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Brock Lesnar Live Event Opponent Announced, SmackDown Preview

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Tonight’s SmackDown Live takes place from Toledo, Ohio at the Huntington Center. WWE is advertising the following items for the show:

– Why did Mickie James help Alexa Bliss retain her SmackDown Live Women’s Title against Becky Lynch last week?

– Renee Young interviews Mickie James.

– Luke Harper battles Randy Orton in a singles match.

– John Cena will call out AJ Styles.

The dark match main event will see WWE Champion Styles and The Miz vs. John Cena and IC Champion Dean Ambrose. As always, check back later tonight for our SmackDown Live Results & discussion.

Check back here tonight at 8PM ET for our live play-by-play coverage of the show.

– Brock Lesnar will be making a rare live event appearance on Friday, 2/17 from the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. The venue has announced that Lesnar’s opponent will be longtime rival The Big Show. Other top matches for the card include:

– Roman Reigns vs. Braun Strowman.

– Seth Rollins vs. Rusev

– Fatal Fourway RAW Tag Team Championship Match: Sheamus & Cesaro vs. Gallows & Anderson vs. New Day vs. Enzo Amore & Big Cass.

– Six-Woman Tag Team Match: Sasha Banks, Bayley & Alicia Fox vs. Charlotte Flair, Nia Jax & Dana Brooke.

Goldberg Talks About His Decision To Stick With WWE

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Goldberg recently spoke with Brian Fritz of Sporting News and spoke about what convinced him to stick with WWE beyond Survivor Series. Goldberg had initially declared that Brock Lesnar would be his final victim inside the squared circle, but now he’ll have the opportunity to spear and jackhammer many more opponents this Sunday at the Royal Rumble. As for what led to the change of heart, Goldberg said:

“You know, I think the reaction of my son, the reaction of my wife and, you have to say, the reaction of the crowd. I’m greatly appreciative than anybody would ever know who I was, especially back then when I was doing my thing, let alone 12 years removed and the welcome that I got. I’m very humbled and it just makes me want to go out and work harder.

I’m here in Cleveland, woke up at 5 o’clock, already worked out the first time today, ate a couple of times, gonna go to the gym again here in a little while. I’m addicted to this training thing. I’m an extremely lucky guy. Vince McMahon has opened his doors and I’m back at home. It’s a different experience this time.”

Goldberg also talked about his son’s reaction to defeating Lesnar at Survivor Series, his huge match against Hulk Hogan on Nitro and much more. You can check out the full interview at SportingNews.

Which WWE Legend Is Getting The Bronze Statue Treatment This Year?

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Over the past several years, it’s become an annual tradition that WWE honors a wrestling legend with a larger than life sized bronze statue in their image. Past subjects include Andre The Giant, Bruno Sammartino, Dusty Rhodes and the Ultimate Warrior.

This year, it will be none other than 16-time World Champion Ric Flair being immortalized in bronze.

A model named Sean Perry posted the following photo on Instagram with the caption, “Sooooo, the other day a studio did a full body mold of me for a statue of Ric Flair (in his prime) for the WWE Hall of Fame.” Pro Wrestling Sheet confirms the guy’s story checks out.

The bronze statues are typically unveiled during the WrestleMania Axxess fan festival, so fans who are in Orlando for Mania have another cool thing to look forward to that weekend.

perry

 

Alexa Bliss Engaged, New SmackDown Head Writer Rumor, More

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– There is talk that Brian James (Road Dogg) has replaced Ryan Ward as the head writer of SmackDown Live. We’ll look into this further but this would be a major promotion for James, a longtime friend of Triple H.

– WWE’s Chief Revenue and Marketing Officer Michelle Wilson appeared at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) from Las Vegas and revealed how much original content WWE produces each year.

“When we look five years ago, we were putting out about 750 hours of original content every year, which is a lot. Fast-forward to today, we’re putting out double that, about 1,500 hours of original content that’s both long-form for TV, but we’re putting out just as much content short-form on YouTube and Snapchat.”

– NXT star Buddy Murphy noted on Instagram that SmackDown women’s champion Alexa Bliss is now his “wife to be.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/BPoN7WQDe22/?hl=en

Cena Hosting Another Awards Show, Naomi Returns To Action, HBK At The Rumble

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– During an appearance on NBC’s Today morning show, John Cena announced that he’ll be hosting this year’s Nickelodeon Kid’s Choice Awards. The event takes place on March 11th. Cena has appeared at the awards show several times and got positive reviews for his job hosting last year’s ESPY Awards.

– WWE announced during RAW that San Antonio native Shawn Michaels will be appearing during the Kickoff show for Sunday’s Royal Rumble pay-per-view. HBK has history in the Royal Rumble and at the Alamodome, having captured his second WWE Championship at the venue when he defeated Sid at the 1997 Rumble.

