WWE SmackDown aired live from the TD Garden in Boston, MA. Universal Champion Goldberg and John Cena appeared on tonight’s show.

WWE SmackDown 2/28 Results

1. Lacey Evans & Naomi def. Sasha Banks & Bayley
2. Robert Roode def. Kofi Kingston
3. Daniel Bryan def. Curtis Axel
4. The Usos def. John Morrison & The Miz

Here are 5 takeaways from this week’s show:

Roman Reigns Will Face Goldberg At WrestleMania

New Universal Champion Goldberg came down to the ring to a chorus of boos as Michael Cole pointed out a photo of him with the belt got a lot of Instagram likes.

Goldberg asked “who’s next?” and dropped the microphone. Roman Reigns’ music hit and he joined Goldberg in the ring as the crowd chanted “you both suck!”. Reigns said that he is next and dropped the microphone. The match was then officially announced later on the show.

Opinion: Well, there is now at least one match I don’t care about at this year’s WrestleMania. Michael Cole stated that people were getting goosebumps during this segment. He didn’t clarify whether they were watching while cold or were excited for this match. It also doesn’t make sense to me what Roman Reigns did to earn the title shot besides beating King Corbin several times. I was assuming that Reigns would win the Elimination Chamber match to get a shot at the title. Instead, all Reigns had to do was walk to the ring and say he was next.

Sasha Banks Returned & Lost In Her Hometown

Bayley was set to face Naomi again tonight. Sasha Banks returned and joined Bayley in beating down Naomi. Lacey Evans rushed the ring and a brawl broke out. It was then announced that it will tag team match. Naomi hit Banks with a Crossbody outside the ring. Lacey connected with an awkward hop over the top rope followed by clumsy fall onto Bayley as you can see in the GIF below.

Match Recap: Banks and Bayley controlled the match early and isolated Naomi in the corner of the ring. Evans brought Sasha outside and threw her into the ring apron. Naomi capitalized on the distraction and rolled up Bayley for the victory.

Opinion: Sasha Banks made her triumphant return in her hometown only to lose a random tag match. It was great to see the SmackDown Women’s Champion get pinned in this match that nothing as well. I’m also looking forward to watching WWE desperately try to get Lacey Evans over once again in the coming weeks.

Braun Strowman Will Defend The IC Title In A Handicap Match At Elimination Chamber

Renee Young moderated the contract signing for the Intercontinental Championship match at Elimination Chamber. Braun Strowman will defend the title against Shinsuke Nakamura at the PPV. Sami Zayn and Cesaro accompanied Nakamura to the ring for the segment.

Zayn said that they were trying to conduct business like gentlemen and asked Strowman to grab a seat. Braun obliged and grabbed the computer chair and launched it out of the ring. Sami stated that Nakamura couldn’t enjoy his birthday last week because Strowman Powerslammed him onto a piano.

Strowman told Sami to shut up because everyone is tired of hearing him bitch and moan. Braun added that he doesn’t care what is in the contract, even if he has to fight all three of them, and just signed it. Zayn amended the contract so that Strowman will have to fight all three of them in a 3-on-1 Handicap match at Elimination Chamber.

Nakamura and Cesaro beat Strowman down in the corner and Sami followed it up with the Helluva Kick. Sami hit another one before Nakamura hit the Kinshasa. Cesaro and Shinsuke then Suplexed Strowman through the table.

Miz & Morrison Will Defend Their Titles In A Tag Team Elimination Chamber Match At The PPV

SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Miz and John Morrison came down to the ring and boasted about winning the titles at Super ShowDown. Miz said that they proved all the haters wrong and now they can choke on their pancakes.

Miz and Morrison tried to start a chant for themselves before posing in the ring as Miz’s entrance music played. Ring announcer Greg Hamilton interrupted and announced that Miz & Morrison will defend their titles in a Elimination Chamber match at the PPV. Heavy Machinery, New Day, Roode & Ziggler, Lucha House Party, The Usos, and New Day will be the other teams in the match. The Usos then battled Morrison and Miz in a tag match.

Match Recap: The Usos controlled the match early as the glitch appeared on the screen once again.

Miz and Morrison battled back and started to start a chant for themselves once again. Jimmy tagged in and hit Morrison with a boot to the face and hung him up in the Tree of Woe. Jimmy then planted John with a Destroyer as Jey tagged in. Jey hit a Frog Splash for the pinfall victory.

Opinion: I will forever be dumbfounded as to why WWE has many of their champions lose non-title matches on television. I don’t understand the point of having Miz and Morrison win the titles 24-hours ago and then lose their first match the following night.

John Cena Will Face The Fiend At WrestleMania

John Cena made his return at the conclusion of this week’s episode of SmackDown. Cena got a great reaction from the crowd as John stated he will always be a WWE superstar.

Cena said that he is doing something different at this year’s WrestleMania and that he always prides himself on listening the to the WWE Universe. John added that the crowd is all passionate about the future of WWE and he is to.

John claimed that he is doing the right thing this year and that WrestleMania should go on without him. Cena said that WrestleMania spots should be earned and not demanded. Cena thanked the crowd and exited the ring. Cena gave a salute on the entrance ramp before the lights went out. The Fiend appeared on the entrance ramp and pointed at the WrestleMania sign. John tipped his cap at The Fiend and the lights went out again to end the show.

Opinion: The final few seconds of SmackDown were very well done with The Fiend challenging Cena at WrestleMania. I loved the shot of Cena slowly turning around to reveal The Fiend behind him. The rest of the show was a letdown unless you are a diehard Goldberg or Reigns fan.

John Cena made his long-awaited return to WWE television. 

