Major League Wrestling (MLW) was in Dallas, Texas at the NYTEX Sports Centre on Saturday night for an event titled Zero Hour 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 Wrestling Inc:
MLW Zero Hour Results
Myron Reed def. Drago via pinfall to retain the MLW World Middleweight Champion. There was a brief promo before the match by Injustice.
Marshall Von Erich def. MJF via submission
Dominick Garrini def. Zenshi via submission. Before the match, Tom Lawlor came out to cut a promo on the fans where he spits on a Von Erich’s shirt. Lawlor then introduced Garrini as the newest member of his Team Lawlor Dojo.
Erick Stevens def. Douglas James via pinfall
Alex Hammerstone def. Aerostar via pinfall to retain the MLW National Openweight Championship
Richard Holliday def. Savio Vega via pinfall
Ross Von Erich def. Tom Lawlor via DQ. The match ended when Garrini came in and attacked Ross. Post-match, Marshall came out for the save. Erick Stevens then ran to the ring to aide Team Lawlor and they beat down Marshall and Ross. Lawlor then put on a flashing cowboy hat, tied up the Von Erichs and shoved the Texas flag down his pants. Eventually, The Von Erichs would clean house
King Mo def. Dr. Dax via submission
Gino “El Intocable” Medina def. Septimo Dragon (w/ Konnan) via pinfall. Post-match, Holiday joined Medina to beat down Dragon on behalf of The Dynasty. Eventually, Konnan entered the ring to help Dragon run them off.
Drago & Puma King def. Injustice and Low Rider-Taurus (presented by Salina de la Renta) via pinfall when Drago pinned Low Rider
Jacob Fatu def. Brian Pillman Jr. via pinfall to retain the MLW World Heavyweight Championship
Low Ki def. Chandler Hopkins via submission
The Von Erichs (c) def. The Dynasty (MJF and Richard Holliday) via pinfall for the MLW World Tag Team Championships. Von Erichs won with a Claw-side suplex finisher.
Davey Boy Smith Jr def. Simon Gotch via knockout in a No Ropes Street Fight Match
Mance Warner def. Jimmy Havoc via pinfall in a No Ropes Barbed Wire Match
WWE Hall of Famer Bully Ray had some interesting points relating to the upcoming Royal Rumble event. It’s been made official that NXT competitors will be part of the match this year. Although NXT talents have appeared in the past this makes the brand stand head to head with both RAW and SmackDown. With this in mind Bully made a point on Busted Open Radio that WWE could easily ‘make’ a new megastar in the match, namely NXT’s Keith Lee.
“We talk about WrestleMania moments, how about a Royal Rumble moment?” Bully began. “Lets MAKE Keith Lee, by having him go face to face with Brock Lesnar. That’s how you help a guy to get over. I’m talking about a moment in time. Keith Lee and Brock Lesnar face to face. The moment those two start staring at each other dead in the eyes? That place will come unglued. But [then] I wouldn’t put it past WWE to do something different.”
Brock Lesnar will enter the 2020 Royal Rumble
Bully also then made the point that he believes there is a bigger main event for WrestleMania this year. “If I was them [WWE], I don’t think we can get a bigger main event than Brock and CM Punk. But there are other scenarios that I have that don’t include Punk. Since Brock is great at ‘making’ guys, If the WWE by chance wanted to call Keith Lee up, although I don’t think its the right time. I don’t put it past Brock to give Keith Lee the same moment that the Undertaker gave Maven years ago.”
Ray’s co-host Dave LeGreca then posed the idea of keeping Keith Lee on NXT even if he wins the Royal Rumble match itself. “I think that you could. But then I don’t know what the build would be” Bully claimed. “These are just ideas that pop into my head, if you gave me five minutes I could make a story. Theres no reason why you can’t keep Keith Lee on NXT and keep the storyline with Brock concurrent. But, does Keith Lee eliminate Brock in the middle of the match? Or does Keith Lee actually WIN the Royal Rumble? How different would that be? How shocking would that be? And how much credibility does that give NXT?”
It was also discussed on the show if an NXT performer wins the Rumble match could they challenge for the NXT title in the WrestleMania main event? Bully Ray stated that just could not happen. “You CAN’T have someone like Keith Lee win the Royal Rumble and say ‘nah, I don’t want a shot at the Universal Championship. Nah, I don’t want a shot at the WWE Championship at WrestleMania.’ I want a shot at the NXT Championship.’ That takes all of the shine and all of the focus off of the two biggest Championships in WWE. I don’t think Vince would ever let that fly.”
WWE Hall of Famer Bully Ray recently made some interesting comments regarding the recent Jon Moxley and Chris Jericho/Inner Circle angle from this week’s episode of AEW Dynamite. Moxley had teased joining the group, after Chris Jericho seemingly made him an offer that he could not refuse a couple of weeks ago. Bully made the point of saying that the timing of the angle on television was excellent, saying that he was ‘got.’
Bully on Jon Moxley Joining The Inner Circle
“I think last week on the show we were talking about this story line in this angle and I said the obvious way to go is to have him say ‘no I’m not joining you'” Bully started. “I would have liked to have seen Jon Moxley become a part of the Inner Circle. AMoxnd then destroy the Inner Circle from within. It was all a ploy.”
“alright he said yes, they accepted.”
