Vince McMahon

Newly signed Impact Wrestling star Eric Young aired his grievances with WWE during a radio interview Wednesday, three months after getting released by the company.

Young appeared on Busted Open Radio (h/t WrestlingInc.com's Zach Perez) and discussed the biggest issues he encountered while in WWE:

"The truth is, a bunch of guys that have left there have talked about this, and we don't need to go on and on about it. But the system is broken; it's hard to get a word in. Even when you're doing nothing, it feels like you're fixing people's mistakes all day.

"There was no creativity. They want everyone to do things the same, and be the same, and bump the same, and sell the same. And there is millions of rules ... those change daily. It's really hard to understand what's going on and why it's going on. The system is flawed, and I would say that to anyone there. I would say it to Vince [McMahon] himself."

After spending 12 years in TNA, Young finally left the company in 2016 and signed with WWE. He debuted on NXT and was quickly installed as the leader of a group called Sanity, which also included Nikki Cross, Alexander Wolfe and Sawyer Fulton, who was later replaced by Killian Dain.

Sanity enjoyed a great deal of success in NXT, including holding the NXT Tag Team Championships, but things quickly fell apart when they got called up to the main roster in 2019.

They made a few appearances together as a stable but were never given a concrete storyline and were eventually broken up without ever making much of an impact.

On Busted Open, EY talked about the disparity between NXT and the main roster in WWE:

"The NXT part went great. I was treated well. Hunter and me worked very closely on the development of Sanity and the group. I really felt like I had a say in what went on; obviously not final say but was listened to. At the time, Sanity was one of the top acts in the whole company. I could be put anywhere on the card and be utilized in a good way.

"Then we transition to the main roster, and I mean, you and everyone knows how that went—it did not go well. Sometimes you fall out of favor, and it's nothing you did or didn't do. I never changed who I was. I'm not going to; that's not who I am. I'm not a political person. Never have been."

Young called WWE a "disaster in how it's organized" and added, "It's hard to love wrestling in that kind of environment."

Young's disappointing run on the WWE main roster came to an end in April when he was one of several wrestlers released by the company in an effort to cut costs during the coronavirus pandemic. His 90-day non-compete clause ended this month, and he made his return to Impact last weekend at Slammiversary.

The 40-year-old veteran was part of the Fatal 5-Way main event for the Impact World Championship that saw Eddie Edwards beat Young, Ace Austin, Trey Miguel and Rich Swann.

It's uncertain how the former Impact World champion will be utilized now that he is back where he first made a name for himself in the wrestling business, but he seems excited for the opportunity to get his creative juices flowing again.

Listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot wrestling topics. Catch the latest episode in the player below (warning: some language NSFW).

Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe and All Elite Wrestling.

Kenny Omega Confirms Kota Ibushi-Vince McMahon Interaction

An article from Daily DDT's Rob Wolkenbrod made the rounds on social media recently. The 2016 piece recounted an interaction between New Japan Pro-Wrestling star Kota Ibushi and WWE chairman Vince McMahon.

While backstage at NXT TakeOver: Dallas in April 2016, Ibushi crossed paths with McMahon backstage. Not knowing it was McMahon, Ibushi gave him a high five, which left some WWE staffers "really upset."

All Elite Wrestling star Kenny Omega verified the story while throwing some shade at the culture WWE has built behind the scenes (warning: tweet contains profanity):

This isn't the first time Omega has highlighted what he believes to be the restrictive atmosphere at WWE.

During a Twitch chat in March 2018, he said a move to WWE wasn't on his radar because he "[doesn't] want to be a robot" and "[doesn't] want to be controlled."

Mick Foley Interviewed for Stone Cold Documentary

In April 2019, WWE announced it reached a deal with A+E Networks to produce five documentaries on wrestling legends Randy Savage, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, Booker T, "Rowdy" Roddy Piper and Shawn Michaels.

Work on the Austin documentary is apparently underway since Mick Foley tweeted Tuesday he had been interviewed for the project:

Foley and Austin had a few notable encounters during the Attitude Era. Their most memorable matches came at Unforgiven 1998 and Over The Edge 1998, when Foley adopted his Dude Love persona and attempted to take the WWF Championship from the Texas Rattlesnake.

Chris Jericho Throws Shade at WWE

Rey Mysterio and Seth Rollins are wrestling in an Eye for an Eye match at The Horror Show at Extreme Rules on July 19.

