SEScoops

Author: Anutosh Bajpai

  • Former WCW Champion Returns To Backstage WWE Role This Week

    Former WCW star Billy Kidman returned to his position as a backstage producer for WWE this week, according to reports from PWinsider.

    Kidman returned to work during the tapings for this week\’s episode of Friday Night SmackDown and he is expected to continue working for the company in the coming weeks.

    The former Cruiserweight Champion was furloughed by the promotion as part of their budget cuts when the coronavirus pandemic forced them to suspend their normal operations in April.

    Now that the company has moved to a bigger arena from the Performance Center, they have brought back a number of employees and Kidman seems to be one of them.

    Billy Kidman started his wrestling career in late 1994 and he was signed to a contract by WCW in mid-1996. Though he spent the first year of his stint as an enhancement talent with no character.

    He was then added to Raven\’s Flock and the high flying star found some success after he got out of the group.

    He started competing in the cruiserweight division in 1998 and Kidman won the Cruiserweight championship 3 times during his WCW tenure. He even teamed up with Rey Mysterio to win the Cruiserweight tag titles once.

    He was one of the stars who WWE signed when they bought WCW and the lightweight star remained with the promotion until 2005. He was brought back as a trainer in 2007.

  • Original Clash Of Champions Plans For Raw Women\’s Championship

    While WWE seems to be building towards a match between Asuka and Zelina Vega for the Raw women\’s championship at the upcoming Clash Of Champions PPV, new reports reveal that the original plans for the title were different.

    Dave Meltzer reported on the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter that Shayna Baszler was originally slated to challenge The Empress for the Raw women\’s championship at the upcoming PPV.

    However, the company changed the plans for the title match when the former NXT Women\’s Champion was paired with Nia Jax and the two won the women\’s tag team championships.

    The duo of Baszler and Jax are now scheduled to defend the women\’s tag titles against Ruby Riott and Liv Morgan or The Riott Squad at the upcoming PPV.

    Asuka on the other hand, does not have an announced match for the show yet but WWE is building a feud between her and Zelina Vega.

    This week\’s episode of Raw saw Vega walking away from Andrade and Angel Garza and she then had a confrontation with the Raw Women\’s Champion later in the show.

    With only one Raw episode left to go before the next WWE PPV, it\’s likely that we will see a brawl between the two female stars at the next episode of the show and the company will announce a match between the two afterwards.

  • Undertaker Reveals If He Ever Talked To Sting About A Potential Dream Match

    Sting vs. The Undertaker is one of the biggest dream matches of the wrestling history which never took place despite both the stars having careers spanning many decades and crossing paths in both WCW and WWE.

    The Dead Man was recently interviewed by Barstool Sports where he talked about a number of things and the former World Champion also revealed if he ever had any talks with The Icon about a potential bout.

    Taker was asked if he ever discussed a match with Sting. Replying to it the legend claimed they never talked about it despite knowing each other since the 80s:

    \”Not even once, I knew him from my days in WCW in the the late 80s but I never actually saw him again until he joined WWE, Its crazy that we never spoke.

    We never called each other and discussed, \’hey would you like to do this mega match\’ or whatever. My schedule was always full, there were always guys waiting to face me.\”

    Undertaker went on to explain that a match between the two would have been cool in the early 90s when they were in their primes because he doesn\’t want people to get a watered down version of their characters:

    \”To be completely honest, the match would have been cool in the 90s or early 2000s. I don\’t want people to get a watered down version of that character.

    I want people to remember the 90s, the WrestleMania matches with Edge, Batista, Shawn, and Punk, and not the match I had with Roman, when I was all beat up and out of shape. I looked like a Bloated Elvis.\”

    Ultimately, Undertaker vs. Sting will go down in history as one of the biggest dream matches in the wrestling history that never took place despite the possibility of it being one of the biggest wrestling matches of all time.

  • Renee Young On Her \’Very Weird\’ First Meeting With Vince McMahon

    During her 8 year-long tenure with WWE, former backstage personality Renee Young became part of many weird moments in the company. As it turns out, one of the weirdest moments of her career was actually her first meeting with the owner of the company, Vince McMahon.

