Nikki Bella Is Excited To Hear Vader Tell Stories At WWE Hall Of Fame

WWE Hall of Famers The Bella Twins, Nikki and Brie Bella, took to their YouTube Channel earlier today and gave an update about their WrestleMania 38 status.

According to Nikki, the duo is definitely going to be in Dallas this weekend and they are especially looking forward to the Hall of Fame ceremony.

“So yeah, actually we will be in Dallas because Brie and I will definitely be attending the Hall of Fame this year, which is right after SmackDown on Friday. When The Undertaker is getting inducted, you definitely show up. So, I’m so excited to see The Undertaker to get inducted, to be there in person for it.

“We actually get the opportunity to be there in person. I love that Vince McMahon is inducting him. I just can’t wait to hear the speeches, but it’s the Undertaker so I feel like it’s going to have some really cool production to it.

“Sharmell, congratulations! I am so proud that you are going to be in the WWE Hall of Fame, that is so amazing. Always have loved everything that she’s done. And to think Booker is going to be the one to induct her? Wow, what a night to be a married couple.”

Nikki Bella also took the time to express her excitement for Vader being inducted into this year’s Hall of Fame. It’s important to note that though she says she is excited for Vader to be at The Hall of Fame to tell stories from his career, Vader won’t personally be at the ceremony as he passed away in 2018 at the age of 63.

“And I’m also so excited that the WWE Universe will be welcoming Vader into the Hall of Fame. I always get excited for men of that generation to come to the Hall of Fame because they have the most incredible stories we’ve never heard,” she said. “And I always love when those men take the stage, and the women, and from that era of wrestling that was so iconic and so historic. So I’m really excited for Vader to be inducted into the Hall of Fame and just to have his presence there and hear his speeches.”

Nikki even teases toward the end of the video that The Bellas may even get into a bit of action at this year’s WrestleMania. After making their in-ring return at The Royal Rumble this year, it would be interesting to see if the duo has a longer run in the works.

“As far as action that weekend, well, the world of WWE, things change every day so just keep tuning in for that. And of course, I think we’ll be meeting a lot of you whether it’s virtually, or on panels, you will see Brie and I at some point in Dallas.”

Source: Wrestling Inc. with credit to The Bella Twins YouTube Channel 

WWE NXT Preview 3/29/22

The Stand & Deliver go-home edition of WWE NXT 2.0 will air live tonight from the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida with the final build for Saturday’s big event in Dallas, Texas.

Tony Khan And MJF Reportedly Clash Following Audacious Interview

Tony Khan was reportedly unhappy with MJF following the latter’s interview with Ariel Helwani.

AEW’s locker room may not be as harmonious as it seems on the surface.

According to a recent Fightful Select report, AEW president Tony Khan got into a “heated argument” with MJF following the latter’s controversial conversation with Ariel Helwani on The Ariel Helwani Show last week. TK reportedly chastised one of his company’s most exciting young stars for failing to obtain permission from AEW’s media department before participating in the interview.

During his aforementioned appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show, MJF opened up about his AEW contract status. When asked if he would consider signing an extension to his current AEW deal MJF said there was “no chance” of that happening. He then specified that it would have to be “an absolutely astronomical number” and even then he likely wouldn’t sign because he wants to test the market.

Per Fightful, AEW sources said there would not have been an issue with the content of the MJF/Helwani interview if the wrestler has gone through the proper channels prior to the interview taking place.

In the same interview, MJF complimented WWE’s revamped developmental program NXT 2.0. “There’s so many charisma machines on that program. There is. I don’t know why you’re laughing,” MJF gushed as Helwani chuckled at his suspiciously excessive praise. “They had a make out competition this past Tuesday. Gripping television.”

UPDATE:

In an update from Dave Meltzer of The Wrestling Observer, the issues that arose between Khan and MJF “are now said to be settled.”

Meltzer noted that although the story is true, “there was no fight” or physical altercation between MJF and Khan.

During the interview, MJF confirmed that his AEW contract expires on January 1, 2024, and admitted that he’s not afraid to “stir the pot” until then.

“So when you’re as talented, as over, and as much of a draw as me, if I want to I can bite off Tony Khan’s fingers. He knows where his bread is buttered,” MJF said. “And if that offends somebody in the locker room, which I know it does, oh well, cry about it. Get more over than me. Oh wait, that’s right, you can’t. Because I’m literally the best talker in the business, and one of the best wrestlers in the history of the business bell to bell.”

MJF emphasized that he’d end up “wherever the money is” after his AEW contract expires in 2024.

Sources: TheSportster and Wrestling Inc.

WWE RAW Preview 3/28/2022

The WrestleMania 38 go-home edition of WWE RAW will air live tonight from the PPG Paints Arena from Pittsburgh, PA.

