The beginning of Wednesday Night Wars has been one of the
most significant events of 2019 and it has signalled the start of some of the
most exciting times in pro wrestling business in the last few years.
During a recent interview with Talk Sport, Cody Rhodes talked about this in detail and gave his thoughts on things like Luke Harper’s WWE release, Marty Scurll’s future and more.
When asked about NXT and if they pay attention to what their competition is doing, the AEW official said that they are aware of the happenings of the show but they make sure they don’t have it on their monitors in the gorilla position at Dynamite:
“We’re aware [of what NXT do] more because we have
friends in both locker rooms. We diligently make sure that we don’t have it on
the monitor in go-position because, again, we’ve got to be more aware of the
audience that’s watching on TNT. “
Cody Rhodes went on to mention how his dad Dusty Rhodes
helped NXT in becoming its own brand and said that he has nothing but respect
for what they are doing.
Cody Rhodes On The Ratings War Between Dynamite And NXT
One of the most talked-about aspects of this war is the TV ratings. Fans have actively been keeping an eye on the viewership numbers and comparing them with each other ever since both the shows premiered on TV.
Sharing his thoughts on the matter, the AEW Vice President said that the ratings almost matter more to the respective brands individually and it’s more of the fans who put them in contrast to each other:
“Obviously the ratings… they almost matter more to the
respective brands individually. Warner Media and TNT, they’re looking at the
ratings and the demographic, that P1 demo and how you’re doing there and then
I’m assuming USA are doing the same for NXT, it’s more of the fans that put
them in contrast to each other. “
Cody Rhodes continued by explaining how looking at the data
reveals that there is not nearly as much cross over between the shows as you
would think and both the shows have dedicated fan base.
Apart from this, Cody also talked about AEW coming to UK in 2020, the Money In The Bank match he was a part of in 2013 and more. You can check out his full interview at this link.
WWE has announced that former NXT Tag Team Champions the Street Profits have agreed to multi-year contract extensions with the company.
This news was first announced on the latest episode of WWE
Backstage and WWE has since released an official statement regarding it on
their website as well.
Though the dynamic duo is not the only one to have signed a contract extension with the company in recent times and a number of stars have made similar announcements including the former WWE Champion Kofi Kingston.
Kingston had announced that he signed a new 5 years contract on the Feel The Power podcast and since then WWE has confirmed that all three members of the New Day have signed matching extensions.
With this announcement, all 5 of these talents join the list of stars who have signed contract extensions recently, including the likes of Roman Reigns, Randy Orton, The Miz, Paige, Lana and Nikki Cross.
The Street Profits, consisting of Angelo Dawkins and Montez
Ford first made their NXT debut in March 2016 but they didn’t adopt their
current gimmicks until their return to NXT programming in August 2017.
They started appearing on Raw in backstage segments in July
this year and the duo was officially drafted to the Red Brand during the drafts
in October.
Kofi Kingston had recently confirmed on Feel The Power podcast that he signed a new contract extension with WWE and now the company has announced that all three members of the New Day have done the same.
The promotion announced on their website that the trio of Kofi Kingston, Xavier Woods and Big E have all agreed to ‘matching multi-year’ contract extensions:
“Kofi Kingston, Big E & Xavier Woods solidified a
pact of identical length and compensation on their contracts to maintain equal
status among the team.”
While the release did not confirm the length of their new deals, Kingston had said that he has signed a new 5 years long contract with the company.
So contracts of matching length will mean that all three members of New Day will be staying with the company at least until 2024.
Out of these three, Xavier Woods is recovering from an
Achilles injury. There is no solid timetable for his return but it’s said that
Woods can stay out of action for 6 months to a year depending on his recovery
process.
On the other hand, both Kofi Kingston and Big E are currently holding the SmackDown Tag Team Championships and they are announced for a match against Shinsuke Nakamura and Cesaro on this week’s episode of SmackDown Live.
Killer Kross was released from Impact Wrestling just yesterday and now his first appearance outside of the company has been announced in form of an MLW show.
The company took on their Twitter today and announced that
Kross will be making his MLW debut during the Fightland event on February 1,
2020 at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania:
Killer Kross has made appearances for promotions such as
Lucha Underground and AAA so far in his career but he is primarily known for
his stint with Impact Wrestling.
He made his debut for the company in June 2018. The promotion had pushed him as one of their top stars since then and he had challenged for the Impact World title a couple of times.
Killer Kross, however, asked for his release from the
company in May earlier this year and it was said that the heavyweight star was
unhappy with his current pay and the creative direction of his character.
At the time, Impact Officials decided against giving him a
release and the two sides continued negotiating a new deal as the expiry date
for his original contract in December came close.
Impact had the option to roll his contract over for another year but the officials decided not to do so and earlier this week, they released a short statement confirming his release.
Viewership data is in for this week’s battle in the WWE NXT vs. AEW Dynamite Wednesday Night War.
This week, NXT won in total viewers. It was close in every demographic group except Adults 50+, where NXT had a significant edge as they usually do.
Here is the breakdown of the live and same-night DVR viewership, courtesy of ShowbuzzDaily:
WWE NXT Viewership
NXT on the USA Network averaged 795,000 viewers, which is up from 778,000 last week. In the 18-49 demo, they drew a 0.27, up from 0.24 the previous week.
The episode featured NXT Champion Adam Cole vs. Finn Balor in the opening match, Damian Priest vs. Killian Dain, Cameron Grimes vs. Kushida, Pete Dunne vs. Travis Banks, and NXT Women’s Champion Shayna Baszler vs. Rhea Ripley in the headliner.
AEW Dynamite on TNT was watched by 683,000 viewers, down from 778,000 the previous week. In the 18-49 demo, Dynamite pulled in a 0.25, down from 0.28.
Dynamite saw Kenny Omega and Hangman Page vs. The Lucha Bros, Chris Jericho vs. Jungle Boy, #1 Contender’s Match for Women’s Title between Kris Statlander and Britt Baker, Cody and Darby Allin vs. The Butcher and the Blade as well as SCU defending the AEW Tag Team Titles against The Young Bucks in the main event.
This week’s episode of AEW and NXT marked the final head-to-head battle in viewership. NXT will air an episode next week, which falls on Christimas.
WWE has only announced two matches for the show on the USA Network. Lio Rush and Keith Lee will team up to face Damian Priest and WWE 205 Live Superstar Tony Nese as well as an Open Challenge from NXT North American Champion Roderick Strong.
On the flip side, AEW won’t air an episode on TNT due to the holiday.
Chris Jericho has made an interesting comparison between AEW’s Darby Allin and WWE’s Jeff Hardy.
