The debut of a new X Division Championship belt and multiple new title matches have been confirmed for the upcoming TNA Genesis PPV later this month.
The X Division Champion Moose had a segment on the January 9 episode of Impact. He claimed that the current title belt design was the ugliest he has seen. The current champion then had Alisha Edwards toss the title belt aside and announced that he’ll be debuting a new design fit for the face of the franchise at the upcoming PPV.
The episode also saw the confirmation of Tessa Blanchard’s in-ring return match. After Blanchard once again attacked Jordynne Grace, Santino Marella made the bout between the two female stars official. The upcoming match is expected to be Grace’s last for the company.
Apart from this, the company also confirmed the TNA Knockouts championship match and several other bouts for their PPV during Impact. Here is the updated match card for the show:
X Division Championship Match: Moose (c) vs. Ace Austin
TNA Knockouts Tag Team Championship Match: Spitfire (Jody Threat and Dani Luna) (c) vs. Ash by Elegance and Heather by Elegance (with The Personal Concierge)
Singles Match: Josh Alexander vs. Mike Santana
Singles Match: Jordynne Grace vs. Tessa Blanchard
TNA Tag Team Championship Match: The Hardys (Jeff Hardy and Matt Hardy) (c) vs. The Rascalz (Trey Miguel and Zachary Wentz)
TNA Knockouts Championship Match: Masha Slamovich (c) vs. Rosemary
TNA World Championship Match: Nic Nemeth (c) vs. Joe Hendry
TNA Genesis this year will be taking place on Saturday, January 19, 2025, from Curtis Culwell Center in Garland, Texas
Seth Rollins has explained why he was unhappy with CM Punk’s Survivor Series return.
The Straight Edge star shocked the wrestling world when he made his return to WWE at the 2023 Survivor Series event. Apart from his shocking comeback, the thing that made the most headlines on the night was The Architect’s viral reaction to Punk’s entrance where he had to be held back by officials so he wouldn’t jump on the returning star.
The former Shield member explained his reaction in a new interview with Chris Van Vliet. Seth Rollins mentioned that the night was supposed to be about Randy Orton who had returned to action after more than 18 months on the shelf due to his back injury. CM Punk’s comeback however, instantly overshadowed The Viper’s big moment:
“You know what I wasn’t happy about was Randy had just come back from a long hiatus. That was his moment. It was a great moment. The reaction for him when he came through the curtain was unreal.
We went out there, there was 10 of us out there, and we went out there and had a hell of a contest. [We] just didn’t really need him, but you know, it was Chicago, it’s his city, it’s just the most classic make everything about me CM Punk moment I’ve ever seen.”
Seth Rollins and Orton teamed up with Cody Rhodes, Jey Uso, and Sami Zayn at the show to defeat The Judgment Day and Drew McIntyre in a brutal WarGames match.
The former Champion discussed how his adrenaline was through the roof after the bout and he was busy celebrating the big win with his teammates. Punk’s return however rendered all their hard work meaningless and the night at the All State arena became all about the one thing:
“Then that happens and it’s no longer about the performance. It’s no longer about Randy. It’s no longer about what you had done to get to that point. It’s just, hi guys, it’s about me. Remember I’m the guy that you that you miss, remember me, guys? So yeah, just another kind of throw that on the pile of disgusting CM Punk moments. But don’t worry, he’s not selfish. He’s in it for helping everybody else.”
Seth Rollins suffered a loss at the hands of CM Punk during Raw’s Netflix premiere episode on January 6. In the post-match press conference, Punk recalled his long rivalry with Drew McIntyre and expressed the belief that Rollins would not let go of his animosities so easily even after the defeat.
Mercedes Mone has opened up about suffering a panic attack before her most recent championship match.
The CEO faced Mina Shirakawa in a double championship match earlier this month. The Wrestle Dynasty bout coming from Tokyo Dome was her first match ever in the legendary arena. The AEW star talked about this bout in the most recent edition of her newsletter and revealed that she suffered a full-blown panic attack on the morning of the January 5 show:
“Though I have nerves and butterflies for all my big matches, my match at the Tokyo Dome against Mina was somehow different. From the moment I landed in Japan, where I actually bawled my eyes out with both disbelief and gratitude, to the morning of the event, where I had an actual panic attack, making history was the last thing on my mind.”
