Jimmy Wang Yang has returned to WWE after more than a decade and he has joined the list of producers recently hired by the company.
The latest edition of Wrestling Observer Newsletter revealed that the former WWE star returned to the promotion recently. He worked as a producer for Raw this past week.
Jimmy Wang Yang started his wrestling career in 1999 when he signed with WCW. He stayed with the promotion until WWE acquired his contract after taking over the company.
Though his first run with the organization didn’t last very long. The American star was released from his contract within a year without making a main roster appearance.
Wang Yang then started working in the independent circuit and also competed for companies such as Impact Wrestling and Ring Of Honor among others.
The 40-year-old had numerous runs with WWE. His longest stint with the promotion was from 2006 to 2010. He returned to the independent circuit afterward and retired from active competition in 2018.
Jimmy Wang Yang joins the list of producers officials have freshly hired or brought back in the past few months including names such as Molly Holly, Hurricane Helms, and more.
AEW has a unique feel to its programming that no other wrestling promotion has and CM Punk has the perfect analogy to describe the reason behind the success of the company. The straight edge star recently had an interview with Sports Illustrated. He discussed things such as his Dynamite match with Bobby Fish and more.
Punk also talked about the spirit of AEW. The wrestling veteran explained that it has the soul of a local indie promotion with the reach of TNT behind it:
“This is really about the soul, the spirit, and the art of professional wrestling, it reminds me of how I started. It’s why guys like me and Bryan Danielson would drive 15 hours to get to a show, and barely get gas money in return, to wrestle in front of 300 rabid fans in Philadelphia. That’s what this is, with TNT behind it.”
CM Punk then gave the analogy of a small rock band that used to play in the local bowling alley, saying that his current company has a similar spirit and love for the art of professional wrestling:
“We’re the punk rock band that used to play at your bowling alley. It has that spirit and love of the art. It’s a place where you can make a living and learn the craft.”
Punk also discussed the recent big developments that have created a lot of buzz for AEW such as the signing of talents like himself and Bryan Danielson or the announcement of the Owen Hart cup tournament.
Goldberg has only one more match left in his current contract with WWE after his Crown Jewel encounter, and he is not sure what the future holds for him afterwards.
The former WCW star recently had an interview with Ring Rules before the Crown Jewel PPV. He discussed things such as his bout with the All-Mighty and more.
Goldberg was then asked what prompted him to return to the ring after staying away for over a decade. He explained that he never had a child when he wrestled before:
“Well I never had a child when I wrestled before. My wife and I were lucky enough to have a little boy. When he grew up and understood what I used to do for a living, there were a lot of questions. And I figured if I can still get in shape physically, and if I was still wanted by the fans then I will show him in person what I did.”
The former Universal champion was also questioned about his future after his match with Lashley. Responding to it, Goldberg revealed that he has only one more bout left in his contract after the Crown Jewel match:
“I still feel as though I can wrestle. I still feel as though I can entertain. So, after this match [with Lashley] I have one more match on my contract and that’s it. We’ll see what happens. You never know.”
There is no word yet on who Goldberg may face in the final match of his current deal. Though he has previously shown interest in competing against Roman Reigns.
A lot of wrestling personalities took the time to congratulate Big E on his WWE championship win and the list of names included none other than Ric Flair.
The WWE champion recently had an interview with Ebro in the Morning. He talked about things such as the GIF of him excitedly eating popcorn going viral and more.
Speaking of his big win that saw him cashing in his Money In The Bank briefcase and winning the WWE title, Big E revealed that he got a text from Flair afterward:
“There were a bunch of people who reached out. Trying to think of everyone, Ric Flair, I got a Ric Flair text. I’ll always pop at getting a text from him.
I don’t know how he has my number. I think he found it from someone else but having Ric Flair reach out.” said Big E, “He’s always been calling me. He’s always been real cool. He was definitely one that was dope.”
The New Day member was also asked about a potential heel turn. He mentioned how the group were heels for a long time and claimed that he had fun portraying a villain.
Though Big E explained that the trio is pretty well-liked now. There is also a lot of charitable things he does outside of the wrestling ring and all this makes it hard for any of them to turn heel.
