Vince McMahon’s days in WWE may be over, and that provided AEW’s Max Caster with some ammunition during a recent rap at an independent wrestling event.
McMahon re-signed from TKO and WWE last month, following a lawsuit filed by ex-employee Janel Grant. Miss Grant claims that McMahon was sexually abusive to her and that he trafficked her to others in the company, including John Lauriniaits and a former UFC Heavyweight Champion. McMahon has denied the allegations against him and, via a spokesperson, has claimed the lawsuit is rife with “obscene made-up instances that never occurred.”
Max Caster on Vince McMahon
An AEW Trios Champion, Max Caster appeared at the Alpha-1 Wrestling event on February 4. During his pre-match rap promo, the Acclaimed wrestler made reference to the scandal surrounding the 78-year-old ex-Chairman of WWE.
“You wanna try me on the mic? Get a different plan cause I’m freaky with the words like I’m Vince McMahon.”
This is not the first time that Max Caster has name-dropped McMahon’s name. During a May 2023 edition of AEW Rampage, Caster poked fun at Dutch, saying he had the “worst mustache since Vince McMahon.” This was a nod to McMahon’s infamous lop-sided facial hair that he had debuted mere weeks before Caster’s barb.
In June 2022, Caster took another dig at McMahon, this time due to the initial allegations of sexual misconduct. Caster said that “Honestly I had something to say but somebody made me sign an NDA!” This rap also made reference to Donald Trump, a WWE Hall of Famer and friend of McMahon.
Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins may be taking shots at each other’s championships on TV, but that isn’t an issue for WWE management.
Following Cody Rhodes’ win in the 2024 Men’s Royal Rumble match, both Rollins and Reigns would take digs at the other’s championship. On Raw, Rollins stated that Rhodes should face him at WrestleMania 40, instead of the Tribal Chief. Rollins called Reigns’ Undisputed WWE Universal Championship a ‘Hollywood’ title who those who politick their way to the top, while his title is for the workhorses like Cody’s father Dusty.
Not to be outdone, Reigns appeared on SmackDown to dismiss the World Heavyweight Championship held by Rollins since May of last year. Reigns made it clear that the title held by Seth is a runner-up prize for those unable to dethrone him.
WWE’s Response
Two of WWE’s top Superstars have been belittling the company’s top two championships, but that isn’t an issue according to higher-ups who spoke to Fightful Select. One higher-up said “Look who we’re in business with now” when asked about these digs, a nod to WWE being partners in TKO with UFC, where this kind of trash-talk is more commonplace.
The source added that they want to create a discussion among fans and that both champions have a reason to say their championship is more valid than the other. Ultimately, it’s up to fans to decide if they find the title defended more to be the more valid, or if they prefer the title with a richer history that has been held by Reigns for over three years.
Now, NXT Superstar DIJAK has shared his two cents on the response from fans to this controversial booking. Taking to Twitter, DIJAK spoke about fans spamming the comments section of NXT: Vengeance Day in support of the American Nightmare. DIJAK argued that fans are sending the wrong message and if they insist on spamming accounts, they should stick to the relevant ones.
I’m not talking about my stuff because honestly I couldn’t care less, but if you’re going to hijack a comments section in support of Cody maybe stick to the relevant ones because flooding the posts about young excited NXT talents just sends the wrong message.
Tonight’s NXT Vengeance Day event will sound much different than expected, as Booker T will not be commentating on the show.
On Twitter, the two-time WWE Hall of Famer shared that a medical procedure will keep him from the latest Premium Live Event of the gold brand. Booker will also miss the next few weeks due to this situation and thanked the fans for their support.
I will not be at #NXTVengenceDay tonight and I’ll be off TV the next couple weeks due to a medical procedure I had to have. But – I’m all good and I’ll be back in action on @WWENXT in no time! Thank you all for your support, couldn’t do it with out the people. Shucky Ducky!
