– Shayna Baszler Tweeted out a video of herself at the WWE Performance Center in which she makes fun of a group of female talents trying to learn submission holds inside the ring. Baszler insists on helping one of the girls, Jessie Elaban, but keeps her in a strong rear-naked choke hold way too tight and long. A few other female talents had to get Baszler off of Elaban:
– WWE Superstar Natalya recently did a column for The Calgary Sun in which she discussed the first-ever all-female Royal Rumble match set to take place later this year. Here’s what she had to say about the match:
“Being able to compete in our own Royal Rumble allows the entire WWE Women’s division to feel equality like we never have before. That feeling is truly empowering, and marks a pivotal moment in the WWE Women’s evolution. I am excited to be a part of history. The cherry on top for this Canadian girl would be to carry on the excellence of the Hart family members who came before me and to win the Royal Rumble and get my shot at being a two-time SmackDown Women’s Champion. WrestleMania, here I come!”
– Current ROH Television Champion Silas Young recently took to Twitter to announce that his contract with the promotion has expired and he’s currently a free agent. He said he is currently in Florida and teased potentially signing with WWE soon:
– Following Wrestle Kingdom 12 at the New Year’s Dash event a 10-man match took place between Cody, Chase Owens, Marty Scurll, Yujiro Takahashi, and Lao Tongo vs. Kushida, Kota Ibushi, Dave Finlay, Juice Robinson, and Ryusuke Taguchi. The Bullet Club ended up winning the match and Cody looked to ambush Ibushi with The Bullet Club afterwards to avenge his loss at WK.
IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion Kenny Omega then rushed the ring and stopped Cody and The Bullet Club, before getting into an intense shoving match with each other:
WWE Cruiserweight Champion Enzo Amore recently did an interview with The Sun to talk about several professional wrestling topics. Here are the highlights:
Neville’s crazy travel schedule and his ability as a performer:
“Neville is one of my favorite pros in the business. He carried NXT with that title and was a tag-team champion there. Then he worked the 205 division with the hardest schedule in silence, he was working Friday, Saturday and Sunday and then Mondays and Tuesdays. When guys were catching red-eye flights from the west coast after Raw, Neville was driving on to the next town or taking an early morning flight. It’s the hardest schedule in pro wrestling because you are closing out 205 [Live] at the end of the week. I hope Neville comes back and we feud. I have never seen a guy work like he does.
Who Neville is like in the WWE ring:
“He might move better than anyone has ever moved in a ring – like the Dynamie Kid. I have seen him tear it up in matches that no one will ever see – absolute bangers – I would love to move around with him because that dude can dance.”
You can read Amore’s full interview with The Sun by clicking this link here.
Another team for the WWE’s Mixed Match Challenge tournament has been announced, and this time its for the blue brand. SmackDown Live General Manager Daniel Bryan has announced that real-life married couple Rusev and Lana will team up with each other for the Mixed Match Challenge. The pair joins teams such as Finn Balor & Sasha Banks, Charlotte Flair & Bobby Roode, and Alexa Bliss & Braun Strowman.
Above is a video of the announcement and below is WWE’s official statement on the team being made:
Rusev to team with his wife Lana at WWE Mixed Match Challenge
SmackDown LIVE General Manager Daniel Bryan dropped a bombshell when he revealed that Rusev will team up with his wife Lana in the unprecedented WWE Mixed Match Challenge tournament on Facebook Watch.
The in-ring partnership between The Bulgarian Brute and The Ravishing Russian is an intriguing one to say the least. Rusev is a two-time Unites Champion who demands respect against any opponent in both singles and tag team competition. While Lana has not competed as extensively as her spouse, the Total Divas co-star has been quite visible in the struggle for supremacy in the SmackDown LIVE Women’s division and has officially entered the first-ever 30-Woman Over-the-Top Royal Rumble Match, signaling that she is, in fact, ready for top-notch competition.
Obviously, success for any tag team requires more than physical skill. There must also be an intuition between the competitors, something that can take years for two Superstars to develop. However, for a married couple in love, there is a much higher chance that element will already be intact, raising the odds that the WWE Mixed Match Challenge will end up being transformed into Rusev Day!
Together, Rusev and Lana will do battle in a ground-breaking tournament on Facebook Watch, where unlikely male-female WWE Superstar pairings will attempt to win $100,000 for a charity of their choice.