– Smackdown star Naomi returned to action at last night’s live event from Saginaw, Michigan. She had been out of action with an ankle injury.

Kurt Angle Completely Rules Out Wrestling At The Royal Rumble

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Kurt Angle is WWE Hall of Fame bound, but don’t expect to see him step in the ring this Sunday at the Royal Rumble.

News broke on Monday that Angle has been pulled from a live event scheduled for Saturday from Scotland. Immediately there was speculation that the move signaled Angle could be headed to San Antonio instead, but we reported that the Scotland 5 Star Wrestling Show was a TV taping that will air on Spike TV, which was likely the reason Angle pulled out.

The Olympic Gold medalist does not want to get fans’ hopes up and is saying flat out that he won’t be stepping foot in a WWE ring any time soon.

“Royal Rumble is not gonna happen,” Angle said. “A lot of people are assuming it, a lot of writers are writing about it … I haven’t talked to WWE about anything after WWE Hall of Fame.”

What Happened After RAW With Undertaker, Goldberg & Lesnar

Scott Lazara
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This week’s RAW ended with a staredown between Goldberg, Brock Lesnar and The Undertaker to promote Sunday’s Royal Rumble Match. That staredown continued after RAW ended before Brock Lesnar was the first to make his exit.

Goldberg then left but stopped to greet a few fans at ringside. The Undertaker did his trademark pose before leaving the ring and raising his fist on the stage.

Below are two fan photos of Taker’s exit:

More Updates To The WWE Royal Rumble Card

Scott Lazara
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Roman Reigns vs. Kevin Owens for the WWE Universal Championship at Sunday’s Royal Rumble PPV will now be a No DQ match.

WWE has also added Sasha Banks vs. Nia Jax to the Royal Rumble pre-show on Sunday.

Below is the updated card for the Royal Rumble after developments on tonight’s RAW:

– 30 Man Royal Rumble Match with Goldberg, Brock Lesnar, The Undertaker, The Miz, Dean Ambrose, Sami Zayn, Chris Jericho, Braun Strowman, Big E, Xavier Woods, Kofi Kingston, Big Show, Baron Corbin, Dolph Ziggler, Cesaro, Sheamus, Bray Wyatt, Randy Orton, Luke Harper, Big Cass, Rusev

– AJ Styles defends the WWE Championship against John Cena

– Kevin Owens defends the WWE Universal Championship against Roman Reigns while Chris Jericho hangs above in a shark cage

– Charlotte defends the RAW Women’s Championship against Bayley

– Rich Swann defends the WWE Cruiserweight Championship against Neville

– Cesaro and Sheamus defend the RAW Tag Team Championships against Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson on the pre-show

– Nia Jax and Sasha Banks do battle on the pre-show

WWE Monday Night Raw Reaction (1/23)

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Roman Reigns kicked off this week’s episode of Monday Night Raw. The shark cage that Chris Jericho will be locked in at the Royal Rumble was in the middle of the ring. Reigns said that he will win the Universal Championship at the Royal Rumble and the entire crowd booed. Kevin Owens and Chris Jericho interrupted and walked to the top of the entrance ramp.

Owens bragged about Powerbombing Reigns through the announce table last week on Raw. Jericho then called Reigns a stupid idiot and the crowd erupted. Jericho boasted about defeating Roman Reigns for the United States Championship. Jericho threatened Reigns and Roman asked if Jericho just gave him a rematch. Jericho shook his head and added Reigns to the list. Owens accepted the rematch on Jericho’s behalf and Jericho was very upset about it. Reigns stated that he is going to win the US title tonight and win the Universal Championship at the Royal Rumble. Roman then said that he is something that Kevin Owens will never be in the WWE, “the guy”.

Reaction: The promo was decent but I cannot believe there is another Chris Jericho versus Roman Reigns match on Raw.

Cesaro vs Luke Gallows

Both Sheamus and Karl Anderson were ringside for this match. Cesaro was controlling the match but Anderson got up on the ring apron to distract him. This distraction allowed Gallows to connect with a kick to Cesaro’s face as Raw went to a commercial break. When Raw returned, Cesaro had recaptured control of the match and connected with a Tornado DDT. Cesaro distracted the referee and Sheamus Clotheslined Gallows outside the ring. Anderson took out Sheamus while Cesaro had Gallows in the Sharpshooter. Gallows tapped out but the referee was distracted by Anderson on the apron. Gallows then slammed Cesaro face first into the mat for the pinfall victory. Gallows and Anderson are getting their Raw Tag Team Championship match at the Royal Rumble during the Kickoff Show.

Winner: Luke Gallows

Mick Foley was on the phone with Stephanie McMahon and Sami Zayn interrupted. Zayn asked Foley how he would go about entering the Royal Rumble match. Foley was about to say that Zayn wouldn’t have to ask but Stephanie interrupted. Stephanie stated that Zayn would have to earn his way into the match by defeating Seth Rollins later tonight.

