Major League Wrestling announced a partnership with AAA back in November and in March the two promotions plan to co-promote an event together. MLW recently issued a press release stating that on March 13th MLW and AAA will work together to produce a show from Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico.
“This collaboration between the two organizations continues Major League Wrestling’s strategic alliances with international federations to create a unified global system to help introduce the sport to new markets, exchange talent, collaborate on content and develop opportunities for fans, athletes and the sport,” An MLW press release for the show reads.
Major League Wrestling featured AAA stars prominently on their recent show from Dallas, Texas. AAA’s Drago challenged Injustice’s Myron Reed for the MLW Middleweight Championship on a recent episode of Fusion.
MLW previously ran a show from Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico last October. On that show, the promotion partnered with the Crash Lucha Libre. The show drew 5000 fans and featured La Rebelion Amarilla (Bestia 666 & Mr. 450) & LA Park defeating members of the Contra Unit in the main event.
ROH World Champion PCO re-signed with the company late last year. He defeated Rush for the promotion’s top belt at the Final Battle PPV on December 13th, 2019. The 52-year-old recently spoke to Vulture Hound about why he chose to re-sign with the company.
“I think to go to a big company, be the Champion, be something big. It’s already done. It’s already there. I think to become Champion with the company itself and being the Champion and then help the company make it as big as WWE. I think that’s a very challenging goal.”
PCO also talked about having negotiated with 3 different companies at the end of 2019. He also mentioned what it was about ROH’s pitch to him that got him excited to re-sign.
“I had talks with three companies before I decided to sign with Ring of Honor, they flew me to Baltimore, they showed me what Sinclair broadcast group was like, 217 TV stations, the businesses that they own, the money that they were ready to inject into Ring Of Honor. When they did the 17th-anniversary show in Las Vegas, they showed they have been going around for 17 years.”
According to PCO, ROH wants to grow into a much larger wrestling company.
“Maybe before they didn’t want to be underwater, didn’t want to compete with the number one company in the world but I felt that, when I had my meeting with them, I felt that we really wanted to go big, to become like something like WWE, and in my dream, when I wanted to become Hulk Hogan, I wanted to help pop the territory, take it and make it explode. That’s why I decided to go with Ring Of Honor.”
Former Smackdown Women’s Champion and 2x 24/7 Champion Carmella says she misses working with R-Truth and felt their act still had a lot left in it. Carmella is currently assigned to the Smackdown brand, however, and Truth to RAW. She spoke to BT Sport recently about her time with Truth.
"I miss him! We had so much more we could've done"
"Without @RonKillings this last year would've been so boring, he's become one of my closest friends."
“I felt like we still had so much more we could’ve done, it wasn’t, to me, getting old,” Carmella said. “I feel like we could have taken this and run with it for a long time, however, now I’m excited for when my opportunity comes again.”
Carmella also recently spoke to SI.com about her new wine brand.
“I knew I needed to do something with all of my creativity, and I love drinking wine,” she said. “So I started researching and networking. We’re still in the early stages because I’m very busy with my WWE schedule, but it’s all very exciting.”
The name of Carmella’s win is Capo Cagna.
“That means ‘Boss Bitch’ in Italian,” said Van Dale. “It’s important to embrace your inner ‘Boss Bitch.’ I want women and girls who follow our shows to see that, and it’s important to empower them to follow their dreams. I’m a product of that, so it’s important to spread that message.”
Carmella’s interview with Sports Illustrated can be viewed here.
Aron Stevens is the NWA National Champion at the moment. He owes some of his success to his Mongrovian Karate Sensai, the Question Mark, however. Both Stevens and the Question Mark spoke with Chris Van Vliet recently about the NWA, Mongrovian Karate, and more.
“Well, it’s been wonderful,” Stevens said when asked about his time in the NWA. “This company, its taken an old-school template, it has applied the modern flair to it like where the wrestling industry is headed but then when you have the template of that studio wrestling setting it just has a nostalgic feel but modern-day thrills and excitements.”
The Question Mark understands English but is unable to speak it. Stevens appears to understand the Question Mark’s Mongrovian perfectly but does not appear to speak the language himself.
“(The Question Mark) hails from the nether-regions of Mongrovia,” Stevens said. “We met on the set of one of my movies ‘Shogun in Malibu’ he was the fight coordinator and I brought him here to the NWA to kind of watch my back, help me out, and we are getting him accustomed to western culture.”
The full interview can be viewed in the player below:
Impact Wrestling presented another show from Frontenac, Mexico this week. The promotion is building to the Impact Plus exclusive event “Impact Sacrifice” on February 22nd. Impact will also be in Las Vegas for a set of TV tapings this weekend.
