Drew McIntyre's Biggest Fear & WWE WrestleMania Body Doubles: Ten Things You May Have Missed In Wrestling This Week

It was another explosive week in the world of professional wrestling, wasn't it?

WWE held their Revolution pay-per-view on Sunday, which saw the debut of three new stars in the form of Christian Cage, Maki Itoh and Ethan Page, John Laurinaitis returned to his old role as Head of Talent Relations for WWE and Molly Holly was announced as the first inductee into the WWE Hall of Fame class of 2021.

Okay, maybe it wasn't quite so explosive then.

Certainly not in the case of the Revoltuion main event between Jon Moxley and Kenny Omega. The bungled ending to their AEW Title Exploding Barbed Wire Deathmatch was, unfortunately for those involved, basically all anyone has been able to talk about in the days since.

Well, that and Randy Orton and Soulja Boy continuing to feud online over who has the fakest amount of money (or something like that).

Not too much to sink our teeth into, but thankfully the usual suspects were on hand to chime in and give their opinion on a number of things to happen in wrestling past, present and, possibly, future.

Here's to a thigh-slappingly good read!

10. The Undertaker Wants Lashley Vs. Lesnar

WWE.com

Now that Bobby Lashley is WWE Champion and WrestleMania is right around the corner, many have been hoping for and speculating about a potential showdown with Brock Lesnar.

Lashley himself has said in the past that he wants the match, which feels like a natural one, considering their similar styles and previous experiences in amateur wrestling, WWE and MMA.

The Undertaker is apparently one of those that wants to see the bout happen, as he responded to a photoshopped image of Lashley facing off with Lesnar, posted via MVP's Instagram account, with four money emojis.

Either that or, perhaps, All Mighty and The Beast Incarnate owe The Phenom a few bills?

9. WWE Offered Kurt Angle Three Jobs Following 2020 Firing

WWE.com

WWE Hall of Famer Kurt Angle was one of the victims of the mass 2020 WWE firings, which came about as a result of budget cuts due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Though retired from in-ring action, Angle was working as a backstage producer at the time. However, despite being new to the role and inexperienced, Angle was earning more than the other producers, so he figured the furlough was coming.

Speaking on the Kurt Angle show, the Olympic gold-medallist said he anticipated getting his P45 and understood the reasons why:

"I wasn’t surprised, I knew when they were furloughing talent and employees I knew I’d be the first one. I was the last producer to be hired and I had the least amount of experience, even though I am who I am. I’m not probably supposed to say this, but I was getting paid quite a bit more than the other producers. Thank God, it was kind of cool that Vince did that for me because I asked for a little bit more money so they granted me that. But that meant that if they were going to do furloughs, I was going to be the first one.

I wasn’t as experienced as the other guys and girls and I just knew I was going to be let go first. I wasn’t surprised by it, I actually texted Vince right away and said I understand why you did it. I understand because I’m inexperienced, making the most money and it just made sense".

Angle also revealed that WWE offered him not one, not two, but three other roles later on.

According to Kurt:

"They offered me a job a month later. A few different jobs. They offered me to coach in NXT, they offered me a job to manage Matt Riddle, they offered me a Legends contract".

Angle turned all three down in order to focus on his own business endeavours.

8. Eric Bischoff Considered Knocking Jeff Hardy Out At Victory Road 2011

IMPACT Wrestling

Speaking of podcasts, Eric Bischoff and Conrad Thompson discussed the infamous 2011 TNA Victory Road pay-per-view on 83 Weeks.

That show was supposed to feature Jeff Hardy challenging Sting for the TNA Title in a No Disqualification match in the main event, but the Charismatic Enigma notoriously showed up in no condition to perform and the bout was cut short.

Bischoff, who was both an on-screen character and involved in creative at the time, was on hand to attempt to manage the situation and claimed that he considered legitimately knocking out Hardy when he saw how messed up he was:

"Now Jeff is making his way to the ring…There were two things that were crossing my mind and they were happening simultaneously. My first instinct, because I was a heel, I thought I might, and this is going to sound like tough guy s**t. By the way, my daughter could have knocked out Jeff Hardy at that point. So, this isn’t badass, tough guy, bull s**t. 