Ray then talked about the logistical side of the angle, mentioning that “last night he says yes. And he says yes at about nine fifty four pm. Now the the wrestler in me and smart guy is looking at the clock going ‘alright he said yes, they accepted.’ Now what? They have six minutes of TV time left. Did they go home too early? I’m legitimately wondering now if they blew through this segment too quickly. And now they’re celebrating with the champagne; and Moxley is cutting promos on people and everybody’s jacking each other off. Because they’re all so excited that Moxley is in the Inner Circle. Then with one minute left, he said ‘wait.’ They took you down a certain road and then they they swerved you at the very end.”
“It reminded me of Brock versus Daniel Bryan”
Bully also discussed how the segment reminded him of the match between Brock Lesnar and Daniel Bryan. “It reminded me of Brock versus Daniel Bryan. Where Brock beat up Daniel Bryan for seven straight minutes to the point where you’re saying to yourself; ‘oh my god this is gonna be a squash match.’ I never saw this coming. Last night I felt the same way. So I thought everybody in the Inner Circle, especially Chris and Jon Moxley did a great job.
Former WWE Superstar Luke Harper is seen in a recently posted Instagram photo by All Elite Wrestling star and member of Chris Jericho-led Inner Circle, Sammy Guevara.
Both the wrestlers attended a Corpus Christi Icerays game against Shreveport Mudbugs. They were even given special jerseys by the team. You can check out the photo posted by Sam Guevara below:
Harper and Guevara attended an event before the match organized by indie fed GCWA. The event, dubbed “Pro Wrestling Night” featured matches outside the American Bank Center prior to the hockey game. Harper and Guevara were both part of the ceremonial puck drop as well as a meet and greet.
AEW Executive VP Cody Rhodes is a fan of Harper and thinks he would make a great fit in AEW. In an interview, Rhodes was asked about Luke Harper, and this is what he said: “He would be great as part of AEW. He’s a name that when you hear they’ve asked for their release, you definitely think about that and the next steps, for sure. I think he’s going to flourish with what he does next, he’s very special.”
Luke Harper was released on December 8, 2019, as he requested to be let go. He previously asked for a release back in April last year but he was denied. According to reports, Harper along with other names who were released during the time, are under a 90 days non compete clause and they can’t make TV appearances during this time. This means Luke Harper will only be able to join a major promotion after March 8, 2020.
Harper seems to be already preparing for a return as he recently applied to trademark his former wrestling ring name of Brodie Lee on November 26, 2019. The last time the 39-year-old used Brodie Lee as his ring name was in a match against BJ Whitmer on a Dragon Gate USA show in November 2011.
As previously reported, this past week on WWE Raw, we saw Kevin Owens – who has been feuding with Seth Rollins for a while now – being joined by WWE Legend the Big Show.
Big Show was revealed to be the surprise partner of Kevin Owens and Samoa Joe for their six-man tag team match against Seth Rollins and The Authors of Pain on Raw in Oklahoma City.
WWE then announced that Kevin Owens, along with Big Show and Samoa Joe would go against Rollins and The Authors of Pain in a “Fist Fight” match on next week’s WWE Raw.
The “Fist Fight” match is unheard of in WWE, and fans were confused on what the stipulations and rules are behind this type of match. Not only fans, but it seems like even one of the participants in the said match, Kevin Owens himself is not sure what the whole Fist Fight thing is all about.
He posted a tweet asking WWE to let him know the rules of the match. Owens also added that he tried speaking to Vince McMahon regarding the match but he was put on hold for over five hours.
WWE Now made a video on the “first-ever Fist Fight in WWE history”, but they never explained any rules behind it. Ryan Pappolla just talks about the intrigue behind the match and never really touches on what to expect from the fight.
WWE announced the match on their website after Raw, and it reads:
“We’ve already seen what happens when Kevin Owens, Samoa Joe & Big Show battle Seth Rollins & AOP in a match: utter and complete chaos. So might as well make it official for next week. As revealed at the end of Raw, the two trios will go head-to-head in what’s being billed not as a bout but as the first-ever “fistfight” in WWE history. The circumstances are fitting since these are some of the Superstars most likely to take the figurative gloves off in a match anyway. Might as well make it official.”
WWE Superstar Mansoor won the 50-man battle royal at Super ShowDown in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia last summer. He followed the win up by defeating Cesaro at Crown Jewel on October 31st, 2019. He spoke with Sports 360 recently and stated that his next goal is to win a WWE title on a show from Saudi Arabia.
“My primary goal right now is to win a championship in Saudi Arabia. I would really love to share that moment with the crowd. For a Saudi wrestler to win a title on home soil would be truly special,” Mansoor said.
On Crown Jewel and SuperShowDown In 2019
Mansoor would also comment on the experience of winning the battle royal at Super ShowDown.
“Not only did I win the match and make my family, who were in the front row, very proud, but I got to show what I can really do in the ring. People started to look at me differently after that match so it was something really special.”
Mansoor also spoke about WWE legends coming up to him after the match.
“Some true WWE legends, such as Hulk Hogan and Ric Fair, were also involved that night and to speak to them and listen to their advice afterwards was absolutely fantastic for me because there is a long way to go in my journey.”
Mansoor defeated Cesaro in single’s competition the last time WWE was in Saudi Arabia. He spoke to Sports 360 about the experience.
