Former EVOLVE Champion Timothy Thatcher has reportedly signed with WWE. According to reports from both Squared Circle Sirens and PW Insider, the 36-year-old has been at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando this week.
Thatcher last wrestled in December in a victory over Kassius Ohno on a Progress show from Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, UK. Prior to that, Thatcher had also been wrestling with Major League Wrestling. Thatcher most recently advanced to the semi-finals of MLW’s Opera Cup tournament.
Thatcher also dropped matches to WALTER and Arturo Ruas on EVOLVE shows back in December.
Timothy Thatcher Signs With WWE
Thatcher won the EVOLVE Championship at EVOLVE 45 on July 10th, 2015. He wouldn’t lose the title for 596 days and successfully defended the title 22 times during his reign. Thatcher dropped the title to Zack Sabre Jr. at EVOLVE 79 on February 25th, 2017.
Thatcher’s 596 days as EVOLVE Champion is both the longest single reign in the title’s lineage and also the most combined days anyone has spent with the title as nobody has ever won the title more than once. Zack Sabre Jr’s 404-day title reign is good for second place in this category.
Taya Valkyrie is working alongside her husband, John Morrison, on a horror film with a premise many wrestling fans will likely find quite entertaining. The film “The Iron Sheik Massacre” focusses on a toy Iron Sheik doll that becomes sentient. The doll then targets a group of new school wrestlers who it feels are insulting old school wrestling traditions. The sentient Iron Sheik doll will be voiced by none other than the Iron Sheik himself.
Valkyrie and Morrison co-wrote the script together on their Honeymoon.
“As of right now, last week John was doing some meetings with the special effects people,” Valkyrie told Metro.
“It’s a very effects-heavy short film because of the nature of it being a horror-comedy. There’s a lot of stuff that’s being worked on right now that did take longer than expected – I’m slowly learning about this. I always thought things just happened, and they were out and ready [laughs] – which sounds ridiculous, but I’ve learned that things take time.”
“It is taking its time, but I think it’s all going to be extremely worth it. We have some of the best special effects people working on it. It will be done this year, 120%.”
John Morrison spoke to BANG Showbiz about the project last May.
“The last thing that I did that I’m finishing right now is a horror-comedy short that Taya and I wrote on our honeymoon. It’s called ‘The Iron Sheik Massacre’,” Morrison told the outlet.
“It’s about a group of new school wrestlers who are dumping on old school wrestling, lightning hits the house and an Iron Sheik doll becomes sentient.”
Ruby Riott returned to WWE after having missed 262 days due to two separate shoulder surgeries. The 29-year-old’s last official match before going on the shelf was May 17th, 2019 at a house show in Cardiff, Wales. Riott returned last night and turned on her former Riott Squad teammate, Liv Morgan.
WWE correspondents caught up with Riott backstage from RAW last night. Riott seemed uninterested in answering any questions, however, and stormed away from the interview without issuing any comment.
Video of the attempted interview can be viewed in the player below:
Liv Morgan Reacts To Ruby Riott’s RAW Return
Liv Morgan issued a social media post last night after RAW. She posted the following to Twitter:
Ruby Riott, Sarah Logan, and Liv Morgan debuted as the Riott Squad on the WWE main roster on November 21st, 2017. A year later, the trio would all get matching tattoos to commemorate one-year together.
After WrestleMania 35 last year, the faction was broken up when Liv Morgan was drafted to Smackdown. Morgan wouldn’t do much on the brand until reappearing on RAW during the Bobby Lashley and Lana wedding recently. Sarah Logan is also on RAW where she recently had a small angle with Charlotte Flair going before the Royal Rumble. Riott underwent two shoulder surgeries last year, the first in May and then another in August.
WWE RAW aired live from the Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah. Brock Lesnar’s opponent for Super ShowDown was revealed in the main event.
WWE RAW Results (2/3)
Liv Morgan def. Lana
Drew McIntyre def. Mojo Rawley
AOP & Buddy Murphy def. Kevin Owens & Viking Raiders
Aleister Black def. eric Young
Rey Mysterio def. Angel Garza via DQ
Asuka def. Natalya
Ricochet def. Seth Rollins & Bobby Lashley to become #1 contender for WWE Championship
Here are 7 takeaways from this week’s show:
Randy Orton Didn’t Explain His Actions
Randy Orton (Photo: @WWE)
Randy Orton came down to the ring to kick off this week’s show. Last week on RAW, Orton brutally attacked Edge with a steel chair. Orton stated that he owed everyone an explanation for his actions as the crowd booed him out of the building.
Orton tried to talk but the crowd drowned him out with a loud “you suck!” chant. Orton said that he cannot do this and dropped the microphone. Randy got out of the ring and walked backstage as the crowd continued to boo.
Liv Morgan once again battled Lana tonight on RAW. Lana pretended to injure her arm early and baited Liv into a boot to the face for a two count. Liv quickly slammed Lana to the canvas for the pinfall victory.
After the match, Ruby Riott made her return and came down to the ring. Ruby made it seem like she was going to hug Morgan but wound up attacking her. Riott leveled Morgan with a Clothesline and Lana capitalized by attacking Liv as well.
Opinion: It is great to see Ruby Riott back and hopefully this feud leads to good things for her and Liv Morgan. I thought it was frustrating to watch the Riott Squad continuously get jobbed out when they were a solid stable and should have had more of an impact on the division.
Kevin Owens & Viking Raiders squared off against Buddy Murphy & AOP in a Elimination Match tonight. Seth Rollins was ringside for the match.
Match Recap: AOP and Murphy dominated early and isolated Erik in the the corner. Ivar went for a Crossbody outside the ring but Byddy got out of the way and Ivar crashed into the LED board. Rollins hit Erik with the Stomp as the referee was distracted and rolled him in the ring. Buddy then pinned Erik to eliminate him as Ivar was ruled out due to injury. Owens took out AOP outside the ring and planted Buddy Murphy with the Pop-Up Powerbomb to eliminate him. Owens quicky planted Akam with the Stunner for the elimination.
