WWE News Roundup: Prominent name comments on his unexpected release under Triple H, Details on backstage issue between The Rock and iconic Hall of Famer
Welcome to another edition of the daily WWE News Roundup, where we try and bring you the biggest news updates and stories from the world of sports entertainment. In today's edition, we will look at some stories revolving around top names like Triple H, Jimmy Smith, and Shawn Michaels.
Since Triple H took charge of WWE, he has re-hired multiple superstars. Two of the biggest returns under his regime were that of Bray Wyatt and Braun Strowman. However, he has re-shuffled the announce teams of all three WWE brands leading to the release of Nigel McGuinness and Jimmy Smith.
3. Former RAW commentator comments on his unexpected release
Jimmy Smith spoke about his WWE release on Unlocking the Cage on Sirius XM. The 45-year-old stated that people are showing a lot of concern over his release, but it doesn't bother him too much as it was something he never thought he would do in his career. Smith joined RAW as the lead commentator last year and was praised for quickly picking up his role. He was released earlier this month.
''When people say, ‘Are you okay? Is everything alright?’ I didn’t expect to do this at all. At all, I had no idea that I would be doing professional wrestling at all. The call came out of the blue, the audition came out of the blue, getting on Raw came out of the blue," he said. "And me leaving is out of the blue. So I didn’t expect any of this. So to then lose it, everyone is asking me — I’m fine."
While the consensus was that Smith had improved drastically since he first joined, it seems that Triple H wanted to put Kevin Patrick in his shoes. It was reported that Smith was hired at the behest of Nick Khan, who wanted a 'real sports' announcer to be on RAW.
2. Shawn Michaels comments on his heat with The Rock
It's no secret that during the late 90s, Shawn Michaels was tough to deal with backstage. He had picked up fights with many superstars, including The Rock. It is believed that The Brahma Bull has outrightly declined to work with Michaels because of his attitude problems.
Here is what HBK told Logan Paul on Impaulsive:
"I don't think it was as bad as everybody made it up to be, you know what I mean," said Michaels. "I mean, I know that I gave everybody a hard time back when I was younger. But you know like when I came back, I made sure I went up to everybody and at least was like, 'Sorry','' said Michaels.
The former WWE Champion said that when he returned in 2002, it was important for him to make amends to everyone he had wronged. He said that he told people that he was willing to earn their trust again and that he was okay even if they didn't want to talk to him.
1. Kevin Owens comments about his position in WWE
Former Universal Champion Kevin Owens has been nowhere to be seen on RAW for the past few weeks. While he has been working on live events, he has been kept off TV for some reason.
Speaking on The Happy Hour, he talked about his current character and how he likes being a babyface:
"I actually consider myself a better good guy than bad guy, believe it or not, but I've been told I'm good either way," Kevin Owens said. "I'm just happy to be doing a good job one way or another."
Owens has gone back to being 'The Prizefighter' since Triple H became creative head. However, it seems as though there are no concrete plans for him as of now. It was believed that he might renew his rivalry with Elias/Ezekiel when he returns, but that doesn't look to be the direction WWE is headed for.