Mercedes Mone noted that it was her lifelong dream to have a match at Tokyo Dome. She claimed that to her Japan feels like a second home. Though the current TBS Champion was not only excited but also petrified cause she didn’t want to let anyone down and do a good job of representing female athletes:
“I didn’t want to let the promoters down. I didn’t want to let the fans down. I didn’t want to let Mina down. I especially, and as always, didn’t want to let the women wrestlers of today AND tomorrow down. I want New Japan, and all promotions, globally, for that matter, to know that we female athletes deserve prominent recognition and a prominent place on the card. “
Mone defended her NJPW STRONG Women’s Title against Mina’s RevPro Undisputed British Women’s Championship at the PPV match. The American star came out victorious in the bout, adding another title to her prestigious collection.
WWE star Cathy Kelly has revealed that she’s one of the thousands who have been affected by the Los Angeles wildfire disaster.
The broadcast star revealed the news while replying to a X post showing the destruction caused by the wildfire. Kelly revealed that she’s one of the people who have had to evacuate their homes due to it:
“Friends have lost homes, countless more displaced—witnessing the LA fires and devastation they’re continuing to leave behind is beyond heartbreaking. Just evacuated my own home. I can’t even begin to comprehend or put into words this feeling”
friends have lost homes, countless more displaced—witnessing the LA fires and devastation they’re continuing to leave behind is beyond heartbreaking.
just evacuated my own home. i can’t even begin to comprehend or put into words this feeling ? https://t.co/y51WTfn8WQ
A series of wildfires devasted the Los Angeles area on Tuesday fuelled by powerful winds and unusually dry conditions. As of Thursday, at least seven people had been killed by the fires while more than a thousand structures have been destroyed.
More than 180,000 people have been under evacuation orders while more than 100,000 people have had to evacuate their homes. So far, the fires have reportedly burned an area equal to 17,200 acres or almost 27 square miles.
The real scope of damages can not be realized fully until the fires have been contained completely. You can check out a Washinton post guide on how to help victims and how to find help if you’ve been affected here.
Maxxine Dupri has explained why the whole WWE locker room is genuinely happy for Chelsea Green over her Women’s US Title win.
The duo of Dupri and Cathy Kelley recently appeared on Lightweights Podcast. They discussed things such as WWE Raw moving to Netflix, the upcoming Royal Rumble event, Tiffany Stratton’s Money In The Bank cash in, and more.
During the interview, the duo was asked about the most uplifting member of the locker room and Maxxine named Chelsea Green without any hesitation:
“I think for me, definitely Chelsea. Chelsea is someone that, and I’ve seen it time and time again with people that she’s close with, people that she’s not close with. If someone needs something or is struggling, that girl will call the President of the United States, and be like, ‘I have the girl for you.’ She will uplift you.”
Maxxine Dupri went on to tell a story about how Chelsea lent her wrestling boots for last year’s Royal Rumble. She explained that Green’s personality is the reason why everyone is happy for her on becoming the Inaugural Women’s US Champion:
“Literally, we were texting today. This is my favorite. We were texting today about the rumble, and she’s like, oh, I have the perfect boots for you that you could wear,’ Like her wrestling boots.
And she did that for me last Rumble. Last rumble she let me wear her boots because they matched my gear. She just has no sense of jealousy. She’s so secure in who she is, rightfully so, she’s 10 out of 10 human in all categories.
But it makes it so fun to be such close friends with her, because she constantly lifts everyone up around her. I think that’s the reason that you see the entire roster is so happy for her. It’s not just like, one person. We are all like, ‘She’s so, so deserving of this moment.'”
AEW star Malakai Black has been announced for a rare indie appearance amid his unexplained absence from TV and rumors about his future.
Coastal Championship Wrestling in Tampa Florida has announced that the former NXT Champion will be making his debut for the promotion at their HAVOC & HAZE 9 event this Saturday, January 11.
While an opponent for Black has not been announced, the company has confirmed that the All Elite Wrestling star will indeed be in action at the show from Magnanimous Brewing in Tampa, FL:
BREAKING NEWS: #AEW star MALAKAI BLACK (@malakaiblxck) makes his CCW debut THIS WEEKEND in Tampa!
