It appears that the WWE will be releasing a documentary on their current SmackDown Women’s Champion, Becky Lynch.
According to Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the WWE has issued a film crew to follow ‘The Man’ this past week for an apparent Network special. There has been no confirmation as of yet if this will be a new episode of ‘WWE 365’ or potentially for their ‘WWE Chronicle’ show.
365 vs Chronicle
‘WWE 365’ documents a year in the life of a specific superstar. These episodes grant fans a unique insight into that performer. Conversely, ‘WWE Chronicle’ is much more of a story driven, in-character focused offering.
It will be interesting to see which of the two the Becky Lynch documentary will be.
The recent filming included her appearance on ‘Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show.’ Their discussion ranged from her popularity within WWE and Conor McGregor, to Nia Jax breaking her nose.
‘The Lass Kicker’ defends her championship gold this Sunday at WWE’s December event, Tables, Ladders and Chairs. She will be facing off in a triple-threat matchup against Charlotte Flair and Asuka in the first ever Women’s TLC confrontation.
Which show are you hoping this special is for? Are you looking forward to its debut?
Many consider Seth Rollins to be the current workhorse for WWE’s Raw brand, and it appears that one such vocal supporter is none other than Good Ol’ JR.
Speaking recently on his podcast, The Ross Report, the WWE Hall Of Famer discussed the current WWE Intercontinental Champion and his journey back into the main event. He shares that he believes Rollins deserves a major push that would firmly establish him as Raw’s top babyface superstar.
Given WWE’s current roster imbalance of top heel vs top babyface, segueing Rollins into the top of the main event scene against a horde of heels might solve the babyface crisis, if only temporarily as Braun Strowman and Roman Reigns remain unable to compete at this point in time.
“Seth Rollins is a great wrestler, and when the company makes a firm commitment to get behind him at every turn of the road so that they got their next Cena on site, then we’ll see Seth continue to go up the ladder and finally reside in that promise land of legitimate WrestleMania level year-in year-out main eventers,” Ross said.
“That’s a whole team effort as I said earlier. I don’t feel the commitment that Rollins is our next guy,” he declared. “Are they just waiting for Roman Reigns to come back after he’s kicked leukemia’s ass? Are they just waiting for Braun Strowman to get back into the picture? I think the thing to do is give the guy the chance to be the guy.”
What do you think of this? Is Rollins the right guy to step into that major babyface role? If not him, who?
As we gear up towards The Road To Wrestlemania, rumors of what will be eventually hosted at WWE’s mega show are invariably going to begin circulating.
One such rumor revolves around a projected match between Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson squaring up against Roman Reigns.
The supposed plan was to have The Rock enter and win the 2019 Royal Rumble. The Brahma Bull would then challenge Roman Reigns for the Universal Title at Wrestlemania 35 in New Jersey. These plans, however, were reportedly scuppered once Reigns sadly announced his renewed battle with leukemia.
According to Dave Meltzer, that report was completely unsubstantiated. He proceeded to shut it down on the F4WOnline Message Board. When asked about these apparent plans, Meltzer admitted that it sounded false, claiming that it “[…] didn’t sound believable.” After checking with a source, he confirmed that “[This rumor is] Not true at all.”
The Rock hasn’t performed in a main event capacity for the company since his feud with John Cena in 2013. This would culminate in a showdown between the two at Wrestlemania 29 where Cena would win back the WWE Championship.
He did, however, have a minor role at Wrestlemania 32, setting a Wrestlemania record for the fastest victory in ‘Mania history, pinning Erick Rowan in an impromptu match in only six seconds.
Would you have liked to have seen this match go down? Who do you think would have won, if it had?
New Japan Pro Wrestling has released a new video via their YouTube channel. The video features the leader of Los Ingobernables de Japon, Tetsuya Naito, addressing his Wrestle Kingdom 13 opponent, Chris Jericho.
The two will clash for Jericho’s IWGP Intercontinental Championship at NJPW’s January 4th super show.
Over the course of the video, Naito (who sports face paint similar to what Jericho has been wearing in recent months) mocks his opponent, jabbing at what he considers to be Jericho’s inflated sense of ego by condescendingly referring to him as an “international superstar.”