The Steiner Brothers Are Going Into The WWE Hall Of Fame

It’s officially WrestleMania week and WWE will kick things off with the go-home Raw a few hours from now. Later in the week we’ll have SmackDown, Stand & Deliver, and, of course, WrestleMania. There will also be the Hall Of Fame ceremony on Friday night during which a number of former WWE Superstars will be honored and added to WWE’s Hall, including The Undertaker and Vader.

This year’s class is smaller than usual, and it seems the final inductees into the 2022 class have now been revealed, and they might be the most surprising so far. As first revealed David Shoemaker via The Ringer, and confirmed shortly after by WWE, iconic WCW tag team The Steiner Brothers will become WWE Hall Of Famers this Friday, presumably rounding out the 2022 class.

https://twitter.com/WWE/status/1508447252280401927

The Steiners are widely regarded as one of the best tag teams of all time by many wrestling fans. The two competed together in WWE during the early ’90s, winning tag team gold twice. However, it was under WCW’s banner that Rick and Scott arguably did their best work. The brothers won the promotion’s Tag Team Championships seven times and the US Tag Titles once, really cementing their legacy in WCW.

That Rick and Scott will be Hall Of Famers by the end of this week is further evidence that no bridge between WWE and a former Superstar is ever burned for good. After a tainted run as a singles star in WWE 20 years ago, Scott Steiner has had nothing but bad things to say about the company ever since. Big Poppa Pump even described the HOF as a joke that only exists in Vince McMahon’s mind once. Clearly, he has had a change of heart.

Perhaps the change of heart has been inspired by the success of Bron Breakker. Rick Steiner’s son has rocketed to NXT fame over the past six months, winning and then losing the brand’s top prize in that time. Rick even celebrated with his son after the cameras were off when Breakker won the title. It will be fun to hear what they have to say when they’re inducted later this week.

Source: TheSportster

From WWE.com:

The Steiner Brothers will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame’s Class of 2022. As first announced by David Shoemaker on TheRinger.com, Rick & Scott Steiner will be enshrined in the hallowed hall during the 2022 WWE Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony as part of WrestleMania Week.

The WWE Hall of Fame at a ceremony will take place this Friday, April 1 at American Airlines Center in Dallas as part of WrestleMania Week.  The event will stream live exclusively on Peacock in the U.S. and WWE Network everywhere else.  In addition, for the first time in history, WWE will present both Friday Night SmackDown and the 2022 WWE Hall of Fame Ceremony live on the same night at American Airlines Center, giving all fans in attendance an unprecedented opportunity to witness both events for one price. Tickets for the special 2-for-1 SmackDown + Hall of Fame are now available via Ticketmaster.

The most successful of tag teams must be completely in synch and possess an ability to almost read each other’s thoughts. Arguable no one can find that level of connection better than family. Enter celebrated University of Michigan alumni Rick Steiner and Scott Steiner, sibling competitors who donned on the headgear (and/or mullet) and introduced an innovative in-ring style that helped them fight their way to the top of the mountain.

The Steiner Brothers first joined forces in 1989 and grew to become the face of tag team excellence as one of sports-entertainment’s most celebrated tag teams. Together, Rick and Scott lit up NWA Mid-Atlantic and NWA/WCW where they used their impressive mix of amateur and professional wrestling to capture the WCW Tag Team Titles seven times and the United States Tag Team Titles once. Their success was not entirely limited to the Atlanta-based organization, however. During their brief time in WWE in the early ’90s, the pair quickly made history by appearing on the first episode of Monday Night Raw in 1993, battling The Headshrinkers on The Grandest Stage of Them All at WrestleMania IX and winning the WWE Tag Team Championship twice. Following a short tenure with ECW in 1995, The Steiners then returned to WCW in 1996 and their impact was undeniable as they battled elite opposition like Harlem Heat and The Outsiders for the WCW Tag Team Titles.

Don’t miss when The Steiners take their place in sports-entertainment history during the 2022 WWE Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony this Friday, streaming live exclusively on Peacock in the U.S. and WWE Network everywhere else.

AEW Rampage Preview 3/25/22

Tonight’s AEW Rampage was taped earlier this week from the HEB Center in Cedar Park, Texas and will air on TNT at 10/9C.

Dustin Rhodes vs. Lance Archer
Alan “5” Angels & 10 vs. reDRagon
Nyla Rose In Action
QT Marshall Certificate of Accomplishment to Hook
FTW Championship Match: Ricky Starks (c) vs. Swerve Stricklan

WWE NXT Level Up Preview 3/25/22

Tonight’s WWE NXT Level Up was taped at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida and will be streaming at 10/9 C on Peacock in the United States and on WWE Network everywhere else!