The viewership for AEW Dynamite stayed under a million despite returning to their usual time slot on Wednesday this week after a couple of episodes on Saturday.
This is a huge 63.65% increase from last week’s Saturday night Dynamite. The episode featuring the third installment in the series between Cody Rhodes and Malakai Black had drawn 575,000 viewers.
This week’s episode of the AEW show also saw a big jump in the key demo ratings, scoring 0.40 rating in the 18-49 demographic. This is up from last week’s 0.22 rating.
A 0.40 score represents 518,000 viewers of the demographic which is a big 79.86% increase from last week’s 288,000 viewers of the 18-49 age group.
Though the overall viewership number was down 10.63% compared to the last Dynamite episode on Wednesday night. The October 6 episode celebrating Dynamite’s second anniversary had drawn 1.053 million viewers and a 0.37 rating in the key demo.
In comparison, the post Crown Jewel episode of Raw on Monday drew 1.593 million viewers. It got a 0.47 rating in the 18-49 demographic, representing 613,000 viewers.
This week’s episode of Dynamite ranked #4 in the Cable Top 150 ranking based on the 18-49 demo. This is tied with the second-anniversary show from a couple of weeks ago and up from last week’s #10 ranking.
Riddle has not given up on a potential encounter with Goldberg and the outspoken star is hoping to finally step in the ring with the WCW veteran in 2022.
Speaking of Goldberg, Riddle claimed that he has grown on the former WCW champion. He is hoping that the encounter between the two will finally happen in the coming year because it will sell tickets:
“I’ll be honest, I think I’ve grown on the guy. I think he’s grown on me a little. I think that match can possibly happen. We both went to Saudi. We were both on the same airplane. We bumped into each other quite a few times on that airplane.
I think we can get that match. I think we pull that one out. No promises but I’m hoping by 2022, we get Riddle vs. Goldberg. It will sell tickets.”
The former UFC star also discussed the difference between the preparation of MMA and wrestling. He said that wrestling is different as it requires nonstop preparation.
Riddle explained that you have to look the part and be ready to recite a whole paragraph or two on live TV anytime. Though he claimed that once you get competent enough, it’s almost like a therapy session because you get to express yourself.
Catch Matt Riddle’s full interview with Cheap Here here:
Posted October 29th, 2021 in WWE, News. Tagged: Riddle.
ROH made the major announcement of going dark for the first quarter of 2022 earlier yesterday. Now reports have revealed that they are trying to sell their tape library.
According to Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated, the promotion’s tape library is available for purchase, and it will be sold to the highest bidder. They are, however, asking for significant money, much more than the current market dictates.
According to the report, ROH has been trying to move the Sinclair-owned footage from 2012 to the present day for more than a year now.
The tape library includes footage of early careers of some of the biggest pro-wrestling names of the current generation, including stars from both WWE and AEW.
The ROH archives could showcase the starting careers of people such as Seth Rollins, Bryan Danielson, CM Punk, Cesaro, Samoa Joe, The Young Bucks, Kenny Omega, and Moose among others.
This tape library also includes the All In PPV that led to the creation of AEW. While Tony Khan’s promotion owns the trademark for the All In name, ROH officially owns all the footage for the PPV event.
Khan revealed recently that they are in talks to launch the AEW library on a streaming platform. An addition such as this could boost the interest in AEW’s streaming services significantly.
WWE has also shown interest in purchasing the tape library previously. The two companies had negotiated over it in 2017.
Though this was prior to the Peacock deal. WWE has released many former ROH stars since then so we will have to see if they still have the same level of interest now.
Bray Wyatt might be looking to expand his repertoire beyond the world of professional wrestling and make a spot for himself in Hollywood after his WWE release.
A photo surfaced on social media earlier today that showed the former world champion standing with Jason Baker in front of the Gate 4 of Warner Bros. studio.
Baker works with horror icon Tom Savini. Wyatt has had a relationship with these two for long. Their teams were the ones responsible for a number of props the WWE star has used throughout his career, including the Fiend mask.
Now in a seemingly related update, Fightful is reporting that the former WWE superstar has been in Los Angeles recently. He has been making inquiries for potential Hollywood projects.
