Matt Riddle said in a recent interview with Mark Andrews that his team with Randy Orton, RK-Bro, was not supposed to be a long term deal. In fact, Riddle says the original plan called for Randy Orton to turn on him the very first night.

“I’ll tell you this, I guess it’s just my luck with tag teams because now I’m tagging with Randy Orton, doing the RK-Bro and bro, same thing happened. It was supposed to be a one — he was supposed to turn on me night one,” Riddle said.

“Like literally, he was supposed to turn on me night one and then Vince and the crowd and everybody liked it so much they’re like, ‘You guys willing to see if this works?’ And I was like, ‘Yeah’ and Randy was like, ‘Yeah, we’re willing to see.’”

“You know, we like working with each other, we’re friendly, it’s been crazy. Randy was gone for three months, I just kept the team afloat. Always talking about Randy. They’re like, ‘Oh man, he’ll be back soon.’ I had no idea when he was coming back.”

Where Is Randy Orton?

Randy Orton appears to be taking time away from WWE again, although it is not clear how long he will be gone for. Bryan Alvarez noted on Wrestling Observer Live that the Viper will be away for “a little while” although the reason for his absence is not clear.

Orton entered into the Royal Rumble match at #29 and only lasted a little over 2 minutes before being eliminated by Brock Lesnar. He then missed this week’s RAW even though he had been scheduled to take part in the scooter race along with Riddle against the Alpha Academy. It’s not clear if Orton will be on RAW next week for the Quiz Bowl with RK-Bro, Chad Gable and Otis.

H/T to Fightful for the above transcriptions.

Juice Robinson’s contract with New Japan Pro Wrestling expired on January 31st, 2022. According to a report from Fightful, he is now a free agent.

Robinson has been wrestling in New Japan’s USA promotion and Impact Wrestling as of late. He has not wrestled in Japan since March.

“It’s a great time in wrestling to show up anywhere, and maybe it’s the right time for me to spread my wings and fly,” Robinson said to Sports Illustrated back in November.

Robinson may continue working with New Japan Pro Wrestling despite not being under contract.

The 32-year-old made his pro debut in 2008 after having been trained by Truth Martini. He signed with WWE in 2011 and worked under the name CJ Parker. While performing in NXT, his character became something of an eco-warrior and would carry signs that read, “There is no Planet B”. In 2015, Robinson departed the company and signed with NJPW that summer.

While in NJPW, Robinson was a 2x IWGP United States Champion. He also won the World Tag League in 2019 along with David Finlay. His team with Finlay, FinJuice, are also former IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champions. FinJuice are also 1x former Impact World Tag Team Champions as well.

Sean Waltman said he notified WWE that he would be available for the Royal Rumble if they needed him. According to comments he made to Sports Illustrated, his belief is that the company wasn’t interested.

“As far as the Royal Rumble, I gave them a heads up I’d be ready if they wanted me,” Waltman says. “I wasn’t actively campaigning for it. I wasn’t going to do that. But I let them know, and I guess they weren’t interested.”

Waltman also noted during the interview that he did pretty well in wrestling when he was not clear-headed. He believes he has much left to offer now that he is.

“I did pretty well in this industry when I wasn’t clear-headed, so think of what I can do with a healthy mind and healthy body,” Waltman says. “I don’t know how many matches I have left in me, so I’m going to go out there and have some great f—ing matches.”

Waltman’s last match was in the spring of 2019. He says that his last few years of wrestling were more of a nostalgic act but that this run will be different.

The 49-year-old appeared recently on The WRLD On GCW PPV from The Hammerstein Ballroom. He now appears to be entering a program with Matt Cardona in the promotion.

Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat has been booked for MLW’s February 26th, 2022 show in Charlotte, North Carolina. Steamboat will play the role as MLW match-maker for the event as well.

“The legend returns to the hallowed grounds of the Grady Cole Center where “The Dragon” emerged as a main eventer and forever became a part of Charlotte’s rich wrestling history,” reads an MLW press release.

“Celebrated as one of the sport’s all-time greats, Ricky Steamboat has signed on as the matchmaker for MLW’s big Charlotte card.”

MLW’s current match-maker is Cesar Duran. He is the former Dario Cueto from Lucha Underground and plays a very similar role in MLW. The promotion is currently airing episodes of “MLW Azteca”. These episodes feature matches taped during their show in Tijuana, Mexico on December 3rd.

One match already booked for the show in Charlotte will see Alexander Hammerstone defend his MLW World Championship. Hammerstone will face the winner of the 2021 Opera Cup, Davey Richards.

The 68-year-old Steamboat is a 1x NWA World Heavyweight Champion. He was inducted into the WWE Hall Of Fame Class of 2009. Additionally, Steamboat was a 4x NWA United States Champion, 1x WWE Intercontinental Champion, 2x Mid-Atlantic NWA Heavyweight Champion.

