Author: Thomas Lowson

During this week\’s WWE Monday Night Raw, one of the most interesting parts of the show was what was happening in the background.

During several segments, a crashed car could be seen in the background of shots, with WWE Superstars, including Doudrop and Nikki A.S.H checking out the damage.

The crashed car wouldn\’t come up until the final moments of Raw, when it was revealed that Dexter Lumis had returned to WWE, appearing in the crowd and starting a program with AJ Styles.

Rikishi Denies Involvement

Before Lumis\’ return, many speculated as to who was behind the crashed car on Raw, and whether it was part of the broadcast or something had really happened.

When WWE\’s official Twitter account shared an image of the car being towed, WWE Hall of Famer Rikishi was quick to deny any involvement.

Rikishi Behind the Wheel

With Rikishi not appearing in WWE since November 2020, it may seem odd that some considered him a suspect in the car crash.

Rikishi\’s claim of innocence is a reference to his infamous Attitude Era heel turn, after Stone Cold Steve Austin was run down during Survivor Series 1999.

Austin, who had been dealing with severe injuries, was written off of TV for close to a year, before it was revealed that Rikishi had been the one who ran him down.

What was supposed to be the start of a monster heel turn for Rikishi quickly faltered, as Austin would squash the superheavyweight at the No Mercy 2000 Pay Per View.

WWE re-wrote the story, saying that Rikishi had been the driver, but was doing the bidding of established top-heel Triple H.

In 2004, WWE debuted Nick Dinsmore on the main roster as the envelope-pushing character Eugene.

The on-screen nephew of then-Monday Night Raw General Manager Eric Bischoff, Eugene had learning difficulties, which was referred to on WWE TV as being \’special.\’

The character would often imitate wrestling moves from legends such as \’Stone Cold\’ Steve Austin and Hulk Hogan, with the reasoning being that Eugene learned the moves watching TV.

Eugene Palermo

The Eugene character was brought to life by Dinsmore but was partly based on the real-life Eugene Palermo.

Sadly, Palermo died this week aged 57, and his cause of death is not public knowledge at this time.

Palermo lived with Down\’s Syndrome his entire life and worked as a WWF Ring Boy, helping to construct and deconstruct the ring during his life.

Eugene\’s father Bucky worked as a wrestling referee in the in the Pittsburgh area for 30 years, and officiated at several WWE events.

It was through his father that Palermo would get involved in the business of professional wrestling.

On Twitter, Nick Dinsmore said he was thinking about the Palermo family, and shared a picture of himself with the real Eugene.

The Palermo family respectfully suggests donations be made to the Down’s Syndrome Association of Pittsburgh, www.dsapgh.org.

We at SEScoops would like to extend our sincerest condolences to the Palermo family at this sad time.

In 1995, after three years with the WWF, Lex Luger returned to WCW, appearing on the debut episode of WCW Monday Nitro.

On the show\’s 100th episode, Luger would capture the WCW World Championship, dethroning \’Hollywood\’ Hulk Hogan.

As a huge star, Luger worked with several people in WCW but did not impress Eric Bischoff.

Bischoff Comments

When Luger returned to WCW, Bischoff was running the show and continues to have a negative opinion about the former World Champion.

During the Busted Open podcast, Bischoff said that Luger didn\’t treat those around him with respect and focused solely on himself (via Sportskeeda):

\”I watched how he carried himself, number one, and how he treated other people, and that\’s what turned me off because he was just so focused on himself. That was my perception because I didn\’t know Lex.

\”I just thought, man, this cat\’s a jack*ss!\”

Eric Bischoff on working with Lex Luger in WCW

\”So you only know what you see, which is, you know, something I\’m working on every single day, not to judge people by my first impressions. But I didn\’t have that frame of mind at the time, so I just thought, man, this cat\’s a jack*ss!\”

Bischoff added that he doesn\’t ever want to do anything again with Luger, but admitted that \’The Narcissist\’ was \”never unprofessional.