“He Wouldn’t Do Anything That Cheap, Would He?”
Naito proceeds to poke fun at Jericho’s recent use of make-up, stating, “An international superstar wouldn’t put this lame make-up on his face, would he? If he used make-up, he would do it cooler, wouldn’t he?”
The LIJ leader then suggests in an off-hand way that Jericho has purposely stolen t-shirt ideas in order to profit off a popular design.
“[…] he wouldn’t rip-off someone else’s t-shirt design to make a little cash,” Naito said. “He wouldn’t do anything that cheap, would he? After all, he’s an international superstar, right?”
While addressing how Jericho is looked on within the NJPW locker room, the former IWGP Heavyweight champion admitted that “[…] nobody really talks about you. Is it perhaps the nobody’s really that interested in you? The self-proclaimed international superstar, Mr. Chris Jericho.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2d5J5pjjtY
What did you think of this promo? Do you think Naito vs Jericho could steal the show at Wrestle Kingdom 13?
With The Elite looking to try and shake up the pro wrestling landscape, it may leave many companies suddenly lacking in star power. This is especially true of promotions who have leaned on the draw of Bullet Club/The Elite as a cornerstone of their show.
Ring Of Honor (ROH) has utilized members of The Elite for years on their programming, but with the advent of All Elite Wrestling on the horizon, things could change pretty quickly as many of their main event players may no longer be available.
Speaking to Nick Hausman for the WINCLY podcast, Koff addressed the rumors of All Elite Wrestling and the relative impact it may have on ROH.
“I read what you read,” Koff said. “I wish I could say I had the inside on that. They’ve [The Elite] had great success in working together and I only hope that they continue to have that success because they deserve that kind of success.
He goes on to express that because nothing has been officially announced as of yet, “to speculate on that [AEW] would be senseless.”
Looking To The Future
With the risk of his main event roster being ransacked effecting ROH, Koff rebuffed the sentiment by highlighting wrestlers he feels could step up during 2019.
“Marty [Scurll] is up in there. Jay Lethal is up in there. Jeff Cobb is an extremely exciting performer, I love watching him. Flip Gordon. Matt Taven. I could probably go deeper than five,” he said.
Koff is clearly confident in ROH and its future, stating that they have “no shortage of talent, which is why ROH is so exciting to me and we always deliver a product. We wrestle a brand. We wrestle a style. Regardless of who’s wrestling that brand or style, the fans’ expectations have always been met.”
Ring Of Honor’s December event, Final Battle, goes down December 14th at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City.
During the opening segment of last night’s Monday Night Raw, WWE Intercontinental Champion, Seth Rollins, blasted Baron Corbin. Rollins would proceed to cut down the General Manager-elect, telling him that Raw has “sucked” ever since he was put into a position of power.
“The Architect” also mentioned a Raw tag team that many consider squandered on the red brand, the team included.
That duo is The Revival.
Seth pointed out that Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder should be competing for the Raw tag team titles. Instead, they are feuding with the Lucha House Party under “Lucha House Rules” — a matchup Rollins struggled to comprehend.
His words weren’t lost on The Revival, with each member taking to Twitter to share their thoughts.
Dash Wilder called Seth a “Good guy” whilst Scott Dawson wrote that “Seth Rollins knows his professional wrestling.”
In recent weeks, The Revival have decried wrestling under Lucha House Rules, claiming the ruleset to be unbalanced and unfair in favor of their opponents. They have even gone so far as to start an online petition, lobbying for WWE to suspend Lucha House Rules going forward.
What do you think? Could this be the start of an overdue resurgence for The Revival?
Charlotte Flair has already achieved a staggering amount during her six-year career with WWE.
From holding gold in every WWE brand she’s been a part of, to dealing with copious media duties whilst still diligently performing every week, Charlotte can hold her head high over what she has accomplished.
She’s even surpassed a record set by her father, the legendary WWE Hall Of Famer, “The Nature Boy” Ric Flair.