Rollins fired up Rezar but Owens quickly hit him with a Superkick and then a Cannonball. Owens climbed to the top rope and connected with a Senton for a two count. Seth hopped on the ring apron for a distraction and Rezar capitalized with a Clothesline. Rezar followed it up with two massive Spinebusters for the pinfall victory.
Angel Garza came down to the ring with Zelina Vega tonight on RAW. Garza claimed that Humberto Carrillo disgraced their family and attacked him. Angel set up Humberto for the Hammerlock DDT on the concrete but Rey rushed the ring to make the save. Rey then battled Garza in match.
Match Recap: Rey controlled the match early and locked in a Headlock. Garza battled to his feet but Rey sent him to the canvas. Angel asked Rey to shake his head but Mysterio declined. Garza hit Rey with a Dropkick and followed it up with a knee to the chest for a near fall. Angel took a break to pose for the crowd and went for a Moonsault but Rey was able to get out of the way. Mysterio hit a Destroyer and went for the 619 but Vega pulled Garza out of the way. Vega distracted Rey and Garza capitalized with a Superkick. Angel then hit Rey with a Hammerlock DDT onto the exposed concrete and the match ended in a DQ.
Opinion: Garza is great and has a ton of charisma. He got more of a reaction tonight than Humberto Carrillo has ever gotten. I’m wondering if Rey was just written off of television like Andrade and is about to go on 30-day vacation.
Charlotte Flair kicked off the final hour of RAW to announce who she will face at WrestleMania. Flair stated that she has held the RAW and SmackDown Women’s Championships multiple times. Charlotte added that she has already defeated Bayley and Becky Lynch multiple times.
Flair boasted about being a 10-time champion but was interrupted by NXT Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley. The crowd loudly chanted “NXT!” as Rhea told Flair that she has never beaten her. Ripley added that she has actually beaten Charlotte and raised the NXT Women’s Championship in her face. Charlotte smirked at Rhea before getting out of the ring. Flair stopped at the top of the entrance ramp and said “woo!” to end the segment. It was later announced that Charlotte will be on NXT this week to answer Rhea’s challenge.
Becky Lynch Will Defend Her Title Against Asuka AgainNext Week
Asuka tapped out Natalya tonight on RAW. After the match, Asuka stated that she wanted a rematch with Becky Lynch for the RAW Women’s Championship.
Becky came down to the ring wearing the “deal with it” glasses and claimed that beating Asuka at Royal Rumble almost gave her super powers. Lynch wondered why she would put her title on the line so close to WrestleMania but said that it fun beating up Asuka and she wanted to it again.
Kairi Sane tried to attack Becky but she fought her off and sent her to the outside. Lynch joked that one of her super powers was that she has eyes in the back of her head. It was later announced that the match will go down next week on RAW.
Opinion: I’m hoping that the storyline is that Becky has become too cocky and winds up dropping the title. I doubt that will be the case but one can hope.
Seth Rollins, Bobby Lashley, and Ricochet competed in a Triple Threat match tonight in the main event. The winner of the match will face Brock Lesnar at Super ShowDown for the WWE Championship.
Match Recap: Ricochet controlled the action early and made his way to the top rope. Buddy Murphy and AOP rushed the ring and beat Lashley and Ricochet down. Kevin Owens and Viking Raiders joined the party and hit Akam and Rezar with steel chairs. Lashley connected with a Spinebuster on Seth for a two count. Ricochet connected with the 630 Splash on Lashley for the victory and earned a shot at the WWE Championship at Super ShowDown. After the match, WWE Champion Brock Lesnar attacked Ricochet and hit him with the F5.
Opinion: I’m expecting Ricochet to get demolished at Super ShowDown and sell the hell out of some German Suplexes. I really cannot bring myself to get invested in this match since the outcome is so obvious. Overall, this week’s episode of RAW was a solid show.
WWE Champion Brock Lesnar has received his next opponent as he will make his next title defense at the upcoming WWE Super ShowDown PPV.
WWE booked a #1 contender’s match on Monday’s 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.
Brock Lesnar Receives Opponent
Ricochet ended up winning the match and becoming the new #1 contender for the top title on RAW. As a result, he will now challenge “The Beast” for the WWE Title at WWE’s next event in Saudi Arabia. Post-match, Lesnar ran down to the ring and laid out Ricochet.
WWE has already confirmed that Lesnar will defend the title against Drew McIntyre at WrestleMania 36.
WWE presents the Super ShowDown pay-per-view event on Thursday, February 27, 2020 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia at the King Fahd International Stadium that will air on the WWE Network.
Updated WWE Super ShowDown Card
WWE Champion Brock Lesnar vs. Ricochet
WWE SmackDown Tag Team Champions The New Day vs. John Morrison & The Miz
What are your thoughts on this match being added to the card? Sound off in the comment section.
A new match has been teased for the upcoming WWE WrestleMania 36 PPV.
During Monday’s episode of RAW, Charlotte Flair came out for the second straight week to reveal who she would be challenging at WrestleMania 36.
Before Flair could make her announcement, NXT Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley interrupted by walking out to the ring. Ripley cut a promo about how Flair has beaten many top stars but never defeated her. In fact, Ripley brought up how she holds a win over Flair.
Instead of Flair accepting the challenge, she walked out of the ring. Thus, WWE is stretching out this match announcement for at least another week. It’s been reported that this is a match that is planned to take place at the biggest event of the year for the company.
Flair won the 30-Woman Royal Rumble Match at the WWE Royal Rumble pay-per-view event in Houston, Texas at the Minute Maid Park.
