Former WWE Monday Night RAW and SmackDown Live Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair doesn’t seem to be too big a fan of intergender wrestling. The fad returned to WWE this past weekend at the Royal Rumble pay-per-view (PPV). Nia Jax attacked R-Truth, who entered at the number 30 spot, taking his place in the bout. Jax proceeded to eliminate SmackDown Live star Mustafa Ali from the Rumble.
However, Randy Orton, Rey Mysterio, and Dolph Ziggler all attacked Jax before eliminating her. Speaking to Shan & RJ from 105.3 The Fan, Flair said Jax “looked like a star” in the men’s Rumble. However, it’s not something she thinks should happen every week, as it’s “easy entertainment”:
“When I’ve been asked the question, ‘Do you want to wrestle the guys?’ I say ‘no’ because it’s easy to wrestle a guy. It’s easy entertainment,” said Charlotte. “It’s harder to tell a good story with all female talent. But I thought Nia looked like a star and she killed it.
“She added a lot to the Men’s Rumble. I don’t think they could have thrown anyone in there. A lot of it had to do with Nia’s presence and size. She could handle it. Maybe it will open the doors but I don’t think it should be happening every week. It has to be once a year or it takes away from the uniqueness of it.”
Intergender wrestling has become very prominent in the indy wrestling scene as of late. During WWE’s Mixed Match Challenge, fans became annoyed that the female and male talents couldn’t interact with each other physically. Thus, prompting WWE’s decision to have Jax in the Men’s Rumble. It will be interesting to see how much more WWE does this.
What do you make of Flair’s comments on intergender wrestling?
Ronda Rousey will defend her RAW Women’s Championship tomorrow night (Sun. January 27, 2019). “The Rowdy One” will defend her strap against Sasha Banks at the Royal Rumble pay-per-view (PPV). The event goes down from the Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona. Rousey has called a match with Banks one of her dream match-ups. She’ll finally get the opportunity to share the ring with “The Boss” on one of WWE’s biggest events of the year.
In preparation for her bout, Banks has been training at the WWE Performance Center alongside Charlotte Flair. They also trained at the Amazing Red’s House of Glory wrestling school in Queens. WWE posted a video of their sessions below. Check it out here:
There are several big match-ups scheduled for tomorrow’s PPV. Check out the full card for the event below:
WWE Universal Championship: (C) Brock Lesnar vs. Finn Balor
WWE Championship: (C) Daniel Bryan vs. AJ Styles
30-Man Royal Rumble Match: R-Truth, Rey Mysterio, Mustafa Ali, John Cena, Andrade “Cien” Almas, Apollo Crews, Elias, Baron Corbin, Jinder Mahal, Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins, Samoa Joe, Finn Balor, Drew McIntyre, Kofi Kingston, Big E, Xavier Woods, Jeff Hardy, Bobby Lashley, Kalisto, TBA
30-Woman Royal Rumble Match: Carmella, Naomi, Zelina Vega, Natalya, Bayley, Sasha Banks, Ember Moon, Ruby Riott, Sarah Logan, Liv Morgan, Mandy Rose, Sonya Deville, Alicia Fox, Mickie James, TBA
WWE RAW Women’s Championship: (C) Ronda Rousey vs. Sasha Banks
WWE SmackDown Women’s Championship: (C) Asuka vs. Becky Lynch
WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship: (C) The Bar vs. Shane McMahon & The Miz
Fatal Four-Way Match For The WWE Cruiserweight Championship: (C) Buddy Murphy vs. Kalisto vs. Akira Tozawa vs. Hideo Itami
WWE United States Championship: (C) Rusev vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
What do you think about Flair helping Banks prepare for her match with Rousey?
Charlotte Flair has had an extremely successful career with WWE thus far. The 32-year-old started her professional wrestling career back in 2012. She signed with WWE and was sent to developmental in NXT. Throughout her years in the company, Flair has already established herself as one of the best female competitors of all time. The former NXT Women’s Champion is also a former Divas Champion, a four-time RAW Women’s Champion, and a two-time SmackDown Live Women’s Champion.
Being the daughter of two-time WWE Hall Of Famer Ric Flair, it’s no surprise how talented “The Queen” has been given her bloodline. Currently, Flair often pays homage to her father inside the ring on a regular basis. From regularly “Wooooo’ing” to utilizing her Figure Eight Leg Lock as one of her finishers, a play off of Ric Flair’s old Figure Four submission maneuver. However, Flair wasn’t always allowed to use any of her father’s old signatures.
