SEScoops

Author: Anutosh Bajpai

  • John Cena On If He Is Allowed To Do Whatever He Wants In WWE

    John Cena brings a different energy to the WWE programming whenever he makes an appearance. He always seems to be a cut above the other competitors and his charisma in the ring is unmatched.

    With so many stories about the company holding the performers back from unleashing their full potential, many wonder if the Cenation Leader has more creative control over his character.

    John talked about this notion from fans during a recent interview on ID1OT with Chris Hardwick. While many believe the former world champion gets to do whatever he wants, Cena claimed otherwise:

    \”I heard it so much in WWE, \’Well, Vince lets him do whatever he wants. That\’s why he can consistently perform at a level that is acceptable and entertaining to the audience. He gets to do whatever he wants.\’

    Nope, I ask, I execute, I invest, and I\’m meticulous with the detail, I\’m consistent night in and night out, trustworthy, giving of self. The perception everyone else has is, \’he has a better situation.\’\”

    John Cena continued his explanation saying he is not taking away from anyone\’s struggles because he has learned to appreciate everyone\’s struggles:

    \”I\’m not taking away from anyone\’s struggle and I have learned to appreciate everyone\’s struggle and everyone has a different struggle. I can understand where those feelings come from.\”

    John Cena made his most recent WWE return during the Money In The Bank PPV last month. He is currently scheduled to challenge Roman Reigns for the Universal championship at SummerSlam.

  • Matt Riddle On Conor McGregor Possibly Joining WWE: \”I Don\’t Know If He Would Pass The PG Code\”

    Matt Riddle has made a successful transition from MMA to the world of wrestling. He has found himself a place on the WWE roster but the former UFC star believes Conor McGregor will have trouble doing the same because of the PG code.

    The talk of the former UFC champion possibly trying his hands at pro wrestling has been heard many times. His recent losses have only fuelled the discussion about him potentially joining the WWE roster.

    Riddle was asked about the same during his recent interview with SportsKeeda. Replying to it, he said that he doesn\’t know if McGregor would pass the PG code:

    \”He\’s Conor McGregor. The guy puts bu**s in seats. The guy has a mouth on him. I don\’t know if he would pass the PG WWE code. But I guess he could do his best.

    At the end of the day, it\’s like Jake Paul or any of them…I don\’t know how they\’re doing it,\” said Matt Riddle, \”but they get people talking, they\’re controversial, they make money with fights and drama.\”

    The former NXT star continued by saying that Conor would only fit in WWE if he is willing to put in the work, similar to Ronda Rousey or himself:

    \”Do I think he\’d be a good fit for WWE? If he\’s willing to do the work and work hard and put his time in, yeah.\” said Riddle, \”Just like Ronda was good. Just like I\’m good.\”

    Matt Riddle was part of the UFC roster from 2008 to 2013. He was released from the promotion in February 2013 for failing his second drug test within a year after testing positive for marijuana.

  • ROH Moving Death Before Dishonor PPV Out Of Florida Due To Rising Covid Cases

    ROH has announced that they are moving their upcoming Death Before Dishonor PPV out of its original destination in Lakeland, Florida.

    The company made the announcement with a post on Twitter. They noted that they are moving the show out because of the recent surge in COVID-19 cases in the state:

    \”Due to the recent covid surge in Florida ROH is moving the site of the Death Before Dishonor Pay Per Event. Details to follow shortly. Your safety health and well-being remain our top priorities. Thank you for your continued patronage.\”

    The PPV event was originally scheduled to take place from the RP Funding Center on September 12. There is no word yet on if there will be any change to the date of the show as well.

    A total of two matches have been announced for the upcoming ROH PPV so far. One of them is the finals for the women\’s world championship tournament to determine the inaugural champion.

    The second match which has been confirmed for the show is the Pure championship match where the #1 contender Josh Woods would challenge for the title.

    There is no word yet on where ROH officials are planning to move the PPV. We will keep you posted when the company announces more details about the new destination for the show.

