Ronda Rousey will defend her RAW Women’s Championship tomorrow night (Sun. January 27, 2019). “The Rowdy One” will defend her strap against Sasha Banks at the Royal Rumble pay-per-view (PPV). The event goes down from the Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona. Rousey has called a match with Banks one of her dream match-ups. She’ll finally get the opportunity to share the ring with “The Boss” on one of WWE’s biggest events of the year.
In preparation for her bout, Banks has been training at the WWE Performance Center alongside Charlotte Flair. They also trained at the Amazing Red’s House of Glory wrestling school in Queens. WWE posted a video of their sessions below. Check it out here:
There are several big match-ups scheduled for tomorrow’s PPV. Check out the full card for the event below:
WWE Universal Championship: (C) Brock Lesnar vs. Finn Balor
WWE Championship: (C) Daniel Bryan vs. AJ Styles
30-Man Royal Rumble Match: R-Truth, Rey Mysterio, Mustafa Ali, John Cena, Andrade “Cien” Almas, Apollo Crews, Elias, Baron Corbin, Jinder Mahal, Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins, Samoa Joe, Finn Balor, Drew McIntyre, Kofi Kingston, Big E, Xavier Woods, Jeff Hardy, Bobby Lashley, Kalisto, TBA
30-Woman Royal Rumble Match: Carmella, Naomi, Zelina Vega, Natalya, Bayley, Sasha Banks, Ember Moon, Ruby Riott, Sarah Logan, Liv Morgan, Mandy Rose, Sonya Deville, Alicia Fox, Mickie James, TBA
WWE RAW Women’s Championship: (C) Ronda Rousey vs. Sasha Banks
WWE SmackDown Women’s Championship: (C) Asuka vs. Becky Lynch
WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship: (C) The Bar vs. Shane McMahon & The Miz
Fatal Four-Way Match For The WWE Cruiserweight Championship: (C) Buddy Murphy vs. Kalisto vs. Akira Tozawa vs. Hideo Itami
WWE United States Championship: (C) Rusev vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
What do you think about Flair helping Banks prepare for her match with Rousey?
WWE kicks off the new year for their NXT brand on Saturday evening at the Talking Stick Resort Arena in Arizona with their NXT TakeOver: Phoenix event. It will mark the first “TakeOver” special of 2019 for the NXT brand, and will be the 33rd overall show in the NXT TakeOver chronology.
The show will air live on the WWE Network as part of WWE Royal Rumble 2019 Weekend featuring a five-match card, with four world championships up for grabs. Headlining the card will be Tommaso Ciampa vs. Aleister Black for the NXT World Championship, while Shayna Baszler will defend the NXT Women’s Championship against Bianca Belair in the co-main event.
Also on Saturday’s card will be Matt Riddle vs. Kassius Ohno, Ricochet vs. Johnny Gargano for the NXT North American Championship and The Undisputed ERA (Kyle O’Reilly & Roderick Strong) vs. War Raiders (Hanson & Rowe) for the NXT Tag-Team Championships.
SEScoops.com writers Andrew Ravens, Ian Carey and Jeff Moss have prepared their predictions for each of the matches scheduled for Saturday’s big event. Without further adieu, here are the SEScoops.com staff predictions for NXT TakeOver: Phoenix 2019.
Matt Riddle vs. Kassius Ohno
Andrew Ravens: Yes, WWE is booking another match between these two stars and I can’t say that I’m complaining about. Obviously, it would be nice to see Riddle move onto his next program and work with someone else. It appears that WWE management sees something bigger for him in terms of long term storytelling and not just rushing him to the NXT Title right away. Riddle wins with ease. (Prediction: Matt Riddle)
Ian Carey: Last Takeover, Riddle defeated Ohno in an unadvertised match in mere seconds. Ohno should fair a little better this time out but it still seems likely Riddle walks away with his second straight victory on a Takeover show…bro. It’s just too early to book Riddle to lose. (Prediction: Matt Riddle)
Jeff Moss: “What? Why are we doing this again?” – Me, every time a Kassius Ohno match begins. Look, I get it; Ohno exists at this point to get new talent accustomed to the NXT way, a spot previously held by Tyler Breeze (who I’d much rather see back in NXT doing just that, to be honest). I keep hearing about how Matt Riddle is this amazing MMA performer turned wrestler, and what I’ve seen of him has been pretty good (minus his laughable entrance music) so he should probably be able to put the Ghost of Ohno behind him pretty quickly, no? All I can say beyond that is I hope this is the last time these guys square off for a while, Bro. (Prediction: Matt Riddle)
CONSENSUS: 3-0 (Bro), MATT RIDDLE
Ricochet vs. Johnny Gargano (NXT North American Title)
Andrew: Unless they have something bigger in place, Gargano shouldn’t win the title here. In fact, it helps to keep the title on the champion as he’s not going to be in the NXT Title picture so why not give him a secondary title until that time comes. Personally, seeing a pairing as heels with Tommaso Ciampa and Gargano would be a lot of fun whether WWE officials end up doing so. Either way, this should be a stellar match that could be a candidate for match of the night. (Prediction: Ricochet)
Ian: This will be the match where Johnny Gargano really shows how dark he can go. For Gargano to solidify his spot as “Johnny Takeover”, he’ll need to show fans what his heel persona is all about in this match. With that being said, I believe Ricochet is going to take the win here. Gargano may have to demonstrate how vicious he can be after the match is over. (Prediction: Ricochet)
Jeff: Match of the night? Yeah, match of the night. Both of these guys are destined to be superstars, so I’m pretty hyped to see them going head to head. The North American Title needs a bit of a boost and I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that Gargano having it would be that boost. Presuming Ciampa retains his NXT Title, this could be the beginning of building Heel #DIY as a threat to the Undisputed Era’s status as the dominant faction in NXT. Riccochet’s in a great spot as he could have a match with a broom handle at this point and earn 5 stars. He can be a main-event player without a title. (Prediction: Johnny Gargano)
CONSENSUS: 2-1, RICOCHET
The Undisputed ERA vs. War Raiders (NXT Tag Titles)
Andrew: This one is going to be a lot of fun as they have a lot of dynamics that can be used to tell a story that is sure to be very entertaining and one that I’m personally looking forward to seeing. I’m actually taking The War Raiders to go over here as I see it being the only title change on this card and one that makes sense. Undisputed Era has held the titles for long enough, and some could even say that it’s time for them to move on from NXT to the main roster although I wouldn’t have confidence in how they would be booked on RAW or SmackDown Live. (Prediction: War Raiders)
Ian: The War Raiders should leave Phoenix with the NXT tag titles. They have been built up as unstoppable on NXT programming and it seems too soon to have them come up short, even if the Undisputed Era pulls out their usual tricks and chicanery. (Prediction: War Raiders)
