Originally published at POST NEWS UPDATE: Kylie Rae opens up about her return to the independent scene - POST Wrestling | WWE AEW NXT NJPW Podcasts, News, Reviews
If any of the quotes from the following podcasts or video interviews are used, please credit those sources and provide an H/T and link back to POST Wrestling for the transcriptions.
** Alicia Atout of ‘A Music Blog, Yea?’ chatted with new IMPACT Wrestling signee, Kylie Rae. This interview was conducted prior to the announcement of Kylie’s signing and Kylie spoke about her return to the independent scene after departing from All Elite Wrestling.
“I still don’t believe it. I was always one who would try to talk to every fan no matter what. I would always try to make time for them. There would be like an on-going joke that after every show, they’d have to push us out the building because my line — it wasn’t necessarily that it was so long, it was just I would take so much time with each fan trying to talk to them and get to know them and I like hearing people’s background stories because we all have a different story and it’s cool to hear different walks of life that everybody’s come to-to lead them to wrestling because it’s not the norm. I mean it’s becoming more mainstream now but especially growing up, it wasn’t like the ‘cool thing’ to be into, and… the day I made the return, I had my first match in like a couple months. It didn’t feel real. Like still to this day, I’m like, ‘Somebody paid everybody to go that show and cheer for me.’ I was like, ‘There’s no way that they…’ I was like, ‘They’re gonna boo me. They’re gonna hate me. They’re not even gonna remember who I am’ and I like to believe that some fans that I do have, they truly are — I’ve built up that friendship with them, so it’s like we have the meaningful connection and the bond and I try to be as open, as you can tell — as open and raw as I can be, and just get to know everybody.”
** According to PWInsider, Teddy Hart’s court date on charges of strangulation resulting in wounding and bodily harm has been pushed back to June 10th. Teddy was arrested on March 26th. The victim in the case was revealed to be ROH’s Maria Manic who had been dating Teddy Hart. To read more about this story, head over to this link.
** The WWE Network is back up and running for those in the Middle East. Last week, the Network was down for those in the Middle East and the WWE Network Support account tweeted that-that situation would remain as is until further notice.
** Below are the remaining episodes for Dark Side of the Ring on VICE. The producers of the show announced the dates while speaking with Conrad Thompson.
April 7 – Brawl for All
April 14 – Jimmy Snuka
April 21 – The Assassination of Dino Bravo
April 28 – The Slap Heard ‘Round the World on David Schultz
May 5 – Herb Abrams and the fall of the UWF
May 12 – Road Warriors
May 19 – The Final Days of Owen Hart
** On Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer stated that AEW taped a lot of content at QT Marshall’s school this week where Dynamite took place at. Also, in regard to Rob Gronkowski hosting WrestleMania, Meltzer was told that Gronk did something that most would not expect him to do.
** WWE Hall Of Famer Edge did an interview with USA Today’s ‘For The Win’ section and spoke about his Last Man Standing match with Randy Orton at WrestleMania. Edge believes that the no-crowd aspect of the show affects he and Orton’s match the least and explained why.
“You know, out of all the matches, I truly think it affects us the least. I think the story that Randy and I have told is so personal and so, I’ve been using ‘grit’ throughout this whole thing — but gritty and dark and kind of twisted, that I almost feel that it doesn’t affect us, and may actually help us, strangely, because a Last Man Standing match in a football stadium, you know, I would want to take the thing everywhere. But you have the possibility of losing your audience when you take it backstage, away from the audience, now they’ve got to look up at the screen. Now they’re craning their necks. Now we have the full freedom, it’s a blank canvas. Now we can do anything, and really, what I want to do is to continue to tell this story between two guys who know each other so well, that have so much history, and a lot of what you’re seeing and hearing is true, and I think that’s why it’s connecting with people so much, at least in the feedback that I’ve gotten. Between the promos, between our work together, there’s a lot of reality there. We go way back, and a lot of the things we’ve talked about, they’ve happened, and I think when there’s that much kind of raw truth, that’s what you can really sink your teeth into. So I don’t think the lack of audience will hinder us as much as it will other matches.”
Edge reacted to Drew McIntyre’s comment that he and Randy Orton’s match should headline one of the two nights of WrestleMania. To Edge, that does not hold much weight for him and all he wanted to do was make he and Randy’s match hard to follow.
