Muhammad Ali WWE Hall of Fame

Muhammad Ali To Be Inducted Into WWE Hall of Fame; March 11th Wrestling News Round-Up

Welcome to the March 11th Inside The Ropes Live blog, bringing you the latest news from WWE, AEW, NJPW, IMPACT Wrestling and more.

Today’s biggest stories:

AEW

Current AEW Champion Claims To Be Suspended

Max Caster makes up one third of the current AEW Trios Champions alongside Anthony Bowens and Billy Gunn.

But according to his recent social media posts, he appears to be suspended by the company.

Throughout last night Caster’s account posted several antagonising posts directed at fans, critics and even Shelton Benjamin.

Taking to Twitter this morning, Caster would claim he was hacked… however, he agreed by the comments being made by his hacker and therefore “will not be deleting the posts.”

One of the claims made by the “hacker” was that Caster was suspended by AEW…with Caster appearing to be working an angle, it raises the question of if he was truly suspended or if is was nothing more than bait by Caster or the hacker.

Inside The Ropes will aim to keep you updated as more information becomes available.

Undertaker

Michael "Venom" Page Pays Homage To The Undertaker At UFC 299

At UFC 299, Michael ‘Venom’ Page paid homage to WWE Hall of Famer The Undertaker by walking out to ‘The Deadman’s’ iconic theme during his Welterweight clash against Kevin Holland.

Check out the awesome moment below!

You can read what The Undertaker had to say about Michael Page’s UFC 299 tribute, here.

John Cena

John Cena Bares All At 2024 Oscars

At the 96th Academy Awards, held on Sunday night, the audience was left in shock as John Cena made a bold and unconventional appearance.

The 16-time WWE Champion and Hollywood star took the stage to present the Oscar for Best Costume Design in a manner that no one could have predicted – he appeared completely nude.

Check out this…bizarre moment below!

The Rock

Relive The Moment The Rock's WrestleMania Return Was Confirmed

On Friday night’s episode of SmackDown, The Rock & Roman Reigns epic clash against Cody Rhodes & Seth Rollins was announced for night one of WrestleMania XL.

Relive the epic moment Rhodes & Rollins accepted The Bloodline’s challenge making this dream match official!

Triple H

Triple H Comments On WWE Hitting 100 Million YouTube Subscribers

Late last week WWE hit another major digital milestone as they surpassed 100 million YouTube subscribers.

Taking to social media, WWE CCO, Triple H has shared a message of thanks to the WWE Universe as well as sharing a video of him unboxing his ruby play button.

It’s not quite Pewdiepie’s ruby bro fist but still…check it out below!

Hall of Fame

Muhammad Ali Inducted Into WWE Hall of Fame

WWE Hall Of Famer Reveals Injury Realities

The fifth inductee into the WWE Hall of Fame class of 2024 has been revealed.

Joining Paul Heyman, Bull Nakano and The US Express is none other than the legendary Muhammad Ali.

Ali, best known to wrestling fans for his role at WrestleMania 1, has been long overdue an induction into the celebrity wing of the Hall of Fame and now, following his inclusion in WWE 2k24, it is finally happening.

WWE would comment on the news via an official press release that reads:

“One of the most iconic figures in sports history, the three-time World Heavyweight Boxing Champion and Olympic gold medalist was known around the world for his charisma, his confidence, and his ability to back it up inside the ropes.

Known simply as “The Greatest”, Ali’s influence transcended sports as his work as an activist, artist, and personality established him as one of the most renowned figures in the entire world.

Although best known as a boxer, Ali made a great impact in the sports-entertainment world.

On June 26, 1976, Ali competed in “The War of the Worlds” which was an exhibition match against WWE Hall of Famer Antonio Inoki inside the Nippon Budokan arena in Tokyo, Japan.

The match, which was competed under specific rules, resulted in a 15-round draw in front of 32,000 fans in the crowd. The bout was also broadcast on closed-circuit television to nearly 33,000 fans inside Shea Stadium in Queens, New York.

The event was a huge success and brought in countless new fans to the industry while also being viewed as a precursor to modern mixed martial arts. Both Ali and Inoki became friends after the event with Inoki even using Ali’s theme music and catchphrases as his own.

