SEScoops

Author: Anutosh Bajpai

  • Aleister Black Seen At WWE Performance Center

    Aleister Black hasn\’t been seen on WWE programming in a while but latest reports indicate the former NXT champion might be getting ready for his return.

    The SmackDown star is dealing with some minor injuries but now PWinsider is reporting that he has been seen at the Performance Center in Orlando over the last several weeks.

    It indicates that Black is working towards his return to the ring, though there is no word yet on how long it might take for him to be medically cleared to compete.

    The heavy hitter hasn\’t been seen on WWE programming this year and he last appeared on WWE TV during the October 12, 2020 episode of Monday Night Raw.

    Aleister Black competed in a No Disqualification match against former Universal Champion Kevin Owens on the show. He unfortunately lost the bout and hasn\’t been seen on WWE programming since.

    The former NXT star was drafted to SmackDown after this but he hasn\’t made any appearances for the Blue Branded Show and his absence has left fans puzzled.

    While it seems to be too late for Aleister Black to get involved in a WrestleMania program, it would make sense for him to make his return right after the big event. Though we will have to see if this turns out to be the case.

  • Latest Update On Triple H After Being Quarantine

    Triple H is back on work after being quarantined.

    Reports came out earlier last week that the game had missed the March 15 episode of Monday Night Raw and he had also not been in attendance for the March 17 episode of NXT.

    It was said at the time that Triple H had been quarantined. Though his situation was being kept quiet and it wasn\’t confirmed that if the WWE star had COVID-19.

    The latest Wrestling Observer Radio provided some update on the situation. It notes that WWE VP returned to work this week and he was backstage for NXT.

    Several other competitors who were held off the TV tapings last week due to coronavirus concerns were also back in the arena for this week\’s episode of the Black and Yellow brand last night.

    A number of well known wrestling personalities have had to deal with coronavirus since the pandemic began. People like The Rock, AJ Styles, Mick Foley and more have tested positive for the disease.

    NXT has seen a number of COVID-19 outbreaks in recent months as well. Though Triple H\’s return before the upcoming Takeover: Stand & Deliver event is still a good news for the brand.

  • Backstage Update On Keith Lee Being Absent, Original Plans

    Raw star Keith Lee has mysteriously been away from the WWE programming in recent weeks, making fans wonder about his status with the company. Now Fightful Select has provided some update on his condition and the site reveals that the former NXT champion has been sidelined due to medical reasons.

    It\’s not a case of creatives having nothing for him. Lee was originally taken off TV due to health reasons back in February and he hasn\’t been cleared by the doctors since. The former champion underwent some medical testing when he was originally taken out of action last month. Though there is no word yet on the results of the tests.

    The report also reveals that the company had plans for Keith Lee to win the United States Championship before being pulled from the Elimination Chamber PPV. The former NXT star last wrestled on the February 8 episode of Raw where he defeated Matt Riddle.

    He was scheduled for a triple threat match alongside Bobby Lashley and Matt Riddle at Elimination Chamber. John Morrison replaced Keith Lee in this match after he was pulled from the show. The bout then saw Riddle capturing the US title by defeating the other two opponents.

    Keith Lee is actively trying to get cleared but so far he hasn\’t been given the green light by WWE doctors. We will have to wait and see if he is able to make a return before the WrestleMania 37 event next month.

  • Backstage News On The Miz Vs Bad Bunny Being Announced As A Singles Match

    WWE has announced that Grammy award-winning rapper Bad Bunny will be taking on former WWE champion The Miz in a singles match on night 1 of the upcoming WrestleMania 37 event.

    This announcement was surprising to some as people were expecting to see a tag match involving John Morrison and Damien Priest.

    PWinsider has now provided some update on the situation and latest report from the site reveals why the company chose to go with a singles match between The Miz and Bad Bunny instead of a tag team bout.

    According to the site, both Morrison and Priest are currently dealing with minor injuries and the company has announced a one on one match as a precaution.