Check back with WWE.com to learn other #WWEMMC combinations as they become available. Follow WWE Mixed Match Challenge on Facebook for updates, and find out how you can impact the show’s matchups, stipulations and more along the way. WWE Mixed Match Challenge begins Tuesday, Jan. 16, at 10 ET/7 PT, exclusively on Facebook Watch.
The WWE’s Mixed Match Challenge will kick off in two weeks on January 16th on Facebook Watch, and Monday Night RAW’s second team for the tournament has just been announced. The team of Finn Balor and Sasha Banks has now been announced for the tournament; joining teams such as Bobby Roode and Charlotte Flair from SmackDown Live, and Braun Strowman & Alexa Bliss from RAW as well.
Above is a video in which Sasha Banks and Finn Balor find out they’ll be teaming together, and below is WWE’s official announcement of the team:
Finn Bálor & Sasha Banks to join forces at WWE Mixed Match Challenge
Raw General Manager Kurt Angle has revealed that Finn Bálor will team with Sasha Banks at WWE Mixed Match Challenge, a bold dream team that could definitely make the difference for Team Raw in the unprecedented tournament on Facebook Watch.
Whether competing in the history-making WWE Iron Man Match against Bayley in NXT or inside Hell in a Cell against Charlotte Flair, the innovative Banks is the very definition of a trailblazer. With the distinction of being the first-ever Universal Champion and the longest-reigning NXT Champion in history, Bálor is definitely cut from the same cloth as the four-time Raw Women’s Champion.
Add to the mix their larger-than-life personas and you have a fierce combination capable of taking any team to task in the Mixed Match Challenge.
Together, Bálor and Banks will compete in an innovative Facebook Watch exclusive tournament, where unlikely male-female WWE Superstar pairings will attempt to win $100,000 for their charity.
Check back with WWE.com to learn other #WWEMMC combinations as they become available. Follow WWE Mixed Match Challenge on Facebook for updates, and find out how you can impact the show’s matchups, stipulations and more along the way. WWE Mixed Match Challenge begins Tuesday, Jan. 16, at 10 ET/7 PT, exclusively on Facebook Watch.
As we’ve noted before, WWE Cruiserweight Champion Enzo Amore was held off from Monday Night RAW this week due to getting the flu. He was scheduled to defend his title against Cedric Alexander but that match has been put on hold for the time being.
Amore reportedly got sick over the weekend during WWE’s holiday tour and had been working with Kalisto at live events that week. He did not compete while in Toronto and held off on going to the hospital until he got to Miami, Florida for RAW. He was given an IV and arrived to the arena a few hours before the show but was sent to his hotel by WWE officials out of fear he was contagious, and was ordered to rest up despite Amore’s pleas to allow him to compete.
Braun Strowman was sent home early from WWE’s holiday tour for an illness as well, and the Wrestling Observer reports that “The Moster Among Men” was violently ill. Strowman, however, was able to return on RAW and defeat Rhyno in one-on-one competition.
There’s no official news on when Amore could return to the ring, although he has been medically cleared, but could possibly come back as early as this weekend. Amore was also removed from the Mixed Match Challenge by RAW General Manager Kurt Angle, despite that the tournament is two weeks away. When Amore does return it’s expected he’ll defend his title against Cedric Alexander.
– Currently Enzo Amore is the only WWE Superstar being sidelined by an illness, as he missed this past Monday’s episode of RAW after contracting the flu. Braun Strowman was sent home early from WWE’s holiday live event tour, however, he was able to return for RAW and defeat Rhyno.
Wrestling Inc. reports that several other WWE Superstars aside from Strowman and Amore are suffering from illnesses backstage and have been given IV treatment. It hasn’t been confirmed whether or not those illnesses are from the flu or something else, but it is being said that several Superstars didn’t go out on New Years Eve because of how sick they were.
