12/2/2018

Alum to NWA:

James Ellsworth is number one contender to Magnus' title.

JoMo talks WWE future:

"There's a lot of cool matchups that are waiting for me in the WWE. I'd love to teach Roman Reigns how to work. Just kidding. Seth Rollins. Unfinished business with The Miz. It'd be fun to get back in there and maybe do some Dirt Sheet episodes with him. Me, Miz, Ziggler and Zack Ryder would have a hell of a faction I think. I've never really had a long program with Cena. That'd be a fun one. I have a feeling that Daniel Bryan will be back when he gets cleared."

Chris Jericho interview:

On first meeting with Steve Austin...

"I met Austin on a plane one time and he gave me the greatest line of all time, no, it was a great line! I was walking on the plane. It was one of those rare moments when you would see WWE and WCW on the same plane. And he walked by me and said, 'hey'. I only knew Steve Austin. I was like, 'hey,' he was like, 'hey, there's a gay guy on the plane.' I said, 'really?' He goes, 'yeah, give me a kiss and I'll tell you who it is.'"

On problems in early days with WWF...

"I came in as a heel, so I had no problem I didn't know you weren't supposed to talk s--t about The Undertaker in a promo or talk bad about Steve Austin in a promo! That's what heels do to babyfaces! Right? But I learned very quickly that that's not what heels do when they first come in. I had no idea! Nobody ever taught me that in WCW. They didn't even tell me how to bump and feed a comeback. I had been in WCW for three years and I had no idea what that even meant as crazy as it sounds right now. I knew I can't win with Triple H and DX, and Rocky was always cool and Austin was in and out. Austin was always on your own, but always cool to me. But what I did was I worked really hard always, but I knew if I could get over with the bullpen, with the mid level guys, that would bleed up to the top. Bob Holly, those type of guys, JBL, Bradshaw at the time, working with those types, Rikishi, having great matches night after night, after night, with those guys, where I was programmed, word gets around, 'hey, that guy's not an asshole. You guys are talking s--t about him, but he's really good and he's a really good guy.' That really helped to alleviate some of the tension that was there."

He talked his plan to raise profiles of mid card talent, which WWE shot down...

"My initial idea was learning from one of the greatest, I don't know what you would call him, backstage interviewers, was Gene Okerlund who could lead you through a backstage promo even if you didn't know what you were doing. Right?, My idea when I started the Highlight Reel was I wanted to be the Gene Okerlund, have guys that didn't get promo time, and let me do an improv promo. Let's see what they've got. Of course, that did not fly with Vince. He wanted an actual promo segment with top level guys."

He also revealed his Mania angles were changed by Goldberg sticking around...

"It was in November maybe, Vince said, 'Okay, at WrestleMania it's you and Kevin Owens for the Universal Title. You're gonna win the world title at WrestleMania.' 'Wow, winning the world title at WrestleMania?' Vince goes, 'Yeah. You'll lose it the next pay-per-view to Brock.' I'm like, 'That's cool!' and for me I'd never won the title as a babyface either, ever. It's been six times but always as a heel. So this was kind of like, ya know, we're not marks here, but it's a pretty cool thing. Let's be honest. but one week later Survivor Series happens, Brock versus Goldberg. Goldberg beats Brock in a minute. And that's when Brock went, 'I can work with this guy. I want to work with him. I'll lose in a minute, but only if I can beat him for the title at WrestleMania.' And Vince had to make a decision: what's the bigger box office? Ya know and obviously it was Brock and Goldberg, and Chris and Kevin take back seat."

Raw tease:

• Final Superstar in the Men's Elimination Chamber Match to be determined
• Braun Strowman stands tall, even in defeat
• Have Alexa Bliss and Mickie James forged an alliance?
• What's next for Seth Rollins?
• Is Nia Jax primed to end Asuka's undefeated streak?

Hall Of Fame:

Ivory will be confirmed for the WWE HOF tonight on Raw.

Why I quit:

ECIII has revealed why he left Impact...

"My decision to leave Impact had nothing to with their business or finances and everything with me wanting to challenge myself to something new," he said on January 23. "Leaving Impact was a very difficult decision as I had six months left on a very lucrative and talent-friendly contract. Anthem lived up to that contract and always treated me with the utmost respect as a businessman and a person."

WWE star inducted:

Drew McIntyre will be inducted into the ICW HOF tonight. HHH personally signed off on him appearing at the event to accept the honour.