Old school tag-team wrestling will be on display January 22nd when FTR take on The Rock N Roll Express. Big Time Wrestling recently announced that Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler vs Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson will main event their show next month from the Spartanburg Memorial Auditorium in Spartanburg, South Carolina.
It will be the first time the two tag-teams have ever squared off. Also scheduled for the show will be a match between Jerry “the King” Lawler and George South. Matt Hardy is scheduled to be there as is Scotty 2 Hotty, Arn Anderson, Brock Anderson, Lex Luger, and Magnum TA.
FTR Wants To Challenge For The NWA Tag Team Titles?
The Rock N Roll Express are 2x NWA World Tag Team Champions. This summer, Harwood mentioned on Twitter that FTR would like to have a chance to challenge for those belts.
That is incredibly important to us; especially now. The lineage of the @nwa is deep & historic. We’d love the opportunity to fight for the belts too. https://t.co/8m8i10bR3M
AEW has identified MJF, Darby Allin, Sammy Guevara and Jungle Boy as its Four Pillars. During the latest episode of his Grillin JR podcast, Jim Ross has identified a few more names he believes are destined to take All Elite Wrestling into the future.
In addition to the Four Pills, JR sees AEW World Champion Adam Page, Adam Cole and the Men of the Year (Ethan Page & Scorpio Sky) as franchise players for years to come.
“Based on aptitude and not eliminating anyone from the process, I can see Adam Cole certainly being one of those guys,” Ross said. “Smart kid, got a great mind for the business, he’s young, he’s healthy.”
“MJF without a doubt,” Ross continued. “He’s got a terrific wrestling mind, he knows how to be annoying. He’s very easy to dislike, which is the greatest trait a wrestling villain can have. So, I have great confidence that he’s going to be a star for years to come, and a big one.”
Ross continued to mention “Hangman” Adam Page as well before speaking on others he feels are likely to be the future of the promotion.
“I think Jungle Boy Jack Perry is going to be one of our leaders and stars of the future, long term future.”
“Darby Allin is over, some how some way. He’s a strange enigma just like Jeff Hardy was.”
“Scorpio and Ethan Page got leadership written all over them,” Ross continued.
“The good news is we’ve got several guys that can assume that role because of their aptitude for pro-wrestling,” Ross continued.
Jim Ross’ full comments can be heard in the below video.
If you use any of the above quotes please credit SEScoops for the transcriptions.
Ric Flair recently spent some time on his podcast speaking about the CM Punk and MJF promo battle that took place in Chicago on Dynamite. During the conversation, Flair praised Maxwell Jacob Friedman.
“I’m a big fan of MJF,” Flair said. “The kid can talk and more than that, he carries himself like a pro, he dresses [like a pro]. I can’t emphasize enough how important in my estimation it is to look professional and that kid always looks sharp and I’ll leave it like that.”
Mark Madden was insistent that Punk should not have mentioned The Miz during the promo and shouldn’t have mentioned the other company at all.
“There was an interview between CM Punk and MJF who are both great on the mic and I thought it was a great segment,” Madden said on the show. “But CM Punk called MJF a ‘less famous Miz.’ I don’t get that, I don’t get invoking a guy from the other show especially when you came over from that show not too long ago.”
Madden continued, “It kind of tells people that the other show is the real show when you say their guy is better than our guy. I just didn’t get the wisdom of that. I thought the segment was so damn good I didn’t really track that part of it, you know? But you’re right, why ever bring up the other company?” Flair responded.
Ric Flair and Mark Madden discussing the CM Punk – MJF segment can be viewed in the video below:
If you use any of the above quotes please credit SEScoops for the transcriptions.
Brock Lesnar vs Roman Reigns is scheduled to take place on New Year’s Day at WWE’s Day One PPV event. According to a recent report from the Wrestling Observer, a series of matches between Lesnar and Reigns is currently planned.
“Regarding Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar as the main event for Day One, this is scheduled to be a multi-match series and this being one of the matches in the series,” wrote Dave Meltzer.
This means Lesnar vs Reigns could take place again at the Royal Rumble and/or WrestleMania 38 as well as other future events.
Lesnar and Reigns have already faced each other 4x in singles matches. Each man has won and lost twice against the other.
Lesnar defeated Reigns at WrestleMania 34 and then again inside a steel cage at The Greatest Royal Rumble a few weeks later. Reigns then defeated Lesnar at SummerSlam 2018 that August and again at Crown Jewel that October.