Malakai Black is still listed on AEW’s official roster but he has not wrestled for the company since November. He last wrestled in a fatal four-way tag team championship match at Full Gear where Private Party retained the tag titles.
During the most recent January 8 Dynamite, Will Ospreay cut a promo on Black’s faction member Buddy Matthews after defeating him in a singles match. Ospreay urged Matthews to ‘step out of’ the shadow of Black, fueling speculations that Buddy could be leaving the faction soon and starting a singles run.
The CCW announcement serves as a confirmation that Black is fit to perform despite not being used by AEW. This, coupled with reports of Black’s AEW contract has fuelled speculation about the 39-year-old potentially being on his way back to WWE.
TKO, the parent company of both UFC and WWE is all set to add another sports league to its profile very soon in association with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
The American media conglomerate has been in talks with The Kingdom’s Public Investment Fund to launch a new boxing league according to New York Times. Per the site, Sela, a subsidiary of the Saudi PIF will be the major investor behind this league with TKO serving as the management entity.
Current UFC head Dana White is poised to be the managing partner for this new endeavour. TKO has been offered an equity stake and a share of the revenue in return of their services and they’ll earn a management fee of close to $30 million a year.
While an official statement from TKO on the matter claimed that they had ‘nothing to announce,’ the report suggests that this new partnership could be made official ‘within weeks.’ UFC’s US TV media rights deal with ESPN is set to expire this year and the combat sports giant could try to bundle the rights for the new boxing league with UFC to get it off the ground.
The Saudi government has backed some of the biggest boxing fights of history in recent years. This includes the recent faceoff between Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury which resulted in Usyk being crowned the first undisputed heavyweight champion in more than a generation.
This new league is part of the continuous efforts from the Saudi government to change the country’s image and draw attention away from human rights violations with various sports programs, generally known as sports washing.
Double J participated in the Casino Gauntlet match for a shot at the AEW World Title on the January 8th show. He missed out on the championship opportunity after getting into a brawl with Wheeler Yuta.
Jarrett stayed in the ring after the match for an interview with Ian Riccaboni. Before he could say anything, however, MJF’s music hit and the former AEW Champion came out to confront the wrestling veteran.
Maxwell revealed during his promo that Jarrett’s contract extension only lasts a year and the Salt of The Earth offered to help the former WWF star.
MJF is here to…help Jeff Jarrett?! What's the catch?
Jeff Jarrett responded to MJF in his own way dubbing the young star a ‘one-hit wonder.’ He ended the promo calling Friedman an ‘entitled prick’ before walking away.
The Last Outlaw announced his contract extension with AEW last week revealing that it was his final contract as an in-ring performer.
Jarrett had also expressed his aspiration to win gold one more time before calling it a career and made it clear that he was going after the AEW World title.
Jeff Hardy believes he could have been a bigger name than even John Cena had he changed his lifestyle earlier.
Matt Hardy recently shared a clip of his brother from a TV interview on X. Jeff, in the clip, was asked if he thought he’d still be wrestling after all these years when he made his debut. The Charismatic Enigma talked about all the life changes he has made in recent years. He noted that he could have been one of the biggest names in wrestling had he changed his lifestyle earlier:
“Man, I don’t know, probably. The way I was living life in my 20s and 30s….If I was living life the way I’m living life now, oh my gosh, there’s no telling, I would probably be bigger than John Cena – today.
You know, because I had such a, I was born with such a gift to be a pro wrestler, and I was just…it just felt so natural and like I was totally, you know, created to do this thing.”
From TV in Dallas this morning – Jeff is asked, "Did you think you’d still be doing this 30 years ago?" pic.twitter.com/sOZsVLiyxG
Jeff Hardy had previously discussed how he has replaced drugs and alcohol with regular ice baths. According to him, the ice baths have been crazy beneficial to him and he is not even thinking about retirement at the moment:
“The cool thing about that is, I’m still here. I still have life, and I feel good. As Matt had mentioned, you know, we’re big ice bathers, and that’s been crazy beneficial for me, mentally and physically. So yeah, I don’t put a number on it. I don’t, you know, I’ll just pretty much wrestle until I can’t wrestle anymore.”
Jeff Hardy has reunited with his brother since returning to TNA in June last year. The duo have been featured prominently by the company and they’re the current TNA World Tag Team Champions.
