– WWE Superstar Kane (real name Glenn Jacobs) made the following announcement on his Facebook page:
Tickets are on sales now to meet The Undertaker and Kane in Knoxville on March 1st. The event will be at Rothchild Catering & Conference Center, 8807 Kingston Pike, from 6:30pm until 8:30pm! Get your tickets here: https://kanetaker.eventbrite.com
I am pleased to announce another special guest coming to Knoxville on February 16. Multiple time world champion pro wrestler, lead singer of Fozzy and New York Times best-selling author Chris Jericho will be interviewing me for a special episode of the popular Talk Is Jericho podcast. We will conduct the interview with a live audience where you can submit your questions and meet Chris. All of this happens at the Clarion Inn, 5335 Central Avenue Pike, on February 16 from 7pm-9pm.
If you would like to attend both events, we are offering special Combo and VIP packages!
I’m looking forward to seeing everyone!
– YouTube wrestling personality, Grim, of Grim’s Toy Show fat shamed WWE Superstar Nia Jax in a recently deleted video. Jax saw the video and called out Grim out on Twitter, leading to a ton of hate being tossed the YouTube personality’s way as a result:
I’m so sorry @NiaJaxWWE I feel like a total piece of crap now. I hope you will accept my apology and I will remove that video. I’m a huge fan of all involved in the women’s and Men’s rumble, sometimes I get carried away “trying” to be “shocking” ?? https://t.co/RZz4WGYQAg
— GRIM: Leader of BELT FEDERATION (@GrimsToyShow) February 1, 2018
Mad at me for fucking up, justifiable. But Telling me to kill myself is somehow not worse than fat jokes? Because I said a stupid joke it’s ok to tell me to committ suicide? https://t.co/AIpRN3KSwA
— GRIM: Leader of BELT FEDERATION (@GrimsToyShow) February 1, 2018
I messed up this time guys and I’m sorry. I’ll work very hard to be better. I sent an apology to @NiaJaxWWE and removed the video.
— GRIM: Leader of BELT FEDERATION (@GrimsToyShow) February 1, 2018
– On a recent edition of her podcast, Cigars, Scars And Superstars, former WWE Diva Terri Runnels talked about her appearance on RAW 25 and explained why she was ‘disappointed’ with it. Here’s what she had to say:
“To be honest, I was very disappointed, I really was. We were misused. I wanted for a brief moment some sincerity, and I didn’t like that it went straight to this cartoon crap. I felt like you’ve got a lot of talent and we are just standing there waving. We were misused, is the best way to say it, there is a better way for us to be used. It was disappointing because I loved my WWE/WWF family. It was a letdown.”
Runnels also said that she wasn’t the only one who felt let-down by the segment given to WWE’s women of the past:
We all kind of dropped our jaws and were like ‘you’ve got to be kidding me. I didnt hear anyone express anything different than what I just said to you.”
You can listen to Cigars, Scars And Superstars by clicking this link here.
– Zack Ryder recently took to Twitter to offer his thoughts on being left out of the 30-man Royal Rumble match this pats Sunday. Here’s what he had to say:
I’ve sat & watched a #RoyalRumble from backstage before. The last time it happened I went on to win the IC Title 3 months later at WrestleMania. I don’t complain about it. I don’t quit. I just keep working harder. I overcome. That’s the story of my career…the story of my life.
Local advertisements may have revealed the participants for the first-ever Women’s Elimination Chamber Match.
As seen on this week’s episode of Monday Night Raw in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at the Wells Fargo Center on the USA Network, Stephanie McMahon announced that the sports entertainment company would hold the first-ever Women’s Elimination Chamber Match next month. WWE Raw Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss will defend her title in the match against five opponents. The winner of this match will then face Asuka at WrestleMania 34.
Dave Meltzer reported in the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that there is local market advertising in Las Vegas that has Bliss, Nia Jax, Bayley, Sasha Banks, Sonya Deville and Mandy Rose competing in the Women’s Elimination Chamber. Keep in mind that the WWE has yet to officially announce these names for the match.
The Elimination Chamber pay-per-view event takes place on Sunday, February 25th at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
With reality setting in that Ronda Rousey is a WWE Superstar and will be the showpiece of WWE’s Women’s division for years to come, many are hypothesizing potential feuds for the former Women’s Bantamweight champion.
Another scenario that’s come up is the prospect of Brock Lesnar’s Advocate, Paul Heyman, providing similar services to the “Rowdy” WWE newcomer.
Last year (March 30, 2017), Heyman appeared on the Fight Society Podcast to discuss the possibility of Ronda Rousey in WWE. At the time, when asked if he’d be interested in working with Rousey, he sounded interested.
“I’d love to see it and would be happy to discuss with her all of the benefits that she could inure by being a Paul Heyman girl.” – Paul Heyman
WWE’s evil genius was also asked about prospective match-ups for Rousey in WWE.
“I would personally pay to see Charlotte [Flair] versus Ronda Rousey, “Heyman said. “I would personally pay to see Stephanie McMahon versus Ronda Rousey for a completely different reason but why digress. I think Ronda Rousey doing anything in WWE is a natural fit.”
The fact that we could very likely see Ronda Rousey vs. Charlotte or even Rousey vs. Stephanie is still surreal, but we’re not complaining.