“I mean, not really. It really doesn’t. My mindset is our match is going to be tough to follow. It really is, and that’s what my job is, is to make it tough to follow. So if you want to put it on in the middle, if you want to put it on in the beginning, good luck following it. If it’s on last, great, but that doesn’t change my mindset going into it. My mindset is to continue to tell this story, and for my first singles match back in nine years, I want to start this second chapter since coming back at the Royal Rumble, I want to keep that momentum going. I want to show people I’ve taken this craft to a different level than I did before.”
** New Jack’s episode of Dark Side of the Ring on VICE brought in 229,000 viewers on March 31st, per Showbuzz Daily. Below is the trailer for next week’s ‘Brawl For All’ episode:
** John Cena joined Corey Graves on WWE’s After The Bell podcast. During their conversation, Cena made light of his loud spot-calling in the ring. Cena went on to explain why he’s so boisterous in the ring with his opponent.
“When you talk to anybody who’s worked with me, it’s like, ‘Alright, we have 26 minutes and the kid’s gonna go over.’ ‘Okay thanks.’ ‘Hey John, what do you wanna do?’ ‘I don’t know. Figure it out. Just figure it out,’ and so many people that I’m able to perform with for the first time take that as apathy, that I don’t care. But then when I’m out there, I’m notoriously the loudest talker in the business and I’m calling matches for you at the table in the ring but that’s only because I’m super hyper present, because I’m there to entertain everybody who paid money and if I plan a labyrinth execution with you in the back and we go out to crickets, we gotta be able to switch. So I kinda know myself and I also know the skills of the person that I’m working with and I think the absolute finite definition of a professional sports-entertainer is the ability to play jazz. Go out and absolutely improvise and ride the wave of the crowd that’s in front of you. They will tell you what they want, and you just have to give it to them in timely fashion. You can’t miss those moments. You have to be razor sharp, which is why I’d rather be heard, saying, ‘Hit me motherf*cker!’ than saying nothing and have crickets. So I’m well aware of my perception. I totally understand that. I bear that burden but the gift of the quality that I can give for the first six rows kinda being in on the gag which is actually a cool experience for the first six rows. It’s like you get an experience that nobody else gets. Maybe 12 rows, maybe 22 rows, it’s fine. But, the trade-off is the exact improv that my opponent doesn’t know what’s gonna go on, the audience doesn’t know what’s gonna go on and I don’t know what’s gonna go on. So we have no other choice but to be there, right there, right as it happens… there’s no other thing that can go. That’s it, and no one knows, they’re not planning on what’s next, they’re not thinking about what to do. That’s it.”
Cena also spoke about the days of WWE having a front-person. He said that there are multiple top guys on the same level now, instead of one wrestler who’s head and shoulders above the rest and he doesn’t believe that’s a bad thing.
“I look at sports-entertainment different than everyone else, and that’s why when I say there’s no person at the front, that’s also not bad. I think the business is reaching farther than ever, it continues to reach farther than ever. So although I’m comfortable in the environment I just explained, maybe we’ve gone into a different thing and I’m just romanticizing about those moments I enjoy. I think we’re fine with a segmented group of performers — Roman, Seth, Braun, Sheamus, New Day, the SmackDown roster, the RAW roster, the NXT roster. You don’t have one person you go to see. If you go to an NXT show, you go to see eight or nine people. You go to a RAW, you go to see eight or nine people. You go to a SmackDown, you go to see eight or nine people. So, I don’t think there’s ever been more potential under one roof than right now.”
** Former TNA Knockouts Champion ODB posted photos and videos of her new, renovated food truck. Her first food truck burned down in 2019 and those within the world of wrestling including IMPACT Wrestling raised money for ODB to get a new truck.
** While speaking with FOX Sports, Drew McIntyre shared that he was very upset about the news that WrestleMania was not going to have fans in attendance but he started looking at the bigger picture and that tension he built up lessened.
** Scott Fishman of TV Insider spoke with Keith Lee for an exclusive interview. Lee talked about his role in the WWE Studios film, ‘The Main Event’. Lee said that he caught more than just the acting bug and is hoping this isn’t a one-off thing and that his appearance in the film can lead to more opportunities for him.
“I think it’s more than a bug. That experience created another passion for me. I enjoy entertainment as a whole from music to professional wrestling in terms of sport. Now film is something I did not expect to be as great as it was. I didn’t know what to expect. I enjoyed it so very much. It was an honor. I’m definitely hoping for more opportunities in that realm one way or another and reaching out and making things happen. Who knows?”
