On today’s episode of The Taz Show, Taz will discuss the classic match between Nakamura and Ibushi from Wrestle Kingdom 9.

Taz mentions that NJPW’s production is unbelievable, and they’re basically the only company in the world that can compete with WWE production-wise. They pull out all the stops here for Wrestle Kingdom, with pyro and multiple video walls to ensure a jam-packed arena full of people are satisfied. Taz points out that this is Japan’s WrestleMania.

Taz says he’s a big fan of Nakamura’s work, and he doesn’t mean to disrespect him today because he’s never met him, but this is when Nakamura was booked “Cool”. He urges his fans to check out the video of this entrance from Wrestle Kingdom 9, because this is when Nakamura truly was a “rockstar”.

He points out that we’ve seen this plenty of times before, and Taz has actually been through this himself. As a Superstar in the business you feel like your career is going great and then you finally make it to WWE and things change drastically. For whatever reason, WWE seems to struggle with capitalizing on momentum that incoming performers have.

Taz likes that Nakamura and Ibushi are wearing opposite colour ring gear during this match. He informs that this is an unwritten rule in the business, and in some cases it actually is written in the Gorilla Position in WWE. Ibushi wore white and Nakamura wore black for this bout.

The post The Taz Show Recap – Nakamura VS. Ibushi: Wrestle Kingdom 9, Nakamura’s Struggles in WWE, Comparing Wrestling to Sex, More! appeared first on Wrestling News & WWE News, Rumors & Spoilers.

Russo is joined on today’s show by his co-host, Jeff Lane, Bin Hamin, and former WWE Superstar, Stevie Richards.

Russo wonders just how much heat he must have with everyone at WWE for him not to receive an invitation to RAW’s 25h anniversary show at the end of the month. Russo points out that even Bruce Prichard has been invited back for that show and he hasn’t, so he must really be hated at WWE.

Hamin points out that Russo’s name is forever etched in history for the work he did during the attitude era, and he doesn’t need to go back to WWE at this point to prove anything. Russo mentions that WWE loves “yes men”, and he’ll never be one of those. He assumes that the people in power there realize this, and that’s why he hasn’t been invited back.

Getting into their thoughts on this week’s episode of Smackdown Live, Richards says he has no idea what WWE is trying to do with the main event angle featuring Owens, Zayn, Orton, Nakamura, Bryan and McMahon. It all feels very confusing and convoluted to Richards and Russo agrees, pointing out that WWE is trying to force these 6 guys into a 6-man tag team match at WrestleMania in order to satisfy Bryan’s urge to wrestle.

The post Vince Russo’s The Brand Recap – RAW & Smackdown Analysis, Graves Vs. Saxton, What Was the Most Over Thing on RAW This Week? More! appeared first on Wrestling News & WWE News, Rumors & Spoilers.

Maria Kanellis took to her Facebook account to talk about leaked photos of herself surfacing online:

What will you tell your child about being in Playboy?

“Playboy, Leaked Photos, and Being Sexy”

I have never thought about not being me. I have never been afraid to show off my body. I have never been scared of being sexy. And I don’t want my son or daughter to be afraid of their body. I want my children to be confident. In a world so full of hate and unknown, Mike and I do not want our children to feel like love is a foreign concept. I have been asked on numerous occasions about Playboy, my leaked photos, and about being sexy. My answers may surprise you and hopefully give you some insight into what it means to me to be able to be sexy and still be a great mother.

What will you tell your child about being in Playboy? I will tell them that mommy bought a house by capitalizing on a huge opportunity. I will tell them that mommy believes that the human body should be celebrated not shammed. I will tell them that Playboy is an iconic magazine and the decision to pose was something I discussed with my family and friends before making a well informed choice. I don’t believe sex is the enemy I think ignorance is. If my children, are well informed about the meaning and value of a person’s virtue, I think that is the best a parent can do.

