\”
Tyson Fury is no stranger to the wrestling world and he has wrestled a couple of matches for WWE. He made his debut defeating Braun Strowman at the 2019 Crown Jewel event via count-out. There is no word yet on what the officials are planning for Big E at WrestleMania. It would be interesting to see if it involves Fury in any capacity.
WWE has confirmed that Brock Lesnar will be getting a rematch against Roman Reigns for the Universal championship at the upcoming Day 1 PPV event.
The beast incarnate returned from his storyline suspension on tonight\’s episode of SmackDown. He took part in several segments on the show
Lesnar first convinced Sami Zayn to cash in his Universal title shot tonight and was given a championship opportunity at the upcoming event by Sonya Deville.
Sami Zayn was set to face Roman Reigns for the Universal title in the main event. Though before the bout, Zayn called in Lesnar to thank him for having his back.
Zayn mentioned how Lesnar might have an easier time facing him compared to Roman at the Day 1 PPV because the former UFC star hasn\’t had a great track record against Reigns in recent times.
This upset the former Universal champion and he unleashed a brutal attack on Sami. He delivered two F5s to Zayn before getting out of the arena.
Roman Reigns made his entrance with The Bloodline when Lesnar had left. He quickly took care of Zayn and defeated him with the guillotine to end the show.
Updated WWE Day 1 Match Card
This is the third match that has been announced for the upcoming PPV after WWE confirmed that The Usos will be defending the SmackDown tag team titles against the New Day. Here is the updated card for the show:
Universal Championship Match: Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar
Triple Threat WWE Championship Match: Big E vs. Seth Rollins vs. Kevin Owens
SmackDown Tag Team Championship Match: The Usos vs. The New Day
Day 1 is going to be WWE’s first PPV event to take place on new year’s day. It will be held live from State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia on January 1, 2021.
Many of the NXT stars have reservations about a potential move to the main roster. Though Io Shirai is not one of them and she actually looks forward to the challenges she might face after a call up.
The former NXT women\’s champion recently had an interview with Sports Illustrated. She talked about things such as her experience in WWE so far and more.
When asked if she will be open to a move to Raw or SmackDown, Shirai replied positively, saying that the opportunity would present new goals for her:
“Of course, I would be open to a move to SmackDown or Raw. The opportunity would present new goals and encounters different from what I have achieved and experienced in NXT.\”
Io Shirai also named a couple of stars she would like to step into the ring with, including a potential rematch with none other than Sasha Banks:
“I would like a rematch with Sasha Banks as soon as possible. I also heard Bayley say she wanted to have a match with me, and I would definitely relish my first confrontation with her. If it is a title match, even better.”
The team of Io Shirai and Zoey Stark lost the NXT tag team titles at the Halloween Havoc event in September. People have been wondering if it\’s an indication of her moving to the main roster soon but the same hasn\’t been announced yet.
The Usos will be defending their SmackDown tag team championships against the duo of Kofi Kingston and King Xavier Woods at the Day 1 PPV.
These two teams have been feuding for a while. Tonight\’s episode of SmackDown saw Woods facing Jey Uso in a singles match.
Before the match started, Woods brought back Kingston. Kofi had taken a few weeks off to be with his wife as they welcomed their third child.
The match ended in a DQ when Jimmy interfered in the bout. The New Day attacked the twin brothers after the bell and they beat Jimmy until Jey pulled him out.
Then in a later backstage segment, the New Day called in Kayla Braxton to deliver some news. They revealed that they will be challenging The Usos for their titles at the upcoming event.
This is the second match that has been announced for the Inaugural PPV. The company previously confirmed that Big E will be defending his WWE championship in a triple threat match against Seth Rollins and Kevin Owens at the show.
Day 1 is going to be WWE\’s first PPV event to take place on new year\’s day. It will be held live from State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia on January 1, 2021.
WWE has no solid plans for Elias after killing off his old musical character a few months ago, according to latest reports.
The officials had no end game in sight for the drifter when they aired the vignettes teasing the change. The video packages were shot just to kill off the musician gimmick according to WrestleVotes Twitter account.
