– As noted last month, NJPW stars Ricochet and the tag team War Machine are WWE bound and are expected to be heading to the WWE Performance Center later this month. In response to a fan asking about an update to Ricochet & War Machine signing with WWE, Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer stated:
– On Friday, WWE announced two more teams for the upcoming Mixed Match Challenge tournament that will air on Facebook Watch. SmackDown Live’s Jimmy Uso will team with Naomi and RAW’s Nia Jax and Apollo Crews.
As of this writing, the current lineup of teams includes:
Finn Balor and Sasha Banks
Bobby Roode and Charlotte
Braun Strowman and Alexa Bliss
Rusev and Lana
Jimmy Uso and Naomi
Apollo Crews and Nia Jax
WWE Mixed Match Challenge begins Tuesday, January 16th (after SmackDown Live). The winning team will be awarded $100,000 to donate to a charity of their choosing.
New Japan Pro Wrestling has released several videos coming out of this week’s Wrestle Kingdom 12 event. The full show (including English commentary) is now available for streaming over at NJPWWorld.com.
AXS TV will be airing a 2-hour special this Saturday night featuring the show’s 3 top championship matches voiced over by Jim Ross and Josh Barnett. The remainder of the Wrestle Kingdom 12 card will then air in the usual Friday night time slot on AXS TV over the next 5 weeks.
After a show-stealing match against Kenny Omega at this week’s Wrestle Kingdom 12 event from the Tokyo, Dome, Chris Jericho made another appearance for New Japan at Friday’s New Year’s Dash Event.
Watch Wrestle Kingdom 12 & New Year’s Dash At NJPWWorld.com
Jericho ambushed Tetsuya Naito in the ring after the two had exchanged words while doing media to promote Wrestle Kingdom.
At this time, there’s no confirmation that Jericho will be wrestling another match for NJPW. The “Alpha” of professional wrestling will be touring with his metal band Fozzy over the next several months.
Fozzy has a show scheduled for April 8th, will prevent Jericho from appearing at WrestleMania 34. It’s worth noting that Jericho’s schedule appears to be open for March 25th when NJPW returns to Long Beach, CA.
– This week’s Something To Wrestle podcast with Bruce Prichard and Conrad Thompson looks at the creation of Monday Night Raw. The episode drops at noon over at SomethingToWrestle.com.
— Something to Wrestle with Bruce Prichard (@PrichardShow) January 5, 2018
– This weekend’s WWE live events tour schedule will see the RAW brand in Evansville, IN on Friday, Cape Giradeau, MO on Saturday, and West Plain, MO on Sunday. Monday’s Raw will be held in Memphis, TN.
Smackdown’s weekend tour kicks off in Jackson, MS on Saturday night, with shows in Mobile, AL on Sunday and Montgomery, AL on Monday. Tuesday’s Smackdown Live takes place in Birmingham, AL.
NXT has shows taking place from Crystal River, FL and Spartanburg, SC on Friday night
– This year’s WWE Fastlane pay-per-view takes place on Sunday, March 11th from Columbus, Ohio and will be a SmackDown-branded event. The Twitter account of the Nationwide Arena announced on Friday morning that John Cena is confirmed for the show, the final WWE PPV before WrestleMania 34 on April 8th.
This Saturday night (Jan. 6), AXS TV presents a 3-hour Wrestle Kingdom 12 special at 8pE/5pP featuring the top 3 matches from the this week’s event.
With English commentary provided by Jim Ross and Josh Barnett, this week’s special NJPW on AXS TV will feature three headline championship matches from the Tokyo Dome:
IWGP U.S. Heavyweight Champion Kenny Omega vs. Chris Jericho
New Japan Pro Wrestling’s biggest show of the year – Wrestle Kingdom – is finally upon us. The show will feature a double main event, with IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada defending against Tetsuya Naito and IWGP United States Champion Kenny Omega vs. “Alpha” Chris Jericho in a no disqualification championship match.
Fans in the United States can stream the show live on New Japan World, with the English commentary being provided by Kevin Kelly and Don Callis.
