Mercedes Varnado, formerly known as Sasha Banks, has given her thanks hours before she is reportedly expected to appear at NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 17
The former WWE star sent out multiple thank you messages on social media to WWE, Vince McMahon, Triple H, William Regal, the WWE Universe, The Krew (her fans), and her former persona.
Banks hasn’t appeared on WWE television since last May when she and Naomi, who were the reigning WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions at the time, walked out on the company due to a creative dispute with Vince McMahon.
Banks negotiated her WWE release months ago before becoming a free agent on January 1.
AEW talent told Fightful Select they’ve been “no sold” when asking about Sasha Banks being Saraya’s partner on January 11, but they’re still of the belief it’s her.
“The fact that it wasn’t shot down either on screen or internally, promoting it a month out, it being a week after her Wrestle Kingdom appearance, and the cast of characters involved in the tag match were all points brought up to us by talent in the company when assuming it was her.”
One talent said they didn’t believe a deal was done or “could have been completed” as of last week because she had to wait out her WWE non-compete clause.
Bianca Belair had to get stitches following her match on Monday’s WWE Raw.
On the January 2 edition of the weekly show, Belair defeated Alexa Bliss via disqualification to retain the Raw Women’s Championship after Bliss snapped and attacked Belair after more mind games by Bray Wyatt.
After the match, Bliss continued to attack Belair by throwing her into the steel steps and then hitting a pair of DDTs on the steps. Belair came out bleeding from the match after the attack.
Stitches
Belair took to Twitter to post photos showing several stitches to her face after the attack with Bliss. The E.S.T. of WWE wrote the following caption:
“I am not okay…But @AlexaBliss_WWE won’t be either…Payback is a…3 Stitch Belair.”
WWE had Bliss explain later in the broadcast why she attacked Belair, which was her taking control back and wanting the Raw Women’s Title back as she felt it was hers, not Bianca’s.
This is leading to a rematch between Bliss and Belair, but the question remains when it will occur. While it’s possible they run it back on an upcoming episode of Raw, perhaps even the 30 Anniversary show, WWE may save it for the Royal Rumble.
Hours before her former WWE tag team partner prepares to make an expected return to the wrestling stage on Wednesday in Japan, Naomi’s wrestling future has some clarity after several months of uncertainty as she is slated to make a return to WWE.
Bryan Alvarez reported on Tuesday’s Wrestling Observer Live that his impression is that Naomi would be returning to the company, meaning she will not be joining NJPW along with Sasha Banks.
Naomi is Staying
“My belief is she will be returning to WWE because she will almost certainly be returning to WWE,” he said on the broadcast, although he did not give any return date or timeline.
Banks is expected to appear at tonight’s NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 17, marking her promotional debut. As previously reported, Naomi is reportedly in the country, as is Bayley, in a show of support for their good friends.
Banks and Naomi, then WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions, walked out before an episode of WWE Raw in May 2022 due to issues with their creative direction. They were later stripped of the titles and suspended.
Throughout 2022, fans speculated about them potentially returning to WWE, especially after Vince McMahon resigned and Triple H took over as head of creative as part of the new regime this summer.
Last month it was first reported that Banks was headed to NJPW with her expected to make an appearance at this event. She is currently a free agent after she negotiated her WWE release several months ago.
For months after the proverbial ‘Brawl Out’ situation between CM Punk and The Elite (Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks) CM Punk has pretty much remained radio silent on all of his social media platforms.
Recently, Dax Harwood spoke about Punk on the first episode of his podcast for Adfree Shows. Since then, Punk has come out of the woodwork on a couple of occasions.
As always, Punk has chosen to remain mysterious and evocative with his social media presence.
On December 28, a twitter user quote a comment that Dax made on his podcast, in which he pleaded that CM Punk and The Elite “find a way to make it work.” Punk responded to the tweet, simply saying ‘Duh.’
It gave a lot of people hope that maybe, possibly, there might be a way to turn ‘Brawl Out’ into an angle that would make everybody involved a lot of money.
(AEW)
CM Punk Toots His Own Horn
Now, Punk has made a couple more posts, touting his success in AEW in terms of merchandise and video views.
Punk noted that his action figure was the number-one seller for AEW action figures in 2022. His AEW debut action figure was also the number-six best seller. That action figure came complete with an ice cream bar and commemorative t-shirt.
Punk was also the subject of three of the top 10 viewed YouTube videos that were published in 2022.
Whether Punk is simply taking a victory lap, or trying to sell others on how big of a “draw” he was remains to be seen. But there can be no question, Punk was a big component of the success of AEW in 2022.
Hopefully he could be a part of their success in 2023 as well.
After the Triple H regime took over in the middle of 2022, the broadcast teams for Raw, NXT, and SmackDown were switched up.
Wade Barrett was moved from NXT to SmackDown as Pat McAfee focused on his duties with ESPN’s College Gameday. WWE brought in Booker T for the NXT role and has been calling the action alongside Vic Joseph. The belief was that after McAfee would return after the college football season wrapped up, Barrett would return to NXT.