WWE did try to rebrand him with colorful trunks and beard. Vince McMahon and others thought Elias looked too similar to Randy Savage and they didn\’t like it.
After that character was not approved, the former NXT star is back to square 1 as far as his rebranding goes with no real plans for his future.
Interesting note on Elias, source states they had no end plan for graveyard vignettes. Just shot them to kill off the “music” gimmick. His initial rebranding weeks back looked to similar to Randy Savage w/ colorful trunks & beard so Vince & co didn’t like it. Back to square 1.
Elias has not wrestled on WWE TV since his symphony of destruction match against Jaxson Ryker. Ryker won this match on the July 19 edition of Raw but he has since been released by WWE.
WWE started airing vignettes teasing a character change for the former champion back in August. The last of these packages aired on August 23 but we haven\’t seen the Raw star since then.
With no proper plan in motion, it\’s hard to say when or if we will see Elias back on WWE TV. We will have to see what role the creatives come up with for him.
Braun Strowman is teasing going back to work after almost 6 months and that too at a very interesting destination.
The former world champion recently posted a photo of his physical transformation on Instagram. The post attracted reactions from a number of wrestling personalities.
The names who reacted to Strowman\’s posts included the current MLW world champion Alex Hammerstone. The MLW champion responded to a fan comment and Braun showed interest in a match with him as well:
The monster among men was released from his WWE contract back in June this year. He has made only one wrestling appearance since then despite already becoming a free agent.
Braun Strowman, who is now going by his real name Adam Scherr appeared on EC3\’s Free The Narrative II. The two faced off in a cinematic match that was won by Scherr.
MLW CEO Court Bauer has previously confirmed that they had talks with Strowman about potentially signing with the promotion but they couldn\’t reach a deal.
After rumors of his Impact Wrestling debut ended up being false, MLW seems to be a suitable destination for Strowman. We will have to wait and see if it ends up being his new home.
Former WWE star Maven is claiming that he met with Triple H about a potential WWE return in a non-wrestling capacity before the COVID-19 pandemic hit the country.
The retired wrestling star recently appeared on That 90s Wrestling podcast. He talked about things such as the rumors of him being considered for Evolution and more.
Speaking of his meeting with the game, Maven explained that he was discussing the potential of doing some announcing stuff before America shut down:
“Before the world was shut down before the pandemic, I actually travelled to Orlando and met with Hunter [Triple H] and with Albert [Matt Bloom] who is running the developmental down there now.
And I was talking to them about maybe doing some announcing stuff.\” said Maven, \”And I did that, and I went there, on March 11th of 2020. And if you remember, in America that’s the day America shutdown.\”
The 45-year-old also discussed the possibility of making an in-ring return. He said that he never wants to turn his back on the idea.
Maven explained that his love for the business is never going to leave. He would definitely entertain any opportunity to return to wrestling in any capacity.
Jeff Hardy has been part of many memorable WrestleMania matches. One of them was when he faced his brother Matt Hardy in a one-on-one match at WrestleMania 25. Though as it turns out, Jeff wasn\’t really happy with the bout immediately afterward and he was mad at everyone including Vince McMahon.
The charismatic enigma opened up about it during his appearance on Stone Cold Steve Austin\’s Broken Skull Sessions. He revealed that they had to cut a lot of spots from the bout because of timing issues:
\”We got cut a lot of time off that match. I\’ll never forget this. And I was so upset because we had to cut out several spots. I was so passionate and upset. We didn\’t get to do it in front of that crowd. And that was one time me and Vince did have a conversation after that.