A video of Cory Grave’s interviewing Bayley was shown.

Mick Foley informed Seth Rollins that his match against Sami Zayn is up next. Foley also stated that if Rollins does not win the match, he is out of the Royal Rumble match.

Seth Rollins vs Sami Zayn

The match started out back and forth. Rollins hit Zayn with a Suicide Dive outside the ring and Raw went to a commercial break. When Raw returned, Zayn climbed to the top turnbuckle but Rollins caught him and knocked him down. Rollins connected with a Blockbuster for a two count. Rollins hit a Superkick and followed it up with a Falcon Arrow. Zayn battled back and went for the Helluva Kick but Rollins got out of the way. Rollins went for the Pedigree but Zayn blocked it and launched Rollins out of the ring. Zayn hit a Sunset Flip Powerbomb on Rollins off the top rope but Seth kicked out at two.

Zayn couldn’t believe Rollins kicked out. Zayn hit the Exploder Suplex onto Rollins in the corner. Zayn went for a Helluva Kick on Rollins while he was on the apron but Rollins blocked it. Rollins then hit a Pedigree onto Zayn on the apron and rolled Sami back into the ring. Triple H’s music hit and Rollins became distracted. Triple H didn’t come down to the ring and Zayn rolled up Rollins for the victory. Seth Rollins is no longer eligible to be in the Royal Rumble match and Sami Zayn has earned a spot.

Winner: Sami Zayn

Reaction: I’m guessing that this will be addressed further on the show. I can’t imagine Seth Rollins not being on the Royal Rumble. I’m glad Sami Zayn got in the match but I wouldn’t be surpised if he was the first entrant in the Royal Rumble match this Sunday.

Ariya Daivari, Tony Nese & Drew Gulak vs Mustafa Ali, TJ Perkins & Jack Gallagher

This was a quick match. Mustafa Ali hit the inverted 450 Splash on Drew Gulak for the victory.

Winners: Mustafa Ali, TJ Perkins & Jack Gallagher

Braun Strowman, Rusev, Jinder Mahal & Titus O’Neil vs New Day, Enzo & Cass

The match started out back and forth. Braun Strowman wound up winning the match for his team by hitting the Running Powerslam on Enzo Amore. After the match, the Big Show came down to the ring and had a stare down with Braun Strowman. Big Show stood tall as Strowman retreated.

Winners: Braun Strowman, Rusev, Jinder Mahal & Titus O’Neil

Reaction: I thought that a Big Show and Strowman feud was going to happen months ago. I don’t know if this is the beginning of a feud or just a way to hype up the fact that there will be multiple giants in the Royal Rumble match. The Cleveland crowd broke out in a “yes!” chant when Strowman and Big Show were in the ring, which I found surprising. Does a match between the Big Show and Braun Strowman interest you at all?

United States Championship Match: Chris Jericho (c) vs Roman Reigns

Reigns dominated the first couple minutes of the match and Raw went to another commercial break. When Raw returned, Jericho was in control of the match and Kevin Owens joined the announce table. Reigns battled back and laid out Jericho with a Clothesline. During the match, Owens relentlessly mocked Byron Saxton. Reigns went for the Superman Punch but Jericho connected with a Dropkick. Reigns responded by planting Jericho with a Powerbomb.

Owens left the announce table and rushed the ring. Reigns hit the Superman Punch but Owens attacked Reigns and the referee called for the bell. Jericho and Owens beatdown Reigns as the shark cage was lowered to the ring. Reigns batted out of the cage and locked Kevin Owens in the cage. Jericho held onto the cage as it was raised above the ring. Reigns hit a Superman Punch on Jericho and he fell to the mat. Owens was locked in the cage above the ring and Reigns hit Jericho with a Spear.

Winner via DQ: Roman Reigns

Reaction: Everything that happened in the match and after it was completely predictable. Owens mocking Saxton during the match was much more entertaining that what happened in the ring. Owens may have looked strong for the first time in a long time last week when he Powerbombed Reigns through the table. This week he went right back to looking like a buffoon and it is hard to imagine Owens leaving Royal Rumble as the Universal Champion. It was also announced that the match between Reigns and Owens at the Royal Rumble will be a no DQ match.

A video of Cory Graves interviewing Charlotte was shown.

Nia Jax vs Ray Lyn

Nia dominated and won the match easily. Nia was interviewed after the match but it was cut short due to Sasha Banks coming down to the ring. Sasha limped to the ring with a crutch and Nia laughed at her. Nia approached the ropes to taunt Sasha and that wound up being a big mistake. Sasha beat the hell out of Nia with the crutch and then hit the Double Knees outside the ring.

