POST NEWS UPDATE: Ronda Rousey explains why she cannot do full WWE European tours anymore

Ronda Rousey-WWE European tour note, Joe Hendry chats IMPACT, Kurt Angle's movie audition, Dakota Kai talks tag title win, Sheamus-NXT Europe

Photo Courtesy: WWE

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.

** While doing a live gaming stream, Ronda Rousey shared that she cannot do full WWE European tours anymore now that she has a daughter.

I can’t do those [European] tours anymore now that I have Pō [Rouseys daughter] which sucks because it was really fun. I remember the tours. I mean all of the tours are a really great time. But unfortunately, that time in my life is behind me now — I mean it’s a great trade for motherhood.

I can’t really do a whole tour [Rousey said when it was brought up that she did some of WWE’s European tour post-WrestleMania 38]. I had to do like one arena or whatever, because London, O2 Arena or something was a big deal. If they’re in a big venue or something, I’m like the emergency button. We’re having trouble selling out this venue. Quick, hit the ‘Ronda’ button kind of a thing.

** This past Thursday, IMPACT Wrestling announced that Joe Hendry signed a deal to return to the company. Slam Wrestling pushed out their interview with Hendry and he expressed that he’s excited and feels IMPACT has the best TV product in wrestling right now.

I absolutely believe that Impact Wrestling has the best TV wrestling product in the game right now. The team they have, their vignettes are just next level, like the creativity, the quality, those vignettes, they look like movies. I’m very excited about that company. … I know it sounds obvious, but it’s a pro wrestling show. It feels like it is an authentic wrestling show, where you can just watch, you can lose yourself for a few hours and just enjoy.

** Episode #73 of René Duprée’s Café De René podcast featured Kurt Angle as the guest. He shared that he auditioned for a role in Beverly Hills Cop 4 starring Eddie Murphy and also auditioned for a role in a series titled ‘The Pradeeps of Pittsburgh’ which is being created by Sony Pictures Television.

I started taking acting classes. I just got two reads for a TV show and a movie. One is Beverly Hills Cop [4] that Eddie Murphy’s gonna be starring in… and the other one is called The Pradeeps of Pittsburgh. It’s actually about an Indian family that moves to Pittsburgh and hates it and I’m their neighbor and I read for that so, me being from Pittsburgh helps a little bit so I’m hoping I get that role as well.

Gable Steveson became the topic of conversation and Angle feels that WWE could go the route of presenting Steveson as a babyface if they allow the audience to get to know him but thinks they should start him on TV as a heel.

It all depends how much they use him [Gable Steveson] before he starts. In other words, how many TV appearances he makes. I only made one TV appearance before I started and that was in my hometown of Pittsburgh. Tiger Ali Singh was in the ring cutting a promo, I beat the crap out of him and that was the end of the segment. So people didn’t really get to know me. It was in my hometown too and obviously, Pittsburgh knew who I was but nobody else did. Gable, if he’s on TV a good six, seven, eight times and people start getting to know him, they could probably push him as a babyface because they know he’s an Olympic Gold medalist. The fans knew I was an Olympic Gold medalist but they didn’t know me because I was never on TV but if they do that with Gable and they put him on TV enough, he’ll end up being a babyface but I think they should start him as a heel.

** Inside The Ropes sat down with Sheamus while in Cardiff, Wales for Clash at the Castle. He was asked about NXT Europe launching in 2023 and said he’d be more than open to be part of it. He added that for him to be able to get home a lot more while helping the brand would be the perfect situation for him.

I’d definitely be involved, absolutely [Sheamus said about NXT Europe]. Any chance as well I can get to come back home is great. I feel like 15 years in the States — yeah, about 15 years in America and I just, you know, the first major portion of my career, been very focused on everything that’s going on. I didn’t really get home much. I remember even at the beginning of my career, going back for visas and stuff, I’d try to get back to the U.S. as quick as possible but definitely wanna get home more. The older I get, the more I miss me dad, me ma, you know what I mean? Me family and everybody at home so, if there’s a European thing there, I’d love to be a part of it. Obviously, help all the talent, help the promotion get off the ground. I’m sure Finn [Balor] feels the same way, Drew [McIntyre] feels the same way and I’m sure Butch and Luke feels the same way — Butch and Ridge [Holland]. Wow, I really need some more coffee… But no, honestly, to get them off the ground, to help ‘em back and then obviously get home a lot more would be great for me. That would be a perfect scenario. Also, there’s probably the European Championship that’s going to be there so I’d love to get me hands on that too. Bring back the old European Title.

Looking back on his partnership with ROH World Champion Claudio Castagnoli, Sheamus said he regained a good portion of his passion for wrestling during that stretch of his career and was able to learn a lot from Claudio.

