Tag: Rick Steiner

Rick Steiner pulled from WrestleCon Detroit appearance

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Rick Steiner will no longer be appearing at WrestleCon Detroit.

Just two days after defending their decision to allow Steiner to be booked for the convention, WrestleCon announced that they’ve revoked their permission for Steiner to attend. The decision stems from an incident where Steiner “verbally accosted” Impact Wrestling’s Gisele Shaw at WrestleCon earlier this year and directed transphobic insults at her.

WrestleCon noted that they initially approved Steiner’s appearance for the Detroit convention because they believe everyone deserves a second chance, because Steiner privately apologized to those who chose to be present (Shaw did not attend the apology), and because the convention “lacked any type of code of conduct/harassment policy that clearly defined our expectations as a convention participant.” But after speaking with Brian Bell of the website Outsports, WrestleCon agreed that there needed to be, at minimum, a public acknowledgment/apology from Steiner. WrestleCon gave Steiner 24 hours to make a statement, but he hasn’t made one and WrestleCon doesn’t expect him to make one.

“Because we understand this issue required great urgency, we gave Rick Steiner 24 hours to make such a statement,” WrestleCon wrote. “Unfortunately, there is not currently and we do not expect to receive such a statement, and we have therefore made a decision to revoke our permission for him to attend.”

Shaw came out as transgender in 2022.

In addition to the verbal abuse that Steiner directed at her, Shaw also stated that one of her peers from Impact Wrestling was called a homophobic slur by Steiner at WrestleCon.

WrestleCon wrote that they’ve created a first draft of a code of conduct and anti-harassment policy for the convention. They’re partnering with Starrcast, Wrestlecade, and The Gathering (Charlotte Fanfest), who have all agreed to adopt a similar policy for their events.

WrestleCon Detroit is taking place from August 4-5. It’s happening in Detroit at the same time as SummerSlam weekend.

The full statement from WrestleCon can be read below:

Attention: Rick Steiner has been removed from Wrestlecon.

When we allowed Rick Steiner to return to our Convention as a vendor guest of Tony Hunter Promotions, we did not adequately take into account the impact his past words from our last event still held in the LGBTQIA+ community. We initially allowed him to return because 1) We still feel that people deserve a second chance. 2) Rick did make an apology to all parties that chose to be present. 3) We lacked any type of code of conduct/harassment policy that clearly defined our expectations as a convention participant.

After a thoughtful dialogue with Brian Bell from SB Nation’s Outsports and host of the LGBT In the Ring podcast on Monday morning, we agreed with his opinion it was necessary to have some type of public acknowledgment/apology from Rick Steiner, at an absolute minimum, to allow him to attend Detroit. Because we understand this issue required great urgency, we gave Rick Steiner 24 hours to make such a statement. Unfortunately, there is not currently and we do not expect to receive such a statement, and we have therefore made a decision to revoke our permission for him to attend.

Additionally, we now have created a first draft of our Code of Conduct and Anti-Harassment policy that will be posted on our website for everybody to see later today. We will continue to improve upon this code of conduct over time and with the cooperation of others. We understand and appreciate that there will be many differences of opinion among our participants and we want to create a safe and enjoyable space for everybody at our Conventions. At this time, we have partnered in solidarity with other Wrestling industry Convention leaders, notably Starrcast, Wrestlecade, and The Gathering (Charlotte Fanfest) who also agree to adopt and adhere to a similar code of conduct for their events.

WrestleCon issues statement on booking Rick Steiner again after Gisele Shaw incident

Posted on by Ian Carey

Rick Steiner has been booked for an upcoming WrestleCon event in Detroit, Michigan. 

Impact Wrestling’s Gisele Shaw posted to social media on April 1 that Steiner verbally accosted her at a WrestleCon event over WrestleMania weekend. Shaw, who came out as transgender last year, says Steiner referred to her as “a dude,” “filth,” “a piece of trash,” and told her to “get the f*ck away from here.” Steiner was not allowed to participate in the remainder of WrestleCon’s events that weekend as a result. 

However, WrestleCon has announced that Rick Steiner has been booked for their event on August 4 & 5 in Detroit. 

Michael Bochicchio, the owner of the convention, addressed booking Steiner for a future event in a social media post on Sunday. 

Bochicchio wrote:

“I’m going to address the Rick Steiner issue here instead of responding to every post. I hope everyone takes the time to read, but I also understand if you choose not to hear another side. Rick made completely inappropriate remarks to Giselle Shaw at our event in Los Angeles. As soon as we were made aware of what happened, we swiftly addressed the issue, but we never shared details of what happened at the event.

