If you’ve been watching SmackDown Live over the past few weeks, you’ll know that “The Planet’s Champion” Daniel Bryan has been on a tear recently about mass consumerism. AJ Styles held his rebuttal on this past week’s episode, encouraging people to spend their money how they deemed fit, and to eat whatever they wanted. Including hot dogs.

Bryan took issue with this and responded to the issue. He called out both AJ Styles and WWE in his efforts to highlight why people shouldn’t eat hot dogs.

He posted a video that demonstrates how hot dogs are actually made before encouraging people to turn vegan.

“Shame on both @AJStylesOrg and @Wwe for encouraging people to eat hotdogs. Pigs are smarter are smarter than dogs, yet you would all be up in arms if they did this to your pets. @peta2″

https://twitter.com/WWEDanielBryan/status/1085357042154520576

Seemingly remembering that WWE also has a younger fanbase, he tweeted a more kid-friendly follow-up. In this, Winnie The Pooh and Piglet have a frank discussion over the moral dilemma of killing pigs. Their conversation states that it is inhumane to kill pigs.

“If the previous video isn’t suitable for your children, show them this and then explain how hotdogs are made.”

https://twitter.com/WWEDanielBryan/status/1085357728363618309

Although taking a hardcore edge to his agenda, this probably isn’t too far from how Daniel Bryan truly feels. Interestingly, this gimmick harkens back to CM Punk and his straight-edge society, where WWE also cannibalized their Superstar’s real-life beliefs into the character itself.

WWE has hyped up a number of talent that they are calling up from NXT to their main roster. The company played a video package introducing the WWE Universe to those names, helping to create a sense of recognition for the eventual debuts.

This wasn’t enough, however, for Vince McMahon.

Get Familiar

According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Vince McMahon believes that each NXT call-up needs to be seen via backstage segments.

Vince reportedly believes this will help fans know who these NXT Superstars actually are once their main roster plans are finalized. He seems to be of the opinion that most of the WWE Universe will not be familiar with them. This is despite NXT’s popularity and the video package to help introduce them.

This is also why these past few weeks have seen random interactions between established main roster members and the former-NXT Superstars.

The NXT Superstars that have been appearing, waiting to know which brand to call home, include EC3, Lacey Evans, Sanity’s Nikki Cross, Heavy Machinery, and Lars Sullivan.

Do you like this method? Do you agree with Vince, or do you believe there could be a more organic and impactful way to introduce this new crop of talent?

WWE Hall Of Famer, Booker T, has plenty of experience performing for a number of different companies including WCW, TNA and, of course, WWE. So when it comes to a major new promotion breaking onto the scene in the way All Elite Wrestling (AEW) is doing, the knowledgable 6-time world champion was bound to have an opinion.

During an episode of his podcast, Heated Conversations with Booker T, he shared his thoughts on AEW.

“They’re [AEW] coming in hot, I’ve never seen anything like this before. A company just literally — boom. You know, they [just] pop up. Major players. TNA was built around a bunch of young guys that were unknowns, […] these are guys who are starting an organization and are signing big contracts,” he said.

He highlighted Chris Jericho’s involvement as a huge selling point for the company. Booker believes that Jericho’s involvement helps to “legitimize” All Elite Wrestling.

“With Chris Jericho behind this thing, that’s a legitimizer. They have a major player that’s been all over the world and has done it all. [….] Chris Jericho is that teacher, he isn’t going to be that guy that’s just along for the ride, more power to him for taking a shot at it.”

The Revival has been pretty vocal in the past few months on social media. Asking fans to not “give up” on them, starting an official petition to get Lucha House Rules banned, or teasing a matchup with All Elite’s Young Bucks — The Revival is harnessing social media in order to remind the WWE Universe they are still there. For now.

Bryan Alvarez of F4WOnline.com recently commented on The Revival and their status within WWE.

“The only thing I can tell you about The Revival right now is I don’t know if they asked from a release from WWE, but I do know they have been asking about doing more matches down in NXT,” he revealed.

“I don’t know if that would mean going full-time back to NXT. Obviously, there are a lot of great tag teams in NXT. People love working house shows and people love working NXT shows. There are a lot of people — I’m not saying it’s The Revival — but they had more fun in NXT. Obviously, you can tell by watching the main roster, but it could have just been that they asked to do more NXT TV shows or they did ask for their full release. Maybe they’ll get it, maybe they won’t.”

