Baron Corbin has been presented as one of the top heels of WWE in recent months. However, some fans have complained about his raise to this status saying that the heat he has with the audience is ‘go away heat.’

The King Of Ring 2019 winner recently had an interview with The Houston Chronicle where he talked about things like his ongoing feud with Roman Reigns and more.

Talking about fans’ comments about his heel persona, the former Constable of Raw claimed that he takes pride in being a ‘true heel’. Baron Corbin explained that he doesn’t want to be a cool heel and discussed the phrase ‘go away heat’:

“I take pride in being a true heel; I take pride in really irritating people in that way so much that they are trying to make up words like ‘go away heat.’ This is actual irritation that I am causing people.

And I am trying to do it as much as possible.” said Corbin, “I don’t want to be cool. I want to walk out and watch people’s faces just turned to anger and frustration. I am getting the middle finger from an 8-year old kid to a 90-year old grandmother.”

• Also Read: Two Injured Stars Expected Backstage At Royal Rumble

Baron Corbin continued by saying that he thinks it’s fantastic and more people should take pride in the ability to generate this kind of reaction from fans. He detailed his comments further saying that he doesn’t take cheap shots to get the heat.

Corbin said that he is not the guy who comes out and says ‘your town sucks’ and he takes pride in everything he does. You can check out his full interview at this link.

NXT UK Superstar Toni Storm is confident that the NXT Championship is in her future. Speaking with WWE.com following her matchup against Io Shirai, Storm addressed the woman who interfered in her bout, Bianca Belair, before turning her attention to the champion, Rhea Ripley.

“Bianca Belair can go and get in line with the rest of them. Because I picked up the NXT Women’s Championship, and I held it up, and it looked good,” Storm said. “And all that is is just a little preview to what’s going to happen at Worlds Collide. And I can’t wait to step in the ring with Rhea Ripley and make some magic.”

Storm’s match this week ended in disqualification thanks to Belair. Ripley would quickly insert herself into the fray before Shirai took both her and Belair out. The skirmish ended with Storm holding the NXT Championship. Toni Storm faces Rhea Ripley for the championship this Saturday at Worlds Collide.

Worlds Collide Card

Mia Yim vs. Kay Lee Ray

#DIY (Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa) vs Moustache Mountain (Trent Seven and Tyler Bate)

Fatal 4-Way Match for the NXT Cruiserweight Championship
Angel Garza (c) vs Isaiah “Swerve” Scott vs Jordan Devlin vs Travis Banks

Finn Balor vs Ilja Dragunov

NXT Championship Match
Rhea Ripley (c) vs Toni Storm

Imperium (WALTER, Fabian Aichner, Marcel Barthel and Alexander Wolfe) vs The Undisputed Era (Adam Cole, Kyle O’Reilly, Bobby Fish and Roderick Strong)

After having defeated Roderick Strong for the NXT North American Championship on this week’s episode of NXT, Keith Lee took part in an exclusive interview with WWE.com.

“Let me educate you on something about Keith Lee. If you saw the battle that happened out there: four men trying to take down one Limitless specimen—a deity if you will—then you see the result,” Lee said, looking towards his championship.

“All it takes is an opportunity. Cap off? No, sir, I’m just getting started. You see, now there was a great end to 2019. A fantastic beginning to the year 2020, but we don’t stop here,” Lee said. “Every day is a grind. Every day we become better than the day before. This is the beginning of what could possibly become the most prestigious champion in all of WWE because now the NXT North American Championship is also like me…limitless.”

Is Keith Lee Royal Rumble Bound?

With the Royal Rumble taking place this Sunday, some are wondering whether Keith Lee could make an impact in the Rumble match. On this week’s episode of WWE Backstage, CM Punk shared his explanation as to why he thinks Keith Lee “should” be the Superstar to win it.

If you use any quotes from this article, please provide a H/T to SEScoops.

Former WWE Superstar Alex Riley has opened up about the issues between himself and John Cena. Speaking candidly with Chris Van Vliet, Riley reflected on how the problems between himself and Cena stemmed from “two men just not liking each other.”

“As sad as that is, it had an impact on my career because he is who he is,” Riley explained. “I just happened to be in a situation where, right from the start, it was just … he didn’t like me. I just don’t think he did. I tried to change that the best I could. I worked very hard and tried to do the best I could to grow and learn and fit in in the way a wrestler fits in and he wanted me to fit in. It just kinda got to the point where, a little bit, even some of the other guys would kinda be like, ‘what’s up with that?’ ‘I don’t know.’ So it was a tough situation.”

Alex Riley & John Cena’s Argument

Riley shared an occasion between them where a mistake was made. He couldn’t remember who had made the mistake itself but confessed that they subsequently got into a “little bit of an argument.” Trying to make amends, Riley explained how he went straight to Cena the next day to try and apologize.