– As they prepare to welcome their first child into the world, WWE Superstars The Miz and Maryse have purchased a brand new home and shared the following photos on social media:
– Former WWE World Heavyweight Champion Rey Mysterio took to Instagram to comment on this morning’s Chris Jericho vs. Kenny Omega Wrestle Kingdom 12 match, saying it “did not disappoint”:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BdhwrrHDv_r/
– WWE posted a video of Braun Strowman and Alexa Bliss being interviewed by Renee Young, who asks the pair how they feel about being paired together for the Mixed Match Challenge and how they think Nia Jax will respond – given Jax petitioned to have Strowman as her partner for the tournament. Check out the video here:
– WWE Superstar John Cena recently posted a picture of “Woken” Matt Hardy on his Instagram page. “The Leader Of The Cenation” has a history of posting cryptic photos on his social media feed:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BdfukObgaNz/
Hardy responded to Cena’s post on Twitter, referencing Cena’s middle name, Felix, as well:
– The Young Bucks, Nick and Matt Jackson, won the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championships at Wrestle Kingdom 12 earlier this morning. Matt Jackson took to Twitter to comment on the achievement and WWE producer/agent “Scrap Daddy” Adam Pierce responded to him and said he’s proud of the brothers:
When you’re old and gray (like I already am), you’ll look back fondly on the journey. It’s been remarkable and I’m proud of you guys.
Just four days into the new year and rumors have already begun to circulate regarding independent talents that WWE could go out and get their hands on. Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that WWE has their eyes on adding another female talent to the mix – Candice LeRae.
Meltzer didn’t confirm that the signing is official quite yet but did say that LaRae is “going through the process” of inking a WWE deal. LaRae competed in the Mae Young Classic last year and was eliminated during her quarterfinals match with Shayna Baszler. LaRae also has a connection with WWE as she is the wife of NXT star Johnny Gargano.
Several weeks ago PWInsider reported that WWE was working on signing “a very prominent female independent talent.” It’s very possible LaRae is who the report was referencing. We’ll keep you updated…
The talk of the professional wrestling world early this morning was New Japan Pro Wrestling’s Wrestle Kingdom 12, which featured a highly-anticipated bout for the IWGP United States Heavyweight Title between Kenny Omega and Chris Jericho. Wrestling fans from around the world stayed up until the late hours of the night yesterday to witness the spectacular event, and one of those fans was none other than WWE Superstar Tye Dillinger.
Dillinger took to Twitter to comment on former NXT star Liger being at the event, and a fan responded to him by telling him his Tweets of another company’s product will push him further down the card on SmackDown Live. You can check out Dillinger’s response, followed by a few more Tweets on the matter, here below:
I really enjoyed #WrestleKingdom12 from top to bottom. Thanks to all who kept the chat alive through the night and thanks for supporting what we all love. Goodnight ??
Jericho caught some heat for this from various fans and media personalities alike. One such media personality was Ryan Satin, who sent out the following sarcastic Tweet on the matter:
“Y2J” made a Facebook video to comment on his sharing of the fan art and his dedication to Guerrero and Benoit, calling out Satin specifically during the video as well. Check it out here:
On the latest episode of The Two Man Power Trip Of Wrestling podcast “The Franchise” Shane Douglas commented on several professional wrestling topics. Douglas discussed the possibility of seeing Bam Bam Bigelow into the WWE Hall Of Fame, if he’d induct Bigelow, his thoughts on if Vince McMahon would set his feelings aside and extend him an invite, and more. Here are the highlights:
If he’d induct former Triple Threat stablemate Bam Bam Bigelow into the WWE Hall Of Fame if he were selected:
“Out of the uber respect that I have for Scott (Bam Bam) and certainly his family I’d be honored to induct him into the Hall of Fame. I am certainly capable of putting aside my feelings and it wouldn’t be about the WWE or the Hall of Fame it would be about my friend Scott. That said, I don’t believe that is ever going to happen. I think there is a better chance that the proverbial snowball could survive hell before that could happen but if that call did come I would certainly be honored to induct Scott into the Hall of Fame and my personal feelings about the “Hall” are irrelevant at that point and would have nothing to do with it.
“Bam Bam Bigelow truly deserves to be in the Hall of Fame and if that call would come I’d be honored to do it but I don’t think it is going to come. I think there is a much greater likelihood that Vince would look elsewhere but I am honored that the fans would want to consider that I should be the one to induct him.”
