SEScoops

Author: Rayan Sayyed

  • More Details On Cathy Kelley Leaving WWE

    More Details On Cathy Kelley Leaving WWE

    Cathy Kelley announced on February 14 that she has decided to leave WWE after working at the company for four years. Sunday’s NXT TakeOver: Portland will be WWE’s final event that she’ll be appearing for.

    She made the announcement on her social media, stating that it was hard for her to make the news public.

    According to a report from PWInsider, more details have emerged about Cathy’s decision to leave WWE.

    The report states that Cathy decided to leave WWE and gave her notice to the company over the past couple of weeks. Higher-ups were respectful of her decision to leave. It’s not WWE who’s releasing her, but Cathy’s own decision to quit.

    Cathy has been part of WWE since 2016 and has hosted many digital programs for the company like WWE Now. She has also worked as a backstage correspondent and done interviews with various WWE stars. Before joining the company, Cathy worked for Championship Wrestling From Hollywood and AfterBuzz TV.

    In her announcement to depart from WWE, Cathy wrote the following:

    “I’ve typed out and deleted this about 20 times over the past few days, still unsure what to write… I have come to the decision to leave WWE, with Sunday’s NXT Takeover being my last day. If you know me, you know this was more than a job, you know how much I loved it and how difficult this decision was. But sometimes in order to have room for growth, you have to step away.

    I am so thankful for getting to live out a crazy dream the past four years. Thank you to the WWE digital team for being a platform that never stifled creativity. Thank you to Stephanie McMahon for being a mentor and inspiration in every way. Thank you to Triple H for heading up the best wrestling show currently on tv and letting me be a part of it. And thank you to everyone who has supported me, whether it’s watching a video I’ve done or sending a tweet of encouragement. Words cannot begin to express how much it means.

    I’m not sure yet where my next chapter will take me, but I am damn excited for it. And I promise this isn’t a goodbye, it’s just a see you later – CK”

  • New Tag Team Formed On 205 Live

    New Tag Team Formed On 205 Live

    205 Live has a new tag team. On this week’s episode of the show, Tony Nese and Mike Kanellis made their debut as a new tag team. They faced The Brian Kendrick and Ariya Daivari in the main event, and won the match.

    Kendrick and Daivari were addressing the crowd saying that they won’t let people like Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch do whatever they want. They were ready for a tag team match, but what they weren’t ready for was this unlikely pairing of Tony Nese and Mike Kanellis, who was actually making his return that night.

    The match saw a bit of back and forth, with Kendrick and Daivari doing their best to take down Nese and Kanellis. Frustrated with not being able to secure a victory, Kendrick and Daivari decided to use steel chairs on their opponents.

    However, before that could happen, Lorcan and Burch came over to the ring and that was enough distraction needed for Nese to roll up Daivari to pick up the victory.

    https://twitter.com/WWE205Live/status/1228523893725499392?s=20

    The company was testing out partnering Nese and Kannellis together and they were teaming up together on NXT live events. It will be interesting to see what the company does with this new tag team.

  • Will Ospreay Wins British Heavyweight Championship, Moves To Heavyweight Division

    Will Ospreay Wins British Heavyweight Championship, Moves To Heavyweight Division

    Will Ospreay has become the new RevPro British Heavyweight Champion.

    Ospreay defeated Zack Sabre Jr. on February 14 at RevPro’s High Stake 2020 event at York Hall in London, England to win the title.

    This is the first time Ospreay has held the title. He has previously won the Cruiserweight title twice and Undisputed British Tag Team Championships once. Zack Sabre, on the other hand, has held the Heavyweight four times before.

    Ospreay later announced that he will be making the move to the heavyweight division after staying in the junior division for seven years. He has held NJPW’s IWGP NEVER Openweight title before and has faced heavyweight wrestlers in the ring.

    “7 years put to rest. New British Heavyweight Champion. I will now officially make the jump and be competing in the Heavyweight division,” he wrote in a Twitter post.

    https://twitter.com/WillOspreay/status/1228459049844445186?s=20

    Ospreay and Zack Sabre have faced each other in the ring many times before. They have been feuding for the title for the past few weeks in New Japan Pro Wrestling.

    Zack Sabre Jr. On Facing Will Ospreay, National Pride

    Earlier this month in NJPW, on day 2 of New Beginning in Sapporo, Zack Sabre Jr. made Ospreay pass out from a submission move in a match for the title. Ospreay passed out because he refused to tap out. Sabre was able to retain his title.

    After that match, Ospreay participated in an elimination match involving CHAOS and Suzuki-gun members. He was able to score a victory over Sabre and then challenged him to another title match.

    At High Stakes, the Cruiserweight title also changed hands as Oku defeated ELP, and Gisele Shaw defeated Zoe Lucas to become the new Women’s Champion.

    The match will be available to stream on NJPW World and the full High Stakes show will also be available on RevPro Wrestling’s own streaming service soon.

  • Goldberg Announced For Next Week’s SmackDown

    Goldberg Announced For Next Week’s SmackDown

    Goldberg will make another appearance on WWE SmackDown Live on FOX next week, just six days before he gets into the ring with WWE Universal Champion Bray Wyatt at Super ShowDown in Saudi Arabia.

