Since its inception in 2019, the AEW women’s division has steadily grown in size and strength.
Dr. Britt Baker emerged as an early pillar, and arguable face, of the division, standing at the forefront for the majority of her tenure. The integration of a secondary title — the TBS Championship — then opened a window of opportunity for more talent to be regularly showcased on company programming. With another hour of programming added to their schedule on Rampage as well, All Elite Wrestling has allowed a vast expansion of their women’s roster.
One of those newer additions include former WWE Divas Champion Saraya. At Full Gear in November, she returned to in-ring action for the first time in nearly five years, defeating Britt Baker. On January 11, she geared up for her second match back, teaming with Toni Storm in a losing effort against Baker and AEW Women’s Champion Jamie Hayter. While Saraya’s own appearances in AEW have garnered great buzz, “The Glampire” wants to see another talent get time in the spotlight.
“I wanna see @thetayavalkyrie in @aew” she tweeted on Sunday.
Taya Valkyrie, of course, has made successful rounds on the professional wrestling circuit, especially in the past year. In 2022, Valkyrie held championships in major promotions like Impact, MLW, and AAA.
Valkyrie quickly responded to Saraya’s message, writing “Ilysm”.
Though Valkyrie’s venture into AEW is unconfirmed at this time, she previously stated she was open to competing there. Her husband, known as John Morrison in WWE, made his AEW debut last year, facing Samoa Joe in the opening round of the men’s Owen Hart Foundation Tournament. He went on to accumulate two more appearances, once on Dark, and a match against Miro on Dynamite in June.
Hot off the heels of Hard To Kill, Impact Wrestling held their Fallout event the following day that included the return of an iconic former champion.
On January 14, Impact filmed their next round of television tapings, featuring a Knockouts Tag Team Championship match on the card. Reigning champions Taya Valkyrie and Jessicka represented The Death Dollz in defending their titles against a newly formed team.
“The Quintessential Diva” Gisele Shaw was one of their opponents to step up the plate. Since officially joining the company early last year, Shaw has gone through a rotation of tag team partners, including Lady Frost, The Influence, and VXT. While Shaw’s previous track record in the tag team division hasn’t been the best, it seems as though Shaw received a chance to redeem herself by teaming with a 5-time Knockouts Champion.
After reveling in the massive Knockouts Championship win of her friend, Mickie James, the night before, Tara returned to the Impact Zone for the first time since 2013 to compete. Unfortunately for this team, though, their run didn’t last long.
Tara Ain’t The Lady To Mess With
(via Impact)
Tensions began to brew between Tara and Shaw, leading to an in-ring confrontation between the two. After Shaw refused to tag her partner in, Tara soon delivered Widows Peak to Gisele Shaw. As a result, The Death Dollz retained their Knockouts Tag Team Championships.
This tag team bout marked Tara’s — real name Lisa Marie Varon, Victoria in WWE — first match since January 2021 at the Royal Rumble, and her second since September 2019 when she retired from professional wrestling.
The tapings took place at the Center Stage Theater in Atlanta, Georgia.
Mercedes Moné has taken another step towards monetizing her independently owned intellectual property.
On January 11, 2023, Moné filed to trademark the phrase “The CEO”, according to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) database. The registration was filed under her company, Soulnado Inc.
Moné first attached “The CEO” moniker to her name on January 4th, as she made her debut for New Japan Pro Wrestling at Wrestle Kingdom 17. There, she attacked IWGP Women’s Champion KAIRI, setting up a title match between the two at NJPW Battle in the Valley on February 18th (available on FITE). Now, Moné will be known as “The CEO” of the NJPW and STARDOM women’s divisions.
The newest trademark description mostly covers services related to professional wrestling and sports entertainment.
Entertainment in the nature of wrestling contests
Entertainment services, namely, wrestling exhibits and performances by a professional wrestler and entertainer
Entertainment services, namely, live appearances by a professional wrestler and sports entertainer
Entertainment services, namely, personal appearances by a professional wrestler and sports entertainment personality
Entertainment services, namely, televised appearances by a professional wrestling and sports entertainment personality
Providing wrestling news and information via a global computer network
Providing online interviews featuring a professional wrestling and sports entertainment personality in the field of professional wrestling and sports entertainment for entertainment purposes
Claiming Her Own Name And Fortune
Following her exit from WWE, Mercedes Moné, formerly Sasha Banks, took matters into her own hands.
Her prior employer — WWE — typically owns and controls the names and characters associated with their talent, rendering them virtually unable to utilize them outside of the company. As a result, Moné cultivated her own brand, registering a series of trademarks aligned with her vision.
Previous trademarks of Moné’s widely aimed at the merchandise categories, such as jewelry, clothing, action figures, decals and entertainment services. In addition, Moné seems to be geared down a live performance path now as well, filing her real name, Mercedes Varnado, under the description of “live performances by an actor or musician” on December 1.
Recent filings of Moné’s include the other following names:
This most recent filing is just the latest instance of Mone’ embracing the ability to be independent and grow her IP on her own terms. Outside of professional wrestling, Mone’ has been branching out into the entertainment industry, fashion and even cannabis.
Saraya took time to contemplate her next moves in professional wrestling upon her departure from WWE on July 7.
The call for Saraya’s (fka Paige) release came under the direction of the Chairman & CEO Vince McMahon. However, in the weeks following her exit, a new regime stepped into action, and quickly attempted to reel Saraya back in. Chief Content Officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque admittedly remained “shocked” at McMahon’s decision to release her.
