Tag: blake monroe

Blake Monroe makes WWE SmackDown debut

Posted on by Bryan Rose

It wasn’t much of a start, but Blake Monroe has made her WWE debut.

On Friday’s SmackDown, Chelsea Green was walking backstage when she met Blake Monroe. The former NXT North American Champion introduced herself and said she had seen Green earlier in the night…but wished she hadn’t. As Monroe walked away, Nia Jax suddenly ran in and smashed Green against nearby boes. Both Jax and Lash Legend mocked Green as officials came in to break things up.

Blake Monroe has been with WWE for the past year

Monroe vignettes have been airing on SmackDown following WrestleMania 42 last month. While numerous other NXT stars have been called up, Monroe was the final one yet to appear on television. A recent PWInsider report indicated that she would be making her debut as soon as the end of the month. She wrestled a dark match on last week’s SmackDown, defeating Jordynne Grace.

The former Mariah May signed with WWE last year, making her NXT debut in June. By the end of the year, she had won the Women’s NXT North American title before losing it to Thea Hail. In the weeks leading to her call-up she had been feuding with Tatum Paxley over the title, culminating in a coffin match she lost on the April 14 edition of NXT.

WWE files trademark for Blake Monroe nickname

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Blake Monroe’s WWE main roster debut could be imminent, if a new trademark filing is any indication.

WWE filed a trademark application on Tuesday (May 19) for Monroe’s nickname “The Glamour.” It’s a move that suggests WWE is progressing toward Monroe’s SmackDown debut. The company began hyping her arrival with videos airing on SmackDown after WrestleMania, with her first appearance expected to come soon.

In the goods and services section of the application, WWE says the trademark is for performances by a professional wrestler:

  • Entertainment services, namely, wrestling exhibitions and performances by a professional wrestler and entertainer rendered live and through broadcast media including television and radio, and via the internet or commercial online service; providing wrestling news and information via a global computer network; providing information in the fields of sports and entertainment via an online community portal; providing a website in the field of sports entertainment information; fan club services, namely, organizing sporting events in the field of wrestling for wrestling fan club members; organizing social entertainment events for entertainment purposes for wrestling fan club members; providing online newsletters in the fields of sports entertainment; online journals, namely blogs, in the field of sports entertainment

Monroe’s “The Glamour” nickname dates back to her pre-WWE career. She used the moniker in NXT, it’s featured on her merchandise, and WWE has included it in the vignettes leading into her main roster debut.

Though she hasn’t appeared yet, Monroe has been backstage at SmackDown events in recent weeks. She told Spanish-language outlet Marca that she’s excited to learn from Paul “Triple H” Levesque on the main roster after already having gotten tips from another legend in Shawn Michaels during her NXT run. Monroe, who joined NXT after departing AEW, was a one-time NXT Women’s North American Champion on the brand.

Upcoming WWE SmackDown schedule —

SmackDown is being held in Lexington, Kentucky this Friday before heading to Barcelona, Spain the following week. The Barcelona event is SmackDown’s go-home show for Clash in Italy, with the brand then heading to Bologna, Italy the following week.

Next month, SmackDown has a taping in Monroe’s hometown of London, England on June 23.

Blake Monroe, Lyra Valkyria express interest in John Cena Classic

Posted on by Vincent Verhei

We still don’t know when or where the John Cena Classic is going to be, or how it’s going to work. But we’re starting to get some ideas about who might be involved.

A pair women on WWE’s main roster have expressed interest in participating in the JCC. The first is Blake Monroe, who discussed the possibilities in a conversation with Vicente Beltran of Marca, a Spanish sports news site.

“Of course I want to be part of it,” Monroe said. “It looks like it will be a huge tournament and obviously you need to head it with a huge name like the glamorous Blake Monroe.” 

Cena suggested the event would pit stars of Raw and SmackDown against wrestlers from NXT, an idea that gave Monroe mixed emotions. 

