The Undertaker has spoken highly of Sami Zayn and his work with The Bloodline.
Zayn has been aligned with Roman Reigns, The Usos, and Paul Heyman in recent months, but it started with him being a stooge as he did the faction’s dirty work and often took beatings from other WWE stars in their place.
However, after repeatedly proving his loyalty, Reigns acknowledged him as “The Honorary Uce.” This shift caused tension with Jey Uso, which ended at WWE Survivor Series, where Zayn helped The Bloodline beat Drew McIntyre, Kevin Owens, Sheamus, Ridge Holland, and Butch in the Men’s WarGames Match.
Taker’s Praise
Speaking with Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated, The Undertaker praised Zayn and his role in The Bloodline.
“Sami’s character is so intriguing in that whole mix. It is very clear who The Bloodline is and what they stand for, and they go out and do their deal. But adding Sami gives so many more layers. Plus, you have that tension between Sami, The Usos, and Roman. It works so well,” The Undertaker said.
The WWE Hall of Famer noted that Zayn has never been a bigger star and is a vital part of the faction.
“Sami is a vital part of the whole thing, and he’s never been a bigger star. But this is also important for The Bloodline. It gives them something new. Roman has been champion for over two years. That means he has to go out and beat everyone he faces, right? That’s tough. But it’s a new dynamic with Sami in there. How can you not enjoy this? It’s great storytelling.”
Many fans felt that this year’s Money in the Bank cash-in was a misstep as Austin Theory decided to go for the United States Title instead of the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship.
Also, Theory came up short in his attempt. This was after he had been losing matches on television, a change from how he had been booked by Vince McMahon when he was still in control of creative before he resigned and Triple H took over.
In an interview with City News Ottawa, Theory talked about the crutch that became the Money in the Bank contract and his new main-roster character.
The Change
“The cocky, arrogant, douchy persona just really gets under people’s skin, and it did its purpose. And having the Money in the Bank contract and the way that character was, there’s a little bit of a ceiling there just because when you look at Roman Reigns being so unstoppable and everything.”
Theory thinks he can become the guy to dethrone Roman Reigns and could only do that with his current character.
“Whoever is going to beat Roman Reigns, it’s gotta be someone that is really going to beat Roman Reigns and not just by some luck, and I think the chapter that Austin Theory is headed now is setting him up to build to being that qualifier to stand toe to toe with Roman Reigns.”
Ronda Rousey Enters the Arena as a Playable Legendary Champion in the Acclaimed ‘RAID: Shadow Legends’ Collection RPG
TEL AVIV, ISRAEL – November 30, 2022– Plarium, a global leader in developing F2P mobile and PC games with more than 435 million users worldwide, announced today that Ronda Rousey, WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion and former UFC Bantamweight World Champion, is now her own Legendary Champion in Plarium’s acclaimed collection fantasy RPG, RAID: Shadow Legends. Beginning today through February 28th, the Ronda Legendary Champion will be available for free to all RAID players after 7 days of logging in to the game.
“We are thrilled to have one of the world’s most renowned athletes join the ranks of RAID’s Banner Lord Champions, a title she is already quite familiar with in her career,” said Ronen Gross, VP of business development at Plarium. “Her love of gaming and natural gifts in mixed martial arts, judo, and wrestling made this partnership a perfect fit. As expected, her Ronda Champion will mete out punishment with fiery gauntlet fists, similar to her real-life counterpart, and will be a valuable addition to any team.”
Ronda will unveil her Champion during a Facebook Gaming channel stream in the coming weeks where she will share her design influences, as well as special skills and move sets that players can use in-game. The Ronda Legendary Champion joins RAID’s 700+ unique champions and will be usable in all game modes including the single-player campaign (PVE), Dungeons, the Arena, Faction Wars, Doom Tower and Clan vs. Clan Tournaments.
“As someone who loves games with strong female leads, it’s exciting to actually become one,” said Rousey. “I look forward to sharing my champion with the RAID fans on my channel and helping them level up their game using her unique skill sets.”
After February 28th, Ronda will no longer be available through the 7-day loyalty program but can then be secured by only new players during a special in-game event up until May 15. Players can also opt-in to receive in-game promo codes through February 28th that unlock Ronda-related rewards.
One of WWE’s Next-in-Line prospects will find themselves in court next month over charges of sexual battery.
In July of this year, a media alert from the police department for Stillwater, Oklahoma identified AJ Ferrari as the suspect in a case of alleged sexual battery.
A Stillwater woman alleges that Ferrari attempted forcible sexual acts on her and a warrant for his arrest was issued on August 3.
The Trial
After posting a $25,000 bail, Ferrari pleaded not guilty to the charge on August 11.
