Big Cass and Enzo Amore were both released from WWE this year. Cass had been with the company since 2011. Enzo joined the following year in 2012. Their team was split up in 2017 and evidently, their friendship also ended shortly after.

The once-popular tag-team has reconciled, however. Enzo posted the following to his Instagram account recently:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BrgR4QPF8eC/

Cass can’t be seen in the video but it’s pretty clear it’s his voice.

Big Cass Suffers A Seizure/ Enzo Responds

Cass suffered a medical event at a House of Hardcore event last week. It was his second booking with Tommy Dreamer’s promotion. Cass suffered a seizure during intermission and was taken to a local hospital. Dreamer let the fans know during the show that he’d been with Cass all day and the seizure wasn’t due to any illicit drugs.

After news of Cass’ seizure spread, Enzo posted the following:

If I had a dime for everytime one of us got knocked down & didn’t get back up….. I would have #ZeroDIMES … ?? pic.twitter.com/FLxXAFbxcQ

— REAL1 (FKA Enzo Amore) (@real1) December 9, 2018

Would Enzo and Big Cass Reunite Their Tag Team?

Enzo has said he will never wrestle again, choosing instead to focus on a rap career. Cass has appeared on other independent shows in addition to his bookings with Dreamer’s House of Hardcore promotion. There would likely be quite a few indy promotions who would book the tag-team if they decided to reunite.

Ring of Honor has announced that a “Farewell to the Elite” video will air tonight on Honor Club. The popular faction bid farewell to the promotion on Saturday at a set of TV tapings.

Farewell to #theELITE

TONIGHT 730 ET #HonorClub pic.twitter.com/pY7mxS5FAq

— ROH – Ring of Honor Wrestling (@ringofhonor) December 17, 2018

The tapings were held inside the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia. The Elite is expected to take part in a multi-person tag-team match to end their ROH tenures on ROH TV.

Farewell to the Elite In Ring of Honor

There is some speculation at the moment that members of the Elite could still wrestle big shows with ROH next year. If the Elite continue in NJPW, they could take part in joint ROH/NJPW shows in 2019. Cody has made it clear, however, that he won’t be on the Madison Square Garden show this April.

“I can’t imagine me being on that particular show,” Cody told SI.com earlier this month. “After two ‘supercards’ and breaking my back essentially against Kenny last year, it still can’t change the fact that people are in town for WWE.”

Hangman Page, who had been with the promotion since the beginning of his career, had the following to say regarding his departure from ROH:

“I had my last ROH match this weekend,” Page Tweeted. “Showed up to their training school for a tryout as a scrawny 18-year-old. Made a lot of good friends and memories along the way. Thanks, everyone. Full speed ahead.”

Billie Kay was possibly injured at a WWE house show over the weekend. Kay was teaming with her Iiconics partner, Peyton Royce, and facing Noami and Lana at the event.

During the match, reports are that Noami and Kay bumped heads and Kay went down after. Further reports stated she had a dazed look on her face after.

Billie Kay did not finish the match and was seen being helped to the back by a trainer. Some users on Twitter captured her being taken to the back and posted it online:

Ahh Billie Kay needed some medical attention. She walked out ok though ? pic.twitter.com/1QT5p9vLPY

— . (@kimberlasskick) December 16, 2018

Billie Kay, Peyton Royce, and Potential WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships

Earlier this fall, Billie Kay had the following to say regarding women’s tag-team championships in WWE.

“We have always spoken, and quite publicly, that we want to pioneer (a women’s tag division),” she said to TV Insider this fall. “We want to be part of this era of the women’s tag team division.”

Peyton Royce added in the following:

“We want to have a part of it when it does happen. I feel it will happen in time, so we want to have a positive influence on that.”

Speaking of the fondness she feels for her partner, Billie continued:

“When she is away from me, I feel like a chunk of me is gone. I know she feels the same way. So, when we come together…”

Peyton cut her off: “We feel complete. We really do. I feel like myself when I’m with Billie. She brings out the best in me and vice versa.”

You can read the full interview here.

Ring of Honor has announced that Jay Lethal’s next title defense will be on January 13th in Concord. His opponent will be former ROH World Champion, Dalton Castle.

BREAKING: @TheLethalJay will defend the #ROH World Championship against @theDALTONcastle at Honor Reigns Supreme! #ROHHRS

Sun Jan 13 – 7e/4p – #ROHConcord
Streaming LIVE for #HonorClub!

Get your tickets now: https://t.co/ATK9E1DRv8
Event Info: https://t.co/0FWWnN0BM9 pic.twitter.com/PunaQXQ94q

— ROH – Ring of Honor Wrestling (@ringofhonor) December 17, 2018

An ROH press release explained the booking decision as follows:

“With several competitors owed a title match,” the press release begins. “Castle earned the right to be first in line during the international television taping in Philadelphia over the weekend. Castle, who won the title from Cody at Final Battle 2017, holds a victory over Lethal, as he successfully defended the ROH World Title against him at the 16th Anniversary Show this past March.”

Lethal lost to Matt Taven at Final Battle 2018. He never received his title rematch after losing the belt in June, however.

Jay Lethal’s Ring of Honor World Championship Statistics

This match could be the last title defense for Lethal before he ties Samoa Joe’s record for combined days spent with the title on February 3rd. Lethal will tie Joe with 645 combined days spent as champion then. Joe earned all 645 days spent as champion during a single reign, whereas Lethal split his up amongst two different reigns.

If successful, Lethal’s defense against Dalton Castle would be his 37th split amongst his two reigns. It would bring him one behind the record of 38 tied between Nigel McGuiness and Bryan Danielson.

Adam “Hangman” Page wrestled his last match for Ring of Honor on Saturday. After losing an ROH TV title match to Jeff Cobb at Final Battle, Page’s last show with the promotion was Saturday’s TV tapings in Philadelphia.

