BY SACNILK

WrestleMania 40 is bringing in even more wrestling legends to join the festivities. While rumors have swirled about appearances by John Cena, The Undertaker, and Stone Cold Steve Austin, new reports reveal additional stars scheduled to be in town for the big event. ## PWInsider previously confirmed WWE was bringing in Ron Simmons, Kane, Jimmy Hart, Michelle McCool, and JBL for WrestleMania week. Now, PWInsider Elite adds Jerry Lawler, Madusa (Alundra Blayze), Cowboy Bob Orton, and Rikishi to the guest list. ## Jerry Lawler's recent backstage appearance at SmackDown in Memphis has fans buzzing. Rikishi's twin sons, Jimmy and Jey Uso, will be facing off in a singles match at WrestleMania - only the third such brother-on-brother showdown in WrestleMania history. ## The event also features a father-son connection, with Bob Orton's son Randy Orton competing in a three-way match for the United States Championship against Logan Paul and Kevin Owens. ## While it's unlikely these legends will be wrestling at WrestleMania itself, their presence adds to the excitement of the week. ## Stay Tuned To Sacnilk...

BY SACNILK

The new trailer for "Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire" throws down a double dose of nostalgia, featuring the legendary Titans and the iconic commentary duo of Michael Cole and Corey Graves. ## Graves himself shared the trailer on Instagram, revealing his excitement at having his voice grace the epic monster action. A self-described lifelong monster movie fan, Graves' enthusiasm is sure to be contagious for audiences. ## This latest installment follows 2021's "Godzilla vs. Kong" and marks the fifth film in the MonsterVerse franchise, which kicked off with the 2014 "Godzilla" reboot. While the previous film saw the two behemoths as rivals, "The New Empire" throws them a curveball. Forced to put aside their differences, Godzilla and Kong must team up to face a new threat: a colossal, climate-changing Titan threatening to devastate the Earth's surface. ## While Cole and Graves won't be making physical appearances in the film, both have dabbled in acting before. Graves appeared in the 2011 film "Kingdom of Gladiators" and even played himself in the 2020 WWE Studios production "The Main Event." ## Cole, on the other hand, has a history with WWE Studios animated features. He made his acting debut in 2014's "Scooby-Doo! WrestleMania Mystery," lending his voice to himself. He reprised the role for the sequel, "Curse of the Speed Demon," and also appeared in "Surf's Up 2: WaveMania" and "The Jetsons & WWE: Robo-WrestleMania!" ## View this post on Instagram A post shared by Corey Graves // Matt Polinsky (@wwegraves) ## Stay Tuned To Sacnilk...

BY SACNILK

Former WWE wrestler Mojo Rawley's path to the ring wasn't a straight shot. After a short stint with the Arizona Cardinals, a calf injury sidelined him for 18 months. While Rawley initially aimed to return to football, his plans changed course. ## Thanks to a connection with the Gronkowski family, Rawley landed a tryout with WWE. He impressed and was offered a contract.## "... I had this opportunity to check out what was going on with WWE because the Gronowski brothers, they were always some of my best friends and their dad was college roommates with Mike Rotunda, who just actually got announced to enter the Hall of Fame. They made a phone call, we talked to Mike, he set up a little interview try-out kind of thing, and that was it," Rawley told the "Power Alphas Podcast."## "I got the offer [with WWE]. I left football to come to wrestling. Obviously, I spent my entire career trying to make it in football, and I finally got to that level, and I would have been compensated as such ... but I sat down, really evaluated things, long-term aspirations, and I was like 'You know what? I want to do this. I think this is going to be cool. I think this is something I could be good at. It's the first thing I ever wanted to do.'" Transcript from Wrestling Inc. ## ## Rawley debuted in NXT in 2013 and spent most of his WWE career in the tag team division and the 24/7 Championship scene. He was released by WWE in April 2021. ## Stay Tuned To Sacnilk...