Here’s the final card for NJPW’s Wrestle Kingdom 12 from the Tokyo Dome:
IWGP HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP Kazuchika Okada (c) vs. Tetsuya Naito
IWGP UNITED STATES HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP (NO DQ) Kenny Omega (c) vs. Chris Jericho
IWGP INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPIONSHIP Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) vs. Jay White
IWGP JR. HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP Marty Scurll (c) vs. Hiromu Takahashi vs. KUSHIDA vs. Will Ospreay
NEVER OPENWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP (HAIR VS. HAIR/NOBODY AT RINGSIDE DEATHMATCH) Minoru Suzuki (c) vs. Hirooki Goto
IWGP TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP Killler Elite Squad (Lance Archer and Davey Boy Smith Jr.) vs. EVIL and SANADA
Cody vs. Kota Ibushi
NEVER OPENWEIGHT 6-MAN TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP (GAUNTLET MATCH) Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa, and Bad Luck Fale (c) vs. Ryusuke Taguchi, Juice Robinson, and Togi Makabe vs. Beretta, Toru Yano, and Tomohiro Ishii vs. Hanson Raymond Rowe, and Michael Elgin vs. Taichi, Takashi Iizuka, and Zack Sabre Jr.
IWGP JR. HEAVYWEIGHT TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP Roppongi 3K (c) vs. The Young Bucks
NXT is ringing in the new year with a 2-hour “Best of 2017” edition on the WWE Network. The show will feature:
– Never-before-seen footage of Adam Cole vs. Drew McIntyre for the NXT Championship from the November 17th live event from San Antonio, Texas. WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels served as the special guest referee for this bout just one night before NXT Takeover: WarGames.
– An in-depth look at NXT Women’s Champion Ember Moon
– A preview of NXT Champion Andrade “Cien” Almas’ upcoming title defense against Johnny Gargano at Takeover: Philadelphia during Royal Rumble weekend.
Plus, WWE.com is teasing a “huge announcement” regarding the NXT Year-End Awards for 2017.
Ahead of his big match against Kenny Omega at Wrestle Kingdom 12 on January 4th, Chris Jericho penned an article for The Players Tribune website about his five favorite opponents over the course of his career.
Ultimo Dragon, Dean Malenko, Shawn Michaels, Rey Mysterio and Kevin Owens – you just made the list! Some quick notes on what Jericho said about each man:
Ultimo Dragon
After competing in Mexico’s CMLL promotion and later WAR in Japan, “We wrestled at the WAR third anniversary show in July of 1995, and that was the match that got me into ECW and into WCW.”
Dean Malenko
Malenko was one of Jericho’s favorite opponents in WCW and their rivalry produced some of the most memorable aspects of Jericho’s early career on the national stage.
“The run with Dean ultimately led to some of the lasting fan-favorite Jericho promos, including “Man of 1,004 holds,” “Conspiracy Victim” and several others.”
Shawn Michaels
“A hundred years from now, Shawn will probably still be talked about as one of the greatest performers in the history of wrestling. Being able to work with him in such a big way in 2008 is something I will always be proud of.”
Rey Mysterio
“On the surface, it probably wouldn’t seem as though our styles would mesh, but that’s just another component that made working with Rey so great. We both were constantly changing it up in the ring, and I think we both did some of our best wrestling during that four-month span.”
Kevin Owens
Jericho and Kevin Owens’ “Best Friends” angle was one of the highlights of WWE programming in 2017. With their bromance in full swing and Jericho feeling untouchable, everything came crashing down at the Festival of Friendship.
“When he finally turned on me, the moment had a great element of surprise — and more importantly, we had people watching who were emotionally invested. A lot of hearts were broken that night — but in a good way. There aren’t a whole lot of guys besides Kevin who would have been able to convincingly pull that off.”
Head over to The Players Tribune to read Jericho’s thoughts on each opponent and how their matches shaped the course of his career.
WWE’s 25th Anniversary special for Monday Night Raw is fast approaching and several legends will be appearing on the show(s) to mark the occasion. Whoever shows up, it wouldn’t be a true Raw reunion without the two most recognizable voices in the show’s historic run, WWE Hall of Famers Jim Ross and Jerry “The King” Lawler.