WWE has scrapped plans for Shane McMahon to wrestle at Elimination Chamber and WrestleMania.

Vince McMahon’s only son was a surprise entrant in the 2022 Men’s Royal Rumble match. In the days following the Rumble, we learned Shane McMahon was heavily involved in the booking the men’s Rumble match. The planning of that match was said to be very chaotic and McMahon had “backstage heat” as a result.

Steve Carrier of RingsideNews is reporting that all bets are off and Shane ‘o Mac is effectively gone from the company.

“There is a lot going on with Shane McMahon. He is now off RAW, Elimination Chamber, and WrestleMania,” Carrier tweeted. “A tenured source within the company told us that Vince McMahon is also quietly using the term ‘let go’ to describe the situation.”

Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer has since confirmed the Ringside News report.

Shane McMahon & the Royal Rumble

McMahon worked as a producer on the men’s Royal Rumble match. It is something he also did for the 2020 and 2021 Rumble matches as well. Previous reports stated that McMahon attempted to make this year’s Rumble match all about himself, however.

Dave Meltzer addressed the situation recently on Wrestling Observer Radio.

“There was a lot of heat on Shane because Shane was one of the producers,” Meltzer said. “In fact he was kind of the head producer of the Rumble.”

A previous report from Ringside News stated that “A tenured member of the creative team told us that Shane McMahon ‘openly buried Jamie Noble’ and he ‘tried to book the Rumble around himself.’” 

Click below for more details on Shane McMahon’s chaotic week:

Sami Zayn crashed the premiere of the “Jackass Forever” movie. He used the event as an opportunity to call out his current rival on Smackdown, Johnny Knoxville. The two also came to blows on Saturday night in the 2022 men’s Royal Rumble match.

After Zayn berated the Jackass cast and attending media for awhile, he was led away by security.

“‘Look at him, Johnny Knoxville, the man of the hour! Let’s hear it for Johnny Knoxville,” Zayn shouted. “Are you getting this, Entertainment Tonight? I’m the bad guy for coming and trying to show respect!”

Video of Zayn being kicked out of the event was posted to WWE’s social media accounts:

Zayn entered the Royal Rumble on Saturday in the #8 position. Johnny Knoxville would enter immediately after him in the #9 spot. Zayn eliminated Knoxville from the Rumble but was then eliminated himself shortly after by AJ Styles.

The 37-year-old recently re-signed with WWE. Zayn would later tell Pat Laprade that he is happy with his role in the company.

“It’s not the first time I’ve said it, but I’m really happy with my role with the company in recent years, especially the last year, year and a half,” a translation of Zayn’s comments read. “I’m doing the best job of my career, especially in terms of my character. I don’t know why people were really surprised. They have an idea in their heads that everyone in WWE is unhappy being there, unhappy with their role, that they want more or feel oppressed, or I don’t know what. For me, I’m really happy with my role and I can’t wait to see what I’m going to be able to do in the next few years.”

WWE is advertising that Royal Rumble winner Ronda Rousey will compete at the March 6th live event from Laval, Quebec. This event had originally been scheduled for late December, but was postponed due to increased restrictions due to a surge in COVID-19 cases.

Rousey will team with former rival Sasha Banks against Charlotte Flair and Rousey’s training partner, Shayna Baszler. At the Royal Rumble on Saturday, Rousey seemed pleased to see Baszler when she entered in at the #30 position.

Sasha Banks and Rousey worked a program leading up to the 2019 Royal Rumble. Rousey then successfully defended the RAW Women’s Championship against Banks on that show.

Rousey is reportedly under contract with WWE through WrestleMania 39. She will be working a full schedule and it appears as though this includes working the house show tours, unless the show in Laval is an anomaly.

She’s is expected to be part of the Smackdown brand moving forward, with her likely choosing Charlotte Flair as her WrestleMania 38 opponent.

Rousey said on Monday’s RAW that she’ll make her decision regarding which championship she’ll challenge for this Friday on Smackdown. Friday’s show will take place in Oklahoma City.

Nia Jax says WWE asked her to be in the 2022 Women’s Royal Rumble match despite having been released from the company on November 4th. She also commented on what happened before Survivor Series 2018 when she concussed Becky Lynch in a segment on RAW.

WWE was doing the Smackdown vs RAW angle leading up to the Survivor Series 2018 PPV, and Lynch joined several Smackdown Superstars in an invasion segment on RAW. During a melee with the RAW roster, Lynch was concussed by a strike thrown by Nia Jax.

Jax recently appeared on Renee Paquette’s The Sessions podcast and addressed the incident.

