Ryback has addressed WWE’s decision to block their Superstars from appearing on Vickie Guerrero’s podcast. This comes in the wake of her appearance last December on an episode of AEW’s YouTube show, Dark. The revelation has sparked some debate from those within the industry. To Ryback, however, people shouldn’t be surprised.
“Not surprising,” Ryback said during an episode of Shooting Blanks Wrestling Report. “There’s some WWE guys, and I’m friends with some of them, that I can get on [this show].”
He continued, “Even guys that I’m friends with, I know they have to go the office to get approval to do [things]. That’s what I remember when I was there. They added that in which is crazy for independent contractors. They’re not allowed to make decisions on their own. WWE says you’re not allowed to do any interviews unless it’s approved by us, so that’s really odd to do that to independent contractors.”
Ryback: “That’s What They Do”
Ryback explained how “that’s what they do.” He pointed to a time he had Dolph Ziggler come onto the show. He highlighted how they didn’t even talk about wrestling and instead stuck to comedy for a full hour. They did this because if they spoke about wrestling, there would have been “repercussions” for Ziggler, be it a fine or punishment.
Although not surprised by WWE’s ruling, Ryback shared how he doesn’t like hearing it happen. “It makes it tougher. I would love to talk to guys that I’ve wrestled with and could share stories with. It’s just the way that it is. It’s what they do. It shouldn’t come to a surprise to anybody.”
Vickie Guerrero appeared on the 12/11 episode of Dark, where she joined Excalibur as a guest commentator.
Former WWE Superstar CM Punk has discussed the possibility of wrestling for All Elite Wrestling (AEW) while still working on WWE Backstage. Joining Kevin in the Mornings with Allie & Jensen, Punk argued that he technically could, but wouldn’t be surprised by a negative response from Fox.
“I think if I was wrestling for AEW, I’m sure Fox would be like, ‘well, it was fun while it lasted.’ I guess technically [I could],” Punk said. “Technically I could do that yeah, but I’m sure Fox would be like, ‘well?'”
He stressed how he can still do commentary on MMA shows while working on WWE Backstage. Punk also reiterated how he is an employee for Fox, not WWE.
CM Punk On Renee Young
CM Punk credited Renee Young with being instrumental in bringing him onto WWE Backstage. He shared how wrestling fans “owe a debt of gratitude” to her if they enjoy seeing him occasionally on the show.
“I don’t think it would have happened if it wasn’t for her. I was talking to Fox for a very long time. They immediately got Renee on board. Renee and I were having conversations every day.”
According to him, Young was suffering from ring fatigue thanks to her commentary duties on Monday Night RAW. With Backstage, however, she still gets to work within a wrestling space—just one without somebody “in her ear yelling at her.” He was complimentary of Young’s passion and mindset for wrestling, pointing out that “she gets it, and that’s what she excels at.”
Cody Rhodes has shared the two main terms the All Elite Wrestling hiring team use when discussing talent. Speaking on a recent episode of AEW Unrestricted, Cody divulged how he, Kenny Omega, The Young Bucks and Tony Khan use the terms ‘fresh’ and ‘extra credit.’
Cody Rhodes Explains ‘Fresh’ & ‘Extra Credit’
“‘Fresh,’ like people who perhaps we haven’t seen in the wrestling world or who haven’t made in that many locker rooms and on television,” he explained to hosts Tony Schiavone and Aubrey Edwards.
“But the other one, the term we’d always use is we’d say is ‘extra credit’ and what extra credit means is really just kind of putting a bow on passionate. We were looking for all the people who like doing everything – who like everything.”
He explained that these people come to work and are eager to learn every aspect of the industry. From understanding camera work to refereeing, in-ring work to backstage producing, etc. “Even if they don’t know why I’m standing here, listening and watching, I want to have a ‘master of all’…”
Cody Rhodes is scheduled to compete against his former-best friend Maxwell Jacob Friedman at the promotion’s next pay-per-view, AEW Revolution. The event takes place this Saturday from Wintrust Arena in Chicago, Illinois.
It appears that the feud between Roman Reigns and Baron Corbin is finally over and the Big Dog will be moving to his next rivalry after the Super Showdown event.
The show in Saudi Arabia saw the former Universal Champion
defeating Corbin in a steel cage match after hitting him with a superman punch
using a steel chain.
After the show went off air, the WWE crew talked to Roman
Reigns backstage and they asked him how it felt to finally get his retribution
against the former US Champion.
Replying to the question, the former Shield member explained that being in his position means that people will always challenge you for your spot.
He also admitted that if felt good to beat Corbin and Reigns then said that he now expects someone else to have beef with him:
“I expect somebody else to have beef with me, that’s just the place that I’m in. Everyone wants to take what’s mine and it’s up to me to defend it every single night.”
The announcers kept mentioning that the match was the end of
the rivalry between the two stars and these comments from Roman Reigns make it
feel like he is finally done with the former NXT star.
Roman Reigns is expected to compete in a big Elimination Chamber match and reports have already revealed the plans for him at WrestleMania. You can check a detailed report on Reigns’ WrestleMania opponent at this link.