While speaking on the newest episode of Booker’s ‘Hall of Fame’ podcast, the WWE Hall Of Famer shared that his NXT commentary stint was supposed to wrap up in December, but he’s now full-time on the brand and joked about taking Wade Barrett’s spot.
Booker T is Staying
“I gotta get back to work. NXT duties start tomorrow. My thing is, that job was only supposed to be until the end of December. But like I say, what’s that kid’s name that used to work there?… Yeah, Wade Barrett. He’s gone and forgotten as you can see. That’s my job now. That’s my job, full-time… I’m full-time now. I’m full-time on NXT, all right? I’m gonna be up in your ear, all up in your ear, every Tuesday (Booker laughed)… Wade Barrett, I don’t know if they’re gonna keep him on, find a spot for him over on Raw or SmackDown or something but his ass ain’t coming back to NXT.
This week’s episode of NXT is the first live show for the brand in several weeks and will be the go-home episode before the New Year’s Evil special on January 10th.
The former Raw and SmackDown Women’s Champion was suspended for her actions, which were deemed “unprofessional” on TV.
Boss ‘n Hug
Banks’ former tag-team partner Bayley will be at Wrestle Kingdom to support her friend, PW Insider has learned.
The report did not specify whether the Damage CTRL member was sent by WWE, but notes that she “shouldn’t be expected to be seen on camera.”
Bayley isn’t the only support Banks will have, as reports have come out that Naomi, who walked out of WWE with her in May, is also in Tokyo for the show.
Naomi’s status with WWE remains unclear and there has been no confirmation as to whether she has been released.
Bayley has been feuding with Becky Lynch since The Man’s in-ring return at WWE Survivor Series: WarGames, and appeared on this week’s Monday Night Raw.
Banks in New Japan
Sasha Banks’ impending arrival in New Japan Pro Wrestling is a huge score for the company as they seek to grow their own women’s division.
It is believed that Banks will confront the winner of the IWGP Women’s Championship match between KAIRI (aka Kairi Sane) and her challenger Tam Nakano.
Banks’ contract is said to be for five matches a year with New Japan, and she is set to make more per appearance for the promotion than she did during her tenure with WWE.
Alexa Bliss is just one of many WWE stars who have to deal with negativity on social media. While there is negativity on social media platforms, there is also positivity, and they receive praise from fans.
Bliss is looking to stay off social media to improve herself heading into the new year.
Despite her success and fame, some fans don’t like her. In a post on Twitter, Bliss stated that she is focusing on improving her physical and mental health by going off Twitter. This appears to be a new year’s resolution. She wrote the following:
The Change
“This year I’m focusing on my mental & physical health & I think majority of that is gonna boil down to staying off twitter lol.”
The WWE star has found a lot of success in WWE across all three brands Raw, NXT, and SmackDown. Throughout her time in WWE, she has won a total of 8 championships.
Bliss was in action on Monday’s episode of Raw when she challenged Raw Women’s Champion Bianca Belair. The match saw Bliss snap at a WWE official and give Belair a beatdown. It appears that WWE will build to a rematch at the upcoming Royal Rumble event, but that has yet to be confirmed.
When Cody Rhodes does return to WWE, it’s “absolutely not” going to be a surprise.
As seen on this week’s episode of Monday Night RAW, WWE has begin hyping up Rhodes return with a multi-part video series. Dave Meltzer addressed this on the latest episode of Wrestling Observer Radio. Meltzer noted that, many speculated that Rhodes would return as a surprise entrant in this year’s Royal Rumble match.
However, Meltzer says that’s “absolutely not” going to be. Instead, WWE is focusing on their multi-part series to hype up his return. He ended by saying, evidently, Rhodes will be slotted into a high spot on the WrestleMania 39 card.
Rhodes returned to WWE in April of last year as the surprise opponent for Seth Rollins at “The Show Of Shows.” After emerging victorious in, arguably, the match of the weekend, Rhodes went on to continue an excellent feud with Rollins over the next several weeks.
(via WWE)
This culminated into a Hell In A Cell match at the similarly named Premium Event later in the year. However, it would prove to be Rhodes’ final match before an injury layoff, as he entered the bout with a torn pectoral muscle that would need surgical repair and rehabilitation.
Now, Rhodes is expected to be wrapping up his recovery soon, and is right around the corner from getting back into the ring – just in time for WrestleMania season. While it’s expected he’ll have a high profile match at WrestleMania 39 in Los Angeles, it remains to be seen who his opponent will be.
It has been a whirlwind of events for Sasha Banks (Mercedes Varnado) since she and her then WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion partner, Naomi (Trinity Fatu), walked out on Raw on that fateful mid-May day. For Banks, she kept herself busy, which only added to the rampant speculation as to her eventual destination – if it was even in professional wrestling.
Then, a figurative bomb dropped: Banks is set to appear at New Japan Pro Wrestling’s biggest show of the year on January 4, Wrestle Kingdom 17, which is once again a one-night affair. While her appearance has yet to be announced by New Japan, speculation is she will be jump straight into the IWGP Women’s Championship picture.