The AEW World Heavyweight Champion did so during a recent appearance on the Keepin’ It 100 podcast where he spoke about a wide range of topics.
Chris Jericho Compares Stars
Jericho, who is seen as a locker room leader for All Elite Wrestling due to his experience in the business, has picked up on the fan following that Allin has received.
Jericho sees Allin like a younger version of Hardy due to him taking high-risk moves and also wearing facepaint during his matches. Jericho pointed out how people are starting to dress like Allin.
“At first, you’re like, ‘who is this guy?’ Then I had him come down and attack me off the skateboard. Then we had the match where he had his hands tied behind his back and all that stuff. He did the crazy promo where he’s in a bodybag, getting crowd surfed at a punk rock show.”
Chris Jericho continued, “Then he has an amazing match with Moxley. He’s made. He went from nothing to a legit made star in less than two months. He wants it. He reminds me a lot of Jeff Hardy. He’s got an x-factor to him.”
Since the launch of AEW, Allin has put together some good matches with Cody Rhodes, Jon Moxley, and even Chris Jericho.
Over the past few weeks, AEW has paired Allin with Rhodes on television. After this week’s episode of AEW Dynamite that saw them be tag team partners, they will now square off in a singles match.
Allin will battle Rhodes on AEW Dynamite on January 1st from Daily’s Place in Jacksonville, FL on TNT. This will mark the first episode of AEW’s weekly television show of the new year.
WWE recently released the latest episode of the After The Bell podcast with host Corey Graves. During the show Graves interviewed current NXT North American Champion Roderick Strong. The pair discussed Strong’s career in WWE and his alignment with the Undisputed Era stable.
“It couldn’t be more perfect” – Roderick Strong
When asked about how he fits in the UE Roderick Strong stated “It couldn’t be more perfect. I mean it, I just love the fact that we we work so well together, we finish each other’s sentences. We’re always kind on the same vibe when it comes to what we’re trying to accomplish be it in a match, a promo segment or anything.”
“we’re actually killing it so let’s pat ourselves on the back a little bit”
Roderick Strong elaborated further, saying “it’s nice to just sit there and reflect sometimes about all the all the things we did prior to coming here. And then all the things we’re doing now and how we’re giving each other the opportunity to to just FEEL what we’re doing sometimes. You know it’s another surreal like situation where we talk sometimes. Like is this is really happening?”
“And we’re actually killing it so let’s pat ourselves on the back a little bit, but then let’s get to work. And now it’s just nice to have people that always push you. Sometimes it is what it is and maybe you’re having a rough day, but then you know when you see those guys there’s an accountability there too to be the performer you need to be on that day. You know to have three my best buds it couldn’t be better, honestly.”
“I think we capture more gold” – Roderick Strong on Undisputed Era in 2020
Graves also asked Strong what he envisioned seeing the Undisputed Era doing heading into 2020. Strong responded by saying “I think we capture more gold.” Corey was then quick to mention that this would mean the group leaving NXT (as they already hold all of the gold on the brand). Strong responded to this by saying “we [are going] to do whatever we want. What about 2020 we will set the rules and want to show up and do whatever we want whenever we want?”
WWE commentator and ‘After The Bell’ podcast host Corey Graves recently made some interesting comments with regards to rematches on WWE television.
“Rematched To Death”
In the opening segment of this week’s show Graves stated that “as far as the WWE landscape is concerned I am re matched to death, I tell you. What I mean it seems like week after week after week on RAW and SmackDown we see rematches ad nauseam.” Graves then elaborated further, saying that it isn’t the quality of performer in WWE that he has an issue with: “don’t get me wrong I’m not tired of seeing any of these superstars. But I am tired of seeing the same matches over and over and over again.”
“how many times in the past few months have we seen that match?” – Corey Graves
“Just off the top of my head we’ve seen the Viking Raiders, who I’m a huge fan of. And the OC, who I’m also a huge fan of. How many times in the past few months have we seen that match?” Corey Graves stated. “We saw it again at TLC. I went on Twitter two weeks ago to praise Humberto Carrillo vs Andrade because it was awesome. I am all for seeing more of it but that doesn’t mean in successive weeks. We saw it again on the TLC kickoff show. Yes it was awesome again and it appears after what went down on Monday Night RAW this week we’re going to see it AGAIN. Give me a little space I mean why do we need rematches all the time? Why can’t somebody just win and somebody just lose and move on?”
“We have so many superstars waiting to break out” – Corey Graves
Corey Graves also mentioned how the WWE roster is stacked and the potential for fresh match ups is at an all time high. “We have got a lot of talent on all of our rosters. We have so many superstars waiting to break out, waiting to shine and sometimes that can happen with different opponents.”
Corey Graves also mentioned the ‘automatic’ title rematches that have plagued WWE over the past couple of years. “We got rid of the automatic title rematches last year sometime. I get that you don’t necessarily need to headline to pay per views with the same match up. But why does not apply to the rest of the main roster shows?”
This week’s episode of WWE Backstage created a new record for low viewership and the show’s viewership numbers dropped below 100,000 for the first time since its premiere episode in November.
The show featured former Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss, Ember Moon, and William Shatner as special guests but it only drew 95,000 viewers, according to Showbuzz Daily.
This is a 24% decline from last week’s episode of the show
which featured the return of special analyst CM Punk and had drawn 127,000
viewers.
The episode featuring Punk had ranked #128 on the Cable Top 150 and drew 0.06 rating in the 18-49 demographic. This week’s episode, however, did not make it into the Top 150 and it pulled a 0.05 rating in the key demographic.
This is the second-lowest viewership for WWE Backstage since the official premiere of the WWE series back on November 5 which had drawn 49,000 viewers.
In comparison, the episode of Monday Night Raw the night before also saw a decline in viewership and the show only brought in 2.053 million viewers, down from 2.150 million viewers of the previous week.
Now it would be interesting to see if WWE takes any steps to improve the ratings of the show and if they bring in any special star next week to give the numbers a boost.
Former NXT Champion Andrade has been impressing a lot of
people with his performance in recent times and it appears that Stone Cold
Steve Austin is one of them.
The Texas Rattlesnake recently had an interview with Sports
Illustrate while promoting his new Broken Skull Sessions podcast on WWE
Network.
During the interview, Austin was asked who he thinks will be the next big star in WWE. Replying to it, the former World Champion said that right now, the right people are at the top and he then went on to praise the former NXT star:
“Right now, the people that are on top are the people that should be on top, but I called this two years ago watching his match when he did the favors for somebody that night, and I said, ‘Man, this Andrade kid is going to be a player one of these days.’
I think he’s proving that. He still has a ways to go, but it’s just tweaking that character,” Austin said of Andrade. “The kid’s a hell of a damn worker.”
