Mike Rowe caught up with “Stone Cold” Steve Austin after he delivered a Stone Cold Stunner to Vince and Shane McMahon on tonight’s RAW 25th Anniversary show.

Austin said it feels good to be here and talked about WWE inviting him to the show. Austin described the show as a big family reunion. Moments into the interview, Austin unleashes a verbal assault on Rowe for having only one question for Stone Cold. Austin says he wants a proper interview and Rowe needs to go home and do his homework.

You can check out footage from the segment below:

The post Steve Austin Unleashes Verbal Assault on Mike Rowe Backstage at RAW appeared first on Wrestling News & WWE News, Rumors & Spoilers.

Triple H spoke with ABC News. Here are some highlights from the interview:

WWE’s TV rights possibly going to another network: “I can tell you that WWE is uniquely positioned so whatever way it goes, whatever way our fans are telling us to go, we’re there.”

Vince McMahon’s influence on RAW’s creative direction in the Attitude Era: “He doesn’t like to take credit for it, but Vince is the guiding force of [being a top bad guy]. He’s never afraid to take that risk. He never feels like he knows the answers.”

McMahon possibly relaunching the XFL and if it will get in McMahon’s way of running WWE: “I don’t think there’s any sense of change. If anybody thinks they’re going to push him out or take this thing, there’s going to be a hell of a fight.”

The post Triple H Believes The XFL Won’t Get in Vince McMahon’s Way of Running WWE appeared first on Wrestling News & WWE News, Rumors & Spoilers.

Jeremy Borash recently appeared on Jim Ross’ Ross Report podcast. Here are some highlights from the interview:

Scott D’Amore and Don Callis running Impact Wrestling: “The transition has been great and I think with Scott D’Amore we’ve seen what he [has] brought to the table. I’ve worked with him for well over a decade… actually, way longer than that, come to think of it. Now, it [has] been too long I’ve actually worked with him now, so he [has] been along the ride and he [has] been one of those guys you know is going to be right in the thick of things with you. As far as Don Callis goes, I’ve met him and worked with him a few times and I think he represents a good corporate side of things. He has experience in the boardroom, which is important these days. Actually, as a media company, you’ve got to know what you’re doing in there. And as things progress, it’s not necessarily hitting the reset button because I think that has been done a few times. Really, I think a whole new outlook from a business standpoint on where this is going and where it needs to go to survive.”

How The Hardys wanted to bring in Borash for their latest WWE run: “We [Borash and the Hardys] wanted to continue to work together no matter where it was. Yeah, it was one of those [things] where we had such chemistry together that we really felt like after at some point, things could have gone in any direction and we really could have gone on to call our own shots as well. Obviously, there [were] different things that happened and it was one of those things that happened so fast. And we just had such a great chemistry together creatively. We had series options. We had a lot of things on the table before it all happened and they ended up going back to WWE.”

Anthem’s Ed Nordholm letting Matt Hardy use the “Broken” gimmick in WWE: “I’m happy to see it and one thing that has been very cool, I was talking to Ed Nordholm and he kind of lifted the traditional copyright/intellectual property issues that I think have plagued [pro] wrestling for a long time. I still think it’s ridiculous that Cody Rhodes has to just be called Cody. He’s fine. He can make it work, but it’s you know, come on. So lifting the wrench that has been kind of tightening on these things for a long time. I’m happy, so if Matt wants to use the ‘Broken’ [Hardys] stuff, I guess he’s free to do it. Great! And I think it’s one of those things that give talent a little more freedom with their creative and kind of hold onto something. At least with Impact Wrestling, if something is created there, you can take it with you and I think that’s really revolutionary, I think, in some ways because in a lot of ways, you’ve got to be your own guy and as the landscape’s changing, that’s an interesting direction that’s taking.”

The post Jeremy Borash Says The Hardys Wanted Him for WWE Return appeared first on Wrestling News & WWE News, Rumors & Spoilers.