As first reported by KOKH Fox 25, Payne County Judge Katherine E. Thomas found “probable cause to believe that a crime was committed and that the defendant committed the crime.”
Ferrari, who was part of the December 2021 WWE tryouts, will appear in court on December 6.
Under Oklahoma law, sexual battery faces a penalty if convicted of between one to 15 years in prison.
Ferrari’s attorney, Derek Chance, has claimed that his client is innocent and that he is confident that AJ Ferrari will be exonerated in due time.
AJ Ferrari
After trying out with WWE last year, Ferrari signed with the NIL program on December 8.
In January of this year, Ferrari was involved in a serious car accident when he attempted to pass 3 vehicles while cresting a hill.
Ferrari’s car hit an oncoming vehicle before flipping the car several times until it came to a halt in a ditch.
In addition to Ferrari, track athlete Isai Rodriguez was also in the vehicle and thankfully nobody involved suffered life-threatening injuries.
On July 13, Oklahoma State University announced that Ferrari is no longer on their wrestling team due to the sexual battery charge against him.
Ric Flair may still appear at the Royal Rumble 2023 Premium Live Event in January of next year, but nothing has been confirmed.
Last week, Flair announced that he will be at the Royal Rumble and that he will also attend Raw’s 30th-anniversary event earlier that same week.
“I’m gonna be there. They didn’t say don’t tell anybody. I’ve been invited and it’s a f**king big deal.“
Ric Flair
Clarification
Flair could still be at WWE’s next Premium Live Event, but no deal has been reached between the two parties. On the latest episode of his To Be the Man podcast, Flair clarified that he will be in San Antonio for the Rumble – but he’ll be there for an autograph signing unrelated to WWE.
“I am going to San Antonio to sign autographs separately, on the day of the Rumble. I was not invited to the Rumble.”
Ric Flair.
Flair isn’t confirmed to appear on-camera at the Royal Rumble, but may pack his ring gear for the trip to San Antonio just in case. He eagerly added, “If they want me to put my gear on, like at Last Match, that’s fine.”
The Nature Boy won the 1992 Royal Rumble match as the #3 entrant, setting a record for the time as the longest-run in a single Rumble, and captured the vacant WWF Championship.
Flair Back in WWE
Ric Flair’s Royal Rumble status may still be TBD, but he did confirm that he has been invited for the 30th anniversary of Raw.
The 16-time World Champion parted ways with WWE in August 2021, reportedly frustrated about booking for himself and his daughter Charlotte.
Flair had been expected to join AEW, but the backlash from the Dark Side of the Ring episode documenting the Plane Ride from Hell ended those plans.
Sami Zayn has become one of the most popular superstars in WWE. His journey to acceptance by The Bloodline has captivated the WWE Universe.
The Honorary Uce hit Kevin Owens with a low blow at Survivor Series WarGames and the crowd cheered. They cheered even harder after Sami shared a hug with Roman Reigns and Jey Uso after the match.
Sami hit KO with a Helluva Kick and then stepped aside so Jey Uso could have the moment. Jey hit Kevin with a Frog Splash to pick up the victory for The Bloodline over The Brawling Brutes, Drew McIntyre, and Kevin Owens in the men’s WarGames match at Survivor Series.
Ric Flair hung up his boots for good (or for now) at the Ric Flair’s Last Match event this past summer in Nashville. He teamed up with his son-in-law, Andrade El Idolo, to defeated Jay Lethal and Jeff Jarrett.
Flair currently hosts his To Be The Man podcast and shared his thoughts on Sami Zayn in The Bloodline during a recent episode.
Well at first, I was very open about it that I didn’t even like him being with The Bloodline. I thought he diluted it.
But I know in sitting and talking with Booker T, everybody looks at it differently.
I was with Booker T in New York at an autograph session and Booker thinks the sun rises and falls on the guy.
Looking at Roman and what Bloodline is and how they conduct themselves, I found him bringing way too much comedy to it. But apparently, it’s worked.
Maybe that’s me being old school. But when you got a serious character like The Usos, who I don’t even think I have to argue are the best tag team right now in business as heels.
Roman is over like nobody else. I didn’t like it because the kid is comical. His character is comical.
Jon Moxley defended the AEW World Championship against Maxwell Jacob Friedman in the main event of AEW Full Gear at the Prudential Center in New Jersey last weekend.
MJF was about to use the Dynamite Diamond Ring as a weapon but William Regal made his way down the entrance ramp. Maxwell threw the ring to the floor and then the Blackpool Combat Club leader made a shocking decision.
Regal slid MJF the brass knuckles and he bashed Jon over the head with them. MJF then covered Moxley to win the AEW World Championship. On this past Wednesday’s episode of AEW Dynamite, Jon Moxley confronted William Regal to begin the show. Moxley was about to attack him but Bryan Danielson prevented it. Jon told Regal to go away and not come back at the end of the segment.
