Recently, former WWE Champion Kane joined ex-Tag Team partner Sean “X-Pac” Waltman’s podcast, “X-Pac 12360.” The pair reminisced about their days teaming together in the late ’90s, which included two WWE Tag Team Championship runs. Kane debuted in WWE back in October of 1997. He interfered in the first-ever Hell In A Cell (HIAC) match at the Badd Blood: In Your House pay-per-view (PPV).
Kane hit his storyline brother, The Undertaker, with a Tombstone, allowing Shawn Michaels to win the match. Over the next few years, Kane’s character was portrayed as a silent monster with little personality other than evil. However, that all began to change when he aligned himself with D-Generation X’s X-Pac in the late ’90s. Kane slowly started to come out of his shell and became more relatable to WWE audiences.
He even had an on-screen companion in Tori. Kane said that his run with X-Pac really “humanized” the Kane character:
“It was great. It helped me out tremendously. Because up until that point Kane had just been like a emotionless monster and what that did for me, our tag team, was it really helped round out my character because it showed that Kane has feelings and all that stuff which I never had before.
“It humanized me enough that people could relate much better, but all that stuff it really helped my character in, in my career. And all the stuff we got to do man, it was a blast, and like you said a lot of times when you have tag teams that are bookends having something that contrasted so much and was so unique and we can have great matches with anybody.”
What do you make of Kane’s comments regarding how teaming with X-Pac “humanized” his character?
New matches have been announced for Ring of Honor’s next event, Honor Reigns Supreme.
The Baltimore-based promotion has announced that ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Champions The Kingdom (Matt Taven, TK O’Ryan and Vinny Marseglia) would take on Shane “Hurricane” Helms, Delirious and Luchasaurus in a proving ground match. Also, Women of Honor Champion Kelly Klein will defend her title against Jenny Rose.
Klein is coming off the biggest win thus far in her pro wrestling career as she won Four Corner Survival match for the Women of Honor World Championship to become the queen of the division when defeating Madison Rayne, Karen Q, and Sumie Sakai.
Ring of Honor will hold this event on January 13th in Concord, NC at the Cabarrus Arena that will air on ROH’s streaming service, Honor Club. The promotion will a TV taping the night before in Atalanta, Georgia at Center Stage. The promotion will be announcing more matches for this event in the coming weeks. Here’s the updated lineup:
Honor Reigns Supreme Card
Women of Honor Champion Kelly Klein vs. Jenny Rose
ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Champions The Kingdom (Matt Taven, TK O’Ryan and Vinny Marseglia) take on Shane “Hurricane” Helms, Delirious and Luchasaurus
Despite all the controversy in November, WWE is prepared to revisit Saudi Arabia on two separate occasions in 2019. WWE has a multi-year deal with the kingdom of Saudi Arabia that went into effect earlier this year. They first held the Greatest Royal Rumble pay-per-view (PPV) in April. Braun Strowman was crowned the winner of the first-ever match-up in the main event.
Then, in November WWE returned for their Crown Jewel event. WWE received a lot of negative publicity for the move. After the murder of a Saudi journalist in the country, several United States Senators called for WWE to pull out of the show. However, WWE continued on with the event. The decision wasn’t fully agreed upon by those in the locker room, as the likes of John Cena and Daniel Bryan refused to work the show.
Now, Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that WWE already has two dates set for their return to Saudi Arabia in 2019. Those being in May and November, respectively. Meltzer said that WWE has not yet announced those dates and will avoid doing so as long as possible.
Also, in regards to bonus checks Superstars received for working the shows, those have also received mixed reactions. Meltzer stated “Some are happy. Some are not.”
What do you think about WWE returning to Saudi Arabia in 2019?
The angle between Ronda Rousey and Becky Lynch has taken a new turn: Ronda is claiming that Becky stole her underwear. The alleged theft is believed to have taken place during the Smackdown invasion of Raw in the build-up to Survivor Series.
Becky Lynch was a guest on Edge and Christian’s podcast last week. She spoke about how even now she is not “the chosen one” by WWE brass.