“The producer of that match, I won’t name names, basically was like, ‘This needs to look real. Say sorry, later.’ We were all like, okay, cool,” Nia said. “Being the larger person, I feel as though people feel, ‘Oh, we can hit the shit out of her. She’ll be fine’, which is true. Like for the most part, like I get wailed and whatever. I’m okay.”

“I didn’t punch her. But it did connect. I didn’t even realize it was Becky. I honestly thought it was Lana,” Nia continued. “Then I look around and I’m like, Oh my gosh, there’s blood everywhere. Then I look and I’m like, Oh crap, Becky’s down.”

She added that Vince shrugged off the incident when she went to him. He reportedly just said, “Well, it’s not ballet.”

The incident ended up having a big impact on the build-up to WrestleMania 35. At Survivor Series, Lynch had been planned to face Ronda Rousey. With Lynch out, Ronda ended up facing Charlotte Flair on the show. It had at one point been Flair vs Ronda scheduled for the Mania main event. After Lynch returned, the main event of WM35 was changed to a triple threat.

Nia Jax Offered a Spot in the Women’s Royal Rumble

Jax also commented on being offered a spot in the 2022 Women’s Royal Rumble match after having been released from the company last year. She detailed what happened when a WWE employee called and asked her about being in the match.

“I was like, ‘Fu*k no, I’m not coming back.’ and he was like, ‘Oh, well, we’d like to offer you this.’ I said, ‘First of all, I already know I’m still under my 90 days. You’re still going to be paying me anyway, so you’re not offering me anything. No, I’m not fu**ing coming back. I was like, absolutely fu**ing not.’ I was like, ‘Is this all this was?’ and he was like, ‘Yes.’ I’m like, ‘Okay, bye.’”

H/T to WrestlingNewsCO for the above transcriptions.

Impact Wrestling pulled in the best ratings its done since February 2021 last week. On the heels of Mickie James being announced for the Royal Rumble match, Impact’s 1/27 show drew 182,000 fans and a 0.05 in the 18-49 demo. It’s the best rating Impact has done since the February 16th, 2021 show.

The 2/16 show last year featured the debut of Juice Robinson and David Finlay. It was also the first show since the No Surrender 2021 show that had taken place that weekend. The promotion was about 2 months into the storyline that saw Kenny Omega invade the promotion. Omega would win the Impact World Championship from Rich Swann that April.

In addition to the Mickie James “Forbidden Door” bump, Impact also has a storyline right now featuring several members of Ring of Honor invading the promotion. The Honor No More stable consists of Vincent, PCO, Mike Bennett, Matt Taven, and Maria Kanellis. Jonathan Gresham has also defended the ROH World Championship on recent Impact shows.

In the world title picture right now in Impact, Moose is gearing up to defend his championship against W. Morrissey next. They will face off for the belt on February 19th’s No Surrender 2022 show. Mickie James will also defend the Knockouts World Championship on that show against Tasha Steelz.

Brock Lesnar won the men’s 2022 WWE Royal Rumble, but that was not the original plan. Just days after WWE’s latest premium live event, details are leaking out regarding the chaotic planning leading up to the Rumble.

Before WWE settled on Brock Lesnar winning, Matt Riddle and Randy Orton were each slated to be the last man standing, according to PWInsider.

In light of WWE ultimately going with Brock Lesnar, it remains to be seen if Riddle will still be in line for a main event push headed into WrestleMania.

Riddle qualified for the Elimination Chamber match last night on RAW by defeating Otis in a qualifying match. Meanwhile, his RK-Bro teammate Randy Orton was not at the show last night.

With Riddle having qualified for the Elimination Chamber match, it does not appear as though Riddle and Orton will challenge the Alpha Academy on the event for the RAW tag team titles.

It’s also worth noting that Orton did not appear in any of the backstage videos involving the scooter race between Riddle and Chad Gable on Raw.

No word yet on why Orton missed Raw. He was only in the Royal Rumble match for 2 minutes and 21 seconds after entering in at the #29 position.

He received a big ovation from his hometown St. Louis fans but was eliminated by Brock Lesnar after he and Riddle had eliminated Otis and Big E.

• Heat on Shane McMahon From Royal Rumble Booking (Report)

Shane McMahon worked as a producer for the men’s Royal Rumble match on Saturday. It’s a role that reportedly has gained him some detractors backstage in WWE.

According to a report from the Wrestling Observer, people backstage were upset with how hands-on McMahon was in booking this year’s Rumble.

“There was a lot of heat on Shane because Shane was one of the producers. In fact he was kind of the head producer of the Rumble. Then he had an idea of what the Rumble was going to be and a lot of that ended up being changed.”

Ringside News had earlier reported that, “A tenured member of the creative team told us that Shane McMahon ‘openly buried Jamie Noble’ and he ‘tried to book the Rumble around himself.'” 

