WWE Survivor Series WarGames is the company’s next premium live event.
This year marks the 36th annual installment of Survivor Series. It was established in 1987, making it the second longest running yearly event in company history (behind only WrestleMania). This year’s event takes place in Boston, Massachusetts.
WWE Survivor Series WarGames Match Card
The following matches are confirmed for WWE Survivor Series WarGames 2022:
Men’s WarGames Match: The Brawling Brutes (Sheamus, Ridge Holland, Butch), Kevin Owens, and Drew McIntyre vs. The Bloodline (Roman Reigns, Jey Uso, Jimmy Uso, Solo Sikoa, Sami Zayn)
Women’s WarGames Match: Bianca Belair, Alexa Bliss, Asuka, Mia Yim, and TBA vs. Damage CTRL (Bayley, Dakota Kai, Iyo Sky), Nikki Cross, and Rhea Ripley
WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey vs. Shotzi
AJ Styles vs. Finn Balor
WWE U.S. Champion Seth Rollins vs. Bobby Lashley vs. Austin Theory
WWE Survivor Series WarGames takes place Saturday, November 26th from Boston, MA at the TD Garden. The main card of this premium live event starts at 8pm ET / 5pm PT.
How to Watch
WWE Survivor Series WarGames streams live on Peacock in the United States and on the WWE Network internationally.
Brock Lesnar has worked with some of the biggest names in the history of the wrestling business although he has been known to be hard to work with.
Jon Moxley, formerly known as Dean Ambrose, has spoken openly about Lesnar not wanting to do anything wild in their WrestleMania 32 match in 2016.
On the latest edition of the Oh You Didn’t Know podcast WWE Hall of Famer Road Dogg spoke about Lesnar and this is where he claimed that The Beast didn’t want to work with Kevin Owens.
The Story
(via WWE)
This was brought up when discussing Lesnar facing AJ Styles at Survivor Series instead of Jinder Mahal after Lesnar said he didn’t want to work with Kevin Owens:
“I want to clarify, it is not that he did not want to work with Jinder. It’s that he really thought he could have a better match with AJ. So I just wanted that to be clear. Like because look, I don’t think I’ve ever heard of Brock saying I don’t want [to], I’m not working with that guy. Well, I did, I did hear that with Kevin Owens, but only him.”
Road pointed out how Lesnar had a good amount of pull due to the relationship he has with Vince McMahon.
“Look, Brock is that kind of talent, like I just talked about, has a special relationship with Vince. And so apparently they had a conversation and, and a decision, a creative decision was made. We’re gonna go with AJ Styles as a champion into this tournament at Night of Champions.”
When Tony Khan purchased Ring of Honor, many questions remained unanswered at first. Did he just buy the company for it’s video library? Would he be able to run another standalone company? Would Ring of Honor continue to have its own television show and/or pay-per-views?
And while it’s still unclear if/when ROH will get any sort of TV deal, the company has produced two pay-per-views in 2022 and it’s about to produce another one.
AEW announced on Twitter that Ring of Honor Final Battle is happening on Saturday, December 10 at the College Park Center in Dallas/Ft. Worth Texas.
The battle will be forged in chaotic fires when @ringofhonor Final Battle comes to @utacollegepark in Dallas/Ft. Worth TX on Saturday December 10, LIVE on PPV!
Final Battle will be live “only on pay-per-view,” according to the promo video AEW included with the announcement.
Also included in the promo video were a variety of AEW and Ring of Honor wrestlers, including:
Ring of Honor World Champion Chris Jericho
Ring of Honor Television Champion (And AEW TNT Champion) Samoa Joe
Ring of Honor Pure Champion Daniel Garcia
Ring of Honor Tag Team Champions FTR
The Kingdom: Mike Bennett, Maria Kanellis, Matt Taven
Wheeler Yuta
Brian Cage
Jay Lethal
Willow Nightingale
Dalton Castle
And more!
Especially of note is that fact that the Briscoe Brothers were included in the video package. All of these names are, of course, subject to change and there’s no guarantee that any/all of them will appear on the show (though if Chris Jericho or Samoe Joe didn’t appear, that’d be a weird choice). Still, the video package gave viewers a pretty good idea about who to expect.
(Photo: ROH)
2021 Was Not the Final Final Battle
Ring of Honor’s last pay-per-view before its purchase was also Final Battle. It was dubbed ‘The End of an Era,’ as nobody knew what would happen to the company after that night’s show. On that show, the Briscoe Brothers defeated the OGK (Matt Taven and Mike Bennett), Josh Woods defeated Brien Johnson, Rok-C defeated Willow Nightingale, and Jonathan Gresham defeated Jay Lethal to win the Ring of Honor Championship.
