Ronda Rousey is not currently scheduled to compete in the Women’s Royal Rumble match Sunday. Despite this fact, some online betting websites have her listed as one of the favorites to win the match.
According to Odds Shark, Rhea Ripley is the current favorite to win the Women’s Royal Rumble match. Her odds are +700. Just behind her is Ronda Rousey, with pretty strong odds of +750.
Rousey became aware that real people are betting real money expecting her to win. She a message on Twitter comparing these odds to that of the stock price of Gamestop. The video game retailer’s stock has exploded this month amidst dubious circumstances.
There are some interesting odds listed on Odd Shark for who could win the Rumble. Becky Lynch is not listed as an option due to the recent birth of her child. Despite that, several seemingly impossible names are listed as long-shot bets. These include the retired Paige, who is the 9th favorite to win the match.
Top Bets:
Rhea Ripley +700
Ronda Rousey +750
Shayna Baszler +800
Bianca Belair +900
Sasha Banks +1000
Alexa Bliss +1000
Bayley +1200
Nia Jax +1400
Paige +1600 (strange odds for someone not cleared to perform)
CM Punk did not appear on the January 27th, 2014 edition of WWE RAW. It was the night after the Royal Rumble and it seemed as though Punk was headed into a feud with Kane. Punk had eliminated Kane from the Rumble match the night before but Kane returned to eliminate Punk later on.
As it turns out, Punk never would return to WWE programming. The closest he’s come is hosting WWE Backstage on Fox, a show that returns this weekend before the Royal Rumble. Punk took to Twitter to comment on the 7-year anniversary of his departure from WWE.
Punk was initially adamant that he would never return to WWE. In recent years, it sounds as though he has softened on that stance, however.
“The answer changes,” Punk said on the Swing and Mrs. podcast last year. “It’s a very fluid answer. Currently, if the business was right and I had somebody that motivated me across the ring from me, I think, might be able to get it done. Nobody has dangled the correct carrot.”
“There’s a lot of moving parts. I’m busy doing other stuff and nobody has found the right combination of ways to approach me. It’s not all up to me, ladies and gentlemen, it’s up to the people who actually run the company.”
AEW has released new top-5 rankings ahead of tonight’s episode of Dynamite. There was a little bit of movement in both the men’s singles and tag-team rankings this week.
The only movement in the rankings this week sees Cody Rhodes move up one spot to the #2 position after his victory over Peter Avalon last week. He moves past #3 Maxwell Jacob Friedman who is now ranked in two different divisions.
Nobody ranked in this division is scheduled for singles action tonight. A match between unranked Lance Archer and unranked Eddie Kingston could see the winner move into the top-5, however.
AEW Women’s Singles Rankings
AEW Women’s Champion: Hikaru Shida (1-0)
Serena Deeb (2-0)
Big Swole (1-0)
Nyla Rose (1-0)
Penelope Ford (1-0)
Anna Jay (0-0)
There was no movement at all in the women’s division this week. #4 Penelope Ford picked up a win over unranked Leyla Hirsch on Dynamite last week but the rest of the division didn’t compete.
Britt Baker returns to action tonight. She’ll take on Shanna. The winner of that match could find themselves in the top-5 next week.
AEW Tag Team Rankings
AEW Tag Team Champions: The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson) (0-0)
FTR (Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler) (1-0)
Jurassic Express (Jungle Boy & Luchasaurus) (2-0)
The Acclaimed (Anthony Bowens & Max Caster) (2-0)
The Dark Order (Evil Uno & Stu Grayson) (0-0)
Chris Jericho & Maxwell Jacob Friedman (1-0) (Previously Unranked)
Last week, Santana and Ortiz were the #5 ranked team. After the triple threat Inner Circle tag match last week, however, that spot is now occupied by Chris Jericho and Maxwell Jacob Friedman. They are now the official tag-team of the Inner Circle.
Charlotte Flair returned to WWE after a 6-month absence at the TLC PPV. She formed a team with Asuka and they won the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships from Shayna Baszler & Nia Jax. Flair recently spoke to Yahoo Sports about her time away from the ring and her attitude toward her detractors.
Flair addressed her detractors who say she’s pushed too hard during the interview.
“It’s almost like you get into the business and say you don’t want to be world champion,” Flair said. “You don’t get into the business saying that. You might not like the sports team that’s always making the championships, but that shouldn’t discredit the person. I got to a point where I wondered if I should apologize to people. If someone else was getting these opportunities would they feel sorry for me?”
