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John Cena’s Reported Reaction To Nikki Bella’s Engagement

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News recently broke that Nikki Bella had become engaged to her former Dancing with the Stars co-star Artem Chigvintsev. Given her history with John Cena, some wondered how he may feel about the situation.

According to a source from HollywoodLife.com, Cena is “very happy that she has found someone that treats her so amazingly well.”

They continued, “Nikki was an extremely important part of John’s life so it does remind him of what they had and he is also reminded of his proposal to her at Wrestlemania a few years ago but he also has thought that they have both grown from their relationship and they both have moved on.”

The source then explained how Cena always knew this would happen at some point. They added that Cena only wants to wish them the best and send positive vibes.

“John and Nikki are on great terms, he wants nothing but the best for her,” a second insider added. “And it’s not a big shock or anything, John knows how happy she is with Artem and how much she wants to settle down so he was expecting this sooner or later. He will always cherish his memories with Nikki but he’s moved on too. John’s very happy with his girlfriend Shay so that makes it easier to accept Nikki moving on.”

John Cena Proposes To Nikki Bella

John Cena and Nikki Bella dated for six years before their split in July 2018. He famously proposed to her in the ring during WrestleMania 33. This took place after they had tagged together, defeating the team of The Miz and his wife, Maryse.

Marko Stunt Addresses Fan Criticism Regarding Size

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All Elite Wrestling’s Marko Stunt has addressed the criticism some have lobbied at him regarding his size. Appearing on AEW’s Road To Memphis video via the promotion’s official YouTube channel, Stunt confessed when he first saw the reactions he “did not take it well at first.”

“When I first showed up in AEW, they didn’t understand why I was there,” Marko said. “They didn’t understand why I got booked or why I got hired or anything. Cause why would this 5-foot-1 kid from Olive Branch, Mississippi be on national TV?”

He continued, “I did not take it well at first. The first couple months, I was very depressed, and I didn’t feel like I should be wrestling.”

Several wrestlers came to the defense of Marko Stunt following the online backlash, including AEW World Champion Chris Jericho.

Marko Stunt On Embracing His Passion

The Jurassic Express member stressed that, whether fans side with him or dislike him, he is committed to his role within AEW. He highlighted his passion for wrestling and how he wants to “live that passion” and continue growing as a person and performer.

“You make that your thing and you be the best you can be at that, who’s gonna tell you no? Who’s gonna be able to tell you no if you’re the best at that? You make yourself the best at that. You live your dreams.”

Marko Stunt will be in action this Wednesday. He joins Jungle Express to take on Best Friends and Orange Cassidy on AEW: Dynamite in six-man tag team action.

If you use any quotes from this article, please provide a H/T to SEScoops.

Manabu Nakanishi to Retire on February 22

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New Japan Pro-Wrestling held a press conference on January 7. The conference was primarily concerned with the events that had transpired at Wrestle Kingdom 14. However, President Naoki Sugabayashi also announced that wrestler Manabu Nakanishi would be retiring from in-ring competition on February 22, at an event at Korakuen Hall, in Tokyo. His retirement match has yet to be announced.

https://twitter.com/njpwglobal/status/1214432954803314689

Nakanishi, age 52, began his wrestling career in 1992 in New Japan Pro-Wrestling, following an amateur wrestling career that included participation in the 1992 Barcelona Summer Olympics. Following a stint as a young lion, he spent several years in World Championship Wrestling under the alias Kurasawa. He has been an active wrestler in NJPW since 1996, and has held accolades including an IWGP Heavyweight Championship reign, three IWGP Tag Team Championship reigns, and a single G1 Climax victory.

Tetsuya Naito to Defend Both IWGP Titles Against KENTA At NJPW New Beginning (2/9)

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New Japan Pro-Wrestling has announced that KENTA will challenge Tetsuya Naito for both the IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental Championships at the New Beginning in Osaka event on February 9, 2020. This will be Naito’s first defense of both Championships since winning them on Day 2 of Wrestle Kingdom 14.

This challenge was prompted by KENTA attacking Tetsuya Naito after he won the main event of Wrestle Kingdom 14. This prevented Naito from having a proper post-match celebration of becoming the first simultaneous IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental Champion.

Naito vs KENTA

At a press conference following the events of Wrestle Kingdom 14, Tetsuya Naito expressed reluctance to defend his newly won Championships against KENTA. He claimed that the importance of being a double champion would be reduced if both titles were on the line on a regular basis. He stated that he would prefer to defend each one individually, even if he had to wrestle more frequently to do so.

Naito also questioned the legitimacy of KENTA’s challenge. He argued that Jay White, Kota Ibushi, and Kazuchika Okada were all more rightful challengers than KENTA, since the latter had lost the NEVER Openweight Championship to Hirooki Goto at Wrestle Kingdom 14 as well.

NJPW’s “The New Beginning in Osaka 2020” event will be streamed live on NJPW World.

6 Takeaways From WWE RAW (1/6)

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The January 6th, 2019 episode of WWE RAW aired live from the Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, OK. In addition to the takeaways below, Buddy Murphy attacked Aleister Black tonight.

Here are 6 takeaways from this week’s show:

Brock Lesnar Will Be The #1 Entrant In The Royal Rumble

lesnar raw 1 6

WWE Champion Brock Lesnar made his way to the ring with Paul Heyman to begin this week’s episode of RAW. Heyman claimed that there is not anyone on RAW, SmackDown, or NXT’s roster that is man enough to step in the ring with Brock at Royal Rumble.

Paul scolded the crowd for booing Brock and claimed that Lesnar was about to do something unprecedented. Heyman announced that Brock Lesnar is entering the Royal Rumble match as the #1 entrant. Heyman added that Brock will standing in the ring last and conquer the Royal Rumble.

On one hand, this announcement does add some intrigue to the Royal Rumble match. On the other hand, it doesn’t look like we are getting a WWE Championship match at the PPV and I was already worried that Cain Velasquez was going to win the Royal Rumble before tonight. Their match at Crown Jewel was terrible and I don’t want to see it again at WrestleMania.

Andrade Retained The United States Championship

Andrade US Title Win

Andrade defended his United States Championship against Rey Mysterio in the first match of the night. Zelina Vega was ringside for the match.

Rey started off the match in control and sent Andrade to the outside. Andrade lifted Rey up in the Electric Chair but Mysterio escaped and sent the champ into the steel steps.

Back in the ring, Andrade connected with a Dropkick and both superstars crashed to the canvas as RAW went to a break. When RAW returned, Mysterio went for a Moonsault but Andrade caught. Mysterio then countered into a beautiful Tornado DDT for a near fall.

Andrade went for a Double Stomp but Mysterio got out of the way. Rey went for the Sunset Flip Powerbomb outside the ring but Andrade rolled through and hit him with Double Knees to the face.

Mysterio went for the 619 but Andrade got out of the way and hit Rey with an elbow to the face for a two count. Mysterio had the match won but Zelina Vega put Andrade’s foot on the bottom rope and the match was restarted.

Rey hit Andrade with a Hurricanrana that sent Andrade into the barricade. Back in the ring, Mysterio connected with the Sunset Flip Powerbomb for a two count. Rey followed it up with another Powerbomb on the ring post and Andrade fell to the floor outside the ring as the WWE Universe chanted “this is awesome!”.

Mysterio rolled Andrade into the ring and made his way to the top rope. Rey connected with a Leg Drop and went for the cover but Andrade was able to kick out at the last second. Mysterio hit the 619 and climbed up to the top rope once again. Andrade rolled to the outside and Rey leaped towards him.

