– As seen on last night’s episode of Monday Night RAW WWE Intercontinental Champion Roman Reigns successfully defended his title against Samoa Joe. The match had a stipulation in which if Reigns got disqualified he would lose his title to Joe. “The Big Dog” was able to maintain his composure against the man who injured his Shield brother, Dean Ambrose, and connected with a Spear for the win. He took to Twitter after the show to comment on his big win:
– WWE Superstar Titus O’Neal, real name Thaddeus Bullard, recently announced on Twitter that he will be honored at the upcoming MLK Honors with the Drum Major for Justice Award:
My 2018 starts on a really Honorable Note as I’m being Honored with a Drum Major for Justice Award- Family/Community by the Dr. Martin Luther King Parade Foundation. Yep 2018 is Going to Be Great!!#Blessed Time to get The Tuxedo out???? pic.twitter.com/OEfVKYGi67
AJ Styles was already a huge name in professional wrestling before coming to WWE, and his year with the company in 2017 was nothing less that stellar. “The Phenomenal One” became the first person in WWE history to win the WWE Championship outside of North America when he defeated Jinder Mahal at a SmackDown Live taping in Manchester, England during WWE’s European Tour.
After making history in 2017, Styles has already made history in 2018 just two days into the new year. Styles joins Superstars such as Bruno Sammartino, Bob Backlund, Hulk Hogan, John Cena and, CM Punk who have started and ended a calendar year while holding the WWE Championship. He won the strap back in 2016 from Dean Ambrose at the Backlash pay-per-view (PPV) before going on to lose it to John Cena in January of 2017 at the Royal Rumble.
He then beat Mahal on SmackDown Live back in November and retained the title into the new year. Now we await to see how WWE uses Styles heading into WrestleMania 34 and who will challenge “The Phenomenal One” at “The Show Of Shows” for the WWE Title.
On last night’s episode of Monday Night RAW Bullet Club alumni Finn Balor, Karl Anderson, and Luke Gallows reunited inside the ring to take on the team of The Miztourage (Curtis Axel and Bo Dallas) and Elias. The Club emerged victorious, however, somebody in WWE’s social media department referenced the trio as “The Bullet Club” on WWE’s UK Facebook page – which Balor, Gallows, and Anderson were a part of during their time in New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW).
The Young Bucks responded to this on Twitter by referencing the cease and desist letter WWE issued out to them a few months again (NOTE: The WWE’s post has since been removed so below is a screenshot of the post):
The trio of Shane McMahon, Kevin Owens, and Sami Zayn have all been feuding for the past several months, and it’s expected that rivalry will come to an end at WrestleMania 34 this April in New Orleans.
Per a report from WrestleVotes on Twitter, who broke the news about Neville walking out on WWE, Shane McMahon is penciled in for another ‘high profile WrestleMania match.’ In recent years McMahon has shared the WrestleMania ring with the likes of The Undertaker and AJ Styles (both losing efforts), but seemingly stole the show in both of those matches. The exact details of McMahon’s match at WrestleMania 34 is not yet known, however, it’s speculated a Tag Team match of sorts against Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn is possible.
Shane McMahon is penciled in for another high profile WrestleMania match. Question is, in what form will he take on Owens & Zayn. This storyline started in July. Finishes at Mania. If it's a tag… it very well might be… & Bryan's not cleared, who should Shane's partner be?
Daniel Bryan is still not cleared by WWE to compete (and likely never will be), and his relationship with Shane on WWE TV has been rocky, so who would McMahon’s partner be? We’ll keep you posted as more information becomes available….
On last night’s episode of Monday Night RAW former NXT Women’s Champion Asuka defeated RAW Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss in one-on-one competition. After the match Michael Cole mentioned on commentary that Asuka could have potentially earned herself a shot at the RAW Women’s Title before WrestleMania. Dave Meltzer stated on the latest edition of Wrestling Observer Radio that WWE is building up to putting the RAW Women’s Title on Asuka.
Meltzer noted that it’s possible this title change occurs before the Royal Rumble pay-per-view (PPV) later this month. If Asuka wins the RAW Women’s Title before the Royal Rumble, then she would not be involved in the first-ever all-female Royal Rumble match. It’s also possible that “Little Miss Bliss” would invoke her rematch clause at the Royal Rumble event as well.
