Randy Orton vs. Luke Harper has been announced for next week’s WWE SmackDown from Toledo. Bray Wyatt made the match on tonight’s SmackDown to resolve the issues between the two. Wyatt said one will stand and one will fall but the group will be stronger in the end.
All three members of The Wyatt Family are also now confirmed for the 30 man Royal Rumble match in San Antonio on 1/29. Here’s the updated list of Royal Rumble participants:
The SmackDown brand WWE Elimination Chamber pay-per-view will see the WWE Championship defended inside the Chamber for the main event. The winner will go on to defend the championship in one of the WrestleMania 33 main events.
Current WWE Champion AJ Styles will defend the championship against John Cena at the Royal Rumble on 1/29, just 2 weeks before the Chamber PPV.
Elimination Chamber takes place on 2/12 from the Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix.
The January 17th edition of WWE SmackDown aired live on Tuesday on the USA Network from the FedEx Forum in Memphis, TN.
– The cage is hanging above the ring for tonight’s main event, and Shane McMahon is out first to make his announcement. Shane announces that there will be one more stop for the WWE Champion between Royal Rumble and WrestleMania. Shane reveals that the Elimination Chamber match is returning, and it’ll be for the WWE Championship. With that, AJ Styles comes out with his Title belt to interrupt. AJ complains about having to defend his title in an Elimination Chamber match. Shane says AJ is phenomenal, but his attitude isn’t. Cena interrupts next, but before he can finish his first sentence AJ interrupts and says SmackDown management is out to get him. The Miz interrupts next, with Maryse, and says he plans to walk out of WrestleMania as both the WWE Champion and the Intercontinental Champion. The Miz and AJ get in each other’s faces, with John Cena egging them on, and Shane makes a match.
– Back from commercial, Dean Ambrose is backstage asking Shane McMahon for a one on one match with Randy Orton. McMahon sets the match for later tonight.
– AJ Styles vs. The Miz – No Contest: This one is a non-title match with John Cena on commentary. After some chain wrestling early-on, AJ takes control after a forearm to the face. AJ sets up on the apron for a springboard move, but Maryse distracts him and The Miz kicks AJ down to the ringside floor. Back in the ring, The Miz hits a flying clothesline in the corner then pokes AJ in the eye. Styles comes back with a Pele Kick that sends The Miz out to ringside. AJ follows him out and ends up shoving John Cena, which causes the referee to call for the bell. Cena chases Styles through the ring, then turns around and hits the Attitude Adjustment on The Miz. AJ attempts a Phenomenal Forearm on Cena, but Cena avoids it and hits the AA on Styles too.
– Nikki Bella comes out to the ring and calls out Natalya. Instead of coming to the ring, we see footage of Natalya elsewhere in the arena. Natalya walks up to a merchandise stand and complains that all the merchandise is for Nikki Bella, John Cena, and Bret Hart. Natalya starts tearing down their merchandise, then gets jumped by Nikki from behind and they go through a table together. They eventually get separated and are still yelling at each other.
– Dean Ambrose def. Randy Orton: Bray Wyatt and Luke Harper are at ringside for this one. After some back and forth action in the opening minutes, Orton knocks Ambrose on top of the commentary table and Ambrose is selling his back. Back in the ring, Orton hits a spinning powerslam and goes for a top-rope superplex. Ambrose fights out and they go back down to the mat where Ambrose drops Orton with a lariat. Ambrose throws Orton outside and goes to follow up with a suicide dive, but Luke Harper pushes Orton out of the way and takes the suicide dive for him. Back in the ring, Orton hits a DDT and sets up for an RKO, but Luke Harper walks in the ring towards Ambrose. Orton and the referee convince Harper to leave the ring, but the distraction allows Ambrose to roll up Orton from behind for the win. After the match, Harper gets back in the ring and faces off with Orton. Bray pulls them apart and punches Harper across the face out of frustration. Harper blames Orton, and Bray gets in Orton’s face next. Harper leaves the ring first, with Orton and Wyatt heading backstage next.
– Becky Lynch cuts a promo backstage on Alexa Bliss and says Alexa won’t be leaving tonight with the Women’s Title belt.
– Jerry Lawler is in the ring for a “King’s Court” segment. He brings out Dolph Ziggler to discuss Ziggler’s attitude change, but Ziggler isn’t interested in talking. He shows Ziggler footage of last week, and Ziggler comes back with footage of him elbow dropping Lawler in 2012 before Lawler suffered a heart attack. Ziggler takes credit for Lawler’s heart attack and threatens to “finish the job” if Lawler doesn’t stop asking him questions. Lawler says that’s too bad because he has one more question: How’s it feel to know that no matter how many times he changes his attitude, he’ll always be a loser? Ziggler answers with a superkick and Lawler goes down. Ziggler walks away and JBL rolls in the ring to check on Lawler. Lawler yells at Ziggler to get back in the ring, if he has any guts. Ziggler declines and walks away.
