WWE returns to the Capitol Wrestling Center in Orlando, Florida tonight for an all new episode of NXT.
WWE is advertising the following items for tonight’s broadcast of NXT on the USA Network:
WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Nia Jax and Shayna Bazsler return to NXT. They will put the belts on the line against Dakota Kai and Raquel Gonzalez
NXT Tag Team Champions Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch will face Tommaso Ciampa and Timothy Thatcher in a non-title match.
Johnny Gargano is taking The Way to a therapy session.
Plus, we’ll see the fallout of Adam Cole turning on Roderick Strong and effectively ending the Undisputed Era faction.
Join us here later tonight for our weekly NXT Results and Takeaways feature.
One of the top headlines of the week is the news of NXT leaving Wednesday nights very soon. Check out the article below for more on this developing story:
Impact Wrestling is less than two weeks away from their next big event, Sacrifice on March 13th. This week’s show added several matches to the show.
Impact 3/2 Quick Results:
X-Division #1 Contendership Ace Austin defeated Black Taurus and Chris Bey
Tenille Dashwood defeated Havok
The Good Brothers & FinJuice defeated Reno Scum & Team XXXL
Eddie Edwards defeated Brian Myers via DQ (Referee: Matt Cardona)
Deonna Purrazzo defeated Jordynne Grace and Kiera Hogan
ODB To Challenge Deonna Purrazzo At Sacrifice
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aInz3XwBKWc
This match was originally supposed to be just Purrazzo vs Grace but after Fire N Flava interrupted a backstage promo earlier in the night, Kiera Hogan was added to the bout. The finish of the match came shortly after Grace dove to the outside and took out Susan and Kimber Lee. Grace then attempted to deliver a splash to Hogan but Tasha Steelz pulled her out of the ring. This then allowed Purrazzo to roll up Grace for the win.
After the match, as Grace and Tasha Steelz brawled to the back, Purrazzo was left alone in the ring. ODB then bolted out from the back and attacked the Knockouts Champion. Last we saw ODB, she had been attacked and left unconscious in the back. Based on ODB’s actions here, it seems she knows exactly who attacked her. Shortly after, it was revealed that ODB will challenge Purrazzo at Sacrifice.
The Good Brothers To Defend Tag Belts Against FinJuice At Sacrifice
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhFyh9A4VFo
Impact Wrestling didn’t waste any time getting Juice Robinson and David Finlay into the tag-team title hunt. There had been dissension between teams when The Good Brothers and FinJuice teamed up to defeat Reno Scum and Team XXXL this week. Later in the show, FinJuice managed to bait the Good Brothers into challenging them to a match for the belts at Sacrifice. Just like that, two of the best tag-teams in the world will clash in just 10 days.
Tony Khan Says AEW and Impact Are On The Same Team
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6h1cNdBDfc
There was a stark difference in attitude from the two Tony’s this week. After Tommy Dreamer was critical of the tone that has been used in the AEW ads as of late, this week Khan stated that AEW and Impact are on the same team. Don Callis, Kenny Omega, and the Good Brothers are on the other team although Khan didn’t specifically say as much. The two Tony’s then ran down the card for tonight’s episode of Dynamite.
Matt Cardona Disqualifies Brian Myers In Match Against Eddie Edwards
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2vX91-GDb0
Matt Cardona and Brian Myers are former tag partners, longtime friends, and podcast co-hosts. They have not gotten along well so far in Impact Wrestling, however. Earlier in the show, Cardona told Myers he was going to call the match “right down the middle” which Myers didn’t like. Then during the match, Cardona caught Myers loading up his elbow pad and disqualified him after he hit Edwards with it. Something is brewing between these two.
Ace Austin Qualifies For X-Division Title Shot
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qpd9jNFQIxI
Ace Austin earned a shot at the X-Division title with a win in triple threat action this week. He had actually teamed with Black Taurus and Chris Bey last week in a victory over Willie Mack, Trey Miguel and Josh Alexander in 6-man action with the stipulation that the winning team would face each other this week.
An X-Division match between Ace Austin and champion TJP was then made for Sacrifice.
Sami Callihan Invades Trey Miguel’s Wrestling School
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URlg6ILt6Sc
Callihan continued his harassment of Trey Miguel this week. He has been critical that the former Rascalz member has no loyalty or passion. Callihan showed up at the school where Miguel is a head teacher. He was confronted by one of the school’s trainers, CK3, and a student before the segment cut out.
Tenille Dashwood Picks Up Win Over Havok
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUALio1m0kE
Tenille Dashwood had been lobbying for Havok to be her new tag-team partner but things didn’t work out as planned. Instead, the two would face off in singles action this week. Dashwood picked up the win off of Kaleb Konely’s distraction. She hit the Spotlight Kick on Havok to get the pin. Havok’s tag partner came to the ring and took out Kaleb after, leading to speculation that Havok and Neveah may have resolved their recent conflict with each other.