Discussion: How would you feel about Asuka potentially winning the RAW Women’s Title before the Royal Rumble? Who would match-up with Asuka for the title at WrestleMania as a result? Is the woman destined to beat Asuka’s streak on the WWE’s roster right now?
The son of late former WWE Superstar Brian Pillman, Brian Pillman Jr., made his professional wrestling debut over the weekend in Indianapolis. He defeated Jonathan Wolf in the match, and Wolf took to Twitter to offer some kind words to Pillman afterwards:
I? just wanted to say @FlyinBrianJr is the real deal and I?m honored to be your first match
Thank you for taking care of me tonight! Wrestling is such a beautiful and exhilarating thing when the 2 people in the ring have a special bond like we had as soon as we met. You are so young yet so wise…
Pillman was just three-years-old when his father passed away back on October 5th of 1997. He suffered from a heart attack caused by undetected arteriosclerotic heart disease. Interesting enough, Pillman died from the same disease that took his father’s life as well. He was in the middle of a feud with Goldust and Marlena. Pillman was scheduled to face Dude Love at Badd Blood: In Your House but was a no-show for the event as bell time approached.
Jim Cornette was tasked with finding Pillman’s whereabouts and called the hotel that he was staying at, and the receptionist informed him that the maids had found him dead in his room earlier that day.
Pillman Jr. seems set on following in his father’s footsteps and one day making it to the WWE, as he explained in an interview with Wrestle:List:
“I will tell you right now that I think the company that will benefit the most from me becoming a wrestler would be the federation [WWE], just because they have the trademarks, they have the name and they have the merchandising of my father,” Pillman Jr. said. “So I think it would be wise for me to go there. Obviously at the end of the day we want to make a good living for ourselves and we want to make it as big as we can.
“I think it might be smart for me to perform on the indies for while to get experience in the event that I might not make it, that way I’d still make a living for myself. I will say that making it to the big leagues, making it to WWE would be a dream come true. It would be the ultimate goal to follow in my father’s footsteps. One guy I look to, to compare what my possibilities would be is Cody Rhodes. Obviously he had the father and the whole legacy going for him and he went to the WWE and it wasn’t a good fit for him. He didn’t want to go with their plans and he had bigger plans for himself. Just seeing him thrive and doing so well on the independent scene has given me more options.”
Chris Jericho recently did an interview with New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) to talk about his upcoming match with Kenny Omega at Wrestle Kingdom 12 next weekend. Here are the highlights:
The connection he feels to Kenny Omega and Japan:
“I’ve never wrestled Kenny Omega before. I understand how great Kenny Omega is – everybody’s talking about Kenny Omega and that’s one of the reasons why I wanted to have this match. Because the timing for this match is perfect. It probably couldn’t have happened last year – it couldn’t have happened last year, it probably won’t happen next year, this is the time for “Alpha vs. Omega.”
“This is the time for Kenny vs. Jericho. And he’s from the same home city as I am; from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada – and to me, there’s a special connection there. He basically grew up in Japan, so did I, this is my 52nd tour of Japan in January. I think – we’re not just typical foreigners, we’re not just typical guys – we’re almost honorary Japanese.
His style compared to Omega’s:
“Well, once again, Kenny Omega has a great style – very good New Japan style, but I have New Japan style, I have WAR style, I have Mexico style, I have European style, I have ECW style, I have Smokey Mountain Wrestling style, I have WCW style, and more importantly, I have WWE style. Six-time World Heavyweight Champion. Kenny has never been even close to that. It’s a completely different world. Kenny Omega is a planet, Chris Jericho is the whole universe. I’m the Alpha. Alpha vs. Omega, it’s not just a catchphrase, it’s the truth.
“And it’s typical for someone like Kenny to think “Jericho can’t handle my style,” because he’s been so big here in New Japan. But he’s big with Okada, and Naito, and that’s great. Those four guys, five guys, six guys. I’ve been great against 50 guys! Against 100. Hall Of Famers. Some of the greatest of all time. Kenny Omega can’t even lace my boots up when it comes to that kind of respect, that kind of experience, that kind of knowledge that I have.”