    During her recent interview with Sunday Night\’s Main Event podcast, Young recalled her first meeting with The Boss. According to Renee, her first interaction with Mr McMahon took place in a hallway where they shook hands. However it wasn\’t a straight chat and the former WWE star explained how it ended up being a bizarre interaction.

    \”We were in Hershey, Pennsylvania, I was brought in to TV and I got to the building early, as one does when you\’re new. I was used to our world of acting auditioning where you show up fresh faced then change and get ready for the show. Little me is walking around backstage with a clean face, squeaky clean, and he comes walking down the hallway, and I\’m like, \’Hi!\’

    And I don\’t remember who it was with him, but they said Vince should not see you without makeup on. You should be fully done.\” recalled Young

    \”He did not react in any poor way or anything, but I remember being like, \’Oh, I didn\’t know that. I thought I came here and I would go into makeup, so why would I already have makeup on?\’ It was very weird.\”

    Renee Young continued by saying that Vince would not remember the meeting but she just remembers it because she had no clue that\’s how it was supposed to work.

    During the same interview, the former WWE star explained the reason behind her departure from the company in detail and you can check out her comments at this link.

    Renee Young Says WWE Officials Were Not Happy When She Divulged Her COVID-19 Diagnosis On Social Media

  • Chris Jericho Comments On Roman Reigns\’ Heel Turn

    Chris Jericho is known to be the guy who always has his figure on the pulse of the wrestling business and he continues to evolve his character to stay relevant in the wrestling world.

    On the other hand, WWE is often blamed for not understanding what the fans want and up until recently, one of the biggest examples of it was the babyface run of Roman Reigns, who many believed should have been turned heel long ago.

    Jericho talked about WWE\’s decision to finally turn Reigns heel during a recent interview with Inside The Ropes and the former World Champion claimed that the Big Dog will do better as a heel:

    \”I\’m a huge fan of Roman Reigns, I think as a heel, he\’s going to leaps and bounds be better than as a babyface, which will then allow him to become a babyface, which will be leaps and bounds over being a heel.\”

    Y2J also recalled his time working with Roman and said that he would be a much bigger star if WWE would just let him be himself. Interestingly, Chris Jericho then went on to compare the current Universal Champion to his cousin, The Rock:

    \”He reminds me a lot of The Rock, he\’s the type of guy that if you\’re a guy, you want to have a beer with them. If you\’re a girl, you want to go on a date with him, but he doesn\’t get a chance to really show that.\”

    Chris Jericho continued by saying that WWE should let the former Shield member relax and be himself and he would get to a point where he would become the top guy in the company who no one complains about.

  • Trish Stratus Continues To Tease \’Dream Match\’ With Sasha Banks

    Trish Stratus continues to address a potential match against WWE Superstar Sasha Bans. The trailblazing Attitude Era star appeared on The Bump this week to discuss the women\’s revolution movement, her career and much more.

    Ever since their interaction in the 2018 Women\’s Royal Rumble match, fans have speculated the possibility of Stratus and \’The Boss\’ going one-on-one.

    Stratus says she loves and respects Sasha Banks. She knows fans want to see them wrestle and finds the match-up intriguing.

    \”I mean, do you guys think fans would want to see that? I\’m not sure,\” she asked sarcastically. \”The fact of the matter is that I can\’t go back, that\’s a proven fact, right? I love and respect Sasha so much. I love her in-ring work. Would I love a taste at that? Yes.

    Here\’s the thing people have been buzzing about Sasha and I\’s interaction at the Royal Rumble.\” said Trish Stratus \”As a wrestling fan, do I think this is intriguing? Absolutely!\”

    Earlier this year, Trish Stratus got fans buzzing with a cryptic video she tweeted that included her and Sasha Banks. WWE knows fans are interested in a potential \’dream match\’ between the two women, as seen in the video embedded below.

    Would you like to see Trish Stratus returning to the ring for one last match against Sasha Banks sometimes in the future?