    The officials didn\’t want to announce a tag team match and then be forced to change the bout in case the stars are not cleared to return to the ring by the time of the event so they went with the announced bout.

    Though there is no word yet on when or how both these stars suffered their injuries and how long they are expected to stay out of action.

    Since their injuries are not very serious, it\’s possible that both the stars will be cleared before the Show Of Shows. In the case they are cleared, the company is expected to add them to the announced bout, making it a tag team match.

  • MJF Comments On Potential Blood And Guts Match Between Pinnacle And Inner Circle

    MJF surprised everyone when he formed his own faction in Pinnacle featuring FTR, Wardlow, Shawn Spears, and Tully Blanchard and took out Chris Jericho\’s Inner Circle on Dynamite a couple of weeks ago.

    Since the big reveal, people have been wondering if the storyline will lead us into the Blood and Guts match between the two groups which the company originally had to halt due to the coronavirus pandemic.

    MJF commented on the possibility during his recent interview with Sports Illustrated.The Dynamite diamond ring holder said that if the WarGames match does happen, then it would be the best version ever of the bout.

    “Those old-school WarGames matches, they are absolutely incredible spectacles, If Inner Circle-the Pinnacle does happen, it would be the best version ever of that.

    Personally, I’m not sure it would be the right fit for me. I’ve seen the ‘Lights Out’ matches, the death-matches, and I don’t know if that’s for me. But down the road, if it made sense, this would be the best blood-and-guts match in the history of the business.”

    On Thursday morning, MJF tweeted that the Inner Circle are \”scared shitless\” of The Pinnacle.

    Pinnacle: A Modern Day \’Four Horsemen\’

    \"\"

    MJF also discussed the comparisons between his new group and the Iconic four horsemen faction of the past. He revealed why he chose to have 5 members in his group saying that he wanted to put a modern spin on things:

    “I wanted to take something that was old and put a modern-day spin on it, it’s incredible to me that we are so talented that we have Wardlow in a Big Bubba Rogers position. He’s gigantic and a freak athlete.

    FTR is the best tag team in the world. I’m also so excited for the world to see Shawn Spears. He’s never received the proper spotlight, but now people are going to recognize how incredible he is.”

    Apart from this, MJF discussed how he is the biggest homegrown talent of AEW and said that he plans to be the face of the company for a long time.

    For more, check out MJF\’s interview with Sports Illustrated.

  • Update On How Much Time Danny Burch Will Miss Due To Injury

    NXT star Danny Burch suffered a shoulder injury during his tag team championship match on last week\’s episode of the show, forcing him to relinquish the tag title.

    WWE provided some update on his health during the latest episode of the Black and Yellow brand and commentator Vic Joseph revealed that the injured star is going to be out of action for 6 months.

    Last week\’s episode of NXT saw Danny Burch and Oney Lorcan retaining the NXT tag team championships against Karrion Kross and NXT Champion Finn Balor.

    However, Burch suffered a separated shoulder during this main event match. The injury occurred when he landed awkwardly while taking a double suplex from the former Impact star.

    It was then announced earlier this week by the general manager William Regal that the tag champions will have to vacate the titles due to Burch\’s condition.

    This week\’s episode of the show saw the company announcing the fate of the vacated titles and they confirmed a match to determine the new champions.

    The match announced for the upcoming NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver event will see MSK, The Grizzled Young Veterans, and Legado del Fantasma competing against each other with the winners becoming the new titleholders.

  • Victoria On Which 2021 Class Hall Of Famer Gave Her The Widow’s Peak Finishing Move

    Former two times women\’s champion Victoria recently appeared on The Bump in celebration of Women’s History Month where she talked about things such as her return to the company during Royal Rumble and more.

    The female star had memorable feuds with Molly Holly during her time with the company and on the episode; she talked about her arch-rival going into the WWE Hall Of Fame this year.