  • Mark Henry On CM Punk And Daniel Bryan Joining AEW, Four Man Commentary Booth For Rampage

    The story of CM Punk and Daniel Bryan potentially joining the AEW roster has been the buzzing topic among fans in recent times. Former WWE and current AEW star Mark Henry recently commented on the same.

    The world\’s strongest man recently had an interview with New York Post where he talked about a wide variety of topics including the upcoming Rampage premiere, different in philosophies of AEW and WWE, and more.

    Discussing the potential of the two former world champions joining the roster of AEW, Henry claimed that such an addition would be great for any company:

    “I think it would be great for [any company] because you have unbelievable talent and two of the more master psychologists that I’ve worked with, guys that you sit down and you think, what’s not being done in pro wrestling?

    When you have a mindset of, ‘I want to do something everybody else don’t do,’ then automatically you are ahead of the game. You already have everybody.\”

    Mark Henry On Four Men Commentary Booth For Rampage

    AEW recently announced that Rampage will feature a four men commentary booth. This news concerned fans as many believed that it will lead to conflict between the announcers and restrict them from showing their full potential.

    When asked what challenges it will bring for him, Mark Henry claimed that the four men booth is kind of a safety mechanism that has been put in place by Tony Khan because he is new to the role:

    \”I’m the new guy. They already have a great relationship and they can put on a great show. I think it’s a safety mechanism. I think just in case that I get on there and I’m not good, (AEW president) Tony (Khan) had to put the safety mechanism in place and throw Chris (Jericho) out there just in case we have to save this thing.

    I don’t think he has that to worry about. I think we’ll start off a four-man booth and I think once they realize that I can handle it we’ll go to a traditional three-man booth.\”

    AEW Rampage will premiere on TNT on Friday, August 13. It will feature Excalibur, Taz, Chris Jericho, and Mark Henry as the commentators of the show.

  • Lance Archer On Possibly Facing Daniel Bryan And CM Punk

    Former WWE star Daniel Bryan is said to be interested in competing for NJPW. The current IWGP US champion Lance Archer is not backing away from a fight if he does show up at the company.

    The NJPW and AEW star recently had an interview with WrestlingInc where he talked about things such as the success of AEW through the pandemic era and more.

    One of the reasons why Bryan has chosen AEW over WWE is said to be the freedom to compete in NJPW as well. When asked about these rumors and potentially facing the former world champion, Archer said that he hears the same rumors as everyone else:

    “I hear the same rumors you hear. I’m only talent, so I just kind of step in the ring, and if he wants to show up, I’ll gladly kick his butt too, that’s kind of how I view any of the rumors. That just makes it fun for any pro wrestling fan because you hear those rumors, and you just never know who’s gonna show up where, when and how.\”

    Lance Archer On Possibly Facing CM Punk

    Lance Archer went on to praise Bryan as one of the best in the world before also commenting on the rumors of CM Punk showing up in AEW as well:

    “I think he’s one of the best in the world, He’s always proven himself time and time again wherever he’s gone. He’s an amazing talent. Wherever he goes, it’s gonna be a good show, but if he shows up and tries to fight me, sorry, bad luck, brother, if he (CM Punk) shows up, he shows up, and I’ll kick his ass too.”

    Apart from this, the IWGP champion also discussed the upcoming Rampage episode from Chicago on August 20 selling out very quickly and more.

  • Ember Moon Comments On Being Pulled From NXT: \”I Am Angry And Gutted\”

    Ember Moon was expected to compete in a one-on-one match on this week\’s episode of NXT but she was deemed unfit by the doctors and pulled from the show.

    The former women\’s champion took on her Twitter recently to comment on this development. She claimed that this has been an extremely rough month for her and she is angry with the situation:

    “@wwenxt This has been an extremely rough month,\” wrote Ember Moon, \”I am angry and gutted! I was really looking forward to this match and getting back on track but just got another pothole in the road. I’m sorry!,”

    The former Raw star has not wrestled since the July 13 episode of the Black and Yellow brand. She competed against Dakota Kai on the show and lost the bout.

