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Nikki Bella On WrestleMania 38: ‘I Have A Ticket Booked’

Jaychele Nicole
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When making an appearance on ON With, Nikki spoke about the Bellas possible WrestleMania 38 plans and her having a ‘ticket booked’ for the two-night show. 

Back at the 2022 Royal Rumble, The Bellas made their return. Nikki and Brie Bella both participated in this year’s women’s Royal Rumble match. Prior to the rumble match, Nikki had not wrestled since 2018. It seemed like she would never be able to wrestle again as she had said that she was put on the “retired bench for life” by doctors.

Nikki Bella On WrestleMania 38

Nikki recently spoke with Mario Lopez about the upcoming two-night WrestleMania. With her recent clearance, it is possible that her and Brie could get involved in the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship picture.

The longest reigning Divas Champion said, “So far, I have a ticket booked. That’s all I can say. The Undertaker is getting inducted into the Hall of Fame. Vince McMahon announced he’s inducting him, so I’ll for sure be at the Hall of Fame because that’s an iconic moment. Being a Hall of Famer, I have to represent. Bellas always find some way to get themselves into trouble there.”

There is currently a WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship match scheduled for WrestleMania 38. On WrestleMania Sunday, Carmella and Queen Zelina will defend their titles in a triple threat match. The current Women’s Tag Team Champions will take on Sasha Banks and Naomi vs Rhea Ripley and Liv Morgan on Sunday, April 3rd.

The Bellas WrestleMania 37 Involvement

The Bellas were featured in last year’s WrestleMania. They confronted Bayley who was the host of WrestleMania 37. The Bella Twins were also inducted into the 2020 Hall of Fame class. The class was officially honored at WrestleMania 37 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

It is still unknown if either, or both, of The Bellas will be used or booked on WrestleMania 38.

H/T to Jeremy Lambert of Fightful for the transcription

https://youtu.be/oA08O-KOS9o

Peacock President Calls WWE Partnership ‘Incredibly Successful’

Jaychele Nicole
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Kelly Campbell, President of Peacock, spoke with Vulture and spoke very highly of the WWE partnership; even calling it ‘incredibly successful.’

WWE Network & Peacock Deal

Back in January 2021, it was announced by WWE and NBC Universal that the WWE Network would be moving over to Peacock. In April of 2021, the WWE Network officially moved to Peacock when all of their live and archived footage began to be housed on the NBC streaming platform. 

WWE fully converted to Peacock and have held their premium live events, or pay-per-views, on the service as a part of their $1 billion rights agreement.

Kelly Campbell Comments On The Partnership

Kelly Campbell became the new President of Peacock in October 2021.

Campbell spoke with Josef Adalian of Vulture about Peacock’s partnership with WWE.

Peacock’s President said, “WWE has been an incredibly successful partnership for Peacock since launch. We invested in an incredible fan base that provides us the opportunity to bring those fans back time and time again with the massive live events that are part of the WWE franchise. We have WrestleMania, in fact, returning on April 3. This is already one of our biggest live events of the year. 

And we have an original series that I’m super-excited about featuring John Cena coming later this year called WWE Evil that I think will bring a fun new take on the space for this audience.”

Jungle Boy Is Excited For Tony Khan’s Ring Of Honor Acquisition

Jaychele Nicole
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At the 2022 AEW Revolution media scrum, Jungle Boy discussed his excitement for the Ring of Honor acquisition. 

Jungle Boy is a member of the 4 Pillars of AEW. He is one of the youngest guys on the roster, while also being able to hold his own with some of their biggest stars. This past weekend at Revolution, as a member of Jurassic Express, Jungle Boy helped his team to defend the AEW World Tag Team Championship. Jungle Boy & Luchasaurus, aka Jurassic Express, defeated the Young Bucks and reDRagon to retain their AEW World Tag Team Championship.

Ring Of Honor Acquisition

Prior to AEW, Ring of Honor was the promotion that many of today’s stars were able to cut their teeth in their early years. Talent were able to hone their craft and raise their profile, which many times helped them to receive other opportunities.

On the March 2 edition of Dynamite, Tony Khan revealed that he had purchased Ring of Honor. The two entities are currently in the early stages of transferring assets, including their valuable tape library. The AEW CEO and President has said that he plans to continue ROH’s wrestling operations, as well as being the Head Booker of the promotion and AEW.Jun

Jungle Boy’s Reaction To The Purchase

At the Revolution media scrum, Jungle Boy was asked about his thoughts on the Ring of Honor purchase. 

One-half of the AEW World Tag Team Champions said, “It’s exciting. There is crazy stuff happening now in wrestling that I think, a couple of years ago, you never would have imagined. It’s really cool. It’s going to provide new opportunities for people who don’t work here now, and some people who do work here. 

I’m excited, like everyone else, to see what exactly that means. I don’t think it can be a bad thing. It’s very cool, Tony is making big moves, he’s all about that. He’s continuing to push forward, I think that’s neat.”

H/T to Jeremy Lambert & Robert Defelice of Fightful for the transcription

Britt Baker vs. Thunder Rosa Match Finish Was Changed Multiple Times Leading Up To AEW Revolution

Andrew Ravens
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Britt Baker retained her AEW Women’s Title over Thunder Rosa at Sunday’s AEW Revolution pay-per-view in Orlando, Florida. Baker also showed off the newly designed title belt. 

Fightful Select reported today that AEW officials changed the finish to Rosa vs. Baker match multiple times in the weeks leading up to Revolution. The finish ultimately saw interference from Rebel and Jamie Hayter, which led to Baker hitting her Stomp for the pin to retain.

It’s unclear why the promotion went back and forth on the finish, but based on the finish, it’s leading to a rematch between both stars during the St. Patrick’s Day Slam edition of AEW Dynamite on March 16 in San Antonio, Texas, which is the hometown of Rosa. 

All Elite Wrestling has already confirmed Rosa vs. Leyla Hirsch with the winner earning the next title shot from Baker will take place on Wednesday’s episode of Dynamite. 

