Impact Wrestling 2/25/20 took place from Sam’s Town Live in Las Vegas. The main event of the show featured Tessa Blanchard challenging for the X-Division title against champion Ace Austin.

Impact Wrestling 2/25/20 Quick Results:

1. Daga defeated Rob Van Dam via count-out
2. Rohit Raju defeated Wentz
3. Knockouts Championship
   Jordynne Grace (c) defeated Miranda Alize
4. Eddie Edwards defeated Michael Elgin (series tied 2-2) (match took place at Wrestling Revolver show)
5. X-Division Championship
   Ace Austin (c) vs Tessa Blanchard – No Contest (Taya Valkyrie interference)

Taya Valkyrie Attacks Tessa Blanchard

After Tessa Blanchard defeated Ace Austin at Sacrifice over the weekend, Scott D’Amore granted her a shot at Austin’s X-Division title. Blanchard looked poised to become “Tessa 2 Belts” but Taya Valkyrie hit the ring and attacked her. Valkyrie’s actions caused the match to be thrown out and cost Blanchard her chance to add another belt to her collection.

Valkyrie and Blanchard are no strangers, having previously feuded over the Knockouts championship. The two have also feuded over AAA’s Reina de Reinas championship. Based on the closing segment of Impact Wrestling this week, it looks as though the Taya vs Tessa rivalry has been renewed, this time with the Impact World Championship in the mix.

Do Joey Ryan, Rob Van Dam, & Katie Forbes Share Common Ground?

Rob Van Dam lost to Daga via count-out this week after he bailed on his match to search for Katie Forbes. RVD’s girlfriend accompanied him to the ring for his match but later left to go backstage after being upset with fans saying negative things about her on social media (she was checking her phone the whole match).

When RVD caught up with Forbes backstage, they were both approached by Joey Ryan who let them know he understands where they are coming from. Ryan told RVD and Forbes that the same people who are attacking them on social media also attack him. It seems as though these 3, who previously had issues with each other, may have found some common ground.

Eddie Edwards Evens Best-of-5 Series At 2

Michael Elgin had jumped out to a 2-0 lead in his series with Eddie Edwards but things are all tied up now. This match took place at a Wrestling Revolver show and saw Edwards pick up the victory with a pinning combination. The series will now come down to a 5th and final match.

Who is ICU?

Strange vignette type things have been airing at random intervals on Impact Wrestling in recent weeks. It appears a mystery person is stalking the goings-on in the promotion from afar. Time will tell when the person behind the vignettes chooses to reveal themselves.

It was announced on Twitter that ICU had hacked Josh Matthews’ account.

Jordynne Grace Issues Open Challenge

Jordynne Grace cut a promo in the back this week saying she plans on being a fighting champion and issuing an open challenge. This brought out 5x Knockouts champion Madison Rayne who thought Grace was acting a bit too confident for a 1x champion who just got the belt. Rayne would then accompany Miranda Alize to the ring for her shot against Grace for the belt.

While Alize would get in some offense and even a near fall, Grace would ultimately pull out the win with a Grace Driver.

Disco Inferno & Johnny Swinger To Form Tag Team

A backstage segment featuring Johnny Swinger and Disco Inferno aired this week. Inferno attempted to explain to Swinger why Willie Mack doesn’t want to be his tag team partner but somehow this led to the two deciding they should form a team, although Disco was still a little hazy on the details as the segment came to a close.

Gut Check Returns

Impact announced the return of Gut Check this week. Full episodes of the show are available to watch on Impact Plus but a preview was shown on this week’s episode. On the show, John E Bravo serves as a trainer and is not shy at pointing out trainees’ bad habits.

Chris Bey Is Coming To Impact Wrestling

A vignette for Chris Bey’s signing aired this week on Impact Wrestling. The 24-year old is from the Las Vegas area and has wrestled for the Future Stars of Wrestling promotion in the city. He is a former FSW Heavyweight Champion.

Rohit Raju Picks Up Win Over Wentz

The Desi Hit Squad and the Rascalz appear destined for a rivalry. Rohit Raju suggested in a backstage promo that he is upset with the tag title shot the Rascalz were recently given and felt that shot should have gone to the Desi Hit Squad.

In single’s action between Raju and Wentz this week, interference from the rest of the Desi Hit Squad allowed Raju to pick up the win. Things are likely not finished between these two factions, however.

Next Week On Impact Wrestling

Here is what is scheduled for next week’s Impact Wrestling:

• Petey Williams vs Moose
• Joey Ryan vs Acey Romero
• The North vs TJP & Fallah Bah
• No DQ: Su Yung vs Havok

MLW’s Court Bauer sent out a Tweet recently that has some fans wondering exactly what the future might hold for the promotion. Last month, MLW announced they had signed on with ICM Partner,s a talent agency that typically represents showrunners in the TV and Film industries. A recent Tweet by Bauer is suggesting some interesting negotiations have taken place as of late.

Bauer sent out the following Tweet regarding some conversations he is having about the future of MLW TV. The location of the Tweet is tagged as being from 30 Rockefeller Plaza, the famed-headquarters of NBC, NBC Studios, and NBC Universal.

Future Of MLW TV

According to a reports earlier this month, MLW has also been in contact with Amazon about providing content for Amazon Prime. The company is looking for content for its streaming service especially with looming concerns over a writer’s strike this summer. The situation between MLW and Amazon is said to be fluid with MLW seeing “momentum in a few directions with major players.”

• Details On MLW In Talks With Amazon For Streaming Deal

NBC has a wrestling-related project already in the works for the 2020/21 season. Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson’s early life will provide the backdrop for the sitcom “Young Rock.”