Winner: Nia Jax

Rich Swann vs Noam Dar

Alicia Fox accompanied Noam Dar to the ring. Swann controlled the early part of the match. Dar went to the outside of the ring and Swann went to jump onto him but Alicia got in the way. Back in the ring, Dar gained control of the match and Raw went to a commercial break. When Raw returned, Swann kicked Dar in the face and won the match. Swann grabbed a microphone and called out Neville. Swann stood in the ring and Neville came down to the ring. Neville got onto the ring apron but didn’t enter the ring. Neville tried to walk away but Swann hit a Suicide Dive onto him. Neville then retreated and Swann raised the Cruiserweight Championship in the ring. Swann will defend his title against Neville at the Royal Rumble.

Winner: Rich Swann

Goldberg came down to the ring and the crowd greeted him with “Goldberg” chants. Goldberg hit his head on a door or something because he was bleeding from the top of his head. Goldberg stumbled through his promo until Paul Heyman mercifully interrupted and introduced Brock Lesnar. Heyman said that Lesnar was going to eliminate Goldberg as Brock jumped around next to him. Goldberg called Brock Lesnar a dumb ass and told him to come to the ring. Lesnar walked to the ring and circled it. Lesnar got into the ring and had a stare down with Goldberg. The Undertaker’s music hit and The Undertaker appeared in the ring. Raw went off the air with Lesnar, Goldberg and The Undertaker staring at each other.

Reaction: Tonight’s episode of Monday Night Raw was pretty boring for the most part. However, the way the show went off the air was great. The Royal Rumble match is absolutely packed this year. Seth Rollins didn’t get any answers tonight and his role at the Royal Rumble remains unknown. Rollins could interfere in the match and who knows, maybe Triple H will be one of the entrants in the Royal Rumble match. Overall, this week’s Monday Night Raw wasn’t good but the final segment saved it from being terrible.

What did you think of this week’s episode of Monday Night Raw? Did it get you more excited for the Royal Rumble? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

CMLL/NJPW Fantasticamania Day 3 Results

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Here are the results from the third and final day of the CMLL/NJPW Fantasticamania shows, the event is available to view on the NJPW World service now:

Cavernario, Jado & Gedo b. Blue Panther Jr., Soberano Jr. & Henare – Cavernario took the win for his team following the Cavernaria on Blue Panther Jr

Stuka Jr., Jushin Thunder Liger & Tiger Mask IV b. Hechicero, OKUMURA & Raziel – Tiger Mask took the win for his team after hitting a Tiger Suplex on Raziel

Hiromu Takahashi & BUSHI b. Dragon Lee & Titan – BUSHI took the win after catching Titan in the BUSHI ROLL. After the match Takahashi took Dragon Lee’s mask

Ephisto, Kazuchika Okada & Will Ospreay b. Maximo Sexy, Juice Robinson & Ryusuke Taguchi – Okada hit the Rainmaker on Taguchi to take the win via pinfall

Rush, Tetsuya Naito, SANADA & EVIL b. Atlantis, Hiroshi Tanahashi, KUSHIDA & David Finlay – Naito took the pinfall win over Finlay

Mistico b. Euforia – Mistico took the win after hitting the La Mistica in just over 11 minutes

Volador Jr. b. Ultimo Guerrero – Volador Jr took the win after hitting an incredible Avalanche Spanish Fly 

Championship Match Added To WWE Royal Rumble Pre-show, Updated Card

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The 2 hour WWE Royal Rumble Kickoff Pre-show on Sunday will see RAW Tag Team Champions Cesaro and Sheamus defend against Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows.

Below is the updated card for Sunday’s PPV from The Alamodome:

– 30 Man Royal Rumble Match with Goldberg, Brock Lesnar, The Undertaker, The Miz, Dean Ambrose, Sami Zayn, Chris Jericho, Braun Strowman, Big E, Xavier Woods, Kofi Kingston, Big Show, Baron Corbin, Dolph Ziggler, Cesaro, Sheamus, Bray Wyatt, Randy Orton, Luke Harper

– AJ Styles defends the WWE Championship against John Cena

– Kevin Owens defends the WWE Universal Championship against Roman Reigns while Chris Jericho hangs above in a shark cage

– Charlotte defends the RAW Women’s Championship against Bayley

– Rich Swann defends the WWE Cruiserweight Championship against Neville

– Cesaro and Sheamus defend the RAW Tag Team Championships against Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson on the pre-show

Seth Rollins Pulled From The WWE Royal Rumble

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Seth Rollins is no longer in the WWE Royal Rumble Match after losing his spot to Sami Zayn on tonight’s RAW in Cleveland.

The finish saw Rollins get rolled up after Triple H’s music distracted him. It’s believed that Rollins vs. Triple H will take place at Wrestlemania 33.

Here’s the updated list of Royal Rumble participants:

* Sami Zayn
* Big Show
* Brock Lesnar
* The Undertaker
* Bill Goldberg
* Chris Jericho
* Braun Strowman
* Xavier Woods
* Big E
* Kofi Kingston
* Dolph Ziggler
* The Miz
* Baron Corbin
* Dean Ambrose
* Bray Wyatt
* Randy Orton
* Luke Harper
* Cesaro
* Sheamus

WWE RAW Results & Discussion (1/23)

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The January 23rd edition of WWE RAW was the final episode before the 2017 Royal Rumble on 1/29. RAW took place at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, OH.

