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Roman Reigns On SmackDown On USA Network: “Not Too Much Has Changed For Us”

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While many WWE Superstars who made the media rounds to promote Thursday’s premiere episode of WWE SmackDown on the USA Network went above-and-beyond to find ways to describe why the change is going to be a big deal for the program and for WWE itself, the new franchise player for the company took a bit of a different approach.

WWE World Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns spoke with the Associated Press and was refreshingly honest about the “changes” that came with the show switching their weekly cable home.

“I wish I could say (USA Network) makes a huge difference and it’s a super positive move and everyone’s so pumped about it,” Reigns said to The Big Story’s Dan Gelston. “But as a competitor, all I need is the ropes and hopefully people show up in the arena. From a wrestling standpoint, not too much has changed for us.”

After Gelston pointed out the fact that in the past stars such as John Cena and the McMahon family would rarely appear on SmackDown, giving fans the perception that it was WWE’s “B-show” that could be skipped while RAW was the “A-show” that had can’t-miss storylines, Reigns was quick to give a very brief opposing opinion.

“I don’t look at it as any less of a show, it’s pretty much the same talent,” Reigns said.

WWE SmackDown now airs every Thursday night on the USA Network at 8pm EST.

Rich Swann & Former TNA Knockout Debut In NXT, Gargano-Ciampa Return, NXT Kids & More

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NXT taped 4 weeks of TV on Thursday night from Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida (Spoilers). The episodes begin airing next week and will run through February 3rd.

– Rich Swann made his NXT TV debut against Baron Corbin in a match that will air on the January 20th show. Swann signed with WWE back in October with more than 15 other new recruits.

– Former TNA Knockout Santana Garrett wrestled Asuka for the February 3rd episode.

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– Jason Jordan and Chad Gable are now known as American Alpha.

– Johnny Gargano returned to NXT and will face Samoa Joe in the main event of the January 20th show. Tommaso Ciampa wrestled a squash match for next week’s show, which some sites are taking as an indication that he’s been signed.

– Alex Riley returned to the ring for his first NXT match since April 3rd, 2015. He’ll face Bull Dempsey in a match that will air on January 27th.

– Indie wrestlers John Skyler and Corey Hollis both worked matches.

– WWE taped the first episode of NXT Kids, a show hosted by and geared towards children. ‘Bayley Superfan’ Izzy was the host of the show, interviewing Big Show after his match.

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Mauro Ranallo On His WWE Debut (Video), New NXT Announce Team, Vince/The Rock

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– The new voice of WWE SmackDown on the USA Network, Mauro Ranallo, spoke with WWE.com for a “SmackDown Fallout” post-show interview. In the brief backstage interview, which you can view above via WWE’s official YouTube channel, Ranallo talks about it being a dream 30 years in the making to call a show for WWE.

– Speaking of announcers, the new NXT announce team of Tom Phillips and Corey Graves made their official debut at the NXT television tapings at Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida on Thursday night.

– Vince McMahon posted the following on Twitter on Friday morning to congratulate The Rock on winning the Favorite Cable TV Actor Award at this year’s People’s Choice Awards.

John Cena’s Shoulder Surgery A Success

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John Cena’s shoulder surgery was a success according to WWE.com, which posted a photo gallery of the procedure.

News broke on Wednesday night that Cena was injured, with PWInsider.com reporting that it was a torn rotator cuff that would keep him out of action for 6-9 months. The 15-time World Champion is known for his unbelievably quick recovery time from injuries, but a match at WrestleMania 32 appears to be out of the question.

The injury comes at a time when Cena’s career outside of WWE is flourishing. Despite having arguably his best in-ring year to date in 2015, Cena appeared in two movies, hosted a reality competition show for FOX and has been testing the waters as a daytime talkshow host.

Daniel Bryan: Can WWE Clear Me Already?!!!

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Daniel Bryan remains determined to get back in the ring and is now pleading with WWE on social media to medically clear him. Bryan has been out of action for approximately 9 months as a result of lingering concussion symptoms. His own doctors gave him the go-ahead to wrestle, but WWE’s medical staff is reluctant to sign off on his return. This week’s reports that WWE is raiding talent from New Japan Pro Wrestling have fired up Bryan once again. He tweeted on Thursday:

Just last month, Bryan told the PopPpoken.com that he’d love to wrestle Shinsuke Nakamura.

“I’d love [WWE] to bring Shinsuke Nakamura over,” Bryan said. “I love Shinsuke and I’ve known him for ages. What I love about his style is that he incorporates facets of reality into his matches.”