“I had my last ROH match this weekend. Showed up to their training school for a tryout as a scrawny 18 year old. Made a lot of good friends and memories along the way. Thanks everyone. Full speed ahead.”

Adam “Hangman” Page’s ROH Run

https://twitter.com/theAdamPage/status/1074493431081328640

Page debuted with the company in 2011 after having been trained by Johnny Valiant. He is expected to be apart of the proposed All Elite Wrestling promotion next year.

Other members of the Elite have made similar comments regarding their last ROH matches recently.

Cody Tweeted out the following:

Thank you to all the fans. Thank you to a wonderfully talented locker-room. Thank you to an outstanding crew/production top-to-bottom. Thank you Joe Koff & Greg Gilleland. Thank you ROH, I needed “shelter from the storm” & you gave me a home the past 2 years. Beautiful experience pic.twitter.com/MLWBRAKIQd

— Cody Rhodes (@CodyRhodes) December 16, 2018

He has also made a point of mentioning he will not be at the Madison Square Garden show this spring, even as a member of the NJPW roster.

“After two ‘supercards’ and breaking my back essentially against Kenny last year, it still can’t change the fact that people are in town for WWE.,” Cody told SI.com last week.

“ROH and NJPW sold that building out and that is massive and special and I love that they did it, but had they did it on another weekend, I’d be more likely to be featured on it,” he continued. “After 10 years with WWE doing ’Mania weekend and two more with ROH, I am leaving that weekend for the boys and girls of the WWE.”

The Young Bucks sent out the following as well:

https://twitter.com/MattJackson13/status/1074310767070101505?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

“Leaving the territory. See you on the other side.”

Members of the Elite are believed to have participated in a multi-person tag at the ROH TV Tapings in Philadelphia on Saturday.

Ring of Honor garnered attendance records, launched a streaming service, and broke new ground in 2018. Despite this, many fans are skeptical regarding ROH’s ability to build upon their most successful year ever as we enter 2019.

The reason some are pointing to in regards to skepticism the promotion can continue its string of success is that members of the Elite are departing the company. Cody, Hangman Page, and the Young Bucks won’t be on the ROH full-time roster next year. Marty Scurll’s contract with the promotion ends this spring as well.

Those who have followed ROH since the beginning are aware this is nothing new for the promotion, however. ROH has been built upon a foundation of wrestlers building up their names and then leaving. The only ones who never have are the Briscoes, and they seem to be just where they want to be.

#ROH10Questions with… @RealJeffCobb
Read Now: https://t.co/fKDYNjpVC0

Find out what the #ROH World TV Champion’s favorite memory is of the 2004 Olympics and more!

Relive his epic #ROHFinalBattle title defense against @theAdamPage anytime on-demand: https://t.co/iwcbJ1n4Ta pic.twitter.com/8Dxr8Jt9BS

— ROH – Ring of Honor Wrestling (@ringofhonor) December 16, 2018

ROH Roster In 2019

Out: The Young Bucks, Cody Rhodes and Adam “Hangman” Page.

In: Jeff Cobb, PCO, Brody King, Bandito and Mark Haskins

Granted, the talent in the “Out group” is considerable, but so is the talent in the “In Group”. One notable difference between those leaving and those coming in, however, is that ROH has brought in 3 heavyweights who spent much of this year wrestling each other on the independents. I attended a triple threat match between Jeff Cobb, PCO, and Brody King which took place for Smash Wrestling this year. They were all signed by ROH just a few months later.

There are also rumors that Bandido’s tag-team partner, Flamita could be on his way to ROH. The pair team as “Mexa Blood” and have won tag belts in Progress and the Crash.

In terms of popularity, losing the Elite is significant. In terms of in-ring talent, you can make the argument those coming in have just as much to offer as those who have left, however.

NWA and Ring of Honor

Nick Aldis and the NWA World Heavyweight Championship made an appearance Friday at Final Battle. Aldis applauded for Jay Lethal from the entrance ramp, all but letting the champion know he wants a title match.

The Aldis/NWA/ROH relationship we see in 2019 could be interesting as well. How it plays into what Billy Corgan and the NWA have planned is anyone’s guess at this point. Clearly, the two sides have come to an agreement to work together, however.

NJPW In Ring of Honor Next Year

One of ROH’s biggest draws is their relationship with NJPW. Every year ROH parades around a group of NJPW stars for their Global Wars or War of the Worlds tours. As NJPW continues to grow in popularity, so too will their joint shows with ROH, including this spring inside Madison Square Garden.

Zack Sabre Jr and Juice Robinson are two names ROH is expected to feature more of in the next calendar year. Even the 2019 version of NJPW’s Bullet Club, featuring members of the Firing Squad who kicked the Elite out, are possible for ROH next year. As both NJPW and ROH gear up for the Garden show in the first-quarter of 2019, expect NJPW stars to be a regular occurrence for ROH.

Wrestlers ROH Has Lost In the Past

Since 2002, ROH has hired good wrestlers who, for whatever reason, weren’t getting a shot elsewhere. Tyler Black, El Generico, Kevin Steen, and Bryan Danielson have all come and gone from Ring of Honor in addition to numerous others. Not only did the company keep moving forward after those departures, but they also grew, evolved, and got better. There is no reason to believe anything other than that will happen in 2019 as well.

New Japan Pro Wrestling has announced that a 5-team gauntlet match will take place on the Wrestle Kingdom 13 preshow. The winners will earn a title match against the NEVER Openweight 6-Man tag-team championships.

