Independent wrestlers Hale Collins and Vik Dalishus are accusing WWE of infringing on their copyright for the term “The Now.” WWE uses this for United States Champion Austin Theory. 

According to a report by The Hudson Valley Post, the two wrestlers wrestled on the indie circuit as The Now. Vik Dalishus has claimed they have sent cease and desist orders to the company on the use of the term as they trademarked the name in 2006. 

The Claim

Dalishustalked to the media outlet about WWE’s alleged infringement of their trademark.

“My initial reaction was shock, because of the fact that we have had it copyrighted since 2006, and there’s many people in WWE who know Hale and I, know our names, and know we own it.”

Dalishus noted that WWE acknowledged one of the letters they sent and claimed they would look into it, but the company has continued to use the nickname on television. 

Dalishus continued, “Our next step is a lawsuit for trademark infringement and creating confusion in the marketplace.”

Theory is slated to wrestle John Cena with the United States Title on the line at WrestleMania 39 this April.

As expected, John Cena will wrestle Austin Theory at WWE WrestleMania 39. 

The match was made official during Monday Night Raw this week when Cena made his return where he was about to do a promo, but Austin Theory came out before Cena could say a word. 

Theory said that he has all the respect in the world for Cena and he became a WWE star because of Cena and watching him as a kid. He said he has a gift for Cena and that’s for them to have a match for the US Title at WrestleMania 39. 

Cena told him no because he was not interested in his gift because Theory hasn’t earned it to give it. He said that he doesn’t care what Theory says and just like the fans, he doesn’t either because they don’t believe Theory because Theory doesn’t believe him. He called him generic and has no heart. He said that Theory was the version of him that almost got fired as ruthless aggression. He said that Theory has been given chances and has shown nothing for it. Cena said that the fans believe in him and don’t believe in Theory. He said that Theory is a pair of trunks from being jabroni, but Theory has the best name in WWE history because that’s exactly what Theory is, a theory. In theory, Austin should be great, but he’s not. Cena told him to shut up and leave. 

Theory refused and said he’s not going anywhere just like Cena’s bald spot. Cena said he’s proud of it. He questioned Cena’s giving up, and not respecting the chance to go to WrestleMania. Theory said that you shouldn’t meet your hero because if you do, they’ll disappoint. Cena said he would rather be bald than have WWE pipe-in crowd noise during his matches.

He said no because Theory isn’t ready for a match and he wins then Theory loses everything because he was done. He said if Theory wins then he would lose everything and go out the next night to explain by himself to the most critical fans alive. He said Theory is full of crap. He asked the fans what they should do and the fans cheered. Cena accepted the match and said Theory made the biggest mistake of his life. 

Ever since Vince McMahon made his return to WWE as the Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors in January, fans have feared that he would eventually return to the head of creative. 

McMahon said that he returned to WWE to explore the possibility of a sale and help with the negotiations of the next TV rights deal. McMahon has yet to take over creative from Triple H and for now that will stay intact, but McMahon did make his presence known at WWE Monday Night Raw this week. 

He’s Back

At Monday’s show in Boston, MA, McMahon is at the show. Sean Ross Sapp, Dave Meltzer, and Bryan Alvarez reported the news. It’s unclear whether he will appear on the broadcast or why he’s there, but it may have something to do with John Cena. 

When Cena made his return to WWE TV last June, it was McMahon who introduced him. Despite the hush money scandal going on that eventually led to him stepping down as CEO and Chairman, McMahon did make a few appearances on WWE television. 

Cena will return on tonight’s Raw where it’s expected that he’ll set up his WrestleMania 39 match with Austin Theory. 

Triple H took over creative last summer and has publicly said that he will get suggestions from McMahon. However, he is still in charge, not his father-in-law.

Last week after WWE made the Brock Lesnar vs. Omos match at WrestleMania 39 official, it was reported that the match was an idea by McMahon, who was high on Omos when he was in charge of creative. 

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson had many doubters when he decided to buy the XFL alongside his longtime business partner Danny Garcia and RedBird Capital a few years ago after Vince McMahon shut it down after a second attempt at a spring pro football league. 

The new owners have revamped what McMahon had come up with. The Rock is looking to get the most out of the third chance at the league because he wants to give players a second chance. 

