Tama Tonga and nZo (the former Enzo Amore) have been trading occasional shots online since ROH and NJPW held a joint show in Madison Square Garden last spring. During the show, Enzo and Cass “invaded” the event during a match featuring Tama Tonga. The problem was that Tonga and his brother were not informed this was a planned invasion beforehand.
Tama Tonga is now challenging Enzo to a match with proceeds going to charity. Tonga posted the following video as a challenge to nZo:
Tonga and the rest of Bullet Club are preparing for the Bullet Club Beach party WrestleMania weekend in Florida. The Bullet Cub Beach Party shouted out the following fan who made a sizeable donation to the Australian wildfire relief when purchasing:
The charity Enzo chose, Heart Support, has its mission statement posted here.
“Every year we help men and women brave their wounds, find purpose, and discover healing. Our goal is to create a legacy of life-transformation, freeing them from suicide, addiction, abuse, and mental health issues while empowering them with the realization they are loved unconditionally and supported by a community that believes in them.”
Tama Tonga and his brother recently lost the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team titles to David Finlay and Juice Robinson in the Tokyo Dome. Enzo is wrestling this weekend for Destiny just outside Toronto.
Arn Anderson worked backstage in WWE from the closing of WCW until last year. He was recently asked a question regarding CM Punk’s WWE title reign during an episode of his podcast “the Arn Show.”
“I think he had a pretty fair run,” Anderson said regarding Punk’s WWE title reign. “He was able to talk them into trusting him to do the pipe bomb promos and those are the things that people seem to remember.”
Anderson then compared CM Punk’s time on top of WWE to “Stone Cold” Steve Austin’s.
“There’s nothing like being able to look at your boss and tell him to f-off,” Anderson continued. “That’s what got Austin over and made him special. He was the first one to ever do it and boy did he do it with authority.”
Anderson then said Austin’s run on top provided the basis for Punk’s feud with “the Authority.”
“It opened the door for later down the road, Punk kind of did the same thing with the Authority,” Anderson continued. “You don’t have that happening very, very often. It was a rare time in the business and it has sustained him as far as the wrestling fans’ eyes to this day.”
Anderson continued to talk about being surprised that Punk appeared on WWE Backstage. His comments can be heard in the player below:
Marty Scurll agreed to a new contract with Ring of Honor this week. The deal is not only the most lucrative in the nearly 20-year history of the promotion, but it also puts Scurll on the ROH creative team. According to a recent update from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Delirious and Scurll will be sharing booking duties but Scurll will likely be the lead between the two co-bookers.
“(Scurll) will work in creative as a co-booker with Hunter Johnston (Delirious) and basically as things are working out will be the lead,” wrote Dave Meltzer. The report would continue to say that Delirious didn’t object to any of Scurll’s booking ideas this weekend.
“The plan right now is for Scurll to determine the direction and for Johnston (Delirious) to run the television shows using Scurll’s ideas and adding in details and formatting it for television,” Meltzer continued. The report would continue to state that Scurll’s deal with ROH allows him to work for other promotions as well with the possible exclusions of WWE and AEW, though he may be permitted to appear for AEW, this is not yet clear.
Scurll is being advertised for the next set of NWA Powerrr tapings scheduled for January 26th in Atlanta.
Delirious is said to be happy about the deal, as it takes a lot of the pressure and anxiety away from his role. He has been on the ROH booking team since 2010 and head booker since 2012.
Scurll was reportedly set to be the revealed leader of the Dark Order stable in AEW as well. There was said to have been an idea that Scurll would debut as the leader of the stable on the 12/18 edition of Dynamite but ROH then made Scurll a substantial offer to stay with them.
Matt Hardy’s name has also been linked to the role of the leader of the Dark Order stable.
You can never say never in the wrestling world and while Jon Moxley seems to have left WWE on a sore note, Kurt Angle believes that he will be back in the company one day.
The WWE Hall Of Famer recently had an interview with
GiveMeSport in UK while doing some promotion and during the interview; he
talked about things like his retirement match at WrestleMania 35 and more.
While talking about Mox’s departure from the promotion, the Olympic Gold Medalist explained that the former Dean Ambrose wanted a change and Kurt Angle then claimed that Jon will be back in WWE:
“Dean wanted a change and an adjustment, maybe he felt he wanted to work less and felt that he wasn’t being appreciated. He made the decision for himself and if he feels it’s the right decision I’m happy for him. But WWE is the biggest company in the world at it will continue to be. I believe Dean will be back.”
Later in the interview, Kurt Angle also talked about the
Shield and he described them as the most popular faction of all time after Four
Horsemen.
The former World Champion said that the Shield is a future Hall Of Fame faction and to become a part of it for a match in 2017 was a lot of fun. You can check out his full interview at this link.
AEW and WarnerMedia announced earlier this week that a deal has been struck for Dynamite to continue airing on TNT through until at least 2023. Also as part of the deal, a second AEW show will air on a WarnerMedia station. According to a recent report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, however, the new show will not replace AEW Dark.
“When the new show launches, the Wednesday tapings would expand and also include matches taped for the streaming show Dark, which would not be going away,” wrote Dave Meltzer. “This means there will be about four hours a week of the product being taped.”
Also of note, is that the new show is unable to run on either Sundays or Mondays due to agreements in place between the Khan family and the NFL. As the owners of the Jacksonville Jaguars, they are prohibited from airing programming on a day and time that coincides with NFL football.
“It would not air on Sunday, Monday or Thursday, because Khan has an agreement to not air wrestling against the NFL since his family owns the Jacksonville Jaguars,” Meltzer continued.
