Author: Anutosh Bajpai

There have been lots of rumours about the WWE status of Adam Cole recently but latest reports suggest that he is going to stay with the company for a long time.

Britt Baker had recently appeared on the AEW Unrestricted podcast and mentioned the NXT Champion\’s history with the Elite. She also hoped that things will come a full circle soon and the NXT star will join AEW in near future.

Some reports that came out after this claimed that Cole\’s current WWE contract is going to expire soon, fuelling the rumours about his future with the company.

However, PWInsider provided some updates on his contract recently and the site claims that the current champion has 18 months left on his current deal with the promotion.

The fact that Adam Cole retained the NXT Championship over Velveteen Dream in the Last Chance Backlot Brawl during the NXT TakeOver: In Your House special also indicates that WWE still has plans for the Undisputed Era leader.

This means that the current NXT Champion Adam Cole will not be leaving WWE anytime soon and while we may see him in AEW somewhere down the line, he still has plenty of time left in his current WWE run.

• Also Read: Backstage News On Backlash Match Between Randy Orton and Edge

WWE has announced a match between Randy Orton and Edge for the upcoming Backlash PPV and the bout is one of the most heavily promoted matches for the show.

Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer recently provided some updates on the match and he revealed that the fight between these two veterans has already been taped.

WWE has been promoting this collision as the \”The Greatest Wrestling Match Ever\” and the taped match was described to be \”really, really good\”

Meltzer further added that it was \”two very smart workers working very hard to have the smartest match they possibly could under the circumstances.\”

Though the reports of other parts of Backlash being taped are false and the rest of the PPV is expected to be broadcasted live from the Performance Center this Sunday.

• Also Read: Triple H Teasing Return Of Live Audience For WWE Shows

Taping this match in advance gives the company a week to do some post-match editing and help the bout live up to the marketing tagline of being the greatest wrestling match.

Edge faced Randy Orton in a last man standing match at WrestleMania 36 from Performance Center which was his first singles match in over 8 years after his surprise in-ring return at Royal Rumble earlier this year.

However, the bout received criticism from fans for its slow pace and after this; Orton challenged Edge to a \”straight-up wrestling match\” at Backlash earlier last month.

MVP is an internationally known pro wrestler due to his stints with WWE. However, he wasn\’t always on a clear path to success and there is a troubled past behind the current achievements of the former US Champion.

The wrestling star joined a gang when he was 12 years old and spent over nine years in prison for armed robbery and kidnapping when he was only 16.

Though WWE still gave him an opportunity for redemption and during his recent appearance on Chasing Glory podcast, MVP revealed what Vince McMahon said to him upon his hiring:

\”When I got to the WWE, I was given an opportunity that society wouldn\’t give me. Society wouldn\’t give me an opportunity to make minimum wage, Vince McMahon said, \’Yeah, you did some bad things, but everybody here gets an opportunity. You\’ve earned an opportunity.\’

He gave me an opportunity to become an internationally known professional wrestling superstar.\” said MVP \”With that came social redemption.\”

• Also Read: Triple H Teasing Return Of Audience For Shows

The WWE star continued by mentioning how he still gets negative comments regarding his past actions but he has served his time in prison and he is a changed man.

MVP originally joined WWE in 2005 and stayed with the promotion till 2010. He returned to the company during Royal Rumble earlier this year and he has been working as a backstage producer and on-screen talent for the promotion since then.

The free tier of WWE Network is finally here.

After months of rumors, WWE has finally confirmed the launch of a free tier for the WWE Network via a press release on their official website this morning.

The free tier will allow fans to access more than 15000 WWE titles without the requirement of a credit card and it\’s available on all platforms via the WWE Network app.

\”WWE today unveiled the Free Version of WWE Network, the company’s award-winning digital streaming service, unlocking a vast portion of its content library with more than 15,000 action-packed WWE titles now available for free.\”

The available programs in the free tier will include latest episodes of Raw, SmackDown and NXT, as well as selected WWE PPVs alongside the usual content available on the company\’s YouTube channel such as Top 10 videos and WWE’s The Bump.

• Also Read: The Nexus Were Reportedly Set To Return At WrestleMania 36

Apart from this, the company has also confirmed earlier rumors of the return of Raw Talk, the aftershow for the company\’s flagship Monday Night program.