Impact Wrestling 2/4/20 Quick Results:
Tessa Blanchard defeated Adam Thornstowe (Reno Scum)
Rhino defeated Taurus
Rosemary vs Suzie – Double Countout
TJP defeated Vikingo
Daga & Dr. Wagner Jr. defeated Dave & Jake Crist
Street Fight: Ace Austin defeated Tommy Dreamer
Here are 8 takeaways from Impact Wrestling 2/4/20:
Tessa Blanchard Prepares To Face Ace Austin
As Blanchard prepares to take on Ace Austin on February 22nd, 2020, she faced his run-in buddy from Reno Scum this week. Blanchard defeated Thornstowe with a Buzzsaw DDT but was attacked after by Luster the Legend and Ace Austin. This brought out Tommy Dreamer for the save and set-up the night’s main event between Austin and Dreamer in a street fight.
Ace Austin Goes To The Extreme To Defeat Tommy Dreamer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIVmcqbqxqw
Ace Austin has the biggest match of his young career later this month when he faces Tessa Blanchard at Impact Sacrifice on February 22nd. The X-Division champion would main event this week’s show against Tommy Dreamer in a street fight.
Austin would pick up the victory by using his wand-like weapon to knock Dreamer off the ropes and onto a ladder. He then hit “the Fold” for the win. Austin would celebrate with his title belt as the show came to a close.
TJP Defeats Vikingo Before The North Attack
Last week, Vikingo faced Josh Alexander in single’s competition. This week, he’d take on TJP in another fast-paced action-packed match. With his friend Fallah Bah by his side, however, TJP was able to do what Josh Alexander could not and defeat the luchador from AAA. TJP countered a headscissors attempt into a submission for the win.
After the match, however, Josh Alexander and Ethan Page (the North) attacked Vikingo. Fallah Bah came in and broke up the attack, however. Perhaps a match between the North and TJP & Fallah Bah is upcoming in Impact Wrestling.
2 weeks ago on Impact Wrestling, Rob Van Dam said that Joey Ryan’s match against Maximo made him embarrassed to be a pro-wrestler. Ryan responded last week by saying that RVD is just mad because Katie Forbes wants to “touch it.”
This week on Impact, Katie Forbes provided the distraction as RVD attacked Ryan from behind. After being accused of having lost his cool, RVD would then say that next week Ryan will find out just how cool RVD really is.
Rosemary Brings Su Yung Back To Life
Rosemary and Suzie met in single’s competition this week but Rosemary wasn’t concerned with winning or losing the match. Her goal was to trigger Suzie’s memory and bring out the former Su Yung.
The match spilled to the back where Rosemary attempted to wrap a noose around Suzie and throw her over a staircase just as Havok had done to her previously. As she did so, however, Suzie morphed back into Su Yung as she remembered Havok having done the same to her oh so long ago now.
James Mitchell walked across the scene awhile later and told Rosemary that they are all doomed.
Dr. Wagner Jr. & Daga Get Revenge On OVE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nspNJgM87h0
Recently on Impact Wrestling, the members of OVE attacked Dr. Wagner Jr and beat him up in front of his son. Don Callis described the members of OVE as anarchists this week and that their attacks on Wagner were unprovoked and completely random.
This week, Dr. Wagner Jr and Daga teamed up in victorious fashion over the Crist brothers. After the match, however, Madman Fulton attacked Daga and Wagner and also fended off Dr. Wagner Jr’s son as well. Fulton stood tall to end the segment.
Moose Breaks Up Match Between Rhino and Taurus
Over the last few weeks, we’ve seen Rhino and Moose’s rivalry involve AAA’s Taurus. This week on Impact Wrestling, Rhino and Taurus faced each other in single’s competition. As Rhino was preparing to give his opponent the Gore, however, Moose invaded the ring and caused the match to be thrown out. Rhino would give Moose a Gore and him and Taurus stood tall to end the segment.
Taz made his WWF debut at the 2000 Royal Rumble in New York’s Madison Square Garden. He choked out Kurt Angle and received a thunderous ovation from the crowd. Taz’s time in WWE was discussed recently on an episode of “Grillin JR with Jim Ross.”
During the show, Conrad Thompson suggested that Taz was worried when he heard the loud ovation in MSG that he wouldn’t be pushed in WWE because he wasn’t a WWE creation.
“There’s no way as a talent or someone that’s involved in talent management that I’m going to look at a great pop like that as a negative,” Jim Ross said on the show. “I think he overreacted there, in my opinion.”
