Welcome to the March 30th Inside The Ropes Live blog, bringing you the latest news from WWE, AEW, NJPW, IMPACT Wrestling and more.
Today’s biggest stories so far:
Get involved and send us your thoughts to join in the conversation.
That’s everything from us for today but we will be back again tomorrow at 12pm for the final day before WrestleMania 39!
We will be with you over the weekend bringing you live coverage of ROH Supercard of Honor, NXT Stand and Deliver and of course WrestleMania 39!
WrestleMania 39 is right around the corner and fans around the globe are starting to feel the hype for the biggest wrestling event of 2023!
To hype the event further, Nick Khan appeared on ESPN’s First Take to announce the full schedule for Saturday and Sunday.
During the appearance, the WWE CEO told fans to expect a “bunch of surprises.”
What surprises would you like to see at WrestleMania 39? Let us know using the get involved function up top and we will showcase some of our favourites!
On Sunday Cody Rhodes will stand toe to toe with Roman Reigns in one of the biggest WrestleMania main events of the last decade.
But before that, he will go toe to toe with Sheamus as he takes the ‘Celtic Warrior’ through one of his workouts on the latest episode of ‘Celtic Warrior Workouts.’
Sheamus announced this afternoon that tomorrow (Friday March 31st) he will drop the latest episode of beloved YouTube show and will be joined by ‘The American Nightmare.’
It’s Wrestlemania 39, to kick off the greatest weekend of the year, tomorrow I bring you the American Nightmare Cody Rhodes!! NOW, can i get a sub?? https://t.co/dW4flw3QcU pic.twitter.com/uBlzHz2j4X
— Sheamus (@WWESheamus) March 30, 2023
Do you think Cody Rhodes will be the man to end Roman Reign’s insane WWE Championship run? Use the ‘Get Involved’ feature at the top of the page and let us know!
In a collaboration that nobody saw coming WWE icon John Cena will be a playable character in the latest instalment in the PGA Tour franchise coming this April.
Announced just days before John Cena takes on Austin Theory at WrestleMania 39, the official 2K Twitter account would reveal Cena will be a playable character in this years PGA Tour 2K23, even sharing an early sneak peak at ‘The Doctor of Thuganomics’ in action on the green (and yes… they made the you can’t see him joke).
THE CHAMP IS HERE!
Did you see him? You'll soon be able to play as the one and only JOHNNNN CENAAAA in #PGATOUR2K23! Coming April 7 👋 @JohnCena pic.twitter.com/Q7WJVwmeXU
— 2K United Kingdom (@2K_UK) March 30, 2023
For those of you just finishing up work for the day, here is your 5pm Thursday afternoon wrestling news recap:
The biggest stories of the day so far, are:
We will be with you right through to 6pm BST bringing you the latest news and update from the world of wrestling.
Marina Shafir has faced criticism recently from the AEW audience, but one person that will not be accepting any Shafir slander is none other than former AEW World Champion Jon Moxley.
Speaking on ‘The Sessions’ podcast alongside wife Renee Paquette, Moxley would state that Shafir has the qualities to bring a whole new quality to the AEW Women’s Division.
“Marina Shafir, so much potential there. She is the only one of our species that we have at AEW. There is nobody else, we only have one of her… ‘We need to bring that to TV.’ That brings a whole new element to the division.”
During todays ESPN broadcast of First Take, WWE would confirm the finalised cards for both night 1 and night 2 of WrestleMania 39.
Night 1 will feature the marquee generational clash between John Cena & Austin Theory alongside Rhea Ripley vs. Charlotte Flair, Sami Zayn & Kevin Owens vs. The Usos and Seth Rollins vs. Logan Paul.
Night 2 features this years marquee main event between Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns alongside Bianca Belair vs. Asuka, Gunther vs. Sheamus vs. Drew McIntyre and Edge vs. Finn Balor inside the original Hell in a Cell.
You can see the full cards below.
🤩 #WrestleMania Saturday and #WrestleMania Sunday cards 🤩, as first revealed on @FirstTake! pic.twitter.com/CzHw91fVot
— WWE (@WWE) March 30, 2023
During last nights episode of AEW Dynamite Jon Moxley and The Blackpool Combat Club attacked Kenny Omega’s associate Don Callis backstage.
During the attack Callis fell to the ground and sustained a ‘nasty gash’ causing him to require an overnight spell in the hospital for what was described as a ‘hatchet like’ gash.
Don Callis can be seen bleeding following the attack in AEW’s official footage of the backstage segment.
