Thus far in 2026, Darby Allin’s AEW Men’s World Championship victory over MJF at “AEW Dynamite: Spring Breakthru” continues to rank among the most shocking moments in wrestling this year. While many anticipated Allin could defeat MJF for the title in the days leading up to his win, his victory still caught several off guard both by how quickly Allin defeated MJF, and AEW’s decision to take the title off MJF during a successful title run and put it on Allin, who had not been in World Title contention in some time.

According to fellow AEW star Swerve Strickland, that last part was a mistake. In an interview with “Bootleg Kev,” Strickland admitted that he was among the many that was stunned by Allin’s sudden title win. And though he feels Allin’s run as champion has turned into a massive success thanks to several acclaimed title defenses, he does think that Allin could’ve gone into the victory with a bit more momentum, especially compared to how MJF had been presented.

“I feel like there could’ve been more done for Darby in that moment, me personally,” Strickland said. “Here’s the thing; I feel like it anchored Darby a little bit too much, because we’re also watching MJF go 46 minutes in a Texas Death Match. We’re also watching him go 38 minutes with Kenny Omega. 

“And you know, I’m not saying Darby’s not qualified to compete for that, but you’ve got to make Darby qualify to compete like that. And I felt like they didn’t do him a favor with that. But Darby is so talented that now this run is making up for it. He’s so talented and undeniable.”

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit “Bootleg Kev” and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription

In the weeks leading up to WrestleMania 42, American musician Jelly Roll and sports analyst Pat McAfee became involved in the storyline between Randy Orton and Cody Rhodes for the Undisputed WWE Championship, a decision that led to immediate fan backlash. Following WrestleMania, Jelly Roll claimed that he and McAfee had “no business” being part of the feud, and it’s now been revealed that he was trying to convince WWE to remove him from the storyline ahead of “The Show Of Shows.”

During a recent episode of his podcast, Bootleg Kev, who is close friends with Jelly Roll, revealed that the country singer was advocating for himself to be inserted into a comedic role heading into WrestleMania instead of plans regarding the Undisputed WWE Championship.

“I’m really close to Jelly Roll, and he was self aware that he was being pushed into a storyline that he probably didn’t need to be pushed into. And he was being very vocal about wanting to be involved in a storyline that is still playing out currently that was more comedic. And he was like, ‘Guys, if you put me into this thing, I promise you it’s going to cook. It’s going to f**k.’ And I was there at ‘SmackDown’ in Phoenix and I heard him having these convos with certain people at WWE and they still decided.”

In addition to sharing Jelly Roll’s perspective on WrestleMania 42, Bootleg Kev also provided his thoughts on McAfee being in the storyline, stating the angle made no sense and that it only pushed the narrative of celebrity involvement in WWE becoming over the top.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit “Bootleg Kev” with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.

As we get closer to the UFC Freedom 250 event in June, more details are coming out. On Monday, we learned that the Zac Brown Band would pull double duty by performing the National Anthem and performing a concert. It was also announced that WWE will be involved alongside their TKO partner with meet and greets.

During Monday’s episode of “Raw”, Michael Cole announced the WWE Superstars scheduled to appear at the fan fest. Charlotte Flair, The Miz, Chelsea Green, Trick Williams, The Usos, Bron Breakker, and Tiffany Stratton will be participating. The fan fest will take place on June 13 and June 14 although a schedule for the WWE Superstars has not been announced. 24 UFC fighters have been announced for the fan fest. It’s unclear if other WWE Superstars will be added.

WWE appears to have a close relationship with the White House with Linda McMahon serving as the Secretary of Education. Paul Levesque is involved with President Trump and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.’s Council of Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition, appearing in White House videos on social media. RFK Jr.’s niece, Zoe Hines, was recently announced as a new WWE signee. Last year, several Superstars attended a military rally hosted by Trump.

One of the trademark features of Stephanie McMahon’s WWE character was her vicious slap, and she gave a little sneak peek into how to tell when it was coming.

McMahon, as a wrestler and an on-screen authority figure character, often used a slap whenever she was in the ring. Most of the time, she was successful because those she was up against weren’t expecting it. However, her opponents may have been better prepared if they had known her tell, which she revealed in her conversation with Finn Balor on her “What’s Your Story?” podcast.

“Well, I’m gonna give something away. When I have the mic in my left hand, it means I’m gonna slap the sh*t out of somebody with my right. That’s the only time I hold it in the left hand. Yeah, so that’s the only time I’ll ever hold a mic in my left hand,” she said, before jokingly warning Balor. “If we’re ever across the ring from each other and I’m cutting a promo with my left hand holding a mic, you [Balor] better watch out.”

Balor humorously noted that fans would know WWE Hall of Famer Bret Hart was going to cut himself open if he wore wrist tape on his hand, seemingly to hide the blade in it. 

McMahon, who occasionally appears on WWE programming, has made a few appearances lately, including on the March 30 edition of “WWE Raw,” just a few weeks before WrestleMania 42. During a segment with Cody Rhodes on that night, she slapped the WWE Champion in an attempt to motivate him ahead of his WrestleMania match.