In this WrestleTalk News, Vince McMahon’s in-ring return!
Everything on the table for WrestleMania.
Brock Lesnar goes off-script and more!
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But don’t just take my word for it.
Here’s someone far cooler.
Vince McMahon is rumored to be considering an in-ring return for WrestleMania.
Because why not?
He’s fired his own son.
Stone Cold’s apparently coming back.
Cody is jumping ship from AEW.
Calm down, wrestling news.
It’s only February.
The rumor was tweeted out by Brad Shepard, so this story has a severe health warning
- containing 12g of pinches of salt.
Twice the recommended daily amount for your average adult, and enough to kill a snail.
That poor snail, you monster Brad Shepard.
He tweeted: “A source in #WWE told me today that 76-year-old
CEO Vince McMahon is CONSIDERING getting back in the ring for #WrestleMania 38.
It is absolutely not official, just something currently on the table.
Ultimately, it will be up to Vince himself.”
The last time Vince got physical onscreen was the ill-advised Kevin Owens headbutt angle
in 2018, busting McMahon open to build a Hell in a Cell match against Shane.
Before then, Vince’s last actual in-ring match was in 2012 against CM Punk on an episode
of Raw.
But apparently behind-the-scenes, he’s literally throwing himself off balconies - as both The
Gronk and Becky Lynch told stories in 2020 about Vince demonstrating their bumps for
them, leaping off a stage onto a crashmat.
He’s the genuine CEO of a billion dollar publicly traded company.
Do you think Vince will wrestle an actual match at Mania?
Let me know in the comments.
Shepard makes sure to hedge his report, though, pointing out this is currently only a pitch
that’s being considered, not an actual plan.
And according to Ringside News, that’s because literally everything is on the table.
As the marketing keeps telling us, WWE wants to make WrestleMania 38 the most STUPENDOUS
event they can.
But even with a planned in-ring return for Stone Cold Steve Austin, who’s apparently
set to face Kevin Owens in his home state of Texas for his first match in almost two
decades, McMahon doesn’t think this is enough.
Meltzer has already reported there is another ‘Stone Cold’ level return being discussed
- which I previously thought could only be Rock ‘The Dwayne’ Johnson to set up his
Mania 39 match with Roman Reigns, but now I guess could be Vince himself - and Cody
Rhodes getting a big time push jumping from AEW.
But WrestleMania is two nights long now, and they need double the surprises.
Which is why Ringside News writes “nothing is off the table”, and the creative team
are pitching every idea possible to see what sticks - one example being “Hulk Hogan vs
Linda McMcMahon”.
Dammit, I actually kind of want to see that now.
There’s already Miz’s reported partner to face the Mysterios as Logan Paul - marking
two celebrity matches at WrestleMania alongside Johnny Knoxville vs Sami Zayn.
And it seems they weren’t just content with one winner-takes-all match with Roman Reigns
and Brock Lesnar.
They wanted all the lady titles in one match too…
WrestleTalk alumni and WWE 2K22 star Louis Dangoor has reported over at GiveMeSport that
WWE was “seriously” considering a Fatal Four Horsewoman Way match to main event night
1 of WrestleMania 38 with Becky Lynch vs Charlotte Flair vs Bayley vs Sasha Banks with both the
Raw and SmackDown championships on the line.
Apparently the match was first pitched back in December - like WWE plan four months ahead
- when Ronda Rousey told officials she wouldn’t be returning for WrestleMania 38.
That obviously changed the following month, and when Ronda committed to coming back for
the Rumble, WWE changed the line-up to Rousey vs Flair, and presumably Becky vs Belair,
as that’s the other women’s title match we’re now getting.
Bayley, meanwhile, is still recovering from a torn ACL, but she’s expected to return
next month, and Sasha currently has nothing to do.
The Road to WrestleMania is a weird time though.
Not only are WWE chucking a load of ideas around internally to see what sticks, the
months of January to April are famed for the company leaking disinformation to throw ‘the
dirtsheets’ off the scent of their real plans.
Like this whole Cody leaving AEW charade.
It’s a work, I tell you, a really good, plausible, watertight work that will all be
revealed in three years’ time when Cody goes back to AEW with an increased starpower
after fighting for the intercontinental title in SmackDown’s midcard the whole time…
what a work.
What an amazing, effective, obvious work.
Cody, of course, didn’t return to WWE at the Elimination Chamber premium live event.
Instead, PWInsider claims he was spotted in Florida within an hour of the show concluding.