• The Rock’s Early Life To Be Turned Into An NBC Sitcom

MLW Signs With ICM Partners

• MLW Signs With ICM Partners, Eyeing New TV Deal

“As the only free agent in the wrestling space in 2020, MLW is in a unique position in the television landscape,” said Court Bauer, creator and Chief Executive Officer, Major League Wrestling in a press release announcing the league’s signing with ICM Partners.

“MLW provides an extraordinary entertainment experience, showcasing some of the sport’s most storied and iconic families, embracing the Mexican lucha libre culture and presenting original content in a 360 manner.”

AEW has released its weekly rankings for February 26th, 2020. The promotion releases new top-5 rankings every Wednesday for its men’s, women’s and tag team divisions.

AEW Men’s Division

Le Champion: Chris Jericho (0-0)

1. Jon Moxley (6-0)
2. Cody Rhodes (3-0)
3. PAC (1-1)
4. Kenny Omega (0-0)
5. Maxwell Jacob Friedman (2-0)

There were no changes in the men’s single’s rankings this week. Cody defeated Wardlow in a steel cage match on Dynamite. Moxley defeated Jeff Cobb to maintain his ranking as well. Omega competed in tag action this week and PAC and MJF had the week off from in-ring competition.

AEW Women’s Division

Champion: Nyla Rose (3-1)

1. Kris Statlander (2-1) (+1)
2. Riho (3-1) (-1)
3. Hikaru Shida (2-1)
4. Yuka Sakazaki (1-0)
5. Britt Baker (1-2)

Kris Statlander moves up to the #1 position with her win over Shanna on Dynamite. That match was the only one to take place in the division this week. Riho, Shida, and Sakazaki had the week off from in-ring competition. Baker didn’t wrestle this week either but did manage to bring Tony Schiavone a Starbucks cup with his name on it.

AEW Tag Team Division

Champions: Kenny Omega & Adam “Hangman” Page (5-0)

1. The Young Bucks (2-1)
2. SCU (2-2)
3. The Dark Order (3-0)
4. Proud and Powerful (0-1)
5. The Best Friends (2-2)

Multiple important tag team matches took place in the division. Page and Omega successfully defended their titles against the Lucha Bros and the Young Bucks won a tag team battle royal to earn a shot against the champs at Revolution. The Best Friends are back in the top-5 as the Lucha Bros drop out after losing to the champs this week.

On AEW Dark this week, the Dark Order picked up a victory over Strong Hearts to maintain their ranking. Dustin Rhodes & QT Marshall also picked up a victory over Shawn Spears and Peter Avalon as Tully Blanchard continues to look for a tag partner for Spears.

• AEW Rankings For 2/19/20 Released

New Japan Pro Wrestling has announced they are canceling all events from March 1st until March 15th, 2020 as a result of recommendations made by the Japanese Ministry of Health in regard to the Coronavirus outbreak. Among the canceled events is the promotion’s anniversary show on March 3rd which was to feature Hiromu Takahashi taking on Tetsuya Naito.

Also amongst the canceled events is the New Japan Cup this year, which was to begin March 4th, 2020. There is currently no word on if these shows will be made up at a later date or how this will impact the rest of NJPW’s schedule.

“In light of recommendations made on February 26 by the Japanese Ministry of Health connected to the new Coronavirus COVID-19, New Japan Pro-Wrestling has arrived at the decision to cancel all live events scheduled between Sunday March 1 and Sunday March 15,” an NJPW press release for the canceled events reads.

NJPW canceled events:

Anniversary Tour

• Sunday March 1: Mito Municipal Gymnasium, Ibaraki
• Monday March 2: Big Palette Fukushima

Anniversary Event

• Tuesday March 3: Ota City Gymnasium, Tokyo

New Japan Cup

• Wednesday March 4: Korakuen Hall, Tokyo
• Saturday March 7: Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium
• Sunday March 8: Baycom Gymnasium, Hyogo
• Monday March 9: Kochi Prefectural Gymnasium
• Tuesday March 10: ZIP Arena Okayama
• Thursday March 12: Korakuen Hall, Tokyo
• Friday March 13: Korakuen Hall, Tokyo
• Saturday March 14: Makuhari Messe, Chiba

WWE has suspended Samoa Joe for 30-days due to his first violation of the company’s wellness policy. The company has not released information regarding what caused Joe’s violation of the policy.

“WWE has suspended Nuufolau Seanoa (Samoa Joe) for 30 days effective Monday, February 24, for his first violation of the company’s talent wellness policy,” WWE’s release reads.

Samoa Joe Suspended 30 Days For Wellness Policy Violation

Joe is currently on the shelf dealing with an undisclosed injury as a result of hitting his head on a table during a WWE commercial shoot. He was also removed from a match on RAW after being injured mid-match as well.

• Samoa Joe Injured During Commercial Shoot

Joe also spent some time working on the RAW announce table while out with another injury.

• Latest On WWE RAW Commentary Team, Samoa Joe’s Status

Joe is the 4th Superstar in recent months to be suspended due to failing the company’s wellness policy. Andrade was suspended recently and late last year saw Primo Colon and Robert Roode both suspended as well.

• WWE Suspends Two Superstars For Wellness Policy Violations

Primo would later say that his violation was a result of not actually taking the test, however.

• Primo Colon Addresses WWE Wellness Policy Violation

It was recently revealed that Rusev will not be making the trip to Saudi Arabia for Super ShowDown. Rusev had originally been scheduled to take part in The gauntlet match but has since been replaced by Rey Mysterio.