Wanting to end Omega’s NJPW career:
“You don’t see blood on a New Japan ring, you don’t see blood in a WWE ring – the business has changed, it’s not about that anymore. Which I think is what made it so much more shocking when I hit Kenny over the head with the United States Championship and cut him open, bleeding everywhere- I liked it. It made me happy. It gave me energy. Made me feel alive. And it also change the entire concept of what this match is gonna be for me. At first, I thought, “Well, sure, if Kenny can have a seven star match I can have an eight star match, nine star match, the first-ever ten star match: “Alpha vs. Omega.”” Make Okada vs. Omega look like an opening match between a couple of young lions.
“But then, after Fukuoka, and then after the press conference in Tokyo the next day – it’s so violent, and intense, and vicious. This is gonna be a match like you’re not gonna see in New Japan again. It’s gonna be like a match – it’s gonna be a different type of match than any type of match at the Tokyo Dome. End of the match at Wrestle Kingdom 12. And once again, I like that, because to me it’s gonna stand out. You’re going to see the last match of Kenny Omega’s New Japan career happen at Wrestle Kingdom 12, because of me.
“Can you imagine all the New Japan Pro Wrestling fans? The women, crying. The little kids, crying. The longtime 20-year fans, crying when their hero, Kenny Omega’s career is over. Can you imagine how that’s going to make me feel? I’m gonna feel like the fu*king king of the world. Because I am. The best in the world. The greatest of all time. The Alpha. that’s who Chris Jericho is. And all the New Japan people, all the New Japan fans, and any wrestler in the New Japan locker room is going to learn a lesson. And it’s going to be a sad day for Kenny Omega and all of his fans at Wrestle Kingdom 12. I guarantee it.”
– Last week Matt Hardy was using Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata at a live event to make his entrance for his match with Bray Wyatt. Fans believed that this would be Hardy’s new theme song for his “Woken” character on WWE TV. Plans may have changed, however, as Hardy went back to using the Hardy Boyz them at Friday’s live event in Albany. Check it out:
– We’ve noted that WWE has been teasing a Tye Dillinger heel turn soon as he has been working live events as a heel against Kalisto. At a recent live event in Hershey Dillinger was telling fans that they can’t chant “10” because none of them are perfect 10’s except himself.
NWA Champ Nick Aldis recently appeared on the Arm Drag Takedown with Pollo Del Mar to talk about several professional wrestling topics. Aldis discussed big spots being used too much in wrestling today, reusing an older style of promotion in professional wrestling (similar to what the UFC is doing today) to get fans interested, and more. Here are the highlights:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7kzvvrepGiA
Big spots being used too much in wrestling today:
“[Wrestling] got hoodwinked into thinking the most important thing in our business was the match in the ring. I got into this to tell stories and to get people invested into characters and emotion. I wanted to be an entertainer! I wanted to be able to indulge in all the things pro wrestling provides which ‘real sports’ don’t.”
Reusing an older promotion model in pro wrestling (similar to what the UFC does today) to get fans interested:
“Essentially, if you changed the final outcome of the UFC builds with an NWA World Championship match from the 1980s, the whole lot of it leading up to that is very much the same. The reality was, if you wanted to see these two guys go at it, without interference or in the full match, you either had to buy a ticket or you had to tune into this pay-per-view or this special. That’s essentially what UFC’s model is. They put out [UFC Embedded], they put out smaller cards on free TV, but everything else they put out is press conferences, interviews, profile pieces, all of which is leading to the fight. The fight is the attraction.”
Taking the “unknown champion” (then-NWA Champion, Tim Storm) from a less popular promotion and turning it into an angle:
“Dave [Lagana] and Billy [Corgan], as the Managing Editor and Executive Producer, took that story and instead of [pretending] certain elements [that] some people might look at as ‘negative’ didn’t exist, they, in fact, embraced that and made it a compelling part of the story. In fact, that’s the part people have been most interested in. … You can find the elements of people’s real lives and make them into a compelling story, if you know how to do it right.”
Listen to Aldis’ interview on The Arm Dram Takedown by clicking this link here.
You can check out the full highlights from Aldis’ appearance on the Arm Drag Takedown podcast via The Huffington Post here.