“Cesaro is such a talented wrestler so to fight him on the big stage was incredible, it could have gone a number of ways but luckily I won which was the dream outcome,” he said.
Finally, Mansoor spoke about how WWE’s events in the region are helping a generation of fans get to see the action live.
“It’s great that the thousands of WWE fans across the Middle East are now being given opportunities to watch their heroes perform live in the region because when I was younger that was never the case,” Mansoor said.
During the January 10 episode of WWE Friday Night SmackDown, Elias came out with a guitar as usual and sang a song for the crowd. In his song, Elias talked about the upcoming WWE Royal Rumble PPV event.
As seen in the video above, Elias called out Brock Lesnar over his announcement to take on the entire roster in the Men’s Royal Rumble match. He announced his participation in the Men’s WWE Royal Rumble Match and claimed that he will win the match and take the WWE Championship from Brock Lesnar.
Along with Elias, there were six other names announced on SmackDown. These are King Corbin, Dolph Ziggler, Otis, and Tucker for the Men’s Royal Rumble match. Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross were announced for the Women’s Royal Rumble match.
Here’s the updated list of all the announced competitors for the Men and Women’s WWE Royal Rumble matches:
Announced competitors in the Men’s Royal Rumble match
Roman Reigns
Brock Lesnar
AJ Styles
Erick Rowan
Randy Orton
Rey Mysterio
Ricochet
Drew McIntyre
Elias
King Corbin
Dolph Ziggler
Otis
Tucker
13 entrants out of 30 have been announced as of this writing.
Announced competitors in the Women’s Royal Rumble match
Charlotte Flair
Alexa Bliss
Nikki Cross
3 entrants out of 30 have been announced as of this writing.
Here’s the rest of the WWE Royal Rumble card so far with three singles matches:
Singles match for the WWE Universal Championship “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt (c) vs. Daniel Bryan
Singles match for the WWE Raw Women’s Championship Becky Lynch (c) vs. Asuka
Roman Reigns vs. Corbin
The 2020 WWE Royal Rumble PPV event will take place on January 26 at the Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas.
Tama Tonga and Bullet Club are throwing a beach party over WrestleMania weekend. It will be the second straight Mania weekend with Bullet Club hosting an event. To promote the event, Bullet Cub original member Tama Tonga spoke with Sports Illustrated.
“This is a celebration,” Tonga said. “It’s a celebration of wrestling, it’s a celebration of Bullet Club, and it’s a celebration of New Japan Pro Wrestling.”
Last year’s Bullet Club event was a block party. With WrestleMania in Florida this year, however, this year’s event will be on the beach.
“This time we’re doing it on the beach, in Tampa, my home state,” said Tonga. “I want to knock it out of the park, and I’m looking forward to the party.”
Tonga also spoke about having enjoyed the event last year and being motivated to throw a similar style event in 2020.
“It was a very positive atmosphere last year, and it resonated with me how much fun the fans were having and how much fun I was having, too,” said Tonga. “We got to feel the fans’ love for Bullet Club and New Japan. The process was really, really fun, and that’s why we’re doing a second one—to recreate that energy.”
The Bullet Club Beach Party will take place on April 4th, 2020. More information about what fans can expect from the event can be found here.
Alicia Atout has been confirmed as the host for the event once again this year.
Tonga and his brother Tanga Loa dropped the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championships to Juice Robinson and David Finlay recently at Wrestle Kingdom. He spoke to Sports Illustrated about the match and more. The full interview with Tonga can be viewed here.
The January 10 episode of 205 Live which emanated from Evansville, Indiana saw WWE NXT Superstar Tyler Breeze make his debut for the purple brand. He went against Tony Nese in a singles match in a winning effort in the main event of the night.
His partner Fandango of Breezango was not with him, as he is injured and underwent a Tommy John surgery on his elbow in December.
This was the official debut on the cruiserweight brand for Breeze. He has made an appearance on 205 Live before, back in September of 2017. It wasn’t for an in-ring match though, Breeze was only part of a segment.
But now with his official debut made for 205 Live, the question remains: will Tyler Breeze work both NXT and 205 Live together? WWE has made no announcements regarding this and Breeze is listed as an NXT Superstar on the roster page on WWE’s website.
In his first match on 205 Live, Breeze started off in a lockup with Nese, before getting knocked to the mat. Breeze also applied a Boston Crab in the match, before taking the fight outside.
After a bit of a back and forth and both men trying to pin each other, Breeze picked up the win with a rollup pin after getting Nese with a crossbody.
Below is a video and highlights from Tyler Breeze’s match on 205 Live:
Bandido has re-signed with Ring of Honor. News of the popular luchador’s new agreement with the promotion was announced recently through ROH’s social media channels.
No details on the terms or length of the contract have been released.
Wrestling Superstar @bandidowrestler Has Officially Signed A New Contract With ROH!
Ring Of Honor Wrestling Takes Great Pride In Signing And Developing Top Wrestling Stars From Around The World And We Are Very Proud To Have Bandido On Our Roster! #ROH ? pic.twitter.com/QugXUtzPvn
24-year-old Bandido was ranked the 81st top single’s record of 2019 by Pro Wrestling Illustrated last year. He is currently the Heavyweight Champion for the Crash promotion in Mexico. Bandido is also the current PWG Heavyweight champion and won the Battle of Los Angeles last year.