Booker has been a commentator for WWE NXT since October of 2022, and calls the action each week with Vic Joseph. Booker’s tenure with NXT has allowed him to remain close to Roxanne Perez, who was mentored by Booker before she joined WWE.
Booker’s role as an NXT commentator isn’t his first time behind the desk. In February 2011, shortly after his return to WWE, Booker was revealed as the new color commentator for SmackDown. He has also had multiple stints as a commentator for WWE Monday Night Raw.
WWE NXT Vengeance Day
Here is the card for WWE NXT: Vengeance Day as it stands:
Baron Corbin and Bron Breakker vs. Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams (Men’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Finals)
Lyra Valkyria (c) vs. Roxanne Perez (NXT Women’s Championship)
Oba Femi (c) vs. Dragon Lee (NXT North American Championship)
The Family (Tony D’Angelo, Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo, and Adriana Rizzo) vs. Out The Mud (Lucien Price, Bronco Nima, and Jaida Parker) (with Scrypts)
Dijak vs. Joe Gacy (No Disqualification Match)
Ilja Dragunov (c) vs. Trick Williams (NXT Championship)
TNA and New Japan Pro Wrestling’s Nic Nemeth is set to star in a new wrestling-themed film based on a popular comic book series.
The ‘Wanted Man’ has been announced for Imagos Films‘ live-action adaptation of Kyle Starks’ comic book, The Legend of Ricky Thunder, though the film will be called Absolute Thunder. Nemeth will star as Thunder, a legendary wrestler who is forced to face the crushing truth that his run at the top was all scripted. As if that isn’t bad enough, Ricky also has to deal with the fact that aliens are real and plan to take over the world through the power of pro wrestling.
Nic Nemeth Comments
In a press release, Nemeth said that when he was presented with the project, he couldn’t say no in good conscience.
“Kyle Starks’ comic book was presented to me out of the blue, and wow was it beautiful, fun, awesome, and wholesome. So I could not, in good conscience, say no! Second of all, I AM Ricky…we all are haha!”
Absolute Thunder director Don Thacker has described the movie as 80s action comedy meets 90s anime. He has also said the film will tell a “wholesome story about friendship, confidence, self-esteem, and wrestling. So much wrestling.”
Nic Nemeth On the Big Screen
Absolute Thunder won’t be Nemeth’s first time in a leading role. In 2016, he portrayed Ray Thompson in WWE Studios’ own Countdown. The film sees Thompson try and prevent a terrorist attack at a WWE event while saving the life of a child hostage. Ziggler portrayed a robotic version of himself in The Jetsons & WWE: Robo-WrestleMania! He will also star in Drugstore Jone, a new comedy set to release this month.
Vince McMahon may be crazy, but perhaps craziness is what it takes to reach the heights he has reached, according to one former Superstar.
McMahon re-signed from TKO and WWE last week, following a lawsuit filed by ex-employee Janel Grant. Miss Grant claims that McMahon was sexually abusive to her and that he trafficked her to others in the company, including John Lauriniaits and a former UFC Heavyweight Champion. McMahon has denied the allegations against him and, via a spokesperson, has claimed the lawsuit is rife with “obscene made-up instances that never occurred.”
Justin Gabriel on Vince McMahon
One person who worked under McMahon for years as a WWE Superstar was PJ Black, better known as Justin Gabriel. On a recent edition of the Cafe de Rene podcast, Black was asked by Rene Dupree for when he realized McMahon was “bats**t crazy.”
“From day one. I mean all billionaires, I work with a lot of billionaires and I know a lot of billionaires so you have to be crazy to think on that level, you know? But I mean there’s a fine line between crazy and genius. And at the end of the day he is a genius. Say what you want about him, he’s a genius. He’s a self-made billionaire. Anyone who’s a self-made billionaire is crazy and a genius and comes with a lot of different labels.
