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We are back with another exciting edition of the WWE News Roundup. Much has unfolded in the WWE Universe over the last couple of days, but most incidents involve high-profile performers who are no longer active.
Some landed themselves in controversy, while others sought personal entertainment. We also came across a former WWE Champions' honest take on weak bookings and a celebrated veteran.
In this article, we will take a look at the top stories that ruled the WWE headlines over the last few hours.
#1 Former WWE Superstar Mickie James was ‘terrified for life’ before meeting Vince McMahon
Former WWE Superstar Mickie James recently opened up about her first meeting with Vince McMahon. James arrived as a Trish Stratus superfan at the time of her debut, and this gimmick was her idea. She received a lot of encouragement backstage to tell the WWE Chairman that it was her idea. James was terrified of meeting Vince McMahon for the first time, but things eventually went well between the two. Here's what she said about her first meeting with Vince in WWE:
"I went home and I reset and I came up with this character, this story, this idea for this character who was a massive super fan which was genuinely in my heart. I was able to come up and cultivate this character that I was like, ‘This –’ and I pitched it and I remember walking into Vince [McMahon’s] office with this idea and I go, I’m like, ‘I heard you read my idea and you liked it’ and Michael Hayes is the one who said, ‘You need to walk into Vince’s office, you need to tell him that you wrote that," said Mickie James.
"You need to tell him that nobody can play it but you,’ and I’m like, ‘Oh God,’ added Mickie James. "This is backstage, I’m like in Columbus, Ohio, driving up from Louisville, which is the developmental territory OVW at the time, and I’m like, ‘I don’t know if I can do this.’ The whole time I’m sitting outside of Vince’s office, I’m like, ‘I feel like I’m gonna vomit.’ It was the scariest — if you’ve never met the man in person, he’s so — he has this aura about him, and he’s so powerful and so intimidating but yet so genuine and real. He’s always been kind and genuine to me, and I’m just like, I was terrified for my life."
Mickie James would go to win six championships while working for the company. WWE released her after WrestleMania 37 along with several superstars such as Samoa Joe and Billie Kay. Even that ended up creating a lot of controversy after she was sent all her stuff in a garbage bag. James then revealed the incident on social media, and many fans criticized the promotion for the manner in which they handled their talents.
Following that, both Triple H and Stephanie McMahon publicly apologized to her for the issue. The personnel responsible for the disrespectful act was also fired soon afterward.
#2 WWE Superstar John Cena stirs controversy with the latest video
WWE Superstar John Cena recently landed himself in a controversial situation. While promoting his upcoming movie, Fast & Furious 9, he referred to Taiwan as a country that fetched a lot of backlash from fans in China. This led to John Cena posting a video in which he apologized in Mandarin. Here’s what he was quoted as saying in the video:
“Hi China, I’m John Cena. I’m in the middle of Fast & Furious 9 promotions. I’m doing a lot of interviews. I made a mistake in one of my interviews. I made one mistake. I have to say something very, very, important now. I love and respect China and Chinese people. I’m very, very sorry about my mistake. I apologize, I’m very sorry. You must understand that I really love, really respect China and the Chinese people. My apologies. See you.”
This whole incident has led to several fans criticizing John Cena as well as the Hollywood fraternity for turning a blind eye towards political issues. WWE was reportedly planning to bring Cena back for the first show when fans return next month.
As of this writing, there have been no reports of plausible changes in those WWE plans in the wake of the recent controversy.
#3 Former WWE Superstar CM Punk takes a shot at John Cena
Former WWE Superstar CM Punk found an opportunity to poke fun at John Cena for the latter’s apology video for referring to Taiwan as a country. This led to Cena’s name trending on Twitter, and Punk jumped at the chance to take a shot at the 16-time world champion. He immediately changed his Twitter bio to “Taiwan is a country”.
CM Punk ensured that his followers knew about the change in his bio as he tweeted about the new description. However, he soon changed it, but by then, the users had successfully captured the screen to immortalize this dig on the internet. He appears not to be the only one in the business who didn’t like John Cena’s video, as it seemingly fetched backstage heat in WWE as well.