“I was like, ‘I dunno, they haven’t renewed my contract’. He was like, ‘Oh my gosh! Well I didn’t know that, so I’m sorry!’ He was really fantastic.”
Upon conversation with Triple H, Saraya was offered a path back into the WWE.
He did give me the opportunity to potentially be a GM again, and give me the opportunity to be like, ‘If you ever potentially want to wrestle again, I’ll give you that opportunity too.’ He was very open about any ideas that I had.
– Saraya
While she weighed that decision, she received a counteroffer from AEW, allowing her more creative freedom for outside projects, and a chance to be a part of something new.
“‘Do I wanna go back to WWE or do I want to go to AEW?'” she recalled thinking. “Seeing Renee [Paquette], she’s one of my best friends, and Mox as well, and [Chris] Jericho, they were all calling me.”
Ultimately, the chapter of Paige officially closed, as Saraya made her debut in All Elite Wrestling in September. Two months later, she made her long-awaited in-ring return, defeating Britt Baker at AEW Full Gear.
Though most professional wrestlers may prefer to “layeth the SmackDown” on their opponents, Da Party opted for a different approach.
In a music single released at midnight, the quartet of WWE NXT Tag Team Champion Xavier Woods, Ring of Honor World Champion Claudio Castagnoli, AEW‘s Adam Cole, and former WWE Superstar Tyler Breeze, laid down the bars. The respective single marks the musical debut of the foursome, as they previously connected in the professional wrestling and gaming worlds.
Each spent time in WWE, with Woods standing as the sole talent to remain with the company, but it was on Wood’s popular Up Up Down Down YouTube Channel where they truly bonded. Now, Da Party lends their voices to the music stylings of “Can’t Stop Da Party.”
Also featuring the voice of Harley Cameron, the dance track “Can’t Stop Da Party” is now available on major music streaming services, including Spotify, Apple, and Amazon Music.
Prior to the song’s official launch, Da Party shared some behind-the-scenes photographs from their recording session in the studio.
Harley Cameron, much like her co-contributors, is a professional wrestler, but she’s also made some moves in the music business as well. In October, she dropped a cover of “I Put a Spell on You” alongside WWE Superstars Shotzi and Scarlett. The trio previously released another song entitled “Indestructible” in 2021.
2021 also marked the premiere of “The IInspiration,” named after the Australian tag team of Cassie Lee and Jessica McKay. The duo used it as their theme song in IMPACT Wrestling. Lee and McKay were featured, alongside Cameron, in the corresponding music video for the song as well.
Amidst his ascent, Waller acquired a new, more conceited, attitude. In August 2022, he even debuted a new talk show: “The Grayson Waller Effect.” Added with his previous stint on the reality television show of AustralianSurvivor, the promising star often draws comparisons to main roster star, The Miz.
Former Intercontinental Champion Apollo Crews once deemed Waller as a “low budget” version of The Miz, but the comparisons don’t seem to faze Waller. In fact, Waller sought out advice from the two-time Grand Slam Champion during his time backstage at Raw.
“I had the opportunity to talk to him at Raw. His main thing is to just keep doing what I’m doing,” Waller revealed during an interview with TV Insider. “There are a lot of good wrestlers in this company, but I don’t think there are as many good entertainers. When I get a microphone in my hand I get people talking after. He said that was the most beautiful thing to have. It’s something that he can see and wants me to continue to do. And I got no plans on stopping, mate.”
Mutual Praise
(via WWE)
On the September 28 edition of The Bump, Waller and The Miz appeared to celebrate 25 years of Goldberg. During their time there, the two exchanged mutual praise.
“When I got to properly interact with him on The Bump, he said some really positive things,” Waller revealed. “That is rare for The Miz. It’s rare for me to give that positive back, but I think there is that mutual respect because we both have the same mindset about what wrestling is and what it can be.”
The 2-time SmackDown Women’s Champion is expected to accompany Sasha Banks to the event, which will mark the Legit Boss’ first wrestling-related appearance since walking out of the WWE back in May 2022.
Banks — real name Mercedes Varnado — will make her debut in New Japan Pro Wrestling at the company’s biggest event: Wrestle Kingdom. The 17th iteration of the event will begin on January 4, where Banks will make her first appearance with NJPW in a series of dates agreed upon between both parties.
The deal finalized in November, including one date with NJPW’s sister company, STARDOM, in April for their All-Star Grand Queendom event.
Japan Feels The Glow
(Naomi & Sasha Banks)
As of this writing, it’s unclear if Naomi’s presence in Tokyo, Japan will be for anything more than supporting her friend, Sasha Banks.
Banks’ departure from WWE was reportedly solidified last summer, despite still being listed on WWE’s official website as an active member of the roster. While Banks’ next moves in professional wrestling look towards work away from WWE, Naomi’s future with the company remains uncertain.
In September, Naomi, as well as Banks, walked the runway in New York Fashion Week. The duo also appeared at the C2E2 event in Chicago under their real name in August, signing autographs and taking photographs with fans amidst meet and greets.
Upon his exit from WWE in 2010, the former WWE Champion began steadily building his acting resume, landing many roles in film and television. Most notably, Dave Bautista entered the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Drax the Destroyer, starring across The Guardians of The Galaxy and The Avengers franchises. The last few years have warranted impressive performances for Bautista in a variety of genres, including action, comedy, and sci-fi.