Developmental Restrictions
Speaking to SportsBible recently, Flair revealed that she actually wasn’t allowed to act like her father in developmental:
“Truly that’s why I am here celebrating today because I am NXT homegrown. I know my dad’s Ric Flair but when I showed up at FCW/NXT, I didn’t know anything about wrestling – I didn’t watch it, I didn’t study it, I didn’t know the history of it – I just knew I liked my dad and he was a wrestler.
“If you take a clean slate like me, even though I played division one volleyball, the performance centre molded me. Yes, I had the last name but I wasn’t allowed to woo, I wasn’t allowed to chop and I couldn’t do the figure four.
“I couldn’t do anything like my dad, and I think they were like, ‘Wow she’s got the it factor, maybe she can carry the name’. They’ve molded a professional wrestler from nothing is how I look at it.”
What do you think about Flair not being allowed to act like her father in developmental?
WWE recently launched their brand new Performance Center in the UK. During the launch, former SmackDown Live Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair did an interview with “Inside The Ropes.” “The Queen” discussed her WWE career and all that she has been able to accomplish in such a short time. Flair is a former WWE Divas Champion, a four-time RAW Women’s Champion, and a two-time SDL Women’s Champion.
She has been a huge piece of WWE’s Women’s Evolution in the past several years. However, due to Charlotte being the daughter of two-time WWE Hall Of Famer Ric Flair, many attribute her success to her bloodline. Flair admitted that this notion used to make her feel bad. It wasn’t until around December when Flair stopped apologizing for being “that good.” She also said it’s her destiny to main event a WrestleMania:
“For so long, I’ve felt like I couldn’t brag or be proud of my accomplishments, that so many people were like, ‘Well why is Charlotte flair this many times champion, why is she always in the title picture, why has she main evented RAW and SmackDown?’ And when people kept saying that, it made me feel bad,” Flair said.
“I actually felt bad for everything I had accomplished. And certain individuals made me feel bad instead of saying like, ‘Why can’t you just be proud of me knowing that, whoever talent I face is on the journey with me?’
“And I think once December rolled around, I had just had enough of where I can’t apologize for being good. I am that good. And I am going to continue to prove to people that I am the baddest woman on the planet, and nothing’s gonna stop me, and it is my destiny to main event WrestleMania.”
Becky Lynch was scheduled to face RAW Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey at WWE’s Survivor Series pay-per-view (PPV) in November. Unfortunately, Lynch suffered a broken nose and concussion during an angle on RAW. Flair took Lynch’s place in the match, sparking a rivalry between “The Queen” and the former UFC champion. Recent reports suggest the first-ever women’s match to main event a WrestleMania will be Lynch vs. Rousey.
However, it’s possible Flair finds her way into the match once WrestleMania rolls around:
“I don’t care what woman is standing in front of me,” Flair said. “WrestleMania is my goal because I am the main event.”
Former WWE Raw and SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair has been making the media rounds in order to promote the WWE brand. While doing a recent interview with SportsKeeda, the daughter of WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair talked about two interesting topics.
First up is the possibility of John Cena breaking Ric Flair’s record of sixteen World Title wins as the longtime WWE star currently is tied with the pro wrestling legend once he got the same reigns as the record back at Royal Rumble 2017 by beating AJ Styles.
“Yes, I think John Cena is one of the hardest working men in our industry and if anyone wants to achieve what my dad did, it will be him.”
Flair also gave some to current WWE NXT Women’s Champion Shayna Baszler for making a nice transition from being an active pro-MMA fighter to the world of pro wrestling. The former WWE champ stated that she thinks Baszler has progressed quickly.
“I think she’s an excellent bad guy. I think she has a lot of grit to her and I think she will do well. I look forward to facing her someday. After I beat her friend.”
Flair also talked about Sasha Banks’ chances against Ronda Rousey and more. You can read the full interview here.
During Monday’s edition of WWE Raw from Orlando, Florida, Sasha Banks earned the right to challenge Raw Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey at the Royal Rumble. According to Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio, this was not the original plan for the match. Before WWE settled on Sasha Banks as Rousey’s Rumble opponent, the original plan was for Rousey to defend against Charlotte Flair.
Had Rousey faced Flair at Royal Rumble, the belief is that her next major feud would have been against Becky Lynch at Wrestlemania 35. There is still the possibility that we see Ronda vs Flair at Elimination Chamber in February.
Since this switch, Meltzer has speculated that WWE could be building towards a triple-threat matchup. The match would see Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch, and “Rowdy” Ronda Rousey compete for the championship.
“It’s not official that it’s gonna be a three-way at Wrestlemania,” Meltzer said. “It sure seems that way, yes. I was told it’s not official, it’s under consideration and because it’s under consideration the decision was made to pull the match from the Royal Rumble, which means they’re leaning toward it.”