“[Critics] don’t know the time I’ve put into what I’m doing. Damn right I’m going to take every opportunity. Who in their right mind wouldn’t take these opportunities just so they can make these people feel better? I have to tell myself that sometimes.”
Flair is easily the most-decorated female athlete active on the roster today. She’s a 4x RAW Women’s Champion, 5x Smackdown Women’s Champion, 2x NXT Women’s Champion, and 1x Divas Champion.
Flair also spoke about her time away from WWE during the interview.
“It really just made me miss how much I love doing this,” Flair said. “Not that I don’t have a lot of hobbies, but now I can’t imagine my life without being an entertainer. I also got a mental break. I was able to leave the robe, the boots and the gear at work and go home and try to be a human, not always feeling like you’re on.”
The full interview with Yahoo Sports can be read here.
The first-ever AEW Awards Show takes place tonight, Wednesday, January 27th. The event will stream live on the Bleacher Report App starting at 7pm (Eastern). Fans will vote on a series of categories to determine award winners.
Impact Wrestling on 1/26 featured the return of Trey Miguel. Matt Hardy and Private Party were back and Eric Young’s stable made an offer to a potential new member. Results and takeaways are below.
Impact Results 1/26:
Matt Cardona & Josh Alexander defeated Ace Austin & Madman Fulton
Brian Myers defeated Eddie Edwards via DQ
Rosemary defeated Tenille Dashwood
Joe Doering defeated Cousin Jake
Rich Swann, Willie Mack, Tommy Dreamer & Trey Miguel defeated Sami Callihan, Moose, Chris Bey, and Ken Shamrock
Trey Miguel Returns To Impact Wrestling
Impact World Champion Rich Swann opened things up this week. He cut a promo about how he wants to face Tommy Dreamer for the world title at No Surrender. This upset Moose, Chris Bey, and Sami Callihan (along with Ken Shamrock), who all came out to complain that they should be getting the title shot. A brawl ensued with Willie Mack coming to the aid of the babyfaces and eventually Swann would request Scott D’Amore make an 8-man tag match for the main event. Swann, Dreamer, and Mack would need a 4th partner, however.
Trey Miguel came out with the good guys for the night’s main event. He would pick up the win for his team as well when he rolled up Sami Callihan for the 1-2-3. Shamrock was furious was the result and assaulted referee Brandon Tolle as the show went off the air.
Matt Hardy and Private Party cut a promo backstage this week. Hardy explained to Private Party how winning the tag titles from the Good Brothers at No Surrender means more money for all 3 of them. He also noted that the pay scale is higher in AEW than Impact, so he wants them to win those titles too because more victories and titles means more money.
Tony Khan and Tony Schiavone Take Out Another Ad
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiIkmcIwPDg
Tony Khan seemed pretty proud of himself this week. He bragged about how Private Party are the top contenders for the tag titles and that sending “Big Money” Matt Hardy to Impact is his revenge. Khan and Schiavone also ran down the card for tonight’s episode of AEW Dynamite.
Violent By Design Sends An Invite To Cousin Jake
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fY9jRq6k2yU
Joe Doering defeated Cousin Jake in singles action this week. After Jake had tweaked his ankle, Doering took advantage and finished things off with a big lariat. After the match, it appeared as though the members of Violent By Design were going to injure Jake’s leg after the match instead, Young threw a towel with the Violent By Design logo down at him. Was this an invitation from Young to join their stable?
Eddie Edwards Loses Control In Match Against Brian Myers
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZiHQ7KRKzc
It was a big match against a former champion this week for Brian Myers. It was a back and forth match that ended in bizarre fashion. Edwards had just hit a backpack stunner on Myers for a 2-count, then Myers hit a flatliner on Edwards for a near-fall of his own. Edwards then just snapped and started biting the forehead of Myers. The referee called for the bell after Myers had been split wide open by Edwards’ bite. What is going on with Eddie Edwards??
Decay Pick Up Win But Gain New Enemies
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGGd1KbXTyE
Crazzy Steve and Rosemary are once again aligned as Decay in Impact Wrestling. Rosemary was able to defeat Tenille Dashwood this week in spite of Kaleb (with a K) Konley’s attempts to interfere in the match. They appear to have gained some enemies in Acey Romero and Larry D, however.
