Juice Robinson Says He’s Never Going Back To WWE

IWGP United States Champion Juice Robinson has publicly addressed a report from this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter stating WWE is interested in signing him. Robinson, who wrestled as CJ Parker for former WWE developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling and later NXT from 2011-2015, isn’t going anywhere.

“That’s in the rearview mirror now,” Juice said. “I ain’t going back, I ain’t ever going back.”

Robinson made the comments backstage from Night 8 of the G1 Climax 28 tournament. He has lost every single match in the tournament thus far, likely due to competing with a broken hand.

Earlier this summer, Juice spoke with Uproxx about his frustrations while with WWE.

“You know, I loved NXT. Just, I just knew I was dead in the water, so I had to get out,” Juice said. “So it wasn’t that it was bad, it was (that) I turned it bad because I got sad. You know what I mean? So what was happening to me on a daily basis… it wasn’t like I was going home every night and crying in my room.”

He would continue to say that in NXT anytime he would try and lighten the mood, he would be told to get back in line. This was under the old head-trainer, however.

“But they’ve got a good guy there now, and everything’s really – I think it’s fun again,” Juice said in reference to current NXT head trainer Matt Bloom. “It’s good to hear. But I’m having more fun, so, haha.”

WWE is not Juice’s only option other than NJPW. Don Callis of Impact Wrestling has made it clear they would make Juice a big part of their company if he ever jumped ship.

“Juice is a tremendous performer with unlimited likeability and unlimited charisma,” Callis said on his Killin the Town podcast earlier this month. “He definitely is a rock star.”

“I really like him a lot,” Callis continued. “He’s a guy you build a company around.”

Chris Jericho Says He Has No Restrictions In NJPW

Chris Jericho says there are no restrictions to what he can do in New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW). The reigning IWGP Intercontinental Champion has only wrestled 3 matches in 2018, but he has remained one of the most talked about wrestlers in the world.

Jericho made waves when he wrestled Kenny Omega in the Tokyo Dome on January 4th, 2018. He appeared at WWE’s big Raw 25th Anniversary just a few weeks later, his first appearance for the company since he started working for New Japan.

In April, he was back in WWE competing in the Greatest Royal Rumble. By June, he was the IWGP IC Champion after dethroning Tetsuya Naito at Dominion.

“It’s very cool to go back to Japan, where I started, and be part of this worldwide growth of New Japan,” Jericho said to Sports Illustrated recently. “There are no real restrictions on what I can do in New Japan.”

Jericho would continue to talk about the restrictions in WWE versus NJPW.

“We did the original beatdown with Kenny and got some blood going, which you never see in the WWE nowadays,” Jericho continued.

“We did the press conference where I was swearing and attacking reporters. You can’t do that in WWE, but you can in Japan. Just to have those shackles released, it just felt like all of these things led to more of a Bruiser Brody character than a Shawn Michaels-type vibe.”

Jericho has always said he would never wrestle for a company other than WWE on American soil. Events which have unfolded this year may test his commitment to this, however.

When asked by a fan on Twitter if he still intends to stand by his earlier claims, Jericho gave an answer some fans will find surprising.

There’s been speculation that Jericho is interested in working for Impact Wrestling. Jericho responded, “Of course!” when asked if he’d consider ‘going to’ Impact.

This October, Chris Jericho is hosting the Rock ‘n’ Wrestling Rager cruise, which departs out of Miami on October 27th and travels to the Bahamas.

Talent from WWE, Impact Wrestling, New Japan Pro Wrestling and Ring of Honor will be appearing on the ship. Very few people can pull off something like this. Chris Jericho is among a rare breed of performers who makes his own rules in this business.

Daniel Bryan: I’ll Likely Re-Sign With WWE

Much has been made of Daniel Bryan’s WWE contract expiring later this year. September 1st is believed to be the final date on his current deal with the company. Based on comments he made during WWE’s recent stop in Tapei, however, Bryan won’t be leaving the company anytime soon.

“The wrestling world is an interesting world right now,” Bryan said. “But I love working with WWE and my wife (Brie Bella) is a part of WWE and so there’s a good chance I’ll re-sign.”

“The drive is always to do something better,” he continued. “I want to create a performance next that’s better than any performance I’ve ever done. And when you talk about that, you talk about the high points of my career like main-eventing Wrestlemania 30. That’s the highest you can really get. How do you create things that are as creatively, mentally and emotionally satisfying as that? And that is what I am in the pursuit of.”