How he thinks Bam Bam would feel about the way people are selected for the WWE Hall Of Fame:
“I think on the surface of that question that Scott would be much along the lines that I am. But I also think that Scott and if I can be so bold as to take a stab at this and that is if Scott is sitting someplace and looking down and seeing where it is today that he would be honored and humbled to let his kids see him be inducted into the Hall of Fame and I’d have to honor that.
“Bam Bam because of his sheer size and being a little bit older than me was kind of like my big brother and Chris Candido was like my little brother. The three of us were literally like three brothers and I think he would be honored by the fact to be recognized and to have achieved that level that I don’t think that Scott ever saw himself in that way as a top tier guy. I think that is why we all got along so well. None of us ever counted ourselves as being in the class with those guys above us because those guys were great and were legends and were draws and we were just trying to learn and come up behind them. So I think Scott would be eternally humbled by being inducted into the Hall of Fame.”
If he thinks Vince McMahon would set his feelings aside and extend an invite to “The Franchise”:
“I think it is wishful thinking in the fan’s heads that Vince would do that. Vince and I don’t get along very well in case anyone doesn’t know that or hasn’t realized that by now. I am just hopeful that the rumors we are hearing are valid and that Scott is inducted and if for nothing else for his kids (Shane, Colton and Ricci) to see their father be inducted into that Hall of Fame because he adored his kids and as much as I love my boys, he adored his kids. After all these years of not having their father I would love for them to be able to experience what Bam Bam Bigelow brought to the ring and what their father brought to the ring and that is probably the best way I can put it.”
You can listen to the full episode of The Two Man Power Trip Of Wrestling by clicking this link.
– On last night’s episode of SmackDown Live it was announced that WWE Champion AJ Styles will defend his title in a 2-on-1 handicap match against Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn at the Royal Rumble pay-per-view (PPV) later this month. “KO” took to Twitter to react to the WWE Title opportunity:
– Last night’s episode of 205 Live continued the feud of Hideo Itami and Jack Gallagher as Gallagher beat Itami down with a pipe. You can check out the video of the segment here below:
WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross was recently a guest on The Sam Roberts’ Wrestling Podcast to talk about several professional wrestling topics. Ross discussed who he’d hire if he was head of WWE Talent Relations now, how he’d get CM Punk to come back to WWE, getting Shawn Michaels to return several years ago, and much more. You can check out the highlights here below:
Who he’d hire today if he was head of WWE Talent Relations:
“Well, I’m certainly going to try to find another way to bring Chris Jericho back at some point, maybe at a WrestleMania, not [2018], but [2019]. Looking ahead. I’m probably going to try to get Kenny Omega signed. I’m going to find out the interest [level] from Kazuchika Okada because I think he’s one of the best in the whole world. He’s a good looking young man. He’s 29 [years old], I think. He’s 6’3″ or [6’4″], 6’3”, I think. He’s really, really good. I had his three matches with Omega this year on AXS TV on the Friday night show I do for [Mark] Cuban’s network, so he’d be a guy.
“I would certainly welcome Cody Rhodes back with open arms. Yeah, and The Young Bucks, I would try to get under contract because I like those kids. I like their entrepreneurial ability. I like the fact that they have a little bit of an attitude. Hell, I don’t care. I don’t know if they like me or if they don’t like me. I don’t have any idea. That’s their prerogative I like them and I love their work. But I think as many shirts as they think they’re selling now at that Topic place, what’s that place? Hot Topic. Get under that WWE umbrella and see how [many] shirts you sell. Oh, brother. It’s just the footprint is so much bigger. Hot Topic’s not going to stop buying shirts because they’re WWE shirts.”
Figuring out a way to get CM Punk back:
“I would try to figure out a way if there’s one more run in CM Punk. And ‘one more run’ to me means this: a WrestleMania, not 10, not two, not three, a WrestleMania. Start with let’s build to the right build and the crescendo is WrestleMania. And the only other way I’d do him is have him return at WrestleMania and not be on television. Sign, train, vignettes, vignettes, little angle, boom. His first match is WrestleMania. Yeah, that way there’s no pressure on anybody.”
When he got Shawn Michaels to come back to WWE:
“When I talked to Shawn Michaels about coming back to WWE and wrestling, he had been out four years. Yeah, yeah, yeah, Attitude Era time. I flew out from Stamford [Connecticut], LaGuardia specifically, to San Antonio [Texas] to visit with him and his lawyer, agent, whatever.” Ross recalled, “but I talked to him about coming back and I said, ‘many people, including myself, consider you one of the top one or two performers, in-ring performers, of all time, of all time. Unfortunately, there’s going to be a whole generation that don’t know you for that.
