SEScoops

Author: Anutosh Bajpai

  • The Mandalorian Season 3 Featuring Sasha Banks Expected To Start Production Later This Year

    The Mandalorian season 3 featuring WWE star Sasha Banks among others will start filming in late 2021 or early 2022 according to the latest reports.

    According to Collider, the Star Wars spin-off web series The Book of Boba Fett has officially wrapped filming. It\’s now in the post-production stage and is on track for the announced Disney+ premiere in December.

    However, the series featuring Sasha Banks is not going into production anytime soon. That\’s because the stage used for these shows is now being utilized for the filming of the Obi-Wan Kenobi limited series starring Ewan McGregor.

    The second season of Mandalorian ended with Pedro Pascal\’s title character giving up Grogu to Luke Skywalker for further Jedi training.

    He himself seemed to be headed towards the Mandalorian throne after becoming the new owner of the Darksaber.

    The third season is likely to focus heavily on how Pascal navigates through the challenges of becoming the leader of Mandalorians. It means we can expect to see a lot more of Banks\’ character Koska Reeves during season three.

    This would also mean that the former SmackDown women\’s champion will be taking time off from WWE once again for the filming of the show. So she will likely be missing the next Royal Rumble PPV.

    Disney has not confirmed a release timetable for season three of the star wars web series. With a late 2021 shooting schedule, we can expect it to hit the streaming service in mid or late 2022.

  • Backstage Note On Bray Wyatt\’s Absence From WWE

    The unexplained absence of Bray Wyatt is a puzzling mystery for the fans. The lack of updates on his status has forced people to speculate about him and there are all sorts of rumors floating around about his removal from WWE TV.

    Mike Johnson of PWinsider recently discussed one such rumor and he confirmed that the former universal champion has purposefully been kept off TV.

    The wrestling journalist claimed that Wyatt does not have any backstage heat and he also noted that his WrestleMania 37 match with Randy Orton went exactly as it was planned.

    The Fiend reignited an old feud with Randy Orton after being drafted to Raw during the 2020 draft. The two had a match at TLC in December last year which was won by Orton.

    Bray Wyatt went on a hiatus after this bout while Alexa Bliss kept the feud with Orton alive. He finally resurfaced at the Fastlane PPV in March earlier this year with a new grotesque look.

    WWE then booked a match between the former universal champion and Randy at WrestleMania 37. For the surprise of many, Randy Orton ended up winning this match as well.

    While he made one final appearance on the post-WrestleMania episode of Raw, Bray Wyatt has been away from WWE programming since then.

  • Nikki Bella Says She Has Started Preparation For WWE Return

    Nikki Bella and Brie Bella are firm on their stand about wanting to make a WWE return and at least one of them has already started the preparation for it.

    The Bella Twins recently had an interview with Entertainment Tonight where the sisters reiterated their comments about wanting to have a reign with the women\’s tag team championships.

    During the talk, Nikki said that she wants to change her ring style a bit to make a statement upon her comeback. She also revealed that she has already started the preparation for her return:

    “For me, I’m definitely starting that preparation, I want to train hard for it. When we come back, I want to change my style in the ring a little bit. I want to make a statement.”

    Brie did not provide a similar update to her sister. Though the Total Bellas star still claimed that the Bellas are definitely going to make a comeback:

    “The Bellas are definitely going to make a comeback. We don’t know exactly when, but we said that we have one more run in us.”

    Apart from this, the Bella Twins talked about giving birth, potential future careers for their children and more. You can check out their interview below:

  • The Undertaker: I Wish I Could Work A Program With Roman Reigns

    The Undertaker recently had an interview with Sports Illustrated. The dead man focused the talk on a specific topic and offered high praise to one of his biggest rivals – Roman Reigns.

    The universal champion is currently in the middle of one of the most impressive runs of his career. His character work since his heel turn last year has won him major praise from not only fans but from many industry veterans as well.

