Following a two month absence from the squared circle, Kairi Sane returned to action at tonight’s NXT live event in Albany, New York.
Taking on Lacey Evans in singles competition, the inaugural winner of the Mae Young Classic beat “The Lady of NXT” after nailing her with the Insane Elbow.
Sane had not wrestled since Nov. 18, 2017, at NXT TakeOver: WarGames in a Fatal 4-Way Match against Nikki Cross, Peyton Royce, and Ember Moon to see who would claim the vacant NXT Women’s Championship. Moon won the title after pinning Cross.
Information on Sane’s hiatus has been kept under wraps, although Wrestling Observer Newsletter editor Dave Meltzer said earlier this month that she was “banged up.”
Sane last appeared on NXT television on Dec. 27, 2017. After Moon successfully retained the NXT Women’s Championship against Sonya Deville, Sane appeared on the stage and gestured that she has the NXT Women’s Title in her sights. “The Pirate Princess” was suddenly ambushed from behind by the person she beat to win the inaugural Mae Young Classic, Shayna Baszler. “The Queen of Spades” used a sleeper hold to render Sane unconscious before staring Moon down.
All charges against former WWE cruiserweight champion, Rich Swann, in regards to a December 10th incident have been dropped.
He had been charged with misdemeanor battery and false imprisonment/kidnapping stemming from an altercation with his girlfriend, Vannarah Riggs, who wrestles under the name Su Young.
According to a report from PW Insider, charges against Swann have been dropped due to insufficient evidence.
Will Rich Swann’s Suspension Be Lifted?
Triple H and Stephanie told reporters earlier that due to the company’s zero-tolerance policy on domestic violence he would be released if convicted.
“We are just waiting on legal.” Triple H said. “We have a zero-tolerance policy on that, as you’ve seen, so he’s suspended until it is determined legally one way or the other.”
It remains to be seen how WWE chooses to proceed with Swann now that charges have been dropped.
WWE did reinstate Jerry Lawler in 2016 after domestic violence charges were dropped against him.
STAMFORD, CONN. – Professional football will be reimagined when the new XFL kicks off in early 2020, Vince McMahon announced in a live stream event today.
The XFL will deliver a fan-centric, innovative experience, including shorter, fast-paced games and a family-friendly environment, complemented by cross-platform viewing options and real-time fan engagement.
Plans for the XFL at launch include eight teams, 40-man active rosters and a 10-week regular-season schedule, with a postseason consisting of two semifinal playoff games and a championship game.
“The new XFL is an exciting opportunity to reimagine America’s favorite sport,” said McMahon. “As we move towards kickoff, we look forward to listening and implementing innovative ideas from players, coaches, medical experts, technology executives, the media and most importantly football fans.”
McMahon, a visionary and an accomplished business executive, is personally funding this venture through Alpha Entertainment, a new private entity. McMahon will continue as WWE Chairman & CEO.
Relive the full streamed announcement at XFL.com and YouTube (youtube.com/xflofficial). For the latest updates, follow the XFL on Facebook (facebook.com/xfl), Twitter (@xfl2020) and Instagram (@xfl), and be sure to join in on the conversation using #XFL2020.
RAW’s 25th Anniversary special saw The Miz defeat Roman Reigns to capture the Intercontinental Championship for the 8th time.
This week, WWE’s focus is on Sunday’s Royal Rumble pay-per-view. After that, it’s full speed ahead on the road to WrestleMania – and it appears WWE has locked in another top match for show. According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter:
“At this point it appears nothing at the top has changed for WrestleMania. As of right now the plan is for The Miz to defend the IC title against Braun Strowman, which is why Miz’s win was as clean as it was, since the IC title will be one of the biggest matches at Mania.”
Reddit user crapusername47 has a pretty brilliant theory about how a hypothetical Mixed Match Challenge match could kick off the Miz vs. Strowman feud.
“Miz and Asuka beat Alexa and Braun but Miz refuses to tag in or immediately tags out whenever he’s supposed to face Strowman. Miz never actually touches Strowman or gets any offence in and Asuka carries the match. Asuka pins Bliss, furthering their own feud and then Miz can gloat about having beaten Braun Strowman.”
WrestleMania 34 takes place on Sunday, April 8th from New Orleans, Louisiana at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.
