NEWS

She has their attention. Over the last year and a half plus, all kinds of wrestlers have left WWE. While the company has released the majority of those wrestlers, there have been a few that have left on their own accord. That opens up some new doors for those wrestlers, and now another one of them might have another place to go, as a major company has shown interest in her.
According to Fightful Select, AEW has “significant” interest in bringing in former WWE star Toni Storm. The interest is high enough that multiple AEW wrestlers expect Storm to debut with the company sooner rather than later. Storm made her WWE main roster debut on SmackDown in July 2021 but requested her release from the company in December of the same year after flying home following a live event.
Opinion: This isn’t exactly a surprise as Storm is someone with all the talent she could ever need and experience to back it up. I’m still not sure how she didn’t work out in WWE, but when the best thing you can do is h..

He’s a big name. There are a lot of wrestling families but the most important name in the sport’s history might be McMahon. In modern times, there is no name that comes close to meaning as much, as the McMahon Family has run the most powerful wrestling company in the world. Seeing a McMahon doing almost anything is going to get some attention and that is the case again.
According to PWInsider.com, WWE is bringing in Shane McMahon for WrestleMania weekend. There is no word on what McMahon will be doing, or if he is scheduled to appear on camera at any point. McMahon had been rumored for a match with Seth Rollins at WrestleMania and Rollins is currently scheduled to face a mystery opponent, though there is nothing to suggest that this will be the case. Should McMahon appear, it would be his first appearance since the Royal Rumble, as WWE sent him home due to backstage issues with how McMahon pushed to be used during the match.
Opinion: I’m not sure if McMahon is going to appear, but ju..

He’s really good at that. WrestleMania 38 is this weekend and one of the biggest stories of the two days will be Steve Austin returning as a guest on the Kevin Owens Show. This comes after Owens has spent weeks talking trash about Austin, as well as impersonating him on Monday Night Raw. It turns out that once wasn’t enough and Owens had another trick up his sleeve.
WWE has released a video from before this week’s Monday Night Raw showing Owens putting his own spin on a classic Austin promo. The original promo, which is spliced in with Owens’ version, features Austin coming to Dallas, Texas and listing off a variety of things that he is going to do. Owens’ version talks about how he too is coming to Dallas, but he will not be doing those things. The Kevin Owens Show with Austin as his guest is expected to close out WrestleMania Saturday.
This was pretty awesome. Check out Owens’ version, plus the original:
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NXT
Date: March 29, 2022
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Wade Barrett
It’s the go home show for Stand & Deliver and the card is all but set. We still have some matches that need a final push though and that is where this week’s show comes in. If nothing else, there is one spot left in the North American Title ladder match and it gets filled in this week. Let’s get to it.
Imperium vs. LA Knight/MSK Knight and MSK jump Imperium from behind to start and they start fast, with Knight and Barthel trading wristlocks. Barthel gets taken down and MSK hits a neck crank into a basement dropkick. A cheap shot finally takes Knight down though and Barthel kicks him in the chest. The fans want Gunther and receive him almost immediately, with some kicks tot he back keeping Knight in trouble. It’s already off to Aichner for a slam into the ropes for two and the beating villains continue their alternating beatdowns.
Knight finally fights his way over to ..

I don’t know if I can see it happening. There have been a lot of wrestlers throughout WWE’s history and some of them have reached quite the prominent stature. At the same time, there are far more who are remembered well enough but never quite broke through. Then there are some who are more infamous than famous, and now one of them wants to have another chance.
Former NXT star Velveteen Dream has posted to his Instagram Stories, saying that in spite of the allegations against him, he would love to have a career in NXT. Dream said that he was 26, talented and “ready to go the show what it should be”. Dream was released from WWE in May 2021 due to a series of backstage incidents. He was also accused of sexually harassing underage boys, though a WWE investigation found no wrongdoing. Dreamer has denied the allegations against him.

Opinion: While Dream is one of the most talented stars to come up through the WWE system in a long time, the type of allegations against him are the kind that..

Welcome back? Wrestling is a unique sport when it comes to retirement. A wrestler can get out of the ring but then jump back in for a one off return, which isn’t something you get to see in more mainstream sports. It can be a lot of fun to see someone return to the ring after so long away, and that is going to be the case again later this year with a certain WWE Hall of Famer.
Jeff Jarrett was recently interviewer by Muscle Man Malcolm and revealed that he plans to wrestle again at some point this year. Jarrett did not say when or where he would be getting back in the ring. He has only wrestled once in nearly three years, defeating Effy at Game Changer Wrestling’s The Wrld On GCW back in January. Jarrett was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2016 and has made occasional appearances for the company since.
Opinion: Jarrett is in a unique place as he can still go in the ring and is enough of a legend to get to pick his spots. At the same time, he is also on a level that allows him t..