    The Undertaker also joined this list during his latest interview. The last outlaw revealed that he was so impressed by Reigns\’ performance that he actually went up to the big dog during his last WWE appearance:

    “I’m so proud of where he is, the night of Survivor Series [in November], I went up to Roman and Jey and said, ‘This is the most compelling story that we’ve done in a while.’ And where he’s been able to take it, it’s so good. It’s not forced. Roman is hitting on all cylinders.”

    The former world champion approved his pairing with Paul Heyman as well. He said that the advocate of Brock Lesnar is the perfect mouthpiece and this pairing works very well together.

    The Undertaker Wishes For A Feud With Roman Reigns

    Taker mentioned how there is a compelling backstory behind Roman Reigns\’ heel turn. He said that Reigns is a great villain before expressing the desire to have a program with the Tribal Chief if he could:

    “I think he’s a great heel—coldhearted, calculated, There is a compelling backstory and you still feel the tension when Roman appears. Like I said, I’m really proud of him. I wish I had the gas in the tank to work a program with him now. It would definitely be something special.”

    After being on the top of the business for over 30 years, The Undertaker retired from wrestling last year. He had his final farewell at the Survivor Series PPV last November which was his final WWE appearance.

    The dead man then did not make an appearance at WrestleMania 37. He seems to have eased into the post-WWE life but you can never say never in wrestling.

    Would you like to see The Undertaker returning to the company for one final program against a heel Roman Reigns? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.

  • Aleister Black On What Paul Heyman Told Him After His WWE Release

    The WWE release of Aleister Black sparked many interesting reactions online. It appears the reaction from people within the company were not too different.

    The former NXT champion recently appeared on Renee Paquette\’s Oral Sessions podcast where he talked about a number of things including his time in the black and yellow brand and more.

    Discussing one specific reaction to his release, Black revealed that Paul Heyman reached out to him after the news broke out. The mad scientist of wrestling told Aleister that he was five years ahead of the business:

    “He reached out to me on the day that it happened. It was very sad; Paul has always said to me, ‘Tom, I think that you’re five years ahead of the business. As brilliant as I think you are, I think that sometimes, that’s your biggest issue.

    You’re so far ahead mentally that people have to catch up to it.’\” said Aleister Black, \”He [also said], ‘I still believe you’re going to do great things.’ I am absolutely far from being done.”

    The former WWE star also talked about the current landscape of the wrestling business. He claimed that the business will never be bigger than WWE.

    However, Black continued by saying that despite its size, the current landscape of wrestling is not dominated by WWE anymore. He mentioned how there are many companies now that have their own identity.

  • Ezra Judge On If AEW Was A Topic Of Discussion At NXT Backstage

    The competition between NXT and AEW Dynamite was a buzzing topic every week among fans during the Wednesday night wars but it wasn\’t even mentioned backstage at the black and yellow brand, according to Ezra Judge.

    The former WWE star recently had an interview with WrestlingInc where he talked about a number of things including the locker room environment at NXT.

    When asked if AEW was ever a topic of discussion backstage at the Performance Center, Judge claimed that they never really talked about that stuff:

    “No, nobody really talked about that stuff, one of the things that I know for myself is you can’t stay in your lane when you’re looking at somebody else’s lane. You start to veer into their lane. I know as a group, we were just focused on putting on the best product possible,

    And everybody just showed up every day and gave it their best.\” said Ezra Judge, \”I honestly never heard of any comparisons or anything. I’ve always watched AEW. I like AEW. I like all wrestling.\”

    The former football star also discussed how people at both companies were aware of each other\’s product but at the end of the day they were focused on delivering the best product they can.

    Apart from this, Ezra Judge talked about things such as how close he was to making his in-ring debut, who were the locker room leaders at NXT, and more.

  • Keanu Reeves Joining The Rock For DC League of Super-Pets Animation

    Hollywood icon Keanu Reeves will be joining Dwayne \’The Rock\’ Johnson and some other big names for the upcoming DC League of Super-Pets movie.

    The former WWE star shared the news of Reeves and his good friend Kevin Hart joining the cast for the upcoming animation film on Instagram alongside a teaser:

    https://www.instagram.com/p/CP3W_BDlW61/

    The Rock will be voicing superman\’s dog Krypto in the animation while his friend Kevin Hart will be playing the role of Batman\’s dog Ace the Bat-Hound.