“I’ve always had good interactions with him he’s he’s definitely a strange character, yeah. Bats**t crazy is the way to describe him. But you know like I there’s a good way to describe that and a bad way right I only saw the good sides of that so [I was]very fortunate. Very fortunate.”
Justin Gabriel on John Lauriniaitis
Former McMahon confidante John Lauriniaitis is also named in the litigation, though has claimed that he’s a victim in this situation, not a predator. On the show, Black recalled his relationship with ‘Johnny Ace’ and how his brothers once worked for the promotion run by Black’s father.
“He loved me. Because he’s the guy that signed me. He kind of knew who my dad was because his two younger brothers worked for my dad back in the day… they were big stars in South Africa. They looked great and my dad had them come to the ring with motorcycles and they had the badass metal music. They were just so over in South Africa and little did I know I was gonna get signed by their older brother one day.”
Swerve Strickland showed his appreciation to some of the exceptional black wrestlers who helped shape his career on this week’s episode of AEW Collision.
February is Black History Month, in which the accomplishments of black individuals are recognised, as they have often been overlooked in the past. AEW features some excellent black wrestlers on its roster, including Jay Lethal, The Acclaimed, Marq Quen, Keith Lee, and Lee Moriarty, to name just a few.
Swerve Strickland on Black History Month
On this week’s episode of AEW Collision, Strickland addressed Black History Month during an in-ring interview with Tony Schiavone. Strickland referred to some of the black wrestlers who have inspired him and didn’t let his credit be reserved to just one promotion.
“Black History [Month], the celebration of the achievement of black people in all industries. All avenues, all walks of life, right? Yeah, I’m noble enough to really show appreciation and recognize all the people who paved the way for me to have the opportunity to stand [in this ring] right here, right now and talk to you [Tony Schiavone.]
“People you may know, such as a Ron Simmons. How about I shout out my friends who made Black history, you know, like a Kofi Kingston? What up Kof! And how about we keep it in house a little bit? We talk about some of the people that’s been one of the best wrestlers on the planet? Holding down a brand, for well over a year now, whoopin’ ass! I’m talking about the Ring of Honor Women’s [World] Champion Athena. What up sis?”
Matt Cardona won’t sit idly by while he watches some popular wrestler with a movie to his name take a spot from deserving talent, in Game Changer Wrestling.
At GCW’s Coldest Winter event, Cardona shared the ring with his former WWE nemesis Nic Nemeth. Cardona was feeling nostalgic for their 2011 program, as he was wearing Zack Ryder-themed attire for the face-to-face. Before their match, Cardona
“I am the face of GCW! I can’t just let some part-timer come in here and steal my spot! You think you’re The Rock or something, bro? So why don’t you do yourself a favor and just lay down, let me get the 1-2-3, so I can finish my story?”
After this pre-match promo, Cardona and Nemeth would have an excellent match. During the bout, the former NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion hammered his point home by hitting Nemeth with a Rock Bottom.
The Rock’s connection with the ‘People’ can’t be broken, according to the man himself, despite his recent controversial return to WWE.
On SmackDown, The Rock confronted Roman Reigns, teasing a match at WrestleMania 40. Many feel that this match comes at the expense of Cody Rhodes, who’s been essentially cast aside to give The Rock the match with Reigns. The consensus is that after last year’s loss to Reigns and all the work he does year-round, Cody deserves to finish the story by beating Reigns at WrestleMania.
The Rock Comments
Taking to Twitter, The Rock didn’t refer to the negative response he’s received from the WWE Universe. Instead, he thanked the fans for the “explosive, insane reaction” and said the connection with the fans can never be broken. Rock also thanked Cody for the love, before ending with a warning to his cousin.
