Roman Reigns has pitched for a high-profile match for next year’s WrestleMania during a recent WrestleMania 37 press conference. “The Big Dog” shared his interest in a matchup against none other than his cousin, WWE Legend Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.
“I said it earlier, man: If there’s a stadium — Hey, DJ, check it out. Not bad, right? You know, everyone’s always dream matching me and him,” Reigns said. “First of all, we’re family, so it’s all love, but if there was going to be an event for him to compete in, to perform in…a venue to hold that mass-scale of attention that he’s going to bring, it’s right here in your backyard. You know what I mean? You ain’t gotta go far.”
It was recently revealed that WrestleMania 37 would take place at the SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. The event is scheduled to take place on March 28th, 2021.
Despite the excitement at the announcement, WrestleMania 36 is just over the horizon. The show airs on April 5th from the Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. At the time of writing, the only match announced for the event is a WWE Championship match. Brock Lesnar will be defending his title against the winner of the 2020 Men’s Royal Rumble, Drew Mcintyre.
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Monday’s edition of WWE RAW averaged 2.337 million viewers in Ontario, CA at the Toyota Arena on the USA Network, which is up from the 2.168 million viewers the previous week.
RAW Viewership
Here is the hourly viewership breakdown, courtesy of ShowbuzzDaily:
Hour 1: 2.411 million – Last Week: 2.318
Hour 2: 2.396 million – Last Week: 2.164
Hour 3: 2.204 million – Last Week: 2.022
The episode was expected to increase in its viewership from last week. The reason for that is due to the lack of competition it faced as well as it serving as featuring the fallout from last week.
Here is the hourly 18-49 demos breakdown:
Hour 1: 0.81 – Last Week: 0.72
Hour 2: 0.81 – Last Week: 0.66
Hour 3: 0.77 – Last Week: 0.63
Some of the matches that took place include RAW Women’s Champion Becky Lynch vs. Asuka (w/Kairi Sane), Angel Garza (w/Zelina Vega) vs. Cedric Alexander, Ricochet vs. Bobby Lashley, Aleister Black vs. Akira Tozawa, and AOP (Akam & Rezar), Murphy & Seth Rollins vs. Kevin Owens, Samoa Joe & The Viking Raiders (Erik & Ivar) in an eight-man tag team match.
There was also a segment with Matt Hardy and Randy Orton where Hardy confronted Orton over attacking Edge. Hardy was attacked as a way to write him off of TV.
WWE will attempt to increase its viewership for Monday Night RAW next week due to no sports competition and the road to WrestleMania on its way.
In case you missed the show, you can check out the seven takeaways here.
WWE Hall of Famer Stone Cold Steve Austin recently updated fans on the second season of the ‘Straight Up Steve Austin’ show on FOX.
“We’ll be heading back here [The Broken Skull Ranch] in about a day or two” Steve Austin revealed on the Stone Cold Podcast. “To start work on projects, start work on Straight Up Steve Austin here in about a month and a half. I’m looking forward to this season, it will be season two. We will be travelling a bit across the United States of America. I’m sure we will be flying to some of those locations. I might just haul ass in my pickup truck, just to get some miles on that sum bi*ch. I’m thinking Straight Up will be airing in about August.”
The first series of Straight Up Steve Austin aired on the USA Network August 12, 2019 following Monday Night RAW. The show focuses on Austin and a celebrity guest. They both swap stories about their lives and careers as they travel across the country.
The first series featured Rob Riggle, Sal Vulcano, Baker Mayfield. WWE RAW Women’s Champion Becky Lynch, Gabriel Iglesias, Trace Adkins and Dale Earnhardt Jr.
USA Network recently sent out the following press release regarding the second season:
USA NETWORK RENEWS ‘STRAIGHT UP STEVE AUSTIN’ FOR SEASON 2
– Interview-Based Series hosted by WWE Legend Stone Cold Steve Austin, was 2019’s #1 New Unscripted Cable Series for Men 18-49 & 25-54 –
NEW YORK, NY – January 10, 2020 – USA Network today announced it has picked up hit unscripted series STRAIGHT UP STEVE AUSTIN for a second season. Expected to premiere this summer, Season 2 will consist of 8 half-hour episodes and is produced by Line by Line Media with Austin and Dave Barsky (“Dirty Jobs”) as executive producers.
The unique interview-based series; hosted by retired WWE Legend “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, was 2019’s #1 new unscripted cable series for Men 18-49 and Men 25-54.* In every episode, Steve and a celebrity guest get real, heading out to different cities across America to take part in one-of-a-kind adventures, while swapping stories about their lives and careers. It’s a unique twist on the standard interview show. With no studio, no couch and no cue cards — just a straight up good time and good old-fashioned American fun.
STRAIGHT UP STEVE AUSTIN joins a growing lineup of unscripted programming at USA. Including docu-comedies CHRISLEY KNOWS BEST (2019’s #1 unscripted cable series on VOD), GROWING UP CHRISLEY and MIZ & MRS; and big buzzy reboots TEMPTATION ISLAND (USA Network’s #1 new series of 2019). And the reboot of THE BIGGEST LOSER (debuting January 28, 2020).
WWE RAW commentator Jerry ‘The King’ Lawler recently discussed the ‘lapsed’ fanbase for the company that seemingly has taken an even bigger hit over the past decade plus. Lawler was referring to a tweet from F4W’s Bryan Alvarez, who mentioned that WCW and WWE pulled a combined 8 million viewers around 19 years ago; and WCW went out of business shortly after. WWE is now ‘lucky’ if they manage to get 2.5 million viewers to watch RAW on a Monday.