Andrade caught him and wound up accidentally slamming Rey onto Zelina Vega. Andrade sent Rey back inside and set up for the Hammerlock DDT. The referee then stopped the move and awkwardly told Mysterio to roll back outside the ring. Rey then checked on Zelina Vega again, and Lawler made matters worse by referring to her as “Melina”. Mysterio then got back into the ring and Andrade hit the Hammerlock DDT for the victory. After the match, Andrade ripped off Rey’s mask and gave it to Zelina Vega.

Rey later attacked Andrade during a backstage interview and got his mask back.

The majority of this match was great but the ending had to be a botch. There was no reason for Rey to roll outside the ring again. It was still a very entertaining match, I just wish the final sequence wasn’t a disaster.

Viking Raiders Are Still The RAW Tag Team Champions

Viking Raiders
The Viking Raiders

Viking Raiders defended their RAW Tag Team Championships against The OC and Street Profits tonight on RAW. Gallows and Anderson dominated early and isolated Montez Ford in the ring.

Erik tagged in and beat the hell out of Gallows an Anderson. Ivar tagged in and planted Angelo Dawkins with a Body Slam. Montez tagged in and walked into a Viking Experience. Ivar went for the cover but Karl Anderson broke it up. Erik went for a Suicide Dive but Gallows caught him and sent him over the barricade as RAW went to a commercial break.

Gallows and Anderson were still in control when RAW returned. Anderson had Erik trapped in a Headlock but Erik battled back to his feet. Ivar tagged in and planted Anderson with a Backbreaker. Montez hit a Frog Splash but Anderson tagged himself in. Erik planted Anderson with a Powerbomb and Ivar followed it up with a Splash for the pinfall victory. Viking Raiders are still the RAW Tag Team Champions.

Becky Lynch Sent Asuka A Message

Becky LYnch RAW 3 25 2
Photo Credit: WWE.com

RAW Women’s Champion Becky Lynch came down to the ring to a great reaction. Lynch said that it was good to hear the crowd’s voices because she has been walking around for months now what kind of champion she is.

Becky added that she let the doubters get to her and forced the powers that be to give her a match with Asuka at Royal Rumble. Lynch claimed that she thought about what it means to be “The Man” and wondered if she should just be happy with her accomplishments so far.

Lynch suggested that maybe she should try to avoid the one woman she cannot seem to beat and highlights from Asuka’s victories over Becky were shown. Asuka then interrupted and laughed into the microphone. Asuka danced her way into the ring and was about to say something to Becky but Lynch punched her in the face. Asuka collapsed to the canvas and Becky left the ring. Lynch smirked on the entrance ramp as Asuka flipped out in the ring.

Rusev Will Battle Lashley Next Week

rusev raw 10 7

Lana and Lashley came down to the ring to a chorus of boos. Lana stated that they were going to get married tonight and handed the pastor the microphone.

Lashley and Lana kissed and the pastor left the ring. Lana told the official that he was so boring and she wasted so much money on him. She claimed that all of their exes and the crowd should be ashamed of themselves.

The crowd chanted “Rusev Day!” as Lashley claimed that Rusev wasn’t man enough to keep his own. Rusev appeared on the jumbotron standing in front of a green screen with an image of a beach behind him. Rusev said that the beach was next to a restaurant and claimed he made them a wedding album. Pictures of Rusev and Liv Morgan ruining the wedding last week were then shown.

Lana shouted that she hated Rusev and that he ruins everything. Lashley told Lana to shut up and claimed that Lana has stripped Rusev of his manhood. Bobby challenged Rusev to come to RAW next week so that he can rip off what is left of his balls and shove them down his throat.

Rusev stated that the Bulgarian Brute will return next week and he will brutalize every portion of Lashley’s body and Lana can have whatever is left. Liv Morgan said she will be in Rusev’s corner next week during a backstage interview.

Once again, this wasn’t so bad that it was good. It was just bad. My favorite part of this was that the “pastor” tried to get into the ring following AJ Styles’ victory over Tozawa and security tackled him.

Big Show Returned To Team With Owens & Joe

big show owens joe raw 1 6

Kevin Owens and Samoa Joe challenged Rollins and AOP to a match tonight. Samoa Joe told Owens that he had a guy that wants to be their tag partner for the match.

Before the match, Seth Rollins cut a promo and said that it was best to eliminate people like Samoa Joe and Kevin Owens because they are trying to impede progress. Rollins referred to himself as the “Monday Night Messiah” during the promo. It was then revealed that the Big Show was the mystery partner.

Big Show dominated early and hit Rollins with a massive chop as RAW went to a commercial break.

When RAW returned, Kevin Owens was trapped in the ring as Seth and AOP took turns beating him down. Big Show tagged in and the match ended in a DQ after Rollins hit Big Show with a chair. A brawl then broke out and Big Show took out Rollins with a KO Punch. It was then announced that these teams will face off again next week in a “Fist Fight”.

I thought this week’s show started off very good and then naturally fell off a cliff. I guess it was cool to see Big Show back on RAW but I don’t understand why he is being thrown into one of the best storylines on the show. It was also a little jarring to see Big Show main event a RAW in 2020.

WWE has announced that Styles vs. Orton, Rusev vs. Lashley, Buddy Murphy vs. Aleister Black and the first ever “Fist Fight” will go down next week. I figured these matches would happen at Royal Rumble, so if I were to guess there will be several stupid finishes next week so they can have some of the matches again at Royal Rumble. I don’t find that to be an interesting build to a PPV at all if that winds up being the case.

Big Show Returns To In-Ring Action On WWE RAW

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The Big Show has made his return to WWE television. 

He did so by being the surprise partner of Kevin Owens and Samoa Joe for their six-man tag team match against Seth Rollins and AOP on Monday’s episode of RAW in Oklahoma City, OK at the Chesapeake Energy Arena on the USA Network. 

Big Show Returns 

The previous run that the former WWE Champion had came back in October 2018 when Randy Orton beat The Big Show in a world cup qualifying match on SmackDown. 

He was then briefly paired with Cesaro and Sheamus. Big Show and The Bar’s alliance ended after a confrontation backstage. At the time, there were rumors that a hamstring injury put him on the sidelines. 

Since that time, he hasn’t appeared on WWE television. Instead, he’s shifted his focus towards acting. 

Big Show is getting his own show to debut on Netflix, which began filming on August 9th in Los Angeles.

The 10-episode series will feature the Big Show as he copes with being a retired wrestler who is married with 3 daughters.

“When the teenage daughter of Big Show, a retired world-famous WWE Superstar, comes to live with him, his wife and two other daughters, he quickly becomes outnumbered and outsmarted. Despite being 7 feet tall and weighing 400 pounds, he is no longer the center of attention,” Netflix’s description for the show reads.

Big Show will be getting his own travel reality TV show that’s titled  ‘Big Show vs. The World: A Giant Abroad’ and will be produced by WWE Studios and ITV America’s Thinkfactory media.

Nick Jackson Says Door Hasn’t Opened Up At All In Possible AEW-NJPW Relationship

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Nick Jackson has spoken about a possible relationship between AEW and NJPW where he has been quoted by saying there’s not a working relationship. 

In the last few weeks, there’s been speculation as to whether an agreement has been made. The issues go back to when AEW was launched and saw several talents leave NJPW for the new promotion. These stars include the likes of The Young Bucks, Cody Rhodes, and Kenny Omega. 

The Young Bucks made an appearance on ESPN West Palm where they discussed a possible working relationship between the two promotions. 

Nick Jackson Says Nothing Is Happening

“Yeah, that was just a rumor, nothing happening. I think [Chris Jericho] just did that to get the internet to talk a little bit more about the situation. But the door has not opened up at all,” says Nick Jackson.

We wish them luck in what they are doing because like Matt said with NXT, a lot of our friends work in New Japan. Most of them are our friends. We have friends everywhere in the wrestling world. If something came along then we would be open, but nothing is happening right now.”