  • Wade Barrett Reveals The Length Of His New WWE Contract

    Wade Barrett is back in WWE and he has signed a new full-time contract with the company to replace Mauro Ranallo on the NXT announce team, who recently parted ways with the promotion.

    The former Nexus Leader spoke to Sports Illustrated about his new contract with the company after the news broke out and he claimed that their aim is to be different than the rest of the WWE programming.

    Barrett also revealed that he has signed a one-year deal with WWE which has the option to extend their partnership, before claiming that NXT is not a developmental brand:

    “This isn’t a developmental brand, I’ve followed the careers of The Undisputed Era, Tommaso Ciampa, Johnny Gargano, and Rhea Ripley for a long time. There are so many up-and-comers, and NXT is a destination where you can see people turn into stars.\”

    Before rejoining WWE, Wade Barrett was doing commentary for NWA and he revealed that he was actually planning to sign a long term deal with the company.

    Though he noted that the coronavirus pandemic made them change their plans and the former Intercontinental Champion claimed that he has nothing but great things to say about Billy Corgan.

  • Chris Jericho On Which Are The Rising Stars In AEW

    AEW has given the first taste of limelight to a number of independent stars and Chris Jericho recently revealed his top picks for the stars which are rising to stardom in the company.

    The inaugural AEW World Champion talked about a number of things on the latest episode of his Saturday Night Special stream including his match with Sonny Kiss and more.

    During the show, Jericho was asked about which talents he thinks are the rising stars of AEW and he took the names of people like Darby Allin and Jungle Boy:

    \”I\’ll go with Darby Allin, Jungle Boy, Orange Cassidy, Sammy Guevara, and Thunder Rosa. I\’ll also throw in Penelope Ford there.\”

    Chris also provided an update on the AEW video game and the former WWE star said that they are spending a lot of time in its development to ensure that it\’s done right:

    \”Kenny [Omega] and Aubrey [Edwards] have a lot to do with the direction of the game. They are spending a lot of time on its development, putting in a lot of time. We want to ensure that the video game is done right and it is not a half-assed effort\”

    During the same stream, Chris Jericho talked about Miro\’s AEW debut as well and he revealed that he wrote the controversial line about WWE in his promo. You can check out Y2J\’s comments on the matter at this link.

  • Renee Young Explains Why She Left WWE

    Renee Young ended her 8 year-long stint with WWE after SummerSlam this year. Her departure came as a surprise to many because she was still featured on TV and there wasn\’t any news of the female star being unhappy in the company.

    The former NXT star recently appeared on Sunday Night\’s Main Event podcast and during the interview; she detailed the reason behind her surprising decision.

    In her long tenure with WWE, Young portrayed many roles in the company including being the first full-time female commentator, a backstage interviewer and panel co-host and according to Renee she felt that she had hit her ceiling:

    \”I\’ve been there for eight years and I kinda did everything I could possibly do. I felt like I was bouncing around and continually trying to carve this path out for myself and I feel like I hit my ceiling,\”

    Renee Young explained that after doing commentary for a year, she realised that her strength was being a TV host. After she was removed from her position and moved to SmackDown as a special contributor Young felt that WWE didn\’t know what to do with her either:

    \”I felt like they didn\’t know what to do with me either. Just having me on TV and doing backstage interviews again felt like a step back and there was just nowhere for me to go. There was nothing for me to do anymore especially when Backstage got cancelled with FS1.

    I feel like I had checked all of the boxes and I turned over every card that I could there. I didn\’t want to waste any more time. I\’m about to turn 35 and I\’ve done a bunch of stuff there so it\’s time to move on.\”

    During the interview, Renee Young also revealed that she still has a relationship with Fox and she will be working with the network in future.

    Though the former WWE star has a serious non compete clause that stops her from working for any other wrestling company for almost a year, which means that the possibility of her making an appearance for All Elite Wrestling anytime soon is not very bright.

