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.
** On 2/3, Ring of Honor announced that Jay Lethal signed a new contract with the company. While appearing on the Battleground Podcast, Lethal said re-signing with ROH was one of the easiest decisions he’s ever had to make.
To me, one of the easiest decisions of my life. You know, I’m a big proponent of loyalty. If you treat me well, then I will treat you well in return and I think there’s something to be said for not just going to the highest bidder. For instance, my former employer IMPACT Wrestling, I still think to this day if they had not ever let me go then I would be there. They gave me the greatest night of my life, one of them wrestling my idol Ric Flair. I would’ve spent my career there, but unfortunately that didn’t happen and Ring of Honor has treated me so well, they’ve made me the face of their company. They put two belts on me at one time. I don’t have a negative thing to say about them. So yeah, no, it was a very easy decision for me.
Lethal is a co-holder of the ROH World Tag Team Titles alongside Jonathan Gresham. Lethal spoke highly of his partner and said it will be one of the saddest days if he and Gresham stop working together.
Well, I can’t tell ya. There’s no way fully [to] describe it to you but I am living my best life teaming with [Jonathan] Gresham. I think he’s extremely talented. He’ll tell you that he’s learning so much from me but it’s actually the other way around. He’s one of the greatest in-ring technicians that I’ve ever come across. I’m getting to work with him which is amazing, and I just love going to work everyday, especially when I get to work with guys like Gresham. When we won the Ring of Honor Tag Team Championships, I don’t know if you remember this but I was fresh off a broken arm. So, if you go back and watch that match, not to give too much behind the curtain, but if you go back and watch that match, a lot of it is done by Jonathan Gresham. He was so good in wanting to protect me and make sure that I was okay and oh man, he’s a tremendous guy in and out of the ring. I couldn’t say enough good things about Jonathan Gresham.
The day that Gresham and I are no longer working together will be one of the saddest days of my life, and that’s just me being honest. I’m dead serious.
** Two-time Unified World Heavyweight Boxing Champion Anthony Joshua stated that he wouldn’t be against giving WWE a shot. Joshua was a guest on The Alternative Sport Show and said the following when asked if he’d be a better UFC fighter or WWE wrestler:
I wanna do WWE because that’s what Muhammad Ali [did] so I’m going to do WWE.
** David Shoemaker and Kazeem Famuyide welcomed former WWE writer Brian Gewirtz onto The Masked Man Show. Brian was asked if he spoke to Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson after Johnson was booed at the 2015 Royal Rumble event. Within that answer, he recalled watching The Marine alongside John Cena and shared Cena’s reaction to the film.
It [The Rock getting booed at the 2015 Royal Rumble] was sort of the same unspoken but spoken moment that I had with John Cena when the two of us watched The Marine privately in the offices of WWE.
Well, and its fun 16 sequels and everything and Miz and you know, all that but at the time, we watched it and we just sort of gave each other a look and then John’s like, ‘Let’s go get something to drink’ and we hit Bobby V’s [Restaurant & Sports bar] in Stamford, Connecticut.
Continuing on the topic of John Cena, Brian gave his take on why there was reluctance to turn Roman Reigns heel despite the crowd reactions. Brian believes that because Vince McMahon didn’t listen to those who wanted to turn John Cena heel and Cena still went on to achieve a great deal of success in WWE, that he stuck to his guns with Reigns in that same regard.