Coming Up In Impact Wrestling
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pv-id68ur0I
Impact Wrestling: Sacrifice on March 13th:
Impact World Championship Rich Swann (c) vs Moose
Knockouts Tag Team Championships Fire N Flava (Kiera Hogan & Tasha Steelz) (c) vs Jordynne Grace & Jazz
X-Division Championship TJP (c) vs Ace Austin
Knockouts Championship Deonna Purrazzo (c) vs ODB
Impact Tag Team Championships The Good Brothers (c) vs Juice Robinson & David Finlay
All Elite Wrestling returns to Jacksonville, FL tonight for a special edition of AEW Dynamite dubbed, The Crossroads. This is the ‘go home’ edition of Dynamite ahead of Sunday’s AEW Revolution pay-per-view.
We say this most weeks, but the card is pretty stacked. Dynamite will see the AEW in-ring debut of basketball legend Shaquille O’Neil, Paul White’s first AEW appearance, the finals of the AEW Women’s World Title Eliminator tournament and more.
The following items are scheduled for AEW Dynamite: The Crossroads:
NBA legend Shaq & Jade Cargill vs. Cody Rhodes & Red Velvet. This match will open the show.
We will hear from AEW’s newest signee, Paul Wight.
Tully Blanchard comes out of retirement to team with FTR against The Jurassic Express.
AEW Women’s World Title Eliminator Tournament Finals: Nyla Rose vs. Ryo MIzunami. The winner of this bout challenges Hikaru Shida for the AEW Women’s World Championship at Revolution.
The Dark Order vs. Matt Hardy & Private Party & Hybrid2
Max Caster vs. 10 of the Dark Order (Preston Vance) to earn a spot in the Ladder Match at Revolution.
Inner Circle leader Chris Jericho and MJF will hold a press conference ahead of their tag title match against the Young Bucks this Sunday.
Immediately after Dynamite goes off the air, AEW and TNT will present the Countdown to Revolution special.
Join us here tonight for our AEW Dynamite Results and Takeaways.
NXT star Kacy Catanzaro has confirmed that she is battling a legitimate knee injury.
WWE recently ran an injury angle that saw Catanzaro suffer a leg injury at the hands of Xia Li. During the latest NXT injury report, the company noted that she is not medically cleared to compete.
Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer commented on the situation, noting that it was essentially a ‘storyline’ injury. “It’s not like she’s 100% but she’s fine,” he wrote.
Catanzaro took to social media to give her side of the story. She revealed that she’s recovering from a partial LCL tear, which will keep her out of action for at least the next several weeks.
Kacy Catanzaro Confirms Injury
“It’s been a tough week..” she began. “Coming to terms with a partial LCL tear, but working with a medical staff to get back as soon as I can. You can’t keep me down.”
SEScoops wishes Kacy Catanzaro a speedy recovery. You can view her photo and message in the Instagram post embedded below.
Charlotte Flair is engaged to fellow WWE Superstar, Andrade. During a recent interview with TV Insider, Charlotte noted that she has pitched WWE to work with her fiancé on-screen.
“I’ve actually pitched that,” Flair said when asked about working with Andrade. “I would be very much open to that. I’ve done a lot in my career, but nobody has seen me in an on-cam relationship, or in that light. I can come across cold on TV.”
Andrade has not been a fixture on WWE programming since the fall. His lat official match with WWE was on October 12th, 2020 in a loss to Angel Garza.
Flair also spoke about her segment with her father from the February 22nd edition of RAW.
“I loved the back-and-forth because originally it wasn’t supposed to be that way. My dad comes from an era where he can cut a promo and not have to memorize things. I’m so in the zone right now where for the first time in my career I’m comfortable to ad lib out there. I’m an emotional person as it is, so trying to channel certain things that have frustrated me was very easy. I was never expecting to be back on screen with my dad in 2021 and have him across the ring from me [supporting someone else]. So I was able to bring out certain emotions.”
This Monday on RAW, Bobby Lashley defeated The Miz to become the 53rd person in history to hold the WWE Championship. Lashley begins the 141st reign in the title’s lineage. He spoke to SI.com recently about what the title win means to him.
“I promised myself that this would happen,” Lashley said during the interview. “There have been times when I didn’t know if this was going to come, but I worked my ass off and refused to be denied. Now that we’re here, it’s surreal.”
“Seeing so many people ringside—like Ricochet, Elias and Braun—that meant a lot,” he continued. “I’ve shared moments with all of them. Sharing it with Shelton, Cedric and MVP, that’s very meaningful, too. I’ve had so many calls and messages—I heard from my college wrestling coach, my high school wrestling coach, even people I trained with in Japan. It’s been amazing.”
Lashley was a 4x World Champion with TNA Wrestling/Impact. He also held the ECW title while in WWE twice. Lashley is also a 2x Intercontinental and 2x United States Champion as well.
“I went into professional wrestling believing that the world title would be my world medal,” Lashley continued. “This has always been my goal. Even when times were tough, I didn’t stop. I never stopped, I kept working to get better. My dad taught me hard work, and I’m teaching that to my kids. And it’s true—the harder I work, the luckier I get.”