    During the talk, Victoria revealed that it was actually Holly who gave her the Widow’s Peak finishing move after she saw it at an indie wrestling show:

    “I love Molly Holly, you know, I’m so proud of her. She’s the one that gave me my finishing move, the Widow’s Peak.

    She saw it at an indie show and said, ‘Victoria, I have a finisher for you.’ That move made Victoria. She is just a giving person, and she’s one of those girls that’s too nice for the business. She’s not selfish; she is super giving. And I love her.”

    The former champion also talked about her hair vs. title match with the future Hall Of Famer during WrestleMania 20 and confirmed that Molly Holly chose the former Impact star to be her opponent for the bout.

    Apart from this, Victoria talked about things such as her WrestleMania 19 match against Trish Stratus and Jazz, her cage match with Lita and more.

  • Kane Reacts To HOF News, Comments On Undertaker Possibly Inducting Him

    The Undertaker broke the news of Kane\’s Hall Of Fame induction to the Big Red Monster in an emotional segment on The Bump and many believe that it would be fitting for the dead man to induct him during the ceremony as well.

    The devil\’s favorite demon spoke to Sports Illustrated after the big announcement and said that he would have never believed that he would be going into Hall Of Fame one day during his Isaac Yankem days.

    Kane also revealed his reaction to the big news and claimed that it\’s the greatest honor of his entire pro wrestling career. He said that it\’s a tremendous honor which he is still trying to process:

    \”This is the greatest honor of my entire pro wrestling career, there have been so many people that helped me get here, and I can’t wait to say thanks to each of them. It’s a tremendous honor, one that I’m still trying to process.”

    Kane was then asked the question everyone has in mind and when questioned about Taker possibly inducting him, he said: “I’m not going to speculate on anything, this is all so new. I’m just so grateful for this honor.”

    The former world champion is the fourth name to be announced for the Hall Of Fame class of 2021 and he will be inducted alongside people like Eric Bischoff, Molly Holly and The Great Khali.

    Check out the latest video from the SEScoops YouTube channel reacting to the news:

  • NXT Star Removed From Title Match Due To Injury

    NXT star Jessi Kamea who was set for a title match during the latest episode of the Black and Yellow brand was pulled from the show due to an injury.

    The female star was set to team up with Aliyah to challenge the NXT women\’s tag team champions Ember Moon and Shotzi Blackheart for their titles on the show.

    However, the company announced that Kamea will be replaced by Mercedes Martinez before the show. They posted a video of Robert Stone offering Mercedes an envelope of money to return to his brand for the match.

    Stone also mentioned that the female star who was originally slotted for the bout has suffered an injury while training. Since she was still talking about the bout as of Sunday, it\’s believed that Jessi was injured sometime this week.

    The match then saw the champions retaining their title after Ember Moon took out Aliyah with an Eclipse and pinned her to pick up the victory for her team.

    There is no word yet on how serious Jessi Kamea\’s injury is or if she will be missing any significant amount of time. We will keep you posted on any further updates on her health.

  • Molly Holly On Why She Declined Position At WWE Performance Center

    Former women\’s champion Molly Holly has been announced as an inductee for the WWE Hall Of Fame class of 2021 and she is expected to be inducted during the ceremony on the WrestleMania weekend.

    The former WWE star recently had an interview with the Talkin’ Sass podcast where she talked about a number of things and opened up about her career.

    During the interview, Holly revealed that she was offered a coaching position at WWE Performance Center but she explained why she declined the job:

    “Yes they have [asked me to coach at the Performance Center] and I just don’t want to. It sounds terrible but I’m just — I’m so far removed from that world. I don’t want to be this like grizzled, bitter, jaded trainer who is like, I don’t know.

    They need to have trainers who are passionate about pro wrestling, who love the psychology of it because you can meet certain people on the indies or people who used to work for WWE or people who do work for WWE and they just light up when their creative juices are going.\”

    The future Hall Of Famer said that even though she might have had the skills or experience as a trainer back in the day; she is not in the place where she feels excited about that kind of job now.

