The Hoff's Hulkster Heat & CM Punk's New Tattoo: Ten Things You May Have Missed In Wrestling This Week

A WWE star announced they were pregnant, one of the world's most popular musicians won a WWE title and another NXT TakeOver is in the books.

Those are just a few of the major happenings from another rollercoaster week in the world of wrestling.

Plenty more happened, of course, you just may not have seen or heard about it. And that applies to the wider wrestling landscape, too, not just WWE.

As usual, social media, podcasts and even the mainstream media have provided the expected confrontations, funny exchanges and other nuggets that may have gone undetected over the course of the past seven days.

So, as is now tradition (hey, this feature has been going for two weeks so it's a tradition, OK?), we have compiled ten of these into one nice, digestible piece of wrestling story pie.

Dig in!

10. AEW Commentator Calls Kenny Omega 'WWE Champion'

WWE.com

Another week, another simple mistake from legendary professional wrestling commentator Jim Ross that was jumped on by the internet wrestling community.

On this week's episode of AEW Dynamite, Good Ol' JR erroneously referred to AEW Champion Kenny Omega as the 'WWE Champion'.

Social media was quick to point out the flub to the Hall of Famer, who replied to a tweet by Fightful by saying 'Yep. Heat of the battle. Live TV. My bad...'

To be fair to Ross, he was employed by Vince McMahon's company for the best part of twenty five years and also often spends a great deal of time discussing WWE-related topics for his podcast Grilling JR.

The actual WWE Champion, Drew McIntyre, chimed in by posting a picture of himself with the caption 'The WWE Champion, Drew McIntyre is not impressed or amused'.

So that's Omega versus McIntyre confirmed for WrestleMania then is it, or am I....?

9. Randy Orton's High Times With Snoop Dogg

WWE.com

One of the essential social media follows in wrestling, Randy Orton was at it again this week.

Unfiltered and generally unafraid to post anything he damn well pleases, The Viper responded to a post of a picture of him and Snoop Dogg with the reply 'WM 25 pre game'.

He then clarified that it was actually WrestleMania 24, not 25, when he and Snoop burned one. Orton successfully defended his WWE Title against Triple H and John Cena at that event, while mister D O Double G was on hand to act as Master of Ceremonies for the Playboy BunnyMania Lumberjill Match.

We can forgive The Legend Killer's memory for being a little foggy, I suppose. You know. Because of all the drugs he has (allegedly) smoked.

In the same tweet, Orton clarified it was the first time he had smoked weed with the rap superstar, not the first time ever, while calling us all marks and reinforcing that it was before he wrestled his match that night, not after.

Never change, Randy.

8. The Hoff's Heat With The Hulkster

WWE.com

Former wrestler and WCW booker Kevin Sullivan reviewed WCW's February 1995 pay-per-view SuperBrawl V for the latest edition of his podcast Taskmaster Talks.

The episode was sprinkled with interesting anecdotes, such as the fact that Ed 'Brutus Beefcake' Leslie's 'The Butcher' gimmick cost the company $350,000 when Abdullah the Butcher successfully sued them over use the name.

But the thing that stuck out the most was that, according to Sullivan, Baywatch star David Hasselhoff had an issue with Hulk Hogan when the Hulkster guest starred on an episode of the popular series.

Hogan appeared in the episode 'Bash at the Beach' along with Randy Savage, Ric Flair, Vader and Sullivan.

Per Sullivan, the rest of the cast and crew (including co-star Pamela Anderson) treated the wrestlers well, but The Hoff - who didn't appear in the episode - didn't come around.

He said:

'The people on Baywatch were super. They were very nice. The only thing is I think there was some animosity between Hasselhoff and Hogan.  Hasselhoff was not in that episode if you recall and he didn’t even come around to see Hulk. I think he was jealous of Hulk. Pamela was wonderful to everybody. She came out and talked to everybody. She was great. All the production people were great. It was a great time. I really enjoyed it'.