    The company made the announcement during this week’s SmackDown. Hulk Hogan made a return to the show and on the episode, he talked about Goldberg’s upcoming match with Wyatt. Wyatt interrupted Hogan during the segment and said that he could be his next victim after Goldberg.

    While Goldberg returned to SmackDown via satellite last week, it appears that he will be appearing in person this time.

    Another match that’s announced for next week is the number one contender match between Carmella and Naomi. The winner will go on to face WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley on Super ShowDown. This will be the first-ever women’s title defense in Saudi Arabia.

    Next week’s SmackDown will emanate from the Gila River Arena in Glendale, Arizona on Friday, February 21. This will be the final SmackDown episode before the upcoming Super ShowDown event taking place in Saudi Arabia on February 27 where Goldberg will face Bray Wyatt.

  • R-Truth Releases Music Video For His New Single ‘Set It Off’

    R-Truth Releases Music Video For His New Single ‘Set It Off’

    R-Truth has released a new music video for his latest single “Set It Off”.

    The Raw star looks to showcase his rapping skills in the track produced by J-Trx. The song is released exclusively through World Star Hip-Hop.

    “I’m setting off the new decade with my new single ‘Set It Off,’” R-Truth told HipHopDX. “The word itself is powerful, it’s leading, it’s the start, it’s like the releasing or the spark that sets that flame of fire … like I’m reintroducing myself.”

    R-Truth is trying to bridge the gap between music and wrestling. He even has a new slogan now for the same.

    “If you don’t know me or haven’t heard of me throughout my career, guarantee someone you know has and DOES know me, and I’m bout to SET IT OFF. Your favorite wrestler is your favorite rapper!”

    The former 24/7 Champion has been making music since 2003 and looks like we’ll see more tunes from him. R-truth said that he will be releasing a single every four to six weeks from now on.

    Speaking about “Set It Off”, R-Truth told Uproxx, “…that’s just the beginning of the slew of music that I’m going to be dropping. We’re going to be dropping a single every four to six weeks.”

    He also said that he’ll be getting into music more and has a tour as well as concerts planned for the future, taking a route similar to Chris Jericho.

    R-Truth has been doing music before he got into wrestling. He believes that his roots are from music, and he got into wrestling because of it.

    R-Truth has a lot of goals in mind when it comes to music. He said that he’s at his peak in wrestling right now and he’s only going to go up from here. He also revealed what his next single after “Set It Off” will be called.

    “I’m going to ride this thing until the wheels fall off,” he said. “I haven’t even started yet. There’s things I haven’t even done, accomplished and goals I haven’t reached yet. And I’m off to a damn good start. I’m at the highest of my peak right now. I’m hot right now,” R-Truth told Popculture. “Right now I got on a shirt, hoodie and a jacket on. Super hot. The sky’s the limit. I am grateful to have the opportunity that I have now. I’m so excited for ‘Set It Off.’ After that, I got ‘Hit em Up’ coming.”

    WWE also released a sneak peek for the newest WWE 24 documentary which will focus on R-Truth. The clip showcases Truth’s love and passion for music, and his process in creating new music.

    R-Truth on the 24/7 Title – “We Took Shiznit and Made Lemonade Out of It”

  • Bray Wyatt Interrupts A Returning Hulk Hogan On SmackDown

    Bray Wyatt Interrupts A Returning Hulk Hogan On SmackDown

    Hulk Hogan made his return to WWE SmackDown on FOX last night. His appearance on the show, however, was interrupted by the current WWE Universal Champion, Bray Wyatt.

    Hogan’s appearance on the show was via satellite, similar to Goldberg’s last week. He was being interviewed by Michael Cole who asked him about the nWo’s upcoming induction into the WWE Hall of Fame, which will make him a two-time WWE HOF’er.

    Hogan talked about his career highlights as a singles wrestler and his time with the nWo. He also talked about Bray Wyatt’s upcoming match with Goldberg at Super ShowDown, saying that Wyatt needs to be careful as he has faced Goldberg before and he knows how strong of a foe he is.

    As they were talking about Wyatt, the lights flickered and the scene cut to the Firefly Fun House. Wyatt was spoofing the nWo, as the scene was monochrome, akin to the group’s old promos.

    Wyatt mocked Hogan by playing with his title belt like a guitar. He joked that eating his vitamins and saying is prayers led him to the championship.

    Hogan told Wyatt that he is a funny and entertaining guy, but his jokes won’t be funny when he gets in the ring with Goldberg. Getting into the ring with him is no joke.

    Wyatt replied that he as a Fiend so he doesn’t need jokes when faces Goldberg in the ring. Wyatt then more or less threatened to add Hogan to his list of victims by holding up a framed picture of him with his eyes crossed out like his other victims’ pictures.

    The segment ended with Hulk Hogan telling Bray Wyatt that he’ll see him in Tampa during the Hall of Fame. Wyatt then waved goodbye to Goldberg as the scene ended.