.@TheDonCallis's apology to #HangmanAdamPage was violently interrupted by the #BlackpoolCombatClub @JonMoxley @ClaudioCSRO @WheelerYuta
It’s #AEWDynamite LIVE on TBS! pic.twitter.com/1m3ZOzVBpY— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) March 30, 2023
Noted journalist Bryan Alvarez has since reported that Callis received ‘a bunch of stiches’ following the show.
You can read more about Callis’ hospitalisation and the fallout from the attack, here.
Brock Lesnar is set to take on Omos at WrestleMania 39, but today ‘The Beast’ is making headlines for his antics prior to Seth Rollins’ iconic ‘heist of the centaury’ at WrestleMania 31.
During a recent appearance on Ryan Satin’s ‘Out of Character’ podcast, Paul Heyman would confirm that prior to WrestleMania 31 Brock Lesnar walked out of the WWE!
“I was there for his (Roman Reigns’) first WrestleMania main event because it was against Brock Lesnar.
I was there for the first promo he had to do about his first WrestleMania main event because it was the night after the blizzard and Brock and I came and I opened it up by shaking his hand and telling him that I’ve known your family longer than you’ve known your own family.
Then when we finally brought it out into the ring, Brock had walked out of WWE five weeks before WrestleMania and we were tasked with Roman Reigns and Paul Heyman in the ring talking about Roman Reigns’ first WrestleMania main event.”
Brock Lesnar was recently spotted saying his goodbyes to talented backstage during a WWE show, leading some to speculate ‘The Beast’ may be ending his career.
You can read more about Brock Lesnar’s possible retirement, here.
Today, March 30th 2023, marks the 15 year anniversary of one of WrestleMania’s most iconic matches.
March 30th 2008 saw Shawn Michael’s defeat Ric Flair in his (what was meant to be) final match.
The closing sequence and ‘I’m Sorry, I Love You’ has become synonymous with WrestleMania moments!
Tell us your favourite WrestleMania moment using the ‘Get Involved’ feature found at the top of the page and we will share some of the favourites!
In a new interview with ComicBook.com, former AEW Women’s Champion Britt Baker has revealed that her persisting neck and back injuries are ‘getting worse.’
Speaking ahead of AEW All Access, Baker would open up on her ongoing injury issues and concerns for her in-ring future moving forward.
“Unfortunately it’s getting worse,” Baker said. “Now it’s like a neck and a back problem.
But it’s manageable. I’m tough, so I’ll always find ways to work.”
Today marks the 8 year anniversary of AJ Lee’s final in-ring appearance following her departure from wrestling in 2015.
On WWE Monday Night RAW #1140 in San Joe, California, AJ Lee would team with Naomi and Paige to take on the trio of Natalya, Nikki Bella and Brie Bella.
The match would end up being the final match of her WWE career and her wrestling career as a whole as she would announce her retirement from in-ring action on April 3rd 2015.
In her memoirs Lee [AKA AJ Mendez] would cite a combination of permanent damage to her cervical spine and the ongoing disputes between CM Punk and WWE as the reasons behind her retirement from wrestling.
Where do you think Lee ranks in the list of all time great female WWE Superstars? Let us know using the ‘Get Involved’ button at the top of the page!
Happy Birthday to AEW star Trent Beretta!
The former NJPW IWGP Tag Team Champion and one half of the incredible ‘Best Friends’ today celebrates his 36th birthday.
What are some of your favourite Trent moments in AEW thus far? Let us know by using the ‘Get Involved’ button at the top of the page!
This afternoon Nick Khan will reveal all the matches set for WrestleMania 39 and whether they will appear on night one or night two of the historic event!
Nick Khan will be appearing on ESPN’s ‘First Take’ show today at 10am ET [3pm BST] alongside regular host Stephen A Smith as they breakdown the WrestleMania 39 card.
Today, exclusively on @FirstTake, we will reveal the #WrestleMania Night 1 and Night 2 matches!
I’m also going 1-on-1 with @WWE CEO Nick Khan. You DON’T want to miss this!
— Stephen A Smith (@stephenasmith) March 30, 2023
We will have all the information for you at 3pm BST (just under an hours time) so check back soon to see what night your favourite WrestleMania matches are set to appear on!
Bobby Lashley has addressed the ongoing confusion surrounding his scrapped WrestleMania 39 clash with Bray Wyatt in a new interview with Denise Salcedo.
During the interview ‘The Almighty’ would state that although he is currently not on the WrestleMania 39 card he is hoping that a win in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal on Friday Night SmackDown will ‘trickle over’ and lead to him appearing on either the Saturday or Sunday night of WrestleMania.
“Right now, I’m kind of half and half, getting ready for it and preparing for that day. I have a big match on Friday night, hopefully, that trickles over and causes something big for Saturday or Sunday.”