– Bray Wyatt appears on the screen to announce that not only is the Wyatt Family entering the Royal Rumble, but Orton and Harper will compete in a singles match against each other next week to settle their dispute.
– Alexa Bliss (c) def. Becky Lynch: This one is a cage match for the SmackDown Women’s Championship. After a couple minutes of brawling, Becky attempts a powerbomb which Alexa grabs onto the cage to stop. Alexa hangs onto the cage and Becky follows her up the wall. They brawl on the wall of the cage until they both fall down to the mat simultaneously. Becky slams Alexa’s head into the cage wall then comes off the middle rope with a missile dropkick for a two count. Becky climbs to the top of the cage, but Alexa grabs her by the hair to pull her down. They stand on the top rope up against the cage wall fighting until Becky kicks Alexa onto the turnbuckle. Becky then gives Alexa a t-bone suplex off the middle rope for another two count. Becky locks Alexa in the Dis-arm-her, but gets distracted by La Luchadora standing in the cage door. Becky directs her attention back on Alexa, but then La Luchadora enters the ring and kicks Becky in the head. Alexa hits Becky with a DDT for the win, then celebrates with La Luchadora. They beat down Becky after the match, but Becky fights back. Becky rips the mask off La Luchadora to reveal that it’s Mickie James. Alexa and Mickie continue the beat-down on Becky and celebrate in the ring as SmackDown goes off the air.
Former WWE and ECW personality Don “Cyrus” Callis has joined the New Japan World English commentary team. He’ll handle the color commentary duties alongside Ring of Honor commentator Kevin Kelly, who does play-by-play.
The official announcement came on Callis and Lance Storm’s “Killing the Town” podcast, which you can check out at PodcastOne.com.
This is Callis’s first regular commentary gig since the end of ECW, when he worked with Joey Styles. He is replacing Steve Corino, who is now working as a coach at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando.
NJPW announced that all of their iPPV shows moving forward will have English commentary, starting with the upcoming New Beginning iPPV show on February 5.
NJPW World To Feature English Commentary for 14 Events in 2017
As reported previously here on Sescoops the main event of ROH’s Supercard of Honor XI show will see Dalton Castle getting an ROH World Title shot at 3-time champion Adam Cole.
As part of ROH, CMLL and New Japan Pro Wrestling’s continued working relationship two more names have been announced for the April 1st event; Japanese legend Jushin Thunder Liger and CMLL standout Dragon Lee will be competing in Florida, however their opponents have yet to be announced.
Tonight’s WWE SmackDown will open with a big announcement from Commissioner Shane McMahon. No word on what that announcement could be but WWE posted this teaser:
Shane to kick off SmackDown LIVE with a huge announcement
WWE.com has learned that Commissioner Shane McMahon will open SmackDown LIVE this week with some very big news. Under the leadership of Shane-O-Mac and General Manager Daniel Bryan, Team Blue has simply thrived. Although we are not sure what he has to say, the announcement will no doubt take SmackDown LIVE to the next level. Is it possible that the man in charge has something up his sleeve for the Royal Rumble? Which Superstar, or Superstars, will the big news concern? Tune in tonight at 8/7 C on USA Network to find out.
Join us later tonight for our weekly WWE SmackDown Results & Live Discussion.
WWE has announced that Tajiri is currently out of action with a right knee injury.
The former WWE Cruiserweight Champion suffered the injury during the 1/5 NXT TV tapings as he teamed with Shinsuke Nakamura to defeat Bobby Roode and Samoa Joe, reported to be a dark match.
Tajiri recently re-signed with the company for NXT and 205 Live.
No word yet on when he will be back in the ring.
Posted January 17th, 2017 in News, WWE. Tagged: Tajiri.
FloSlam.Tv have announced that new UK promotion Lucha Forever will be joining their on demand roster. The debut event for the promotion takes place April 17th in Birmingham at a yet to be named venue.
For the past couple of weeks Lucha Forever have been slowly revealing more information regarding their live events and roster, some of the talents that you will be able to see live at their Birmingham and Cardiff events are:
The WWE Hall of Fame pre-sale is back on for this Wednesday with Kurt Angle being announced as the headliner yesterday. The tickets on-sale had been pushed back twice in the past two weeks but they are now back on for this week. The Ticketmaster pre-sale begins Wednesday and the general public on-sale begins Friday.