Bobby Roode On Vince McMahon Liking His Work, Trying To Get A WWE Deal & More

Matt Boone
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Former TNA World Champion Bobby Roode recently appeared as a guest on The Art Of Wrestling and spoke about training with former WWE Superstar Val Venis in 1997, attempting to sign with WWE prior to TNA and more. Below are some of the highlights from the interview.

On training with Sean “Val Venis” Morley in 1997:

“I started training with Val Venis, Sean Morley. He was a friend of mine. He lived just 10 minutes from me, so I met him at a gym and we kind of went back and forth. I knew who he kind of was. He’s like, ‘yeah man, I’ve got a ring in the back of my backyard.’ I was like, ‘yeah?’ and he was like, ‘yeah, come on out.'” Roode continued, “I got in there and I kind of did some stuff with Sean and from that minute, like, from the moment I locked up and got inside the ring, I was hooked and I was like, ‘man, I’ve got to do this. I’ve got to learn.’ And he never charged me [anything]. Sean charged me absolutely nothing. I mean, I went to his house maybe twice and it wasn’t like formal training. It wasn’t like, ‘okay, we’re going to do rolls.’ It was like, ‘okay, this is how you lock up. This is how you hit the ropes.’ And then Sean took off. I think he went down to Mexico at the time.”

On trying to get a deal with WWE prior to signing with TNA:

“The excuse I always got from John Laurinaitis was ‘we have nothing for you and you’re too good for developmental, so go get over somewhere else and come back and see us’, so I went and got over somewhere else and I just haven’t left.” Roode added, “at the time, I felt like I deserved [a WWE deal]. I did everything you guys asked me to. I know I showed heart and passion.”

On Vince McMahon liking his work while he was doing WWE dark matches:

“I remember Sgt. Slaughter was the agent and he came back [after the match] and he was like, ‘that was really good.’ He goes, ‘Vince came on the headset and asked who you were.’ I go, ‘well, that’s cool.’ So then, I get up the next day and I drive six and a half hours to Kelowna Beach, B.C. [Canada] to do the [WWE] SmackDown taping and I’m at the building and I’m walking around, just kind of backstage. And Vince walks up to me and he shakes my hand and he goes, ‘I really liked your work last night. I love the way you sold. You looked really good out there. We’re going to get you another match tonight.’ It blew my mind. Right? So I go out there, I have another match. I think I worked [Johnny] Stamboli that night. It probably wasn’t a five-star match, but I mean, it was a decent match. And if Vince, the owner of the company, comes up to me and puts me over and then Johnny Ace is like, ‘yeah, we’ve got nothing for you’, those are the kinds of things that I’m like, ‘man, why am I doing this to myself?’ And not only that, I flew myself there and did whatever. I mean, we all did it, but it’s just like, those were the things that I was starting to be like, ‘this isn’t for me anymore.'”

Bayley vs. Carmella Set For NXT Women’s Title, Joe-Zayn To Decide Balor’s Next Challenger

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NXT announced via their official Twitter account on Thursday evening that NXT Women’s Champion Bayley now has her next challenger set, as she will be facing Carmella at the CFE Arena at the University of Central Florida for the set of television tapings scheduled in the venue for January 22nd.

Additionally, they announced a number one contenders match between Samoa Joe and Sami Zayn to decide who will challenge Finn Balor in the next NXT Championship match.

The event on 1/22 is part of an aggressive January calendar for the NXT brand, as they will be running a total of 15 shows, including multiple shows on the same night in two different locations.

Spoilers – NXT Tapings Results (Airing 1/13-2/3)

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NXT taped 4 weeks of television on Thursday night from Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida. They also taped an episode of “NXT Kids” – the new NXT show hosted by and geared towards children. 

Here are the complete spoiler results from the tapings, courtesy of Tara:

NXT Kids Taping:

– NXT Superfan Izzy came out with a few other kids and got a huge pop.

– Becky Lynch defeated Natalya in a quick match with a roll-up.

– Big Show defeated Heath Slater with a leg drop. After the match, Izzy interviews Big Show, asking him what he eats and other ‘lighthearted’ questions.

January 13th Episode:

– NXT General Manager William Regal announces a battle royal to determine Bayley’s next challenger for the NXT Women’s Title. He brings out Sami Zayn next. Sami says he wants to be the first two-time NXT Champion but he’s interrupted by Samoa Joe. They have words and Baron Corbin interrupts. This leads to Sami fighting Joe off and Corbin backing away.