Rumors have been circulating that Dash Wilder and Scott Dawson could be leaving, or intend to leave, WWE. It was only discovered yesterday that Mike and Maria Kanellis reportedly requested their formal WWE releases. Triple H also discussed his take on what WWE’s landscape could look like in the future, which would, in theory, allow The Revival to jump between brands if they so chose.

With so many options now available for squandered talent, returning to NXT, or leaving for new opportunities must seem more alluring than ever before.

Xavier Woods has utilized a number of WWE talent in the past as he grew his successful YouTube channel, UpUpDownDown.

What began as a passion project for The New Day member has evolved into a show loved by members of the WWE Universe worldwide. That didn’t go unnoticed by WWE.

Speaking with spin.ph (Sports Interactive Network Philippines), Woods divulges just how much influence WWE has with UpUpDownDown, as well as the impact playing video games has helped the locker room morale.

Despite beginning with just Woods wanting to share his love of gaming, he admits that UpUpDownDown is now “within the WWE umbrella,” but insists that “It is its own thing.”

“I would say I have 92% creative control,” he said. “I am lucky enough to now have a team of editors and producers. We’ve gone from me and two other guys to now me and six other people. So, it’s creating jobs within the company. There isn’t much they take out. The biggest thing is just cursing and that’s because people get heated.”

He then reflected on how WWE’s attitude toward gaming has shifted since his YouTube show’s success, calling their mindset a “complete one-eighty.”

“[…] once the YouTube channel was generating money for the company, it became okay. When we set up a Playstation or an Xbox, we call it ‘The Lab,’ because when we’re in there, we’re cooking. At its height, you might see eight Playstations going on at one time in the locker room and it’s a rotating thing. We have the shows to worry about and we need a way to relax. Back in the day, it used to be cards.

“For us, it’s upped morale by a hundred percent! There are guys who might not have been as close to each other and now, they’ve got a tight-knit battle they’ll want to get to when they get to the arena. So it helps in that respect. And honestly, that boosts everyone up so once we’re in the ring, performing, we’re a lot more comfortable with each other. It’s very healthy for the locker room, I think.”

All Elite Wrestling recently held an event rally for their next show, Double Or Nothing. In order to create further awareness for the rally itself, AEW released a press release. It was in that press release that Brandi Rhodes’ role within the company was confirmed as Chief Brand Officer.

But with her new role and the subsequent shouldering of fresh responsibilities, does that mean that Brandi will no longer pursue an in-ring career?

Speaking recently with Kristen Ashly of Diva-Dirt.com, Brandi revealed her intentions to not only deliver as AEW’s CBO but also as one of their top female talents.

“Yeah, I’ll definitely be a part of it,” she confirmed. “I think it’s funny because I think a lot of people thought the role that I was taking meant, ‘Oh, she’s leaving, she’s not going to do this’ [wrestle]. But no one seemed to think that about the other guys [Cody, The Young Bucks, etc].

I do think for myself, it’s more important to see the division thrive as a whole. … I guess, maybe that’s why I haven’t said so much stuff about continuing to compete online, just because I’m so focused on building up the division and making it as great as it can be.”

She also divulged that AEW intends to launch with a more “traditional” championship scene. Their championship landscape will include a men’s championship, women’s championship, and a men’s tag team title. She believes it would be “overzealous” to debut with too many championships. It was also mentioned that AEW were “open-minded” in regards to incorporating inter-gender wrestling.

This past weekend saw two Ring Of Honor wrestlers suffer unfortunate injuries. Both Flip Gordon and Chris Sabin would sadly find themselves injured by the end of the weekend.

The company has since released an official statement regarding the extent of their injuries. ROH also divulge the moment each injury supposedly occurred.

Ring Of Honor Statement

“Chris Sabin and Flip Gordon will both be getting MRI’s this week after suffering knee injuries at ROH live events over the weekend.

It is believed that Sabin suffered a torn ACL in his right knee during a six-man mayhem match at the international television taping in Atlanta Saturday night. Sabin began clutching his knee after executing a super hurricanrana on Gordon. He was unable to finish the match and was helped to the back.

Gordon injured his right knee during his match against Tracy Williams at Honor Reigns Supreme in Concord, N.C., on Sunday. It is believed he will be out of action a minimum of four weeks with a possible MCL sprain. Gordon came up limping after hitting a running dropkick in the corner. He tried to continue, but his knee gave out and the referee stopped the match. Gordon was helped to the back.

Keep it locked onto ROHWrestling.com for more updates on Sabin and Gordon as they become available.”

“I’ll Be Back”

Gordon reached out to Sabin via Twitter, sending him “Positive Vibes,” to which Sabin responded, “I’ll be back.”

https://twitter.com/TheFlipGordon/status/1084974560280227840

I'll be back.