Speaking of the 2017 HOF, below is the official video for Kurt Angle’s induction:
Here are some more reactions to Kurt Angle joining the Hall of Fame:
Huge! Had some amazing title matches w/ this Olympic gold medalist. Congrats my friend. Truly one of the best men I've ever met. #WWEHOFhttps://t.co/L0ZjW3i6ax
– WWE taped Epico vs. Darren Young and Dana Brooke vs. Alicia Fox for this week’s Main Event episode. As reported here, Young suffered an arm injury during the match.
– Singer Sophia Grace will premiere her new “Hollywood” music video on tonight’s SmackDown with appearances by Lana, Naomi, The Bella Twins and Sasha Banks. Here’s a behind the scenes look:
– Former WWE star Ted DiBiase, Jr. was backstage for Sunday’s WWE house show in Jackson, MO as he lives in the area. Natalya tweeted this photo with him:
– Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson talk about how they were cheated & robbed by RAW Tag Team Champions Cesaro and Sheamus in this new backstage video from last night’s show.
– Below is a promo for tonight’s SmackDown Women’s Championship steel cage match with Alexa Bliss defending against Becky Lynch:
– Tyson Kidd called out Sami Zayn on Twitter this week but it appears he may have been confused by Sami’s original tweet. As seen below, Sami commented on H.C. Dyer using a modified Blue Thunderbomb in the WWE UK tournament this weekend. Sami wrote, “Why imitate when you can create?”
Kidd then responded but it appears he may have misunderstood what Sami was trying to say. You can see their tweets below:
– Dolph Ziggler revealed on Twitter that he will be in Washington, DC this week to cover events for Donald Trump’s Presidential Inauguration.
– Season two of Holy Foley on the WWE Network will be available on-demand after the Royal Rumble goes off the air on 1/29. Below is the trailer for season two:
– As seen at the end of last night’s RAW, Kevin Owens put Roman Reigns through the announce table and stood tall to end the show. WWE posted this Fallout video of Reigns recovering after the show:
WWE paid tribute to the legendary “Superfly” Jimmy Snuka last night on RAW with a touching video package. Due to the [recently dismissed] murder charge against him, many fans had wondered if WWE would give the high-flying legend an elaborate sendoff.
Jimmy Snuka passed away on Sunday at the age of 73.
Mickie James scheduled to be at this week’s WWE SmackDown Live from Memphis and could be making her WWE television return as soon as tonight.
Mickie signed what was reported to be a 3-year deal with WWE back in December. It was reported that she would be debuting on SmackDown in January and that she was offered the deal due to her great match with Asuka at NXT TakeOver: Toronto in November.
There’s no confirmation on creative plans for Mickie but speculation is that she will be revealed to be the one behind the La Luchadora mask. Announced for this week’s SmackDown is Alexa Bliss defending the SmackDown Women’s Championship against Becky Lynch inside of a steel cage, which may be the perfect environment for La Luchadora to be revealed.
Discussion: Who would you like to see Mickie James enter a storyline with on SmackDown?
Roman Reigns kicked off this week’s episode of Monday Night Raw. Reigns stated that he cannot complain about losing his United States Championship in a handicap match because when he was a part of The Shield, they would beat the hell out of everyone. Reigns went on to say that Kevin Owens will be the one complaining at the Royal Rumble when he loses his Universal Championship while Jericho is locked inside the shark cage. Paul Heyman came out and interrupted Reigns. Heyman tried to talk but the crowd started to chant “Goldberg!”. Reigns was annoyed that Brock Lesnar didn’t come down to the ring with Heyman.
Kevin Owens and Chris Jericho then came down to the ring. Jericho said that he was going to win the Royal Rumble match. That way, Jericho and Owens will main event Wrestlemania and no matter who wins, together they still will be the US and Universal Champions. Kevin Owens wasn’t too fond of that idea but brushed it off. Owens said that he will defeat Reigns at the Royal Rumble and go on to main event Wrestlemania.
Seth Rollins then joined the party in the ring. Rollins said that he would be the one that will win the Royal Rumble match. Braun Strowman then came down to the ring and stared at Reigns. Brock Lesnar then came down the entrance ramp but Sami Zayn came out of nowhere and attacked Strowman. Zayn hit a Helluva Kick on Strowman that knocked him out of the ring. Lesnar planted Reigns and Zayn with a German Suplex. Brock taunted Strowman and told him to come in the ring. Strowman got up on the ring apron but jumped down. Reigns hit a Superman Punch on Lesnar but Brock got back to his feet and hit an F-5 on Reigns.
Reaction: Heck of a way to start off this week’s Raw. The build to the Royal Rumble hasn’t been the best so far but there is no denying the star power that will be on the show.
Enzo beatdown Mahal to start off the match. Big Cass entered the match and continued the beatdown. Rusev got in the ring and Cass beat him down as well. Raw went to a commercial break after Cass Clotheslined Mahal over the top rope. When Raw returned, Mahal and Rusev were in control of the match. Rusev beatdown Enzo and tagged in Mahal. Jinder continued the assault on Enzo and once again tagged in Rusev. Enzo finally fought back and hit a Tornado DDT off the second rope.
