John Cena Asked About Burying Younger Talent

John Cena recently did an interview with The Wrap. Here are the highlights:

Accusations that he “buries” young talent: “This is why I have the reputation of quote-unquote ‘burying younger talent,’ because I will let them do whatever they want with me — and then after they get done, they’re not as motivated,” Cena remarked. “So, it’s not that I sink their ship, it’s that they fail to operate at an elite level. And I’m on to the next person, [to] whom I say, ‘Hey man, bring your best punch and I’m gonna punch back’ — and they don’t take that attitude beyond me.”

Wrestlemania storyline with The Miz: “I take that approach to everyone. The Miz story couldn’t be a better example of that, because when that story started … no one wanted to see that match. No one. I made it a point to have everyone work as hard as they could to change everyone’s mind. And now here you are, months after the fact, saying that was one of the most entertaining things done on television,” Cena continued. “That just goes to show you that it’s all just about how much you’re willing to invest and how strongly you believe in what you want to do.”

You can check out the full interview here.

Seth Rollins Comments On Being In The Ring With The Undertaker

Seth Rollins recently spoke with Bandwaggon.asia. here are some highlights from the interview:

What was the experience like being in the ring with The Undertaker?

“Yeah, I got into step into the ring with the Undertaker one time before he retired – it was a six-man tag match on Monday Night RAW in London. It was one of those nights I didn’t really get to fully grasp what we were doing. We had a show earlier in the day in Cardiff, Wales – and we took a helicopter to London! I had to basically get right into the ring and have a second match within a few hours.

“It was against Undertaker, Daniel Bryan and Kane though – so it was a tremendous experience. I remember looking across the ring at one point, locking eyes with a dead man – someone who’s an absolute legend, first ballot Hall-Of-Famer, one of the most incredible performers in the history of our industry. To share a ring with him is very surreal, especially considering our age difference.

“At some point, you’d consider that he’d be retired before you’d get the chance to be in the ring with him, but that’s just a testament to how he took care of himself and how physically forward-thinking he was in keeping himself healthy that late in his career.”

I think that brings me to your current song, which is called ‘The Second Coming’. You’ve been using it for about two to three years now. How is it fitting with you?

“Yeah I love it. It’s one of those where soon as the riff kicks in, everyone knows who’s coming through the curtains. That’s all that really matters when you’re picking an entrance theme. It fits my character. Though it was really weird adjusting to it at first because the pace of it is different from The Shield music, so y’know, trying to get the timing down on the entrance and making it feel like my own song took a little while.

“But now I’ve had so many moments with that music playing behind me or in front me – it’s become mine. People ask me “oh you’re gonna change your song, you’re gonna do this, you’re gonna do that” – I think that one’s sticking for a long time. I like guys who had the same entrance theme forever and ever – like Stone Cold, Chris Jericho, the Big Show – I think that’s always a really cool thing when guys have the same song for a really long time.”

You can check out the full interview here.

Lilian Garcia Makes Surprise Appearance At NXT Event

Former WWE ring announcer Lilian Garcia made a special appearance at Wednesday’s NXT event in England as she sang “God Save The Queen” to help kick off the show.

The event took place at the First Direct Arena in Leeds and began with a moment of silence for victims of the Manchester bombing and attack at the London Bridge.

Garcia then surprised the crowd with an appearance and sang the British national anthem.

NXT’s event at the Manchester Arena that was scheduled for Tuesday was canceled due to the bombing and WWE instead sent Superstars to visit with victims/help raise money. Those with tickets to the initial event were given free admission tonight to the show in Leeds.

Watch the video of Garcia’s performance below.

Hideo Itami Say He’s Not Going Back to Japan

We reported yesterday that there was rumors that Hideo Itami could be heading back to Japan when his contract with WWE expires this year. Itami denied those rumors in a short clip that WWE published on social media.

“No, I worked hard to get here,” said Itami. “One loss doesn’t mean going back to Japan. I’m not done yet.”

WWE Officially Announces John Cena’s WWE Return

WWE officially announced that John Cena will be making his return to WWE programming on the July 4th episode of SmackDown Live.

To combat low ratings, WWE is planning a big show for July 4th with Randy Orton vs. Jinder Mahal, Kevin Owens vs. AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Dolph Ziggler.

Hideo Itami Leaving WWE This Year?

During the mailbag segment on today’s installment of Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer was asked about the rumors of Hideo Itami leaving WWE once his contract is up this year. Meltzer mentioned that he didn’t know for sure if Itami would leave, but he could see it happening. Meltzer explained that Itami has a lot of family in Japan and he could see him leaving WWE to head to New Japan.

As many of you are aware, Itami has had several injuries since coming to WWE several years ago. He seems to get hurt every time he builds any momentum on the NXT brand and it sets him back. Several of his peers that joined NXT around the time he did are already on the main roster doing big things while he is still trying to overcome the developmental system. It should be interesting to see how his career plays out in WWE with his contract nearing expiration this year.

Reason Finn Balor Was Not on Monday’s RAW Episode

As many of you noticed, Finn Balor was not used on this week’s episode of RAW. It’s believed that he was kept off television to sell the impact of the Fatal 5-Way match at Sunday’s Extreme Rules event. Balor did appear after RAW went off the air to make the save for Seth Rollins who was being attacked by Samoa Joe and Bray Wyatt.

Triple H Announces NXT Takeover: Brooklyn Event

Triple H announced on Twitter that NXT “Takeover: Brooklyn III” will take place Saturday, August 19th at the Barclays Center during SummerSlam weekend.

NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn returns to Barclays Center on Aug. 19

For the third year in a row, Brooklyn, N.Y., will host NXT’s hottest event of the summer.

TakeOver: Brooklyn III comes to the Barclays Center Saturday, Aug. 19, one night before WWE SummerSlam emanates from the same building.

WWE COO Triple H made the announcement on Twitter:

Tickets for the WWE Network special event go on sale this Friday, June 9, at 10 a.m. ET, exclusively at NXTtickets.com.

NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn has played home to such historic showdowns as Finn Bálor vs. Kevin Owens, Bayley vs. Sasha Banks and Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Samoa Joe in previous years. There’s no telling what huge matches will go down this August, but this much is certain: Takeover: Brooklyn III will have the entire WWE Universe buzzing!

Don’t miss out on witnessing the action live in person — secure your ticket this Friday.