Leaked Photos…. So, I guess I probably should make a statement about this at some point. Haha… I guess first you should know, every photo that I have seen leaked was something for my husband of over three years, who I have been with for 6 and a half. They were sent to or taken by Mike. So, you aren’t seeing anything salacious or forbidden. You are seeing our personal photos. It doesn’t bother me that I’m naked. I have been naked. Boobs, butt, etc… everyone has them. If my children asks about those photos, I will say mommy and daddy have a healthy relationship. We love each other. Daddy thinks Mommy is sexy. AND, there is nothing wrong with that. The problem is the intrusion of privacy. The sad, sad humans that can not make a happy, healthy life of their own. I would tell my child to feel sorry for the people that do not have enough love of their own and have to steal it from others. Mommy and daddy, pity the people that have enough time on their hands to fish through our photos but no time to make a life of their own. To those people, I say get some help, try online dating, and stop breaking the law.

I’m too sexy for small mindedness. Sex. Woah. How could you? NO, I can and I will never be afraid of it. Being sexy doesn’t end for pregnant people, married people, curvy people, skinny people, any people… Sex is beautiful. It creates life and draws humans together. War, is ever present on TV, in movies, and on video games and no one blinks an eye but you see a little boob and OMG!! Mark 10:6-9 “But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’ ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.” One flesh sounds fun. If God wanted me to wear clothes, I would have been born with them. I wasn’t, so I’ll continue being sexy and enjoying my body. The body that was created by this universe.

Let’s talk about the things I am afraid of talking about with my child, war, sexual harassment, economic inequality, sexism, racism, homophobia, genocide, and the current political climate. There are much bigger problems in this world then, my sexuality. I have built my life around being a good person and being a good role model for my little sister when she was still little and now my nieces and nephew and soon for my child. In this country, we should focus less on the way people love and more on the way people hate. That is what I will teach my child. Hold hands not hate. Be the change you want to see in this world. Love Yourself. #PowerofLove

Love,
The Crazy Pregnant Lady
Maria Kanellis

The post Maria Kanellis Reacts to Her Private Photos Surfacing Online appeared first on Wrestling News & WWE News, Rumors & Spoilers.

Russo is joined on today’s show by his co-host Jeff Lane.

Lane mentions that Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer spoke about WWE’s Universal Title picture this past week, saying WWE would be stupid to put the Title on Kane, even though that wouldn’t affect revenue. Russo says he disagrees completely, pointing out that the television product absolutely does affect revenue in regards to merchandise sales and live event ticket sales.

Meltzer was also critical of WWE’s usage of Paul Heyman recently, saying WWE should use Heyman for more than just an introduction when he’s live at RAW because he’s one of the best promo guys in the business. Russo says he can’t remember the last time Heyman cut a good promo, pointing out that Heyman says the exact same thing week after week.

Meltzer and his co-host Bryan Alvarez went on to speak about John Cena’s match with Elias from this week’s RAW. They both agreed that for all the people who praise Cena’s wrestling ability, he didn’t look good at all during this week’s match. Russo can’t believe the nerve of Meltzer and Alvarez who criticized Cena for his work in this match when in reality, Cena was simply doing WWE a favour by appearing live on Christmas Day when he should have been home with his family.

The post Vince Russo’s The Brand Recap – Financial Implications to Kane as WWE Champion, Defending Cena & Elias, Balor Doesn’t Stack up, More! appeared first on Wrestling News & WWE News, Rumors & Spoilers.

While appearing on Chasing Glory with Lilian Garcia, Paige discussed how disappointed she was to hear the news about Emma’s release from WWE.

“I was so sad for her because I know how much her life revolves around WWE,” Paige said. “She’s fine. she’s good. She’s like, ‘I get it…I wish I could be there.’”

Paige continued, “She’s traveling the world, experiencing life. She’s inspirational.”

Paige told Garcia even though she is confused by Emma’s release, she does not want to ruffle any feathers by asking questions.

“I still don’t know. I still don’t get it. A lot of people don’t understand,” Paige said. “You know what, I’m not even going to pry when it comes to it.”

Paige said she expects Emma to make a big name for herself on the independent wrestling scene.

Emma has not wrestled since leaving WWE but has several independent dates lined up beginning in February. One event she has line up is an Impact Wrestling taping, but it’s unknown at this time if she will actually appear on television at the event.

