Matt Hardy is on the cusp of a major career decision. With his WWE contract reportedly expiring soon, several promotions are said to be interested in the WWE Superstar. WWE has allegedly made “overtures to him” in their efforts to keep him, one of which includes him becoming a part of the NXT system in some capacity. Taking to his Twitter account, Hardy teased the NXT rumors currently revolving around him.
“With a hand of days remaining, nothing is yet written in stone. Every major player is currently on the board, everyone’s at the table. I must rePROCURE. I must be RESURRECTED. I must seek out my ARCADIA.Then what’s NeXT? #FreeTheDELETE #FreeTheDELETE.com”
He also uploaded a YouTube video to his channel called “DEAR DR RKO” where he addressed the brutal attacks at the hands of Randy Orton. He spoke about how he should be livid at Orton but isn’t. Rather than the attacks being a curse, he instead considers them to a blessing, thanking Orton for his actions.
With a hand of days remaining, nothing is yet written in stone. Every major player is currently on the board, everyone’s at the table.
I must rePROCURE. I must be RESURRECTED. I must seek out my ARCADIA.
There has been speculation that Hardy would be revealed as the Dark Order’s “Exalted One” in AEW. Raven appeared on a recent episode of AEW Dynamite in the background, hinting at his potential involvement. However, some have theorised he was just a distraction to Hardy’s arrival.
If Hardy elects to stay with WWE, that would obviously scupper any plans that may exist. With the Superstar eager to work somewhere the allows him greater creative control, the answer may come down to which promotion will grant him his request.
The reports of Bella Twins being inducted into Hall Of Fame first came out a couple of weeks ago and then WWE made the induction official on the latest episode of SmackDown.
After the major announcement, the duo of Nikki Bella and
Brie Bella appeared on the latest episode of WWE Backstage to talk about their
careers and more.
During the interview, The Bella Twins were also asked about their reaction to the news. Answering the question, they revealed that it was Vince McMahon himself, who called to inform them about their induction:
“It’s funny when Nikki and I got the called, Vince [McMahon] called us both, we saw his missed call and my first reaction was, ‘Nikki, what did you say in the press?'” recalled Brie. “We thought we were in trouble, we called Vince back, together, and when he told us, we were shocked, ‘What? This year?'”
"My first reaction was, Nikki what did you say in the press?" – Brie Bella ?
Nikki Bella then explained that after working for long and
fighting for so many things, having the one man who they look up to call them
for the opportunity was incredible.
The Bella Twins also talked about Nikki’s Evolution match against Ronda Rousey and she said that she went in the match thinking it as a David vs. Goliath scenario.
Nikki and Brie will be inducted into Hall Of Fame during the WrestleMania weekend alongside Batista and nWo. Davey Boy Smith, JBL and Jushin ‘Thunder’ Liger are the other reported names for this year’s class but they are yet to be announced officially.
Losing Matt Hardy in the current environment would be a big loss for WWE and it appears that the officials of the company also realize this as they are offering all kinds of perks to the former Champion to stay, including a position in NXT.
Mike Johnson talked about Hardy’s status on the latest episode of PWInsider Elite Audio and reported that the company has made a lot of “overtures to him” in recent times.
The Wrestling Journalist then revealed a very interesting possibility. He said that there have been talks of the Broken One working in the NXT system somehow, noting that his gut feeling is that Hardy will stay:
“I know that WWE has made a lot of overtures to him in the last couple of weeks. There’s been some talk of him working in the NXT system somehow. My gut feeling is that Matt Hardy will probably stay.”
Matt Hardy’s current WWE contract is set to expire very soon and if he doesn’t re-sign with the company then he is expected to become a free agent this Sunday on March 1.
WWE offered him an increased pay to stay with the company but Matt is looking for creative control over his character which has been stopping him from signing a new contract with the prmotion so far.
