Last night on “WWE Raw,” Penta defended the Intercontinental Championship against Dragon Lee in a thrilling 11 minute contest, but according to a new report, the match was not initially scheduled to take place on the show.  

Speaking on the “Wrestling Observer Radio,” Bryan Alvarez revealed Dominik Mysterio was originally slated to be in action instead of Penta on Monday’s episode, but plans changed after he sustained an injury wrestling El Hijo de Vikingo in Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide over the weekend. 

“So apparently it was supposed to be Dragon Lee versus Dominik on this show, but I guess Dominik got hurt at the Rey De Reyes show … we had Penta and Dragon Lee as the replacement.”

Dave Meltzer also added that Mysterio picked up the injury when Vikingo threw a steel chair at his face, which left him busted open. Alvarez later confirmed that Mysterio is in concussion protocol and has yet to be medically cleared. Mysterio’s latest injury also marks the second time he’s been hurt within three months, as he just returned to the ring in February after recovering from an ongoing shoulder issue.

At Rey De Reyes, Mysterio retained the AAA Mega Championship against Vikingo, which has resulted in the Mexican star never being allowed to challenge for the title again while the gold is in “Dirty Dom’s” hands. If Mysterio had lost to Vikingo, he would’ve been forced to leave AAA forever.

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

Netflix’s “Unreal” has received a polarizing response from pro wrestling veterans, and Steve Austin is one of those with a mixed reaction to the WWE show.

Austin recently spoke on “Busted Open,” where he admitted that he doesn’t watch much of WWE these days, but has watched “Unreal.” While he is not a fan of WWE destroying kayfabe by revealing the business’s secrets, he is captivated by what he sees, which he attributes to the wrestlers’ likability.

“I think I’m about maybe one or two episodes from finishing season two of Unreal,” he said. “Man, I was prepared to hate it. So, I was prepared to really dislike it. But — and I do think they give away too much — but the show is good because the WWE superstars are so goddamn likable. I got to find out more about the talent, and it was almost, I mean, it’s a good show. It gives away too much, but just because the talent shines so much, you can’t help but like everybody on the damn screen.”

Austin admitted that he’s not sure how he would’ve felt if he were asked by Vince McMahon and co. to be a part of a series like “Unreal” during the prime of his career. But, he veered towards him not being interested in being a part of such a show.

“Man, that’s a really good question that I can’t answer. Man, I was so, you know, into what we were doing that that wasn’t a part of my agenda or my headspace. I don’t know if I could wrap my head around it,” the WWE Hall of Famer said.

“Unreal” has shown WWE fans a different side of their favorite wrestlers, but the stars on the show have been critical of it, like Seth Rollins, who stated that he has a difficult relationship with the show. Bully Ray, who was part of the aforementioned Steve Austin interview, has disclosed that several veterans of the business dislike the show.

WWE legend Bully Ray is excited to see Ronda Rousey in AEW and praised Tony Khan for bringing her into the promotion.

At AEW’s Revolution pay-per-view, Rousey made her return to pro wrestling, confronting former AEW Women’s World Champion, Toni Storm. Ray, on “Busted Open,” stated that the former UFC star attracts interest due to the credibility she has in the fight business.

“Whether you love the fact that Ronda is there, whether you hate the fact that Ronda is there, it’s Ronda Rousey. She’s got name value, she’s got credibility, she was in the WWE, everybody knows her, she’s about to have a massive fight with Gina Carano back in the octagon. People will tune in out of curiosity,” he began. 

Ray also threw out a potential storyline for Rousey, one which would involve her real-life friend Marina Shafir and Death Riders leader Jon Moxley. 

“What is Ronda Rousey going to do in an AEW ring? Will Ronda Rousey beat the sh*t out of her best friend Marina Shafir, just to take the side of Jon Moxley? I don’t know, I’m just throwing that out there as a potential story that I would be interested in.”

Rousey’s appearance at Revolution comes a few weeks after the announcement of her MMA fight against Gina Carano, which will take place in May.

Aside from her numerous achievements in the UFC, Ronda Rousey also ticked a few boxes in WWE, the most notable of them being her match with Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch, which main-evented WrestleMania. Bully Ray feels women may have not main-evented WrestleMania if not for someone like Rousey, who he feels has a star power that attracts the audience. This, he argues, is why he credits Tony Khan for taking the decision to bring Rousey in, despite AEW fans not necessarily warming up to her.