He believed that Cena was offended by what had transpired. Riley reiterated that their working relationship boiled down to “two grown men that just didn’t see eye-to-eye at the time.” He added that he isn’t holding on to any grudges as he isn’t interested in having things like that hang over him.

Riley was a part of NXT in 2010 before his main roster association with The Miz. He was with WWE until he was released from his contract in 2016.

H/T to ProWrestlingSheet for the transcription.

WWE Superstar Charlotte Flair recently spoke with Digital Spy. During the interview, she was asked about whether WWE needed to host a follow up to 2018’s Evolution. For her, it’s not necessarily about standing out because it’s an all-female event. Although she is a fan of the concept, she would rather put on the most memorable match, regardless of whether the show features men and women or just women.

“I’m a huge fan of Evolution,” Charlotte said. “But I also think there’s something to whether we have an all-female Pay-Per-View or not. I’m a firm believer that I want to be on the card with men going, ‘I’m going to have the best match.’ So do I want Evolution? Yes, but if it’s something that doesn’t happen again I’m not opposed to it because I want to go, ‘Okay, I had the best match out of any male or female on the roster.'”

Charlotte Flair On Her TakeOver Turning Point

Charlotte also divulged her and her father, Ric Flair, hardly spoke about wrestling when she first began pursuing it as a career. According to Charlotte, Ric never talked about the business with her. That all changed, however, after her matchup against Natalya at NXT TakeOver in 2014.

“When I first started (wrestling) there was really no communication,” she said. “He didn’t talk about the business with me. I just don’t think he ever saw the women in that light. Then when he came to my Takeover match with Natalya he was like, ‘Oh wow.’

She continued,” After that, he knew I was all on board because I had never said, ‘Hey dad, I want to be a WWE Superstar.’ It was something my brothers aspired to be. So I think when he was like, ‘Oh, wow, she’s serious about this and is good.’ That’s when our relationship and bond about the business took off.”

Charlotte Flair is one of the 30 participants in this Sunday’s women’s Royal Rumble event. The show takes place from Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas.

Impact Wrestling star Moose has addressed the evolution of his character since his debut with the company in 2016. Speaking during a recent media scrum, Moose confessed how he was too “comfortable” with his character and style when he first arrived. However, it got to a point where, if he wanted to take the next step, he was advised he would have to change his approach.

“I have so much more to give to pro wrestling that the old Moose wasn’t doing. My new attitude just shows how much charisma I have. I get to talk a bit more on the mic and it shows my presence in the ring and my swag. So I felt like it was the right move for me to make to grow as a professional wrestler.”

He continued,” I think me, Quinn Ojinnaka which is my real name, is a really fun guy to be around. I’m a fun guy like Kawhi Leonard says. People like to be around me and I’m charismatic. I felt like when I first got to Impact I was trying to be this tough guy and I’ll kick your ass. I feel like wrestling in 2020, everybody is a tough guy. One thing I’ve been doing lately is going to the archives and watching old wrestling from 1990-92 and there wasn’t a lot of tough guys. There were a lot more characters and there’s not a lot of character-driven guys in wrestling in 2020.”

Moose’s Turning Point

Moose shared how his evolution began after he told himself that he didn’t want to be a “tough guy” anymore. Instead, he wanted to fuse his in-ring ability with more personality, allowing him to show his swagger and have more fun.

Moose recently competed at Impact Wrestling’s Hard to Kill pay-per-view. He defeated Rhino in a No Disqualification matchup.

H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.

Current WWE United States Champion Andrade and his fiancee Charlotte Flair were recent guests on Seconds Out. During the conversation, Andrade spoke about how he didn’t have much difficulty adjusting to WWE’s in-ring style. He credited his international experience with helping him make the adjustments. Andrade did, however, share some frustrations he experienced during his time in WWE’s Performance Center. 

Andrade’s WWE PC Frustrations

Andrade confessed that he had difficulty with WWE’s demanding schedule. He compared it to his time wrestling on the indies and in Mexico, explaining how “you have your time” there. However, upon signing with WWE and moving to America, you’re suddenly locked into their regimented schedule, where “[…] you need to go the gym, you need promo, you need all this schedule. I don’t like schedules.”

Having had years of experience before stepping into a WWE ring, Andrade admitted he had problems attending lessons covering the basics:

“When you would workout with the guys who have never wrestled in their life? I’ve been wrestling for nine years in this moment and some of these guys don’t know a wrist lock, or waist lock, or head lock,” Andrade explained. “I stay in the corner and say, ‘Ugh! Three hours?’ Because the class is three hours.”