When it came to Roman [Reigns], the model was John [Cena], right? Because there were plenty of times when the writers would come in and be like, ‘Can we just turn John heel?’ With the, ‘Let’s go Cena, Cena sucks. Can we do it? Can we pull the trigger?’ And it was something Vince [McMahon] never wanted to do. He considered it, he always considers all ideas but ultimately he didn’t wanna do it and I think in the end he was like, to put it bluntly he was like, ‘Thank God I didn’t listen to you,’ as far as turning John heel because John was the standard-bearer and made a ton of money for the company and Make-A-Wish and merchandise and everything, you know? And Vince I think considered that as, by not turning him heel, that saved the company — not saved the company but made a lot more money within sticking to his vision as a babyface as opposed to taking the short-term approach by getting a pop in the ratings or a spike in interest by turning him heel and I think the problem was I think he took that approach with Roman as well. I think it was the, ‘Don’t listen to people, trust your gut, Roman’s a babyface, he’s the new face of the company. We don’t have –’ and I don’t know, I can’t speak to this exactly but like, whenever we wanted to turn John, it was like, ‘Okay, who’s going to replace him? Who’s gonna be the guy that’s gonna go on the talk shows and be able to be the face of the company and want to do that kind of stuff as well?’ Which is always a challenge so that might have something to do with Roman, but obviously at some point, you can’t ignore the reactions and it wasn’t, ‘Let’s go Cena, Cena sucks’ with Roman. It was pretty heavily boos even if you’d always get the reports from the live events and it would be like, ‘Oh, the crowd popped for the finish and they popped on his entrance and yeah, there was a section of people booing but blah, blah, blah.’ At some point, obviously that mindset of, ‘We gotta keep Roman babyface, we gotta keep John Cena babyface’ shifted and in this particular case, it’s like similar to when [Hulk] Hogan turned heel in WCW. It’s like that was the right move to make and teaming him with Paul [Heyman], that essentially established it that — do you remember that time where he was a tweener where he’s like, ‘I’m not a good guy, I’m not a bad guy, I’m just the guy’ and it was neither here nor there in terms of what he was supposed to be. It’s like you come down with Paul Heyman and you just — again, it’s all about commitment and you commit to being a heel, that’s gonna have such a more highly effective way to convey that character than just kind of, ‘Let the audience decide.’ Sometimes, we need to decide and kind of plant the flag in the ground and let the audience react to it. So, I’m so happy for Roman to be able to be a heel now and thrive like that because you’re seeing it, he’s loving every second of it, you could tell. At least that is what it seems like.
One of Gewirtz’s favorite storylines/feuds that he helped put together was Shawn Michaels and Chris Jericho’s program that included their Ladder match for the World Heavyweight Title.
I’ve always been really proud of the [Chris] Jericho-Shawn Michaels, year-long practically angle that we did when Jericho was kind of like transitioning in terms of his character, as far as this kind of begrudged suit wearing heel who always, as you guys know, when a heel is technically speaking absolutely correct in what they’re saying and they’re just displaying their disgust in everything in a way that rubs people the wrong way, it’s always magic because you can’t deny it. You see their side and you still cheer for them to get their asses kicked anyway, and to be truthful, I was never really a Shawn Michaels guy going in. As a fan, I always rooted for Bret [Hart] and the Nation [of Domination] versus DX and all that kind of stuff. Shawn was away when I first started and then [came] back and took a little while to break the ice, so to be able to kind of tap into that and work with him and actually really get along with him as well as Chris…
** UK outlet Metro caught up with Davey Boy Smith Jr. and he further talked about he and WWE’s interest in working together.
There’s been quite a bit of interest and a little bit of back and forth talk with myself and the company. I think that the plan – or what they were hoping – was for me to come to NXT UK. But unfortunately right now because of Covid, those doors are kind of locked, we’ll see. There has been interest in me going to NXT down here in Orlando. I live down here in Tampa, Florida, so I’ve just been feeling things out, trying to get a lay of the land, so to speak. We’re discussing and talking. I can’t exactly say anything for sure, but there’ve been talks.
Smith Jr.’s father, The British Bulldog was going to be inducted into the WWE Hall Of Fame class of 2020. Davey says there are other options on the table for him in terms of a company or promotion to join but he thinks WWE might be best to ensure his father’s induction happens.
There’s other places, but with my father’s Hall of Fame induction, maybe that’s a good idea, to go back to WWE – whichever brand or roster it is. It’s just not an any decision to make. I know Natalya is on SmackDown. I could very well go there. NXT down here is certainly a good place to get re-established. There’s a hell of a lot of talent down there like [Karrion] Kross, [Tim] Thatcher – Finn Balor, who I’ve wrestled in New Japan Pro Wrestling before. We’re just gonna have to wait and see what’s the best choice.
** While speaking with Dayton 24/7 Now, Dolph Ziggler was asked how much longer he plans to wrestle and said there’s no time frame. He added that he’ll reevaluate in a few years to see where he’s at but if he can’t go at 100 percent every night, he doesn’t want to be in the ring.
It really depends because no one gets more frustrated at work than me but in a positive way. When I figure out what’s going on and I go, ‘Okay, I can make this happen. I can get this done today.’ I’ve been very fortunate injury-wise. I’ve had two concussions that we took our time and got to go through every protocol that there was and then some and that’s over 15 years and everything else, I’ve been very fortunate to be always ready to go. Hell, I’m the guy that usually if someone gets hurt, they throw me into the world title match so I’m always ready to go no matter what and I love being that person who’s so prepared and so ready to go that I can be in a tag team title match, I can be in a world title match, I can be in the opening match and it could be the best thing on the show so, I don’t know exactly — there’s no time frame. I’m very lucky. WWE wants me here for the next 10, 20 years, let alone behind the scenes afterwards. So I will judge it every few years. I say give it [until] 2025 and then we either start toning it down or maybe I just wanna make sure my body can always go. If I can’t go 100 percent, I can go 99 percent, I won’t be okay with being in the ring.