So, how did we get here? Here’s a timeline dating back to Varnado’s and Fatu’s walkout to what we know now. Much of this was corroborated through the December 19 Voices of Wrestling podcast’s flagship episode beginning around the 1:45:10 mark.
Note: I will refer to Banks and Naomi while discussing anything regarding WWE, but use Varnado and Fatu when discussing them outside of WWE. Varnado has also trademarked “Mercedes Moné,” indicating this may be her name outside of WWE.
May 16, 2022 – The Walkout
(via WWE)
It was reported during that night’s Raw that Banks and Naomi walked out due to creative differences they had concerning the tag team division. They had been set to involved in a six-pack challenge match to determine Bianca Belair’s challenger for her title at Hell in a Cell.
Michael Cole informed viewers – in very WWE-friendly terms – that Banks and Naomi walked out during the show. WWE also issued this statement, which blamed the wrestlers because “even though they had eight hours to rehearse and construct their match, they claimed they were uncomfortable in the ring with two of their opponents even though they’d had matches with those individuals in the past with no consequence.”
May 20 – Indefinite suspension
It was four days later on SmackDown that Michael Cole announced that Banks and Naomi had been suspended indefinitely and stripped of their Tag Team Championship. This announcement was made notorious by Cole stating that Banks and Naomi had “let down millions” of WWE fans with their actions.
In those four days, word came down that Naomi had been set to win the six-pack challenge and face Belair while Banks was set to face Ronda Rousey for her title. Both Banks and Naomi were set to lose though as mentioned earlier, they had concerns over the direction of the tag team division and not about their scheduled losses.
Fans also noticed during the packaged “WWE Then, Now, Forever, Together” intro video that both Banks and Naomi were removed. Cody Rhodes replaced Banks while Rousey replaced Naomi. WWE also removed all of their merchandise from WWEShop.
June 15 – Banks’ release
I'm hearing Sasha Banks has been released. I don't know if it's he requested it or if it was on WWE's end
June 15 saw even more breaking news as WrestlingInc.com founder Raj Giri tweeted Banks had been released from WWE. While some questioned his reporting, his news was confirmed by other wrestling journalists, thus refuting the skepticism from the questioning.
While Banks was released, nothing was known at the time about Naomi’s status. The VoW pod reported that WWE had come to their separation agreement with Banks over the summer with the agreement that January 1, 2023 was the earliest she could take wrestling bookings. Fightful later confirmed she signed a deal with Bushiroad for multiple dates with VoW reporting her per event fee was the highest in Bushiroad’s history.
July 6-7 – Removal from WWE’s internal roster
(via WWE)
Further strengthening Giri’s report about Banks’ release, between July 6 and 7, WWE removed both Banks and Naomi from their internal roster. The distinction of “internal roster” is key as WWE still has made no acknowledgement of Banks’ – or Naomi’s – status with the company.
In fact, if you go to WWE.com, Banks and Naomi are still listed as SmackDown wrestlers even though WWE has released Banks and has no plans on bringing back Naomi.
September 9 – Walking the runway
Varnado and Fatu kept their names in the headlines, but not within the world of wrestling. In September, they walked the runway at New York Fashion Week, a high honor. This was another sign to their detractors that both Varnado and Fatu have name recognition and demand outside of professional wrestling.
Then, on December 3, Varnado tweeted that she had just finished filming her first movie. Apparently, she was set in The Collective from Tom DeNucci. This comes after she appeared in the hit Disney+ series The Mandalorian.
December 5 – Barmageddon!
While the news of her appearing on the new USA show Barmageddon was revealed by Brie Bella on The Bellas Podcast in October, and previews that aired during both Raw and NXT showed clips of The Bellas and Banks (presumably filmed while still with WWE), Barmageddon debuted on December 5.
December 8 – Reported to appear at Wrestle Kingdom 17
NJPW does not have a women’s division, but is owned by the same company that owns World Wonder Ring Stardom. Varnado has made her affinity for Stardom and the wrestlers there known, but even if she doesn’t wrestle there, she can always wrestle on NJPW productions.
The inaugural and current IWGP Women’s Champion is KAIRI, fka Kairi Sane. Varnado teased a potential match with KAIRI a few months ago, and the plan seems to be her confronting the winner of the title match between KAIRI and Tam Nakano at WK 17 (presumably KAIRI).
December 21 – Arrival in Japan
Varnado then arrived in Japan on December 21, two weeks ahead of her scheduled debut with NJPW and Stardom. It’s likely she’s using the time to acclimate to the time difference while training in preparation of her upcoming appearances.
The VoW pod reported that Bushiroad is adamant about exposing the West to their women’s wrestling with the belief that there is a “dearth of quality women’s wrestling” in the West. they believe their best way to make this happen is through NJPW and the IWGP Women’s Championship. Having Varnado and presumably KAIRI – two names well known to Western wrestling fans – leading the way should do well in achieving this goal.
