Roman Reigns is training for his return to the ring, according to personal trainer David Gonyea.
Reigns is scheduled to appear on Monday’s WWE Raw to provide fans an update on his health. He has been out of action since October, when he announced to the world he is battling a recurrence of leukemia.
During his time away from WWE, Reigns has been undergoing treatment for leukemia. He’s also taken a few acting roles, including a role in Hobbs and Shaw, the Fast and Furious spinoff starring his cousin Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.
On Saturday, David Gonyea posted a photo of himself with Reigns, who has been training at the land Club and Spa gym in Waikiki, Hawaii. Gonyea says it’s been very humbling and an “absolute honor and privilege” to help prepare Reigns for his in-ring return.
A surprise 70th birthday party was held for Ric Flair Friday night in Atlanta, Georgia.
Flair turns 70 this coming Monday, February 25th. WWE is advertising a big birthday celebration for the 16-time world champion on Raw. However, the festivities are underway a few days early.
LA Times columnist Arash Markazi was on hand for the surprise party and provided some details of what’s going on inside. The guest list includes Triple H, Shane McMahon, Chris Jericho, Ricky Steamboat, Charles Barkley, Evander Holyfield, Dennis Rodman and many more.
Championship belts were on display (big gold and the winged eagle), as were Flair action figures and one of his signature pink robes. They even showed a Flair vs. Steamboat match, officially making this one of the coolest parties ever.
Check out this video of the guests yelling “Surprise!” and Ric Flair being greeted by his guests.
A quick trip to Atlanta for Ric Flair’s surprise 70th birthday party. The guest list includes Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat, Triple H, Shane McMahon, Charles Barkley, Todd Gurley, Evander Holyfield, Dennis Rodman, Chris Jericho, The Nasty Boys, Brad Nessler and like everyone else. pic.twitter.com/AcmyG4Ducx
Ric Flair took to Twitter on Saturday morning to speak about the party. He thanked his wife Wendy for arranging it and wrote, “I am so overcome with emotion! Last night ws truly a night I will never forget! Thank you!!!”
I Cannot Even Begin To Describe How Much Last Night Meant To Me! First, I Want To Thank My Lovely Wife Wendy For Planning The Whole Thing! Next, I Would Like To Thank All My Wonderful Friends And Family Who Came Out And Made It Such A Memorable And Amazing Night! pic.twitter.com/dpMrwbAtj9
Popular rap artist Mega Ran will host Ring of Honor’s upcoming 17th Anniversary event. In addition to hosting, Mega Ran will also will perform his new song “Going to the Garden.”
Mega Ran is a lifelong wrestling fan who appeared on WWE SmackDown back in 2017 during the New Day’s rap battle against The Usos. Video of the rap battle is embedded below
The former teacher from Philadelphia has released two wrestling-themed albums titled “Mat Mania.” He hosts a weekly wrestling podcast of the same name. Visit Megaran.com for details on his upcoming release, The Dewey Decibal System, which drops this spring.
No matches have been announced for ROH’s 17th Anniversary show as of this writing.
Talent signed to appear include ROH World Champion Jay Lethal, World Tag Team Champions The Briscoes, World Television Champion Jeff Cobb, Women of Honor World Champion Kelly Klein Villain Enterprises, Bandito and many more.
ROH’s 18th Anniversary pay-per-view takes place Friday, March 15th from Las Vegas, NV at Sam’s Town Live. The show will be available for purchase via traditional pay-per-view outlets and will stream live on the HonorClub VIP service.
Cruiserweight Classic winner TJ Perkins and Tye Dillinger have both vented publicly about their frustrations. Dillinger issued a statement earlier this week telling fans on social media that he requested to be released. He expressed gratitude for his time with WWE and wrote,
“To the male and female locker rooms, coaches and producers, to the production/ring crew, all the way up to the very top of WWE and most of al the fans…I wish you all the very best and thank you from the bottom of my heart for everything.”
