SEScoops

Author: Anutosh Bajpai

  • The Young Bucks On Turning Down Tony Khan\’s Initial Offer To Join AEW

    The Young Bucks alongside other members of the Elite were one of the first stars to sign with AEW and their signing helped the company in convincing other stars that their promotion was something real.

    However, while appearing on the latest episode of AEW Unrestricted podcast, the brothers discussed their start with the promotion and revealed that they had actually refused the initial offer from Tony Khan.

    Matt Jackson first recalled how he was the first person to pick up the phone from the AEW President because everyone else thought that he was crazy.

    Nick Jackson then explained how he didn\’t believe Khan either and said \”I didn\’t believe him. He actually reached out to me and [I] said nope,\” Nick said. \”I\’ve heard this story multiple times throughout my career.\”

    The AEW Vice President continued by saying that at the time, they were negotiating with every company in the world and he had told his brother to go with something they knew:

    \”At that time, we were negotiating with literally every company in the world that was involved in wrestling, so this was another thing, and I was like there\’s no way this is gonna be real because here we have these real companies offering the world to us. At that point, I [was like], \’Matt, let\’s go with something we know\’.\”

    The Young Bucks then explained that they wanted to become writers and bookers but no one believed in them and they signed with AEW because the company gave them the chance to be themselves.

    While it started slow, AEW has become one of the top wrestling companies of the world in the past year. It became clear that they will be sticking around when the promotion signed a new multi-year deal with TNT.

    Quotes via WrestlingInc

  • Jon Moxley Makes Cameo Appearance On WWE Backstage (Video)

    The current AEW World Champion Jon Moxley formerly known as Dean Ambrose made a surprise cameo on this week\’s episode of WWE Backstage.

    Since the F1S studio is closed due to the coronavirus epidemic, the stars were filming content from their homes, which included the co-hosts Renee Young and Booker T and WWE star Xavier Woods.

    The three of them were watching the WrestleMania 25 match between The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels and Mox made a sudden appearance as Booker was talking.

    The AEW World Champion was also in the home due to the outbreak and he decided to scare his wife with a dog and jumped behind her.

    Both Xavier and Booker T burst into laughter over this and Young also commented on her husband\’s surprise appearance later saying \”recording from home, babe.” You can check out a video of the incident below:

    Jon Moxley left WWE earlier last year after his contract expired in May. Since then, he has signed a contract with AEW which allows him to work indie events and he is allowed to wrestle for NJPW as well.

    Mox won the AEW World Championship from Chris Jericho at the Revolution PPV in February and he also holds the IWGP United States Championship.

  • Backstage News On Plans For Seth Rollins\’ Stable After Rezar\’s Injury

    One half of the tag team AOP, Rezar suffered a biceps injury earlier this month and latest reports reveal the changes it has forced WWE to make to Seth Rollins\’ stable.

    According to the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the decision right now is not to use Akam without his partner and there are no plans for either of them to appear on WWE TV.

    This means that the stable of Seth Rollins which consisted of the former NXT Tag Team Champions and Murphy has now been reduced to only the team of Murphy and Rollins.

    Rezar suffered a torn biceps during the March 9th episode of Raw while competing in an 8 man tag team match with his partners against The Viking Raiders and The Street Profits.

    The injury occurred when the former NXT star took a crossbody from Montez Ford. While Rezar managed to catch the crossbody, his biceps went out.

    He has undergone surgery to repair the torn biceps and the Raw star is expected to stay out of action for 7-8 months. This means that AOP could stay out until after SummerSlam.

    Seth Rollins is currently scheduled to face Kevin Owens at WrestleMania in a one on one match and there are speculations of the company adding another team to his group but there is no confirmation for the same.

    There are also rumors of Samoa Joe possibly getting involved in the storyline again after his suspension ended but we will have to wait and see if it turns out to be the case.

  • Stephanie McMahon Details WWE\’s Precautions Against Coronavirus

    The whole world is cutting down on non-essential operations but WWE is still running their shows, although they are doing it at closed facilities with no audience and bringing only the essential personnel for the events.

