The December 30, 2020 episode of WWE NXT aired live on the USA Network from Orlando, Florida at the Capitol Wrestling Center.
WWE NXT Results
Bronson Reed def. Isaiah “Swerve” Scott.
The Grizzled Young Veterans def. Breezango
Mercedes Martinez def. Jobber
Pete Dunne def. Roderick Strong.
Lince Dorado & Gran Metalik def. Legado del Fantasma (Joaquin Wilde & Raul Mendoza).
NXT North American Champion Johnny Gargano def. Leon Ruff
Here are the takeaways from this week’s show:
NXT North American Championship Match
Leon Ruff vs. NXT North American Champion Johnny Gargano with the title on the line was one of the biggest match to be announced in advance.
The USA Network gave them an overrun as they had a 15+ minute match with various near falls and Ruff being taken more seriously. Gargano sent Ruff into the top turnbuckle then hit a spring board DDT for the win.
This marked the first title defense in the current championship reign of Gargano as he won back the title by defeating Ruff and Damian Priest in a triple threat match at TakeOver: WarGames earlier this month.
Gargano had lost the title to Ruff in November as in the storyline, Gargano was trying to break his title defense curse by facing Ruff. Ruff got the win after a distraction by Priest.
Despite the comedic approach with the character, WWE is pushing Ruff as last week he got a surprise win over Timothy Thatcher with a cradle. However, two weeks ago, Gargano & Theory defeated Ruff & Kushida in a tag team match.
Roderick Strong vs. Pete Dunne in a singles match took place.
This came after last week’s show that saw Dunne suffer a defeat in a match to Kyle O’Reilly to decide NXT Champion Finn Balor’s challenger for New Year’s Evil. Later in the show, Dunne attacked Strong at ringside during the Adam Cole vs. Velveteen Dream main event. It featured Dunne laying out Strong by connecting with the Bitter End on the apron.
It was a hard-hitting affair that had some decent time with both guys getting their spots in and a few near-falls. Dunne went over with his finisher.
The Grizzled Young Veterans vs. Breezango took place in a tag team match.
The match was fine. There was a spot where Fandango jumped off the barricade and sold his knee. It saw Grizzled Young Veterans hit their finisher for the win.
Post-match, Ever-Rise came out and started yelling at the winning team before backing down.
Last week on NXT TV, NXT Tag Team Champions Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch retained their titles in a street fight against Breezango. Three weeks ago, The Grizzled Young Veterans defeated Ever-Rise (Chase Parker & Matt Martel) and Imperium (Marcel Barthel & Fabian Aichner) in a triple threat tag match.
Mercedes Martinez returned to in-ring action on this against a jobber, who had wasn’t even advertised in advance due to this being a complete squash match to show off the dominance of Martinez.
The weird thing was that it wasn’t just a quick match, but dragged to further showcase Martinez.
Martinez made her return last week by attacking WWE NXT Women’s Champion Io Shirai, who had been calling out Toni Storm.
Bronson Reed vs. Isaiah “Swerve” Scott kicked off the show in a singles match.
The match was solid with Reed getting the win. It was basically Scott getting a few spots, but mostly Reed, who won with a splash off the top rope.
This came after Reed returned to the ring on NXT last week where he quickly defeated Ashante “Thee” Adonis.
On this same episode of NXT, Scott was also victorious by defeating Jake Atlas in what was a rematch after Atlas had defeated him earlier this month. It appears that there is still a match between Scott, and Atlas as Scott used a headbutt during the match, which led to him getting the win. Scott had declined a handshake from Atlas after their previous match and Atlas did the same thing last week.
Meanwhile, WWE is still high on Reed and will likely be in the hunt for the North American Title again in the near future.
WWE NXT Champion Finn Balor and Kyle O’Reilly had a segment in the second hour to further promote their title match on next week’s show.
Balor cut a promo about how their first match was the match of the year. Kyle came to the ring. Balor said that he doesn’t need a trophy to remember their first match, but rather just the three plates in his jaw as he broke it in that contest to remind him of it. Balor said that he thinks about it every day and the trophy only is good for collecting dust. Kyle said the trophy says to him that he belongs at the top of NXT. He called it a participation award and that he’s done doing so because he wants the real prize. Kyle said that he came up short before, but that will change next week. Kyle said that winning the title will prove why he’s been wrestling for 15 years. Balor promised to make him suffer.
Scarlett and Karrion Kross walked out to the stage. She said that the title belongs to them. She said that Balor’s fate is already sealed. Kross said that doomsday is already here. Damian Priest appeared and had a staredown with Kross. They broke out in a brawl. They crashed through the barricade.
"It means something to me. To me, it's proof. Not only proof that I belong in the ring with you, but proof that I belong at the top of #WWENXT."
The Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic is back as the tournament will take place in 2021.
WWE announced that the tournament will return in two weeks (January 13th). This will be the sixth installment of WWE NXT’s tag team tournament honoring the late American Dream.
The winners will be awarded the Dusty Rhodes Classic Cup trophy, which is ionic as it is modeled after Dusty’s signature cowboy wrestling boots. The company is expected to announce the teams that will be competing in the tournament in the near future as the tournament will be playing out on NXT TV for a month or so.
WWE decided to create the tournament in 2015 as a tribute to the legendary pro wrestler. Aside from his legendary pro wrestling career as an active wrestler, he was also a key figure behind the scenes with WWE NXT where he helped out at the Performance Center to develop athletes into wrestlers.
Finn Balor and Samoa Joe won the inaugural tournament in 2015 at NXT TakeOver: Respect by beating Baron Corbin & Rhyno.