Keith Lee also recalled meeting The Undertaker backstage before he signed to WWE when he worked as an enhancement talent on SmackDown. Although Undertaker did not have much time to chat with Lee, Lee always kept the words that Undertaker shared with him in the back of his mind.
“I don’t talk about this a lot. I’ve received great pieces of advice from so many different people from Booker T to Mark Henry to Ric Flair. I’ve gotten so much information and knowledge from all these guys. However, the most impactful piece of knowledge actually came from before I was even in WWE. It occurred in my first-ever experience as an extra talent for, it may have been a SmackDown. I guarantee you he will not remember this, but I ran into The Undertaker backstage. You do your best to be respectful to anyone backstage, especially when you are brand new. At that moment, I introduced myself and took a moment to ask, ‘Hey, are you busy right now? Is there anything you can offer me? I would like to pick your brain if you have a moment.’ He didn’t have a lot of time, but he took a moment for me and said, ‘Here is my piece of information for you: Whatever you do in this industry, make sure it means something.’ That, I have taken throughout my career. If you notice, I don’t do a lot of offense, but when I do, it’s so impactful. When I do something, it matters. Every single time.”
** Mike Johnson of PWInsider chatted with Paul “Triple H” Levesque. Levesque spoke about the storyline between Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa and said that the plan is for their upcoming match to be the last between the two performers.
“It is the intention, yeah. We would all like to move in different directions. They had such a spectacular rivalry and partnership and everything else over the years, and it seems like in some manner, every time we get to the giant climax episode so to speak, or chapter of their story, something comes up — be it an injury or something comes up that doesn’t allow it to happen in the manner that we expected it to happen, and this is no different, but it will spectacular, and I believe it will put some finality to this and deliver to fans in a meaningful way and you have the incentive to move into unique directions. So, everybody will have to watch and see, but we believe that is what is going to take place.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Levesque implied that there could be portions of WrestleMania that might be live.
“We can do our stuff in a different manner. We can script out differently, we can shoot things out of order, we can do things in sequence, we can do totally differently to put together a product and still make something entertaining for our fans and that’s what you’re going to see WrestleMania. The ability to blow it out into two days, to make it bigger in some ways, to do some of it live, some of it not live, still incorporate Gronk as a host, do matches that we wouldn’t normally have the opportunity to do. The Firefly Funhouse, The Undertaker’s Boneyard match and do them in different locations and different styles and different feels. It’s an opportunity to do something and hopefully give fans that escape. That’s our goal is really just give them that escape and give them some entertainment, take their mind off all of it.”
** Jake “The Snake” Roberts is raising money for his friend Joe Case who’s battling stage 4 Cancer. Roberts launched an Indiegogo and for $50, donors will receive an autographed photo from Roberts, for $100 they’ll receive a phone call from Jake and for $120, they’ll receive both of the aforementioned offers.
** TV Guide released their interview with Paul “Triple H” Levesque. Levesque said that situations such as now that has led to WrestleMania being two days and using off-site locations for matches has led to WWE considering using those same ideas in the future.
“This moment in time is changing everything, and I think there are opportunities that we will see and explore now that will become the new norm. So all of those things, whether it’s multiple nights, whether it’s off-site shoots or different things like that, I think those will all be opportunities that we can explore in the future and we’ll see. If they’re successful here, they might be successful in the future as well.”
** Shayna Baszler chatted with Mirror Sport to promote WrestleMania and she was asked about the comparisons between herself and Ronda Rousey. Shayna said that the constant comparisons between the two are fan-created and she has been an MMA fighter and wrestler longer than Ronda has.
“I think the pressure is less about Ronda for me. The pressure from me is staying true to my lineage and balancing that with the scene of today, which is a burden that I take very seriously. The Ronda stuff is just what the fans like to invent in their heads. I have been an MMA fighter longer than Ronda, I have been a professional wrestler longer than Ronda. We are two very different people in that ring.”
The former NXT Women’s Champion was also asked who from NXT UK catches her eyes. She specifically mentioned Jordan Devlin, WALTER, Toni Storm, Piper Niven and Kay Lee Ray.
