Charlotte Flair has shared her thoughts on how WWE Unreal has helped reshape her relationship with the audience, offering a new level of connection beyond her on-screen persona.
During an appearance on Unsportsmanlike with Evan, Canty and Michelle, Flair reflected on how the docuseries played a role in changing fan perception after nearly a decade portraying a villain. She pointed to the evolution of the wrestling industry, noting how the lines between character and real life have blurred compared to earlier eras.
“Every business needs to evolve and we’re here to sell conflict. The older generation, everyone lived in gimmick. Either you play the good guy or the bad guy. You weren’t traveling with the person you were in a feud with. Now, you can see me and whoever I’m wrestling at the gym the next day. We know it’s scripted. For me, Unreal did so much in terms of the fans being able to connect with the person and not just the character. I played my character so well that they believed that I was that bad guy for the last nine years. For me, it did wonders. Everything has to evolve. If you’re really good at your job, it shouldn’t be an issue.”
Flair’s comments highlight the growing importance of behind-the-scenes content in modern wrestling, where audiences are increasingly drawn to authenticity alongside storytelling. WWE Unreal appears to have provided that bridge, helping fans see a different side of her after years as one of the division’s top heels.
Outside of the docuseries impact, Flair remains firmly in the spotlight. She previously teamed with Alexa Bliss to capture the Women’s Tag Team Titles at SummerSlam, holding them for close to 100 days. Even after dropping the belts, the duo has remained in the title picture and continues to be positioned as major players.
FULL INTERVIEW: @MsCharlotteWWE IN STUDIO WITH @EvCoRadio & @msmallmon 🔥 https://t.co/7lYpg9isZz pic.twitter.com/OBShV1Au9S
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has earned a spot on a major list celebrating some of the most successful self-made figures in America today.
According to Forbes, Johnson ranked number 70 on its list of the 250 greatest living self-made Americans. The list was released as part of the United States’ upcoming 250th anniversary celebrations, highlighting individuals who have built their success through their own efforts.
Johnson was placed alongside iconic names, landing between music legend Stevie Wonder and entrepreneur Norm Asbjornson. Forbes pointed to Johnson’s well known journey from financial struggle to global superstardom, including the origin of his “Seven Bucks” brand. The name comes from a difficult period in his life when, after being cut from the Canadian Football League, he was left with just seven dollars.
The list was compiled based on factors such as financial achievements, personal challenges, and long term impact. At the top of the rankings was media mogul Oprah Winfrey, while other notable names included LeBron James, Dolly Parton, Bill Clinton, and JD Vance.
Also featured was Shahid Khan, who ranked number 21. Khan, known to wrestling fans as an investor in AEW and father of Tony Khan, was highlighted for his journey from immigrating to the United States with just $500 to building a multi billion dollar empire.
Johnson continues to balance success across multiple industries. After last competing in WWE at WrestleMania 40, he remains involved behind the scenes as a member of the TKO board. Outside the ring, his acting career continues to thrive, including a recent Golden Globe nomination for his role in “The Smashing Machine.” He also has several major projects on the horizon, including returns to the Moana and Jumanji franchises, as well as a developing film collaboration with acclaimed director Martin Scorsese.
Lance Archer’s future with AEW is coming into focus as his current deal edges closer to its end date this year.
According to the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer noted that Archer’s contract is scheduled to run out in July, putting his long term status with the company in question as the summer approaches.
Archer’s most recent appearance under the AEW and ROH umbrella came during the March 28 ROH TV tapings in Jacksonville, marking his latest in ring outing for the promotion.
The powerhouse first arrived in AEW back on the March 11, 2020 episode of Dynamite at Daily’s Place in Jacksonville, Florida. Debuting alongside Jake Roberts, Archer was quickly positioned as a dominant force and entered into a high profile storyline that saw him advance to the finals of a tournament to crown the inaugural TNT Champion. He ultimately faced Cody Rhodes at Double or Nothing in that decisive match.
Beyond AEW, Archer has built an impressive resume internationally. He is a three time IWGP Tag Team Champion in NJPW alongside Davey Boy Smith Jr. as part of the Killer Elite Squad. He also claimed victory in the 2011 G1 Tag League with Minoru Suzuki and has held the IWGP United States Championship on two occasions.
Pat Buck has publicly criticized TNA Wrestling for blocking the scheduled match between Nic Nemeth and MJF, which was set to headline a Create-A-Pro event on May 1 in Melville, New York.
Buck, who owns Create-A-Pro and also serves as an executive with All Elite Wrestling, issued a lengthy statement addressing the situation and placing blame directly on TNA leadership, specifically Carlos Silva.
“I don’t usually speak on things like this, but this one’s too ridiculous to ignore.
TNA, specifically Carlos Silva, forced a change to the main event of our Create A Pro show three weeks out after it was already approved and promoted.
Not sure who that helps.
Create A Pro is a training school with a promotion focused on developing talent while running consistent live events. We’re a school, dojo, and a mom and pop business… just with two dads.
Live events are a necessary training tool, and they’re disappearing, even at the highest levels, because they’re not as cost effective and the money is in television. In a direct way, we are providing a service for your talent to make $ and keep their skills sharp. Do you not see that ?
