AEW’s roster is known for its athleticism. Because of this, most of the stars are of a smaller build compared to the bulky wrestlers of a few generations ago. However, Lance Archer notably stands out on the roster due to his hulking size, but the veteran is very aware that he isn’t the biggest guy on the roster.

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Speaking om his “Hawk’s Nest” podcast, Archer praised Brian Cage and explained why his moniker of “The Machine” isn’t an exaggeration. “He is the body guy of all body guys, you know, in modern wrestling,” Archer claimed. “He’s just — he’s a different element.” He also pointed out how Cage has kept himself in incredible shape for as long as the two AEW stars have known each other.

Archer’s history with Cage stems back to their days WWE’s FCW, and when asked when they’ll have a match again, the “Murderhawk Monster” recalled having to wrestle “The Machine” back in 2009 when he just left TNA and had a WWE tryout with three different matches. “One of the singles matches was Brian Cage,” he recalled. “So, he helped me get a job there. I’ve known Cage for a while.”

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Additionally, while recalling the WWE tryout, Archer noted that Cage wasn’t as big in 2009 as he is right now, but that he was always in great shape and was very agile for his size. He then noted that Cage maintained his athleticism and adapted to his body as he physically grew. “Cage was an athlete who got to be the machine he is today,” Archer concluded.

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit the “Hawk’s Nest” and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.

In the Netflix docuseries “Mr. McMahon,” viewers quickly learn that the titular subject keeps most people at an arm’s length, claiming at one point that “Nobody knows the real me.” Nic Nemeth, formerly WWE’s Dolph Ziggler, spent nearly two decades working for Vince McMahon before being released in 2023. He admitted even he was surprised at some of the humanity that crept out of McMahon during the series.

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“Just seeing a somewhat human side. I believed it. I bought it,” Nemeth said on “Busted Open Radio.” “Whether he’s telling the truth or not, it seemed like this is real; he wants to make his father proud, he wanted to take over. He just wanted to hear, ‘Hey, you’re doing great with this business.’ And then you watch it go full circle with Shane.”

Nemeth pointed out parallels between Vince seeking his father’s approval early on and similar sentiments expressed by his son, Shane. The key difference was that Vince had the opportunity to take over from his father — a chance Shane never received. Nemeth lamented that fact and praised Shane McMahon’s creative on occasions when he had room to show it.  

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“[Shane] had all these ideas when I was around him,” Nemeth said. “It was awesome. It was like a breath of fresh air seeing him when he would walk in. … in real life, behind the scenes, he was a very business-oriented, normal guy … I always liked working with him.”

Nemeth said no matter how autocratic Vince McMahon seemed, he still always had people like Pat Patterson and Bruce Prichard to refine his ideas. Nemeth wondered if Shane could offer Tony Khan the same value in AEW. A meeting between Shane and Khan sparked massive speculation on what could be cooking, and the McMahon family member was also photographed with AEW EVPs Matt and Nick Jackson, suggesting hat something is in the works.

WWE Hall of Famer John “Bradshaw” Layfield recently tipped his cowboy hat in respect to industry veteran and WWE trainer Finlay, whom JBL had the privilege of sharing the ring with in the opening contest of WrestleMania 24, defeating the former WWE United States Champion in a Belfast Brawl.

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“The best I ever saw was Fit Finlay,” JBL said on “HUGE POP! with Donnie DaSilva and Jimmy Korderas.” “You got Shawn [Michaels], and Eddie [Guerrero], and Undertaker, you got some incredible talent …  Finlay was the best I ever saw … Finlay when he was in Europe was, I think, the greatest professional wrestler ever.”

One of Finlay’s greatest accomplishments in wrestling was training WWE’s women’s wrestlers during the company’s “Ruthless Aggression” era, helping the divas to sharpen their in-ring skills and become more serious competitors.

“He was the one that brought the whole ‘women’s movement’ into being,” Bradshaw continued, “I don’t know it was a rib or not, we all thought it was … all of a sudden you give him women that really didn’t have important matches. They didn’t, they were almost filler, which is terrible, a sign of the times. They are where they should be now, but Finlay was a guy who really helped bring them into this equality that they should’ve had all along.”

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If you use any quotes from this article, please credit “HUGE POP! with Donnie DaSilva and Jimmy Korderas” with a H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.

Jackson explained that once the match started, trying to work with half the time allocated, Mysterio not being in position in time, and the fact that there were three different languages in play, people backstage genuinely thought that All In would end in the same way that “The Sopranos” did in 2007 where the show’s finale abruptly cut to black. That would have been a huge financial disaster too, as WCW infamously had to issue refunds to people when Halloween Havoc 1998 went over its pay-per-view timeframe.

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In the end, The Golden Elite looked to have had the match won, but a rogue Rey Fénix thought that they had time for one more spot, a decision that could have cost everyone dearly.

“We tried to go home early with a More Bang For Your Buck combination with Kota Ibushi, but Rey Fénix broke up the pin. We couldn’t believe it. I remember the referee yelling, ‘We’re going to go to black! You have like 20 seconds!’ So we rapidly went into a Meltzer Driver and made the fall within seconds. Nicholas and I sat there almost in disbelief and immediately started laughing and sighing in relief. I remember at first both of us being upset that our big moment was so rushed, but minutes later we filled the ring with family and friends, and we quickly remembered this show was much bigger than just a wrestling match.”

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TNA Wrestling’s biggest event of the year is rapidly approaching as their annual Bound For Glory pay-per-view is set to take place in Detroit, Michigan on October 26. The show is currently set to be headlined by a TNA World Championship match as champion Nic Nemeth defends his crown against one of the company’s most popular stars, Joe Hendry.

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Nemeth was recently asked on an episode of “Busted Open Radio” whether he would like Hendry to create an original song or a parody track for the event as Hendry is well known for getting under his opponent’s skin with his unique entrances. The former WWE star responded by saying he doesn’t even want to be in the same room as Hendry until the pay-per-view.

“I’ve heard about this, I’ve seen some things go down, I don’t want any interaction until he shows something because I want to see what he’s got,” said Nemeth. “I want to see where he can go because I know, we know what I can do, everything there is, to in the ring times ten. I would need to see what he could do otherwise that goes, ‘Why does he deserve this other than winning that match?’ I want to see what he’s got, so I’m down for whatever he has, I want to applaud it, I hope it’s great, it better be smart and funny because it’s going to want to make me punch him harder.”

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The build-up to the match was supposed to be taped over the final weekend of September in Spartanburg, South Carolina. However, due to the damages caused by Hurricane Helene, TNA was forced to cancel their tapings and move them to the following weekend.

Please credit “Busted Open Radio” when using quotes from this article, and give a H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.