Most recently, “The Animal” tackled the popular sequel to Knives Out, starring as Duke Cody in the mystery-comedy-thriller Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery. Duke Cody — his character — grew a massive following on the streaming platforms of Twitch and YouTube as a men’s rights activist. Ultimately, Cody becomes one of the characters entangled in murderous mystery in Greece as Daniel Craig revives his role as world-renown detective Benoit Blanc.
WWE Hall of Famer Kevin Nash recently weighed in on Bautista’s performance as Duke Cody in the film.
“I thought Batista was good in it,” he said on Kliq This. “I think Batista does a very good job of what he picks as far as roles, but I think [Dave is on it]. He’s into his craft, he’s into his skill. The thing is I couldn’t see anybody playing that part better than him. At the beginning when he’s in the garage with his cars, it gave a vibe of his crib. It’s worth watching, it’s just transparent. Let me put it this way, it wasn’t much as a mystery for me.”
Flair previously sustained a “fracture of the radius” at WrestleMania Backlash in May where Ronda Rousey wrenched an armbar on Flair through a steel chair. Flair would be forced to shout “I Quit!” to end the match, resulting in a massive title change, and a lengthy recovery time for Flair.
As Flair was effectively written off of television, she got married to long-time boyfriend Andrade El Idolo later that month. However, her absence would soon persist, extending to over seven months due to personal reasons, until now.
After Ronda Rousey retained the SmackDown Women’s Championship over Raquel Rodriguez, Flair stunned her former foe with her re-emergence. Flair then laid down a challenge for “The Baddest Woman On The Planet,” leading to a second title defense for Rousey that night.
This time, though, Rousey suffered a different fate, as “The Queen” reversed an armbar attempt into a pinfall to capture the victory, and title. With this win, Flair becomes a 14-time World Champion in WWE, and walked into 2023 with gold around her waist once again.
New Year, New Milestone
(WWE)
Since arriving to WWE in 2012, Charlotte Flair has wooed audiences with her athletic ability, poise, and natural affinity for gold. In 2014, Flair achieved her first milestone, defeating Natalya for the NXT Women’s Championship in the finals of a tournament to claim the title.
In the years following, Flair accrued an impressive resume of title wins spanning the NXT, RAW, and SmackDown brands. As she begins 2023 as champion, again, Flair reached a new milestone.
Across 10 consecutive calendar years now, Flair has held a women’s championship, beginning in 2014 and extending through 2023. Her recent win over Ronda Rousey secured Flair’s seventh title reign with the SmackDown Women’s Championship alone.
2014: #WWENXT 2015: NXT, Divas 2016: Divas, #WWERaw 2017: Raw, SmackDown 2018: #SmackDown 2019: SmackDown 2020: NXT, Tag 2021: SmackDown, Raw, Tag 2022: SmackDown 2023: SmackDown@MsCharlotteWWE has now held a women's championship in @WWE in 10 consecutive calendar years.
In a new update, FanTime congratulated Rose on a new achievement via Instagram, confirming that she racked up a whopping $1,000,000 in the month of December. Additionally, Rose is listed as one of the site’s top creators on their front homepage. With her wide success on the platform so far, Rose is expected to gradually grow her income even more going forward.
After 413 days as NXT Women’s Champion, Mandy Rose was finally dethroned by Roxanne Perez on the December 13 edition of NXT. The decision was evidently a last-minute decision, as WWE had already made up their minds on releasing her. The release wouldn’t take long to be announced, though, as Rose officially departed from the company the following day, sending shockwaves through the professional wrestling world.
Every Rose Has Its Thorn
(WWE)
The basis of her release?
Despite her seven-year tenure and historical run as NXT Women’s Champion, Mandy Rose still found herself in a tricky situation with management.
Those in the company felt her content shared on Fantime — a third party platform — went outside the parameters of a specific clause in her contract and were often explicit in their nature. Prior to her release, someone leaked some of Rose’s FanTime into the public, which may have popped up on WWE’s radar as a result.
The WWE Universe popped when Cody Rhodes made his grand return to the company at WrestleMania 38, defeating Seth “Freakin” Rollins in the process.
Months before, Rhodes’ contract expired with All Elite Wrestling. He continued to work backstage and on-screen for a period of time afterwards as the two sides tried to negotiate a new deal. In February though, news broke that Rhodes, and his wife Brandi, were officially leaving the company after failing to lock in a new agreement. This move left a major void in AEW, as Rhodes emerged as a prominent figure in the company, both in the ring and behind-the-scenes as an Executive Vice President.
AEW President Tony Khan recently addressed Rhodes’ departure, and the challenge it presented at the time. “Whenever you lose a star the caliber of Cody Rhodes, it’s going to have a major, major impact on your company,” he told Fightful’s Grapsody podcast. “It’s gonna affect a number of different departments and number of different things in terms of the presentation and the backstage. Personally, I really like Cody and I know Cody really well and during his time here, he was so involved in so many different facets of the start of AEW and what we were. When he left, that was a major challenge.”
Putting The Pieces Back Together
(Tony Khan via AEW)
Despite the setback, Tony Khan managed to pull together “so many great stories” ahead of the company’s Revolution pay-per-view in March that “helped keep us strong” and the fans invested in the product. At the same time though, Kenny Omega, another major star, remained absent from programming due to several injuries.
With the absence of two of the company’s biggest stars, Khan noticeably leaned on Jon Moxley as one of the focal points for AEW. Moxley himself went on a hiatus from the company to enter a rehabilitation program for alcohol addiction late last year. The former AEW World Champion later returned in January 2022.