This isn’t the first time Bray Wyatt has shown interest in Hollywood. Per WWE sources, there had been a pitch before his release that would have seen him star in a movie.
Bray Wyatt’s Post-WWE Career
In the meantime, the Fiend seems to be preparing for his life after wrestling. He recently teased his impending free agency on Twitter. Since then, the former champion has made some other significant changes to his Twitter profile.
Wyatt, real name Windham Rotunda has finally changed his Twitter handle from @WWEBrayWyatt to @Windham6. This late change apparently helps him keep his profile verified through the transition process.
He’s updated his Twitter bio to read, “Revenge is a Confession of pain.”
There is no word yet on what Bray Wyatt is planning for his future in wrestling. We should get a better idea about his future once he officially becomes a free agent after Friday, October 29.
Cain Velasquez has a long-standing history with Brock Lesnar. This is why people expected a competitive fight when he showed up to take on the beast incarnate in WWE but their match can only be described as disappointing.
The Mexican-American fighter recently appeared on The MMA Hour. He reflected on his pro wrestling encounter with the former world champion, among other things.
Explaining why their match couldn’t live up to the expectations, Velasquez said WWE wanted him to keep his MMA style of fighting instead of using his lucha libre skills:
“They wanted me to stay in that MMA zone. They wanted me to have a rivalry with Brock, but they weren’t willing to put the time in to have us work together. They wanted us to do that, and well, you know how that ended.
I felt good in that style (lucha libre).” said Cain Velasquez, “I don’t know if they saw it wouldn’t work. That to me, and I think everyone else, was a clear path, but that’s not what they chose for me.”
The retired MMA star explained that he was willing to do whatever the officials wanted him to and said that he is sorry to let everyone down. He also said that the failure hurt him as well because he expects a lot out of himself.
Cain Velasquez made his wrestling debut for AAA during the Triplemanía XXVII event. He made his in-ring debut for WWE facing Lesnar during the Crown Jewel 2019 event. Though Velasquez lost the bout in quick fashion, to a largely negative fan reaction.
A lot of people questioned the decision of Mercedes Martinez when she made the call to leave the Retribution faction. She was sent back to NXT as a result, after having made her main roster debut. The now-former WWE star recently had an interview with Bell To Belles. During the talk, she explained her side of the story and detailed why she had to make the decision.
Martinez explained that she was under the impression that the masks they were going to wear were just for the aesthetic and not wrestling. She explained that it would have still been fine if she got some input on this part of their attire before revealing the reason why she couldn’t wrestle with the mask that was given to her:
“You know, I tried really hard but I can’t wrestle in this mask and that’s another issue is that I can’t wrestle in a mask. I have asthma, it’s hard for me to breath in the first place without a mask. How am I going to wrestle in a mask? And you know, we’re still in (a) pandemic. For me to train or be in a gym or anything like that, I have to wear a mask and it’s so hard for me to do that-that I built my own home gym.”
Mercedes Martinez Didn’t Want To Be Known Only For Retribution
Mercedes Martinez also responded to the criticism that the decision pushed her back into her career. She said that even though she could have made more money doing it, she just didn’t feel it in her heart. The former NXT star then explained how it was the right decision for her because she didn’t want her WWE career to be valued as part of a group. She wanted to be known as herself after spending 20 years in the business:
“When something doesn’t feel right, regardless of maybe you can be on the main roster, you can make all this money and stuff, at the end of the day, I just didn’t feel it in my heart. It really came down to that. It really just didn’t feel like I should be a part of this group and people think that it’s probably the wrong decision but for me it was the right decision right then and there, for me. Maybe they could’ve gotten somebody else but for me and for the 20 years that I put in-in this business, I didn’t want my WWE career to be valued as part of a group.”
Mercedes Martinez continued by saying that her name got her signed to WWE and she wanted to leave the promotion as she came in, being herself. The female star was introduced as a member of Retribution during the September 21, 2020 episode of Raw. Though she was quietly moved back to NXT after requesting her removal from the group. She was released from her WWE contract in August this year.
MMA star Kayla Harrison doesn’t sound like she had a great experience at AEW Dynamite last month.
Harrison is coming off a huge victory at Wednesday night’s PFL World Championships, where she became the 2021 Women’s Lightweight Champion.