There’s a word for this explosive, insane reaction – undeniable. No matter the era, the decade, or the city, the energy and connection between the People’s Champ and the People can never be broken and is truly an electrifying experience that creates chills every single time.… pic.twitter.com/LQI6gMdpIs
In the comments of the tweet, the ‘People’ were hardly thrilled with the People’s Champion. Many fans expressed their support for Cody Rhodes, while some suggested that The Rock should retire. One fan suggested that this could be the start of a heel turn for the Brahma Bull, while a more sympathetic fan simply said “Pretend that these replies don’t exist Dwayne.”
WWE United States Champion Logan Paul has thrown his support behind Cody Rhodes following The Rock’s return to the promotion.
On SmackDown, The Rock confronted Roman Reigns, teasing a match at WrestleMania 40. Though fans have been eager to see the two face off for some time, this match comes at the expense of Cody Rhodes. Fans have taken issue with WWE essentially moving Rhodes to the side to give The Rock the match with Reigns. The consensus is that after last year’s loss to Reigns and all the work he does year-round, Cody deserves to finish the story by beating Reigns at WrestleMania.
The WWE Superstars, for the most part, have kept quiet about The Rock being shoehorned into Cody’s spot at WrestleMania 40. Taking to Twitter, however, Paul made his views clear on who should be facing the Tribal Chief in Philadelphia.
It’s quite something for Paul to side with Cody Rhodes over The Rock, given his past friendship with the Brahma Bull. The pair teamed up for several videos from The Maverick before Rock cut ties with Paul following the latter’s controversial video taken from Japan’s ‘suicide forest’ back in 2017. On a recent edition of his Insight podcast, Paul admitted that it greatly hurt for The Rock, a personal hero of his, to cut ties with him.
This booking decision has been reviled by fans, who believe Cody’s story should finish by standing tall over Reigns at WrestleMania. Many feel that The Rock’s role as a TKO Board member helped influence this change of plans, costing the much more deserving Rhodes the right ending to his story.
The fans’ distaste for the ‘People’s Champion’ hasn’t just been playing out on social media. At a WWE live event in Knoxville, Tennessee, WWE aired a video of The Rock’s return to SmackDown. Contrary to the usual, this appearance by The Rock was met with a chorus of boos from the crowd.
The Rock did not appear in person at the WWE live event in Knoxville. Cody Rhodes did, however, and defeated Shinsuke Nakamura in the show’s Street Fight main event. The Rock and Roman Reigns will be at a WrestleMania 40 press event this coming week. There’s no word on whether the American Nightmare will be a part of the Thursday event.
The WWE Universe may have to wait until SummerSlam 2024 to see Cody Rhodes dethrone Roman Reigns, in a match that could see huge championship possibilities.
On this week’s SmackDown, Rhodes, the winner of the 2024 Men’s Royal Rumble, said that he wouldn’t be facing Reigns at WrestleMania. Reigns was immediately confronted by The Rock, teasing a showdown between the two at the April supershow. This booking decision has been reviled by fans, who believe Cody’s story should finish by standing tall over Reigns at WrestleMania.
Unification at SummerSlam?
Instead of Roman Reigns, it now appears that Cody will challenge World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins at WrestleMania 40. PW Insider reports that there have been talks of Rhodes winning the title at WrestleMania 40, in the first of two huge title wins for the American Nightmare. The idea would be for Rhodes to challenge the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion at SummerSlam in a title unification match.
WWE’s Unifying History
If this goes ahead, it’ll come just over a year after WWE introduced the World Heavyweight Championship in May of 2023. The title’s inception came about due to Reigns’ dominant tenure as Champion and his part time schedule. WWE unified the WWE and Universal Championship at WrestleMania 38. In the main event of Night 2 of the April 2022 event, Reigns defeated Brock Lesnar to unify the gold.
Randy Orton unified the WWE and World Heavyweight Championships at WWE: TLC 2013 with a victory over John Cena. At Vengeance 2001, Chris Jericho unified the WWF and World Championships by defeating ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin and The Rock on the same night.
WWE Raw Superstar CM Punk has wasted no time in going under the knife after suffering a torn triceps injury last month.