    There is no word yet on which character Keanu Reeves will be voicing but the John Wick star will be joining a number of big names in the movie.

    Apart from the Rock, other names announced for the movie include A Quiet Place: Part 2 director John Krasinski, Russian Doll\’s Natasha Lyonne, Rogue One\’s Diego Luna, and Saturday Night Live\’s Kate McKinnon and Vanessa Bayer.

    League of Super-Pets will see the beloved pets of some of DC\’s top superheroes joining forces and forming a crime-fighting team of their own.

    Apart from Krypto and Ace, the other names expected to be featured in the film include Wonder Woman\’s kangaroo, Jumpa; and Supergirl\’s cat, Streaky the Supercat.

    DC League of Super-Pets is currently set to release on May 20, 2022.

  • Pat McAfee Challenges Adam Cole: \”Come Over To Friday, Pal\”

    Pat McAfee and Adam Cole delivered some impressive matches during their rivalry in NXT and now the two stars are teasing an extension to their feud at a much bigger stage.

    The latest episode of The Bump saw the former NXT champion taking another shot at his arch-rival. During a conversation about the former football star, the former Undisputed Era leader discussed his hatred for him:

    “Pat McAfee, again, the fact that he has tricked so many people into working alongside him kind of blows my mind that was a really, really big issue for me, but again, my hatred for Pat was so strong that again, it could have been anybody and I was laser-focused on Pat the whole time.”

    Cole then talked about Pete Dunne\’s alliance with Pat McAfee for their WarGames match. When the NXT UK star didn\’t respond to a question about him, Adam Cole turned it into another brilliant opportunity to comment on his rival:

    \”I wouldn’t want to talk about that embarrassment Pat McAfee either, I don’t blame him.”

    \"\"/

    McAfee Fires Back at Cole

    The football star didn\’t keep quiet on these jabs. During the latest episode of his podcast, the SmackDown commentator was asked if he has come up with a name for the finisher he is going to use on Cole.

    Replying to the question, McAfee discussed the recent shots from his opponent. He then interestingly invited Cole to come over to Friday nights:

    \”This morning he called me an embarrassment or something like that and went on this entire run. Hey Adam Cole, pal, listen. You are talking to mister Friday night now. Run your mouth on my internet? Come over Friday pal, say what you gotta say, and eat another boot to the f**king mouth.\”

    The big question stemming from this exchange now is if this is a sign of things to come. It would be interesting to see if Adam Cole does show up on SmackDown to reply to McAfee.

  • News On Backstage Talks About Brock Lesnar\’s Return

    There have been signs pointing towards an imminent return for Brock Lesnar but the company hasn\’t planned his return to WWE TV as of now.

    Dave Meltzer talked about the former universal champion on the latest episode of Sunday Night’s Main Event podcast and discussed the chatter about the Beast Incarnate\’s return to WWE programming.

    There have been a lot of rumors about Lesnar potentially returning for a SummerSlam match against Bobby Lashley. However, Meltzer revealed that as of now, there are no plans for this match to take place at the show.

    WWE chairman Vince McMahon will be the one making the decision about his return. A match with Lashley could take place at any time but the company has not made the call for the former world champion\’s return as of last week.

    Meltzer also interestingly noted that there are people within the company who do not want Brock Lesnar to return until Roman Reigns is ready to feud with him.

    There is no word yet on when this fight could take place but a match between the two clients of Paul Heyman would be an encounter worthy of a SummerSlam or WrestleMania level event.

    Brock Lesnar was recently moved back to the list of active WWE superstars but it seems we will have to wait some more for his actual return to WWE TV. Stay tuned for more updates on the situation.

  • Backstage News On Plans For Elias And Jaxson Ryker

    There has been some speculation about Jaxson Ryker turning heel in the near future after his split with Elias but latest reports suggest that this is not the case.

    According to reports from PWinsider, the plan moving forward is for the former forgotten sons member to continue working as a babyface, while his former partner plays the heel role.