The Rock played as a defensive end/tackle at the University of Miami but didn’t make it to the NFL. Instead, he went to the CFL before he decided he had enough and got into wrestling. 

The Reason

While speaking to ESPN, The Rock was asked why he decided to buy the XFL with his investment partners. 

“It was an ability to create a league that I wish I had when I was around. I was a good player. I had great, what Coach Ed Orgeron used to say, I had ‘great upper body violence.’ Which is a compliment,” The Rock stated.” The allure of this was my longtime business partner Dani Garcia, she says, ‘I have this crazy idea, let’s go buy the XFL, and immediately it was the easiest ‘yes’ I ever said because we both knew we had an opportunity to not only be owners of a league, but to be a part of the sport that we love, but also create a culture of second chances for guys like me.”

The Rock noted that he told that story to NFL commissioner Roger Goodwell. 

Fans will have more superstars to play, as in WWE 2K23, through five post-launch DLC packs.

On Monday, WWE and 2K games announced five upcoming DLC packs, including various superstars, legends, and celebrities. The first pack will be released on April 19, while the last pack is set to be released on August 16.

Some names include Bray Wyatt, The Steiners, Zeus, Harley Race, Eve Torres, Blair Davenport, and Wade Barrett.

The Breakdown

DLC 1: Steiner Row Pack (April 19)

• Scott Steiner
• Rick Steiner
• B-Fab (Manager only)
• Top Dolla
• Ashante Adonis

DLC 2: Pretty Sweet Pack (May 17)

• Karl Anderson
• Luke Gallows
• Tiffany Stratton
• Elton Prince
• Kit Wilson

DLC 3: Race to NXT Pack (June 14)

• Harley Race
• Ivy Nile
• Wendy Choo
• Tony D’Angelo
• Trick Williams

DLC 4: Revel with Wyatt Pack (July 19)

• Bray Wyatt
• Zeus
• Valhalla
• Joe Gacy
• Blair Davenport

DLC 5: Bad News U Pack (August 16)

• Eve Torres
• Wade Barrett
• Damon Kemp
• Andre Chase
• Nathan Frazer

The standard edition of WWE 2K23 will be out on Friday, March 17, 2023 on PS5, PS4, Xbox Series XS, Xbox One, and PC. Those who get the Deluxe or Icon editions will have access to the game on Tuesday, March 14, 2023. 

Chris Hero has a new role in the world of pro wrestling. 

Hero started wrestling in 1998 through 2020, where he worked for several promotions and found great success. Throughout his in-ring career, he won the PWG World Title, IWA Mid-South Heavyweight title, EVOLVE Championship, wXw World Championship, and the CZW Championship. He also had a memorable run as a tag team with Claudio Castagnoli as Kings of Wrestling, where they won gold in ROH, Chikara, and CZW. 

Hero attended Saturday’s West Coast Pro Wrestling event at the United Irish Cultural Center in San Francisco. At the show, it was announced that he would be the promotion’s new matchmaker. 

West Coast Pro Wrestling

The promotion has held shows since 2018 in California, where the top champion is Titus Alexander. Past champions of the promotion include some notable names such as  AJ Gray and Jacob Fatu. 

At Saturday’s show, Masha Slamovich defeated Sandra Moore to become their inaugural Women’s Champion after winning the finals of the tournament. Fans can watch West Coast Pro shows on IndependentWrestling.TV.

Hero last wrestled a match at a set of tapings for the WWE NXT UK brand in Midlands, England, on March 6 & 7, 2020, before he was one of the names to be released from WWE that April due to budget cuts.

For a span of a few years in the early 2010s, The Rock and John Cena had a memorable rivalry that stemmed from real life.

Cena felt that The Rock abandoned the company he worked for and found success as a top star for many years when he went to Hollywood to become an actor. His full-time days started to dwindle down in 2002 before missing the second half of 2003 and then only working one match in 2004 before being on hiatus from WWE for several years. 

In 2011, The Rock returned to be the host of WrestleMania 27 where he cost Cena the WWE Title by helping The Miz retain the championship. They later teamed together to beat The Miz and R-Truth that November at Survivor Series. 