Stone Cold then went on to explain what it takes to become a star in WWE saying that the people who have tremendous success either have a gimmick very close to their own self or it’s so far away that it cannot be missed.
Apart from this, Stone Cold Steve Austin also explained that wrestling is about establishing a relationship with the audience and it’s about how you make them feel. You can check out his full interview at this link.
AEW Dynamite aired live from the American Bank Center in Corpus Christi, Texas. It was the final episode of Dynamite in 2019. Here are 5 takeaways from this week’s show:
PAC Played Mind Games With Kenny Omega
Kenny Omega and Hangman Page battled the Lucha Brothers tonight on Dynamite. Omega and Hangman started off in control as the crowd chanted “cowboy sh*t!”. Page and Pentagon traded chops and then Omega hopped in the ring. Kenny and Hangman leveled the Lucha Brothers with a series of chops and then Omega tagged in.
Omega flipped onto Lucha Brothers outside the ring and took a jog up the entrance ramp as the crowd chanted “AEW!”. Hangman Page tagged in and Pentagon sent him to the apron. Fenix grabbed Page’s legs and Pentagon leveled him with a Superkick. Fenix hit Page with a Double Stomp and then Pentagon went for the cover but Omega broke it up.
Fenix took out Hangman ringside and followed it up with a Suicide Dive onto Omega outside the ring. Back in the ring, Fenix caught Kenny with a kick to the face but Omega shrugged it off and connected with a Powerbomb. Omega followed it up with a running knee to the face and both men fell to the canvas.
Pentagon ran into the ring and shoved Hangman off the apron and into the barricade. Fenix distracted referee Aubrey Edwards and Pentagon hit Omega with a cheap shot. Hangman tagged in and hit Fenix with a Fallaway Slam and followed it up with a Crossbody onto Pentagaon.
Hangman knocked Fenix to the outside and hit a Suicide Dive as another “cowboy sh*t!. Back in the ring, Page set up the Lucha Brothers in opposite corners and hit them with a couple of Splashes. Lucha Brothers took back control and isolated Hangman in the ring.
Page battled back and planted Pentagon with a Fallaway Slam off the second rope. Omega joined the party and Powerbombed Fenix onto Pentagaon in the corner. Omega hit Pentagon with a Spinebuster for a near fall. Pentagon battled back with a Slingblade but turned around into an elbow from Page.
Kenny planted Fenix with a Snap Dragon Suplex and hit Pentagon with a knee to the face. Omega held up Pentagon and Hangman went for the Buckshot Lariat but Pentagon ducked and Page leveled Omega. Lucha Brothers then knocked Page to the outside and hit Omega with a Piledriver/Double Stomp for the pinfall victory.
After the match, Hangman got back into the ring and started arguing. Kenny and Hangman started shoving each other when PAC appeared on the screen. PAC stated that it was time to remind Kenny exactly what he is capable of. PAC entered Michael Nakazawa’s (Kenny’s best friend) dressing room and Omega sprinted backstage as Dynamite went to a commercial break. During the break, the Lucha Brothers attacked Omega backstage until Hangman made the save. Hangman and Omega then went to Nakazawa’s dressing as Darby Allin was shown skateboarding.
The Butcher and The Blade (accompanied by The Bunny) battled Cody Rhodes and Darby Allin this week. Allin hit Butcher off the apron with a Dropkick and followed it up with an Arm Drag that sent Blade out of the ring.
Butcher and Cody tagged in and Bunny hopped on the apron for a distraction. Blade knocked Cody to the outside, tagged in, and rolled him back in. Butcher tagged in and hit a Leg Drop for a near fall as Dynamite went to a break.
Butcher hit Cody with a Fallaway Slam and Rhodes rolled out of the ring. The Bunny shoved Cody into the ring post as the referee was distracted. Back in the ring, Butcher applied an Arm Bar to Cody in the middle of the ring as Allin fired the crowd up.
Blade tagged in as the crowd chanted “we want Darby!”. Both Blade and Cody went for a Crossbody and both men crashed to the canvas. Allin and Butcher tagged in and Darby didn’t see it. Butcher capitalized with a massive Backbreaker and knocked Cody off the apron. Butcher locked in a Cloverleaf as Cody launched Blade into the steel steps.
Darby escaped and hit Butcher with a Stunner. Cody tagged back in and hit Cross Rhodes but Bunny hopped back up on the ring apron for another distraction. Blade tagged in and Cody sent him out of the ring. Cody and Allin hit dueling Suicide Dives onto Butcher and Blade outside the ring.
Cody brought Blade back in the ring and hit Butcher with a Disaster Kick on the apron. Allin hit the Coffin Drop on Butcher as Cody hit Blade with a Cutter for the pinfall victory. With the win, Darby Allin earned a rematch with Cody. Cody and Allin faced each other at Fyter Fest and the match ended in a draw.
This week’s episode of Dynamite started off with two solid tag matches. Omega, Page, and Lucha Brothers had a terrific match that lasted over twenty minutes. I’m looking forward to seeing the rematch between Darby and Cody.
AEW Champion Chris Jericho faced Jungle Boy in a 10-minute challenge tonight on Dynamite. Jungle Boy’s family was in the front row for the match and Luchasaurus & Marko Stunt were ringside.
Jungle Boy rolled up Jericho for a one count and followed it up with a Dropkick. Jungle Boy hit Jericho with an Arm Drag and rolled up Chris for a two count. Jericho took control and hit Jungle Boy with a couple chops in the corner.
Jericho hit Jungle Boy with a Codebreaker and decided not to cover him. Jericho threw Jungle Boy to the outside and Jake Hager slammed him into the barricade. Luchasaurus and Jake started trading punches and Marko leaped off the apron but Hager knocked him out with a punch.
Aubrey Edwards kicked out Jurassic Express and Hager from ringside. Jungle Boy went for another roll-up but Le Champion kicked out at two. Jungle Boy hit Jericho with two Suicide Dives and flipped onto Jericho outside the ring. Back in the ring, Jungle Boy connected with a DDT for a near fall.
Jungle Boy connected with a Backstabber for another two count. Jericho went for the Lionsault but Jungle Boy got out of his way and hit a Lionsault of his own for a two count. Jericho leveled Jungle Boy with a Clothesline with three minutes remaining. Jericho hit a Powerbomb and locked in the Walls of Jericho in the middle of the ring with a minute remaining. Jericho kept the hold applied the entire time but Jungle Boy didn’t tap out.
Jericho flipped out and demanded that the match go on for five more minutes. Jungle Boy hit a Hurricanrana for a near fall and Jericho rolled out of the ring. Jericho left the ring and grabbed the AEW Championship. Jericho raised the title and then went backstage.