BY SACNILK

Meta-Four will be hosting the upcoming NXT Stand & Deliver premium live event, taking place on April 6th during WrestleMania 40 weekend. ## The announcement came during a surprise hijack on the March 26th episode of NXT, where Noam Dar, leader of Meta-Four, declared the group the official hosts of the show. Jakara Jackson of Meta-Four also took to Twitter to celebrate the news.## Five matches have been confirmed for Stand & Deliver so far. NXT Champion Ilja Dragunov will defend his title against Tony D'Angelo. The NXT Tag Team Championship will be on the line as Baron Corbin & Bron Breakker face off against the winner of the Eliminator Tournament, which takes place on the April 2nd episode of NXT.## There will also be championship action in the North American and Women's divisions. Oba Femi puts his NXT North American Championship on the line in a triple threat match against Dijak and Josh Briggs. Roxanne Perez challenges Lyra Valkyria for the NXT Women's Championship.## Rounding out the card is a highly anticipated grudge match between Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams. This personal feud takes an interesting turn after Williams was recently seen sharing a kiss with Meta-Four's Lash Legend.## NXT Stand & Deliver will be held on April 6th at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The event kicks off WrestleMania 40 weekend with a special start time of 11:30 am Eastern Time. ## Stay Tuned To Sacnilk...

BY SACNILK

Ahead of their WrestleMania 40 clash, Bayley has revealed a glimpse into her past communication with IYO SKY, formerly known as Io Shirai. ## The messages, shared on social media, date back to March 2022 and showcase Bayley reaching out to Shirai, then an NXT Superstar, with an idea (possibly represented by a knife emoji in the screenshot). Shirai's enthusiastic response suggests the beginnings of a potential collaboration.## While the full details of Bayley's initial concept remain veiled, Shirai would indeed appear alongside Bayley and Dakota Kai at SummerSlam 2022 under the new ring name IYO SKY. The trio would later form the dominant faction Damage CTRL, capturing a victory against Bianca Belair, Alexa Bliss, and Asuka at Clash at the Castle in September 2022.## The dynamic of Damage CTRL would shift throughout 2023, with Asuka joining the group in November, reuniting with her former partner Kairi Sane. However, tensions arose within the group as Asuka and Sane attacked Bayley, the reigning Royal Rumble winner, on February 2nd, 2024, setting the stage for their WrestleMania showdown.## With Dakota Kai also turning on Bayley on the latest episode of SmackDown, WrestleMania 40 promises a complex and potentially emotional encounter between former allies Bayley and IYO SKY. ## Less than 2 weeks away.#WrestleMania pic.twitter.com/duqLPHv81M— Bayley (@itsBayleyWWE) March 27, 2024 ## Stay Tuned To Sacnilk...

BY SACNILK

Ridge Holland's emotional announcement on NXT this week, where he declared he was stepping away from wrestling indefinitely, was a work. ## Fightful's Corey Brennan confirmed the segment was entirely scripted and part of a larger storyline. This narrative has been unfolding for weeks, if not months, and has the strong backing of Ridge Holland himself, Shawn Michaels, and other NXT personnel. ## "The cliffnotes of it are, Ridge is not going anywhere. It’s storyline. It’s all part of the larger story that they’ve been telling for weeks if not months now with Ridge in (WWE) NXT. They’ve been building this storyline up for quite a while.## “It’s obviously quite an important storyline to Ridge, to Shawn Michaels, and a lot of people have questioned if this storyline is something that has received pushback, whether it’s from Ridge or Shawn or anyone else in the back.## “And I’m honestly surprised to say that there’s been zero pushback within NXT… Ridge has actually been a big supporter of this storyline. He was very motivated to do this storyline for a lot of reasons.”## While the storyline seems significant, Brennan reports there haven't been any objections from within NXT. In fact, Holland is a vocal supporter of the angle and was motivated to participate for various reasons. ## Despite the storyline twist, Holland's profile has been moved to the alumni section of the WWE website's roster page. ## Stay Tuned To Sacnilk...

BY SACNILK

Ridge Holland (real name Luke Menzies) is stepping away from in-ring competition for an indefinite period. The announcement came during an emotional segment on tonight's episode of WWE NXT. ## Holland cited his mental health and his desire to prioritize his family as reasons for the hiatus. This raises the question of whether his departure is a storyline or a legitimate decision by the wrestler. ## Following the in-ring segment, Holland's profile was promptly removed from the active WWE roster page and placed in the Alumni section. This seems to suggest that his absence might extend beyond kayfabe (professional wrestling storylines). ## Holland, who began his career with WWE in 2018, found success on NXT UK and NXT before joining the main roster. He is most recognized for his time alongside Sheamus and Butch (formerly Pete Dunne) as part of the Brawling Brutes stable on SmackDown from 2021 to 2023. ## Stay Tuned To Sacnilk...

