The betting odds for most of the matches that will take place at the WWE Survivor Series pay-per-view event have been released.
The card for the show that takes place this Saturday is still being finalized. So far, five matches have been announced for the show.
There are no titles favored to change hands. The Bloodline is expected to win the men’s WarGames match, and Team Bayley is expected to win the women’s WarGames match. the fifth and final member of Team Belair will be revealed on Friday’s episode of SmackDown.
WWE Survivor Series Betting Odds
WWE Survivor Series
The favorites to win are listed as –, while the underdogs are listed with +. The odds call for all three titles to change. Here are the betting odds, courtesy of Bet Online:
Men’s WarGames Match: The Bloodline (Roman Reigns, The Usos, Sami Zayn, & Solo Sikoa) -160 vs. Drew McIntyre, Sheamus, Butch, and Ridge Holland & Kevin Owens +120
Bobby Lashley says he was offered roles in Netflix’s smash hit show Stranger Things as well as the 2021 film Mortal Kombat.
Speaking with Sidewalk Entertainment, Bobby Lashley said that he was offered roles in Stranger Things and Mortal Kombat but the timing wasn’t right. The 46-year-old believes he will get more into acting once his professional wrestling career winds down.
I was offered things afterward. I was offered Mortal Kombat. There was Stranger Things. There were a lot of different ones that I was offered. At the time, I wasn’t really focused on doing that.
I was fighting at the time, I was trying to get back in professional wrestling. The acting part was something that I was interested in, but I don’t think it was the right timing. When I came back to WWE, I started doing more acting classes, working on that, and now I’m more open to doing it.
We have some different projects in line right now. I can see myself kind of moving into a bigger role and doing some more movies when I slow it down in professional wrestling.
Bobby Lashley Sends Warning Ahead of WWE Survivor Series
Seth Rollins is set to defend the United States Championship against Bobby Lashley and Austin Theory this Saturday at WWE Survivor Series in a Triple Threat match.
WWE Survivor Series 2022 Preview
Last night on Raw, Bobby Lashley confronted Austin Theory but the 26-year-old escaped. Lashley took out his frustrations on Mustafa Ali and got him in the Hurt Lock on the entrance ramp.
The All Mighty was interviewed last night backstage and delivered a warning ahead of the US Title Triple Threat match at WWE Survivor Series WarGames.
No. I have nothing to say to those guys because I don’t care. That is all people do here is just run their mouths. Theory was talking and as soon as I came out there he starts running. Seth is the same way. I’ve beat him down, I’ve beaten everybody down around here.
I think that is what I have to do. Instead of training for fighting, I need to train for running because that is what I have to do. I have to catch these guys so I can beat them up. One guy, two guys, it really doesn’t matter. I’ll beat them both up this weekend and win my title back.
Kurt Angle has provided a health update on Randy Orton, who has not been on WWE television since May, when The Usos defeated RK-Bro in a unification title match on an episode of Friday Night SmackDown.
Orton was attacked by The Bloodline to be written off television following the match. WWE anticipated the back injury would require surgery and force him to miss the rest of the year.
Orton’s back injury is so serious that he would have had to retire if he didn’t undergo surgery. The latest word was in September when it was reported that there was a lot of concern about the severity of Orton’s back injury.
In Angle’s Own Words
This is according to Angle, who said the following on the latest episode of the Kurt Angle Show.
“Your back controls everything. You can’t do anything when your back is hurting. I’ll give you an example. Randy Orton just had surgery on his back. He literally couldn’t do anything, and this surgery is hopefully saving his career. But that’s how much back problems can affect you as a pro wrestler,” Angle said.
Last week, Orton was spotted in Birmingham, Alabama, where WWE often sends talents for surgery or rehab.
On the latest episode of “The Sessions with Renee Paquette”, Marina Shafir discussed coming from MMA to professional wrestling, her time in NXT AEW.
For months, Shafir has been paired with the Vicious Vixens, Nyla Rose and Vickie Guerrero. She has wrestled mostly on Elevation and Dark. A couple months ago, “The Problem” was given the opportunity to cut her first promo in AEW. It was all over the place and didn’t flow. It didn’t go over well with the audience at all.
Shafir talks about her struggles of the last few months and says she hasn’t been happy. Her moment at Bloodsport meant a lot to her and she wants to get back to that feeling. “I know there’s more to me and I’m not doing myself any service and like the reason I had that (Bloodsport) is because I was so happy. I was happy at home, I was happy with myself. I know I worked hard. I had nothing to fucking lose. I refuse to sell out. I refuse to fucking give somebody something I know I don’t have. Humble me, like I’m ready like, just– that’s the only way you’re going to get that respect, right?”
Marina Shafir Wants ‘Real Opportunities’ for the Women
“When I approach this stuff, I really want to work with people really bad. I don’t want to work with Serena easy. Mercedes easy. Athena — holy shit — we’d beat the shit out of each other. Fuck, like give me Britt. Give me Jamie. Give me — no fuck that, give me Kiera, give me Diamante. Give me all the girls that are like are also in that bubble who want to like, break that ceiling. I want all those girls because everyone has something to offer, not just one fucking person. And I want for the women, I feel like once we get back to understanding how to like seriously lean on each other and how to trust, it’s going to be what it is.”
Paquette points out that there’s only so much TV time and people are stuck in a rock and a hard place. Shafir replied, “that’s fine. Give us a real opportunity. I used to say this shit all the time when we used to have these locker room meetings (in NXT)…I had only been in the business six months. If they had tomatoes and eggs, they would’ve thrown that shit at me. (…) I said ‘we are not each other’s competition, we are not trying to fucking kill each other. We are in competition with that locker room over there. And you know who’s in that fucking locker room? My husband. But, you know what? Fuck ’em. I want to be in the spot that he’s in. And I’m after his ass.”