Daniel Bryan Says Bandido Would Have Succeeded In WWE
Last summer, Daniel Bryan expressed wanting Bandido in WWE during an interview with Super Luchas.
“I could say: ‘Wait a minute, I want Negro Casas in WWE’ or something because I love Blue Panther, I love Negro Casas,” Bryan said when discussing what luchadors would work in WWE. “The first time I saw a fight of his was about 1987, but he is amazing. In 2019 he is still impressive. Then I have a lot of respect for them, but thinking about who could do it now in WWE, I could tell someone like Rush. I think Bandido would do it big; also, Dragon Lee could succeed.”
Matt Hardy has released a new episode of “Free the Delete.” The episode was released the same day news about Hardy’s contract situation with WWE was released through the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Hardy is expected to leave WWE in March. Evidently, WWE’s lack of interest in bringing back his “Broken” persona has played a role in this.
In Hardy’s latest video, he learns the fate of “Zenith” which is the essence that lives inside his vessel.
Hardy concludes the video by saying he will get his “Broken Brilliance” back.
“In “FREE THE DELETE” Episode 7, Matt learns the dark fate of ZENITH, the ESSENCE housed inside his VESSEL. This devastating news leaves Matt in a state of LIMBO. A gathering of family and friends occurs in the #HouseHardy Starcade Arcade, with hopes it will help Matt overcome his disappointment and depression,” a description of the video reads.
Matt Hardy Leaving WWE?
“Matt Hardy is expected to leave WWE in March,” wrote Dave Meltzer in the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter. The report would continue to speculate about what his role could be if he left WWE for AEW.
“Hardy is the leading speculated name for the leader of the Dark Order since they just started teasing a leader and Hardy just started putting out the videos,” Meltzer continued.
Kris Statlander quickly shot up the rankings in AEW’s women’s division. She dropped a title match to Riho on the most recent edition of Dynamite, however. Statlander recently took part in an interview with Alicia Atout and spoke about signing with AEW.
“There’s a lot of thoughts going through my mind because the whole thing with WWE was interested in me also,” Statlander said. “There’s a lot of stress with me because I didn’t know what I was going to do, I didn’t know what was the right choice.”
“You would think it’s a dream come true for anybody to be offered a contract but for me getting signed was never a legit goal of mine in wrestling,” she continued. Statlander would continue to say she was nervous and stressed about the decision but everything has worked out great in AEW so far.
“I am thoroughly enjoying all my time I’ve been with AEW and all the opportunities they have given me so far and I have no regrets about it,” Statlander stated.
In the opening segment of the January 10 edition of SmackDown, John Morrison made his appearance on his former tag team partner The Miz’s MizTV segment. He insulted the audience for booing The Miz, establishing himself as a heel.
The two found themselves in a confrontation with SmackDown Tag Team Champions The New Day. John Morrison helped The Miz win his match against Kofi Kingston in a rematch from last week’s episode. Morrison took out Big E at ringside which was enough to help Miz win.
A singles match between Morrison and Big E was later announced, which will take place on next week’s SmackDown in Greensboro.
After the match, in a backstage interview, Kayla Braxton talked to Miz and Morrison and mentioned how Morrison’s return was advantageous to him.
“I mean, honestly like – I just cannot believe he’s back,” Miz said of Morrison’s return.
They then joked around and compared their abs after which Kayla asked Morrison how he felt to be out there in front of the WWE Universe after eight years. Morrison said that it was his best night in those eight years.
“Eight years… I mean this has gotta be the best night in eight years that they have ever had. No just kidding. Honestly, that I have ever had. I am joking around a lot but really it touches your heart to be out there under the light. To be out there with The Miz, with Mike. To be out there with everybody. It’s cliche to say it feels like home but it feels like home,” Morrison said describing his return to the company.
“You know it’s funny like, coming back from like, God it was what? 2007, 2008, 2009?” Miz reminisced about his past with John Morrison. “Those years were some of the best years of our lives, like we grew up in this business together, elevating one another to get better, to be better, and now we’re back again. So all I can say to everyone out there in WWE is: be jealous!”
Alex Shelley surprised fans in attendance at a recent house show by making his in-ring debut under the WWE NXT banner.
WWE held an NXT live event on Friday in Pittsburgh, PA at the Stage AE. In the opening contest, Shelley reunited The Time Splitters with Kushida by teaming up to take on The Forgotten Sons in a tag team match, which saw the babyfaces go over.
Alex Shelley In WWE NXT
This comes days before Shelley reunites Kushida on next Wednesday’s episode of NXT on the USA Network Winter Park, Florida at Full Sail University to face The Grizzled Young Veterans.
The BroserWeights (Matt Riddle and Pete Dunne) vs. Andrews and Flash will also air next week as both matches are part of the first round of the Dusty Classic
As of this writing, there’s no word yet on if Shelley has signed a full-time contract with WWE. It should be noted that the former Impact/ROH/NJPW did work as a Guest Coach at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando last October.
First match at @WWENXT#NXTPittsburgh and I get the debut match in WWE of the reunited Time Splitters?! Hell yes!! The rest of the card tonight could be anything, this alone was worth the trip and price of admission! @KUSHIDA_0904 @fakekinkade pic.twitter.com/XVi2EsHLQh
The build towards Royal Rumble 2020 continued tonight as WWE SmackDown aired live from the Ford Center in Evansville, IN. The Usos returned to action tonight in the main event against King Corbin and Dolph Ziggler. John Morrison also explained why he reunited with The Miz during tonight’s show.