In hindsight, it was probably a mistake not to share more details during or immediately after the event concluded. I take full responsibility- my wife died 3 weeks after the LA show at the age of 46, after a long battle with cancer, and I made a lot of mistakes during that time. However, at no time then or after do we condone the remarks Rick made at LA. We did not fail to act after we were notified, and as a result, we removed him from the convention for the duration of that event. Rick’s poor decision forever impacted his brand , relationships within the wrestling community, and alienated many of his fans. 

Bochicchio continued to write that Steiner offered an apology to Impact Wrestling staff in a mediated setting. Shaw chose not to attend. 

One of the positive things Rick did, and it was not publicized, is immediately apologize. He apologized to members of the Wrestlecon staff, he apologized to many of his fellow wrestlers, and offerred apologies to the members of Impact Wrestling staff that chose to hear from him at a private mediated event. Giselle chose not to attend Rick’s apology, which we 100% understood, supported, and still support to this day. She had no obligation to hear anything from Rick nor should she ever feel obligated to accept any apology from him then or now.

Bochicchio continued to say that Steiner will be permanently banned from future events if there are similar incidents in the future. 

Now that we are three months beyond this event, I feel that Rick learned a lot from his huge mistake. I know it’s easier to cancel people when they make mistakes than to forgive and help educate. However, sometimes I think it’s important that we give people a second chance. That being said, Rick will forever be on a zero-tolerance scale moving forward at any of our events. If we are proven wrong, that he has not learned from his mistakes, we will enforce a permanent ban. That is not to imply that everyone gets one free strike. We continue to strive to have an environment where everyone feels safe and included. If we are faced with issues that compromise that environment, we will take all necessary action. 

GCW’s Effy responded to WrestleCon’s statement:

Impact Wrestling, WrestleCon issue statements on Gisele Shaw/Rick Steiner incident

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Update: Impact Wrestling has also issued a statement on the incident:

IMPACT Wrestling stands in full support of @GiseleShaw08 and the LGBTQ+ community. We are saddened by the incident Friday afternoon at Wrestlecon in Los Angeles and hope everyone can learn and be better from it. Thank you to the millions worldwide who have read Gisele’s statement and showed full support for her. Particular thanks go to the organizing staff of Wrestlecon as well as the IMPACT roster and crew who all handled an ugly situation with the utmost professionalism.

**********

WrestleCon has issued a statement on the incident between Gisele Shaw and Rick Steiner that took place at their convention.

“WrestleCon regrets the events that took place at yesterday’s convention and apologizes to Gisele Shaw,” WrestleCon wrote on Saturday. “We aim to promote a safe and inclusive environment for all LGBTQAI+ members of the wrestling community. The issue has been addressed and we hope the remainder of the convention can be a positive experience for all.”

PWInsider reports that Steiner was informed that he was not allowed to enter or take part in the remainder of WrestleCon’s events.

In a social media post on Friday, Shaw alleged that she was verbally accosted by Steiner at WrestleCon. Shaw, who came out as transgender in 2022, stated that Steiner called her “a dude,” “filth,” “a piece of trash,” and told her to “get the f*ck away from here.”

Shaw also stated that one of her Impact Wrestling peers was called a homophobic slur by Steiner.

“I want to thank all of my Impact peers who were present during the incident and tried to diffuse the situation,” Shaw wrote. “Unfortunately a member of that same peer group was also verbally accosted by Rick Steiner being called a ‘f****t’ earlier in the day.”

Impact Wrestling referee Daniel Spencer backed up Shaw’s account of the incident. “My heart breaks for Gisele and our [other] peer,” Spencer tweeted. “To witness it happen was shocking and disturbing. Respect and love is something we have at IMPACT because we are FAMILY. I’m so grateful for the support we have for one another.”

Steiner is currently a member of the Cherokee County School District’s Board of Education in Cherokee County, Georgia.

Impact’s Gisele Shaw says she was verbally accosted by Rick Steiner

Posted on by Ethan Renner

In a social media post, Impact Wrestling’s Gisele Shaw has accused Rick Steiner of verbally accosting her.

Shaw tweeted the accusation against Steiner, who she says repeatedly accosted her at WrestleCon on Friday, calling her “a dude,” “filth,” “a piece of trash,” and told her to “get the f*ck away from here.” Shaw also says that Steiner referred to another Impact talent by using a slur. 

Shaw says that the incident took place in front of other wrestling legends who did nothing to intervene. She says that she is publicly acknowledging the incident not looking for sympathy, but because Friday was the International Day of Transgender Visibility, and that she is standing up for herself and others who face the same types of situations daily. Shaw is a transgender woman.