    Moon was expected to face Sarray on this week\’s episode of the show but WWE announced in the evening that “Moon was declared unable to compete by the NXT Medical Staff earlier today.”

    The announcement did not provide any further details on the reason behind this decision. The NXT star herself did not reveal the reason for her troubles either so it\’s hard to say when we might see her returning to the ring.

  • News On Health Of Bray Wyatt Before WWE Release

    Bray Wyatt had not been seen on WWE programming for months before his surprising release from the promotion last month. His absence had been the cause of many rumors about his health and status.

    Fightful has provided some clarity on the various rumors that were being shared before his release, including speculations regarding his mental health.

    According to the site, they reached out to the sources connected to Wyatt and confirmed that his absence had nothing to do with what were described as \”falsely reported mental health issues.\”

    The former Universal champion is 100% healthy. He was able to wrestle without any problems and the former WWE star was cleared to compete by the doctors.

    During his absence from TV, Bray Wyatt had been working on adding more elements to his character. He was even slated to make his return during last night\’s episode of Raw in Orlando before being let go.

    Wyatt\’s last official match with the company was at WrestleMania 37. He competed against Randy Orton on the show and lost the bout after being distracted by Alexa Bliss.

    Bray Wyatt was released from his WWE contract on July 31. His firing from the company created a lot of confusion and even concerned executives from WWE\’s TV partners in addition to the company\’s fans.

  • Renee Paquette On Fans Wanting Everyone To Take A Side Between WWE And AEW

    Wrestling fans often find themselves taking sides between WWE and AEW. They nurture the narrative of a war between the two promotions where you have to pick a side. Though Renee Paquette has a different approach.

    The former WWE star talked about this rivalry between the fans of the two companies during a recent interview with WrestlingInc. She mentioned how many people want everyone to take a side:

    “It does very much feel like you’re either ‘in’ or you’re ‘out,’ whether it’s WWE or AEW,\” said Paquette, \”wrestling fans, they very much so want to take a side, they want it to be ‘us vs. them,’ WWE vs. AEW, however you want to look at that.”

    The former WWE star explained how saying something positive or negative about either of the promotions seem like drawing a line in the sand. According to her, you can enjoy all of it and still be happy:

    “If you say something positively or negatively about either promotion,\” said Renee Paquette, \”It seems like you’ve drawn your line in the sand, where you’re like, ‘I love this and hate this.’ I’m not like that!

    You can enjoy all of it and be happy there’s more wrestling to enjoy, and that there’s different styles to enjoy, different performers, there’s so much more to really sink your teeth into, and I think it’s really great for everybody.”

    Elsewhere in the interview, Renee mentioned how she has no ill will towards WWE. She said that she will always have love for the company and claimed that the fans can follow shows from both the promotions since they are on different nights.

  • John Cena On Why He Chose To Do More Dates Than WWE Had Asked

    While John Cena has moved on from being a full-time WWE star and made a spot for himself in Hollywood, he still has a special place in his heart for the company where he originally made his name.

    The Cenation Leader recently appeared on ID10T with Chris Hardwick podcast where he talked about a number of things including his recent WWE return.

    During the interview, Cena revealed that the officials had originally asked him to come back for only a few dates but he decided to do more shows than that:

    \”They asked me to come back for only a few dates. I was like ‘no, I want to do all these dates.’ To one, get back in front of an audience, two to help the brand get audiences back in the building.

    And then when you offer all these dates, someone may say ‘well what about this? What about that, now that you’re in? I know that you may have some time.’\” said Cena, \”‘No, these are my expectations. This is the best I can do with the best I can give you.’\”

    Apart from this, the former champion also talked about making a WWE return at the age of 44 and how he has been open about the effects his age is showing on his body.

    John Cena said that he does not have a lot of time left when it comes to wrestling but he explained that he will keep doing it until he feels like he is offending the customer. You can check out his comments here.