“They know you for the guy who lost his smile and the guy that hurt his back and had to take a four-year break. I’m just suggesting that that’s not the image, legacy, you want to leave. You have too [many] good things going on. And if nothing else, I’d like you to come back and have one match if you can. If not, let’s figure out a role for you. We would like for you to be able to share what to do, what not to do, and help these young guys who look up to you as their favorite.’ So I thought we’d get him back for one more match and he had several! And all of them were badass.”
Not having seen the best of Shinsuke Nakamura in WWE yet:
“I broadcast Wrestle Kingdom 9 live at ringside in Tokyo [Japan],” Ross continued, “and I thought he was one of the most fascinating personalities I had ever seen in my career and when I got back from that I did the old texting and let the appropriate folks know that I saw a guy that [they] might really want to take a look at because the influences for his game are derived from what’s the guy’s name that sang for Queen? Freddie Mercury and Michael Jackson. And I never heard of a professional wrestler saying that their influences are Freddie Mercury and Michael Jackson and he has that great MMA background.
“He’s physical. I’ll just say this because I don’t know what the answer is other than I don’t think we’ve seen the best of Shinsuke Nakamura yet. There’s much more there. The question is will it be revealed, discovered, or utilized. I don’t know those answers and I don’t believe anyone does. But I find him fascinating, but I want to see some of that more physical, more snug. What we know is there, we are not getting. And I don’t know if that’s him. I don’t know if he’s injured. I don’t know what it is. But I’d love to see him be turned loose.”
Nakamura and A.J. Styles’ rivalry compared to Omega vs. Okada:
“I understand Kenny Omega, who WWE, I’m sure, would love to sign someday, I would think. He’s proven to have an ability to connect with an audience. He’s very talented [and] fundamentally sound. But he’ll want to move there someday because the older you get you can’t wrestle that crazy multiple bump, big bump style per match. And they do a lot of bumps on the apron, which is very dangerous and more jarring. And I understand their willingness to provide entertainment and all that good stuff. But Omega and Okada had three great matches this year, obviously. I called all three of them at some point with Josh Barnett, but I thought that the Nakamura/A.J. matches that I called were right there with them.”
You can listen to Jim Ross’ appearance on The Sam Roberts’ Wrestling Podcast by clicking here.
WWE Superstar Maria Kanellis was one of several female professional wrestlers to be victims of private photo and video leaks online. The former Playboy cover girl took to Facebook to issue her thoughts on the entire situation, entitling it “What will you tell your child about being in Playboy? “Playboy, Leaked Photos, and Being Sexy””:
What will you tell your child about being in Playboy?
“Playboy, Leaked Photos, and Being Sexy”
I have never thought about not being me. I have never been afraid to show off my body. I have never been scared of being sexy. And I don’t want my son or daughter to be afraid of their body. I want my children to be confident. In a world so full of hate and unknown, Mike and I do not want our children to feel like love is a foreign concept. I have been asked on numerous occasions about Playboy, my leaked photos, and about being sexy. My answers may surprise you and hopefully give you some insight into what it means to me to be able to be sexy and still be a great mother.
What will you tell your child about being in Playboy? I will tell them that mommy bought a house by capitalizing on a huge opportunity. I will tell them that mommy believes that the human body should be celebrated not shammed. I will tell them that Playboy is an iconic magazine and the decision to pose was something I discussed with my family and friends before making a well informed choice. I don’t believe sex is the enemy I think ignorance is. If my children, are well informed about the meaning and value of a person’s virtue, I think that is the best a parent can do.
Leaked Photos…. So, I guess I probably should make a statement about this at some point. Haha… I guess first you should know, every photo that I have seen leaked was something for my husband of over three years, who I have been with for 6 and a half. They were sent to or taken by Mike. So, you aren’t seeing anything salacious or forbidden. You are seeing our personal photos. It doesn’t bother me that I’m naked. I have been naked. Boobs, butt, etc… everyone has them. If my children asks about those photos, I will say mommy and daddy have a healthy relationship. We love each other. Daddy thinks Mommy is sexy. AND, there is nothing wrong with that. The problem is the intrusion of privacy. The sad, sad humans that can not make a happy, healthy life of their own. I would tell my child to feel sorry for the people that do not have enough love of their own and have to steal it from others. Mommy and daddy, pity the people that have enough time on their hands to fish through our photos but no time to make a life of their own. To those people, I say get some help, try online dating, and stop breaking the law.