TJP wrote the following in response to WWE’s announcement:
Thanks for giving me a chance and letting me play for the team I grew up watching ????? https://t.co/r7001mqjx2
As noted early Friday morning, WWE Hall of Famer Arn Anderson has also been released. Anderson had been working with talent backstage as a producer. AEW Executive Vice President Cody Rhodes commented on AA’s situation:
Love AA. I stole all of his catchphrases & use them on a daily basis. He went to bat for young talent & at the same time is essentially responsible for all of the current top guys & “golden circle”. He’s not corporate, but that’s a compliment. Can’t take wrestlers outta wrestling
There have been more than a few dynamite documentaries set in the world of professional wrestling but only a handful of dramatized versions with the bar set awfully low for what would be considered a watchable film.
If “The Wrestler” starring Mickey Rourke is the best of the best and “Ready to Rumble” is the somewhere swimming in the sewer, then you’ll be happy to know that “Fighting with My Family” — the new biopic based on the real life of former WWE superstar Paige — is definitely near the top of the list now.
Based on the documentary “The Wrestlers: Fighting with My Family” — a one-hour special that ran in England following the Bevis family, a real life pro wrestling brood — the film version centers mostly around Saraya Jade-Bevis better known by her professional wrestling moniker Paige.
Stephen Merchant — one half of the writing team behind the original British version of ‘The Office’ — handles writing and directing duties on this movie and he offers up a truly inspiring story about an outsider trying to find her way into the wrestling business.
“Fighting with My Family” follows a young Saraya from her earliest days learning hammer locks with her brother Zak in the living room to the days when they were grappling with each other inside the ring while going up against their own mother and father (who were also wrestlers of course).
Ricky the dad is an ex-con (mostly for violence but some robbery) and Saraya the mom is a former homeless cast out who connects with her future husband through a passion for professional wrestling. Together they raise three children who are all drawn to wrestling while they run their own promotion out of Norwich, England.
When WWE comes to the United Kingdom, Saraya and Zak get called into a tryout and both are convinced that their dreams will come true. Sadly when the tryouts are finished, only Saraya gets picked to join the WWE developmental roster while Zak is left behind in England with a new baby on the way and a bit of jealousy that his baby sister is off to America while he’s still stuck at home.
It’s when Saraya transforms into Paige and arrives at WWE does the story really start taking turns as she struggles to adjust to new surroundings where she is constantly seen as the odd woman out while her brother suffers through the same ills at home trying to figure out where he fits in without his own dreams being realized.
Florence Pugh, who portrays Paige, is really the breakout star in this movie and it’s a requirement because she’s forced to do a lot of the heavy lifting for the emotional storytelling throughout the film. Pugh does a remarkable job playing Paige both from her physicality in the ring to the real turmoil she faces when trying to find where the square peg fits into the round hole at WWE.
The rest of the cast fills out nicely, especially with the remainder of Paige’s family. Jack Lowden shines as her brother Zak with Nick Frost and ‘Game of Thrones’ star Lena Headey offering the perfect amount of encouragement and humor as their parents.
Vince Vaughn plays the other lead role as the tough-as-nails yet quietly encouraging WWE trainer, who recruits Paige. Vaughn’s dry sense of humor plays well in this role, although admittedly the cookie cutter part of a drill sergeant with a heart of gold feels like something we’ve seen play out in virtually every sports movie in history.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson also pops up as Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson — a role he was born to play. There are a few cameos from other professional wrestlers but this doesn’t feel like a movie that’s trying to play ‘spot your favorite WWE superstar’.
Instead, “Fighting with My Family” is a warmhearted and genuinely funny family film wrapped up in a wrestling movie.
Hardcore wrestling fans will see some parts of Paige’s life being dramatized and others left out entirely but for a 100-minute, PG-13 film, some stuff is going to get sacrificed to the cutting room floor.
What remains in “Fighting with My Family” is a charming and uplifting comedy-drama that will leave you with a proud smile on your face when the final bell tolls.
Roman Reigns will return to WWE television this coming Monday.
WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon announced on Thursday afternoon that Reigns will be on hand to address “the status of his fight with leukemia.”
Monday’s WWE RAW takes place from Atlanta, GA at the State Farm Arena.