Visit f4wonline.com to subscribe to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter
Reporters recently caught up with Ronda Rousey at an airport as she was in commute to film a movie. When asked, Rousey denied rumors she will be in the Royal Rumble on Sunday.
In fact, Rousey mentioned she will be filming a movie in Columbia until mid-February.
Whether Ronda is just trying to pull one over on wrestling fans or not is currently unknown.
Rousey also commented on recent statements directed towards her by Alexa Bliss. The current Raw women’s champion had said she is not worried about Rousey coming to take her title.
Ronda Rousey to WWE
Rousey and Triple H were spotted having dinner together recently which fuelled speculation the former UFC bantamweight champion could end up in WWE sooner rather than later. Both Triple H and Rousey have denied an agreement has been struck between the two sides, however.
This appears to be confirmation that Vince McMahon’s “major sports announcement” scheduled for 3pm (Eastern) later today is indeed the return of the XFL football league.
The Alpha Entertainment press conference will stream across the company’s new digital platforms, including their official YouTube channel.
The company has already posted a “Live Video” as a placeholder for the press conference. During the live feed, viewers got a glimpse of what’s to come later today.
As seen above – the XFL is back. The league is expected to return in 2020.
Buckle up. Through his new venture Alpha Entertainment, WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon will be holding a press conference later today at 3pm (Eastern) to make a “major sports announcement.”
Alpha Entertainment describes itself as, “a new enterprise founded by Vince McMahon to explore investment opportunities across the sports and entertainment arena.”
Last month, WWE filed paperwork with the Securities and Exchange Commission stating that Vince McMahon was selling over $100 million in WWE stock to fund his new Alpha Entertainment venture.
Here’s a lesson – if you’re addressing The Rock, drop the attitude. If you talk trash to The Rock, prepare to get owned.
Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle is The Rock’s latest runaway hit. It’s been the #1 box office draw since it premiered 5 weeks ago and has already grossed over $315 million worldwide. Minor spoilers ahead, per the official synopsis from Sony:
“In a brand new Jumanji adventure, four high school kids discover an old video game console and are drawn into the game’s jungle setting, literally becoming the adult avatars they chose. What they discover is that you don’t just play Jumanji – you must survive it.
To beat the game and return to the real world, they’ll have to go on the most dangerous adventure of their lives, discover what Alan Parrish left 20 years ago, and change the way they think about themselves – or they’ll be stuck in the game forever, to be played by others without break.”
I saw Jumanji and really enjoyed it. Critics and moviegoers agree, with Rotten Tomatoes scoring it 76% and 90%, respectively. In the movie, the characters inside the video game are given 3 “lives” and must complete the mission or risk being trapped in the game forever. When your character loses a life, you re-spawn in the same place.
One moviegoer took issue with an aspect of the re-spawning and got a response from The Rock himself within minutes:
Actually my friend, in the JUMANJI Lore Handbook, it clearly states in article 72 of section 7, that “any character who loses a life, shall return to their original state with any item they possessed at the time of their demise”. So kindly go f*ck yourself James.
New Japan Pro Wrestling presents 2 shows this weekend.
The New Beginning in Sapporo will be a 2-night event featuring 4 title matches. There will also be several multi-person tag matches to set up the New Beginning in Osaka on February 10th.
New Beginning in Sapporo – Night 1 – January 27th
Michael Elgin vs. Katsuya Kitamura
Kushida, Tiger Mask, Jushin Liger, Kojima, & Tenzan vs. Taka, Desperado, Taichi, Kanemaru, and Iizuka (Suzuki-Gun)
NEVER 6-Man Tag Team Championships
Tanga Loa, Tama Tonga, Bad Luck Fale (Bullet Club) (c) vs. Taguchi, Henare, and Togi Makabe
David Finlay, Juice Robinson, & Kota Ibushi vs. Marty Scurll, Hangman Page, & Cody (Bullet Club)
Will Ospreay, YOSHI-Hashi (CHAOS) vs. Hiromu Takahashi & Tetsuya Naito (LIJ)
Gedo, Goto, & Kazuchika Okada (CHAOS) vs. Bushi, EVIL, & Sanada (LIJ)
Sho, Yoh, and Jay White (CHAOS) vs. the Young Bucks and Kenny Omega (Bullet Club)
Vince McMahon recently created in a new company called “Alpha Entertainment” with many believing this company will eventually promote a professional football league. While there are still questions regarding the actual name of the league, it does appear Vince McMahon’s new venture is planning on launching a football league by 2020.
