WWE will celebrate Ric Flair’s 70th birthday on tonight’s episode of Monday Night Raw from Atlanta, GA.

WWE.com’s official preview for the show asks, “Who’s on the guest list for this sure-to-be legendary night, and what stylin’ and profilin’ surprises are in store?”

SEScoops has learned several wrestling legends are currently backstage at Raw for this evening’s festivities.  Earlier today, WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels teased that he will be on hand. Michaels is backstage, as well as two of the Nature Boy’s most famous rivals.

In addition to Shawn Michaels, WWE Hall of Famers Sting and Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat are currently at the State Farm Arena for Raw. Charlotte Flair, Bruce Prichard, Becky Lynch, Paul Heyman and Dana Warrior are also there.

For what it’s worth, both The Rock and Batista are in Atlanta today working on their respective film projects.

It’s sure to be a big night for Ric Flair with lots of familiar faces paying tribute to his legendary career. Join us here later for our weekly Raw Takeaways feature.

Lana Selling Worn WWE Attire Online

SmackDown Live star Lana is selling worn WWE attire online. The items can be found at PoshMark.com., and is called “Cj Pperry’s Closet”. Currently, Lana has 52 items up for sale, with prices ranging from $100 to $2,000. Some of the attire includes Lana’s WrestleMania 30 outfit, her WrestleMania 32 photoshoot outfit, some of her wrestling gear, and some worn Rusev Day shirts.

Lana has also autographed some of the items. According to the site, Lana has been selling these items since December of last year.

Ric Flair’s Wildest Interviews (Video)

On tonight’s episode of Monday Night RAW, two-time WWE Hall Of Famer Ric Flair will celebrate his 70th birthday. The likes of fellow Hall Of Famer Shawn Michaels has teased stopping by for the segment. Also, there has been speculation that the angle will be used to help progress Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch’s storyline.

Flair replaced the 2019 Women’s Royal Rumble winner at WrestleMania against Ronda Rousey. “The Rowdy One” will defend her RAW Women’s Title against Flair at “The Show Of Shows” in New Jersey. The overall expectation is the match will end up being a Triple Threat.

In preparation for Flair’s 70th birthday celebration tonight, WWE posted some of Flair’s best interviews on their YouTube channel. Check it out here:

WWE Hall Of Famer Shawn Michaels could be stopping by for tonight’s (Mon. February 25, 2019) episode of Monday Night RAW. Ric Flair will be holding his 70th Birthday Celebration segment during the program. Michaels took to Twitter to respond to a Tweet from WWE hyping tonight’s segment. He teased he could be stopping by to help celebrate with “The Nature Boy”:

Happ Birthday Naitch…pretty sure I’m making a detour on my return flight from @NXTUK!!! ? https://t.co/IAvQCSSZ6H

— Shawn Michaels (@ShawnMichaels) February 25, 2019

Michaels has been in the United Kingdom over the weekend for WWE’s NXT UK TV tapings. Perhaps “The Heartbreak Kid” will stop by the State Farm Arena in Atlanta to celebrate with the man he retired from WWE at WrestleMania 24 in 2008.

It has been speculated that tonight’s Birthday Celebration for Flair will be used to progress the storyline between Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair. Vince McMahon suspended Lynch until after WrestleMania 35 in April. He then replaced the 2019 Women’s Royal Rumble winner with Charlotte Flair. As it stands, “The Queen” will face Ronda Rousey for the RAW Women’s Title at MetLife Stadium from East Rutherford, New Jersey on April 7, 2019.

The overall consensus is the bout will wind up being a Triple Threat bout between Rousey, Lynch, and Flair. It’s also expected to be the first women’s match to ever headline a WrestleMania.

Do you think Michaels will appear on tonight’s Monday Night RAW?

“Top UK independent star Kip Sabian recently said farewell to one of the top UK brands. Sabian recently signed for the new All Elite Wrestling (AEW) promotion and is finalising his time on the UK independent scene.

Sabian took to Twitter and wrote “Tonight I wrestled my last match for World Association of Wrestling (WAW). Couldn’t of asked for a better send off sharing the ring with Brad Slayer. 9 years after we first teamed together! Big love to Zak Bevis, Saraya Knight, Ricky Knight, Roy Knight for everything over the years.”