Impact referee Daniel Spencer corroborated Shaw’s account of the incident, and said that it was “shocking and disturbing,” while expressing support for Shaw and their unnamed Impact peer.

Shaw thanked her Impact Wrestling peers for trying to diffuse the situation with Steiner, and referred to the peers as family.  

Steiner was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2022, and is the father of WWE WWE NXT Champion Bron Breakker. Steiner is a real estate broker in Woodstock, Georgia, and a member of Cherokee County School District’s Board of Education, according to their website. 

Shaw tweeted: 

I have been bullied all my life and have never stood up for myself because I’m scared that I would get beat up physically, mentally, or emotionally. The bullies in my life have always silenced me, but that ends today!

I was at an autograph signing today at Wrestlecon and while I was walking to my table, I hear someone yelling “you’re a man,” “you’re a dude,” you’re a piece of trash,” You are filth,” “get the f*ck away from here.”

I kept my head down and kept walking as I did not want to acknowledge that hate. When I arrived at my table, I spoke to another Impact Wrestling talent who was at the signing with me and mentioned the incident. It didn’t sit well with me and I wanted to know who was saying that because it’s unacceptable, so I decided to take a walk in that area and I hear that same person saying the same derogatory comments.

I looked at the person and it was Rick Steiner saying those statements. I was shocked and could not believe that this was even happening. To have someone saying those comments who a lot of people look up to and consider their hero was quite shocking and disheartening.

I was in disbelief so I asked him, “excuse me?!” He kept repeating those hateful phrases and started yelling at me in a public setting. It was inexcusable and unacceptable!

Another disappointing part about this whole thing was that there were other wrestling legends who just sat there, turned their heads away, did not want to get involved, or stand up for what’s right because it involved “one of the boys.” Judging from that experience, it was more important for them to watch something wrong go down as [opposed] to standing up for someone who’s being bullied and doing what’s right.

I am not writing this because I want sympathy. I am writing this because I am done being bullied to silence. Today is International Transgender Day of Visibility and I am standing up for myself and for other people who go through the exact same situation on a daily basis.

I want everyone to know what kind of a deplorable person Rick Steiner is and that this cannot be tolerated. This keeps happening because people let it slide and do not take any action. If you do business with these [types] of people then I will not do business with you.

I want to thank all of my Impact peers who were present during the incident and tried to diffuse the situation. Unfortunately a member of that same peer group was also verbally accosted by Rick Steiner being called a “f****t” earlier in the day.

I am very fortunate to be working alongside such incredible people in a company that has no room for hate, bullying or judgment. We’re not just co-workers, but a family.

Spencer tweeted: 

My heart breaks for Gisele and our another peer. To witness it happen was shocking and disturbing. Respect and love is something we have at IMPACT because we are FAMILY. I’m so grateful for the support we have for one another.

The Steiner Brothers & Bron Breakker to appear on WWE Table for 3

Posted on by Joseph Currier

The Steiner family will be featured on the next episode of WWE Table for 3.

A new episode of Table for 3 titled “Steiner Diner” will premiere on Peacock/WWE Network this Friday (September 23). It will be a conversation with The Steiner Brothers (Rick & Scott Steiner) and Rick’s son Bron Breakker.

Breakker inducted his father and uncle into the WWE Hall of Fame over WrestleMania 38 weekend this April. Rick Steiner also made several appearances on NXT this year during Breakker’s feud with Joe Gacy.

Since debuting on NXT in September 2021, Breakker has held the NXT Championship twice. He defeated Tyler Bate at Worlds Collide earlier this month to unify the NXT Championship with the NXT United Kingdom Championship.

Table for 3, which had been on hiatus since 2019, returned with new episodes starting this April. Kurt Angle, Chad Gable & Otis; Carmella, R-Truth & Dana Brooke; The Hurt Business (Bobby Lashley, Shelton Benjamin & Cedric Alexander); The Bone Street Krew (The Undertaker, The Godfather, Rikishi, Mideon & Henry O. Godwinn); and Bianca Belair, Rhea Ripley & Zelina Vega have appeared on recent episodes of the show.

Bron Breakker says Rick Steiner isn’t interested in returning for father-son tag match

Posted on by Joseph Currier

It doesn’t look like we’ll ever be seeing Rick Steiner & Bron Breaker team up for a father-son tag match.

While appearing on the latest edition of Fox Sports’ Out of Character with Ryan Satin, Breakker was asked if his father would be interested in stepping back into the ring to team with him. Breakker shot the idea down, confirming that Rick Steiner is retired from in-ring action and at peace with his career.