    After being taken off TV for several months due to a controversial tweet, Jaxson Ryker made his return to WWE programming in December last year. He aligned himself with Elias upon his return.

    He continued teaming with the drifter until last month. Elias walked out on his partner during a tag team match against AJ Styles and Omos on the May 31 episode of Raw, effectively ending their tag team.

    This week\’s episode of the show then saw Ryker debuting a new look matching the Raw star\’s new gimmick as an Iraq war veteran with PTSD.

    The former NXT star had a match with his former partner on the show. The bout saw him picking up a count-out victory after Elias walked out of the match.

    It\’s interesting that WWE intends to present Jaxson Ryker as a babyface despite his past issues. We would have to wait and see what the company has planned for his future.

  • Former Indie Star Makes NXT Debut With New Name

    Indie star Camron Clay made her debut on NXT TV during this week\’s episode of the show. The newcomer was dubbed as Amari Miller upon her arrival.

    Amari Miller took on her Twitter after the show to react to her debut for the black and yellow brand. She thanked NXT and fellow development star Zayda Ramier in a tweet:

    https://twitter.com/Amari_MillerWWE/status/1402459234286059524?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

    This week\’s Takeover go-home episode of the show saw Mercedes Martinez coming out to the ring. She had a scheduled match against the newest NXT star but she was attacked by Xia Li before the bout.

    Li tried to soften her future opponent before their upcoming match at Takeover but Martinez managed to fight her off. She then asked the referee to start the match against Miller.

    Unfortunately for the new NXT star, Mercedes Martinez was able to pick up the victory in the bout. She was able to squash her opponent and Martinez pinned her rival after a few moves.

    The star who has gone by the names such as Camron Clay, Camron Connors, and Camron Bra’Nae in the past was signed by WWE earlier this year. She joined the Performance Center in February.

    Miller had been wrestling for almost 5 years before her signing with the promotion. She has previously worked for companies such as EVOLVE and WWN Live. She also made a SmackDown appearance as an enhancement talent in October 2019 where she lost a match to Lacey Evans.

  • Tony Khan Releases Statement On Lio Rush\’s Retirement

    Lio Rush made the announcement of his retirement from professional wrestling earlier today and now Tony Khan has commented on his decision. All Elite Wrestling reacted to the surprising announcement by releasing a statement on social sites, which featured the comments from their owner and president.

    In the statement as seen below, Khan revealed that Rush had shared his plans with him before going public with it. Tony Khan also claimed that while the news was unexpected, he is glad that Lio has made a choice that will make him happy:

    \”Lio Rush reached out to me today, and he shared that he\’d planned to announce his retirement from pro wrestling tonight. While this news was unexpected, I\’m glad that he\’s made a choice that he\’s confident will make him and his family happy. Lio is a great talent, and I enjoyed briefly working with him, and I absolutely wish him the best.\”

    Lio Rush had made his debut for All Elite Wrestling just last month. He was revealed as a surprise entrant in the casino battle royal during the Double Or Nothing PPV on May 30. Tony Khan had even expressed interest in bringing the former WWE star back to his promotion for future appearances.

    However, Rush made a surprising announcement earlier today. He made a lengthy post on Instagram and explained that a recent injury has forced him to reflect on his career and think about his future. The NJPW star then revealed that he has made the decision to retire from active competition.

  • Billy Corgan On WWE Declining The Offer To Buy NWA

    NWA President Billy Corgan recently appeared on Talk Is Jericho podcast where he discussed the various aspects of running a wrestling promotion in detail.

    The Smashing Pumpkins star first opened up about when he bought the company in May 2017 and discussed how he was coming from the whole debacle with TNA at the time.

    Billy Corgan then interestingly revealed that WWE was offered to buy the promotion at a time but the company declined the offer:

    “And then I purchased NWA. Crazily enough, it was owned by one person. It was so devalued. He tried to sell it to everybody. Nobody wanted it, as far as I know. He certainly offered it to WWE. They thought it was so worthless that they didn’t even just buy it just to take it off the market.\”

    Corgan also discussed the initial negative reactions when he first acquired the promotion. He admitted that at one point he even thought about starting a new company instead but he ultimately decided against it.