WAW is the promotion owned by the Knight Family in the UK. The promotion is featured in the new ‘Fighting With My Family’ film based on WWE Superstar Paige. Sabian was a big part of the company’s presentation, particularly at their Epic Studios shows in Norwich, England.

IPW:UK also confirmed that Sabian will be leaving the company. The company tweeted the following: “So #TuesdayNightGraps fans we can officially confirm Tuesday 16th April, Kip Sabian will be saying bye to the Frog and Bucket.” Again Sabian was a big part of the IPW:UK presentation, having recently won and held their top championship.

Tonight I wrestled my last match for @WAW_UK

Couldn’t of asked for a better send off sharing the ring with @BradSlayer 9 years after we first teamed together!

Big love to @ZakBevis @RealsarayaK @RickyKnightWAW @RealRoyKnight for everything over the years ?

— Kip Sabian ???? (@TheKipSabian) February 24, 2019

Over it the weekend, news broke that Bruce Prichard has been rehired by WWE. The man formerly known as Brother Love is returning to the WWE creative team on a full-time basis. His first show back with WWE will be tonight’s live Raw from Atlanta, GA.

Prichard’s new role with WWE has been described as being “as important as possible.” The man who once served as Vince McMahon’s ‘right hand man’ will once again be a key player on the writing staff.

Bruce Prichard has regained notoriety in recent years via the wildly popular Something to Wrestle podcast with Conrad Thompson. The podcast got so big that Bruce and Conrad have been doing live stage shows for their loyal listeners all across the world.

We reached out to Conrad Thompson, who confirmed he and Bruce will fulfill all of their outstanding commitments for the Something To Wrestle Live tour.

Those dates include:

• 1st March – Montville, CT
• 9th March – Crown Point, IN
• 10th March – Cleveland, OH
• 22nd March – Sydney, Australia
• 23rd March – Melbourne, Australia
• 24th March – Brisbane, Australia
• 6th April – New York City, NY
• 8th April – Brooklyn, NY

Tickets for Something To Wrestle Live are available to purchase at BrucePrichard.com.

A new lawsuit filing has shed some light as to why WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon decided to revive the XFL.

Sports Business Reporter Darren Rovell noted on his Twitter account on Monday that a new lawsuit was filed by Robert Vanech against the Alliance of American Football and Charlie Ebersol, who is the son of Dick Ebersol.

In the lawsuit, Vanech alleges it was his idea to come up with the league and that he is entitled to 50% ownership due to the ideas he had for the league now being credited to others.

Also, it was noted that the original plan for the AAF to resurrect the XFL name themselves. The AAF officials went as far as having a meeting with McMahon and NBC officials to offer them $50 million to buy the XFL property.  It turns out that after this meeting, McMahon decided to relaunch the league on his own.

Charlie Ebersol was the director of ESPN’s 30 for 30 documentary on the XFL. The relaunch season for the XFL kicks off in 2020 on Saturday, February 8 and Sunday, February 9. It should be noted that this is the weekend following the NFL’s Super Bowl. The following cities will host teams of the rebooted XFL:

• Dallas
• Houston
• Los Angeles
• New York
• St. Louis
• Seattle
• Tampa Bay
• Washington, DC

As we announced recently, WWE has rehired former employee and personality Bruce Prichard. The company has brought back the former ‘Brother Love’ for a role in the creative team.

According to Wrestling Observer Radio, Prichard has been travelling with WWE and working as a backstage consultant since January. It is being reported that Prichard’s new deal to advance him to a top creative position was finalised as soon as this past Friday.

Apparently the idea to bring Prichard back as a full time employee was first mentioned last week. This was instantly well received backstage and the idea gained traction leading to the new signing. Prichard will apparently be Vince McMahon’s ‘right hand man’ and a “very key guy” in the WWE creative team.

This evening’s RAW show will be the first with Prichard in his new role working directly alongside Vince McMahon. Already advertised for tonight’s RAW is Ric Flair’s 70th Birthday Celebration. Former WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns will also be making his return to Monday Night RAW.

Several new hirings have been made backstage for WWE over the past few months. These include Steve Corino, “Hurricane” Shane Helms, Sonjay Dutt, Shawn Daivari, “Abyss” Chris Parks and WWE Hall of Famer Jeff Jarrett.