WWE has taken an interesting direction with the Women’s Royal Rumble winner Charlotte Flair this year and she has chosen to face NXT Champion Rhea Ripley at WrestleMania, instead of choosing a champion from Raw or SmackDown.
Though it appears that Ripley’s appearance will be the only major involvement of NXT at Mania as there are no other NXT title matches planned for the show.
Dave Meltzer talked about the upcoming event on the latest episode of Wrestling Observer Radio and revealed that there are currently 14 matches planned for WrestleMania.
However, the Ripley vs. Flair bout is the only NXT Championship match scheduled for Mania and as of this writing, no other NXT titles are expected to be defended on the event.
While the NXT stars can still be used in the male or female battle royals at the PPV, the current plans are for Rhea Ripley to be the main representative of the Black And Yellow brand on WrestleMania.
On a related note, Meltzer revealed that the NXT Champion is being paid under her standard NXT contract but she is receiving bonus pay for any Raw appearances she makes to build her feud with Charlotte.
There is no word yet on what she will be paid for her actual match at the Grandest Stage Of Them All but it’s not hard to imagine that WrestleMania will be a big payday for her and any other involved NXT stars.
It was reported yesterday morning that the Undertaker is traveling to Saudi Arabia for the Super Showdown event and now videos of his arrival have surfaced online.
@Enjoy_Saudi Twitter account recently posted some clips of WWE superstars arriving in the country for Thursday’s event. As seen in the post below, the video captures stars such as Goldberg, The Miz, Dolph Ziggler, and The Undertaker:
Taker has not officially been announced for Super Showdown so far and there is no word yet on what the Dead Man will be doing at the Pay-Per-View event.
Though previous reports have revealed that the current plans
are for the former World Champion to face AJ Styles in a one on one match at
WrestleMania 36.
So fans are speculating that Undertaker can make an
appearance on the show to confront Styles and set up their match at this year’s
edition of the Show Of Shows.
AJ Styles is set to compete in the Tuwaiq Mountain Trophy gauntlet
match alongside Andrade, Bobby Lashley, Erick Rowan, R-Truth, and Rey Mysterio.
This match itself also made some headlines recently when WWE replaced Rusev with Rey Mysterio and reports have since revealed that the Bulgarian Brute backed out of this appearance at the last minute.
Monday’s edition of WWE RAW averaged 2.210 million viewers in Winnipeg, Manitoba at the Bell MTS Place on the USA Network, which is down from the 2.437 million viewers the previous week.
RAW Viewership
Here is the hourly viewership breakdown, courtesy of ShowbuzzDaily:
Hour 1: 2.278 million – Last Week: 2.671
Hour 2: 2.246 million – Last Week: 2.559
Hour 3: 2.106 million – Last Week: 2.082
The episode was expected to maintain in its viewership from last week. WWE will attempt to increase its viewership for Monday Night RAW next week due to it serving as the post-show of Raw for Super ShowDown.
Here is the hourly 18-49 demos breakdown:
Hour 1: 0.73 – Last Week: 0.87
Hour 2: 0.71 – Last Week: 0.82
Hour 3: 0.68 – Last Week: 0.68
Some of the matches that took place include Angel Garza (w/Zelina Vega) vs. Humberto Carrillo, Ricochet vs. Luke Gallows, Aleister Black vs. Erick Rowan, Seth Rollins (w/Murphy) vs. Montez Ford, and Randy Orton vs. Kevin Owens.
There was also a segment with WWE Champion Brock Lesnar to promote his match with Ricochet at the Super ShowDown pay-per-view event.
In case you missed the show, you can check out the five takeaways here.
WWE has suspended Samoa Joe for 30-days due to his first violation of the company’s wellness policy. The company has not released information regarding what caused Joe’s violation of the policy.
WWE has suspended Nuufolau Seanoa (Samoa Joe) for 30 days effective Monday, February 24, for his first violation of the company’s talent wellness policy.https://t.co/3PiiutkI32
“WWE has suspended Nuufolau Seanoa (Samoa Joe) for 30 days effective Monday, February 24, for his first violation of the company’s talent wellness policy,” WWE’s release reads.