Jim Cornette on Jon Moxley Confronting William Regal on AEW Dynamite, Triple H Wanting Regal Back
Jim Cornette discussed the promo segment between William Regal and Jon Moxley on episode 459 of the Jim Cornette Experience.
The wrestling legend noted that William Regal’s promo at the start was the best thing AEW could have put on the program to start the show as MJF was off filming a movie. Cornette complimented Regal work as a heel before discussing the segment.
Danielson from the other side comes through and stops Moxley, and they start shoving each other.
And Danielson’s thing is ‘now wait a minute you’ve done bad things too, please please, he’s got a bad neck and two brain bleeds, don’t hurt him’.
I know that somewhere either Tony (Khan) is convinced or the Blackpool Combat Club that this is gripping television.
But basically, what happened was is that Regal stands there, he doesn’t back up because he’s the heel and he just f***ed the World Champion out of the title. And he can’t be touched or it will take all the heat off of him.
Cornette wondered why AEW didn’t have MJF and Regal appear on the jumbotron from the movie set and say they will be on the show next week. Jon Moxley could have then cut a promo in the ring and Danielson could have confronted him.
Have Moxley come out and cut a promo saying ‘I’m going to kill William Regal when I see him’ and have Danielson come out and stop him with the same story if you’ve got to tell that story.
Because then Moxley’s not standing there with his d*ck in his hand while Regal is standing there not running or doing anything.
And Danielson doesn’t have to tell this story that didn’t get over with the people to begin with while the guy they want to see get his ass kicked is standing there in the ring.
I mean, did everybody look like a putz here in some respect or another?
Jim brought up how WWE Chief Content Officer William Regal and Triple H have been close for years and Regal had a lot of responsibility in Triple H’s NXT.
Triple H and Regal have been close for years. Regal had all kinds of responsibility in Triple H’s NXT and anything he’s had anything to do with.
Now Triple H is on a spree bringing back everybody that was let go by his father-in-law. And you can’t tell me that he wouldn’t want Regal, whether he can have him or not, you can’t tell me he doesn’t want him back.
If you use any quotes from this article, please credit the Jim Cornette Experience with a H/T to SEScoops for the transcription.
Zelina Vega is currently the manager of the Legado Del Fantama faction on WWE SmackDown.
The leader of the group, Santos Escobar will battle Ricochet in the finals of the SmackDown World Cup this Friday night, with the winner earning a match against Gunther for the Intercontinental Championship.
Speaking on the “That’s Dope” podcast, Vega commented on what it is like working at a WWE TV taping.
Usually you know going into it who’s gonna win. When you get into the building, you’re gonna have a match with so and so. You’re gonna win.
And if it plays into a certain story, there’s always like little things that they’ll tell you like, ‘Oh you have to make sure you do this’ or, ‘You have to make sure you hit this mark.
Vince McMahon resigned from WWE in July. He announced his resignation on Twitter as he was under investigation by WWE’s Board of Directors for alleged hush money payments to former female employees. Former EVP of Talent Relations John Laurinaitis was dismissed during the scandal.
Stephanie McMahon and Nick Khan replaced Vince as co-CEOs, while Triple H replaced John Laurinaitis as EVP of Talent Relations. The Game also serves as WWE’s Chief Content Officer.
Vega noted that both Stephanie McMahon and Triple H have known her for a while and trust her with promos.
When it comes to me because they’ve [Paul ‘Triple H’ Levesque and Stephanie McMahon] known me for a while, it’s like, ‘Hey we can already trust you on the microphone you’re not gonna say anything that’s gonna get us in trouble. You’re gonna keep to your character so here’s the skeleton of what we need from you and just fill in the meat.’
Former WWE/AEW star Bobby Fish has drawn a comparison between The Bloodline’s recent appearance at Survivor Series, and his former faction, The Undisputed Era.
At the event this past Saturday, The Bloodline were all dressed in red, except for Roman Reigns for their WarGames match against the Brawling Brutes, Drew McIntyre, and Kevin Owens.
In a post on Instagram, Fish noticed the similarities between the Bloodline’s red and black WarGames look and the attire worn by his former faction also in WarGames while they were still in NXT. He shared a side-by-side comparison to his Instagram.
The Comparison
(via AEW)
Fish wrote: “Imitation.. the sincerest form of flattery!” Fish tagged in each member of the top WWE faction and his former stablemates – Adam Cole, Kyle O’Reilly, and Roderick Strong.