Posted January 8th, 2025 in TNA. Tagged: Jeff Hardy.
WWE Hall of Famer Sean ‘X-Pac’ Waltman has opened up about his struggle with diverticulitis in 2024.
The DX star was interviewed by Denise Salcedo at the red-carpet event ahead of Raw’s Netflix debut this Monday night. They talked about things such as what the move means for WWE and more.
When asked about a potential in-ring return, Waltman quickly shot down the idea revealing that he was diagnosed with diverticulitis last year and had to spend over a week in hospital because of it:
“I haven’t talked about this with anybody, earlier last year, I was in the hospital for eight days with diverticulitis. [It] almost killed me. So after that, I lost a bunch of weight, like thirty pounds. So I decided I’m gonna take everything a little more serious and get off my ass.
It was tough. It took a while to feel better. Now, I’m feeling good. It came back a little bit, but as soon as I noticed it, I was in the hospital right away. All that to say, I’m doing great now, but I had a rough time.”
Waltman wasn’t the only wrestling star who had to deal with the specific disease. AEW’s Kenny Omega returned to action at Wrestle Dynasty on January 5 this year, after spending more than a year on the shelf due to diverticulitis.
When Omega’s condition was brought up, Sean Waltman revealed that the Cleaner actually helped him through this time:
“He helped me with it. I was in the hospital texting with him and he’s telling me what’s going on and what I should expect and everything”
Waltman also previously had a long battle with Hepatitis C during his TNA run. He was only fully cured of it after more than a decade in 2020.
Corey Graves has returned to the NXT Commentary booth.
The new calendar year comes with a lot of big changes for WWE including a shake-up to their existing commentary teams.
This change apparently includes Corey Graves who made his return to the NXT brand during Tuesday’s New Year’s Evil special. He joined Vic Joseph and Booker T on commentary for the show:
Corey Graves originally started his broadcast career in NXT back in 2014, after he was forced to retire from in-ring competition due to concussion-related issues. He was promoted to the main roster as part of the 2016 Draft.
Graves had most recently been assigned to the SmackDown brand alongside Michael Cole. Cole was shifted to the Raw brand with the show’s Netflix premiere on January 6, being accompanied by the returning Pat McAfee.
The Raw commentary team of Joe Tessitore and Wade Barrett on the other hand, were moved to SmackDown, leaving Graves’ status up in the air.
It’s unknown if Graves will be sticking around the Black & Silver brand or if his appearance at the NXT special was a one-night thing.
In recent years we have seen a number of main roster stars having extended runs with the brand and it wouldn’t be a surprise if the Savior of Misbehaviour becomes the first commentator to do so as well.
The 26-year-old challenged for Trick Williams’ title in a triple threat match also featuring Eddy Thorpe at New Year’s Evil from Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California. This came after he won the Men’s Iron Survivor challenge last month.
The ending of this bout saw Williams setting Femi up for a Trick Shot but the Nigerian star moved out of the way. The move instead connected to Thorpe who was holding a chair he had brought in the ring. This allowed Femi to deliver a huge powerbomb to Williams for the pin.
The event marks the end of Trick Williams’ second run with the title at 98 days. He had won the title by defeating Ethan Page at NXT’s CW debut episode.
Femi wasn’t the only new champion crowned during the latest episode. Giulia also finally defeated Roxanne Perez to win the NXT Women’s Championship in the opening match of the show. The new champion came out on the ramp to pose with Femi at the end of his match, signalling the start of a new era for the brand.
Apart from this, Lexis King also finally became the new official holder of the Heritage Cup tonight. He defeated Charlie Dempsey in a sudden death round for the title.
Sheamus believes the pandemic era led to the resurgence of his career.
The Celtic Warrior is today recognized as one of the best in-ring talents of WWE. His physical matches with names such as Gunther and Drew McIntyre over the past year have led to a renewed appreciation for the former WWE Champion among fans.
This wasn’t always the case, however. After his initial success in the company, there was a long period where the Irish star was perceived as just another wrestler on the WWE roster.
Talking about this career resurgence in a new interview with Chris Van Vliet, Sheamus explained how the pandemic era proved to be vital for him. According to him, it was the time which helped him get comfortable in his own skin:
“I definitely felt during the pandemic I really came into my own skin. I really felt like I had an opportunity to kind of recreate myself and show people what I was really about. And that’s I think where the whole physicality came from. You know how it was; nobody is physical in the ring as I am and then that’s where we went into the banger era of Sheamus.”
