As we’ve noted, WWE COO Triple H had dinner with Ronda Rousey and her agent at a famous LA restaurant this past Tuesday. “The Game” missed SmackDown Live’s tapings in Alabama for the dinner, and with Rousey’s agent being present, it’s expected that business was discussed.
Rousey’s WWE debut has been rumored to occur at or before WrestleMania 34 this upcoming April. With the first-ever Women’s Royal Rumble taking place later this month speculation has arisen that she could possibly debut at the event. Triple H recently spoke to The Associated Press about his dinner meeting with Rousey and confirmed that they are talking to Rousey about a possible WWE deal:
“We are talking to Ronda, as we’ve been for a while,” Triple H said. “She has a lot of things going on. We have a lot of things going on. But we have a great relationship with her, a very friendly standpoint for a long period of time now. It was great to catch up with her.”
As far as if a deal has been reached and whether or not a Royal Rumble appearance is planned for Rousey, “The Game” said they have nothing to announce at this time:
“We have nothing to announce at this time,” Triple H said. “But she’s a huge fan of what we do and she’s incredibly interested in what we do and the opportunities that lie there. We’re fans of hers and incredibly interested in what those opportunities could be with us. But there’s a lot of things to walk through. We’re talking. We’re having conversations.”
– Wrestling Observer Newsletter gave Wrestle Kingdom 12’s IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship No Disqualification match between Kenny Omega and Chris Jericho five stars. The night’s main event between Okada and Naito for the IWGP Heavyweight Title received four stars.
– RAW stars Sonya Deville and Mandy Rose revealed on Snapchat that they’re suffering from the flu. Deville posted a video of herself in bed recovering while watching a marathon of Friends. No news yet on whether or not they’ll be working Monday’s episode of RAW.
Yesterday it was reported that Ronda Rousey, her manager, and Triple H were having dinner together at a popular LA restaurant, Republique. With Rousey’s manager being there it’s likely business was being discussed. The dinner took place on Tuesday night during SmackDown Live’s taping in Alabama.
With rumors running rampant about a possible Rousey signing to WWE, TMZ recently caught up with Cruiserweight Champion Enzo Amore and asked for his opinion on the former UFC women’s bantamweight champion possibly becoming a professional wrestler. “The Realest Guy In The Room” suggested that Rousey could be in for a ‘rude awakening’:
“Did she?,” Amore asked. “She’s in for a rude awakening. I mean MMA is MMA, I ain’t hating on MMA whatsoever – respect what they do so much. You ever been put through a table? Slammed on concrete? It’s a different ballgame.”
When asked how he thinks she’d do as a wrestler, Amore admitted that he thinks Rousey will translate well as she has enough respect for the business to understand it’s not easy:
“I think she’d translate quite well. Quite well. I don’t think it’s harder than she thinks. I think she respects what we do enough to know that it’s hard.”
– WWE will return to Madison Square Garden in New York City on March 16th for a live event. Two matches have been announced for the event; including WWE Universal Champion Brock Lesnar vs. Kane, and Intercontinental Champion Roman Reigns vs. The Miz vs. John Cena.
– Yesterday marked 18 years since current SmackDown Live star Shelton Benjamin signed his first WWE deal. He posted the following on social media to celebrate the milestone:
“On Jan 10 2000 I signed my first @wwe contract and officially became a Pro-wrestler/sports entertainer. Hard to believe that was 18 years ago #TODAY. Thank you to All who have cheered/booed supported or hated it’s all motivation for me. The Ride is far from over. I guess the best way to put it is #Ain’tnostoppinMeNooowwww!!! #18thyearanniversary”
‘The Cleaner’ Kenny Omega has reportedly extended his contract with New Japan Pro Wrestling. The Wrestling Observer have revealed that his one year extension will keep him with the company until at least January 31st 2019, this of course rules him out of any potential Royal Rumble appearance this year or next as well as a potential spot at Wrestlemania in New Orleans.
