Mercedes Mone made her NJPW in-ring debut last Saturday night at the Battle in the Valley pay-per-view event where she defeated KAIRI to capture the IWGP Women’s Championship.

This was after she walked out of WWE last May due to creative differences, negotiated her release from the company, and signed with NJPW at the beginning of January before she made her promotional debut at Wrestle Kingdom 17 where she attacked the fellow former WWE star to set up the BITV match. 

In the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer reported that Mones winning the title at this show was the plan from the moment she signed with NJPW as the promotion felt having her as the champion would make the title feel important and raise its profile. 

Where Thing Stand

Meltzer also shared an update on Mone’s NJPW deal, and how many dates she has left, which is two dates. Mone will work the April 8th Sakura Genesis show at Sumo Hall where she will face STARDOM High Speed Champion AZM. The original plan was a rematch with KAIRI but things changed. 

Mone will also work the  23rd STARDOM event at Yokohama Arena where currently, she is scheduled to face Mayu Iwatami at that show. Should she not sign an extension with NJPW for more dates then she is likely to drop the title to Mayu at this event.

Eric Bischoff recently made an interesting comparison between Sami Zayn and Diamond Dallas Page (DDP). 

Zayn had been portrayed as a lovable babyface in NXT after making a name for himself as El Generico on the independent wrestling scene. On the main roster, he continued the babyface character he came up with in developmental before portraying a heel for many years up until he was aligned with The Bloodline where the fans slowly turned him back into a babyface. 

Parallels 

While speaking on WrestleBinge, Bischoff explained how DDP and Zayn share similar trajectories.

“There are some parallels there. [DDP] was kind of in the middle of the roster, right, and he was pretty good,” Bischoff stated, “but once [DDP] made that transition, once he turned down the NWO and started working with Randy Savage and so many other top names, he just blew out of the pack. He didn’t slowly grow his way to the top of the roster; he just blew the doors off.”

There are some parallels there. [DDP] was kind of in the middle of the roster, right, and he was pretty good,” Bischoff stated, “but once [DDP] made that transition, once he turned down the nWo and started working with Randy Savage and so many other top names, he just blew out of the pack. He didn’t slowly grow his way to the top of the roster; he just blew the doors off.”

Zayn came up short when challenging Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Title at the Elimination Chamber after being kicked out of The Bloodline at the Royal Rumble. 

H/T to Wrestling Inc for the transcription

Following the report that WWE is planning to hold two PLEs in the month of May, the location of one of them has been revealed to be Saudi Arabia, and that’s the King and Queen of the Ring. 

As previously noted, WWE is planning to present Backlash on Saturday, May 6, an event that dates back to 1999, in addition to bringing back King of the Ring under the King and Queen of the Ring name on Saturday, May 27. 

WWE hasn’t used the tournament theme as a pay-per-view event since 2002. 

The Location

PWInsider Elite reports that WWE’s 2023 King and Queen of the Ring premium live event is slated to be in Saudi Arabia. WWE has yet to confirm either of these events, but WWE does have a 10-year deal with the Saudi Arabia government that calls for them to hold two PLE events each year in the country. The other 2023 event will take place later this year, likely in October or November. 

This will be the second time that Saudi Arabia hosted the King and Queen of the Ring tournaments, as WWE previously held the tournaments in 2021 with them taking place at Crown Jewel. 

The 2021 tournaments saw Xavier Woods be crowned King of the Ring after defeating Finn Balor and Zelina Vega defeat Doudrop to become Queen of the Ring, then known as the Queen’s Crown.

WWE is off to a great start with this year’s Money in the Bank event ahead of its July 1st date at the O2 Arena in London as tickets for the show that went on sale on Friday quickly sold out. 

The Daily Mail’s Alex McCarthy first reported that tickets for the show sold out in just one minute after issues with Ticketmaster, leading to a brief delay in tickets being put on sale. 

The demand was strong for the event as over 30,000 fans were trying to get tickets during the general on-sale on Ticketmaster alone.

Build It and They Will Come

While it will be a historic event as it marks the first time since the 1992 SummerSlam event that one of the big 5 PLEs (Royal Rumble, WrestleMania, MITB, SummerSlam, and Survivor Series) will be held in the UK, MITB will be without one notable name. 