As a result, she can challenge for any title in WWE such as the RAW, SmackDown, and NXT Women’s Championship.
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.
So far the only match that has been announced for this show is WWE Champion Brock Lesnar vs. Drew McIntyre.
The company announced during Monday Night RAW that the WWE Hall of Famer is slated to make an appearance on Friday Night SmackDown this week in San Jose, CA at the SAP Center on FOX.
Additional details on his appearance weren’t given. However, that hasn’t stopped fans from speculating. WWE is slated to make its return with the Super ShowDown event in Saudi Arabia later this month.
Goldberg worked last year’s Super ShowDown show in the country and with the Saudi Arabia government liking big stars from the past, speculation is that we could hear an announcement featuring Goldberg in action at this upcoming show.
WWE presents the Super ShowDown pay-per-view event on Thursday, February 27, 2020 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia at the King Fahd International Stadium that will air on the WWE Network.
WWE will be announcing more matches for this show in the coming weeks.
WWE started their deal with Saudi Arabia in 2018 as the company signed a 10-year partnership with the Saudi General Sports Authority to bring two shows per year to the country in support of a new campaign, Saudi Vision 2030.
A new report has surfaced online that suggests that Triple H is high on one WWE NXT UK star.
Alex McCarthy of talkSPORT noted on Twitter that he spoke with a WWE official over Royal Rumble weekend who told him that Triple H “is obsessed” with Ilja Dragunov.
The 26 year old Russian signed with WWE in February 2019. Dragunov lost to Finn Balor in the Worlds Collide opener from the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas on the WWE Network last month.
This comes after it was reported by Dave Meltzer in the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels is a “huge proponent” of NXT Cruiserweight Champion Jordan Devlin.
Devlin recently captured the title from former champion Angel Garza at WWE Worlds Collide when the two stars took on Isaiah “Swerve” Scott and Travis Banks in a Fatal 4 Way Match.
It was reported at the time that the idea behind the title win is for him to defend across all brands – RAW, SmackDown, NXT, and NXT UK.
WWE has already confirmed that Devlin will make an appearance on Wednesday’s NXT episode on the USA Network as well as Friday’s WWE 205 Live episode on the WWE Network in San Jose, CA at the SAP Center.
She did so on Monday’s episode of RAW in Salt Lake City, UT at the Vivint Smart Home Arena on the USA Network. Liv Morgan beat Lana in a singles match. After the match, Riott came out for what appeared to be a Riott Squad reunion.
However, that quickly faded as Riott attacked Morgan. Thus, it appears that the feud between Morgan and Lana is over as WWE shifts to her feuding with Riott.
Back in August, the WWE star underwent successful surgery to repair a bilateral injury on her left shoulder. She underwent the first surgery to repair the same injury on her right shoulder back on May 22nd.
She was last seen on WWE programming where she wrestled on an April 22nd episode of Main Event before RAW went live when she lost to Dana Brooke in a singles match.
Riott last competed at a WWE Live Event in Cardiff, Wales on May 17th as a participant in a Fatal Four Way for the RAW Women’s Championship that saw Becky Lynch successfully retain her title.
Before the injury, she hadn’t been used much since The Riott Squad was split up in the 2019 Superstar Shakeup.
The viewership numbers are in for Friday’s edition of WWE SmackDown on FOX from Tulsa, OK at the BOK Center.
SmackDown averaged 2.422 million viewers, according to ShowbuzzDaily. This is slightly down from the 2.448 viewers that the show did for last week’s episode of SmackDown on FOX.
The show averaged 2.424 million viewers in the fast nationals, which was down from the 2.470 million viewers a week ago. This number measured the top metered markets.
WWE SmackDown Viewership
The first hour drew 2.529 million viewers while the second hour did 2.318 million viewers. For comparison, the first show of last week’s show did 2.548 million viewers while the second hour did 2.391 million viewers.
SmackDown pulled in a 0.70 rating in the 18-49 demos, the same as last week’s show. This episode was expected to see its viewership stay steady and it did so due to it serving as post-show of SmackDown for the Royal Rumble pay-per-view event.
Matches
Matches that took place on this show included The Miz, John Morrison vs. The Revival vs. Lucha House Party vs. Heavy Machinery in a Fatal 4-Way #1 Contender’s Match, Braun Strowman vs. Shinsuke Nakamura for the Intercontinental Championship, Roman Reigns, The Usos vs. King Corbin, Robert Roode and Dolph Ziggler in a six-man tag team match, and Shorty G vs. Sheamus
WWE is expecting to see an increase in viewership for the following episode this coming Friday night as the show will be setting up feuds for the Super ShowDown event in a few weeks.
Watch: Top 10 Moments from Friday Night SmackDown (1.31.20)
WWE has started to announce things for the latest RAW show and it features an interesting lineup.
Thus, it’s time to look ahead starting with tonight’s episode of Monday Night RAW.
WWE has already confirmed that WWE Hall of Famer Edge will not appear on the show due to him “recovering” from the attack on him from Randy Orton last week. What is known is that Orton will address fans about his assault on Edge on tonight’s RAW.
WWE holds this show in Salt Lake City, UT at the Vivint Smart Home Arena. WWE is advertising the following items for tonight’s broadcast:
The fallout from last week’s show.
Drew McIntyre responds to WWE Champion Brock Lesnar attacking him.
Will Charlotte Flair announce which title she is challenging at WrestleMania 36?
Randy Orton will address his attack on Edge
Liv Morgan and Lana rematch
Ricochet, Seth Rollins, and Bobby Lashley will face off in a triple threat number one contender’s match – winner faces Brock Lesnar at Super ShowDown
WWE will also be creating new programs and building on the hype for existing feuds that will take place heading into the Super ShowDown pay-per-view event.