The Fiend’s dominating run that started at SummerSlam last year finally came to an end at Super Showdown where Goldberg defeated the Monster to win the Universal Championship in the main event of the show.
WWE cameras caught up with the new Universal Champion
backstage after the event was over and he was asked about his big win during
the night.
Goldberg was asked how it felt walking out of Super Showdown as the Universal Champion and he joked that he will be limping out of the country instead. The new champion then said that it’s an honor to win the title again:
“But hey man, it’s an honor just to be here and to be able to go out there and attain this belt again, this title again.” said Goldberg. “It’s a dream come true, it truly is. It’s something you always shoot for, but the older you get, the further that pinnacle is away you think, and I’m just… I’m in awe.”
Goldberg then detailed the strategy he used to defeat Wyatt
saying that he had to hit Bray with everything he had, as quickly as he could
to catch him off guard. He mentioned that this is how he defeated Brock Lesnar
as well.
The former WCW star has been announced for an appearance at SmackDown tonight. His Super Showdown win is expected to lead to a very interesting WrestleMania match. Click here to know the WrestleMania plans for Goldberg.
Tammy Lynn Sytch, better known as Sunny, was jailed since early 2019 due to multiple DUI charges against her. Her parole was revoked after multiple violations such as her failure to notify authorities of her whereabouts, failure to pay an agreed-upon monthly fee for her release, and failure to maintain a stable residence.
Recently released reports had suggested that Sunny would be released on parole next month after her new attorney filed a parole petition with the courts last month. But it looks like she has been released from prison earlier than scheduled.
Sunny was released from Carbon County Correctional in Carbon County, Pennsylvania on Tuesday morning, per Ryan Satin of Pro Wrestling Sheet. Sunny has had quite the trouble with the law since 2012, when she was arrested a total of five times, in a four week period.
According to police records, Tammy Sytch aka Sunny was released from prison earlier than they had scheduled and is now out from behind bars. pic.twitter.com/y4xwFkSBqm
When an arrest warrant was issued for her in February last year for missing a scheduled drug test and maintaining a stable residence, she was arrested for driving while intoxicated in Seaside Heights, New Jersey. This was her third DUI arrest in 12 months, and sixth overall.
She was sentenced to 5 years in prison in 2016 but was given credit for 97 days time served and paroled. Her previous attorney had filed a petition last year to withdraw as her defense counsel, according to court records.
Tammy Lynn Sytch aka Sunny is a WWE Hall of Famer and she was inducted in 2011. She is credited for being the first “Diva” in the company, being a staple of the Attitude Era in the late ’90s. Apart from WWE, she also worked in ECW and had a short stint in WCW as well. Besides being a HOFer, she is also a 2-time Slammy Award winner. She was also honored by the Cauliflower Alley Club for her contributions to wrestling.
WWE Super ShowDown aired live from the Mohammed Abdu Arena in Riyadh. The Fiend defended the Universal Championship against Goldberg in the main event.
WWE Super ShowDown 2020 Results
Anderson & Gallows def. The Viking Raiders (Kickoff Show)
The Undertaker won the Tuwaiq Trophy Gauntlet match
The Miz & John Morrison def. New Day to capture the SD Tag Titles
Angel Garza def. Humberto Carrillo
Rollins & Murphy def. Street Profits to retain Raw Tag Titles
Mansoor def. Dolph Ziggler
Brock Lesnar def. Ricochet to retain the WWE Championship
Roman Reigns def. King Corbin in a Steel Cage match
Bayley def. Naomi to retain the SmackDown Women’s Championship
Goldberg def. The Fiend to capture the Universal Championship
Here are 7 takeaways from WWE Super ShowDown 2020:
The Undertaker Showed Up & Won The Gauntlet Match
Undertaker. Image Credit: WWE.com
R-Truth, Bobby Lashley, Anrade, Erick Rowan, Rey Mysterio, and AJ Styles competed in a Gauntlet Match tonight for the Tuqaiq Trophy.
Match Recap: R-Truth dodged a Spear and Lashley bounced his face off the middle turnbuckle. R-Truth capitalized and rolled him up for the pinfall. Bobby got pissed and beat the hell out of R-Truth. Andrade was next up and dominated early. Andrade went for an elbow but wound up colliding heads with R-Truth. R-Truth then fell on top of Andrade for the pinfall elimination. Rowan entered the match next and brought his cage ringside. The cage was knocked to the floor and Rowan lost his mind. Rowan beat the hell out of R-Truth but used the steps as a weapon and the referee disqualified him.
AJ Styles was next and got planted with an Iron Claw from Rowan. AJ beat R-Truth down and locked in the Calf Crusher for the submission. Rey Mysterio’s music hit but he didn’t make his way down to the ring. Anderson and Gallows were then shown attacking Rey backstage and AJ demanded that the referee proclaim him the winner. The Undertaker then took out Anderson and Gallows before making his way to the ring at a glacial pace. Taker then defeated AJ Styles rather quickly with a Chokeslam to win the Gauntlet Match.