– Tommaso Ciampa defeated Danny Burch with an arm submission.

– NXT Tag Team Champions Dash and Dawson defeated the Ascension in a non-title match with their finisher.

– Elias Samson defeated Corey Hollis.

– Carmella won a battle royal to become the new #1 contender. Participants included Eva Marie, Deonna Purrazzo, Aliyah, Cameron, Peyton Royce, Alexa Bliss, Billie Kay, Liv Morgan, Emma and Asuka. Eva hid outside of the ring and there was a false finish where she won. Everyone was furious but Carmella, who was never eliminated, dumped her and got the win. Bayley came out to congratulate her after the match

January 20th Episode:

– Sami Zayn defeated Adam Rose via submission.

– Apollo Crews defeated Tye Dillinger. After the match, Crews issued a challenge to NXT Champion Finn Balor and said it doesn’t have to be for the title.

– Baron Corbin defeated the debuting Rich Swann, who got a great reaction. Great match here too.

– Carmella and Bayley vs. Emma and Alexa Bliss is up next. Dana Brooke is at ringside. Carmella makes Bliss tap out for the win. After the match, Bayley raises her arm and they embrace.

– Samoa Joe defeated Johnny Gargano via submission.

January 27th Episode:

– Chad Gable and Jason Jordan are now known as American Alpha. They defeated Blake and Murphy with the assisted German suplex. Murphy faked a leg injury at one point to get Gable to back off. This let them get the upper hand. 

– Nia Jax squashed Liv Morgan. Eva Marie was at ringside with Nia.

– Alex Riley returned and defeated Bull Dempsey. Riley was working quick and aggressive.

– Elias Samson defeated John Skyler in a quick match.

– Sami Zayn vs. Samoa Joe vs. Baron Corbin in a #1 contenders Triple Threat ended without a clear winner. Corbin tapped out Zayn had him in a Sharpshooter and Joe had him in a crossface at the same time. Regal comes out but said we don’t have a clear #1 contender. 

February 3rd Episode:

– The Vaudevillains defeated The Hype Bros. with their finisher

– Carmella defeated Emma with a roll up.

– Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady defeated two enhancement talents in a squash

– Asuka defeated Santana Garrett with the Asuka Lock.

– NXT Champion Finn Balor vs. Apollo Crews in a non-title match is the main event. Great match, Balor gets the win with a Bloody Sunday DDT.

Spoilers – TNA Impact Wrestling Tapings Results (Airing 1/19)

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TNA taped another episode of Impact Wrestling on Thursday night from Bethlehem, PA. These will air on Tuesday, January 19th.

– Impact opens with Jeff Hardy calling Matt Hardy to the ring. Jeff is concerned about the title vs. career match with Ethan Carter III but Matt is confident. Tyrus interrupts and challenges Jeff to a match later but Jeff wants to fight right now

– Jeff Hardy defeated Tyrus by disqualification. Hardy also botched a top rope move and sold a leg injury all the way to the back.

– Gail Kim retained the Knockouts Title over Awesome Kong. The Dollhouse got involved but The Beautiful People ran two of them off. Kim used Jade to knock Kong out and get the win.

– James Storm and Bobby Roode call Bram and Eric Young to the ring but Eli Drake and Jesse Godderz show up instead. Beer Money wins a squash match.

– Mike Bennett with Maria Kanellis defeated Pepper Parks in a squash match.

– Kurt Angle comes out in street clothes and talks about his farewell tour. Bobby Lashley comes out and praises Angle. Lashley says he can’t get over Angle beating him last year. Lashley wants a rematch and Angle accepts.

– Eric Young comes out with Bram. Young issues a King of the Mountain Title open challenge to anyone except for Beer Money. Mr. Anderson accepts and wins via DQ when Bram interferes. They beat Anderson down until Beer Money makes the save.

Thanks to Dale Dietrich for help with this live report.

2015 Had More 50/50 Booking Than Any Year In Company History

Matt Boone
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With all of the talk over the past year, it should come as a surprise to no one that WWE did more “50/50 booking” on television in 2015 than in any other year in the history of the company.

50/50 booking is when a wrestler loses as much as he wins. WWE took on the approach despite the fact that it nearly guarantees everyone on the roster is going to be perceived as average, as very few stars can stand out if everyone loses as often as they win.