The Olympic Gold Medalist recently spoke to Jim Varsallone of the Miami Herald and mocked professional wrestling. She called it a “fake sport” full of nerds and losers.
“It’s just so easy, it’s just a bunch of nerds and losers who couldn’t hack it in my sport, so they decided to go and do a fake sport,” she said. “I can’t believe I let Dan talk me into it, it’s just boring, it would be too easy to crush them. ”
Kayla Harrison Says She Does Real Sport
Kayla Harrison claimed she does real sport with real winners and she doesn’t need anyone to tell her who she needs to beat up or when:
“I am sorry, AEW, it’s just that I do a real sport with real winners and losers and it’s not scripted. No one is going to tell me whose ass I am going to kick, if I’m going to kick, I’m going to kick whose ass I want to kick.”
Kayla Harrison also took some shots at Chris Jericho, saying that she would chew the former world champion and spit him out faster than one can say AEW. Though she admitted that Jericho did put out a great song.
American Top Team is currently feuding with the Inner Circle. They are expected to collide in a Minneapolis Street Fight at the upcoming Full Gear PPV. Though it’s yet to be confirmed which members of the group are going to wrestle on the show.
You can check out Kayla Harrison’s harsh words about pro wrestling here:
Paris Fury, wife of the reigning lineal heavyweight boxing champion, recently spoke with BBC Newcastle. During the conversation, she discussed the possibility of her husband returning to WWE in the future.
Paris revealed that Tyson is good friends with McMahon and taking part in a WWE event is like taking a trip to Disneyland.
Like a Disneyland Trip
“He is in touch with Vince McMahon all the time,” she said. “He loves it. My sons are all big fans of it. For Tyson to do it is kind of like a Disneyland trip, the kids love to go and they meet all the wrestlers.”
Discussing the possibility of Tyson Fury making an in-ring return, Paris then mentioned how the boxing star wants to be the cool dad before claiming that he will bounce back into the ring one day for sure:
“Being a young man, he told me he was a fan of all these wrestlers. So he’s definitely probably going to go into that again. I’m sure he will bounce into that WWE ring one of the days.”
Tyson Fury had his latest fight on October 9, 2021 where he defeated Deontay Wilder in their third boxing match against each other. Big E made an appearance during the show and he introduced both the fighters before the bout.
Tony Khan has been flaunting the AEW ratings for the past few weeks. Though one thing that fans think AEW should be worried about is the falling ratings of Rampage.
The AEW president recently had an interview with Monaco Streaming Film Festival. He continued talking about these metrics and what they mean for his company.
Discussing the viewership ratings of Rampage, Tony explained that their audience is great relative to the time slot and explained how it took them time to build the current audience of Dynamite:
“It took us two years for Dynamite to hit #1 of the week, and it only took us two [week] for Rampage to do that. Our second episode has hit that. It’s a challenge Friday nights at 10 o’ clock to get good viewership.
We’ve seen great audience though, relative to the time slot. We’re still being top in the slot, and I really believe with our fan base, they follow us.” said Tony Khan, “As long as we promote it and keep delivering great matches, they follow us practically everywhere we go because they really love AEW,”
The AEW owner continued by saying that he wants to keep finding ways to give fans great content without oversaturating. He feels that they are in a sweet spot with the amount of wrestling for everyone.
Tony Khan then mentioned the phrase he recently coined in watch your wrestling. He said that he wants people to find what they like and enjoy that.
ROH made the surprising announcement of going dark for the first quarter of 2022 to re-imagine the company. This came after the organization spent a good part of the last couple of years without producing an event due to COVID-19.
Later reports confirmed that the promotion has decided to release all of its contracted wrestlers. The talents who had been part of the company have been reacting to the news ever since.
The reigning ROH world champion Bandido reacted to the announcement on Twitter. He retweeted the official statement from the company and said that he will forever be the most wanted champion:
Danhausen responded to the news by teasing a move to AEW. He produced a GIF similar to the viral video of Cody Rhodes with the camera zooming in on him, to get people talking about his future:
“Kingpin” Brian Milonas sent out a statement mentioning how ROH gave him a chance when no one else did. So he is forever grateful for the opportunity.
