WWE held a live event on Wednesday in Santiago, Chile and at the event, RAW Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey battled Nia Jax with her title being on the line.
At this event, AnnMaria De Mars, who is the mother of Rousey, was spotted at ringside for Rousey’s match where Rousey was able to successfully retain the title. Following the show, she wrote the following in a post that she shared on her official Twitter account, “Went to my first @wwe event yesterday with our whole team from @strongmindesp It was way cooler than I expected #WWESantiago.”
Rousey, who is slated to defend her title against Jax at TLC pay-per-view event on Sunday, December 16th, 2018, posted the following on her Instagram account:
There have been some changes to the card of the upcoming WWE event at the world’s most famous arena, Madison Square Garden, in New York City on Wednesday, December 26th, 2018.
John Cena was supposed to team up with Finn Balor to take on Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre. However, that match has been pulled. Now, Cena and Balor are just advertised to appear. Another change was made to the 10-man tag team match as Johnny Gargano has been pulled. It will now be 8-man tag team match.
Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose for the Intercontinental Championship inside of a steel cage is the other top match being advertised for this show. This event was originally advertised to feature the superstars from the blue brand, SmackDown Live. However, the company has decided to make it a RAW event. The line-up now features:
Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose – Steel Cage match for the Intercontinental Championship
Braun Strowman vs. Baron Corbin
RAW Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey vs. Nia Jax
Elias vs. Bobby Lashley
Pete Dunne, Ricochet, Aleister Black & Velveteen Dream vs. The Undisputed Era & Tommaso Ciampa
Jinder Mahal, Alexa Bliss, and Bayley are also advertised for this show. The WWE will be announcing more matches for this live event in the coming weeks.
Becky Lynch took a crack at Charlotte Flair’s “cosmetic enhancements” on Twitter recently. Lynch was responding to criticism from Flair about having missed time on Smackdown due to a concussion and broken face.
Walking out in a T-shirt doesn’t qualify as “not missing a smackdown”.
I’ve never missed a day as champ. You want to make fun? Go ahead. You have plenty of time to tweet from the sidelines. When you pull out of TLC, I’ll be there to save the day. Again. https://t.co/e93Wyh7cJF
“Walking out in a T-shirt doesn’t qualify as “not missing a smackdown”. I’ve never missed a day as champ. You want to make fun? Go ahead. You have plenty of time to tweet from the sidelines. When you pull out of TLC, I’ll be there to save the day. Again.”
Becky Lynch vs Charlotte Flair vs Asuka – TLC
Becky Lynch will defend her Smackdown Women’s Championship against 2 challengers in 8 days at TLC. Originally, Smackdown GM, Paige, booked a rematch between Becky and Charlotte for the title. The rest of the Smackdown Women’s roster complained, however, and Paige later scheduled a battle royal with the winner being added to Becky vs Charlotte at TLC.
Asuka would win the battle royal later that same evening and book her spot with Becky and Charlotte at TLC.
Justin Credible was arrested and taken into custody again on Tuesday. He is being booked on misdemeanor assault, violating a protection order, and breach of peace. Credible has had multiple run-ins with the law on similar charges this last year.
He was arrested twice in September on similar charges and had the following to say:
“I promise to my fans, my friends and my family that the man Peter Polaco will never be a negative headline again.”
Justin Credible Legal Problems
A documentary on the 45-year-old’s struggles is currently in production.
Earlier this fall, Credible spoke with WrestleZone regarding his struggles with drug and alcohol abuse:
“Anybody with an addiction [knows that] no one is safe,” Credible said earlier this year. “I’m not saying that, ‘we’re clear of the bad stuff.’ I’m clear today. I’ve been clear for the past couple of weeks but who’s to say that something may happen next week, next month, next year?”
“It’s really a work in progress, but it’s been an amazing process and its been a great opportunity to really show people what it is like to deal with substance abuse and also in the unique business of professional wrestling. It very much humanizes what we do.”
Former WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns has been pulled from an upcoming public appearance. The ‘Big Dog’ was scheduled to take part in the ACE Comic Con in Glendale, Arizona. Roman was scheduled to appear at the event on Friday January 11th for a signing.
Reigns did appear during the recent Georgia Tech vs. Georgia college football game. The appearance at the ACE Comic Con was going to be Reigns’ first public signing since his announced second battle with leukemia. Roman has not appeared on RAW since he announced his diagnosis back in October, although he is expected to be part of the Tribute To The Troops special. It has not been confirmed if Roman will have an on-air role as part of the show. You can read our full report on the Tribute To The Troops special here.
