During a recent appearance on the “Cold As Balls” podcast, Rhea Ripley revealed the three WWE Superstars who inspired her the most growing up – Triple H, The Miz, and CM Punk. Interestingly, she now shares the locker room — and in Triple H’s case, the corporate world — with all three.
“I had three main ones growing up,” Ripley shared. “Triple H, who’s now my boss — so that’s absolutely wild. He’s accomplished so much in WWE and now he’s literally running the place.”
She also highlighted The Miz for his unapologetic swagger. “I love The Miz. I don’t know if it was his cocky demeanor — he’s hilarious. He’s just so comfortable being a d*ckhead, and I love that.”
Rounding out her trio of influences is CM Punk. She stated, “Obviously, CM Punk, too. He’s finally back in WWE, which is amazing. It’s so surreal having him around.”
After being eliminated by Damian Priest in the 2025 men’s Royal Rumble match, Drew McIntyre was reportedly upset backstage, allegedly venting about someone “needing to get their moves in.” Speculation pointed toward LA Knight as the source of his frustration.
Appearing on a recent edition of the “Gorilla Position” podcast, LA Knight was asked about McIntyre’s early departure and whether there was any backstage tension. He said,
“He had to leave because the show was over. Everyone goes home eventually. Stormed out? I had no idea. I got to the back, watched the monitor, saw the rest of the match — he was already gone. His ass got tossed before I was even out. I didn’t know anything about it until I was at home Sunday night and someone sent me an article. I thought, ‘Well, that’s interesting.’”
When asked how situations like that are handled behind the scenes, Knight replied, “I can’t get into the inner workings, but yeah, some conversations were had. I’ll just say that.”
During a recent interview with Gaming Bible to promote WWE 2K25, Austin Theory commented on his favorite matches in his career to date, John Cena’s heel turn, and more.
You can check out some highlights from the interview below:
On his favorite matches in his career to date: “I’d have to pick two of my favorite matches in my career so far, that being AJ Styles who I faced during my time in NXT, that was an epic moment for me. Then it would be my match against Edge on Smackdown at Madison Square Garden.”
On his journey across brands in WWE: “For me, it was an interesting experience because I was on NXT and then I went to Raw but this was during the COVID-19 pandemic and both shows were without fans. Then I went back to NXT and then back to Raw, again. It was a big change because you go from working in the performance centre and working NXT television. Now, I’m not just based in Florida, where the performance centre and NXT arena are. I’m travelling around the world and doing more events such as meet and greets. It has more of a superstar feel on the main roster.”
On his singles title dreams: “I’d love to win the World Tag Team Championships over on Raw with Grayson but man, the WWE Undisputed Championship has always been where it’s at. I’ve been dreaming of that moment since I was a kid. Cody Rhodes has the championship right now, but after WrestleMania 41, it could be John Cena.”
On John Cena’s heel turn: “Recently, I was reflecting on how I won that WrestleMania match when I hit Cena in the balls and I thought to myself, ‘Was that a cheap way to go? But now, given how Cena has been acting, I was happy with what I did. He deserved it.”
(h/t – Fightful)