– RAW opens up with Roman Reigns coming out to the ring. Reigns cuts a promo with the shark cage in the ring, and he quickly gets interrupted by Univeral Champion Kevin Owens and U.S. Champion Chris Jericho. Jericho gets a huge pop from the crowd when he calls Reigns a stupid idiot. Reigns demands a rematch for the U.S. Title tonight. Owens accepts on behalf of Jericho, and says that tonight Reigns will be the one locked in the shark cage. Reigns says he’ll win the U.S. Title tonight, and the Universal Title on Sunday.

– Luke Gallows def. Cesaro: After some back and forth action in the opening moments, Gallows drops Cesaro with a big boot to take control of the match. Cesaro comes back after reversing a vertical suplex, and he hits a series of European uppercuts. Cesaro follows up with a Tornado DDT for a two count. Cesaro gets Gallows in the Sharpshooter, but at ringside Anderson dropkicks Sheamus and then distracts the ref on the apron. Gallows comes behind Cesaro with a big boot and a facebuster for the win. Gallows is busted open under his eye.

– Backstage, Mick Foley has Stephanie McMahon on speakerphone. Sami Zayn walks in and asks about the Royal Rumble. Stephanie tells him he’ll have to beat Seth Rollins tonight to earn his spot in the Rumble.

– Mick Foley approaches Seth Rollins to inform him that Stephanie booked him in a match against Sami Zayn tonight.

– Sami Zayn def. Seth Rollins: Seth Rollins takes control of the match after the first couple minutes with a suicide dive on Zayn outside. Back in the ring, Zayn comes back with a Blue Thunder Bomb for a two count. Zayn follows up with a Michinoku Driver for another two. Rollins ducks a splash from the top and comes back with a Blockbuster off the middle rope for a two count. Rollins hits a Falcon Arrow for another two count. He knees Zayn in the face then goes for a Pedigree, but Zayn gets out and hits a tornado DDT. They go to the top rope and Zayn hits a sunset flip powerbomb for a two count. Rollins climbs out to the apron and Zayn follows. Rollins hits a pedigree on the corner of the apron and rolls Zayn back in the ring. Before Rollins can pin, Triple H’s music hits. The distraction leads to Zayn rolling up Rollins for the win.

– Backstage, Seth Rollins chews out Mick Foley for Triple H’s music playing during his match. Foley says he doesn’t know anything about it, and Rollins says he knows Stephanie was behind it.

– Jack Gallagher, TJ Perkins, & Mustafa Ali def. Ariya Daivari, Tony Nese & Drew Gulak: Gulak goes to work on Perkins then tags in Nese. Nese hits some kicks and knees then locks Perkins in a leg-scissors across the torso. Ali tags in and hits a running hurricanrana then a series of kicks. Ali hits a running neckbreaker and pins, but the aprons clear and all six men brawl. The dust settles and Ali hits a reverse 450 splash for the win.

– Titus O’Neal, Braun Strowman, Jinder Mahal, & Rusev def. Kofi Kingston, Big E, Enzo & Cass: After some competitive action in the opening minutes, Cass drops Jinder with a big boot and then hits he Bada Boom with Enzo. Titus breaks up the pin, then Big E comes in and drops Titus with a belly to belly suplex. Rusev drops Big E, then Cass sends Rusev to the outside with a big boot. Kofi hits a suicide dive on the heels outside, while in the ring Enzo hits a boot to the head of Mahal. Strowman tags in and hits a couple strikes, but Strowman quickly drops him with a running powerslam for the win. As Strowman is celebrating, The Big Show comes out. Big Show gets in the ring and there’s a stare-down. Strowman backs down and heads up the ramp.

– Chris Jericho (c) vs. Roman Reigns: Jericho’s U.S. Title is on the line in this one and Owens is at ringside. After some competitive brawling in the opening minutes, Reigns sets up for a Superman punch. Jericho blocks it with a dropkick, then goes for a Codebreaker. Reigns blocks the Codebreaker and hits a powerbomb on Jericho for a two count. Reigns follows up with a Superman punch, then Kevin Owens interferes and beats down Reigns. Owens and Jericho put Reigns in the cage, but Reigns fights out and puts Owens in it instead. Reigns locks the door with Owens inside, then he Superman punches Jericho.

– Back from commercial, Jericho helps Owens out of the shark cage. An interviewer approaches them and informs them that Mick Foley has made Owen’s Title Match against Reigns at Royal Rumble a No DQ match.

