A little over a year ago, Jon Moxley faced Minoru Suzuki at NJPW’s New Beginning in Osaka. Moxley successfully defended his IWGP United States Championship in the match. In a recent interview, Moxley talked about what the match meant to him.
“I just never thought our paths would cross, you know?” Moxley said about Suzuki. He continued to say that wrestling Suzuki was a dream of his.
“It’s one of those things that it’s cool to be able to manifest your dreams,” he continued to say about facing Suzuki.
He then spoke about the similarities between him and Suzuki.
“We both know exactly who we are,” Moxley said. “That was a thing in 2019 coming into New Japan and around the world – especially in New Japan, you know it’s a different style – (I) definitely didn’t want to come in here and try to pretend to be something that I’m not.”
“When you’re really comfortable in your own skin, you have complete freedom in the ring to do whatever you want. I think, me and him, and a lot of people are like that. We know exactly who we are and what we do and that’s what we bring every time.”
“It’s all about the moment and conflict of the fight and the struggle. That’s where the magic happens,” he continued.
Moxley’s comments can be heard in the player below:
Boxer Anthony Joshua is expected to fight Tyson Fury later this year. As it turns out, Joshua shares the same WWE ambitions that his upcoming opponent has. Much like Fury has wrestled in WWE, Joshua said in a recent interview that he would like to do the same.
“I’m gonna do WWE because that’s what Muhammad Ali did, so I’m going to do WWE,” Joshua said to Alternative Sport.
Muhammad Ali has a long history with WWE. He was the guest referee in the main event of the first-ever WrestleMania. His shoot-style match with Antonio Inoki in 1976 was also one of the first events Vince McMahon Jr. ever promoted. Vince sold tickets to a closed-circuit viewing of the fight.
Joshua’s comments can be heard in the player below:
Tyson Fury Sends Message To Anthony Joshua
With a match between the two pending, Tyson Fury sent a message to Joshua recently in an interview with The Sun. According to Fury, he’s got the edge in a fight between the two.
“I’ve got a bigger heart, tougher, mentally and physically stronger,” he said in the interview.
“I punch harder, everything’s in my favor,” he continued. “When I take it to them, they can’t deal with it. It’s like wrestling a T-Rex. They can’t win. I’m indestructible.
All Elite Wrestling has filed two new trademarks possibly related to a working agreement between AEW and NJPW as well as other promotions. The US Patent and Trademark Office website show filings by AEW on February 8th, 2021 for the terms “Forbidden Portal” and “Forbidden Door.” Tony Khan has been using both terms as of late to describe talent from AEW, NJPW, and Impact appearing on each other’s programs.
Both filings are listed as being for: “Entertainment services, namely, an ongoing multimedia program featuring wrestling distributed via various platforms across multiple forms of transmission media; Entertainment services, namely, an ongoing series featuring wrestling provided through a global computer network.”
“I just had to open myself, and that comes from being here with you IMPACT Wrestling! Doing these paid ads, I’ve learned so much about myself. I’ve opened myself up to new experiences, and look at all the great things that have happened. We did a great rating for Dynamite this week with IMPACT people there. We had people from New Japan, who knows who is going to be there next week?”
The opening of the “forbidden door” has led to NJPW’s KENTA being on Dynamite for the last two weeks. Impact’s Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows are also regularly on Dynamite now. Jon Moxley will face KENTA on New Japan Strong later this month. Additionally, Matt Hardy and Private Party are now regularly appearing on Impact Wrestling as well.
Butch Reed passed away at 66-years-old on February 5th. His cause of death has been reported as being due to heart complications but his family has told Fox News 4 that they attribute his death to COVID-19, which they said he tested positive for around January 12th, 2021. He then suffered two heart attacks later in the month.
“It’s like a dream,” Reed’s sister, Joyce Reed Crittenden said.
“He’s going to be missed. He’s much-loved. I’m just glad I had him as long as I did,” Butch’s son, Bryan Reed said.
His younger brother Ronald also spoke about Butch during the interview.
“For me, I guess him being a brother, I didn’t pay too much attention to it because he was always great to me, because I was always looking t him on the football field or something. He’s always been great to me,” Ronald Reed said.
Reed was actively following current wrestling before his death. Most notably, he seemed to be a fan of Will Hobbs, as well as the Hurt Business.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CJKnkmSJzSD/
https://www.instagram.com/p/CJJHdESJVda/
“Nearly one-fourth of those hospitalized with COVID-19 have been diagnosed with cardiovascular complications, which have been shown to contribute to roughly 40% of all COVID-19-related deaths,” reads a section from the American Heart Association’s website.
“It is much safer if having symptoms that could represent heart attack or stroke, to come into the emergency department than to try to ride it out at home,” said Dr. Gregg Fonarow, chief of the division of cardiology at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Joey Ryan has launched several lawsuits against multiple of his accusers from the #SpeakingOut movement last summer. He still has other ongoing lawsuits against other accusers, however. He also has active suits against Impact Wrestling and another person who spoke out against him online.