Several past ROH wrestlers sent in video messages throughout the show, including Bryan Danielson, Adam Page, The Young Bucks, Cody Rhodes, Colt Cabana, and more.
Since that night there have been two more pay-per-views: Supercard of Honor XV and Death Before Dishonor. In the main event of DBD, FTR defeated The Briscoe Brothers in a 2/3 Falls match for the ROH World Tag Team Championship. It was, what many have called, the greatest tag team match in the history of the sport.
Kairi Sane signed with WWE in 2016 and competed in the Mae Young Classic. She won the NXT Women’s Championship by defeating Shayna Baszler at TakeOver: Brooklyn IV.
She formed the Kabuki Warriors tag team with Asuka on the main roster in 2019. The team was briefly managed by former WWE Superstar Paige, now known as Saraya in All Elite Wrestling.
Sane exited WWE in December 2021 after her contract expired and has since returned to Stardom. The 34-year-old also recently became the inaugural IWGP Women’s Champion in the historic X-Over event between Stardown and New Japan Pro-Wrestling.
FIRST EVER IWGP Women's Champion, KAIRI!
(WWEs Kairi Sane) for those who don’t know.#NJPWxSTARDOM
During a recent interview, the IWGP Women’s Champion explained the differences between wrestling in America and in Japan. Sane noted that the talent usually didn’t know the card until the day of the show.
In particular, I felt the card isn’t fixed until the day of. It’s really right up until we go on air. If you know the card beforehand, you can put it together or plan out a strategy, right?
Kairi added that wrestlers in the states oftentimes don’t have the opportunity to prepare for their opponent’s moves.
You find out when you get there. There were people you were facing for the first time too and it was all done live.
That is why you can’t practice or prepare for your opponent’s moves. Moreover, you had a time limit. You couldn’t go over time.
Kenny Omega asked fans to “let go” of the issue involving CM Punk in his first interview since returning to AEW television as The Elite had been suspended following the events of All Out in September.
Punk ripped The Elite, Colt Cabana, and Hangman Page at the All Out media scrum before a brawl broke out that also involved Ace Steel, who has since been fired by AEW.
Omega spoke with Justin Barrasso of SI.com days after Full Gear, where The Elite returned and acknowledged that they are not able to disclose additional information about the incident.
Moving On
Nearly 3 months after All Out, Omega says there will be aspects of the backstage altercation that the involved parties will never be able to address publicly. He wants fans to move on and focus on the pro wrestling stories they’ll be telling in the ring.
“There are things no one can talk about, so I’d encourage people to let it go.”
– Kenny Omega
He added, “I encourage people to move away from it because there is no information to be released. Though I cannot talk about it, I do want the fans to know I still want the best for pro wrestling.”
After CM Punk’s press conference, Omega and The Young Bucks went to Punk’s locker room, where an altercation went down. Punk’s future with the company is up in the air although he is reportedly in talks with the promotion about buying out his deal.
“This isn’t Kenny Omega and the Young Bucks against CM Punk. It is people trying to show off their craft. You can boo Kenny Omega, or the Young Bucks, or CM Punk, but I hope people don’t forget we’re human beings struggling to show our art.”
Omega and the Young Bucks (The Elite) are currently involved in a Best of 7 series with AEW World Trios Champions, Death Triangle. PAC and the Lucha Bros. won the first match at Full Gear last weekend. They lead the series 1-0, with the second match scheduled for tonight’s Dynamite from Chicago, IL.
Best of 7 Series for the AEW World Trios Titles?! Sign us up!!
Booker T had a dream run in WCW. He started off at the bottom as part of the Harlem Heat tag team and worked his way up to the main event scenes, eventually becoming the final WCW champion in the history of the company. Apart from his talent, Booker’s luck played a big part in his success, including his first singles title in the company.
The wrestling veteran recently appeared on Ryan Satin’s Out of Character. Talking about WCW, the former world champion mentioned how he got to learn a lot during his time in the company. T then recalled how he won his first singles title because Rick Martel had forgotten to bring his wrestling boots:
“I miss WCW. I had a great time getting polished up, to cut my teeth in WCW working with a lot of great talent. Just getting a chance more than anything. That’s the only thing I was looking for in WCW – a chance and an opportunity.” said Booker T, “I got several opportunities in that company. Every time I got an opportunity, I pretty much cashed in on it. When I got the Television Championship, it was because Rick Martel had forgotten his boots. He forgot his boots and he was supposed to win the championship that night from Disco Inferno.
