Wrestling

The highly-anticipated Hell in a Cell match between Seth Rollins and The Fiend in 2019 ended with a ref stoppage, and fans were extremely upset with the finish.

It turns out Rollins wasn't a fan of the creative decisions in the match, either. Rollins said his vision for the match was "a lot different" than what WWE wanted, and he was "ready to strangle" Vince McMahon after the match. 

“I put a positive spin on it now that I can look back at it a year and a half later, but at the time — I came through that curtain and I was ready to strangle Vince McMahon,” Rollins said on the Broken Skull Sessions. “I’m not kidding you. I’m not kidding you, TJ Willson was there to hold me back. I stared right into Vince’s eyes — you know where he sits in that chair over there [in Gorilla] — I look at him, he looked at me, we didn’t say a single word to each other and he walked out.

“I sat there with Paul Heyman — and also, he was Creative Director at the time of RAW — so I sat down there with him and we had a conversation. He was ‘Paul Heyman’ing’ me, if you will. Then, the next day I went into Vince’s office — much calmer — and I said, ‘Let’s talk about this. We need to figure out what we’re doing here, because that can’t happen again.’ It was civil, but it took me a night [to calm down], but I was ready to go. Man, if somebody wasn’t there making sure  I was okay — my temper, I mean, the adrenaline. In my head, if you go back to that match, I’m convinced if it would have went our way, this wouldn’t be on that [worst matches] list.”

The finish to the match saw Rollins use weapons and repeatedly use The Stomp on The Fiend, who was over as an unstoppable heel, to win and retain the Universal Championship. A babyface at the time, Rollins was loudly booed by the crowd, who clearly wanted The Fiend to win and were perplexed by the wild no-selling in the match.

WWE quickly rectified the situation and had The Fiend go over and take the Universal Championship from Rollins a few weeks later at Crown Jewel, but the damage was done. 

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Lamar Jackson is one of the most athletic players in the NFL, which could make him an elite WWE competitor if he wanted.

WWE Superstar Kofi Kingston discussed the Baltimore Ravens quarterback with TMZ Sports:

"I would love to see what Lamar could do in a wrestling ring," Kingston said. "He would be incredible."

The former WWE champion was especially impressed by Jackson's flip into the end zone in last week's win over the Kansas City Chiefs:

LAMAR IS DOING IT ALL FOR THE RAVENS 🔥

Ravens take the lead late in the 4th

(via @NFLBrasil)pic.twitter.com/uF9sL54Ptb

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) September 20, 2021

"I'd give it a 10 out of 10," Kingston said of the flip. "I don't really care about the form.  ... He was just out there showing out."

Jackson is doing well enough in his current job that the 24-year-old likely won't make the switch to wrestling any time soon, but he wouldn't be the first NFL star to get into the ring. Rob Gronkowski has made several appearances in WWE after his initial retirement and even won the 24/7 title before returning to the football field. 

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In his first television match since returning to professional wrestling after a seven-year hiatus, CM Punk defeated Powerhouse Hobbs on Friday night on the Grand Slam edition of AEW Rampage at Arthur Ashe Stadium in Flushing, New York.

The Best in the World pinned Hobbs clean after hitting him with the GTS. 

Prior to hitting his signature finisher, Punk also broke out some of his old favorites, including the top-rope elbow drop. 

https://twitter.com/AEW/status/1441586528304590866

Punk made his long-awaited return to wrestling last month when he announced he signed with AEW, and it wasn't long after that he returned to the ring as part of the All Out pay-per-view in a suburb of his hometown of Chicago on Sept. 5.

The 42-year-old veteran beat Darby Allin at the event and continued to soak in the adulation of the AEW fanbase in subsequent weeks.

While sitting at the commentary table, Taz interrupted a Punk promo and told him to stop mentioning the names of Team Taz members. Taz was referring to Punk listing Hobbs and Ricky Starks as opponents he would potentially like to face.