A new report from PWInsider is stating that WWE production staff have been working on promotional videos for the league in preparation for a 2020 start date.
XFL Re-Launch
Earlier this year, ESPN ran a “30 for 30” documentary on the history of the XFL. The success of the documentary spurned rumors Vince might be willing to give the league another shot.
One of the admissions made during the filming of the documentary was that they rushed the league onto the field and as a result, the quality of football suffered. A 2020 start date gives Vince and the league more time to prepare.
Before Enzo Amore was released earlier this week, he had been involved in a program with Nia Jax. Enzo and Nia were becoming something of an odd-couple love story on 205 Live and Raw. The storyline was a focal point of the 205 Live house shows which took place this weekend.
The events of this week involving Enzo Amore seemingly put Nia’s new storyline in jeopardy. It appears now, however, Nia has developed eyes for another member of the cruiserweight division.
With Enzo Amore’s departure, other changes are coming to 205 Live. On the most recent episode, Daniel Bryan announced plans for a GM to be assigned to the brand. A report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter has since reported the idea has been tossed around before, with Summer Rae being someone the company had once thought of for the role.
This past week on 205 Live, a match between Cedric Alexander and Mustafa Ali is getting solid reviews.
The story of Enzo Amore being accused of rape became viral on Monday and WWE had terminated the contract of the former Cruiserweight Champion by Tuesday. A lot of people were surprised by the quickness of these events and many fans wondered if the company had some information on the incident which wasn’t made public.
However, if reports from PWinsider are to be believed, this wasn’t the case and Enzo was let go by the company because Officials were furious with him. According to the site, WWE was unaware of these accusations until Monday and they got to know about it when media members reached to them for comments on the story.
Upon learning it, Officials confronted Enzo backstage about the allegations. The Cruiserweight Star denied the accusations were true but admitted that he was aware of the investigation by Phoenix Police. For those who don’t know, Phoenix Police had launched an investigation back in October against Amore after meeting the alleged victim at a local hospital.
The company then sent out a press release suspending the 205 Live Star and sent him away from Barclays Center over the fact that he failed to notify them about the investigation earlier. Regarding his firing, it’s being said that it didn’t happen because of the belief of him being guilty.
Instead, Officials released Amore because they were angry with him as the whole incident put them in a bad spot. They had to respond to media queries over rape accusations on a current Champion and it all happened during one of the company’s biggest TV days.
Enzo Amore already had heat due to several incidents over the past year and this incident was described as the ‘last straw’. After this, there were too many problems with the former WWE Star in the past year hence the decision was made to let him go.
Phoenix Police is still investigating the matter but as of this writing, there are no changes in the case. The accuser Philomena Sheahan recently spoke to TMZ and gave some details on the alleged incident. Meanwhile, Enzo has released a statement denying all the accusations.
Triple H recently held a media conference call, promoting this Saturday’s NXT TakeOver: Philadelphia event and revealed that a match between Kassius Ohno and The Velveteen Dream has been added to the show. After the announcement below is the updated match card for the event:
NXT Championship Match
Johnny Gargano vs. Andrade “Cien” Almas
NXT Women’s Championship Match
Shayna Baszler vs. Ember Moon
NXT Tag Team Championship Match
The Authors of Pain vs. Kyle O’Reilly and Bobby Fish
Extreme Rules Match
Adam Cole vs. Aleister Black
Kassius Ohno vs. The Velveteen Dream
On a related note, it has also been announced that Samoa Joe will be joining Renee Young, Corey Graves, Sam Roberts and Charly Caruso for the one-hour pre-show of the upcoming event starting at 7 pm EST.
According to both WWENetworkNews.com and PWInsider.com, the next series of classic content to be added to the WWE Network in February will come from the Coliseum Video collection.
According to PWInsider, 38 videos will be uploaded to the WWE Network during the first week of February.
Before WWE formed WWF Home Video in 1997 (now known as WWE Home Video), an independent company known as Coliseum Video handled their video distribution. From 1985 through 1997, Coliseum Video released VHS and Betamax cassettes featuring World Wrestling Federation action in the following categories:
* A series of “Best of” cassettes featuring classic matches, both recent at the time and from as far back as the 1960s. Many of these releases included title changes that occurred since completion of the previous volume.