“Well every time I have seen Jordan Devlin in NXT, he has been in a banger, and I just really like the intent he has in everything he does. I have always been a fan of Gallus, I like their style of old school wrestler. Obviously I don’t want to jump on the bandwagon of saying I’m a fan of WALTER, but he is great. He came over to train with Josh and I, shared the training room with him. I have also known Toni Storm, Piper Niven and Kay Lee Ray from my time in Japan, and so I’m paying attention to them also.”
** Per ABC 6, Jacob Kasper, two-time All American at Duke has received a tryout from WWE and he plans to pursue it after the Coronavirus pandemic settles down. ESPN ran a story about Jacob in May of 2018. Gerald Brisco scouted and recruited Kasper and dubbed him as possibly the next John Cena.
** Comicbook.com spoke with Drew McIntyre. McIntyre talked about working with Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 35 and how he was happy to be in that spotlight but consistently being a part of groups was beginning to frustrate him.
“I try not to get too worried now as I used to do when I was younger. I understand it’s not two weeks of TV a year, we’re nonstop and things can change in a heartbeat. But I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little frustrated that I wanted more programs. Obviously I had Roman’s return program, he had his illness, for the big match at Mania, but realistically I was in groups the whole time. I was involved with , which I learned a lot working with Shane, which was cool. But I was also like, ‘Come on, give me a feud.’ I had some character development here and I was a little frustrated, but I understood the process. So, I just started going out doing the best job I could whatever we’re doing at the time, but the way things have worked out, there’s a reason things happen the way they do and that’s what I’ve learned over my life and career.”
** Kyle Fletcher appeared on the most recent edition of ‘My First Match’ with NXT UK’s Mark Andrews.
** Joey Janela and Jimmy Lloyd’s ‘Social Distance Rules’ match is up on Game Changer Wrestling’s YouTube.
** Paul “Triple H” Levesque appeared on The Pat McAfee Show to promote the 4/1/20 episode of NXT on the USA Network. Levesque said that the NXT UK brand on the WWE Network will continue to push out new episodes in various formats. With the Coronavirus pandemic, they are hoping to get back to the in-ring portion soon but for the time being, the show will continue to air weekly in some form or fashion.
“People forget that WWE has a lot of athletes sitting in the UK right now, with NXT UK. We have a brand there. I have athletes sitting all across Europe on lock down just like everybody else. I’m trying to figure out how I can, hopefully as sanctions ease up there, how I can get back into production of that show. We’re gonna continue to put that show out, in various formats, but how we can continue to go back to in-ring performances as soon as we can.”
Levesque also spoke about his appearance on commentary on Friday Night SmackDown. He had high praise for Michael Cole who rolled with the punches during that show and didn’t know much of what Levesque was going to say and being a good sport when it came to the jokes.
“It’s a funny thing. That show came about so quickly and we’re down there trying to produce this event, no fans, no one knows what’s going on. Everybody’s doing their best of Cole to continue the reset but by the time I get off commentary in that first segment, it’s blowing up and as I’m walking off to the side, everybody’s pulling me back going, ‘Don’t take the headset off. Man you gotta go back out there. Do the rest of the show’ and I was like, ‘I don’t wanna do the rest of the show.’ You know, they talked me into it so I went back out there and then for me, it was just, ‘Alright, I’m not gonna be very good at this so I’m just gonna play the idiot’ and Michael Cole, I can’t say enough good stuff about him. He takes a lot of criticism, Michael does. Much like any play-by-play or analyst in any sport, he gets a lot of it but the man is incredibly gifted at what he does and for him to be able to continue to do his job, continue to do it in a manner he was doing, keeping all that show together. At the same point in time, being the butt of my jokes and rolling with everything. He didn’t know half the stuff I was gonna say when I was gonna say it.”
** Rob Gronkowski was revealed as a participant on ‘The Masked Singer’ on April 1st.
** AEW commentator Jim Ross joined The Wrestling INC Daily Podcast.
** Brian Fritz of ‘Between The Ropes’ interviewed Keith Lee. Lee was asked about his on-going rivalry with Dominik Dijakovic and how that has lasted throughout the years. Lee also spoke about some of the other long-lasting rivalries in pro wrestling.
“I think that there are similarities, yes , and I think that that goes for several generations. From the independents to WWF and WCW, from Eddie Guerrero — Rey Mysterio, to Chris Benoit — Kurt Angle. All of these types of rivalries where the two people just elevate each other because of how severe the actual battles are create something special, a magic. There’s nothing like true blue competition anywhere. It will cultivate spectacular battles.”