There had been some rumblings of Chris Jericho’s involvement in New Japan being a plot by WWE to ‘swoop in’ and raid the company, while these were fairly out there rumors they had begun to gain some traction…hopefully this confirmation of Kenny’s contract extension will quell any doubt that he is in Japan for the foreseeable future.
It looks like former IMPACT Wrestling Grand Champion Moose may have suffered an injury during last night’s set of TV tapings in Orlando. Moose’s injury took place during a match between EC3, Alberto El Patron and Johnny Impact. The match was meant to determine the new No. 1-contender for he Impact Wrestling World Championship. Moose reportedly suffered a knee injury and was helped backstage by several people.
PWInsider reports that it’s believed Moose didn’t tear anything. Moose is a former National Football League (NFL) offensive lineman that has played for teams such as the Atlanta Falcons, New England Patriots, St. Louis Rams, and Indianapolis Colts. After six years in the NFL he then transitioned into a career in professional wrestling in 2012. Moose subsequently signed with Ring Of Honor in 2014 before departing for IMPACT Wrestling in 2016.
WWE Superstar Seth Rollins recently did an interview with the Amarillo Globe-News to discuss his rise in the professional wrestling industry. With WrestleMania 34 right around the corner “The Architect” was asked who he’d like to face off against at “The Show Of Shows.” Rollins noted he wants to be in the main event of the show, making himself the reason people are buying tickets, and would love to work with names such as Brock Lesnar or SmackDown Live’s WWE Champion AJ Styles:
“There are a ton of guys I’d love to work with at a WrestleMania. For me, I want to be in the main event of WrestleMania selling the tickets to that show. Whether it’s Brock Lesnar or AJ Styles. Either one of those guys I’d love to look toward being in the ring with when the time comes.”
Late last year WWE fans went nuts when the company decided to reunited The Shield. That reunion was short-lived, however, as Reigns contracted the mumps in a viral outbreak backstage; and soon after he was healthy again Dean Ambrose suffered an injury that sidelined him for several months. Rollins commented on how fans reacted to the initial reunion of The Shield:
“To see the scale in which people were excited about it was pretty cool. I wasn’t really anticipating how incredible it was. It was a nice experience and kind of surreal. It was just awesome to be out there with those guys again and get that reaction.”
Rollins is currently one-half of the RAW Tag Team Champions alongside Jason Jordan, and is one of WWE’s biggest stars. As for what match he thinks put him on the map in the company, Rollins points to his Triple Threat match against Brock Lesnar and John Cena at the Royal Rumble back in 2015:
“Yeah, I’d say so. It was my first opportunity to hang with the guys in the upper echelon. When you see what Brock has accomplished inside and outside of the ring. Then you look at John and everything he’s done. I was kind of the oddball in that pairing. The third wheel so to speak. I wanted to prove I could hold my own and I could be the guy to make that match what it was. I wanted to prove I could compete on that level with those guys. It was cool for me to have that moment. I felt I belonged.”
You can read Rollins’ full interview with Amarillo Globe-News by clicking this link here.
AXS TV will be broadcasting the majority of New Japan Pro Wrestling’s Wrestle Kingdom 12 event over the coming weeks. AXS TV head Mark Cuban has been vocal with regards to pushing NJPW this year even further in the United States to coincide with New Japan’s own US expansion plans.
