Here's more wrestling news for October 11th 2021
And your headlines for Afternoon include
Significant Frustration Backstage Surrounding WWE's Women’s Division – Reports!
"Let Me Paint My Picture" - CM Punk On His Slow Start In AEW, How Long He Plans To Stay!
Matt Riddle’s Wife Calls Him Out For Leaving Their Family!
WWE Never Planned The Rock vs Roman Reigns For WrestleMania 38 In Dallas!
Karrion Kross Reveals Who Came Up With Idea For His Mask!
Bully Ray Recalls Butting Heads With WWE Agent Upon 2015 Return!
Vince McMahon Wanted Ex-WWE Stars To Dress Like Hugh Hefner! And More!
We’re starting with WWE, who launched their Women’s Revolution six years ago, but fans haven’t been happy with recent booking
With women’s matches being condensed into short, minute-long affairs, it appears that the WWE is reverting the women’s division to the
spot they had several years before the revolution, and it’s not just the crowd who aren’t pleased
Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful reports that several women on the roster have expressed concern over this change of treatment, and are worried
about where the company is headed now that John Lauriniatis is back in power as head of talent relations
On last week’s SmackDown, the show featured two Queen’s Crown Tournament matches, which collectively lasted under four minutes,
meaning the entire showcase of women on the show was shorter than Roman Reigns’ entrance.
These matches also set up a heel vs heel semi- finals match between Carmella and Zelina Vega, instead of pushing the massively popular
babyface Liv Morgan. While there’s time for WWE to salvage the tournament, these short matches and bad
booking are an example of what’s wrong with WWE’s women’s division, as the company is reverting back to their old tricks prior to the
the 2015 revolution.
Over to AEW, as CM Punk has been having a blast so far in the All-Elite promotion, having defeated the like of Darby Allin, Powerhouse Hobbs and
Daniel Garcia so far. Punk’s desire to work with younger guys he’s never faced before has rubbed some fans the
wrong way, as there is a vocal group of fans who’d much rather see Punk in the world title scene, or facing top names like Kenny Omega
and the Elite. Sitting down with Tony Maglio of the Wrap, Punk defended his booking, saying he’s like an artist
painting a picture, and said what he’s doing is very calculated and thought out. Punk’s first few matches have felt somewhat random
but there’s clearly a plan in place, and Punk made it clear in the interview that he’s in AEW to stay
Calling it the “best working experience” he’s ever had, Punk dismissed the concerns of fans who were worried that his high-price would mean
he wasn’t going to be in AEW for the long haul. Punk has only just got started in AEW, and is arguably their biggest signing ever, and while
world title run or a heel turn are just two possibilities in his future, fans will need to be patient as the former World Champion hones
his craft in the ring.
Back to WWE, and in July 2020, RAW Superstar Riddle admitted to having an affair with wrestler Candy Cartwright, but denied doing anything
with her without consent. This led to an awkward time with Riddle and WWE, but it appeared things had blown over
until Riddle’s wife Lisa called him out this week on social media. On Twitter, Riddle shared a photo of himself at a
at a live event, saying he loves his life, and is enjoying being in California and tagging with Randy Orton, who he called his ‘best bro.’
The RAW Tag Champion probably didn’t expect Lisa to respond, saying Riddle would say he’s loving life, now that he’s moved to Orlando and
away from their children. Riddle didn’t reply to his wife’s tweet, but it looks like Riddle has left his family, and it
must’ve happened pretty soon, as it was only a few weeks ago that Lisa was sharing images of the Riddle family all together on Instagram
Lisa isn’t the first wrestling wife to call out their partner on social media, and she likely won’t be the last, and we’ll keep following this story
for any further updates
WrestleMania news now, as a lot needs to be decided before next year’s event in Dallas, Texas, but we now know of one match that
won’t be happening. It’s been reported for months now that WWE’s plan was for The Rock to face Roman Reigns
in April 2022, and their feud was meant to begin at this November’s Survivor Series, which will mark the 25th anniversary of the Great One’s debut.
When Ringside News spoke to a tenured member of their creative team though, they were told that not only is The Rock Vs. Reigns match not
happening at WrestleMania in Dallas, but it was never, ever the plan. A programme lasting from Survivor Series to
WrestleMania would’ve required some long-term booking, which isn’t exactly Vince McMahon’s style anymore, and The Rock is one of
the busiest names in Hollywood. There’s also the risk of injury, as even a slight set-back to the Rock could delay a movie
project by weeks if not months, costing the studios millions of dollars. Andrew Zarian was the one to report that the
the Brahma Bull is expected for this year’s Survivor Series, and that could still happen, but it won’t be building to a match next year
with the Tribal Chief. WrestleMania 39 is in SoFi Stadium, which is far closer to Hollywood, and while this dream-match
is more likely to happen in 2023, don’t expect the pair to throw down next April
One star looking to shine at WrestleMania 38 is Karrion Kross, who was called-up to RAW this year, without his fiancé Scarlett Bordeaux by
his side. Instead, Kross received a brand-new attire, complete with new mask that looks more like
something Demolition would wear in the late 80s and early 90s, than a WWE Superstar in 2021.
Speaking on D-Von Dudley’s Table Talk Podcast, Kross discussed how the mask came to be, saying it was a collective effort by the creative
team, to expand on the dark character he was during NXT. Kross added that creative were also trying to
to go for a gladiator idea, noting that he feels like modern day pro wrestling is like what the colosseum’s would be like thousands of years ago.
A two-time former NXT Champion, Kross’ call-up to the main-roster got off to a rocky start, but with his last six televised matches all being
victories, this modern-day gladiator is settling in to his new role on Monday Night RAW.
In 2015, Bubba Ray Dudley returned to WWE at that year’s Royal Rumble, and was joined by his brother D-Von later that year.
What followed was an unfortunately underwhelming run, as the tag-team legends never captured gold during this final
run with the company, and had a heel turn fans weren’t sold on. Speaking on ‘Stories with Brisco and Bradshaw,
Bubba spoke to the two legends about his return to WWE, saying he felt far more stifled as a performer than when he left a decade prior.
Bubba explained that when he came back, everything had to be run by an agent, adding that everything that worked in the Attitude
Era wasn’t allowed to be done anymore, a decision by WWE that Bubba argued had no good reason. He added:
“I remember dealing with an agent one time where I came up with something different and I felt passionate about it. I asked my agent to please
go run it by Vince. My agent said, ‘Okay, I will’. Then I followed my agent for an hour, he never spoke with Vince, then he came
back and said, ‘Yeah, Vince doesn’t want to do that’. I lose all the respect in the world for you. I would much rather you tell me to my face,
You know what, Bubba? I don’t want to talk with Vince right now. You go do it’.” While D-Von is still in WWE as a producer,
Bubba left the company and has worked in various promotions since, most notably Ring of Honor, where he clearly felt he had much
more freedom than in WWE in 2015.
And we’re ending today with the Colons, Primo and Epico, who were everything from Matadors to timeshare salesmen in WWE, but not every
gimmick pitched made it to TV. On the 90s Wrestling podcast, the former Tag Champions said there was a time when Vince
McMahon wanted them repackaged as the ‘Puerto Rican Playboys,’ complete with ring-ger that would be a blend of Goldust and Playboy founder
Hugh Hefner. Epico explained that they nearly threw up when they say the black and gold robe WWE had
designed, but the idea was scrapped, mere hours before a show, as McMahon decided the gimmick might not be appropriate for TV.
After a lengthy run in WWE, both Primo and Epico were released on April 15th 2020 as part of the WWE’s budget cuts, and whilst
their names may not be considered on the same level as the Dudleys, the Hardy Boys or Edge and Christian, at least the real-life
life cousins were able to avoid being branded as the Puerto Rican Playboys.