The WWE United States Title has changed hands once again and this time, R-Truth is the new champion.

The title change went down on this week’s episode of SmackDown Live in Phoenix, AZ at the Talking Stick Resort Arena as Truth opened the show by cutting a promo with Carmella at his side about how due to him being attacked by Nia Jax and not allowed to compete in the Men’s Royal Rumble Match, The McMahon’s had granted him a championship match.

This led to Truth beating Shinsuke Nakamura for the title. He would then immediately defend it against Rusev which saw him successfully retain it. After this match, Rusev turned heel by beating Truth down alongside Nakamura.

DID @RonKillings JUST PIN @ShinsukeN TO BECOME THE NEW #USChampion?!?

YES. YES HE DID! #SDLive #USTitle pic.twitter.com/Fr2XvQXF6M

— WWE (@WWE) January 30, 2019

During the pre-show for the WWE Royal Rumble pay-per-view event in Phoenix, Arizona at Chase Field, a battle between Rusev and Nakamura that saw the former NXT Champion reclaim the U.S Title. It will be interesting to see how long R-Truth holds the title for and this new dynamic between Rusev and Nakamura.

What are your thoughts on R-Truth winning title? Was it the right time to do this by WWE? Sound off in the comment section.

Yet another WWE NXT star is headed to EVOLVE, which has a working relationship with the WWE. This time its former NXT North American Champion Ricochet.

EVOLVE made the news official in a recent post on their official Twitter account where it was noted that he would be appearing at events on March 15th in Melrose, MA and March 16th in Queens, NY. Ricochet will wrestle and be available for meet & greets at both events. As of this writing, his opponents at these shows have yet to be announced but are expected to be in the coming weeks.

BREAKING NEWS….

Ricochet returns to EVOLVE on March 15th in Melrose, MA and March 16th in Queens, NY! Tickets at https://t.co/85RwPfUwQ8.

Ricochet will wrestle and be available for meet & greets at both events! #OneAndOnly #NXT pic.twitter.com/tMF8KFsg46

— EVOLVE Wrestling (@WWNEVOLVE) January 29, 2019

Ricochet worked for the parent company of the promotion, WWN, from 2010 – 2017 including holding titles in Dragon Gate USA.

Fellow NXT star Adam Cole is headed to EVOLVE next month where he’s slated to work EVOLVE 121 and 122. Here are the updated cards for the show:

EVOLVE 121

Adam Cole of the Undisputed Era vs. Shane Strickland

EVOLVE Tag Team Champions The Street Profits of Montez Ford & Angelo Dawkins vs. AR Fox & DJZ

Darby Allin vs. Josh Briggs

EVOLVE 122

Adam Cole of The Undisputed Era vs. Darby Allin

EVOLVE Champion Austin Theory vs. Anthony Henry

WWN Champion JD Drake vs. Montez Ford of The Street Profits

[livelist button-title=”You Have Updates Available” max-per-page=”10″]

[live id=”gotd9″ data-sort-time=”1548805289544″]

The January 29, 2019 edition of WWE SmackDown Live took place at the Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix, Arizona.

– This week’s broadcast opens up with a video package looking at Becky eliminating Charlotte from the Royal Rumble on Sunday, and then Becky confronting Ronda Rousey last night on RAW.

[/live]

[live id=”qzclp8″ data-sort-time=”1548810923757″]- Becky Lynch comes down to the ring to kick off the show. Becky gets on the mic and says that a lot has happened in the last couple of days. Becky says her and Ronda will be main-eventing WrestleMania, and no one handed anything to her. Charlotte comes out to interrupt, and she gets in the ring. Charlotte talks trash to Becky and says she’s the one really bringing in the fans. Becky drops Charlotte with a right hand, then leaves the ring. Charlotte gets up and follows Becky up the ramp, and they brawl on the ramp. Referees and agents come out to pull them apart.

– Still to come: Daniel Bryan vows to “change the climate” of WWE; plus Shane McMahon and The Miz celebrate their Tag Title win.

– Shinsuke Nakamura is shown backstage admiring his U.S. Title belt. He defends the title against R-Truth next.

[/live]

[live id=”neihnf” data-sort-time=”1548811381664″]- R-Truth and Carmella come out to the ring, and they’ve got mics. Truth talks about Nia Jax stopping him from entering the Royal Rumble on Sunday, and Carmella says they fought hard to earn their spots in the match, and Truth deserved hit #30 spot. Truth says if Nia hadn’t attacked him, he would have won that match, and thankfully The McMahons realize it, so they granted him a U.S. Title match tonight. [/live]

[live id=”efa7bh” data-sort-time=”1548811811773″]

– Shinsuke Nakamura (c) vs. R-Truth: Carmella is at ringside. The opening bell starts and Nakamura starts with a flying kick to the face right out of the gate. Nakamura follows up with knee strikes and then a back suplex. Nakamura goes for the Kinshasa, but Truth reverses into a facebuster, and Nakamura rolls outside for a breather. Back in the ring, Nakamura takes control again and hits several running knee strikes in the corner. Nakamura picks up Truth in the fireman’s carry position, but Truth escapes and rolls up Nakamura for the three count. Nakamura and R-Truth both look shocked.

Winner & new U.S. Champion: R-Truth

– We go to the replay and see that Nakamura’s shoulders were down for the full three seconds. Nakamura freaks out at the referee as Truth celebrates with his U.S. Title belt.

[/live]

[live id=”e21fy8″ data-sort-time=”1548812433102″]

– Rusev and Lana come out to the ring, and Rusev says none of this is right. Rusev says the U.S. Title deserves better than Shinsuke Nakamura, and it for sure deserves better than R-Truth. This gets boos from the crowd. Rusev challenges Truth to a U.S. Title match right now. Lana gets in Carmella’s face, and Carmella shoves her down. Rusev and Truth shove each other now, and Truth seems to accept Rusev’s challenge to a Title match.