The schedule for the upcoming weeks of AXS television has now been revealed and is as follows:
January 12
IWGP Junior Tag Team Championship Match – The Young Bucks vs Roppongi 3K (c)
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship Match – Will Ospreay vs Hiromu Takahashi vs KUSHIDA vs Marty Scurll (c)
January 19th
NEVER Openweight 6 Man Tag Team Championship Match – Michael Elgin and War Machine vs Suzuki-Gun vs Taguchi Japan vs Bullet Club (c) vs CHAOS
IWGP Tag Team Championship Match – Los Ingobernables (EVIL & SANADA) vs Killer Elite Squad (c)
January 26h
Cody vs Kota Ibushi
IWGP Intercontinental Championship Match – ‘Switchblade’ Jay White vs Hiroshi Tanahashi (c)
February 2nd
IWGP United States Championship Match – Chris Jericho vs Kenny Omega (c)
February 9th
IWGP Heavyweight Championship Match – Tetsuya Naito vs Kazuchika Okada (c)
Last November WWE’s David Otunga was accused of domestic battery after accusations from his wife, Jennifer Hudson. Hudson claimed that Otunga got angry at her and grabbed their son by the hand before pushing her out of their bedroom. Hudson subsequently filed a report with police in Burr Ridge, Illinois. She then requested a temporary restraining order against Otunga which later sparked a custody battle between the pair over their son, David Jr.
Otunga later won that battle as he has been David Jr.’s primary caregiver since birth due to Hudson’s extensive travel schedule. Hudson also dropped her order of protection against Otunga voluntarily. TMZ now reports that Otunga will not be charged in the domestic battery case against him.
Last month on the WWE Network following an episode of Monday Night RAW the company debuted a new show entitled “Straight To The Source” with Corey Graves. Graves’ first guest was none other than current WWE Intercontinental Champion Roman Reigns. Reigns was asked about numerous topics surrounding his WWE career, but one statement “The Big Dog” made stood above everything else. Reigns claimed to be the “best performer in-ring in the world,” which of course sparked criticism from fans everywhere:
“You know I’m the best performer in-ring in the world right now. You can go to my matches and my pay-per-views over the last three years and you can say I’m an idiot or you can be like ‘man, he’s got a point’, you know what I mean?”
As for who most consider to be the best in-ring performer in the world today – New Japan Pro Wrestling star and current IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion Kenny Omega is one of the names at the top of that list. In a recent interview with Bleacher Report, “The Cleaner” responded to Reigns’ claims last month and called them ‘ridiculous’:
“I don’t know if Roman was put up to saying a comment like that from a social media team or if it was something that he consciously thought of himself. But I thought it was pretty smart of him to do—to say—that, because it became instantaneously a topic that people were talking about. And just because it sounds so ridiculous. You know what I mean?
“By no means do I actually think he believes in those words. There’s no possible way. I don’t have to feel like I have to speak up about it. It is what it is, and I understand that it’s a fun thing for fans to generate interest in the product. I take absolutely zero offense in him saying it. Especially since it’s quite clear that the fact of the matter is much, much different.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74QIDIO5Pxw
You can read Omega’s interview with Bleacher Report by clicking here.
It looks like Mark Henry’s career as an active WWE Superstar has come to an end. Henry wrestled his last match at the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal last year, and only competed in three total matches in the year 2017. Per a report from Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, he has confirmed that the man formerly known as “Sexual Chocolate” is pretty much retired as an active WWE Superstar.
Henry is still under contract with WWE but is being advertised for a Northeast Wrestling event on March 2nd in Waterbury, Connecticut. The event will also feature Rey Mysterio, Emma, Flip Gordon, and Matt Riddle. It is a charity event and Henry will not be wrestling at the show, and is not looking for anymore bookings as of this writing.
The former standout powerlifter signed with WWE back in 1996 and is a former ECW Champion, WWE World Heavyweight Champion, and European Champion. He is also one of The Undertaker’s victims at WrestleMania, as “The Deadman” defeated Henry to extend his then-undefeated record at “The Show Of Shows” to 14-0 back in 2006. After over 20 years with the WWE Henry has established himself as one of the most respected veterans within the company.
The big announcement that John Cena was teasing on social media is that he’ll be hosting Fthe Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards for the second year in a row. The show takes place on Saturday, March 24th.
In addition to hosting the 2018 Kid’s Choice Awards, Variety reports that John Cena has expanded his partnership with Nickelodeon. Cena is joining the voice cast of the Nickelodeon’s new animated series “Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” and will serve as executive producer on a new game show called “Keep it Spotless.”