He continued,” I have to stay in the ring because I’m learning headlocks, or a spot, or a little wrestling. And I’ll say, ‘Okay, Norman Smiley, next.’ People are standing in the ring while he says, ‘A headlock is this, a headlock is this, a headlock is this.’ Norman Smiley keeps saying wait, wait, and he understands because he speaks Spanish and says, ‘Hey, tranquilo, tranquilo, tranquilo, relax, wait, wait.'”

“After that, you stay in promo class and between promo class with the English and Spanish,” Andrade continued. “Sometimes when I have my English class, I don’t get home until like 5 or 6 PM when I start my day at 8 AM. I think, ‘Oh, I’m so tired.’ From Monday to Thursday or Friday for one year? Whew, I’m so tired. It was a hard time for me but for now, I’m here. I have a beautiful lady that’s a superstar, my belt, and a good life.”

Andrade is scheduled to defend his United States Championship this Sunday at Royal Rumble against Humberto Carrillo. He recently retained his championship against Rey Mysterio in a Ladder Match.

H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription. 

The card for Friday’s (January 25, 2020) NWA Hard Times pay-per-view event has been finalized. 

National Wrestling Alliance is slated to hold its first pay-per-view event of the year at the GPB Studios in Atlanta, Georgia.

The show will be headlined by NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion Nick Aldis facing Flip Gordon in a non-title match. 

Other top matches featured on this card include NWA Women’s Champions Allysin Kay vs. Thunder Rosa and NWA Tag Team Champions The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express (Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson) vs. The Wild Cards (Thomas Latimer & Royce Isaacs) and James Storm & Eli Drake in a Triple Threat Match

The pay-per-view event can be purchased via the FITE app. The show will begin at 6:05 pm ET. Here is the final card. 

Final NWA Hard Times Card

NWA World Heavyweight Champion Nick Aldis vs. Flip Gordon – Non-Title Match

NWA Women’s Champions Allysin Kay vs. Thunder Rosa

NWA Tag Team Champions The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express (Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson) vs. The Wild Cards (Thomas Latimer & Royce Isaacs) and James Storm & Eli Drake – Triple Threat Match

NWA National Champions Aron Stevens vs. Scott Steiner

TBA vs. TBA – NWA TV Title Tournament Semifinals and Finals

Trevor Murdoch vs. The Question Mark – NWA TV Title Tournament First Round Match

Zicky Dice vs. Dan Maff – NWA TV Title Tournament First Round Match

Tim Storm vs. Ken Anderson – NWA TV Title Tournament First Round Match

Ricky Starks vs. Matt Cross – NWA TV Title Tournament First Round Match

What are your thoughts on this match card? Do you plan on buying the pay-per-view and watching? Sound off in the comment section.

Billy Corgan & Dave Lagana Talk NWA’s Business Model, Plans For Profitability

“The Darewolf” PJ Black has reportedly re-signed with Ring of Honor (ROH). Black has been competing for the promotion under a one-year deal but has allegedly signed a new multi-year deal with the company. According to Mike Johnson of PWInsider, Black’s new contract was signed right before his previous contract expired. He made his ROH debut last year during their Survival of the Fittest tournament.

PJ Black’s “No-Brainer” Decision

Black was previously offered an opportunity to return to WWE. He shared how he was offered the same amount of money as ROH. However, he would be required to compete for approximately 200 additional shows. Black noted how by staying with ROH, he’s been afforded creative freedom. This extends to his life inside and outside of the ring, which played an important factor in his choice. He ultimately declined WWE so he could continue his career in ROH, a decision he referred to as a “no-brainer.”

PJ Black is aligned with the Lifeblood stable. He is currently involved in a storyline where he is attempting to mentor ROH talent Brian Johnson.

The news comes in the wake of other notable stars choosing to stay. Other names include Bandido, Josh Woods and Villain Enterprises’ Marty Scurll, who will also shoulder new responsibilities as ROH’s co-booker. Before signing with ROH, the former WWE Superstar wrestled across several promotions including Lucha Underground, NWA and even TNA/Impact Wrestling.

WWE SmackDown commentator Corey Graves has addressed Matt Hardy’s recent tweets. Hardy has been hinting that his time in WWE may be coming to an end. Speaking on his podcast, After The Bell, Graves shared how he would love Hardy to stay in WWE. He pitched how he would be a “great addition” to WWE’s creative team.  

Corey Graves Wants Matt Hardy To Stay In WWE

Graves praised Hardy as a “master of being creative and creating doubt and raising questions amongst the Internet wrestling community.” He added how he hopes that Hardy doesn’t leave WWE as, on a personal level, he considered him a friend and great person.

“I also want to know why someone as creatively gifted as Matt Hardy isn’t asked or invited to contribute in a creative role,” Graves stated. “I don’t know that he’s been vocal about that anywhere but in the television locker room where we sit and complain about life, but I think Matt Hardy would be a great addition to the creative end of things here in WWE.”

