SEScoops

Author: Anutosh Bajpai

  • CM Punk On Which Wrestling Spot Scared Him

    CM Punk is known as one of the best wrestlers in the history of the business and he was never the one to shy away from a dangerous spot even if it scared him.

    The former WWE champion recently appeared on The Movie Crypt to promote his upcoming film Jakob’s Wife where he talked about a number of things.

    During the interview, Punk was asked if there was ever a wrestling spot that scared him heading into it and the former WWE star recalled a spot from his 2009 TLC match with Jeff Hardy:

    “I remember wrestling Jeff Hardy in the Staples Center, and he was jumping off a very tall ladder onto me and I just had to kind of lay on a table for an extended period of time, which really makes you think about it, and it’s one of those things where I was just looking, I’m like, ‘Man, he’s really high up there. This sucks,’

    And you stew in that moment. And I remember being like, ‘I should just get up and walk away. Why am I laying here? This is stupid,’ and then he finally jumped on me.\” remembered CM Punk, \”and I was like, ‘Yeah, that hurt. Alright, great,’\”

    The former ECW champion was also asked when he realized that pro wrestling could become a career for him. He revealed that his first Japan tour was when he believed that he had made it.

    CM Punk defended his world heavyweight championship against Jeff Hardy in a TLC match at SummerSlam 2009. This main event match was won by Punk.

  • Jey Uso Wins 2021 Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal

    Jey Uso has won the 2021 Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal.

    WWE had announced earlier that the battle royal this year will be taking place at the WrestleMania go-home episode of SmackDown instead of the PPV.

    The bout took place during the main event of the Blue Branded show this week. It saw 21 WWE superstars from different brands competing for the prize.

    Shinsuke Nakamura, King Corbin, Ricochet, Mustafa Ali, and Jey Uso were the final five contestants of the match. Mustafa Ali was eliminated first among them and he was followed by Ricochet.

    King Corbin then got eliminated by the king of strong style and \’main event\’ Jey Uso went on to win the bout by eliminating the former NXT champion last.

    This is the seventh Andre The Giant memorial battle royal since its introduction in 2014. The match did not take place last year after WWE had to move WrestleMania to the performance center due to coronavirus.

    Uso joins the list of the past winners such as Cesaro in 2014, Big Show in 2015, King Baron Corbin in 2016, Mojo Rawley in 2017, Matt Hardy in 2018, and Braun Strowman in 2019.

    Jey Uso does not have a WrestleMania match but he is likely to be in universal champion Roman Reigns\’ corner for his triple-threat title defence against Daniel Bryan and Edge on night two of the show.

  • Triple H Provides Health Update On “Road Dogg” Brian James

    “Road Dogg” Brian James is not only making progress on his road to recovery but he is already back to working with the NXT brand, according to Triple H.

    The Game provided the latest update on the wrestling veteran\’s health during his media conference call following the NXT Takeover: Stand & Deliver event.

    Triple H mentioned that James has been recovering at home the last few days. He also revealed that the former DX member is already back to work and he worked from his home for the latest TakeOver event:

    “I want to mention that Brian James, Road Dogg, has been home the last few days, he is recovering, but he is healthy, he is good. He is recovering at home, doing well. We had him set up, so he was on a headset over the last two days, and you know, kind of being involved and stuff.

    “As he gets his strength back and everything, feeling good, he will be back at it, back to being the Road Dogg in no time. I just wanted to give a shout-out to him, and we greatly miss him here. He’ll be back soon enough, but he is doing well.”

    \"\"
    Triple H and \”Road Dogg\” Brian James

    Brian James Health Scare

    Brian James suffered an apparent heart attack towards the ending of last month. He had to be hospitalized for a couple of days before being released and he has been recovering at home since then.

    James was working as the head writer of SmackDown until WrestleMania 35. He was repositioned within the company after he resigned from the role and he has been working backstage at NXT since then.

  • Alexa Bliss On Why Two-Nights WrestleMania Should Continue

    WrestleMania this year is once again going to be a two-night spectacle and it appears that the former women\’s champion Alexa Bliss prefers it to be that way.

    The former champion recently had an interview with Mike Jones from DC101 to promote the upcoming big event where she talked about a number of things.

    Talking about the PPV being stretched to two nights, Bliss explained why it might be a good idea to continue this arrangement because it stops fans from getting exhausted:

    \”I’m really excited because I feel like the energy is going to be so much higher, when it was one night, there’s later matches at the end of the night,

    And you’re just like, ‘oh man, we gotta wake these people up. they’ve been watching the show for about seven hours now!’ I’m excited, I’m happy that it’s two days and everyone can come back refreshed the next day.”