The Jericho thing that Nick was referring to talking about was Jericho making it known at the press conference after Wrestle Kingdom 14 where he beat Hiroshi Tanahashi on Night 2 that he hopes a relationship is made.

The stipulation going into the match was that Tanahashi claimed that if he defeated Jericho he would ‘open the forbidden door’ by asking for an AEW Championship match.

Time will tell whether a relationship is made.

H/T to WrestleZone for the transcription

Brock Lesnar Claims First Entry In The 2020 Royal Rumble

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We now know what Brock Lesnar’s role at the WWE Royal Rumble pay-per-view event will be. 

WWE kicked off Monday’s episode of RAW in Oklahoma City, OK at the Chesapeake Energy Arena on the USA Network with a promo by Paul Heyman alongside the WWE Champion in the ring. 

Heyman cut a promo about how Lesnar has done several historic things in his career but at the Royal Rumble, he will do something unprecedented. This is where Heyman announced that Lesnar won’t be defending the WWE Championship at this show. 

Instead, “The Beast” will be competing in the actual Royal Rumble Match. Heyman also revealed that Lesnar will be starting out the match as the first entrant. 

Heyman ended his promo by saying that Lesnar will be the first and last man in the match and that’s a spoiler, according to the humble advocate. 

Brock Lesnar’s Royal Rumble Role

Lesnar joins Roman Reigns, Elias, Braun Strowman, and Cesaro as competitors thus far confirmed competing in this 30-man contest. 

“The Beast” won this contest back in 2003 at the Fleet Center in Boston by last eliminating The Undertaker. The last time that he worked the Royal Rumble Match was in 2017 at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas where he entered at #26 but was eliminated by Goldberg. 

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. 

WWE will be announcing more matches for this show in the coming weeks including competitors for both the men’s and women’s Royal Rumble matches

What are your thoughts on Brock Lesnar not defending the WWE Title but rather competing in the Royal Rumble Match? 

Final WWE Friday Night SmackDown Viewership (1/3)

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The viewership numbers are in for Friday’s edition of WWE SmackDown on FOX from Memphis, TN at the FedExForum.

SmackDown averaged 2.413 million viewers, according to ShowbuzzDaily. This is slightly down from the 2.431 viewers that the show did for last week’s episode of SmackDown on FOX. 

The show averaged 2.417 million viewers in the fast nationals, which was slightly down from the 2.439 million viewers a week ago. This number measured the top metered markets. 

SmackDown Viewership

The first hour drew 2.467 million viewers while the second hour did 2.369 million viewers. For comparison, the first show of last week’s show did 2.540 million viewers while the second hour did 2.337 million viewers. 

SmackDown pulled in a 0.70 in the 18-49 demos, the same rating as last week’s show. 

This episode was expected to see its viewership stay steady as the holidays are over with as we start a new year after the show falling on Christmas and New Year’s week. 

Matches

Matches that took place on this show included Dana Brooke & Lacey Evans defeat Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross and Bayley & Sasha Banks in a Triple Threat Tag Team Match, Shorty G defeats Dash Wilder, Kofi Kingston (w/Big E) defeats The Miz, Braun Strowman defeats Cesaro, and Daniel Bryan & Roman Reigns vs. Dolph Ziggler & King Corbin in the headliner. 

In case you missed the show, you can check out the 4 takeaways from it here.

WWE is expecting to see an increase in viewership for the following episode this coming Friday night as that show will be back to normal and won’t have to case as big of bowl games from college football. 

The next episode will also feature the fallout from last week’s show that was newsworthy for various reasons such as three big returns. 

Watch: Top 10 Moments from Friday Night SmackDown (1.3.20)

John Cena Hopes Fans Always View Him As Part Of WWE Family Despite Acting Transition

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Although John Cena isn’t as active as he once was, he hopes his lasting impression on fans is him as a member of WWE. 

Cena expressed his feelings while doing an interview with the Belfast Telegraph to promote his “Playing With Fire” film. 

John Cena Hopes Fans See Him Right Light

This is where he talked about his career with WWE as well as his venture as an actor. This is why he hopes fans will always remember him as a member of the WWE family because he got his start in the company. 

“I hope they always view me as a member of the WWE, because I am,” he said. “Whether it’s watching the events or being able to participate, any chance I’m given to answer this question, WWE is my family. It’s weird that the culture is, you either do this or you do that, and for 20 years I’ve been trying to tell people, ‘No, it’s all really cool.’”

Cena talked about how he doesn’t ever want to not be known as a WWE superstar because he can’t perform as much as the current ones due to him being a little bit older. 

He noted how he has these cool opportunities to do other stuff but he doesn’t want to come across as he’s shutting off the WWE world. 

Instead, Cena brought up how he’s trying to bring this world with him so everyone can all be involved in a movie conversation or a WrestleMania conversation.

Cena has landed another movie role as he is set to co-star in the movie “Vacation Friends,” a film is a comedy that will see Meredith Hagner and Lil Rel Howery in the other co-starring roles. 

WWE RAW Results & Live Coverage (1/6)

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The January 6th, 2019 edition of WWE RAW aired live on the USA Network from the Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, OK.

– This week’s broadcast opens up with a video package looking at last week’s wedding segment with Bobby Lashley and Lana.

– The intro video plays and the fireworks go off in the arena. Vic Joseph and Jerry Lawler welcome us to RAW, and then Brock Lesnar’s music hits to kick off the show.

– WWE Champion Brock Lesnar makes his way down to the ring with Paul Heyman. The crowd boos them, and Heyman says “well Happy New Year to you too bitches.” Heyman says Brock wants to kick off the new decade by making history, because that’s what Brock Lesnar does, he makes history. Heyman says that nobody on the RAW, SmackDown or NXT roster is man enough to step into the ring with Lesnar at the Royal Rumble pay-per-view. Heyman says Brock has conquered everyone in his path so far, so he’s going to try something new at the Royal Rumble. Brock Lesnar will enter the Royal Rumble elimination match as the first entrant. Heyman says Brock will take the ring first, and he’ll be the last one standing in the ring at the end of the night. He says Brock will conquer the Royal Rumble, and that’s a spoiler. Heyman and Lesnar head up the ramp, and they stop by the announce table on their way out. They tell Jerry he better talk nice about Brock Lesnar. Vic Joseph to the back for an interview.

– Rey Mysterio cuts a promo in Spanish at the Gorilla position. Then in English, he talks about how his U.S. Title match tonight means everything to him. He thanks his son Dominic for convincing him to stay and compete against the best. Rey says Andrade doesn’t deserve to represent Latinos, so Rey is taking his U.S. Title back.