** WrestleCon is planning to run a convention in Tampa, Florida during WrestleMania 37 week. Information about how they are planning to present this event with COVID precautions in place is listed on their website.
** Pat McAfee welcomed Kurt Angle onto his radio show. On the topic of stepping into the ring again, Angle said that if someone asked, he doesn’t think there’s any way he could because of how banged up his body is.
Well, I’m in the best shape of my life right now but I’ve been dieting very hard and trying to take care of myself. My body is banged up. I couldn’t wrestle again. If anybody asked me to do it, there’s just no way. My body is so beat up right now and all I’m trying to do is rehabilitate it so that I’m healthy enough to live a normal life and it’s a little bit depressing. I mean, you get into amateur wrestling then you go pro wrestling and you wrestle a total of 40 years, you’re gonna do some damage on your body and sometimes I regret what I did but I can’t regret, I can’t look back because I had wonderful careers.
Early on in his career, Angle was told to slow down in the ring by the likes of Vince McMahon, The Rock, Triple H, Undertaker and Stone Cold Steve Austin. Angle said he couldn’t help but go full speed every night.
Vince McMahon talked to me about it, told me I need to slow down at the house shows, on televised shows. Kind of pour it on for the pay-per-views and TVs but try to take it easy. I don’t have any — I can’t do anything half-assed so everything has to be completely 120 percent intense. That’s just the way I am and even Undertaker and Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock, Triple H, they told me, ‘You need to slow down’ and I just, I couldn’t. I couldn’t do it. I had to continue to be intense, technical. I wanted to be the best wrestler, including pro wrestler on the planet.
** Preston Vance, who is known as ’10’ of Dark Order joined the Wrestling Perspective podcast. Vance sports a mask as a member of Dark Order but he stated that initially, he was against the idea of wearing a mask.
So now I have to focus more on showing emotion with body language, because you can’t see it [my face] at all. But then again, it also, there’s advantages to it because now you don’t have to worry about what you’re doing with your face and showing emotion so it’s — so when they present the idea of me wearing the mask, I’ll be honest, I didn’t like it, and now I love my character now. So, it definitely was challenging because I never wore a mask before but, I don’t know. I would do anything they threw at me. I’d do it to my full potential. I would never be like, ‘Well, I’d rather do this,’ you know? Because people really forget that with wrestling and any of these entertainment jobs, it’s still a job. You still have a boss. Just show up and do what you’re told. It’s not that hard, you know?
Vance spent several years on the independent scene before joining AEW full-time. He admitted that he was never a fan of being on the indies.
And I’m very open about I hated indie wrestling. I just — to me it’s like I got into this to be like, you know, I want to be on TV and I don’t wanna do indie wrestling. But, you do learn a ton doing the indies. I didn’t do the indies nearly as long as a lot of the guys do but I did do ‘em for five years and I made a ton of really good connections and friendships so, I mean would I go back? No.
100 percent [I’ve paid my dues]. Would I ever wanna go back to the indies? Hell no. But I’m glad the journey took me through them.
** Marti Belle became a free agent in late 2020 as her contract with the National Wrestling Alliance expired. Belle recently chatted with Sassy Stephie on the Talkin’ Sass podcast and opened up about what she sees in the future for herself professionally.
I don’t do a lot of interviews, because — especially now. It’s tough when — I just wrestled in Nebraska. I had so many people coming up to me being like, ‘All right, so where are you signing? What’s next?’ And I’m like… ‘You’ll find out soon.’ In the back of my mind I’m like, ‘Sh*t, I hope I find out soon,’ you know? So I don’t know what’s next. I’m working and to me that’s the important thing. I get up everyday with the intention of making something happen. Whether it happens tomorrow or it happens in three months, I know something is gonna happen because I’m gonna keep working towards something happening and the only time that you’re guaranteed to not be successful or not make something happen is when you stop, and I don’t stop so I’m a little energized bunny so something’s gotta work so, we’ll see.
** NBC News has a piece up on their site about Bad Bunny’s appearances for WWE and how he’s bringing the WWE to the attention of those in the Latinx community.
