Select Portions: Raw Plans, Rhea Ripley, Hit Row, Brian Zane

- Several have asked if Rhea Ripley not wrestling much on TV of late is related to her kneecap issues she’s mentioned. When we asked WWE sources, they didn’t confirm or deny, but did note she’s been wrestling live events of late. We'll have some more on Ripley in the coming weeks on Select. 

- Contrary to online reports, WWE higher ups said that despite there not being significant creative plans for Hit Row, there's nothing out of the ordinary with their view from WWE management. A WWE source near creative said that Hit Row and other returns were brought back to help provide depth and prevent the rematch-heavy shows that we saw prior. 

- Fightful has a rare, in-person interview with Nova/Mike Bucci/Simon Dean dropping this week. 

Brian Zane

Brian Zane of Wrestling with Wregret spoke with FightfulSelect.com’s Sean Ross Sapp regarding his channel’s 10th anniversary. Brian also talks about how he discovered wrestling and built his audience through patience, niche content, and collaborations.

Brian spoke about how he has connected with fans and prepared to review classic pay-per-views. Zane shared his initial struggles with equipment and connections and advised others looking to create similar content. Brian emphasizes the importance of finding a unique niche, being patient and persistent, and having some luck in building a successful YouTube channel.

Sean asked Brian about his reaction when he heard someone in the business becoming acquainted with his content.

Brian said he believes the craziest experience was finding out that somebody had watched his content. However, Brian thought it was in 2015 when he was doing the “Jim Cornette Gets It Wrong” skit. Brian said Jim Cornette himself retweeted it and liked it that same day. Brian also said Colt Cabana and Nick Jackson did too. Brian also stated how he remembers other moments, such as BWO’s Stevie Richards and One Man Gang telling him they liked his work. Brian said another moment was when Brian spoke to a referee, who told Brian that TJ Wilson and Nattie [Natalya Neidhardt] introduced the Wrestling with Wregret channel to him. Brian said he was surprised that even TJ and Nattie knew who of him.

Brian said to Sean that when the wrestlers know who he is and they don’t hate his guts, that’s when he knows that he’s made it on some level. Brian talked about being active on Youtube during college and that he and his friends would record skits. Brian spoke about getting the courage to do more Youtube videos, and that his inspiration came from other Youtube content creators, he liked to watch.

He decided to do a channel on Pro Wrestling because nobody had done something to a higher level, including editing and writing. Brian mentioned that he would try to educate himself as much as he could before doing a show. Brian spoke about finalizing his notes, and then after that was when he would sit in front of the camera and film.

Brian discussed his training with Christopher Daniels, Buddy Rose, and Colonel DeBeers. Brian said he benefited by going through it. He told Sean that his Dad had influenced his work, and he was someone else who had affected him, along with his favorite comedian Patton Oswalt.

He also talked about finding his niche in evergreen content. However, Brian added you need to do something that makes you stand out.

Sean asked about Brian’s work in ROH, and Brian told Sean he contacted Ian Ricabboni and asked to send his reel in. He spoke about his experience working with ROH up to Final Battle 2021. Brian mentioned being on the Zoom call when ROH announced they would shut down. Brian talked about the final tapings and how he felt he would not be a part of the Final Battle broadcast. Sean and Brian wrapped up the conversation by talking about the WWE Katie Vick era.

POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD:

Some of the tentatively planned WWE Raw lineup (in no specific order), subject to change. 

- Rhea Ripley vs. Natalya -- currently listed as a non-title match

- Ludwig Kaiser vs. Matt Riddle

- Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Bronson Reed

- Logan Paul is back

- Cody Rhodes, Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn vs. Judgment Day or Imperium was discussed

- MITB Qualifier: Raquel Rodriguez vs. Trish Stratus

- Seth Rollins' open challenge for the World Heavyweight Title

- Ricochet was scheduled for the show as of this weekend.