– Nia Jax def. Miss Lynn: Nia gets the win in a very short squash match against a jobber. After the match, Nia cuts a promo saying she dedicated her win to Sasha Banks. Sasha’s music hits and she comes out. Sasha hits the thing and knocks Nia outside, then hits the flying double knees off the apron onto Nia.

– Rich Swann def. Noam Dar: Alicia Fox is at ringside with Dar. Dar tries to use Alicia Fox as a shield at ringside, but he still gets a boot to the face from Swann. Back in the ring, Swann continues with a series of kicks. Dar hits an elbow and goes to the top rope, but Swann tosses him off with a hurricanrana. Swanna follows up with a kick to the face for the win. Swann calls out Neville after the match and he comes out. Neville gets in the ring, but then apparently has a change of heart and he climbs back out to ringside. Swann hits a suicide dive on Neville to the outside. Swann tries to bring Neville into the ring, but Neville rolls away and retreats up the ramp.

– Cedric Alexander is doing an interview backstage, then Noam Dar and Alicia Fox interrupt. Cedric shoves down Noam, and Alicia says he’s just jealous.

– Goldberg emerges from his dressing room and he’s out next. Goldberg is bleeding from his head as he steps into the ring. Goldberg trips over his words a couple times, but eventually he gets it right and begins discussing the Royal Rumble match on Sunday. With blood running down his face, he says he will stop at nothing to obtain the WWE Universal Championship. Paul Heyman interrupts and introduces Brock Lesnar. Heyman explains to Goldberg that he will be beaten and conquered on Sunday at the Rumble. Goldberg interrupts and asks if Lesnar is going to come down to the ring and get it on, or is he going to “sit there like a dumbass.” Lesnar walks down to ringside, and hops up on the apron then gets in the ring. They stare each other down, then The Undertaker’s music hits. The lights go out, and when they come back on, The Undertaker is standing between Lesnar and Goldbreg in the ring. The lights all turn blue, and RAW goes off the air as the three of them stare each other down.

Ric Flair Plays Crazed Used Car Salesman In Commercials For US Auto Sales (Videos)

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https://youtu.be/FcNND2NQNCw

WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair is the new spokesperson for US Auto Sales.

The 16-time World Champion is featured in three new commercials for the national auto chain.

Flair plays the proprietor of “Papa Flair’s Used Cars” in this ads, which feature him in character, spitting his legendary catch phrases and of course, beating people up.

The commercials are pretty funny and it’s an ironic spot for Flair, who was parodied by Will Farrell’s used car salesman character Ashley Schaffer on the HBO series Eastbound and Down.

https://youtu.be/qeFZW0iYM80

In this installment, Flair pays tribute to the late Dusty Rhodes’ epic “Hard Times” promo.

https://youtu.be/gkRJdDZtJQI

Kurt Angle Pulled From WWE Royal Rumble Weekend Booking

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJg1SQ-d658

Kurt Angle will no longer be appearing for Scotland’s 5 Star Wrestling this weekend. Angle had been advertised for the debut episode of “Dominant Wrestling” – 5 Star’s new series which will air on Spike TV.

Already fans are speculating that Angle withdrawing from the event is a sign that we could see him at Sunday’s Royal Rumble event. WWE has never been keen on contracted talent appearing on televised shows for other promotions, so that’s likely the reason for the change.

Kurt Angle is on the record stating that he’d like to wrestle for WWE again and has been competing at a high level on the independent circuit in recent months. Earlier this week, WWE COO Triple H spoke with IGN.com and casually said that Angle is a sure-fire Hall of Famer for what he’s accomplished in his career and for his future accomplishments in the business. There’s a decent chance we will see Kurt Angle wrestle for WWE again, but at this time we’ve seen no indications that he’ll be at the Royal Rumble.

Here’s the official announcement from 5 Star Wrestling:

Darren Young Posts Video Of His Elbow Hyperextending

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Last week, Darren Young suffered an elbow injury during a match taped for Main Event. The former Prime Time Player confirmed the injury on social media, revealing it to be a hyperextension which resulted in “a traumatic dislocation & fracture of the coronoid process” of his right elbow.

He later followed up with a photo of the aftermath and a video clip of the injury taking place.

No word on how long he’ll be out of action, but we wish him a speedy recovery.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BPf325dAuQe/

Help James Ellsworth Get Into The Royal Rumble, No Public Funeral For Jimmy Snuka

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– During a recent appearance on The Kevin Gill Show, Kassius Ohno (Chris Hero) gave his thoughts about longtime friend Kevin Owens holding the top title on the RAW brand, the WWE Universal Championship.

“I was happy for him and the journey that he’s been on,” he said. “But also I was happy for wrestling. I was happy because it’s different and it’s a new direction. I think everybody’s sick of the same old. Sometime you’ve just got to go in a different direction and they did.”

Ohno returned to NXT earlier this month and will be wrestling his final show for EVOLVE this weekend in San Antonio during Royal Rumble weekend.