— chriSabin (@SuperChrisSabin) January 14, 2019

All of us here at SEScoops wish both Flip Gordon and Chris Sabin the very best during this tough time and wish them a speedy recovery.

In their continued effort to lockdown talent, Ring Of Honor has managed to secure another two acquisitions to their roster.

Just recently, the company managed to sign Mark Haskins, RUSH, PCO, Brody King, and more.

Initially reported by PWInsider.com, ROH can now proudly add PJ Black (formerly WWE’s Justin Gabriel) and “Hot Sauce” Tracy Williams to their growing talent pool.

PJ Black has been making a name for himself over the years, wrestling for a number of independent promotions worldwide. He was also a featured star on Lucha Underground, appearing as a member of Johnny Mundo’s Worldwide Underground stable. He is a former three-time WWE Tag Team champion.

Tracy Williams has been a stalwart for EVOLVE for the longest time, becoming a two-team EVOLVE Tag Team Champion during his tenure with the company. He has also been confirmed as one of the competitors to be taking part in a 12-team Tag Wars tournament. This tournament will take place across all three Road to G1 Supercard shows.
The winner of the tournament will earn a future shot against the current ROH World Tag Team champions, The Briscoes.

With All Elite Wrestling making moves, and companies like New Japan Pro Wrestling continuing their expansion plans into the west, locking down talent in the process, it’s unsurprising to see ROH follow suit in aggressively pursuing securing talent for themselves, especially in the wake of the majority of The Elite leaving.

We recently reported on WWE’s reasoning behind removing Braun Strowman from his scheduled match against Brock Lesnar. The match was meant to happen at WWE’s Royal Rumble event at the end of the month. With the company not wanting Strowman to lose to Lesnar once again, however, plans were changed. Finn Balor won a Fatal 4-Way this past Monday. This earned him a shot against Lesnar for the Universal Championship.

But if WWE’s intentions were always to change the plans to protect Braun’s character, why continue promoting the matchup against Lesnar for so long?

According to Dave Meltzer via Wrestling Observer Radio, the decision behind the continued advertising was done to continue selling tickets.

Considering that this year’s Royal Rumble is emanating from Chase Field, a baseball stadium, the company wanted to ensure they could sell approximately 40,000 tickets to the WWE Universe. As far as WWE was concerned, Brock vs Braun was the way to do it.

Brock Lesnar has had a recent string of matches against smaller opponents. He reportedly enjoys working with these kinds of Superstars. This could be another reason why Balor is now going to be facing off against Lesnar.

Finn has spoken before about facing off against Brock Lesnar and finally gets his opportunity to reclaim a championship he never lost at Royal Rumble.

Ivelisse has been a member of the Lucha Underground roster since 2014. She has achieved a number of things during her time with the company, including becoming a two-time Trios champion.

Last night, Ivelisse took to social media to express her discontent with her current situation with the promotion. Apparently, she has formally requested her release from the company only to be denied.

“I Am At My Wits End”

In her statement, she said:

“Ive done everything in my power to avoid having to do this but.. at this point I literally have no other choice.

For a bit over 1 1/2 [years] now I’ve been battling LU to grant me my release. They convinced me to do S4 under the promise that I’d be released after the season concluded and was still unhappy. They currently are still refusing to do so despite having been told numerous times that they would.

This has caused me an unbearable amount of grief for so long now, I really have no words to describe and dont know what else to do. being legally held hostage while Pro Wrestling is booming is a matter not to be taken lightly, especially coming from someone who has dedicated their life to their work, its everything to me.

I am at my wits end, so at this point, regardless what happens from here on out, at the very least my story is told.”

https://twitter.com/RealIvelisse/status/1085236886703095808

Other wrestlers have since read Ivelisse’s statement of frustration and responded, including fellow Lucha Underground wrestler, Joey Ryan:

https://twitter.com/JoeyRyanOnline/status/1085301692961181697

This week WWE announced that the first ever WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions would be crowned at February’s Elimination Chamber. The event will see 3 Raw teams combat with 3 SmackDown teams inside the Elimination Chamber itself.

Both the championships and the matchup were revealed this past Monday on Monday Night Raw by Alexa Bliss during her new talk show segment, A Moment Of Bliss.

Since then, the entire WWE roster has had an opportunity to soak in the news, and many are already staking their interest and claim on the belts.

Going For Gold

Naomi, who had been in a series of tag team matches with Asuka prior to her winning the SmackDown Women’s championship, said, “I need a ride or die partner ASAP!”