He was likely envious of the Hulkster's tan. It was just a few shades closer to 'hot dog' at the time.

7. CM Punk's Harley Race Tribute Tattoo

WWE.com

CM Punk mentioned back in October 2019 that he planned on getting a tattoo in tribute to his mentor and friend, the late, great Harley Race.

True to his word, The Straight-Edge Superstar has had his inky tribute to The King done.

Nick Colella of the Chicago-based Great Lakes Tattoos posted a picture to Instagram showing the tat, which was a peacock design similar to one Harley himself had on his arm, with a Replica of Race's WWE crown above it.

Punk himself then tweeted a picture of the new body art addition, along with a caption explaining its significance:

Harley Race was booked to referee a match I had, seems like a lifetime ago. Never figured a friendship would blossom out of it. Never thought too much about why Harley liked me, I just sorta enjoyed it. There was a time when all I cared about was wrestling and having his stamp of approval was everything. He taught me how to make a blade. He booked me and [Ace Steel] on shows we would’ve worked for free simply because he was Harley Race. Was an honor to know him. Fortunate to have been friends with him, and I’m one of the lucky ones that can say he mentored me and made me better. We raise a shot of milk, for the boss!

Punk's only other wrestling tattoo among his 50+ is a small picture of Mitsuharu Misawa's boot on his upper back.

6. The Site Of WrestleMania IV & V Is Imploded

WWE

First the Pontiac Silverdome and now this?

Fans of 80s WWE shed a tear this week as the site of WrestleMania IV and V was demolished.

Residents of Atlantic City, however, were much less bothered by the demolition of Trump Plaza.

The casino had been closed since 2014 and had not been affiliated with Donald Trump since 2009.

I would like to take this time to remind you that Donald Trump is not only the former President of the United States, but also a WWE Hall of Famer. Sorry for ruining your day.

The actual room where the Showcase of the Immortals took place, Boardwalk Hall, is still standing at the time of writing.

The only venue to host WrestleMania on consecutive years, it was referred to as the Atlantic City Convention Center during the broadcasts. The highlight of the two 'Manias that were held there was David Hasselhoff's best mate Hulk Hogan beating Randy Savage for the WWE Title in the main event of WrestleMania V.

5. Blue Demon Jr. Refuses To Unmask For Disney Executives

Wikimedia

If you know one thing about lucha libre, it's probably that the mask a luchador wears is almost sacred.

A part of the national cultural heritage, the mask is not something that is to be taken lightly, with some wrestlers refusing to be seen without wearing theirs and some, like El Santo, being buried in it.

While kayfabe may not be as strongly enforced as it once was, legendary luchador Blue Demon Jr. is still keeping the tradition alive.

It was revealed this week that the man whose name is not a matter of public record refused to take his mask off when meeting with executives from Dinsey.

Blue Demon Jr. will star in an upcoming television series for the Disney Channel called Ultra Violet and Blue Demon, but despite being in business with the Mickey Mouse company he would not show them his face.

As one of the show's producers explained in an interview with the Wrestling Inc. Daily Podcast:

'It’s a very unique thing about lucha libre. He is the persona, and no one knows his face. Even people that shot the pilot, the executives at Disney [and] the legal team that did the contracts, they don’t know his face.

Even to get him into the meetings at Disney, they don’t get to see his face. There was a problem with security in how to get him in. That is the first thing that they need to learn. He’s a living character, which is very unique, and it’s part of what draws us into doing these projects. He lives his life as Blue Demon, and that’s it.'

4. WWE Stars React Angrily To 'Build Your Team' Tweet

When the WWE on Fox Twitter account posted a tweet with the 'Build Your Team' meme featuring members of the women's roster, they probably didn't expect it to backfire so spectacularly.

The wrestlers were set at different monetary values and fans were asked to build their dream team with a $15 budget.