    Alexa Bliss also talked about matches she is excited for at WrestleMania. She mentioned the match between Bad Bunny and The Miz, saying that she is excited to see Bad Bunny perform because he has been training really hard.

    While the female star does not have a WrestleMania match of her own, she has been a prominent figure in the feud between Randy Orton and The Fiend, and Bliss is expected to be involved in their match in some capacity.

  • Paul Heyman Addresses His WWE Contract Expiring Soon

    Paul Heyman is one of the most influential wrestling managers of the modern era. He is a prominent figure on the current WWE programming as the special counselor to Universal Champion Roman Reigns.

    However, the former ECW owner\’s current contract with the company is set to expire in the next couple of months. A lot of people have been wondering how his negotiations with the company are going.

    Heyman appeared on Sports Media with Richard Deitsch this week. He was asked if we will continue to see him on WWE programming for the foreseeable future. The wrestling mastermind is hopeful he will remain with the company.

    “One would certainly hope so; I’ve always tried to avoid negotiating in public. I understand why some people do it though.\”

    Paul Heyman\’s Negotiating Philosophy

    Brock Lesnar\’s former Advocate left WWE in 2006, but virtually nobody knew it at the time. Heyman and WWE kept his negotiations private. He explained why he believes it is best to conduct his business behind closed doors.

    “I just don’t think it does WWE or Paul Heyman any good for me to negotiate a contract and agreement through the media in public. It doesn’t serve anybody. It’s not what I’m here to do. I’m an entertaining, or a director [and] producer of talent. I don’t think that’s what the public turns to me for.\”

    He continued by saying that he loves his current role with Roman Reigns. He also enjoys his role on the Talking Smack talk show. Heyman would be a hot free agent if he left WWE, but he is \”boldly confident that I’ll be continuing in those roles.\”

    Paul Heyman\’s signed a 3-year deal with WWE shortly after WrestleMania 34. Considering how vital he is to WWE storylines, the belief is that he will re-sign with the promotion.

  • Beth Phoenix On The Origin Of Her Glamazon Moniker

    The latest episode of the Icons documentary series on WWE Network takes a look at the career of WWE Hall Of Famer Beth Phoenix from her very first match in the company to all her accomplishments and more.

    During the episode, the former women\’s champion opened up about moments such as the time she broke her jaw during her first singles match on Raw.

    Phoenix also revealed the origin of her Glamazon moniker and she explained that she first heard it while watching the TV show Sex And The City

     “I had to start over. I was looking for a way to repackage myself and catch everyone’s attention again like I had the first time. They knew I could wrestle, I needed something more. I was watching Sex and the City and I heard the term ‘Glamazon’ used and was like, ‘That would make a fabulous moniker.

    I got a phone call that said, ‘You’re going back on the road,’ and it never stopped.\” said Beth Phoenix, \”I started creating the tiara look to stand out, to have one item that would brand me amongst the women. It was my Bret Hart sunglasses.”

    Apart from this, the former Diva\’s champion talked about the influence of wrestling icon Chyna on her saying that she was enamored when the former DX member first came on the scene.

    Phoenix explained that she had seen female bodybuilders before but Chyna was more than that. She had the star power alongside all the men and Beth was inspired by the former WWE star.

  • Mustafa Ali Thought He Would Be Facing Former WWE Champion At WrestleMania

    Mustafa Ali is currently not expected to be part of the WrestleMania 37 match card but at one point he was building towards what could have been a show-stealing match at the Show Of Shows.

    The former leader of Retribution recently had an interview with Metro where he talked about a number of things including the upcoming big event.

    At one point the company seemed to be building towards a match between him and former WWE champion Kofi Kingston at Mania. During the interview, Ali admitted that he thought that to be the direction for him as well:

    “The story was presented, and I really thought that was the direction we might be going for in this year’s WrestleMania. Things change and other things take priority sometimes. We almost got to it, so I will try to get to it again. There’s so much real emotion that I can just bring up and bring out in promos leading to that match.”

    Next Year, You\’re Mine

    Mustafa Ali has since posted the following on Twitter about being left off the WrestleMania card. \”Another year, another WrestleMania that I\’m not going to compete in,\” he wrote. Despite getting snubbed again, Ali remains positive and is confident he\’ll be on the big show next year.

    Mustafa Ali was attacked by members of Retribution during the Fastlane PPV after the former leader of the group kept blaming them for his losses. At this point, it doesn\’t seem likely that he will be a part of the WrestleMania event.