The Undisputed Era formed in 2017 and dominated NXT between 2019-2021, where they held all the titles available to them. Although Cole, O’Reilly, and Fish reunited briefly in AEW in 2021,
Fish left AEW on August 31, 2022, when his contract expired. Fish has since gone to Impact Wrestling and made his pro boxing debut on the undercard of the Floyd Mayweather vs Deji event on November 13. Fish defeated Boateng Prempeh.
The Bloodline won their WarGames match against the babyfaces.
WWE Survivor Series WarGames aired live this past Saturday night in Boston, MA. The Bloodline battled the Brawling Brutes, Drew McIntyre, and Kevin Owens in the men’s WarGames match in the main event.
Kevin Owens had approached Sami Zayn the night prior on SmackDown and suggested that Sami turn on The Bloodline before they turn on him. Jey overheard the conversation and asked Zayn if he had talked to anyone. Sami lied and Jey informed the Tribal Chief at Survivor Series.
Roman brought Sami into his locker room and the Honorary Uce promised that he had The Bloodline’s back. He proved it by hitting Owens with a low blow, a Helluva Kick and then stepping aside to allow Jey to hit the Frog Splash for the pinfall victory.
WWE legend Jim Cornette recently discussed the main event of Survivor Series WarGames on episode 459 of the Jim Cornette Experience. Cornette stated one of the issues with the match is that the heels are way more over than the babyfaces.
This was a 45-minute backdrop for Sami Zayn and Jey Uso to have issues and further that story. The heel team, The Bloodline was more popular, Sami especially gets big cheers.
But they chant for Roman, so the heels are more popular than the babyfaces. As I mentioned, half the guys are just kind of in there. They’re not really legitimate main event talent.
This long-running rivalry came up about six weeks ago. At one point, at several points, like when Drew McIntyre got in, all of his other teammates were down.
So Drew goes face-to-face with Sammy and Jey, and kicks both of their asses while Drew’s teammates just lay there, sell, and watch him.
But as soon as he gets in trouble, they jump in and save him. And then they actually took bumps, and went back to the same place they were before.
Cornette noted how so many superstars had to wait around while the storyline between Owens and Zayn played out. He added that the match lasted 45 minutes but there was less than a half hour of action.
So Sami hits Kevin Owens in the balls but is then conflicted. And meanwhile, everybody else in the WarGames is still laying out so that this dramatic play going on in the middle of the ring can be completed.
And then Zayn hits the big kick and then gives him to Jey and Jey does the Splash off the top 1-2-3.
Well, it wasn’t your father’s WarGames. It was 45 minutes, they could have done the action part in about 25. The story takes precedence over the match and everything else, as usual in this company.
And they managed to make the WarGames look fake by just everybody doing the same s*** they do in regular matches, laying around waiting for their f***ing cue.
If you use any quotes from this article, please credit the Jim Cornette Experience with a H/T to SEScoops for the transcription.
Mayor Kane (Glenn Jacobs, Mayor of Knox County, Tennessee) allegedly pressured a department head to lie to state officials about Jacobs’ Chief of Staff using a county golf cart for personal purposes.
That’s according to Knox News, who wrote that “Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs asked county employees to work at his home while they were on the clock, pressured a department head to lie to state investigators and cursed at him when he wouldn’t do it, according to a federal lawsuit the county settled by agreeing to pay $150,000 to former parks and recreation director Paul White.”
The lawsuit alleged that Jacobs’ Chief of Staff, Bryan Hair, was using a county golf cart at his own home. Hair resigned from his position, but because of the allegations, the state of Tennessee began an investigation.
Kane Applied More Pressure Than a Sleeper Hold
The lawsuit details ways in which Jacobs and his team attempted to hide the misconduct from reporters, for fear of scandal.
That worked out well.
According to Knox News, the allegations include:
Jacobs encouraged White, the Parks and Recreation director, to lie to state investigators about Hair’s illegal personal use of a county-owned golf cart.
Jacobs, a former WWE wrestler with an imposing build, pounded a desk and cursed at White when he refused to lie to cover for Hair after it was revealed he and his wife were using a county-owned golf cart that was delivered to their home.
Hair eventually returned the golf cart to the county, but Hair planned to tell investigators he had given it up months earlier, White said. Hair pressured White to lie and say he had the golf cart for only a few weeks. White said Hair threatened to fire him if he didn’t.
Abbey Harris, a spokesperson for Mayor Kane, stated that the Big Red Machine never pressured White to lie, but White says that he was fired for being a sort of whistle-blower regarding the golf cart misuse.
The county, however, maintains that White was fired because he “created a hostile work environment in the parks and recreation department.
Kane Is ‘Not Interested in the Truth’
White maintains that he attempted multiple times to tell officials about Hair’s use of the county-owned golf cart. When he eventually got an audience with The Devi’s Favorite Demon, White alleges that Jacobs swore at him and slammed a desk in anger.