** Below is the latest episode of Battle Of The Brands on the UpUpDownDown YouTube channel with Xavier Woods and Tyler Breeze:
** The ‘Bruno and Carol Sammartino Foundation’ are donating $10,000 to Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank.
** Pro wrestler Nor Diana, also known by her in-ring name as “Phoenix” made her way onto Forbes’ “30 under 30 Asia” list. She is the first female to win the Malaysia Pro Wrestling Championship.
** Jim Ross, Excalibur and Taz recapped last night’s episode of AEW Dynamite:
** MMA Fighting has an interview with Bellator MMA Women’s Featherweight Championship Cris Cyborg.
** Booker T and Brad Gilmore recorded a live edition of the ‘Hall Of Fame’ podcast.
** “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan is being inducted into the Space Coast Hall Of Fame and ‘Space Coast Daily’ did a feature story on him.
** Ring of Honor COO Joe Koff joined Jason Powell on the Pro Wrestling Boom podcast. Koff was asked why does Ring of Honor continue to run pay-per-views on Friday nights, especially because over the past several months when they’ve been up against Friday Night SmackDown. Koff said that it’s a good question but the format is nothing that is set in stone but ROH does not want to change their viewers’ habits because of competition.
“Well, you know, it’s a good question and there really haven’t been that many since WWE has started on FOX, and you know, pay-per-views have second runs, so we always feel to serve our fans, they should not be penalized or to be pushed aside because of other competitive situations. The replays on pay-per-views are almost sometimes as much as the original airings on pay-per-view. So, and it was a business decision. It’s not edged in stone. It’s always really subject to conversation. You bring up a good point. We’ve had that conversation. Like I said, there have not been a lot of them since they debuted. Don’t forget, FOX only started running wrestling in October, so you talked about ‘Best In The World’ as the only pay-per-view that went on at Friday night. The 18th Anniversary Show would’ve been next. So it’s certainly discussionable. It’s worth that visit again.”
** Zack Sabre Jr. did an interview with NJPW1972.com and many topics were covered. One of those topics was about how a match with Daniel Bryan for the ‘Triple-X Wrestling’ promotion in 2008 put his wrestling career on the map.
** TMZ Sports caught up with two-time WWE Hall Of Famer Ric Flair to chat about the COVID-19 outbreak and WrestleMania. Flair commended WWE for the safety precautions they’ve taken as far as protecting their performers while still running shows. Flair also joked about how Charlotte Flair would react if he told her not to perform at WrestleMania.
“Let me just go one step further. If I told my daughter not to participate, she would dial tone me and block me from being able to call her. So, the odds of her missing a WrestleMania moment would be astronomical.”
** City Pages spoke with F1RST Wrestling promoter Arik Cannon and independent wrestlers Devon Monroe and Darin Corbin to chat about how the Coronavirus pandemic has impacted them professionally and personally when it came to their WrestleMania week plans.
** Metro has an interview with up English professional dancer Kevin Clifton. Clifton expressed his interest in becoming a pro wrestler.
** ‘The Guam Daily Post’ has a detailed feature up about Titus O’Neil’s contributions to the community in Tampa, Florida and it features quotes from WWE Chief Brand Officer Stephanie McMahon as well as community officials.
** Here’s the latest upload to Asuka’s YouTube channel:
** Zack Ryder and Curt Hawkins revealed the WrestleMania 36 Mattel action figures.
** WWE posted a video on their YouTube channel of their photographer, Rich Freeda talking about shooting WrestleMania events.
** DDT Pro Wrestling are going to air live, no audience shows on April 4th and 12th.
** Kurt Angle appeared on the ‘Jesus Calling: Stories of Faith’ podcast and opened about his upbringing, drug addiction and overcoming the hardships in his life.
** NWA Powerrr commentator Stu Bennett will be a part of a live Q&A session on the ‘Evolutionary Films’ YouTube channel on Saturday.
** AEW Chief Brand Officer Brandi Rhodes joined Tony Schiavone and Aubrey Edwards on the AEW Unrestricted podcast.
** During an interview with Sportsnet 650, Drew McIntyre spoke about how weird it was when he arrived to the WWE Performance Center to tape RAW and WrestleMania 36. He talked about being checked out my WWE doctors and having the entire locker room to himself.