Opinion: I’m looking forward to the likely match between AJ Styles and The Undertaker at WrestleMania. However, I thought the Gauntlet Match tonight was absolutely terrible. It went on far too long and it was odd to see The Undertaker defeat Styles so easily with just a Chokeslam.
? Arrive ? Chokeslam AJ ? Leave hat and jacket on ? Pin AJ ? Win the prestigious Tuwaiq Mountain trophy ? Leave without taking the trophy
The Miz & John Morrison Are The New SmackDown Tag Team Champions
New Day (Kofi Kingston & Big E) defended their SmackDown Tag Team Championships against The Miz & John Morrison tonight at Super ShowDown.
Match Recap: Big E started off the match in control and beat down The Miz. The Miz battled back and tagged in Morrison. John and Miz then isolated Big E in the corner and took turns beating him down. Kofi pleaded for a tag and finally got it. Kingston cleaned house and went for Trouble in Paradise but Morrison was able to avoid it. Morrison hit Kingston with a chair in the ribs and Miz capitalized with a roll-up for the victory. The Miz and John Morrison are the new SmackDown Tag Team Champions.
Seth Rollins and Murphy defended their RAW Tag Team Championships against Street Profits (Montez Ford & Angelo Dawkins) tonight at Super ShowDown.
Match Recap: Murphy attempted to distract Dawkins by throwing his shirt at him but Angelo ignored it and leveled Murphy with a Spear. Street Profits then greeted Rollins with a couple of Dropkicks as he entered the ring. Rollins and Murphy battled back and isolated Ford in the corner of the ring. Angelo sent Murphy flying over the announce table and Street Profits then went after Rollins.
Seth stayed alive as Murphy recovered and tagged in. Ford went for a Cannonball but got caught and thrown into the barricade. Rollins then planted Dawkins with the Stomp and Murphy pinned him for the victory. Rollins and Murphy are still the RAW Tag Team Champions.
Opinion: This felt like a standard tag match that you’d see on RAW but was still by far the best match of the night so far. It makes sense for Rollins and Murphy to retain as this match had very little build to it. Rollins and Murphy have been more focused on Kevin Owens, Viking Raiders, and the recently suspended Samoa Joe on RAW as of late. Street Profits seemed thrown into feud over the past couple of weeks and it would have been pretty random if they won the titles tonight.
Brock Lesnar defended his WWE Championship against Ricochet at Super ShowDown.
Match Recap: Ricochet went for a Dropkick right away but Brock easily swatted him aside. Lesnar then hit a Vertical Suplex, followed by three German Suplexes and an F5 for the pinfall victory. Brock Lesnar is still the WWE Champion.
Opinion: It was impossible to get invested in this match leading into it because everyone knew Lesnar was going to win. However, I at least expected Ricochet to get in some offense to make the match slightly interesting. That wasn’t the case and this was just a waste of time.
Roman Reigns once again battled King Corbin at Super ShowDown in a Steel Cage match.
Match Recap: Reigns came down to the ring with chain around his neck and locked the door to the cage. Corbin attacked Roman from behind and hit Deep Six for a near fall. Corbin then grabbed the key from Reigns’ pocked and unchained the cage door. King Corbin tried to exit the cage but Roman slammed the door on his head. Reigns went for a Superman Punch but Corbin was ready and countered into a Chokeslam. Roman battled back and trapped Corbin in between the ropes. Reigns connected with two Superman Punches and then wrapped the chain around his fist. Roman hit another Superman Punch with the chain for the pinfall victory. After the match, an absurd amount of pyro went off as Reigns posed for the crowd.
Opinion: I’m not sure how they do it but Reigns and Corbin have an uncanny ability to make any match boring. Their TLC Match was horrific and tonight’s Steel Cage match was completely forgettable. I just need this feud to be over for my own sanity at this point.
Bayley put her SmackDown Women’s Championship on the line against Naomi tonight at WWE Super ShowDown.
Match Recap: Naomi dominated the bout early and connected with an uppercut for a two count. Naomi followed it up with a Corkscrew Plancha as a “this is awesome!” chant broke out in the crowd. The Champ battled back and connected with a Bayley to Bayley for a near fall. Naomi went for the Split-Legged Moonsault but Bayley avoided it. Bayley then trapped Naomi’s legs in her own shirt and hit her new finisher (Rose Plant) to retain the title.
Opinion: Bayley and Naomi are capable of having a much better match but this was still entertaining. It was cool to see the crowd invested in the match.
Lol this was silly but innovative! ? A heel stays heeling. But because it wasn’t a clean win, this Bayley v. Naomi may continue. The match was good though: I knew they’d be in sync. Good on them. pic.twitter.com/OCb1hyjiHR
The Fiend defended the Universal Championship against Goldberg in the main event of Super ShowDown.