Cody Takes Shot At Triple H, Offers Advice To Deonna Purrazzo

Cody Rhodes is generally complimentary of Triple H when he speaks about his time in WWE. He decided to take a jab at WWE’s COO recently on Twitter, however.

Cody’s jab came after it was revealed that Deonna Purrazzo has pulled out of All-In on September 1st, 2018. Speculation is Purrazzo is likely going to be competing in the Mae Young Classic next month.

“It’s been incredible to see first hand what @MattJackson13, @NickJacksonYB, & @CodyRhodes envision for pro wrestling. I am so sad I won’t be wrestling at #AllIn but my heart will be there September 1st.” Purrazzo tweeted.

Cody responded to Deonna’s Tweet with some advice on how to handle her potential photo with Triple H:

“Take 1 large step forward in the photo, he likes to make people look shorter than him. Good luck D. Beat everybody. Run up the score.”

Last month, Cody addressed the possibility of WWE signing talents scheduled to appear at All-In. The discussion began when a fan asked Dave Meltzer on Twitter about how WWE might decide to counter the Chicago event.

“Nope and tickets are sold,” Meltzer responded to a fan’s question of possible WWE action against the event. “All they can do it try and sign the talent on the show and pull them, and most are under contract elsewhere past that date.”

Cody saw the Twitter conversation and responded. “That’s a possibility,” Cody admitted. “Everybody has different goals. If your goal is to take a meet/greet style handshake photo, and pretend to be excited about going back to wrestling school…that’s your prerogative ha.”

Jimmy Jacobs On Role With Impact Wrestling, WWE, and Matt Sydal’s Development

Last October, Jimmy Jacobs was fired from the WWE creative team. While multiple reasons have been given for Jacobs’ release, a selfie he took with members of Bullet Club during their “invasion” of Raw is largely believed to have been the catalyst.

Many felt Jacobs would sign with Ring of Honor and begin working with Bullet Club following his WWE release. After all, there was a built-in storyline regarding Jacobs being fired from WWE for his association with the faction.

Instead, Jacobs chose to sign with Impact Wrestling. He’s been working as the manager of Kongo Kong and serving as a producer backstage.

Jacobs recently gave an interview to Vulture Hound in the UK and spoke about how he has been enjoying his time with Impact.

“I really enjoy working with Impact,” Jacobs said. “I feel like with Impact right now, I get all the upside, I get the chance to help create, I get the chance to help out talents. Having the opportunity to have somebody like me for talents, like Tessa Blanchard who has a lot of potentials and is awesome in the ring.”

Jacobs has returned to in-ring work as well since leaving WWE. In fact, he recently defeated Joey Ryan on June 28th, 2018 for Bar Wrestling in Los Angeles.

Jacobs doesn’t believe he’ll step inside the Impact ring, however.  “As far as wrestling with Impact goes,” Jacobs continued. “I don’t see that happening right now, it’s not especially completely off the table but what I do at the shows, producing the shows, honestly it’s a lot.”

Jacobs also mentioned Matt Sydal as someone who he has particularly enjoyed working with recently. On the latest episode of Impact Wrestling, we saw Sydal and Jimmy Jacobs possibly align with each other due to their mutual disdain for Brian Cage.

“Matt Sydal has been one thing his whole career,” Jacobs said. “It’s been great, being a sort of babyface that can have great matches, who doesn’t talk much, being a good wrestler and doing high-flying stuff. That’s been him his whole career and, a few months back, we took a chance on him when we said: “hey I think there’s something more.” We capitalized on what he’s in real life, with him being kind of spiritual and holistic and those sort of things.”

Last month, Jacobs spoke to the Irish Mirror in the UK. The conversation focussed on his time in WWE and his new role with Impact Wrestling

“Going to WWE and working there in the capacity that I did was a blessing,” Jacobs said. “It was great to be there, but that being said it’s great to not be working there anymore.”

“I spent so long on the independent wrestling scene, but sometimes it’s like the cliche goes ‘you don’t know what you have until it’s gone,'” he continued. “I’m very excited to be working in Impact Wrestling and using some of the things I picked up in my last job to help out here.”