A furious Punk told Taz to line up Hobbs, Starks and even Hook so he could go through them one by one.

On the next episode of Dynamite, Punk began the night on commentary, but he didn't finish, as Hobbs and Hook attacked him.

Hobbs put Punk through the table, which set the stage for a match between them being made official for Rampage.

Punk made his AEW debut on the second-ever episode of Rampage, and Rampage also played host to his first match on regular television since he reentered the wrestling world.

It represented a unique challenge for Punk as well since Hobbs had a massive size and strength advantage. That was a departure from the match against Allin in which Punk was the bigger competitor.

While Hobbs gave Punk all he could handle, Punk's experience and veteran savvy won out, as he improved his AEW record to 2-0.

Now, the door could be open for Punk to enter into a rivalry with Starks since he has already gotten past one member of Team Taz.

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

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Reason for Danielson vs. Omega Opening Dynamite

AEW delivered a dream match on Wednesday night's Grand Slam edition of Dynamite at Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York City with AEW World champion Kenny Omega facing Bryan Danielson in a non-title match.

While the match was excellent, it was somewhat surprising that AEW put it on first rather than making it the main event. Apparently, there was a calculated reason for AEW's decision.

According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t WrestlingInc.com's Marc Middleton), Danielson and Omega opened the show so that they could have a long match with fewer commercial interruptions.

Danielson vs. Omega went for 30 minutes and ended in a time-limit draw, and there was only one commercial break during the contest.

With Danielson and Omega going on first, the main event saw Britt Baker successfully defend the AEW Women's World Championship against Ruby Soho thanks to interference from Jamie Hayter and Rebel.

In addition to the rationale reported by Meltzer, the finish of Danielson vs. Omega likely had something to do with the decision as well.

Ending the show with a time-limit draw may not have sat well with the fans in attendance, which is why it made more sense to do the match earlier in the show.

After Danielson and Omega fought to a stalemate, it seems likely that they will go at it again in the near future with the title on the line.

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WWE Discussing Logistical Plans for WrestleMania 38

WWE is reportedly considering making WrestleMania a two-day event once again next year after doing so each of the past two years.

According to Meltzer (h/t Middleton), WWE officials have discussed several ideas with AT&T Stadium officials regarding WrestleMania 38. The event is currently scheduled to emanate from AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on April 3, 2022.

Among the ideas reportedly discussed is for WrestleMania to be a two-day event on both April 2 and April 3.

WWE made WrestleMania two days for the first time last year with WrestleMania 36, opting to try something new in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. WrestleMania 37 in Tampa, Florida, earlier this year was held over two nights as well.

Another reported idea being talked about is to hold WrestleMania at AT&T Stadium on April 3, followed by Monday Night Raw occurring at AT&T Stadium the next night as well. Both WrestleMania and Raw would reportedly have 40,000-seat setups.

Regardless of what WWE opts to do, WrestleMania 38 promises to be one of the biggest events in company history.

When WWE last held WrestleMania at AT&T Stadium over five years ago, the company reported an attendance of over 101,000, which was the highest in WWE history.

If WWE breaks up WrestleMania 38 over the course of two days, it is possible the total attendance could eclipse what WrestleMania 32 did in one night.

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Cole Talks Owens Possibly Signing with AEW

Amid speculation regarding Kevin Owens' future in WWE, newly signed AEW star Adam Cole discussed his thoughts on KO possibly signing with AEW as well.

During an appearance on Oral Sessions with Renee Paquette (h/t WrestlingInc.com's Eric Mutter), Cole was asked about what he would like to see Owens do in the future:

"I mean this because I'm friends with Kevin. I want Kevin to do what makes him happiest. I really mean it, I mean it in my soul. However, of course I would love the idea of him joining me, and The Young Bucks, and everyone else here. That would be incredible. However, I do want Kevin to be happy. So there's no part of me that would be angry or upset with whatever his decision is."