Cody Rhodes recently spoke with Wrestledope.com. Here are the highlights from the interview:

Being free from WWE: “The Feeling, the sensation behind it is, it’s exciting to cherry pick and select and be your own boss and to be in control of your own brand, however it’s a lot of work.”

Wrestling Kurt Angle in UK: “To have a record crowd for What Culture, to be in there with Kurt Angle and not to be just like Kurt Angle plus garnish. For it instead to be, Kurt Angle V Cody Rhodes, our second match actually, it was very vindicating. It’s also nice, you know, the greatest revenge in all the world is success so it’s nice to be vindicated.”

British Wrestling stars working in the United States: “In America, we have “The British are coming!”, when it comes to the Revolutionary War but I always equate it to the current situation with guys like Will and Marty and Zack where they are literally like invading America with their talent and the effect and the ramifications of that so it’s cool to come over here(UK)”.

Exclusive contracts in the business: “I understand why not. But there is allot of dated minds and allot of old school mentality. It’s like were almost reverting to the most traditional which is just a dang handshake like Hey I’m glad to be here and I’m going to give you my absolute best. I worked for a big corporation for a decade for the majority of my youth. Now I really like the opportunity to essentially play my music on as many brands and stuff as I can and Ring of Honor and Impact have been exceptional. They have been exceptional about that, there has been no pushback, and it’s all lined
up exactly how we hoped.”

Impact backstage environment: “My experience was the utmost engine operating at peak efficiency. Billy and Dixie were extremely wonderful. All had feedback, creative input. My experience from the time I went and filmed with the Corvette in Nashville to when I left the tapings to come overseas was wonderful.”

Working with Billy Cogan: “I’m passed the concept of, oh he’s not a wrestler, he shouldn’t be involved in wrestling. He is an entertainer and they fall in line. An entertainer with a ton of equity, worldwide experience, proven. It’s Billy man, he’s famous!, he’s a rock star!. I thought he was wonderful, great for pro wrestling. He had some music made for me and didn’t know I wanted to use my other music. That was one of the hardest moments of perhaps my life. To see his face when I heard the music and know that I’m going to ask him to use my other music. Especially someone who is a musician. It’s a moment frozen in time. Me and Billy’s’ relationship I want to build off that moment to where we are good buds because that was a tough one!.”

Leaving WWE: “I did make every effort I possibly could. It just was a matter of, no faith in me at a certain juncture turns around well you know what I don’t have faith in you guys either. But let’s not end on such a sour note. It’s rather dramatic and seems sourer than it really is. It’s not, the Rhodes in WWE have a wonderful history. I’m glad they let me go, they are the house that built me and you never now I might be there again one day”.

The post Cody Rhodes Says He May Return to WWE Someday appeared first on Wrestling News & WWE News, Rumors & Spoilers.

In an interview with NewsHub, New Zealand, WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion, Charlotte Flair talks about a number of wrestling related topics. Here are a few highlights from the interview:

Charlotte revealed that being a professional wrestler felt “natural” and that she immediately realised her dream of making a name for herself in the business. However, the “catalyst” in all of this was the death of her brother, Reid Flair.

Flair went on to talk about her bond and relationship with her fellow “Four Horsewomen”:

“I feel that the four of us will always have a special bond from coming up together through NXT, having created so many firsts together. When the four of us were in NXT together we were fighting tooth and nail to make a big difference – to have women mean something in wrestling. Sasha and Bayley stealing the show at the first ever NXT event in Brooklyn. It was amazing. Together we have had all these amazing moments, and I know personally for me those three women are who I looked up to when I started because I wanted to be as good at this as them. The four of us will always share those moments we had.”