Io Shirai Appears At WWE Event In Tokyo

WWE’s newest signee, Io Shirai, was on hand at the WWE live event in Tokyo this morning. She was officially unveiled as the newest addition to the roster. Shirai will be assigned to the NXT brand.

Shirai is a former 2x Wonder of Stardom champion. She has been voted as Tokyo Sports’ Joshi Puroresu Grand Prize winner (the equivalent of woman’s wrestler of the year award) the last 3 years in a row.

Shirai was rumored to be heading to WWE last year but failed medical evaluations prevented this from happening. It was reported in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that neck and heart problems caused WWE to back away from signing her. She continued to compete for Stardom the following year after not signing with WWE.

Pro Wrestling Illustrated ranked Shirai #6 in their female top-50 rankings in 2017.

Shirai confirmed her departure from Stardom back in late May with many speculating she would be headed to WWE.

Parts of Shirai’s blog in late May revealing her departure from Stardom were run through Google Translate.

“I’m going to leave Stardom with me aiming for a further leap of pro-wrestling life in the future.

The Korakuen Hall show on June 17 will be the last for Stardom.”

World of Stardom also Tweeted out the following facts about Shirai’s time with the promotion:

“Io Shirai’s done it all in Stardom.

World of Stardom champion twice, 1014 days.

Wonder of Stardom champion twice, 375 days.

Tag champion 407 days.

High Speed champion.

Artist of Stardom champion 6 times.

SWA champion.

5 Star Grand Prix champion.

Now she will show it to the world.”

Twin Sons of Hall Of Famer Receive WWE Tryouts

There are several brother tag-teams performing at a high-level in wrestling today. Last night, the Briscoe Brothers faced Matt and Nick Jackson for Ring of Honor. Jimmy and Jey Uso are one the best teams in the world. The Hardy Boyz have done fairly well for themselves as well throughout their lengthy careers.

While the Dudley Boyz don’t count as a real-life family combination, the 23-year-old twin sons of D-Von Dudley do. They both received tryouts at the WWE Performance Center recently.

The pair has wrestled both under their real names of Terrence and Terrell Hughes, as well as with the surname Dudley.

The Hughes brothers were among the 40 WWE hopefuls at the Performance Center this week. Former Impact Wrestling stars, Robbie E and Chelsea Green were also in attendance.

WWE.com had this to say regarding the brothers:

“Terrell & Terrence Hughes, the 23-year-old twin sons of WWE Hall of Famer D-Von Dudley. Both men played football in high school, and Terrell qualified for regional and state competition in wrestling. Their sports-entertainment training began in 2012 at the Dudleys’ Team 3D Academy, and the Hughes brothers have held tag team titles on the independent circuit under the name TNT.”

The brothers have wrestled 36 professional matches on the independent circuit. They have also won several tag team championships already in their short careers.

Their father, D-Von Dudley, retired from in-ring action in 2016. He continues to work with WWE in a producer role, usually for tag-team matches. D-Von and Bubba Ray have been inducted into both the Impact Wrestling and WWE Hall of Fames. D-Von also has two younger sons as well, born 6 and 13 years after Terrell and Terrence.

NXT Head Trainer, Matt Bloom, and Mark Henry presided over the tryouts.

Enzo Amore Opens Up About WWE Release, Final Days With Company

Former WWE Cruiserweight Champion and current rapper, Enzo Amore, has opened up further about his final days with WWE. Now going by the name @Real1, Enzo was a guest on the most recent episode of Steve Austin’s podcast.

One of the most controversial parts of Enzo’s WWE exit regards whether or not he informed WWE he was being investigated for a crime. Enzo is still claiming he did not know he was being investigated but did relay a story of his friend receiving an odd email from someone claiming to be an investigator.

“I got a buddy of mine who hit me up and said ‘hey man, my girlfriend got an email from a guy saying he was an investigator,” Enzo said. “Saying he was investigating a claim against a wrestler, never mentioned my name.”

Enzo then continued to say he called his lawyer who got in contact with the police department. The police told Enzo’s lawyer he was not being investigated or charged for anything. He then said the next he heard about it was when his accuser began posting on social media. Neither Enzo nor his friend’s girlfriend replied to the investigator’s email.

