If any of the quotes from the following podcasts or video interviews are used, please credit those sources and provide an H/T and link back to POST Wrestling for the transcriptions.
** Kiera Hogan and Tasha Steelz were guests on the Talk’n Shop podcast with Karl Anderson and Rocky Romero. Steelz and Hogan were asked about their contract statuses with IMPACT Wrestling and Tasha shared that she’s signed for two years and Kiera’s contract is up in July of 2021.
Tasha Steelz: “I have another two years.”
Kiera Hogan: “Mine will be up in July.”
Elsewhere during the interview, Karl Anderson talked about initially being pitched the idea of working with Doc Gallows. It came at a time when Anderson was working as a singles talent in New Japan Pro-Wrestling and initially, he was not keen on the idea.
“So let me explain something. So I was getting a big ass push in New Japan Pro-Wrestling as a singles brother. I mean I was getting some hot stuff. I’m talking about pay-per-view main events in front of like 8,000, 10,000 people. I just thought about this one in Hiroshima where I had this bad ass main event with [Hiroshi] Tanahashi, and it was hot. I was getting a big ass singles push in New Japan. All of a sudden, they show me a video of [Doc] Gallows. I said, ‘Yeah, sh*t, he’s good. We should book him’ because I don’t wanna hamstring anybody. If somebody’s good, let’s do it, and the Japanese booker looks at me and goes, ‘Yeah, looks kinda like you but taller. Maybe good tag team?’ I was like, ‘Hold on a second, the f*ck? Nah f*ck that. F*ck that and f*ck him. No, no, no, no. I don’t need that. I’m doing good. I don’t need that motherf*cker.’”
** Longtime WWE commentator Michael Cole chatted with James Delow on the Gorilla Position podcast. Cole has spent 24 years in the WWE as a commentator and he’s hoping to make it to 25 years. As far as how much longer he wants to continue working his current on-screen position, he says he plans to for at least a few more years.
“That’s the one thing. I’ve been able to evolve over the years and just stay steady and listen, I wanna do this, at least for a few more years. I’d love to make it to 25 years on the air in the company. I think that would be tremendous, and I think it would be something that has never been done before and I still have a love for what I do and until that goes away, you’re gonna be stuck with me. For better or for worse.”
Cole talked about Vince McMahon being active in commentator’s headsets during shows. He feels that some of that is overblown by individuals that were not happy with their respective performances behind the desk. Overall, Cole says it’s Vince’s company and he can do what he pleases.
“You know, it’s so funny how this myth has taken on a life of its own, over the past two decades. Listen, Vince [McMahon] runs the company. He’s the boss, he’s the chairman. He turned a small regional wrestling promotion into a multi-billion-dollar conglomerate. It is his sandbox. He can do with it whatever he wants. I’m his lead play-by-play guy, he gives me a lot of leeway, he allows me to do a lot of things because he believes in me after so many years. But he’s the boss and just like any producer on any television show, he’s going to tell me what he wants. I may not agree with that direction a lot of the times, but I have to do it. He’s my boss. Yes, he’s very active in your ears certain weeks. WrestleMania season, he is very, very active. But, I’ve got a great relationship with Vince. He believes in me or else I wouldn’t have been here for as long as I have. I think a lot of that stuff, the Vince screaming and yelling in your ear gets really blown out of proportion. I think there are a few people that, you know, say that because they wanna try and save face because they weren’t successful in what they did. But hey, he’s emotional just like all of us are when it comes to this product. He’s so close to it. It’s his family, it’s blood and he wants what he wants. Certain days, you’re going to draw the ire of the man and other days, he’s going to tell you that you’re the greatest thing in the world and that’s just the way that Vince is and I wouldn’t trade my working with Vince and what he’s meant to my family, my career for anything.”
The topic of The Undertaker came up and Cole mentioned Undertaker’s feud with Batista and how much that feud enhanced the career of the former multi-time world champion Batista.