The free tier of WWE Network had been rumored for a while and the company had also hinted at the possibility in previous earning calls but they hadn\’t announced any timetable for the same.

Now this announcement from the promotion is surely going to create a buzz among the WWE Universe and it will be interesting to see what other content is available on this tier for the fans.

Update: WWE has now confirmed the return of Raw Talk with the official announcement of a free tier for the WWE Network.

Original: Raw Talk and Talking Smack, the featured talk shows that followed Raw and SmackDown after the return of brand split in 2016 might be coming back to WWE Network, as soon as this week.

The Raw aftershow is currently listed on WWE Network schedule for a premiere at 11 PM EST following this week\’s episode of the Monday night show.

While there is no preview available for the show as of yet, and it could change over the course of the day, the program is currently listed on the Network schedule publically.

In addition to this, WWE Network News is reporting that they had heard a few months back that both Raw Talk and Talking Smack were likely returning to the streaming service.

The shows were planned for the free tier of WWE Network after its redesign. This was prior to the pandemic creating delays for many major plans.

• Also Read: The Nexus Were Reportedly Set To Return At WrestleMania 36

Both Talking Smack and Raw Talk premiered after the company re-introduced the brand split and once again created distinct rosters for both Raw and SmackDown in 2016.

The shows became famous for their unscripted nature and fans started liking the programs because it allowed the stars to show some more personality outside of regular WWE programming and gave screen time to the underutilized talents.

The return of these shows has not been confirmed officially but the possibility is enticing and we will have to keep an eye on how the story develops throughout the day.

WWE mentioned on their programming this week that all the talents have been tested for coronavirus but latest report on the matter disputes these claims.

On the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer discussed these claims and he reports that the company did not actually test any of the superstars for COVID-19.

Their testing policy included doing temperature checks on people and asking them if they did not feel well. Previous reports have suggested that they made the talents fill a form asking them about any coronavirus related symptoms.

Many people in the company were \”shocked\” at this, considering the fact that UFC fighters have tested positive for coronavirus in the past even after passing temperature checks.

It has previously been reported that many people within the promotion are not comfortable being part of these shows in the current environment but they have continued working due to fear of their jobs.

WWE has started using development talent for their programming from this week to add some noise and excitement to their empty arena shows.

Now this report on their coronavirus testing policy creates big concerns regarding the health of wrestlers, not only the ones performing in the ring, but the ones being used outside of the squared circle as well.

AEW has removed a match from this week\’s episode of their YouTube series AEW Dark after some controversial tweets from one of the involving wrestlers have come to light.

Indie wrestler Clutch Adams was announced to face the self-proclaimed chairman of the company Shawn Spears in a one on one match this week.

However, the company vice president Cody Rhodes was made aware of a series of tweets containing homophobic and racial slurs made by the wrestler seven years ago by the fans.

After this revelation, the AEW official announced on Twitter that Adams\’ match has been removed from the upcoming episode of Dark and the company\’s official twitter confirmed the same:

Clutch Adams\’ had made his AEW debut during the May 19th episode of Dark where he competed against QT Marshall. There is no news on his future with the company but he is most likely done with the promotion.

It appears that the indie stars\’ Twitter profile has since been deleted or made private as it\’s no longer accessible. Below is the updated line up for the AEW Dark episode for Tuesday:

• Billy Gunn with Austin Gunn vs. John Skyler
• Brandon Cutler and Peter Avalon with Leva Bates vs. QT Marshall and Dustin Rhodes with Brandi Rhodes
• The Butcher and The Blade with The Bunny vs. Jon Cruz and Joe Alonzo
• Santana and Ortiz vs. Big Game Leroy and EJ Lewis

The Montreal Screwjob is one of the most notorious incidents in the wrestling history and the Undertaker, who was the locker room leader at the time, was not very happy about it.

The Dead Man recently appeared on The Bill Simmons Podcast where he talked about a number of things and also discussed the infamous incident.

Revealing his reaction to the screwjob, Taker claimed that he was \’p***ed\’ about the whole thing and he felt that he could have been used to get what they needed:

 \”I was p***ed about the whole thing because I felt like I possibly could have been used to get what we need. Take Shawn out of this, let me do it, and then I\’ll do business on the other side and I think Bret probably would\’ve gone with that.