British promotion WoS/World of Sport has made their first announcement in quite some time. The Twitter account for the ITV brand stated that the company has signed a new deal to bring WoS to fans in India.

The company confirmed that DSport will be showing the programme. DSport is premium sports TV channel launched by Discovery Networks Asia Pacific, for the Indian subcontinent.

There is currently no confirmation on WoS and their status on ITV. The ratings for the show dropped dramatically week on week and were well below what is expected for the channel. ITV is one of the ‘big four’ channels in the UK and is available in every home with a television set. WoS started as an evening programme and gradually moved timeslots throughout the ten episode run. Another issue with the show was the scheduling in terms of times of year.

The company recently finished a live event tour that stretched across the UK. Shows were held in Scotland and throughout England, although some shows were cancelled due to poor ticket sales. Whilst there’s no confirmation there’s a chance that the show does return but on a different channel under the ITV banner. World of Sport still has a strong brand name in terms of British culture.

WOS INDIA TV DEAL@DSportINLive has been named the official broadcaster in #India for the WOS Wrestling. #Sport #Wrestling #WOSWrestling #BritishWrestling #UK #Media #TV #Television #News #Asia #Industry pic.twitter.com/YSLnCyfRkN

— WOS Wrestling (@WOSWrestling) February 25, 2019

Dolph Ziggler responded to a fan on his official Twitter account who brought up how he hoped that Ziggler and The Miz leave the WWE in order to jump ship to AEW (All Elite Wrestling).

Ziggler was last seen working a match under the WWE banner inside of the squared circle at the Royal Rumble pay-per-view event. This comes after a few WWE stars had been granted their releases from the WWE that includes Tye Dillinger, TJP, and Hideo Itami.

The fan wrote, “I hope @HEELZiggler @mikethemiz will switch to AEW once their contracts with WWE comes to an end this year, because you need to fly out of the cage to know there is different world outside that cage.”

This led to Ziggler responding by writing, “Hahahahahaha yeah man, tons of talking time, his own talk show, his own reality show, multiple movies, commercials, title reigns oh, and he main-evented WRESTLEMANIA…that miz just can’t catch a break.”

Cody, Brandi Rhodes, The Young Bucks, Chris Jericho, PAC, Trent Barreta, Chuck Taylor, Pentagon Jr., Fenix, Britt Baker, MJF, Joey Janela, Penelope Ford, Frankie Kazarian, Christopher Daniels, Scorpio Sky, Jimmy Havoc, Sonny Kiss, Sammy Guevara,, Aja Kong, Yuka Sakazaki, Kylie Ray, Nyla Rose, and Kenny Omega are currently the talents under contract.

A new match has been signed for the Ring of Honor (ROH) 17th Anniversary PPV. On Monday, The Baltimore-based promotion announced that ROH Women of Honor World Champion Mayu Iwatani will make her next title defense against Kelly Klein.

JUST ANNOUNCED: @Women_of_Honor World Champion @MayuIwatani vs #TheGatekeeper @RealKellyKlein at #ROH17! https://t.co/z0S68lNZXV

Fri Mar 15 – LIVE on PPV & for #HonorClub VIP
Be there LIVE: https://t.co/bR9lW1sw3N@samstownlv pic.twitter.com/HhjOJsSrgj

— ROH – Ring of Honor Wrestling (@ringofhonor) February 25, 2019

Ring of Honor is expected to add more matches to this show in the coming weeks. ROH World Champion Jay Lethal defending against Matt Taven is likely the headliner of this event.

ROH World TV Champion Jeff Cobb, ROH World Six-Man Champions The Kingdom, Dalton Castle & The Boys, Mark Haskins, Shane Taylor, Silas Young, and Jonathan Gresham are also advertised to appear at this show.

The ROH 17th Anniversary pay-per-view event is scheduled to take place on March 15 at Sam’s Town Live in Las Vegas. The promotion will also be holding a television taping in the same venue the following night. Here’s the updated card:

ROH 17th Anniversary Card

• ROH World Champion Jay Lethal defending against Matt Taven
• ROH Women of Honor World Champion Mayu Iwatani vs. Kelly Klein
• ROH Tag Team Champions The Briscoes defending against Villain Enterprises (PCO & Brody King)
• Rush vs. Bandido
• Marty Scurll vs. Kenny King

PROGRESS held their 84th Chapter event this past Sunday. The event was held at the company’s spiritual home, the Electric Ballroom in Camden, London.

