WWE News: Triple H vs. Seth Rollins, Hulk Hogan, Jimmy Snuka

Subscribe to TSC Wrestling with Fred Richani on YouTube for more wrestling interviews, news and reviews!

Fred Richani breaks down a chaotic week in pro wrestling: Seth Rollins’ road to Sting and Triple H, the Night of Champions card, Hulk Hogan’s Good Morning America interview, the charges against Jimmy Snuka, a shooting at the WWE Performance Center and TNA’s suspension of Bram.

Episode Recap

Adapted from the episode and edited for clarity and brevity. Listen above for the full episode.

I wasn’t hot on Raw. Sting looked like an afterthought, and it seems like everything is pointing toward Seth Rollins vs. Triple H. On paper, that’s a great feud, but it plays into the stuck-in-the-past syndrome WWE has had for years, the idea that the stars of the ’80s and ’90s are bigger than anyone today.

I’m a Triple H fan and respect what he’s done with NXT, but look at the last five years. He beat CM Punk when Punk was the hottest guy in the business, beat Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 29, buried Sheamus early on and had no reason to beat Sting at WrestleMania 31. Legends like Triple H and The Rock can afford to lose. If Triple H feuds with Rollins, Seth has to come out on top.

At Night of Champions, I wouldn’t have Sting go 0-2 in WWE. Have someone cash in Money in the Bank during the match, or have The Authority’s interference backfire, and let Sting hold the title until a dream match with John Cena at Survivor Series. Rollins defending both the WWE World title and the U.S. title against Cena that night is a straight rip-off of Ring of Honor’s Jay Lethal two-belt storyline. As for the Divas Revolution, Charlotte won the Beat the Clock challenge, and the promos, dialogue and matches have been brutal. Nikki Bella isn’t as good as the NXT women, and I would have put Sasha Banks or Becky Lynch in that title match.

Hulk Hogan went on Good Morning America and said he isn’t a racist. It’s not really my place to forgive him. That’s for the people that word was meant to hurt and the companies deciding whether to do business with him. He’s paid a price, losing his job and endorsements, but he made his own bed. A simple, sincere apology and laying low would have gone a lot further.

Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka turned himself in after being charged with third-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter in the 1983 death of his girlfriend, Nancy Argentino, 32 years later. Reporting by Irv Muchnick and The Morning Call raised questions about why Snuka kept changing his story and was never charged. He’s a legend battling stomach cancer, but where there’s smoke, there’s fire, and he needs to stand trial.

There was also a scary shooting at the Performance Center, where a man with a history of restraining orders, reportedly obsessed with a female wrestler, charged at an officer. Stay safe, everybody. And TNA suspended Bram after he was arrested on charges of false imprisonment and strangulation. He revitalized his career in TNA after his troubles in WWE, and now he may have thrown it away.

Programming note: With my marketing work keeping me busy, I’m cutting back on live Raw recaps, but I’ll keep doing video blogs and interviews, including Roderick Strong, Frankie Kazarian and Hector Guerrero. Video game reviews are moving to OverClocked TV, and I’m reviewing every Night of Champions. Also, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira has retired. If you have UFC Fight Pass, go watch his classic Pride fights.

Editor’s note: Snuka was later ruled incompetent to stand trial, and the charges were dismissed shortly before his death in January 2017.