Tony Schiavone interviewed Jericho on the entrance ramp and brought Jericho saying that Jungle Boy couldn’t last ten minutes with him. Jericho shouted that he said Jungle Boy couldn’t beat him. Jericho stated that they have a giant surprise on the January 1st episode of Dynamite if he decides to join Inner Circle.
I thought this was a great way to build Jungle Boy up. He lasted a full minute in the Walls of Jericho and didn’t give up. Moxley isn’t going to join Inner Circle so their confrontation on January 1st should be great.
Kris Statlander Earned A Shot At The AEW Women’s Championship
Kris Statlander squared off against Britt Baker on tonight’s show. The winner of the match will face Riho for the AEW Women’s Championship on January 1st. Baker went for the Lockjaw but Statlander countered into a roll-up for a two count. Britt connected with a Neckbreaker as Dynamite went to a break.
When Dynamite returned, Baker went for the Lockjaw once again but Statlander escaped. Kris connected with a running knee and made her way to the top rope. Statlander hit a Dropkick and went for the cover but Baker kicked out at two.
Britt connected with a Slingblade for a near fall. Statlander planted Britt with a Falcon Arrow and both wrestlers were laid out on the canvas. Baker hit another Neckbreaker and went for a Superkick but Statlander blocked it. Britt then hit the Superkick and went for the Lockjaw again. Statlander blocked it again and hit the Big Bang Theory Piledriver for the pinfall victory.
After the match, Tony interviewed Kris Statlander and congratulated her on becoming the #1 contender. Kris poked Tony on the nose, because she has an alien gimmick and that is how their species communicate (I guess). Brandi interrupted and asked Kris if she was going to join Nightmare Collective. Statlander waved her finger to signal no and Brandi hit her with the spike of her heel.
I hope AEW’s New Year resolution is to put more effort into their women’s division. They have some very talented performers and I’m looking forward to Statlander versus Riho on January 1st. I’d just like to see more promos and segments that explain who these wrestlers are on future episodes of Dynamite next year.
Nightmare Collective has an a great look and Awesome Kong’s entrance with Brandi emerging from behind her is excellent. However, the meaning behind Awesome Kong collecting hair as trophies hasn’t been explained and it seems like a lot of the women’s matches are booked as the cool down before the main event on Dynamite.
SCU Retained & Dark Order Showed Up To Close The Show
Photo Credit: @AEWrestling
SCU (Scorpio Sky & Frankie Kazarian) defended the AEW Tag Team Championships against The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson) in the main event of this week’s show.
Matt hit Scorpio Sky with a shoulder tackle and sent him to the corner. Young Bucks knocked Scorpio to the outside and isolated Frankie in the middle of the ring. Matt and Nick hit a Powerbomb/Enzigui combo.
Frankie battled back with a Backstabber as Scorpio took out Nick Jackson outside the ring. Sky tagged in and leveled Matt with a Clothesline for a two count. Dueling chants for the Young Bucks and SCU broke out as Nick tagged into the match.
Nick hit a Hurricanrana and tagged Matt back in. Matt connected with an Elbow Drop for a near fall as the crowd chanted “this is awesome!”. Nick Jackson took out SCU with a Crossbody as Dynamite went to a commercial break.
Frankie hit Young Bucks with a Clothesline and followed it up with a Hurricanrana on Matt outside the ring. Scorpio Sky flipped onto the Young Bucks and then Frankie hit Matt with with a DDT. Scorpio tagged in and went for the cover but Matt kicked out at two.
Matt leveled Scorpio Sky and tagged Nick in. Nick went for a Crossbody but Sky caught him with a Cutter. Scorpio locked in a Sleeper but Matt broke it up. Scorpio Sky hit the TKO and tagged in Frankie. They then hit the SCU Later for the pinfall victory.
After the match, Dark Order’s creepers surrounded the ring and the lights went out. Evil Uno and Stu Grayson and stated that tonight was an initiation. Uno ordered the creepers to put them down and they attacked Young Bucks and SCU. Christopher Daniels rushed the ring but the numbers game caught up to them. Omega tried to help out but there were just too many creepers, including Alex Reynolds and John Silver.
Cody and Dustin rushed the ring but the creepers beat them down as well. Excalibur pointed out that Hangman Adam Page was nowhere to be found as the rest of the Elite was getting their ass kicked. Matt Jackson was bleeding from his mouth and Evil Uno grabbed a microphone. Uno told Matt that he would never doubt him again as the show went off the air.
Young Bucks versus SCU was a massive letdown. These two teams are capable of having a much better match than they had tonight. Dark Order has been running great video packages every week trying to recruit people at joindarkorder.com. However, this fell flat on its face and it resulted in a pretty terrible ending to the final episode of 2019.
I mentioned earlier that AEW’s New Year’s resolution should be to improve the women’s division. Another suggestion would be to stop ending every other show with a brawl of some sort. I feel like I’ve seen Cody sprinting down the entrance ramp with two minutes of Dynamite left far too much already. Dynamite was still a good show tonight and I look forward to watching the show every Wednesday. They definitely have some things to improve though and hopefully that begins on January 1st.
It’s time to look at the takeaways from the December 18, 2019 episode of WWE NXT aired live from Winter Park, Florida at Full Sail University. Here are 5 takeaways from this week’s show:
Adam Cole Retains NXT Title
Adam Cole
WWE NXT opened the show with a bang as Adam Cole made his latest title defense as NXT Champion against Finn Balor.
WWE had announced earlier this week that the contest would open the show and it aired commercial-free.
Although I wasn’t a fan of it opening the show, letting the talents be able to go for a long amount of time and do it without worrying about commercials was the right call.
This match had high expectations and made up for it as these guys put on a great match. With WWE pushing Balor so hard on NXT television since his return, there was speculation that WWE could put the title on Balor in this contest.
It seems though that WWE is waiting for the next TakeOver special, which takes place in February, to potentially make a title change.
Johnny Gargano is back on WWE television as he made his return on this show that played into the finish of Cole vs. Balor. Gargano walking out distracted Balor and led to Cole getting the win.
After the match, Gargano went after Balor, would seem to be what’s next for both stars. This was a good call by WWE officials as they needed to beat Balor yet try not to have him lose any momentum that he had by coming back to NXT.
It was also cool to see them play Gargano’s injury into the storyline as Gargano has been out of action for a few weeks.
Although not confirmed, I would assume that WWE would book a match between these two stars at the next TakeOver special in February.
WWE booked a match between the two big men on this show as it was Damian Priest vs. Killian Dain in a singles match.
It was exactly what you would expect to see a match between these two stars. It was fine. Priest went over in the contest.