Shafir ends with, “I only worked my ass off in pure marital arts. I didn’t go to a fucking professional wrestling seminar. Sorry. I’m so sorry. I will. Send me to one, send me to 50. I would love to. But, I’m sorry your feelings are hurt because I didn’t do what you had to do.”
A24’s “The Iron Claw” made a new casting announcement on Tuesday about who will portray “The Nature Boy” Ric Flair in the movie.
Deadline reported today that Aaron Dean Eisenberg (The Deuce) would play the legendary pro wrestler. The role is expected to be a cameo as the film depicts Kerry Von Erich defeating Flair for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship in 1984.
This was the same event as the first-ever Von Erich Memorial Parade of Champions, which took place in Dallas for the World Class Championship Wrestling promotion. It was booked to honor the passing of David Von Erich, who passed away at the age of 25 in February of that year.
The Film
Zac Efron (Kevin Von Erich), Jeremy Allen White (Kerry), Harris Dickinson (David), Holt McCallany (Fritz Von Erich), Maura Tierney (Doris Von Erich), AEW’s MJF (Lance Von Erich) and Lily James in an unknown role make up the rest of the cast.
The film’s synopsis reads, “Based on the true story of the Von Erichs, the film follows the rise and fall of the family dynasty of wrestlers who made a huge impact on the sport from the 1960s to the present day.”
EXCLUSIVE: ‘The Deuce’s Aaron Dean Eisenberg is set to play the iconic wrestler Ric Flair in A24’s ‘The Iron Claw’ https://t.co/6V6afKjCuA
Toni Storm suffered an injury when she dropped the AEW Interim Women’s World Championship to Jamie Hayter at this past Saturday’s AEW Full Gear pay-per-view event.
During the bout, Storm was hit in the face with an elbow that busted open her nose and she was bleeding. AEW kept Storm strong in the finish as there was outside interference by former AEW Women’s Champion Britt Baker.
The Injury
Fitness Gurls
In the end, the finish saw Hayter send Storm into an exposed turnbuckle and hit her finisher for the win. As seen below, Storm shared a photo on her Instagram Stories of her broken nose:
Storm won the Interim Women’s Title at All Out by beating Hayter, Britt Baker, and Hikaru Shida in a fatal 4-way bout. All Out was originally slated to feature Storm challenging Women’s Champion Thunder Rosa. However, Rosa is currently on the sidelines with a back injury.
Throughout her reign as the Interim Champion, she had publicly talked about Rosa being on the sidelines and AEW President Tony Khan not stripping her of the championship. Tony Khan did the same with CM Punk, who was injured in his first reign as the World Heavyweight Champion as the AEW President doesn’t like the idea of stripping a champion.
Netflix’s Cheer star Gabi Butler has signed with WWE. The cheerleader and reality TV star has millions of followers on TikTok and Instagram.
The longtime gymnast revealed to PEOPLE magazine that she has signed with the wrestling promotion. Butler stated that she fell in love with professional wrestling while attending WWE SummerSlam in Nashville.
I was so involved in the cheerleading industry for so long, and I never really looked into anything other than cheerleading. But when I went to SummerSlam, it really just opened my eyes to the athleticism and the dedication the athletes bring into the ring.
Gabi was blown away by the “competitive atmosphere at the premium live event. Butler will be training at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando. She told PEOPLE that she looks forward to getting in the ring someday soon in front of fans.
I would definitely love to take that challenge, hopefully in the future. You have to be committed to be wrestling, that’s for sure. It definitely doesn’t look easy.
WWE Chief Content Officer and EVP of Talent Relations Triple H took to Twitter to comment on the new signing. The Game said he is excited to add her to the roster and welcomed Gabi to the Performance Center.
Sky’s the limit for @GabiButlerCheer… excited to welcome this incredible athlete to the @WWE Performance Center!
Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows are headed back to NJPW next month.
The OC announced in a video posted to Anderson’s Instagram account on Tuesday they will be in Japan for the World Tag League/Super Junior Tag League finals on Wednesday, December 14. It was also stated in the video that Anderson would be defending his NEVER Openweight Championship at the show.
Going Back to Japan
Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows
This comes after Anderson was scheduled to defend the NEVER Openweight title against Hikuleo at NJPW’s Battle Autumn event in Osaka on November 5, but was double booked as it took place on the same day as WWE’s Crown Jewel pay-per-view.
Anderson decided to do the six-man tag match at the WWE event in Saudi Arabia instead of defending the title.
As a result, NJPW came up with a storyline where NJPW threatened to strip Anderson of the NEVER Openweight title if he doesn’t show up to Battle Autumn. However, Hikuleo said he wanted to beat Anderson for the title instead.
Anderson has held the title since winning the title from Tama Tonga at NJPW Dominion this June. Despite being the champion, Gallows and Anderson returned to WWE in October as they weren’t under contract. They’ve reunited with AJ Styles and helping him even the odds against The Judgment Day.
Thanksgiving and the surrounding days have a long, storied history in pro wrestling. Jim Crockett Promotions wasn’t the first wrestling promotion to recognize the potential in family’s flocking to an arena or turning on the television together after a turkey dinner, but they did capitalize in a big way, promoting Starrcade on an annual basis, starting in 1983.
Before that, WWE promoted Bruno Sammartino vs. Stan Hansen in Madison Square Garden over the holiday, and a famed wrestler vs. boxer match pitting Antonio Inoki vs. Muhammad Ali was another Turkey Day draw. WWE changed the game in 1987, though, with Survivor Series. The PPV became the Thanksgiving standard, happening on the holiday itself or the night before, before settling into position on a weekend in close proximity to it, where it remains to this cay.