You can listen the full interview of Paul Heyman’s thoughts on Ronda Rousey in WWE (from last year) here:
Do you think Ronda Rousey should align herself with Paul Heyman? Comment below and tell us what you think!
Epico Colon recently underwent shoulder surgery in Alabama and will be out of action for an undetermined amount of time.
The 35-year-old’s last WWE match was on the January 21st, 2018 house show in Greenville, North Carolina. The Colons lost in a triple threat match to the Bludgeon Brothers in a match which also involved the Ascension.
Surgery done!!!! Thank you to my lovely wife, mom and son for being there for me!!! And Dr Dugas for an awesome job!! Now time to rehab and get better! pic.twitter.com/80xO8QrKdv
The Colons have not appeared on WWE television since the Money in the Bank PPV this summer. They have worked house shows and dark matches, however.
Primo and Epico are technically part of the Smackdown brand despite having not actually appeared on the show since June. The last time the Colons won a match (on TV or house shows) was on April 18th, 2017 when they defeated American Alpha on Smackdown.
Since Ronda Rousey’s appearance in the final moments of Royal Rumble 2018 Sunday night, several members of the women’s roster have made negative public statements regarding how it was handled.
Nia Jax, Nikki Bella, and Sasha Banks have all had disparaging comments regarding how Rousey debuted. How much of this is part of story line and how much is their genuine reaction, however, is not currently known.
Natalya has long been considered a locker room leader and she recently spoke to TV Insider magazine about the reaction backstage to Ronda’s debut.
Natalya on Ronda Rousey’s Debut
Natalya and Ronda go back years and so Natalya commented about her first reaction to seeing her backstage Sunday.
“To me, just seeing her backstage as a friend, I picked her up off the ground when I saw her. It’s not my place to say if it was right or wrong. The other girls and I, we all have our own opinions. We can speak our minds. It’s a free country. For me, more than anything, I was just happy to see my friend…”
In regards to how the locker room feels about Rousey overall, Natalya says there is nothing but respect for her backstage.
“I’ll tell you one thing, because I am in the women’s locker room. There is nothing but respect towards Ronda, no matter how anyone felt [about] how they debuted her. I think we are all excited about having her there, because there are so many possibilities of what we can do with her. We are all wondering if she is going to be on Raw or SmackDown. I really want to work with her, because I know we would tear it up.”
Tonight the 1st episode of Impact Wrestling taped after Don Callis, Scott D’Amore, and Ed Nordholm we’re announced as the new management team will air. The tapings were held in Orlando earlier this month.
Much has been made of the many departures from the company in recent weeks. In addition to EC3 and Bobby Lashley’s exit, long-time on-air personality, Jeremy Borash, has also left. The company’s management team recently spoke to Newsweek magazine about the recent departures.
Callis, D’Amore, and Nordholm on Changes to Roster
“[Borash] is leaving and joining the WWE,” Nordholm told Newsweek. “We wish him all the best. He’s a talented guy and has been with the company forever. But we have a lot of talented guys—change is good and it gives other guys a chance to step up.”
“This company has historically given new people opportunities,” said D’Amore. “We always wish Jeremy well. I got one of my first breaks [from him]—Jeremy hired me to be a producer at World Wrestling All-Stars. But we have editors on our team who don’t get the notoriety that Jeremy does. We have great players ready to step up.”
The management team was also asked about the departure of EC3. Don Callis stressed that while EC3 is talented, the company has also signed several other talented performers lately.
“He’s a talented guy, but change is good,” said Callis. “Yes, EC3 left, but Brian Cage came in, Johnny Impact came in, Austin Aries returned.”
D’Amore mentioned that EC3’s contract had not expired but the two sides agreed to part ways regardless.
“His contract was not up. He came to us, we had a frank discussion about where he saw himself going,” said D’Amore. “We decided to sit down and work something out that worked for us on how we’d wrap up this portion of his career.
“I didn’t watch NXTTakeOver but when he showed up on screen and my phone started blowing up, I texted him: ‘Congratulations. All the best to you. You’ve got nothing but love and support from us here. And if you need anything, you know where we are.’ And he wrote back the same thing.”
In regards to Bobby Lashley’s departure, Ed Nordholm was quick to praise the MMA fighter/wrestler.
“Bobby is free to figure out what he wants to do next, whether it be wrestling or mixed martial arts. We wish him all the best,” said Nordholm. “He’s a great talent, it’s foolish to say, ‘No, we wouldn’t want to retain him,’ but he has his own ambitions about what he thinks is good for him next in his career.”
WWE held three qualifying matches for the Men’s Elimination Chamber match on this week’s episode of Raw which were won by Braun Strowman, Elias, and John Cena respectively.
Since then people have been guessing which superstars will fill in the rest three spots and earn an opportunity to compete for a shot at Brock Lesnar’s Universal Championship.
If reports from Wrestling Observer are to be believed, the remaining three spots in the Chamber match will be filled by Jason Jordan, Seth Rollins, and Roman Reigns.
All three of these men are expected to earn their place in the bout via qualifying matches on Raw next week.
As reported before Roman Reigns is expected to challenge Brock Lesnar for his title at WrestleMania this year so he is most likely to win the upcoming cage match.