If that match type sounds familiar, it's likely because AEW used the same tactic to hype up Jon Moxley's match with Santana on the Feb. 12 edition of Dynamite.

Chris Jericho made sure to highlight that fact on Twitter:

They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.  

Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe. 

McIntyre Roasts McGregor on Twitter

WWE champion Drew McIntyre had some strong words for former UFC star Conor McGregor on Thursday after McGregor made an Instagram post calling for a "CEO Flashmatch" against WWE Chairman Vince McMahon.

McIntyre took to Twitter to suggest that McGregor wouldn't be able to hack it in the world of professional wrestling:

There has long been speculation about McGregor making the leap to WWE since he not only has an impressive resume in combat sports, but he also boasts a huge personality that would likely help him cut promos and connect with fans at a high level.

While McGregor has given off signals at times that he would be interested, such as his post about McMahon, he has also taken some shots at WWE and pro wrestling as a whole.

In 2016, McGregor didn't pull any punches when it came to his thoughts on WWE, per Mike Bohn of Rolling Stone: "I have thought about [WWE]. For the most part, I think these guys are p---ies, to be honest. They're messed up p---ies if you ask me. Fair play to Brock [Lesnar]; he got in and fought, but at the end of the day, he was juiced up to the f--king eyeballs. How can I respect that?"

In his tweet to McGregor on Thursday, McIntyre referenced McGregor punching an elderly man at a pub in Ireland. Video of the incident was released last year, and McGregor later pleaded guilty to assault and had to pay a fine.

If McGregor, who is currently retired from UFC, ever does decide to make the leap to WWE, then McIntyre would be the perfect opponent. Not only is McIntyre one of the top stars in the business at WWE champion, but he is a big guy who could believably stand toe to toe with the much-smaller McGregor despite McGregor's background.

Also, since McIntyre is Scottish and McGregor is Irish, a match between them would likely do huge business for WWE in Europe especially.

McMahon Reportedly Down on Baszler, Pulled Her from Raw

It has been nearly two months since two-time NXT women's champion Shayna Baszler last appeared on Raw, and that decision was reportedly made from the very top.

According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t WrestlingInc.com's Marc Middleton), WWE Chairman Vince McMahon has "soured" on Baszler and made the decision to pull her from Raw and halt her push.

McMahon has reportedly said that Baszler doesn't "check his buttons" as far as female pro wrestlers go, and he also reportedly "never conceptually grasped the in-ring style that an MMA fighter should use in pro wrestling."

Baszler was a surprise entrant in the 2020 women's Royal Rumble match and lasted until the end when she was tossed out by winner Charlotte Flair. Even so, Baszler still established herself as Raw women's champion Becky Lynch's challenger at WrestleMania.

Baszler turned in the most dominant Elimination Chamber performance of all time to become No. 1 contender, but she lost to The Man on The Grandest Stage of Them All.

The Queen of Spades was then in the women's Money in the Bank ladder match, but Asuka prevailed to become the new Raw Women's champion when Lynch relinquished the title due to her pregnancy.

Baszler won a couple of matches against Natalya on Raw after that, but she hasn't been seen on WWE programming since May.

WWE had been focusing on a feud between Asuka and Nia Jax, and now Asuka is set to face Sasha Banks at Extreme Rules. Once that match happens, perhaps the door will be open for Baszler to return and feud with Asuka since most WWE fans would undoubtedly be open to that rivalry.

Sane Preparing to Leave WWE?

Kairi Sane is reportedly set to return to Japan to be with her husband in the near future.

According to Meltzer (h/t Middleton), WWE has known about Sane's intention to return to Japan since at least May, and it has "been in the works for a while."

Sane got married in February, and Meltzer noted that there have been rumors about the 31-year-old Superstar wanting to return home and wrestle for one more year in Japan before retiring. It is unclear if Sane has any plans to wrestle for WWE again after returning to Japan.

WWE reportedly had plans to write Sane off of television with a career-ending injury angle that would have resulted in Asuka facing her attacker at SummerSlam. That plan may no longer be on the table with Paul Heyman being removed from his role as Raw Executive Director.

Sane suffered a cut on her head during a match against Nia Jax on the June 1 Raw and she hasn't appeared on Raw since, although she has reportedly been cleared for action.