Ronda’s actions at the end of December’s TLC event, costing both Lynch and Flair during their triple-threat match against Asuka, definitely sets up a natural series of matches. But with Rousey already holding a victory over Charlotte at Survivor Series last year, it will be interesting to see how WWE bring the three women together as we approach Wrestlemania.
What do you think? Are you happy with a triple-threat at Wrestlemania 35 or would you have preferred Becky Lynch vs Ronda Rousey?
WWE has announced a triple threat match for Smackdown Tuesday night. Becky Lynch, Charlotte Flair, and Carmella will meet in a #1 Contenders match. The winner will face Asuka for the Smackdown women’s championship at the Royal Rumble.
“Charlotte and Becky both feel that they should be SmackDown Women’s Champion at this present moment and only are not because of Ronda Rousey’s interference in their match against Asuka,” a WWE press release for the match reads.
Becky Lynch vs Carmella vs Charlotte Flair
The #1 contenders match also represents a return to the championship picture for Carmella, who held the title from last April to August. Carmella told media last month she plans to win back the title someday.
“I will become champion again,” Carmella said. “That’s for sure, but right now everyone has their moment and then you get back into the mix. I’m not in any rush, when it happens it’ll happen.”
Royal Rumble 2019
With the winner of this match taking on Asuka at the Royal Rumble, the updated card looks like this:
Royal Rumble 2019 – January 27th, 2019
Women’s Royal Rumble match
Men’s Royal Rumble match
Smackdown Women’s Championship
Asuka (c) vs (Winner of Carmella vs Charlotte Flair vs Becky Lynch)
WWE Championship
Daniel Bryan (c) vs AJ Styles
Universal Championship
Brock Lesnar (c) vs Braun Strowman
WWE Cruiserweight Championship Fatal 4-Way
Buddy Murphy (c) vs Kalisto vs Akira Tozawa vs TBD
Ronda Rousey recently held a Q&A on her YouTube channel. The RAW Women’s Champion discussed a number of topics with the main highlight being her intervention in the TLC Main Event. Rousey interfered and cost Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch the match, leaving Asuka to climb the ladder and grab the Smackdown Women’s Championship.
Rousey said that “I have a lot of respect for Asuka and I’ve always have. I didn’t really want to rain on her parade at the Royal Rumble. I just wanted to come out and congratulate her and bring more eyes to her incredible moment. She didn’t seem too thrilled about that.” Rousey then turned her attention to Lynch and Flair, stating that “At TLC, both Charlotte and Becky are a bunch of cheaters, they had it coming to them. I don’t have to explain my actions to anybody. I was completely justified by my actions.” Ronda elaborated further, saying that “Payback is a b—- and Askua deserves to be champion more than either of them. She’s never had to cheat. She never had to walk out of a match because she was losing. She’s just the best and now she’s the champ.”
You can check out the full Q&A below.
Credit to Ronda Rousey and H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
With WWE’s Tables, Ladders and Chairs event still in the rearview mirror, Charlotte Flair has taken the opportunity to share her opinion of the event and her role within it.
Speaking with Fox 26 in Fresno, California prior to Tuesday night’s SmackDown Live event, ‘The Queen’ reflected on how she felt at TLC, just before the main event got underway, believing that the women of WWE stole the show once again.
“It was exciting. The best part was that the women stole the show again,” she stated, proudly. “And, actually, before I walked up to the curtain, I was like, ‘I know we kept saying we wanted the main event, we wanted the main event.’ And then when I was walking up to the curtain I was like, ‘Oh, I hope this lives up to its expectation.’ But it was amazing.”
The event saw history being made as then-champion Becky Lynch defended her SmackDown Women’s Title in a triple threat against Charlotte Flair and Asuka. The match was held under TLC rules and was the first women’s TLC match in WWE’s long history. Asuka would wind up victorious by the end of the gruelling match after an assist from Raw Women’s champion, Ronda Rousey.
Do you agree? Did the triple threat steal the show for you? If not that match, which one impressed you the most?
Tonight’s episode of Smackdown will emanate from the Save Mart Center in Fresno, California. Smackdown is under new management as well. Last night on Raw, the McMahon family announced they will be taking control of both Raw and Smackdown.
Smackdown General Manager, Paige, reacted to the news:
On Sunday, Asuka climbed the ladder and grabbed the Smackdown Women’s Championship title. Tonight on Smackdown, the era of Asuka begins. Will there be someone from the Smackdown women’s division who wants to end her title reign quickly, however? We could find out more about what is in store for Asuka and her title reign as we head towards the Royal Rumble tonight.
Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair Respond To Ronda Rousey’s Actions On Sunday
Ronda Rousey cost both Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair the Smackdown Women’s title on Sunday. While it’s not yet clear what will be in store for that two former friends as WWE heads into the Royal Rumble, tonight both will respond to Rousey’s actions from Sunday.