Samoa Joe Suspended 30 Days For Wellness Policy Violation
Joe is currently on the shelf dealing with an undisclosed injury as a result of hitting his head on a table during a WWE commercial shoot. He was also removed from a match on RAW after being injured mid-match as well.
Joe is the 4th Superstar in recent months to be suspended due to failing the company’s wellness policy. Andrade was suspended recently and late last year saw Primo Colon and Robert Roode both suspended as well.
World Boxing Heavyweight Champion Tyson Fury defeated Deontay Wilder over the weekend in decisive fashion. The bout was billed as the biggest of this century, with two of the most gifted heavyweights in the world colliding.
Tyson Fury in WWE
Following the fight WWE’s Braun Strowman, who previously had a match against Fury in Saudi Arabia; tweeted his want for another shot at the World Champion. Following his massive win at the weekend Tyson Fury is now arguably one of the hottest trending names in the sports world; and with his natural flair he is seen as a perfect for WWE, according to Busted Open Radio’s Bully Ray.
More Over Than Ever
“He’s even more over than he was the day he stepped foot in the WWE. Or him stepping foot in that boxing ring” Bully began. “Because this guy got him self over as an entertainer during his entrance and after the fight. I mean Tyson Fury has shown why he’s custom made for the WWE. He comes out you know on the throne, I mean we’ve seen that before you know; King Haku, or King Harley raised up, or King Corbin. It’s very WWE. He is singing Patsy Cline’s Crazy during his entrance. He’s actually singing the words of the song hanging out having a great time. Then [he] goes out there and just completely kicks Deontay Wilder ass.”
Bully also stated that he believes the ‘Gypsy King’ would be a good opponent for WWE’s King Corbin in the near future. “I mean this guy is custom fit for the WWE, the WWE is going to want the boxing world undisputed champion on their side now and I could see the Gypsy King vs King Corbin happening down the line.”
There have been rumors that Tyson Fury was looking to perform more for the WWE in future, although with this big win the boxing star might be looking ahead to a fight against fellow Brit Anthony Joshua.
Do you think we will see Tyson Fury back in a WWE ring? Let us know in the comments
It was recently revealed that Rusev will not be making the trip to Saudi Arabia for Super ShowDown. Rusev had originally been scheduled to take part in The gauntlet match but has since been replaced by Rey Mysterio.
In an update to this story, there are multiple reports surfacing regarding why Rusev will be missing the show. According to a report from PW Insider, Rusev is dealing with a back injury at the moment and that has led to him not being on the show. Recently on Wrestling Observer Radio, however, Dave Meltzer noted that be back injury is the official story but that Rusev has essentially backed away from the show.
“Rusev isn’t going on the trip. The story is an injury,” said Dave Meltzer on the show. “The story is an injury but he backed out of the show essentially, I guess at the last minute.”
Rusev was scheduled for the 6-person TuwaiqTrophy gauntlet match. The match will now pit Andrade vs. AJ Styles vs. Bobby Lashley vs. Erick Rowan vs. R-Truth vs. Rey Mysterio.
Rusev has been reported to have been involved in a contract dispute with WWE. Lana recently signed a new multi-year deal with the company, however.
We’re just 6 weeks away from the biggest event in WWE’s year. WrestleMania 36 will be taking place on Sunday April 5, 2020 at the Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. Whilst two big bouts have already been confirmed for NXT and RAW, SmackDown’s main event matches are apparently still in a ‘state of flux.’
SmackDown at WrestleMania
WWE Hall of Famer Bully Ray discussed the upcoming event on Busted Open Radio. “I’ve heard rumblings within the WWE. Nothing is set in stone on on the SmackDown side of WrestleMania” Bully Ray began. “When it comes to the Universal Championship for WrestleMania, a lot of matches are in a ‘state of flux.’ I think we only have two definitive matches so far set, you know, Brock [Lesnar] and Drew McIntyre plus Charlotte [Flair] and Rhea [Ripley], everything else is up for grabs.”