Both men have been teasing involvement in recent weeks, but JR has since confirmed that he and the King will be on hand – at least for the catering.
WWE is already advertising Brock Lesnar and John Cena for the show, with many more legends rumored to be appearing.
‘RAW 25’ takes place on Monday, January 22nd from both the Manhattan Center and the Brooklyn’s Barclay Center in New York City.
Last week after Stephanie McMahon announced the first-ever Women’s Royal Rumble match, online betting sites began setting odds and taking bets on who will win the historic match.
From the beginning, Ronda Rousey was listed as the favorite, despite not being announced for the Rumble and never wrestling a match for WWE. It’s worth noting that there have been significant shifts in the odds over the past few days, with RAW Superstar Asuka now listed as the front-runner.
Courtesy of PaddyPower and Bet Wrestling, the following women have the best betting odds to win the inaugural Women’s Royal Rumble match.
Asuka 13/8 (+162)
Ronda Rousey 7/4 (+175)
Paige 6/1 (+600)
Becky Lynch 7/1 (+700)
Nia Jax 10/1 (+1000)
Charlotte Flair 14/1 (+1400)
Sasha Banks 14/1 (+1400)
Bayley 16/1 (+1600)
Naomi 18/1 (+1800)
We will post an update as we get closer to the Rumble, which takes place on Sunday, January 28th from Philadelphia, PA.
– Bayley did not have a great 2017. Whether or not you’re a fan of her television character, it’s hard to deny that she’s lacking direction and is a far cry from the popular babyface she was in NXT. 2018 presents a chance to start anew and Bayley sounds ready.
Bayley will compete in the first-ever women’s Royal Rumble match later this month.
Meanwhile, New Day member Big E has a different take on how to change your life in the new year.
I don’t like New Year’s Resolutions. At all. In fact, I vow to get fatter, more deceitful, spend more frivolously, and enter more toxic relationships. These are my New Year’s Regressions.
– Each year, Youtube user mangler989 uploads a video looking back at the Superstars who left the company over the previous 12 months. The “WWE Future Endeavors: Class of 2017” video can be seen below. Notable WWE releases in 2017 include Emma, Jack Swagger, Austin Aries, Eva Marie and James Ellsworth.
Tonight’s episodes of SmackDown and 205 Live take place from the Amway Center in Orlando. WWE’s blue brand is kicking off 2018 in a big way, with WWE Champion AJ Styles in action and two more matches in the United States Championship tournament.
The following matches are confirmed for SmackDown:
WWE Champion AJ Styles vs. Sami Zayn (non-title)
SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Usos vs. Chad Gable & Shelton Benjamin
US Title Tournament: Zack Ryder vs. Mojo Rawley
US Title Tournament: Xavier Woods vs. Aiden English
WWE is also teasing that we will find out more Royal Rumble participants on the show.
205 Live will feature Jack Gallagher vs. Hideo Itami in a rematch from last week.
Join us here tonight for WWE SmackDown Live Coverage!
WWE Cruiserweight Champion Enzo Amore was hospitalized on Monday and missed last night’s RAW from Miami as a result. It appears Enzo may be suffering from the same flu that sent Braun Strowman home from the holiday tour.
Amore checked himself out of the emergency room on Monday and traveled to RAW in hopes of being featured on the show. According to PWInsider, WWE officials informed him they were not going to let him perform sick and ordered him to leave the venue.
No word yet on when Cedric Alexander’s scheduled Cruiserweight Title shot will take place. WWE did a segment on RAW that saw Nia Jax leave the arena to take Enzo a bowl of chicken noodle soup.
Enzo posted a video (seen below) on Instagram from Jackson Memorial/UM Hospital explaining his absence on RAW was due to illness:
“I apologize to the fans who won’t get to see a #G tonight in #Miami … I did everything I could from Toronto to Miami… From negative weather, through customs, to opting out on Diddy’s nye party in Miami, 10 hrs in a hospital, I did everything in my power to make sure I would be in that ring tonight to whoop Cedric Alexander’s hind-end … Ultimately: it was outta my hands. And I got the best freakin hands.”