Here’s the full results for the show

• Pre Show Match – NIWA b. Sugar Dunkerton
• Mark Haskins (w/Vicky Haskins) b. Do Not Resuscitate (Chuck Mambo & Spike Trivet) – Haskins took the win via DQ after Drew Parker interfered. This led to Jimmy Havoc making his return to the company 
• Millie McKenzie b. Bea Priestley – The former NXT UK Superstar defeated one of the top stars in the WoS Women’s Division
• Nina Samuels b. Jinny (w/ Laura Di Matteo) – Samuels took the win in a battle of the NXT UK Superstars
• Jordan Devlin b. Travis Banks – Another match between two NXT UK Superstars saw Devlin take the win via DQ
• PROGRESS World Tag Team Championship Match – The Swords of Essex (Will Ospreay and Paul Robinson) b. Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis) – Ospreay and Robinson took the win to return their titles
• PROGRESS Atlas Championship Open Challenge – Trent Seven b. Timothy Thatcher – Seven took the win to retain his title
• PROGRESS World Championship Match – WALTER b. Chris Ridgeway – NXT UK Superstar WALTER took the win to retain his title. Trent Seven appeared after the bout to challenge WALTER to a unification match at the upcoming Super Strong Style 16 shows

Roman Reigns returns to WWE television tonight at Raw from Atlanta, GA. According to Vince McMahon, Reigns will be on hand to address “the status of his fight with leukemia.”

Some wrestling pundits have questioned WWE’s decision to use Reigns’ health update as a ratings ploy, but the fact that he is appearing on Raw is an encouraging sign.

After he addresses the WWE Universe on Raw, Reigns is scheduled to appear on ABC’s Good Morning America Tuesday morning. The former Universal Champion will have a one-on-one interview with host Robin Roberts. As seen below, GMA is teasing a raw, emotional segment “with an announcement you can’t miss.”

TOMORROW MORNING: @WWERomanReigns shares his story only on @GMA. https://t.co/W1vUNMab63 pic.twitter.com/15R8IKmgxb

— Good Morning America (@GMA) February 25, 2019

Roman Reigns’ Battle With Leukemia

Roman Reigns shocked the world back in October when he announced he is battling a recurrence of leukemia, a blood cancer. Since then, he has been undergoing treatment and also landed a few acting gigs.

Reigns recently filmed scenes for the Fast and Furious spinoff Hobbs and Shaw, which hits theaters this summer. He also filmed an episode of the Nickelodon show Cousins for Life.

On January 25th, Reigns provided a health update on Instagram. He wrote, “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.”

Over the weekend, personal trainer David Gonyea posted a photo with Roman Reigns. Gonyea said it has been an “absolute honor and privilege” to help prepare Reigns for his in-ring return.

Insane Championship Wrestling (ICW) held their Square Go! event this past weekend. The Scottish based company held the event at SWG3, Glasgow on Sunday 24th. The main event would be the annual Square Go! bout. A rumble styled bout with weapons. Kay Lee Ray would also be taking on NXT UK Women’s Champion Toni Storm.

Here’s the full results for the show:

• ICW Tag Team Championship Match: The Kings of Catch (Aspen Faith & Lewis Girvan) b. The P.O.D. (Rampage Brown & Ashton Smith) – Faith and Girvan took the win to become the new ICW Tag Team Champions
• ICW Women’s World Championship Match: Kay Lee Ray b. NXT UK Women’s Champion Toni Storm – Kay Lee Ray took the win to retain her Championship. KLR will be heading to the NXT UK brand shortly
• ICW Zero G Championship Match: Joe Coffey (c) b. Ilja Dragunov – Coffey took the win over Dragunov to retain his Championship. Dragunov has recently been touted for a move to NXT UK
• ICW World Heavyweight Championship Match: Lionheart b. Angelico – ICW World Heavyweight Champion Lionheart took the win to retain his Championship. Angelico was previously one of the top stars of the Lucha Underground promotion. LU is likely going to be cancelled as of writing
• Square Go! Match – Rudo Lightning was the eventual winner of the annual Square Go! bout

Today marks Ric Flair’s 70th birthday. Tonight’s WWE Raw from Atlanta, GA will feature a special birthday celebration for the one and only Nature Boy. Flair’s family and friends held a surprise birthday party for him on Friday evening. Many famous pro athletes and wrestling personalities were in attendance, including Ricky Steamboat, Evander Holyfield, Charles Barkley, Shane McMahon, AJ Styles, Booker T, Triple H and Chris Jericho.