The 2020 version saw The BroserWeights (Matt Riddle and Pete Dunne) beat Grizzled Young Veterans to win it while the year before had Aleister Black and Ricochet beat The Forgotten Sons.
The Undertaker is slated to do a private signing event with RF Video and SignedBySuperstars.com.
Although there is no exact date for it confirmed just yet, it will take place sometime in late January.
Fans can pre-order the signature from the former WWE Champion now for $204.00 each, plus shipping and handling. They will be selling items to be signed by Taker that day such as Pop figures, Rob Schamberger prints, and more, which range from $210 – $250. Items can be bought here.
“Signed by Superstars will be doing another Fiterman sports exclusive private autograph signing with The Undertaker! It takes place in late January, and you can now pre-order your own Undertaker autograph directly from SBS. We will be offering Undertaker pop figures, and official WWE Photofile 8×10 high quality/glossy photos. The prices of each product will include: the item, the autograph, JSA certification and photo/pop protector. Personalizations and requested marker color will NOT be available. All items will be shipped back to our office after the signing and will be shipped to our customers late January 2021, or early February 2021. If you order an Undertaker item with other items from our site you will be charged additional shipping to have them sent separately.”
The Undertaker had his retirement ceremony, which was billed as his Final Farewell, last month at the WWE Survivor Series pay-per-view event.
WWE Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan is doing the media rounds to promote next week’s “Legends Night” edition of WWE Raw.
The Hulkster spoke with India Today about a variety of topics, including Roman Reigns and Drew McIntyre impressing him this year, the death of Pat Patterson, what it takes to win the Royal Rumble and more.
When asked how he feels when people refer to him as the greatest pro wrestler of all time, Hogan was gracious and shifted that spotlight to the one and only “Nature Boy” Ric Flair. Hogan went as far as to call Flair his hero and the the man who laid the groundwork for everyone else to follow.
“Well, you know, I will gracefully accept and acknowledge that compliment because it means so much, especially coming from my peers, to say that. The guy who is my hero, and who I think is the greatest wrestler of all time, that’s Ric Flair.”
“So I do appreciate the comment but I have a different opinion about who is the best wrestler and the greatest of all time, I have to go with Flair. It’s in his blood and he laid the groundwork. He raised the bar that no one has really been able to follow as far as work ethic.”
Hulk Hogan on Pat Patterson & The Royal Rumble
Regarding the recent death of Pat Patterson, Hogan said Patterson helped so many wrestlers and has a huge legacy that evokes all kinds of emotions. When he was just getting into wrestling, Pat Patterson helped teach him how to take bumps, how to go out through the ropes and do all kind of stuff. They became close friends over time and it was a very tough day when he passed.
Hulk Hogan won the Royal Rumble twice during his WWE career. He says no matter what number you pull, the odds are against you. “You just never know who is gonna come at you, who is gonna cheap shot you, who acts like they might help you but is just there to set you up and stab you in the back,” he said. “You have to pace yourself. You have to have eyes on the back of your head. Otherwise, you don’t survive the Royal Rumble.”
Matt Riddle will be a WWE Superstar for several more years.
The Wrestling Observer Newsletter recently reported that Matt Riddle’s WWE contract was set to expire in August 2021. WWE has been courting Riddle in hopes of locking him in longterm. Dave Meltzer, wrote, “It’s said he’s pretty much agreed to terms for a three-year deal at $400,000 per year guaranteed plus $50,000 for every show in Saudi Arabia.”
Fightful Select has provided an update on Matt Riddle’s negotiations. Riddle reportedly turned down the original offer, despite the guaranteed salary. WWE made a counter offer, which Riddle agreed to. The contract was signed last week.
Matt Riddle in WWE
Riddle joined WWE during the summer of 2018. His first on-screen appearance took place at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn IV. He was shown at ringside during the event in the same manner WWE has shown off other high-profile talent acquisitions. He wrestled on the NXT brand from October 2018 through May 2020.
He joined WWE’s SmackDown brand for a few months before getting moved to Raw during October’s Superstar Draft. Riddle currently teams with Jeff Hardy. WWE recently filed to trademark the name, Hardy Bros, which indicates they have plans for this team to remained paired together for the foreseeable future.
Matt Riddle and Jeff Hardy
WWE Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan recently praised Matt Riddle. During an intro with Metro UK, Hogan said of Riddle, “I’ve been watching him and he’s really got good instincts. He’s really got a good aptitude for understanding what needs to be done, you know. It’s all about instincts and timing.”
Hogan added that Matt Riddle’s timing is off a little bit, but he’s getting better and Matt Riddle is the next Superstar he would ‘put his money on.’
Ric Flair appeared on the season finale of comedian Kevin Hart’s YouTube show recently. The 16x World Champion and Hart took an ice bath while they discussed multiple subjects, as is the theme of the show. Flair and Hart both made iconic “Nature Boy” themed entrances to their ice baths. Hart had his own robe as well.
Flair and Hart spoke about how the Nature Boy has become an icon in the world of Hip Hop. He was also asked about his ability to command a room during the ice bath.
“Yeah, I had that probably when I was about 14 or 15,” Flair said. “I got in trouble at a boarding school at 15, and I just started ‘Nat-ching.”
Hart also asked Flair what his favourite match was from his career. Flair responded that it was his match against Shawn Michaels from Bad Blood 2003.
“I get asked that a lot, and there have been so many, but it would be the match with Shawn [Michaels]” he answered. Flair was 59-years-old at the time.