After retiring from the boxing ring with a career record of 56-5 with 37 knockouts, Ali returned to the squared circle where he served as the special guest referee for the inaugural WrestleMania in 1984 during the main event between Hulk Hogan & Mr. T and “Rowdy” Roddy Piper & “Mr. Wonderful” Paul Orndorff.

Ali’s defining moment in the match came when he punched Piper with his signature right hand – a move that restored order to the bout.

Ali sadly passed away on June 3rd, 2016, at 74, but his legacy as one of the greatest athletes persists, and his work to modernize and globalize professional wrestling helped seamlessly blend the world of sports and entertainment.”

Becky Lynch

Becky Lynch Gets Pinfall Victory Over Surprising WWE Star

The Decisive Factor In Becky Lynch's WWE Career Plans

Becky Lynch is set firmly on her Road to WrestleMania and is on a collision course for a must see clash with WWE Women’s World Champion Rhea Ripley.

But along the way she has picked up a pinfall victory over a surprising WWE star…none other than Grayson Waller.

At WWE’s Road to WrestleMania live event in Lafayette, Louisiana, Becky Lynch teamed with Kevin Owens to take on Nia Jax and Grayson Waller in mixed tag team action.

It was the duo of Lynch and Owens who came out on top but it was not Nia Jax eating the pinfall, instead Grayson Waller was put down for the count following a Manhandle Slam from Lynch.

Check out the awesome moment below!

Would you like to see more intergender wrestling in WWE? Let us know by using the thumbs below!

Shelton Benjamin

AEW In Talks With Former WWE Star Shelton Benjamin

Shelton Benjamin

In recent weeks AEW has secured the signings of Will Ospreay and Kazuchika Okada with former WWE star Mercedes Mone set to join the company in the coming weeks as well.

But Tony Khan isn’t stopping there…in fact you could say there ‘ain’t no stopping him….noooooo.’

According to a new report from Fightful Select, AEW has engaged in talks with Shelton Benjamin following the former United States Champions WWE release back in 2023.

The report notes that although Benjamin and AEW did not hold talks immediately following his release there has been conversations between both parties in recent months regarding potential appearances for Benjamin  in All Elite Wrestling.

You can read a full breakdown of this report and Shelton Benjamin’s talks with AEW, here.

Would you like to see Shelton Benjamin in AEW? Let us know using the thumbs below!

Ric Flair

Ric Flair Claims Current AEW Star Is "One Of The Best"

Tony Khan Clarifies AEW's Financial Agreement With Ric Flair

Will Ospreay and Konosuke Takeshita tore the house down at AEW Revolution with fans and critics a like considering the match one of the best in AEW history.

The match was awarded 5.75 stars in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter and according to Ospreay himself even gained praise from several veterans behind-the-scenes.

Speaking during the AEW Revolution post show media scrum, Ospreay would reveal praise he received from WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair following the match and noting what it meant to him.

“So this honestly, I hope I’m allowed to say it, but I was like, ‘Ah, ah,’ backstage. The doctors were like, ‘Alright, on the table, let’s put some ice on your butt.’ I was laying on the table like [puts his head down], and then Ric Flair walked in, and I was, ‘Ah,’ and stood up.

He said, ‘You are everything I’ve heard of and more. You are one of the best wrestlers in the world, and that coming from him, it’s just like, ‘Thank you, Mr. Ric Flair.’ Thank you very much.

He’s the standard. I know sometimes it gets forgotten about, but every little bit of wrestling has some inspiration from Ric Flair, man.

So the fact that he was able to come over and go like, ‘You’re the fucking man.’ It’s amazing. Brilliant stuff,” [h/t Fightful]

Do you agree with Ric Flair? Let us know using the thumbs below!

Ric Flair

Good Afternoon

Good Afternoon!

I hope everyone is doing well and had an awesome weekend!

I will be with you from 1pm to 6pm BST (8am – 1pm ET) covering all the biggest stories from WWE, AEW, NJPW, TNA and more.

We will be kicking things off today with the biggest stories from the last 24 hours including:

  • Ric Flair heaps praise on current AEW star, claims they are “one of the best.”
  • John Cena strips down to present Oscar award…yes, really.
  • Roman Reigns faces backlash following controversial SmackDown promo.
  • Seth Rollins victorious in WWE in-ring return.
  • Jim Ross comments on Vince McMahon allegations.