McMahon had worked as a producer for the Rumble matches in 2020 and 2021. Reports are he was far more involved this year, however.

Shane McMahon WrestleMania Plans

The plans for Shane McMahon at WrestleMania currently are for him to have a match with Seth Rollins. Shane reportedly wanted Seth to appear in the Rumble match so they could kickstart their rivalry.

“Both Rumbles were changed over and over again,” said Dave Meltzer. “In fact, the Seth match with Roman was changed several times too. Essentially, the original finish was Roman Reigns was going to beat Seth Rollins.”

Shane McMahon at one point had been scheduled to be in the Elimination Chamber match as well. This would have furthered his rivalry with Rollins but that appears to have changed as well now.

PW Insider has reported that Shane McMahon will be a regular on the RAW roster.

Chris Jericho saw ‘money’ in Eddie Kingston the moment he set eyes on him.

Le Champion spoke with Freddie Prinze Jr. this week on the popular Wrestling with Freddie podcast. When asked about who he wants to work with AEW, Jericho heaped praise on the Mad King.

“That’s a guy from day one, the moment he walked in, I said ‘that’s a superstar, he’s gonna be a huge babyface I like his style, it’s very hard-hitting,” Jericho said of Eddie Kingston.

“He doesn’t look like a typical wrestler, he just looks like a tough guy at the bar, but his promos are above and beyond. That’s why I kind of pick and choose who I’m going to be working with.”

Jericho continued, “It has to fit in with plans that Tony Khan has and what the guys have. But the Eddie one was really something cool to me. I also deal in long-term stories, so nothing is set in stone, but that is one I’m really looking forward to that will happen.”

Kingston and Jericho seem destined for a match with one another. Kingston recently told Santana and Ortiz on AEW programming that Jericho is the reason they are not the AEW World Tag Team Champions. Last week on Dynamite, Jericho teamed with Santana and Ortiz but his Inner Circle stablemates refused to tag him in and seemed to want to handle things without him.

Eddie Kingston is currently out of action with a broken orbital bone. He is expected to return mid-February, however.

Listen to Chris Jericho’s appearance on the Wrestling With Freddie podcast:

H/T to WrestlingInc for the above transcriptions.

Matt Cardona recently commented on the ECW One Night Stand 2006 references in his match against Joey Janela on The WRLD On GCW PPV. Both shows emanated from New York’s Hammerstein Ballroom. Cardona was on Busted Open Radio recently and talked about his match with Janela.

“There were times in that match where I just had to turn away from the camera because I felt like I was smiling because I was having so much fun in there. I said it last time, Mikey Whipwreck brought me to ECW One Night Stand 2005, and I’ve always wanted to wrestle in that building. I never thought I would have that opportunity,” Cardona said. “To be there it was everything I hoped it would be and more.”

During the GCW show, Cardona wore a t-shirt that had a “If Cardona Wins We Riot” sign printed on it similar to the “If Cena Wins We Riot” sign from ONS 2006. A fan also had the “If Cardona Wins We Riot” sign in the stands during the GCW PPV.

“I had made a t-shirt, ‘If Cardona wins we riot,’ and then someone had the sign,” Cardona said. “People thought I planted that sign, like no. Fans really brought that.” he continued.

Cardona and Janela re-created several spots from the Rob Van Dam vs. John Cena match at One Night Stand. Cardona tossed his t-shirt into the crowd, much like Cena did in 2006. At the ECW ONS show, the fans tossed Cena’s shirt back at him several times. At The WRLD On GCW, one fan ripped up Cardona’s shirt before tossing it back.

At ECW ONS 2006, Edge speared Cena into a table while wearing a motorcycle helmet leading to the finish. At the WRLD on GCW, Brian Myers speared Janela into a door while wearing a similar looking motorcycle helmet, again leading to the finish of the match.

“Because I am such a diehard ECW fan, so that building meant so much to me. I never got to go there for the real ECW shows, but like I said, I saw One Night Stand. I feel like that was the final ECW show. That night was just incredible, but for me, this show at the Hammerstein was even more incredible. Because I got the little tease in 2005, just being a fan hoping one day I get to wrestle there. And then I finally did it and it was everything I thought it would be.”

H/T To WrestlingInc for the above transcriptions.

Kurt Angle is set to become part of WWE programming once again in the near future. Angle revealed on his podcast, “The Kurt Angle Show” that WWE reached out to him recently about playing a role on television.

“They want me to be involved in the show for the next month or so. I’m really excited about it, so we’ll see what’s in store for me,” Angle said on the show.

Angle was backstage during the Rumble Saturday night in St. Louis. He was not used on the show, however.