“Kingpin” Brian Milonas sent out a statement mentioning how ROH gave him a chance when no one else did. So he is forever grateful for the opportunity.
I heard “no” for 15 years. @ringofhonor was the first big company to look at me and believe I’m good enough. No buts, no caveats. Just that I was wanted on the team. I’m forever grateful no matter where the future takes me.
There will be a silver lining in all of this. I’ll let you know when I find it. Till then, back to work. For bookings, shows, seminars, etc. email: mikebennettbookings@gmail.com
A number of superstars were not picked by any brand during the latest WWE Drafts, making them free agents. This list included names such as the beast incarnate Brock Lesnar and the empress of tomorrow Asuka.
Now PWinsider has provided an update on which brand some of these free agents might end up on. The site has revealed which rosters they are listed internally.
According to the report, Lesnar who proclaimed himself to be a free agent during the draft is listed under the SmackDown brand. This makes sense as it appears that his storyline with Roman Reigns will continue in the coming times.
Asuka, Elias, and the Lucha House Party are all currently listed as part of the Raw roster. Though there is no word yet on when they might make their return.
There are other names whose futures are still undetermined. Probably the most prominent of them all is Bayley, who is currently out of action due to a torn ACL.
Other names that have not been assigned a brand as of yet include all red everything Eva Marie and sassy southern belle Lacey Evans. We will have to see what decision the officials make for their future.
Preston ‘Number 10’ Vance can now instantly be recognized by his signature mask. Though according to the AEW star, he hated wearing it at first. The Dark Order member recently spoke to Dynamite Download. He talked about things such as being included in the AEW world title eliminator tournament and more.
The former WWE star discussed how he had never wrestled under a mask before joining AEW. Vance explained that this is why he hated wearing it in the promotion. He also claimed that he didn’t understand his character at first:
“When I got signed, I hated the mask, absolutely hated it. I didn’t understand the character, but I wasn’t going to say no, obviously. I didn’t understand. On the Indies, I never wore a mask; I wasn’t this dark creepy person. That’s just not me. I’m like, ‘What the hell am I doing?'”
Though things have changed significantly since then. Number 10 said it has become another element of his character and he now absolutely loves this part of his persona:
“Now, I absolutely love it. It’s just another element to your image. Now you’re not just a body guy. Whether you’re a heel or babyface, you’re either a real life super hero or a real life villain. It’s really cool.”
Preston Vance continued by mentioning how he loves fan art and lets fans create all his gear. He explained that it keeps people connected to his character.
The Dark Order star wrestled for companies such as MFPW, Evolve and WWE before his AEW signing. He made his first AEW appearance as a member of the faction during the May 5, 2020 episode of AEW Dark that can be seen below.
Keith Lee underwent some character changes during his absence from WWE programming. He recently re-emerged on WWE TV as Bearcat Lee.
The Raw star recently appeared on Out of Character. He discussed the thought process behind the changes in his persona, his love for videos games, and more.
The heavyweight star was then asked how involved Vince McMahon is with his new gimmick. Replying to it, Lee said that the boss is quite hands on:
“I would say he’s been quite hands on, which is honestly something I need because I want to know what he wants as opposed to making a guess or estimation or hypothesis.
If I know what he wants directly, it makes it that much easier to give him what he’s looking for. He’s the man,” said Keith Lee, “he runs this, if he wants a specific thing out of his talent, then the talent is to give him what he wants.”
The former NXT champion also discussed how his character is different than before. He explained that it’s the guy that makes people uncomfortable by just looking at them instead of giving a smile and speaking to them kindly.
Keith Lee had mostly been absent from WWE programming since the Elimination Chamber PPV in February. He returned during the September 27 episode of Raw and the WWE star has been renamed Bearcat Lee since then.
Carmelo Hayes has already got people talking about him in his short run with NXT. It appears that fans aren’t the only ones that have started liking him for his performance.
The NXT star has impressed ‘people of influence’ in NXT. This includes none other than the heartbreak kid, Shawn Michaels, (via Fightful).
Michaels apparently sees a lot of himself in Hayes and many see him as a ‘project’ of the Hall Of Famer. These claims seem to be backed up by the photo HBK took with Carmelo following his North American title win.