“No matter how much things change, they stay the same,” Lynch said on the show. “I’m the champ and I’m still not on those posters. So there is that, there is that I’m still not completely the face of the company no matter how much I do, no matter how much interest I’m drumming up, I’m still not the chosen one and that’s fine because that gives me more fuel for the fire.”
It looks like professional wrestling couple Joey Janela and Penelope Ford are no longer together. Janela recently ‘vented’ on Twitter and opened up about his recent struggles. He included his real-life breakup with Ford in the statement. Since 2014, Janela and Ford worked the independent scene together.
They appeared together at the “All In” pay-per-view (PPV) in September for Janela’s match against Adam Page. Interestingly enough, Ford was spotted as a member of the WWE tryouts in Orlando at the Performance Center recently:
A week after the Chile tryouts, we are back in Orlando for day one of the year end Florida tryouts. The search for top talent never ends. pic.twitter.com/59OGSXrO1T
Janela suffered a bad leg injury at a Game Changer Wrestling event in September. After landing awkwardly on his leg after a crossbody dive, it was determined Janela tore his PCL, MCL, suffered ACL sprain, and several other injuries. He’s expected to be out for at least a year.
Here’s what Janela had to say on Twitter:
“I usually don’t get too personal on here, but I wish I had a camera crew follow me around for the last four months, you couldn’t write my life, ups and downs galore. Went from wrestling on the most talked about Pay-Per-View of the year to completely blowing out my knee in less than two weeks.
“Major knee surgery at the end of October that caused me to miss my own show in Los Angeles (I watched it from my friend’s basement) [and] on top of all of that, my real life relationship with Penelope Ford ended.
“I just wanna thank the fans for being for me with these past few months, all the love and support has mentally and financially supported me through these times. And, oh yeah, Spring Break 3 sold out so fast that we had to add another show, which equally sold out just as fast!
“The clock is ticking and I’ll give everyone the great wrestling comeback story of all-time. The next chapter is gonna be epic! Enjoy the ride. Happy Holidays!”
Fans of Finn Balor have been underwhelmed with how the Superstar has been used in recent months. Balor has not been used as a main event talent for the most part since returning from a shoulder injury which forced him to vacate the Universal Championship in 2016.
According to a recent report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, however, Finn is likely in line for a push. “Finn Balor, after being mired in the middle, is about to get a significant push, at least for a little while,” wrote Dave Meltzer.
Balor was victorious over Drew McIntyre at TLC on Sunday. Outside interference from Dolph Ziggler played a role in the outcome, however. Balor then defeated Ziggler on Raw this Monday. A triple threat match between McIntyre, Ziggler, and Balor has been scheduled (i.e taped) for next week.
Finn Balor in WWE
Balor left New Japan Pro Wrestling in 2014 to sign with NXT. At the time, Balor had been wrestling as Prince Devitt and was a founding member of Bullet Club.
He arrived in NXT in 2014 and spent over 2 years in WWE developmental before cracking the main roster. Balor won the NXT Championship by defeating Kevin Owens on a WWE Network special from Japan. He’d continue to hold the title until 2016 when he dropped it to Samoa Joe.
As we’ve previously mentioned, WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross’ deal with AXS TV is coming to an end next month. Ross will be unable to re-sign with the company due to his contractual status with WWE. However, Ross is free to sign with whoever he’d like in March when his deal with WWE expires. Recently, Ross took to his podcast, “The Ross Report,” to address the matter.
Ross confirmed that he’ll be unable to sign a new deal with AXS until the end of March in 2019. He remains adamant that, as far as he’s concerned, he hasn’t called his last match for AXS TV:
“Let me say this right away, a little piece of business, ” Ross said. “I have not, as far as I’m concerned, broadcast my last match on AXS TV. I’m unable to get back on their air until passed the end of March, but I am optimistic that I will, somewhere along the way, rejoin the team in some capacity. So I’ll just throw that in there. That’s all.”
“Good Ole’ JR” also mentioned that he’d like to expand the sports he’d be calling in the meantime. Ross mentioned interest in calling boxing, mixed martial arts (MMA), and even football games this spring:
“[More MMA broadcasting] is possible,” Ross said. “I’m probably going to be doing a lot things that I haven’t been doing come Spring. I’d like to do some more boxing. I’d like to do some football. I’d like to do some MMA. But I’m never going to deviate too far from my [pro] wrestling roots. That’d be stupid.”
