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.
** Captain’s Corner hosted a virtual signing with Leila Grey as the featured guest. She is regularly appearing on AEW programming as an ‘interim baddie’ alongside Kiera Hogan, Stokely Hathaway and TBS Champion Jade Cargill. Grey is excited for what’s to come and to be a part of storylines.
So if people haven’t been watching, I’m gonna need you to start watching like yesterday. So Wednesday night Dynamite, your girl Leila Grey is out there doing the damn thing. I’m part of The Baddies with Jade Cargill and Kiera Hogan, Red Velvet, Stokely [Hathaway] and it’s been going so great. It’s been an amazing experience. You know, I recently got the call that they were gonna be bringing me in and I’ve been so excited for just this new step and new direction in AEW. I’m excited to be a part of storylines and stuff so let’s see how everything goes. Very positive and we’re just here to have fun, make money and we’ll see what happens.
This past April, she made her WWE in-ring debut on SmackDown when she took on Raquel Rodriguez. Grey thinks she and Rodriguez did a great job and she described that experience as ‘unforgettable’.
Well it was an unforgettable experience [making her WWE in-ring debut on SmackDown]. Working with the WWE was great. So the fact that I got to wrestle Raquel Gonzalez on her debut match on SmackDown, so it was both our debuts and I think we both killed it. I think we did a great job, it was a lot of fun and I don’t know what else to say about that [Grey smiled]. It was definitely an experience I will never forget.
If there is any talent Leila could share the ring with, she would choose Sasha Banks. She said Banks is an inspiration and the match could happen if she came to AEW.
If it’s anybody in the world, I would like to wrestle Sasha Banks. Sasha Banks is my favorite wrestler, she’s definitely an inspiration to me and that would just be my ultimate dream match. We might see it if Sasha goes to AEW.
** While doing a virtual signing for K & S WrestleFest, Brian Cage reflected on being part of Team Taz and said he enjoyed it but feels like they were not pushed. He brought up their program with Sting and Darby Allin and mentioned that he was not big on Team Taz outnumbering Sting and Darby but constantly backing away from them.
Yes, for the most part [I did enjoy Team Taz]. I didn’t like how — I never felt like we really got pushed. I mean look at it too and it was awesome getting to work with Sting, stuff like that but like, you look at that whole program and I hated how we outnumbered them and outsized them tremendously but we were always running from them. I’m like, well it’s me — me and [Powerhouse] Hobbs shouldn’t be running from them in general but then we also had [Ricky Starks], HOOK and Taz. Why are we always running from them? So I didn’t feel like we had any — now they’re actually being used. It’s really just Hobbs and Starks now, now they’re actually being used… and I feel like they’ll get pushed and used probably better now than they did when it was actually more of a faction so, that was my only real big complaint about it was I felt like we were just kind of thrown around, never really did as much… almost made us look so cowardly that we never really did much and any big programs or matches we had, we always lost everything too so it was just kind of we didn‘t go anywhere with it.
Cage addressed critiques about his in-ring style and the athleticism he displays for his size. He used Keith Lee as a comparison and started off by saying he loves Keith, but when Keith gets athletic in the ring, he gets praised for it. Cage feels it’s the other way around when he does it.
Everyone — and I love Keith Lee. This is not a dig on Keith Lee but whenever like — praising Keith Lee for diving and moonsaulting and stuff, I’m like, you guys realize he’s technically bigger than me? He’s not built like me, but he’s bigger than me but he gets praised for it but I get sh*t on for doing it? I’m like, how does that make any sense?
In the early 2000s, Cage was under contract to WWE in their developmental system. He was asked if he would go back to the company and much like his response about the idea of an IMPACT return, Cage said he’s not against it and if things lined up right, he would take the opportunity.
I’m not against going anywhere, doing anything [Cage responded when asked if he’d go back to IMPACT Wrestling]. If everything works out appropriately then yeah. I have nothing bad to say about IMPACT. I enjoyed my time there. Love Lucha Underground though. Lucha Underground is my favorite.