Although the change of landscape for television always plays a factor, Jerry Lawler believes that the way to bring back these ‘lapsed’ fans is to sprinkle some older more established starts into the mix.
“At one time there were 8 million people watching, watching wrestling on a Monday night,” Jerry Lawler began. “And now you’re lucky if you have two and a half million. I think a lot of those fans that are not watching right now are fans of guys like Edge. And of course The Rock, Stone Cold [Steve Austin], those guys. I just think…if you brought some of them back?”
Lawler then discussed how ‘internet fans’ seemingly do not like the veterans in these prominent positions. “Here’s the crazy thing. You know, you got these internet fans that sit around there and do nothing but pick and criticise every single thing that happens on the show. Then you got the writers that read all this stuff from your critical fans and they try to go and kind of book by [it]. Then you know they’re the ones that go ‘they’re keeping some young talent from being from having their day in the sunshine.’ Well, some of that old talent are the ones that might make the difference.”
“They might come back if on occasion you brought some of these people back.” – Jerry Lawler
Jerry Lawler elaborated further, saying “that 5 million fans that aren’t watching anymore, you know. Though those 5 million fans were fans of these guys that aren’t on TV anymore. They might come back if on occasion you brought some of these people back.”
Triple H signed with WCW in early 1994 but was gone the following year. He signed his first WWF contract in January of 1995 shortly after. Eric Bischoff was asked about his reaction to Triple H’s departure on a recent episode of his 83 Weeks podcast.
“I remember (Triple H gave notice) and I remember I didn’t really care,” Bischoff said. He would continue to say that he never had high aspirations for Triple H in WCW.
“Look, I wasn’t excited about hiring Paul Levesque,” Bischoff said. “I really could have taken or (left) him.”
Bischoff continued to say that Triple H not living near Atlanta was an issue in WCW at the time.
“I was really trying to concentrate our roster and build our roster around people who lived in close proximity to Atlanta,” he continued.
“I wasn’t excited about Paul when he came in and I wasn’t that disappointed when he left,” Bischoff said in contrast to reports Conrad Thompson had read. “Not that I didn’t think that he had talent, not that I didn’t think he was all that valuable.”
Bischoff would continue to say, however, that he feels Triple H saw going to WCW as a way to get noticed by WWE.
“I think he looked at WCW as a transition and a platform and an opportunity to get noticed to go to WWE,” he continued.
Bischoff’s comments can be heard in the player below:
WWE announced yesterday that they have signed the daughter of the Rock, Simone Johnson. The 18-year-old has been spotted at the WWE Performance Center several times over the years but the company made her signing official recently.
The Rock posted the following to his official Instagram account to congratulate Simone:
“It means the world to me,” Simone Johnson said in a statement. “To know that my family has such a personal connection to wrestling is really special to me and I feel grateful to have the opportunity, not only to wrestle, but to carry on that legacy.”
Simone Johnson Signs With WWE
Johnson has not been shy about sharing her pro-wrestling ambitions over the years. She was named Golden Globes Ambassador in 2017 but told the Hollywood Reporter she had aspirations other than a career in film.
“As much as I love and admire the film industry,” she told the Hollywood Reporter. “I don’t see myself pursuing a career in it at the moment. I plan to study business in college — NYU, hopefully — and after graduating, I want to pursue wrestling and eventually transition into talent management.”
Cody Rhodes recently appeared on Wrestling Observer Radio and talked about being in a management role with AEW. During the conversation, he spoke about what metrics the companies use to evaluate how popular some of their stars are.
“Numbers have been on our side and I’m not a big numbers guy, I’m a feeling guy,” Cody said.
One metric that is particularly valuable in helping to evaluate the popularity of a wrestler Cody says, is merchandising.
“Merchandising never steers you wrong,” Cody said about using merchandise sales numbers to determine how popular a wrestler is. “Our top stars at AEW also sell the most shirts.”
Cody was asked about AEW wrestlers who are doing particularly well in this regard.
“Orange is always a safe bet but I’ll also point out Joey Janela, only because Joey’s the type of wrestler that I don’t always understand,” said Cody. “I’m a different type of wrestler, I like old-school Southern wrestling.”
“It’s actually cool to see that he moves the needle in a direction and it’s cool to understand why,” he continued to say about Janela.
Luchasaurus was another wrestler mentioned as someone who does well in this metric. Darby Allin was heavily praised during the conversation as well.
“Everyone who you see represented on the show, they’re doing really well numbers-wise, there’s nobody who’s not,” Cody said. He would continue to say that nobody really knows why Orange Cassidy does so well but he does.
Brandi Rhodes recently appeared on Wrestling Observer Live and talked about the Nightmare Collective angle in AEW. According to Rhodes, she is no longer involved in the angle, though Mel and Luther will still likely continue to be aligned on the show. The other Nightmare Collective member, Awesome Kong, is currently away from the promotion as she films the final season of Netflix’s GLOW.
“It’s a question that has been going on for a while enough that I want to address it,” Rhodes said. “I want to address it one time and then I’m not going to talk about it probably ever again, we’ll see.”
“The Nightmare Collective became the Nightmare Collective,” Brandi said. “There was no original ‘hey, let’s do a Nightmare Collective.'”
“The original thing was supposed to be myself and Awesome Kong, me managing Awesome Kong,” Brandi continued. “Awesome Kong came to me with an idea of wanting to change her look, and kind of her vibe, still being an assassin of sorts.”
Rhodes would continue to say that Kong was not physically feeling great as things moved forward so changes to the angle had to be made and more people were added to the group. She would then say as the Nightmare Collective angle developed, she wasn’t feeling the storyline.
