Date: 05/27	11:00 PM
Views: 612

Thurs. #2 is HERE. To help out the site subscribe to Mistah MegaManFan or support us on Patreon. Don't miss all of today's news updates! With the cheap plugs out of the way here's Friday's latest wrestling news.

Speaking to Fightful Cody Rhodes denied there's any tension between him, the Young Bucks and/or Kenny Omega: "When I heard that story was floating around, it is when of the things I chopped up as... we've been very successful, AEW, and with NXT and the Wednesday Night Wars, it created a lot of anger, and I understand there is a lot of hardcore NXT and WWE fans out there and that's why those stories don't surprise me. People need to cling to something and as sexy as that story is, I talk to Matt and Nick every day, I talk to Kenny very often, I support their projects fully and they've been supportive of all my projects. We would not be able to put this show on the air, Tony is the man and he's the boss, but we wouldn't be able to put the show on the air if the four of us were not functioning as one team. Unfortunately, it's not very sexy to say, but there is no truth to that. We'll remain one team."

In addition Cody says he didn't mean "focus group" when he said "focus group": "I'm going to chalk this up to me not knowing what a focus group is because I woke this morning to a very large amount of people in my mentions, almost all of them with a Roman or a Sasha Banks avatar, making fun of me for using the term 'focus group.' I did not focus group this promo. What I intended to say, and I did not say it correctly so chalk it up to me being a dummy; I work on my promos very hard. A lot of old-timers say, 'I was doing it on the fly,' I would say they work on theirs very hard in the gym or in the car. When it comes to my promos, the process is usually; I voice memo it out to the people I trust the most. Legends, coaches, and members of management and I like to see what they think. There is no AEW focus group that is listening to my interviews. I would chalk up my passion and love for promos, I got to see a really great working relationship first-hand between Brian Gewirtz and The Rock and I know that it's an incredibly lofty comparison but it's one to shoot for with him being an exceptional entertainer and promo. I like to take mine seriously and be all business about them. I want to continue to deliver good content when I put the mic to my lips."

In this interview Tom Prichard talks about the evolution of Roman Reigns' character: "I think it's a respect that the more he does, the more respect he will gain. It's kind of like Cena. Even though people boo Cena or do the Angle chant when Kurt would come out, you knew, and fans still respected those guys because they were professional, and they performed every night on that level. So, I think Roman Reigns is going to have the same thing happen to him too. He is doing what he doing now. It's authentic, and you have; I don't care how good he is; it only helps to have a guy like Paul Heyman standing by your side too and cutting the promos he is doing. So, all those things are going to add up to a culmination of his career, and eventually, there is going to be a change and another babyface run or another babyface explosion, but don't do it until it's absolutely necessary because Paul Heyman is, man, between him and Cornette, they both, two of the greatest promos ever in professional wrestling and Roman Reigns ain't too bad either. As long as he gets to be himself. Yeah. I certainly think there is another babyface run for Roman Reigns."

Here Jim Ross talks about AEW working with New Japan and Impact: "I think as it relates to Impact, that's done through the cooperative efforts of nature of Tony Khan. Don Callis is a part of the management team at Impact and the on-camera manager of Kenny Omega. I think I'm going to sound bad saying this, I'm sure. I think this relationship has helped Impact more than it's helped AEW. But I don't know that we're measuring. I don't know that we're judging, quite frankly. If it helps the wrestling business, and it makes it more fan-friendly, then we all win. Tony Khan's philosophy is to do business with everybody that we want that can help our brand. I think that's kind of the concept, and I don't think it's going to end with Impact. I'd love to see us do more with New Japan. I had my little run there for three years doing New Japan voiceovers with Josh Barnett. I developed a friendship with a lot of those guys, just like I've done with this roster. I'm pulling for them. I know how talented a lot of those dudes are. I would like to see a pay-per-view with Okada challenging Kenny Omega for the AEW title. Why not? That's easy layup booking, but there's a history there. There's a backstory. You could lead into this thing for weeks and weeks until the day came for the big event. So things like that excite me. They got a lot of great talent over there that could match up with some of our guys. Darby (Allin) would be great. Jericho had his run there and drew money. He sold tickets. I think there's a possibility that could happen down the road. I'm not in that circle. I'm not leaking any information that I shouldn't be talking about out of school. But I just think it makes too much common sense that once these COVID issues have been better addressed globally, I think that could happen. It may not be this year. But I think somewhere down the road. We're not going away. They're not going away. So when the time is right, you never know. I think it'd be fun for the fans."

Former WWE star Tyrus (Brodus Clay) is releasing a memoir in December. (PWI)

New WWE related videos are available below.

Add Tom Phillips to the list of WWE personnel released this week. (PWI)

WWE wants to hold SummerSlam at a NFL stadium this year but which one hasn't been revealed (or possibly even determined).

Here's an announcement about NXT next week. (WWE)

Kyle O'Reilly, Johnny Gargano and Pete Dunne to tangle for NXT Title opportunity

Who will face Karrion Kross for the NXT Championship at NXT TakeOver: In Your House?