Other guests on Kevin Hart’s “Cold as Balls” show this season include Tony Hawk, Reggie Bush, Ryan Garcia, Lindsey Vonn, Demarcus Cousins, Jemele Hill, and Chris Bosh.
Ric Flair is scheduled to be part of WWE’s “Legends Night” next Monday on RAW.
You can view the full episode in the player below:
Tonight’s episode of AEW Dynamite will be a special tribute show honoring the life of the late Brodie Lee (Jon Huber).
Dynamite will feature a special card of matches dedicated to the Exalted One, along with tribute messages from the AEW roster. According to AEW President Tony Khan, the night is intended to honor Jon, but also this is for Amanda, and their sons Brodie (-1) & Nolan.
AEW Dynamite Brodie Lee Tribute
AEW Dynamite will feature some of -1’s favorites teaming together for one night only:
Cody Rhodes, Orange Cassidy & 10 vs. Team Taz
The Young Bucks & Colt Cabana vs. Matt Hardy & Private Party
“Hangman” Adam Page, Silver & Reynolds vs. MJF, Santana & Ortiz
Anna Jay & Tay Conti vs. Dr. Britt Baker & Penelope Ford
Lance Archer, Evil Uno & Stu Grayson v. Eddie Kingston, The Butcher & The Blade
New Year’s Smash, the two-week event that was scheduled to begin Wednesday night, will now be held on January 6th and January 13th.
Hulk Hogan is scheduled to be part of WWE’s legends night next week on RAW. He spoke to Metro UK about the upcoming event and during the discussion, mentioned 3 WWE Superstars he has been impressed by.
Hogan first offered praise for Smackdown’s Kevin Owens. He said he was first impressed by Owens after watching him in NXT back in 2015.
“I was really into the NXT thing and I didn’t see any one guy there that really grinded and just thumped and thumped and stayed on it and was just vicious, and knew when to back off and when to beg and knew all the Pat Patterson tricks,’ Hogan said. “Then I saw Kevin Owens and I thought ‘Wow, that’s the guy. That’s the guy.’ You know, he can be the next one if he’s given the opportunity.”
Kevin Owens has recently been involved in a program with Roman Reigns on Smackdown.
The Hulkster also had positive things to say about WWE Champion Drew McIntyre, the man who holds the title he wore on five occasions.
“I’ve watched Drew McIntyre, and the years of training and in-ring experience, now he’s as legit as they come,” said Hogan. “He’s got the eye of the tiger look in his eyes. He’s got the body of a god. His work is solid, everything he does is spot on. His interviews are good.”
Hulk Hogan Sees Money in Matt Riddle
Hogan then offered praise for RAW’s Matt Riddle, who recently agreed to terms on a new WWE contract.
“Right now there’s another guy that’s stumbling into that situation. You know, acting like he doesn’t know what’s going on but he’s smart as hell,” Hogan continued.
“That’s the ‘Bro’, Riddle, who kicks his flip-flops off when he comes into the ring. ‘I’ve been watching him and he’s really got good instincts. He’s really got a good aptitude for understanding what needs to be done, you know. It’s all about instincts and timing. ‘His timing is off a little bit but it’s starting to come each and every week so, I mean, he would be the next one I’d put my money on.”
Monday’s edition of WWE Raw averaged 1.769 million viewers with a 0.52 rating in the Adults 18-49 demographic. Last week’s show did 1.691 million viewers with a 0.53 rating.
Here’s the hourly viewership breakdown for Monday night:
The first hour did 1.886 million viewers and a 0.56 rating (A18-49).
The second hour did 1.783 million viewers and a 0.52 rating.
The final hour of the show had just 1.638 million viewers and a 0.47 rating.
This episode was expected to dip a little bit from last week because WWE usually gets a bump in viewership after pay-per-view events. Of course, last week’s show had the fallout from the final PPV event of the year, TLC. However, that didn’t happen.
It did go up against an NFL game on ESPN, which did 7.337 million viewers and another 7 million on ABC.
WWE won’t have to go up against the NFL next week and they will likely pop a big rating for its Raw Legends Night next week.
SmackDown Viewership
Friday’s SmackDown averaged 3.303 million viewers. This is up from the 1.030 million viewers on FS1 that the show did for the previous week.
SmackDown pulled in a 0.96 rating in the 18-49 demos, up from 0.30 rating as previous week’s show. The episode drew an average of 3.336 million viewers in the overnight ratings. The reason for such a spike in viewership is due to it having a lead-in from an NFL game.
The first hour saw it pull in 4.097 million viewers while hour two did 2.574 million viewers. The show did 2.053 million viewers in hour one while hour two did 2.004 million viewers two weeks ago.
Sean Waltman, aka X-Pac or Syxx-Pac, no longer has Hepatitis C. He announced this on his recently returned podcast, X-Pac 1 2 360. The 48-year-old said he’s undergone some expensive treatment for the condition.
“I had Hepatitis C for a long time and that kept me, I tested positive when I came back to TNA and was doing that stuff with Kevin [Nash] and Scott [Hall] and [Hulk] Hogan came in with Eric [Bischoff], all that,” Waltman said on the show (transcriptions via WrestlingNews.co).
Sean Waltman was scheduled to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame as part of the NWO this year. He’s already in the Hall of Fame as a member of DX.
“After that, I couldn’t get cleared in certain states with athletic commissions and so TNA and WWE couldn’t really have me in matches, so I would just do little matches like that, nothing serious, no blood or whatever but, so I’m cured, everyone. Just this year, just this year I got cured. I hadn’t mentioned it publicly but yeah, it costs $100,000 for the treatment, it’s $1,000 a pill, one pill every day. I feel great, I didn’t even know, don’t feel anything.”