Andrade (c) vs. Rey Mysterio: Andrade’s United States Championship is on the line in this one. Zelina is at ringside. Rey starts off with a hurricanrana, and then he sends Andrade out to ringside with another hurricanrana. Back in the ring, Andrade starts to fight back until Rey hits a kick then takes Andrade out to ringside again. Andrade latches on to Rey and tries to slam him at ringside, but Rey reverses it into a facebuster into the ring steps. Back in the ring, Rey looks for a shot off the top rope, but Andrade knocks Rey out of mid-air with a dropkick. Rey and Andrade trade punches until Rey hits a running hurricanrana into the corner. Rey follows up with some strikes and a springboard tornado DDT for a two count. They fight up the turnbuckle and Andrade looks for a double stomp but he misses. Rey looks for a dive on Andrade at ringside, but Andrade turns it into a knee to the face of Rey. Back in the ring, Andrade hits a slingshot senton bomb for a two count. Andrade hits a series of suplexes until Rey reverses one into a rollup for a two count. Rey misses a 619 attempt and Andrade fires back with an elbow to the face. Andrade misses a shot and Rey hits the Canadian Destroyer. Rey pins for the three count, but Zelina pulls Andrade’s leg onto the bottom rope. The ref sees it and he says the match must be re-started. The bell rings again and the match is officially re-started. Andrade misses a shot in the corner and Rey dumps him outside. Rey follows up with a leaping hurricanrana off the apron onto Andrade on the floor. Back in the ring, Rey hits a sunset flip powerbomb for a two count. They fight out to the apron and Rey hits another sunset flip powerbomb, this time into the ring post, and Andrade falls down to the floor. Rey throws Andrade back in the ring, then hits a flying leg drop for another two count. Andrade fights back now and drops Rey in the corner. Andrade looks for the running knee strike but Rey dodges it. Rey gives Andrade a hurricanrana into the ropes, then hits the 619. Rey goes up top, but Zelina pulls Andrade out to ringside. Rey dives towards Andrade, but Andrade dodges it and Rey crashes into Zelina. Rey looks remorseful and Andrade attacks him from behind, then takes Rey back into the ring. There seems to be some confusion between Rey, Andrade, and the referee now. The ref pushes Rey out to ringside and pulls Andrade back into the ring. Rey checks on Zelina, then he gets back in the ring. As soon as Rey gets back in the ring, Andrade kicks Rey and hits the hammerlock DDT for the three count.

Winner & still U.S. Champion: Andrade

– After the match, Andrade rips off Rey’s mask and gives it to Zelina at ringside.

– Kevin Owens and Samoa Joe are backstage for an interview. Owens says that he and Joe both don’t play well with others, but circumstances have brought them together. Joe says that he has a partner tonight for him and Owens to take on Seth Rollins and the AOP in a six-man tag. Joe won’t tell Owens who their partner is, just tells Owens not to worry.

– The AOP and Seth Rollins are shown arriving at the building. They are informed of Joe and Owens finding a partner to take on the three of them tonight. Seth says the challenge that he’s concerned with is taking RAW to the next level, because he is the chosen one.

The Street Profits vs. The OC vs. The Viking Raiders (c): The Street Profits cut a brief promo before the match welcoming everyone to the first RAW of the year. The Viking Raiders’ RAW Tag Team Titles are on the line in this one. Dawkons hits a big dropkick on Anderson early on, then Ford tags in for the double team. Ivar tags himself in and goes at it with Ford now. Ford and Ivar exchange reversals and flips, then Gallows and Anderson both invade and take them out. Gallows tags himself in and works over Ford now. Gallows and Anderson trade frequent tags now and isolate Ford in their corner. Dawson gets knocked off the apron, so Ford tags out to Erik. Erik cleans house now and starts dropping everyone in his path with suplexes. Erik hits knee strikes on Anderson and Gallows, then Ivar tags in. The Vikings clear the ring and double team Dawson. Erik tags back in for the double team on Gallows now. Ford tags himself in to take his chances with the Raiders. Ford misses a shot and they give him the Viking Experience, but Anderson breaks up the pin. This one spills out to ringside, where Ivar hits a splash on Street Profits, and Gallows dumps Erik out to the crowd. Back in the ring, The OC takes control now as they double team Erik. Erik finally breaks free and tags in Ivar. Ivar cleans house and drops both OC members, but then he misses a splash in the corner and goes down. Dawkins and Erik both tag in and start going at it. Dawkins gets the upper hand and he takes out Ivar too. Dawkins hits a frogsplash, but Anderson tags himself in and breaks up the pin. Ford takes out Gallows at ringside, while Anderson and Erik go at it in the ring now. Anderson misses a kick, and Erik powerbombs him down. Ivar tags in and hits a splash off the top for the three count.

Winners & still RAW Tag Team Champions: The Viking Raiders

– We go backstage for an interview with Samoa Joe. Joe doesn’t want to reveal who the partner is yet, even though Seth and the AOP are dying to know. Owens tells Joe that he would also like to know, because he’s had beef with a lot of people around here. Joe tells Owens he’ll show him, and they walk off.

– Back from the break, Joe walks Owens to a room and tells him to look inside. Joe stops the camera man from being able to see in while Owens looks. Owens closes the door, and he looks happy with the choice of mystery partner.

– RAW Women’s Champion Becky Lynch comes out to the ring and gets on the mic. She says it’s great to hear the fans, and she talks about what her plans are for 2020. She brings up the one woman she can’t seem to beat, and points up to a video package looking at the history between Becky Lynch and Asuka. Becky starts to speak again, but Asuka’s music interrupts and she comes out. Asuka yells in her language and walks down to the ring. Asuka starts yelling in Becky’s face, and Becky drops her with a right hand. Becky heads to the back, and Asuka gets back up and starts yelling.

– Mojo approaches Eric Rowan backstage, and he asks to see what in the covered cage. Rowan says to go ahead, but he can’t tell anyone else. Mojo peeks under the sheet, and he acts horrified and asks what the hell is wrong with Rowan. Mojo runs off and Rowan smiles.

– Andrade and Zelina are backstage for an interview. Andrade speaks in Spanish and holds up Rey’s mask. An unmasked Rey runs over and attacks Andrade now, without showing his face to the camera. Rey takes his mask back and puts it on. Zelina screams as Rey continues his attack on Andrade. Referees come over to pull him off.

Eric Rowan vs. KJ Orso: KJ is a local enhancement talent. Rowan attacks before the bell and throws him out to ringside. Rowan asks if he wants to see it too. Rowan tries to bring KJ over to the cage, but KJ breaks free and runs back in the ring. The opening bell sounds and Rowan drops KJ with a boot to the face. Rowan with a splash in the corner now, and then the Iron Claw.

Winner: Eric Rowan

– After the match, Rowan pulls KJ out to ringside and puts his head under the sheet on his cage. KJ starts screaming and it looks like there’s red stuff on his face. KJ runs away to the back as Rowan picks up his cage and walks off.

AJ Styles vs. Akira Tozawa: AJ and Tozawa trade fast-paced strikes and reversals in the opening moments. Tozawa misses a shot, and AJ hits the Phenomenal Forearm early on. AJ goes fo the pin, but then he stops. He picks up Tozawa and gives him the draping DDT from the middle rope, Randy Orton style. AJ waits for Tozawa to get up now, then he hits the RKO For the three count.

Winner: AJ Styles

– Lana and Bobby Lashley come out to the ring, and the same wedding official from last week is in the ring. They say that since last week’s ceremony was ruined, they’re going to get married right here and now. The wedding official gets right to the point and pronounces them man and wife. Lana kicks the official out of the ring and she gets on the mic. She says this is supposed to be the happiest day of her life, but other people ruined it. Lana and Lashley trash the fans and Rusev now. Rusev interrupts on the big screen. Rusev is standing in front of a beach setting on a green screen. Rusev says they think everyone else is miserable, but it seems like Lana and Lashley are the most miserable people in the arena. Rusev says he forgot to give them a wedding present, so he put together a wedding album. We see a video of highlights from the ruined wedding ceremony last week. Lana screams at Rusev that she hates him and he ruins everything. Lashley tells Lana to shut up, and he calls out Rusev now. Lashley says if Rusev has any balls left he should show up to RAW next week so Lashley can rip them off and shove them down his throat. Rusev says he will return next week, but he will be the one doing unspeakable things to Lashley.

– Charlotte is shown backstage, walking towards the Gorilla position.

– R-Truth is backstage for an interview, but it is quickly interrupted by Liv Morgan. Morgan congratulates Truth on his success with the 24/7 Title, and she then announces that she’ll be in Rusev’s corner next week since Lana will be in Lashley’s corner.