Will Daniel Bryan Introduce A New Strap For The WWE Championship?
Daniel Bryan promised that if he could defeat AJ styles at TLC on Sunday that he would replace the strap on the WWE championship. According to Bryan, he wants to introduce a new sustainable strap. Bryan evidently realized on Sunday the strap for the title is made of leather and leather comes from cows which create methane and contribute to global warming when mass-bred through factory farming.
Will Bryan follow through on his promise? If so, what will the strap be made out of? Will he mistakenly refer to it as a belt? We could find out the answers to these questions tonight on Smackdown.
Who Will Be Next For The Bar?
The Bar defeated arguably two of the best teams in WWE history on Sunday. In a triple threat match, they defeated both New Day and the Usos. Just like that, new title contenders will need to be determined in the Smackdown tag team division. We could find out tonight what is next in store for Sheamus and Cesaro tonight.
As noted before, Asuka walked out of the Tables, Ladders and Chairs pay-per-view event last night as the WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion, in the main event match which also saw interference by Raw Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey.
In a video released by WWE, we get a glimpse at what happened after the match when TLC went off the air:
As Charlotte Flair was making her way back to the ring, we see Becky Lynch angry over the interference by Ronda Rousey which cost both the competitors the title.
Charlotte Flair herself was not too happy with the outcome, and understandably so.
During the match, Ronda Rousey interfered by pushing Becky and Charlotte off a ladder which gave Asuka the chance to win the match.
“I will be back, I will be back, I will be back!” an emotional Becky Lynch proclaims on the ramp whilst making her way backstage.
While as of this writing there is no news on when Becky Lynch will get her rematch for the title, it seems like it could be coming soon. We could see a rematch this Tuesday on SmackDown Live or on the Royal Rumble, whenever it is, we’ll keep you updated.
SmackDown Live heads to Las Vegas, Nevada tonight for the go-home show for the TLC pay-per-view event. The final show before Sunday’s TLC will be held at the T-Mobile Arena.
The show’s highlights are going to be a WrestleMania rematch between Asuka and Charlotte Flair, a rap battle between The Usos and The Bar (with The New Day as hosts), and a match between Naomi and Mandy Rose.
Charlotte Flair meets Asuka in a WrestleMania Rematch
After ending Asuka’s two-and-a-half year undefeated streak at WrestleMania 34, Charlotte will once again go face-to-face against the Empress of Tomorrow before their triple threat match at TLC.
The Usos and The Bar to clash in a Rap Battle hosted by The New Day
The rap battle on SmackDown makes a return – and the participants are the same faces that we saw last year, with the addition of The Bar. Except The New Day this time are going to serve as the hosts.
The Bar are going to defend the SmackDown Tag Team Championships against The Usos at TLC and the rap battle will serve as an momentum booster for the teams before their match on Sunday.
Jeff Hardy to address Samoa Joe’s “public service announcement”
Not only did Samoa Joe made Jeff Hardy lose his match against Randy Orton last week, he made a “public service announcement” on the dangers of drinking in excess, mocking Hardy’s addiction problems.
The Charismatic Enigma will address Samoa Joe’s public service announcement in response tonight on SmackDown.
Naomi goes one-on-one with Mandy Rose
Naomi and Mandy Rose will see each other in the ring tonight after their war of words on Twitter. The two went on about each other on the website when SmackDown General Manager Paige had to get involved and set an official match between the two.
. @NaomiWWE I actually feel kinda bad for you sis…
Even @WWEAsuka got tired of you & now has a #TLC title match… AND You’re the reason u and ur hubby just lost in #MMC … NOW WHAT ?!?! ????
I am not your sis! How can someone so beautiful on the outside be so damn ugly inside ? Keep it up #bootlegEva and I’ll finish snatching you like I was before https://t.co/rQPURLnzs8
Charlotte Flair has already achieved a staggering amount during her six-year career with WWE.
From holding gold in every WWE brand she’s been a part of, to dealing with copious media duties whilst still diligently performing every week, Charlotte can hold her head high over what she has accomplished.
She’s even surpassed a record set by her father, the legendary WWE Hall Of Famer, “The Nature Boy” Ric Flair.
Breaking A Record
Recently, Ryan Satin of Pro Wrestling Sheet sent out a Tweet asking the “Wrestlers of Twitter” to “tell us all one fun fact about yourselves that fans probably wouldn’t already know.”
Charlotte responded by revealing that she has officially had “more matches than my Dad in the WWE.”
According to CageMatch.net, Charlotte Flair has wrestled 695 matches (at the time of writing) compared to Ric’s 675. It’s important to note that these stats seem to be referring specifically to matches held within a WWE ring.