Jacket Time clash with Enofé and Blade on NXT Level Up

Quincy Elliott making his debut against Joe Gacy

Kiana James colliding with Ivy Nile

Triple H Announces Retirement From In-Ring Competition

Triple H announced his retirement from in-ring competition on ESPN during an appearance on the show First Take with Stephen A. Smith.

The full interview will then be released via Stephen A’s World on ESPN+ later tonight.

https://twitter.com/WWE/status/1507386044660035585

As we’ve noted, Triple H suffered what was said to be a very serious cardiac event last fall, and has been away from the job since then. WWE announced on September 8 that he underwent successful heart surgery the week before that at Yale New Haven Hospital in New Haven, CT.

It was stated that the operation was needed after Triple H suffered the cardiac event, caused by a genetic heart issue. WWE’s statement noted how Triple H was expected to make a full recovery, and since then it’s been reported that he is doing well.

He has done some WWE work in recent months, but he still has not returned to the daily workload that he had before.

During an appearance on First Take earlier today (via Fightful), Triple H spoke about his health issues, noting that he almost died and now has a defibrillator in his chest. He added that he is now retired from in-ring action and can never wrestle again. Here are highlights:

On the heart issues that almost killed him: “From the viral pneumonia, I had fluid in my lungs, fluid around my heart. They followed up on it, did an EKG. Basically, the way your heart pumps out, it’s 55 to 65 percent of your injection fracture is a good number. I was at 30 (percent). I had a quick text message saying, ‘don’t take time, pack a bag, we’ll head to the emergency room. I’ll fill you in on the way.’ By the time I got to the emergency room, my ejection fracture had gone down to 22 (percent). I was in heart failure. Bad. By the next morning, as they figured that out in the evening, the next morning as I was setting in to get an MRI done and about to go in for a heart cap, my ejection fracture was down to 12 (percent). I was nose diving and at the one-yard line of where you don’t want to be. For your family and your future, when they tell you it’s 99%, it gets real. We have three young girls; 15, 13, and 11 (years old). Suddenly, I come home and I’m a little bit sick, and their dad, who is strong, always, suddenly is in the hospital. I don’t know if they understood the consequences of it, but there are moments in there when they are putting you out for stuff and you think, ‘is this it? Do you wake up again?’ That’s tough to swallow. It makes you think differently about life. It doesn’t make you any less driven with the things you do, but it certainly makes you appreciate the things you have; your friends and your family.”

On his status as a wrestler: “For me, as far as in-ring, I’m done. I will never wrestle again. I have a defibrillator in my chest, which it’s not a good idea for me zapped on live TV.”

Triple H’s final match as a wrestler was teaming with Shinsuke Nakamura to defeat Samoa Joe and Robert Roode at a live event in Tokyo, Japan in June 2019.

WWE SmackDown Preview 3/25/22

The Road to WrestleMania 38 will continue tonight with the final SmackDown on FOX episode before next week’s special go-home show. SmackDown will air live from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York City tonight.

WWE has not officially announced Ronda Rousey for a segment on tonight’s show but she is being advertised locally and by the WWE Events website.

Backstage News On How WWE May Present Cody Rhodes

Two high-profile people within WWE want Cody Rhodes to be presented in the exact same manner to his AEW character when he debuts with the company.

According to WrestleVotes, these two individuals have been adamant to Vince McMahon that this should happen, including his entire presentation.

This ranges from his ring gear, theme music, and pyro. They believe that the visual impact of having the ‘American Nightmare’ crossing the line from AEW to WWE is significant to this deal. Of course, while it has been reported that Cody Rhodes is returning to WWE, nothing has been made official yet.

https://twitter.com/WrestleVotes/status/1507339115674497028

Since Cody Rhodes’ AEW contract came to an end, he has not been seen inside a wrestling ring. The former three-time TNT Champion is believed to be facing Seth Rollins at WrestleMania 38 this year.

Rollins is currently without an opponent at WrestleMania and this turned into a major storyline on Raw over the past few weeks. Rollins has claimed in storyline that Raw will not start next week until he gets an opponent. It is unknown if this is when Cody will be turning up, or if his debut will be saved for WrestleMania.

During a recent episode of Talk Is Jericho, Chris Jericho seemed to confirm that Cody is heading back to WWE. During the introduction of his podcast episode, he claimed that he is now back with the company.

“I’m pulling back the curtain a little bit on the wrestling business,” Jericho said. “You’re gonna discover how I’ve been able to be Chris Jericho no matter what company I work for or where I wrestle. You’ll hear how Danhausen gets to keep his name and gimmick from promotion to promotion. How Cody got to reclaim Rhodes from WWE even though he’s back in WWE…”

Source: Wrestling Inc.