Larry D spent some time in prison recently after being framed for John E Bravo’s attempted murder. Team XXXL blames Rosemary for this, as she is the real shooter, Taya Valkyrie’s, friend. Larry knocked out Crazzy Steve to end the segment and it appears the feud is on between Decay and Team XXXL.
Havok & Neveah Ruin Fire N Flava Title Celebration
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzsOe2gLgUo
Fire N Flava, Kiera Hogan & Tasha Steelz, appeared to have quite the time getting people out to their celebration. Johnny Swinger, John E Bravo, referee Brandon Tolle all seemed less than impressed with the festivities.
Hogan and Steelz then turned their attention to a guest on the outside who appeared to be dressed in a Stay Puff Marshmallow Man costume. This was just Neveah, however, and she attacked the new tag champions. Havok then hit the ring and they chased the champs away from their own festival. It seems Havok & Neveah are hoping for another crack at the titles.
Matt Cardona & Josh Alexander Pick Up Win Over Ace Austin & Madman Fulton
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfiBprGPwac
“Always Ready” Matt Cardona joined forces with Josh Alexander this week to go up against Ace Austin and Madman Fulton. Cardona defeated Ace Austin via DQ at Hard to Kill in his first match for the promotion. He’d pick up the win for his team tonight as well, he hit Radio Silence on Fulton and got the pin.
Later in the show, Cardona’s longtime friend and tag partner, Brian Myers, ran into Alexander and Cardona in the back. Cardona thought Myers would be happy to see him but Myers was more upset that Alexander hadn’t wanted to be his tag partner earlier. Cardona referred to him as “Bad mood Brian” to end the segment.
Next week on Impact Wrestling, Rohit Raju will face TJP in singles action. The X-Division title will not be on the line but if Raju can win, he’ll earn a shot. Raju was seen this week talking to a mystery person in the back who he feels will help him pick up a win over the champion next week.
Trey Miguel returned to Impact Wrestling on this week’s Impact on AXS TV. The former Rascalz member was announced as the mystery teammate for Rich Swann, Willie Mack and Tommy Dreamer in the night’s main event.
His return to Impact comes shortly his former stablemates, Zachary Wentz & Dezmond Xavier arrived in WWE’s NXT brand. Wentz is now known as Nash Carter and Xavier as Wes Lee. Collectively, their team is now known as MSK.
You can see video of Trey Miguel’s return to Impact in the player embedded below:
Trey Miguel Post-Rascalz
Shortly after Wentz and Dez signed with WWE, Trey put out a statement on Twitter.
I feel like it is worth mentioning AGAIN that a month and a half ago my Nephew was born prematurely and is in isolated care until what would have been his actual due date. Meeting a healthy baby boy is more important to me than anything else. I’m sure you all can respect that. ??
Miguel’s statement was posted after Triple H was asked about him during the NXT War Games post-event media call.
“Well look, I do not want to talk about why people are or are not here, there’s obviously a lot that goes into all of that, but for me, the people that do come here, it’s seeing the heart and the passion. That’s really what it comes down to—it’s a passion business, you have to be all in.”
“Sometimes, I’ve seen a few people that have been at it a long time and it shows. They’ve been at it a long time and I don’t know, sometimes that passion isn’t there. I’ve seen people that are new to it, like ‘oh, they like this’ but it’s not everything to them.”
Miguel recently appeared on the Iron-On Wrestling podcast and spoke about his upbringing.
This is one of the more personal episodes of any podcast I’ve ever done. Like me or hate me, I think these stories my draw you in a little closer to the person I actually am and how I came to be. https://t.co/jmNhIP0Dhk
AEW star Chris Jericho and legendary manager/promoter Jim Cornette are the latest wrestling personalities to exchange trash talk in public.
Jericho recently addressed Cornette’s negative comments about him on the Jim Cornette Experience podcast. Jericho said that Cornette and his co-host’s comments don’t bother him. In fact, he’s happy to give them material to talk about. Cornette fired back, as seen below.
Jericho posted the following Monday afternoon:
I’ve been told @TheJimCornette & his sidekick @greatbrianlast continue to brutally bury me for everything I do & say. My response to that is this….have at it! You’re entitled to ur opinions & Im honored to provide content that helps u pay your bills. Best of luck to both of u!
