– Below is video of Heath Slater talking to Charly Caruso after his WWE Royal Rumble appearance on Sunday. Slater says he eliminated new RAW Tag Team Champion Sheamus in .8 seconds, beating the previous 1 second record set by Kane and Santino Marella. Rhyno joins the interview and gives Slater props for showing a side he’s never seen before. Rhyno says Slater never gave up and that’s what matters.
– Ronda Rousey returned to the ringside area after the Royal Rumble pay-per-view went off the air and greeted fans who were hanging around. Below is video from the post-show segment:
– WWE Champion AJ Styles posted the following Twitter comments after his win over Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn in the 2-on-1 Handicap Match at the Royal Rumble and after Shinsuke Nakamura won the men’s Rumble match to earn a WrestleMania 34 title shot:
They wanted the match. They got the match. But they were never going to get my title.
Time to watch the Men’s #RoyalRumble match with MY @WWE Championship.
– WWE Monday Night RAW General Manager and WWE Hall Of Famer Kurt Angle took to Instagram to post a photo of himself, WWE Champion AJ Styles, and SmackDown Live Commissioner Shane McMahon. The trio were on set of WWE Network’s “Table For 3” and Angle said that it will be an ‘intriguing’ episode as they discuss their matches together, their families, untold stories, and even TNA Wrestling:
“Very intriguing “Table for 3” coming soon on the WWE Network. AJ Styles, Shane McMahon and Yours’ truly….. We talk about our matches together, our families, unheard stories and even TNA Wrestling. Must see. #itsttrue#AJ#Shane#Angle”
– Speaking of Shane, he took a couple of Stone Cold Stunners from WWE Hall Of Famer Stone Cold Steve Austin on the opening segment of RAW 25 last night. He took to Twitter to comment on the incident:
Shawn Michaels was recently interviewed by the Daily Mirror UK and commented on the once rumored match-up between he and AJ Styles.
When asked about the possible dream-match, here is what HBK had to say,
“There was talk about it possibly happening at WrestleMania. I think he’s an unbelievably talented young man. I wish I was 10 to 15 years younger because there are so many great guys. But it’s very important to me, I wouldn’t have retired unless I was ready to walk away. I’m flattered that every year when WrestleMania comes up people talk about me coming back, but I enjoy my time with my family, I enjoy watching WrestleMania and I also enjoy watching WWE move into the future.”
Shawn Michaels Retirement
Speaking on the importance of staying retired, Michaels had this to say:
“It’s very important that continues to happen and the only way for it to do so is for some of us in a dignified way to walk away. Much as it would be interesting to be in there with some of those young men, it’s their time now and I think it’s important that we focus on them and the future of the WWE.”
It doesn’t look as though we will see HBK wrestle anymore but that isn’t to say he doesn’t think about who he would like to face. Speaking on the current roster, HBK mentioned a few guys he would like to face in the ring:
“There is just a litany of guys. I can go from Braun Strowman to Finn Balor and then you think about all the different guys between.”
– Following yesterday’s WWE TV tapings in Laredo, Texas the dark match main event was a KFC Colonel Rumble match between WWE Champion AJ Styles and Rusev. Styles picked up the win by hitting Rusev with a Stone Cold Stunner. Footage from the match is likely to be used in an upcoming KFC commercial. Here’s the finish:
– WWE posted the following video of Bayley trying to impress her Mixed Match Challenge partner, Elias, with her guitar skills. Elias wasn’t impressed to say the least. Elias and Bayley will be taking on the team of Rusev and Lana in week five of the tournament:
Finn Balor, Karl Anderson, and Luke Gallows recently reformed The Balor Club in WWE. As one of the leading groups in NJPW, The [Balor] Club will be looking to dominate the RAW locker room, in the same way that The Shield has done in the past.
While The Balor Club already houses a formidable offense, another WWE superstar wants to join and expand the reunion, creating what could be the most lethal group in WWE.