Big Cass entered the match and hit Mahal with a couple of shoulder tackles. Cass then hit the Empire Elbow but Rusev broke up the pinfall. Cass then hit a boot to the face of Rusev that sent him out of the ring. Cass then tagged in Enzo and they hit the Bada Boom Shakalaka for the pinfall victory.
Jack Gallagher joined commentary for this match and it was announced that the “I Forfeit” match between Gallagher and Daivari will happen tomorrow night on 205 Live. Daivari won this match in two minutes with a submission victory via the Cobra Clutch.
Reaction: It is getting to the point where I’d rather the Cruiserweights exclusively be on the WWE Network. Unless Neville is in the match, a Cruiserweight match on Raw just feels like filler. They are given absolutely no time to put on a match. I don’t understand why they have the division on Raw if they aren’t going to showcase them at all on the show.
A video was shown of Sasha Banks getting her injured knee evaluated earlier today. Nia Jax attacked Banks during the video.
Raw Tag Team Championship Match: Sheamus & Cesaro (c) vs Anderson & Gallows
Sheamus and Cesaro started off the match by dominating Karl Anderson. The momentum turned when Gallows entered the match. Gallows and Anderson took turns beating down Cesaro and prevented him from tagging in Sheamus for a few minutes. Eventually, Sheamus got in the match and laid out Gallows with a flying Clothesline off the top rope. The referee was distracted by Cesaro and Anderson hit a Dropkick on the knee of Sheamus. Raw went to a commercial break with Gallows and Anderson in control.
When Raw returned, Gallows and Anderson were still in control. Sheamus eventually fought back and tagged in Cesaro. Gallows tagged in Anderson but Cesaro dominated. Cesaro hit a Crossbody onto Gallows outside the ring and followed it up with several uppercuts to Anderson. Cesaro put Anderson in the Cesaro Swing and then applied the Sharpshooter. Gallows quickly broke up the hold by booting Cesaro in the face. Anderson went for the pinfall but Cesaro kicked out at two.
A “this is awesome” chant broke out in the crowd as Anderson and Cesaro traded punches. Anderson connected with a Spinebuster and went for a pinfall but Sheamus broke it up. Sheamus then attacked Gallows and Sheamus accidentally hit the referee. While the referee was down, Anderson and Gallows hit the Magic Killer on Cesaro. Another referee came down to the ring and counted to three. The referee that Sheamus hit got up and reversed the decision. Gallows and Anderson won the match by disqualification but Sheamus and Cesaro retained the Tag Championships.
Winners via DQ: Gallows & Anderson
Reaction: I thought this was a very entertaining match. Gallows and Anderson once again looked strong and the WWE may finally be giving them the push they have deserved since arriving in the WWE. I also thought this was a good way to end this match as well. Gallows and Anderson have a legitimate case that they should be the champions and Sheamus and Cesaro now have a worthy team to feud with.
Sami Zayn, Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins were backstage prepping for their match against Strowman, Jericho and Owens later tonight. Sami Zayn laid out a plan for the team and it didn’t go over too well. The segment ended with Rollins and Reigns walking away. Reigns said that Zayn was even crazier than Ambrose before he left.
Rich Swann was supposed to have a match with Tony Nese but that didn’t happen. Neville came from the crowd and attacked Swann. Nese beatdown Swann as well. Neville left Swann beatdown in the ring. Swann will defend his Cruiserweight Championship against Neville at the Royal Rumble.
The New Day came down to the ring and announced that they will be in the Royal Rumble match. Titus O’Neil came down to the ring to suck the life out of the arena and was very successful in doing so. Titus said that he didn’t want to be in the New Day and said that he’d like to replace the New Day. Titus challenged one of the New Day members to a match for their spot in the Royal Rumble. Titus told the new day to huddle up and figure out who will wrestle. Kofi told Titus that if he knew how to huddle properly, he would probably still be playing football. Big E then cackled and said that Titus was a failure. Big E accepted the match and Raw went to a commercial break.
Titus O’Neil vs Big E
Titus controlled the majority of this match and planted Big E with a couple of gigantic Powerslams. Big E and Titus also spanked each other a few times. Big E recaptured control of the match and hit a Belly to Belly Suplex. Big E danced around a bit and then hit a Splash onto Titus. Big E hit the Big Ending for the pinfall victory.
Winner: Big E
Reaction: The first two hours of Raw contained a solid opening promo and a very good Tag Team Championship match. The other 90 minutes have been painfully boring like this segment.