Mayor Kane and White met on October 12 for a one-on-one (not with Da Untertaker) meeting, in which Kane tried to “hint” to White what the latter should say.
According to Knox News, “Jacobs pressured him by asking leading questions, White says.
‘Bryan (Hair) only had the golf cart for just a couple of weeks?’ Jacobs asked him, according to White.
White did not play along with what he characterized as a leading question.
“’ Jacobs became visibly angry and upset, his face turned bright red, and he violently smacked his desk with a closed fist, as he cut (White) off, told (White) to ‘shut the f— up’ and Mayor Jacobs further stated that he was ‘not interested in the truth,’” White says.
White says Jacobs asked the leading questions two or three more times before stopping.”
Speaking of fire, White was fired soon after, while Hair resigned before he could be fired. Or tombstoned. Hair also pleaded guilty to ‘Official Misconduct,’ which is a class E felony, punishable by, at minimum, one year in jail. Hair is applying for probation and judicial diversion, however.
Charlotte Flair may soon return to the ring if what her recent social media posts seem to indicate is true.
The former WWE Women’s Champion has not been seen on WWE programming since WrestleMania Backlash on May 8, when she lost her WWE SmackDown Women’s Championship to Ronda Rousey in an I Quit match.
Before the event, she had retained her championship against Rousey on night one of WrestleMania 38. WWE wrote her off television with an injury angle as they claimed she suffered a broken arm suffered in her I Quit match against Rousey. In reality, Flair had taken time off from wrestling to marry her fiancé and AEW star Andrade El Idolo.
Teaser
(Photo credit: WWE)
Flair teased making a return to the company on her Instagram stories by showing a close-up of herself wearing a pair of wrestling boots. She also included video clips of her on WWE television.
As of this writing, there is no official word on whether or not Flair has plans to return to the ring any time soon. Based on speculation, the picture implies that there is a good chance she is at least thinking about wrestling again or in the process of getting ready to return.
Booker T is set to return to the ring as the former WWE World Heavyweight Champion announced on his Hall of Fame podcast that he would wrestle again on December 18 for Reality of Wrestling.
Booker T is slated to team with Mysterious Q to challenge Fly Def (Zack Mason & Warren Johnson) for the ROW Tag Team Championships at the show.
Booker last wrestled at ROW Summer OF Champions VIII in July by teaming with (Blake Cortez, Bryan Keith, Gasper Hernandez & Mysterious Q) where they lost to Team Sharmell (Edge Stone, Gino Medina, Ryan Davidson, Stephen Wolf & Will Allday).
A few months ago, Pat McAfee went on hiatus from his duties as the WWE SmackDown color commentator, so they moved NXT’s Wade Barrett to the role and brought in Booker to do commentary for NXT.
Booker achieved a lot of success with 35 championships across WWE, WCW, and Impact Wrestling. He is the most decorated wrestler in WCW history, holding a total of 21 titles, including a record six WCW World Television Championships and a record eleven WCW World Tag Team Championships, 10 of which he won with his brother Stevie Ray in WCW (the most reigns in that company), and one in the WWE with Test. Booker served as the final WCW United States Heavyweight Champion and WCW World Heavyweight Champion.
In April 2013, Stevie Rae presented him with his induction into the WWE Hall of Fame. He and Ray were both inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2019.
It looks like IYO SKY may have to take some time off from in-ring action.
Team Belair (Bianca Belair, Asuka, Alexa Bliss, Mia Yim & Becky Lynch) beat Team Bayley (Bayley, IYO SKY, Dakota Kai, Nikki Cross & Rhea Ripley) in the first-ever Women’s WarGames match on the main roster at this past Saturday’s Survivor Series event.
During this week’s episode of WWE Monday Night Raw, it was stated that SKY was not cleared to compete although she did appear on the show for a brawl segment by the concession stands. As seen below in the video, WWE was very careful with her, and she did not take any bumps or shots to the neck.
The Shot
SKY did wear a neck brace during the segment. The company didn’t say whether SKY will be off TV or what the severity is of her neck issues. If it was something very serious, she likely would not have been out there for the backstage brawl segment.
IYO formed the group with Kai and Bayley at this year’s SummerSlam event after Belair retained the Raw Women’s Title over Lynch.
We wish SKY a speedy recovery and look forward to her in-ring return.
Bianca Belair says the women’s division on WWE’s main roster reminds her a lot of her days in NXT. The self-proclaimed ‘EST’ spent years honing her craft in WWE’s developmental brand. From 2016-2020, she established herself as one of the most promising acts of her genration.
Her success has continued since arriving on Monday Night Raw in 2020. She’s the reigning Raw Women’s Champion. She’s also a former SmackDown Women’s champion and won the 2021 Women’s Royal Rumble. WWE’s Four Horsewomen (Becky Lynch, Charlotte Flair, Sasha Banks and Bayley) helped usher in the Women’s Revolution, but Belair may surpass them all when all is said and done.