On last week’s episode of SmackDown Live Kevin Owens picked up a win over WWE Champion AJ Styles after a distraction from Sami Zayn. As a result, WWE has announced that AJ Styles will be taking on Sami Zayn on this week’s episode of SmackDown Live – the first of 2018:
Styles vs. Zayn becomes the third confirmed match for Tuesday’s episode of SmackDown Live. Also on deck is a SmackDown Live Tag Team Title match between The Usos vs. Chad Gable and Shelton Benjamin, as well as a first round United States Title Tournament match between Xavier Woods and Aiden English.
On the latest episode of Neal Pruitt’s Secrets of WCW Nitro podcast, Pruitt welcomed the director of ESPN’s “30 for 30” on two-time WWE Hall Of Famer Ric Flair, Rory Karpf. Karpf discussed Ric’s relationship with David Flair, ESPN’s reaction to the original version of the documentary, Shawn Michaels’ reaction to a quote from Flair in the film, and Flair’s relationship with Hulk Hogan. Here are the highlights:
Ric’s relationship with David Flair:
“I think it’s probably a strained relationship. Things change every time I talk to Ric [about it]. I don’t think they have very much in common, but I know Ric loves his son. I know [David] came to the hospital to see [Ric], so that was pretty big…but I think Ric is definitely closer to Megan and Ashley for sure.”
ESPN’s reaction to the first version of the film:
“We did three completely different rough cuts…the first one was a very linear progression of Ric’s story. [For] cut two, we really made the film all about 1980’s wrestling, so much so that some other people were featured as well. It was really about 1980s culture and kind of the boom of ’80s wrestling. ESPN hated that cut. They thought it was terrible.”
Shawn Michaels’ reaction to a Flair quote in the documentary:
“I said to [Shawn], ‘Ric said he wants to be remembered as the greatest wrestler’. Shawn just kind of nodded his head and he goes, ‘that’s really somethin’, huh?’ [Shawn] started talking about the wrestling business, and he said that ‘wrestling is really a business…it doesn’t love you back, nor should it’. I thought he had a lot of insight [in that way]. I don’t think this part made the film…but he said ‘y’know, wrestling, it’s a pretty silly thing’. He said he loves it, and it’s fun, but he can’t imagine it taking precedence over [his] family. He said [that] seems ridiculous to him.”
Flair’s relationship with Hulk Hogan:
“Those two have really become pretty good friends over the last couple of years. Ric said he wasn’t surprised to hear [Hulk] put him over like that [in the movie]. From what I understand, they had maybe a little bit of a strained relationship going back to WCW, but then Hogan brought him to TNA, Hogan loaned him some money, they went on a tour together. In fact… when Ric was in hospital, from what I was told, Hogan visited him twice – and was the first person to visit him – whereas a lot of wrestlers you might think [would] visit him didn’t even reach out.
“[Hogan] sent me a really nice email that I thought was really kind. Mainly again – even in the email – Hogan put over Ric. I’m hoping that Hogan will get to come back into wrestling, because that’s where he belongs, and I think that’s his number one love as well as [Flair].”
You can listen to Karpf’s interview on Secrets of WCW Nitro by clicking this link here.
– Sasha Banks’ hair ended up for sale on Ebay after a fan purchased a Conor’s Cure shirt she wore and found two strands of purple hair on it. The fan said that after discovering the hairs he decided to put them up for sale on Ebay and ended up getting $39.99. Here’s the description of the item and the posting can be found at this link:
“*This auction is for the Sasha Banks 2 hair strands only, does not include signed tshirt these hair pieces were found enbedded in.
“This auction includes two stands of purple hair from WWE superstar Sasha Banks. I found these strands weaved into the connors cure tshirt I purchased on WWE auction. I pulled them out and placed in a bag. These are from the 9/18/17 Raw episode when Sasha comes out to block Alexa Bliss from leaving the match against Nia Jacks.
“This auction is for the hair strands only, not the signed ring worn tshirt.
“I promise all pieces were pulled from shirt after inspection upon opening. I assure the strands belonged to Sasha Banks on raw 9/18 when she worn this shirt which can be proven by watching or viewing the authenticity of the ring worn tshirt by WWE.