Sonya Deville reflected on her and Mandy Rose entering the chamber to make history last year, promising that they’ll “do it again and become the first ever women’s tag champs!”

Wow. Last year @WWE_MandyRose and I stepped inside the chamber for the first time to make history this year we’re gonna do it again and become the first ever women’s tag champs! #CountOnIt #FireandDesire https://t.co/pIlxt5phnJ

— Daria Rae Berenato (@TheDariaRae) January 15, 2019

Mandy seconded her partners’ sentiment, “This is awesome… @SonyaDevilleWWE & I WILL become the first-ever Women’s #TagTeamChampions #FireNDesire”

Member’s of the Riott Squad also made their feelings clear about wanting the championship for themselves. Ruby made a clear statement, “These WILL be ours. #RiottSquad,” whilst Riott squad member, Sarah Logan, said:

“Those #WomensTagTeamChampionships are ours. Mark. My. Words #Riottisforever”

Those #WomensTagTeamChampionships are ours.
Mark.
My.
Words #Riottisforever

— Sarah Rowe (@WWEValhalla) January 15, 2019

And you better put respect on them! @WWE https://t.co/Ym9j3bq335

— Mercedes Moné Varnado (@MercedesVarnado) January 15, 2019

I woke up this morning with this image burned into my mind. 2019 is the year of #TheHorsewomen 🐎🐎🐎🐎 #reality https://t.co/SzoiYpK0HP

— Jessamyn Duke (@jessamynduke) January 15, 2019

https://twitter.com/PeytonRoyceWWE/status/1085204131927732224

Who do you think will come out victorious at the end of the Elimination Chamber PPV? Who deserves to be the first WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions of the modern era?

This week on Monday Night Raw, the WWE Universe witnessed a backstage segment featuring Alexa Bliss that may have taken a few fans by surprise.

In an attempt to try and push the envelope of their shows given rating, WWE produced a brief interaction backstage featuring a supposedly topless Alexa Bliss. This was their attempt to generate some buzz whilst teasing a return to the edgy nature of their older shows and previous eras, such as the Attitude Era and Ruthless Aggression Era.

According to Dave Meltzer of F4WOnline.com, the supposed logic behind the segment is that “they want to bring back this idea of God only knows what. It’s like old time, old time stuff,” he explained.

“It’s like whatever, that stuff’s on regular TV shows all the time, too. It was an attempt to do something that was very awkward in execution, but it was an attempt to make things sexy. That’s all that was.”

The YouTube video accrued more than 1.5 million views in less than 24 hours and, at the time of writing, is the 2nd most watched clip from this week’s episode of Raw with 2.8 million views. Braun Strowman flipping over Vince McMahon’s limousine is the current most watched from this week’s episode with 2.9 million views.

What did you think of the segment? Is this the start of a newer, edgier WWE, or a tone-deaf attempt?

Last night during Monday Night Raw, Vince McMahon would fine Braun Strowman $100,000. He then officially removed him from the Universal Championship match at Royal Rumble. Finn Balor would eventually win a Fatal 4-Way matchup later that night, earning the right to compete against Brock Lesnar.

If you thought WWE’s reasoning behind removing Braun was down to his injury, you’d be half right. According to Mike Johnson of PWInsider, there is more to the story than just Braun’s recovery.

“[…] why isn’t Braun Strowman in this match? Well, the obvious reason is that he’s just not physically cleared by WWE’s medical staff to do a big heavy duty match with Brock Lesnar.”

“However, they also didn’t want Braun to get beaten by Brock, and they were not planning on putting the belt on Braun Strowman at the Royal Rumble,” Johnson revealed. “So they kind of painted themselves into a corner and then they painted themselves out of that corner somehow.”

Lesnar may well keep the Universal championship through to WrestleMania 35, where it is speculated he will face Seth Rollins. Despite Lesnar/Strowman no longer happening, there is still a chance WWE could deliver the match in the future.

Finn Balor has been the recipient of a major push in recent weeks. He recently gained a notable victory against Drew McIntyre at TLC, and made a surprise appearance at the recent NXT UK TakeOver: Blackpool event. This push makes sense in order to rebuild Balor up to main event status prior to his matchup at Royal Rumble.

If you are a fan of old-school WWF and long for a time that WWE shows weren’t two/three hours a piece, then you’ll be happy to know that the WWE Network will be adding new classic content for January. This includes WWF Superstars.