“I just escaped from the women of NXT,” she said. “They were tormenting me. But we have a lot of talent. I would love to face Tatum [Paxley] again because we have pending matters after I got into a coffin. There is also Kendall Grey and many new European additions.”

Lyra Valkyria, who also came to WWE through the NXT system, would also like to compete in the JCC. She talked about it with Dom Smith of Soundsphere. 

“With all the talent in NXT, I feel like it just could be anyone’s chance to really make themselves the next big thing,” she said. “So I’m really excited for this tournament, and to see who’s going to stand out and who’s going to step up.”

She also named an NXT opponent she’d like to face: Kelani Jordan.

“We never crossed paths in the ring on NXT, but we got in the ring a lot together in the Performance Center,” Valkyria said. “I’ve always thought she had such a fantastic work ethic, and she’s very cool. I want to see if she stepped up. I’d love to see what she’s got, if I was able to choose anyone.” 

Blake Monroe interested in John Cena Classic, names potential WWE opponents 

Posted on by Rosanne Raphael

WWE’s Blake Monroe is keen on competing in The John Cena Classic and already has a few opponents in mind for the special event. 

In an interview with Marca, Monroe cited it was imperative for her to participate and demonstrate her wrestling skills in The John Cena Classic. Especially after her NXT feuds and ‘unfinished business’ with Tatum Paxley, naming her as a potential opponent. 

“Of course I want to be a part of it. It looks like it’s going to be a huge tournament, and obviously you need to headline it with a huge name like the glamorous Blake Monroe. As for who I’d like to face… I just escaped the women of NXT; they were tormenting me. But we have so much talent. I’d love to face Tatum again because we have unfinished business after he put me in a casket. There’s also Kendall Grey and a lot of new European additions. I’d love to be a part of it. And if I’m not, I’ll still enjoy watching because it’ll be interesting to see how all these people from different backgrounds clash.” 

Monroe was further asked about Asuka’s teased retirement and praised her impact on women’s wrestling. She recalled watching Asuka win the inaugural women’s Royal Rumble in 2018, and was inspired by her wrestling career. 

“For me, Asuka is one of the best wrestlers in the world. I remember watching her after she won the Royal Rumble against Charlotte Flair and thinking, ‘Wow, she’s something special.’ I feel like she came to WWE and raised the bar for the NXT women’s division and the main roster as well. I don’t know what her decision is or where her heart is right now, but I would love to wrestle her someday. So I’m kind of devastated if this really is the end, though I also have enormous respect for her career. It’s incredible.” 

Monroe signed with WWE in 2025 officially joining the NXT roster. Last month, her transition to SmackDown was confirmed however she is yet to make an appearance.

Potential timeline for Blake Monroe WWE SmackDown debut

Posted on by Ian Carey

An update is available on Blake Monroe.

Vignettes for Monroe have been airing on WWE SmackDown in recent weeks, but she has yet to appear live on the show.

According to a report from PWInsider on Wednesday, Monroe is expected to start appearing on SmackDown by the end of the month. However, the report noted that this is subject to change.

WWE airs Blake Monroe vignettes

The first vignette teasing Monroe’s main roster call-up aired on the April 24 edition of WWE SmackDown. The vignette continued Monroe’s “The Glamour” presentation from NXT. A second vignette for Monroe aired on the May 1 SmackDown.

Monroe hasn’t wrestled since the second week of NXT Revenge on April 21, when she lost a casket match to Tatum Paxley.

The 27-year-old made her WWE debut on the June 3, 2025 episode of NXT. She held the NXT Women’s North American title from Halloween Havoc until the December 16, 2025 episode.

Before joining WWE, Monroe spent from November 2023 to May 2025 with AEW, where she held the AEW Women’s World Championship. She also previously held the Goddesses of Stardom titles with Mina Shirakawa.

Blake Monroe joining WWE Smackdown roster

Posted on by Vincent Verhei

Blake Monroe is done with NXT and moving up to WWE’s main roster as a promo hyping her debut aired on Friday’s WWE SmackDown.