NXT As a Pipeline to WWE
Belair recently spoke with Bleacher Report‘s Graham Matthews and said she gets strong ‘NXT vibes’ from the women on Raw and SmackDown.
“It kind of feels like NXT all over again,” she said. “I think when we were in NXT, it was special. It was a time where the women’s locker room was full of women empowerment. We were competitors but we wanted the best for each other.”
NXT is a training ground for Raw and SmackDown, and virtually all of the top women in WWE wore ‘black and gold’ before they wore red or blue. Belair gets a great deal of satisfaction seeing the people she came up with thrive on the big stage.
Belair added, “What’s amazing is that it’s 3, 4, 5 years later., it’s those same women but we’ve all gotten even better. We’ve evolved.”
Almost all of the top young female stars on Raw and SmackDown started in NXT. Rhea Ripley, Raquel Rodriguez, Damage CTRL, Shotzi, the list goes on and on. If you want a glimpse at who will be carrying the women’s division in 3-5 years, you know where to look.
Rhea Ripley could be on course to challenge for the Raw Women’s Championship at WrestleMania for the second time in her career.
In 2021, Ripley challenged then-Raw Women’s Champion Asuka and dethroned the Empress at WrestleMania 37.
This year has seen Ripley align herself with the Judgment Day and is a regular on TV alongside Finn Balor, Damian Priest, and Dominik Mysterio.
WrestleMania
Rhea Ripley may be a regular on TV, but championship matches have proven to be a rarity for the Eradicator.
Ripley’s most recent title opportunity came on the April 18, 2022, edition of Raw, when she and Liv Morgan unsuccessfully challenged then-WWE Women’s Tag Champions Naomi and Sasha Banks.
On Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer reported that there has been a push backstage for Ripley to challenge for the Raw Women’s Championship at WrestleMania 39.
“There’s a very big push for Rhea Ripley. I think we may be looking at Rhea Ripley vs Bianca Belair at WrestleMania [next] year.”
Dave Meltzer.
Ripley had been scheduled to challenge Bianca Belair at this year’s Money in the Bank event but was pulled from the show due to medical issues.
In her place, Belair defeated Carmella to retain the title in the third match of the night.
Bianca Belair
Belair has proven to be a dominant force since her WWE main roster call up in 2020, holding both the Raw and SmackDown Women’s Championships.
Speaking on the Survivor Series WarGames post-show press conference, the EST named Ripley as someone she hopes to face.
“We crossed paths a couple of weeks ago at Raw and we’ve had a long history starting back at NXT all the way to the Royal Rumble. We both won our first titles at WrestleMania 37. We’re both doing equally amazing things, our careers parallel right now. It would be really great to meet at the mountaintop.”
Belair also named Charlotte Flair as someone she’d like to face, though the Queen has been absent from WWE TV since WrestleMania Backlash in May.
It was initially reported that Regal had months left on his AEW deal, but in an update, it was said he has years and will remain under contract until 2025.
At AEW Full Gear 2022, Regal turned on Jon Moxley and aided MJF in winning the AEW World Championship.
Regal’s Return
Regal may still have plenty of time left on his AEW deal, but that hasn’t stopped WWE hoping for a return.
While speaking on Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer went into detail regarding the former King of the Ring’s contract.
“William Regal when he signed, which was only in April or May, said that he signed for three years. Now, something is going on… I’ve been told a lot of stuff but most of it was off the record.
“I do know that it is something that has been talked about [by WWE.]”
Dave Meltzer.
Meltzer added that Tony Khan has yet to let anyone out of a contract early, but that doesn’t mean Regal won’t be the exception.
“It’s something that’s in play. But he said his contract is three years, so in theory, that would tell you that he couldn’t do anything until April 2025.”
Run
On last week’s AEW Dynamite, Jon Moxley confronted Regal, and would have attacked him if not for Bryan Danielson.
Instead of attacking Regal, the former World Champion told Regal to run from AEW and never return.
Speaking about the segment, which some have seen as AEW’s way of writing Regal off TV, Meltzer said this isn’t the case.
“The thing on Wednesday’s show was just an angle, but there had been talk of that from very early on.”
Dave Meltzer.
After missing last week’s Dynamite, AEW World Champion MJF will be on tonight’s show, but it is unclear if Regal will join him.
Mike Tyson may be considered one of the greatest boxers to ever grace the ring, but his time as a WWE-sanctioned official leaves a lot to be desired.
After being suspended from boxing for biting the ear of Evander Holyfield, Tyson joined the World Wrestling Federation in January 1998.