Nickelodeon President Cyma Zarghami told Variety, “[Cena’s] just one of those people who kids love, so why wouldn’t we want to be in business with him?”
Cena said, “Nickelodeon and I, we share the same looking glass. We like to make kids laugh and we like kids to have fun. Nickelodeon doesn’t do programming that doesn’t have comedy in it, that doesn’t have smiles in it. I really enjoy putting smiles on faces.”
For more on Cena’s partnership with Nickelodeon, visit Variety.com.
Impact Wresting will be introducing new championship belts once again.
During a media conference call on Thursday morning involving Impact executives Don Callis and Scott D’Amore, the company revealed that the new championships will be introduced in April, when they hold the next round of television tapings.
Current championship belts being are holdovers from when the company (briefly) rebranded as Global Force Wrestling last year. When the GFW partnership was terminated, the company covered up the Global Force name with ‘Impact Wrestling’ plates.
Austin Aries returned to Impact Wrestling at Wednesday night’s Impact tapings from Orlando, FL and captured the company’s Global Championship from Eli Drake.
WrestleMania 34 is less than three months away and plans are well underway to lock in the top matches planned for the show. In the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer confirmed that WWE has settled on the top two matches for the show.
The main event will surprise nobody, as Roman Reigns will challenge Brock Lesnar for the WWE Universal Championship. This match has been years in the making and was effectively set in stone going back over a year, when Meltzer reported it prior to last year’s Mania.
The other top match for WrestleMania 34 will see “free agent” John Cena finally squaring off against The Undertaker.
With Taker being backstage at SmackDown this week and the sports entertainment company promoting him for the RAW 25 Anniversary show, the feeling is that the angle for Cena vs. Undertaker will be shot in two weeks at the special edition of RAW.
WrestleMania 34 is set to be held on April 8, 2018, at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. This event airs on pay-per-view (PPV) and WWE Network and is the most successful and longest-running professional wrestling event in history.
As for the WWE Hall of Fame’s Class of 2018, Meltzer confirmed the names that were on a list first reported by Brad Shepard of Bleacher Report. The headliner for this year’s HOF class will be former WWE & WCW World Champion Bill Goldberg, who had a successful return to WWE after over a decade out of the ring.
Candice LeRae has signed a developmental deal with the WWE, according to a recent report by Squared Circle Sirens. She is set to start training at the Performance Center in the next few weeks as she has passed her medical testing.
WWE announced the signings of names like former Ring of Honor World Champion Adam Cole, Kyle O’Reilly, Bobby Fish, Donovan Dijak, Lio Rush and Shayna Baszler last year. She has worked for various promotions such as Pro Wrestling Guerrilla and Combat Zone Wrestling. She is a former one-time PWG World Tag Team Champion with Joey Ryan as The World’s Cutest Tag Team.
LeRae made her debut in WWE’s developmental brand by competing in a battle royal to determine the new #1 contender for Asuka’s NXT Women’s Championship last April. She also participated in a battle royal which was won by Nikki Cross to determine one of the contenders for the vacant NXT Women’s Championship at NXT TakeOver: WarGames last October. Last July, it was announced LeRae would participate in the Mae Young Classic tournament. Although she won her first and second round matches, she ended up being eliminated in the quarterfinals by Shayna Baszler.
As seen on this week’s episode of NXT on the WWE Network, which was taped on January 4th from Atlanta, GA at Center Stage, a stipulation has been added to a key match at NXT TakeOver: Philadelphia.
NXT General Manager William Regal announced that Adam Cole vs. Aleister Black will now be an Extreme Rules match.