As usual, fans should expect more matches and segments to be revealed this afternoon for RAW.
Join us here later tonight for WWE RAW Live Results and our post-show RAW Takeaways feature.
New Day member Big E has revealed which WWE Superstar he believes is the “most physically impressive” amongst the current roster. Speaking on The New Day: Feel The Power podcast alongside co-hosts Xaver Woods and Kofi Kingston, Big E was quick to point to “The Swiss Superman” Cesaro.
“I always think Cesaro and his strength… I think at the time when we first started New Day, I was probably about 305, 310 [lbs.]. And I would always suggest things, but I always love doing with him a drop down spot, so something where I drop down, I go for the leapfrog, and he catches me out of midair like it’s nothing, just every time.”
He continued, “He’s the most physically impressive man in [pro] wrestling, I think, because he can do it all. He’s quick enough and agile enough to do lucha stuff. He can be a base for you. He can do springboard. What a frightening human being!”
Former WWE Champion Kingston added to the praise. He promised how he would “put him over to the end of the Earth.” He also added how if you’re in a match with Cesaro, everything is going to work out because of what he brings to the ring as a performer.
WWE Superstar Natalya has shared a blog post revolving around Edge’s triumphant return to pro wrestling during the Royal Rumble matchup. In her blog, which she writes for CalgarySun.com, Natalya opened up about how much Edge has helped her throughout her career, whether it was advice or guidance or even diagrams to help her better her matches.
Commenting on his return, Natalya shared how Edge’s wife, Beth Phoenix, spoke with her backstage about his understandable excitement. Phoenix told her how “Adam is more ready for this than anything else in his life. He’s worked so incredibly hard to get back here. I’m so happy for him and so proud of him in every way.” She then noted how nobody wanted to miss the moment of his comeback, and that they knew it was about more than pro wrestling or performance. It was about somehow finding a way back to your dreams.
Natalya’s Gratefulness
Regarding the help Edge has given Natalya, she provided several examples of his willingness and approachability. She explained how he drew pictures that broke down how she could best set up a ladder to win and, like a true friend, he only ever wanted her to be her very best.
“Adam has always been someone I can turn to for advice or guidance whenever I need it. When I competed in the first women’s ladder match in WWE, it was Adam who I called to ask for help. I knew no one else had experience like Adam with that kind of a match, and he gave me so much advice.
Looking back at her matchup against Becky Lynch at last year’s Summerslam, Natalya recalled how she asked him for help. According to her, he stopped everything he was doing. The two then found a quiet corner of the arena so he could give her “the very best advice he could give.”
She shared how all of this had a positive impact on her confidence and performance that night, and that she kept his words in her head throughout her match with Lynch.
“In a world where we tell stories in the WWE, my story was even better because of him. Adam was able to take moments, lessons and inspiration from his own career and pass it on to the next generation.”
AEW will honor more wrestling legends this week on Dynamite. This week’s episode will emanate from the Von Braun Center in Huntsville, Alabama and AEW will honor wrestling legends of the SouthEast on the show.
Missy Hyatt and Austin Idol will be honored this week on Dynamite and PW Insider is also reporting that Doug Gilbert and Arn Anderson will be as well.
Missy Hyatt posted the following to her social media accounts to announce the news:
Big news!!! I'm going to be @AEWrestling this Wednesday. I will be honored among continental legend-Austin idol. No truth that I got spot from alan martin, di Carter,lord humungous,Wendell cooley for not picking up the phone.
Missy Hyatt started her career with WCCW in 1985 and would later join the UWF as well. Hyatt then was with WCW from 1987 to 1993. She also managed a little in ECW. Hyatt was inducted into the WSU Hall of Fame in 2009.
Austin Idol is running commercials for his wrestling school on episodes of NWA Powerrr these days. He is a multi-time former CWA Heavyweight Champion and a 2x NWA Alabama Heavyweight Champion as well. Idol was on-hand when AEW honored legends of Memphis Wrestling as well.
Lineup for AEW Dynamite This Week
Lucha Bros, the Butcher & the Blade vs Hangman Page, Kenny Omega & the Young Bucks
After his surprise return at WWE’s Royal Rumble event, MVP would appear on RAW to wrestle Rey Mysterio. Despite his best efforts, MVP would lose his final matchup to Mysterio. Appearing on Corey Graves’ WWE podcast, After The Bell, MVP reflected on coming back to WWE after so much time away and wrestling Mysterio. He also discussed his in-ring future.
“As you said, going one on one with one of the greatest legends of all-time, period, bar none,” MVP said about his opponent. “An individual who I’ve faced a number of times. No matter that I’ve kept busy. I stay active and competitive in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, I wrestle on the international circuit. But no matter what, going from that and stepping onto the stage of Monday Night Raw. Live television, no safety net against one of the greatest to ever do it. I don’t think there are really words that exist in the English vocabulary to properly capture what that feels like. But I’ll just say, in a word, exhilarating.”
MVP’s Career Twilight
When it comes to his in-ring career, MVP was a little coy in his response. He noted how he is now 46-years-old and confessed he always had intentions to retire at 45. Despite this, he knows he can still go and is in great shape, adding how he wrestles “just about every weekend.” MVP then admitted how the clock is ticking and “retirement is looming” for him. Having had this recent experience coming back to WWE, he feels he is segueing into a new chapter of his career, one where he can begin offering his talents behind the scenes.
“[…] in the very near future — VERY near future — I see myself hanging up the boots and moving from in-ring competitor to behind the scenes producer, if you will. This is what I’m looking at, and I think that’s the best way to go for me.”
All Elite Wrestling’s Jon Moxley has revealed how, before leaving WWE, he had no idea what his next step would be. Speaking with Fightful, Moxley confessed he didn’t have a clear vision for his wrestling career, figuring he might disappear for a while and wrestle on the indies or in Japan.