The report also noted that the design for the title belt was produced by Belts By Dan, and it was completed in just three weeks. Dan’s quickest turnaround for a belt is a month. It was inspired by the Mid-South Wrestling North American Title. 

Colby Covington Is Interested In WWE After His UFC Career

Jaychele Nicole
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In a recent conversation with Sports Illustrated, Colby talked about the possibility of heading to the WWE after his UFC career ends.

Colby Covington’s UFC Career

It is not uncommon for MMA stars and professional wrestlers to cross over. Some of the most notable stars to do this have been Ken Shamrock, Ronda Rousey, and Brock Lesnar. They have all shown a plausible journey to professional wrestling from MMA. Many even begin to incorporate that into their in-ring style. 

The former Interim UFC Welterweight Champion Colby Covington seems to be the next person to make that leap from MMA to wrestling. Colby has been a major star of the UFC for many years. He recently defeated Jorge Masvidal this past Saturday, via decision. He is currently #1 in the UFC welterweight rankings. 

Colby’s Interest In Working In WWE

Colby has made his interest in professional wrestling known many times before. Colby has an extensive history in ameatur wrestling as he qualified for the NCAA Wrestling tournament twice. He also was able to achieve All-American honors. 

Colby spoke with Sports Illustrated and said, “I’d love to cross over and come into the WWE, but I love being a UFC fighter. I love fighting; it’s my passion and what I was born and put on this earth to do. After my career with the UFC is done, WWE is something I’d love to dabble in.”

Covington On Ronda Rousey’s WWE Career

Covington also spoke highly about one of the recent MMA to pro wrestling conversions, Ronda Rousey. He even revealed that he believes she will be one of the best WWE wrestlers for many years.

“Ronda Rousey has really impressed me [in WWE]. Her promo game has come on strong. She’s just a true entertainer. She knows how to put on a show for a crowd. She is the baddest woman in combat sports. 

Look at her track record—she’s a trendsetter. The things she did in the UFC are unheard of. I’m a big fan of Ronda Rousey and I love the way she competes. I think she’s going to be the best WWE wrestler for a long time to come,” Covington says.

Ronda Rousey recently made her return to WWE. She will face Charlotte Flair for the SmackDown Women’s Championship on Night 1 of WrestleMania 38. 

Gail Kim: “Ultimate Athlete” Tessa Blanchard Should Be Accomplishing Big Things

Michael Reichlin
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Gail Kim feels that Tessa Blanchard is a rare talent who should be accomplishing big things in the wrestling business.

Kim and Blanchard worked together from late 2018 through early 2019 during their time at Impact Wrestling. In the culmination of their heated rivalry, Blanchard ultimately Gail Kim at Rebellion 2019 in what would be Kim’s retirement match.

“Tessa Was Like This Ultimate Athlete”

Gail Kim appeared on Busted Open Radio on Tuesday morning and spoke very highly of the second generation performer.

During her years as an active wrestler (2002-2019), Gail Kim has worked with them all, including Trish Stratus, Lita, Molly Holly, Mickie James, Beth Phoenix, Kelly Kelly, Eve Torres and Awesome Kong. According to Gail Kim, Tessa Blanchard was an “ultimate athlete” who stands above the rest.

“Tessa was like this ultimate athlete that I’d never been able to face an athlete on that level,” said Kim. “Years have passed now, it was 2019 since we had that match, and she should be accomplishing big things in this business, in my opinion. So, I wish I could see that for her, because I know that that talent is rare. So you know, we’ve talked about this a bunch but those are ultimately my bottom-line feelings.”

Tessa Blanchard went on to become the first woman to capture the Impact Wrestling World Championship in January 2020. After going on an extended leave of absence, Blanchard was released by Impact before her contract was set to expire and stripped of the championship in June of that year. She’s currently involved in the rebooted Women of Wrestling promotion.

You can listen to Gail Kim’s comments about Tessa Blanchard below, courtesy of our friends at the Putting You Over podcast:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9tUnjBOEQE

Finn Balor Details Struggles Of Being A WWE Star

Anutosh Bajpai
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One big struggle of being a WWE star or pro wrestler in general that usually goes unmentioned is being away from your family for most of the year. For someone like Finn Balor, the struggle is even more gruesome because his family lives in a different county. Growing up in Ireland means that Balor has spent the majority of his wrestling career away from the people he grew up with.

The former Universal champion opened up about this during his appearance on Corey Graves‘ After The Bell podcast. He mentioned how it’s the strive to prove people wrong that has kept him going because the money alone wouldn’t be worth the sacrifice:

“I’ll be honest, the money’s not that good for the amount of pain we go through and being away from my family for 20 years. I wrestle with myself the whole time as the money versus being away from Ireland for 20 years. In 10 years’ time, when like, my family, people start to pass, or my friends you know, move on. Is money gonna be worth the sacrifice? [The things] that I have given up.

Not the Physical sacrifice, the sacrifice of being away from your loved ones for literally 20 years. Having phone call relationships with people or text relationships with people that you grew up with or you love. I don’t have any kids, but I’ve got 12 nieces and nephews. I love them and they know me as Finn Balor. They don’t know me as Fergal. They don’t know their uncle, The real person. They just know their uncle on TV. So I kind of wrestle with these things all the time. Is money worth the sacrifice? Not the physical sacrifice, life sacrifice.”

How Finn Balor Balances His Emotions

Finn Balor as the US champion
Finn Balor as the US champion

Corey Graves then asked Finn Balor how he deals with the mental pressure of all this to which he replied that he doesn’t. Balor explained how his parents would question his decision if he stopped doing what he loves. On the same time, he constantly has to question himself on if doing it is worth staying away from his family:

“I don’t know if I balance it or not. I think I just bottle it up inside. Like a true Irishman, who bottles up his real emotions (laughs). It’s something that weighs on my mind a lot. Especially as I see my parents getting older now. I know, that they have so much respect for what I’ve done. They’re so proud of, where I have came from and where I am now. I know that they would be disappointed if I stopped doing it. They would be heartbroken. ‘He’s not following his dreams. Why is he not doing it?’ For me, I’m questioning ‘Why am I doing this to be away from them?’ So it’s like, what’s the right answer? It’s so hard to know.”