Sheamus made his main roster debut in June 2009 and he was already a WWE champion by December. The wrestling veteran went on to win 4 more world titles over the next 5 years. Then came a period of relative decline however, as the 46-year-old was relegated to mostly mid card feuds and tag team matches over the next decade.
The WWE star discussed how becoming the WWE champion so quickly led to locker room heat for him. He also credited his time teaming with Cesaro as the period that reignited his passion for the business:
“I became the WWE champion really quickly and people just hated that. A lot of talent hated that too. But it’s been a long journey, and I’m like, sometimes you kind of feel where’s this going. But I think the whole part where it really came together was when I started tagging with Cesaro, and we became The Bar that best of seven series, that’s where I really got my passion back.”
The former Champion also talked about his 2009 title win in much more detail during the interview and revealed who was the other talent WWE had considered for the spot.
The Netflix premiere episode of WWE Raw saw The Tribal Chief finally reclaiming the Ula Fala after defeating Solo Sikoa. The Great One even showed up after the bout to acknowledge his cousin and the two shared a hug at the show.
Despite all the pleasantries, the question of a potential match was asked to Roman in the post-Raw press conference. Reigns was asked if he would like to tease the bout and The Head of The Table said that he would just let people speculate about it:
“I don’t have to tease anything, you guys do it for us. We’re just going to let the Internet do its thing. [Saying yes or no], that would defeat the whole purpose of this. The Internet won’t do its thing if I said yes or no. So, we’ll see.”
Apart from this, Roman Reigns was also asked about John Cena calling him the greatest of all time. The former WWE Champion claimed that he’s too busy to be thinking about such things. Reigns noted how the whole thing is really subjective but also discussed how John Cena is a very smart man and reminded everyone that his metrics prove Roman to be the goat.
The future of Solo Sikoa is another big question coming out of the show. After the New Bloodline leader failed to prove his dominance over the Original Tribal Chief, it’d be interesting to see how his faction members react to his loss.
CM Punk would be open to main eventing WrestleMania but it’s not the end goal for him in wrestling anymore.
Being in the main event of the Show of Shows is one of the few achievements in wrestling that has always eluded Punk. The frustration of part-time wrestlers getting the spot over him was one of the major reasons for the Straight Edge Star quitting the company back in 2014.
Now that he is back with the promotion with a completely new management team at the helm, a lot of people believe that the timing is just right for the former AEW Champion to main event WrestleMania 41 from Las Vegas.
CM Punk was asked about the possibility of it during the post-Raw on Netflix premiere press conference. The former World Champion first claimed that he doesn’t feel the need to solidify his status in wrestling with a WrestleMania main event anymore:
“While I think you’d be foolish to say that it doesn’t matter, I would also feel it’s foolish to hold me to the same ideas and things that I said 10, 12 years ago. A lot of other people think that maybe I need to main event WrestleMania to — I don’t know, solidify anything I’ve ever done? Like, I never could have come back here and had a Hall of Fame career, right?”
Though according to Punk, it’s a feat that still scares him and so he would not be shying away from the opportunity if it comes his way:
“So to me, yeah. If that opportunity arises, I’m not going to shy away from it. Because it scares the hell out of me, frankly. And I think if your dreams don’t scare you, I think you need to find different ones, bigger ones. Main eventing the first Raw on Netflix is a pretty big deal though, so nobody else can say they did that.”
Apart from this, CM Punk was also asked about a potential match with John Cena or The Rock in 2025. Punk noted that his focus is on winning a championship in 2025, but he would not say no to either of these matches cause they come with a big paycheck.
CM Punk put both the WWE World Champions on notice after the WWE Raw on Netflix premiere from Intuit Dome in Los Angeles, California went off air.
The Straight Edge Star defeated Seth Rollins in their first singles match in over a decade in the main event of the show. Punk picked up the victory after delivering two GTS to his opponent.