Flair is currently slated to participate in a triple threat Ladder Match at this Sunday’s Tables, Ladders and Chairs event. She will attempt to reclaim the SmackDown Women’s championship. In her way are the defending champion, ‘The Man’ Becky Lynch, as well as ‘The Empress of Tomorrow’ Asuka.
Becky Lynch took a crack at Charlotte Flair’s “cosmetic enhancements” on Twitter recently. Lynch was responding to criticism from Flair about having missed time on Smackdown due to a concussion and broken face.
Walking out in a T-shirt doesn’t qualify as “not missing a smackdown”.
I’ve never missed a day as champ. You want to make fun? Go ahead. You have plenty of time to tweet from the sidelines. When you pull out of TLC, I’ll be there to save the day. Again. https://t.co/e93Wyh7cJF
“Walking out in a T-shirt doesn’t qualify as “not missing a smackdown”. I’ve never missed a day as champ. You want to make fun? Go ahead. You have plenty of time to tweet from the sidelines. When you pull out of TLC, I’ll be there to save the day. Again.”
Becky Lynch vs Charlotte Flair vs Asuka – TLC
Becky Lynch will defend her Smackdown Women’s Championship against 2 challengers in 8 days at TLC. Originally, Smackdown GM, Paige, booked a rematch between Becky and Charlotte for the title. The rest of the Smackdown Women’s roster complained, however, and Paige later scheduled a battle royal with the winner being added to Becky vs Charlotte at TLC.
Asuka would win the battle royal later that same evening and book her spot with Becky and Charlotte at TLC.
Smackdown tonight will take place inside the Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Texas. 4 segments have been confirmed for the show.
Smackdown 12/4 Preview
Becky Lynch, Charlotte Flair, and Asuka Contract Signing
Last week on Smackdown, Asuka won a 9-person battle royal to become the third participant in the triple threat TLC Women’s Smackdown Championship match at TLC. Tonight, all 3 competitors will be in the ring at the same time to officially sign their contracts.
MizTV w/ Special Guest Daniel Bryan
Daniel Bryan and the Miz were rivals for years while Bryan was not medically cleared to compete. In 2018, they’ve taken their rivalry to the ring. Now that Bryan has become “the New Daniel Bryan”, however, the dynamic between the two could be entirely different. We’ll find out tonight when Bryan is the guest on MizTV.
Former WWE Champion and Bryan’s opponent at TLC, AJ Styles, will likely be watching this segment closely.
Jeff Hardy vs Randy Orton
Tonight will be the 12th 1-on-1 match between Orton and Hardy dating back to 2006. Hardy beat Orton in a #1 contender’s match for the Intercontinental Championship back on Monday Night Raw from August 28th, 2006 in their first match.
The last time the two met, on Smackdown October 23rd, 2018, Orton beat Hardy to pull ahead in the all-time series 6-5.
What about Samoa Joe? He interrupted Jeff Hardy’s 20th Anniversary with the WWE celebration last week. Will he get involved in Jeff’s match with Orton tonight?
Xavier Woods vs Cesaro vs Jey Uso
At TLC, the Bar will defend the Smackdown tag team Championships against both the New Day and the Usos in a triple threat match. Tonight, one wrestler from each team will face off in a triple threat single’s match.
Ronda Rousey can’t wait to get her hands on Charlotte Flair again. The path these two found to one another was certainly an interesting one. Rousey, the RAW Women’s Champion, was set to face SmackDown Live Women’s Champion Becky Lynch at Survivor Series. However, due to Lynch’s broken nose and concussion, she was forced off the show.
As a result, Flair was selected to serve as Lynch’s replacement and represent SmackDown Live. Flair and Rousey actually put on a very competitive match, but for whatever reason, Flair decided to get herself disqualified. She pulled out a kendo stick and began to viciously attack Rousey with it. The following Monday on RAW, Rousey vowed to get her revenge on “The Queen” at some point.
It looks like Flair isn’t shying away from the challenge. She recently took to Twitter to issue out a message to “The Rowdy One.” Sharing a photo of her attack on Rousey at Survivor Series, Flair suggested she’s ready for “round two” with the former UFC women’s bantamweight champion:
“Whenever you are ready for round two, Ken and I will be waiting. @RondaRousey#TLC#Raw”
It appears an all-out faction war could be on the horizon within the WWE as tensions rise between the MMA Horsewomen and members of the WWE Horsewomen.
The back-and-forth hostilities have only further escalated as Horsewomen members voiced their opinions and insults via social media.
It all stemmed from the following Tweet by Charlotte Flair:
Current NXT Women’s Champion, Shayna Baszler, made sure to point out that her stable are a team, not just a collection of people who are “barely friends half the time.”