What do you think about Ross’ comments regarding his situation with AXS TV?
New Japan will be hosting their annual Tokyo Dome show on January 4th. Wrestle Kingdom is the biggest show in the New Japan calendar and 2019’s event looks stellar. Whilst there are no official number New Japan confirmed on Twitter that sales for the show are still ahead of the pace of this year’s show.
This year’s show featured the big international bout between Kenny Omega and Chris Jericho, causing ticket sales to go from 26,192 in 2017 to 34,995 in 2018.
The Wrestling Observer has also posted an update on New Japan’s financials for 2018. Whilst totals aren’t “official,” the 2018 revenues are “expected to fall at about $43.6 million, up from $35 million last year, a 25 percent increase.” Dave Meltzer attributed the increase to “live event ticket sales, but merchandise in 2018 was four times that of 2013, stemming from the LIJ sales and the U.S. market Hot Topic T-shirt sales.”
It was also confirmed that the NJPWWorld service is up, with over 100,000 subscribers, compared to 60,000 at the same point last year in mid December.
It’s always sad when friends move away. With The Elite seemingly moving on to greener pastures almost entirely across the board, that’s the reality that faces Ring Of Honor (ROH) wrestler, Flip Gordon.
Addressing the recent spate of rumors that surround The Elite regarding All Elite Wrestling, leaving NJPW and ROH, as well as his place within Being The Elite, Flip was forthcoming in his answer as he spoke recently with the WINCLY podcast.
He says that he wishes his friends well, no matter what they do or who they end up signing with. Regardless of where The Elite call home, Flip asserts that he will support their decision and remain happy for them.
“I’m very thankful for the time I have been able to spend with them,” Gordan admits, “but my focus is Ring of Honor. I’m with Ring of Honor until 2020, and my focus is building Ring of Honor as much as I can.”
There is, however, one member of The Elite still currently signed to ROH: ‘The Villain’ Marty Scurll.
With the majority of his friends departing, it perhaps leaves Flip’s role as a member of the Being The Elite YouTube show somewhat in the air — though he doesn’t rule out trying a series spin-off with Marty Scurll.
“[…] Marty’s still gonna be in Ring of Honor,” he said, “so maybe it’s ‘Marty and Flip take Ring of Honor.’ We’re still all really good friends, so I’m sure that we will continue to still do Being The Elite,” Gordon said. “Nothing is guaranteed, but anything can also happen in this business, and that’s one of the cool things about wrestling.”
What do you think the future holds for Flip Gordon? Will he become a main event player in ROH?
New Japan has announced that a Japanese wrestling legend will be part of Wrestle Kingdom next month. Yuji Nagata has been added to the pre-show match, replacing Michael Elgin.
We recently posted on the news that Jushin ‘Thunder’ Liger would not be appearing at Wrestle Kingdom. Liger had been part of every Tokyo Dome event since 1989 except for the 1995 iteration. Incidentally Yuji Nagata now appearing means that he maintains a 25 year January 4th appearance streak. This will also be his 31st consecutive New Japan Tokyo Dome card, more than anyone else in history.
Yuji Nagata was also recently added to the Wrestling Observer’s Hall of Fame. The WO Hall of Fame is notoriously difficult to be added to, giving credence to the level of star and ability of the legendary Nagata.
Here’s the five teams taking part in the pre-show gauntlet match:
Ryusuke Taguchi, Toru Yano, & Togi Makabe
Minoru Suzuki, Davey Boy Smith Jr., and Lance Archer
Jeff Cobb, Yuji Nagata, & David Finlay
Chuckie T, Beretta, and Hirooki Goto
Marty Scurll, Hangman Page, and Yujiro Takahashi
Here’s the full card for Wrestle Kingdom 13:
IWGP Heavyweight Championship Kenny Omega (c) vs Hiroshi Tanahashi
IWGP Intercontinental Championship Chris Jericho (c) vs Tetsuya Naito
Kazuchika Okada vs Jay White
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship KUSHIDA (c) vs Taiji Ishimori
IWGP United States Championship Cody (c) vs Juice Robinson
RevPro British Heavyweight Championship Tomohiro Ishii (c) vs Zack Sabre Jr.