During the 2024 Men’s Royal Rumble Match, CM Punk suffered a triceps injury which Drew McIntyre has taken full credit for. On this week’s Raw, Punk confirmed that he will miss WrestleMania 40 due to the injury, and vowed to wrestle McIntyre when he’s able to make a return.
Punk’s injury has caused WWE to make a serious change of plans. While the initial WrestleMania card featured Cody Rhodes facing Roman Reigns, it now appears that The Rock, who returned on this week’s SmackDown, will face his cousin instead.
CM Punk Update
The former WWE and AEW World Champion was backstage at last night’s episode of SmackDown in Birmingham, Alabama, PW Insider reports. Punk was spotted sporting a brace on his arm due to the triceps injury. Sources close to the situation have said that Punk has already undergone surgery to repair the triceps tear.
What’s Next?
While specific times may differ, a torn triceps injury requires considerable healing time, which is usually at least six months. That would put Punk’s return date around July or August, though there have been rumors he could be out of action for longer.
Cody Rhodes is on the Road to WrestleMania 40, but his final destination won’t see him face Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship.
On the forum board of F4W Online, Dave Meltzer explained that The Rock pushed hard for the match with Reigns. He added that the blockbuster showdown between the Hollywood megastar and the Tribal Chief will hopefully turn attention away from the ongoing Vince McMahon scandal.
“Dwayne pushed super hard for it. Read last week’s issue and this week’s. The card changed when Punk & Brock were out and all the dominoes fell. Dwayne already wanted it and they felt they now needed it as well. Felt this was better to change the news flow away from Vince.”
Meltzer added that Rhodes was supposed to face Reigns at WrestleMania in the original plan and that a showdown with The Rock was set to happen at a later date. It was also stated that CM Punk’s injury was a decisive factor in WWE’s change of plans.
“Cody was the plan. Dwayne was going to face him later, maybe next year’s Mania, maybe Saudi. Shit happens with Vince and Punk, the Vince thing ends up worse than they thought and they changed the plan. I literally didn’t know until yesterday that it could change and then I was told it’s under lock. But 100% it was Punk vs. Seth and Cody vs. Reigns until Punk got hurt.”
This massive change of plans as seen on SmackDown has had the wrestling world talking…
Cody and The Rock shared an embrace during SmackDown, in what many have seen as confirmation that Rock will face Reigns at WrestleMania instead of Rhodes. Many online have disagreed with the idea, given Rhodes’ heartbreaking loss to Reigns last year and how his story has always been about winning the WWE Championship (now part of the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship) that his father never captured.
On Twitter, Brandi Rhodes referred to her husband as a quarterback, indicating that he is a reliable hand that WWE can count on.
Danielle Moinet, better known to WWE fans as Summer Rae, was far from pleased, stating that after two years of build, this twist doesn’t make sense.
Imagine handing over your Wrestlemania match that you beat 29 other ppl for…AFTER a two year build
I’m all for twists & turns but make it make sense! Gosh I hope we are ALL wrong. I hope it all makes sense next Fri in a Rock Roman promo, that is if either of them show up to tv
Echoing Cody’s comment about taking everything from Reigns, Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful said that this storyline is doing much more harm to the American Nightmare.
After competing in a dark match following SmackDown, Sami Zayn spoke to the crowd in Birmingham, Alabama. The former NXT, Intercontinental and Tag Team Champion stated that those who reminisce about the ‘good ol’ days’ should stop and see how good things are right now.
“It’s awesome to have The Rock. We’re lucky to have him. But you know, The Rock is lucky to have the WWE, too. Because we are living in the best time with the best superstars in the WWE.
“We have constantly listened to people talk about the good ol’ days. The good ol’ days. The good ol’ days. Well I’ve got news for you. Tonight, 10,000 people sold out this building in Birmingham! To see the best crop of performers in the world so I have news for you and for everybody! The good ol’ days are right here, right now!