Reigns most recently addressed his health publicly in an Instagram post published on January 25th. He stated, “All of your outreach and support has been a blessing and it’s only pushed me to get back in the ring as soon as possible.”
The Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic tournament is returning in two weeks. This will be the fourth installment of WWE NXT’s tag team tournament honoring the late American Dream.
This year’s Dusty Classic will feature teams. The winners will be awarded the Dusty Rhodes Classic Cup trophy, which are modeled after Dusty’s signature cowboy wrestling boots.
The first four teams in this year’s tournament include:
Undisputed Era (Kyle O’Reilly & Bobby Fish)
The Forgotten Sons
Aichner & Barthel
The Street Profits
The remaining four teams will be announced in the coming weeks.
The finals of the 2019 Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic will be held at NXT Takeover: New York at the Barclays Center during WrestleMania 35 weekend.
Past winners of the Dusty Classic include Finn Balor and Samoa Joe, The Authors of Pain and The Undisputed Era (Adam Cole and Kyle O’Reily).
Check out: The Rhodes Family unveils the Dusty Rhodes Classic Cup
WWE has posted a video on Youtube welcoming several new backstage producers to the company. The list includes several former stars from Impact Wrestling, including Abyss (Chris Parks), Sonjay Dutt, TNA co-founder Jeff Jarrett, Shawn Daivari and Shane Helms.
Jarrett says Double J returned at the Royal Rumble, but Jeff Jarrett returned the following night at Raw. He believes WWE has a ton of young talent with potential, but nothing replaces experience and wisdom. It is now his job to doing everything he can to pass that wisdom on to the next generation.
Joseph Parks revealed that joining WWE is a lifelong dream come true and something he’s wanted for over two decades. After a Hall of Fame career in Impact, he’s now ended up with the best organization there is.
Sonjay Dutt is excited to work with so many old friends and colleagues again.
Shawn Daivari feels being back in WWE as a producer is the natural evolution of his career that he wanted to take. This is not a job you apply for and is honored WWE chose him.
Former WWE Cruiserweight champion Shane “Hurricane” Helms says, “you never wind up where you think you will.” He’s looking forward to mentoring WWE superstars.
SmakDown Live stars Andrade and Charlotte Flair are rumored to be WWE’s newest romantic power couple.
Over the past week, there has been speculation that the former NXT Champion and the former NXT Women’s Champion are currently dating. There have been reports of them spotted traveling together, with reporter Sean Ross Sapp tweeting (then deleting) that they have been seeing each other since “at least last month.”
Andrade and Charlotte have been bombarded with fans on Twitter inquiring about the legitimacy of the scuttlebutt. Charlotte gave the following coy comment on Wednesday:
WWE’s new Women’s Tag Team Championships will be defended in NXT.
Inaugural champions Sasha Banks and Bayley made a surprise appearance at Wednesday night’s NXT TV tapings from Winter Park, FL. Click Here to check out complete spoiler results from the tapings.
The Boss and Hug Connection hit the ring at Full Sail University, the scene where both of them raised the bar for women’s wrestling before joining the main roster. Banks says it’s good to be home and she’s never forgotten where she came from. Both of their journeys started in NXT and they have a big announcement to make.
Bayley said the last time Sasha was in an NXT ring was the first ever Women’s Iron Women Match at NXT Takeover: Respect (2015). They are fighting champions and they welcome all challengers. That includes the women of NXT.
Sasha Banks and Bayley officially put NXT’s female wrestlers on notice: their titles will be defended not only on Raw and SmackDown, but NXT as well.
Female competitors in NXT that could challenge the Boss and Hug Connection include established teams like Io Shirai & Kairi Sane, Marina Shafir & Jessamyn Duke as well as the likes of Bianca Belair, Candice LaRae, Dakota Kai and Deonna Purrazzo.
Check out the Full Sail University crowd react to Sasha Banks & Bayley’s surprise return:
Chris Hemsworth will be saying his prayers and eating his vitamins, brother.
The 35-year old Aussie best known for portraying Thor in numerous Marvel films including the upcoming ‘Avengers: Endgame’ is expected to portray Hulk Hogan in an upcoming biopic that will be directed by Todd Phillips.