WWE WrestleMania 36
WWE Universal Champion Bray Wyatt will be defending his title this Thursday against Goldberg at Super Showdown in Saudi Arabia. It is expected that Roman Reigns will be challenging for the belt at WrestleMania against the winner of the SS match. “Roman is going to be involved somehow” Bully stated. “And I think it’s probably time for them to kind of get Roman back into the championship mix. Although I can’t say positively if I think that’s a good idea or not.”
A year ago today Roman Reigns announced to the world that he was in remission from cancer. Of course the reception to Roman has changed from the live audiences since then, but there’s a palpable feeling that WWE may he hesitant to put him back into the title picture.
Do you think that Goldberg will defeat Bray Wyatt in Saudi Arabia? Let us know in the comments
Sammy Guevara attempted to interfere during the tag team battle royale on AEW Dynamite last week. He took a rather painful-looking superkick from Matt Jackson for his trouble, however. Guevara took to his YouTube vlog to comment on the spot. He noted that he ended up rolling his ankle when taking the move.
“So last night, I took a pretty nasty superkick and I actually ended up rolling my ankle,” Guevara said on the vlog. He then read some comments posted on Instagram about the spot.
“So I don’t know if I’m going to be able to wrestle in Australia,” Guevara continued to say about an upcoming booking.
“I took a superkick to the face and rolled my ankle, how is that even possible?” Guevara continued.
Guevara also visited with Jack Evans in the video who expressed that someone may have drugged his milk and that is why he did not win the battle royal. Guevara and Marko Stunt then attempted to convince each other they don’t hate one another. He finally ended the video by noting it was noon and he hadn’t been kicked out of his hotel yet.
Guevara’s latest blog can be viewed in its entirety in the player below:
Cathy Kelley’s final televised appearance with WWE took place at NXT TakeOver: Portland back on February 16th. In the days leading up to her departure, Kelley posted a lengthy statement on social media announcing the move.
Since then, the former WWE broadcaster appeared on Maria Menounos’ podcast to discuss her decision to leave the company.
“I just knew that it was the right time and really feeling like I had planted a lot of seeds,” Kelleysaid. “There’s so many things that I want to do in my life.”
Kelley revealed the hectic grind of the WWE schedule played a role in her decision. She just moved to Los Angeles and working with WWE was preventing her from working on projects outside of wrestling.
“With the WWE schedule, it’s so time-consuming because you are traveling so much,” she continued. “Being me, I wanted to do everything so I wanted to work as much as possible which also meant being away from Los Angeles, which I just moved to. That wouldn’t have allowed me to continue to do the other things, or work on the other things that I wanted to do.”
AEW has added another match to this Sunday’s Revolution PPV in Chicago. The promotion recently confirmed several matches for the show including an AEW Women’s World Championship match pitting champion Nyla Rose against Kris Statlander.
BREAKING NEWS A new match has been added to #AEWRevolution#AEW Women's World Championship Match@callmekrisstat vs. @nylarosebeast (c) Who is leaving Chicago with the championship held high?
Recently on Dynamite, Statlander and Big Swole confronted Nyla Rose during an interview segment. Rose defeated Riho to win the AEW Women’s World Championship on the February 12th, 2020 card.
All Elite Wrestling’s Cody Rhodes has shared how the promotion’s Women’s Division is still “growing.” He made the comments during a recent media call. Cody noted how he is aware of the fan criticism, and that it’s something the company is open to as they work towards improving.
“The women’s division is growing. I actually would say when you hear the criticisms—you hear the good things about your show, things people don’t like and you’ve got to keep your ears open. You can’t be close-minded to it,” he said. “One thing that is going to take time is the women’s division in particular. It’s a merit-based show. It’s a merit-based wrestling show and the best wrestlers are going to wrestle on that show.”