In an update to this story, there are multiple reports surfacing regarding why Rusev will be missing the show. According to a report from PW Insider, Rusev is dealing with a back injury at the moment and that has led to him not being on the show. Recently on Wrestling Observer Radio, however, Dave Meltzer noted that be back injury is the official story but that Rusev has essentially backed away from the show.

“Rusev isn’t going on the trip. The story is an injury,” said Dave Meltzer on the show. “The story is an injury but he backed out of the show essentially, I guess at the last minute.”

• Rusev Removed From Super Showdown Match, Replacement Announced

Rusev was scheduled for the 6-person Tuwaiq Trophy gauntlet match. The match will now pit Andrade vs. AJ Styles vs. Bobby Lashley vs. Erick Rowan vs. R-Truth vs. Rey Mysterio.

Rusev has been reported to have been involved in a contract dispute with WWE. Lana recently signed a new multi-year deal with the company, however.

• Update On Rusev’s Contract Dispute With WWE, Super Showdown Appearance

Sammy Guevara attempted to interfere during the tag team battle royale on AEW Dynamite last week. He took a rather painful-looking superkick from Matt Jackson for his trouble, however. Guevara took to his YouTube vlog to comment on the spot. He noted that he ended up rolling his ankle when taking the move.

“So last night, I took a pretty nasty superkick and I actually ended up rolling my ankle,” Guevara said on the vlog. He then read some comments posted on Instagram about the spot.

“So I don’t know if I’m going to be able to wrestle in Australia,” Guevara continued to say about an upcoming booking.

“I took a superkick to the face and rolled my ankle, how is that even possible?” Guevara continued.

Guevara also visited with Jack Evans in the video who expressed that someone may have drugged his milk and that is why he did not win the battle royal. Guevara and Marko Stunt then attempted to convince each other they don’t hate one another. He finally ended the video by noting it was noon and he hadn’t been kicked out of his hotel yet.

Guevara’s latest blog can be viewed in its entirety in the player below:

Cathy Kelley’s final televised appearance with WWE took place at NXT TakeOver: Portland back on February 16th. In the days leading up to her departure, Kelley posted a lengthy statement on social media announcing the move.

Since then, the former WWE broadcaster appeared on Maria Menounos’ podcast to discuss her decision to leave the company.

“I just knew that it was the right time and really feeling like I had planted a lot of seeds,” Kelleysaid. “There’s so many things that I want to do in my life.”

Kelley revealed the hectic grind of the WWE schedule played a role in her decision. She just moved to Los Angeles and working with WWE was preventing her from working on projects outside of wrestling.

“With the WWE schedule, it’s so time-consuming because you are traveling so much,” she continued. “Being me, I wanted to do everything so I wanted to work as much as possible which also meant being away from Los Angeles, which I just moved to. That wouldn’t have allowed me to continue to do the other things, or work on the other things that I wanted to do.”

• Triple H Addresses Cathy Kelley Leaving WWE

The discussion between Maria Menounos and Cathy Kelley can be viewed in the player below:

Transcriptions via WrestlingNewsCO

AEW has added another match to this Sunday’s Revolution PPV in Chicago. The promotion recently confirmed several matches for the show including an AEW Women’s World Championship match pitting champion Nyla Rose against Kris Statlander.

Recently on Dynamite, Statlander and Big Swole confronted Nyla Rose during an interview segment. Rose defeated Riho to win the AEW Women’s World Championship on the February 12th, 2020 card.

• New Match Set For AEW Revolution

The updated lineup for the show is as follows:

• AEW World Heavyweight Champion Chris Jericho vs. Jon Moxley
• AEW Tag Team Champions Kenny Omega and Adam Page vs. The Young Bucks
• AEW Women’s World Championship: Nyla Rose vs Kris Statlander
• Cody Rhodes vs. MJF
• Jake Hager vs. Dustin Rhodes
• Darby Allin vs. Sammy Guevara

Nyla Rose AEW Single’s Match statistics:

In single’s matches, Nyla Rose has a 6-1 record in AEW.

1. 10/2/19: Riho defeated Nyal Rose (Riho wins inaugural AEW Women’s World title)
2. 10/16/19: Nyla Rose defeated Leva Bates
3. 11/13/19: Nyla Rose defeated Dani Jordyn
4. 12/4/19: Nyla Rose defeated Leva Bates
5. 1/15/20: Nyla Rose defeated Shanna (Tables Match)
6. 1/29/20: Nyla Rose defeated Big Swole
7. 2/12/20: Nyla Rose defeated Riho (c) (New AEW Women’s Champion)

Kris Statlander AEW Single’s Match statistics:

In single’s matches, Kris Statlander has a 5-1 record in AEW.

1. 12/4/19: Kris Statlander defeated Hikaru Shida
2. 12/11/19: Kris Statlander defeated Bea Priestley
3. 12/18/19: Kris Statlander defeated Britt Baker
4. 1/8/20: Riho (c) defeated Kris Statlander (title match)
5. 2/12/20: Kris Statlander defeated Diamente
6. 2/19/20: Kris Statlander defeated Shanna

Tammy Lynn Sytch will be granted parole and released from prison on March 25th, 2020. She has been in prison since early 2019 stemming from multiple DUI charges. Sytch’s parole was revoked after she failed to notify authorities of her whereabouts, failed to pay an agreed-upon monthly fee for her release, and failed to maintain a stable residence.