Charlotte vs. Sarah Logan: Logan attacks Charlotte before the bell and they brawl out to ringside. Logan drops Charlotte, then she goes back in the ring and she starts slamming Charlotte’s robe on the mat, then stomping on it. Logan goes back out to ringside, and Charlotte drops her with a spear. Charlotte and Logan continue brawling all over ringside. Charlotte gets the upper hand and hits a big boot, then she puts her robe on and leaves.

Winner: No contest

– We see Drew McIntyre backstage heading towards the Gorilla position.

Drew McIntyre vs. No Way Jose: Drew attacks Jose’s conga line at ringside before the match. Back in the ring, the opening bell sounds and Jose starts throwing right hands. Drew fires back with a kick and a belly to belly overhead suplex. Drew rolls back outside to terrorize the conga line. Drew gives one of them a reverse Alabama slam into the apron. Back in the ring, Jose tries to fight back and he rolls up Drew for a two count. Drew comes back with the Future Shock DDT, then he kicks up to his feet. Drew follows up with the Claymore Kick for the three count.

Winner: Drew McIntyre

– After the match, Drew throws Jose over the top rope onto his conga line at ringside. Drew gets on the mic and asks if they dare him to do one more Claymore. Drew picks up Jose from ringside and takes him back in the ring. Drew delivers another Claymore kick, and points out that he didn’t even drop the mic doing it. Drew says he always hated conga lines. Drew says he’s never had one opportunity for the World Title yet. Drew announces that he’ll be entering the Royal Rumble.

– Aleister Black is shown backstage walking through the hallways.

Aleister Black vs. Shelton Benjamin: They trade shots back and forth off the opening bell, and Black tries to play mind games with Shelton. Shelton takes down Black, but Black reverses into a submission attempt. Shelton reverses it into a slam on Black. Shelton follows up with some strikes to the face and Black is dazed. Shelton misses a shot and Black starts firing back with some strikes of his own. They trade more big strikes now, and Black gets the upper hand. Black lifts up Shelton, then hits the Black Mass for the three count.

Winner: Aleister Black

– After the match, Buddy Murphy attacks Black from behind and beats him down. Murphy takes Black out to ringside and slams him into the timekeeper’s area, then hits a running knee to the face. Murphy grabs a steel chair and stalks Black now. It looks like Murphy tried to knee the steel chair into Black’s face. Black is down and the ref calls for help.

– Seth Rollins and the AOP are shown backstage getting ready for their match against Samoa Joe, Kevin Owens, and a mystery opponent.

– The AOP and Seth Rollins come out to the ring, and Seth gets on the mic. Seth talks about how he is the chosen one to lead RAW to the promised land. Rollins says the fans don’t know what’s good for them, Rollins is the one who knows what’s best for them. Rollins says they have to get rid of people who impede progress, and tonight that’s Joe, Owens, and their partner.

Seth Rollins & the AOP vs. Kevin Owens, Samoa Joe, & The Big Show: The Big Show makes his return to RAW to partner up with Owens & Joe. The opening bell sounds, and Big Show starts off against Akam. Big Show levels him with a shoulder block, then he knocks Rezar and Seth off the arpon. Seth tags in and Big Show hits a loud slap to the chest on Rollins. Joe and Owens now take turns beating on Rollins. The AOP causes a distraction, and Rezar knocks Owens down to the ringside floor. Rezar tags in and beats down Owens at ringside. Back in the ring, Rezar continues beating on Owens. Akam tags in for the double team on Owens. Rollins tags in and hits a springboard flying knee on Owens for a two count. Akam tags back in and continues the offense on Owens. Akam misses a shot and Owens boots him in the face. Akam looks for a suplex, but Owens breaks out and kicks him. Rezar tags in and knocks Joe down, but he backs down to Big Show. Owens drops Rezar with a kick, then Big Show gets the hot tag. Big Show clears the ring now and knocks eveyone out to ringside. The AOP slam Joe into the steel steps at ringside. Rollins comes flying off the top towards Big Show, but Big Show catches him. The AOP break it up, and Big Show grabs them by the throat. Rollins comes from behind with a steel chair now and nails Big Show. The ref calls for the bell.

Winners via DQ: Kevin Owens, Samoa Joe & Big Show

– Joe, Owens, and The AOP brawl at ringside, leaving Rollins and Big Show alone in the ring. Owens grabs Rollins’ foot, and the distraction leads to Big Show hitting the knockout punch on Rollins. The broadcast team informs us that next week, these two teams will meet again in the first ever “fist fight” in WWE history. RAW goes off the air with the AOP helping Rollins to the back, and Owens, Joe and the Big Show standing tall in the ring.

Details On What Is Keeping Matt Hardy From Re-Signing With WWE

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Matt Hardy has yet to decide whether he’s staying with WWE but we do know what’s keeping him from doing that. 

The latest update on the future WWE Hall of Famer has surfaced online thanks to a report by Pwinsider.com. The belief for quite some time was the fact that the exact date as to when his contract expires was unknown, but it was believed to be expiring in early 2020. 

With the new year here, the exact date has been revealed, which is March 1st. 

As of this writing, Hardy has not come to terms on a new deal with WWE. If he doesn’t re-sign, then he would be free to appear anywhere on that date.

Keep Matt Hardy From Re-Signing With WWE

According to the report, the major hurdle between the two sides is how he would be used going forward, not money. Thus, the reason why he hasn’t signed a new deal yet. 

WWE has been throwing out big money offers to re-sign its talent to longer deals than in previous years with most current deals seeing a star stay under contract for five years. 

It’s not a secret that Hardy has been preparing for a potential exit with his “Release the Delete” videos online. 

The former WWE Tag Team Champion made his return to WWE television on the November 25th episode of on Monday Night RAW where he lost to Buddy Murphy in a singles match. 

Hardy would also suffer a defeat the following week in Greenville, SC, Hardy lost to Drew McIntyre. Both were short matches. 

Paige Sparks Speculation Over Her Career & WWE Future

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Paige has fans talking when she sparked speculation over the possibility of her future with WWE in a series of messages. 

The former WWE Divas Champion and SmackDown General Manager took to her official Twitter account to talk about her career in 2020. This is where she declared that she has “a lot of career left” and that 2020 will be a good year for her. She wrote the following: 

“I get told that my glory days are over w/ my career & that I’m a “slut” coz of the crap that got released about me. Just know again. Ppl make mistakes when they’re young. I’m not that person. Also my glory days are far from over. I have a whole a lot of career left in me. 2020 will be a good year for me.”

https://twitter.com/RealPaigeWWE/status/1213205004397379585
https://twitter.com/RealPaigeWWE/status/1213205132457824256

Paige Sparks Potential Return

As of late, there have been a lot of rumors and speculation on Paige possibly returning to the ring for WWE in 2020. 

Paige represented Asuka and Kairi Sane on SmackDown Live after her run as the SmackDown GM ended. She currently works as an analyst on the weekly studio TV show on FOX Sports 1, WWE Backstage. 

Back in September, it was reported that she had signed a new 5-year deal with WWE. 

After undergoing the knife again late last year for a hernia, she revealed that her doctor has told her that she has the neck of a 60-year-old.

Paige has spinal stenosis, which has kept her from not being medically cleared by WWE doctors to wrestle again.

Paige Needs Another Surgery, Misses Scheduled Appearance

Konnan Gives His Thoughts On Rey Mysterio Unmasking In WCW

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Rey Mysterio was forced to unmask in WCW after losing a tag match along with Konnan to the Outsiders at SuperBrawl 9. Had Konnan and Rey Mysterio won, Miss Elizabeth would have lost her hair.

On a recent episode of his “Keepin it 100” podcast, Konnan discussed the angle, what led to it, and his opinion of Mysterio being unmasked in WCW.

