WWE’s Royal Rumble premium live event is over two months away, but the event is already a blockbuster success for the company.
WWE has announced the 2023 Royal Rumble has garnered the largest box office gate in the event’s 36-year history.
The event takes place Saturday, January 28 from San Antonio, TX at the AlamoDome.
$5 Million+ Gate
Over the weekend, the Royal Rumble surpassed $5 million in ticket sales. The previous record for ‘largest Royal Rumble gate’ was set in 2017, the last time the Rumble was held at the AlamoDome.
Wrestletix provided an update on Royal Rumble ticket sales on November 18. As of that date, 30,361 tickets had been distributed and the stadium was configured to accommodate 33,874 fans. If you’re interested in attending the 2023 Royal Rumble, tickets are still on sale at SeatGeek.
As we’ve seen in recent years, WWE will hold two Royal Rumble matches on January 28th (one for men, one for women). The winners of the Rumble matches will earn the right to challenge the champion of their choice at WrestleMania 39.
Record-Setting Business
WWE has been on a roll this year, setting box office records left and right. 2022 saw new box office records set for WrestleMania, Extreme Rules and Crown Jewel.
This latest milestone for the 2023 Royal Rumble puts WWE in a great position headed into the new year. WrestleMania 39 is scheduled for April 1 and April 2 at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles. Back in August, the company announced over 90,000 tickets were sold within the first 24 hours, more than any event in WWE history and a 42% increase over first-day sales for WrestleMania 38 at AT&T Stadium in Dallas.
Logan Paul turned in one hell of a performance against Roman Reigns earlier this month at WWE Crown Jewel. Paul left it on in the ring on November 5, proving that he’s got what it takes to ‘hang’ with the industry’s top star.
The 27-year-old influencer tore cartilage and ligaments in his right knee during the match. The injuries will keep him out of the ring for several months, but Paul is already training for his WWE return. His brother Jake Paul says his recovery is going better than expected and The Maverick is already plotting his next big match for WWE:
WWE Hall of Famer Kevin Nash commented on Paul’s Crown Jewel performance on the latest episode of his Kliq This podcast. Nash, who was billed at 6’10” during his active career, says he was a bit surprised how small Paul looked compared to Reigns.
I’m gonna say this… I’m gonna get browbeaten because God forbid if Kevin Nash was to let anybody that wasn’t nine feet tall wrestle… I didn’t realize he was that small. He was noticeably smaller than Roman Reigns.
– Kevin Nash on Logan Paul
Kid’s Talented
Roman Reigns has a muscular body, while Paul has a more athletic stature, but it’s not like Reigns (6’3″) towered over Paul (6’2″).
Nash did say, “the kid [Paul] is talented,” and it helped that Shawn Michaels helped train him for the match. However, Nash was hung up on Paul’s size.
“Look at the size of Roman’s head next to his,” Nash continued. “That’s the size of a man. He can have an eleven inch penis but if it’s like a number two pencil, that’s one thing, but if it’s got a head like a softball, you’re still gonna be the man. That looks like Hunter working against me, size-wise.”
All that aside, Logan Paul is planning to continue his WWE career when his injuries heel. Shortly after his match at Crown Jewel, Paul said he plans to be a WWE Superstar for a long time.
On Thanksgiving night, November 22, 2001, WWE broadcasted a pretaped episode of SmackDown. The show featured a star-studded main event with The Rock teaming up with Rob Van Dam against Chris Jericho and The Dudley Boyz, not to mention a Kurt Angle vs. The Undertaker match and Edge vs. Christian for the Intercontinental Championship in the undercard.
The most memorable part of the card, however, was a Gravy Bowl Match pitting Trish Stratus against Stacy Keibler.
Trish Stratus Vs. Stacy Keibler Wasn’t The First Gravy Bowl Match
The Gravy Bowl Match was little more complicated than it sounded—a match pitting two women in a pit full of what was ostensibly gravy, for what looked an awful lot like a mud wrestling match. The popularity and sex appeal of Trish Stratus and Stacy Keibler made their Gravy Bowl Match instantly the most iconic iteration of the match. They weren’t the originators, though.
The dubious honor of kicking off the Gravy Bowl Match gimmick goes to Jacqueline and Ivory. Though Trish Stratus would grow into being a highly skilled in-ring performer, she was only starting to get there in late 2001. By contrast, Jacqueline and Ivory were about as legit as it got in the women’s ranks, both tough, highly skilled veteran performers who were more clearly above this gimmick in 1999. Nonetheless, they worked a one-minute match, with Jacqueline getting better of it.