The report continues to state that Taz’s recent hiring is so he can work on commentary for the new show.
The former WCW World Champion commented on the situation on the latest installment of his Hall of Fame podcast.
Booker T first praised Tessa Blanchard for her work, but he went on to claim that making her the world champion is ‘the worst idea’ in Impact’s history.
“I’m not holding my judgement on it. Big ups to Tessa
Blanchard because she’s good. She’s really good at what she does, but this is
the worst idea for Impact Wrestling in the history of the company, it really is
that bad. It’s worse than paying me 10 grand for six-hour power commercial that
never aired.”
Explaining the reasoning behind his comments, The WWE Hall Of Famer said that now if she goes against the men in the promotion and beats them, then it will diminish every guy in the company.
He later compared it to WWE and Booker said that he can’t imagine Becky Lynch going up against Samoa Joe or Brock Lesnar. The former Champion claimed that intergender wrestling is for independent companies.
You can listen to Booker T’s comments about Tessa Blanchard winning the Impact Wrestling World Championship below:
A new episode of WWE Friday Night SmackDown is here, so let’s take a look at a preview for the show.
With just hours until bell time, parts of what to expect to see on the show have been revealed to get fans excited about it. The company has released the official preview article for the show on their website.
Several segments and matches have been announced thus far for this show including the return of Kane, who has been serving as the mayor of Knox County in Tennessee.
Although not confirmed, there has been speculation about him potentially announcing his entry into this year’s Royal Rumble match.
WWE Friday Night SmackDown Preview
WWE holds this show from Greensboro, NC at the Greensboro Coliseum Complex. WWE is advertising the following items for tonight’s broadcast:
John Morrison to return to the ring in battle with Big E
Roman Reigns vs. Robert Roode in a Tables Match
Kane returns for a special appearance
Sasha Banks vs. Lacey Evans
WWE will also be announcing matches for existing feuds that will take place heading into the Royal Rumble pay-per-view event Sunday, January 26, 2020 Houston, Texas at the Minute Maid Park and airs on the WWE Network.
This includes competitors for both the men’s and women’s Royal Rumble matches to determine the two top matches at WrestleMania 36 in April.
As usual, fans should expect more matches and segments to be revealed this afternoon for SmackDown to further hype the show. This will be an important show as it continues the build towards the Royal Rumble pay-per-view event.
It will also set up next week’s show, which is a big one. Not only will it serve as the final episode of SmackDown before the Royal Rumble but the final time that WWE can hype the show on TV.
Join us here later tonight for WWE SmackDown Results and our post-show SmackDown Takeaways feature.
Former Diva’s Champion Paige sparked rumors about her future recently when she made a couple of interesting tweets and since then people have been speculating whether she could return to the ring anytime soon.
The WWE Backstage star and Stephanie McMahon both appeared on Good Morning Britain earlier yesterday to promote WWE’s new TV deal in UK with BT Sport.
During their appearance, the reporters asked about the rumors about the female star’s return. Replying to it, Stephanie joked that she likes to stoke the fire a bit and Paige responded by saying “Yeah, I do.”
When the reporter asked if we can see her coming out of retirement for another match, the former NXT star explained that she wouldn’t want to come back for a ‘hot minute’ but she went on to claim that you should never say never:
“Well, not for a hot minute,” Paige said.
“But you know, never say never, of course. You always… yeah you don’t
want to put any doubt underneath them, but hopefully one day.”
The reporter later asked how she deals with not being able to wrestle and the former NXT Women’s Champion replied by saying that the wonderful thing about WWE is that they give her the opportunity to do other stuff.
Speculation Over Paige Returning To In-Ring Action
Paige sparked rumors about her return to action when she made some interesting comments while replying to her haters in a couple of tweets earlier this month.
In the tweets as seen below, the WWE star first said that people make mistakes when they are young and she then claimed that she has a ‘whole lot of career’ left in her:
These comments have led many to believe that the retired star could be hinting towards a possible return and a lot of people have been wondering if she can make a surprise comeback at the upcoming Royal Rumble event.
Posted January 17th, 2020 in News, WWE. Tagged: Paige.
Impact World Champion Tessa Blanchard has finally responded
to the allegation of racism that was made against her after a tweet last week.
Blanchard responded to the controversy via a statement on
Twitter and the female star claimed that she absolutely did not use the word
and it’s not in her dictionary.
She continued by saying that racism is an awful part of American history and she stands ready to use her platform to fight against racism in whatever way she can:
For those who don’t know, Tessa Blanchard had recently made a tweet saying that women should support each other and in response, several female wrestlers had called her out.
Allysin Kay was one such female star who had claimed that the Impact Champion spat in La Rosa Negra’s face backstage during a show and used the N-word.
Renee Michelle and AEW star Shanna later also supported
these claims from Kay and Shanna even went on to say that Tessa did more nasty
stuff while she was in Japan.
When asked about the controversy during a recent interview, La Rosa Negra had said that she was glad that the incident was brought up. Though she also expressed that she would like to move on from it.
Drew McIntyre was Corey Graves’ guest this week on the latest episode of WWE’s After The Bell podcast. The Scottish Superstar discussed his entire WWE career, including his early days with the company, Vince McMahon personally endorsing him on television as the “Chosen One” and his eventual (unexpected) release.
“The Chosen One” Drew McIntyre
Graves began the chat by discussing the aforementioned ‘Chosen One’ gimmick that McIntyre was gifted way back in 2009. On the September 25th 2009 episode of SmackDown, McIntyre would be introduced to the audience by Vince McMahon as a “future world Champion.”