The Rock beat Cena at WrestleMania 28 in Miami, Florida then the next year at WrestleMania 29, Cena beat The Rock to win the WWE Title in New Jersey. 

The Tweet

Their feud was featured on Sunday’s WWE Rivals program that aired on A&E. Cena took to Twitter to look back on the feud. 

Cena tweeted: “Relive this epic @WWE rivaly thru those who lived it. I wouldnt be who I am 2day w/o @TheRock.  Professionally & personally. He challenged me, demanded my best, forced me to address my flaws w/ the world watching! Respect is a core value for me…this took it to new level!”

Cena will be returning to WWE on tonight’s episode of Raw where it’s expected that he will be there to set up his WrestleMania 39 match with United States Champion Austin Theory. 

John Cena joins a star-studded cast for the “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem” animated movie.

The teaser trailer for the highly anticipated film was released today and gives a first look at Cena’s character, Rocksteady, which appears at the 1:12 mark of the trailer. 

The movie is slated to be released on August 4th. The film’s synopsis reads as the following: 

“In Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, after years of being sheltered from the human world, the Turtle brothers set out to win the hearts of New Yorkers and be accepted as normal teenagers through heroic acts. Their new friend April O’Neil helps them take on a mysterious crime syndicate, but they soon get in over their heads when an army of mutants is unleashed upon them.”

Rest of the Cast

• Micah Abbey as Donatello
• Shamon Brown Jr. as Michelangelo
• Hannibal Buress as Genghis Frog
• Rose Byrne as Leatherhead
• Nicolas Cantu as Leonardo
• Jackie Chan as Splinter
• Ice Cube as Superfly
• Natasia Demetriou as Wingnut
• Ayo Edebiri as April O’Neil
• Giancarlo Esposito as Baxter Stockman
• Post Malone as Ray Fillet
• Brady Noon as Raphael
• Seth Rogen as Bebop
• Paul Rudd as Mondo Gecko
• Maya Rudolph as Cynthia Utrom

The film is directed by Jeff Rowe and written by Brendan O’Brien. It’s produced by Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, and James Weaver. Paramount Pictures distributed the film. 

AEW World Heavyweight Champion MJF made his latest title defense against Bryan Danielson at the AEW Revolution pay-per-view event from the Chase Center in San Francisco, California.

The sixty minute iron man match opened with MJF trying to avoid Danielson as he went into the crowd and threw water on a kid. Once back in the ring, MJF took over and beat down Danielson. MJF did a spot where he hit a powerbomb onto his knee. MJF hit a tiger driver, resulting in Danielson landing right on his neck. Danielson scored the running knee strike for the first fall. After hitting a low blow, MJF rolled him up for 2 falls. The announcer explained that MJF was DQ’d for the low blow and Danielson was given a fall.  MJF told Danielson that he hated him while having him in the figure-four leg lock. MJF landed an elbow drop off the top rope to send Danielson through a table. MJF hit a tombstone piledriver on the broken table. 

Danielson was busted open. The third fall for MJF came when MJF hit a piledriver while having Danielson dangling on the middle rope.  MJF was busted open after taking a headbutt. Danielson with a running knee strike then the lebell lock for the next fall. Danielson took a piledriver on the middle rope, but kicked out at two. MJF with a tombstone off the middle rope. They went the distance and initially ruled a draw finish. It was announced we were going to sudden death rules as MJF was getting oxygen. After Danielson avoided being hit with the diamond ring, he hit a running knee strike for 2. MJF hit him in the face with the oxygen tank then put him in a submission hold, but Danielson got out of it. MJF with the crossface for the win. 

Danielson completed MJF’s requirement of winning every match between January 11 and February 8 with his victory over Rush a few weeks ago on Dynamite, confirming the iron man match for Revolution. During a bloody match in which Danielson defeated Rush, MJF attacked Danielson, taking out security, and placing him in an armbar.

It all started when MJF took out Danielson’s mentor, William Regal, after Regal turned on Jon Moxley by costing the World Heavyweight Title. MJF eventually stated that if Danielson kept winning bouts up to February 8, he would agree to the match. Danison concurred.

Danielson has won victories over opponents such as Takeshita, Bandido, Brian Cage, and Timothy Thatcher over the previous few weeks.

