In February 2021, Paul Wight aka The Big Show, shocked a lot of people when he left WWE after being with the company for 20 years for AEW. 

Since then, he has mainly worked as an announcer on AEW Dark: Elevation, although he has worked a handful of matches. 

He made his in-ring debut at All Out, where he beat QT Marshall. Since then, he’s only worked three other matches, all of them happening on Dark Elevation. 

Since August 2022, the former WWE Champion has been recovering from a knee replacement procedure, which kept him from competing inside of the squared circle. During that time, he has continued his duties as a commentator on AEW Dark: Elevation episodes.

The Journey

While doing a new interview with Metro UK, Wight revealed that the procedure kept him in a wheelchair for eleven weeks.

“Well, I spent 11 weeks in a wheelchair because I was waiting for them to build the implant for my knee because of my size. I had crushed all the bone in the knee, I was bleeding into my shin. So, I’ve got a good pain tolerance, but when I say I rode the tire down to the rim, that’s exactly what I did. But, luckily I still have all my ligaments in that knee, everything’s good there, it’s a nice, brand new titanium joint so it’s good for 35 years. So, I can parachute if I want to – not that I’ll ever jump out of an airplane, we all saw the movie Operation Dumbo drop, I don’t think that’s me, we’re good!”

It looks like Dave Bautista will get his moment to be honored by WWE for all of his accomplishments and success with the company. 

The former WWE World Heavyweight champion had been slated to go in 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic nixed that. The Class of 2020 inductees got their ceremony the following year and was paired with the 2021 class as it was pre-taped inside the virtual WWE ThunderDome. 

Previous Induction

Bautista decided to pull out of the 2021 ceremony “due to previous obligations.” Just last month, the former WWE star told ComicBook.com that he did not know if he would be inducted this year but was hoping he would. 

Wrestling News Premium, WrestlingNews.co’s Patreon account reported today, “the word going around in WWE is that Dave Bautista will be the headliner at this year’s WWE Hall Of Fame.”

Per the report, those they spoke with in the company believe that both sides wanted to hold off on his induction as there wouldn’t be fans in attendance to hear his speech, something he wanted to do in front of fans. 

It’s still unclear when they will make the announcement nor who else will be going into the class. 

WWE had plans in place to bring back The Demon version of Finn Balor, but it didn’t end up happening.

It was originally reported by WrestlingNews.co in December that WWE was going to do Edge vs. Balor at the Royal Rumble as a way to further the Judgment Day vs. Edge feud that has been going on for almost a year now. 

Original Plans

However, that was nixed due to Edge being away with a filming project and his schedule not allowing him to make appearances on WWE TV leading up to the bout. 

Originally, WWE wanted to do a Hell in a Cell match at the show. Fighful Select provided more details on WWE’s plans for The Demon, Balor’s alter ego, to make a return based on internal plans. 

People that Fightful spoke with “felt as if the Demon persona didn’t fit during the current iteration of Judgment Day, and were against it in this situation.”

There were others who felt the match would have needed something special and Balor portraying the Demon would’ve done just that. 

Although Balor has used the persona seven times in WWE on the main roster, he last portrayed it when he lost to WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns at WWE Extreme Rules last year. 

Eric Bischoff gave his thoughts on the beef between Tony Khan and Ariel Helwani during the latest episode of his 83 Weeks Podcast. 

It all started when the AEW President tweeted last Friday that Helwani is a fraud for being in the crowd at WWE SmackDown in Montreal. Helwani responded by calling Khan, ‘The Snowman.’ 

Helwani has known WWE’s Nick Khan for several years because Nick once served as Helwani’s agent. Because of this, some of Helwani’s critics have said say that he is biased in favor of WWE.

Also, Helwani openly attacked the president of the AEW for refusing to answer some of his questions when he spoke with Khan in October.

Bischoff’s Thoughts

“I was disappointed to see that. Look, I’ve heard a lot of the same rumors and I’ve heard them from people that are in AEW, to be blunt, and I don’t put any stock in them. I think it’s bad for him, no matter who you are, unless you were sitting down and watch someone, anyone, actually doing something, whether it’s snorting a line of blow or, you know, beating their wife, or whatever, unless you witness it with your own eyes, shut the f**k up.”