This seemingly cemented McIntyre’s status as a top tier talent. Incidentally, McIntyre had no idea what McMahon was going to say in that promo. “Basically, the chosen one started when I was about 23/24” McIntyre began. “When Vince McMahon endorsed me on TV. That’s not something I knew was going to happen, I would just in [the] gorilla [position] and was aware I had a promo. They told me ‘Vince is going to say a quick thing,’ and ‘then you just go out react.’ I didn’t know that was gonna happen. And it was a huge moment for me.”
3MB
McIntyre then went into what happened after his run with the Intercontinental Championship and ‘Chosen One’ gimmick didn’t pan out. “Obviously things didn’t work out with the chosen one thing,” McIntyre stated. “Then the 3MB (Three Man Band) thing happened and then obviously I got fired. I got that call. It was a very surprising call as 3MB were on everything. And I thought they were going to tell me I was booked on something else and no. It’s that you’re fired.”
Returning To The United Kingdom
Following McIntyre’s firing in 2014 he returned to the United Kingdom and forged a main event level run as part of Insane Championship Wrestling (ICW). McIntyre’s run at the top of the UK scene helped to create a huge buzz popularity around this time. Drew McIntyre (then known as Galloway) would also win the EVOLVE, WCPW and IMPACT World Championships before returning to WWE and the NXT brand in April 2017.
Drew McIntyre – Still The ‘Chosen One?’
Vince McMahon’s prophecy of a ‘future World Champion’ may have seemed like an impossibility 6 years ago, when McIntyre was part of the lower card 3MB act. But following his successful return and runs in NXT (as Champion); and RAW he looks set to be a top tier player for WWE heading into the new decade. Corey Graves made a point of saying that McIntyre was ‘his pick’ to win the 2020 Royal Rumble.
Viewership data is in for this week’s battle in the WWE NXT vs. AEW Dynamite Wednesday Night War.
This week, AEW won in total viewers. It was close in every demographic group except Adults 50+, where NXT had a significant edge as they usually do.
Here is the breakdown of the live and same-night DVR viewership, courtesy of ShowbuzzDaily:
WWE NXT Viewership
NXT on the USA Network averaged 700,000 viewers, which is down from 721,000 last week. In the 18-49 demo, they drew a 0.21, up from 0.19 the previous week.
The episode featured Isaiah Scott took on Lio Rush and Tyler Breeze in NXT Cruiserweight Title Qualifying Triple Threat Match, Kushida & Alex Shelley battle Grizzled Young Veterans and Matt Riddle & Pete Dunne faced Mark Andrews & Flash Morgan Webster in second-round matches of the Dusty Rhodes Classic tag team tournament and a #1 Contender’s Battle Royal for Women’s Title Match at NXT TakeOver: Portland.
There was also a reunion between Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano after mixing it up with The Undisputed Era.
AEW Dynamite on TNT was watched by 940,000 viewers, essentially even with 947,000 last week. In the 18-49 demo, Dynamite pulled in a 0.38 rating, up from the 0.36 rating that the show did last week.
Dynamite saw Sammy Guevara vs. Jon Moxley, DDP, Dustin Rhodes and QT Marshall vs. MJF and The Butcher & The BladeKris Statlander and Hikaru Shida vs. Mel and Brandi Rhodes, PAC vs. Darby Allin, The Young Bucks vs. “Hangman” Adam Page & Kenny Omega vs. Santana & Ortiz vs. Best Friends in a Fatal 4-Way Match to earn future title shot.
This week’s episode of AEW and WWE NXT marked the second head-to-head battle in viewership for the new year.
Next week’s battle will be very interesting to see which show wins the ratings battle as AEW Dynamite will be taped while the talents are on the Chris Jericho cruise.
Corey Graves says WWE television is so bad that lately it makes him physically angry. On the latest episode of WWE’s After the Bell podcast, Graves ripped in to the romantic storyline involving Rusev, Lana, Bobby Lashley and Liv Morgan. He feels the performers are giving their best effort, but fans in the arena are silent and apathetic.
Graves began this week’s podcast by stating, “last night I wasted three hours of my life enduring what was an insufferable television show. RAW was not all bad, but it left me with a really bad taste in my mouth.”
He continued, “I watch Monday Night RAW from a very different perspective now. For many years I called every minute of the action and I was kind of stuck in the ‘bubble.’ Whereas now I’m sitting on my couch in Pittsburgh, next to my girlfriend and my dog trying to enjoy Monday Night RAW as a fan. I don’t watch it to pick it apart. Obviously I watch it to talk about things here on After The Bell, because that’s what I get paid to do. But man oh man last night was tough.”
“The entire crowd was silent” – Corey Graves
Corey Graves elaborated further, saying “RAW physically made me angry. I tweeted something to the effect. What really set me off, was the Lana, Rusev and Bobby Lashley segment.”
Graves says it’s not the fault of the talent, who do their best with the material they are provided.
“This is not their fault,” said Graves. “But the shows, as a whole, have just been lacking. And this segment has really set me off. Because I noticed they went to a wide shot; in the middle of a match in this heated rivalry, that has been brewing for months and months in a small eternity. And the entire crowd was silent.”
“It was Complete Apathy”
Corey Graves then began to describe just how much of an inditement this was on the angle itself. “Nobody was moving, nobody was clapping. It was complete apathy, which in this business is the worst thing you can have. You can be cheered, you can be booed sure not everything works. But to have an entire arena full of people, not reacting to anything that was happening is a problem. That’s what piqued my attention. And then it got worse for weeks and weeks and weeks.”