WWE SmackDown Results(1/10)
The Miz defeated Kofi Kingston
Mandy Rose defeated Alexa Bliss
Braun Strowman defeated Shinsuke Nakmura
King Corbin & Dolph Ziggler defeated The Usos via DQ
Here are 6 takeaways from this week’s show:
John Morrison Insulted The WWE Universe
John Morrison was the guest on Miz TV to begin this week’s show. Last week on SmackDown, The Miz lost to Kofi Kingston and attacked him following the match. The crown in Evansville greeted Miz with a chorus of boos as he stood silently in the ring.
Miz ignored the boos and welcomed the crowd to Miz TV. He claimed that he was having a bad day last week and wasn’t in the mood for Kofi’s positivity. Miz apologized for his actions and noted that he has been going through a lot this month.
The Miz said that The Fiend threatened his daughter and then he failed to take the Universal Championship from him. John Morrison made his way to the ring and got a great reaction from the WWE Universe.
A “welcome back!” chant broke out as Morrison took a seat next to Miz in the ring. The Miz rolled a highlight reel of Morrison’s accomplishments in WWE. John claimed that he was supposed to return at Royal Rumble but saw what Miz was going through and wanted to be there for one of his best friends.
Morrison said that he was disappointed in the crowd for chanting “you suck!” at The Miz last week after one bad day. John scolded the crowd for never being in the ring and called a fan a d-bag. SmackDown Tag Team Champions New Day interrupted and Kofi wondered who Miz was trying to fool.
Big E and Kofi Kingston didn’t buy Miz’s apology and joked that he is not that good of an actor. Miz told Kofi that he respected that he was WWE Champion for six months and mocked Kingston for losing the title in six seconds to Brock Lesnar. Kingston pointed out that the match actually lasted eight seconds and stated that Miz was changing back into the obnoxious version of himself. Kingston added that the crowd was correct in chanting that The Miz sucks as SmackDown went to a commercial break.
The Miz Defeated Kofi Kingston
Photo Credit: WWE.com
Kofi Kingston battled The Miz in a rematch tonight. Big E and John Morrison joined commentary for the match.
Match Recap: Kofi dominated early and the crowd was heavily behind him. The action spilled out of the ring and Miz shoved Kofi on top of Big E by the commentary table. Big E and Morrison then left commentary and were ringside for the remainder of the match. Morrison took out Big E and Miz capitalized on the distraction with the Skull Crushing Finale for the pinfall victory.
Opinion: Morrison & The Miz versus New Day should be an excellent feud for the SmackDown Tag Team Championships. It is great to see Morrison back in WWE and it also refreshing that The Miz is a heel once again. He is much more entertaining in that role.
The Fiend Wants To Hurt Daniel Bryan At Royal Rumble
Another episode of the Firefly Fun House aired tonight during the show. Universal Champion Bray Wyatt said that not everyone is worthy of love. Bray stated that The Fiend feels the opposite of love for Daniel Bryan and that Bryan has been really naughty as of late.
Wyatt warned Bryan that he was in a ton of trouble at the Royal Rumble. Footage of Bryan’s brief stint in the Wyatt Family was shown as Wyatt claimed that he at first just wanted Daniel to remember and then he wanted change him. The episode of Firefly Fun House ended with Bray stating that The Fiend wants to hurt Bryan at Royal Rumble.
Daniel Bryan was interviewed backstage later during the show. Bryan said that he remembers outsmarting Bray and leaving the Wyatt Family six years ago. Daniel added that The Fiend has succeeding in changing him but has only made him stronger than ever.
He claimed that The Fiend can be hurt and he is going to take the Universal Championship at Royal Rumble. Ramblin’ Rabbit appeared on the screen behind Bryan and claimed that he had the secret to beating The Fiend. Bray Wyatt grabbed Ramblin’ Rabbit and said “snitches get stitches”. Wyatt then stared at the camera before saying “let me in” to end the segment. Bryan later received the remains of Ramblin’ Rabbit in a gift box backstage.
Feud History: Daniel Bryan’s remarkable journey to becoming champion at WrestleMania 30 had a couple of speed bumps along the way. Daniel joined the Wyatt Family in December of 2013 but the Yes Movement was too strong and he left the group a couple of weeks later.
The Fiend retained the Universal Championship over Daniel Bryan at Survivor Series 2019. On the following episode of SmackDown, Daniel Bryan stated that WWE Universe has brought the Yes Movement back to life. The Fiend then attacked Daniel Bryan and ripped out his hair. Bryan then earned another title match at Royal Rumble after defeating King Corbin and The Miz in a Triple Threat match last month.
Otis Helped Mandy Rose Pick Up A Win
Mandy Rose and Otis continued their odd romance storyline tonight on SmackDown. Rose presented Otis with a cake that had “I’m sorry” written on it. Otis gave Mandy a fruitcake that his mother made on the December 27th episode of SmackDown. Dolph Ziggler then destroyed the fruitcake by stomping on it.