He continued, “We’ve seen what he is capable of on his own outside of WWE and within and I mean, the guy’s resume speaks for itself. It’s not like you’re hiring some guy off the street who went to theater school, this is Matt freakin’ Hardy – one half of one of the greatest tag teams of all time. The guy is awesome. He is of great value and importance in my opinion.”

“Do Right By Matt”

Corey Graves noted how he hasn’t spoken with Hardy recently and isn’t even sure what he might want for himself.

Regardless, he wants to make sure they “do right by Matt.” For him, that would include Hardy finding his place in WWE and embracing it. Graves then stressed that WWE needs to “find a better role for Matt Hardy because we want him.”

H/T to Wrestlezone for the transcription.

WWE SmackDown Superstar Carmella has opened up about what helped influence her Staten Island accent. Speaking with The Wrap, Carmella revealed how she wanted her character to originally come from Boston. However, after discovering that Sasha Banks was from there, she made the decision that her character should come from Staten Island instead. Turns out that Carmella drew inspiration from several TV shows to help her hone her accent.

“I was religiously watching ‘Mob Wives’ and ‘Real Housewives of New Jersey,'” she said. “Man, I just did so much character research — ‘The Sopranos,’ everything.”

Carmella continued, “It’s funny, the Impractical Jokers, Sal and [Brian ‘Q’ Quinn] and them, they’re from Staten Island, obviously. And they’re like ‘Oh my gosh, you do that so good!’ And that makes me feel good. I’m like cool, I can convince people from Staten Island that I’m from Staten Island.”

She would go on to debut her character as the “Staten Island Princess” in NXT, aligning herself with then-fellow NXT Superstars Enzo Amore and Big Cass. Carmella recently had a run with R-Truth as a comedic double act, mostly centered around the WWE 24/7 Championship. That partnership came to an end following last year’s WWE Draft after Carmella was drafted to SmackDown.

New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) has unfortunately revealed that Kota Ibushi will not be joining them for their New Beginning USA Tour. The promotion provided an update to fans, explaining that Ibushi has contracted Type-A Influenza, hence his absence.

They shared the updated cards alongside their official statement:

“As a result of contracting Type-A Influenza, Kota Ibushi will not be participating in the New Beginning USA tour, which starts January 24 in Tampa. Changes have been made to the five cards Ibushi was set to wrestle on. Details are displayed below. Kota Ibushi and New Japan Pro-Wrestling would like to sincerely apologize to fans who were looking forward to seeing him compete. We appreciate your understanding.”

NJPW New Beginning USA Tour Changes

1/24 TAMPA

6th Match- Elimination match

Kota Ibushi, Rocky Romero, Hiroshi Tanahashi, David Finlay & Juice Robinson vs Jado, Chase Owens, Yujiro Takahashi, Tanga Loa & Tama Tonga

Elimination match

Rocky Romero, Hiroshi Tanahashi, David Finlay & Juice Robinson vs Chase Owens, Yujiro Takahashi, Tanga Loa & Tama Tonga

1/26 NASHVILLE

7th Match

Kota Ibushi, Rocky Romero, David Finlay & Juice Robinson vs Jado, Chase Owens, Tanga Loa & Tama Tonga

Rocky Romero, David Finlay & Juice Robinson vs Chase Owens, Tanga Loa & Tama Tonga

1/27 RALEIGH

6th Match

Kota Ibushi, YOSHI-HASHI, Hiroshi Tanahashi, David Finlay & Juice Robinson vs Jado, Chase Owens, Yujiro Takahashi, Tanga Loa & Tama Tonga

YOSHI-HASHI, Hiroshi Tanahashi, David Finlay & Juice Robinson vs Chase Owens, Yujiro Takahashi, Tanga Loa & Tama Tonga

1/30 MIAMI

6th Match

Rocky Romero, David Finlay & Juice Robinson vs Jado, Chase Owens & Yujiro Takahashi

David Finlay & Juice Robinson vs Chase Owens & Yujiro Takahashi

7th Match

Kota Ibushi & Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa

Rocky Romero & Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa

2/1 ATLANTA

2nd Match

Rocky Romero & YOSHI-HASHI vs Misterioso & Alex Coughlin

YOSHI-HASHI vs Misterioso

6th Match->4th Match

Kota Ibushi vs Chase Owens

Rocky Romero vs Chase Owens

WWE Hall of Famer Bully Ray has high praise for All Elite Wrestling (AEW) stars Chris Jericho and Jon Moxley. During a recent episode of Busted Open Radio, Bully Ray stated how the two are delivering “main event level storytelling” to AEW.

