Tony Khan Considered Buying WWE Prior To UFC Merger; May 15th Live Wrestling News Round-Up

Kanye West’s latest fashion choice has drawn the attention of Matt Cardona.

West was recently pictured in Los Angeles with his new wife Bianca Censori. While many people were commenting on Censori’s revealing outfit, it was West’s that caught Cardona’s eye.

The former Zack Ryder took to social media to point out how much his knee-length boots resembled the kick pads favoured by a lot of modern wrestlers. It doesn’t help that he’s also wearing skintight trousers that resemble wrestling tights.

After noting the clothes, Cardona joked that Kanye might want to take on “the indy god.”

You can check out the photo & Cardona’s comments, here.

Fans shouldn’t expect Kevin Nash to give away signatures for free to those waiting at the airport.

In recent months “fans” waiting for wrestlers at the airport or outside their hotel with huge amounts of merchandise has become a serious issue.

Footage has been shared on social media of stars such as Rey Mysterio, Liv Morgan, Alexa Bliss, and Rhea Ripley being harassed by individuals with vast amounts of merchandise, which they will later sell online.

Speaking on his Kliq This podcast, Kevin Nas gave his thoughts on the problem. The WWE Hall of Famer said that if fans approach him at an airport he won’t sign anything for an adult.

You can read Nash’s full comments, here.

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

Mojo Rawley has given his thoughts on the next move of his always in demand, close friend Mercedes Mone.

Muhtadi recently sat down with Nick Hausman for Inside The Ropes and chatted about all things wrestling, including Mone’s current run of success. With Mone flourishing in Japan, Muhtadi said that he backed her decision to leave WWE even if her departure was a little controversial, adding that he “loves everything she stands for.”

With regard to what’s next for the former IWGP Women’s Champion, Muhtadi said that she hasn’t got her eyes on just one project, and is working on a whole host of things including some outside of wrestling.

Reflecting on Mone’s career to date, the former WWE and NFL star said that she’s already accomplished an incredible amount in the ring, but bigger things could be yet to come. Muhtadi explained that by doing projects outside of wrestling that increase her star power, Mone will become an even bigger name every time she returns to the ring.

You can read Rawley’s full comments, here.

Awesome Kong spoke during an ITR Live in 2019 about why she left TNA, Dixie Carter and much more.

Check out this never before seen interview clip below ⬇️

Do you think TNA messed up by not keeping Awesome Kong back in the day? Let us know by hitting the ‘get involved’ button at the top of the page!

Mustafa Ali has defended failed faction Retribution, claiming that it was better than fans gave it credit for.

Retribution arrived on WWE television during the summer of 2020. The group of initially unknown masked assailants smashed up stages, destroyed property, and beat down a number of Superstars.

Sami Zayn spoke to Alex McCarthy this week about his rivalry with Roman Reigns, the epic Elimination Chamber main event and when he found out he’d be main eventing WrestleMania.

Check out this never before seen interview below ⬇️

Speaking in a new interview with Alex McCarthy of SportsMail, WWE Tag Team Champion Sami Zayn has revealed the moment he found out he would be main eventing WrestleMania 39.

During the interview Zayn would state that he is cautious of peeling back the curtain too much but would note that it was only weeks before WrestleMania 39 that he and Zayn discovered they would be main eventing night one of the show.

“‘I’m cautious here to not pull back the curtain too much. I had caught wind that was going to be the plan a few weeks out. But, for whatever reason, there was still this sort of – as WWE can be – this the card is subject to change mentality. It’s really unsettling. It’s like ‘let’s just commit to this, shall we?’ [laughs].

It was pencilled in as far as I know – and again, I could be wrong because I’m not behind the scenes in those meetings – but as far as I know it was pencilled in for a while, just because the story had so much investment behind it and time behind it. And, it was simply the best story heading into the event. But, there was a little bit of ‘we don’t know what might change’ and this and that.”

Zayn would also comment on the impact Vince McMahon’s departure, and Triple H’s subsequent involvement in WWE creative, had on the trajectory of his storyline with The Bloodline.

“‘I think so, I think so. For a couple of reasons, but its hard to say in retrospect ‘what if’ because we just know what did happen. I think when you look back on the trajectory, the thing that I did notice was, for me, a crucial component of the story was getting on-screen with Roman and the curve ball here being is you expect Roman to not like me, but then he does.