“The other thing that I think about [regarding] Undertaker is what he did for the career of Batista. If you go back and look at the trilogy of pay-per-view matches that he had with Batista, they were incredible and that was the moment that saw Batista turn the corner, where people started to believe, ‘Oh my God, this guy is actually a really good in-ring performer. He’s not just this muscle-buff guy who can’t wrestle’ and Undertaker, that rivalry and the trilogy of matches they had, to me is some of the greatest work in the career of The Undertaker and probably the favorite matches that I’ve ever really called right here in this company.”
** Daily Mail ran a story about a 19-year old pro wrestler named Cameron Wellington passing away after testing positive for COVID. Cameron was a resident of Birmingham, England. His mother rushed him to Walsall Manor Hospital because of his rapidly declining breathing. After he was brought to the medical staff, his oxygen levels plummeted and he wasn’t expected to last an hour. He was placed in the I.T.U. and he fought and was soon rushed to another hospital for specialist care. Surgeons operated on his heart but Cameron unfortunately passed away less than two days after testing positive for the virus.
** Chris Jericho was a guest on the Keepin It 100 with Konnan podcast. Jericho was asked if there were some things he wishes he could change in AEW or if everything was smooth. Jericho stated that there are some small details that slip through the cracks and he further elaborated on that comment:
“Well I mean everything isn’t always good. We have a lot of — sometimes details slip through the cracks. We still have quite a few times — not quite a few but you have times when very similar angles would happen one after another. Example of that was a few weeks ago when the big question was, ‘Will MJF join The Inner Circle?’ We had this big, long thing about whether if MJF is gonna join and I think it was a Town Hall. That’s where [Eric] Bischoff was there asking the question, ‘Is he gonna join?’ And as soon as we were done, went to a package where Taz is asking Will Hobbs if he’s gonna join Taz’s team and I was like, in the production meeting I was like, ‘Guys, how can that even be? It is the exact same thing.’ [They] said, ‘We never noticed that.’ It’s like well, maybe we should move that package somewhere else and in the future, let’s not use the word ‘join’ for Will and Taz. ‘Are you going to come with us? Are you going to work with us? Are you going to be a part of our team?’ ‘Will MJF not join The Inner Circle’ was the tagline for our pay-per-view match. Therefore, any other joining’s should be suspended for this duration and that’s just common sense but sometimes those things kinda fall through the cracks so I would like to see a little bit more of a detail guy or a little bit more attention to those sort of details.”
While discussing projects outside of pro wrestling, Jericho shared that he was once offered a role in a Tyler Perry movie and was supposed to be play an irritating neighbor.
“There was a big Tyler Perry movie that I got an offer for a few years ago, where I had something else. I just could not make it work. Does he have a Halloween movie? Like Madea’s Hallow Scream? I was supposed to be like the crotchety neighbor or something in that one.”
** Miro uploaded a clip from his Twitch stream to his YouTube channel and he discussed being in Orlando in support of Lana for her participation in the Survivor Series pay-per-view. Miro joked that he wasn’t going backstage because they know he’d give away all the finishes.
“Oh no, I’m not going anywhere near the arena. Don’t worry, don’t worry. They know I’m gonna stooge off all the finishes. No, no, I’m not going backstage or [to] the crowd. I’ll be in the hotel. I don’t have to go there. I am a supportive husband from here.”
Continuing on the topic of Lana and Survivor Series, Miro said that WWE cancelled his WWE Network account so he uses Lana’s to watch events.
“I don’t know what the free WWE Network version is. They stopped my account so I’m using my wife’s. But what? I’m not gonna pay ten dollars. So I take her account and watch hers. Thank you WWE,” Miro laughed.
** Zachary Wentz of The Rascalz was the latest guest on Tommy Dreamer’s ‘House Of Hardcore’ podcast. Dreamer told Wentz that he pitched for him to win the IMPACT World Championship in the tournament that was set up to crown a new champion after Tessa Blanchard’s departure from the company.