    Molly Holly is a former 2 times women\’s champion and she is going to be inducted into the Hall Of Fame alongside Eric Bischoff and possibly RVD.

  • Britt Baker On Which WWE Stars Reached Out To Her After Unsanctioned Match

    Britt Baker and Thunder Rosa made history when they competed in the unsanctioned lights out match during the March 17 episode of AEW Dynamite.

    Many wrestling personalities from past and present have praised the bout publically since then and it appears many WWE superstars appreciated it as well.

    During her recent interview on the Oral Sessions podcast, Baker talked about the bout and revealed which WWE stars reached out to her after the match:

    “Drew McIntyre messaged me… I was really excited about that. There were so many people that just sent like a nice – like Trent Seven, who is I think is one of the funniest people on the planet, messaged me.

    I had a nice message exchange… with the other role model in wrestling, Bayley, one of my favorites,\” said Britt Baker, \”I literally am a fan girl for her. That was really cool. Oh, Candice LeRae, who helped train me and was like a hardcore legend in her indie days.\”

    The AEW star also got a message from the hardcore legend Mick Foley himself and she revealed that they talked about more than just the match:

    “Mick Foley loved it. Very complimentary of the match. We’re also in talks about, when the pandemic’s not so crazy, we’re gonna get him hooked up with fixing his teeth.”

    Apart from this, Britt Baker talked about being nervous before her unsanctioned match, the women\’s division of AEW, going to dental school and more.

  • Latest On WWE Moving NXT To Tuesdays After WrestleMania

    WWE is planning to move NXT to Tuesday nights after WrestleMania 37, effectively ending the Wednesday night wars with AEW.

    According to PWInsider which previously confirmed that they have an episode scheduled for Tuesday, April 13 has now provided some more update on the situation. The WWE production schedule for the month of April now \”lists WWE NXT for Tuesdays every week post WrestleMania weekend.\”

    This means that the first NXT episode on Tuesday will be aired on April 13 after WrestleMania 37 and the show will be a regular for Tuesday nights afterwards.

    The move will put Impact Wrestling against the show and we can expect AXS TV to shift Impact to Thursdays so it remains unopposed.

    NXT Moving To Tuesdays

    \"\"/

    The night 1 of the TakeOver: Stand & Deliver is currently scheduled to air on USA Network on April 7. Night two will then be broadcasted on the WWE Network.

    If these listings are accurate, then it will mean that the upcoming Takeover event will be the final NXT show to be broadcasted on Wednesday nights before the change of schedule.

    The change will mean that AEW Dynamite will not have any wrestling show competing against it on Wednesdays after the Show Of Shows. So it will be interesting to see how it affects the brand\’s ratings.

  • Sabu: \”WWE Hall Of Fame Is The Fakest Ever\”

    With WrestleMania 37 being just around the corner, the talks about Hall Of Fame are picking up as well and former WWE star Sabu has shared some interesting thoughts on the same.

    The ECW original recently had an interview with The NWC Show where he talked about things such as today\’s wrestling being too scripted and more.

    During the interview, Sabu revealed his thoughts on the WWE Hall Of Fame, and the former ECW world champion called it the \’fakest Hall Of Fame\’:

    “You know, I talk bad about the Hall of Fame because I think it’s a fake Hall of Fame, but I would do it because it’d be a good payoff, you know? So, I’d do it for the payoff, but I might ‘motherf–ker!’ when I do the speech, if I did a speech, I might ‘motherf–ker!’ it. I might,”

    “I think the WWE Hall of Fame is the fakest Hall of Fame there is.\” said Sabu, \”I mean, they don’t honor wrestlers, they just try to [induct] who can sell tickets. Tickets are the next thing.”

    The former ECW star isn\’t the only wrestling name to have dissed the Hall Of Fame publically and Scott Steiner has also previously shared a similar opinion saying that it only exists in Vince McMahon\’s mind.