Tyson aligned himself with D-Generation X, but turned on the group at WrestleMania 14, knocking out Shawn Michaels in the ring.
The Count
Despite WWF implying for weeks that Tyson would be competing at WrestleMania, the boxing legend was the ‘special enforcer’ for the main event between Michaels and ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin.
Speaking on the latest Mailbag Monday, former WWE referee Mike Chioda revealed that he was tasked with teaching Tyson how to count the pinfall, which was a difficult process.
“Believe me, I tried to teach him how to count. … He counted so fast, I was like ‘Oh sh*t.’ I must have spent like an hour with him, ‘Here, just 1-2-3.’”
Mike Chioda.
After this lengthy lesson, Tyson would count the pinfall for Austin, but despite all of Chioda’s training, the count is noticeably faster than it should be.
Tyson’s count would see Austin win his first WWF Championship and cement the ‘Attitude Era’ in professional wrestling.
Tyson in Pro Wrestling
In January 2010, Tyson would serve as the guest host of Monday Night Raw, before being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in April 2012.
Tyson was also a playable character as part of downloadable content for WWE ’13.
In April 2021, Tyson once again served as a special enforcer, this time for AEW, and returned to the promotion for an episode of AEW Rampage earlier this month.
For weeks, we’ve seen Dexter Lumis “stalk” The Miz. Except Johnny Gargano revealed that Miz had been faking the stalking. He paid Lumis to “stalk” him. This set up an Anything Goes Match. If Lumis won, he earned a WWE contract. He would also get the money Miz owed him.
Miz and Lumis fought all over the place while Adam Pearce was ringside with a briefcase containing a contract. Lumis elbow dropped “The A-Lister” through a table after motioning making it rain.
After winning the match, Lumis signed his contract. He also received a bag of $100 bills which he passed out to some kids in the front row. When he got to the top of the ramp, Miz attacked the WWE Superstar from behind. He also snatched a $100 bill from a kid.
The Miz paid for it with a super kick by Johnny Gargano. Gargano gave the bag back to Lumis and the money back to the kid. Gargano and Lumis gave one another a thumbs up.
He made a surprise return to the company in August. He’s been embroiled in a feud with The Miz since coming back. HHH had been bringing back some released talent at the time, including Karrion Kross and Scarlett Bordeaux.
WWE has announced that the first hour of tonight’s episode of WWE RAW will be commercial-free.
Byron Saxton broke the news in a video uploaded on WWE’s social media. Saxton also announced that Becky Lynch will be kicking off tonight’s edition of the red brand.
Tonight we expect a lot of special happenings. In fact, the first hour of Monday Night Raw will be completely commercial-free.
And kicking off that commercial-free first hour of Monday Night Raw will be none other than The Man, Big Time Becky Lynch.
Becky Lynch Returns to the Ring at WWE Survivor Series
The Man came around again this past Saturday at WWE Survivor Series WarGames. Becky was named the 5th member of Team Bianca for the Women’s WarGames match at the premium live event.
Lynch wound up being the MVP of the match for Belair’s squad and guided the team to victory. Becky climbed to the top of the steel cage and connected with a Leg Drop on Damage CTRL below to pick up the pinfall victory.
After Survivor Series WarGames went off the air, Belair and Lynch were a part of the press conference following the event. Lynch quoted Eminem and admitted she was terrified of doing the Leg Drop before the show.
“Lads, I was terrified [laughs.] No, I wasn’t terrified in the moment. I was terrified getting up there in practice today, I climbed up [the cage] as I wanted to see the height of it. And my palms were sweaty, knees weak, arms spaghetti [laughs].
Reasons Becky Lynch rules:
Has main evented WrestleMania and become a WWE mainstay, yet is still diving off the #WarGames cage without hesitation to entertain the fans. Legend. pic.twitter.com/gVyZUozZSp
With Survivor Series in the rearview mirror, WWE will look ahead through the holidays and start building towards the Royal Rumble premium live event in January.
WrestlingNews.co reports that WWE has already mapped out the entire card for the show. Last week, there was a pitch within the creative team for a “Pitch Black” match and it was being seriously considered for the show.
Bray Wyatt’s Speciality?
However, the source didn’t provide any further details on the structure/rules of the match but another source in the company believes that the match is for Bray Wyatt.
Since returning to WWE, he has been involved in a feud with LA Knight. Last week on SmackDown, Wyatt claimed to not have been involved in the attack on Knight. This has left the door open for more characters to be introduced or perhaps the first member of the rumored Wyatt 6 faction.
The source said that they are being careful to not overexpose Wyatt in the ring because they want everything he does to feel extra special. WWE previously did this with him when he was portraying The Fiend character as he wrestled on a limited schedule.