“I started to see that the music was not playing how I liked it,” Brandi said. “I didn’t feel it and I started to notice that audience members are on the same page as me.”
Brandi Rhodes Goes To Therapy, Leaves Nightmare Collective
Rhodes then said it was her decision to change the angle and she put together the video series with the therapist which essentially ended her involvement in the Nightmare Collective.
“I made the decision to do the series that I put out with the therapist, I hired the actress that was the therapist,” she continued.
“That definitely doesn’t mean its dead now that I’m not there,” Rhodes continued, suggesting that Mel and Luther would likely continue the angle.
Matt Hardy came out to confront Randy Orton on RAW last night regarding his attack on Edge. Orton then attacked him as well and may have seemingly provided a storyline explanation for Hardy’s pending departure from WWE.
Hardy posted the following to Twitter after RAW last night:
“Matt Hardy is expected to leave WWE in March,” wrote Dave Meltzer in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. The report would continue to speculate that Hardy is the leading candidate to play the exalted one in AEW’s Dark Order angle.
“Hardy is the leading speculated name for the leader of the Dark Order since they just started teasing a leader and Hardy just started putting out the videos,” Meltzer continued.
According to a report from PW Insider last month, the reason Hardy has not re-signed with WWE is due to concerns over how he would be used in the company.
WWE RAW aired live from the Toyota Arena in Ontario, California. Becky Lynch put her RAW Women’s Championship on the line against Asuka during tonight’s show.
WWE RAW Results (2/10)
Becky Lynch def. Asuka to retain the RAW Women’s Championship
Street Profits def. Mojo Rawley & Riddick Moss
Riddick Moss pinned Mojo Rawley to become the new 24/7 Champion
Angel Garza def. Cedric Alexander
Rhea Ripley def. Sarah Logan
Ricochet def. Bobby Lashley
Aleister Black def. Akira Tozawa in a squash match
Rollins, Murphy, and AOP def. Kevin Owens, Samoa Joe, and Viking Raiders
Here are 7 takeaways from this week’s episode of RAW:
Shayna Baszler Took A Bite Out Of Becky Lynch
Becky Lynch defended her RAW Women’s Championship against Asuka in the first match of the night. Kairi Sane was ringside for the title match.
Match Recap: Asuka controlled the action early and applied Headlock. Becky quickly escaped and applied a Headlock of her own. Asuka broke free but The Man leveled Asuka with a shoulder tackle and flexed for the crowd. Lynch followed it up with a couple Clotheslines and then a Dropkick. Becky went for a Clothesline off the apron but Kairi shoved Asuka out of the way and took the impact. Asuka capitalized with a boot to the back and rolled Lynch into the ring.
Asuka launched Becky into the ring post and went for the Hip Attack but Becky got out of the way. Lynch applied the Dis-Arm-Her on the ropes and followed it up with a Reverse DDT on the apron. Asuka once again battled back and planted Becky with a Superplex for a near fall. Lynch hit a Leg Drop off the second rope but Asuka immediately went for the Asuka Lock but Becky countered into a roll-up for a two count. Lynch then hit a Rock Bottom for the pinfall victory.
After the match, Shayna Baszler attacked Becky from behind. Baszler locked in the Kirifuda Clutch for a moment before whipping her to the canvas. Shayna then took of her mouth piece and bit her neck like vampire. Shayna had blood all over her face and exited the ring. Lynch was then taken backstage by WWE’s medical staff. Lynch refused to get in the ambulance and opted to steal it instead.
Opinion: Baszler versus Lynch at WrestleMania has been rumored for some time now. I’m looking forward to see how this feud develops over the next couple months before the biggest PPV of the year. It sure as hell started off different with Baszler taking a bite out of Lynch as if she were some kind of zombie vampire. Asuka and Becky had another very good match tonight as well.
Drew McIntyre was a guest on MVP’s VIP Lounge tonight on RAW. MVP congratulated McIntyre on eliminating Brock Lesnar, winning the Royal Rumble, and earning a title shot at WrestleMania. Drew joked that every time someone says WrestleMania he has to point at the sign.
MVP told Drew that he needs to focus on the prize and not what all the “non VIP” people have to say. MVP claimed that some people are saying that McIntyre is not ready to be WWE Champion yet. MVP added that his in-ring career is behind him and offered to become McIntyre’s business manager.
McIntyre asked the crowd and they booed. Drew stated that he doesn’t need someone thinking for him and a business partner to kiss his ass. MVP said he has never been an ass-kisser but he is an ass kicker. Drew was about to the leave the ring but MVP grabbed him. McIntyre hit MVP with the Glasgow Kiss and then the Claymore Kick. McIntyre then mocked MVP’s ballin’ pose to end the segment.
Charlotte Still Hasn’t Accepted Rhea Ripley’s Challenge
Rhea Ripley was interviewed backstage tonight about Charlotte still not answering her challenge. Sarah Logan interrupted and said that Ripley cannot just do whatever she wants and show up on RAW. Logan then marched to the ring and demanded a fight with Ripley. Charlotte stood on the entrance ramp for the match.
Match Recap: Ripley hit Logan with a Clothesline while staring at Charlotte on the ramp. Rhea connected with a Dropkick as Flair clapped. Rhea followed it up with the Riptide for the easy pinfall victory.
After the match, Rhea demanded an answer from Charlotte for the title match at WrestleMania. Flair pointed out that Ripley has to defend the NXT Women’s Championship against Bianca Belair at TakeOver this Sunday and Rhea could possibly lose the title. Charlotte then shouted “woo!” to end the segment.
Randy Orton came down to the ring during the final hour of RAW. Orton stood silently in the ring for a bit as the WWE Universe relentlessly booed him. Randy stated that he still owed everyone an explanation for brutally attacking Edge two weeks ago on RAW.