Tony Khan said Moxley’s leave of absence to get help “was the best thing that could have happened to him.” In addition, Khan believes it was a benefit for the company as well. “It was the best thing that could happen to us to have a healthy Jon Moxley there for the entirety of this year, 2022, to keep the company strong.”
Before he was All Elite, Kenny Omega was “The Cleaner.”
In late 2014, Omega joined New Japan Pro Wrestling, aligning himself with one of professional wrestling’s most dominant factions — the Bullet Club. Throughout his tenure, Omega racked up an impressive collection of titles, starting with the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship, before leveling up to the company’s biggest prize.
Omega’s last appearance with the company came on January 4, 2019 at Wrestle Kingdom 13 where he lost his IWGP Heavyweight Championship to Hiroshi Tanahashi in a grueling 39-minute match. Later that month, Kenny Omega’s contract with NJPW ended, and he moved on to his next venture in the development of a startup promotion.
The former champion soon makes his long-awaited return to NJPW for a special appearance at Wrestle Kingdom 17 against a familiar foe, Will Ospreay. There, Omega will also vie for the IWGP United States Championship. In anticipation of his return, Kenny Omega spoke with NJPW about his 4-year absence from the company he once called home.
“We always hear like ‘you’re the best in the world,’ ‘greatest matches of all time’. But maybe somebody else is the best in the world to somebody else. But to me, to truly the best, you have to be the best in all styles,” he said. “And to me, I’d never truly challenged North American professional wrestling. Not whole heartedly. I thought ‘for all the people that think I’m the best now, all the people that think I’m talented now, just you wait, because I’m going to kill it in America.'”
“I’m going to show everyone exactly why they call me the Best Bout Machine. Going to show you exactly why I was able to take small promotions and make them global. I’m going to take an upstart promotion that nobody knows existed, and turn it into the greatest competition to the greatest pro-wrestling promotion that anyone has seen in America for the past 50, 60, 70 years.'”
The King Want His Keys Back
The upstart promotion — famously known as All Elite Wrestling — quickly turned into a major competition for the dominant global enterprise, WWE. Since singing with AEW in February 2019, Omega took on the dual roles as an Executive Vice President and in-ring performer. In the ring, Omega soared into success, racking up singles, tag team, and trios’ gold in the span of three years.
“I think I’ve already made a big enough statement,” Omega said. Now, “The Cleaner” returns home for a special occasion, with some grand ideas.
“My return to the Tokyo Dome is supposed to be astronomical. This is supposed to be a celebration, a real homecoming. For all of you fans, wrestlers that have struggled for so long through this difficult time. And I understand that you guys have struggled with this for years now.”
“I know what you’re thinking- that I mean the struggle with the pandemic, no, no, no. The struggle that I’m talking about is the struggle that you guys have had to incur without me running the ship! Without Kenny Omega running the show, there’s been an absolute lack of charisma, an absolute lack of magic, an absolute lack of eyeballs watching the product. We need people watching, talking, discussing. We need New Japan parties again, guys!”
Accordingly, Omega vowed to be the “resolution” for fans “after years of hardship” they experienced without him in the promotion. At the January 4th event, Omega believes his win against Ospreay will give the people “something to really, really look forward to.”
“There’s a shift coming,” Omega declared, “and unfortunately for you Will, we’re shifting away from this experimental project that was Will Ospreay. And you gave it your best shot, congratulations. I don’t know what else you want from me, I’ll give you a pat on the back, a fruit basket, you did great. But it just wasn’t good enough, and it was nothing compared to the real deal. I’m sorry, Will, but you’re going to have to move on.”
“The king is coming back for the keys to the castle,” Omega said.
On December 14, Mandy Rose received her release from WWE, less than 24 hours after her 413-day reign as NXT Women’s Champion came to an end.
Rose reportedly breeched a clause in her contract that set boundaries on the type of content she could create online. In this case, the explicit content on her FanTime page — a third party, exclusive subscription site — went outside those parameters.
Now, a WWE Hall of Famer has weighed in on the shocking release of the former NXT Women’s Champion. “I’m not saying what she chose to do was wrong for Mandy, but perhaps maybe wrong for the contract,” Madusa told the Wrestling Perspective Podcast. “If you know you’re going into the contract and signing with a company with these rules and regulations of what you can do and what you can’t do, then you should know the rules, right?”
A Double Standard?
“On the other hand, with her own fan page. I think it’s great to have side hustles,” Madusa continued. However, if you’re under a contract that owns your likeness, even though you’re using a different name, and you’re being presented in that way where it has effects on what you’re doing, a company has every right to have a standoff meeting and probably communicate with you once or twice, and then do what they need to do, or is it a double standard?”
The former WWE Women’s Champion pointed out that men in professional wrestling typically receive second chances when faced with similar, if not worse, circumstances. So, if Mandy Rose was given no prior warning, then Madusa believes it is a double standard. “Guys get warnings in this business, and they’re still employed there, which is unfortunate,” she said.
With the specific details of Rose’s release still unclear, Madusa offered up her insight into another possibility. “If she got a warning, then she still continued to do it, and then she got fired, then shame on her,” she said. “If you’re under contract, business is business. You know what you’re getting into period. Unless she wanted to f it up, take her hiatus and go somewhere else, then that was her choice.”
A Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling star has captivated audiences all across the world for her unique blend of in-ring skills, charisma, and singing capabilities.