A Food Fight Preceded The Match
When Trish Stratus and Stacy Keibler clashed for their Gravy Bowl Match, they were less than a week removed from Survivor Series 2001, where WWE conclusively won its war against The Alliance. Stratus vs. Keibler felt like a bit of a coda. Though the action of the Invasion angle had clearly focused on the male performers, Stratus was a clear cut WWE talent whereas Keibler was one of the more consistently featured talents to come over from WCW and remain locked into her heel role with them for those first months under WWE contract.
The action got started with a food fight. Keibler made her entrance first and seated herself at a banquet table of Thanksgiving foods beside the Gravy Bowl. Stratus made her entrance second, wearing the Women’s Championship she’d picked up at the PPV. They both wore dresses and seemed set to eat before Keibler got things started, throwing a handful of mashed potatoes at Stratus and laughing at her. Sttratus got up close and personal, dumping gravy on Keibler’s head before a back and forth exchange covered them both in food, culminating in Stratus sling-shotting Keibler into the gravy to get the match properly started.
Trish Stratus Picked Up The Submission Victory
The action of The Gravy Bowl Match wasn’t all that technically impressive as the two struggled against each other with little rhyme or reason, alternately throwing the other down or dunking her head beneath the surface of the gravy as the momentum switched back and forth. Finally, Stratus hit something like and Alabama Slam, en route to applying a hold somewhere between a chin lock and camel clutch to make Keibler tap out.
In the aftermath, Keibler played the sore loser, kicking gravy up out of the bowl, before climbing out, complaining to the ref, and shoving him into the gravy. Meanwhile, Stratus celebrated on the entrance ramp, raising her title overhead.
There’s little doubt that the Gravy Bowl Match between Stacy Keibler and Trish Stratus was designed to make the most of each woman’s sex appeal with a provocative match that left both women sopping wet, with the justification that the bout celebrated the Thanksgiving holiday spirit. Stratus commented on the match explicitly years later in a visit to Lillian Garcia’s podcast, and how it felt like a non-sequitur after the women’s division and Stratus personally had gained significant momentum at the time. She complained about it to trainer Fit Finlay at the time.
Nonetheless, with the benefit of hindsight, Stratus reflected on it as little more than a speed bump. She would go on to assemble a more than Hall of Fame-worthy career, earning the respect of wrestling fans around the world in a boom period for women’s division over a decade before the so-called Women’s Revolution.
The Cleaner of AEW and the Aerial Assassin will at last lock horns in singles action at Wrestle Kingdom 17 in January 2023.
Kenny Omega appeared via video promo at Sunday’s NJPW X STARDOM Historic X-Over event to challenge Will Ospreay following Ospreay’s successful IWGP United States Heavyweight title defense.
Responding, Ospreay accepted the challenge, claiming he has kept the heartbeat of NJPW going strong.
Omega Vs. Ospreay
Wrestle Kingdom 17 will mark Kenny Omega’s first match for NJPW since Wrestle Kingdom 13 in January 2019.
Fightful Select reports that talks between Omega and NJPW began over the summer, but the match was far from finalized.
Those close to the situation said that the deal for Omega to wrestle for New Japan was only finalized within the last two or three weeks.
Omega’s suspension from AEW following the All Out brawl did not end talks of a match with Ospreay but it “certainly slowed things down.”
Both men have teased the match for some time, with Ospreay using Omega’s One-Winged Angel at a Rev Pro show earlier this year, and forcing his opponent to kick out.
Rocky Romero
Omega Vs. Ospreay for the IWGP United States Heavyweight title is a bona fide huge match, and fans have Rocky Romero to thank.
Romero is said to have played a huge role in getting the match approved, and he is said to have been a huge factor in New Japan’s global expansion in recent years.
Fightful’s report adds that Romero has worked tirelessly to maintain New Japan’s positive relationships with numerous companies
At one point, Romero was said to be in frequent contact with AEW Owner Tony Khan to make deals happen.
Some AEW wrestlers may be getting a little too friendly with management if a recent tweet from Colten Gunn is to be believed.
Gunn made his debut for All Elite Wrestling in June 2020, accompanying his father Billy Gunn but would not wrestle until the November 11, 2020, edition of AEW Dynamite.
In August of this year, Colten and his brother Austin turned on their Hall of Fame Father and are now part of The Firm.
Schmoozing
Despite being members of the AEW roster for over two years now, the Gunn Club are yet to hold tag-team gold.
When Austin Gunn took to Twitter to claim Jungle Boy Jack Perry wants to be a Gunn, the former AEW World Tag Champion fired back, saying he prefers being booked on Pay-Per-View.
This got a response from Colten, who argued that he and Austin would also get better bookings if they were up until 6 AM with AEW’s EVPs the Young Bucks.