Thanks Chris–If you put the vodka down, got on a low-carb diet, had enough pride to quit doing cheerleading routines with outlaw wrestlers & stopped giving your money to a lunatic psychopath leading an insurrection against the US, I don't know WHAT I'd talk about. #StupidIdiothttps://t.co/xE5DuQ19pY
Shortly after that Tweet, Cornette realized he forgot to comment on Jericho’s band “Fozzy” playing the Sturgis festival this summer. The event has been labeled a “Super Spreader” event by some.
Sorry, I forgot to mention recklessly and with no regard for anyone's safety spreading a potentially deadly disease around the world because his midlife crisis demands he go out and play with the children. There's that too. https://t.co/xnOi1TBKjD
Jericho also expressed similar sentiment in a Tweet sent to Sebastian Bach yesterday.
I’ve been told that @sebastianbach continues to go out of his way to bury me. My response is this…be my guest! You are entitled to ur opinion & it doesn’t affect me either way. I still dig ur work on the first 3 @OfficialSkidRow albums & look forward to ur new record.
Bach has criticized Jericho for numerous things in the past. He was upset that Jericho’s band called their tour “Fozzy Across America” which he felt was a take on Skid Row’s “Skids Across America” tour. The singer eventually deleted his Tweet regarding this, however.
Bach has also accused Jericho of lip-syncing.
I've texted you three times no response. I will sing in your face anytime you want
Jericho’s guitarist spoke about Bach in a reply to this thread as well.
“Any time I have witnessed Sebastian’s name come up in a group setting, the room enthusiastically lines up to say the worst things about him. He’s universally disliked, never witnessed a more unifying topic. @IAmJericho has ALWAY come to the guy’s defense and shuts it down.”
Any time I have witnessed Sebastian’s name come up in a group setting, the room enthusiastically lines up to say the worst things about him. He’s universally disliked, never witnessed a more unifying topic. @IAmJericho has ALWAY come to the guy’s defense and shuts it down. 1/2
Arn Anderson recently spent some time on “The Arn Show” discussing having recently gone through having COVID-19. Double-A noted that the virus left him really sick. The 62-year-old detailed some of the symptoms he suffered from on his podcast.
“I got really, really sick a couple of weeks ago for about 10 days,” Anderson said on the show. He continued to say his illness took place during a window that AEW did not have a show at Daily’s Place.
“I know the symptoms vary hugely from person to person and age group but let me tell you, I got sick as hell. It scared me to death. I was in the bed for probably a week. Couldn’t drink anything, couldn’t eat anything, I was hallucinating. I was looking at my ceiling and I saw ice forming on the ceiling.”
“I had one day there for a minute where I couldn’t catch my breath and it was a lot of things I had never experienced in my life. It just scared me to death.”
Anderson then encouraged people to where a mask and socially distance.
“I’m begging you as a member of our family, tell everybody you know, wear the mask, do the social distancing,” he continued.
Anderson also mentioned that he tested positive later for having the COVID-19 antibodies but never actually tested positive for the virus while he was sick.
The rest of the show focused on the 2016 Royal Rumble event.
Major League Wrestling (MLW) appears to be introducing a brand known as Azteca Underground.
MLW star Salina de la Renta’s “Promociones Dorado” organization has been purchased by Azteca Underground, Inc. The purchase occurred shortly after Salina brought former Lucha Underground Champion, Mil Muertes, to the fight league.
Additionally, MLW has been re-tweeting posts from a newly created Azteca Underground account. The mysterious company (and the association to Mil Muertes) are drawing comparisons to shuttered wrestling promotion, Lucha Underground.
Mil Muertes was a featured character on the cult-favorite show, Lucha Underground, from 2014-2018. Unlike other characters on the show, however, Ricky Banderas obtained the rights to be able to portray Muertes outside of Lucha Underground. MLW has kept the character’s appearance and back story, noting that he was buried alive during the Mexico City Earthquake in 1985. This is what led to Muertes developed a deep connection with death.
Also of note here, is that the network that formerly aired Lucha Underground, the El Rey Network, shut down broadcasting on January 1st.
El Rey Network, best known here as the home of Lucha Underground, will cease to exist on New Year's Day.
There have also been reports that MLW is looking at developing a second weekly show as well as special events for DAZN. Muertes recently defeated Brian Pillman Jr. in his first match with MLW.
This week on MLW Fusion, we will get the culmination of a long-running feud between Richard Holliday and Savio Vega. TJP will team with Bukudao to go up against Team Filthy’s Violence is Forever (Dominic Garrini & Kevin Ku).