IWGP Tag Team Championships Guerrillas of Destiny (c) vs The Young Bucks vs. EVIL and SANADA
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championships Yoshinobu Kanemaru and El Desperado (c) vs Roppongi 3K vs BUSHI and Shingo Takagi
IWGP NEVER Openweight Championship Kota Ibushi (c) vs Will Ospreay
This week’s Monday Night Raw saw the McMahon Family/Triple H promise to shake things up and make their product fresh once again.
Since then, both Raw and SmackDown have been playing a certain video package. The package highlights the NXT superstars that are heading to the main roster.
Although there is still storyline speculation over which brand ‘The Freak’ Lars Sullivan ends up on, an aura of mystery also remains as to where the rest of the chosen superstars will call home.
Except for Heavy Machinery.
Turns out that Tucker Knight and Otis Dozovic will be representing the blue brand going forward as they become a part of WWE SmackDown Live.
Bound For The Blue Brand
Dozovic took to his Twitter account in order to share the news, saying:
“#TUCKy We’re COMINNNNNNN’ to Tuesday Night #SDLive
The other names that have been called up from NXT include Lars Sullivan, Lacey Evans, EC3, Sanity’s Nikki Cross, and Heavy Machinery. They are scheduled to begin main roster duties in January.
It’s interesting that Dozovic has been able to share where they are going, whilst the rest remain quiet on the subject.
Do you think SmackDown Live is the right place for Heavy Machinery? Do you think they’ll thrive on the main roster? Are we looking at future tag team champions?
Important Note: This post contains a key spoiler from the recent SmackDown Live tapings that are scheduled to air next week.
We recently reported on a title change occurring during the taping for next week’s episode SmackDown Live. The episode was taped in Fresno, California and will air on December 25th, 2018.
The episode saw a US title match between Shinsuke Nakamura vs Rusev. Rusev would emerge victorious, bringing an end to the United States of Nak-America.
This title change has led to deeper speculation about Nakamura’s future in WWE.
With New Japan Pro Wrestling expressing interest in re-signing the ‘King Of Strong Style,’ WWE having Nakamura drop the title, and the fact Shinsuke’s current contract expires in February, it appears he may be wrapping up his WWE duties.
According to Dave Meltzer, however, that is not the case.
Responding to a question via Twitter regarding Nakamura’s future plans, Meltzer provided a pointed answer:
Shinsuke relocated his entire family from Japan to Orlando after signing with WWE. It would presumably have to be a major offer to entice him to uproot once again.
Nakamura has hinted in the past that he would at least consider other offers. His decision, apparently, would be based on who could present the best money deal.
If that’s the case, it’s probably a safe bet that Nakamura will continue to call WWE his home. At least for the foreseeable future.
With WWE’s Tables, Ladders and Chairs event still in the rearview mirror, Charlotte Flair has taken the opportunity to share her opinion of the event and her role within it.
Speaking with Fox 26 in Fresno, California prior to Tuesday night’s SmackDown Live event, ‘The Queen’ reflected on how she felt at TLC, just before the main event got underway, believing that the women of WWE stole the show once again.
“It was exciting. The best part was that the women stole the show again,” she stated, proudly. “And, actually, before I walked up to the curtain, I was like, ‘I know we kept saying we wanted the main event, we wanted the main event.’ And then when I was walking up to the curtain I was like, ‘Oh, I hope this lives up to its expectation.’ But it was amazing.”
The event saw history being made as then-champion Becky Lynch defended her SmackDown Women’s Title in a triple threat against Charlotte Flair and Asuka. The match was held under TLC rules and was the first women’s TLC match in WWE’s long history. Asuka would wind up victorious by the end of the gruelling match after an assist from Raw Women’s champion, Ronda Rousey.
Do you agree? Did the triple threat steal the show for you? If not that match, which one impressed you the most?
Although he has not been a part of WWE’s on-screen product lately, Bray Wyatt has continued to cause a stir via social media. He most recently sent out a series of cryptic tweets that hinted towards major changes on the horizon for the “Eater Of Worlds.”