AEW Tag Team Champions The Gunn Club (Colten Gunn & Austin Gunn) put their titles on the line in a fatal 4-way bout at the AEW Revolution pay-per-view event from the Chase Center in San Francisco, California. 

The other teams involved in the match were The Acclaimed (Anthony Bowens & Max Caster), Jeff Jarrett & Jay Lethal, and Orange Cassidy & Danhausen.

The match saw everyone get in their spots early on. They brought in Singh for a staredown with Danhausen, who hit him in the nuts and Billy Gunn hit the fameasser. There was a near fall when Jarrett and Lethal used a weapon and hit Caste rin the face before Jarrett connected with the stroke. Caster threatened to hit Jarrett with the guitar. The Gunns went over with their finisher on Danhausen. 

Post-match, FTR made their return by laying out The Gunns, indicating a future title match. 

The Gunn Club defeated The Acclaimed on Dynamite: Championship Fight Night on February 8, 2023, in El Paso, Texas to win the titles. 

What are your thoughts on The Gunn Club retaining the AEW Tag Team Titles? Was this the right call by AEW officials? Sound off in the comment section.

AEW TNT Champion Samoa Joe put his championship on the line against Wardlow at the AEW Revolution pay-per-view event from the Chase Center in San Francisco, California.

The match saw Wardlow come out strong and brought the fight to him before Joe took over. Wardlow fought back and hit a front senton off the top rope for 2. Although Wardlow hit him with a powerbomb, Joe cut him off with a clothesline. Wardlow with a rear-naked choke for the win. 

Since they started working together in September, the two stars have been feuding. After Wardlow said he intended to win every title in the company, Joe turned on him, despite the fact that they had initially gotten along well as tag team partner. Joe chose to attack Wardlow first because he claimed Wardlow was a danger to his ROH World Television Championship. Joe would later win the TNT Championship from Wardlow at Full Gear in a triple threat match that also included Powerhouse Hobbs.

At the New Year’s Smash event, Joe went on to defeat Wardlow in a singles match, causing him to pass out in the Coquina Clutch and later chopped off his ponytail.

On the February 2 episode of AEW Dynamite, Wardlow returned to AEW television and confronted Joe after he  won the championship by defeating Darby Allin.

What are your thoughts on Wardlow winning the TNT Title? Was this the right call by AEW officials? Sound off in the comment section.

AEW Women’s World Champion Jamie Hayter defended her championship against Ruby Soho and Saraya at the AEW Revolution pay-per-view event from the Chase Center in San Francisco, California.

The match started with them brawling into the crowd. Saraya took some hard bumps in this bout including when Hayter hit a rock bottom to her on the ring apron. Saraya did a comedy spot where she told them to stop attacking her. Saraya planted Hayter with a DDT. Britt Baker got on the apron and punched Saraya. Soho with her finisher for 2 as Hayter broke it up. Hayter rolled up Soho for the win. Post-match, Soho turned heel by aligning herself with Saraya and Toni Storm after the two sides got into a post-match brawl. 

The story of this program has been Soho’s allegiances as she has been in the middle of four female talents – Saraya, Toni Storm, Hayter, and Britt Baker. The idea is that Saraya and Storm are outsiders from WWE against the homegrown talent of AEW in Braker and Hayter. Soho has yet to declare a side in the story. 

In November 2022, in Newark, New Jersey, at Full Gear, Hayter defeated Toni Storm to win the inaugural interim AEW Women’s World Championship. Thunder Rosa later relinquished the real championship, making Storm’s interim reign an official reign, and she was then crowned the undisputed lineal champion on a later episode of Dynamite.

What are your thoughts on Jamie Hayter retaining the Women’s Title? Was this the right call by AEW officials? Sound off in the comment section.

AEW Trios Champions The Elite (The Young Bucks & Kenny Omega)  put their titles on the line against The House of Black (Brody King, Buddy Matthews & Malakai Black) at the AEW Revolution pay-per-view event from the Chase Center in San Francisco, California. 