Dakota Kai made her debut as a full-time NXT Superstar in 2017. She is the first female wrestler from New Zealand to have ever signed with WWE. Dakota spoke to SI.com recently about moving from New Zealand to the United States to start her WWE journey.
“I miss home. I miss my family,” Kai said. “That’s a sacrifice I made.”
“It was hard to move my life here,” Kai continued. “The sacrifice I made equates to the way I work in the ring. I sacrificed everything to be here. That’s why I have a fearless approach.”
“I’m the first-ever Kiwi woman signed to WWE, so I’m blazing a new trail,” she continued. “And there is still so much to accomplish.”
Dakota Kai On Her Team With Raquel Gonzalez
Dakota also spent some time talking about her team with Raquel Gonzalez during the interview. They will challenge for the WWE Women’s Tag-Team titles on tonight’s NXT.
“We’ve been together for a little over a year, and we’re building on that,” Kai said. “Raquel has been at the Performance Center longer than I have, and I have seen the work she’s put into this. There is some real-life connection, and that shows in our team. She is big and powerful, and I am quick on my feet, and that juxtaposition works well for us.”
Dakota also spoke about how her and Raquel Gonzalez like to emulate the former “Two Dudes with Attitude” Shawn Michaels and Diesel.
“We like using their pose during our entrance,” Kai said. “And if anyone sees similarities in our work, then that’s the biggest compliment in the world.”
Dakota also spent some time talking about her former Performance Center classmate, Bianca Belair, during the interview.
“Bianca is the definition of superstar,” Kai said. “We were really close in NXT, and she’s one of the sweetest people in the world, and she always gives me so much strength. I’m so happy for her. Her in-ring presence is just insane. She deserves the world, and I can’t wait to watch her face Sasha at WrestleMania.”
Dakota Kai on Bianca Belair: “She always gives me so much strength. I’m so happy for her. Her in-ring presence is just insane. She deserves the world, and I can’t wait to watch her face Sasha at WrestleMania.”https://t.co/pmpmvvJOMz
Tonight on AEW Dynamite, Shaquille O’Neal will team with Jade Cargill to face Cody Rhodes and Red Velvet. Shaq has long been around the wrestling industry, and even performed in the 2016 Andre the Giant memorial battle royal. Tonight will be his first time in a tag-team match, however, and his first match in AEW.
Shaq spoke to the Associated Press about what fans can expect from him once he gets in the ring.
“I’m not a professional wrestler, but I’ve been in a match before,” Shaq said. “I’ve got a lot of moves in my arsenal. When you step inside somebody’s world, you have to stick to what you’re masterful at. I’m not acrobatic. I’m not going to be jumping off the ropes. I’m coming with the power game. When I get hands on him, I’m going to display this power.”
“I’m the type that if I have a look and see you do it, I got it,” Shaq continued.
Shaq On What He Said To Hulk Hogan
Shaq also mentioned what he said when he met Hulk Hogan during the interview.
“I told him, ‘you broke my heart when you body-slammed Andre the Giant,’” O’Neal said. “I cried as a kid. I really did.”
Shaq also said that his match tonight will blow away all other matches by retired athletes.
Yesterday, a charity show titled “Wrestling for Women’s Charity” began circulating a poster. Joey Ryan’s face on the poster drew a heavy reaction from fans online. It was later revealed that Ryan’s “Bar Wrestling” had some affiliation with the show.
AEW’s Tony Khan then stated AEW talent would not be appearing on the show if Ryan was involved. The promotion then Tweeted out that they were canceling the event. This all happened within the span of a few hours.
If Joey Ryan is there, my people won’t be there. I’ll gladly donate to the charity though.
Joey Ryan has dropped the lawsuit he won a default judgment on against his accuser. This could potentially mean some agreement was made between the two parties but that is just speculation. Although the name is being redacted on reports (including this one), the accuser deactivated their Twitter recently. Ryan’s Twitter has been wiped of all Tweets as well, it seems.
Ryan’s legal team filed to dismiss the lawsuit yesterday, the same day he appeared on the poster for the women’s charity show. Via HeelbyNature:
“TO THE COURT AND ALL PARTIES IN THIS ACTION, PLEASE TAKE NOTICE THAT plaintiff, Joseph R. Meehan (Meehan), voluntarily dismisses without prejudice defendant, REDACTED. REDACTED has not answered or filed a motion for summary judgment. This notice is made pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 41(a)(1)(A). Dated: March 2, 2021, Los Angeles, California UTZURRUM LAW OFFICES, A.P.C”
Former ROH Wrestler, Pelle Primeau, is fundraising for his legal defence.
in good news, my deadline to reply is now March 26th, and I am building up a pro se defense that I feel is going to be legendary.
I'll need as much help as I can possibly get with drafting/editing/review, so any amount will help! https://t.co/nEKwjg6URs
WWE RAW Superstar Mustafa Ali recently revealed that he is wrestling with an injury. The leader of the RETRIBUTION stable took questions from fans recently on Twitter and confirmed that he is working with a torn PCL.