“We were like, ‘Okay, does Zach –’ the TVs after, it’s, ‘Does Zach go forward?’ If you remember, we shot two different finishes because you sold an entire company on, ‘Wow, this guy could actually be a player. Either be the champion or be the number one contender.’ I had pitched that you win the title on a complete fluke, slash — well you weren’t in the tournament. You did it for your friend and Ace Austin has a beef against you, you then win the title and it’s funny, like kind of Jeff Hardy-esque where I saw that in you, and it’s then Trey [Miguel] has a gripe against his friend and then also Dez [Xavier] can be like, ‘Yo dude, what about the tag? Hey, I wanna be –’ and it was just that one single performance where it was just, you blew everybody away, and it was just like you were given the ball, and I always tell you guys this like, ‘Hey, we’ll give you the ball. You don’t fumble but here’s the ball, score a f*cking touchdown’ and you scored a touchdown and won a playoff game for us.”
** Former WWE talent Cinta De Oro (Sin Cara) will be in action on November 28th at the Lucha Palooza event in El Paso, Texas. Primo and Epico will be competing on the show as well.
** Pam Murrin, former Senior Vice President for Data Strategy departed WWE last week according to PWInsider. Murrin had been with the company since March of 2016. Fellow former executives such as John Brody, Evan Nurse and Mark Kowal departed the company recently.
** WWE color commentator Corey Graves appeared on Busted Open Radio to chat with Mark Henry and David LaGreca. Graves talked about his transition from wrestler to commentator and stated that he does miss being in the ring and there are times that he wants to get back in the mix.
“I don’t think I’ll ever completely not miss some aspect of it. I mean, particularly now, even when I’m calling matches with a lot of guys that were my contemporaries and they’re my friends. Seth Rollins, [Baron] Corbin and a lot of these guys. Usually if I go over the top during commentary, it’s either because I’m bored and just trying to entertain myself or nine times out of ten, it’s because they’re actually my friends and it’s cliché but you crank the volume up. So I still miss [it] a little bit. I’d love to get in there and mix it up with Rollins on a RAW or a SmackDown one day. So I don’t think it’ll ever be gone completely but that said, it’s been a few years now and I really had time to grow and sink my teeth into the role and I’ve had a lot of great people around me helping me along the way, and I’ve settled into this role and I’ve accepted it and I’ve learned to love it. Even initially, I was kind of apprehensive, I wasn’t sure, it obviously wasn’t the goal. I wanted to be Intercontinental Champion, not sitting at ringside but, life has dealt me a certain deck of cards and I play them the best I could.”
** New Day (Big E, Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods) welcomed Bayley onto their podcast. During their chat, Bayley reflected on the early days of her run in WWE and shared how words from AJ Lee helped her navigate the WWE system.
“In that first month too, I don’t know if you guys [New Day] were together yet but, AJ [Lee] and Dolph [Ziggler] were on one of our shows and I don’t know if you guys were like a trio yet but, she pulled me aside and gave me this long talk about being myself and meeting the company halfway, and somewhere in the middle, you’re going to find who you are and how it’s gonna work so that was when I just had the whole epiphany of, ‘Okay, let me just be me and try to figure it out and do the best that I can and just wrestle’ and that was kind of how the transition went but, it took a long while for me to feel comfortable with being me there and not trying to put on a show and now when I look back, I just wish that I was me from the beginning because it took a long time but I don’t know. I would say it’s just been a long trail and error of me just being like, ‘Just be yourself and you’re gonna be okay,’ and if you’re not, at least you had fun being you and you weren’t just under pressure and [feeling] weird this whole time.”
** Fightful’s Sean Ross Sapp has an extensive feature up about former WWE talent Nidia. Back in November of 2004, Nidia was a part of a talent release group that included Jazz, Rodney Mack, A-Train and several others. Nidia stated that she wanted to step away from wrestling and ended up consoling John Laurinaitis who had to make the call to each individual.
“I wanted to (quit). I was actually afraid of breaching my contract. So, when Johnny Ace called and he told me that. He was like, ‘Are you okay?’ ‘Yeah, I’m fine.’ I go, ‘How are you?’ He’s like, ‘Ugh. It’s been an awful day. I still have a few more phone calls to make.’ So, I was actually consoling him. ‘Oh, Johnny, it’ll be okay. Just keep at it, bud.’ But, yeah, I was ready to go. Like I said, I wasn’t being a good employee. I wasn’t really trying. They made the right choice. It’s really hard to maintain a good [attitude.] I don’t know how it is right now, but back then there was just so many politics. It was like, I even came back home and I hung out with friends that I’d known all my life and I said something and I’d go, ‘But I didn’t mean it that way! What I meant was—’ They were like, ‘Dude, you’re really paranoid about the things that you say. You’re not speaking freely.’ I was like, ‘Man, because over there you have to watch what you say.’ This is more of a RAW thing. Like, on Smackdown everybody was cool, but on RAW, you have to watch what you say because everything was taken so out of context. So, for me it was a very hard way to live, you know? Yeah. It feels like a lot of those guys… When you perform, it’s like this adrenaline rush. I think some people really can’t separate themselves from that and they will continue to be in this really bad relationship just for that high, you know?”