According to Andrew Zarian of the Mat Men Podcast, Cena’s apology didn’t sit well with many WWE Superstars backstage. Although no one has come out and criticized him directly, the video has managed to raise quite a few eyebrows. Others, including many WWE fans, rushed to make memes about John Cena and his never-ending rivalry with CM Punk.
#4 Kofi Kingston shares honest opinion on losing the WWE Championship to Brock Lesnar
Back in 2019, KofiMania was running wild amidst the WWE Universe. Kofi Kingston defeated all the odds to win the WWE Championship, and he enjoyed a decent six-month reign with the gold wrapped around his waist.
Unfortunately, he dropped the title to Brock Lesnar in an underwhelming match that barely lasted a few seconds. It managed to upset a lot of fans who argued that Kingston deserved better.
The New Day member recently discussed this entire turn of events in an interview and said that he has no complaints. While the former WWE Champion admitted that he would have preferred if things went differently, Kingston also said that he doesn't hold grudges against anyone over things he can't control. Here’s what he had to say:
"I told a lot of people that if it was up to me, I would have had that match be different in the way that it went down. But the thing is, that it's not up to me. I think what we need to realize is that you control what you can control. That's it. I don't get mad over what I can't control. I show up to work, and it's like, ‘What we're doing? Ok, maybe we can do it like this, but we're going to do it like this’. Then once you have the outline of what's going to happen, that's the way that you proceed," said Kofi Kingston.
"I wish it would have gone down differently," Kofi Kingston admitted. "I appreciate that a lot of people were so angry with the way that it went down. I'm always just trying to work towards what's next. For me to come into work and be disgruntled about the way that things were handled, I'm the only one that's going to be affected by that. But what I can control is going out and starting afresh, getting back on the horse and riding, and keeping that positive attitude. I would say that I was disappointed with the way that it went down. But again, I wasn't so mad that I was going to come into work and just pout. I'm not going to come pout and be mad. That's not my style. I've never been like that. It's always been just a matter of just pushing forward no matter what. So that's what I did."
WWE has run the business for a long time, and there have always been incidents when superstars were subjected to underwhelming bookings. Things weren't different for Kingston, but he remains one of the few top names who continued working as hard as he did when he held the world championship in WWE.
Even now, he believes that he is more than capable of forging another path to the title. Next week on WWE RAW, Kingston will face Drew McIntyre in a match that will determine the No. 1 contender for Bobby Lashley's WWE Championship at the upcoming Hell In A Cell pay-per-view.
#5 Kofi Kingston hails Randy Orton as WWE Hall of Famer
WWE Superstar Kofi Kingston shares a long, exciting history with Randy Orton. Both superstars haven't always seen eye to eye, but that didn't stop The New Day member from acknowledging Orton's in-ring greatness. During a recent interview, Kingston stated that The Viper is already a WWE Hall of Famer in his head.
He feels that Orton is the most experienced superstar on the current WWE roster, and he has also shown a lot of personal growth over the years. Here's what Kingston had to say about Randy Orton:
"Now he’s the guy who has the most experience on the roster – I can’t think of anyone currently has more experience than him, so you have to respect that. He has the respect of a lot of people in a lot of different ways. He’s changed in a lot of ways, too, and I think you see that personal growth. In my mind he is already a Hall of Famer. I would never tell any of this to him as he’d never let me live any of it down! So he’ll never hear that come out of my mouth, but I can’t sit here and lie to you and say he’s not up there because he definitely is," said Kofi Kingston.
Randy Orton and Riddle recently came together on WWE RAW to form a new tag team, R-K-Bro. This exciting duo is currently involved in a budding feud with Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods. Most recently, Riddle faced Woods in a brilliant match on WWE RAW, and he shockingly used RKO for the win. Both teams are expected to engage in a brutal feud on the Red brand in the coming weeks.
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