It was also discussed on the show that Taz was talked to by WWE management about dropping people on their heads during matches.
“Taz didn’t do those moves, the suplexes, acapella,” JR continued. “Kurt was taking them, Kurt was a little bit daredevil-ish, it takes two to tango in these scenarios but there is no doubt that there was some release-type suplexes, some things going on that we had not had a lot of in WWE and the reason for that is because they’re not totally safe.”
Ross then talked about some moments from the Taz vs Kurt Angle match from Royal Rumble 2000.
“There were moments in that 3 minutes 16-second match that somebody could foresee that Kurt was just going along trying to help Taz but he was acquiescing to unsafe moves.”
“I don’t know how comfortable (Taz) was once he got with us,” Ross continued.
Ross would then continue to praise Taz, however. His comments can be heard in the player below:
Awesome Kong’s days as an active competitor for All Elite Wrestling (AEW) might be over.
AEW has provided an update on Kong’s ‘medical condition’ following an attack from her Nightmare Collective cohorts, Mel and Luther. This attack took place during this week’s episode of AEW: Dark, which is available to watch on their YouTube channel.
Taking to Twitter, AEW says Awesome Kong sustained ‘serious injuries.’ Additionally, they are unsure when she will be cleared to wrestle again, if ever.
Awesome Kong Medical Update: on this week’s episode of #AEWDark Kong suffered serious injuries at the hands of Mel & Luther. We do not know when or if she will return to action. pic.twitter.com/3lELXkbrOK
The incident took place after Mel’s loss to Hikaru Shida. Kong confronted Mel over the loss only to be attacked. She was held in place by Luther as Mel assaulted her. She was then sent through a barrier, with the attack continuing until Mel delivered a leg drop onto her on the steel steps.
It is speculated that AEW has done this angle in order to write Awesome Kong off of television so she can film the final season of Netflix’s pro wrestling drama series, GLOW. It’s worth noting that, although this is the currently believed reason, it has yet to be confirmed.
AEW’s next pay-per-view, Revolution, takes place on February 29, 2020, from the Wintrust Arena in Chicago, Illinois.
A new episode of AEW’s weekly television show, Dynamite, will air tonight.
As usual, the promotion has loaded up the show with some interesting matches. Thus, it’s time to look ahead to tonight’s episode of AEW Dynamite on TNT.
The show is expected to start with The Young Bucks, Kenny Omega and Hangman Page vs. Lucha Bros, The Butcher and The Blade (w/The Bunny). Although not confirmed, the belief is that Jon Moxley vs. Ortiz will serve as the headliner.
AEW Dynamite Preview
AEW holds this show in Huntsville, AL at the Von Braun Center on TNT at 8 p.m. ET. AEW is advertising the following items for tonight’s broadcast:
PAC will be looking for Kenny Omega
Cody Rhodes to receive 10 lashes from MJF
Dr. Britt Baker vs. Yuka Sakazaki
Jon Moxley vs. Ortiz
The Young Bucks, Kenny Omega and Hangman Page vs. Lucha Bros, The Butcher and The Blade (w/The Bunny)
AEW will also be creating new programs and building on the hype for existing feuds as the promotion gets closer to their next pay-per-view event, Revolution, that takes place later this month.
WWE’s “Resident Superhero” Ricochet earned himself a huge opportunity this past Monday night on RAW. He defeated Bobby Lashley and one half of the RAW Tag Team Champions, Seth Rollins, in a Triple Threat match to earn a WWE Championship match. However, not everyone is happy for him. Taking to Twitter, Ricochet reacted to some of the negative comments his victory has received.
Ricochet Responds
One of the more succinct messages he shared read “Can’t you all just enjoy things? Haha.” He did, however, wade into a few conversations. Ricochet responded to the more negative reactions regarding his win/loss record and his championship opportunity.
When a fan responded to his open question, they answered that they weren’t able to enjoy the product. They argued that WWE has failed to deliver so consistently they have no faith in the product. Ricochet replied to let him know that he respects his opinion on the matter, even if he might disagree.
Another fan tried to make the conversation about Ricochet’s wins and losses on RAW, to which Ricochet replied: “You do realize I had the most wins on Raw last year, right? Haha”
His victory has seen him get a WWE Championship match against Brock Lesnar at Super ShowDown in Saudi Arabia. The event takes place on February 27, 2020, from the King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
WWE Hall of Famer Kurt Angle has reflected on his time away from the promotion, noting that it’s “unfortunate” that his best years weren’t spent within WWE’s squared circle.
Angle spoke candidly with Mark Freund of WHO-HD. Although he may wish he had spent more time in WWE, he ultimately doesn’t regret his choice. He believes that it was “the right decision to make.”