– R-Truth (c) vs. Rusev: Lana and Carmella are both at ringside. Rusev hits a kick to the face and takes control of this one early on. Rusev continues the offense, but then he misses a shot in the corner and crashes into the ring post. Truth immediately rolls up Rusev from behind for the three count to steal the win again.

Winner & still U.S. Champion: R-Truth

– After the bell, Nakamura attacks R-Truth at ringside. Nakamura throws Truth in the ring, where Rusev has gotten to his feet. Rusev puts the boots to Truth, and it appears that Rusev and Nakamura have a temporary alliance. Rusev and Nakamura double team Truth and stomp on him. Rusev hits a big boot to the face of Truth, then Nakamura hits the Kinshasa on Truth before leaving.

[/live]

[live id=”4g3hm” data-sort-time=”1548812809865″]- We see Becky Lynch backstage getting into a car with her luggage.

– R-Truth is shown backstage being checked on by the trainer with Carmella.

[/live]

[live id=”w287w7″ data-sort-time=”1548813109191″]

– Samoa Joe vs. Rey Mysterio: Before the match, Zelina Vega comes out and complains about Rey getting her barred from ringside for his previous match against Andrade. While she’s talking, Andrade attacks Rey from behind and pummels on him. Andrade hits some suplexes, then Rey fights away and hits a kick to the head. Rey looks for the 619, but Andrade blocks it and puts the boots to Rey. Andrade follows up with the hammerlock DDT.

Winner: No contest

– Still to come: WWE Champion Daniel Bryan is in the house.

– Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows approach Rusev backstage and ask him what the hell that was about in the ring. They say R-Truth didn’t deserve a two-on-one beat-down for winning two matches back to back. Anderson says Rusev and Nakamura deserve each other, and they wouldn’t fare as well if they stepped in the ring with Anderson and Gallows. Nakamura walks in and says they accept their challenge. Rusev tells Nakamura he will team with him one time, and warns Nakamura not to screw him over.

– SmackDown Tag Champions The Miz and Shane McMahon are shown backstage wearing their new Title belts. Their Championship celebration is coming up next.

[/live]

[live id=”6g1tj4″ data-sort-time=”1548814109346″]- Shane and Miz get in the ring, and Miz says on the mic that he was expecting balloons and champagne, because Phoenix wants to party with the Smackdown Tag Team Champs. Shane says he has something better than that planned for Miz tonight. Shane says this was always a dream of his, so he had a video package put together looking at his partnership with The Miz. Shane then introduces The Miz’s dad George. Shane hands the mic to Miz’s dad, and he says he loves him and he’s proud of him. Shane says now it’s time to take care of business, and find out who they will defend their Tag Titles against. Shane says there will be a four-way elimination match to determine the #1 contenders for the Tag Titles, and that match starts next.[/live]

[live id=”r8yqel” data-sort-time=”1548814644887″]

– Sonya Deville and Mandy Rose are backstage, and they announce they are going for the new Woman’s Tag Titles. Mandy talks about how hard it is to be her, and shows some old footage of Naomi talking trash to Mandy while she was training. Sonya says Naomi made Mandy cry, and she was jealous and angry at Mandy. Mandy says she was so upset about what Naomi did to her back then that her boyfriend dumped her, so she’s going to ruin Naomi’s relationship.

[/live]

[live id=”5jugpa” data-sort-time=”1548815163952″]- The Usos vs. The New Day vs. The Bar vs. Heavy Machinery: The winner of this match gets a shot at the SmackDown Tag Team Titles. Otis starts off with a shoulder block on Uso, then Kofi tags in and goes at it with Otis. Otis sits on Kofi, then Big E tags in. Otis and Big E collide in the middle of the ring a few times, then Otis hits a spinning powerslam on Big E. Tucker tags in for the double team on Big E. Jimmy and Sheamus tag in now and Sheamus takes control. Shane and Miz are shown backstage watching on a monitor. Cesaro tags in and continues the offense on Uso. Sheamus tags back in and he knocks The New Day off the apron. Jey comes in and knocks Cesaro and Heavy Machinery off the aprons, then hits a Samoan Drop on Sheamus for a two count. Sheamus dumps Uso out and Big E tags himself in. Big E and Kofi do a double team powerbomb/stomp on Sheamus, but Cesaro breaks up the pin. Big E takes out Cesaro, and now Otis and Kofi are the legal men. Tucker tags in and they hit the Compactor on Kofi for the three count. The New Day is now eliminated. [/live]

[live id=”3inntc” data-sort-time=”1548815768464″]

Jey Uso and Tucker are the legal men now, and The Usos dump Heavy Machinery outside. Jimmy hits a suicide dive on Heavy Machinery at ringside, as Cesaro tags himself in. The Bar takes Jey Uso out to ringside and slams him into the barricade face-first. Back in the ring, Sheamus goes at it with Tucker now and Sheamus connects with some knees to the body. Tucker comes back with a lariat, and both men are down. Cesaro and Otis get the tags, and Otis cleans house. Otis repeatedly clotheslines Cesaro and hits splashes on Sheamus in the corner. He slams down Cesaro, then he hits a splash on both Bar members in the corner. Otis does The Worm and then an elbow drop on Cesaro for a two count. Tucker tags back in for a double team on Cesaro, but Sheamus breaks up the pin. Sheamus and Otis get dumped outside, then Jey tags in on Cesaro. Jey hits a flying cross body on Tucker for a two count. Uso knocks Otis off the apron and then hits a superkick on Tucker. Sheamus tags himself in on Jimmy now, and The Bar double teams Tucker. Sheamus hits the big boot on Tucker for the three count, and Heavy Machinery is now eliminated. The Usos fire up and take control of the match against The Bar now. Jimmy Uso hits the big splash off the top on Sheamus for the three count.