Waltman would continue to say that he’d like to get back in the ring again as well. When asked if he could wrestle a regular schedule again, Waltman wasn’t sure he wanted to.
“I don’t know if I want to. I probably got half-a-dozen good, hard matches in me,” Waltman said.
Waltman’s last official match took place in the spring of 1999 at a WrestleCon show.
The full episode of X-Pac 1 2 360 can be viewed in the player below:
Bret “Hitman” Hart and Sting recently shared some complimentary comments about one another. The two worked together near the end of Hart’s career in WCW, wrestling a total of 32 matches with each other from 1998-99.
A user on Twitter recently posted a quote from Bret Hart’s old podcast in 2016 where the Hitman spoke about the respect he has for Sting. During the podcast, Hart was asked if there was anything he enjoyed about his time in WCW and Hart said the only good thing was being able to wrestle Sting.
“I really didn’t enjoy anything. If I had to sum up what one thing I did like I would probably say wrestling Sting,” Hart said. “Sting was a class guy, just a first-rate guy. Great guy to work with. Great guy to talk to. Great guy to hang out with. A real friend. No ego. Never saw any ounce of ego. Just a team player all the way and I always had a lot of respect for him.”
Sting then responded to the Twitter post that quoted Hart’s comments about him.
The feeling is mutual, @BretHart. Enjoyed working with you. Great finisher! My one regret is I never got to see a Stinger cartoon from you. https://t.co/NYPGdxOmdv
Hart and Sting wrestled against each other a lot in WCW. 20 of their 32 matches in WCW came on un-televised events, however. They wrestled 5 singles matches against one another on WCW programming.
10/5/98 WCW Nitro: Bret Hart (c) vs Sting – No Contest (US Title Match).
10/19/98 WCW Nitro: Bret Hart defeated Sting via DQ.
Jon Huber’s son, Brodie (-1), has been signed to an official AEW contract. Since Brodie (-1) is only 8-years-old, the contract will not begin until he is old enough to start wrestling. This was revealed recently on Tony Schiavone’s “What Happened When” podcast.
“Knowing Brodie was very sick and it was the holidays and knowing it was going to be very difficult for him to ‘kick out,’ [AEW] brought little Brodie to TV and wrestling is his life,” Schiavone said. “They made him a member of the Dark Order, they put a mask on him, he came out with a kendo stick and beat up a lot of people.”
“They signed him to a contract, legitimately signed him to a contract,” Schiavone continued. “When he gets of age, he’ll be with AEW. They have taken care of him.”
As for why Brodie Huber is named Brodie (-1), the idea is that he’s too young to officially join the Dark Order and his father was “The Exalted One”. So -1 is sort of his Dark Order number, similar to how other members of the stable are numbered.
“He follows guys around in the back and becomes part of us. He gets involved with the guys, sits in Gorilla position, comes out with the mask and does some crazy things. The roster loved Brodie and we are family.”
Tonight’s episode of AEW Dynamite will be a special tribute to Brodie Lee.
Impact Wrestling named its “Best of 2020” Awards during this week’s Impact on AXS TV. Knockouts Champion Deonna Purrazzo was the big winner, scoring honors for not only Knockout of the Year but also Wrestler of the Year.
July’s Slammiversary pay-per-view was “Moment of the Year” and that show’s main event was Match of the Year.
Here is the full list of winners:
Wrestler of the Year: Deonna Purrazzo
Tag-Team of the Year: The North
Knockout of the Year: Deonna Purrazzo
X-Division Wrestler of the Year: Ace Austin
Moment of the Year: Slammiversary 2020
Match of the Year: Eric Young vs. Rich Swann vs. Eddie Edwards vs. Ace Austin vs. Trey Miguel (Slammiversary)
Deonna Purrazzo Reacts
Deonna Purrazzo commented on Impact Wrestling recognizing her greatness. She wrote,
“This year has been my most challenging. To finish 2020 as WRESTLER OF THE YEAR only validates every trial & tribulation I’ve faced to date. I’ve been true to myself & true to my craft and for that, I’m most proud. Welcome, EVERYONE, to the Age of the #Virtuosa”
Congratulations to Deonna Purrazzo.
This year has been my most challenging. To finish 2020 as WRESTLER OF THE YEAR only validates every trial & tribulation I’ve faced to date.
I’ve been true to myself & true to my craft and for that, I’m most proud.
AEW commentator Tony Schiavone talked about the untimely death of Brodie Lee on the latest episode of What Happened When podcast and opened up about the events before his passing.
Reports have revealed that the original plans were to keep the former TNT champion off TV for only a few weeks after his Dog Collar match with Cody Rhodes on the October 7 episode of Dynamite.
Talking about how the sudden decline in Lee’s health forced them to change plans, Schiavone revealed that Brodie was hospitalised the day after they interviewed him on the AEW Unrestricted podcast:
“Unfortunately, the AEW Uncensored podcast that we do, the one we did with Brodie, we did it the day before he got sick.
Then we heard he had been airlifted to the Mayo Clinic and Amanda, his wife, came and met with the entire group and told us how bad a shape he was in and please don’t say anything to anybody.”
Discussing how everyone at AEW kept his condition secret, Tony Schiavone said that everyone at the company did a good job and he then revealed how they all found out about Brodie Lee’s passing:
“I think everybody did a great job keeping it close to the vest as the old cliche goes. We all knew it didn’t look good but we were all hoping he would kick out.
