My Introduction and First Wrestling News Post on Hive!
Hey everyone, hope y'all are doing well, this is my first official post here on Hive, so let me give you a quick rundown before we jump into the chaos that was this week in wrestling.
Name’s WrestleNews. I’ve been covering pro wrestling for over a decade now. This includes articles, columns, live show recaps, indie spotlights, you name it. I’ve written everywhere from old forums to modern sites and even a few dusty newsletters that still float around out there. I live and breathe this stuff.
I got introduced to Hive by 
If this works out and y’all are feeling it, I’ll start figuring out how to do even more here and maybe integrate some deeper content drops, collabs with other wrestling creators on Hive, stuff like that.
For now though? I’m just gonna do what I do best. Cover the wildest stories in wrestling each week the way real fans talk about ‘em... No fluff, no filters, just facts and feelings.
Alright, let’s get into it.
This Week in Wrestling Is Just Straight-Up INSANE: Prison Time, AI Luchadors, CM Punk Tears Up, Cena Gets Emotional, and Paige Might Be Coming Home?
Y’all I don’t even know where to start this week. Everything hit at once like a superkick to the throat. We’ve got a former WWE champ going to actual prison, an Intercontinental title match that’s gonna be nuts, CM Punk crying (yeah really), Cena trying not to break down while doing his heel shtick, AI controversy (again lol), Paige maybe teasing a return, and oh yeah WWE just signed a DEAD wrestler to a Legends deal. So yeah. Let’s get into the madness.
Cain Velasquez Sentenced to 5 Years in Prison
We aren't talking about the Big Red Machine Kane, or the Devils Favorite Demon, but former UFC Heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez. Yup. That Cain. You know,former UFC champ... Former WWE guy... And the dude (Not Jeff Bridges in Big Lebowski) just got sentenced to 5 years behind bars. Real prison. Not some kayfabe story. Real time and it's not a short stint either.
This story really goes all the way back to 2022 when Cain allegedly just chased a dude through traffic in Cali and opened fire with a real gun. According to reports, the guy he was chasing was accused of molesting Cain’s 4-year-old son, so Cain took matters into his own hands. Like full on car chase. This was straight movie level type stuff, like Michael Bay stuff. He for real shot into the truck, missed the target, hit the guy’s stepdad instead. Many people can understand Cain's anger in this situation, but we have rules and laws for a reason.
The debate’s been wild. Some folks are like “he did what any dad would do,” and others are like “you can’t go full vigilante in broad daylight.” And honestly, it’s complicated. But Cain owned it and is taking his lumps. Said on a podcast that he knows he handled it the wrong way and put other people in danger and he’s ready to pay the price.
He’s already got credit for over 1200 days served, so he might be out in like two years or less. But yeah. Crazy... Like CRAZY, Crazy!
Intercontinental Title Match for Mania Is Set and It’s Gonna Be CHAOS
So Fightful says we’re getting a fatal 4-way at WrestleMania for the IC belt. Bron Breakker vs. Dominik Mysterio vs. Finn Balor vs. Penta L0.
Yeah read that again. That match is gonna be absolutely stupid in the best way.
There were some rumors AJ Styles might’ve been added, but nah, looks like he’s tied up with Logan Paul now, which is its own madness. But this 4-way? This is gonna go hard. Every single one of these dudes has tried to take down Bron lately and failed, so now it’s like WWE said “screw it, throw all of ‘em in.”
Let’s go.
El Grande Americano Is AI?? Fans Are Pissed
So WWE debuted El Grande Americano and the match vs. Dragon Lee was solid but... that hype video? Bro.
Fans lost their minds over it. Mainly because it looked like it was made with AI. And not even good AI. Like “what is going on with those fingers?” kind of AI. You could literally see messed up hands in the video and people were like yeah, this ain’t it.
Also, the tone of the promo rubbed a lot of Lucha Libre fans the wrong way. One dude from Super Luchas said it was straight up disrespectful to Mexican wrestling and culture. Especially the whole “Gulf of America” thing which… yeah okay that was a choice.
People are saying it’s Chad Gable under the mask and that this is all part of a bigger troll from American Made. Which would make sense honestly. Gable would totally do that. But still, bad start for Americano. Great match, weird rollout.
CM Punk Cried on Stephanie McMahon’s Show and It Was Actually Really Emotional
So Stephanie McMahon has this show now called Stephanie’s Places where she talks to wrestlers about their careers and stuff. I didn’t really know what to expect but she had CM Punk on for the next episode and the preview clip just dropped and… yeah. It got me.
Punk was talking about coming back, about everything that led to that moment and the match with Drew McIntyre and SummerSlam and how it was gonna be his moment. And then he got choked up. Like actually emotional. Not fake wrestling promo emotional. I mean the guy literally had to stop talking and wipe his face and you could see it on him.
He said “I don’t give an F. I’m really happy right now” and you could tell he meant every single word of it. It didn’t feel like a WWE-produced moment. It felt like a guy who has held everything in for so long finally let it out on camera without trying to make it look cool or marketable.
And yeah I know it’s CM Punk. The guy who yells about ice cream bars and beefs with the whole roster. But this wasn’t that Punk. This was Phil Brooks being honest and grateful and maybe a little overwhelmed by what it means to be back and finally feel like he’s where he belongs again.
I wasn’t expecting to feel anything watching a preview for a Stephanie McMahon show. But this hit way harder than I thought it would.
And now I want to see the full episode even more.
John Cena Might Be Turning Heel but He Looked Like He Was About to Cry
Alright so this was kinda weird in my opinion. Cena’s doing the whole “I’ve got one more run left in me” thing and he’s been cutting promos about winning the Undisputed Title and then retiring, which is cool and all, but now he’s clearly leaning heel. Like full heel Cena. Real serious stuff. No jokes, no jorts, just heel heat.