“The Glamour is the girl you’ve been waiting for,” the narrator explained as footage aired of Monroe in NXT. “She’s beauty. She’s grace…and she will probably punch you in the face. The Glamour doesn’t just walk into the spotlight, she’s the reason it exists.”

Monroe’s voice could then be heard explaining that “nothing burns brighter and darker than Blake Monroe.”

Monroe rose to fame as Mariah May, first in Stardom in Japan and then with AEW. She won the women’s Owen Hart Cup in 2024 and went on to defeat Toni Storm for the AEW Women’s World Championship at All In in London that year. She would later drop the title back to Storm the following March in a match dubbed the Hollywood Ending, her last match with the company. 

Monroe then debuted in NXT last June. She feuded with Jordynne Grace, then won the Women’s North American Championship, pinning Zaria to win a belt held by Sol Ruca. She would then lose the title to Thea Hail in a botched finish on live television in December. 

She ended her run in NXT by feuding with Tatum Paxley, unsuccessfully challenging her for the women’s North American Championship at Stand & Deliver earlier this month. Her last match in NXT was a loss to Paxley in a casket match this past Tuesday. 

New member to join WWE NXT’s Vanity Project if Blake Monroe gets called up | Exclusive

Posted on by Josh Nason

With Blake Monroe’s potential call-up to the main roster a hot topic following her loss on Tuesday’s WWE NXT, our Bryan Alvarez has some news on who could join the Vanity Project if that happens.

Alvarez says that Myka Lockwood will join the faction if & when Monroe gets the call. Lockwood made her on-screen debut as a character during Tuesday’s show as a potential new love interest of Jackson Drake.

On the show, Shiloh Hill set up Drake on a date so he wouldn’t interfere in the Women’s North American title match (also a casket match) between Monroe and champion Tatum Paxley. However, the date stood him up.

Enter Lockwood who hit it off with Drake as she figured out that Hill had Drake fooled by an AI chatbot. The skit ended with Lockwood walking out of the bar with all three Vanity Project members.

Lockwood’s real name is Bayley Humphrey, a former Division 1 acrobatics & tumbling All-American from Baylor University. She was a member of the fourth class of the WWE NIL program in December 2023.

Alvarez added that her NXT finisher is “fricking awesome.”

Two title bouts, kickoff match booked for WWE NXT Stand & Deliver

Posted on by Bryan Rose

More matches have been announced for Stand & Deliver.

Los Americanos won the number one contender’s match for the Tag Team titles on Tuesday, winning after help from El Grande Americano, who aided them by giving them an object to load into their mask. As a result, they will now challenge Vanity Project at Stand & Deliver this coming Saturday.

Bravo & Rayo were slotted into the tournament after Elio LeFleur & Eli Knight were seen attacked backstage last week, putting them out of the tournament. Los Americanos defeated The Culling’s Shawn Spears and Niko Vance to advance to Tuesday’s finals.

Meanwhile, Blake Monroe and Tatum Paxley agreed to a title match in St. Louis following a face-to-face on Tuesday’s show in New York City. The two ended up getting into a tug of war over the Women’s North American title, which Monroe stole from Paxley two weeks ago. Monroe managed to snatch the title and flee before Paxley could do more damage.

A pre-show match was also set for Saturday. Birthright will take on Eli Knight, Hank & Tank, Shiloh Hill, and Wren Sinclair in a ten-person tag team match.

WWE NXT Stand & Deliver (April 4)

  • NXT Championship: Joe Hendry defends against Ricky Saints, Ethan Page, and Tony D’Angelo
  • NXT Women’s North American title: Tatum Paxley defends against Blake Monroe
  • Sol Ruca vs. Zaria
  • NXT North American title: Myles Borne defends against Johnny Gargano
  • NXT Tag Team titles: The Vanity Project defend against Los Americanos
  • Kickoff: Birthright (Lexis King, Stacks, Charlie Dempsey, Uriah Connors, and Arianna Grace) vs. Eli Knight, Shiloh Hill, Hank & Tank, and Wren Sinclair

Blake Monroe discusses working under Shawn Michaels in WWE NXT

Posted on by Shounak Chakrabarti

Formerly known as Mariah May in AEW, Blake Monroe switched promotions and joined WWE last year as a part of Shawn Michaels’ NXT.