Graves feels that Liv Morgan has been hurt more than she’s been helped by getting involved in this fledgling angle.
“You have been promoting Liv Morgan, and this return. Liv Morgan, who I’ve said on this show in my opinion is a star waiting to be born. She has unusual reveal in the Lana/Lashley wedding which everyone had an opinion on right, wrong or indifferent. Tell me why anyone in the WWE Universe should care about Liv Morgan now?”
It will be interesting to see how the storyline develops going forward. As as been reported recently; Vince McMahon himself has been a huge proponent of the angle. So it likely is not going away any time soon. It is also worth pointing out that the angle has been drawing huge numbers on YouTube over the last few weeks.
Listen to the latest WWE After the Bell Podcast in the embedded player below:
AEW’s Bash at the Beach ended with a singles match between the #4 ranked men’s singles wrestler PAC and the currently unranked but highly rated, Darby Allin.
Throughout the match commentary mused on whether the victor of this match would be first in line for a AEW World Championship match as a result of the potential injury to Jon Moxley.
PAC vs Darby Allin: The Match
AEW remained true to form when it comes to TV matches and ended another show with a short yet action-packed match. This week’s main event went for 11 minutes, 45 seconds.
The action in this match amounted to a grand total of 35 offensive manoeuvres. This averages out at slightly under 3 moves per minute. An above average pacing for a match.
Pac versus Darby Allin saw a total of 14 tide changes throughout the match. Thus averaging out at 1.2 tide changes per minute. This rate of tide changes seems to be lower than the average via stats gathered so far.
PAC vs Darby Allin: Match Report
This match saw PAC maintain a consistent rate of offence whereas Allin peaked and then got overwhelmed by PAC.
The first five minutes of this match saw an exchange of reversals. Both men hit a series of big moves. Pac with slams and Allin with dives. Pac took control on the outside.
The second five minutes started with domination from PAC before Allin rallied with an explosive barrage of grapples and a Coffin Drop onto a standing opponent on the outside. PAC was able to take control at the end of this five.
The final minute, 45 seconds saw PAC destroy Allin with a series of grapples followed by the unwithstandable Black Arrow to pick up the win.
Despite Allin matching PAC’s offence throughout the first 10 minutes of the match in terms of numbers, PAC was able to control huge chunks of the almost 12 minutes.
Allin was kept down by PAC as a result of the Powerbomb on the steel steps and the use of some submission holds by PAC.
The flow of offence chart shows how evenly the offence was split until the ending sequence of the match. Allin made up for PACs dominance of the match in terms of controlling for large periods by hitting hard and fast at every slight opportunity afforded to him by his opponent.
What is also notable is how the competitors did not exchange small bursts of offence. The two wrestlers instead had to respond to larger bursts of hard hitting manoeuvres.
PAC vs Darby Allin: The Margins of Victory
As priorly mentioned Darby Allin was able to find opportunity to deal PAC the same amount of offence for most of the match. However he did this while PAC controlled for significantly longer periods of time. Therefore Allin is under immense pressure to make the absolute most of every opportunity. He did this for ten minutes before succumbing to PAC’s offensive might.
We also have to highlight the strength of PAC’s Black Arrow which has never been escaped by an opponent.
Cody Rhodes will finally get his hands on Maxwell J. Friedman at AEW’s next pay-per-view-event, Revolution. That show takes place Saturday, February 29th from Chicago, IL.
In order to secure that match, Cody first had to accept terms set forth by MJF. He accepted those terms on this week’s episode of AEW Dynamite, as seen in the video embedded at the bottom of this article.
One of those terms is that Cody must battle Wardlow inside a steel cage. Cody said he knew just the place for the match to take place. AEW has since confirmed that the Cody vs. Wardlow steel cage match will take place at the February 19th edition of AEW Dynamite from Atlanta, GA.
This will be Wardlow’s AEW in-ring debut and the first cage match in AEW history.
If you’re in the Atlanta area, visit AEWTix.com for ticket information or AEW Dynamite at the State Farm Arena.
Wrestling legend Taz has signed a multi-year agreement with All Elite Wrestling (AEW).
He joins the AEW broadcast team that also includes Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone, Excalibur, Justin Roberts, Alex Marvez, Dasha Fuentes, Jenn Decker, “Goldenboy” Alex Mendez and Chris Van Vliet.
Below, you can see Taz sign his AEW contract and Executive Vice President Cody Rhodes welcome him to the team. Cody also tweeted that he is thrilled to welcome Taz to the AEW booth.
The news of Taz signing with All Elite Wrestling comes just one day after it was announced WarnerMedia and AEW have entered into a new 4-year agreement that will see AEW Dynamite remain on TNT through the end of 2023 and the creation of a new weekly show.
Prior to signing joining AEW, Taz received strong reviews for his work calling several AEW broadcasts. Taz debuted for AEW as a guest commentator on the third episode of AEW Dark back in October. He called the New Year’s Day episode of AEW Dynamite (filling in for Tony Schiavone)and calledWednesday’s AEW Dark from Miami along with Excalibur.
The January 15, 2020 episode of WWE NXT aired live on the USA Network from the Winter Park, Florida at Full Sail University.
The show was headlined by the #1 Contender’s Battle Royal for a shot at the NXT Women’s Title that is held by Rhea Ripley.