    During a recent interview with Variety, WWE executive Stephanie McMahon talked about the current situation and also detailed their precautions against the coronavirus spread.

    The former Raw Commissioner first discussed how talents are milling about at a typical WWE event but she stressed that this isn\’t the case anymore:

    \”There’s extensive testing and screening when you first come in the facility regardless of whether you’re a talent, a crew member, or anyone else.

    Working with our doctors, you have your temperature taken. If you have a temperature over 100.4 degrees, you are automatically asked to leave.”

    WWE had previously released a statement on the matter as well and in response to a question, the company had confirmed that all WWE staff are required to participate in medical screening before entering the Performance Center.

    Stephanie McMahon On Talents Coming From Other Countries

    WWE stars are constantly on road and many of the talents who are not working on the current programming are often sent to other countries on promotional events.

    Revealing the promotion\’s strategy for talents who have been to other countries recently, Stephanie McMahon said that they are taking every precaution they can:

    “If you’ve been out of the country or been in touch or in contact with anybody who’s been out of the country you’re not allowed in the facility, we’re taking every precaution we can.\”

    Stephanie McMahon also took a shot a AEW while talking about WWE taking precautions to protect its talent.

    \”It’s also why you don’t see talent or anyone else in the audience. We really are adhering to all the guidelines that we can to maintain the health and safety of our crew and our performers.”

    In the wake of the current coronavirus outbreak, the company has announced that WrestleMania 36 will be held without an audience and it will be a two-night event this year.

  • Roman Reigns Removed From WrestleMania Match Against Goldberg

    Roman Reigns has been removed from WrestleMania.

    Pro Wrestling Sheet is reporting that the former World Champion recently let WWE know that he did not feel comfortable doing any more of the Performance Center shows amidst the coronavirus pandemic.

    Roman was concerned about his well being because he is immunocompromised from his previous battle with leukemia and he didn\’t want to risk his health.

    The company officials honored his request and they will be replacing Reigns in the upcoming Universal Championship match against Goldberg.

    So far there is no word on who the company will choose as the replacement for the former Shield member at the show but we should get a better idea on tomorrow\’s episode of SmackDown Live.

    Roman Reigns\’ Battle With Leukemia

    Roman Reigns\’ battle with leukemia is well documented and he was first diagnosed with the disease when he was only 22 years old. This diagnosis is believed to be the reason why he had to retire from football.

    His cancer returned in 2018, which forced the WWE star to relinquish his Universal Championship in October that year and leave the company for his treatment.

    Reigns returned to the promotion in February 2019 where he announced that his leukemia was once again in remission and the former Champion received a huge ovation from the crowd.

  • Killer Kross Shown During Final Segment On NXT (Video)

    WWE had been airing strange vignettes on NXT from the past few weeks. There was a lot of speculation that Killer Kross could be behind the promos and this doubt was confirmed during the latest episode of the show.

    The final segment of this week\’s episode of NXT saw Triple H bringing both Johnny Gargano and Tomasso Ciampa face to face for a confrontation and the Game then announced that in 2 weeks, he will find an empty building for the two to fight in and end their feud.

    However, as soon as he was finished, another \’coming soon\’ teaser appeared on the big screen at the entrance ramp, leaving the stars in the ring puzzled.

    Killer Kross Finally Appears On NXT TV

    The video featured the same images we have seen in previous videos over the weeks, but this time the newest WWE signee Kross also made an appearance.

    The video had a promo as well. It was believed to be in the voice of Scarlett Bordeaux who was also recently signed by the company to the development brand.

    The promo as seen below, is believed to be in Romanian and roughly translates to: \”Only the man will win and if you lose, the weaker man is done. Now you\’ll all see pain … there\’s a very dangerous man coming. The clock ticks at midnight and the end is near.”

    There is no word yet on when Killer Kross will make his NXT debut or where the match between Ciampa and Gargano will be held but we\’ll keep you posted on the matter.