** Ahead of NXT TakeOver: Vengeance Day, NXT Champion Finn Balor chatted with Bleacher Report for an interview. Balor made his return to NXT in October of 2019 and he explained that the initial thought was that he would not be in NXT for that long.
The initial thought process was we’ll go to NXT, see how it works out, and it might be three months, it might be six months, there’s no real plan. I know there’s been discussion back and forth a couple of times about whether I should go back to Raw or SmackDown, but for me, I’m very happy in NXT and I’m willing to give my heart and soul in NXT as long as there’s a position there for me.
Nothing’s been concrete and there’s been no set time frame on anything. It was more like, ‘Finn, would you like to be a part of NXT?’ ‘Absolutely.’ NXT is a part of me and I want to be there. As long as there’s a position there for me, I’m very grateful for it.
Balor underwent surgery for a broken jaw following his match with Kyle O’Reilly at TakeOver 31. He said there was never any doubt as to if he’d be able to remain champion, but it was more so figuring out a solid timetable for his return.
Obviously, at WWE, we have such incredible doctors, and it was really down to them that I remained champion. There was a lot of confusion between doctors we went to locally that could have misdiagnosed the severity of the injury, and obviously with the return afterward, the window kept getting bigger and bigger. Originally, we planned I wouldn’t be out for too long and it was the dynamic of the injury that prolonged it a little bit and the healing and stuff. That was really down to the WWE doctors and making sure I was 100 percent and protected at all times. There was never any doubt whether I would relinquish the title. Maybe in hindsight, if we knew how long it was going to be, that might have been different. But at the time, we always imagined it was going to be a much shorter time frame. That’s how it went down.
** Solowrestling spoke with Mercedes Martinez to promote NXT TakeOver: Vengeance Day and Mercedes talked about how WWE has always been the ultimate goal for her.
I think with WWE, it’s everyone’s — I think it is everyone’s ultimate goal and it was always my ultimate goal to come to WWE and I didn’t know in reality if I was actually ever going to make it here after 20 years in the business. It’s one of those things that you kind of leave behind in the back of your head like, ‘Yeah, I’ll get there when I get there. It may not be a thing’ so you wanna look at other outlets whether it’s wrestling overseas and the other companies but once WWE contacted me, I had no issues whatsoever signing that contract. I already knew. Here you go, sign it on the dotted line, what are the conditions? But it definitely always was the goal and even if it wasn’t, to me, if I didn’t get to be a part of WWE, I knew that I would still be wrestling for a couple more years. My career was winding down and this was just an opportunity that I had to get and an opportunity that I really, really needed and the combination of all the hard work I’ve done and it just so happens that it came at almost my 20-year point.
** On February 8th, Eddie, Orlando and Carlos Colon applied to trademark “Colon Dynasty”.
** Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated spoke to Io Shirai for an interview. During their conversation, Shirai said she’s interested in the idea of wrestling Mayu Iwatani at an NXT TakeOver event.
Yes, Mayu Iwatani is certainly one of my greatest rivals. If we ever have the opportunity to compete for the title at an NXT TakeOver, I am confident we would put on a great show. It is definitely a dream match for me.
Damian Priest told the publication that Io Shirai is the most talented wrestler in the world. Io said she believes that honor should go to Rey Mysterio.
That was very nice of him to say, so thank you, Damian. My definition of talented is how much a performer can attract others to what they are doing. So I would have to say Rey Mysterio. I watched him when I was younger and that was when I knew I wanted to be in a WWE ring one day. And now after a long journey, here I am.
** A story about Titus O’Neil gifting 75-year old Yvonne McCoy of Tampa and her family a complete house renovation along with a new car.
** Brian Cervantes, husband to Thunder Rosa tweeted out that he hopes All Elite Wrestling becomes her new home promotion.
** AEW Women’s World Champion Hikaru Shida was present at Pro Wrestling NOAH’s ‘Destination’ show on 2/12.
** Simon Hill welcomed IMPACT Wrestling talent Josh Alexander onto his ‘Keep It Locked’ podcast. Alexander’s former partner Ethan Page departed IMPACT Wrestling and Alexander doesn’t see himself ever forming a legit tag team again unless it’s with Page.