While Colten did not directly state that Jungle Boy is someone who is schmoozing with the higher-ups, it is certainly the impression he gave.
Jungle Boy competed at AEW’s most recent Full Gear Pay-Per-View, defeating his former tag team partner Luchasaurus in a Steel Cage match.
Jungle Boy
Joining AEW right at the beginning in 2019, it wouldn’t be until January 2020 that Jungle Boy would obtain his first win in the company.
Winning the AEW World Tag Titles in January of this year, Jurassic Express would lose the titles at June’s AEW Dynamite: Road Rager special and Christian Cage would turn on Jungle Boy.
Cage would recruit Luchasaurus in their feud, and the former WWE World Champion defeated Perry in seconds at September’s All Out Pay-Per-View.
Nick Aldis wasted some of the best years of his wrestling career with the NWA, Booker T has claimed.
Aldis joined the NWA following the promotion’s relaunch in 2017 and is a two-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion.
Seen by many as the face of the company since its relaunch, Aldis recently publicly announced that he will be leaving when his contract expires.
Wasted
With Aldis departing the NWA, many have speculated on his next move, and whether he could be the face of another promotion.
Speaking on his weekly Hall of Fame podcast, Booker T doubts that the 36-year-old will be able to be a top star again.
“He’s past his prime… He really wasted a lot of time trying to make that thing work.”
Booker T on Nick Aldis.
Booker added that Aldis was one of the very few names with any “recognition” when the NWA was relaunched five years ago, but has doubts any star could have helped the NWA.
“I didn’t see one Nick Aldis match in the NWA. I’m gonna tell you that right now, so I’m not going to sit here and say I saw a whole lot or anything like. But to try to bring that brand back, it’s almost impossible. I mean, the NWA is a relic of what professional wrestling was back then.”
“To try to bring that brand back, it’s almost impossible.”
Booker T on the NWA.
Aldis has been openly critical of NWA President Billy Corgan since the announcement of his departure.
Audience
Booker evidently doesn’t think too highly on the NWA’s product, no matter who is the face of the company.
Speaking about underlying problems in the promotion, the two-time WWE Hall of Famer believes that fans have grown accustomed to a much different style of wrestling product.
“Nobody wants to watch wrestling like that anymore, in a little studio like that where [there’s] like no people, they’re doing the interviews after the matches like they did back in you know, Ole and Arn Anderson’s days in Minnesota. Don’t nobody want to see that.”
While Booker said he has nothing against the Andersons, he made it clear that the NWA needs to change in order to have a chance of surviving in today’s market.
At Full Gear, Jade Cargil moved to 42-0 when she beat Nyla Rose and got her actual TBS Championship back.
Cargill has defended her title on every pay-per-view this year. In addition to retaining her title and remaining undefeated, she always has amazing looks that don’t miss. Her pay-per-view looks are so anticipated by fans that the TBS Champion has taken to Twitter to ask for ideas.
Jade Cargill’s Four Looks
In her first pay-per-view as champion, Cargill wrestled Tay Conti at Revolution. In perhaps her most iconic look to date, she cosplayed as Jade from Mortal Kombat. To make her entrance even more epic, her entrance was backlit in green. She emerged with green hair and mostly green gear.
For the next pay-per-view, Double or Nothing, Cargill payed homage to her sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha. She donned half green and half pink hair, the sorority’s colors. To go with the casino theme, she was flanked by Vegas showgirls.
At ALL OUT, the champ defended her title against Athena. Just a few weeks before the show, She-Hulk: Attorney at Law began airing on Disney+. Cargill channeled this iconic look for herself, even down to adding green paint to her body. She burst through a “brick wall” for her entrance.
For Full Gear, Cargill channeled her inner-Thundercats. She looked incredible as Cheetara with cheetah prints in her yellow and orange wig and orange face paint. Cargill was carrying a staff to break across her knee, except it came apart before she got it down. No matter as she rolled on to victory.
While pay-per-views are done for the year, there are big shows like “Winter is Coming” and Battle of the Belts. Cargill is closing in on one year as TBS Champion, so it’s likely that she’ll have more epic looks in store.
Several hours of the AEW Full Gear pay-per-view ended, Matt Hardy tweeted an old video of “Broken Matt”.
In the clip, there’s drone footage of the Hardy Compound. “Broken Matt” emerges from his home and says he “…invited the world, as well as Brother Nero, into my humble abode because this day must be documented.”