In an update to this story, according to documents obtained by HeelByNature, 3 of Joey Ryan’s lawsuits against female accusers have been dismissed. The cases were dismissed without prejudice, however, meaning Ryan has the option to re-file. The judge dismissed this case due to Ryan’s legal team missing a February 5th deadline to file additional information.
“The OSC required not only the POS, but also either Defendant’s response to the Complaint or Plaintiff’s Application for the Clerk to Enter Default. Plaintiff has not adequately responded to the OSC. It is well-established that a district court has authority to dismiss a plaintiff’s action due to her failure to prosecute and/or to comply with court orders,” reads a section of the documents. “Accordingly, the action is DISMISSED without prejudice.”
A judge recently awarded Ryan a default judgment against another one of his accusers. This was due to the accuser not responding to the lawsuit in time. He has an ongoing lawsuit against former ROH Wrestler, Pelle Primeau as well. Several GoFundMe accounts have been set up for people dealing with legal expenses. Primeau’s can be found here or in the below Tweet:
Someone needs to beat Ryan in court. If he succeeds it's going to create a blueprint for people like him going forward. Do what you can:https://t.co/7CDyiiSnnU
Tama Tonga recently addressed Kenny Omega and the Bullet Club reunion angle in AEW and Impact. Tonga was on his “Tama’s Island” podcast and addressed the angle as well as KENTA showing up on Dynamite last week.
“I was so surprised, I didn’t no nothing, I didn’t know anything,” Tonga said about KENTA showing up on Dynamite.
“KENTA is there for one reason and one reason only, Moxley,” Tonga continued.
“That US title belt belongs to KENTA. That’s the only reason that he’s there.”
Tonga then continued to say he doesn’t believe reports about a working agreement between AEW and NJPW having been reached.
“That sounds like a lot of horses**t to me, man,” Tonga said about a “forbidden door” being opened.
“Is the door wide open? Hell no, the door is not wide open. Is it cracked open? Maybe, maybe this can be something but is it open? Hell, no.”
Tama would continue to say that the situation with Moxley and travel restrictions due to the pandemic are what led to the current situation with AEW and NJPW. He would say the situation could lead to the two organizations working together in the future, however.
“Can this lead to the door opening more? Yes, it’s like building trust.”
Following the main event of last night’s AEW Dynamite, Kenny Omega, Don Callis and the Good Brothers spoke about recent comments made by NJPW Bullet Club members, Jay White and Tama Tonga.
“I actually feel bad because they’re our brothers over there,” Callis said.
“The bottom line is when the 3 brothers here left the Bullet Club, it was actually a good thing because it created opportunity for some mid-card guys to move up the chain and fly the flag.”
Callis then compared it to a baseball fantasy camp.
“I think we’ve done something really good here, this is a nice thing that we’ve done. We’ve created opportunity here. Those guys are good guys but you don’t replace Michael Jordan.”
Callis then pretended not to know who the NJPW Bullet Club members are.
“I think the Bullet Club guys in Japan are great, I’m not familiar with what the names are just yet but they are flying the flag so I’d like to put a stop to all these bad feelings.”
Callis then encouraged fans to purchase Bullet Club merchandise to help the faction out.
“I’d like to encourage all the fans out there, please buy the merch. Let’s get them back in the top-40 on Pro Wrestling Tees.”
MLW Fusion 2/10 featured a title vs title match between MLW World Middleweight Champion Lio Rush and AAA Cruiserweight Champion, Laredo Kid. The full show is available in the player below.
MLW Fusion 2/10 Quick Results:
ACH defeated Brian Pillman Jr.
Calvin Tankman defeated Zenshi
Daivari & Simon Gotch vs Jordan Oliver & Myron Reed – No Contest
ACH came into his match against Brian Pillman Jr. with taped ribs due to the recent attack by Team Filthy and his title match against Contra Unit’s Jacob Fatu. Not long after the match began, Team Filthy sauntered out to get a closer view. The finish of the match came when ACH kicked Pillman in the face as he was on the top turnbuckle and followed that up with a brainbuster for the win.
Team Filthy attacked after the match but ACH was saved by The Von Erich brothers. ACH then played up the Texas roots of him and the Von Erichs as a reason for their alliance. ACH & The Von Erichs versus Team Filthy could be in the works.
Savio Vega Will Not Sell IWA, Will Face Mil Muertes In Aztec Jungle Fight
Last week, Salina de la Renta offered to purchase a controlling interest in Savio Vega’s IWA promotion in Puerto Rico. Vega said this week that the promotion is not for sale. Later in the show, Salina says turning down Promociones Dorado was not an option. Next week, Vega will be made a sacrifice to the new temple, Salina continued, when he faces Mil Muertes in an Aztec Jungle Fight!