  • Seth Rollins On His WrestleMania Match Being Moved To PC: \”It\’s The Best Thing That Could Have Happen\”

    The ongoing feud between Seth Rollins and Kevin Owens will conclude in a match at WrestleMania 36, though it will be taking place at the Performance Center with no audience instead of a packed Raymond James Stadium.

    However, The Architect is not upset that this bout will not be taking place in front of any fans and he instead believes that this change is the best thing that could have happened.

    Rollins shared this belief when he recently appeared on WWE\’s The Bump and the former World Champion explained that both of them have a lot of history in the building:

    \”The relocation from the Raymond James Stadium to the Performance Center is maybe the best thing that could have happened to this match between myself, and Kevin Owens, there\’s so much history that Kevin and I both had in NXT and in this building.

    I sort of detailed it a few nights ago on Raw. But, it really adds a different element to our match. Though we won\’t have a live crowd there, we\’ll have millions of people watching around the world, and that\’s very exciting to know that we\’re going to have this match here, where it all started.\”

    Seth Rollins then recalled how he was in attendance when Owens had his tryout match at the PC and the former Universal Champion claimed that he allowed Kevin the opportunity because of the sacrifices he has made.

    Later in the interview, the former Champion said that Owens has a love for the wrestling business but he is misguided and his judgment has been clouded in the past five years. You can check out the episode of the Bump featuring Rollins below:

    Quotes via WrestlingInc

  • Daniel Bryan On How Brock Lesnar Helped Him Transit Into \’The New\’ Daniel Bryan

    Daniel Bryan returned to in-ring action at WrestleMania 34 in 2018 and six months later, he turned heel for the first time since 2012 by beating AJ Styles for the WWE Championship right before the Survivor Series PPV.

    However, it took the former World Champion some time to get into his new character and during his recent appearance on the Bump; Bryan explained how his match with Brock Lesnar at the PPV helped him embrace his new character.

    The former NXT star first said that he doesn\’t consider his defeat in the bout a loss. He then claimed that he wanted Lesnar to beat the \’old Daniel Bryan\’ out of him, which the Beast did a very good job at:

    \”I don\’t consider that I lost that match, they never mention this on WWE TV at all. I was transitioning from the old \’Yes\’ Daniel Bryan to the \’New\’ Daniel Bryan. I really wanted to antagonize Brock Lesnar, to beat me up as much as he could because I felt he needed to beat the old Daniel Bryan out of me, and I feel like he did a very good job at that.\”

    AJ Styles was originally expected to face the then Universal Champion Brock Lesnar at Survivor Series 2018. However, Daniel beat the Phenomenal One on the PPV go-home episode of SmackDown Live using a low blow.

    The former Nexus Member embraced this heel turn in the coming weeks after the PPV and introduced the people to a \’New\’ Daniel Bryan after the show.

    Quotes via WrestlingInc

  • Teddy Long On WWE Nixing Vince McMahon\’s Funeral Angle After Chris Benoit Tragedy

    The Chris Benoit tragedy shook the whole wrestling world and it also forced WWE to change their planned storylines for the weeks after the incident. One such thing that the company had planned was the funeral of Vince McMahon after the Boss was involved in a limo accident the previous week on Raw.

    Former SmackDown General Manager Teddy Long, who was present backstage for the episode when the news broke, talked about the night during his recent interview with WrestlingInc. Long first discussed being backstage at the show and recalling the change of plans that night, the former WWE referee said that it was unreal:

    \”We were in Corpus Christi, Texas and were getting ready to do TV. That Corpus Christi TV was the day we were gonna have Vince McMahon\’s funeral. They had the coffin and everything there and that\’s when Vince came and broke the news to us and that\’s why we weren\’t able to do the Vince McMahon funeral. That was unreal man.\”

    Long also talked about Chris and said that he was such a nice guy that you would never believe something like that would have went down. According to the former WWE employee, Chris was the kind of person who would give you the shirt off his back and his wife Nancy was the same.

    Apart from this, Teddy Long talked about things like his first introduction to Chris Benoit and Nancy, Nancy\’s early days in the wrestling world when she managed Butch Reed and Ron Simmons and more. You can check out his comments on the matter at this link.