Match Recap: Goldberg connected with a Spear right away and went for the cover but The Fiend kicked out at one. Goldberg hit some more Spears and went for another cover but The Fiend kicked out again and applied the Mandible Claw. Goldberg broke free with a couple knee strikes and planted The Fiend with the Jackhammer for the pinfall victory. The Fiend got back to his feet and disappeared as the lights went out in the arena. Goldberg is the new Universal Champion.
Opinion: I had convinced myself that WWE wouldn’t take the Universal Championship off Wyatt and give it to a 53-year-old Goldberg. Amazingly, that is what they did and not only that, Goldberg won the match with ease. Seth Rollins practically tried to murder The Fiend last year and couldn’t keep him down. However, a terrible looking Jackhammer from Goldberg did the trick tonight.
I’m assuming this is leading to Goldberg versus Reigns at WrestleMania, so that way Michael Cole can shout it is going to be “Spear versus Spear!” every Friday night until April 5th. There is no scenario that I’ll be invested in that match if that is where this is heading. WWE spent months building up The Fiend only to feed him to what is left of Goldberg. The Undertaker and Goldberg picking up wins at a WWE PPV in 2020 isn’t really what I’m looking for. Overall, Super ShowDown was a terrible PPV that already got the build towards WrestleMania off to a bad start.
Austin Theory has sent waves through NXT since he made his debut in December last year. In this week’s episode of NXT, he took on Tommaso Ciampa and gave him a run for his money but eventually lost the match.
Theory was recently interviewed by ComicBook.com where he was asked about his goals for 2020, which he revealed to be a match against his inspiration, John Cena. Austin said that Cena was the first person that got him into wrestling and he liked his attitude the most. Theory also revealed that he was bullied growing up and Cena’s way of handling himself gave him encouragement to push through the harder times.
“I remember turning on the TV, and the first thing I ever saw was John Cena in the ring doing a segment with Johnny Nitro at the time and Melina. I know that makes everybody’s eyes roll. But I remember watching that, and just his attitude, I just liked it.
“For me growing up, I was bullied in school, and I didn’t have my dad in my life, so it kind of helped me, like just his attitude and the way he was and the way he carried himself, no matter what the situation was. John Cena just gave me that encouragement, and even if it sounds cheesy, just to never give up. I mean it’s true, and that’s what’s gotten me here so quick,” said Theory.
As mentioned before, Austin Theory faced Ciampa and he actually shocked him in the early portions of the match with his upstarting performance. He dominated most of the match and gave an impressive performance despite losing.
Kenny Omega is all too familiar with wrestling tournaments – the former IWGP champion has taken part in such tourneys and even was the first non-Japanese wrestler to win New Japan Pro Wrestling’s G1 Climax. Since he’s in All Elite Wrestling now, many fans have wondered if we can see a similar round-robin format tournament in the promotion.
While speaking to ComicBook.com, Omega revealed that they have talked about introducing a tournament event and the company is open to it. He said that conversations regarding it have taken place and while nothing has been confirmed, everyone behind the scenes is on board with the idea.
“Every one of those tournaments, they’re rough on the body and it’s tough to figure out a schedule to do so,” Kenny Omega said. “Whether it be a round robin tournament, a league style or one night we are definitely looking into a tournament format because people, as a [myself] fan even, I love tournaments. As, a performer they’re tough to do, but I think it really tests the athletes’ mettle and it really separates the men from the boys. Yeah, I would love to do a tournament. I don’t know what we’d call it. Don’t have any ideas for a name, but all of us have been brought on board with a tournament. It’s just a matter of figuring out how.”
NJPW has a number of annually held tournaments, namely the coveted G1 Climax, World Tag League, New Japan Cup, Best of the Super Juniors, Super J-Cup, and Super Jr. Tag Tournament. It would be really interesting to see what kind of tournament AEW holds in the future.
At AEW Dynamite this week, Kenny Omega was seen defeating PAC in an incredible 30-minute Iron Man match. The two had scored one pinfall each over each other by the time was over, and the match was extended under sudden death rules. Omega was finally able to win the match by hitting a One-Winged Angel on PAC.
NXT TakeOver: Tampa Bay will see a huge women’s ladder match as the event takes place during WrestleMania 36 Weekend.
Since NXT Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley will be defending her title against Charlotte Flair at WrestleMania 36, WWE decided to have this match take place for their women’s division.
Who will participate in the match will be determined by several qualifying matches that will take place on NXT in the coming weeks. No names have been revealed yet by WWE but the matches are set to begin from next Wednesday.
NXT General Manager William Regal announced the match on the show’s episode. It was also announced that the winner of the match from TakeOver will face the winner from WrestleMania 36 – either Ripley or Flair – at a later date.
As mentioned earlier, Flair will be challenging Ripley for her NXT Women’s title. Charlotte was in action on this week’s episode of NXT. This was her first appearance on the yellow brand since 2015. She had a match with Bianca Belair in the main event. She defeated Belair and then went on to attack her leg with a steel chair, and then put her in the Figure Eight until Ripley came to the rescue.
Apart from the number on contender women’s ladder match, no other match has been officially announced for the event. NXT TakeOver: Tampa Bay will take place on Saturday, April 4, at the Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida.