The OG 4 horseman weren’t just simply 4 wrestlers that made history, they were friends, a real TEAM. Like us, the only ACTUAL team here. Those others, sure they made history, but they’ve never been a team. They are barely friends half the time. #4HW#FourHorsewomen
There were plans in place at one point for an MMA Horsewomen vs WWE Horsewomen matchup. That was originally slated for this year’s Survivor Series but, as things often are with the WWE, things changed and the match didn’t happen.
That clearly hasn’t stopped the participants from planting seeds for what could take place in the future. However, whether this was planned amongst themselves or by WWE creative is uncertain at this time.
What do you think? Is this a feud you want to see? With Charlotte Flair having recently turned heel, would this set up a heel WWE Horsewomen team to face off against a babyface MMA Horsewomen quartet?
Judging on what is happening on social media right now, we could still get a 4-Horsewomen vs 4-Horsewomen feud sometime soon. A match between the two factions was rumored for much of the year to occur at Survivor Series but never came to pass.
Charlotte Flair posted the following earlier today, insinuating she’d like to do to Baszler, Duke, and Shafir the same thing she did to Ronda Rousey at Survivor Series.
Shayna Baszler got involved in the ongoing social media battle yesterday as well. Baszler responded to a Tweet in which she was mentioned by Becky Lynch.
“Don’t try to name drop me in this attention grab, I’m too busy holding down the division you couldn’t. #ShaynaTwoTime”
Baszler has also been quick to point out her 4-Horsewomen are more like the original group than the NXT version:
The OG 4 horseman weren’t just simply 4 wrestlers that made history, they were friends, a real TEAM. Like us, the only ACTUAL team here. Those others, sure they made history, but they’ve never been a team. They are barely friends half the time. #4HW#FourHorsewomen
“The OG 4 horseman weren’t just simply 4 wrestlers that made history, they were friends, a real TEAM. Like us, the only ACTUAL team here. Those others, sure they made history, but they’ve never been a team. They are barely friends half the time. #4HW#FourHorsewomen”
This is not the first time Baszler has made such claims. She further described her opinions on the two factions earlier this year in an interview with Uproxx.
“They’re not in a stable,” Bazler said to Uproxx. “We’re not just four random guys. This is my whole argument about the thing. People are like, ‘Yeah but Charlotte is Ric Flair’s daughter.’ But they weren’t just four guys that made history which the fake Four Horsewomen did. They’re four girls that made history. That’s great, but that’s not what the Four Horsemen did. They were a team. They were a stable. And we’re a team. You don’t see us needing counseling to stay friends and bickering and feuding over … You know what I mean?”
For the 4th night in a row, WWE is back inside Staples Center tonight. Smackdown should be interesting tonight considering how poorly the brand did against the Raw brand at Survivor Series (minus the tag match).
Smackdown 11/20 Preview
WWE is not advertising a segment featuring Shane McMahon yet for tonight. The Smackdown Commissioner did put out the following Tweet after the PPV on Sunday, however, indicating there will be changes made to his brand starting on tonight’s show.
This wasn’t the night I had in mind for Team Blue. Tomorrow is a new day, but something is going to have to change come Tuesday. #SurvivorSeries
Becky Lynch and Ronda Rousey won’t be on the show tonight but they’ll likely be watching this segment closely. Flair will likely explain her vicious assault of Rousey at Survivor Series tonight. Did Charlotte do what she did because she realized she couldn’t beat Rousey? To soften her up for Becky? Or has Flair’s recent frustrations from losing her title caused the old Charlotte Flair to surface? We’ll come closer to finding out answers to these questions tonight.
Daniel Bryan’s Explanation
Daniel Bryan has still refused to answer questions regarding his sudden change in temperament. Bryan uncharacteristically hit AJ low during their WWE Championship match last week and used the advantage to get the pin and win the title. Tonight, Bryan will explain to the WWE Universe why he did what he did. Styles will likely be watching this segment closely if he doesn’t decide to join in.
Thanksgiving Feast Fight
New Day (Kofi Kingston, Big E, & Xavier Woods) vs the Bar (Cesaro & Sheamus) & the Big Show
6-man action with a Thanksgiving gimmick theme to it will take place on Smackdown tonight. The Bar and the New Day will be on opposing sides of the first-ever Thanksgiving Feast Fight.
It might be an interesting time to be in the Smackdown tag-team division. After seeing his match was not included in the official Raw vs Smackdown score from Sunday, Xavier Woods was not pleased.
He also made sure to correct those who were saying Raw won 6-0.
The Usos were the sole survivors of the tag match at Survivor Series. It’ll be interesting to see if they are thrown in the tag title picture after also having defeated New Day in the build-up to the PPV.
