Brodie Lee's WrestleMania Rib & Justin Bieber's Cancelled Match: Ten Things You May Have Missed In Wrestling This Week

How has everyone's week been, then? Good? Yeah?

This whole pandemic/lockdown situation is a bit rubbish, isn't it?

I'm sick of it. Get rid of it.

We've now passed a full year of this whole rotten thing dictating our lives, and while it's not ideal by any stretch of the imagination, it has given us all more free time than we know what to do with.

Some have learnt to play piano, others have written their novel. I, on the other hand, won't be channeling Mozart or Hemingway anytime soon, because I've done none of that.

I have, however, made myself useful (arguable) once again this week by scouring the web, listening to podcasts and trying to put a funny spin on some of the random wrestling curiosities that may have evaded your attention.

So please enjoy another collection of recollections, tweets and backstage hoo-ha from the weirdest (and best) business there is.

10. CM Punk Brings Back An Old Look

Twitter

When there's a fire, why not add more fuel to it?

Just a couple of weeks after the rumour mill had him debuting at AEW Revolution, CM Punk has once again sparked speculation that he's due to make a comeback to the ring by growing his hair and beard out a bit.

Doesn't take much these days, does it?

The Straight-Edge Superstar posted a picture of his new/old look to Twitter in response to somebody pitching Punk as a correspondent for his beloved Chicago Blackhawks hockey team.

His reference to having 'the look down' that accompanied the picture was in relation to former NHL player and current broadcaster Barry Melrose.

While his appearance (which looks like a more weathered version of his 2005 Ring of Honor self) reminded fans of his early days in the grap game, Punk could be growing it out for anything, including a film or television role.

Or, like many of us, perhaps he's simply finding it difficult to book an appointment with the barber during COVID?

9. Tyson Kidd Recalls Debut WWE Match

WWE.com

Tyson Kidd was a guest on the Conversations with The Love podcast this week and discussed the first time he worked a WWE match.

No, this wasn't when he debuted on ECW in 2009, but rather when he was in his teens in the mid-90s.

As Tyson tells it, he teamed with Davey Boy Smith against Teddy Hart and family friend Andrew Picarnic, which was done as a tribute to Teddy's younger brother Matthew Annis (who had suddenly fallen ill and sadly passed away) and came about due to them playing around in the ring on the day of July 1996's In Your House: International Incident pay-per-view.

It's a long story, but there's some good stuff in there.

Per Kidd:

"Owen flew us to International Incident. We were in the ring lesson [that] day at that pay-per-view. I remember – I was just telling this story to somebody in locker room – but we’re in the ring wrestling and like Jim Cornette and Vince end up walking down the aisle, obviously talking about the show. The guy who had us in the ring was this guy named Matt Miller. And he’s like, he trying to whisper like ‘guys, get out! Guys, get out! Guys, get out!” But like, we’re kids, and we’re so nervous, man. We’re just like wrestling this match. We couldn’t wrestle on the fly. We’re wrestling this match that we’d like rehearsed.

"Next thing I know, like, oh, Vince is at the ring and we roll out. So I don’t know, like, somehow, then one thing led to another. We hung out with Carl DeMarco that night. And then, next thing you know, he wanted – he was a part of like wanting us to – Carl DeMarco and Davey Boy were big proponents of us doing this match at the Saddledome. And then, it doesn’t feel real, man. Every day right after school we’d go up to Stu’s and we’d like, again, kind of rehearse this match. In our minds, it was WWF, so we had to go all out. So we were we were doing everything possible. At this point we’d already come across Rey Mysterio. We came across Rey Mysterio, Bash at the Beach ’96. Ever since then, like, our style changed a lot. We started getting in trouble a lot more from Stu, so thanks, Rey! But, we thought like – we don’t know, like, wrestling rules at this time. We’re kids, man! I’d just turned 16. Harry had just turned 11. Teddy is 16, and our other friend is, like, 15. And he doesn’t even – our friend's cool, he was a very good athlete, and he just kind of stepped in to help us so we can do a tag match. He didn’t – like wrestling wasn’t really his thing, but he helped us for these couple matches.