    Kofi Kingston on the other hand, won the Raw tag team championship with his New Day partner Xavier Woods. They are now scheduled to defend the titles against AJ Styles and Omos at WrestleMania.

  • Latest On Bea Priestley\’s Future After Departure From Stardom

    Former NJPW star Bea Priestley is finishing her stint in Japan and latest updates are suggesting that the young star might have a WWE run in her future. The 25-year-old unsuccessfully challenged Utami Hayashishita for World Of Stardom Championship during the Yokohama Dream Cinderella 2021 in Spring event.

    The match was followed by Priestley cutting an emotional promo saying goodbye to both Stardom and Japan. She has already finished her stint with NJPW last month. Dave Meltzer provided some update on her status in the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter and he noted that the female star had made the decision to leave Japan some time back.

    While Meltzer did not confirm where Priestley is headed next, he claimed that the former World of Stardom Champion is not going to All Elite Wrestling. Since the former NJPW star is keeping quiet about her future, the general conclusion is that she is not allowed to say where she will be going which is a trope associated with WWE.

    Bea Priestley made her wrestling debut in 2012. She has competed for promotions such as NJPW and WCPW in her career. She signed a contract with AEW in 2019 after turning down a WWE offer. However, she was released from her AEW contract in August last year because the company was not able to use the UK star amid the travel restrictions put in place due to coronavirus.

  • Christian Explains How His In-Ring Return Came Together

    Christian Cage made his return to in-ring action as a surprise entrant in the 2021 Royal Rumble after saying away from the action for more than 7 years. However, while the plans for his return were only finalised days before the show, the journey for his comeback started months before the PPV.

    During his recent appearance on the Talk Is Jericho podcast, the former world champion detailed the steps he took that led to his Royal Rumble appearance. He recalled how Edge\’s return a year prior had made him think about his own future. Christian revealed that he made an appointment with the doctor. His thinking was that if the results were positive then he would have opened the doors. If they were not then he would be in no different situation than he already was:

    \”I went to the University of South Florida and saw a specialist there, and I went through the physical training, went through the testing on the computer. They even said the testing had advanced some, obviously since I took it last, and when I sat in with the doctor, after I did all the tests, he was like, ‘Man, your test scores were great. You were average or above average on everything. You didn’t fail. You weren’t below average on any of these scores. Your physical tests were great, so let’s have a conversation.’ We started talking.\”

    Christian eventually got to the point where the doctors started asking him about his plans. The former WWE star told them that he wanted to go back and finish his career on his own terms. Once the doctors told him that it was a possibility, he brought it to the attention of WWE. The company then sent him to Pittsburgh for more rigorous testing towards the ending of October:

    “I brought it to WWE’s attention that I had got this clearance, and obviously, they were very excited about it and was told they wanted to keep it close to the vest, quietly, [they] sent me up to Pittsburgh, I believe, towards the end of October. They sent me up there, and same thing, I just went through tests, but it was a harder test. It was more thorough tests, and it was probably about five hours long to be honest. And I saw about three or four different specialists for different things. Did a full in the gym physical workout.\”

    However, while the WWE doctors had cleared him for a return, Christian hadn\’t heard anything about his future until January. According to him, the officials called him on the Friday night before the Royal Rumble. They told Captain Charisma that they thought there wasn\’t a big enough surprise in the Battle Royal. The current AEW star thought about it for a second and despite having no contract with the company at the time, he said yes to the offer.

  • Ozzy Osbourne To Be Inducted Into Hall Of Fame This Year

    Singer and songwriter Ozzy Osbourne is going to be inducted into the WWE Hall Of Fame during the upcoming ceremony, according to reports from F4wonline.

    The celebrity was part of the combined Hall Of Fame ceremony for the class of 2020 and 2021 which was taped earlier this week and will air next Tuesday.

    While Osbourne did not appear in person during the shoot, he recorded a video message for the show. Ozzy\’s induction has been rumored since he was featured in a Hall Of Fame commercial on SmackDown.

    The television personality has had a relationship with WWE for a long time. He has made appearances for the company going as far back as WrestleMania 2.

    During the second WrestleMania event, Osbourne and Captain Lou Albano helped The British Bulldogs in defeating the team of Brutus Beefcake and Greg Valentine to win the WWF tag team championship.

    His recent WWE appearances include a live performance during a SmackDown taping from Baltimore in May 2007 and an appearance as a guest host for Raw in November 2009.

    Ozzy Osbourne joins the 2020 and 2021 class of Hall Of Fame featuring names such as Davey Boy Smith, JBL, Jushin Liger, The nWo, The Bella Twins, William Shatner, Warrior Award winner Titus O\’Neil, Molly Holly, Eric Bischoff, Rob Van Dam, Kane, and The Great Khali.