Former International Princess Champion Maki Itoh emerged as a standout talent within the Japanese wrestling scene. In early 2021, Itoh made her way over to the United States for a special venture. Although falling short in the AEW Women’s World Title Eliminator Tournament in February, Itoh garnered a great reception from fans. The next month, she made a surprise appearance as Britt Baker’s mystery partner in a successful tag team match at AEW Revolution, defeating Riho and Thunder Rosa.
Earlier this year, Itoh returned to All Elite Wrestling as the “Joker,” battling Baker in the Women’s Owen Hart Foundation Tournament. Though she mostly remains with TJPW now, Itoh has racked up a few independent appearances in the USA this year as well, including GCW and Prestige Wrestling. With Itoh’s subsequential rise in stock, many wondered if she’d received a formal contract offer from AEW, or their rival, WWE.
“No, nothing,” she told Steve Fall of WrestlingNewsCo, via her translator. “The reason she became this popular is thanks to AEW. Whatever happens, even if WWE gives her a cheeky offer from nowhere, she would not accept it and she would stay right beside AEW all the way.”
New Year Goals
(via AEW)
With the new year quickly approaching as well, Maki Itoh explained her goals for the upcoming 2023 year.
“In Japan, she wants to get a title belt, obviously,” Itoh said via her translator. “She feels maybe a tag team title belt would be really nice, just about now. Where for America, she wants to go back to being on AEW television again. As you know, there is only so much time available on American TV and you can’t really leave much of an impact due to how much time you get to be on TV. She definitely wants to leave a big enough impact to where everyone will remember the name of Maki Itoh.”
Most recently, Itoh returned to the USA for a few independent wrestling dates, including a bout with IMPACT Wrestling star Masha Slamovich at Game Changer Wrestling. In addition, Itoh returned to AEW, partnering with Emi Sakura to take on Nyla Rose and Marina Shafir on Dark: Elevation, airing on November 28.
Wherever Maki Itoh eventually ends up, she’ll be sure to make her mark.
The professional wrestling and mixed martial arts industries often interconnected with one another.
Following her departure from Ultimate Fighting Championship, Ronda Rousey famously made her professional wrestling debut in 2018, racking up multiple title wins in the years after. Conversely, Brock Lesnar started his wrestling career in WWE, touted “the next big thing” in 2002. “The Beast” would go on to claim the WWE Championship and various ventures in NJPW, before taking a five-year hiatus from professional wrestling to pursue his MMA aspirations.
Another former WWE Superstar recently made his professional MMA debut on Saturday, December 17. After previous experience in amateur mixed martials and bare-knuckle boxing, Jack Claffey — better known as “Gentleman” Jack Gallagher — squared up for Full Contact Contender. Airing on UFC Fight Pass, the event entitled “FCC 32” featured Claffey taking on Marlon Jones in a bantamweight bout.
Marlon quickly gained the victory via TKO, defeating Claffey in 1 minute, 7 seconds in round one.
Marlon Jones brings it EARLY and gets the first-round TKO finish
Following his loss, Claffey expressed disappointment with his performance via Instagram.
“Here’s my favorite photo from last night,” he shared. “Very disappointed in myself and my performance. Happy the night ended with a win for @blackiechan_soda, who’s worked exceptionally hard for it. (Pictured here doing his best Steve Austin impression.) Thank you to everyone that’s reached out. Messages of support are always welcomed and appreciated. One win and one loss in 2022; life is all about balance. Bring on 2023! But first, coffee, cake, and @clara_sinclare.”
Claffey served in WWE from 2016 until his eventual release in 2020 after a sexual assault allegation. Most notably, he competed in the Cruiserweight Classic tournament, before moving over to WWE’s 205 Live show.
The All Elite Wrestling star recently confirmed his involvement in a new toy line, scheduled to officially launch in the summer of 2023. Outside of his in-ring work, Page runs a popular YouTube channel, showcasing his love for action figures and retro toys. After many ventures of being gifted, purchasing, opening, and reviewing the toys, the “Toy Hunt Vlog” host is now a part owner of a toy line.
As revealed on his Instagram, Page is the official part owner of the Asylum All-Stars toy line. The Asylum Wrestling Store will include figures of the Road Warriors, Earl Hebner, Buff Bagwell, and more. In addition, he confirmed that pre-orders are available now.
“In the toy industry, I have checked many of the boxes, other than one, and that’s making toys, until today,” Page said. “I can happily, you can see the smile on my face, announce that I am officially part owner of a freakin toy line, Asylum All Stars.”
“The pre-order’s already available, by the way. If you want to support Ethan Page in his toy-making endeavors, this is how; go pre-order these brand-new figures. Get the Road Warriors, get Earl Hebner, get Buff Bagwell, and Scott Norton, ‘vicious and delicious.’ Do it. Go pre-order these bad boys.”
Page continued, explaining his ultimate hope for the project. “My goal is to bring as much awareness to this toy line as possible,” he said. “I think it’s a great throwback. It hit me with nostalgia the first time I saw it, so it’s very cool. I’m excited for you guys to see footage of that. I’m excited for you guys to follow me along the journey of helping create toys and having my name attached to wrestling toys that will be brought to the world. I feel the potential is limitless.”
The future is looking bright for a certain WWE NXT superstar.
Last week on NXT Level Up, one of the WWE’s newest signees made quite an impression after showing off her new finishing maneuver. Former collegiate athlete Sol Ruca battled, and defeated, Valentina Feroz on the Friday show, electrifying the crowd after delivering an insane imploding cutter off the corner turnbuckle to Feroz.