Viewership data is in for this week’s battle in the WWE NXT vs. AEW Dynamite Wednesday Night War. AEW won in total viewers. It was close in every demographic group including the +50 which AEW won as well.
Here is the breakdown of the live and same-night DVR viewership, courtesy of ShowbuzzDaily:
WWE NXT Viewership
NXT on the USA Network averaged 717,000 viewers, which is down from 794,000 last week. In the 18-49 demo, they drew a 0.23 rating, down from the 0.25 rating the previous week.
The episode featured Charlotte Flair returned to the NXT ring to take on Bianca Belair, Tommaso Ciampa vs. Austin Theory, Dominik Dijakovic vs. Cameron Grimes, Killian Dain vs. Bronson Reed, The Grizzled Young Veterans (James Drake & Zack Gibson) vs. The Forgotten Sons (Steve Cutler & Wesley Blake) (w/Jaxson Ryker).
AEW Dynamite on TNT was watched by 865,000 viewers, down from the 893,000 viewers last week. In the 18-49 demo, Dynamite pulled in a 0.30 rating, down from the 0.31 rating that the show did last week.
AEW Dynamite featured such as Jon Moxley and Chris Jericho weigh-in for their title match, The Butcher and The Blade vs. Best Friends, PAC vs. Kenny Omega, Jurassic Express vs. Santana, Ortiz and Sammy Guevara.
Killer Kross is speculated to be the wrestler WWE is teasing with the two vignettes aired during the February 26 episode of WWE NXT.
The cryptic videos show grim and apocalyptic imagery and were not posted online or acknowledged in any way by the company. The themes in the video match that of Killer Kross’ persona.
Dave Meltzer had suggested that Killer Kross could be the man behind the mysterious glitches seen on SmackDown. The imagery of clock and a letter had many fans speculate that Killer Kross and his girlfriend, Scarlett Bordeaux – who is signed to WWE as well – could be on their way to the main roster. It was also said that he would be given a “fast track” once he signs with the company, and is not expected to take the usual route of going through NXT before joining the main roster.
Killer Kross signed with WWE along with Timothy Thatcher on February 5. The company didn’t announce which brand Kross signed with, it was only reported that both the new signees have reported to the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida, to begin training.
Killer Kross has wrestled for promotions such as Lucha Underground and AAA in Mexico, as well as Impact Wrestling in 2018 where he rose to stardom. He decided to ask for his release from the company in May 2019, citing disagreement over the creative direction of his character and pay. His request was however denied by the company at the time.
Kross was finally released from Impact in December last year, effectively making him a free agent. It was reported that WWE had quite some interest in signing the 34-year-old, and he reportedly had a meeting with none other than WWE Executive Vice President of Talent, Triple H.
WWE continues to make changes to the card for its biggest event of the year, WrestleMania 36.
The current plan is to have John Cena vs. Bray Wyatt and Roman Reigns vs. WWE Hall of Famer Goldberg. Dave Meltzer noted the news on the latest Wrestling Observer Radio.
Wyatt vs. Reigns and Cena vs. Elias was reportedly scheduled for the show but news broke earlier this week that those matches were going to be changed but there wasn’t any word on the new opponents for these stars at the time.
At the time, Meltzer also noted that “five or six” WrestleMania matches in total have changed recently. Most of them are only on the SmackDown brand side of the card.
Fast forward to today’s WWE Super ShowDown pay-per-view event, Goldberg beat Wyatt to become the new Universal Champion.
WWE has already confirmed that Cena is returning to SmackDown this Friday with the belief that he’ll start his feud heading into WrestleMania on this show.
The following is an updated look at the rumored card WrestleMania:
WWE Champion Brock Lesnar vs. Drew McIntyre
Universal Champion Goldberg vs. Roman Reigns
John Cena vs. “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt
The Undertaker vs. AJ Styles
Edge vs Randy Orton
WWE presents the WrestleMania 36 pay-per-view event on Sunday, April 5, 2020 in Tampa, Florida at the Raymond James Stadium that will air on the WWE Network. WWE will be announcing more matches for WrestleMania in the coming weeks.
After weeks of speculation, WWE Universal Champion Bray Wyatt, portraying The Fiend, vs. Goldberg took place.
As seen at Thursday’s WWE Super ShowDown pay-per-view event in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Goldberg ended up going over on Wyatt. This marked Goldberg’s first match of 2020 and his second reign as Universal Champion.
This match was booked on the February 7th episode of Friday Night SmackDown in San Jose, CA at the SAP Center on FOX when Goldberg made an appearance.
He talked about never getting a rematch for when he lost the Universal Title. He then issued a challenge to Wyatt. This is when Wyatt appeared in a Firefly Funhouse segment to accept the challenge.
Goldberg worked last year’s Super ShowDown show in the country where he battled The Undertaker. The match had received a ton of criticism from fans. The start of the match was good but it quickly went downhill due to unforeseen circumstances.
Thus, almost one year later, Goldberg was looking to right the wrongs that were made and did so.
