After years with AEW, Aleister Black made his return to WWE during the April 25, 2025 episode of “SmackDown,” attacking The Miz with his Blass Mass finisher. Since then, Black has also been paired with his real-life wife, Zelina Vega, unifying their relationship and their wrestling characters. 

During an interview with Rob Pasbani of “The Stunner,” Black was asked when the idea for them to team up came into fruition, considering he originally claimed he and Zelina weren’t looking to become an onscreen pair. The wrestler revealed that, prior to his WWE departure in 2021, WWE had been planning on putting the two of them together on TV, going as far as to film a series of vignettes as a test.

“They wanted to see it,” he said. “We came up with some suggestions, we did some takes, and they really liked it.”

After Black made his WWE return last year, the creative department eventually brought up the idea of putting them together once again. “Then they presented it back to me and they asked me for some ideas and we kind of started mixing some stuff in,” he recalled, noting that the idea came at a good time of his run and allowed him to explore another aspect of his character. “My wife has been a manager and a wrestler, but she has never been a manager [and] wrestler within this type of setting,” Black added. “For her, there are a lot of windows and rooms to venture out and test some grounds. It is a different and exciting thing for both of us.”

WWE Intercontinental Champion Penta might be a unique face and brand in the USA, but the mask he wears has a legacy that originally began with the veteran Luchadore Octagón. While his face paint, skull motifs, and goofy antics might put him in the same category as La Parka, Penta purposefully sets himself apart from other Luchadores and the man who originally carried the Pentagón mantle.

“I switched the name … the Dark Dragon to Pentagón Jr., so you know in Mexico, years ago, there existed other Pentagons. So, in my mind was: Okay, I need [to] do something different,” Penta explained during an interview on “The Rich Eisen Show.” This led to experimentation, with Penta trying out different combinations of in-ring moves, makeup, and gear before settling on what he dons today.

“And now, look, everyone knows who is Penta!” he exclaimed. “In my mind, [it] always was: Okay, we have like three million Luchadores in Mexico, right, okay? … How can [I] be different to [three] million Luchadores?” Penta then claimed that everything he does in the ring and beforehand is all organic to him, and simply being himself under the mask is how he realized what would work for his character.

“When I started doing different things, everything in my life started changing,” he added. “Because now, I am the difference for three million Luchadores around the world!”

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

Over the past five years, The Undertaker has often voiced that he is satisfied with retiring after facing AJ Styles at WrestleMania 36 in a Boneyard Match, but it hasn’t stopped him from wishing that he could’ve wrestled “The Phenomenal One” inside the squared circle.

Speaking on his podcast “Six Feet Under,” The Undertaker explained that a regular one-on-one match with Styles could’ve been possible if the COVID-19 pandemic didn’t occur, but still thinks the Boneyard Match was the perfect way to honor his 30-year career.

“I’m really happy with it. Obviously, I would’ve loved to have worked with AJ in a wrestling ring. And I think maybe without COVID hitting, and if I’d have been able to train and do everything, I think maybe we could have, but it worked out the way it was supposed to, I mean, it encapsulated my whole career and I thought it was great.”

“The Deadman” also explained that his struggles to physically get through the Boneyard Match led him to the decision to retire following WrestleMania 36.

“The adrenaline always carried me through all my injuries. Sure. The eyes, the back, all of it … I was just like, I’m having a hard time moving,” he explained. “I felt bad because AJ had a couple other things he wanted to do. And I was like, ‘I don’t know that I can physically,’ I mean, in my head. I couldn’t bring myself to say it out loud.”

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

UFC returns to the Meta Apex in Las Vegas this weekend with Fight Night 269, headlined by Josh Emmett versus Kevin Vallejos. 

With Vallejos, 24, taking on Emmett, 41, the featherweight main event will see the largest age difference for a UFC main event at 16 years, nine months, and four days. Emmett is coming off back-to-back losses in 2025 while Vallejos is looking to win his fourth fight since securing his UFC contract during the 2024 Contender Series. 

Elsewhere on the card, Amanda Lemos is taking on Gillian Robertson at strawweight, having previously intended to fight in December last year. Lone’er Kavanagh was initially scheduled to face Bruno Gustavo da Silva at this event, but he was replaced by Charles Johnson after stepping to headline against Brandon Moreno two weeks ago. There will also be a pair of additional featherweight clashes and a light heavyweight bout rounding out the main card.

The event will be available to watch on Paramount+ for those in the US, as well as UFC Fight Pass and TNT Sports internationally, with the preliminary fights due to start at 5 PM ET, and the main card at 8 PM ET. 

Main card: 

• Featherweight: Josh Emmett vs. Kevin Vallejos 
• Strawweight: Amanda Lemos vs. Gillian Robertson
• Featherweight: Andre Fili vs. Jose Miguel Delgado 
• Featherweight: Marwan Rahiki vs. Harry Hardwick
• Light Heavyweight: Ion Cutelaba vs. Oumar Sy
• Flyweight: Charles Johnson vs. Bruno Silva

Prelims:

• Welterweight: Chris Curtis vs. Myktybek Orolbai 
• Heavyweight: Vitor Petrino vs. Steven Asplund 
• Bantamweight: Elijah Smith vs. Suyoung You
• Lightweight: Bolaji Oki vs. Manoel Sousa
• Middleweight: Brad Tavares vs. Eryk Anders
• Bantamweight: Bia Mesquita vs. Montse Rendon 
• Bantamweight: Luan Lacerda vs. Hecher Sosa
• Strawweight: Piera Rodrigues vs. Sam Hughes

I completely get why Cody Rhodes did what he did in this MJF story. He was looking to make a new star and put them over in a big way, so having Maxwell Jacob Friedman pick up the big win makes sense. But in a story where your potential in a wrestling company has had a ceiling put on it against your will, you would think that having Cody go over in this match would make the most sense. You can give him the feel good victory, the consolation prize of not challenging for the top prize but taking care of the guy who cost you that chance.

After this story, the world was plunged into darkness with COVID-19, but it’s interesting how Cody never really joined forces with the rest of The Elite around this time. It reached a point where Cody was meant to be part of the first-ever Blood and Guts match with The Elite against The Inner Circle, but when that match was reworked into what became the inaugural Stadium Stampede, Matt Hardy teamed with The Elite and not Cody. “The American Nightmare” did get three reigns with the AEW TNT Championship, a title many thought was designed for him since he couldn’t win the world title, but those reigns could never match what he could have done as the world champion.

It must have really bothered Cody at the time as well. The idea of him never challenging for the AEW Men’s World Championship at the time seemed ridiculous, but as time went on, the main event scene grew and evolved to the point where it actually didn’t need Cody. It had moved past the need for him as the Hangman Page story grew and grew, Kenny Omega’s belt collector gimmick, and Jon Moxley being the ace of the company made people go “Did Cody just shoot himself in the foot?” Yes, yes he did. The stipulation might not have stuck had he stayed with AEW, but I don’t think he stayed in AEW because of the stipulation. The man himself has even said that he became something of a “gatekeeper” for younger talent after he couldn’t challenge for the title, and that was a role he didn’t end up wanting because he still had to finish his story at some point. 

The stipulation of him never challenging for the world title was very stupid for Cody in hindsight, and if it never happened, the landscape of AEW and the wider world of professional wrestling would look very different (don’t worry, we have something on that coming soon). But I think everything worked out for everyone in the long run. When Cody went back to WWE, he got the chance to be the guy in a company that needed a guy like him, it really was a perfect fit. AEW has not just survived, but thrived since his departure, and as for MJF, he’s the current world champion, so it’s safe to say he’s doing alright for himself as well.