Recently speaking on The Wrestling Classic, Monroe opened up in detail about the experience of working under Michaels’ management.

“Oh, that’s it’s awesome. I think the thing with Shawn [Michaels] is he was such a phenomenal wrestler, but he also has such a good character. He really understands how to tell a story and where to put those beats. And WWE is really heavy on entertainment and that story side. And that’s what I love. That’s what I thrive on,” Monroe said. The 27-year-old was also involved in one of the most talked-about AEW feuds with Toni Storm for the AEW Women’s World title before she departed from the promotion.

“But getting to, you know, when we work on different things, and he’s so hands-on. Matt Bloom and Shawn Michaels when we, you know, we have TV, they are so invested and so is the whole writers team, but Shawn will literally be ringside and he’ll give you advice and, you know, I think back to all the epic moments Shawn Michaels has had and I’m like, when he’s showing me, he’s like, you know, he never tells you how to do you,” she continued.

“Like, he always says, you’re the glamour. You’re the woman from h**l. Like, I’ll never tell you how to do your thing. But, you know, I can see how Shawn Michaels would do it, and maybe the face he would make or the demeanor he would have or the way he would do something, and it’s like that’s pretty cool. He’s pretty much always right.”

Monroe is also a former WWE NXT Women’s North American Champion, having held the title for 52 days before losing it to Thea Hail. She is now scheduled to be in a match against Jaida Parker at NXT Vengeance Day.

Blake Monroe joined WWE for the ‘challenge’

Posted on by Shounak Chakrabarti

WWE NXT Superstar Blake Monroe has opened up on her decision to join WWE NXT.

Last year, following a successful run in AEW and a rivalry against Toni Storm, Monroe (formerly known as Mariah May) jumped ship and joined WWE.

Recently speaking on The Wrestling Classic, Monroe explained her decision and revealed that she joined WWE for the ‘challenge.’

“Well, as you can see, it’s challenging me in a lot of ways, but I came to WWE for the challenge. I came because I felt like everything I’ve done in my career, I’ve given my everything to, and I feel like, in a sense, I completed it, and I left with my heart full. With WWE, the women’s division is so deep. We have three brands, we have so many championships,” Monroe said.

“We have so many women from different backgrounds, so right now I’m in NXT. There are anything from influencers to gold medalist Olympians coming up, so you have such a broad spectrum, and everybody has something different, and the one thing I will say about Jaida (Parker) is she has an attitude I have never seen before,” she further continued.

“She has a charisma and an energy that I feel in that ring, since coming to NXT, that’s the most I’ve felt it. That crowd gets behind her and everything she says, she truly believes, and I respect that. So, it’s very exciting. It’s definitely a challenge, but it’s making me elevate different levels of my game. I come from independent wrestling, I come from Japan, I’ve traveled the world. I wasn’t a D1 athlete, I didn’t train like that, so there’s something I could learn from them. There’s a lot they can learn from me, and I think mixing that up is why NXT is such a chaotic and exciting show every Tuesday.“

A former WWE NXT Women’s North American Champion, Monroe is now scheduled to face Jaida Parker at NXT Vengeance Day on March 7th, 2026.

New match & stipulation added to WWE NXT Vengeance Day

Posted on by Bryan Rose

A match and a new stipulation has been added to NXT Vengeance Day. 

Jaida Parker and Blake Monroe’s face-to-face ended in a confrontation on Tuesday, leading Parker to stand tall. Later in the show, Monroe emerged by the announcer’s table and told Parker she did bring the hell out of her and said this would end at Vengeance Day in a Street Fight.

The two have been feuding since last month, with their first match ended in a double countout and with Monroe injuring Parker’s neck. On last week’s NXT, Parker returned and attacked Monroe, costing her a Speed tournament match against Thea Hail.