Charlotte came down to the ring and cut a promo on Bayley. She showed pictures of Bayley as a child idolizing WWE Superstars. Charlotte also showed poems that Bayley wrote as a child and poked fun at them. A video was then shown of Bayley in WWE Breaking Ground reading an essay about wanting to be a wrestler. Bayley got emotional in the video and Charlotte mocked her for it. Bayley finally came down to the ring to interupt. 10 minutes later, Bayley said she was going to defeat Charlotte at the Royal Rumble.
Reaction: Charlotte and Bayley are both excellent performers. This promo was just flat out terrible in my opinion.
Jericho Owens and Strowman were shown backstage. Owens and Jericho tried to lay out a strategy for the 6 man tag match later tonight. Strowman said that he does what he wants, when he wants. Strowman then said he was going to leave Rollins and Reigns begging for their lives later tonight.
"What you two don't understand is that I do what I want, when I want, HOW I WANT!" – @BraunStrowman #RAWpic.twitter.com/8CMwBE4B93
This match was back and forth for a few minutes. Kendrick got Alexander in the Captain’s Hook and Alicia Fox emerged from backstage. Alexander was distracted by this but so was Kendrick for some reason. Kendick confronted Fox outside the ring and told her to get out here. Once Kendrick got back in the ring, Alexander hit the Lumbar Check for the victory. Alicia went to hug Alexander after the match but Alexander ducked out of the way and left the ring. Noam Dar was shown backstage watching these riveting events take place.
Braun Strowman, Kevin Owens & Chris Jericho vs Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns & Sami Zayn
Before the match started, all six Superstars brawled in the ring until it was just Strowman and Reigns left. Strowman launched Reigns over the top rope and posed in the ring as Raw went to a commercial break. When Raw returned, Jericho was slapping Reigns several times. Reigns laid out Jericho and tagged in Sami Zayn. For the next several minutes, everyone took turns beating the hell out of Zayn.
Jericho jumped off the top rope but Zayn caught him with a punch to the stomach. Zayn tried to tag out but Owens prevented it. Owens went for Senton but Zayn got his knees up and then tagged in Reigns. Roman beatdown Owens and knocked Jericho out of the ring. Strowman launched Rollins into the barricade outside the ring. Reigns went for a Superman Punch on Strowman on the ring apron but Strowman caught him. Owens then laid out Reigns with a kick to face and Raw went to another commercial break during the main event.
When Raw returned, Owens was still beating down Reigns. Owens took Reigns to Chinlock City as Zayn and Rollins pleaded for a tag. Reigns hit a Samoan Drop on Owens and then tagged in Seth Rollins. Owens tagged in Jericho at the same time. Rollins hit a forearm to Jericho’s face in the corner. Rollins followed it up with a Blockbuster. Owens ran into the ring and Zayn tossed him out. Rollins hit a Suicide Dive onto Jericho outside the ring and Zayn Moonsaulted onto Owens. Strowman charged at Zayn outside the ring but completely missed and smashed into the ring post.
Back in the ring, Rollins went for the Pedigree but Jericho blocked it. Jericho tagged in Strowman and Braun grabbed Rollins by the neck. Zayn attacked Strowman from behind but Braun leveled him. Reigns hit a Superman Punch on Strowman. Rollins tagged in Zayn and he hit a Crossbody onto Strowman. Rollins hit a Crossbody onto Owens and Jericho outside the ring. The crowd chanted “this is awesome” as Zayn set Strowman up for the Helluva Kick. Strowman avoided it and leveled Zayn. Strowman hit the running Powerslam for the pinfall victory.
After the match, Strowman carried Zayn to the announce table. Rollins attacked Strowman with a chair and Reigns leveled him with a Spear. Reigns and Rollins cleared off the announce table but Owens and Rollins attacked them from behind. Rollins hit a Pedigree on Jericho on the entrance ramp. Owens beatdown Rollins and Reigns with a chair. Owens then Powerbombed Reigns through the announce table as Raw went off the air.
Winners: Braun Strowman, Kevin Owens & Chris Jericho
Reaction: The opening promo, the Tag Team Championship match and the main event were good this week. There was no Triple H sighting even though the WWE teased it on social media. Overall, this was an okay episode of Monday Night Raw. There still is just way too much filler on this show and it makes it difficult to be entertained throughout the entire episode. There are regular 60+ minute stretches that feel unimportant. I thought Brock Lesnar would appear on the show again but he was only there for the opening promo where he hit an F-5 on Roman Reigns.
The UK scene has never seen more exposure on a global scale and even some of the smaller promotions on the British Isles are starting to benefit from the boom in popularity over the past year.
One of these promotions is Wolverhampton based Fight Club: Pro who have recently announced a big string of shows on Easter weekend featuring the likes of Zack Sabre Jr, Sami Callihan and Lucha Underground stars Pentagon Jr and Fenix.