Hardy has mentioned bringing the Broken Universe back to AEW a few times. It’s interesting that this clip mentions Brother Nero. Jeff Hardy has been in rehab following his arrest for a DUI earlier this year. Several months ago, Hardy discussed his brother on his podcast and said he couldn’t wait for fans to meet the new version. He clarified that he meant that his brother is sober, not that he’d be returning to AEW anytime soon.
As for Matt, he is currently working for The Firm. After Isiah Kassidy lost a match to Ethan Page, The Firm gained control over the contracts of Hardy. They already owned the contracts of Private Party after purchasing them from Jose the Assistant. Page has banned Hardy from doing his “Twist of Fate” finisher.
In the latest episode of his podcast, Hardy issued a warning for the winner of the Trios match between Death Triangle and The Elite. Hardy Party is coming for the gold.
A deathmatch wrestler that has competed in GCW, H20, and VxS was arrested on drug charges. According to WTAJ, deathmatch wrestler Brandon “G-Raver” Graver was arrested on Thursday after Pennsylvania state police found over 20 grams of drugs in his vehicle.
He and his passenger, Barry Leach, were found “slouched inside a car.” WTAJ reports that Graver was found “nodding off in the driver seat … and admitted to snorting 10 bags of heroin. After he was given Narcan, he was taken into custody and police found meth in his pants pocket.”
“Graver was taken to the hospital for a blood draw, and the car was taken back to the police station to be searched. Police found over 25 grams of possible meth, marijuana, other heroin packets, shrooms, Alprazolam along with paraphernalia and $181 cash.”
Both men are facing charges of felony manufacture, deliver, or possession with intent to manufacture or deliver, along with other misdemeanor charges, according to the article.
They have a preliminary hearing scheduled for November 30. As of Thursday, Graver has a $75,000 bail and was still in jail.
G-Raver Faced Lawsuit from Jim Cornette
Back in 2019, Jim Cornette commented on a clip of G-Raver and said that “if fans were lucky, they probably stopped the show so everyone could watch this idiot bleed out.” This caused immediate backlash and led to G-Raver selling a “Fuck Jim Cornette” shirt that depicted the podcaster getting stabbed.
That's a nasty little nick the guy got on his arm there at the end, if the fans were lucky they probably stopped the show so everyone could watch this idiot bleed out. https://t.co/vdlY9W5lYX
MJF defeated Jon Moxley for the AEW World Heavyweight Championship as he became the top champ in the main event of Saturday’s Full Gear pay-per-view event.
The finish saw there be two referee bumps. William Regal talked MJF out of using the diamond ring. Moxley had MJF tapping out to a sleeper but the first referee didn’t see it so MJF managed to get out and was handed brass knuckles by Regal to secure the win.
“There was another finish brought up by several of the most influential wrestlers. We don’t know what it was although I presume MJF winning was not the question, and it was just a different way to get there. It was an alternative way of getting there. Khan was strong on his finish that the direction this goes.”
AEW Full Gear will be an event that the company won’t soon forget as it was a positive show they needed after some much drama coming out of the All Out event just a few months ago with CM Punk’s rant at the media scrum and backstage brawl with The Elite.
Former WWE star Jamie Noble has announced what could be the final match of his career.
In a post on Instagram, he announced he would perform on the December 11 WWE house show from his home state of West Virginia. The live event takes place in Charleston, WV, which is less than a two-hour drive from Noble’s hometown of Hanover, WV.
Noble officially announced his active in-ring retirement in 2009 due to neck, shoulder, and back injuries, although he returned for a few house shows in 2012 and 2013 before becoming an on-screen role as a member of J&J Security in late 2014 and 2015.
His previous match took place on the June 8, 2015, edition of WWE Raw, where Noble and Mercury defeated Seth Rollins in a handicap match that night. Noble wrote the following on Instagram:
The Announcement
“It’s Official!! On December 11 at the Charleston Civic Center, Charleston, WV. I will compete for possibly my last time in wrestling under the greatest company of all time WWE. It’s been roughly 11 years since I was forced out of the ring. Now I’m going to have one more opportunity in front of my people my state my family! I promise you I will walk out a winner or I will go out on my shield giving the best performance I can give. all the support I can get will be so greatly appreciated to show that I can still go! Thank you all!! God bless you and God bless WV!!”
Noble is a former WWE Cruiserweight Champion and former ROH Champion, having defeated CM Punk for the title in a four-way on August 12, 2005.
KAIRI, formerly known as Kairi Sane, is the first-ever IWGP Women’s Champion.
In the main event of Sunday morning’s NJPW x Stardom Historic X-Over event, she defeated Mayu Iwantani to become the champ. The back and forth match ended when KAIRI defeated Iwatani after hitting the Insane Elbow off the top rope.