The 5 teams NJPW has announced for the gauntlet match on the Wrestle Kingdom 13 preshow include:

• Ryusuke Taguchi, Toru Yano, & Togi Makabe
• Minoru Suzuki, Davey Boy Smith Jr., and Lance Archer
• Jeff Cobb, Michal Elgin, & David Finlay
• Chuckie T, Beretta, and Hirooki Goto
• Marty Scurll, Hangman Page, and Yujiro Takahashi

Additionally, NJPW announced the following matches for the Fan Fest scheduled for January 3rd:

• Tiger Mask & Jushin Liger vs Yuya Uemura & Ren Narita
• Yuji Nagata & Manabu Nakanishi vs Toa Henare & Tomoaki Honma
• Satoshi Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs Shota Umino & Ayato Yoshida

https://twitter.com/THEdavidfinlay/status/1074534981211439104

Wrestle Kingdom 13 Lineup

• IWGP Heavyweight Championship
  Kenny Omega (c) vs Hiroshi Tanahashi
• IWGP Intercontinental Championship
  Chris Jericho (c) vs Tetsuya Naito
• Kazuchika Okada vs Jay White
• IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship
  KUSHIDA (c) vs Taiji Ishimori
• IWGP United States Championship
  Cody (c) vs Juice Robinson
• RevPro British Heavyweight Championship
  Tomohiro Ishii (c) vs Zack Sabre Jr.
• IWGP Tag Team Championships
  Guerrillas of Destiny (c) vs The Young Bucks vs. EVIL and SANADA
• IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championships
  Yoshinobu Kanemaru and El Desperado (c) vs Roppongi 3K vs BUSHI and Shingo Takagi
• IWGP NEVER Openweight Championship
  Kota Ibushi (c) vs Will Ospreay

Ring of Honor has signed popular luchador, Bandido. Bandido and ROH have reached an agreement and his debut is expected in early 2019. The news was first reported by Lucha Blog and has since been confirmed by f4wonline.com.

The 23-year-old has been making a name for himself recently in AAA and the Crash promotions in Mexico. He was also recently booked in the main event of the Elite’s All In as well. Bandido frequently teams with Flamita under the name “Mexa Blood”. The team is former tag champions in both the Crash and Progress.

ROH Free Agent Signings

Bandito is another strong signing for Ring of Honor as the company looks to regroup headed into 2019. The recent departures of Cody Rhodes, the Young Bucks and Adam “Hangman” Page could have been a devastating blow, but Ring of Honor has been aggressively rebuilding its talent

ROH COO Joe Koff recently addressed the promotion’s ability to replace leaving stars. He listed several names he feels will be the nucleus for the promotion in the coming months:

“Marty [Scurll] is up in there. Jay Lethal is up in there. Jeff Cobb is an extremely exciting performer, I love watching him. Flip Gordon. Matt Taven. I could probably go deeper than five,” he said.

In addition to Bandito, Ring of Honor has recently signed PCO, Brody King and we’re told a top UK star will be the next announcement.

Mark and Jay Briscoe are now 10x ROH World Tag Team Champions. The brothers defeated SCU (Kazarian and Scorpio Sky) as well as the Young Bucks tonight at Final Battle 2018.

After a bloody and brutal Ladder War VII, Mark Briscoe stood atop the ladder in Hammerstein Ballroom with both belts above his head.

The Briscoes have held the ROH World Tag Team titles a combined total of 1,026 days.

https://twitter.com/totaldivaseps/status/1073797028491218944

ROH Final Battle 2018 Results

1. Kenny King defeated Eli Isom
2. ROH TV Championship
   Jeff Cobb (c) defeated Adam “Hangman” Page
3. WOH World Championship
   4 Corners Survival Match
   Kelly Klein defeated Sumie Sakai (c), Madison Rayne, and Karen Q
4. Zack Sabre Jr defeated Jonathan Gresham
5. Matt Taven defeated Dalton Castle
6. Marty Scurll defeated Christopher Daniels via submission
7. I Quit Match
   Flip Gordon defeated Bully Ray
8. ROH World Championship
   Jay Lethal (c) defeated Cody
9. ROH World Tag Team Championships
   Ladder War VII
   The Briscoes (Mark and Jay Briscoe) defeated the Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson) and SoCal Uncensored (Scorpio Sky and Frankie Kazarian

ROH will tape television in Philadelphia tomorrow. They are then off for the remainder of the year before taping television again in January and beginning the road to the G1 Supercard in Madison Square Garden this April.

Cody will not be taking the ROH World Championship into free agency. He was defeated tonight by Jay Lethal at Final Battle 2018.

Lethal needed to kick out of the Cross Rhodes twice to retain his championship. There was also a strange moment in the match when Cody had Lethal in a figure-four leglock. Hangman Page ran to ringside and rang the bell. He then handed the ROH title belt to Cody and ran away. The ref immediately waved it off, however, as Lethal had not submitted.

The finish of the match came when Lethal gave Cody a series of super-kicks and followed it up with a Lethal Injection. Rather than go for the pin, however, he attempted his finish a second time, which Cody countered. Lethal then grabbed Cody’s leg and locked in his own figure-four leglock and Cody tapped.

After the match, Marty Scurll came to the ring to remind Lethal he is owed a title match as a result of winning Survival of the Fittest in November. Nick Aldis also made an appearance, applauding Lethal from the stage.

https://twitter.com/totaldivaseps/status/1073792861169217536

Jay Lethal 57 Days Away From Making History

In 57 days, Jay Lethal will pass Samoa Joe’s record for total days spent as champion with 645. Lethal has spread out his days as champion amongst two title reigns. Samoa Joe had one 645 day reign with the belt.

Kelly Klein has defeated Sumie Sakai, Madison Rayne, and Karen Q in a 4 Corners Survival match at Final Battle to win the WOH Championship. Klein is just the second ever champion in the title’s lineage after Sakai won the inaugural title 8 months ago.

Sakai had defeated Klein at SuperCard of Honor XII in April to win the championship. She successfully defended the title 7x during her reign.

Kelly Klein WOH Champion

The 27-year-old Klein made her pro debut in 2007 wrestling under the name Mary Elizabeth.

Klein spoke about the possibility of being the new WOH Champion on a recent ROH media call:

“With me as champion, I’m still going to be ‘The Gatekeeper'”, Klein said. “I’m going to be in a position where not only do I have the ability to force people to prove themselves just to be in Women Of Honor, I’m going to be the keeper of the championship and the face of the division.”