“No, he won’t do it. He’s just one of those people that, in his prime, he was a beast back in the day, he was like 300 pounds and could like behind the neck press 365 [pounds] for like sets of 10. I mean, he was just nuts. He did 20 years, he gave 20 years to the business. He was at the top of the tag team division or the singles division for pretty much the entire time. I think he’s just at peace with his career and like with performing and everything,” Breakker said.

“I think he’s just satisfied with what he was able to accomplish and just walk away and just transition to other stuff. Like I said, he’s made a big transition, he’s been on the school board now for coming up on 20 years if he gets re-elected this year. And he’s been doing real estate for a long time.”

Breakker was then asked if it was a goal of his to wrestle a tag match with his uncle Scott Steiner.

“That would be fun,” Breakker said. “I don’t know, never say never I guess. I would love to do something with him. I don’t know. We’ll just have to see.”

The Steiner Brothers (Rick & Scott) were inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame over WrestleMania 38 week last month.

The 61-year-old Rick Steiner has made appearances on NXT television during Breakker’s feud with Joe Gacy. On Out of Character, Breakker said it’s been cool to get to work with his father and see his father interact with the coaches at the WWE Performance Center.

“It has been really cool, man,” Breakker said. “Him and I getting to spend some time together and just him getting to watch me and be a part of my career a little bit. It’s cool because he gets to come down to the [Performance Center] and the majority of the coaches, if not all of them, have either worked with him or worked against him at some point in time in their career. So it’s cool to see him catch up with everybody and just be a part of what’s going on.”

Breakker defending his NXT Championship against Gacy has been made official for NXT In Your House on Saturday, June 4. The match has a stipulation where Breakker will lose the NXT Championship if he gets disqualified.

WWE NXT video highlights: Rick Steiner appears, final Spring Breakin’ build

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Rick Steiner made an appearance on NXT last night as part of the final build to Bron Breakker vs. Joe Gacy at Spring Breakin’.

Gacy claimed that — after last week’s show-closing angle where he pushed Breakker off a platform and Breakker was surrounded by druids — Breakker wasn’t cleared to compete in their NXT Championship match next Tuesday. But Steiner made his way out and informed Gacy that Breakker is cleared and will defend his title at Spring Breakin’.

Gacy’s druids then got on the ring apron and surrounded Steiner. Breakker ran out to make the save for his father. Breakker took out most of the druids, but Gacy dropped Breakker with a lariat. As two druids held Steiner back, the other druids passed Breakker’s title belt to Gacy. Gacy held the NXT Championship belt in the air as the show ended.

More coverage from last night —

WWE NXT video highlights —

Nikkita Lyons vs. Lash Legend

Roderick Strong sets up a match between The Creed Brothers and Viking Raiders for next week

Tony D’Angelo vs. Von Wagner

Grayson Waller crashes Nathan Frazer’s NXT 2.0 debut

Arianna Grace is ready to kick some ass in the NXT Women’s Breakout Tournament

Grayson Waller and Tiffany Stratton hate accents

Katana Chance & Kayden Carter vs. Yulisa Leon & Valentina Feroz

Kay Lee Ray is now Alba Fyre

Josh Briggs & Fallon Henley vs. Legado del Fantasma

Natalya & Lash Legend will face Cora Jade & Nikkita Lyons next week

Kiana James is bringing sophistication into the NXT Women’s Breakout Tournament

Solo Sikoa vs. Trick Williams

No one threatens Santos Escobar

The Viking Raiders vs. Malik Blade & Edris Enofe

Wes Lee can only rely on himself

Tony D’Angelo invites Santos Escobar to a sit down at Spring Breakin’

Mandy Rose vs. Roxanne Perez

Sloane Jacobs wants to become the youngest Women’s Champion in NXT history

Rick Steiner appears, Joe Gacy stands tall heading into Spring Breakin’

NXT fallout: Cora Jade & Nikkita Lyons aren’t going to be bullied by Natalya

NXT fallout: Carmelo Hayes will become Two-Time Melo at Spring Breakin’

NXT fallout: Nathan Frazer can’t wait to show everyone what he can do in the ring

Speak Now: Everything you need to know for NXT 2.0 this week

Posted on by Denise Salcedo

Time to chat WWE NXT 2.0! Join Denise Salcedo on Speak Now Pro Wrestling as she breaks down the show! Tonight’s topics include Nikkita Lyons vs. Lash Legend, the announcement of the NXT Women’s Breakout tournament, lots of match announcements for Spring Breakin, and more! Tune in for a fun and informative show!

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WWE NXT video highlights: Joe Gacy kidnaps Rick Steiner

Posted on by Joseph Currier

The Stand & Deliver fallout edition of NXT saw a big main event, a Women’s Tag Team title change, and a kidnapping.