  • First Look At WrestleMania 37 Stage Construction (Drone Video)

    WrestleMania 37 will be the first big wrestling event in over a year to feature a live audience in a major capacity since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic.

    With the event being only days away, WWE is preparing for the show in various ways including the planning for the security of the performing stars and more.

    Another important aspect of the preparation is the building of the grand set to live up to the hype. A new drone video from Action Jax FPV gives us the first look at the WrestleMania set construction as seen below:

    WrestleMania 37 Match Card

    This year\’s edition of the Show Of Shows will once again be a two-night event and the company is expected to hold 25,000 fans on each night of the show.

    The announced matches for WrestleMania include big championship matches such as the Universal title match among Roman Reigns, Edge, and Daniel Bryan as well as the WWE title match between Drew McIntyre and Bobby Lashley.

    Other matches which are expected to draw attention are Shane McMahon vs. Braun Strowman in a steel cage, Randy Orton vs. The Fiend and Bianca Belair vs. the SmackDown women\’s champion Sasha Banks.

    WrestleMania 37 will take place from the Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida on April 10 and 11. Check out an updated WrestleMania match card here

  • Triple H Explains Why He Turned Down WrestleMania Match Against AJ Styles

    AJ Styles had been lobbying for a match against Triple H at this year\’s edition of WrestleMania but the plans couldn\’t come together for this dream match.

    During his recent media call to promote the upcoming NXT Takeover: Stand & Deliver event, The Game talked about a number of things and explained why he turned down the offer for a bout against the Phenomenal One.

    Triple H explained how AJ Styles wanted the bout and he kept asking for it from the former world champion as the Show Of Shows came closer. He revealed that in the beginning, he hadn\’t said no to the match:

    “He pestered with me every time I saw him! He would ask me about it and ask me about my schedule and as we got closer, man, I’ve said this before, getting ready for WrestleMania is a different thing. And the older you get, the harder it gets.

    “When he first came to me, I said, ‘AJ, I’m not going to tell you no. Personally, I’d love to work with you and at this point, you can carry me to something.’ So, I’d love it.”

    However as time passed by, Triple H realised that he wouldn\’t be able to get in the shape for a match at the show. Even though Styles was still hoping for it until last minute, the King Of Kings decided to cancel the plans:

    “There’s a part of me that wants to do it, and then there’s just a bigger part of me that says, ‘I’m so busy 24/7, that to even try and contemplate how to train in the way I would want to train and get in-shape – and by shape, I don’t mean look—in-shape ring wise so you don’t embarrass yourself once you get in there at 52.

    “It’s a lot of work and I don’t know that I have – I’m not afraid of the work. If I could make more hours in the day, I could find time to do it. It’s just time.”

    After getting a negative answer from Triple H, AJ Styles is now scheduled to compete in a tag team match. He will be teaming with Omos to challenge The New Day for the Raw tag team championships on night one of WrestleMania 37.

  • Drew McIntyre On Possibly Competing In The Opening Match At WrestleMania 37

    Drew McIntyre main evented last year\’s WrestleMania where the 2020 Royal Rumble winner defeated Brock Lesnar to win the WWE championship for the first time in his career. While the former champion may not be in the position to close the show this year, he is ready to take on another similarly enthralling opportunity if he is presented with it which is opening the big event.

    McIntyre talked about potentially being in the opening match for the Show of Shows this year during his recent interview with Wrasslinews. He said that he wouldn\’t mind being the opening bout because then he will be able to experience the first reaction of the fans after staying away from shows for more than a year:

    “I mean, I would be happy opening the show or closing the show. This year is so unique in the sense that the last match — every match at WrestleMania is a main event. Let’s be realistic, if you’re on WrestleMania, you’re in a main event, but when you’re fighting for the championship, generally it’s cool to close the show. This is such a unique WrestleMania, without having the fans there for an entire year, that first reaction is gonna be so, so special.

    So that’s why I said if I finish last, the last match — that’s phenomenal! That’s fantastic! That’s tradition! But if I’m in the opening match, to me that’s also just as big because if you get to walk out in that first match and get the crowd full of energy and all those pent up reactions that we’ve been keeping inside for a year, that’s gonna be special too. So, either way I’m happy!”

    Drew McIntyre will be challenging Bobby Lashley for his WWE championship at WrestleMania 37. The match will take place on night one of the event on Saturday, April 10, 2021, at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa. You can check out the updated match card for the big event including the lineup for both nights of the show here.