– Profiles of wrestlers highlighting their best matches and moments in the World Wrestling Federation. Some of the wrestlers profiled include Hulk Hogan, Andre the Giant, “Macho Man” Randy Savage, Ultimate Warrior, “Rowdy” Roddy Piper, “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan, Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake, Demolition, George “The Animal” Steele, and Ken Patera.
– Compilations featuring rarely seen or exclusive matches that took place at television tapings and televised house shows.
– Pay-per-view events (many of which are available for viewing on the WWE Network).
This content dump has been planned for a while, although there was talk of adding episodes of WCW Thunder (WCW’s B-show that aired from 1998 through 2001 on TBS) in February since Buff Bagwell and Raven’s lawsuit over WWE Network royalties got dismissed last month. The lawsuit led to WWE delaying Thunder and WWE Sunday Night Heat uploads to the Network, but the door is now open for episodes from both series to be added.
PWInsider also reports that the frontrunner of classic content for March are old episodes of All-Star Wrestling, which aired on syndication from 1971 through 1986. This program consisted of top-tier or mid-card WWF wrestlers squashing enhancement talent, as well as a “feature” match between main WWF wrestlers.
NXT opened up with a video promo from Velveteen Dream. He asked for ambience and atmosphere and the lights went out and pink fog surrounded him. Dream stated that he dreamt about becoming NXT Champion one day and that life allows us to experience different paths. Dream added that he doesn’t doubt that Gargano will become NXT Champion one day, but not yet.
Dream said that Gargano’s rise was tainted in doubt, but the Dream’s experience was pure. Dream added that no matter how the pieces fall, a dream will be over. Dream will face Gargano tonight to determine who will face Andrade “Cien” Almas at NXT TakeOver: Philadelphia this Saturday for the NXT Championship.
No Way Jose vs. Cezar Bononi
Jose locked in a Headlock for a second but Bononi broke free and leveled Jose with a shoulder tackle. Jose responded with a shoulder tackle of his on and followed it up with an Atomic Drop and then transitioned into an Arm Bar. A couple of goobers started chanting “CM Punk!” and the rest of the crowd drowned them out in boos.
Bononi broke out of the Arm Bar and slammed Jose to the canvas by his hair. Cezar beatdown Jose in the corner and then connected with a Powerslam for a two count. Bononi applied a Headlock and wrestled Jose down to the mat. The crowd cheered Jose on as he slowly battled back to his feet. No Way Jose planted Bononi with a swinging Neckbreaker but Cezar quickly got back up.
Jose knocked Bononi to the mat a couple of times and then connected with a Powerslam of his on. Jose took off an arm band, popped Bononi up in the air and punched him in the face for the pinfall victory.
Belair dominated early as the crowd chanted “lets go jobber!”. Belair leveled Latoya with a shoulder tackle and then stomped on her in the corner. Belair connected with a Backbreaker. Latoya leaped off the top rope but got a hair whip for her troubles. Belair followed up with a reverse Powerbomb for the easy pinfall victory.
Percy Watson sat down with Shayna Baszler and Ember Moon backstage. Watson asked why Moon called out Baszler and Ember stated that Shayna is nothing more than a bully that attacks people from behind. Baszler said “you have to stir up waters to catch fish and Ember Moon is the big fish in this pond”.
Moon said she was the big fish for a reason and that being NXT Women’s Champion means that you have responsibilities not only to yourself, but to your division. Moon promised Baszler that she will not become NXT Women’s Champion at NXT TakeOver: Philadelphia. Shayna mocking complimented Moon on achieving her dreams. Baszler said that she worked just as hard as Moon to get here.
Shayna added that when Moon wakes up at NXT TakeOver and sees her walking away with the title, Moon is going to know that Shayna is walking away with her dreams. Baszler added that she doesn’t care what the NXT Universe thinks about her and that they are going to have to get used to it.
Rezar and Akam planted the two jobbers with rolling Death Valley Drivers into opposite turnbuckles and then grabbed a microphone. AOP cut a promo after and vowed to take the titles from Undisputed Era. AOP then planted the two jobbers with a Super Collider and marched out of the ring with Paul Ellering.
#1 Contender’s Match: Johnny Gargano vs. Velveteen Dream
Velveteen Dream came down to the ring in a Johnny Gargano half-shirt. Gargano smirked in the corner as Dream posed in the ring. Dueling “Johnny Wrestling!” and “Velveteen!” chants echoed throughout the arena as the bell rang.