“I didn’t have a real clear vision of where my career was gonna go when I was leaving,” Moxley admitted. “I kinda thought I would take myself off Broadway, so to speak for a while. I didn’t even have a clear vision for myself.”
He continued, “I figured I’d disappear and go off the grid, and wrestle in Japan or somewhere else. Or put a mask on and do indies. I have no idea. I had no idea. I didn’t have a set plan. I kinda wanted to go wherever the wind took me and the timing of AEW popping up at the exact same time.”
What Influenced Jon Moxley’s Decision?
He recalled how Cody Rhodes had an initial conversation with him regarding signing with AEW. Moxley complimented his upcoming opponent at AEW Revolution, Chris Jericho. He noted how Jericho has “always got his finger on the pulse.”
Because Jericho was willing to take a chance on AEW, Moxley felt it legitimized the promotion. This allayed any concerns he had in signing.
“He’s [Jericho] one of the smarter guys and if he was gonna take a chance that this is for real, and risk his reputation and his time and he believed in it, it seemed like that was a sign that this could be for real.”
Their current feud has been well received. WWE Hall of Famer Bully Ray was effusive with his praise, stressing how Moxley and Jericho bring “main event level storytelling” to AEW.
Jon Moxley faces off against Chris Jericho for the AEW World Championship at AEW Revolution. The show takes place on February 29, 2020, from the Wintrust Arena in Chicago, Illinois.
Former WWE ring announcer Justin Roberts has opened up about the differences between his former employer and All Elite Wrestling (AEW). Speaking with Wrestling Observer Radio, Roberts explained how he feels the two promotions are starkly opposite to one another.”
“Everything is completely different,” Roberts stated. “In AEW, Tony Khan is a super nice guy who wants to put on the best possible show and has surrounded himself with great minds along with great talent.”
He continued, “He wants us to have the perfect balance of work and life. To do this on Wednesdays and then have the rest of the week to enjoy yourself before coming back next Wednesday is great. We all hang out together after the show and on Tuesday nights we get together for a meeting. They just make it such a fun atmosphere here.”
Justin Roberts Doesn’t Miss Micromanaging
Roberts also explained how AEW trusts its employees, allowing them an amount of freedom WWE doesn’t. Roberts noted how the promotion encourages him to do what he thinks is right, granting him some flexibility so he’s not “worried about saying or doing the wrong thing out there.”
One crucial facet that he is glad isn’t a part of AEW’s culture is micromanaging. He shared how he has approached Cody a few times looking for advice.
He was told, “‘‘You do what you wanna do. I’m not gonna tell you how to do your job. You do what you think is right, and I’m sure it’s gonna be right.’”
It’s this kind of trust that he will get the job done that Justin Roberts highlights as one of the reasons he loves being a part of AEW.
The Undisputed Era has reflected on their recent busy schedule during an interview with Alex McCarthy of talkSPORT. The NXT stable not only invaded NXT UK’s recent TakeOver: Blackpool II event, they also competed against NXT UK’s Imperium group at WWE’s recent Worlds Collide.
Looking back on their invasion at TakeOver: Blackpool II, current NXT champion Adam Cole shared how their surprise appearance was a memorable moment. “With Blackpool, that was one of those moments that you remember forever. We never lose sight on stuff like this,” Cole said. “I love surprises in wrestling, that’s one of my favorite things. So to be involved in something where everyone in that building had no idea we were there and then we showed up, then there’s that reaction like ‘oh my god, they’re here’ and they’re really excited – that’s one of the most coolest things.”
Triple H has previously shared how he believes it was the fans who helped keep their invasion a secret. He noted how, if fans see unannounced Superstars, he thinks they will keep it to themselves. He believes they don’t ruin the surprise for other members of the WWE Universe.
Undisputed Era Versus Imperium
Their invasion angle would help fan the feud between themselves and NXT UK’s Imperium stable, led by WALTER. Roderick Strong spoke about what it was like to face off against them, explaining how “[…] it was kind of an opportunity to raise their stock against us and that’s special. Those kind of moments mean a lot to me. Where we can help elevate these guys as well because we’re in that position. You know, being in the position that we’re in is great, but what we can do with the ‘power’ of it is what is really freaking cool.”
Unfortunately, Imperium member Alexander Wolfe would be legitimately knocked out during their bout. Despite being a man down, however, Imperium would emerge victorious from their clash.
According to various reports, Brock Lesnar and Matt Riddle got into some kind of altercation backstage at the Royal Rumble. Lesnar is reported to have told Riddle he will not work with him. Booker T talked about the issues regarding Riddle and Lesnar on his “The Hall of Fame with Booker T” on ESPN 97.5 recently.
“These sites will pick something up in a heartbeat and they will run with it,” Booker T pointed out about wrestling sites.
“I was looking on social media, actually on some of the sites, and they were talking about Matt Riddle saying ‘Man, forget that, I want the title shot, I’m taking his career, I’m going to finish Brock Lesnar.'”
Booker was referencing a video posted by the official WWE PC YouTube channel. In the video, Riddle continued to say he plans on retiring Brock Lesnar. The video was posted after reports of Riddle and Lesnar’s confrontation at the Rumble went public. It is not clear, however, if Riddle’s comments in the video were made before his meeting with Lesnar or after. Some of Riddle’s comments seem to indicate the video was filmed after Lesnar reportedly said he wouldn’t work with him, however.
“I don’t care if he wants the match or not. I’m going to get it. I don’t care, it’s not up to him,” Riddle said in the video. “I don’t like being told no, especially when I work as hard as I do.”
“This ain’t the UFC and that’s what I want to relay also,” Booker said.
“If someone don’t want to work with you, if someone don’t like you, it definitely can be a problem for you,” Booker continued.