In an interview with IGN News, AJ Styles has described his admiration towards the newly reformed group on RAW.
Styles explained that the combination of Balor, Anderson and Gallows is special and unique because they were the three original founders of The Club back in NJPW. Even though AJ Styles got the chance to part of The Club in WWE when he first arrived, he expressed a desire and interest to be part of something even more special with Finn Balor.
Unfortunately, AJ Styles added in some realism into the interview as he explained that nothing is in the pipe-line at the moment with him on SmackDown Live and The Balor Club on RAW. However he is also very optimistic about making something happen in the future.
Opinion/Discussion:
Does the use of The Club in WWE cross too many boundaries between companies? Or perhaps it’s perfect for NJPW who would welcome US fans that want to find out more?
WWE Champion AJ Styles recently spoke with Matt Fowler over at IGN.com to hype WWE’s upcoming Royal Rumble pay-per-view and Boom! Studios new Royal Rumble Special 2018 comic book, which features a story co-written by Styles spotlighting his WWE debut at the 2016 Rumble.
In recent weeks, we’ve the formation of the Balor Club on RAW, with Finn Balor finally pairing up with former Bullet Club partners Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson. Styles is no stranger to the Bullet Club and had some interesting comments about the new alliance on RAW.
“It is what it is, I guess, as far as the way things are supposed to happen,” Styles said. “Even though I had my own reunion with them shortly after I arrived, and its in the story, I’m not even with those guys right now. They’re on RAW and I’m on SmackDown and I’m kind of doing my own thing by myself. But those three guys being together is something special because, truth be told, those were the three guys who were originally together.”
He continued, “If I could look into the future or try to predict things. I’d like to think that maybe we can all be together doing something. At some point. But you never know where things are going to lead, but right now I’m very interested in what I’m seeing.”
The Phenomenal One also commented on WWE announcers dubbing him the “Redneck Rookie” – an absurd moniker for a veteran of his stature. Styles was no fan of the nickname and used his influence backstage to get it dropped.
“I was like ‘Uh, I’ve been doing this for 16 years.’ I’m not a rookie and I’m not even the age a rookie would be coming into anything. So yeah, I kind of tried to squash that as quickly as I could.”
Other topics discussed include the success he’s achieved in WWE, his love of video games and more. Visit IGN.com to read the full interview.
– Unfortunately is seems that WWE Champion AJ Styles is going to have to cheer on his Georgia Bulldogs from the road as they take on the Alabama Crimson Tide in the College Football National Championship game Monday Night. “The Phenomenal One” took to Twitter to announce that he reluctantly had to turn down an offer to attend the championship game:
– For those wondering, the reason No Way Jose has been off of NXT TV for the past month is because he has been dealing with injuries. It seems like he’s doing better, however, as he returned to action during Thursday’s set of television tapings at the Center Stage arena in Atlanta. He is currently not booked for the NXT:TakeOver Philadelphia event.
WrestleMania season is arguably the best time in all of wrestling and the first quarter of 2018 will be no different. Earlier this week fans around the world witnessed New Japan Pro Wrestling’s Wrestle Kingdom 12 event, including Chris Jericho’s highly anticipated return to the promotion. Up next: WWE’s Royal Rumble on January 28th.
The Royal Rumble has more than earned its place as one of WWE’s premiere annual pay-per-view events. The Rumble has produced countless memorable moments since it’s inception back in 1988. Today, we’re looking at 3 of the most memorable WWE Superstar debuts that took place in the Rumble match.
Rusev
The ‘Bulgarian Brute’ made his main roster debut for WWE during the 2014 Rumble, making his appearance as the 6th entrant in the match. Whilst still using the first name Alexander (before WWE began dropping the first names of several Superstars), the former NXT standout was made to look like an absolute powerhouse alongside WWE’s more established acts such as Cody Rhodes, Kofi Kingston, CM Punk and Seth Rollins.