    There has been speculation that WWE is teasing a match between Hogan and Wyatt and that it could take place at Mania, or at the next Saudi event after Super ShowDown.

  • Women’s Title Match Confirmed For WWE Super ShowDown

    Women’s Title Match Confirmed For WWE Super ShowDown

    WWE is going to return to Saudi Arabia for its second Super ShowDown event in less than two weeks’ time. The last event of the series took place on June 7, 2019.

    The company will then have to prepare for their next event, the Elimination Chamber, which will take place just nine days later.

    The WWE women’s division will have their second-ever match in Saudi Arabia as the company revealed that the SmackDown Women’s Championship will be defended at the event.

    On last night’s WWE SmackDown, we saw SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley announcing that she’ll be defending her title at Super ShowDown. The announcement was made after Bayley successfully defended her title against Carmella on the show.

    In the next week’s episode, Carmella will face Naomi in a number one contender’s match. The winner will then face Bayley for the Women’s Championship at Super ShowDown in Saudi Arabia.

    Prior to last week’s SmackDown, another number one contender’s match had taken place. It was a fatal four-way match between Naomi, Alexa Bliss, Carmella, and Dana Brooke. WWE had advertised that the winner of this bout will face Bayley on Super ShowDown. Carmella won the match, but the company pulled down the advertising and announced that Carmella would instead face Bayley for the title on the next SmackDown, with the Super ShowDown match seemingly nixed.

    Looks like plans changed, and Carmella has another opportunity at getting the title shot on next week’s SmackDown from Phoenix.

    The Super ShowDown match will the first time that a Women’s title will be defended in Saudi Arabia. This is coming just months after the first-ever women’s match in Saudi Arabia was held at Crown Jewel in October 2019.

    WWE Super ShowDown will take place at the Mohammed Abdu Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on February 27.

  • Booker T Calls Carmella “Female Miz” Of Women’s Division

    Booker T Calls Carmella “Female Miz” Of Women’s Division

    Booker T thinks that Carmella is the “female Miz” of the women’s division.

    On last night’s episode of WWE Backstage, the WWE Hall of Famer praised Carmella while discussing the upcoming SmackDown Live Women’s title match between her and Bayley.

    Booker T first talked about Bayley and said that while she’s great she is still trying to find herself and going through a transformation.

    Coming to Carmella, Booker T said, “…I look at Carmella and what I see is consistency. What I see in Carmella is– she’s the “female Miz” of the women’s division. She’s like a timeless watch man, she takes a lickin’, she keeps on ticking.”

    A fan posted a clip of the above segment from the show and tagged Carmella. Carmella seems really happy with Booker’s comments and retweeted the video, saying that Booker T is stating facts.

    You can check out the tweet by Carmella below:

    Carmella joined WWE in 2013 when she signed a contract with the company and was assigned to NXT in Orlando, Florida. In October of 2014, she began a stint on the brand with Enzo Amore and Big Cass.

    In July 2016, she made her main roster debut on SmackDown. A year later, she went on to become the winner of the first-ever women’s Money in the Bank ladder match and subsequently became the first woman to cash in her MITB briefcase in April of 2018. She cashed it against Charlotte Flair and won the WWE SmackDown Women’s Championship.

    She is also the winner of WrestleMania 35’s Women’s Battle Royal and has most recently won the WWE 24/7 Championship twice.

  • Corey Graves On What’s It Like Calling Carmella’s Matches

    Corey Graves On What’s It Like Calling Carmella’s Matches

    Corey Graves talked about calling her girlfriend Carmella’s matches when she appeared on his After the Bell podcast along with Otis.

    Graves said that he feels weird calling Carmella’s matches on SmackDown Live.

    “I was having discussions with the young lady behind the counter about what it’s like to call your matches, which is very strange to me because the members of the WWE Universe who watch Total Divas and follow us on social media know about our personal life to an extent, but the vast majority of the people who watch SmackDown, probably don’t exactly know,” Corey Graves said.

    He also added that he wants to cheer for Carmella but it wouldn’t make much sense as he has more of a heel persona and Carmella is a face right now.

    “Also, you are more of a good guy these days, whereas I tend to lean toward the villainous side, so there’s a really weird dichotomy, and I want to go, ‘Oh I want to cheer for her, but it doesn’t make sense if I cheer for her,” Corey Graves explained.

    Corey Graves and Carmella started dating in 2019, and their relationship has been profiled on Total Divas too. The relationship was full of controversies as Graves’ wife made a post on Instagram in early 2019 accusing both him for cheating on her. She soon deleted her post, but it had become a hot topic online.

    Both Carmella and Corey Graves denied the allegations, as it was later revealed that Graves was actually in the process of divorce with his wife for around six months and that he had been living in a different home.

    Read More: Carmella Reveals She Received Death Threats After She Was Accused Of Breaking Up Corey Graves’ Marriage

    Despite all of this, Carmella and Corey Graves continue to be a strong couple and have appeared on WWE shows like Total Divas and The Bump.

    Quotes used above transcribed by Sportkeeda.