Jeff: In my mind I’m weaving an elaborate fantasy booking that includes the NXT, North American and yes Tag Championships all being used to unseat the Undisputed Era as the top faction in NXT. For that to work, the War Raiders need to get the belts here. Yes, my prediction is entirely based on my own head canon. I’m excited to see the match, I love smaller, technical guys going up against monsters, but I’d like to see some more fluidity in the Tag scene in NXT. While it’s better than RAW’s (what isn’t?) Division, it could use some new blood and some new challengers and champions. Especially heading into WrestleMania Season. (Prediction: War Raiders)
CONSENSUS: 3-0, WAR RAIDERS
Shayna Baszler vs. Bianca Belair (NXT Women’s Title)
Andrew: As much fun as Belair has been on WWE NXT TV as of late, I don’t see how it’s her time to be champion or even why they would book a title change here as Baszler is one of the more interesting characters that NXT has to offer right now. Unless they plan to call her up to the main roster in the near future, WWE should keep the title on the champion.(Prediction: Shayna Baszler)
Ian: Either Baszler is losing the NXT Women’s Championship Saturday night or Bianca Belair is going to pick up her first loss in NXT. This match might come down to how quickly WWE wants one or both of these Superstars on the main roster after WrestleMania. I just don’t see Baszler losing the title again so soon after regaining it, however, so I’m picking her in this tilt. (Prediction: Shayna Baszler)
Jeff: Look, I like Bianca Belair. She’s my favorite hair—based wrestler right now for sure. She’s had a dominant run in NXT, but she’s not at Shayna Baszler’s level or able to combat her particular brand of assholery. Baszler is the best heel in the company, non Ciampa Division and while I’d expect this to be competitive, the champion will retain and make a star out of Belair. Unless WWE has plans to pull the Horsewomen trigger soon (note to WWE: DO NOT DO THIS) Baszler’s position as Champion is secure and I can only see this match end with Belair being de(clap)fea(clap)ted(clap), but it will be a great match. (Prediction: Shayna Baszler)
CONSENSUS: 3-0, SHAYNA BASZLER
Tommaso Ciampa vs. Aleister Black (NXT World Title)
Andrew: I thoroughly enjoyed Black’s reign as champion but the job that Ciampa has done for the last several months on TV as a heel has been one of the impactful runs in quite some time. I believe that WWE plans to keep the title on Ciampa for bit more time and in fact, think that Matt Riddle will be the one to dethrone him as the top champion in NXT. Until that time, don’t fix something that isn’t broken. (Prediction: Tommaso Ciampa)
Ian: Tommaso Ciampa has been arguably the most unique NXT Champion in history but I’m predicting his reign comes to an end Saturday night. Aleister Black will win the belt for a second time, leading both Tommaso Ciampa & Johnny Gargano to wonder what led to both of them picking up losses. Perhaps they need to combine their efforts and take over the whole brand. (Prediction: Aleister Black)
Jeff: Even though I’m glad we live in the “no Rematch Clause” era of WWE, if there’s one pairing that I’ll never get tired of it’s these two. Both are ring psychologists as well as heavy-hitting fans of pure violence. Guys like Ciampa and Black are the reason I started watching wrestling in the first place and I’m always excited to see them lock up. That said, this should be the last confrontation between these two. Let Black ascend to the main roster in the Rumble and create an opening for what we really need to see: Ciampa Vs Velveteen Dream II at the Wrestlemania-adjacent Takeover. (Prediction: Tommaso Ciampa)
CONSENSUS: 2-1, TOMMASO CIAMPA
For more news heading into NXT TakeOver: Phoenix, check out the Triple H’s complete pre-show media call. What do you think of the above NXT TakeOver: Phoenix predictions? Let us know by sounding off in the Comments section below, and make sure to join us here at SEScoops.com on Saturday for live play-by-play results coverage of the show!
Daniel Bryan says he undergoes a serious of tests after every single match in order to remain medically cleared for competition. Among those tests, he’s required to correctly answer a math equation.
Bryan spoke with ESPN this week to promote Sunday’s WWE Royal Rumble pay-per-view from Phoenix, Arizona. During the discussion, Bryan revealed what the process by which WWE routinely checks him for concussions.
After each match, WWE doctors first check his eyes. Then, Bryan takes part in a series of balance tests. Lastly, Bryan is given a mathematical equation to solve. It’s nothing too extensive, but complicated enough to gauge his cognition. Given Bryan has suffered 10 documented concussions throughout his career, it’s a fair process to continue to allow him to wrestle:
“The big concern with concussions is that, this has happened to me in the past, you don’t know you had a concussion and your instinct as an athlete is to say, ‘Hey, I’m fine,'” Bryan said. “What we do now ensures that doesn’t happen.”
Bryan’s Road To The Royal Rumble
Due to his history with concussions in professional wrestling, the WWE must be very careful with current champion Daniel Bryan. Bryan was sidelined for over a year, with the initial belief that he’d never wrestle for WWE again.
Doctors told Bryan that he should hang up his professional wrestling boots for good. However, after seeking several second opinions around the country, the door for Bryan to get back in the ring opened again.
WWE are currently holding their Royal Rumble Axxess weekend with NXT Takeover, Worlds Collide and the Rumble itself as the main attractions. The company confirmed last week that NXT UK would be taping some upcoming shows from Axxess for the weekly show.
Here’s the spoiler results for Day 1 of the tapings, including dark matches/segments:
Heavy Machinery b. Marcel Barthel and Fabian Aichner (dark match)
NXT UK Match: Noam Dar b. Jordan Devlin – Dar took the win with an assist from Travis Banks. There was also a post-match brawl
NXT UK Match: Jinny b. Mia Yim
Samoa Joe came out and praised the NXT UK brand, and commented on how he will win the Royal Rumble on Sunday (dark segment)
Kacy Catanzaro b. Reina Gonzalez (dark match)
Tony Nese b. Mark Andrews (dark match)
NXT UK Match: Dave Mastiff b. Riddick Moss
NXT UK Match: Travis Banks b. Fabian Aichner
NXT UK Match:Trent Seven b. Shane Thorne – WWE United Kingdom Champion Pete Dunne appeared after the match to cut a promo
NXT UK Match:Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch b. The Coffey Brothers of Gallus, Joe Coffey and Mark Coffey with Wolfgang
MVP is now part of the Ring of Honor family as he recently made his promotional debut with the Baltimore-based company.
During Friday’s Road to G1 Supercard event in Houston, TX at the NRG Arena, he made a surprise appearance once being revealed as the tag team partner of Kenny King. This led to them beating Willie Mack & Colt Cabana as part of the Tag Wars Tournament.
If you recall, the two stars were part of the Beat Down Clan, which is something that they created during their time with TNA.
– Brian Milonas & Beer City Bruiser def. ‘The Boys’ – Tag Wars Tournament
– Sumie Sakai def. Thunder Rosa via DQ
– ‘Twisted Sisters’ (Thunder Rosa & Holidead) def. Madison Rayne & Sumie Sakai
– ‘Coast 2 Coast’ (Shaheem Ali & L.S.G.) def. Cheeseburger & Eli Isom – Tag Wars Tournament
– Villain Enterprises (Marty Scurll, PCO & Brody King) def. Clark Connors, Karl Fredericks & Alex Coughlin
– TK O’Ryan def. Jonathan Gresham
– ROH World Champion Jay Lethal def. Vinny Marseglia to retain the title.