Luger stayed with WCW until the company folded in 2001 and the WWF chose not to sign him.

This week, news broke that John Laurinaitis has been terminated from his role with WWE, ending a 21-year tenure with the company.

Laurinaitis had worked as WWE\’s Head of Talent Relations and was an on-screen character from 2011 to 2012 where he appeared as a heel authority figure.

PW Insider was the first to break the news of Laurinaitis\’ termination, which comes weeks after Vince McMahon\’s retirement.

Laurinaitis is accused of participating and aiding Vince McMahon\’s alleged affairs with several female employees in WWE, resulting in over $12 million being paid out in Non-Disclosure Agreements.

The Update

In an update from Fightful Select, it is reported that Laurinaitis was still being sent company e-mails, even after being placed on administrative leave.

The former General Manager of Raw and SmackDown was removed from this mailing list when Triple H was appointed the new Head of Talent Relations.

The e-mails Laurinatitis received are said to have contained sensitive information related to creative and personnel matters, and he was briefly removed during the July 22, episode of SmackDown.

He was later re-added to the mailing list, before being pulled once again after Triple H\’s announcement.

Laurinaitis’ name was also added to an internal termination list, which supposedly also included Vince McMahon’s name.

Several WWE Superstars are said to be extremely happy about Laurinaitis being fired, with one branding the former employee as a \”snake\” in the company.

Fightful Select also corroborated PW Insider\’s report that Laurinaitis was let go by the company within the last week or so.

Last month, Vince McMahon announced his retirement from WWE after four decades of running the promotion he founded.

McMahon\’s retirement came one month after he stepped down as CEO and Chairman, due to the ongoing investigation into him.

McMahon is alleged to have had inappropriate relationships with multiple women over the years in WWE, resulting in millions of dollars being paid out in Non-Disclosure Agreements

Still in Charge?

While McMahon is gone, there are still some who believe he is still running things behind the scenes.

After McMahon\’s retirement, Vince Russo said fans were \”clueless\” for believing that the ex-CEO was really gone, and he\’s not alone in that view.

According to Fightful, McMahon\’s retirement is genuine and one higher up in the company said that it\’d be obvious of the former Chairman was still pulling the strings.

\”If Vince McMahon was still involved to any degree, neither Summerslam or WWE Raw would have resembled what they looked like. Dakota would not have been brought back, Raw would have been several Summerslam rematches.\”

A WWE higher-up explains just how gone Vince McMahon really is.

Fightful was explicitly told that McMahon has no say in day-to-day or creative anymore, and there have been rumors of him having his access to information limited.

A number of people within WWE also confirmed to Fightful that normally, they\’d have to wait on clearance from McMahon for something, but that has not been the case since he retired.

It is also reported that McMahon may have limited access to WWE facilities, but that has not been confirmed.

Over Summerslam weekend, WWE hosted a series of try-outs in Nashville, Tennessee.

Several athletes, including NBA star Dwight Howard tried out, hoping to earn a contract with WWE.

Headlining WrestleMania

Triple H conducted the Summerslam tryouts, in his first major role as the new Head of WWE Talent Relations.

In addition to \’The Game\’ Paul Heyman was present to observe those trying to earn a WWE contract, and was impressed by some of the names he saw.

Heyman spoke to “Bleacher Report” about the try-outs and sees big things in the future of some of the athletes (via Wrestling Inc.)

\”There are plenty of people I saw today that are qualified. Are they going to main-event WrestleMania? There’s a few people I can see that happening with, but not everyone, and I’m very excited about working with them in the future. But not all of them.\”

\”There’s a few people I can see that happening with.\”

Paul Heyman on some of the Summerslam try-out athletes possibly headlining WrestleMania.

Heyman added that while not everyone is destined to headline WWE\’s biggest event of the year, but that\’s not all the company is looking for.