Angle didn’t reveal what he might be doing in WWE soon. Although this is just speculation, Angle could potentially be aligned with the new RAW tag team champions, the Alpha Academy Otis and Chad Gable. If the Steveson brothers are ready to appear on WWE programming, Angle could also be paired with them.

Back in November, Angle said on the Pancakes and Powerslams podcast that Gable Steveson is someone he would like to manage.

“Which superstar today would I like to be the manager of? Gable Steveson!” Angle said. “I think Gable will be very important to WWE in the future.”

“He has all the credentials to succeed in this business, I can assure you. His charisma, his personality and his character are suitable to make a bang in perspective. If he finds the right confidence and surrounds himself with trusted people, the sky is really the only limit for this guy,” Angle continued.

Angle spoke about Chad Gable during a recent Q&A session on AdFreeShows.com.

“Chad is still underrated. That poor kid, because of him being undersized, he hasn’t gotten much of a chance that he should. And I really believe that if they gave him that shot, he would be another great athlete like AJ Styles. AJ was undersized too, and I think that Chad Gable would have the same effect.”

Lio Rush had to be taken to the ER following a match at PWG’s Battle of Los Angeles event last night. Rush had defeated Buddy Matthews via disqualification when Matthews kept up the attack after the match and delivered a curb stomp to Rush. Later in the show, it was revealed to the live crowd that Rush was injured and would be replaced in the semi-finals.

“Just being honest with you guys here. I’m not good. But i will be good. And when I’m back, I’ll be dangerous,” Rush wrote on Twitter.

It is believed the injury occurred during the Curb Stomp. Some on social media have suggested that fans throwing drinks into the ring may have led to the injury.

The injury comes at a time when Rush is expected to become a free agent next month. His AEW contract expires on February 14th and he’ll be a free agent after that.

Update: Lio Rush has provided an update on his condition. Rush says he suffered “clean dislocation” to his left shoulder. He’ll be undergoing an MRI in 2-3 weeks and is hoping doctors don’t find a tear or any severe ligament damage.

Shawn Michaels is in charge of NXT creative at the moment. WWE rebranded NXT to NXT 2.0 back in September. This is when Vince McMahon and Bruce Prichard were said to have taken a larger role backstage in NXT. According to a recent report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, however, McMahon and Prichard do not play a major role in creative in the same way they do for RAW and Smackdown.

“We are told that even with the perception that Vince McMahon and Bruce Prichard are running NXT, it’s really not the case. When it comes to creative, the guy basically in charge is Shawn Michaels,” wrote Dave Meltzer.

Vince McMahon is said to be more involved than he used to be in NXT, however. While he will look at run sheets, he does not change the show last-minute as he often does with RAW and Smackdown.

There are some directions that come from the top that Michaels has to follow. One of those directives is said to be the pushing of Joe Gacy. McMahon apparently believes that Gacy’s gimmick will earn the company mainstream publicity.

Also, there are several NXT talents who could be called up to the main roster shortly. LA Knight is slotted to get called up after WrestleMania, but that may have gotten pushed up. The Creed Brothers have reportedly earned praise as well, with Julius getting some Kurt Angle comparisons.

Currently, there are no plans for Triple H to return to creative for either WWE or NXT due to health issues. WWE officials are pleased with the job Shawn Michaels has been doing in his absence. Michaels is being praised for turning guys like Bron Breakker, Carmela Hayes, Knight, Grayson Waller and Tony D’Angelo into stars.

Impact Wrestling on 1/27 was the first show to air from the recent tapings in Fort Lauderdale. The tapings featured the Impact debut of the Guerrillas of Destiny.

Impact Results 1/27:

1. Jake Something defeated Chris Bey
2. The iinspiration (Cassie Lee & Jessica McKay) defeated Kaleb with a K & Madison Rayne
3. W. Morrissey defeated The Learning Tree in a handicap match.
4. JONAH defeated Johnny Swinger
5. PCO defeated Chris Sabin

Bullet Club Attack Jake Something & Mike Bailey

Jake Something picked up a victory over Chris Bey in this week’s opening contest. After the match, however, the Guerrillas of Destiny Tama Tonga and Tonga Loa hit the ring and attacked Something. “Speedball” Mike Bailey came out to make the save but Jay White came up behind him and gave him a suplex.

Tama and Tonga then sent a message to the Good Brothers into the camera. We haven’t seen those two teams come face to face since the NJPW USA show this summer.

Honor No More vs Team Impact Booked For No Surrender

Vincent, PCO, and the OKC bought tickets and made their way to ringside. This led to a team of Impact babyfaces (Rhino, Rich Swann, Eddie Edwards, Chris Sabin and Josh Alexander) coming out to the ring to prevent anymore invasions. Scott D’Amore came out and booked a 5-on-5 match for No Surrender with the stipulation that if Honor No More wins, they can remain in Impact. He also booked a match between Chris Sabin and PCO for later in the show. D’Amore noted that the Honor No More faction does not represent ROH like Jonathan Gresham does, they are in it for themselves.

