“I will go f*cking broke and be poor before I ever go back to wrestling”

During an interview with Cale Owen, Dave Batista commented on his decision to walk away from professional wrestling.

“I left the company, and I left on good terms. I left at the height of my career, but it was for the right reasons.

- One of the greatest tag teams of The Ruthless Aggression Era, fun to watch, high flying stuff, but they didn’t lack charisma. Like my generation Rockers and The Rock n Roll Express, in a way.

Date: July 22, 2001

Promotion: World Wrestling Federation (WWF)

Match Stipulation / Type: WWF Hardcore Championship / Hardcore Match

Event: InVasion

Location: Cleveland, Ohio | Gund Arena

➜ This was the match that many fans would say “stole the show”. Both superstars are known for their high-risk, fast-paced style of action & they both displayed just that in this incredible match that involved all of the weapons that fans are used to seeing in a hardcore wrestling match including steel chairs & ladders.

Rachael Ellering shares her journey from Minnesota to the wrestling world, her love for music, especially pop punk, and how it influences her persona and career. We explore the crossover between entertainment industries, the importance of music in wrestling, and her personal obsessions. Rachael shares her passions beyond pro wrestling, including her love for music, sneaker collecting, and supporting women's sports. Discover how her diverse interests influence her life and career.

When you're in control of the scripting of the product and the television output, you like...kinda do.

Hilarious that she was Rhea Hogan on Friday and the worst of the internet was back to accusing her of sleeping with HHH, but days later she’s being called upon to politick so she can save the division.

I get the sentiment, that she has the most star power and holds the most weight for the women, but it’s just funny to see a 180 like this after a year of calling her a Hogan.

WCW's biggest problem was that it kept recycling the same main eventers while fans were begging for something different. Kwee Wee was one of the few lower card acts people actually remembered because of his over the top personality, unique look, and endless energy. Imagine the buzz if he'd shocked Scott Steiner for the title and WCW fully committed to the story.. Even if the reign only lasted 6 months or so, it would've sent the message that anyone could break through and that the company was finally willing to create new stars. It probably would have single handedly saved WCW from all the corporate and financial issues and would've been far more interesting than watching someone like Booker T winning the belt.

With the recent news of the likes of Steve Maclin, Tommy Dreamer, and others leaving TNA, as well as Road Dogg being rumored to replace Dreamer, and all of TNA's other current problems, I think it's safe to say that not only should TNA just embrace the inevitable and just sell itself to WWE (and just shut down, like WCW and ECW), but I think the wrestling business would be much better off without them around.

That obviously means one less company for wrestlers to work for, but let's face it: it is pretty obvious TNA is never gonna stop constantly shooting itself in the foot with bad decision after bad decision. Not to mention, AEW coming along and being able to do exactly everything TNA couldn't, just proves that the wrestling business doesn't even need TNA anymore. Not only that, but TNA's current president has a history of prepping companies up to be sold, and it's explicitly clear that TNA's parent company has no intention on helping TNA be bigger than it is. As far as TNA talent goes, it seems that they'd rather let them go than build them up, and they haven't even bothered searching the indiesfor any potential prospects. So, again, they should just put themselves out of their misery and give WWE the assets they clearly want, and be done with it.

We have the NWA and MLW that can easily pick up the slack and fill the void. Seeing as how WWE and AEW would inevitably take their pick of the litter that is the TNA roster, the TNA talent that don't get signed by either federation can easily find work in either the aforementioned NWA or MLW.

The WCW World Heavyweight Championship was established on January 11, 1991.

The inaugural champion was Ric Flair. There have been a total of 22 recognized champions who have had a combined 62 official reigns. The Giant was the youngest champion, at the age of 23. The oldest champion was Ric Flair who won at the age of 51. Flair held the title the most times with eight championship reigns, though only six have been recognized by WWE.

Who makes up your list of Top Five WCW World Heavyweight Champions?

Mine:

1.) Sting
2.) Ric Flair
3.) Scott Steiner
4.) Goldberg
5.) Booker T

Honorable Mention:

1.) Jeff Jarrett
2.) Diamond Dallas
3.) Randy Savage

Results:

- Darkstate def Saquon Shugars, Noam Dar and Romeo Moreno in a 6 man tag

- Keanu Carver def Hank Walker

- Jaida Parker def Nattie after Thea threw in the towel of Nattie "behalf"

- Shawn Spears def Niko Vance via DQ after doing the Eddie chair spot on Niko

- Reina Volcan def Skylar Rae

- Tony D Angelo def Naraku in a Street Fight to retain the NXT title

Highlights:

1) Lola challenge Kendal to an Underground match for the NXT Woman championship in 2 weeks time

2) Stone made Bronco to decide on whether he is choosing NXT or AAA during the AAA NXT Heatwave show on 30th Aug

3) Reina Volcan made her NXT in ring debut

4) Myles vs Kam for the NXT NA title, Shiloh vs Tristen and Lizzy vs Izzi set for next week

5) Mike Santana debuts in NXT as official contracted WWE wrestler

We see it a lot online where wrestlers will draw ire for things they say or do out of character. For some it may be a political opinion. For others it may be infidelity. For some it may be an actual crime they committed. Do you personally care if the character you root for is a good person IRL? What are you willing to look past and what is too much for you to ignore?

Welcome to the WWE NXT discussion thread!

This is an automoderator sticky, but a mod will likely post the card before showtime and pin it.

Please take some time to familiarise yourself with our rules before posting.

Be nice, remember the human and have at it. This thread will stay up into Wednesday for those watching on delay.

Rob Van Dam debuted this move at ECW Heatwave 2000, I'll never forget the 1st time I saw this move. If I recall correctly, RVD told everyone that he'd be debuting a new move during this match - the Van Terminator - and it absolutely lived up to the hype.

According to Wikipedia, Heatwave 2000 had 5,700 fans watching in person & another 60,000 watching on PPV.

But then a year later in 2001, at Wrestlemania X7...

Shane McMahon debuted his version of the Van Terminator, dubbed Coast to Coast, in front of 67,925 live fans & 1,040,000 watching on PPV.

Now 25 years have passed and Coast to Coast seems to be the default name for this move, I never hear it referred to as the Van Terminator nor any mention of RVD. I'll give Shane credit, he's taken all sorts of wild risks in his career, and he's done so by choice - he's a crazy mofo. But I'd rather RVD be remembered for this particular move.

What are your thoughts on the Van Terminator?