“Any questions feel free to ask. ”
– Big E posted a video of himself and his fellow New Day members trying to recruit “Ms. Money In The Bank” Carmella for the Mixed Match Challenge. The trio ordered a referee over to Carmella to deliver some pancakes that read “Will you be our partner?” Carmella was flattered by the gesture but noted that it’s up to the WWE Universe to vote on the teams for the tournament:
WWE Champion AJ Styles recently did an interview with The Orlando Sentinel to discuss a variety of professional wrestling topics. “The Phenomenal One” talked about being recognized as one of the best in-ring performers in the business today, his WWE debut at the Royal Rumble, and bonding with his fellow WWE Superstars through video games. You can check out the highlights here below:
Being recognized as one of the best performers in the world today:
“I take a lot of pride in what I do. No matter who I’m in the ring with, I want it to look like what it’s supposed to be. We call it sports entertainment, but it’s supposed to be a contact sport. I want to make that in-ring contact as real as possible, and [also make it real] outside the ring.
“The magic is making the fans question whether these two guys really like each other or hate each other. That performance is what the business is all about … it’s the storylines that people remember.”
His WWE debut in the Royal Rumble:
“Everything pales in comparison to the Royal Rumble. The response I got that night from the fans, after a couple of years out of the U.S. mainstream, is something I’ll never forget. I was really worried about how much the people would actually remember me, but that response made it something really special.”
Bonding with his fellow Superstars through video games:
“These are a group of guys and girls I really enjoy going to work with. You walk in and you’ve got [the New Day’s] Xavier Woods and his video games – that’s right up my alley. So a bunch of us start playing UFC or Madden, and that’s fun. Because you know, idle hands are the devil’s workshop.”
You can read Styles’ full interview with The Orlando Sentinel by clicking this link here.
– It looks like WWE is experimenting with the possibility of turning Tye Dillinger heel soon. Several reports note that Dillinger has been working heel at this week’s WWE live events for the annual holiday tour, losing to Sin Cara. Fans said that Dillinger was playing the heel role down a bit.
– Former WWE personality Jonathan Coachman and his kids were at last night’s WWE live event in Hartford, Connecticut. WWE posted the following video:
Former WWE Superstar Eva Marie recently did an interview with GQ to talk about a variety of professional wrestling topics. “All Red Everything” discussed the similarities between acting and professional wrestling, how her workout routine has changed since leaving the WWE, and cheat meals. Here are the highlights:
The similarities between acting and professional wrestling:
“Honestly, they are very similar. In the ring, you’re constantly working out and honing your craft, and you’re doing the same thing with acting, too—taking classes and working with vocal coaches. I think the thing that stands out for me is that in the WWE, we were in a new city every night. When you go to a movie set, though, you get to be at the same location for awhile. I had become very used to not even bothering to unpack my suitcase. Suddenly, it was like, ‘Oh wow, I get to stay in one place!’”
How her workout routine has changed since leaving WWE:
“Oh, my workouts have definitely changed. In WWE, I focused more on Olympic lifting. I had to make sure that I was physically able to lift another human being at all times. Now, I’m going for a different, leaner look. High-intensity interval training and Tabata workouts are really good for me, because they prevent me from getting bored, and don’t require me to be in the gym for two hours. I can get in, do what I need to do, and get out.”
Cheat meals:
“Oh my God, there are so many! I’m Mexican and Italian, so my mom is a fantastic cook. I s–t you not, every time I go back home, I gain, like, 10 pounds, just because her food is so hard for me to turn down. Plus, I’m not there all the time, so I give myself a little allowance to enjoy it more. I’m a sucker for bacon waffles—they’re to die for. And I love banana pancakes. I should just honestly film my cheat day because people would be impressed by how much food I can put down.
“When my husband and I first started dating, I had just started my WWE tryouts—I think I was in my third week. I went over to his place and he made banana pancakes. I really liked them, so he asked ‘Do you want another one?’ That kept going, and I swear I put down about 20 of them. I was training at the time, but also, they were that good. I do not play around when it comes to cheat days.”
You can read Marie’s full interview with GQ by clicking this link here.
– A hype video has been released for IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion Kenny Omega’s clash with former WWE Champion Chris Jericho at Wrestle Kingdom 12 in Tokyo, Japan next month:
– Giant Bomb has an article with Omega and WWE star Xavier Woods naming their top ten video games of the year. In the article Omega and Woods discuss gaming with one another as they’ve both run into each other at gaming conventions over the years, and have built up quite the friendly rivalry.
“Two men met on neutral ground (the rolling hills of The Netherlands) for their yearly meeting where they argue, eat, play video games, almost fight, and talk about their top 10 games of the year… This is their 2017 story.