Roman Reigns is not advertised for the show. Instead, Kevin Owens, Drew McIntyre, Seth Rollins, Becky Lynch, Bianca Belair, Charlotte Flair, and Cody Rhodes are advertised to appear.

Reigns headlined the last PLE in the UK back in September with Clash at the Castle where retained his Undisputed WWE Universal Championship against Drew McIntyre. Here is the updated WWE PLE schedule: 

• WWE WrestleMania 39 night one, Saturday, April 1
• WWE WrestleMania 39 night two, Sunday, April 2
• WWE Backlash, Saturday, May 6
• WWE King and Queen of the Ring, Saturday, May 27
• WWE Money in the Bank, Saturday, July 1
• WWE SummerSlam Saturday, August 5

AEW has announced several things for Wednesday’s episode of Dynamite including the debut of a wrestler. 

Komander will make his AEW debut in the Face of the Revolution ladder match on the show. He will be taking on Konosuke Takeshita, Ortiz, Action Andretti, Sammy Guevara, Powerhouse Hobbs, Eddie Kingston, and AR Fox in the bout.

The winner of the match will get a shot at the TNT Title, currently held by Samoa Joe who will be on commentary for the match. 

Kommander, a 24-year-old high-flyer, has worked for AAA, Lucha Memes, MDA, Pro Wrestling Mexico, EMLL, and WAR City.

Also announced for the show include Orange Cassidy will defend the All-Atlantic title against Big Bill, Hook vs. Matt Hardy in an FTW Title match, Toni Storm vs. Riho, and Chris Jericho vs. Peter Avalon.

Updated AEW Dynamite Card

• Komander vs. Konosuke Takeshita vs. Ortiz vs. Action Andretti vs. Sammy Guevara vs. Powerhouse Hobbs vs. Eddie Kingston vs. AR Fox – Face of the Revolution Ladder Match for a future TNT Title shot
• Top Flight vs. Aussie Open vs. Matt Menard & Angelo Parker vs. Best Friends vs. Alex Reynolds & John Silver vs. Mike Bennett & Matt Taven vs. Preston Vance & Rush vs. Claudio Castagnoli & Wheeler Yuta vs. The Lucha Bros vs. The Butcher & The Blade – Casino Tag Team Battle Royale for a spot in the Tag Team Title Match at Revolution
• AEW All-Atlantic Champion Orange Cassidy vs. Big Bill
• FTW Champion Hook vs. Matt Hardy
• Chris Jericho vs. Peter Avalon
• Toni Storm vs. Riho
• MJF & Bran Danielson speak

An AEW star was referenced on Friday Night SmackDown this week during a segment by Charlotte Flair while building to her WrestleMania 39 showdown. 

The SmackDown Women’s Champion came out to the ring for a promo segment and she gave an early Happy Birthday shout to her father, Ric Flair. She also referenced another Papi.

Flair was exchanging words with Dominik Mysterio when she referenced her real-life husband, Andrade El Idolo as a way to make it clear that she had no interest in Dominik or his shenanigans when he answered her call for Rhea Ripley to come to the ring for their advertised showdown.  

The Moment

Flair told him that she has a real Latino man at home that calls her Mami who does it with a much thicker accent.  Once Flair squared up with the son of Rey Mysterio then Ripley came out to the ring where they had a staredown before Ripley got out of the ring and went to the backstage area. 

Andrade and Charlotte were married last summer, the original reason why Charlotte went on hiatus from WWE TV. 

Anna Jay AS has revealed why she has been sidelined for the last month in a message on Twitter. 

The AEW star suffered dislocated ribs during a recent AEW Rampage match. In a response to a fan on Twitter, Jay confirmed the injury that took place in a match that aired on January 13.

The Confirmation

“No bruised tailbone, but I did have some dislocated ribs. Not fun,” Jay AS wrote.

This injury would’ve happened when she teamed up with Tay Melo to wrestle Ruby Soho and Willow Nightingale in a street fight on the show that airs every Friday night on TNT. At one point in the match, Jay was grabbed by Nightingale and powerbombed her off the ramp. 

Both stars were supposed to go through a table. Unfortunately, Jay ended up missing the table. She landed hard on the floor and the ribs were dislocated.  As a result, she has not wrestled since the match took place.

In recent months leading up to this bout, Jay has aligned herself with the Jericho Appreciation Society and formed a tag team with Melo, who has been feuding with Soho since her return from a broken nose. Ironically, she was sidelined with the injury that was caused by Melo during the AEW All Out pre-show last September.