The implications of this choice included WCW shuffling Starrcade to December as WWE dominated the fledgling PPV market. There have remained no shortage of Thanksgiving themed matches in wrestling history, though, many of which have nothing to do with WWE’s signature event.
Samoa Joe Vs. AJ Styles Vs. Chris Sabin In A Turkey Bowl Match, 2007
In its early years, Impact Wrestling broadcasted on Thursday nights. Having to put on a TV show Thanksgiving night each year wasn’t necessarily enticing, given the volume of prospective viewers traveling or tied up with their families for the holiday. Nonetheless, they made the most of the situation by starting a tradition: The Turkey Bowl.
Turkey Bowl episodes were built around qualifying matches, culminating in the Turkey Bowl Match in the main event. The stakes were low and objectively silly, but there was nonetheless some holiday spirit emblematic in a match with the stipulation that the person who suffered the fall to lose the match would have to face the humiliation of donning a turkey suit afterward. Samoa Joe vs. AJ Styles vs. Chris Sabin is a pretty electrifying lineup for a three-way match, and the men delivered a fun bout. Joe picked up the victory, and it was Styles who wound up dressed like a turkey.
The Rock Vs. William Regal For Thanksgiving Pride, 2000
As one of WWE’s most famous British heels, it’s little wonder William Regal would take up against the Thanksgiving spirit in the heat of the Attitude Era. A Thanksgiving episode of SmackDown saw him rain on the parade of his roster mates as they enjoyed a turkey dinner backstage, bashing the US and the premise of why the Pilgrims left England to settle in America.
The Rock took up for American tradition, laying a verbal beatdown on Regal that set up a match between the two later on. Against a backdrop of the newly heel Rikishi haunting The Great One from the stage, Rock beat Regal soundly, ultimately submitting him with a Sharpshooter.
Mickie James, Kelly Kelly, And Melina Vs.LayCool And Jillian Hall In A Mayflower Melee Match, 2009
The year was 2009, and a combination of sensitivity to indigenous cultures and respect for women probably meant WWE should have known better than to have booked the Mayflower Melee. Despite these factors, the company saw fit to book a Pilgrims vs. “Indians” match, in which the six women involved wore sexy versions of costumes appropriate to the holiday.
At least WWE did have the sense to book the wrestlers representing indigenous people as the babyfaces and to have them pick up victory. Melina pinned hall to secure the win, and to have an altercation with The Gobbledy Gooker (Maryse was in the costume) post-match.
New Day Vs. The Big Show And The Bar In A Thanksgiving Feast Fight, 2018
At the height of tensions between New Day and the short-lived three-man group of The Big Show, Sheamus, and Cesaro, the two units squared off in a Thanksgiving Feast Fight. The match saw New Day clad in Pilgrim costumes and contrived spots in which Big Show went through a banquet table full of Thanksgiving food, and later Kofi Kingston used a turkey-assisted double axehandle to drive Sheamus through another. Big E ultimately hit The Celtic Warrior with a turkey to the face to secure the pin for his team.
The match was as silly as it sounds, though at least the men in volved were talented and New Day in particular was nothing if not equipped to deliver in a comedic situation.
Ivory Vs. Jacqueline In A Gravy Bowl Match, 1999
The most famous version of the Gravy Bowl Match occurred in 2001, with Trish Stratus and Stacy Keibler battling in the overtly sexualized equivalent to mud wrestling with the Women’s Championship on the line. The match actually originated two years earlier, though on a Thanksgiving SmackDown episode in which Jacqueline faced off with Ivory.
While this context was quite as overtly played for sexual content, the gimmick still was what it was, and certainly underserved the two tough, talented women involved. Nonetheless, it stayed mercifully short at just a little over a minute before Jacqueline picked up the pin with a DDT.
Titus O’Neil Vs. The Great Khali In A Food Eating Contest, 2013
In 2013, WWE let go of any pretense about staging a serious wrestling match in having heavyweights Titus O’Neil and The Great Khali simply compete in a food eating contest on SmackDown. Both men gorged themselves on Thanksgiving foods as other Superstars cheered them on. O’Neil was declared the victor after Khali fell asleep, presumably in a food coma.
O’Neil wasn’t exactly rewarded for this victory, instead given the task of facing Cesaro in the ring. Cesaro hit his signature Swing on O’Neil, after which Darren Young caused a disqualification. The match seemed mostly designed to get to its punchline—a food-stuffed and now dizzy O’Neil puking into color commentator JBL’s cowboy hat at ringside.
Thanksgiving themed matches in wrestling are rarely classics. However, they do have their place in providing some light-hearted entertainment in observance of the holiday, particularly for a smaller fans who probably aren’t looking for anything too serious after celebrating the holiday, and perhaps watching the shows with their families.
Baron Corbin gave his take on Braun Strowman’s social media comments about “flippy flopper” wrestlers following WWE Crown Jewel, where he had a match with Omos.
Storwman’s comments drew criticism from fans and some wrestlers on social media. WWE later referenced it last week on SmackDown during a backstage segment with Ricochet.
While speaking on Corey Graves’ “After The Bell” podcast, Corbin said that if someone is not willing to stand for what they say then they are just looking for attention. He also stated that calling yourself the best big man when no one else is saying that then it’s not valid.
Corbin on Strowman
Happy Baron Corbin
“I think, yeah, do you but whatever it is, stand behind it. If you cower and back down after, then you didn’t really mean it, you were doing it for clout, doing it for show, doing it for social media. I don’t do anything for social media and I also don’t go out and label myself whatever it is.”