I’m too sexy for small mindedness. Sex. Woah. How could you? NO, I can and I will never be afraid of it. Being sexy doesn’t end for pregnant people, married people, curvy people, skinny people, any people… Sex is beautiful. It creates life and draws humans together. War, is ever present on TV, in movies, and on video games and no one blinks an eye but you see a little boob and OMG!! Mark 10:6-9 “But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’ ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.” One flesh sounds fun. If God wanted me to wear clothes, I would have been born with them. I wasn’t, so I’ll continue being sexy and enjoying my body. The body that was created by this universe.
Let’s talk about the things I am afraid of talking about with my child, war, sexual harassment, economic inequality, sexism, racism, homophobia, genocide, and the current political climate. There are much bigger problems in this world then, my sexuality. I have built my life around being a good person and being a good role model for my little sister when she was still little and now my nieces and nephew and soon for my child. In this country, we should focus less on the way people love and more on the way people hate. That is what I will teach my child. Hold hands not hate. Be the change you want to see in this world. Love Yourself. #PowerofLove
Love,
The Crazy Pregnant Lady
Maria Kanellis
– Monday Night RAW General Manager Kurt Angle took to Twitter to announce that Cruiserweight Champion Enzo Amore will not be able to compete in the Mixed Match Challenge due to catching the flu. Angle is currently working on a replacement for “The Realest Guy In The Room”:
@real1 has the flu and thus I must replace him in the Mixed Match Challenge. #WWEMMC
Enzo Amore replaced in WWE Mixed Match Challenge due to illness
According to a Tweet from Raw General Manager Kurt Angle, WWE Cruiserweight Champion Enzo Amore will no longer be competing in WWE Mixed Match Challenge after being hospitalized with the flu.
The announcement from Raw’s General Manager comes just one day before he and SmackDown LIVE General Manager Daniel Bryan reveal which male and female Superstars will be teaming together in the upcoming WWE Mixed Match Challenge, beginning Tuesday, Jan. 16, at 10 ET/7 PT on Facebook Watch.
– Former WCW competitor and NBA legend Karl Malone was in attendance for last night’s SmackDown Live. After the show Malone shared a “Glorious moment with Bobby Roode inside the ring. Check it out here:
As we’ve noted, the dark main event of last night’s SmackDown Live and 205 Live tapings was a Six-Man Tag Team match between the teams of Bobby Roode, AJ Styles, and Shinsuke Nakamura against Jinder Mahal, Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens. During the match Zayn tried to haul a water bottle and AJ Styles at ringside, however, “The Phenomenal One” caught it and fired it right back at him:
– Early tomorrow morning Chris Jericho will be returning to New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) for his highly-anticipated match-up against Kenny Omega at Wrestle Kingdom 12. Jericho took to Instagram to post some fan art that showed himself, Chris Benoit, and Eddie Guerrero. “Y2J” said that he is dedicating his match tomorrow to his “fallen brothers”:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BdfXpUjlQnS/
– In the dark main event after SmackDown Live and 205 Live tapings; a Six-Man Tag Team match between the teams of AJ Styles, Bobby Roode, and Shinsuke Nakamura took on the team of Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, and Jinder Mahal. “The Phenomenal One” and his team were able to emerge victorious to send the crowd home happy.
– Wrestling Inc. reports that WWE NXT stars Billie Kay and Peyton Royce are backstage at tonight’s episode of SmackDown Live in Orlando, Florida. Orlando is the home of the NXT Performance Center so it’s possible they’re simply visiting the show and won’t be appearing on TV.
– Former Lingerie Football League Tight End for the Cleveland Crush, Susan Cashdollar, will reportedly receive a WWE tryout from the WWE Performance Center in Orlando next month per a report from Squared Circle Sirens. The former stuntwoman, who did work on movies such as Mindhunter and Dog Eat Dog, had a tryout with WWE back in June of 2014. She has been training for her upcoming tryout at the AIW Training Academy in Ohio.
