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The AEW roster is home to many former WWE Superstars. Fortunately for the wrestling world, this has led to various talents spilling the beans on different behind-the-scenes rumors and happenings. One of the company's biggest heel acts has just opened up on Shane McMahon and one of his failed concepts from WWE.
The Boy Wonder was introduced as the creator of WWE RAW Underground in August 2020. The shoot-style MMA-themed pro wrestling fight club was a cinematic concept. The set looked like a secret warehouse location, but it was the WWE Performance Center. The storyline was akin to Brawl For All 2.0 and barely lasted a few months. The program featured names like The Hurt Business, Omos, Braun Strowman, Billie Kay, Dabba-Kato, Shayna Baszler, and many others, including Marina Shafir.
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The Problem reunited with Baszler and Jessamyn Duke for RAW Underground, but Shafir's concept debut was ruined by Nia Jax running wild. Speaking to Chris Jericho on his Talk Is Jericho podcast, the 36-year-old discussed the failed WWE concept and said it was fun, but nothing like Josh Barnett's Bloodsport:
"Underground was like Shane McMahon’s fight club. They tried to rip off Josh’s Bloodsport and do the no ropes thing. It was interesting. When I did it, the shit was fun. I got to wrestle one chick, and it was kind of a squash match, and it was nothing like my Bloodsport stuff. The production is different. It was just different. I got to squash one girl, and then we did a run-in with Nia Jax, and it just fizzled out. Fizzled out, and COVID happened not too far after that," Marina Shafir said. [H/T to Fightful]
Is this man the funniest man in wrestling?
Shafir's last WWE match on record is not from RAW Underground, but the now-defunct 205 Live series. The episode taped on January 27, 2021, saw Shafir and Zoey Stark lose to Ember Moon and Shotzi in the first round of the Women's Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic.
AEW building to Marina Shafir match
Marina Shafir is the reigning and defending DEFY Women's Champion. However, she has not wrestled in the AEW ring since her Rampage New Year's Smash 2023 loss to Ruby Soho.
The Problem vs. Willow Nightingale is now being teased by AEW as The Death Riders continue to harass the company. After Willow's heated backstage incident with Marina and Jon Moxley earlier this month, she addressed the matter while being interviewed by Renee Paquette last week. This led to a beatdown from Shafir, who took to Instagram this weekend to taunt the babyface:
"Smile for the camera @willowwrestles @aew," Marina Shafir wrote with the video below.
If booked for Dynamite, this would be the second Shafir vs. Nightingale match in AEW. Their first saw Willow get the win in five minutes on AEW Dark in November 2022. They also competed in four multi-woman bouts with Nightingale's team getting the win on three occasions.
