Dana White commented on Brock Lesnar’s ability to negotiate between WWE and UFC recently. The UFC President made the comments during the post-fight press conference from UFC 232.
White was asked if Brock Lesnar is still in the title picture in UFC’s heavyweight division.
“So, we were talking about it (Lesnar coming back) and then he ended up signing a new deal with WWE,” White said.
Then Dana White commented on what he believes has been taking place between Brock Lesnar and WWE during recent contract negotiations.
“What I think happens is, he’s in a very unique position because he can play this thing between UFC and WWE,” White continued. “They get right down to the wire and I think Vince (McMahon) throws so much money at him that he says ‘Alright, I’ll do it again’ because (the UFC) is here for him no matter what. When he’s ready, he can come in here and fight and he’s going to make a s**t load of money here too. So, it makes sense, I’m assuming that’s what’s going on.”
White continued to say he won’t be waiting for Lesnar in terms of his match-making moving forward specifically concerning Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier. Lesnar confronted Cormier inside the octagon after the UFC heavyweight champion won his last fight. Similarly, Jones called out Lesnar after his UFC 214 victory but instead called out Cormier after his win over Alexander Gustafsson on Saturday.
WWE.com has unveiled their top 25 matches of the year. As always there will be some controversy here.
Topping the list was Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair from Evolution.
WWE Top 25 Matches Of 2018
Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair — SmackDown Women’s Championship Last Woman Standing Match (WWE Evolution)
Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa — Chicago Street Fight (NXT TakeOver: Chicago)
Brock Lesnar vs. Daniel Bryan — Champion vs. Champion Match (Survivor Series)
Moustache Mountain vs. The Undisputed ERA — NXT Tag Team Championship Match (NXT, July 11)
Seth Rollins vs. The Miz — Intercontinental Championship Match (Backlash)
Dolph Ziggler & Drew McIntyre vs. Dean Ambrose & Seth Rollins — Raw Tag Team Championship Match (Hell in a Cell)
Andrade “Cien” Almas vs. Johnny Gargano — NXT Championship Match (NXT TakeOver: Philadelphia)
John Cena vs. Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins vs. The Miz vs. Finn Bálor vs. Braun Strowman vs. Elias — Gauntlet Match (Raw, Feb. 19)
Ronda Rousey & Kurt Angle vs. Stephanie McMahon & Triple H (WrestleMania 34)
The Bludgeon Brothers vs. The New Day —SmackDown Tag Team Championship No Disqualification Match (SmackDown LIVE, Aug. 22)
Ricochet vs. Pete Dunne vs. Adam Cole —NXT North American Championship Triple Threat Match (NXT, Oct. 10)
Shayna Baszler vs. Kairi Sane — NXT Women’s Championship Match (NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn)
Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair vs. Asuka — SmackDown Women’s Championship Triple Threat Tables, Ladders & Chairs Match (WWE TLC)
Mustafa Ali vs. Buddy Murphy — No Disqualification Match (205 Live, July 3)
Roman Reigns vs. Finn Bálor — Universal Championship Match (Raw, Aug. 20)
Meiko Satomura vs. Mercedes Martinez (Mae Young Classic, Round 2)
Cedric Alexander vs. Buddy Murphy — WWE Cruiserweight Championship Match (205 Live, May 29)
Daniel Bryan vs. The Miz (SummerSlam)
Ricochet vs. Adam Cole vs. The Velveteen Dream vs. EC3 vs. Lars Sullivan vs. Killian Dain — NXT North American Championship Ladder Match (NXT TakeOver: New Orleans)
AJ Styles vs. Shinsuke Nakamura — WWE Championship Last Man Standing Match (Money in the Bank)
Roman Reigns vs. Samoa Joe — Intercontinental Championship Match (Raw, Jan. 1)
Kalisto vs. Buddy Murphy (205 Live, April 3)
Ricochet vs. The Velveteen Dream (NXT TakeOver: Chicago)
Seth Rollins vs. Shinsuke Nakamura — Champion vs. Champion Match (Survivor Series)
“Woken” Matt Hardy vs. Bray Wyatt — The Ultimate Deletion (Raw, March 19)
Seth Rollins plans to open a coffee shop soon. The location will be in the same building of his wrestling school, the Black and Brave Wrestling Academy in Davenport, Iowa.
Media for the Illinois Quad Cities area ran an article on Rollins’ wrestling school in 2016. He described the Black and Brave Wrestling Academy as “a nice punch in the gut with physical fitness.”