That’s the timeline of Sasha Banks’ WWE release and Mercedes Varnado’s path to New Japan Pro Wrestling and Wrestle Kingdom 17. Be sure to tune into Wrestle Kingdom 17 in a few short days on January 4, 2023 to witness Varnado’s debut in New Japan Pro Wrestling!
Although it’s said she made a staggering amount of money, WWE Hall Of Famer Booker T doesn’t believe Mandy Rose’s FanTime earnings will be sustainable in the long run.
The two-time WWE Hall Of Famer recently took to his podcast, “The Hall Of Fame,” to offer his thoughts on the situation. After it was claimed that Rose made about $1 million in earnings last month from her FanTime account, Booker said he doesn’t believe that will be enough to hold her over if she’s “living large.”
“Speaking on the staggering dollar figure, Booker T said. “”A million dollars ain’t gonna take care of you for a solid year if you’re living large.” He continued, “I think [Rose launching a FanTime account] was the wrong decision, and I stand by that because I feel that Mandy Rose’s talent was so much more than her beauty.”
(WWE)
FanTime actually congratulated Rose for earning $1 million in the month of December. She’s listed as one of the site’s top creators on its homepage. However, WWE didn’t appear to be too excited by Rose’s side business.
She was released from the company after it was discovered that she was posting mature content on her profile. Rose had reigned as WWE NXT Women’s Champion for 413 days before she was defeated by Roxanne Perez on the December 13 episode of NXT.
It proved to be Rose’s final match before news of her release came through. Just prior to her release, Rose’s FanTime content got leaked to the public, which is likely what put it on WWE’s radar.
There has been speculation about Jeff Hardy’s future in AEW following his DUI arrest last year, and now his brother, Matt, has cast doubt on whether he will return to wrestling.
Matt also revealed that Hardys were set to become AEW Tag Team Champions if Jeff had not been suspended by AEW and entered rehab after his legal issues.
Jeff Gone for Good?
“It’s just very unfortunate, the things that happened with Jeff. Hopefully it’s something that he is going to make into a positive and he’s going to turn everything around in his life, and he can come back and be better. We’ll see, I don’t know, I don’t know.
Maybe he comes back, maybe he doesn’t, but we were scheduled to do all kinds of things during the summer and it really sent me down a big path of detour following that, but it is what it is. It’s pro wrestling where you have to adapt and change on the fly, and I’ve made the most of it and tried to do what I can.”
The former WWE Champion was arrested on June 13. Hardy has been charged with Driving While License Canceled/Suspended/Revoked, Violation of Restrictions Placed on Drivers License, and DUI Alcohol/Drugs Third Offense within 10 Years. Hardy has entered a “not guilty” plea to the charge.
The 2-time SmackDown Women’s Champion is expected to accompany Sasha Banks to the event, which will mark the Legit Boss’ first wrestling-related appearance since walking out of the WWE back in May 2022.
Banks — real name Mercedes Varnado — will make her debut in New Japan Pro Wrestling at the company’s biggest event: Wrestle Kingdom. The 17th iteration of the event will begin on January 4, where Banks will make her first appearance with NJPW in a series of dates agreed upon between both parties.
The deal finalized in November, including one date with NJPW’s sister company, STARDOM, in April for their All-Star Grand Queendom event.
Japan Feels The Glow
(Naomi & Sasha Banks)
As of this writing, it’s unclear if Naomi’s presence in Tokyo, Japan will be for anything more than supporting her friend, Sasha Banks.
Banks’ departure from WWE was reportedly solidified last summer, despite still being listed on WWE’s official website as an active member of the roster. While Banks’ next moves in professional wrestling look towards work away from WWE, Naomi’s future with the company remains uncertain.
In September, Naomi, as well as Banks, walked the runway in New York Fashion Week. The duo also appeared at the C2E2 event in Chicago under their real name in August, signing autographs and taking photographs with fans amidst meet and greets.
The National Wrestling Alliance sent out the following press release on Tuesday morning:
First run National Wrestling Alliance programming returns to YouTube with NWA Powerrr airing Tuesdays at 6:05 p.m. EST
CHICAGO — The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) is making bold changes this year to allow our television programming to be available to the largest international audience possible. We are proud to announce that starting immediately, NWA Powerrr will return as first run programming on the NWA YouTube Channel on Tuesdays at 6:05 p.m. EST and NWA USA will remain airing at 12:00 p.m. EST on Saturdays on the channel as well. NWA pay-per-view programming will still be available through FITE TV.
First run programming will begin Tuesday January 3, 2023 and includes matches which will determine the teams that will head to the finals of the Champions Series Tournament.
“I want to thank our viewers who used FITE’s Monthly or Annual subscription service to enjoy our product,” said William Patrick Corgan, president of the NWA. “Making the switch to having the world be able to watch NWA Powerrr at the same time is essential to our growth strategy going forward. FITE has been an important partner and we are happy to continue our relationship with FITE as our pay-per-view provider,” Cogan said.
The NWA Annual Subscription on FITE began to be phased out on August 26, 2022. Viewers who have active subscriptions can still use them to watch pay-per-view programming until their subscription expires. The NWA Monthly Subscription is canceled effective immediately.