Caribbean Strap Match Richard Holliday vs Savio Vega
TJP & Bukudao vs Violence is Forever (Dominic Garrini & Kevin Ku)
Also in MLW, Salina de la Renta is building a feud with interviewer Alicia Atout. They have been exchanging insults on social media as of late.
Roderick James “Rod” McMahon, the brother of WWE Chairman Vince McMahon, has passed away. He was 77-years-old. A cause of death is not currently known.
Although Rod McMahon never did enter the world of pro-wrestling, there were once plans for him to do so. Vince’s brother was planned to be part of the 2007 angle regarding Vince’s death in a limo explosion. The angle was eventually scrapped due to the real-life double-murder suicide of the Benoit family.
Rod McMahon graduated from the University of Memphis with a degree in business administration in 1969. He would go on to found and serve as President of the North American Metals company.
SEScoops extends our condolences to the family and friends of Rod McMahon.
Rod McMahon
Ryback has spoken about being friends with Rod McMahon previously on his podcast. On an episode from 2019, Ryback had the following to say regarding his relationship with Rod.
“The only communication that I’ve had is with Vince McMahon’s brother, Rod McMahon, who uses Feed Me More Nutrition. We go back and forth in emails,” Ryback said.
“He lives in Houston, which is where I met him at Gold’s Gym many years ago. I told Vince McMahon that I met his brother and told him that I could see the resemblance, they look very similar and Vince got red in the face and got extremely angry with me and then he locked me in a room with his mother to meet his mom in Houston.”
It’s been almost two years now since Ronda Rousey has wrestled a match in WWE. Her last time in a WWE ring was in the main event of WrestleMania 35. Stephanie McMahon recently addressed Rousey’s possible future with the company during an interview with TMZ.
“Ronda’s been very public that she would like to start her own family,” McMahon said to TMZ. “Once she does that, our doors are absolutely open, our arms are open. We are very hopeful that Ronda will come back home to WWE.”
Stephanie also answered a question during the interview about a possible Roman Reigns vs the Rock match at WrestleMania.
“I suppose there is any chance that we are working on anything at anytime, to answer your question. It would be a phenomenal story to find out who truly sits at the head of the table. You know, when you think about Rock and his family and Roman Reigns and his family. Just the heritage and the lineage in our business of that family. (It is a) huge story and I do hope we get to see it play out one day.”
Stephanie McMahon’s comments about Ronda Rousey can be viewed in the player below:
WWE and NBC have announced a huge multi-year deal. The WWE Network will move to NBC’s streaming service, Peacock, beginning on March 18th, 2021 in the United States. The move will take place 3 days before the Fastlane PPV on March 21st. This will not impact WWE Network subscribers outside the United States.
The deal will see the cost of the network drop from $9.99/month to $4.99. Subscribers will also gain access to the rest of NBC’s library. An ad-free version of the service is available for $9.99. In a press release sent this morning, WWE noted that details regarding the migration of customers from one service to the other will be forthcoming closer to March.
WWE Sells Network Streaming Rights To NBC Universal
“We are thrilled to further the long-standing and trusted partnership WWE has with NBCUniversal,” said Nick Khan.
“NBCUniversal has a long-standing relationship with WWE that began nearly 30 years ago with Monday Night Raw on USA. WWE has always tapped into the cultural zeitgeist with spectacular live events and larger-than-life characters, and we are thrilled to be the exclusive home for WWE Network and its millions of fans across the country,” said Rick Cordella, Executive Vice President and Chief Revenue Officer, Peacock. “WWE Network is a transformative addition to the platform and complements Peacock’s massive catalog of iconic movies and shows, as well as the best live news and sports, from NBCUniversal and beyond.”
There had been rumors WWE was looking to sell the rights to the Network before the onset of the global pandemic. Vince McMahon spoke about the company’s options during the Q4 earnings call in 2019.
“There’s no more better time to exercise the selling of our rights to all the majors who, quite frankly, all the majors are really clamoring for our content,” McMahon said. “So that could be a significant increase, obviously, in terms of revenue.”
Zelina Vega was recently asked if she was friends with Becky Lynch. According to her response, Lynch was someone who really supported Zelina after she was released by WWE.
“True, she’s one of the people that was really there for me after I left. I’ll always appreciate her,” Zelina wrote.
Zelina Vega was released from WWE this November following the implementation of the company’s new policy on 3rd party accounts. She spoke about the experience on her Twitch stream.