“They have me interested in their storyline. I mean, it’s impossible not [to be] if you have Moxley and Jericho. They’re good—they’re not good storytellers, they’re great storytellers, they’re great wrestlers, they’re great performers, they’re great entertainers” Bully Ray said. “You don’t work in the WWE at main event levels if you’re not and they’re bringing that main event level storytelling and performing to AEW.”

His co-host, David LaGreca, then juxtaposed their feud with how the Heenan family’s rivalry with Hulk Hogan. He speculated that Jericho will throw all of his Inner Circle members at Jon Moxley in the hope that Moxley won’t make it to their pay-per-view matchup in February. 

“He [Moxley] could always run through everybody, and then they beat him down, they re-injure the eye. Just layer up the story until they get to the eventual match. Does Moxley win his first attempt? Who knows. I think AEW has done a good enough job with their storytelling to keep us on our toes where we’re not quite sure who’s going to win.”

Chris Jericho and Jon Moxley face off for the AEW World Championship at AEW Revolution. Moxley won the opportunity after defeating PAC during this week’s episode of AEW Dynamite. The pay-per-view takes place on February 29th at the Wintrust Arena in Chicago, Illinois. 

If you use any quotes from this article, please provide a H/T to SEScoops.

WWE has announced a contract signing segment and the possible main event for this Friday’s Royal Rumble go-home edition of SmackDown.

Daniel Bryan has been feuding with ‘The Fiend’ Bray Wyatt since Survivor Series and the two are scheduled to face each other in a strap match for the Universal Championship at the Royal Rumble PPV this Sunday.

So the company has announced that Bryan will ‘tie his destiny’ to the WWE Champion by signing the contract for their bout on this week’s episode of the Blue Branded show.

Last week’s SmackDown episode saw Roman Reigns picking up a singles victory over Robert Roode which allowed him to choose the Falls Count Anywhere stipulation for his upcoming match with King Corbin.

The episode ended with Reigns putting Roode through a table with spear and the Usos then sent Dolph Ziggler through the announce table by diving outside of the ring.

After this, WWE has announced that Roman Reigns and The Usos will team up to face Dolph Ziggler, Robert Roode, and King Corbin in a 6 man tag team match at Smackdown this week.

Since it’s the go-home episode for Royal Rumble and the final WWE show before the PPV, we can expect the company to build some more hype for the upcoming event on Friday night as well.

It was recently reported that former SmackDown Women’s Champion Naomi who has been out of action since last July is expected to be backstage at Sunday’s Royal Rumble event.

Now a new report from PWInsider has revealed two more names who could be returning to the ring for the women’s battle royal at the show.

According to the site, both Ruby Riott and Nia Jax are currently scheduled to be in Houston, Texas for the Royal Rumble pay-per-view at Minute Maid Park.

Ruby Riott has been out of action since May last year after undergoing double shoulder surgery. She had the operation in her right shoulder in May and the same operation was performed on her left shoulder in August.

She was spotted at the WWE Performance Center earlier this month. However, it was said that the former NXT star is not expected to return to in-ring action until later this year so her return at Royal Rumble seems less likely.

On the other hand, Nia Jax underwent double knee surgery in April last year and reports on her recovery revealed that the former Raw Women’s Champion was doing great.

It was reported earlier this month that Jax is expected to be back in the ring soon and therefore it’s more likely that she will make a surprise appearance at Sunday’s Royal Rumble event.

So far WWE has only announced 5 participants for the Women’s Royal Rumble in Charlotte Flair, Natalya, Nikki Cross, Alexa Bliss, and Sarah Logan. So there are plenty of spots open for the mentioned stars to fit in.

Royal Rumble this year will take place at the Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas on Sunday, January 26.

The NXT UK Champion Walter recently had an interview with Mirror.co.uk where he talked about a number of things and also showed interested in competing with the WWE Champion Brock Lesnar.

Lesnar is going to enter Sunday’s Royal Rumble match at #1 and the UK Champion claimed that he would go in at #2 just to get a chance to lock up with the Beast.

“I will go in second, I don’t care”

Walter then explained why he respects Lesnar as the smartest professional wrestler on earth right now, while also repeating his comments about wanting to compete against the WWE Champion:

“I respect the guy because I think Brock Lesnar is the smartest professional wrestler on the planet right now,” Walter said. “The number one, work the least amount of time for everybody else, do your own thing… perfect.

I like how everybody else hates him for that because they’re just jealous that they are not as smart as him, right? So yeah, of course. I would love to wrestle Brock Lesnar.”

• Also read: Triple H On Why His WrestleMania 32 Match With The Rock Was Cancelled

The Austrian star then said that Brock Lesnar is one of his favorite wrestlers too because he is very skilled and athletic and has a good mind for wrestling as well.

Walter has so far not been announced for the Royal Rumble match but he will be in town for the Worlds Collide event the night prior and fans are hoping that he will also show up at the PPV on Sunday Night.