– SmackDown star James Ellsworth is pushing for a spot in th eRoyal Rumble and is encouraging fans to use the hashtag #EllsworthRumble to show support. Ellsworth is currently involved in a romantic storyline with Carmella.

– Tamina Snuka revealed on Instagram that there will be no public funeral held for her father, the late “Superfly” Jimmy Snuka.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BPfY4ePBTab/

Why WWE Never Did War Games, Alberto Hosting Rumble Viewing Party With WWE Stars

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– During a recent edition of his popular Something To Wrestle With podcast, former WWE & TNA employee Bruce Prichard shed some light on why WWE has never done a War Games match.

“[McMahon] hates the double ring. He hates the double ring thing. I tried to sell the two-ring battle royal for years. He hated the double ring thing. He didn’t like the guys going in at intermittent times and the way it was always done with the heels having the favor of the babyfaces, but then you fast forward to Elimination Chamber. It was just one of those things. It was a WCW creation and he didn’t care for it.”

Follow Bruce on Twitter @BrucePrichard.

– Alberto El Patron and Paige will be hosting a Royal Rumble party his La Cantinita Mexican restaurant this Sunday in San Antonio. The venue is approximately 20 minutes away from the Alamodome. In the event poster below, the venue advertising “the Superstars of WWE” after the Rumble is over.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BPg_ufwhjBW/

Triple H Expects Surprise Rumble Finish, Talks About Kurt Angle’s Return

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WWE COO Triple H recently spoke with IGN.com to promote the new Surf’s Up 2: WaveMania animated movie, which is now available on DVD & digital streaming services.

The Royal Rumble is just days away and it’s one of the most star-studded lineups in years. With big names like The Undertaker, Goldberg, Brock Lesnar, Randy Orton and Seth Rollins involved, it’s also one of the most unpredictable Rumbles we’ve ever seen. Triple H thinks we’re going to see a surprise finish that nobody saw coming.

“Sometimes there’s a year in the Rumble where you think ‘Okay, I can see this or that happening. This seems like where the Rumble might be headed.’ But this year, it’s really tough to call. And I think that’s when the Rumble’s at its best, when you can’t really put your finger on what’s going to happen. I can see this year going a lot of different ways and I think it’s going to go in a way that nobody expects.”

Of course the big news of the past week has been the announcement of Kurt Angle entering the WWE Hall of Fame during WrestleMania 33 weekend. Angle has been away from WWE for a decade and Triple H says it’s the a very well deserved induction.

“We’ve had an association with Kurt for a long time but when Kurt was here in the WWE, he was one of the most impactful and memorable and iconic characters probably ever. One of the things that always stands out for me is that I was here when Kurt was coming out of the Olympics and training. And having never done this before, he went from zero knowledge of our industry to being one of the most incredible performers in the ring in the time frame of the Attitude Era where, you know, he was in there with some of the best in the world.”

He continued, “[Kurt] very quickly went from walking to the ring for the first time to being one of the best in the world himself. It happened faster than anyone else. And that’s what I do now mostly in my day to day job. Most of my day is focused on talent and recruiting and training and talent development. I don’t believe I’ve ever seen someone pick it up as fast as Kurt.”

Triple H said that on that basis alone, he deserves the induction. When you throw in everything he accomplished in WWE, what he’s accomplished since then and what he will continue to accomplish, it’s a no brainer.

Check out the full interview at IGN.

WWE RAW Preview: Goldberg Returns, Final Rumble Hype

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Tonight’s WWE RAW takes place from Cleveland, Ohio at the Quicken Loans Arena. With just 6 days until the Royal Rumble, WWE is advertising the following items for RAW:

– Goldberg will be in the house. Will any more Rumble participants taste the Spear?

– More Royal Rumble participants could be revealed.

– How will Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins and Sami Zayn attain retribution against Kevin Owens, Chris Jericho and Braun Strowman?

– What’s going through Alicia Fox’s mind?

– Bayley continues her path to the WWE Women’s Championship.

After RAW goes off the air, the WWE Network will feature a Holy Foley preview show. Hosted by Corey Graves and Cathy Kelly, they’ll be joined by Mick and Noelle Foley as they discuss the final 5 episodes of season 1, which drop Sunday night after the Royal Rumble.

Join us here later tonight for our weekly WWE RAW Results & Live Coverage.

Ric Flair Pumps Up The Atlanta Falcons, Top 10 Stage Finishers, More

Robert Lentini
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WWE artist Rob Shamberger painted the Macho Man in the latest episode of Canvas 2 Canvas.

The WWE uploaded another video to their YouTube page of the Top 10 Finishing Moves on the Stage. John Cena claimed the number one spot with an Attitude Adjustment to Batista through the stage.