Calvin Tankman is moving up the rankings in MLW fast and he helped his cause this week with a win over Zenshi. This was the second time the two have fought, and while Zenshi got in some offense, it was Tankman who came out with the W once again after delivering a Tankman Driver for the win.
MLW Top-10 Rankings via Pro Wrestling Illustrated
MLW announced updated top-10 rankings this week as well.
MLW World Champion: Jacob Fatu (Contra Unit)
Alexander Hammerstone (National Openweight Champion) (Dynasty)
We were supposed to get a tag-team match between Simon Gotch & Daivari versus Injustice this week but the match was thrown out. As Jordan Oliver and Myron Reed were making their way to the ring, they were both attacked from behind by Jacob Fatu. This allowed Contra Unit a 3-on-2 advantage. Despite this, Injustice got the advantage after Myron Reed dove on top of the faction and Injustice then delivered a double team cutter move on Fatu. Jordan Oliver has been saying he’s coming for the MLW World Championship and he might get his wish soon.
Next week on Fusion, MLW heads to Filthy Island. This “Fyre Festival” type situation may have seen all its sponsors pull out, but this week several matches were confirmed for the event.
It was clear early in this match that Lio Rush was going to wrestle a heavy heel style. Laredo Kid had to chase after him as he continuously bailed to the outside.
Near the end of the match, Laredo Kid looked as though he had injured Lio’s knee. He had him in a modified figure four by Rush was able to get to the ropes. The finish of the match came shortly after when Laredo Kid missed a senton and Lio Rush followed that up with a springboard stunner followed by the Final Hour frog splash for the win.
The show came to a close as Lio Rush celebrated with both his championships in the ring.
Posted February 11th, 2021 in News. Tagged: Lio Rush.
Cody Rhodes may have suffered a shoulder injury on Dynamite last night. Rhodes was favoring his shoulder during his tag match with Lee Johnson against Peter Avalon and Cezar Bononi.
The injury could be just storyline-driven, however, and the reason for Johnson appearing to step-up and get the win for his team. Nightmare Family coach Arn Anderson discussed the interview on “Coach’s Corner” after AEW Dynamite.
“Cody dinged his shoulder up pretty early on,” Anderson said. It looked like the injury occurred as Rhodes landed after a suplex from Bononi. “It handicapped him for the last half of the match,” he continued. “He did fight through it and Lee Johnson now is going to take the flag and stick it right in the middle of the ring.”
Arn Anderson on Lee Johnson
Arn Anderson then continued to talk about Johnson, who picked up his first win on Dynamite.
“Back when this pandemic started and a lot of the talent couldn’t be here, and they couldn’t travel, that kid was the first one here just asking for a chance. Then you started to see this kid’s got talent,” Anderson said.
“I’m going to spend some time with Lee Johnson. I’m going to devout some time and some knowledge to Lee Johnson. Remember that name, because you are going to be hearing it again and again.”
You can watch Arn Anderson’s Coaches Corner segment below:
#CoachsCorner Arn (@TheArnShow) breaks down @BigShottyLee Johnson's first win, and are we going see the next generation of the Anderson family soon?
“Hollywood Hunk” Ryan Nemeth picked up a win over Marko Stunt on AEW Dark last night. He is scheduled to take on PAC on tonight’s show. Nemeth recently spoke to Chris Van Vliet about how he ended up working in Jacksonville. He noted that he has a lot of friends from his time in NXT that are now in AEW including the Huber family.
“Being there is kind of like a huge reunion,” Nemeth said about AEW. “I have so many friends from NXT or other parts of wrestling. Walking in the locker room felt like home. I went to AEW to see Amanda Huber (the late Jon Huber/Brodie Lee’s wife) because I knew there was going to be a birthday for Brodie Jr, I thought I would surprise her and say happy birthday, I used to babysit him in Tampa.”
“I wanted to say hi to her, I also secretly had my gear with me. They asked me “since you’re here do you want to wrestle?” And I said sure. I think it went well, I blacked out but I think I won (laughs). I was honored to debut on Dynamite. It felt great to be back in the ring. During shutdown I have been doing a lot of wrestling but not in front of a live crowd. It’s been a lot of stunt work or coordinating for TV shows. AEW are super into promoting creativity, very motivational and positive environment.”
Nemeth’s older brother, Dolph Ziggler, has been jokingly ribbing him online about his time in AEW. He spoke about his relationship with Dolph during the interview as well.
“We grew up wrestling for the same school together. But I will say I’ve spent my entire wrestling career looking and dressing the exact opposite of him. He had blond hair, I dyed mine black. He wore pants, I wore shorts. No matter what I do, for a decade, any time I’m in a match, the Internet says I’m a carbon copy of him. But we’ve had pretty different lives.”
Nemeth has been a vocal supporter of the #MeToo movement. His upcoming movie “Heel” deals with sexual assault in pro-wrestling.