– Women Of Honor World Champion Kelly Klein def. Britt Baker to retain the title.
– Kenny King & MVP def. Willie Mack & Colt Cabana – Tag Wars Tournament
– Three-Way Match: Rocky Romero def. Dalton Castle and Jeff Cobb
– ‘Lifeblood’ (Bandido, Mark Haskins, “Hot Sauce” Tracy Williams, Juice Robinson & David Finlay) def. Bully Ray, Shane Taylor, The Briscoes & Silas Young
Posted January 26th, 2019 in News, ROH. Tagged: MVP.
New Japan’s first ‘official’ brand tour has just begun. January’s Wrestle Kingdom was a historic event and the Fantastica Mania tour alongside CMLL drew some impressive crowds. The Road to New Beginning tour has begun and we’ll have the full results as and when the cards take place.
Here’s the results for the Road To New Beginning Saitama (01/26):
Yota Tsuji and Yeya Uemura went to a no contest
Toa Henare b. Ren Narita – Henare took the win with the TOA Bottom
Manabu Nakanishi and Hiroyoshi Tenzan b. Shota Umino and Ayato Yoshida – Tenzan took the win with the Anaconda Vice over Yoshida
Tanga Loa and Tama Tonga b. YOSHI-HASHI and Tomoaki Honma – Loa took the win after hitting Apesh*t on Honma
Toru Yano and Togi Makabe b. Chase Owens and Yujiro Takahashi – Yano took the win with a School Boy over Takahashi
El Desperado, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Taichi, Zack Sabre Jr and Minoru Suzuki b. Shingo Takagi, BUSHI, SANADA, EVIL and Tetsuya Naito – Taichi took the win after hitting the Tensho Jujihou on BUSHI
Jay White, Gedo, Bad Luck Fale and Taiji Ishimori b. KUSHIDA, Ryusuke Taguchi, Kazuchika Okada and Hiroshi Tanahashi – White took the win after hitting the Blade Runner on KUSHIDA
The card for tonight’s (Saturday, January 26, 2019) WWE NXT TakeOver: Phoenix event has been finalized.
The company has yet to officially announce the main event of this event that takes place in Phoenix, Arizona at the Talking Stick Resort Arena and will air on the WWE Network. There is speculation that this special will be headlined by WWE NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa vs. Aleister Black.
This show marks the first special for the yellow brand in 2019, which features a stacked lineup. There are a total of five matches booked for this show with four of them being championship matches.
As a reminder, we will be providing live play-by-play coverage of this special later tonight. Our staff has released their predictions for the NXT TakeOver: Phoenix show, which you can read here.
Final Card For WWE NXT TakeOver: Phoenix
WWE NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa vs. Aleister Black.
WWE NXT Women’s Champion Shayna Baszler vs. Bianca Belair.
WWE NXT North American Champion Ricochet vs. Johnny Gargano.
WWE NXT Tag Team Champions The Undisputed Era vs. The War Raiders.
Matt Riddle vs. Kassius Ohno
What are your thoughts on this card and the feuds that WWE is presenting to their fans? Sound off in the comment section.
New Japan has announced that a company legend will be making a small appearance at each of their US tour dates. Katsuyori Shibata is the head trainer of the company’s Dojo in Los Angeles. The former NEVER Openweight Champion will be addressing the crowds before each of the dates in Los Angeles, Charlotte and Nashville before bell time.
New Japan had to scramble and make huge changes to the tour recently. With the government shutdown in the United States the company were unable to get the necessary visas for their Japanese talent to perform in America. The cards will now feature almost exclusively US based talent. The company released the following statement regarding Shibata’s involvement:
“NJPW LA Dojo head coach Katsuyori Shibata will make a special appearance at each of THE NEW BEGINNING USA tour cities.
Shibata will address the crowd to welcome our fans attending the first NJPW US tour in Los Angeles, Charlotte and Nashville before bell time. There will also be an opportunity to photograph him in the ring.
Fans will have the chance to hear Shibata’s thoughts on the New Japan spirit — a wrestler trained in the New Japan dojo and now training new wrestlers as the head coach of the LA Dojo. We hope our fans will support the next generation of stars trained by Shibata.
Once again, we would like to express gratitude to our US fans and hope you look forward seeing the work put in by Shibata and the LA Young Lions before the biggest matches of their career.”
John Cena is coming to Netflix. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the 16-time World champion will star in a new action comedy movie directed and produced by Jason Bateman (Ozark, Arrested Development).
The story of the untitled film involves a family that gets stuck in an abandoned movie studio. “The sets come to life and the family members find themselves stuck in a various movies.”
Cena’s acting career continues to flourish as he spends more time on movie sets and less time on the road with WWE. His latest hit, the Transformers spinoff Bumblebee, has grossed over $420 million worldwide since premiering on December 21st. He recently spent several months in China filming Project X-Traction with Jackie Chan.
Roman Reigns is healing. That’s the message from the multi-time WWE champion as he continues to battle leukemia, which forced him to give up the Universal championship three months ago as he took an indefinite hiatus from the ring.
Reigns made the shocking announcement last October while revealing that he’s been fighting leukemia for the past 11 years.
Unfortunately, Reigns was forced to drop off the active roster while he dealt with his medical situation but the time away from WWE has allowed him to pursue new endeavors.
The latest is an acting role in the upcoming ‘Fast and the Furious’ spinoff film titled ‘Hobbs and Shaw’ starring Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson and Jason Statham.
Reigns updated fans on his current condition while celebrating his role in the upcoming film due out later this year.
“Family healing!” Reigns wrote on Instagram. “I cannot thank my family, friends and my new FAST & FURIOUS FAMILY enough for all the love and support I have received while on this exciting HOBBS & SHAW project. The time I‘ve spent with my cousin on this wonderful island has truly been a healing grace. I am grateful to the WWE, ‘The Rock’, Universal Pictures and everyone on the set of “Hobbs and Shaw” for allowing me to be a part of this franchise.
“All of your outreach and support has been a blessing and it’s only pushed me to get back in the ring as soon as possible. But until then…I’m excited for this movie to premiere this summer, our culture and mana in this film is strong!”
Reigns was in the midst of an important run in his career when he was sidelined by health issues.
Obviously he’s continuing the fight outside the ring while staying busy with his new acting career alongside his cousin in the upcoming action film.
“Hobbs and Shaw” directed by David Leitch (Deadpool 2) is due out Aug. 2.
Roman Reigns is set to make his big screen debut this summer. Reigns has joined the cast of Hobbs and Shaw, the Fast and Furious spinoff movie starring his cousin Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.