If you use any quotes from the article please credit SEScoops with an H/t for transcription

(Exclusive) Anna Jay on her Bloody Street Fight, AEW’s Women’s Division

Ella Jay
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Anna Jay recently spoke with SEScoops correspondent Ella Jay about the state of AEW’s women’s division, who she sees as a locker room leader and her intense tag team Street Fight from the “New Year’s Smash” edition of AEW Rampage.

All Elite Wrestling has been steadily growing its women’s division. Through its evolution, the female competitors have been granted some gnarly opportunities, through the first ever Unsanctioned Lights Out Match, the TBS Championship Tournament and the bloody women’s tag team war on New Year’s eve.

Watch our full interview with “The Queenslayer” Anna Jay

Street Fight at New Year’s Smash

Anna Jay and Tay Conti battled The Bunny and Penelope Ford in a tag team Street Fight on the final AEW broadcast of 2021. It was the culmination of a longstanding rivalry between the two teams.

The match was a violent affair and one of Anna Jay’s toughest challenges to date. Despite the physical toll the match took on all four women, Anna Jay says she learned a lot from the match and enjoyed the hardcore brawl more than she expected to.

“That was a lot of fun,” said Jay. “Definitely nothing like I’ve done before. So I think my biggest takeaway, too, is just even more believing in myself. I can do these things that other people can do, and I can do hardcore things which I never thought that I would do. And yeah, like I said, I had a lot of fun. I learned a lot and really enjoyed it more than I thought that I would have.”

How does one prepare for a match that involves tables, ladders, chairs and thumb tacks?

“I think really the only preparation was just mentally just knowing what my body was going to endure, she continued. “And it’s funny too, I don’t know if I’ve said this before, but I actually had a super bad migraine that day before the match, and I did not feel good at all. So it was like hard for me to really focus on, like worrying about things, if that makes sense. So I it was kind of like a crazy day, but yeah, I would say just mentally, just knowing what I was about to do.”

The AEW Women’s Division

In honor of Women’s History Month, Anna Jay also spoke on the AEW Women’s Division. She feels the division has come a long way since the company was founded in 2019.

“I mean, it’s definitely grown,” she said. “We’re doing great now. It’s cool to say to that. We have more than one segment on Dynamite and Rampage and to grow our roster and just myself, even being able to do more and seeing everyone get better and want to do better has been a really cool thing too. So, yeah, I mean, it’s been great and I think everyone in the locker room would say the same thing.”

Women’s Locker Room Leader

Vickie Guerrero
(Photo: AEW)

Anna Jay went on to also explain who she considers the locker room leader in the AEW Women’s division:

“Honestly, Vickie Guerrero, that’s a great one….She’s willing to help anyone so that to start off with. She really helped out the locker room a lot. Like I said, offers to help with anything, helps us with the locker room itself, like our stuff, our gear, just pretty much anything we need. She’s there. It’s like a locker room mom, like a locker room leader. She’s really the best.”

Thanks again to Anna Jay for chatting with us! You can follow her on Twitter and Instagram.

Please H/T SEScoops with a link if you use any quotes from this article

Becky Lynch Provides Gruesome Update Following Her Hospitalization

Andrew Ravens
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WWE Raw Women’s Champion Becky Lynch was hospitalized over the weekend and missed Monday’s WWE Raw as a result.

Lynch stated that she fractured her voice box at the house show in Allentown, PA on Sunday night where she worked a triple threat match in the main event against Bianca Belair and Rhea Ripley. Video of that incident has been added below.

Lynch expects to be back on Raw next week and wrote this caption with the photo of herself in the hospital:

“Unfortunately I will not be at #WWERaw tonight. Not only did Bianca whip me mercilessly with the illegal weapon that is her hair last week, but last night in the main event of #WWEAllentown she tried to take away my biggest weapon, the spoken word, by fracturing my voice box.

She can’t keep me down that easily. I’ll be coming for her next week. You can’t spell Wrestlemania without I!!!!!”

Becky Lynch is slated to defend the Raw Women’s Title against Bianca Belair at WrestleMania Sunday.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Ca0l44aM8RO/?utm_medium=copy_link

Becky Lynch Update

Becky Lynch posted an update on her condition late Monday night. The Man says no fracture of the voice box and no amount of spitting up blood will keep her from retaining her title at WrestleMania 38.

“No fracture, no spitting blood, no whipping is going to keep me from keeping a title no one has beat me for in 3 years. You’ve only made me more dangerous @BiancaBelairWWE,” she wrote.

Lynch’s tweet includes a promo stating that Bianca Belair fractured her voice box. She was hit so hard she was spitting blood all over the arena on Sunday night, but she made it to RAW but found Belair had ran away.

She added that Belair is doing anything she can do to get an advantage before WrestleMania, but Belair has no idea of the lengths she’ll go to keep the Raw Women’s Championship.

Video of the Incident

The following video surfaced online Monday evening from Sunday’s WWE live event in Allentown, PA. The post-match angle reveals how Belair punched Lynch in the throat, and then hit her with the KOD:

Finn Balor Was Hurt Over Not Being Part Of WrestleMania 37

Anutosh Bajpai
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Finn Balor was competing in NXT around the time of WrestleMania 37, but the kid inside him still wanted to be a part of the Show of Shows.

The United States champion recently appeared on WWE After The Bell. He discussed things such as moving back to the main roster and more.

Speaking of WrestleMania 37, Balor mentioned how he watched the show from his couch. He admitted that not being part of the event was not a good feeling:

“You can be jaded in any walk of your life, but when you’re a kid and you watch wrestling and love wrestling. The idea of being involved in WrestleMania is so far-fetched.