Becky Lynch and Charlotte were set at $5, for example, while the likes of Liv Morgan, Peyton Royce and Natalya were valued at $1.

This ruffled the feathers of not only those who were set at a low value, but also other members of the WWE roster.

The Queen of Harts released a short statement expressing his dismay at the one dollar price tag, ending it by saying that 'anyone who knows anything, knows that I am priceless'.

Son of WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley and current WWE writer Dewey Foley and former NXT UK star Killer Kelly agreed, while Liv Morgan said it was almost as bad as a 'Ryan Satin Tier List'.

Shelton Benjamin went further, writing that the WWE on Fox account should delete the 'insulting' post and apologise to all the women on the roster.

Yikes.

The tweet was subsequently deleted.

3. Kevin Nash Defends Shaq AEW Match

All Elite Wrestling's decision to book basketball icon Shaquille O'Neal in a match has divided opinion amongst fans. Some don't like the idea of him wrestling, while others are intrigued by the prospect and believe the mainstream attention the match is generating is positive for AEW.

Shaq is scheduled to team with Jade Cargill to take on Cody Rhodes and Red Velvet on the March 3 episode of Dynamite.

While some are unconvinced, wrestling legend Kevin Nash took the time to respond to a fan who questioned the booking by replying to a comment on one of Cody's Instagram posts.

I'll paraphrase, because Big Sexy's answer was plagued with typos but, essentially he said that 'Shaq is a TNT legend and is involved with over 50 companies in a spokesperson position. Quit being a bunch of marks. You're watching free TV. Shut the hell up and watch'.

As devastating as a Jacknife Powerbomb, that.

2. Braun Strowman Takes Shot At New WWE Signing

WWE announced several signings this week, including the acquisition of former Notre Dame defensive lineman Parker Boudreaux.

Boudreaux has inked a developmental deal to work in NXT. He has a sizable social media following and his signing was accompanied by a video he posted which referred to himself as the 'Destroyer of Gods'.

A fan responded to the tweet by Parker (who many have likened to a young Brock Lesnar) by saying he was 'WrestleMania worthy' and wanted to see him square off with Braun Strowman.

The Monster Among Men dismissed the idea and took a shot at Boudreaux by replying:

'WrestleMania…?????? Lol call me if he figures out how to even put laces in his boots. #IAmTheOnlyBigThing'

Right, so that's Omega versus McIntyre and now Strowman taking on Parker. WrestleMania sure is shaping up rather nicely, isn't it?

1. WWE Were Planning A Eugene Movie

WWE.com

Former WWE star Nick Dinsmore, who famously performed as Eric Bischoff's 'special' nephew Eugene, was a guest on Chris Jericho's Talk is Jericho podcast this week.

The wide-ranging episode touched upon many topics, including Dinsmore's time in the developmental system and his various firings, but one of the conversation's most interesting revelations was that WWE were planning on having the Eugene character star in his own film.

Dinsmore revealed that former Head Writer Brian Gewirtz - who was heavily involved in the writing of the Eugene character - took several months off in order to write a script that had Eugene as the lead.

Per Dinsmore:

'He [Gewirtz] took that time off, and he wrote this big script. And he comes to me, and he goes ‘We’re going to make a movie. We’re going to put you in a movie’. I’m like, ‘Holy cow!’. He’s telling me about all these capers that are going to go on about Eugene trying to get in the wrestling business.

He said ‘At one point we’re going to have you wrestle a bear'. A bear? We’ll just put a man in a suit? ‘We’re gonna get one of them Hollywood bears’, and the only bear at the time was the one that was in ‘Semi-Pro’. And he end up killing his trainer. So maybe it’s a good thing'. 

The film never ended up happening - at least not with Eugene in the lead role.

He did mention how much of what was talked about to him ended up taking place in the 2010 WWE Studios release Knucklehead, which starred Big Show.

The wait for their first Oscar goes on...