Another week of television ratings is in the books for WWE, AEW, and MLW. Let’s take a look at how the top shows performed. 

WWE SmackDown 

The February 17, 2023 edition of WWE Friday Night SmackDown averaged 2.383 million viewers on FOX, down from 2.468 million viewers, and did a 0.58 rating in the all-important 18-49 demographic, down from the 0.64 rating a week ago. 

The age demo group breakdowns were 18-34 – 0.34, 18-49 – 0.58, 25-54 – 0.81, 18-49 – 4.1, 18-49 – 7.9, and 50+ – 3.3. This was the Elimination Chamber go-home edition of SmackDown.  The show featured Intercontinental Champion Gunther vs. Madcap Moss and more. 

AEW Rampage

AEW Rampage that same night on TNT in the 7 pm ET timeslot drew 287,000 viewers and a 0.07 key demo rating, down from the show did 375,000 viewers and a 0.12 rating in 10 pm ET timeslot. 

Ratings were expected to be down due to coverage of the NBA all-star festivities. This caused Rampage to draw its lowest key demo rating and total viewership in its history. Rampage ranked #59 in the top 150 shows on cable for the night. 

WWE Raw

WWE Monday Night Raw drew an average of 1.2.006 million viewers and a 0.56 key demo rating on the USA Network, up from the 1.812 million viewers and 0.47 key demo rating the previous week.

The first hour did 2.186 million viewers with a 0.60 demo rating, hour two did 2.065 million with a 0.58 demo rating, and the third hour drew 1.768 million viewers with a 0.50 demo rating. 

Raw ranked #1 in the top 150 shows on cable for the night. Here are the ratings from the same week last year for comparison: 1.945M (0.54) in hour one, 1.868M (0.52) in hour two, and 1.666M (0.47) in hour three. 

This fallout edition of Raw for the Elimination Chamber PLE that featured Edge vs. United States Champion Austin Theory. 

WWE NXT

WWE NXT on February 21 drew 589,000 live viewers on the USA Network, down from the 640,000 viewers the show previously drew a week ago, while it did a 0.14 rating for the 18-49 demographic, down from the 0.15 rating one week ago.

It ranked #16 in the top 150 shows on cable for the night, up from last week’s #17 ranking. The episode featured NXT Champion Bron Breakker vs. Jinder Mahal in the main event. 

MLW Underground

This past Tuesday’s MLW Underground episode on Reelz at 10-11 pm EST drew 97,000 viewers and did a 0.03 key demo rating while ranking #117 on cable for the night. 

This is up from last week’s 73,000 and 0.02 rating. The MLW Underground replay at 1 am drew 42,000 viewers last week for the replay. 

AEW Dynamite

Wednesday’s AEW Dynamite drew 1.028 million viewers, up from the 824,000 viewers the show drew last week, and did a 0.35 rating, up from the 0.27 rating. 

Dynamite ranked #1 in the top 150 shows on cable for the night and was the highest ratings of the year. The previous total viewership high was in October and the key demo rating in September. The episode featured Jon Moxley vs. Evil Uno in the main event and “Tony Khan’s important announcement.”

Ratings courtesy of ShowBuzz Daily and Brandon Thurston of WrestleNomics.

Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns will be working a rare house show next month ahead of WrestleMania 39. 

“The Tribal Chief” defeated Sami Zayn to retain the championship in Zayn’s hometown of Montreal at the Elimination Chamber PLE earlier this month. Post-match,  Kevin Owens returned to television after the bout to make the save for Zayn, who had been beaten down further by Reigns and Jimmy Uso. Owens hit a stunner to Heyman while Zayn laid out Reigns to send the crowd home happy. 

On this week’s Raw, the show opened with Zayn doing a promo segment with Owens where he tried to reignite their friendship and form a reunion to go after The Usos’ Undisputed Tag Team Titles. However, because Owens tried to tell Zayn what was going on months ago with The Bloodline using him and Zayn shut him out, he turned down the offer and walked away. 

The Match

According to PWInsider, the Coke-Cola Coliseum in Toronto has announced that Reigns will be teaming with Solo Sikoa to face Zayn and Owens in the headliner of the March 4th house show. 

WWE hasn’t used Solo on television since the February 3 edition of SmackDown. Reigns is slated to make his next Undisputed WWE Universal Championship defense against Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania 39 this April.