Rusev also played an integral part in one of the match’s best moments, the annual “Kofi Kingston spot,” when he caught Kofi as he was falling to the outside and rested him on the black mat guardrail, allowing the New Day member to leap back to the safety of the ring.
Rusev’s current run alongside Aiden English is arguably some of the best work of his WWE career and his ‘Rusev Day’ campaign has really taken off. With some momentum behind him, it will be interesting to see how Rusev performs later this month in the match that got him started on the main roster.
Vader
Vader is considered to be one of the greatest big man ever to compete in pro wrestling ring and for good reason. The 3-time WCW World Champion made his WWE debut during the 1996 Rumble match entering as the 13th participant. The ‘Mastodon’ eliminated Jake Roberts, Doug Gilbert and Savio Vega before being sent over the top rope by eventual winner, Shawn Michaels.
The following night, Vader took part in a memorable angle on Monday night RAW when he viciously assaulted then-WWF President Gorilla Monsoon. It was the first time that an ‘authority figure’ was attacked on WWE television.
Vader actually made an appearance on New Japan Pro Wrestling’s January 4th show in 1996, then dubbed ‘Wrestling World,’ he fought (in a losing effort) against Japanese legend Antonio Inoki…fairly similar circumstances to our final name:
AJ Styles
The Phenomenal AJ Styles
Was there really another choice for the top spot? The ‘Phenomenal One’ made his WWE debut during the 2016 Rumble and has been tearing through the WWE ever since.
Making his entrance as the third participant in the match, Styles received a thunderous ovation from the live crowd after weeks of rumors that he was WWE bound. The excitement over Styles’ WWE debut was amplified by the fact that the only other man in the ring was the controversial “chosen one,” Roman Reigns. AJ Styles’ entrance into the 2016 Royal Rumble was an iconic moment that will be remembered for years to come.
The former IWGP, TNA and Rev Pro Champion is now a staple of WWE programming, but a possible Rumble debut from AJ Styles seemed almost too good to be true after he competed at NJPW’s Wrestle Kingdom 10 event just weeks prior. Styles battled Shinsuke Nakamura for the IWGP Intercontinental Championship on that show, a match that many are hoping is replicated in a matter of months at Wrestlemania 34.
– On last night’s episode of SmackDown Live it was announced that WWE Champion AJ Styles will defend his title in a 2-on-1 handicap match against Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn at the Royal Rumble pay-per-view (PPV) later this month. “KO” took to Twitter to react to the WWE Title opportunity:
– Last night’s episode of 205 Live continued the feud of Hideo Itami and Jack Gallagher as Gallagher beat Itami down with a pipe. You can check out the video of the segment here below:
As we’ve noted, the dark main event of last night’s SmackDown Live and 205 Live tapings was a Six-Man Tag Team match between the teams of Bobby Roode, AJ Styles, and Shinsuke Nakamura against Jinder Mahal, Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens. During the match Zayn tried to haul a water bottle and AJ Styles at ringside, however, “The Phenomenal One” caught it and fired it right back at him:
– Early tomorrow morning Chris Jericho will be returning to New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) for his highly-anticipated match-up against Kenny Omega at Wrestle Kingdom 12. Jericho took to Instagram to post some fan art that showed himself, Chris Benoit, and Eddie Guerrero. “Y2J” said that he is dedicating his match tomorrow to his “fallen brothers”:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BdfXpUjlQnS/
– In the dark main event after SmackDown Live and 205 Live tapings; a Six-Man Tag Team match between the teams of AJ Styles, Bobby Roode, and Shinsuke Nakamura took on the team of Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, and Jinder Mahal. “The Phenomenal One” and his team were able to emerge victorious to send the crowd home happy.
SmackDown General Manager Daniel Bryan announced on tonight’s show that WWE Champion AJ Styles will defend his title against Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens in a Handicap Match at the Royal Rumble pay-per-view, which takes place on January 28th from the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.