Earlier this month, Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Select (h/t Aaron Rift of NoDQ.com) reported that Owens' WWE contract is set to expire in January 2022, which is earlier than originally thought.

Sapp noted that WWE restructured several contracts prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, and Owens' was among them.

Prior to Sapp's report, Middleton noted that Owens tweeted and deleted the coordinates of Mt. Rushmore. That was significant since Owens, Cole and The Young Bucks were once a stable known as Mt. Rushmore on the independent scene.

Cole made his AEW debut earlier this month at All Out after his WWE contract expired. Cole was a top star in NXT for four years but decided to jump ship to AEW.

Bryan Danielson did the same at All Out, signing with AEW upon the expiration of his WWE contract.

With so many high-profile WWE stars making the move to AEW, it is possible Owens could be next on the list, especially since he has no shortage of friends over at AEW.

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

WWE Superstars Karrion Kross and Scarlett got engaged Thursday. 

Scarlett posted a picture on Twitter of her wearing her engagement ring alongside Kross, with the caption "Pop the champagne!"

𝒫𝑜𝓅 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒸𝒽𝒶𝓂𝓅𝒶𝑔𝓃𝑒! 🍾🥂#Isaidyes💍 @WWEKarrionKross pic.twitter.com/0WnxlTfw65

— Scarlett Bordeaux (@Lady_Scarlett13) September 23, 2021

Kross and Scarlett debuted together in May 2020 on the NXT brand. She served as his manager throughout his tenure on the developmental show, including during his NXT title wins at TakeOver XXX and Takeover: Stand and Deliver. 

Kross' first title run was interrupted by a shoulder injury he suffered in his TakeOver XXX victory over Keith Lee. The 36-year-old vacated the championship on the first episode of NXT after the event and missed four months before returning in December. 

Since moving to the main roster full-time in August, Kross has worked as a solo act on Raw. Scarlett has yet to make an appearance on the red brand. 

Prior to joining WWE, Kross and Scarlett worked together in Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide from 2018 to 2019. They also made sporadic appearances for Impact Wrestling. 

Satnam Singh is best known as the first player born in India ever to be drafted into the NBA, landing with the Dallas Mavericks in 2015.

Now, Singh is taking his talents to the squared circle after signing a deal with All Elite Wrestling:

AEW have just annouced that they have signed 7 foot 3 Satnam Singh.

Singh is best know for being the first-ever player from India to be drafted by the NBA. pic.twitter.com/iSJbUcZyXI

— WrestlePurists (@WrestlePurists) September 23, 2021

A 7'3" center, Singh was selected with the 52nd overall pick. He spent two seasons with the Mavericks' G League affiliate Texas Legends and played for Dallas in the NBA Summer League.

Singh was the subject of the 2016 Netflix documentary One in a Billion, which covered his journey from India to the NBA.

According to a press release from AEW, Singh will begin wrestling training at the Atlanta-based Nightmare Factory, which is run by AEW superstar QT Marshall and AEW executive vice president Cody Rhodes.

"While we've recently secured some of the hottest free agents on the planet, I'm also deeply committed to cultivating our own homegrown stars and the next generation of extraordinary professional wrestlers," AEW CEO Tony Khan said in the press release. "In addition to Satnam’s commanding 7'3" stature, I was impressed with his high level of athleticism and charisma. He's an exciting addition to our roster, and I'm looking forward to our fans getting to know Satnam's personality and watching his development."

AEW completed a television deal in India in early August to broadcast weekly episodes of AEW Dynamite and AEW Rampage on EuroSport India.

Singh isn't the only former NBA player to make his way to AEW. In March, NBA Hall of Famer Shaquille O'Neal competed in a mixed tag team match alongside Jade Cargill against Rhodes and Red Velvet. O'Neal memorably went crashing through a table after a dive from Rhodes.

AEW made its New York City debut on Wednesday for AEW Dynamite, featuring a much-anticipated championship match between titleholder Kenny Omega and Bryan Danielson. The match ended in a time-limit draw.