“I think it’s a great avenue for people to get their feet wet in the independents before jumping into the WWE,” Rollins continued.
Rollins also described how rehabbing his ACL injury played a role in helping him create the school.
“I spent some of my rehab in Birmingham, Ala., some of it at Plaza Physical Therapy in Davenport. But, it was nice to have the school in session during the time I was off to be around the industry without having to be a huge part of it,” Rollins said. “I had my own space to do my own thing when I wanted to. It was nice to have home time to be able to sleep in my own bed and cook my own breakfast and do Quad-Cities things.”
Sean “X-Pac” Waltman revealed his choices for the best matches of 2018 on a recent episode of X-Pac 12360.
Waltman selected a match under the WWE banner, as well as a bout from the biggest independent show of the year, and his choices may raise eyebrows.
For his WWE choice, Waltman selected a contest from the most recent NXT TakeOver event, a show that Waltman watched the majority of from the gorilla position backstage.
“Maybe because it’s fresh on my mind, but Johnny Gargano vs. Aleister Black, in WWE.”
As for his non-WWE choice, Waltman went with an instant classic from “All In”.
“I can also tell you, Marty Scurll and Kazuchika Okada from All In,” Waltman said. “An amazing match.”
With most major promotions having their own streaming services, and with WWE churning out so much content, Waltman admits that his choices were just two of many valid selections that fans can readily access.
“In 2018, going into 2019, there are so many great matches out there, so many guys and ladies for people to like,” Waltman said.
Waltman went on to answer questions on a wide range of subjects on the special Q & A episode of X-Pac 12360. The entire episode is available below.
WWE Network will be adding an intriguing bout to the ‘Hidden Gems’ section next week. WWE Network News reported that Kota Ibushi vs. Bobby Roode will be added to the streaming service. The match will be added on January 3rd, a day before New Japan’s Wrestle Kingdom show. Ibushi will of course be defending his NEVER Openweight Championship at Wrestle Kingdom against Will Ospreay.
The bout took place during an NXT House Show in 2016. The Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles, California hosted the match on October 30th, 2016. The video is listed as being 22 minutes and 16 seconds long, so it could well be a decent match. A triple threat match featuring Shinsuke Nakamura will also be added next Thursday. Nakamura defended his then NXT Championship against Samoa Joe and Eric Young.
Here’s the full lineup of matches that will be added next week:
Antonio Inoki vs. Larry Sharpe (Showdown at Shea, August 9, 1980)
Jerry Lawler & Greg Gagne vs. Riki Choshu & Mr. Saito (AWA, May 14, 1988)
Sting vs. The Great Muta (WCW Power Hour, September 1, 1989)
Shinjiro Otani vs. Dean Malenko for the WCW Cruiserweight Championship (WCW Worldwide, May 18, 1996)
WWE Hall of Famer Booker T is making his in-ring return next month. The 53 year-old will be returning to action for his Reality of Wrestling promotion.
ROW Heavyweight Champion Rex Andrews had issued a challenge to Booker at the Christmas Chaos 8 event, which he accepted. The two will face each other next month at the promotion’s event titled “The Last Stand” which will take place on 19 January. More details on that show can be found at the Reality of Wrestling website.
Booker T’s wife (and former WWE personality) Sharmell also posted a video of him in the ring with Rex at ROW.
The last match Booker T was involved in was at the Preston City Wrestling promotion, where he defeated Lionheart at the SpringSlam event in April of 2016. Booker had also won the ROW Tag Team Title with Stevie Ray in February of 2015. As for the WWE, Booker T hasn’t wrestled any matches for the company since 2012, and his last televised singles match being against Cody Rhodes in December of 2011.
EVOLVE has announced which opponent Johnny Gargano will be facing at the upcoming EVOLVE 119 event.
The company took to Twitter to announce that Gargano will be participating in a tag team match where he will team up with AR Fox.
“We just signed it, so let’s just announce it….WWN Icons of Johnny Gargano & AR Fox vs. WWN New Generation of EVOLVE Champion Austin Theory & Josh Briggs#EVOLVE119 – Jan. 18th – Brooklyn, NY,” wrote the company on their official Twitter account.
We just signed it, so let's just announce it….
WWN Icons of Johnny Gargano & AR Fox vs. WWN New Generation of EVOLVE Champion Austin Theory & Josh Briggs#EVOLVE119 – Jan. 18th – Brooklyn, NY
The match is set to take place on 18 January at the Saint Finbar Catholic Church Gym in Brooklyn, New York. EVOLVE 120 will be held the next night on 20 January, where Gargano will be facing EVOLVE Champion Austin Theory in a non-title match.