    Apart from this, Billy Corgan commented on topics such as navigating things through the pandemic, how he was paying the wrestlers even when the company was not producing content and more.

  • Kyle O\’Reilly Reveals His Pick For Best In The World

    The best in the world debate has heated up in recent weeks. NXT star Kyle O\’Reilly has his own pick for the mantle which is different than the other names. The former undisputed era member recently had an interview with DAZN where he talked about a number of things including his run in NXT and more.

    When asked who he thinks is the best in the world right now, O\’Reilly took the name of the former universal and NXT champion Finn Balor, saying that he is the guy who has done everything:

    “I think Finn Balor is, He’s a guy who’s done everything. (He’s) a former Universal champion. For whatever reason, he came back to NXT and has just helped elevate every single guy that he’s wrestled in NXT. He’s helped elevate the brand of NXT just by him being here,

    And by him putting everything into his work, delivering, and busting his ass when he certainly didn’t have to. I think his work definitely speaks for itself because everything he’s done has just been top-notch. I know myself, I’ve learned a lot getting to wrestle Finn.\”

    “For my money, I’d say Finn Balor is at the top of that list right now.”
    – Kyle O\’Reilly

    Apart from this, the former tag team champion discussed things such as his upcoming NXT Takeover match, the influence of Shawn Michaels and more.

    Kyle O\’Reilly is currently scheduled to compete in a fatal five-way match for the NXT championship at the TakeOver: In Your House event this Sunday. He will be competing alongside names such as Pete Dunne, Johnny Gargano, Adam Cole, and the current champion Karrion Kross.

  • Aleister Black Announced For First Post WWE Appearance

    Aleister Black has been announced for a meet and greet appearance in November. This is the first announced appearance for the former NXT champion after his recent release from WWE.

    The announcement was made by Rack Attack Promotions on their Facebook page. They confirmed his appearance for their upcoming The Big Event show.

    The event will be taking place on Saturday, November 13 in East Elmhurst, NY, from the LaGuardia Airport Marriott. Aleister Black will be present from 10 am to 2 pm at the convention.

    https://www.facebook.com/rackattackpromotions/posts/315548223462385?cft[0]=AZWx6oKgAK2FjpiQeYqMrmUJLMBBNvL53wp1Z9IrRQQjJDSgdKQ-IGsUDcVj8AxXpSjsbAl9pohi_NwT7ErJqkAYvztwNqe0cJAdSDYpcnLz_tlIk8YjlyXvspTr-oLK4Rd9nR15b-b_oe1rlo_gDSl3&tn=%2CO%2CP-R

    The combo ticket for the meet and greet event are listed at $70. This includes a photo with the former WWE star and an autograph on the item fans bring.

    As expected, Black is being promoted as Tommy End. It is the indie name the former NXT star used before his signing with the promotion in 2016.

    The former WWE star was released from his contract on June 2, alongside some other surprising names such as the former universal champion Braun Strowman.

    Though Aleister Black has stated that his release was on friendly terms. He has claimed that he was on good terms with the boss Vince McMahon and expressed interest in returning to the company later down the road.

  • Io Shirai Returns To NXT TV

    Io Shirai is back on NXT TV.

    This week\’s episode of NXT saw one-half of the current NXT tag team champion Candice LeRae continuing her rivalry with singing star Poppy.

    She occupied the ring during a segment on the show and said that she was tired of the Grammy-nominated singer. LeRae mentioned how Poppy hijacked her interview last week.

    The current champion then called Poppy out and demanded an apology for her recent actions. The lights went out and Poppy came out with her entrance music.

    Though she didn\’t get in the ring and Poppy stayed on the stage instead. She said that she doesn\’t wrestle but she knows someone who does. Then the music of Io Shirai surprised the fans.

    The Japanese star then made her return and unloaded on LeRae. She took down Candice and Shirai then hit a 619 on her rival as the fans cheered.