“If you’re not going to main-event WrestleMania, are you a disruptor? Are you someone who’s going to change the industry? Are you someone who’s going to give us a vision that we don’t have? Someone who’s 20 better not look at this industry the same way I do.”

WWE reportedly signed 14 of the 50 athletes who tried out for the company over Summerslam weekend.

Throughout his career, Lex Luger\’s character was defined by his incredible physique.

In WWE, Luger was known as Narcissus, later \’The Narcissist\’ and was referred to as the \’Total Package\’ throughout his entire wrestling career.

Famously boasting just 4% body fat, Luger\’s physique would continue to impress fans until he retired from the ring.

The Accident

While Luger signed with Vince McMahon in 1992, he did not initially plan on working solely as a wrestler.

Initially, Luger did guest appearances for McMahon\’s bodybuilding promotion the World Bodybuilding Federation (WBF) until a near-fatal motorcycle accident ended all plans for him.

Speaking to A&E for their Biography: Legends episode, Luger recalled nearly losing his arm due to the crash.

\”They were talking about amputating my arm.\”

Lex Luger on his near-fatal 1992 motorcycle accident.

Luger told Sting that under no circumstance should he allow the doctors to amputate his arm.

The pair called Dr. Andrews, who has specialized in athletes\’ injuries, who told Luger that it seemed unlikely he\’d ever have full use of his arm.

Luger would be able to keep his arm, in what the former WCW World Champion called a \”miraculous recovery.\”

After the Accident

Less than six months after the accident, Luger would debut as Narcissus at the 1993 Royal Rumble.

WWE would capitalize on the accident, referencing the metal plate that Luger had in his arm, which he\’d use as an illegal weapon during matches.

On-screen, Luger would be forced to wear a padded armband over the metal plate, which he would remove to cheat.

In 2012, Matt Rehwoldt signed with WWE and spent his time with the company under the name Aiden English.

One-half of the Vaudevillains, his sole championship win in WWE came as part of the NXT Tag Team Champions in 2015.

Rehwoldt held several roles in addition to being a wrestler before his release in April 2020.

Rehwoldt\’s Statement

Before leaving WWE, Rehwoldt had slowly transitioned into a role outside of the ring.

In 2018, he became part of the Rusev Day stable with Rusev and Lana, and became a color commentator for 205 Live and NXT UK a year later.

Taking to Twitter this week, Rehwoldt explained how he will no longer be taking bookings as a wrestler, as he does not believe he belongs in the ring anymore.

Rehwoldt still believes he can being something and has encouraged anyone seeking him for non-wrestling roles to contact him.

\”So here you go: I will no longer be taking bookings to wrestle going forward. I\’ve always been most at home with a mic in front of me and am in love with the broadcast side of the biz. I\’m not sure I feel I belong in the ring anymore and this year has taught me that. But I love what I\’m doing now and am still technically a free agent so if you have a company/promotion that needs an entertaining and experienced voice on the mic hit me up! All in addition to continuing to explore esports/gaming, VO, and content! I DO ALL THE THINGS.\”

In a follow-up post, Rehwoldt clarified that he is not leaving the wrestling industry, but just will not be wrestling anymore.

The days of one \”Undisputed WWE Universal Champion\” are numbered.

At WrestleMania 38, Universal Champion Roman Reigns defeated WWE Champion Brock Lesnar to unify the company\’s top World Championships.

Called \’the biggest main event in WrestleMania\’ history, the win saw Reigns be crowned the \’Undisputed WWE Universal Champion,\’ a title he holds to this day.

Since unifying the two championships at WrestleMania, Reigns has been carrying the two title belts to symbolize being the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion.

That could all change very soon however, following Karrion Kross\’ return to WWE during last night\’s SmackDown.

Undisputed No More?

Fightful Select reports that Kross\’ impactful return, attacking Drew McIntyre and having a face-off with Reigns, is the sign of a big push for the two-time former WWE NXT Champion.