    During the same interview, Sabu provided a big spoiler for the upcoming Hall Of Fame as well, revealing a potential inductee for the 2021 class. You can check out his comments on the matter here.

  • Reason For WWE Removing Charlotte Flair From WrestleMania Graphics

    The removal of Charlotte Flair from the WrestleMania 37 promotional graphic has been a topic of discussion among fans making them wonder if there is some tension between her and WWE.

    PWInsider has now provided some update on the situation and the site notes that the former champion has been removed from the advertising as a precautionary measure in case she is not cleared in time to return.

    For those who don\’t know, Flair herself revealed on Monday that she has tested positive for coronavirus. Though the word is that she had tested positive before this week and it\’s the reason why she has been absent from recent Raw episodes.

    WWE Hall Of Famer Ric Flair also took on his Twitter to comment on the situation, indicating that the Queen will be missing the Show Of Shows this year.

    Her fiancé Andrade however, recently suggested on Twitter that the female star might be cleared to return in a few days so there is still a chance that Charlotte would return to the company before the big event:

    WWE has announced that Rhea Ripley will be challenging Asuka for the Raw women\’s championship at the upcoming WrestleMania 37 event, a spot that was originally rumored for Charlotte.

    If she does end up returning before the big event, it\’s likely that the company will alter this bout in some way, possibly making it a triple threat for the title.

  • RVD Slated For WWE Hall Of Fame, According To Sabu

    ECW legend and former world champion RVD will apparently be going into Hall Of Fame this year, according to his friend and fellow ECW original Sabu.

    Sabu recently had an interview with The NWC Show where he talked about a number of different things and also shared his opinion on the WWE Hall Of Fame.

    During the interview, he also made some interesting claims saying that RVD is going to be inducted into the Hall Of Fame during the WrestleMania 37 weekend:

    “Hey, Rob Van Dam is getting into the Hall of Fame this year, I think. I wasn’t supposed to say nothing but you can tell people that. Exclusive, right,”

    RVD\’s WWE career started in 2001, a few months after the closure of ECW. He went on to have a successful WWE career, winning over half a dozen titles in the company before his release in 2007.

    The hardcore star returned to the company for a year-long run in 2013. He has made several sporadic appearances since then. The former champion has also been working with the company recently for a WWE Icons episode based on him.

    If this news is true, then RVD will be joining Molly Holly and Eric Bischoff in the 2021 class of Hall Of Fame and they will be inducted alongside the 2020 class during the upcoming WrestleMania weekend.

  • Kurt Angle On How Much Money He Made During His First Year In WWE

    New WWE superstars usually do not make a lot of money in their first year with the company but it wasn\’t the case for the former world champion Kurt Angle.

    The heavyweight star found success in his amateur wrestling career early on and this success apparently helped in launching his WWE career.

    The former world champion talked about his first year on the latest episode of his Kurt Angle Show podcast, and revealed that he actually made $1 million during his debut year:

    “You know what, my guarantee was $75,000, so I made well over that. What I was surprised about, and I promised J.R this when I accepted that contract, he said ‘you’re going to get $75,000 a year for five years.’

    I signed the contract, I said ‘don’t worry about it because I’m going to make a million in my first year.’\” said Kurt Angle, \”He’s like, ‘whatever you say.’ So I did, I did make a million, which I’m really proud of.”

    Kurt then revealed that the money did not come from merchandise sale as he was a heel at the time and the amount he was paid was mostly for wrestling:

    \”I wasn’t selling merchandise. They weren’t hopping off the shelves and people weren’t buying Kurt Angle stuff because I was a heel. So I didn’t make a lot on that. I got paid to wrestle and I got paid very well to do it.

    So making a million dollars a year without any kind of merchandise, I made maybe 30 or 40 grand with merchandise, that was about it. I made a lot of money wrestling and I did exceed the goal that I told JR I would do.”

    Kurt Angle is one of the four people to complete an amateur wrestling Grand Slam. He made his first WWE appearance in 1996 and signed a contract with the company in 1998.