  • Cody Rhodes On If Deathmatches Have A Place On Cable TV

    AEW EVP Cody Rhodes recently took part in a media conference call where he discussed a number of things including the recent controversy over the match between Chris Jericho and Nick Gage.

    Domino\’s Pizza threatened to pull their advertisement from AEW programming over a spot in the bout. This started the debate on whether or not death matches should be a part of mainstream wrestling.

    When asked this question, Cody Rhodes mentioned that the advertisement for the bout was very clear about being an extreme match. He then claimed that such bouts do have a place in cable TV programming:

    “And I think the answer to your question about does it have a place in television, well, we were the number one show on cable. And that is a huge honor, three weeks in a row. That’s a huge honor and responsibility to our fanbase,

    During the Olympics we were the number one show on cable!\” said Cody Rhodes, \”So yes, I think it does have a place. I don’t think it is something you will see often. That’s just my opinion, as asked for.”

    The former TNT champion later reiterated his comments about how we are not gonna see this type of matches very often but they do have a place.

    Apart from this, Cody Rhodes also discussed things such as keeping the momentum of AEW going from week to week and show to show and more.

  • Spoiler: NXT Stars Compete In Matches For Main Event

    Several NXT stars were reported to be backstage for this week\’s episode of Monday Night Raw and at least four of them competed during the night, taping matches for the upcoming episode of Main Event.

    The first match of the night saw Aliyah facing Dakota Kai in a one-on-one bout. Aliyah ended up picking the victory in this match against Kai.

    The second bout which was taped for the show before Raw was between Odyssey Jones and Austin Theory. The heavyweight star managed to defeat Theory in this fight.

    Odyssey Jones is competing in the ongoing Breakout Tournament on NXT. He is scheduled to face Trey Baxter in the semi-finals of the tournament.

    Theory on the other hand walked out of The Way faction led by Johnny Gargano. The former Raw star has been on a hiatus from the black and yellow brand since then.

    Dakota Kai is involved in the feud for the women\’s championship in NXT currently. She is expected to challenge the current NXT women\’s champion Raquel Gonzalez at NXT Takeover 36.

    Aliyah was rumored to be sent to Raw after Mandy Rose was traded to NXT. Though there hasn\’t been a solid update in that direction recently.

  • Jinder Mahal On Advice For Released WWE Stars

    WWE has released over 50 superstars this year alone. A lot of them didn\’t even get an opportunity to showcase their talent properly during their time with the company and Jinder Mahal has an advice for the released stars.

    The former WWE champion recently had an interview with SK Wrestling. The Modern-Day Maharaja said that his advice for anyone who has been let go recently is to look at it as an opportunity to redefine themselves:

    “The door is always open in WWE, My advice to anyone who just got released is to look at this as an opportunity.” said Jinder Mahal,\” An opportunity to redefine yourself. Make some noise.\”

    The former NXT star continued by mentioning how wrestling is super hot right now both in WWE and outside as well. With the return of fans, it\’s a great opportunity to plant a flag and make a name for yourself:

    “You know wrestling in WWE is super super hot. Internationally everything. We got crowds back. But wrestling outside of WWE is also picking up steam

    And that’s a great place to plant your flag, make a name for yourself and eventually make it back to WWE.”

    Jinder Mahal has firsthand experience of rebuilding himself after a WWE release. He was let go in 2014 but he continued working hard. He made his return to the company in 2016 and went on to win the WWE title in May 2017.

  • WWE To Release Trademark Of Chelsea Green Name (Report)

    WWE has made contact with Chelsea Green and informed the former NXT star that they are going to release the trademark on her name, according to latest reports.

    It was reported earlier yesterday that both WWE and the female star were trying to trademark the name she used as a performer in the company.

    The news was especially surprising as Chelsea Green is the former WWE star\’s birth name. The officials were trying to trademark it after letting her go.

    The Ring of Honor star had expressed frustration over the situation with a tweet yesterday saying that she had never thought she would have to go in a legal battle over her birth name.