The most notable thing about it was the fans chanting for Dain to shave his back hair despite the fact that he wears a cutoff t-shirt.
WWE has been pushing these two guys pretty strong on television for the last few months. Whether we get a feud out of this contest remains to be seen. However, it’s pretty clear that WWE is invested in Dain and has been pushed him heavily.
With WWE having a history of pushing big guys as a monster, I can see them doing something significant with him.
In what looked like it was going to be a one-sided and almost a squash match, WWE gave time to Travis Banks against Pete Dunne to showcase his skills.
This match happened in the second hour of the show. Dunne went over in the contest with his finisher as he should have.
It was hyped as a preview for the World Collide show. It was a back and forth hard-hitting bout between the two stars.
Dunne had found a ton of success including a run as the NXT UK Champion before switching over to the NXT brand. Banks isn’t well known to the United States fans but after this performance, he will be remembered.
The Worlds Collide show takes place on January 25, 2020 in Houston, Texas at the Toyota Center on the WWE Network.
WWE close the show the right way as Shayna Bazler made her latest title defense as NXT Women’s Champion against Rhea Ripley.
This was the perfect way to close the show as this feud has been building up over the last few weeks and what a match did these two stars deliver to fans watching at home and in attendance.
Ripley beat Baszler to win the NXT Women’s Championship, which marks the first time that she has held the gold.
Baszler has been a longtime champion and arguably, the most dominant Women’s Champion since Asuka held the strap a few years ago. Baszler’s reign ends at 415 days, which is the second-longest in NXT history. That is a stat that she should be proud of.
Now, it comes down to what’s next for her. Does she stay in NXT or move on to go to RAW or SmackDown.
Shayna Baszler has been dethroned by Rhea Ripley as the WWE NXT Women’s Champion.
The contest served as the main event of the show with the title being on the line on Wednesday night on the USA Network in Winter Park, Florida at Full Sail University.
Ripley beat Baszler to win the NXT Women’s Title, which marks the first time that she has held the gold. Prior to this, Ripley had been competing under the NXT UK banner where she held the NXT UK Women’s Championship.
Rhea Ripley Wins After Journey
This contest has been in the works for the past month. WWE set up this contest when Ripley was attacked by Baszler, Jessamyn Duke and Marina Shafir on the December 4th episode of NXT.
Ripley passed out in the Kirifuda Clutch. After the segment, Baszler granted Ripley her request for a title shot and was booked for the episode.
This was a key match in the women’s division as Baszler has been a top champion since winning the title back at the Evolution pay-per-view event in Long Island, New York at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in October.
What are your thoughts on Rhea Ripley beating Shayna Baszler to win the NXT Women’s Title? Was this the right call by WWE officials? Sound off in the comment section.
The AEW Tag Team Champions SCU will remain on top of the division as they haven’t been dethroned by The Young Bucks because they retained the straps.
SCU beat Nick & Matt Jackson to keep the titles on Wednesday’s episode of AEW Dynamite in Corpus Christi, TX at the American Bank Center on TNT.
The match ended suddenly, which appeared to catch the fans in attendance off guard. The people were quiet once the finish of the match happened and only a few people clapped for SCU retaining the straps.
The Young Bucks’ Journey
All Elite Wrestling set up this contest last week when The Young Bucks faced off against Santana and Ortiz in a brutal Texas Street Fight on AEW Dynamite. This also served as a #1 contenders match.
As a result, it surpassed The Young Bucks to the #1 spot in the AEW tag team rankings and earned them this title match.
SCU Continues To Retain Titles
SCU’s previous title defense came on the November 13th episode of Dynamite when Kazarian and Scorpio Sky beat AEW World Heavyweight Champion Chris Jericho and Sammy Guevara.
SCU won the AEW Tag Team Titles when the promotion held the finals of the Tag Team Title Tournament on the October 30th episode of AEW Dynamite in Charleston, WV at the Charleston Coliseum. SoCal Uncensored beat The Lucha Bros to win the titles.
What are your thoughts on The Young Bucks not winning the AEW Tag Team Titles? Was this the right call by WWE officials? Sound off in the comment section.
Sting has previously voiced his desire to wrestle The Undertaker but recently admitted that he thinks about the match every year.
The 60-year-old Hall of Famer recently talked to Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated. This is where he noted that although he has come to terms with his retirement, he could still be brought out of it.
He’s willing to come out of retirement. It just depends on it ending on his terms. Those terms would be a dream pitting Sting against The Undertaker at WrestleMania.
“If there was a ’Taker situation at WrestleMania, I would listen to that phone call,” said Sting. “I could get in condition and I could pull it off.”
Sting & The Undertaker
Sting knows that isn’t likely to happen and in fact, thinks his career is done. That just hasn’t stopped him from thinking about wrestling “The Deadman.”
“I think my career is done. I still think about the ‘Taker situation every year, but I don’t think it’s going to happen.”
This has been a match that Sting has wanted to take part in for years now. Despite his feelings for it to happen, it never did.
The career of the WWE Hall of Famer came to an end at the 2015 Night of Champions PPV event. This is where he battled Seth Rollins. It marked his last match and end of his career after he suffered a neck injury after taking a powerbomb in the corner.
Bayley has discussed her need to constantly evolve in the business, which ultimately led to her recent heel turn on WWE television.
The WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion did so while speaking with The New York Post for a new interview.
“I need to be able to do everything and test the waters everywhere and ride the waves and challenge myself,” she said. “I can’t get stale and bored and do the same thing over and over. In order to excel in this business, you have to constantly evolve.”
Bayley also brought up how projecting her character’s disgust and anger makes her feel as exhausting as being a happy babyface on television. She also brought up how she had real frustration after being in WWE for almost a decade.
Bayley Discusses Her Feelings
“I think honestly it’s real frustration. I’ve been wrestling for over 10 years. I’ve been with WWE for seven years, so not all of it has been colorful and castle-like and wacky wavy inflatable tube man and happy and fun.”
Bayley added that it’s been a struggle for her and it’s really difficult to kind of stay on top for a period of time. Thus, she thinks it’s pretty easy to find frustration.
WWE’s next plans for Bayley on television is still up in the air after the company decided to nix her most recent feud.
Original plans called for Bayley to defend the SmackDown Women’s Title against Lacey Evans at the TLC pay-per-view event. That match didn’t happen. It was reported at the time that there are no plans for the match to happen at the Royal Rumble either.
Johnny Gargano was last seen on NXT television last month by being attacked by Balor, who hit a brainbuster on the rampway. He had been dealing with a neck injury, which is why he had been on the sidelines.
