Over a year ago, Barrett shared that the opponent he would choose to face if he returned to the ring would be Drew McIntyre, as he’s become close friends with “The Scottish Warrior” off-screen. As for GUNTHER, he has a date with Seth Rollins at WrestleMania 42 next week where he will look to secure his tenth straight singles victory.
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit “Notsam Wrestling” with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
Former NXT Champion Ricky Saints made the jump from AEW to WWE back in February 2025 just days after receiving his release from Tony Khan’s company. Despite his then-13 years in the business, starting with some early matches as enhancement talent in WWE before debuting with NWA in 2012, Saints started in “WWE NXT.” Many fans believing he should have debuted on the main roster, or at least have been called up by now. Saints, however, lauded “NXT” and its talent on the “Getting Over: Wrestling Podcast” and said he believes “NXT” is truly the third brand.
“The wrestling that we have on this television show is rivaled with not only the other brands within this company, but other companies out there in the world,” Saints said. “I think some of it has to do with how [the fans] perceive ‘NXT’ and it’s kind of ignorant, to be real with you. You look at it a certain way, just from a topical view, you’re just like, ‘Meh.’ But, I say just to give it a chance. Actually watch it. You can see these people grow and bloom in a way that you wouldn’t be able to do in the past days… On a weekly basis you’re seeing these people grow, and it’s amazing.”
Saints put over the women of “NXT,” citing the recent main event match pitting Lola Vice against Kendal Grey ahead of Stand & Deliver. He said you wouldn’t be able to see the growth of stars back in the day, unless you were a big tape trader. Saints said everyone in “NXT” has an innate passion about wrestling that he finds very endearing.
If you use any quotes from this article, please credit “Getting Over: Wrestling Podcast” and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
Shawn Michaels knew Je’Von Evans was special, but even he didn’t expect to lose him quite so soon.
Looking back on NXT’s standout names from 2025, Evans was widely seen as a future main roster star almost immediately. However, speaking with Ringer Wrestling, Michaels admitted he had hoped to keep the rising talent in NXT a little longer to build around him.
“Certainly, Je’Von, obviously was somebody I was begging for,” Michaels said. “Can we keep this kid for another six months?’ Because we had every intention … from an NXT standpoint we were, in our minds, going to build around Je’Von for the next year, and that was kind of the model.”
At the time, Michaels was already aware that NXT Champion Oba Femi was heading to the main roster, but Evans being called up as well came as a surprise.
“And they’re like, ‘Oh, no, no, no. We’re taking him, too,’” he said. “I pushed back a little bit. I was like, ‘Could we get just six months?’ Like, ‘no.’ I’m like, ‘Three?’ Like, ‘no.’ And I’m like, ‘All right, so. fair enough.’”
While the decision initially frustrated him, Michaels ultimately viewed it as a positive sign for NXT’s development system.
“If that’s the worst news you have to have, is that they’re taking too many of your people, that means we’re doing a pretty good job,” Michaels said. “And that’s something that we always have to remember. That’s part of my job as well, is trying to remind people that, hey, this is what we do.”
He went on to compare NXT’s role within WWE to college athletics, emphasizing that the brand is designed to prepare talent for bigger stages rather than keep them long term.
“We’re like the NCAA,” he said. “We’re a brand, but at the same time, they are they’re not meant to stay here. We’re not going to build around these people for years and years. It’s just not the reality of NXT. And so, understanding, that you’re going to have these times of setting back and resetting and having to go through a building phase again is just something that you have to do.”
As Kenny Omega steps into his latest feud in AEW, he’s also taking a moment to look back at the rivalries that helped define his time in Japan.
Speaking on the Battleground Podcast, Omega reflected on the opponents who brought out the very best in him during his run in New Japan. While many immediately point to Kazuchika Okada as his greatest rival, Omega acknowledged the widespread appreciation for that series while highlighting others that resonated just as strongly with dedicated fans.
“I think a lot of people sort of default to the [Kazuchika] Okada one and I understand why,” Omega said. “But I would say that for fans that were primarily New Japan fans, they also would argue that they really enjoyed my series of matches that I had with [Tetsuya] Naito. They really enjoyed the series of matches I had with [Tomohiro] Ishii.”
Omega then shifted focus to one of the most personal and layered stories of his career, his long running connection with Kota Ibushi as part of the Golden Lovers.
“Some of the people know me more because of the Golden Lovers stuff, which is also fantastic,” he explained. “And I think that was some of the most proud storytelling that I’ve ever done in my career because the onus was all on us to continue that story forward and to always sort of implant that in the things we had done when maybe the promoters or the bookers didn’t see the value in it.”
What made that story stand out to Omega was the way it transcended promotions and timelines, evolving naturally over the years rather than being confined to a single company.
“We had always sort of wanted to not insult the fans intelligence,” Omega said. “Regardless of what promotion we were in, we wanted to show that there was this interconnectivity and these human emotions, and that life doesn’t end just because of promotion changes. Relationships don’t end because of promotion changes. And it was cool that we could see this multiple promotion spanning storyline that took about a decade to see the grand finale and to be able to be at the forefront of an actual real long term story where the onus was completely on us to tell.”
Danhausen finally stepped into a WWE ring on the April 10 SmackDown and wasted no time making it unforgettable, even if the ending left a few questions hanging.
Matched up with Kit Wilson after an earlier backstage setup, the debut followed a familiar path at first before quickly spiralling into chaos in true Danhausen fashion.
Danhausen’s “curse” flips the script in chaotic SmackDown debut
Wilson looked sharp early, landing strikes and climbing the ropes for a potential elbow drop that could have sealed control. That’s when things took a turn.
Out of nowhere, Danhausen declared Wilson “cursed” and right on cue, pyro erupted behind him. The sudden blast threw Wilson off balance, sending him crashing awkwardly into the turnbuckle and completely shifting the momentum.
Danhausen didn’t hesitate, striking with a quick kick to the head and finishing things off with a rapid pinfall in under three minutes. The finish felt less like a comeback and more like a perfectly timed punchline.
After the bell, the chaos continued. The Miz tried to jump Danhausen at ringside, but the arena lights cut out before he could strike. When they came back on, Danhausen had disappeared, leaving Miz alone in the ring and adding another bizarre chapter to his rough run.
YOU. ARE. CURSED! @DanhausenAD just hit @KitWilson_PD with a Double Curse to get the win!!! 😱 pic.twitter.com/KuwAL1khcJ
, WWE (@WWE) April 11, 2026