    Now Fightful Select is reporting that the promotion contacted Chelsea Green on Sunday. They informed her that they were going to release the trademark and Green herself has confirmed the news to the site.

    The 30-year-old was signed by WWE back in 2018 and she was assigned to the development territory NXT. She made her SmackDown debut in November last year.

    However, WWE decided to release Chelsea after months of inactivity in April this year. She has made her ROH debut since then and returned to Impact wrestling as well.

  • Rene Dupree On Injury He Suffered In Match With Goldberg

    Former WWE star Rene Dupree recently appeared on the That 90’s Wrestling podcast where he talked about a number of things. He also detailed his experience of wrestling with Goldberg.

    The former Universal champion has a reputation for being an unsafe worker. He has injured many stars during his career which includes the infamous injury that ended the career of Bret Hart.

    Dupree also recalled one such time when he was having a match with Goldberg. According to him, the former champion dislocated his collarbone:

    “Yeah he dislocated my collarbone, we (La Resistance) had a pre-tape in the back with Goldberg and he hit me with the French flag and we had to do 5 takes.

    To this day, if I try to flex it, it still hurts. Yeah he’s the s***s. He’s horrible; many wrestlers will tell you that.”

    Rene Dupree then discussed Goldberg\’s return to WWE programming in recent times. He said that the company must be really desperate to bring him back:

    “To me they (WWE) must be desperate, that’s the only thing I can figure. They can’t create new stars or they don’t have confidence in the people they have.”

    Apart from this, Rene also talked about things such as his WWE career from 2002 to 2007 and a potential return to the company in future.

  • Malakai Black On What Paul Heyman Told Him About Being In Charge Of Raw

    Malakai Black was one of the talents Paul Heyman tried to push during his time as the Executive Director of Monday Night Raw. Though he got lost in the shuffle not long after Heyman was removed from the position.

    The former NXT champion discussed his relationship with Heyman during a recent appearance on Talk Is Jericho and claimed that they \’meshed\’ from day one.

    Talking about Heyman\’s run as the Executive Director of Raw, Black claimed that the former ECW owner told him that he only had \’one night of control\’ over things:

    \”He once told me that he had one night of control. That was the first night he was on, and after that, everything became a fight. Well, maybe ‘a fight’ is not the right word but a debate, which I can understand, but sometimes it makes you wonder.\”

    Malakai Black also revealed the plans Paul Heyman had for him and Buddy Murphy, another former WWE talent who Heyman saw as a big future star:

    “He’s like, ‘I want to set something up between you and Buddy, that we can come back on WrestleMania in three – four years, maybe five years down the line. We lay a foundation now, and then five years from now, we circle back around,

    But we make it bigger. We put it on a bigger stage, and we can draw from what you guys did there.’ It writes itself because that’s how wrestling’s done.”

    Paul Heyman was made the Executive Director of Raw back in June 2019. He tried to push young talents as opposed to WWE\’s approach of relying on older stars before being relieved of his position in June 2020.

  • Paul Wight On Why He Transitioned To AEW: \”I Could See The Writing On The Wall\”

    Paul Wight, fka Big Show recently had an interview with The Ring Report where he talked about a number of things such as the recent WWE releases and more.

    The former world champion was asked about the recent WWE releases potentially ending up in his new promotion. Replying to it, he claimed that the momentum is with AEW and explained why he made the transition himself:

    \”Anyone now who has been in this business long enough is smart enough to see where momentum is going and you’ve got to agree that it’s with AEW. It’s got a great groundswell of support from fans who are really into the product.

    The storylines are unique. They have a different flavour and excitement about them. I made the transition myself because after four decades, I left as I could see the writing on the wall of where professional wrestling was headed.”

    He was then asked specifically about Bray Wyatt, Braun Strowman and Ric Flair potentially joining the promotion. Paul Wight claimed that there is always an opportunity for them to contribute:

    “For those other talents like Bray Wyatt, Braun, Ric Flair, and all those guys, there’s always an opportunity for people of that caliber to be a part of AEW and contribute, that’s the thing with wrestling. You never say never.