Post-match, Iwatani, and KAIRI were emotional while waiting for NJPW president Noaki Sugabayashi to get into the ring to give KAIRI the title as she posed with Bushiroad president Takaai Kiwani.
Tam Nakano came out and challenged KAIRI to a match at Wrestle Kingdom 17, which she accepted. Sane commented on the big win by writing the following on Twitter:
“Four days before the match, during ring practice, I sprained myself in a flashy fall. I was told that it would take three weeks for a full recovery, and I almost gave up because it hurt to walk. However, with the support of many people, I was able to fight through the two battles with my willpower. Really really thank you very much.”
How We Got Here
Kairi Sane
Iwatanai had defeated Momo Watanabe and Utami Hayashishita to advance to the finals while Kairi defeated Jazzy Gabert on October 23 to advance to the finals.
The championship was introduced by NJPW back in August and is slated to be defended both in Japan for New Japan Pro Wrestling as well as worldwide on shows such as NJPW Strong.
The self-proclaimed TBS Champion Nyla Rose challenged the real AEW TBS Champion Jade Cargill at Saturday’s AEW Full Gear pay-per-view event.
Rose came out with her manager, Vickie Guerrero, in a low rider as a tribute to the late great Eddie Guerrero. Vickie was also wearing WWE’s Rhea Ripley’s new t-shirt, “I’m Mama,’ which is a spinoff of Eddie’s old t-shirt that stated, ‘I’m Papi.’
The t-shirt was designed in 2005 during the feud between Eddie and Rey Mysterio over the custody of Dominik, who is now in The Judgment Day faction with Ripley, Finn Balor, and Damian Priest.
Cargill came out with Thundercats-inspired gear. Before the match got started, Kiera Hogan took a cheap shot at Rose.
The match did have some clunky spots, but down the stretch, things heated up and both women kicked out after hitting each other’s moves. Nyla hit a senton off the top, but Jade hit the pump kick and her Jaded finisher to retain her title.
Bianca Belair, Asuka, Alexa Bliss, Mia Yim & TBA vs. Bayley, IYO SKY, Dakota Kai, Nikki Cross & Rhea Ripley has been booked in the first-ever Women’s WarGames match on the main roster for next Saturday’s WWE Survivor Series event.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson had a legendary wrestling career, but he never got to step in the ring against his dream opponent.
The 10-time world champion shared the ring with some of the industry’s biggest stars, including Steve Austin, Bret Hart, John Cena, The Undertaker, Kurt Angle and countless others. For everything he accomplished in the ring, there’s one Hall of Famer he wishes he could have wrestled.
On Sunday, The Rock posted a photo on Instagram from his famed ‘Iron Paradise’ gym wearing a pair of flashy sunglasses. The shades may remind longtime fans of one Superstar in particular who was the ‘cream of the crop’ during his day.
The Rock & Macho Man Randy Savage
The Rock says the late “Macho Man” Randy Savage was always his dream match. He would have been honored to share the squared circle with him, but it never came to be.
Johnson was an full-time WWE Superstar from 1996-2004. Savage left WWE and was active in WCW through 2000, but their paths never crossed on television.
Back around 2000-2001, Randy Savage did an interview where he praised The Rock as a ‘general’ of the WWE locker room. “[He’s] a cool dude because of the fact that when he comes into the dressing room, he shakes everybody’s hand, he looks everybody in the eye, he doesn’t stir it up in the dressing room.”
The Rock has paid tribute to Randy Savage before, featuring him on his hit series, Young Rock. As seen below, the Great One remains a big fan of the Macho Man, who is widely considered one of the greatest all-around pro wrestlers in history.
Kenny Omega continues to make waves in the pro wrestling industry. The former IWGP World heavyweight champion challenged Will Ospreay for a match at Wrestle Kingdom on January 4th.
Immediately following Ospreay’s IWGP United States title defense against Shota Umino, the lights went out inside the Ariake Arena. Moments later, Kenny Omega appeared on a giant screen and took Will Ospreay to task.
Omega sighted that when he left the promotion to join AEW, Ospreay was the man who set to replace him as the top Gaijin (foreigner) in New Japan Pro Wrestling. Omega would go on to antagonize Ospreay, saying that
“The crowds have gotten smaller. We can’t hear them cheering. Oh, that’s because of the pandemic! That’s the line you trot out right? But is it really? You see, there’s only one real virus here. And that’s you Will.”
Kenny Omega vs Will Ospreay is a topflight dream match Worldwide. The two men have often been compared to one another over the last few years. When Omega mentioned that Ospreay was the performer groomed to replace him when he left New Japan, he wasn’t wrong.