She spoke about the storyline involving herself and Jamie Noble. At one point during that story, Nidia was “blinded” by Tajiri’s mist and WWE wanted her to carry that out in public at all times.
“We would go overseas, and they would be like, ‘Hey, Nidia. Remember that you’re blind. So, I don’t want to see you out in the lobby walking around and then you have to go pretend you’re blind at the show.’ ‘Cause that just kills it.’ So, that’s the thing, right? One day we got in, we were in Australia, and I called. Dawn, nothing. ‘Torrie?’ Nothing. ‘Jamie?’ Nothing. They’re all gone, right? So, I’m just like, ‘Damnit, I’m fucking hungry.’ So, I get in the elevator, hoping that I’m not going to run into anyone and I run into Bob Holly. I was like, ‘Dude, I’m hungry. I need to go downstairs and I need to get some food. Can you guide me through the crowd?’ I bumped into every single wall and plant and anything. It was just, ‘Whoops, watch out for that.’ I was like, ‘Fuck, just get me to my meal.’ It was the longest walk.”
Nidia dove into her time in Ohio Valley Wrestling which was WWE’s former developmental promotion. Nidia recalled babyfaces and heels not being able to hang out in public because Jim Cornette who was a booker/writer for OVW did not want them blending reality and what they were doing on shows.
“(Jim) Cornette was really strict about who could hang out together. If you’re a babyface, you’re not hanging out with any of the heels. I was a babyface and most of my friends were heels—Victoria, (Sean) O’Haire, (John) Cena. They were all in that group. Shelton and I were on the outskirts looking in. So, we couldn’t hang out. We snuck out one day. Victoria and I, we went to a Hooters to watch the pay-per-view. So, we’re eating and next day we go to practice and Cornette calls us in. He’s like, ‘Hey, so, we hear that you guys were hanging out at blah-blah-blah-blah.’ It’s like, ‘Ah, shoot.’ So, we got fined for doing that. Another day it was (Nick) Dinsmore’s birthday so everybody decided to go out. There was about twenty of us and you’re counting heads—babyface, heel, babyface, heel, babyface, heel. ‘This is like $10,000 worth of fines, guys. We can’t get busted today.’”
One of the individuals that helped Nidia get accustomed to being in a locker room and her conducting herself in a certain manner was Dave Bautista. She talked about how helpful he was to her and how him being cordial towards her helped alleviate D-Von Dudley and Bully Ray giving her a hard time.
“I’d moved to Louisville. I didn’t think I was going to be there very long, right? I was like, ‘Alright, I’ll be there for a few weeks and then I’m on the road.’ So naïve, right? So, I stayed at an extended stay and I didn’t have a car, and I would jog to the gym, get my work out on, and jog back to my extended stay. On the way back I’m jogging and a car pulls up next to me. I look and it’s Batista. He rolls his window down. He goes, ‘Get in the car.’ I was like, ‘Shit.’ So, I get in the car, and he’s like, ‘Hey, man. You’re rubbing everybody the wrong way.’ It’s like stuff that I didn’t understand because I did get in the business so quickly. I don’t know the rules. Or these unwritten rules. He’s like, ‘You’re coming off like not respectful and then you’re winking at people.’ I was like, ‘Man, I wink at people because I’m so nervous. You guys are ginormous. It’s like a whole new world, I left my home. I don’t know what I’m doing.’ It’s actually like a nervous thing. He kinda told me how to behave in a locker room. That really helped and when I got on the road the Dudley Boyz gave me a hard time. He was with them in that group. He really stuck his neck out for me. So, I will forever be grateful. Then the Dudley Boyz were fantastic, but at first they were a little rough until they came to the rescue.”