A confrontation in the opening segment of the show set up an NXT Championship match for the main event. After Bron Breakker regained the NXT title from Dolph Ziggler on Raw, Gunther stepped up as Breakker’s next challenger.

Breakker retained the title by hitting a military press powerslam on Gunther.

Breakker’s father — new WWE Hall of Famer Rick Steiner — then appeared on the video screen to congratulate his son. But it was revealed that Steiner had been kidnapped and imprisoned in a cage by Joe Gacy and Harland.

Earlier in the show, Gacy had cut promos about the importance of family. Gacy questioned what would happen if you weren’t able to reach out to family to help control the chaos in your life.

Just days after losing the titles at Stand & Deliver, Toxic Attraction’s Gigi Dolin & Jacy Jayne defeated Raquel Gonzalez & Dakota Kai to become the new NXT Women’s Tag Team Champions. Involvement by Mandy Rose helped cost Gonzalez & Kai the match.

Plus, NXT UK’s Pretty Deadly made their NXT 2.0 debut and were revealed as The Creed Brothers’ mystery attackers. 

More coverage from last night —

WWE NXT video highlights —

Gunther confronts Bron Breakker

The Creed Brothers vs. Imperium, Pretty Deadly debut

Cameron Grimes isn’t going to get complacent as North American Champion

Joe Gacy says family is the one true beacon of light in the world

Tiffany Stratton is not a loser

Dexter Lumis vs. Duke Hudson

Raquel Gonzalez & Dakota Kai vs. Toxic Attraction for the NXT Women’s Tag Team titles

Tony D’Angelo takes his place as the new don of NXT

Grayson Waller & Sanga want MSK’s NXT Tag Team titles

Nikkita Lyons vs. Lash Legend

Santos Escobar issues a warning to Tony D’Angelo

Kushida isn’t afraid of Von Wagner

Bron Breakker vs. Gunther for the NXT Championship

NXT fallout: Toxic Attraction are the golden attraction

NXT fallout: Nikkita Lyons is the real deal

NXT fallout: Malcolm Bivens sends a message to Pretty Deadly

Speak Now: An interesting episode of NXT 2.0, show recap

Posted on by Denise Salcedo

Denise is back from Dallas, Texas and is ready to kick off the week on F4WOnline with her weekly recap of WWE NXT 2.0. This show includes a lot of interesting topics including Gunther vs. Bron Breakker and more. A fun post show you don’t want to miss!

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Rick Steiner captured by Harland and Joe Gacy on WWE NXT

Posted on by Ethan Renner

New WWE Hall of Famer Rick Steiner was tied up and caged by Joe Gacy and Harland in the closing scene of this week’s episode of NXT 2.0.

Following his son Bron Breakker’s successful NXT title defense against Gunther in the show’s main event, Steiner was shown on the arena’s video wall. He congratulated Breakker on his victory, and told his son that he was proud of him. 

The camera zoomed out to reveal that Steiner was tied to a chair and locked in a cage. The camera zoomed out further to show Gacy and Harland were responsible for Steiner’s capture. 

Gacy said that he and Harland would “see if they could teach this old dog [Steiner] some new tricks” as Harland menacingly banged on the bars of the cage with a wrench. 

Gacy had cut a series of promos throughout the show aimed at Breakker, and Harland and/or Gacy vs. Breakker for the NXT title looks to be the direction going forward. 

Breakker lost an NXT title match to Dolph Ziggler at last Saturday’s Stand & Deliver event, then won the title from Ziggler in a rematch on Monday’s Raw, kicking off his second reign as NXT Champion.

Rick and brother Scott were inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame last Friday as part of the class of 2022.

Daily Update: Seth Rollins, Alexa Bliss, Rick Steiner

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Daily Update

Latest News:

Latest Audio:

Latest Free YouTube Video:

This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Triple H announces in-ring retirement, WrestleMania weekend

The new issue of the Wrestling Observer is out right now. Among the highlights are:

  • The far more important story regarding Paul Levesque than his retirement from wrestling, which is his health, what he went through, and how that impacts his future both in and out of wrestling
  • WWE weekend shows, cards, ticket sales, secondary market sales, comps, Saturday main event, key results regarding the main event scene, the Hall of Fame, Shad Gaspard, Undertaker and NXT Stand & Deliver.
  • 2021 Shad Gaspard/Jonathan Huber award winners
  • New Japan Cup final coverage, the angles building to Sumo Hall, MVP, best match poll and the final two shows.
  • Stardom’s two shows at Sumo Hall. A look at the key matches and what is next for the largest women’s wrestling company in the world.
  • Finances of UFC and WWE, including how they are so similar as businesses as well as where they are different. We also look at the key business deal each has that doesn’t involve TV rights and how WWE got so much of a better deal with a product that otherwise would have driven one-quarter the revenue and why
  • Full coverage of this week’s UFC show
  • Who was the best college heavyweight of all-time
  • More on the arrest of Chael Sonnen, why the felony charge was dropped and the lawsuit regarding the case
  • Ric Flair and Mark Madden
  • TV ratings and key points from those ratings for every show this week including peak segments, what type of viewers each show generates, who draws the youngest audience and how the shows rank with all of television and in the sports world.
  • The return of the Universal champion of champions tournament
  • More notes on the second Triplemania show this year
  • Notes on New Japan US shows
  • The wrestling career and post-wrestling life of the former Rocky King
  • Ticket sales for upcoming shows
  • Why UFC is running in Singapore in June
  • UFC star elected into wrestilng Hall of Fame
  • International wrestling TV ratings

This Week’s Retro Observer Newsletter: February 7, 2005 Observer Newsletter: Royal Rumble review, business year in review

Ordering Info: Order the print Wrestling Observer right now and get it delivered via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to [email protected] or by going to www.paypal.com directing funds to [email protected].

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If you order by mail with a check, cash or money order to P.O. Box 1228, Campbell, CA 95009-1228, you can get $1 off in every price range.

Tuesday News Update

WWE

  • Seth Rollins spoke to The Gorilla Position about facing Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania, with the interviewer pointing out to Rollins about the connection he has with Rhodes’ father, Dusty Rhodes. “Dusty Rhodes is an absolute legend, a Hall of Famer in any circle, not just WWE. To be able to be in the ring for [Dusty Rhodes’] son’s return…Cody did it his way. He left when he was unhappy. He did all the things that everybody said they wanted to do and he came back a bigger star than he has ever been, and that’s not easy to do. It takes a lot of hard work. He learned that ethic from his father. So for him to come back and say those nice things about me, it was all very good, except for the bionic elbow.”
  • Cody Rhodes will be a guest on WWE’s The Bump tomorrow.
  • PWInsider is reporting that Rick Steiner is backstage for tonight’s NXT.
  • When asked why he turned on Bobby Lashley last night on Raw, MVP simply replied on Twitter “Budget cuts…”
  • Advertised for WWE’s Nassau Coliseum return on May 6 is Roman Reigns vs. Drew McIntyre and appearances from Charlotte Flair and Ronda Rousey.
  • Responding to a question of when she would be returning to the ring, Alexa Bliss replied “I’m ready when they are…”
  • Star Tribune covered Gable Steveson’s appearance at WrestleMania.
  • A video preview for tonight’s episode of Young Rock.
  • Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch joined Logan Paul’s podcast Impaulsive to talk WrestleMania weekend.
  • PWInsider reported that WWE has begun taping interviews for their upcoming WWE A&E series titled WWE Rivals, which will look at the biggest rivalries in WWE history.
  • Bianca Belair spoke to TokenCEO about how WWE is empowering women.
  • WrestleMania 38 will be released on DVD and Blu Ray on May 10th.
  • WWE has a video of MSK seeing their first Mattel action figures.
  • Charlotte Flair turns 36 today.
  • Free matches added to WWE’s YouTube channel today include Batista vs. Triple H from Backlash 2005, Dolph Ziggler vs. Baron Corbin from Extreme Rules 2016, and Goldberg vs. Scott Steiner vs. Test from the January 19, 2004 edition of Raw.

AEW/ROH

  • This week’s AEW Road to, focusing on Bucks vs. FTR, Hardys vs. The Butcher and The Blade, and Toni Storm’s AEW debut from last week.
  • Adam Cole on Twitter regarding tomorrow’s match against Christian Cage: “Tomorrow, April 6, is my 14 year anniversary in the pro wrestling industry. No better way to celebrate than a sold out crowd in Boston, and everyone around the world watching me beat one of the very best.”
  • Jason Kilar, the CEO of Warnermedia, is exiting the company once WarnerMedia’s merger with Discovery closes.
  • This week’s Sammy Guevara vlog.
  • This week’s Thunder Rosa vlog.

Other Wrestling

  • JONAH vs. Schaff, Rickey Shane Page vs. Joe Hendry, Warren Banks vs. Axel Tischer, and Big Damo vs. Luke Jacobs has been announced for this year’s PROGRESS Atlas Cup tournament.
  • Mia Yim vs. Maki Itoh has been announced for Prestige Wrestling’s Roseland 3 on May 28.
  • MLW is teasing that stars from the original version of MLW will return in honor of the company’s 20th anniversary during the summer.