“I thought it was stupid and not only that it wasn’t even Nash’s hair, it was Miss Elizabeth’s hair,” Konnan said on the show. “It was just stupid, bro.”

He would continue to talk about what led to Mysterio being unmasked.

“At the end of the day, I think Scott Hall had told them ‘hey, Rey Mysterio is a good looking guy what do you need a mask for?'”

Disco Inferno then chimed in on the subject.

“Eric usually acted on the last thing that he heard. You know, so whoever had Eric’s ear last, that’s what we would do.”

Konnan would continue to say it was a hotly debated issue backstage.

“We got into humungous fights about this. At the end it was more (Bischoff) was just kind of ‘well, f**k it. I decided we are going to do it and that’s all there is to it,” Konnan said.

Konnan’s comments can be heard in the player below:

ROH To Run Free Event February 9th With Marty Scurll & More

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Ring of Honor has just announced plans to throw a free event on February 9th, 2020 at the UMBC Event Center in Baltimore, Maryland. The show will be titled “Free Enterprise” and is being run in conjunction with the #ROHCares initiative.

“Free Enterprise is an extension of the ongoing #ROHCares initiative in which ROH gives back to the community,” and ROH press release for the event reads. “This program has seen top stars regularly visit children’s hospitals and has provided veterans with free tickets to live events through a partnership with Vet Tix.”

The promotion has also announced several wrestlers already signed to appear and 3 big matches already booked for the event.

ROH Free Enterprise

Matches booked for the free event scheduled for February 9th in Baltimore:

  • Slex vs Flip Gordon
  • Mark & Jay Briscoe vs Flamita & Bandido
  • ROH World Tag Team Championships
    Jon Gresham & Jay Lethal (c) vs Dan Maff & Jeff Cobb

Other ROH Wrestlers scheduled to appear at Free Enterprise:

  • PCO
  • Dragon Lee
  • “El Toro Blanco” RUSH
  • “The Villain” Marty Scurll
  • Session Moth Martina

ROH World Champion PCO Ceremonial Puck Drop At Montreal Canadiens Game

PCO will be honored tonight at the Montreal Canadiens vs Winnipeg Jets game. The ROH World Champion will be dropping the puck at the Bell Center.

AEW Dynamite Headed To Denver & Salt Lake City In March

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AEW Dynamite is headed to new cities as All Elite Wrestling has announced the host venues for the two episodes of the weekly television show following up after the AEW Revolution pay-per-view.

The promotion announced on Monday that AEW Dynamite is heading to Denver, Colorado at 1st Bank Center on March 4th and Salt Lake City, Utah at the Maverik Center on March 11th. Tickets for both shows go on sale this Friday at AEWTix.com.

The announcement by AEW for the first show read like, “All Elite Wrestling makes its Denver debut on Wednesday, March 4th, when #AEWDynamite comes to @1STBANK_Center Tickets go on sale THIS FRIDAY, January 10th at 10am Mountain Time. For tickets visit http://AEWTIX.com.”

AEW Dynamite Schedule

The following is an updated look at the AEW Dynamite touring schedule through the end of March 2020. 

  • January 8: Southaven, MS
  • January 15: Miami, FL
  • January 22: taped from Jericho cruise
  • January 29: Cleveland, OH
  • February 5: Huntsville, AL
  • February 12: Austin, TX
  • February 19: Atlanta, GA
  • February 26: Kansas City, MO
  • March 4: Denver, CO
  • March 11: Salt Lake City, UT

Cody Talks About AEW Fans Being ‘Overly Protective’ of The Product

The AEW Revolution pay-per-view event will take place Saturday, February 29, 2020 from Chicago, IL from the Sears Center.

AEW has loaded up the card for this Wednesday’s episode of Dynamite on TNT as AEW Dynamite is headed to Southaven, MS at the Landers Center. The theme of the show is a tribute to the legends of Memphis wrestling. 

AEW has already confirmed that some of the names being honored on the show include:

  • Angelo Poffo & Randy Savage
  • Lance Russell
  • “Hot Stuff” Eddie & Tommy Gilbert
  • Brian Christopher
  • Austin Idol
  • Dave Brown
  • The Rock & Roll Express
  • “Handsome” Jimmy Valiant

Taya Valkyrie Achieves Impact Knockouts Title Milestone

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Taya Valkyrie is already in the middle of the longest reign with the Impact Knockouts title in history. Today marks a special milestone for her title reign, however. Valkyrie is now the only wrestler in history to hold the Knockouts title for an entire year. She originally won the title from Tessa Blanchard on January 6th, 2019.

Taya Valkyrie’s Historic Knockouts Championship Reign

Valkyrie won the title at the Impact Wrestling Homecoming PPV last year from Nashville, TN. There was quite a bit of controversy to the match as Gail Kim was assigned as the special guest referee. The Impact Hall of Famer and Blanchard had been at odds leading up to the match and Kim got involved physically, costing Blanchard the title but allowing Valkyrie to win it.

Since winning the title, Valkyrie has defended it a total of 17x over the last year. That’s 5 more title defenses than she is required to make under the 1 title defense every 30-day rule in Impact. Taya has made quite a point of that rule on Impact television.

Taya Valkyrie Title Defense History:

  1. 1/12/19 – defeated Tessa Blanchard in a street fight
  2. 2/17/19 – lost to Jordynne Grace via DQ
  3. 4/4/19 – defeated Jordynne Grace, Katie Forbes, Rosemary in a fatal 4-way
  4. Rebellion PPV – defeated Jordynne Grace
  5. 5/3/19- defeated Madison Rayne
  6. 6/6/19 – defeated Su Yung via DQ
  7. 6/8/19 – defeated Jordynne Grace
  8. 6/28/19 – vs Mortar – No Contest
  9. Slammiversary – defeated Su Yung, Havok, and Rosemary (fatal 4-way)
  10. 7/20/19 – vs Havok – No Contest
  11. 8/2/19 – lost to Havok via count-out
  12. 8/16/19 – defeated Big Mami
  13. 9/6/19 – lost to Havok via DQ
  14. 9/14/19 – defeated Rosemary
  15. Bound For Glory – defeated Tenille Dashwood
  16. 11/10/19 – defeated Madison Rayne
  17. 12/7/19 – lost to Havok via DQ

Shawn Spears Expresses Interest In Wrestling Jay White

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All Elite Wrestling’s resident “Chairman” Shawn Spears has expressed his interest in wrestling Bullet Club leader “Switchblade” Jay White.

Taking to Twitter, Spears provided a clear cut message of intent for “Switchblade,” writing:

“Hey Switchblade, We should wrestle sometime. Sincerely yours, The Chairman”

At the time of writing, White has not yet responded to Shawn Spears’ message. Given that he has been preoccupied with New Japan Pro-Wrestling’s Wrestle Kingdom 14 event, however, that’s no surprise.

White’s Wrestle Kingdom Experience

White was unable to defend his IWGP Intercontinental Championship this past weekend. He competed in a losing effort against Los Ingobernables de Japon leader Tetsuya Naito during Night One of Wrestle Kingdom on Saturday.

He managed to defeat fellow Double Gold Dash contender Kota Ibushi, who failed in his attempts to become IWGP Heavyweight Champion against Kazuchika Okada, on Night Two. By the end of the weekend, it was Naito who would walk away as NJPW’s first-ever dual champion.

Shawn Spears

Spears’ most recent feud in AEW has been against “The Bad Boy” Joey Janela. They recently competed against each other on an episode of the promotion’s YouTube show, AEW Dark.

Spears came up short in the match, with Janela picking up the victory following a top rope elbow drop. After the match, the two shared a couple of White Claws in the ring, only for Janela to deliver a Stunner to Spears.