The two Superstars locked up in the middle of the ring. Dream applied a Wrist Lock but Gargano escaped and applied a Headlock. Dream squirmed around the ring but couldn’t break free as the dueling chants continued.
Dream broke free and threw Gargano to the mat. Dream posed and then pointed at Gargano and said “you are not ready for TakeOver!”. Gargano quickly locked in the Gargano Escape but Dream was able to get out of it and rolled out of the ring as NXT went to a break.
When NXT returned, Dream connected with an elbow to Gargano’s jaw. Gargano threw Dream towards the rope and Dream flipped over them and onto the ring apron. Dream took his eyes off the prize and decided to pose on the apron. Gargano Dropkicked him in the back and Velveteen fell and bounced his head off the announce table. Gargano connected with a cannonball Senton off the apron.
Back in the ring, Gargano went for the slingshot Spear through the ropes but Dream caught him and connected with a swinging Neckbreaker. Dream continued to talk Gargano and shouted that he took his spot and that he doesn’t deserve it. Dream stood on Gargano’s back and Johnny’s neck pressed into the bottom rope.
Dream went for a Neckbreaker but Gargano reversed into a backslide pin for a two count. Dream tossed Gargano out of the ring and Johnny hit his back on the apron before falling to the ground. Dream climbed to the top rope and casually jumped back down to the mat instead of leaping onto Gargano.
Velveteen walked into a chop from Gargano outside the ring. Dream responded with a knee to the midsection and then dropped Gargano’s back onto the ring apron as NXT went to a break. When NXT returned, the action was back in the ring and Gargano was in control. Johnny connected with an Enziguri that knocked Dream to the corner.
Johnny hit another kick and followed it up by leaping off the middle turnbuckle and hitting a Flatliner for a two count. Gargano yanked Dream’s arm and Velveteen fell to the mat face-first. Dream connected with a Superkick that sent Gargano into the ropes but Johnny bounced off and leveled Dream with a Clothesline. Gargano draped his arm across Dream’s chest for a cover but Dream kicked out as the crowd chanted “fight forever!”.
Dream lifted Gargano up in a Fireman’s Carry but Gargano broke free. Dream connected with an awesome looking DDT for a two count. Velveteen made his way towards the top rope but Gargano knocked him to the canvas. Dream bounced off the mat and fell to the floor outside the ring. Gargano sprinted across the ring and leaped through the ropes and connected with a Suicide Dive.
Gargano brought Dream back into the ring and then made his way to the top rope. Dream leaped to the ropes and they shook and Gargano fell crotch-first onto the top turnbuckle. Dream lifted Gargano up in a Fireman’s Carry and planted Johnny with a Death Valley Driver for a two count.
Dream climbed back to the top rope and went for the Purple Rainmaker Elbow Drop but Gargano got his knees up. Dream’s left elbow was injured and he hesitated to leap off the top. Dream decided to switch to the right arm for the Elbow Drop but his hesitation cost him.
Gargano then Superkicked Dream in the face and locked in the Gargano Escape in the middle of the ring. Dream had no choice but to submit and Gargano moves on to face Andrade “Cien” Almas Saturday night at NXT TakeOver: Philadelphia. This match was very good.
After the match, Andrade “Cien” Almas and Zelina Vega came down to the entrance ramp with smiles on their faces. The two circled the ring as Gargano stood in it. They entered the ring and Almas raised the title in Gargano’s face. Almas gave the title to Vega and knocked Gargano to the mat. Almas kneed Gargano in the midsection and threw him out of the ring. Almas pointed at the title and shouted “this is mine!” before raising the NXT Championship one more time.
Gargano climbed back up to the ring apron and Almas tried to hit him with the title. Gargano avoided it and planted Almas with a slingshot DDT. Vega shouted at Gargano not to touch the title as the crowd chanted “touch it!”. Gargano grabbed the title and raised it over Almas as NXT went off the air.
Stephanie McMahon has just announced that she will be joining the commentary booth for the Women’s Royal Rumble match this Sunday.
The WWE’s Chief Brand Officer officially revealed the 30 Women over the top match on RAW weeks ago and now she will be on hand to call the action in this historic match.
Several legends from WWE’s past have been linked with appearances in the match, including Trish Stratus, Lita and Michelle McCool. Former UFC fighter Ronda Rousey has also been rumored for a Rumble appearance.
