WrestleMania notes on Dominik Mysterio & Rhea Ripley, Randy Orton, Gangrel, more
— Dominik Mysterio and Rhea Ripley made a destructive visit to the WrestleMania 39 Superstore at the Los Angeles Convention Center this week, disrespecting their WrestleMania opponents, 2023 WWE Hall of Famer Rey Mysterio and SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair, while hopping in a lowrider once driven by WWE Hall of Famer Eddie Guerrero. Mysterio vs. Mysterio and Ripley vs. Flair will both take place during Night 1 of WrestleMania 39 on Saturday. Below is the full video:
— This was confirmed in today’s WrestleMania 39 set reveal video, but PWInsider previously reported that the Hell In a Cell structure brought to Los Angeles for “The Demon” Finn Balor vs. WWE Hall of Famer Edge is the cage with the classic black color, not the red version that has been used in recent years. Hell In a Cell will take place on Night 2 of WrestleMania 39.
— Randy Orton has arrived in Los Angeles for WrestleMania 39 Weekend, according to PWInsider. We noted before how WWE was bringing Orton to Los Angeles this weekend, but it wasn’t clear if he will be appearing, or if he’s just in town for the Hall of Fame. Orton being booked for WrestleMania Weekend comes one week after it was reported how there had been some internal rumblings on Orton within WWE this month. This was interesting as there had been no formal internal discussion about Orton for a while. The Viper has been on the shelf since May 2022 with back problems.
— Former WWE Superstar Gangrel is also in town for WrestleMania 39 Weekend. He appeared at Thursday’s CCW TV tapings in Anaheim, CA. We noted before how WWE was bringing Gangrel to Los Angeles this week for WrestleMania 39, perhaps for an altercation with Damian Priest during the Night 2 Hell In a Cell match between “The Demon” Finn Balor vs. WWE Hall of Famer Edge. This also adds to the rumors on Edge working the match as Brood Edge to even the odds against The Demon.
— A new report from Fightful Select notes that WWE brought in several lWo t-shirts for an upcoming segment on WWE TV, to be filmed tonight. It wasn’t clear if this will be on the WrestleMania 39 go-home edition of SmackDown or the 2023 WWE Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, or if this is being filmed for WWE Digital use, or perhaps for future use. It was noted that there was a request made to send lWo gear or t-shirts sent to the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angels for use in a segment. It was also indicated that this was supposed to be for a “presentation-style situation” in the locker room of 2023 WWE Hall of Famer Rey Mysterio. Legado del Fantasma’s Santos Escobar and Cruz Del Toro noted in a recent Fightful interview that they were looking to honor other historic luchadores in the near future. They specifically mentioned Blue Panther and The Villanos, among others, but did not mention the lWo.
The Latin World Order began in late 1998 when WWE Hall of Famer Eddie Guerrero was still with WCW. The group would also feature La Parka, Psychosis, Juventud Guerrera, Villano V, Silver King, Ciclope, El Dandy, Damian 666, and Hector Garza, and their main feud was with Mysterio, who refused to join the other Mexican stars. Mysterio was later forced to join the faction after losing a match to Guerrero. The nWo ended up taking the group out, which led to Mysterio and Konnan feuding with the nWo. The lWo in WCW led to the creation of The Filthy Animals. Escobar paid tribute to the lWo when launching Legado del Fantasma in 2020 as the LDF logo was inspired by the lWo logo.