Throughout Tuesday’s show, DarkState looked to go after Tony D’Angleo, who cost them the NXT Tag Team titles. Tony D finally confronted Dion Lennox in the crowd, saying the hunter has become the hunted. He blamed Lennox for his downfall last year and while he might have killed that man, he’s returned as a more dangerous person. D’Angelo challenged him to a match at Vengeance Day, saying after he beats Lennox he will have completed one of the two goals he has set out for himself since making his return.

After Sol Ruca came out and interrupted the NXT Women’s Championship match between Zaria and Jacy Jayne, Robert Stone said he would have a decision about the NXT Women’s Championship at Vengeance Day. Ruca laid out both women with the sol snatcher, leading to no winner in their title match.

Here is the updated lineup for WWE NXT Vengeance Day:

WWE NXT Vengeance Day (March 7)

  • NXT Championship: Joe Hendry defends against Ricky Saints
  • NXT Women’s North American title: Izzi Dame defends against Tatum Paxley
  • NXT Underground match: Lola Vice vs. Kelani Jordan
  • Street Fight: Blake Monroe vs. Jaida Parker
  • Tony D’Angelo vs. Dion Lennox

Blake Monroe vs. Jaida Parker added to WWE NXT Vengeance Day

Posted on by Vincent Verhei

NXT Interim General Manager has added a match to this Saturday’s Vengeance Day event, booking a match between Jaida Parker and Blake Monroe. 

Stone made the announcement on social media. 

Parker disappeared from NXT television in the closing months of 2025. She returned in January of this year and confronted Monroe. They have met once on television, going to a double countout on the February 10 episode. They have continued to taunt, confront, and interfere in one another’s matches since then. 

NXT has also announced a face-to-face segment between Parker and Monroe for their TV show tomorrow night. It will be one of two women’s face-to-face segments on the show, along with the previously announced meeting between Izzi Dame and Tatum Paxley. 

The full card so far for WWE NXT Vengeance Day, airing this Saturday, March 7, from the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida:

  • NXT Championship: Joe Hendry (c) vs. Ricky Saints
  • NXT Women’s North American Championship: Izzi Dame (c) vs. Tatum Paxley
  • NXT Underground Match: Lola Vice vs. Kelani Jordan
  • Blake Monroe vs. Jaida Parker

Thea Hail advances in WWE NXT Speed tournament 

Posted on by Shounak Chakrabarti

Thea Hail has done it and qualified for the next round of the WWE NXT Speed tournament.

On Tuesday, during the February 24th episode of WWE NXT, Hail faced off against long-time nemesis Blake Monroe in the NXT Speed tournament. In the short but interesting match, Hail reigned supreme after she defeated Monroe to qualify.

However, the win came after Jaida Parker, previously reported to be injured, interfered and caused Monroe to lose the match.

The match began with Hail charging and attacking Monroe even before the bell rang. Hail continued to dominate the match and maintain pressure before Parker interfered and hit her, causing Hail to take advantage and secure the win.

With her victory tonight, Hail has booked herself against the winner of a future Wren Sinclair vs. Nikkita Lyons match.

Additionally, Hail and Monroe’s history goes back a long way. Last year, in December 2025, Hail had defeated Monroe after hitting her with a springboard senton and a botched referee count.

Blake Monroe in ‘no rush’ for WWE main roster call-up

Posted on by Ian Carey

Blake Monroe says she’s not in any rush to be called up to the WWE main roster.

In January, there were reports that Monroe was being discussed for a potential move to the Raw roster. However, during a recent interview with Not Sam Wrestling, she said she still has a lot of unfinished business in NXT.

Monroe was in character for much of the interview but mentioned there are many women on the NXT roster she still wants to wrestle.

Monroe said:

“I’m not in any rush. As I said, I still have so much to do. I’ve hardly feuded with any of the women. I mean, Jordynne Grace wasted a lot of my time and now Jaida Parker is chasing me around, but there’s so many women I want to wrestle. I haven’t even approached the main women’s title. So there’s so much to do.”