Fight Club had a very impressive string of events throughout 2016 that showcased some of the best British talent around, this included WWE UK Tournament competitors Tyler Bate, Pete Dunne and Trent Seven who have made Fight Club their home over the past few years.
If you’ve never had the chance to check out a Fight Club: Pro event then you can purchase one of their shows quite cheaply through Vimeo. Alternatively if you are based in the UK then I would highly recommend going to to either the Wolverhampton or London legs of their Easter tour, check out their Twitter account below for more info:
The January 17th edition of WWE SmackDown airs live tonight on the USA Network from the FedEx Forum in Memphis, TN.
The biggest item WWE is promoting for tonight’s episode is SmackDown Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss defending her title against Becky Lynch in a steel cage match. Daniel Bryan booked the match last week as a result of repeated interference in their matches.
Two things WWE will likely follow up on from last week are the in-fighting in the Wyatt Family, and Dolph Ziggler’s attitude change. Also look for the latest in the feud between John Cena and AJ Styles, and for more angles and entrants to be lined up for the Royal Rumble on 1/29.
We’ll have live play-by-play SmackDown results and discussion tonight starting at 8 PM ET.
Former Women’s Champion Beth Phoenix is rumored for this year’s WWE Hall of Fame class according to PWInsider. The three-time WWE Women’s champion and one-time Divas champion retired in 2012.
She has been married to WWE Hall of Famer Edge since 2016 and they have two daughters together; 3 year old Lyric and 8 month old Ruby.
As reported earlier, Kurt Angle is the first confirmed name for this year’s WWE Hall of Fame class. Other rumored inductees include DDP, Mike Rotunda, Christian, Rick Rude, William Regal and The Natural Disasters.
The 2017 WWE Hall of Fame induction ceremony takes place during WrestleMania 33 weekend from Orlando, FL.
WWE Network will reportedly begin airing Insane Championship Wrestling content soon, according to a new report by PWInsider. ICW is a top UK indy promotion featuring recent appearances from Finn Balor and Mick Foley.
Specifics of the deal have not been revealed yet but word is that it could be officially announced within a week or so. The deal is rumored to be for 2-3 years but is confirmed to be a multi-year deal.
No word yet on if ICW will air on-demand or live content via the WWE Network but it was noted that their not-so-PG style of wrestling won’t be toned down for the most part.
WWE is reportedly talking to other indy promotions, so it will be interesting to see if they announce deals with more promotions for the Network.
Darren Young suffered some sort of arm or shoulder injury during tonight’s WWE Main Event tapings in Little Rock, Arkansas.
The injury came during a match against Epico. Young fell on the apron and got back up clutching his arm. The match was then stopped by the referee. Young ended up being helped to the back by Bob Backlund, seen below in this fan photo:
The January 16th edition of WWE RAW aired live on the USA Network from the Verizon Center in North Little Rock, AR.
– Roman Reigns is out to the ring first to open up RAW, and the shark cage for Jericho at the Royal Rumble is up on the stage. Reigns starts talking about how no one can beat him in a fair fight right now, and on that note he’s interrupted by Paul Heyman. Heyman announces that Brock Lesnar is at RAW for the first time since Survivor Series, and says Goldberg isn’t here tonight. Heyman is then interrupted by Chris Jericho and Kevin Owens, and then they are interrupted by Seth Rollins. Rollins warns everyone that “anything can happen in the main event of WrestleMania,” and then Rollins is interrupted by Braun Strowman. Strowman gets in Reigns’ face, then Brock Lesnar’s music hits and Lesnar comes out to the ring. As Lesnar is on the ramp, Sami Zayn hits the ring out of nowhere and jumps Strowman. All hell breaks loose in the ring, then Lesnar slides in and hits a German suplex on Reigns. It’s down to Lesnar and Zayn, and Lesnar gives Zayn a German suplex too. Lesnar dares Strowman to come at him, but Strowman backs away. As Lesnar watches Strowman walk away, Reigns comes in and hits a Superman punch on Lesnar. Reigns clears the other wrestlers off the aprons, then turns around into an F-5 from Lesnar.
– Enzo & Cass def. Jinder Mahal & Rusev: Enzo is out of his wheelchair so he’ll be competing tonight. The heels take control of the match in the opening minutes, with Rusev locking Enzo in a bear hug to slow things down. Enzo breaks free and hits a tornado DDT, then gets the hot tag to Big Cass. Mahal tags in too and Big Cass cleans house. Cass hits a fallaway slam on Cass then follows up with a splash and the Empire Elbow. Enzo throws Rusev outside then tags in, and Cass throws Enzo off the top rope for the Boom Shakalaka for the win.
