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On-screen, this week’s WWE shows featured all the fallout from The Horror Show at WWE Extreme Rules, with Sasha Banks continuing to play a prominent role following her controversial RAW Women’s Championship ‘victory’ over Asuka.
Elsewhere, Drew McIntyre agreed to give Dolph Ziggler one more shot at the WWE Championship after retaining his title against his former tag team partner on Sunday, while “The Fiend” re-emerged during the Wyatt Swamp Fight to ensure that Bray Wyatt defeated Braun Strowman in WWE’s latest cinematic PPV match.
Behind the scenes this week, The Undertaker recalled the time that he accidentally set one of his WWE colleagues on fire in a hotel room (yes, this really happened!), and we learned the reason why Vince McMahon almost released John Cena back in 2002.
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Let’s take a look at the full details behind those stories, plus eight others, as we count down 10 of the most interesting real-life stories that have been revealed about WWE Superstars and storylines this week.
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#10 The Undertaker accidentally set Yokozuna’s hair on fire
WWE released a special ‘Tales From The Deadman’ episode of ‘Undertaker: The Last Ride’ last week. The show featured lots of stories from the man behind the ‘Taker character, Mark Calaway, including one that involved his former in-ring rival, Yokozuna.
Calaway recalled that he was once hanging out with Yokozuna, among others, in a hotel room and he was trying to hit people with matches that he had lit on fire. One of the matches flew over Yokozuna’s head and landed in the back of his hair, setting his hair on fire.
Around five people had to “pound him to death” to put the fire out, but Yokozuna saw the funny side and laughed it off.
#9 Why Vince McMahon almost fired John Cena from WWE
In October 2002, John Cena was set to receive his release from WWE until Stephanie McMahon heard him rapping on the back of a bus. She asked him to portray a rapper on television, leading to his “Doctor of Thuganomics” character being born.
Speaking to Sportskeeda’s Chris Featherstone on this week’s episode of UnSKripted, Rico Constantino – Cena’s former colleague in Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) – explained that the future 16-time WWE World Champion was almost fired for the simple reason that Vince McMahon did not understand his character.
#8 Vince McMahon once gave Luke Gallows’ idea to another WWE Superstar
During 2016-2017, Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson and Enzo Amore & Big Cass were two of the most featured tag teams on the WWE RAW roster.
Speaking on his Talk’n Shop podcast, Gallows said he went to Vince McMahon’s office one time with Cass to pitch a segment that would have seen Cass trapped in a car while The Club beat up Amore in front of him.
McMahon said, “Great, great, I love it, awesome,” according to Gallows, but the idea was used with two singles WWE Superstars one week later instead.
#7 Triple H wanted Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson in WWE NXT
In another story from the Talk’n Shop podcast, Luke Gallows said Triple H saw value in both him and Karl Anderson, and the NXT founder once told the duo that he would have them on the black and gold brand if they were not being used on RAW or SmackDown.
The two-time WWE RAW Tag Team Champions, who received their releases in April 2020, competed in one match on NXT – a no contest between The O.C. and Keith Lee, Matt Riddle & Tommaso Ciampa in November 2019 – but they never joined the brand as permanent roster members.
#6 Vince McMahon’s brutally honest feedback to Kurt Angle
Kurt Angle said on the BaschaMania podcast that he only expected to work as an in-ring competitor when he joined WWE in 1999, with a manager doing all of his talking for him.
However, Vince McMahon immediately wanted him to try cutting promos, including the night before his debut at Survivor Series. Angle explained that he had forgotten his promo by the time he arrived at the arena the next day, so he told McMahon.
Never one to shy away from giving his opinion, the WWE Chairman was “p****d” with the Olympic Gold medallist and told him to make sure he does not forget his lines again.
As it turned out, McMahon ordered his new Superstar to cut an unscripted promo on the crowd during his match against Shawn Stasiak, officially cementing Angle's status as a heel on his first night in WWE.
#5 Why Vince McMahon likes The Miz as a WWE Superstar so much
The Miz had a lot of doubters during his early days in WWE, especially throughout his WrestleMania 27 rivalry with John Cena, but he has still managed to remain a regular presence on WWE programming for over a decade.
Former WWE producer Arn Anderson confirmed on his ARN podcast that Vince McMahon has always been a fan of The Miz, and the WWE Chairman views the eight-time Intercontinental Champion as a “dependable, durable” Superstar who “dresses well and fits with that Hollywood deal”.
#4 Wade Barrett wanted Heath Slater to win King of the Ring
Looking back, Wade Barrett winning the 2015 WWE King of the Ring tournament should have been a career highlight. In reality, it turned out to be his last notable WWE triumph before he suffered a series of losses in his final year with the company.
Speaking in an interview with Chris Van Vliet this week, Barrett (real name Stu Bennett) said being the latest in a long line of WWE Kings did not fit his personality and he felt that somebody like Heath Slater could have benefited a lot more from taking on the persona.
#3 Why Wade Barrett chose to leave WWE
Following Wade Barrett’s King of the Ring victory, he was booked in several matches with R-Truth before teaming with Cody Rhodes in a losing effort against Neville and actor Stephen Amell at WWE SummerSlam 2015. He then joined forces with The League of Nations (himself, Alberto Del Rio, Rusev and Sheamus) in what ended up being his final storyline prior to his exit in June 2016.
The former Nexus leader also told Chris Van Vliet that he felt like his storylines after winning King of the Ring had poor writing and booking, which ultimately led to his decision not to renew his WWE contract.
#2 The difficult side of Michael Cole’s WWE job
WWE viewers will know that Michael Cole has a very high-pressure job. Not only does the voice of WWE have to call in-ring action and give backstories about the Superstars he is watching in front of him, but he has to multi-task by listening to orders from Vince McMahon during live broadcasts.
Former WWE producer Arn Anderson said recently on his ARN podcast that Cole is in a “no-win situation” as the company’s lead announcer, as he has to deal with his work being micromanaged every time he appears on TV.
#1 Rusev was a huge WWE 205 Live fan
Before WWE was forced to tape multiple shows in advance at the Performance Center, WWE 205 Live used to be filmed after episodes of WWE SmackDown.
Rusev, a SmackDown roster member from April 2017 to September 2019, said on his Twitch channel that he would stick around and watch 205 Live from the backstage area, even though many WWE Superstars had already left the arena by that time.
The three-time United States Champion went on to say that he was a “huge fan” of the cruiserweight-only show, and Mustafa Ali would even test his knowledge by asking him questions about the Superstars and their move sets.