Bischoff thinks starting rumors like that is a bad reflection on the person and he doesn’t listen to that type of talk. 

“It’s just bad. Bad. You don’t want to do that to people. I’ve had it done to me. There’s no reason for it. Tony is inviting a lot of this criticism. He acts like a petulant child in the way he responds, and his response to Ariel in the crowd was a petulant child whose feelings were hurt because somebody took his toy away from him. I mean, it’s just so absolutely childish. I think that’s a reflection, at least in my mind, of who Tony Khan is. He’s immature. He is a child with a vanity project. He’s passionate.”

Bischoff stated that he’s not taking that away from him, but thinks the way that Khan reacts to things further gives off a negative impression of who he is. 

He added, “Tony should have never reacted the way he did to Ariel being out there.”

H/T to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription

Jon Moxley is no longer set to appear as planned at the Scrappermania event by Ireland’s Over The Top Wrestling. 

The top AEW star had been advertised for the show on March 17, but the promotion confirmed today that he had been pulled. In addition to him wrestling Trent Seven, he was also slated to do a meet & greet with fans. 

This turns out to take place the day before AEW’s House Rules live event on March 18 in Troy, Ohio, Moxley’s home State.  As a result, All Elite Wrestling pulled Moxley from the show so he could work their event. 

The Announcement

However, as a make-good, AEW is sending Eddie Kingston and another star to the event. The promotion issued the following statement on Twitter: 

“OTT have announced their first ever FanFest for Scrappermania 7. Due to circumstances out of their control, Jon Moxley will no longer be available to appear. Eddie Kingston, a 2nd unnamed AEW star, will appear along with Santino Marella, Davey Richards, Big Damo and more.”

At the house show presented by AEW, the promotion is advertising Moxley, Britt Baker, Orange Cassidy and more for it. The former AEW World Heavyweight champion will wrestle Evil Uno on this week’s Dynamite episode. 

Other bouts confirmed for the show include a 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, and more. 

Sami Zayn and Roman Reigns had their highly anticipated bout at this year’s WWE Elimination Chamber premium live event when “The Tribal Chief” made his latest defense as Undisputed WWE Universal Champion. 

The match opened with a long staredown before they looked around at the crowd. After tossing him to the floor, Zayn hit an outside dive. Reigns cut him off with a right hand. While the beatdown was going on, Reigns was talking trash about Zayn to Zayn’s wife. Zayn then made a comeback. Zayn with the superman punch then a big boot for two. Reigns cut off a DDT attempt with an uppercut.

Zayn avoided the spear and Reigns went through the barricade. Zayn hit the blue thunder bomb for 2 once in the ring. The referee was taken out by accident and Jimmy Uso came out to hit Zayn with superkicks. Reigns hit a spear after Zayn knocked Jimmy off the apron. After the second referee was knocked down, they did double superman punches. As Reigns was about to hit Zayn with a chair, Jey Uso showed up. Zayn accidentally speared Jey and Reigns hit Zayn with a chair. Reigns retained with a spear. 

Kevin Owens came out to make the save for Zayn in a post-match beatdown. Owens with a stunner to Reigns then one to Jimmy. Owens with a powerbomb to Jimmy through the announce table. Owens with a stunner to Paul Heyman. Zayn laid out Reigns with the big boot in the corner to end the show. 

After months of embracing him into The Bloodline, Zayn finally turned on The Bloodline at the Royal Rumble after Reigns retained the Undisputed WWE Universal Title over Kevin Owens. The Bloodline beat down Owens after the match. Reigns was going to hit him with a chair, only for Zayn to stop him. Reigns wanted Zayn to hit Owens with the chair and Zayn refused to do it. Zayn hit Reigns in the back. The Bloodline beat down Zayn, except for Jey Uso, who walked out.

Reigns will make his next defense as the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion against Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania 39. 