    Angle went on to have a successful WWE career. He won over half a dozen titles in the company before leaving the promotion due to health reasons in 2006.

  • RVD On What It Would Take For Him To Make A WWE Return

    Wrestling veteran Rob Van Dam has recently been working with WWE for an episode of the upcoming WWE Icons documentary series of the company.

    The hardcore star has also been talking about his time with the company while promoting the series on various interviews, making fans wonder if we will see him making a comeback for one final run with the promotion.

    During his recent interview with The Dropkick Podcast, RVD talked about the possibility of a comeback, and he explained that he is not going to be working a full-time schedule:

    “One thing that I know is that there’s no way that I would ever go back to the schedule that I was on, you know what I mean?

    Right now, the pandemic, it doesn’t look like anybody’s doing that schedule but I don’t expect that to last that much longer. Looks like my perspective is like the world is starting to open back up again and so I expect there to be some shows.\”

    The former ECW champion went on to say that he would be interested in a return if the money is worth it before claiming that fans shouldn\’t hold their breath to see RVD on TV again:

    “But you know money talks, you know what I mean? Like if it was right then it’s worth it, but definitely I don’t have any interest in being, you know [full-time]. I don’t get excited about working with young kids, I don’t miss being in the ring, I don’t care. If it’s worth it, it’s worth it.

    It’s not that I don’t care, but It’s just you know I go with the flow and that’s how I make my decisions. I wouldn’t hold my breath to see me wrestle on TV again.”

    RVD\’s last run with WWE came in 2013 when he returned for the Money In The Bank PPV in July and had feuds with people like Alberto Del Rio before finishing up with the company in August 2014.

  • WWE Planning To Alter Announced WrestleMania Main Event

    WWE is reportedly planning to make a major change to the announced WrestleMania 37 main event between the Universal Champion Roman Reigns and the 2021 Royal Rumble winner Edge.

    The Universal Championship match at tonight\’s Fastlane saw a chaotic ending. Daniel Bryan accidently hit the special guest enforcer Edge with a chair while trying to take out Roman Reigns.

    Edge replied to this attack by taking out Bryan with a chair. He then put Reigns out with a chair shot as well. The Rated R Superstar hit Bryan once again after this and yelled that it was all his fault.

    The Hall Of Famer then exited the ring. The chaos allowed Reigns to cover his opponent and retain the Universal Championship to end the show.

    While the company showed a Roman Reigns vs. Edge graphic for WrestleMania 37 before the ending, latest report suggests that this match will be altered.

    According to reports from F4wonline, the company has decided to make the Universal Championship match a triple threat involving Daniel Bryan and the Fastlane finish was a setup for the same.

    There is no word yet on when WWE will officially announce the changes in the bout but they are likely to follow up on the situation on SmackDown this Friday and it\’s possible that the triple threat will be made official then.

    Check out our reaction to the news on the SEScoops YouTube channel:

  • Backstage Hall Of Fame Update On Batista And Daniel Bryan

    WWE recently removed Batista from the Hall Of Fame listings on their site, making fans wonder about his status for the ceremony after being announced as the headliner for the 2020 class last year.

    Now Fightful has provided an update on the situation and latest report from the site confirms that the animal is indeed not going to be inducted during the ceremony this WrestleMania weekend.

    Though the report suggests that this change is not a result of any heat between the two parties and Batista will be inducted “when a full crowd can enjoy it.”

    Another star which has surprisingly been rumored for a Hall Of Fame spot recently is Daniel Bryan but he is also not going to be inducted this year.

    The rumors of Bryan going into the HOF started when a WWE Network listing showed the former world champion\’s name as a “2021 Hall of Fame Inductee.”

    Though it has been confirmed now that the listing was a just a mistake on the company\’s part and currently there are no plans for the former champion to be inducted this year.

    The Hall Of Fame ceremony is expected to include both 2020 and 2021 class and Eric Bischoff, Molly Holly, the Bella Twins, JBL, Jushin “Thunder” Liger, the British Bulldog, and the nWo are the confirmed names for the show so far.