A fan asked Mustafa Ali during the Q&A what his biggest frustration was and how had he adapted to it. Ali replied, saying “it’s right now actually. wrestling with a torn PCL is incredibly frustrating.”
Mustafa Ali on Riddle Match
Ali also confirmed during the Q&A that the finish to his match against Riddle on Monday was ‘scary’ and had to be changed on the fly. Mustafa Ali said that the finish was meant to be “a backstabber. Things obviously got scary, but last second adjustments were made and everyone is okay. We will be able to battle another day.”
It has not been confirmed if Ali will have a match at the upcoming WWE Fastlane PPV event. It will be the first WWE show to air on the Peacock streaming service, so talents will want to get themselves on the show. The only potential match is possibly a United States Championship match against Matt Riddle at this point.
AEW EVP Cody Rhodes confirmed last night that his match against Shaquille O’Neal will be opening Dynamite tonight. Appearing on the NBA on TNT Tuesday postgame, Cody said that he and Red Velvet will be taking on Jade Cargill and Shaq to open the TNT show as it goes on the air.
There had been speculation that the bout would be ending the show. With AEW’s Revolution PPV taking place this Sunday, tonight’s episode of Dynamite is the ‘go home’ show for that event. There’s a chance that AEW have something planned for the end of the show to lead into Sunday’s PPV and try to get some extra buys ahead of the show.
The mainstream coverage of tonight’s match has been significant. There have been many outlets reporting on Shaq getting in an AEW ring tonight for the very first time. The match itself will be intriguing to say the least, as Jade Cargill and Shaq’s in-ring abilities are as of yet untested on television.
NWA owner Billy Corgan has confirmed that NWA Power is making a return. As reported earlier, the NWA will be returning to PPV with the show “Back for the Attack” in less than 3 weeks. The show was spotted in a listing on FITE TV. Now, Corgan has said in a recent interview that NWA is in a deal with FITE TV but NWA Power is also making a return as the show starts taping episodes soon.
The first episode of NWA Power will take place on March 23, two days after Back for the Attack. The episodes are set to air at 6:05 PM on Thursday nights. Back for the Attack is listen on FITE TV for a cost of $19.99 USD.
In a bizzare turn of events concerning fans of the promotion, NWA took down all their content from YouTube, leaving the entire channel blank. Power was previously hosted on NWA’s YouTube channel so fans were left wondering about the future of the company at the time.
“What I didn’t anticipate was how much people would love the format and want more of it and not less of it,” Billy Corgan told Associated Press in an interview. “In our downtime, we did a fan survey and the No. 1 thing was, don’t get rid of ‘Power.’”
Corgan said that NWA is now taking the steps that they intended to take a year ago. “I feel like we’re finally taking the steps we were hoping to take a year ago. We were never in any financial peril,” Corgan added. “We were totally on a growth pattern. The plan for last year before things kind of hit the skids was to start pivoting. We were in discussions with Live Nation about running live events to help bring in revenue and expand who was watching the product. It was more about growing pains stuff, but we didn’t have any problems internally with the product.”
It was reported this week that NWA would resume TV tapings this month. The last set of tapings for Power took place in January 2020. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the promotion had to cancel its planned Crockett Cup 2020 PPV.
The Rock is singing praises for Vince McMahon. During the airing of Young Rock’s episode 3 on NBC, The Rock fielded some questions about the episode from fans on Twitter. During the Q&A, a fan asked Rock about how influential Vince McMahon has been to him. Rock had high praise for the CEO of WWE, who said that he has been one of his greatest business mentors and like a father figure to him.
The Rock wrote, “@VinceMcMahon was one of my greatest business mentors and a father figure. Not always the relationship one would want with their boss but the convergence of our lives made it to be. We laugh when we get together because we always pick right back up where we left off. #YoungRock.”
@VinceMcMahon was one of my greatest business mentors and a father figure. Not always the relationship one would want with their boss but the convergence of our lives made it to be. We laugh when we get together because we always pick right back up where we left off. #YoungRockhttps://t.co/qqeJJ4JZDd
The Rock has shared many instances from his WWE career of Vince McMahon giving him advice that helped him to be the star he is today. The Rock once revealed that during the early days of his career the WWE Chairman advised him to smile. “I was told by Vince McMahon, who was a very close friend of mine still today, is a mentor in the world of business, he would tell me, ‘You gotta go out there, you gotta smile, you just gotta… you just gotta smile!’”
The Rock added, “This was my rookie year, so you can imagine. Smile! So, I said OK, and again, you’re pissing vinegar… you’re ready to get out there and bang, man. And he said, ‘I want you to be… you’re grateful that you’re here, so you gotta smile.’ And then I would go out and I would hear these fans, they just knew that I wasn’t being authentic. You know, and they would be like… ‘You f–king suck!’ And I would smile, ‘Hey, thank you, man! I know I do, right?’ I gotta smile.”