** Renee Paquette is joining Twitch.
** During Ember Moon’s appearance on the Swerve City Podcast, Mark Henry joined the show and one of the questions he was asked was what current NXT talents does he see becoming WWE Hall Of Famers. He selected Rhea Ripley, Finn Balor and Adam Cole.
“I could see Rhea Ripley being a Hall Of Fame wrestler. Finn [Balor] is just — I want him to be on all three brands. So much talent, so much athleticism, can really, really put it together. Adam Cole is a guy that’s very versatile, no apparent weakness other than his size, but in our business, we realized that size is irrelevant. It depends on the storytelling and how you’re able to change the narrative if you will.”
** Per PWInsider, IMPACT Wrestling taped all of their television through the end of the year.
** Here’s the newest episode of Being The Elite:
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_CDYicC-7w[/embedyt]
** Melbourne City Wrestling has scheduled their first show since the Coronavirus pandemic began. The show will take place in 2021 on June 2nd. The last show they ran was on February 1st.
** Paul “Triple H” Levesque spoke to Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated prior to the Survivor Series pay-per-view. Levesque discussed all things concerning The Undertaker and stated that when he first began dating Stephanie McMahon, Undertaker was one of the individuals he went to for an opinion on the relationship.
“When I was dating Steph, and people were just starting to find out, Taker was one of the people I saw for counsel. A lot of people were very critical of it, but he was a steady, trusted voice. That’s really what he’s always been for me.”
** GLOW star Allison Brie was a guest on The Playlist’s ‘Fourth Wall’ podcast. On the topic of a movie possibly being filmed that will put the final touch on the GLOW series, Brie is pessimistic about it happening.
“I certainly think a [GLOW] movie could tie everything up. Our creators, Liz Flahive and Carly Mensch, are incredible writers. And they’re so devoted to these characters that they created. I think a movie would be a great way to wrap it up. I’m a little pessimistic about it actually happening just in light of everything that’s gone on this year and how difficult it is to get anything back into production with COVID, and I’m also part of the ‘Community’ cast, who’s been trying to get a movie going for six years, so what I’m saying is don’t hold your breath because if it does happen, it might take a minute.”
** Portland Trailblazers guard Damian Lillard and Tampa Bay Buccaneers Tight End Rob Gronkowski are being added to the WWE Battlegrounds game roster.
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-K3Xzugs1k[/embedyt]
** The ‘Arab News’ website caught up with The Undertaker for an interview. Undertaker told the site about working Inferno matches and said there was no proper way to rehearse when it came to the finish of those matches.
“You know, if there’s a lot of those matches like Buried Alive and Hell in a Cell, and the Inferno match, that one was interesting. There wasn’t any rehearsing anything on that one, believe me that was just out there doing it and hoping that I wasn’t [the] one that got caught on fire. As morbid as that sounds, I guess it fits with what I do.”
** Ken Anderson was invited onto BroBible’s ‘Not About Wrestling’ show.
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wv4LXK-Sp64[/embedyt]
** Calvin Tankman is debuting for Major League Wrestling on the 11/25 episode of MLW FUSION.
** Ringsiders Wrestling welcomed Leyla Hirsch onto their show. Leyla talked about working Josh Barnett’s Bloodsport show during The Collective weekend in Indiana.
“I wanna go in there and just not have to think about anything. That’s my natural habitat right there, you know? So that was a really cool experience.”