Every time that WrestleMania comes around, you want to be involved.” said Finn Balor, “Even though I wasn’t involved last year, I watched, and I’ll be honest, it hurt.”

Speaking of the upcoming WrestleMania 38, the former NXT champion said that he is super excited to be a part of the event and the festivities surrounding it.

Finn Balor defeated Damian Priest to win the US championship during the February 28 episode of Raw. He hasn’t been announced for a Mania match so far but he is expected to be a part of the show.

Finn Balor Was Tired Of ‘Politics’ In WWE Before Second NXT Run

Thanks to Fightful for the quotes

Eric Bischoff On If Tony Khan’s ROH Purchase Makes Sense

Anutosh Bajpai
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Tony Khan made the big announcement of purchasing ROH last week. Eric Bischoff thinks this acquisition makes sense for the AEW owner.

The former WCW president talked about this move from Khan in detail during the latest episode of his 83 weeks podcast. He mentioned how a lot of AEW stars have extensive ROH history.

Discussing whether the purchase makes sense from a business standpoint, Bischoff explained that it does if the goal is to build an independent streaming platform:

“In the end of it, all the conversation about was it a good deal for Tony or not, I think it was a good deal, If Tony’s goal ultimately is to build, independent of Turner, is to build his own streaming platform?” asked Eric Bischoff, “Absolutely the acquisition of Ring of Honor makes sense.”

Though the former wrestling promoter noted that the deal will not make financial sense in the short term because ROH does not have a large fan following.

The AEW owner himself had also provided some update on the indie promotion’s future during the post Revolution media scrum. He had suggested that ROH will keep operating as a promotion. You can check out his comments here.

Eric Bischoff: “AEW Has To Grow Their Business. They Haven’t Thus Far.”

Thanks to WrestlingInc for the quotes

Corey Graves On What It’s Like Calling WrestleMania

Anutosh Bajpai
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Being part of an event the caliber of WrestleMania brings in enormous performance pressure for many people, but for Corey Graves it’s one of the easiest shows of the year.

The WWE broadcaster recently had an interview with Bleav in Pro Wrestling. He discussed things such as his new reality show with Carmella and more.

When asked about his WrestleMania experience as one of the lead broadcasters, Graves claimed that it’s one of the easiest shows of the year to call:

“In my experience, has been one of the easiest shows of the year to call. Every time I do it. Because it’s the culmination of the storytelling. Sometimes the stories have been laid out for three months, six months, a year, and it finally comes full circle.

The story’s basically been told.” said Corey Graves, “So, during the entrances, my partners and I will tell what needs to be told of the story, but then I just get to be a fan again.”

The savior of misbehavior mentioned how he has been able to call matches of people like Undertaker and Shawn Michaels, which is surreal.

The only two big names he hasn’t gotten to call in some capacity are Steve Austin and Mr McMahon. Graves said he hopes to get one of them this year.

Thanks to CageSideSeats for the quotes

WWE Could End Partnership With 2K Soon

Anutosh Bajpai
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There is a good chance that WWE’s partnership with 2K could come to an end after the release of the upcoming WWE 2K22 video game.

Fightful recently provided some update on the company’s strategy. They noted that the officials have had discussions with EA about bringing their game line-up over:

“Multiple sources have stated that WWE has had preliminary discussions with Electronic Arts (EA) about bringing the WWE Games line over to one of the top gaming publishers in the world.”

2K sports signed a contract to produce games for the Vince McMahon owned wrestling promotion back in 2016. Sources indicate that it was a six-year deal with the option for a potential extension

WWE 2K22 is set to be released on various platforms this Friday, March 11. The critical and commercial performance of the game could play a factor in the organization’s future with the game developers.

The last WWE game in 2K20 was poorly received by fans and critics. The bug-ridden gameplay was universally panned. It led to the cancellation of 2K21.

How would you feel about the promotion partnering with EA for future video games? Let us know your thoughts about it in the comment section below.

Bron Breakker Pins Former World Champion in WWE Raw Debut

Anutosh Bajpai
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It’s been only 6 months since Bron Breakker had his first match on TV and he is already competing on one of WWE’s flagship shows.

The reigning NXT champion made an appearance on this week’s episode of Monday Night Raw from Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland, OH.

Breakker teamed up with Tommaso Ciampa to face Robert Roode and Dolph Ziggler in a tag match. Prior to the match, we saw a video package showcasing the dominance of the current champion since his arrival.

Breakker started the bout with Roode. Ciampa later tagged himself in but he lost control of the match after a big Spinebuster from Roode. Bron Breakker got the hot tag towards the ending of the match, while Dolph Ziggler tagged himself in as well.

After some more back and forth, Breakker dropped Ziggler with a big power slam. The NXT star then pinned the former world champion to pick up the victory for his team.

Dolph Ziggler has been involved in a storyline with the two NXT stars in recent times. This feud is expected to conclude this Tuesday where Bron Breakker will defend the NXT title in a triple threat against Ciampa and Ziggler.

Breakker defends the NXT Championship against Tommaso Ciampa and Dolph Ziggler on Tuesday night at NXT Roadblock on the USA Network.

After an impressive showing in his WWE Raw debut, Bron Breakker spoke about his title defense at Roadblock:

Watch: Steve Austin Accepts Kevin Owens’ WrestleMania Invite

Andrew Ravens
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Stone Cold Steve Austin has accepted Kevin Owens’ invitation to be his guest on the KO Show at WrestleMania 38.

At the conclusion of this week’s WWE Raw, Owens came out and cut a promo about wanting to have the biggest KO Show at WrestleMania. Since WrestleMania 38 takes place from Texas, he wants a low-life Texan to be his guest.

Owens said no thanks to JBL, Booker T, and Shawn Michaels. He said he has the perfect guest in mind. Someone who is a broken shell of himself and just drinking beer all day. 

He knocked this person for having bad knees and wearing braces. He asked if this person would need a walker to get out of the ring. He said that he would like to give this person a Stunner people would talk about for years and pour beer on him. He said that he doesn’t think he has the guts to show up.