The post Paige Reacts to Emma Being Released By WWE appeared first on Wrestling News & WWE News, Rumors & Spoilers.

While speaking to Sports Illustrated, Daniel Cormier predicted that the main even of WrestleMania 34 will not be Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns, but instead he believes Braun Strowman will face Reign instead.

“A lot of people boo him (Roman) because they think he’s pushed too hard, but WWE is smart. Now they’ve spun it–they’ve stuck Roman back with The Shield, and now people cheer him again. They’ll find a way to make him the good guy, and I believe that he will get the championship back in New Orleans, but not from Brock Lesnar. I think Braun Strowman will be carrying the belt by then.”

Brock Lesnar is scheduled to defend his WWE Universal Championship against Braun Strowman and Kane at next month’s Royal Rumble pay-per-view event. It Cormier is correct in his prediction, that means Strowman will leave The Rumble as the new Universal Champion.

The post Daniel Cormier Predicts the Main Event for WrestleMania 34 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.

2017 was an interesting year, to say the least. Jinder Mahal won the WWE Championship. Luke Harper was almost in the main event of Wrestlemania, and then he became a Bludgeon Brother. Elias hit Finn Balor with a guitar. There is no doubt that a handful of stars were made in 2017.

Will 2018 be good to some people? I certainly hope so.  Here are some people I think have a chance to make it big come 2018.

Aiden English

Many people wondered how much potential Aiden English had after the Vaudevillains split up. He was a jobber. His defeat against Tye Dillinger seemingly cemented his spot at the bottom of the card. He wouldn’t stay there, though.

English has quickly become one of the most entertaining parts of Smackdown. His tag team with Rusev shouldn’t really work, but both men are so talented that they have made it their own. Now they’re in the Tag Team title picture. They probably won’t win, but it’s definitely something.

Come 2018, I expect both English and Rusev to become stars. Rusev was already established, what with him being a two-time US Champion, but this is a big boost to English’s stock. I expect big things from him next year.

Elias

Funnily enough, Elias is one NXT’s most successful call-ups. People boo the hell out of this guy, which is exactly what needs to happen. Sure, he and Aiden English kinda do the same thing, but they’re different enough that they’re not carbon copies of each other.

Right now, Elias isn’t doing a heck of a lot, but in 2018, that could all change. His Intercontinental Championship match against Roman Reigns was actually really good. Both men delivered in that match, and Elias came out of that looking like a star.

All that Elias really needs is that one feud. It doesn’t have to be a main-event feud. It just has to be a good one. Once that happens, he’ll be a made man for sure. People weren’t really expecting much out of Elias, but he has proved them all wrong and has a chance to become one of Raw’s biggest stars.

The post Predicting the Next Big WWE Superstars of 2018 appeared first on Wrestling News & WWE News, Rumors & Spoilers.

Dave Meltzer mentioned in the latest issue of The Wrestling Observer Newsletter that Kevin Owen’s 365 special that aired on the WWE Network did HUGE numbers.

There was buzz surrounding the documentary before it was released that it would feature unseen footage of last year’s WrestleMania when Kevin Owens went to the backstage area to seek the approval of Vince McMahon after his match against Chris Jericho, only to get shut down by the WWE head honcho. Apparently a lot of people tuned into the show to witness it for themselves.

The post Kevin Owens’ 365 Special Draws HUGE Numbers appeared first on Wrestling News & WWE News, Rumors & Spoilers.

Triple H recently spoke with NBC Sports to promote Saturday’s NXT Takeover: War Games event. Here are some highlights:

How they finally decided to do a WarGames match: “For me WarGames has always been a very viable concept. It wasn’t just a name, it was a branding of a match that was meaningful in WCW. It’s something I’ve always had interest in. I’ve always liked the concept as a fan. As we move forward with NXT, it’s really started to become its own brand. We’ve had opportunities to do different things, whether that is ladder matches, or cage matches. But there was an opportunity that came along, given the weekend with Survivor Series and given the position [NXT] is in to brand something out and create something that NXT could own. It seemed like the perfect time to bring it out, so I dusted it off. Throughout the years, I was aware of Vince’s feelings about it. There were some things about that match that he liked and there were some things about the concept that he didn’t necessarily think worked, especially in today’s world. So I brought it back up to him and we walked through the process and I said here’s the way I think we can make this match work for us and he liked it, agreed with it, thought it worked great for NXT and was real happy to do it. So here we are.”