“But when the AEW fan is screaming at the top of their lungs, ‘We don’t want Ronda, we hate Ronda, screw Ronda, get her out of here.’ Who are they really screaming at? [Tony Khan.] Tony Khan made the decision to put Ronda Rousey in the middle of an AEW ring last night. That was his call. And you know what I have to say about that? Great call, Tony Khan,” he said. “I don’t give a sh*t about what Ronda has done to not make herself loved by everybody, whatever. When it comes to a ring, an octagon or a wrestling ring, people are interested in what Ronda has to do. If that wasn’t the point, she would have never been in the main event of WrestleMania with Charlotte and Becky.”

The signing of Rousey by AEW could also embarass its main rival, WWE, in a way, said Ray, as he feels that ESPN — WWE’s broadcast partner — mentioning Rousey’s appearance on AEW could be a big win for Khan and his promotion.

This past Friday on “WWE SmackDown,” Randy Orton shockingly turned heel by viciously attacking Cody Rhodes in the closing segment of the show. A month from now, Orton challenges for Rhodes’ Undisputed WWE Championship at WrestleMania 42, and though it seemed like it would be a clash between two babyfaces at the event, WWE ultimately chose to have “The Legend Killer” betray his long-time friend. One person who wasn’t surprised by Orton’s actions was WWE Hall Of Famer Bully Ray, who revealed the key detail that hinted at the heel turn happening at the end of the episode.

“I think we spoke about it on Friday that something needs to happen and something did happen,” he explained on “Busted Open Radio.” “I kind of knew that the s**t was about to hit the fan before the segment even started … that wasn’t a typical Cody suit was it? — And then he threw the jacket into the crowd, and I was like yep, he ain’t using this suit again, something’s about to go down.”

Similarly to Orton, Brock Lesnar and John Cena also bloodied Rhodes before going one-on-one with him, but Bully Ray feels that Orton’s brutal attack on “The American Nightmare” is different because of their 20-year friendship. That said, although Orton’s actions were unforgivable, Bully doesn’t believe “The Viper” has truly turned to the dark side, and expects him to still be cheered at WrestleMania. 

“Randy Orton didn’t turn heel, Randy Orton was just being Randy Orton,” he stated. “Lots of people enjoyed watching Randy cave Cody’s head in. Lots of people enjoyed watching Randy decimate and demoralize Cody Rhodes. Cody’s always on the cusp of fans turning on him a little bit … I can see the crowd at Mania being split in half.”

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

WWE Champion Cody Rhodes has recalled his first encounter with Randy Orton, and how their upcoming WrestleMania match feels like their first match.

Rhodes debuted on the main roster against Randy Orton in 2007, and the former was immediately impressed by Orton and the aura that he exuded. 

“I remember having a sense of awe about the guy, who I really enjoyed his, you know, I liked what he had done as the youngest world heavyweight champion. I was very inspired by him as a third generation or just another child of nepotism, you know, breaking into the industry, [and] I had a sense of awe about me. But I also had this really large amount of confidence because I knew I wasn’t ready to wrestle Randy Orton, but they had booked me to wrestle Randy Orton. So, my thought was, I’m going to get to grow up in front of this audience. I was going to be sink or swim, trial by fire. And I just needed a few things to go right in that match to be able to buy myself more time to carry on,” Rhodes said on “Insight.” 

Orton, famously, had a bad reputation for his behavior back then, which Rhodes realized. But he still admired him for trying to impart the wisdom he had gained from those he had encountered in the business.

“I liked how he carried himself and he was, you know, prickly back then, but I liked how he carried himself because he took the lessons he got from all the guys who brought him in and he started to kind of hard push them on the people that were going to be in his orbit.”

Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton have faced each other numerous times since that first meeting back in 2007, but Rhodes has a sense of freshness about his ongoing feud with Orton. He explained how he he had a similar feeling when he faced John Cena at WrestleMania last year.

“I have a match with a guy who I admire and respect and want to model part of my career after and here we are now and I can tell you that wrestling him at WrestleMania almost feels like it’s never happened before, which is crazy ’cause we have wrestled before. It feels like it’s a first time match ever, just like it was with John [Cena] last year,” he said. 

Rhodes brought out the differences between Orton and Cena, stating how they were like the angel and devil on each shoulder, giving him words of advice and wisdom. “The American Nightmare,” who will be main-eventing WrestleMania once again in Las Vegas, said that he embraces the challenge of being the main event player once again.

“It’s why I kind of welcome the pain coming into Vegas, because the fact that I got to wrestle John at his last WrestleMania and now I’m going to wrestle Randy Orton, returning to the main event, and I’m the one who’s been the incumbent main event guy for the last four years,” he said.

The WWE Champion has main-evented WrestleMania over the past three years and will continue that trend this year, this time going up against a close friend and mentor.