Breaking A Record
Recently, Ryan Satin of Pro Wrestling Sheet sent out a Tweet asking the “Wrestlers of Twitter” to “tell us all one fun fact about yourselves that fans probably wouldn’t already know.”
Charlotte responded by revealing that she has officially had “more matches than my Dad in the WWE.”
According to CageMatch.net, Charlotte Flair has wrestled 695 matches (at the time of writing) compared to Ric’s 675. It’s important to note that these stats seem to be referring specifically to matches held within a WWE ring.
Flair is currently slated to participate in a triple threat Ladder Match at this Sunday’s Tables, Ladders and Chairs event. She will attempt to reclaim the SmackDown Women’s championship. In her way are the defending champion, ‘The Man’ Becky Lynch, as well as ‘The Empress of Tomorrow’ Asuka.
AXS has announced that they will be hosting an epic ten-hour “Kenny Omega-thon” special on Friday, December 28th.
“The Best Bout Machine” has had a stellar few years that easily lend themselves to this quasi-career retrospective.
From assuming leadership of Bullet Club in 2016 to his feud with Kazuchika Okada solidifying his position amongst NJPW’s main event scene, there’s a lot for Omega to reflect on as he heads towards his Wrestle Kingdom 13 match against Tanahashi on January 4th.
AXS Press Release
KENNY OMEGA REFLECTS ON HIS JOURNEY TO BECOMING CHAMPION IN AXS TV’S 10-HOUR ‘KENNY OMEGA-THON’ FRIDAY, DEC. 28 STARTING AT 2pE/11aP
Los Angeles (Dec. 10, 2018) – Join IWGP Heavyweight Champion and “Best Bout Machine” Kenny Omega as he revisits his journey toward becoming the champion and defending the belt at Wrestle Kingdom 13 as host of the 10-hour “Kenny Omega-thon” special on Friday, Dec. 28 starting at 2pE/11aP on AXS TV.
The marathon kicks off with Omega’s historic feat as the first non-Japanese wrestler to win the G1 Climax tournament in 2016, which set him on the path to the heavyweight title, and also features Omega’s acclaimed trilogy of matches with Kazuchika Okada; his run as IWGP U.S. Champion, including the highly publicized match with Chris Jericho at last year’s Wrestle Kingdom; and his current reign as IWGP Heavyweight Champion.
Leading up to AXS TV’s premiere of Wrestle Kingdom 13 on Jan. 4 at 8pE/5pP, the network will air a late-night strip of the best of Wrestle Kingdom on weeknights at 5aE/2aP starting Friday, Dec. 7. Highlights include headlining matches from the last five Wrestle Kingdom Events including: Okada and Hiroshi Tanahashi’s trilogy from 2013, 2015 and 2016; Okada’s battles with Tetsuya Naito from 2014 and 2018; Naito vs. Tanahashi from 2017 and many more.
“Kenny Omega-thon” Schedule (subject to change)
Friday, Dec. 28 at 2pE/11aP:
2pE – G1 Climax 26 Final – Kenny Omega vs. Hirooki Goto
10pE – G1 Special in San Francisco – IWGP Heavyweight Championship – Omega vs. Cody
11pE – King of Pro-Wrestling 2018 – IWGP Heavyweight Championship – Omega vs. Cody vs. Kota Ibushi
“Best Bout Machine”
With so many stellar matchups to watch, it’s a great opportunity to enjoy them all over again or, if you’ve never seen them, experience them for the first time and understand why Omega so confidently calls himself the “Best Bout Machine.”
It has been previously reported that Finn Balor suffered an injury during the WWE’s recent Latin America tour. He would fly home from Chile, Santiago last week after the very first day of the tour, which sparked the initial injury speculation.
Thankfully, it turns out that Balor isn’t actually injured.
Instead, according to PWInsider, he has fallen ill and is currently resting in order to get back to 100%. WWE believe he will be healthy for his match against Drew McIntyre at WWE’s December event, Tables, Ladders and Chairs.
This illness forced Finn to be replaced by Apollo Crews for the Mixed Match Challenge; Crews will be teaming with Bayley in order to face Jinder Mahal and Alicia Fox.