Phillips will direct the feature about Hulk Hogan’s life with Scott Silver attached to write the script after the two just worked together on the upcoming ‘Joker’ movie starring Joaquin Phoenix.
The film is expected to be made for Netflix with Academy Award winning producer Michael Sugar behind the project alongside Phillips, Bradley Cooper and former WCW executive Eric Bischoff on board as producers as well.
Hogan came to prominence in the early 1980’s as part of the World Wrestling Federation under the guidance of Vince McMahon.
Hogan became a pop culture icon during the 80’s with his All-American theme and frequent battles against the likes of the Iron Sheik, Andre the Giant and “Macho Man” Randy Savage.
In recent years, Hogan has stayed in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons including an infamous sex-tape scandal as well as racist remarks that were made by the former WWE superstar that essentially got him booted from any association with the company.
The biopic isn’t expected to dig into Hogan’s issues outside the ring over the past few years, however, and instead will stay focused on his rise to fame and the explosion of ‘Hulkamania’ during his prime years in the 1980’s.
Hogan is also expected to serve as a consultant on the project.
This will be the latest big budget project for Hemsworth after his starring role in three ‘Thor’ movies as well as four ‘Avengers’ films with the latest due out in April. Hemsworth also stars in the upcoming ‘Men in Black: International’, which comes out in June.
WWE legend The Undertaker will be appearing at the Starrcast II fan convention in Las Vegas, NV during AEW Double or Nothing weekend. Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated broke the news on Thursday afternoon.
Tickets for Starrcast II go on sale to the general public tomorrow (Friday) at Starrcast.com.
Starrcast founder Conrad Thompson told Sports Illustrated, “The Undertaker is synonymous with wrestling and generations of wrestling fans have grown up with The Undertaker. We wanted to bring something unique to Las Vegas, and there isn’t anyone more special in this business than The Undertaker.”
The Undertaker will have his own “standalone experience” at Starrcast, but no further details are available at this time. Other wrestlers who are appearing at Starrcast are taking part in stage shows, Q&A panels and autograph signings.
Conrad was very clear that Undertaker’s appearance at Starrcast in no way implies he is involved with All Elite Wrestling. He said, “We have wrestlers appearing from every promotion from all over the world, and Starrcast isn’t just for All Elite Wrestling fans, it’s for all wrestling fans.”
The Undertaker got people talking earlier today when he posted a photo of himself and wife Michelle McCool in front of a private jet. The caption of the photo teased, “Must be meeting with somebody important today!”
Other big names appearing at Starrcast II include Sting, Bret Hart, Scott Hall and Kevin Nash, Jim Ross, Eric Bischoff, Bruce Prichard, Tony Shiavone and many more.
All Elite Wrestling made history this week when tickets for Double or Nothing sold out in less than 5 minutes.
AEW star Chris Jericho posted a video on Twitter taking full credit for the historic achievement. Jericho said the entire AEW crew was celebrating their success, but he’s actually the one who is solely responsible.
WWE legend Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson took notice of Jericho’s video and got a kick out of it. Rock joked that he loves Jericho’s babyface promos and congratulated him on Double or Nothing selling out.
It’s not the first time The Rock has taken notice of big happenings in the world of pro wrestling outside of WWE. Back in September, The Rock congratulated Cody on winning the NWA World Heavyweight Championship at All In.
John Cena will host Nickelodeon’s reboot of the popular game show, Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader. He will also serve as an executive producer.
Are You Smarter features adult contestants putting their knowledge to the test by answering questions taken directly from elementary school curriculum.
According to a Nickelodeon press release, “New game elements will be added to the show, including an additional ‘cheat’ option, new ways contestants can enlist the help of their grade-school classmates, as well as a ‘final exam,’ where contestants must answer a question from each grade in a race against the clock.”
Nickelodeon President Brian Robbins hyped the new series, touting Cena as an amazing talent. “Today’s kids and parents are laser-focused on their family time together, so we want to give them shows and series that appeal to every member of the household. We’re very happy to go back to school with an amazing talent like John Cena and the MGM team for a brand-new version of this mega-hit game show.”