WWE will run two premium live events in one month this year, according to a new report. 

This May, two notable shows will take place. Brandon Thurston of Wrestlenomics reports that WWE is planning to present Backlash on Saturday, May 6, an event that dates back to 1999. 

In recent years, WWE has renamed it WrestleMania Backlash. For 2023, the WrestleMania branding is being dropped for the upcoming event, which is Mania’s follow-up show. 

WWE is also bringing back King of the Ring under the King and Queen of the Ring name on Saturday, May 27. WWE hasn’t used the tournament theme as a pay-per-view event since 2002. Instead, they’ve used it on TV. 

Competition

It should be noted that the event will fall on Memorial Day weekend. AEW has held its Double Or Nothing pay-per-view event on this weekend and it will do so again. AEW President Tony Khan recently stated that fans should expect to travel to Las Vegas, Nevada, during Memorial Day weekend to see the show live. 

The tournament was originally held on a single night. In later years, WWE spread out the opening round matches on television and saved the semi-finals and finals for the night of the event. 

WWE is seemingly writing off Tegan Nox on this week’s episode of SmackDown, an episode that will feature the Elimination Chamber fallout for the SmackDown brand. 

Nox returned to WWE TV on the December 2nd edition of SmackDown where she worked three TV matches that month. So far this year, she has only worked two TV matches including a win over Xia Li on January 13 and working this year’s 30-Woman Royal Rumble Match. Since returning in December, she worked several TV matches. 

The Idea

Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Select reports Nox is in town for the show and booked to do some sort of injury angle, although it’s unclear whether this is being done to write her off TV for a legitimate injury or not.

WWE has yet to announce anything for Sami Zayn or Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns. Here is the updated card for the show that will be held at the Ford Center in Evansville, IN

• SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair & Rhea Ripley come face-to-face ahead of their WrestleMania 39 match. 
• Bray Wyatt’s Firefly Funhouse
• Rey Mysterio vs. Karrion Kross
• Braun Strowman, Ricochet and Madcap Moss vs. Imperium

There is “definite interest” from Saudi Arabia about potentially buying WWE, a decision made by Vince McMahon when he forced his way back into the company last month as the Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors ahead of the next media rights deal being made. 

Dave Meltzer reported in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that “We know someone involved on the Saudi side about the sale this past week and there is definite interest.”

Saudi’s Plan

Meltzer noted that WWE is not considered as important as Formula 1, which is something Saudi Arabia wanted, or LIV Golf, for Saudi. However, Saudi does want to buy properties in the number one in their market or be in the top five. They also have an interest in the EPL, the biggest and most well-known soccer league in the world, as well as the highest-profile soccer team in the world, Manchester United. 

Meltzer pointed out that Saudi is looking to buy franchises that have a worldwide fan base and they are not looking at them for revenue or profitability as they view it as simply getting publicity for their country and normalizing the world views of their country.

If Endeavor, the parent company of UFC, bought WWE they would focus on growing revenue and turning bigger profits. 

Meltzer mentioned that if Saudi bought the company it would change the salary structure just like they did with golf as they pay way more than the PGA tour. 

Meltzer added, “While those in WWE have told me they prefer to sell to a media company, most stories indicate media companies aren’t looking for that level of a purchase because of uncertainty over the future changes in consumption.”

If WWE is sold to Saudi then it raises questions regarding the future of Sami Zayn, who hasn’t worked any of the WWE events in Saudi Arabia since the partnership began in 2018 due to his Syrian descent. 

WWE has added SmackDown star Ronda Rousey to the lineup for Monday’s episode of Raw.

Both WWE’s Events website and the Van Del Arena website are advertising Rousey for the show from Grand Rapids, Michigan. As of this writing, Shayna Baszler is not currently listed for the show, although that doesn’t mean she won’t be there with her good friend. 

As of this writing, WWE has not officially announced Rousey for the show.  WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Dakota Kai and IYO SKY are scheduled to defend against Becky Lynch and WWE Hall of Famer Lita on Monday’s Raw. 

The Angle

It’s been reported that Rousey and Baszler are expected to challenge Kai and SKY for the titles at WrestleMania 39 this April so it’s possible that WWE shoots an angle to set up the future title match on this show. 