“If you’re gonna go out and tweet, ‘I’m the greatest big man this business has ever seen,’ if you’re saying it and you’re the one that’s having to put the title, nobody else is saying it about you, then you’re full of crap and so if you’re gonna go out there and you’re gonna bash little guys, look, I have some respect for guys like Rey Mysterio who have done unbelievable things at his size and his stature and he is iconic and there will be a lot of people that will come along in the future that will get compared to him and wanna be him but there will never be another Rey Mysterio. There is a place for those guys like we talked about. It may not be the main event but there is a place for them so if you’re gonna go out on social media and say those things and the minute people start firing back at you, you back down or you cower away or you try to say it was a joke, that’s when I get irritated. Stand behind what you say, be a man and back it up and also, for me, I’m going out there, for ten years now, I’ve irritated people and not cared how they felt.”
Corbin stated that it’s not his job is to make anyone that watches the product happy, but that is Braun’s job right now as a babyface. He stated that Strowman should take pride in being a big man and putting on a show like that, but he’s out once Strowman starts making up his own star rating.
Corbin lost a match to Drew McIntyre on Monday Night Raw this week because of outside interference by Akira Tozawa.
WWE Superstars Bianca Belair and Montez Ford have a new project in the works. The couple, who have been married since 2018, will follow in the footsteps of The Miz and Maryse with their own show focusing on their life outside the ring.
Earlier this month, WWE held its latest financial earnings call to recap the company’s performance for the third quarter of 2022. WWE President Nick Khan spoke about a variety of topics and revealed that Hulu has ordered a show focusing on Belair and Ford.
The project is currently “in production,” with the first season of the untitled show scheduled to feature 8 episodes.
On Tuesday, November 22, Belair and Ford appeared on NBC’s The Today Show to confirm the news. Belair later wrote on Instagram, “We were so excited to officially announce our UPCOMING REALITY SERIES on Hulu on the The Today Show this morning!”
Ford and Belair started off in NXT together, along with Ford’s tag team partner, Angelo Dawkins. The Street Profits have held tag titles in NXT, RAW, and SmackDown. They’ve also had singles matches on RAW. Back in July, Dawkins said that there are no plans to break up, despite singles success.
Belair retained her title against Bayley in a ladder match at Extreme Rules. The two will face off once again at Crown Jewel in a Last Woman Standing match. The match will air on Peacock on Saturday, November 5 at 12 PM ET.
MJF has became one of the hottest acts in All Elite Wrestling this year after going public about his unhappiness regarding his contract status with the promotion earlier this year.
MJF has been a top heel for the promotion since signing with AEW in 2019 and wrestled some of AEW’s biggest stars, such as Chris Jericho, Jon Moxley, and Cody Rhodes.
MJF has expanded his friends circle to the MMA world. He recently traded words with UFC fighter Paddy “The Baddy” Pimblett.
The Exchange
The exchange led to Pimblett challenging him when AEW goes to England next year for a Dynamite event. MJF claimed that Paddy’s, “dollar store Conor McGregor talking, Will from Stranger Things looking’ ass would not last two seconds in the squared circle.
MJF wrote, “Unlike you I’m 100% natural and I’m also 100% original. Unlike you. You’re dollar store Connor McGregor talking, Will from strangers things looking ass wouldn’t last two seconds in my world. #Betterthanyou See you in London.”
MJF is coming off one of the biggest wins of his career as he defeated Jon Moxley to win his first-ever AEW World Championship in the main event of the Full Gear pay-per-view event.
The fallout from MJF’s title win, William Regal turning on Moxley to aid MJF to secure the championship victory, and more will take place this Wednesday night on Dynamite.
The “egos” of certain Superstars in WWE squandered the much-anticipated dream match between WWE’s Four Horsewomen and the Four Horsewomen in MMA.
In May 2018, Marina Shafir signed with WWE, alongside fellow MMA alum Jessamyn Duke.
Aiding Shayna Baszler in NXT, the trio was considered part of the Four Horsewomen of MMA, alongside Ronda Rousey.
Egos
For years, WWE fans hoped on an eight-woman tag match, which would have pitted the Four Horsewomen of MMA against Becky Lynch, Sasha Banks, Charlotte Flair, and Bayley.
Of course, the match never happened, and on the latest episode of The Sessions, Shafir gave her reason why.
“Egos were at play. I’ve learned that there are too many f***ing cooks in the kitchen sometimes. In more ways than one.”
Shafir didn’t name which Superstar had an ego that stopped the match happening, but didn’t hold back when addressing WWE’s Four Horsewomen of wrestling.
“I just feel like professional wrestling was a little more exclusive back in the day. It wasn’t about politicking. It was really just about showing respect and not kissing ass.”
Transition
Before coming to WWE, Shafir made her name in MMA, and formerly competed for Invicta Fighting Championships in the women’s featherweight division.
Shafir’s last fight would come in 2015, three years before signing with WWE, and the Moldovan wrestler had an interesting analogy for knowing she needed to fight again.
“You know that feeling when you need to go pee? I felt like I needed to f***ing pee but I couldn’t go. It just felt like I had this internal pressure to go [and wrestle] and I couldn’t do it.”
Shafir would only have six sanctioned matches for WWE before her release in the summer of last year.
Release
Shafir hadn’t competed on WWE programming in close to half a year by the time of her release, but this was something the wrestler was trying to change.
On the show, Shafir said that she was constantly trying to prove herself to WWE, which proved to be difficult given she wasn’t being booked.
“I was in the best shape of my life [when I got released.] And it threw me through a loop, because I consistently asked for more pressure… Just use me. There was something going on with Jess and Shayna was doing her own thing. Use me. Give me that experience, I’m not afraid of failure.
“You see the great ones. They’ve been put in those positions for a reason, because they have failed, and they then learned.”