“It’s very weird. Knowing that it’s a television taping and knowing that it’s a WrestleMania taping and you come to the building, the doctors are there and you’re put through a thorough examination to make sure everything’s okay and then you get in and realize that there’s really nobody here. A lot of people are on calls, Lesnar or something. ‘Ooo! My own special locker room,’ but it’s because of the circumstance.”
Drew McIntyre also spoke about his former 3MB stable-mates, Jinder Mahal and Heath Slater. Drew said at the end of his career when it’s all said and done, he’ll reunite 3MB so Heath Slater can take the bumps for the group at their old age.
“There will be a reunion one day, when I’ve won all my world titles and I got my Hall Of Fame career and I’m at the end and I don’t wanna take any more falls because I’m a bit older, then I’m gonna put 3MB back together so Heath can take all the falls for me.”
** Bobby Lashley was the focus of a media call with international outlets.
** The bracket for the ‘Bracket Of Honor’ tournament is down to the semi-finals. Daniel Bryan vs. Samoa Joe, and CM Punk vs. Jay Lethal are the last two match-ups remaining. To vote, head over to this link.
** Stephanie McMahon did an interview with Sports Illustrated and spoke about WWE’s protocol concerning the Coronavirus, how they’re managing their television tapings and Roman Reigns’ decision to pull himself out of WrestleMania.
** Major League Wrestling’s May 2nd event in North Richland Hills, Texas has been postponed to October 3rd. Tickets purchased for the event will be honored at the October show.
** FS1’s airing of the 2020 Royal Rumble event drew 421,000 viewers according to Showbuzz Daily. The show was the lead-in for a live edition of WWE Backstage with Paige, Mark Henry, Renee Young and Booker T.
** Below is the live stream version of WWE’s ‘Dream Match Mania’:
** Former AEW World Tag Team Champion Scorpio Sky turned 37-years old on April 2nd.
** Big Show joined the Gorilla Position podcast and he gave his thoughts about WWE moving forward with WrestleMania in the middle of the Coronavirus pandemic. Big Show also spoke about Roman Reigns’ decision to pull out of WrestleMania and he supports Roman’s decision 100 percent.
“Well I think anyone who would give anyone grief on something like that is very selfish, almost ignorant point of view. Roman Reigns has had his battles with Leukemia. This is an illness that, in his own that he has fought and repressed and got into remission. This is literally his life in his hands. He’s also got two new kids that are extremely vulnerable with this current epidemic, so I think for Roman, I think it was an extremely difficult decision to make but at the same time it was the only decision that he could make to be responsible for his own safety and his family’s safety. You can’t begrudge someone like that for making that choice. I don’t think — there’s not one person out there that would’ve made the same choices that Roman made. When you look at the facts, every talent has to weigh risk/reward factor and Roman’s the kind of guy where when the situation becomes available for him to step back through the yard and be The Big Dog, then he’s gonna be The Big Dog right where he left off. That doesn’t change. Roman Reigns is still Roman Reigns. Roman Reigns is the competitor that Roman Reigns is. Right now, this is a little bit bigger than Roman Reigns. This is a little bit bigger than anyone that has the conditions that he has. He has to take the precautions that he’s taken and I’m proud of him for doing it and I support him 110 percent.”
Big Show’s Netflix series, ‘The Big Show Show’ is debuting on Netflix soon. He spoke about how similar the script was to his real life situation regarding him getting custody of his daughter when she was 15 and having to adjust to life with her, on top of his role and duties as a wrestler.
“And the guys that wrote the script, Josh Bycel and Jason Berger. When those guys sent me the pilot script, it’s funny because I actually got custody of my daughter when she turned 15 so, and nobody really outside of my family knew that and so when I read this script and it’s about my oldest daughter from a previous relationship comes to live with us and the complexity that-that creates because now it’s not just visiting for a couple of days here and there or a couple weeks over the Summer. This is a full-time thing. Her integrating into a new school. These are all things that I had to go through in real life. So the authenticity of that relationship and trying to build on a relationship where most of the time I had been gone, I’d been on the road, I’d been this other figure but I’m your dad, I’m here now. Trying to build that trust and relationship back, and it was a really great job how they wrote it and I actually , ‘Did you guys do a private investigator background thing on me? Because this is so close to my real life.’ Like you have no idea.”