Can Shinsuke Nakamura Bounce Back After Losing To Seth Rollins?
Nakamura lost to Seth Rollins at Survivor Series. WWE is advertising that the United States Champion is interested in bouncing back from his PPV loss tonight on Smackdown.
Ronda Rousey left Survivor Series on Sunday night covered in blood and bruises but that won’t stop her from making an appearance on Monday Night Raw this week.
The reigning Raw women’s champion engaged in a brutal match against Charlotte Flair at Survivor series that ended in a disqualification.
During the match, Flair hit Rousey with a kendo stick and then continued the assault inside the ring. When the match was finally over, Rousey made her way backstage but the injuries she suffered during the showdown with Flair looked all too real.
Early in the match, Rousey was seen bleeding from the mouth and once it was over, she was covered in scratches, bumps and bruises.
Rousey then released a photo on her website showing some of the injuries she suffered while promising that she would be appearing on Monday Night Raw to address what happened.
“I refused to let the doctor see me until they promised to clear me for RAW today, I said I would go home and glue it shut if I had to,” Rousey said. “They took a quick look and said I can either stitch it shut or glue it so I decided to glue it and I will be on RAW tonight!”
Rousey was originally scheduled to meet Becky Lynch in a crossover match between Raw and Smackdown Live but that was scrapped just days ahead of Survivor Series.
Lynch also suffered some very real injuries including a broken nose and a concussion after she caught a punch from Nia Jax during an angle on Monday Night Raw last week.
The highly anticipated showdown between Rousey and Lynch was postponed with Flair stepping into replace the Smackdown women’s champion.
It definitely seems like WWE is building towards an epic rematch between Rousey and Flair somewhere down the road. Rumors have been swirling for days that Rousey may not end up encountering Lynch until WrestleMania for what could be a potential headlining match.
On last week’s episode of SmackDown Live, it looked as though WWE laid the feud between SmackDown Live Women’s Champion Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair to bed. Instead, the feud will likely continue after recent social media action from both women. Lynch was initially scheduled to face Ronda Rousey at last night’s Survivor Series pay-per-view (PPV).
However, Lynch suffered a broken nose on Monday Night Raw during a brawl segment and was not fit to compete. On SDL, the decision was made to replace Lynch with Flair. In a segment, Lynch hand-selected Flair to serve as her replacement against Rousey, before hugging. After that, many believed the feud between the former best friends was over.
At Survivor Series, Flair lost her match to Rousey after getting herself disqualified. Flair attacked Rousey with a kendo stick, before crushing her neck with a steel chair. “The Queen” then took to Twitter and made some adjustments to her Twitter bio. It looks like Flair is now dubbing herself as “The Baddest Bitch on the Planet.”:
Lynch responded by making a change to her Twitter bio, seemingly taking a shot at Flair for her own bio change:
Do you think Lynch and Flair’s feud should continue?
Charlotte Flair has some high praises for Ronda Rousey. She recently spoke with ComicBook.com and talked about Rousey’s transition from UFC to WWE.
Charlotte said that Rousey has avoided a mistake that is a hurdle for most beginners in the WWE.
“Well, they’re just thinking about the moves and not the meaning behind them. Watching her, she looks like she’s been doing this for years. And that’s very hard to do. It looks effortless. It’s one thing to be an athlete, but it’s another to, just because you’re an athlete doesn’t mean you’re going to be a good WWE Superstar,” Flair told ComicBook.
Charlotte also praised whoever is teaching Rousey and said that they are doing a phenomenal job in teaching her the moves of the squared circle.
“Who’s ever talking to her or teaching her is doing such a phenomenal job, because the whole goal is to make it look like you’re not thinking. There’s not a second that you think she’s thinking,” said Flair.
Charlotte Flair and Ronda Rousey are set to go against each other at the Survivor Series pay-per-view event this Sunday.
This has been a huge week for professional wrestling, as we approach Survivor Series from Los Angeles this weekend. The week started off with a tremendous women’s locker room brawl to hype this weekend’s pay-per-view (PPV) on Monday Night RAW. Unfortunately, that braw resulted in the injury of Becky Lynch, who is now off the Survivor Series card, canceling the event’s most highly-anticipated match.
The SmackDown Live Women’s Champion kicked off the segment by attacking RAW Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey backstage. She then came to the ring to lead an attack on the RAW Women’s locker room, alongside her fellow SmackDown Live stars. However, during the brawl, Nia Jax hit Lynch with a hard shot that broke ner nose. Lynch continued on with the segment despite bleeding all over herself.
It was soon determined that the injury was significant enough to pull Lynch from her match with Rousey on Sunday. Now, Rousey will face Charlotte Flair, who was hand-selected by Lynch as her replacement, instead. With one of the most anticipated matches of the year being called off due to injury, Jax has apparently taken some heat backstage for the incident.