  • UK Wrestler Jailed For Two Years After Hurting Opponent During Wrestling Match

    UK indie wrestler James Riley has been jailed for two years after attacking aspiring wrestler Rob Wilson during a wrestling match and causing serious injuries to his head, according to reports from Metro.co.uk.

    Wilson was training under Riley to become a pro wrestler. Part of his training included competing in indie shows to gain experience and the incident took place during one such event in February last year.

    The victim explained the attack as a receipt for a botched kick from the trainee wrestler during their bout and he said that he was expecting Riley to hit him in the back:

    \”The assault was a result of his prior instruction. He was down on the floor and because I was the antagonist he said to me I should stay on top of him when he was down. I caught him with a kick to the gut area. He hissed at me “receipt” which is terminology for payback.

    I positioned myself on my hands and knees and I was expecting him to hit me on the back but instead he kicked me in the face as if taking a goal kick in football.\”

    He went on to detail how he felt after receiving the kick from his opponent. The indie wrestler claimed that his face \’exploded\’ and it was the worst pain he had experienced in his life:

    \”It was the worst pain I had experienced in my life. My face just exploded and I realised it was a lot more than a broken nose. Blood was coming out like fountain and the canvass was red. I could hear the audience yelling to stop the fight.\”

    According to Paul Bray, a friend of Rob Wilson who was in attendance for the show, Riley was heard telling other wrestlers in his training school that he had \’deliberately kicked Mr Wilson because he had hit some nerve damage.\”

    The injury has led to Wilson suffering from PTSD which caused him to lose his sales job. The young star now works as a warehouse operative.

    Though Riley did send a text to his student the next day apologizing for his mistake and admitting that he acted like an animal. As per his lawyers, he has also retired from wrestling since then.

    Apart from the prison sentence, the court has also issued a restraining order preventing James Riley from contacting the Wilson family for 10 years.

    Photo: James Riley (left) and Rob Wilson (right)

  • Stone Cold Steve Austin On His Relationship With Vince McMahon: \”He Doesn\’t Even Take My Calls\”

    Stone Cold Steve Austin has known Vince McMahon for a long time and their iconic rivalry helped WWE in winning the ratings war against WCW. However, it appears that their friendship has weakened a bit over time and they are not as close as they once were.

    The Texas Rattlesnake recently had an interview with WrestlingInc where he discussed things such as the Monday Night Wars and more. Talking about the boss, Austin made the revelation that he doesn\’t stay in contact with Mr. McMahon like they used to but he does reach out every now and then:

    “He don’t even take my phone calls but let me tell you, back when I was working on top, when I called Vince, that phone didn’t ring a half time before he picked it up, Now I’ll send him a text message and I’ll get an answer back in a couple of days.”

    Though Vince McMahon does reply to the former world champion when it\’s something important. The most recent instance of it was when Stone Cold reached out to ask him about bringing Chris Jericho in for an interview on the Broken Skull Sessions.

    Apart from this, the former WWE star talked about things such as how the inception of AEW is a good thing for the wrestling world and more.

  • Scott Hall On The Advice Vince McMahon Gave To Wrestlers

    Wrestling veteran Scott Hall, who is going to be inducted into Hall Of Fame this year as part of the nWo alongside Hulk Hogan, Kevin Nash, and Sean Waltman recently spoke to Yaz Jung and discussed his career in detail.

    The former WCW star, who has had multiple runs with WWE in his long career spanning across four decades has known Vince McMahon for a long time

    During the interview, Hall revealed the advice Mr. McMahon used to give to all the wrestlers and according to him, the boss told people to \’use their face\’:

    “Vince always told guys to use their face, that’s where the money is … You have to keep an eye on the camera, so in my entrance, I’d usually go and look right to the hard-camera side.” Hall said. “You could see in the nWo days — I’d just look right at the camera and go, ‘I’m the s***!\’”

    In light of the upcoming Hall Of Fame induction of The British Bulldog, Scott Hall was asked about a potential induction for his tag team partner Thomas Billington aka The Dynamite Kid who passed away in 2018.

    Replying to the question, the former WWE star indicated that the company might have reached out to Billington before his passing but he declined the offer:

    \”Sure, I don’t see why Dynamite wouldn’t go in.. But sometimes the WWE reaches out to guys and for some reason or another they don’t want to be inducted..”

    Apart from this, Scott Hall talked about things such as a potential in ring return, WWE spending money on his rehab and more. You can check out his full interview at this link.

  • RVD Comments On Potential All Elite Wrestling Signing

    AEW has signed a number of wresting veterans in recent times including names such as Sting, Paul Wight and Christian. Another name which could be a good fit for the company is RVD.