Originally, Balor was expected to wrestle Gargano at the WWE NXT TakeOver: WarGames III event. Once Gargano went down with the injury then plans had to be changed.
Riddle was slated to be part of the Men’s WarGames Match at TakeOver. Riddle was replaced by Donovan Dijak in the contest. Balor beat Riddle in his first match back under the NXT banner in over three years at the show.
Future
NXT TakeOver: Portland will take place on February 16, 2020 at the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon. It’s possible that WWE books a match between these two at the show.
Adam Cole was not dethroned as WWE NXT Champion by Finn Balor as he was able to retain his title.
WWE opened Wednesday’s episode of NXT on the USA Network in Winter Park, Florida at Full Sail University with Cole making his latest title defense against Balor.
This match aired commercial-free and saw Cole successfully retain the NXT champion.
WWE set up this contest last week on NXT when they held a match that would determine who was next in line for a title shot.
A Triple Threat Match between Finn Balor, Keith Lee, and Tommaso Ciampa took place with the winner becoming the next challenger to Cole’s title. Balor was victorious, earning the right to challenge Cole for the NXT Championship.
Adam Cole Previous Defense
Cole’s previous title defense came against Pete Dunne last month at the Survivor Series pay-per-view event in Chicago, Illinois at the Allstate Arena.
This was an important episode of NXT as it will serve as the final show of 2019 due to WWE taking the night off on December 25th for Christmas.
What are your thoughts on Adam Cole retaining the WWE NXT Title? Was this the right call by WWE officials? Sound off in the comment section.
Stephanie McMahon has commented on the hot story thus far this week involving Kairi Sane.
The WWE Chief Brand Officer did so while doing a recent interview with Alex McCarthy of talkSPORT. This is where McMahon confirmed that Sane did get hurt but made it known that she wasn’t backstage at the show.
Stephanie McMahon Comments
“So I can’t really speak to the mood at that stage or what the communication was. I loved that it was the main event and I’m so sorry Kairi got hurt. The match was absolutely over-delivering up until the point that happened.”
It’s been well documented that Sane suffered an injury, which is believed to be a concussion, at the WWE TLC pay-per-view event. This is where The Kabuki Warriors retained WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships.
They went over RAW Women’s Champion Becky Lynch & Charlotte Flair to retain the titles.
On Tuesday, it was revealed that the WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion has been pulled from the post-Christmas WWE live event tour.
Thus, this means that since next Monday’s episode of RAW is taped, she won’t work another WWE show for the rest of 2019.
WWE has yet to publicly comment on her injury or when she’ll be back to in-ring action.
The December 18th, 2019 edition of WWE NXT aired live on the USA Network from Full Sail University in Winter Park, FL.
– Mauro Ranallo welcomes us to the show and he hypes up tonight’s two Title matches with limited commercial interruption. Finn Balor comes out first for his Title shot against Adam Cole, which will be kicking off the show.
– Adam Cole (c) vs. Finn Balor: Cole’s NXT Championship is on the line in this one. Balor starts off taking Cole down to the mat, and they trade holds and takedowns in the middle of the ring now. Balor controls the opening moments of this one, and he hits a dropkick for a two count before stomping on Cole on the mat. Balor knocks the Champion out to ringside, but then Cole kicks Balor off the apron, and Balor is down.Balor appears to be selling a knee injury now. Back in the ring, Cole hits a hangman’s neckbreaker, then lays into Balor with right hands while he’s down. Cole drives a knee into the grounded Balor, then applies a side headlock. Balor breaks free with a jawbreaker, but then Cole drops him again and applies a head-scissors. Balor breaks free and starts firing up now. Balor connects with a series of strikes on the Champion now. Cole fights back with a backstabber for a two count. Balor and Cole scramble, then Cole hits a kick, but Balor answers with the Sling Blade. Balor charges, but Cole intercepts him with a superkick for a two count. Balor and Cole both connect with kicks at the same time and both go down. They both get up and have a stare down. After a series of reversals, Cole escapes the 1916 and hits a brainbuster for a two count. Cole picks up Balor, but Balor breaks free and drops Cole, then hits a double stomp. Balor climbs the turnbuckle, but Cole kicks him down out to the ringside floor. Both men are down recovering. Cole dives off the apron towards Balor, but Balor turns it into a back body drop on Cole on the ringside floor. Balor dropkicks Cole into the fan barricade, and it takes out the front row of planted fans. Back in the ring, Cole turns it around and hits the Last Shot for a two count. Cole can’t believe it, and Balor gets up and dropkicks him into the corner. Cole fights back and he looks for the Last Shot again, but Balor gets up and gives him a lariat. Johnny Gargano appears on the stage and distracts Balor. It looks like Cole hits a low blow, and then he runs the ropes and hits the Last Shot for the three count.
Winner & still NXT Champion: Adam Cole
– After the match, Cole celebrates with his NXT Title, and Gargano grabs a steel chair from the crowd. Cole leaves, and Gargano gets in the ring, where Balor is still down. Balor sees Gargano and tries to retreat, but Gargano starts nailing him with the steel chair. Gargano beats down Balor all over ringside now with the steel chair. Gargano knocks Balor into the planted fans from earlier who are still on the ground. Balor retreats to the back now.
– Killian Dain vs. Damian Priest: Dain starts off with a spear into the corner, then Priest fires back with a series of strikes. This one is an all-out brawl in the opening moments. Priest looks for a suplex, but he sells that a rib injury prevented him from executing it. Dain capitalizes with a running cross body, then he starts working over Priest’s bad ribs. Dain continues to punish Priest’s ribs, and he knocks Priest out to ringside with a baseball slide dropkick to the midsection. Dain rolls outside and continues beating on Priest on the floor. Back in the ring, Dain hits a back suplex as Priest continues selling the ribs. Dain continues working over Priest’s ribs for several minutes. Priest finally fights back with a facebuster, then he connects with several kicks. Priest hits a back elbow in the corner, then he slowly hits a vertical suplex, still selling his own rib injury. Dain rolls outside for a breather, but Priest goes flying with a suicide swanton bomb. Back in ther ing, Priest hits a supelex for a two count. Dain dodges a shot in the corner, then lays into Priest’s ribs with kicks. Dain hits a jackknife powerbomb then drops an elbow for a two count. Priest fights back with a kick, then he looks for a powerbomb but can’t execute it. Dain drops Priest and looks for the Vader Bomb, but Priest blocks it with his knees. Priest follows up with The Reckoning for the three count.
Winner: Damian Priest
– Mauro, Nigel McGuinness and Beth Phoenix talk about the NXT Year End Awards 2019. Voting ends on 12/29 on WWE.com, and the winners will be revealed on the New Year’s Day edition of NXT on USA.