What are your thoughts on Goldberg winning the Universal Title? Was this the right call by WWE officials? Sound off in the comment section.
NWA Powerrr commentator Stu Bennett recently appeared on Busted Open Radio to discuss his move to the YouTube based brand. During the interview Bennett would give his rundown of some of the next breakout stars to come from the revitalised National Wrestling Alliance programme.
“Obviously when I turned up I wasn’t familiar with Thunder Rosa at all” Stu Bennett began. “She’s the NWA Women’s Champion so I was very new to learning curve. But the very first time I clapped eyes on her, I knew immediately this girl is gonna be box office she she’s so good and that’s an obvious one.”
Bennett would also praise the former NWA Television Champion, Ricky Starks. “I think Ricky Starks is another one. It’s very obvious he’s kind of earlier on the curve than Thunder Rosa at the moment but he’s on this build, this growth cycle. At the moment where he’s gonna go? I think he’s really going to go to that kind of A List level, eventually. But again he’s on the build.”
The former WWE Superstar was also quick to praise some of the more quirky characters in the company, including the Question Mark and current Television Champion Zicky Dice. “There’s other people who organically, just randomly get over” Bennett stated. “You never would anticipate the Question Mark thing. It’s utterly bizarre. But it just works, people love it, the storytelling is crazy, it’s ridiculous. Another guy who I wasn’t familiar with probably four or five weeks ago, is a guy called Zicky Dice. And it was like a kind of an 80’s sleazeball character, but I fell in love with him almost immediately. He’s a fantastic character and another guy you can’t take your eyes off of.”
You can check out NWA Powerrr every week via their Official YouTube channel.
You can listen to Busted Open Radio every day via SiriusXM. Or catch the Podcast version of the show on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher or your favourite podcast host.
Co-Executive VP of IMPACT Don Callis recently appeared on Busted Open Radio. The former ECW personality discussed how the brand has grown throughout 2019; with the likes of Tessa Blanchard, Sami Callihan and Eddie Edwards being given the chance to shine on the AXS Network show.
IMPACT Roster
“I look at our roster and I’ll put that up against any roster in the industry” Callis began. “Our top eight is real, real solid and you get guys like [Tommy] Dreamer on the roster who, you know…I used to call my my good buddy Kenny Omega the best bout machine. I call Tommy the Best Pop machine because He always gets the biggest pop.”
Callis would then go on to praise the IMPACT roster and talked about how the move to AXS TV has been very beneficial to the brand. IMPACT moved over to the AXS back in October, after their parent company Anthem purchased the network. This not only propelled IMPACT to a much wider audience; but it also was the catalyst to have New Japan Pro Wrestling removed from the network. Thus impeding on their own efforts to advance in the North American market.
Arguably, since Don Callis and Scott D’Amore took over the brand back in 2018 there has been an uplift in the quality of IMPACT’s programming. The show has been critically acclaimed for its ability to build newer stars, such as Trey Miguel and Ace Austin.
“We have a lot of great talent, men and women who work their work, their tails off. And they’re there to to get the product over.” Callis then finished by saying that “obviously being on AXS is great for us, because we’re able to reach a much wider audience”
You can listen to Busted Open Radio every day via SiriusXM. Or catch the Podcast version of the show on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher or your favourite podcast host.
Brock Lesnar will remain the WWE Champion as he successfully retained the belt in his latest title defense.
He did so when he beat rising WWE star Ricochet in a championship match at the WWE Super ShowDown pay-per-view event. This was a squash match to the fullest as Ricochet never connected with a move.
WWE set up this contest when they booked a #1 contender’s match on the February 3rd episode of RAW in Salt Lake City, UT at the Vivint Smart Home Arena on the USA Network. This Triple Threat contest saw Ricochet, Seth Rollins, and Bobby Lashley battle it out.
As seen in the match, Ricochet ended up winning and becoming the new #1 contender for the top title on RAW.
As a result, he earned the opportunity to challenge “The Beast” for the WWE Title at WWE’s latest event.
WWE has already confirmed that Lesnar will defend the title against Drew McIntyre at WrestleMania 36 on Sunday, April 5, 2020 in Tampa, Florida at the Raymond James Stadium.
What are your thoughts on Brock Lesnar retaining the WWE Title? Was this the right call by WWE officials? Sound off in the comment section.
Former WCW President Eric Bischoff recently revealed some intriguing facts regarding the former Turner franchise and lawsuits that were levied against them.
Eric Bischoff was discussing a lawsuit that was presented by Paul Heyman, as ECW talent Sabu was the subject of a contract dispute back in the year 2000. In terms of Heyman’s ‘tactics’ at that time; Bischoff said that “Heyman was a part of WCW during a period of time when all you had to do to get a checkout of Turner Broadcasting was whisper the words, ‘I think I’m going to sue you.'”
Eric Bischoff also mentioned how Turner operated back then in terms of settlements to lawsuits. “If that came with a settlement, you know, anywhere below $999,999, you get a check. WCW was very inclined to settle anything that was or wasn’t merit-less. It was just easier to make it go away than it was to, you know, defend it in court. So I don’t blame him [Heyman]. You know, I might have done the same thing.”