WWE reportedly altered its plans for the main event of Monday night's episode of Raw because of happenings on untelevised live events leading up to the show.

According to Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio (h/t WrestlingInc.com's Jason Ounpraseuth), the original plan called for the six-man tag team match between New Day and The Bloodline to close Raw.

Instead, that match served as the opener, with Universal champion Roman Reigns scoring the win for his team after interference from Bobby Lashley. That led to Lashley, Reigns and WWE champion Big E squaring off in a Triple Threat main event.

Meltzer noted that WWE Chairman Vince McMahon was such a fan of the Reigns vs. Big E vs. Lashley Triple Threat match at live events in Augusta, Georgia, and North Charleston, South Carolina, that he wanted it to occur on Raw as well.

It was also reported by Meltzer that the change was made with an eye toward boosting Raw's ratings as it went head-to-head with Monday Night Football.

The decision was successful, as Raw averaged 1.86 million viewers and a 0.49 rating in the 18-49-year-old demographic, per Showbuzz Daily. According to WrestlingInc.com's Marc Middleton, Raw was up 7.37 percent in overall viewership and 13.95 percent in the demo.

It marked the first Raw with Big E as WWE champion after he cashed in his Money in the Bank contract on Lashley the previous week, and it also featured Reigns, who is a SmackDown Superstar.

With both Big E and Reigns working twice on the show, Raw was able to hold the interest of fans far better than the previous week.

WWE has pulled out all the stops on Raw since the start of the NFL season, and based on the positive gains it saw last week, that could continue to be the case moving forward.

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

AEW wrestler and executive vice president Cody Rhodes showered CM Punk with praise Wednesday prior to the Grand Slam edition of AEW Dynamite at Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York City.

Appearing on The Rich Eisen Show, Rhodes noted that Punk has helped break multiple AEW records in terms of viewership and merchandise sales since joining the company in August (beginning at 1:50 mark):

"From a data standpoint, every record we have, he instantly broke," Rhodes said. "I think we added 12 new servers to our ShopAEW.com site in terms of the merchandise he was able to put out there. Ratings, you know, they come down to the No. 1 on cable series and it averages a little over 1 million, but if you look at his segments specifically, they're nearing 2 million in terms of overall views. He really was a flashpoint in wrestling. Every wrestler should know the prominence he brings."

To Rhodes' point, Pro Wrestling Tees announced that Punk's AEW debut shirt broke the record for most shirt sales in 24 hours on the site, and it also became the best-selling shirt of all time for PWT in less than 72 hours.

Also, Punk's AEW debut on the Aug. 20 Rampage drew 1.129 million viewers, which was nearly 400,000 more viewers than the next-best-rated Rampage thus far.

Punk's AEW in-ring debut against Darby Allin at AEW All Out near his hometown of Chicago helped contribute to a sold-out show and reportedly over 200,000 pay-per-view buys as well.

It had been over seven years since Punk last stepped inside a pro wrestling ring before his AEW debut, and every measure suggests fans have been starving to see him back in the fold.

Punk will compete in his second AEW match Friday night on Rampage when he takes on Powerhouse Hobbs at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

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

Prior to his match against All Elite Wrestling World champion Kenny Omega on Wednesday night's Grand Slam edition of AEW Dynamite, Bryan Danielson discussed his move from WWE to AEW and compared the heads of both companies.

Appearing on WFAN's Moose & Maggie (h/t WrestlingInc.com's Eric Mutter), Danielson noted that there are some significant similarities and differences between AEW President Tony Khan and WWE Chairman Vince McMahon:

"I think if you were to speak to both of them, if you were to interview both of them, I think you would be like 'Wow. You could not meet two more different people.' But I see a lot of similarities in them. And one of the things I think they would both respect about each other is the hard work. Neither of them sleep much, and they take on so much, and I think that's incredible. One of the things that's very different is communicating with them. When you first communicate with Vince McMahon, it's very intimidating because he's somebody who speaks deliberately. You ask him a question, he won't answer right away, and not because he's trying to impose his will on your or anything like that, just because he doesn't want to give you a thoughtless response.