Winners: The Usos

– Jimmy and Jey celebrate after the match, and they will be facing Miz and Shane for the Titles at Elimination Chamber. Shane and Miz are shown backstage still watching the monitor.

[/live]

[live id=”ezxn” data-sort-time=”1548815834969″]- WWE Champion Daniel Bryan is backstage walking towards the gorilla position. He slaps a hamburger out of someone’s hand on his way. [/live]

[live id=”knhrt” data-sort-time=”1548816820963″]- Daniel Bryan comes out to the ring next with his WWE Title belt. Bryan gets on the mic and talks about the Royal Rumble, and says the real winners of the Rumble were the fans and the future generations, because he won. Bryan says a victory for him is a victory for every being on earth, because he’s the planet’s champion. Bryan says none of the fans know what winning feels like, but that’s okay, because he found someone who understands the truth in everything he says. Bryan says Eric Rowan came out on Sunday not because of Bryan, but for the greater good. Bryan then introduces Rowan, who now has a recycling logo on his entrance video. Bryan says Rowan is an enlightened man of the earth, and Rowan is his intellectual peer. Bryan says AJ was right when he called him a hypocrite last week. Bryan says he is a hypocrite because he carries around the WWE Title belt. Rowan brings a trash can into the ring. Bryan says the WWE Title is a symbol of excess, it’s gaudy, made from cheap labor, and bound to the skin of a cow whose life was taken from her. Bryan says he likes to think the cow’s name was daisy, and she felt insufferable pain and gave her life for the belt. Bryan throws the WWE Title belt in the trash and the crowd gasps. Bryan says the belt is trash, and they need a new symbol for the Championship. Rowan pulls the “new” symbol out of a bag, and reveals a WWE Title replica made of wood, hemp, and pebbles. Bryan holds it up and says this is your new symbol of excellence, and this is your new WWE Championship. The crowd chants “burn it down” and Bryan calls them ignorant. AJ Styles comes out to interrupt. AJ gets on the mic and asks Bryan if he smoked the prototype for that Champion he has, and Bryan yells no. AJ starts heading towards the ring, then Randy Orton comes out to interrupt. [/live]

[live id=”omy2rl” data-sort-time=”1548817353851″]- During the break Jeff Hardy came out, and then Mustafa Ali comes out, and then Samoa Joe comes out. They all want a shot at the WWE Title. Bryan and Rowan slide out of the ring as Joe starts getting in Ali’s face. Joe gets in AJ’s face next and asks how his wife Wendy is doing. Everyone in the ring starts fighting as Bryan yells at ringside that he’s going to be the WWE Champion forever. Triple H appears on the big screen and says Bryan will defend his WWE Title against every person in the ring right now inside the Elimination Chamber at the pay-per-view. So Bryan will defend his WWE Title against Orton, Joe, Hardy, Styles and Ali at the Elimination Chamber. The brawling continues in the ring and at ringside, as Bryan and Rowan escape up the ramp and SmackDown goes off the air. [/live]

[/livelist]

Monday’s edition of WWE RAW from in Phoenix, AZ at the Talking Stick Resort Arena averaged 2.703 million viewers, up from 2.462 million the previous week. Here is the hourly viewership breakdown, courtesy of ShowbuzzDaily:

• 8 pm – 2.816 million
• 9 pm – 2.718 million
• 10 pm – 2.575 million

The episode was expected to draw better viewership as WWE loaded up the show and it was the post-Royal Rumble episode of the red brand. This episode finished fifth for the night in total viewers on cable.

Some of the matches that took place include Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose, Nia Jax & Tamina vs. Alexa Bliss & Mickie James, Baron Corbin vs. Kurt Angle, The Riott Squad (Liv Morgan & Sarah Logan) (w/Ruby Riott) vs. Dana Brooke & Natalya, WWE RAW Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey vs. Bayley, and Braun Strowman vs. Drew McIntyre serving as the main event.

WWE also hyped the fallout from Royal Rumble, the Elimination Chamber PPV and the matches taking place at that show. WWE will attempt to keep up this momentum with its viewership for RAW next week. In case you missed the show, you can check out the seven takeaways here.

Watch: Top 10 Moments from Monday’s RAW (1.28.19)

WWE has confirmed that Dean Ambrose will not be renewing his contract when it expires in April. The news was first reported by PWTorch. In a rare instance, WWE issued a statement regarding Ambrose leaving the company on Tuesday.

“Dean Ambrose [Jonathan Good] will not be renewing his contract with WWE when it expires in April,” WWE officials confirmed in a statement. “We are grateful and appreciative of all that Dean has given to WWE and our fans. We wish him well and hope that one day Dean will return to WWE.”

According to the initial report, Ambrose has been unhappy with the direction his character has taken in WWE programming in recent months.

WWE reportedly attempted to re-sign Ambrose to a new five-year worth more than seven-figures per year to stay with the company. Ultimately it appears Ambrose turned down the offer and will instead exit the WWE in April.

Dean Ambrose’s WWE Career

Ambrose has been a mainstay on WWE programming since first joining the promotion in 2011 after working the independent wrestling scene as Jon Moxley following his early days training in his native Cincinnati, OH.

Ambrose made his breakthrough on the main roster with WWE as part of the faction ‘The Shield’ alongside Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins.

While he was a constant presence on television, Ambrose never quite reached superstar status with the company despite WWE Heavyweight title reign for several months in 2016 as well as a lengthy stay as Intercontinental champion.

Ambrose was out of action for several months due to injury and then returned last year where he teamed back up with Reigns and Rollins briefly before a heel turn this past October. Ambrose turned on Rollins after Reigns took a real life leave of absence from the company after revealing an 11-year battle with leukemia that required his full attention.

