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Welcome to another edition of the WWE News Roundup. This week, the article takes a look at a couple of recent interviews from WWE veterans as well as a storyline that was canceled after Lana's recent release.
Another released superstar, Mojo Rawley, recently spoke about following in the footsteps of WWE legend The Rock. The article also takes a look at reports that WWE was interested in signing Moose from IMPACT Wrestling.
#5 Mike Chioda comments on Brock Lesnar busting Randy Orton open at WWE SummerSlam 2016
The main event of SummerSlam 2016 saw Brock Lesnar face Randy Orton in singles action. The controversial finish to the match saw Brock Lesnar deliberately bust Orton open with elbow strikes to the head.
The finish to the match was scripted despite legitimate elbow strikes with Lesnar winning by TKO as he deliberately busted Orton open.
Former WWE referee and pro wrestling veteran Mike Chioda recently discussed the incident during an interview with WSI Wrestling Shoot Interviews on YouTube where he revealed that he was surprised that those higher up in WWE had approved the finish. Chioda had the following to say about the incident:
"Brock gashed him open and I could tell there was something going on, but I didn’t know if it was really Brock towards Randy or if it was just Brock listening to what the office wanted him to do,” Chioda said. “Randy had a little bit of heat at that time. He gashed him open real bad over the forehead. You could tell he was going for it because he was just elbow to forehead. I was kind of shocked that they would do that because concussion protocol was still strong at that time."
Brock Lesnar is currently a free agent after his WWE contract expired last year. It's not certain if or when he will return to the company.
#4 Lana reveals how the storyline was canceled after her WWE release
Lana was released from WWE last month after more than eight years with the company. Before her release, Lana was tagging with Naomi and there were big plans for the tag team.
In a recent appearance on Chris Jericho’s podcast, Talk Is Jericho, Lana revealed that there were plans for Lana and Naomi to get into a storyline with the WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions, Natalya and Tamina. Lana also revealed that she and Naomi were “supposed” to win the titles according to the plans in place:
"Of course I’m devastated. Of course I was like, ‘Well, damn, could you at least…’ We were promised to go into a program with Nattie and Tamina after the titles, me and Naomi. To go into a program with them, go after the titles, and we were supposed to be possibly champions. All that stuff I take with a grain of salt. I was very lucky that I got booked until the day I got fired."
Lana’s last WWE match took place in late may where she teamed up with Naomi, losing to Dana Brooke and Mandy Rose.
#3 Former WWE Superstar Mojo Rawley wants to be the next The Rock
One of the superstars recently released from WWE was Dean Muhtadi fka Mojo Rawley. The superstar is a former Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal winner, but never really found success in the company.
The former WWE Superstar is a part of the upcoming film — G.I. Joe Origins. In a recent interview with TMZ Sports, Muhtadi spoke of his wish to follow in the footsteps of The Rock, who is now one of the biggest stars in Hollywood:
I would say a good percentage of professional wrestlers, maybe 69% to be exact, wanna be The Rock by the time it's all said and done.
Muhtadi also said that he had a great experience working in G.I. Joe Origins. He added that he was excited to work on more acting projects in the future:
"It was such a cool experience. I'm looking forward to more in the future."
Dean Muhtadi's last match in WWE came in June 2020 on an episode of SmackDown. In his last match, Muhtadi faced and lost to Chad Gable. He was off television for the next ten months until his release.
#2 Ahmed Johnson recently commented on his WWE departure in 1998
Vince McMahon had big plans for Ahmed Johnson when he signed with WWE (then known as WWF) in 1995. Johnson did find success in the promotion, winning the Intercontinental Championship. Johnson was also a member of the legendary Nation of Domination faction. Johnson ended up leaving the company in 1998.
In a recent interview with Lucha Libre Online, Ahmed Johnson discussed his WWE departure. Speaking about why he left, Johnson stated family issues, as well as certain issues backstage, were rubbing him the wrong way:
There was a family issue that needed my attention, but, on top of that, there were other things going on behind scenes that didn’t sit right with me. I started noting a lot of racism going on. It called me not wanting to be there, and back off
Ahmed Johnson also spoke about Vince McMahon being unhappy with his decision to leave WWE:
I had good experiences with him. But when I left, I don’t think he was too happy I was leaving in the way I left. He basically had a chip in his shoulder about me. He wasn’t happy the way I left the company.
You can check out Lucha Libre Online's full interview with Moose HERE.
#1 WWE was interested in signing Moose
Many former TNA/IMPACT Wrestling stars have gone on to find success in WWE. The most notable of these stars would be multi-time world champion and one-half of the current RAW Tag-Team Champions, AJ Styles.
Karrion Kross, another former IMPACT Wrestling star, is the current WWE NXT Tag Team Champion. Two other IMPACT stars who recently signed with WWE were Franky Monet (fka Taya Valkyrie) and LA Knight (fka Eli Drake).
Another IMPACT star the company was interested in signing was Moose. This comes from a report from Fightful Select.
WWE was reportedly interested in signing Moose when his contract expired and supposedly there was talk of bringing him straight to the main roster. However, nothing came from WWE’s interest as IMPACT had already signed Moose up to a new deal before the company could get in talks with him.
Moose recently challenged Kenny Omega for the IMPACT World Championship and it looks like IMPACT continues to have big plans for him. However, it would have definitely been interesting to see what Moose could have done in WWE.
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