He continued, “I think we have some of the best wrestlers and some of the best women’s wrestlers. I’d really like to see Big Swole emerge. Britt Baker is on absolute fire. Nyla Rose becoming the second AEW Women’s World Champion, an amazing moment and maybe the best match on the best show we’ve done all year. That speaks to the talent level of Nyla and Riho and that international involvement that will always be there as far as bringing in the Joshi talent.”
Cody Rhodes’ Request
Cody Rhodes then asked fans to be patient with AEW as they are “doing everything” possible to further grow the division. He reflected on how popular women’s wrestling has become in recent years. AEW’s ultimate goal is to cultivate the division and make it a big part of their brand going forward.
His brother, Dustin, recently shared a similar sentiment. He acknowledged how the division is taking a “slow, steady” approach towards building and establishing itself.
“The women’s division is developing,” Dustin said. “It is slow, but it is developing, and we will get there over time. You know, this isn’t a race, it’s not a sprint, it’s a slow, steady build, like simmer on the stove, man.”
“Superstar” Billy Graham has reacted to Vickie Guerrero’s recent revelation that WWE Superstars are no longer allowed to appear on her podcast. The decision was reportedly made after Vickie appeared on an episode of All Elite Wrestling’s YouTube show, Dark. She joined Excalibur in a guest commentator role. She was also present during Chris Jericho’s recent Rock’ N’ Wrestling Rager cruise.
Taking to his Facebook account, Graham lambasted the decision, labelling Vince McMahon a “scumbag bastard.”
Superstar Billy Graham Lets Loose
“[…] This man has to be the single most evil human being walking the face of the earth. To deny a woman’s right to make a living when her husband gave his life for this unworthy pile of dung,” Graham wrote. “He won’t let her have any of his talent to simply sit and talk on a Podcast, while this coming Thursday, Febuary 27 he will be putting on a show in Saudi Arabia with his partner the Saudi Crown Prince, Mohamed bin Salam who will be paying 50 million dollars for this one night show and oh yes, personally ordered the murder and dismemberment of American journalist Jamal Khashoggi.”
Graham vented his frustration at Vince’s refusal to allow Vickie to “make some nickles and dimes” with her podcast. He stressed the point, highlighting how Vince is about to make “50 million dollars soaked in Khashoggi’s blood.”
Billy Graham accompanied his post with a picture of himself next to the late-Eddie Guerrero.
Vickie had previously shared her shock at WWE’s decision: “I was just like, ‘Wow. They’re gonna be like that.” So you just quietly move on and you see how they are and you just have to take care of your own business.”
She appeared on the 12/11 episode of AEW Dark, which you can watch below:
WWE Hall of Famer Kurt Angle has addressed his “quality of life” comments. Angle recently confessed how his “quality of life right now sucks,” admitting that he’s hurting pretty badly.
Angle addressed his words during an interview with the Table Talk with D’Von and Mo Podcast. He shared how he was “utterly surprised” at the reaction his statement garnered. He noted how the sentiment was taken out of context and blown out of proportion.
“I competed from a very young age, from 7 years old all the way until I was 50, either amateur wrestling to pro wrestling, that’s a lot of years, that’s going to do a lot of damage to your body,” Angle stated. “My quality of life, it does suck, I’m not going to lie to you, especially staying clean, which I continue to do and always will. Your knees, your back, your neck, your shoulders, as you age and get older it catches up to you.”
Kurt Angle On Dealing With Injuries Then Vs. Now
Angle also spoke about the differences that exist now in how current talent deal with injuries. Angle divulged how, in his era, “we worked through it and finished the match.” He pointed to Triple H’s quad injury as an example of this, as well as breaking his own neck while wrestling Brock Lesnar.
“We were having a match and I knew right away, I knew something was wrong but we worked through it. That’s not the smartest thing in the world to do. There’s a big difference now and I think they’re doing the right thing with that. Injuries occur, you can’t pretend they never occur, they do.”
