Netflix recently released “Real American,” a four-part documentary series about WWE Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan. AEW broadcaster Tony Schiavone, formerly of WWE and WCW, had a few notes, but was otherwise touched by the production.

“I thought it was very well done. Secondly, I thought it was very sad at the end,” Schiavone said on “What Happened When” recently. “It made me think a lot about the 80s again, and I remember turning to Lois…I said, ‘I realize why I love the 80s so much, and that’s because me, like Hulk had young babies and toddlers in the 80s.”

Schiavone watched the various home movie footage of the Hogan family, and realized that his main memories of the 1980s involved raising children of his own.

“I thought it was very well done and he had quite a remarkable career…Very disappointed to hear fans have booed him when he was in LA to open up Netflix,” Schiavone continued, also not liking that Paul Levesque was prepared for the boos. Schiavone also took issue with the way that WCW was portrayed.

“There were some things that happen in WCW, at the end of that Hollywood Hogan run, that I didn’t really agree with the way they presented it,” Schiavone critiqued. “Regardless of how bad numbers had gotten…I still think the reason WCW failed was not Hulk Hogan, was not Eric Bischoff, was not me, was not The Fingerpoke of Doom, it was not ‘butts in the seats.’ It was the fact that we were owned by a television company, and they didn’t want us.”

Hulk Hogan died last summer at the age of 71.

Roman Reigns successfully defended his WWE World Heavyweight Championship at WWE Backlash 2026, but it was his challenger and cousin, Jacob Fatu, that ultimately stood tall at the end of the night. With that in mind, Reigns has since delivered a stern message to “The Samoan Werewolf.”

“This is why we should have never let Jacob into this company,” Reigns said on the Backlash post-show. “You don’t belong here, Jacob. There is no order with you. This is your last night here.”

For weeks, Fatu has dazed Reigns with the vicious Tongan Death Grip on “WWE Raw.” That trend continued at Backlash, where Reigns almost passed out to the hold during their title match. Still, he managed to escape it and nail Fatu with a trio of Superman Punches and a spear for a near fall. When Fatu attempted to cinch in the hold again, Reigns grabbed onto the referee, then pulled off the top turnbuckle pad. “The OTC” wasted little time to ram Fatu into the exposed steel afterward, and on the rebound, spear him for the victory.

Reigns’ post-match celebration didn’t last long as Fatu locked in the Tongan Death Grip once again, prompting WWE officials to run down to the ring. Fatu eventually released the hold and seemed to be heading toward the backstage area. Much to the dismay of officials, he instead reapplied it, then raised Reigns’ World Heavyweight Championship belt as Backlash went off the air.

Looking ahead, Reigns is expected for tomorrow’s edition of “Raw,” which emanates from Knoxville, Tennessee. Given Fatu’s actions at Backlash, it is possible that he appears on the show as well.

WrestleMania 42 saw the anticipated return of Paige, as the former WWE Divas Champion teamed up with her former frienemy, Brie Bella, to take the place of Nikki Bella in a Fatal four-way tag team match for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship.

While she didn’t have a match at WrestleMania 42, and would have a high profile match against Giulia on the April 25th episode of “SmackDown” to win the Women’s United States Championship, Tiffany Stratton was asked to weigh in on on Paige’s return to WWE. 

“I am so happy for all the women,” she exclaimed on the “Battleground Podcast” recently. “What an amazing pop. What an amazing moment. That was so cool to watch, and then she killed it in the ring.”

Stratton also expressed that she feels like women in pro wrestling have come a long way since Paige’s day, pointing out how Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez had a lengthy Women’s Tag Team Championship reign, Rhea Ripley and Jade Cargill had a heated feud, and now Paige is wearing gold around her waist in WWE again. 

“I’m just so happy for everybody,” Stratton noted. However, she doesn’t simply want to sit by idly and watch the women grow. “I hope to get in the ring with Paige too.”

Since Paige’s return to WWE, the two have yet to interact on screen, but over on Stratton’s TikTok, they’ve already collaborated in a quick post where ‘The Buff Barbie Doll’ showed off her new Women’s United States Championship.

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit the “Battleground Podcast” and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.

Earlier this year, Will Ospreay made his return to AEW after undergoing surgery on his neck that took him out of action in the middle of 2025. He’s now back in the ring and mixing it up with names such as Jon Moxley. Two years into his run as an AEW performer, Ospreay recognizes that he’s become a key figure in the promotion, but he looks to remain humble.

“There’s a little bit of pressure,” Ospreay said to Forbes. “That first night I came into AEW as a full-time wrestler, I feel like I gave people a taste of what I could do from my time in New Japan and doing the crossover shows. I feel like I made a good impression. I didn’t think of myself in that top-style bracket, though, because if you looked at the field, I’d see guys like Bryan Danielson, Eddie Kingston, Moxley, all these guys who are f****** top-level talents, and I still feel like I’m climbing those rungs and climbing those ladders.”

One way that he keeps his ego in check is by acknowledging those who paved the way, like the wrestlers he mentioned. At the same time, Ospreay didn’t bother denying his desire to reach the pinnacle in AEW, stating that he wants to learn from people like Danielson and Moxley so that he can become one of the greats. He just doesn’t want to stab anyone in the back while doing it, which led to Ospreay discussing the team mentality that he learned in New Japan Pro-Wrestling.

“We all had to pull in the same direction because if we didn’t, we were going to stagnate, slow down, and things were going to happen that would deter people from watching us.”

When Ospreay arrived in AEW, he said he made an effort to use that mentality to help change the public perception of the company at a time when it was struggling.