  • AJ Styles Reportedly Unhappy With SmackDown Schedule

    It\’s well known that AJ Styles left Raw to join the SmackDown roster because he was unhappy in the Red Brand but latest reports suggest that he is having problems competing on Friday nights as well.

    Dave Meltzer mentioned on the latest episode of Wrestling Observer Radio that The Phenomenal One has to miss his son\’s football games due to SmackDown\’s schedule and he is not happy about it.

    This wasn\’t a problem when he originally moved to the Blue Brand as shows were being taped in advance back then but the introduction of WWE Thunderdome has changed things as the shows are airing live once again.

    Meltzer also noted that since the WWE drafts are scheduled for October, Styles is likely to ask to be moved back again and he has the leverage for his request to be considered.

    For those who don\’t know, AJ Styles left Raw because of his issues with Paul Heyman who was running the show at the time. Heyman had apparently lied to the former World Champion about the firing of Gallows and Anderson.

    Though Heyman was also removed from his position not long afterwards. He has since returned to SmackDown as the manager of Roman Reigns and this could be another reason for Styles to want to return to Raw during the upcoming drafts.

  • Backstage News On AOP\’s WWE Release

    The WWE release of Authors Of Pain or AOP came as a surprise to many, especially because they were being pushed on Raw as part of Seth Rollins\’ stable before being taken off TV due to Rezar\’s injury.

    Dave Meltzer provided some update on the situation in the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter and he revealed that Vince McMahon had already given up on the duo in 2019.

    McMahon had lost hopes even before the team was paired with Rollins. It was the former Raw Executive Director Paul Heyman who saw potential in AOP and brought them back.

    Heyman reportedly wanted to give the duo a major push when Rezar returned from injury but Paul himself was removed from the position at Raw before the former tag champions could return.

    Rezar had recovered from the injury and he was ready to return a few weeks before his release. However, the company decided not to use the two and made the decision to let them go instead.

    There is no word yet on what the two are planning for their future after getting released from WWE and it would be interesting to see if AOP remains a tag team or if they go on their separate ways.

  • AJ Styles On Which Stars He Would Include In WWE\’s Bullet Club

    AJ Styles returned to his twitch stream recently where the former World Champion answered questions from fans related to many topics such as his time in NJPW, his relationship with Kenny Omega and more.

    Talking about his stint in the Bullet Club, the Phenomenal One claimed that he was never the leader of the group and he just happened to swap places with Finn Balor when The Prince was going out of NJPW and he was coming in.

    A fan then asked Styles about the possibility of forming a bullet club-like faction in WWE and which stars he would like to have in his club if it happens. Replying to it, AJ took the names of Finn Balor and Adam Cole:

    \”Well certainly, Finn is one of those guys,\” Styles said. \”I\’d have to throw Adam Cole in there as well. It\’s hard to know which guys I\’d put in there; that\’s a tough question.

    It\’s not just what guys would get along,\” said AJ Styles \”it\’s what guys you have stuff in common with. With Gallows and Anderson not there, that makes it really tough for me. I don\’t know who else.\”

    The former World Champion also reiterated his comments about wanting to team with Finn Balor in WWE and form a tag team with the NXT Champion.

    AJ Styles said that he hopes to get the opportunity to win the tag titles at some point before he retires. So he will be able to say that he has done what very few others have done – winning all the titles in WWE.

  • Jim Ross Reveals His Thoughts On Roman Reigns\’ Heel Turn

    Jim Ross has seen a lot of major wrestling angles unfold over the decades and the legendary wrestling commentator recently revealed his thoughts on one such angle which has been creating buzz- Roman Reigns\’ heel turn.

    The AEW star talked about things like the disappointing performance of the Invasion angle after WWE bought WCW, the early days of Brock Lesnar and more during the latest episode of his Grilling JR Podcast.

    Discussing Reigns\’ recent heel turn and his pairing with Paul Heyman, Ross said that he likes the fit and he explained that the company now has a chance to get Roman over as a viable something:

    \”It seems like it\’s a fit,\” JR said. \”At least now they have a fighting chance to get Roman over as a viable something. It\’s not, \’Is he a tweener? Is he a fan favourite? Is he a villain?\’ We know pretty much what he\’s going to be with Heyman.\”

    Roman Reigns returned to WWE programming after months of absence during the SummerSlam PPV and he attacked both Bray Wyatt and Braun Strowman during his comeback.