** Hindustan Times has an interview up with Sasha Banks.
** Chris Jericho sent his congratulations to The Undertaker for 30 years in WWE.
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDE9YyMgtAA[/embedyt]
** Violence X Suffering ‘Eternal Atake’ Results (11/22/20) Westville, New Jersey
– Gabriel Skye def. Lucky 13
– Brian Cage def. Blake Christian
– Tables, Ladders & Chairs Match: Eli Everfly def. Cole Radrick
– Myron Reed def. 2 Cold Scorpio
– Brian Pillman Jr. def. Carlito
– Chairs Match: Calvin Tankman def. G-Raver
– JTG def. Rickey Shane Page
– Deathmatch: Jimmy Lloyd def. Judas Mesias
** The latest ‘Canvas 2 Canvas’ episode is based around Sasha Banks, Charlotte Flair, Bayley and Becky Lynch.
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0NbhnXgVMc[/embedyt]
** Jeff Jarrett joined the Wes McElroy Podcast on the Richmond sports radio station.
** NJPW Best of the Super Juniors Results (11/23/20) Takasaki, Japan
– Satoshi Kojima & Tomoaki Honma def. Yuji Nagata & Gabriel Kidd
– Best of the Super Juniors Tournament Match: Taiji Ishimori (3-1) def. Yuya Uemura (0-4)
– Best of the Super Juniors Tournament Match: BUSHI (2-2) def. Robbie Eagles (2-2)
– Best of the Super Juniors Tournament Match: Hiromu Takahashi (3-1) def. DOUKI (0-4)
– Best of the Super Juniors Tournament Match: SHO (3-1) def. Ryusuke Taguchi (2-2)
– Best of the Super Juniors Tournament Match: Master Wato (3-1) def. El Desperado (2-2)
** According to PWInsider, Drew Gulak was inside the The Gobbledy Gooker costume at WWE Survivor Series.
** Pro Wrestling NOAH 20th Anniversary Results (11/22/20) Yokohama Budokan
– FULL THROTTLE (Hajime Ohara, Seiki Yoshioka & YO-HEY) & Mohammed Yone def. Junta Miyawaki, Kinya Okada, Yasutaka Yano & Yoshiki Inamura
– Kotaro Suzuki & Salvahe de Oriente def. Hao & Tadasuke
– Kazuyuki Fujita, Kendo Kashin & NOSAWA Rongai def. Manabu Soya, Masa Kitamiya & Nio
– Keiji Muto def. Shuhei Taniguchi
– GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championships: Stinger (HAYATA & Yoshinari Ogawa) def. Atsushi Kotoge & Daisuke Harada (c)
– GHC National Championship: Kenou (c) def. Kaito Kiyomiya
– GHC Tag Team Championships: Sugiura-gun (Kazushi Sakuraba & Takashi Sugiura) (c) def. Masakatsu Funaki & Naomichi Marufuji
– GHC Heavyweight Championship: Go Shiozaki (c) def. Katsuhiko Nakajima
** AJPW Real World Tag League Results (11/23/20) Korakuen Hall
– Alejandro & UTAMARO def. Akira Francesco & Atsuki Aoyagi
– Real World Tag League 2020: Kuma Arashi & Shotaro Ashino [6] def. Izanagi & Shigehiro Irie [0]
– Black Menso-re, Ryuki Honda & Takao Omori def. Dan Tamura, Hikaru Sato & Ryuji Hijikata
– Yusuke Kodama def. Rising HAYATO
– Hokuto Omori & Koji Doi def. Yoshitatsu & Yusuke Okada
– Real World Tag League 2020: Violent Giants (Shuji Ishikawa & Suwama) [4] def. JIN (Jake Lee & Koji Iwamoto) [4]
– Real World Tag League 2020: Kento Miyahara & Yuma Aoyagi [2] def. Masato Tanaka & TAJIRI [2]
** ‘The Scotsman’ chatted with Drew McIntyre.
** The Undertaker’s appearance on Good Morning Britain was uploaded to the show’s YouTube channel.
** The most recent episode of Cary Silkin’s ‘Last Stop Penn Station’ podcast looks back at his memories with Mick Foley.
** Alicia Atout chatted with Trish Adora.
** Newshub’s ‘Fight Club’ podcast welcomed The Undertaker onto their show.
** Sport360 ran their interview with Paul Heyman ahead of Survivor Series.
** ‘The Guardian’ has a feature up about The Undertaker.
** Below is the newest episode of Ohio Valley Wrestling television:
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8BsetLffLs[/embedyt]
** WWE’s Aliyah turned 26-years old on 11/23.
If any of the quotes from the following podcasts or video interviews are used, please credit those sources and provide an H/T and link back to POST Wrestling for the transcriptions.