  • WWE Reportedly Holds First Night Of WrestleMania Tapings On Wednesday

    It has been confirmed before that WrestleMania 36 will be a taped show and new reports reveal that the company has already taped some important matches for the event.

    Bryan Alvarez provided an update on the event on the latest episode of Wrestling Observer Live and he revealed that the company held the first day of WrestleMania tapings at the Performance Center this Wednesday.

    The belief was that the officials will tape night one of the show on Wednesday and night two on Thursday. However, the report says that they have already filmed some of the bigger matches for the show.

    Orange County officials recently announced a \”stay at home\” order that will come to effect from Thursday night and it will affect the company\’s ability to film shows. So the WWE crew is working hard to get everything taped before the deadline.

    The company is expected to tape all the shows until WrestleMania before this Thursday. No word yet on if the tapings will include the post WrestleMania episode of Raw as well but it was rumored to be the case.

    WWE is taping the shows from multiple locations but other than the Performance Center, there is no news on any other facility that is being used. The Full Sail University campus is believed to be one of the locations but there is no confirmation of the same.

    WrestleMania will be a two-night streaming event this year with the first night airing on Saturday, April 4 and night two airing on Sunday, April 5 at 7pm ET.

  • Injured Star Returns To Action On This Week\’s NXT

    This week\’s episode of NXT saw injured star Io Shirai making her in-ring return for the brand and she won a big match up during her comeback on the show.

    This week\’s episode of the Black And Yellow brand was expected to see Xia Li competing against Aliyah for a spot in the announced #1 contenders ladder match for the NXT Women\’s Championship.

    However, Li was attacked by someone backstage before the match can take place. After it was declared that she was unable to compete on the show, officials announced that Shirai has been cleared for in-ring action.

    The Japanese star was then sent to the ring for the match. She went on to defeat Aliyah and earn herself the spot in the upcoming ladder match. You can check out some photos of the bout below:

    Io Shirai suffered a leg injury during a match with Toni Storm on the January 22 episode of NXT. At the time, it was reported that she will stay out of action for two months.

    With this win, the returning star has joined Chelsea Green, Tegan Nox, and Mia Yim in the list of confirmed names for the upcoming ladder match.

    The winner of the bout is expected to receive a shot at the title after WrestleMania, where the current champion Rhea Ripley will defend her championship against the winner of 2020 Royal Rumble, Charlotte Flair

  • Jerry Lawler On Why WWE Brought Asuka For Commentary On Raw

    Asuka joined the announcers\’ booth on this week\’s episode of Raw and one half of the current Women\’s tag team champion did commentary during the match between Rey Mysterio and Andrade on the show.

    WWE Hall Of Famer Jerry Lawler, who is a regular commentator of the show talked about the episode on the latest episode of his podcast, and revealed why the company had brought the Japanese star in for the bout.

    The former Champion first recalled his empty arena match against Terry Funk and said that he felt dumb being out there and throwing each other into a bunch of empty chairs.

    Lawler then claimed that he noticed the same thing with Mysterio and Andrade on Raw and revealed that the company had brought in Asuka to make things as loud as possible:

    \”They put Asuka out there to help with the commentary and just to try and help make some noise and make things as loud as possible so it wouldn\’t just be silence, so that helped a lot. It\’s a tough go, and I felt sorry for Rey and Andrade and Zelina and all of them, they still did great but it was a whole unusual experience.\”

    Apart from this, Jerry Lawler also revealed his experience of arriving at the Performance Center and revealed how he was examined before going inside.

    The match in question saw Rey Mysterio compete in a one on one non-title bout with the United States Champion Andrade in which Mysterio picked up the win after hitting a 619. You can check out a video of the match below:

    Quotes via WrestlingInc

  • Chris Jericho Responds To Fan Complaining About Blood And Guts, R Truth Wins Back 24/7 Title

    While WWE is moving forward with WrestleMania, AEW is taking a different direction and the company recently announced that they are postponing the Blood And Guts match which was announced for next week.