January 22nd, 2018 was the day the story began to leak. It was also the day of the Raw 25th Anniversary Special. Enzo was sent home that day and fired the next. He admitted he was wearing a t-shirt that said “Today is the Best Day of My Life, I Can’t Wait for Tomorrow” at the time. He also admitted that is kind of funny.

Enzo continued to say that when he left the Barclays Center that day he drove for 5 hours and recorded himself talking the whole time. He plans to release the footage someday.

Enzo said that when Vince McMahon told him to go home and wait to be called, he told Vince “I don’t deserve this, I’m a good person.”

When he was called the next day by WWE lawyers and told he was being fired, Enzo says he told them “It’s your loss, not mine.”

Enzo also spoke about his relationship with Liv Morgan. He said the pair remain friends despite having broken up a year and a half ago. Liv is even still roommates with Enzo’s friend. Previously, the three of them lived together in Orlando.

Evidently, Liv is not a great driver. Enzo relayed a story of how she damaged a car he gave her.

“I was leasing a Dodge Dart so I was broke bro, I didn’t have no damn money,” Enzo said. “So the Dodge Dart I called the Gionna Mobile because I gave it to my ex Liv Morgan, Gionna. She put dents, she didn’t know how to drive so she learned how to drive in that Dodge Dart. So we called it the Gionna Mobile, just chalked it up as an L bro.”

Big Cass Update: Reporter Alleges False Accusations Have Been Made

There has been no shortage of theories as to why exactly Big Cass was fired from WWE recently. A report from Sports Illustrated indicated Cass’ drinking on the most recent European tour was to blame but there’s been speculation this was not the only reason.

A report from Wrestlingnews.co claims to have insider information regarding the situation.

“We were told that he went up to her and, according to a well-placed source, caused a scene while asking her to forgive him, apparently in hopes for a reconciliation,” the website states in their report. “Carmella tried to walk off but he grabbed her arm and wrestlers in the area stepped in. We’re told that The Usos and Erick Rowan were the ones to get Cass to back away.”

Robbie Fox from BarStool Sports is claiming these are false accusations, however:

“I’ve been pretty silent about Big Cass’ release from the WWE because he’s a good friend of mine and it’s just an unfortunate situation all around that I’ve felt really bad about, but this report that it’s because of an “altercation with Carmella” is complete and utter bullshit.”

“There never was an altercation with Carmella, or Vic Joseph, or the Usos, or ANYONE, and it fucking sucks to see Cass getting dragged through the mud because of a report from one of the most notoriously inaccurate “journalists” in modern pro wrestling history.”

“It’s disappointing that none of the names involved in the report have come forward to dispel the rumor like I figured they would, but hey, I guess if it doesn’t make THEM look good it’s not worth it, right?”

More Details on WWE Blocking ROH From Running MSG

Last week, it was reported that the Ring of Honor was looking at booking Madison Square Garden for WrestleMania 35 weekend next April. A report from Pro Wrestling Insider then stated WWE had blocked them from booking the famous arena.

Chief Operating Officer for Ring of Honor, Joe Koff, spoke to PWI’s Mike Johnson.

“You know, I’m going to tell you Mike because you are asking. I’m not going to discuss beyond this statement because I am not going to litigate this in the press. We had a deal with (the) Garden and they then told us they were backing out after communications from the WWE. We are not able to get any other dates in any kind of discussion. I’m expecting that our lawyers will be contacting all the parties involved and the best we can hope for is that we can find resolution, and we can bring the kind of energy and excitement that ROH and our partner New Japan brings to a bigger audience and to bigger arenas to the fans of New York City.”

A recent report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter is now stating WWE was able to block ROH booking the building with just one phone call.

According to the Observer, ROH officials are furious about what happened and are looking at legal options:

"We were told last week by sources close to the situation that it could and probably would turn into an ugly legal fight." Dave Meltzer said.

Ring of Honor officials had been of the belief a deal had been struck, although the terms were agreed to orally and not in writing. MSG canceled the deal reportedly after one phone call from a high-ranking WWE employee (not Vince McMahon).

Sinclair believes a court would not uphold MSG’s cancellation of their agreement. This is the case despite the agreement never having been signed. There is also speculation that Madison Square Garden officials were looking for other wrestling promotions as WWE only runs house shows in the arena a few times a year. WWE does not generally broadcast television shows or PPVs from the arena due to the increased cost the venue charges for such rights. Some are saying MSG was upset the company will not be running WrestleMania from the arena despite being in the surrounding area.