Jackie Redmond interviewed the former World Champion after the Netflix broadcast ended. She asked the WWE star what to expect from him in 2025. CM Punk claimed that he’ll be coming for all the gold in 2025. The former AEW star named both Gunther and Cody Rhodes before declaring his entry into Royal Rumble:
During the promo, Punk also dedicated his Netflix victory to New Found Glory guitarist Chad Gilbert and TNA star Chris Bay. Gilbert has been dealing with cancer while Bay has been out of action after suffering a serious neck injury in October.
Punk wasn’t the only name who declared his entry into the Rumble during the night. John Cena also officially kicked off his retirement tour at the show and declared himself for the upcoming battle royal.
Apart from this, the Raw Netflix premiere featured names such as The Rock and Hulk Hogan. It also saw a surprise appearance from another WWE Hall of Famer. You can check out more about it here.
FTR has explained the importance of AEW coming to Asheville for the first show of 2025.
Dax Harwood had previously discussed the significance of AEW coming to Asheville for their Max premiere episode on January 1. He had revealed that it was the first entertainment show coming to the city following the destruction caused by Hurricane Helene and that they’ll be donating a portion of the show’s revenue to relief efforts.
The duo of Dax and Cash were asked about the show coming to their locality during the post Worlds End media scrum. Harwood first revealed that they had initially reached out to Tony Khan with the idea of doing a live event but the AEW President decided to bring one of their biggest TV shows there instead:
“The initial plan was not to be in Asheville, right? But we, us three, met at our wrestling school, and we said, ‘Okay, what can we do to bring some hope and some joy to Asheville?’ And we had the idea of maybe doing like a live event in Asheville. Talking to Tony, and having some of the guys come out and just raising money. And Tony said, ‘I’ll do you one better. Why don’t we do Dynamite in Asheville?'”
After Adam Copeland made his surprise return to close the latest AEW PPV, the company has confirmed that the trio known as Rated-FTR will be facing the Death Riders in a six men tag match at the upcoming Dynamite episode. Cash Wheeler mentioned that there was a time he thought he’d never get to share the ring with Copeland at all, but now they’ll be teaming at such a big night in their hometown:
“I never could have imagined that if it was going to happen, that the first time we ever as a trio stepped in the ring together for a match was going to be in Asheville, That’s how I would have booked it as a 15-year-old kid. And it never would have happened. But it is happening, and it’s for the best possible reason.
It’s so we can raise money for people that lost everything. It’s to raise awareness of people that are still going through this three months later. A lot of the world’s moved on and kind of forgotten about that. And you can’t when you drive through it, and you see the destruction every day, and you see the debris. You see the tents, like it’s communities of tents camping out by a river where homes used to be because hundreds of homes were washed away.
And it’s winter, it’s the coldest time of year, and these people are living in tents. It’s heartbreaking. So to have a boss who wants to bring awareness to that, and bring his biggest show ever to that, the first one ever, simulcast on max, and the first one of the new TV rights deal. It’s going to be in Asheville and it’s going to be Rated-FTR. That’s amazing to me. That’s the kind of stuff that I do this for.”
Tony Khan says that WWE running a Live Event in the same city as Worlds End shows how strong the market is.
All Elite Wrestling presented the Worlds End PPV from Addition Financial Arena in Orlando, Florida tonight with over 6,700 tickets sold per WrestleTix. WWE on the other hand ran the Kia Center in Orlando as part of their Holiday Tour, selling over 8,100 tickets for the live event.
The AEW President was asked about this competition by Jay Reddick of the Orlando Sentinel during the post-Worlds End media scrum. Khan claimed that having two big shows in one night is great for the city:
“It’s great for the city of Orlando with two major pro wrestling events happening on the same night. There were thousands and thousands of fans at both shows. We had a capacity crowd here. It was so great being here at UCF.”
It Was A Great Show: Tony Khan
Tony Khan mentioned that Addition Financial Arena has been a great host for AEW and claimed that having two successful pro wrestling events on the same night shows how strong the wrestling market is:
“It shows how strong worldwide pro wrestling, particularly here in the United States, is to have in one major American city with two promotions running head-to-head on the same night, to have two great crowds. I know our fans here were awesome, and it was a great show tonight, thanks to the Orlando fans. They were tremendous,”
Tonight’s Worlds End PPV saw a couple of big returns including the long-awaited comeback of Kenny Omega and the surprise return of a former WWE star. You can check out more about it here.