Omega had been considered the best in-ring performer in pro wrestling over the last 2 years of his New Japan career. His last singles match was at Wrestle Kingdom 13. Losing the IWGP World heavyweight title to Hiroshi Tanahashi.
Will Ospreay has arguably taken that metaphorical title over the last couple of years. He put on incredible performances with Omega’s biggest NJPW rival, Kazuchika Okada. Also turning in masterpieces with Shingo Takagi, sparking an enthralling rivalry that traces back to 2019.
The two men recently competed on opposite sides of the ring in AEW. Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks defeated Will Ospreay and Aussie Open in the semifinals of the AEW World Trios championship tournament. A match that was lauded by many in the pro wrestling industry.
Omega and Ospreay have met once before in singles competition. Omega emerged victorious over Ospreay in 2015 at PWG’s “All Star Weekend” event. Both men have matured and grown as wrestlers since that encounter.
Buckle up folks. We are going to open up January 2023 with a match of the year candidate at Wrestle Kingdom 17. Kenny Omega and Will Ospreay are going to tear the house at the Tokyo Dome.
There are some wrestlers who go through a public retirement and get to say goodbye to the fans. However, there are many who just disappear from the public eye for a while and then call it a career. Santino Marella is one such star who never had a proper retirement ceremony and he just settled into the life after WWE. Though, according to the former WWE star himself, he is very content with his run with the company.
The former US champion recently had an interview with The A2theK Wrestling Show. Among other things he was asked what led to his retirement from wrestling. Marella revealed that he had a double cervical fusion surgery. Unfortunately, his neck didn’t heal as expected, leading to the end of his full time wrestling career:
“It was my neck surgery. So I had my first cervical fusion. I had a double cervical fusion right off the bat. The goal was to come back and then a few months after, they noticed that one of the screws was coming out. Then at the end, at the three-month mark, one screw had completely come out, and one had come halfway out.
So they had to go back in and take out the titanium. I think going back in the second time, kind of messed things up, cutting through the scared tissue. I just never got well enough to a point where I can come back and wrestle on a full-time basis. I can have a match here and there, but to do it properly, on a full time.”
‘It Was All Good’: Santino Marella
After not having made any TV appearances since the previous December, the Canadian Star was released from his WWE contract in May 2016. This marked the unofficial end of his full-time career in wrestling. Though Santino Marella is not bitter about how things ended. He explained that while he did try to rehab his neck for a couple years after his surgery, he is content with how his WWE career turned out to be:
“To be honest, I was kind of over it. I just wanted to come home a little bit. I opened up Battle Arts Academy in 2013. I actually retired in 2016. So, the last two years was me trying to get back in shape. Not physically, my neck and my back, to get back in shape to be able to come back and perform but it just never happened. It was all good.
I had a very full life before WWE and I’ve had a very full life after WWE. It was a great chapter. Absolutely an incredible chapter. Up until the point that I retired, it was a quarter of my life, right? It’s funny, It’s not even my most recent chapter. Next year, 2023 – Battles Arts is having its 10-year anniversary. Then the last four years I have had this new family. That’s my most recent chapter. So wrestling’s kind of a few chapters back now.”
You can check out Santino Marella’s full interview in the video below:
AEW’s insistence on keeping the Women’s Title on Thunder Rosa despite her prolonged absence has been a matter of debate among people in recent times. Shawn Spears, for one, has made his stand on the matter very clear.
The former Pinnacle member took on his Twitter to comment on the arrangement of interim champions. He shared the belief that you should either be a full-time champion or not be a champion at all:
AEW has always had the policy of crowning an interim champion if any of the belt holders get injured or have to take time off for any reason.
The absence of the AEW Women’s Champion Thunder Rosa, however, has been a controversial affair since the start. Some female talents of the company have accused her of faking the injury to avoid dropping the title.
She has also been away from the ring the longest among all the reigning champions who have taken a break from the promotion. This is why many fans believe that Rosa should be stripped of the title.
Jamie Hayter became the new Interim Women’s Champion by defeating Toni Storm at Full Gear. AEW President Tony Khan was asked about striping Rosa of the title during the post show media scrum. He said that he will make a decision once the timeline for Thunder Rosa’s recovery becomes clearer.
What do you think about AEW’s decision to keep the women’s title on Thunder Rosa? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.
Swerve in Our Glory appears to be done for good after failing to capture the AEW World Tag Team Championships at Full Gear 2022.
On AEW’s latest big event, Swerve Strickland and Keith Lee faced off against The Acclaimed, who won the titles from Swerve in Our Glory at AEW Dynamite: Grand Slam.
This match marked The Acclaimed’s third title defense and the first championship opportunity for Swerve in Our Glory since losing the titles in September of this year.