Pro Wrestling: EVE and XWA UK will be presenting their co-branded ‘Equal Fights’ show on February 17th from the Resistance Gallery in Bethnal Green, London. The card for the event has now been announced and it includes some absolutely ludicrous matches that have never been seen anywhere else on the planet.
Highlights include:
Former TNA X Division Champion and British Icon Doug Williams taking on the Ace of EVE/SHE-1 Winner Charlie Morgan
Millie McKenzie and Jimmy Havoc colliding to see who could be considered the most dangerous wrestler in the UK
Former EVE Champion Rhia O’Reilly facing XWA Champion Cara Noir for the Title
The full card stacks up as follows:
Kosta K v Rocky Mac – Word of Sport Rules
Kaitlin Diemond v Nina Samuels
Jawsolyn v The Mysterious Pirate!
Rhia O’Reilly v Cara Noir – XWA Championship Match
Charlie Morgan v Doug Williams
Millie McKenzie v Jimmy Havoc
This looks set to be one of the most intriguing events on UK shores this year and it should be available to view shortly after February 17th via EVE on Demand.
Lucha Underground star Jeff Cobb has been pulled from wXw’s upcoming 16 Carat Gold tournament in Oberhausen, Germany. The event takes place on March 9th-11th and this will clash with Lucha Underground’s television tapings, where of course Cobb will reprising his role as Matanza Cueto.
Replacing Cobb will be EVOLVE and PROGRESS star Keith Lee. The man that asks you to “Bask In His Glory” blazed through the independent scene last year and now he is part of arguably the biggest tournament in Europe outside of PROGRESS’ Super Strong Style 16.
With WWE’s Royal Rumble event taking place this Sunday it is safe to assume that there will be appearances from superstars outside of the Smackdown Live and RAW rosters in both the men’s and women’s Rumble matches.
Aside from NXT, the WWE UK division had three of the most likely candidates to make a surprise appearance this Sunday; WWE UK Champion Pete Dunne, Tyler Bate and Trent Seven. The three men are collectively known as British Strong Style on the independent scene and are the three most recognised stars on the United Kingdom brand.
It looks as though Trent Seven will definitely NOT be making his way to the 30 man match this Sunday, he has been booked by PROGRESS at their Chapter 62 event ‘Fear No More, Come To Dust’ in a three way match against Chris Brookes and Zack Sabre Jr.
Interestingly, WWE UK Champion Pete Dunne and former champion Tyler Bate, two of PROGRESS’ biggest stars, are not booked for Chapter 62 …
– Former WWE Universal Champion Finn Balor took to Twitter to post some pictures from he and The Club’s encounter with DX at RAW 25, and also said he’s coming for ‘everything they said I couldn’t have’:
– The Undisputed Era’s Adam Cole also took to Twitter and noted that he’s focused on capturing the NXT Title this year. Zelina Vega responded to this Tweet and said that current NXT Champion Andrade “Cien” Almas, who she manages, may have something to say about that:
Prior to his big victory over Roman Reigns on RAW 25 earlier this week where he recaptured the Intercontinental Championship, The Miz spoke to ESPN to talk about several professional wrestling topics. One topic of discussion is the fact that he and his wife, Maryse, are expecting their first child this Spring. The Miz does not want to miss the birth of his first daughter so he said he has a private jet on standby at all times:
“I’m so excited to be a father. I’m excited, nervous, happy, scared. It’s every emotion you could possibly think of, I’m going through it. It’s a WrestleMania baby. The only thing my wife asked me was that [she wanted me to be there]. I literally have a private jet on call at all times.
“I will spend whatever amount of money to get there, to be there and support her and witness my first child being born because I am ecstatic. I don’t want to be the dad that’s not there. I don’t want the kid to ever think that I wasn’t there. I want her to be the one that says you were there, you guided me, you supported me in the best way you knew how.”
Several huge names have held the WWE Intercontinental Title over the years, and the title means a great deal to “The Hollywood A-Lister.” He said he wasn’t happy seeing it become a ‘second-place title’:
“Ultimate Warrior, Shawn Michaels, Bret Hart, Mr. Perfect, Rick Rude — you name it. Every superstar that was my hero growing up as a kid has held that title. It’s a title I always loved as a kid. When I got it for the first time, you’re ecstatic, you’re happy, but you watch the title become a second-place kind of title.