That was the most important component in the story and for whatever reason, that wasn’t happening early on. We go back and watch the entire timeline, it took a couple of months to get there.” 

Do you think Sami Zayn should have dethroned Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 39? Let us know by hitting the thumbs down below!

A new report has revealed that AEW made the decision to remove multiple references to CM Punk & the All Out brawl from episodes of their new behind-the-scenes show AEW All Access.

Speaking on Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer noted that The Elite had filmed several interviews for the show during which they would talk at length about the brawl and even mentioned why they had been gone for several months.

However, fearing legal action Tony Khan and AEW made the call to cut the interviews and all mentions of CM Punk from the show.

You can read Meltzer’s full comments below.

“They did interviews. They talked about it. They never mentioned Punk’s name because they weren’t allowed to mention his name, but they did interviews to beat around the bush on the story. Even that was edited out because of the fear of legal reprisal.

The biggest issue isn’t even necessarily Tony, and it isn’t most of the guys. It is the legal threats and because of what those are, Tony is playing it very careful to the point of no one mentioning it. On the reality show, CM Punk’s name was never mentioned once. I knew they would never talk about the thing, but they didn’t even allude to anything close to it.” [h/t WrestlingNews.co]

Do you think Tony Khan & AEW made the right call? Let us know by hitting the thumbs down below!

Former AEW Champion Adam Page has returned to action just in time for Double or Nothing.

Several weeks ago Adam Page was written off of AEW TV following a brutal attack from The Blackpool Combat Club, now, just two weeks away from AEW’s biggest PPV of the year, Page has made his specular return to AEW.

On May 13th Page returned to the ring to face Big Bill [FKA Big Cass] in a No Disqualification match at the AEW House Rules live event at the Civic Centre in Salem, Virginia.

Now on the verge of the big return to Dynamite, it seems very likely that Page will have Moxley, Danielson and the rest of the BCC on his radar.

You can read more about Page’s AEW status, here.

According to a new report from WrestleVotes, a number of creative decisions in the WWE have not gone as planned following WrestleMania 39.

The report indicates that several sources have claimed that several creative decisions & ideas within the WWE from prior to WrestleMania 39 have not gone as originally envisioned prior to the historic event.

The report notes that this does not necessarily mean that they have been worse than initially planned but simply that there have been some notable changes between what was initially scheduled and what has unfolded over the last month.

The full report states:

“Interesting tidbit: source says a number of creative decisions & ideas planned prior to WrestleMania have not gone the way some envisioned. Not to say for better or worse, but the direction for some superstars is far different than what had been internally discussed.”

How have you found WWE since WrestleMania 39? Let us know by hitting the thumbs below!

During a recent appearance on Wrestling Observer Radio, Mexican wrestling legend Konnan would tout independent wrestling star Jack Cartwheel as someone who is set to have a breakout year, even going as far as to say that the former gymnast “does really cool sh*t.”

Dave Meltzer and Garrett Gonzales were joined by the AAA founder on the most recent episode of Wrestling Observer Radio, during the show the trio would discuss Kenny Omega’s incredible AEW match against AAA Mega Champion El Hijo del Vikingo, with Konnan revealing that he had initially planned for the match to take place in Mexico and he it still hoping for a rematch to take place under the AAA banner.

When asked about other potentially hidden gems in Mexican wrestling Konnan would reveal that he had recently discovered a male talent who will debut soon for AAA that could be huge alongside a high flying female talent – neither of which he would name.

One name Konnan could reveal however was independent wrestler star Jack Cartwheel, Cartwheel, who has previously appeared for GCW, PWG and AEW, has been appearing in AAA sporadically since 2022 and is known for his innovative style that draws on his gymnastics background.

Konnan would tout the California native for a huge 2023.

““Jack Cartwheel,” Konnan said. “He’s a former gymnast. Incredible attitude, very creative. Does really cool s***. “

Are you familiar with Jack Cartwheel? Let us know by hitting the thumbs down below!

Ken Anderson, best known to fans as former Money in the Bank winner Mr. Kennedy, has revealed that he would like to have one last run in the WWE after leaving on bad terms back in 2009.

Speaking during an appearance on The Kurt Angle Show, the former illegitimate son of Vince McMahon, Anderson would reveal that he is not surprised he has never been invited back to the WWE, acknowledging that he said some “really sh*tty things” following his departure from the company in 2009.