But here’s the thing… people noticed something during that promo on Raw that felt a little off. Like he looked emotional. His voice cracked once or twice, his eyes looked glassy, like the dude was fighting tears. And I went back and rewatched it and yeah, they’re not wrong.
He was talking about how the fans turned their backs on him (wait, I thought we couldn't see you. Joking obviously) and how he gave them everything and it hit different and it was fresh to see from him. You could see the hurt in his face.. Like, not as a character, but like… real life Cena bleeding through a little bit and that sold it for me and many other fans.
This is the guy that’s done more Make-A-Wish visits than anyone in history. The guy who got booed for a decade and still carried the company on his back while smiling through it. And now he’s back, trying to go out strong, and fans are still chanting for someone else.
So yeah the promo was good. But the emotion? That is what made it great in my opinion. It didn’t feel like a guy pretending to be upset for storyline heat. It felt like a guy who's realizing this is probably it and he’s not sure what he’s gonna get from the crowd on the way out.
If they keep going this route with him — sad, bitter, twisted version of Cena — it could be one of the best stories he’s ever told.
What Happened After Raw Went Off the Air Was Straight-Up Chaos
Okay so the show ended like it normal does, Judgment Day beating down Penta and Bron Breakker to close things out, cool cool, seen that before. It's whatever, man. BUT!!! then the cameras cut and we got bonus content and honestly it might’ve been better than half the actual show.
They ran a surprise six-man tag with Cody Rhodes, CM Punk, and Rey Mysterio teaming up against Judgment Day. Yeah. Just casually throwing that out there like it’s nothing. Crowd went nuts.
Punk hits a GTS, Cody drops the Cross Rhodes, Rey does Rey things and pins the guy, match over, feel good moment secured. But the part that had me dying? Rey literally held Punk’s legs down for the pin like they were in a high school fight. Full on “I got you bro” energy. It was hilarious and awesome. And I'm all for it!
And then no joke the ref kicks Raquel and Liv Morgan out of the ring area by doing an actual cartwheel. Like full gymnastics send off. Not even mad. Give that ref a belt. Chefs kiss material.
I get why WWE doesn’t air this stuff but man, they’re leaving money on the table. Fans live for this kinda chaos and this segment was gold.
That Charlotte and Tiffany Segment Was a Whole Test and You Could Kinda Tell
So apparently that segment with Tiffany Stratton and Charlotte Flair wasn’t just a promo, it was WWE testing Tiffany on live TV, like “can she hang?” style test and honestly... you could see it on her face
It wasn’t a disaster or anything but it felt like she was trying to keep up the entire time and Charlotte was just doing Charlotte things, like total confidence, not missing a beat, and Tiffany’s there smiling and hitting her lines but it felt like she was holding on
WWE’s high on her, that’s clear, they want her to be a big deal and they should cause she’s got the look and she can go in the ring but on the mic? Next to someone like Charlotte? The gap was showing
There were moments where you could see her finding her footing and then a few spots where Charlotte hit her with something sharp and Tiffany didn’t really have anything to hit back with, just kinda smiled through it like “okay we’re moving on now”
It wasn’t a fail, just one of those moments where you’re like alright, she’s not there yet — but they want her to be, and this was their way of seeing how far she’s come
She’ll get better, no doubt, but yeah you could tell this was one of those “let’s see how she does under pressure” segments and she just barely stayed above water
Paige Might Be Coming Back and Honestly I’m So Here For It
So Soraya, yeah, Paige, was on a podcast recently and she started talking about wrestling again and just the way she said things, man, it felt like something’s coming
She was saying how she still loves wrestling, still wants to be involved, but doesn’t really feel like there’s a place for her right now and that alone kinda made my ears perk up cause you don’t say stuff like that unless you’re thinking about making a move
She’s technically still signed to AEW, yeah, but she hasn’t been on TV since October and her contract is supposedly up in September unless they freeze it or extend it or whatever they do over there — but if they don’t? She’s a free agent, and you know WWE would scoop her back up in a heartbeat
And then she went and tweeted a little reference to her old WWE entrance song and like c’mon, that’s not a coincidence, right?
She said there’s no bad blood, she still talks to people there, and if the right thing came along she’d be open to it and man I’d be lying if I said I didn’t wanna see her come back
If Paige walks out at Survivor Series or something, I swear that crowd’s gonna lose it, I know I would
She’s still got something left and I feel like there’s unfinished business there
WWE Just Signed Crush to a Legends Deal and He’s Been Dead Since 2007
So this one kind of came outta nowhere — WWE just signed Crush to a Legends deal, yeah, that Crush, Bryan Adams, and if you’re thinking wait wasn’t he… yeah, he passed away in 2007
Apparently this all came together through his son Royce, who was on a podcast recently and said WWE reached out and wanted to make it official so now his family signed the deal on his behalf and Crush is officially under the Legends umbrella
The whole idea here is to get all of Demolition — Ax, Smash, and Crush — locked in under the same deal, maybe for merch, maybe for the Hall of Fame, maybe both, who knows
But honestly it’s kinda cool, like WWE doesn’t always do this kind of thing for people who passed years ago, and the fact they went out of their way to make it happen says a lot
Crush had a wild career — Demolition, the face-painted babyface version, heel run, Nation of Domination, DOA, he was everywhere — and he never really got his flowers
So maybe this is the start of that, maybe they’re finally setting it up for Demolition to get their Hall of Fame moment
Took long enough
That's all the news I have for you right now! Hope to read some comments and interact with y'all some more. If y'all have questions or wanna know more then let's discusss it in the comments below!!!