The move consisted of a backflip transitioning into an explosive cutter, similar to a modified RKO. According to Fightful Select, Ruca’s move and overall performance highly impressed “numerous WWE sources,” and they were “very happy” with the virality it generated. Pro-Wrestling NOAH talent Dante Leon has also used the move in the past.
Among the WWE officials impressed, was Chief Content Officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque, who shared his praise for the 23-year-old. “Future is SO bright,” he wrote via Twitter.
Sol Ruca, real name Calyx Hampton, originally reported to the WWE Performance Center this past March, before completing her first ever match on June 24 at an NXT live event in Florida. There, she teamed with Solo Sikoa to defeat Grayson Waller and Tiffany Stratton. Ruca previously attended the University of Oregon, where she competed on the school’s Acrobatics & Tumbling team. In addition, she received NCATA Individual Event National Championship honors.
Though she only made her debut in June, Sol Ruca has garnered some more opportunities on NXT Level Up, and the main NXT show. On NXT’s Tuesday night show, the soulful surfer has tackled the likes of Amari Miller, Indi Hartwell, Elektra Lopez, and Zoey Stark, with a victory over the former.
Jay White is gearing up for a high-stakes bout next month at Wrestle Kindom 17. On January 4, the “Switchblade” takes on the G1 Climax winner Kazuchika Okada for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship in the main event. This will mark the two’s first singles matchup since June 12th at NJPW Dominion, where White won the title from Okada.
Elsewhere on the card, KAIRI will defend her IWGP Women’s Championship against Tam Nakano. This will be her first defense since winning the inaugural title last month at NJPW x Stardom Historic X-Over.
Whoever wins this matchup will reportedly make the championship’s United States debut, with the subsequent title defense slated for San Jose, California in February. Before that debut happens though, another likely debut has recently stirred up major discussion in the professional wrestling world.
“I think she would make a great Bullet Club member.”
Jay White on Sasha Banks
“The Boss” Headed To Japan?
Sasha Banks
Former SmackDown and Raw Women’s Champion Sasha Banks will reportedly make an appearance at Wrestle Kingdom 17. With this news, IWGP Heavyweight Champion Jay White expressed his thoughts on “The Boss” appearing at the Tokyo Dome next month. “She’s great,” he told Sean Ross Sapp ofFightful. “Big star, that would be another big thing that happened then, I guess.”
“Everyone is wanting to come over and return to Wrestle Kingdom led by the IWGP World Heavyweight Champion, huh? You got Kenny [Omega] finally returning, maybe Sasha Banks, KAIRI coming back as well. I guess that would be cool,” I said. “I haven’t met the woman myself, but if I do, I’ll say hello.”
White is also a long-standing member of one of NJPW’s most popular factions, the Bullet Club. When discussing whether Banks would be a good fit for the group, White seemed open to the idea. “I think she would make a great Bullet Club member,” he added, “hence why I said I would say ‘hello.’”
The list of injuries continues to grow on WWE SmackDown.
Last month, Natalya took a nasty knee to the face from “The Queen of Spades” Shayna Baszler during a bout on SmackDown. As a result, “The Queen of Harts” sustained a dislocated nose. She would undergo nasal surgery a few days later to center it back, and will reportedly miss at least three months of in-ring action.
A few weeks later, Raquel Gonzalez fell to a similar fate. Ahead of Survivor Series: WarGames, Gonzalez was slated to team with Shotzi in a tag team match against SmackDown Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey, and her ally, Shayna Baszler. On November 25, Rousey and Baszler attacked Gonzalez backstage before their scheduled match, rendering her unable to further compete. WWE later announced that Gonzalez had suffered a broken arm and a dislocated elbow, effectively sidelining her for four to six weeks.
It was later reported by Fightful that Gonzalez’s injuries were “purely storyline.” Gonzalez was recently seen bandaged and taped up during her win over Shayna Baszler at a WWE live event in Charleston, West Virginia this past weekend.
Last week on SmackDown, Shayna Baszler was scheduled to square off with “The Ballsy Badass” Shotzi, but things didn’t go as planned. Prior to the show in Pittsburgh, Ronda Rousey joined Baszler in assaulting Shotzi in the arena parking lot, slamming her hand in a car door as Shotzi writhed in pain.
Following the attack, Shotzi revealed an x-ray of her broken hand, indicating she would be put on the shelf for six weeks. A six-week turnaround would accordingly put Shotzi in line to return ahead of, or maybe at, WWE’s Royal Rumble pay-per-view on January 28, 2023.
WWE Hall of Famer Barry Windham is doing better after suffering a life-threatening heart attack earlier this month.
The Windham family has set up the GoFundMe Campaign to help financially support his medical expenses and bills during this difficult time. According to Mika Rotunda, sister of WWE Superstar Bray Wyatt, their uncle “experienced a number of taxing injuries and ended up undergoing multiple surgeries. That led to other health complications.”
Since retiring, Windham “has been limited with work due to his medical history” and “left without health insurance.”
On Friday, December 9, Mika Rotunda provided an encouraging update on Windham’s health. She wrote on Twitter that he’s stabilized & out of intensive care. He’s also talking and able to stand, which is great news to hear after such a scare.
Thank you to all who have reached out, prayed, contributed and sent well wishes to my Uncle Barry this week.
I wanted to give an update! I’m grateful to say he is stabilized & out of ICU. Talking & able to stand.
Thanks again everyone!?? There absolutely is power in prayer.