“No, I’m not surprised,” [that WWE has not invited him back to the company] Anderson said. “I said some really sh—- things on the way out the door, and I completely get it.” [h/t WrestleZone]

‘The Mic Checker’ would then go on to reveal that he recently rejected an unofficial offer to make a one of appearance for the WWE during a recent Royal Rumble, stating that he was simply not in good enough shape to make the return a possibility.

“I would like to eventually be able to go back there and finish it out, but I completely understand if that doesn’t happen. I did it to myself.”

“I was asked a few years ago, it wasn’t official, but I was asked but Daivari, ‘Hey, your name came up for Royal Rumble. Would you be interested?’ I wasn’t.”

“I was completely out of shape, and I turned it down. But it wasn’t an official ask anyway. I just said, ‘No, I’m not interested.’” [h/t WrestleZone]

Would you like to see Mr Kennedy have one final run in the WWE? Let us know by hitting the thumbs down below!

Speaking on a new episode of his critically acclaimed Foley is Pod podcast, ‘The Hardcore Legend’ Mick Foley would reveal that one of his greatest wishes in wrestling is for ECW legend Sabu to get his flowers.

Foley would begin by heaping praise on ‘The Homicidal Maniac’ stating that his only crime, was getting older.

“Sabu is another guy I’d like to see get his accolades. It’s just a shame that when the only crime — the only thing Sabu ever did was get older.”

“A lot of the people who were on the bandwagon see him, you know, he hasn’t gone on to be part of people’s childhoods the way that we had the opportunity to, so the wave of popularity goes from here, then there’s a big downturn and then one day when Halloween, you realize that people are dressing up like you for Halloween.

“You’re no longer irrelevant. You’re now part of people’s childhoods,” said Mick Foley. “Also, he didn’t have a chance to endear himself to people. I understand why he didn’t speak.”

“He was the nephew of The Sheik, and The Sheik, I don’t think, spoke and if he did, it was rarely. It was never more than a few words. He was sticking to that character.” [h/t Fightful]

Continuing, Foley would reveal how aging out of his move set had a massively negative impact on the lasting legacy of Sabu.

“[Sabu] never found that other gear to shift into, which usually involves comedy,”

“Ric [Flair] was connecting with audiences more efficiently ten years past his physical prime. DX, clearly, humor was on display as Shawn Michaels and Triple H got older. [Sabu] didn’t have that other gear.”

“Unfortunately, as time goes by, you’re seeing the same guy do things a little bit slower. And fans can be man, they can be pretty merciless.”

“Yeah. They can be very forgiving, and they can be great, but they can be pretty merciless when somebody’s stumbling.” [h/t Fightful]

Would you like to see Sabu enter the WWE Hall of Fame? Let us know by hitting the thumbs down below!

Last week’s edition of SmackDown set new records to add to a terrific start to 2023 for WWE!

According to a report from Fightful Select, last Friday night’s episode of WWE SmackDown, held in Knoxville, Tennessee, smashed the company record for highest grossing event in that market area.

The company enjoyed an outstanding first quarter of the year, with the recent Q1 financial report revealing that live event revenue was up a whopping 41 percent on prior year. Those impressive results came despite the company running three fewer events than in the same period the in 2022 with average attendances up by over 2,000 fans per show to 7,800. Live event revenue rolled in at $32.6 million for the quarter, an increase of nearly $10 million on prior year.

The show was also a critical success, with the continuation of The Bloodline storyline including an appearance from Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns as he announced that he and Solo Sikoa would challenge Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn for their Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championships at the upcoming Night Of Champions event.

You can read more about WWE’s success in 2023 so far, here.

Jim Cornette has not minced his words when it comes to his criticism of former AEW World Champion Jon Moxley.

Speaking on The Jim Cornette Experience, the legendary manager would respond to comments made by Moxley during a recent interview with Sports Illustrated in which the former WWE Champion would partially credit his ‘definitive rivalry’ with Kenny Omega to the success of AEW internationally following the news that All In had surpassed 65,000 ticket sales in the UK.

Cornette would question ‘who convinced’ Moxley he was that could before blasting ‘The Lunatic Fringe’s appearance and wrestling abilities in a scathing rant.