“The plot of the film deals with sexual assault in the world of indie wrestling. It comes from a very real place. I was ambushed with stories about assault. That’s why I took a break from wrestling. It was really close to home for me. I can’t speak on behalf of these people. Legally, imagine the trouble I would be in if I did speak on behalf of victims. But I can use art to encourage conversations about these things. I love wrestling and the people in it but there are some bad eggs that do bad things and get away with it. There is not one solution to it, but it’s one that I can try to help with. I would love it to expand to a feature or a series.”
You can view the full interview in the player below:
The Undertaker recently ruffled some feathers when he appeared on the Joe Rogan Experience and referred to today’s pro wrestlers as “soft” compared to his generation. During a recent interview with Forbes, John Cena weighed in on the controversy.
John Cena’s WWE career spanned nearly two decades, so he also saw the industry change dramatically during that time. Cena tells Alfred Konuwa that today’s product isn’t soft, but it’s certainly different than previous eras. “I may have a bit of disagreement with Undertaker’s word choice because I don’t think it’s soft, I think it’s different.”
Cena came up during the Ruthless Aggression era. This era was toned down from the Attitude Era, but far edgier than what we see today. He recalls “Stone Cold” Steve Austin making an appearance after WWE went PG and having a difficult time adapting.
“I remember one of the first time Steve Austin came back during the height of the PG era, and he was just befuddled,” said Cena. “Because Steve Austin goes out there and runs it. And if he gets stuck, he can curse, he can throw up some middle fingers, he can ask for a beer…but we took away three of the biggest clubs that he can hit with and told him to go out there and be himself. And he came back shaking his head and said ‘I don’t know how you do this!’ But if he had enough time, he’s a great performer, he could get used to it.”
Ever the company, man, Cena gave a glowing review of today’s WWE product. “What do I think of the WWE product right now? I love it!” Cena continued. “I think it’s bold, it’s forcing people to take chances.”
John Cena On WWE’s Current Marquee Stars
Cena would continue to talk about how Sasha Banks, Roman Reigns, and Drew McIntyre are 3 marquee names in the company right now.
“Now you have Drew McIntyre and Roman Reigns, Sasha Banks can be in that conversation, but it’s not what I said it was in 2020. It’s not a scattered fragment of Super Friends. WWE has just refocused, re-shifted and now is consolidating on marquee stars. They have their marquee stars, and going forward they will have their big names. As far as those names being larger than life, the enormity of their impact is up to the individuals themselves.”
John Cena has two inspirational books coming out in April. You can pre-order them both on Amazon:
AEW has released new top-5 rankings for its men’s, women’s, and tag-team divisions. There was movement in all 3 divisions this week. Red Velvet moved into the top spot in her division and Jericho and MJF are now the top-ranked tag-team contenders.
#3 PAC moved up 2 spots in the rankings this week. That drops #4 Fenix and #5 Miro down one spot each. In addition to picking up a singles win on Dark last week, PAC was in the main event of Dynamite last week where his team with #4 Fenix and #1 Moxley was defeated by AEW World Champion Kenny Omega and the Impact tag-team champions, The Good Brothers.
Tonight on Dynamite, #2 Cody Rhodes will team with Lee Johnson against Peter Avalon and Cezar Bononi. World Champion Kenny Omega will team with KENTA against #1 Jon Moxley and unranked Lance Archer.
There has been a lot of movement in the women’s rankings the last two weeks. This week #3 Serena Deeb dropped 3 spots due to Baker and Red Velvet each moving up. #1 Red Velvet was victorious on Dark last week and is gearing up for her feud with Jade Cargill.
#2 Britt Baker moved up one spot after her victory over #5 Thunder Rosa on Dynamite. The two had been in the #3 and #4 spots respectively last week.
The title-eliminator tournament kicks off on Dynamite tonight as we get closer to determining Hikaru Shida’s next challenger.
Jurassic Express (Jungle Boy & Luchasaurus) (2-0) (-1)
The Acclaimed (Anthony Bowens & Max Caster) (3-0)
Santana & Ortiz (3-1)
After winning last week’s battle royal, Jericho and MJF are now the #1 contenders to the Young Bucks titles. That drops #2 FTR and #3 Jurassic Express down one spot each.
Tonight on Dynamite, #1 MJF and Jericho will face #4 the Acclaimed.
Britt Baker was the first female athlete signed by AEW. She will also be participating in the women’s title-eliminator tournament upcoming on Dynamite. Baker spoke to the Bleacher Report recently about wanting to be the one to lead AEW’s women’s divisions to more TV time and potential main event matches.
“I just want to help lead the women’s division to more TV time and the main event eventually,” Baker said. “We’re getting there, but this is a business, and we need to stay strong. For a long time, the women’s segments weren’t doing well, but now we are getting to a point where the fans want more women’s matches.”
Recently, Baker has been hosting “The Waiting Room” segments on Dark and Dynamite. She also talked about those segments during the interview.
“That was Cody [Rhodes] who came up with the idea for the show,” Baker said. “Him and Tony [Khan] developed the whole concept of it, what we will talk about, and the opening monologue. Reba is ridiculously funny, and we just flow together. It’s a lot of fun because we have a lot of freedom with it while we advance storylines.”