    The returning star delivered a missile dropkick, forcing Candice LeRae out of the ring. The segment ended with Io Shirai and Poppy standing tall in the ring as LeRae retreated on the stage.

    This is Io Shirai\’s first appearance for the brand since the NXT Takeover: Stand & Deliver event in early April. She dropped the NXT women\’s title to Raquel González on the show, ending her 304 days reign as the champion.

  • CM Punk: Roman Reigns Is \”Far And Away The Best Guy They Have\”

    Roman Reigns\’ current run as the top heel of WWE has helped him win over many haters. Former rival CM Punk among those impressed by Reigns\’ work as of late.

    Punk recently appeared on the Wrestling Perspective podcast and discussed how organic stories produce the best content and storylines. He singled out Roman Reigns as an example to making his point and had glowing things to say about WWE\’s reigning Universal Champion. He said the Tribal Chief storyline is one of the things WWE is doing right these days and praised Reigns\’ character work.

    “A lot of the times the best stuff you also just got to go with the flow with it, I’ll use Roman Reigns as an example because if we’re talking about good stuff,\” said Punk. \”If the WWE does anything good, this is the one thing they’re doing right now is Roman Reigns. His character work, his in-ring stuff, it’s all great.\”

    Punk took a shot at the company by claiming they are always \”late\” to execute plans correctly. WWE spent years trying to get Roman Reigns over as the \’next John Cena.\’ It took a heel turn and an alliance with Paul Heyman to truly win over the WWE Universe.

    Far and Away The Best In WWE

    “Maybe he needed that adversity and that backlash to finally be this guy but this is the one thing they’re doing right, what can you say bad about what Roman Reigns is doing right now? He’s far and away the best guy they have. When you talk about storylines, in-ring work and all that stuff, right now he’s the total package. For the first time in his career, and I’m not being mean to Roman Reigns, I just feel like he’s finally where they pushed him to be, it just took a minute.”

    CM Punk left WWE in 2014 and subsequently retired from professional wrestling. He stayed away from the business for the next 5 years, before making a surprise return during a WWE Backstage episode in November 2019.

    He has been vocal about the company\’s policies since then. Punk recently commented on issues such as the latest WWE releases and John Cena\’s apology to China.

  • John Cena Had Ring Gear Made For His Heel Turn

    Former WWE writer Matt McCarthy recently talked about John Cena on his We Watch Wrestling podcast. He revealed how close the cenation leader was to a heel turn in the company at one point. McCarthy was talking about the time when the former world champion was still a full-time performer.

    Vince McMahon was trying to figure out a way to incorporate some heelish qualities in his character but not turn him completely. However, the Hollywood star wanted to do a complete heel turn. He was committed to the idea to a point where John Cena even had new ring gear made for him:

    “Vince kept trying to figure out how do we do like a Bret Hart thing? Where he’s a heel in some places, but he’s a babyface in the rest of the places. Cena was like, ‘If I’m going heel, I want to go full heel,’ and it did get close enough to the point where, and I’m sure he still has this gear, like Cena had gear made for the heel turn, you know? No longer the jorts. I don’t know what the gear was, but he had specific gear made ready and waiting.\”

    Though as we know the heel turn never happened. Revealing the reason behind it, Matt explained that the company cooled down on the idea after they couldn\’t reach an agreement. The officials decided that a heel turn wouldn\’t change things for Cena. So it was best to keep things as they were:

    \”And then obviously we know it never happened, and there was a point in the discussions where it was like, ‘Well, the people who are gonna cheer him are going to continue to cheer him and the people who are gonna boo him, are just gonna keep booing him.’ So the thinking was, that’s the most heelish thing he can do is to stay that white meat, smiling, pure babyface…”

    John Cena has since moved on from his role as the face of the company. After a 15 year-long run at the top, the former champion now only makes sporadic appearances for the promotion. Although he is expected to make a return very soon. Latest reports suggest that we may see the former US champion competing in a big championship match at SummerSlam.

  • Original WrestleMania 37 Plans For Released WWE Star

    The latest wave of WWE releases saw the company parting way with some surprising names. One of them was the Riott Squad leader Ruby Riott.