Sane suggested in a tweet to Asuka on Thursday that they may be set to reunite soon:

Per Meltzer, Sane is expected to be part of the Raw tapings being held at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida, on Friday, meaning she could appear on the July 6 or 13 episode.

With Asuka and Banks feuding, perhaps a dream tag team match of Asuka and Sane against Banks and Bayley could be in the cards.

Sane made her WWE debut in 2017 as part of the Mae Young Classic and went on to win the NXT Women's Championship. On the main roster, she held the WWE Women's Tag Team Championships with Asuka.

Kairi is one of the most talented women's wrestlers in the world, and if she does decide to return home and retire, it would be a big loss to WWE and the wrestling business as a whole.

Listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot wrestling topics. Catch the latest episode in the player below (warning: some language NSFW).

WWE chairman Vince McMahon didn't stand in the way when Big E and Kofi Kingston proposed taking a knee during the June 12 edition of SmackDown.

Prior to a tag team match against Cesaro and Shinsuke Nakamura, Big E and Kingston knelt and raised their right fists in the air. They also wore armbands to honor Shukri Abdi, Breonna Taylor and Tamla Horsford.

Big E addressed the gestures during an appearance on The Sports Bubble with Jensen Karp (h/t Wrestling Inc's Jason Ounpraseuth):

"So, we've done a few things, and I think we're going to continue to use some things like you mentioned, taking a knee, to bring attention to this movement on SmackDown. And the nice thing is, you know, we ran it by Vince McMahon, our boss, and he approved it. We got no pushback there.

"We got a lot of support from the company with the podcast and we can't typically put out video, not the whole video because of the way the contract is with our podcast, but they were so supportive with us putting up the whole conversation because we felt like it was important for people to listen to this hour plus, and to see it and to see our faces and see our expressions."

Throughout the country, Americans have protested police brutality, systemic racism and social inequality.

During the June 8 installment of The New Day's podcast, Big E became emotional when talking about the killing of George Floyd.

Floyd was killed in police custody on May 25. Four Minneapolis police officers, all of whom have since been fired, arrested Floyd while investigating an alleged forgery in progress. A video showed one officer, Derek Chauvin, kneeling on Floyd's neck for nearly nine minutes during the course of his arrest.

Chauvin has been charged with second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. Three other officers are facing a charge of aiding and abetting second-degree murder.

WWE issued a statement on June 2 saying it "condemns racial injustice" and "encourage everyone to use their voice to speak out against racism."

Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe.

McMahon Sees Wealth Increase

WWE Chairman Vince McMahon has seen his net worth increase during the coronavirus pandemic, according to an analysis comparing data from Forbes' Billionaires List and Forbes' real-time billionaire estimates.

Per Kaitlyn Krasselt of the Middletown Press, McMahon is currently worth $1.98 billion, which is up nearly 10 percent from where he stood before the pandemic.

In addition to his leading role in WWE, McMahon owned the XFL, but he declared bankruptcy and folded the football league in March when COVID-19 forced him to cut the season short.

Although coronavirus has had a hugely negative impact on most sports and entertainment industries, WWE hasn't been hit quite as hard. Although the company has been unable to run shows with fans, it has still produced weekly television shows and pay-per-view events from the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida.

On the strength of its massive television deals with Fox and NBC Universal for SmackDown and Raw, respectively, WWE reported strong earnings for the first quarter of 2020. WWE reported $291.0 million in revenue and $26.2 million in net income.

WWE came under fire for the decision to make some cuts following WrestleMania 36 in April. WWE released several in-ring performers from their contracts and furloughed employees across multiple departments.

While the move may not have been great from a public relations standpoint, it didn't hamper WWE in terms of remaining profitable during a difficult time for most businesses.

Ziggler Discussed Move from SmackDown to Raw

Dolph Ziggler officially announced last week that he was traded from SmackDown to Raw, and he is already in the midst of a huge storyline.

Ziggler challenged former tag team partner Drew McIntyre, and the WWE champion accepted, meaning they will clash at Extreme Rules on July 19 with the WWE title hanging in the balance.

In an interview with Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated, Ziggler said that even though moving to Raw wasn't his idea, he understands why the move was made:

"I didn't pitch this, but I feel like [the program between] myself and Otis had kind of run its course. I really liked working with Otis, Mandy [Rose] and Sonya [Deville]. If this were the old days and we were going five days a week and doing live events, we would have had even more chemistry and a really special thing. In this day and age, where it's just a TV show in a closed studio, as young superstars, they came along very quickly. But I don't know where else we could go with that, so I completely understand the move to Raw."