BY SACNILK

Ridge Holland delivered a heartfelt address on tonight's NXT, revealing that he would be taking a break from in-ring competition for the foreseeable future.## With a somber tone, Holland entered the ring and expressed his gratitude to key figures in his wrestling journey, including William Regal and Shawn Michaels. He acknowledged the physical risks associated with wrestling and stated his concerns about potentially injuring himself or another competitor.## The NXT star addressed the public criticisms he's faced, emphasizing his commitment to his family life. Holland declared his desire to be the best father and husband possible, refusing to let wrestling negatively impact those priorities.## Citing the importance of mental well-being, Holland made the significant announcement: he is stepping away from in-ring competition indefinitely. ## He expressed appreciation to NXT for providing him a chance to redeem himself, though it ultimately didn't go as planned. ## Stay Tuned To Sacnilk...

BY SACNILK

Jazmyn Nyx, a recent addition to the NXT storyline involving Chase U, finally made her televised in-ring debut on tonight's penultimate episode before NXT Stand & Deliver. Despite prior appearances at NXT house shows, this marked Nyx's first official match on television.## Nyx faced off against Thea Hail, continuing their feud ignited by Nyx replacing Hail as Jacy Jayne's best friend. The animosity spilled over mid-match when Jayne declared they were never friends and slapped Hail. Nyx attempted to capitalize on the distraction but Hail countered with a Kimura lock, forcing Nyx to submit in her debut match.## The chaos didn't end there. After the match, Hail seemingly snapped Nyx's arm, leaving her writhing in pain. This sparked a brawl between Jayne and Hail, which quickly escalated with Kiana James and Izzi Dame joining the fray for a three-on-one assault on Hail.## Fallon Henley and Kelani Jordan rushed to Hail's aid, transforming the scene into a chaotic three-on-three standoff. This intense brawl effectively sets the stage for a potential six-woman tag match in the near future. ## THIS IS CHAOS!!!The battle lines have been drawn, the numbers are even, it's a full on BRAWL 👊#WWENXT pic.twitter.com/j5xpB9u04J— WWE (@WWE) March 27, 2024 ## Stay Tuned To Sacnilk...

BY SACNILK

Former AEW wrestler Mike Santana has fueled speculation about a current AEW star's potential move to WWE. ## In a recent interview with Chris Van Vliet, Santana discussed his departure from AEW and the exit of another prominent figure, Cody Rhodes. Santana claims he always anticipated Rhodes' return to WWE, which happened in 2022. More interestingly, Santana suggests there's another wrestler on the current AEW roster who might follow suit. ## "I'll be real there was two people that I said off the bat were gonna go back to WWE. One of them already did," Santana revealed. When pressed by Van Vliet, Santana coyly confirmed, "Aw, yeah," there's another potential defector. ## Santana offered no clues about the identity of this wrestler, seemingly enjoying the intrigue it would generate. This has wrestling fans buzzing, trying to guess who might be looking to switch promotions.## Santana's comments come amidst a period of transition for both AEW and WWE. AEW recently appointed a new COO, and several WWE superstars have upcoming contract negotiations. ## Stay Tuned To Sacnilk...

BY SACNILK

Mercedes Mone's role for the upcoming AEW Dynamite on March 27th has been revealed. ## Following her highly-anticipated debut at AEW Big Business, Mone will be providing expert commentary for a crucial women's division matchup. The match will determine the number one contender for Julia Hart's TBS Championship at AEW Dynasty on April 21st.## In the ring, Willow Nightingale, Kris Statlander, Skye Blue, and Anna Jay will battle it out for a shot at the title. This will be a close observation opportunity for Mone, who has already crossed paths with both Nightingale and the other participants.## This announcement comes alongside other exciting matches for Dynamite, including Swerve Strickland versus Konosuke Takeshita for the number one contendership for the AEW World Title, and Will Ospreay facing Katsuyori Shibata in a highly anticipated singles bout.## Stay Tuned To Sacnilk...

BY SACNILK

Former AEW World Champion CM Punk's return to WWE Raw on March 25th was a memorable one, but not just for the in-ring action. A new report sheds light on how WWE reacted to an unscripted moment during Punk's promo segment. ## In his hometown of Chicago, Punk reignited rivalries with Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, and The Rock. The sparks really flew when Drew McIntyre entered the ring, leading to a heated exchange between the two. Soon, Rollins joined the fray, creating an electric atmosphere with all three superstars trading barbs.## According to Fightful Select, one particular barb caught WWE production off guard. CM Punk dropped a curse word, going against a recent company memo that discouraged on-air swearing from talent.## Despite the unscripted moment, the report assures that there hasn't been any backstage tension between Punk, Rollins, or McIntyre. Overall, things seem positive for Punk since his return to WWE in November 2023. ## Stay Tuned To Sacnilk...