During the same interview, Lashley would comment on Wyatt’s sudden absence revealing that although he believes Wyatt is simply scared of him and doesn’t want to get into a fight with ‘The Almighty’.
“I have no idea. All I know is that I think I provoke fear in a lot of people.”
You can read more about the current WrestleMania 39 plans for Bobby Lashley, here.
Leaked WrestleMania 39 set photographs confirm recent reports that WWE are returning to the beloved original Hell in a Cell structure and seemingly retiring the heavily criticised red cell in the process.
WWE’s Hell in a Cell hasn’t been seen since the critically acclaimed match between Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins back in June 2022.
The match is renowned for Rhodes’ brutal pectoral injury that saw the left side of his body black and blue and was ‘The American Nightmare’s’ final WWE before missing over six months of action to recover from the injury.
The match occurred inside the polarizing red cage, which was introduced in 2018. But now as the wrestling world heads to Hollywood, it is bringing back the original design.
Classic Hell in a Cell design is back. pic.twitter.com/kHwvXeXj2b
— Roman Reigns SZN 💥 (@reigns_era) March 29, 2023
You can read more about current WrestleMania 39 plans, here.
Last night we took to Twitter to ask you guys ‘Who would you like to see WWE use more of after WrestleMania 39?‘
Here are some of the most popular answers so far:
“LA Knight for sure. Money” – @owenteahan82
“Bobby Roode when he does return. Hope they give him back the Glorious deal he was doing in NXT.” – @RobLang247
“Shinsuke Nakamura. Haven’t seen hide or hair since retiring The Great Muta, but I hoping they push him back to the Strong Style Badass he was like in NXT & his early Main Roster push.
WWE needs to build its main event up! This would be a good time.” – @HCHecxz
“Easily Piper Niven. On the men’s side, I want a Chad Gable solo run. Turn him face and point him straight at Austin Theory and the US title” – @BadJokeBilly91
You can get involved with this and all our content by clicking on the ‘Get Involved’ button at the top of this page or by replying to us over on Twitter!
Ibushi will not be on his way to the WWE any time soon!
Jay White and Kota Ibushi are two of the hottest free agents in wrestling at the moment with WWE & AEW desperate for their signatures heading into the summer of 2023.
According to a new report from WrestleVotes (published via GiveMeSport), WWE are increasingly confident in signing Jay White, however Kota Ibushi is not interested in signing an exclusive full time deal with either WWE or AEW.
Ibushi is renowned for his pure passion for wrestling and unpredictability inside and outside the ropes (see what I did there)…
WWE previously attempted to sign the Japanese star when he was a focal point of the highly anticipated 2016 Cruiserweight Classic alongside fellow NJPW star Zack Sabre Jr.
You can read more about the WWE futures of Jay White & Kota Ibushi, here.
Tony Khan has sparked debate on social media by claiming that AEW has the best talkers in wrestling today!
During an interview with the LA Times ahead of the launch of AEW All Access, Khan would credit the freedom he gives performers with AEW’s incredible promos over the past three years.
“What’s great about AEW is you hear the wrestlers speaking in their own words and I’m not trying to force the words into their mouths, I don’t write word for word scripts for anybody and we have the best talkers in pro wrestling.”
Do you agree with Khan’s comments? Who do you think is the best talker in wrestling today? Use the ‘Get Involved’ button at the top of the page and let us know!
It’s almost WrestleMania, the equivalent of Christmas for most wrestling fans and Inside The Ropes is here to help spread some WrestleMania cheer!
Put some time aside this morning and revisit WWE’s iconic ‘WrestleMania’ theme song, because nothing says festive cheer like The Big Boss Man telling you about his life long dream of being a law enforcement officer 😂
Isn’t it just the best!
With news of Vince McMahon’s growing presence backstage at recent WWE shows and various ‘red flags’ that he was altering WWE creative, it should not come as a major shock that news this morning has broken that the former WWE Chairman will be in attendance at WrestleMania 39 this weekend!
According to a new report from PWInsider, various WWE sources have confirmed that Vince McMahon will ‘100% be at the event.’
Read more about Vince McMahon’s role at WrestleMania 39, here.
Good Morning!
WrestleMania 39 is dominating headlines (as expected) this week and we will have all the latest news, rumours and mumblings for you this morning including updates on the future of WWE PPV’s, Vince McMahon’s WrestleMania status and the latest update on Don Callis after his hospitalisation during AEW Dynamite.
In the meantime, we want to hear your opinions! Use the lovely ‘Get involved’ button at the top of the page and tell us what you are most excited about for WrestleMania weekend this year and we will share some of our favourite answers!
