Loaded FREE Update! WrestleMania week, AEW hires, Izzy, Smackdown Producers

Fightful is posting this on our FREE tier. Upgrade to our paid tier for a huge week! We will have WrestleMania week news every day, and SRS will be doing additional

• Despite the Brock Lesnar name drop, we were told there had not been consideration or conversations regarding bringing him back.

• PWinsider was that the Chelsea Green/Zelina countout wasn't planned. We're working to verify. It was only listed for one segment internally.

• As revealed earlier this week, Maxxine and Natalya had planned to team for quite some time, which is how they had gear prepared.

• WWE has a WrestleMania kickoff event for Friday at 4 PM ET, 1 pm local.

• We're told that the Superstore for this year's WWE World will be the biggest the company has had.

• We're going to have WrestleMania related stories every day and all week exclusively on the paid section.

Other news

• Beyond Wrestling has informed talent if they pull off of their Thursday show this week late for AEW extra work, that they won't be brought back to the promotion. Beyond has ran Thursdays in Massachusetts for quite some time

• SPOILER AHEAD: If you couldn't tell, the plan for AEW Dynamite is Boston is Mercedes Mone vs. Athena.

• AEW has brought on Andrew Lynch and Brandon Mazzei of late. Lynch is helping head up social media and digital.

Fightful WrestleMania week

• Fightful will have a predictions show with Stephanie Chase this week.

• Joel Pearl will be on the scene for Fightful. He has interviews with Joe Hendry and a number of short ones with WWE wrestlers set. If you're a promoter or wrestler, let us know

• The WrestleMania Fightful post-shows will be hosted by Sean Ross Sapp and Jeff Hawkins.

• We will have Alex's Sour Graps post-shows on Select.

• We will have additional preview shows and betting tips on Fightful Select as well.

• If you wish to purchase any sponsor slots on Fightful content during WrestleMania week, contact us!

• Sean Ross Sapp is planning on doing additional, live Q&A shows for Select subscribers.

• Circa Las Vegas is the official hotel of Fightful during WrestleMania week. Check out all their incredible CircaMania events, including shows with Busted Open and Chris Van Vliet.

• SRS and Jimmy Van looked at the first ever wrestling figures here.

• SRS and Jimmy Van also looked at rare LJN protoypes!

• Follow Fightful's Facebook, Instagram, Tiktok, and our clips channel Fightful Scraps.

• A reminder, Fightful Podcasts are on Apple, Amazon, Spotify, Podbean, Player FM and all other audio

• Fighful now has an Espanol Twitter account, and will be rolling out an Espanol Select edition soon.

Smackdown Producers

• Randy Orton promo: Michael Hayes

• Women's Tag Gauntlet: Shawn Daivari & Kenny Dykstra

• Damian Priest-Drew McIntyre promo: Abyss

• Rey Fenix vs. Berto: Jamie Noble

• Zelina vs. Chelsea Green: Abyss

• Tiffany Stratton vs. Roxanne Perez: TJ Wilson

• Bloodline vs. Randy Orton & LA Knight: Michael Hayes & Bobby Roode

IZZY (Full Interview Drops Sunday at this link)

Sean Ross Sapp caught up with 2024 Fightful Rookie of the Year Izzy Moreno and recalled when Izzy once admitted on Fightful that she thought Taylor Swift was “trash.”

Sean mentions Izzy's recent activities and compliments her professional attitude, noting how early she was thrust into the spotlight.

Sean mentions the online criticism and growing her career. Izzy says she dedicated herself to learning how to fight, overcoming back issues, returning to training, and working in wrestling media to absorb as much as possible. 

Sean mentions she was beside him and Step-Host (Denise Salcedo) at a Double or Nothing press scrum, gaining knowledge. He notes that she was featured on WWE’s social media and asks how she feels about her current moment of success. 

Izzy shares her excitement and satisfaction, expressing that she has always dreamed of this. She emphasizes how much of her life she has given to wrestling and how being part of WrestleMania week feels surreal and like a personal Super Bowl.

Izzy elaborates on her recent whirlwind experiences: being invited to the WWE Performance Center, attending EVOLVE tapings, and being announced for the WWE ID GCW show during WrestleMania week, where she will face Zara Zakher. She is still in disbelief over the opportunity.

Sean mentions her promo skills, noting that he’s long considered her better than many on the indie scene and even in NXT. Izzy explains that while promo work came naturally, it took lots of practice and reps. She reveals that her initial entry into wrestling media was a strategic move to improve her on-camera skills. Over time, that media experience built her confidence and ability to cut impactful promos, including her most recent one for WWE ID. She takes pride in being able to help others with promos, stories with subtle jabs and references. She reflects on how far she’s come. She mentioned she struggled to record a one-minute video and is now delivering better promos in one take.

Sean mentions Izzy’s relationships with wrestling icons Bayley and Mercedes Moné, who have acknowledged her on social media. Bayley tweeted that she feels "insane" when she sees Izzy, and Mercedes engaged with her by tweeting “stay broke,” maintaining her heel persona.

 Izzy clarifies that she doesn't rely on Mercedes to get booked, but appreciates the interaction deeply. She respects Moné’s impact on women’s wrestling. The back-and-forth online felt fun and surreal for Izzy, especially seeing how excited her friends and fans were. She admits Bayley’s recognition strikes a more emotional chord with her. She notes that a match with Mercedes would be a dream, echoing fan interest in seeing it happen.

Sean asks about her schedule for WrestleMania week. Izzy mentions how different things are from last year when she couldn’t wrestle in Philadelphia due to age-related laws—she was 16 then. She says she is booked solid this year with three matches and a signing appearance at WrestleCon. 

Izzy outlines her schedule: originally scheduled to wrestle Zayda Steel for Texas Wrestling Cartel on Friday, she’s also added a match against Nina Samuels the same day at the same venue for Pottermania. Then came the call to be a part of WWE ID and GCW, completing a full and thrilling WrestleMania week lineup. 

She details her travel plans and expresses excitement for Vegas. She credits her preparation to her elite training environments at The Foundation with Ace Steel and Fighting Spirit Wrestling Academy with Pete Dunne and the Grizzled Young Veterans.

Izzy discussed her experience working with AEW’s Thunder Rosa at Mission Pro. Izzy tells Sean it came during a mentally challenging period. Izzy says she was initially concerned about whether she could hold her own, but ultimately, she was proud of how the match turned out. 

Izzy tells Sean that this is one of the highlights of her career because it was not only about the in-ring performance. She mentions that she is thankful for the opportunity and the trust Thunder Rosa placed in her.

Discussing her first intergender one-on-one match against JP Harlow, Izzy tells Sean how exciting the experience was. She said that while she had done intergender tag team matches before, this solo bout allowed her to explore a different side of her wrestling persona.

Izzy believes she is a bigger fan of Taylor Swift than Denise Salcedo. Sean asks if she could beat Denise up.

You can follow Izzy on X and Instagram at @ItsIzzyMania.