Steve Austin Teases Major WWE Appearance At WrestleMania 40; April 27th Live Wrestling News Round-Up

With the WWE Draft just around the corner, fan speculation is buzzing about which NXT stars will be making the move to the main roster.

In recent weeks any number of NXT Superstars have been linked with Raw and SmackDown, but Booker T believes one star could be destined for the very top.

Speaking on his Hall of Fame podcast, the former World Champion looked back at Spring Breakin’ and gave his opinion on some of WWE’s rising stars. Booker admitted that he wouldn’t be surprised to see Grayson Waller get the call-up, praising him for his performance against Carmelo Hayes.

You can read Booker T’s comments, here.

Do you agree with the five time WWE World Champion? Let us know by hitting those thumbs down below!

Steve Austin has faced some terrifying opponents in his career, but nothing scared him more than…presenting the weather?

Speaking in a new interview with Chris Van Vliet, ‘The Texas Rattlesnake’ would reveal the scariest moment from his career.

“Yeah, predicting the weather on live television scared the hell out of me.

I made a living being on live TV, and you know, we went up there. First of all it was a 12:45 wakeup call, I didn’t sleep, 2:15 call time, I’m not a morning person. Then I go in and this wonderful lady Madison Macay is breaking down how she does the weather, and she is taking a [big] paragraph and taking the pertinent information and just condensing it down just on the fly.

I am thinking hey I’ve got to do it just exactly how she is. And you’re never going to step into someone else’s shoes or someone else’s job and be that good automatically, but that’s what I expect out of myself.

So moments like that crushed me, because I thought I did terrible. I love live television, because when that red light is on I am at my best, and I failed. But anyway, it was a ton of fun to make this show, I’m happy to have the opportunity.”

During the same interview, Steve Austin would tease his involvement in a major match at WrestleMania 40.

Read more about that, here.

Speaking on his Grilling JR Podcast, ‘The Voice of AEW’ has revealed who he believes will be the future cornerstones of AEW.

Responding to the question from podcast co-host Conrad Thompson, JR would explain although there are many candidates that could be the future of AEW, there are two names that stand out above all to him.

Wardlow and ‘Powerhouse’ Will Hobbs.

“Wardlow would come to my mind, quite frankly and quickly.

I think Wardlow is good. I think that Willie Hobbs has got a great upside future. He’s got a great look, wonderful attitude.

Those are two guys we just saw wrestle here a while back a week or so ago, and with Wardlow winning the TNT title back. But I think both those guys have a chance to be two of the big foundation pieces in AEW, if TK as he’s known, decides to go that way.

They’re both very good, they’re both young, they’re big, strong, athletic and I really enjoy working with both those guys.

There’s rarely a television that goes by Conrad that I don’t spend some time talking to both those guys, not necessarily together, but where we have a little conversation about how things go on.

They will ask me questions about the last match they had that they thought I might have seen. And I’ve pretty much seen them all. So I think those two guys are the likely candidates. Are they the only candidates? I’m thinking probably not. But they’re at the top of the list.”

Do you agree with Jim Ross? Who do you think will be the future stars of AEW? Let us know by hitting the ‘Get Involved’ feature at the top of the page!

While Steve Austin teases that he might wrestle again, and Goldberg remains adamant that he will be back, one AEW veteran has confirmed that he won’t be joining them.

With nostalgia sweeping wrestling and many legends getting back in the ring, Taz was asked whether he might make a return. The veteran was adamant he wouldn’t be while praising his son Hook.

“Not a shot. I’m 55, I retired from the ring a long time ago. It’s a young persons business IMO. Watch my son, he’s 10x the athlete I ever was & his presence/vibe blows mine away. Took me 6-7 years to find “it”….he IS “it”. He’s just getting warmed up…trust me.”

You can read more about this, here.

Would you like to see Taz get physical one last time? Let us know by hitting the thumbs down below!

Former WWE Intercontinental Champion Santino Marella has revealed his desire to make one final appearance for the company in the legendary Royal Rumble.

Speaking on The Ignorance Is Strength Podcast, the current IMPACT Wrestling star would open up his desire to make one final WWE appearance, also revealing the role his children have played in his late career renaissance.

“I just wrestled in front of my four-year-old [son] for the first time at [Impact Wrestling’s] Rebellion pay-per-view,” said the former WWE Intercontinental Champion. “It made me realize I want to wrestle a little bit just for him, and then for my younger daughter just to give them a memory … I may have to wrestle for a few more years sporadically and give them some lifelong memories.” [h/t to Wrestling Inc]

Would you like to see Santino make one final WWE appearence? Let us know by hitting the thumbs down below!