Flair also revealed her thoughts on the possibility of going up against former UFC Bantamweight Champion, Ronda Rousey at WrestleMania, saying that it would be a special Mania Moment. However, Flair has another very special moment that she would like to create at the Shows of Shows with someone very close to her…

“Charlotte Flair vs. Ronda Rousey will create a special Wrestlemania moment, but in saying that another great moment would be my best friend Becky Lynch winning the Royal Rumble and facing me for the title – so many possibilities. I just hope that whoever wins has to face me for the Smackdown Women’s championship at Wrestlemania.”

Finally, Flair ended the interview by making a bold statement regarding the Women’s Revolution:

“With the announcement of the first-ever women’s Royal Rumble match, I feel the women’s revolution is complete.”

The post Charlotte Flair Says That The Women’s Revolution is Now Complete appeared first on Wrestling News & WWE News, Rumors & Spoilers.

Sasha Banks spoke with NBC Sports about the upcoming Women’s Royal Rumble. Here are some highlights from the interview:

Role she wants to have in the women’s Royal Rumble: “I don’t know if I would want to start off first. I would have to do extra cardio to prepare and with the holiday season I’ve been eating a lot, so I don’t know if I would be ready for that … just kidding (laughs). Honestly, I would rather get that lucky number 30 and throw everyone out that’s left. I don’t want to sweat my makeup off. I want to look good! But no, I haven’t seriously thought about it or had a chance to because I’m still kind of in that shock moment and I’ve been more thinking about what legend could be in the match or if we’ll have girls from NXT be in the match because with [the] SmackDown and Raw [rosters] we don’t have enough to get to that 30 number yet. The potential of what legend can I work has me more excited than which number I’ll be in the Royal Rumble match, but I think when I get closer to the actual Royal Rumble, that’s when I’ll get more of my nerves. I don’t want to say I’m in shock because I guessed that this would happen, but it’s still so crazy to kick off 2018 knowing that the women are going to have a Royal Rumble match at the Royal Rumble. It’s really cool.”

Which former WWE stars she’d like to see come back for the women’s Royal Rumble: “I would love to hear Trish Stratus’ music. Of course Lita, Molly Holly, Jazz, Jacqueline, man even Victoria. It would be an honor to be in the ring with any of those girls. Beth Phoenix. Of course I want to win it, but at the same time, I would just want her to pick me up and throw me over the top. I would mark out, but I would land on my hands and go back into the ring like Kofi Kingston (laughs). Any of those girls would be incredible, but of course I would love to see girls from NXT get the opportunity, but of course they wouldn’t win it because I would be the last person standing.”

The storyline dictating when a women’s match will main event Wrestlemania:“Exactly and that’s the number one thing is. I don’t just want something to be given to us just to put that little stamp like ‘Oh look the women are doing it now it’s cool.’ No. My goal is to main event WrestleMania and if we’re going to main event it, I need it to be the greatest storyline ever. I need the fans to be invested. I just don’t want to get handed something because they’re putting a first time ever [match] for women. I want it to be a good storyline and I want the crowd to care because those are the moments that…I feel like the reason people talk about the Brooklyn match [I had] with Bayley so much is because of the history between me and Bayley. You know that she fought from the very beginning to get the women’s championship and for me, I fought to keep that and to show people that I’m the best. People are invested in the storylines more than just putting a name on something and bam! First time ever, you know what I mean?”

The post Sasha Banks Wants 30th Entry In Women’s Royal Rumble Match appeared first on Wrestling News & WWE News, Rumors & Spoilers.

Alberto El Patron recently appeared on Konnan’s Keeping It 100 Podcast and talked about his split with WWE Superstar Paige. Here are highlights from the interview:

Split from Paige: “By now everyone knows we are not together. We decided to end our relationship because I am in San Antonio, she is in Orlando, and now she is back on the road, and you know the schedule on the road there is non-stop, and my schedule is also non-stop. My projects with Telemundo and TV Azteca, calendar, clothing line, charity events, and all that stuff, we just weren’t seeing each other. With her training to come back they were not allowing her to come to San Antonio I couldn’t go to Orlando because II have three little kids, and I was coming home 2-3 days. I had to choose between going to Orlando for that time or staying with my kids and of course I chose to stay with my kids, so we decided to end our relationship. I know people just found out or they are just finding out, and the ones are just finding out, it was days or few weeks ago. We ended the relationship weeks ago, but we both agreed not to say anything because we got tired of the media, people, everyone just having an opinion about us, including family who had an opinion on our relationship with what we did.”