– Kushida and Cameron Grimes are shown backstage (seperately) warming up.
– Cameron Grimes vs. Kushida: The opening bell sounds, and Kushida starts off strong with some take downs and arm holds. He taunts Grimes and takes him down again with an arm drag. Grimes rolls out to ringside, then Kushida nails him with a baseball slide dropkick. Back in the ring, Kushida hits a flying chop off the top rope, then he puts Grimes in an abdominal stretch. Back in the ring, Grimes fights back with a suplex and a superkick. Grimes starts working over Kushida’s back now. Kushida fights back with a series of strikes and a tornado DDT. Grimes ducks a shot and fires back with a wheelbarrow slam. Both men are down now. Kushida knocks Grimes out to ringside, then he climbss to the top rope. Kushida hits a swanton bomb off the top rope down onto Grimes at ringside, and both men are down at ringside now. Back in the ring, Kushida hits a modified sunset flip powerbomb off the turnbuckle for a two count. Both men are slow to get up, then Kushida misses a shot off the ropes. Grimes answers with the big double stomp out of nowhere for the three count.
Winner: Cameron Grimes
– We see a video package looking at Io Shirai.
– Mauro shows us a preview and tale of the tape for the Shayna Baszler vs. Rhea Ripley match up later tonight.
– Io Shirai vs. Santana Garrett The opening bell sounds and there are lots of takedowns, flips and reversals in the opening moments. Shirai takes control with a kick, then follows up with more strikes. Shirai misses a running knee strike in the corner, then Santana hits a boot to the face. Garrett hits a Russian leg sweep for a two count. Garrett hits a handstand back elbow, then puts Shirai in a submission attempt. Santana misses a shot and Io drops her into the ropes neck-first. Io hits the running knee strike in the corner, then climbs to the top rope. Shirai hits a moonsault for the three count.
Winner: Io Shirai
– The broadcast team previews the Worlds Collide event on January 25th.
– Pete Dunne vs. Travis Banks: Dunne starts off strong and tries to keep Banks grounded. Banks with several takedowns now and a two count. Banks and Dunne collide in mid-air after the running the ropes, and it looks like Banks got the upper hand. Banks hits a series of strikes, then Dunne turns it around and hits a series of loud chops to the chest. More strikes from Dunne. The fight spills out to ringside and Dunne hits a suplex on the corner of the apron. Back in the ring, Dunne misses a big shot in the corner and Banks fires back with kicks. Banks hits a cannonball splash on Dunne in the corner, and Dunne rolls outside for a breather. Banks hits a dive on Dunn at ringside, but Banks is now selling a knee injury. Banks hits a missile dropkick on Dunne off the top, then a springboard double stomp for a two count. Banks misses a shot off the turnbuckle, and Dunne comes back with the X-Plex for a two count. Banks misses a shot, and Dunne hits an enziguri. Dunne picks up Banks, but Banks drops him with a tornado DDT. Banks misses another shot off the corner, and Dunne slams him down then stomps on his head. Dunne looks for a pumphandle, but Banks counters and hits the Kiwi Crusher for a two count. Banks looks for a running knee in the corner but he misses. Dunne and Banks fight up the turnbuckle now. Dunne turns it into an avalanche X-Plex. Dunne follows up with a kick, then the Bitter End for the three count.
Winner: Pete Dunne
– We go backstage for an interview with Dakota Kai. She talks about going through tables and getting staples in her head, but still getting her hand raised against Mia.
– Shayna Baszler is shown backstage warming up for her Title defense tonight.
– Shayna Baszler (c) vs. Rhea Ripley: Shayna’s NXT Women’s Title is on the line in this one. Rhea and Shayna lock up off the opening bell and start trading holds. Rhea makes Shayna flinch, then they lock up again. Shayna talks some trash and Rhea drops her with a big boot. Rhea looks strong in the next several moments, and she slams Shayna face-first into the turnbuckle. Rhea lays into Shayna with a series of strikes now. Rhea runs the ropes, but Shayna takes her out with a rolling kick. Shayna misses a shot and Rhea levels her with a dropkick. More strikes from Rhea in the corner now, then they go up top and Rhea hits a superplex for a two count. More offense from Ripley now, including big German suplex. The MMA Horsewomen come out to the ring, but Rhea knocks them off the apron. The distraction leads to Shayna knocking Rhea outside. Shayna goes outside now too but Rhea drops her. Rhea hits a cannonball splash off the apron into Jessamyn and Marina at ringside, then Shayna takes out Rhea with a knee strike. Shayna starts working over Rhea’s arm now and Rhea sells an injury. During the commercial break, a doctor declares that Rhea is fit to continue the match. Back in the ring, Shayn continues working over Rhea’s arm. Shayna delivers some kicks, until Rhea catches one and hits a big suplex on Shayna, but the ref gets bumped in the process. Rhea pins but the ref is still down. Shayna rolls outside and Rhea looks for a dive on her, but Shayna dodges it and Rhea crashes into the floor back-first. Shayna beats down Rhea at ringside now. Shayna brings Rhea and a steel chair back in the ring. Rhea starts to fight back, but Shayna drops her with a DDT into the steel chair. Shayna slides the chair out of the ring, then the ref comes to and starts counting, but Rhea gets her shoulder up at two. Rhea tries to fight back again, but Shayna catches her in the Kirifuda Clutch. Rhea fights out and starts stomping on Shayna. They fight up the turnbuckle, and Rhea hits an avalanche Rip Tide for the three count on Shayna.
Winner & new NXT Women’s Champion: Rhea Ripley
– Rhea celebrates with her new NXT Women’s Title as we go to replays. Fans enter the ring for a big celebration with the new Women’s Champion as NXT goes off the air.
Impact Wrestling has announced Killer Kross is no longer with the company. A brief statement at the company website reads, “IMPACT Wrestling has come to terms on the release of Kevin Kesar (Killer Kross).”
Kross posted the following video on YouTube shortly after becoming a free agent. The video features footage of the promotions Kross might show up in next, including WWE/NXT, AEW, NJPW and MLW, NWA and ROH.
Killer Kross & Impact Wrestling
Kross made his debut for Impact Wrestling in June 2018. He asked to be released in May 2019 and wrestled his last match at Slammiversary in July. The two sides had a falling out over his creative direction, finances and other issues.
Impact Wrestling President Ed Nordholm commented on the situation in late September. He told PWInsider, “Well, nothing has changed. Kevin decided that he would rather sort of tweet his position rather than deal with [inaudible]. We prefer talents discuss amendments as appropriate. We say the same for Kevin. He is a talented wrestler that we would prefer you to see in the ring than on the sidelines.”