He thought he was coming to TV just to do an interview but they still had to get the title off Disco. So they said ‘Book, we’re gonna put the title on you and we’re gonna give Rick Martel a couple of weeks down the road. When [will] that [be] we’ll figure that out. We’re gonna put it on you tonight.’ I was thinking ‘Man you put the title on me, you’re never gonna get it back. I’m gonna hold onto that title forever. What are you thinking.'”
You can check out Booker T’s full interview below:
Darby Allin is heading to Japan to take part in The Great Muta’s retirement match.
On Wednesday, Pro Wrestling NOAH confirmed that Muta will team with Sting & Allin in his retirement match on Sunday, January 22, 2023, although their opponents have yet to be announced.
“Great Muta Final Bye Bye” is the name of Muta’s retirement show that is being held at the Yokohama Arena and will air live via Wrestle Universe and Fite TV.
The match will be Keiji Muto’s final bout as the Great Muta character as Muto will have his last match at the Tokyo Dome on Tuesday, February 21, 2023.
The Dream Team
(via AEW)
Sting previously told Sports Illustrated that he was trying to get Allin to come with him for Muta’s final match after Muta appeared on an episode of AEW Rampage this past September by helping to save Sting & Allin during a tag team match against The House of Black’s Brody King & Buddy Matthews.
Muta will wrestle WWE star Shinsuke Nakamura at NOAH’s The New Year 2023 on Sunday, January 1, 2023.
This past Saturday night at AEW Full Gear pay-per-view event, Allin and Sting beat Jeff Jarrett and Jay Lethal in a tag team match.
Talent from four of the biggest promotions in the world will come together for Wrestle Kingdom.
The show, scheduled for January 4, 2023, will be the seventeenth Wrestle Kingdom event, New Japan’s biggest annual event.
Next year’s show will mark the first time since 2019 that Wrestle Kingdom will take place on one day.
Karl Anderson
Earlier this week, it was reported that WWE Raw Superstar Karl Anderson will defend his NJPW Never Openweight Championship at the World Tag League/Super Junior Tag League finals on Wednesday, December 14.
Anderson was previously scheduled to defend his title at NJPW Battle Autumn but instead competed at WWE Crown Jewel, which took place the same day.
In an update from Fightful Select, it is reported that NJPW and WWE have agreed that next month won’t be Anderson’s last match in Japan, and that he will work the Tokyo Dome.
Sources who spoke to Fightful said Gallows and Anderson have “always been penciled in” to compete at Wrestle Kingdom, despite reports of tension.
Gallows and Anderson had committed to working these dates for New Japan before their WWE returns in October and before leaving Impact Wrestling in August.
The Four
Having (at least) two WWE Superstars compete at Wrestle Kingdom is a huge deal, but just part of a stacked show.
Of course, New Japan’s own talent will be competing at the show, but so will names from AEW and Stardom.
AEW’s Kenny Omega will challenge IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion Will Ospreay.
KAIRI, who recently became the first IWGP Women’s Champion, will defend her title against fellow STARDOM wrestler Tam Nakano.
Road Dogg Jesse James is WWE’s Senior Vice President of Live Events but is remorseful for taking the role from Jeff Jarrett.
In May of this year, Jarrett was rehired by WWE for the role and would appear on screen in July as a special guest referee at Summerslam 2022.
Mere weeks after officiating The Usos vs. The Street Profits, Jarrett was released from the company, and Road Dogg served as his replacement.
Sorry
Before being appointed WWE’s Senior VP of Live Events, Road Dogg worked for years as a producer and writer for WWE.
Speaking on the latest episode of ‘Oh You Didn’t Know,’ the New Age Outlaw addressed his time backstage, and how names can be cut for seemingly no reason.
“Look, you can be doing your job, and one day someone not like it, and the next day you’re not there.”
Road Dogg Jesse James.
When James’ co-host Conrad Thompson joked that Jarrett used the same line after losing the SVP role, Road Dogg saw the funny side but was apologetic.
“[Laughs] Bless his heart, I’m so sorry. It hurts me when you say that. But I bet it hurts him a hell of a lot more. [Laughs] I’m so sorry Jeff.”
Road Dogg Jesse James.
Jeff Jarrett is All-Elite
Jarrett’s return to WWE was short-lived but the ‘Chosen One’ has bounced back nicely.
On the November 2, 2022, Dynamite, Jarrett debuted for AEW, his first televised appearance for a wrestling show on TBS since the final WCW Monday Nitro in March 2001.