"Anyway. Dude, next thing you know, we’re at the Saddledome the morning of, and the ring’s set up and we roll in and we do this match that we’d practiced. It’s probably like 12 minutes long, maybe 15 or something. It’s like wild. I’m doing a dive through the ropes. I’m getting backdropped over the top rope. And, I can almost take, like, a 450-style bump. Like, it was so ridiculous. I think somebody saw us doing that earlier in the day and was like, ‘what are these kids doing?’. And they realize we’re on the show. And then, next thing you know, Jack Lanza is telling us that we only have five minutes, no two guys on the floor at the same time".

Kidd, who now works as a backstage producer, also mentioned that JBL brought it up to him years later and that, during the match, Earl Hebner threatened to ring the bell if they didn't finish the match earlier than they had planned.

That Hebner, always screwing over the Hart boys...

8. Chuck Taylor's Honesty

Chuck Taylor has long been one of wrestling Twitter's top follows.

He's funny, candid and will often reveal intriguing information about specific matches or incidents from his career.

That was the case this week when recalling a main event match he had with Claudio Castagnoli, AKA Cesaro, on an Evolve show in 2010.

After a fan posted a gif of Taylor hitting a nice floatover into the match-winning Omega Driver, Chuckie T replied by saying that he 'Was so blown up my legs went numb in this match, Claudio basically did this on his own'.

You have to appreciate that sort of honesty.

Taylor followed up another fan's comment by saying that Cesaro was the best he'd ever been in the ring with.

7. Mike Bennett's Early Run-In With John Cena

WWE.com

If there's one thing you probably don't want to do when you're an up-and-coming wrestler working as an enhancement talent and trying to catch a break, it's upset the biggest star in the industry.

As Mike Bennett told Michael Morales Torres of Lucha Libre Online, that's exactly what happened when he worked a match taped for Sunday Night Heat in 2007.

Bennett teamed with Danny Jaxx to put over Cryme Tyme in March of that year, but one moment of what should have been a routine squash caused considerable trouble for The Miracle when he got backstage.

"We were wrestling Cryme Tyme. It was my first time ever working for WWE doing extra work. They wanted to get Cryme Tyme over. So they put us in there. And I remember calling this spot with JTG and at the time he had gold teeth in, that he would put in and call it a grill. So every time he did like a move he would take his fingers like this and kind of show his grill.

"And so we came up with this idea, or he came up with this idea that I would do this spot (mimicking teeth grinding) and I would get up over on him and then I would mimic him, and then he would turn it around as kind of a good babyface. He’s dynamic there.

"Unfortunately, what happened was this ended up looking too close to this (You can’t see me taunt). So I think you can see where this is going. I think someone told Mr. Cena that I had gone out there and I had done this (You can’t see me taunt) on Sunday Night Heat. When I got to the back, on my very first match, John Cena was there to inform me that I should not be doing this (You can’t see me) in any way, shape, or form. It was put to me not so nicely.

"Which is funny because when I went back to WWE, I never got to tell him that story which I wanted to. I actually really enjoyed seeing him when I went back. He was a very down-to-earth and a very cool guy. I really enjoyed interacting with him. He was super helpful with everything. But I think at that time, I don’t blame him. Here’s this, you know, in his eyes, here’s probably this punk kid copying him what he’s doing. That’s his moneymaker. It’s his bread-and-butter. I’d probably be p*ssed too. I’d be like, ‘yo, you don’t even work here - what are you doing?'"

Maybe that prolonged on-screen cucking was karma for a past indiscretion after all...

6. Lance Storm's Production Meeting Burial

WWE.com

Lance Storm may have been given the 'boring' tag during his WWE days, but he's usually pretty good value when it comes to talking about the business on podcasts and such.

The former Intercontinental Champion was the guest on Tommy Dreamer's House of Hardcore podcast this week and discussed his time in WCW and WWE.

Storm talked about how much he enjoyed his run in the dying days of WCW, because even though the company was in free fall at that point, he was getting paid to wrestle his friends and was the recipient of a healthy push.

When discussing his transition to WWE, however, he knew things would change and expressed frustration in his creative direction before explaining how Chris Jericho told him he was getting buried during production meetings.