LA Knight has revealed that he was involved in a minor car accident before tonight’s WWE Holiday Tour house show from Baltimore, Maryland.
The former WWE US Champion faced Santos Escobar at the live event. Before the bout, Knight took the mic and told a short story.
The SmackDown star revealed that he was involved in a ‘fender bender’ before the show but he still made it to the CFG Bank Arena because he had to ‘stomp down’ a dummy:
The Baltimore live event also featured names such as Liv Morgan, Damian Priest, Dominik Mysterio, and more. CM Punk teamed up with Rey Mysterio at the show to defeat The New Day.
The duo of Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston declared during their entrance that they were sick of the New Day theme song and it appears they’ll be getting new entrance music in the coming times.
LA Knight dropped the US Championship to Shinsuke Nakamura at the most recent WWE Survivor Series PPV event on November 30. This ended his 119-days-long reign with the title. The former TNA star has since started feuding with the New Bloodline.
He’s faced Solo Sikoa in a singles match and Knight also recently teamed up with Andrade and Apollo Crews for a six men tag against the faction.
A couple of interesting non-AEW names were backstage at tonight’s Worlds End PPV from Addition Financial Arena in Orlando, Florida.
The area is home to many notable pro wrestlers and one of them, former WWE star Baron Corbin was spotted at the show. Corbin’s 12-year-long WWE run came to an abrupt end earlier last month after the company surprisingly chose not to renew his contract.
Real name Tom Pestock, the wrestling veteran has stayed active outside of the sports entertainment world since then. He most recently won a gold medal at an international Jiu-Jitsu tournament.
Another interesting name who was said to be around is AJ Francis, also known as Top Dolla. Like many other TNA talents, his deal is also set to expire on January 1.
Dolla was seen talking to names such as Tony Khan and Jeff Jarrett before the show. He was also seen with his former Hit Row teammate Swerve Strickland at the event.
It’s unknown if either of these names were backstage on a business expedition or just visiting friends. Their impending free agency definitely marks an interesting coincidence in either case.
Braun Strowman shared a special moment with the sons of Brodie Lee and Bray Wyatt after this week’s episode of SmackDown went off air.
December 26 was the 4th anniversary of the former Luke Haprer’s untimely passing. WWE had invited Amanda Huber & their kids as well as Jojo Offerman & her son to the latest WWE TV event.
Throughout the night many WWE stars greeted both the families during their segments. This included Natalya and Cody Rhodes who gave a shoutout to Brodie Jr. as his friend during his promo at the end of SmackDown.
Strowman and Jey Uso came out after the show to save Sami Zayn from a beatdown from the New Bloodline. After taking out Solo and his cousins, the Monster Among Men invited both Brodie and Bray’s kids into the ring for a heart-touching moment:
Before this, the main event segment of SmackDown saw The American Nightmare confronting his former friend Kevin Owens after the latter brutally attacked him at the end of Saturday Night’s Main Event and stole the Winged Eagle title belt.
Kevin was demanding a rematch for the Undisputed title where a referee couldn’t screw him over. After an exchange of words, Rhodes proposed a ladder match which Nick Aldis made official for Royal Rumble.
Oba Femi says he appreciated his experience working with Otis.
The longest reigning NXT North American Champion of all time recently spoke to Adam Barnard of The Takedown. He discussed things such as NXT’s partnership with TNA, his feud with Tony D’Angelo and more.
He was also asked about working with Otis during his championship reign and what it was like being on the receiving end of the Caterpillar. Responding to it, Oba Femi claimed that the Caterpillar is a memory his brain had buried deep into his mind:
“That is a lot of human being. You don’t know what you just did there. You just unlocked a hidden something my brain tried to bury and you just excavated it from the ground. That’s a lot of man coming down on you. Pause. But yeah, he’s a big man.
I enjoyed working with Otis. He’s a very entertaining fellow. I like how he makes the smallest of things mean the most. He’s a star definitely so. [He] definitely pushed me into my limits as well. Just moving him around was difficult and when something is difficult, I embrace the challenge. So I appreciated my experience working with Otis.”
Unfortunately for the 26-year-old, the match for New Year’s Evil on January 7 has been converted into a triple threat after Eddy Thorpe also laid claim on a title rematch following a chaotic end to his last fight with Williams.