Goldberg chatted to Kenny McIntosh at an ITR Live show in Dublin in 2018 about negotiating his WWE contract in 2003 after the demise of WCW.

Check out this never before seen cut down below ⬇️

WWE Backlash 2023 in Puerto Rico is just nine days away and features some incredible matches from Raw and SmackDown.

Here is every match currently announced for the show:

• Matt Riddle, Kevin Owens, and Sami Zayn vs. The Bloodline (Solo Sikoa, Jey Uso, and Jimmy Uso) (with Paul Heyman)
• Cody Rhodes vs. Brock Lesnar
• Rhea Ripley (c) vs. Zelina Vega
• Seth “Freakin” Rollins vs. Omos (with MVP)
• Austin Theory (c) vs. Bobby Lashley vs. Bronson Reed
• Bianca Belair (c) vs. Iyo Sky (with Damage CTRL (Bayley and Dakota Kai))
• Bad Bunny vs. Damian Priest

Are you excited for the show? Let us know by hitting the thumbs down below!

Steve Austin is a man of many iconic moments, from his controversial WrestleMania heel turn to his legendary return at WrestleMania 38, ‘Stone Cold’ has done it all.

During his multi-decade career Austin has delivered thousands of Stunners to hundreds of wrestlers from all around the world but who does he think took the move the best?

Speaking in a new interview with Chris Van Vliet, Austin would award the title of best Stunner sell to none other than long term rival Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson.

“Well you got those different athletic presentations from Scott Hall, Shane took a good one, but I always go to The Rock.

The Rock would always take that extra effort to careen around the ring in a way over sell fashion. But it meant so much more when he did that, because in the big matches we had, whether it was [WrestleMania] 15, 17 and 19, those moments meant so much. But I would go with The Rock.

Here is the thing people don’t understand. When you give The Rock a Stunner, that guy is so jacked and so hard, when he is bouncing around the ring, sometimes he would flop off the ropes and end up landing back on me. I was like Jesus, you’re killing me. So giving The Rock a Stunner can be painful when he flops back on you, but that’s the name that I am going to give you.”

Who do you think is the WORST WWE Superstar to ever take a Stunner? Let us know using the ‘Get Involved’ feature at the top of the page!

Jeff Jarrett has recently spoken on modern wrestlers conduct online, encouraging them to step away from the keyboards and focus instead on getting over.

Speaking to Jonathan Zaslow on The Zaslow Show, the former WWE Intercontinental Champion was asked about AEW’s huge roster and how he would manage keeping everyone happy with so many differing stakeholders involved across the board.

Jarrett would state that this is just ‘the nature of the beast’ and is not different from professional sports or Hollywood. He would go on to state that everyone in AEW wants to be the main guy, wants to be the companies Steph Curry but the sad reality is “everybody can’t be Steph.”

The WWE Hall of Famer would even go so far as to say that those who choose to “b*tch” on social media won’t last in the business.

“You can do two things; you can bitch about it and whine about it and get on social media and complain all you want.

That’s not going to progress your career. I’ve always been the type of individual where you have to put your nose to the grindstone and be better than your opponent. Be better than the match that happened before you. Be better than you can be from last week.

That’s the competitive nature. Like any sport, if you’re going to be in that complaining group, you’re not going to be around long in the business.” [h/t to Fightful]

Do you agree with Jarrett’s comments? Let us know by hitting the thumbs down below!

When I said we had no CM Punk news for you today…I lied.

Shortly after Punk left WWE he appeared on The Art of Wrestling, a podcast run by his then-friend Colt Cabana. Punk’s comments led to legal action being taken against him by WWE doctor Chris Amann and during this period he also fell out with Cabana.

The ROH star later ended up filing a lawsuit against Punk and their friendship was over. This resulted in a feud that still runs to this day.

There was a rumour at the time that Punk fell out with Cabana after he visited a WWE show, however, a new report has clarified some of the details.

Speaking on Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer noted that the incident in question saw Cabana meet Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, and PAC (who was signed to WWE at the time) for pizza.

You can read the full bizarre report, here.

News broke this afternoon that American TV icon Jerry Springer had been found date at the age of just 79.

TMZ would break the news noting that Springer had battled a ‘brief illness’ later revealed to be pancreatic cancer.

Springer had an extended history with the WWE, acting as the host of WWE Too Hot For TV on the WWE Network, appearing a guest host for Monday Night Raw in 2010 and most notably hosting a intervention for The Bella Twins in 2014.