Of course, Owens said he was talking about Stone Cold Steve Austin. He officially called out the Texas Rattlesnake to show up at WrestleMania.

Steve Austin Accepts Kevin Owens’ Challenge

Steve Austin WrestleMania 38

With WrestleMania 38 taking place from Arlington, TX, it was a foregone conclusion that Stone Cold would be at WrestleMania in one capacity or another.

Back in February, news broke (via Fightful) that WWE had made a “significant overture” towards Austin to come out of retirement at WrestleMania. This seemed like a long shot, and thus far it does not look like Austin will be wrestling a sanctioned match. Instead, this will be a talking segment that will almost certainly lead to Austin exacting revenge on Owens.

On Tuesday afternoon, Steve Austin accepted Kevin Owens’ invitation.

“19 years ago, I wrestled my last match in a WWE ring,” said Austin. “After three Rock Bottoms, 1-2-3, I lost the match. And for 19 years, I’ve had to live with that defeat, knowing my time was up. Kevin Owens, I want to thank you. I want to thank you for waking something up inside me that I’ve kept buried for 19 years. Ever since you started running that mealy mouth of yours, talking about the state of Texas, the great state of Texas, you got my attention. And why would you want to do that, Kevin?”

“I can think of two reasons. One, you are one dumb son of a bitch. Two, you are fixing to get your ass kicked by Stone Cold Steve Austin. Whether you want to call this the KO Show, a match, a fight, a brawl, whatever. I will guarantee you this. In Dallas, TX, where I started my career, at WrestleMania, Stone Cold Steve Austin is gonna open up one last can of whoop ass on you, Kevin Owens. And that’s the bottom line ’cause Stone Cold Said so!”

Watch Steve Austin respond to Kevin Owens’ WrestleMania challenge:

WWE RAW Results (3/7): Kevin Owens Challenges Stone Cold, Bron Breakker, New Champions

Robert Lentini
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WWE RAW aired live from the Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland, Ohio. Alpha Academy put the RAW Tag Team Championships on the line against RK-Bro and Seth Rollins & Kevin Owens in a Triple Threat match. Edge explained why he brutally attacked AJ Styles last week after the Phenomenal One accepted his WrestleMania challenge.

RAW Results

  1. RK-Bro def. Alpha Academy, Seth Rollins & Kevin Owens to become the new RAW Tag Team Champions
  2. Dana Brooke def. Tamina to retain the 24/7 Championship
  3. Bron Breakker & Tommaso Ciampa def. Robert Roode & Dolph Ziggler
  4. Omos def. Apollo Crews
  5. Rhea Ripley & Liv Morgan def. Carmella & Queen Zelina to be added to the Women’s Tag Team Championship match at WrestleMania
  6. Finn Balor def. Austin Theory via DQ

Here are the takeaways from this week’s show:

RK-Bro Are RAW Tag Team Champions Again

Alpha Academy defended the RAW Tag Team Championships against Seth Rollins & Kevin Owens, and RK-Bro in a Triple Threat match to begin the show. Before the match, Owens and Rollins cut a promo in the ring. Owens continued to mock Texas ahead of WrestleMania and referred to Chad Gable as Shorty G. Owens dropped yet another Cody Rhodes reference by claiming that the duo is “undeniable”. The RAW Tag Team Champions interrupted and Gable shooshed the crowd. Alpha Academy vowed to retain and RK-Bro said that they were going to get their titles back as RAW went to a break.

When RAW returned, the RAW Tag Team Championship Triple Threat match officially began. Owens and Rollins controlled the action early and took turns beating Gable down in the corner of the ring. Riddle hit Gable with an elbow and sent Rollins to the apron. Seth battled back and leveled Riddle and Gable with a springboard Crossbody before tagging Kevin Owens in.

Owens hit Riddle with a Cannonball in the corner of the ring and then threw Gable to the outside. Rollins took out Gable & Riddle with a dive through the ropes and rolled Gable back into the ring. Owens hit a Senton off the top rope and went for the cover but Gable was able to kick out at two as RAW went to a commercial break.

The champs took control when RAW returned and Otis had Riddle in a Headlock. Riddle battled to his feet but Otis struck him down before he could reach the corner for a tag. Otis went for a Vader Bomb but Riddle dodged it and tagged int Orton. Gable tagged in at the same time and Randy greeted him with a Powerslam. Orton hit Rollins with a Powerslam as well and then knocked Owens off the apron. The Viper then planted Rollins & Gable with a double DDT and fired up the crowd.

Orton connected with the RKO on Rollins and went for the cover but Owens dragged him out of the ring. Randy slammed Owens and Gable on top of the announce table before trying the same with Otis. He couldn’t lift the big man himself so Riddle helped him out and RK-Bro slammed Otis on top of the table as RAW went to another commercial break.

Riddle hit Gable with the Floating Bro but Owens broke it up at two. Riddle applied a Headlock but Owens countered into a Jawbreaker to break it up. Orton and Owens traded punches in the middle of the ring. Orton got the better of the exchange and sent Owens out of the ring. Otis tagged in and hit a Splash and Gable followed it up with a Moonsault but Rollins broke up the cover at two.

Otis sent Rollins to the corner and charged but Seth got out of the way. Otis crashed into the ring post and fell to the floor as Rollins perched Gable up on the top turnbuckle. Gable went for a Superplex but Owens broke it up. Owens climbed the turnbuckle as well but Otis joined the party for a Tower of Doom spot (Gable took the Superplex, Otis Powerbombed Rollins & Owens). All three teams were now trading strikes in the ring as RAW went to a third commercial break.

Back from the third break of the match, Rollins was in control and took a break to stare at the WrestleMania sign for a few seconds. It cost him and Riddle got him in a Triangle submission in the middle of the ring. Gable broke it up and delivered an Exploder Suplex to Riddle. Gable went for a Moonsault but Orton caught him in midair with an RKO out of nowhere.