WWE stacked the deck in storyline against Austin Theory when he put his United States Title on the line against Seth Rollins, Bronson Reed, Johnny Gargano, Damian Priest, and Montez Ford in an Elimination Chamber Match at the themed PLE on Saturday night. 

The match opened with Rollins and Gargano. Theory was the third star in only to be beaten down by Rollins and Gargano. Priest was the fourth star in which he hit a front senton to Gargano over the top rope. Rollins with falcon arrow to Priest for 2. Reed came in as the fifth star and Ford was the last to enter. 

Ford climbed the fence to the top and jumped off to take everyone out. Reed was eliminated after taking everyone’s finisher. Gargano did a hurricanrana to Rollins off the top of a pod. Gargano was eliminated by Priest with the razor’s edge. Priest was sent packing after Rollins and Ford did an overcastle/powerbomb double team move. Ford was eliminated by Theory after Ford took the stomp by Rollins. Moments later, Logan Paul came out after Ford was taken to the back by medical and hit a stomp to Rollins allowing Theory to hit his finisher for the win. 

WWE held qualifying matches for the competitors in the match. Reed defeated Dolph Ziggler, Gargano defeated Baron Corbin, Rollins defeated Chad Gable, Priest pinned Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford pinned Elias to advance. 

Theory is reportedly slated to wrestle John Cena at WrestleMania 39 in April. 

What are your thoughts on Theory retaining the United States Title? Was this the right call by WWE officials? Sound off in the comment section.

Mercedes Moné, formerly known as Sasha Banks, is outside the WWE bubble now that she is an NJPW talent. 

Moné walked out of WWE last May with Naomi due to creative differences and was on hiatus for the rest of 2022 while negotiating her WWE release. She became free and clear of WWE last month before officially signing with New Japan Pro Wrestling. 

Moné made her promotional debut last month at Wrestle Kingdom, where she confronted KAIRI, setting up their IWGP Women’s Title match at Saturday’s Battle in the Valley event. 

While speaking with Marc Raimondi of ESPN, Moné was asked about a possible return to WWE one day. 

“I guess people like to say ‘never say never.’’ You never know in life. I never knew life would take me here, but I always follow my heart so wherever my heart takes me is where I’m going to go.” 

When asked whether returning to WWE is a greater chance of happening than fighting UFC’s megastar Amanda Nunes, Moné responded, “Probably the same chances.”

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

WWE has signed another independent star and that’s Colby Corino. 

On Saturday, Cassidy Haynes of Bodyslam reported that Colby Corino has signed with the company. Per the report, Corino is expected to report to the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida where he will work in NXT as early as March. 

Where It Started

Last month, Corino announced that he was a free agent after finishing his run with the National Wrestling Alliance. Corino made his NWA debut during the tapings for The Circle Squared in 2019, but wasn’t brought back until 2021. 

It was reported by Hayes in December that WWE was interested in Corino and he was slated to travel to the training facility to do a tryout with the company once he was free and clear of the NWA. 

As of this writing, WWE has not confirmed Corino signing with the promotion.

Many fans will recognize the name as Colby is the son of Steve Corino, who currently works for WWE as a trainer/producer for the NXT brand. 

Colby last wrestled on January 22 at Catalyst Wrestling Rock The Bell House when he faced Homicide in a Last Man Standing match but came up short. 

WWE Elimination Chamber is quickly approaching and the planned match order has been revealed based on the internal production listing.

Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns vs. Sami Zayn will headline the show. The opening contest is the Women’s Elimination Chamber Match.

There are a total of two title matches on this card. There are no titles expected to change hands, according to the final betting odds released. The event starts with the Kickoff show at 7 PM EST and the main card at 8 PM EST. 

WWE Elimination Chamber Match Order

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

Asuka vs. Liv Morgan vs. Raquel Rodriguez vs. Nikki Cross vs. Natalya vs. Carmella – Elimination Chamber Match (Winner Challenges Raw Women’s Champion Bianca Belair at WrestleMania)

Brock Lesnar vs. Bobby Lashley

Edge and Beth Phoenix vs. The Judgment Day (Finn Balor and Rhea Ripley)

United States Champion Austin Theory vs. Seth Rollins vs. Bronson Reed vs. Johnny Gargano vs. Damian Priest vs. Montez Ford – Elimination Chamber Match

Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns vs. Sami Zayn

Asuka is going to WWE WrestleMania 39 with her win at Saturday’s Elimination Chamber PLE. 