“And I want to thank you for letting me be a part of it, and I thank you all from the bottom of my heart to each and every one of you for being a part of it with us. Thank you so much, we are all feeling something special right now! Thank you, thank you, thank you! I love you, thank you very much.
After the show, Sami said, “it’s awesome to have The Rock. We’re lucky to have him. But you know, The Rock is lucky to have the WWE, too. Because we are living in the best time with the best superstars in the WWE.” And then he said this. #wwe#SmackDownpic.twitter.com/4gxaFfEeHS
During the Men’s 2024 Royal Rumble match, CM Punk suffered a torn triceps injury. On this week’s Raw, Punk confirmed that the injury will cost him a match at WrestleMania 40. In a recent WWE Chronicle that covered Punk’s injury and aforementioned announcement, the former World Champion fought back tears as he spoke about what his time with the WWE roster has meant to him so far.
“Just certain looks from certain people I get, and then I start crying again. And Cody’s one of them. He’s a great dude. This locker room is everything the business is supposed to be. It’s everything the business was sold to me as being and it’s remarkable, and that’s why I’m so sad. I’m not sad I hurt my arm, I’m sad I’m temporarily out of this amazing situation.”
Could WrestleMania 40 go off the air with Cody Rhodes holding both the World Heavyweight Championship and the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship?
While it’s known that Cody will challenge for a World Championship at WrestleMania 40, there has been plenty of speculation as to which champion he’ll face. Ever since his loss at WrestleMania 39, it was expected that Cody would face Roman Reigns this year and get his win back, ending the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion’s historic run in the process. When The Rock returned during the Day 1 Raw, he teased coming for Reigns’ spot as Head of the Table.
While it’s expected that Rhodes could challenge for one championship in Philadelphia, the American Nightmare wouldn’t say no to leaving with both titles. When a fan on Twitter suggested a ‘Winner Takes All’ stipulation featuring Reigns, Rollins, and Rhodes, Cody made it clear he was interested in the idea.
WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley is hoping to mark his upcoming 60th birthday with one final match, over a decade after he last competed.
During the latest edition of his Foley is Pod podcast, the Hardcore Legend’s birthday came up in the conversation. It was then that Mick shared the news that he is eager to step back into the ring for a very special kind of match.
“60’s right around the corner. I’m thinking about doing one final match, for my 60th birthday. Deathmatch. I’m not kidding. I think it’ll be a great incentive to drop those hundred big ones [lbs]. And I think it might be fun.”
When asked if the match would happen in a WWE ring, Foley was sure that the promotion wouldn’t wish to host the level of violence and gore that he had in mind.
“No, no, I don’t think so. Because I think it’d be a pretty gory spectacle. [I’m] just thinking about it. I put it out there to my kids and they were like ‘Would you get hurt?’ Yeah probably.”
Mick Foley in the Ring
If Foley does indeed have this one final match, it’ll be the first match for the three-time World Champion in close to a decade. Foley’s most recent match to date took place in February 2015 and saw him defeat Mickey Gambino at an event for OMEGA Wrestling, the promotion founded by Matt & Jeff Hardy. This match was Foley’s first in three years, with his previous contest being the 2012 Royal Rumble match won by Sheamus.
Did WCW make the biggest error by spoiling Mick Foley’s WWF title win…
WWE’s own merchandise online shop may have given the biggest clue to date regarding Brock Lesnar’s future (or lack thereof) in the promotion.
Last week, Janel Grant filed a lawsuit against WWE and Vince McMahon, alleging that she has been abused and trafficked by the former Chairman. While McMahon has denied all allegations against him, he stepped down from WWE/TKO shortly after Slim Jim suspended its sponsorship deal with the wrestling promotion. John Lauriniatis, who is named in the lawsuit, has stated that he is a victim in this disturbing situation and not a predator.