Barry Windham began his professional wrestling career in 1979, training with his father Blackjack Mulligan, and wrestling legend Harley Race. From there, he went on to achieve great success in NWA territories, including Jim Crockett Promotions and Championship Wrestling from Florida. Notably, he claimed NWA World Heavyweight Championship and NWA World Tag Team Championship each once, amongst many other title wins.
Barry eventually joined World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and one of professional wrestling’s greatest stables: The Four Horsemen. In 2012, The Four Horseman group entered the WWE Hall Of Fame in 2012, including Barry Windham, Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, Tully Blanchard, and J.J. Dillon.
SEScoops sends our best wishes to Barry Windham and the Windham family at this time.
Prior to signing with AEW, Saraya felt she “shackled” by the restrictions put on by WWE during her nine-year tenure there. Outside projects often remained limited for WWE Superstars, which prevented “The Glampire” from pursuing certain opportunities or aspirations. However, Saraya did find some leeway to start up her own Twitch channel under her real name, and aid in the production of her biopic, “Fighting With My Family.” Despite dipping her toes into some exciting ventures, Saraya craved more.
Now signed with AEW, Saraya developed more creative and professional freedom, with some future projects already lined up. In an interview with TMZ Sports’ Dean Muhtadi (Mojo Rawley), Saraya hinted at what fans can expect from her in the new year.
Plans For 2023
(AEW)
“I can’t really give away too much. But now I have 100% freedom to do whatever I want. I did all that stuff [before] being shackled,” she explained. “I kind of had to go do that stuff [with approval]. As you know, Mojo, as much as it’s incredible being in WWE, you’re kind of limited to what you can and can’t do outside the company. So you have to like get permission to do things. It was during a pandemic too. Since I was sitting at home and not being used on TV, I was like, ‘I need to try and do something with my life and try and continue to do stuff.'”
“Even though it was limited, I still got things done, which is great. But now that I have no shackles, no nothing, and I have so much freedom, it feels really good to have people approach me — so many production companies approach me. So many book editors [and] production come up to me. There’s just so many different people that [come up to me]”
“Then obviously I work with UTA (United Talent Agency) and stuff like that. They were just like, ‘I can’t believe all these people [approach you]. We don’t even have to ask them to do it. They’re coming to us to work with you’. And I was just like, ‘That feels incredible’ because I got really scared that I was kind of like — I felt like a bum after a while because I was sitting around so much and I hate not working. So, now I’m working constantly.”
“I have like 25 friggin calls today, but I’m just very excited about the future. There’s so much more to come. 2023 is going to be a huge year for sure for Saraya,” she declared.
Saraya previously discussed her ongoing process of writing a book, presumably an autobiography, during a recent appearance at Starrcast V in Nashville, Tennessee. SEScoops was on-site to capture the star’s media scrum, prior to her signing with All Elite Wrestling.
If you use any quotes from this article, please credit TMZ Sports and give a H/T to SEScoops for the transcription.
Posted December 5th, 2022 in News. Tagged: Saraya.
After Zayn’s loss to Johnny Knoxville at WrestleMania 38 in April, he needed to get himself back on the right track personally, and with the SmackDown locker room. So, he turned to “The Head of the Table” Roman Reigns. In the months that followed, the former WWE Intercontinental Champion emerged as a serious star and integral member of The Bloodline stable — later earning the title of “Honorary Uce.”
Now, Zayn, Reigns, Solo Sikoa, and Jimmy and Jey Uso remain atop WWE programming, holding possession of the company’s stop prizes, the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship and Undisputed Tag Team Championships.
Planting The Seeds
The Bloodline
Before Sami Zayn and Roman Reign’s on-screen relationship even budded, the seeds for the storyline were planted six months before. In a recent appearance on Cheap Heat with Peter Rosenberg, Zayn provided some insight into when the idea first sprung up.
“Well, I won’t pull the curtain back too much, but the idea was kicked just about a year ago actually….The first time I think there was any interaction between myself and the Bloodline was just after WrestleMania [38]. But in actuality, the idea was first discussed going into Survivor Series of last year,” he revealed.
“I was doing this whole thing where I was on SmackDown, I was the longest-tenured member of SmackDown as the locker room leader,” Zayn continued.” I thought there’d be something interesting there with the locker room leader and ‘The Head of the Table’. The premise sort of being, the ‘Head of the Table’ isn’t in that locker room anymore.”
“I wasn’t originally envisioning being a full-blown member of the Bloodline or anything like that, just something to where Roman and I can occasionally get on screen together in sort of a light-hearted way and I’m giving him these reports of what’s going on and here’s what he needs to be careful for. Every once in a while, I get things kicked my way too. That was sort of the idea. That was the kernel, or the little seed.”
Getting ‘The Tribal Chief’ On Board
Zayn then revealed that Roman Reigns was also aboard the early discussions, noting Reign’s prior public statement to work with him someday. “It was talked about with Roman as well,” Zayn confirmed.
“We were sitting at catering one day, and I heard an interview that he did with Ariel Helwani where he was very kind towards me and just saying nice things about me as an on-screen character, and thinks he’d like to do something down the road with me one day. We got to talking and I don’t remember exactly how it went, but it was a mutual thing.”
The tension between Jey Uso and Sami Zayn has finally eased.
Within the last few months, former Intercontinental Champion Sami Zayn integrated himself into WWE’s most dominant faction today, The Bloodline. Though met with open arms from Solo Sikoa and one-half of the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions Jimmy Uso, Zayn immediately lost favor with the other half, Jey Uso.