NWA pay-per-views, such as Nuff Said, the Crockett Cup and NWA 75, will be available for individual purchase on FITE.
Additionally, the NWA is having its first ever LIVE NWA Powerrr on Tuesday January 31, 2023 from the Knoxville Convention Center which is scheduled to go on air for free on the NWA YouTube Channel starting at 7:00 p.m. EST. The show is being delayed about an hour from our normal time slot to give our fans in attendance more time to make it into the venue. This event will feature Ultimate Team War, the finals of the Champions Series Tournament which began with 32 incredible wrestlers. The winners of Ultimate Team War will receive future title shots at a time of their choosing. NWA Championships will be defended at this event as well.
NWA Nuff Said will be our next pay-per-view wrestling event scheduled for February 11, 2023 from the Egypt Shrine Center in Tampa, FL. The main event is scheduled to be NWA World’s Heavyweight Champion Tyrus vs Matt Cardona for the 10 Pounds of Gold. The pay-per-view will be followed by two days of NWA Powerrr and NWA USA television tapings at the WEDU Television studio on February 12 and 13, 2023. The Sunday taping is currently scheduled to be a matinee before the ‘Big Game’ the same day.
For the first time of the modern era, the NWA is headed to Mexico as part of the “World is a Vampire Festival” on March 4, 2023 in Mexico City. Wrestlers from the NWA will take on luchadors from Lucha Libre AAA with several NWA titles scheduled to be defended.
Fans shouldn’t expect to see the likes of Doudrop, Gallus, and others on WWE programming for the time being due to a series of Visa issues.
In August of last year, WWE closed their NXT UK brand ahead of the launch of NXT Europe this year, and retained only a handful of the NXT UK talent.
Speaking on Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer explained why some non-American stars have been missing.
“It’s Visa (issues.) What they’re doing is they went back over visa situations. They got to get the visas taken care of. So there’s a lot of people, a lot of the Gallus boys and Tyler Bate…Piper Niven’s (Doudrop) being gone is another one.
“What’s her name? Is it Davenport? Is that her name? Blair Davenport? What’s her name? The Bea Priestly, her too. But yeah, a lot of them, that’s basically the situation with a lot of them is just getting the visa stuff worked out.”
Visa Issues
It was only a few weeks back that several wrestlers were reported as missing from TV due to problems with their visas.
In November 2022, it was noted that Gallus, JD McDonagh and Ilja Dragunov would be unable to return until these issues were sorted out.
It has been reported that plans for Tyson Fury in WWE are uncertain due to Visa issues and an alleged ban from entering the United States.
Fury is believed to be banned due to allegations of ties to Irish mafia boss Daniel Kinahan, a claim the boxing star has vehemently denied.
Jake Roberts’ return to WWE in 2014 proved to be a pivotal moment in the life of the legendary wrestler.
Roberts returned to WWE on the ‘Old School Raw’ in January 2014 in his first appearance for the promotion in nearly nine years.
For his segment, Roberts confronted the Shield, and after Deam Ambrose was laid out with CM Punk’s GTS, Jake placed a snake on the future Blackpool Combat Club member.
Before the Return
Roberts’ problem with substances has been well-documented, and by the time of his return, the legend had only recently begun working with ‘Diamond’ Dallas Page.
Speaking on his Snake Pit podcast, Roberts recalled the dark place he was in prior to his Raw appearance.
“You’ve got to remember as to where I was at. I was hating myself. I was still in the hate mode with myself because I was getting in shape and I’d look at myself and I’d think “why didn’t you f***ing take care of yourself? Why didn’t you do this Jake? No instead you had to smoke crack and f***ing drink and f***ing take pills.'”
During his WWE Hall of Fame speech that March, Roberts would mention DDP as a key influence on his life.
His Appearance
Roberts got the call a few weeks prior to Raw and spoke to now-former WWE talent liaison Mark Carrano about the plans for his return.
Speaking about the day of his return, Roberts joked that his waiting backstage was hardly that becoming of a legend.
“They brought me in, and they wanted it to be a surprise, not only for the fans but for everybody. So they snuck me into town, and snuck me into a bus. And I just sat in the bus for what must have been eight hours, by myself, twiddling my thumbs. About once every four hours, they’d send someone in to check on me. See if I needed anything. Like a gun to blow my brains out (laughs.).”
Addressing his return on TV, Roberts recalled a moment between Punk and Ambrose that he has never forgotten.
“CM Punk tells Mox ‘the snake’s s**t on your chest.’ And Mox is just f**ing bursting. He’s grinning from ear to ear. He couldn’t hold it.”
Jake Roberts.
While Ambrose was supposed to be unconscious for the placing of the snake, the Shield member can be seen grinning, as he had been a huge fan of Roberts since childhood.
The Rush
Roberts’ return to WWE had not been reported anywhere prior to his appearance, which made his comeback even more special.
After everything he had been through, Roberts was grateful that he was able to have a moment like this after years of struggle.