The former WWE Champion did so on Friday’s episode of SmackDown on FOX in Boston, MA at the TD Garden. As seen on the show, Cena closed the show with a promo about how he needs to answer the question of what he’s doing at WrestleMania 36. 

Cena made it known that he always will be a WWE star. He said that he’s doing something different because he knows how hard the WWE stars work for one moment at Mania. He said that WrestleMania should go on without him because it’s the right thing to do. 

Cena stated that he’s not going away but doesn’t know when he’ll be back. Cena says WrestleMania should be earned not demanded. Cena put the microphone down and walked up to the stage.

The lights went out then back on with The Fiend standing behind him and pointing at the WrestleMania sign. Cena tipped his hat and The Fiend disappeared to close the show. 

Dave Meltzer was initially able to confirm earlier this month that not only will Cena wrestle at WrestleMania 36 but he’ll be wrestling Elias. WWE thinks that Elias will “get the rub from losing to Cena.”

However, that was later changed and reported that Cena would be feuding with Wyatt that would ultimately lead to a match between the two stars at WWE’s biggest event of the year, WrestleMania 36. 

Roman Reigns On John Cena Calling Brock Lesnar “The Best In-Ring Performer Of All Time”

A new match has been announced for the upcoming WWE WrestleMania 36 PPV and it’s a big one.

WWE Universal Champion Goldberg vs. Roman Reigns was confirmed. WWE did so on Friday’s episode of SmackDown in Boston, MA at the TD Garden on FOX in the opening segment. 

Goldberg came out for a promo where he asked not who was last but who’s next. Reigns came out to the ring and said he was next. They had a quick staredown before the segment ended. 

This was expected with original plans calling for Reigns to face Bray Wyatt as champion at the biggest event of the year for WWE. 

Once Goldberg dethroned Wyatt, it was clear that Goldberg would walk into WrestleMania as Universal Champion as the company changed plans. 

WWE presents the WrestleMania 36 pay-per-view event on Sunday, April 5, 2020 in Tampa, Florida at the Raymond James Stadium that will air on the WWE Network. WWE will be announcing more matches for this show in the coming weeks. 

Updated WWE WrestleMania 36 Card

• WWE Champion Brock Lesnar vs. Drew McIntyre
• WWE Universal Champion Goldberg vs. Roman Reigns
• WWE NXT Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley vs. Charlotte Flair

What are your thoughts on this match being added to the card? Sound off in the comment section.

WWE Makes Changes To Top WrestleMania 36 Matches

Cody Rhodes and The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson) took part in a panel at C2E2 on Friday where they talked about a wide range of topics. 

Matt talked about how they were originally going to announce just one show on New Year’s Eve but things changed once the AEW trademarks leaked they decided to announce the whole promotion. They all recalled how miserably cold that night in Tokyo was when they filmed the announcement vignette.

Matt and Cody recalled how one of their original AEW signings took place at the TGIF.

Also, their gathering to do the Jacksonville rally was Tony Khan’s idea. Matt recalled getting ready to go to Disney World with his family but Tony told him to cut the vacation short and sent a private jet.

Originally, AEW’s weekly television show on TNT was going to be called AEW Revolution but Khan had always envisioned the show being called Dynamite so they saw through his vision. Matt added that Dynamite resonated better than Revolution, according to tests they did. 

Cody brought up how AEW World Heavyweight Champion Chris Jericho wanted a serious meeting with them early before he signed.

Thus, they invited him to a TGIF in Japan. They got the “backstage” private room and Cody noted Jericho seemed underwhelmed by the meeting.

Cody Rhodes Says Revolution Could Be AEW’s “WrestleMania”

H/T to The Big Dawg on Reddit for the notes

A new episode of WWE Friday Night SmackDown is here and it’s slated to be an interesting show. 

With just hours until bell time, it’s time to look ahead starting with tonight’s episode of SmackDown. The biggest thing to be announced for this episode of SmackDown is the fact that John Cena will make his return to WWE television. 

WWE hasn’t announced any details on why he’s appearing on the show but it’s likely to kick off his program heading into WrestleMania 36. 

As of this writing, no segments and matches have been announced thus far for this show. In fact, WWE hasn’t released its preview article for the show on their website as of this writing. 

As usual, fans should expect more matches and segments to be revealed this afternoon for SmackDown. 

The company holds this show from Boston, MA at the TD Garden. WWE is advertising the following items for tonight’s broadcast:

• New Universal Champion Goldberg to appear
• John Cena to make his return
• The fallout from Thursday’s Super ShowDown pay-per-view event
• WWE will also be announcing matches for existing feuds that will take place heading into the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view event. 

Join us here later tonight for WWE SmackDown Results and our post-show SmackDown Takeaways feature.

• Goldberg Dethrones Bray Wyatt As Universal Champion At WWE Super ShowDown

Arn Anderson is Cody Rhodes’ manager in AEW and has been by his side in recent weeks as Cody prepares to face MJF at Revolution. Anderson discussed the upcoming match on his podcast recently along with Conrad Thompson.

Anderson first addressed the fans who thought he would turn on Cody on the Dynamite show from Atlanta.

“Ever since day one when Cody decided he was going to solicit my services as a coach, a fair share of people have been waiting for the other shoe to drop. Never trust an Anderson, Cody you know what he did to your Dad, you know what he did to your brother, you can’t trust him, God knows it’s going to go down in Atlanta and it didn’t. So, I’m very happy to say that I told people in advance, this is a new day, this is a new thought process. Cody didn’t offer me a job. He didn’t give me a job. I don’t need a job and I don’t want a job.”