“Who has convinced this guy that he is that good? I mean, I could see some people with lower standards going, ‘Ah, he’s alright,’ but how could anybody have convinced him that he is this big megastar, and this great wrestler, and this incredible box office attraction?

Who has told him that, and how can we get them a phone call with BetterHelp?”

“Even if you think that you are that good, who talks like that unless you’re a heel in gimmick? Who actually comes out, ‘Oh real I’m the greatest thing?” I mean, he went to rehab. At some point, don’t they sit you down and make you look at yourself realistically and what your strengths, weaknesses, good points, faults, whatever, are?

How can he legitimately believe? How can he look in the mirror? How can he watch himself on video tape? Does he not see that ridiculously underdeveloped body? The pale flesh, the lack of f*cking hair on the top of his head, the f*cking lack of quality work, the lack of psychology, the f*cking lack of bladesmanship? I’m glad that he didn’t decide to become the next sleight of hand artist. F*cking Criss Angel has nothing to worry about, but what is it that he thinks that he does well? ‘Cause we can’t find it.”

Do you agree with Cornette’s brutal comments or do you think he has gone too far? Let us know by hitting the thumbs below!

On May 15th 1992 Mexican wrestling promotion AAA is officially launched.

AAA, also known as Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide or Antonio Peña Promotions, S.A. de C.V., was founded on this day 31-years-ago when CMLL booker Antonio Peña broke away from the company with the aim of founding a new Mexican promotion alongside Konnan and a high proportion of CMLL’s young talent.

Thanks to new signings from Tijuana in the forms of Rey Mysterio and Psychosis, alongside fantastic talent such as El Hijo del Santo, Octagon, Blue Panther and Konnan, AAA would skyrocket right to the very top of Mexican wrestling.

Since 1992 AAA has continued to produce a plethora of incredible Mexican talent including most recently Ray Fenix, Pentagon Jr and AEW’s newest star El Hijo del Vikingo.

Who is your favourite Mexican talent to come out of AAA? Let us know by hitting the thumbs down below!

Eric Bischoff has claimed that AEW is nothing more than we well-funded hobby capitalising on the success enjoyed by WWE.

While Tony Khan has been a wrestling fan for the majority of his life, he still needed financial backing to get AEW off the ground. This backing came from his billionaire father Shahid Khan who also owns the Jacksonville Jaguars NFL franchise and English Premier League club Fulham.

Speaking on a recent episode of his Strictly Business podcast, Bischoff said that this financial assistance not only elevates AEW above its non-WWE rivals but means that it doesn’t really matter whether the company is successful or not.

The WWE Hall of Famer went on to add that AEW’s success comes as a result of WWE being successful. Bischoff explained that its WWE that has put wrestling on the map for a number of television executives due to its financial success, and this has opened the door for others to see AEW as an opportunity to do the same. He added that if WWE wasn’t successful, AEW wouldn’t have been able to land the monster TV deal it’s expected to announce in the company days.

You can read Bischoff’s controversial comments in full, here.

Do you agree with Eric Bischoff? Let us know by hitting the thumbs down below!

‘The Viper’ Randy Orton has been told not to return to the ring by his doctors according to his father, WWE Hall of Famer, Bob Orton.

Speaking in a recent interview with legendary wrestling journalist Bill Apter, WWE Hall Of Famer ‘Cowboy’ Bob Orton sensationally revealed that Randy Orton’s doctors had recommended that the two-time Royal Rumble winner did not return to the ring. Orton Senior, however, believes his son will not take that advice on board.

You can read Orton’s full comments, here.

What do you think will go down as the greatest moment of ‘The Viper’s career? Let us know by using the ‘get involved’ feature at the top of the page!

Never one to shy away from controversy, Jim Cornette has once again found himself in the spotlight after dropping some scathing words of advice for rising AEW star ‘Jungle Boy’ Jack Perry.

Recently the former AEW Tag Team Champion found himself in hot water after he was accused of being ‘disinterested’ during a recent public appearance at The Love of Wrestling with Monopoly Events, during the appearance Jungle Boy would reveal that he doesn’t look for match advice from certain veterans in the AEW locker room, naming Billy Gunn as an example, because he ‘hates Canadian Destroyers’.

Speaking on The Jim Cornette Experience, the legendary manager would hit back at Jungle Boy with some scathing advice for the AEW pillar.