The day that he passed away, we received an email that we were going to have a company wide zoom call in 30 minutes and I knew that if we were going to have a zoom call that quickly, something was bad.”
Tony Schiavone also opened up about the segment they filmed with Brodie Lee’s son at last week’s Dynamite tapings where he beat Kenny Omega for the AEW world title.
The AEW star revealed that the company actually signed Brodie Lee Jr. to a contract and said that he will join the company when he gets old enough.
Nick Aldis has no plans to leave the National Wrestling Alliance any time soon. In fact, the reigning NWA World Champion recently extended his deal and will be under contract for at least another year.
Aldis recently appeared on Konnan’s Keepin’ It 100 podcast where he discussed the state of the NWA, the return of NWA Powerrr and more.
Regarding his status with the NWA, Aldis revealed that owner Billy Corgan has picked up the option in his contract to extend their deal for one more year.
“Billy picked up my option with the NWA so… Like I said, I had an option on my contract and Billy picked it up and like I said, I would not have opened up any discussions with anyone without talking to — This is ‘Keepin it 100,’ I just care about that paper.
That’s it and Billy’s been very loyal to me and I to him” said Nick Aldis, “And I truly believe in what we’re doing with the product and I wouldn’t walk away from it because we haven’t even scratched the surface of what we could accomplish.”
The NWA talents have been featured on the Primetime Live shows of the United Wrestling Network (UWN) in the absence of NWA Power but the current champion made it clear that it’s not an NWA product.
Nick Aldis also reiterated comments from the promotion’s Women’s Champion Serena Deeb and confirmed that their flagship show will be making a return sometime in 2021.
Former AEW Champion Jon Moxley recently had an interview with Sports Illustrated where he shared his memories of the late Brodie Lee.
Mox wrestled Lee many times in WWE when he was still known as Luke Harper and the two then locked horns again after the late star followed his friend’s footsteps and joined AEW.
Talking about the news of his demise, the former WWE champion claimed that it doesn’t feel real and it feels as if he is in a vivid dream:
“It doesn’t feel real,” said Moxley, on Sunday evening. “It feels like I’m in a very vivid dream and I’m waiting to snap out of it. My brain hasn’t accepted it yet. Right now, I’m completely f—— numb.”
Jon Moxley On His WrestleMania Spot With Brodie Lee
The former Dean Ambrose then talked about the many times he wrestled Brodie Lee and he especially recalled the one spot he did with the former TNT champion which even bugged Vince McMahon.
Jon recalled a spot from the WrestleMania 31 ladder match for the Intercontinental Championship and revealed how the boss reacted to it:
“We wanted to make the highlight reel, we figured the only way we could do that was if I nearly killed myself with a death-defying bump. So we devised this spot where he powerbombs me from the ring to the floor through a steel ladder, and that’s f—— sketchy.
It’s an extremely dangerous bump, going backward at a high angle. It was a gnarly bump. Vince [McMahon] bugged out. He thought I was dead, which meant it was a good f—— bump. “
The former WWE star continued by saying that he would have not trusted anybody else with the bump and he maintains the sentiment even to this day.
Apart from this, Jon Moxley also discussed how Brodie Lee was a family man who was very proud of being a husband and father. You can check out his full interview at this link.
Amanda Huber, the wife of the late pro wrestler Jon Huber aka Brodie Lee has shared her final text conversation with her husband before he passed away.
She made an emotional post on Instagram in which, Amanda shared pictures she “forgot existed” and explained how they reminded her of the life she had built with her husband.
Addressing the text conversation that took place in late October before Brodie Lee’s condition declined, Huber mentioned how she got angry looking at their text exchange because they had “so much planned.”
She also informed her late husband of the plans president Tony Khan has put together for the upcoming episode of AEW Dynamite to honour his memory.
Amanda thanked the fans for their kind words and stories that have been shared over the last few days as well. You can check out her post featuring the text conversation in the second slide below:
Former WWE and AEW star Brodie Lee passed away due to a lung ailment last week on December 26. Not many people were aware of his condition and so the news of his passing came as a shock for the wrestling world.
Various wrestling personalities and fans from around the world have come together to pay tribute to the late star since the news of his passing come out.
Several wrestling personalities had called out WWE after this week’s Raw for only paying tribute to Brodie Lee through an opening graphic but it appears that it’s not all the company will be doing.
According to reports from PWInsider, WWE taped some tributes to the former champion prior to the airing of this week’s episode of Monday Night Raw.
While it’s not known where the company intends to use the footage, the report at least confirms that the tribute on Raw is not the only thing officials are planning.
The most likely destination for the tributes to be used would be in a Network special about the former WWE star but it’s something that hasn’t been confirmed.
Brodie Lee fka Luke Harper passed away due to a lung ailment on December 26 and reports that have since come out have revealed that he had been hospitalised for the last two month.
Lee had been written off AEW TV after his dog collar match with Cody Rhodes on October 7 episode of Dynamite, though at the time, the plans were to bring him back after a few weeks of absence.
However, he started facing difficulties in completing his routine workout during his hiatus at home and the former WWE star was rushed to the hospital towards the end of October, after his lungs stopped working.
They spoke about a wide variety of topics, including Kane’s time in Smoky Mountain Wrestling, his Dr. Isaac Yankem dentist gimmick, working with Steve Austin, Pat Patterson, Brodie Lee and more.
Kane is forever linked to his greatest rival and (storyline) brother, The Undertaker. When asked his thoughts about The Undertaker’s Final Farewell at last month’s Survivor Series pay-per-view, Kane called it a “bittersweet” occasion.