The ACE Comic Con confirmed that the cancellation was due to a “change in his schedule.” We do not currently have any update on his health and hopefully this is purely a clash in scheduling. The company has confirmed that all purchased tickets for the signing would be automatically refunded. WWE does not appear to have made any sort of public announcement on this situation.
Unfortunately, due to a change in his schedule, Roman Reigns is no longer able to attend ACE Comic Con Arizona on January 11th. All purchases for Roman Reigns items will be automatically refunded. We apologize for any inconvenience.
Becky Lynch is arguably the hottest star in WWE right now. ‘The Man’ has seen an incredible rise to the Smackdown Live Women’s Championship and is reportedly being groomed for the WrestleMania 35 main event. In a recent interview with the Asbury Park Press Lynch confirmed that she wanted the top slot at the show of shows.
When asked what her ‘hopes’ were for WrestleMania 35 she stated “The same hopes as I always have, to main event WrestleMania, right? And that’s what I want to do this year. And I don’t care who I have to go through to make that happen, that’s my goal, and to go out and steal the show.” Becky is currently expected to be in the main event against RAW Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey.
Lynch also discussed her use of social media to help get her character over. Becky said “I think it’s so important because you’ve got however long we have on TV, usually maybe 15 minutes, 10 minutes. 10, 15 minutes we have on TV, 30 if you’re Becky Lynch and you put on the longest women’s match in WWE history on TV, maybe. Becky elaborated further, stating that “when you’re on social media you can extend the story, you can get your voice out, you can let people know how you’re feeling, what you’re thinking. And what I’ve said about other people’s social media is they’re on there writing love letters to each other. I don’t have time for that. I don’t have time for that because I don’t care about anybody else, I care about me and being the champion, being the best, being ‘The Man.’”
New Japan Pro Wrestling’s November scheduling is usually dominated by the World Tag League shows – and 2018 is no different. This year’s lineup of shows will of course feature some of NJPW’s top stars, but there are some notable exceptions. Some of the shows will be available on NJPWWorld.
Results
Here’s the full results for the World Tag League in Akita (12/07):
1st WORLD TAG LEAGUE 2018 Tournament Match: Manabu Nakanishi & Yuji Nagata b. Ayato Yoshida & Shota Umino – Nagata locked in the Nagata Lock II to defeat Umino
2nd WORLD TAG LEAGUE 2018 Tournament Match: TenKoji (Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima) b. Suzuki-gun (Minoru Suzuki & Takashi Iizuka) – Tenzan took the win after hitting the Moonsault Press on Iizuka
3rd WORLD TAG LEAGUE 2018 Tournament Match: Suzuki-gun (Taichi & Zack Sabre Jr.) b. Toa Henare & Togi Makabe – Taichi took the win after hitting the Taichi-Style Last Ride on Henare
4th WORLD TAG LEAGUE 2018 Tournament Match: David Finlay & Juice Robinson b. Best Friends (Beretta & Chuckie T) – Finlay and Robinson took the win via Disqualification
5th WORLD TAG LEAGUE 2018 Tournament Match: BULLET CLUB (Hangman Page & Yujiro Takahashi) b. Jeff Cobb & Michael Elgin – Page took the win after hitting the Rite of Passage on Elgin
Jay White, Bad Luck Fale, Taiji Ishimori and Gedo b. Rocky Romero, KUSHIDA, Kazuchika Okada and Hiroshi Tanahashi – White took the win after hitting the Blade Runner on Romero
It is being reported that three WWE Superstars’ contracts will be expiring in 2019. AJ Styles, Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows all joined WWE back in 2016 and their contracts are allegedly set to finish mid way through next year.
As we’ve previously reported AJ Styles has been looking to work a reduced schedule. The in-ring veteran has been one of the linchpins of the Smackdown Live brand over the past few years and it is very likely that WWE will bend over backwards to keep the ‘Phenomenal One’ in the United States. PWInsider have claimed that Styles’ contract is set to expire in April 2019.
Gallows and Anderson have seen a very different side of WWE’s creative. The former Bullet Club members are reportedly contracted until September in 2019, there are currently no concrete plans in place to re-sign the tag team.