A Women’s Elimination Chamber match for the Raw Women’s Championship has also been announced for the show but so far Alexa Bliss is the only participant confirmed for the bout.
WWE Elimination Chamber will take place on February 25, 2018, at T-Mobile Arena in the Las Vegas Valley, in Paradise, Nevada
Three more wrestlers are gone from Impact Wrestling: Ava Storie, Idris Abraham, and Mario Bokara.
On Wednesday, the company updated its active roster page on ImpactWrestling.com with new promotional graphics and Storie, Abraham and Bokara were moved to the Alumni section. All three wrestlers had not appeared for Impact Wrestling since last summer.
Storie, who is 21 years old, joined Impact Wrestling last March after starting her career the year before on the independents under the name Brandi Lauren. The company introduced her as Kayci Quinn and in her debut match, she took on Brandi Rhodes in a bout that ended in a no contest. On Impact Wrestling on April 6, 2017, she wrestled in a gauntlet battle royal to decide the No. 1 contender to the Knockouts Championship (ODB won the match). She also wrestled at One Night Only: Victory Road – Knockouts Knockdown, where she lost to Angelina Love in a singles match.
The company changed her name to Ava Storie on the April 20, 2017, edition of Impact Wrestling, as she unsuccessfully challenged Christina Von Eerie for the GFW Women’s Championship. She then lost four consecutive matches to Laurel Van Ness. Storie was last used at the August television tapings, where she picked up her only win in the company against Amber Nova before putting over Rosemary and Taya Valkyrie in separate matches.
Abraham, who is from Ontario, Canada, joined Impact Wrestling last March after wrestling for various independent promotions in both Canada and the United States for six years. He competed in the Super X Cup but did little else of note as he was primarily used as an enhancement wrestler in the X Division. He last appeared for Impact in July 2017.
Bokara is a 37-year-old Croatian-American wrestler from New Jersey with over 17 years of wrestling experience. He made his debut on the March 23, 2017, episode of Impact Wrestling, teaming with Fallah Bahh and Abraham in a losing effort to Mahabali Shera, Garza Jr., and Laredo Kid. He mostly teamed with Bahh, but the two never won a match together. He wrestled some singles matches as well but lost them all. Bokara made his last appearance for Impact in August 2017, where he and Bahh put over Dave and Jake Crist.
Cross came down to the ring to a great reaction from the crowd in the Wells Fargo Center. The match started off with Cross connecting with a Crossbody. Lacey Evans then hit a roundhouse kick and knocked Nikki out of the ring. Cross grabbed Evans on the ring apron and trapped her there. Cross hit a bunch of right hands and then let out a scream as the crowd chanted for her.
Back in the ring, Cross grabbed Evans by the hair in the corner. Evans countered and whipped Cross to the canvas for a one count. Cross had a smile on her face after kicking out. Evans got angry and jumped on her and connected with a flurry of punches. Evans climbed to the top rope and went for a Moonsault but Cross got out of the way and Lacey crashed to the canvas. Percy Watson accidentally called Mauro Ranallo “Nigel” in a funny moment.
Cross fired up and beat the hell out of Lacey with a barrage of punches. Cross followed it up with a Swinging Neckbreaker for the easy pinfall victory. After the match, Cross tried to attack Evans but the referee prevented it as Lacey crawled out of the ring. Evans shouted that Cross was crazy from the entrance ramp.
An interview with Shayna Baszler was shown after he loss to Ember Moon at NXT TakeOver. Baszler stated that Moon didn’t beat her, she barely survived. Baszler was proud of her actions at NXT TakeOver: Philadelphia. After she lost the match, she attacked Ember Moon on the entrance ramp and choked her out.
It was announced that Bobby Fish & Kyle O’Reilly will defend their NXT Tag Team Championships against Alexander Wolfe and Eric Young of SAnitY next week on NXT.
Shane Thorne and Nick Miller (TM61) made their return to the ring after a year tonight on NXT. There return had been hyped up on the two previous episodes of NXT. They faced Gabriel and Uriel Ealy tonight in their return.
Nick Miller and Uriel Ealy started off the match. Miller took control early and tagged in Shane Thorne. Shane connected with a standing Moonsault. Thorne then Moonsaulted onto both Ealy Brothers outside the ring. Back in the ring, Nick Miller was tagged back in. Miller connected with a couple of forearms to Uriel.
Gabriel snuck into the match and the referee didn’t notice because they are twins. Uriel tagged back in and slammed Nick Miller to the canvas. Miller hit a Clothesline and tagged Thorne back in. Thorne knocked both Ealy Brothers to the mat in the corner. Shane connected with a Cannonball and then a Suplex. Miller connected with a Moonsault and went for the cover but it was broken up. TM61 connected with Thunder Valley for the pinfall victory.
Exclusive footage of the NXT Championship match between Andrade “Cien” Almas & Johnny Gargano was shown. Tommaso Ciampa made his return following Gargano’s loss and struck him in the back with a crutch. Ciampa was shown limping backstage dragging the crutch behind him. He completely ignored reporters as they questioned his actions.
It was announced that Adam Cole will face Killian Dain next week.