Not if I have anything to say about it [teaming with Matt Cardona]. It’s nothing to do with him, it’s just, if I’m gonna be a tag team wrestler, I wanna be a tag team wrestler with the person I’m supposed to be in a tag team with and that’s Ethan Page. I don’t think if — I don’t wanna be — how do I say this properly? Shawn Michaels didn’t leave The Rockers and then just tag up with Tito Santana, you know what I mean? He didn’t just pluck somebody out. Bret Hart and Jim Neidhart didn’t break up then Bret Hart went and picked out somebody else to be a tag team partner with. To me, if you’re a great tag team, that’s who you’re in a tag team with. Sure, there’s people that are in tag teams with several different people like Billy Gunn has had a million different great tag teams. But, and that’s his legacy. I just don’t think mine is anything but The North for tag team competition.
** Sportskeeda ran their interview with Ember Moon who is in the finals of the women’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic with Shotzi Blackheart. Ember said that in the past, she has turned down partnership opportunities from Natalya, Naomi and Lana.
When you’re on RAW and SmackDown there are so many talented women in the back that are itching for a chance to prove themselves. I really do feel like I’ve been asked by everyone, like everyone, at one point in time. Natalya, I remember when the tag titles first got announced, was asking me. Naomi, who’s like tremendous and like my sister from another mister. Just so many women have asked me. Even down to Lana and so many others. It’s just been one of those things that like, no offense to them, I just didn’t get it. I didn’t think that was for me at the time, because I was so dedicated to being a singles wrestler.
** Sonny Kiss was the most recent guest on D-Von Dudley’s Table Talk podcast. Sonny said that she doesn’t desire to be the main or top wrestler in a company or promotion. She added that she just wants interesting storylines.
Okay, so it’s weird for me. This may not sound correct for a lot of people but I never wanted to be like the main, top person for any wrestling company. I’ve always enjoyed mid-card guys, I’ve always enjoyed the mid-card storylines. I’ve just always enjoyed wrestling so my main thing about wrestling is to have fun and to have cool storylines. I don’t really care if it’s the top or the bottom of the card. I just like to have fun. I think that’s the biggest thing for me.
** The latest guest on The Sarah O’Connell Show was Nyla Rose. Nyla has been with AEW coming up on two full years. She reflected on her time in the company thus far.
It’s fantastic quite frankly. You know, like any family we butt heads, but we solve those problems out in the ring. Outside of that, it very much is a family atmosphere. Everybody looks out for one another, it doesn’t feel cutthroat or doesn’t feel like anybody’s out to get anybody. Everybody is there to succeed, everybody wants the best out of everybody and out of the product and I feel confident in saying that we’re all working together to see that become a reality.
** Blue Demon Jr., Dan Carrillo Levy and Eugenio Villamar chatted with Wrestling Inc. to discuss the ‘Ultra Violent & Blue Demon’ series.
** Game Changer Wrestling announced the schedule for The Collective Remix during WrestleMania 37 weekend in Tampa, Florida.
April 8th
– Jimmy Lloyd’s Degeneration-F (Noon)
– The Acid Cup: Day 1 (4 PM)
– Josh Barnett’s Bloodsport 6 (8 PM)
– For The Culture (11:59)
April 9th
– Allie Kat’s Real Hot Girl Shit (Noon)
– The Acid Cup: Day 2 (4 PM)
– Joey Janela’s Spring Break 5 (8 PM)
– VIOLENCE x SUFFERING (11:59 PM)
April 10th
– EFFY’s Big Gay Brunch (11 AM)
– Alex Colon’s Planet Death (3 PM)
– Unsanctioned Pro (7 PM)
– No Peace Underground (11:59 PM)
** Kevin Owens chatted with FOX Sports. While talking about how not having a live crowd hasn’t impacted how he approaches his matches, Owens said he was already in the process of trying to work more for the production team to do something they are entertained by.
But, it really didn’t bother me and I really didn’t change how I worked at all. The only thing I changed is who I worked for. Because, even though I know there’s millions of people at home watching, I started having this mindset – and I’ve had it before, but not as much as now that the crowds were gone – the people we work with, from the camera guys to the crew to the stage managers, the producers, everybody, but especially our camera people, they’ve all been there for a really long time and they’ve seen a lot of wrestling. So, if I can do something that they’re entertained by, I know I’ve done something that everybody watching at home is entertained by. Because they’ve seen it all, like I said. So, that’s really rewarding. So, I’ve just kinda started working for them, because I know if they’re into it, people watching at home will be into it. And, yeah, I think that’s been a good way to go about it.
** Below is a mini documentary about Leon Ruff via the WWE PC YouTube channel:
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CpF0i6KNqTU[/embedyt]
** Carlito returned to WWE at the 2021 Royal Rumble pay-per-view. He was also the latest guest on WWE’s After The Bell podcast. During the conversation, Carlito was asked what brought him back to WWE and he said he did not like how his last run ended.