WWE RAW Women’s Champion Becky Lynch appeared on WWE Backstage this week where she made headlines.

She did so when she spoke about why she thinks “Women’s” should be removed from the women’s division. In fact, she thinks everything associated with it should be removed. 

Since then, news came out that WWE officials have reportedly issued an internal memo that says the WWE NXT Women’s Title should be known as the NXT Title moving forward. 

Lynch took to her official Twitter account to send out a statement in order to clarify her comments that she made on WWE Backstage. She wrote the following: 

“I wasn’t advocating for any changes in title names or anything else (like I’d have the power)—but simply an equal volume of opportunities that are based on skill, and not gender. 

The term ‘women’ can limit openings because phrases like, ‘there’s already a women’s match on the show’ is still in wrestling’s historical DNA. 

We’re all just Superstars who want our shots and places on the shows if we earn and deserve them. I’d simply love us to get to a place where there’s three ‘women’s matches’ on PPV, or ten… or none if it so happens we’re not serving the audience.”

Lynch will make her next title defense against Asuka at this Sunday’s Royal Rumble pay-per-view event in Houston, Texas at the Minute Maid Park live on the WWE Network. 

WWE Makes Name Change To NXT Women’s Title

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 769,000 viewers, which is up from 700,000 last week. In the 18-49 demo, they drew a 0.24, up from 0.21 the previous week. 

The episode featured NXT North American Champion Roderick Strong defends against Keith Lee, The BroserWeights (Matt Riddle, Pete Dunne) vs. Imperium (Fabian Aichner, Marcel Barthel), and The Grizzled Young Veterans (Zack Gibson, James Drake) vs. NXT Tag Team Champions The Undisputed Era (Kyle O’Reilly, Bobby Fish). 

• 5 Takeaways From WWE NXT (1/22)

AEW Dynamite Viewership

AEW Dynamite on TNT was watched by 871,000 viewers, down from the 940,000 last week. In the 18-49 demo, Dynamite pulled in a 0.35 rating, down from the 0.38 rating that the show did last week. 

AEW Dynamite was taped the night before as the talents are on the Chris Jericho cruise. Matches for this show included AEW World Tag Team Champions SCU vs. Hangman Page and Kenny Omega, PAC vs. Jon Moxley, Chris Jericho, Santana, and Ortiz vs. Jurassic Express, and MJF vs. Joey Janela. 

• 4 Takeaways From AEW Dynamite (1/22)

Next week’s battle will be very interesting to see which show wins the ratings battle as AEW Dynamite will be back to normal.

The main event for the ‘Chris Jericho Rock N Wrestling Rager at Sea’ episode of Dynamite was the conclusion to the AEW World Championship Number 1 Contendership mini-tournament, PAC vs Jon Moxley. The victor of this bout would go on to face AEW World Champion, Chris Jericho at AEW Revolution.

PAC went into this match at number 2 in the Men’s Singles rankings, whereas Jon Moxley went in at number 1. However Jon Moxley also went into the match with a vision impairing eye patch as a result of the spike Chris Jericho drove into his eye a week prior.

• AEW Dynamite Results & 4 Takeaways (1/22)

PAC vs Moxley: The Match

Clocking in at 17:15, this match is at the longer end of the scale in terms of AEW Dynamite matches. It is the third longest AEW Dynamite match to date, behind Cody/Allin and the tag match from earlier in the show.

Spread out over the course of the 17 minutes were a total of 83 offensive manoeuvres. This averages out at 4.8, a match pace well above average.

The tide changed 35 times as Moxley and PAC jostled for dominance. This averages out at 2 tide changes per minute, a somewhat average rate of tide changes.

PAC vs Moxley: Match Report

In this match, PAC’s rate of offence across the match is eerily consistent. The value of his offence in the four five minute blocks stays within a window of 10. Whereas the value of Moxley’s offence across the match fluctuates to twice the degree.

The first five minutes of this match is a stalemate. The competitors match each other offensive output. Mainly strikes here.

Moxley hits his highest output in the second five, out striking PAC. PAC has to take to the skies in an attempt to keep up.

The third five sees a huge dip from Moxley as PAC lasers in on the eye injury. A barrage of strikes from PAC to Moxley, characterises this five.

The final 2+ minutes of this encounter sees PAC go for broke with an avalanche manoeuvre, the Brutalizer and a string of even more strikes. However a missed Black Arrow allowed Moxley to hit the Paradigm Shift for the upset win.

Unsurprisingly, PAC was the man in control for most of this contest. With Moxley navigating a fairly substantial injury, PAC was the man who dished out most of the punishment and directed the course of the match.

The fact that this match was such a back and forth affair is a testament to Moxley’s determination and ingenuity in managing an injury that would have rendered most competitors doomed before the bell even rung.