During the cage match last Wednesday, it appeared as though Anderson considered closing the cage door on Cody but then hit MJF with the door instead.

Arn Anderson Talks Cody vs MJF

“One of the mistakes that Cody made is one that a lot of men make. When he agreed to the 10 lashes, he let his ego do his thinking.”

“That would have been a good time to ask me what I thought,” Anderson continued.

Anderson also spoke about what fans can expect between Cody and MJF on Saturday.

“This is just going to be a wrestling match and it’s going to be a – hey, who has more talent? Who doesn’t blow a gasket and get off his gameplan? We’ve got to account for the big guy on the outside because what we did find out in Atlanta is the guy is a monster.”

Anderson’s comments can be heard in the player below:

Cody Rhodes says that while AEW has never designated one event as its most important, Revolution may end up being the promotion’s WrestleMania level event. The AEW EVP spoke with Newsweek about the upcoming PPV.

“A lot of people ask us, ‘What’s your WrestleMania? What’s your big event?’ We’ve never designated one event as the big event out of our four pay-per-views,” said Rhodes. “But just kind of going with what my gut is feeling and seeing the marketing element, the thematic element, the staging element, I think Revolution may end up being the big one.”

Revolution marks the fourth and final pay-per-view of All Elite Wrestling’s quarterly PPV calendar. The current roster of AEW pay-per-view events includes Double or Nothing, All Out, Full Gear and Revolution. The promotion also holds occasional ‘special events’ including shows like Fyter Fest, Fight for the Fallen, Bash at the Beach and the Jericho Cruise.

Cody is scheduled to take on Maxwell Jacob Friedman Saturday night in Chicago. The relationship between the former close friends imploded at Full Gear (November 2019) when MJF threw in the towel while in Cody’s corner for his title match against Chris Jericho. The action not only cost Cody the match but also the ability to ever challenge for the AEW World title again.

“If I’m wrong,” Cody continued, “that means one of the others is the big one, so it’s OK. But I have just such a good feeling about February 29th.”

• Cody On If Dusty Rhodes Would Have Left NXT For AEW

Head over to Newsweek.com to check out their full interview with Cody Rhodes.

Below, you can catch up on the entire rivalry between Cody and MJF.

There are currently 3 WWE Superstars who could be back from long-term injuries shortly. According to a report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Nia Jax, Jeff Hardy, and Lars Sullivan could all be back soon.

Jeff Hardy was backstage at the recent Smackdown in Glendale, Arizona. He is due to be back from knee surgery at any point. He has been on the shelf since April. Hardy and his brother Matt had been the Smackdown tag team champions when Hardy was injured shortly after WrestleMania. They were forced to vacate the titles. Jeff has had additional time added to his WWE contract due to injuries as well, which is why Matt’s contract is up on March 1st and Jeff is still under contract past that time.

Nia Jax also went on the shelf in April of last year. She had double knee surgery that was expected to take her out of action until early 2020. She’s expected back shortly as well.

Lars Sullivan went down with a knee injury in June and was estimated to be back in 6-9 months. That put his return scheduled for some time around January – March 2020. So, he is due to be cleared for a return shortly. Sullivan was fined $100,000 by the company last year after offensive message board posts from years ago resurfaced and garnered a strong reaction from fans.

• Jeff Hardy Was Backstage At SmackDown This Week

WrestleMania 36 will take place on April 5th, 2020 from the Raymond James Stadium in Tampa Bay, Florida. The lineup for the show is said to have been in a state of flux over the last few weeks, however.

2 news matches have been added to the planned lineup. These include Otis taking on Dolph Ziggler and a women’s tag titles match pitting the Kabuki Warriors against Natalya and Beth Phoenix.

According to a report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, here is what is currently planned for WrestleMania. Please note that plans for these matches could be changed.

Planned Matches:

1. WWE Championship: Brock Lesnar (c) vs Drew McIntyre
2. Universal Championship: Goldberg (c) vs Roman Reigns
3. John Cena vs Bray Wyatt
4. Edge vs Randy Orton
5. Undertaker vs AJ Styles
6. RAW Women’s Championship: Becky Lynch (c) vs Shayna Baszler
7. NXT Women’s Championship: Rhea Ripley (c) vs Charlotte Flair
8. WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships: The Kabuki Warriors (c) vs Natalya & Beth Phoenix
9. Otis vs Dolph Ziggler
10. Men’s Battle Royal
11. Women’s Battle Royal

5 additional matches to be added:

• A match involving Seth Rollins
• A Smackdown Women’s title match
• Intercontinental title match
• Smackdown tag team titles match
• A U.S title match

The report would continue to say there have been rumors of Tyson Fury coming in after his victory over Deontay Wilder but they are nothing more than rumors at this point.

Goldberg defeated Bray Wyatt’s “Fiend” at Super ShowDown yesterday to win the WWE Universal Championship. The match result has garnered strong reactions from fans and those in the wrestling industry. Booker T took to his radio show recently to give his thoughts on the matter.

“Always expect the unexpected,” Booker said in a Macho Man voice. “Anything can happen in WWE. My thing is, I didn’t think this was going to happen either, I didn’t see this happening.”

Booker continued to say that he felt there was an opportunity for a big “moment” to occur in Saudi Arabia but he wasn’t sure exactly what that would be.

Booker then talked about a potential Roman Reigns vs Goldberg match at WrestleMania. He joked that it would be “old spear” versus “new spear” and that they should work in a little “Shakespeare.”

“I like it because my thing is right here, how else were we going to get the belt off the Fiend?” Booker said about Wyatt losing.

“Who else taking the title off the Fiend would have been better than Goldberg?” Booker asked. His co-host, Brad Gilmore, suggested Roman Reigns may have been better.