The Rock also revealed how Vince McMahon gave him an opportunity to speak his mind on live TV during Raw, when he had little experience. Rock had promised McMahon that if he bombed, then he would never have to give him mic time again. The promo was about Rock joining The Nation of Domination where he said that him being part of the faction is not a black or white thing — it’s a respect thing and he’s gonna earn it every night by kicking ass. This very promo helped Rock cement the direction his character would later take.
On this week’s episode of Young Rock, Adam Ray debuted as a younger version of Vince McMahon. In the beginning of the episode, we see Ray calling one of Rocky Johnson’s matches on the commentary booth — this was before he took over WWF from his father Vince Sr. We also see him share a phone call with Maivia later. He offers some advice on how to deal with the competition and delivers the news that he needs all his wrestlers back for a show in the Madison Square Garden besides Rocky and the Wild Samoans. Coupled with the fact that Andre the Giant was the only wrestler to get his own action figure, this creates a little hostility between him and the other wrestlers. The episode also showed a rival promoter trying to recruit Rocky to his promotion.
NXT is reportedly making a move to Tuesday nights on the USA Network starting April 13.
It was reported on Tuesday by the Mat Men Pro Wrestling podcast that WWE would move the broadcast of NXT to Tuesday nights according to their source. This will end the ongoing weekly Wednesday Night Wars for the Nielsen ratings that began on October 2, 2019 when AEW debuted Dynamite on TNT.
April 13 would be the first NXT show after WrestleMania 37. Dave Meltzer also confirmed the report regarding talks of the move, but wasn’t able to confirm if it is a done deal. At the very least, according to Meltzer, the talks may be in the last stages as it has been heavily discussed over the past week. Particularly, the topic was discussed in WWE on February 24.
Mat Men also added that they heard the same about the discussions on February 24, noting that NBC staff were told about the move this week. It was also mentioned in the Meltzer report that pretty much all key NXT staff haven’t been informed about the supposed move.
It was believed that when NBC announced the shutdown of NBC Sports Network later this year and the decision to move some of their content to USA, the National Hockey League could affect WWE programming on the USA Network as it also airs on Wednesdays. WWE president Nick Khan cleared any doubts about this as he revealed that the shutdown would not affect Raw or NXT.
NXT vs Dynamite is the first direct competition among two major wrestling promotion shows in 10 years when TNA moved Impact to Monday nights to compete with Raw back in 2010. It has been over 20 years since the original Monday Night Wars between Raw and WCW’s Monday Nitro that lasted from September 1995 to March 2001.
Monday’s edition of WWE Raw averaged 1.884 million viewers with a 0.58 rating in the Adults 18-49 demographic. This is down from last week 1.889 million viewers with a 0.57 rating).
Here’s the hourly viewership breakdown for Monday night:
The first hour did 1.918 million viewers and a 0.58 rating (A18-49).
The second hour did 1.916 million viewers and a 0.60 rating.
The final hour of the show had just 1.817 million viewers and a 0.57 rating.
WWE Raw last night on USA Network was watched by 1,884,000 viewers. It did a P18-49 rating of 0.58 (757,000 viewers). It ranked #1 on the day on cable.
P18-34 was up an astounding 49% from last week. Additionally, this is a rare occasion where Raw exceeded Smackdown in P18-49. pic.twitter.com/wTGErfuNwa
This episode featured The Miz vs. Bobby Lashley for the WWE Title as well as the return of Drew McIntyre, who hadn’t been seen since dropping the title at the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view event. WWE saved the title match for the main event.
The last time the company booked a WWE Championship Match on Monday Night Raw was back on the January 4th edition as McIntyre successfully retained against Keith Lee. This show had an increase in viewership due to it being Legends Night as that show did over 2 million viewers.
SmackDown Viewership
Friday’s SmackDown averaged 2.145 million viewers. This is down from the 2.217 million viewers on FS1 that the show did for the previous week.
SmackDown pulled in a 0.54 rating in the 18-49 demos, down from the 0.59 rating the previous week’s show. The episode drew an average of 2.051 million viewers in the overnight ratings, down from the previous week that did 2.071 million viewers.
The first hour saw it pull in 2.090 million viewers while hour two did 2.012 million viewers. The show did 2.038 million viewers in hour one while hour two did 2.105 million viewers two weeks ago.
The NWA will be returning to PPV in less than 3 weeks. It was revealed today that the National Wrestling Alliance will present “Back for the Attack” on PPV March 21st, 2021.
Nick Aldis, Thunder Rosa, Aron Stevens, Trevor Murdoch, Elijah Burke, Tim Storm, and Kamille are all advertised to take part in the show. The show is currently being listed on FITE.TV for a cost of $19.99 USD.
Recently, many NWA fans became concerned when episodes of “NWA Powerrr” were removed from the promotion’s YouTube channel. It was later reported on Wrestling Observer Radio, that the promotion will conduct TV tapings from March 21st to 24th. Evidently, that first night will be a PPV event.