Formerly known as Superstars of Wrestling, this latest addition to the WWE Network will feature episodes of Superstars from April 1992. The reason for this specific date is due to a range of legal issues regarding the name Superstars of Wrestling. The trademark to that name does not currently belong to WWE, and so the company is unable to upload any footage featuring the Superstars of Wrestling branding. The Network has previously released clips relating to the promotion, but have done extensive work to remove all visual and audio references to the name.

At the time, Superstars was considered WWE’s A-show, in the same way that Raw is today.

These episodes will arrive on Monday 21st of January. According to WWE Network News, we can expect over 30 episodes to be released. It is unclear whether they will all be uploaded on Monday or whether they will deliver them in a staggered release.

Are you looking forward to rewatching WWF Superstars? Will you be watching it for the very first time?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLPgjWf6qpU

With their matchup imminently taking place on Tuesday’s SmackDown Live, WWE Superstars Carmella and Sonya Deville have been trading barbs with one another in anticipation of their clash.

It started harmlessly enough, as Sonya Deville said:

“Man I’m sorry I just ain’t gettin beat out by a dance break #embarrassing”

Carmella would respond with a list of her WWE accomplishments. This, however, was an opportunity for Deville to try and get a knock at the former Women’s Champion, as she highlighted James Ellsworth as a contributing factor to the majority of her accomplishments:

“”I set out to let men fight my battles for me too” -said no one ever #Ellsworth So sit down before I rip that fake hair out your damn head”

“I set out to let men fight my battles for me too” -said no one ever #Ellsworth So sit down before I rip that fake hair out your damn head https://t.co/zdqj4ZOLvV

— Daria Rae Berenato (@TheDariaRae) January 12, 2019

This then set off a hostile train reaction between the two women as Carmella responded with:

“Says the chick who got eliminated by her “day one” at #WWEEvolution. Why don’t you put your hair up and square up with me this Tuesday on #SDLive? Unless you’re gonna be too embarrassed when you lose to the chick with the dance breaks..”

WWE followed their exchange with an announcement that Carmella and Sonya Deville would have the opportunity to settle their differences on this week’s episode of SmackDown Live.

We are about to officially be on The Road To WrestleMania. WrestleMania weekend is filled with an extensive list of things to do for WWE fans to experience and enjoy. One event attending fans can witness is the annual WWE Hall Of Fame ceremony.

Every year, the WWE Universe, and even Superstars, speculate and debate over who could be joining the most recent class of inductees. This year is no different.

“She Was A Pioneer For The Women’s Movement”

Speaking with Kevin Cerrito on Sports 56/87.7 in Memphis, Natalya highlighted Chyna as deserving to be recognized as a Hall Of Famer.

“I think that one day it [Chyna entering the Hall Of Fame] will definitely happen,” Natalya said. “She really paved an incredible road for the women of the WWE and she was so unique. If you look back at those great memories of her, she really defined coloring outside the lines and being bold and bright and beautiful.”

“She was a pioneer for the women’s movement in general,” she explained. “So, I think definitely one day we’ll see it. A lot of people have said, ‘We should have this person in the Hall of Fame. And we should have this person in. And that tag team should be in.’ The thing is that WWE is not going anywhere. WWE is going to be around for a long, long time so everybody, I believe, is going to get their due and I believe Chyna will be one of them.”

Do you agree with Natalya? Does Chyna deserve a place within the Hall Of Fame?

Another injured WWE Superstar has been spotted at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida: Sami Zayn.

According to PWInsider, Zayn has been frequenting the Performance Center in order to ready himself for his in-ring return.

WWE recently ran a promo video hyping his return, though no set date was established. Sami has not competed in a matchup since his clash with Bobby Lashley. This matchup took place on June 17th, 2018 at WWE’s Money In The Bank event.

It was discovered after WrestleMania 34 that Sami had injured one of his shoulders. Upon further investigation, it was then found that he had been carrying previously undiagnosed damage to his other shoulder. The match at Money In The Bank was done in order to write Zayn off of TV so he could undergo surgery to both shoulders.

With Royal Rumble taking place at the end of the month, and slots still to be filled for the men’s Rumble event, could Sami Zayn be taking one of those spaces?

Other performers have also been seen at the PC, rehabbing and training hard using the PC facilities. Sin Cara, Erick Rowan, Fandango, and Alexa Bliss have all been working hard as they march towards their return.

Nikki Bella’s love life has been well documented for a number of years now. This is thanks to the exposure she has received from both Total Divas and Total Bellas reality shows. A major part of that show was her break up with WWE Superstar, John Cena.

Since then, however, Nikki Bella has been readily moving on with her life.