“It says a lot that he thinks that dino douche ought to be piecing anything together except a f***ing roadmap to a goddamn wrestling school,” Cornette said.

“And Billy Gunn has absolutely nothing to offer because he thinks it’s ridiculous that you should do your own backflip and land on your own head multiple times in a match, especially if it’s not the finish. This is where this f***ing clown’s head’s at.”

“You hear constantly about this guy’s attitude, and it shows in his performance,” Cornette said.

“He does the cool little combative, Cirque du Soleil, aggressive, parkour, roughneck cheerleading, whatever we’re calling it this week, and that’s what he likes to do, and when he needs to do anything else, he can’t and he doesn’t want to.”

Do you agree with Cornette’s assessment of Jungle Boy or do you think he went too far? Let us know by hitting the thumbs down below!

Johnny Gargano has been out of action with a shoulder injury following his NXT Stand & Deliver victory over Grayson Waller back in April.

However, after just over a month ‘The Heart and Soul of NXT’ is back and was immediately thrown into action against Intercontinental Champion Gunther during a WWE SuperShow at the James Brown Arena in Augusta, Georgia on Saturday evening.

Gunther successfully defended his Intercontinental Championship against Gargano in a well received match, with some fans speculating that Gargano is now the favourite to win tonight’s Intercontinental Championship number one contender Battle Royal on Monday Night Raw.

WWE has historically utilised SuperShow’s (formerly House Shows) to test the waters for future feuds but this is by no means a guarantee that Gargano will be victorious during tonight’s show and is instead an educated speculation ahead of the show.

Who do you think will be Gunther’s next challenger for the Intercontinental Championship? Let us know by using the ‘get involved’ feature at the top of the page!

A new report from PW Insider has leaked backstage information on how WWE currently views it’s SmackDown women’s division.

The report leaks multiple pieces of information including who WWE internally view as SmackDown’s top female heel and babyface.

According to PWInsider Elite, Bianca Belair is listed internally as SmackDown’s top female babyface, followed by Charlotte Flair (2), Shotzi (3), Zelina Vega (4), Mia Yim (5) and Aliyah (6).

Interestingly Aliyah is not currently drafted to SmackDown and was advertised as a free agent during the WWE draft.

The same report goes on to reveal that Asuka is now listed as SmackDown’s top female heel, followed by Bayley (2), Lacey Evans (3), Scarlett (4), B-Fab (5) and Tamina (6).

The report also adds that names such as Iyo Skye, Alba Fyre, Isla Dawn and Dakota Kai are absent from the list as they are internally listed as tag teams and not Women’s Division competitors.

Who do you think is the best Women’s Division competitor on SmackDown? Let us know by using the ‘get involved’ feature at the top of the page!

Tony Khan has claimed that the sale of WWE is a huge positive for the wrestling industry.

Appearing on The Maggie & Perloff show, AEW owner Tony Khan would break down the WWE sale, revealing why he believes it will hugely beneficial to the wrestling industry as a whole.

Khan would comment:

“Certainly, in many ways, it’s a big positive to the pro wrestling business and I think the huge attendance numbers and TV and streaming numbers for pro wrestling and the great sales for AEW on pay-per-view and all the big merchandising numbers show that pro wrestling is really back as an industry in many major ways in 2023 and AEW is a big part of the conversation. That’s all been really positive for us,”.

During the same interview Khan would also reveal that he “was interested” in purchasing the WWE prior to Endeavour’s successful takeover but noted he couldn’t go into detail surrounding how far talks went.

Do you agree with Tony Khan? Do you think the WWE sale is a “big positive” to the wrestling industry? Let us know by hitting the thumbs down below!

Good Afternoon!

I hope we are all feeling refreshed and recharged after the weekend, I certainly am!

We are kicking off the week with the bang as we have the latest updates on Tony Khan’s attempts to purchase the WWE, new behind the scenes leaks regarding the SmackDown women’s division and Tony Khan reveals ‘the big positive’ of WWE’s Endeavour sale.

I will be with you from 12pm to 6pm BST (7am – 1pm EST) this afternoon before Robert checks in for this evening’s live news blog looking at all the rumours, gossip and results coming out of Monday Night Raw.

As always if you have any stories you would like us to try update you on, let us know by hitting the ‘get involved’ button at the top of the page!