“What is better, Roman conquering the Fiend? Or Roman conquering Goldberg?” Booker questioned.

“One thing about Goldberg is, the guy still has his fans,” Booker concluded about Goldberg.

“People know every time they see Goldberg, it could be the last time, so just savor the flavor,” he continued.

Booker’s comments can be heard in the below YouTube video:

Kenny Omega is often cited as one of the best pro-wrestlers going today. Some even offer higher-praise to the former IWGP Heavyweight Champion.

During a discussion with Jonathan Snowden of Bleacher Report, the AEW World Tag Team Champion discussed his process of putting the matches together that his fanbase enjoys so much.

“A lot of wrestlers are wrestling fans at heart,” Omega said. “I’m not necessarily a fan [of wrestling] anymore. I’m a fan of TV dramas, I’m a fan of video games, and I’m a fan of movies. I like the way that those forms of media are laid out to attract the fan. That’s my study material for how I put together a storyline or a match.”

Kenny Omega On His Unique Wrestling Style

Omega continued to say his matches are more about putting together a story than doing cool moves or his athletic ability.

“Yes, I’m athletic and I can do cool moves and I try to be original with the way I perform them, but I feel the way that I put things together is different from the average wrestler because the average wrestler is just that: He’s just a wrestler. He’s a wrestler who wants to be a wrestler. I am wrestling as a job but trying to tell human stories to pull at your heartstrings.”

Omega would also continue to talk about how he is not a typical “wrestler’s wrestler” but that’s not what he’s trying to do.

“There’s no Kenny Omega copy-and-paste formula. It’s all different. It’s difficult and very mentally draining, and because I do that, maybe it makes me not a true wrestler’s wrestler. What I am trying to do is not attract the wrestler’s wrestling fan; I’m trying to open up the world to what wrestling can be and show there is no limitation to what wrestling can be.”

Omega is currently 1/2 of the AEW tag team champions along with Adam “Hangman” Page. They will take on the Young Bucks with the titles on the line at Revolution.

The full interview can be found here.

WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley successfully defended her title last night during Super ShowDown in Saudi Arabia. Speaking with WWE.com in a backstage exclusive, Bayley spoke about her historic championship defense.

“How special was it for them? Probably very special. They’ve probably been waiting—how long have I been in the WWE—about seven years for this moment. For Bayley to arrive as the champion, of course. It’s only a matter of time.”

She noted how it was special for her to beat Naomi. Bayley stressed how, in the time she was away, things have changed, including the fact ‘The Role Model’ has taken over. With her win, the champion declared that Naomi can now leave, asking her to “Maybe go away again.”

Bayley Wants A “Bayleybration”

When it was brought up that SmackDown was just around the corner, Bayley stated she didn’t have plans to attend. She noted how her best friend Sasha Banks isn’t there because of how she is currently working on an album. The champion then added with a frustrated sigh:

“I’ll probably be there because I have to and I’m the champion, and it’s in my contract, and they’ll yell at me if I’m not. What? I’m not going to defend my title again, that’s for sure. […] Maybe we can have a celebration, what do you think about that? You know what, we have Alexa Bliss, A Moment of Bliss every single freaking day. Maybe A Moment of Bliss can throw a Bayley celebration—Bayleybration.”

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

With Cody Rhodes having been such an instrumental part of All Elite Wrestling, some may wonder if his dad—’The American Dream’ Dusty Rhodes—would have been interested in joining his son’s venture following Cody’s WWE departure.

Speaking with Tony Schiavone and Aubrey Edwards on AEW’s official podcast, AEW Unrestricted, Cody Rhodes broached the idea. He stressed how, more than anything, his father had a high regard for loyalty. 

Cody Rhodes On Dusty’s Loyalty

Cody explained how “Hunter gave him that cushy, one day a week job at the Performance Center teaching promos where half the time they were watching movies and it was more like a life class which is what promo class should be.”

He continued, “It was a pretty cushy gig that he had so I don’t know if my mom would let him come work here. I think she would. He was really loyal, and he might have remained loyal. Who knows?”

Dusty’s legacy in NXT continues since his passing in 2015, with the brand hosting an annual Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic in honor of the wrestling legend.

Cody Rhodes is scheduled to clash with Maxwell Jacob Friedman this Saturday at AEW’s next pay-per-view, Revolution. The show takes place in Wintrust Arena in Chicago, Illinois.  

H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription. 

All Elite Wrestling announcer Tony Schiavone has revealed what he believes is the dumbest thing he’s ever said. His revelation comes after WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley poked fun at Schiavone following this week’s episode of AEW Dynamite. 

Foley uploaded a photo of himself watching the show, writing, “EPIC stuff from @KennyOmegamanX & @BASTARDPAC on @AEWrestling Yes, I’m channel surfing. It’s a good time to be a wrestling fan. Did @tonyschiavone24 just insult PAC after that amazing match? Could be the second dumbest thing Tony has ever said!”

Schiavone then jumped in, replying to Foley. He admitted how his recent comments were only the third dumbest thing he’s ever said. He then listed the other two:

“Third dumbest. 1.) Yes Vince, I’ll come to work for you 2.) Yes, I’ll move to Connecticut”

Tony Schiavone’s History

Although Tony Schiavone worked for the then-WWF for a stint in the ‘90s, he is best known for his work in WCW. Since WCW, he also provided commentary for Major League Wrestling, prior to his signing with AEW.

There was a time that he was hired by coffee chain Starbucks. This history has been turned into an angle on AEW Dynamite, with Dr. Britt Baker often mocking him for his previous job role.