[I] think he kind of liked it. He saw how mad I was because I was like throwing stuff [and I was like] ‘can\’t believe we didn\’t get do that stuff we wanted to do.\’ We did plenty. More than enough. But still the passion within me really ignited that night after the match. I was really upset.\”
Jeff Hardy On What It\’s Like Facing His Brother
Jeff Hardy faced Matt Hardy at WrestleMania 25
Steve Austin also asked Jeff Hardy how it is working with his brother as an opponent. Replying to it, the former world champion said that Matt is his favorite person to hit the swanton bomb on. He also explained that getting the opportunity to face his brother on the grandest stage of them all was a dream come true:
\”I was asked this recently. Who\’s your favorite person to hit the twist to fate on? I was like – \’my brother.\’ Because when we are teaming, he hits that twist of fate for me to hit that swanton bomb. So, when he\’s been a butthole, like he can be. I love to hit him with it and then follow up with the swanton. It\’s awesome man. Brother vs. brother. Dream come true.\”
Though while the match was a success, Hardy\’s career went downhill from there. He was released from his WWE contract the same year. He was then arrested only two weeks after his WWE release. Jeff explained that at that point he felt that his life was over and he would never be able to return to WWE after that.
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The career of Jeff Hardy has been a roller coaster ride. The charismatic enigma has been to the top of the mountain but he has also seen the rock bottom due to his struggles with addiction. One such moment that really opened his eyes was Hardy\’s arrest in 2009 for illegally ordering controlled prescription pills. Jeff had been released by WWE only a couple of weeks earlier after failing his second drug test.
The WWE star opened up about the time during his recent appearance on Steve Austin\’s Broken Skull Sessions. The high-flying star admitted that he felt like his life was over when the SWAT team came busting in his house to arrest him:
\”I was ordering pills illegally in the mail [and] got busted. SWAT team comes into my house, me and my wife and our little dog. I was busted. I got busted for getting pills illegally. I thought my life was over. [I] went to jail that weekend. It was a mind-blowing experience. I was terrified. I thought my life was over. That was the time that really scared me straight.
When I realized that \’okay, things might be okay. This might not be the end of my life. As long as I get clean and I do what I need to be doing and staying clean and staying out of trouble. Things are going to be alright.\’ And that led to 2010 man. My wife gave birth to our first daughter, and then five years later to our second daughter. But yeah, leaving WWE where I was, and then it was like, oh my god, total rock bottom.\”
Jeff Hardy had won the world title a couple of months before his release
When Stone Cold asked Jeff Hardy what it felt like when the cops came in to arrest him, the former world champion said that it was a terrifying experience. The wrestling veteran recalled how he thought he would never be able to return to WWE after that. Though according to him, the whole experience made him a better person overall:
\”Oh my god. It\’s terrifying when you\’re looking at it [with] your wife beside you. Handcuffed, face down to the floor. I wrote a song about it called rebellious. It\’s about that fear. All those cops in there. It was terrifying. It was completely surreal. But again, overall, in the big picture of everything, [it has] made me a better human being. They were huge mistakes. I was like, \’I\’m probably never going to go back to WWE, they can never trust me again, after all this.\’ Even though if I\’m doing good in this other wrestling world, I just didn\’t know.\”
Jeff Hardy was sentenced to ten days in jail and 30 months of probation for the incident along with a hefty fine. After his WWE release, Hardy returned to TNA and went on to have a significant run with the promotion. Thankfully, the 2009 incident didn\’t close the doors for his WWE return completely. After getting clean, Jeff alongside his brother Matt Hardy made his triumphant return to WWE during WrestleMania 33 in 2017.
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The call of letting Becky Lynch squash Bianca Belair for the SmackDown women\’s championship during her SummerSlam return has been one of the most controversial booking decisions from WWE officials this year.
The EST of WWE recently had an interview with Peter Rosenberg on Cheap Heat. Among other things, she opened up about the disappointing SummerSlam loss.
Bianca admitted that losing to Lynch in 26 seconds was a hard blow. She mentioned how the day was very chaotic and she felt like the title was snatched away from her very quickly. Though she also credited her husband for keeping her intact:
“SummerSlam, that was a day. That whole day was so chaotic. Everything was so last minute. This one sitting beside me here [Montez Ford] really kept me intact and constantly checked my perspective.
I was champion, and then to lose my title to Becky Lynch in 26 seconds,\” said Bianca Belair, \”It’s a hard blow, especially because I feel like I was just getting started and it got snatched away so quickly.”