  • Drew McIntyre On Which Night Of WrestleMania He Wants To Have His Match On

    WWE will be holding WrestleMania in two nights once again this year and Drew McIntyre is hoping to main event the show like he did last year.

    The former champion defeated Brock Lesnar in the main event of WrestleMania 36 to win the WWE championship. He is hoping to defeat Bobby Lashley to win the title back at this year\’s edition of the Show Of Shows.

    During his recent interview with Forbes, Drew was asked which night he would like to have his match on, and McIntyre said that he would like it to be the final match of the 2 nights spectacle:

    “If I had to pick where I wanted to be, I would obviously pick the last match of the second night just like last year, You can be the main event of Night 1, but the main event of Night 2 is the final, final match. That’s what people talk about.

    You’re looking to send people home with a smile on their face—or, the people watching at home end the night with a big smile on their face. I got the chance to do it last year, and I hope I get the chance to do it this year. Or, perhaps Lashley’s got crazy momentum, maybe they’ll be frowning after my moment.”

    Apart from this, the former NXT champion revealed that he was worried about WrestleMania not having fans this year before WWE confirmed that they are planning to have a live audience at the show.

    Drew McIntyre also discussed things such as why the leg slapping edict will not affect the Claymore and more. You can check out his full interview here.

  • Retribution Turns On Mustafa Ali At Fastlane (Video)

    After weeks of tension boiling within the group and Mustafa Ali blaming other members for the losses, Retribution finally turned on his leader at Fastlane.

    The PPV kick off saw the former 205 Live star challenging Matt Riddle for his United States Championship with the Retribution members being on ring side.

    The US champion applied a sleeper on his opponent towards the ending of the bout. Riddle then hit a super Bro Derek to pin Ali and retain his title.

    Mustafa Ali once again started blaming the members of his group after this loss and he first directed his anger towards Reckoning, asking when she was going to carry her own weight.

    The high-flying star told her to get back in line but she walked out of the ring instead. Ali continued ranting even after this leading to Slapjack walking out as well.

    The Retribution leader then turned to the remaining two members in T-BAR and Mace to blame them but the duo ended up turning on their leader.

    They delivered a High Justice double team chokeslam to Mustafa Ali. T-BAR and Mace then left the ring leaving Ali on the mat after the attack.

    There is no word yet on if we will see all the Retribution members going their separate ways or they will continue being a team after kicking Mustafa Ali out of the group. We should get a better idea about their future on Raw.

  • Andrade Released From WWE Contract

    WWE has released Andrade

    The former US Champion had asked for his release earlier this week and went public with his request but the officials at the time had declined the request.

    The former NXT star then took on his Twitter earlier to tell the fans that a good news was coming and the company has confirmed just minutes ago that they have granted release to Andrade:

    Andrade started his wrestling career in 2003 and he wrestled under a mask as La Sombra for promotions such as NJPW, CMLL and more during his early career.

    Andrade In WWE

    He then joined WWE in 2015. The company officials decided to remove his mask upon his debut and the high flying star was dubbed as Andrade \”Cien\” Almas.

    He had a good run in NXT where he won the brand\’s top title by defeating Drew McIntyre during the NXT TakeOver: WarGames event in 2017.

    He was then drafted to the SmackDown brand in 2018 and while Andrade was initially built as a future star, Vince McMahon quickly lost interest in him.

    The Raw Executive Director Paul Heyman saw potential in Andrade and pushed him during his tenure in the office but the former NXT champion was sidelined after Heyman was removed from the position and now he has been released.

    There is no word yet on what the former WWE star is planning for his future but he recently trademarked the La Sombra moniker and it\’s likely that he will bring it back for his post-WWE career.

    Not many details about his release have been made public so it\’s hard to say if he is bound by a non-compete clause. It would be interesting to see where he ends up once he is free from any contractual obligations.