Bad First Start
For many WWE Superstars, their early days with WWE will see them get endorsed by Triple H, who has shaken hands with countless wrestlers to welcome them to the company.
Shafir never got such a photo, which remains a sticking point for the Moldovan fighter all these years later.
“I felt like I never got a proper introduction. I can f***ing talk about this now. You know the photos, when you get signed to NXT with Triple H and he’s shaking the hand? I never got that photo. And that just sat with me. I wanted that f***ing photo. It meant a lot to me.”
“I wanted that f***ing photo. It meant a lot to me.”
Marina Shafir on not getting the WWE welcome photo with Triple H.
Since her release, Shafir has since joined AEW, where she has challenged for both the Women’s World title and TBS title, but won neither championship.
To make up for the possible loss in viewership due to the change, FS1 will be airing SmackDown three times that night. SmackDown will air live at 8pm ET from the KeyBank Center in Buffalo, NY that night. It will then replay at 10pm and midnight.
WWE tends to go into a ‘holding pattern’ with programming during the holiday season, but this FS1 edition of SmackDown should be eventful. Aside from the fact that WWE typically stacks these pre-empted shows to make sure people tune in, we’ll be coming off the final big premium live event of 2022.
WWE Survivor Series takes place this Saturday night from Boston, MA. For the first time in history, Survivor Series will feature two WarGames matches.
Although Montez Ford has been out of action since late September, the former WWE Raw Tag Team Champion recently provided a positive update on his recovery and noted that he should be back soon.
Ford has been on the sidelines for two months due to the injury. During his latest appearance on WWE Raw in October, Ford was seen wearing a walking boot, which was the first indication that he was dealing with an injury.
While making an appearance on the TODAY Show with his wife, Bianca Belair, it was noted by the interviewer that Ford had recently recovered from a calf injury and asked how he was feeling.
Road to Return
Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford ‘The Street Profits’
“100% now. Should be back pretty soon. Just picking spots and making sure when I arrive, the mission is still at hand, which is with my right-hand man, Angelo Dawkins. That’s winning the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship,” Ford said.
Ford’s last match happened at the WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event show on September 24, while his last TV match happened on the September 19 episode of WWE Raw, where he and Dawkins lost to the Brawling Brutes (Ridge Holland and Butch).
The married couple also discussed the upcoming reality show that will air on Hulu and is currently filming.
New trademark filings by Chris Jericho provide an inside look at what to expect from AEW’s most reinventive performer.
Last week (November 16), Chris Irvine, Inc filed three new trademark applications with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. According to the USPTO database, Jericho and attorney Michael Dockins applied to trademark the names:
Christory
This Day in Christory
Seltzer Man
Christory in the Making
The ‘Goods and Services’ usage descriptions for these new trademarks include:
Entertainment services, namely, continuing video programs featuring professional wrestling, music, and popular culture accessible by means of computer networks, websites, video, web-based applications, and mobile phone applications
Entertainment services, namely, continuing video programs featuring professional wrestling, music, and popular culture distributed via various platforms across multiple forms of transmission media
Conducting of entertainment events in the nature of live stage shows discussing professional wrestling, music, and popular culture; Entertainment in the nature of wrestling contests; Entertainment services, namely, wrestling exhibits and performances by a professional wrestler and entertainer
Entertainment services, namely, live appearances by a a professional wrestler and sports entertainer
Chris Irvine, Inc. holds trademarks to dozens of names and terms used by Jericho, including Chris Jericho, A Little Bit of the Bubbly, The Painmaker, The Ocho, The Wizard, Jericho Appreciation Society, Sports Entertainer, Million Viewer Man, Corazon De Leon and Mimosa Mayhem.
Expect to see “Seltzer Man” and “This Day in Christory” on AEW programming some time in the near future.
With near a decade of experience now, “The Liverbird” Lizzy Evo has garnered an impressive resume in her professional wrestling career. In early 2022, she transformed into NXT UK’s Eliza Alexander, joining forces with Xia Brookside, and beginning a notable run in WWE. By August however, NXT UK officially began disbanding, as WWE announced the launch of NXT Europe instead. As a result, several NXT UK superstars were released from the company.
SEScoops’ correspondent Ella Jay recently spoke with Lizzy Evo (fka Eliza Alexander) about wrestling Mickie James at 1PW, NXT UK disbanding, her NXT UK influences, bouncing back from a car crash last year, and much more!
Here are some highlights of what Lizzy said about:
Wrestling Mickie James At 1PW
“So when they (1PW) first reached out to me and they were like, ‘So we want you to be a part of 1PW and we think you would work really well with Mickie James.’ And at first I was like, ‘That’s not going to happen.’ I used to her watch as a kid, I used to come home from school [and] I put wrestling on and Mickie James was coming out [on screen] and to me, that was surreal. I had very high hopes, but I was like, ‘maybe not.'”
“Then it got confirmed and she cut the promo on me and I think I cried mainly because little Lizzy would have been so, so proud because I never, ever, imagined that them things would happen. So when I got to the actual show, I was so nervous. I was like, ‘Look kid, [chill out].’ But she was just really, really nice, so humble and so lovely. It was an honor for me to be in a ring, sharing it with Mickie James. I can’t believe it’s even a real thing.”
How She Joined NXT UK
“So I remember, like go back a few years ago, and they reached out to me and they asked for like footage and stuff like that. So when I saw footage back and I knew it wasn’t what they’re looking for, and then COVID happened, so nothing really came off the email and stuff like that. I kind of just took it on the chin, ‘maybe it’ll never happen for me.'”