Here is the updated card for Monday’s episode: 

• WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion Damage CTRL (Dakota Kai & IYO SKY) vs. Becky Lynch & Lita
• Asuka vs. Carmella
• Candice LeRae vs. Piper Niven
• Will Brock Lesnar show up and accept Omos’ challenge to a match at WrestleMania?
• WrestleMania edition of Miz TV

Cameron Grimes is on the sidelines while waiting to see what WWE comes up with creatively for him on the main roster. 

The WWE NXT star has not wrestled since November 8, 2022, when he lost a singles match to Joe Gacy on an episode of Joe Gacy. WWE originally planned for him to be called up after the feud ended. However, that hasn’t happened. 

Dave Meltzer reported on Wrestling Observer Radio that WWE creative has nothing for him and Grimes is waiting for that to change, but he is done with NXT. 

Creative has Nothing for You

“Cameron Grimes was finishing up in NXT because he was being called to the main roster and right now what’s going on is that they are waiting for an idea on the main roster so he’s in limbo,” Meltzer stated (H/T to F4Wonline.com). “He’s finished with NXT, he’s supposed to be on the main roster but they don’t have a story for him so they haven’t debuted him yet and they’re waiting to come up with a story for him.”

In October on an episode of Main Event, Grimes beat Akira Tozawa. Since then, he’s only wrestled two matches. 

Before going to WWE, he found success in Impact Wrestling as he is a three-time X-Division Champion, and once won the TNA Tag Team Titles along with Brian Myers. In WWE, he’s a former NXT North American Champion.

All Elite Wrestling has announced new matches for their upcoming Revolution pay-per-view event on March 5, 2023, at the Chase Center in San Francisco, California during this week’s Dynamite. 

Jamie Hayter will defend her AEW Women’s Championship against Saraya, and Ruby Soho in a triple threat match. This comes after Soho’s loyalty has been the focal point of a storyline between Saraya and Toni Storm as outsiders, a play on their WWE history, against hometown talent such as Hayter and Britt Baker. Now, Soho will have to decide which side she’s on. 

Also confirmed for the show is Chris Jericho vs.Ricky Starks in a bout where “everyone” will be banned from ringside. This comes after Starks beat Jericho last month on Dynamite while Jericho scored a victory against Starks and Action Andretti in a recent tag team bout.

For the last several weeks, Starks has since been feuding with the Jericho Appreciation Society. 

AEW Revolution Card

• AEW World Heavyweight Champion MJF vs. Bryan Danielson – Sixty Minute Iron Man Match.
• AEW Tag Team Champions The Gunn Club vs. The Acclaimed vs. Jeff Jarrett & Jay Lethal vs. TBA
• AEW TNT Champion Samoa Joe vs. Wardlow.
• Jon Moxley vs. Hangman Page – Texas Death Match.
• Chris Jericho vs. Ricky Starks – Everyone is banned from ringside
• AEW Women’s World Champion Jamie Hayter vs. Ruby Soho vs. Saraya

Ric Flair has found success in a lot of different ventures throughout his career, whether it’s pro wrestling, his To Be The Man podcast, and cannabis line, Ric Flair Drip.

The WWE Hall of Famer has also made a significant amount of money on Cameo. 

The 16-time world champion was discussing his promo skills on a recent edition of his To Be The Man podcast when he noted that he was so good at speaking that he made a lot of money while doing two-minute messages on the Cameo platform before revealing that he made $700,000 over 21 months.

Show Me The Money

“Listen, I made $700,000 doing Cameos. They’re just a minute long [laughs]. That’s just talking for two minutes. That is 21 months,” Flair said.

The legendary wrestler proceeded to show the camera the front of his phone that revealed he had made $669,000 on Cameo. He joked with co-host Conrad Thompson about how fans were saying that Flair returned to the ring last July at Ric Flair’s Last Match in 2022 because he needed the money.

Flair’s most recent appearance on WWE television came when he introduced his daughter, Charlotte, on the Raw 30 Anniversary show. 

H/T to Fightful for the transcription

AEW has fans talking, and it’s not just about the important announcement that AEW President Tony Khan will make on this week’s episode of Dynamite as something new is coming to the promotion

All Elite Wrestling aired a vignette aired for “QTV” with the note that it is coming soon during the February 21 episode of AEW Dark.