  • Cedric Alexander Frustrated With Current WWE Status

    Cedric Alexander Frustrated With Current WWE Status

    Cedric Alexander has expressed that he is not happy with his current status in the WWE.

    “Frustrated is an understatement,” wrote the 30-year-old in a post on Twitter. The tweet is pinned on his profile.

    A lot could be assumed from that single sentence, but it’s worth noting that the WWE Raw star and former Cruiserweight Champion has not won a match on Raw since September 2019. The most recent win came to Cedric as part of a 10-man tag team match. His last singles victory was way back in August. His other wins were all on Main Event.

    This week, Cedric was defeated by Angel Garzia in a match that barely lasted more than a couple of minutes.

    Wrestling Observer Radio recently reported that the company has zero plans for Cedric, and they don’t know what to do with him.

    According to a report by the Wrestling Observer Radio from September 2019, Vince McMahon had given up on Cedric some time ago.

    Vince reportedly decided to bury Cedric in his hometown match at Clash of Champions against AJ Styles. Raw Executive Director Paul Heyman wanted to give Cedric a push, but Vince had a differing opinion. Looks like the burial is not going anywhere as the poor TV time and consistent losses for him are still there.

    Paul Heyman reportedly had plans to slowly build up Cedric Alexander’s push, but evidently Vince McMahon was not a big fan of the idea.

    Cedric was called up to the main roster from 205 Live during the 2019 WWE Superstar Shake-up. Sadly enough, he had even lost his debut match against Cesaro. His United States Championship match against AJ Styles on Clash of Champions was also moved to the Kickoff show.

    Back in November when Cedric was asked in an interview about this “burial”, he said: “Of course [it annoyed me]. When you hear things like that, it doesn’t help my brand, you know what I mean? Regardless of how you feel about it, whether you think AJ buried me or not—it was fine. I knew what it was! It was great matches, I got to show a lot of my personality and my in-ring style. A loss isn’t a burial. It’s AJ Styles, how is that a burial?! He’s one of the holy trinity’s of wrestling to me [with Samoa Joe and Christopher Daniels] so to lose to essentially a wrestling deity is fine by me.”

  • Jeff Cobb Offered Contract By AEW, Still Wants To Wrestle For NJPW

    Jeff Cobb Offered Contract By AEW, Still Wants To Wrestle For NJPW

    Jeff Cobb made his surprise debut for All Elite Wrestling this Wednesday on AEW Dynamite. Cobb appeared as Chris Jericho’s hired hitman and aligned himself with the Inner Circle and attacked Jon Moxley. Chris Jericho had said earlier on the show that he searched the world for a hitman and he found Cobb, which he recruited for a match with Moxley next week.

    Reports had surfaced that despite the big debut and high-profile match for the promotion, Jeff Cobb is not signed to a long term deal with AEW. Now in the latest update from Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer has provided some more details on the situation.

    Despite getting booked for a huge match next week, Cobb is still promoted for Ring of Honor shows, up to April’s Supercard of Honor event.

    The report says that AEW wants Jeff Cobb to work full-time, and has offered him a contract. However, the wrestler wants to work for other promotions like New Japan Pro Wrestling, along with working his Ring of Honor dates.

    Meltzer noted that at this point, Jeff Cobb is for an angle. Cobb has wanted to work with NJPW as much as he can, and there’s no indication if that has changed.

    Reportedly, Cody Rhodes has had a keen interest in Jeff Cobb ever since his Ring of Honor contract ended. The company has wanted him in a full-time role, but right now Cobb is only in for the angle and hasn’t signed a contract.

    On the February 12 episode of Dynamite, after Moxley defeated Santana in the main event match, Jeff Cobb attacked him by hitting the Tour of the Islands.

    While it’s not sure if we’ll see more of Jeff Cobb after February 19’s Dynamite. he is scheduled to appear for ROH’s Gateway to Honor show on February 9 and the aforementioned Supercard of Honor on April 4.

  • WWE Reportedly Wants To Acquire Indie Promotions’ Tape Libraries

    WWE Reportedly Wants To Acquire Indie Promotions’ Tape Libraries

    WWE is looking to acquire tape libraries from US indie promotions for its streaming platform, WWE Network.

    According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, WWE is reaching out to indie promotions to acquire their tape libraries. The company wants to stream indie wrestling content on its streaming service.

    It is worth noting that this is not the first time a situation like this has been teased. In the past, there have been similar reports of the company wanting to get libraries indie promotions like Insane Championship Wrestling (ICW), PROGRESS, and EVOLVE on WWE Network.

    WWE had even surveyed Network subscribers on their opinion of wanting indie wrestling content on the streaming service.

    Vince McMahon has said that “transformative changes” will be coming to the WWE Network. WWE is looking at ways to further grow and monetize their content. The company has said that there is a lot of interest from other parties for licensing and partnering with them.

    Vince McMahon has said that the company is in talks to sell the rights to its PPV events to another major streaming service. During the Q4 2019/FY 2019 earnings conference call, McMahon said that they have a lot of options and they would continue as they are now with a free tier and a more enhanced paid tier for the WWE Network. He added that there is no better time than right now to sell the rights to the majors who are “clamoring for our content,” since this would add a significant increase to WWE’s revenue.

