N/A
Baron Corbin provided some insight into the philosophy of WWE head of creative Triple H during a recent interview.
Appearing on the Johnny Dare Morning Show last week (h/t Shivangini Rawat of Ringside News), Corbin expressed his belief that Triple H goes to great lengths to ensure that everyone who is on TV is utilized properly:
"That's one thing I love about Triple H, he's a firm believer in, 'It's a marathon, not a race [sprint].' He likes to slow play things, and he doesn't just waste people.
"If you don't have something that is a big-time play or move on television, he's like, 'Then you don't need to be out there because it's not good to just be out there.' You want to have a purpose every time you go on television."
Triple H was elevated to the roles of WWE head of creative and executive vice president of talent relations after Vince McMahon retired in July after it was revealed he paid multiple women in exchange for confidentiality over allegations of infidelity and harassment.
Raw, SmackDown and premium live events have had a decidedly different feel under The Game, with Corbin expressing his belief that he has brought "new energy" and "new life" to the product.
Corbin also compared Triple H's creative vision to that of McMahon, noting that McMahon is "go, go, go," whereas Triple H prefers to let things breathe.
While Corbin praised McMahon for being a "machine," he also said it is "nice to step back" and spend time with family when not needed for a show.
Since Triple H took over as head of creative, Corbin has been repackaged, leaving behind the Happy Corbin gimmick. Now, he is a member of the Raw brand with WWE Hall of Famer JBL as his manager and mouthpiece.
It remains to be seen how far the new character will take Corbin, but he has been a fixture in Raw's midcard and has enjoyed a great deal of success with televised wins over Johnny Gargano, Dolph Ziggler, Akira Tozawa and Cedric Alexander.
Corbin has wrestled only one televised match since the Nov. 21 episode of Raw, which perhaps speaks to Triple H's philosophy of not forcing someone into a spot if there isn't a logical reason to do so.
Listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot wrestling topics. Catch the latest episode in the player below (warning: some language NSFW).
Legado del Fantasma leader Santos Escobar reportedly avoided a serious injury during a ladder match for the Intercontinental Championship on Monday night.
During an untelevised live event at Madison Square Garden in New York City, Gunther put the IC title on the line in a ladder match against Escobar, Kofi Kingston, Shinsuke Nakamura and Madcap Moss, and Escobar was on the wrong end of a scary spot.
According to Subhojeet Mukherjee of Ringside News, Kingston did a double stomp off a ladder and landed on Escobar's knee, which led to Escobar being helped to the back by producer Jamie Noble after the match.
Per PWInsider.com's Mike Johnson, Escobar is believed to be "OK" after being checked out by WWE's medical team following the match.
Gunther retained the Intercontinental Championship, extending a dominant reign that has now lasted nearly 200 days.
Rather than airing a traditional episode of Raw on Monday, WWE aired a "Best of 2022" show, which allowed the company to hold two separate live events in New York City and Columbus, Ohio.
Fightful Select (h/t Shubham Banerjee of Ringside News) reported that the Columbus event was a "logistical mess" since several advertised Superstars were either late or couldn't make the show due to travel issues, presumably as a result of extreme winter weather in the northeast.
Seth Rollins, Becky Lynch, Bobby Lashley and Alexa Bliss were reportedly among those who missed the Columbus show, and Rollins divulged on Twitter that his absence was a result of his bus breaking down.
Rollins was reportedly supposed to be part of a steel-cage match against Austin Theory for the United States Championship in the main event, but instead it was a steel-cage Triple Threat with Theory beating Johnny Gargano and Damian Priest.
Listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot wrestling topics. Catch the latest episode in the player below (warning: some language NSFW).
LPGA Hall of Famer Kathy Whitworth, whose 88 victories are the most by any player on a single professional tour, died on Saturday at the age of 83.
Per ESPN, Whitworth's longtime partner Bettye Odle said she died suddenly on Saturday night while celebrating the holidays with family and friends. A cause of death has not been provided.
"Kathy left this worth the way she lived her life—loving, laugh and creating memories," Odle said in a statement.
Whitworth's illustrious career spanned over two decades, as she won the first of her 88 titles in July 1962 in the Kelly Girl Open and she recorded her final victory in 1985 at the United Virginia Bank Classic. She won six majors during her career, and she became the first woman to earn $1 million on the LPGA Tour.
When she won the Lady Michelob in 1982, she surpassed Mickey Wright's record of 82 LPGA wins. That number still stands as the PGA Tour record, shared by Tiger Woods and Sam Snead.
The one major that escaped Whitworth during her career was the U.S. Women's Open.
"I would have swapped being the first to make a million for winning the Open, but it was a consolation which took some of the sting out of not winning," she said in 1981.
Whitworth earned LPGA player of the year seven times from 1966 to 1973. She was named AP Female Athlete of the Year twice in 1965 and 1967, and in 1982, she was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame.
Upon her retirement, Whitworth continued on in the sport by conducting junior clinics. Despite her enormous amount of success, she remained humble through it all.
"I don't think about the legacy of 88 tournaments," she said. "I did it because I wanted to win, not to set a record or a goal that no one else could surpass. I'm not some great oddity. I was just fortunate to be so successful. What I did in being a better player does not make me a better person. When I'm asked how I would like to be remembered, I feel that if people remember me at all, it will be good enough."