Wrestling Observer Newsletter correspondent Chris Siggia examined the 2015 WWE records and as expected, there were more “Even-Steven” type booking scenarios playing out on television than ever before. Below are some of the stats he compiled regarding champions losing on television in 2015.

* World Champions did 12 jobs on WWE television last year, including nine of the 12 by Seth Rollins.

* Intercontinental Champions did 14 jobs on television in 2015, including eight by King Barrett and three by Kevin Owens.

* United States Champions did eight jobs on TV, with Rollins looking at the lights on three of those occasions.

* Tag-Team Champions did 21 tag-team jobs, ten of which were by The New Day.

* Divas Champions did nine television jobs, seven by Nikki Bella and two by Charlotte.

Natalya Suffers Broken Ankle Without Realizing It, Update On Her Return

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WWE Diva and Total Divas star Natalya returned from a broken ankle at the WWE live event in Corpus Christi, Texas this past Sunday night, doing a run-in.

Nattie broke her ankle in November, but apparently wasn’t aware of the fact for the past two months. It’s believed that she originally injured herself while in the U.K., but thought it was just a sprain and that she would be fine after taking a week off. Eventually she had it examined and realized that it was actually broken.

Although she wasn’t used on WWE television this week, the Wrestling Observer Newsletter notes that she is expected to return to in-ring action “imminently.”

WWE To Couple Annual NXT Event With SummerSlam?, WWE Scouting Talent In China

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– The “Dusty Rhodes Tag-Team Classic” tournament is expected to become a new annual NXT event. There is talk of having the finals of the tournament take place as its’ own event that would be in conjunction with WWE’s annual SummerSlam pay-per-view.

– WWE is going around mainland China looking for prospective talent to train. WWE has been looking for a way to capitalize on the market for years now, as the brand isn’t nearly as established there as it is in other international markets. John Cena has been studying the language for years in hopes that he will be able to help do his part in making WWE as big in China as it is in many other foreign countries.

(Credit: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)

Wolverines Coach Jim Harbaugh Trying To Bring WrestleMania To Michigan Stadium

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Michigan Wolverines head coach Jim Harbaugh has been pushing the idea of holding a WrestleMania event at Michigan Stadium, with the idea that it would break the all-time attendance record.

The stadium holds 107,601 for the set up used for football games, so with the stage set up that is normally used for big WWE events such as WrestleMania, the stadium would hold approximately 102,000, which would break anything that WWE will legitimately draw this year regardless of what they announce as the attendance for WrestleMania 32 at AT&T Stadium in April.

It wasn’t specified when exactly they would like to bring WrestleMania to the venue, however it would also break the attendance figures that WWE would legitimately draw for any big event currently on their calendar, including rumored shows such as upcoming WrestleMania events that are expected in certain cities and venues.

WWE Considering Splitting Up The Dudley Boyz And Bringing Back Bully Ray

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While nothing is set in stone, there has been talk within WWE creative lately regarding the possibility of splitting up The Dudley Boyz and having Bubba Ray Dudley perform as a singles character more along the lines of the Bully Ray heel persona he portrayed in TNA.

The Wrestling Observer Newsletter notes that while the concept has been pitched and discussed at meetings in recent weeks, it doesn’t necessarily guarantee that it’s in the works because often times interesting ideas will come up and never actually come to fruition for one reason or another.

Linda McMahon Starts New Business Promoting Leadership Opportunities For Women

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Linda McMahon announced her latest business venture this week, “Women’s Leadership Live,” a company geared towards promoting leadership opportunities for women.

“It’s impossible not to recognize that even in 2016, women are clearly underrepresented in leadership,” McMahon told Hearst Connecticut Media. “Women are 51 percent of the population but only 20 percent of Congress. Women earn the majority of college degrees but on average only make 78 cents on the dollar.”

“Women make 80 percent of household spending decisions, but only 5 percent of Fortune 500 companies are led by women. Only 17 percent of corporate board members are women. This is not about setting quotas, but about having a diversity of perspectives and experiences in decision-making roles. We are making progress, but there are still glass ceilings that need to be cracked.”

The company is based out of Texas and includes Stacey Schieffelin and Debbie Saviano as listed business partners. Their first official event will be a three-day conference held on May 19-21 in Irving, Texas.

Ric Flair Announced For Stone Cold Podcast After Monday’s RAW

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WWE announced on Thursday that Ric Flair would be a special guest on Monday’s edition of the Stone Cold Podcast. You can watch Steve Austin interview the fellow Hall Of Famer after Monday’s RAW on the WWE Network.