Match Recap: Mandy battled Alexa Bliss tonight with Nikki Cross and Sonya Deville ringside for the match. Alexa Bliss had control of the match but became distracted when Heavy Machinery’s music hit. Otis and Tucker came down the entrance ramp with the cake. Mandy capitalized on the distraction by rolling Alexa up for the victory. Rose smiled at Otis as he danced around with the cake following the match.
Opinion: This storyline has been quite entertaining so far. It seems like Mandy Rose is going to use Otis to get victories going forward. It’d be hilarious to see Otis catch Rose at Royal Rumble and save her from being eliminated. WWE has hinted at Sonya Deville and Mandy Rose not being on the same page during recent episodes of SmackDown so it will be interesting to see where this all goes in next few weeks.
Sasha Banks Didn’t Show Up For Her Match Against Lacey Evans
Sasha Banks
Lacey Evans was scheduled to face Sasha Banks tonight on SmackDown. Evans made her way to the ring but Sasha Banks was missing. SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley appeared on the jumbotron and said that Banks was in Los Angeles finishing her rap album.
Evans stated that she was ready for a fight and challenged Bayley to title match. Bayley accused of Lacey of pandering to the crowd and insulted her by calling her an overbearing mother.
Bayley added that she is not Lacey’s “snot-nosed kid” and Evans got pissed off. Evans stormed backstage and approached Bayley’s locker room. Bayley attacked Lacey from behind and bashed her head off the wall several times. Evans battled back and went for the Woman’s Right but Bayley escaped.
Before the match, Roman Reigns noted that the end of 2019 has been rough after being embarrassed by Corbin and Ziggler. Roman said that he didn’t need the help of his friends this time, he needed the help of his family.
Reigns added that The Usos came up big for him last week and that 2020 is going to be his year. He vowed to win the Royal Rumble and main event WrestleMania for the fifth time. Jimmy and Jey referred to Corbin as “Queen Corbin” and said that he disrespected the whole family.
King Corbin interrupted and accused Reigns of being scared of him. Corbin vowed to win the Royal Rumble and main event WrestleMania. Roman challenged Corbin to a match at Royal Rumble and Corbin accepted. Corbin added that tonight they were going to handle the Big Dog’s two little bitches. Jimmy and Jey bounced off the ropes and took out Dolph and Corbin with a couple of Splashes.
Match Recap: The Revival interfered in the match early but Roman Reigns came back down to the ring to even the odds. Roman Reigns hit King Corbin with a Spear and the match ended in DQ. Reigns cleared off the announce table but was attacked from behind by Robert Roode. Robert planted Reigns with a Spinebuster on top of the announce table. Ziggler followed it up with an Elbow Drop that sent Roman crashing through the table. Roode, Ziggler, and Corbin buried Roman under the announce table and posed to close the show.
Roode served a suspension and was written off of WWE television as seen in the video below. Roode crossed the line and mentioned Roman’s family. Reigns beat him down and Roode was stretchered out of the arena on the November 29th episode of SmackDown.
Opinion: The only negative I took from this edition of SmackDown was that we are getting another Reigns versus Corbin match at Royal Rumble. It was inevitable, but their match at TLC was boring and don’t have any interest in seeing them battle again later this month. Overall, this week’s episode of SmackDown was a very entertaining show and hopefully that trend continues as WWE builds towards Royal Rumble on the 26th.
Steve Austin opened up ion his decision to walk away from the pro wrestling business.
He did so when he did an interview with Bleacher Report. Despite it being over a decade since he’s worked a match, fans still want to see him wrestle one more time.
That isn’t likely though. Austin had his final match in 2003 against The Rock at WrestleMania 19.
Steve Austin Opens Up Missing The Business
“They always ask me, ‘Do you miss it?’ No, man, because it’s been so long now that … I mean, I have to be over it now. But there is a small part of me, even though I don’t live in the past, that says, ‘Man, when you’re 38 years old, man, in wrestling, you’re really in your prime.’”
The legendary pro wrestler continued by noting that he learned a lot about the business from working angles, talking promos, and psychology with the crowd.
He stated that he was really honed up at that age and “to walk away from the table at seemingly a prime-time age was very, very tough for me to do, at many levels.”
Austin brought up how he spent a lot of time hunting, fishing and drinking to deal with it was to walk away from the business was hard. He recalled a conversation he had with Dale Earnhardt Jr about his decision to retire from full-time racing because of his history with concussions.
“A doctor wasn’t going to tell him, ‘Hey, you need to quit.’ He pulled the plug on himself. I did the same thing. A doctor didn’t look me in the eyes and say, ‘Steve, you must retire now.’ It was a decision I had to make for myself.”
Steve Austin opened up on how that when you’re flying high and portraying the character he was while living your passion, it would be anybody’s dream to live that kind of life.
“All of a sudden you’ve got to make a decision to take yourself out of the game. It was extremely hard to deal with.”
Becky Lynch has denied the report going around online that states she has in fact signed a new deal with WWE.
Dave Meltzer reported in the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that Lynch signed a deal for $1 million annually last year. As of late, WWE has been signing talent to contracts for five years and it’s believed that Lynch’s deal was that length as well.
Becky Lynch Denies Report
On television, the RAW Women’s Champion has claimed that she was waiting to sign a new contract before she got her match with Asuka. This is pure storyline.
It should be noted that Lynch has stated in the past that “nothing but work” gets done on social media, which was a hint at all the posts on her Twitter account is in-character at all times.