All Elite Wrestling star Chris Jericho knows how to get people buzzing and posted a photo of himself with WWE executive Triple H from the party. He included the hashtag #internetblowsup with the photo.

On the latest episode of his Heated Conversations podcast, Booker T spoke about Jericho and Triple H meeting at Flair’s surprise party. Despite Chris Jericho now working for WWE’s direct competitor, Booker said there was no heat or animosity between them.

“Chris Jericho was at the party, Triple H at the party, and we’re all sitting there talking together and there ain’t no heat, or animosity, or anything like that,” Booker said.

“I really think it’s enough room to go around. And that’s what Chris was talking about as far as what he’s bringing to the table as well from a backstage perspective, and really try to push this thing to a dimension where we have not seen in the wrestling business perhaps ever. And that right there, when you do it that way, you never know how big it’s gonna get.”

Booker T also spoke about All Elite Wrestling, saying it’s great for fans and wrestlers to have an alternative. He emphasized AEW is an alternative to WWE, not competition.

“To be able to have an alternative is great. To be able to have so many new, young talent be seen and be able to make their legacy – put it down as far as they want to leave it. That’s really what it’s all about. I don’t think it’s about competing.”

You can listen to the full podcast below:

(H/T to WrestlingINC for the transcribed quotes)

Vince McMahon has been the creative force behind WWE for over 30 years. There are WWE wrestlers who weren’t even born yet when Vince booked Andre The Giant vs. Hulk Hogan back in 1987. For all the moving parts that make up the WWE machine, the global empire we know today was built on his vision.

Over the weekend, the WWE Network Twitter account posted a throwback clip from Vince’s 2014 appearance on the Stone Cold Podcast. The clip featured McMahon talking about the Monday Night War and WWE jumping to WCW.

There was a time when WCW had many advantages over WWE. WCW was backed by a billion dollar corporation, while WWE was privately owned and struggling to stay afloat. WCW lured away key talent by offering big-money guaranteed contracts. Some of those wrestlers were given control over their characters, which Vince saw as a vulnerability for his competition.

"You need someone to be able to sit back and help that talent develop." #StoneColdPodcast pic.twitter.com/9GOYRQ5u6g

— WWE Network (@WWENetwork) February 24, 2019

“You need someone to be able to sit back and help that talent develop,” McMahon said. He stressed the need for one leader in charge who has the final word. Wrestlers refusing booking their own angles and refusing to lose in certain situations ultimately did contribute to the demise of WCW’s creative direction.

Wrestlers Booking Themselves, Creative Freedom

It’s interesting to note the timing of @WWENetwork posting this ‘random’ clip. WWE will soon have legitimate competition for the first time in many years. All Elite Wrestling is gearing up for their first show in May.

AEW executives and talent have been talking about what sets them apart from the competition. One of the competitive advantages AEW has been pushing is, ‘more creative freedom.’ Not only will the performers have more control over how they are portrayed on television, but execs like Cody Rhodes and The Young Bucks will be ‘booking themselves’ in the singles and tag team divisions.

Cody Rhodes spoke about this dynamic back in January. During our exclusive interview with Cody, he admitted there are potential pitfalls in talent wrestlers booking themselves and acknowledged there might be some hiccups with that along the way.

You can check out Cody’s comments below:

• Cody Talks About The Pitfalls Of AEW Talent Booking Themselves

German based promotion wXw will be holding their prestigious 16 Carat Gold tournament in March. The company will be heading to Oberhausen on March 8th, 9th and 10th for the 2019 iteration of the event.