SmackDown also saw new Superstars confirmed for the men’s and women’s Royal Rumble matches – Baron Corbin, Liv Morgan and Sarah Logan.
Below is the updated Rumble card coming out of SmackDown:
30-Man Royal Rumble Match
John Cena, Elias, Finn Balor, Randy Orton, Shinsuke Nakamura, Baron Corbin, TBA
30-Woman Royal Rumble Match
Asuka, Naomi, Ruby Riott, Natalya, Sasha Banks, Bayley, Paige, Mandy Rose, Sonya Deville, Carmella, Tamina Snuka, Lana, Natalya, Liv Morgan, Sarah Logan, TBA
Triple Threat for the WWE Universal Title
Kane vs. Braun Strowman vs. Brock Lesnar
2-on-1 Handicap Match for the WWE Title
Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens vs. AJ Styles
WWE United States Title Tournament Finals
Bobby Roode or Zack Ryder or Mojo Rawley vs. Jinder Mahal or Xavier Woods
AJ Styles was already a huge name in professional wrestling before coming to WWE, and his year with the company in 2017 was nothing less that stellar. “The Phenomenal One” became the first person in WWE history to win the WWE Championship outside of North America when he defeated Jinder Mahal at a SmackDown Live taping in Manchester, England during WWE’s European Tour.
After making history in 2017, Styles has already made history in 2018 just two days into the new year. Styles joins Superstars such as Bruno Sammartino, Bob Backlund, Hulk Hogan, John Cena and, CM Punk who have started and ended a calendar year while holding the WWE Championship. He won the strap back in 2016 from Dean Ambrose at the Backlash pay-per-view (PPV) before going on to lose it to John Cena in January of 2017 at the Royal Rumble.
He then beat Mahal on SmackDown Live back in November and retained the title into the new year. Now we await to see how WWE uses Styles heading into WrestleMania 34 and who will challenge “The Phenomenal One” at “The Show Of Shows” for the WWE Title.
On last week’s episode of SmackDown Live Kevin Owens picked up a win over WWE Champion AJ Styles after a distraction from Sami Zayn. As a result, WWE has announced that AJ Styles will be taking on Sami Zayn on this week’s episode of SmackDown Live – the first of 2018:
Styles vs. Zayn becomes the third confirmed match for Tuesday’s episode of SmackDown Live. Also on deck is a SmackDown Live Tag Team Title match between The Usos vs. Chad Gable and Shelton Benjamin, as well as a first round United States Title Tournament match between Xavier Woods and Aiden English.
WWE Champion AJ Styles recently did an interview with The Orlando Sentinel to discuss a variety of professional wrestling topics. “The Phenomenal One” talked about being recognized as one of the best in-ring performers in the business today, his WWE debut at the Royal Rumble, and bonding with his fellow WWE Superstars through video games. You can check out the highlights here below:
Being recognized as one of the best performers in the world today:
“I take a lot of pride in what I do. No matter who I’m in the ring with, I want it to look like what it’s supposed to be. We call it sports entertainment, but it’s supposed to be a contact sport. I want to make that in-ring contact as real as possible, and [also make it real] outside the ring.
“The magic is making the fans question whether these two guys really like each other or hate each other. That performance is what the business is all about … it’s the storylines that people remember.”
His WWE debut in the Royal Rumble:
“Everything pales in comparison to the Royal Rumble. The response I got that night from the fans, after a couple of years out of the U.S. mainstream, is something I’ll never forget. I was really worried about how much the people would actually remember me, but that response made it something really special.”
Bonding with his fellow Superstars through video games:
“These are a group of guys and girls I really enjoy going to work with. You walk in and you’ve got [the New Day’s] Xavier Woods and his video games – that’s right up my alley. So a bunch of us start playing UFC or Madden, and that’s fun. Because you know, idle hands are the devil’s workshop.”