Lesnar and Reigns also headlined WrestleMania 31. During that match, however, Seth Rollins cashed in his Money in the Bank briefcase and made it a 3-way. Rollins would then win the match and the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.
Roman Reigns won a triple threat against both Brock Lesnar and Dean Ambrose/Jon Moxley at Fastlane 2016. Lesnar also won a fatal 4-way match at SummerSlam 2017 against Roman Reigns, Braun Strowman and Samoa Joe.
The Pope (Elijah Burke) has released a statement after an injury scare at the NWA Hard Times 2 PPV Saturday night. According to a report from PW Insider, Pope went limp after being thrown into the steel steps during the show-closing angle with Matt Cardona, Mike Knox, and Trevor Murdoch.
As fans were filing out, Burke was still be attended to. He was then taken to hospital with a suspected concussion. He was released from hospital the following morning and is said to be doing okay. NWA has said he won’t be doing anything physical during the NWA Powerrr tapings this week.
Pope released a statement on social media regarding his injury.
“As many of you know I was recently taken by ambulance to a hospital in Atlanta following NWA Hard Times 2. I would like to assure you that all is 100% well with Pope. In wrestling we take our bumps & bruises while continually forging ahead. However, today there are certain protocols in effect to ensure the well being of performers like myself and getting medically evaluated and cleared is one of them,” Pope wrote.
“I’d like to thank the ENTIRE NWA family, many who gave up hours of their own time to ensure Pope’s safety. Thank You ~PHS.”
in effect to ensure the well being of performers like myself and getting medically evaluated and cleared is one of them. I’d like to thank the ENTIRE NWA family, many who gave up hours of their own time to ensure Pope’s safety. Thank You ~PHS ??#NWA#HardTimes2#WWE#AEW
Sunday night’s NXT War Games event may have been the final WWE PPV appearances event for both Johnny Gargano and Kyle O’Reilly.
Gargano and O’Reilly have been pillars of the developmental brand for the past several years. Their contracts were due to expire soon, with understandable speculation that they’d consider jumping to AEW along with Adam Cole, Bryan Danielson and others.
WWE has attempted to re-sign both competitors. Fightful provided an update on this situation over the weekend:
“Both have been offered multi-year deals and were brought to Smackdown a couple of weeks ago, and it has been communicated to both men that the company wants to retain their services,” wrote Sean Ross Sapp.
As of War Games, neither had re-signed with the promotion. It is being said that most people are expecting both Gargano and O’Reilly to depart the company.
Gargano spoke to the fans in attendance after War Games went off the air and promised to “tell them everything” on Tuesday’s NXT. As seen below, fans chanted, “Thank you Johnny! Please don’t go!” at the former NXT Champion.
Gargano’s contract was set to expire on December 3rd, 2021 but he signed a one-week extension recently. His contract will now expire on December 10th. Both O’Reilly and Gargano are scheduled to be on the Tuesday edition of NXT this week.
Kyle O’Reilly is also booked to face Von Wagner in a cage match on Tuesday’s NXT show.
I’ve been turned on before and I ain’t going down that road again. F that newb I’m gonna stretch him on Tuesday in the cage for even trying. https://t.co/YdC7kGqd3N
Jim Ross recently commented on the time he fired Buff Bagwell from WWE in 2001. IT was soon after a disastrous match he wrestled against Booker T. JR recently spent some time addressing this on his Grillin’ JR podcast.
“Well, Buff had a higher opinion of his work than Vince did,” JR said. “I become the bad guy because I’m the middle-man, I’m the guy that delivers the bad news, or the good news at times. I don’t hold any animosity to this day on Marc Bagwell.”
“He just wasn’t a good fit, Conrad. That partying lifestyle, we were trying to distance ourselves a little bit from that if we could.”
“Vince just didn’t see the money in Marc that Marc saw in himself. I can only deal with the hand’s that dealt me when I’m told ‘this kid’s no going to get it, I want you to let him go’.”
Ross would continue to say that despite what some believe, Judy Bagwell had little to do with Buff being released.
“Judy had little to do with that. Marc’s own personal habits and the way he conducted himself is what let the air out of his sails,” Ross continued.
JR’s full comments on releasing Buff Bagwell from WWE in 2001 can be heard in the video below.
While this cannot be confirmed, it is being reported that Andrade and Charlotte Flair have broken up. The couple had announced their engagement on New Year’s Day in 2020. They had gone public with their relationship in early 2019.