Balor took to Twitter after being pulled from the Latin America tour, saying:
“I am sorry I could not preform in #WWEBuenosAires
Lo siento no pude competir en #WWEBuenosAires”
WWE has presented the illness as an injury storyline in an attempt to justify why the former Universal Champion wasn’t present at this week’s episode of Monday Night Raw in San Diego.
In order to further build towards their clash at TLC, WWE showcased Drew McIntyre assaulting Finn Balor last week, providing them ample reason to write him off temporarily as he gets better.
In a huge revelation, Cody Rhodes has divulged that he was recently approached by WWE and wasn’t interested in their offer as they attempted to coax him back.
The current IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion is presently touring the United Kingdom. During this time he has wrestled for Fight Forever Wrestling and appeared on Bruce Prichard’s, Something To Wrestle show.
It was during Prichard’s show that Cody opened up the floor to questions from the audience. One fan asked what most have speculated on and thought about in recent months, asking him directly about a potential WWE return. It was at this point that Cody revealed he had “passed on the WWE offer a few weeks ago.”
“If You Put Up A Ring, They Will Come”
Addressing the rumors of All In 2, Cody had the following to share, highlighting that a market exists for non-PG pro wrestling content.
“Hypothetically, would it necessarily be ‘All In 2’… or ‘All In: International’?” he teased. “There are two major territories outside of the US in terms of wrestling: the UK and Australia. If you put up a ring, they [the fans] will come.”
Cody and his Elite cohorts have purposely distanced themselves in recent months from New Japan Pro Wrestling and, specifically, the Bullet Club. Members of The Elite have been increasingly vocal about the fact they become free agents as of January 1st 2019.
Although his contract with ROH has already expired, Cody will be performing from them one last time at their December event, Final Battle, where he will face off against ROH World Champion, Jay Lethal.
What’s your take on this? Is everything pointing towards an All Elite Wrestling future?
There’s no denying that Tomasso Ciampa has been tearing it up as NXT Champion. He’s been instrumental in helping to craft deeper, subtler stories and feuds that seem totally foreign compared with how main roster narratives tend to play out.
It’s a fact that isn’t lost on Ciampa, who has been vocal in the past via his social media accounts about how highly he regards himself.
At a recent NXT live event in St. Paul (12/8), he once again defeated rising superstar, The Velveteen Dream. After earning the victory, however, Ciampa took to the mic in order to remind the people in attendance just how good he actually is. During this promo, he would call himself a “god of pro wrestling.” He also credits himself as the sole reason that NXT ticket sales have gone up.
“I Am What I Say I am”
Tomasso stated that every time he shares the ring with the Velveteen Dream, he’s reminded of just how good Dream is. That, in turn, reinfoces a more important personal truth: “[…] it reminds me I am what I say I am. I’m the greatest damn sports entertainer of all time.”
“But that really doesn’t matter,” he continued, “because what matters is numbers. Last year, when I was on the shelf and NXT came to this very building, they had 600 less people paying for tickets [and] that says the damn champ is a draw!”
“[…] I’ve been only back for eight months and think of everything that Tommaso Ciampa has accomplished. I am a god of professional wrestling,” he proclaimed. “You should worship every step I take and every word that comes out of my mouth. I am what carries this brand. I single-handedly turned NXT into the ‘A Show.’”
Ciampa ended his tirade by passionately claiming that “[…] everybody back there likes to go around and hashtag ‘We Are NXT,’ newsflash – uh uh – I am NXT!”
During last night’s House Of Hardcore show, which took place at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, former WWE superstar, Big Cass, suffered an unfortunate seizure. This event occurred during the show’s intermission.
Big Cass was scheduled to take part in a segment during the second half of the show with Joey Ryan. He would ultimately be replaced by the Blue Meanie.
Thankfully, according to PWInsider, by the time EMTs arrived to attend to Cass, he had come back around. He was coherent and able to speak with House Of Hardcore management whilst being attended to.
Tommy Dream took to Twitter in order to provide an update on Cass, letting people know that he had spoken with him and that he is “doing well.”