    If PPV content is taken off of WWE Network, then the company would need some additional content for its subscribers, as live PPVs are one of the major selling points of the Network. That’s where indie wrestling content comes in.

    McMahon has said that if a deal is made, they will be announcing it in the first quarter of 2020. “That’s how far along we are,” he noted.

  • Ted DiBiase’s Nonprofit Reportedly Received $2 Million From Mississippi

    Ted DiBiase’s Nonprofit Reportedly Received $2 Million From Mississippi

    Ted DiBiase Sr.’s non-profit organization, Heart of David Ministry, has received $2.1 million in welfare money from the state of Mississippi, according to state records.

    The report comes from The Clarion-Ledger, which states that the WWE Hall of Famer’s ministry had only “meager” funds until Ted’s son Brett DiBiase got hired as the deputy administrator at the Mississippi Department of Human Services. He was hired back in early 2017.

    In May 2017, the Heart of David Ministry started receiving payments as much as $900,000 in a year. It has received a total of $2,126,739 from May 2017 to now. The ministry reported that the grant money received in 2017 was used for “general church speaking engagements, religious conferences, school assemblies, and wrestling events.”

    The report also notes that the ministry appears to not have filed any tax documents with the IRS for the last two years.

    Last week, Mississippi State Auditor Shad White had announced that six people, including Brett DiBiase, were arrested in the biggest embezzlement scam in the history of the state.

    The arrested are alleged to have stolen more than $4.15 million in welfare money. John Davis, the former director of Mississippi’s welfare agency, was also among the arrested. He allegedly used the money for personal use and for DiBiase’s “luxury” drug rehab center.

    DiBiase was paid with welfare money to teach drug awareness classes, but he never taught any classes as he was instead being treated for opioid addiction at Rise in Malibu, an addiction treatment center in Malibu, California.

    Ted DiBiase Sr. has not been charged with anything as of this writing.

  • Segments Announced For Next Week’s SmackDown

    Segments Announced For Next Week’s SmackDown

    On the January 31 episode of Friday Night SmackDown, Braun Strowman captured the Intercontinental Championship by defeating Shinsuke Nakamura. Besides that, number one contenders were determined and a few major segments have now been announced for the next week’s episode of SmackDown.

    John Morrison and The Miz earn SmackDown tag title match in Saudi Arabia, and are bringing back The Dirt Sheet

    A Fatal 4-Way number one contender match was put together as The New Day needed new challengers for the SmackDown Tag Team Titles. The Miz & John Morrison emerged victorious from their opponents The Revival, Heavy Machinery, and Lucha House Party. They will face The New Day on February 27 in Saudi Arabia at Super Showdown.

    But before that, WWE has announced that the duo is bringing back The Dirt Sheet to SmackDown. This segment will be a good point to build up the with the New Day before their match.

    Firefly Fun House returns

    Bray Wyatt will be bringing the Firefly Fun House next week on SmackDown. The Fiend will be coming off fresh from the Strap Match win against his challenger for the Universal Title, Daniel Bryan. Speaking of which…

    Daniel Bryan also returning to SmackDown

    Daniel Bryan will return to the blue brand for the first time after suffering the brutal loss to Bray Wyatt at Royal Rumble for the Universal Title. It will be interesting to see what’s planned next for him.

  • John Cena To Play Vin Diesel’s Brother In “F9”

    John Cena To Play Vin Diesel’s Brother In “F9”

    The first trailer for F9, the upcoming movie from the Fast and Furious franchise has arrived, and it reveals what character John Cena is going to play.

    Cena was announced to be joining the film last June, and there was no word on what role he would be playing in the movie, until now. The trailer reveals that John Cena will be playing the role of the brother of Dominic Toretto (played by Vin Diesel).

    In the three minutes long trailer, it is revealed that John Cena’s character Jakob, is Dom’s long-lost brother and he has teamed up with Cipher (played by Charlize Theron) to take down Dom.

    The film seems to be focusing on the sibling rivalry as John Cena will play the role of the main antagonist, besides Cipher. John Cena’s Jakob is a master thief, assassin, and a high-performance driver, and it can be seen in the trailer how far he’ll go to take down Dom and his crew.

    The film will release in theatres on May 22. The film stars Vin Diesel, John Cena, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Chris Bridges, Jordana Brewster, Nathalie Emmanuel, Sung Kang (yes, apparently his character’s alive), Charlize Theron and Cardi B, who will play a new character named Leysa, shown to be a woman who has a connection to Dom’s past. You can watch the trailer below:

    Related: John Cena Says Brock Lesnar Is The Greatest In-Ring Performer Ever

  • Braun Strowman Wins Intercontinental Title On SmackDown

    Braun Strowman Wins Intercontinental Title On SmackDown

    Braun Strowman has finally won his first singles title in WWE.

    Strowman faced Intercontinental Champion Shinsuke Nakamura on Friday night’s SmackDown with Sami Zayn and Cesaro at ringside.