You just stay motivated man. You have to have the passion. I’m not gonna lie, there’s been times in my career when I’ve felt I lost that a little bit. When I started tagging with Cesaro, Claudio, I got a lot of that back when we did The Bar. Learned an awful lot from him too and just being in the ring with him too and tagging with him was great for me, you know?

** This past Monday on Raw, Dakota Kai and IYO SKY became WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions. Kai reflected on their title win as she was guest appearing on El Brunch de WWE. She emphasized that she wants to continue seeing the women’s division be uplifted.

So, with the Women’s Tag Team Championships being brought back and them creating a tournament around it, during the tournament, we were really adamant that we were going to be the ones to win the Women’s Championships. In saying that, in the finals, it didn’t work out that way so I think with the rematch, we knew, we had to be the ones to win them. In terms of us and Damage CTRL and all the things we’ve been saying, we won at Clash [at the Castle] but we needed more momentum but for IYO [SKY] and I to win these Tag Team Championships, not only does it do something for us and us as a group but it does something for the division. I would love to defend these Tag Team Championships against any team that wants to challenge for them. I think that-that not only elevates us but elevates the division and all the women within it together, you know? I want so badly for this division to continue to be elevated and lifted and just to prove that we are worthy of these Tag Team Championships and whoever sort of wants to try and take them off of us, it’s not gonna be that easy so… [Dakota laughed] It was such a cool moment…

** Bobby Fish was a featured guest on ‘Rewind Recap Relive’ and he recounted the negotiations that he and Kyle O’Reilly were engaged in prior to signing with WWE. Fish said they were in conversations with Ring of Honor and actively chatting with New Japan about being there more often.

When this opportunity presented itself [going to WWE], we were negotiating with Ring of Honor. I was signing a deal with New Japan to work more there. We had been with New Japan for about two years and when I say ‘we’, I’m talking Kyle [O’Reilly] and I specifically. So we were gonna be over for New Japan more often but in the midst of that, Kyle had a pretty solid offer to go to NXT and there was talk headed my direction as well but it was up and down as to what exactly that looked like and in the end, guys like William Regal were integral parts of getting us sorted out there and it became apparent to me that the interest was not only real but there was talk about life there after performing, but once we kind of got into the real discussions, performing was really the only thing that was being addressed.

** For WrestleMania 39, Bayley said on ‘Casual Conversations with The Classic’ that her dream match would be herself, Dakota Kai and IYO SKY versus Trish Stratus, Lita and Beth Phoenix.

I have too much but at this moment, it’s Damage CTRL… [against] Lita, Trish [Stratus], Beth Phoenix [at WrestleMania 39]. Get ‘em out of here, this is our place. Don’t come back!

Earlier in the chat, Bayley touched on her friendship with Carmella and Carmella’s growth as an in-ring performer. She said it’s been incredible to see her progression.

I love working with her [Carmella]. We’re great friends outside the ring so I think that definitely helps and we have a lot of the same visions and same goals and everything. Watching her grow up as a performer in the ring, you know, she didn’t wrestle before she got to the WWE so being able to watch her grow into the character and performer that she is now, incredible and I just love being in the ring with her because she’s not scared to get hit.

** The Dynamite Download podcast welcomed TNT Champion Wardlow onto their show. He expressed his thought that he believes he has what it takes to bring AEW to the mainstream.

I truly believe how I can really contribute next level to the company, I truly believe I can be somebody that can get into the mainstream light and bring a whole different audience to our show, to our company. I truly believe that I can get into, you know, Hollywood-type shows, movies and just get a whole new world onto AEW and hopefully some opportunities will come to light there and I truly believe I’m the one to do it and I think it would just extremely benefit obviously me but also the company huge.

After defeating Tony Nese to retain the TNT Title on the 9/7 Dynamite, Wardlow spoke candidly to the crowd in attendance about his up and down momentum among other talking points. He reflected on what he said and clarified that it was not a promo and touched on the point of him somewhat feeling like he dropped the ball but owes it to his supporters and those around him to turn it up to the next level.

I didn’t call out the locker room, I called out the business [Wardlow said about his post-match speech on the 9/7 Dynamite] … You know, the thing is that wasn’t a promo… It’s real, it’s very real. It’s more real than anybody could even fathom. That’s the thing man, the line between who you see on TV and who you see in real life can be very, very blurry at times. That was very real. I see that stuff and I know things. When you go from literally one of the best feuds in professional wrestling in many, many, many, many years, of course anything you do after that is gonna be difficult to follow up with. Do I feel like maybe I dropped the ball a little bit? Maybe. But I feel like I owe it to the fans and I owe it to myself to turn it up and it’s time for me to challenge next-level people. What is next when you think about it? What is next for Wardlow? But really, it comes down to who’s gonna step up. I’ve just called everybody out, I called everybody out. Who’s gonna step up? Who are the next-level guys that are gonna step up? Door’s wide open.