We also reported earlier this year that NJPW were interested in bringing back Gallows, Anderson and Shinsuke Nakamura. Whilst it is always difficult to judge if they are happy to re-sign with WWE the tag team could demand a high price to return to Japan. With New Japan possibly set to lose the Young Bucks and Cody Rhodes to an as yet unconfirmed ‘All Elite’ promotion NJPW could use the starpower.
A segment has been revealed for next week’s episode of WWE RAW. On Friday morning, Alexa Bliss, who has been put in charge of the women’s division on the flagship show of the company by Baron Corbin, announced a press conference would take place between Ronda Rousey and Nia Jax.
WWE has already confirmed that Ronda Rousey will defend the RAW Women’s Title against Jax at the upcoming TLC pay-per-view event on Sunday, December 16th, 2018 in San Jose, California at the SAP Center that will air on the WWE Network.
Bliss tweeted out the following: “Since taking over the #Raw Women’s division, I’ve put our female Superstars at the forefront of @WWE. So before @NiaJaxWWE and @RondaRousey face off at #WWETLC, I’m holding a press conference and may actually use some of YOUR questions. Use #AskAlexa…and make them good.”
Since taking over the #Raw Women’s division, I’ve put our female Superstars at the forefront of @WWE. So before @NiaJaxWWE and @RondaRousey face off at #WWETLC, I’m holding a press conference and may actually use some of YOUR questions. Use #AskAlexa …and make them good. pic.twitter.com/ZbXEDFTxQB
WWE is in San Diego, CA at the Valley View Casino Center for next week’s episode of Monday Night RAW. This will serve as the go-home TLC show for the red brand and the final build for this pay-per-view event. As of this writing, no other segments or matches have been announced for RAW.
Former WWE NXT Women’s Champion Ember Moon recently spoke with Inside The Ropes to talk about various topics including her desire to wrestle WWE RAW Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey and her decision to join WWE.
This is where Moon praised Rousey for coming in and working hard to be the best that she can be. She brought up how they have worked together and Rousey has been one of her favorite people to join the roster because not only has she skyrocketed the women’s division on another scale but also gave the women a platform and she is such a huge advocate of women.
Moon stated that Rousey does deserve everything she has gotten. “If I get the opportunity and I can hit her from behind maybe and then run if it was a 24/7 situation may be.”
Moon was called up after a successful run in NXT to make her debut on their flagship show, Monday Night RAW, on the April 9, 2018 episode, which was the night after WrestleMania 34. When asked about it, she noted that didn’t know the moment was happening until she walked into the arena that day and will always remember that moment.
Moon recalled “The room that we were in was physically shaking as the music hit and I was like, “Oh my god, they like me.” I was just so happy as that was the first time I had let happiness take me over, I enjoyed it so much.”
A new match for the first Impact Wrestling pay-per-view event of the new year, Homecoming, has been revealed. During this week’s episode of Impact Wrestling on Pop TV, it was announced that Eli Drake would battle Abyss in a Monster’s Ball match at this show.
In the headliner, Impact World Champion Johnny Impact will defend his title against Brian Cage, who is cashing in his X Division Championship as ‘Option C.’
Impact Wrestling’s Homecoming pay-per-view event is scheduled to take place at The Asylum in Nashville, Tennessee on January 6, 2019. As of this writing, the promotion has yet to reveal any other details on the show. The promotion will be adding more matches to the card in the coming weeks. Here’s the updated card:
Impact Homecoming Card
Impact World Champion Johnny Impact vs Brian Cage (Cage is cashing in his X Division Championship)
Knockouts Champion Tessa Blanchard vs Taya Valkyrie (Gail Kim to serve as special guest referee)
Impact Tag Team Champions LAX vs Lucha Brothers
Eli Drake vs Abyss – Monster’s Ball Match
Rich Swann vs. Jake Crist vs. TBA vs. TBA – Ultimate X Match for the vacated X Division Championship
What are your thoughts on this match being added to the card? Sound off in the comment section.
New Japan Pro Wrestling’s November scheduling is usually dominated by the World Tag League shows – and 2018 is no different. This year’s lineup of shows will of course feature some of NJPW’s top stars, but there are some notable exceptions. Some of the shows will be available on NJPWWorld.