The match opened with a slow start before a brawl took place. Omega and Matt hit outside dives. King avoided a moonsault by putting up his knees to Omega. The Young Bucks with superkicks to Black and Buddy while King missed a dive in the corner. They did a sequence where everyone took out each other, leading to an AEW chant. There was a spot where Julia Hart got on the apron to distract Omega, but Omega accidentally kneed her in the face and Black with a head kick to Omega for 2.  The House of Black with their finisher to Omega for 2. Matt took the pinfall loss. 

The House of Black had been doing various teases as a warning to The Elite that they were coming for the Trios Titles in the weeks leading up to the match getting made official. 

The Elite defeated Death Triangle (Pac, Penta El Zero M, and Rey Fénix) in an Escalera de la Muerte (ladder match) on the January 11th episode of Dynamite in Inglewood, California, which was the final match in a Best of Seven Series for the championship. The Elite were the inaugural champions crowned at All Out, the night they got into a backstage fight with CM Punk for the comments he made about them, Hangman Page, and Colt Cabana at the press conference. 

What are your thoughts on House of Black winning the AEW Trios Titles? Was this the right call by AEW officials? Sound off in the comment section.

All Elite Wrestling has confirmed the details for this year’s AEW Double or Nothing.

During Sunday’s Revolution show, the promotion confirmed that this upcoming pay-per-view event, the biggest event of the year for AEW, will take place on Sunday, May 28, from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. 

The promotion will also hold a live Dynamite event on Wednesday, May 24th, and Rampage on May 26th from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Tickets go on sale from Friday, March 17th.

Past Shows

The first-ever Double or Nothing (and AEW) event took place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, and Las Vegas has become an annual tradition as the promotion held the show in the city last year at the T-Mobile Arena. The plan was to do it there in 2020, but that was shifted due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the event was held at Daily’s Place in Jacksonville, Florida instead. AEW also held the 2021 edition at this venue as well. 

Chris Jericho vs. Kenny Omega to determine who would compete for the inaugural AEW World Championship at All Out headlined the 2019 PPV. In 2020, Matt Hardy and The Elite vs. The Inner Circle in a Stadium Stampede match was the main event. 

In 2021, The Inner Circle vs. The Pinnacle in a Stadium Stampede match took place, while Hangman Adam Page vs. CM Punk headlined last year’s event for the AEW World Championship.

AEW Revolution is quickly approaching, and the planned match order has been revealed based on the internal production listing.

AEW World Heavyweight Champion MJF vs. Bryan Danielson in a 60-Minute Iron Man Match will headline the show. 

There are a total of five title matches on this card. According to the final betting odds released, there is one title expected to change hands, which is Wardlow beating Samoa Joe for the TNT Title. The event starts with the Zero Hour pre-show show at 7 PM EST and the main card at 8 PM EST. 

AEW Revolution Match Order

According to Fightful Select, the current scheduled match order for tonight is as follows:

Mark Briscoe & The Lucha Bros (Penta El Zero Miedo & Rey Fenix) vs. Ari Daivari & Varsity Athletes (Josh Woods & Tony Nese) – Pre-Show Match

Jungle Boy vs. Christian Cage – Final Burial Match

Chris Jericho vs. Ricky Starks – Everyone is banned from ringside

AEW Trios Champions The Elite (The Young Bucks & Kenny Omega) vs. The House of Black (Brody King, Buddy Matthews & Malakai Black)

AEW Women’s World Champion Jamie Hayter vs. Ruby Soho vs. Saraya

Jon Moxley vs. Hangman Page – Texas Death Match.

AEW TNT Champion Samoa Joe vs. Wardlow.

AEW Tag Team Champions The Gunn Club vs. The Acclaimed vs. Jeff Jarrett & Jay Lethal vs. Orange Cassidy & Danhausen

AEW World Heavyweight Champion MJF vs. Bryan Danielson – 60-Minute Iron Man Match.

Jeff Jarrett has been able to share the ring with countless wrestlers over the years throughout his wrestling career. His career spans decades in several different promotions including WWE, WCW, TNA Wrestling, and now AEW. 

For most of Jarrett’s time in All Elite Wrestling has spent feuding with The Acclaimed (Max Caster & Anthony Bowens) and Billy Gunn on-screen alongside Satnam Singh, Sonjay Dutt and Jay Lethal. 