Sytch’s new attorneys filed a parole petition with the courts last month. She had a hearing on the matter last Thursday. According to a report from Pro Wrestling Sheet, Sytch is due to be released on parole exactly 1-month from tomorrow.

• Tammy Lynn Sytch (Sunny) Parole Hearing Scheduled

Sunny Granted Parole, Due To Be Released Next Month

Tammy Lynn Sytch (aka Sunny) was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2011. She is often credited with having been the first “Diva” in company history as well as helping to usher in the Attitude era of the late 1990s. Additionally, Sytch performed in ECW and briefly in WCW as well. She was honored by the Cauliflower Alley Club for her contributions to wrestling and is a former 2x Slammy Award winner in WWE.

Sunny made a surprise appearance at the 15th Anniversary of RAW:

WWE Hall-of-Famer and ECW legend Bully Ray recently said on Busted Open Radio that AEW reminds him of ECW. In fact, Bully said he almost lives vicariously through the wrestlers on AEW Dynamite.

“When I watch AEW, I’m watching it because I want to have fun,” Bully said on the show. “My own personal reasons for watching AEW is because it reminds me so much of ECW. I almost feel like I live vicariously through those guys.”

Bully commented that one aspect about AEW he likes is that they don’t always do the “right” things but it gets over with their fans anyway.

“I like watching them doing all the wrong things and still seeing it get over because we used to do all the wrong things and it would get over,” he continued.

“Mistakes are going to happen. The AEW fanbase is so on-board with the talent that’s there and the company that they are willing to forgive and forget right now. The ECW fanbase if you screwed up in front of them they would hammer you for it but then go right back to loving you and being on-board. That’s why it’s so fun for me to watch it because I see the things I’m like ‘oh my god that was so wrong’ but then I listen and go ‘oh, but the people are going crazy.'”

Bully would then continue to talk about those who say AEW’s approach to wrestling is “killing the business.”

“You’ll have a lot of people out there saying this is not good for the business, this is killing the business, this is doing that…the business is evolving and if you evolve with it, I don’t think you can kill it. Can you kill an old school mentality? Not really because that old school mentality can be brought back the following week.”

Busted Open Radio the podcast version is available here.

Chris Jericho uses the song Judas as his ring entrance music in AEW. Recently fans have begun to sing along with the song as it plays throughout the arena during Jericho’s entrances. Jericho noted recently that the live crowd in Atlanta was particularly loud. He took to social media to comment on the trend of fans singing along with the song.

Jericho commented on fans singing along with Judas in the below Instagram post:

“I love this new trend of the @allelitewrestling faithful singing the lyrics to @fozzyrock#Judas every week! What a great feeling and last night in #AEWAtlanta was by far the LOUDEST version and it was made even more special by the fact that @officialrichward, @frankfontsere, @johnnyandrewsmusic& @officialsamabernathy were there to experience it LIVE! Heels are heels and babyfaces are babyfaces, but organic moments like this are what pro wrestling is really all about!!”

Chris Jericho and Fozzy

The song Judas is the title track of Fozzy’s 2017 album by the same name. The album peaked at #147 on the US Billboard top 200 rankings. It is the 7th studio album for the band since their 2000 debut.

The official music video for Judas can be viewed in the player below:

Tyson Fury defeated Deontay Wilder on Saturday and avenged a controversial draw from their first fight. Triple H was interviewed about his feelings regarding Fury’s victory and noted that the heavyweight boxing champion did exactly what he said he was going to do.

“What a performance, an unbelievable boxing performance,” Triple H said to Fight Hub TV regarding Fury’s fight against Wilder. “What heart shown by Deontay Wilder to stay in there that long, that hurt, that bad and just keep going and going and going. Amazing heart. Hats off to both of them, amazing performance on both sides but Fury did what he said he was going to do and just dominate.”

Triple H was in Fury’s locker room before the fight. He was asked what he said to Fury before the contest.

“I just told him ‘good luck,'” Triple H said. “We did some business together with Tyson and the WWE recently and he’s a great guy. I had a chance to be around him a lot and do some media with him and help him train for that. Great guy, I know how hard he works. I know what this means for him, I’m happy for him.”

It was noted during the conversation that Fury could head back to WWE after his fighting career is over.

“He’s custom made for it man, I think he had a lot of fun with us,” Triple H said.

Triple H’s comments can be heard in the player below:

Major League Wrestling presented Fusion this weekend on BeIN Sports and YouTube. The show emanated from Texas again this week and featured the main event of Tom Lawlor taking on Ross Von Erich.

MLW 2/22/20 Quick Results:

1. Logan Creed defeated Moonshine Mantell
2. Erick Stevens defeated Douglas James
3. King Mo defeated Dr. Drax
4. Ross Von Erich defeated Tom Lawlor via DQ

The full show can be viewed in the player below:

Here are 6 takeaways from MLW Fusion 2/22/20:

Team Filthy Adds Member, Attack The Von Erichs Texas Style

Last week’s episode of Fusion saw the Von Erich brothers successfully retain the MLW tag team titles against the Dynasty in front of a raucous Dallas crowd. This week, Ross Von Erich took on Tom Lawlor in the night’s main event.

Ross looked to have Lawlor set up for the Iron Claw but Team Filthy member Dominic Garrini interfered and caused the DQ. Marshall Von Erich came out to even up the odds but Erick Stevens ran out and appeared to join Team Filthy as he joined in on the beatdown on the Von Erich brothers. With the 3-on-2 advantage, Team Filthy used cowbells and bull rope to attack the Von Erichs and then even disrespected the state flag of Texas in the middle of the ring to close the show.