It’s the same answer as with IMPACT [idea of returning to WWE]. It’s not — I’m not against it… who knows? Everything lined up right and it was what’s best for me then yeah, I would go back.
** Hampton University senior KeShaun Moore is part of WWE’s second ‘Next In Line’ class. He was profiled by ESPN and WWE’s Senior Vice President of Global Talent Strategy and Development, James Kimball, told the publication what stood out to WWE’s recruiters about KeShaun.
He was very thoughtful of what he wanted his future to look like and those characteristics showed us that this was a talent that has his head together and would fit well in our locker room. His size and stature of course was the first box checked. He has a frame that can hold a presence in a ring and that’s valuable.
** Eddie Kingston appeared on Highspots’ Sign-It-Live show and as he was being asked for his thoughts about the AEW roster and those within the company, he spoke about Tony Khan and expressed why he has a deep loyalty to Khan.
Here’s the thing with Tony Khan, I will always appreciate him for the opportunity he’s given me because no one wanted to give me a chance until he put me in there against Cody [Rhodes]. So I am loyal to that man because of that. This man’s letting me make a living off something that I wanted to do since I was nine years old. So of course when I see sh*t and people talk sh*t, I’m a loyal person, I wanna f*ck ‘em up. I won’t do it because now I’d get arrested and because people are cowards and call cops instead of fighting but anyway, I am very loyal to Tony and I can honestly — and I’ll say this, I love the man to death and I would do whatever he needs me to do to make sure AEW keeps going. Not beat anybody, relax. Just to keep going.
He did state that he’s not big on Sammy Guevara. Kingston says he knows people like Sammy, but he does not get it.
I know people like Sammy [Guevara]. I don’t get it. All the moves he does, The [Young] Bucks do ‘em better and I don’t even like The Bucks.
I hope he’s there Wednesday. I pray to God Sammy’s there Wednesday. I’m gonna f*ck him up. You guys think this is a joke, like this is all a ‘work’, since everybody likes to use the insider terms. I don’t like that little cocksucker.
And I also use that term ‘cocksucker’ in no other thing. It’s just a thing that’s been said my whole life, all right? I don’t mean it in any other way so I’ll stop saying it then [Kingston laughed]. I gotta watch what I say now.
** At WrestleMania 38, Bianca Belair defeated Becky Lynch and they’ll be meeting again at SummerSlam. Lynch told Adam’s Apple that she is proud of the WrestleMania match with Belair and feels they stole the show.
I think currently I’m really proud of the match that I had at WrestleMania 38. We [Lynch & Bianca Belair] stole the show, told a hell of a story, got the people talking about it and now we’re about to run it back at SummerSlam so tune in.
** There is an interview on the Fightful website with Utami Hayashishita that was conducted by Scott Edwards. Utami touched on the forthcoming NJPW x STARDOM show in November and says she wants to show fans who are unfamiliar with STARDOM what the promotion is all about and thinks they will be delighted.
I want to show the fans who only know about New Japan Pro-Wrestling what STARDOM is all about. I am confident that they will be absolutely delighted. Of course, I want to shine the brightest at that time.
The former World of STARDOM Champion looked back on her matches with Syuri. She said those matches allowed her to push her limits and she’s grateful to Syuri for helping her find that part of herself.
I think that my matches with Syuri have allowed me to push my limits even further. I am very grateful to Syuri for allowing me to find a part of myself that I didn’t know before. And I think she will be my biggest rival in the future.
The idea of having a one-on-one match with KAIRI was brought up and Hayashishita is looking forward to that happening one day.
The fans were happy to see world-renowned KAIRI again in STARDOM and the wrestlers were very excited. Of course, I was too. I look forward to having a singles match one day.
** Phil Strum of the ‘Under The Ring’ podcast welcomed SmackDown Women’s Champion Liv Morgan onto the show. Morgan heaped praise onto both Natalya and T.J. Wilson for their respective contributions to her career and their work with WWE in general. Morgan described Wilson as the ‘backbone’ of the women’s division.