We previously reported on Nikki dating her former Dancing With The Stars (DWTS) partner, Artem Chigvintsev. She has since given further insight into her life during an interview with Live With Kelly And Ryan.

Nikki, there with her sister, Brie, recalled a date that she went on in October with The Bachelorette contestant, Peter Kraus.

“It’s just been one date so far. It was in the fall and he was so sweet. One, he’s so handsome — even Brie’s husband [Daniel Bryan] was freaking out for him. And he was so sweet and I would totally go out again, especially, I want to try it without cameras. It was like 10 people staring at me.”

She shared that Peter showed up with flowers, though “they weren’t roses,” in reference to the prop used on both The Bachelor and The Bachelorette TV shows.

Whilst talking about going on further dates with Kraus, she said: “I totally would go out [with him] again.” For what it’s worth, Nikki didn’t mention Chigvintsev during the course of the interview.

Pete Dunne survived a war against Joe Coffey during the main event of NXT UK TakeOver: Blackpool. After the match, he would then find himself confronted by the mountainous Austrian, WALTER, who made his intentions for Dunne’s retained NXT UK Championship clear.

If you think that wasn’t bad enough, now Dunne has had to defend himself against disgruntled fans online.

A Twitter user, “J.B.”, called out Dunne post-TakeOver event in order to try and shame him for not posing for a photograph with another fan. Given the thread that is still currently available online, it appears as though the fan who initially wanted a photograph is J.B.’s daughter.

His initial tweet read:

“Pity Pete Dunne refused to have a picture with you. 2 seconds out of his life and he flatly refused”

https://twitter.com/Citizen_baker/status/1084600570982354945

In response to this entitled attack, Pete Dunne, keeping a cooler head, responded:

“I was walking my 7 week old daughter to the car in the freezing cold Blackpool weather after already making time for people the correct side of the barrier. Many apologies for my appalling conduct.”

I was walking my 7 week old daughter to the car in the freezing cold Blackpool weather after already making time for people the correct side of the barrier. Many apologies for my appalling conduct. https://t.co/U8UL2dnnDV

— ‘The Bruiserweight’ Pete Dunne (@PeteDunneYxB) January 14, 2019

In the daughter’s defense, she would quickly reply to J.B.’s original post with a clearly embarrassed “delete this!!! he was carrying his 7 week old daughter i told u that after u asked him!! u wouldn’t put me down or give me to someone when i was 7 weeks old if someone asked u for a picture!!”

Despite heavy speculation that he is retired, Matt Hardy has recently been hinting at a potential in-ring return. He has previously stated that, despite not having a timetable, a comeback should be “sooner than later.”

Now his brother, Jeff Hardy, has chimed in on the likelihood of his brother returning to competition.

Speaking with WrestlingNews.co, Jeff admitted, “I don’t think he’s really retired.”

When pressed a little further on the subject, he responded: “No, I don’t think that [he’s retired].”

The conversation then turned towards Jeff, where he revealed the worst injury he’s ever suffered. Hardy confessed that the worst injury, by far, was when he had to undergo rotator cuff surgery. He still undergoes physical therapy to ensure he doesn’t cause further injury.

A Surprise Return

Matt and Jeff Hardy returned almost two years ago, making a surprise comeback during WrestleMania 33. They would be inserted into a Fatal-4-Way tag team matchup, eventually coming out the new Raw Tag Team champions.

With that in mind, WWE’s current contracts with the Hardy Boyz is set to expire in a few months around WrestleMania.

With both brothers seemingly wanting to continue their careers, coupled with the advent of new promotions like All Elite Wrestling, could there be a bidding war for Matt and Jeff on the horizon? The two have also wrestled for Ring Of Honor, and with ROH now making big money deals, could they be another promotion interested when their contracts expire?

In recent years, British talent has begun to crop up more frequently across the world of pro wrestling. Not only on independent circuits, but also featuring more prominently on WWE, Ring Of Honor, and New Japan Pro Wrestling.

This, however, hasn’t always been the case.

Rising 205 Live, and WWE NXT UK Superstar, Mark Andrews, was recently a guest on the They Are NXT UK podcast. During the show, Andrews discussed the importance of available TV exposure for UK independent wrestling.

“It Wasn’t In The Mainstream”

At one point in time, British stars were a rarity on mainstream wrestling shows like WWE. Now, with the advent of streaming, and the sheer accessibility of pro wrestling to a global audience, Mark Andrews considers the landscape to be forever changed.

“[TV exposure] was really important because I come from a generation of wrestlers in the UK where there hasn’t always been a spotlight on us,” he reflected.