    Wight continued to explain that the young prospects can learn from these veterans and the former WWE stars can prepare young AEW names for the future.

  • Kurt Angle Explains Why He Turned Down Offers From AEW And Impact Wrestling

    Kurt Angle was offered contracts by both AEW and Impact Wrestling after his retirement match in WWE but the Olympic Gold Medallist turned them down. The former world champion recently had an interview with Fightful where he discussed a number of things.

    He also explained why he turned down offers from both promotions during the interview. Angle claimed that he wishes he could take the offers. However, he explained that after his long career his body is too banged up to continue wrestling:

    “Well, I had had AEW, TNA, they’ve offered, but I can’t do it, I wish I could. My body’s too banged up, I’m 52 years old, just trying to live my life now and try to live it in less pain.  And I’m in a lot of pain right now, so I’m suffering from the career that I’ve had, but I don’t regret it.”

    Kurt Angle On Deals Offered By AEW And Impact

    Kurt Angle also went into the details of the deals he was offered by both the promotions. According to him, AEW offered him a seven-match deal while Impact wrestling wanted him on board for just one match:

    “AEW, I think it was like a seven-match deal, TNA I think they were just gonna do one match, but I just felt like my final matches in WWE, I knew that I’d lost a step, I wasn’t the same as I was in my prime, and I didn’t like the person I was, the performer I was.

    So if I can’t perform at that level that I was in my prime, I’m not gonna do it anymore. And that’s why I turned down the offers from AEW and TNA.”

    Kurt Angle wrestled his retirement match in WWE at WrestleMania 35. He chose Baron Corbin as his opponent for the bout and lost to the lone wolf during the event.

  • John Cena and Roman Reigns In Action After SmackDown In Dark Main Event

    The dark main event after last night\’s episode of SmackDown saw both John Cena and Roman Reigns competing on the opposite sides in a six-man tag team match.

    The Cenation Leader formed a team with Rey Mysterio and Dominik Mysterio. The Tribal Chief on the other hand was joined by his cousins and the current SmackDown tag team champions The Usos.

    The match continued for several minutes before the referee got knocked out during a spot. Roman Reigns took the opportunity to deliver a superman punch to all three of his opponents including Cena.

    Though John Cena came back from this attack. He dodged a spear from Roman and converted it into an Attitude Adjustment, getting a big pop from the crowd.

    The 16-time world champion delivered another AA to Jimmy Uso. He covered Uso for the pin and picked the win for his team as the referee woke up.

    This week\’s episode of SmackDown saw Finn Balor getting attacked by Baron Corbin when he was about to sign a SummerSlam match contract against Roman Reigns.

    John Cena then came out and signed the contract, making his long-rumored Universal title match against the Head Of The Table official for the upcoming event.

  • Paige Provides Encouraging Update On Her Health & Future

    WWE superstar Paige has been vocal about wanting to make a wrestling return in the future. She recently provided some positive updates in the direction.

    The former diva\’s champion took on her Twitter to reveal that she is slowly getting stronger. She is now able to squat 185lbs once again:

    \”You guys I’m getting stronger, squatting 185lbs again.\” wrote Paige, \”I know it’s not a ton but it’s a big accomplishment for me who was worried to do any gym stuff because of my neck. But my neck is feeling so awesome. I’m so proud of myself\”

    https://twitter.com/RealPaigeWWE/status/1421239004507246593
    https://twitter.com/RealPaigeWWE/status/1421242054118559748

    The former champion suffered a neck injury while competing at a WWE house show back in December 2017. She officially announced her retirement from active competition in April the next year.

    Paige On The Status Of Her Neck

    Paige has been providing positive updates on her health for a while. The last update she provided was in April earlier this year. In an interview with Renee Paquette she had said that she hadn\’t had any issues with her neck in a while:

    “I haven’t had any issues with my neck right now. Sometimes I’ll wake up, and it’s funny, you know, it feels weird, but it’ll go away, I’m going to get my neck checked very soon to see the progress of it.