The Split
Despite appearing to be on the same page at first, issues began in the match when the team disagreed over whether to put a piece of barricade on the ring apron.
Lee had to save his partner from being put through it, then was sent crashing through it himself by The Acclaimed.
When The Acclaimed went for their tandem finisher, Anthony Bowens’ arm gave out, and Lee cleaned house.
When Strickland told Lee to use the pliers on Bowens, the big man said no, and Strickland slapped the Limitless One.
Probably not the way @RealKeithLee imagined how this #AEW World Tag Team Championship match would go…
Irate, Keith Lee helped Bowens up and walked out of the match, and The Acclaimed would hit their tandem finisher to get the win.
The Build
In the run-up to AEW Full Gear, there had been tension within Swerve in Our Glory, which reached its boiling point on the Pay-Per-View.
The two have been noticeably at odds for months, and many fans have been predicting a split for some time.
The now former tag team is expected to feud immediately on AEW programming, though it is difficult to say if they will have a Pay-Per-View match at AEW’s next major event Revolution in March 2023.
Tony Khan has addressed the Colt Cabana/CM Punk debacle that led to the biggest controversy in AEW history with the All Out Brawl.
The AEW President was asked about it during the post Full Gear media scrum, and he confirmed that the Straight Edge Star never asked Colt Cabana to be removed from AEW programming:
“No. No, he never asked for that. The first time it came up, I think you asked me on a scrum call and I wasn’t looking at you face to face, it was before Death Before Dishonor, I think. He never asked me that.”
Addressing Colt Cabana’s return match against Chris Jericho, TK mentioned how he had been using him as a ROH coach and talent. So it made sense for him to challenge Jericho for the ROH title:
“I’ve been using Colt Cabana both as a coach and a wrestler in Ring of Honor. I looked at the roster and he’s a very logical challenger because, not only has he held the Ring of Honor Tag Team Championship, but he’s also somebody who has been wrestling in the 2022 Ring of Honor, is undefeated, so I thought he would be a logical challenger for Chris. It’s also a good match,”
It’s widely believed that Tony Khan decided not to re-sign Colt Cabana due to his issues with CM Punk. After the intervention from The Elite, Khan offered Cabana a position in ROH. This is believed to be one of the major causes of the animosity between the AEW EVPs and Punk, which led to the backstage fight at All Out.
With the investigation into the backstage fight at AEW All Out 2022 concluded, it appears that those working for the company are now able to address it.
After an explosive media scrum in which CM Punk bashed The Elite, Colt Cabana and ‘Hangman’ Adam Page, a fight broke out backstage between The Elite against Punk and Ace Steel.
In response, Tony Khan suspended all parties involved with the fight, though everyone except Punk and Steel has since been brought back.
Jim Ross
This week’s AEW Full Gear marked the first match for the Elite since the controversy at All Out.
Taking on the Death Triangle, the match saw Kenny Omega and the Young Bucks challenge for the AEW Trios titles they had been stripped of following All Out.
On commentary, JR made reference to the backstage fight, saying:
“They are going to settle this behind closed doors in a locker room or something.”
Jim Ross.
The Death Triangle retained their titles at Full Gear, after Rey Fenix used a ring-bell hammer to escape from Omega’s One-Winged Angel finisher.
Tony Khan
After the controversy at AEW All Out, Tony Khan was adamantly against speaking about the matter, given that it was under investigation at the time.
With that investigation resolved, even Khan has addressed what happened, saying on the Full Gear press conference that he had no idea about what Punk was going to say at All Out.
While Punk’s AEW status is currently unclear, many expect that his deal will be bought out and he will be released by the promotion.
Maxwell Jacob Friedman battled Jon Moxley in the main event of AEW Full Gear 2022 for the AEW World Championship.
MJF knocked down the referee and pulled the Dynamite Diamond Ring from his trunks. William Regal marched down the entrance ramp and scolded Maxwell. MJF threw the ring to the floor before Regal betrayed Moxley.
Regal slid MJF the brass knuckles and he punched Jon in the head with them to become the new AEW World Champion.
The times they are a-changin’. Wait your turn baby, people pay to see me not you. Lets talk, shall we?
AEW is now destination television once again. The ship has been steered properly, once again!
This belt is now the most important belt in this entire sport. It states the three letters, damn sure ain’t AEW, I know for a mother f*cking fact it ain’t Mox. Its MJF!
Damn you people are dumb. You morons bit on every word I had to say this past couple of months, huh?
I want to earn it. F*ck that. I deserve it because I’m the best wrestler in the f*cking world! And every single one of you know it.