Brock Lesnar Update
While Brock Lesnar isn’t named in the lawsuit, the paperwork alleges that Grant was trafficked to a former UFC Heavyweight Champion, believed to be the part-time Superstar. Lesnar was subsequently pulled from the Royal Rumble Premium Live Event as well as the WWE 2K Supercard game. There are reportedly some in WWE who believe that Lesnar is finished with the company due to the scandal.
Now, WWE has given arguably their biggest signal to date that Lesnar’s WWE career is over. PW Insider reports that the vast majority of Brock Lesnar merchandise has been moved to the sale section of WWEShop.com. While this shouldn’t be seen as confirmation of an exit, WWE typically reduces the price of merchandise they have released from the company.
WWE sources who spoke to PW Insider added that right now, Lesnar is “off the table” when it comes to creative pitches. Brock Lesnar has not publicly commented on the allegations in Miss Grant’s lawsuit against WWE and Vince McMahon.
Cody Rhodes’ road to WrestleMania will see the American Nightmare travel to Perth, Australia for this month’s WWE Elimination Chamber event.
The February 24, show will be WWE’s first Premium Live Event in Australia in over five years. The Optus Stadium will play host to the event, though no matches have been confirmed at this time. On Twitter, Rhodes shared his schedule for February and confirmed that he will be at Elimination Chamber: Perth.
Fans hoping to see Rhodes earlier than Elimination Chamber won’t have to wait long. Despite being a Raw Superstar, the 2024 Men’s Royal Rumble winner is being advertised for tonight’s episode of SmackDown in Birmingham, Alabama.
Rhea Ripley Wants an Elimination Chamber Match
Few Superstars will receive a bigger reaction when WWE travels down under than Rhea Ripley, who is a proud Australian. In a recent interview with Sam Roberts, Ripley spoke about the possibility of defending her WWE Women’s World Championship inside the Elimination Chamber.
“I’d be down for it. I’ve done it before. Let’s be honest here. I love a bit of brutality. Give me some steel. Give me some weapons. Give me some pods. I don’t care. I love all that stuff. I live for this.”
Ripley does have a small history inside the Elimination Chamber. She competed inside the barbaric structure in 2022, but failed to win the match. The Eradicator would eliminate former ally Nikki A.S.H. in the match before being eliminated herself by eventual winner Bianca Belair.
There’ll be no shortage of gold on the line when TNA Wrestling hosts its No Surrender event this month.
TNA No Surrender will take place from the Alario Center in Westwego, Louisiana on Friday, February 23. The show will be TNA’ second major event since its relaunch, which officially came into effect with last month’s Hard to Kill show.
TNA Knockouts Championship Match
On this week’s episode of TNA iMPACT! it was announced that Knockouts Champion Jordynne Grace will defend her gold at No Surrender against Gisele Shaw. Both women have been building momentum as of late. Grace captured the title at Hard to Kill last month and shocked the world by competing in the 2024 WWE Women’s Royal Rumble Match.
Gisele Shaw earned her shot at Grace at Hard to Kill by winning a Knockouts Ultimate X match. She defeated Alisha Edwards, Dani Luna, Jody Threat, Tasha Steelz, and Xia Brookside in the show’s opener.
BREAKING: @JordynneGrace will defend the Knockouts World Championship against @GiseleShaw08 on February 23rd at #NoSurrender LIVE on TNA+ and YouTube for IMPACT Ultimate Insiders!
At Hard to Kill, Moose captured the TNA World Championship from Alex Shelley. During this week’s TNA iMPACT! Shelley officially informed Moose that he’d be utilizing his rematch. Moose accepted the challenge and warned Shelley that he was going to learn how “The System” works. The System is the name of Moose’s faction, which consists of himself, Brian Myers, Eddie Edwards, and Alisha Edwards.