    The former Shield member then cemented his heel turn by forming an alliance with Paul Heyman and Heyman has since helped Reigns recapture the Universal Championship.

  • Chris Jericho Reveals He Wrote Rusev\’s Debut Promo In AEW

    Former US Champion Rusev made his AEW debut as Miro during the latest episode of Dynamite after getting his release from WWE earlier this year and Chris Jericho believes that the company will regret letting him go.

    Y2J talked about Miro\’s debut on his current promotion during his Saturday Night Special stream and revealed that they have been considering signing the former champion ever since he was released from his contract.

    Jericho continued by claiming that he has always been a fan of Rusev and while he fell through the cracks in WWE, the company will regret releasing him:

    \”I\’ve always been a fan of his. He\’s another guy, who, for whatever reason, fell through the cracks there [in WWE] and they are going to regret letting him go,\”

    Chris Jericho also revealed that he helped write Rusev\’s debut promo in AEW where the newest AEW star took some serious shots at his former employers:

    \”When he indirectly mentioned WWE, talking about the glass ceiling and brass ring, that was actually my line. He couldn\’t believe he could say that on Live television. When he asked me, \’can we actually say that?\’ I was like, \’yes, you can say whatever you want here [in AEW].\’\”

    Rusev was released from WWE as part of their budget cuts in April earlier this year and after months of rumors, he finally made his AEW debut during last week\’s episode of Dynamite.

  • AJ Styles Comments On Roman Reigns Joining Forces With Paul Heyman

    AJ Styles infamously left the Raw roster to get away from Paul Heyman but the ECW founder has since found his way onto the Blue Brand\’s roster as well.

    The Phenomenal One returned for his weekly twitch stream recently where he talked about a number of things including his most memorable title win, Shane McMahon possibly taking over Raw and more.

    A fan asked Styles about Reigns\’ pairing with the former Raw Executive Director during the stream and the former TNA star said that it\’s surprising for him too:

    \”It\’s surprising, isn\’t it, he fought with Brock for so long and now he\’s associating himself with Paul Heyman. It\’s surprising. I would love to know how that came about.\”

    Also Read: AJ Styles: WWE Talent “Despise” Paul Heyman For Being A Liar

    AJ also commented on the reports of Brock Lesnar becoming a free agent and rumors about his future, claiming that he doesn\’t know what the future holds for the Beast Incarnate:

    \”Is Brock done? Are we not going to see him anymore? Is his contract up? I don\’t know. I hear the rumors just like you guys. Everyone always assumes that we know what\’s going on, but that\’s rarely ever the case.\”

    For those who don\’t know, Roman Reigns returned to WWE programming during the SummerSlam PPV. He attacked Braun Strowman and Bray Wyatt after their match on the show, turning heel in the process.

    Reigns then aligned himself with Paul Heyman on the following episode of SmackDown and Heyman has since helped the Big Dog recapture the Universal Championship.

  • The Rock Reveals He And His Family Tested Positive For Coronavirus

    Former WWE Champion The Rock revealed in an Instagram post that he and his immediate family have contracted COVID-19 and they are currently recovering from the coronavirus.

    The Great One posted a video on the social site and he revealed that he along with his wife Lauren Hashian and the two daughters from his current marriage Tiana and Jasmine have tested positive.

    https://www.instagram.com/tv/CEppiNRlpvs/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading

    The Rock also has another daughter in Simone from his first marriage. The young star is currently signed to a development deal in WWE and it appears that she hasn\’t caught the virus.

    In the video, the former World Champion talked about the positive tests and said that this has been one of the most difficult things they have had to endure as a family.

    Though The Rock later mentioned that they are now doing better. The People\’s Champion claimed that they are \”on the other end\” of their recovery and he revealed that they are no longer contagious.