Sabu had previously worked with WCW back in 1995. The former hardcore star would never appear for World Championship Wrestling before their demise in 2001; possibly due to the contract dispute from ECW. During that time Sabu would work for the XPW promotion; winning their World Heavyweight Championship whilst being managed by former Danzig bassist Josh Lazie.
You can listen to the 83 Weeks podcast with Eric Bischoff via iTunes. Stitcher. Or you favourite podcast host every Monday at 6am EST.
NXT’s March 4 episode will feature two steel cage matches on the same night.
On this week’s NXT, The Velveteen Dream said that he wants the steel cage left up so he can make Roderick Strong experience how it feels. He urged NXT General Manager William Regal to book a steel cage match between them. Strong accepted Dream’s challenge and sent the message that he is going to end him.
It was announced in the episode that Velveteen Dream and Roderick Strong will face off each other inside of a steel cage on next week’s episode. This would be the second steel cage match after the already confirmed bout between Tegan Nox and Dakota Kai.
Velveteen Dream and Strong rivalry resumed after Dream’s return to NXT three weeks ago. Dream insulted Strong’s family and faced him in last week’s main event. He was able to defeat Strong, however, he was attacked by Undisputed Era shortly after the match.
The steel cage match between Tegan Nox and Dakota Kai was made official from the fallout of their street fight that took place at NXT TakeOver: Portland. The match had ended with Raquel Gonzales interfering in the match and helping Kai win.
It will be interesting to see how NXT’s ratings will fare against AEW Dynamite. Dynamite will also see the debut of Lance Archer, so there’s something to look forward to on both programs.
The New Day won’t be staying on top of the SmackDown Tag Team Division as John Morrison and The Miz dethroned them.
At Thursday’s WWE Super ShowDown pay-per-view event in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia at the King Fahd International Stadium on the WWE Network, Morrison and The Miz beat The New Day (Big E and Kofi Kingston) to win the titles.
Starting last month, Miz and Morrison began feuding with The New Day (Big E and Kingston). Morrison would defeat Kingston and Big E on the January 17th and January 24th episodes of SmackDown.
Eventually, on the January 31 episode of SmackDown, Morrison and Miz defeated Heavy Machinery (Otis and Tucker), Lucha House Party (Gran Metalik and Lince Dorado), and The Revival (Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder) in a fatal four-way tag team match. With this win, they earned a championship match at Super ShowDown.
Time will tell whether WWE continues this feud or goes into a different direction heading into the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view event next month.
What are your thoughts on John Morrison and The Miz winning the Smackdown Tag Team Titles? Was this the right call by WWE officials? Sound off in the comment section.
As expected, The Undertaker made an appearance at WWE’s latest pay-per-view event, Super ShowDown.
He did so in the Tuwaiq Mountain Trophy Gauntlet Match that saw Andrade, Bobby Lashley, Erick Rowan, AJ Styles, R-Truth, and Rey Mysterio compete. Once The OC took out Mysterio backstage, we saw footage of Taker lay out Karl Anderson and Gallows before heading out to the ring.
He attacked Styles by hitting a chokeslam then pinned him to not only win the match but to kick off his next feud under the WWE banner.
This was expected as not only was Taker reported to be traveling with the crew to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia earlier this week but WWE also tweeted out a photo of him out of character in the country on Wednesday.
Earlier this month, Dave Meltzer was able to confirm that The Undertaker vs. AJ Styles is currently scheduled for the WrestleMania card. The news was first reported by WrestleZone.
It’s also been reported by Pwinsider that The Undertaker is currently scheduled to make an appearance at the March 9 episode of RAW. from the Capital One Arena in Washington, DC.
This appearance is slated to further the feud with Styles heading into the biggest event of the year for the company.
WWE presents the WrestleMania 36 pay-per-view event on Sunday, April 5, 2020 in Tampa, Florida at the Raymond James Stadium that will air on the WWE Network.
NXT’s March 11 episode is set to air on USA Network live from the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida.
The episode which will air two weeks later was announced on this week’s NXT episode at Full Sail University. Triple H appeared on the episode and announced that the episode from WWE Performance Center will be a Fan Appreciation Event. Full Sail wouldn’t be able to host the NXT episode on March 11 because WWE will be hosting the Hall of Fame event from March 8 to 13.
Free tickets were made available for the show and they sold out quickly. The event was sold out as soon as the tickets went live on sale, according to Lords of Pain.
In February 2019, a WWE Halftime Heat match took place at the WWE Performance Center. The team of Ricochet, The Velveteen Dream and Aleister Black defeated Adam Cole, Tommaso Ciampa, and Johnny Gargano.
No matches have been announced for the March 11 episode yet, but a women’s number one contender ladder match will be held at TakeOver: Tampa to determine who will become the number one contender to Rhea Ripley or Charlotte Flair’s NXT Women’s Championship.