The company has now announced the opening matches for the tournament. These are as follows:

• David Starr vs WALTER
• Rey Horus vs Fenix
• Axel Dieter Jr vs Marius Al-Ani
• Mark Davis vs Pentagon Jr
• Lucky Kid vs Timothy Thatcher
• Ilja Dragunov vs Daisuke Sekimoto
• Shigehiro Ire vs Chris Brookes
• Avalanche vs Jurn Simmons

The big matches lined up include David Starr taking on NXT UK Superstar WALTER. Starr has never beaten WALTER in a one on one contest, a story that stretches multiple companies worldwide and one of the most intriguing on the independent scene. Mark Davis vs Pentagon Jr could also be a sleeper match with the Aussie Open star getting a shot at one of the best performers on the planet. in Pentagon Jr.

The show on Friday March 8th will also be featuring two World Championship bouts. The wXw Unified World Championship will be defended by Absolute Andy when he takes on Bobby Gunns.The wXw Women’s Championship will also be on the line when Champion Toni Storm defends against Killer Kelly.

https://twitter.com/wXwGermany/status/1099776249562574850

Jim Ross is approaching free agency. With that in mind, JR addressed his potential future in WWE on the latest edition of the Ross Report.

“WWE is constantly trying to get younger and more TV-friendly,” said Ross. “Of which I am neither.”

“Nobody will tell you that because of political correctness. It’s lawsuit-worthy,” he continued.

Ross’s answer was in response to a fan question regarding a full-time return to commentary. Ross made it clear he doesn’t expect that, but he harbors no bitterness.

“I just don’t see it happening, and I’m fine with that,” said Ross. “I think the ship has sailed for me. I’ve had 26 years there so far. I have nothing to bitch about. I made a lot of money. More money than I ever dreamed I’d make in the wrestling business. Much more.”

JR continued to talk about what WWE has given him over the years.

“I traveled the world,” continued Ross. “I got to be an administrator with some regard and some success. Working with The King and Paul Heyman at ringside for all those years is a dream come true.”

Good Ol’ JR has been open about the fact that his WWE contract expires at the end of March, and that his agreement with the company precluded him from re-signing with AXS TV.

Ross was unable to continue his work on the New Japan Pro Wrestling on AXS shows once his deal with AXS expired at the end of 2018.

So, what comes next for JR?

“We’ll find out soon,” JR says. “My contract is up at the end of March. We’ll see what happens after that.”

“Whatever it is, it’s going to be good.”

You can hear JR’s full comments in context in the full episode of The Jim Ross Report below.

Guess what day it is!

Guess what day it is!

It’s a great day for many things including listening to our latest SlobberKnocker Audio show! ?

Starring CONNIE..?@HeyHeyItsConrad? https://t.co/bNuUXyC2wt

— Jim Ross (@JRsBBQ) February 24, 2019

This transcript has been edited for clarity.

What do you make of JR’s comments? Do you expect him back with WWE?

Rumors continue to leak out of WWE regarding talent asking to be released from their contract. Sean Waltman recently commented on what he believes is the best-case scenario for all involved on his podcast.

Waltman believes that in all cases, WWE should grant releases to anyone asking for them.

“Certain people that are going to want their release, I think it’s in the best interest of the company to let them go,” Waltman said.

Recent rumors have suggested the Revival, Mike & Maria Kanellis have asked for but been denied their releases. Hideo Itami and Tye Dillinger, however, have received their requested releases.

As to why WWE should grant the releases, Waltman says that unhappiness in the locker room can spread quickly.

“You do not want even one person that’s not content, that’s unhappy. It can really taint the water supply, or poison the well,” he continued. “And I’ve been that person at times. You’re unhappy and it spreads. It’s kind of contagious.”

Waltman says that is especially true in the cases of those who have been under-utilized on TV.

“If the decision-makers just don’t see them figuring in, it’s in their best interest to probably let them go.”

Do you agree with Waltman? 

New Japan Pro Wrestling made several announcements today. The promotion released the brackets for this year’s New Japan Cup tournament and also unveiled the main event of their upcoming Anniversary show on March 6th.

In a special champion vs champion match, IWGP Heavyweight Champion Jay White will face NEVER Openweight Champion Will Ospreay. The match will main event NJPW’s 47th Anniversary show from Ota City General Gymnasium.

Neither champion’s title will be on the line in the match.