According to PWInsider, Bray Wyatt is scheduled to return to in-ring competition next week. What’s interesting to note, however, is that this is in relation to WWE’s Live Events and not a return to Raw, yet. There is no indication as to when Wyatt will return to our screens despite working next week’s Raw Live Event tour after Christmas.
Bray has been missing from WWE TV since the go-home Raw prior to SummerSlam back in August. It was during this show that he and Matt Hardy would drop the Raw Tag Team Titles to the — at the time — burgeoning B-Team, comprised of Curtis Axel and Bo Dallas.
He did work a number of live events past this and even returned for WWE’s Network Special, Starrcade, in November where he worked as a babyface against Baron Corbin.
There has been speculation in the past about a character change for Bray. With his teaming with Matt Hardy having come to an end, an extended hiatus away from screens, and these continued mysterious tweets, it appears that WWE may be ready to finally pull the trigger on a new Bray Wyatt.
What do you think? Is it time for a different Bray Wyatt? Do you think his old character could still work if used correctly?
WWE has accumulated a roster with some of the most talented professional wrestlers in the world. There are endless possible “dream matches” that WWE could make, and a lot of them involve former WWE Champion AJ Styles. “The Phenomenal One” is coming off a WWE Title loss to Daniel Bryan a few weeks ago. He failed to regain the title this past weekend at the Tables Ladders and Chairs (TLC) pay-per-view (PPV).
Styles is one of the greatest in-ring performers the industry has ever seen. He has shared the ring with the likes of Shinsuke Nakamura, John Cena, Bryan, Samoa Joe, and so many more. However, there are plenty of up-and-coming talents on the NXT roster that would make for an interesting match-up with Styles as well. Recently, Styles was interviewed by WrestleZone to talk about possible matches with NXT stars.
When asked what NXT call-ups interest him, Styles named EC3 as one of the names that stands out:
“I’ve never been in the ring with EC3 before, so that will be fun to see a match with him. But, there are several that are coming up through NXT shortly, and there’s a number of them that I could have amazing matches with.”
What do you think of a possible match between Styles and EC3?
Becky Lynch continues to prove that she’s one of WWE’s biggest stars. The now-former SmackDown Live Women’s Champion held an autograph signing at a Cricket Store recently in Clovis, California. The signing took place between 10 A.M. to 12 P.M. local time. Lynch did the signing in order to promote last night’s episode of SmackDown Live in nearby Fresno.
It turns out, the line for the meet and greet actually began to form well before 10 A.M. Unfortunately not all fans were able to make it inside to meet “The Man,” after waiting outside in the cold for hours. But Lynch went outside to pose for photos with fans anyways. Check out some photos of the long line here:
Over the weekend, Lynch dropped the SDL Women’s Title to Asuka in the first-ever Triple Threat Women’s Tables Ladders and Chairs (TLC) match. Lynch, Charlotte Flair, and Asuka main evented the TLC PPV. However, RAW Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey interfered in the contest when she pushed a ladder down carrying both Lynch and Flair.
As a result, Asuka, being the last woman standing, was able to climb the ladder and retrieve the title. It’s likely WWE is setting up a big Triple Threat match between Flair, Rousey, and Lynch for WrestleMania 35. It has the potential to be the first female match in history to main event a WrestleMania PPV.
Io Shirai & Dakota Kai battled Jessamyn Duke and Marina Shafir tonight on NXT. Duke started off the match by shoving Kai to the corner of the ring. Dakota exploded off the ropes and hit a Dropkick and then followed it up with a Double Stomp for a near fall.
Duke beat Kai down in the corner and tagged Shafir into the match. Marina connected with a few punches to Dakota’s face and then went for the cover but Kai kicked out at two. Duke tagged back in and Kai greeted her with a boot to the face.
Shirai and Shafir tagged in and Io hit her with a couple of forearms to the face. Shirai followed it up with a springboard Dropkick and then Double Knees in the corner of the ring. Shirai climbed to the top rope as Kai blasted Duke off the ring apron with a running kick to the face. Io hit Shafir with a Moonsault off the top rope for the pinfall victory.