Here’s the preview from WWE.com:

What’s better than having a WWE Hall of Famer on the Stone Cold Podcast? How about having the only two-time WWE Hall of Famer on the Stone Cold Podcast? One of the greatest performers to ever step foot inside the squared-circle, “Nature Boy” Ric Flair, will be a guest on a brand-new Stone Cold Podcast this Monday, immediately following Raw. You can watch it only on the award-winning WWE Network.

We’ll have a recap of the podcast here on SEScoops.com on Monday night.

Related: Steve Austin On Roman Reigns Winning WWE World Heavyweight Title: “It’s Put Up Or Shut Up”

Jim Ross Comments On WWE Raiding NJPW Talent

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WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross has updated his blog, which you can read in its entirety at JRsBarBQ.com. In this installment, JR reacted to reports that AJ Styles, Shinsuke Nakamura, Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson are leaving New Japan Pro Wrestling and jumping ship to WWE:

“If WWE signs the NJPW talents that they are rumored to be romancing, it can be a HUGE development for WWE if they handle it efficiently and position these talents as top  hands from the get go. Impactful debuts should be the order of the day.

AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura can both be major, singles stars for WWE. WWE does not have two, better singles wrestlers currently  on their roster than AJ and Nakumura.”

Video: Roman Reigns & The Bella Twins Appear On ABC’s Good Morning America

Eric Lynch
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HlV0L3ktauQ

Roman Reigns and The Bella Twins were in New York City on Thursday to make a promotional appearance on Good Morning America. Here are some videos of their appearance, courtesy of @GMA on Twitter.

Related: Ex-WWE Writer: Roman Reigns Should Not Win The Royal Rumble

Mick Foley’s Son Starts WWE Creative Team Job This Week

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We first reported in December that Dewey Foley was hired by WWE, and now it appears he’s officially starting this week. The son of former WWE champion Mick Foley will be working as an assistant to the creative team that writes the company’s programming.

Dewey wrote this on his Instagram page about starting with the company:

“Tomorrow I start a new chapter in my life. In my life so far, I’ve won a whole bunch and I’ve lost a lot too. Some people believed in me while others thought I wasn’t worth a thing; that I would amount to garbage. But through it all, I remained myself. I became a drifter of sorts, not living in the same place for more than 6 months at a time. I wandered to places by myself, both physically but also mentally, and took road trips with no real destination or plan in mind just to see what it would be like. I wanted to explore as much as I could before I found something that would lure me in that I could call home. Maybe the WWE is my ‘home’. I will have to wait and see. It all starts tomorrow. All I can say is that hard work really can pay off and if you have a goal in mind, reach it. You hear it time and time again, but it holds true. It may not be today and it may not be tomorrow but it is going to happen if you do what is necessary to make it happen. Take a chance. Sacrifice things in your life while you still can to achieve something you’ve wanted to achieve for quite some time. It will be worth it.”

Mick Foley, who had been critical of WWE programming in recent months, says his son’s hiring will not effect his opinions about what he sees on TV. “The hiring of my son in September by WWE has had no bearing on any of my posts about the company,” Mick said. “Be they negative or positive.”

Related: Mick Foley Blogs About His Son Dewey Joining WWE’s Creative Team

Sasha Banks, Samoa Joe & More Comment On NJPW Stars To WWE

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Sasha Banks, Samoa Joe and Bubba Ray Dudley are the latest WWE performers to acknowledge reports that AJ Styles, Shinsuke Nakamura, Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson are jumping ship from New Japan Pro Wrestling.

There are still no reports of any of them officially signing with WWE, but the speculation is hitting a fever pitch and it seems like only a matter of time before we get something concrete.

Dixie Carter Says WWE Is Trying To Sign TNA Talent

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TNA President Dixie Carter spoke with the Associated Press this week to promote Impact Wrestling’s move to Pop TV. With the big news of the week being WWE’s raid of New Japan Pro Wrestling, Dixie revealed that her own locker room is also under siege.

“We’ve always been criticized about taking WWE talent, and I think it’s pretty interesting how the roles have been reversed. Our competitors, our competition have been after our talent.”

She also commented on James Storm’s surprise return to TNA, noting that working for WWE isn’t always what it’s cracked up to be. “The grass isn’t always greener and what we have here is very special.”