“My body is pretty banged up, and I had a great career. It’s unfortunate that my best years were with a smaller company and not the WWE, but that’s a choice I made,” Angle said. “I did it for my own benefit, for my own health, and that was the right decision to make.”
He continued, “I was able to travel all over the world, both in amateur and pro wrestling, and I got to see many things that a lot of people don’t get to see, and I took advantage of that. I would tour countries and tour cities and see their cultures and see what they do, see their famous places. I can look back now and say I did it, and that was the most interesting part of my career.”
Kurt Angle wrestled his final matchup at WrestleMania 35. He lost to Baron Corbin before retiring from his in-ring career. He now works backstage for WWE in a producer role.
If you use any quotes from this article, please provide a H/T to SEScoops.
WWE NXT is back for another episode with an interesting lineup, so let’s take a look at the preview for the show.
The company will present the fallout from last week’s show. Two segments have been confirmed such as a faceoff between NXT Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley and Bianca Belair.
This comes after Belair won a #1 contender’s match to earn a chance to dethrone Ripley as champion as they meet at the TakeOver: Portland show in a few weeks.
Also, Charlotte Flair will return to NXT in order to respond to the WrestleMania 36 challenge made by Ripley on Monday’s episode of RAW. WWE has yet to announce any matches for the show, as of this writing.
WWE holds this show in Winter Park, Florida at Full Sail University. WWE is advertising the following items for tonight’s broadcast:
Charlotte Flair to answer NXT Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley’s WrestleMania 36 challenge
New NXT Cruiserweight Champion Jordan Devlin comes to Full Sail
How will Pete Dunne and Matt Riddle follow up on their Dusty Classic win?
The Undisputed ERA vow to get their hands on Tommaso Ciampa
Rhea Ripley and Bianca Belair come face to face
As usual, fans should expect more matches and segments to be revealed this afternoon for NXT.
Join us here later tonight for WWE NXT Results and our post-show NXT Takeaways feature.
The new WWE Cruiserweight Champion, Jordan Devlin, has spoken about his commitment to NXT UK, despite the fact he is allegedly primed for a major international push now that he is a reigning champion.
“NXT UK has made stars out of guys like the British Strong Style, Travis Banks and myself,” Devlin said to TV Insider. “For us to be able do independent dates in the UK as well and get people to come and see us. It’s really good for the UK scene. It has breathed life into us. To have the UK Performance Center as well and learn from the best minds in the business… NXT UK has grown so much in the last three years.”
He admitted that, three years ago, he couldn’t imagine the growth they’ve achieved. Devlin then stated how he’d like NXT UK to become a brand that tours all across Europe and not just within the United Kingdom. He highlighted how he’d love WWE to host an NXT UK TakeOver Dublin event before reiterating his interest in taking their show on the road.
Jordan Devlin And Finn Balor
Devlin also reflected on his long-time friendship with the black-and-gold brand’s Finn Balor. “The Irish Ace” actually trained with Balor years ago when Balor was 21-years-old, and Devlin was only 12. The two faced off against each other at the original NXT UK TakeOver: Blackpool event last year.
“He was the best wrestler in Ireland then and probably now,” Devlin shared.” He was the person I most aspired to be like. He was always the guy I wanted to measure up to and up with. He went from Ireland to Japan to train, as did I. He went to New Japan Pro Wrestling. I went to Zero-One. He went to the States and WWE. I was a couple of years behind him when WWE signed me. We’ve been running the same path for a long time.”
He shared how he’s always aspired to be like Balor, noting how the two share the same work ethic. Being such an inspiration to him, it’s unsurprising that Devlin looks back fondly on their match at TakeOver Blackpool.
Jordan Devlin has some significant supporters within WWE, and will reportedly defend his championship across all of WWE’s brands. He is currently scheduled to appear on this week’s episodes of NXT as well as 205 Live.
Villain Enterprises’ resident Mercenary, Flip Gordon, has broached the idea of Villain Enterprises and Bullet Club forming an alliance. Gordon will be in attendance at Bullet Club’s upcoming Beach Party where he will compete against Tama Tonga in a flip cup tournament.
Speaking to Wrestling Inc. Daily, Gordon confessed how he dreamed of being a part of Bullet Club, especially as he had so many friends within their ranks. He highlighted how Villain Enterprises’ leader, Marty Scurll, was even a member of Bullet Club at one point before adding, “Can’t we be friends with them? I don’t know. But I’m also the mercenary and money talks.”