WWE NXT Results (1/15/20)
Matt Riddle & Pete Dunne def. Mark Andrews & Flash Morgan Webster – Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Bout
Grizzled Young Veterans def. Kushida & Alex Shelley – Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Bout
Isaiah “Swerve” Scott def. Lio Rush and Tyler Breeze – #1 Contender’s Triple Threat Match
Bianca Belair won the #1 Contender’s Battle Royal for the Women’s Title
Here are the 5 takeaways from this week’s show:
Matt Riddle & Pete Dunne Advance
Photo Credit: WWE.com
Matt Riddle & Pete Dunne beat Mark Andrews & Flash Morgan Webster in a first-round match of the Dusty Rhodes Classic tag team tournament as one of the hyped bouts featured on the show.
They were the expected winners in this contest and rightfully so. This is a dynamic team with Riddle and Dunne. Obviously, these two have had their own accomplishments on their own. Also, they are two of the biggest stars in NXT right now.
Thus, with this combination, it’s perfect for this tournament as WWE has brought together these singles stars who wouldn’t be a tag team under any other circumstances. This is what makes the tournament so special.
Although there are several teams who could realistically win the tournament, I think it’s a safe bet that Dunne and Riddle have a real chance at winning. That could be altered due to the possibility of a heel turn.
Dunne has been a babyfaces for quite some time now but his value is being a heel. WWE could turn Dunne should they want to have him feud with Riddle.
Tommaso Ciampa came out in the latter stage of the first hour of the show to cut a promo where he told NXT Champion Adam Cole that he was on his hit list. He noted that he is taking back his life with goldie.
The Undisputed Era ran out to the ring and a brawl broke out. This was after the group took out Keith Lee in the opening segment. Johnny Gargano ran out to make the save and stood tall with his good friend.
This was a good segment to continue further the build to what will likely be Ciampa challenging Cole for the NXT Title at NXT TakeOver: Portland. At this same show, Gargano will battle fellow former NXT Champion Finn Balor in a singles match.
It was also a nice moment as DIY reunited with Gargano and Ciampa.
Obviously, with WWE moving the next takeover special to next month as Worlds Collide will replace the show, WWE had to delay some of the top matches on the card and the build for those feuds being a slow build instead of a fire.
Kushida & Alex Shelley vs. Grizzled Young Veterans
Kushida & Alex Shelley battled the Grizzled Young Veterans in a first-round match of the Dusty Rhodes Classic tag team tournament.
As seen on the show, the Grizzled Young Veterans ended up winning the contest. This was a fine match but for hardcore fans, it was a special moment.
The reason for that is to see Shelley work not only in a WWE ring but on WWE programming. He’s gone through a lot in his career that spans over many years and various promotions such as ROH and Impact Wrestling.
With that said, a feel good moment aside, I never saw these two winning the whole tournament. However, it was nice to see WWE actually do something with Kushida on television for one night as he has felt like he was just floating into the wind.
WWE needed another set of heels in this tournament, which is why Grizzled Young Veterans likely went over.
WWE confirmed this afternoon that NXT Cruiserweight Champion Angel Garza will defend his title in a Fatal 4-Way Match at WWE Worlds Collide on Saturday, Jan. 25, during Royal Rumble weekend in Houston, Texas.
Garza’s challengers will include one member of the NXT roster and two NXT UK Superstars. The first challenger was determined when Lio Rush, Isaiah “Swerve” Scott and Tyler Breeze squared off in a Triple Threat Match.
As seen in the match, Scott ended up winning it and as a result, has earned the right to compete in this contest. Good for him.
This was a last-minute thrown together match that had a purpose but came across as a match with good workers just for the sake of having a good wrestling match. With that said, it didn’t take away from the match, which was good, but WWE hasn’t done much to build up any challengers for the title.
This was a step in the right direction. Garza as the champion was and still is a good move on WWE’s part. That doesn’t change the fact that the title is still seen as an afterthought and Garza shining brighter than the actual title.
WWE held a #1 Contender’s Battle Royal for the Women’s Title that saw the likes of Shayana Baszler, Kacy Catanzaro, Mercedes Martinez, Bianca Belair, Candice LeRae, Dakota Kai, Vanessa Borne, Kayden Carter, Mia Yim, Santana Garrett, Io Shirai, Shotzi Blackheart and Xia Li compete in the contest.
In the match, Bianca Belair emerged as the winner. Now, she will take on NXT Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley at the NXT TakeOver: Portland show on Sunday, February 16, 2020 in Portland, Oregon at the Moda Center and will air on the WWE Network.
Blackheart was the one to eliminate Baszler. The final two were Shirai and Belair.
The NXT women’s division has talent but there was a backlog of talents who could be in the mix but with Baszler being the champion for such a long time and beating most of them, it eliminated the possibility of contenders.
Now that Ripley is the champion, the door is once again wide open with new challengers and fresh matches.
Make no mistake about it though, it appears that Baszler is still a possibility for Ripley and a rematch could be looming. Perhaps at the TakeOver show on WrestleMania weekend.
Rhea Ripley has received her opponent at the next normal special for the WWE NXT brand.
During Wednesday’s episode of NXT on the USA Network, WWE held a match that would determine who is next line for a title shot.
Shayana Baszler, Kacy Catanzaro, Mercedes Martinez, Bianca Belair, Candice LeRae, Dakota Kai, Vanessa Borne, Kayden Carter, Mia Yim, Santana Garrett, Io Shirai, Shotzi Blackheart and Xia Li competed in a battle royal with the winner becoming the next challenger to the title.
Rhea Ripley Receives Opponent
As seen on the show, Bianca Belair was victorious, earning the right to challenge Rhea Ripley for the NXT Women’s Title.
WWE has announced exactly when this contest will take place as it will go down, which is the NXT TakeOver: Portland show.