John Cena also commented on his new hosting gig. “I’m excited to partner again with Nickelodeon to host this new series, and I can’t wait to see kids defeat grownups who find themselves back in the classroom.”
Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader begins production in Los Angeles this spring and is slated to premiere later this year on Nickelodeon. For more details, visit BusinessWire.com.
In a cool bit of trivia, longtime fans might remember that The Miz and former WWE Superstar John Morrison appeared on a special ‘celebrity’ episode of Are You Smarter back in 2010.
John Cena & Nickelodeon
As John Cena transitions from WWE Superstar to full-time entertainment personality, he has found a valuable partner in Nickelodeon. In addition to hosting Nick’s Kids’ Choice Awards twice, he has multiple projects in the works with the youth-oriented cable network.
Last January, Variety reported Cena signed on to voice a character in the animated series, Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. He also serves as an Executive Producer of the Nick game show, Keep it Spotless.
Former Nickelodeon President Cyma Zarghami told Variety last year, “He’s just one of those people who kids love, so why wouldn’t we want to be in business with him?”
“Stone Cold” Steve Austin loves what Becky Lynch is doing. The WWE Hall of Famer says “The Man” reminds him of himself.
Austin called into Sirius XM’s Fight Nation show Wednesday night and spoke to hosts Miesha Tate and Ryan McKinnell about Becky Lynch’s skyrocketing popularity.
“She does remind me a lot of myself, cause if you line up that women’s roster and you said ‘Hey, I want you pick my next break out superstar’ I don’t think you’re gonna pick out Becky Lynch and I damn sure know you wouldn’t have picked me out of a line-up.”
Stone Cold believes Becky Lynch has worked her tail off, studied the game and has a chip on her shoulder. WWE Chairman & CEO Vince McMahon provides talent with opportunities and lynch has made the most of them.
Any time WWE has cooled her off, she’s forged ahead and kicked down every door she’s had to. “So I love what she’s done, I love what she’s doing. I like her swagger and she is the hottest thing going right now and she’s not a person that’s dwelling on ‘this is going to be the most athletic match in the world.’”
Austin added that Becky Lynch is a great worker, but it’s her character that he finds most appealing. He loves her “The Man” gimmick.
It’s still difficult to grasp that The Undertaker is on Twitter, yet here we are.
The 8-time World champion and wife Michelle McCool took a private jet to an undisclosed location late Wednesday night. He posted a photo of them together and teased, “must be meeting with somebody important today!”
The latest news regarding The Undertaker is that he is taking bookings for appearances and autograph sessions independent of WWE. According to a recent report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, his fee for public appearances in the United States is $25,000 per hour, but he is not taking regular bookings until this summer.
His next appearance is for a series of 3 sold-out stage shows in the UK. Click here for more details on those events.
As of this writing, it is unclear if The Undertaker will be competing at WrestleMania 35 or the next WWE live event from Saudi Arabia.
All Elite Wrestling is addressing backlash against the company utilizing LGBT competitors.
Earlier this week, AEW announced a women’s match for Double or Nothing involving Dr. Britt Baker, Kylie Rae and transgender wrestler Nyla Rose. Apparently some people took issue with Nyla Rose’s involvement.
Twitter user @Dnellicious sent a message to Brandi and Cody Rhodes urging them to address the ‘rampant homophobia’ amongst the pro wrestling community.
. @TheBrandiRhodes and @CodyRhodes I’m super appreciative of you guys showcasing trans &queer wrestlers. It’s equally important for you guys to address the rampant homophobia in some of your fanbase w/ a lot of these comments. A message showcasing your disapproval goes a long way
AEW Executive Vice President Cody responded, “We are promoting matches that’s causing this apparent debate (which I admittedly have not seen and instead have seen only excitement/happiness). The stand is in standing by those matches. Why would we signal boost hatred? Wrestling is for everybody and not everything is a scandal.”
Cody followed up in that thread by saying, “NOBODY is going to be able to vilify LGBT competitors/fans/staff at our events. Wrestling is for everybody.”