    The hardcore star was even rumored to be the surprise entrant at the Face Of The Revolution ladder match at one point on the company\’s last PPV before it was revealed to be Ethan Page.

    RVD was asked about potentially joining the AEW roster during his recent interview with ReelTalker.com and the former WWE champion said that he always goes with the flow:

    “I just always go with the flow of the universe. I’m always very happy with the way things turn out, AEW, I watch it sometimes, mostly to help Katie Forbes out.

    She’ll watch it, she’s up-and-coming, learning and I’ll point stuff out.\” said RVD, \”There is nothing that interests me about going there, except for business.”

    The former WWE star, who hasn\’t wrestled since September was also asked about his future in the industry and he claimed that there is nothing that makes him want to wrestle except for business.

    RVD explained that while fans may think that he dreams of wrestling different opponents, it\’s not the case for him. According to the wrestling veteran, he could be done with the sport and he is totally fine with never getting in the ring again.

  • Chris Jericho On Why TNT Was Unhappy With Sting\’s Surprise AEW Debut

    Christian Cage was the latest guest on Chris Jericho\’s Talk Is Jericho podcast where the duo talked about the former\’s recent AEW signing and debut in detail.

    Another former WWE star who made his All Elite Wrestling debut recently is Sting. He surprised fans and created a lot of buzz during his appearance at the Winter Is Coming special of Dynamite.

    During the interview, Jericho revealed that the TNT Network was not happy with Sting\’s surprise appearance on Dynamite because they wanted to take advantage of the rating boost:

    “I thought it was cool too because I know when we had Sting has a surprise, the network was like, don’t do that again, that’s why Paul Wight was announced on social media because TNT said we don’t want surprises. We want to take advantage of the rating.

    So I think we had a big surprise, then we had a big announcement and then we use that big announcement to announce the next big surprise.\” explained Chris Jericho, \”I think that’s one of the reasons too to kind of spread it out a bit as well.”

    Christian Compares AEW to WWE

    Christian also talked about his time in WWE and said that he has nothing bad to say about his time with the company. He then discussed the difference between the WWE and AEW locker room.

    The former WWE star explained that the AEW locker room seems less hectic and less frantic to him and he feels that the talent are surer of themselves as performers and what they are going to do.

  • Backstage News On The Decision To Split The Hurt Business

    The breakup of the Hurt Business came as a surprise to many and a number of fans and wrestling personalities expressed their unhappiness over the decision.

    Fightful select provided some information on this move from the company and the site reports that Vince McMahon made the decision himself “much to the chagrin of those in the group.”

    Members of the group including Bobby Lashley and MVP were vocal about their unhappiness with the call. They even had a meeting with the boss before Raw to try and persuade him to change his mind about the future of The Hurt Business.

    However, Mr. McMahon “was set in his choice to fracture the group\” and the WWE chairman \”dug his heels in even more” at the meeting with the members of The Hurt Business.

    The latest Raw episode then saw what appears to be the end of the group. This decision and McMahon\’s insistence to continue with the plan was said to be a blow to the morale of the affecting stars.

    Shelton Benjamin even took on his Twitter to apparently voice his displeasure with these developments and he wrote that the events of the past week have been frustrating but they come as no surprise:

    For those who don\’t know, this week\’s episode of Raw saw the WWE champion Bobby Lashley kicking Shelton Benjamin and Cedric Alexander out of The Hurt Business after their loss to Drew McIntyre on last week\’s episode of the show.

    What do you think about WWE\’s decision to break up The Hurt Business? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.

  • WrestleMania 37 Title Match Stipulation Announced, Updated Card

    While no new matches were announced during the show, this week\’s episode of SmackDown still featured a couple of big WrestleMania announcements including the addition of a stipulation to a title match on the PPV.

    Sami Zayn had announced last week that Logan Paul will be making an appearance on this week\’s episode of the Blue Branded Show. The episode saw the YouTube star being featured in a segment with the former US champion.

    During the segment, Sami asked Paul to be his guest at the upcoming WrestleMania event and the celebrity guest accepted this proposal.

    Though Kevin Owens attacked Zayn before he could end the segment. Things then ended with Sami Zayn recovering from the attack while a shocked Logan Paul stood in the ring.

    This wasn\’t the only WrestleMania announcement made during the show. Apollo Crews revealed in a backstage segment that his IC championship match with Big E will now be a Nigerian Drum match.

    Crews explained that the match will have no rules and limitations, just the beatings loud enough to sound like the beating of the drums. Based on the description, it essentially seems to be a No DQ match.