Still being on good terms with her: “When we were in Canada doing Impact tapings, I talked to Paige that it is about time we both say something because, you know, people are starting to realize we are not together because I am always working and you are always hanging out with your friends. After her saying that she didn’t want to say anything and that we had come to an agreement regarding it, but she said that if you want to say something say something because I wanted to, so I said okay, I’m not really going to say anything. Apparently a friend accidentally posted a video stating that she was single, and then that video was deleted, but you know once you put something on the internet it is there forever. People started coming to me and thought to myself, seriously? I called Paige afterwards and asked what was going on? She said that it was an accident, it was my friend, but I said, yeah, it’s always your friends, your family, your brother, someone from your side, it’s just not fair. We came to an agreement, and even though it wasn’t you saying it, it was someone from your side and I am just tired of being affected by your side of people, or your people, but that is the reality of things. We ended up on good terms. I wanted what was best for her, she wanted what was best for me. I know she is going to be the most successful diva in history, and she has all the talents. All the talent; we had an amazing relationship, and I just wanted to say this, it wasn’t the haters that broke us up, we both just decided that it was best for our careers and our kids.”

Paige proposing to him: “I turned around and was thinking to myself, ‘What the f***?’ I was like, we were having a fantastic time because it was just us, there was nobody involved; my family was but my family was always taking care of us, nobody from her side was there so we were having a great time, so when I turned around and saw her on one knee, and the whole crowd is chanting Si! Si! Si!, including my brother. My brother had the Mexican flag and he was pounding on the canvas, and I was like, seriously bro? We were in love; it was real, it was us always taking care of each other, but you know, I don’t know why people just started messing with us and never letting us be.”

The internet reactions to their ups and downs: “It was just the internet overreacting. We are passionate in everything we do. We have strong tempers, and she is just like me with being a hot head, and reacting in a different way when she is mad, just like me, but we were always taking care of each other. I never talk about any of this before, but I’m going to tell you why; #1, I was protecting my wife, I was protecting the woman who was going to be my wife. She works for a company that has zero tolerance. That company fires you for no reason, sometimes they don’t need a reason to fire you. Of course people were talking and making assumptions, which includes her family, or in this case her brother. Also because when that crap in Orlando happened, which was completely fake. I never once hurt her, she never hurt me, it was just internet BS and people believing it and the reason why the Orlando incident had affected my life so much – I hadn’t said anything about this, but #1 because I was already suspended, because of the company and its zero tolerance, I assumed they were going to fire her. For female wrestlers it is nearly impossible to exist, especially in WWE. I have proved that I don’t need WWE and WWE doesn’t need me. I am making a fantastic living, pretty much the same amount of money for when I was there, but it is not the same for girls, and when that stuff happened and the brother went crazy and started saying stuff, Paige said that she is going to say something that happened in Orlando. I insisted that she doesn’t because, just wait, I am already suspended, just wait. Once the police report comes out everyone will know the truth, and will know that everything your brother is saying is completely wrong. The stuff he said never happened, but I will be fine, so don’t worry.”