    Hopefully, it looks good. I’m not saying in any way, shape, or form they’re going to let me come back; it’s literally just a checkup. But I am intrigued to see how my neck has progressed, for sure.”

    While a timetable for her potential return is not known yet, the latest positive updates on her health are still encouraging for fans. Many hope that she will be able to return to the ring sooner rather than later.

  • Jon Moxley Believes Domino\’s Needs To \’Chill Out\’

    Jon Moxley recently joined Cincy 3:60 to promote an upcoming episode of AEW Dynamite scheduled for September 8 in his hometown of Cincinnati.

    The former AEW champion talked about a number of things during his appearance and commented on their recent controversy with Domino\’s.

    The pizza chain threatened to pull their ads from AEW programming over a spot on last week\’s Dynamite. Talking about it, Mox said that the company needs to child out:

    “Domino’s Pizza needs to chill out. They need to chill man.\”

    \”It was a coincidence. You know what? Jump on the bandwagon man. You don’t think Nick Gage can sell some pizzas for you? Come on. You know that the Noid is played out at this point and you’re bringing back the Noid? Come on.”

    For those who don\’t know, the Fight For The Fallen special of Dynamite featured a No DQ match between Chris Jericho and Nick Gage. A spot in the bout saw Gage busting Jericho open with a pizza cutter.

    A Domino\’s ad appeared on the screen right after this. Many speculated that the pizza chain may have partnered with AEW for the spot but they released a statement, denying any involvement in it.

  • NJPW Champion Robbie Eagles Interested In Facing Daniel Bryan

    Amidst the various rumors about the future of Daniel Bryan, a current NJPW champion Robbie Eagles has expressed interest in facing the former world champion.

    The IWGP Junior Heavyweight champion recently made a tweet. In the tweet as seen below, he expressed interest in facing the former WWE star, claiming that facing Bryan is a dream match for him:

    For those who don\’t know, Bryan\’s contract with WWE expired in May. It was initially believed that he will re-sign with the company, but things have changed since then.

    Latest reports suggest that the former champion has agreed to a contract with AEW. It\’s said that he wants to compete for NJPW. AEW\’s partnership with the Japanese promotion was the deciding factor in his decision.

    Robbie Eagles has been with NJPW since 2018. The company has slowly been building him as a star in recent times. He has been feuding with people such as the former IWGP heavyweight champion Will Ospreay and more.

    He won his first title in the company during the Wrestle Grand Slam event last week. Eagles defeated El Desperado to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight championship.

    There is no word yet on if this tweet is part of any plans for Bryan. It will be interesting to see if it comes into play somewhere down the line and if we see a match between these two in future.

  • Free To Attend Premiere Party Announced For Rampage In Chicago

    AEW has announced a free-to-attend premiere party for Rampage in Chicago taking place on August 13 from the Replay Lincoln Park bar.

    The party hosted by Warrior Wrestling\’s Nick Hausman will feature many festivities including AEW swag giveaways, AEW trivia, WWF WrestleMania arcade and pinball competition, and more:

    The party will start a couple of hours before the premiere of AEW\’s second TV show Rampage that will be taking place from the Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh, PA.

    This is an interesting announcement from AEW, especially since the second episode of their new TV show will also be taking place in Chicago from the United Center just a week later on August 20.

    Though that won\’t be all as the promotion is set to hold 4 more shows in the Chicago area after the mentioned Rampage episode which includes the All Out PPV event from Now Arena on September 5th.

    Reports suggest that Chicago native CM Punk has agreed to make his wrestling return for AEW. Many expect him to make his comeback during one of these shows.

    Whether or not this turns out to be the case will be seen in the future but it\’s clear that fans will be in for another fun wrestling night during the upcoming premiere party.

  • Matt Cardona: \”I’m The New Deathmatch King\” After GCW Win

    Matt Cardona picked up one of the biggest wins of his wrestling career when he defeated Nick Gage to become the new GCW world champion at Homecoming night 1.