More recently, Ambrose enjoyed another brief stint as Intercontinental champion before dropping that title to Bobby Lashley. Ambrose made a brief appearance in the Royal Rumble this past weekend before losing to Rollins on Monday Night Raw this week.

Now Ambrose’s days are numbered with WWE as he awaits the expiration of his contract in April where he can then begin to look towards his next opportunity in professional wrestling.

Obviously rumors will undoubtedly swirl almost immediately about the possibility of Ambrose joining All Elite Wrestling as that organization looks to get off the ground in 2019 but nothing will happen until at least after April when his WWE deal comes to an end.

Former IWGP Intercontinental Chris Jericho has vowed to make a return to New Japan Pro Wrestling despite being under contract with AEW (All Elite Wrestling. It should be noted that Jericho’s deal with AEW allows him to continue working with NJPW.

In his most recent match, he lost the IWGP Intercontinental Title to Tetsuya Naito at the Wrestle Kingdom 13 event earlier this month at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan.

Jericho made his intentions known about returning to NJPW during a recent Instagram post that you can see here:

 

View this post on Instagram

 

I’m coming back…I will return… @njpw1972

A post shared by Chris Jericho (@chrisjerichofozzy) on Jan 29, 2019 at 5:57am PST

//www.instagram.com/embed.js

Jericho has made several appearances for New Japan Pro Wrestling over the last year including a 5-star classic against Omega at the Wrestle Kingdom 12 event, at Dominion, he captured the IWGP Intercontinental Championship from Naito and retaining Intercontinental Championship against EVIL at the NJPW Power Struggle event last November.

After Wrestle Kingdom 13, Jericho talked with some media members about the contest and how he has put his focus on winning the IWGP Heavyweight Title which is currently held by Hiroshi Tanahashi, who beat Kenny Omega for it at this same show.

The main event, as well as a title match, have been announced for the Ring of Honor “Bound by Honor” event in Miami, FL at the Watsco Center on February 10th.

Those matches are ROH World TV Champion Jeff Cobb vs. Rocky Romero and a six-man tag match pitting ROH World Champion Jay Lethal, RUSH and Jonathan Gresham against ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Champions The Kingdom (Matt Taven, TK O’Ryan and Vinny Marseglia).

ROH will hold Meet & Greets for fans at 5pm while the show kicks off two hours later. The Baltimore-based promotion is expected to announce more matches for this show in the coming days.

ROH Tag Team Champions The Briscoes, WOH World Champion Kelly Klein, Mayu Iwatani, Villain Enterprises (Marty Scurll, PCO, & Brody King, Dalton Castle, Bandido, Mark Haskins, Zack Sabre Jr., Shane Taylor, Silas Young, Colt Cabana, Willie Mack, and more stars are slated to appear at this show.

The company will also hold a “Bound by Honor” event in Lakeland, FL at the RP Funding Arena on February 9th. This will serve as a TV taping.

Following her appearance in the Men’s Royal Rumble, Nia Jax attacked Dean Ambrose on WWE RAW. Ambrose had just lost a match against Seth Rollins and began cutting a promo in the ring. Nia Jax and Tamina interrupted Ambrose and after a standoff between the two Superstars Ambrose would try and leave the ring. Jax then connected with a forearm to Ambrose that sent him through the ropes.

WWE’s official YouTube channel caught up with the former WWE Champion after the fact for his thoughts. Ambrose stated “I have spent a lot of time and drank a lot of cocktails with Tamina over the years, Great woman. I’m going to give her the benefit of the doubt here, I don’t know why she’s fraternizing with this Nia Jax.”

Ambrose went on to say “I’m going to assume that Nia simply tripped and fell in to me, and was not trying to start some physical altercation with me, a man. Because that’s insane, right? So, I’m going to accept her, what I assume is an apology is what she was yelling at me from the ring as I was being escorted away by referees. Like I would do something. Can you imagine? I’m going to accept her apology. And we’re all good.”

Check out the video below

*Credit to WrestlingINC for the transcription

The Royal Rumble this past Sunday featured a few surprise appearances. One of these was sure-fire Hall of Famer Kurt Angle coming out at Number 4 in the match.

According to Wrestling Observer Radio this spot was originally planned for Zack Ryder. Angle was eliminated by the second entrant in the match Shinsuke Nakamura. Again this was meant to be Ryder initially eliminated this early. According to WON this decision was made as Kurt Angle would get a bigger pop from the live crowd.

Zack Ryder has seen a very stop-start ride in his WWE career. The Long Island Iced-Z found great success with his YouTube channel earlier this decade. ‘Z True Long Island Story’ was innovative and took Ryder all the way to the company’s United States Championship. Sadly for Ryder his own attempts at ‘getting over’ appeared to have backfired. WWE began to push Ryder down the card after a disastrous programme with John Cena. This was at a time where the company hoped that Ryder’s popularity would rub off on Cena, but it had the complete opposite effect.

Whilst being bumped for Kurt Angle was clearly the right decision, it’s yet another near-miss for Ryder in his WWE career.

Drew McIntyre first signed for WWE back in 2007. At the time the Scottish Superstar was 21 years old and essentially still fresh in the business. The former NXT Champion recently spoke to WrestlingINC regarding his release in 2014 and how it helped ‘mature’ him and shape his current successful run.

“What’s changed from my first stint is that I don’t take anything for granted,” confirmed McIntyre. “I’m a lot more mature and I don’t have negativity in my life. Partying isn’t as important to me anymore like it was when I was younger. I focus very much on the job and my goals and dreams…” McIntyre elaborated further, saying that “They say opportunity is everything you’ve got. I didn’t realize that the first time around because I had lost perspective.”