Orton paced the ring before saying what he did hurt him more than it did Edge. Matt Hardy interrupted and the crowd chanted “delete!”. Matt said he wanted to know why Randy attacked Edge and got into the ring. Hardy added that everyone knows their history and the crowd chanted “Lita!”. Matt pointed out that there was a time that he hated Edge more than anyone but before that they were best friends that wanted to live out their dream of being WWE superstars.
Hardy added that alongside Jeff, Edge, and Christian they revolutionized the Ladder Match and invented the TLC Match. Hardy claimed that any hate that he had for Edge disappeared when he had to retire from injury and that he could not imagine if wrestling was taken away from him before he was ready. He then asked Randy what is wrong with him and Orton responded by going for an RKO. Matt blocked it and beat Orton down in the corner.
Orton quickly battled back and planted Hardy with the RKO. Randy rolled to the outside and grabbed two steel chairs. He placed Matt’s head on one of the chairs and hit him with the other one (Con-Chair-To). Orton then exited the ring but stopped on the entrance ramp. Randy smiled as RAW went to a break.
Opinion: This was a terrific promo by Matt Hardy as his time in WWE seems to be winding down. Matt’s past with Edge is well documented and it was smart of WWE to use that in this storyline. Orton got even more heat tonight and Edge has even more of a reason to get revenge.
Ruby Riott Returned To Put Liv Morgan In Her Place
Ruby Riott made her return last week and attacked Liv Morgan. Tonight on RAW, Riott was interviewed backstage.
Riott stated that she knows the real Liv Morgan and she is like a puppy that needs to be walked around on leash. Ruby claimed that Liv will always be a follower and she came back to put Morgan in her place.
Becky Lynch returned to the arena in the ambulance later in the show. Her neck was bandaged as she hopped out of the ambulance and marched into the arena.
The Man came down to the ring with a pissed off look on her face and without the RAW Women’s Championship. Becky grabbed a mic as the crowd chanted her name. Lynch demanded to know where Shayna was so she could bash her face in.
Becky added that she doesn’t care how tough Shayna is or who she hangs around with. Lynch vowed to break Shayna down week by week and that she is looking for her.
The Monday Night Messiah & His Disciples Picked Up Another Win
Seth Rollins, AOP, and Murphy kicked off the show to a chorus of boos from the crowd. Rollins said he was proud to stand here as your Monday Night Messiah and that name has grown on him. Seth claimed that he was here to make the tough decisions for everyone and lead them into the future. Seth rolled footage from the 6-man Elimination match as Tom Phillips accidentally referred to Murphy as Buddy.
Seth bitched about Joe, Owens, and the Viking Raiders interfering in his match and costing him an opportunity at the WWE Championship at WrestleMania. Rollins vowed to preach a message of unity and will not leave the ring until that message is heard. Kevin Owens interrupted and the crowd loudly chanted “KO!”.
Rollins warned Kevin to not get in over his head or he will get taken out. Owens told Seth that he sounded stupid and now looks stupid on top of it. Kevin added that he is not alone and the Viking Raiders theme hit. Erik and Ivar came to the ramp and then marched to the ring with Owens. A brawl broke out as Rollins stood alone in the ring. Samoa Joe snuck up behind Rollins and locked in the Coquina Clutch before AOP broke it out. Owens hit Murphy with a Stunner as AOP and Rollins retreated. Later on RAW, Owens, Joe, & the Viking Raiders battled Rollins, Murphy, & AOP in an 8-man tag team match.
Match Recap: Rollins tried to cut another promo before the match and a brawl broke out as RAW went to a commercial break. When RAW returned, Erik slammed Murphy to the canvas. Joe and Owens then took turns beating down Murphy. Akam tagged in and planted Erik with a Spinebuster. AOP, Rollins, and Murphy took control and isolated Erik in the corner of the ring. Ivar tagged in and leveled Murphy with a Clothesline as RAW went to a break.
Back from commercial, Kevin Owens was isolated in the ring as Akam beat him down. Murphy tagged in and stomped on Owens’ midsection before throwing him to the outside. Seth hit Owens with a cheap shot as the ref was distracted. Owens shrugged it off and hit Murphy with a Fallaway Slam into the barricade. Back in the ring, Akam prevented Owens from making a tag and Rezar tagged in.
Rezar dropped an elbow and went for the cover but Kevin kicked out at two. Murphy tagged in and applied a Headlock as the crowd got behind Owens. Kevin broke free and connected with a DDT. Samoa Joe and Rollins tagged in and Joe beat Seth down in the corner. Joe followed it up with a Senton and Seth rolled out of the ring. Viking Raiders knocked AOP out of the ring and joined Joe in a triple Suicide Dive.
Rollins hit Joe with a Superkick but Joe was able to lock in the Coquina Clutch. Seth broke free but Joe hit him with a Uranage. Another brawl broke out and Owens made his way to the top rope. Owens took everyone out besides Joe, Rollins, and Murphy with a Cannonball. Murphy tagged in and Joe locked in the Coquina Clutch. Murphy tapped out but the ref was distracted by AOP. Rollins hit Joe with the Stomp and Murphy pinned Joe for the victory.
Opinion: The main event capped off a very solid edition of RAW this week. The feud between Shayna Baszler and Becky Lynch should be great as WWE builds towards WrestleMania. However, the storyline between Orton and Edge has been excellent so far and was once again the best part of RAW in my opinion.
A big match that is being locally advertised for the WWE Elimination Chamber event has surfaced online.