Accordingly, Zayn apologized and attempted to find peace with Jey, telling Reigns that the Uso had lost his “Ucey” feeling lately. Reigns then warned Jey that if he couldn’t find his “inner Ucey again,” then he’d promote Sami Zayn to “full-blown Uce” in his place.
Zayn then received a chance to possibly earn that “full Uso” status at Survivor Series: WarGames. The Bloodline tackled the likes of Drew McIntyre, Sheamus, Butch, Ridge Holland and Kevin Owens inside the Men’s WarGames match this past Saturday, and with Zayn’s assistance, they prevailed. As Owens landed a Stunner on Reigns, Zayn jumped in to stop the referee from completing the pinfall count. Then, Zayn delivered a low blow and a helluva kick to his former friend, allowing Jey Uso to land a splash to gain the win for The Bloodline.
5 Funniest Moments of Sami Zayn and The Bloodline in WWE
Sami Zayn & Jey Uso Bury The Hatchet
The Bloodline
Following their victory, Sami and Jey shared a celebratory embrace, effectively ending their internal rivalry, and cementing Zayn’s loyalty to The Bloodline.
The next night, Sami and Jey were paired up once again, alongside Jimmy Uso and Solo Sikoa in a WWE live event tag team match. On Sunday from Portland, Maine, the four took on familiar opponents in the form of Drew McIntyre, Kevin Owens, and The Brawling Brutes. Amidst the bout, Sami Zayn and Jey Uso added a handshake onto their hug, in a smiling moment shared between the two.
Best Moments of The Usos Historic Tag Title Reign
It appears Jey Uso has finally found his “inner Ucey” again, courtesy of Sami Zayn.
Sami Zayn & Jey Uso now finally got a handshake thing going ???
This past weekend, WWE hosted their 36th annual Survivor Series pay-per-view, with a special surprise. For the first time ever, the company premiered WarGames on their main roster. Though a popular attraction on the NXT brand in previous years, the dual-cage structure officially lent itself to the WWE Superstars of Raw and SmackDown on Saturday night. One of those superstars included former Universal Champion Kevin Owens, who paid a special homage to the original inventor of the WarGames concept.
Owens isn’t the only one pay homage to Dusty though. WWE instilled the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic on their NXT brand — which first debuted in 2015. The following year, the company debuted a bronze statue of the icon at their respective WrestleMania 32 AXXESS. In 2019, All Elite Wrestling re-named their “go position” backstage in remembrance of Rhodes, deeming it “The Dusty Position,” with the legend’s signature cowbell attached to it.
Cody Rhodes Responds
Cody Rhodes
Though Kevin Owens fell short in his efforts for his team at Survivor Series: WarGames, the tribute caught the eye of Dusty’s real life son, Cody Rhodes. “The American Nightmare” seemingly responded to Owen’s kind act, recognizing his late father’s lasting effect on the professional wrestling landscape.
“Ha at home, he was all ours. But in the sport, he’s got a lot more kids,” Rhodes wrote via Twitter. “So many folks he started/mentored & all the concepts he created still being used fought through a decade of bad press from some rags, but seeing his fingerprints and genius shine from the grave is special.”
Rhodes has remained off WWE programming following his in-ring bout against Seth Rollins at Hell In A Cell, where he sported a wild pectoral injury.
The Judgement Day have steadily grown to be one of WWE’s most dominant, and menacing, factions. Throughout the year, the stable has undergone some leadership changes, with Finn Balor now poised atop the hierarchy. The group itself has also expanded over the months, with the additions of Damian Priest, Rhea Ripley, and most recently, Dominik Mysterio.
Dominik quickly rose through the ranks of WWE alongside his father, and former WWE Champion Rey Mysterio — later capturing the SmackDown Tag Team Championships with him. The young, bright-eyed star would soon gravitate towards to a much different, darker place though. Following a tag team bout at Clash At The Castle in September, Dominik attacked his allies: Rey Mysterio, and WWE Hall of Famer Edge. Two days later, Dominik unveiled his new allegiance to the Judgement Day, effectively turning heel.
Dominik Turns To The Dark Side
Photo Credit: WWE
Judgement Day leader Finn Balor recently spoke about Dominik’s drastic character change, praising his ability to adapt so quickly. “[It’s beautiful] to see Dominik kind of into the role so seamlessly,” Balor told BT Sport’s Rob Armstrong, “because people forget he kind of debuted about a year before he turned heel, and he was learning on the job.”
“He wasn’t doing that much training, and I mean that with the greatest amount of respect, but he had a couple months training I think with Lance [Storm] and little bits here and there with his dad and stuff, but not an immense amount of training to be in the deep end on live TV for WWE. He was only kind of adapting to that, and then he was thrown this huge curveball where he’s now turning on his dad and playing a completely different character.” “The way he’s stepped into that character, it’s incredible to watch.”
The former WWE Universal Champion continued on, recalling Dominik’s first promo as an official member of the Judgement Day. “I remember the first night that he was going out to do a heel promo and going up to him to try and calm him down a little bit. ‘Okay dude, don’t worry, it’s gonna be cool.’ He says, ‘I’m cool, bro. Don’t worry.’ I said, ‘You know what you’re gonna say?’ He says, ‘Nah, I’ll figure it out.’ He went out there, just super chilled and that’s how he is.”
“I think he’s gonna be a huge star for us,” Balor proclaimed.