His goal for the match: “When you do this, the goal is not to go backwards. My goal isn’t to make people go, ‘Oh, is this as good as it was back then?’ I want to put a slightly different spin on it, so that it begins again and takes a life of its own because it can’t be what it was. I grew up watching it in the Dusty [Rhodes], [Ric] Flair, Four Horseman vs. the world sort of iteration of it and this cannot be that. It has to be today’s version of it. Hopefully it’ll be something that our fan base really enjoys. I think the NXT fans are going to love it. I know the talent is very excited about it. When we announced the match and word began to spread on the Internet, a bunch of main roster talent came to me and said, ‘oh my God, you’re doing WarGames? Anyway I can do something in that?’ For me, it’s also a cool nod to Dream [‘The American Dream’ Dusty Rhodes]. It’s cool that his vision is able to continue.”

The complexity of the match: “There is some complexity to it, even though there are some people saying, ‘But it’s three teams, it isn’t the same as it originally was.’ The thing is we don’t have the Four Horseman, with a manger, to make a five-man team. It convoluted the concept to me if you hogedpodge things together. When the stories logically go to the next place and they just kind of connect together, that’s when they’re the best and I feel like that’s how this happened. Once we knew we were going to do it, it organically started to come together. You have Authors of Pain, you have Sanity, you have the Undisputed Era. There’s a three-way thing that is combustible and needs to be solved inside a double cage … what other way would you solve it? (Laughs) So you organically get there and then there were some logistical ways to figure out the issues that were created by the concept. For example, someone could say, ‘well, why doesn’t the rest of the team just run out and try to get into the cage?’ Well they can’t because they’re in this other cage. Hopefully this becomes a yearly event. Is this exact iteration of what we’ll see in the future? I don’t know. I hope so, but if there’s something in this that doesn’t work, then we’ll tweak it a little and try to perfect it. Everything goes through its little changes in the beginning and then where it ends up you just kind of naturally end up and you forget about those little changes that happen over time. When you go back and look at them 10 years later you might go, ‘oh my God, I forgot that they started it that way.’ I’m really excited. I know the NXT locker room is really excited about doing this. There’s something really cool about being a part of something that’s historic, but making it new and making it the future. I think it’s a good opportunity. I think everyone is feeling the weight of that. The TakeOver events are always kind of special for the NXT talent because they’re not often and they really encompass the storylines together, but this one seems to have more weight than normal, even for the people who aren’t in the WarGames match itself.”

The Undisputed Era: “I think they’re talented guys. You’re never 100 percent sure with anybody who walks in the door, but there are certain talent that you see come in who have an innate ability right away. Are there things we have to work on with them? Absolutely, they’re learning every day. The one thing I liked about those guys and why I was confident in ‘giving them the ball right off of the bat’ is because when we spoke and talked about things, they absorbed it. They’re sponges. They’re students of this. They want to learn. They’re not walking in the door going, ‘I know, I know how to do this.’ They’re walking in the door going ‘Wow, I have this opportunity to work with Shawn Michaels at the Performance Center, or with Terry Taylor, or this person, or that person.’ They can learn TV production from all of these different people. They are wide open to it. To me, that’s what makes you successful. It’s the guys that walk in going ‘ah, I got this’ that make it difficult. When you have someone who just wants to be a student, wants to learn and wants to, no matter how good they are, just take their ability to a whole other level. In this business, you constantly have to be willing to morph, grow, and think differently because it’s the nature of the beast. There are guys who have that hunger and desire to constantly evolve and you can see it from the first time you speak to them.”

The post Triple H Reveals How He Pitched War Games to Vince McMahon appeared first on Wrestling News & WWE News, Rumors & Spoilers.