Kenny: Another year and another top 10! Last year, my good friend Austin and I had so much fun working together, we thought we’d do it again in 2017. I anticipate our lists will be a little different from each other, so this should fuel some very fun and… friendly debate.
Austin: Yes, fun and friendly are the words that I would use for it. I’ll start off by saying that I am honored to be doing another top 10 list with one of the greatest, creative, and most charismatic performers that I have ever met in my life. The one, the only, KENNY OMEGA!
Kenny: And I am glad to introduce a man with the greatest YouTube gaming channel going today, one of the most versatile, intelligent, and talented humans on this Earth… AUSTIN CREED! And you know what…? I’ll say it. I thought you were all just trombones, pancakes, and shenanigans… but heck, you’ve been no slouch in the ring this year either!”
– On RAW this past Monday Hideo Itami hit a GTS on Brian Kendrick that caused the former Cruiserweight Champion to suffer a broken nose and orbital bone. WWE sent out a Tweet to update fans on Kendrick’s status, and Itami responded by issuing out a ‘get well soon’ Tweet to Kendrick:
– WWE posted a clip of Asuka commenting on her undefeated streak and the upcoming all-female Royal Rumble match next month. Asuka said she’s still undefeated and that’s not going to change at the Rumble:
Newly crowned Ring Of Honor (ROH) World Champion Dalton Castle recently did an interview with ROH on a number of professional wrestling topics. Castle discussed the support he has received from ROH fans, if he could put into words how it felt being handed the ROH World Title at Final Battle, and not initially being seen as ROH World Championship material. Here are the highlights:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6Sih6Q9QN0
The support he has received from ROH fans:
“It has been nothing but amazing. I have always felt like a champion and I knew I could work hard to make it so. But, to also have the fans of ROH loudly accept me as their champion has made this whole experience beyond amazing.”
Putting into worlds how it felt to have the ROH World Title handed to him at Final Battle:
“No way. There was so much going on in my head it was crazy. The feelings I had at that exact moment would probably best be described with a dance.”
Not being considered Championship material earlier in his career and if it bothered him:
“No, I never doubted my abilities. I belong in a pro wrestling ring and knew if I just continued to be fearless I would be able to be myself and move up. It wasn’t a moment that I started to see ‘I have what it takes,’ it was more I noticed others started to see what I already knew.”
You can check out Castle’s full interview with ROH by clicking this link here.
– As most of you know, some WWE stars had to work on Christmas Day for an episode of Monday Night RAW in Chicago. PWInsider reports that WWE did something special for those Superstars who worked on RAW and SmackDown Live that week, as the company paid for their hotel rooms as a way to say thank you for being away from their families during the holidays.
– WWE is set to begin broadcasting their Mixed Match Challenge on Facebook Watch in January. Although he’s not one of the Superstars competing, John Cena took to Twitter to offer his thoughts on the challenge:
The @WWE continues to evolve and provide new ways for stars to be born. Excited to see #WWEMMC LIVE on Facebook Watch on January 16th. pic.twitter.com/O77FpWSbgm
– We previously noted that Rolling Stone named The Miz their 2017 WWE Wrestler Of The Year. The Miz recently Tweeted out his reaction to the news, taking a shot at WWE Intercontinental Champion Roman Reigns in the process (who defeated Miz for the strap on RAW last month):
– England’s Tottenham Hotspur football club posted a video of midfielder Mousa Dembele engaging in a joke battle with WWE Superstar Finn Balor. Check it out below:
– SB Nation sent out a Tweet recently in which they asked fans what sporting event they’d recommend everyone go to. Model Chrissy Teigen responded to the Tweet and mentioned how much fun she had when she was at WrestleMania 24 in Orlando in 2008. Unfortunately Teigen had to leave the event early and was very upset about it. Stephanie McMahon responded to Teigen’s Tweet and officially invited her to WrestleMania 34 in New Orleans:
Name a sporting event you went to this year that you'd recommend to everyone for next year
.@ChrissyTeigen We’re sorry you had to leave early! Consider this your official invitation to #WrestleMania34 in #NOLA this year! @TripleH said to let him know if anyone tries to make you leave early this time! They’ll have a whole locker room to deal with! https://t.co/9A7Eewoliy
– WWE has a video up in which SmackDown Live General Manager Daniel Bryan talks about the possible teams we could see from the blue brand in the Mixed Match Challenge. Check it out:
– WWE has posted a new video on their YouTube channel in which Cathy Kelly announces that the finals of the United States Championship Tournament will take place at next month’s Royal Rumble pay-per-view (PPV) on January 28th. SmackDown Live General Manager Daniel Bryan announced the tournament this past Tuesday after Dolph Ziggler seemingly relinquished the title just days after winning it at Clash Of Champions.