The WWE Elimination Chamber pay-per-view is scheduled to take place on Sunday, March 8th from the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, PA. A commercial aired in the area that advertised what could end up serving as the main event.
Roman Reigns vs. Intercontinental Champion Braun Strowman vs. Daniel Bryan vs. Shinsuke Nakamura vs. King Corbin vs. Robert Roode with the winner challenging for the Universal Title at WrestleMania 36.
This ad literally just aired in Philly area for Elimination Chamber ? WOWWWW someone’s not gonna be happy that this just got out
Roman vs Braun vs Bryan vs Shinsuke vs Corbin vs Roode winner faces Universal Champion at Wrestlemania pic.twitter.com/fpg4JJIj1X
— The Lariat Pro Wrestling- Frank Sarne (@TheLariatPW) February 11, 2020
Bray Wyatt currently holds the title and will make his next title defense against Goldberg at the Super ShowDown event later this month.
Since the Royal Rumble, it’s been reported that Wyatt will hold the title until WrestleMania 36. For those who want to find out who his expected opponent will be, click here.
WWE often takes full advantage of the “card subject to change” disclaimer, so it’s possible they will go in a different direction with at least one of these stars in the match. The match indicates where WWE’s storyline plans are headed in the month ahead.
The Elimination Chamber show is the last pay-per-view before WrestleMania.
A new match has been announced for the upcoming WWE Super ShowDown PPV.
On Monday’s episode of RAW, it was announced that United States Champion Andrade, Bobby Lashley, Erick Rowan, AJ Styles, R-Truth, and Rusev will battle in a Gauntlet Match to earn the right to receive the Tuwaiq Mountain Trophy.
It’s possible that WWE could add more stars to this contest. This also means that Styles is cleared or will be cleared come the day of the show after suffering a shoulder injury at the Royal Rumble.
WWE presents the Super ShowDown pay-per-view event on Thursday, February 27, 2020 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia at the King Fahd International Stadium that will air on the WWE Network. Here is the updated card:
Updated WWE Super ShowDown Card
WWE Champion Brock Lesnar vs. Ricochet
WWE Universal Champion Bray Wyatt vs. Goldberg
WWE SmackDown Tag Team Champions The New Day vs. John Morrison & The Miz
Roman Reigns vs. Baron Corbin – Steel Cage Match
Tuwaiq Mountain Trophy Gauntlet Match: Andrade, Bobby Lashley, Erick Rowan, AJ Styles, R-Truth, Rusev
What are your thoughts on this match being added to the card? Sound off in the comment section.
Fans have been wondering why WWE has booked Sami Zayn as a manager instead of an active in-ring performer.
It turns out that Zayn is working as a manager because of a creative decision, not because of an injury, according to Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio. He’s been the manager of Cesaro and Shinsuke Nakamura for months.
Although there had been speculation that the reason why WWE put him in a manager role was due to him dealing with shoulder issues over the last year, that’s not the case.
It turns out that Sami is currently not injured. Instead, he’s not wrestling regularly because this is the role WWE creative has for him right now.
It was noted that Zayn was medically cleared from shoulder issues a while back. As of this writing, there’s no word yet on when Sami might return to regular in-ring action.
Zayn has worked some matches since before being moved as a manager last summer but mostly multi-man matches on live events.
His last match at a TV event, which was a dark match at a SmackDown episode in Detroit, Michigan, saw Braun Strowman & The New Day (Big E & Kofi Kingston) defeat Cesaro, Sami Zayn & Shinsuke Nakamura in a six-man tag team match.
Shayna Baszler has made her debut on WWE RAW and did so in a big way.
The former NXT Women’s Champion appeared on Monday’s episode of RAW in Ontario, CA at the Toyota Arena on the USA Network by attacking Becky Lynch, who made her latest title defense as RAW Women’s Champion against Asuka.
The segment ended when Baszler bit the back of the neck of Lynch and they did some fake blood to make it more real.
Baszler’s appearance on this show and her now being a full-time star on RAW has been reported about over the last week.
This has been expected for quite some time but her move to the main roster had been delayed. However, Dave Meltzer noted last week that her being moved is something that has been planned for probably close to a year.
Baszler entered into the Women’s Royal Rumble Match as a surprise entrant last month.
The belief is that Baszler will challenge Lynch for the RAW Women’s Title at WWE’s biggest event of the year, WrestleMania.
WWE presents the WrestleMania 36 pay-per-view event on Sunday, April 5, 2020 in Tampa, Florida at the Raymond James Stadium that will air on the WWE Network.
The latest update on Jeff Hardy’s WWE status has surfaced online.
According to a report by PWinsider.com, he could be returning to action soon as he’s scheduled to be at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida next week. He’ll be doing so in order to have his progress towards an in-ring return checked on.
While his deal with WWE was scheduled to expire on Sunday, March 1, it’s expected that WWE will add extra time to the contract to make up for the time he’s been out.
WWE has done this with various stars in the past.
Hardy is slated to make his return to court on April 6th, which is the day after WrestleMania 36 to face the charges related to his DWI arrest from October 3, 2019 in Moore County, NC. This happened after he was arrested in Myrtle Beach, SC on July 13, 2019 for public intoxication.
It was reported last month that WWE officials have pushed Jeff to address his personal health as a result of those charges, which he has been working hard to do so.
Hardy underwent knee surgery back in May with the expected timeline that he is going to be out of action for approximately 6-9 months following surgery to repair a damaged knee.
The guest for the fourth episode of WWE Hall of Famer “Stone Cold” Steve Austin’s WWE Network show is set and it’s Big Show who will be appearing.
The guest for the show, “Steve Austin: The Broken Skull Sessions,” was recently announced.