For several months, Ziggler was involved in a storyline with Otis that saw them battling for Mandy's affection. That led to a match at WrestleMania, which Otis won after Mandy hit Ziggler with a low blow.

It was revealed that Deville had been working with Ziggler to keep Mandy and Otis apart, so the four of them continued the rivalry after WrestleMania and competed against each other in multiple combinations, including a mixed tag team match.

However, there wasn't much else that could be done in the feud, which was why it was undoubtedly time for a fresh start for Ziggler.

Now, he finds himself in the world title scene and just a few weeks away from facing one of WWE's fastest-rising stars for the biggest prize in the company. Ziggler isn't likely to win, but if he can push McIntyre to the limit and have a great match at Extreme Rules, it would be huge for both of them.

WWE Gives Injury Update on Charlotte

WWE announced during Monday's episode of Raw that Charlotte Flair suffered a fractured left collarbone as a result of Nia Jax attacking her backstage.

Last week, PWInsider.com's Mike Johnson reported that Charlotte was set to undergo elective surgery that would keep her out for six weeks, meaning she could be back for SummerSlam in August.

In a subsequent interview with Sport Hiatus (h/t WrestlingInc's Robert Gunier), Flair said she would only miss "a few weeks."

Prior to getting written off television, Charlotte was a consistent presence on both Raw and NXT. She was recently involved in a mini feud with Raw women's champion on Asuka, and she also previously held the NXT Women's Championship.

Charlotte dropped that title to Io Shirai at NXT TakeOver: In Your House in a Triple Threat match that also included Rhea Ripley. After losing the title, it seems The Queen will be exclusively on Raw moving forward.

With Charlotte out of the picture for now, Asuka will defend the Raw women's title against SmackDown Superstar Sasha Banks at Extreme Rules. Assuming Asuka retains and Charlotte comes back in time for SummerSlam, Asuka could be in her crosshairs in addition to Jax.

WWE's reporting of a fractured collarbone is seemingly a storyline explanation for her absence and not a reflection of any real issue Charlotte is dealing with, which means she hopefully should be able to return to the fold in the near future.

Listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot wrestling topics. Catch the latest episode in the player below (warning: some language NSFW).

The greatest run of Mark Henry's WWE career had an unexpected origin story.

Henry was the most recent guest on Stone Cold Steve Austin's Broken Skull Sessions. During the appearance, he explained how WWE chairman Vince McMahon and other WWE crew members ribbed him by having him go out for a 2011 dark match with Sin Cara that never happened.

The longer he waited for Sin Cara in the ring, the less patient Henry became. Eventually he returned backstage to find most of the promotion's staff had already departed. That led Henry to call McMahon and voice his anger after he felt he had been disrespected.

McMahon was apologetic and "really remorsefully sorry" in the words of Henry. From there, McMahon drew Henry's attention to his actions and demeanor in the ring as the rib unfolded, which became the inspiration for the "Hall of Pain":

"[McMahon] said, 'Can I show you something?' And I said, 'Oh god, what's going on now?' He showed the footage of me in the ring, angry, and me coming back and then the camera goes off. It freezes and it was like that scene of the Sasquatch where it feels like they caught the Sasquatch in the woods? That was where it ended. [McMahon's] like, 'That's the most visibly afraid I've ever seen in on the screen in years and years. If you can do that in the ring, you'll make a lot of money.'"

Henry said he was hesitant about the idea because he wasn't sure he could channel that level of hatred and anger again for the purpose of a storyline. However, he ultimately proved himself wrong, "and thus the Hall of Pain was born."

Throughout the summer and fall of 2011, Henry was one of the most engaging characters in WWE. At Night of Champions 2011, he defeated Randy Orton to kick off his second world title reign.

When Henry was on-screen during that run, fans knew there was a good chance something bad could happen.

Due to his size, it didn't take much to make Henry look like a monster heel. The Hall of Pain was when he became something more and demonstrated his acting chops.

For better or worse, WWE is often at the mercy of McMahon's creative vision. In this case, he stumbled backward into how best to utilize Henry and turn him into a dynamic personality.