Booker would then say he feels the media turned in-character comments of Riddle’s into a shoot story.
“So, that’s why I feel like, this deal right here he was in character one moment and then the media took the character and made it a shoot because of what happened on Sunday.”
“On one of the sites, it actually gives you everything verbatim as far as what he said but you got to click on the video to see what it really is.”
Do you think Riddle’s comments in the WWE PC Video were in-character or “shoot”? Let us know in the comments section below.
Booker’s comments can be heard in the player below:
Major League Wrestling and Dragon Gate Pro Wrestling have entered into a new alliance, according to a press release sent in by MLW on Monday morning.
The following is the official announcement, including a video trailer regarding the partnership:
THE GATE TO THE AMERICAS HAS BEEN OPENED.
KOBE, JAPAN / NEW YORK — Major League Wrestling and Dragon Gate Pro-Wrestling of Japan today announced the formation of a strategic alliance.
MLW and Dragon Gate Pro-Wrestling will fuse forces to launch a new collaboration focused on a talent exchange and opportunities to share content and participate in other projects.
“The collaboration between MLW and Dragon Gate is a very special opportunity to produce unique events, showcase spectacular talent and create a new canvas for Japanese and American cooperation,” said Court Bauer, CEO and founder of MLW. “We are ecstatic about this partnership.”
Dragon Gate is a world-renowned wrestling organization based out of Kobe, Japan that has revolutionized wrestling.
Transcending traditional Japanese wrestling with its distinct mixture of strong style wrestling and Mexican lucha libre, Dragon Gate is a spectacular packaging unlike any other Japanese organization.
With popular wrestlers such as Ben-K, YAMATO, Shun Skywalker and Narauki Doi among others, Dragon Gate delights fans around the world with their thrilling high-flying acrobatics and inventive moves.
A vibrant trendsetting organization, Dragon Gate emerged in 2004 and reimagined Japanese wrestling in its own vision. Today, Dragon Gate is one of Japan’s most prominent organizations with a global reach, including introducing their SVOD service, https://dragongate.live.
More details on first chapter of the MLW x Dragon Gate collaboration will be revealed soon.
WWE Hall of Famer Kurt Angle has shared his thoughts on O.C. leader AJ Styles. In an interview with Gary Cassidy of Sportskeeda, Angle stressed how he believes Styles to be just as good in the ring as he was 10 years ago. He noted how Styles should have been a member of the WWE locker room a decade ago.
Kurt Angle’s Phenomenal Praise
“Oh, I think WWE should have brought him in ten years ago,” Angle shared. “Unfortunately they didn’t but they got him. AJ’s still going strong. I’d say he’s every bit as good as he was ten years ago so I just hope his career continues on and he can give us a few more years.”
Angle added how, although Styles has been wrestling for over 20 years, including his experience as an amateur wrestler, he is consistently one of the best performers in the business, let alone WWE. He explained how, for him, “The Phenomenal One” might be one of the best wrestlers in the world, and has been for the past 8 years.
Kurt Angle and AJ Styles previously worked together before their time in WWE. They were both signed to IMPACT Wrestling, where they wrestled together on several occasions before crossing paths in WWE.
Major League Wrestling presented an episode of Fusion from Dallas, Texas on BeIN Sports and YouTube this weekend. The show featured a no-ropes, no-holds-barred match between Davey Boy Smith Jr. and Simon Gotch as well as a single’s match between Marshall Von Erich and MJF. The Middleweight title was also on the line this week as Myron Reed from Injustice defended against AAA’s Drago.
MLW Fusion 2/1/20 Quick Results:
No Ropes, No Holds Barred Davey Boy Smith Jr. defeated Simon Gotch via referee stoppage
With this episode of Fusion having been taped in Dallas, Texas, the live crowd was enthusiastically behind Marshall Von Erich in this match here. The Von Erich’s bitter rival, Tom Lawlor, joined the broadcast booth for this one as well. Meanwhile, Ross Von Erich was off wrestling in Israel and wasn’t in attendance for the show.
To start off this match the two locked up and didn’t let go as they took their lockup to the outside, around the ring area, and then back into the ring again.
MJF would attempt to pull out all the tricks in the book during this match. At one point he trapped Marshall’s fingers in the steel connecting the turnbuckles in an effort to prevent the Iron Claw from being used on him. Hammerstone and the Dynasty’s newest member, Gino Medina, would attempt to interfere as well but to no avail. Marshall would pick up the victory with the Iron Claw as the Dallas fans went nuts. Following his victory, Marshall would have to fend off the remaining members of the Dynasty as well as Lawlor.
The loss likely spells the end of MJF’s time in MLW, at least for the foreseeable future. MJF finished up with the promotion at the tapings in Dallas but the Dynasty has added to its roster as of late and will look to continue its run of success in their post-MJF era.
King Mo Looking To Face Low-Ki?
An interview in the back with Low-Ki was interrupted by King Mo and Dan Lambert from American Top Team this week. Mo pointed out that Low-Ki trains with the Gracie family and King Mo KO’ed Roger Gracie in 2011. Low-Ki has been finishing his opponents via referee’s stoppage/KO as of late but King Mo doesn’t seem interested in giving him credit as MLW’s resident Knockout King.
Contra Unit is attempting to dismantle the Hart Foundation. Josef Samael sent Teddy Hart out of the territory with a fireball to the face and now the faction has turned its sights on Brian Pillman Jr. and the reigning Opera Cup winner, Davey Boy Smith Jr.
Last week, Samael challenged Smith to face Simon Gotch in a no-ropes, no-holds-barred Bloodsport-styled match. Smith and Gotch faced each other in such a match to kick things off this week on Fusion. The match started with a very technical style with both men looking for submissions. Eventually, Smith would change strategies, however, and won the match via referee’s stoppage after several suplexes in a succession relieved Gotch of his consciousness.