“So, this is the situation with the NWA. I don’t know why they pulled all their videos from YouTube but they are going to be taping March 21st to 24th and I was told it will come out in the next couple of days why they did it and it will be a positive,” said Dave Meltzer.
The last set of NWA tapings took place in January of 2020 before the pandemic shut down businesses in the United States. NWA titles were part of the UWN shows at Thunder Studios last fall, but those were ultimately put on hiatus due to increased COVID-19 restrictions as well.
Joseph Bonsignore is best known to wrestling fans as Joey Styles.
The voice of ECW has been away from the industry for several years, but recently filed a trademark application for the name, “Joey Styles.”
The United States Patent & Trademark Office database shows that Styles filed to trademark the name on February 25th, 2021. The ‘Goods and Services’ usage for the trademark covers the following:
“G & S: Entertainment services, namely, wrestling exhibits and performances by a professional wrestler and entertainer. FIRST USE: 19920101. USED IN ANOTHER FORM The mark was first used anywhere in a different form other than that sought to be registered at least as early as 11/06/2000.”
Styles previously owned his name, but that mark was canceled in 2019.
After working for ECW from 1993-2001, Styles had a brief stint with Major League Wrestling (MLW) before joining WWE in 2005 for the ECW One Night Stand pay-per-view.
He was a WWE employee up until 2016. Styles was a key executive in WWE’s Digital Media division from 2008-2016. He’s been away from wrestling since 2016.
Darby Allin is a creative guy, which may partially explain his popularity. The film school dropout has a big match upcoming this weekend at Revolution. He’ll team with Sting in a street fight against Team Taz’s Brian Cage and Ricky Starks. Allin recently spoke with the Independent and a frequent topic of the discussion centered around creativity in wrestling.
“The biggest advice I’d give to anyone entering wrestling is to bring your outside world into wrestling because there are so many people [who] only know wrestling, and it gets so boring,” Allin said.
“It’s like ‘tell me who you are and what you’re about’ and they say ‘I grew up loving professional wrestling, it’s all I ever wanted, it’s my dream.’ That is so generic that you don’t bring anything to the table. There’s a whole world out there, and so many are so small-minded in wrestling that it’s not even funny.”
“There’s the whole world and I want to explore that world. I don’t want to be in a small bubble with all these people, so I don’t associate with a whole bunch of people, I just like to do my own thing.”
Darby Allin Teaming With Sting
Darby Allin has been aligned with Sting since the legend made his AEW debut at Winter is Coming. This Sunday at Revolution will be Sting’s first match since losing to Seth Rollins at Night of Champions in 2015. During a recent interview, Tony Khan confirmed that Sting has been medically cleared to wrestle.
“He’s been cleared, he’s been fully cleared,” Khan said of Sting. “He’s been training with Darby and sparring partners and he’s been fully cleared to wrestle. In his training, one thing he’s done to get ready with his sparring partners is a powerbomb. In terms of getting ready for this, I was more than fine with it and in fact called it.”
WWE Superstar Cesaro recently spoke to Sports Illustrated. The Swiss ‘Cyborg’ discussed a number of topics during the interview, including his reported WWE contract coming up for renewal in the next few months.
Several reports have indicated that Cesaro’s contract will be running out shortly; although these have not been confirmed by the SmackDown Superstar himself. Cesaro specifically said during the interview with Sports Illustrated that he won’t be discussing the situation in a public forum in any interviews.
“I’m not going to confirm or deny anything” Cesaro stated during the interview. “To me, there needs to be a certain amount of mystery in wrestling. A lot of that magic gets lost, so I’ll let people talk. What is important to me is my work in the ring.”
Cesaro on Possible World Title Run
Cesaro also discussed a potential World Title run whilst contracted with the company. “It’s not up to me to decide what I deserve” Cesaro stated. “In wrestling, that’s up to the fans. I’ll keep working hard to reach my goals. This isn’t just about me. I represent all of Switzerland, all of Germany, all of Italy and all of the international world.”
“Wrestling is a universal language spoken all over the world” Cesaro continued. “I am so proud to be an international representative and do this to the fullest for all the international fans. I came from a country that’s not known for wrestling. I’m bringing an international flavor, showing that anything is possible. I am living my dream, and I bring that kind of realism, passion, and love to WWE. I hope to inspire people to go out and follow what they love.”
There are several updates on injured WWE Superstars currently available. According to comments made on Wrestling Observer Radio, Wes Lee really does have a broken hand, Asuka may have more than just a busted tooth, and Kacy Catanzaro is not injured significantly.
“(Asuka) probably got a concussion too,” said Dave Meltzer after it was noted that she suffered a broken tooth on last week’s RAW. “I’m relatively certain she got a concussion because when nobody says it, that’s usually what it means.”
Asuka took a boot to the face from Charlotte Flair, who was actually her teammate against Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax that led to the injury. There is no timetable for her return.
It was also noted during the discussion that Kacy Catanzaro’s “broken leg” in NXT is just an angle.