The Women Of Honor division has grown in 2018 with the addition of the championship. Tenille Dashwood is currently on the shelf with a shoulder injury following her unsuccessful title match against Sakai at Death Before Dishonor back in September. Karen Q, Britt Baker, Madison Rayne, and several others make up what is starting to become a pretty talented division.

Ring of Honor presents their final PPV of the year tonight from New York’s Hammerstein Ballroom. In many ways, tonight could be both the end of an era for the promotion, as well as the beginning of a new one.

Final ROH Final Battle Card

• ROH World Champion Jay Lethal vs. Cody – Main Event
• ROH World TV Champion Jeff Cobb vs. Adam Page
• ROH Women Of Honor World Champion Sumie Sakai vs. Madison Rayne vs. Karen Q vs. Kelly Klein
• ROH Tag Team Champions SoCal Uncensored (Frankie Kazarian and Scorpio Sky) vs. The Young Bucks vs. The Briscoes – Triple Threat Ladder War
• Matt Taven vs. Dalton Castle
• Jonathan Gresham vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
• Bully Ray vs. Flip Gordon – I Quit Match
• Christopher Daniels vs Marty Scurll
• Kenny King vs. Eli Isom

Refresh this page for Live Updates of ROH’s Final Battle 2018

1. Kenny King vs Eli Isom

Before the match could even begin, Kenny King cut a promo about how Eli Isom is from the ROH Dojo. King said he doesn’t like “new school”, he likes “old school”. Then King started the match by hitting Isom on the head with a microphone.

King got the early offense in after attacking Isom before the bell. The youngster fought back and was able to get in a fair amount of offense in. King looked like he had the 3-count after a springboard blockbuster but picked his opponent’s head up before 3. Isom then got some near falls from pinning combinations but King then hit him with a fireman’s carry driver for the win. King then neglected to shake hands with Isom after.

Winner: Kenny King

2. ROH TV Title
Jeff Cobb (c) vs Adam “Hangman” Page

IMO, this was incredible. Both guys wrestled as babyfaces and the crowd was somewhat divided between them but popped for each guy’s big moves. They both unloaded their extensive offensive arsenals on each other leading to the finish. Page hit a Buckshot Lariat and went for the Right of Passage but Cobb reversed. Cobb then went for a Tour of the Islands but Page countered into a backslide for a nearfall. Page then went for the Buckshot Lariat again but Cobb countered into the Tour of the Islands. Cobb then gave him another one just for good measure and got the pin.

Winner: Jeff Cobb

3. WOH World Championship
4-Corners Elimination Match
Sumie Sakai (c) vs Madison Rayne vs Kelly Klein vs Karen Q

Kelly Klein eliminated Karen Q to start the elimination match. Klein gave her K-Power, a fireman’s carry driver not unlike what Kenny King used to beat Eli Isom earlier.

Sumie Sakai hit Smashmouth on Madison Rayne but Klein kicked the champ out of the way and got the pin on Rayne herself. It’s now down to just Klein and Sakai for the belt.

Sakai looked to have retained when she hit Smashmouth but Klein kicked out at 2. Klein got a near fall with K Power and again with a power-bomb. She would then deliver a super K Power from the turnbuckle and got the pin to win the title.

Winner and new champion: Kelly Klein

4. Jonathan Gresham vs Zack Sabre Jr.

This was the type of technical masterpiece you would expect from these two. After a match’s worth of exchanging submissions and grappling, ZSJ scored a 3 count on the octopus with a pinning-bridge combination.

ZSJ didn’t follow the code of honor after the match and Cabana talked about how arrogant he is.

Winner: Zack Sabre Jr. 

5. Matt Taven vs Dalton Castle

TK O’Ryan forced the ring announcer to announce Taven as the real ROH World’s Champion. He even said the title was on the line in his match against Castle.

Castle came into this match all bandaged up. His 2018 has been about injuries, unfortunately. At one point in this match, Taven absolutely impaled himself on the guardrail from a suicide dive to the outside. TK O’Ryan broke up a pin by throwing one of the boys onto Dalton and subsequently was sent to the back. After that, Taven reversed the Bangarang and moments later hit his impaler DDT for the win.

Winner: Matt Taven

6. Marty Scurll vs Christopher Daniels

The story here is if Daniels wins he gets Scurll’s title shot he earned from winning Survival of the Fittest. Daniels needs to win or he’s gone from ROH. Joe Koff said at Final Battle last year that his contract would not be renewed in 2019, so he had a year left. The story leading up to this match for Daniels has been that he needs to earn the title shot in order to receive a new ROH contract.

The finish of the match came when Daniels hit the Angels Wings but wasn’t able to connect his hands on it because Scurll had done his finger-breaking spot earlier. Scurll was then able to kick out of the weakened finisher. He then got his knees up as Daniels attempted the Best Moonsault Ever. Daniels kicked out of Graduation but then Scurll locked in the Chicken Wing and Daniels tapped.

Daniels got a “Thank you Daniels! SCU!” chant after as his ROH career is supposedly finished.

Winner: Marty Scurll via submission

Bully Ray then hit the ring and gave Daniels a low blow. He did this likely because he is a bully. He then called out Flip Gordon.

7. I Quit Match
Flip Gordon vs Bully Ray

Gordon made his way through the Hammerstein during his entrance through the crowd just like the Sandman used to.

Bully tried to get the victory by picking up Flip’s girlfriend who was sitting in the front row and threatening to powerbomb her through a table. This caused Carey Silkin to hit Bully with a kendo stick to break stop him from doing it.

Flip almost got the submission with a crossface with a kendo stick with an American flag attached but Silas Young interfered. Colt Cabana also made a run in and then the lights went out. When the lights went back on the Sandman was standing with a beer and kendo stick! He took out Young, who had defeated him on ROH television in the build-up to this match. Flip then started repeatedly laying in kendo shots to the back of Bully Ray until he quit.