** With the accolades he’s tallied up as a part of IMPACT Wrestling, Eddie Edwards was asked by the Alliance Pro Wrestling Network if he thinks he’ll be in the IMPACT Hall of Fame and here was his response:

That’s not something that I focus on now [if he’ll go into the IMPACT Wrestling Hall of Fame]. That’s also something that’s not up to me. It’s more I just want to continue doing what I’m doing and putting in the work that needs to be done and in the end, that’s out of my hands.

At Bound For Glory, Edwards will be challenging Josh Alexander for the IMPACT World Championship. He commented on the forthcoming match and the respect he has for Alexander’s journey to becoming world champion.

I mean it’s Bound For Glory. It’s our biggest show of the year, it’s the main event, it’s for the IMPACT World Title. For me, I couldn’t ask for a better spot, a better position to be in to be able to go into that with my chance to win the world title for a third time. Leading up to this, I feel myself and Honor No More in general, I feel like we’re all in the right groove right now. I feel like the momentum is all on my side and Honor No More’s side going into this and Josh [Alexander], he is a great champion. He’s a great IMPACT World Champion, there’s no doubt about it and I respect everything that he’s done. I mean he did it the right way. He fought and he clawed his way to IMPACT. It took him however many years, 14 years to get to IMPACT Wrestling before getting a shot and that was just to get to IMPACT. He did all that, fought through all of his injuries, broken neck and everything. He makes it to IMPACT and then he becomes the IMPACT World Champion. That is something I respect because I feel like I went through the same type of thing so his journey is something I truly respect but unfortunately for him, Bound For Glory, I’m gonna turn that dream into a nightmare when I win that title for a third time.

** Prior to the 9/16 edition of Rampage airing on TNT, Ethan Page joined Busted Open Radio and gave the following comment when asked to reflect on his pairing with Scorpio Sky:

Yeah, I mean, I’m gonna keep some of it private so I’ll say for the most part, I enjoyed myself [tagging with Scorpio Sky]. But I have different goals now, so we’ll see how that lands with him.

** Caleb Pressley welcomed Ric Flair onto ‘Sundae Conversation’ on Barstool Sports.

** The Undertaker plays Hide and Seek:

** DDT Pro-Wrestling ‘Jun Akiyama 30th Anniversary Show’ Results (9/18/22) Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan
– Yusuke Okada def. Yuya Koroku
– Koju Takeda, Danshoku Dieno, Yumehito Imanari & Yuki Iino vs. Antonio Honda, Sanshiro Takagi, Kazuki Hirata & Toru Owashi – No Contest
– Akito, Yukio Naya & Soma Takao def. Hideki Okatani, Yukio Sakaguchi & HARASHIMA
– M.J. Paul, KANON, Daisuke Sasaki & Minoru Fujita def. Makoto Oishi, Yuji Hino, Yuki Ishida & Kazusada Higuchi
– Cara Noir, Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi def. Toi Kojima, MAO & Yuki Ueno
– Naomi Yoshimura def. Takeshi Masada
– Jun Akiyama, Tetsuya Endo & Yoshinobu Kanemaru def. Shunma Katsumata, Yuji Nagata & Konosuke Takeshita

** Five trainees were revealed at All Japan Pro Wrestling’s 50th anniversary show who are going to be a part of Suwama and Shuji Ishikawa’s all-women’s group ‘Evolution’.

** Pro Wrestling NOAH has an article on their website which explains the backstory behind the Katsuhiko Nakajima and Daiki Inaba match that is taking place on 9/19.

** Dragongate Japan Pro-Wrestling Results (9/18/22) Espoir Isanuma Hotel in Saitama, Japan
– Yuki Yoshioka & Madoka Kikuta def. Eita & Jacky ‘Funky’ Kamei
– Strong Machine J def. Kaito Nagano
– Masaaki Mochizuki, Susumu Mochizuki, Yasushi Kanda & Mochizuki Junior def. Ultimo Dragon, Punch Tominaga, Ishin Iihashi & Ho Ho Lun
– YAMATO def. Minorita via Count out
– Ryo Saito vs. Genki Horiguchi – Time Limit Draw (5:00)
– Ben-K & Kota Minoura def. Dragon Kid & Kagetora
– H.Y.O., BxB Hulk, KAI & Diamante def. Kzy, U-T, Ben Boss Shimizu & Jason Lee

** Seth Rollins joined NBC Sports’ ‘Under Center’ podcast to discuss the Chicago Bears.

** WWE Deutschland pushed out their sit-down conversation with Dominik Mysterio that was recorded prior to WWE Clash at the Castle.

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.

About Andrew Thompson 9776 Articles
A Washington D.C. native and graduate of Norfolk State University, Andrew Thompson has been covering wrestling since 2017.