Incredibly, Moxley had the advantage in this match before PAC zeroed in on Moxley’s injured eye.

The barrage of strikes pin-pointed at Moxley’s eye almost gave the match and the opportunity to PAC.

In the chart to the right you can see the extent to which PAC dominated in the closing stretch before Moxley snuck the win.

PAC vs Moxley: The Margins of Victory

I had expected to be writing about how a man such as PAC can not be overcome by a competitor with an impairment that would be to the detriment of any competitive performance. However, that is not how this one panned out.

PAC went for a Black Arrow, perhaps the most difficult aerial move in wrestling, after struggling to pull off a 450° Splash in the noticeably difficult winds on board the Jericho Cruise. Going back to the well with the Brutalizer would have been a safer option rater than throwing all caution to the literal wind.

Even with one functioning eye, Moxley is too sharp an opponent to miss an opportunity such as this when it presents itself.

Kacy Catanzaro made a surprise return during last week’s episode of NXT. She participated in a Women’s Battle Royal in an effort to become number one contender for the NXT Women’s Championship.

In a video uploaded to the WWE Performance Center YouTube channel, Catanzaro discusses her hiatus away from the black-and-gold brand. At the time, several reports were suggesting Catanzaro would be leaving WWE due to an injury. Whilst away, she remained under contract with the promotion, who never publicly acknowledged her employment status.

Kacy Catanzaro’s Mindset

During the video, Catanzaro opened up about the doubt she had regarding being a part of WWE. Where she had other viable options, including gymnastics and American Ninja Warrior, she wasn’t confident in her decision to be a part of the company.

“Coming into something new like this, I think that it is fair to have moments when you’re not sure. You know, physically, mentally I wasn’t sure this was the right place for me,” Catanzaro confessed.

During Kacy Catanzaro’s time away from NXT, she was able to rehab and take care of herself both physically and mentally. Catanzaro admitted how she did some “soul searching” that, ultimately, led her back to WWE. Armed with this new mindset, she is excited to see what she can achieve during this next chapter of her wrestling career, admitting she missed the feeling of competing and the reactions of the NXT fans.

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Nikki Cross was recently interviewed by The Scottish Sun. During their conversation, she was asked about her marriage to NXT Superstar Killian Dain. She also addressed her partnership with Alexa Bliss, and what it’s like to have inspired others.

Marriage

Regarding her marriage, Cross admitted how both of them being in the business has been beneficial to their relationship. She noted that their fundamental understanding of the industry helps them make “sacrifices that are necessary.”

“The way we look at it, one day we will be 60 years old and be together every night,” Cross explained. “But we met through wrestling, love wrestling and understand that we’re both on the most amazing journey right now.”

She continued, “It helps a lot because there are times where one of us will leave for 10 days and we don’t see each other. He is in Florida and I’m on the road with Smackdown so it’s important when we do have time together we make sure it is quality time connecting and talking. I always have loads to catch him up on.”

Nikki Cross’ 2020 Goals & Inspiring Others

Cross reflected on how last year was “incredible” for her. She highlighted her partnership both on-screen and in real life with Alexa Bliss, sharing how they’ve become “really, really good friends.” Cross noted how her main goal for their team this year is to recapture the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships.

On being a role model, Cross brought up other Scottish Superstars like Piper Niven and Kay Lee Ray. She spoke with pride about the women’s Evolution show and how she is thrilled that she can help inspire girls and Superstars.

“When I broke into wrestling there were lots of women I’d look up to. There are so many women from other generations that helped us get to this stage and contributed so much. And now it has got to the point where we’ve had a women’s only pay-per-view and see multiple matches on each show. It’s an empowering feeling and I’m so happy that girls can be inspired by that.”

Nikki Cross will be one of the competitors in this Sunday’s 30-woman Royal Rumble matchup.

WWE Superstar Baron Corbin has reflected on his feud with Roman Reigns. During the rivalry, Corbin utilized a can of real dog food, dunking its contents over “The Big Dog.” Speaking with the Houston Chronicle, Corbin talked about how doing so was a “blast” for him.

Old School

Corbin spoke about the pride he takes in playing the bad guy, helping the WWE Universe get behind babyfaces like Roman Reigns. He stated how “Every once in a while you used to get the ‘Let’s go Roman,’ ‘Roman Sucks’ chants. Now, no one is saying ‘Roman sucks.’ It is always ‘Corbin sucks.’”

When asked about a rivalry highlight, Corbin shared how “covering him in dog food was a blast aside from the smell – it got on me as well. But that level of guttural hatred that I heard when we were doing it was awesome and the moment was right. I think it was old school and it was just nasty. And I think outside the box. It was a lot of fun to do.”