AEW Chief Brand Officer Brandi Rhodes also issued the following statement:
“As we look ahead to Las Vegas, let’s take this opportunity to make it clear that AEW is totally inclusive. We fully support and celebrate all of our athletes, and all of our fans, regardless of their sexual orientation, race, gender, religion or ethnicity. Period.
A safe, inclusive, respectful and very cool environment will be central to everything we do at AEW. Be who you are, and come as you are. Because we’re all going to come together as a community to change the world.”
All Elite Wrestling’s first show, Double or Nothing, is officially sold out.
Monday’s pre-sale saw a staggering demand that exceeded the success of All In last year. Fans who were not in the ‘waiting room’ at AXS.TV within minutes of tickets going on sale were shut out. Dave Meltzer noted on Wrestling Observer Radio that over 43,000 fans were attempting to purchase tickets during the pre-sale.
To put that in perspective, Cody recently told Jim Ross that AEW was planning to configure the MGM Grand Garden Arena to accommodate 11,600 fans.
Major League Wrestling (MLW) has announced the main event for its return to Chicago, IL next month.
“Filthy” Tom Lawlor defeated Low Ki earlier this month at Superfight to become the new MLW World Heavyweight Champion. The rematch has now been signed and it will take pace inside a steel cage on Saturday night, March 3rd at Intimidation Games.
Also previously announced for Intimidation Games, the Lucha Brothers (Pentagon Jr. & Rey Fenix) will face AAA stars Taurus and Laredo Kid.
Similar to MLW Superfight, Intimidation Games will be an “MLW Fusion Live” special on beIN SPORTS. Two matches will air live, with the rest of the card being taped for future episodes of Fusion.
Production is underway for the ninth season of Total Divas, WWE’s hit reality series on the E! Network. Earlier this week, Lana revealed that she and Rusev have been removed from the cast for being “strongly disliked” by the show’s viewers.
Following Tuesday’s SmackDown Live, Sonya Deville called into Afterbuzz’s SmackDown After Show and revealed she is joining the cast this coming season. Deville said she’s “super excited” about the opportunity, because “I have been through things and I am the person I am for a lot of reasons and I love sharing those stories for the fans because it’s relatable.”
According to SquaredCircleSirens, RAW Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey will also be part of Total Divas season 9. WWE and Rousey have yet to confirm her involvement, but Total Divas cameras have been filming at the Browsey Acres farm over the past several weeks.
Browsey Acres is a farm owned by Ronda Rousey and husband Travis Browne. Ronda Rousey’s official website gives the following description of the farm:
“Browsey Acres farm is Far, far away from the hustle and bustle of Hollywood lies Ronda Rousey’s dirt road paradise. Browsey Acres is a sustainable ranch home that radiates love and probably smells a little bit. Okay, it definitely smells. It’s populated with a cast of colorful animal characters with their own little lives and daily adventures. From the IPA-chugging bull to the goat who likes to burp in mouths, you can meet them all right here.”
The first women’s match has been announced for All Elite Wrestling’s first pay-per-view event, Double or Nothing.
On Tuesday night, Cody’s Nightmare Family Youtube channel dropped a new installment of its The Road To Double or Nothing series. During the latest episode, AEW star Britt Baker was shown having a video call with AEW’s ‘Chief Brandi Officer.’ Baker saw some of AEW’s new female talent at last week’s Double or Nothing ticket announcement party and wanted to know if she’d be part of the big show.
Later in the episode, Cody and Brandi were looking through match graphics for Double or Nothing and they displayed two new matches for the event. The first is a women’s triple threat match between Britt Baker, Nyla Rose and Kyle Rae.
The other confirmed match is Cody’s. Unfortunately, his opponent was blurred out and we are left to wonder for at least another week.
Updated Card for Double Or Nothing
The following matches have now been confirmed for Double or Nothing:
Kenny Omega vs. Chris Jericho
Hangman Page vs. PAC
Britt Baker vs. Nyla Rose vs. Kylie Rae
Based on what we saw at the Double or Nothing Ticket Announcement party, the Young Bucks vs. Lucha Bros is also very likely.
