Shane McMahon news, Shinsuke Nakamura news, AJ Styles talks WWE

Shane McMahon is now being advertised for the March 7thWWE Raw taping in Chicago. The Allstate Arena website posted the following announcement:

“JUST ANNOUNCED: For the First time in over a decade Shane McMahon will be live at the Allstate Arena on 3/7 for WWE – Monday Night Raw!”

According to The Wrestling Observer, Shane’s current WWE run is scheduled to last through WrestleMania and not beyond. But it’s the WWE, so anything can happen and will happen. Dave Meltzer had the following to say:

“…Even those closest to the family and near the top recognize the way Vince thinks. Already people are noting that the family soap opera behind the scenes is likely to become far more interesting than the one playing out on the screen.”

With regards to Shane vs The Undertaker at WrestleMania 32, the match was decided upon about 4 weeks ago after it became clear that John Cena would not be healthy enough in time for WrestleMania to face Undertaker.

Vince McMahon was reportedly devastated when he learned John Cena would miss Mania, as he was planning on that match carrying the big event.

The Atlanta Journal Constitution recently spoke with WWE star AJ Styles, and below are some highlights:

On making it to WWE:

“I know I took the long route to get here, but it was worth it. The timing was perfect when it came to my career. And I’m ready to be that WWE superstar.”

On how the WWE locker room has received him:

“I didn’t expect (the wrestlers) to be so open to me coming in. These guys bust their tails and made a lot of sacrifices to be here. And here comes this guy out of nowhere. Sometimes you’ll walk into a locker room and you’ll get, ‘What’s that guy doing here?’ In WWE, it’s not like that at all. They literally welcomed me with open arms. I can’t describe how great the locker room is. This is why the WWE is successful, because they have a locker room that gets it done. These guys get it and understand, and they’re ready to get out there and work. They know we’re in the entertainment business, and they respect what I’ve done. You don’t see that everywhere.”

According to the latest Wrestling Observer Radio and Wrestling Observer Newsletter, former IWGP Heavyweight Champion Shinsuke Nakamura looks to be the first NXT Superstar to receive WWE main event level money.

It has yet to be reported how much actual time Nakamura will spend in NXT.

Nakamura’s signing has been treated like a major sports story in Japan. The February 22nd press conference in Tokyo at the Hard Rock was attended by over 100 reporters, photographers and videographers.