AAA Lucha Libre has also expressed interesting in running MSG later this year.

WWE & Pro Wrestling NOAH Reach Deal To Share Hideo Itami

WWE has reportedly reached an agreement with Japanese promotion, Pro Wrestling NOAH, on a talent sharing deal. The agreement will see Hideo Itami return to the company he first made his name for.

According to the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter, WWE and NOAH reached a talent-sharing agreement at least as it concerns Itami. The wrestler formerly known as KENTA, will return to NOAH for a show in August.

Kenta Kobayashi, better known to WWE fans as Hideo Itami, has struggled to become relevant in WWE. He spent 13 years in Pro Wrestling NOAH previously, winning their Junior Heavyweight Championship on 3 occasions. Near the end of his career with NOAH, Itami would enter the heavyweight division and win the GHC Heavyweight Championship as well.  Itami signed with WWE in 2014 but injury woes caused him to lose momentum on the NXT roster.

The wrestlers Itami shared the roster with in NXT have all been on the main roster for some time now. Finn Balor, Shinsuke Nakamura, Tyler Breeze, and even the Ascension were some of the top names in NXT at the time.

Itami dropped his KENTA name when he debuted for NXT. Before his first match, he announced he would be going by the name Hideo Itami. The name translates to “Hero of Pain”.

Eventually, Itami’s lack of success led to a heel turn. In 2017, he was moved to the cruiserweight division on 205 Live. On Tuesday night, Itami moved closer to his first shot at the Cruiserweight Championship by defeating Buddy Murphy and Mustafa Ali in a 3-way match. The win likely moves Itami into a position to be the next to challenge Cedric Alexander for the title.

WWE will run two shows from Tokyo on June 29th and 30th next week. Shinsuke Nakamura will challenge for the WWE Championship each night.

More Details On Big Cass’ Release From WWE

Yesterday, WWE announced they had parted ways with Smackdown talent, Big Cass. The announcement was made just hours before Smackdown went to air from Toledo, OH last night.

Also of note regarding Cass’ release is that it did not come with the normal wishing well in his future endeavors statement. WWE also chose not to wish Enzo Amore well on his future endeavors when he was released either. All other recently released WWE Superstars, including Austin Aries, Rich Swann, Darren Young, Emma, and Summer Rae were wished well by the company.

Sports Illustrated is reporting that multiple sources have told them that Cass’ drinking on the most recent European tour was an issue. Evidently, Cass was intoxicated often and in public during the tour. His attitude while drinking was also said to be an issue. According to SI’s Justin Barrasso, company officials were happy with Cass’ match at Money in the Bank and were surprised at his release, his attitude problems notwithstanding.

Cass was no stranger to heat while he was with WWE. There had been reports not long after he was brought up to the main roster with Enzo that Cass could be obnoxious in his political views, namely those regarding Donald Trump. Last month, Cass also upset officials when he reportedly went off-script during a segment. Cass’ character was involved in a scene with a little person dressed up as Daniel Bryan. Even though he was told not to go overboard with his beating of the little person, Cass did exactly that.

William Morrissey was signed to WWE in 2011 after being trained by Hall of Famer, Johnny Rodz. Prior to his signing, Cass played basketball for New York University. Despite being with the company for 7 years, Cass never won a title in either NXT or the main roster.

Meiko Satomura Likely Added To Mae Young Classic

Tokyo Sports is reporting that longtime Joshi veteran, Meiko Satomura, will be taking part in the second Mae Young Classic. The 38-year-old is a former World of Stardom champion and 1/3 of the Chikara Trios champions.

In 2005, Satomura co-founded the all-woman promotion, Sendai Girls. She also worked with WCW in the mid-90s on their short-lived women’s division which was to feature the likes of Bull Nakano and Madusa.

She helped create Sendai Girls after a previous female promotion, Gaea Japan, went out of business. Satomura wrestled in the final match ever held by the promotion before founding a new company the next year. She is the current Fight Club Pro champion. Satomura is also the last person to win the Joshi Puroresu Grand Prize award before Io Shirai began her sweep of the award. Satomura was given the award in 2013 and Shirai has swept every year since. That will change in 2018, however, as Shirai has spent the year with NXT.