According to a report from BodySlam.net, the engagement is off and the couple have gone their separate ways. It was also reported that Charlotte Flair made the decision to end the relationship. No reason as to why she decided to break off the engagement was reported, however. The break-up reportedly occurred a few weeks ago.
It was noted that Andrade stopped following several of Flair’s social media channels late last month.
In 2019, Flair spoke with News-18 about her relationship with Andrade.
“What’s so special is having someone with you that understands what you do,” Flair said. “His grandfather was a wrestler, his dad was a wrestler, his uncles are wrestlers. Being in the industry, liking the same things, understanding the pressure, understanding the travel.”
Charlotte Flair is the current Smackdown Women’s Champion. She’ll be facing Toni Storm next for the title. As for Andrade, he recently main event’ed the last episode of AEW Dynamite. He was defeated by Cody Rhodes after going through a flaming table.
In 2019, Billy Corgan’s NWA brought back the Crockett Cup for the first time since 1988. PCO and Brody King won the one-night tournament. Nick Aldis recently confirmed that the Crockett Cup will be returning in 2022.
“The plan is for The Crockett Cup to be in Nashville this year,” Aldis said in an interview with Wrestling Inc. “One of the things I’ve enjoyed in my time with the NWA was the ability to breathe new life into things which have a tremendous amount of history and tradition attached to them, but haven’t always been celebrated in that respect. They were always things people talked about in the past tense.”
The NWA will return to PPV tonight for Hard Times 2. Trevor Murdoch defending the NWA World Heavyweight Championship against Mike Knox will headline the show. The full lineup is below:
NWA World Heavyweight Championship Trevor Murdoch (c) vs Mike Knox
NWA World Women’s Championship Kamille (c) vs Melina
Nick Aldis vs Thom Latimer
Knockouts Championship Mickie James (c) vs Kiera Hogan
NWA World Tag Team Championships La Rebelión (Bestia 666 and Mecha Wolf 450) (c) vs. The End (Odinson and Parrow)
NWA World Television Championship Tyrus (c) vs Cyon
NWA World Women’s Tag Team Championships The Hex (Allysin Kay and Marti Belle) (c) vs. Kylie Rae and Tootie Lynn vs. TBA and Natalia Markova
NWA National Championship Chris Adonis (c) vs Judais
ROH World Tag Team Championships The OGK (Matt Taven and Mike Bennett) (c) vs. Aron Stevens and JR Kratos
NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship qualifying match Austin Aries vs Rhett Titus
Colby Corino vs Doug Williams
Jax Dane vs. Matthew Mims
NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship qualifying match Alex Taylor vs. Ariya Daivari vs. CW Anderson vs. Darius Lockhart vs. Homicide vs. Jeremiah Plunkett vs. Jamie Stanley vs. Kerry Morton vs. Luke Hawx vs. PJ Hawx vs. Sal Rinauro vs. Victor Benjamin vs. TBD (Pre-Show)
AEW taped several episodes of Dark at Universal Studios yesterday. Multiple wrestlers made their promotional debut during the tapings. These included a current ROH champion and a former NXT talent.
Current ROH Pure Champion Josh Woods debuted at the tapings. Woods defeated Jonathan Gresham at Death Before Dishonor to become the 2nd wrestler to hold the Pure title since it was reinstated last year. Woods was also signed to NXT from 2014 to 2016.
Also debuting at the tapings yesterday was 4 Horsewoman of MMA member, Marina Shafir. She wrestled Kris Statlander during the tapings. Shafir was released from her WWE contract in June after having been with the company since 2018. She recently participated in Josh Barnett’s Bloodsport event for GCW in October.
During an interview with Fightful, Shafir spoke about her WWE release and continuing her wrestling career.
“I didn’t take it personal, getting released. I have more good memories at NXT than bad. There’s no personal feelings towards that. I get that there’s sides to this business that you just can’t take personal. I signed that agreement long ago. I think two weeks after I got released, Barnett called me. First, we were just talking about how everything went down. But then he was just like, ‘I’m gonna indirectly ask you to stay in shape. Just take care of yourself and we’ll be chatting in a couple of weeks.’ I said, ‘Yep. Gonna go train now. See you later. Talk to you soon. Bye,” she said.
On WWE Raw this week, Liv Morgan implied that the reason her Riott Squad teammates had been let go from the company was Becky Lynch’s lucrative contract. The exact terms of Lynch’s contract are unknown, but she’s almost certainly making millions of dollars per year.