The Rock broke the news on Instagram on Friday. In a message that accompanied two photos of Reigns on set, Rock wrote, “Good times droppin’ sweat and spillin’ blood with my family, @RomanReigns who’ll be playing my brother in our FAST & FURIOUS UNIVERSE. I’m very proud of his focus, effort and authentic performance in our movie for his very first time on film.”
Reigns has been off WWE television since October, when he shocked the world by announcing he is battling a recurrence of leukemia, a blood cancer. Rock also addressed Reigns’ health, saying that he’s inspired by Reigns’ perseverance and humility.
“I’m also very grateful to spend this quality time with my cousin here in the islands as he takes life one day at a time to recover from leukemia,” said The Rock. “His perseverance and humility battling this challenge has inspired our entire family as well as millions around the world in our beloved WWE Universe.”
Hobbs and Shaw hits theaters August 2nd, 2019.
Below, check out The Rock’s full statement and two photos of Roman Reigns on the set of Hobbs and Shaw:
Ronda Rousey is keeping her private life private and that includes any plans she might have for starting a family with her husband Travis Browne.
The reigning WWE RAW women’s champion fired back at a report that surfaced earlier this week from the Wrestling Observer that suggested Rousey could be leaving WWE after a year with the company with plans to start a family in the very near future.
Additional reports stated that Rousey could stick around WWE after WrestleMania but work a drastically reduced schedule similar to other part-time superstars like The Undertaker or John Cena.
It’s no secret that Rousey has said numerous times in the past that she wanted to have children with her husband but she’s not going to talk to anybody about the timing of when that will happen.
Rousey fired back at that report with a statement released through ESPN reporter Ramona Shelburne, who is a regular collaborator with the former UFC women’s champion.
“I honestly don’t know why [anyone] feels like [they’re] an authority to speak on the plans for my uterus,” Rousey said. “If I responded every single time the world speculated what I was doing with my womb I would not have a free moment in the day.
“I really don’t feel like I should have to respond to that kind of thing. It’s my vagina, my life, keep the speculations to yourself. Leave me and my reproductive organs alone.”
Obviously Rousey didn’t flat out deny that she might be leaving WWE or possibly working a reduced scheduled after WrestleMania but she certainly isn’t going to justify rumors based around her private life.
It’s worth noting that Rousey has spoken (extensively) about her plans to start a family. Back in 2015, she told Fox Sports, “I’m an ovarian goldmine. I can’t waste these genes.” Last year, she told ESPN, “[Husband Travis Browne and I] had a set timeline set, and now we aren’t so sure about it because I love [WWE] so much,” she said. “I guess that’s the best thing that could’ve happened, that I would love it so much it would be so hard to stop.”
Rousey is scheduled to defend her RAW women’s title this Sunday at the Royal Rumble where she takes on Sasha Banks in one of the featured bouts on the card.
There are high expectations for Rousey to take part in one of the main matches at WrestleMania 35 including a potential and long awaited showdown with Smackdown women’s superstar Becky Lynch.
What Rousey’s plans are after WrestleMania remain a mystery but if she’s taking time off to start a family, she made it clear that she’ll be the one to make that announcement and no one else.
“I’ve not kept it a secret that I would definitely want to start a family,” Rousey said. “But how do you go about doing that? I love this way more than I thought that I would. So do you just keep going until you just happen to get pregnant? Or should you stop and go try and get pregnant? Or is going and trying to get pregnant putting yourself on the spot and then you’re less likely to get pregnant? I’ve never had a baby before, I don’t know these kinds of things.
“It would be kind of cool to just keep acting and then one day, ‘Hey, surprise twist, I’m pregnant.’ That would be fun. There’s a lot of things up in the air. A lot of decisions that we’ve gotta make as a family. I’m trying to figure it out as I go along.”
WWE presents the 32nd Royal Rumble event this Sunday from Phoenix, Arizona at Chase Field. It will be the first time since WrestleMania XIX (2003) that a WWE pay-per-view is held at a baseball stadium.
Since the Royal Rumble weekend is now upon us, photos from inside the venue are starting to surface online. Chase Field can accommodate over 43,000 people, but current ticket sales indicate around 30,000 are expected for the Rumble. It’s set to be a historic weekend that will jumpstart the road to WrestleMania 35.
SEScoops will have non-stop news coverage all weekend leading up to the Royal Rumble. Make sure to check out our official Royal Rumble predictions and join us here Sunday night for WWE Royal Rumble Live Coverage results.
On the latest episode of the “After 83 Weeks” podcast (companion to the 83 Weeks), Eric Bischoff told host Christy Olson that he’s sure Vince McMahon is taking steps to prevent WWE talent from jumping to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). Bischoff also called the WWE Universal Championship “meaningless” and explained why he won’t publicly debate Vince Russo
WWE Universal Championship: “Who cares?”
Brock Lesnar will defend the Universal Championship against Finn Balor this Sunday at the Royal Rumble. Bischoff says Lesnar is a total badass and fans are interested in seeing how can defeat him once and for all. However, he doesn’t feel the Universal Championship being on the line adds anything to this match.
“I don’t think it matters if Brock Lesnar held the Universal title or not, and I don’t think anybody cares about the Universal title,” said Bischoff. “It’s meaningless. Who cares? I think people care about Brock. I think he is such a badass, and such a larger than life character, and so unbeatable that the world is waiting to see who and if anybody will come along and knock him from his throne. But I don’t think there would be any more or any less interest in any of those matchups if the belt was not a part of it.”
There are Superstars on the WWE roster who are interested in working elsewhere. After signing with All Elite Wrestling, Chris Jericho revealed AEW offered him the biggest contract of his long career. Eric Bischoff says Vince McMahon is well aware talent might be curious about their value on the open market – and revealed what he would do if he was currently in Vince’s position.
“It’s a talent driven business, and the Khan family is willing to write a big check for Chris Jericho and they’re willing to write big checks for other talent who may be in WWE but not happy. If I was Vince McMahon right now I would probably tie them up in as many strings as I possibly could. In fact I’m sure he already has. I don’t think there’s a lot of talent in WWE that can just wake up on Monday morning and go, ‘You know what? I’m gonna quit and I’m gonna go work for these guys.’”
Why He Won’t Debate Vince Russo:
Finally, Bischoff said once again that he has no interest in debating, or having anything to do with former WWE, WCW and Impact writer Vince Russo.
“I have zero respect for him. I think he’s a fraud. I think he’s just a creep. I just don’t like him. He’s lied to me and showed me his colors so many different times. I get people all the time saying, oh you should debate him. F*** I’ve debated him in front of Dixie Carter, TNA’s attorney. I made him cry like a little child. Because I revealed him for what he really is. And I’ve done it in front of a whole bunch of people by the way. So I have no desire to give him an audience and try to let him get himself over with his nonsense by debating him.”
Check out the latest episode of After 83 Weeks with Christy Olson, Eric Bischoff and more:
WWE kicks off their first pay-per-view weekend of 2019 and begin the road to WrestleMania 35, as they present their always highly-anticipated WWE Royal Rumble event on Sunday evening.