The former Christian Casanova was already impressive but he opened the door for a lot more opportunities with his match against Kushida in June. This included a follow-up match with Adam Cole.
Regarding the title switch that saw Carmelo Hayes cashing in his title shot at Isaiah “Swerve” Scott, sources say that it was done to establish Hayes as a new star while also protecting Scott on his way to the main roster.
The report also reveals that the current champion was discussed for the cruiserweight division as part of a major revamp. These plans were nixed after the mass releases.
Carmelo Hayes had been rewarded a title opportunity of his choice after winning the NXT breakout tournament. Isaiah Scott successfully defended the North American title against Santos Escobar on October 12 NXT. Hayes then cashed in his title shot on Scott and won the championship
The SuperBrawl VIII was an important event for the careers of Juventud Guerrera and Chris Jericho. It saw the latter unmasking the former in order to keep his WCW cruiserweight championship.
These two wrestling veterans recently sat down together on an episode of Talk Is Jericho podcast. They discussed their time in WCW among other things.
During the episode, Juvi asked Jericho if he was the one who pitched the idea of his unmasking. Replying to it, Chris explained that it was all Eric Bischoff,
“It wasn’t me at all. I had no power or anything at that point. You and I worked many times and Eric went through this idea that luchadors should lose their mask and you were a handsome guy. I was never really asked or consulted.
We were working and it was, ‘You’re going to have this match with Juvi and you’re going to take his mask.’ I was like, ‘Really?’ ‘Yes, that’s what Eric wants.'” said Chris Jericho, “I didn’t have anything to do with it.”
Y2J explained how you develop influence as you go up the ladder in any company but at the time he was not an important enough star in WCW to be pitching ideas.
Chris Jericho joined WCW as a cruiserweight star in 1996. Jericho was never really seen a main event talent during his three-year-long run with the company and he only won the cruiserweight title and the TV title during his time there.
Tyler Breeze had soured on wrestling a little bit after having to compete in front of no fans during the pandemic, but a major AEW debut reignited his love for the sport.
The former WWE star recently had an interview with Into The Danger Zone podcast. He mentioned how they do this for the entertainment of people and claimed that the lack of crowd had soured him.
Breeze then talked about Adam Cole’s AEW debut during the All Out PPV. He explained how hearing people go nuts for it sparked his love for wrestling again:
“What kind of sparked it again was watching [Adam] Cole debut on AEW. When he came out, dude, hearing people go nuts and people go crazy and everything else, I went, ‘Oh, that’s why we do this.’”
Tyler Breeze also talked about his release from WWE during the interview and the former NXT star revealed his immediate reaction to getting the call.
Da Party was a WWE group consisting of Xavier Woods, Adam Cole, and Cesaro alongside prince pretty. Cole has previously claimed that leaving the gaming group was the hardest part of his WWE departure.
Fans have gotten to see a number of dream matches in recent times that wouldn’t have been possible without the opening of the forbidden door. Tay Conti has revealed her own picks for dream matches outside her current promotion.
The AEW star recently had an interview with Pro Wrestling Illustrated. She discussed things such as her life before wrestling, how she got into the business, and more.
During the interview, Conti also revealed her forbidden door dream matches, naming a couple of Japanese wrestling veterans among others:
“Ok, first of all Asuka, my dream match. Her match with Sara [Del Ray] my old coach [made me like] ah I wanna do it. I would say Giulia from Stardom, and [Meiko] Satomura.”
Tay Conti is a Brazilian professional wrestler who first started her career in WWE in 2016. She signed with AEW in August last year after getting released by WWE as part of the coronavirus budget cuts.
The 25-year-old is currently the #1 ranking female star in AEW. As a result, she will be getting a shot at the AEW women’s world champion Britt Baker at the upcoming Full Gear PPV. You can check out the other announced Full Gear match here.
Tony Nese has made his in-ring debut for AEW after making his first appearance for the company during last week’s episode of Saturday night Dynamite.
The premier athlete made his debut during the latest AEW dark tapings from Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida. He faced Fuego Del Sol in a singles bout in his debut match for the promotion:
This wasn’t the only match Nese wrestled in during the night. AEW usually tapes 4 Dark episodes in one set. The former WWE star also competed in a second match against DeMarcio James during the taping.