“It’s bittersweet,” he began.. “I’m happy for Mark and the fact that not many folks get to retire on their own terms and leave the business the way they want to. So, I’m very happy about that. On a personal level, that’s great, but as a fan, it kind of stinks because it’s the Undertaker. He’s one of my favorites, not only because of our personal history but also just as a fan.”
The Undertaker’s Reign
The Undertaker’s 30 year reign spanned multiple eras of WWE history. It is truly amazing to look back at how things were back in 1990 and everything that transpired during The Undertaker’s career. Kane says he is easily the greatest wrestling character ever. Sometimes he was the #1 guy in the company, but he didn’t need to always be the top guy. When he wasn’t #1, he was “1A” – a special attraction that was in a class of his own.
Kane reflected, “Just carrying the company through all these cycles in wrestling, you look back and he came in and Hulkamania, then things went really down in the early 90s. When it comes back up, he’s there, and he’s been there ever since. [The Undertaker’s retirement] was just bittersweet.”
Kane on WWE ThunderDome
Kane also commented on WWE adapting to the coronavirus pandemic. He feels that the ThunderDome concept has been successful and executed very well.
“The pandemic – I think WWE has actually done the best out of the spectator sports of trying to have the feel of a live audience,” he said. “They really have done a good job with the ThunderDome concept. But nevertheless, certainly, we would’ve liked to have had 20,000 people there as opposed to 4,000 people watching on monitors. The whole thing was done very well.”
You can listen to the full podcast episode at Player.fm.
Sasha Banks had some fun this week showing off a a ‘new’ look inspired by Ruby Riott.
The WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion posted a series of photos on Instagram stating that she will be doing more photo shoots inspired by the looks of WWE Superstars.
She noted that she is trying to manifest a makeup channel and even her own makeup line that could come to fruition in 2021.
As seen in the photos below, Sasha Banks went all the way with her transformation, including makeup, wig and temporary tattoos.
WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair spoke with WWE.com to promote next week’s “Legends Night” edition of WWE Raw. During the interview, Flair spoke about his close longtime friendship with Triple H.
Flair says Triple H exemplifies the world “legend” more than anybody else and deserves a proper retirement match to mark the end of his in-ring career.
“I’m actually hoping to see him have a huge retirement match, if he even elects to retire in the future,” said Flair. “He deserves every bit of it and all the recognition to go with it. … He exemplifies ‘Legend’ more than anybody because he is not only a great performer, he has studied the business, he is a historian. He probably knows more about the business than I do and I’ve been in it 30 years longer than he has.”
Triple H last wrestled at Super Showdown in Saudi Arabia back in June 2019. Earlier this year, WWE celebrated his 25th anniversary with the company.
Ric Flair on Triple H’s Dedication
Flair says that Triple H truly loves the business. After a Hall of Fame career, Triple H is taking all the knowledge he acquired to mentor the next generation of Superstars in NXT.
“He’s accomplished all this through his efforts and he has ascended himself to a place of not just being a great worker, he’s helped to impact the company with the growth of NXT,” said Flair. “He basically lives the kind of schedule we did in the old days. He wouldn’t have it any other way. He won’t miss anything, and he’s always wanting to see the company grow.”
In addition to Ric Flair, other legends announced for the first WWE Raw of 2021 include Hulk Hogan, Kurt Angle, Mark Henry, Torrie Wilson and more.
Tony Khan has announced that Wednesday’s episode of AEW Dynamite will be a special tribute show honoring the late Brodie Lee.
Khan wrote on Twitter, “”This Wednesday on #AEWDynamite, we’ll celebrate the life of Jon Huber (Mr. Brodie Lee) with a show including tributes and a special card of matches dedicated to The Exalted One. This night is intended to honor Jon, but also this is for Amanda, and their sons Brodie (-1) & Nolan.”
AEW Dynamite Brodie Lee Tribute
The card will feature some of -1’s favorites teaming together for one night only:
Cody Rhodes, Orange Cassidy & 10 vs. Team Taz
The Young Bucks & Colt Cabana vs. Matt Hardy & Private Party
“”Hangman”” Adam Page, Silver & Reynolds vs. MJF, Santana & Ortiz
Anna Jay & Tay Conti vs. Dr. Britt Baker & Penelope Ford
Lance Archer, Evil Uno & Stu Grayson v. Eddie Kingston, The Butcher & The Blade
New Year’s Smash, the two-week event that was scheduled to begin Wednesday night, will now be held on January 6th and January 13th.
WWE RAW aired live from the ThunderDome in Tropicana Field. It was the first episode of RAW following WWE TLC. Drew Mcintyre, Sheamus, and Keith Lee battled The Miz, John Morrison, and AJ Styles in a Holiday Street Fight in this week’s main event.
WWE RAW Results (12/21)
Nia Jax & Shayna Baszler def. Mandy Rose & Dana Brooke
Angel Garza def. Drew Gulak
T-Bar def. Ricochet
Hurt Business def. Jeff Hardy and Riddle
Jaxson Ryker def. Gran Metalik
Charlotte Flair and Asuka def. Peyton Royce & Lacey Evans via submission
Drew McIntyre, Keith Lee, Sheamus def. The Miz, John Morrison, Styles in a Holiday Street Fight
Here are the takeaways from this week’s show:
Charlotte Flair and Asuka / Jax and Baszler Continues
Women’s Tag Team Champion Charlotte Flair kicked off this week’s show. Charlotte Flair and Asuka defeated Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler last night at TLC to capture the tag titles. Charlotte asked what would the ThunderDome be without The Queen?