    The former WWE star recently had an interview with Sports Illustrated where he opened up about his big win and discussed what it means to him.

    Cardona first commented on the wild crowd reaction to his victory. He explained that hearing the boos made him realize that they had something special, before claiming himself as the new deathmatch king:

    “Tasting my own blood and hearing those boos, I knew we had something special, but it was all worth it. I’m the new deathmatch king.”

    The GCW championship is the first world title of Cardona\’s career. Discussing how the title win is a big deal for him, Matt Cardona said that people are crazy if they don\’t think he is going to treat it as the biggest thing:

    “This title is a big deal. I was fortunate in WWE to win the tag team title twice, the intercontinental title, and the United States title,

    But the GCW title is my first world title. So people are absolutely crazy if they don’t think I’m going to treat this as the biggest thing in the world. I took the title to Disneyland and posed in front of the castle.”

    Matt Cardona also discussed the negative crowd reaction at the Homecoming special that stemmed from his victory. He claimed that he is not trying to be a heel.

    According to the former US champion, he was just being himself. He had fans in the arena too but it just happened to be that the vocal fan base there were the ones who didn\’t want him to win.

  • Vince McMahon Says He Doesn\’t Consider AEW Competition Like WCW

    AEW has made some significant additions to its roster in recent times. The company has also been gaining in viewership but according to Vince McMahon, he doesn\’t see them as competition. The WWE chairman took part in the Q2 2021 earnings call where he was asked about their rival promotion

    Vince was asked whether he feels the need to counter AEW\’s investments to their roster considering that the two companies could be competing for media rights in future or if it\’s “rising tides lift all boats” kind of situation similar to how it was with WCW back in the day. Replying to it, the boss explained why the situation with WCW was different:

    “Well, it certainly is not a situation where ‘rising tides’ because that was when Ted Turner was coming after us with all of Time Warner’s assets as well, that was a different situation. AEW is where they are. I don’t really know what their plans are; all I know is what our plans are. I don’t consider them competition in the way that I would consider WCW back in the day, not anywhere near close to that.

    And I’m not so sure what their investments are as far as their talent is concerned, but perhaps we can give them some more.” said Vince McMahon.

    New WWE President Nick Khan then made some additional comments and claimed that they look at these situations like a horse race. Khan explained that similar to how horses have blinders on during a race, they are looking straight ahead at their lane. The promotion\’s focus is on making sure that they stay in the front of the pack:

    \”At the same time, everything is our competition. Someone had a line a couple of weeks ago, that we all chuckled at and agreed with – sleep is our competition. Right?

    If it was up to us, people could be up 24 hours a day, watching content from different content providers, hopefully including ours. So, we don’t look at any organization particularly as competition, yet we see everything as competitive with what we’re trying to do, in terms of eyeballs.”

  • Sean Waltman On CM Punk And Daniel Bryan Coming To AEW

    Reports of Daniel Bryan and CM Punk being close to joining the AEW roster have created a lot of buzz in recent weeks. It has got a lot of people talking and Sean Waltman recently joined the list.

    The former WWE star talked about these rumors on the latest episode of his Pro Wrestling 4 Life podcast and claimed that the news is exciting.

    Waltman explained that while these signings will not hurt WWE, it will definitely help AEW. The former champion claimed that it\’s gonna be \’a f**king game changer\’:

    “It’s exciting. It’s just good for everyone, It doesn’t hurt WWE, I don’t think. It definitely helps AEW. They already have some really good momentum as far as I’m concerned. It’s gonna be a f**king game changer.

    The difference is one is just a publicly-traded company that’s just f**king monstrous.\” said Sean Waltman, \”It’s huge, and I don’t think it’s going anywhere. That’s why I don’t think this necessarily hurts them. It just helps AEW, and it f**king helps the industry.”

    The former DX member also discussed if it would have been better if these signings were kept a secret. The Attitude Era star compared them to the time when The Outsiders’ moved to WCW.

    Waltman explained that even though people were aware of the duo jumping ships, it made their arrival even more impactful because of the anticipation it built.