In fact, AEW Tag Team Champions The Gunn Club vs. The Acclaimed vs. Jarrett & Lethal vs. Orange Cassidy & Danhausen in a fatal 4-way bout will take place at Revolution.  

The Praise

While doing an interview with Wrestling Observer Radio. Jarrett praised The Acclaimed for what they do as an act with Caster wrapping and Bowens’ mic skills. 

He said the act is real and connects with fans because when they take digs at people, it resonates right away with fans. Jarrett thinks adding Billy Gunn to the pair makes a magical combination. 

“I think it takes the presentation of the charisma of all three to another level and look, Max and Bowens can both go, they’re both youthful. But to me, it’s just a fantastic box-office attraction because just as we were talking a few minutes ago, you can do a few moves here and there but is it really gonna resonate? We’re talking about it. So, you know, MJF may have great verbal skills but he can’t rap. Max can rap and it’s authentic and real. Bowens can talk, Billy has his lineage in the business and when you kind of put it together and the scissor and everything, it just is a true box-office attraction that is homegrown and I think that is something when you look at that diverse roster, they’re breakouts and we just kind of answered our own question. Why are they breakouts? Well they’ve got athletics, but they also can talk and you kind of combine the three, it works.”

H/T to POST Wrestling

WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair had a retirement match billed as “Ric Flair’s Last Match” last July when he teamed with his son-in-law Andrade El Idolo against Jeff Jarrett & Jay Lethal.

Flair and the AEW star went over when Flair hit Jarrett with brass knuckles and then put him in the figure-four leg lock. Coming out of the event, Flair blamed not being properly hydrated for his performance in the match. 

Dave Meltzer recently published the fan-voted Wrestling Observer Awards. Among the list of awards was the worst match with Vince McMahon vs. Pat McAfee at WrestleMania 38 earning that award while Flair’s last match was the runner-up.

Flair’s Reaction

While speaking on his To Be The Man podcast, Ric Flair talked about the Wrestling Observer Awards.

“I’ll take that because it was the sh*ts. No, no, but here’s the deal. It was the sh*ts because I made a mistake in not hydrating. Let them have it again. No, I mean, I’m serious. I think about it all the time. Let me have the match again. Because the one thing I never thought about was to keep myself hydrated, which I found out my doctor told me the other day, I just went to get my heart tested and all that.”

He faked having a heart attack during the match a play on having a pacemaker in chest.

Flair continued by noting that the only recommendation that his doctor gave him was to drink more water since he won’t stop drinking, which includes nine to 12 beers a day.

H/T to TJRWrestling

AEW’s Fuego del Sol has provided an injury update days after announcing that he had undergone medical testing. 

Last month, the AEW star announced that he dislocated his right foot and only had one minor fracture. However, earlier this week, it was revealed that he has been diagnosed with five fractures in his foot. 

The injury happened during an Extreme Title Three-Way match at an SPW show on February 19th. He was wrestling Guapo Lupe and Daniel Torch.

The Announcement

In a post on Instagram, Fuego noted that he will need surgery to fix the injury and will be sidelined for at least 3 months. He wrote the following: 

“I LOVE PROFESSIONAL WRESTLING!

Which is why I’m devastated to say that due to this injury I’ll need surgery that’s going to keep me from doing what I love for at least 3 months.

This a clip from a recent seminar I did. Hoping to do more along with some meet and greets while I’m out of the ring. I’m too passionate about this business to let this hold me back. The comeback will be far greater than the setback.”

His most recent match under the AEW banner happened on February 15 during Dark: Elevation when he lost to Juice Robinson while his last televised bout came when he lost to Luchasaurus in October on Dynamite.

We wish him a speedy recovery.

Keith Lee made his return to AEW television last month to continue his feud with former tag team partner Swerve Strickland. 

When he did, the former WWE star also debuted a new natural look with white/grey hair. Since that return, he has continued to evolve his look with robes and capes. 

While doing a new interview with Fightful’s Grapsody podcast, Lee addressed the new look and explained that part of it is a middle finger to people that tell you what you need to look like.

“I think that what inspired that look or return and all of that, I think in my previous interview the exact terminology I used was, ‘A giant middle finger to society and a lot of companies that want you need to look like, a lot of people that tell you what you need to look like.’ Instead I decided to say, ‘Okay, here’s reality’,” Lee said.