\”There was such disdain at that time between the two of them, but I was just at the point where if you would\’ve just come to me with this too I think I could\’ve helped this whole thing out.\” said The Undertaker. \”I\’m right here and you know I\’m going to do business. It happened and I was really p***ed.\”

• Also Read: The Nexus Were Reportedly Set To Return At WrestleMania 36

The former World Champion continued by saying that he was really disappointed in the whole situation. He also talked to Vince McMahon and told the boss to involve him if something like that happened again because it didn\’t have to go down like that.

It\’s interesting to note here that Earl Hebner, who was the referee for the match between Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart recently had an interview and he claimed that the Montreal Screwjob was a work. You can check out his comments at this link.

Drew McIntyre is one of the few guys in WWE who are allowed to cut their own promos and who don’t have to use the script given to him by the writers word to word.

The WWE Champion recently had an interview with SportsKeeda where he talked about a number of things and discussed the change from scripted to unscripted promos.

McIntyre explained that inevitably, it comes down to Vince McMahon being cool with everything and he revealed how Paul Heyman helped him get the approval:

\”I mean, inevitably, it comes down to Vince McMahon being cool with everything and, if it\’s working, he\’s going to be cool with it.

I think, like, a Paul Heyman knows exactly who I am, what I\’m capable of and what I was doing outside of the company, and was maybe looking for that opportunity to let me be myself, to allow Mr McMahon to see that.\”

• Also Read: Backstage Update On Chris DeJoseph’s WWE Departure

Drew McIntyre then recalled a promo he cut after an episode of Raw and the Executive Director of the show told him that it was the start of his transition from a TV character to just being himself.

Apart from this, Drew McIntyre talked about how he doesn\’t use the script given to him by WWE writers and more. You can check out his full interview at this link.

Alexa Bliss suffered multiple concussions during her 2018 Hell In A Cell match with Ronda Rousey and she was out of action for an extended period of time.

The former Women\’s Champion stayed out of action for almost 5 months and during this time, there were many rumours about her in-ring career possibly coming to an end.

During a recent interview with BT Sport, Bliss talked about the time and revealed that she also didn\’t know if she was going to be back in the ring again:

\”It was very scary because I didn\’t know if I was going to be able to get back in the ring again, because you know we\’ve had a lot of WWE Superstars have to retire from that.

And you know, I didn\’t want to be one of those.\” said Alexa Bliss \”But with concussions it\’s such a dangerous thing because it could take a week to heal or it could take a year. You can\’t just wrap a brain up in a cast and hope it heals.\”

• Also Read: Nexus Were Reportedly Scheduled To Return At WrestleMania 36

The former NXT star then revealed that all of her other symptoms were gone but she was experiencing a really bad vertigo for an extended period of time.

Though Alexa Bliss did manage to recover from the injury and she returned to the ring during the 2019 Royal Rumble event. She has formed a team with Nikki Cross since then and the duo currently holds the Women\’s Tag Team Championships.

You can check out her full interview in the video below:

The Undertaker has been one of the last protectors of kayfabe but he has started to open up a little bit in recent years by joining social media and giving off character interviews.

The next step in this journey is The Last Ride documentary series on WWE network which documents the thought process of the Dead Man from recent years.

During a new interview with Busted Open Radio, Taker talked about the documentary and revealed that they originally started filming things before his WrestleMania 33 match with Roman Reigns, because he thought it was going to be his last bout:

\”It\’s kind of strange how [The Last Ride] came about and this process. We didn\’t start with the process of, \’Let\’s make a documentary.\’ This original concept just started, because when I got to Orlando [for WrestleMania 33] and was going to work with Roman, in my mind that was going to be it.

So I just wanted [the footage], because I protected this character for so long,, and I didn\’t know what we were going to do with the footage but I knew that I wanted it and I knew I wasn\’t going to have another opportunity to get it.\”

The Undertaker faced Roman Reigns in a one on one match in the main event of WrestleMania 33. The Dead Man lost this bout and he left his coat and hat in the ring afterwards, signalling the end of his character.

However, Vince McMahon managed to pursue the Attitude Era star to return to the ring and he has competed in a number of big matches since then.