Later in the show, D’Amore brings Honor No More to a backstage room that they can use as their locker room. There, they are visited by former ROH owner Cary Silkin, who says the group do not represent Ring of Honor.

The Iinspiration defeated Madison Rayne and Kaleb with a K

Tenille Dashwood was not able to make it to the tapings in Fort Lauderdale, so Kaleb with a K subbed for her in this match. Since Kaleb is not eligible to compete for the Knockouts tag team titles, the match was changed to a non-title bout. Lee ended up pinning Kaleb with a pinning combination to pick up the win for the Iinspiration.

Mickie James Gives State of the Knockouts Division Address

James put over the division roster. She did refer to Deonna Purrazzo as “the worst person” she’s shared a ring with, which obviously the Virtuosa did not take too kindly to. Purrazzo had a few words for James before leaving the ring area.

James also spoke about taking part in the Royal Rumble on Saturday. She said she is honored and excited to walk into the Rumble as the Knockouts World Champion. Chelsea Green got in the ring and complimented James and listing off her accomplishments. Green said Mickie is going to win the Rumble and she wants the first title shot after she does. Tasha Steelz reacted to this with loud boos, since she’s scheduled to face James at No Surrender next month.

Steelz hit James with the Red X from Ultimate-X and a melee ensued between her & Savannah Evans against Green and James. It ended with Green and James throwing both of the heels out of the ring.

W. Morrissey Defeats The Learning Tree In Handicap Match

Brian Myers inducted multiple people into his Learning Tree in the back earlier in the show. Several of these wrestlers then took on W. Morrissey in a handicap match. Morrissey had little trouble with any of them. He squashed all of Myers’ new recruits and is building momentum on the road to his No Surrender title match with Moose.

After the match, Myers tried to attack Morrissey but Morrissey got the better of him. Then Moose attacked from behind. The Learning Tree got back involved but Morrissey fought them off before getting speared by Moose to end the segment.

JONAH Squashes Johnny Swinger

JONAH didn’t have any trouble at all with Johnny Swinger this week. He defeated him with his big tsunami splash off the top rope. American Top Team and AEW’s Dan Lambert was shown watching and applauding JONAH’s performance from the crowd.

After the match, JONAH looked to do more damage to Swinger when the members of Decay came to the ring. They had a bit of a staredown with JONAH as he went to the back.

PCO Defeats Chris Sabin

The night’s main event saw Honor No More’s PCO take on Chris Sabin in singles action. Sabin looked as though he had PCO where he wanted him, but PCO thwarted the Cradle Shock. Sabin then had to fight off the members of Honor No More at ringside but Bennett managed to knock him off the top ropes while Maria had the ref distracted. PCO then delivered a full nelson slam and got the pin.

After the match, Honor No More attacked Sabin but Josh Alexander, Eddie Edwards, Rhino and Rich Swann made the save. Alexander put Vincent in the ankle lock until Honor No More pulled their stablemate to safety as the show came to a close.

Coming Up In Impact Wrestling

Next Week:

• Digital Media Championship
  Jordynne Grace (c) vs Matt Cardona
• Jonathan Gresham vs Steve Maclin (traditional rules, not Pure rules)
• Ace Austin, Madman Fulton, Mike Bailey, & Jake Something vs Bullet Club (Jay White, Chris Bey, Tama Tonga, Tonga Loa)

No Surrender (February 19th)

• Knockouts World Championship
  Mickie James (c) vs Tasha Steelz
• Impact World Championship
  Moose (c) vs W. Morrissey

Charles Barkley dedicated a portion of his podcast recently to send a message to AEW’s Jon Moxley. Barkley said he’s proud of the former AEW World Champion for seeking out treatment for his issues with alcohol.

“I know you all don’t know this guy, his name is Jon Moxley. You guys know I’m a big wrestling fan,” Barkley said on the show.

“So Jon Moxley, he’s one of the biggest stars for AEW. He left three months ago for alcohol treatment. You know I had a younger brother who passed away so I know a lot about addiction, and he just came back this week and I just want him to know, we never met, I just want to say, man, I’m really proud of him.”

Barkley continued, “I wish him nothing but the best. I’ve been through it with my family and, man, it’s a tough situation. But I just want him to know that I’m really proud of him and just keep battling. It’s all you can do. So, shoutout to those guys.”

You can listen to Charles Barkley’s comments about Jon Moxley here:

Jon Moxley entered an inpatient alcohol rehabilitation program in November 2021.

He returned last week on AEW Dynamite and then defeated Ethan Page later that night in a match taped for Rampage.