Satomura defeated Kairi Hojo (Kairi Sane) for the World of Stardom Championship on July 26th, 2015. She held the title for 150 days before losing it to Io Shirai, who would then hold the title for 546 consecutive days. The most recent title change in the promotion saw Toni Storm drop the belt to Kagetsu on June 9th in Nagoya. Storm is recently believed to have signed a WWE UK deal and could likely end up in the second Mae Young Classic as well.

Last year, the tournament taped over a couple of days in July. They then aired the finale live in September. This year, it is believed they are looking at filming the tournament in August. This has not been confirmed, however. Full Sail University is expected to host the tournament again this year.

Chris Jericho Says He Turned Down All In, New Japan’s US Shows

Chris Jericho recently reiterated that he will never work for another wrestling company in the United States other than WWE. It’s a statement Jericho has been making ever since taking a sabbatical from wrestling in 2006.

The new IWGP Intercontinental Champion was a guest on a recent episode of “Inside the Ropes.” He went into further detail regarding his current situation with both NJPW and WWE.

“I got asked to do Long Beach, I said no, I got asked to do Cow Palace, I said no, I got asked to do All In, I said no,” Jericho explained. “I don’t want to do that.”

“(This) is the most I’ve made for the least amount of matches I’ve had in my career,” Jericho said regarding his current situation with New Japan Pro Wrestling. He then stressed he would not be entertaining offers from promotions other than WWE to wrestle in the United States unless they were willing to offer a significant payday.

“I’m not going to work anywhere else unless you wanna pay six f***ing  figures,” he said. “This is Mayweather-McGregor type s**t for me.”

During the interview, Jericho talked about the commitment he made to Vince McMahon and WWE.

“The unwritten rule is I don’t want to go into the States,” Jericho said. “I feel like that would be a real slap in the face to Vince.”

While Jericho seems committed to living up to his promise, one has to wonder how long he can avoid being booked on NJPW’s United States shows. As the company looks to expand internationally, Jericho is a star the company likely wants to promote outside of Japan.

As for Jericho’s relationship with WWE, the last time he appeared on WWE programming was at the Greatest Royal Rumble from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Ric Flair Says Ronda Rousey Only Signed A 1-Year Contract

According to the 16x World Champion, Ric Flair, WWE’s hottest mainstream celebrity is only signed on through next year’s WrestleMania. Flair’s understanding of the situation is that Rousey is only on a short-term commitment deal as she plans on starting a family.

Flair made the comments during an interview with Chris Van Vliet.

During the interview, the topic turned to Charlotte Flair possibly facing Ronda Rousey at WrestleMania 35 next year. It’s possible Charlotte and Ronda will be the first women to headline a WrestleMania.

Flair seemed to suggest Charlotte vs Ronda will need to happen next year as Ronda is only signed to a 1-year deal with the company.

“If they are ever going to put the women where they belong, this is the year because Ronda – I think Ronda only signed a 1-year deal and then she’s out of there,” Flair said. “She wants to have kids and all that.”

Flair and Hogan have been making promotional appearances together for several months. Since his health scare last year, Flair has been one of Hogan’s biggest proponents, stating the Hulkster has been there for him during some very tough periods in his life. Flair has been advocating for a return to WWE for Hogan as well.

The interviewer then turned his attention to Hogan. He asked the Hulkster how things were going in terms of an eventual return to WWE.

“Things are moving in that direction quite quickly,” Hogan said. “It’s all about execution and timing.”

Tessa Blanchard Talks Impact Wrestling and Not Signing With WWE

In the short time since she has been with Impact Wrestling, Tessa Blanchard is undefeated and could move into the Knockouts title picture shortly. The 22-year-old has competed in WWE and Stardom and is quickly becoming one of the most recognizable faces on Impact’s roster.

Blanchard recently took part in an interview on Busted Open Radio. She talked about the mood backstage in Impact Wrestling as well as details surrounding her 2014 WWE tryout:

“After my WWE tryout in 2014, I was like ‘alright, I’m getting signed, I’m going to be there, I’m ready, let’s do this’, Blanchard said in regards to her relationship with WWE. “Then when it didn’t happen, I was heartbroken. I honestly think it’s cause God had a plan for me. If I would have gone and they would have signed me, I don’t think I would have had the life experiences or the experiences in wrestling.”

“I wouldn’t be the wrestler I am today,” she continued.