Results
Here’s the full results for the World Tag League in Yamagata (12/06):
1st WORLD TAG LEAGUE 2018 Tournament Match: CHAOS (Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano) b. Ayato Yoshida & Shota Umino – Ishii locked in a Boston Crab on Umino to take the win
2nd WORLD TAG LEAGUE 2018 Tournament Match: Jeff Cobb & Michael Elgin b. Manabu Nakanishi & Yuji Nagata – Cobb took the win after hitting a Standing Moonsault Press on Nakanishi
3rd WORLD TAG LEAGUE 2018 Tournament Match: Killer Elite Squad (Davey Boy Smith Jr. & Lance Archer) b. BULLET CLUB (Hangman Page & Yujiro Takahashi) – Smith Jr and Archer took the win after hitting the Killer Bomb on Takahashi
4th WORLD TAG LEAGUE 2018 Tournament Match: Suzuki-gun (Taichi & Zack Sabre Jr.) b. David Finlay & Juice Robinson – Taichi took the win using a Taichi-Style Gedo Clutch on Finlay
5th WORLD TAG LEAGUE 2018 Tournament Match: TenKoji (Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima) b. Toa Henare & Togi Makabe – Kojima took the win after hitting a Lariat on Henare
6th WORLD TAG LEAGUE 2018 Tournament Match: Los Ingobernables de Japon (EVIL & SANADA) b. Suzuki-gun (Minoru Suzuki & Takashi Iizuka) – SANADA used the Skull End on Iizuka to take the win
7th WORLD TAG LEAGUE 2018 Tournament Match: Best Friends (Beretta & Chuckie T) b. Guerrillas Of Destiny (Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa) – Beretta rolled up Loa with a School Boy for the win
Jay White, Bad Luck Fale, Taiji Ishimori and Gedo b. Rocky Romero, KUSHIDA, Kazuchika Okada and Hiroshi Tanahashi – Ishimori took the win after hitting the Bloody Cross on KUSHIDA
Given her astronomical rise to the top of the main event scene within WWE, you wouldn’t blame Becky Lynch if everything felt a bit like a blur.
Ever since turning heel against Charlotte Flair during August’s SummerSlam event, ‘The Man’ has been on a crusade as she continues her anti-heroine behavior. Not even suffering a broken nose and concussion could impede on that.
For Lynch, however, she believes she can almost pinpoint the moment the WWE Universe began to rally behind her.
Speaking with Asbury Park Press, ‘The Lass Kicker’ divulged that she believes this crystallising moment took place during WWE’s Money In The Bank event on June 17th, 2018.
“I don’t know if it’s that they [the WWE Universe] can tell that I’m so passionate about it [wrestling] and that I just want to be really good and that every time I go out there I try to put on the best match possible in the time that I can for them,” she said. “I don’t know if it’s that, but I think that we saw at Money in the Bank every time I climbed the ladder they showed their support, and I think that was when everybody started to turn their heads and say, “Oh, OK, Becky’s got a connection with these people.”
Becky supposedly had issues believing in herself in the past. Given the vocal swell of support over the past few months, that presumably won’t be a problem anymore.
DEFIANT Wrestling announced the return of ‘Loaded’ on YouTube earlier this year. The show is a free-to-air programme that features many of the top talent from the UK independent scene. Loaded will be returning this Sunday and will be available to watch on YouTube
Loaded is a free-to-air programme on YouTube that features many of the top talent from the UK independent scene.The show has seen many iterations over the past few years. DEFIANT sent out the following press release for the return back in September:
“Loaded previously ran for 33 episodes between July 2016 and October 2017, amassing over 25 MILLION views on YouTube. Loaded, at that time, ran under the WCPW (What Culture Pro Wrestling) banner, with WCPW since rebranded as Defiant Wrestling in late 2017 following a diversification from the What Culture brand.”
Here’s the full card for this Sunday’s show:
Walter vs El Phantasmo vs Chris Ridgeway
Kanji vs Gemini
Omari vs Lucky Kid
Rampage & David Starr vs Nathan Cruz & John Klinger
Johnny Impact and Taya Valkyrie defeated Moose & Tessa Blanchard
Earlier at the Las Vegas tapings, Taya Valkyrie demonstrated a new submission hold. This week on Impact, she was able to make the Knockouts Champion tap to it during the main event. If that happens at Homecoming, Taya will be the new champ.
After the match, Moose and Blanchard attacked the victors but various run-ins would prevent much damage from taking place.