Moxley would also defend his GCW World title on Sunday at the WRLD on GCW PPV in the Hammerstein Ballroom against Homicide.

A match featuring Moxley taking on the Acclaimed’s Anthony Bowens was also taped for Rampage Wednesday night from Cleveland.

Shinsuke Nakamura has been cleared to return to in-ring action. Nakamura had been on the shelf with a hand injury dating back to mid-December. The winner of the 2018 Royal Rumble noted on his Instagram stories recently that he has been cleared to return.

Nakamura’s last match was on a December 18th, 2021 WWE live event in Rockford, Illinois. He teamed with Boogz on that card and defeated Happy Corbin and Madcap Moss.

Rick Boogz Comments On Shinsuke Nakamura’s Injury

Nakamura’s injury was first revealed by his partner, Rick Boogz, on the Out of Character podcast.

“We’ve only had a couple of tag matches together and he suffered a hand injury that has kept him out for close to two months now, it seems like. I’m looking forward to him being healthy and cleared so we can kick some tail,” Boogs said on the podcast. 

“From there, down the road, we’ll branch off, but I’m in no rush with that. There is a new approach, pairing up the seasoned vets with new up and comers and it’s obviously for a reason. It helps get more exposure, TV time, valuable insight. I don’t think he’d be as willing to help me out if I wasn’t with him, Strong Style Shred. What’s his incentive to help me?”

WWE recently reached out to Jeff Hardy regarding a potential return to the company and an induction into the WWE Hall of Fame, according to the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

John Laurinaitis, WWE’s head of talent relations, personally reached out to Hardy in hopes of getting him back in the fold. Hardy declined the offer.

WWE announced this week that the 2022 Hall of Fame induction ceremony will take place during WrestleMania 38 weekend from Dallas, TX.

“Hardy turned it down and asked for his drug test results because he knew he wasn’t going to test positive for recreational drugs.”

– Wrestling Observer Newsletter (Issue dated 1/30/22)

The report continues to say that WWE does not want Hardy to go to AEW and reunite with his brother Matt Hardy there. The Hardy Boyz would be revitalized going up against teams such as the Young Bucks, FTR, Santana & Ortiz etc.

AEW is not able to make an offer to Hardy until after his WWE contract runs out on March 9th. The belief is that Hardy is AEW bound once he becomes a free agent.

Matt Hardy recently stated that his brother’s passion for wrestling has been renewed.

“You know Jeff’s excitement and passion for wrestling have been so renewed now that he has this new horizon in front of him. I’m very excited about that,” Matt said on the Wrestling Perspectives podcast.

Becky Lynch has commented on the rumors circulating that Ronda Rousey could be on her way back to WWE. News broke recently that WWE officials are pushing for Rousey to return in the upcoming Royal Rumble premium live event this weekend.

Lynch responded to a Tweet from Bleacher Report noting that Rousey could be returning to WWE soon.

“Was wondering if you’d show up again. I’ve still got her and she’s doing great,” Lynch Tweeted.

Rousey gave birth to her first child in September but is said to have been training for an in-ring return.

The last time Ronda Rousey was in a WWE ring she was pinned by Becky Lynch in the main event of WrestleMania 35. There was some controversy to that match, however, as Rousey’s shoulder appeared to come off the mat during the pin.

Lynch would also take time away from the company to have her first child. She vacated the RAW Women’s Championship to Asuka the night after Money in the Bank in 2020. She’d return this summer at SummerSlam and regain the title in just 23 seconds in an impromptu match against Bianca Belair. Lynch is scheduled to defend the title on Saturday against Doudrop.

Brian Kendrick, who has been working backstage in a producer’s role for NXT and 205 Live, has reportedly asked for his WWE release. According to PWInsider, Kendrick asked for his release 6 weeks ago but remains with the company as of this writing.

“We can confirm that Brian Kendrick, who had most recently been working as a producer on WWE NXT and 205 Live, requested a release from the company weeks ago and has not been to any TV tapings in Orlando in some time,” wrote Mike Johnson. 

“We are told Kendrick has been waiting for a release ‘at least’ six weeks.”

– PWInsider on Brian Kendrick’s status with WWE

Brian Kendrick finds himself in a similar situation as Mustafa Ali. Mustafa Ali publicly requested his WWE release earlier this month. WWE has yet to grant that release, prompting fans on social media to use the hashtag, #FreeAli.

He was with WWE from 2005 to 2009. During that run, he won tag team gold along with Paul London twice. He’d return to WWE in 2014 as a trainer but then got back in the ring for the 2016 Cruiserweight Classic and 205 Live.

Kendrick is also a former WWE Cruiserweight Champion. He and former tag team partner Paul London won Pro Wrestling Illustrated’s Tag Team of the Year award in 2007.