“It’s not like she’s 100% but she’s fine,” Meltzer said about Catanzaro. In storyline, Catanzaro’s leg was broken by Xia Li as part of her and Kayden Carter’s rivalry with her and Boa.
MSK’s Wes Lee really did break his hand, however. The injury angle on NXT was done to explain why Lee will really be missing some time.
“Wes Lee did have a broken hand, he got it in the tag-team match with Grizzled Young Veterans on the Takeover show on one of his dives. That’s why there’s no tag-team title match with Lorcan and Burch against MSK that was originally scheduled for Wednesday’s show because he’s hurt,” Meltzer said.
Legendary wrestling promoter, Jim Crockett Jr. is in grave condition and currently housed in hospice care. The 76-year-old’s liver and kidneys are both said to be failing. His health was addressed on the most recent edition of Wrestling Observer Radio.
“I don’t have a lot of details but from what I understand he took himself off dialysis and he’s in hospice care,” said Dave Meltzer. “That’s kind of a sign that it’s not looking good.”
After taking over his father’s company, Jim Crockett Jr. was elected the NWA President in 1980. He would win two subsequent elections as well. By 1988, WCW and Crockett Promotions were failing financially. He sold his company to Ted Turner but remained on as NWA President until 1991. Crockett would make a few attempts at promoting wrestling in the early to mid-90s but eventually left the industry altogether. He worked as a realtor and mortgage loan originator in the years that followed.
“Please keep Jim Crockett jr in your thoughts & prayers. Legendary promoter, ran a big mama & pop co, good to the talent, helped produce some of the best tv. Him & Dusty allowed me to live my dream by being on tbs after I bombed in WWE. Thanked him @starrcast in 2018,” Tweeted Missy Hyatt.
Please keep jim Crockett jr in your thoughts & prayers.legendary promoter,ran a big mama & pop co.,good to the talent, helped produce some of the best tv.him & dusty allowed me to live my dream by being on tbs after I bombed in wwe.thanked him @starrcast in 2018
Randy Orton has called out Soulja Boy for comments the rapper made about WWE being fake. Soulja Boy Tweeted out that the rap game is faker than WWE and drew heavy criticism from those in the wrestling industry and some of its fans.
“Does the rap game take years off your life and leave you with countless injuries and debilitating pain? Oh well maybe just stick to super soaking hoes or whatever it is you did 15 years ago,” T-Bar Tweeted.
Randy Orton then posted two Tweets in response.
“Fake? Dare this prick to step up. He dont like movies? Consider us actors that do stunts, without pads 200 days a year and don’t bitch when we get surgically repaired and come right back. Consider us 100 times tougher then anyone you’ve come across. Aint nuthin but a bitch ass…” Orton Tweeted.
Orton then noted that Bad Bunny would win in a fight against Soulja Boy.
Ps @sanbenito would beat the fuck outta you. Why? How? Because he’s seen our world. Respects it and knows what it takes and finds himself lucky to be a part of it. You wanna talk fake? Pawn that cheap ass chain and come work for it you one hit wonder ass mutha fucka https://t.co/zJPMmuqskr
‘Crank that’ came out in ‘07 you had a hell of a year. Serious $. Hats off to ya my dude. Here’s the thing tho… I like rap. I bump that shit all day whether it’s tunechi, meek, JZ…but you call what I do to survive, fake? Fuck that. Come to my world and say that. Dare ya https://t.co/P3qx5bu6ks
If you mad because I spit facts just say that. What you do is FAKE and I stand on that. What I do is REAL. Come to your world? Lol welcome to Soulja World ? ?? https://t.co/KofrYkD95J
U spittin facts? Seems like all you spittin is the same mess you rap about. Nut. Clear your throat my dawg, and be there. Enough talk. Back it up. https://t.co/rN8JY5AX3q
Sami Zayn has reached a major milestone in his career as a pro wrestler. Zayn is currently celebrating 19 years since he had his first wrestling match. Zayn said that he had his first wrestling match almost two decades ago, and that he has done well.
He acknowledged the milestone on Twitter to his followers, thanking everyone who has been part of his journey. Zayn wrote, “I had my first wrestling match 19 years ago today. I’ve done well. Thanks to everyone along the way.”
I had my first wrestling match 19 years ago today. I’ve done well. Thanks to everyone along the way.
Prior to joining WWE, Sami Zayn worked for Ring of Honor famously under the ring name El Generico. His gimmick was that of a masked Mexican luchador with the “Olé!” catchphrase. Zayn wrestled as El Generico masked from his debut in 2002 until 2013.
He only started performing unmasked until he joined WWE. His first match however was at the FLQ promotion in Quebec back in his home country of Canada. He would wrestle as Stevie McFly in March 2002 in his debut. Zayn would debut the El Generico character a few months later in July 2002 at a IWS Scarred For Life event.
Sami Zayn has achieved much success in the indies in different territories. In Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG), Zayn won the PWG World Championship two times as well the PWG World Tag Team Championship five times.
