• Vince McMahon Fined Undertaker For One WrestleMania Match
The Undertaker has shared a behind-the-scenes story about a costly mistake during one of his WrestleMania matches with Triple H. Speaking on Mr. Kennedy’s ‘Mic Check with Mr. Anderson’ podcast, the WWE Hall of Famer recalled how he and Triple H knowingly broke WWE’s ban on chair shots to the head during their WrestleMania 27 No Holds Barred match in 2011. “We had already had the directive that there were no chair shots to the head,” Undertaker explained. “We’re sitting there and we’re like, man, you know, if we need it… what do you think?” He said Triple H seemed open to the idea, and they figured that given Taker’s tenure and Triple H’s status as Vince McMahon’s son-in-law, they could get away with it.
During the match, the chair shot to the head (where Taker got his hand up to protect himself) went ahead as planned. Backstage, Vince McMahon confronted them. “He wasn’t hot, but you could tell he was hot,” Taker said. “He wasn’t screaming or hollering or anything like that. And [he asked], ‘What the hell was that damn chair shot to the head?’”
The real punishment arrived later in their paychecks. “As soon as I got my check… I’m looking, I’m like, ‘Holy sh*t.’ So I called [Triple H] right away,” Taker continued. “I said, ‘Hey, man. You got your Mania check?’ He goes, ‘Yep.’ I was like, ‘Did you get fined too?’ And he went, ‘Yep.’ I was like, ‘Son of a b*tch.’”
Laughing now, Taker noted that at the time, it wasn’t funny at all. “Yeah, he fined the hell out of us, man.”
• Current Champion Is Going on a Break
AEW will be without one of its top stars for a short stretch, as current Trios Champion Samoa Joe is slated to step away from the ring temporarily. At All In: Texas, The Opps successfully defended their Trios Titles against The Death Riders. Following the bout, Joe took a vicious steel chair beatdown that ended with him being stretchered out, a moment that, it turns out, wasn’t just for show.
Fightful Select reports that AEW planned the segment to write Joe off television for a little while because Joe has a packed schedule ahead promoting the upcoming season of Twisted Metal.
While there’s no confirmed length for his absence, it’s expected to last at least a couple of weeks, allowing him to focus on the media tour for the action-comedy series. The second season of Twisted Metal is set to drop on Peacock on July 31, and Joe, who stars in the show, will be hitting the circuit to build anticipation.