Cody Rhodes was a guest this week on the official AEW podcast, AEW Unrestricted. During the conversation, Cody spoke about the first time he met Tony Khan, liking both Star Wars and Star Trek, his best wrestling trainers, the AEW creative process and more.
“The first time I feel like I really met (Tony Khan), because we had passed each other a few times, I’d even seen him backstage at WWE, but the first time I think I really met him was when I went to a Jags game and I watched the game from the owner’s box and he came up in the middle of the game to talk to us and I got to see how he kind of runs the infrastructure he’s responsible for there, and I was so impressed,” Cody said.
He also noted that Robert Gibson was one of his two best wrestling trainers. The other trainer was an acting coach he had in Los Angeles. Cody had hoped to become an actor during a period when he thought he was too small to be a wrestler. He noted that much of what he learned in the acting class he felt was applicable to pro-wrestling. Cody would continue to say that Dusty brought this acting coach into NXT as well.
Cody On AEW’s Creative Process
“The creative process is what we promised people,” Cody said. “It really is different flavors and a different variety.”
“Matt, Nick, Kenny, myself and Tony, the best parallel I can think of is like a band. Everybody plays a different instrument, everybody thinks they’re the lead singer too but if somebody brings a song, you do everything you can… it may not be from your heart and soul but you want to see their process on it, you want to support their process.”
He continued to talk about how the Young Bucks are very fourth-wall poking, Kenny loves Japanese style wrestling and Cody loves old southern wrestling. Cody also said that Tony seems to like everything.
Cody also spoke about his love of both Star Wars and Star Trek. Aubrey Edwards pointed out that some feel it’s not okay to like both.
“Star Wars is for everybody, Star Trek is for smart people,” Cody said. “It’s a completely different show and the fact that they were ever compared is so bizarre because one is Camelot and King Arthur and vast legendary fiction and then the other one is the concept of this utopia that happens.”
Cody also found a way to compare Mick Foley to Captain Picard during this part of the conversation.
Goldberg will face Bray Wyatt for the Universal Championship in Saudi Arabia today at Super ShowDown. He spoke to SI.com recently about what he hopes to achieve with his performance on today’s show.
“I need to erase my last performance here, first and foremost,” said Goldberg, speaking from Saudi Arabia in reference to his match against Undertaker last fall. “I knocked myself out 30 seconds into the match, and I performed like a school child. That’s one of the reasons I’m back, and this is my opportunity to do it.”
Goldberg continued to say that he still wants to wrestle but his internal athletic clock is ticking.
“My internal clock is ticking, and I don’t know when it’s going to stop in terms of my ability to put these boots on and continue to do what I used to do. And when I’m posed with a challenge, I’m a defensive lineman, I don’t turn it down.”
Goldberg On Still Wanting To Wrestle
He would also talk about having a responsibility to his fans to be the same athlete he used to be.
“This is still a passion of mine,” said Goldberg, whose gratitude and appreciation for pro wrestling continues to reach heights he never imagined. “I also have a responsibility to my fans, who still believe in me to go out there and be the same machine I used to be, so I’m going to go out there and do it.”
Goldberg also spoke about experiencing the culture in Saudi Arabia. He told a story about another time he was in the country for a car show and meeting people from the country.
“I was here in November for a car show, and I was able to stay for a much longer stretch and experience the people from a different perspective. I met a little boy and girl, and that meeting brought me to tears. They were two beautiful, innocent children, no different from children anywhere else in the world. Experiencing it for myself, the people I’ve met here are gracious and kind.”
The final betting odds for all of the matches that will take place at the WWE Super ShowDown pay-per-view event have been released.
The card for the show that takes place today (February 27, 2020) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia at the King Fahd International Stadium has been finalized as only 10 matches have been announced.
Make sure to join us tonight for match recaps and our 6 takeaways from this latest pay-per-view event held by WWE.
Odds for the three late additions to the card are not available – Humberto Carrillo vs. Angel Garza, Mansoor vs. Dolph Ziggler, and The Viking Raiders vs. Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson.
WWE Super ShowDown Betting Odds
The favorites to win are listed as – while the underdogs are listed with +. Here are the final betting odds courtesy of BetOnline:
WWE Champion Brock Lesnar -2000 (1/20) vs. Ricochet +700 (7/1)
WWE Universal Champion Bray Wyatt -300 (1/3) vs. Goldberg +200 (2/1)
WWE SmackDown Tag Team Champions The New Day +150 (3/2) vs. John Morrison & The Miz -200 (1/2)
Roman Reigns -500 (1/5) vs. Baron Corbin +300 (3/1) – Steel Cage Match
Tuwaiq Mountain Trophy Gauntlet Match: Andrade 5/1, Bobby Lashley 7/1, Erick Rowan 10/1, AJ Styles 4/9, R-Truth 7/1, Rey Mysterio N/A
WWE RAW Tag Team Champion Seth Rollins & Buddy Murphy -400 (1/4) vs. The Street Profits +250 (5/2)
SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley -260 (5/13) vs. Naomi +175 (7/4)