Drago had an opportunity to win the MLW Middleweight Championship this week against Myron Reed. The popular luchador from AAA would have to contend with the other members of Injustice, Jordan Oliver and Kotto Brazil, on the outside. In the end, the frequent interference would be too much for Drago and Reed would pick up the win with his patented springboard 450 Splash.
Tom Lawlor and Dominic Garrini Star In Dallas Spoof
With MLW in Texas, and Lawlor likely now the most hated man in the state, the former MLW World Champion debuted a vignette this week featuring himself and his Team Filthy stablemate. Lawlor’s video was a spoof on the famous Dallas TV series. Also along with Lawlor in this video was a member of Team Filthy, Dominic Garrini, who went “Full Gi” on the streets of Dallas as the pair tried on Cowboy boots and visited “Wild Bill’s Western Shop.”
Mance Warner was victorious over Jimmy Havoc in a barbed-wire match last week on Fusion. This week, cameras found a bloodied Warner backstage. According to Warner, now that he’s got Havoc in his rear-view mirror he’s going to drink a few beers and then go after gold. In particular, Warner mentioned that he’s going to be gunning after Alexander Hammerstone and the MLW National Openweight Championship.
MLW still has several matches from the Zero Hour tapings from January 11th, 2020 in Dallas to air. This weekend, the promotion was in Philadelphia’s famed 2300 Arena for Fightland as well.
Major League Wrestling (MLW) was in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at the 2300 Arena on Saturday night for an event titled Fightland that served as TV tapings of their Fusion show.
Matches on this show were taped for the weekly MLW Fusion TV series on beIN SPORTS. The first episode from this taping is expected to air in the coming weeks, with the replay being uploaded to MLW’s YouTube channel. Here are the spoilers, courtesy of PWinsider.com:
MLW Fightland Results
The show opened with a confrontation between The Dynasty (Alexander Hammerstone, Gino Medina, Richard Holliday) and Konnan, who got back up from Mance Warner, Logan Creed, and Savio Vega
The Dynasty defeated Mance Warner and Logan Creed.
Davey Boy Smith Jr. defeated Erick Stevens with a diving headbutt after a running powerslam
Brian Pillman Jr defeated Jimmy Havoc with Priscilla Kelly with the Air Pillman springboard clothesline.
King Mo Lawal defeated Low Ki by KO after Ki’s towel was tossed in the ring. Post-match, Team Filthy (Dominic Garrini, Tom Lawlor, Kit Osbourne, Erick Stevens) came out and a brawl with Low Ki’s corner man Ross Von Erich. Marshall ran out to make the save. Lawlor hit the ring and nailed Low Ki with King Mo’s umbrella.
Douglas James defeated Septimo Dragon with a guillotine choke
Alexander Hammerstone defeated T-Hawk with The Nightmare Pendulum – MLW National Openweight Title Match.
Mance Warner defeated Gino Medina with a roll up
Killer Kross defeated “Filthy” Tom Lawlor by DQ when Team Filthy interfered. This brought Davey Boy and The Von Erichs down. This set up the main event.
Myron Reed defeated Laredo Kid with a 450 splash – MLW World Middleweight Title
Los Parks (LA Park & Hijo del LA Park) defeated Contra Unit (Josef Samael & Simon Gotch) when LA Park pinned Samael after a twisting splash – Lumberjack Match. Lumberjacks included: The Von Erichs, Zenshi, Injustice, Savio Vega, Logan Creed, Mance Warner, and more.
El Lindaman defeated Zenshi with a double underhook German suplex into a pin
Jacob Fatu defeated CIMA to retain the MLW World Heavyweight Title
Richard Holliday vs. Mance Warner’s “surprise opponent”. The surprise star was The Blue Meanie, who won the match when Holliday got counted out while arguing with Mancer who was on commentary.
Davey Boy Smith Jr, The Von Erichs & Killer Kross defeated Team Filthy when Ross Von Erich pinned Kit Osbourne after an Iron Claw chokeslam
WWE held their annual Royal Rumble event just seven days ago. As part of the weekend festivities WWE also ran the Worlds Collide event, pitting NXT Superstars against those part of the NXT UK brand. The main event of the show saw NXT United Kingdom Champion WALTER, Fabian Aichner, Marcel Barthel, and Alexander Wolfe defeat The Undisputed Era (Adam Cole, Kyle O’Reilly, Bobby Fish, and Roderick Strong).
Hall of Famer and co-host of Busted Open Radio Mark Henry had huge praise for the event, and one performer in particular. “WALTER jumps off the screen” Henry began. “If it was a book you would turn the pages and never stop. Because you just want to see more WALTER. It’s very seldom that you get a PPV where one individual takes over the whole event. That just told me that WALTER is ready for a bigger stage. And needs to be around…he needs to be in the ‘main circle’ of guys. He stole the whole PPV, just one guy.”
It has previously been reported that WALTER is unwilling to go ‘full time’ on the main WWE roster. The Austrian born Superstar has a solid base in Europe, especially in wXw and the UK’s PROGRESS promotion. WALTER is only 31 at this point and there are a potentially a lot more opportunities to bring him over to the US and establish him on RAW or SmackDown.
WALTER was however part of last year’s Survivor Series event. He was part of a Team Smackdown vs. Team RAW vs. Team NXT match, which had 15 Superstars. In an interview WALTER said that he was not at all invested in the match itself. “I wasn’t invested in that, I didn’t care” the NXT UK Champion claimed. “I care about my guys, my group, I care about the sport, but I don’t care about all those people being angry each other. It was a weird match too – three five-men tag teams, and always three guys in the ring. That’s when wrestling turns from competition to putting acrobats in a circus to do a show. There’s 15 of you, you’ve got to do something.”