Flip Gordon On Backstage Interactions
Bullet Club members Tanga Loa and Tama Tonga have previously wrestled on the same ROH cards as Flip Gordon and Villain Enterprises. Despite having the opportunity to cross paths backstage, Gordon admitted that the two factions generally stay away from one another.
“We actually kinda keep our distance. The Bullet Club and Villain Enterprises, we don’t share the same locker room,” revealed Gordon. “We’re not walking by and giving each other hugs. We’re respectful and say ‘hi’ and ‘bye’ when we see each other in passing, but we’re not buddy buddy.”
Flip Gordon is scheduled to compete against Slex. The two face off this Sunday at ROH’s Free Enterprise event.
New Day member Xavier Woods has explained why fans should appreciate WWE. Speaking with ESPN, Woods argued how, unlike scripted television shows, WWE Superstars aren’t given scripts days in advance. He also highlighted the physically demanding schedule required of them, as well as the need to be ready for everything to change at a moment’s notice.
“Everybody has some tie to wrestling, either it was their grandpa taking them to matches or their stepmom being really into it,” Woods explained. “Everyone has some sort of wrestling story, and when they understand what wrestling is, they have a different appreciation for it.”
He continued, “Look, it’s 2020. We get it. Wrestling is what wrestling is. And then we’ll hear people saying they just watch UFC and not the ‘fake stuff.’ Well, the dragons on Game of Thrones are not actually dragons. And in shows that are in television, you have months or years to write a script, the actors then get those scripts. They go over their lines. They shoot the scenes 30 times. And then they make their best cuts from all of these, and produce their 12-episode shows.”
Xavier Woods stressed how WWE runs 52 weeks a year. He explained how Superstars tend to find out what they’re doing at 5 pm before performing it live only a few hours later.
In front of a live audience, however, anything could happen, and everything could change: “We have to tell a story through words and through physicality as well. Once people get that, they realize, ‘Oh, this is difficult. I should really appreciate it.'”
The SmackDown Superstar is still recovering from an unfortunate Achilles injury he sustained during a WWE Live Event.
It appears as though not everyone sees Jon Moxley’s as a main event player in All Elite Wrestling (AEW). Despite garnering high praise for his work in the promotion, including from WWE Hall of Famer Bully Ray, it turns out that former WCW President Eric Bischoff isn’t as taken with Moxley’s efforts. Yet.
Speaking on his podcast 83 Weeks, Bischoff broke down Moxley’s current run in AEW, admitting that he doesn’t believe Moxley is a “top guy.”
“Not yet,” Bischoff said. “I gotta be honest, I like his character, I like his work, I like the fact that he is kind of this enigma in a way. Theres a lot of things I like about him, but the top guy? If I’m being honest, no I don’t.”
Eric Bischoff’s Belief
Eric Bischoff argued that Moxley is currently two dimensional. He believes he needs to find that third dimension to get himself to Chris Jericho’s level. He stressed that there’s nothing wrong with Moxley’s in-ring work but believes there is a “sameness” to his character. Bischoff noted how he lacks “range,” adding that this is true for a lot of characters and not just Jon Moxley.
“You go back and look at Chris Jericho’s career and he’s been able to successfully reinvent himself so many different times and so many different ways because he has that range and that third dimension that a lot of people have really never developed,” Bischoff explained.
He continued, “A lot of top guys don’t have it. If any talent, not just Jon Moxley, wants to reach that level they have got to have that range that allows them to position elements of their character that make them feel more interesting.”
Jon Moxley is scheduled to face off against Chris Jericho for the AEW World Championship. The two clash on February 29th at AEW’s next pay-per-view, Revolution.
New Japan Pro-Wrestling’s double champion Tetsuya Naito has addressed his upcoming opponent KENTA in a recent interview with njpw1972.com. The Los Ingobernables de Japon leader holds both the IWGP Heavyweight Championship and the IWGP Intercontinental Championship. He won the dual titles after emerging victorious from NJPW’s Double Gold Dash over Wrestle Kingdom 14 two day event.
Tetsuya Naito’s Stolen Moment
His Wrestle Kingdom celebration would be unfairly cut short thanks to a blindsided attack by KENTA. Addressing his opponent, who he faces this Sunday at The New Beginning in Osaka event, Naito surprisingly gave Kenta credit for the attack.
“You have to give him credit for turning the focus to himself. I said this at the press conference, but as a wrestler, I have to respect what he was able to do, completely wrecking the ending to that weekend,” Naito said.
“Look, there were probably a ton of guys in the back who were cursing me out behind my back after I won. Plenty of people who would want to do what KENTA did, but he was the one that ran out and did it. Esepcially after he lost the NEVER Championship, just jumping me like that took a lot of balls.”