Check out his best WWE moments below ⬇️

Rising WWE Superstar Sol Ruca was written off NXT TV this past week when the anonymous NXT Twitter account shared footage of Ruca being assaulted outside of the Performance Center in the latest in a string of attacks following Nikkita Lyons and Wendy Choo.

Speaking on Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer would reveal that the reason behind Ruca’s write off is that the rising star recently tore her ACL and will be out injured for an extend period.

Meltzer would state:

“[Sol Ruca] tore her ACL.

There’s a lot of injuries there [NXT]. It’s funny because a lot of people are blaming the strength training for the injuries, that they are doing heavy lifts as opposed to strengthening surrounding muscles to prevent injuries.”

[h/t to f4wonline for the transcription]

Francesco Akira and TJP’s reign as IWGP Jr Tag Team champions has come to an abrupt end as they were dethroned by the duo of Kushida and ‘The Jet’ Kevin Knight.

Catch 22 [TJP & Akira] captured the IWGP Jr Tag Team Championships back in June 2022 and had successfully defended the titles on four occasions prior to their clash with Intergalactic Jet Setters [Knight & Kushida] at today’s Road to Dontaku show in the Hiroshima Sun Plaza.

Knight, who was also announced today for the 2023 Best of the Super Juniors tournament, took to Twitter to celebrate his historic win.

#AndNew IWGP Jr. Tag Team Champions! pic.twitter.com/Qv4ERwTbC7

— “The Jet” Kevin Knight • ケビン・ナイト (@Jet2Flyy) April 27, 2023

Although Seth Rollins is reportedly the front runner to win the new WWE World Heavyweight Championship, that hasn’t stopped, the inaugural WWE Universal Champion, Finn Balor from setting his sights on the new big gold belt.

Taking to social media, Balor would share a fan made render of himself holding the new WWE Championship with no additional caption.

This comes after Balor has previously retweeted a Tweet of the same render with the caption ‘The perfect image doesn’t exi-.”

Check out the Tweet down below ⬇️

pic.twitter.com/wtiue3Sx9A

— Finn Bálor (@FinnBalor) April 27, 2023

When Triple H unveiled the new WWE World Heavyweight Championship fans began to speculate on who would be the first WWE Superstar to capture the championship.

Names such as Cody Rhodes, Shinsuke Nakamura and GUNTHER all circulated but the current frontrunner is someone entirely different.

According to a new report from WrestleVotes (published via Give Me Sport) Seth Rollins is the current frontrunner to become the first WWE World Heavyweight Champion.

You can read the full report, here.

Do you think Seth Rollins should be the first WWE World Heavyweight Champion? Let us know by hitting the thumbs down below!

The team at Inside The Ropes are sadden to learn of the passing of Tommy Dreamer’s mother following a serious stroke just weeks ago.

Tommy Dreamer took to social media to informs fans of his mothers passing following a severe stroke just weeks before IMPACT Wrestling’s Rebellion PPV.

Dreamer would write:

“I wish I could hold your hand forever, I never thought this day would happen.

I miss you so much already. Thank you all for your prayers, positive vibes & thoughts Blessed to have her for 52years I love you mom.”

The team at Inside The Ropes would like to extend out deepest sympathies to Dreamer and his family during this difficult time.

WWE Superstar’s Bayley, Io Sky and Dakota Kai have shown why they are true heels as they were photographed at Manchester City’s training ground kitted up following ‘The Citizen’s’ mammoth 4-1 victory of Premier League challengers Arsenal.

Last night saw Manchester City defeat Arsenal 4-1 following goals from John Stones, Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland, helping to secure what will likely be their fifth Premier League title in just six years.

The loss was a huge blow to Arteta’s Arsenal who have overperformed all season as true Premier League underdogs with the youngest squad in the league.

Celebrating the win of a corrupt, history-less, oil money football team shows why Damage CTRL are truly one of wrestling’s greatest heel factions of the past few years.

(I am definitely not a very bitter Arsenal fan hoping that someone tweaks Haaland and De Bruyne’s cruciate’s ahead of the last five games of the season.)

Despite reports of an ‘unofficial’ hiring freeze, WWE remains interested in a number of talents from AEW and around the world.

Previous reports have revealed that WWE was, at various points, interested in re-signing Naomi and signing AEW stars Jay White and Brian Cage.

Now, according to a new report from Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer, WWE is interested in a number of AEW stars as their contracts begin to expire.

