All Elite Wrestling

All Elite Wrestling star Thunder Rosa is quickly discovering that uneasy lies the head that wears a crown.

Rosa dethroned Britt Baker as the AEW women's world champion at St. Patrick's Day Slam in March. A month later, she successfully defended the title against Nyla Rose at Battle of the Belts II, and now another challenger lurks on the horizon.

Serena Deeb will look to wrest the gold away from Rosa at Double or Nothing on Sunday.

Ahead of the pay-per-view, Rosa joined Bleacher Report for an AMA session, answering questions about her match with Deeb and her aspirations in professional wrestling along with a variety of other topics.

The following is the transcript from the AMA session.

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@BR_Wrestling How do you feel about your matchup against Serena Deeb for the AEW women's title this Sunday?

I feel very confident. I'm very eager to get in the ring. The longer I'm not in the ring, the more ready I am to unleash everything and all of the energy I have. 

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@Coleman6 What wrestler did you most idolize as a kid? 

I really didn't watch wrestling so I can't answer that.

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@Conor2389 Do you have a favorite match of all time? 

The one that really caught my attention was Shawn Michaels vs. The Undertaker.

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@TheGabagool What would you say is your biggest motivation that got you to where you are today? 

To challenge myself to new heights and achieve things I never thought I could. I've become really ambitious and I feel like this is the tip of the iceberg.

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@HSho07 Who do you think has put out the best work in wrestling?

If you compare people from this generation to people from 20 years ago, it's so hard because it's so different, so it's hard to single out someone.

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@SMXC Do you do anything special to prep for matches? 

Usually, I have my coffee in the morning. I go outside. I have some time to myself. I also really get focused on having that for myself so that when it's go time I'm fresh and ready to go.

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@EDouglas1 What would your dream match and stipulation be? And pick one: Young Bucks or Hardy Boyz?

Hardy Boyz and a ladder match.

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@HollywoodJDE Do you have a take on the Sasha/Naomi situation and would you like to see them join AEW?

I don't really like to give an opinion on people's decisions and how they do their business. Pass.

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@RipSeanT21 Who is the funniest AEW superstar?

Johnny Hungee.

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@The_Pirate_Crew Reese's or Reese's pieces? (the PB cups vs. the m&m looking ones)

Reese's.

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@drothenberg What is your perfect taco? 

Homemade tortilla. Al pastor with special guacamole, cilantro, pineapple, lemon and salt. And a good Corona on the side.

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@Hi76revived Any thoughts on Kendrick's new album? 

No, I need to listen to it. I love him. He's one of my favorite rappers.

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@PGarrido93 Not including your hometown, what is your favorite city to wrestle in? 

Los Angeles…for now.

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@Scottoner What is your favorite thing to do when you travel to a new city for a show? 

I used to have a lot more time to do stuff. I used to get there and walk around. I would scooter around and hit up some museums, but now it has gotten a bit harder to go out. Now, I like to search for taco spots in the nearby area and something I always do is go for a run in the area.

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@SCWCCSC2002 Do you find the TV time for women's wrestling adequate and if not what things as AEW Women’s Champ. can you do to change that? 

As an advocate for women's wrestling, with every company I have been in, I still feel like we will always need more time. It’s hard to believe that the quality and amount of time is still lacking in that department. Sometimes, it's not up to the performers. Sometimes, it's all about the stories that make it.

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@A20GTX Is there anything in the business you feel like you have yet to accomplish that you ultimately aspire to? 

One of the things I ultimately hope to accomplish is to make my brand more universal – to get people to see the other side of the performer. I would love for my taco vlog to become an actual show like Anthony Bourdain would have. Business-wise, I want to cultivate future generations of female wrestlers so that when they get to the next level, they feel ready and competent. A lot of us didn't feel like we could make it, but ensuring people are well-trained will give them more confidence. I also have a lot of ideas and projects that are unfolding little by little, but I really want to create my brand outside of wrestling. I'm still working on that niche, but I'm going to be successful no matter what.

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

JR Discusses Why Austin vs. Hogan Never Happened

Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Hulk Hogan is perhaps the biggest dream match in wrestling history that never happened, leaving many fans to wonder why it was never booked when Hogan returned to WWE in 2002.

On the latest episode of Grilling JR (h/t WrestlingInc's Marco Rovere), current AEW announcer and WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross noted that while the subject of Austin vs. Hogan was brought up at the time, Austin didn't want the match out of fear that it wouldn't have lived up to the hype: "Austin didn't have the match with Hogan because he didn't want to have the match The Undertaker did. Hogan was battered, beat up, multiple back surgeries."

Ross noted that Hogan was so worn down physically that even taking a flat-back bump was difficult for him, which severely limited the potential of his matches.