When asked if he wanted to return to WWE or NXT and McIntyre made it clear that he wanted to do to the developmental brand. “I had a lot of conversations with Triple H and I made it clear if I come back, I would like to go to NXT,” admitted McIntyre. “You need those experienced leaders because that makes a difference in the product,” McIntyre stated. “NXT had lost a couple of people and I felt I could really make a difference going in there.”

*Credit to WrestingINC for the transcription

KUSHIDA is currently taking part in his final tour for New Japan Pro Wrestling. The Junior Heavyweight icon’s contract runs out at the end of the month and he will be a free agent for the first time in a very long time.

At yesterday’s Road To New Beginning event KUSHIDA tagged with Hiroshi Tanahashi for the final time. After the bout KUSHIDA made some comments backstage regarding his time in the ring with the IWGP Heavyweight Champion. KUSHIDA stated “That was my last time tagging with Tanahashi. I know that what makes a pro wrestler is different for everyone, but my definition is some who devotes their life to this. That’s what makes a pro wrestler.” KUSHIDA followed this up by mentioning his final match for NJPW. “I’ve only got one match left. It will be very emotional. I’ve taken a lot of damage over these past 8 years. But the memories I’ve made in this time, I’m sure because of them…that I have become stronger. Going forward, I’ll always fight with that knowledge close to my heart.”

KUSHIDA finished up by saying “8 years ago, here at Korakuen Hall, Tanahashi said he’d make me a complete pro wrestler. I’m forever grateful to him, I’ll never forget that.”

Former X-Division champion, Matt Sydal, is reportedly done with Impact Wrestling. According to a report from PW Insider, the 35-year-old’s deal with the promotion is up. He has drawn interest from both AEW and WWE.

Sydal is currently awaiting surgery to repair cartilage in his knee that will keep him on the shelf for the next few months. He should be ready to return to the ring by May, however.

• Matt Sydal Dealing With Knee Injury

Matt Sydal & Others Moved To Impact Wrestling Alumni Page

Impact Wrestling moved several names from their roster to alumni section recently.

Austin Aries, Caleb Konley, Diamente, El Hijo Del Fantasma, Gursinder Singh, Joseph Park, McKenzie Mitchell, Rebel, Sonjay Dutt, Taiji Ishimori, and Trevor Lee are all now listed as alumni.

Sydal spoke to the Sporting News this summer about the future landscape of pro-wrestling.

“Wrestling used to be like this — it was this bathtub that we will fill up from only one faucet,” Sydal said. “It was mainly WWE filling the tub of love of wrestling for the entire world. And because of the internet, technology, the interconnectedness of people and the desire of independent artists to create their own work, this resurgence of wrestling has come up and it’s reinvigorating for me.”

“Now the bathtub of wrestling that we’re trying to fill up to the brim with water,” Sydal continued. “It has a WWE faucet. It’s got a New Japan faucet. IMPACT Wrestling, some of these hotter indies, WWN, Evolve, Progress.”

Joanna Jedrzejczyk is teasing she could be the next MMA fighter to make the move to WWE. According to a post from Instagram, Jedrzejczyk has a luchador character she wants to take to WWE as well.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BtOT4hEA2Bq/

MMA/UFC Stars To Pro-Wrestling

With not only Ronda’s success, but the success of Shayna Baszler, Jessamyn Duke, and Marina Shafir as well, there are likely other fighters considering making a jump as well. While Joanna’s sincerity in moving to pro-wrestling is questionable, numerous other fighters have expressed a desire to make the jump.

Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino was recently spotted at the WWE Performance Center. UFC heavyweight champion, Daniel Cormier, has also been linked to a potential commentary job with WWE recently. He had the following to say regarding having to delay an audition with WWE last fall.

“If I didn’t have this fight, I have been talking to the WWE because they wanted me to go in and do an audition as a member of the commentary team,” Cormier revealed. “But because of the fight, I had to push it back.

“There may be some DC and WWE s **t coming. After the fight, I’ll go down to Orlando and do my tryout.”

Cormier worked commentary for Fox’s UFC broadcasts. He could potentially be involved with the production of Smackdown once the shows makes the move to the Network in October.

Paige VanZant is another fighter who has expressed interest in possibly going to WWE. She drew interest from the promotion after drawing high-ratings for her appearance on Dancing with the Stars in

“Yeah, definitely. Even before my career’s over, I’d love to make an appearance in WWE,” PVZ said. “I love the organization and it’s such a different form of athleticism, I think I’d have a great crossover because of my Dancing With The Stars Experience, and MMA experience, and athletic background.”

Three big matches are locally advertised for Fastlane, the final WWE pay-per-view event before WrestleMania 35:

• Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair
• WWE Champion Daniel Bryan vs. AJ Styles
• Intercontinental Champion Bobby Lashley vs. Seth Rollins

WWE often takes full advantage of the “card subject to change” disclaimer, so it’s possible they will go in a different direction with at least one of these matches. However, these matches indicate where WWE’s storyline plans are headed in the months ahead.

As the final stop before WrestleMania, Fastlane is typically a consequential show that sets the stage for WWE’s biggest event of the year. We already have two matches set for WM35. Men’s Royal Rumble winner Seth Rollins will challenge Brock Lesnar for the Universal Championship, while women’s Rumble winner is currently advertised to face Raw Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey. You can read below how that match is likely to change. The Lynch vs. Flair match at Fastlane could very well set the stage for that change.

• WWE Still Planning To Add Charlotte To WrestleMania Main Event

Fastlane takes place Sunday, March 10th at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio.

Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG) has announced the full card for their next event, titled Two Hundred. This will mark the second event of the new year for the California-based promotion

PWG World Champion Jeff Cobb vs. Bandido is slated to headline this event. It should be noted that The Young Bucks, who regularly work PWG, are not advertised to work this event.