It was great. What a great moment for me. Walking down that damn ramp. The people were screaming so loud, it was deafening. What a rush I got. It felt like my hair was growing. It felt like my skin was on fire.
“I had come back. I had come back from the gates of hell.”
Jake Roberts.
“It took my breath away. You see me walking down there, I should have been more serious but I couldn’t. There was so much joy that was flooding me because I had come back. I had come back from the gates of hell.”
Speaking about what happened backstage after, Roberts recalled meeting Vince McMahon and the bittersweet moment.
“[Our meeting was] just a handshake. ‘I’m glad to have you back home. That’s what I got… It was kind of sad in a way because a lot of the guys had already left. That was the last match and they wanted to get out of the building before they got out with the crowd. Ted DiBiase had left, but Dallas was still there.”
Roberts would be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame that year and would make sporadic appearances for the company prior to signing with AEW.
Is there a side to Eric Bischoff that fans have never gotten the chance to see, that would change the public perception of the WWE Hall of Famer?
Bischoff entered the wrestling business in the 1990s as part of WCW and would become a major part of the New World Order.
Joining WWE in 2002, Bischoff’s reign of terror as Raw General Manager ended in 2005 but he has made sporadic appearances for the company since then.
Misunderstood
Bischoff may be a veteran of the wrestling business, but the reception of him by fans has often been mixed.
Bischoff’s comments on his 83 Weeks Podcast often rub fans the wrong way, but the former WWE GM may simply be misunderstood.
Speaking on his Something to Wrestle With podcast, Bruce Prichard spoke about Bischoff and others he believes to be ‘misunderstood.’
“I think Eric Bischoff is a big one. I also think Paul Levesque, I think Kevin Dunn through the years [has been misunderstood.]”
Eric Bischoff.
Bruce Prichard
Prichard may think that the fan perception of Eric Bischoff is unwarranted, but he doesn’t have the greatest ‘cred’ either.
Many have seen Prichard as little more than a Vince McMahon ‘yes man’ who approved the ex-CEO’s ideas no matter what, prior to McMahon’s retirement in July 2022.
In 2021, it was reported that Prichard’s comments on an episode of the Not Sam Wrestling podcast had angered and embarrassed those working in WWE.
During his appearance on the show, Prichard criticized fans when discussing the pilot episode of Monday Night Raw, saying that fans will always reject change.
Alexa Bliss has AEW star Buddy Matthews to thank for her unique championship pose of holding a title behind her head.
Bliss, the first woman to win both the Raw and SmackDown Women’s Championships, is a former WWE Women’s Tag and 24/7 Champion.
The Goddess of WWE was in a relationship with Matthews and were once engaged, and were able to remain friends after they split in 2018.
Championship Pose
An avid cosplayer, Bliss has incorporated her love of pop culture into several of the attires she has used on TV.
Speaking to BT Sport, Bliss explained how it was upon her call-up in 2016 that Matthews suggested the title pose.
“Murphy [Matthews’ wwe name] came up with that. Because I wore the tutus with the belt when I was doing the Harley Quinn thing, he was like ‘you should hold it like this’, so I was holding my belts and stuff like that. And so then once I won the title, I held the title like that, because I was thinking ‘what’s going to show the title plus show my face on camera and make (them) a close as possible?’”
Alexa Bliss.
During her early days on the main roster, Bliss’ look was inspired by Margot Robbie’s portrayal of Harley Quinn, who held her signature baseball bat behind her head for 2016’s ‘Suicide Squad.’
The Hunt for the Raw Women’s Title
Asides from her seconds-long reign as 24/7 Champion last year, it has been over four years since Bliss held a singles Women’s Championship.
During this week’s Raw, Bliss challenged Raw Women’s Champion Bianca Belair but lost via disqualification.
Mind games from Bray Wyatt caused Bliss to snap and attack the referee, and after the match, the Goddess would attack Belair, teasing that their feud is far from over.
The future looks uncertain for WWE Superstar Seth Rollins who appeared to suffer an injury during this week’s Monday Night Raw.
For the first Raw of 2023, Rollins battled United States Champion Austin Theory, who dethroned the Visionary at Survivor Series: WarGames.
Theory had previously cashed in Money in the Bank on Rollins for the U.S. Title (the first non-World Championship cash-in) but failed to win the title.
The Injury
The match between Rollins and Theory was going fine until the Architect injured his leg during the match.
During the closing moments of the match, Rollins attempted the Stomp which Theory evaded, and he hit a low blow and a chop-block.
Some have suggested that this chop-block is when the injury happened, and Theory would go on to hit A-Town Down to get the win.
After the show, Rollins was seen struggling by the live crowd and collapsed to the ground when he put too much pressure on his leg.
@SeanRossSapp@WrestleTalk_TV The ref just threw up the "X" for Seth Rollins who seems to have legit hurt his knee.
Corey Graves ran over and started fussing at people to come help.
WWE has not publicly commented on Rollins’ potential injury at this time.