I could have gotten a 12 year old from ringside to go in and punch Jeff in the mouth and he would have dropped like a rock. My first thought, because it seemed like the easiest, most direct line between A and B, is for me and my heel character to go out and just knock him out. Just drop him and then have the referee call the match and there would be a disqualification or whatever we can come up with".

Eric realised that it wasn't an option due to the No DQ stipulation, so improvised and instructed the Stinger to hit his finish and pin Jeff within seconds instead.

7. Fan Buys Vince McMahon's Custom Jacket

WWE.com

A poster on Reddit shared an image of a jacket that he had bought at a Florida thrift store last week.

Not any old jacket, mind you. That wouldn't exactly be news, would it? 'Man Buys Jacket'.

No, this was a jacket that once belonged to Vince McMahon. The user claimed to have purchased the custom-made threads for just $45.

The Chairman had originally purchased the jacket from Richard's of Greenwich, a luxury clothing store in WWE's home base of Greenwich, Connecticut.

The inner tag notes that the jacket was made by Italian luxury fashion house Ermenegildo Zegna "exclusively for VKM".

The date when the jacket was made was, according to the tag, February 4, 2019. McMahon wore the jacket on the April 24, 2020 episode of SmackDown, during son-in-law Triple H's 25 Year Anniversary celebrations (see the picture above).

The user noted that Vince must be absolutely jacked (duh), while based on estimates for similar items that Vince likely paid anywhere between $2,000 and $4,3000 for it.

6. Shaq Explains AEW Ring Gear

All Elite Wrestling

Basketball great and genuine wrestling fan Shaquille O'Neal made his AEW debut last week on Dynamite, teaming up with Jade Gargill against Cody Rhodes and Red Velvet.

The match was a smashing success, attracting a lot of mainstream media attention and helping the show in the ratings.

Shaq himself put in a commendable performance, including taking a big bump off the ring apron through two tables at ringside. His appearance on the whole, however, was (perhaps surprisingly) a little bit muted, as he decided to perform in plain black sweatpants and a tank top.

The former LA Laker explained the outfit choice while speaking to Access Daily:

“Look, Cody challenged me to a fight, I’m showing up in fight clothes. Sweatpants and a tank top. I respect him, I respect his family, I respect all the wrestlers, The Rock, what they’ve done. I don’t want to come in with a gimmicky costume.

This man challenged me to a fight, I’m showing up like it’s going to be a fight. I’m just going sweatpants and a tank top".

Cody was also present during the interview and said that Shaq's no-frills attire made him feel better about his own, more elaborate costume.

5. Big Cass & Aiden English Were Body Doubles For Undertaker & Shawn Michaels

DramaKingMatt / Twitch

On his Twitch stream this week, former WWE superstar Aiden English revealed that he and Big Cass were used as body doubles while shooting a video for the WrestleMania 32 intro.

It's not uncommon for developmental or low-level wrestlers to work as extras in this capacity, but it is slightly rarer for the people in question to share behind-the-scenes pictures, which is what English did.

He posted pictures showing himself dressed up as Shawn Michaels wearing his WrestleMania XII gear, as well as Big Cass dressed up as The Undertaker.

Aiden also noted that Chad Gable was also on hand for the shoot.

Looking back at the WrestleMania 32 intro video, the only people I can see that Gable would have been required to double for are the Ultimate Warrior and Stone Cold Steve Austin.

If pictures of Shorty G in a skullcap or an 80s mullet exist, I'm gonna need to see those too, thanks.

4. CM Punk Has Let WrestleMania Headline Bugbear Go

WWE.com

When CM Punk left WWE in 2014, one of the big misgivings that he mentioned in interviews was the fact that he never got to headline WrestleMania.

While Punk was in his fair share of major matches at the Showcase of the Immortals, he never went on last, something that irked him (especially when he saw The Miz and a returning The Rock given the honour ahead of him).

During a Twitter Q&A session last week, the Straight-Edge Superstar was asked whether or not the fact still bothers him.

Thankfully, it looks as though the former WWE Champion has let it go, as he replied:

"Nah. It's a trap I fell into. Doesn't mean sh*t". 