Johnny Gargano has quite some history with the EVOLVE promotion as he worked there from 2009 to 2016. He teamed up with Drew McIntyre to win the Tag Team Championship as well as the Tag Team Championship Tournament in 2016 during his time in the promotion.
Tessa Blanchard Awarded Female Wrestler of the Year
Tessa Blanchard has been announced the winner of the 2018 Apter Chat Female Wrestler Of The Year award. She received the plaque on a recent episode of Impact Wrestling, where she said that she was honored to gain the award.
“Thank you guys so much. This is such an honor. You’ve known me since the beginning, Bill. Thank you so much,” Blanchard said. “Guys thank you so much, but I deserve this. I am the 2018 Women’s Wrestler of the Year, not only for The Apter Chat, but for all of wrestling.”
Former MMA fighter and NXT Women’s Champion Shayna Baszler took to Twitter recently to tweet out a picture of a fan holding a sign in a WWE event which reads “UFC IS FAKE.” Baszler also added the #UFC232 caption to the picture, referring to the recent UFC 232 event that just took place last night.
Shayna has tweeted similar statements in the past whenever a UFC event is taking place.
New Japan Pro Wrestling recently interviewed Jay White for the upcoming Wrestle Kingdom 13 event where he was in character, obviously, and looked back on his 2018 and explained the difference between being a member of the Bullet Club faction and CHAOS.
Jay was asked by the interviewer whether meeting Bad Luck Fale was the reason he joined Bullet Club. Jay said that the history between him and Fale made it easier to work together. “It made a lot easier for us to talk about and come up with what we did at King of Pro-Wrestling. You know, none of this was because of that, but it certainly made it a lot easier because we knew each other prior to coming to New Japan.”
Next, Jay was asked which group he prefers the most. According to him, Bullet Club is more comfortable as there were a lot of conflicting ideas in CHAOS:
“The way Okada thought things should be done conflicted with how I thought things should be done. In BULLET CLUB, we are all on the same page. We showed that in our matches. I don’t think we’ve lost, I have never lost to anybody especially on the last tour. 7 win in a row against Okada and Tanahashi that shows we are on the same page. There’s no conflicting idea. Before, in CHAOS things were falling apart. You had Yoshi-Hashi getting hit verbally by myself and Okada getting hit sometimes in matches, people colliding. We were on the different page. I had to go through the whole G1 CLIMAX tour in those tag matches having YOH just not listen so he kept paying the price every single time. He just needed to listen to me. BULLET CLUB doesn’t need to be told like CHAOS guys did because we are on the same page, we have the same ideas so everything happens very naturally and easily.”
Jay White’s History With Bullet Club And CHAOS
Jay White had made his return to NJPW in 2017 at the Power Struggle event and teased that he will be joining Bullet Club before betraying Kenny Omega and aligning himself with CHAOS.
After losing by the hands of Hiroshi Tanahashi at King of Pro Wrestling in October, White attacked Tanahashi with the help of Jado and Gedo. When Kazuchika Okada tried to interfere, he was also attacked in what turned out to be a set up by White and associates to deflect into the Bullet Club.
The 27 December episode of Impact Wrestling saw an increased number of viewers than last week’s episode.
The episode was able to draw 135,000 viewers, which is an improvement from 20 December’s 116,000.
The rating however, stayed the same at 0.04 in the 18-49 demographic.
Impact Wrestling has been airing ‘Best of 2018’ episodes since the last two weeks showcasing, well, the best moments of Impact Wrestling from this year.
This ‘Best of 2018 Part 2’ episode was actually the second most watched episode since Impact moved to the 10PM time slot in October. The most watched episode in this time-slot was the 13 December edition, which amassed 140,000 viewers.
The company has announced that the show is going to move to Pursuit Channel next month. Impact Wrestling Executive Vice President Don Callis said that we can expect a “sexier and edgier” Impact on the primarily hunting and outdoor recreation focused channel.
Here are the viewership stats for the last four episodes:
PROGRESS are currently holding their annual ‘Unboxing’ event. This event consists of completely unannounced performers and matches, giving the crowd some surprise returns and debuts along the way.
One of the bigger stories coming from the show sees Will Ospreay making his return to the company. Ospreay appeared to re-join his former tag team partner Paul Robinson. Robinson and Ospreay are known as the ‘Swords of Essex’ and were a prominent part of the UK’s tag scene previously. The team were confirmed to be taking on Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher and Mark Davis).