– Ariya Daivari def. Lince Dorado: Austin Aries and Jack Gallagher are on commentary for this one. Daivari controls the opening minutes of the match until he gets distracted talking trash to Gallagher, and Dorad makes a comeback. Daivari dodges a cross body off the top rope and comes back with a stiff clothesline. Daivari gets Dorado in the Cobra Clutch for the win via submission.
– Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson def. Sheamus & Cesaro (c) via DQ: The Tag Team Titles are on the line in this one. Cesaro starts off against Anderson and hits a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker, then he tags in Sheamus who hits a knee drop. Cesaro tags back in and hits a double foot stop on Anderson for a two count. Anderson comes back with a jumping kick to the face, then he tags in Gallows who goes to work on Cesaro. Cesaro comes back with some European uppercuts and a flying cross-body off the top rope onto Gallows on the floor at ringside. Back in the ring, Cesaro hits The Swing on Anderson then locks him in the Sharpshooter. As soon as he locks it in, Gallows breaks it up with a big boot to the face. All four men are in now in the ring and in the commotion Sheamus accidentally knocks out the referee. Gallows and Anderson knock Sheamus to the outside then hit the Magic Killer on Cesaro. Another referee comes out and counts to three, but as Gallows and Anderson are being congratulated, the original referee reverses the decision because Sheamus hit him. Sheamus and Cesaro have now been disqualified, which means they keep the Tag Titles. Gallows and Anderson freak out and hit the Magic Killer on Sheamus before leaving.
– Michael Cole introduces a video package highlighting the career of the late Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka.
– Backstage, we see Sami Zayn trying to work out a game plan with Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins to take out Owens, Jericho, and Strowman tonight.
– Rich Swann vs. Tony Nese – No Contest: Neville jumps Swann before the match. Referees pull Neville off, then Tony Nese gets in on it and starts beating down Swann too. Neville pulls Nese off of Swann, then hits Swann with a superkick to the face before leaving.
– Neville cuts a promo on Rich Swann backstage, saying that he’s going to break Swann’s “unbreakable” spirit.
– The New Day comes out to the ring to discuss the upcoming 30-man battle royal match at the Royal Rumble on 1/29. They get interrupted by Titus O’Neal, who says he’s there to take of their spots in the Royal Rumble. This leads to Titus vs. Big E.
– Big E def. Titus O’Neal: After some back and forth action early on, Titus takes control of the match with a variation of The Dominator on Big E. After a two count, Titus drops Big E with a powerslam then hits a running leg drop for another near-fall. Titus takes a little too much time to mock Big E, and Big E comes back with a belly to belly suplex. Big E follows up with a running splash, then hits The Big Ending for the win.
– Charlotte comes out to the ring and cuts a promo on Bayley. Charlotte starts showing old poems Bayley wrote about wanting to be a wrestler, and calls her just another average fan. Bayley runs out to the ring and Charlotte retreats up the ramp. Bayley cuts a promo defending herself, and tells Charlotte a new poem about how she’s going to take her Women’s Championship.
– Cedric Alexander def. Cedric Alexander: Austin Aries is on commentary for this one. Cedric takes control early on after throwing Kendrick to the outside and hitting a springboard moonsault. Back in the ring, they trade chops to the chest until Kendrick drops him with an elbow to the face. Cedric hits back with an elbow of his own and a kick to the head. Cedric follows up with a springboard cross body off the top for a two count. Cedric goes for a back suplex but Kendrick reverses into the Captain’s Hook. Alicia Fox runs out to ring and tries to help Cedric reach the ropes. Cedric gets distracted by Alicia and Kendrick dropkicks Cedric from behind. Kendrick throws Cedric back in the ring an follows him in. Kendrick goes for the Captain’s Hook again, but Cedric avoids it and hits the Lumbar Check for the win. Alicia tries to hug Cedric after the match but he declines.
– Backstage, an interviewer asks Alicia Fox about her relationship with Cedric Alexander. She freaks out and says she doesn’t want to talk about it.
– We get a video package about Kurt Angle being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. The crowd pops and does a “You Suck” chant along with Angle’s music for old time’s sake.