“I know when I started back in 2006, when I was 12/13, there wasn’t really anything on TV. I mean you had a few, like FWA [Frontier Wrestling Alliance] was on the wrestling channel and there’d be old reruns of World of Sport, but it wasn’t in the limelight much. It wasn’t in the mainstream. And obviously WWE, most of their roster would be kinda American at the time. You had the likes of William Regal, Fit Finlay — a few British guys were out there but there wasn’t really a booming scene like there is now.”

“So to first get television exposure, to actually be seen worldwide was huge for me,” he admitted. “And even back then, at the time, there wasn’t many British wrestlers being on TV. You have guys like Drake Maverick who has broken out a little bit, Zack Sabre that has broken out in Japan, obviously Finn Balor, people like that. But there still wasn’t an entire scene being pushed, so it [TV exposure] was really important. And I think I was one of the few at the time to get TV exposure, and it’s funny, you fast forward now to 2018 and look at NXT UK!”

“We’ve Had Years And Years Of Honing Our Craft”

With NXT UK now available via the WWE Network, and the influx of British talent appearing on different WWE shows, it may appear as though British talent have appeared out of nowhere.

Not so, according to Andrews.

“[…] suddenly you see all this talent that almost feel like they’ve been hidden gems over the last 5, 6 or 8 — even up to 10 years,” he said. “But I guess that’s because we’ve had such a strong scene over here in the UK, and now we’ve had years and years of honing our craft […] we finally get to be seen on the grand stage that is WWE.

And I almost feel like, well I’m hoping, and I’m sure that the world’s almost a bit shocked like, ‘Where have all these British guys come from?’, ‘Where have they been this whole time?’ And now it’s nice to be on that platform for the world to see what we’ve been working on for the last 10+ years.”

https://audioboom.com/posts/7123444-mark-andrews

With her matchup against current WWE NXT Women’s Champion, Shayna Baszler, looming at the end of the month, Bianca Belair is readying herself for the most important match of her career to date. The two will clash for the championship at this month’s Royal Rumble event.

Bianca recently did an interview with Jim Varsallone of the Miami Herald. During their conversation, she spoke about being apart of the NXT roster and training at the WWE Performance Center. She even addressed the origin of her famous hair whip attack.

She calls being in NXT an “experience like none other.” Despite playing almost every sport imaginable in her youth and during her high school years, she’s “never had an experience like this.”

“[…] I feel like I have a great background [in sports] that grounds me. I’m able to pick up all things very quickly. I’m coachable. But with that being said, wrestling is nothing like anything I’ve ever done before,” she admits.

“It’s a skill in its own. It’s an art. It’s a craft. Stepping in the Performance Center two and a half years ago for the first time I barely knew anything and started from the bottom and worked my way from the top. I’m just so grateful to be surrounded by amazing coaches, amazing facility, and everything is provided for us. It basically just sets us up for success. It’s been a great experience being here and NXT.”

Hair Whip

If you’ve watched Biana Belair compete in-ring, you’ll know that a major part of her look is her long, braided hairstyle — one that she uses against her opponent whenever the opportunity arises.
When she first debuted, however, she had no idea she would end up incorporating a braid attack into her arsenal.

“When I first started, I was trying to figure out who I wanted to be, what I wanted to do, and how I was going to stand out. I had an idea of wearing a long braid. I looked around and saw no one else had a hairstyle like that. I was going back and forth, ‘Do I want to just wear my hair down, have waves, curls, like everyone else or do I want to wear this braid?’
So, my husband [Montez Ford] was the one who told me ‘No, you need to keep that braid. It makes you stand out.’ He pushed me towards that,” she said.

“At first, it was just this thing of just standing out and I was actually in the ring, he was watching and he told me that, ‘I could probably use that braid in the ring.’

One day I was in the with Sarah [Stock, NXT Coach]. She asked me, ‘Can you hit [your opponent] with it?’ That was the first time I tried it, and that’s when I realized I can actually use this thing in the ring. The first person I actually used it on was Ruby Riott in California. It was the first time it ever made the noise. That’s when it all started and has never stopped since then.”

Will we see Bianca utilize the hair whip against Shayna at the Rumble? Will she be victorious in her attempt at the championship?

It was only this past weekend that Toni Storm defeated her WWE NXT UK rival, Rhea Ripley, to become crowned NXT UK’s Women’s Champion. This title change happened at NXT UK TakeOver: Blackpool. Her victory makes her the first-ever New Zealand born champion in WWE history.