The promotion didn’t provide any further details on what QTV is, including whether AEW will keep this exclusive to its weekly streaming shows (Dark and Dark: Elevation) or if it will make its way to their weekly television programs (Dynamite on TBS and Rampage on TNT). Check it out below: 

AEW Dark Results

• Matt Sydal defeats Slim J (w/Ari Daivari, Jeeves Kay & Sonny Kiss)
• Julia Hart defeats Devlyn Macabre
• The WorkHorsemen (Anthony Henry & JD Drake) defeat Jay Malachi & Oliver Sawyer
• The Renegades (Charlette Renegade & Robyn Renegade) defeat Lizzy Blair & Payton Blair
• Preston Vance (w/Jose The Assistant) defeats Blanco Loco
• Tony Deppen defeats Caleb Konley
• The Iron Savages (Boulder & Bronson) defeat Chris Sandson & Terry Kid
• Jora Johl & Rohit Raju defeat Bryce Cannon & Dale Springs
• Emi Sakura defeats Billie Starkz
• Brady Booker defeats Dak Draper
• The Wingmen (Cezar Bononi, Peter Avalon & Ryan Nemeth) defeat Jarett Diaz, Jay Marte & Rich Adonis
• Jeff Jarrett & Satnam Singh defeat The Boys (Brandon & Brent)
• Trent Beretta defeats Tony Nese (w/Mark Sterling)

Roman Reigns will seemingly miss a notable WWE premium live event this summer. 

For the first time in almost 21 years, the company will host a special from London in the United Kingdom with Money in the Bank from the O2 Arena on Saturday, July 1st. They will also hold a SmackDown episode from the same venue the night before. 

This will mark the first WWE special in London since May 2002 with that year’s Insurrextion event and just the second time that one of WWE’s ‘Big 5’ shows will be hosted outside of the US or Canada. The 2002 show was a PPV event that only aired in the UK. 

Roman Reigns to Miss MITB?

Tickets go on sale this week and fans have noticed that Reigns is not being advertised for the show on WWE’s website. He’s also not featured on the poster for the show either.

Kevin Owens, Drew McIntyre, Seth Rollins, Becky Lynch, Bianca Belair, Charlotte Flair, and Cody Rhodes are advertised for the show. It’s possible that Reigns will be added to the show later on. However, one would figure that WWE would want to advertise him when tickets go on sale to sell the most seats possible now. 

The last PLE event held in the UK by WWE was Clash at the Castle in Wales this past September, which saw him retain his Undisputed WWE Universal Championship against Drew McIntyre.

Reigns most recently retained the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship against Sami Zayn at Elimination chamber and is slated to take on Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania 39.

AEW will be having an “after party” following this week’s episode of Dynamite that will feature a DJ set, appearances by wrestlers, and more.

All Elite Wrestling holds the show from the Footprint Center in Phoenix, AZ on Wednesday night. AEW’s Swerve Strickland announced on Twitter that rapper Mega Ran would be performing at the Cobra Arcade Bar after AEW Dynamite.

Ran does have a history with the promotion as he provided music for AEW in the past for two of its events – AEW Fyter Fest in 2019 and AEW Revolution in 2021. 

Ran performed his track “Going to the Garden” before being confronted by Bully Ray at the co-promoted ROH and NJPW event, G1 Supercard,  at Madison Square Garden in 2019.

The show will feature an “important announcement” from AEW President Tony Khan.

Rest of the Card

• Jon Moxley vs. Evil Uno
• Tag team battle royale for a spot in the Tag Team title match at Revolution
• AEW All-Atlantic Champion Orange Cassidy vs. Wheeler Yuta
• The Acclaimed vs. Lee Moriarty & Big Bill
• Saraya vs. Skye Blue
• Christian Cage interview with Tony Schiavone
• Bryan Danielson promo

The Undertaker has dealt with his fair share of injuries throughout his wrestling career. 

The WWE Hall of Famer recently detailed how he suffered a concussion, a broken nose, and issues with his vision in a match with Rey Mysterio thanks to Myster’s butt crushing his face. 

During an appearance on the Hawk vs Wolf podcast, the legendary wrestler explained how he suffered orbital bone damage during a WWE match with Mabel in 1995. This is where he revealed that if he got hit in the head again there was a good chance he could’ve lost his eye. 