Becky Lynch took to her Twitter account where she denied the report. She also noted that she hasn’t signed anything in years. She wrote the following:
“Report not true. Haven’t signed anything new in years. Deal coming up soon.”
WWE presents the Royal Rumble pay-per-view event on Sunday, January 26, 2020 Houston, Texas at the Minute Maid Park and airs on the WWE Network. Lynch will make her next title defense against Asuka at this show.
WWE Hall of Famer Steve Austin is getting another run with his “Straight Up Steve Austin” show as its been renewed by the USA Network.
On Friday, the television network announced through a press release they have picked up the hit unscripted series for a second season. The new season is expected to premiere this summer.
“Straight Up Steve Austin” Renewed
Season 2 will consist of 8 half-hour episodes and is produced by Line by Line Media with Steve Austin and Dave Barsky (“Dirty Jobs”) as executive producers. Although Straight Up Steve Austin has been renewed, season 2 guests are to be announced.
The show was described as “in every episode, Steve and a celebrity guest get real, heading out to different cities across America to take part in one-of-a-kind adventures, while swapping stories about their lives and careers. It’s a unique twist on the standard interview show, with no studio, no couch and no cue cards — just a straight up good time and good old-fashioned American fun.”
The network touted that the show was 2019’s #1 new unscripted cable series for Men 18-49 and Men 25-54.
The first season featured guests such as country singer and actor Trace Adkins, NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt Jr., comedian Gabriel Iglesias, WWE Superstar Becky Lynch, NFL Quarterback Baker Mayfield, actor and retired United States Marine Corps Reserve officer Rob Riggle, and star of “Impractical Jokers,” Sal Vulcano.
The USA Network has released this updated promo video for the Straight Up Steve Austin show now that its been renewed, which you can watch here:
Ring of Honor is said to have tabled a substantial offer to Marty Scurll recently. According to a report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Scurll is being offered “WWE main roster” money to work only 40 days per year with ROH.
“We had heard Scurll was being offered a better deal than the one Matt Taven signed for,” wrote Dave Meltzer. Taven is reported to have received an offer from ROH worth double what NXT wrestlers in WWE make.
“We don’t have it confirmed that he signed it,” Meltzer wrote of Scurll’s contract offer. “It’s a great deal as it’s basically WWE main roster money while only working maybe 40 dates per year for ROH and certain unique perks.”
ROH is advertising Scurll for their February 9th, 2020 free show “Free Enterprise.”
“Marty is going to do what Marty is going to do,” Cody said recently to Talk Sport. “We all love Marty. Anything he does in the next few weeks or months, I wouldn’t look at as permanent for him. He’s very much testing the waters here and there and that’s pretty much all I can say on Marty.”
AEW has booked a 4-way tag team #1 contenders match for its special “Bash at the Beach” episode next week. The show will emanate from the WATSCO Center on the campus of the University of Miami.
The Young Bucks, Trent & Chuck Taylor, Hangman Page & Kenny Omega, and Santana & Ortiz will all square off with the winner to earn a tag team title shot.
AEW Tag Team Champions Frankie Kazarian and Scorpio Sky will meet the winners at a date to be determined later.
The tag team #1 contenders match just booked is the 5th match scheduled for next week’s event. The matches officially confirmed for the show are as follows:
Sammy Guevara vs Jon Moxley
AEW Tag Team Titles #1 Contender Match: The Young Bucks vs Hangman Page & Kenny Omega vs The Best Friends vs Proud and Powerful
PAC vs Darby Allin
Diamond Dallas Page, Dustin Rhodes, & QT Marshall vs Maxwell Jacob Friedman, The Butcher & the Blade w/the Bunny
Kris Statlander & Hikaru Shida vs Awesome Kong & Mel (the Nightmare Collective) w/Brandi Rhodes
Kenny Omega’s last match with New Japan Pro Wrestling took place at Wrestle Kingdom 13. On that night, he lost the IWGP Heavyweight Championship to Hiroshi Tanahashi. Omega would officially leave the promotion after signing with All Elite Wrestling in early 2019. New details have surfaced regarding what Omega’s role at Wrestle Kingdom 14 would have been had Omega continued with NJPW.
According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Omega was originally supposed to defeat Tanahashi in the Tokyo Dome at WK13. He was then to take on Kazuchika Okada in the main event of the G1 Supercard from Madison Square Garden. After that, Omega would have been in the “Double Gold Dash” tournament on this year’s Wrestle Kingdom card.
“Originally, Omega was to retain the IWGP title against Tanahashi at the Tokyo Dome and then lead to a match with Okada, their first ever meeting in the U.S., for Madison Square Garden,” wrote Dave Meltzer.
The plan was then for Omega to be 1 of the 4 competitors in the “Double Gold Dash” tournament over Wrestle Kingdom this year.
“The Tokyo Dome final four booking plan with both the IWGP and IC belts at stake was to be Omega vs. Ibushi and Okada vs. Naito,” Meltzer continued.
Kenny Omega vs Kazuchika Okada Head-To-Head
Omega defeated Kazuchika Okada the last time they wrestled which was on the Dominion show in 2018. Okada defeated Omega in the main event of Wrestle Kingdom 11. The two went to a time-limit draw at Dominion in 2017. Omega would defeat Okada in the G1 that summer. All told, Omega leads the head-to-head series 2-1-1.