• Also Read: The Nexus Were Reportedly Scheduled To Return At WrestleMania 36

The coronavirus outbreak forced WWE to change a lot of their plans for WrestleMania 36 and a new interview reveals that the COVID-19 crisis forced them to nix a huge angle for the show involving the Nexus.

Former WWE star Darren Young recently had an interview with the VP Show where he revealed an interesting angle that was planned for the show.

The former Nexus member claimed that the group was set to make its return during this year\’s edition of the Show Of Shows but the plans were canceled:

“If Nexus would’ve come back… and who knows what would’ve happened, but we were scheduled to come back for WrestleMania. Yeah, this year’s WrestleMania in Tampa.”

The Nexus debuted on WWE television in June 2010. It originally consisted of eight rookies from the first season of NXT, including current stars such as Daniel Bryan and Heath Slater.

There have been reports that WWE had planned a big angle that would have unfolded over the weeks in spring and summer which the promotion canceled due to the coronavirus.

Now after this revelation, the big question is if the Nexus reunion was the angle the company had planned and if the officials could still execute it somewhere down the line.

• Also Read: WWE Bans New Move From In-Ring Action

It was recently confirmed that WWE has furloughed Nigel McGuinness and now another release has been confirmed, though this time it\’s an off-screen personality who has been let go by the company.

According to reports from Wrestling Observer, the company has released Chris DeJoseph, who was the lead writer of SmackDown under the Executive Director Bruce Prichard.

DeJoseph previously had a run with the company in the mid-2000s. He was also used as an on-screen character during the time under the ring name Bick Dick Johnson.

He returned to the company last year in December and started working with the promotion again beginning with the TLC PPV.

• Also Read: Update On Vice’s Dark Side Of The Ring Season 3

Chris\’ release is even more surprising because he had received a promotion in the company in the last week and he was at the TV tapings earlier this week.

There is no news yet on why he was let go by the officials but reports suggest that it has nothing to do with the budget cuts related to the COVID 19-crisis.

Chris DeJoseph is not the only big backstage name that has left the company recently and Vice President of Global Television Production Michael Mansury also recently parted ways with the promotion.

Rhea Ripley became the inaugural Women\’s Champion on WWE\’s NXT UK brand and her career in the company has been on the rise ever since.

However, during a recent appearance on the Wrestling Friends podcast, the former champion discussed a number of things and she also revealed that she wasn\’t originally going to win the title.

Rhea revealed that she wasn\’t supposed to make it past the second round of the tournament that was held for the crowning of the inaugural champion, but she somehow ended up winning the whole thing:

“It was a wild couple of days. I don\’t think I was supposed to make it past the second round. I don\’t really know what happened, everything just kept changing. They kept changing the matches, everything.

Going into the final with Toni, I wasn\’t supposed to be in the finals.\” said Rhea Ripley \”I don\’t know what happened in the meetings or what was said or done, but somehow I won the whole tournament.\”

• Also Read: Britt Baker On If Adam Cole Is Allowed To Attend AEW Shows

The female star joined NXT UK in 2018 during the shows\’ premiere. She competed in the tournament for the crowning of the inaugural women\’s champion of the brand and defeated Toni Storm in the finals to win the title.

Ripley has become a fan favourite since then and she has been featured regularly on WWE programming. After losing the NXT UK title, she had a reign with the NXT Women\’s Championship and she competed at this year\’s edition of WrestleMania as well.

A lot of famous WWE superstars have ended up in the company by coincidence and the story of the current United States Champion Apollo Crews is something similar.

The new champion appeared on this week\’s episode of WWE Backstage and among other things; he also revealed how music artist Wale and WWE Hall Of Famer Mark Henry played a part in getting him into the company.

Crews explained that the music star messaged him on Twitter after seeing his work. He got in contact with Mark Henry and the WWE Hall Of Famer then arranged a tryout for him:

\”Wale messaged me on Twitter about 2013 or something like that. He was like, ‘I just got hip to all your work. I love it. How can we get you in the WWE? At the time, I was just traveling around in England and Japan, just enjoying what I was doing.

He gets in contact with Mark Henry who sees my work and he gets me a tryout.\” recalled Apollo Crews. \”A couple of weeks later I get an email from Canyon Ceman saying they want to bring me down to Orlando for a tryout and I was like there’s no way this is real.”