Winner: Flip Gordon

ROH World Championship
Jay Lethal (c) vs Cody

Cody wasted no time making sure he was the heel in this match. He cut a promo telling the fans if he loved them (the fans) he’d be on the Madison Square Garden show. Then he faked a knee injury.

So many things happened in this match. Lethal kicked out of the Cross Rhodes twice. Cody ducked out of a Lethal Injection by shoving Brandi in front of him. Hangman Page came out and rang the bell when Cody had Lethal in the figure-four. Page then gave the belt to Cody and ran away. The ref waved it off as Lethal had not submitted, however. That was strange.

The finish of the match came when Lethal gave Cody a series of super-kicks and then a Lethal Injection. Instead of going for the pin, however, he looked to go for the move a second time but Cody countered. Lethal then countered Cody into the figure-four leglock and Cody tapped.

Winner: Jay Lethal

After the match, Marty Scurll hit the ring and reminded Lethal he has a title match owed. NWA Champion, Nick Aldis, then came to the ring as well. He just clapped for Lethal and then walked to the back.

ROH World Tag Team Championships
Ladder War VII
SCU (Kazarian & Scorpio Sky) vs the Briscoes vs the Young Bucks

So much to call here. This was a bloody, fast-paced, brutal, and amazing main event. After spring-board cutters through tables, a staple gun, multiple ladder spots and way too much to recap, the Briscoes have won the ROH Tag Team Championships for the tenth time.

The finish of the match came moments after Nick Jackson was thrown off the ladder through a table (and took a nasty spill) and then Kazarian was knocked off the ladder as well, allowing Mark Briscoe to grab both titles and win Ladder War VII

Winners: the Briscoes (new champions)

One-half of the Mighty has been released from WWE. According to a report from Squared Circle Sirens, WWE has parted ways with Nick Miller but are keeping Shane Thorne, who will be repackaged as a single’s wrestler. The roster move breaks up a tag-team which had been together since 2010.

The Mighty most recently competed on NXT this week, in a losing effort Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch. The 33-year-old Australian had been with the company since 2015. He also competed for Pro Wrestling NOAH from 2011 to 2015.

The Mighty/The Mighty Don’t Kneel

Thorne and Miller were a popular tag-team known as the Mighty Don’t Kneel before being signed to WWE. Upon debuting in NXT, they ultimately changed their names to TM-61 and later to just the Mighty.

They were awarded the Tokyo Sports “Tag Team of the Year” award in 2013. They are also 2x former GHC Heavyweight Tag Team Champions with Pro Wrestling NOAH.

Earlier this year, Miller spoke to WWE.com about the frustrations the team has felt dealing with injuries since they debuted in NXT.

“In NXT, both of us have been injured at times where it cost us some major momentum,” Miller said. “While frustrating, you really learn a lot about yourself and your partner when you are standing still and unable to compete.”

Vince McMahon will return to Raw on Monday, the night after Sunday’s TLC PPV. According to a company press release, Vince plans on “shaking things” up on the show.

“One week after Intercontinental Champion Seth Rollins placed the blame for Monday Night Raw’s recent decline squarely on the shoulders of ‘General Manager-Elect’ Baron Corbin, WWE Chairman, and CEO Mr. McMahon will return to the red brand to shake things up,” WWE’s press release reads.

Vince McMahon To Appear On Monday Night Raw

Depending on the result of Sunday’s match between Braun Strowman and Baron Corbin, McMahon could make Corbin the full-time GM of Raw or remove him from the position entirely.

Monday Night Raw will emanate from the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, CA this week.

Vince McMahon’s XFL Plans

McMahon may have more than just Raw’s low ratings on his mind as we approach 2019, however. His XFL league is scheduled to begin play in just over 15 months. McMahon had the following to say regarding his XFL venture to ESPN earlier this year.

“I wanted to do this since the day we stopped the other one,” McMahon said. “A chance to do it with no partners, strictly funded by me, which would allow me to look in the mirror and say, ‘You were the one who screwed this up,’ or ‘You made this thing a success.'”

Sami Zayn has been on the shelf since June 17th, 2018. He underwent double shoulder surgery this summer as a result of torn rotator cuffs.

The timeline for return from Zayn’s surgeries is listed at about 8 months, which could mean he’d be ready to return in February. As that is the middle of WrestleMania season, however, his return could be pushed back until later in the spring as well.

Double shoulder surgery isn't fun, but I see the whole experience as a gift.

Time off wrestling gave me perspective, about myself and the world around me.

Honest introspection/critical reflection is SO valuable, and it costs nothing.
To heal the world, we must heal ourselves.

— Sami Zayn (@SamiZayn) December 14, 2018

“Double shoulder surgery isn’t fun, but I see the whole experience as a gift. Time off wrestling gave me perspective, about myself and the world around me. Honest introspection/critical reflection is SO valuable, and it costs nothing. To heal the world, we must heal ourselves.”

Sami Zayn Double Shoulder Surgery

In June, Zayn spoke to Sports Illustrated about his injury. He said his shoulders had been bothering him for a few years before finally taking time away to deal with them.

“I was apprehensive [at WWE Money in the Bank], but it was still manageable,” Zayn explained. “It’s just so weird how you get so used to what we do: I could go in there and wrestle main events on Live Events for 25-30 minutes, but I couldn’t really get the sheets off me in bed. It’s weird how that works. Your body just adapts. And I guess my body’s used to being in the ring and that kind of punishment.”

Major League Wrestling hits a major milestone tonight. The promotion will go live on BeIN Sports tonight for the first time.

https://twitter.com/MLW/status/1073592476613652481

The matches scheduled to air tonight include:

• Rush vs Rich Swann
• Dragon Lee vs DJZ
• MLW Middleweight Championship (Ladder Match)
  Kotto Brazil vs Andrew Everett vs El Hijo de LA Park vs Dezmond Xavier

Other matches scheduled to take place tonight which will air at a later date include:

• MLW World Championship
  Low-Ki (c) vs Konnan
• Singapore Cane Match
  Tommy Dreamer vs Brian Pillman Jr.
• Ace Romero vs Barrington Hughes

The show gets going at 8 PM tonight on BeIN Sports. For those who do not get the network, the full show will be posted to YouTube tomorrow at 6: 05 PM.