The former women\’s champion also discussed the aftermath of the show. She mentioned how she doesn\’t usually look at people\’s reactions online. However, her mother encouraged her to look at the comments supporting her after her loss.
Despite the unpleasant experience, Bianca Belair is keeping a positive outlook. She said that nobody can stop her from getting what\’s for her and she will eventually get back to the top of the mountain.
Jim Ross has announced he\’s taking over a month off from AEW programming while he undergoes radiation treatment related to his recent skin cancer diagnosis.
The Hall of Fame broadcaster got people wondering about his future with comments he made at the conclusion of AEW Dynamite. He signed off by saying, \”I\’ll see you again in the very near future.\”
Ross cleared things up with his latest tweet. He confirmed that he will begin a series of 22 radiation treatments starting this coming Monday. JR hopes to be back behind the announcer\’s desk by the end of the year.
He also thanked AEW President Tony Khan for supporting him and his decision to pursue this method of treatment for his skin cancer.
“Due to my skin cancer care totaling 22 radiation treatments starting Monday, I will hopefully return to the announce desk on December 29 in Jacksonville. @TonyKhan supports me on this strategy which has been a blessing. My thanks for all your support.”
Due to my skin cancer care totaling 22 radiation treatments starting Monday, I will hopefully return to the announce desk on December 29 in Jacksonville.
@TonyKhan supports me on this strategy which has been a blessing.
Several pro wrestling personalities replied to Jim Ross\’ tweet with support, including Tony Khan, CM Punk, Matt Hardy, James Storm and Rob Van Dam.
JR, everyone here at @AEW wishes you the best. I think it’s a great gameplan you’ve got, we look forward to your return to commentary, hopefully in your new hometown Jacksonville FL @dailysplace at New Year’s Smash at the end of December! We want you to kick the cancer’s ass, JR! https://t.co/dqUvpfNgkt
Jim Ross was diagnosed with skin cancer back in October. He had revealed that he was waiting for his radiologist to determine the best treatment for him.
In November, the wrestling veteran confirmed that he won\’t need to undergo chemotherapy. He will just need to do radiation treatments instead.
This isn\’t the first time Ross is dealing with skin cancer. He underwent a skin procedure back in 2016 and he had cancer removed from his shoulder in 2018.
SEScoops wishes Jim Ross a complete and speedy recovery.
Bron Breakker has managed to impress a lot of people with his performance in a short amount of time. It appears the WWE champion Big E is one of them.
The New Day star recently had an interview with The Illuminerdi. He discussed things such as his favorite Survivor Series moment and more.
When asked about the fastest rising star of NXT 2.0, E said that he was blown away by the fact that Bron Breakker has only been training for seven months:
“There’s been a lot of talk for people who are plugged into NXT with Bron Breakker. Seeing him do the things he does.
And what I love is he’s a guy of this era who’s only been training for about seven months. When he said he’s only been training for seven months, it kinda blew my mind.\”
Big E also mentioned how he loves the fact Bron feels like a modern-day wrestler while also reminding people of his family:
\”But I love that he feels like a part of this modern era but he reminds everyone so much of his dad (Rick Steiner) and uncle (Scott Steiner). And the singlet? Man! You get that Steiner Brother nostalgia! One of the greatest tag teams of all time.”