The incident even caught the attention of Big Cass’ former WWE tag team partner, Enzo Amore.
Amore took to his social media in order to reach out with some words of encouragement. The two have not been on the best of terms since last year with the duo not talking to each other for the longest time.
This sad development, however, could be the catalyst that sees the two begin anew, if only as friends.
He followed up with another Tweet that said: “If I had a dime for everytime one of us got knocked down & didn’t get back up….. I would have #ZeroDIMES …”
New Japan Pro Wrestling has revealed the entire card for their upcoming Wrestle Kingdom 13 showcase.
Wrestle Kingdom 13 takes place at the legendary Tokyo Dome, Tokyo, Japan on January 4th 2019. Interestingly, the traditional New Japan Rumble and tag-team gauntlet that opens the show seem to have been replaced this year.
Instead, there will be a gauntlet match where the winning team become the number one contenders for the NEVER six-man championships. The belts are currently held by the Guerrillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa) and Taiji Ishimori.
The January show has developed into a stacked event, filled with major title challenges that could help shape New Japan Pro Wrestling as a company going forward.
Wrestle Kingdom 13: Full Card
IWGP Heavyweight Championship Kenny Omega (c) vs Hiroshi Tanahashi
IWGP Intercontinental Championship Chris Jericho (c) vs Tetsuya Naito
Kazuchika Okada vs Jay White
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship KUSHIDA (c) vs Taiji Ishimori
IWGP United States Championship Cody (c) vs Juice Robinson
RevPro British Heavyweight Championship Tomohiro Ishii (c) vs Zack Sabre Jr.
IWGP Tag Team Championships Guerrillas of Destiny (c) vs The Young Bucks vs. EVIL and SANADA
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championships Yoshinobu Kanemaru and El Desperado (c) vs Roppongi 3K vs BUSHI and Shingo Takagi
IWGP NEVER Openweight Championship Kota Ibushi (c) vs Will Ospreay
WrestleKingdom 13 Pre-Show
Gauntlet Match to become Number One Contender for the NEVER Six-Man Titles
Which match are you looking forward to the most? What do you hope NJPW do post-Wrestle Kingdom?
Given her astronomical rise to the top of the main event scene within WWE, you wouldn’t blame Becky Lynch if everything felt a bit like a blur.
Ever since turning heel against Charlotte Flair during August’s SummerSlam event, ‘The Man’ has been on a crusade as she continues her anti-heroine behavior. Not even suffering a broken nose and concussion could impede on that.
For Lynch, however, she believes she can almost pinpoint the moment the WWE Universe began to rally behind her.
Speaking with Asbury Park Press, ‘The Lass Kicker’ divulged that she believes this crystallising moment took place during WWE’s Money In The Bank event on June 17th, 2018.
“I don’t know if it’s that they [the WWE Universe] can tell that I’m so passionate about it [wrestling] and that I just want to be really good and that every time I go out there I try to put on the best match possible in the time that I can for them,” she said. “I don’t know if it’s that, but I think that we saw at Money in the Bank every time I climbed the ladder they showed their support, and I think that was when everybody started to turn their heads and say, “Oh, OK, Becky’s got a connection with these people.”
Becky supposedly had issues believing in herself in the past. Given the vocal swell of support over the past few months, that presumably won’t be a problem anymore.
Given how they now both work for the same company, it’s easy to forget that it was Finn Balor who helped to train Becky Lynch when she was first getting started in pro wrestling.
That was in 2002. Before Bullet Club, before ‘The Demon,’ and before Becky Lynch became ‘The Man’ in WWE.
Speaking with Sam Roberts on his podcast, Notsam Wrestling Podcast, Finn Balor recalls training a young Lynch as well as a number of other topics, including his forthcoming match against Drew McIntyre at WWE’s TLC event, his time at NXT, and the potential of moving to SmackDown.
A key takeaway from their conversation revolved around Becky’s belief in herself and her abilities. Reflecting on her recent rise to superstardom, Balor commented that everybody believed in her when she first started out. Everyone except herself.