“Throughout lockdown, I tried to stay focused on getting mentally stronger and getting physically better because I was out of shape. I was always blowing in the ring and I just knew things needed to change and it was up to me to change them. No one was going to do it for me, and I couldn’t sit and be in a phase where I was like, ‘I wish, I wish,’ because that doesn’t it doesn’t change any. You just have to go and try and get it again. So that was what I did.”
“Then I just randomly one day I had an email that said like, ‘Are you still interested in working for NXT UK?’ That was kind of where it took off, and then I got a tryout and then I was invited for a dark match. I had quite a few dark matches before I was put on screen, which was cool because it allowed me to get like a feel of it. It was a dream, like for me at home with ten years to get to that — just being in a ring and seeing the WWE logo on turnbuckles and the cameramen and the steps. Yeah, I took it in. Some people don’t really appreciate moments like that, but, it’s the little things for me. They were everything that I ever wanted it to be when I was younger.”
Her Influences In The Company
Sam Gradwell
“I had quite a few influences. Sam Gradwell, he’s always been like, ‘you’re so good.’ And he always gives me praise when he sees me and he always makes me feel better and gives me that recognition as a wrestler that as a fellow wrestler would like, if that makes any sense. Like I know from a fan’s perspective, it’s good to get their comments, but from a worker to a worker, it’s nice, especially someone who’s as good as Sam. So he did help me out a lot, a bit of guidance here and there, like ‘Don’t do this, don’t do this.'”
“It was helpful. It was helpful. So once I arrived, I think I watched Meiko [Satomura] a lot because that more was just the humbleness for such a legend in the wrestling world. It’s unreal. She was such a lovely, lovely woman and could just smack it off, so fast. She’s so cool. So I always looked at Meiko as inspiration to be like that.”
Finding Out NXT UK Was Disbanding
“I didn’t expect it at first. I was like, ‘[sigh].’ It kind of set [me back to] the mentality, like I said before, all them years ago, ‘You just have to go and try and get it again.’ I knew from that moment that was when I had to start working, if that was where I wanted to be back. It was sad because I felt like I never even got going. They gave me such a really good push, and they did look after me well. But, yeah, it was sad. It doesn’t take away from the fact that it was sad to see it all come to an end. Even before I got there, all the memories that I see people share, it’s [a] sad time. And now if you want that [back], you have to go and for it again.”
AEW President Tony Khan is adamant that CM Punk did not force or pressure him to remove Colt From AEW TV, but the wrestlers aren’t buying it.
After Punk’s arrival to the promotion in August 2021, Cabana, once Punk’s best friend, stopped appearing on Dynamite and Rampage.
Earlier this month, Cabana had his first AEW TV match in close to a year, unsuccessfully challenging Ring of Honor World Champion Chris Jericho.
Doubt
Given that Cabana’s return came amid reports that AEW will release Punk, it’s not surprising that many believe he only vanished from TV because of Punk.
Speaking at the Full Gear media scrum, Khan denied that Punk requested Cabana’s removal, saying he “never asked for that.”
Speaking on Wrestling Observer Radio Dave Meltzer said that many in AEW are skeptical of Khan’s claim.
“CM Punk is, and he’s always been, very adamant that he had nothing to do with it. Tony said that Punk has had nothing to do with it… that story is not going to change publicly one way or the other.
“The skepticism, and it’s vehement from a lot of people, as far as the skepticism of that story. So it’s not like that thing has been settled in the eyes of, I can’t say all the talent, but a lot of the talent [are skeptical.]”
“A lot of the talent [are skeptical.]”
Dave Meltzer on AEW’s roster doubting Tony Khan saying CM Punk did not influence him.
“Even today, I just got something that was just like, ‘Can’t you just see? Isn’t it obvious?’ It’s not like they’re speculating, they believe that they know the story. That’s basically that, I’m sure that one will never go away.”
Plans
After Cabana’s return, it was reported that his appearance was a ‘morale booster’ for the AEW roster following what transpired at AEW All Out.
Unfortunately for Khan, Colt’s appearance on Dynamite has made things worse with Punk who remains adamant that he did not influence Khan.
At this time, it is believed that Punk is still under contract, with merchandise of his being sold by AEW within the past week.
Fresh off her title defense at AEW Full Gear, TBS Champion Jade Cargill has confronted popular rapper Bow Wow.
Footage from Pierre Pope’s Instagram Story shows Cargill, Grey and Hogan yelling at the rapper who was meeting fans at the FTX Arena in Miami, Florida.
Before things could get physical, security quickly escorted Cargill, Keira Hogan and Leila Grey, away from the rapper.
In October of this year, Bow Wow said that he’d love to get a spot on the All Elite Wrestling roster, and hopes Tony Khan will make it happen.
On Twitter, the rapper and Cargill have taken shots at each other, as seen in the tweets below.
Yo @Jade_Cargill so you was at the same arena yesterday that im playing tonight and skipped outta town so fast. I wanted to see that slow ass kick in person. Oh im sorry.. good morning
You not even a REAL champ. I got 50,000$ you wont make it to 50-0 you gone have to go have that meeting with hubby. Being you brag about his wallet and not YOURS! ? https://t.co/K7ikjsKVx3
For as long as mankind (no, not Mick Foley) has been around, the human race has sought to see into the future.
Who wouldn’t benefit from knowing what life would bring them? To know what pitfalls they could avoid down the line with a simple change to their present.
At one time, believers turned to the stars to see the future, while in the Middle Ages, the locations and number of holes in a block of cheese would be used to foretell coming events.
These days, WWE fans can look to Video Games to predict the future, with some gaming moments coming true in the real world.
Here are five times WWE Video Games predicted the future.
5: The Return of ECW
Rob Van Dam as the WWE Champion, which he deemed the ECW title, months before the real Van Dam would do the same.