Baker continued to talk about Rebel’s involvement in the segments.
“When we did a vignette in my office, they [AEW] were trying to limit the travel as much as possible. She was a makeup artist for AEW, and we are really good friends. It was Cody’s idea to use her as the makeup artist who gets bullied, and it was just so good that we had to keep Reba around. I don’t want to share the spotlight with anybody. It’s all about me, but Reba is there to have my back.”
Baker addresses several other subjects during the interview including her upcoming action figure, working with Tony Schiavone and more.
After returning to WWE at the Royal Rumble on Sunday, Christian appeared as a guest today on WWE’s The Bump. He spoke about how Edge’s return motivated him to see if he could as well.
“It’s been a long process actually to get to the point where I could get myself in physical condition to step in the ring again,” Christian said on the show. “Everybody knows I retired because of injuries 7 years ago and I’d be lying if I didn’t say that Edge returning at the Royal Rumble made me think a little bit.”
“I started thinking that maybe this is a possibility,” Christian continued. He continued to say that at the time he was living the retired life and not making great decisions diet-wise.
“The way that my career ended before never sat well with me as it was,” he continued. “I need to get back in there, I need to finish this on my terms.”
“If it was just that one match at the Royal Rumble then so be it.”
He continued to say that he hired a nutritionist company and built a gym in his garage to get ready. Christian also noted that he didn’t find out he’d be in the Rumble match until Friday night. Edge was one of the only ones who knew he’d be in the match.
Christian’s comments can be heard in the player below:
Impact Wrestling 2/9 was the go-home show for No Surrender this Saturday on Impact Plus.
Impact Wrestling 2/9 Quick Results:
Trey Miguel, Josh Alexander, Willie Mack & Suicide defeated Chris Bey, Ace Austin, Daivari & Blake Christian
Kimber Lee defeated ODB
Neveah defeated Kiera Hogan via DQ
Black Taurus defeated Kaleb (with a K)
Impact Tag Team Championships
Chris Sabin & James Storm defeated The Good Brothers (Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows) (c) via DQ – Good Brothers retain titles.
Moose Interrupts Tommy Dreamer & Rich Swann Contract Signing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jL1Rs8ieI1s
Moose is upset that Tommy Dreamer is getting the title shot at No Surrender. Swann chose Dreamer as his opponent as the event takes place on Dreamer’s 50th Birthday. He came out to confront Swann and Dreamer but D’Amore told him he’ll be suspended if he interferes at No Surrender. Moose said he’s the real world champion, but Swann disagreed. Dreamer then cut a passionate promo about how he doesn’t wrestle for money, he wrestles because he loves this business and there is a locker room full of “Dreamers” in the back and he wants to use his platform for good.
“Being the Impact Champion gives me a larger platform,” Dreamer said.
“I want to spread good throughout this world. For 3 hours, I want people to forget about all the crap in this world. Rich, it’s going to be an honor to tear it up with you.”
Dreamer then signed the contract to bring the segment to a close.
Matt Hardy & Private Party Ruin Tag Title Match, Storm & Sabin Added To No Surrender Tag Title Match
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEYe55n2uOI
Matt Hardy and Private Party appeared on the stage during the tag title match this week. Just as Sabin and Storm seemed to have the advantage in the match, Private Party attacked. Upset that Sabin and Storm were getting a tag title shot before theirs at No Surrender, the idea was to get the match thrown out.
After the match, Hardy told Private Party he was proud of them. He said he’ll give them a bonus if they win the tag titles on Saturday as well. Scott D’Amore then confronted the 3 of them. He said to keep Storm and Sabin from interfering in the match at No Surrender, he’ll put them in the match. So it will be Private Party vs The Good Brothers vs James Storm & Chris Sabin on Saturday.
Tony Khan Talks About Opening Wrestling’s “Forbidden Door”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxBvL88SkR4
Tony Khan and Tony Schiavone were back this week. Khan talked about how he is actually the forbidden door and he realized that when he came to Impact Wrestling.
“I just had to open myself, and that comes from being here with you IMPACT Wrestling! Doing these paid ads, I’ve learned so much about myself. I’ve opened myself up to new experiences, and look at all the great things that have happened. We did a great rating for Dynamite this week with IMPACT people there. We had people from New Japan, who knows who is going to be there next week?”
Sami Callihan Sends A Message To Trey Miguel
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBwizXPNeug
Trey Miguel picked up the win for his team in 8-man tag-team action to kick off the show this week. He debuted a new submission move and got the tapout from Blake Christian in the match. After the match, the lights flicked off and Sami Callihan appeared on the big screen. Last week, Callihan said that Miguel has no loyalty and that’s why the other Rascalz aren’t with him anymore. This week, he said that while Miguel seems to have momentum, he will eventually flake out again. It seems we are building to a big singles match between the two.
