Guys, we have some more Interesting News For April 15th
We will start off with Ronda Rousey, who caused quite a stir when she called out
“ungrateful fans” on Steve-O’s podcast.
Not only were Rousey’s comments addressed on RAW this week, but CBS Sports
gave Alexa Bliss the chance to comment on the Hot Rod’s words.
In the interview, the two-time Women’s Tag Champion said it was offensive to call
Wrestling “fake fights”, especially for people like Bliss, who suffered injuries
during matches.
After tweeting her views on Rousey’s comments, Bliss was given the chance to
elaborate, as She said:
“I’ll just start by saying I like Ronda. We’ve always gotten along, I have a lot of
respect for her and what she does and what she’s been through. What she does in
MMA and UFC, I’ve always been super supportive and everything like that. It was
just the use of the word ‘fake.’ Especially because we welcomed Ronda with open
arms. We all wanted to see her succeed, and whenever we would have a match,
we would respect her UFC background and respect how she did certain things. We
wanted to make an amazing story with amazing matches while meshing both
styles of WWE and UFC together. I thought every girl that worked with her did an
amazing job of that.”
“But, with that, we had a whole documentary based on my concussions and how I
didn’t know if I was ever going to be medically-cleared. The thing is, you know,
you’re only as good as the person you’re in the ring with. When you kind of bash
the fans who were always really supportive and say what we do is fake, it’s kind of
disrespectful when we were so respectful of what she did coming in and we were
respectful of her in WWE. Everyone was willing to help her succeed, you know? She
did a lot for us, but we also did a lot for her. A lot of bodies laid on the path she
walked on. So, to say what we do is fake is really unfair. Yes, the finish is scripted,
we say that; it’s protagonist, antagonist and conflict resolution. It’s a story we’re
telling. My whole thing is … if she comes back to WWE? Great. We would all love
to work with her again, I’m sure. Just limit the use of the ‘F-word.'”
The Petite Powehouse wasn’t the only one to have an issue with the UFC Hall of
Famer, as Booker T spoke on his Hall of Fame podcast, describing Rousey’s
comments as a slap in the face to female Superstars and said she should apologise:
“To slap all those ladies in the face that made her look so good after receiving that
check from this fake business, a check that, like I said, being put in a position
where she was the women’s champion, she was in the main event at
WrestleMania, that speaks volumes, and there are so many ladies in that locker
room that really work really, really hard, work their a***s off to actually get to
that spot, like a Nia Jax, that never had got that kind of praise since she’s been
there, and then someone walk from outside inside to this world and get it, it really
is a slap in the face and I just think Ronda, she needs to apologize first and foremost.”
The former World Champion also pointed out how accepting WWE was, after
Rousey left the UFC following her shocking losses to Holly Home and Amanda
Nunes, and added that he doesn’t feel the former RAW Women’s Champion can
come back after this:
“If she came back, after saying this thing is fake, it just puts her in a position where
now she gotta go out and work with fake wrestlers, anybody beat her, it’s not real,
it just doesn’t sit well with me. If she’s gonna stay on the outside talking like that,
that’s one thing, OK cool, fine, you got your money, you got paid, you can bash
them now, cool, that’s fine, that’s what they do these days, but as far as you
talking about a real fight, there’s plenty of real fights out there still left to have, all
you gotta do is make a phone call and I’m sure those fights can be made, if you
want to be in a real fight. Don’t judge people if you don’t want people to judge you
Not everyone in WWE is against the Hot Rod however, as Shayna Bazler tweeted
out a defence for her fellow MMA Horsewoman this week, and CM Punk weighed
in on the situation on WWE Backstage. He said:
She’s doing her job. Listen, I love this. This is pure chaos and I don’t see this ending
well whether it’s real or scripted, but it’s gonna be fun to watch. It’s fantastic
watching everyone bite on it. It’s fantastic watching everyone get butt-hurt about it.”
“I know she’s saying some touchy things. I know some people are gonna get mad.
Some people are gonna get offended, but that’s when wrestling for me is the best.
When you blur the lines. When you go, ‘These two really don’t like each other she
just punched her in the face for real.'”
“When I think they’re gonna get into trouble with this is when you say I’m real and
what I do is real and everything else is phony then you’re not on thin ice anymore.
You’ve fallen through the ice and you’re in the water so it’ll be interesting to see if
they can tip-toe around that. But, Ronda’s getting people to talk we’re here talking
about it right now and I love it.”
Whether fans love Rousey or hate her, this situation has got a lot of fans talking
about the former RAW Women’s Champion, and it’s clear that Rousey is still very
much in control of what fans think of her, and CM Punk is all for it.
From RAW to NXT now, as whilst WWE and the gold brand have worked out a
deal, where Vince McMahon can’t use NXT Superstars on the main roster if
they’re being used on NXT TV, it looks like there may be a loophole in that agreement
During Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer explained that WWE can still use
205 Live Superstars on the main roster, even if those stars are coming from NXT,
as this would be considered a call-up from 205 Live, and therefore, doesn’t
technically break the deal with NXT. He said:
“The deal is that if you are a 205 Live guy you can come on — YES,
you can be on NXT and you can be on the main roster and you can
lose on both. So, the guys you think they’re beating that are NXT guys
are actually 205 Live guys.”
WWE certainly has a lot of enhancement talent they can call upon when needed,
as it now looks like 205 Live will be a holding area for NXT stars Vince McMahon
wants to use, without breaking his arrangement with NXT, or Triple H.
We’ve looked at RAW, NXT and 205 Live already today, so now we have some
news from SmackDown, as Braun Strowman has been showing off on social media.
On Instagram, Strowman posted a picture of himself with all the titles he’s won,
including the Money in the Bank, but this led to a reply by Roman Reigns who has
been relatively silent since giving his reasons for not working WrestleMania, who
told the Monster Among Men “#Humble yourself”.
It’s interesting that Reigns said this, as it was original the Big Dog who was meant
to face Goldberg at Wrestle Mania, but given the ongoing situation, and Reigns’
************* state, it may be quite some time before the Big Dog is back.
Until then, Strowman may want to heed Roman’s advice, as he prepares for a title
match against the Fiend at Money in the Bank, whilst WWE continues to not
mention Reigns on TV since the former champion pulled out of the showcase of
the immortals.
Speaking of WrestleMania, this year’s show took place without any fans in
attendance, and whilst Ticketmaster are stopping a lot of fans getting their money
back for postponed events, WWE is making things right with WrestleMania.
According to PW Insider, fans who had tickets for the showcase of the immortals
are being refunded, as they said:
We have been told by a number of readers that they woke up this morning to find
they had received refunds from Ticketmaster.com for Wrestlemania 36.
It may have taken a few weeks for fans to get refunded, but at least they are
getting their money back, as refunds of this nature typically go out in waves.
Although WWE can’t hold any shows in front of crowds for the time being, the
company has promised that things will be back to normal, and until then, the
company clearly wants to make things right for fans who missed out on attending
WrestleMania.
One man who certainly knows all about winning big at WrestleMania, is Rob Van
Dam, who spoke this week about having to change his moveset when he joined WWE.
Taking to Twitter this week, Van Dam spoke about how he removed a move from
his repertoire that seemed too close to Triple H’s Pedigree, as he said:
I used to do the double underhook front suplex until I got to WWE. Then I
thought it looked too much like a better version of HHH’s pedigree, so out of
respect I stopped. Pretty sure everyone hated taking it anyway.
It’s interesting that Van Dam opted not to use the move, as he debuted in WWE
AFTER Triple H was put on the shelf with a torn-quad, as it’s clear that the Game
was still a big deal backstage, even when he wasn’t there.
Looking back, RVD’s career in wrestling helped define him as one of the most
unique stars ever, and hopefully a future return to WWE will happen, if only for
one more match or a Hall of Fame induction, especially as he’ll turn 50 this year.
We’ve got some news from the now defunct XFL, as this week, the league closed
its doors, fired employees and declared bankruptcy.
Now the league is looking for a new buyer, and whilst Vince McMahon has lost a
lot of money, he would’ve lost more if he’d kept going.
During Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer spoke about how McMahon’s
credibility has been hurt, as people know McMahon dedicated money to the XFL
that he hasn’t spent yet, but he’s still getting out, despite investors who are owed
money still waiting for their payment. He said:
“It really did from what I understand after speaking with people in New
York today in a sense, it hurt Vince’s rep as far as declaring
[bankruptcy] and getting out of the debt because they know he’s worth
billions and earmarked, you know $300 million for this and they have
not spent $300. Essentially he’s screwing the people he worked with,
the coaches, the arenas, a lot of the people he owed money to was the stadiums.”
The XFL could be for sale very soon, so if you’re in the market for a twice-failed
football league, now is the time to dig out your checkbook.
And finally today we’ve got news from NXT, as Io Shirai has sent a warning out to
new NXT Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair.
After Shirai won a number-one- contender’s ladder match on NXT, the Queen cut a
promo on RAW where she promised to humble her challenger when they face,
leading Shirai to tweet back, saying that she will be flying above, not bowing down to Flair
Fans have been left wondering what kind of build we’ll see between the two in the
current ******** **********, but expect a lot of promo work between the two, even if
they’re not on the same show.
Given that Flair only recently won the title, it’s likely that she will retain when she
faces Shirai, and many also believe that Rhea Ripley will be back to challenge for
the title that she lost at WrestleMania.
Whatever the case is, fans can bet that Flair and Shirai will have a hell of a match
when they do finally collide, and we’re all for it.