The salaries of top WWE stars was recently addressed in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. According to Dave Meltzer, the top guys in WWE such as Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar are making more than $5 million per year.
There is one other person who is believed to be making around $4 million per year. That could be Becky Lynch, although that is only speculation. Other top talent in the company make around $2 million or $3 million per year as well.
“Regarding contract sizes, the very top people (by this meaning Reigns and Lesnar) are above $5 million per year on their guaranteed deal and another person is at around $4 million, but a lot of the top talent is now at $2 million and some at $3 million,” wrote Dave Meltzer.
These figures are just their guaranteed dollar amount. It does not include their merchandise revenue or other potential bonuses as part of their contract.
Impact Wrestling is going back to the territory days. In 2019, Impact presented an episode of their weekly television show that travelled back in time. They are set to do it again coming up on December 18th but this time the show will only air on Impact Plus.
Throwback Throwdown I in 2019 featured the fictional Impact Provincial Wrestling Federation (IPWF). Members of the Impact roster portrayed different characters that you might find in an old school wrestling promotion in the 1980s. Johnny Swinger just portrayed his same character, however, since he’s perpetually stuck in that era of wrestling.
The show will take place from the Davis Arena in Louisville, Kentucky.
Relive Downtown Daddy Brown's victory at the first-ever Throwback Throwdown! The IPWF returns at #ThrowbackThrowdown II LIVE December 18 on @IMPACTPlusApp from Louisville, Kentucky. Limited tickets are still available!
Below are the results from the first Throwback Throwdown event:
Impact Wrestling 11/26 Quick Results:
Rip Rayzor defeated Rapid Delivery Pete
The Hard Workers defeated Excessive Force
Johnny Swinger defeated Buck Gunderson
Jazzy Fitbody defeated Agnus Beerhart
The Rough Riders (Blanche Ardmore, Mildred Moore, Georgia Cobb & Lady Bird Johnston) def Ray Strack, Tim Burr, Jim Nasium & Bill Ding
DJ 2 Large defeated Captain Joystick (Last Week)
Blindfold Match Cowboy Colt McCoy defeated Gama Singh
IPWF TV Championship Loser Leaves Town Downtown Daddy Brown defeated Julian Cumberbun (c) – New Champion
Limited tickets still available! See the return of the IPWF at #ThrowbackThrowdown II presented by @PabstBlueRibbon, December 18 from Louisville, KY, LIVE on @IMPACTPlusApp!
Matt Cardona kicked off Impact this week. He said the only reason he lost to W. Morrissey at Turning Point was because of Moose’s interference. Cardona then called out Moose and told him the only reason he’s in Impact is to become the world champion. Moose called Cardona a mid-carder and the two came to blows. W. Morrissey then hit the ring and the heels had a 2-on-1 advantage. Eddie Edwards then came out to make the save for Cardona. Scott D’Amore later made a tag-team main event between Cardona & Edwards and Moose & W. Morrissey.
Chris Sabin Beats Drama King Matt as Mickie James and Deonna Purrazzo Renew Hostilities
Former Knockouts Champion Deonna Purrazzo accompanied Drama King Matt to the ring for his match against Chris Sabin. Purrazzo reiterated on commentary that she wants her Knockouts title back. She will face Mickie James for the title at Hard to Kill. Purrazzo would then try to provide a distraction at ringside to help her ally but this brought out James, who promptly tossed her into the steel post. Back in the ring, Sabin hit the Cradle Shock and picked up the victory.
JONAH made his in-ring debut on this week’s episode. He absolutely squashed Vidal and finished him off with his big top-rope splash. After the match, JONAH cut a promo at Josh Alexander, saying that if he wants to call himself the best he needs to go through the top dog. Alexander didn’t come out as he is likely still selling the injuries he sustained from JONAH after his attack at Turning Point.
Trey Miguel and Steve Maclin Brawl In The Back
X-Division Champion Trey Miguel was interviewed backstage by Gia Miller. Miguel said while he was happy with his victory in the 3-way at Turning Point, he didn’t get the pin on Maclin and that is what he wanted. Maclin then attacked him and the two brawled in the back.
Rachael Ellering Picks Up Victory As Knockouts Compete To Earn A Spot In the Ultimate X Match At Hard to Kill
A show long storyline involved multiple members of the Knockouts division asking Scott D’Amore to put them in the Ultimate X match at Hard to Kill. D’Amore said he’ll announce the participants on next week’s show. One of these interactions involved Jordynne Grace & Rachael Ellering get into an argument with Tasha Steelz and Savannah Evans. This led to D’Amore scheduling a match between Evans and Ellering. Ellering then picked up the victory with a fireman’s carry cutter.