KENTA’s actions ruined Naito’s “moment,” something that isn’t lost on the LIJ leader. He explained how “To the fans who understand that, what KENTA did was [unforgivable]. n wrestling it’s all or nothing. Indifference is the worst reaction that can be; he might have been booed by over 30,000 people, but KENTA made that happen. He did get those fans in chorus, against him.”
Los Ingobernables De Japon’s Championship Glory
Tetsuya Naito isn’t the only LIJ member to enjoying championship glory. Hiromu Takahashi is the current IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship, and Shingo Takagi recently won the IWGP NEVER Openweight Championship after defeating Goto. LIJ members EVIL, Takagi and BUSHI are also the current IWGP NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Champions.
Reflecting on his group’s success, Naito commented on how LIJ has no intention of slowing down:
“Me and Hiromu are lighting the fire. That’s what we have going on here. In 2020, already, I’ve won double gold in the main event of the Tokyo Dome, and Hiromu’s come back, won the belt, beaten Liger, and has all the charisma in the world. That gets you thinking about what might happen within LIJ as the year goes on.”
All Elite Wrestling’s Shawn Spears has shared big plans for the rest of his 2020. AEW’s resident “Chair Man” discussed his intentions during a recent interview. He also opened up about his thoughts on the importance of talent being given creative freedom, something he believes AEW provides its roster.
Shawn Spears’ 2020 Goal
One 2020 goal stands out more than others for him: to be more challenged. He explained how, with the help of Tully Blanchard, he wants to evolve and challenge himself as a performer. He wants to be put into situations where he can “rise to the occasion” and how the responsibility currently lies with him to do so.
“[…] there’s no one to blame but me if something works or doesn’t work and I love that. I thrive on that environment, that’s when I feel most alive, especially in this industry so that part I’m looking forward to the most,” Spears explained to Wrestlezone. “In terms of personally, I just hit 18 years in January at wrestling. I’ve always said that if I can make 20 years in-ring, anything beyond that is just a cherry on top, so 2020 I’m looking to challenging and healthy so hopefully if I can do two of those things, I’m pretty sure it’s going to be a good year for me.”
Creative Freedom
When it comes to creative freedoms, Shawn Spears noted how AEW don’t micromanage their performers. He conceded that there are people in place who make the final decision, but that the talent still has freedom “in the palm of their hands” to create and display the performance they want. It’s an aspect he called a “very, very, very rare and beautiful thing” in pro wrestling.
He stressed how not everybody needs a push or title opportunity. According to him, people that make it all about these elements are missing the point entirely. “All talent needs is credibility and the freedom to create. That is all. That’s what will make the talent happy, that’s what makes me happy to this day.”
Spears continued, “I maybe wrestle once or twice a week, I have all the freedom in the world, I have all the time in the world, and that is something that any kind of artist, whether you paint on canvas, whether you write in a novel, or whether you perform in sports, that’s all we can ask for is that creative freedom to hopefully show an audience something a small piece of ourselves so whether they like it or not it’s a different story, but at the end of the day, that’s all we ask for.”
Shawn Spears is currently on the hunt for a tag team partner in AEW. He has partnered with several wrestlers in his efforts to find the perfect partner but has yet to find that elusive person. He lost a match with Colin Delaney to the team of Best Friends during last night’s episode of AEW: Dark.
“Sami and Shin were doing a thing together. A thing where Sami was just going crazy during Shin’s entrances [laughs] everyone’s favorite GIF every week,” Cesaro said. “And then Sami was like ‘Yeah, I’m trying to get you into the group’ and I’m like ‘Yeah, OK!’ I’ve moved to SmackDown again and there was no plan so I was like ‘Yeah, I’d love to, let’s do something!’”
Cesaro explained how the idea appealed to him as it sounded fun, especially after he and Nakamura teamed up for the first time. He noted how their teaming was a partnership that didn’t require much talking as it is “one those where you just know.” He confessed that he enjoys the dynamic with Zayn and reflected on the mutual respect that exists between himself and Nakamura, who he thinks is “one of the coolest people in the world.”
When he first came out with them, however, Cesaro admitted he wasn’t sure what to do. In between Nakamura “looking cool” and Sami going “absolutely crazy,” he wasn’t sure how to act. So he decided to stand absolutely still and “be a bad ass.”
WWE Hall of Famer Booker T has offered some advice to Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder of The Revival. He addressed their contract negotiations on a recent episode of his podcast, The Hall of Fame. Booker T stressed one piece of advice over everything else: take the money.