ATT’s King Mo Makes Dr. Drax Tapout

King Mo has continued to train with American Top Team since signing with MLW. He took on the dastardly Dr. Dax this week after having antagonized Low-Ki in a backstage segment recently. Mo pointed out that Low-Ki trains with the Gracie family and earlier in his career, Mo KO’d Roger Gracie.

King Mo made Drax tap to the rear-naked choke for the victory.

Gorgon/Grogan Gone, Logan Creed Has Arrived In MLW

Last week on MLW, Mance Warner was able to gain access to the building only after bribing the Dynasty’s giant to allow him in the building. This week, the former Gorgon/Grogan announced that his name is Logan Creed and he is no longer a member of the Dynasty.

Creed kicked off this week’s episode of Fusion in a match against Moonshine Mantell. He picked up the victory with a power-bomb.

Erick Stevens Wants Davey Boy Smith Jr.

Before he joined Team Filthy in the night’s closing segment, Erick Stevens cut a promo in the back saying he’s targetting a match with Davey Boy Smith Jr. The commentary team noted that Stevens was not wasting any time in MLW by challenging the top contender to Jacob Fatu’s MLW World Championship.

Stevens took on Douglas James this week on Fusion. He’d pick up the victory with his Sarasota Screwdriver finisher.

MLW Top-10 Rankings From Pro Wrestling Illustrated

MLW aired a segment this week featuring a countdown of the top-10 wrestlers in the promotion as determined by Pro Wrestling Illustrated. The PWI top-10 for MLW is as follows:

MLW World Champion: Jacob Fatu (Contra Unit)

1. Davey Boy Smith Jr. (Opera Cup Winner) (Hart Foundation)
2. Alexander Hammerstone (National Openweight Champion) (Dynasty)
3. Myron Reed (Middleweight Champion) (Injustice)
4. Brian Pillman Jr. (Hart Foundation)
5. Mance Warner
6. Tom Lawlor (Team Filthy)
7. Richard Holliday (Dynasty)
8. Jimmy Havoc
9. Low-Ki
10. Dominic Garrini (Team Filthy)

Coming Up In MLW

Los Parks return next week. This will be LA Park’s return to the promotion after dropping the MLW World title match to Jacob Fatu at SuperFight. Injustice will also take on the team of Zenshi and Laredo Kid.

MLW has a joint show coming up on March 13th with AAA in Tijuana:

MLW is back in Chicago’s Cicero Stadium in April. Chris Dickinson’s MLW debut is being advertised for the show:

Victoria Crawford, better known to wrestling fans as Alicia Fox, is celebrating 6-months of recovery. The former Divas Champion took to social media to comment on her accomplishment.

Fox’s status as an active wrestler in WWE is unclear. Her profile was moved to WWE.com’s alumni section in October last year but no formal announcement of her retirement has been made.

Last November, Fox posted the following to her Instagram account and spoke about being 2-months sober at the time.

• Alicia Fox Addresses Her Battle With Alcoholism, Offers Help To Others

Alicia Fox In WWE

It was reported last summer that Fox was sent home following an incident with a fan.

• Alicia Fox Reportedly Sent Home After Incident With Fan

Arn Anderson’s firing from WWE last year is said to have been related to Fox as well. Anderson is said to have been released for allowing Fox to work while intoxicated.

• Report: Arn Anderson Released By WWE For Letting Alicia Fox Work Intoxicated

Fox has had a lengthy run in WWE, first signing with the company in 2006. She made her main roster debut in 2008. She is a former Divas and OVW Champion. From 2006 until 2019, Fox wrestled in 1012 matches with WWE, Ohio Valley Wrestling, or Florida Championship Wrestling. Her overall record is 330W-680-2D.

Jeff Cobb was announced as Chris Jericho’s hired gun to face Jon Moxley this week on AEW Dynamite. Cody Rhodes addressed Cobb’s deal with the promotion on a recent media call, noting that Cobb was signed for more dates but nothing full-time or long-term. According to a recent report from the Wrestling Observer, AEW has offered Cobb a deal that will allow him to still work with New Japan Pro Wrestling.

“Jeff Cobb was offered a deal this past week. Tony Khan had never met him until this week. Cody had been trying to get him since the start of the year. Cobb had only agreed to a few dates,” wrote Dave Meltzer.

“They offered him a deal where he could still work New Japan and that’s where talks left,” the report continued. Being able to work with New Japan is said to be quite important to Cobb.

Jeff Cobb In NJPW

Cobb entered his first-ever G1 Climax tournament in 2019 with New Japan Pro Wrestling. He finished tied for 4th in Block B with 8 points. He still has yet to compete in a New Japan Cup. Cobb is also a former NEVER Openweight Champion in New Japan Pro Wrestling. He defeated Will Ospreay for the title at the G1 Supercard in Madison Square Garden before dropping it to Taichi at Wrestling Dontaku.

• AEW Teases Raven As Potential “Exalted One” Of Dark Order

Samoa Joe could potentially be on the shelf for an extended period of time due to an injury suffered at a recent WWE commercial shoot. According to a report from Pro Wrestling Sheet, Joe hit his head on a table while filming a stunt for a commercial last week. While there is no timetable for Joe’s return, it is being reported that he could be out of action for “a considerable amount of time.”

Joe was recently pulled from a tag team match on RAW due to potentially suffering a concussion as well. The injury occurred on the January 27th, 2020 edition of RAW from the AT&T Center in San Antonio. Joe returned to action on a February 8th, 2020 house show. He also missed some time with a broken thumb in late 2019.