Killer Kross Saves Taya/Brian Cage Saves Johnny Impact
Strange and strained alliances were on display in Impact’s closing moments this week. Killer Kross has been offering to watch Johnny Impact’s back in recent weeks. He made the save for Taya this week, preventing Tessa Blanchard from hitting Taya with a chair. Moose seemed to be confused by Kross’ actions, as the two have been aligned for much of the year. Before Moose and Kross could do anything further, however, Brian Cage hit the ring and took them both out.
Johnny Impact and Brian Cage stared each other down to end the show.
Raven (!!!) Helps Eddie Edwards Escape From Mental Institution
Another ECW veteran gave advice to Eddie Edwards this week. While Tommy Dreamer warned Edwards not to shorten his career trying to get revenge on Sami Callihan, Raven told Edwards he hasn’t gone far enough in his feud with Moose. Then Raven stole a key card from an orderly and passed it to Edwards, allowing him to escape Shady Acres Insane Asylum.
A former NWA World Heavyweight Champion while with TNA Wrestling, Raven is often credited with being one of the most unique minds in the history of wrestling. He said he voluntarily checks himself into Shady Acres ever so often.
Jake Crist Qualifies For Ultimate X
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c37SZ3r4Vc0
Jake Crist defeated Willie Mack – Ultimate X Qualifier
Jake Crist is going to Homecoming after defeating Willie Mack in the opener this week. Mack looked as though he had the match going his way when Sami Callihan got involved. Crist picked up the upset win after Mack was pulled off the top rope by Callihan and Crist gave him a cutter and got the pin.
Later, Mack was seen speaking to Rich Swann about wanting to get revenge on OVE. Swann, who has been in CZW wars with Callihan, warned Mack that they might not want to go there with OVE.
Ethan Page Qualifies For Ultimate X
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PamGgKjid9Q
Ethan Page defeated Matt Sydal – Ultimate X Qualifier
The second of two upsets in Ultimate X Qualifying matches came when Ethan Page defeated his mentor, Matt Sydal. The two exchanged multiple pinning combinations in a row when Page was able to keep Sydal’s shoulders down for the 3.
Sydal was a good sport about the loss, even raising Page’s hand after.
Dark Allie Is Really Dark
Allie defeated Heather Monroe
Last week, Kiera Hogan made an emotional plea for the good Allie to return. Hogan didn’t get what she wanted this week, however. Allie defeated Heather Monroe while Su Yung watched ominously on the outside.
After the match, Allie continued the attack on Monroe using Su Yung’s mandible claw type move. This brought out Hogan who tried to talk some sense into Allie. Although it looked as though Allie had come back to her senses, she suddenly struck Hogan. Yung then joined the melee and they continued the beatdown on Hogan to end the segment.
Monster’s Ball Match Booked For Homecoming
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bG6e5PdmIiM
Eli Drake claimed this week that he’s dropped his lawsuit against Impact Wrestling. Despite this, he claims he is being punished by the promotion as he has now been booked in a Monsters Ball match against Abyss at Homecoming.
Konnan Says It Can Never Be The Same Between Lucha Bros and LAX
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1JGEd5s53ac
Konnan didn’t want LAX to defend the belts against Pentagon and Fenix at Homecoming but LAX put out the challenge anyway. The two teams were seen arguing in the back this week, leading Konnan to say this is what he had been worried about.
Scarlett Bordeaux Joins The Rascalz Session
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ns2TlITM3eA
Scarlett Bordeaux joined the Rascalz smoking session this week. The trio seemed a little confused as to how she got there. Regardless, Bordeaux let them know she was impressed with their match last week and then reminded everyone about her ongoing global talent search.
Zachary Wentz seemed concerned that Bordeaux would attract the presence of bears.
The Desi Hit Squad Back In The Win Column
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IgvnlFbjfHQ
The Desi Hit Squad defeated Damien Drake and Manny Lemons
The Desi Hit Squad were back in action this week. They defeated a pair of local competitors with much ease. Callis and Mathews talked about the depth of the tag team-team division which has been developing as of late. With the addition of the Rascalz, a new Desi Hit Squad team, the Lucha Bros and LAX, the tag division is pretty stacked at the moment.