    Bryan Alvarez talked about Riott and her time in WWE during the latest episode of Wrestling Observer Live. He revealed the original WrestleMania 37 plans for her.

    Ruby Riott teamed up with Liv Morgan to compete in the tag team turmoil match at night one of the show which also featured four other teams.

    According to the wrestling journalist, the team of Riott and Morgan were originally scheduled to win this match and go on to challenge the then women\’s tag team champions Nia Jax & Shayna Baszler on night two of the show.

    However, the company changed the plans on the day of the event. Natalya and Tamina went on to win the bout and challenge for the titles. Jax and Baszler were scheduled to retain the title in the original scenario as well.

    While Natalya and Tamina couldn\’t cash in their opportunity at WrestleMania, the match opened the doors for more opportunities for them. They finally won the tag team titles on an episode of SmackDown last month.

    Things are always changing in WWE but one can only wonder what would have happened if Ruby Riott and her partner would have got the opportunity and if they would have gone on to win the championships instead.

  • Jake Atlas On Coming Out To Stephanie McMahon As Gay

    Jake Atlas has had an interesting journey to WWE. It all started when the former indie star came out to Stephanie McMahon as gay without realizing who she was.

    The young star recently appeared on WWE\’s The Bump alongside guests such as Hall Of Famer Bret Hart, current NXT women\’s tag team champions Candice LeRae & Indi Hartwell, and more.

    Discussing his infamous interaction with Stephanie McMahon, Atlas revealed that he hadn\’t discussed his sexuality before his conversation with the WWE official:

    “I wasn’t an ‘out’ performer before I met Stephanie. Meeting Stephanie undercover and not knowing it was Stephanie was so much better and helpful in a way, I don’t know if I would have been able to talk to her if I knew it was Stephanie.

    “Meeting Stephanie and coming out to her… I mean, I came out to one of the most powerful people in professional wrestling. [After filming] I was a mess, and I was crying, and she hugged me.\”

    The 26-year-old appeared on an episode of Celebrity Undercover Boss as an undiscovered wrestler in 2018. The episode also featured WWE Chief Brand Officer Stephanie McMahon as an undercover boss.

    During the show, Atlas explained to Stephanie that he wanted to become the first openly gay WWE champion. He was hired in an ambassador role by WWE after that and he was officially signed as a wrestler in 2019.

  • Bret Hart On The Origin Of Hart Attack Finisher

    Before becoming one of the most celebrated singles wrestler of all time, Bret Hart made his name in tag team wrestling as part of The Hart Foundation.

    The WWE Hall Of Famer discussed the legacy of the group during his recent appearance on The Bump and talked about the various aspects of his team with his brother in law Jim Neidhart.

    One of the most exciting things about their team was the Hart Attacker finisher. Revealing the origin of it, Bret detailed where it came from and why it was a great finisher for their tag team:

    “You know, it came from me using a running clothesline in Calgary. I remember thinking about it, and it was a lot of things Jim and I did, Jim was a 280-pound man.

    To launch him like a missile, you know, 10-15 feet across the ring, was a serious consequence.\” said Hart, \”So many things we did as a team including, the Hart Attack, were great team wrestling.”

    The wrestling veteran also commented on the recent women\’s tag team title win of his niece Natalya and Tamina during the May 14 episode of SmackDown.

    Bret Hart said that both Jim Neidhart and Tamina’s father, Jimmy Snuka would be proud of their daughters. He claimed that the duo will surprise everyone by being around as a team for a long time.

  • Ezra Judge On The Reason He Was Given For His WWE Release

    Former NXT star Ezra Judge is one of the many names released by WWE in the past couple of months. He was released alongside names such as Alexander Wolfe, Jessamyn Duke, and more.

    The now-former WWE star recently had an interview with WrestlingInc where he opened up about his release from the promotion and discussed it in detail.