** Daily Star pushed out their interview with Shayna Baszler.
** John Morrison and The Miz released their ‘Hey Hey’ music video.
** WWE created a playlist of women’s matches that took place at WrestleMania.
** Below is Drew McIntyre and Noam Dar’s match for the Insane Championship Wrestling promotion that took place in 2015:
** For her latest column for the Calgary Sun, Natalya interviewed Beth Phoenix, TJ Wilson, Edge and Mick Foley and asked them for their favorite WrestleMania match.
** Lance Storm took to social media and reflected on the four year anniversary of his last match which was against Matt Hardy at WrestleCon in Dallas.
** Former IMPACT World Champion Sami Callihan sat down with Chris Van Vliet for an exclusive interview. During their chat, Callihan revealed that he was supposed to be one of the original members of the NXT group SAnitY. The debut and formation of the group continued to be pushed back so Sami decided to depart from NXT and he was replaced in the group by Eric Young. Sami also detailed the attempts that WWE made to keep him in the company.
“I left on very good terms. I told them why I wanted to leave and I remember Canyon Cemen trying to get me to stay. He’s like, ‘Yo man, we don’t hire guys like you very often,’ because they had almost talked me into staying because I was supposed to be in SAnitY. Eric Young ended up taking my spot in SAnitY because it was supposed to be me, Madman Fulton and there was this big french dude named Marcus Louis, and it just kept getting pushed back and I was like, ‘I’m so done with this’ and they’re trying to get me to stay and Canyon said this… and then they’re like, ‘Okay, we don’t want you working anywhere for 30 days. We want to make sure you’re okay with money. So like we’ll pay you for 30 days.’ I was like, ‘I don’t want your money.’ They were like, ‘What!?’ I was like, ‘Yeah. I’m showing up at a show in two days,’ because I think one of the biggest problems , it leaked online that I quit WWE on a Wednesday and then that Friday, I showed up unannounced at AAW in Chicago and then that Saturday, I showed up at 2CW in New York, and the money I would’ve made that week in WWE, I made like three times that just from doing two indie shows and coming back and… if I would’ve waited, I would not be where I am.”
Sami Callihan gave his thoughts on the ACH situation that took over social media for several days. Callihan feels that ACH had personal issues going on and it didn’t help that there were so many people on social media who continuously harped on him and sent negative comments his way.
“Like the entire ACH situation, obviously, there’s something going on in his head that didn’t need more people just piling on, piling on, piling on, piling on. People don’t realize — they wanna say, ‘Oh you guys should have tougher skin.’ But at the end of the day, we’re just regular human beings and when every day, you just see it piled on you, one day that’s gonna make you crack and gonna make you feel something you shouldn’t be feeling.”
** On the 4/2/20 episode of NXT UK, Ilja Dragunov won a number one contender battle royal to earn a shot at the NXT UK Championship.
** KUSHIDA vs. Danny Burch is official for the 4/3 episode of 205 Live on the WWE Network. Tyler Breeze vs. Jack Gallagher is also slated for the show.
** Roman Reigns received coverage from a local news outlet for deciding not partake in WrestleMania because of the Coronavirus outbreak.
** The Scottish Sun has an interview up with Drew McIntyre’s father, Andy Galloway. Andy expressed how proud he is of Drew and said there will be tears flowing if Drew wins the WWE Championship at WrestleMania. He added that no matter how much of a man or how big Drew is, that’ll always be his baby boy.
“There’s no doubt I’ll be in tears watching him at WrestleMania. He’s been kicked that many times. We’re gutted we can’t be there but it’s not the end of the world. It’s Drew’s moment and he’s still making history. If anything, even more people will be watching because there’s no other big events still happening. If he wins, this is what we have all dreamed of. He has believed it from the beginning. When he left the first time he said he was going away to learn a little bit and he’d be back. I’m proud of him all the time. Just to think it has gone from him and John playing with their wrestling figures to this. I’ll be the proudest dad in the world watching him and I know his mum will be the proudest mum. The whole family is so excited. I’ve watched him grow so much since he started wrestling and people sometimes ask if I can’t believe the guy on the screen is the same skinny kid that started wrestling at 15. But it doesn’t matter how big he is, he will always be my baby. Just a bigger baby now!”
If any of the quotes from the following podcasts or video interviews are used, please credit those sources and provide an H/T and link back to POST Wrestling for the transcriptions.