Kurt Angle wrestled his “Farewell” matchup at year’s WrestleMania 35. He lost to Baron Corbin.
WWE Hall of Famer Booker T joined Lilian Garcia on her podcast, Chasing Glory. During their conversation, Booker T shared his thoughts on WWE’s heavily scripted promos.
He compared these scripts to how things were when he was an active in-ring competitor. Booker noted how scripts can “take away a lot of the originality.” Despite this, however, Booker T also addressed the positives scripts can provide. He pointed to his experiences as King Booker as an example.
“I remember back in the day, John Laurinaitis, he used to write a lot of my matches for me. Just the finish, he would write the finish for me,” Booker T explained. “In the beginning I told him, I go, “Man, I don’t work like this. I’m an artist.” He’d go, “Just look it over and just try it.” I went out and I was like, “All right, I’ll try it.” I went out and I did, and I was like, “Wow, man, I look like a million bucks.””
He continued, “If I got someone working with me and I know they can make me look better and then they give me the liberty to say, “Hey, use it if you like it. If you don’t, throw it out,” that’s going to make me a whole lot better, opposed to someone just telling me, “Hey, this is what you got tonight.” For me, I had Brian Gewirtz, back when I was doing the King Booker.”
Booker T has previously praised Gewirtz for helping him with the King Booker character. With his notes, Booker T was able to embrace the gimmick and deliver his promos with a little ad-libbing thrown in.
‘The Dead Man’ Undertaker is traveling to Saudi Arabia for Thursday’s Super Showdown event, according to reports from Wrestling Observer Radio.
Previous reports have revealed that Taker is expected to compete against The Phenomenal AJ Styles at this year’s edition of WrestleMania.
Styles is currently scheduled to wrestle in a gauntlet match for the Tuwaiq Mountain Trophy on the Saudi show. Other participants for the match include Andrade, Bobby Lashley, Erick Rowan, R-Truth, and Rey Mysterio.
While there is no word yet on what the Last Outlaw will be doing at the event, it’s speculated that he can set up his upcoming match with the former World Champion in some way during the PPV.
It’s been a while since the Undertaker last wrestled for WWE
and his last match for the company was a tag team bout where he teamed up with
Roman Reigns to face Shane McMahon and Drew McIntyre at Extreme Rules in July
last year.
Some photos of the former World Champion had sparked rumors of him returning at the Royal Rumble PPV earlier this year but the appearance obviously didn’t happen.
Taker was also recently spotted at the Performance Center in
Orlando and it would now be interesting to see if he gets physical in any
capacity at the upcoming show.
The Super Showdown this year will be taking place from
Mohammed Abdu Arena on the Boulevard in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia this Thursday,
February 27.
Last week on AEW Dynamite, Cody Rhodes wrestled Wardlow in a Steel Cage match. Cody would ensure their clash was a memorable one, delivering a moonsault off the top of the cage. Talking with Sports Illustrated, Cody reflected on his matchup and the backstage reaction to his intentions.
Cody likened his moonsault to one by Terry Funk, noting how “I’m a bigger guy than people think, so the moonsault doesn’t come off easily. The only piece of thinking in my mind was to throw my head back. My body will go where my head will go, that’s something John Laurinaitis and Dean Malenko told me when I first started doing the moonsault. As long as I threw my head back, I knew I’d be OK.”
He argued how this is what he brings to AEW. Cody compared himself to his Elite teammates. He highlighted how Matt and Nick Jackson have introduced a new style of tag team psychology. Kenny Omega delivers a “different way of doing wrestling” that Cody considers important to the evolution of the sport. Hangman is a “big run-and-gun heavyweight.”
What Cody believes he brings is his ability to “plug into the wrestling I grew up on” from the late ’80s to early ’90s. “That style was a little bit more disciplined, a little bit more deliberate, and I complement those guys by doing that.”