Impact Wrestling held its latest round of TV tapings on Wednesday night from Universal Studios in Orlando, FL. The following are results from the show, courtesy of Jacob Cohen:
– Caleb Konley defeated Rohit Raju
– Impact Grand Champion Matt Sydal (c) defeated Fallah Bahh to retain
– Lashley defeated KM
– Kiera Hogan defeated Laurel Van Ness
– LAX comes out for an in-ring promo and Konnan calls out oVe. The group comes out and Sami Callihan says he hates LAX and the Impact Zone, but it’s because oVe hates everything. Sami says he does respect LAX, and they have bigger problems to deal with now, but they will be tag team champions again in 2018. Konnan says there aren’t any bigger fish to fry than them, because LAX is the whole tuna. Caleb Konley and Trevor Lee attacks LAX from behind and oVe leaves.
– Moose & Johnny Impact defeated Alberto El Patron & EC3
– Eli Drake and Chris Adonis come out to the ring for ‘The Facts Of Life’, and Eli talks about being the greatest of all time. He declares he is the greatest Champion, dresser, and friend of all time… but Austin Aries returns and says Drake isn’t the Greatest Man That Ever Lived. Aries lists his own accolades in the company and says if Drake wants to be great, he has to beat him anywhere and anytime. Chris Adonis attacks him from behind, and Eli calls for a ref to defend the title on the spot.
– Austin Aries returned and defeated Eli Drake to capture the Impact Global Championship.
– Taiji Ishimori & Matt Sydal defeated Rohit Raju & El Hijo Del Fantasma
– Cult of Lee (Trevor Lee & Caleb Konley) defeats T.E.C.H. LAX appears on the screen after the match, and Konnan warns Cult Of Lee that they are coming for them, and there is nothing they can do about it
– Laurel Van Ness defeated Kiera Hogan. Van Ness attacks Hogan after the match, but Allie runs out for the save.
– Hania defeated Amber Nova. Rosemary attacks Hania after the match and chases her away
– Johnny Impact defeated EC3 & Moose & Alberto El Patron in a #1 Contender’s Fatal 4 Way match.
Major League Wrestling returns to Orlando, FL tonight (1/11) for MLW: Zero Hour at GILT Nightclub. A limited number of tickets for the event are still available at Eventbrite.com.
MLW: Zero Hour will be available for on-demand streaming this weekend at MLW.TV.
Here’s the card for MLW: Zero Hour:
DEATH MATCH: Jimmy Havoc vs. Shane “Swerve” Strickland
SUPER FIGHT: MVP vs. Low Ki (with Stokely Hathaway)
Matt Riddle & Jeff Cobb vs. “Filthy” Tom Lawlor & Seth Petruzelli
LUCHA LIBRE: Penta el Zero M vs. Rey Fenix
Darby Allin vs. Sammy Gueveara managed by Salina de la Renta
Brody King vs. MJF
Santana Garrett vs. MJ Jenkins
Jason Cade & Jason Cade vs. The Dirty Blondes
Mike Parrow vs. Vandal Ortagun
Rhett Giddins vs. Kotto Brazil
Plus Barrington Hughes
Here are some of the latest videos hyping MLW: Zero Hour:
NXT kicked off with a backstage segment with Undisputed Era. Fish, O’Reilly and Cole stated that they will prove that they are the baddest team on the planet in 2018. Fish and O’Reilly said that they will put an end to SAnitY tonight when they defend their tag titles against them. Cole vowed to end anyone that gets in his way of becoming the next NXT Champion.
The NXT crowd chanted “Shayna’s gonna kill you!” as Baszler backed Kai into the corner. Baszler applied a Wrist Lock in the middle of the ring and then drove her foot into Dakota’s shoulder. Baszler booted Dakota in the face and then stomped on her elbow.
Kai screamed in pain and the referee called a stop to the match. Baszler was declared the winner as Dakota Kai was deemed unable to continue in the match. After the match, Baszler choked out Kai in the ring.
NXT Women’s Champion Ember Moon rushed to the ring and Baszler laughed in the corner of the ring. Moon started shouting at Baszler as Shayna posed in the ring before leaving.
Christy St. Cloud tried top interview Baszler backstage. NXT GM William Regal immediately interrupted and stated that he saw right through Baszler’s games. Regal noted that Baszler will not earn an NXT Women’s Championship match if she continues to attack people from behind. Baszler simply said “are we done here?” and walked away.
