And your headlines for today include
WWE drops it’s plans for Universal title feud! A new challenger has emerged
Rousey-Flair segment highlights Ronda’s shortcomings on the microphone
WWE edits Championship title win off the WWE Network and Peacock!
“I don’t wanna be like that.” Raw Superstar says he doesn’t want to be frustrated like Dolph Ziggler
Details revealed about secret talent meeting before WrestleMania 38
AEW star is out with another injury after spending over a year on the shelf
Raquel Rodriguez shares honest views over her WWE main roster name change
Why has Bret Hart not joined AEW despite months of teases?
LA Knight introduces new member to the Knight Model Management
WWE Hall of Famer says the company ditching their policy against marijuana is “long overdue” And more!
We’re kicking off today with SmackDown, as Roman Reigns returned to WWE TV after a brief hiatus from either the blue brand or Raw.
The last time we saw Reigns, it appeared that a story had been started with Shinsuke Nakamura, with many expecting a match between the two to be confirmed for WrestleMania Backlash.
On this week’s episode however, it appeared that WWE had completely dropped the budding Reigns-Nakamura feud, and have already found a replacement for the reigning Undisputed
WWE Universal Champion. During a segment with Raw Tag Team Champions RK-Bro, Drew McIntyre took a dog at the
Bloodline, and later in the show, McIntyre’s current nemesis Sami Zayn was seen trying to get help from Roman Reigns.
All of this is pointing to a feud between Reigns and McIntyre, which is what fans have been expecting ever since the Scottish Warrior was moved to SmackDown.
McIntyre is also one of the very, very few people who is seen as a credible threat to the Head of the Table, and the pair will also be facing off in the upcoming WWE European tour that starts
later this month. After fans began to turn on McIntyre in 2021, WWE wisely took him out of the World title
picture, but now, over a year since his most recent WWE Championship reign ended, It appears to be time for Drew to return to the top of the card.
SmackDown also saw the continuation of the Ronda Rousey-Charlotte Flair feud, ahead of their I-Quit match at WrestleMania Backlash.
Kicking off SmackDown can often be a daunting task, and Rousey’s lack of confidence on the mic is still evident, as she tends to drop one liners while being virtually inaudible to everyone.
Flair kept emphasizing her victory at WrestleMania 38, which the crowd were happy to remind her that she tapped out during the match.
The segment also saw poor Drew Gulak get the short straw, as he was on the receiving end of another attack, this time by Ronda Rousey, who locked him in an armbar while signing her contract.
It was revealed that Gulak is working his way up to be Adam Pearce’s assistant, but he may not want the job if attacks like these are repeated in what’s evidently a hostile work-environment.
As for Rousey and Flair the segment was an improvement on previous segments, but Rousey’s shortcomings on the mic can’t be overlooked, and it may be a very long time, if ever,
that she improves on the stick.
Ring of Honor news now, as the company’s World Champion Jonathan Gresham is a busy man, and when not appearing for ROH or AEW, can be found in PROGRESS wrestling.
Last month, Gresham captured the PROGRESS World Champion in London, England, defeating Cara Noir to win the gold, but this match will be hard for fans to track down.
When the PROGESS show was aired on the WWE Network as part of a deal between the two companies, the Gresham title win was edited off the broadcast, while Noir’s first title
defence against Warren Banks was not replaced. No explanation has been given by WWE, though it’s likely that the company doesn’t want
someone associated with Tony Khan’s Ring of Honor to be on their Network or on Peacock. Gresham last competed at AEW’s Battle of the Belts event,
and suffered a concussion during his ROH World Title defence against Dalton Castle, but whenever he next wrestles, don’t expect to see any matches of him on the WWE Network.
Since coming to the WWE in 2014, Kevin Owens has made an impact, holding the NXT, Universal, Intercontinental and United States titles.
One name who knows a thing or two about title wins is Dolph Ziggler, who’s done plenty of that during his near 14-years on WWE’s main roster.
While Ziggler has been consistent, there’s been plenty of stories over the years of Dolph being frustrated with the company, but never enough to try his hand in another company.
Speaking on After the Bell this week, Owens discussed the Show Off, and said that while he respects Dolph, he doesn’t want to be like him:
“He is definitely one of the people that I would look at and think, ‘Man, I don’t wanna be like Dolph… This was 2015, 2016. I was like, ‘I don’t wanna be like that. I wanna come to work and
don’t wanna be frustrated all the time.’ Ziggler hasn’t competed in WWE since the Raw after WrestleMania 38, where he lost the NXT
Championship to Bron Breakker, and while there are still some who say Ziggler should leave WWE, it appears that the Show Off is here to stay.
At WrestleMania: Sunday, Triple H kicked off the event with a huge entrance and introduction, marking his first time in a WWE ring since announcing his retirement.
Understandably, this was an emotional time for the Game, who headlined eight WrestleManias throughout his Hall of Fame career, but we now know more about what
happened before his appearance
On After the Bell, Kevin Owens spoke about WrestleMania, and said that Triple H conducted a meeting of the main roster before the two-night event.
Owens said how Triple H told everyone to enjoy moments like appearing at WrestleMania, and said that after how the Game’s career ended, that this message is especially poignant.
WrestleMania 38 was big for both men, as it saw Triple H officially retire, and Kevin Owens headline the showcase of the immortals for the first time, but it may not be the last time for
the Prizefighter.
Over to AEW, and it was in February 2021 that Darrius Martin suffered a torn ACL, which would keep him out of action for over a year.
The Top Flight star would eventually return for the Casino Tag Team Royale on the March 2nd 2022 Dynamite, reuniting with his brother Dante Martin, but this return has been short-lived.
According to Fightful Select, Darrius has now suffered another injury, this time in his leg, and is back on the shelf with no time window as to when he’ll return.
Top Flight was scheduled to face Brian Cage and KC Navarro at Saturday’s Warrior Wrestling XXI event, but Darius is being replaced due to the injury.
In AEW, Darrius and Dante have worked just seven matches together, thanks in part to Darrius’ torn ACL injury but with another injury to his name, who knows when Top Flight will
take flight in any wresting ring, AEW or not, again
Back to WWE as earlier this month, Raquel Rodriguez was called up to the main roster, after establishing herself in NXT as Raquel Gonzalez.
This is all part of WWE’s new strategy when it comes to naming talent as they don’t want any part of a person’s real name to be used on screen in case that person later leaves the promotion.
Rodriguez is just the latest Superstar to have their name changed, and in an interview with Cageside Seats, detailed how she learned of her new name:
“They just basically said, ‘Hey, you’re getting a name change and this is it.’ I was like, ‘Cool, that’s fine.’ I really had no big arguments with it at all. It was just a simple little switch.
“I was just joking with Rhea (Ripley) last Friday because she was actually at SmackDown, and her initials are R-R, Rhea Ripley, and we’ve always joked about being a tag team,
our feud NXT. Well, now my initials are R-R, Raquel Rodriguez. So it kind of just feels like it was meant to be.” A former NXT Women’s Champion and two-time NXT Women’s
Tag Team Champion, Raquel Gonzalez certainly dominated the NXT roster, but now it’s time to see what Raquel Rodriguez can accomplish as a member of the SmackDown locker room.
Now, ever since FTR fired Tully Blanchard as their manager, the duo have teased bringing Bret Hart to AEW, but that hasn’t happened yet.
While the Hitman is set to manage FTR at a Big Time Wrestling event, he hasn’t appeared on Dynamite or rampage, and we may now know why.
According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the belief within AEW is that Bret has been signed to a new lucrative contract with WWE, one that is keeping him away from the All-Elite promotion.
It’s reported that any contract Bret has signed with WWE will likely keep him from being involved with the Owen Hart Foundation Tournament, which will culminate at the Double or
Nothing Pay Per View at the end of May.
Bret was part of the first Double or Nothing, as he presented the AEW World Championship on that night, but he’s kept his distance from the company ever since then.
As a legend of the industry and considered one of the greatest ever, it’s no wonder why AEW would want to bring Bret in to manage FTR, but that just doesn’t seem to be happening right now.
Back to WWE, as last week, in a dark segment ahead of SmackDown, L.A Knight debuted the Knight Model Management stable, and introduced MACE as the first member.
Now, Knight has a second client s ahead of last night’s SmackDown in Albany, the former Impact World Champion introduced Mansoor as the next member of his team.
Saying that the Knight Model Management group is a stable he started after wisely saving his money in the wrestling industry, it remains to be seen where Knight and his group
go from here, and who else will be the next to align with him.
And we’re ending today with WWE, who this week it was reported has ditched it’s policy against marijuana, and that Superstars are no longer fined for being caught with weed.
While WWE’s policy is for talent to receive a $2,500 fine, Randy Orton was an instrumental part of this rule being dropped, and one legend of the ring is pleased to see it happen.
Speaking on his Hall of Fame podcast, two-time inductee Booker T said that the policy being lifted is “long overdue,” and said how science has proven the many benefits that
marijuana can have, especially when it comes to pain management. Booker compared marijuana to the opioid epidemic,
and said that due to a stigma against weed, many wrestlers have tried to deal with pain by self medicating, adding that a lot of good wrestlers have died this way.
The five-time WCW World Champion did say he imagines his ex-tag team partner Rob Van Dam is “jumping for joy” at the news, as he’s a long-time advocate for marijuana use,
and now he and anyone at WWE won’t be fined for lighting it up.