Make A Statement

Lee pointed out that he made statements about this in the past with his first grey hairs. He wants people to be comfortable with who they are and the best versions of themselves. 

“While I want people to take care of themselves physically and do what they can to adhere to their health, things of that sort, I’m going to be the trendsetter that says, ‘Okay, naturally grey hair, white hair, however you view it, I’m going to be the one who sets it off.’ Because I am who I am and I don’t really care what people say or think about me, I am going to be successful doing this,” Lee said. “I’m going to change the game once again. That’s what I always do. That’s really what it’s about.”

Although Lee said that he looks forward to putting an end to his feud with Strickland, he won’t do it at Revolution as neither star is booked for the show. 

Last year, there was a lot of talk about what MJF would do when his contract with AEW comes due in January 2024.

This was put on television through a storyline that led to him cutting a heated promo where he called AEW President Tony Khan a ‘mark’ and dared him to fire him. He showed up at the end of the All Out event in September before beating Jon Moxley for the AEW World Heavyweight Title at Full Gear that November. 

It’s been reported that WWE has an interest in signing him when he’s free and clear of his AEW deal. MJF has reminded fans in countless interviews and promos that his contract is coming up. He shifted this to a work and came up with the “bidding war of 2024” line he has used on TV.

The Admission

Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Select reports that MJF told one WWE talent, “I’m looking forward to being there in 2024.” 

The source said that MJF wanted them to think he was serious, but the person didn’t take anything MJF said too seriously. The report added, “Word of him saying that had made its way to other talent there, as well.”

It should be noted that MJF has said he’s looking to sign with whichever company will offer him the most amount of money. Whether it’s AEW or WWE, MJF is a top star who continues to improve and will be getting paid either way come 2024.

Kofi Kingston is currently on the sidelines with an injury. 

On Friday’s episode of WWE SmackDown, it appeared that Kingston had suffered an injury in a segment that also featured Sheamus, Drew McIntyre, Karrion Kross, and LA Knight to set up a 5-way match on next week’s show to determine who will face Gunther for the Intercontinental Title at WrestleMania 39.

Kofi Kingston’s Status

Unfortunately, that is the case. FightFans.co reported today that Kingston is dealing with an arm injury. Bryan Alvarez also reported the news on his Twitter account. 

While the exact injury and timeline for his return is unknown, the word is that it is expected to be a lengthy period of time. The report added that there is already talk of a replacement for Kingston in the match. 

Kingston’s most recent match was a dark match with Jinder Mahal that saw Kingston go over the fellow former WWE Champion at a February 24 SmackDown event. 

Kingston and Xavier Woods previously dropped the NXT Tag Team Titles to Gallus (Mark Coffey & Wolfgang) at WWE NXT Vengeance Day.

We wish Kingston a speedy recovery.

AEW is playing into the past locker room divide with the feud over the Women’s Title heading into Revolution as Jamie Hayter will defend the title against Ruby Soho and Saraya in a triple threat match at the show. 

In 2022, there had been locker room issues between certain stars, whether that was CM Punk’s issues with The Elite, Hangman Page, and Colt Cabana or Eddie Kingston pie facing Sammy Guevara, or the incident with Andrade and Guevara. Also, there were issues with members of the women’s roster with Thunder Rosa, something the promotion held a meeting about when rosa returned to the road with AEW a few weeks ago as part of the Spanish commentary team. 

The idea with this women’s storyline is that Soho and Saraya are outsiders from WWE going up against AEW homegrown talent in Britt Baker and Hayter.

The Divide

During a recent interview with Fightful’s Grapsody podcast, Ruby explained that she is not choosing sides. She noted that she just wants to go to work and home and mind her own business. Soho isn’t interested in picking a side because she’s the only person she can count on. 

“I did the group thing before. I did it for four years. Some of the best times of my entire life. I ain’t doing it again. I’m over it. I’m choosing my side. I’m choosing me and I’m the only person I can depend on to make sure I take home that gold. So as far as the cat fight crap that keeps happening, I would love for it to just stop. But I don’t know how to run away from it and still run towards the gold. I feel like it’s just something I have to maneuver through in order to get to where I want to be. But, yeah, it’s been an ordeal.”