WWE announced on Facebook in a video with SmackDown Live commentator and Byron Saxton and backstage interviewer Renee Young that WWE Hall Of Famer Beth Phoenix will serve as a guest commentator for the Mixed Match Challenge later this month. Check out the video and official press release here:
Beth Phoenix announced for WWE Mixed Match Challenge commentary team
As revealed by newly-announced WWE Mixed Match Challenge hosts Renee Young and Byron Saxton on Facebook Live today, WWE Hall of Famer Beth Phoenix will join Michael Cole and Corey Graves on the announce team for the Facebook Watch exclusive show, starting Tuesday, Jan. 16 at 10 ET/ 7 PT.
Few female competitors have dominated their division quite as convincingly as Phoenix. The former Women’s Champion ripped through anyone in her path and never failed to draw gasps from the WWE Universe, whether she was lifting Melina and Mickie James over her shoulder at the same time, eliminating The Great Khali from the 2002 Royal Rumble Match or Glam Slamming Eve from the top rope at the 2011’s Survivor Series.
The Glamazon will certainly provide a unique perspective on the ground-breaking Facebook Watch show, beginning Jan. 16 at 10 ET/ 7 PT.
– Heath Slater posted the following Instagram videos showing an incident that occurred on an airplane on New Year’s Eve. Slater was trapped inside one of the lavatories on the plane and someone needed to use a screwdriver to pry open the door and get him out. Check out the videos here:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BdZEYW_nmNH/
https://www.instagram.com/p/BdauBZHHqu3/
– WWE RAW Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss’ appearance at Saturday’s Shreveport World of Wheels event has been cancelled due to a scheduling conflict. A replacement is currently being worked out by event organizers.
– On the latest episode of his podcast, Talk Is Jericho, Chris Jericho noted that his “Alpha Club” T-Shirt is currently the top selling shirt at Hot Topic. This means that Jericho is outselling shirts from The Bullet Club, Kenny Omega, Cody Rhodes and all WWE shirts. Jericho is set to face-off against Kenny Omega at Wrestle Kingdom 12 this Thursday in Tokyo, Japan.
H/T Wrestling Inc. for the info.
– Former WWE World Champion Rey Mysterio is set to face reality TV star Adam Maxted at a 5 Star Wrestling show on March 1, 2018 in Belfast, Northern Ireland from the SSE Arena. Maxted appeared on the British reality dating show Love Island. He recently noted in an interview with The Belfast Telegraph that he didn’t have sex on the show because he one day wants to make it in WWE, and had a tryout with the company this past May in the United Kingdom:
“I said to myself that there was no way I was going to risk my future and my dream – no matter how good looking the girl was or how much there was a connection or how much I wanted to do it,” Maxted said. “My dream is to be in the WWE and it’s such a child-based market so I wasn’t ever going to ruin my chances of getting onto that because I’d had sex on TV.”
Maxted’s full interview with The Belfast Telegraph can be found at this link here.
– After defeating Rhyno on RAW last night, and laying waste to Heath Slater as well in the process, Braun Strowman began trending on Twitter last night after dropping his “these hands” comment on the mic. Strowman took to Twitter to comment on his first win of 2018 after the show:
– WWE continues to mix regular Superstars with Cruiserweights on Monday Night RAW as Goldust teamed up with Cedric Alexander to defeat Ariya Daivari and Drew Gulak last night. We first saw this mix when Finn Balor and Hideo Itami teamed up with one another a week prior. Goldust took to Twitter to comment on teaming with Alexander on last night’s RAW:
– On last night’s episode of Monday Night RAW former WWE Universal Champion Finn Balor declared he would be entering the 2018 Royal Rumble match. He then went on to team up with former Bullet Club members Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows to defeat The Miztourage (Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel) and Elias in Six Mat Tag Team action.
“The Demon King” took to Twitter afterwards to comment on his Royal Rumble declaration, sending a message to current Universal Title holder Brock Lesnar:
– WWE Shop has released a new T-Shirt for Curt Hawkins in which they highlight his ridiculous losing streak. Hawkins’ streak went to 0-150 during last Thursday’s WWE live event in Hartford, Connecticut. Hawkins Tweeted out the following:
