And your headlines for today include Why WWE Announced New Work Policy For Employees? Why Miro Was Fired By WWE Is Revealed! WWE News! 2 00:00:06,756 --> 00:00:11,611 Cody Rhodes Is NOT Using His Recently Acquired Last Name In AEW!
WWE Announces Undefeated Video Game; Release Date Announced!
WWE NXT Superstars Exempt From Third Party Ban On Twitch & Cameo!
WWE Announces New Work Policy For All Employees During Town Hall Meeting!
WWE Reaching Out To Several Wrestlers Who Appeared On AEW Dark!
Miro Finally Reveals Why He Was Released From WWE!
Vince McMahon Once Said Steve Austin Will Never Be A Main Event WWE Superstar!
Liv Morgan Studying For New Career!
WWE Heavily Edited Mustafa Ali Interview So The ‘Higher Ups’ Wouldn’t Be Mad And More!
We’re kicking off today with Cody Rhodes, and whilst he recently got his last name back, that doesn’t
mean the TNT Champion will be using his last name in AEW. Instead, Cody has revealed that
though he’s got the name, it’s for use in third=party projects, meaning he won’t be called Cody Rhodes in
AEW, but can be in outside projects like the Go Big Show.
Cody also remarked that there’s no hard feelings between himself and WWE, though that doesn’t seem to
be what’s said on screen, as during Dynamite, he said: “You’re looking at the man,
the superstar, who left the empire, went to war, and actually won. And that pisses a lot of people off,
because the truth that I speak contradicts the lies that a lot of people live.”
It’s currently uncelar if this Cody being unable to use the Rhodes name in AEW is part of a deal with WWE
abandoning their trademark, though that could be the case. Whatever the reason, this is still a
huge win for the TNT Champion, who’ll be able to build the Cody Rhodes brand outside of the ring,
and despite it being used on this week’s show, fans won’t be hearing that particular last name on Dynamite
anymore.
Over to WWE and whilst fans didn’t get 2k21 this year, instead receiving the far better received WWE 2K
Battlegrounds, the company is posting a new game this year. In a statement, WWE confirmed this
new game, called ‘Undefeated’, will be released for iOs and Android devices on December 3rd, and is
being produced by developer nWay. A trailer for the new game was also revealed, which shows the game to
to be a side-on fighting game, and fans can pre-register to receive AJ Styles as a playable character.
WWE’s statement added that the game will feature quick-session matches, allowing players to compete
head to head in real time, and we’ll h ave to see how the game goes when its available to download on
December 3rd.
Speaking of gaming, WWE has forbidden Superstars from taking third-party deals like streaming on
Twitch and doing Cameo videos, but there are some Superstars exempt from the rule.
According to Sean Ross Sapp, it’s only the main roster Superstars can’t stream on Twitch, and this rule doesn’t
apply to NXT Superstars. It’s unclear why the Gold brand roster are exempt, and we also know that
Mick Foley is allowed to keep his Cameo account, at least for the time being.
There are some names, most notably Paige, who have said they are going to keep streaming despite WWE’s rules,
but with NXT stars still able to stream, it’s definitely going to be another thing for main-roster stars like AJ Styles
to consider, if he requests a move to the black and gold brand.
More news from behind the scenes, as there’s been a lot of changes in WWE lately, and this week, they were
addressed in a virtual town meeting. According to PW Insider, WWE employees met virtually with
executives, including WWE President Nick Khan, Senior VP of Consumer products Sarah Cummins, the new
CFO Kristina Selen, and Chief Brand Officer Stephanie McMahon.
The overall tone of the meeting was to let everyone know they can work in the office or work from home,
and it was also noted that staff will not be required to come back full-time to the office.
WWE does have plans to move into a new location in Stamford, though given the ongoing situation,
that’s been delayed. Salen also revealed that she’d organise presentations about WWE’s
quarterly-earnings calls, and that these post-call presentations will be done to facilitate direct communication
between Management and employees. In the Q&A portion of the meeting, it was revealed that WWE doesn’t yet
have a timeline regarding when they can resume live events, due to the ongoing situation.
Clearly, 2020 has been a year of change for the company, some they wanted and some they didn’t,
and whatever the future holds, at least employees will be able to work from the comfort and safety of their
own homes.
Now, WWE is always looking for new names to add to their roster, and Vince McMahon isn’t afraid to look at
other promotions to find it. According to Fightful, WWE has reached out to numerous wrestlers
who have worked AEW Dark tapings, but didn’t disclose any specific names about who got a call.
The Company is also said to have contact wrestlers from New Japan Strong shows, as there’s plenty of
talented performers in both promotions. Anthony Bowens was on WWE’s
radar until AEW locked him into a deal, though Vince McMahon did sign Benjamin Carter, a talent AEW
certainly wanted. We’ll have to see if any wrestlers jump to Vince McMahon’s promotion,
and whilst WWE may not be offering the high-dollar long-term deals they were putting out last year, we’re sure
the company will be making big offers to these AEW and New Japan talent.
Huge AEW news next, as it’s been confirmed that the company’s new show will be an hour-long show,
that’ll air on TNT. This was confirmed by Cody Rhodes during the pre-Full Gear media call,
and though he didn’t have a timetable for the new show, this news puts to bed any rumours of Dynamite going
three hours, or AEW Dark moving away from YouTube.