Also during the interview, Monroe discussed her controversial loss of the NXT Women’s North American Championship on December 16 to Thea Hail, where a botched finish led to Hail winning the belt.

Monroe said of the match:

“The theme of my career is people will talk about me and who are you if you’re not talked about, to be honest. It was definitely shocking and I feel like the ref was clearly in a rush to get home. I mean, he counted that quick.”

“I’m going to get my revenge next week in under three minutes.”

Monroe and Thea Hail are scheduled to face off in the Speed Contenders Tournament on this Tuesday’s edition of NXT. She also said she suffered damage to her ribs from Hail’s senton.

“I actually got injured too. I damaged all the cartilage in my ribs. So, I spent my Christmas break bandaged up like this, having to do rehab, thinking of all the things I would do to Thea Hail, and then never actually got to wrestle her.”

A clip of Monroe’s appearance on Not Sam Wrestling is available below.

Daily Update: Blake Monroe, Kerwin Silfies, John Cena

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Daily Update

Latest News

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This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter

Our annual awards issue is out covering the following topics:

  • Winners, top place winners, comments and every winner of every award dating back to 1980, from Wrestler of the Year, MMA MVP, Most Outstanding, Most Outstanding MMA Fighter, Tag Team of the Year, Best on Interviews, Promotion of the Year, Best Weekly TV show, Match of the Year, MMA Fight of the year, U.S./Canada MPV, Japanese MVP, Mexico MVP, Europe MVP, Best non-heavyweight, Women’s MVP, Women’s MMA MVP, Feud of the Year, Best Box Office Draw, Most Improved, Most Charismatic, Best Technical, Best Brawler, Best Flying Wrestler, Most Overrated, Most Underrated, Rookie of the Year, Best Non-WRestler, Best Television Announcer, Worst Television Announcer, Most major show, Worst major show, Best maneuver, Most Disgusting Promotional Tactic, Worst TV show, Worst match, Worst feud, Worst promotion, Best Booker of the Year, Promoter of the Year, Best Gimmick, Worst Gimmick, Best Book and Best Documentary.
  • Tons of news related to the build to WrestleMania, why the card may be changing, a major concern regarding ticket sales, predictability vs. surprises, How Bron Breakker’s injury changes things, Brock Lesnar situation, Becky Lynch situation, situation in Las Vegas, concerns in Las Vegas, why ticket sales are down, plus build to Elimination Chamber
  • Tadao Yasuda, a unique life of a former sumo star, IWGP champion, one of the biggest upsets in MMA history, the birth of the New Year’s Eve fighting tradition, gambling issues and more
  • Coverage of the New Beginning in Osaka, talent leaving, talent staying, what is the direction for New Japan the next few months and a worst and best match of the year candidate one right after the other
  • Betting odds for this week’s wrestling
  • Most detailed look at the TV ratings, a look at the red flags, streaming numbers and more.
  • Notes on the honoring and retirement of El Satanico and career highlights
  • Mistico sellout updates
  • The last Friday for a month at Arena Mexico with the biggest names
  • AAA TV tapings with WWE talent
  • Starddom PPV notes
  • Epstein files wrestling references
  • Biggest UK women’s show coming
  • Show coming up attempting to be the largest attendance for an all-women’s show in three decades
  • Paramount again trying to get WBD
  • How politics affects pro wrestling
  • Grand Slam Australia notes
  • MJF talks Punk
  • TV reviews
  • YouTube notes
  • CBS airing UFC on 3/7
  • Zuffa boxing defies Ali Act with world title announcement
  • WWE injury updates
  • Bad Bunny Super Bowl controversy
  • WWE Hall of Famer threatens to quit if another person isn’t removed
  • Reigns upcoming schedule