Flair introduced Asuka and the WWE RAW Women’s Champion made her way to the ring. Asuka stated that the Empress of Tomorrow is the double champion of today. Asuka added that Nia and Shayna were definitely not ready for Charlotte Flair.
Charlotte was about to bring up the RAW Women’s Championship but Shayna & Nia interrupted. Jax joked that apparently the six months away didn’t cure Charlotte’s robotic voice.
Mandy Rose and Dana Brooke joined the party and poked fun at Nia & Shayna losing the titles last night. Brooke and Mandy then battled Nia Jax and Shayna in the first match of the night.
Baszler and Mandy Rose started off the match as Charlotte Flair and Asuka joined commentary. Rose booted Shayna in the face and went for the cover but Baszler kicked out at two.
Dana Brooke tagged in and connected with a Suplex. Nia tagged in and hit Dana with a Splash in the corner. Jax followed it up with a headbutt and then launched Dana across the ring.
Dana connected with an elbow to the face and followed it up with a Hurricanrana. Mandy tagged back in and knocked Nia out of the ring. Rose and Brooke hit Shayna and Nia with Crossbodies off the apron and posed in front of the Women’s Tag Team Champions. Nia quickly got back up and launched Mandy into the barricade as WWE Raw went to a commercial break.
When RAW returned, Nia leveled Mandy with a Clothesline and tagged Baszler in. Shayna slammed Rose to the canvas and applied a Heel Hook. Nia tagged in and stomped on Mandy’s knee before sending her to the corner of the ring.
Mandy tried to battle back but Nia connected with another Clothesline. Jax went for a Leg Drop but Rose got out of the way. Shayna tagged in and Rose greeted her with a Suplex. Dana tagged in and connected with a Senton off the top rope and went for the cover but Nia dragged her out of the ring.
Rose hit Nia with a knee to the face off the apron as Shayna connected with a Backbreaker on Dana Brooke. Baszler tried to stomp on Dana’s arm but she countered by slamming her into the turnbuckle. Shayna battled back and applied the Kirifuda Clutch for the submission victory.
After the match, Nia and Shayna started trash talking with Charlotte and Asuka. Mandy Rose and Dana Brooke attacked Jax and Baszler and knocked them out of the ring.
Hurt Business came to the ring to celebrate Cedric Alexander & Shelton Benjamin capturing the RAW Tag Team Championships last night at WWE TLC. MVP stated that the VIP Lounge is for people that are better than you.
United States Champion Bobby Lashley said that Cedric and Shelton have proven their dominance and that there isn’t a man alive that can beat him for the US Title. MVP said he has invited a photographer and Hurt Business posed as 24/7 Champion R-Truth appeared behind them. Superstars chased him around before Riddle & Jeff Hardy interrupted.
Riddle said that Hurt Business is doing it all wrong and is spending too much money on champagne. Riddle suggested that they should get toasted and watch the Joe Rogan podcast. Jeff Hardy said that they need to rely on their faith to defeat MVP and Bobby Lashley later tonight.
Lashley beat Riddle down in the corner to start off the match. MVP tagged in and beat Riddle down some more before tagging Lashley back in. Hardy tagged in and connected with an elbow to the face. Hardy hit Whisper in the Wind and the “Hardy Bros” were in control as RAW went to a break.
When RAW returned, Jeff Hardy climbed to the top rope but Lashley knocked him onto the steel steps outside the ring. MVP tagged in and continued to beat Hardy down as Alexander and Benjamin cheered him on from ringside.
MVP connected with the Ballin’ Elbow for a two count. Riddle tagged in and hit MVP with a Broton and followed it up with a Fisherman’s Suplex. Riddle went for the cover but Lashley broke it up. Lashley tagged in and connected with a Flatliner. Hardy went for the Twist of Fate but Lashley countered into the Hurt Lock for the pinfall victory.
Drew Gulak faced Angel Garza tonight on RAW. Before the match, Garza flirted with Sarah Schreiber backstage. Gulak threw his pants in Gulak’s face and hit him with a couple punches to start off the action. Angel applied an Abdominal Stretch but Gulak escaped . Garza connected with an Arm Drag for a two count. Angel followed it up with the Wing Clipper for the pinfall victory.
The Miz said he failed last night at cashing in the MITB contract and apologized to his family. Miz and Morrison then welcomed AJ Styles to the ring. The Miz stated that he took advantage of an opportunity last night and Styles called him the biggest idiot on earth.
Styles claimed that Miz cost him the WWE Championship last night at TLC. Miz got pissed off and shouted that the contract was everything and that nobody respects him. Miz added that maybe if he cashed in and won the WWE Championship maybe everyone respect him and he will take RAW to new heights.
Miz apologized to Styles and said he blew it. The Miz stated that he would like to give Styles an opportunity to costar in the next installment of The Marine. The Miz said he deserves the contract back because John Morrison was the one who gave the contract to the referee.
WWE Champion Drew McIntyre interrupted and said that he celebrated with Keith Lee and Sheamus after the match. McIntyre, Sheamus and Keith Lee then read “The Nightmare After TLC” poking fun at Styles and Miz for losing last night.
Sheamus was about to Brogue Kick The Miz but AJ Dropkicked Keith Lee and he fell into Sheamus. Sheamus shouted at Keith Lee that he was trying to steal his moment to end the segment. Lee, Sheamus, and McIntyre will face The Miz, Morrison, and Styles in a Holiday Street Fight later tonight.