Many assumed Austin vs. Hogan was a certainty for WrestleMania X-8, but WWE went in a different direction with Austin facing Scott Hall and Hogan taking on The Rock.

While Austin vs. Hall was largely forgettable, Hogan vs. The Rock is considered an all-time classic, not because of the in-ring work but largely due to the fan reaction.

The crowd essentially forced Hogan to turn babyface, and he went on to beat Triple H for the Undisputed WWE Championship at the next pay-per-view, which was Backlash.

Hogan dropped the title about a month later to The Undertaker at Judgment Day in a match that was widely panned.

Ross explained what went wrong in the bout between Hogan and Taker, saying: 

"The match was not an artistic success. But it wasn't because those guys didn't work their asses off. You've got a guy that's got a bad back and he's not a spring chicken. … Taker tried to do all he could to make the match a success, but it just didn't get the job done. And that's sad to say when you're talking about two legit legends like Taker and Hulk."

Austin's fears and suspicions were apparently realized at Judgment Day, as Hogan wasn't able to do much in the match, and The Undertaker was unable to carry it on his own.

Stone Cold may have encountered a similar scenario if he had faced Hogan, so perhaps it was for the best that a match between the legends was left to the imagination.

Banks, Naomi Situation Reportedly Has No End in Sight

The standoff between WWE and the team of Sasha Banks and Naomi reportedly isn't expected to end any time soon.

Last week on Raw, Banks and Naomi were scheduled to be part of a six-pack challenge against Asuka, Becky Lynch, Doudrop and Nikki A.S.H. with the winner going on to challenge Bianca Belair for the Raw Women's Championship at Hell in a Cell.

Banks and Naomi walked out either before or during the show, however, forcing WWE to change the match to Asuka vs. Lynch.

WWE later released a statement condemning the actions of Banks and Naomi, and the company has since referred to their walkout as "unprofessional" on numerous occasions:

Sasha Banks and Naomi walked out on tonight’s Raw after Banks had issues with “creative ideas pitched,” per @PWInsidercom

WWE issued a statement afterwards pic.twitter.com/c7PZc3K4KL

— B/R Wrestling (@BRWrestling) May 17, 2022

On last week's episode of SmackDown, announcer Michael Cole read a statement, noting that Banks and Naomi had been suspended indefinitely and stripped of the WWE Women's Tag Team Championships.

WWE has also removed Sasha and Naomi from the pre-show intro, deleted their Facebook pages and taken all of their merchandise off WWE Shop.

According to Fightful Select (h/t WrestlingInc's Sai Mohan), "there's no end on the horizon for this situation."

Fightful noted that while Banks and Naomi were not in Evansville, Indiana, for Raw on Monday and seemingly aren't figured into any immediate plans, WWE does not intend on releasing them from their contracts either.

With Banks and Naomi out of the picture for now, WWE booked Belair to defend her title against both Lynch and Asuka at Hell in a Cell in a Triple Threat.

Meanwhile, the WWE Women's Tag Team Championships are vacant, and WWE has announced that a tournament will be held to determine new champs.

Cole Reveals Biggest Reasons for Going to AEW

Adam Cole has been one of AEW's top stars since leaving WWE and joining the company in September, and he discussed some of his motivations for making the move to AEW recently.

During an appearance at Motor City Comic Con (h/t WrestlingInc's Matthew Carlins), Cole divulged that spending more time with his girlfriend, former AEW women's world champion Britt Baker, played a role in his decision:

"One of the biggest things was getting to be around and see Britt a lot more. At the time, our schedules were so different that there'd be some times that I'd see her for maybe half a day, one day a week. Sometimes I wouldn't see her for weeks at a time. So getting to travel with her and just being behind the curtain when she walks through after she's done a match or a promo is really nice."

Cole had been with WWE since 2017, working almost exclusively as part of the NXT brand, and he was at or near the top for the duration of his time there.

In addition to being the leader of Undisputed Era, Cole held the NXT Championship, North American Championship and NXT Tag Team Championship, making him only the second Triple Crown champion in NXT history.

Cole also still boasts the longest NXT Championship reign of all time at 396 days, but there wasn't much left for him to do after dropping the title.

He had accomplished everything possible in NXT, meaning his decision when his WWE contract expired came down to going to the WWE main roster or making the leap to AEW.

Cole admitted that watching AEW made him want to go to the promotion, saying: "It just looked like so much fun. You know, I had known tons of people on the roster, but to see these crazy, wild crowds every single week, I was like, 'God, I'd love to wrestle in front of these fans.'"

Cole's dream became a reality at All Out in September when he and Bryan Danielson both made their AEW debuts following the main event.

Since then, Cole has competed for the AEW World Championship on multiple occasions, and at Double or Nothing on Sunday, he will compete in the finals of the Owen Hart Foundation tournament against either Samoa Joe or Kyle O'Reilly.

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