#1 Contender’s Match: Tyler Bate vs Roderick Strong
Tyler and Roderick locked up to start off the match. Bate knocked Strong to the canvas but Roderick quickly got back up to his feet. Bate connected with a Dropkick as dueling “lets go Roddy!” and “Tyler Bate!” echoed throughout the Wells Fargo Center. Strong caught Bate in between the ropes and hit a Backbreaker for a two count.
Strong connected with a knife edge chop in the corner and followed it up with a couple more. Roderick hit another Backbreaker and went for the cover but Bate kicked out at two. Strong hit another chop and then kneed Bate in the face. Roderick connected with another boot to Tyler’s face but Bate battled back with a couple of jabs to the chest. Strong hit yet another Backbreaker and then lifted Tyler over his shoulders and launched him into the turnbuckle for a two count as NXT went to a break.
When NXT returned, Strong was still in control of the match. Bate hit a Jawbreaker but Strong responded with a chop. Bate connected with a punch and both Superstars fell to the canvas. Bate hit a few uppercuts and followed it up with a boot to the face. Bate hit a running uppercut and followed it up with a knee to the back of Strong’s head off the second rope. Bate hit a German Suplex and went for the cover but Roderick powered out at two.
Bate connected with an Exploder Suplex and followed it up with a standing Shooting Star Press for another two count. Bate started scaling the ropes but Strong grabbed his leg and then joined him on the top rope. Bate knocked Strong to the mat but Roderick pulled him off the turnbuckle and hit another Backbreaker for a two count.
Strong went for a Powerbomb but Bate reversed into a Hurricanrana. Strong missed with a knee and Bate bounched off the top rope headfirst and turned around and leveled Bate with a ridiculous Clothesline. An “NXT” chant broke out in the Wells Fargo Center as the two Superstars were on the mat. The chant transitioned into “this is awesome!” as Bate and Strong got back to their feet.
Bate tried to lift Strong up but his back gave out due to the Backbreakers in the match. Strong kneed Bate in the face and then did it again in the corner. Strong slammed Bate to the mat face-first and then lifted him up and connected with End of Heartache for the pinfall victory. Strong is now the #1 contender for Pete Dunne’s UK Championship.
NJPW star Kenny Omega spoke with Sports Illustrated for this week’s Week In Wrestling feature and had strong praise for WWE Superstar The New Day.
In speaking with Justin Barrasso, Omega said he keeps up with WWE television and sees The New Day as having the “total package” of athleticism, in-ring ability and charisma.
“They’re three of my favorite guys in the entire company,” said Omega. “They clearly know how to entertain, and they’re all great athletes.”
NJPW’s Wrestle Kingdom event earlier this month featured WWE legend (and free agent) Chris Jericho crossing over to battle Omega in match most fans never expected to see. Omega has been outspoken about wanting to find a way to work with WWE to make a match happen between The Elite and The New Day.
Despite New Day’s success, their act has not evolved a lot in recent years. When asked if WWE has them boxed into a certain role, Omega was quick to prop them all up.
“When I see Big E, I clearly see someone who could be world champion,” said Omega. “The guy is on another level. Kofi is one of those guys who is good in all situations and can challenge for all titles, and Xavier is another great athlete who is talented in the ring and confident on the mic.”
Having such a high opinion of the New Day, Omega says he’s seen their stagnation as an indication of what might be in store for him if he ever joined WWE.
“It’s things like that that really make me think twice about what I would be getting into if eventually I do go there,” said Omega.
Visit SI.com to read the full Week in Wrestling feature by Justin Barrasso.
After almost squandering an attempt to cash-in her Money In The Bank contract against Charlotte this past Tuesday on SmackDown Live, Carmella may want to review her situation and work out her next steps.
In response to the attempted cash-in on Charlotte, Carmella released the video below, explaining how it was all part of her plan:
Miss Money In The Bank will no doubt be hoping that she doesn’t join the likes of Baron Corbin in failing to win the championship title when she does actually cash in. The Lone Wolf has lost all momentum in recent months, with a bleak mid-card future in his sights instead of what could have been a WWE Championship reign.
Since Carmella won her Money In The Bank contract, Naomi, Natalya, and Charlotte have been the SmackDown Live Women’s Champion. While Naomi and Natalya are by no means weak champions, Charlotte represents the strongest and biggest challenge on the SmackDown Live roster for any other member of the locker room.
Charlotte has had 7 different championship reigns:
NXT Women’s Championship (1)
WWE Diva’s Chamionship (1)
WWE RAW Women’s Championship (4 times)
WWE SmackDown Live Women’s Championship (1)
In total, so far, Charlotte’s reigns amount to 776 days as a champion. Which, when compared to Carmella, is quite a daunting prospect. Therefore it makes perfect sense for WWE to use the Money In The Bank strategy to elevate Carmella into a Champion’s position.
In the last year, Carmella is one of the superstars who has been able to carve their own unique path in WWE. With the help of James Ellsworth, The Princess of Staten Island has developed her persona and position on SmackDown Live into one of great potential.
Unfortunately the current SmackDown Live Women’s Champion has been presented as a dominant competitor, so any cash-ins against Charlotte could result in Carmella losing the title at the next given opportunity.
