WWE: Nick Aldis on Potentially Wrestling in WWE, John Cena on WWE In-Ring Career Future, More News

Nick Aldis Comments on Potentially Wrestling in WWE

Daily Mail held a recent interview with current SmackDown General Manager Nick Aldis. One of the topics discussed included Aldis’ thoughts about being open to the idea of potentially wrestling in WWE.

“Anything is possible in the WWE. I deeply appreciate all of the fans, who keep me alive in that regard, who want to see me in the ring with this person or that person. Since my interaction with Roman, that started a whole different conversation in that regard. I’m just grateful that there’s an interest in it. At the same time, I’m fully committed to being the best general manager of all time, so I’ll cross that bridge if I come to it.”

Aldis also gave his thoughts about being interested in having this potential match take place when WWE holds a WrestleMania event in London in the future.

“I watched Money in the Bank. I particularly remember John Cena coming out and saying that we needed a WrestleMania to take place in London. And I will say this, if that if that were to happen – which it will, I’m very confident of that. I don’t have any intel on it, but you don’t say something like that without there being intention. If that were to happen, I would certainly do everything I could to be a good fit for that show. It all comes down to timing and opportunity and what the what the fans want to see if and if the fans want to see it. The opportunity is there and it’s good for business. Never say never.”

Aldis also gave his thoughts about him enjoying a lot his current career in WWE.

“I’ve been having a blast. I’ve come in blessed with the gift of managed expectations. I had sort of made peace with the idea that maybe WWE was never going to be on the cards for me at all. So I certainly have come in with a with a level of gratitude that I perhaps wouldn’t have had as a guy in his 20s. I came in on a day rate, try out as a producer behind the scenes, which I, again, had fully made peace with the idea of if that’s going to be my job, then that’s going to be my job, and I’ll do that job to the best of my ability, because I decided that at this point in my life and my career, I wanted to contribute to the big leagues. That may be because I put in my 10,000 hours, I felt like I had done enough and had enough experience, enough expertise and my own unique sort of philosophy and my own track record of success in the wrestling business that I was ready to work at the top level. I felt one way or another that my skill set as a professional was best suited to be contributing to the number one company. I finished up with the NWA. And at that time, I decided that if there was any kind of opportunity whatsoever with WWE, that was where I wanted to be. I felt like I’d done everything I could do at a place with limited resources and just decided one way or another that I wanted a chance to contribute there.”

Aldis also gave his thoughts about his current work as SmackDown General Manager.

“I had no, no expectations really (about possibly having an increased role at WWE). I had no idea whether or not Hunter had any idea of who I was or what I had done, or what I was capable of doing, and why would he? He’s got a lot going on. I think it was in Hershey, it was the night that (John) Cena came back. We were in the production meeting, and Bruce Prichard pulled me out of the meeting and asked me how I was feeling physically because they had an idea for you, for a character. And that was that, they didn’t mention anything more about it for a few weeks. I suppose at that point, I started thinking logically about what it could be, so I started sort of preparing, and then a few weeks later, he called again and said the SmackDown General Manager, and I was like, ‘Yes, please, where do I sign?’ It was a very, very easy deal to get done. I love the the prospects. I remember getting off the phone and talking to Mickie (James) about it right away. And she was just like, ‘Oh my God, yes. You’ll be great at that.’ I’ve been very blessed that they’ve given me some good opportunities to show what I can do. And I feel like I’ve delivered the character in a way that’s sort of different. I do think there’s been some really great authority figures over the years, but I think the ones who people remember are the ones who sort of did it in their own unique way. (Eric) Bischoff, Teddy (Long), Stephanie (McMahon). I had a vision of what this character could be, and that’s what you’re starting to see now on TV.”

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John Cena Comments on Not Having Much Time Left in His WWE In-Ring Career

People held a recent interview with John Cena. One of the topics discussed included Cena’s thoughts about the future of his in-ring career in WWE.

“I turned 47 this past year and I don’t have much time left in the WWE… I think it’s just the demand of age. You know, I’m trying to figure out when to close that chapter. I wouldn’t be who I am — professionally or personally — without the WWE, and I promised myself that I would never simply just be there for my own sake. Every time I perform, I want to give my all to the audience. And I’ve got to admit when I hit the 45 mark, I had to begin to try to form an exit strategy and I’m trying to work on that currently.”

Cena also gave his thoughts about wanting to do what is best for the company when it comes to the end of his in-ring career in WWE.