    Updated WrestleMania 37 Match Card

    WrestleMania 37 will take place from the Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida on April 10 and 11. After the latest announcements, here is the updated card for the show:

    WrestleMania 37 Night One Matches

    • WWE Championship Match: Drew McIntyre vs. Bobby Lashley, Shelton Benjamin and Cedric Alexander are banned from ringside.
    • SmackDown Women’s Championship Match: Bianca Belair vs. Sasha Banks
    • Raw Tag Team Championship Match: Omos and AJ Styles vs. The New Day
    • Steel Cage Match: Shane McMahon vs. Braun Strowman
    • Singles Match: The Miz with John Morrison vs. Bad Bunny with Damian Priest
    • Singles Match: Cesaro vs. Seth Rollins

    WrestleMania 37 Night Two Matches

    • WWE Universal Championship Triple Threat Match: Daniel Bryan vs. WWE Hall of Famer Edge vs. Roman Reigns
    • Raw Women’s Championship Match: Rhea Ripley vs. Asuka
    • WWE Intercontinental Championship Nigerian Drum Match: Apollo Crews vs. Big E
    • WWE United States Championship Match: Sheamus vs. Matt Riddle
    • Singles Match: Randy Orton vs. “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt with Alexa Bliss
    • Singles Match: Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn, Logan Paul will be on Sami\’s corner

  • Backstage News On Internal Reaction To WrestleMania 37 Ticket Sales

    The upcoming WrestleMania 37 will be the first WWE event to feature a live audience in over a year and the company is expecting to host 25,000 fans on each night of the show.

    The latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter provided some update on the ticket sales of the event and it reveals that there are still seats available for the show despite the event being less than 10 days away.

    According to the report, while most of the tickets were sold in the pre-sale, the company still has about 1,000 tickets left for night one and 809 tickets left for night two.

    Some people within the company expected the PPV to be an immediate sellout similar to the recent UFC 261 event in Jacksonville because it\’s their first big event to allow a live crowd in attendance in a long time.

    However, it didn\’t turn out to be the case as there are still tickets left unsold days before the event and there is some disappointment within the company over this situation.

    WrestleMania 37 will once again be a two-night event. It will be taking place on Saturday, April 10th, and Sunday, April 11, 2021, from Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. The show will be airing on Peacock.

  • Triple H Shares His Opinion On The Undertaker\’s \’Soft\’ Comments

    WWE Executive Vice President Triple H recently held a media call to promote the upcoming NXT Takeover: Stand & Deliver event taking place during the WrestleMania week. During the interview, the Game who has a long history with The Undertaker was asked about the Dead Man\’s comments about today\’s product being \’soft\’ which received negative reaction from a lot of people.

    Triple H first mentioned how the wrestling business is always changing and different people have different opinions which you can agree and disagree with. He praised the former world champion saying that he is bluntly honest with his opinions. However, the Game then said that Taker\’s comments always have the best intention:

    “His comments and his intention are always with the best of intent, or desire, to improve and I do believe he has a wealth of knowledge, that if he speaks… you know, there’s certain guys in the business that if they speak, they’ve been around a long time, seen a lot of things, and they’ve earned the right to, if they speak, you listen and you take the point of view, and you work with it. He’s one of those guys, for sure.”

    The former DX member continued by comparing the whole debate to the debate about the music of different generations. He mentioned how everyone believes that a certain generation of music is better than the other but at the end of the day, they are all just opinions:

    “So, if he says it and believes it, there’s something to it, then yeah, every generation is different and what people are willing to accept in generations. You know, everybody believes certain generations of music are better than others, too, and at the end of the day all of this is opinion. We all like what we like, we all dislike what we dislike, and we give our opinions on it, and it really comes down to what do the masses of people like.\”

    After the Final Farewell segment at last November\’s Survivor Series event, there has been some talk of The Undertaker possibly coming to the Performance Center to help talent. Commenting on this possibility, Triple H said that he is looking forward to working with Taker and \”making it all better at every level.\”

  • Sean Waltman On His Experience At The 2021 Hall Of Fame Ceremony

    Sean Waltman is one of the legends who are going to be inducted into the Hall Of Fame this year as part of the nWo alongside people like Hulk Hogan, Scott Hall and Kevin Nash.

    The company taped the ceremony in advance earlier this week and it will air exclusively on Peacock and the WWE Network on the upcoming Tuesday.