First of all, T.J. [Wilson], he is such the backbone of the women’s division. As soon as we all figure out, you know, who we’re wrestling against, we’re always like, ‘Do we have T.J.?’ He’s a genius and he cares about women’s wrestling and he cares about the product and he really knows everyone’s strengths so he’s a genius and Nattie is, you know, the best there is, the best there was, the best there is ever gonna be. They’ve both been so gracious to me and opening their ring to me to let me train along with them and to whomever. It’s open to anyone that wants to go, but it’s just helped me kind of perfect. I know there’s no such thing as ‘perfect’ but fine-tune my work and my craft as much as I possibly can. We train there for perfection and so, you know, when you’re training, you just get better and so I’m grateful the fans have been able to see that and that they give me that opportunity.
Morgan got her start in pro wrestling at WWE’s Performance Center in Orlando, Florida. She looked back on her time in NXT and said she was allowed to make mistake after mistake and use those moments to grow.
Yeah, I mean I learned so much [in NXT]. I was 20 years old, I was a baby. You know, I’m 28 now and so, they just let me make mistakes. They let me show up late, they guided me and kind of let me learn as I go because not only am I learning wrestling but I’m learning about who I am as a person and as a woman and it was just a lot of personal and professional development I feel like — my NXT time and just lots of mistakes. Lots and lots and lots and lots of mistakes.
** Going into the Happy Corbin versus Pat McAfee match at SummerSlam, Corbin spoke to Yahoo! News about his history with McAfee which dates back to them being roommates while making their way into the NFL. Corbin shared that McAfee allowed him to stay at his home. They would often talk about the idea of pursuing a career in wrestling.
[McAfee] was a draft pick, so he got a signing bonus and when it came time to move out of the hotel [the team put us up in], I didn’t have a lot of confidence that I was going to make the team there just based on a few things. I didn’t want to sign a lease on an apartment or a house if I was only going to be there for a couple more weeks, so Pat was nice enough to let me crash at his place before I obviously got released.
When we were training together in the weight room, we’d be talking about wrestling and how we knew there was potential for an NFL lockout. It didn’t come until a couple of years later, but we talked about going to wrestling school when the lockout happened so that we could get a head start in that WWE career. Back then it was a dream for both of us, so it’s pretty surreal to step back and look at that, 12, 13 years later because it was in 2009 that we were rookies together, yet here we are.
** To promote WWE Clash at the Castle in September, Liv Morgan was interviewed by Daily Star. She stated that she NXT 2.0’s Alba Fyre is everything that excites her about WWE and she is hoping to face her one day.
I love wrestling, and the UK scene is a huge staple in general and I want to check out anything I can. I’m just excited to go and be a part of this historic event. I love Alba – she’s so strong and fearless. She is everything that excites me about WWE and I’d love to work with her one day.
** Tokyo Sports has a story published on their website in-which Io Shirai is discussed. It was mentioned that when she departed STARDOM in 2018, following her press conference, she handed out phone chargers to all media members that had her logo on it as a show of appreciation to the media.
** At San Diego Comic Con, Ringside Collectibles spoke to CM Punk, Jade Cargill, Darby Allin and Britt Baker.
** Game Changer Wrestling applied to trademark ‘Fight Forever’.
** Lucha Libre Online’s conversation with Nick Wayne:
** Atsushi Onita is going to be doing a death match on August 13th at Todoroki Sports Park in Kawasaki, Japan.
** There’s an interview on the NBC Sports Boston YouTube channel with Tony Khan.
** GLEAT’s G-Rex Championship will be defended on August 24th when El Lindaman defends against NJPW’s DOUKI.
** Raw Women’s Champion Bianca Belair stopped past HOT 97 to promote her match at SummerSlam.
** The Cut Pro Wrestling Podcast has an interview with Rob Van Dam.
** Marina Shafir did an interview with ‘Shot of Wrestling’.
** WWE is returning to Cardiff, Wales in September for Clash at the Castle and BBC.com spoke to NXT UK’s Eddie Dennis to promote the event.
** Monday Night Raw commentator Byron Saxton spoke to Adam’s Apple.
** Sports Illustrated’s written interview with Happy Corbin.
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.
