WWE Daily News Round-Up (August 17th, 2018)

Just two days before SummerSlam, we bring you more news and views of WWE's Superstars.

In the August 17th edition of the WWE Daily News Round-Up, we first look into Hulk Hogan's response to those WWE Superstars who felt that his apology was not heartfelt or he did not mean it.

Elsewhere, one of the most popular Superstars on SmackDown Live is set to sign a new contract, while Seth Rollins talks about the crowd reaction during his Extreme Rules match against Dolph Ziggler.

The big news in today's daily round-up is a huge crossover match between NJPW and WWE that was proposed by a WWE legend. What was the WWE's reaction to this proposal? This and more in today's Daily News Round-Up.

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#1 Hulk Hogan hits back at WWE Superstars unhappy with his apology

WWE and pro wrestling legend, Hulk Hogan, has had a not-so-memorable last few years as he was banished from the WWE on charges of racism.

Last month, WWE reinstated Hogan into the WWE Hall of Fame, which got mixed reactions from fans and WWE Superstars. The wrestling icon was backstage on the night of his reinstation at the Extreme Rules PPV. Hogan spoke to the wrestlers backstage and apologised for his actions. But some Superstars, most notably The New Day and Titus O'Neil felt that the apology wasn't heartfelt.

Hogan apologised about the things he said but also asked for the "brotherhood" to back him, “I said those words. It was totally unacceptable, and I just really wanted to get in front of all the talent, and apologize. Because I know I hurt this business and I just want to move forward. I just hope the brotherhood can get back to the way it was. Because when you’re in the ring and somebody’s body-slamming somebody or pile-driving somebody, you protect your brother and you make sure physically they’re safe. And outside the ring (too), you’re supposed to protect your brother.”

He then took a veiled attack at those wrestlers unhappy with him and said the following: "There’s just a few wrestlers that kind of like don’t understand the bond and the brotherhood of wrestling. And hey, if someone makes a mistake, you need to forgive them and move on and try to let them prove themselves. I just feel that I wish I could have one-on-one conversations with people who really don’t know me and try to maybe explain myself better.”

#2 Sasha Banks wants to face a WWE legend at Evolution PPV

WWE's first all-women's PPV Evolution, which will take place on October 28, 2018 will see the best women's wrestlers from the past and present colide.

One of the current generation's most popular and loved Superstars, Sasha Banks, will also feature in the show. Banks, in an interview with Cathy Kelley, revealed the Superstar that she would like to face at Evolution.

“I’m very nervous. I’m scared what the match-ups are going to be. Because I just don’t want to be like ‘hey, can I wrestle Trish Stratus?’ and then I don’t get it, and then I cry my eyes out, but that’s the match that I want. Can we put it out there? If it’s not that ... I would love for it to be myself and Bayley vs. Trish & Lita. Whoa! That would be so cool! ... But that would be my dream match-up. If I don’t have a singles with Trish, hopefully we have a tag match against her and Lita," said Banks. (H/T CageSide Seats)

#3 Chris Jericho's interesting NJPW-WWE crossover proposal to WWE

Chris Jericho, over the last few years, has carefully picked the feuds and matches that he has been involved with, either with the NJPW or the WWE.

He is the current IWGP Intercontinental Champion Tetsuya Naito at Dominion. On his podcast Talk with Jericho, Jericho revealed an interesting proposal that he suggested to WWE management - NJPW Intercontinental champion vs WWE Intercontinental champion, at SummerSlam.

Jericho said, "I placed a call to a certain head of a certain wrestling company, let’s just leave it at that, and said ‘I have got something for ya. It’s boffo box office, it’s big time.’ I said ‘what do you think about first time ever Intercontinental champion vs. Intercontinental champion, Jericho vs. Rollins.’ ‘What’s the finish?’ ‘Doesn’t matter.’ The finish doesn’t matter. It’s getting people to buy it and get into it. IC title, New Japan vs. WWE, and you could make this happen.

Jericho then explained how he would've set up the match and WWE's response to the"I could have been there at 4 pm, I could have ran through the crowd, attacked Seth Rollins, made the challenge, made the match, Jericho vs. Rollins, IC title vs. IC title. I pitched it, got a decent response, and never heard another word again." (H/T CageSide Seats for the transcription)

#4 Shinsuke Nakamura on his contract status

A recent report stated that NJPW are interested in bringing back Shinsuke Nakamura to the promotion, as his contract is set to expire in January 2019.

During an interview with Sky Sports, Nakamura said that moving to the US was a "long-term thing" for him and a big decision for his family. He said that NJPW haven't contacted him and that he will stay with the WWE depending on the money offered to him.

NAKAMURA'S WWE FUTUREWe spoke to Shinsuke Nakamura about his future in WWE and what it might take for him to stay... pic.twitter.com/SHX3LJlMPH

— Sky Sports WWE (@SkySportsWWE) August 17, 2018

Recent reports have stated that Nakamura, along with AJ Styles and the duo of Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows have contracts expiring in January 2019; all four wrestlers moved to the WWE in 2016 and signed three-year deals.

#5 Seth Rollins talks about being upset at Extreme Rules crowd

In a match between Seth Rollins and Dolph Ziggler at Extreme Rules earlier this year, the crowd behaved in a manner that left many fans shaking their heads, when they chanted for the clock rather than showing their undivided attention at the two wrestlers in the ring.

Rollins spoke about it in CBS's In This Corner podcast, where he revealed that he was 'upset' at the reaction and not angry. "I think upset is the right way to put it. People are like, 'did you get mad?' Naw dude, I just get sad because I love performing and I love having that synergy with the crowd and when they're, you know paying attention to something else, inexplicably really, it's frustrating from a performance perspective," Rollins said (H/T WrestlingInc for the transcription)

Rollins was baffled by the reaction but also said that the crowd are entitled to do that as they paid for their tickets, "So it still doesn't make sense to me. I don't get it. I can't imagine myself paying money to go to some sort of show or game or concert or something, and not paying attention to what's going on. Again, you know they did buy their tickets they're allowed to do whatever they want to do with their time. So it's sort of a double-edged sword in that sense."

Rollins and Ziggler will face off once again for the Intercontinental title at SummerSlam, on Sunday.

#6 Daniel Bryan reveals when he wants to retire from WWE

Daniel Bryan only recently was cleared to wrestle once again in the WWE, and is now in an exciting feud with The Miz, and the two will face off against each other at SummerSlam.

In an interview with ESPN, Bryan spoke about many things, including when he wants to retire.

"Realistically, I want to wrestle until I'm 70. That's a goal to people that sounds insane, but there's an MMA trainer, Firas Zahabi, he trains Georges St-Pierre and he was on Joe Rogan's podcast and I love what he said because this is how I envision my life," said Bryan.

He spoke about what his goals are in wrestling and how he would transition in the latter half of his career: "For me, my goal is to enjoy this moment that I have in the WWE spotlight because that doesn't last forever. That really has taken hold since I was forced to retire. You have to appreciate every moment of this, but I also have to transition my style in a way that I could still be wrestling when I'm 70 years old."

The former SmackDown GM also said that he wants to wrestle long enough so that his daughter, Birdie, can remember him wrestling in the ring. He also revealed in the interview that he would like to wrestle several Superstars, including Goldberg, Johnny Gargano, Roderick Strong and AJ Styles.