We train wrestlers for wrestling companies. And now a wrestling company has stepped in and hurt another wrestling company that helps wrestlers get to wrestling companies. Makes perfect sense. Maybe I’m the one missing something.
I’m annoyed, as it’s hard to ignore how unnecessary, and honestly how cringe, this situation is.
And to be fair, talent wasn’t pulled, but altering a main event match like that on our limited stage has the same impact. Anyone who has actually promoted shows understands that.
When something changes that affects another promoter’s show, you make it right. Whether that means sending talent, strengthening the card, or finding a way to return value, you don’t just create the problem and walk away from it.
That didn’t happen here. And if any attempt is made now to make it right, it’s a bit too late. You meet people with grace, not chaos.
Create A Pro isn’t a competing media company. It’s a training ground that built its own platform to develop talent. No TV deal, no streaming, and we’re not attached to any bigger company, yet.
Between CAP/WrestlePro, we run around 25 events a year and reinvest back into us, our leases, rings, and the equipment needed to put on shows.
Equipment that, at one point, your company needed to rent to operate in this market. And at another point, when your company needed content and additional matches, talent was placed on Create A Pro and WrestlePro shows because there wasn’t enough content to support it. Did anyone let you know about a past positive relationship?
Years ago your company used our students for extra work in a meaningful way. Now it looks more like carrot dangling, ring crew, and helping with catering but that’s an entirely different conversation.
Create A Pro has been a pipeline and a support system to just about every major company in wrestling. Most people know that. (Unless you ask the WWE ID program, then we apparently don’t exist.)
I’m willing to believe Carlos may not know who I am, and that’s fine. But if you’re in an executive position, you should probably understand the room you’re operating in and the etiquette that comes with it. Maybe Tony Khan can give a quick crash course on how to protect your brand while still helping the overall scene. It’s times like this I’m glad to work for someone who actually champions the entire sport, not tries to shrink it.
And yeah, I’m on the payroll but these words are from experience not influence.
At the end of the day, we’ll adjust like we always do. But if the goal is to grow this industry, or even your own company, this isn’t the way to do it.
Keep it up!
Pat Buck
CAP Founder/Trainer,
AEW VP Talent Development
One of the Adults in the Wrestling Room”
The canceled Nemeth vs. MJF match is one of several bouts affected by TNA’s recent policy shift restricting its talent from appearing against wrestlers signed to other promotions on independent shows. Additional matches reportedly impacted include Leon Slater vs. Ricochet for the Mark Hitchcock Memorial SuperShow, as well as a planned appearance by Moose at a Maple Leaf Pro event promoted by Scott D’Amore.
MJF has also voiced strong criticism of the situation, targeting Silva directly.
“What Carlos Silva is doing is disgusting. And if anybody supports him or that company at this point, it is very hard for me to wrap my head around.”
The situation continues to draw attention across the wrestling industry as multiple promotions and independent events feel the impact of TNA’s updated stance.
Pat McAfee’s recent WWE promo has sparked significant backstage discussion, with new details suggesting the segment was not produced by the company’s creative team and instead originated from higher up within WWE’s corporate structure.
According to Dave Meltzer in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the belief internally is that the entire angle was not driven by the creative team or Paul Levesque.
“The belief internally is that this angle and storyline were not from the creative team nor Paul Levesque. This is where it gets weird. McAfee we know was an Emanuel call, not a Levesque call. The content of the McAfee promo was also not a creative team call. There were many people who knew about McAfee being contacted, not as many who knew he was actually doing it, although the key people certainly knew his name in the mix for a few weeks. It was kept from talent and McAfee was snuck into the building at the last minute to avoid people seeing him and word getting out. Multiple people have said that what McAfee said in knocking the company for Mania ticket sales and record low ratings was not written for him by the writing team.”
Meltzer also addressed McAfee’s controversial line referencing WWE SmackDown having its “lowest-rated” episode, noting confusion internally about what metric was being referenced.
“Some believe his line about the last Smackdown being the lowest rated show ever, which it wasn’t, referred to Cagematch ratings of the 3/27 show, which in fact were the lowest ever although then topped by the 4/3 show, but in my entire life, while people in fact to bring up Cagematch ratings for matches to me very often, I had never had anyone ever bring up Cagematch ratings for television shows except Tony Khan on press calls ever until McAfee said that on television if in fact it was what he was referring to the last two weeks.”
Further details revealed that while a writer was officially assigned to the segment, the actual promo delivered differed from what had been communicated internally.
“As far as where those lines came from, that’s the million dollar question. The belief is that McAfee came up with those lines himself and was given permission to do so from someone. The writer of record for the segment was Christian Sowell and there was a writer, so creative itself was aware of McAfee and aware that it was not a Levesque call but something done over his head. However, the promo McAfee did was not the promo that Sowell told Levesque what McAfee was going to say. And Nick Khan was right there for all of it.”
Despite the unusual circumstances, the promo aired as delivered, with CM Punk later incorporating elements of the storyline into his own promo on WWE RAW.
McAfee is set to continue his involvement in the angle on this week’s SmackDown in San Jose, where Cody Rhodes is advertised to respond. Current plans, also reported by Meltzer, call for McAfee to team with Randy Orton against Rhodes and Jelly Roll at WWE Backlash on May 9 in Tampa.