Having thought about the moonsault all day leading up to the matchup, Cody shared how there were some backstage who didn’t want him to do it, including AEW President Tony Khan. According to Cody, Khan was “adamant” he didn’t deliver such a dangerous move from such a height.
“I’ve never seen a boss like him and how he leads, and the way he cares about his investments,” he said. “Too many people were trying to talk me out of it. Typically, I’m by the ‘Go position’ during our show, but I stayed away.”
Cody Rhodes is set to wrestle against his former-best friend Maxwell Jacob Friedman. The two will face off at AEW Revolution on February 29th.
All Elite Wrestling’s Joey Janela has opened up about working a storyline with Kip Sabian and his ex-girlfriend Penelope Ford. Speaking with Wrestling Inc. Daily, “The Bad Boy” shared how he doesn’t feel uncomfortable working the feud with the new couple.
“Not really at all. I’ve been in the wrestling business for 15 years now so nothing’s really weird or uncomfortable,” Janela stated. “I’ve seen it all and heard it all. I’m trying to find my footing and they are as well. Who knows how all of this will turn out after this is all said and done.”
When it comes to his in-ring work with Sabian, Janela noted how he isn’t surprised at how well they’ve been working together. He highlighted how they are “polar opposites” and that, despite some doubts, he’s happy with how the feud has been going to date.
Joey Janela Wrestling On Dark, Not Revolution
The two recently clashed in a Falls Count Anywhere matchup. This match will be aired on this week’s episode of AEW Dark via the promotion’s YouTube channel. But would Janela have preferred for this matchup to have taken place at AEW’s upcoming pay-per-view, Revolution?
“Of course. Of course. That’s what we thought it was going to be but it is what it is,” he revealed. “They wanted to do a match on TV and a match on Dark. There’s so much stuff on the PPV but I would have done a few things differently, not necessarily politic for my match to be on a PPV. But on a PPV you’re a little more lenient – no commercials and more time to tell your story – but I have no issue with the direction it’s gone.”
He admitted that, once the Sabian feud wraps up, he isn’t sure what’s next. Janela shared how he usually lives “week by week” but is still getting adjusted to having a more stringent schedule to adhere to.
AEW Revolution takes place on February 29th, 2020 from Wintrust Arena in Chicago, Illinois.
WWE Superstar The Big Show recently joined “Stone Cold” Steve Austin on Broken Skull Sessions. During their conversation, Big Show was asked about the current state of WWE’s locker room. Given Show’s extensive career, he has undoubtedly witnessed the ever-changing attitudes within the locker room, making him a knowledgable spokesperson on the subject. Right now, he believes the current WWE roster is “too friendly” with each other.
“It’s too nice. Too friendly,” he revealed. “People are too comfortable and too happy to be working there. Vince will tell you himself, ‘if you don’t step on toes, you’re never gonna make it in this business.’ I wanna see some toe-stepping.”
Big Show continued, “I’m not saying be a dick in the locker room. I wanna see somebody that stands up, does business, and has that drive that, if he has to eat through somebody, that’s fine. We’re not all friends. We’re here to make money. I think we’re making good progress with somebody like Drew McIntyre. I’ve always liked Drew.”
He explained how McIntyre looks like a million bucks with his new attitude. Show noted how he McIntyre isn’t “handing out flapjacks.” He then stressed how he isn’t knocking the New Day before sharing how he’d love to see Big E make an impact of his own and become more aggressive.
This week’s episode of Raw saw Paul Heyman hyping Brock
Lesnar’s upcoming matches but his WrestleMania opponent Drew McIntyre was kept
off the show.
McIntyre still took part in the episode but he appeared in a pre-recorded video with Charly Caruso where he talked about his career in WWE so far and claimed that he will fulfill his destiny at WrestleMania 36.
Though the Scottish Psychopath did make a live appearance after the show went off air and he competed in a one on one dark match against the Monday Night Messiah, Seth Rollins.
Drew apparently cut a promo before his bout with the former
Universal Champion and the crowd was hugely behind the former NXT star.