She beat in the bout Liv Morgan, Nikki Cross, Carmella, Natalya, and Raquel Rodriguez. As a result of her victory, she has earned the opportunity to challenge Raw Women’s Champion Bianca Belair for the title at WrestleMania 39 in April. 

The match started off with Morgan and Natalya. Rodriguez was the third star to enter the bout followed by Cross. Moments later, Cross jumped off one of the pods to take everyone out. The fifth star in was Carmella, who talked some trash to Asuka and Cross before Rodriguez tackled Cross through one of the pods. Rodriguez pinned Cross for the first elimination.

There was a near-fall spot when Morgan hit a sunset flip powerbomb to Rodriguez from one of the pods. Carmella caught Morgan with a superkick. Natalya put her in the sharpshooter while Asuka put her in an armbar for the elimination. Natalya was eliminated by Carmella, who connected with a superkick. Asuka and Carmella hit Rodriguez with several kicks for the elimination. Asuka won with the armbreaker. 

When the bout was first announced, Morgan, Asuka, Raquel, and Cross were set for it. WWE held qualifying matches for some of the competitors in the match. Natalya defeated Zelina Vega, Shotzi, and Shayna Baszler in a four-way match to join them. Carmella pinned Candice LeRae in a match that also featured Michin and Piper Niven to advance. 

Belair didn’t defend her championship on this show. Instead, her previous title defense on a PLE was in January at the Royal Rumble when she beat Alexa Bliss. 

What are your thoughts on Asuka earning the chance to challenge Bianca Belair for the Raw Women’s Title at WrestleMania 39? Was this the right call by WWE officials? Sound off in the comment section.

There is a big announcement coming from Tony Khan on next week’s episode of AEW Dynamite. 

During this week’s episode of AEW Rampage, the segment was announced. As of this writing, it’s unclear exactly what the AEW/ROH President will have to say. 

In addition to this announcement being revealed, All Elite Wrestling confirmed several matches for the show, including Orange Cassidy defending the AEW All-Atlantic Championship against Wheeler Yuta. 

Matches Confirmed

The bout was set up on Rampage when they had a face-to-face confrontation during a backstage segment. Former AEW Tag Team Champions The Acclaimed will be in action when they take on Big Bill and Lee Moriarty.

AEW will follow up with Saraya facing Skye Blue. At the same time, Christian Cage will sit down with Tony Schiavone for an interview after returning this past Wednesday night on Dynamite by attacking “Jungle Boy” Jack Perry.

Bryan Danielson will do a promo segment about his upcoming Ironman Match with World heavyweight champion MJF at the Revolution pay-per-view event on March 5. 

There will be a Tag Team Battle Royal to determine who will fill one of the two remaining slots in the Four-Way Tag Title Match at Revolution, as the only teams confirmed for the bout are Aussie Open, and Top Flight.

With WWE WrestleMania season in full swing, Bray Wyatt doesn’t have a clear direction for what he will do at the biggest event of the year for the company. 

However, on this week’s episode of WWE Smackdown, Wyatt shed some light on what may be coming. Wyatt and Uncle Howdy interrupted a performance by Hit Row (Top Dolla, Ashante ‘Thee’ Adonis, & B-Fab) on the show.

The Warning

They cleared out the faction before Wyatt got the microphone and called out Bobby Lashley and Brock Lesnar. Wyatt stated that the winner of the match between them at Saturday’s Elimination Chamber PLE “should run.” 

This will be the third contest between Lashley and Lesnar with each star holding a win over each other. 

Wyatt is coming off a victory over LA Knight in a Mountain Dew Pitch Black match at WWE Royal Rumble last month. Wyatt doesn’t have a match booked for the Elimination Chamber nor wrestled on television following his return PLE match in January. 