One person fans will see on AEW’s new show is Miro, who was released from WWE on April 15th, and wasn’t
happy at all about. After reportedly lashing out at Mark Carrano within minutes of being given
the news, the former Rusev has mellowed out considerably since then, and has spoken to Talk is
Jericho about his release. On the show, Miro revealed a lot of his anger was how WWE was treating
talent despite the ongoing global situation. He said:
“I got a text message the day of. It said, ‘Miro, we need to talk.’ I actually had the feeling, so I wanted to call
[Mark] Carrano. I was like, should I text him, but I was at the vet. It was like, okay, I’ll take care of the dogs
first, and the next thing you know, I got a text message. ‘Hey, we need to talk.’ I knew right away. So I called
him. He told me, ‘I’m so sorry,’ and I really lashed out for five minutes. I did lash out because there’s just so
much. It was just much over the years.” “I was getting some of the boys around because we were not okay
about how everybody was treated in the situation. We felt scared to go to work, and once again, it was probably
ten of us talking, somebody leaked it to the office. From us 10 people that were talking, somebody leaked it
to the office and to the dirt sheets, and once that happened, I knew right away they’re gonna fire me
because they’re going to blame it all on me. “I lashed out because I think we’re on
the path of doing something good because I do want to protect the boys We all wanted to protect the boys
and the girls. That didn’t work out.” The ongoing situation was a big concern for WWE back in April and
still is today, and whilst Miro clearly wasn’t comfortable competing for WWE with their protective measures,
he’s obviously much more comfortable in AEW’s bubble.
Back to WWE, and there are few names bigger than ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin, who remains a powerhouse
of merchandise to this day, though none of that would’ve happened if Vince McMahon’s first impression
on him turned out to be true. When Jake Roberts spoke recently to Premier Live TV, The Hall of Famer
spoke about helping to write WWF TV when Austin came in, and telling Vince that the young Rattlesnake
had the it factor to make it in the company.
He said: “One day I told Vince [McMahon], I said, ‘That guy right there is gonna
be your next super, superstar.’ ‘You kidding me Jake?’ He said, ‘That guy, he’ll never make it past fifth,
sixth match. He’s not a main-eventer.’ I said, ‘The f*ck he ain’t.’ He said, ‘ Do you think so?’ I said, ‘Yeah I think
so,’ and we tried the thing and I guess it might’ve worked huh?”
It's interesting that the night Austin 3:16 was born at the 1996 King of the Ring, the Rattlesnake defeated
Roberts in the tournament finals, and though McMahon would eventually push the Bionic Redneck as the top
star of the Attitude Era, it was Jake Roberts who saw his talent first.
Although Steve Austin may have been the top star of the Attitude Era, he wasn’t alone up there,
as The Rock is also one of the all-time greats, and this week, praised another legend of the ring.
On Instagram, the Brahma Bull shared a clip of him become an 8-time World Champion, defeating
Chris Jericho on RAW for the WCW World title in 2001, and described Le Champion as one of the all-time greats.
The Rock added that he and Jericho had phenomenal matches around the world, and teased an electrifying
night in Japan, as well as an unforgettable night in Hawaii. Given his status as both the first WWE
Undisputed Champion, and the first AEW World Champion, it’s hard to argue with the idea that Jericho is
one of the greatest of all time, especially as that’s an opinion that the Most Electrifying Man in Sports
Entertainment clearly believes.
From two established legends of wrestling to a relatively fresh face, as at 26 years old,, Liv Morgan has
years left in her career wrestling, but like many wrestlers, she knows it pays to have a Plan B.
On Twitter, Morgan shared some books on Florida Real Estate, and she was sat in front of a computer
screen showing the Bob Hogue School of Real Estate. Describing this as the start of a new
journey, Morgan is clearly looking at entering the Real Estate game, though that may be more difficult given
the ongoing situation. With that said, it’s great to see she has a plan outside of wrestling, as we
all know a career can end in an instance and at her young age, Liv has some big opportunities in the
future, both in and out of the ring.
Speaking of WWE’s women’s division, Zelena Vega is doing big things on her own on Monday Night RAW,
and whilst she’s a singles star, she’s not single in real life. During the Chasing Glory podcast,
Vega discussed telling Triple H that she was going to marry Aleister Black, and said that the Game was confused
because he thought she was in a relationship with Andrade.
After explaining that any teased romance between the two was just for the Television, Vega said that the
Game was happy for them both, given that they’re his NXT kids, and she sees him and Stephanie as their
wrestling parents. Though they worked well together in the ring, that’s where the chemistry
ended for Zelena and Andrade, the latter of whom is now engaged to Charlotte Flair, and though they Vega
and Andrade were never together in real life, the Cerebral Assassin was certainly fooled.
Back to AEW now, and whilst the company promised a huge shocking moment for this Saturday’s Full Gear,
that may not be happening. This week, there was no mention of a shocking moment in their
adveritsements for the event, and on Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer remarked it appears AEW have
given up on the idea. Even though there was also no tease on it on commentary, despite the
announcers teasing a shocking moments in the week prior, there’s still some fans who believe Sting
will be making his AEW debut this Saturday, and time will tell if this is the case.
And we’re ending today with news from Monday Night RAW as Mustafa Ali has had a spotlight on him as
Retribution’s leader, and despite being outspoken both in and out of the ring, fans aren’t hearing all he
has to say. To promote his appearance on After the Bell, Ali described the interview
as heavily edited, saying that fans won’t hear about him standing up for himself, backstabbing Superstars and
more, because it was deemed ‘too much.’ This talk seemingly included speaking
a lot about backstage politics, so it’s no wonder why WWE would censor that kind of talk, and although WWE’s
new serious focus on his character could bring him to a new level, but they might want to let him speak his
mind to really explain his intentions and motivation