The company has also confirmed that Ripley will also make a title defense before this show as she steps into the ring with NXT UK star Toni Storm.
That match will take place at the Worlds Collide event on Saturday, January 25, 2020 in Houston, Texas at the Toyota Center that will air on the WWE Network. WWE set up this contest on last week’s show.
WWE presents the NXT TakeOver: Portland event on Sunday, February 16, 2020 in Portland, Oregon at the Moda Center and will air on the WWE Network. WWE will be announcing more matches for this show in the coming weeks. Here is the updated card:
Updated WWE NXT TakeOver: Portland Card
Finn Balor vs. Johnny Gargano
NXT Women’s Title Match: Bianca Belair vs. Rhea Ripley (c)
What are your thoughts on this match being added to the card? Sound off in the comment section.
AEW Dynamite: Bash at the Beach aired live from the Watsco Center in Miami, Florida. PAC and Darby Allin battled in the main event of this week’s episode of Dynamite.
AEW Dynamite: Bash at the Beach Results (1/15)
Hangman Page & Kenny Omega def. Santana & Ortiz, Best Friends, and The Young Bucks to become #1 contenders
Best Friends (Chuck Taylor & Trent), The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson), Santana & Ortiz, and Kenny Omega & Hangman Page battled to determine the #1 contender for the AEW Tag Team Championships.
Match Recap: Kenny Omega got an enormous reaction from the crowd when he tagged into the match. Santana and Ortiz took control of the match as the crowd loudly chanted “this is awesome!”. Best Friends hit Omega with the Strong Zero but the Young Bucks broke it up. Hangman Page tagged himself in and pissed the Young Bucks. Omega & Hangman connected with the V-Trigger and Buckshot Lariat combo to win the match. Hangman Page and Kenny Omega will battle SCU for the AEW Tag Team Championship next week on Dynamite.
Opinion: The energy from the crowd was absolutely incredible for this match. I’ve enjoyed the story being told with Hangman Page recently. He has slowly been separating himself from The Elite and is rarely on the same page as his tag partner, Kenny Omega. It will be interesting to see what happens during next week’s title match.
Cody stated that Arn Anderson was right when he said that the audience wanted this match with MJF. Rhodes put up MJF’s stipulations up the screen and brought up wrestling Wardlow inside the cage. Cody suggested that MJF is afraid of the audience finding out that MJF should actually be carrying Wardlow’s bags.
Cody added that he didn’t need to touch MJF until Revolution because he lives rent free inside his head. Rhodes brought up MJF’s parents parading him around the Rosie O’Donnell show when he was 7-year-old.
He then accepted the Steel Cage match and claimed that he knew the perfect place. Cody accepted the 10 lashes live on Dynamite and not to touch MJF before the PPV. Rhodes added that this not MJF’s story, MJF is just a chapter in his and vowed to give MJF his own god damn scar at Revolution.
Brandi Rhodes & Mel of the Nightmare Collective battled Hikaru Shida & Kris Statlander tonight on Dynamite. Luther was ringside for the the match. Awesome Kong was supposed to be in this match but she wasn’t medically cleared and Brandi took her place.
Match Recap: Shida hit Luther with a kendo stick during her entrance as Brandi & Mel beat Statlander down in the ring. Nightmare Collective controlled the beginning of the match but momentum turned when Statlander isolated Brandi in the ring. Shida Dropkicked Mel to the outside and Rhodes leveled Kris with a Spear for a two count. Mel tagged in and slammed Statlander to the canvas for a two count. Kris planted Mel with a Piledriver for a two count.
Opinion: Nightmare Collective got no reaction and this match pretty much put the crowd to sleep. There were also countless botches that made this match a painful watch. AEW really needs to start building up the wrestlers in their women’s division besides Nightmare Collective because this isn’t working. They claim they are going to listen to the fans, well they have been dead silent for two weeks in a row during Nightmare Collective segments.
Jon Moxley showed up in his Ford GT for his match against Sammy Guevara. The winner of this match will face the winner of the PAC vs. Darby Allin match next week to determine the #1 contender for the AEW Championship.
Match Recap: Sammy attacked Moxley as he got into the ring but Jon quickly battled back. Moxley went for a German Suplex but Sammy landed on his feet and hit a Shooting Star Press for a near fall. Moxley locked in a submission hold and Sammy tapped out.
After the match, the lights in the arena went out as Jericho’s music hit. Inner Circle surrounded Moxley in the ring and beat him down. Hager held up Jon and Jericho whipped him with the AEW Championship. Jericho ripped a spike off of his jacket and stabbed Moxley in the eye with it. The crowd chanted “asshole!” as Jericho smirked in the ring. AEW officials came down to the ring to check on Moxley to end the segment.
DDP, Dustin Rhodes, QT Marshall squared off against The Butcher, The Blade, and MJF tonight on Dynamite. The Bunny was ringside for the bout and MJF came down to the ring with a shirt that read “I banged Dallas’ daughter”.
Match Recap: DDP and MJF started off the match but Maxwell quickly tagged in The Butcher. MJF tagged back in once QT made the tag. Butcher, Blade, and MJF took turns beating QT Marshall down before he battled back and tagged Dustin. Wardlow then made his way down to the ring and booted Rhodes in the face as the referee was distracted. DDP finally tagged in and bounced MJF’s face off the top turnbuckle several times.
DDP planted Butcher with the Diamond Cutter and turned his attention towards MJF. MJF hit DDP with a low blow while the referee was distracted. DDP was later able to hit MJF with the Diamond Cutter as QT Marshall tagged in. DDP then climbed to the top rope and took out everyone with a Splash. Back in the ring, MJF rolled up QT Marshall for the victory.