You can read the full report, here.

Following on from news that WWE was facing a lawsuit following alleged ‘extreme racism’ from writers behind the scenes, it has now been reported that WWE will not be commenting on the matter.

Taking to social media, Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful would reveal that he has been informed WWE will not be commenting on the lawsuit in any capacity.

“I’m told WWE will not be commenting on the lawsuit filed.

The lawsuit in question alleges multiple instances of institutional racism within the WWE including proposed story lines for WWE Superstar Mansoor to be the mastermind behind 9/11 and for an undescribed caucasian wrestler to have a gimmick hunting African-American talent and keeping NXT Star Reggie locked in a cage.

You can read more about the allegations made, here.

Earlier this week news broke that former WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion Naomi was on her way to IMPACT Wrestling.

Fans took to social media in their thousands to celebrate the news that they would once again be able to ‘feel the glow’ albeit in a new promotion.

Now, former IMPACT Knockout’s Champion Jordynne Grace has responded to the reports expressing her desire to get in the ring with the former Naomi ASAP.

“Hit me with the Rear View right NOW.”

Interestingly, this comes despite reports that Grace could be on her way out of IMPACT Wrestling with both AEW & WWE previously interested in the award winning bodybuilders signature.

You can read more about Naomi’s IMPACT Wrestling debut, here.

Roderick Strong shocked the world (and the system) when he made his AEW debut during last night’s episode of Dynamite.

‘The Messiah of the Backbreaker’ has now broken his silence following his AEW signing with a very simply message for his fans “I’m back.”

Check out the post and video package below ⬇️

I’m back!! bookroderickstrong@gmail.com#Messiahofthebackbreaker #BMF #Endofheartache #AEW pic.twitter.com/CVqNGuu8eE

— Roderick Strong (@roderickstrong) April 27, 2023

On April 26th it was revealed that former WWE writer Britney Abrahams is suing the company and individual staff alleging “discriminatory treatment, harassment, hostile work environment, wrongful termination, unlawful retaliation against the Plaintiff due to her race, color, and gender.”

In the lawsuit, the Plaintiff is listed as Britney Abrahams. The defendants listed are World Wrestling Entertainment Inc., Christopher Dunn, Ryan Callahan, Jennifer Pepperman, Christine Lubrano, Mike Heller, Vincent K. McMahon, and Stephanie McMahon.

Now, following news of the lawsuit, evidence has been submitted in the form of a pitched storyline that would have seen WWE Superstar Mansoor revealed as the mastermind behind the 9/11 attacks.

In another excerpt, a love triangle between Aliyah, Mansoor, and Angel Garza is discussed. As part of the angle, it is alleged that Mansoor would have a secret, to which writer Ryan Callahan stated “How about his secret is he’s behind the 9/11 attacks?”

You can read more information on the alleged racism in the WWE and this scrapped 9/11 angle, here.

New Japan Pro Wrestling’s Best of the Super Junior’s tournament is one of the wrestling calendar highlights every year and this year looks set to be no exception.

NJPW has today confirmed the line-up for the 30th anniversary edition of the BOSJ tournament featuring talent from all across the globe and multiple promotions.

You can check out the full line-up below: 

A Block:

1. Hiromu Takahashi
2. TJP
3. KUSHIDA
4. Ryusuke Taguchi
5. Taiji Ishimori
6. SHO
7. DOUKI
8. Titan
9. Lio Rush
10. Mike Bailey

B Block:

1. Francesco Akira
2. El Desperado
3. BUSHI
4. Yoshinobu Kanemaru
5. YOH
6. Robbie Eagles
7. Master Wato
8. Clark Connors
9. Kevin Knight
10. Dan Moloney

NJPW Best of the Super Juniors 30 will kick off on May 13th in Korakuen running through until the final on May 28th in Ota.

Will you be watching this years show? Let us know by hitting the thumbs down below!

JBL has taken to social media to defend his controversial ‘border patrol’ angle from WWE back in 2004.

Following his transformation from Bradshaw to JBL, the WWE Hall of Famer would begin to hone in on immigration issues in the US as a method for garnering heat with top WWE babyfaces at the time such as Rey Mysterio and Eddie Guerrero.

On an episode of SmackDown in 2004, JBL would call out ‘the cowards of Texas’ before driving down to the Mexican border to chase ‘illegal immigrants’ back to Mexico and off US soil.

Clips of the segment recently resurfaced on social media with one user asking how WWE did not get sued after the segment aired.