Kimber Lee Picks Up Win Over ODB Thanks To Susan & Deonna Purrazzo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=veHc9MGM1a4
Despite being heavily outmatched in some areas of this match, Kimber Lee picked up the win over ODB this week. The finish of the match came not long after Susan attempted to distract the referee, perhaps to point out some perceived offense that took place. This brought out Jordynne Grace and Jazz from the back who then got into a melee with Purrazzo and Susan. ODB came off the top and took out both the Knockouts Champ and the woman who frequently wants to see a manager. When ODB came back into the ring, however, Kimber Lee rolled her up and got the 3-count.
After the match, Susan said that “someone needs to talk to their manager” about this, and so she went to Scott D’Amore to organize a 6-person match between the two sides.
Jake Something Turns Down Violent By Design
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKtJLql_8vo
Eric Young’s Violent By Design stable offered Cody Deaner’s Cousin Jake a spot in the faction. Jake turned down the group this week, however. This led to VOD attacking Jake and wrapping a chair around his neck. Deaner told Young that he wants to fight Jake and so instead of attacking him now, Young announced that Deaner will face Jake at No Surrender on Saturday.
Neveah Picks Up Win Over Kiera Hogan Via DQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1wys1fAif7I
A fine example of refereeing was exhibited by Brandon Tolle during this match. Tolle was briefly distracted by Havok on the outside and this led Tasha Steelz to feel it was a safe time to interfere. She was wrong. Tolle turned around in time to see her attacking Neveah and called for the disqualification.
Later, Steelz and Hogan complained to Scott D’Amore about Tolle’s officiating. D’Amore said he would take care of things. He then announced that Tolle won’t be the referee when Havok & Neveah challenged Fire N Flava for the tag belts at No Surrender. As this match had not yet been scheduled, Hogan and Steelz were a little upset with D’Amore’s announcement. He also announced the match would be no disqualification.
Black Taurus Joins Decay
Last week on Impact, Team XXXL recruited Tenille Dashwood to help in their feud with Decay. Dashwood, Acey Romero and Larry D will team against Rosemary, Crazzy Steve and a mystery partner this weekend at No Surrender. This week, the members of Decay announced AAA’s Black Taurus as their 3rd member. He then defeated Kaleb with a K in singles action.
Lineup For Impact No Surrender
Impact World Championships Rich Swann (c) vs Tommy Dreamer
Impact Tag Team Championships The Good Brothers (c) vs Private Party vs Chris Sabin & James Storm
Knockouts Tag Team Championships Texas Tornado/No DQ Fire N Flava (Kiera Hogan & Tasha Steelz) (c) vs Havok & Neveah
X-Division Championship TJP (c) vs Rohit Raju
Team XXXL & Tenille Dashwood vs Crazzy Steve, Rosemary, & TBD
Hernandez & Brian Myers vs Eddie Edwards & Matt Cardona
Triple Threat Revolver Match Trey Miguel vs Chris Bey vs Josh Alexander vs Blake Christian vs Ace Austin vs Willie Mack vs Suicide vs Daivari
Jordynne Grace, Jazz & ODB vs. Deonna Purrazzo, Kimber Lee & Susan
This week on WWE RAW, Nia Jax garnered a lot of attention for how she sold a missed leg drop in her match against Lana. Nia missed the move on the ring apron and yelled “my hole!” to the delight of many before then being tossed into a table by Lana. Bidet company, Tushy, has reached out to Nia Jax about the incident. Perhaps a sponsorship between the two parties is in the works.
Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler recently regained the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships from Asuka and Charlotte Flair at the Royal Rumble. They had dropped the titles a little over a month before the Rumble at TLC. Prior to that, Jax and Baszler had held the titles for 4 months between the Payback PPV in August and the TLC PPV in December. They are the 3rd team to win the titles a second time. Sasha Banks & Bayley and Nikkie Cross & Alexa Bliss were the first teams to do so.
Posted February 10th, 2021 in WWE, News. Tagged: Nia Jax.
WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion Sasha Banks will be the next guest to appear on Steve Austin’s “Broken Skull Sessions.” The episode premieres on Sunday, February 21st immediately following the WWE Elimination Chamber PPV.
Banks recently took to Instagram to express her enthusiasm for the upcoming episode.
Previous episodes of Broken Skull Session with Steve Austin have featured The Undertaker (2x), Goldberg, Kane, Big Show, Bret Hart, Ric Flair, Mark Henry, Jerry Lawler, Kurt Angle, Drew McIntyre, and Banks’ longtime tag partner and rival, Bayley.
Banks also recently appeared on the Normal Not Normal podcast. During that interview, she spoke about how the reduced WWE travel schedule has been helpful to her and her career.
“I’m not just talking about in one state,” Banks says of the usual WWE travel schedule. “I’m driving five or six hours to different states every single day. But we’re not just talking about driving, I’m talking about flying as well – early in the morning – and I’m talking about wrestling too. I’m beating my body, jumping into a car, and driving five hours and getting to the hotel at maybe four in the morning. Sleep in until 12, work out, get your food, and doing the exact same thing. That will beat up your body.”