Congratulations on tonight’s victory @shirai_io. Let’s see if you can keep that momentum going, because you’ve qualified for next week’s #1 Contender Fatal 4-Way Match!
Dominik Dijakovic faced Aaron Mackey tonight on NXT. Dijakovic absolutely dominated this match right from the start. Dominik shouted “time to fly!” and launched Mackey across the ring. Dijakovic lifted Mackey up in a Torture Rack and then slammed him face first into his knee for the pinfall victory.
Heavy Machinery Picked Up A Win
Heavy Machinery beat the hell out of a jobber team tonight on NXT. Otis and Tucker will face Undisputed Era next week for the NXT Tag Team Championships. Heavy Machinery will also be joining the main roster in the near future. Undisputed Era came down to the entrance ramp during the match and trash talked with Dozovic and Knight.
Tommaso Ciampa Helped Johnny Gargano Defeat Aleister Black
Aleister Black squared off against Johnny Gargano in a Steel Cage Match in the main event of this week’s NXT. Gargano attacked Black from behind during his entrance and beat him down against the barricade surrounding the ring.
Black battled back with an elbow to the face and then a series of kicks to Johnny’s chest. Gargano slammed Aleister into the steel steps and then the action finally entered the ring. Gargano immediately tried to escape but Black dragged him down to the canvas.
Aleister hit an elbow to the face and followed it up with a Suplex for a near fall. Johnny tripped up Black as he climbed the cage and crotched him on the top rope. Gargano then bashed Black’s face into the steel cage and unloaded a flurry of punches to Aleister’s head.
Johnny bounced Aleister’s face off the top turnbuckle and then connected with a chop that echoed throughout the building. Gargano catapulted Black towards the cage but Aleister caught himself and hit Johnny with a ridiculous Moonsault.
Black slammed Gargano face first into the steel cage several times and followed it up with a running knee to the face for a two count. Aleister climbed to the top of the cage but decided to get back down and the match continued.
Gargano launched Aleister into the steel cage and then tied his arms up in the ropes. Gargano hit him with a Superkick and started climbing the cage. Black broke free and brought Johnny back down. Gargano planted Aleister with a Powerbomb off the ropes as the crowd chanted “holy sh*t!”.
Johnny went for the cover but Aleister Black somehow kicked out at two. Gargano connected with another Superkick but Black shrugged it off and hit Johnny in the face with a jumping knee. Aleister followed it up with two big boots to Johnny’s face.
Gargano tried to escape through the steel cage door but Aleister dragged Johnny back into the ring. Gargano hit Black with an Enziguri and tried to escape once again but Aleister brought him back to the middle of the ring. Johnny hit Black with a Russian Leg Sweep and then quickly transitioned into the Gargano Escape in the middle of the ring.
Aleister battled through the pain and tried to break the hold by ramming Johnny’s head into the cage but Gargano wouldn’t let go. Aleister slammed Johnny into the cage once again to break the hold but Gargano quickly climbed to the top of the steel cage.
Black joined him up there and Gargano went for a move off the top but Black held onto the cage as Johnny crashed to the canvas. Aleister then hit Double Knees off the top rope and went for the cover but Gargano kicked out at the last second.
Gargano crotched Black on the middle rope and kicked the rope several times. Johnny then launched Aleister face first into the steel cage. Gargano lifted Black up and said that he absolves him of his sins. Aleister hit Gargano with the Black Mass out of nowhere and both Superstars fell to the canvas.
Johnny was the first one to get up and started climbing up the cage once again. Black crawled towards the cage door at the same time but NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa interfered and slammed the door into Black’s face.
Ciampa stomped on Black a few times as Johnny climbed back into the ring. The crowd chanted “DIY!” as Ciampa and Gargano connected with dueling kicks to Black’s face. Ciampa smiled and left the ring and Johnny pinned Aleister for the victory.
New WWE SmackDown Superstar Mustafa Ali has had quite the last two weeks as he has shared the ring with WWE Champion Daniel Bryan on SmackDown Live.