The daughter of Tully Blanchard and step-daughter of Magnum TA also had this to say regarding the Impact Wrestling roster and mood backstage:

“At first I was a little nervous,” Blanchard said. “I didn’t really know what to expect. TV style is very new to me still. But the locker room and everyone has been so welcoming there and it’s just a very good environment there. Everyone wants the best for each other. I haven’t run into any problems where it’s like people talking about other people or saying one thing and turning around and saying a different thing. It feels just like good vibes there, like good energy. Everyone really, really wants the best for each other.”

Blanchard also credited Gail Kim, Petey Williams, and Jimmy Jacobs as creative minds backstage in Impact. She will take on Madison Rayne this Thursday on Impact’s branded episode “Under Pressure”.

Io Shirai Headed To WWE

According to Japanese media outlet, Tokyo Sports, Io Shirai is headed to WWE.

There had been reports last year that Shirai was WWE bound as well but the 27-year-old’s offer was rescinded after she failed a company medical. Shirai was found to have an injured neck and ended up returning to Stardom.

It appears WWE once again has a contract offer on the table for Shirai. It’s not clear if WWE has taken a second look at her medical records or not at this point, however.

Tokyo Sports is reporting that Shirai’s last match for Stardom will be June 23rd, 2018. The media outlet notes that Stardom’s advertising for their July shows does not feature a picture of Shirai.

Shirai lost her “Wonder of Stardom” championship last week, spurring rumors she was leaving the company. Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter reported the title change had always been in the works, however, and likely had nothing to do with Shirai leaving. The Observer also reported that WWE has made offers to several other talents from Stardom likely for the upcoming Mae Young Class tournament this summer. Stardom’s Toni Storm also recently signed with WWE as part of the UK division.

Shirai is one of the most talented and respected female athletes in all of Japan. She has won Tokyo Sports’ “Joshi Puroresu Grand Prize” award a record 3 straight times. Pro Wrestling Illustrated ranked her #6 in their Top-50 countdown of female wrestlers in 2017.

Cody Left WWE 2 Years Ago, Here’s What’s Happened Since

Cody Runnells was granted his release from WWE on May 22nd, 2016. A lot has happened since that time. It was believed then that Cody was frustrated with WWE’s creative department. He had been pleading with writers to end the Stardust gimmick for months and felt his numerous storyline pitches were being ignored.

Shortly after Cody was released, several members of the media chimed in with their belief WWE never gave Cody a chance.

“I can’t say I blame him a bit. Not even a little bit. WWE never gave him a real chance, and that’s just sad to me,” Dave Scherer of Pro Wrestling Insider stated.

Dave Meltzer noted at the time that Cody was “used as more of a lower and mid-card wrestler in a number of changing roles”, and also added that “his career had gone nowhere and he hadn’t been used well.”

Cody’s frustration would continue shortly after leaving the company when it was revealed WWE would be preventing him from using the last name “Rhodes”. Although he had never used the name outside of WWE, Cody protested against the patenting of a name his father made famous and that was associated so strongly with his family.

Cody debuted in Ring of Honor at the Final Battle PPV that December. He promptly turned heel during his match with Jay Lethal at the event. Cody then signed a deal to make Ring of Honor is home promotion but a few months later the deal would be re-worked.

On December 10th, 2016, Cody was shown in a video package which aired during NJPW’s World Tag League. Cody was announced as the newest member of Bullet Club.

Cody won the ROH World Title at Best in the World 2017. He defeated Christopher Daniels after being involved in a 3-way feud for the title which also involved Jay Lethal.

He defended the title 14x and held it for 175 days before dropping it to Dalton Castle at Final Battle 2017. Cody has only recently announced he plans to cash-in his rematch clause later this summer.

That September, Cody reacted negatively to news WWE would be running an event named Starrcade:

Michael Hayes then offered Cody a spot on the show:

Just days after Hayes’ offer to appear on a WWE show, Cody and ROH announced he had signed a multi-year exclusive deal with the company.

Tension began to mount between Cody and Kenny Omega over the leadership of Bullet Club in 2017. This played out mainly on the YouTube series “Being the Elite” as well as on NJPW and ROH shows.