At AEW Full Gear, Double-J made his AEW in-ring debut, teaming with Jay Lethal against Sting and Darby Allin in a losing effort.
Damian Priest has proven himself in WWE as part of NXT and the main roster and has seemingly caught the eye of Hollywood.
Priest debuted on the main roster as part of the 2021 Men’s Royal Rumble match and captured the United States Championship at Summerslam that same year.
Earlier this year, Priest turned heel and aligned himself with The Judgment Day, which consists of himself, Rhea Ripley, Finn Balor, and Dominik Mysterio.
Damian Priest – King of Talokan
Earlier this month, Marvel Studios released Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, a sequel to the 2018 film Black Panther.
Fightful Select reports that Priest was asked by Marvel to read for the role of Namor, the primary antagonist of the film.
The iconic Marvel antihero made his comic-book debut in Marvel Comics #1 back in October 1939.
The report adds that Priest was also considered for a role as one of the other “featured members” of Namor’s kingdom, the Talokan.
Priest has no official acting credits to his name, and it is unclear whether he attended the line reading.
The Judgment Day member does not appear in the film, with Namor instead being played by Mexican actor Tenoch Huerta.
Wrestling and Comic Books
Priest is not the latest high-profile name to join the MCU, but the world of wrestling and Comic Book movies are linked.
In Marvel’s Cinematic Universe, Batista has made several appearances as Drax the Destroyer, part of the Guardians of the Galaxy.
‘Macho Man’ Randy Savage played Bonesaw McGraw in the 2002 Spider-Man film, while NJPW/WCW name Tyler Mane would play Sabertooth in the 2000 X-Men film.
For DC Comics, The Rock wowed audiences earlier this year with his work as Black Adam, while John Cena plays Peacemaker in 2021’s The Suicide Squad and the HBO Peacemaker series.
WWE Survivor Series WarGames will be watched live and in person by The Undertaker, PW Insider reports.
This Saturday will mark the latest Survivor Series event, and the first since 1994 not to happen on a Sunday.
The report adds that the Phenom’s wife Michelle McCool will also be in attendance for the event.
It is noted that the duo will be backstage, and it is not specified whether an on-screen appearance could happen.
The Undertaker famously debuted at Survivor Series 1990 as part of Ted DiBiase’s Million Dollar Team.
Who Won’t be There?
The Undertaker and McCool will be at Survivor Series WarGames, but not every big star will be in town.
In the report, PW Insider adds that there is no confirmation on whether Sasha Banks, Naomi, or Charlotte Flair will be at the event.
All three women have been missing from WWE TV since May, with Banks and Naomi absent due to being suspended following their May 16, Raw walkout.
Flair has been missing since losing the SmackDown Women’s Championship at WrestleMania Backlash.
While all three would be fine additions to Team Bianca, it is believed that the fifth woman for the Women’s War Games match will be someone else. Click here to find out.
Survivor Series WarGames
This Saturday will mark WWE’s annual Survivor Series event, which for the first time ever, will use WarGames matches.
Undertaker and McCool have a stacked show to enjoy, including two WarGames matches.
SmackDown Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey will defend against Shotzi, while Finn Balor will take on AJ Styles.
As confirmed on Raw, U.S. Champion Seth Rollins will defend against Bobby Lashley and Austin Theory.
Wes Lee defended the NXT North American Championship against Carmelo Hayes tonight on NXT. Carmelo gave it his all but in the end it was not enough. Wes connected with a Michinoku Driver to put Hayes away and retain the title.
After the match, a jail cell was shown on the screen with the door opening. Dijak appeared behind Lee and attacked the North American Champion. Dijak hit Wes with the Feast Your Eyes as the show went off the air.
Dijak was called up to the main roster in the short-lived faction known as RETRIBUTION. The group debuted during the pandemic and never connected with the audience. Dijak’s name in the group was T-Bar and he was stuck with that name even after the group disbanded. Tonight was Dijak’s first appearance in NXT in over two years.
Dominik Dijakovic and former WWE Superstar Keith Lee had an epic rivalry in NXT back in the day. Keith Lee had a bizarre main roster run in which his name was changed to “Bearcat Lee” before he exited the promotion. He’s now signed with All Elite Wrestling and recently was a tag champion with former Hit Row member Swerve Strickland. Dijakovic spoke about his rivalry with Keith Lee on WWE’s The Bump.
The pressure is to never have a good match or to top a match or anything. It just naturally happens. There’s a lot of chemistry there. It works out, because he’s a big guy, and I am as well, so that correlates between the two of us.