Major League Wrestling Miami Fusion Tapings

Tonight will also be the second night of back to back shows for MLW. They taped “Never Say Never” from the Scottish Rite Temple in Miami last night.

Court Bauer spoke to Sports Illustrated recently about the importance of MLW producing live television.

“There is an energy and sense of expectation to live TV, and with only one or two other companies on live, it puts us in rarified air,” said Bauer to SI.com. “We have now exceeded every milestone we had mapped out in our business plan within our first 13 months of operation. Once again, we now find ourselves in unchartered territory, but it’s very exciting.”

The end of 2018 has been the most contentious free-agency period in wrestling since the Monday Night Wars. As multiple promotion scramble to lock-up talent to their promotion, allegations of talent-raiding and contact interference are rampant.

Admittedly, what is likely a frustrating time for wrestling promoters is also an exciting time for wrestling fans.

According to MLW’s Court Bauer, a promotion recently tried to sign talent already committed to MLW. He made the following comments on Twitter:

https://twitter.com/courtbauer/status/1073597480003002371

“Now that’s what I call #Honor”

MLW, Impact Wrestling, and Lucha Underground all shared talent throughout 2018.

Ring of Honor recently signed PCO and Brody King from MLW. Neither of them was officially locked-up to the company, however, and King had been upfront with MLW about wanting to go to ROH because of the NJPW talent-sharing relationship.

MLW presents a live edition of Fusion tonight from Miami. The following matches are scheduled to take place on the show:

• Rush vs Rich Swann
• Dragon Lee vs DJZ
• MLW Middleweight Championship (Ladder Match)
  Kotto Brazil vs Andrew Everett vs El Hijo de LA Park vs Dezmond Xavier

2018 Talent Raids

This is not the first time this year MLW has complained publicly about other promotions attempting to negotiate with their contracted talent. Court Bauer had the following to say recently on Wrestling Observer Radio.

“I had guys at WaleMania approached by WWE people backstage in the green room about signing,” Bauer said. “I’m like ‘you can’t do that, I’ll give you a freebie, don’t do it again’. Boom, they do it again. I had to send a cease and desist to WWE, that’s called tortious interference.”

Bauer also sent out the following Tweet regarding two luchadors blowing off MLW in order to negotiate with WWE.

https://twitter.com/courtbauer/status/1072138953346740225?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

As we head into 2019, there are plenty of unanswered questions surrounding what the pro-wrestling landscape will look like in the new year. One of the most burning questions is where will members of the Elite end up?

Cody, the Young Bucks, Hangman Page, and eventually Marty Scurll (he’s under contract to ROH until the spring) are expected to form the nucleus of the All Elite Wrestling. Still, many members of the Elite are hoping to continue working with New Japan Pro Wrestling next year.

Will The Elite Continue With New Japan Pro Wrestling?

What could possibly prevent the Elite from returning to NJPW, is the promotion’s approach to talent-sharing deals. This issue was addressed in the most recent edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

“Obviously, both AEW and ROH will want a business relationship with New Japan,” Meltzer wrote. He would continue to say every promotion in the United States would like to have such a relationship.

“New Japan has blocked its talent from working for Impact, even though Don Callis is an announcer for New Japan, because of the ROH relationship,” he continued. “They have not blocked people from working for MLW.”

The question then becomes whether NJPW will allow their talent to work for All Elite Wrestling as they do for MLW or if they will block them from doing so, as they have done with Impact Wrestling.

A possible sign the Young Bucks could be staying occurred this week, however. The popular tag-team announced they are finally being flown first-class to Japan for NJPW shows. This was something the brothers had complained about on their YouTube series in recent weeks.

“New Japan could work with both AEW and ROH,” Meltzer concluded. “The ball really is in their court.”

We expect to hear some big announcements out of the Elite camp after New Japan Pro Wrestling’s Wrestle Kingdom 13 event on January 4th.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is continuing to look into the death of Brian Christopher.

Christopher is reported to have committed suicide while alone in a single cell in the Bolivar jail this summer. He was being held following a DUI charge the month prior. The Lawler family doubts the official cause of Christopher’s death. Jerry Lawler says he is at the point now where the family might start issuing subpoenas to help get answers. He spoke to Local Memphis recently in regards to the ongoing investigation.

“In the words of my attorney, there’s so much smoke that has come out of that Bolivar jail that there’s got to be a fire somewhere,” Lawler said. “If we can help unearth that, then maybe things will change, and it’ll be better for some people down the line,” said Lawler.

Lawler previously expressed his doubts that his son killed himself this summer as well.

“It just doesn’t pass the smell test,” Lawler said to Local Memphis in August. “We’ve received literally countless calls, text messages from people, actual eyewitnesses, that were in the jail and saw things that happened on the actual day that Brian died that now has opened up a new can of worms,” he continued. “It just doesn’t seem like it was suicide.”

To read the full update from Jerry Lawler and Local Memphis click here.

After this week’s episode of Impact Wrestling, there are just 3 shows left before Homecoming on January 6th. Here are 10 takeaways from Impact Wrestling 12/13:

Gail Kim To Referee Tessa vs Taya III

Gail Kim was announced as the special referee for the Knockouts Championship match between champion, Tessa Blanchard, and challenger, Taya Valkyrie at Homecoming. This coming on the heels of the champion getting purposely disqualified in their Bound For Glory rematch at the New York tapings and then subsequently strangling a referee two weeks ago.

With Kim serving as referee and Taya debuting a new submission hold recently, it’s looking as though she could walk away from Homecoming the new champion.