The finish of the match saw Drew McIntyre picking up a pinfall victory over Rollins after hitting him with a Claymore kick. Below are some photos and videos of the bout:
For anyone that wants to know, the dark match was McIntyre Vs. Rollins. Crowd was hyped when McIntyre talked. McIntyre even got them to chant “tiny balls” at Rollins #RAW
It’s worth mentioning here that Seth pulled double duty during the night and he had also competed against Montez Ford of the Street Profits during the broadcast of the show.
Drew McIntyre has chosen Brock Lesnar as his opponent for WrestleMania after winning Royal Rumble. On the other hand, Seth Rollins’ match for the show has not been announced yet but he is likely to face Kevin Owens at the event.
The intentional glitches seen on SmackDown broadcast recently have been creating buzz among wrestling fans. People have been speculating names which can be behind it and the latest WWE signee Killer Kross is one of the top rumored stars for the spot.
While appearing on the Main Event podcast, reporter Dave Meltzer discussed these rumors and suggested that there could be something to the story of Kross being revealed as the mystery man behind the glitches.
It was previously reported that Killer Kross could be fast-tracked once he signs with the company and Meltzer noted that at the time of his signing, the word was that he was brought on for “something big”.
The former TNA star is not expected to take the usual route of going through NXT before joining Raw or SmackDown and WWE Officials are instead planning something significant for him on the main roster.
Though Meltzer put a stop to the rumors of Kross facing John
Cena at WrestleMania 36, saying that he specifically asked if this was the plan
and was told no.
WWE officially announced the signing of Killer Kross on February 5 but at the time, he wasn’t assigned any brand. The company had only confirmed that the former Lucha Underground star has reported to their Performance Center to begin his training.
New Japan Pro-Wrestling has announced the lineup for the first round of their annual springtime single-elimination tournament, the New Japan Cup.
NJPW has confirmed that the winner of the New Japan Cup 2020 will challenge Tetsuya Naito for his IWGP Heavyweight and IWGP Intercontinental Championships at Sakura Genesis on March 31st. All days of the New Japan Cup 2020 will be broadcasted live on NJPW World with an English commentary option.
Similar to last year, the field will consist of 32 NJPW wrestlers. The first round will take place over four events on March 4, 7, 8, and 9. The second round will take place over four events as well, on March 10, 12, 13, and 14. The quarter-finals will be held over three events on March 16, 17, and 18. Finally, the semi-finals will take place on March 20th, with the final match to decide the New Japan Cup winner on March 21st.
In the 2019 New Japan Cup, Kazuchika Okada took victory against SANADA in the final, and used the victory to challenge Jay White for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. He would go on to win the IWGP Heavyweight Championship at the G1 Supercard event at Madison Square Garden during WrestleMania weekend.
John Cena will be returning to WWE this Friday Night on SmackDown and there are speculations that he will kick off his WrestleMania feud during his comeback.
WWE Hall Of Famer Booker T talked about Cena’s return on the latest episode of his podcast and revealed his choice of WrestleMania opponent for the 16-time world champion.
Booker interestingly suggested that the Cenation Leader should face the current face of WWE, Roman Reigns, at this year’s edition of the Show Of Shows:
“Roman Reigns, Roman Reigns being the guy now, John Cena being the guy who has put in so much time, one of the greatest WWE Champions in history.
I know John Cena could pull it off, I know Roman Reigns could pull it off. Both of those guys know the art of going out there and doing Romeo and Juliet.”
Booker T later acknowledged that a lot of people would not want to see the match between the two on paper but he claimed they will be impressed when the bout takes place.
John Cena has locked up with Roman Reigns before. The two
faced each other in a one on one match at No Mercy 2017, and the Big Dog came
out victorious in the bout.
Cena was originally expected to face Elias at WrestleMania 36 but recent reports indicate that WWE has shaken up the card for the event recently. You can check out a detailed report on the matter here.