PAC faced Darby Allin in the main event of this week’s Dynamite. The winner of the match will face Jon Moxley next week to determine the #1 contender for the AEW Championship.
Match Recap: Allin controlled the match early and leveled PAC with a Dropkick. Darby went for a Hurricanrana outside the ring but PAC caught him and slammed his head onto the steel steps. Darby battled back and hit a Crucifix Bomb off the middle rope. Allin followed that up with the Coffin Drop on PAC outside the ring.
PAC and Allin traded roll-up attempts but both were able to kick out. PAC planted Allin with a Powerbomb for a two count. PAC and Allin then battled on the top rope. PAC headbutted Darby to the canvas and connected with the Black Arrow for the pinfall victory.
Tony Schiavone interviewed PAC after the match. PAC claimed that Jon Moxley was clearly physically incapacitated and that everyone is looking at the #1 contender. Moxley was shown being loaded into an ambulance with his eye bandaged up. Jon hopped out of the ambulance and marched to entrance ramp. Moxley said that he doesn’t care if he is blind, he will be there next week and kick PAC’s ass because the title shot belongs to him. The crowd chanted “Moxley!” as Dynamite went off the air.
Opinion: Everything besides the women’s tag team match on this show was very entertaining. Darby Allin is an incredible talent and has an amazing future in AEW. Moxley versus PAC next week on Chris Jericho’s Rock ‘N’ Wrestling Rager at Sea cruise should be awesome.
Although DDP was back in action, he did suffer a loss in a match that aired on a special episode of AEW Dynamite.
All Elite Wrestling aired Wednesday’s Dynamite episode, themed Bash at the Beach, on TNT in Miami, FL at the Watsco Center.
DDP Suffers Loss In Return
This show saw the legendary pro wrestler team up with Dustin Rhodes and QT Marshall to take on MJF and The Butcher & The Blade in an eight-man tag team match.
As seen on the show, the WWE Hall of Famer didn’t win the contest as the heels went over. He looked great for his age.
DDP made his promotional debut with AEW back at Double or Nothing last year at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
He also made an appearance on the October 23, 2019 episode of Dynamite where he helped Cody, Adam Page, and Dustin Rhodes brawl with the Inner Circle in the arena after Jericho interrupted Cody’s promo to build their program heading into Full Gear.
This contest was set up last week when he interrupted a promo by MJF where he was plugging everything from social media to DDP Yoga. After being attacked by MJF, The Butcher and The Blade, QT Marshall and Dustin Rhodes ran out to make the save.
This was also a way to build up the feud between MJF and Cody Rhodes as Cody is close with DDP, who has been a big supporter of the promotion that launched last year.
DDP’s previous match came at WWE WrestleMania 32 where he worked the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal that was won by Baron Corbin.
Obviously, this was special for DDP as he had a great career in WCW, which used the Bash at the Beach theme. This appears to be a one and done for the WWE Hall of Famer in regards to him as an in-ring talent.
Jinder Mahal has been out of action because of suffering from a patellar tendon rupture which required surgery. He suffered the injury during a live event in June and hasn’t been seen in the ring since.
Mahal seems to be getting back in shape and up for a return soon as he posted a video of himself training on his Instagram account with the caption “Be back soon.”
Jinder Mahal was drafted to Raw during the WWE Draft three months ago. Before getting drafted to the red brand, he was involved in feuds with R Truth for the 24/7 Championship. He was able to capture the championship twice in June 2019.
It was reported during that time that Mahal had signed a five year deal with WWE.
After leaving the company in 2014, Mahal returned two years later with a dramatically improved physique and rose to main-event prominence. He was able to defeat Randy Orton at Backlash in May 2017 to become the 50th WWE Champion. He lost the title in November of that year but went on to win the United States title at WrestleMania.
It would be interesting to see what WWE does with Mahal when he eventually makes his return.
The semi-finals of the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic 2020 tournament are set.
The second batch of matches in this tournament took place on Wednesday’s episode of NXT on the USA Network in Winter Park, Florida at Full Sail University.
Those matches saw Kushida & Alex Shelley battle the Grizzled Young Veterans with Grizzled Young Veterans going over while Matt Riddle & Pete Dunne faced Mark Andrews & Flash Morgan Webster with Dunne and Riddle being victorious.
WWE held the first batch of matches last week that saw Imperium (Marcel Barthel & Fabian Aichner) def. The Forgotten Sons (Wesley Blake & Steve Cutler) and NXT Tag Team Champions The Undisputed ERA (Kyle O’Reilly & Bobby Fish) def. NXT UK Tag Team Champions Gallus (Mark Coffey & Wolfgang).
Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Semi-Finals
Now, Imperium (Marcel Barthel & Fabian Aichner) will battle Pete Dunne and Matt Riddle. The other semi-final match will see Kyle O’Reilly & Bobby Fish take on the Grizzled Young Veterans.
This is the fifth installment of WWE NXT’s tag team tournament honoring the late American Dream. The winners will be awarded the Dusty Rhodes Classic Cup trophy, which is modeled after Dusty’s signature cowboy wrestling boots.
WWE has yet to announce when the finals will take place. It could be saved for three potential dates including an episode of NXT or NXT TakeOver: Portland or WWE Worlds Collide.
The Worlds Collide event goes down on Saturday, January 25, 2020 in Houston, Texas at the Toyota Center as part of Royal Rumble weekend.
The NXT TakeOver: Portland show goes down on Sunday, February 16, 2020 in Portland, Oregon at the Moda Center and will air on the WWE Network.