Ohno and Mendoza shook hands before the match started. Mendoza applied a Headlock but Ohno reversed it into a roll-up for a one count. Ohno launched Mendoza towards the corner but Mendoza took down Ohno with a Headscissors for a one count. Raul hit a couple of kicks to Ohno’s chest and went for a third but Ohno caught him and booted him in the face.
Kassius delivered a chop that echoed throughout the arena and followed it up with a elbow to the face for a two count. Mendoza rolled up Kassius for a one count. Ohno connected with a Senton and went for the cover but Raul kicked out at the last moment. Menoza hit an Arm Drag but Ohno got right back up and launched Mendoza towards the corner. Raul leaped off the rope and hit a corkscrew Arm Drag. Mendoza followed it up with a springboard kick for another two count.
The crowd chanted for Ohno as Mendoza leaped onto Kassius’ shoulders. Ohno launched Mendoza into the ropes and hit the High Tension Elbow Strike for the pinfall victory.
Zelina Vega was interviewed backstage and she claimed that Gargano got lucky in earning a shot at the NXT Championship. Vega stated that Johnny Wrestling is a lie and that Andrade “Cien” Almas is reality. Vega added that Almas is ready and that they are taking their title defense against Gargano very seriously. Almas will defend his NXT Championship against Johnny Gargano at NXT TakeOver: Philadelphia on January 27th.
Christy St. Cloud interviewed Johnny Gargano backstage. Gargano was interrupted by Velveteen Dream and demanded that Gargano thank him. Velveteen Dream stated that Gargano got lucky and poked fun at it taking Gargano twenty minutes to defeat Kassius Ohno. Dream added that Gargano didn’t earn his spot and that that he deserves his spot. Dream also claimed that Gargano has no shot against Andrade “Cien” Almas at NXT TakeOver: Philadelphia.
Street Profits were shown walking around backstage for an episode of “Street Talk”. They joined NXT GM Willliam Regal in his office and brought up the fact that they were undefeated. Ford and Dawkins asked Regal when they would get a shot at the gold. Regal announced that next week the Street Profits will face the Authors of Pain to determinte the #1 contenders for the NXT Tag Championships.
Sullivan missed with his attacks early as Lio Rush kept escaping. Rush connected with a rolling heel kick and went for another but Sullivan grabbed him by the throat and slammed Rush into the top rope. Sullivan launched Lio into the turnbuckle and then charged at him but Rush escaped once again.
Lars charged at Rush again in the corner but Rush leaped out of the way and Sullivan crashed into the ring post. It didn’t matter though as Sullivan recovered quickly and decked Rush with a ridiculous Clothesline. Lars then hit the Freak Accident for the quick pinfall victory.
After the match, Sullivan grabbed a microphone and stated that all of his opponents have fallen by his hands. Lars said that he dealt with a force two weeks ago that he has never felt before. Sullivan added that it brought him joy because it is a force that he wants to destroy. Sullivan then challenged Killian Dain and delivered another Freak Accident to Lio Rush off the second rope.
The cameras quickly cut backstage as the Undisputed Era was shown beating down SAnitY backstage. Officials broke it up and Cole, Fish and O’Reilly walked away.Undisputed Era then made their way down to the ring with gigantic smiles on their faces and grabbed a few microphones.
Cole, Fish and O’Reilly joking asked “where is SAnitY?” and Bobby Fish wondered if maybe forgot about the match. Cole said that they kicked the chaos out of SAnitY and Nikki Cross sprinted to the entrance ramp as officials held her back. Cross essentially had to be tackled and dragged backstage by the officials as the NXT crowd chanted her name.