Following Saturday night’s NXT TakeOver: Phoenix 2019 special at the Talking Stick Resort Arena, WWE will hold their annual Royal Rumble show at Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona. The show will feature the Men’s and Women’s Royal Rumble matches, multiple world championship bouts and more.
In the co-main events of the evening, Brock Lesnar will defend his WWE Universal Championship against the first man to ever hold the title, Finn Balor, while Daniel Bryan will put his WWE Championship on-the-line against former champion A.J. Styles. Also on the card is Ronda Rousey vs. Sasha Banks for the RAW Women’s Championship, Asuka vs. Becky Lynch for the SmackDown Women’s Championship and The Bar vs. Shane McMahon & The Miz for the SmackDown Tag-Team Championships.
In Kickoff Show matches on the live pre-show on the WWE Network, Buddy Murphy will defend his WWE Cruiserweight Championship against Hideo Itami, Akira Tozawa and Kalisto in a Fatal-4-Way, while Rusev and Shinsuke Nakamura will do battle with the WWE United States Championship up for grabs.
SEScoops.com writers Andrew Ravens, Ian Carey and Jeff Moss have prepared their predictions for each of the matches scheduled for Sunday’s big event. Without further adieu, here are the SEScoops.com staff predictions for WWE Royal Rumble 2019.
Rusev vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (WWE U.S. Title)
Andrew Ravens: This is a real pick em here as either guy can win this match and title. Yes, Rusev just won the title last month but there wasn’t much build-up to that title change, and with it being on Christmas night when it aired, WWE could’ve done it to send the fans home happy on a holiday. Since then, WWE hasn’t done much with either guy. I have Nakamura regaining the strap back as Lana gets involved. (Prediction: Shinsuke Nakamura)
Ian Carey: What a difference a year makes. Nakamura won last year’s Rumble, leading many to believe he was finally to become the main eventer everyone was hoping he would be positioned as. Now, a year later, he’s challenging for the US title he just lost on the Royal Rumble pre-show. Not only that, he’s probably going to lose. (Prediction: Rusev)
Jeff Moss: Also in the “too good for us all” category is Rusev. Dear, sweet, handsome Rusev. He should be a contender for the WWE Championship, but it’s still nice to see him getting some gold. I can’t see him losing it back to Shinsuke here, even though (allegedly) Shinsuke Nakamura still works for WWE. Wouldn’t it be fun to see HIM vs Brock Lesnar for the Universal strap? Anyways, enough fantasy booking, Rusev wins and the few people in attendance for the kickoff show rejoice. (Prediction: Rusev)
CONSENSUS: 2-1, RUSEV
Buddy Murphy vs. Akira Tozawa vs. Kalisto vs. Hideo Itami (WWE Cruiserweight Title)
Andrew: This should be one heck of a contest with a ton of great action that could be one of the better matches of the night. Although there are other contenders in this match, other than Itami, there’s no one that stands out as a threat. I think Murphy steals one to retain the title. (Prediction: Buddy Murphy)
Ian: Sunday is the night Hideo Itami wins his first championship in WWE since signing with the company in 2014. Itami is someone who, for whatever reason, has not reached his potential in the company. That could change if he wins the cruiserweight title on Sunday. The match being on the pre-show doesn’t lend well to a title change but that’s still what I think happens here. (Prediction: Hideo Itami)
Jeff: This match is too good for kickoff. It’s too good for all of us. This is going to be a high-flying barnburner, but since we aren’t taking the cruiserweight division seriously yet (and why would they? It’s not like they have time to fill on RAW or anything) not many people are going to get to see it. If the powers that be want to move to a more story-driven 205 Live, then it’d be cool to put the belt on Hideo Itami. It freshens things up, and Murphy/Itami leading up to WrestleMania would be fantastic! (Prediction: Hideo Itami)
CONSENSUS: 2-1, HIDEO ITAMI
The Bar vs. The Miz & Shane McMahon (SmackDown Tag Titles)
Andrew: This will be an interesting match and not for the match quality but rather the finish of the match with the outcome. Yes, The Bar should retain the straps here, but it’s the story that WWE wants to tell. Do they do the turn of McMahon on Miz or vise versa or do they continue them being partners with them winning the titles? I have Shane and Miz having a brief title run. (Prediction: Shane McMahon & The Miz)
Ian: I don’t want this to happen but Shane and the Miz are going to win the tag titles on Sunday. Their tag team has to be going somewhere otherwise why is Shane doing it? It seems likely they win the tag belts and then break into a rivalry sometime between now and WrestleMania. (Prediction: Shane McMahon & The Miz)
Jeff: Can we swap this with one of the kickoff matches, please? (Sigh), all right, fine. When Shane won the coveted and totally not made up title of BEST WRESTLER IN THE WORLD at an event no one wants to admit happened, we were told “hold on, it’s going to play into a larger heel story.” I don’t know what happened between now and then, but it still literally feels like Shane said “Dad, can I have that?” And Vince said “Which one are you again? Paul, is it?” So, it wouldn’t surprise me if the tag belts changed hands here. But seriously, if ever there was a match made for the Kickoff show… (Prediction: The Miz & Shane McMahon)
CONSENSUS: 3-0, THE MIZ & SHANE MCMAHON
Asuka vs. Becky Lynch (SmackDown Women’s Title)
Andrew: Although Becky Lynch is the hottest star in the entire company right now, I don’t see her winning the title back just after a month after dropping it. The way that WWE does the finish and how to protect Lynch will be the true story of this match. Obviously, Lynch will have a clear plan going into WrestleMania, but for Asuka, it will be interesting to see how it plays out. (Prediction: Asuka)
Ian: This is the one match where they could play around with things a bit. Somebody, I.E. Ronda or Charlotte, could cost Lynch the match here, causing her to go after Rousey and the Raw title. More likely, however, is that Lynch and Rousey each win their respective title matches, Flair wins the Rumble, and somehow we have a triple threat between them at WrestleMania. (Prediction: Becky Lynch)
Jeff: Oddly enough, both Women’s Title matches on this show centers around the rumored departure of Ronda Rousey after WrestleMania. It affects this match, because if Becky is going to unseat Ronda at WrestleMania and send her off into the sunset, then she probably won’t win here. It’d be a strange move to unify the Women’s titles at this juncture. That said, an Auska/Charlotte Flair re-match at WrestleMania would also be pretty darn good, so I’m going to lay my bets on Auska retaining here. Perhaps Ronda interferes? Maybe her Horsewomen show up? Lots of possibilities! (Prediction: Auska)
CONSENSUS: 2-1, ASUKA
Ronda Rousey vs. Sasha Banks (RAW Women’s Title)
Andrew: Obviously, Rousey is going to retain her title here, and for good reason as though Banks will give her the best match thus far in her WWE career if given enough time, Banks has been pushed as a quick challenger and not someone that WWE has built up over time in recent memory. A fun match but Rousey gets it done. (Prediction: Ronda Rousey)