NJPW 47th Anniversary Show Lineup – March 6th, 2019

• Champion vs Champion
  IWGP Heavyweight Champion: Jay White (Bullet Club) vs NEVER Openweight Champion: Will Ospreay (CHAOS)
• Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kazuchika Okada, & Hirooki Goto vs EVIL, SANADA, & Tetsuya Naito (LIJ)
• IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship
  Taiji Ishimori (Bullet Club) (c) vs Jushin “Thunder” Liger
• IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship
  Bushi & Shingo Takagi (LIJ) (c) vs Sho & Yoh (Roppongi Vice) (CHAOS)
• Dragon Lee, Ryusuke Taguchi, Tiger Mask, Tomoaki Honma, Satoshi Kojima vs TAKA Michinoku, El Desperado, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Taichi, Minoru Suzuki (Suzuki Gun)
• Toa Henare & Yuji Nagata vs YOSHI-HASHI & Tomohiro Ishii (CHAOS)
• Ren Narita, Shota Umino, Ayato Yoshida, Toru Yano, & Togi Makabe vs HIKULEO, Chase Owens, Tanga Loa, Tama Tonga, & Bad Luck Fale (Bullet Club)

New Japan Pro Wrestling also released the brackets for the New Japan cup today:

• • NJPW Releases New Japan Cup Card Information

The Undertaker will be appearing at the Starrcast II convention in Las Vegas this May. Starrcast LLC has recently filed for the trademark “Dead Man Talking”.

The filing includes the following potential uses for the trademark:

• Personal appearances by a professional wrestler and sports entertainment personality;
• Live appearances by a professional wrestler and sports entertainment personality
• Providing podcasts in the field of professional wrestling and sports entertainment
• Video podcasts in the field of professional wrestling and sports entertainment
• Wrestling exhibits and performances by a professional wrestler and entertainer

Starrcast II takes place May 23rd to 26th from Las Vegas, Nevada. The convention has already booked several events including an evening with Cody and the Young Bucks, Lita’s panel on women’s wrestling, and Bret Hart: In His Own Words.

• JR: WWE Not Happy With The Undertaker Appearing At Starrcast

Undertaker At Starrcast II

Jim Ross addressed Taker’s Starrcast booking on his podcast last week. According to JR, WWE management isn’t pleased Taker will be at the convention the weekend of Double or Nothing.

“They’re not happy in the front office, apparently,” Ross said. “If (Undertaker’s) at the point age-wise where WWE doesn’t want to use him in the ring, or he doesn’t feel able to compete in the ring, if you want to keep him around, you’ve got to pay him something.”

WWE Hall Of Famer Kevin Nash recently appeared on the latest episode of Catch Club and among other things, he discussed the rise of the All Elite Wrestling promotion as well.

Nash first discussed his relationship with the founders of AEW, recalling how he worked with the Young Bucks in TNA and how he is good friends with Chris Jericho.

Though when asked if he will consider joining the company if presented with an offer, the WWE Hall Of Famer explained that he doesn’t want to go back to the wrestling schedule:

“The thing with wrestling is, because it’s every week, that gives you a schedule. I did that for 30 years, Not interested anymore. If I have a schedule, it will be for how ever long the project is I’m shooting, [or] a TV show, a motion picture. But I want down time. I want my time.”

Apart from this Kevin Nash also recalled how he joined his old friend Scott Hall in WCW after leaving WWE and their reunion in the company marked the beginning of the nWo.

When asked which two stars from the current generation could play the role of him and Hall if AEW gets big enough to compete with WWE on the same level, Kevin chose John Cena and Brock Lesnar.

WWE has made some major changes to the backstage scene within the company in recent weeks, and it appears that the Officials are continuing this spree

Experienced Writer Dave Schilling revealed on Twitter recently that he has been hired by WWE and he will be joining the company’s creative team starting from next month:

https://twitter.com/dave_schilling/status/1099812221104705536

Schilling’s work has been featured on places like Bleacher Report, The Guardian, VICE, and Grantland and his hiring is another indication that the Officials are trying to bring some change to their product.

As we noted before, Dave is not the only big name to be hired for backstage duties in the company recently as they have brought in a number of veterans for various roles in recent times.