Tony Schiavone is the co-host of two popular podcasts. He hosts What Happened When along with Conrad Thompson. Last week, AEW launched the new AEW Unrestricted podcast, which features Tony and referee Aubrey Edwards interviewing AEW talent.

Macaulay Culkin has revealed he has cancelled his plans to attend WrestleMania 36 following last night’s Super ShowDown results. The ‘Home Alone’ actor, and noted wrestling fan, shared the news via social media, responding to a joke tweet by Twitter account @WWECreative_ish.

When they tweeted how Super ShowDown was all about “building new stars” like WWE veterans Brock Lesnar, The Undertaker and Goldberg, Culkin sarcastically replied “Amen.” He followed up with a message, letting people know how unhappy he was with the event, writing: “I’ve just cancelled my tickets to Tampa Bay.”

When a fan directly asked him if he planned on still attending despite his comment, Culkin replied: “Nope.”

Goldberg, having seen Culkin’s online protest, told the actor that his thoughts were “duly noted dork.”

Super ShowDown Fallout

Last night saw Lesnar squash Ricochet in just over a minute. The Undertaker would claim the Tuwaiq Trophy after entering himself into the Gauntlet match, delivering a chokeslam to AJ Styles.

Most notably, former WWE Universal Champion Goldberg reclaimed the title. He defeated ‘The Fiend’ Bray Wyatt in approximately three minutes, following several spears and a lone Jackhammer. With this victory, it appears as though Goldberg is now WrestleMania bound.

There has been speculation that the WrestleMania 36 card has been changed recently. Goldberg will supposedly be going up against the ‘Big Dog’ Roman Reigns. Given he is now the Universal Champion, their clash will most likely be over the title.

Reigns recently shared how he would have preferred to face Wyatt on “The Grandest Stage of Them All.” This decision, however, has seemingly changed those plans.

All Elite Wrestling’s Maxwell Jacob Friedman (MJF) has shared what he believes makes him stand out amongst today’s wrestling landscape. Speaking with Sports Illustrated ahead of his highly-anticipated matchup against Cody Rhodes, MJF credited his old school mentality as his defining characteristic.

“The funny thing about the independents is you got bookings based off of GIFs, the GIFs you see on Twitter,” MJF stated. “Someone doing a 759-30-splat-yada-yada, Darby’s coffin drops with the f—ing skateboard attached to his back, Orange Cassidy kicking people in the shins real slow, Jungle Boy doing flippity do-dahs and flippity-ays, the list goes on and on. I had a chuckle after my match with Jungle Boy when I saw everybody saying, ‘I had no idea MJF was such a great wrestler!’ Well, I knew. But why on earth would I put myself in a situation where I have to take these stupid moves? I’ll watch other matches and see moves and ask myself, ‘Why?’”

He argued how he’s “as old-school as it gets in this modern era” before stressing how he’s the last of a dying breed. MJF shared how he doesn’t care about GIFs or making people happy. “I didn’t care about people going, ‘Oh, my god, his work rate is absolutely fantastic. I can’t wait to see his next five-star match.’”

MJF On His Old School Attitude

MJF noted how he cares about making sure that people remember him, but only for the right reasons. He wants to be the last thing fans think of when they go to sleep. He stressed how it wouldn’t be because he’s hitting the coolest moves or putting on his body on the line. It would be because of how he captivated them.

MJF stressed how he doesn’t do things to make people happy, he does things his way because it’s what he wants to do. As far as he’s concerned, that mentality is “what makes me different.”

MJF clashes with Cody Rhodes this Saturday at AEW Revolution. The pay-per-view takes place at Wintrust Arena in Chicago, Illinois.

NXT Superstar Johnny Gargano has previously shared his intentions to stay on NXT. For many, he is synonymous with WWE’s black-and-yellow brand. He has recently spoken about his annoyance at people calling NXT the “minor leagues.” Despite his evident passion for the third brand, however, he did spend some time on WWE’s main roster. Catching up with Corey Grave on WWE’s podcast, After The Bell, Gargano reflected on his brief time as a part of the main roster.

Johnny Gargano Breaks Down The Differences

When Graves described his time on Monday Night RAW and SmackDown as “a cup of coffee,” Gargano joked how “I don’t know if that was a cup of coffee. I mobile ordered, but I didn’t pick it up.”

Looking back at his experience on the main roster, Johnny Gargano confessed that it’s very different to what he knows in NXT. 

“Maybe it’s because I’m so entrenched with the NXT system, and I’ve known our writing staff, our creative team, all the camera guys and everyone who works backstage plus it’s at Full Sail every week and that’s 10 minutes from my apartment in Orlando so that’s nice.”

He continued, “The travel schedule isn’t as hectic as RAW and Smackdown, but there is that same sense of urgency that is also on RAW and Smackdown. It’s just different. I feel like it’s a lot more stressful on RAW and Smackdown for some strange reason, but in NXT, it feels like home. It feels like I’m very very comfortable, so I think that’s the biggest difference for me.”

Johnny Gargano explained how on the main roster, there are “literally a million people.” Whenever he was backstage at RAW or SmackDown, he would meet new people all the time. At NXT, because of the smaller environment and familiar faces, it has created a family environment that he enjoys. 

H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.

Ryback has addressed WWE’s decision to block their Superstars from appearing on Vickie Guerrero’s podcast. This comes in the wake of her appearance last December on an episode of AEW’s YouTube show, Dark. The revelation has sparked some debate from those within the industry. To Ryback, however, people shouldn’t be surprised.

“Not surprising,” Ryback said during an episode of Shooting Blanks Wrestling Report. “There’s some WWE guys, and I’m friends with some of them, that I can get on [this show].”