    It was revealed by the Hollywood star that they caught the virus from a very close family friend. He added that the friends are devastated over what happened and they do not have an idea of where they got the virus from.

    We at SEScoops wish the Great One and his family a speedy recovery.

  • Pat McAfee Reveals His Contractual Status With WWE After Takeover: XXX Debut

    While Adam Cole won their bout at the NXT Takeover: XXX event, Pat McAfee managed to impress everyone with his performance and many believed that he stole the show during his in-ring debut for WWE.

    Since then people have been wondering if the former NFL player will return to WWE ring in the future and it appears that the young star is not sure about his future either.

    McAfee was asked about his plans during his ESPN interview and answering the question, the former Football Punter said that he is not 100% sure. He then revealed that he is not under contract with the company for another match:

    \”I\’m not 100% sure what\’s going to happen. I\’m not under contract to do anything else with Mr. H. I assume he and I will talk about this at some point because I heard his comments in the press conference afterward, which were very nice.\”

    Pat continued by explaining that before the PPV he was in the mindset of worrying about the show and letting everything else sort itself out. McAfee claimed that he will feel good if he never gets in the ring again:

    \”But for me, all I was worried about was that match at NXT TakeOver: XXX and then I\’ll let everything else kind of sort itself out. And I think that\’s where I\’m at right now. I feel good. If I never get in the ring again, I\’ll be very thankful for the opportunity and I\’ll be proud of it.\”

    Though he also said that if something pops up which is right, he wouldn\’t mind returning to the ring. Pat McAfee said that he has only started thinking about it in the last few days and he still has no idea what the future holds for him.

    While the Football analyst is saying that he is not sure about his future, WWE offering him a contract looks inevitable and it would be interesting to see if McAfee will accept the offer.

  • Jon Moxley Reveals How He Was Convinced to Join AEW

    Former WWE World Heavyweight Champion Chris Jericho had announced his association with AEW long before the promotion took off but Jon Moxley was the first real big star to jump ships from WWE to the upstart promotion.

    The former Shield member recently had an interview with Wrestling Observer Radio where he talked about things like his time in WWE and more.

    During the interview, he revealed how his deal with AEW came to be. Mox recalled that Tony Khan and Cody Rhodes came to his house for a meeting and explained their plans in details:

    \”Tony and Cody came to my house and we talked about wrestling, and what we thought it should be, and what we wanted it to be, and then they\’re telling me about TNT and all this stuff, and it\’s real and this is actually going to happen.

    This isn\’t just a bunch of false promises. I\’m like, \’Okay, well if that stuff is true, then alright, I\’m in.\’\” recalled Moxley, \”I gave my word on that day, like, \’I\’m in\’ and there we go.\”

    During the interview, he also revealed that despite being the current IWGP US Champion, he does not have an active contract with NJPW at the moment.

    Jon Moxley had signed a contract with the company for his initial run up until Wrestle Kingdom 14 but after that, they have been working with only a verbal agreement.

  • Update On Austin Theory\’s Disappearance From WWE TV

    Austin Theory hasn\’t been seen on the WWE programming for a while and not a lot of details have been revealed about the former Evolve Champion\’s sudden disappearance from the company.

    A report previously said that the young star was on an \’announced suspension\’ within the promotion but at the time, the reason for this apparent punishment for the WWE star was not revealed.

    Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer opened up on the story a bit more recently and he suggested that Theory has some serious accusations against him:

    “There’s an allegation against him and then he disappeared. It’s not an injury or anything like that. Is that why? [WWE] may go and say he had a car accident.

    I think that Seth Rollins said that – he used some term like ‘personal reason’ and he’ll be back so I presume that it’s a Patrick Clark [Velveteen Dream] type of story.”

    WWE seems to be taking things seriously in the case of the former NXT star so if the allegation against Austin Theory are proved then it could even mean the end of his career in the company.

    However, Meltzer did not reveal a lot of details on his case so it\’s hard to say how serious things are and if there is any chance of the high flying star returning to WWE TV anytime soon. We\’ll keep you updated on his status.