    A fan recently took on his Twitter and complained about the decision to cancel the special edition of the show, mentioning how the company spent last week\’s entire Dynamite episode building towards the bout.

    The former AEW Champion Chris Jericho then responded to the fan via a tweet of his own and he explained that the company was not allowed to gather more than ten people together at a time:

    R Truth Wins Back 24/7 Title From Riddick Moss

    Riddick Moss had held the 24/7 Championship for a while and he had even defended the title in several traditional matches, but he has now lost the title back to R Truth.

    WWE recently published a video of Moss jogging outside when a car stops by him and we see that a WWE referee is driving the vehicle. Riddick freaks out seeing the ref and starts looking around for a potential opponent.

    However, as seen in the video below, he is not able to see Truth who was hiding in the car\’s dickey and the former US Champion manages to win the title back:

  • WWE Legend Criticises Brock Lesnar\’s Booking

    Brock Lesnar has been presented as a monster since his return to WWE in 2012 and he has been booked to decimate any opponent that dares to step in the ring with him.

    He will once again be entering WrestleMania as the WWE Champion this year and it appears that the WWE Legend, Jake \”The Snake\” Roberts is not a big fan of his booking.

    The WWE Hall Of Famer recently had an interview with FlipDaScript podcast and talking about Brock Lesnar, the former WWE star said that the company is treating their other talents like s–t by bringing him in:

    \”The thing about Brock is man, he\’s not an everyday wrestler,\” Roberts said. \”He\’s a once a year guy, or three times a year guy.

    And to me, you are really treating your talent like s–t to, every year come WrestleMania time after these guys have busted their asses for 365 days, when it comes time for the big one, they bring (Lesnar) in and they have to sit down.\”

    Jake Roberts also talked about how Vince McMahon spent a lot of money to send him to rehab a number of times and gave praise to DDP for turning his life around.

    The former WCW star recently made headlines when he joined All Elite Wrestling as a manager and after a tease, revealed Lance Archer as his new client.

    Quotes via WrestlingInc

  • Original WrestleMania Plans For Sasha Banks And Bayley Revealed

    This week\’s episode of SmackDown saw Paige making an appearance on the show through Skype and announcing a six-pack challenge for the SmackDown Women\’s Championship at WrestleMania 36.

    During the latest episode of Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer talked about this announcement and revealed the original plans for the championship at the Show Of Shows.

    According to him, the original plans called for Sasha Banks to challenge her friend for the title at the Grandest Stage Of Them All but they nixed these arrangements.

    The company felt that there wasn\’t enough time to build a feud between the two. So the officials decided to hold off the bout for a later late and announced the six-pack challenge for WrestleMania instead.

    While not confirmed, it\’s likely that they will use the announced bout to kick off the feud between the two and have a singles match with a longer build somewhere down the line.

    For those who don\’t know, Paige announced that Bayley will be defending her SmackDown Women\’s Championship against Sasha Banks, Lacey Evans, Naomi, Tamina Snuka, and Dana Brooke in a six-pack challenge at WrestleMania.

    There is no word yet on which night of the show this match will take place on but you can check out the updated match card for the event at this link.

  • Jim Ross On What Was His Greatest Contribution To WWE

    While Jim Ross is widely known as the voice of WWE during the Attitude Era, he also handled various backstage responsibilities in the company during his time there, including being in charge of talent relations for a long time.

    During a recent episode of AEW Unrestricted podcast, the former WWE broadcaster talked about his early career and also revealed what he considers to be his greatest contribution to the company.

    Ross said that at the end of the day, his best work would be the talents he signed to the company who have gone on to become big names and he thinks that\’s his greatest contribution to the promotion:

    I think my best work, at the end of the day, someday will be the talent that I signed that went to WWE and have become millionaires [and] movie stars, I was there 26 years, and the majority of that I was in charge of talent relations and negotiated all the contracts.