– Braun Strowman, Chris Jericho, & Kevin Owens def. Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, & Sami Zayn: All six men start brawling in the ring before the bell sounds. It comes down to Strowman and Reigns, and Strowman clotheslines Reigns to the outside and stands tall in the ring. The match officially starts and after some back and forth action, Owens takes control against Sami Zayn. Strowman helps out with a cheap show on Zayn behind the ref’s back. Reigns gets the hot tag and tees off on Owens with a series of clotheslines. Reigns drops Owens with a big boot, then sets up for the Superman punch. Jericho grabs onto Reign’s leg from ringside until Rollins knocks Jericho down. Strowman then knocks Rollins down. Reigns goes for a Superman punch but Strowman hopped up on the apron and grabbed Reigns out of mid-air. Owens follows up with a superkick on Reigns for a two count. Rollins and Jericho get the tags and Rollins hits a Sling Blade to drop Jericho. Rollins follows up with a splash in the corner then a Blockbuster off the middle rope. Rollins and Zayn hit suicide dives on opposite sides of the ring, taking out all the heels. Strowman charges at Zayn, but Zayn moves and Strowman’s head bounces off the ring post. Back in the ring, Rollins knees Jericho in the face. Jericho tags in Strowman, and Rollins tags in Zayn. Rollins dives to the outside onto Jericho and Owens, while in the ring Zayn hits a splash off the top on Strowman for a two count. Strowman blocks a big boot from Zayn then hits a running powerslam for the win. After the match, Strowman takes Sami to the commentary table. Reigns and Rollins follow them up and lay out Strowman with a chair and a spear. Rollins and Reigns start preparing the announce table, but then Jericho and Owens lay them out from behind. Rollins manages to hit a Pedigree on Jericho, but then Owens lays out both Rollins and Reigns with a steel chair. Owens is the last man standing, and he turns his attention to Reigns. Owens powerbombs Reigns through the announce table and stands over him as RAW goes off the air.
Kurt Angle will be the headline inductee for the WWE Hall of Fame’s Class of 2017, as first reported by ESPN.com.
“I was shocked. I’ve been out of WWE for a long time and out of touch with them so I didn’t really expect this,” Angle said to ESPN. “It’s a huge honor. This is the only Hall of Fame that I’m not in and probably [the one] I want to be in the most. This is the one that means the most for me. I had a lot of fun entertaining the fans for seven years with WWE, and I’m glad that my hard work paid off.”
Angle had been out of the company for over a decade, since the Summer of 2006, when he was released after a meeting where it was demanded that he enter drug rehabilitation for a painkiller addiction. The Olympic Gold medalist soon went to TNA Wrestling, working there for a decade before departing last year. Angle eventually went to rehab while in TNA, cleaning up and being open about the root of his addiction, which likely helped open the door with WWE.
Paul “Triple H” Levesque told WWE.com that “Kurt Angle’s accomplishments both in the Olympics and WWE were extraordinary.“ He added that Angle “was one of the most gifted athletes to ever enter the ring, and we are honored to welcome him into the WWE Hall of Fame.”
In speaking with ESPN, Angle revealed that he has not spoken to WWE about working any matches.
“We have not talked about any wrestling,” he said. “Whether we do or not, that remains to be seen… There are no guarantees. I think right now the most important thing is the Hall of Fame — and I think both sides feel that way.”
With so many years having gone by since he was part of the WWE family, Angle wasn’t sure if this day would ever come.
“I figured they either decided they didn’t want to do anything with me or they forgot,” he told ESPN. “Hunter said they never forgot and he called and told me this is the first thing they want to do. And whether I wrestle or not after this — which is irrelevant right now — I’m just really proud to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. I gave a lot of energy and time to WWE those first seven years, and I’m grateful that they recognized it.”
WWE Hall of Famer Kurt Angle has a nice ring to it.
WWE.com is advertising the following items for tonight’s RAW from North Little Rock, AR:
– Brock Lesnar returns to WWE television for the first time since his shocking defeat to Bill Goldberg at Survivor Series.
– Chris Jericho and Kevin Owens now hold the two top titles on RAW. Jericho’s championship celebration continues and Roman Reigns gears up for his title match against K.O. at the Royal Rumble.
– Can Bayley and Sasha Banks attain retribution against Charlotte Flair and Nia Jax?
– Neville’s mean streak continues as he prepares to face Rich Swann for the Cruiserweight championship at the Royal Rumble.
– More Royal Rumble participants will be revealed. With Brock Lesnar, Goldberg, The Undertaker all confirmed for the battle royal, it’s shaping up to be one of the most star-studden Royal Rumble events in history.
As always, join us here tonight for our weekly WWE RAW Results & Live Discussion.
After the conclusion of Sunday’s UK Championship tournament, Triple H tweeted a photo of himself boarding a jet and headed back to the United States for tonight’s RAW. The tweet caught the attention of Seth Rollins, the man who Triple H cost the then-vacant RAW Universal Championship the night after SummerSlam.
There hasn’t been any interaction between Triple H and Seth Rollins since Kevin Owens won the Universal Championship. Triple H hit Rollins with a Pedigree and handed the Universal Championship to Kevin Owens. Rollins has called out Triple H several times since then but Triple H hasn’t made an appearance on Raw since August 29th of last year. Wrestlemania season is upon us and maybe we will finally get an explanation for Triple H’s actions tomorrow night on Monday Night Raw.