The card for WWE WrestleMania 39 continues to come along as the card takes shape. Coming out of this Saturday’s Elimination Chamber PLE, WWE will be ramping up the build for the show. 

Pwinsider.com reports that a match that has been teased in recent weeks is confirmed: Logan Paul wrestling Seth Rollins. Per the report, the match is “100% set in stone” for the show. 

Several months ago, WWE reportedly had plans to do Paul taking on John Cena at the show, but plans changed and that was obvious with the booking of the 30-Man Royal Rumble match where Paul eliminated Rollins. 

Since then, in various interviews, Rollins has been taking shots at Paul and stating that Paul doesn’t care about the wrestling business. Instead, Rollins feels that Paul only cares about getting attention. 

Paul’s last one-on-one match happened when he came up short while challenging Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns at Crown Jewel in November.

Updated WWE WrestleMania 39 Card

Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes

WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair vs. Rhea Ripley

WWE Raw Women’s Champion Bianca Belair vs. Elimination Chamber winner

Kenny Omega has some options on the table when his deal with AEW is up as he could stay with the promotion or be the next AEW star to jump ship to WWE. 

Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Select reported today that numbers sources have overheard AEW founder Tony Khan say that Omega has substantial injury time that “could be” added to his deal if he decides to extend it. 

The option has been confirmed to be in Omega’s contract, which is standard in AEW deals. One wrestler stated, “Considering that Omega has good representation, it might not necessarily be a slam dunk, or might have some concessions to it.” 

Those in AEW don’t believe the injury time has been added yet. One source stated late last year that Omega’s deal would be up “soon” and Omega could be working without one, while another source stated, “Omega’s deal would not be up that soon” and dismissed that talk. Obviously, the latter was the case as that time period has passed. 

Interest From WWE

Regarding WWE, several in the company believe that they can land Omega. While there is a rivalry between AEW and WWE, it’s been said Omega had a positive relationship with WWE. Triple H even discussed Omega coming to the promotion in 2018 before the launch of AEW. 

The report added, “It was also reiterated to us that Omega has it written in his AEW contract that he has the freedom to appear in NJPW as long as it doesn’t conflict with AEW duties or an agreement is made.”

The latest development in the storyline of who has Snoop Dogg’s WWE Golden Title came to light today. When WWE first started this storyline, it got some mainstream attention and generated a lot of buzz among wrestling fans. 

Snoop, an iconic rapper, is part of the WWE Hall of Famer and got the golden WWE Championship from Bianca Belair and Becky Lynch at the WrestleMania Launch Party at SoFi Stadium in August. When he brought it on the Holidaze of Blaze Tour “to show the fans how dope it is” last December, the championship was stolen. 

Title Changes Hands

Last week, actor/comedian Pete Davidson was spotted with Snoop Dogg’s golden WWE Championship during a Pro Bowl game. Rob Gronkowski had the title last week as well just before the Super Bowl and now, it’s in the hands of legendary actor William Shatner. 

WWE has released this video of Shatner with the title: 

With WrestleMania 39 taking place on April 1st and 2nd at the SoFi Stadium in California, it’s possible that the storyline will end at the show.

The time is nearly here for the highly anticipated bout between Roman Reigns and Sami Zayn at the 2023 WWE Elimination Chamber PLE for the Undisputed WWE Universal Title. 

In recent weeks, there has been much debate among fans regarding how WWE should handle the booking of this match with some even pushing for WWE to add Zayn to the already announced bout between Reigns and Cody Rhodes for the title at WrestleMania 39 in April. 

In the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer reported that the original plan for Reigns vs. Zayn at the WWE Elimination Chamber PLE was for Reigns to retain the title. 

The idea was for Jey Uso to turn against Zayn at the show, leading to Reigns retaining and Zayn teaming with Kevin Owens to challenge The Usos for the Undisputed Tag Team Titles at WrestleMania. 

The Usos can travel to Canada for the show even though WWE shot an angle last week where they were told to stay home.