Lars Sullivan was released by WWE last month. He took to Instagram recently and posted a picture of what many are taking as images of a canceled gimmick he was to have in WWE.
Feast your eyes on The Brilliant Behemoth, Lawrence Sulivan.
“He was going to get a push, a real big push as a matter of fact, and he could not handle the pressure. He had an anxiety attack, he was suffering even before. Then he stopped coming, kept not coming, and at that point, this has happened before,” said Dave Meltzer on the show.
“He was supposed to beat John Cena at the 2019 WrestleMania and he no-showed the angle where he was going to layout Cena to set up the angle,” Meltzer continued.
“They brought him back a second time with a big push, he got the knee injury. They brought him back a 3rd time with a big push, he stopped coming. At that point, I think it was inevitable how it was going to end up.”
Sullivan signed with WWE and reported to the Performance Center in 2014. His last official match was a win over Shorty G on Smackdown back in October.
The Nightmare Family added two new members yesterday when Nick Comoroto and Aaron Solow joined the group. Cody Rhodes recently clarified that The Nightmare Family is not a traditional pro-wrestling faction.
“I will say it’s not a routine wrestling “faction”. More a ensemble of focused individuals, some who train at the factory together, who just have a singular focus over the sport. Authentic relationships. Not always together, but ready when the call comes, and will have your back,” Cody Tweeted.
I will say it’s not a routine wrestling “faction”. More a ensemble of focused individuals, some who train at the factory together, who just have a singular focus over the sport. Authentic relationships. Not always together, but ready when the call comes, and will have your back.
A little under a year ago, Cody got the Nightmare Family logo tattooed on his neck. He explained his decision to do so in an Instagram post.
“I’m humbled by the run I’ve been on and the love of the fans. Incredibly lucky man. It was very simple, I wear a lot of brands…I wanted to make sure mine was one of them. And I wasn’t hiding it,” he wrote.
A highlight featuring Nia Jax on last night’s edition of RAW is garnering a lot of attention online. Jax was wrestling Lana last night and missed a leg drop on the ring apron. Nia opted to sell the move by screaming “My hole!” just before being pushed through a table by Lana. You can see a clip of the moment in question here:
As you can imagine, Nia Jax screaming, “My Hole!” in pain got a lot of attention on social media. Numerous wrestling personalities have been reacting to the clip on Twitter.Mick Foley believes that “My Hole” could become Nia Jax’s version of Austin 3:16.
The following Twitter user was questioning the time they spend watching wrestling. Nia Jax was able to show them it’s all worth it, however.
My conservative estimate is that I've watched on avg 4 hours of wrestling a week for 35 years. That's around 300 days of my life, almost a year! Sometimes I think about the time wasted but then something like Nia Jax screaming "MY HOLE" happens and I realize it was all worth it
“I don’t know anything that’s happening today really other than Nia Jax said my hole on RAW cause that’s my entire feed,” Shazza McKenzie Tweeted.
“On a crisp February evening with scattered clouds and occasional starlight, on a Monday filled with both promise and potential, Nia Jax landed on her butt and screamed “My hole!”” Tweeted Matt Fowler.
Nia’s loss to Lana on RAW last night comes on the heels of her and Shayna Baszler winning back the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships at the Royal Rumble on Sunday.
Posted February 9th, 2021 in WWE, News. Tagged: Nia Jax.
Rapper Bow Wow hopes to fulfill a lifelong dream of wrestling for WWE one day.
The 33-year-old is getting headlines for a tweet about his future career plans. He’s working on his final rap album and then plans to focus on other areas of interest. He will continue acting in movies and serving as a television host. He also wants to climb into the squared circle.
Now i know this might sound crazy… BUT… after i drop my last album. I will focus on tv and film. And joining the @WWE its been a life long childhood dream to wrestle in the WWE!!!!
“Are you mad because ill become champ faster than you? Or are you mad that like mike is more legendary than you will ever be? DROPS MIC,” Bow Wow replied.
“Those sound like fighting words Air Bud. Why don’t you fly your “private jet” down to the @WWE ThunderDome and back them up?” T-Bar answered.
Earlier today, Bow Wow said that Bad Bunny is on his list.
Bow Wow wants to tag with Rey Mysterio and win the WWE tag-team championships. This drew a reaction from Mysterio’s current tag partner, his son Dominik.
Damian Priest is officially a member of the RAW brand now. He took part in the Royal Rumble and then defeated the Miz in singles action last Monday night in his first match for the brand. Priest spoke to SI.com recently about his main roster debut, being a member of the RAW brand, and participating in the 2021 Royal Rumble match.