Owens and Rollins delivered some Superkicks to knock Orton and Otis out of the ring. Rollins hit a Buckle Bomb on Gable and Owens followed it up with a Stunner. Rollins hit Gable with the Stomp but got knocked out of the ring by Riddle. Orton prevented Owens from getting back into the ring and Riddle covered Gable for the victory. RK-Bro are once again RAW Tag Team Champions. Kevin Owens sat against the steel steps in frustration as Rollins walked backstage with a blank stare on his face. Owens and Rollins currently have no path to WrestleMania in storyline. Orton cut a promo after the match and claimed that Riddle is his friend and that he hasn’t had this much fun in his entire career.

Dana Brooke Retained The 24/7 Championship

Dana Brooke defended the 24/7 Championship against Tamina to begin the 2nd hour of RAW. Akira Tozawa and Reggie were ringside for the match. WWE aired a segment of Reggie giving Dana Brooke a good luck kiss before the title match began. Tamina dominated and stared at Reggie before applying a Boston Crab. Dana Brooke countered into a cover for the pinfall victory and retained the 24/7 Championship.

The Miz Dissed His Hometown

The Miz and Logan Paul had a Homecoming Party tonight on RAW in their hometown of Cleveland. Logan Paul boasted about being 5th in the state in amateur wrestling and Miz noted how they were both self made, unlike Dominik who had to rely on his dad to get a WWE contract. The Miz introduced Jerry Lawler and The King made his way to the ring in a Browns jersey.

Lawler got a great reaction and suggested that Cleveland could host a WrestleMania. The Miz laughed at that notion even though he was from there and went on a rant about how much Cleveland sucks. Miz claimed Cleveland isn’t a WrestleMania city and he moved away the first time he got any success.

Miz added that winners leave Cleveland and pointed out how the Browns left Cleveland and became the successful Baltimore Ravens back in the day. The Miz then said it was time for them to take their talents to WrestleMania and leave Cleveland. The Miz & Logan Paul walked off to end the segment.

Bron Breakker & Ciampa Picked Up A Win

Robert Roode and Dolph Ziggler faced NXT Champion Bron Breakker & Tommaso Ciampa tonight on RAW. Breakker and Roode started off the action and Bron planted him with a big Suplex. Ciampa tagged in and continued to beat Roode down as RAW went to a commercial break.

When RAW returned, Ciampa was trapped in the ring for several minutes as Breakker pleaded for a tag. Bron finally tagged in and cleaned house. Ziggler hit a big boot to the face but the NXT Champion shrugged it off and hit a Clothesline. Breakker then connected with the big Powerslam for the pinfall victory. After the match, Dolph Ziggler warned Breakker that he is coming after the NXT Championship.

Omos Had A Confrontation With Commander Azeez

Omos faced Apollo Crews tonight on RAW. Omos dominated early and had a brief stare down with Commander Azeez who was ringside. Crews got in zero offense and Omos hit some more strikes before the Choke Bomb for the pinfall victory. Commander Azeez got in the ring after the match to check on Apollo and Omos got in his face. Omos smirked and exited the ring to end the segment.

Edge Explained His Attack On AJ Styles

Edge made his way to the ring in silence with a black suit and blue lighting. Edge said he attacked AJ because he needs to face the best version of him at WrestleMania. He claimed that the attack helped Styles and ironically he helped him to because it felt so good to do it. He claimed that he finally felt in complete control in the ring, and then added that he felt like he was in control of everything in the industry. Edge closed the promo by saying that he is standing on the mountain of omnipotence and the view is phenomenal. Edge stared directly into the camera as it zoomed in to close the promo.

Rhea Ripley & Liv Morgan Are In The Tag Title Match At WrestleMania

Rhea Ripley & Liv Morgan are apparently a tag team now and faced the Women’s Tag Team Champions Carmella & Queen Zelina. If they beat the champs, they will be added to the Women’s Tag Team Championship match at WrestleMania. Carmella and Zelina controlled the action and isolated Rhea Ripley in the corner of the ring.

Ripley hit an Enziguri and tagged in Liv Morgan. Liv slammed Zelina to the canvas and went for the cover but she kicked out at two. Zelina hit a Jawbreaker but Liv shrugged it off and rolled Zelina up for a near fall. Zelina tried to tag out but Carmella was too busy chatting with her husband, Corey Graves.

Rhea tagged in and hit the Riptide for the pinfall victory. Carmella & Zelina will now defend the Women’s Tag Team Championships against Naomi & Sasha Banks, and Rhea Ripley & Liv Morgan at WrestleMania.

Damian Preist Attacked Finn Balor

United States Champion Finn Balor squared off against Austin Theory tonight on RAW. Theory dragged Balor out of the ring and bounced his head off the apron. Balor responded with a Slingblade on the floor and rolled back into the ring as RAW went to a break.

When RAW returned, Theory connected with a Dropkick for a near fall before applying a Headlock in the middle of the ring. Finn escaped but Theory hit him with a Neckbreaker for a two count. Austin lifted Balor up in a Fireman’s Carry but he broke free and hit a Dropkick. Balor was about to hit the Coup de Grace but Damian Priest showed up. Damian attacked Balor to end the match in a DQ and planted him with the Reckoning. Theory hit Balor with the ATL and took a selfie to end the segment.

Kevin Owens Challenged Stone Cold To Appear On The KO Show At WrestleMania

Kevin Owens made his way to the ring at the conclusion on tonight’s RAW. Owens was interviewed backstage after the tag team loss to begin the show and claimed he had a plan for WrestleMania.

Owens looked into the camera and said he wanted to have the biggest KO Show in history at WrestleMania. Kevin mention Shawn Michaels as a proud Texan but he is a proud Canadian and it would be sacrilegious to have him on the show. Owens brought up Stone Cold and mocked him for having to wear knee braces during his WWE career. Owens then challenged him to be on the KO Show at WrestleMania to close the show.