If you also take into consideration the fact that Carmella was later defeated by Becky Lynch via submission, it seems as though her win:loss ratio isn’t where it should be for that of a potential champion.
To view Carmella’s position from a different perspective and context, we can look at the WWE 2k18 ratings:
Asuka 87
Charlotte 85
Alexa Bliss 85
Nikki Bella 85
Naomi 85
Sasha Banks 85
Nia Jax 83
Natalya 83
Becky Lynch 83
Bayley 83
Mickie James 80
Carmella 79
Dana Brooke 75
Alicia Fox 74
Maryse 73
It’s only a video game, but it’s supposed to be based on reality. Even if they are dated, the figures do not look good for Carmella who is positioned 12 out how the whole of the Women’s division (not taking into account those who have joined more recently from NXT).
The addition of Ronda Rousey, makes Carmella’s chances of making a significant impact on the SmackDown Live Women’s Championship even more slim. Therefore it is now even more imperative that Carmella evaluates her position and time carefully to ensure that her title reign is not short-lived.
Before Charlotte became SmackDown Live Women’s Champion, Natalya had the title, but her heel persona never gave Carmella the window needed to take advantage. While Carmella would make her presence known, Natalya often won matches with other opponents via submission, or was defeated by disqualification. This meant that there were very few times that Natalya was situated in the traditional “ready-to-pin” position in the ring.
One key aspect that potentially held Carmella back was having to share the spot light with James Ellsworth. Before joining up with Carmella, Ellsworth had successful feuds with AJ Styles and became a household name in a very short space of time. The Princess of Staten Island was then able to work with Ellsworth and increase her popularity and interest among fans before parting ways, turning on him in front of the rest of the locker room. It could be argued that without Ellsworth, Carmella wouldn’t be where she is; however Carmella might have been SmackDown Live Women’s Champion by now if she had left James Ellsworth sooner.
The other main aspect that hasn’t gone Carmella’s way is the sheer lack of genuine opportunities.
In terms of matches at PPVs that Carmella could have targeted, there haven’t been that many. In fact the only real opportunity would have been at Survivor Series, where many speculated that she would betray her team. There were even theories about Carmella cashing-in on Alexa Bliss and switching brands. However nothing came from it. Perhaps the heavy speculation from the WWE Universe put the creatives off a cash-in at Survivor Series.
Carmella’s best opportunity to cash-in her contract on SmackDown Live came on August 22nd where Naomi & Becky Lynch took on Natalya (c) & Carmella. Although the prospect was teased by James Ellsworth, the tease became more of a reveal when he couldn’t control his mouth, resulting in a detailed explanation of the whole plan in a promo before the match (notice the focus on James Ellsworth, not Carmella).
When it comes to future events, Carmella has 3 PPV events before her Money In The Bank contract expires, as well as 1 key SmackDown Live episode:
Fastlane (March 11th)
WrestleMania (April 8th)
SmackDown Live After WrestleMania (April 10th)
Payback (May 27th)
It seems unlikely that Charlotte will drop the title before WrestleMania, as WWE would want to build and develop her to make a match in April against Ronda Rousey as big as possible; much like Roman Reigns vs Brock Lesnar.
So where does this leave The Princess of Staten Island?
In a very difficult situation to be honest. Carmella needs to focus on what she will become after her time of being Miss Money In The Bank is over. Whether she’s champion or not, losing the title, that she uses as her Twitter name, will be a blow to her in-ring persona because she’s owned the role and built herself up around it. Carmella needs to make sure that when she no longer has the briefcase, there’s something else to hold on to and keep her relevant; it would be too easy, and a great shame, for her to get lost in a growing and developing division.
The reveal of former UFC Champion Ronda Rousey at this past Sunday’s Royal Rumble has given WWE some massive massive exposure. Outlets from outside of the wrestling ‘bubble’ are now starting to mention names such as Asuka, Charlotte Flair and Sasha Banks as potential Wrestlemania opponents for ‘Rowdy’ Ronda and giving the WWE valuable reach into an entirely new audience…something that would certainly not be happening if the cultural phenomenon hadn’t made her way over to the squared circle.
The question marks around Rousey’s full time contract and her upcoming matches are still shrouded in mystery, however it is fairly safe to assume that a match against Charlotte Flair has been considered and a bout against Women’s Royal Rumble winner Asuka will come to fruition at some point. But outside of the already established names being thrown around who else is there for Ronda to face in WWE?
Here’s three names that we feel should be considered for the ‘Rowdy’ one:
Nikki Cross
Photo Credit: WWE.com
The first name we’re throwing in for consideration is Nikki Cross. The former Pro Wrestling: EVE champion and ICW alum has been an integral part of the Sanity stable since their formation and an eventual call up to one of the main roster shows possibly alongside her stablemates must surely be near.
As a fan of the independent scene there is a good chance that Rousey is already aware of Nikki’s abilities, her fire, aggression and unpredictability all combine to create one of the most intriguing superstars in NXT’s Women’s division.
The likelihood of this happening isn’t exactly high, Rousey will most probably be used sparingly with select dates and specials on WWE Network against the alread- mentioned established main roster names. That said, the Scottish NXT Superstar is ready to make that jump and what a way to establish her on WWE’s main roster.