JBL took to social media to defend the angle stating that it was a TV show and not real life, before giving himself a pat on the back for his performance during the segment.

“Cause it’s a work? A tv show? Btw, damn I was good.”

You can check out the original segment below ⬇️

How didn’t WWE get sued after this segment was aired is beyond me pic.twitter.com/02JriAxfZI

— Public Enemies Podcast (@TheEnemiesPE3) April 26, 2023

Do you think WWE went too far with this angle? Let us know by hitting the thumbs down below!

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Following the conclusion of AEW Dynamite, Kenny Omega had some scathing words for Tony Khan and the Blackpool Combat Club.

Following the shows main event, Blackpool Combat Club would brutally attack The Elite even going as far as to strike Takeshita with a screwdriver bloodying the rising Japanese star.

Addressing the fans, Omega has stern words for Khan and the Blackpool Combat Club and appeared to confirm plans for a Blood and Guts match between the two factions.

“Hey Tony, instead of letting the inmates run the asylum for a change, how about you lock these guys where they can’t run, where they can’t hide, and you take on me? You want to see how tough I can be? You think we’re just kids, huh? You think we can’t fight? You think we can just wrestle? I’ll show you. Hope you’re listening, Tony.”

You can read watch the full promo, here.

Are you excited for The Elite vs Blackpool Combat Club in a Blood & Guts match? Let us know by hitting the thumbs down below!

Lat night’s episode of AEW Dynamite shocked the system as Roderick Strong made a surprise debut in AEW aligning himself with his former Undisputed Era brothers (Adam Cole & Kyle O’Reilly) before being announced as the companies latest signing.

Following last night’s episode of AEW Dynamite came the weekly taping for AEW Rampage.

In order to avoid spoiling the show for those not looking to see the card/results ahead of the show airing tomorrow night – I will not post them here.

But you can view the full card and results for the Friday April 28th edition of AEW Rampage, here.

With the WWE Draft just around the corner rumours are flying about potential returns and call-ups, and one of the biggest stories surrounds Big E.

Big E hasn’t been seen since sustaining a near career ending neck injury during the March 11th 2022 episode of Friday Night SmackDown.

Now, over a year later it looks like Big E could be on his way home to the WWE.

According to a new report from WRKD Wrestling, Big E’s name has been circulated backstage at WWE shows as a potential return for the upcoming 2023 WWE Draft.

You can read the full report, here.

Do you think we will see the former WWE Champion make his shock return during the upcoming draft? Let us know by hitting the thumbs down below!

In the build up to WrestleMania 39 multiple plans “leaked” for potential/planned opponents for ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin on the grandest stage of them all.

This included the likes of Roman Reigns and most shockingly ‘The Beast’ Brock Lesnar.

In the end, ‘The Texas Rattlesnake’ did not appear in Hollywood and in a new interview with Chris Van Vliet he has explained why.

“They asked me to be a part of  WrestleMania39, they really did, but I couldn’t do it, just because there is no way.

I knew what my life was going to look like due to the filming schedule of the show. We had some internal step-downs where the show took about 5 months to film, that’s a long time. We finished filming about 5 to 7 days before WrestleMania 39 and the position that they were going to put me in, which was a big one, you can’t prepare for WrestleMania and do yourself justice or do that crowd justice.”

Austin would go on to discuss the potential of these ‘big’ plans unfolding at WrestleMania 40, a scenario he refused to rule out.

“Dallas was set up for a Stone Cold return, and the way we framed that with KO, who I love, was perfect for the time and setting.

For this match to play out, I needed to perform at a high level. I didn’t work out before 38, I haven’t thrown a working punch in 19 years. I was killing KO right there, I truly was, ask him. When we got to the back I said, Man I can’t believe you didn’t throw a receipt. And he just laughed because his job was to just take care of me.

So anyway, in the future, I am not lobbying for it, but could anything happen? Yes. Because I say never say never.”

Would you like to see Steve Austin open one more can of whoop ass at WrestleMania? Let us know by hitting the thumbs down below!

Good Afternoon!

I hope you all are feeling refreshed and ready for the weekend when we get there!

We will be with you from 12pm – 6pm GMT this afternoon (7am – 1pm EST) covering all the latest news, rumours and fallout from the world of professional wrestling.

No CM Punk news this morning (for the first time in about a month) so instead we are kicking things off with news on a potential ‘major’ appearence from ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin at WrestleMania 40.

As always if you have any stories you would like to hear our thoughts on, let us know by using the ‘Get Involved’ feature at the top of the page or by clicking, here.