Control Your Narrative Announces Metaverse Partnership With ImagineAR

Anutosh Bajpai
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The Control Your Narrative wrestling promotion founded by EC3 and Adam Scherr has announced a multi-year metaverse partnership with ImagineAR.

ImagineAR is an argument reality platform that allows businesses to create their own AR campaigns without the required programming or technological knowledge.

Per the joint press release, ImagineAR will be a metaverse sponsor for the new wrestling promotion and they will provide the company a custom AR mobile app:

“This agreement is for ImagineAR to be the official metaverse sponsor for CYN providing a custom AR immersive mobile app and for the talent roster to record FameDays e-greeting holograms.”

After leaving WWE back in April 2020, EC3 started a video series in which he claimed that he wanted to control the narrative. This led to several cinematic matches featuring the former Impact champion.

Adam Scherr aka Braun Strowman later joined this venture as well. They officially announced the creation of the Control Your Narrative promotion last month.

The company announced a TV deal with Pro Wrestling TV a few days ago. The platform will debut in April which will have a linear channel and on-demand streaming app. It will be an ad-supported service provided to viewers across the world for free.

Randy Orton & Matt Riddle Win WWE Raw Tag Team Titles

Andrew Ravens
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RK-Bro (Randy Orton & Matt Riddle) are back on top in the tag team division as they are once again the WWE Raw Tag Team Champions. They worked a triple threat match against Alpha Academy and Kevin Owens & Seth Rollins on Monday Night Raw. 

At one point, Gable went for a moonsault off the top rope and Orton hit an RKO. The finish saw Rollins hit the Buckle Bomb to Gable then Owens hit a Stunner and Rollins capped it off with the Curbstomp. Riddle pushed Rollins out of the ring and pinned Gable for the win. 

Following the match, they cut a promo. Orton said that he has never had this much fun in his career and he would not want to do it with anyone else, but his friend, Riddle. He ended the promo by saying that they’re going to WrestleMania. 

Orton and Riddle first won the titles at SummerSlam last August by beating AJ Styles and Omos. They dropped the straps to Otis and Gable on the January 10th edition of Raw. RK-Bro’s reign lasted for over 140 days. 

It’s unclear who Riddle and Orton will be defending the Raw Tag Team Titles against at WrestleMania 38 next month in Dallas, Texas. 

https://twitter.com/btsportwwe/status/1501012288798658566

Brock Lesnar Looks Back On “Foolish” Decision Attempting Shooting Star Press At WrestleMania 19

Fernando Quiles Jr.
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Brock Lesnar admits that he had a lapse in judgment when he attempted to land a shooting star press at WrestleMania XIX.

On March 30, 2003, Lesnar headlined the “Grandest Stage of Them All.” He challenged Kurt Angle for the WWE Championship. Lesnar won the match but he certainly didn’t walk away unscathed.

At one point during the match, Brock attempted to do the Shooting Star Press. While he landed the move frequently during his time at Ohio Valley Wrestling, Lesnar put on a significant amount of muscle since that time period.

It also didn’t help that Kurt Angle was quite far when Lesnar went up the top turnbuckle for the move.

Brock attempted the move and fell short, landing awkwardly on his head and neck.

Brock Lesnar Reflects On Shooting Star Press Mishap

Brock Lesnar was able to avoid a serious injury on that night but it doesn’t make the decision any less “foolish” as he puts it. Here’s what “The Beast” said about the near-disastrous botch on The Michael Kay Show (h/t Fightful).

“That was foolish on my behalf. You get people, producers, and people higher up in the company; they always want this WrestleMania moment, which would be fantastic. So I would practice it the night before. I was doing it in OVW when I was being trained. I’m 310 pounds, 6’3”, doing a front backflip off the top, hitting guys, and winning matches. Mr. Perfect Curt Hennig, bless his soul; you don’t need to do that. Stop doing that.

“Thankfully, I didn’t break my neck or anything. I shouldn’t have done it. I finished the match, had a concussion. Thankfully, that was the worst of it. Kurt helped me through and was talking to me. He should have rolled me over and pinned me, went off script.”

Randy Orton Shares How Much Longer He Plans To Wrestle

Andrew Ravens
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Randy Orton has been a top star in WWE since 2004 after being paired with Triple H, Batista, and Ric Flair. At 40-years-old, he still has plenty of years left as an active in-ring performer. 

He was asked if he will get into acting once his in-ring days are over while speaking with Adam Glyn of the Adam’s Apple YouTube show.

“You know, I’m a homebody, I don’t think that would be the lifestyle for me,” Orton said. “I like my schedule with the WWE right now, so I see [me] riding off into the sunset, still wearing my wrestling boots.”

Regarding his in-ring future, Orton stated that he thinks he has another 10 years left.

“I just turned 40 a year ago, I got another decade in me, you know. We’ll see,” Orton said.

Finally, Orton was asked who he’d like to induct him into the WWE Hall Of Fame and a few names came to mind such as Triple H, John Cena, and Ric Flair. 

“My wife actually just brought that up the other day, and we were thinking about it and it was kind of funny because we didn’t know who would be the guy,” Orton said. “Hunter came up, and Cena came up, Flair came up, but you know, I don’t know if I could get Cena to come in from Hollywood to do it. Maybe he could do it virtually, I don’t know.”

H/T to Wrestling Inc for the transcript

AEW Tag Team FTR Taking Independent Bookings

Fernando Quiles Jr.
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FTR is one of the top tag teams in AEW and they are broadening their horizons.

The former AEW Tag Team Champions and current AAA Tag Team Titleholders have announced on social media that they are now taking independent bookings. Dax Harwood issued the statement and said the team’s decision boils down to the desire to leave a legacy.

Of course, FTR will remain in AEW as the promotion allows talents to take bookings with other companies as long as there isn’t a scheduling conflict.

Here’s the statement from Dax:

“All Cash and myself have ever wanted to do is wrestle; but JUST wrestling isn’t enough. We’ve talked on countless interviews about how important leaving a legacy is to the two of us.