Ospreay is due to be part of New Japan’s Wrestle Kingdom show next week. The British sensation will be taking on Kota Ibushi in a dream match. Ibushi recently won the NEVER Openweight Championship and Ospreay became the Number 1 contender, leading to this mega bout.
Ospreay recently sent out a message to Ibushi ahead of their match, he stated that:
“You have no idea how much you helped me this day. Only a few days before this photo/match, I lost a friend who helped me in British Wrestling, Kris Travis. To be in the ring with a man I would call an inspiration, helped me not focus on grieving but to celebrate his life. After this moment and how fans reacted to how we were in the ring, I knew this was the match I wanted.
Now I’m under a week from my dream match on the biggest stage of my life. For a championship that has lost its place on New Japan but now shall live up to what it should be, an Openweight Championship. What I’m saying is thank you for helping me all those years ago, but January 4th, 2019, my idol is my rival.”
During the taping of New Years Day SmackDown Live last night in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, ‘The Man’ Becky Lynch came face-to-face with John Cena and confronted him.
John Cena made his return after a long time away from WWE TV to the SmackDown audience and was unfortunately interrupted by for SmackDown Women’s Champion Becky Lynch.
She told Cena that she will take his face off of the posters just like she took off Charlotte Flair’s face. She also added that if Cena has a problem with this then Nikki Bella will not be the only woman dropping him this year.
They were then interrupted by the duo of Andrade “Cien” Almas and Zelina Vega as both came down to the ring and a mixed tag team match was officiated.
The match ended with Becky throwing Cena out of the ring before making Zelina Vega submit. Even after all that BMJ offered a handshake to Becky but she declined and mocked him by doing the “You Can’t See Me” taunt, before walking away.
New UK promotion Wrestle Gate Pro has announced that R.E.D will be heading to the region in March. R.E.D is a Dragon Gate faction whose most famous member is arguably former WWE Superstar PAC.
It is not confirmed if PAC will be joining the crew for this event, Wrestle Gate released the following tweet hyping the group’s appearance:
In other PAC news Revolution Pro (Rev Pro) announced that ‘The King’ will be heading to Bethnal Green in February. The company’s ‘High Stakes 2019’ event takes place on February 15th from the world famous York Hall in London. PAC will be facing Will Ospreay as part of the event. Tickets for the show sold out in record time with just the one match being announced.
This comes after Rev Pro announced that PAC would be facing Zack Sabre Jr in 2019. The former WWE Superstar will be heading to ‘Live at The Cockpit’ at The Cockpit Theatre in London on January 6th. PAC recently appeared for Rev Pro at their Portsmouth show, where he faced Mike Bailey.
A new title match set for the WWE Royal Rumble PPV has been revealed after WWE taped the New Year’s Day edition of SmackDown Live on Saturday night.
At the taping, AJ Styles defeated Rey Mysterio, Randy Orton, Mustafa Ali, and Samoa Joe to become the new #1 contender to the WWE Title in the main event. He’ll challenge Daniel Bryan for it at the Royal Rumble.
WWE will make this match official next week. You can read the full spoilers for next week’s episode of SmackDown Live that was taped from Pittsburgh, PA at the PPG Paints Arena here.
WWE presents the Royal Rumble pay-per-view event on Sunday, January 27, 2019 in Phoenix, Arizona at Chase Field that will air on the WWE Network. WWE will be announcing more matches for this show in the coming weeks. Here is the updated card:
Updated WWE Royal Rumble Card
WWE Universal Champion Brock Lesnar vs. Braun Strowman
WWE Champion Daniel Bryan vs. AJ Styles
30-Man Royal Rumble Match:
30-Woman Royal Rumble Match:
WWE Cruiserweight Champion Buddy Murphy vs. TBA – Fatal 4-Way Match
What are your thoughts on this match being added to the card? Sound off in the comment section.
WWE taped the New Year’s Day edition of SmackDown Live on Saturday, December 29 2018 from Pittsburgh, PA at the PPG Paints Arena that will air on the USA Network. Here are the spoilers for the show:
– The show opens up with The New Day having their New Year’s Celebration that saw all three members cut promos about competing in the Royal Rumble match.
– Samoa Joe defeated Jeff Hardy by submission with the Coquina Clutch to earn a spot in the Fatal 5 Way main event.