  • WWE Reportedly \’Ripped Up\’ Script For Raw An Hour Before The Show

    Stop us if you\’ve heard this one before – chaos behind the scenes at a WWE TV taping and another script completely overhauled just before showtime.

    Sunday\’s SummerSlam pay-per-view was very well-received. Fans on social media and wrestling pundits alike gave the show high marks. The next WWE PPV, Payback takes place this Sunday. WWE had a lot of pieces to put in place with less than one week before two special events. Whatever WWE had written for Monday\’s Raw, those plans were discarded with very little time before the show went on the air.

    According to veteran wrestling journalist Mike Johnson, WWE boss Vince McMahon arrived at the ThunderDome around an hour before Raw as was set to go live. Vince reviewed the script and \’ripped it up\’ around 7:20 PM.

    \”WWE pretty much ripped up the entire show around 7:20 PM, PWInsider.com has been told. Vince McMahon arrived at the taping around that time and at that point, began changing \”just about everything\” that was planned.\”

    The company is said to have changed most of the things that were planned for the episode and plans for the second and third hour were still not locked until very late.

    This is not the first time we are hearing such news. Reports of things being changed late on the day of the shows have become somewhat common for WWE.

    While many times these last-minute changes end up working in the favor of the company, more often than not they result in inconsistencies in the storylines and create confusion among fans.

    This week\’s episode of the Red Branded Show featured the build-up for the upcoming Payback PPV with the company booking almost half the card for the event in one night.

    What did you think about this week\’s episode of Monday Night Raw after the late changes? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.

  • WWE Payback: 4 Matches Set For Sunday\’s PPV

    With only a week of gap between SummerSlam and Payback, it was inevitable that WWE would book several matches for the short-notice PPV on this week\’s episode of Raw.

    That expectation was realized as WWE announced three title matches (and Keith Lee\’s main roster debut) Monday night at the ThunderDome.

    The first match which was announced earlier was the return bout for Roman Reigns who will be involved in a triple threat match against Braun Strowman and \’The Fiend\’ Bray Wyatt for the Universal Championship.

    The company has also announced a United States title match between Apollo Crews and Bobby Lashley and a rematch between Randy Orton and Keith Lee for the Payback PPV after their bout on Raw ended in a disqualification.

    Though probably the most surprising match which was announced is for the Women\’s Tag Team Championships.

    It will see the current champions Bayley and Sasha Banks defending their titles against the unlikely team of Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler.

    This match was put together after Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler had several interactions during the show and Jax managed to convince the former NXT Women\’s Champion that they can win the tag titles together.

    WWE Payback Card

    The Payback PPV will be taking place this Sunday, August 30 from the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida. You can check out the current standing match card for the event below:

    • Universal Championship Triple Threat No Holds Barred Match: Roman Reigns vs. Braun Strowman vs. \”The Fiend\” Bray Wyatt
    • Women\’s Tag Team Championship Match: Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler vs. Sasha Banks and SmackDown Women\’s Champion Bayley
    • United States Championship Match: Bobby Lashley vs. Apollo Crews
    • Singles Match: Randy Orton vs. Keith Lee

  • Aleister Black Returns On Raw, Turns Heel On Kevin Owens

    Aleister Black has turned heel for the first time in his career in WWE.

    Last night\’s SummerSlam event saw Kevin Owens inviting Aleister Black to the KO Show on Raw and the company later confirmed the former NXT Champion\’s return to WWE TV.

    Black then made his first appearance in almost a month during the Red Branded Show and he came out covering one eye, still selling the attack from Murphy and Seth Rollins which originally put him out of action.

    Kevin then tried to interview the former NXT star but Aleister stumbled out of the seat. The former Universal Champion stopped to check on him and called for help from the back.

    However, the returning star decked Owens and then dropped him with a Black Mass, turning heel in the process for the first time in his WWE career.

    The former NXT Champion took on his Twitter after the show to comment on his actions and he wrote \”Let us begin.\” You can check out his tweet and some photos and video of the segment below:

    https://twitter.com/WWEAleister/status/1298060098418479104?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

    There is no word on what the company is planning for Aleister Black after this heel turn but a feud with Kevin Owens seems to be the immediate plans for the former indie star.