What brought me back? Man, I just didn’t like the way things ended, you know what I mean? But I didn’t expect it to take ten years to get back but I just wanted to — at least if I came back one time, I just wanted to… leave a better taste in someone’s mouth and… bury the hatchet or whatever. Just everything is on the up and up and I’m happy to be back and happy to be around and if that was my last time then I was just glad to finally get a chance to come and end things on better terms.
Carlito was last a member of the WWE roster in 2010. He talked about the biggest differences he noticed in the locker room now compared to his days as a WWE talent.
The biggest thing is just the culture. In the back, it’s a lot tamer, I think a lot healthier in the back, you know what I mean? It seems like the guys are genuinely happy in the back so that was a good thing to see. The morale seems to be up.
One of his goals that he wants to make happen going forward is to expand the representation of Latino talent in wrestling. Carlito feels that he can contribute in that department.
I just think the representation of Latinos in wrestling on a worldwide level, I think I could help out, because some of these guys are great talent but they can’t get across because they can’t speak English that well. I think [I] would be a good voice. I’m sure I could pretty much get anybody mad at me easily but also I think — exactly, in multiple languages. I think that’s really one of the things I’d like to focus on is just doing that because there’s so much Latinx talent and culture out there that people don’t know about that I would like to let people get exposed to.
** While appearing on the Swerve City Podcast, Orlando Magic guard Terrance Ross talked about being roommates with WWE’s Omos while they played basketball together.
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3F5p67ytV4[/embedyt]
** Bandido, Rey Horus and Flamita are defending the ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Titles against Shane Taylor Promotions (Shane Taylor, Moses & Kaun) on the 2/20 episode of ROH TV. Also, Sledge will be the next guest on the ROHStrong podcast.
** Zack Gibson and James Drake closed down their wrestling school in England because they have moved to the U.S. full-time. Gibson and Drake are in the finals of the men’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic against MSK (Wes Lee & Nash Carter).
** The following note is from the 2/12 Wrestling Observer Newsletter:
– The AEW Women’s World Title Eliminator tournament matches that are taking place in Japan are being taped at the Ice Ribbon dojo in Saitama, Japan.
** Inside The Ropes interviewed Toni Storm to promote her NXT Women’s Title match at TakeOver: Vengeance Day. Storm discussed her heel turn and feels that she’s herself on-screen more than she’s ever been.
To be honest, I feel like I’m more myself than I ever have been. I feel a lot better just not caring and just being me. It’s a lot easier to get people to dislike you than like you. It’s a lot less effort which is good because it just helps with my focus going forward and yeah, I think it’s gonna be more entertaining for anyone if anything.
** Edge joined Tim & Sid on Sportsnet.
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zquxJ9IzNTQ[/embedyt]
** Natalya wrote about the 2021 Royal Rumble pay-per-view for the Calgary Sun. Below is an excerpt from her piece:
Victoria had been away from WWE for over a decade, and the WWE Universe welcomed her back with open arms as she made her way to the ring as entrant number 10 in the Royal Rumble. I was so happy to see her return, as it’s been a moment WWE fans have been anticipating for years. When I debuted in WWE in 2008, I remember Victoria being someone who really welcomed me into the women’s locker room with open arms. She was also my very first tag team partner in WWE and helped me a lot when I was the “new girl”. I always remembered how much she helped me when I was new and I’ve tried to pay that forward ever since. I also loved seeing how excited Victoria was when she was backstage. I could see that being back with her WWE family for the Royal Rumble meant so much to her. It also meant a lot to us.
Even though I competed against her in the Rumble, I was really happy for Bianca Belair’s win! It felt like the entire WWE Universe was celebrating Bianca’s victory together. Of course every woman competing in the Rumble wanted to win because it guarantees you a championship match at WrestleMania, but only one woman can. Bianca thanking her mom and dad after her big win was awesome and it reminded me of how humble she is and why hard work always pays off.
** Jim Varsallone of the Miami Herald chatted with Ember Moon.
** Jay Lethal vs. Christopher Daniels from a Maryland Championship Wrestling show in 2007:
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DxcRD3bwnLE[/embedyt]
** ‘Metro’ has an interview with Cesaro.
** Paige made a cameo appearance in Falling In Reverse’s ‘I’m Not A Vampire’ music video. Her significant other Ronnie Radke is the lead singer.
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nWmBJxW9q0[/embedyt]
** Calvin Tankman did an interview with Jason Hagholm.
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.