So they’re either saying he’s developed some kind of supersonic jet, he’s reporting
to the Performance Center imminently to learn how to work for TV, or plotting more with
Tony Khan, as AEW also have their pandemic home in Jacksonville.
Kenny Omega spoke candidly about Cody leaving AEW to Wrestling Observer Radio, where he
speculated that the AEW in 2022 is very different from the vision he, the Bucks and Cody had
before it launched.
Omega and the Bucks were content with that, but he assumes Cody wasn’t.
Omega also said it was always Cody who pushed for the war-like mentality against WWE, with
his frequent shots and references to Triple H, which Kenny and the Bucks didn’t want
any part in.
Sadly for Cody, if he does end up in WWE, he won’t have one of his favourite WCW toys
to play with…
Goldberg posted a video on Instagram on arriving in Riyadh, where he revealed he was the first
member of the WWE roster in the gym.
The second, was Michael Cole on a crosstrainer behind him.
And he finished saying his Elimination Chamber match could be “my last in a WWE ring”
so “tune in, watch me smash Roman like I’ve wanted to do for the past twenty years.”
Twenty years…
Roman would’ve been 16?
The post’s caption furthered the idea he’s done with WWE:
“Possibly my final mission in the wrestling world…
Kind of a bittersweet trip as it may be my last here as a performer…
Thank you everyone 🙏🏻 #whoslast” Goldberg to AEW confirmed.
Now Gorg is seemingly done, losing a disappointing six minute match, I know what you’re thinking.
Where’s the young blood in WWE?
Where’s my Undertaker and Kurt Angle?
Kurt Angle has revealed more on his podcast about his WWE return rumours.
He confirmed he was never booked for WrestleMania 38, but he was pitched for the Elimination
Chamber show as part of the RKBro and Alpha Academy storyline - where he would’ve ended
up as their tag title match’s special guest referee.
Which, in an alternative timeline, would’ve made a whole lot more sense - if Chad Gable
was revealed as Kurt’s illegitimate son instead of Jason Jordan for the swerve, and
Angle was brought in as Riddle’s manager on his main roster call-up as planned.
Angle confirmed he isn’t signed with WWE.
But, and this is me talking here, that sounds like the exact kind of match WWE would love
for WrestleMania 38, so maybe it still might happen.
Kurt wasn’t the only wrestler the Crown Prince would’ve actually recognised to be
at Elimination Chamber.
PWInsider writes The Undertaker was also planned for a non-wrestling in-person appearance at
the show, following the announcement he’d be headlining this year’s Hall of Fame class
the previous day.
The cameo was scrapped for unknown reasons, so Taker just showed up at a Bad Bunny gig
over the weekend instead.
But what about the stuff that actually did happen on the show?
PWInsider is reporting that Brock Lesnar went “off script” during the men’s Elimination
Chamber main event.
As Bobby Lashley had been removed from the match earlier with an injury angle, he couldn’t
enter when his pod was selected.
Apparently, nothing was planned to happen, and the rest of the entrants would continue
to wrestle until Lesnar entered last.
But Brock had a far better idea in the moment.
He decided to kick open his pod door instead of waiting a few more minutes for his time,
in one of the match’s coolest spots.
He ain’t paid by the hour.
He’s got a private flight to catch.
As for the women’s Chamber, PWInsider notes the finish was in flux just hours before the
show started.
The original end had Alexa Bliss and Bianca Belair both have their shoulders down in a
double pin, but Bianca would kick out at the last second.
Instead, they decided to put over Belair strong, winning with her KOD finisher and getting
a clean pin - to give her momentum heading into the Becky title match at Mania.
There was backstage praise for how far WWE has come with their women’s matches in Saudi
Arabia, “going from one bout with women wearing oversized t-shirts to multiple women’s
bouts with colorful ring gear that still respected local laws.”
Because wearing skintight PVC dominatrix catsuits while standing in a glass pod definitely wasn’t
sexualised.
Bullet dodged there, Saudi regime!
In seriousness, it is incredibly impressive and laudable how WWE has actually managed
to be at the forefront of change.
Showing it is possible to end up doing the right thing for the wrong reasons.
And somehow Madcap Moss was totally fine, despite headbutting the centre of the earth
off Drew McIntyre’s inverted Alabama Slam.
He apologised for taking the move wrong to everyone backstage.
Now go and subscribe to our other wrestling channel partsFUNknown, where you’ll find
QuizzleMania, Adam Blampied’s huge fantasy booking of Cody’s WWE return this week,
and our latest Top 10 list - all the wrestling companies WWE destroyed.