Here's your wrestling news for February 8th 2021
And your headlines for today include
Braun Strowman Sparks Controversy Over Randy Orton’s Comment!
Major Plans For Bianca Belair Following Royal Rumble Win Revealed!
Major Details on Lars Sullivan's Release & Future In Wrestling!
Matt Riddle Wants To Work With New WWE Signee, Takes Jab At Brock Lesnar!
Drew McIntyre Match Added To WWE RAW!
WWE Confirms Another Segment For RAW!
Sonya Deville Reacts To Paul Heyman Saying She Has A ‘Mad Crush’ On Him!
Dustin Rhodes Asks Fans To Pray For Terry Funk In Latest Tweet!
Damian Priest Shares His Thoughts On Rumored Wrestlemania Match! And More!
We’re kicking off today with braun Strowman who has reportedly made some racially motivated comments
on Bad Bunny. On Instagram, Randy Orton shared a photo of himself and his wife Kim
with the Latin rapper, and Strowman commented saying ‘13%.’
For any viewers who may not know, 13% is the percentage of African Americans in the United States, and the
number is often used in racially motivated comments, which argue that 13% of the U.S. Population commits 50% of crimes.
That 50% figure has been disputed by recent studies, and we’re unsure why the Monster Among Men would bring up
a statistic that is so often used by hateful groups. Though some fans defended Strowman,
saying he was referring to Body Fat, most were enraged by Strowman’s comments, with one fan saying he hopes
he jobs to Bobby Lashley. Responding, Randy Orton one-upped Strowman, by saying 14%, and it’s
and it’s unclear if the Viper knows what Strowman was alluding to when he replied.
This isn’t the first time that Strowman has been in hot-water online, as around this time last year, he attacked indie
wrestlers who asked the fans for support when all independent shows were cancelled.
It’s mind-boggling as to why Strowman would comment like this, as this bad PR is the last thing WWE’s partnership
with Bad Bunny needs, especially on the road to WrestleMania.
Now, Bianca Belair has already become a huge star on SmackDown in 2021, and whilst we already know that the EST
of WWE will challenge for a Women’s title at WrestleMania, this is just the start of years of Belair being a megastar.
That’s according to Sportskeeda, who are reporting that Belair is expected to quote “lead WWE into the next decade,”
adding: Nothing short of a major injury could prevent Bianca from major stardom.
Their report also noted that Belair is being seen as the successor to the Four Horsewoman of WWE, and with glowing
reviews of her work by WWE executives, and great merchandise sales, expect Belair to be a top star in WWE for many
years to come.
One person fans won’t be seeing in WWE is Lars Sullivan, but the Freak may not be gone just yet.
Sullivan was quietly released from WWE last month, after a series of controversies and injuries plagued
much of his career. In the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter however, Dave Meltzer
noted that a return to WWE could happen down the line, and there are other companies that would accommodate
him. Meltzer specifically mentioned New Japan as a possible home for the Freak,
saying that he and KENTA were extremely close back when the latter was in NXT.
It was also reported that Sullivan’s past wouldn’t be as much of an issue in Japan, and although the Freak has said
he’s done with wrestling for now, it’s possible that he’ll re-emerge in New Japan, after his non-compete clause expires.
Love is in the air next, as SmackDown announcer Greg Hamilton has gotten engaged.
On Twitter, Hamilton confirmed the news that he’s engaged to Ariana Thompson, and tagged a whole bunch of WWE
personalities, including Corey Graves, Sasha Banks, the Street Profits and John ‘Bradshaw’ Layfield.
As we reported last month,, Hamilton was noticeably shaking during the January 8th edition of SmackDown,
and later clarified that he was emotionally drained after his girlfriend tested positive.
Their engagement is a cause for celebration during these worrying times, and we here at Slat Rock are extending
our congratulations to the happy couple.
With his resemblance to Brock Lesnar, WWE’s newest signing Parker Boudreaux is calling himself the Next Big
Thing, a moniker once used by Lesnar, and has also been praised by the Beast’s advocate Paul Heyman.
One person who’s pleased to see \Boudreaux sign is Matt Riddle, who teased a match with the former
Football star on Twitter, saying: “He looks just like Brock Lesnar but younger and doesn’t hate me enough
to refuse a match with me yet, Awesome!” Riddle’s issues with Lesnar are well-known, and whilst the Beast isn’t
interested in a match with the Original Bro, Boudreaux’s reply did imply that he’s interested in taking Riddle on.
As WWE’s newest propsect’s Boudreaux probably has many years to go before he makes it to the main roster,
but for now, Matt Riddle is waiting for him.
Over to RAW, and tonight’s show will see another collision between Drew McIntyre and Randy Orton.
This non-title match will be the latest match in their rivalry, and we’ll have to see if Alexa Bliss gets involved
given that it was a distraction by her that cost Orton the win against Edge last week.
Tonight’s edition of the red brand will also see Charlotte Flair and Lacey Evans come face to face, and we’re
sure that Ric Flair will be involved somehow. Evan’s relationship with The Nature
Boy isn’t sitting well with Charlotte at All, and time will tell how much longer WWE can make this angle last before
the two finally collide in the ring. Tonight’s show will be a historic event, either because we’ll see a WWE title
match announced for Elimination Chamber, or it’ll be the last night Adam Pearce is employed.
That’s according to Paul Heyman who demanded Pearce to announce a title match tonight or risk losing his job,
but the Special counsel to Roman Reigns wasn’t finished there. On Talking Smack, Heyman spoke
about Smackdown’s Sonya Deville, who has been working with Pearce lately, saying:
Sonya Deville has a mad crush on me. She loves me, and she would love to be put in the position to make all of the
decisions on SmackDown once you’re fired. As WWE’s first openly lesbian Superstar
we doubt Deville has a crush on Heyman, but she did respond to a tweet of these comments with a few
emojis hinting that she’s interested in replacing Pearce.
Time will tell whether Pearce announces a challenge for Drew McIntyre tonight, but if he doesn’t, Sonya Deville is more
than ready to take his place.
We’ve got some worrying news to report next, as WWE Hall of Famer Terry Funk is in bad shape.
That’s according to AEW’s Dustin Rhodes, who tweeted about the Hardcore legend, saying that Funk is in
a lot of pain, and encouraged fans to pray for him. Rhodes called him one of the greatest
true legends of the industry, and we have to agree with the former Goldust.
A career spanning over half a century, the Funkster has wrestled in promotions including WWE, WCW, ECW, New Japan,
All Japan and NWA. Funk is 76 years old, but it’s unclear what specific health issues he might be dealing with.
We’re sending our best wishes to Funk in this trying time, and hoping for a swift and pain-free recovery.
WrestleMania news, and though many fans aren’t on board with the rumours of Bad Bunny competing this April, Damian
Priest is all for it. Speaking to Sportskeeda, the newly debuted RAW Superstar addressed the
rumours of him working a tag match with the rap star at WrestleMania, and had plenty of praise for Bad Bunny.
Describing bunny as “so talented and determined,” Priest said that right now he just wants to be on the WrestleMania
card, and that working with a big name like Bad Bunny can certainly help with that.
As we’ve covered, Bunny’s merchandise is selling like crazy on WWE Shop, and given how popular he is with younger
and Latin demographics, it’s not Priest’s worse idea to associate with the Grammy winner, if he wants to make it to
WrestleMania.