Samoa Joe Out of Action

Joe recently took part in a podcast with Fightful where he mentioned that Vince McMahon didn’t initially want him in WWE.

• Samoa Joe Says Vince McMahon Didn’t Want Him In WWE

“Everywhere that I’ve gone—ROH I remember walking into and Gabe Sapolsky telling me, ‘listen, we can’t afford to fly you in from California, you’ll never work here again, but thanks for coming tonight,’ and shortly afterwards ‘hey, you’re working every show from here until forever,’” Joe said. 

Samoa Joe Championship Statistics

WWE Championships:

• NXT Champion (2x)
• United States Champion (2x)

TNA/Impact Wrestling:

• TNA Heavyweight Champion (1x)
• Tag Team Champions (2x) w/Magnus (1x) w/himself? (1x)
• X-Division Champion (5x)

Ring of Honor:

• ROH Pure Champion (1x)
• ROH World Champion (1x)

NXT Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley recently spoke to Metro in the UK about her friendship with Simone Johnson. The 18-year-old daughter of the Rock was recently announced as a new signee at the WWE Performance Center.

”I’m very, very excited for Simone. She’s one of my close friends, and I’m so happy that she’s here at the Performance Centre with us,” Ripley said of Johnson.

Ripley would continue to talk about advice she has already given Johnson.

“The main thing I always tell her whenever I do see her is to just ignore the drama, stay in your own lane, work the hardest and try your best. Just succeed and excel within your own brackets of talent.”

Ripley continued to talk about advice she’s given to Johnson. She says she is helping her stay away from the drama that comes with the business.

“Just try and not let everything get to you, because that’s the hardest bit in any sporting background. It’s just the drama that comes with sport unfortunately, and the one thing I’m trying to get her to stay away from.”

The full interview with Rhea Ripley from Metro in the UK can be found here.

• Simone Johnson Reports To The WWE Performance Center

Many fans noticed that Raven could be seen attending last night’s Dynamite show in Atlanta. The former leader of the Flock was seated not far from where Evil Uno and the Dark Order spokesperson appeared in the live crowd during the tag team battle royal.

AEW posted the following Tweet with the caption “Did you see it? The exalted one is always watching.” Raven is sitting ominously in the crowd acting very unfazed by the brawling Stu Grayson and Scorpio Sky next to him in the video.

Raven Attends AEW Dynamite

Raven currently hosts his own podcast titled “the Raven Effect.” He’s also a frequent guest on Konnan’s “Keepin it 100” podcast.

Raven has been the leader or apart of several factions with a similar dark cult-esque type feel to them as the Dark Order has. There is perhaps nobody in wrestling history more closely associated with such angles.

In ECW, Raven led a stable of lackies known as “the Nest” which featured the Dudleys, Stevie Richards, Cactus Jack, and several others throughout its history. When he first brought the Raven character to WCW, he then debuted a similar faction known as The Flock with Perry Saturn, Billy Kidman, Lodi, Kanyon (though he was somewhat separate from the other members) and many others. Later in WCW, he was apart of the Dead Pool/Dark Carnival with the Great Muta, Vampiro, and the Insane Clown Posse.

In TNA Wrestling, Raven debuted “the Gathering.” This group included Alexis Laree, CM Punk, Julio Dinero, and Cassidy Riley. Later in TNA Wrestling, Raven would change things up a bit and debut a faction with A Clockwork Orange styled gimmick named Serotonin. This faction featured Johnny Devine, Frankie Kazarian, and Michael Shane.

• Cody Rhodes Addresses Live Crowd After Dynamite (Video)

Jimmy Havoc posted the following picture of him with Raven:

Arn Anderson was interviewed backstage following the conclusion of Dynamite last night. Anderson is the official manager of the Nightmare Family and is now accompanying Cody to the ring for his matches.

AEW posted the following “Coach’s Corner” video with Anderson:

Arn Anderson On Steel Cage Match Between Cody Rhodes And Wardlow

“Well, I got to tell you and I didn’t want to say this to him, I’ve been proud of Cody all along. Tonight, I’m really proud of him. He crawled into that ring with a monster, he was in for the fight of his life. Wardlow is untested, he didn’t know anything about him. You lock a man in a cage, he’s going to get violent a lot of times and he’s going to overachieve.”

“Cody Rhodes stepped up to the plate, he didn’t get a single, double, or a home run, he had a grand slam. Nothing but proud of him, can’t believe what an excellent job he did overcoming all that adversity. Man, I just feel good tonight.”

Anderson also commented on Cody’s post-match comments.

• Cody Rhodes Addresses Live Crowd After Dynamite (Video)

“Well, if you were Mickey Mantle’s kid and showed up at a Little League ballpark there would be some expectations, I would think,” Anderson said. “Cody has always had people that were hard on him, people that were judging him, people were thinking that he’ll never be his Dad. Cody Rhodes is his own man and tonight he showed he’s a leader, he’s a battler, he’s a fighter, he’s a man that when he tells you something, you can believe it.”

Jon Moxley was the first guest on the new official AEW podcast with Tony Schiavone and Aubrey Edwards. During the conversation, Moxley spoke about his early days on WWE’s main roster with the Shield.

“I was really lucky to have a good starting off point being in the Shield,” Moxley said during the podcast.

“I couldn’t have asked for a better start,” he continued. “You can’t ask for a much better start than that.”

“It was a lot harder to break in back then. When we were in development, we had a real chip on our shoulder because we were like we’re as good as anybody up there but we’re stuck down here.”

He continued to say that NXT felt like an island where most people don’t get off.