He continued, “Even guys that I’m friends with, I know they have to go the office to get approval to do [things]. That’s what I remember when I was there. They added that in which is crazy for independent contractors. They’re not allowed to make decisions on their own. WWE says you’re not allowed to do any interviews unless it’s approved by us, so that’s really odd to do that to independent contractors.”

Ryback: “That’s What They Do”

Ryback explained how “that’s what they do.” He pointed to a time he had Dolph Ziggler come onto the show. He highlighted how they didn’t even talk about wrestling and instead stuck to comedy for a full hour. They did this because if they spoke about wrestling, there would have been “repercussions” for Ziggler, be it a fine or punishment. 

Although not surprised by WWE’s ruling, Ryback shared how he doesn’t like hearing it happen. “It makes it tougher. I would love to talk to guys that I’ve wrestled with and could share stories with. It’s just the way that it is. It’s what they do. It shouldn’t come to a surprise to anybody.”

Vickie Guerrero appeared on the 12/11 episode of Dark, where she joined Excalibur as a guest commentator. 

H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.

Former WWE Superstar CM Punk has discussed the possibility of wrestling for All Elite Wrestling (AEW) while still working on WWE Backstage. Joining Kevin in the Mornings with Allie & Jensen, Punk argued that he technically could, but wouldn’t be surprised by a negative response from Fox.

“I think if I was wrestling for AEW, I’m sure Fox would be like, ‘well, it was fun while it lasted.’ I guess technically [I could],” Punk said. “Technically I could do that yeah, but I’m sure Fox would be like, ‘well?'”

He stressed how he can still do commentary on MMA shows while working on WWE Backstage. Punk also reiterated how he is an employee for Fox, not WWE.

CM Punk On Renee Young

CM Punk credited Renee Young with being instrumental in bringing him onto WWE Backstage. He shared how wrestling fans “owe a debt of gratitude” to her if they enjoy seeing him occasionally on the show. 

“I don’t think it would have happened if it wasn’t for her. I was talking to Fox for a very long time. They immediately got Renee on board. Renee and I were having conversations every day.”

According to him, Young was suffering from ring fatigue thanks to her commentary duties on Monday Night RAW. With Backstage, however, she still gets to work within a wrestling space—just one without somebody “in her ear yelling at her.” He was complimentary of Young’s passion and mindset for wrestling, pointing out that “she gets it, and that’s what she excels at.”

H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.

Cody Rhodes has shared the two main terms the All Elite Wrestling hiring team use when discussing talent. Speaking on a recent episode of AEW Unrestricted, Cody divulged how he, Kenny Omega, The Young Bucks and Tony Khan use the terms ‘fresh’ and ‘extra credit.’

Cody Rhodes Explains ‘Fresh’ & ‘Extra Credit’

“‘Fresh,’ like people who perhaps we haven’t seen in the wrestling world or who haven’t made in that many locker rooms and on television,” he explained to hosts Tony Schiavone and Aubrey Edwards. 

“But the other one, the term we’d always use is we’d say is ‘extra credit’ and what extra credit means is really just kind of putting a bow on passionate. We were looking for all the people who like doing everything – who like everything.”

He explained that these people come to work and are eager to learn every aspect of the industry. From understanding camera work to refereeing, in-ring work to backstage producing, etc. “Even if they don’t know why I’m standing here, listening and watching, I want to have a ‘master of all’…”

Cody Rhodes is scheduled to compete against his former-best friend Maxwell Jacob Friedman at the promotion’s next pay-per-view, AEW Revolution. The event takes place this Saturday from Wintrust Arena in Chicago, Illinois. 

H/T to WrestleZone for the transcription.

It appears that the feud between Roman Reigns and Baron Corbin is finally over and the Big Dog will be moving to his next rivalry after the Super Showdown event.

The show in Saudi Arabia saw the former Universal Champion defeating Corbin in a steel cage match after hitting him with a superman punch using a steel chain.

After the show went off air, the WWE crew talked to Roman Reigns backstage and they asked him how it felt to finally get his retribution against the former US Champion.

Replying to the question, the former Shield member explained that being in his position means that people will always challenge you for your spot.

He also admitted that if felt good to beat Corbin and Reigns then said that he now expects someone else to have beef with him:

“I expect somebody else to have beef with me, that’s just the place that I’m in. Everyone wants to take what’s mine and it’s up to me to defend it every single night.”

The announcers kept mentioning that the match was the end of the rivalry between the two stars and these comments from Roman Reigns make it feel like he is finally done with the former NXT star.

Roman Reigns is expected to compete in a big Elimination Chamber match and reports have already revealed the plans for him at WrestleMania. You can check a detailed report on Reigns’ WrestleMania opponent at this link.

The Fiend’s dominating run that started at SummerSlam last year finally came to an end at Super Showdown where Goldberg defeated the Monster to win the Universal Championship in the main event of the show.

WWE cameras caught up with the new Universal Champion backstage after the event was over and he was asked about his big win during the night.

Goldberg was asked how it felt walking out of Super Showdown as the Universal Champion and he joked that he will be limping out of the country instead. The new champion then said that it’s an honor to win the title again:

“But hey man, it’s an honor just to be here and to be able to go out there and attain this belt again, this title again.” said Goldberg. “It’s a dream come true, it truly is. It’s something you always shoot for, but the older you get, the further that pinnacle is away you think, and I’m just… I’m in awe.”

Goldberg then detailed the strategy he used to defeat Wyatt saying that he had to hit Bray with everything he had, as quickly as he could to catch him off guard. He mentioned that this is how he defeated Brock Lesnar as well.