    [I was] a good listener to those guys and gals.“ recalled Ross. ”I think that is my greatest contribution quite frankly is the guys that I helped facilitate to get in the game in that level and see how they ran with the ball.\”

    Ross then recalled how they had one class where they signed guys like Brock Lesnar, John Cena, Randy Orton, and Shelton Benjamin and predicted that all these guys will be in Hall Of Fame someday.

    Apart from this Jim Ross discussed the success of Attitude Era and also criticized the media coverage of coronavirus. You can check out his comments on media at this link.

    Quotes via WrestlingInc

  • Naomi On Why She Wrestled In Saudi Arabia Despite Having Her Reservation

    The Saudi Arabia shows of WWE have always been controversial and a number of WWE stars have refused to work events in the country in the past.

    Though we have also seen some progress in the situation and after the first-ever Women\’s match in the country last year, this year\’s edition of Super Showdown saw Naomi battling Bayley for the SmackDown Women\’s title at the show.

    During her recent appearance on Lilian Garcia\’s Chasing Glory podcast, the former Women\’s Champion talked about the show and revealed why she chose to work the event, despite having reservations about it:

    \”I was really happy that I got to talk to Natalya about going, because I had my own perceptions and reservations about going, like personal reasons,\” Naomi stated. \”Like, who I am as a woman and a person, especially with what I stand for and believe in.

    I had some reservations about it. I talked to Nattie, and after hearing about her experience, I realized that me going was a way bigger impact than me not going… I knew I needed to go, and I\’m so happy that I went.\”

    Naomi continued by saying that the fan reaction she got in the country opened her perception and she claimed that it was way bigger than a wrestling match.

    Apart from this, Naomi talked about things like taking time away from WWE, facing a sand storm while entering Saudi Arabia and more. You can check out her full interview below:

    Quotes via WrestlingInc

  • Tyson Kidd On What Vince McMahon Told Him About His Producer Role

    Tyson Kidd had to retire from wrestling due to his unfortunate neck injury but the former Champion has since found a new role in WWE and he now works as a producer backstage.

    The former WWE wrestler, alongside his wife Natalya, recently appeared on Corey Graves\’ After The Bell podcast where he talked about a number of different things.

    Talking about his transition from a wrestler to a producer, Kidd said that it was fairly smooth and he also revealed what the Boss Vince McMahon told him about his new role:

    \”So the transition was fairly smooth to be honest. It was smooth in terms of I like helping people. I liked helping talent with their matches prior to my injury. Obviously, now as a producer it becomes more a larger responsibility than just me as a talent giving advice.

    What I didn\’t know was I didn\’t know how fulfilling it could actually be,\” Kidd said. \”I was told by the boss that now you\’ll be like me, vicariously living through the talent, and I thought those were just words. And I\’ve now come to realize that it\’s very real.\”

    The former NXT star said that the feeling of fulfilment in his role is very real and claimed that it\’s a great feeling when the talents go out and execute the things they had planned even better than he had imagined.

    Apart from this, Tyson Kidd discussed helping out with Natalya\’s SummerSlam match against Becky Lynch, the Women\’s Revolution and more.

    Quotes via WrestlingInc

  • Sonya Deville On WWE Cancelling Relationship Storyline With Mandy Rose

    WWE had teased a romantic relationship between Fire And Desire partners Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville but they ultimately ended up nixing the angle.

    The officials then produced a storyline between Lana and Liv Morgan which has been halted due to Rusev\’s contract dispute with the company.

    Sonya Deville was asked for her reaction on the cancellation of the storyline during her recent interview with UPROXX. Replying to it, she said that they were upset momentarily, but claimed that the storyline can happen in future:

    \”So obviously, Mandy and I were upset momentarily. It was something that we really pushed for, but never say never and I think that it\’s definitely still a possibility that it will or could happen in the future.

    I think representation in different storylines and stuff like that is awesome.\” said Sonya Deville. \”I think it\’s good. There\’s a lot of different ways you can do it. There\’s not just one way to do it and it\’s not just Mandy and I that have to do it.\”

    The WWE star also revealed that they had a lot of meetings with GLAAD. The organization was helping them write and direct the story and she hopes to get back to it one day.