Also on this past Tuesday’s SmackDown, both Jinder Mahal and Bobby Roode won their respective matches to advance to the second round of the tournament. You can check out the remaining first round matches, and possible second round matches of the tournament here:
First Round
Bobby Roode def. Baron Corbin
Zack Ryder vs. Mojo Rawley
Jinder Mahal def. Tye Dillinger
Xavier Woods vs. Aiden English
Second Round
Bobby Roode vs. Mojo Rawley or Zack Ryder
Jinder Mahal vs. Xavier Woods or Aiden English
– Some fans may have noticed that the Velveteen Dream has been absent from WWE TV since his loss to Aleister Black at NXT TakeOver: WarGames in November. There is currently no word on why he has been missing TV time, however, the Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that he is listed on booking sheets for the month.
Dream hasn’t been at the WWE Performance Center since November either. There was a brief mention of Dream being injured on NXT TV but no further details were given.
PWInsider is reporting that IMPACT Wrestling officials are planning on having their next live pay-per-view (PPV) event in either late April or early May of 2018. IMPACT’s first PPV event of 2018 will be their Lockdown event, in which all matches are contested inside of a steel cage.
Lockdown was previously one of TNA’s biggest annual PPV events before it was re-branded in 2015 as a special episode of IMPACT instead. IMPACT hasn’t done a Lockdown episode since January of 2016. The company is also planning on doing more live PPV events in 2018 but now word yet on when those might take place.
WWE Hall Of Famer Hulk Hogan won a $140.1 million lawsuit last March against Gawker for publishing a sex tape of his that he didn’t know was being recorded. Gawker tried to plead that they were protected under the First Amendment because the video was newsworthy. Gawker would eventually declare bankruptcy and settled in bankruptcy court to pay “The Hulkster” $31 million.
In the tape Hogan could be heard making some violently racist comments and was fired from WWE which cost him role as a judge on WWE Tough Enough in summer of 2015. Gawker claimed the only reason Hogan sued them was to try and prevent the racist comments from becoming public.
Per a report from ABC Action News, Hogan is now in yet another lawsuit regarding the tape, this time against radio personality and host of the 1025 The Bone morning show, Mike “Cowhead” Calta. Also being sued is Calta’s former co-worker Matt “Spice Boy” Loyd, and Cox Radio who are the owners of The Bone. The lawsuit accuses Calta and Loyd of “stealing, disseminating, using and exploiting illegally-recorded video.”
A motion to dismiss the case made by the defendants was denied by the judge. A response is required from them within 20 days. Hogan is seeking unspecified damages after claiming the tape ruined his professional wrestling career.
– WWE.com com has released their official Top 10 Superstars Of 2017 list. You can check out the order of Superstars here below and check out the article at this link:
AJ Styles
Braun Strowman
Alexa Bliss
The New Day & The Usos (Tie)
Jinder Mahal
The Miz
Kevin Owens
The Shield
Brock Lesnar
Enzo Amore
– PWInsider has reported the first seven WWE DVD releases of 2018. You can check out the full list of DVD names and release dates here:
– WWE Tag Team Collection (4 animated WWE Studios movies) – January 16th
– WWE Clash of Champions 2017 – January 23rd
– Best of RAW and SmackDown 2017 – February 6th
– 2018 WWE Royal Rumble – March 6th
– Best of WWE NXT 2017 – March 20th
– RAW 25th Anniversary – April 3rd
– WWE Elimination Chamber & RAW PPV TBA – April 17th
Here are the list of DVDs that are planned to be released, however, do not have an official release date as of this writing:
– Best of 2017 – PPV matches.
– 30th Anniversary of Summerslam.
– A new title devoted to The Shield.
– Best of the Hardy Boyz.
– “Unreleased” Collections devoted to Randy Savage and Shawn Michaels.