With WALTER clearly being an outspoken individual it will be interesting to see how he fairs in WWE. Do you think that WALTER will be a hit on the main roster if he went to the US? Let us know in the comments
Today, New Japan Pro-Wrestling will hold the second day of their two-day event, The New Beginning in Sapporo. The event will be held at the Hokkaido Prefectural Sports Center in Sapporo City, Japan. This event will be available to watch on their live streaming service, NJPW World. English and Japanese commentary are available.
Toa Henare def. Yota Tsuji For several years now, Toa Henare has been in a strange transition stage between being a young lion and a full-fledged member of the roster. He only ever has defeated young lions. Nevertheless, he’s performed well doing so. He and Tsuji had a brief but hard-hitting and enjoyable. Crowds popped when Tsuji scored near falls on Henare, but also when Henare invariably knocked him back down. Toa Henare pinned Yota Tsuji with the Toa Bottom uranage. (8:16)
Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Manabu Nakanishi & Tiger Mask IV def.Togi Makabe, Tomoaki Honma & Yuya Uemura This match had two main themes: Manabu Nakanishi’s last hurrah, being his last match in the Hokkaido Prefecture, and high quality wrestling between Tiger Mask and Uemura. Nakanishi acted as what he’s been for the last decade or so, the immovable wall that people run into but can’t knock down. Tiger Mask IV pinned Yuya Uemura with a bridging Tiger suplex. (9:48)
El Phantasmo def. Gabriel Kidd Gabriel Kidd is NJPW’s newest young lion. From England, he has already been wrestling for five years, making his NJPW debut. He was scouted from Rev Pro by Katsuyori Shibata last year and has been training at the Los Angeles Dojo for the last several months. He does not look good with the traditional shaved head. He performed to an acceptable standard in the match, but did not have much time to show his true potential, as El Phantasmo dominated the vast majority of the bout. El Phantasmo pinned Gabriel Kidd with a top rope splash, and hit him with the CR II after the match. (8:50)
CHAOS (Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii & Robbie Eagles) def. Los Ingobernables de Japon (Shingo Takagi, EVIL & BUSHI) The majority of this match featured the four men who fought in the final two matches of yesterday’s show, and their hard hits were as much a sight to see as they were yesterday. As EVIL took on Ishii, Shingo taunted Goto with the NEVER Openweight Championship that he lost yesterday. Robbie Eagles hit a 450 splash on BUSHI’s left leg and submitted him with the Ron Miller Special. He remarked to the English commentary team that he wanted to challenge for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship. (9:42)
Jon Moxley, SHO, YOH & Ryusuke Taguchi def. Suzuki-Gun (Minoru Suzuki, El Desperado, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & DOUKI As Jon Moxley entered through the crowd, still wearing the eyepatch that is apparently AEW-related, Minoru Suzuki immediately left the ring to attack him, and they spent the first third of the match fighting on the outside as the other four people in this match wrestled in the ring. Eventually, they were tagged in and fought inside the ring too! Unfortunately, there was not much interaction between Moxley and Ryusuke Taguchi. Taguchi submitted DOUKI with the Oh My and Garankle, an ankle lock. (12:58)
Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito, Hiromu Takahashi & SANADA) def. Bullet Club (KENTA, Jay White & Taiji Ishimori) This was a high-energy trios match, likely one of NJPW’s best six man tag team matches so far this year. This match featured Naito continuing to taunt KENTA in the build up to their Heavyweight and Intercontinental Championship match next Sunday, and Jay White bullying Hiromu. SANADA and Taiji Ishimori showed especially good chemistry at the end, with counters met with counters. SANADA submitted Ishimori with the Skull End. Afterward, Naito presented both his championship belts to KENTA, as if that were the closest that would ever be to him winning them. (15:34)
Rev Pro British Heavyweight Championship Match: Zack Sabre Jr. (c) def. Will Ospreay In the video package for this match, Zack Sabre Jr. remarked that Will Ospreay had never defeated him in a singles match, and that he never would. It was presented as a battle of classic technical wrestling versus innovative high flying. In the early going, Ospreay attempted to match Zack’s mat wrestling, but it quickly became clear that this would not end well, and he pivoted to using his otherworldly body control to reverse or avoid ZSJ’s submission attempts. Eventually, Ospreay grew weary of attempting to fight Zack in his usual way, and simply knocked him down with a forearm to the face. He hit the Oscutter, but Sabre rolled out of the ring so that he couldn’t be pinned. Ospreay soon got him back in the ring, but Zack countered his Hidden Blade attempt into an armbar. Zack countered the Stormbreaker attempt as well and applied a complex submission hold. Zack Sabre Jr. retained the British Heavyweight Championship via referee stoppage. (27:04)
Kazuchika Okada def. Taichi Taichi attacked Okada before the bell and attempted to hit him with the Iron Finger from Hell off the bat, but Okada blocked the attack and the referee removed the foreign object from the ring. Taichi had gone into this match with the intentions of humiliating Okada like he used to many years ago when Okada was merely a young lion. Okada took control during periods when Taichi wasn’t attempting an underhanded tactic. Miho Abe sneakily gave Taichi the Iron Finger when he was downed but Okada once again foiled the weapon attack. Yoshinobu Kanemaru entered and distracted the referee as Taichi hit Okada with a steel chair so hard that the seat popped out. Taichi blocked mutliple Rainmaker attempts and answered with high-angle back suplexes. The crowd was solidly in favor of their hometown man, Taichi. Okada countered the Black Mephisto into a short-range Rainmaker. Taichi pushed the referee in Okada’s way and hit a low blow behind his back and pinned him for a two count, then hit an elevated powerbomb for another two count. Okada countered Taichi’s Black Mephisto to hit a discus lariat. Okada hit a spinning tombstone piledriver and a Rainmaker to defeat Taichi by pinfall. (30:53)