    Apart from this, Sonya Deville talked about how the pro wrestling world is flooded with heterosexual storylines, communicating with other LGBTQ talents and more. You can check out her full interview at this link.

  • EC3 Reveals Why He Asked For His Release From Impact Wrestling

    EC3 recently had an interview with Fightful wrestling where he talked about things like his friendship with Rockstar Spud, Spud being signed by WWE before him and more.

    The former NXT star first made his name during his run with Impact Wrestling where he won the Impact World title twice before leaving the company in January, 2018.

    Talking about his departure, EC3 revealed that he actually asked for his release from the promotion before his contract expired. Discussing the reason behind his decision, the former World Champion said that he needed a big change:

    \”I decided to leave early because of the transitions going and I just thought it was a good time for other people to step up and a good time for me to challenge myself somewhere else at the moment.

    I had to do something different especially [with] where my personal life was at the time, I needed a big change.\” said EC3. \”At the time I was pretty well compensated so I think they were okay with taking me off the books because they also wanted to build new and fresh people\” [Transcription: SEScoops]

    The former Impact wrestler also commented on his decision to sign with WWE and said that while he had talks with multiple promotions, signing with the company was something he felt he needed to accomplish.

    Apart from this, EC3 talked about things like Braun Strowman only having two pair of wrestling pants, founding AIW and more. You can check out his full interview below:

  • Jim Ross Criticises Media Coverage Of Coronavirus

    The coronavirus outbreak has created a lot of fear around the world and it appears that wrestling legend Jim Ross is not a fan of the way it\’s being covered by media.

    The former WWE star talked about a number of things on the recent episode of his Grilling JR podcast, including the effects of the epidemic on the world and more.

    Discussing the media coverage of the disease, Jim Ross said that he doesn\’t know if the media is doing us any favours by screaming about it:

    \”I don\’t know if the media is doing us any favors screaming about it, it’s important to be aware, you have to be smart, and I understand washing your hands and not touching your face, but man there\’s a lot of unanswered questions, we\’re in uncharted waters.

    \”To me, it\’s kind of stupid. For a lot of people to project what\’s going to happen when they don\’t know all the information,\” said Jim Ross. \”We\’re talking about an unknown entity and an untraveled road and we\’re supposed to be able to navigate that through the media and I think that\’s wrong.\”

    The AEW commentator also talked about last week\’s episode of SmackDown which was the first WWE show to be broadcasted without an audience in attendance and said that it\’s an interesting thing.

    Ross recalled working on wrestling shows back in the day which were taped in TV studios with 20 people in the attendance. He mentioned how one time they taped the show in a barn in Tulsa and there were two rows of people in the audience.

    Quotes via WrestlingInc

  • Billy Gunn On His Response To First WWE Contract Offer From Vince McMahon

    Tony Schiavone and Aubrey Edwards recently welcomed Billy Gunn on the AEW Unrestricted podcast where they talked about the DX member\’s wrestling career in detail.

    Gunn was trained by Jerry Grey and he started his wrestling career in 1985. He wrestled in the independent circuit for almost 8 years before being offered a WWE contract in 1993.

    However, despite the time he had spent in the business, the former Champion did not know much about the wrestling world and during the podcast; Billy Gunn revealed his interesting response to Vince McMahon when the Boss first offered him a contract:

    \”Being as green as we were, we went literally from the ring they said, \’hey, Vince would like to talk to you.\’ We went to Vince\’s office. He goes, \’we\’d like to send you a contract. Look it over. See what you think.\’\”

    \”So I looked at Vince and go well I have a job. Can I do this on the weekends? “recalled Billy Gunn.”And I\’m not kidding you he did his little Vince laugh and looked at me and he goes, \’I think you\’ll be alright.\’\”

    The former WWE star continued by recalling how he didn\’t know how things worked in the business. He didn\’t know that the wrestlers worked all the time and they can make actual money if they were good.

    Apart from this, Billy Gunn talked about his first match in WWE, his tag team with Bart Gunn where they were dubbed as The Smoking Gunns and more.