Other big matches taking place at this show include PWG World Tag Team Champions ‘The Rascalz’ vs. LAX vs. Pentagon Jr. & Fenix in a Triple Threat Match and Laredo Kid vs. Puma King.

Here is the full card:

• PWG World Tag Team Champions ‘The Rascalz’ (Dezmond Xavier & Zachary Wentz) vs. LAX (Santana & Ortiz) vs. Pentagon Jr. & Fenix – Three-Way Match
• PWG World Champion Jeff Cobb vs. Bandido
• Trey Miguel vs. Jake Atlas vs. Jungle Boy – Three-Way Match
• Laredo Kid vs. Puma King
• ‘Aussie Open’ (Mark Davis & Kyle Fletcher) vs. ‘Best Friends’ (Chuckie T & Trent Baretta)
• Darby Allin vs. Brody King

PWG Two Hundred takes place on Friday, March 1st at the Globe Theatre in Los Angeles, California. Tickets are set to go on sale Tuesday, February 5th at 8PM PDT.

What are your thoughts on the lineup for this show? Do you plan on watching it once released on-demand or DVD? 

Royal Rumble winner Becky Lynch appeared on Monday’s WWE RAW to announce she selected RAW Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey as her WrestleMania 35 opponent.  They had an intense confrontation and fans ate it up. Becky Lynch vs. Ronda Rousey has the makings of a WrestleMania main event for the ages. However, that’s not what WWE has planned.

According to Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio, WWE still plans to add Charlotte Flair to the mix and make it a triple-threat match. Of course ‘plans can change’ any time, but Meltzer says WWE creative has already devised a storyline to insert Charlotte into the mix. Those plans were still in tact following Raw.

“For people who are wondering, it is a 3-way,” Meltzer said. “That segment was real strong with Ronda Rousey and Becky Lynch. The crowd was going pretty nuts for it, you had a very good dynamic and a lot of people are talking about it, thinking about the way that segment went, that it will be a singles match. I don’t know how they get to Charlotte Flair, I do know they have a storyline in place. After TV, that storyline was still in place.”

WWE has two more pay-per-view events scheduled before WrestleMania, which is still more than two months away. Elimination Chamber takes place on February 17th and Fastlane is set for March 10th. This leaves plenty of time to modify the RAW Women’s title match.

Which match would you rather see at #WWE #WrestleMania 35?

— SEScoops (@sescoops) January 29, 2019

WWE WrestleMania 35 takes pace on Sunday, April 7th from MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

• Ronda Rousey Taking Time Off After WrestleMania 35

Dean Ambrose is leaving WWE when his contract expires in April, according to PWTorch.com. Ambrose reportedly informed WWE officials about his decision over the weekend and met directly with Vince McMahon to discuss the situation.

Ambrose has long been frustrated with his creative direction. Sources close to Ambrose say he still has a passion for wrestling, but ultimately decided WWE is not the right environment for him. A WWE source told Wade Keller of PWTorch that Dean “hates hokey sh*t” and it is not entirely surprising that he finally hit a breaking point.

WWE offered Ambrose a new deal approximately two weeks ago. According to PWInsider, the new contract was for a 5 years worth over a million dollars per year. Ambrose turning down over $5 million gives you an idea of how displeased he’s been.

The Torch report states, “He’s indicated to WWE management this weekend he’s not interested in negotiating further and made it clear this isn’t about trying to get more money.”

Ambrose is expected to finish up with WWE shortly after WrestleMania. However, they could write him out of storylines sooner than that.

Dean Ambrose been a featured player in WWE since his debut with the Shield back in 2012, but he’s still only 33 years old. Now in his physical prime, the next question is what the future holds for him. He’s likely made a ton of money over the years and has some financial independence. With a passion for wrestling and the desire for more creative freedom, there are options.

After giving a disclaimer that he has not heard anything specific about Ambrose’s future, Keller expects Dean Ambrose will join All Elite Wrestling (AEW). He’s been giving off the impression that he wants to stay active in the wrestling business. He’s been described as ‘an artist with pent up desires to express himself in different ways.’

This is a developing story and we will have more information on Dean Ambrose leaving WWE in the days ahead.

What do you think is next for Dean Ambrose?

There’s been yet another twist in the saga of the WoS Women’s Championship. Viper won back the WoS Championship from Bea Priestley in Blackpool last night.

Before the tour started Kay Lee Ray held the Championship. As you may have seen the ICW star appeared on camera at the NXT UK Takeover: Blackpool event earlier this month. This essentially indicated that she would be leaving WoS and heading onto WWE/NXT UK.

At the first night of the WoS tour Viper defeated Kay Lee Ray in a triple threat match to become the new WoS Women’s Champion. This was also an interesting development, as Viper is also being linked to WWE. The Wrestling Observer have even claimed that the NXT UK deal offered to Viper was greater than Ray’s as “there was interest from AEW.” Viper has been losing her independent Championships over the past few weeks, including in a bout for STARDOM where she lost her Pro Wrestling: EVE International Championship.

With Viper winning back the title everything is once again up in the air. Viper is most likely heading to NXT very soon, with NXT UK looking like the destination. The World of Sport tour is still ongoing and Viper could easily lose the title at some point before it finishes, leaving her clear for WWE.

Last night in Blackpool, @missviper91 won the WOS Woman's Championship in a grueling match up againt @BeaPriestley , in front of a jam packed #Blackpool Tower Ballroom.

Tickets for our #Northampton and #London shows are available at https://t.co/BonHpdZIrK pic.twitter.com/njjm0KUbp3

— WOS Wrestling (@WOSWrestling) January 27, 2019

New Japan Pro Wrestling is coming off the back of their recent Fantastica Mania series of shows. These shows were a co-promoted event done with the Mexican company, CMLL. Now New Japan is heading towards their first big post-Wrestle Kingdom show, The New Beginning. Beforehand though, is the ‘Road To New Beginning’ tour.