Regarding the divide fracturing the women’s roster, which is currently playing out on television, she takes pride in helping build up the women’s division. 

“I think this divide was a long time coming. It was going to happen regardless because of how many people that have come from somewhere else coming into the company. I think that it was inevitable because, after a while, the homegrowns are like, ‘We built this place,’ and the outsiders are like, ‘We came here to try to make this place better.’”

Soho added that there’s an argument on both sides. 

Brett DiBiase has made a plea in the case against him connected with Mississippi’s largest welfare embezzlement scandal.

WLBT reports DiBiase pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States in US District Court. He previously pled guilty to two charges in Hinds County Circuit Court. 

Now, he awaits his sentence in state court and faces up to five years in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

The Scandal

Brett was one of several people who were connected to the fraud where they were accused of the embezzlement of millions of dollars in Temporary Assistance for Needy Families funding. Brett paid $48,000 through his business Restore2, LLC by using false claims to get the money as he covered up these payments by falsifying documents, invoices, books, reports, and ledgers.

Others involved in the case were indicted and later convicted. The names included were former DHS Executive Director John Davis, Nancy New, Zach New, and Ann McGrew.

The son of WWE Hall of Famer Ted Dibiase did work for WWE from 2008 to 2011 where he was used in FCW (Florida Championship Wrestling), then-WWE’s developmental territory where he was a Tag Team Championship.

Paul Heyman and Cody Rhodes had a memorable promo segment on the February 6 edition of WWE Raw.

This was where Heyman talked with the 2023 Men’s Royal Rumble winner on behalf of WWE Undisputed Universal Champion Roman Reigns ahead of their clash at WrestleMania 39. 

The topic of Cody’s late father Dusty Rhodes was the main focal point of the promo. Rhodes thanked Heyman for reigniting Dusty’s passion during his ECW days. Heyman told Rhodes that in the last conversation he had with Dusty, the legendary wrestler told him that  Cody was his favorite son, but Reigns was the son he always wanted.

The Pressure

While speaking on the SI Media podcast, Heyman looked back on the promo. 

“I like pressure. I don’t find pressure to be burdensome. I find it to be inspiring. We have Cody coming out of the gates now one-on-one with Roman because this was the night after the Elimination Chamber where Roman Reigns defeats Sami Zayn. so you know it won’t be Sami, you know it’s going to be Cody challenging Roman and an audience. I’m sorry, this was before the Elimination Chamber, but an audience that is really honed in on the arrival of Sami Zayn as a superstar.”

Heyman continued, “Here’s Cody, with his own narrative, his own story to tell, and as he will tell his story to finish. And a compelling one at that, and an emotional one at that. We have to tell his story as well. The pressure is we have a first time WrestleMania main event and an audience that is very critical of new people in the main event of WrestleMania….The pressure really was to demonstrate Cody Rhodes as someone who is capable of hanging with and telling himself a WrestleMania main event level story for the audience to absorb and become invested in.”

If you use any portion of the quotes from this article, please credit with an h/t to SEScoops for the transcription.

Although Ronda Rousey is dealing with an injury, she is not expected to miss WWE WrestleMania 39 in April. 

According to PWTorch, the top WWE star has aggravated a prior injury, but the report stated that it wouldn’t prevent her from competing at WrestleMania next month in Los Angeles.

Rousey was originally set to team with Shayna Baszler to take on Tegan Nox and Natalya on Friday’s episode of SmackDown. However, plans had to change due to Rousey’s injury. 

Plans Change

WWE did an angle on the show where it was revealed that the two teams got into a brawl backstage at the show earlier in the day. The announcers would later explain that Rousey suffering an injury in the brawl caused the tag team match to be nixed and a singles match between Baszler and Nox was made. 

 Baszler won the match via armbar while Rousey was with her good friend during the match while wearing a sling on her arm.

As of late, Baszler and Rousey have been teaming together. Rousey has stated that she wants to have a tag team run with Baszler, which is reportedly the direction for both stars by WWE as they’re supposed to challenge for the Women’s Tag Team Titles at WrestleMania 39.