History Repeats Itself
Rollins may be dealing with a knee injury and if so it won’t be the first time something like this will have happened.
At a Dublin, Ireland WWE Live event in late 2015, Rollins suffered a knee injury during a match with Kane, which would result in him forfeiting the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.
Rollins would have to undergo surgery to repair his knee and would be out for six months, and would miss WrestleMania 32.
At Forbidden Door, fans who aren’t regular viewers of NJPW got introduced to a variety of talent. Even fans who don’t watch NJPW are familiar with names like Kazuchika Okada, Hiroshi Tanahashi, and Jay White.
One wrestler who made a name for themselves for their performance was the “Wild Rhino” Clark Connors. Connors was a replacement for Tomohiro ISHII in the four-way match for the All-Atlantic Championship. Connors didn’t have an easy task as he faced PAC, Malakai Black, and Miro.
Connors speared Miro through a table on the outside. He also hit his finisher, the Trophy Kill, on PAC. He firmly got fans on his side with a standout performance.
Clark Connors Reveals Wish List
Connors missed some time last year with an ongoing herniation injury. He detailed his experience in a Twitter thread last July. He returned to the ring in October against Minoru Suzuki.
On social media, Connors revealed his 2023 opponent wish list. The list is a who’s who across the wrestling universe, starting with one-half of the NJPW Strong and IMPACT tag team champions, Alex Shelley.
The rest of his list, read “Wild Style”:
-Lio Rush
-Ishimori, El Desperado, or Hiromu
-Joey Janella
-Trey Miguel
-EFFY
-“Session Moth” Martina (in a deathmatch…in Ireland)
Yet another top talent is on the way out of the NWA. This time it’s due to a contract expiring at the end of the year.
According to an exclusive report from Cassidy Haynes of Bodyslam.net, Colby Corino will be a free agent as of January 1, 2023. He isn’t expected to be a free agent very long as he is expected to sign with WWE.
According to the report “he will be traveling to Orlando, Florida to spend time at the WWE Performance Center, where he will get a thorough look from the company. It was expressed to me that if things go well, we can expect him to sign with WWE and report to NXT.”
Colby Corino is a Second Generation Wrestler
“The Last Bastion of Professional Wrestling” has made a name for himself on the indies as well as NWA. He is the son of hardcore legend, Steve Corino. Steve currently works for WWE as both a trainer and an NXT producer.
He recently competed at WrestleCade in a four way match with Bandido, Lince Dorado, and Shane Taylor. IWTV is currently airing a two-part documentary style series featuring Corino. In episode two, he addresses his struggles with anxiety, depression, and addiction while balancing wrestling and fatherhood.
WrestleCade SuperShow went crazy. I got to step in the ring with some of the best wrestlers today in front of 1000+ fans on my home terf
WWE is considering various ideas for the WrestleMania 39 card as the company is just a few months away from the event and needs to lock in its main event plans by mid-January.
It was reported last week that WWE planned to do John Cena vs. Logan Paul at this event. This is after a report suggested Cody Rhodes, Seth Rollins, and Drew McIntyre have been discussed as possible competitors in a singles match for the WWE Title.
If WWE went forward with that idea, then Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns would need to drop the WWE Title.
Fightful Select reports that before Vince McMahon retired this past summer, it was presumed that Rhodes would end up competing for the WWE Title at WrestleMania. Creative sources told the media outlet that this hadn’t been told outright, but simply assumed. It was noted that Mania plans that Vince came up with were scrapped.
Original Idea
Regarding Cena vs. Paul, this report stated that WWE wants to have Paul and The Rock work WrestleMania with the hope of The Rock wrestling Reigns. Fightful noted that it’s still unclear whether they will work the show.
While internal talk has had Cena vs. Paul or Cena vs. current WWE United States Champion Austin Theory at WrestleMania, other top stars have been pushing to face Cena from as far back as July.
“There were pitches within WWE to do Cena vs. Rhodes at WrestleMania, but there’s no word yet on if this is still being discussed under the new regime led by WWE Chief Content Officer Triple H.”
Before Ronda Rousey dropped the SmackDown Women’s Title to Charlotte Flair on SmackDown last week, it was reported that Rousey vs. Rhea Ripley was planned for WrestleMania 39.
Fightful notes that although additional sources have not confirmed Rousey vs. Ripley, they can confirm that Rousey vs. Becky Lynch is not the plan for WrestleMania 39.
Kofi Kingston has proven himself to be a legend of professional wrestling. Debuting in the WWE in 2007, Kingston quickly ingratiated himself to wrestling audiences with his likeable personality and his awe-inspiring athleticism. Now, Kingston is demonstrating his incredible heart and soul as well.
Kingston announced on Twitter Monday that he and his mother are trying to raise money to help build a computer lab and a library for children in Ghana, West Africa.
“My mom and I are trying to make 2023 extra special for children in Ghana by buildin them a computer lab and library,” Kingston wrote on his Twitter page.
In that same tweet, Kingston shared a video of he and his mom discussing how they came to find out about this need in Ghana, and why they decided to help .