Big Episode Of Steve Austin’s Show
On Monday, WWE confirmed via a post on Twitter that Austin’s third guest will be none other than the future WWE Hall of Famer. The episode premieres on WWE’s streaming service on Sunday, Feb. 23 at 8 p.m. ET.
Austin has stated in previous interviews that he has already filmed a few episodes of the show. So far, WWE has aired one episode with one interview featuring a legend each month.
Last month, Austin had the chance to interview former WWE Champion Kane, which marked the third episode. Now, the fourth installment will see Big Show appearing.
Big Show was the surprise partner of Kevin Owens and Samoa Joe for their six-man tag team match against Seth Rollins and AOP on an episode of RAW last month. He made a follow-up appearance but has since been written off of television.
During his time away from WWE, he had to undergo the knife several times. In fact, in the last two years, he’s undergone five surgeries.
Becky Lynch recently did an interview with TV Insider to talk about a wide range of topics.
In the interview, the WWE RAW Women’s Champion talked about how much money she should be making. This is where Lynch made some interesting comments including why she thinks she should earn more than WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon.
“I should be making more in that whole company, everybody — Vince McMahon included. I want to change the game.
I want to prove that it doesn’t matter your gender, your race, your background, if you are doing the job and keeping people invested if you are keeping people interested, then you deserve to be paid at a level higher than anybody else.”
Lynch added or high as the best of them because when she looks around the arenas and the majority of the people are in her shirts.
She added that the majority of people hold signs for her. Thus, she thinks that WWE should pay her as such and that will be the way it will be.
Lynch makes her latest title defense as RAW Women’s Champion against Asuka on Monday’s episode of RAW in Ontario, CA at the Toyota Arena.
The viewership numbers are in for Friday’s edition of WWE SmackDown on FOX from San Jose, CA at the SAP Center.
SmackDown averaged 2.538 million viewers, according to ShowbuzzDaily. This is up from the 2.422 viewers that the show did for last week’s episode of SmackDown on FOX.
The show averaged 2.547 million viewers in the fast nationals, which was up from the 2.424 million viewers a week ago. This number measured the top metered markets.
WWE SmackDown Viewership
The first hour drew 2.555 million viewers while the second hour did 2.539 million viewers. For comparison, the first show of last week’s show did 2.529 million viewers while the second hour did 2.318 million viewers.
SmackDown pulled in a 0.80 rating in the 18-49 demos, up from the 0.70 rating as last week’s show.
This episode was expected to see its viewership stay steady and it did so due to it featuring an appearance by WWE Hall of Famer Goldberg to set up his contest against Universal Champion Bray Wyatt at the Super ShowDown event.
Matches
Matches that took place on this show included The Usos (Jey Uso & Jimmy Uso) defeat Dolph Ziggler & Robert Roode, Elias defeats Cesaro (w/Sami Zayn), Daniel Bryan defeats Heath Slater by referee’s decision, Sheamus defeats Apollo Crews, and in the headliner, Carmella defeats Alexa Bliss and Dana Brooke and Naomi in WWE SmackDown Women’s Title #1 Contendership Fatal Four Way Match.
WWE is expecting to see an increase in viewership for the following episode this coming Friday night as the show will be setting up feuds for the Super ShowDown event in a few weeks.
Watch: Top 10 Moments from Friday Night SmackDown (2.7.20)
On the latest episode of his Jim Cornette Experience podcast, Jim Cornette goes into detail regarding his former business with the NWA. During the discussion, Cornette confirmed that the NWA was originally hoping for its programming to land on the WWE Network.
“The NWA show was what they were thinking was going to end up on the (WWE) Network,” said Jim Cornette.
“Then (Lagana) started talking about ‘well, we’re going to do a TV show,” Cornette said. “I said ‘what do you mean, Dave?’ He said ‘well, we’re going to start doing TV.’ I said ‘what would it be on?’ and he said ‘well we’re not sure yet but we think it might be on the WWE Network.”
“He did have meetings unless he was just bald-faced lying to me,” Cornette continued. Cornette then said he was skeptical about this actually happening but
“I said ‘do you honestly believe that the WWF is going to put an NWA television show on their network?'” Cornette said he asked Lagana.
“Finally, he called and said ‘Well, we’re going to do it on YouTube,'” Cornette said of his conversation with Lagana.
“Originally the NWA show was going to be on the WWE Network and then that didn’t work out and they put it on YouTube,” Cornette continued.
Cornette then went into detail about what led to his departure from the organization.
A link to the full podcast can be found here. You can also listen to the episode embedded below. The talk of NWA TV on WWE Network begins around the 13-minute mark.
NXT Superstar Chelsea Green recently appeared on the NotSam Wrestling podcast. The former IMPACT Wrestling star joined WWE back in October 2018, competing at an NXT Live Event In Largo, Florida.
Chelsea Green’s former character Laurel Van Ness had become the ‘Hot Mess’ following an angle in 2017, where she was ‘left at the altar’ by Braxton Sutter. The character would prove to be Green’s most successful during her run at IMPACT. As Van Ness the former Knockout won the division’s Championship back in December of 2017, defeating Rosemary.
During the interview with Sam Roberts, Chelsea Green revealed that the ‘hot mess’ could make a return…of sorts. “The hot mess is your crazy ex girlfriend” Green began. “The hot mess is the girl that beats up every other girl in the locker room. And the hot mess is whatever you make of it. So you are going to see the hot mess again. It’ll just be in a completely different light.”
Chelsea Green also discussed her recent appearance in the 2020 Women’s Royal Rumble. “I’ve been at NXT working day in and day out at the Performance Center. Waiting for this opportunity so to finally be given. Honestly, it was about time. I have pushed and kind of shoved my way to the top throughout my entire career, and NXT is no different.”