– New Japan Pro Wrestling will be announcing the details of their new video game on Wednesday afternoon at 12:15pm, which is 10:15pm this evening (Tuesday) in the Eastern time zone. At this time, it’s unknown whether this will be a full-fledged console video game or a mobile game. Check back later tonight after SmackDown to find out what was announced.
– Chris Jericho has arrived in Japan ahead of his big match against Kenny Omega later this week at Wrestle Kingdom 12. Jericho says he spent New Year’s on a plane for the first time in his life because he wanted to arrive in Tokyo, Japan as soon as possible.
Jericho says he doesn’t care about the new year, he didn’t celebrate, he hasn’t been partying – he’s focused on one thing and one thing only: January 4th: Alpha vs. Omega, Chris Jericho vs. Kenny Omega at Wrestle Kingdom 12.
– Monday’s RAW saw Finn Balor, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson teaming together for the first time in WWE. The trio picked up a victory over Miztourage and Elias. After the match, they spoke with Mike Rome backstage.
Balor fired off a few cliches, saying “the more things change the more they stay the same” and “the boys are back in town.” While we didn’t get a concrete answer about the future of this “too sweet” alliance, the caption of the RAW Fallout video implies that we haven’t seen the last of Balor, Gallows and Anderson together.
After successfully teaming together for the first time in WWE, Finn Bálor, Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson look to dominate Team Red in 2018.
– It was confirmed on Monday’s RAW that the Women’s Royal Rumble match will feature 30 competitors and will have the same rues as the men’s Rumble match:
30 Superstars will enter, one at a time, at consistent intervals
An elimination occurs when a Superstar is sent over the top rope with both feet touching the floor
The last woman standing will receive a Championship Match at WrestleMania.
As of this writing, the following women are confirmed for the Rumble match:
Cruiserweight competitor Brian Kendrick will be out of action for approximately two months with a broken nose and broken orbital bone.
The injury occurred on Monday’s RAW when Hideo Itami delivered a brutal Go To Sleep on the former Cruiserweight champion. The knee shattered several bones in Kendrick’s face.
WWE.com has provided an update on Kendrick’s condition, noting that the nose break is “minimal” and the orbital bone fracture thankfully will not require surgery.
– According to the official website of New Japan Pro Wrestling, there will be an “NJPW video game announcement” taking place at the Wrestle Kingdom Fan Festa 2018 that takes place on January 3rd, the day before WK12.
We’ll find out on 1/3 if this will be a game that’s released for mobile phones or traditional consoles. For more information on the fan fest, visit njpw1972.com.
– To hype the the main event of the upcoming Wrestle Kingdom 12 pay-per-view from the Tokyo Dome, NJPW has uploaded the full match between Kazuchika Okada and Tetsuya Naito from Wrestle Kingdom 8 back in January 2014.
https://youtu.be/P01eq7V4dbs
– Matt Jackson of the Young Bucks posted this video of himself and brother Nick wrestling Santa Claus in their living room on Christmas. The caption, “Grown men watch this” is a reference to a UFC fighter calling out the Bucks for a flippy spot during their match at last weekend’s ROH Final Battle PPV.
Tonight’s edition of WWE SmackDown Live takes place from Chicago, Illinois at the Allstate Arena. WWE.com is teasing the following items for the show:
Will anyone step up to challenge AJ Styles?
Are Shane McMahon & Daniel Bryan on the same page?
What will happen to the United States Championship?
Will anyone else declare for the Royal Rumble Matches?
For 205 Live, Cruiserweight Champion Enzo Amore has one last opportunity to derail Cedric Alexander’s momentum before they battle for the title on the first Raw of 2018.
Plus, with an impressive victory against The Brian Kendrick on Raw, Hideo Itami continues to demand respect.
Join us here later tonight for our WWE SmackDown Live Coverage!
Former Ring of Honor World Champion Cody Rhodes was asked by a fan on Twitter about the chances of him returning to WWE for another run down the road. Self-proclaimed ‘WWE Superfan’ Connor Goebel told Cody he thinks he deserved a lot better during his last run.