– There is a backstage segment AJ Styles, Vince McMahon and Shane McMahon where Styles told Vince that he will see the real AJ Styles tonight and threatened Vince, which led to an intense stand-off between Shane and AJ. It ends with Shane asking Vince if he really wants to see this which led to Vince laughing and saying that he does.
– WWE United States Champion Rusev and Lana come out to the ring for a championship celebration. This led to Shinsuke Nakamura attacking him from behind and Lana jumps on his back. Nakamura superkicks as well as hit the Kinshasa to Rusev and injures Lana in the process to end the segment.
– Sonya Deville defeated Naomi. It was an odd way to start off as Rose’s music hit and it looked like she was wrestling but she backed out. Rose distracted Naomi and Deville hit her from behind. Deville later won with a spinebuster.
– Backstage segments with Randy Orton and Mustafa Ali with them talking about tonight’s main event.
– John Cena makes his way out to the ring for a promo where he issues an open challenge but Becky Lynch interrupts. She told him that she’s the new man around WWE, and she’s taking his place. This led to Andrade “Cien” Almas and Zelina Vega coming out where they trade words to set up a mixed tag team match.
– Becky Lynch and John Cena defeated Zelina Vega and Andrade “Cien” Almas when Cena hit his signature moves on Almas but Lynch tossed Cena out of the ring and made Vega submit to the Dis-Arm-Her for the victory.
– There is a backstage segment with Shane McMahon and The Miz talking about how they dress for their new tag team.
– Carmella, Becky, and Charlotte make their case for a title shot against SmackDown Women’s Champion Asuka in a backstage segment with Triple H.
– AJ Styles defeated Rey Mysterio, Randy Orton, Mustafa Ali, Samoa Joe to become the new #1 contender to the WWE Title. He’ll challenge Daniel Bryan for it at the Royal Rumble.
While waiting for the WWE live event on Saturday night in Chicago, IL at the United Center to start, former WWE Universal Champion Seth Rollins took some time to reflect and thank those who have helped him along the way in his pro wrestling career.
The WWE star took to his official Twitter account where he sent out a series of posts about his run on the Chicago indie scene, working with talents such as Kevin Owens, Kassius Ohno, Samoa Joe, and Hideo Itami and competing for promotions like Ring of Honor and All American Wrestling.
“Driving around this city before the United Center gig tonight and I can’t help but be flooded with Chicago independent wrestling memories. Can’t tell you how thankful I am to have cut my teeth in this here at @AAWPro and #IWAMS. Sorry in advance for all the incoming tweets.”
Driving around this city before the United Center gig tonight and I can’t help but be flooded with Chicago independent wrestling memories. Can’t tell you how thankful I am to have cut my teeth in this here at @AAWPro and #IWAMS. Sorry in advance for all the incoming tweets…
I remember going to one of my first independent shows here when I was 16. It was #PCW Dream Night in like 2002 or 2003. I knew then pro wrestling was for me.
I remember my first (and last) no rope barbed wire match with my partner @MBrave13. The most scared I’ve ever been going into a match and the most relieved I’ve ever been after the 1, 2, 3.
I remember all the insane #TPI tournaments held in the Chicagoland area. 2004 sticks out to me as maybe one of the best weekends of wrestling I ever had as a fan. Look for the pink Shadows Fall trucker hat in the back corner of the stands.
I remember going to the @ringofhonor Frontier Fieldhouse shows as a fan….and then making my ROH debut there in Age of the Fall. What a moment. I got to have so many fun matches in that arena with @FightOwensFight@KassiusOhno@SamoaJoe@HideoItami just to name a few.
I remember so much so fondly of this city…and I would be remiss if I didn’t mention @CMPunk and @ColtCabana. Two guys who changed the game for Chicago wrestling. They made Chicago feel special. Made me feel like this place could lead to the rest of the world…
…I’m eternally grateful for the inspiration and motivation Punk and Cabana provided me at a very formative age. Helped shape my work ethic in wrestling for years to come.
Rollins also thanked CM Punk and Colt Cabana for what they did to help him and pro wrestling in Chicago.
He wrote, “I remember so much so fondly of this city…and I would be remiss if I didn’t mention @CMPunk and @ColtCabana. Two guys who changed the game for Chicago wrestling. They made Chicago feel special. Made me feel like this place could lead to the rest of the world… …I’m eternally grateful for the inspiration and motivation Punk and Cabana provided me at a very formative age. Helped shape my work ethic in wrestling for years to come.”