Things Have Changed

Meltzer wrote that “a lot has changed since that time” with Zayn becoming “major TV ratings mover” in recent months. The belief is that Zayn beating Reigns would be a “late deviation of the script. Meltzer wrote the following about the situation:

“It’s tricky for a lot of reasons, because Zayn does not fit into the mentality of what a mainstream ratings mover looks like, nor has his booking been what traditionally leads to it. It just happened, and it not handled right, it could end. Maybe it would have ended with a win as well, because the chase is over and maybe it was the build to the angle and chase that were the draws. Either way, this is the first booking decision in a long time that can actually make a difference to full show ratings.”

Reigns is a heavy betting odds favorite at -2000 to beat Zayn at the Elimination Chamber.

Charlotte Flair is slated to be in another title match at WWE’s biggest event of the year when she defends the SmackDown Women’s Championship at WrestleMania 39 against Rhea Ripley. 

They previously wrestled each other at WrestleMania 36 in 2020 with Charlotte defeating Ripley to win the NXT Women’s Championship. Ripley earned this title match at WrestleMania 39 by winning the women’s Royal Rumble match. 

Just like in past years, WWE will have WrestleMania take place across two nights. The second night is expected to be headlined by Roman Reigns defending the Undisputed WWE Universal Title against Cody Rhodes. Charlotte believes her bout should headline one of the nights, most likely the first one. 

Charlotte Flair on WrestleMania Bout

“Rhea and I are main event quality, it’s a main event story, and I want to be in the main event with her. I know it’s going to be that good,” she told Kevin Raphaël and Pat Laprade on Les anti-pods de la lutte.

No other matches have yet to be confirmed for WrestleMania 39. H/T to Fightful for the transcription

After countless matches with her, Bianca Belair knows how good Bayley is inside the squared circle. 

Belair has shared the ring with Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch, including at WrestleMania. Belair and Bayley feuded off and on for years where they’ve been part of ladder, last woman standing and WarGames matches. 

Although they’ve been rivals on television, Belair has nothing but respect and praise for Bayley, one of WWE’s top female stars. 

Bianca Belair on Bayley

Belair made an appearance on Ryan Satin’s Out Of Character podcast, where she shared her belief that Bayley doesn’t get the credit she deserves.

“I love Bayley. I feel like she’s one of the Four Horsewomen that doesn’t get as much credit as she should. She does so much that’s not for herself. Anybody that she steps in the ring with, she brings the best out of them and that’s what she did for me. I remember our Last Woman Standing match in particular. I was watching a lot of other Last Woman, Last Man Standing matches and you have your table spots and you have your ladder spots and your chair spots. 

We just wanted to make it as creative as possible and different. We’ve always been able to do that because Bayley is amazing in the ring physically, but when it comes to mentally, her creative mind is so amazing. We were able to create some amazing and iconic moments in that Last Woman Standing match like the golf cart. Like, we’re in Saudi Arabia and there’s women driving golf carts. That doesn’t happen all the time. It was really cool to create these fun and unique moments for these matches. The ladder match as well, that was our goal. Bayley is one of my favorite competitors to go up against.”

Belair scored a win over Bayley and Lynch in a triple threat match this past Monday night on Raw that prevented them from being added to the upcoming Elimination Chamber match where the winner will be Belair’s WrestleMania opponent. 

H/T to Fightful for the transcript

Thunder Rosa is back on the road with AEW for the first time in months due to an injury as she joined the Spanish announce team. There was a backstage meeting held with talent last week at Dynamite regarding Rosa’s return. 

Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Select reports there was a locker room meeting for all of the women on the roster who were present at the show and those who were there said it was done as an effort to ease the tension between Rosa and the locker room due to several frayed relationships. 

Making Amends

Those there stated that Rosa did a lot of “making amends” for several issues along the way during her previous run in promotion. Some talent had taken issue with how she handled things in the past and felt she made certain people on the roster come across as bullies. 

There were also complaints about sandbagging and working stiff in the ring with Rosa. One talent stated that Rosa was met with some of that early in her AEW run, which had been rectified. 

Some talent took issue with her not being on the road with AEW while traveling for other work and questioned the legitimacy of her injury, which Rosa addressed publicly.

