Here's more wrestling news for February 14th 2022
And your headlines for Afternoon include
How Does Vince Mcmahon See WWE’s Current Product Among Reports Of All- Time Low Morale?
Ronda Rousey Reveals Her Surprising Biggest Fear Now She’s Back In The Ring!
WWE Hall Of Famer Demands Credit For John Cena’s Early Success In WWE!
WWE Delete Superbowl Tweet After Backlash From Fans!
Hulk Hogan Says He’s The Number 2 Greatest Wrestler Ever! Who Is Number 1 In The Hulkster’s Eyes?
WWE Superstars Break Character After Latest Smackdown Taping For Special Reason!
Top AEW Star Teases WWE Return To Resolve Feud With Former Universal Champion 5 Years In The Making!
WWE Hall Of Famer To Have Surgery After Losing Functions In His Hand! And More !
We’re kicking off with WWE, who for years have faced criticism over their product.
As fans get older and the programming skews towards being more family friendly, the company consistently faces backlash from fans, but this
too much of a concern for the main man in charge. During a Q&A, Mike Johnson of PW Insider
revealed that Vince McMahon has no issue with the current product, and believes WWE’s success as a company speaks for itself:
The company made a billion dollars last year, so there's a billion reasons for him to shrug off any criticisms. We are told he pushes and presents
what he likes and wants and nothing else makes a dent in that vision. Johnson went on to say that until McMahon isn’t in
in his role as WWE Chairman, nothing is expected to change dramatically, and that change may not even come after he’s no longer in charge.
McMahon’s response to the product is alarming, as morale amongst WWE talent is reportedly at an all- time low, with many feeling there’s never been a
greater distance between the roster and those in charge. The treatment of Big E has also been a point of
contention for the roster, with many believing he was badly booked during his WWE title reign, and are mad that WWE have no plans to push him as a
singles champion again. The bringing back of legends and part-timers such as Lita and Goldberg at Elimination Chamber
never goes down well with the full-time roster, but despite all this, the Chairman has no problem with his record-earning company
When Ronda Rousey left WWE in 2019, she did so because she wanted to become a mother, and achieved that goal late last year.
Now, the Baddest Mom on the Planet is back, and has a SmackDown Women’s Championship match with Charlotte Flair booked for WrestleMania,
but facing the Queen isn’t all that’s on her mind. During a recent Facebook livestream, Rousey was asked about if she’s apprehensious about
returning after years away, and revealed her biggest fear now that she’s back: “I have a new paranoia, which is that I’m going to
start lactating live on television… The other day, I thought it was pretty bold wearing the white, white shirt on Raw. I was like ‘Oh God, please do not lactate.’”
As any new mother will know, they’re body often decides to lactate at the worst possible times, and the mother herself usually has very little say as to
when it’ll happen, but that won’t stop Rousey in trying to become SmackDown Women’s Champion at WrestleMania, hopefully with a bone-dry shirt
In 2002, John Cena made his WWE debut, and despite the success he would go on to have, things looked bleak for the future World Champion.
The story goes that Cena was close to being released, until Stephanie McMahon caught John freestyle rapping on a tour bus, and the Doctor
of Thuganomics gimmick was born.
Cena definitely has Stephanie McMahon to thank for saving his career, but now there’s someone else who’d like to be praised by Big Match John.
On Twitter, a fan asked Road Dogg Jesse James if Cena ever thanked him for paving the way, as James also performed raps during his career,
and the Hall of Famer made it clear that Cena never thanked him. It’s worth noting that Road Dogg wasn’t the first
musical Superstar, nor was he the first to rap in WWE, PG-13 were rapping in the Nation of Domination before the New Age Outlaws were formed.
And mad on a machine where rapping in a ring before that.
Since his rapping origins, Cena has gone on to have one of the greatest careers ever, both in the ring and now in Hollywood, but as far as the
Road Dogg is concerned, Cena’s rise to superstardom couldn’t have happened without him.
We’ve got some NFL news now, as last night’s Superbowl saw WWE air a commercial during the event, and an appearance by The Rock,
but not everything WWE-related went down well. During the half-time show, WWE’s official Twitter account posted a clip of John Cena in his doctor
of thuganomics persona, expressing how the half-time show is making those in WWE feel.
This tweet didn’t last long, as it was almost immediately deleted, but not before fans could screenshot it first.
WWE hasn’t stated a reason for deleting it, but we do know that the company received backlash for using a tweet of Cena’s white-rapper gimmick
in relation to a show that was predominantly black artists.
Whatever the reason, the tweet was deleted, and we doubt WWE will send a similar tweet at any future Superbowl events.
Now, Hulk Hogan is one of wrestling’s most controversial names, especially after his racist tape was leaked in 2015, but it’s impossible to
deny the Hulkster’s success. Alongside Vince McMahon, Hogan shaped the WWF into a global phenomenon, and had similar
success in WCW, and many would consider the Hall of Famer the greatest of all time.
That’s not how Hogan sees things though, as recently, the Hulkster was seen partying with another legend in Tampa: Ric Flair.
At one point, Hogan grabbed a mic to give a shout out to the Hall of Famer saying Flair is the greatest ever, while he takes second place.
Stone Cold Steve Austin, who many also consider the greatest ever, took third place on Hogan’s list, but who do you consider to be the greatest of all
time? Let us know in the comments below.
One name who could be considered the greatest, at least of the modern era, is Roman Reigns, who has proven just how good he is during this most recent
reign as Universal Champion. After years of being pushed as an unrelenting babyface, Reigns is now one of wrestling’s
top heels, but was willing to break character last week for a very special person.
After last week’s SmackDown, the Universal Champion acknowledged Jarrius JJ Robertston, a lifelong WWE fan who received the Warrior
Award in 2018. JJ has biliary atresia, a rare chronic liver disease that has caused him to go through dozens of
surgeries, and Reigns was willing to break character for the inspiriational young man. The rest of the Bloodline also broke character,
as the Usos gave him a shirt, and other Superstars also took the time to say hello to JJ and those accompanying him.
JJ’s continued fight against his condition is nothing short of inspirational, and it’s great to see that even the Tribal Chief acknowledge him in this
character breaking moment.
AEW news now, as Chris Jericho has been a staple of the company since they started in 2019, ending a near 20-year run with the WWE.
In the past, Jericho hasn’t been quiet about his problems with WWE, and many think he’ll never return to Vince McMahon’s company, but that
could soon happen, according to the former World Champion. Yesterday marked 5 years since the infamous
Festival of Friendship, considered one of the greatest RAW moments of the past decade, and on Twitter, Jericho promised to get revenge on
Kevin Owens, saying the former Universal Champion will never know when they next meet. In the past, Jericho has said WWE’s handling of
their WrestleMania 33 match contributed to his exit in WWE, but we may soon see the final showdown between the former pals.
To do so, WWE and AEW would need to come to some huge agreement, which seems unlikely at this time, but with WWE open to working with Impact,
you can never know for sure who will walk through the Forbidden Door next.
And we’re ending today with Eric Bischoff, who made a surprise appearance on SmackDown just a few weeks ago, but the WWE Hall of Famer is
now having to go under the knife. On his 83 Weeks Podcast, Bischoff said that he can’t extend one of his fingers, and another
finger is getting like this, adding that he’s suffering from Dupuytren’s Contracture. Bischoff explained that this is when a growth of
tissues forms around the tendon that controls finger movement, saying that he has the scars from a previous surgery
Hopefully this surgery won’t stop Bischoff from hosting his podcast, or any of the other commitments or appearances he’s scheduled to make,
and we’d like to wish Easy-E the best in his surgery and road to recovery.