Cody said he had a great time as a WWE Superstar and achieved many life milestones while with the company. He met his wife Brandi, competed at WrestleMania several times, won a bunch of titles, got to perform with his father Dusty Rhodes and became a millionaire without ever earning a college degree.
That said, he’s not one to dwell on the past. Since leaving WWE in May 2016, he’s blazed his own trail and is the blueprint for how to be successful in the wrestling business post-WWE. 2018 is gearing up to be the most important year of Cody’s career and we can’t wait to see what’s next for him.
It was announced back in September that “The American Nightmare” signed a multi-year deal with Ring of Honor.
I had a great run. Met my wife. Made the Mania' walk a bunch of times. Got a chance to see Dad's last elbow. Won a bunch of titles. Made millions without a college education.
but I'm happy where I'm at and where this is going. 2018 will be the most important year of my career. https://t.co/G32flxqPXc
New Japan Pro Wrestling is returning to the United States in just a matter of months. NJPW invades the Walter Pyramid arena in Long Beach, California on March 25th for a special one-night event, Strong Style Evolved.
The Walter Pyramid seats approximately 5,000 fans and hosted the 2-night 2017 G1 Special event that saw Kenny Omega be crowned the first-ever IWGP United States Champion.
Ticket information and match card will be announced soon at NJPW1972.com.
Here’s the official trailer for NJPW: Strong Style Evolved (3/25/2018):
Filming for WWE Studios’ latest project The Marine 6: Close Quarters wrapped this week in London. The Miz and Shawn Michaels have returned home to the United States, while Becky Lynch is back in Ireland an gearing up for her upcoming return.
Lynch and The Miz have been off WWE television during filming, with Miz dropping the Intercontinental Championship to Roman Reigns before heading to the UK. Both are expected back on television after the New Year in the lead-up to the Royal Rumble on 1/28.
The synopsis for The Marine 6 reads, “When Jake Carter (The Miz) and fellow Marine Luke Trapper (Shawn Michaels) stumble upon a kidnapped girl being held prisoner by a dangerous gang of international criminals, they find themselves in the crosshairs as they try to save the girl and bring her kidnappers to justice.”
No release date has been announced as of this writing.
WWE Superstar Charlotte Flair recently spoke with Planeta Wrestling about the first-ever Women’s Royal Rumble. As the SmackDown Women’s Champion, Charlotte will not be eligible to compete in the historic match.
When asked how she feels about not being part of the Women’s Rumble, Charlotte says she’s torn. On one hand, her competitive nature gives her the urge to be part of the the match. She will get to face the winner at WrestleMania 34, so she’s excited about that.
As of this writing, WWE has not yet confirmed how many women will be part of the match. WWE currently has around 20 active female Superstars on the roster. As for which NXT Superstars Charlotte would like to see in the Women’s Rumble, she said, “I definitely am a huge fan of the Australians Peyton Royce and Billie Kay, I think they would be a great edition to the Royal Rumble match. I think Bianca Belair is an amazing, incredible athlete. I think her presence alone, when shed enter the royal rumble, would be amazing.”
She continued, “Kairi Sane is another. And I know everyone’s rumors saying Shayna Baszler is a possibility. I know she’s one. I think all of those women would be great contestants. But again, anyone in NXT would do an incredible job and id like to see anyone step up and be part of the first ever women’s Royal Rumble match.”
The 2018 Royal Rumble takes place on Sunday, January 28th from Philadelphia, PA.
Karen Jarrett posted a photo on Instagram of her and Jeff Jarrett at home, a sign that the Impact Wrestling founder has completed his substance abuse rehabilitation program.
Jarrett checked himself into rehab this fall shortly after Impact announced it had severed business ties with him. Jarrett made several public appearances “in no condition to perform” before getting help.
It was widely reported that Jarrett took advantage of WWE’s standing offer to subsidize the cost of former talent getting the help they need with substance abuse. Jarrett’s longtime friend Hermie Sadler of NASCAR fame said Thursday was a big day for Jarrett and his family, presumably the day he returned home. Sadler thanked WWE for their help, which appears to corroborate the notion that WWE paid for Jarrett’s treatment.
Today's a big day for @RealJeffJarrett and his family. Wanna say how proud I am of him and thanks to @WWE for their help. Love ya bud.