“The last time I got it, I literally said I [was] sick of people looking at this as just a placeholder, as like a whatever title. I want people to understand that when you hold that title, it is prestigious, it is relevant, it has a rich history and that’s what I set out to do. I think I’ve been doing a pretty good job of it, but I’m not done until I’m main-eventing WrestleMania with the Intercontinental championship.”
Miz lost the Intercontinental Title to Roman Reigns this past November in order to go film a new movie for a few weeks. Upon his return two weeks ago he received “Welcome Back” chants from the WWE Universe, something that took Miz aback:
“When I came back two weeks ago to Monday Night Raw, I was gone for six episodes, six weeks. And literally I came back and there were ‘welcome back’ chants. I thought wait a second. Brock Lesnar was gone longer than I am and he doesn’t get welcome back chants, but I am? Usually you guys hate me and boo me and tell me I suck, but now you’re welcoming me back? It made me feel that I was a piece of this puzzle and the main piece was missing.”
You can read Miz’s full interview with ESPN by clicking this link here.
– Following his epic return to WWE on RAW 25 earlier this week, WWE Hall Of Famer Stone Cold Steve Austin took to Twitter to comment on his return. Here’s what he had to say:
– One name that missed RAW 25 is Hall Of Famer Hulk Hogan, who has since been distanced from WWE since his racist comments in a leaked sex tape came to light several years ago. Hogan took to Twitter and said it was hard to sit at home and not be a part of it, but enjoyed watching what he called a ‘great show’:
Very hard sitting at home and not being at #Raw25 with all my friends but really enjoyed seeing it all. My how great the show was HH
WWE got great news about Monday’s RAW 25th Anniversary when the viewership data was released and showed nearly 5 million fans tuned in, making it the most-watched edition of RAW in nearly 4 years.
On the flip side, fans in attendance at the Manhattan Center were largely dissatisfied with their live experience – with some going so far as to demand refunds from Ticketmaster.
The RAW 25th Anniversary broadcast itself got mixed reviews and more information has come out regarding extensive rewrites to the script that took place just hours before it went live on the air.
As noted earlier, the Enzo Amore sexual assault allegation that led to his release the following day caught WWE completely off-guard. The fact that the story broke on a major media day for WWE certainly did not help matters.
Enzo had been scheduled to face Goldust in a singles match at the Barclays Center, with the Dudley Boyz initially scripted to interfere during that match. With Enzo off the show, WWE had to scramble and the Dudley appearance ultimately occurred during an impromptu match that saw Titus O’Neil & Apollo Crews vs. Heath Slater & Rhyno.
Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon was shown ringside at the Barclays Center during the broadcast. According to Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated, Fallon was originally scripted to have a much bigger role on the show. Barrasso reveals that Fallon as supposed to be part of several backstage segments involving WWE legends. For whatever reason, Fallon did not make it to the venue until much later than originally planned. As a result, a large portion of the show had to be re-written.
Extensive rewrites the day of a major show can certainly have a negative effect on the final product. That said, it’s hard to imagine many fans having a materially different opinion of the show had it included Enzo vs. Goldust and a few Jimmy Fallon backstage segments.
– Following his loss to Bray Wyatt on RAW 25, “Woken” Matt Hardy teased the likes of Reby Hardy, his son Maxel, and Senor Benjamin coming to WWE with him. He also said he needs to return to the Hardy Compound to draw power from his ‘platoon.’ Hardy then stated that he needs to return to his “BROKEN” beginnings, teasing that he may soon be using the “Broken” gimmick instead of the “Woken” one he has been using on WWE TV as of late:
On this Eve in The York of New, I lost a single Battle in #TheGreatWar to an ETERNAL RIVAL.
I must return to The Hardy Compound & draw from the POWAH of my PLATOON.
– In the main event of last night’s episode of 205 Live, Cedrick Alexander and Mustafa Ali put on an incredible main event that garnered “This Is Awesome” chants from the crowd. Highlights from the match, including both Alexander and Ali’s reactions, can be found below:
Impact Wrestling is heading back on the road as the promotion is holding a live event on March 4th in Mississauga, Ontario.
Austin Aries, Alberto El Patron, Matt Sydal, Petey Williams, Eli Drake, Trevor Lee, Allie are expected to work this event. As of this writing, there’s no word yet on if the company plans on adding more events beyond the 3/4 show.
This marks their first live event of the year. After taking a break from house shows, Impact held three live events last summer.