One or the other. There are two major WWE television shows every week with Monday Night Raw and SmackDown. These have been the top shows in the wrestling world for well over twenty years with almost nothing coming anywhere near either show. Both air on national television, but the two shows almost did not exactly look the way that they wound up appearing.
According to Wrestling Observer Radio, FOX, which currently airs SmackDown, originally wanted to acquire the broadcasting rights to Monday Night Raw. However, the USA Network had the right of first refusal to match any offer that FOX made. USA did so, which caused FOX to go after SmackDown instead. That was too much for USA to match as well, so FOX picked up SmackDown, with the end result being WWE making more money as a result.
Opinion: That right there is a shining example of how WWE makes money. They know how to make their content seem valuable and that is going to make more people invest in them. It works very well, especially w..

NXT LVL Up
Date: March 25, 2022
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Sudu Shah
We’re back in Orlando and things have actually been changing a bit as of late. That could open up some doors going forward around here, though I wouldn’t get my hopes up. There are some names who are becoming regulars around here, as the levels of the NXT roster become more defined. Let’s get to it.
Opening sequence.
Joe Gacy vs. Quincy Elliott Elliott is a rather large man and before the match, Gacy says he deserves a chance. Gacy’s headlock doesn’t get him very far as Elliott hits a shoulder. Some gyrations mess with Gacy so Elliott grabs a headlock. That’s broken up so Gacy stomps him down in the corner before driving in elbows on the mat. The armbar goes on, with Gacy looking a bit crazy. Elliott fights up and hits a splash to the back as Gacy tries a drop down. Gacy gets tied in the Tree of Woe but Harland offers a distraction so Gacy can escape. The ha..

He’ll be around for a bit. There are a lot of people who come together to produce an edition of any WWE television, with the wrestlers themselves often not being the most important parts. With so many different people in so many different roles, it can be very important for WWE to sign as many people up long term as they can. That is what they have done again with an important piece of the puzzle.
During an appearance on the Sports Media With Richard Deitsch podcast, WWE performer Paul Heyman revealed that he has signed a new long term deal with the company. Heyman’s contract came up last year but he did not want to publicize his negotiations. The contract includes the ability for Heyman to work on outside projects, though he said his situation will always be “that WWE guy is doing an outside project”. Heyman is currently the special counsel for Roman Reigns and will be in his corner on Sunday at WrestleMania 38 against Brock Lesnar.
Opinion: That is the kind of signing that WWE need..

It’s a storytelling device. There are a lot of different ways to present an angle in professional wrestling. With so many things having been done over the years, it is rare to see something brand new being done, but there is the chance of seeing something done with a new twist. That was the case again this week, as a classic story was combined with itself.
Two marriage proposals took place this week on Monday Night Raw. 24/7 Champion Dana Brooke and Reggie were backstage when Reggie said he wanted to take things to a new level. This led him to propose, with Brooke accepting. Tamina then came in to attack Brooke, with Reggie making the save. Akira Tozawa then came in to propose to Tamina, who accepted as well. There is no word on when the weddings will take place.
Opinion: Marriages have been a thing in wrestling for a long time now but I don’t remember the potential of a double wedding. I’m not sure how well the idea is going to go, but I’ll take it over them running around and doing..

Welcome to KB’s Old School (and New School) Reviews. I’ve been reviewing wrestling shows for over twelve years now and have reviewed over 6,000 shows. Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, I’ll be posting a new review here on Wrestlingrumors.net. It could be anything from modern WWE to old school to indies to anything in between. Note that I rate using letters instead of stars and I don’t rate matches under three minutes as really, how good or bad can something that short be?
Wrestlemania XIV
Date: March 29, 1998
Location: FleetCenter, Boston, Massachusetts
Attendance: 19,028
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler
You might notice that things have picked up a lot since last year. This can mainly be attributed to the influence of Vince Russo, who isn’t remembered all that fondly. While his later efforts didn’t exactly work out very well (that’s putting it mildly), his early work with this kind of talent around him was a major part of the turnaround in the Monday Night Wars, which will fin..

They aren’t finished. We are less than a week away from WrestleMania 38 and that means it is time for the final push towards the show. WWE has built up most of the card already but they still have some work to do before the weekend. That makes every bit of television time especially important, but this time around WWE kept going even after that time was already up.
According to Wrestlinginc.com, a dark match took place this week after Monday Night Raw went off the air. Following the show, Raw Tag Team Champions RKBro defeated the team of Seth Rollins and Austin Theory. RKBro had already defeated the Usos in a non-title match during the show’s main event. Both Rollins and Theory appeared on the show, with Theory defeating Finn Balor.
Opinion: This sounds like the classic concept of sending the fans home happy and that is a good idea. It is always nice to leave the fans with a positive memory as that is the kind of thing that can make them come back again next time. RKBro is the most p..