His relationship with Paige’s family: “The whole family is always on the internet; reading what the internet is saying, believing what the internet is saying. When that happened, the brother went and decided to say something. Not because he was really caring about Paige, or trying to protect her, because he knew the real situation. He just had a personal agenda against me to say the things he said. He said that he posted those things on Social Media because he cares about his sister, but he never called her before or after Paige had surgery. It was me that was in the hospital with her. No family with her, just me, day and night, holding her hand before and after surgery. The same brother that never called her after those videos were posted, when she was devastated; it was me, not him. We’re talking about the same brother that a few weeks before the whole drama happened, he was screaming to the world how I’m the best man, he’s my brother in law, and nobody was better than Alberto. Of course this was when I was working for free for his dad’s company. They said that WWE was trying to ruin their anniversary show in Norwich, England, when WWE was going to be there, and the dad was devastated he was crying, and really depressed. I said to them, you know what, you are my family now, I will take care of it. I ended up calling my great friend Rey Mysterio and I got Rey Mysterio for free to work the same show with me. We packed the place, and let me just say something, I have a lot of respect for her dad, Ray Knight. He was giving us some money, but I mean, not close to what we normally make, not even close, but because he is an honorable man and was doing it from the heart, it was like he was giving us a million dollars, and with all honesty, I miss the dad. He was always a good guy.”

You can listen to the interview below:

The post Alberto El Patron Opens Up About Split with Paige appeared first on Wrestling News & WWE News, Rumors & Spoilers.

The Big Show recently spoke with Sports Illustrated. Here are some highlights from the interview:

His commentary work: “That’s definitely a possibility. That’s something I’ve discussed quite heavily with Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler, and JBL. I need to sit down with Vince and Hunter to see what’s next for the Big Show. Vince is all about giving opportunity, and Hunter is, too. Doing color commentary to help get the talent over is not something I’m opposed to doing. I could speak from my experience, but my number one goal would be to highlight why you should pay attention to what you are seeing in the ring.”

Big Show on going to the indies: “That’s never crossed my mind, and it’s something I’ve never been asked. But let’s be clear–I don’t have the talent that Cody Rhodes has. I think Cody is one of the most underrated and underused talents that we ever let go. I was a huge fan of Cody, his ideas, and what he could have brought to the table, and I’m so happy that his success outside of WWE has been so good. Sometimes in this business, you have to go away to come back. You have to find out who you are. For me, at this stage in the game, I’m enjoying helping the next generation. I did everything I could to pass the torch to Braun. I had a hip resurfaced a couple months ago, so Vince and Hunter want me to finish on my main goal, which is getting healthy. Then we’ll discuss my future. There are a lot of projects I want to do with producing and acting outside of wrestling. As far as an indie run, I don’t know, but you never say never.”

Thoughts on WWE tending to rush storylines: “Sometimes, when stories are rushed or put together too fast, people can’t enjoy them. That’s the only criticism I have with our industry right now, it’s really tough to build stories like we used to. The writing was on the wall for my fight with Braun Strowman, because he looked like my replacement as the next dominant giant. When I came out in ’95, even though it was part of the storyline, I was known as the next evolution of Andre, the next giant. I was that young, athletic, trash-talking monster. That was my introduction to the industry, and I was able to build on that. Braun Strowman is the next evolution of that monster. He’s athletic and explosive. I think Kane is fantastic, but I don’t think people were ready for the angle between Kane and Braun or their match. Technically, psychologically, mechanically, there is nothing wrong with the matches, but people don’t like the story of the two opponents in the match. The crowd hasn’t been able to get into it yet, but with social media and our business, criticism is going to be a lot more prevalent.”

The post Big Show Asked If He’d Ever Work the Indie Circuit appeared first on Wrestling News & WWE News, Rumors & Spoilers.

Dolph Ziggler recently spoke with NBC Sports to promote tonight’s Tribute To The Troops show. Here are some highlights from the interview:

His gradual downward spiral in WWE: “It was very gradual. It went from ‘Wow, we have something special here with Dolph. The crowd is feeding off of him whether he’s a good guy or a bad guy.’ But after a while, a really good match here and there or a special moment here and there is not enough to create a star. So after a big match and then just going back to being Dolph, it’s hard to not be Dolph.