“The past week has been hell. Literal hell. Friday was the worst day of my life, well, since 2001,” Vega said. “When you hear about me in the social media world, sometimes misinformation can be spread.”
“I thought people were going to look at me like the devil. Let’s just say that the narrative has been spun completely out of control and is completely wrong,” Vega continued. “When people see the real story that I put out, that’s who I am. I’ve learned to grow as a person. I’ve known to realize my worth and stand up for who I am, and appreciate the things I’ve gotten along the way.”
“According to one person in the company with knowledge of the situation, she was told about it by Mark Carrano, asked to talk to Vince McMahon and Carrano told her that he doesn’t want to talk to you and [she] was escorted out of the building.”
2020 was an incredibly unique year in the world or pro-wrestling. Despite the many challenges wrestling promotions faced last year, there still were many notable and historic events that took place in the industry.
Former WWE Superstar CM Punk recently answered some fan questions on social media. During the #AskPunk Q&A session, Punk was asked about his favorite WWE Superstar in 2020. The Chicago native named Bill Goldberg.
Goldberg only wrestled twice in 2020. He performed on two of the biggest events of the year, however. Neither match went longer than 3-minutes. Goldberg defeated The Fiend at Super Show-Down to win the WWE Universal Championship in 2 minutes and 59 seconds. He then lost to Braun Strowman on night 1 of WrestleMania 36 in just 2 minutes and 13 seconds.
CM Punk did not just name his favorite wrestler to watch in the ring. He complimented Goldberg’s intelligence, which is likely a reference to Goldberg’s ability to command big money for very little time in the ring. Whatever WWE is paying him, and you know it’s a lot, Goldberg clocked only 5 minutes and 12 seconds of ring time during two matches in 2020.
Punk was also asked about doing a video game deal with 2K as part of the WWE series. He said he’s open to the idea but sounds pessimistic that something like that would happen.
New Japan Pro Wrestling was inside the Ota City General Gymnasium in Tokyo today for the 5th show of its Road to the New Beginning tour. In the main event, Bullet Club’s Taiji Ishimori & El Phantasmo captured the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championships. They defeated the now-former champions, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & El Desperado from Suzuki-Gun.
Ishimori & ELP begin the 63rd reign in the title’s lineage. It is the second time the duo have won the titles. They also held the belts from Kizuna Road on June 16th, 2019 until Night 2 of Wrestle Kingdom 14 on January 5th, 2020.
The Undertaker ruffled some feathers this week with comments he made during an appearance on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast. The Dead Man knocked today’s generation of wrestlers as being ‘soft’ compared to the outlaws of the 1980’s & 90’s.
“You go into a dressing room nowadays and it’s a lot different. I remember walking into my first real dressing room and all I saw were some crusty f***ing men. Half of them had guns and knives in their bags. S**t got handled back then,” Taker said. “Now you walk in, there’s guys playing video games and making sure they look pretty. It’s evolution, I guess. I don’t know what it is, but I just like those eras, man. I liked when men were men.”
Several wrestlers have taken issue with The Undertaker’s remarks. In response to what The Undertaker said about playing video games and looking pretty, Cedric Alexander replied:
In addition to knocking today’s pro wrestlers, The Undertaker also took issue with the WWE product. When asked if he enjoys modern WWE programming, he said, “It’s tough right now for me… cause the product has changed so much and it’s kind of soft. I’ll probably piss a lot of people off but they need to hear it. It is what it is.”
The infamous “What?” chants started to be heard in WWE in 2001. Steve Austin had just turned heel and was using the one-word question regularly in his promos. For two decades since, fans chanting “What?” during promos has become a polarizing topic in wrestling.
Mick Foley recently commented on how the chants can make cutting a promo difficult. He took to Twitter to let his feelings on the matter be known.
“It can be very difficult for any wrestler to find their voice amidst a chorus of “what” chants – it’s like going up to bat with the count starting at 0-2. While it’s still POSSIBLE to hit a promo out of the park, those annoying chants make it a hell of a lot less likely.”
Foley’s comments were in response to a user on Twitter noting that Roman Reigns didn’t “find his voice” until after live crowds were no longer in attendance at events.
Christian noted in an interview in 2019, that he played a role in the “What?” chants coming to be. He said that Austin first started using it on a voicemail he left him around that time.