Apart from this, the WWE champion discussed things such as his various ring gears and more. You can check out his full interview in the video below:
Matt Hardy is currently enjoying his stint as a wrestler and manager in AEW. Though at the age of 47 years, the prospect of retirement is lingering around the back of his mind. The wrestling veteran has a couple of interesting scenarios for it. Hardy was asked about a dream retirement match during his latest appearance on AEW Unrestricted. Replying to it, he showed interest in a one on one match with Kenny Omega:
\”A dream retirement match would maybe be something against Kenny Omega. I can see that. I\’ve never gotten to do a one on one with Kenny Omega and I think he is absolutely one of the most talented guys alive. Even more than that. I would maybe even say a better retirement would be myself and my brother, if that works out in the future, verses like The [Young] Bucks or one of the current tag teams [in AEW]. I would definitely like to end on that note, for sure. That\’s how we came in and [I] would kind of like to go out that way.\”
Matt Hardy Wants To Be Remembered As A Fearless Wrestler
The Hardy Boys have been wrestling for almost 3 dacades
The other part of the question was what would he like to be remembered for once he has hanged his boots for good. In response, Matt Hardy explained that he would want to be remembered as one of the most fearless wrestlers of all time. Not only from the physical aspect of things but from a creative aspect as well:
\”I almost want to be remembered to be one of the most passionate wrestlers of all time, because I am. I\’m one of those guys who love this. I grew up a huge fan and I was able to do it. I was able to achieve some success and I\’ve always been very passionate [about] everything I\’ve done. [I] also want to be remembered as being a fearless wrestler, not necessarily from aspect of taking chance and taking risks even though I have done my fair share of that.
Fearless from a creative aspect about not being afraid to try different things and sometimes they work and they\’re a huge success. Sometimes they don\’t. And then you go back to the drawing board. So, I would like to be remembered for being a fearless competitor, especially from a creative aspect. I\’ll take somewhat of the physical aspect too, athletically, but then also, just being a very passionate wrestler. One of the most passionate wrestlers of all time.\”
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While Kurt Angle has retired from active competition, the Olympic gold medallist still keeps an eye on the happenings of the wrestling world. The rise of AEW has been the biggest wrestling stories of the past few years and the former world champion has big praise for one of the stars that helped start the promotion.
Chris Jericho interviewed Angle for an episode of Talk Is Jericho on Wrestling Rager At Sea Triple Whammy. The episode that was released recently saw the two long-time friends discussing a number of topics including Kurt’s TNA run. Speaking about his decision to join the company, Kurt Angle said wrestling with AJ Styles was one of the things that inspired him to join the promotion:
\”You know, I got to wrestle with AJ Styles. That was my inspiration coming into the company. I had my eyes set on AJ. He was one of the greatest overall performers I\’ve ever seen. The stuff he can do in the ring. He was great at technical stuff. He was great at high-flying. He had the whole ball of wax.
The great thing about AJ was you didn\’t have to do any work. I mean, when you wrestled him it was like a night off. He did all the bumping. He did all the selling. He did all the flying around. All you did was catch him. And I could go an hour and a half with AJ and not even break a sweat. But he\’d be exhausted.\”
Angle Praises Kenny Omega
Kurt Angle has a long history with AJ Styles
Kurt Angle also had some big praise for the former AEW world champion Kenny Omega. He said that Omega reminds him of the Phenomenal one. The former WWE star claimed that both these stars have the it factor:
\”Another wrestler that reminds me of AJ is Kenny Omega. Very much so. These guys are a step above everybody. For whatever reason. I don\’t know what it is, but they have the it factor. These guys put on tremendous matches.
I\’m not buying all the six and seven star matches by Dave Meltzer, but the only person that gets like six, seven, eight, nine stars is Kenny Omega, and he deserves it. It\’s really incredible how good he really is.\”
Apart from this, Kurt Angle talked about his feud with Samoa Joe. He revealed that he wanted to wait a few months after joining TNA and build the rivalry before finally having a match. Though the officials decided that they didn\’t want to wait. Angle ended up facing Joe in his first PPV match for the organization at Genesis 2006.
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With WWE releasing people like Braun Strowman and Bray Wyatt, it appears no one is safe in the roster. Though Xavier Woods doesn\’t seem too worried about getting axed.
The 2021 King Of The Ring winner recently had an interview with SportsKeeda. He was asked how he would react if he was released from the promotion.
Replying to it, Woods mentioned how he has been able to achieve a lot of things in WWE. He explained that he wouldn\’t be mad if the officials decide to let him go after the King Of The Ring win.
\”So, as far as wrestling with New Day, we\’ve been able to accomplish so many things as a tag team, and that\’s been my focus as a kid. I love tag team wrestling, and I love King of the Ring. So, as far as wrestling goals, now I\’m on bonus time.\”
Deuces, it has been a fun ride!
