Over the years, numerous WWE wrestlers have transitioned to the world of movies with varying degrees of success. The latest talent to take that step is Charlotte Flair, who has landed the lead role in the latest Walking Tall remake. Deadline reports the plan is to have the two-hour movie air on the USA Network, with the possibility of it becoming an ongoing series. The story is based on Buford Pusser, who wrestled as “Buford The Bull” in Chicago before becoming the Sheriff of McNairy County, Tennessee. This will be Flair’s second movie role following 2017’s Psych: The Movie. She has, though, appeared in the revival of Punky Brewster along with Alexa Bliss, where she played herself. It isn’t known why she was picked for the role, but WWE Studios are involved in its production. The original film was released in 1973 and made $40 million off a $500,000 budget, and spawned two sequels in 1975 and 1977, a television movie in 1978 titled A Real American Hero starring Brian Dennehy and a brief TV series in 1981. Then in 2004, there was a third account of the Pusser story made with The Rock starring in one of his first leading roles. His version made $57 million off a $46 million budget and was followed by two direct-to-video sequels without his involvement.

Kurt Angle is retired from in-ring competition following WrestleMania 35, but with both Paul Wight and Christian recently having joined AEW, fans have wondered if the Olympic gold medalist might eventually join them. It’s known that Angle was unhappy with his final match being an afterthought, so a run in AEW would allow him to go out on his own terms. Now speaking on his podcast, Angle discussed Wight’s recent jump to AEW and was asked if he could see him returning to the ring for Tony Khan’s promotion. He’d respond negatively but did reveal he spoke to Wight after his signing was announced.

While it would certainly be great for Angle to finish his career with a high-profile match, it should be remembered WWE did encourage him to retire for a reason. He has broken his neck five times throughout his amateur and professional wrestling careers and has suffered numerous other injuries. Plus, he recently stated he requires further neck surgery, which will keep him bedbound for up to six months. So given that it might be best for Angle to remain out of the ring.

Mickie James’ last singles match was against Zelina Vega on Raw’s September 21st episode. It was believed she’d return in a few weeks, but apart from competing in the women’s Royal Rumble match, it appears WWE has no further plans for her. In fact, in advertisements for Raw Legend’s Night, the 41-year-old was referred to as a WWE Legend. Now the former six-time WWE Women’s champion has commented on the double standard of how men and women’s ages are regarded in the wrestling industry. She did this in reply to a Taya Valkyrie tweet, and you can read her take below.

It’s hard to disagree with James, especial when you consider last month’s Raw Elimination Chamber main event only had one wrestler under the age of 40 involved. Additionally, the current WWE Champion Bobby Lashley is three years older than James and about to headline WWE’s biggest show of the year while she is unlikely to appear on the card.

When all previous episodes of NWA Powerrr were removed from the NWA’s official YouTube channel with no details as to why being provided, fans began speculating why. It was feared the promotion was closing down, especially since so much of the NWA roster had moved on to new promotions since the last set of tapings. However, speaking to AP News, NWA owner Billy Corgan has revealed that the videos’ removal was due to moving exclusively to FITE.tv. He’d also state that new episodes of NWA Powerrr are coming later this month, along with a pay-per-view titled Back For The Attack scheduled for March 21st.

It’s now been announced the pay-per-view will be dedicated to the late Joseph Hudson and headlined by Nick Aldis defending the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship against Aron Stevens. The only other match so far announced is Crimson vs. Jax Dane vs. Jordan Clearwater vs. Slice Boogie in a four-way. Although listed as appearing on the PPV are Thunder Rosa, Trevor Murdoch, Elijah Burke, Tim Storm, Brodus Clay, Chris Masters, and Kamille. Former WWE star Carlito recently revealed that the company had reached out to him in an interview, so he may also appear if a deal can be agreed.