    Due to his massive physique, Judge was considered a big future star by many and so his release sparked many rumors as well. Discussing the various rumors, he claimed that he didn\’t have any backstage heat in the company:

    \”I don’t know why I was released. Do I want to know why? Of course. I got the generic response, budget cuts. Do I believe that? No, but it is what it is. I’m the type of person that respected everybody, got along with everybody.

    I didn’t have bridges that were burnt or anything like they say.\” said Ezra Judge, \”I was told, actually, before I left that I was a catalyst in a locker room.\”

    The former WWE star also commented on his future in the wrestling business. He confirmed that he will continue his wrestling career and claimed that we are going to see him soon.

    A former Football player and Bodybuilder, Ezra Judge was signed to a contract by WWE in August 2019 after multiple tryouts. He was released in May 2021.

  • Eva Marie\’s WWE Return Date Announced

    Eva Marie will finally be returning to Raw next week.

    WWE had been teasing the return of the All Red Everything with promos for weeks but there was no confirmed date for her actual return to the company.

    The promotion finally confirmed during this week\’s episode of Monday Night Raw that Marie will be making her return during next week\’s Hell In A Cell go-home episode of the show:

    Reports suggest that the modeling star will not be coming in alone. It\’s believed that she will have a female star as her bodyguard upon her return.

    The two names which are being discussed for the role as of now are Piper Niven from NXT UK and former Retribution member Mercedes Martinez.

    Eva Marie\’s first run with WWE started in 2013. Many believed that the female star who had no background in wrestling was too green for TV at the time.

    This led to the former Raw star going back and forth between the main roster and NXT a number of times. She was finally released from her contract in August 2017.

    Marie\’s return to the company was first reported in October last year. After months of rumors, WWE finally confirmed her re-signing with a vignette last month during the May 3 episode of Raw.

  • Bret Hart Names His All-Time Favorite Opponent

    Bret Hart is considered to be one of the greatest in-ring performers of all time. It\’s said that he could make any opponent look good in the ring.

    The WWE Hall Of Famer recently had an interview with Barstool Rasslin where he talked about a number of things and the wrestling veteran also revealed who was his own favorite opponent to face.

    Hart was discussing his matches with Curt Hennig who he shared the ring with over 60 times. He claimed that Mr Perfect was his favorite opponent, with Owens Hart being a close second:

    “I’ll always say this about Curt, if I could wrestle one guy again, it would’ve been Curt. He was my favorite opponent ever. My brother Owen [Hart] is a close second.”

    Bret Hart got involved in the wrestling business at the young age of nine when he started his training as an amateur wrestler. His professional wrestling career kicked off in 1976 when he started competing for Stampede Wrestling.

    The former world champion first gained fame when he made his debut for WWE in 1984. He went on to become one of the top stars for the promotion. Bret Hart\’s career, unfortunately, ended due an injury he suffered in 1999.

  • Kurt Angle Recalls Sending Threatening Messages To Vince McMahon

    Kurt Angle went through a dark period in his career in 2006. The former world champion was working through many injuries and the pain caused him to get addicted to painkillers.

    The Olympic Gold Medallist was not only harming himself with the addiction but he got out of control to a point where he started sending threatening text messages to Vince McMahon.

    Angle opened up about the time during the latest episode of his podcast. He recalled how he started behaving out of control because of his problem:

    “Up until 2006 we were pretty close but my behavior became erratic, I started behaving out of control, sending Vince text messages threatening to beat him up. I had the painkiller problem that nobody knew about.\”

    The former WWE champion explained that he wasn\’t able to take time off because a lot of other talents were on the shelf. This led to him sending more and more texts to Vince McMahon:

    \”I was texting Vince more and more and he wouldn’t respond and that pissed me off even more. After I joined ECW it got even worse. [I sent those texts] because he wouldn’t get back to me. I understand why now, I wasn’t making any sense.

    When I went to a meeting with Vince after I decided to leave after ECW 2006, he had a whole list of text messages and I’m reading these saying ‘Gosh, I don’t remember texting this.’ It was really graphic, ‘I’m going to beat the sh** out of you.\’\”

    Kurt Angle finally decided to quit WWE only a month after he was moved to ECW. He was granted an early release from his contract in August 2006.