John Cena returned to in-ring action under the WWE banner earlier this week and has been working live events since then. He’ll continue his WWE schedule into the early part of January.
Two photos of Cena wearing an NWO t-shirt with fans have surfaced online that were taken on Friday night at the WWE live event in Baltimore, Maryland. You can see the former WWE Champion sporting the look that was made famous by Hulk Hogan, Scott Hall, and Kevin Nash in WCW with fans here:
The official website of WWE has released their list of the top 10 microphone moments of 2018 as the new year approaches. You can see the full list here:
10. “Fight for your dreams, and your dreams will fight for you” (SmackDown LIVE, March 20)
9. “Night-Night AJ” (SmackDown LIVE, Sept. 11)
8. “Is that why you don’t respect me?” (SmackDown LIVE, July 24)
7. “Time to see if you’re still alive” (Raw, March 12)
6. “Out of the last little bit of respect that I have left for you, Deadman, I will put you down” (Raw, Sept. 10)
5. “You are relics of the past, waiting to be eviscerated” (Raw, Oct. 15)
4. “It’s easy to be there during the good times, but where the hell were you during the hard times?” (Raw, Aug. 13)
3. “The show must go on, and so it does” (Raw, Oct. 22)
2. “You’re not the baddest b—- on the planet; you’re the luckiest” (SmackDown LIVE, Nov. 13)
1. “The ‘Yes!’ Movement is dead” (SmackDown LIVE, Nov. 20)
Braun Strowman hasn’t been physical inside the WWE ring for quite some time now. Strowman recently underwent surgery on his elbow to repair some bone spurs. He was booked to face Baron Corbin in a Tables Ladders and Chairs (TLC) match earlier this month. Strowman did show up for the match, but since it was a no disqualification match, he utilized some help.
Finn Balor, Apollo Crews, Bobby Roode, Chad Gable, and Heath Slater all beat down Corbin, allowing Strowman to pick up the pinfall victory. Now, Strowman is set to face Brock Lesnar for the WWE Universal Championship at the Royal Rumble pay-per-view (PPV) on January 27th. Strowman is still recovering from his surgery, and likely won’t compete until the Royal Rumble.
However, it looks like he’s on the right track to full recovery, as he posted a photo on Instagram of himself back in the gym. Check it out here:
“And so it begins!!!! 8 weeks with out training has been killing me. First day back training shoulders. 25lbs at a time. Slow and steady and getting ready to pass these out”
We reported earlier on Kota Ibushi speaking with NJPW1972.com ahead of his NEVER Openweight Championship bout against U.K. sensation, Will Ospreay.
Turns out The Sky King has also been ruminating on their impending clash at the Tokyo Dome come January 4th. The two will face off for New Japan Pro Wrestling’s Wrestle Kingdom 13.
Taking to Twitter, Ospreay uploaded a picture of the two of them together during friendlier, albeit bittersweet circumstances.
He took a moment to thank Ibushi for helping him through a difficult time two years ago when he sadly lost his friend, British independent wrestler, Kris Travis to cancer.
His match with Ibushi — who he refers to as an “inspiration” — helped to disctract him from grieving as the two shared a ring.
“You have no idea how much you helped me this day.
Only a few days before this photo/match, I lost a friend who helped me in British Wrestling, Kris Travis. To be in the ring with a man I would call an inspiration, helped me not focus on grieving but to celebrate his life. After this moment and how fans reacted to how we were in the ring, I knew this was the match I wanted.
Now I’m under a week from my dream match on the biggest stage of my life. For a championship that has lost its place on New Japan but now shall live up to what it should be, an Openweight Championship. What I’m saying is thank you for helping me all those years ago, but January 4th, 2019, my idol is my rival.”
Ospreay was on track for a NEVER Openweight match against previous champion, Taichi, before becoming injured. Since then, Ibushi has bested Goto for the belt whilst Ospreay defeated Taichi to secure his spot as number one contender.
Earlier this week WWE made its return to “The World’s Most Famous Arena.” The professional wrestling juggernaut held a stacked house show from Madison Square Garden in New York. The card featured several big match-ups, including the first-ever women’s match to main event a wrestling show in MSG. Ronda Rousey successfully defended her title against Nia Jax.
Also, John Cena made his WWE return before Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose went head-to-head inside a Steel Cage. However, another big match on the card featured several of NXT’s top stars. The team of NXT North American Champion Ricochet, WWE UK Champion Pete Dunne, The Velveteen Dream, Aleister Black, and Matt Riddle defeated NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa, Johnny Gargano, and The Undisputed Era (Adam Cole and NXT Tag Team Champions Kyle O’Reilly & Roderick Strong) in a Ten-Man Tag Team bout.