Apart from being a pro wrestler and now a commentator for AEW, Paul Wight is also an actor. He recently had his own Netflix show, The Big Show Show, and has appeared in multiple movies. One of his earliest movie roles came in The Waterboy, which starred Adam Sandler and Henry Winkler. He played professional wrestler Captain Insano, who appeared in a memorable scene in the movie, taking a call from Sadler’s character. Hd and a generic wrestling announcer would laugh at Sandler’s character once they found out he was 31 after initially thinking he was a child. Now speaking on Renee Paquette’s podcast, he has teased bringing the movie character back, as AEW has applied to trademark the name.

Looking at the trademark, it appears to have been applied for on March 6th with the purpose of it being used in a video game. So it’s likely AEW’s upcoming video game could see Wight appear as an alternative character in the game. No release date is yet known for the much-anticipated game, but based on comments, it sounds like everyone involved is focused on making the best wrestling game possible instead of rushing its release. Having little things like having Captain Insano available to play will certainly be a cool bonus.

Yesterday news broke that backstage at last Monday’s Raw taping, Andrade officially requested his WWE release. At the time, it wasn’t known if the release was granted as although he had changed his Twitter handle from @AndradeCienWWE to @AndradeElIdolo, he was still listed on WWE.com. Now, Dave Meltzer has reported on Wrestling Observer Radio that his request was indeed denied.

WWE is under no obligation to let someone f of their deal early. In the past, multiple other unhappy wrestlers, including Brodie Lee, FTR, and Mike Bennett, all requested to be released from their contracts. However, WWE made them wait until it suited them and even added time to Brodie’s deal due to him being injured. In Andrade’s case, the issue is likely due to concern he would go to AEW, potentially alongside Zelina Vega, who Tony Khan has expressed interest in speaking with. If Andrade did go to AEW, he would be able to compete as Andrade as it’s his real name. Alternatively, he has the trademarks for “El Idolo” and “La Sombra,” his ring name before joining WWE.

The situation is fascinating due to Andrade being engaged to Charlotte Flair, who is very highly regarded by the company. Given her status, you would think WWE would be doing everything possible to keep her happy and Andrade by association. Interestingly, Charlotte has made preparations for her life away from WWE. In 2019 she trademarked “Ashley Flair,” a combination of her real name and her wrestling name.

WrestleMania XX was a memorable event; The Undertaker returned to his old gimmick, Chris Benoit won the World Heavyweight Championship, and fans in attendance booed Brock Lesnar and Bill Goldberg out of the building. Both Lesnar and Goldberg were leaving the promotion, and Vince McMahon didn’t want to make either guy look strong in their final match, so he opted to have special guest referee Steve Austin give both a Stone Cold Stunner on their way out. Now Jim Ross, who at the time was WWE’s talent relations executive, has revealed on his Grilling JR podcast that Lesnar called the company after receiving his WrestleMania XX payoff, as he felt he’d been screwed over.

WWE’s method of determining payoffs has always been questionable as talents can’t work out for themselves what they are owed, and it’s very much up to the company. Chris Jericho has been open about being disappointed that he only received one-fifth of what Triple H was paid for their WrestleMania 18 main event. McMahon’s opinion was that fans paid to see Triple H win the WWE Championship, so he was entitled to the bulk of the money.

It is hard to feel bad for Lesnar, having received $250,000 for such an awful match where neither he nor Goldberg put in much effort, and it’s understandable if McMahon underpaid them as he no longer needed to keep either man happy. Of course, both men returned to the WWE later and were well paid upon their returns. This is especially true in Lesnar’s case, with his UFC success allowing him to negotiate a contract ensuring him maximum pay for minimum dates.

Andrade was a Paul Heyman project, and when the former ECW head-honcho lost his creative powers, the former United States Champion’s stock began to fall. Reportedly Vince McMahon isn’t a fan, and his last match took place on October 12, 2020, with him losing to his former tag partner Angel Garza on Raw. His fiancée Charlotte Flair recently revealed that she pitched working with him on-air in an interview, but obviously, that idea was rejected.