For me, the pressure is always the championship platform. I mean, I’ve been talking about the NXT North American Championship for over a year now. So, anytime that comes into play, that’s my focus and where I put the pressure on myself.
Reggie is back on WWE television as Scrypts in NXT.
Carmella’s former sommelier made his NXT in-ring debut on this week’s show. Scrypts defeated Guru Raaj tonight on WWE NXT. The masked superstar connected with a dive off of the top rope to win his debut match.
The debut of Scrypts has been teased for some time now in NXT but it was unknown who would be portraying the character until tonight. NXT aired weeks of vignettes, starting on October 25th with an individual using a voice changer to leave messages at the Performance Center. It was revealed to Reggie’s new WWE character tonight on NXT.
Reggie is a former 24/7 Champion and was last seen on WWE television in June. He competed in a Battle Royal in June to earn a spot in men’s Money in the Bank Ladder match.
Riddle won the Battle Royal and Austin Theory went on to win the MITB contract. The 29-year-old’s last match was a loss to Shelton Benjamin during a taping for WWE Main Event in September.
Reggie captured the 24/7 Championship four times, with his longest reign at 112 days. Nikki Cross most recently won the 24/7 Championship and threw it in the trash. The title has since been officially retired. In a storyline on Raw, Reggie married Dana Brooke but the relationship ended in disaster.
The November 22, 2022 episode of WWE NXT aired live on the USA Network from Orlando, Florida at the Capitol Wrestling Center.
WWE NXT Results
Cora Jade def. Wendy Choo
Ivy Nile (w/ Tatum Paxley) def. Kiana James.
SCRYPTS def. Guru Raaj.
Zoey Stark def. Sol Ruca.
NXT Tag Team Champions Pretty Deadly (Elton Prince & Kit Wilson ) (c) def. Chase University (Duke Hudson & Andre Chase) (w/ Thea Hail).
Wes Lee def. Carmelo Hayes to retain the North American Title
Here are the takeaways from this week’s show:
Toxic Attraction Opens
Toxic Attraction (Mandy Rose, Gigi Dolin, and Jacy Jayne) kicked off the show with an in-ring promo.
Rose retained her NXT Women’s Championship against Alba Fyre in a Last Woman Standing match this past Tuesday. Rose defeated Fyre after Isla Dawn made her surprise NXT debut by interfering in the match.
So what did they say? Dolin and Jayne talked about how Rose is awaiting her next victim while they refocus on becoming three time NXT Tag Team Champions.
This led to Carter and Chance coming out to tell them that they’re not better than everyone else. Chance said that Rose didn’t reach all of her accomplishments by herself. They said Toxic Attraction is a train wreck waiting to happen. They said when Rose loses her title then they will lose all equity in NXT. Dolin and Jayne said that they made them relevant and seeing them with the titles make them sick. A brawl broke out with Toxic Attraction laying them out.
NXT North American Champion Wes Lee defended the title against Carmelo Hayes.
On the NXT episode on September 13, Solo Sikoa defeated Hayes for the championship. Sikoa wasn’t Hayes’ initial opponent and Shawn Michaels ruled that the victory was void. Instead, the title was challenged in a ladder match at the Halloween Havoc event on October 22, with Lee winning.
The match served as the main event of the show that was back and forth, which had outside interference from Trick Williams. Lee went over with his finisher. Post-match, Dijak laid out Lee.
Wendy Choo vs. Cora Jade in a singles match took place.
Two weeks ago, Choo stopped Jade from using a kendo stick to attack Valentina Feroz, marking the start of their rivalry. The following week, Jade made Choo the target of her bullying. Last week’s NXT featured Choo claiming that Jade’s statements were nothing new to her.
The match ended when Jade tossed coffee on Choo’s face. Jade then hit a DDT on Choo for the pinfall win.
It was a guy in a mask who teleported from the ringside into the ring. The fans in attendance were chanting Reggie, who used to be on the main roster. He went over by hitting a dive off the top rope for the win to beat Guru Raaj.
In recent weeks, Scrypts has begun sending ominous messages to the WWE Performance Center. Scrypts claimed on last Tuesday’s NXT that they “passed past the guards with ease,” meaning that they have reached NXT. Scrypts concluded the tale by saying, “Next week, you’ll realize that you and I aren’t the same. So tell me, “Who wants to play a quick game first?”
There was a video promo with just Apollo Crews where he talked about how six months ago, he looked into WWE NXT Champion Breakker’s eyes and told him he was coming after the title.
He confirmed in this video that he will challenge Breakker for the NXT Title at Deadline on December 10th.
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.