Sources indicated that Rosa was happy to do commentary work and wouldn’t be wrestling immediately. Rosa is getting closer to being medically clear. One AEW management member stated the meeting was productive and hoped it was a “clean slate.”

The February 14, 2023 episode of WWE NXT aired live on the USA Network from Orlando, Florida at the Capitol Wrestling Center. 

WWE NXT Results 

• Tyler Bate def. Grayson Waller.
• Tiffany Stratton def. Thea Hail.
• Axiom def. Damon Kemp.
• Wes Lee (c) def. Von Wagner to retain North American Title
• Charlie Dempsey def. Hank Walker.
• Meiko Satomura & Roxanne Perez def. Katana Chance & Kayden Carter.

Here are the takeaways from this week’s show:

Jacy Jayne Explains Her Actions

Jacy Jayne explained why she turned on Gigi Dolin last week after losing to NXT Women’s Champion Roxanne Perez in a three-way bout at NXT Vengeance Day.

She said that the name that is on everyone’s tongue is her after last week. She said she doesn’t regret what she did last week and the only thing she does regret is not doing it earlier. She wants to see the moment again and aired the footage again. She said that Gigi wasn’t the victim and her days of taking all the credit are over. She called her Janetty, a play on Marty Janretty. She said that she’s done protecting Gigi. 

Bron Breakker Returns

NXT Champion Bron Breakker made his return to the weekly TV show after retaining his title over Grayson Waller at NXT Vengeance Day inside of a steel cage. 

Breakker said tonight feels a little different and his next challenge feels bigger. He said that this is the match that everyone wants to see. Jinder Mahal walked out instead. Mahal said a great champion should expect the unexpected. Mahal praised him for putting NXT on his back and the stress that comes with it. He knows what it’s like to be the champion. Mahal challenged Breakker to a title match on next week’s show. Breakker called Indus Sher the new 3MB. 

Tag Team Match

Meiko Satomura & Roxanne Perez vs. Kayden Carter & Katana Chance

Following their defeat at Vengeance Day, Carter and Chance approached Perez in a backstage interview  last week and dared her to find a partner. As a result, the match was made. Perez called Satomura, who she later revealed would be joining her.

This served as the main event of the show. Perez went over with the Pop Rox. Post-match, Meiko challenged Perez to a title match. Perez said it would be her honor. They had a showdown to close the show. 

Open Challenge

Wes Lee held an open challenge for the NXT North American Championship.

Lee, who successfully defended the North American Championship at Vengeance Day, informed Tony D’Angelo and Stacks backstage that they could challenge the championship in his open challenge.. Hank Walker later told Drew Gulak that he might be the one to respond to the challenge. When Charlie Dempsey entered and challenged him, the two decided to rematch.

Von Wagner answered the challenge. Lee quickly beat him with his finisher. 

Tyler Bate vs. Grayson Waller

Tyler Bate vs. Grayson Waller took place in a singles match. It opened the show. Waller tried to roll him up and use the ropes, but the referee saw it and Bate reversed it and pinned him. 

Jerry Jarrett passed away at the age of 80. 

Dutch Mantell was the first to break the news today, and then the tributes poured in for the iconic wrestling promoter and father of Jeff Jarrett.

Mantell wrote, “SAD NEWS: I’m hearing reports of my friend and long time booker/promoter Jerry Jarrett died this morning in TN. I last saw him last year when we did the VICE show THE TERRITORIES in Atlanta. Very creative booker. Condolences to Jeff/Deborah and the Jarrett family.”

Dave Meltzer later reported on F4Wonline.com that Jarrett passed away undergoing treatment this morning, according to a family friend, as he had been battling esophagus cancer.

Jarrett promoted spot shows as a teenager and worked with his mother. He later worked as a wrestler alongside Tojo Yamamoto and Jackie Fargo before retiring full-time. 

Jarrett started up his own promotion in 1977 along with Jerry Lawler, Lance Russell, and Dave Brown in Memphis, TN. They dominated the market before territorial wrestling was done.