“When speaking of ‘legacy,’ it’s not just a buzz word; we absolutely mean it. To leave that legacy, and to prove we’re what all of our heroes and peers say, we have to wrestle the best teams in the world. At the end of the day, when it’s all over, we want all of our fans to proudly be able to say ‘FTR was the best.’

“In saying that, we’ve decided to take a select few independent bookings. Our agent handling our wrestling match bookings will be completely separate from our agent who handles our appearance bookings. We will work closely with that agent and the specific promoter to pick the best teams to wrestle, so we can put on the best matches for the fans.

“We LOVE wrestling and we’re extremely excited about the match possibilities we can have in the future. Cash & I hope we can continue to build on the legacy we’ve carved out for ourselves.”

The statement may not come as a surprise to some. After all, FTR made an appearance at ROH’s Final Battle event back in late 2021 to confront The Briscoes. This was months before Tony Khan purchased the promotion.

Updated Look at the new AEW Women’s World Championship

Michael Reichlin
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All Elite Wrestling has introduced another new AEW Women’s World Championship belt.

The new design was unveiled at Sunday’s AEW Revolution pay-per-view. Dr. Britt Baker successfully defended the new title against Thunder Rosa.

This is the third incarnation of the AEW Women’s Championship. The first design was introduced when Riho became the inaugural Women’s World Champion in 2019.

The Women’s title received a facelift last year, slightly enlarged, as was presented to then-champion Hikaru Shida.

This new incarnation is a drastic departure from the previous designs. AEW has provided some high resolution photos, which you can find below.

Here’s a detailed look at the all-new AEW Women’s World Championship, created by famed belt maker Belts by Dan:

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Vader to be Inducted into The WWE Hall of Fame

Tyriece Simon
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WWE will posthumously induct Vader into the 2022 WWE Hall of Fame.

Bleacher Report first reported that WWE would add Vader to the Hall of Fame class this year. The WWE Hall of Fame will take place on Apr. 1 at the American Airlines Arena in Dallas, Texas. WWE confirmed the news in a press release on their website.

“As first reported by Bleacher Report, Vader will be posthumously inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame’s Class of 2022. The Mastodon will be enshrined in the hallowed hall during the 2022 WWE Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony as part of WrestleMania Week,” said WWE.

Vader
Photo Credit: WWE.com

WWE Finally Inducts Vader to the Hall of Fame

For several years, wrestling legends and fans wanted WWE to induct Vader into the WWE Hall of Fame. After Vader passed away at 63 years old due to heart failure on Jun. 18, 2018, Mick Foley advocated that the company should induct “The Mastodon.” He called Vader’s absence into the Hall of Fame “the most glaring and obvious omission from the WWE Hall of Fame.”

Sean Waltman also expressed disappointment in the company’s hesitance to honor Vader. In an interview with The Tomorrow Show with Keven Undergaro, Waltman shared that Vader wanted WWE to induct him before he passed away.

“It was really important to him to be put in the Hall of Fame, and it really sucks. He deserved it too. Sometimes when you push too hard, and you’re out there, and you’re begging for it too much, it works against you. And that sucks in that case,” said Waltman(h/t Jon Feuntes).

It’s unclear if Vader’s family is disappointed in the WWE’s hesitance to induct Vader before his passing. However, this year “The Mastodon” will finally get his recognition by the company. He will also posthumously be honored alongside The Undertaker, his rival during his WWE career.

CM Punk Takes Shot At Goldberg

Anutosh Bajpai
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CM Punk won a hard-fought dog collar match against MJF during the Revolution PPV. He let himself loose in the post-show media scrum and didn’t pull any punches back.

During the talk, Punk took some shots at the former Universal champion Goldberg, for injuring Bret Hart and effectively ending his career:

“I love Bret Hart, His career was cut short [by Goldberg], and it’s a god damn tragedy because there are people who go over to Saudi Arabia and get paid millions of dollars. That should have been Bret.”

CM Punk, who himself had left wrestling at one point, mentioned how he is super grateful for his second chance in AEW. He claimed that he would give it up to Bret in a heartbeat because he loves Hart that much:

“I just feel super fortunate and grateful that I got a second chance, I’d give it up in a heartbeat to give it to Bret. I just love that mother f**er so much. He’s the greatest of all time.”

It’s worth noting here that Goldberg’s contract with WWE expired after his match with Roman Reigns at Elimination Chamber. As far as we know, he is now a free agent.

Apart from this, CM Punk also commented on Tony Khan purchasing ROH and he got emotional talking about it. You can check out Punk’s reaction here.

Tony Khan Wants To Keep ROH Running, Plans To Be The Booker

Fernando Quiles Jr.
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0

AEW boss Tony Khan has plans of continuing the ROH wrestling operations.

Khan announced that he purchased Ring of Honor from Sinclair Broadcast Group on the March 2 episode of Dynamite. Not much else was known about the acquisition other than Khan now has full access to the ROH tape library along with brand assets, intellectual property, production equipment, and more.

Future Of ROH

As expected, reporters at the AEW Revolution post-event scrum had some questions for Tony Khan in regards to the purchase of Ring of Honor. Khan revealed that he plans to keep ROH in business and he’s even looking to be the booker (h/t F4WOnline.com).

“What we’re going to do going forward? I think it assumes that we’re going to do something going forward. And yeah, I do still want to continue the operations going forward, and I am very excited about it and do have a lot of plans for it. I do expect to continue the wrestling operations. 

“I’m gonna be the booker. And there’s a reason for that. Because I will be bringing in young wrestlers, and they have a lot of young wrestlers, and I think we’re very successful here and we’re doing very well here.

“There should be a Ring of Honor, and I think I’ve got the resources to present a better version than anybody else can.”

It’ll be interesting to see how Khan plans to run ROH. Reading through the tea leaves, one might assume that Ring of Honor will become sort of a developmental system for AEW. Especially when Khan talked about the brand having “young wrestlers.”

SEScoops will keep you posted in the coming weeks and months on Tony Khan’s vision for ROH.

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