An idea suggested backstage is for Kross to be inserted into the current feud between Reigns and McIntyre.

There has also been a pitch for Kross to challenge Reigns, but for one of his championships, effectively ending the title unification.

De-Unifying the Titles

It was Vince McMahon who made the decision for the WWE and Universal Championships to be unified, but its the USA Network who are in support of the titles being split.

USA Network executives are said to be unhappy with how few appearances Reigns makes on Raw and wants a World Championship of their own.

Per Fightful, the network has also pitched the idea of having an interim World Champion, similar to Jon Moxley being the interim AEW World Champion due to CM Punk\’s injury.

The report notes that it\’s unclear how seriously WWE considered the idea, as Reigns is not injured, and having an interim Undisputed WWE Universal Champion would make little sense.

During the May 16, 2022 episode of WWE Monday Night Raw, Sasha Banks and Naomi walked out of the show, over a creative difference with the planned main event.

Shortly after, WWE suspended the duo, branded them \”unprofessional\” on TV, and stripped the pair of the WWE Women\’s Tag Team Championships.

There was a time when it appeared that Banks and Naomi would be gone from WWE for good, but the recent change of leadership could bring them back.

Banks\’ Appearance

Since her suspension, Sasha Banks has been silent on Twitter, up until this week.

In her first tweet since the May 16 walkout, Banks promoted her upcoming appearance at the Chicago Comic and Entertainment Convention (C2E2.)

Banks told her followers that she is excited to see them this weekend when quoting a tweet from C2E2 which has since been deleted.

In addition to Banks, Naomi is also scheduled to appear at the convention, with tickets available for photos with the pair of WWE Superstars.

 WWE Hall of Famers Mick Foley, Lita, Trish Stratus, and The Undertaker are also scheduled to be at the convention.

AEW star Danhausen has also been announced for C2E2.

Renewed Hope

While the idea of Banks and Naomi seemed farfetched just a few weeks ago, there is renewed hope that they will return.

It has been reported that Banks and Naomi\’s main issues backstage were with Vince McMahon, and that both have had good relationships in the past with Triple H and Stephanie McMahon.

Banks has been pulled from a celebrity flag football match which is scheduled for today, fueling speculation of a return on tonight\’s WWE SmackDown.

At Summerslam 2022, Riddle was scheduled to face Seth Rollins, the culmination of a lengthy feud between the two.

Before the show began, it was announced that Riddle had been pulled from the show, as he had been \”medically disqualified.\”

On The Bump, it was said that Riddle had suffered a brachial plexus injury, better known to fans as a \’stinger\’ while being attacked by Rollins.

Riddle\’s Return

Riddle hasn\’t wrestled since the July 25, 2022 episode of Raw, where he and the Street Profits lost to The Bloodline.

According to Dave Meltzer in the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Riddle will wrestle Seth Rollins at the “Saturday Night’s Main Event” show in North Charleston, South Carolina.

The two will also face off at the “Sunday Stunner” event in Fayetteville, North Carolina the next night.

While these matches had been advertised in the local area, there was uncertainty over Riddle’s availability due to his injury from Rollins.

Rollins Vs. Riddle

When WWE announced that the Riddle Vs. Seth Rollins Summerslam match was off, they confirmed that the bout had been \’postponed.\’

WWE has not given an update as to when the match will happen though many believe it will happen next month.

The belief is that WWE delayed the Summerslam match so that they have a big match to promote for WWE Clash at the Castle.

Clash at the Castle will take place at the Principality Stadium, in Cardiff, Wales, and will mark WWE\’s biggest event in the UK since Summerslam 1992.

For years, Lex Luger was a wrestler who\’s character was based on his incredible physique.

Famously boasting a 4% body fat, Luger was referred to in WWE as \’The Narcissist\’ but a series of medical issues, including a spinal stroke have taken their toll.

In 2014, Luger said he was using a wheelchair on a regular basis, though he was still able to walk short distances, but became completely reliant on a wheelchair for mobility last year.