“When I got to WWE, I sensed early on, even at the last Nitro, Shane McMahon came up to me and I’m assuming he was trying to put me over because he used my catchphrase when he said hi to me, but he got it wrong. It really hit me that they sort of know what we are doing here, but they don’t fully.  

"I think there is a labelling system in wrestling and there was the, okay, what’s his deal? They took the ‘he’s serious’ for ‘he doesn’t show emotions and he has no personality'. I had a personality. I was a very mean, angry, son of a b*tch that had an attitude. It just wasn’t one that tolerated silly. It got translated and so Brian Gewirtz when I got to WWE, he takes that and goes, ‘We see you as Sam the Eagle from The Muppets. That’s what we see you as'. 

"Then for my backstage promos and in ring promos, I was constantly told ‘More monotone. More dull. We see you as this monotone, emotionless robot’. For backstage segments, a lot of times they would tell me to do four or five takes because they would say ‘Dull it down. Dull it down. Dull it down'. I’m like, 'Okay, I’ll do what I’m told'.   

"Then after a few months of that, I have Jericho pull me aside and he said ‘Yeah, I just sat in a production meeting. Do you know you’re getting buried in production meetings for not having enough emotion in your promos?’. I said ‘They made me do retakes to make them more dull’. He’s like “Well, you’re getting buried for not having enough emotion in your promos'. It was a lost in translation thing that not everyone knows."

Sorry Lance, but you couldn't get over the gimmick of having a giant penis or the dancing thing, so I think I'm with WWE on this one.

5. Shawn Michaels Regrets Coming Out Of Retirement

WWE.com

And now one from the file marked 'duh'.

Shawn Michaels had one of the best wrestling retirements ever in 2010, bowing out after his epic WrestleMania XXVI main event against The Undertaker and being allowed to give a heartfelt farewell speech to close Raw the night after.

For a while, HBK resisted the urge to break his vow, but did so in November 2018 for the Crown Jewel pay-per-view in order to team with Triple H against Kane and The Undertaker.

While the dream match between DX and the Brothers of Destruction looked good on paper (ten or fifteen years earlier maybe), it turned out to be a disaster in practice.

Michaels has been coy when talking about it since, often joking about the lack of quality, but has seemingly changed his tune slightly after hearing 'Taker say it could have served as his retirement match during The Last Ride documentary.

Talking to the New York Post, The Showstopper said:

"I had no idea that from Mark’s standpoint he was looking at it as that might be one he could walk away on. That’s something that I think to myself now, ‘Oh my goodness I wish that I’d have known that’. For me it was fun. It was just a chance to be with my buddies. All I can do is apologise to the guys."

It's about time, you stupid, Sexy Boy.

4. Brodie Lee's WrestleMania Rib

WWE.com

Several months after his passing, stories continue to pour in about what a fun-loving person the late Brodie Lee was.

The latest one came courtesy of The Ascension's Konnor, who was a guest on Rewind. Recap. Relive. Konnor noted that he and Lee were two of the developmental talents being used as zombie extras for The Undertaker's entrance at 2013's WrestleMania 29 and how the former Luke Harper made a funny threat in jest.

"They had this one big light on and I remember you’ve got the gong, right? It’s like, ‘Dong’ and just like, I get goosebumps and you just could hear — it was in New York and everybody started just [crowd roar] and we still hadn’t seen Taker at this time, and all of sudden, you see — the light was behind us. You kind of look back and you see this massive figure stand in front of the light and I go ‘No f*cking way’. 

"And right to my right of me was Brodie Lee and we’re standing there and we’re like, ‘This is so f*cking cool’ and he’s like, ‘My God Konnor, should we try to trip him?’. I go, ‘Dude, no’. I was like, ‘No’. But Brodie, he was just, he always had fun and we’re marking out. Like honestly, as he’s [Undertaker] walking past all of us, we’re like, ‘This is so f*cking cool’ and we’re saying it as he’s walking past us and then we’re trying to reach for him and I was like, ‘Brodie, I bet you won’t grab his jacket, bet you won’t grab his jacket'."