The former WCW star has been announced for an appearance at SmackDown tonight. His Super Showdown win is expected to lead to a very interesting WrestleMania match. Click here to know the WrestleMania plans for Goldberg.

Tammy Lynn Sytch, better known as Sunny, was jailed since early 2019 due to multiple DUI charges against her. Her parole was revoked after multiple violations such as her failure to notify authorities of her whereabouts, failure to pay an agreed-upon monthly fee for her release, and failure to maintain a stable residence.

Recently released reports had suggested that Sunny would be released on parole next month after her new attorney filed a parole petition with the courts last month. But it looks like she has been released from prison earlier than scheduled.

Sunny was released from Carbon County Correctional in Carbon County, Pennsylvania on Tuesday morning, per Ryan Satin of Pro Wrestling Sheet. Sunny has had quite the trouble with the law since 2012, when she was arrested a total of five times, in a four week period.

According to police records, Tammy Sytch aka Sunny was released from prison earlier than they had scheduled and is now out from behind bars. pic.twitter.com/y4xwFkSBqm

— Ryan Satin (@ryansatin) February 25, 2020

When an arrest warrant was issued for her in February last year for missing a scheduled drug test and maintaining a stable residence, she was arrested for driving while intoxicated in Seaside Heights, New Jersey. This was her third DUI arrest in 12 months, and sixth overall.

She was sentenced to 5 years in prison in 2016 but was given credit for 97 days time served and paroled. Her previous attorney had filed a petition last year to withdraw as her defense counsel, according to court records.

Tammy Lynn Sytch aka Sunny is a WWE Hall of Famer and she was inducted in 2011. She is credited for being the first “Diva” in the company, being a staple of the Attitude Era in the late ’90s. Apart from WWE, she also worked in ECW and had a short stint in WCW as well. Besides being a HOFer, she is also a 2-time Slammy Award winner. She was also honored by the Cauliflower Alley Club for her contributions to wrestling.

WWE Super ShowDown aired live from the Mohammed Abdu Arena in Riyadh. The Fiend defended the Universal Championship against Goldberg in the main event.

WWE Super ShowDown 2020 Results

1. Anderson & Gallows def. The Viking Raiders (Kickoff Show)
2. The Undertaker won the Tuwaiq Trophy Gauntlet match
3. The Miz & John Morrison def. New Day to capture the SD Tag Titles
4. Angel Garza def. Humberto Carrillo
5. Rollins & Murphy def. Street Profits to retain Raw Tag Titles
6. Mansoor def. Dolph Ziggler
7. Brock Lesnar def. Ricochet to retain the WWE Championship
8. Roman Reigns def. King Corbin in a Steel Cage match
9. Bayley def. Naomi to retain the SmackDown Women’s Championship
10. Goldberg def. The Fiend to capture the Universal Championship

Here are 7 takeaways from WWE Super ShowDown 2020:

The Undertaker Showed Up & Won The Gauntlet Match

R-Truth, Bobby Lashley, Anrade, Erick Rowan, Rey Mysterio, and AJ Styles competed in a Gauntlet Match tonight for the Tuqaiq Trophy.

Match Recap: R-Truth dodged a Spear and Lashley bounced his face off the middle turnbuckle. R-Truth capitalized and rolled him up for the pinfall. Bobby got pissed and beat the hell out of R-Truth. Andrade was next up and dominated early. Andrade went for an elbow but wound up colliding heads with R-Truth. R-Truth then fell on top of Andrade for the pinfall elimination. Rowan entered the match next and brought his cage ringside. The cage was knocked to the floor and Rowan lost his mind. Rowan beat the hell out of R-Truth but used the steps as a weapon and the referee disqualified him.

AJ Styles was next and got planted with an Iron Claw from Rowan. AJ beat R-Truth down and locked in the Calf Crusher for the submission. Rey Mysterio’s music hit but he didn’t make his way down to the ring. Anderson and Gallows were then shown attacking Rey backstage and AJ demanded that the referee proclaim him the winner. The Undertaker then took out Anderson and Gallows before making his way to the ring at a glacial pace. Taker then defeated AJ Styles rather quickly with a Chokeslam to win the Gauntlet Match.

Opinion: I’m looking forward to the likely match between AJ Styles and The Undertaker at WrestleMania. However, I thought the Gauntlet Match tonight was absolutely terrible. It went on far too long and it was odd to see The Undertaker defeat Styles so easily with just a Chokeslam.

The Miz & John Morrison Are The New SmackDown Tag Team Champions

New Day (Kofi Kingston & Big E) defended their SmackDown Tag Team Championships against The Miz & John Morrison tonight at Super ShowDown.

Match Recap: Big E started off the match in control and beat down The Miz. The Miz battled back and tagged in Morrison. John and Miz then isolated Big E in the corner and took turns beating him down. Kofi pleaded for a tag and finally got it. Kingston cleaned house and went for Trouble in Paradise but Morrison was able to avoid it. Morrison hit Kingston with a chair in the ribs and Miz capitalized with a roll-up for the victory. The Miz and John Morrison are the new SmackDown Tag Team Champions.

Rollins & Murphy Retained

Seth Rollins and Murphy defended their RAW Tag Team Championships against Street Profits (Montez Ford & Angelo Dawkins) tonight at Super ShowDown.

Match Recap: Murphy attempted to distract Dawkins by throwing his shirt at him but Angelo ignored it and leveled Murphy with a Spear. Street Profits then greeted Rollins with a couple of Dropkicks as he entered the ring. Rollins and Murphy battled back and isolated Ford in the corner of the ring. Angelo sent Murphy flying over the announce table and Street Profits then went after Rollins.