The third show of the tour took place today from Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan.

Road To The New Beginning Results 1/29

Ren Narita defeated Yuya Uemera via pinfall.

Narita picked up the win over his fellow Young Lion with a bridging belly to belly suplex.

Manabu Nakanishi and Hiroyoshi Tenzan defeated Shota Umino and Ayato Yoshida via submission.

Tenzan ensured his team’s victory after applying an Anaconda Vice to Yoshida.

Yujiiro Takahashi and Taiji Ishimori defeated Ryusuke Taguchi and Toa Henare via pinfall.

Takahashi secured the win after executing Pimp Juice onto Henare.

Tomoaki Honma, Toru Yano, and Togi Makabe defeated Chase Owens, Tanga Loa, and Tama Tonga via pinfall.

One King Kong Kneedrop put Chase Owens away, giving the victory to Makabe’s team.

Bad Luck Fale and Jay White defeated YOSHI-HASHI and Kazuchika Okada via pinfall.

Fale nailed YOSHI-HASHI with the Grenade for the win. A future feud between Okada and Fale was further teased during this matchup.

Los Ingobernables de Japon (Shingo Takagi, BUSHI, SANADA, “King Of Darkness” EVIL, and Tetsuya Naito) defeated Suzuki-Gun (El Desperado, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Taichi, Zack Sabre Jr., and Minoru Suzuki) via pinfall.

EVIL picked up the victory for his team courtesy of Everything Is EVIL.

Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated KUSHIDA via submission.

Despite steady offence from KUSHIDA, Tanahashi was able to reverse a compromising position into a Texas Cloverleaf. This would lead to KUSHIDA tapping out.

After the bout, “Switchblade” Jay White would assault Tanahashi with a chair.

Kenny Omega remains the hottest free agent in pro wrestling. Speculation ended over his possible Royal Rumble involvement once the match finished without ‘The Best Bout Machine.’ However, that isn’t to say all conjecture as to where Omega ends up has stopped. With AEW, NJPW, and WWE still a possibility, Omega remains one of the most talked about wrestlers in the industry.

This is highlighted by his upcoming documentary, Omega Man: A Wrestling Love Story. The documentary is set to air on March 27th at 7:30/ET on TSN.

Speaking with The Warmup, Kenny discussed the documentary, as well as his initial time in WWE’s developmental circuit.

WWE Developmental

Back in 2005, Omega was involved with WWE’s developmental promotion, Deep South Wrestling. He confessed he “didn’t enjoy it as much as I thought that I would.”

“I really appreciated the opportunity and learned a lot. I felt going into the system as being a nobody, without them knowing my limitations, without them knowing my potential, especially, I really wanted to prove to them that I could be more to them and to the business than what they thought of me originally, so I decided to leave WWE.”

He reflected that he was able to make this decision due to his living situation at the time. His parents helped to support him as he reassessed his direction. This time to think ensured he avoided rash decisions, helping him to focus and fulfil his dreams.

“[…] Up until now, nobody really understands there are other options, there is more to wrestling than just WWE. You can make a living and make a difference, being regarded as the best on the planet in professional wrestling without ever stepping foot in WWE.”

Omega Man: A Wrestling Love Story

Omega admitted he was a private person, but was open to the idea of a documentary being made about him. He also revealed that the whole project came about after a simple question via Twitter.

“I think it [the documentary] actually originated on Twitter. Someone asked if I were, perhaps, interested in a documentary filmed about me,” he said. “[…] I’m a very private — it’s hard to let people into that personal space bubble, so I was open for discussion, I wanted to talk about it.

Knowing my schedule doesn’t really have much leeway in terms of free time and such, having a documentary crew follow me around and essentially take away all that free time, I wasn’t sure if I would actually enjoy the experience or not, or if I would be able to act like myself.

As a performer, I always feel like I’m performing for the people. I didn’t want to make it seem like I was performing for a documentary, I wanted it to be an actual representation of who I am.”

• Kenny Omega To AEW Teased Again on Being The Elite

H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription

Despite appearing for Ring Of Honor in recent months, it appears that “Hurricane” Shane Helms has signed a new contract with WWE. This is according to a report by WrestlingInc. Like with Sonjay Dutt and Abyss, Helms’ new role will see him operating as a backstage producer for the company.

Helms has over 20 years of experience in the industry. He will undoubtedly bring a wealth of knowledge and insight to this new position. He originally signed with WCW in 1999 prior to joining the WWE (WWF at the time). It was in WWE that he would adopt the “Hurricane” superhero gimmick — a character that is still popular today, as evidenced by his recent work with ROH.

“We’re Always On The Lookout For Talented People”

Triple H has been transparent over WWE’s intentions to hire more talent to fill backstage positions, stating during a medial call that “We’re [WWE] always on the lookout for talented people that can contribute to the product and to the WWE as a whole. It doesn’t matter where they’re from, the quality people that are talented, that have a passion for this, and want it to go to the next level and succeed, I’m always looking forward to those people.”

It has been speculated that Helms began his new position yesterday. Dutt and Abyss are expected to start in mid-February.

“Sonjay coming in here, Abyss coming in here [in] behind the scenes roles, we’re going to see where that best fit is for them,” Triple H explained. “I’ve heard of them, I know of them.”

“So many people speak highly of them and their jobs over the years, from a talent standpoint and other standpoints, so I’m looking forward to working with them and seeing where they best fit through all of this, as we all are. Everybody here will determine where they fit, what they want to do, and how they can help contribute in the best way to the product going forward.”

Current New Japan Pro Wrestling NEVER Openweight champion, Will Ospreay, has shared that he has recently sustained an injury. This occurred during a Revolution Pro Wrestling (Rev Pro) event in Bristol, England.