You can read Styles’ full interview with The Orlando Sentinel by clicking this link here.
As we’ve previously reported, the main event for WWE’s Fastlane pay-per-view (PPV) in March has been leaked out – a Fatal-Five Way match for the WWE Title between AJ Styles, Randy Orton, Shinsuke Nakamura, Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn. The match has yet to be confirmed by WWE, however, if that match does take place it would indicate that Orton, Nakamura, Owens, or Zayn won’t be winning the Royal Rumble match as it wouldn’t make sense for them to challenge for the title at Fastlane after winning the rumble.
There has been speculation that perhaps John Cena could win the Royal Rumble and go on to challenge AJ Styles for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 34, with the storyline being Cena trying to break the record he shares with Ric Flair of being a 16-time World Champion. Per a report from Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Cena vs. Styles will not be happening as Cena will be involved in a much bigger match at WrestleMania 34 instead.
Meltzer noted that he didn’t know who Cena would be facing, however, he was told it would be made clear over the next several weeks. The only names Meltzer could come up with were The Undertaker, Batista, Goldberg or Hulk Hogan. Hogan would be a huge surprise given the leak of his racist comments a few years ago and the issues he has with his back. It’s expected that some matches for WrestleMania 34 will begin to build-up at RAW’s 25th Anniversary special on Monday, January 22, 2018.
The event will be a special simulcast event from both the Barclays Center and the Manhattan Center in New York City; with names such as John Cena, The Undertaker, Kevin Nash, Shawn Michaels, and more scheduled to appear. We’ll keep you updated as we learn more….
While the upcoming SmackDown Exclusive PPV Fastlane is more than 2 and half months away, it appears we already know what’s going to be the main event of the show.
The official website of Nationwide Arena, the venue for the upcoming event is advertising a Fatal Five Way WWE Title match as the featured bout of the show.
The match is expected to see AJ Styles defending his Championship against fellow SmackDown Stars Shinsuke Nakamura, Randy Orton, Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn.
It’s worth mentioning here that some recent reports suggested that Shinsuke Nakamura was being considered to win the upcoming Royal Rumble match by some within WWE.
However, him being part of this Championship match may very well mean that the Officials have dropped these plans and Nakamura wouldn’t be winning the upcoming Battle Royal.
Other stars advertised for the show include SmackDown Tag Team Champions the Usos, SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair, Dolph Ziggler, Bobby Roode, Jinder Mahal, The New Day and more.
Though this match is yet to be confirmed by the company so there is still a possibility of them changing their plans before the PPV. We’ll keep you posted if any more details regarding it come to light.
– On last night’s episode of Talking Smack following WWE’s Clash Of Champions pay-per-view (PPV) event, Charlotte Flair was asked by Renee Young about what’s next for her in her title reign. Flair noted that she wants to continue to improve but she also wants to be irreplaceable. She wants to be a feature attraction and the reason people are buying tickets to shows – much like WWE Champion AJ Styles. You can check out the video here:
– Last night also marked five years since former NXT Champion Big E made his main roster debut in WWE at the 2012 Slammys episode of Monday Night RAW. E took to Twitter to comment on the anniversary:
Five (yes, FIVE!) years ago today, I stared blankly into your homes for the first time. pic.twitter.com/2ZGlPgKZIP
– An in-ring face-off between WWE Champion AJ Styles and former champ Jinder Mahal has been announced for tomorrow’s episode of SmackDown Live. Styles and Mahal had the following Twitter exchange to hype the event:
– In the dark main event following last night’s 205 Live tapings, WWE Champion AJ Styles successfully defended his title against Jinder Mahal. The pair did not appear on last night’s broadcast, however, WWE did air a video package hyping their feud. They will face off against one another at WWE’s Clash Of Champions pay-per-view (PPV) on December 17th.
– As noted, Rusev and Aiden English were added to the SmackDown Live Tag Team Title match at Clash Of Champions. The bout will now be a Fatal Four-Way between defending champions The Usos, The New Day, Chad Gable & Shelton Benjamin, and Rusev & Aiden English.