On the microphone, in the ring, nobody can touch me. That is a fact. Nobody is on my level.
To think you guys still believe me when I put over this mother f*cker (points to Tony Khan) this past Wednesday. Grow the f*ck up. No offense.
Maxwell then told everyone that if they want to know why he aligned with William Regal, they have to tune into the “MJF Show” on TBS every Wednesday night.
“And you now damn well that it is now destination TV.”
He boasted about going to a movie set tomorrow and didn’t accept any questions from the media before walking away.
Jon Moxley was comforted by his Blackpool Combat Club teammates after Full Gear went off of the air, moments after he lost the AEW World Championship to MJF.
After MJF big win, the Blackpool Combat Club – Claudio, Wheeler Yuta, and Bryan Danielson, came over to comfort Jon Moxley and explained to him what had happened. #aew#andnew#aewfullgearpic.twitter.com/aOazootLkC
Bryan Danielson, Claudio Castagnoli, and Wheeler Yuta hit the ring after the match. Moxley is seen coming to and angrily reacting as the other BCC members inform him of the betrayal of William Regal, who tossed MJF his trademark brass knuckles. MJF struck Moxley and pinned him for the victory to become the new AEW World Champion.
Moxley then seems to come to terms with the events of the night, and he and the three other members all hugged Moxley. The crowd had a “Thank you Mox” chant as well. He reportedly threw a chair to the ground and left through the crowd.
Moxley has been rumored to be taking a break after Full Gear. His initial vacation was pushed back after the events of the previous post-event presser. However, it remains what will happen to BCC after Regal’s betrayal.
CM Punk once called himself the Voice of the Voiceless, speaking up for fans. Well, those fans made their voices heard at last night’s AEW Full Gear Pay-Per-View.
Punk hasn’t been seen on AEW programming since his infamous All Out post-show media scrum in September, which was followed by a backstage fight with The Elite.
With the investigation into the backstage fight over, it is believed the results have condemned Punk, who is expected to depart the promotion.
The Voice of the Voiceless
CM Punk wasn’t at last night’s AEW Full Gear Pay-Per-View, but The Elite made their in-ring return on the show.
In their first match back, the trio of Kenny Omega and the Young Bucks challenged for the AEW Trios titles, which they had won at All Out.
The Elite had been stripped of the titles due to the backstage fight, which were won by the Death Triangle on the following AEW Dynamite.
During the much-anticipated six-man-tag at Full Gear, fans made their voices heard, chanting “F**k CM Punk!” during the opening moments.
Punk mocked Cabana during the All Out media scrum, claiming that Colt shares a bank account with his mother.
CM Punk’s Next Move
With CM Punk’s name in the metaphorical dirt in AEW, it appears that his time with the promotion is about to come to an end.
It has been reported that AEW is attempting to buy out Punk’s contract and release him, with the roster reportedly refusing to work with him if he’s brought back.
Despite the belief that WWE will be the only option that can pay his high asking price, the reception within WWE to Punk possibly returning hasn’t been much warmer.
Jungle Boy hilariously mocked CM Punk during the AEW Full Gear press conference media scrum.
5 Best Moments of CM Punk’s AEW Career
After CM Punk won the AEW World Championship on September 4th at All Out in front of his hometown crowd, the former champion went on a rant at the media scrum.
He barely touched on winning the title, or MJF’s return, Punk targeted The Elite, Hangman Page, and Colt Cabana in his rant. Occasionally during the verbal tirade, Punk would take a break to enjoy a bite of a muffin.
Luchasaurus battled Jungle Boy tonight in a Steel Cage match. It was the first bout of the PPV and started the show off with a bang. Christian Cage stole the key to the cage from a referee and tried to interfere but wound up getting kicked out from ringside.
Jack won the match after hitting a massive Elbow Drop off the top of the cage and through a table. He quickly applied the Snare Trap for the pinfall victory and celebrated with his family after the match.
Saraya joined the post-Full Gear media scrum and was effusive in her praise for Baker. She said, quite bluntly, that, “Britt carried me through the whole thing.” She said she thought they had a really good in-ring promo during the build to the match, and credited Baker for her work.
Baker was also tasked with giving the go-home promo on Wednesday’s episode of Dynamite, helping to put the final sell on the personal feud and Saraya’s return match.
Saraya defeated Baker after hitting her finisher, the elevated DDT that used to be called the Ram-Paige in WWE. She survived a Lockjaw attempt and went over clean.
Even though it’s only been one match, it stands to reason that Saraya’s star power immediately put her in line for a title shot at new AEW Interim Women’s Champion Jamie Hayter, who is also associated with Baker. Regardless, this is probably not the last time Saraya will meet Baker.