  • AJ Styles Reveals His Entrance Music Was Originally Made For A Different Impact Star

    Former World Champion AJ Styles returned for his Twitch Stream recently to talk with fans and he discussed a number of things including the story behind his ring name and more.

    The Phenomenal One first talked about his early career and how his stint with WCW came to be. Though he said that he is glad that WWE did not pick him up when the company took over WCW because he was not ready.

    Styles finally made it into WWE in 2016 and the former World Champion debuted with a new theme song which has since become synonym with his name. However, he revealed that the song was originally made for James Storm:

    \”As far as entrance music goes, when I first started with WWE, I got in contact with our guy and he goes, \’Hey, tell me kind of what you like, what you don\’t like.\’ And I was like, \’Dude, I\’m kind of a rap guy.\’

    I just told him a bit of what I liked\” said AJ Styles \”And that\’s what they came up with – the music that I have, which is awesome, but, truth be told, it was made for James Storm when he was doing NXT.\”

    After leaving TNA in early 2015, James Storm made a couple of appearances for WWE and he was offered a development contract with the company.

    Though the former TNA Champion chose not to sign with the promotion and he returned to Impact Wrestling in January 2016, around the same time when AJ Styles made his WWE debut.

  • Chris Jericho Reveals Original Plans For His Feud With Shawn Michaels

    Chris Jericho had a memorable feud with Shawn Michaels in 2008. The two WWE veterans feuded for months and had multiple extreme matches during the time. However, Y2J talked about this feud on the latest episode of his Saturday Night Special stream and revealed that the original plans for their rivalry were different.

    Jericho was asked about the favorite matches of his long career and he decided to respond by revealing his favorite matches in different companies. The first match he talked about was his bout with Shawn Michaels at No Mercy 2008 and the former World Champion revealed that originally it was only supposed to be a one night thing:

    \”In WWE, probably my favorite is still Jericho vs. Shawn for the World Title in the ladder match. It was in 2009 maybe, 2008 or 2009, and the reason why is – and I\’ve said it before, but Shawn vs. Jericho, the famous feud that went for basically 7 or 8 months, was just supposed to be a one-night thing.

    Because Shawn and I had nothing else to do as far as nobody else to work with, I thought, \’Why don\’t we try and make this longer, and see how long we can make this go?\’ That\’s what we did, and it turned into this one night only feud, throwaway thing, to the hottest angle possibly ever.\”

    Chris Jericho later also revealed his favorite matches in other companies. He called his bout with Hiroshi Tanahashi at Wrestle Kingdom 14 the favorite match of his NJPW run and said that in AEW, his favorite match is probably the AEW title match between him and Jon Moxley because of the whole storyline behind it.

  • Former NXT Champion Returning On Raw, Sasha Banks Stunned After SummerSlam Loss

    WWE has confirmed via a press release that former NXT Champion Aleister Black will be returning to Raw as a guest on the KO Show this Monday Night.

    His return was set up during the SummerSlam PPV where Kevin Owens did guest commentary and invited the former champion to his talk show during the upcoming episode of Raw.

    Black has been out of action since the July 27 episode of the Red Branded Show where he was attacked by Seth Rollins and then taken out by Murphy. There is no word on what the company is planning for Black but it\’s possible that he rekindles his feud with Rollins and his disciples.

    Sasha Banks Stunned After SummerSlam Loss

    The SummerSlam PPV saw Asuka challenging for not one but two titles on the same night as she faced both the Raw Women\’s Champion Bayley and SmackDown Women\’s Champion Sasha Banks in separate matches.

    While Bayley managed to retain her title during the show, Asuka managed to beat Banks and win the SmackDown Women\’s title after locking the Boss in Asuka lock and making her tap.

    A WWE announcer tried to talk to Sasha Banks backstage after her title loss at the PPV event but the former champion was not ready to give a reaction as seen in the video below: