Here's more wrestling news for March 4th 2022
And your headlines for Afternoon include
Major Update On Cody Rhodes' WWE return to WWE!
WWE Adds Another Match To WrestleMania 38 Card!
Drew McIntyre Reacts To Negative Feedback On His WrestleMania 38 Match!
WWE Looking For A Reason To Sue AEW For Contract Tampering!
Big Name Makes His WWE NXT UK Debut!
Why Vince McMahon Thrives On Confrontation?
AEW Star Filming New Reality Show!
Ric Flair Says Triple H No Longer Speaks To Him
Why Vince McMahon Doesn’t Care About Negative Public Perception? And More!
We’re kicking off with Cody Rhodes, who has been rumoured to be returning to WWE ever since he and Brandi left AEW last month.
After leaving WWE in 2016, Cody has certainly proven himself outside the company, but his return to Vince McMahon may not be happening anymore.
That’s according to Cassidy Haynes of Bodyslam, who reports that talks between Cody and WWE have “fizzled out,” and he remains one of wrestling’s
hottest free agents. One source said there’s hope within AEW that Cody could be brought back to the company, possibly
with some role following AEW’s acquisition of Ring of Honor. Cody does have experience with ROH, as it was with
the promotion that Rhodes and the Young Bucks created a surge of popularity for the Bullet Club in the United States, and it was ROH who
who helped solidify Rhodes as a main eventer in the eyes of fans. Wherever Rhodes goes next, it’ll be a huge deal
for whichever promotion he inks a deal with, and despite reports of Rhodes returning to WWE on the road to WrestleMania that isn’t the case
at this time.
This week it was confirmed that Drew McIntyre will face Happy Corbin at WrestleMania 38, in a strange move for the Scottish Warrior.
While fans saw this match coming given their feud as of late, many aren’t happy with the announcement, as they believe that McIntyre,
after two years of WWE Championship matches at WrestleMania, deserves better. In a tweet, McIntyre gave a very even-handed
response, saying that he appreciates the fan’s support, but that his time in Championship matches will come again down the line.
Drew also gave praise to Corbin, calling the former U.S. Champion “a hell of a competitor,” but is hell bent on beating him this April,
en route back to the World championship picture
Ever since Jeff Hardy was released from WWE, its been believed he will eventually come to AEW, with Jeff even stating that he was heading to the
promotion last month. Jeff would later clarify that what he said wasn’t definite, and merely what he hopes will happen,
but his claim has caught the attention of WWE’s legal team. On the latest Wrestling Observer Radio,
Dave Meltzer said that WWE could have some legal recourse following Hardy’s statement, as he remains under a non-compete clause
until March 9th. WWE’s legal team are trying to build a case, as if they can prove Hardy was negotiating with AEW
while under his non-compete clause of his WWE contract, it may consistute contract tampering.
Although he was released, Jeff is still technically under a WWE contract, and if they wanted to, WWE could make Jeff’s proves of jumping to AEW .
more difficult. So far, WWE has not taken any publicly known legal action over Hardy’s comments or any alleged
tampering, but with WWE on the hunt for a possible lawsuit, everyone at AEW, and Jeff Hardy, will need to be more careful with what they say.
We’re heading across the pond now as NXT UK is once again producing shows, and this week had a special appearance from a former North American
Champion. At the latest tapings, Roderick Strong appeared and faced Wolfgang, but was not accompanied by the
rest of the Diamond Mine. This was Strong’s first match since The Diamond Mine took a six-man loss to Imperium on the
February 1st NXT, and we’ll have to see what plans are in place for Roderick Strong in NXT UK.
Now, this week, Vince McMahon had his interview with Pat McAfee, in one of the longest appearances by the WWE Chairman in public in years.
It was reported ahead of the interview that their talk wouldn’t be in kayfabe, and that McMahon would be responding as himself, and not the evil
Mr. McMahon character, but one part of the discussion blurred that line. During the interview, McAfee asked McMahon how
he deals with confrontation, something he’s had to face countless times given his position, and Vince’ response seemed similar to what his character
would’ve said: “I’m probably one of the few people in the world who enjoys confrontation. I enjoy confrontation. It’
It’s one of the things that really revs you up. It’s one of the things that really puts you on your toes. It’s one of those things… ‘OK, what am I going to
do here’ in that split second. I enjoy confrontation. Physical confrontation. I enjoy that, you know? So, with a background
like that, and further background when I was a kid… We don’t want to hear another ‘bad kid’ story or
something like that, but my philosophy… I learned a long time ago when I was a kid that if I live through that beating, I win.
So, if you live through the beating and you won, what can you do to me? So, in terms of competition, in terms of that confrontation, I’m not afraid of it.
I relish it.” McMahon’s love of confrontation may have caused some problems In the past, but it’s his
confrontations with other territories that made WWE the media juggernaut it is today, and the Chairman knows just how useful a bit of confrontation can be.
Last month, AEW didn’t just lose Cody and Brandi Rhodes, but they also lost their reality show Rhodes to the Top,’ which documents the life of
the power-couple.
Now, AEW has found a way to fill that gap, as Fightful Select reports that Darby Allin will be getting his own show, called ‘Darby’s Day Off.’
It’s also noted that additional AEW talent have been in talks about appearing on WarnerMedia properties, as AEW aren’t going to be missing
out on that reality show loving audience, even with Cody and Brandi no longer around.
When Ric Flair returned to WWE in 2001, it wasn’t l ong before he aligned himself with Triple H, and the pair were practically inseparable on-screen.
In interviews, the Nature Boy always credited Triple H as the man who was able to bring him back into the spotlight, but their relationship is nowhere
near as close these days. Speaking on his podcast this week, Flair was asked whether he thinks Triple H is being pushed out of
WWE, but Flair said he doesn’t have any inner knowledge on the situation.
“I have no idea. He and I were incredibly close, and now I never hear from him, so I don’t know.”
Ever since Triple H’s cardiac event last September, the Cerebral Assassin has slowly been pushed out of the picture, and he even lost NXT to his
father-in-law, who rebranded it NXT 2.0. Even those who are close to the Game, including William Regal and Road Dogg have lost their jobs
and while Flair was once The Game’s closest friend, he’s now got nothing to do with WWE’s COO.
And we’re ending today with more from Vince McMahon, who had plenty to say this week when he sat down with Pat McAfee.
One of wrestling’s most controversial figures, McMahon is often bashed by fans for the booking that goes on under his watch, while many outside
wrestling ridicule him for being in the ‘fake’ sport. When asked by McAfee how he reacts to these perceptions, McMahon had plenty to say
“I stay out of all of it. I mean, I think… Again, I’m not big on the pats on the back. It really screws with your mind. I’m just who I am. If you listen to
the positives, then you have to listen to the negatives. I’m not big on negatives at all. A negative, no matter
what it is, is a double negative. Because if you’re dealing with this negative, that means you’re not dealing with a positive in which you put
your intellectual cost into that positive, not the negative.
I try and stay away from negatives as much as possible. Members of the media, they’re going to say what they’re going to say. There’s nothing you
can do to change it… You’re dealing with a negative, and if people think you’re an assh*le, you can’t change that… You can’t change
perception, generally, when you’re a public persona type-thing, you can’t. Don’t bother. So, it doesn’t bother me. I used to
really care about what people thought of me. I care about what the general public thinks of me as far as the business is concerned. If people
think I’m an assh*le, then congratulations, I guess I am.” Fans and critics alike may hate on McMahon,
but there’s no denying that he’s an unquestionable success, and blocking out the negativity of others has played a huge role in making the Chairman
the billionaire he is today.