While it was named SmackDown Vs. Raw 2006, the game, like others in the series, was released months before its cover year, and in fact came out in late 2005.
The second game of the SVR series saw a story mode where Rob Van Dam captured the WWE Championship, which just so happened to coincide with a soft relaunch of ECW.
Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?
Mere months after the game’s release, RVD would win the Money in the Bank contract, and cash in on John Cena at ECW One Night Stand 2006 to become WWE Champion.
While the game was not 100% accurate, as it included an RVD heel turn and failed to predict his real-life arrest for drug possession, the game got very close to what’d happen months later.
4: The Women’s Royal Rumble
Mickie James winning the Women’s Royal Rumble, eight years before the real first-ever Women’s Rumble took place.
In 2018, Asuka made history by winning the first-ever Women’s Royal Rumble, which was followed by the immediate debut of Ronda Rousey.
Since then, Becky Lynch, Charlotte Flair, Bianca Belair, and Rousey herself have won the Women’s Rumble, but so has Mickie James.
Well, kinda.
In SVR 2010, Mickie James’s storyline on the Road to WrestleMania introduced the Women’s Royal Rumble, which the player, James, would have to win.
As if the Women’s Rumble being predicted eight years early isn’t spooky enough, but James enters the in-game Rumble pretty late and did so in the real first Rumble, where she was #26.
Mickie returned to WWE this year to compete in the Women’s Royal Rumble, and while the Impact Wrestling star didn’t win, she does have a pseudo-historic win to her name.
The Women’s Revolution
Stephanie McMahon was WWE’s top heel in SmackDown Vs. Raw 2007 for trying to stop women from being exploited.
In 2015, after years of seeing their ‘Divas’ as little more than eye candy with muscles, WWE began making a deliberate effort to take Women’s Wrestling more seriously.
This has proven to be a fantastic move for WWE, with some of the best matches each year coming from their women’s division, but this could have been much earlier.
In SmackDown Vs. Raw 2007’s Raw story mode, after a match between Candice Michelle and Mickie James, Lita attacks both women, on the orders of Stephanie McMahon.
From the ramp, Stephanie declares that it is time for women’s wrestling to be treated more seriously, and that women will no longer be seen in WWE as mere sex objects.
But since this is 2007, she gets massive boos from the crowd. Ugh!
Yes, when Stephanie McMahon (or at least her in-game alter ego) called for WWE to tidy up the more risque actions of their Divas, she became the top heel, alongside Lita, and for some reason, Kurt Angle.
What follows is the entire WWE Divas roster (sans Lita) rallying behind your character, fighting against women’s wrestling being focused on wrestling and not sex appeal.
A bizarre storyline in hindsight, it also gave fans arguably the most bizarre line in any wrestling video game.
“If Stephanie had her way, all of the Divas would be wearing burkas and a veil, as if the Taliban was running the show.”
Trish Stratus (WWE SmackDown Vs. Raw 2007.)
DX Reunited
Evolution reunited in SmackDown Vs. Raw 2009, over five years after the iconic group did the same for real in 2014.
For Shawn Michaels’ Road to WrestleMania in SVR 2009, HBK was livid at the idea that Triple H would break up DX and reunite with Evolution.
In-game, DX was riding high, but Randy Orton had been trying to goad the Game back to Evolution, which also included Batista.
Sure enough, this happened in 2014, over five years after the game’s release, and the similarities did not stop there.
Not only did Evolution reunite in the game like in real life, but in both instances, Ric Flair was nowhere to be seen.
Flair was on his way out of WWE when SVR 09 launched in late 2008, while for 2014, his focus was on his daughter Charlotte.
WWF Has Attitude in 1994
A ringside monitor featured the WWF Attitude ‘scratch’ logo in WWF Raw, years before the Attitude Era.
The history of WWE has often been broken down by fans as ‘eras’ and for many, none was better than the Attitude Era.
Raw was certainly at its most popular during this period, with millions of fans tuning in each week and seeing the iconic WWF scratch logo.
Except, this logo was used years before the company found its attitude.
Eagle-eyed fans who played WWF Raw on the SNES/Genesis will have spotted that at commentary, a monitor can be seen emblazoned with the WWF Attitude ‘scratch’ logo.
It’s ironic that this game came out during the height of the New Generation era, full of colorful characters and silly personalities: a far cry from the gritty attitude of Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock and others.
Perhaps someone in WWF’s gaming department had been working on bringing in attitude for years before it actually happened, but whatever the case, this game proved a sign of what was going to come.
AEW TBS Champion Jade Cargill retained her title at last weekend’s Full Gear Pay-Per-View, and Freddie Prinze Jr. couldn’t be happier.
In the third match of the night (sixth if you include the Full Gear Zero Hour Pre-Show) Cargill retained against Nyla Rose defeating the ex-AEW Women’s World Champion in eight minutes.
A month prior to the match, Rose had stolen the AEW TBS title and had taunted the undefeated Cargill on social media.
Ridiculous
While many fans found Rose’s antics with the TBS Championship to be hilarious, Freddie Prinze Jr. hasn’t been among them.
On the latest episode of Wrestling With Freddie, the ex-WWE writer blasted the storyline, calling it “week after week after week of nonsense.”
“I’m very excited to see this stupid, ridiculous storyline between Nyla Rose and Jade Cargill finally get squashed and put to bed… In what world of combat sports would one fighter be able to steal the title of another one and not have to give it back. This is the most ridiculous storyline.”
Freddie Prinze Jr.
Prinze insisted that his criticism is not at Cargill or Rose, who he considers impressive wrestlers, but the storyline itself.
Fantasy Booking
As an ex-WWE writer, Prinze knows all about booking decisions and gave his suggestion for the storyline.