    Nakamura attempted to throw Strowman into the turnbuckles after the padding was taken off of them while the referee was distracted, but it backfired as Strowman stopped Nakamura and threw him into it instead. A running power slam later Strowman was able to pin the Nakamura for the win.

    While Braun Strowman has held the Raw Tag Team Championships twice, he has never won a singles title before. The Monster Among Men had this a long time coming, and some might even argue that this push is a bit late for him.

    After headlining many pay-per-view events, winning the Money in the Bank contract, the Greatest Royal Rumble, the unstoppable monster has finally captured gold for himself.

    As for Nakamura, the IC reign with him was lacklustre so here’s hoping the same does not happen with Strowman’s. Zayn’s duo also seems to be falling apart as Nakamura is no longer champion and not a lot of things are going right for them. It may not be a huge surprise if they went their separate ways after this.

    Related: Braun Strowman On Shinsuke Nakamura, Championship Aspirations

  • Mickie James Was Reportedly Involved In Production Of Women’s Royal Rumble

    Mickie James Was Reportedly Involved In Production Of Women’s Royal Rumble

    Mickie James was involved as a producer for the women’s Royal Rumble match, according to a report.

    Along with Mickie were other producers like Michael Hayes, Tyson Kidd, Adam Pearce, and Triple H who all put together the women’s Royal Rumble match. This report comes from Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer.

    Michael Hayes has worked in backstage roles since 1999 for WWF. Tyson Kidd was hired as a full-time producer in 2017, after suffering a career-ending injury in 2015. Adam Pearce, on the other hand, signed a contract with WWE as an NXT trainer in 2015 but was moved to a producer role.

    The reason why Mickie James didn’t appear in the Royal Rumble is because of the ACL injury she suffered during a live event in June, and she has been out of action since.

    She has competed in the 2018 and 2019 Royal Rumble matches before. In the 2018 match, there was a memorable moment when Mickie was face to face with Trish Stratus in the ring. Mickie has had zero eliminations in the event so far.

    Mickie underwent successful surgery for her torn ACL in July. During this time, she appeared on WWE Main Event as a commentator and was made a free agent after the 2019 WWE Draft.

    WWE Royal Rumble 2020 Results & 6 Takeaways

  • Rhea Ripley Says Triple H Cried Tears Of Joy After Her NXT WarGames Match

    Rhea Ripley Says Triple H Cried Tears Of Joy After Her NXT WarGames Match

    Rhea Ripley shared the touching moment that she had with WWE COO Triple H after her match at NXT TakeOver: War Games on November 23, 2019.

    The WarGames match at the event involved Team Ripley (Rhea Ripley, Candice LeRae, Tegan Nox, and Dakota Kai) and Team Baszler (Shayna Baszler, Bianca Belair, Io Shirai, and Kay Lee Ray). Ripley was the one who won the match by performing the Riptide on the Baszler through two chairs.

    Ripley was interviewed by talkSport recently and was asked about Triple H’s reaction on her performance. Ripley recounted the moment after the WarGames match when she went backstage and saw Triple H in tears of happiness.

    “Yeah, they were. And it was really, really cool. I remember coming back from War Games – because that was all the same weekend – coming back from the War Games match and having Triple H there almost in tears of happiness. He hugged Candice [LeRae] and I and I was just like ‘this is a dream to me!’ [laughs]. I’m like, you’re the reason I started wrestling, started watching wrestling, it’s so, so cool. And he was just so proud of all of us because he knows we were all stressed with the mad weekend, so to make him proud is just so awesome.”

    She also talked about the Survivor Series match where she won the triple threat match with Charlotte Flair and Sasha Banks. Ripley cradled Charlotte when she was using the Figure Eight move on Banks.

    Rhea Ripley was asked whose idea the finish was, and she revealed that it was Charlotte’s. “It was Charlotte! She’s so smart, she was coming up with the coolest things. I felt so stupid [by comparison]. I took so much credit for it and I was like ‘yes, give me the credit’ [laughs].”

    The NXT Women’s Champion most recently beat NXT UK star Toni Storm at the Worlds Collide event from the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas on Saturday, January 25, 2020. Ripley will be defending the title next against Bianca Belair at NXT TakeOver: Portland on Sunday, February 16 at the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon.

    Related: Rhea Ripley Retains NXT Women’s Title At WWE Worlds Collide

  • Ronda Rousey: Will Return To WWE Whenever I Feel Like It

    Ronda Rousey: Will Return To WWE Whenever I Feel Like It

    We last saw Ronda Rousey in the WWE ring when she lost to Becky Lynch in the main event of WrestleMania 35 in 2019. Since then, there has been no indication from the former UFC star about her return to the squared circle, until now.

    The Royal Rumble just concluded a few days ago and Rousey’s fans speculated that she might make a return on the pay-per-view event. That didn’t happen, and Rousey even went on Twitter to troll the fans who were expecting her return.

    After the Royal Rumble, Rousey also went on the WWE podcast After The Bell with Corey Graves, and there she was asked about when she will make her return to wrestling. Rousey said that she’ll make her return if WWE lets her appear just on the live shows. She added that she misses wrestling at the live shows.