“I’ve been very lucky in that I’ve been able to make the most out of those situations. Anytime people see me or the character, you can kind of see how they mesh together and I’m pretty sure there’s nobody who blends that gray area with the character better than me. And that’s a fact.”

Things he is looking to explore with his meta-type character in WWE: “We’ve opened the fourth wall a lot with this business and we’ve let reality become a huge part of it, which is awesome. Being able to interact with fans every single day gives them the ability to know what’s going on behind the scenes a little bit and you can actually use that as part of your character.

“It would be stupid to let them in on all of these different aspects of the show and then pretend that I win every night because then we’re basically calling them stupid for believing that. But if I go ‘Hey I don’t win all of the time, but I’m really good and you know this and I know this’ and one of the nights could be the time that we go with it and that’s very realistic in this world. It’s one thing to joke around with fans, but to disregard huge aspects of a career would be a mistake.”

What he would like to change about his current character: “Yeah I’d be about three inches taller, so I could be a 10-time world champion (laughs). I’m a big 80s hair metal guy, like a David Lee Roth or someone like Nikki Sixx or Vince Neil to where I could put on a big show and be awesome at wrestling, but in this character right now where I focus on throwing that all away because I see the transparency in characters and my character hates on them.

“It’s a special place that I get to go and I walk to the ring with disdain for the fans knowing that they sit there and bury everything that we do, but then they cheer for who their supposed to because they’re such hypocrites it’s so great.”

The post Dolph Ziggler Says If He Was Three Inches Taller He’d Be A Ten Time World Champion appeared first on Wrestling News & WWE News, Rumors & Spoilers.

Cody Rhodes appeared on Busted Open Radio. Here are some highlights from the interview:

The current wrestling scene: “It’s a wild time to be a pro wrestler and it’s a wild time to be a pro wrestling fan…I think everything [has] been elevated and the platform that Ring Of Honor has given myself, Matt and Nick [Jackson] and New Japan, they’ve let us play our music in our own way and right now people like the song. And I’m very… I don’t know. I tend to go back and forth. Sometimes, I’m a total dreamer and then other times I’m quite a realist, so I know in wrestling, one day, you’re up, and the next day, you can be bottom of the barrel down and we’ve been up, up, up, and it continues to trend upward, so I just want to keep it going. Hot Topic, that thing that the Bucks set up with Hot Topic, so many people have benefitted from it and that’s going to be something, I hope, when you look back in the history books of wrestling, there [are] going to be these moments where things happen, where watershed incidents, where breakaway moments went down, that’s one of those. That [has] made… hell, that [has] made a lot of people rich already. So yeah, no, I’m just enjoying the ride, but I still want to make sure we’re still going up here.”

New ‘Attitude Era’ being on the way: “Wrestling is absolutely hot and getting hotter. [Bully Ray was] involved, [but] me, Matt, and Nick weren’t involved in wrestling when it was at it’s hottest in the late 90s in The Attitude Era. We want our Attitude Era and I don’t know what it’s called or what it’s going to be, but it’s heading that direction, so we want to be on the right side of history. We want to be a part of it.”

His successful 2017: “Not to sound tacky, but this has been the first seven-figure year I’ve ever had and it blows me away that it happened, so on that end, for my family and well-being, that part has been the best. But also, the part I enjoy the most, the fans and the creative element of what we do, I keep saying it, but to play music how you want to play it, it [has] never been like this before for me. This is superseded… I look at a time, my WWE Intercontinental Championship run as my favorite thing I ever did because I got to change the belt and I got to be involved in a couple of WrestleManias with that in the picture, but this time, now, has completely passed it by, blown it away. Being a world champion is all that it was cracked up to be from every world champion that there ever was that told me about it. It [has] certainly been everything that I dreamed and hoped for.”

The post Cody Rhodes Says This Is The First Year He’s Made Seven Figures appeared first on Wrestling News & WWE News, Rumors & Spoilers.