“If I could give them any advice, ‘Take the money. Take what’s behind door number one.’ If they came to me and said, ‘Hey Book, we’re going to give you a million dollars a year. You’re not going to win any titles. We’ll give you TV time. A 15-year contract.’ I’m gonna shut the hell up. I don’t give a damn about no titles,” Booker T said.
He continued, “Legacy and all that is okay. But if I had the choice of getting the money, and not working, I’m taking the money and I’m not gonna care about the legacy. I’m gonna take that $15 million and parlay that into 45 or 50. For me, it was about getting paid and parlaying professional wrestling into what I’m doing right now. If they would’ve said, ‘you can take the money and work sporadically’ or ‘take the money and stay at home.’ You would have never saw me again. I’m serious.”
Booker T reflected on being able to see the world because of pro wrestling, stressing how much he loves the business. He also loves seeing young talent living their dreams. But, for Booker T, if he had been offered $1 million a year, he would have taken the money. He noted the money would have allowed him the opportunity to take the trips anyway without the responsibility of having to perform.
All signs were pointing towards the same and now WWE has officially announced the signing of both Killer Kross and Timothy Thatcher.
The company announced the news on the latest episode of WWE Backstage and they later confirmed the same on their official website as well.
Though they have announced that the new recruits will be reporting to the performance centre so it’s not known which brand Kross and Thatcher will be joining and when.
Killer Kross who wrestled for promotions such as Lucha
Underground and AAA in Mexico joined Impact Wrestling in 2018 and rose to
stardom pretty quickly, before being released by the company in December last
year.
On the other hand, Thatcher is known for his work with
Evolve where he holds the record of being the longest-reigning Evolve Champion
at 596 days.
He has also wrestled for other notable indie promotions such
as Major League Wrestling, Pro Wrestling Guerrilla and Combat Zone Wrestling
since his debut in 2005.
It’s worth mentioning here that recent reports had suggested that the former Impact star Killer Kross could be on ‘fast track’ once he signs with WWE.
While the exact meaning of this is unknown, it’s believed that he can receive a big push in NXT or be sent to the main roster directly.
Monday’s edition of WWE RAW averaged 2.168 million viewers in Salt Lake City, UT at the Vivint Smart Home Arena on the USA Network, which is down from the 2.402 million viewers the previous week.
RAW Viewership
Here is the hourly viewership breakdown, courtesy of ShowbuzzDaily:
Hour 1: 2.318 million – Last Week: 2.541
Hour 2: 2.164 million – Last Week: 2.441
Hour 3: 2.022 million – Last Week: 2.224
The episode was expected to increase in its viewership from last week. The reason for that is due to the lack of competition it faced as well as it serving as featuring the fallout from Randy Orton’s attack on WWE Hall of Famer Edge.
Here is the hourly 18-49 demos breakdown:
Hour 1: 0.72 – Last Week: 0.81
Hour 2: 0.66 – Last Week: 0.76
Hour 3: 0.63 – Last Week: 0.72
Some of the matches that took place include Liv Morgan vs. Lana, AOP & Buddy Murphy (Akam & Rezar) (w/Seth Rollins) vs. Kevin Owens & The Viking Raiders (Erik & Ivar), Rey Mysterio vs. Angel Garza (w/Zelina Vega), Asuka (w/Kairi Sane) vs. Natalya, and Ricochet vs. Bobby Lashley vs. Seth Rollins in a WWE Title #1 Contendership Triple Threat Match.
There was also a segment with Randy Orton talking about why he attacked WWE Hall of Famer Edge last week.
WWE will attempt to increase its viewership for Monday Night RAW next week due to no sports competition and the road to WrestleMania on its way.
In case you missed the show, you can check out the seven takeaways here.
An update on where things stand with WWE and WWE Hall of Famer Sting has surfaced online.
During Royal Rumble weekend, Pwinsider.com reported that there had been a lot of talk about Sting being a major part of Super ShowDown. This sparked speculation that he could make a return to in-ring action or make an appearance at the show.
Sting Spoke With WWE Officials
At the time of the report being released, it was noted that the deal wasn’t done but the conversations had proceeded so far that some believed Sting could appear at the Royal Rumble to start hyping his return.
Clearly, Sting didn’t appear at the show. Fast forward to Tuesday, PWinsider.com released an update that stated they were told on Monday night that those talks of bringing in Sting for the show had died down.
Thus, it appears that a deal wasn’t reached and Sting won’t be appearing at the show. However, in WWE anything is possible but with WWE bringing in Goldberg for the show, it’s not likely at this time.
In 2015, it was revealed that Sting had spinal stenosis and wouldn’t be medically cleared. He has since retired from pro wrestling.