    “Probably, whenever the hell I feel like it. If they would just let me show up at live events, probably very soon,” Rousey said.

    Rousey said that she liked live shows better because she wouldn’t get her hair and makeup done during them and she prefers the laidback backstage environment of a live show.

    “I love the camaraderie and the kind of laidback feeling of live show days. Jump in the car afterwards and go to the next town. Never being able to find food and eating beef jerky all night. I miss that.”

    NXT Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley was mentioned by Rousey a couple of times during the podcast, as Rousey said she would like to face Ripley if she returns to the WWE. Ronda Rousey is under contract with WWE until April 10, 2021, so we can expect her to make a return this year.

    Related: Ronda Rousey Reacts To Shayna Baszler’s Royal Rumble Performance (Video)

  • Jinder Mahal Teases In-Ring Return: “Be Back Soon”

    Jinder Mahal Teases In-Ring Return: “Be Back Soon”

    Jinder Mahal has been out of action because of suffering from a patellar tendon rupture which required surgery. He suffered the injury during a live event in June and hasn’t been seen in the ring since.

    Mahal seems to be getting back in shape and up for a return soon as he posted a video of himself training on his Instagram account with the caption “Be back soon.”

    https://www.instagram.com/p/B7Tw6TenDzu/?utm_source=ig_embed

    Jinder Mahal was drafted to Raw during the WWE Draft three months ago. Before getting drafted to the red brand, he was involved in feuds with R Truth for the 24/7 Championship. He was able to capture the championship twice in June 2019.

    It was reported during that time that Mahal had signed a five year deal with WWE.

    After leaving the company in 2014, Mahal returned two years later with a dramatically improved physique and rose to main-event prominence. He was able to defeat Randy Orton at Backlash in May 2017 to become the 50th WWE Champion. He lost the title in November of that year but went on to win the United States title at WrestleMania.

    It would be interesting to see what WWE does with Mahal when he eventually makes his return.

  • Sheamus Considered Retiring During His Hiatus From WWE

    Sheamus Considered Retiring During His Hiatus From WWE

    WWE stars in the UK to celebrate the company finding its new home in the nation – BT Sport. Sheamus was also among the WWE stars present in the UK to celebrate WWE’s new British home, and while there he talked to Sportskeeda and revealed some interesting information about his thoughts during his WWE hiatus.

    “It’s something that’s always in the back of your mind. It’s no secret that I had a couple of issues physically, a few injuries because it is physical what we do,” Sheamus said. “And then my style as well, it trebles that, you know? There were a couple of times when I thought, ‘Will I make it back in there?’ Especially when I got a concussion in that match after WrestleMania.”

    Sheamus said that he used the time off really well and went to physiotherapy, boxing, kickboxing, lost 40 lbs and got himself in the best shape possible. “I feel better, look better, and I’ve never been hungrier to get back in the ring. For me, the first ten years were just a warm-up. This is the real deal now. I’m just starting, mate. I’m telling you, my body feels amazing. I feel better at 42 than I did at 32.”

    On the SmackDown after WrestleMania 35, Sheamus suffered a concussion in a six-man tag team match with The New Day. This marked the end of The Bar as Cesaro was drafted to Raw a few weeks later because Sheamus had to take time off.

    Sheamus returned to WWE on the January 3 episode of Friday Night SmackDown where he first appeared to save Shorty G from an attack by The Revival, only to deliver a Brogue Kick to Shorty G moments later. Sheamus would face Andrade at the launch party and make his unofficial return to the ring in nine months.

  • Charlotte Flair: Not Being On Camera With Andrade Best For Us Right Now

    Charlotte Flair: Not Being On Camera With Andrade Best For Us Right Now

    Charlotte Flair says that she would love to team together with Andrade under the right circumstances, but his partnership with Zelina Vega is also important.

    “So, for Andrade right now, the focus is having the US championship, and his bond with Zelina is so strong,” Charlotte told Metro UK.

    Charlotte added that she and Andrade are open to the idea of being a mixed tag team or doing something together, but being separate on camera is best for them as for now.

    “I think the two of us having separate storylines and not being together on camera is probably for the best right now. Definitely later down the road, we’re open to the idea of a mixed tag or doing something together. ‘But I think right now is a super important time in his career, and I wouldn’t want to interfere with how well Zelina and Manny work together.”

    Andrade agreed with Charlotte and said that it would be a good idea to team up in the future. But he also highlighted Zelina Vega’s importance in his career.

    “But now, Zelina’s been working with me for four years. I won the NXT title with Zelina, and now the United States championship,” said Andrade.

    Andrade defeated Rey Mysterio at a WWE house show from Madison Square Garden on December 26, 2019, to become the WWE United States Champion.

    The couple announced their engagement when Andrade asked the big question on New Year’s Eve and Charlotte said yes.

    When a fan on Twitter once asked her how their relationship first began, Flair confessed that she was the one who made the first move, asking Karl Anderson if Andrade was his friend. She also revealed that their first date was at catering during a WWE show and that the first time she realized she was in love with him was when she almost “accidentally said it on our first boat trip!”