“I just want to do what’s best for the company. If it’s a big final match or if it’s just a final match, or however I can be integrated into the product to let everyone know that this chapter is over, I’m willing to listen to what WWE has to say.”

Cena also gave his thoughts about being interested in working as a mentor or coach in WWE.

“I do have almost two-and-a-half decades of wisdom built up where I think I can offer a mentor perspective for sure. So, if I am not integrated with the WWE family moving forward and in perpetuity, then I think it’s a waste for everyone involved.”

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WWE News & Notes

2K Games recently announced that they will be making an official announcement regarding the next game in their WWE 2K series, WWE 2K24, on January 22nd.

A recent episode of Channel 7’s Sunrise in Australia featured Grayson Waller and LA Knight as the guests. During the interview segment, one of the hosts asked Knight if he could perform his finisher move to the camerman which Knight declined the offer but passed it to Waller instead. This led to Waller berating the cameraman for trying to act like a tough guy and showing him disrespect. Waller also threatened to punch this person if he came close to him and stated that it wouldn’t be a fake punch he would deliver. This led to the female co-host claiming that they meant no disrespect and Waller responded back that they love her and she was not the problem. Afterwards, the heated situation caused by Waller was defused.

WWE filed trademarks for “Wren Sinclair” and “Zena Sterling” on January 16th for wrestling and entertainment-related purposes to the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

WWE announced that they recently signed a partnership deal with American Corporate Partners, which is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to assisting returning U.S. veterans and active duty military spouses in finding fulfilling careers through one-on-one mentorship. It was also announced that Montez Ford will become the first professional athlete to serve as a registered mentor for ACP as part of this new partnership deal.

Dave Meltzer reported in a recent episode of the Wrestling Observer Radio that his sources stated that WWE officials currently do not have any plans for Roman Reigns to work at their upcoming Backlash 2024 event this May in Paris, France. Meltzer reported that Reigns’ next match following this April’s WrestleMania 40 event will likely either be WWE’s next Saudi event or SummerSlam 2024.

In regards to Roman Reigns’ work schedule, Fightful’s Sean Ross Sapp reported that anytime he has asked his sources within WWE about Reigns not working particular shows in an official capacity, they usually responded back stating that the card is subject to change.

As noted before, WWE reached a settlement deal with Panini this past November over a lawsuit Painini filed against the company in response to WWE terminating their merchandise deal over allegations of breach of contract. Fightful Select reported that their sources stated that WWE and Panini recently continued their working relationship and are expected to remain doing so for the duration of the originally signed deal.

In a recent interview with Sports Illustrated, AEW talent Dustin Rhodes gave his thoughts about The Rock potentially wrestling Roman Reigns for the main event of WrestleMania 40 instead of his brother Cody. Rhodes stated “I hope Cody’s in the main event spot against Roman. Or it’s going to be The Rock. If it is The Rock, I’m pissed–this is Cody’s time. He is becoming the face of the company, and it’s paying off. But I get it. If it is The Rock, it’s still good business. I understand that there are a lot of people who love seeing The Rock. But I still think it’s Cody’s moment.“

In a recent interview with WWE The Bump, Randy Orton gave his thoughts about his current dream match scenario would be a match against John Cena for a World title at a WrestleMania event. Orton stated “A dream match for me would be to somehow find myself in a situation where I’m fighting Cena at WrestleMania for the title. I don’t know how you get there, I’m not saying it’s gonna happen. But I have never wrestled John at WrestleMania in a singles match. We had some wars back in the day, so being able to revisit that after all this, I think it’s not only something that I would want, I think the fans would eat it up too.” (Transcript h/t: Fightful.com)

In a recent interview with WrestlingNews.co’s Steve Fall, former WWE talent Mace revealed that WWE’s original plans for Retribution was for the group to be similar to ANIFTA but WWE’s network partner FOX put an end to those plans. Mace stated “As I understand it, we were meant to be ANTIFA. When Fox, because it was on SmackDown, found out that there was an ANTIFA angle on SmackDown, on their Fox program, they said, ‘Hey, stop.’ *laughs* So, confusion happened. They were like, ‘How do we pivot this?’ Because they had already dedicated a decent amount of time to this angle. And then they gave us supervillian masks and I’m like, ‘Cool.’ I really wanted to be like Power Rangers villians. It never really got back on track. Some people didn’t want to do it and then it just kind of lost steam and they lost interest in it and when they lose interest in it, you don’t win. The only way things work is if you have momentum and we never had momentum at any point.” (Transcript h/t: F4WOnline.com)