Green also recently spoke to ComicBook.com about how she has ‘evolved’ during her time in NXT. “So, it’s been kind of a different sort of evolution this year, but I’m loving it and I’m still figuring it out. And maybe in a year, you can ask me the same question, and I’ll have a totally different response. You know?”
Would you like to see the Hot Mess in NXT? Let us know in the comments
Simone Johnson, daughter of Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson, has officially reported to the WWE Performance Center. WWE announced the news today on its social media platforms.
“It means the world to me,” Simone Johnson said in a statement. “To know that my family has such a personal connection to wrestling is really special to me and I feel grateful to have the opportunity, not only to wrestle, but to carry on that legacy.”
“Simone Johnson’s unbridled passion and incredible drive has earned her a coveted spot training with the elite athletes from around the world at the WWE Performance Center,” said Paul “Triple H” Levesque, executive vice president of Talent, Live Events & Creative. “Not only does Simone now have an opportunity to cultivate and display her passion for WWE within the Performance Center, but she’ll carry on the tradition of her incredible family lineage while creating her own impact as WWE’s first fourth generation Superstar.”
“Simone knows she has a lot to learn,” NXT coach Matt Bloom said. “She’s hungry to learn and picks the coaches’ minds, and the veteran Superstars’, as well. She’s not going to rest on her laurels. It’s been a short time, but she’s been crushing it.”
“Simone is a wonderful girl,” NXT coach Sara Amato added. “She’s like a sponge, it’s pretty amazing. She knows what it takes to succeed and all the hard work and sacrifice that goes into it. I wouldn’t have expected anything less.”
Simone Johnson Training At The WWE Performance Center
Johnson had been spotted as early as 2018 training at the PC, though she was not officially signed to the company. She spoke to the Hollywood Reporter in 2017 about wanting to pursue a career in pro-wrestling.
“It’s a sport that is unlike anything else in the world,” she said. “There’s just a certain amount of passion that every move and match requires, and that’s so admirable. It’s definitely something I’ve thought about and want to pursue.”
Johnson was named a Golden Globes ambassador but when the Hollywood Reporter pressed her about a career in film, Johnson expressed her desire to be a pro-wrestler.
“As much as I love and admire the film industry,” she continued. “I don’t see myself pursuing a career in it at the moment. I plan to study business in college — NYU, hopefully — and after graduating, I want to pursue wrestling and eventually transition into talent management.”
Major League Wrestling presented an episode of Fusion from Texas on BeIN Sports and YouTube this weekend. The show featured an MLW World Championship match between Contra Unit’s Jacob Fatu defending against Hart Foundation’s Brian Pillman Jr.
MLW Fusion 2/8/20 Quick Results:
Dominic Garrini defeated Zenshi
Richard Holliday defeated Savio Vega
MLW World Championship Jacob Fatu (c) defeated Brian Pillman Jr.
The full episode can be viewed in the player below:
Here are 6 takeaways from MLW Fusion 2/8/20:
Jacob Fatu Retains Over Brian Pillman Jr. Thanks To Injustice
Brian Pillman Jr. had the biggest match of his young career this week on Fusion. He challenged Jacob Fatu for the MLW World Championship. Earlier in the evening, the members of Contra Unit attempted to attack Pillman as he entered the building but Davey Boy Smith Jr. helped him fend the stable off.
Pillman spent much of the early part of the match taking damage from Fatu’s offense but managed to make a comeback late. As he was going for a springboard move from the outside, Josef Samael got up on the apron and distract the referee. The members of Injustice (who have been in a rivalry with Pillman since the Opera Cup) came out to ringside. Pillman turned his attention to them and jumped on top of Jordan Oliver and Kotto Brazil on the outside. Myron Reed then hit Pillman with the loaded chest protector and tossed him back in the ring where the champion was waiting.
After Pillman initially kicked out from a standing moonsault, Fatu then hit a jumping moonsault from the top rope. Fatu then gave him another one for good measure and got the pin.
Cameras cut to the back where Davey Boy Smith Jr. and the Von Erichs were in a backstage brawl with Contra Unit’s Sentai Death Squad.
The Dallas live crowd was not happy to see Tom Lawlor considering Lawlor’s recent actions towards the beloved Von Erich boys. Lawlor opened this week’s show cutting a promo in the middle of the ring while wearing a Von Erichs T-shirt. The Texas crowd chanted for Lawlor to remove the Von Erich shirt. He obliged but then shoved the shirt in his pants before tossing it into the crowd (the crowd tossed it back). Lawlor then introduced Team Filthy member Dominic Garrini for his match against Zenshi.
Zenshi unleashed many high-flying Lucha-inspired moves during the match but Garrini was able to counter with his jiu-jitsu based submission offense. At one point, Zenshi appeared to have been injured and a medic entered the ring to check on him but Garrini wouldn’t let up and continued the attack. He locked in an armbar and the referee called for the bell.
After the match, Lawlor said to Alicia Atout that from here on out, Team Filthy would show no mercy.
Later in the show, Zenshi would be interviewed in the back by Atout and said he wants revenge.
Maxwell Jacob Friedman joined the commentary team as his Dynasty stablemate Richard Holliday took on Savio Vega in single’s competition this week. The Dynasty looks to be in good hands with Gino Medina, Alexander Hammerstone, and Richard Holliday set to run things as MJF exits the territory. MJF still has a little time left in MLW, however.
Holliday picked up the win with his “2008” slam. After the match, MJF and Holliday stole Savio Vega’s Carribean Championship title belt.