“This is the dream. It’s been my dream since I was a child, and what excites me the most is I’m starting all over again,” Priest said. “I’m a beginner on Raw. I had that feeling when I first started in this business, and again when I started in NXT. And the icing on the cake is this roster here, which is the absolute best in the world. Edge, Drew McIntyre, Randy Orton, Keith Lee, The Fiend [Bray Wyatt]. Those are the people I get to work with on Raw.”
Priest now looks to be headed into a program aligned with Bad Bunny going up against the Miz and John Morrison. He also spoke to SI.com about the angle.
“The past week, it’s been like a haze. I’ve been asking myself, Did that really just happen? This whole thing has been so awesome. I’m starting with The Miz, who is a true WWE superstar, one that is also well known outside of wrestling. I’m happy to get to mix it up with him, and like you said, Morrison is amazing.”
Priest continued to talk about what it has been like working with Bad Bunny.
“And I get to work with Bad Bunny. Some people love that Bad Bunny is in WWE; some people hate it. Our fans don’t always accept outsiders, but when it comes to Bad Bunny, he’s one of us. This isn’t some star just coming to WWE for a paycheck—he loves this, and it is very authentic. He wants to learn, and he’s enjoying this and making the most of every second.”
We spoke with Damian Priest about getting called up to Raw, working with Bad Bunny, what he’ll miss about NXT and more https://t.co/R5lRYahojG
The updated lineup for the Nightmare Family is below:
Cody Rhodes
Dustin Rhodes
Brandi Rhodes
Diamond Dallas Page
Arn Anderson
QT Marshall
Lee Johnson
Billy Gunn
Austin Gunn
Colten Gunn
Aaron Solow
Nick Comoroto
Two matches on Dark this week will feature Nightmare Family teams. SCU will take on Lee Johnson and Aaron Solow. Additionally, Nick Comoroto will team with the Natural Nightmares to take on Vary Morales and the Jersey Muscle Society.
Christian returned to the ring for the first time in almost 7 years at the Royal Rumble (not counting his “match” with Randy Orton last June). Edge and Christian embraced in the ring as fans grew excited about the possibility of them teaming up once again. Dax Harwood was recently asked online about a fantasy FTR vs Edge & Christian match. Perhaps surprisingly, Harwood doesn’t sound like he was much of a fan of the team. He noted that he considers them “pretty overrated.”
They wouldn’t have been able to keep up with us in 2001, much less 2021.
Harwood’s partner, Cash Wheeler, recently praised Christian heavily online, however.
Nothing really. Can believably be world champion in the main event or working with the newest guy on the roster in the opening match. Can do serious, comedy, angry, goofy in the same segment. Excels in any match. Regular. Tag. Ladders etc. All at the highest level. https://t.co/deefso5jBR
His personality. His footwork. His psychology. His ring positioning. His mind for the business. His ability to elevate his opponents unselfishly & make them look better than they are. His passion. His willingness to help younger talent. His seamless mic work. But that’s it really https://t.co/I8D8pJRhA7
Edge recently commented on him and Christian both being back in a WWE ring in 2021. He spoke to the Sporting News about Christian’s Royal Rumble return.
“I was one of the few that was privy to the fact that he got cleared a few months ago. We didn’t know he was going to be in the Rumble until Friday, though,” Edge said. “I was in the midst of driving down to his house from North Carolina to stay for the weekend. And then we found out and we’re like “OK, well, we’ll drive over to the rumble together then.”
Lots of big things happening in this company. Make sure you witness it personally!
43-year-old Tom Brady won his 7th Super Bowl last night. If there is one wrestler who knows about performing on the biggest stage in his industry at an older age, it is Shawn Michaels. HBK was asked by SI.com about his WrestleMania 25 match with The Undertaker recently. At the time, Michaels was 43-years-old too, just like Brady is now.
“Your age, that number, it drives you,” said Michaels. “Before that match, Undertaker and I acknowledged that people on the card were younger, faster and even better, so we tapped into our strength. We harnessed experience, 20 years of a backstory, and focused on what we did best.”
“I know the two worlds are very different, but we knew how to tell the story and Brady knows how to win the game,” HBK continued. “If Brady is great on Sunday, it’s not going to be because of his scrambling ability or long runs. He’s going to have to play to the best of his ability, doing what he does best. That was the same premise behind what I did, which wasn’t X’s and O’s like football. I knew, in order to be great, I had to play into the storytelling aspect of wrestling.”
Shawn Michaels On Deciding To Retire
HBK would later say he made the decision to retire in the build-up to his match with The Undertaker at WrestleMania 25. The following year, HBK would wrestle the Undertaker at WrestleMania 26 again, but this time with his career on the line. HBK would lose and not wrestle again until Crown Jewel in 2018.
“I can’t even remember who it was, but like a month before WrestleMania 25 asked how old my boy was. I said he was nine and the guy said, ‘Wow, halfway gone.’ He said he was halfway to 18 and when he’s 18 he’s gone. That blew me away… He’s halfway gone and I’m not going to miss that,” Michaels said to ESPN.