  • Speculation Over Batista\’s Hall Of Fame Induction

    Batista was expected to be inducted into the WWE Hall Of Fame during the induction ceremony this year but some latest changes from WWE have sparked the speculation on whether or not it will happen.

    The original page on the company\’s website announcing the former world champion\’s induction has been made private and the link to it shows an access denied sign.

    Not only that but as seen in the screenshot below, WWE has also removed the Hall Of Fame badge from Batista\’s profile on their website, while other names from the 2020 class such as JBL still have them:

    \"\"

    The Animal had a final run with WWE in 2019 and he competed in a No Holds Barred match against Triple H at WrestleMania 35 which he lost.

    Batista announced his retirement from active competition after the bout and WWE announced in December 2019 that he will be headlining the Hall Of Fame class of 2020.

    The Hall Of Fame ceremony however, had to be halted due to the coronavirus pandemic and it\’s believed that the participants from the 2020 class will be inducted during the ceremony this year.

    Though these latest developments are making fans wonder about Batista\’s status and many are wondering if the Hollywood star will not be inducted this year.

  • Main Event For NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver Night 1 Confirmed

    WWE has confirmed that the NXT women\’s champion Io Shirai will be defending her championship against Raquel González in the main event of NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver night 1.

    The news was first broken by the Muscle and Fitness magazine and commenting on her upcoming opportunity, González claimed that her opponent isn\’t ready for a competitor like her:

    “Io, you’re brave girl, but, I don’t think you’re ready for a competitor like me. The last powerhouse she faced was Rhea Ripley — and that was months ago.

    I know she is the best in the world, and to be the best you have to beat the best. So I’m coming in with the most excited and anticipated mindset that I can.”

    Io Shirai, who has been a part of the NXT roster since 2018 has had a dominating reign as the women\’s champion. She has held the title for almost 300 days since winning it at last June\’s TakeOver: In Your House event.

    Raquel González on the other hand, only joined the brand in 2020 after competing in the Mae Young Classic tournament in 2017 and 2018 but she has impressed everyone with her performance since then.

    NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver Updated Card

    The night 1 of NXT TakeOver: Stand and Deliver will air on the USA Network on April 7 and the show will continue on the next night, airing on the WWE Network. After the latest announcement, here is the updated card for the event:

    • NXT Championship Match: Finn Balor (c) vs. Karrion Kross
    • NXT Women’s Championship Match (Night 1): Io Shirai (c) vs. Raquel Gonzalez
    • NXT Cruiserweight Championship Unification Match: Jordan Devlin vs. Santos Escobar

  • Daniel Bryan On AEW And NXT Stars He Would Like To Face

    Daniel Bryan has got to wrestle in a number of dream matches since his return to in-ring action in 2018 which many thought were not possible when he was forced to retire from active competition in 2016.

    During his recent interview with Bleacher Report, the former world champion talked about his dream matches outside of his current brand and his dream opponents from other companies as well.

    Bryan first mentioned the name of Kazuchika Okada as someone he would like to face before revealing the other names he would want to compete against from both NXT and AEW rosters:

    “When you look at the AEWs or whatever it is, somebody like Jungle Boy or MJF or Darby Allin,” Bryan stated. “Those guys are really interesting to me. When you look at NXT, he’s not young, but I’ve always wanted to wrestle Kushida. That guy’s great.

    Kyle O’Reilly and I, I don’t know if we’ve ever wrestled.\” said Daniel Bryan, \”I’ve always wanted to do a singles match with him because he’s gotten so, so good. Finn Balor and I have wrestled on the independents once or twice, and I’d love to do a match with him in WWE. There are just so many guys.”

    The former champion also gave a shout-out to some lesser-known guys and in the spree, he took the name of ROH star Jonathan Gresham and William Regal\’s son Bailey Matthews as guys he wants to face.

    Daniel Bryan will be challenging Roman Reigns for his Universal Championship at the Fastlane PPV this Sunday with Edge as the special guest enforcer.