The XFL kicks off its 2020 season on Saturday when the Seattle Dragons take on the DC Defenders. The 2020 season begins 19 years after the conclusion of the XFL’s first season in 2001.
Vince McMahon’s league is the second attempt in recent years to create another pro football organization in the United States. The Alliance of American Football was not able to last through its first season, however.
Additionally, WWE and Vince McMahon are being sued by WWE stockholders in regards to the XFL. WWE stock-holders from the Oklahoma Firefighters Pension Fund has filed suit against Vince McMahon and the WWE seeking transparency in the relationship between WWE and the XFL.
With the XFL’s season about to get underway, one has to wonder what Vince McMahon’s plan is to make his league more successful than the AAF was. The belief is that Vince plans on funding the league for multiple seasons until they are in a position to get a big-money TV rights deal as both RAW and Smackdown currently enjoy. The TV rights deal would then hopefully be enough to cover the losses McMahon is expected to experience the first few seasons.
Dave Meltzer and Bryan Alvarez discussed Vince McMahon’s strategy with the XFL on a recent edition of Wrestling Observer Radio.
“Vince has earmarked $300 million and that’s going to get them through 2.5 seasons and he’ll put up more later,” said Dave Meltzer. “The way this whole thing is structured is Vince is probably going to lose about $375 million over the next 3 years on this league and he will and he knows and that’s what he’s going to do.”
“Then at the end of those 3 years, the idea is he’ll be able to get television deals that will total over $125 million a year which would cover his losses and then he’s okay. There’s a lot of factors involved in that and again, the ratings are one of them. If these stations feel that it’s valuable enough to pay that much, it’s not as long a shot as everyone thinks.”
In 2018, ESPN’s Darren Rovell noted that Vince McMahon is prepared to spend as much as $500 million on the league.
“People were focused on the $100 million, but the truth is that doesn’t even get us to the 20-yard line,” league CEO and commissioner Oliver Luck told ESPN.
“There are very few participants who underwrite for this market anymore and it is obviously costly,” he continued.
WWE Hall of Famer and co-host of Busted Open Radio Mark Henry recently discussed Braun Strowman and his Intercontinental Championship win. The ‘Monster Among Men’ Strowman won his first ever singles title in WWE on the 31st January episode of the blue brand on FOX.
On Braun Strowman – “I think that you don’t want to rush things”
Henry first discussed why he believed it took ‘so long’ for Strowman to win a singles title. “I think that you don’t want to rush things” Henry began. “Didn’t we always talk about how Roman Reigns was pushed ON us? Yeah, we didn’t get to choose Roman Reigns; and now people ARE choosing Roman Reigns, look how long it took for Roman Reigns to take.”
“How long is he going to keep the title. Who is he going to defend the title against?”
Henry elaborated further, saying “I’m glad that they did not rush [Braun Strowman] and just make him a champion over someone that it didn’t seem plausible. Now, for him to go over at this point, considering after all the things that he’s done. It’s going to legitimise him. And is not just winning, it is keeping the title. How long is he going to keep the title. Who is he going to defend the title against? What stories are going to be built out of the fact that Braun Strowman has the title now?”
Braun Strowman’s WWE Championship History
To this point Strowman had only won tag team Championships in his time on the WWE roster. One time with Nicolas, WWE referee John Cone’s son. Also once with current RAW Tag Team Champion Seth Rollins. Strowman has challenged for the Universal Championship on occasion, including the ‘no-contest’ against Roman Reigns at Hell In a Cell 2018.
Who do you think that Braun Strowman will be defending the Intercontinental Championship against at WrestleMania? Let us know in the comments
Kalisto is reportedly dealing with a separated shoulder at the moment. According to Pro Wrestling Sheet, Kalisto’s injury will not require surgery but there is currently no timetable for his return.
The 33-year-old just signed a new contract with WWE last month. He hasn’t wrestled since a December 30th, 2019 house show from the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
The luchador is a 2x United States Champion, 1x Cruiserweight Champion, and once held the NXT tag team titles along with Sin Cara.
Kalisto On Meeting Rey Mysterio
In 2018, Kalisto appeared on Stone Cold Steve Austin’s podcast and talked about meeting Rey Mysterio for the first time.
“Rey, when he won his world title, he did a book signing at my college in Chicago. I met up with him. I was five months in wrestling,” Kalisto said. “When I saw him, I said ‘I’m in the process of being a luchador, I’m learning so much, and you’re a good inspiration.’”
“At the time, I didn’t know he was going to win the title. And when I met him, he’s a little shorter than me, and that gave me inspiration. If he could do it, I could do it.”