The former cruiserweight champion had a 5-year stint with WWE. He wrestled on shows such as Raw, 205 Live, and Main Event during his time with the promotion.
Tony Nese was released from his WWE contract as part of the budget cuts in June. He has been making indie appearances after his non-compete clause expired.
The high-flying star made his first appearance for AEW during Saturday’s episode of Dynamite. He was shown in the crowd during the opening match of the night between Bryan Danielson and Dustin Rhodes.
There aren’t any details available about his deal with the promotion. So it’s hard to say if his appearance was one-off or if Tony Nese is going to stick around for a feud.
Kazuchika Okada has kept his word and brought back the retired IWGP Heavyweight Championship as a symbol of his promise to Kota Ibushi.
NJPW Road to Power Struggle tour kicked off last night. The G1 Climax winner entered the arena with the belt instead of the usual contract as he had suggested earlier:
The finals of the G1 climax saw Okada going up against Kota Ibushi. However, Ibushi couldn’t complete the match because of a dislocated shoulder, and Okada was declared the winner.
Before the rainmaker picked up his trophy, he checked on his opponent. He promised Ibushi that they will have a rematch when he is ready to step back into the ring again.
On the G1 climax press conference, Kazuchika Okada asked chairman Naoki Sugabayashi if he can bring back the retired belt. He said that he wanted to hold it instead of the contract that’s usually awarded to the G1 winner.
IWGP Heavyweight Championship
The fourth championship belt was unified with the IWGP Intercontinental Championship back in March. Kota Ibushi was the final wrestler to hold both the belts.
The G1 climax winner gets to face the IWGP world heavyweight champion at the following Wrestle Kingdom event. Though Okada will be defending his title shot against Tama Tonga at Power Struggle on November 6.
Lance Archer has provided an update on his health after his scary landing during match with Eddie Kingston on last night’s episode of Dynamite. The murderhawk monster took on his Twitter to thank the AEW officials for taking care of him. He suggested that the injury wasn’t as bad as it looked and promised that he will be back:
“Listen. We choose to do this and take our health n lives in our hands every night. I’ve done that move hundreds of times over my career. Just under rotated. Coulda been MUCH worse. Thank you to ALL at @AEW for taking AMAZING care of me and protecting me. I’ll BE BACK!”
Listen. We choose to do this and take our health n lives in our hands every night. I’ve done that move hundreds of times over my career. Just under rotated. Coulda been MUCH worse. Thank you to ALL at @AEW for taking AMAZING care of me and protecting me. I’ll BE BACK!
— The Murderhawk Monster Lance Archer (@LanceHoyt) October 24, 2021
Last night’s episode of Dynamite saw the former champion facing Kingston in a first round AEW world title eliminator tournament match. At one point during the bout, Lance Archer tried to hit a moonsault off the top rope. However, he couldn’t rotate completely and landed on his head.
The referee and Doctor Sampson both checked on the AEW star. The officials then wrapped up the match quickly and Kingston rolled his opponent for the win. The injured star will obviously be going through more testing. Though his tweet and the fact that he was able to walk back to the locker room area by himself are positive news for his fans. We’ll keep you updated on his status.
More details have come to light about the situation regarding the scuffle between Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch, suggesting that this wasn’t the first time people have had problems with Flair’s attitude.
According to Wade Keller of PWTorch, the Queen has ‘alienated’ her colleagues backstage with attitude issues. She has been ‘increasingly difficult to work with’ over the course of the year.
Charlotte has been isolating herself more and more behind the scenes. She is believed to be only interested in how she looks and said to scrutinize everything she is involved in through ‘a self-centered filter.’
On the other hand, Becky Lynch is liked among her colleagues and respected universally. The locker room sentiment is on her side. The Man is seen as a ‘hero’ for standing up to Flair after the awkward SmackDown segment.
There were people who were trying to give Flair the benefit of doubt despite a string of issues. Though crossing Becky is seen as the final straw for her. One wrestler said that “no other women want to work with her now.”
About the SmackDown incident, Charlotte denied dropping the title on purpose. This sounded preposterous enough for her to not only be asked to leave the building but also be escorted out of the arena.