Ric Flair hyped up the Atlanta Falcons during a practice leading up to their playoff game today against the Green Bay Packers. Flair uploaded a video of his speech to his Instagram account.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BPkkkFcB0Ov/

NJPW Chairman Discusses US Expansion Plans

Jake Skudder
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Takaaki Kidani is the owner of New Japan Pro Wrestling’s parent company Bushiroad and the chairman of NJPW itself. He recently spoke to Weekly Pro Wrestling and discussed the plans for New Japan going forward as a Global brand, specifically how NJPW is looking to raise exposure in the United States:

(Credit to Chris Charlton of the JAW Podcast for the translation)

“We had a lot of attention not just in Japanese, but international media, with the event hashtag being the top trend not just in Japan, but America, the UK and Germany. New Japan World subscribers suddenly increased, with over half being from abroad. With the high quality of the event, news reverberated internationally more than we had anticipated. Additionally including promotion and program sales, we have been able to advance in nine different countries, with our talents’ foreign excursions being part of that too.”

“I think you can already call us a global product. If you look at the breakdown of our performers at the Dome, it’s about 75/25 Japanese to foreign in a live setting. Compare us to say, the music industry. You wouldn’t go to a single concert that had that proportion of Japanese and foreign artists. You might see collaborations with foreign artists or a guest spot on a music video but that’s it. If you look at live performances in the entertainment or sports industries, ours is the most diverse.”

“The plan would be to have California as a base and run tours in the area in a similar way to how we run things here, with a few shows further afield. For the Japanese talent, there are all sorts of options. Some guys may want to tour there, some may want to spend half the year there. Still others may want to take two years or so and move out there. There are lots of ways around that and I’m open to opinion from the wrestlers. When you ask what it is we can do with new Japan, it is to create an American based subsidiary and run shows there. In addition, it is to produce television in line with our Japanese content that can be sold cheaply to American cable networks. While we currently sell television content to AXS TV, the most popular and visible networks have a high demand for volume of content available cheaply. We have strong foundations in Japan, and over there, the Japanese style of wrestling is in vogue. If we establish a territory in California, we’ll be able to produce more content cheaply. It has to be localised.”

“If you look at WWE, with their show business base, they really only have a strong business in the UK, Canada and America. They sell their programming elsewhere, sure, but they need to actually be doing business in those areas. I said this on Twitter, but why do you think they’re pushing people to the network? It’s because they know cable isnt’ going to be around forever and they have to make up that loss. That’s why they established a UK Champion and set up that tournament. For WWE, it’s vital they localize. Partner with a promotion, buy one outright, start a subsidiary, anything. But you get that going and you tie up the talent in that country. Then that way you don’t have to send a bunch of guys out from America every time. Production as well. It starts getting cheaper to do business. And the people in these countries now have a star of their own to support, and they might buy into their Network. WWE have been poor at creating new stars, but that’s a real way to do it, to think local.”

“Things start with the G1 Special, which we announced will take place on July 1st and 2nd. That won’t include any actual tournament matches, but we may hold qualifiers. At that point, office staff will also be heading to the US. We will set up a dojo, likely with a monthly fee system. And as far as talent is concerned, from October of last year we began signing wrestlers to long term contracts, and this includes foreign wrestlers. Of course there is a plan for progression. It starts with gradually increasing the number of towns we run in. At first we’d be looking at 1,000 seat buildings. The important thing to growth is exposure of the talent and exposure to television. It’s a very different way of doing things than in Tokyo. I have talked with the talent about this, but at that point it was less concrete than it is now. The plan is for things to really get going in 2018.”

NJPW Announced For Rev Pro’s Epic Encounter (4/13)

Jake Skudder
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Top UK Independent promotion Revolution Pro Wrestling have announced the first two acts for their Epic Encounter event that takes place at York Hall in Bethnal Green, London on April 13th.

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Hiromu Takahashi will be making his way to London for his first ever Rev Pro event.

Also appearing will be the former IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions The Young Bucks. This is the Buck’s first appearance for Rev Pro in a number of years and their return to the UK is highly anticipated.

WWE UK Champion Announced For Fight Club: Pro Event

Jake Skudder
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UK Independent promotion Fight Club: Pro have announced that the WWE UK Champion Tyler Bate will be appearing at the company’s first event of the year ‘All The Best.’ This will be a homecoming for Tyler who cut his teeth alongside Moustache Mountain tag partner Trent Seven in the Wolverhampton based promotion.

Tickets for the event are available at FightClubPro.bigcartel.com.

wXw/PROGRESS ‘We Love Wrestling Tour 2017’ London Full Card

Jake Skudder
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Here is the full card for the wXw/PROGRESS Co-branded show taking place this Saturday 28th at the Dome in London:

wXw World Tag Team Title Match: A4 vs Moustache Mountain

wXw Unified World Wrestling Championship Match: Marty Scurll vs Axel Dieter Jr

Jody Fleisch vs Pete Dunne

DA Mack vs Chris Brookes

Bad Bones vs Robert Dreissker

Jurn Simmons vs WALTER

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