He also included a link to the GoFundMe page, which currently has a goal of $30,000.
Happy New Year!
My mom & I are trying make 2023 extra special for children in Ghana by building them a computer lab & library.
“The CLICK for Quality Education Foundation (a.k.a. Computer Lab and Integrated Centre of Knowledge for Quality Education) is a nonprofit organization that aims to help establish quality award-winning computer labs and integrated centers of learning (library media centers) for Junior High Schools in Ghana, especially in deprived areas,” the GoFundMe page stated.
CLICK is aiming to build, for its first project, a 2-classroom facility. It will house a computer lab with 50 computers, as well as a reading/lending library that has a 100-person capacity.
“It is centrally located at the Atwima Takyiman Presbyterian Junior High School in the Kwadaso Municipality in the Ashanti Region of Ghana,” the GoFundMe stated. “When completed, it will be a resource center not only for students from this site school, but also for students of four other schools: the Tanoso Anglican A, B and C Junior High Schools as well as the Denkyemuoso Junior High School, all located in a cluster within the vicinity.”
According to the GoFundMe, much of Ghana’s economy came from the country’s agriculture realm. However, urban spread and non-agricultural issues have reduced the amount of agricultural activities.
“Today, the people are mostly engaged in petty retail and wholesale trading, as well as artisanal and repair services,” the GoFundMe said. “To many of them, a quality education for their children offers the best way out of a rather bleak situation.”
Kofi Kingston
A Foundation close to Kofi Kingston’s Heart
Now, Kingston and his mother are partnering with the organization to help that situation seem a little less bleak.
“There are several stories like these, where teachers struggle to find ways to teach their students about the basics of computers,” Kingston said.
Many of the project schools don’t even have computers, nor a library.
“The students are drawn from mostly poor homes, and most of them had never been to a library or used a computer before, until CLICK for Quality Education Foundation started taking groups to the regional library where they were registered and taught how to browse and borrow books. The ongoing Foundation project will therefore be an invaluable resource for the students and teachers of the five schools.”s of now, the foundation’s founder has been contributing personal funds to get the project off the ground and they are seeking additional funds from anybody who can contribute. They’re also seeking equipment and materials for the schools as well.
Karen Jarrett has made several interesting tweets after Max Caster’s recent rap on AEW Dynamite leading up to The Acclaimed’s AEW Tag Team Title defense against Jeff Jarrett and Jay Lethal.
Karen is unhappy about the narrative that Jeff Jarrett stole her away from Kurt Angle a decade ago. She took to Twitter to note that wasn’t the case, as her marriage to Kurt was already over.
Jaren brought up how she sent out her tweets after receiving some “offline” threats, but it’s unclear what the threats were. Kurt did delete a tweet about Caster’s rap.
Karen’s Tweets
Karen wrote the following via several tweets:
“We can start here… my marriage to Kurt was over LONG before Jeff and I started seeing each other. We were legally separated at the time Kurt signed with TNA living in different homes. We got back together and I tried to get over the affairs among other things that went on in our marriage. But obviously wasn’t able. Funny and sad how all of that has been swept under the rug over all these years. Jeff didn’t steal me from anyone. #dawnmarie #kellikelli #deannesiden to name a few. Maybe Kurt will think twice before making threats, insulting/disrespecting my husband. I am done living in fear. I have 24 years of dirt I am ready to start unloading. I am done! #movingon.”
Former WWE star Kelly Kelly later shared a statement in response to what Karen said about her ex-husband.
Karen’s tweet included a hashtag that implied that Kurt and Kelly had an affair while he was married. Kelly tweeted the following:
I keep linked in this tweet I have dmed @karenjarrett to privately ask her and I’m waiting for her response, but I want to go ahead and publicly make a statement that only way I can be linked to Kurt is we were co workers sorry but thanks for the Monday morning entertainment lol https://t.co/bsCSZcpkkX
It should be noted that Kelly made her WWE debut on the June 13, 2006 episode of ECW when she was 19 years old. Kelly and Kurt were in WWE at the same time for just a couple of months before Kurt departed.
Dax Harwood’s new FTR podcast has only had one episode so far, but the show is already garnering both a following and a backlash.
Harwood’s new show with co-host Matt Koon replaces William Regal’s Gentleman Villain podcast, which has ended due to Regal’s departure from AEW and iminent return to WWE.
The first episode of the FTR podcast featured an in-depth discussion of CM Punk, who is currently on an extended hiatus from All Elite Wrestling.
Among the many Punk-related topics discussed, Harwood pleaded with Punk and The Elite to sit down and make amends so they can all move forward and do business together.
On the latest episode of Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer said that people in AEW were ‘not particularly happy’ with everything that was said.
“From what I heard from different people, not the people who you probably heard from, they were not particularly happy at all about this. All I heard the other day was how unhappy people were about that podcast.”
Dave Meltzer.
It has been speculated that Harwood’s pro-Punk stance has caused this backlash, given that many in AEW are against bringing back the former World Champion.
When Harwood’s comments were shared on Instagram, Punk commented “Duh.”