The Influence and the Iinspiration Appear To Allign
Ahhhhh!!! OMG!!! Who would have ever thought!? The Influencer and the IInspiration! #IMPACTonAXSTV
Tenille Dashwood returned from her latest travels and met up with Madison Rayne and Kaleb with a K. They told her that the Iinspiration won the Knockouts tag team titles and they then set out to find them. Dashwood and her fellow Australians hit it off big time while Madison didn’t quite know what to make of everything. Kaleb just seemed to go along with the excitement. The two groups then left together.
The rivalry between Willie Mack and Rich Swann continued this week. Swann and Mack picked up the victory in tag-team action after Swann pinned Deaner with a Phoenix Splash. The members of VBD would then attack after the match, however. This brought out Heath and Rhino to make the save and they chased the faction off.
Matt Cardona & Eddie Edwards Defeated Moose & W. Morrissey
Matt Cardona and Eddie Edwards picked up the victory in the main event over Moose & W. Morrissey this week. With Edwards and Morrissey both on the floor, Cardona countered a uranage attempt into a pinning combination and got the pin on the world champion.
After the match, Morrissey then hit Moose with a big boot. With Cardona having picked up the pin over Moose, and Morrissey having defeated Cardona at Turning Point, a triple threat match for the world title was made for Hard to Kill.
This week’s edition of AEW Dynamite saw Cody Rhodes and Andrade el Idolo crash through a burning table in the main event. The show was in Rhodes’ hometown of Atlanta and evidently he wanted to do something big that night.
According to a report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, both are said to be okay following the big spot. Rhodes was treated for burns backstage but his injuries are not said to be serious.
“Cody Rhodes and Andrade el Idolo were both not badly injured when they went through a flaming table at the 12/1 Dynamite street fight main event,” wrote Dave Meltzer.
Rhodes did have some type of substance on his back that was meant to prevent burning from the flaming table spot. This was visible during the match but commentary noted that the substance must have been something from the trash can he was hit with.
Both men had bits of flaming table on them as they went into the pin. Andrade can be seen flicking bits of flaming wood off his and Cody’s body as the match came to a conclusion.
Rhodes and Andrade are now 1-1 against each other in singles competition. Andrade defeated Rhodes when they first met on Dynamite at the beginning of November.
Several members of the AEW roster who signed 3-year deals with the promotion in late 2018 or early 2019 are about to have their contracts come up for renewal. This was the case recently with the Young Bucks. Matt & Nick Jackson recently confirmed they are now under contract with AEW for 2 more years.
According to a report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the Young Bucks’ contracts included an option for Tony Khan to renew for an additional 2 years. Khan picked up the option and they are now under contract until December 31st, 2023.
“The original contract also gave Tony Khan the option for two more years, which included a raise both of those years, which he picked up,” wrote Dave Meltzer.
Kenny Omega, Cody Rhodes, Brandi Rhodes, Adam Page and Chris Jericho also signed similar 3-year deals. Their deals are also said to include the option for AEW to renew by 2 more years. Provided Tony Khan chooses to exercise that option, they would all remain under contract until the end of 2023. There is no word on if those options have been officially picked up as of yet, however.
“I would expect all will be renewed but factually can’t confirm anything past many of them have,” Meltzer continued.
WWE has postponed several Canadian tour dates scheduled for January. No reason has been given for the postponement. Ticket sales for some of the shows were said to be quite strong.
WWE released a statement that 4 shows in January have been pushed back to later in the year.
The January 21st episode of Smackdown scheduled to air from the Canada Life Center in Winnipeg has been postponed until Friday, September 30th, 2022. Smackdown will now air from Nashville on January 21st.
The live event scheduled for January 22nd at the Brandt Centre in Regina, Saskatchewan has been pushed back to Saturday, October 1st. Another live event scheduled for Saskatoon, Saskatchewan for the following night January 23rd has been pushed back to Sunday, October 2nd.
The episode of WWE RAW scheduled for January 24th in Edmonton’s Rogers Place has been rescheduled for Monday September 26th. The January 24th RAW will now air from Toledo.
The WWE Canadian dates in January have been pulled (Winnipeg & Edmonton had good advances so it's not ticket sales) are now off the schedule. Appears Toronto as well but we are checking.