Killer Kross Wants To Bring The Devious Johnny Impact To The Surface

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUrTpa6m-dg

Killer Kross is fast becoming my favorite promo on Impact. He has continuously offered to watch Johnny Impact’s back ever since losing to him at Final Hour last month. The Impact champion wants nothing to do with him, however. This week he threatened Kross to stay out of his business but it’s just that kind of attitude Kross is trying to bring out of Johnny.

Johnny Impact will defend his title against Brian Cage at Homecoming and Kross believes the champ will need his help to retain. What role will Kross play at Homecoming?

Dark Allie Is Coming For Kiera Hogan

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1ym0rPTYYw

Kiera Hogan was wrong, there is no good left in Allie. This week, Allie and Su Yung cut a backstage promo which would give small children nightmares. Allie said something along the lines of “the end of the beginning is the beginning of the end” in multiple ways before making it clear she is targetting her former friend, Kiera Hogan.

Eli Drake Visited Raven In Shady Acres

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFnNOvbAgUw

Last week, Raven helped Eddie Edwards escape from a mental institution. Evidently, Eli Drake watched last weeks episode and decided to pay Raven a visit this week.

While Drake would give Raven his due as a trendsetter and legendary hardcore wrestler, he also said he wants to rid pro wrestling of the wrestlers who were inspired by people like Raven.

Drake’s quest to end hardcore wrestling will continue at Homecoming when he faces Abyss in a Monster’s Ball match. He told Raven to watch.

Eddie Edwards Returned To Attack Moose

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Lye18AUUi8

• Moose vs Brian Cage – No Contest

After escaping Shady Acres last week, Edwards attacked Moose in the night’s main event this week. He didn’t even bother to take off his hospital gown. Edwards has been spiraling downward mentally all year, ever since his rivalry with Sami Callihan. He’ll look to get revenge on his former friend Moose at Homecoming. Their match has now been made a “Falls Count Anywhere” match.

Konnan Won’t Be In LAX’s Corner At Homecoming

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YlrWqKV0aFw

Konnan never wanted LAX to defend their tag belts against the Lucha Bros. Santana and Ortiz went against his wishes and challenged them anyway, much to Konnan’s disliking. This week, Konnan informed the team that he will not be in their corner at Homecoming.

Fenix also defeated Santana in single’s action this week.

Rich Swann Does Not Want To Go To War With Sami Callihan

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K68RL5GgHGs

• Rich Swann defeated Dave Crist 

Swann defeated Dave Crist this week to qualify for Ultimate X at Homecoming. With all four spots in the match now confirmed, Swann could be considered the favorite to walk away from Nashville as the new champion.

After the match, the Crist brothers attacked Swann. Willie Mack came out to help but both Swann and Callihan stopped their allies from attacking the other side. Swann and Callihan have a long history on the independent scene, especially with Combat Zone Wrestling. Swan again told Mac this week in the back that he does not want two “go there” with the devious Sami Callihan.

Jordynne Grace Is Still Very, Very, Strong

• Jordynne Grace defeated Ruby Raze

Katarina thought she could bring in a ringer to face Jordynne Grace this week. After all, she had success sticking Murder Clown against her enemies in Mexico. This week didn’t go as well, however.

Jordynne Grace improves her Impact record to 3-0 as she defeated Raze this week, letting everyone in the Impact Knockouts division know she is moving her way up the rankings as quickly as possible.

Trey Miguel Qualifies For Ultimate X

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0E05RnYiJBU

• Trey Miguel defeated Trevor Lee

We may have seen Trevor Lee’s last match in Impact this week. He was defeated by Trey from the Rascalz in an Ultimate X qualifier. The win gives the Rascalz their first shot to bring home gold at Homecoming. Trey likely still wants to impress Scarlett Bordeaux, who showed up in the trio’s “That 70s Show” style smoking session.

Scarlett Bordeaux Has The Desi Hit Squad Fighting Over Her

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHqUH9ZOdpU

The Desi Hit Squad is going to fight over Scarlett Bordeaux next week. The Smokeshow visited the team in the back this week and said she loves it when men fight over her. Thus, the Desi Hit Squad will do just that next week.

Quick Results:

• Rich Swann defeated Dave Crist
• Fenix defeated Santana
• Jordynne Grace defeated Ruby Raze
• Moose vs Brian Cage – No Contest

Confirmed Matches for Homecoming (Non-Spoiler):

• Impact World Championship
  Johnny Impact (c) vs Brian Cage
• Knockouts Championship
  Tessa Blanchard (c) vs Taya Valkyrie (Gail Kim as Special Referee)
• X-Division Championship
  Ultimate X Match
  Jake Crist vs Ethan Page vs Rich Swann vs Trey Miguel
• Impact Tag Team Championships
  LAX (c) vs Pentagon and Fenix
• Monsters Ball
  Eli Drake vs Abyss
• Falls Count Anywhere
  Eddie Edwards vs Moose

Several WWE Superstars are said to be battling an illness at the moment, possibly having resulted in last-minute booking changes. Alexa Bliss, Finn Balor, Mandy Rose, and Bobby Roode are all said to be battling a bug of sorts.

Balor was sent home early from a tour and missed a Mixed Match Challenge match recently. Bliss did not speak on Raw this week during a press conference segment with Rousey and Nia. She has reportedly been dealing with a bug that left her voice weak.

Roode is also said to be dealing with an unspecified illness. It has also been reported that the scheduled match between Mandy Rose and Naomi did not take place on Smackdown this week due to Rose dealing with a similar bug.

PPV Curse? WWE Illnesses Before TLC Event 2 Years In A Row

Oddly enough, the same thing went on in the WWE locker room before the TLC PPV in 2017 as well. A viral infection caused both Bray Wyatt and Roman Reigns to miss the TLC PPV last year.

Kurt Angle ended up joining the Shield for one night and a planned match between Finn Balor and Bray Wyatt was changed. AJ Styles ended up taking Bray Wyatt’s place in the match and thankfully the whole Sister Abigail vs Finn’s Demon angle was never heard from again.