6 Takeaways From Impact Wrestling 1/4 – Best of 2019 Part II

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Impact Wrestling presented part II of its “Best of 2019” this weekend on AXS TV. The promotion is back in their usual Tuesday night timeslot this week for the go-home show for this weekend’s Hard to Kill PPV.

Here are 6 takeaways from Impact Wrestling 1/4 the Best of 2019 Part II:

Tessa Blanchard Wins Wrestler of the Year

As she prepares to wrestle for the Impact Wrestling World Championship at Hard to Kill this weekend, Tessa Blanchard has been named the 2019 Wrestler of the Year for the promotion. Since signing with Impact, Blanchard has been a featured performer for Impact and the culmination of a long-term booking strategy could take place at Hard to Kill on Sunday.

Blanchard joined Impact in the spring of 2018 and quickly rose to be the top heel in the Knockouts division before winning the title. She would only lose the title after her and Gail Kim’s disdain for each other led to the Hall of Famer costing her a match against Taya Valkyrie. Blanchard would be too distracted in her rivalry with Kim to regain her lost championship. After dispatching of Kim, and winning her respect, Blanchard turned babyface and entered a feud with Sami Callihan.

Blanchard’s forway into inter-gender wrestling potentially hit a snag when plans for a Blanchard vs Eli Drake feud were scrapped and Drake left the promotion. He landed in the National Wrestling Alliance where he is currently feuding with Ken Anderson.

Sami Callihan picked up the ball, however, and didn’t hesitate for a second with it. Blanchard and Callihan have had two previous matches in Impact, with Callihan winning both but Blanchard coming close each time. Perhaps, Blanchard will finally defeat Sami this weekend en route to making history.

Tessa Blanchard’s Victory In #1 Contenders Match Re-Visited

With Tessa Blanchard vs Sami Callihan 3 set to take place this weekend, Blanchard’s victory to earn her title shot was re-visited this week on Impact Wrestling. Blanchard won a multi-person Gauntlet match and eliminated former Impact World Champion Brian Cage with the final elimination.

The North Win Tag Team Of The Year

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9szeRCLTtQ

Following the departures of the Lucha Bros and LAX, one team rose to the very top of Impact Wrestling’s tag team division in 2019 and has stayed there. Ethan Page and Josh Alexander were formerly two well-respect indy guys around the Toronto/Hamilton Ontario, Canada scenes. Since arriving in Impact Wrestling, however, they have quickly become a dominant team.

To put it in perspective, if the North can retain their titles for the next 3 weeks, they will hit #4 all-time in terms of combined days spent with the Impact tag titles behind only LAX, Beer Money, and the Wolves.

Their match this year against Pro Wrestling NOAH’s Naomichi Marufuji & Eddie Edwards was revisited this week.

Re-Visiting Rich Swann’s Elimination Match Spoiler

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_f2nJBhKtk

Rich Swann has overcome the odds quite a bit in his career. The former X-Division Champion almost overcame the odds in the #1 Contender Elimination match he competed in recently as well. Swann pulled off a huge upset during the match by pinning perennial top-contender Michael Elgin. Swann looked to have momentum going into the rest of the match but Elgin made sure he wouldn’t have anything left after delivering a massive post-match beat down.

Tessa Blanchard vs Gail Kim Re-Visited

Gail Kim wasn’t going to come out of retirement for just any opponent. The Impact Hall of Famer came out of retirement to face Tessa Blanchard, however. Blanchard and Kim met at the Rebellion PPV this spring from Rebel Nightclub in Kim’s hometown of Toronto, ON, Canada.

When looking at Blanchard’s rise to the top of Impact Wrestling (and her profession in general) the importance of this match against Kim cannot be overstated. The match was re-visited on Impact this week as the promotion prepares for Blanchard vs Sami Callihan for the Impact World Title at Hard to Kill.

Tessa Blanchard vs Sami Callihan From Slammiversary Wins Match of the Year

With Sami Callihan vs Tessa Blanchard 3 set to take place on Sunday, their first match was awarded the 2019 Impact Wrestling match of the year. The match headlined the Slammiversary PPV from Gilley’s Dallas from Texas. Hard to Kill will be held at a different venue in the same city (The Bomb Factory).

Callihan and Blanchard would meet a month later at Unbreakable (Impact Plus special). The two had teamed together as part of the Mash-Up tournament and won. The win meant they would face each other with the winner of that match earning a title shot. Callihan again beat Blanchard and would go on to win the Impact title from Brian Cage.

The Usos Comment On Their Return To SmackDown

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Following their surprise return to Friday Night SmackDown last week, The Usos joined Roman Reigns backstage for an exclusive interview with WWE.com.

“We had to come back, man. We missed the WWE Universe just as much as they missed the Usos. A big night for us, man. [We] got to come out and help out cuz once again. I love it. We here now. We was away. Got things right, got on track.”

“We was at home, we saw them dumping dog food on our big cuz—it’s like ‘Oh no, this ain’t gonna happen again! We got you Uce!’ And what it do? We here. We here.”

The Usos And Reigns

Reigns reflected on the time they spent together as children, remembering how the Usos told on him for flipping the bird at them. He noted how he got “whooped” afterwards, but ever since that moment they’ve “been like brothers.”

“The road is tough out here. You’re so used to having a certain security blanket—having your family on the road, it can be tricky when you don’t have them. With the [brand] split, with you guys going away, with Truth being on the other side, I felt like I’ve been alone. But it felt really good to see you guys here, not only backstage but everything, man.”

The Usos ran to the ring during last Friday’s episode of SmackDown to save Reigns from an assault at the hands of Dolph Ziggler and Baron Corbin.

If you use any quotes from this article, please provide a H/T to SEScoops.

MJF Promises He Will Become AEW World Champion

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All Elite Wrestling’s Maxwell Jacob Friedman (MJF) has claimed that his name “pops” a crowd more than Jon Moxley or even Chris Jericho. He also promised that it’s only a matter of time until he is AEW World Champion.

Speaking with News Chief, MJF explained how the character fans see every week is, in fact, “110 percent me” before adding how “This isn’t a gimmick.”

Despite his antagonistic personality, MJF believes he gets a more immediate reaction than even some of AEW’s top stars:

“I love Chris Jericho, Jon Moxley… but my name pops up more than them. What I’m capable of doing is grabbing you by your face through the TV set and pulling you in. You’re not going to be able to stop watching me. That’s called having ‘it,’ and I’ve got ‘IT’ in spades.”

“MJF Is Going To Be The AEW World Champion”

Turning his attention to the AEW World Championship, MJF reflected on his journey so far in the company. Many have named MJF as the one to watch in 2020, including WWE Hall of Famer Diamond Dallas Page and AEW’s own Dustin Rhodes.

“I came into the company as a relative unknown to being one of the most talked-about wrestlers on the planet, that’s unheard of. Much sooner rather than later, put all your chips on it, MJF is going to be AEW world champion.”

MFJ is currently feuding with his former best friend, Cody Rhodes. On last week’s episode of AEW Dynamite, MJF laid out the stipulations that Cody needs to accept in order to get the opportunity to face off against him.

Lana Discusses Current Storyline, Being A Storyteller

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WWE Superstar Lana joined Reel Talker to discuss a variety of subjects. One subject they spoke about was her current storyline with Bobby Lashley, Rusev, and now Liv Morgan.

“I really am having so much fun, I feel very fortunate to be able to do what I love for a living,” Lana said. “We’re storytellers and at the end of the day, we’re telling a story that people relate to.”

She continued, “We all know someone that has broken up, we all know someone who has gotten divorced, we all know people that have fallen out of love, we’ve all known someone who has cheated. We’re storytellers and I feel like that’s my destiny in life, to tell stories. People might hate me right now but I think partly the reason people hate the Ravishing Russian is because people know someone like that…. If you don’t have an incredible villain, you don’t need an incredible hero.”