Last week, he lost to Bryan after the top champion on the blue brand issued an open challenge. Then, on week’s episode of SmackDown Live in Fresno, CA at the Save Mart Center, Bryan and Andrade Almas battled AJ Styles and Ali in a tag team match that ended up serving as the main event.
Ali got the win in this match for his team when connecting with his finisher to pin Bryan. Now, he’s slated to take on the former NXT Champion in a singles match on next week’s show, which was taped on Tuesday night due to the episode falling on Christmas night.
The former 205 Live star took to his official Twitter account on Wednesday where he brought up pinning Bryan and indicated that he would like to compete in the men’s Royal Rumble match at the pay-per-view event next month. He also reflected on his time on the 205 Live brand where he noted that he would be indebted to the rest of the stars in the division.
Ali wrote, “@WWE205Live took me to #WrestleMania. It took me to #SurvivorSeries. And now, it takes me to #SDLive. Forever indebted to that crew. I’ll always be fighting for them.”
Not just WWE fans are still talking about the finish to the main event of Sunday’s TLC pay-per-view event that saw Asuka beat Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch in the first-ever Women’s Triple Threat TLC Match in order to win the SmackDown Women’s Title.
The WWE stars involved in it are keeping it a topic not only due to the quality of this match but the actions by RAW Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey. The finish of the match saw Rousey push Flair and Lynch off a ladder in order for Asuka to win the title.
During a recent post on her official Instagram account, Rousey stated that the reason for her actions at TLC was due to wanting her to send a warning to Lynch and Flair. She also sent another warning to them by telling them to move on and provoke her again. This led to some fiery responses by the SmackDown stars.
“#TLC wasn’t revenge, it was a warning. @charlottewwe @beckylynchwwe You’re both lucky I let you off so easy. Asuka deserves to be champion more than either of you cheating cowards. And @beckylynchwwe says SHE came at ME head on!? @beckylynchwwe has only ever attacked me when my back was turned – that’s some more #BackwardsBulls–tBecky. If you and @charlottewwe are smart you’ll consider the score settled, learn this lesson, move on…. and don’t provoke me again.”
This week’s episode of Monday Night RAW went down from the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California. In the main event of the night, a multi-woman Gauntlet Match took place to determine the number one contender for Ronda Rousey’s RAW Women’s Championship. Natalya wound up winning the contest and challenged Rousey during the next week’s tapings for RAW.
A user on Reddit leaked the producer sheet for this week’s show. It turns out, the main event was produced by both Tyson Kidd and Jason Jordan. Jordan hasn’t been seen on WWE TV for the past several months. He was written off television when then-RAW General Manager – and Jordan’s on-screen father – Kurt Angle sent Jordan home.
This was done so Jordan could receive surgery on his neck. The severity of Jordan’s injury is likely significant given how long he has been sidelined. In the meantime, he has taken on a backstage role with the company. It looks like that role includes helping produce matches. It’s unknown how much longer Jordan will remain sidelined, or if he’ll even return to the ring. We’ll keep you updated on his situation as more information becomes available.
What do you think of Jordan working for WWE as a producer?
WWE has announced a rather fun skit for tomorrow on their YouTube channel. A live stream of SmackDown Live Tag Teams The New Day (Kofi Kingston, Big E, and Xavier Woods) and The IIconics (Billie Kay and Peyton Royce) will be held.
With Christmas right around the corner, WWE will be having the pair exchanges gifs live on YouTube in front of the entire WWE Universe. The IIconics and The New Day have worked together before on Woods’ UpUpDownDown YouTube gaming channel.
It will be interesting to see what WWE has in store for their gift exchange. The festivities will commence at noon Eastern Time tomorrow.
Rousey Shops For A Christmas Tree (Video)
WWE Monday Night RAW Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey recently went shopping for a Christmas tree. She posted her journey on her own YouTube channel. Rousey, along with her husband and UFC heavyweight fighter Travis Browne, attempt to find the best Christmas tree for their ranch, “Browsey Acres.”
You can check out Rousey’s search for the perfect Christmas tree in the video player below:
Former WCW President Eric Bischoff recently took to his podcast, “83 Weeks,” and offered his thoughts on the current state of WWE NXT. NXT has grown in popularity over the years. Initially created as simply a developmental brand for the Superstars of tomorrow, NXT has practically risen to become a third brand.