Last year’s TLC PPV was held in October rather than December. The only Superstar who is currently battling an illness who is scheduled for TLC this Sunday is Finn Balor. He’ll take on Drew McIntyre on the show.

The WWE Network will air 205 Live and NXT in primetime tonight. The cruiserweight division gets going at 7 PM featuring matches taped yesterday in Las Vegas. NXT was filmed in Full Sail University on November 28th.

NXT 12/12 Preview

Ricochet Defends North American Title Against Mystery Opponent

Ricochet told NXT GM, William Regal, he wants to defend his North American title the next time he was in Full Sail and that’s exactly what will happen tonight. Regal has yet to announce to Ricochet or the NXT Universe who Ricochet’s opponent tonight will be, however.

EC3 vs Bobby Fish

When Bobby Fish returned to action in late October, he took a chair to EC3 and put him out of action for several weeks. Now EC3 has a chance for revenge against Fish but he should probably be looking over his shoulder for the other members of the Undisputed Era.

Aleister Black vs Johnny Gargano Segment

Aleister Black and Johnny Gargano will go one-on-one inside a steel cage next week. This week, the two will build towards the match with a segment. Tommaso Ciampa might be watching this part of the show closely.

Mia Yim vs Reina Gonzalez

The winner of this match will punch their ticket to a 4-way match to determine a #1 contender for Shayna Baszler’s title. Lacey Evans and Bianca Belair have already been confirmed for the match.

Danny Buch & Oney Lorcan vs The Mighty

Burch and Lorcan came out the victors in their last tilt with the Mighty. The Australian tag-team then attacked them after the bell, however, leading to tonight’s rematch.

205 Live 12/12 Preview

Cedric Alexander vs Tony Nese

Before he challenges Buddy Murphy in an attempt to regain the Cruiserweight Championship at TLC, Alexander will take on the champion’s training partner, Tony Nese, tonight.

Buddy Murphy vs Noam Dar

The champion will also be in action tonight. Before he defends his title against the former champion on Sunday, Buddy Murphy will take on Noam Dar tonight.

While Natalya Neidhart is defending her father’s legacy on Raw in a controversial angle, other Hart family members are preparing for MLW’s trip to Miami this week.

Teddy Hart, Harry Smith/Davey Boy Smith Jr, and Brian Pillman Jr. are currently a top stable in the promotion. The trio recently filmed a segment at Chicago’s Pro Wrestling Tees.

Pillman is scheduled to face Tommy Dreamer in a Singapore Cane match this Friday in Miami.

MLW Goes Live This Friday

https://twitter.com/MLW/status/1072500504733859840

Major League Wrestling will present a live edition of Fusion this Friday night from Miami on BeIN Sports. The promotion has promised more live specials will air in 2019 as well.

A 4-Way Ladder match has been scheduled for the live show to crown a new MLW Middleweight ChamThe former champion, Maxwell Jacob Friedman, was forced to vacate the title recently due to a broken elbow. Dezmond Xavier, Andrew Everett, Kotto Brazil, and El Hijo de LA Park will be the competitors vying for the title.

“The fans are paying for a title match and the league will deliver on the promise of one next Friday,” said MLW CEO Court Bauer in a press release. “When MJF is medically cleared by his doctor and league physicians, he will have an opportunity to reclaim the title.”

Also on Friday, DJZ will take on Dragon Lee. Rush will also take on Rich Swann.

A judge has thrown out Colt Cabana’s lawsuit against CM Punk. Lawyers for Cabana have already filed a new lawsuit, however. According to a report from PW Insider, a judge ruled Cabana did not have enough proof of a commitment from Punk to cover the cost of Cabana’s legal fees in their defense against WWE’s lawsuit.

Cabana’s first lawsuit was not dismissed with prejudice, however, which allows him to re-file it.

The new lawsuit is stating that Punk believed at the time he made the statements regarding WWE on Colt’s podcast that he was aware there was likely to be legal ramifications and told Cabana he would cover the costs. Cabana is seeking $200,000 in lawyer fees stemming from WWE’s lawsuit against the two of them.

Colt Cabana and CM Punk Legal Dispute

Cabana addressed his lawsuit against Punk briefly this summer on his podcast.

“All I want is for this thing to be settled,” Cabana said. “I don’t have anything to say about it. I’m going to try not to say anything about this until after everything unfolds, I guess.”

Sami Zayn Praises Colt Cabana

Sami Zayn recently offered some praise for Cabana.

“I’ll go one step further and say that, whether they know it or not, many independent wrestlers probably wouldn’t be making the money they’re making now were it not for Colt. He truly changed the game,” Zayn Tweeted.

Rhyno lost a loser-leaves-Raw match against Heath Slater 8 days ago. While his former partner is now an ethically-shady referee, Rhyno’s future was left in doubt. The former ECW Champion recently cleared the air regarding his retirement status in the following video:

EXCLUSIVE: After being fired last week on #Raw, @Rhyno313 sent in a video clearing the air about his in-ring future. pic.twitter.com/U1HArv9eYS

— WWE (@WWE) December 11, 2018

Rhyno Clarifies Retirement Rumors

“Hey guys,” Rhyno begins his video. “This is Rhyno here. I just want to clear up a rumor that I’ve seen going on for about a week now on Twitter about me retiring. I am not retiring, I have no plans on retiring. It apparently started after I competed in a match with Heath Slater and the loser was fired from Raw, which Heath Slater won, a match that we were put in by Baron Corbin. So, I just wanted to clear up that rumor and say I’m not retiring. I am fulfilling my contractual obligation with WWE, the December live events and January live events, I’m going to continue. And after that, I don’t know whether I compete in WWE or somewhere else still, your guess is as good as mine. Hopefully, I cleared up any rumors and look forward to seeing you guys at the live events.”

Rhyno is a former United States, Smackdown Tag Team, and Hardcore Champion during his WWE career.