“Even if you got the chance to go up and get on TV that you would actually break through and be successful was a lesser chance I think,” he continued.

Moxley continued to talk about how that mentality stayed with the members of the Shield when they were brought up to the main roster.

“So, same kind of mentality, when we got this tiny shred of an opportunity, we’re like nobody is taking this away from us,” Moxley said. “It was a real all for one mentality.”

The full podcast can be found here.

Cody Rhodes defeated Wardlow in the main event of AEW Dynamite last night. The show emanated from Cody’s hometown of Atlanta, GA from the State Farm Arena. Cody climbed the cage and delivered a moonsault from the top onto his opponent for the win. After the match, Cody addressed the live crowd.

AEW posted the following video of Cody’s post-match comments:

“We’re off the air?” Cody asked before beginning his speech. “That was the best episode of Dynamite yet.”

Cody then asked the live crowd to keep up their energy for the matches taped for Dark. He also asked the live crowd to cheer for the camera operators and the behind-the-scenes crew.

Cody Thanks Atlanta For Cheering His Father

“I want to tell you the shortest story and then we’ll get Dark started,” Cody continued. “It’s about 200 yards away, it’s a street called Baker street and it’s the exact spot I fell in love with wrestling. And I’m going to tell you why. I came to a show, I couldn’t have been eight years old, I knew that my Dad was famous but I didn’t know why, I didn’t grow up in his prime, I didn’t get to see a lot of the classics.”

“I didn’t get to see you break his leg,” Cody said to Arn Anderson.

“And I came to the show and at the end of the night on Baker street is where the fans will gather right by where the boys and girls go out and Sting, Sting went out and you guys gave him such a great reception and I didn’t think anything and I went to step out myself to go to my Dad’s truck and he put his hand across my chest and he said ‘never steal another man’s pop’ and I didn’t know what he meant and when he walked out in that parking lot all of you cheered so loud for my Dad.”

The crowd began to chant for Dusty.

“I didn’t know I wanted to be a wrestler but I knew I wanted to be famous like he is and when I got into wrestling at 15, when I debuted in 2007, you guys were pretty hard on me and I can’t tell you how much I appreciate being hard on me. It made me come back week after week.”

With the win last night, Cody is now officially scheduled to face Maxwell Jacob Friedman at Revolution.

Impact Wrestling 2/18/20 was taped from Sam’s Town Live in Las Vegas. This week’s episode was the first to air from the recent tapings. The show was also the last before Saturday’s Sacrifice event on Impact Plus from Louisville, Kentucky.

Impact Wrestling 2/18/20 Quick Results:

1. TJP defeated Josh Alexander
2. Willie Mack defeated Johnny Swinger
3. Madison Rayne defeated Mazzerati
4. Best of 5 Series
   Eddie Edwards defeated Michael Elgin (Elgin leads 2-1)
5. Rhino defeated Dave Crist
6. Ace Austin & Reno Scum defeated Tessa Blanchard, Tommy Dreamer & Trey

Here are 9 takeaways from Impact Wrestling 2/18/20:

Ace Austin Wins Big Heading Into Sacrifice

With Sacrifice and an Impact Wrestling World Championship title shot waiting for him on Saturday, Ace Austin scored a victory in this week’s main event. Ace Austin kicked the ring ropes as Trey was entering the ring from the outside, causing a low-blow and allowing the X-Division champion to hit the Fold for the victory.

Austin celebrated with Reno Scum on the outside as Josh Matthews commented that if Austin can hit the Fold on Saturday against Blanchard at Sacrifice, we could have a new world champion.

Eddie Edwards Avoids Sweep In Best of 5 Series

Michael Elgin entered into this match with Eddie Edwards with a chance to win a clean sweep in their best-of-5-series. Elgin was up 2-0 in the series and looked to have this match wrapped up as well. Elgin gave Edwards a power-bomb from the top and looked to go for the Elgin bomb but Edwards countered into a small package for the win. Callis commented after the match that Elgin should have gone for the pin after the powerbomb from the top instead of going for his finisher to put an exclamation point on the match. Match 4 in the series will take place next week.

Do TJP & Fallah Bah Have The North’s Number?

Fallah Bah defeated Ethan Page when Impact Wrestling was in Mexico last month and TJP kicked off this week’s episode with a win over Josh Alexander. The North has had a lengthy and dominant reign atop Impact Wrestling’s tag division but it appears that TJP & Fallah Bah may have the duo’s number. A 2-on-2 match would likely favor the North, however.

TJP picked up the win after countering a sleeper into a pinning combination.

Chris Bey Signs With Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling announced this week that they have signed Chris Bey. The 23-year-old is from the Las Vegas area where Impact’s most recent set of tapings took place. He is a 3-year pro and has wrestled with the Future Stars of Wrestling promotion in Vegas where he is a former FSW World Champion, FSW No Limits Champion, and also once held the promotion’s tag titles as well.

Willie Mack Is Not Johnny Swinger’s Tag Team Partner

Johnny Swinger believes that he and Willie Mack make up a tag team known as “The Pack and Mack Connection.” Mack, on the other hand, does not believe the two are a tag team. Swinger told Mack in the back this week that they need to get more reps in the ring. Mack agreed, though Mack wanted to face Swinger in a single’s match and Swinger assumed they were wrestling a tag match against another team.

Mack did not seem to respond to Swinger’s request for him to “slow down” during the match. He picked up the win with a Stunner followed by a 6-Star Frog Splash.

Swinger will take on Joey Ryan Saturday night at Sacrifice. Mack is scheduled to take on OVW’s Jay Bradley.