Thankfully, however, the injury isn’t a major one — though still frustrating enough for Ospreay to tweet about via social media.

Somehow, “The Sky King” managed to break his toe whilst taking an arm drag.

“I broke my toe taking an arm drag. I think God is f***ing with me”

He would follow up with a further update, highlighting that the “Bruising is coming out….as well as the bone not being in the right place”.

https://twitter.com/WillOspreay/status/1089641449669488642

This injury hasn’t stymied his enthusiasm over his upcoming match against PAC. The two will clash in a matchup for Rev Pro’s High Stakes 2019 show, which takes place on Friday, February 15th in York Hall, Bethnal Green, London.

A toe injury, though not as serious as others that could be suffered, could still have an effect on Ospreay’s mobility, possibly forcing him to modify his arsenal against the wrestler formerly known as Neville. Despite this, Ospreay promises that “9 toes or 10 I’m gunna be at York Hall”.

“9 toes or 10 I’m gunna be at York Hall” – @WillOspreay @OBEYBrookes has other ideas.#RevProBristol pic.twitter.com/ycfnxJChKx

— Revolution Pro (@RevProUK) January 27, 2019

Will you be in attendance for this epic clash? Who do you think will come out on top, Ospreay or PAC?

During Sunday’s Royal Rumble matchup, New Day members, Xavier Woods and Big E, paid homage to their stablemate, Kofi Kingston. Each member wore gear that showcased Kofi Kingston’s amazing Rumble moments from over the years, captured in comic book form.

Kingston has made a name for himself within the Rumble match, saving himself from elimination in different, unique ways to the point that the WWE Universe anticipate witnessing his next close escape each year.

Turns out, however, that another man inspired Kingston to begin his accidental tradition. Speaking with ‘The Sun,’ Kofi shared that he never intended for these near eliminations to become what he’s known for in the Rumble. He also directly credited former WWE Superstar, John Morrison, as his initial inspiration.

“Let Me Try To Fill This Void”

“I didn’t expect to become the guy who people look to do something cool in the Rumble in terms of avoiding elimination,” he admitted. “Actually, it was all started by John Morrison for me when he got knocked off the apron and jumped all the way to the barrier and parkoured his way back into the ring. Then the next year when it came to the Rumble he was not around so I was like, ‘Hey, let me try to fill this void’.”

“It became something cool and I tried to figure out something to do it again the next year and then all of a sudden everyone is like, ‘What’s Kofi gonna do now?’ Fast-forward a few years later and here we are,” he said.

“It’s cool and I couldn’t say exactly which one was my favorite, I just put them all out there and let the people rank and pick their best. It’s just cool to be in that spot,” he confessed. “The Royal Rumble is really about being the guy who survives 30-plus people and goes on to WrestleMania, then people are also looking at me. So it’s really great to be in that position.”

New Japan Pro Wrestling is coming off the back of their recent Fantastica Mania series of shows. These shows were a co-promoted event done with the Mexican company, CMLL. Now New Japan is heading towards their first big post-Wrestle Kingdom show, The New Beginning. Beforehand though, is the ‘Road To New Beginning’ tour.

The second show of the tour took place on 1/28 from Korakuen Hall in Tokyo.

The Road To The New Beginning Results 1/28

Ren Narita and Manabu Nakanishi defeated Yuya Uemura and Yota Tsuji via submission.

Ren Narita would finish the matchup after locking in a Boston Crab onto Yuya Uemura.

Toa Henare and Hiroyoshi Tenzan defeated Shota Umino and Ayato Yoshida via pinfall.

Henare scored the pinfall after executing the TOA Bottom on Ayato Yoshida.

Bullet Club (Taiji Ishimori, Chase Owens, Tanga Loa, and Tama Tonga) defeated Taguchi Japan (Ryusuke Taguchi, Tomoaki Honma, Toru Yano, and Togi Makabe) via pinfall.

Tonga Loa would pick up the victory after hitting his signature move, Apesh*t on Tomoaki Honma.

YOSHI-HASHI and Kazuchika Okada defeated Yujiro Takahashi and Bad Luck Fale

Okada’s Rainmaker would help secure the victory for the team after he nailed Takahashi with the move. They also teased another potential feud between Okada and Bad Luck Fale throughout the match and post-match fallout.

KUSHIDA and Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated Gedo and “Switchblade” Jay White

“The Ace” Takahashi would get the win after landing the High Fly Flow onto Gedo.

Suzuki-Gun (El Desperado, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Taichi, Zack Sabre Jr., and Minoru Suzuki) defeated Los Ingobernables de Japon (Shingo Takagi, BUSHI, SANADA, “King Of Darkness” EVIL, and Tetsuya Naito) via final elimination.

Taichi would end up the last person standing in the main event, which was held under elimination rules. He would end the night on the mic, making his intentions known for Naito’s IWGP Intercontinental championship.

Ember Moon delivered a strong performance at the Royal Rumble this past Sunday and she lasted in the match for over fifty minutes. However, things haven’t gone her way since the PPV, and latest report reveals that she will require surgery.

WWE announced during this week’s episode of Raw that Ember was not medically cleared to compete. Due to her injury, Natalya was forced to team up with Dana Brooke on the show.

After the episode, the company posted a backstage video where the former NXT Star talked about her injury and provided more details on her condition.

Ember recalled how she wrestled with one good arm in the Women’s Royal Rumble last year and revealed that this was the case during this year’s Battle Royal as well.

She then provided some details on her injury saying that she messed up her elbow real bad. Finally, the former NXT Women’s Champion revealed that she will require immediate surgery to repair the damage:

At this point, there aren’t enough details available about her condition to determine how long Ember Moon would stay on shelf and if she will miss the upcoming WrestleMania event. We’ll keep you posted if any other details regarding her injury are released.