"When you talk to Tony, you can feel Tony's excitement. I don't remember meeting Tony, but we had met previously several years ago. It was probably just a 'Oh hi!' or something like that. But I was walking out right before walking out before All Out, and Tony was like 'Bryan! It's so great to see you!' He gives me a big hug and literally, before I'm about to walk out he's like 'Bryan! LET'S GO!' It was just wild, you know what I mean? I really enjoy talking with Tony on the phone and all that kind of stuff, and all our interactions have been great."

Outside observers may have the impression that McMahon is a cold, heartless businessman, but Danielson has made it clear since leaving WWE that he doesn't view McMahon in that light.

In a thank you and farewell letter written to WWE for The Players' Tribune on Wednesday, Danielson wrote of McMahon, "I wish more people could see you how I see you."

Danielson also said during his appearance on WFAN that leaving WWE wasn't an easy decision because of his loyalty and admiration for McMahon.

The five-time WWE world champion said of McMahon: "I have a great relationship with him. I love that man. And he's done so much for me and my family, and the things I've learned, and that kind of stuff. So that was the hard thing."

While McMahon has essentially always been on the business side of things, it is well documented that Khan is a longtime fan of pro wrestling and existed in that space for many years before helping to found AEW.

Because of that, McMahon and Khan seemingly look at things from a different perspective, and they have both enjoyed immense success in their own ways.

McMahon has built WWE into a global empire, and the company is generating more revenue than ever on the strength of billion-dollar television deals with Fox and NBCUniversal.

Meanwhile, Khan has molded AEW into the clear No. 2 company behind WWE in just two years, and he ran a show Wednesday that packed 20,000 fans into Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York City.

Danielson was a huge part of the success of that show, wrestling Omega to a time-limit draw, and all signs point to him being one of the faces of the company moving forward, just as he was during his decade-plus run in WWE under McMahon.

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AEW has already signed several former WWE stars since coming into existence in 2019, and AEW World champion Kenny Omega believes many more would love to make the jump.

In an interview with Tokyo Sports (h/t Wrestling Inc's Robert Gunier), Omega said: "Absolutely, more will come out in the future. I think about 90 percent of wrestlers in WWE want to be in AEW."

Some of the most notable former WWE stars on the current AEW roster include CM Punk, Bryan Danielson, Adam Cole, Chris Jericho, Jon Moxley, Cody Rhodes, Ruby Soho, Miro, Malakai Black, Andrade El Idolo and Pac.

Danielson and Cole are among AEW's most recent signees, and they opted to let their WWE contracts expire before signing with AEW. That is in contrast to some of the others who were released by WWE before joining AEW.

Omega was also asked which current WWE star he would like to see sign with AEW, and he named perhaps the biggest star in WWE today: "There are already a lot of people coming… So I don't really know who. If I was forced, I'd say Roman Reigns. I think it's a good opportunity to prove who the real champion is."

Reigns is the current Universal champion and one of the most recognizable figures in wrestling. He is also in the midst of the best run of his career, and it can be argued that there is no more complete performer in all of wrestling.

Omega vs. Reigns would be a massive match given that they were voted the No. 1 and No. 2 wrestlers in the world over the past year by Pro Wrestling Illustrated.

Given that Reigns is a WWE homegrown talent and part of a family that is deeply rooted in WWE, it seems unlikely that he would ever make the leap to AEW.

While Omega vs. Reigns is a dream match that may not happen, Omega vs. Danielson is coming to fruition Wednesday night.

On the Grand Slam edition of AEW Dynamite at Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York City, Omega will clash with Danielson in a non-title match.

AEW has undoubtedly put itself on the map in the wrestling world thanks to some of the talent it has attracted, and if Danielson tears the house down with Omega on Wednesday night, perhaps it could inspire even more WWE stars to join AEW in the future.

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