You can check out Oba Femi’s match with Otis below:
Nick Gage says he is not sure where his relationship with GCW stands.
The Hardcore star was once the center figure of the indie promotion. Till date, he remains the only person the company ever signed to a contract. Gage however has not made an appearance for the New Jersey based promotion in a while.
He last wrestled for the promotion at the August 2, 2024, GCW Now And Forever show. Nick Gage was then pulled from the announced August 24 Homecoming event and he has not been booked for any appearances ever since. In the meantime, the 44-year-old confirmed that he checked himself in rehab but did not provide any further details.
Gage was recently interviewed by MuscleManMalcolm while he was visiting an Arrival Wrestling show. When asked about his relationship with the company that he once had such close ties with, Nick noted that he still exchanges texts with the promoter Brett Lauderdale but that’s the extent of it:
“My current relationship with GCW is…I don’t know man. You know, I really don’t know Malcolm. I text, I get answers. We hit a little bit back and forth but that’s it. Am I sorting out to please and begging and all? None of that and vice versa from him. None of that coming my way.
I feel like in time, it will heal wounds and we’ll get back on track. The way we’re supposed to be, the right way. I just think it will happen organically and natural, to where the time would be right and me and him would be fucking cool as we should be and probably have a sit down to dinner and discuss what it is. Who knows when it’s going to happen.”
Nick Gage also praised Lauderdale for helping him out during his jail term and revealed that Brett made the mugshot shirt for him during the time so he could earn money while serving his sentence.
Gage had taken a break from wrestling in August and he recently returned to the ring for a BCW event in the 2300 Arena. The December 14 show saw him fighting Drake Younger for the Philadelphia Street Fight Title.
Posted December 28th, 2024 in GCW. Tagged: Nick Gage.
Matt Hardy has picked Drew McIntyre as his heel of the year.
The wrestling veteran reflected on 2024 on the latest episode of his podcast and gave out awards in various categories. He picked Cody Rhodes as his babyface of the year.
When it came to picking heel of the year, Hardy gave mentions to people like Hangman Page and Gunther but said that The Scottish Warrior was head and shoulder above everyone else:
“Drew McIntyre is head and shoulders above the rest I almost feel like. Everybody was great but just Drew McIntyre had an extremely amazing year. 2024 was a year of Drew McIntyre no doubt.”
Matt Hardy picked the former World Champion as his talker of the year as well, explaining how McIntyre has completely committed to his character. The Attitude Era star recalled the viral moment of McIntyre walking out of his Busted Open interview and revealed that it was all the WWE star’s idea:
“My favorite this year, especially because he really embraced his heel role and he went so through with the shtick is Drew McIntyre. One thing that I wanted to say about Drew McIntyre, about committing to the schtick.
So I had just learned from talking to Tommy Dreamer and Dave LaGreca. Whenever he did that bit with Busted Open, he was out there and he gave that heart….It was really a from-the-heart type spill as he was saying, which he kind of sounded like a dickhead for saying, but obviously, some of it rang true.
He dropped the mic and he left, and none of those guys were in the know. I mean, that was all done on his own. Nobody had any idea that was coming. That was all him working his character.”
Posted December 28th, 2024 in WWE. Tagged: Matt Hardy.
Jordynne Grace is another name whose TNA deal is set to expire soon.
Wrestling Veteran Rhino was the first to announce the end of his TNA run earlier this month, confirming that the December 14 taping was his last scheduled date with the company after a 5-year tenure.
Fightful Select later confirmed that roster members including Aiden Prince, Trent Seven, AJ Francis, and KUSHIDA all had their contracts expiring by the end of this year.
The site is now reporting that the former Knockouts Champion is another name whose deal is coming to an end soon. Though unlike the other roster members, Grace’s contract actually extends a few weeks into 2025 and her last contracted date for the company will be around the TNA Genesis weekend.
Genesis PPV is set to take place on January 19, 2025 and Jordynne Grace will be facing former TNA Champion Tessa Blanchard at the show. Grace herself previously hinted at this being her last show with a tweet earlier in the month.
The timeframe will allow Grace to sign with WWE and make an appearance at the upcoming Royal Rumble PPV on February 1 if she chooses to leave TNA.
Grace apparently pushed back on working with Blanchard before her return and the outcome of their PPV match will tell us if she’ll be sticking around after the show.