Randy Orton recently discussed his storyline rivalry with The Fiend during an appearance on the Ringer Wrestling Podcast.

Orton said it could be difficult to make some of what was asked of him during the program look and feel believable.

“They put me in the burn mask one week and the next week I’m out of it and my skin healed. It’s tough,” Orton said. “Then you go to, who you would imagine you go to when you have a gripe, and go, ‘Hey, I can’t do this. Aren’t they gonna….’ [Vince impression], ‘Just do it. It’s going to work.’ ‘Okay.’ Roll with the punches. You go out there and do your best job. Even though I’m lighting a dead guy on fire and he’s the babyface…”

Orton continued to talk about trying his best to make people buy into the angle.

“I had a very hard time trying to make that real, but I feel like I did a good enough job to where even though it was a little cringe-worthy for some people, because I really tried to believe I was going through this, I think it helped people buy into it a little bit more while we were suspending that reality and trying to make them believe like they would if they were watching the most recent Halloween movie.”

Orton defeated Wyatt in the Firefly Inferno match at the TLC PPV in December 2020. Then at WrestleMania 37, he defeated the Fiend again in a match that lasted less than 6 minutes. Those were the two final matches of Bray Wyatt’s WWE career.

The two also feuded in 2016/2017. Wyatt defeated Orton at No Mercy 2016, then lost the WWE title to him at WrestleMania 33. Wyatt then defeated Orton in a House of Horrors match at Payback 2017. Orton leads the all-time series between the two in singles matches 3-2.

Mick Foley has responded to Matt Cardona wearing a red flannel with “F*ck Mick Foley” written on the back of it. Cardona wore the flannel to the ring for his match with Joey Janela on The WRLD On GCW PPV last night.

Foley took to his YouTube page to issue a response.

“Hello everyone, it’s The Hardcore Legend Mick Foley addressing the Matt Cardona situation. Matt took a shot at Mrs. Foley’s baby boy last night with his interesting choice of ring attire,” Foley opened his video with.

“The truth is, from a personal standpoint, I was happy for him. Yeah, it made me laugh because I felt like Matt was done wrong in WWE. He reached for that brass ring, grabbed it, and was asked to return it.”

He continued to talk about how Cardona has reinvented himself since leaving WWE.

“Ultimately, everyone who leaves a major company has a choice to make when they hit the independent scene,” Foley continued.

“And that choice is, ‘Do I just do the same things I did, the things that I was known for, or do I reinvent myself?’ I call that the Drew McIntyre route, the road less traveled. That is what Matt Cardona has done. He’s completely reinvented himself and in doing so has become one of the most enjoyable and valuable assets on the wrestling scene. Knowing that I’m playing just a small part in that reinvention, a tiny part, that makes me happy, and in conclusion, f*ck Matt Cardona.”

Foley’s full video is available in the player below:

Cardona defeated Joey Janela last night in a match where he pulled out all the stops. Swoggle came out from under the ring and attacked Janela. Mark Sterling brought out Virgil in a Vince McMahon mask to distract Janela. Chelsea Green faked turning on Cardona only to get a cheap shot in on Janela. Then finally, Brian Myers speared Janela through a door. Shortly after, Cardona gave Janela the Radio Silence through another door and got the pin.

H/T to WrestlingNewsCO for the above transcriptions.

Impact World Champion Moose recently stated that he believes Impact’s shows are just as good as AEW or WWE’s. He also stated that he hopes the promotion will begin to run bigger venues as well.

“If you watch our shows, I feel our shows are just as good, if not better than AEW and WWE,” Moose said. “I think the biggest challenge, if I was running the company, I would try to expand our following in the sense of getting bigger venues and seeing if we can draw a 5,000 or 6,000 seat arena. You never know unless you try it. Let’s see if we can start slowly running in big arenas, especially our PPVs.”

Moose continued to say that he had a custom Impact World Championship belt made but the company decided against him using it.

“I’m going to break the news now. I actually had a custom Impact World title made. It looks exactly the same, but it’s on a red strap, on red leather. I pitched it and it got turned down. I understand why it got turned down. I don’t want to get into the details of it, but I understand why. If I keep it long enough, maybe they’ll change their mind on it.”

At the Hard to Kill PPV earlier this month, Moose successfully defended his title against Matt Cardona and W. Morrissey in a triple threat match. He’s scheduled to face W. Morrissey in another title match at No Surrender next month. Impact recently spent two days in Fort Lauderdale taping episodes of their weekly programming. Spoilers for those shows are available below:

• Impact Television Taping Spoilers
• Impact TV Taping Spoilers From Night 2 In Fort Lauderdale

H/T to WrestlingNews for the above transcriptions.