Xavier Woods already knows how he would react if WWE fired him.
\”If they would have been like, \’Hey, you won King of the Ring,\’ and they came back and hit me with the \’You\’re fired,\’ I would have been like, \’Okay, deuces, it has been a fun ride.\”
The New Day star also talked about his singles run. He claimed that he is getting to do his best to create things every week in his solo run.
Woods explained that his goal is to attempt to bring something different to the table for fans every time they see him. We will see if the people like it.
The ending of this week\’s episode of Monday Night Raw saw Big E standing tall in the ring after scoring a victory over Austin Theory in the main event of the show.
Though this wasn\’t the end of the night for fans in attendance. People who were in the arena got to see a pretty unusual dark main event after the cameras stopped rolling.
Happy birthday, Brooklyn! @RandyOrton brought his daughter in the ring after #WWERaw
After the Raw episode from Brooklyn, NY, went off air, Kevin Owens returned to attack the WWE champion. Austin Theory and Seth Rollins joined in on the attack before a number of other heels also came out.
Drew McIntyre led a group of babyfaces to make the save for the New Day star. This set up the stage for a 7 vs. 7 tag team match. People from Raw and SmackDown rosters were called in as lumberjacks for the bout.
After a good back and forth between the heel and face teams, the babyfaces won the match. They all got in the ring to celebrate afterward.
Randy Orton brought in his daughter Brooklyn to the ring and revealed that it was her fifth birthday. He asked the crowd to sing a birthday song and people obliged. The night then ended with the stars greeting each other and the crowd.
WWE has released an official statement on the fan who jumped Seth Rollins during this Monday\’s episode of Raw from Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY.
The company released the statement to media outlets when reached out about the incident. They revealed that the attacker has been turned over to NYPD:
\”WWE takes the safety of its performers very seriously. The individual who attacked Seth Rollins has been turned over to the NYPD and will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.\”
The Architect was supposed to have a match with Finn Balor on tonight\’s episode of the show. Though he attacked Balor before the bout could begin.
As Rollins was heading to the ramp after the segment, a fan jumped the barricades and attacked the former Universal champion before the security took him down.
The former Shield member seemed to be fine when he reappeared on the show during the main event WWE championship match between Big E and Austin Theory.
Rollins, who is expected to challenge for the WWE title next, interfered in the bout. Though he wasn\’t successful in his attempt to cost Big E the title. Seth Rollins ended up taking a big ending from E after the match was over.
The storyline involving Cleopatra’s golden egg worth $100 million advanced on this week\’s Raw as Vince McMahon continued looking for the culprit who stole the artifact.
The opening segment of the night saw McMahon threatening to fire Adam Pearce and Sonya Deville if the egg is not found. He also announced that the person to bring him the culprit will get a shot at Big E\’s WWE championship.
After several segments of people looking for the egg backstage, Sami Zayn got into Vince McMahon\’s office and claimed to know the person who stole the egg.
In a later segment, Zayn called in Austin Theory to the office and Theory walked in with the golden egg. When asked why he did it, Austin said that he just wanted to take a selfie with the egg.
Vince McMahon said that he will drop the charges on the high-flying star. He said that Austin reminds him of himself and that he will now get the announced title shot in the main event of the show.
Sami Zayn protested this call. He ranted about how Vince went back on his word but the boss told Sami to shut up because no one likes a snitch.
The main event saw both Seth Rollins and Kevin Owens coming down to the ringside to watch the WWE championship match between Theory and E.
Rollins interfered in the bout at one point and attacked the injured knee of the WWE champion when the referee was distracted.
However, Owens then got involved as well and he threw the architect in the ring. Rollins confronted Kevin outside and Theory got distracted by this.
The distraction allowed Big E to regain control of the match. He delivered a big ending to Austin Theory to pin him and retain his title.
After the match, he attacked both Rollins and Owens. Rollins ended up getting the big ending too while Kevin Owens retreated. The show ended with Big E standing tall in the ring and Owens ranting on the stage.
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