Spoilers – Impact Wrestling On Pop Results (Airing 1/12)

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TNA taped the January 12th episode of Impact Wrestling on Wednesday night from Bethlahem, PA. There were around 250-300 fans in attendance, about half the number who were at Tuesday’s live show.

– Jeff Hardy came to the ring and produced a doctor’s note stating that he is healthy enough to return to action. He challenged TNA Champion EC3, but wound up facing a masked man named Shanron. Hardy won via pinfall.

-Awesome Kong & Kade defeated Madison Rayne & Velvet Sky in a Street Fight.

– Beer Money cut a promo with tables and kegs in the ring. They were interrupted by Bram and Eric Young came out. EY challenged Bobby Roode to a match for the KOTM title.

– Eric Young defeated Bobby Roode clean via piledriver to capture the King of the Mountain championship.

– Mr. Anderson hosted an interview segment with Matt Hardy, his wife and son. This was described as horrible and it would be surprising if it airs.

– Christy Hemme interviewed Drew Galloway.

– Kurt Angle defeated Drew Galloway in the main event This was described as a fantastic match.

Next week on Impact (airing 1/19), Matt Hardy will challenge EC3 for the TNA World title. If Matt Hardy does not win, he must leave TNA.

 

Former WWE Writer: Roman Reigns Should Not Win The Royal Rumble

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Former WWE Attitude Era, WCW, and TNA writer Ed Ferrara recently discussed some current events in WWE on the BS With CSR podcast. One topic was Roman Reigns, who will be defending his World Heavyweight Championship in the 30-man Royal Rumble match.

“If I’m writing the show Reigns isn’t winning, that’s for sure,” Ferrara said. “I’m not sure who I’d put over. I feel like Brock Lesnar has to be in the main event of WrestleMania. He’s their only legit monster who has a mystique that fans believe in. One of the main problems with the creative lately is the lack of unpredictability. I’m not sure how I would book it but I know Roman wouldn’t be going over so the fans would get that unpredictable finish.”

Ferrara described the process of writing the 30-man Rumble matches, from the perspective of the creative team. He credited Pat Patterson for being the man behind the bulk of the match.

“From my perspective it was easy. We knew who was going over and how, because that was our ticket to WrestleMania. Other than that we booked a few spots and left everything else up to Pat Patterson,” Ferrara explained. “Pat would lay out the entire match.”

He mentioned some NXT performers who catch his eye as top prospects for WWE’s main roster in 2016. Here’s what he had to say:

“The first guys that jump off the page to me are Enzo and Cass,” said Ferrara. “The fact that they are so over and have so much personality they are ripe for the picking for the main roster. They’re kind of floating down in NXT right now because I think it is just a matter of time before they do come up.”

“I’d like to see Finn Balor come up because he’s not a 22-year-old kid. He needs to come up in his prime when he can make the most money he can. I love his presentation and his character. His work is unbelievable.”

Ferrara wrote for the WWF from 1998-1999, for WCW from 1999-2001, and for TNA in 2002, and then again from 2009-2010. He famously imitated Jim Ross as the character Oklahoma in WCW, and won the WCW Cruiserweight Championship.

Related: WWE Royal Rumble 2016: Early Betting Odds

Shinsuke Nakamura Comments On Leaving NJPW For WWE

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Japan’s Tokyo Sports publication has confirmed that Shinsuke Nakamura will be leaving New Japan Pro Wrestling later this month and is headed to WWE.

Nakamura, who retained NJPW’s Intercontinental championship against AJ Styles at Monday’s Wrestle Kingdom 10 PPV from the Tokyo Dome, gave his first public comments about why he decided to join WWE. He explained that he is looking for a new challenge and hopes to reach “new heights” with WWE’s global platform.

Credit to Reddit user denemy for tweeting this photo of Nakamura WWE coverage in a Japanese newspaper:

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John Cena Undergoing Shoulder Surgery, Will Likely Miss WrestleMania

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John Cena will be undergoing shoulder surgery on Thursday and will almost certainly not be able to compete at WrestleMania 32. The news was first reported by PWInsider.com.

Cena was conspicuously absent from Monday’s RAW and did not wrestle at Tuesday’s SmackDown tapings. The word going around is that Cena has a torn rotator cuff, which would keep him out of action for 6-9 months.

This is obviously a huge blow to WWE’s plans for WrestleMania. With John Cena, Randy Orton, Seth Rollins and Daniel Bryan all out of action for the company’s biggest show of the year, it will be very interesting to see what WWE comes up with in their quest to pack 100,000 fans into AT&T Stadium.

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