Quick Results:
Ultimate X Qualifier
Jake Crist defeated Willie Mack
Allie defeated Heather Monroe
The Desi Hit Squad defeated Damien Drake and Manny Lemons
Ultimate X Qualifier
Ethan Page defeated Matt Sydal
Johnny Impact & Taya Valkyrie defeated Moose & Tessa Blanchard
Next Week:
Ultimate X Qualifier Rich Swann vs Dave Crist
Ultimate X Qualifier Trevor Lee vs Trey Miguel
Moose vs Brian Cage
Santana vs Fenix
Confirmed Matches for Homecoming (Non-Spoiler):
Impact World Championship
Johnny Impact (c) vs Brian Cage
Knockouts Championship
Tessa Blanchard (c) vs Taya Valkyrie
X-Division Championship
Ultimate X Match
Jake Crist vs Ethan Page vs TBD vs TBD
Impact Tag Team Championships
LAX (c) vs Pentagon and Fenix
Given how they now both work for the same company, it’s easy to forget that it was Finn Balor who helped to train Becky Lynch when she was first getting started in pro wrestling.
That was in 2002. Before Bullet Club, before ‘The Demon,’ and before Becky Lynch became ‘The Man’ in WWE.
Speaking with Sam Roberts on his podcast, Notsam Wrestling Podcast, Finn Balor recalls training a young Lynch as well as a number of other topics, including his forthcoming match against Drew McIntyre at WWE’s TLC event, his time at NXT, and the potential of moving to SmackDown.
A key takeaway from their conversation revolved around Becky’s belief in herself and her abilities. Reflecting on her recent rise to superstardom, Balor commented that everybody believed in her when she first started out. Everyone except herself.
“Can I believe that this is happening? Yes,” Balor said with resolute confidence. “I’ve always believed that Becky had that in her, I just don’t know that she believed it. Maybe in the last couple months, she’s started to get that self-confidence. I think everybody believed in her except herself. Finally, she got that self-confidence, and she’s been rockin’, man. It’s unbelievable to watch, and I think it’s only going to get bigger.”
“She is on fire right now,” he continued, “and she’s been around almost as long as me. She’s been around 15-16 years or something, so she knows exactly what she’s doing in the ring. She’s comfortable, her promos are on fire, and she’s killing. Long may it continue.”
The current narrative surrounding The Freak revolves around RAW Commissioner, Stephanie McMahon, and her brother, SmackDown Commissioner, Shane McMahon, both endeavouring to secure Sullivan to their show.
Although it has been speculated he would end up on the blue brand, it’s far from confirmed at this point in time.
It’s reported that Sullivan might be SmackDown bound to avoid the similarities between himself and RAW’s resident bearded giant, Braun Strowman.
Keeping them apart to avoid over saturating their RAW brand makes a move to SmackDown a logical choice. That is unless they wanted to build towards a Lars Sullivan vs Braun Strowman feud.
Is Sullivan vs Strowman a feud you’d love to see? Which brand do you think Sullivan would thrive on? Will he become a main event player?
One of WWE’s newest hot signings is ex-ROH Television Champion, Punishment Martinez.
Martinez enjoyed a successful run within ROH, where he was built as a top star with devastating offense throughout his tenure with the company. It’s an attitude and game plan he’ll probably want to implement now that he’s with WWE’s black and yellow brand, NXT.
Punishment recently debuted on NXT TV in a losing effort against another former independent sensation, Matt Riddle.
Although maybe not the debut he would have hoped for, Martinez took a moment to reflect on his journey and the fact he has now officially debuted for WWE.
Posted via the WWE’s Performance Center Twitter account, Punishment had the following to say:
“Man, I’ll be honest, I didn’t know it was ever going to happen,” Martinez confessed. “Working close to 15 years, you kind of…not lose hope…but you don’t think it’s realistic and then to finally experience it? I was shaking.”
“After so many years, you don’t get the shakes anymore, but I couldn’t stop shaking out there,” he said. “I think I’m still shaking a little bit now. It’s surreal, man. I just want to say thank you to anybody that has ever helped me get here. It’s insane.”
We recently reported on Ring Of Honor (ROH) signing the resurgent independent star, PCO (Pierre Carl Oullet). Oh, and the fact he bit the head off a fish.
PCO called his signing to ROH the “biggest contract and opportunity” of his career as he gears up to leave Major League Wrestling (MLW) and the indie scene behind.
He has since taken to Twitter to apologize to fans for pulling out of a number of those independent bookings.
Oullet, who is a former WWE Tag Team Champion and WCW Hardcore Champion stated:
“Wanted to say sorry for having to cancelled all my recent & future bookings !Yesterday @BarWrestling .Tomorow @WrestleACTION1 &others feds as well ,because of the signing of my recent full exclusive contract ! Thanks 2 my fans & promotors for understanding this delicate situation”
His Tweet directly indicates that the cancelation of these indie dates could be attributed to his recent “full exclusive contract” with Ring Of Honor.