A December 29th show in Toronto is still listed on WWE’s website. Trish Stratus was recently announced as hosting the event as well. Another house show in Laval the following night is still listed as well. Those shows will both be part of the WWE Live Holiday tour and feature Superstars from the RAW brand.
Stephanie McMahon has commented on the WWE futures of Ronda Rousey and Gable Steveson.
Earlier this week, WWE’s Chief Brand Officer was honored with the Corporate Leadership Award by the March of Dimes Greater New York/New Jersey Market during its 38th Annual Sports Luncheon.
During a brief chat with Adam’s Apple, she noted that Rousey is always welcome back in WWE – on one condition.
“She is always welcome to come back, as long as she stays away from me!” she said.
Gable Steveson in WWE
Gable Steveson was recently drafted to WWE’s Raw brand, but he won’t be an active Superstar anytime soon.
He’s signed to WWE, but will be returning to the University of Minnesota for his senior year where he’ll look to defend his NCAA Heavyweight National Wrestling Championship.
“He’s still in school,” said Stephanie.”When he’s done with school, hopefully he’s gonna be a part of the full-time roster.”
Regarding Gable Steveson and WWE’s new approach to signing collegiate athletes, WWE announced a new NIL (Name, Image, and Likeness) program today. The program will see WWE develop partnerships with collegiate athletes.
Those taking part in the program will have access to the WWE Performance Center, given resources on media relations, brand building, live event promotion and more as well. More on that story is available at the link below:
At Double or Nothing 2019, Cody and Dustin Rhodes clashed in a classic match. According to comments Dustin made recently on the Way of the Blade podcast, it was a match that both had frequently pitched to have at WrestleMania.
“I had fought so hard every single year to get to work my brother at WrestleMania,” Dustin said. “And point-blank, Vince (McMahon) would always tell me, ‘This match is not good enough to be on WrestleMania’. That pissed me off, that pissed me off bad. And it was hurtful, and it did something to me. It really depleted every ounce of passion that I had. I fought for it every single year, Cody too. We both fought for it every year.”
Dustin also spoke about not being permitted by WWE to work the All In show. He spoke about thinking his wrestling career was over until he was given the chance to face his brother at Double or Nothing.
“So to get offered this with Cody and Tony Khan, to this new fanbase and this upstart company AEW, on this PPV? And I watched All In on PPV at home. It was like ‘Okay, here we go.’”
While the match is widely considered one of if not the best match in both their careers, Dustin said he was not feeling confident going into it.
“I’m very excited about this but not confident at all. I was very lost in my confidence and passion, like I said. And very unsure about my ability to step into the ring with my brother and deliver a very explosive match for him.”
The match received a 5-star rating from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
Game Changer Wrestling (GCW) Brett Lauderdale was our guest on this week’s Business of the Business podcast, the official business podcast of SEScoops.
Lauderdale spoke about his promotion selling out the Hammerstein Ballroom. ”The Wrld on GCW” will take place January 23rd, 2022 from the famed venue.
With the big sellout of Hammerstein Ballroom, Lauderdale was asked about GCW possibly being the #3 promotion in the United States right now.
“I’m very confident in our product and I think that what we do is special and unique and entertaining and fun and all that stuff. As far as numbers go, #3, #2 or #1 or 4 or 5 or 6 or 7, I don’t really feel like we’re competing with anyone,” Lauderdale said.
“We’re just focussed on what we’re doing and trying to be the best at what we do.”
The Briscoe Brothers
Lauderdale also spoke about some of the talent that will be appearing on the show including the Briscoe Brothers.
“The Briscoes are awesome and it’s not secret that they are awesome and that they are one of the best tag-teams of all time. Obviously, they were under contract with Ring of Honor, which was great for them,” Lauderdale said.
“Unless you were a hardcore Ring of Honor fan, you don’t really see the Briscoes as much.”
“There’s so many matchup and so many people that have never had the chance to work with them. It’s exciting for the fans and I can also tell you it’s exciting for the Briscoes.”
PCO Working With GCW
Lauderdale was asked about bring PCO into the promotion. He noted that there were articles out there stating PCO had signed on for 40 dates but Lauderdale noted that is not true.
“It’s possible he could do that many but I don’t have 40 dates lined up right now and obviously we don’t have contracts or anything,” he said.
“Certainly PCO is a guy we like to have around as often as he can.”