Cole tried to continue the promo but NXT GM William Regal interrupted and came down to the entrance. Regal said that this was ridiculous and that Fish and O’Reilly will be defending their NXT Tag Team Championships tonight. Roderick Strong interrupted and said that he will fight Undisputed Era and will head backstage to find a partner. Aleister Black’s music hit and Black joined Strong on the entrance ramp. The crowd chanted “Aleister!” as Black stared at Undisputed Era. Black stated “as will I” and the two rushed the ring.
NXT Tag Team Championship Match: Undisputed Era (Bobby Fish & Kyle O’Reilly) (c) vs Aleister Black & Roderick Strong
Strong and Black rushed the ring and knocked Fish and O’Reilly out of the ring as NXT went to a break. When NXT returned, the match started with Black and O’Reilly in the ring. Black controlled the match early and Strong connected with a Dropkick to Bobby Fish outside the ring. Black locked in an Arm Bar on O’Reilly in the center of the ring.
Strong tagged in and dropped O’Reilly with a kick to the face for a two count. Strong delivered a chop to O’Reilly’s chest and followed it up with a Backbreaker for a two count. Strong remained on the attack and applied a Chin Lock. Strong quickly tagged Black back in and Bobby Fish took out Black on the ring apron as NXT went to a another break.
When NXT returned, Fish and O’Reilly were in control of the match. Fish tagged in and beatdown Black in the corner. Fish hit a Senton on Black and went for the cover but Aleister kicked out at two. Fish and O’Reilly trapped Black in the corner and took turns beating him down. O’Reilly tagged in and blasted Black in the face with a few jabs while he was on the mat. O’Reilly tagged in Fish and then knocked Strong off the ring apron.
Bobby Fish planted Black with an Exploder Suplex and went for the cover but Strong leaped into the ring to break up the cover. Fish applied a rear Chin Lock in the middle of the ring but Black quickly battled up to his feet. Black broke free and kneed Fish in the face and both Superstars fell to the canvas.
O’Reilly and Strong were tagged back in and Strong beat the hell out of the champions for a minute. Strong connected with a Dropkick to O’Reilly and then slammed O’Reilly into Fish in the corner. Strong hit O’Reilly with a Backbreaker and then delivered a Belly to Belly Suplex to Fish and Bobby landed on top of O’Reilly. Fish recovered and knocked Black off the ring apron. Strong launched Fish out of the ring and then connected with a massive knee strike to Kyle O’Reilly’s jaw. Black leveled Fish with a boot to the face outside the ring and then tossed O’Reilly back into the ring.
Adam Cole punched Black in the face outside the ring but Aleister shrugged it off. Cole escaped through the crowd but Aleister Black followed him. Back in the ring, Fish and O’Reilly connected with the Total Elimination for the pinfall victory. Adam Cole chuckled on the stairs in the crowd as Black ran back to the ring. Black connected with a couple of kicks to Fish and O’Reilly but Cole joined the party in the ring. Cole launched Black into the ring post and instructed Fish and O’Reilly to hold Black back. Cole taunted Black and then booted him in the face.
Fish and O’Reilly then leveled Black and Cole stood over Aleister in the ring. Cole told O’Reilly to bring a chair into the ring and then continued to taunt Black. Cole lifted Black up in a Fireman’s Carry and then dropped Black spine-first into the steel chair. Cole put his boot on Black’s chest as Undisputed Era posed with their NXT Tag Team Championships.
Winners & Still NXT Tag Team Champions: Undisputed Era (Bobby Fish & Kyle O’Reilly)
After the match, NXT GM William Regal came down to the entrance ramp and announced that Cole’s match against Aleister Black is now an Extreme Rules match. Cole got right in Regal’s face but Regal didn’t back down. Undisputed Era eventually backed away and made their way backstage as NXT went off the air.
WWE Champion AJ Styles recently spoke with Matt Fowler over at IGN.com to hype WWE’s upcoming Royal Rumble pay-per-view and Boom! Studios new Royal Rumble Special 2018 comic book, which features a story co-written by Styles spotlighting his WWE debut at the 2016 Rumble.