Ian: Sasha Banks fans are likely not holding onto too much hope that she’ll win the title here. They likely are just hoping Banks does something to get herself noticed in the division. Tucked away in an on-again off-again friendship and tag-team with Bayley, it feels that Banks has gotten lost in the shuffle when really she should be in the mix at the top of the women’s wrestling pecking order. Rousey takes this match, however. (Prediction: Ronda Rousey)
Jeff: Like in the SmackDown Women’s Championships match, if Ronda/Becky is the money match for WrestleMania (spoiler: It is) then Ronda holds onto the belt here. What I’d really like to see though is a longer, more competitive match and if there’s anyone who can pull that out of Rousey, it’s Sasha Banks. I want this match to end with everyone saying “Ronda still has the title, but MAN! I forgot how GOOD Sasha Banks is!!” Because frankly, she really, really is that good. (Prediction: Ronda Rousey)
CONSENSUS: 3-0, RONDA ROUSEY
2019 Women’s Royal Rumble Match
Andrew: There are some other names in this match that no doubt have the potential to win it but to me, one name sticks out, and that’s Charlotte Flair. There have been rumors about her being involved in the WrestleMania 35 main event. I believe this and thus, Flair puts on a classic performance to add to her legacy. (Prediction: Charlotte Flair)
Ian: There is only one woman in this match who could possibly headline WrestleMania and her name is Charlotte Flair. There are 3 women in WWE above everyone else right now, Lynch, Flair and Rousey. With Rousey and Lynch each having other matches on the show, they likely aren’t in the Royal Rumble match itself, despite a few spots being open. It’s either Flair wins, Alexa Bliss pulls off an upset, or one of Lynch or Rousey makes a surprise appearance in the Rumble and wins it. My money is on Flair, however. (Prediction: Charlotte Flair)
Jeff: This one’s a tough pick. There are a number of women on both RAW and Smackdown who are ready to take that next step and bring their careers up a notch. However, With Charlotte Flair in the mix, it’s hard not to immediately lean that way. WWE loves to bait ‘n switch us with stuff like that though, so Ember Moon, Nia Jax or even a previously unannounced participant could walk away with the win. My heart would grow three sizes if Ruby Riott was the winner, but I don’t think they are ready to pull the spotlight trigger on her yet. (Prediction: Charlotte Flair)
CONSENSUS: 3-0, CHARLOTTE FLAIR
2019 Men’s Royal Rumble Match
Andrew: There are a lot of big names featured in this match ranging from Samoa Joe, Drew McIntyre, Jeff Hardy, Rey Mysterio, and John Cena. The name that sticks out to me is Seth Rollins, and he’s been rumored to take on Universal Champion Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania. I think there’s fire where there is smoke then that’s something to consider and have Rollins getting it done. (Prediction: Seth Rollins)
Ian: I’m taking Seth Rollins to enter in at an early position and go all the way through the pack. It feels as though Seth has been the MVP of Raw this year and the last remaining babyface to get a shot at Brock at WrestleMania. Whether he’s able to go to WrestleMania and win the Universal Championship is another question entirely. Samoa Joe and Bobby Lashley I could consider dark horse contenders. (Prediction: Seth Rollins)
Jeff: My literal favourite match of the year! So much potential! So many surprises! So much fun! That said, if I had to bear down and pick a winner, it would be: The Repo Man. Always The Repo Man. If he’s not in the match this year though, Seth Rollins is the logical choice. Not only has he been the best worker on RAW for the better part of a year, he’s the best suited to Main Event Wrestlemania. With that said though, ruling our Drew McIntyre would be a mistake and my sleeper favourite is Samoa Joe. But Rollins is the clearest bet. (Prediction: Seth Rollins)
CONSENSUS: 3-0, SETH ROLLINS
Daniel Bryan vs. A.J. Styles (WWE Title)
Andrew: Daniel Bryan wins and retains his title. This should be the blow-off match between these two stars and the best match thus far between them. AJ Styles who decided that he wanted to drop the title, according to reports. Secondly, Bryan just won the title two months ago. (Prediction: Daniel Bryan)
Ian: Unless AJ Styles has signed a contract extension we aren’t aware of, I don’t see him winning back the WWE Championship anytime soon. Styles signed a 3-year deal with WWE in 2016, although it is currently not known when his end date is or if an extension has been agreed to. WWE seems committed to heel Bryan as champion, I don’t see them changing course on Sunday. (Prediction: Daniel Bryan)
Jeff: “The New” Daniel Bryan should never not be WWE Champion. Sure, we love him as a scrappy vegan babyface, but as an obnoxious, condescending and not entirely incorrect heel, he’s a freakin’ gem. The theme of this year’s Royal Rumble seems to be reminding people how good the performers we’ve become accustomed to can be. AJ Styles is the poster boy for this, as his runs and feuds this year have been pretty forgettable. Give this one 20-30 minutes and just let these guys GO. Bryan retains in the end, but man, it could be so much FUN to watch! (Prediction: Daniel Bryan)
CONSENSUS: 3-0, DANIEL BRYAN
Brock Lesnar vs. Finn Balor (WWE Universal Title)
Andrew: Outside of big fans of Finn Balor, I don’t know who is giving him a chance against Brock Lesnar. Yes, this has the potential to be a fun match due to the dynamic of these stars. I just don’t see Balor getting it done here as much as fun it would be. Lesnar moves on with the strap. (Prediction: Brock Lesnar)
Ian: There is a part of me who wants to suggest Finn Balor is exactly who WWE should be pushing right now but that part of me is drowned out by the understanding that Vince doesn’t see him as large enough to beat his big monster. This match will likely go similar to AJ Styles’ match against Lesnar from Survivor Series 2017, the challenger will somehow make the crowd believe he has a chance, only to ultimately lose in the end. (Prediction: Brock Lesnar)
Jeff: It’ll be a spectacle. It’ll be brutally violent. It’ll be 10 minutes, tops. But at the end of the night, you’re Universal Champion will still be Brock Lesnar. Lesnar is going to hold that belt until the last possible minute his contract allows. Even then, he might just sign a new one and keep rolling with it if UFC doesn’t get their ducks in a row. Finn needs to have a good showing here to remind everyone just what he is capable of. I expect that he’ll get in some good offence on an “unexpecting” Lesnar and come away looking good. Lesnar will then suplex him into oblivion and that’ll be that. After all, Brock doesn’t mind doing that as long as he gets paid. (Prediction: Brock Lesnar)
CONSENSUS: 3-0, BROCK LESNAR
What do the experts think is going to happen on Sunday? Check out the official WWE Royal Rumble betting odds. What do you think of the above WWE Royal Rumble predictions? Let us know by sounding off in the Comments section below, and make sure to join us here at SEScoops.com on Sunday evening for live play-by-play results coverage of the show!
Last week, Chris Jericho released a podcast where he detailed the timeline of his involvement with All Elite Wrestling. During the show, he mentioned he received one of the greatest payday’s of his career for his appearance at the Greatest Royal Rumble.
According to a report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Jericho made $100,000 for the Greatest Royal Rumble, the same amount he made per match as part of his deal with NJPW.