Pabst Blue Ribbon
Lauderdale also spoke about working with Pabst Blue Ribbon. He wouldn’t necessarily call them a sponsor but they will be working together often in the future.
“I hate the term sponsor. We’ve talked about this with PBR. We like to consider what we do to be more of a partnership,” Lauderdale said.
“We’re kind of signed on to work together for the duration of 2022. We’ve got several events lined up that we’re going to partner on. A lot of ideas that we’re working on and developing.
PBR is a very cool brand and I think a lot of people don’t fully understand the history of that brand and what they’re doing now. From a cultural standpoint, they match up with us, they are a good match with GCW. We kind of have the same demo.”
The full podcast can be listened to in the player below:
Matt & Nick Jackson the Young Bucks have topped the PWI Top-50 Tag Team rankings this year. The evaluation period for this award was October 2020 to September 30th, 2021. The Young Bucks were the AEW Tag Team Champions during much of this period.
PWI Tag Team Rankings 2021 Top-5
The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson)
Lucha Bros (Rey Fenix & Penta El Zero M)
Dangerous Tekkers (Zack Sabre Jr & Taichi)
The Usos (Jimmy & Jey Uso)
ALK (Giulia & Syuri)
Congratulations to Matt & Nick Jackson, The Young Bucks, for ranking #1 in the second annual PWI #TagTeam50! To see who else made the cut, grab the digital edition or preorder the print magazine from https://t.co/ylNeV87zarpic.twitter.com/3QCzjBkf52
— PWI (Pro Wrestling Illustrated) (@OfficialPWI) December 2, 2021
PWI Tag Team Rankings 2020 Top-5
FTR (Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler)
Kenny Omega & Adam Page
Golden Role Models (Bayley & Sasha Banks)
The North (Ethan Page & Josh Alexander)
Street Profits (Montez Ford & Angelo Dawkins)
PWI Tag Team Rankings 2019 Top-5
FTR (Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler)
Kenny Omega & “Hangman” Adam Page
Golden Role Models (Bayley & Sasha Banks)
The North (Ethan Page & Josh Alexander)
Street Profits (Montez Ford & Angelo Dawkins)
Before 2019, PWI gave out an award for the top team and announced 3 runners-up. The Young Bucks won the award in both 2018 and 2017. The New Day won the award in 2015 and 2016 and the Usos won it in 2014. The Shield won the award in 2013, Kofi Kingston and R-Truth in 2012, and Beer Money in 2011.
WWE has announced a new NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) program aimed at recruiting college athletes. This follows the historic NCAA policy that went into effect this summer allowing college athletes to monetize their name, image, and likeness.
“Dubbed “Next In Line,” the NIL program aims to enhance the talent development process through collaborative partnerships with college athletes from diverse athletic backgrounds,” reads a WWE press release.
Triple H was also quoted in today’s press release announcing the Next In Line program.
“The WWE NIL program has the potential to be transformational to our business,” said Paul Levesque, WWE Executive Vice President, Global Talent Strategy and Development. “By creating partnerships with elite athletes at all levels across a wide variety of college sports, we will dramatically expand our pool of talent and create a system that readies NCAA competitors for WWE once their collegiate careers come to a close.”
Part of the program will include college athletes being able to train at the WWE Performance Center. Athletes will also receive education on things such as brand building, media training, live event promotion and more. Upon completion of the program some athletes will be offered a WWE contract.
This program comes on the heels of WWE signing Olympic Gold medalist, Gable Steveson. He will return to school for his senior year and defend his NCAA championship at the University of Minnesota. WWE also announced they will unveil the first class of athletes in the program soon.
WWE has announced the launch of a groundbreaking NIL (Name, Image & Likeness) program that will provide a clear pathway from collegiate athletics to WWE! https://t.co/48xeYVHIOR
Eddie Kingston was recently interviewed by CBS Sports. During the discussion, Kingston spoke about mental health, Jon Moxley, and even what toxic masculinity is.
Kingston recently posted an article to the Player’s Tribune where he spoke openly about his struggles with mental health. It’s a subject he is trying to be as open about as he can.
“The best way to move on is to talk about what’s going on. And to make my own normal because no one is going through what I’m going through,” Kingston said. “I’m the one going through it so it’s my normal. Not that I’m broken, I’m just going to move on from it and move forward because that’s all I can do is move forward. Do I feel a little bit of pressure since that Players’ Tribune? Yeah, but I also kind of like it too because, look, I can move on, I can do it. I’m not the most mentally put-together person but I’m moving forward, I’m trying. So why can’t anybody else?”