Mickie James
Photo Credit: WWE.com
What better way to introduce Ronda to the WWE style? Mickie James has been slotted perfectly back into WWE’s ranks and could act as a mentor to guide Ronda through her first few months in a completely new industry. Whilst Rousey is a self proclaimed mega fan of pro wrestling it is a very different prospect when you actually get inside the ring and Mickie’s experience, skill level and name value could see her guide the new recruit.
Out of the three that we will mention this has a fairly high chance of coming to fruition, James can act as the ‘Chris Jericho’ type gatekeeper for Ronda and gaining experience/knowing how to perform for a television audience as well as a live crowd will be essential if Ronda is going to thrive in WWE.
Bayley
Bayley
There are two ways that a feud against Bayley could work for Ronda. There’s no doubt that the insanely popular former NXT Women’s Champion Bayley has been under-utilised on WWE’s main roster, a chance to go toe to toe with Rousey could present an opportunity to either turn Ronda heel, or in a complete u-turn actually finally get Bayley to turn to the dark side.
Bayley could easily use the exposure from a bout against the former UFC Champion, she is a solid in ring performer and has the ability to draw emotion from a crowd of all ages, something that WWE is sorely lacking right now (Cena and Roman I’m looking at you here).
Granted Bayley is so low down on the pecking order that a match against Rousey is probably furthest from WWE’s mind, however if you want to get a crowd to be invested in Ronda then you could do a lot worse then giving Bayley a shot.
Who would you like to see Ronda in the ring with? Let us know in the comments.
New Japan Pro Wrestling have a lot to celebrate right now. The company have just finished their ‘New Beginning’ tour and following the highly successful Wrestle Kingdom show on January 4th their live attendance figures have been released and they are staggering.
Japanese wrestling correspondant @EvanDeadlySinsW released the following chart showing the gradual build of live attendance since May 2015 up to January 2018. The spikes in July/August from 2015 to 2017 can be attributed to New Japan’s G1 Climax tournament which runs over several weeks, however the truly impressive stats are seen when you compare January 2016 and 2017 to this year’s huge number.
Check out the chart below:
Thanks to a big jump in WK attendance and successful New Beginning shows, January 2018 was NJPW's best drawing month in… a long time. pic.twitter.com/DDyQjiAQmt
PROGRESS has announced that WWE United Kingdom Champion Pete Dunne will be part of their upcoming Super Strong Style 16 tournament. The event takes place May 5th, 6th and 7th and will emanate from Alexandra Palace in London, England.
Super Strong Style 16 is widely regarded as the premiere tournament in British wrestling, it is also the time of year that PROGRESS opt to use ‘import’ talent from PWG, EVOLVE and several other promotions from across the world. Former winners of the prestigious tournament include Travis Banks, NXT’s Aleister Black and NJPW’s Will Ospreay.
Tickets for the three day event can be purchased via SeeTickets.com now. SEScoops will be there live at the event and we will be bringing you exclusive coverage so stay tuned.
Revolution Pro Wrestling has announced that IWGP Intercontinental Champion and one half of their British Tag Team Champions Minoru Suzuki will be heading to Wrestlecon on April 6th as part of their Wrestlemania weekend event.
Suzuki has made several appearances for the British company over the past year due to Rev Pro’s ongoing business relationship with New Japan Pro Wrestling. Minoru is a legend on the Japanese scene and now he is starting to make more appearances in the UK and United States, the most notable his in ring debut for Ring of Honor last year.
Brand new IWGP Intercontinental Champion & one half of the Undisputed British Tag Team Champions MINORU SUZUKI is coming to New Orleans! Friday April 6th, 4pm https://t.co/E5FLimjU90 for tickets pic.twitter.com/fWSbsNZA1L
We’ve been expecting word on the host city for next year’s WrestleMania 35 pay-per-view and it appears to be a done deal.
According to Robbie Fox of Barstool Sports, Metlife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey will host the event on April 7, 2019.
Philadelphia and Detroit were reportedly finalists under consideration as part of the bidding process. If you’re in the camp of people unhappy that “WrestleMania returns to the same cities every year” – it’s not hard to understand why WWE is returning to New York City.
MetLife Stadium hosted WrestleMania 29 back in 2013. The show, which featured John Cena vs. The Rock in the main event, was a monster success for the company. Not only did they pack over 80,000 fans into the stadium, but it was the highest grossing show in company history, pulling in over $72 million.
WWE holding SummerSlam in Brooklyn for 4 consecutive years is another sign how ‘accommodating’ the city is for them. Last year’s WrestleMania 33 weekend from Orlando, FL (Hall of Fame, NXT, WM33, RAW, SD) brought $181.5 million to the local economy – making WrestleMania weekend an attraction that cities bend over backwards to secure.
An official announcement from WWE is expected in the following days.