In addition to this possible match, WWE will of course have its two Royal Rumble matches – one for the men and one for the women – as well as a defense of the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship by Roman Reigns.
‘Cowboy’ Bob Orton Jr. has commented on his son’s recovery as Randy Orton has been out of action and off WWE TV since May.
Last week, it was reported that Orton had fusion surgery on his lower back. When exactly Orton had the surgery done is unknown, although there’s no word on how long it will be for Orton to recover from the procedure.
Randy’s father talked about his son’s recovery while doing a virtual signing for K & S WrestleFest and stated that Randy is ‘coming along,’ and he’ll be back in the ring.
The Update
“He’s [Randy Orton] coming along. I see him maybe once a week or so. But he’s coming along. He’ll be back in there before you know it.”
Regarding who he’d like to see Randy face when he comes back, the former WWE star named Cody Rhodes as a potential opponent and added that he used to wrestle Dusty Rhodes a lot.
“I think Cody [Rhodes versus Randy] would be a hell of a match. I wrestled Dusty a lot of times so, might as well keep it ongoing [Bob smiled].”
Bob did state that he would be open to the idea of becoming an on-screen character again if Randy asked him to, as he would enjoy doing something and working with his child.
WWE star Dominik Dijakovic made his return to NXT at the end of last week’s episode of NXT under the name DIJAK.
He attacked North American Champion Wes Lee following his title defense against Carmelo Hayes on the show. This name change comes after he spent two years of his career portraying the T-Bar character on the main roster, where he was part of the infamous ‘RETRIBUTION’ stable in 2020.
DIJAK isn’t able to change his Twitter name to match his current WWE name following the change in Twitter ownership and terms and services.
The Request
The NXT star took to the platform to ask new owner Elon Musk if he could change his name if he paid for the new ‘Twitter Blue’ service. He wrote the following:
“Hello @elonmusk, if I pay your stupid $8 fee would that mean I can finally change my God forsaken name officially to DIJAK because the last thing on this planet that I want to be is T-BAR. Thank you.”
DIJAK was not the only main roster star to debut a new gimmick on last week’s NXT show, as the mysterious Scrypts was revealed as former 24/7 Champion Reggie under a mask. WWE had been airing hype videos for him for several weeks.
The Bloodline (Roman Reigns, The Usos, Sami Zayn, & Solo Sikoa) were victorious over Drew McIntyre, Sheamus, Butch, Ridge Holland & Kevin Owens in the Men’s WarGames match at Saturday’s WWE Survivor Series.
Despite winning the match, Reigns wasn’t too pleased upon returning backstage after it. According to a report by Fightful Select, Reigns was visibly upset after the Survivor Series main event because of a spot in the match.
While not confirmed, it’s believed the spot in question can be seen in the video below:
https://youtu.be/uCoG5IxRPYQ
Possible Injury
(WWE)
Reigns took exception to what he perceived as an unplanned spot between him and Owens.
As Reigns walked backstage, he expressed concern that his eardrum was ruptured due to the spot not going as originally planned. The moment was said to have been “expletive-filled,” and it was clear to everyone around that Reigns wasn’t happy about it.
Sources in WWE didn’t think there would be any extended heat regarding the situation, but rather it came across as a “heat of the moment” reaction by the top WWE star, but that’s only their perception of things.
There’s been nothing said about a physical altercation between them over the incident, and talent that spoke with the media outlet said that they expected the two to be able to coexist for work purposes.
One person put over both Reigns and Owens as passionate about what they do and figured if there were issues, they’d talk about it directly. Reigns did not appear at the post-show press conference as planned.
In the main event, The Bloodline squared off against The Brawling Brutes, Drew McIntyre, and Kevin Owens in the men’s WarGames match. Kevin Owens approached Sami Zayn outside The Bloodline’s locker room on WWE SmackDown the night prior.
KO suggested that Sami Zayn turn his back on The Bloodline before they betray him. Jey Uso was listening in and Sami denied talking to anyone when he was questioned. At Survivor Series, Jey informed Roman Reigns about Sami’s lie and the Tribal Chief called the Honorary Uce into his office.
Sami promised Roman that he had The Bloodline’s back and proved it at Survivor Series. Zayn hit Kevin Owens with a low blow and then offered him to Jey Uso. Jey climbed to the top rope and hit a Frog Splash to win the match for The Bloodline. Sami hugged Roman and Jey after the match and The Bloodline is now stronger than ever.
The Honorary Uce grabbed the microphone and hyped Solo Sikoa and complimented him on what he did during the WarGames match. Sami introduced Sikoa by saying:
“Right here, this man right here, that’s my dawg. That’s my Uce. This man was an absolute legend at WarGames”.
Sikoa can be seen trying his best not to crack up during Sami’s intro in the video below.