“The belief is Jericho got $100,000 for the Saudi show, the same as his New Japan per-match deal,” Dave Meltzer wrote.
Chris Jericho/NJPW/All Elite Wrestling
Jericho’s podcast from last week revealed plenty of previously unknown information. He revealed that Tony Khan’s private jet flew him from a Fozzy concert to All In on September 1st. Jericho also spoke about meeting with Tony Khan a few weeks later when Fozzy played a show in Jacksonville.
“We happened to have a Fozzy gig in Jacksonville, FL around that same time (September 26th),” Jericho said. “That was when I had a meeting with Tony Khan for four hours and really had a chance to get to know this guy.”
“That’s when I realized this guy really wants to do this,” Jericho continued.
Daniel Bryan turned heel just before Survivor Series last year. Bryan kicked Styles low, won the WWE Championship, and went on to face Brock Lesnar at the PPV. Now, Bryan says he wants to be the most hated man in WWE and that means being more hated than Brock Lesnar.
Daniel Bryan On Wanting To Be The Most Hated Guy In WWE
“I want to be more hated than Brock Lesnar,” Bryan recently told Newsweek. “Some people want to cheer for the bad guy. I don’t want them to cheer, I want to be hated. So far I’ve had two jumpers at live events [laughs] and that’s an old school kind of mentality. You don’t want those guys to jump but you want them to hate you. You want them to pay to see you get beat. Or pay to see you get beat up or at the very least enjoy seeing you get beat up. That’s my thing.”
Bryan also told the news outlet he wanted to wrestle Lesnar for some time and was glad he finally had the chance at Survivor Series.
“What an incredible performer that guy is,” Bryan said of Lesnar. “I’ve been wanting to do the Brock Lesnar match for a long time and I was very satisfied.”
Bryan also spoke about his heel turn and facing AJ Styles in a baseball stadium on Sunday.
“I really like being the WWE Champion [laughs] and I really like being able to change my attitude and persona,” Bryan said. “I’ve had a lot of fun doing that. I’ve also got to wrestle some incredible wrestlers. Like Brock Lesnar at Survivor Series and now AJ Styles, who when I was out I kept watching and said ‘man, this guy might be the best guy in the world.’”
“And now I get to face him at the Royal Rumble in Chase Stadium,” Bryan continued. “Which is a baseball stadium, in front of 40,000-plus people there. Wrestling AJ Styles on that kind of stage it gets me really pumped.
Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins & Montez Ford) defeated The Forgotten Sons (Jaxson Ryker & Steve Cutler)
Tyler Bate defeated Adam Cole
War Raiders (Hanson & Rowe) defeated The Undisputed ERA (Kyle O’Reilly & Roderick Strong) by DQ
WWE NXT Women’s Title Match
Shayna Baszler (c) defeated Bianca Belair
Johnny Gargano defeated Aleister Black
Rey Mysterio Vs Andrade
Over the last 3 weeks, Rey Mysterio has been involved in a program with Andrade on Smackdown. Last week, Mysterio and Andrade wrestled a best 2-of-3 falls match which ended in a no-contest after interference from Samoa Joe. The previous week, Andrade defeated Mysterio in single’s action. 3 weeks ago, Andrade and Samoa Joe teamed up to defeat Mysterio and Mustafa Ali. Back in November, Mysterio defeated Andrade to qualify for the Smackdown Survivor Series team.
WWE’s use of Andrade has become a topic of conversation lately as well. There are reports the former La Sombra is in line for a push.
John Cena came back a few weeks ago in order to announce himself as an entrant into the Royal Rumble match. He recently had an opportunity to win a chance against WWE Universal Champion, Brock Lesnar. Cena would lose in the Fatal 4-Way to Finn Balor.
After the matchup, WWE revealed that Cena actually suffered a storyline injury. He was seen limping before heading to the back. They then claim he has since re-aggravated an injury during a training session. This series of events has threatened his chances at appearing in the 30 man Royal Rumble event.
But with the rumor that Cena will instead be preparing to film a new movie, why would WWE bring Cena back, build him up, only to remove him days before the Rumble itself?
According to Dave Meltzer, their reasoning is identical to the recent Braun Strowman/Brock Lesnar debacle: sell tickets.
“The story going around is that Cena was never to be in the Rumble in the first place, but with a stadium to fill, they advertised Cena — similar to advertising Brock Lesnar vs. Braun Strowman, another match never actually planned — to help sell tickets.”
Meltzer made a point that Chase Field has been configured to fit approximately 43,000 people. At this time, Royal Rumble is expected to have around 25-30,000 paid fans in attendance.
The start date for Cena’s new movie is actually February 4th. So if Cena wanted to be a surprise entrant in the Rumble matchup, there’s still a possibility of that happening.
The All Elite Wrestling roster continues to grow. In a video uploaded to his YouTube channel, AEW Executive Vice President, Cody Rhodes, revealed their latest addition. The video, what appears to be the first in a series, is entitled ‘The Road To Double Or Nothing.’
In the video, it is revealed that rising independent wrestler, “Jungle Boy” Nate Coy, has signed with the company.
“Jungle Boy” is a notable name as he is actually the 21-year-old son of 90s acting star, Luke Perry. He made his debut in 2015, wrestling across the Californian independent circuit. It has been speculated that AEW offered the wrestler a two-year contract, but after involving his father and his lawyers, they negotiated a shorter deal.
Matt Jackson has since taken to Twitter to show off their latest signing, writing: “We would like to welcome Jungle Boy to the @AEWrestling roster!”
All Elite Wrestling has also announced a ‘Double Or Nothing’ Ticket Announcement Party. The party will take place on February 7th from the Talent Pool at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas. The event begins at 6 PM PT/9 PM ET.
Like the ‘Double Or Nothing’ Fan Event Rally, you will also be able to stream their ticket announcement party live.
You can stream from the following social media outlets:
It can be difficult to move forward with a plan of action. Even if you have a plan, constant changes and life obstacles can impact a person’s progress towards achieving their goal and executing their plans. Just ask “The Boss” Sasha Banks.
Sasha Banks was a recent guest on the popular podcast, E&C’s Pod Of Awesomeness. Over the course of their conversation, she would speak about her partnership (and friendship) with Bayley and highlighted dealing with WWE’s frequent creative indecision.
Banks said she was looking forward to 2019, claiming 2018 to have been a difficult year full of constant creative change. She isolated this as a core reason as to why she struggled to build, and maintain, any momentum.
“All of last year, I feel like our [Sasha Banks and Bayley] career was kind of like at a standpoint where we weren’t really doing much, where we were told one thing and the next week, it was something else,” she confessed.
“We thought we would be facing each other, and then they stopped that. So we were like, ‘Alright, if they’re going to make us a tag team, let’s be the best tag team we could possibly be.’ […] We were training together; we’re watching tape together; we’re getting matching [ring] gear just to be told that they weren’t going to have the [Women’s Tag Team] titles. And then, the next thing you know, they’re introducing the titles.”