In 2018, the long-teased rivalry between Omega and Cody kicked off. Cody turned on Omega at the New Beginning in Sapporo after Omega lost his IWGP US title to Jay White. The split in Bullet Club would lead to a Young Bucks vs Golden Lovers match at Strong Style Evolved and a match between Cody and Omega at ROH’s biggest show of the year.

Cody would defeat Omega and recently defeated Kota Ibushi at Wrestling Dontaku 2018. There has been tension teased between Marty Scurll and Cody recently as well which could turn into a storyline soon. His feud with Omega appears to be on the backburner as Omega prepares to face Kazuchika Okada on June 9th, 2018.

Not long after leaving WWE, Cody tweeted a list of goals he was setting for himself. One goal he has mentioned repeatedly in the last 2 years is to main event a show in a 10,000 seat arena.

The All In event organized by the Young Bucks and Cody sold out the Sears Center in Chicago just minutes after going on sale. Cody will challenge for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship at the event.

It’s been an eventful 2 years for Cody, ROH, NJPW and Bullet Club and it’s possible we haven’t even seen the full extent of what Cody can do outside WWE.

Mike Kanellis Comments On Birth of Child, Getting Sober

The last year has been an eventful one for Mike Bennett, aka Mike Kanellis. He recently celebrated the birth of his first child along with his wife, Maria. The 32-year-old has also been open about his recent battles with pain medication, however.

The former IWGP heavyweight tag-team champion recently posted the following message to his social media channels:

"Less than a year ago, my days were spent sitting on this couch, taking pain killers, and watching everything I loved slip away. Now, almost 10 months sober, this is how I spend my days. Life doesn’t offer 2nd chances very often, but I feel like it has offered me one. And I plan on making the most of it. This little girl deserves that! #sobriety #daddysgirl #daddyslittlegirl #princessfred #familytime #wwe"

Mike Bennett and Maria Kanellis signed with WWE in 2017 and debuted at the Money in the Bank PPV that summer. Previously, Bennett and Kanellis had a brief stint in Impact Wrestling. Bennett won the X-Division championship during this time.

Bennett wrestled for several years in Ring of Honor, even winning the top prospects tournament in 2011. He would form a successful team with Matt Taven and win titles in both ROH and New Japan Pro Wrestling. Bennett and Taven were involved in a memorable feud over the tag titles with Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows when Anderson seemed to fall hopelessly in love with Maria. Anderson’s infatuation with Maria allowed Taven and Bennett to defeat them for the belts.

Since debuting in WWE, Bennett has taken Maria’s last name.

At last week’s Greatest Royal Rumble, Bennett was eliminated in near-record setting fashion. While he didn’t last long in the actual match, he did get a few laughs for his entrance. Bennett opted to mime his normal entrance with Maria even though Maria was not there.

Danny Burch Signs Full-Time WWE Contract

Martin Stone, better known to NXT fans as Danny Burch, has signed a full-time contract with WWE. He lost his last match for Beyond Wrestling over the weekend to Josh Briggs.

Burch had previously been signed to WWE from 2011 to 2014. He was used primarily as enhancement talent on NXT. Burch was released from his WWE contract in 2014 but would be back with the company the following year. He would wrestle as enhancement talent for another 3 years in NXT before reportedly signing a full-time WWE contract yesterday.

One possible reason WWE has re-signed Burch to an exclusive deal is the upcoming World of Sport television tapings planned for mid-May. If Burch was a free agent, he would be free to wrestle on the World of Sport television tapings. While Burch is likely available for non-WWE shows in Europe provided they are not televised, his new deal likely prevents him from appearing for World of Sport.

Burch has wrestled 25 WWE televised matches in his career. Aside from his loss in the opening round of the United Kingdom Championship tournament, all of Burch’s televised matches have taken place on NXT. He currently has a 1-24 record. His one win came against his frequent tag-team partner, Oney Lorcan. Most recently, Burch and Oney were eliminated by Pete Dunne and Roderick Strong in the 1st round of the 2018 Dusty Rhodes Classic.

In 2014, Burch competed on the TNA British Bootcamp show. While he was successful on the show, he would not earn a spot on the Impact Wrestling roster through the show. The wrestler now known as Tanga Loa was victorious on the One Night Only: Gut Check PPV and earned a spot on an episode of Impact as a result.

Burch made his pro-wrestling debut in 2003 after having been trained by the Dropkixx Academy as well as the Frontier Wrestling Alliance.