“The doctor goes, ‘you’ve lost about 50 percent of your orbital floor’. ‘Excuse me?’ ‘You need to go home and find an ophthalmologist and a surgeon’. Come to find out, I ended up losing 90% of my orbital floor. My optic nerve is setting on a jagged piece of bone. If I got hit on the right side of my head again, there is a good chance I would have lost my eye. Took two surgeons, they go in, take out all the bone fragments, and they put in a fake one.”

Rey Mysterio’s Backside

Several years later, Taker found himself wrestling Mysterio in May 2010 on an episode of SmackDown in a World Heavyweight Title number one contender match. Taker took damage when Rey hit a senton move. 

“Rey Mysterio, tiny guy, sweetheart of a guy, he ended up jumping off the top rope, and his ass was supposed to hit me in the chest, but it hit me right in the face. It was a bony ass. Bony ass, right on the bridge of my nose. He lands, I have all of his weight on my head, I hit the mat and blew out the other one. I broke my nose and I was concussed. It’s hard being injured by an anus. My nose was broke, I fixed my nose right there, I just squeezed my nose back. The second one, to this day and it’s probably been 15 years, I still have double vision”.

Because of the injury, Taker had to take three months off and couldn’t compete for the World title as expected. 

H/T to Fightful for the transcript

Kurt Angle is slated to undergo the knife again, this time on his back, after years of pro wrestling. 

The WWE Hall Of Famer walked away from the wrestling business in 2019 after successful runs in WWE and Impact Wrestling. With WWE, he was a six-time World Champion, while in TNA, he doubled that number. 

His retirement match happened when he lost to Baron Corbin at WrestleMania 35, a match that Vince McMahon pushed for as Angle wanted to wrestle John Cena instead.  Angle dealt with health issues for years after winning a gold medal with a broken neck. He also broke it in 2003. 

While speaking on The Kurt Angle Show, Angle stated that he’s getting a procedure on his back done on March 21, where the doctor is going to clean his back out. The pain in his back also affects his leg. 

The Surgery

“On March 21, I’m having it done, the day after my vacation. All they’re doing, they’re not going to do any fusion or anything like that, thank God. They’re going to clean it out. They’re going to clean all the arthritis out because I have a nerve going down my leg, and it’s bothered me, and there’s pain in my lower back. So they’re going to clean all that stuff out, take the bone chips out and the calcium and stuff like that. He said I should be good to go after that. I’ve had a lot of damage done to my back, but it’s not to the point where I need fusion,” Angle said.

The doctor has told him the surgery won’t get rid of all of the pain in his back, but it will help out with pain run down his leg.

H/T to Fightful for the transcript

The February 21, 2023 episode of WWE NXT aired live on the USA Network from Orlando, Florida at the Capitol Wrestling Center. 

WWE NXT Results 

• Ilja Dragunov def. Trick Williams.
• The DYAD def. Chase U.
• Gallus def. Malik Blade & Edris Enofe.
• Tony D’Angelo def. Von Wagner.
• Alba Fyre def. Ivy Nile
• NXT Champion Bron Breakker def. Jinder Mahal

Here are the takeaways from this week’s show:

NXT Champion Bron Breakker vs. Jinder Mahal

NXT Champion Bron Breakker vs. Jinder Mahal took place. 

WWE set up this bout last week when Breakker was about to call out Trick Williams only for Mahal to interrupt and told him he would become NXT Champion, leading to the match being booked. 

The main event match saw the Creed Brothers brawl with Saurav and Veer to the backstage area. Bron blocked Mahal’s finisher and hit a spear for the win. 

Post-match, Grayson Waller took over the TV truck and invited Shawn Michaels to appear on the Waller Effect next week.

Indi Hartwell vs. Jacy Jayne

Indi Hartwell vs. Jacy Jayne in a singles match took place. 

Jayne gave an explanation of her reasons for turning against her Toxic Attraction partner Gigi Dolin two weeks ago. She stressed how tired she was of playing the role of the third wheel. Jayne claimed that she was the last lady left in Toxic Attraction and that she was the talk of the town. Hartwell responded to Jayne’s message later in the show and made it obvious that she wouldn’t just skip to the front of the line that quickly.

The match took place in the second hour of the show with Jayne getting most of the offense before putting her away with her finisher. Post-match, Dolin returned and attacked Jayne. 

Ilja Dragunov vs. Trick Williams

Ilja Dragunov wrestled Trick Williams on this show. 