The Steiner Brothers to be inducted into WWE Hall of Fame

Posted on by Joseph Currier

One of the greatest tag teams of all time is set to take their place in the WWE Hall of Fame.

It was announced via The Ringer today that The Steiner Brothers (Rick & Scott Steiner) will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame this Friday. They join The Undertaker, Vader, Queen Sharmell, and Warrior Award recipient Shad Gaspard in this year’s Hall of Fame class.

The Hall of Fame ceremony is taking place after SmackDown at the American Airlines Center in Dallas this Friday night. The ceremony will air live on Peacock/WWE Network.

The Steiner Brothers were seven-time WCW Tag Team Champions together, two-time WWF Tag Team Champions, and two-time IWGP Tag Team Champions. Rick and Scott Steiner are both also former WCW United States and WCW Television Champions, while Scott held the WCW World Championship one time.

This will be the first time that Scott Steiner has appeared for WWE in nearly two decades. Scott was banned from attending the 2015 WWE Hall of Fame ceremony after an incident with Hulk Hogan’s then-wife where he allegedly threatened Hogan.

The day after the Hall of Fame ceremony, Rick Steiner’s son Bron Breakker will challenge Dolph Ziggler for the NXT Championship at NXT Stand & Deliver. Rick was in the audience when Breakker won the NXT title for the first time this January. Though Rick wasn’t shown during the episode, WWE uploaded video of Rick celebrating Breakker’s title win with him after the show went off the air:

Daily Update: Rick Steiner, Allison Danger, Cody Rhodes

Posted on by Joseph Currier

WWE

  • After last night’s NXT went off the air, WWE uploaded video of Rick Steiner celebrating Bron Breakker’s NXT Championship win in the ring with him.
  • Rick Steiner told Sports Illustrated that watching his son win the NXT Championship was one of the best moments of his life: “I hope he’s even more successful than myself and his uncle. We had such a special time traveling the road as brothers, but this tops all of that. This is his time and his chance to carry the torch. Watching that match was one of the best moments of my life. As his father, I couldn’t be prouder, and so is our whole family.”
  • Breakker spoke to CBS Sports and said he doesn’t think his win against Tommaso Ciampa was the nail in the coffin for the veterans in NXT: “I don’t think it’s a nail in the coffin or anything like that. We’re just shifting from black and gold to 2.0. Tommaso is going to be around. I’m sure that he and I will cross paths again. That will happen at some point in time whether it’s now or later. It’s going to happen again. I’m looking forward to it. It’s just a shift. Those guys are going to be here. I’m fully aware that they’re here. It ain’t going anywhere.”
  • Also in an interview with Sports Illustrated, Goldberg addressed having one match left on his WWE contract: “I’m focused on what’s next. If they want to come back to me with something, we’ll talk. You never know what the future holds.”
  • WWE backstage interviewer Sarah Schreiber announced that she and her boyfriend Chad Dunbar have gotten engaged: “My forever buddy, Mr. Chad! I SAID YES! I love you! My Team!”
  • This morning’s episode of WWE’s The Bump featured appearances by Chad Gable & Otis, Beth Phoenix, and Grayson Waller.
  • WWE’s YouTube channel uploaded Triple H vs. Shawn Michaels for the World Heavyweight Championship from Taboo Tuesday 2004, Victoria vs. Trish Stratus for the Women’s Championship from the November 25, 2002 episode of Raw, and Dolph Ziggler vs. Bad News Barrett for the Intercontinental title from the January 5, 2015 episode of Raw.

Other Wrestling

  • Johnny Gargano tweeted after news broke that William Regal has been let go by WWE: “If it wasn’t for William Regal a lot of your favorite guys wouldn’t be on television. He got so many of us ‘indie guys’ an opportunity. He will never take credit for that, but he deserves his flowers for helping and molding this generation of wrestlers. #ThankYouRegal”
  • Cathy Corino (Allison Danger) posted after being released from the WWE Performance Center coaching staff: “Thank you @NXTMattBloom. Thank you @ShawnMichaels. Thank you @WWE. The ride was short but absolutely amazing. I’ll forever be grateful for your warmth and giving this old gal a shot at living her dream.”
  • Lenny Leonard posted a Twitter thread about Cathy Corino’s firing. She was released just three months after moving across the country to take the job with WWE. Leonard wrote that today was Corino’s child’s first day at their new school.
  • During an appearance on Barstool Sports’ Rasslin’ podcast, Cody Rhodes said he regrets almost everything about his angle with Anthony Ogogo, including his promo about race relations in the United States:

I can, on record, just go ahead and say I regret that [promo], and almost everything about the Anthony Ogogo angle. Almost everything about it… I’m good now, and comfortable now… [Walker says he didn’t hate the angle] I didn’t hate it either. I was having a good time, Anthony is a former Olympian, he’s definitely someone who’s a developmental talent who’s gonna be – we’re training him, and we recruited him, and we’re bringing him up through the ranks…

What ultimately – I’ve never gone on record saying this, but this is the perfect time. I stood by what I said in the promo… I stood by it because I thought the content was good, and I thought the intentions were good. However, a white guy talking about race relations, who has an American flag tattoo on his neck… I can see why people would use the terms ‘tone-deaf’ when it came to that. And then trying to defend it and all — and again, intentions were good, and sincere, and I was so excited about Brandi and the baby.

But it just… that should have just been one where I went out and almost just winged it. Because everything in wrestling I work really, really, really hard on – like meticulous. You hear about Randy Savage, about his matches and his promos… there are wrestlers who tend to be more like Randy in terms of their preparation, and then there are wrestlers who are more like my dad, just cutting a promo on the produce at the grocery store, and it’s better than most stuff you’ll hear on television. But I tend to be more of the big-time thinker, planner, workshopper – all that stuff. I’d worked on that one really hard. That’s what made it even more like, ‘Damn, every now and then you’re going to come up to the plate and strike out’ … over-planned it and just struck out.

Although I stand by it. I don’t have any problem with the content, but once that had happened, it set the angle in a way that Anthony, as far as wrestling age is concerned, he’s like 18, he’s a baby. He doesn’t know what’s going on. It set the angle in like a tailspin where it just wasn’t a classic, UK vs. USA, fun-spirited deal. I was going to go over to the UK, we have the return match. Now I just never want to think about it again.

  • The New York Post interviewed Ruby Soho ahead of tonight’s Dynamite. She was asked about watching Liv Morgan’s growth in WWE: “I couldn’t possibly be more proud of that girl. I’m going to get emotional if I start talking about it. She was kind of put into a position where she is now on her own when she always had one of us next to her to kind of guide her. She has taken that ball and run with it so fast, nobody can see her because she is thriving right now. She is coming into her own. She is finding herself. She‘s finding her voice and her in-ring ability is at the top of its game. I told her that after her match. It’s a pleasure and an honor to be able to watch and be able to say I was a small part of her journey to see where she’s at now because she’s a star.”
  • AEW announced its pre-Dynamite set of roster rankings.
  • AJ Francis (formerly known as Top Dolla in WWE) tweeted that rumors of there being heat between him and Shane Strickland (Isaiah “Swerve” Scott) are false. Francis noted that they’re shooting a music video together next week.

Ciampa: Rick Steiner was meant to be at NXT Halloween Havoc

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Image: WWE

According to Tommaso Ciampa, Rick Steiner was supposed to be at NXT Halloween Havoc last month until the appearance fell through.

Halloween Havoc took place on October 26 and was headlined by Ciampa defeating Steiner’s son, Bron Breakker (Bronson Rechsteiner), to retain the NXT Championship. Ciampa told TalkSport that Steiner was supposed to be at the show until pulling out at the last minute.

“So, [Rick Steiner] was meant to be at Halloween Havoc,” Ciampa said. “He pulled out last minute. Maybe because I retained, but I won’t say that’s why [laughs]. I would love to be friends with him.

“I said to Bron ‘I don’t want to meet your dad, I want him to be my buddy.’ I want us to exchange numbers and whatever Rick Steiner does. He’s probably not a big phone guy, I don’t know [laughs]. But I just wanna be friends with him.”

The NXT Championship match at Halloween Havoc was Breakker’s first loss since debuting on the premiere of NXT 2.0 in September. He originally indicated that “Rex Steiner” was going to be his WWE in-ring name before being given the name Bron Breakker.

Breakker also had a brief interaction with horror series character Chucky at Halloween Havoc, a callback to his father taking part in a segment with Chucky on WCW Nitro in 1998.

Breakker quickly defeated Andre Chase on last week’s NXT and then cut a promo where he vowed to get another shot at the NXT Championship. Breakker said Ciampa is the man in NXT, but he’s going to win the NXT Championship from Ciampa or die trying.

Ciampa and Breakker are both currently part of WWE’s house show tour of the United Kingdom. Ciampa retained the NXT Championship against Breakker in London on Saturday. The four other tour stops Ciampa and Breakker are part of feature triple threat NXT Championship matches between Ciampa, Breakker, and Sami Zayn.