Lana and Lashley recently shared how they have been receiving hateful comments and online bullying because of the storyline. Their recent wedding ceremony was interrupted by a returning Liv Morgan, who revealed that she and Lana were previously lovers. In the wake of the revelation, Lana asked fans to not “assume someone’s sexuality.”

H/T to Wrestlezone for the transcription.

6 Takeaways From MLW Fusion 1/4

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Major League Wrestling presented a new episode of Fusion on BeIN Sports and YouTube this weekend. The show featured a semi-final match in the Opera Cup and was headlined by Contra Unit taking on Strong Hearts from OWE.

Here are 6 takeaways from MLW Fusion 1/4:

Tom Lawlor Defeats An Imposter Von Erich

https://twitter.com/MLW/status/1213931928719507456

Tom Lawlor said he was going to take on a member of the Von Erichs this week but neither Ross nor Marshall seemed to know anything about this. Lawlor then unveiled it was the son of Lance “Von Erich” he would be taking on in Rip Von Erich. Lance Von Erich was billed as a Von Erich cousin in 1985 but was not actually related to the family.

Lawlor didn’t have much trouble with the imposter Von Erich, who even tried an Iron Claw attempt during the match. Lawlor won with a rear-naked Iron Claw to further insult the Von Erich family legacy, however. He would get on the mic after the match and further antagonize Ross and Marshall.

The Spirit Squad Align With Tom Lawlor Against The Von Erichs

Screenshot 2020 01 06 10.20.19

After Lawlor defeated Rip Von Erich this week he got on the mic and referred to Marshall and Ross Von Erich as a bunch of “Hawaiian Hillbillies” which brought the brothers out from the back. Lawlor had likely foreseen this happening, however, and was prepared. The members of the Spirit Squad came out from the back, giving them and Lawlor the numbers advantage over the boys.

It looks like Lawlor has enlisted the help of the cheerleading team in his rivalry with Ross and Marshall. It wouldn’t be the last time we would hear from Lawlor during the show either.

Davey Boy Smith Jr. Moves On To The Opera Cup Finals

https://twitter.com/MLW/status/1213924379031007232

Before Davey Boy Smith Jr. and Alexander Hammerstone clashed in a semi-final Opera Cup tilt, Smith cut a promo where he basically said he was going to make Hammerstone piss himself and tap out. Hammerstone didn’t submit to Smith but he did drop the fall.

Smith would have to deal with outside interference from the Dynasty’s Richard Holliday throughout the match but after making a familiar-looking comeback, Smith had things back in his control. The Dynasty attempted to double-team Smith but the Hart Foundation member ducked and Hammerstone hit his stablemate instead before being power-slammed by Smith and taking the loss. After the match, Smith attempted to shake Hammerstone’s hand but Holliday wouldn’t allow this to take place despite Hammerstone seeming willing.

With the win, Smith Jr. now awaits the winner of Timothy Thatcher vs Brian Pillman Jr. in next week’s semi-final match.

Kotto Brazil Picking A Fight With Brian Pillman Jr.?

Screenshot 2020 01 06 10.23.55

Brian Pillman Jr. was interviewed in the back regarding his semi-final Opera Cup match next week. During the interview, Pillman was interrupted by Kotta Brazil. The Injustice member informed Pillman that he was an alternate in the tournament and should perhaps watch his back.

Pillman didn’t seem too intimidated but are Brazil and Pillman on a course to a match between them?

Contra Unit Defeats Strong Hearts

https://twitter.com/MLW/status/1213977227148320768

OWE’s Strong Hearts took on Simon Gotch, Josef Samael, and Jacob Fatu from Contra Unit this week. This match came about as a result of a backstage attack from Contra Unit to the OWE faction on a previous episode of Fusion.

The members of Strong Hearts were able to demonstrate their tag-team prowess during this match but in the end, nothing they could do was going to defeat Jacob Fatu. The MLW World Champion hit a moonsault on CIMA for the win as he continues to look unbeatable.

The Von Erichs To Take On 2 Of Tom Lawlor’s Top Students

https://twitter.com/MLW/status/1213743195714142210

At the end of the show this week, Tom Lawlor cut a backstage promo on the Von Erichs. Lawlor challenged the Von Erichs to put their MLW World Tag Team titles on the line against two of his top students from “Team Filthy.” We should find out more about if Ross and Marshall will accept Lawlor’s challenge on future episodes of MLW Fusion.

MLW Fusion 1/4 Quick Results:

  1. Tom Lawlor defeated Rip Von Erich
  2. Opera Cup (semi-final)
    Davey Boy Smith Jr. defeated Alexander Hammerstone
  3. Contra Unit defeated Strong Hearts

PCO Discusses ROH Future, Evolving His Character

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Current Ring of Honor World Champion PCO has expressed his confidence in re-signing with the promotion. Speaking with The Post & Courier on his career to date, PCO broached his current status with ROH. He confirmed that they are on good terms and are in the final stages of negotiating a new contract. 

“We’re on good terms. We’re finalizing a new contract,” PCO revealed. “ROH has shown tremendous confidence in me, and we have a great relationship. I’m sure we’ll extend the contract. It’s just a matter of time.”

He continued, “There are some very good people running ROH. They are running it with heart, with great principles. They’re awesome people. I just think there’s a very bright future ahead for Ring of Honor.”

Evolving PCO’s Character

PCO noted how he believes there is more to his character than has been presented, and that “payback” is one of his driving motivators.

“There’s so much more to go with this character. I think it’s the nature of life,” PCO said. “I’ve got to get payback for everything I went through and everything that I gave with my heart and soul, a lot of tears and sweat.”

PCO defeated the former ROH World Champion, Rush, last month at ROH’s Final Battle ppay-per-view. They clashed in a Friday the 13th Massacre No DQ matchup. ROH recently uploaded the entire pay-per-view for free to their YouTube channel.

Rhino Talks About His Last WWE Run, Keeping His Name

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Former WWE Superstar Rhino was a recent guest on Chris Jericho’s podcast, Talk Is Jericho. During the course of their conversation, Rhino addressed his final run with WWE and how he managed to keep his wrestling name upon leaving the promotion. 

“My last run in WWE was for three years, a three-year contract, and I’m thinking, ‘Okay, well wh wasn’t it more successful?’ When I was going in, I didn’t go in with enough steam. So anyways I’m like, ‘Well, okay, what was wrong, what did I do wrong?’ And I think what it was is I was working so hard on the campaign, not just on knocking on doors, you have to file with the campaign finance committee and all that stuff, so there’s a lot of detailed work trying t get your message there and all that stuff, and then getting ready for one opponent and the next round.”

He reflected on the mistakes of his final run with WWE before noting that he still enjoyed it as he got to work with Heath Slater. Rhino stated that despite this, he wished he could have had a more successful experience. For him, that doesn’t necessarily translate to being on TV more as he mentioned coaching others and working more behind the scenes.  

Keeping The Rhino Name

Turning his attention to how he managed to keep the ring name ‘Rhino,’ the former Superstar recalled the different names WWE once tried to pitch him, including “Mary.”

“They were kicking around different ideas, Juggernaut was one. The worst one Edge said was Mary and he goes, ‘Yeah, he kept the best one and the worst one.’ They didn’t have me sign R-h-y-n-o over to them but when they re-signed me, I think it was 2002, they re-signed me a year early, and they had in there signing over r-h-i-n-o and r-h-y-n-o. And I said I’ll sign over r-h-y-n-o because you guys did the homework and all that stuff but I’m not signing over the one with an ‘i’ and they go, ‘Okay, no problem.'”

H/T to Wrestlezone for the transcription.