Toni Storm was recently interviewed by Planeta Wrestling. During their conversation, Storm discussed a range of different topics including her dream match opponent at WrestleMania, and her thoughts on WWE NXT’s impact on independent wrestling.

“Rowdy” vs “The Man” vs “The Boss”

Although initially naming Ronda Rousey, Becky Lynch, and Sasha Banks as Superstars she would like to compete with, it was Becky Lynch that would take the honor.

“I really want to be in there with Becky,” Storm confessed. “She’s someone that’s inspired me so much, ya know? She’s the man. I just love her strength, and I love her fire, and she’s a strong woman, and that inspires me. That’s why I keep doing this.”

As the discussion turned to indie wrestling, and WWE’s potential impact on that as an industry, Storm reflected that “Independent wrestling is at the best it’s ever been, and then what WWE has done, they just come in, and they just elevated it for us so that we can pursue more.”

She continued, “I’m so thankful for that because it’s just making it more mainstream, and making it more popular, and that’s what we needed. I think independent wrestling needs more exposure because it’s so incredible and this [WWE NXT UK] is going to help it a lot.”

Her comments are especially interesting given Triple H’s recent insight into the perceived show hierarchy in WWE. Could this be a further indication as to where we are heading?

If you’re excited to see “Rowdy” Ronda Rousey defend her WWE Raw Women’s Championship against “The Boss” Sasha Banks at Royal Rumble, then you’re not the only one.

Turns out that Rousey herself may be more excited about the prospect than the majority of the WWE Universe.

In a vlog uploaded over the weekend to her YouTube page, Rousey addressed facing Banks at this January’s Rumble event and even brought up the discussion of her MMA Horsewomen feuding with WWE’s Horsewomen. The video provides a unique look backstage of a WWE event, as well as the life of one of the company’s top Superstars.

“This Is My Dream Match”

“Everyone always asked me what is my dream match and I always say, ‘Sasha Banks.’ I think a lot of women have had their best match with Sasha. More people in the women’s division have had their best matches with Sasha, I think more than anyone else in my opinion. I’ve always been really excited about the potential she could really bring out of me,” Rousey admitted. “Up until this point, I didn’t think I was ready at the level where I could fully take advantage of the opportunity of being told to have a match with her.”

Regarding the matchup itself, Rousey confesses that she is “excited! Really super excited,” and that when she initially found out she “marked out super hard.”

“This is my dream match and I’m so excited. One reason why I’m really excited to have a match with Sasha is just there’s so many things that only me and her can be able to do. Very, very small and very, very durable is not a very common combination. […] There’s so many things with Sasha that I will be able to do with her because of how athletic and just knowledgeable of wrestling she is.”

“I’m really excited because I’m going to learn so much,” she said. “I’m just gonna be so much better in the ring for having absorbed everything that I can from her. We’re both faces, you don’t really get to work with each other. I’ve been able to watch her a lot and be in some tag-team matches with her and try to absorb things that way, but it’s different. You learn things different, moving around with somebody.”

Hoursewomen

“I’m excited to see what the promotion for this match is gonna be like,” Rousey said. “I would really like to bring the Four Horsewomen into the discussion because it needs to be addressed and it hasn’t been, so far. I think it’s a point of contention for all of us and everyone involved is just bursting with things to say, and I think this is finally the time to get some of it out.”

Could this be the start of this Horsewomen feud? Is that a rivalry you’d like to see?

During all the excitement regarding All Elite Wrestling and their upcoming ‘Double Or Nothing’ event, a big name was attached to the company. Billy Gunn.

It was announced that he would be joining AEW as their first and, for now, only producer. Cody announced the news via a video uploaded to AEW’s official Twitter account.

Since then, Gunn has made an appearance on Busted Open Radio. During his discussion on the show, he commented on his role within AEW, and what he hopes he can achieve and do for the company.

“I Might Be Talent Too, Which Is OK With Me”

“I don’t know a lot about what’s going on,” he admitted. “I know I’m the only producer they have right now, so my role as of right now is just agent. I might work a little bit, also. I might be talent too, which is OK with me.
I work everywhere else; I might as well work [wrestle] for the company that I work for. I wish I could answer that. I really don’t know because, like I said, this literally just happened this week. We’re still in the process of trying to get things together, so as soon as I know more, I’ll be able to speak on that a little bit more.”

Billy Gunn competing inside of an AEW ring? It’s not out of the realms of possibility. Both Billy and his son, Austin Gunn, were a part of the Over Budget Battle Royal at the historic ‘All In’ event last August, after all.

But is Billy Gunn competing in AEW what you would want to see, or do you feel he will bring more to the company within his producer role?