Whoever wins this TNA World Championship match could soon be sharing the ring with Nic Nemeth, who made his TNA debut at Hard to Kill. After close to two decades in WWE, Nemeth is ready for a fresh start in TNA and has set his sights on the top of the card…
Becky Lynch may be ‘The Man’ in WWE, but the former Women’s Champion was encouraged to move like a girl early into her career.
Lynch joined WWE as part of NXT in 2013 and made her TV debut in June of 2014. Lynch’s arrival is infamous for her character that leaned heavily into her Irish nationality, complete with green attire and ‘Irish jig’ in her entrance. Lynch would later drop the Irish character and became one of NXT’s top women before her call-up to the main roster in 2015.
Moving Like a Girl
Lynch’s arrival in WWE came at an interesting time for women in the promotion. After years of the Divas era, 2013, 2014, and most notably 2015, would see WWE shift away from its previous portrayal of women and focus more of stories and wrestling than sex appeal. Speaking on her new “Never Before Told” series with Seth Rollins, Lynch recalled the awkward advice she was given early on in her WWE career.
“Coming into WWE, I had one very specific goal and that was to main event WrestleMania and make women’s wrestling the coolest thing on TV, and to change the game and to be seen as equal. Even in my early stages in NXT, it was weird and confusing because you were told that women can’t punch and you can’t use things like steps and you can’t use the post. Are we supposed to just hair pull and slap each other? It’s very confusing. I even remember being told, ‘Move like a girl.’ What, I am a girl, what do you mean? It was all so very confusing.”
What Came Next?
By 2016, WWE had significantly changed its portrayal of women. At that year’s WrestleMania, Lynch would compete for the new WWE Women’s Championship, which marked the end of the Divas Title. The match also saw the Divas moniker be dropped when describing women, who have been called Superstars alongside their male counterparts ever since.
Fans shouldn’t expect to see Becky Lynch in AEW or TNA anytime soon…
AEW commentator and WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross is doing well after undergoing cancer surgery this week.
Taking to Twitter, the AEW broadcaster confirmed the news of his surgery, which took place on his right hip, JR said that all went well and thanked everyone for their support.
Had cancer surgery this morning on my right hip. All went well.
In the comments, several names from the world of professional wrestling shared their best wishes with the wrestling commentary legend. Former AEW wrestler Joey Janela encouraged JR to “feel better” while Rob Van Dam, who appeared on this week’s Dynamite, shared a hands in prayer emoji. Chris Van Vliet of the popular Insight podcast added that he was wishing Jim a very speedy recovery.
Ross’ current contract with All Elite Wrestling expires on February 14th. He’s been very open about wanting to re-sign so he can “finish up his career in AEW.”
JR’s Cancer Battle
JR has battled skin cancer multiple times in his life. He first underwent a skin procedure in 2016 and two years later, shared that the cancer had been completely removed from his shoulder. The WWE Hall of Famer was diagnosed with skin cancer again in October 2021. After this diagnosis, Bret Hart, who has battled and beaten cancer himself, was one of the first people to reach out to Ross. On December 29, of that year, he would share the news that he was cancer free.
We here at SE Scoops would like to wish Jim Ross a full and speedy recovery.
On the website of the Honda Center, fans can purchase a combo ticket for the price of $285. This ticket guarantees a seat for UFC 298: Volkanovski v. Topuria, which will take place on February 17. After that show, fans will also be able WWE Monday Night RAW on February 19, which will be the go-home episode of Raw before the Elimination Chamber: Perth Premium Live Event in Australia. This marks the first UFC and WWE combo ticket since TKO Group Holdings was launched last year.
Strong Ticket Sales
This episode of Raw will be the first televised WWE event inside Anaheim’s Honda Center since the September 16, 2022, edition of SmackDown. While that show had a NXT North American Title match and Logan Paul on the show, the upcoming episode of Raw has already sold more seats. 10,648 tickets have already been distributed for the February 19, Raw, with just 52 remaining, far more than the 8,437 who attended the September 2022 SmackDown.