While there's still for him to go on last at the Granddaddy of Them All, the frosty relationship between him and WWE make a return seem less likely with each passing year.

3. WWE Considered Burning The American Flag In 1991 Angle

WWE.com

Some would argue that the Sgt. Slaughter Iraqi sympathiser angle didn't need any more heat, but WWE evidently felt differently, since they supposedly considered having him burn the American flag on pay-per-view.

During a recent episode of Something to Wrestle With, Bruce Prichard told host Conrad Thompson that while the rumour that they were going to desecrate Old Glory on NBC's The Main Event V special is incorrect, they did briefly toy with the idea of doing it at the Royal Rumble.

Per Prichard: “To do it on this NBC special is 100% false. There was discussion to do it at Royal Rumble, there was never discussion or there was no plan at all to do it on NBC in any way shape or form. That’s just made up horse sh*t that people reading the dirt rags and the made up bullsh*t.

“There was a lot of discussion about doing it because it was legal and it was Jesse Ventura who came to us with the idea. It had made the news of people burning the flag in protest, this is something that Slaughter could do to get heat. Obviously, better judgment prevailed and it was decided not the kind of heat we want regardless of whether it’s legal or not, regardless whether it’s accepted. The one time we considered doing it was at the Royal Rumble".

WWE instead opted for burning Hulk Hogan's shirt as part of the angle.

The one other time that a flag burning was rumoured was during the Un-Americans storyline in 2002, but WWE again didn't go through with it.

2. Drew McIntyre Fears Graeme Souness

He may have battled the likes of Brock Lesnar and The Undertaker during his time in WWE, but neither of them scared him as much as Scottish footballer Graeme Souness.

Rangers fan McIntyre told TalkSport and boyhood hero Ally McCoist this week that Souness terrified him when he was a kid and he was reminded of that fear while watching an old VHS of The Real McCoist, a retrospective of Ally McCoist's football career, as a way to celebrate the Glasgow-based club's first title win in a decade:

"I watched it all the way through and there’s so many jokes that went over my head when I was a kid. I was loving every second of it! And I remembered, there was one person I feared more than anyone, and I’ve fought a few scary guys.

I beat Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania last year and the man I was scared of when I was younger was Graeme Souness. Souness and that murder 'tache of his". 

Drew can just be thankful that he's not a French international currently playing in the Manchester United midfield, otherwise he'd really have something to worry about...

1. Randy Orton Hated 'Voices' Theme Song

WWE.com

Jim Johnston, the former WWE composer and man behind the iconic themes of The Undertaker, Steve Austin, Vince McMahon and others, gave a rare interview this week and spoke to Lucha Libre Online's Michael Morales.

As well as claiming his own displeasure at the current state of WWE's entrance music, Johnston also spoke about the process of collaborating with WWE superstars.

During the discussion, Johnston claimed that Randy Orton hated his 'Voices' theme but was in the dark as to the reasons why:

"I never spoke to him directly. But Randy Orton apparently hated his theme. I don’t know if he still does. I don’t even know why, but apparently that was true. I never spoke with him about it". 

Johnston also spoke about how getting input from wrestlers about their themes could be a headache, as they often wanted something that didn't exactly fit their character, citing a conversation with the late Yokozuna as an example:

"I remember Yoko. He called me, managed to get me on the phone and said he wanted to change his music from the Japanese wrestler stuff. I’m trapped now on the phone with the guy. What do you think he goes? He said: ‘Well, you know, I’d like some hip-hop’. I said: ‘Yoko, you’re a sumo wrestler. It’s what you are. You are not a hip-hop guy. But from his perspective, and I don’t mean to be mean here, but he was like: ‘But I live in LA’. So it made perfect sense to him. ‘Why couldn’t I have a hip-hop thing?’ and so in general, no, I didn’t get involved with the talent". 

Johnston also talked about how easy it was to come up with the pulsating guitar theme for the Ultimate Warrior and how difficult it was finding something appropriate for The Rock to use.

Sadly, he didn't break down the psychology behind Billy Gunn's iconic 'Ass Man'.