Rusev and English earned their opportunity to participate in the match by defeating The New Day on SmackDown Live last night. WWE posted the following video of Rusev and English’s reaction to the news:
– At a recent WWE Live Event in Lima, Peru, WWE Champion AJ Styles successfully defended his title against Jinder Mahal. After the match Styles took a cardboard cutout that one fan had of “The Maharaja” and brought it into the ring before hitting it with the Styles Clash. Check it out:
– WWE continues to tease “Woken” Matt Hardy after posting the following video after their Salt Lake City, Utah Live Event in which Hardy let a “Delete” chant with the crowd:
For whatever reason, there have been rumors circulating that WWE Champion AJ Styles could be retiring from professional wrestling after next year’s WrestleMania 34 event from the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. “The Phenomenal One” saw one of these rumors floating around on Twitter and flat out denied the bogus reports:
Styles has been wrestling since the late 90s and has competed all across the world throughout his illustrious career. After competing in promotions such as Ring Of Honor, IMPACT Wrestling, New Japan Pro Wrestling, and so many more – Styles finally found his way to WWE in 2016 as a surprise entrant in the Royal Rumble.
In his short time with the company Styles is already a two-time United States and WWE Champion (which he currently holds). At 40-years-of-age it should be interesting to see just how much more Styles can accomplish under the WWE’s banner.
A photo has been making the rounds online for a WWE live event in Florence, South Carolina featuring Baron Corbin holding a redesigned United States Championship. The photo was even published on the official Facebook page of the Florence Civic Center, the venue hosting the upcoming show. For fans who have emailed us asking about the “new” US title belt, it’s Photoshopped and not a design WWE will be changing to any time soon.
– WWE posted a backstage interview with Jinder Mahal after last night’s SmackDown Live. Mahal ranted about being forced to defend the WWE Title against AJ Styles when he was focused on preparing for a match with Brock Lesnar at Survivor Series. Mahal also stated that Styles robbed him of the opportunity of visiting his homeland of India with the WWE Title. Check it out:
– As noted, tonight’s WWE SmackDown saw WWE Champion AJ Styles defeat The Singh Brothers in a 2-on-1 Handicap Match, despite a pre-match attack from Jinder Mahal. WWE posted this video of the beatdown continuing during the commercial break:
– WWE has confirmed that the Fatal 4 Way on next week’s RAW will feature Drew Gulak, Tony Nese, Mustafa Ali and Cedric Alexander. As noted, the winner of that Fatal 4 Way will face Rich Swann the next week with the winner going on to face WWE Cruiserweight Champion Enzo Amore the following week.
– Zack Ryder and Mojo Rawley took to Twitter tonight and tweeted the following after Mojo turned on Ryder following their loss to Rowan & Harper in a rematch from last week’s loss.
– It looks like the upcoming WWE Clash of Champions pay-per-view may see WWE United States Champion Baron Corbin defend against Bobby Roode. Tonight’s WWE SmackDown saw Roode issue a challenge to Corbin but Corbin turned him down. Below is video from that segment:
– Tonight’s SmackDown also saw WWE Champion AJ Styles defeat The Singh Brothers in a 2-on-1 Handicap Match, despite a pre-match attack from Jinder Mahal. Styles tweeted the following after the match and commented on his upcoming match with Jinder at WWE Clash of Champions:
Tried beating me 3 on 1… Couldn’t do it 2 on 1…. …And at #WWEClash you will NEVER beat me 1 on 1. #Phenomenal#SDLive
– Ruby Riot revealed on tonight’s SmackDown that her stable with Sarah Logan and Liv Morgan will be called The Riott Squad. The trio later defeated Naomi and SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair after Natalya walked out on her partners. As seen below, Naomi was stretchered out after being double teamed by Liv and Logan.