– Following his great match against Minoru Suzuki at night one of New Japan Pro Wrestling’s (NJPW) New Beginning, Hiroshi Tanahashi has been removed from the remainder of the tour due to acute osteoarthritis in his right knee. Suzuki defeated Tanahashi for the IWGP Intercontinental Championship via referee stoppage:
– Speaking of NJPW, PWInsider is reporting that the company has filed for three new trademarks; U.S.: Strong Style, King of Sports, and Strong Style Evolved. All three of the trademarks were filed for the use of clothing, however, Strong Style Evolved was also filed for categories such as the following:
“Educational and instruction services relating to arts, crafts, sports or general knowledge; arranging, conducting and organization of seminars; arranging, conducting and organization of conferences, lecture meeting, workshops, symposiums; production of radio or television programs; Production of videotape film in the field of education, culture, entertainment or sports (not for movies or television programs and not for advertising or publicity); organization, arranging and conducting of sports competitions; organization, arranging and conducting of martial arts; booking of seats for show; presentation of live show performances; presentation of magic performances; direction or presentation of plays; presentation of musical performances”
Former UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey made her WWE debut after the first-ever Women’s Royal Rumble match this past Sunday. Rousey hit the ring to confront Rumble winner Asuka, SmackDown Live Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair, and RAW Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss. Rousey had her extended hand slapped away from Asuka before pointing to the WrestleMania 34 sign. Initial reports suggest the plan is to have a Mixed Tag Team match between Rousey and a mystery partner against Triple H and Stephanie McMahon.
That mystery partner would preferably be The Rock, as he and Rousey had a segment against Triple H and McMahon at WrestleMania 31 a few years back. ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne is reporting that Rousey has been training for months at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando prior to her debut at the Royal Rumble pay-per-view (PPV). Rousey reportedly trained at night when nobody else was at the center with names like Natalya, Becky Lynch, and Flair.
She did this while simultaneously filming her next movie, “Mile 22,” in Atlanta. She did not appear on Monday’s episode of RAW as she flew back to Columbia to continue work on “Mile 22.” Shelburne also said that Rousey is close to “fighting shape” and should be ready come WrestleMania 34. WWE will also not own the rights to her name as Rousey recently applied for three trademarks to the “Rowdy Ronda Rousey” name.
A few extra fun tidbits for the late night WWE crowd. Ronda DID indeed go to Colombia to shoot Mile 22, but she came back to the States via a charter jet, then basically stayed out of sight for 24 hours. There was one chance to spot her: At customs in Miami.
Ronda did not travel back from Colombia with any of her usual entourage so there was no chance of them being recognized anywhere. Her husband Travis Browne stayed home. Too big a risk of being recognized.
Ronda told me she's been training at the WWE performance center for several months. She'd travel down there on weekends while she was filming in Atlanta. In other words, she's close to fighting shape.
As for her entrance music, I'm told WWE had to get special clearance from Joan Jett's camp for Ronda Rousey to use "Bad Reputation" at the Royal Rumble Sunday night in Philly as she did for years in the UFC.
– Samir Singh recently underwent surgery to repair a torn ACL he suffered during a ringside altercation with Bobby Roode. The incident occurred during Jinder Mahal and Roode’s United States Title Tournament Finals clash. There has been no official word on Singh’s return but the usual timetable for an ACL tear return is around 6-9 months. Singh recently took to Instagram to thank Dr. Jeffrey Dugas after undergoing surgery in Alabama:
WWE finally acknowledged the injury yesterday during SmackDown Live, and also released the following statement:
Samir Singh suffers injury
Samir Singh revealed on Instagram that he recently suffered a torn ACL and will be out of action.
Singh underwent surgery last week and is already rehabilitating for his return to the ring.
Stay tuned to WWE.com and Singh’s social media for more news on his recovery as it becomes available.
– Hideo Itami will be taking on former NXT Superstar Roderick Strong in the first round of the new WWE 205 Live tournament. The tournament will last up to WrestleMania 34 where a new Cruiserweight Champion will be crowned. Itami took to Twitter to comment on his match-up with Strong:
It is MY turn. I’m going to get this opportunity.#205Live#Cruiserweight championship tournament.
– Adam Cole put on an extraordinary Extreme Rules match with Aleister Black at NXT Takeover: Philadelphia over the weekend. He followed that up with making an appearance in the Men’s Royal Rumble match the following night. It turns out WWE originally had other plans for Cole at the Royal Rumble instead of being in the over-the-top-rope bout. Wrestling Observer Radio reports that the original pitch for Cole had him answering Bobby Roode’s United States Title Open Challenge.
That plan was cancelled, however, as WWE officials realized it wasn’t a good idea to have Cole lose an eight-minute match on the kickoff show. The United States Title Open Challenge saw a ton of last-second changes, as Dolph Ziggler was also planned to answer the call.
Instead Ziggler appeared in the Royal Rumble match at number 30 and Mojo Rawley wound up taking on Roode on the pre-show for the strap. Cole entered the Rumble at number 23 and was eliminated by Rey Mysterio.