Jarrett and Lawler would rotate as bookers over time before Lawler made a power play with Russell and got 50 percent of the promotion. Jarrett later sold it in 1997. He and his son, Jeff, started TNA Wrestling before they ad to sell the majority interest in that company to the Carter family.

Mick Foley has given some advice to AEW’s Darby Allin regarding his character. 

Allin has been a fan favorite long before he signed with AEW, but he found further success and became more popular with fans when he signed with the promotion. 

Allin is known to take risks during his match and put his body on the line, just like the WWE Hall of Famer. 

Foley on Allin

Foley gave his thoughts on the AEW star while speaking on AdFreeShows.com, Foley is Pod.

“He’s a phenomenal athlete and he comes from the world of extreme sports. He’s like a cat and then he lands on his feet. He’s got incredible body control. But I think every performer has to find a different gear that they can go into as much wild stuff as I did. I was able to temper it with the promos and by shifting gears and injecting humor.

I think almost every guy with a long history, not talking about the guys who could go from territory to territory and basically recreate that same push each time, talking about the guys who had the long runs in WWE, WCW found another gear and that it often involved humor. And so Darby, I haven’t seen him in a couple of years or talked to him, but he’s a soft spoken young man and he probably should find a way to add layers to that character that doesn’t necessitate taking those risks all the time.”

H/T to NoDQ for the transcription

WWE is returning to Los Angeles on April 1-2 for WrestleMania 39, and just as they did in 2005, WWE will be doing something special for the show to get the word out. 

The promotion for the show will include stars parodying classic Hollywood films. WWE has been showing the original clips on social media as of late such as  Braveheart, Dirty Harry, Taxi Driver, A Few Good Men, and Pulp Fiction. 

Stars featured in these trailers included the likes of John Cena, JBL, Rey Mysterio, Batista, Triple H, and more. 

The List

WrestleVotes reported the list of which movies and wrestlers will be involved this year. 

The Bloodline in Goodfellas, The Miz & Maryse in Top Gun, The Judgement Day in Stranger Things, Drew McIntyre & The Brawling Brutes in The 40-Year-Old Virgin and Seth Rollins & Becky Lynch as Batman & The Joker. 

Current WWE WrestleMania 39 Card

• Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes
• SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair vs. Rhea Ripley
• Raw Women’s Champion Bianca Belair vs. the winner of Saturday’s Elimination Chamber Match

Charlotte and Bianca currently do not have matches booked for this Saturday’s Elimination Chamber PLE while Reigns will defend his title against Sami Zayn at the show. 

Former WWE NXT UK wrestler Jinny has opened up on her retirement from wrestling, something she announced last month. 

Before signing with WWE in 2018, Jinny was one of the most prominent women’s wrestlers on the United Kingdom indie scene. She last wrestled for NXT UK in November 2021. Jinny is married to WWE Intercontinental Champion Gunther. 

The Details

While speaking to Ring The Belle, Jinny confirmed that she retired from wrestling due to concussion issues. 

“When I was injured, this was the longest time I had been out with any injury. During the time of being injured and having the symptoms, I was like, ‘Wow, this is taking so long for my body to heal.’ The injury that I had, it was a concussion, unfortunately, I took quite a few blows to the head, and it was the worst one I ever had. Halfway through, I was like, ‘If my body is taking this long to heal, if I get hit again, is it going to take even longer?’ I had to be smart about it. I love wrestling. I’m a wrestling fan, I always will be. It was a really hard decision because if it wasn’t for that, would I be wrestling still? Yes, but your health is wealth, and as difficult as it is, and as much as I love this business and as much as I like, ‘maybe I’ll be okay,’ I had to be smart about it and make sure that I look after myself, not just for now, but in the long run as well,” she said.

The topic of a potential retirement match came up. For now, she’s unsure she wants to take the chance of doing that and getting hurt, but gave the classic never say never answer. She is focusing on her health for now. She called it unfortunate but knows it is what it is and when you get into wrestling, this is a risk you take. 

Jinny said she is grateful for her time in the business because she went after her dream and had a blast. She met her husband in the business and achieved so much. 

H/T to Fightful for the transcript