Now, WrestlingINC has reported that Andrade requested his release from WWE at Monday’s Raw tapings. While it isn’t known if it was accepted, his Twitter bio no longer mentions WWE, and he has changed his handle from @AndradeCienWWE to @AndradeElIdolo. Just because a wrestler requests their release, WWE is under no obligation to terminate their contract, and in the past, have held on to unhappy happy talent. This is common if they believe another promotion might want to sign the wrestler.

With his former manager Zelina Vega currently a free agent and apparently attracting interest from AEW, it would seem a no-brainer that Tony Khan to bring them in as a package. However, that exact reason could be why his request ends up getting declined, which may have happened as he is still listed on WWE.com as of writing.

On his Grilling JR podcast, Jim Ross discussed current WWE wrestler Jeff Hardy and what held him back from becoming a long-term world champion. While Hardy did twice win the World Heavyweight Championship and the WWE championship once, his combined reigns were less than 70 days, and the former WWE commentator and talent relations executive put it down to reliability.

Both drug and legal issues have plagued Hardy’s life, and his career will forever be tarnished by the time he wrestled Sting while intoxicated at TNA’s Victory Road pay-per-view in 2011, which proves Ross’ point. Hardy has since turned his life around, and following a long injury layoff that saw him miss 11 months, he returned to the ring in the best condition he’d been in for years. He successfully won the Intercontinental Championship from AJ Styles in August 2020, and perhaps another world title run is not out of the question as he is only 43, which is younger than current WWE Champion Bobby Lashley.

During the 22nd February episode of Raw, Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler defeated Asuka and Charlotte Flair. The match’s purpose seemed to be the start of setting up Charlotte vs. Asuka for WrestleMania 37 for the Raw Women’s Championship. This was done by Charlotte mistakenly kicking Asuka, allowing Jax to leg drop and pin her. After the match, The Empress of Tomorrow didn’t want Charlotte’s help, and it seemed a matter of time until they split. However, during the hard-hitting match, Asuka received a stiff boot to the face from Baszler, which Asuka appeared to sell it exceptionally well, but as you can see below, she actually lost a tooth.

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Sadly apart from a trip to the dentist, it has also now been confirmed that Asuka also suffered a concussion, which now puts her competing and defending her title at WrestleMania at risk. Concussions are very serious, and recovery times can vary vastly. She could still be OK to wrestle next month, but if not, it will mean WWE will need to change their plans for Charlotte Flair again. Originally, Flair was set to face Lacey Evans at WWE’s flagship event but plans changed once she announced she was pregnant. The issue of the Raw Women’s Championship will also need to be addressed.

Borderline is a no-holds-barred, open discussion between a top pro wrestler and a popular female stripper, testing the age-old notion that wrestlers and strippers go well together! Featuring “The Rebel” StarBuck, the most acclaimed and accomplished pro wrestler out of Northern Europe since the turn of the century, and international showgirl Irina Tundra, Borderline features a bevy of relevant subjects that get dissected and analyzed from both the conservative and liberal points of view in an interactive setting.

In Episode 5 of Borderline European wrestling champion “The Rebel” StarBuck and Irina Tundra look at the winning formula of Mindset and Ambition, characteristics that are must-haves in order to succeed in the game of life. Take part in the interactive discussion in the YouTube comments at https://youtu.be/nCwIxa8N4l8.

AEW announced on February 22nd that Dark Order member Anna Jay was injured and was unable to compete in their title eliminator tournament. The injury took place during a training session and is expected to keep her out for between 6 and 12 months. Jay has now shared on social that her surgery took place earlier today, and she is currently recuperating.

This is the second shoulder surgery Jay has had to undergo during her short career after suffering a similar injury when she first began training to become a pro wrestler in 2019. In that case, she managed to make a full recovery and would make her in-ring debut at a charity wrestling event put on by former WCW wrestler Glacier five months later. Less than a year after that match, she’d sign for AEW following a losing effort to Hikaru Shida on Dynamite, having impressed AEW management.