    Waltman talked about his experience at the tapings on his new podcast Pro Wrestling 4 Life with Sean “X-Pac” Waltman and revealed that they were brought in the building very early in the morning:

    “They flew us in the night before. We took the COVID test, and then they had us up and out at 7 a.m.,” Waltman said. “We were at the building since 8:00 am. It was a little rough, especially coming from the west coast and having the time difference, my body is all screwed up.

    I got a little bit of jet lag right now actually. We did a lot of sitting around for a while, and then once things started going, they went quick. We started taking the pictures [and] doing the rehearsal.\”

    During the episode, Sean Waltman also confirmed that there were no inductors at the Hall Of Fame ceremony this year similar to 2019:

    “There were none. In 2019, I don’t think there were any then either, Jerry Lawler was out there hosting like you normally would, and then it would go to a video package. It was almost like the video package was the induction.”

    Apart from this, Sean Waltman, who was inducted into Hall Of Fame as part of the DX as well, talked about potentially becoming a 3 time Hall Of Famer if he gets a solo induction.

    However, the former DX member said that going out there and giving an induction speech alone is the last thing he wants to do and he is happy with his two inductions.

  • Roman Reigns On If He Has COVID-19 Concerns With Fans Attending WrestleMania

    Roman Reigns pulled out of his Universal Championship match at last year\’s edition of WrestleMania due to COVID-19 concerns. This sudden decision led to a big change of plans with Braun Strowman replacing the Big Dog and defeating Goldberg for the Universal title.

    The former Shield member is once again scheduled to be a part of the Universal Championship match at WrestleMania this year. Though this time, he is the one who is defending the title. During a recent interview with TMZ Sports, Reigns was asked if he is worried about coronavirus with fans being allowed back at the show this year and he replied negatively:

    “No, I think with all the safety protocols that we’ve established since I came back, with all the precautions that we take to make sure I’m isolated to where I’m not heavily interacting with anyone outside of the people that I’m actually in the ring with, all the way to the weekly testing, I don’t think WrestleMania is going to be any different. You know, our safety precautions are second to none.\”

    Roman Reigns Explains WrestleMania Security Protocols

    Roman Reigns then talked all the different security protocols that have been established to ensure the safety of the talent and fans. He mentioned how fans will be in pods and masks would be mandatory for the people in attendance, before claiming that they are trying to create the safest environment for everybody:

    “We’ll have the pods to create the social distancing, and masks will be required. We will be giving out masks for those who are forgetful. We’ll have, I believe, cashless concessions, so we’re going to create an opportunity where everybody’s gonna be as safe as they could be… all the way from going to the grocery store to sitting on their couch at home, we’re trying to create that level of safety for everybody. We’re also trying to create an atmosphere and an experience that they’ll never forget.”

    Roman Reigns was also asked if he still gets excited for WrestleMania after competing in a number of Manias in the past decade and he said that he enjoys every performance. The Universal champion claimed that it is going to be really cool to get some normalcy back with fans in attendance. The Tribal Chief will be defending his championship against Daniel Bryan and Edge in the main event of WrestleMania 37 on night two of the show.

  • Hulk Hogan On Who Should Win The World Title Matches At WrestleMania

    The upcoming WrestleMania event will feature a number of title matches and the wrestling veteran Hulk Hogan has revealed who he would like to win two of the biggest championship bouts at the Show Of Shows.

    The Hulkster recently appeared on WWE After the Bell with Corey Graves where he talked about things such as his career, his catchphrases, and more.

    Talking about the big matches at the upcoming event, Hogan revealed which star he would like to win the WWE championship match between Bobby Lashley and Drew McIntyre:

    “Bobby, his accolades are a mile long, he’s the real deal brother, he’s a real badass. I’m really hooked on Drew McIntyre. Something about his presence, something about his intensity, he loves this business and I’ve been in his corner since day one so I’m really hoping that Drew steps up and things go his way.\”

    The former world champion also discussed the triple threat Universal championship match among Edge, Daniel Bryan and Roman Reigns. Hulk Hogan said that he would like The Rated R Superstar to win the bout:

    “As far as the other main event, they turned that into a three-way so that’s kind of like ‘Jump Ball’ time. It’s going to be pretty crazy but Edge has made a heck of a showing as of late. He looks like he’s really hungry and in my opinion, I’d love to see it go Edge’s way.

    Nothing from Daniel or Roman Reign’s, Roman I’ve been following since he’s a kid, I know he is intense, but for some reason when I saw Edge standing over both those guys with a chair he looks like a bad, dangerous guy right now.”

    Hulk Hogan will not only be hosting WrestleMania alongside Titus O’Neil, but he will also become a two times WWE Hall Of Famer during the WrestleMania weekend when he will get inducted as part of the nWo.