Sounds like the perfect way to find yourself in Wrestler's Court, if you ask me. Imagine how much Jack Daniel's they'd have to buy The Deadman if they messed up his 'Mania entrance?

I mean, they'd be fired, of course, but still...

3. Kevin Fertig Files To Trademark Old WWE Names

WWE.com

There's been a fair bit of trademark-related news in recent weeks, what with Chris Jericho filing for his old Corazon de Leon (Lion Heart) name and WWE running into an issue when trying to trademark 'Dean Ambrose', because they need the written consent of the man now plying his trade for the competition as Jon Moxley.

One bit of trademark business that is sure to fly under the radar is Kevin Fertig applying to trademark his old WWE names Mordecai and Kevin Thorn earlier this week.

Fertig hasn't been too active in the industry since leaving WWE in 2009, doing the odd bit on the indie scene but mainly focusing on his real estate business.

Despite only wrestling one match in 2020 (against Danhausen for Absolute Intense Wrestling), Fertig felt compelled to file for the trademarks, which WWE previously held but failed to renew.

Could we see the return of the Pale Rider to our screens this year?

Probably not. Fertig is likely just doing this for merchandising reasons, I would imagine.

Keep your eyes glued to Pro Wrestling Tees, folks!

2. Doc Gallows Remembers Triple H Forgetting Lines Mid-Promo

WWE.com

On this week's Talk'n Shop podcast, Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson bemoaned the scripted promos they were forced to do in WWE, particularly the infamous 'Old Day' segment that died a death in front of the live crowd.

As part of the discussion, Gallows recalled how he was witness to a verbal sparring between his Straight Edge Society leader CM Punk and Triple H where, right in the middle of the exchange, The Game forgot his lines.

Gallows explained how his adversary didn't panic, but simply lowered his microphone out of range and quietly asked Punk for the missing words:

"We’re in the ring one time. I’m 25, so I still have the nerves. I’m with Punk and Serena [Deeb] and Triple H.

"I remember being there and you think that these guys don’t f*ck anything up, ever. We’re standing in the ring, Punk and Hunter are promoing back and forth, they do something, Punk gets a pop, Hunter gets a pop, and then Hunter drops the mic to his pecs and goes [quietly] ‘What’s my line?’ and Punk [feeds it to him].

"Even those guys, it’s hard to remember all those f*cking lines!"

The moment in question likely came from the April 19, 2010 episode of Raw, as the SmackDown crew were drafted in due to most of the Raw roster being stranded in Europe, unable to fly because of a volcanic ash cloud that had grounded planes.

On that show, the Straight Edge Society confronted the Cerebral Assassin, leading to a six-man tag match main event.

1. WWE Planned Justin Bieber Match At SummerSlam 2014

WWE.com

Recent AEW acquisition Paul Wight, FKA Big Show, was the guest on a compelling Talk is Jericho this week.

Wight covered a plethora of topics, including a proposed match with himself, John Cena and Justin Bieber that was due to go down at SummerSlam 2014.

A Bieber WWE match has been rumoured for years, but I believe this is the first time one of the proposed participants has commented on it publicly (WWE writer Kevin Eck did discuss it briefly in 2015).

According to The World's Largest Athlete, Bieber was going to team with him and Cena to take on the Wyatts in a six-man, before it was nixed after negotiations fell through.

"Years ago, I had worked out with a friend who knew Scooter Braun and Justin Bieber. It was going to be John Cena, The Big Show, and Justin Bieber against The Wyatts at SummerSlam. This deal was really... Bieber was on board, he was excited and wanted to workout with John and I. This was a big deal. One of the people making decisions said, 'I don't see how Justin Bieber is going to relate to our audience'. 

"Does anyone not see the amount of eyes Justin Bieber would bring to that match? I think WWE offered to promote his album. You're dealing with Scooter Braun, he's all about cash. They jacked Scooter around for about two weeks and he's like, 'It's not going to happen. I got the kid a million dollars to watch a soccer game and he'll be on a private jet'."

Cena ended up wrestling (and getting destroyed by) Brock Lesnar on the show, while Wight was left off the card and Justin Bieber got a million dollars to watch a soccer game.

Life - it's just not fair, is it?