Sami Zayn as El Generico
In WWE, Zayn debuted on the main roster on the May 4, 2015 episode of Raw. He was introduced by Bret Hart in Canada during John Cena’s “US Open Challenge”. Since then, Zayn has seen moderate success in his career and went on to win the WWE Intercontinental Championship two times.
Sami Zayn is currently working at the SmackDown brand and has been involved in the Intercontinental Championship scene. He teamed with King Corbin against the Street Profits in a losing attempt during last week’s Friday Night SmackDown.
Christian shocked the wrestling world by making his surprise return last month at the Royal Rumble, with the former World Heavyweight Champion stepping foot in the ring to wrestle for the first time in seven years.
Fans noticed how Christian’s physique was in top shape. His body looked as good as any other actively competing wrestler. A fitness company by the name of Nutrition Solutions shared transformation photos of the “Captain Charisma” on Instagram showcasing his transformation when he started preparing for his in-ring return.
“Everyone loves a ‘success story’… But what’s far compelling and relatable, is a story about someone who got to a dark place… decided enough was enough… drew a line in the sand… and then fought their way out of the darkness, back into the light,” the account wrote.
“That’s what Jay Reso, aka @christian4peeps did after going through a character building year, where he eventually found himself somewhere in a place that he refused to stay! Being a pro athlete his entire life who is well known for his work ethic and competitiveness, Jay committed not just to getting himself back in shape, but getting himself in the best shape of his life at 47 years young! And as you can see, in just 5 months time he’s made some remarkable progress! Thank you Jay for doing the work, kicking ass and giving us opportunity to serve you!”
It is without a doubt that Christian’s hard work on his body paid off as his physique appeared in top condition and he performed decently in the ring. Christian has said that being part of the action for so long felt surreal to him and he didn’t know what to expect.
“It was surreal to be honest with you, I didn’t know what to expect. You know it’s funny, everybody has a plan until you get hit. And that’s exactly what happened to me.” said Christian, “I got hit once and I was like, ‘ok, it’s on.’ This is what I was born to do, so I felt like I was home. I was playing coy all day in the locker room since nobody knew what was going on. It was a fun surprise.”
When Christian was asked what’s next for him after his return, he said, “What’s next for me? All I ever promised was one more match. That could be it.”
It has been reported that Christian would be making future appearances, and it is believed that he would be working a part-time schedule. Christian has said that it was a long process for him to get himself in the physical condition to step inside the ring again. He said that seeing his friend Edge return at the Royal Rumble made him think that there’s a possibility for him to make a return to action too. He then hired a nutritionist company and built a gym in his garage to get ready for a potential return.
Shinsuke Nakamura has had a pretty uneventful stint in 2021 so far on Friday Night SmackDown. Back in January, it seemed like Nakamura was going to get involved in the championship picture. He had a very impressive run in the No. 1 contender’s gauntlet match — only for his momentum to be disrupted by Roman Reigns and Jey Uso. This would have been his first involvement in the main event scene since his feud with AJ Styles back in 2018. While the former NXT Champion gained the upper hand on Uso the following week, nothing really came out of it.
Shinsuke Nakamura was then moved back to the mid-card. He is currently involved as a third wheel in the feud between Big E and Apollo Crews. Crews, who just went through a character change and turned heel, took out his frustrations on Nakamura too. They’ve faced one another two weeks in a row on SmackDown.
In a video uploaded to his Instagram, The King of Strong Style cut a promo saying that he’s going to take revenge on Crews.
“Apollo, you’ve changed. Yeah, I respect that, because I’ve changed too. But I don’t respect what you did to Big E; what you did to me tonight,” Shinsuke Nakamura said in the video. “You changed the outfit, you changed the attitude, but you cannot change who you really are and what you’ve done. You like to live in the past, but I am the future. Last week wasn’t personal. I want to be the world champion, you were my opponent. But now, you’ve started something that I will finish. You should remember who I am.”
A fan commented on this message and told Nakamura he should stop wasting his talent in WWE. Another fan, replying to this comment, argued, “he’s happy. He gets to surf and work a safer style. Yeah it’d be great to see him go all out again somewhere else… but that’s not what he wants. (sic)”
Shinsuke Nakamura saw the reply suggesting that he’s happy with his position in WWE and replied: “Who said I’m happy? Don’t believe anything other than what I said.”
You can see a screenshot of his comment here:
There are many fans who think that Shinsuke Nakamura isn’t given enough opportunity to shine in WWE, especially after seeing how he performed back in his home country Japan. There has been an assumption amongst fans that Nakamura gets to collect paychecks while showing up to work in the midcard while getting to live in Florida and surf all he wants.
That being said, Shinsuke Nakamura’s run in WWE hasn’t been all bad. On the main roster, he has held the Intercontinental Championship, the United States Championship, the SmackDown Tag Team Championship with Cesaro and has even gone on to win the 2018 Royal Rumble. We also saw him gain momentum back in January as noted before, and while that fizzled out it wouldn’t be unlikely to see him get back in the scene once again.