“[…] there are so many dreams and so many goals that we stay up late on the road just talking about how we’re going to achieve them all.”
If you’ve been watching SmackDown Live for the past few weeks, it would have been virtually impossible to miss the astounding series of matches between Andrade and Rey Mysterio. The two have faced off a number of times now on SmackDown, and every matchup has left people talking about the quality of their encounters.
Dave Meltzer of F4WOnline.com recently commented on what WWE could have planned for Andrade in the near future. He claims that “While not a sure thing, the direction looks to be that Mysterio and Andrade end their program as a babyface tag team, with Andrade getting the rub from Mysterio as part of strengthening of the tag team division.”
It has been speculated that Sin Cara may also join Andrade and Rey Mysterio. The three would form a new Latino stable. Sin Cara has been training at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida, ahead of his expected return from injury.
Meltzer also noted that WWE is interested in positioning Andrade as a top Hispanic babyface for the company. With Mysterio having returned, the plan appears to be to use his star power to leverage Andrade into that position. This is despite recent reports over Andrade allegedly warning other Hispanic talent about WWE.
There is no word at this point in time on where Zelina Vega may fit into this group. The addition of Zelina Vega as Andrade’s manager helped to elevate him during his time in NXT to championship status.
What do you think of this rumored stable? Do you think they will be a force to contend with? Is Andrade the next big babyface for WWE?
Royal Rumble takes place this coming Sunday, but the night before will see the NXT roster attempt to steal the show once again. At NXT TakeOver: Phoenix, the knockout artist, Kassius Ohno is looking to settle the score against NXT newcomer, and ‘King of Bros,’ Matt Riddle.
The two have faced off twice already, with Matt Riddle emerging victorious both times. Their first encounter saw Riddle claim the win in just 6 seconds. Their second encounter was a much more competitive affair but ended after Riddle locked in the Bro-mission. Ohno would then assault Riddle post-match, continuing their feud towards this Saturday’s TakeOver.
“I’m Going To Hurt Him”
In a video uploaded to WWE’s YouTube page, Kassius Ohno addresses his opponent, claiming that he’s “not just gonna beat him [Riddle] up, I‘m gonna hurt him.” He also stated that by the end of the night, he will have knocked Riddle out.
“I just want to make sure everybody saw NXT TV last week because that was some must-see TV. I know, personally, I had to run it back 6 or 7 times.
It was almost like something out of Baywatch. You see Matt Riddle cascading his way down the NXT entranceway, in those lemon-lime flip-flops, to make the save on his unlimited BFF. You see, Matt Riddle was mad because I caught Keith Lee slipping. Matt Riddle was real mad. And all that everybody wants to talk to me about is Takeover in Los Angeles,” he said.
“’Kassius, you lost in 6 seconds!’ Well, come Takeover in Phoenix, Matt Riddle is going to wish this match was 6 seconds because I’m going to beat him. I’m not just gonna beat him, I’m gonna beat him up. And I’m not just gonna beat him up, I’m gonna hurt him. And when that bell rings, you know what they’re going to say in the crowd? He’s going to look to his buddy and he’s gonna say, ‘Oh no, Kassius KO’d the Br…’ No, the bum. Kassius KO’d the bum.”
Who do you think will come out on top between these two? Will Kassius knock out Riddle, or will the King Of Bros walk out the victor?
Jeff Cobb was a guest on the Wrestling Epicenter podcast earlier this week. Ring of Honor’s World Television Champion spoke about a broad range of topics, including his time in ROH, what it’s been like backstage following the departure of The Elite, who he wants to wrestle at the G1 Supercard at Madison Square Garden and more. Here are some highlights sent in by host James Walsh.
Winning the ROH TV Title In His Debut
“It was great, man! I wasn’t expecting that right off the bat. I’m grateful for the opportunity. I’m definitely going to do my best and try to elevate it, get my name out there, get the company’s name out there, and hopefully put some prestige back into that TV championship.”
His Time As Matanza in Lucha Underground
“I had a fun playing that character,” Cobb said. “It was something different from what I’m used to. I still get, to this day, that don’t know that’s me. It has taken a while, you know, because of the mask. But, if you follow my move set, it is pretty much the same. (laughs)”
As for why ROH has not acknowledged his past work as Matanza, Cobb understands the company’s position.
“I just think the focus should be on Ring of Honor. Unless we work with those other companies, I don’t see why we need to mention it.”
He continued, “I think throughout history, it shows that wrestlers do better when they are themselves. I just feel more comfortable being myself and being able to use my facial expressions to tell a story. It is harder under a mask. I don’t not like what I did. but, I feel like it is better as myself.”
The Loss Of The Elite Creating New Opportunities in ROH
“It is always a blow to any company when an athlete leaves. You can relate that to pretty much any sport. I’m a basketball fan. When Michael Jordan left to go play baseball, the Chicago Bulls were still good. They refilled the talent pool. I feel that is the same with Ring of Honor.”
Cobb said that ROH has dealt with countless former world champions moving on over the years, including Daniel Bryan, CM Punk, Samoa Joe and many more. ROH knows how to rebuild and that’s already being demonstrated with the new talent that’s joined the roster in recent weeks.
“Villain Enterprises, Juice Robinson, Bandito. There’s going to be voids to fill and I feel like our new signings are going to step up and take the company into the future.”
Cobb later reiterated that ROH is a great company with a great locker room. “We’re on par with all the other wrestling companies out there – Hint hint, New York!”
Who He Wants To Face At MSG For ROH/NJPW’s G1 Supercard
Cobb said The Garden is the mecca of pro wrestling and it would be tremendous honor to work there. He actually had an amateur wrestling match there back in 2003 and said he’ll probably cry on his way to the ring if he gets a chance to be part of G1 Supercard. As for who he wants to face, he said:
“It is a joint production so I don’t know if they are going to do cross-promotional matches. If they do, Okada would be a good one. If they would put their title on the line against mine and Naito is still Intercontinental Champion, I think that is the secondary belt in New Japan. Why wouldn’t the secondary belt go against the secondary belt?”
Listen to Jeff Cobb’s appearance on Wrestling Epicenter here:
This Sunday, the WWE Royal Rumble takes place from Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona. Over 40,000 fans will be on hand to witness which WWE Superstars will earn the right to challenge for championship gold at WrestleMania 35 .
To commemorate Sunday’s pay-per-view, Chase Field has announced it will be serving a one-of-a-kind Royal Rumble Burger. What exactly does a Royal Rumble Burger entail?
18 oz. pork bratwurst patty on a toasted onion roll
Cheddar cheese, smoked bacon and fried onions
BBQ aioli sauce and crispy coleslaw
Topped with fried mac and cheese wedges.
For only $13, this thing is obscene. If you are attending the Royal Rumble and are brave enough to tangle with the Royal Rumble burger, please let us know on Twitter how it was (and how you felt afterwards).
Update: WWE Champion Daniel Bryan does NOT approve of the Royal Rumble Burger.