“Can I believe that this is happening? Yes,” Balor said with resolute confidence. “I’ve always believed that Becky had that in her, I just don’t know that she believed it. Maybe in the last couple months, she’s started to get that self-confidence. I think everybody believed in her except herself. Finally, she got that self-confidence, and she’s been rockin’, man. It’s unbelievable to watch, and I think it’s only going to get bigger.”
“She is on fire right now,” he continued, “and she’s been around almost as long as me. She’s been around 15-16 years or something, so she knows exactly what she’s doing in the ring. She’s comfortable, her promos are on fire, and she’s killing. Long may it continue.”
The current narrative surrounding The Freak revolves around RAW Commissioner, Stephanie McMahon, and her brother, SmackDown Commissioner, Shane McMahon, both endeavouring to secure Sullivan to their show.
Although it has been speculated he would end up on the blue brand, it’s far from confirmed at this point in time.
It’s reported that Sullivan might be SmackDown bound to avoid the similarities between himself and RAW’s resident bearded giant, Braun Strowman.
Keeping them apart to avoid over saturating their RAW brand makes a move to SmackDown a logical choice. That is unless they wanted to build towards a Lars Sullivan vs Braun Strowman feud.
Is Sullivan vs Strowman a feud you’d love to see? Which brand do you think Sullivan would thrive on? Will he become a main event player?
One of WWE’s newest hot signings is ex-ROH Television Champion, Punishment Martinez.
Martinez enjoyed a successful run within ROH, where he was built as a top star with devastating offense throughout his tenure with the company. It’s an attitude and game plan he’ll probably want to implement now that he’s with WWE’s black and yellow brand, NXT.
Punishment recently debuted on NXT TV in a losing effort against another former independent sensation, Matt Riddle.
Although maybe not the debut he would have hoped for, Martinez took a moment to reflect on his journey and the fact he has now officially debuted for WWE.
Posted via the WWE’s Performance Center Twitter account, Punishment had the following to say:
“Man, I’ll be honest, I didn’t know it was ever going to happen,” Martinez confessed. “Working close to 15 years, you kind of…not lose hope…but you don’t think it’s realistic and then to finally experience it? I was shaking.”
“After so many years, you don’t get the shakes anymore, but I couldn’t stop shaking out there,” he said. “I think I’m still shaking a little bit now. It’s surreal, man. I just want to say thank you to anybody that has ever helped me get here. It’s insane.”
We recently reported on Ring Of Honor (ROH) signing the resurgent independent star, PCO (Pierre Carl Oullet). Oh, and the fact he bit the head off a fish.
PCO called his signing to ROH the “biggest contract and opportunity” of his career as he gears up to leave Major League Wrestling (MLW) and the indie scene behind.
He has since taken to Twitter to apologize to fans for pulling out of a number of those independent bookings.
Oullet, who is a former WWE Tag Team Champion and WCW Hardcore Champion stated:
“Wanted to say sorry for having to cancelled all my recent & future bookings !Yesterday @BarWrestling .Tomorow @WrestleACTION1 &others feds as well ,because of the signing of my recent full exclusive contract ! Thanks 2 my fans & promotors for understanding this delicate situation”
His Tweet directly indicates that the cancelation of these indie dates could be attributed to his recent “full exclusive contract” with Ring Of Honor.
It’s reported that PCO will begin working for ROH as soon as possible. With the company’s December event, Final Battle, going down on the 14th with TV tapings the next night, it may be a perfect time to debut and make an immediate impact.
What do you make of this? Were you looking forward to seeing PCO at a show he’s canceled? Do you think PCO will be a major player in ROH?
During a recent Bar Wrestling event, Lucha Underground wrestler Brian Cage proposed to his longtime girlfriend, Melissa Santos.
The two met in 2014 whilst working for Lucha Underground when the fledgling company was just starting out.
Cage, who claims to not be a man but a “machine,” popped the question during the show. It was Melissa Santos who broke the news via her own social media accounts:
“Yeah I’ll marry u,” she said in a direct message on her Instagram.
She had a little more to say about the proposal on Twitter, where she wrote: “I said yes Officially, to that big booty father of my child. Baby daddy wins. Love wins.”