Kingston also spoke about his friend Jon Moxley taking time to go to rehab and the reaction this has garnered from wrestling fans.
“My thing was, ‘I don’t care if anyone else understands. I get it. Your wife gets it, I get it. That’s all that matters.’ It does feel nice that everybody else got it. My girlfriend said this to me the other day. She’s the smart one. Toxic masculinity. I never heard of that before. She seems to think that’s dying because we’re actually celebrating men like Moxley who can accept their flaws but also work on them.”
The full interview with Eddie Kingston can be viewed in the player below.
In Kingston’s article to the Player’s Tribune he spoke about his mental health issues during the early part of his wrestling career. He also spoke about how much he drank during this period. More information on that story is available in the link below:
Kingston wrestled against CM Punk at AEW Full Gear. In an interview with DAZN, Kingston noted that the match was not the biggest of his career but it was the most personal. Much of the story leading up to the match regarded a backstage altercation him and Punk had back when they were both on the independents.
Fenix had been scheduled to defend the AEW World Tag Team Championships along with Penta El Zero M on Rampage this week. It was announced on last night’s Dynamite broadcast that he was injured and unable to travel, however. According to a report from Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio, Fenix is not injured but rather just had travel difficulties leading to him missing the show.
“On tonight’s show for Rampage, they were supposed to do FTR against Penta and Fenix for the AEW tag team titles in a 2 out of 3 falls match. They kind of said Fenix was injured, he’s not injured he’s fine,” Meltzer said. “He had travel difficulties, he could not make it to the show, they were taping today for Friday. So, that’s why they did the promo and Pentagon and PAC faced FTR. It was obviously in a non-title match and it ended up being a 1-fall match as well.”
Meltzer continued to say that Pentagon and Fenix vs FTR for the AAA tag team titles on Saturday at TripleMania TripleMania Regia II is still scheduled to go ahead as planned.
PAC was Fenix’s replacement in the match against FTR. The titles were no longer on the line. The match was also switched from a best 2-of-3 falls match to just one fall. That match will air Friday night on AEW Rampage.
Arn Anderson took a scary looking fall just as the main event to last night’s AEW Dynamite started. Cody Rhodes was making his entrance when Andrade El Idolo and his assistant Jose attacked. As Andrade went after Rhodes, Anderson lost his footing and fell off the ramp. He seemed to fall in-between the stage and the ramp area. Jose helped pick him up and then started to attack him as party of the storyline.
Anderson appeared okay and continued with the melee without showing any ill effects from the fall he took.
“I was told everyone is okay,” said Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio regarding Arn Anderson’s fall (as well as Cody’s flaming table spot).
Several fans have posted footage of Arn’s fall to social media.
It was quite the main event last night from Atlanta. Rhodes picked up the victory over Andrade El Idolo in the Atlanta Street Fight. The finish came when Brandi Rhodes ran into the ring and poured gasoline on a table before lighting it on fire. Rhodes then suplexed Andrade through the table and got the pin. Rhodes seemed to take the brunt of the move, however, going directly through the highest part of the flames.
Following the match, AEW would post photos of Cody’s burnt back to social media. Those photos can be viewed in the link below:
In the main event of last night’s AEW Dynamite Cody Rhodes and Andrade El Idolo went through a flaming table. After the move, Rhodes pinned Andrade while both men still had bits of flaming table attached to them.
“I was told everyone is okay,” said Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio regarding the flaming table spot (as well as Arn Anderson’s fall off the stage).
Following the match, AEW posted several photos of Cody’s burnt back to social media.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CW905UiAY9v/
Cody Rhodes has a habit of doing big moves in Atlanta. He previously did a moonsault off the top of a steel cage when wrestling Wardlow in Atlanta’s State Farm Arena in February of 2020. He would later speak to Sports Illustrated about the spot.
“That was a very Terry Funk style of a moonsault,” said Rhodes. “I’m a bigger guy than people think, so the moonsault doesn’t come off easily.”
“The only piece of thinking in my mind was to throw my head back,” Rhodes continued. “My body will go where my head will go, that’s something John Laurinaitis and Dean Malenko told me when I first started doing the moonsault. As long as I threw my head back, I knew I’d be OK.”
Last night’s main event was the second time Rhodes and Andrade have faced off in singles action. Andrade defeated Rhodes the first time they met back on the November 3rd, 2021 episode of Dynamite.