The Hall of Fame

Luger has said he would work hard to walk again if he could walk onto the stage at the WWE Hall of Fame. 

In an interview with Sports Illustrated released on Thursday, Luger spoke about his health and possible induction into the WWE Hall of Fame.

\”I might pop out of the chair for that [a WWE Hall of Fame induction.] I would take that chance if that moment comes. That honor would be the cherry on top of my career.\”

\”I might pop out of the chair for that.\”

Lex Luger on a possible WWE Hall of Fame induction.

The 64-year-old will be the focus of Sunday\’s episode of Biography: WWE Legends on A&E. 

Is an induction coming?

A former WCW World Heavyweight Champion, Luger had a rich career in wrestling that certainly warrants a Hall of Fame induction.

Last year, Jim Ross said that Luger should be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, saying that it would be a \”popular decision.\”

Mick Foley has also expressed support for a Luger induction.

Last December, WWE announced the Next in Line Program, after an NCAA policy change allowed college athletes to monetize their name, image, and likeness.

Rather than focus on established wrestlers with years of experience outside WWE, the promotion\’s strategy is to sign young athletes who they can train in WWE\’s style of professional wrestling.

Being a part of the NIL program gives the athletes access to WWE’s Performance Center in Orlando, but one of the company\’s young prospects is in serious trouble.

The Warrant

Yesterday, a court issued an arrest warrant for AJ Ferrari, who faces a felony charge of sexual battery.

According to documents obtained by The Oklahoman newspaper, the warrant was issued after an affidavit was filed by a detective in the Stillwater Police Department’s criminal investigations division.

Bond has reportedly been set by Payne County District Court at $25,000, according to the Stillwater News Press.

The Charge

Ferrari is alleged to have performed unwanted sexual acts on a woman while holding her down on her bed on July 2.

Three days after the alleged incident, the woman filed for an emergency protective order, and a hearing is scheduled for September 15.

On July 13, Oklahoma State University announced that Ferrari is no longer on their wrestling team.

Under Oklahoma law, sexual battery faces a penalty if convicted of between one to 15 years in prison.

Ferrari’s attorney, Derek Chance, has claimed that his client is innocent and that he is confident that AJ Ferrari will be exonerated in due time.

In the Attitude Era, Paul Heyman and Vince McMahon led different promotions, but the two weren\’t entirely at odds.

Heyman, aware that his ECW could never compete for dominance over the much bigger WWF, struck a deal with McMahon.

This deal saw McMahon pay ECW $1,000 a week, as well as a $500,000 payment in mid-2000, while the WWF received the first chance on signing ECW talent, and had a much easier time purchasing ECW when the company eventually collapsed.

The Advice

Before ECW folded, Heyman jumped to the WWF and returned to the WWE in 2012.

This return saw Heyman work closely with McMahon now in the same company, and the two workaholics worked well together until the latter\’s retirement last month.

In June 2019, Heyman was appointed an Executive Director of Raw, and during an appearance on The Mackmania podcast on The Ringer Wrestling Show, shared some advice he got by McMahon when receiving the role.

\”Make sure you pick your successor, in case you drop dead.\”

Paul Heyman reveals the advice given to him by Vince McMahon.

According to Heyman, McMahon made it clear that even in the times of Vince\’s passing, the show must go on without him.

McMahon was under the impression that he would remain as WWE CEO and Chairman until his death.

Heyman\’s Future

While many are optimistic for WWE\’s future with McMahon now retired, Heyman isn\’t celebrating.

On the show, Heyman made it clear that he\’s fully on board with the new vision for WWE, but it\’s foolish to celebrate McMahon\’s departure, as his work ethic made a lot of people a lot of money.

Many believe that Heyman could be in line for a backstage role with creative, as he has good relationships with WWE Co-CEO Stephanie McMahon and Head of Creative/Talent Relations Paul \’Triple H\’ Levesque.