– WWE posted the following video of Sami Zayn and Becky Lynch after their Mixed Match Challenge loss to the team of Alexa Bliss and Braun Strowman. Sami blamed the WWE Universe for the loss and also contemplated if their loss was a result of having too much of Lynch’s birthday cake prior to the bout:
– On Monday’s episode of RAW John Cena defeated Finn Balor to qualify for the Elimination Chamber match. You can check out Cena’s current WWE schedule through WrestleMania 34 below. He is working mostly RAW events with the exception of SmackDown Live’s exclusive Fastlane pay-per-view (PPV) event. With Cena being on SmackDown Live’s Fastlane it’s likely he’ll be added to more SmackDown show in the near future:
– February 5th in Des Moines, IA (RAW)
– February 11th in Fresno, CA (RAW live event)
– February 12th in San Jose, CA (RAW)
– February 18th in Prescott, AZ (RAW live event)
– February 19th in Phoenix, AZ (RAW)
– February 25th in Las Vegas, NV (Elimination Chamber Pay-Per-View)
– February 26th in Anaheim, CA (RAW)
– March 3rd in Chicago, IL (RAW live event)
– March 5th in Milwaukee, WI (RAW)
– March 11th in Columbus, OH (Fastlane Pay-Per-View)
– March 12th in Detroit, MI (RAW)
– March 17th in Tulsa, OK (RAW live event)
– March 18th in Oklahoma City, OK (RAW live event)
– March 26th in Cleveland, OH (RAW)
– April 8th in New Orleans (WrestleMania 34)
– Famous fast-food restaurant chain Wendy’s took to Twitter to comment on Ronda Rousey’s WWE debut. They threw some shade at “The Rowdy One’s” appearance when answering a question from a fan. Wendy’s then cleared things up and said they were a fan of the show after an exchange with Scott Armstrong:
We heard we could just show up later and point at the mania sign
Impact Wrestling executives Ed Nordholm, Don Callis and Scott D’Amore recently spoke with Newsweek to address the recent wave of departures from the company.
Don Callis put a positive spin on the recent shakeup, noting that Impact has recently brought in talented competitors such as Brian Cage, Austin Aries and John Hennigan.
Here are some highlights of what was said about EC3, Bobby Lashley and Jeremy Borash:
EC3
Last weekend, we saw EC3 ringside at NXT Takeover: Philadelphia. He did an interview backstage at the show talking about returning to WWE after 5 long years. Scott D’Amore commented on what led to EC3 leaving Impact.
“His contract was not up,” D’Amore revealed. “He came to us, we had a frank discussion about where he saw himself going. We decided to sit down and work something out that worked for us on how we’d wrap up this portion of his career. I didn’t watch NXTTakeOver but when he showed up on screen and my phone started blowing up, I texted him:
‘Congratulations. All the best to you. You’ve got nothing but love and support from us here. And if you need anything, you know where we are.’
And he wrote back the same thing.”
Bobby Lashley
Ed Nordholm admitted that it’s not a good thing when you lose a talent like Bobby Lashley, but wishes him the best in his next career move, whether it’s pro wrestling or MMA.
“Bobby is free to figure out what he wants to do next, whether it be wrestling or mixed martial arts,” Nordholm said. “We wish him all the best. He’s a great talent, it’s foolish to say, ‘No, we wouldn’t want to retain him,’ but he has his own ambitions about what he thinks is good for him next in his career.”
Jeremy Borash
Perhaps the most surprising departure from Impact in recent months is Jeremy Borash, who had been with the company since its inception in 2002. Ed Nordholm and Scott D’Amore both wished him well, but said they have a lot of other talented people on staff ready to fill his roles behind the scenes.
Nordholm: “He is leaving and joining the WWE. We wish him all the best. He’s a talented guy and has been with the company forever. But we have a lot of talented guys—change is good and it gives other guys a chance to step up.”
D’Amore: “We always wish Jeremy well. I got one of my first breaks [from him]—Jeremy hired me to be a producer at World Wrestling All-Stars. But we have editors on our team who don’t get the notoriety that Jeremy does. We have great players ready to step up.”
After making her highly-anticipated WWE debut at the Royal Rumble this past Sunday, professional wrestling fans are wondering when we’ll see “The Rowdy One” back on WWE TV. Rousey did not appear on Monday’s episode of RAW. It appears that Rousey, and WWE Universal Champion Brock Lesnar, are not expected back until sometime after February 25th’s Elimination Chamber pay-per-view (PPV) event.
This comes via a report from Ringside News, who reports that Rousey has returned to her filming obligations for the movie “Mile 22.” Filming for the movie is not expected to conclude until around or after Elimination Chamber. As for WWE’s plans for Lesnar, the company has no reason to bring him back until his next opponent is determined in the Elimination Chamber match. It’s expected that Roman Reigns will be challenging “The Beast” for the Universal throne at WrestleMania 34.
– Former Impact Wrestling President Dixie Carter took notice of Drake Maverick being named the new General Manager of 205 Live. She tweeted the following about ‘Rockstar Spud’ making his WWE debut:
– Live viewership for WWE’s Mixed Match Challenge series on Facebook continues to decline. This week’s episode peaked at around 62,000 viewers, down over 50% from the premiere. Here are the approximated peak live viewership numbers so far:
Week 1: 135,600
Week 2: 91,900
Week 3: 62,400
– WWE Superstar Epico (Orlando Colon) underwent shoulder surgery yesterday in Birmingham, AL. At this time, it’s unknown how long Epico will be out of action. He posted this photo from the hospital:
Surgery done!!!! Thank you to my lovely wife, mom and son for being there for me!!! And Dr Dugas for an awesome job!! Now time to rehab and get better! pic.twitter.com/80xO8QrKdv