In recent weeks, we’ve the formation of the Balor Club on RAW, with Finn Balor finally pairing up with former Bullet Club partners Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson. Styles is no stranger to the Bullet Club and had some interesting comments about the new alliance on RAW.
“It is what it is, I guess, as far as the way things are supposed to happen,” Styles said. “Even though I had my own reunion with them shortly after I arrived, and its in the story, I’m not even with those guys right now. They’re on RAW and I’m on SmackDown and I’m kind of doing my own thing by myself. But those three guys being together is something special because, truth be told, those were the three guys who were originally together.”
He continued, “If I could look into the future or try to predict things. I’d like to think that maybe we can all be together doing something. At some point. But you never know where things are going to lead, but right now I’m very interested in what I’m seeing.”
The Phenomenal One also commented on WWE announcers dubbing him the “Redneck Rookie” – an absurd moniker for a veteran of his stature. Styles was no fan of the nickname and used his influence backstage to get it dropped.
“I was like ‘Uh, I’ve been doing this for 16 years.’ I’m not a rookie and I’m not even the age a rookie would be coming into anything. So yeah, I kind of tried to squash that as quickly as I could.”
Other topics discussed include the success he’s achieved in WWE, his love of video games and more. Visit IGN.com to read the full interview.
This year’s WWE Fastlane pay-per-view is scheduled for March 11, 2018 at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio.
The SmackDown-branded event will feature a special appearance by “free agent” John Cena.
Earlier this week, the Facebook Page of the Nationwide Arena posted a video revealing that the main event of Fastlane will feature a Fatal Five Way match for the WWE Championship.
Of course, the card is subject to change, but the participants for the match include WWE Champion AJ Styles, Randy Orton, Kevin Owens, Shinsuke Nakamura and Sami Zayn.
One of the biggest stories to watch in 2018 will be whether or not WWE clears Daniel Bryan to wrestle again. Bryan was forced into retirement back in February 2016 due to the numerous concussions he sustained throughout his career. Since then, several neurologists have given him the green light to step back in the ring.
WWE COO Triple H maintains that WWE has still not cleared Bryan to compete and is adamant that there will be no exceptions if WWE’s medical staff feels the risks to the performer are too high.
While speaking at the Television Critics Association winter press tour panel to promote the upcoming RAW 25 special, Triple H shed new light on the situation.
”There can be no exception, medically,” he says. “If the belief is that he’s not healthy enough and it is a risk for to perform, then I don’t know why we would ever allow him to step in the ring unless it can be proven otherwise.”
He continued, “We have some of the best medical people in the world working for us. Our wellness policy, our concussion programs, out protocols–I’ll put them up against any on the planet. The medical experts will make the determination of whether Bryan can set foot in that ring or not,” Triple H explains.
“Personally, for him, I know it’s something he loved doing and I hope he has that opportunity. But at the same point in time, he’s married and has a child. We serve the human being first.”
It’s believed that Daniel Bryan’s WWE contract runs through this summer, at which point he could become a free agent and wrestle elsewhere.
WWE continues to call up big names to appear on a special episode of Monday Night RAW.
In addition to the long list of legends already confirmed, PWinsider reports that former RAW General Manager and WCW Executive Vice President Eric Bischoff will appear at the RAW 25th Anniversary show, which would mark his first appearance on WWE television since 2007 when he did a segment with Chris Jericho on the RAW 15th Anniversary special. WWE will celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the launch of RAW on January 22nd, 2018 in Brooklyn, NY at the Barclays Center.
Impact Wrestling’s 6-sided ring is no more. Impact returns to Universal Orlando tonight for the next round of TV tapings and already we have some significant changes to kick of 2018.
In addition to Impact Wrestling ditching the GFW neon green color scheme, the company has reverted to a traditional 4-sided ring.
It’s also worth noting that the ring apron features the logo of the Twitch streaming service. As of this writing, Impact has yet to announce a formal partnership with Twitch.
Check back later tonight for Impact Wrestling tapings results for the next few weeks.