Baron Corbin’s Royal Rumble Thoughts

With WWE’s Royal Rumble match coming up this Sunday, Corbin was asked about the 30-man match. He confessed he likes competing in the Rumble as it “keeps you on your toes.”

“There are so things that go awry and stuff like that when you have so many competitors in the ring and it’s exciting and stressful but it’s fun. You have to keep your head on a swivel because you don’t always know who’s coming out next and whatever it may be. You have 29 other people trying to get rid of you. I think it’s awesome. It’s just a huge overload of stress and excitement and that’s what makes it fun.”

Baron Corbin faces Roman Reigns in a Falls Count Anywhere match this Sunday at Royal Rumble. The event takes place at Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas.

National Wrestling Alliance World Heavyweight Champion Nick Aldis recently spoke with Sports Illustrated. During their conversation, Aldis addressed NWA’s championship credibility. He also broached the possibility of a working relationship between NWA and All Elite Wrestling.

“The NWA has proven that people wanted to take this world championship seriously again,” Aldis said. “The credibility was given to me by all the men who held the title before I did, and I represent the qualities and attributes that people identify with as world champion.

Nick Aldis On NWA Working With AEW

Nick Aldis then addressed the idea of the NWA and AEW working together. He stated how the idea is brought up “almost daily.”

“The NWA is open to working with anyone. There are a number of wrestlers outside the WWE that are viewed as elite-level guys, so it’s only a matter of time before the audience starts demanding the main-event matches they want to see. We want to give the fans the matches they want to see, these super fights.”

He continued, “If AEW wants to be involved in big, marquee matches, then they have two choices: go out and write some more big checks to some more guys, or they’re going to have to come to the table and work out some super fights with the NWA.”

NWA’s next pay-per-view, Hard Times, will take place this Friday from GPB Studios in Atlanta, Georgia. Nick Aldis is set to compete against Ring of Honor’s Flip Gordon in an inter-promotional matchup.

The viewership numbers are in for the latest and third episode of WWE Backstage, a weekly talk show, in 2020.

The show that aired on FS1 at 11pm ET drew 111,000 viewers. This is up from last week’s 84,000 viewers, according to Showbuzz Daily. 

In the 18-49 demographic, WWE Backstage drew a 0.6 rating this week, which is up as the previous rating last week of 0.03. Regarding the Cable Top 150, the episode ranked #141, the up from last week as the show didn’t make the top 150. 

Through the first nine episodes that aired in 2019, the show averaged 117,777 viewers per episode.

Renee Young, Paige, and RAW Women’s Champion Becky Lynch were featured on the show. Former WWE Champion CM Punk made an appearance on the show, which marked his first appearance on the show of the new year.

As of this writing, there’s no word yet on when Punk will make his next appearance on the weekly talk show but it will likely be next month. He’s been appearing on the show once a month. 

WWE Backstage Viewership Numbers

Here is how the viewership numbers look like since its premiere: 

• November 5: 49,000 viewers
• November 12: 100,000 viewers
• November 19: 180,000 viewers
• November 26: 121,000 viewers
• December 3: 138,000 viewers
• December 10: 127,000 viewers 
• December 17: 95,000 viewers 
• December 24: 153,000 viewers
• December 31: 97,000 viewers  
• January 7: 124,000
• January 14: 84,000
• January 21: 111,000

CM Punk Blasts The Miz Over WWE Backstage Remarks

German wrestler Jazzy Gabert took part in the Inaugural Mae Young classic and she was then signed to the NXT UK brand where she had been a regular since last May.

However, her run with the company ended abruptly when she didn’t take part in the NXT UK tapings last week and her sudden departure left people wondering about the reason behind her move.

During a recent interview with WrestleTalk, Gabert finally explained why she is leaving the company, revealing that she has been working on other projects outside of the wrestling world like reality shows in Germany, in between the tapings of the WWE show.

However, she was recently offered some projects which clash with her wrestling schedule and so the female star decided to ask for her release from the promotion:

“2020 Udo Lindenberg asked me if I can come on tour again and a reality TV show offer came also in. Unfortunately, these projects would cross the schedule from NXT UK and I had to make a decision, because working all of these projects at once wouldn’t work.

As I couldn’t see myself moving on or up in terms of storylines, I had to ask for my release. So it was completely my decision and I’m happy about it. I always wanted to work for WWE and I’m happy that I can tick that box. Of course, would I have loved to be a champion, for sure, but my heart tells me it’s time to move on.”

Jazzy Gabert continued by saying that she is grateful for the opportunity WWE has given her and the German wrestler was immensely privileged to train with legends like William Regal and Shawn Michaels.

She mentioned how she was blessed to make her debut at Blackpool. Gabert claimed that while some say that the storyline she was placed in was not good, she was just happy to be out there and tried to make the best out of it.