• Brock Lesnar Turned Down Shane McMahon’s Request At Royal Rumble 2022
At Royal Rumble 2022, Brock Lesnar lost the WWE Championship to Bobby Lashley after interference from Roman Reigns. Later in the night, Lesnar entered the Men’s Royal Rumble match at #30 and won. Backstage at this event, Shane McMahon asked Lesnar if he could pick The Beast up for a spot during this match, and Lesnar turned Shane O’Mac down.
Here’s what Riddle said about this situation during an interview with TMZ:
“I remember being in that locker room because there’s a bunch of people, Shane McMahon, a bunch of people were there. We had different ideas and plans and dude [Brock Lesnar] came in and was like, ‘I just did business for Bobby Lashley. You guys are all going to do business for me.’ And then Shane McMahon mentioned and asked if he could pick him up for a spot and Brock just looked down like, ‘No.'”
Riddle then bragged about how can lift anyone up in the ring:
“I can actually pick Brock up, but I’m not going to. I can pick anybody up, bro. I dealt with German suplex. Keith Lee. He’s like 350, bro.”
• “I have good friends on the roster that still say CM Punk is a b*tch to work with” – Controversial Wrestler
During an interview on TMZ’s Inside The Ring podcast, Matt Riddle took multiple shots at WWE Superstar CM Punk. Here’s what Riddle said:
“I have good friends on the roster that still say he’s a b*tch to work with. If he didn’t generate the amount of money and attention that he does, he wouldn’t be there. Kudos to him, the guy packs an arena, he sells tickets, he sells merchandise. When you’re looking at WWE, especially with TKO, I don’t think they care about anything else. They go, ‘What do you want to get paid? You bring this much value, okay, good.’
Hats off to him, he’s killing it. He’s wrestling, he’s staying active, he’s staying busy. His fans seem to love him. So, I have no ill will towards the man. I just don’t think he’s good at fighting. I think his better days of wrestling are way behind him.
That’s not a knock, I’ll tell you this, I’m not getting that much better, faster, or stronger and I can tell you that he’s definitely not either, especially with all the botches.”
• Backstage News On Liv Morgan’s Return Date
WWE fans eager to see Liv Morgan back in action may have to wait a while longer. The former Women’s World Champion has been out of competition since suffering a dislocated shoulder in June, an injury that abruptly halted her momentum alongside Raquel Rodriguez in the tag division. While Raquel has occasionally dropped hints about Liv’s comeback, those teases appear to be premature.
PWInsider reports that Morgan underwent a medical check-up this week to assess her progress, sparking speculation that she might appear backstage at RAW. That didn’t happen, and sources inside WWE suggest that her return isn’t expected until the opening months of 2026.
Before the setback, Liv was building toward a major storyline involving The Judgment Day – one that could have split the faction down the middle. By the time she’s cleared, the WWE landscape could look very different, leaving plenty of uncertainty about how her creative direction will be reshaped once she’s finally back on television.
• Fans Reject Hulk Hogan Eulogy from WWE Hall of Famer at Indy Show
What was intended as a heartfelt moment at an independent wrestling event quickly unraveled when fans reacted negatively to Tony Atlas’ attempt to honor Hulk Hogan.
The WWE Hall of Famer appeared at a Limitless Wrestling show in Lewiston, Maine, on August 9, where he tried to deliver a tribute to the late wrestling icon. Instead of applause, however, the 71-year-old was met with loud boos that reportedly forced him to cut his tribute short.
Here’s what the Wrestling Observer reported: “At the show, he tried to do a eulogy for Hulk Hogan and got booed to the point he just gave up.”
The scene stood in sharp contrast to comments Atlas had made just a day earlier. In an interview with the Portland Press Herald, he admitted that he had not been invited to Hogan’s funeral and even suggested he was relieved about it. According to Atlas, attending would have felt insincere because it would have been “for the money, not for him.”
Despite not being present at the service, Atlas noted that he and Hogan had remained in touch. He recounted a phone call they shared only a few months before Hogan’s passing, as he remembered asking Hogan how he had managed to get his number. Hogan’s response, Atlas said, was simple: he had always kept track of him.
• Update On WWE’s Crown Jewel Championships
At the Crown Jewel 2024 PLE in Saudi Arabia, WWE introduced the Crown Jewel Titles. RAW’s Women’s World Champion at the time, Liv Morgan, defeated SmackDown’s WWE Women’s Champion at the time, Nia Jax, to become the inaugural Women’s Crown Jewel Champion.
SmackDown’s Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes defeated RAW’s World Heavyweight Champion at the time, Gunther, to become the inaugural Men’s Crown Jewel Champion.
At the post-show press conference, WWE staged a special ceremony honoring Cody and Liv. Both were awarded custom Crown Jewel rings, modeled after Super Bowl-style championship rings. Their newly-won title belts were later placed on display at the WWE Experience attraction in Riyadh.
According to Bodyslam, the Crown Jewel Titles will not be on the line at this year’s Crown Jewel PLE because Crown Jewel 2025 will take place in Australia and not Saudi Arabia.