I said yes Officially, to that big booty father of my child. ? Baby daddy wins. Love wins. https://t.co/xWLwkZNESP
The couple welcomed the birth of their first child — a baby daughter named Skylar — earlier this year.
Lucha Underground
Melissa Santos has been a mainstay on Lucha Underground whilst its been on the air. Starting out as a ring-announcer, she has since segued into a character-driven role, most recently being a part of a storyline that included Rey Fenix, El Dragon Azteca Jr. and Aero Star.
Brian Cage was a main event player in Lucha Underground, tearing through the division and winning the Gauntlet of the Gods during Season 3 of the show before losing it to Mil Muertes during Ultima Lucha Tres. He has since gone on to find great indie success whilst also wrestling for Impact Wrestling.
Big congratulations to the happy couple on their engagement.
“The Nature Boy” Ric Flair is often recognized as one of the most charismatic performers pro wrestling has ever had. This is partly due to being so memorable on the mic. Whenever he would speak, he knew people were going to listen.
Flair spoke recently with “Stone Cold” Steve Austin on the latter’s podcast, The Steve Austin Show. During the show, he divulged what he considers to be a major problem with today’s current product and roster of superstars: heavily scripted promos.
Catch-22
He believes that the majority of current promos are so scripted due to WWE’s lack of faith in their superstars to talk and entertain in the way he, Austin, and The Rock did.
Flair recalled watching Austin pace the backstage area, collecting his thoughts before getting on the mic. He had full faith in Austin because he “knew where he was going” with the flow and point of the promo. He had a “gameplan” and didn’t need “40 writers” to help him craft his story.
“[…] when you have that groove and the capacity to entertain the crowd, they [the WWE] have to let you run with it, and I don’t see that much these days because I think they’re worried that the kids don’t have enough experience,” Flair explained.
“It’s not that they can’t, but that they don’t have enough experience, so I think it’s harder these days from that standpoint.”
The issue becomes a Catch-22 for the WWE. With no faith in their superstars, their roster will never develop and learn the skills needed. Without those skills and trust, the WWE will never veer from heavily scripted promos.
What do you think? Should WWE trust their talent more? Do you believe that scripted promos are fine the way they are?
During last night’s episode of NXT, Mauro Ranallo provided an injury update on one half of War Raiders, Hanson.
It was revealed that Hanson suffered multiple injuries during the War Games clash at WWE’s recent NXT TakeOver event. Ranallo listed off the injuries, which included: broken ribs, a ruptured spleen, and multiple torn ligaments.
The announcement stated that the War Raiders haven’t competed since TakeOver on November 17th during Survivor Series weekend. This, however, isn’t the case as the tag team performed at recent NXT Live events on November 30th and December 1st. They would defeat Danny Burch and Oney Lorcan and the team of Dan Matha and Kona Reeves, respectively.
With Hanson out of action, it is unknown whether the team will be written off until he has healed up. They didn’t work the recent set of TV tapings.
An Official Statement
The WWE has released an official statement regarding Hanson’s injuries:
“It is now known that The War Raiders’ Hanson suffered broken ribs, a ruptured spleen and torn ligaments in last month’s WarGames Match against The Undisputed ERA. The injuries, which were previously unspecified, were reported by Mauro Ranallo on tonight’s edition of WWE NXT.
Though Hanson and teammate Rowe forged a victorious unit with NXT North American Champion Ricochet and WWE U.K. Champion Pete Dunne against Undisputed ERA in Los Angeles, the brutal confines of the WarGames steel cage took their toll on both War Raiders, who haven’t been in action since that night.”
There’s never a good time to suffer an injury, let alone as many as Hanson reportedly has during one match. Given how the War Raiders have been primed for a top position within NXT, it’s a shame to see them suffer such an unfortunate halt to their progression.
Further details have since emerged regarding Bliss’ journey back to the ring. Bryan Alvarez of F4WOnline.com speculated on a projected timeframe and what her training regime currently looks like.