If he was writing for AEW, Prinze would have had Rose steal the title, and Cargill complain to AEW President Tony Khan.
Khan would have forced Rose to hand the title over almost immediately after stealing it or risk losing her job with the promotion.
WWE announced on Monday that it’s holding a press conference immediately following their Survivor Series: WarGames Premium Live Event.
The conference will be posted to the WWE YouTube, Facebook, and TikTok pages following the conclusion of the event on Saturday, November 26.
Triple H Will Break It Down
“WWE Chief Content Officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque and a collection of Superstars will help break down the night in Boston,” WWE’s website wrote. “Two WarGames Matches will be featured on a WWE Premium Live Event for the first time, as The Bloodline take on Team Brawling Brutes and Team Bianca square off with Team Damage CTRL.”
Typically, WWE has avoided post-show press conferences. Triple H and others have participated pre and post-show NXT media calls, but that’s about the extent.
Of course, AEW, since its inception, has offered post-pay per view media scrums, to various degrees of success. Obviously, the media scrum at AEW’s All Out pay per view had the world talking for month, due to the comments of CM Punk.
While it’s possible these press conferences will be treated more as a “serious” type of showcase, it’s also quite possible that they could be used to further storylines. Regardless, there are sure to be headlines coming out of both the event itself, and the press conference that follows it, so be sure to stick with SEScoops as we provide all the updates coming out of Survivor Series: Wargames.
Death Triangle (Pac, Penta El Zero Miedo, Rey Fenix) are the current Trios Champions in All Elite Wrestling.
Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks defeated Death Triangle on September 4th at the now infamous All Out PPV. However, the EVPs were suspended, along with former AEW World Champion CM Punk, for a brawl that happened during the media scrum. The Elite returned this past Saturday at AEW Full Gear but Death Triangle stole the victory after Rey Fenix bashed Omega over the head with a hammer.
11 Best Moments from AEW Full Gear 2022
It was announced that Young Bucks and Death Triangle will battle in a Best of 7 Series, with the Trios Championships on the line each match over the next several weeks.
George Kittle Wears Penta El Zero Miedo’s Mask at Press Conference
The San Francisco 49ers absolutely destroyed Colt McCoy and the Arizona Cardinals tonight on Monday Night Football. Cardinals star QB Kyler Murray is out with injury and Arizona had no shot in tonight’s game.
AEW star Penta El Zero Miedo was in attendance for the game and gave 49ers star TE George Kittle his mask. Kittle wore the mask during his press conference after the 49ers beatdown of the Cardinals tonight on MNF.
United States Champion Seth Rollins was interviewed tonight during WWE RAW ahead of his title match this Saturday at Survivor Series WarGames.
WWE Survivor Series 2022 Preview
The Visionary will be putting the title on the line against Austin Theory and Bobby Lashley in a Triple Threat match at the premium live event. Last week on Raw, Austin Theory attacked Seth Rollins after his successful title defense over Finn Balor in the main event.
On this week’s edition of RAW, Seth claimed that Austin Theory made a massive mistake by attacking him. He noted that Theory didn’t make a mistake by attempting the cash-in, but crossed the line last week. Seth reminded everyone that he was the superstar that put Cody Rhodes on the shelf and said he will do the same to Austin Theory.
Cody returned to WWE at WrestleMania 38 as former CEO Vince McMahon’s handpicked opponent for Rollins. The American Nightmare defeated Seth three times in a row before tearing his pectoral muscle while training for WWE Hell in a Cell 2022.
Bobby Lashley and Austin Theory then brawled in the ring and the All Mighty dominated. Theory hit Bobby with a chair but Lashley no sold it. He chased Austin backstage and Theory threw Mustafa Ali in the way. Theory had just beaten Ali in a singles match and Bobby inflicted more punishment on Mustafa with the Hurt Lock as Austin escaped.
During Seth’s promo on Raw, Cody Rhodes’ brother and All Elite Wrestling star Dustin Rhodes took to Twitter to respond to Rollins’ shot at the American Nightmare. Dustin tagged Seth and hit him with the middle finger emoji in response to the promo.
WWE SmackDown stars The Brawling Brutes and Drew McIntyre made an appearance on RAW tonight at the beginning of the show.
Kevin Owens was announced as the final superstar on their team in the WarGames match against the Bloodline this Saturday night. Owens sent a message to Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns and claimed that he would have put an end to the Tribal Chief’s historic title reign two years ago if The Bloodline didn’t get involved.
The Judgment Day interrupted and it led to a 6-man tag team match. Sheamus and The Brawling Brutes picked up the win and KO hit Finn Balor with a Stunner after the match.
Sheamus, Ridge Holland, and Butch were interviewed backstage by Cathy Kelley following their victory over Judgment Day tonight in a WWE Digital Exclusive. Sheamus and Drew McIntyre will battle The Usos in a tag team match this Friday to determine which squad will have the advantage at Survivor Series WarGames. Cathy asked Sheamus what an advantage would mean for their team at the premium live event.
It will mean everything. This WarGames match is one of the most intense and career-altering matches in the history of WWE. We’ve got Butch who has been in three of them, he’s our ace in the hole.
To me left, Ridge “The Fridge” was made for this type of match. He’s a bleeding battering ram. We’ve got Drew McIntyre, a man I’ve had a bleeding intense rivalry with for twenty years, and a man I am delighted to go war with.
And of course, KO, who dislikes The Bloodline just as much as all four of us. And we, what do we like to do? We like to go in for a fight. We are the Brawling Brutes and this Saturday, it is a bleeding war.
It starts Friday, rolls into Saturday, and as everyone knows when the Brutes are involved, Drew McIntyre and KO, they are going to see banger after banger (after banger)!