The names which have joined the scene in some capacity include Bruce Prichard, Steve Corino, “Hurricane” Shane Helms, Sonjay Dutt, Shawn Daivari, Impact Wrestling Hall of Famer “Abyss” Chris Parks and WWE Hall of Famer Jeff Jarrett

All this is in addition to some recent firings which should affect the product as well. Hall of Famer Arn Anderson is one name whose release is sure to have some significant effect on their programming.

How much these moves help WWE is something that will be revealed in the future but with these developments, we can expect to see some major changes in the product in upcoming times.

New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) has released full card information on their upcoming New Japan Cup tournament.

For those who don’t know, the New Japan Cup is a single-elimination tournament. The winner of this tournament will go on to face the IWGP Heavyweight Champion, Jay White, at the G1 Supercard. This event is a co-promoted show with Ring Of Honor (ROH) and takes place at Madison Square Garden, New York, on April 6th.

The tournament will host a number of New Japan talent, as well as ROH and members of NJPW’s L.A. Dojo and begins on March 8th.

3/8

Manabu Nakanishi vs YOSHI-HASHI

Tomoaki Honma vs Taichi

Juice Robinson vs Chase Owens

Yuji Nagata vs Tomohiro Ishii

3/9

Mikey Nicholls vs HIKULEO

Kazuchika Okada vs Michael Elgin

Will Ospreay vs Bad Luck Fale

Toa Henare vs Lance Archer

3/10

Kota Ibushi vs Tetsuya Naito

“King Of Darkness” EVIL vs Zack Sabre Jr.

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Shota Umino

Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs David Finlay

3/11

Togi Makabe vs Colt Cabana

Hirooki Goto vs SANADA

Satoshi Kojima vs Minoru Suzuki

Toru Yano vs Davey Boy Smith Jr.

With so many amazing matches already lined up for these first rounds, it’ll be interesting to see how the tournament plays out.

Not for the first time, Zack Ryder has harnessed social media in order to express his frustrations at his current position.

This time, however, it was via a reply to WWE’s Viper, Randy Orton.

Orton recently uploaded a video of himself at, what appears to be, a photo or video shoot. His post was captioned “Another day at the office.”

Ryder, seeing this, would comment “They never ask me to do these shoots. Congrats man!”

It would be easy for the response to be lost in the deluge of comments made by the WWE Universe, but somehow Randy Orton saw it.

Randy would reply with words of encouragement to Ryder, saying, “‘their’ loss broski. I am sure someone will recognize your talents one day. Always considered you to be a very elite worker.”

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

A Loaded Comment

With the burgeoning promotion, All Elite Wrestling, continuing to spark excitement by providing an alternative, The Viper’s response can, of course, be construed to be somewhat loaded.

With talent asking for — and getting — their releases, and major shake-ups occurring within WWE, it wouldn’t be out of the question for Ryder to do the same. But if he were to do so, would he end up in AEW?

Either way, it’s high praise indeed to be recognized by someone of Orton’s talent and long-standing stature.

In case you somehow missed it, last week saw a number of NXT’s top Superstars make their main roster debuts. Tomasso Ciampa, Aleister Black, Johnny Gargano, and Ricochet would all appear on Monday Night RAW and SmackDown Live.

To celebrate the achievement, over 60 of Ricochet’s friends and family held a surprise party for former-NXT North American Champion.

WPSD Local 6 was on hand to cover the event, interviewing Ricochet in the process. During the conversation, Ricochet would comment on which brand he would subsequently be featured on.

“I will be on RAW and SmackDown going forward,” he said. “At least until after ‘Mania. After ‘Mania, it’s gonna be one or the other. I’m assuming, I don’t know. But that’s what I’m assuming. But yes, going forward, I am now an official member of RAW and/or SmackDown.”

“Doesn’t Matter Where You Are From, You Can Live Your Dream”

Reflecting on the past week, Ricochet was clearly touched by the party held in his honor.

“This [surprise party] was beyond amazing,” Mann said. “It was awesome. I got to see family, friends, people I haven’t seen in a long time. I was honestly surprised when I walked in, this was great. It just makes you happy to see that many people care. Whether it is close friends you have known since you were three years old or people maybe you have never met, it is just cool that you can inspire so many people. Doesn’t matter where you are from, you can live your dream.”

Post-WrestleMania, which brand would you prefer Ricochet to be on?