  • Becky Lynch On One Thing She Would Change About WrestleMania 35

    Becky Lynch On One Thing She Would Change About WrestleMania 35

    WWE Raw Women’s Champion Becky Lynch reflected on the historic main event of last year’s WrestleMania and revealed one thing that she would change from it.

    Lynch talked to Sports Illustrated for an interview and revealed that she would have liked to make Ronda Rousey tap for the first time in her life.

    “If I could change anything from WrestleMania, I would have tried to freakin’ sink on that arm bar,” said Lynch. “Make Ronda Rousey tap out for the first time in her life.”

    It was still all good though, as Becky Lynch pinned Rousey to win the match and become “Becky Two Belts”.

    Lynch also became the first woman in WWE history to be on the cover of the WWE 2K video game, alongside with Roman Reigns. Becky says it was a risk being controversial and outspoken but it paid off and proved that anything is possible.

    “It’s unbelievable to be on the cover of WWE 2K20, it means anything is possible,” said Lynch. “We’ve never had a woman on the cover, so it proves that taking risks pays off. It was a risk for me to be more controversial and outspoken, trying to rile up people as opposed to trying to befriend people.”

    Lynch also talked about Reigns and she said that she has admiration for what Reigns went through, surviving leukemia. Lynch said she considers Reigns an inspirational role model.

    Lynch will defend the Raw Women’s Championship against Asuka at the upcoming Royal Rumble pay-per-view event on Sunday, January 26. The event will emanate from the Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas.

  • Chelsea Green Says She Evolved As A Wrestler In NXT, Reveals Her Goals For 2020

    Chelsea Green Says She Evolved As A Wrestler In NXT, Reveals Her Goals For 2020

    WWE NXT Superstar Chelsea Green spoke with ComicBook.com for an interview to promote the Battle Royal match that will take place on tonight’s NXT episode. The winner of the match will go on to challenge NXT Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley at TakeOver: Portland.

    Green said that she has evolved as a wrestler working since joining WWE NXT.
    “Every single year, I go through once the new year hits, I go through this moment where I kind of think about how far I’ve come and what’s changed,” the former Impact Knockouts Champion said.

    She said that her character’s biggest evolution has been from the time she started NXT until now. I’ve been working through who I am and how to show the fans and the audience who I am in a genuine way, she said.

    Green hopes that fans will see the different sides of her which she has been trying to put into her character to show to the fans.

    “So, it’s been kind of a different sort of evolution this year, but I’m loving it and I’m still figuring it out. And maybe in a year, you can ask me the same question, and I’ll have a totally different response. You know?”

    Green also has plans to be a fighting champion when she wins the Battle Royale and defeats the NXT Women’s Champion. She said that she will do what she did on her time on the independent scene, which is to be a fighting champion.

    Green’s said goals for 2020 are to win the NXT Title and be the face of the company. “I want to be the face of this brand in any way possible, and if I have to do double duty and triple duty, and be on Raw, SmackDown, and NXT in the same week, your girl will do it.”

    On tonight’s episode of NXT, Green will participate in the Battle Royal along with Mercedes Martinez, Io Shirai, Bianca Belair, Candice LeRae, Xia Li, Vanessa Borne, Dakota Kai, Kayden Carter, Mia Yim, Santana Garrett, and Shotzi Blackheart. The winner will then go on to face Rhea Ripley for the NXT Women’s title at Takeover: Portland on February 16, 2020, at the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon.

  • Jon Moxley Set To Face Josh Barnett In Bloodsport III Main Event

    Jon Moxley Set To Face Josh Barnett In Bloodsport III Main Event

    It has been announced that former UFC Heavyweight Champion Josh Barnett will face All Elite Wrestling star Jon Moxley at Barnett’s Bloodsport III on April 2.

    Barnett made the announcement on his Twitter, writing: “The match you’ve waited for Barnett vs @JonMoxley. Josh Barnett’s: Bloodsport III 4/2 from The Cuban Club in Ybor City. Get your tickets now! https://Bloodsport2020.eventbrite.com”

    Jon Moxley was scheduled to face Josh Barnett at GCW Bloodsport II held in September 2019, but he was not able to make it to the event due to an MRSA infection in his elbow.

    Bloodsport III is set to take place during WrestleMania weekend in Tampa, Florida at The Cuban Club in Ybor City. Tickets can be purchased from this link.

    Bloodsport is a shoot-style event with a ring featuring no ropes or turnbuckles. The event is presented as a hybrid between MMA and pro-wrestling with a unique ruleset. The only way to win the match is by KO or submission.

    The event, which was created by Game Changer Wrestling in 2018, saw Minoru Suzuki defeat Matt Riddle in the main event. In 2019, Josh Barnett defeated Chris Dickinson in the main event.

    Apart from Jon Moxley, Jeff Cobb is also signed for Bloodsport III.

    Read more: WWE Hall of Famer Has Huge Praise for Jon Moxley/Inner Circle Angle