Dragunov had been out since October due to an injury, but he made a comeback on NXT two weeks ago and cost JD McDonagh his bout with Carmelo Hayes. he was en route to the ring. Williams was defeated by Dragunov, and the next week, the former NXT UK Champion was declared eliminated by Hayes’ hype man. Williams ambushed Dragunov from behind after McDonagh caused a distraction, setting up their match for the next week.

JD McDonaugh came out and joined commentary. The opening contest came to a close when Dragunov went over with his finisher. 

Tag Team Match

Chase U (Andre Chase & Duke Hudson) vs. The Dyad (Jagger Reid & Rip Fowler) was booked. 

It had a lead-in of Tyler Bate doing an in-ring promo thanking the fans for supporting him on his journey. hase U saved Bate from Schism, who were about to attack him. Ava Raine played mind games with Thea Hail at ringside leading to the heels hitting their tag team finisher to Hudson. 

It’s been said by countless people over the years that when you work in WWE whether that be talent or staff, you have to walk on eggshells to avoid getting any heat that will lead to you being put in the dog house or getting fired.

This has been the atmosphere for years due to Vince McMahon being in charge. Once Triple H took over creative and Stephanie McMahon was named co-CEO last summer, it was said that the atmosphere improved and things were looser backstage as it comes across as more of a family atmosphere than a corporate environment.

McMahon returned to WWE as the Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors last month with the intent of selling the company ahead of WWE’s media rights deal coming up. 

The Mood

PWInsider‘s Mike Johnson reports that the mood backstage has begun to change as McMahon continues to work towards a sale and the uncertainty of what will happen should a sale go through has led to “waning morale.”

Johnson described things backstage as the eggshells starting to return and the “unbridled energy” is fading from where it started when Triple H and Stephanie McMahon took power. 

Although he doesn’t hear this as much from wrestlers, it does come from those who work backstage at shows. While things are not as terrible as things once were, they know changes will come if a sale goes through. 

Chelsea Green made her return to WWE at the Royal Rumble in January and she has been appearing on Monday Night Raw since then with her new Karen gimmick, which has gained her attention. 

She wasn’t seen this week on television, and there is a good reason for that absence.

Fightful Select reported today that Green was kept off Raw n this week because she couldn’t travel to Canada until her green card situation is figured out. WWE stated in an angle on the broadcast that Green was sent to Ottawa, Illinois instead of Ottawa, Canada as a way to bridge the gap. 

“With absolutely NO help from WWE management, I found my way out of Ottawa, IL and into a city that’s more my style!” the WWE star tweeted. “Jokes on you, Adam Pearce … but neither of us will be laughing when I pay you a visit about this.”

The Report

Green is currently landlocked and unable to return to Canada. The report noted “Chelsea is still waiting for her Green card, and then will be able to return. Green has been landlocked for months, dating back to last Summer.”

Instead of being at Monday Night Raw, Green was with her husband, Matt Cardona, in New York City for the screening of The Last Match: A Pro Wrestling Rock Musical.

Because Green is living in the US while on a work visa from Canada, if she went back into Canada while having visa issues then she wouldn’t be allowed to get back into the US. 

Booker T has weighed in on the possibility of AEW’s Kenny Omega going to WWE. 

As previously reported, some in AEW have overheard the promotion’s founder Tony Khan say that Omega has substantial injury time that “could be” added to his deal if he decides to extend it this year.

Those in AEW don’t believe the injury time has been added yet. Several in WWE believe that they can land Omega as it’s been said Omega had a positive relationship with WWE. 

On his latest Hall Of Fame podcast, the WWE Hall Of Famer commented on the reports of WWE being interested in signing the former AEW World Heavyweight Champion. 

Booker T on Kenny Omega

Booker T thinks while it would be a big loss for All Elite Wrestling, they could recover from Omega’s departure and Omega could be a big star in WWE

“I don’t know how many years Kenny Omega has left in the ring. WWE would make Kenny Omega’s star shine brighter than any other place he ever could be in. If Omega was to sign with WWE, he would likely be presented as one of their biggest stars and potentially work at WrestleMania.

Booker continued: “If you don’t work at WrestleMania, you know throughout your career, you missed out on something. I can understand why Kenny Omega would want to mix it up with AJ Styles, two of the best at what they do, at WrestleMania.”

Omega is currently an AEW Trios Champion along with The Young Bucks. 

H/T to Wrestling Inc for the transcript