It’s reported that PCO will begin working for ROH as soon as possible. With the company’s December event, Final Battle, going down on the 14th with TV tapings the next night, it may be a perfect time to debut and make an immediate impact.
What do you make of this? Were you looking forward to seeing PCO at a show he’s canceled? Do you think PCO will be a major player in ROH?
Becky Lynch is arguably WWE’s hottest star at the moment. Her rise began back at SummerSlam when she turned heel on Charlotte Flair following their SmackDown Live Women’s Title match. Despite attempting to turn heel, the WWE Universe has thrown a tremendous amount of support behind “The Irish Lass Kicker.”
Lynch won the SDL Women’s Title from “The Queen” at Hell In A Cell (HIAC), and has reigned ever since. Now, she’s preparing for yet another historic title defense. After successfully defending her title in the first-ever Last Woman Standing match at Evolution, she’ll attempt another historic defense. Lynch will defend her title against Flair and Asuka in the first-ever Women’s Tables Ladders and Chairs (TLC) match.
The bout goes down at the TLC PPV on December 16th from the SAP Center in San Jose, California. Recently, Lynch did a Q&A with the Asbury Park Press to promote the match. One of the questions she was asked was about being trained by fellow WWE star Finn Balor early on in her career.
Here’s what Lynch had to say about being trained by her fellow countryman:
“You know what he taught me a long time ago? He said, “If anybody tells you it’s raining, go out and check.” And I always think that’s perfect. It’s a little bit like the whole (idea that) you can’t trust anybody, right? And not everybody’s got your back, right?
“And so I think I’ve learned that, and you’ve seen that in me coming out on TV recently, that I don’t trust anybody, that I’m going to go out and check for myself and take things for myself. I think that’s what he meant by that. Also, what was so great about Finn is that he was so passionate, right?
“I think that extended down to everybody he taught because we all absorbed that passion and we wanted to be the best. And he just has such a great work ethic and such a discipline and such a drive and such a belief in himself.
“So I think that extended to me and that was something that I looked at and idolized and hoped that one day I could bring out in myself. And look, here we are.”
What do you think about Lynch’s comments regarding being trained by Balor?
A new match has been announced for the upcoming WWE TLC PPV. On Thursday, the WWE announced that Natalya would battle Ruby Riott in a Tables Match at this show.
Earlier this week, it was reported that Natalya was dealing with an injury and the reason for an angle that was done on this week’s RAW where she was power bombed through a table. There have since been mixed reports about this injury but with Natalya working this show, it appears that she either doesn’t have an injury or its a minor one.
WWE presents the TLC pay-per-view event on Sunday, December 16th, 2018 in San Jose, California at the SAP Center that will air on the WWE Network. WWE will be announcing more matches for this show in the coming days. Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose for the Intercontinental Championship is expected to headline TLC. Here is the updated card:
Updated WWE TLC Card
WWE Title Champion Daniel Bryan vs. AJ Styles
WWE Intercontinental Champion Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose
TLC Match: Baron Corbin vs. Braun Strowman – If Strowman wins, he’ll challenge for the Universal Title at the Royal Rumble & Corbin loses all authority or if Corbin wins then he’s the permanent RAW GM.
WWE RAW Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey vs. Nia Jax
WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair vs. Asuka – TLC Match
WWE SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Bar vs. The Usos vs. The New Day – Triple Threat Match
Mixed Match Challenge Finals
Elias vs. Bobby Lashley
Finn Balor vs. Drew McIntyre
Natalya vs. Ruby Riott – Tables Match
What are your thoughts on this match being added to the card? Sound off in the comment section.
The wrestling world has lost yet another wrestling legend this week as Larry “The Axe” Hennig passed away at the age of 82 today. He was the father to the late WWE Hall of Famer “Mr. Perfect” Curt Hennig and grandfather to WWE Superstar Curtis Axel.
Henning was a former AWA Tag Team Champion and worked for several wrestling promotions during his time in the business including the NWA and WWE. WWE noted in their statement that he past away following a long illness and kidney failure.