It was a proud moment for WWE Hall Of Famer Shawn Michaels, who has been working a lot with NXT talents lately. Michaels has been training athletes at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando and also producing NXT television. “HBK” took to Twitter recently and expressed how proud he was to see the NXT crew in MSG:
“One of the greatest pictures these eyes have ever seen!!!#NXTCrew in MSG!!!!! #ProudofYou”
There have been plenty of rumors going around that now-former WWE United States Champion Shinsuke Nakamura could be going back to Japan. However, those rumors have been proven to be untrue. New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) has certainly shown interest in bringing “The King Of Strong Style” back. But Nakamura relocated his entire family to Orlando after signing with WWE in 2016.
It would take a big financial offer to get him to make such another big move across the world. With that being said, rumors of Shinsuke’s return to Japan continue to run rampant. Especially after his recent interaction with Hiroki Goto on Twitter. Prior to signing with WWE, Nakamura founded the CHAOS faction in NJPW back in 2009. He served as the group’s leader before leaving in 2016.
Shortly after his departure, Goto joined CHAOS and has remained a member ever since. Yesterday, Goto took to Twitter and posted a good morning Tweet to his fans. Nakamura responded by telling Goto good morning in return. Goto excitedly asked Nakamura how he is doing. Nakamura is coming off a United States Championship loss to Rusev. The WWE star responded by saying he’s feeling “Genki Dah,” which translates into feeling energetic or lively.
One name that always gets tossed around when it comes to the WWE Hall Of Fame, is Chyna. Chyna was a very important piece of the WWE’s road to the Women’s Revolution. She helped break down barriers for women in professional wrestling during the Attitude Era in the late ’90s and early ‘2000s. Chyna competed in matches against men, participated in the Royal Rumble match, and even won the Intercontinental Championship.
“The Ninth Wonder Of The World” was truly ahead of her time in her heyday. However, her exit from the WWE was a highly controversial one, as well as her choices after her unceremonious departure. Unfortunately, Chyna passed away in April of 2016 from an apparent overdose. She was found in her Redondo Beach, California home by her manager, Anthony Anzaldo.
“Do What’s Right”
Now, many WWE fans and stars believe that a WWE Hall Of Fame induction for Chyna is long overdue. Her mother, Jan LaQue, certainly agrees. In a recent Facebook post, LaQue urged WWE to “do what’s right” and finally induct Chyna (real name Joan Marie Laurer) into the WWE HOF:
“As many of you know, yesterday would have been Joanie’s (Chyna’s) birthday. I truly appreciate all of the messages and rememberances of her that were posted by so many of you. As you can imagine, it’s always a very sad day for me. But it helps a lot to know how many people remember her and loved her.
“It’s one of the worst things in the world to lose a child. We HAVE to get her into the WWE hall of fame. She richly deserves to be there. WWE – LISTEN UP and do what’s right for Chyna!! You owe her that for what she did for you and women’s wrestling. She earned her place there. And it’s long overdue.”
For what it’s worth, WWE Chief Brand Officer Stephanie McMahon said she believes Chyna will one day be inducted into the Hall Of Fame. Her comments came just several weeks after Chyna’s passing in 2016:
Do you think Chyna should be inducted into the WWE Hall Of Fame?
WWE taped the New Year’s Eve edition of Monday Night RAW on Friday night (December 28, 2018) from Detroit, MI at the Little Caesars Arena that will air on the USA Network. Here are the spoiler results:
– The show starts with the cage being lowered to the ring and leading to the opening contest.
– Drew McIntyre defeated Dolph Ziggler in a steel cage match. The finish of the match saw McIntyre win after two Claymore Kicks in a row. After the match, McIntyre climbed back in the cage with a steel chair where he attacked Ziggler and put his head between the chair and the cage then delivered a Claymore. McIntyre cut a promo to announce he would be competing in the Royal Rumble Match.
– Triple H and Shane McMahon step out of a limousine in the backstage area.