The Dynasty To Produce Next Week’s Episode of Fusion
The Dynasty was interviewed in the back by Alicia Atout this week. They noted that Richard Holliday’s lawyer/father had arranged for them to produce next week’s episode. Medina will be taking on Septimo Dragon, Hammerstone will face Aerostar for the National Openweight title and MJF and Holliday will challenge for the MLW tag team championships as they get their rematch against the Von Erichs.
MLW taped Fightland in Philadelphia recently which featured the debut of Killer Kross. While Kross is now signed to WWE, he will appear on future episodes of Fusion taped from the 2300 Arena.
MLW also announced that former Battle Riot winner LA Park is due to return to the promotion soon.
More locations for upcoming episodes of AEW Dynamite have been announced.
AEW (All Elite Wrestling) announced on Monday via Twitter that the promotion would be holding a TV event on TNT in Boston, MA at the Agganis Arena on April 15. They also will hold a show on April 22 in Philadelphia, PA at The Liacouras Center.
For fans who plan on attending, tickets for the shows will go on sale on Friday, February 14 at 11 am CST / Noon Eastern at AEWTix.com.
#AEWDynamite returns to BOSTON! Wednesday, April 15th@AgganisArena Tickets start at $30 & go on sale Friday, Feb 14th at Noon EST
Starting next week, it’s expected that All Elite Wrestling will begin announcing venues for the month of May. The following is an updated look at the AEW Dynamite touring schedule through the end of April 2020:
February 12: Austin, TX
February 19: Atlanta, GA
February 26: Kansas City, MO
March 4: Denver, CO
March 11: Salt Lake City, UT
March 18: Rochester, NY
March 25: Newark, NJ
April 1: Milwaukee, WI
April 8: St. Louis, MO
April 15: Boston, MA
April 22: Philadelphia, PA
Last month, it was announced that AEW Dynamite has been extended through 2023 by the media company to remain on the air every week on TNT.
The promotion returns to pay-per-view on February 29th with its Revolution show headlined by AEW World Champion Chris Jericho vs. Jon Moxley.
Former Executive Director of Friday Night SmackDown Eric Bischoff answered questions regarding his former role on this week’s episode of the 83 Weeks podcast. A fan wrote in to ask Bischoff to the clear the air regarding his short time in WWE from June 2019 to October 2019. Bischoff made it clear that he was unable to give away ‘too much’ about his time in the role, indicating heavily that he had signed a ‘no disclosure agreement’ of some variety when he signed with WWE.
“When I say I have more respect for some than others it’s just because I didn’t get a chance to work with everybody there”
“Yeah, this is treacherous waters upon which we were about to embark” Eric Bischoff began. “So I’m gonna be a little careful about that, I hope everybody can understand. Number one, I have nothing but respect for everybody in WWE. Everybody I worked with, some a lot more than others, and only I say that only because I had more I interface with some people. When I say I have more respect for some than others; it’s just because I didn’t get a chance to work with everybody there.”
“Overall, my respect for WWE is pretty high from Vince McMahon on down”
Bischoff elaborated further, discussing Vince McMahon directly; “overall, my respect for WWE is pretty high from Vince McMahon on down. It doesn’t mean that it was a great fit. That doesn’t mean that the chemistry was right, it doesn’t mean that the communication was great. And there’s a lot of just fundamentally human things that could have been much much better. I think for everybody. For them; certainly for them, for Vince McMahon certainly who made the call to let me go. Certainly he was disappointed that it didn’t work out. I know that for a fact.”
“There’s one guy who has creative control” – Eric Bischoff
Eric Bischoff then also moved into talking about his colleague Paul Heyman and his perceived ‘creative control’ on RAW. Heyman took over the Executive Director role on RAW at the same time Bischoff was announced for SmackDown. “There’s one guy who has creative control. This is not Paul Heyman, I hate to break your bubble, and I love Paul by the way. I regard Paul’s creative abilities and things like that so this is not meant to be any kind of a half assed attempt to take a shot or anything like that. Paul doesn’t have creative control, anybody thinks he does is kidding themselves. I know Paul doesn’t, and neither does anybody. There’s one guy has creative control. And we all know who that is.”
Do you think that Eric Bischoff should have had more of a chance at WWE? Let us know in the comments
The spoilers from the Impact Wrestling TV taping that took place on Sunday, February 9, 2020, in Las Vegas, NV at the Sam’s Town Hotel & Gambling Hall has surfaced online.
These matches and segments will air over the coming weeks on AXS TV. You can read the results here, courtesy of Pwinsider.com:
Impact Wrestling TV Taping Results
Keira Hogan beat Lacey Ryan.
Impact Tag Team Champions The North beat TJP and Fallah Bahh.
Moose beat Chase Stevens. Post-match, Suicide attacked Moose. This is where it was revealed that Suicide will be part of the TNA special return show during Wrestlemania Week.
Suicide beat Shera.
Reno Scum beat Dez and Wentz.
Rhino and Sabu beat Mad Man Fulton and Dave Crist.
Willie Mack and Ace Austin beat Johnny Swinger and Disco Inferno.
Joey Ryan, RVD, and Katie Forbes announce that their new stable is called Cancel Culture. Fans in attendance noted that it’s a rip-off of Right To Censor from the WWF in the early 2000s.
Joey Ryan and RVD beat The Deaners.
Josh Mathews brought out Ken Shamrock for an interview in the ring. Eventually, the lights went out and Sami Callihan returned in order to attack Shamrock. The segment ended when Callihan threw a fireball at him.
Taya Valkyrie and Michael Elgin beat Tessa Blanchard and Eddie Edwards.