“(Austin) left this rambling voicemail on my message machine. He was just saying random stuff like: ‘I’m just passing a tree. What?! I said I’m passing a tree. What?!’ Random – about anything,” Christian said.
“Then a week or two later I was sitting in the back on Raw and I could hear the audio of him doing a promo in the ring and I heard him doing the ‘What?’ I was like ‘I can’t believe he’s going to do this and he’s going to get this over'”.
Ryan Nemeth, aka Hot Young Briley, is scheduled to make his AEW debut next week on Dynamite. AEW announced on its social media feeds that Dolph Ziggler’s brother will be facing Hangman Page Wednesday night.
Ryan Nemeth is an 11-year pro out of the Cleveland area. The 35-year-old is 5 years younger than his older brother. He was trained by Rip Rogers and has performed for promotions such as Tommy Dreamer’s House of Hardcore, Nuclear Heat Wrestling, and Millennium Pro Wrestling. He also wrestled regularly for Bar Wrestling but would later express ethical concerns regarding the owner of the promotion.
From 2012 to 2013, Nemeth was under contract with WWE. He performed in OVW, FCW, and eventually NXT under the ring name Briley Pierce. He was released in May of 2013.
Shortly after Brodie Lee’s passing, Nemeth posted the below story to his Twitter account:
All Elite Wrestling is reportedly looking at pushing back the planned date for the 2021 Revolution PPV. The originally planned date for the event had been February 27th, 2021 but according to a report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the date is being pushed back. No official date has been announced for the event as of yet, however.
“We’ve heard possible dates of either 3/6 or 3/7 at Daily’s Place. The original date of 2/27 has been talked about as possibly a Jake Paul PPV,” wrote Dave Meltzer. The report would continue to say that the potential Jake Paul boxing fight is not official and may not happen, however.
It was also noted in the report that AEW’s lowest-drawing PPV, 2019’s Full Gear, went head-to-head with a Jake Paul fight on PPV.
“The lowest AEW PPV, Full Gear on November 9, 2019, even with a Jon Moxley vs. Kenny Omega unsanctioned match on top, went head-to-head with the second Logan Paul vs. KSI fight.”
The first match confirmed for the event was announced yesterday. Following weeks of feuding between Sting, Darby Allin, and Team Taz, a street fight has been scheduled. It will be Darby Allin and Sting teaming up against Ricky Starks and Brian Cage. The match was announced officially yesterday after having been teased this week on Dynamite.
WWE WrestleMania 37 is less than 3 months away. This year’s installment of WrestleMania will once again take place over two nights. As announced last week, WrestleMania 37 will be held on April 10th and 11th from Raymond James Stadium in Tampa Bay, FL.
“The reason there has been no television direction for the main matches at Mania. You don’t hear anything about them is because there isn’t any,” wrote Dave Meltzer. He added that there doesn’t appear to be any plan regarding top WrestleMania storylines and title matches for the Raw brand.
WWE appears to have narrowed down Roman Reigns’ WrestleMania opponent to two possible choices, however.
“On Smackdown, Reigns has two different opponents that are being considered. So, Bryan is not a lock and at least as of this past week. Nakamura was not one of the two under consideration as of last week,” Meltzer continued.
Although Daniel Bryan and Shinsuke Nakamura are current frontrunners to face Reigns, “plans change.”
Road to WrestleMania
WWE will present three pay-per-view events from now through WrestleMania. The Royal Rumble takes place next weekend, on January 31st. From there, we have Elimination Chamber on February 21st and Fastlane on March 21st. There will be just 3 weeks between Fastlane and WrestleMania.
We have plenty of time from now until WrestleMania. However, WWE typically has WrestleMania plans firmed up by now.
Former AEW Women’s Champion, Riho, has not wrestled in the United States since March. She’s been keeping an active schedule with the World Wonder Ring Stardom promotion in Japan, however. According to a recent report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, AEW is hoping to have Riho back on its shows soon.
“The company is right now working on bringing Riho back. People have been asking about her since Stardom stopped using her a few weeks ago. She could be back as early as February,” wrote Dave Meltzer. Riho’s last match with Stardom was on December 26th, 2020.
News that AEW is hoping to have Riho back shortly comes on the heels of the announcement of the Women’s Championship Eliminator tournament. AEW announced the tournament on Dynamite this week and graphics for it show an American side and a Japanese side.
