After the festivities of WrestleMania 42 are over, the landscape of WWE will change again post-‘Mania. That said, Shawn Michaels might be losing some of his top “WWE NXT” darlings to the main roster, per the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

Following “The Showcase of the Immortals” in Las Vegas, the main roster could be gaining Ethan Page, Ricky Saints, Blake Monroe, and Jacy Jayne. Other potential call-ups include Sol Ruca and Joe Hendry. The newsletter reported that regarding Hendry, it’s either they take the leap of faith to have him on the main roster now or not because his cult-like popularity will only remain for so long.

Ahead of what could be, both Page and Jayne will receive opportunities to reclaim their past gold, as these two are scheduled to face the newly crowned champions, Tony D’Angelo and Lola Vice, respectively, on next week’s special edition of “NXT: Revenge.” It will be the first of two episodes under this banner. In the second edition, Ruca and former friend, Zaria, will continue their heated rivalry in a Last Woman Standing match on April 21.

Each one of these stars mentioned carried the new era of “NXT” to prominence, as they were all former reigning and defending champions of the top coveted prizes, from the NXT and NXT Women’s Championships to the Men and Women’s North American Championships.

The last run of Sting’s AEW career may have ended with a bang, teaming with Darby Allin against the Young Bucks at AEW Revolution 2024. But it also began with a bang three years earlier at AEW Revolution 2021, when he and Allin teamed to take on Brian Cage and Ricky Starks in AEW’s first ever cinematic match. At the time, many figured cinematic matches like this one, which Sting and Allin won, would be the norm for Sting’s AEW run, due to his age and health issues.

But while discussing it during an appearance on “RVDTV,” Cage revealed that Sting quickly put the kibosh on more cinematic matches, as the numerous reshoots of spots and long shooting hours left the WWE Hall of Famer and wrestling icon sore. While that was a drawback for Cage as well, overall he remains thrilled with the match and with being among the first AEW stars to work with Sting.

“Oh it was awesome,” Cage said. “Well first off too, I gave him the first bomb. Powerbombing him was awesome. I tried to think about it though because I was also a little nervous because I could give him the most perfect powerbomb ever and if anything happened to him, it would still be my fault, right? So I was like ‘Oh…let’s not think about that.’ But no, it was great. 

“And then, the cinematic match we had too I thought was phenomenal. In my opinion, again, I know it’s subjective, it’s my opinion because I’m going to be biased, I thought it was the best cinematic match ever, mainly because it was actually cinematic If you look at it, we had this whole big intro, their entrance and our entrance, how it was shot and different scenes on this 360 camera. So it looks like an actual movie, not just a match filmed by a different camera if that makes sense.”

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

Before Carmelo Hayes joined “WWE SmackDown” in 2024, he became one of the most decorated stars of the company’s developmental brand, having held the NXT Championship for 182 days and becoming a two-time North American Champion. There’s no doubt that “WWE NXT” viewed Hayes as their top star at one point, but it didn’t come without great expectations, as the 31-year-old recently explained that Senior VP of Talent Development Creative of “NXT” Shawn Michaels often set the bar high for him, but also provided guidance as the brand prepared him for the future.

“I didn’t think the championships really made a difference or not. But I do remember winning them, and ‘HBK’ being like, ‘Hey, you’re winning both of these titles. You’re going to have to step up and really prove to a lot of people that probably don’t think that you deserve it why you’re winning both of these titles,'” he explained on the “Battleground Podcast.” “At the time, we were overlapping the ‘Black and Gold’ era and we were just putting that final stamp, I hate to put it as like a nail in the coffin to ‘Black and Gold,’ but it felt like, hey we’re starting something new … Shawn and I had a bunch of talks like that and he mentioned to me a lot of times like, ‘Hey, we’re running with you.’ Like, ‘Hey, I need you to do your part. I need you to be my guy.'”

Hayes also touched on being popular with the “WWE NXT” audience, knowing that he won the fans over, but believes the crowd has always been “wishy-washy” and ultimately support who is hot in the moment.

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

WWE commentator Wade Barrett has opened up about the current WWE management, noting that it’s a sea change from when he was an active star.

Barrett, in his recent interview with Sam Roberts on the “Notsam Wrestling” podcast, contrasted his fortunes in WWE after the end of Nexus, where he had a huge dip in his WWE status when he portrayed the Bad News Barrett character. He discussed whether he offers advice to young WWE stars who have been called up to the main roster from “NXT” to help temper their expectations owing to his experience. Barrett believes that WWE stars are in much safer hands now than when he was wrestling, which is down to the change in management.

“So I think — as controversial as this might sound, and I’m trying to be diplomatic here — I think management today are a lot better than they were back in my day in the ring. And I think when a certain superstar, whoever it may be, has some momentum, I think the emphasis from management and creative these days is to continue to build upon that momentum. Whereas that was not the attitude back in the era that we are referring to, when I was in Nexus. So, I think there is a significant change there,” he said. “So, I’m not going up to the young guys [saying] ‘Hey guys, trust me, you think your dreams are getting made now? They’re going to get ruined. Oh, this business will break your heart, kid. Trust me on that.’ I’m not doing that.”

Barrett joked that he wondered if he should run the business down for these younger stars, adding that he would reserve that for when he gets fired by WWE and starts his own podcast. Several stars who have worked under both Vince McMahon and Triple H, like CM Punk and Carlito, have preferred working under the latter to the former, which validates the claims made by Barrett.

“The Juggernaut” Jordynne Grace is back in the ring ahead of WrestleMania season.

On Friday, Grace appeared in singles competition against Zelina Vega, as part of a taped match for “WWE Main Event,” which will air at a later date. A spectator at the SAP Center in San Jose, California, snapped a few photos of Grace’s return, which was posted on X [formerly known as Twitter].

Zelina Vega vs Jordynne Grace to kick off Main Event pic.twitter.com/D5rIyOsFOE

— Ramon 2K26 (@Ramon3MR) April 10, 2026

In her unaired match on March 6, the former first-ever TNA Knockouts Triple Crown winner obtained an ankle injury when she leaped out of the corner and away from the former and longest-ever NXT UK Women’s Champion, Alba Fyre. It appeared she twisted her ankle. After the match, Grace was sporting a walking boot standing alongside Chelsea Green, who is also recovering from an ankle injury. A photo was posted of the two injured parties on social media.

Joining “WWE SmackDown” this past January, Grace has had her fair share of victories over stars like Green, Fyre, and Candice LeRae, which would be her most recent televised opponent on the February 27th Elimination Chamber go-home edition of “SmackDown.” She did have a go with the current WWE Women’s Champion Jade Cargill, but fell short of becoming the new women’s champion ahead of “The Grandest Stage of Them All.” At this time, Grace is still awaiting to capture her first piece of gold in WWE.