Earlier this week, there was a report by Pro Wrestling Sheet stating that Batista is in ‘deep talks’ with WWE about returning in time for WrestleMania. That same report noted that All Elite Wrestling is also in touch with The Animal in hopes of signing him.
According to PWInsider, Batista met with WWE officials in Connecticut last Thursday to discuss his future with the company. Batista last appeared on WWE television back in October for SmackDown 1,000. During a segment reuniting the Evolution faction, Batista had a confrontation with Triple H and set the stage for a WrestleMania showdown.
With WWE and AEW vying for Batista’s services, Chris Jericho is playing into the speculation. Jericho posted a photo on Tuesday alongside Batista, which you can view below. Jericho said he and Batista had a great discussion “earlier today” while dining at the 4 Rivers Smokehouse BBQ chain.
Knowing Jericho’s penchant for trolling fans online, the photo could very well be 6 months old. However, if Batista is in fact considering working for All Elite Wrestling, his longtime friend Chris Jericho would likely be involved brokering that deal.
On Monday’s edition of WWE RAW, Dean Ambrose offered some encouragement to Seth Rollins headed into WrestleMania.
During the start of the third hour, Seth Rollins was in the ring to hype his upcoming match against Universal Champion Brock Lesnar. He was interrupted by Paul Heyman, who warned the Royal Rumble winner about what’s in store for him in the months ahead.
Dean Ambrose then came out and went face-to-face with his former Shield partner in the middle of the ring. Rollins handed Ambrose the microphone. Ambrose kept things brief and said, “I’ve only got one thing to say to you: Slay the Beast.”
According to Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio, the script for RAW called for Dean Ambrose to say a lot more than he did. Meltzer and co-host Bryan Alvarez questioned why Rollins would simply hand the microphone to Ambrose after all they’ve been through. They jokingly asked what a lot of fans at home were probably thinking, “Are you guys buddies now?”
Apparently the Raw script called for Dean Ambrose to set up his “Slay the Beast” line by making amends and talking about their history of starting out together and their time in The Shield with Roman Reigns. For whatever reason, Ambrose kept it short and omitted the storyline explanation of why he is now supporting Rollins.
Later in the show, Ambrose went on to defeat Raw newcomer EC3.
WWE recently announced that Dean Ambrose has opted out of signing a new contract. He is expected to leave when his current deal expires in April.
Cody Rhodes underwent successful knee surgery in Atlanta on Tuesday morning.
The AEW Executive VP announced that he needed the procedure back in November. He revealed on Twitter that his meniscus was “fairly damaged” but went on to compete at ROH Final Battle in December and NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 13 in January.
Cody toughed it out through those two matches, but later admitted he was not satisfied with his WK13 performance. During a recent Twitter Q&A, he said, “Surgery is a must, I can’t afford to have another stinker like the dome match.”
The procedure is expected to keep Cody out of action for two to three months. His next scheduled match will take place at AEW Double or Nothing on May 25th.
As of this writing, Cody’s Double or Nothing opponent has not been announced. However, the identity of his Double or Nothing opponent was teased on a recent episode of the Road to Double or Nothing on Cody’s Nightmare Family Youtube channel.
On Episode 2, Cody received a phone call from a mystery caller. Cody teased that the situation was “fairly personal” but was in no rush to return the call. He later said there are 3 options on the table for his Double or Nothing opponent.
It’s an ongoing situation. 3 options on the table currently. So TBD.
The Elite still has the hot hand when it comes to moving tickets.
A ticket pre-sale was held on Monday for All Elite Wrestling‘s first show, Double or Nothing. It did not take long for those tickets to sell out. Some fans reported long delays in the “waiting room” at AXS.com, where tickets were sold.
AEW took steps to make sure fans got the tickets instead of scalpers, but ringside seats (face value: $211) are already on the secondary market for thousands of dollars.
If you were hoping to score Double or Nothing tickets but were shut out on Monday, the general public onsale goes down this Wednesday (2/13) at 9am PST/ 12pm EST.