COMING SOON!#AEW Women's World Championship Eliminator Tournament! Who will be the number one contender? pic.twitter.com/oM4I3OGrRn
Riho won the AEW Women’s Championship on the first-ever edition of Dynamite. She defeated Nyla Rose in the finals of a tournament to crown the first champion. Riho held the title for 19 weeks and 4 defences before dropping it to Rose on the 19th edition of Dynamite on February 12th, 2020.
Posted January 22nd, 2021 in AEW, News. Tagged: Riho.
The Undertaker was recently on Joe Rogan’s podcast. During the conversation, he made some comments about today’s roster being soft. Today, Xavier Woods put out a Tweet that many are taking as a reaction to these comments.
“It’s tough right now for me [to enjoy the product]. Cause the product has changed so much and it’s kind of soft. I’ll probably piss a lot of people off but they need to hear it. It is what it is.”
Taker also specifically mentioned guys playing video games backstage in WWE.
“You go into a dressing room nowadays and it’s a lot different. I remember walking into my first real dressing room and all I saw were some crusty f***ing men. Half of them had guns and knives in their bags. S**t got handled back then. Now you walk in, there’s guys playing video games and making sure they look pretty. It’s evolution, I guess. I don’t know what it is, but I just like those eras, man. I liked when men were men.”
Xavier Woods posted the following Tweet today:
I wouldn’t be the person that I am without the guidance and lessons of a few key people from the previous generation of wrestling. They taught me about the business, to save my money, & that having video games in the locker room is healthier than having [redacted]. Thank you guys
Will Hobbs debuted for AEW this summer. He turned heel and aligned with Team Taz this November. He was the guest this week on the AEW Unrestricted podcast. Hobbs spoke about trying out for WWE earlier in his career as well as earning a full-time contract with AEW.
“The tryout was good. That’s a long story but I’ll give you the short story,” Hobbs said about trying out for WWE. “They said we didn’t have anything for you right now.”
Hobbs continued to say that WWE contacted him again after he had appeared on AEW television.
“Years later, (I was) getting the carrot dangled in front of me, then I pretty much told them F-you.”
“The way I was raised, I don’t have time for that s**t. I’m not ‘Boo Boo the Fool’ as my grandmother used to say,” he continued.
Aubrey Edwards then noted others in Team Taz have similar stories.
“Yeah I think Ricky (Starks) had the same thing happen. Both the Team Taz guys. It was like (they) appear on AEW, ‘hey, remember us, we would like to talk you.'”
“I’d rather you tell me ‘100% no’ than try and BS me,” Hobbs continued.
Will Hobbs On Getting A Full-Time AEW Contract
Hobbs also spoke about signing a full-time deal with AEW in September.
“I started off as a Tier 0,” Hobbs said about his first deal with AEW. “And then I believe I got that offer, I want to say right after my Darby match on the Saturday Night Dynamite.”
“Then I believe the PPV was maybe 3 weeks after that. Right after I did my whole thing with Mox, saving him, I got to the back and had another contract waiting for me. I got on the phone, I called a few people back home. When I got back to the hotel, I’m not a real emotional person, but I had to shed a few tears.”
Today on #AEWUnrestricted, @tonyschiavone24 and I are joined by @TrueWillieHobbs! We discuss growing up watching wrestling at the legendary Cow Palace, joining Team Taz, comic books, daytime soap operas, + more!
Private Party defeated Chris Sabin and James Storm this week on Impact to claim the #1 Contenders spot for the promotion’s tag-team championships.
Impact has announced that the match between current champions, The Good Brothers, and Private Party will take place on February 13th at No Surrender. The event will stream on Impact Plus.
Matt Hardy brought Private Party to Impact this week. Tony Khan would later say that he sent Hardy to the promotion as revenge for Impact stars showing up on his show. Jerry Lynn and Tony Khan were ringside for Private Party’s match on Impact this week. Lynn even got involved in the match, holding onto Sabin’s foot so he was unable to escape from the Gin and Juice.
The Good Brothers have two other big matches upcoming. On next week’s AEW Dynamite, they will team with the Young Bucks against the Dark Order. The following week at Beach Blast, Gallows and Anderson will team with Kenny Omega to take on PAC, Fenix, and Jon Moxley.
Isiah Kassidy and Marq Quen seem to be warming up to Matt Hardy’s coaching, even if they aren’t happy with the financial side of their agreement. Last night on Dynamite, Kassidy used a steel chair to give his team the advantage, perhaps suggesting they have turned heel along with their mentor.