    Quotes via WrestlingInc

  • Hulk Hogan Reaches Settlement In $110 Million Lawsuit Against Cox Radio And More

    A confidential settlement has been reached in the $110 million lawsuit Hulk Hogan had brought in against Cox Radio, Cox DJs Mike \”Cowhead\” Calta and Matt \”Spiceboy\” Loyd, and a few other defendants, according to reports from BayNews9.

    The WWE Hall Of Famer had accused the defendants of conspiring to leak his private sex tape with Heather Clem. Heather is the ex-wife of Bubba \”The Love Sponge\” Clem.

    The tape in question is the same video which was leaked to National Enquirer in 2015 and led to the story of Hulk Hogan using a racial slur in the footage.

    The story sparked a lot of controversy and the former World Champion lost several business contacts due to the debacle. He was even removed from the WWE Hall Of Fame in July 2015, before being reinstated in July 2018.

    Hulk Hogan had originally filed a lawsuit against Gawker for publishing the tape. A Pinellas County jury found Gawker guilty of invading the WWE star\’s privacy and ordered them to pay more than $140 million in damages in March 2016.

    The site ended up going bankrupt and settled with Hogan for $31 million. The wrestling star had then filed a case against the other mentioned defendants, seeking the remainder of the balance, $110 million.

    The defendants had denied the allegations made by the Hulkster and fought him in court for almost 4 years before quietly settling this week. The settlement was reportedly reached on Thursday. A jury tiral of the case was scheduled to begin in January 2021.

  • Tony Khan Confirms That \’Blood And Guts\’ Edition Of Dynamite Is Being Delayed

    AEW has announced that they are postponing the special \”Blood & Guts\” edition of Dynamite to a later date because the timing and circumstances for it are not right.

    The company president Tony Khan released a statement on the matter on Twitter saying that their goal with Dynamite is to produce great shows for their fans.

    He continued by announcing that the Blood and Guts match which was originally planned for next week\’s episode of the show will happen when the time is right:

    \”We plan to continue answering that calling with live weekly shows every Wednesday night on TNT, but the time and circumstances aren\’t right for the card we had planned next week for Blood and Guts.

    That show will happen when the time is right, but what you can count on instead this coming Wednesday night is a great live episode of AEW Dynamite.\”

    While this match has been postponed, the company has announced a confrontation segment between Chris Jericho and the newest AEW star Matt Hardy for the next episode of their TV Show.

    Matt is expected to join the Elite and face off against the Inner Circle when the Blood And Guts match finally happens. No word yet on if the other announced matches for the show will take place as planned or if they have been postponed as well.

    You can check out the company\’s full statement below:

  • Edge: \”It\’s Very, Very Important\” for WWE to Run WrestleMania Amid Coronavirus Outbreak

    Many fans believe that WWE should have postponed WrestleMania instead of moving forward with the show but it appears that the WWE Hall Of Famer Edge believes otherwise.

    The former World Champion recently had an interview with Metro.co.uk where he expressed the importance of broadcasting WrestleMania in the current situation.

    Edge first said that we are in the midst of something the world has never experienced before and it needs outlets like books and movies to have fun and remember what it is to be a human. He then explained that in his job, his responsibilities are to make you forget your responsibilities and claimed that moving forward with WrestleMania is very important:

    \”Here\’s how I\’ve always looked at this job. My responsibility is to make you forget your responsibilities for two or three hours a day, or during that show, that is a huge responsibility, and it\’s a privilege.\” said Edge. \”I don\’t look past it. I didn\’t have it for nine years. Now I come back, and the gravity of that responsibility is not lost on me.

    \”Sure, it\’s entertainment. Yes, we\’re jumping around in tights. But a time like this, it\’s very, very important. I truly believe that.\”

    – Edge

    Edge made his in-ring return after being retired for 9 years at the Royal Rumble PPV earlier this year. He delivered an extraordinary performance during the show but was attacked by Randy Orton the night after that. He challenged The Viper for a last man standing match on Raw this week and the two are expected to meet at WrestleMania.