“What I heard about Alexa Bliss is she will probably remain out until Royal Rumble. Watch her wrestle next week on RAW,” he added, sarcastically, “[…] anyway, that’s what I was told.”
Regarding the actual physicality of her training, Alvarez commented on the set up at the WWE Performance Center. He stressed that the facility has a number of rings, including one that is, essentially, a giant crash pad.
“So when you hear that Alexa Bliss is taking light bumps and that sort of thing, she’s not even bumping in a real ring right now.”
“[…] as of last week,” he continued, “she was taking bumps on the crash pad and they were making sure she could bump on a crash pad without I guess ending up with vertigo.”
The WWE has taken giant strides over the years in how they analyse and monitor injuries and concussions. It’s reassuring to know that Bliss won’t be back before she’s 100% ready.
It’s no surprise that Becky Lynch has become one of the top superstars in WWE today. Ever since turning heel against Charlotte Flair at SummerSlam, ‘The Man’ has been on a perpetual upswing as she has fully embraced a brash, cocky anti-heroine persona. The WWE Universe has been making their voices heard each and every week by clearly supporting Lynch in her efforts.
That’s now further reflected by the fact fans have helped to sell out Becky Lynch’s Royal Rumble VIP Axxess meet-and-greet within an impressive 90 seconds.
The “Lass Kicker” shared the news via social media, telling her fanbase that “I see and hear you all, all the tee shirts, the signs, the posts, the love. The Man sees you all. They didn’t expect us, but here we are”.
The WWE has managed to capture lightning in a bottle with Lynch’s new persona, despite their efforts to initially turn her heel. The crowd weren’t buying into the narrative the WWE was trying to tell. With the audience cheering her as she would dole out beat down’s on the women they were meant to be cheering, Lynch has since become one of the WWE’s top talents.
Did you pick up a VIP Package for the Royal Rumble to meet Lynch? Are you surprised by this at all?
The New Daniel Bryan may not have wrestled during last night’s SmackDown Live, but he did get the opportunity to lace up his boots once the show had concluded.
Facing off against The Miz — who had not only wrestled in the SmackDown main event against AJ Styles, but also for the Mixed Match Challenge — Daniel Bryan was prepared to clash with his longtime rival for that night’s dark match in an interesting role reversal.
Before they locked up, however, Daniel Bryan grabbed a microphone and singled out a young fan in the audience. Having seen the fan was holding a sign about their birthday, Daniel Bryan took the opportunity to relish his developing heel persona.
“It’s your birthday,” he said, curtly. “Congratulations, you’re stupid.”
“And your parents should be very proud because on your birthday it got recognized that you’re stupid,” Bryan continued before turning on the crowd for chanting ‘Happy Birthday.’
Daniel turned heel a few weeks ago on SmackDown, embracing the moniker of ‘The New’ Daniel Bryan. This heel turn led him to victory, defeating AJ Styles for the WWE Championship after a low blow followed up with a running knee.
He will defend the WWE title against Styles in a rematch at WWE’s Tables, Ladders and Chairs event on December 16th.
Baron Corbin has always been willing to court controversy, as attested by his use of social media and engagements with pro wrestling fans. Apparently, he also had to deal with animosity amongst the WWE locker room when he first arrived.
Speaking openly with Booker T’s podcast, Heated Conversations: Hosted By Booker T, the current Raw authority figure engaged in a number of different topics, including transitioning from pro sports to the rigours of pro wrestling, his pro football background, his current role on WWE programming, and experiencing brazen dislike from others in the locker room.
Corbin confessed that he felt undeniable heat from his colleagues when he first arrived at the WWE, noting that he fully expected any competitive workplace to have the same vibe.
“100% [there was heat], but I think that’s anything in any competitive business whether it’s UFC, the NFL, or WWE,” he said. “It’s a competitive business and everybody wants to be the best, and when there’s a new guy coming in and there’s buzz about him — ‘Oh, he was a pro football player’ — you instantly have people that don’t like you because they’re afraid you’re going to take their spot.”
“Of course, I poured salt on the wound,” Corbin joked, “saying, ‘yeah, I’m going to take it – I get paid more than you and I’m better than you.’”