RAW General Manager Daniel Bryan appeared on Ebro In The Morning on New York’s Hot 97 this week and spoke with Ebro & Peter Rosenberg about his desire to wrestle again, concussions and much more in this nearly one-hour interview. The appearance was to promote Tuesday’s SmackDown Live from Newark, NJ.
For those following the saga of Bryan wanting to return to the ring, he’s made his desires clear to WWE, they’ve refused to clear him for action. So where do things stand?
“We are still at, ‘No, you’re not wrestling’ part of that conversation,” Bryan said. “But, I have presented them with my case, which is a lot of testing and all that type of stuff which shows, ‘Hey, I’m fine’ and so it’s interesting. It’s an interesting situation. But it’s also caused a rift between me and the commissioner Shane McMahon, because there’s all this stuff going on. We work together really well, but we also have some beef.”
Ebro said that often makes for a great situation and compared it to a husband and wife who might not get along great but are still awesome parents to their children. Bryan joked that it would be better if you were great parents and a great married couple.
Ebro, a casual fan, asked Bryan specifically why WWE says he can’t wrestle. Bryan replied, “Oh, so I’ve had too many concussions.” They all acknowledged the seriousness of concussions and how it’s having a ripple effect on all sports, from players to parents being more cautious about what they let their children participate in.
Bryan continued, “I think there’s a lot of miseducation surrounding concussions. That’s one of the things I’ve actually been working with people at the concussion institute in Phoenix where I live, and he’s talked to me about going to talk to kids. For example, if you’re a high school football player, and you get a concussion, and you’re like, ‘Oh no, I’m in line for a scholarship, if I tell someone, they might take me out of the game next week.'”
Bryan continued by saying that concussions are not a death sentence. It’s not anything like that and concussion research is still in its early stages. If players get a concussion, it’s important to tell your coach and not play again until your brain is healed. Once you’re healed, you can still play at a high level and it will have minimal longterm impact.
He’s been looked at by many of the country’s leading concussion experts who tell him that he’s fine to wrestle.
Ebro asked why must he wrestle? He’s still involved in the wrestling business. Bryan said he loves wrestling, but he doesn’t love all of it. He loves the physicality of being in the ring and now his job involves the parts of wrestling he doesn’t like (ie. travel).
When asked if he’s addicted to wrestling and the action, Bryan gave an interesting response. At first, addressing the ‘physicality’ aspect, he said “no,” – he does other physical things like jiujitsu and kickboxing which give him some fulfillment there. He then admitted he is addicted to wrestling mentally and acknowledged it’s a borderline obsession for him.
Bryan talked about Tom Brady. He’s suffered multiple concussions, he’s financially set, why does he keep playing?
As for where his wife Brie weighs in, Bryan said she’s fully supportive, she’s been there when he’s gotten the green light from doctors and she’s behind him 100%.
This writeup covers the first 10 minutes or so from the interview – there’s much, much more to it – which you can check out below in its entirety:
WWE has provided an update on Dean Ambrose’s condition after undergoing surgery on his arm earlier this week.
An angle was filmed o Monday’s RAW that involved The Bar and Samoa Joe attacking The Shield. The angle as reportedly written on short notice when it became clear that Ambrose’s lingering injury was serious and would likely require surgery.
According to WWE.com, Ambrose underwent successful surgery Tuesday night to repair a high-grade triceps tendon injury. The procedure was performed by Dr. Jeffrey Dugas in Birmingham, Alabama.
Dr. Dugas told WWE.com, “He tore some of the distal triceps tendon where it attaches to the forearm bone, called the olecranon. He basically tore about 50 percent of the triceps tendon away from the bone.”
Dugas continued, “So yesterday we repaired that back down to the bone where it tore off of. The surgery was very straightforward; we removed all of the extra bursal tissue — all of that extra swollen stuff around his elbow.”
Ambrose has already begun physical therapy, starting with light range-of-motion exercises.
As of this writing, there’s no word on how long he’ll be out of action. This type of procedure can have a recovery period of up to 6 months, which would keep Dean Ambrose on the sidelines through WrestleMania.