Fightful’s Sean Ross Sapp, who initially broke the story of Lynch’s injury, has provided some insight. Initially, there wasn’t any heat towards Jacks for busting Lynch open. However, after the severity of the injury was determined, that quickly changed:
Nia is careless is the attitude backstage right now
Last night’s episode of WWE SmackDown Live certainly brought a ton of surprises. After Becky Lynch’s injury, Charlotte Flair will now face Ronda Rousey at Survivor Series this weekend. Also, we have a new WWE Champion, and a new opponent for Brock Lesnar on Sunday. AJ Styles opened up SmackDown Live last night to cut a promo about his match with Lesnar.
Paul Heyman came out to interrupt Styles, instigating a match between Styles and Bryan later on that night. With the WWE Title on the line, Bryan turned heel and hit Styles with a low blow after the referee was knocked down. He then hit a flying knee for the WWE Title victory. The title change was obviously a huge surprise to fans.
Now, Bryan will face Universal Champion Brock Lesnar at Survivor Series this weekend due to the Champion vs. Champion format of the show. After SmackDown Live, however, Styles didn’t work his scheduled Mixed Match Challenge match on Facebook Watch. He was set to team up with Charlotte Flair against The Miz and Asuka.
Instead, Styles was replaced by Jeff Hardy, who teamed with Flair to defeat Miz and Asuka. There’s no news as to why Styles missed his MMC match, however, it’s likely in regards to the storyline after losing the WWE Title.
What do you think about Styles not working the MMC after losing the WWE Title?
Welcome back to The 3 Count. Last week I discussed Tetsuya Naito and the two ‘mystery men’ that WWE were reportedly looking to sign from NJPW. Every week I will be looking at the hot topic in pro wrestling, this could be WWE or otherwise. This week’s topic should really come as no surprise…it’s The Man, Becky Lynch.
Straight Fire
Becky refers to herself as ‘straight fire,’ now she appears to be setting the entire company on fire. Last night’s RAW ended with the Irish Lass-kicker standing with a bloody nose goading Ronda Rousey. In terms of anti-hero characters they don’t come with much more hype than Becky has right now.
What led to Becky becoming this phenomenon? The fans always had a soft spot for the Smackdown Live Women’s Champion. Live audiences giving her a fair reception on shows with almost Dean Ambrose in 2014 perfunctory cheers and applause.
The Underdog
Something that WWE and wrestling fans have in common is the lure of the underdog. We saw this in the build to WrestleMania 30, with Daniel Bryan finally overcoming the odds and main eventing the biggest spectacle in sports entertainment. Could anyone have predicted that Bryan Danielson of ROH fame would even get to WrestleMania? Could anyone have guessed that he would main event the thing? If you would have told me this in 2005 I would’ve laughed you out of the room. Another thing that wrestling fans seem to enjoy is a good anti-hero, the biggest can be seen referenced in the headline of this article.
When WWE decided to have Becky Lynch ‘turn’ on her friend Charlotte Flair and engage in a feud it is doubtful that they would’ve been building to Lynch vs Ronda Rousey at Survivor Series next Sunday, at least in they way it turned out. When Charlotte stole the win over Carmella at Summerslam the seeds were sown for the feud, but WWE went into this thinking that Flair was going to be the fan favourite…how wrong they were.
Becky Did Nothing Wrong
With WWE pushing Becky Lynch as the antagonist they missed a vital ingredient…Lynch didn’t actually do anything wrong. Fast forward to today and the more that WWE attempted to push Lynch as a vicious heel the more that the audience where drawn to her and got behind the Irish Superstar. Last night’s appearance on RAW solidified Lynch as the ultimate anti-hero, the symbol of a bloodied Lass-kicker in her Smackdown Live shirt on RAW oozed attitude…but let’s not pretend that Becky is just an Austin clone or re-hash. ‘The Man’ Becky Lynch is the perfect attitude and character for 2018’s WWE.
The question is, were WWE extremely tone deaf when it came to the way Lynch was portrayed? Or was this the plan all along, to make the Survivor Series bout a de-facto face vs face match against Rousey? The optimist in me hopes that they had at least somewhat of an idea of Lynch’s popularity, the realist knows that they butchered the push and got extremely lucky.
WWE is now in a very delicate position with Becky. How many times have we seen something completely organic and cool be ruined by the company when they decide to get behind it? Fandangoing, Zack Ryder, Ryback (yes, really)…we all have our own examples. The key here is to just let Becky be Becky and let her natural charisma and vision drive this push, but again the realist in me knows they’ll likely choke all the fun out of it.
How do you think WWE should book Becky Lynch going forward?