The US Champion took part in a WWE tryout camp in October 2014 and he was then offered a development contract. He reported to the Performance Center in April 2015 and the former NXT star has been a part of the WWE roster ever since.

Apollo Crews made his main roster debut in April 2016. He recently won his first title in WWE, defeating Andrade for the United States Championship at this week\’s episode of Raw.

• Also Read: Britt Baker On If Adam Cole Is Allowed To Attend AEW Shows

The Undertaker has been doing media rounds to promote his The Last Ride documentary series and in the spree he recently had an interview with Pardon My Take podcast. During the interview, the former World Champion was asked about the worst bump he has ever taken and The Dead Man recalled one of his old matches with Yokozuna where he gave the Monster Sized Athlete a flying DDT.

Taker explained that Yokozuna hit the mat half a second before him and it drove up a piece of wood. The wood caught him in the ribs and it broke a couple of his ribs. According to the wrestling legend, it was a pretty painful experience. The Last Outlaw then also talked about his recent Super Showdown match with Goldberg and discussed a \’nearly catastrophic\’ bump he took during the bout:

\”Obviously, I\’ve had a few recently. The bump that I had in Saudi when I was working with Goldberg, I think that one was a couple of inches from being catastrophic.\” said the Undertaker. \”The way I hit on that one, it kind of set out nerve impulses to all of my injuries at once. It was like an electrical charge went through my body.\”

• Also Read: Goldberg Reflects On Wrestling The Undertaker At Super ShowDown

The Attitude Era star also talked about the various types of matches he has competed in and said that he always trusted the company and never objected to any kind of match. The Undertaker faced Goldberg at Super Showdown 2019. The former WCW Champion got concussed early in the match and his condition resulted in many failed spots. The bout attracted a lot of criticism from the fans after the show.

The death of Owen Hart is one of the most tragic incidents in the history of wrestling and it has been in talks recently due to the release of a documentary on the matter.

Former World Champion Edge recently had an interview with Inside The Ropes where he talked about a number of things and he also discussed the unfortunate incident.

During the interview, Edge revealed how he found out about Owen\’s death. He recalled how he had left the building before the show and they got a call from Luna Vachon:

\”We actually left the building because we weren\’t on the show, I think Luna called Dave (Gangrel) because we were riding together and told us, and we went to the hospital. Jeff was the only one there, and we just sat.

We knew, but we just sat there.\” said Edge. \”We sat there for hours just thinking that can\’t be real, how is that real? Even to this day, it just doesn\’t seem real.\”

• Also Read: Kofi Kingston On Shad Gaspard’s Impact On People Around Him

The Rated R Superstar also discussed his match with Hart during WWF Breakdown: In Your House PPV in 1998, saying that it was a dream come true.

Edge said that he used to daydream about wrestling Owen Hart and he recalled a compliment he got from the former WWE star after their bout.

Kofi Kingston was one of the stars who attended the beach memorial service held for the former WWE star Shad Gaspard after his passing earlier this month.

The New Day member was the recent guest on WWE Backstage where he talked about a number of things and discussed the impact of Shad Gaspard on the people around him.

Kingston dubbed Shad as a \’gentle giant\’ who enjoyed the presence of other people. He continued by saying that his impact on people\’s lives was emphasized by the number of persons who attended his memorial:

\”On the inside, he was kind of a gentle giant who really enjoyed the presence of other people, and it was shown by being there on that beach with all of those people, I looked around several times saying, \’man, Shad really had an impact.\’

\”It\’s really unfortunate for his wife [and] his son, but with a glass half full mentality, it really emphasizes how important it is to live your life, with enthusiasm, with passion and kindness.\” said Kofi Kingston. \”So that way, when the day comes, when you do get called to a different place, you have left an impact, and Shad, 100 percent, left an impact.\”

Shad Gaspard passed away after being caught up in a riptide at Venice Beach, California earlier this month. Lifeguards had reached out to the former wrestler but he asked them to help his 10-year-old son first.

Gaspard unfortunately got crushed by another large wave before rescuers can reach back to him. People from around the world including present and past wrestlers like Kofi Kingston and The Rock have since paid their tribute to the former WWE star.

• Also Read: Seth Rollins On Roman Reigns Taking Time Off From WWE