This Week’s Back Issue

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Thursday Update

Kirwin Silfies

WWE

  • WWE and 2K Games held a Creator Fest event at WWE headquarters today to promote the upcoming release of WWE 2K26. Blake Monroe was among the talent there, with this being her first visit to HQ. She appeared on Busted Open Radio and discussed what her time in WWE NXT has been like so far:
    • Oh, it’s been amazing. I mean, wrestling is a real roller coaster. But for me, I always just come back to as a kid, I wanted to be a WWE Superstar. And then to be in somewhere like the WWE HQ where the walls are just covered in legends and then people from now. For me, that’s just really cool. Because it’s like, ‘Hey, I remember being a kid.’ And like, ‘I remember that match and I remember this.’ And it’s like, hey, I’m a part of this and I will build a legacy here.
    • Once we get rid of Thea Hail [in their NXT feud], I can get back on track and build a legacy here and be a part of that. So I think it’s a balance of, like, having the humility of, hey, this was always my dream, but also like I earned my spot here and loads of people want to be a WWE Superstar and they can’t.
  • Michael Hayes posted a tribute to former WWE director Kerwin Silfies following his passing:
    • I was so sorry to hear about Kerwin passing.
    • Kerwin was one of the nicest people I’ve ever met at WWE.
    • You may think you don’t know Kerwin, but, you know his body of work.
    • If there was ever a WWE childhood memory you have, it was most likely directed by Kerwin from 1985-2020. Kerwin will surely be missed.
    • NEVER FORGOTTEN!!
    • RIP Kerwin
  • Shawn Michaels sent his condolences to Silfies’ family and friends:
    • The @WWE family lost a very special part of our team.
    • Kerwin Silfies was our Director during my entire career. If you were there, you know how important that role was. He helped shape the sound, the feel, and the rhythm of what fans watched every week.
    • Raw, SmackDown, WrestleMania… he was in the chair, leading the way.
    • Kerwin loved the work. He loved the crew. And he took pride in getting it right. I’m grateful I got to work alongside him.
    • My thoughts are with his family and everyone who called him a friend.
  • Stephanie McMahon, Mark Henry, Matt Hardy, and Jeff Jarrett are among the others who posted tweets remembering Silfies.
  • In an interview with The Takedown on SI, John Cena named some of the opponents he learned a lot from early in his WWE career:
    • Oh my goodness, that list is long and distinguished. So you’re talking about a short period of time, so I’m going to leave out a lot of names that continued to, quote unquote, carry me from that point beyond. But up until then, Booker T, Eddie Guerrero, John Layfield, Kurt Angle, Rikishi.
    • Man, the list goes on and on. Every performer with time in front of a live audience, who wasn’t from my OVW class, I was able to learn from. They took care of me. Matt Bloom, who was A-Train, guys like Kidman on Velocity, heck even matches I had with a young Bryan Danielson, Paul London, Brian Kendrick, Renee Dupree.
    • To be able to learn from those guys. I was able to learn from every person I was put in the ring with, until I won the championship from a mentor who really took care of me, and toughened me up too, but showed me the ropes, in John Layfield. I’m grateful to them all.
  • PWInsider reports that Sean “X-Pac” Waltman was at the WWE Performance Center today.
  • Shawn Michaels shared a brief clip from WWE’s Performance Center tryouts.
  • TalkSport interviewed Drew McIntyre.
  • Raquel Rodriguez appeared on TMZ’s Inside the Ring podcast.

Other Wrestling

  • Rocky Romero spoke to Undisputed about how Kazuchika Okada was able to help get him acclimated to Japan when they were faction mates in NJPW:
    • We’ve also spent a lot of time together on the road. Dinners in the middle of nowhere, him helping me navigate all different parts of Japan to make sure I was getting culture in our days off and not just in my room watching TV. There’s no one like Okada.
  • Matt & Jeff Hardy have been announced for Battle for the Brave in Rahway, New Jersey on June 6. It’s a wrestling event that Deonna Purrazzo and Steve Maclin are putting on to benefit the charity Tunnels to Towers.
  • Former WWE wrestler Eva Marie was the guest on a new episode of Insight with Chris Van Vliet.
  • SoCalVal interviewed Christy Hemme for WrestlingNewsCo.