NXT has produced stars such as Set Rollins, Kevin Owens, Braun Strowman, Bray Wyatt, and so many more. Currently, NXT only airs for one hour a week on the WWE Network. With how much popularity it has gained WWE would do well to make the show longer. Bischoff is certainly a supporter of the idea:
“I think if they’ve got a deep enough roster, and if there’s enough people there that need that exposure and two hours can accommodate that, then bam! Do it! Why would you even wait?
“But if the roster’s thin and you find yourself really tapping into that same roster of talent on a weekly basis, you may run the risk of overexposing at least some of them.”
NXT is arguably the most entertaining brand WWE has to offer at the moment. Professional wrestling fans would certainly enjoy the idea of an extra hour of NXT a week.
What do you think about Bischoff’s comments regarding NXT expanding to two hours?
Ring Of Honor (ROH) and New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) have announced their fourth annual Honor Rising show for 2019. The two-night affair will kickoff from Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan on February 22nd. The official announcement teased usual first-time-ever matches between NJPW and ROH with “top competitors” from each brand.
The show will take place seven weeks before the historic G1 Supercard from Madison Square Garden on WrestleMania 35 weekend. Check out ROH and NJPW’s official statement on 2019’s Honor Rising show here below:
“For the fourth consecutive year, Ring of Honor and New Japan Pro-Wrestling will join forces to present Honor Rising, two nights of incredible action featuring the stars of ROH and NJPW at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo on Feb. 22-23.
“Honor Rising traditionally features first-time-ever matches pitting top competitors from the two companies against one another, as well as tag matches in which ROH and NJPW stars team together. The ROH World Championship has been defended every year at Honor Rising events, which have all been held at Korakuen Hall.”
No matches have been officially announced for the card as of this writing. However, we’ll keep you updated as more news becomes available.
Will you be tuning in for ROH and NJPW’s Honor Rising show in February?
Chris Jericho is bringing his cruise event back for a second time. On Wednesday, the IWGP Intercontinental Champion announced that this cruise will go down again with more details to be announced next month. For those fans who missed out on the first cruise, he encouraged them to sign up at his website, chrisjerichocruise.com.
Jericho was quoted by stating fans have told him that it was the best vacation of their lives and the second wave would be happening.
The first cruise went down at the end of October and received high praise from those who took part in it. This cruise set sail out of Miami and featured a number of wrestlers from Impact Wrestling, Ring of Honor, and New Japan Pro Wrestling as well musicians, and comedians over the course of a few days.
There was a ring on top of the deck where the ROH Sea of Honor tournament took place, which featured the big match that saw Alpha Club (Young Bucks and Jericho) vs. Bullet Club (Cody Rhodes, Kenny Omega, and Marty Scurll), which was later streamed on FITE.
With such success that the first venture did, Jericho thought it was a great idea to do it a second time.
Tuesday’s edition of WWE SmackDown Live from Fresno, CA on the USA Network averaged 2,214 million viewers, up from 1.977 million the previous week, according to ShowbuzzDaily.
This was the post-show for Sunday’s TLC pay-per-view event. SmackDown had some notable moments including an appearance by WWE Chairman Vince McMahon in the opening segment, SmackDown Women’s Champion Asuka vs. Naomi, Mandy Rose & The Miz vs. Carmella & R-Truth, Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows vs. The Usos, and AJ Styles & Mustafa Ali vs. Andrade Almas & Daniel Bryan in the main event.
WWE will attempt to keep this momentum up with next week’s episode but with this being the Christmas episode, the expectation is that this episode will door poor ratings. It will also be a taped show.
SmackDown featured the fallout from TLC and the matches that took place at that show. In case you missed the show, you can check out the results here.
Despite WWE putting some together some intriguing segments for the show, this episode faced some solid competition. The show had to go up against was Hannity Rachel Maddow Show, Tucker Carlson Tonight, Last Word, The Five, The Ingraham Angle, Special Report and The Story.
Watch: Top 10 Moments from Tuesday’s SmackDown Live (12.18.18)