We will learn the answer to that question as Kyle O'Reilly, Johnny Gargano and Pete Dunne collide in a Triple Threat Match to kick off Tuesday night's NXT, with the winner becoming the No. 1 Contender to the NXT Title. The match will be presented with picture-in-picture, so the NXT Universe won't miss a second of the action.

NXT General Manager William Regal announced the match pitting three of NXT's pillars against each other. With his win last month over former NXT Champion Adam Cole, O'Reilly has proven he's cut out for the big time. Is he ready to take the next step?

Meanwhile, Gargano's reign as NXT North American Champion was ended earlier this month by Bronson Reed. But as a former NXT Champion, Johnny Wrestling has proven he has what it takes to wear the black-and-gold brand's richest prize.

Dunne has kept no secrets about his intentions to become NXT Champion for some time. Is it only a matter of time before the former NXT United Kingdom Champion adds another accolade to his resume?

Miro doesn't have much to say about WWE these days: "WWE, who cares about that, it is what it is. I was the best there. I‘m the best here. Nothing changed. It's just the direction of the wind. I came from a killer then they went, 'Hey I don't get along with Lana anymore.' Cool, we will figure that out as well. It doesn't matter what they give me. I am the best, but it doesn't mean I'm used the right way. But now that I have the opportunity to be me, I'm going to go out there and I'm going to rip your heart and stick it right into your throat and make you chew it right in front of me and then I'll kill you and I'll forgive you. Then we'll move onto the next. This is who I am and this is who I always wanted to be and now I'm doing it and I can't be more happy than that."

Here's a 205 Live announcement. (WWE)

Asher Hale to battle Tony Nese

Asher Hale, who recently accomplished his goal of making it to WWE after a 14-year trek, has turned some heads early in his purple brand tenure. Following an extremely intense battle against Ari Sterling last week, in which he came up just short, the rebellious Superstar has an opportunity to get back in the win column with a one-on-one matchup against Tony Nese.

Never one to hide his disdain for rookies, Nese seems certain to be in a foul mood when he locks horns with the exciting Hale. Will Hale be able to overcome the events of last week or will The Premier Athlete come away with the win.

Ari Sterling to take on Ariya Daivari

Ari Sterling is still getting acclimated to being a member of the WWE 205 Live roster. Although he defeated Asher Hale last week, the week before that Sterling came up short against 205 Live OG Tony Nese. Now Sterling has another opportunity with an OG in Ariya Daivari.

In a clash of styles, Daivari's ground and pound offense will go head-to-head against The Sauce's aerial assault. The Persian Lion, who has endured a recent losing streak, has yet to meet a fresh face that he didn't despise, and that trend seems likely to continue when he collides with Sterling.

Anthony Ogogo says he has a broken rib heading into Double or Nothing: "I'm sitting here now - I'm very, very open and honest, probably too open and honest... but I am who I am, I do what I do. I've got a broken rib right now. My rib's broken because I did a move in training this week. I did it wrong, and I broke a rib. I'm now wrestling Cody, the best wrestler in the world, with a broken rib. And that's real, that's not me just saying that. My rib is fucked!"

Jimmy Jacobs says he won't be on TV for Impact again: "Probably not at Impact. I have a lot on my plate there. I do love performing and still take bookings. I love going out there and playing a character. If there was ever a spot in Impact where I thought, 'Yeah, I'd be good for this,' I would play it. Mostly, that doesn't come up. If there is someone good to manage or they needed a mouthpiece, I'd go for it, but my plate is full enough as it is."

Susan Levison was let go from the WWE as part of the layoffs this week. She was the Senior Vice President and Head of WWE Studios. (Wrestlenomics)

Scorpio Sky talks about his big match on Sunday: "This is a big match on pay-per-view. I know it's a television business now and more people are going to see your matches on television, but I am an old school fan in the sense that a pay-per-view match is the pinnacle and the top place you want to be. It's a highlight match on pay-per-view. I'm looking forward to this opportunity and many more. It's a contract year for me and it's time for me to show what I'm worth. All professional athletes, we have to go out and show what we're worth. That's from a status standpoint and everything else involved. When you get opportunities on the big stage you have to hit it out of the park. Not everyone can do that. Not everyone is a big match player and can come up clutch in big moment. I am someone that can."

Santana talks about Stadium Stampede II on Sunday: "I mean, firstly it's going to be great, like you said, to be a part of both Stadium Stampedes. And like you said also, last year was just critically acclaimed and everybody was talking about it and it was just something that 10 guys with similar mindsets and creativity and stuff just putting together some of the best stuff we can, and just hitting on all aspects of the spectrum and giving something serious, something funny, and just mixing it all up and having some fun, but this year is definitely going to be something totally different. As a lot of people have seen the story with the Pinnacle and the Inner Circle has been something that's pretty violent and pretty intense. So of course you could expect the same thing from this year's Stadium Stampede. Don't expect a lot of funny and haha stuff to be going on. This one is going to be a totally different world and a totally different attitude. And the good thing is that we're bringing a different style to the Stadium Stampede. So just keeping it fresh, and keeping it entertaining and exciting, and that's our goal, man."

Here's round two of MW's "open draft."

Enjoy!