Seth stayed alive as Murphy recovered and tagged in. Ford went for a Cannonball but got caught and thrown into the barricade. Rollins then planted Dawkins with the Stomp and Murphy pinned him for the victory. Rollins and Murphy are still the RAW Tag Team Champions.

Opinion: This felt like a standard tag match that you’d see on RAW but was still by far the best match of the night so far. It makes sense for Rollins and Murphy to retain as this match had very little build to it. Rollins and Murphy have been more focused on Kevin Owens, Viking Raiders, and the recently suspended Samoa Joe on RAW as of late. Street Profits seemed thrown into feud over the past couple of weeks and it would have been pretty random if they won the titles tonight.

Brock Lesnar Easily Defeated Ricochet

Brock Lesnar defended his WWE Championship against Ricochet at Super ShowDown.

Match Recap: Ricochet went for a Dropkick right away but Brock easily swatted him aside. Lesnar then hit a Vertical Suplex, followed by three German Suplexes and an F5 for the pinfall victory. Brock Lesnar is still the WWE Champion.

Opinion: It was impossible to get invested in this match leading into it because everyone knew Lesnar was going to win. However, I at least expected Ricochet to get in some offense to make the match slightly interesting. That wasn’t the case and this was just a waste of time.

Roman Picked Up Another Win Over Corbin

Roman Reigns once again battled King Corbin at Super ShowDown in a Steel Cage match.

Match Recap: Reigns came down to the ring with chain around his neck and locked the door to the cage. Corbin attacked Roman from behind and hit Deep Six for a near fall. Corbin then grabbed the key from Reigns’ pocked and unchained the cage door. King Corbin tried to exit the cage but Roman slammed the door on his head. Reigns went for a Superman Punch but Corbin was ready and countered into a Chokeslam. Roman battled back and trapped Corbin in between the ropes. Reigns connected with two Superman Punches and then wrapped the chain around his fist. Roman hit another Superman Punch with the chain for the pinfall victory. After the match, an absurd amount of pyro went off as Reigns posed for the crowd.

Opinion: I’m not sure how they do it but Reigns and Corbin have an uncanny ability to make any match boring. Their TLC Match was horrific and tonight’s Steel Cage match was completely forgettable. I just need this feud to be over for my own sanity at this point.

Bayley Is Still The SmackDown Women’s Champion

Bayley put her SmackDown Women’s Championship on the line against Naomi tonight at WWE Super ShowDown.

Match Recap: Naomi dominated the bout early and connected with an uppercut for a two count. Naomi followed it up with a Corkscrew Plancha as a “this is awesome!” chant broke out in the crowd. The Champ battled back and connected with a Bayley to Bayley for a near fall. Naomi went for the Split-Legged Moonsault but Bayley avoided it. Bayley then trapped Naomi’s legs in her own shirt and hit her new finisher (Rose Plant) to retain the title.

Opinion: Bayley and Naomi are capable of having a much better match but this was still entertaining. It was cool to see the crowd invested in the match.

Goldberg Captured The Universal Championship

The Fiend defended the Universal Championship against Goldberg in the main event of Super ShowDown.

Match Recap: Goldberg connected with a Spear right away and went for the cover but The Fiend kicked out at one. Goldberg hit some more Spears and went for another cover but The Fiend kicked out again and applied the Mandible Claw. Goldberg broke free with a couple knee strikes and planted The Fiend with the Jackhammer for the pinfall victory. The Fiend got back to his feet and disappeared as the lights went out in the arena. Goldberg is the new Universal Champion.

Opinion: I had convinced myself that WWE wouldn’t take the Universal Championship off Wyatt and give it to a 53-year-old Goldberg. Amazingly, that is what they did and not only that, Goldberg won the match with ease. Seth Rollins practically tried to murder The Fiend last year and couldn’t keep him down. However, a terrible looking Jackhammer from Goldberg did the trick tonight.

I’m assuming this is leading to Goldberg versus Reigns at WrestleMania, so that way Michael Cole can shout it is going to be “Spear versus Spear!” every Friday night until April 5th. There is no scenario that I’ll be invested in that match if that is where this is heading. WWE spent months building up The Fiend only to feed him to what is left of Goldberg. The Undertaker and Goldberg picking up wins at a WWE PPV in 2020 isn’t really what I’m looking for. Overall, Super ShowDown was a terrible PPV that already got the build towards WrestleMania off to a bad start.

Austin Theory has sent waves through NXT since he made his debut in December last year. In this week’s episode of NXT, he took on Tommaso Ciampa and gave him a run for his money but eventually lost the match.

Theory was recently interviewed by ComicBook.com where he was asked about his goals for 2020, which he revealed to be a match against his inspiration, John Cena. Austin said that Cena was the first person that got him into wrestling and he liked his attitude the most. Theory also revealed that he was bullied growing up and Cena’s way of handling himself gave him encouragement to push through the harder times.

“I remember turning on the TV, and the first thing I ever saw was John Cena in the ring doing a segment with Johnny Nitro at the time and Melina. I know that makes everybody’s eyes roll. But I remember watching that, and just his attitude, I just liked it.

“For me growing up, I was bullied in school, and I didn’t have my dad in my life, so it kind of helped me, like just his attitude and the way he was and the way he carried himself, no matter what the situation was. John Cena just gave me that encouragement, and even if it sounds cheesy, just to never give up. I mean it’s true, and that’s what’s gotten me here so quick,” said Theory.

As mentioned before, Austin Theory faced Ciampa and he actually shocked him in the early portions of the match with his upstarting performance. He dominated most of the match and gave an impressive performance despite losing.