When asked if Kross would return to Impact, Nordholm said, “That would require him to come speak to the company and deal with his company, rather than Tweet. I mean there’s always the possibility. We are open to all conversations.”
WWE Hall of Famer and co-host of Sirius XM’s Busted Open Radio show Bully Ray recently made some interesting comments regarding Matt Hardy and his current positioning on the WWE roster.
Ray and Dave LeGreca discussed the former ‘Broken’ character’s popularity. Playing the huge pop that he received from Monday Night RAW. Hardy entered the gauntlet match to take on Ricochet.
Matt Hardy
“Hopefully Matt Hardy and Jeff won’t be angry with me when I say this…”
Bully compared how Matt and his brother Jeff have been treated in the pro wrestling industry throughout their illustrious careers. “Hopefully Matt and Jeff won’t be angry with me when I say this,” Bully began. “But it is what it is. Have Matt and Jeff individually made mistakes on their journey over the past twenty to twenty five years personally outside of the ring? Yes, one hundred percent. You know what everybody makes mistakes and it’s going to happen.”
“They start pushing the hell out of Jeff”
Ray then asked his co-host to describe what happens to Jeff Hardy whenever Matt has made a ‘mistake’ in the past? “They make him a singles star,” Bully stated. “We’ve seen it before, we saw it in the WWE we seen it today he becomes a champion. He becomes a star. They start pushing the hell out of Jeff.”
“it could happen to anybody and hopefully he learned from the mistakes…”
Bully also conversely asked what happens to Matt Hardy when Jeff makes a similar life choice? “Matt just falls down the ladder completely” Bully claimed. “It almost seems like they take out their frustrations on Matt for whatever Jeff may have done wrong. Any mistake that Jeff Hardy has made anybody could make it one time or another. And that’s why he would people gang up on people like that Jeff for a mistake they made whatever mistake it is. Drunken driving or that. This stuff happens. It could happen to you, it could happen to a family member, it could happen to anybody and hopefully he learned from the mistakes. These guys are my brothers.
“[Matt Hardy] gets put back on the back burner, it’s ridiculous…”
Bully then finished by restating how Matt Hardy gets ‘pushed down’ instead of being pushed as a major singles star. “It just always winds up on the back burner, and he keeps reinventing himself and that is the kick in the balls. He takes it on the chin he reinvents himself V1, Big Money Matt, ‘Broken,’ it’s mad [that he] gets this all this stuff over. I think [he] gets put back on the back burner, it’s ridiculous.”
Stephanie McMahon recently took part in an interview with Metro and expressed that she would love to see CM Punk and AJ Lee back in WWE someday. McMahon did note that Punk has been adamantly against an in-ring return but she hasn’t lost hope that we could see him back in a WWE ring someday.
“I personally enjoy watching both of them perform,” Stephanie said to Metro. “I think Punk’s been pretty vocal that he’s not interested in an in-ring return right now, but for sure, that would be interesting.”
“And I would love to see AJ Lee back in the women’s division,” she continued.
Stephanie McMahon on AJ Lee
McMahon continued to talk about AJ Lee during the interview.
“I think AJ Lee was an incredibly compelling character,” McMahon said. “Some of our most interesting and intriguing storylines were with AJ, and I think she deserves as much credit as every other woman on our roster.”
“Nobody should be overlooked, and that’s not the goal to overlook anybody’s name. Every single person is a huge reason for why this happened.”
“You know, I’m a big fan of AJ Lee’s, I really am,” Stephanie continued.
Here’s a Twitter interaction between the two from 2015:
@StephMcMahon Your female wrestlers have record selling merchandise & have starred in the highest rated segment of the show several times,
Vince Russo was recently a guest on Talk is Jericho with AEW World Champion Chris Jericho. During the conversation, Jericho asked Russo why he doesn’t feel he’s been brought back to WWE when others, such as Eric Bischoff and Bruce Pritchard, have been.
“Bro, here’s the bottom line. Think about this for a second Chris, if Vince Russo went back to the WWE and all of a sudden the ratings went up again, well ok, now what?” Russo said. “I swear to God I think that’s what he’s afraid of because Vince is like, he’s Oz, he wants you to believe it was all him. Bro, it wasn’t all you. I mean, if it was all you, you’d have that same success today that you had back then. So, if all of a sudden if Vince Russo comes back and all of a sudden we start gaining momentum and getting viewership back well then bro, all of a sudden, wait a minute maybe it wasn’t Vince after all. Bro, that’s the only thing I can think of. I can’t think of any other reason.”
Russo would continue to talk about contact he has had in recent years with Vince McMahon and the WWE.
“I said (to Vince McMahon) ‘bro, if you want somebody to watch your show and let you know what’s wrong with it, let me know.’ Bro, I’ve never asked Vince for a job since I left. Never once but what happens is because I’m a wrestling fan and I see it get so bad, I’m like ‘bro, you can make this better, this can be great again.'”
He continued to say Vince often returns his texts with a simple “thx.”
Vince Russo’s appearance on Talk is Jericho can be heard in the link below:
Please give credit to SEScoops if using any of the above transcriptions.
AEW fans from the United Kingdom will be happy to learn that company Executive Vice President Cody Rhodes says they will for sure be bringing live events to the UK in 2020. Rhodes recently spoke to Talk Sport in the UK about AEW’s plans to run events there.
“100 percent, you can hold us to it,” Cody said about bringing AEW to the UK next year. “We are coming to the UK in 2020 and we’ve got some tentative dates circled, but it’s a matter of where you’re going to hit as well. Are you going to hit as many markets as you can possibly hit or are you just going to do London and Manchester, what’s it going to be? But, for sure, in 2020 we’ll be live over there with AEW.”
AEW Royal Flush?
During the conversation, Cody even mentioned that the name “Royal Flush” has been talked about as a possible name for a UK-based event.
“So, Royal Flush was a real thing and we all actually thought it was a really good name until we said it multiple times and we realised it was a terrible name. Tony [Khan] was one of the first to spot that.”
Earlier this year, AEW announced a UK TV deal with ITV.
Cody continued to talk about AEW’s representation in the UK with its FITE and ITV deals.
“But, with the UK and our representation with ITV and FITE, and the fact that the fanbase is really thriving and hungry. I mean, the UK independent scene got hot before the American independent scene and so many of us imports were going over there to do shows like I did with What Culture Pro Wrestling.
He also continued to say if AEW does not come to the UK in 2020, he would pay the writer from Talk Sport $500.
“I can’t be sure if we’re coming for Dynamite, a pay-per-view or a rare live event tour, but everyone is on-board with us coming in 2020 and if I’m incorrect with that statement, I will give you $500.”