After having been gone from the organization for over 12 years at this point, Bret Hart returned to WWE in early 2010. Hart had previously been inducted into the company’s Hall of Fame in 2005 but made his official return to the company on the January 4th, 2010 edition of RAW. It was the same edition of RAW that TNA Wrestling first went head-to-head with during a short-lived attempt at bringing back the Monday Night Wars.
Jim Ross spoke about Hart’s return to the company in 2010 on a recent episode of his podcast with Conrad Thompson.
“I was happy. Anytime you can spend quality time with Bret Hart, you are better off for it,” Jim Ross said on the show.
“I’m shocked that somebody isn’t using Bret to help coach, teach, motivate young talents,” he continued. “He’s brilliant, brilliant mind. Great worker, one of the best I ever saw in my entire life.”
Did TNA’s Move To Monday Nights Lead To Bret’s Return?
Thompson asked Ross if TNA’s move to Monday nights played a role in when Hart made his return.
“It might have had something to do with it,” Ross said. He’d then talk about what it meant to have Hart back in the company.
“Getting Bret back in our brand is where the money was,” Ross stressed. “Battling TNA was like they had knives and we had guns and they were never going to win.”
“It could have had an influence. Did it? probably not,” Ross continued regarding if TNA’s move to Monday nights influenced the decision to bring Bret back.
“Bret was such a part of the fabric of the company and it seemed like it righted a lot of wrongs for him to get his jersey back.”
Matt Hardy may be leaving WWE in the coming months. According to a report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Hardy is expected to leave the company when his contract comes up in March. WWE’s lack of interest in bringing back his “Broken” persona is reported to have played a role in his decision.
“Matt Hardy is expected to leave WWE in March,” wrote Dave Meltzer.
The report would continue to say that Hardy produced several “Free the Delete” videos in order to build anticipation for the character’s return but WWE evidently was not interested.
The report would continue to offer speculation that Hardy could portray the leader of the Dark Order in AEW.
“Hardy is the leading speculated name for the leader of the Dark Order since they just started teasing a leader and Hardy just started putting out the videos,” Meltzer continued.
Matt and his brother Jeff returned to WWE at WrestleMania 33. They won the RAW tag team titles that night in a ladder match. Jeff Hardy’s contract with the company is believed to have had additional time added to it due to injuries.
A new episode of WWE Friday Night SmackDown is here, so let’s take a look at a preview for the show.
With just hours until bell time, parts of what to expect to see on the show have been revealed to get fans excited about it. The company has released the official preview article for the show on their website.
Several segments and matches have been announced thus far for this show including The Usos returning to in-ring competition this Friday on SmackDown against King Corbin & Dolph Ziggler.
We will also see John Morrison appear on “Miz TV” with The Miz where the two WWE stars will talk about their decision to form an alliance once again, more on The Miz turning on the fans and Morrison returning to the company.
WWE will also be announcing matches for existing feuds that will take place heading into the Royal Rumble pay-per-view event Sunday, January 26, 2020 Houston, Texas at the Minute Maid Park and airs on the WWE Network.
This includes competitors for both the men’s and women’s Royal Rumble matches to determine the two top matches at WrestleMania 36 in April.
WWE Friday Night SmackDown Preview
WWE holds this show from Evansville, IN at the Ford Center on FOX. WWE is advertising the following items for tonight’s broadcast as a way of a preview for SmackDown:
The Usos returning to in-ring competition against King Corbin & Dolph Ziggler
Lacey Evans and Sasha Banks to finally square off one-on-one
John Morrison to appear on “Miz TV”
More build for the Daniel Bryan-Bray Wyatt feud
Announcing more matches for the Royal Rumble pay-per-view
As usual, fans should expect more matches and segments to be revealed this afternoon for SmackDown.
Join us here later tonight for WWE SmackDown Results and our post-show SmackDown Takeaways feature.
Despite his rise through the ranks on WWE’s black-and-gold brand, Damien Priest has confessed that coming to WWE made him feel as though he had only “just started.” Prior to signing with WWE, the NXT Superstar had experience on the independent circuit and with other promotions such as Ring of Honor, where he wrestled as Punishment Martinez.
“I feel like because of the knowledge that I’ve gained here, it’s like I just started,” Priest told Sporting News. “It really does feel that way and I’m still constantly asking “was that OK, is this good, how can I make this better?” like if I just started.”
Damien Priest On Needing A Game Plan
Training at the WWE Performance Center and performing in NXT has been a different experience for Priest. He highlighted how Superstars have to “explain it to ourselves as to why we do the things we do and have them make sense” as opposed to having no game plan or understanding behind their actions and character motivations.
“Before, you just go into a match or promo or appearance but there has to be more to it,” he explained. “I used to fight before I was in pro wrestling and it’s the same thing for preparation. You can’t just go out there and start swinging wildly.”
He continued, “You actually have to have a game plan, you have to have a reason and know how to defend yourself and create a game plan. It’s kind of the same thing where I never put two-and-two together and never realized that’s the way I should have always attacked this business.”
Damien Priest was unable to secure a victory this past Wednesday night on NXT. He competed in a Fatal 4 Way match up to determine the new number one contender for Roderick Strong’s NXT North American Championship.