Madison Rayne Victorious In Open Challenge

Madison Rayne is not pleased that Jordynne Grace was given a Knockouts title shot she feels should have gone to her. She announced the beginning of the Madison Rayne “Golden Opportunity Open Challenge” this week. Las Vegas-based wrestler Mazzerati answered the call.

Callis would continue his ongoing embellished commentary for Rayne. This week he noted that she was taught the liver punch by Stu Hart. Josh Matthews noted that he didn’t think Rayne had ever met Stu Hart but Callis didn’t seem swayed by this.

Rayne would pick up the victory with a Cross Rayne. She then walked around the ring raising her own hand to close the segment.

Rhino and Moose Get Ready For Sacrifice

Rhino and Moose will meet once again Saturday night at Sacrifice. The two have been in an ongoing feud that also briefly involved AAA’s Taurus while the promotion was in Mexico last month. Moose was on commentary for this match. Rhino defeated Dave Crist with a Gore while Moose watched. Moose would note on commentary that the same thing won’t happen to him at Sacrifice.

Impact Sacrifice Lineup

Impact presents Sacrifice this Saturday. The event will stream live for subscribers to Impact Plus. Four matches have been confirmed thus far for the event:

• Impact World Championship
  Tessa Blanchard (c) vs Ace Austin
• Impact Women’s Championship
  Jordynne Grace (c) vs Havok
• Impact Tag Team Championships
  The North (c) vs The Rascalz
• Rhino vs Moose
• Johnny Swinger vs Joey Ryan
• Daga vs Jake Crist
• Willie Mack vs Jay Bradley
• Madman Fulton & Dave Crist vs Larry D & Acey Romero

Impact Wrestling Next Week

The following matches have been confirmed for next week’s episode of Impact Wrestling:

• Best of- 5 Series
  Eddie Edwards vs Michael Elgin (Elgin leads 2-1)
• Rob Van Dam vs Daga

AEW updates its rankings for each division every Wednesday. Tonight’s episode of Dynamite will take place in Atlanta and feature the first-ever steel cage match in the promotion when Cody faces Wardlow.

Here are this week’s AEW rankings:

AEW Men’s Rankings

Le Champion: Chris Jericho (0-0)

1. Jon Moxley (5-0)
2. Cody Rhodes (2-0)
3. PAC (1-1)
4. Kenny Omega (0-0)
5. Maxwell Jacob Friedman (2-0) (previously unranked)

The only movement in the men’s single’s rankings this week saw MJF re-enter the rankings. MJF defeated Jungle Boy this week to go to 2-0 in 2020. Kip Sabian drops out of the rankings this week. Sabian did not wrestle on Dynamite or Dark this week.

Jon Moxley defeated Santana and Kenny Omega wrestled in a tag title match with Page this week. Cody, Jericho, and PAC all had the week off from in-ring competition.

AEW Women’s Rankings

Women’s Champion: Nyla Rose (3-1)

1. Riho (3-1) (-1)
2. Kris Statlander (1-1) (+1)
3. Hikaru Shida (2-1) (-1)
4. Yuka Sakazaki (1-0)
5. Britt Baker (1-2)

The biggest change in the rankings this week takes place at the top of the women’s division. Nyla Rose defeated Riho to become the new AEW Women’s Champion this week. Former champion Riho drops to the #1 position.

Kris Statlander moves up one spot this week after defeating Diamante on Dark. She moves past Hikaru Shida for the #2 spot after Shida had the week off from in-ring competition. Britt Baker didn’t wrestle this week, opting instead to insult Tony Schiavone. Yuka Sakazaki was not on the show this week after having a tooth knocked out by Baker last week.

AEW Men’s Tag Team Rankings

Tag Team Champions: Kenny Omega & Adam “Hangman” Page

1. The Young Bucks (2-1) (+1)
2. SCU (2-2) (-1)
3. The Dark Order (2-0)
4. Proud and Powerful (0-1)
5. The Lucha Bros (0-1)

SCU drops one spot this week after losing to the tag champs Kenny Omega and Hangman Page in a title match to kick off Dynamite. The Young Bucks were victorious over Peter Avalon and QT Marshall on Dark.

The Best Friends defeated the Hybrid2 on Dark but it was not enough to put them back in the rankings this week. The Dark Order, Proud and Powerful, and the Lucha Bros all had the week off from in-ring competition.

Matt Hardy has been attacked by Randy Orton two weeks straight on WWE RAW. With Hardy’s contract with WWE expected to expire shortly, one of these attacks is bound to be Hardy’s last segment in WWE, at least for quite some time.

Hardy took to Twitter to comment on the angle from Monday:

WWE has since offered a storyline injury update on Hardy.

“After tweeting from a medical facility in the wake of a vicious attack he suffered at the hands of Randy Orton on Monday Night Raw, Matt Hardy was discharged and returned home earlier today, WWE.com has learned,” WWE’s report on Hardy reads.

Hardy has also been releasing several “Broken” themed videos on his YouTube channel as of late:

Randy Orton Attacks Hardy On RAW

• Unaired Footage Of Matt Hardy After Randy Orton’s Attack On Raw

Following Orton’s initial attack on Hardy last week, Hardy tweeted out a message that only read “Goodbye.” This led many to assume the angle was a way to write Hardy off the show since he will be leaving when his contract expires.

• Matt Hardy Says Goodbye Following RAW

Hardy was then scheduled to face Orton in a No Holds Barred match on this week’s show. The match never took place, however, but Orton did attack Hardy again in the show’s opening segment.