WWE stars in the UK to celebrate the company finding its new home in the nation – BT Sport. Sheamus was also among the WWE stars present in the UK to celebrate WWE’s new British home, and while there he talked to Sportskeeda and revealed some interesting information about his thoughts during his WWE hiatus.
“It’s something that’s always in the back of your mind. It’s no secret that I had a couple of issues physically, a few injuries because it is physical what we do,” Sheamus said. “And then my style as well, it trebles that, you know? There were a couple of times when I thought, ‘Will I make it back in there?’ Especially when I got a concussion in that match after WrestleMania.”
Sheamus said that he used the time off really well and went to physiotherapy, boxing, kickboxing, lost 40 lbs and got himself in the best shape possible. “I feel better, look better, and I’ve never been hungrier to get back in the ring. For me, the first ten years were just a warm-up. This is the real deal now. I’m just starting, mate. I’m telling you, my body feels amazing. I feel better at 42 than I did at 32.”
Earlier today, @WWESheamus revealed to me just how close he was to retirement, but stated that he’s ready to come back, his body feels better than ever – and he feels better at 42 than he did at 32!
On the SmackDown after WrestleMania 35, Sheamus suffered a concussion in a six-man tag team match with The New Day. This marked the end of The Bar as Cesaro was drafted to Raw a few weeks later because Sheamus had to take time off.
Sheamus returned to WWE on the January 3 episode of Friday Night SmackDown where he first appeared to save Shorty G from an attack by The Revival, only to deliver a Brogue Kick to Shorty G moments later. Sheamus would face Andrade at the launch party and make his unofficial return to the ring in nine months.
Posted January 15th, 2020 in News, WWE. Tagged: Sheamus.
A new match has been announced for the upcoming WWE Worlds Collide event.
On Wednesday night, WWE confirmed that DIY (Tomasso Ciampa & Johnny Gargano) would battle Moustache Mountain (Tyler Bate & Trent Seven) in a tag team match. This is another crossover match with stars from both NXT and NXT UK.
In fact, Gargano and Ciampa just reunited on Wednesday’s episode of WWE NXT in Winter Park, Florida at Full Sail University on the USA Network as Ciampa cut a promo in the ring about NXT Champion Adam Cole. This led to The Undisputed Era running out and attacking Ciampa.
Gargano made the save for his good friend and thus, DIY was reunited.
WWE presents the Worlds Collide event on Saturday, January 25, 2020 in Houston, Texas at the Toyota Center that will air on the WWE Network. WWE will be announcing more matches for this show in the coming days. Here is the updated card:
Updated WWE Worlds Collide Card
The Undisputed Era (Adam Cole, Roderick Strong, Kyle O’Reilly & Bobby Fish) vs. Imperium (WALTER, Alexander Wolfe, Marcel Barthel & Fabian Aichner) – Eight-Man Tag Team Match
Charlotte Flair says that she would love to team together with Andrade under the right circumstances, but his partnership with Zelina Vega is also important.
“So, for Andrade right now, the focus is having the US championship, and his bond with Zelina is so strong,” Charlotte told Metro UK.
Charlotte added that she and Andrade are open to the idea of being a mixed tag team or doing something together, but being separate on camera is best for them as for now.
“I think the two of us having separate storylines and not being together on camera is probably for the best right now. Definitely later down the road, we’re open to the idea of a mixed tag or doing something together. ‘But I think right now is a super important time in his career, and I wouldn’t want to interfere with how well Zelina and Manny work together.”
Andrade agreed with Charlotte and said that it would be a good idea to team up in the future. But he also highlighted Zelina Vega’s importance in his career.
“But now, Zelina’s been working with me for four years. I won the NXT title with Zelina, and now the United States championship,” said Andrade.
Andrade defeated Rey Mysterio at a WWE house show from Madison Square Garden on December 26, 2019, to become the WWE United States Champion.
The couple announced their engagement when Andrade asked the big question on New Year’s Eve and Charlotte said yes.
When a fan on Twitter once asked her how their relationship first began, Flair confessed that she was the one who made the first move, asking Karl Anderson if Andrade was his friend. She also revealed that their first date was at catering during a WWE show and that the first time she realized she was in love with him was when she almost “accidentally said it on our first boat trip!”
WWE Raw Women’s Champion Becky Lynch reflected on the historic main event of last year’s WrestleMania and revealed one thing that she would change from it.
Lynch talked toSports Illustrated for an interview and revealed that she would have liked to make Ronda Rousey tap for the first time in her life.
“If I could change anything from WrestleMania, I would have tried to freakin’ sink on that arm bar,” said Lynch. “Make Ronda Rousey tap out for the first time in her life.”
It was still all good though, as Becky Lynch pinned Rousey to win the match and become “Becky Two Belts”.
Lynch also became the first woman in WWE history to be on the cover of the WWE 2K video game, alongside with Roman Reigns. Becky says it was a risk being controversial and outspoken but it paid off and proved that anything is possible.
“It’s unbelievable to be on the cover of WWE 2K20, it means anything is possible,” said Lynch. “We’ve never had a woman on the cover, so it proves that taking risks pays off. It was a risk for me to be more controversial and outspoken, trying to rile up people as opposed to trying to befriend people.”
Lynch also talked about Reigns and she said that she has admiration for what Reigns went through, surviving leukemia. Lynch said she considers Reigns an inspirational role model.
Lynch will defend the Raw Women’s Championship against Asuka at the upcoming Royal Rumble pay-per-view event on Sunday, January 26. The event will emanate from the Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas.