Axel also issued a statement after the news was broken where he stated that his grandfather was his biggest supporter since day and that “No one has had a bigger impact on my wrestling career than my Papa Axe.” You can read his heartfelt message that he posted on his official Twitter account here:
“82 years old. 5 kids. 28 grandkids. No one has had a bigger impact on my wrestling career than my Papa Axe. He’s been my biggest supporter since day one! Another father when I lost mine. We lost our King of the Jungle today… Never thought I’d see this day. But he’s with my Dad now so everything will be ok. Love you Papa Axe! The Hennig’s have always held our heads up high! We will continue to do so. You rest assured, The Hennig name will love on FOREVER!!!”
Larry The Axe Hennig just looked like a tough man. Saw him later in his career Heaven is united & PERFECT Celebrate his career watch him AWA @WWENetworkpic.twitter.com/u3kg8hWvpG
New Japan’s World Tag League tour is beginning to wind down and there are only 2 more events. 12/7 in Akita and 12/9 in Iwate.
One of the biggest matches taking place at January 4th’s Wrestle Kingdom will see IWGP Intercontinental Champion Chris Jericho facing Tetsuya Naito. Jericho recently wrapped up a tour with his Metal band Fozzy, this finished on December 4th so would supposedly leave him free to appear for NJPW. Aside from the World Tag League events there will be 3 more shows on NJPW World before the big January 4th spectacular. The traditional 12/14 and 12/15 Korakuen Hall “Road to Tokyo Dome” shows will be part of the offering. It is also tradition that one of the shows features a tag team main event featuring the competitors in the Wrestle Kingdom main events. So whilst it is unlikely we could see a Kenny Omega/Chris Jericho vs Hiroshi Tanahashi/Tetsuya Naito match.
The storyline heading into the Intercontinental Title match is that Jericho is ‘refusing’ to face Naito. In a recent interview with NJPW1972 Jericho stated that “Why does Naito get a re-match? Why? What does he do? He beat Zack Sabre Jr. You know, ZSJ is a great technical wrestler, but I can break him in two like a branch. I beat Naito. I beat EVIL. To me, you don’t just get to have a re-match just because you say so. When I lost the WWE title to John Cena, I didn’t just come back the next day and say, “I want a re-match”, it doesn’t work that way.”
Becky Lynch is currently scheduled to face Asuka and Charlotte Flair in the first ever Women’s TLC Triple Threat at the December 16th WWE TLC pay-per-view. The Wrestling Observer recently reported that ‘The Man’ is not currently cleared for action. Lynch did appear as part of the Tribute To The Troops tapings, teaming with Charlotte Flair to face Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville. There aren’t currently any details available from that taping so she may well have been heavily protected and not taken too much in-ring.
WON are reporting that Lynch has been cleared from the concussion that she suffered as a result of Nia Jax’s errant punch on RAW. It is however being reported that Lynch has not been cleared as a result of the nasal fracture from the hit. Becky has been appearing on Smackdown in a non-physical role, she is expected to be cleared in time for the TLC match against Flair and Asuka.
Even while injured Becky’s hot steak appears to be continuing. The Irish ‘Lass-Kicker’ is taking part in a VIP Axxess event at the Royal Rumble and it has already sold out. The WWE Superstar shared the news via social media, telling her fanbase that “I see and hear you all, all the tee shirts, the signs, the posts, the love. The Man sees you all. They didn’t expect us, but here we are”.
We reported back in November that WWE were planning to put ‘restrictions’ on their NXT UK contracted talent in 2019. According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter the levees put in place may be even stricter than originally believed.
British Strong Style’s Trent Seven is one of the owners of the Fight Club: Pro promotion. The NXT UK Superstar appeared in a ‘loser leaves FCP’ bout this past weekend and lost. Seven was teaming alongside Pete Dunne and Tyler Bate. The bout took place against fellow NXT UK Superstars Dan Maloney, Travis Banks and Jordan Devlin…so it isn’t really clear what the end goal was. Seven, Bate and Dunne were recently pulled from the Fight Club: Pro Japanese event around Wrestle Kingdom next year.
Dave Meltzer speculates that there are restrictions on what NXT UK talent can do between now and January when the full contract stipulations come into effect. WALTER appeared in a mixed tag match against Mae Young Classic competitor Meiko Satomura. WALTER did not perform any moves on the Japanese star, with Meltzer speculating that “to get around it, he kept trying chops and she kept ducking and hitting counters.” We cannot confirm if this is part of the contract restrictions or at this time is simply speculative.