– Seth Rollins walks out to the ring in order to cut a promo about wanting a rematch against WWE Intercontinental Champion Dean Ambrose. Triple H walks out to cut a promo about how there are no more automatic rematches for titles and how maybe Rollins doesn’t deserve it. Instead, he wants the old Seth Rollins back, which is why he booked Rollins in a match against Bobby Lashley for later in the night. Shane McMahon follows by announcing a Battle Royal with the winner facing Ambrose for the title at a later date
– Apollo Crews won a Battle Royal to become the new #1 contender to WWE Intercontinental Champion Dean Ambrose. Finn Balor, Zack Ryder, Titus O’Neil, Curt Hawkins, Kalisto, Lince Dorado, Gran Metalik, Mojo Rawley, Konnor, Viktor, Bo Dallas, Curtis Axel, No Way Jose, and Baron Corbin were also featured in this contest. The finish saw it come down to Corbin, Hawkins, and Crews with Corbin eliminating Hawkins and Crews eliminated Corbin to win.
–Natalya cuts a promo backstage about losing to RAW Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey last week and her future. This is when she announced that she would be competing in the women’s Royal Rumble match. Tamina Snuka and Nia Jax interrupt then beat Natalya down.
– Baron Corbin walks out to the ring in order to cut a promo about the Battle Royal being unfair, which led to Elias appearing on the stage in order to sing a song about Corbin losing his General Manager job. This led to them brawling until Corbin retreats.
– Bayley, Sasha Banks, and Ember Moon defeated The Riott Squad in a six-woman tag team match.
– Bobby Lashley defeated Seth Rollins by DQ once Rollins then hit Lashley with multiple chair shots. Rush also got hit with the chair before Rollins hit the Stomp on him.
– Jinder Mahal and The Singh Brothers defeated Rhyno and Heath Slater in a 3-on-2 handicap match.
– Dean Ambrose cuts a promo backstage about how doesn’t need a fresh start and will beat Crews tonight.
– WWE Intercontinental Champion Dean Ambrose retained over Apollo Crews with Dirty Deeds.
– Alexa Bliss appeared on the big screen where she announces a “Moment of Bliss” talk show segment for next week with Ronda Rousey being her first guest. She also noted that John Cena, Braun Strowman and WWE Universal Champion Brock Lesnar would all appear on next week’s show plus The Revival vs. RAW Tag Team Champions Bobby Roode and Chad Gable.
– RAW Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey and Natalya defeated Tamina Snuka and Nia Jax in the main event once Rousey put Snuka into the armbar for the submission win.
Zack Ryder recently took to his Twitter account to reveal a statistic regarding his in-ring career during 2018. Ryder divulged that he has gone all year without a match on Monday Night Raw. He shared the post in the hopes of securing a matchup for the New Year’s Eve show.
I haven’t had 1 match on Monday Night Raw in 2018 yet. 1 more Raw left…#AlwayzReady#StillHere
It’s a sad statistic for the superstar, and his message wasn’t lost on one ex-WWE performer: Cody.
The IWGP United States Champion responded to Zack’s Tweet, referencing The Office in the process, as he reminded Ryder of his previous success in recent years.
Some perspective for you babe…several years ago the biggest star in the world(in MSG), the Rock was standing in the ring and the crowd was chanting “we want Ryder”…
Whatever you do now, do it without fear. I mean Pam went and did that Pratt Institute thing… https://t.co/rUymi8SSXr
Cody wasn’t the only person to respond, however, as Dolph Ziggler would also insert himself into the proceedings, adding further support for the former Intercontinental and United States champion.
Forbes.com has unveiled a list of the most disliked WWE YouTube videos of 2018.
If you wanted to relive the majority of moments that the WWE Universe chose to actively gift a ‘Thumbs Down’ on the video site, they are still available online to watch at the time of writing.
If, however, you’re simply curious, here is the full list:
Roman Reigns vs. Bobby Lashley (RAW: July 24) 42,000 dislikes (53.2%); 37,000 likes
Roman Reigns attacked by Brock Lesnar (RAW: March 19): 19,000 dislikes (16.2%); 98,000 likes
Braun Strowman destroys a TV production truck (RAW: January 15): 17,000 dislikes (11.9%); 126,000 likes
The Shield get ambushed (RAW: September 3): 9,200 dislikes (17.3%); 44,000 likes
It’s been an undeniably tumultuous year for WWE, especially in the past few months. So much so that the McMahons and Triple H have actively acknowledged their less than stellar product, promising to shake things up as we head into 2019.
With a ready list of segments and moments their fanbase disliked, will WWE continue to listen and cater for the WWE Universe going forward, or will it be temporary change before sliding back into old habits?
What do you think? Do you think that this list is accurate? Did you actually enjoy these segments or is this fully representative of WWE’s 2018?
