ICYMI: Rock - WWE Update, Samoa Joe Talks WWE Main Roster, Steiner Rips WWE, Austin, Sytch, UFC 187

By Raj Giri

With this past weekend being Memorial Day, here are some stories from the weekend that you might have missed.

- Cassam Looch from HeyUGuys interviewed The Rock at the press tour for San Andreas last week, which you can watch in the video above. Highlights are at this link. During the interview, Rock was asked when he will return to WWE.

"I hope soon," Rock admitted. "We've discussed next year's WrestleMania, possibly. I discuss it all the time with Triple H, we've got a great relationship. The old man Vince – I say that respectfully because he works harder than all of us. The key with WWE, and the fans know this, I love surprising them. It's my favorite thing, [whether] it's on RAW or WrestleMania. I also want to make sure that when we go back, we can create something special, big and epic. Right now we're trying to figure out what that is."

- The New York Times profiled The Rock here. In the article, Rock noted that while most of his friends call him D.J., President Barack Obama refers to him as The Rock. Johnson noted that he's also buddies with Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.

- JTG doesn't think that there will be a black WWE World Heavyweight Champion anytime soon.

- Roman Reigns turned 30 years old yesterday.

- Ric Flair says that he'd like to manage Dolph Ziggler and reveals backstage drama between Randy Savage and Elizabeth at WrestleMania 8. He also talks about The Undertaker's legacy.

- Samoa Joe appears on the This is Awesome Wrestling Show, which you can listen to here. Joe talked about leaving TNA Wrestling, his future and more. He also talked about his status with NXT.

"I have a very unique relationship with NXT and the WWE at this point. It's one that's kind of unprecedented," Joe said. "It's a first time type of deal and I'll leave it at that. I think the ending was part of the fun, and you'll never know where I turn up next, I'll put it that way. ? As far as me and NXT, I'm really very much looking forward to the future and my relationship with the company. It's the hottest brand in wrestling right now; it is. It's not something that I often? I don't often toot the horn of a company but if you look around they've got the world talking, they've got the world on fire. They're selling out their shows and people are tuning in. It's really awesome. I've been fortunate enough in my career to be on the ground floor in several different companies as they've caught fire and as they've built and as they've become something greater than they were when they started. To get that opportunity once again is over the moon for me and I'm very much looking forward to it."

As for possibly moving to the main roster, Joe said, "I feel at this point in time to really even allude to where things might be going would be cheating the fans of a genuine experience when it does occur. So I'll leave it at that."

- Joe also a guest on The LAW: Live Audio Wrestling this past Sunday to promote his appearance for Smash Wrestling in Toronto this Saturday against Chris Hero. Highlights are here. During the interview, Joe was asked about his decision to leave TNA.

"I think the decision was made in the final few weeks," Joe stated. "I've often been called by people loyal to a fault, and I didn't feel the mission was accomplished in TNA yet. I'd done my best throughout my career to help try to build the company and bring it into prominence. It's had its ups and down and pitfalls here and there, and I don't feel that job was finished yet. Towards the end there, there were some apparent things and incidents that kinda showed me that maybe it was time for me to move on and maybe it was better for me, both personally and professionally, to explore other options and explore other things. I've gotta admit, I'm not unhappy with my decision. I'm unhappy that I didn't get the opportunity to kinda finish out what I wanted to start in TNA, but at the same time, so many great things have popped up since that I'm very, very satisfied with the decision that I made."

- Scott Steiner is not a fan of today's product and says that wrestling is "hard to watch." He speculated that people still watch because they're hoping that "maybe they'll [WWE] snap out of it and get a brain cell."

- Speaking of Steiner, Legends of Wrestling President Louis "Uncle Louie" Gregory sent us a statement noting that Steiner's recent $1 million challenge to Hulk Hogan is Steiner's own doing, and that Legends of Wrestling has no relationship with Hogan. Hogan is not scheduled to appear at the June 7th Legends of Wrestling event at Citi Field in Queens, NY.

- Booker T doesn't think that wrestlers like Dean Ambrose will last long because of their in-ring style. He also called Daniel Bryan "the ultimate competitor," and thinks that Byron Saxton will bounce back.

- This past Saturday was the anniversary of Owen Hart's passing in 1999 following a tragic accident. David Bixenspan has a good write up here clearing up some misconceptions about the accident with details that came out in the wrongful death lawsuit, as well as details from Martha Hart's book.

- Story here by Sean Ross Sapp about Finn Balor appearing on Chris Jericho's podcast and discussing coming up with the Bullet Club, as well as not being allowed in the ring in NXT when he first signed with WWE.

- Kurt Angle talks about not signing with WWE and if he has issues with Triple H.

- UFC presented one of their best cards in awhile with UFC 187 this past Saturday featuring two title fights. Full UFC 187 results are here.

- Right after UFC 187, new UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier was involved in a scuffle with Ryan Bader at the post-fight press conference.

- WWE Hall of Famer Tammy "Sunny" Sytch has been offered a six-figure deal to sign with adult film company Vivid. She told TMZ that she is 60/40 in favor of the deal. One point of contention is that Vivid co-chairman Steve Hirsch wants the movie to take place in a wrestling ring, while Sunny feels like that gag "has been played out." The report noted that Sunny wants the the scene in a "more traditional setting," like a hotel room, and that her 27-year-old boyfriend is excited about the potential project and wants an advance screening.

- WWE 2K16 will apparently have a "Stone Cold" Steve Austin Attitude Era mode, with commentary by Jerry Lawler and Jim Ross.

- Speaking of JR and Sytch, Sytch was apparently fooled by a parody Jim Ross Twitter account and wrote the following about her Vivid deal:

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