Ricochet squared off against T-Bar tonight on RAW. Retribution was ringside for the match. T-Bar dominated early and leveled Ricochet with a Clothesline. Mace distracted Ricochet and T-Bar connected with a boot to the face. Mustafa Ali called Ricochet a fool and said that he belongs with them. Ricochet punched Ali in the face and T-Bar capitalized with a slam for the pinfall victory.
Jaxson Ryker Dominated
Elias said his 2020 has been a whirlwind after getting hit by a car and electrocuted. Elias claimed his music changes lives and Jaxson Ryker has been reborn in the Universal Truth. Ryker then squashed Gran Metalik.
Randy Orton came down to the ring to begin the third hour of WWE Raw. Orton defeated The Fiend in the Firefly Inferno match last night and then lit him on fire. Orton said that he proved how demented he is last night when he burned The Fiend alive. Randy stated that he had no regrets and dropped to a knee in the middle of the ring. Orton said that this is where it happened and he can smell the stench of burning flesh.
Orton claimed that he didn’t sleep last night because the voices in his head were gone. Randy laughed and said that the only sound he can hear is The Fiend gasping for air. Orton added that The Fiend is gone and he is the evil son of a bitch that took him out.
The lights went out and Alexa Bliss appeared on a swing set in the middle of the ring. Bliss said that The Fiend is home but if he ever leaves home he might come to Alexa’s Playground and it will be unlike anything you have seen before.
Charlotte Flair and Asuka battled Lacey Evans and Peyton Royce tonight. Asuka went for the Asuka Lock but Royce escaped. Shayna and Nia were shown watching the match backstage as RAW went to a commercial break. When RAW returned, Asuka was still isolated in the ring and Evans hit her with an Elbow Drop.
Royce and Lacey started arguing and Asuka slowly made her way to the corner. Asuka connected with a German Suplex and finally was able to tag in Charlotte. Asuka took out Lacey outside the ring as Peyton rolled up Flair for a two count. Charlotte quickly locked in the Figure Four and bridged into the Figure Eight for the submission victory.
Drew McIntyre, Sheamus, Keith Lee faced The Miz, John Morrison, and AJ Styles in a Holiday Street Fight in this week’s main event.
The Miz and Sheamus started off the action. Morrison hit Sheamus with a cheap shot and then Styles tagged in. Sheamus leveled Styles with a Clothesline and tagged in the WWE Champion.
Morrison tagged in and targetted McIntyre’s injured knee. McIntyre hit Morrison with the Glasgow Kiss and tagged in Keith Lee. Keith and McIntyre launched Morrison across the ring and then sent AJ to the outside. Sheamus and Keith Lee started arguing again and traded chops. McIntyre broke it up and said that they needed to get on the same page as RAW went to a commercial break.
Sheamus had Styles in a Headlock when RAW returned. AJ escaped and tagged in Morrison. Sheamus slammed Morrison to the canvas and made his way to the top rope. Morrison hopped up and shoved Sheamus through a table ringside. Back in the ring, Morrison went for the cover but the Celtic Warrior kicked out at two.
The Miz tagged in and stomped on Sheamus in the corner of the ring. The Miz planted Sheamus with a DDT for a two count. Sheamus connected with White Noise and tagged in McIntyre. Drew hurled Miz across the ring and planted Morrison with an Alabama Slam.
McIntyre went for the Future Shock DDT but Miz caught him with a kick to the knee. Drew shrugged it off and hit a Spinebuster and went for the cover but Styles broke it up. Keith Lee leveled Styles and turned around into an Enziguri from Morrison. AJ Styles brought a candy cane kendo stick and hit McIntyre in the knee.
Drew McIntyre brought Styles out of the ring and Powerbombed him through a table. Sheamus and Morrison beat the hell out of each other with kendo sticks as McIntyre set up for the Claymore. Sheamus tagged himself in and then Keith Lee did the same. Morrison escaped into Omos’ arms outside the ring but Omos slammed him through a table. Keith Lee then planted The Miz with the Spirit Bomb for the pinfall victory. After the match, Sheamus leveled Keith Lee with a Brogue Kick. McIntyre got in Sheamus’ face and shouted at him as RAW went off the air.
Author’s Opinion: WWE TLC was a very entertaining show and it was unfortunately followed up with a poor episode of RAW. Almost everything in the first two hours of this show fell flat. The most interesting part of the night was Bliss returning in the “Alexa’s Playground” segment.
WWE is starting off 2021 with a big episode featuring some notable names.
WWE announced during Monday’s broadcast on the USA Network that a special edition of Raw will be called Raw Legends Night. It takes place on January 4th.
In the commercial that aired, it was hyped that Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, Beth Phoenix, Torrie Wilson, Sgt. Slaughter, Kurt Angle, and many more would be appearing on the show.
WWE will likely load up the show with some notable matches.
The show averaged 1.526 million viewers with a 0.41 rating in the Adults 18-49 demographic. Just one year ago, the show did 2.150 million. Quite the fall off granted the world is dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic and hasn’t had fans in attendance for months.
WWE thought they could turn things around with its ThunderDome setup back in August as they have virtual fans. That worked for a few weeks, but viewership has continued to decline.
The last time WWE brought back legends was for the Raw Reunion special in July 2019. That show averaged 3.093 million viewers, which was the best rating Raw did all year. The show featured an appearance by Steve Austin, Ric Flair, Shawn Michaels, Hulk Hogan, John Cena and several more.
The preview reunion show was Raw 25 back on January 22nd, 2018 that drew 4.530 million viewers.
