WWE Superstar Paige and AEW Women’s World Champion Britt Baker continue to express mutual admiration for one another.
Paige vs. Britt Baker is not happening any time soon, but it’s not out of the realm of possibility.
Their latest Twitter interaction saw Paige professing her love for Baker. Pro wrestling’s most dangerous dentist replied that she loves Paige too and is a huge fan of hers.
Some fans told Paige that she should be careful tweeting about an AEW-contracted wrestler. She jokingly replied, “Oh no. Not me commenting on another wrestlers talent. Someone alert the church elders! Don’t tell Vince McMahon!”
Paige and Britt Baker
Britt Baker has expressed interest in working with Paige if she ever leaves WWE and gets medically cleared to wrestle again.
Going back to October 2020, Baker floated the idea of working with the former Divas Champion.
Paige last competed in December 2017, when she was forced into retirement due to neck injuries. She has expressed interest in wrestling again, whether it be for WWE or elsewhere.
During a Twitch stream last summer, Paige clarified that her WWE contract expires in June 2022.
“Who knows if they would want to give me a new contract? Who’s to say they would want to? If they did, I’d love to have Twitch as a part of the contract.”
As seen in the tweet embedded above, she wrote:
“My neck feels wonderful. Can you let me in yet coach?”
Wardlow has been on MJF’s side from his start in AEW but things haven’t been so good between these two Pinnacle members recently.
The company has been teasing a potential feud between these two talents for a while and the heavyweight star is not denying the possibility either.
During a recent interview with Chris Van Vliet, Wardlow discussed how MJF loves adjusting his contract. He admitted that it has started to get under his skin:
“He loves adjusting my contract. He seems to make changes to it weekly, which is starting to get under my skin a little bit. But we’ve been together for two years, he pays me to watch his back. So, you know, that’s technically my job.”
Wardlow said that he will continue to do his job but on the question of a potential match with the Pinnacle leader, he claimed that his contract with MJF isn’t forever:
“So I will continue to do so as long as I’m under contract to do so. Because that’s my job. I do my job, and I do it well. But who knows what happens? I know that contract isn’t forever. So who knows what will happen down the road.”
MJF is currently feuding with CM Punk. It wouldn’t be a surprise if the culmination of the feud leads to the end of his association with Wardlow as well.
NXT star Odyssey Jones will be out of action for the next several months.
The big man from Coram, New York sustained a knee knee injury earlier this month. On January 11th, he wrestled in a match taped for 205 live.
During his match against Grayson Waller’s new bodyguard Sanga, Jones appeared to blow out his knee. He was helped to the back by WWE officials and the match never aired.
Jones appeared on NXT last week getting checked out in the trainer’s room. He was attacked by Harland, further aggravating the injury per WWE storylines.
On Tuesday’s NXT, broadcaster Vic Joseph announced that Odyssey Jones recently underwent surgery to correct a ruptured patella tendon.
The surgery is considered a success, but he will miss significant ring time. Odyssey Jones is expected to be out of action until late 2022.
This is a tough break for Jones, who is considered to be one of the most talented prospects in WWE’s developmental brand.
Prior to joining WWE, Jones played football for Syracuse University, where he served as an offensive guard. His college football career was cut short during his senior year, when he suffering a lower leg injury.
Odyssey Jones made headlines earlier for comments on social media that some considered to be transphobic. You can read about that story here:
It appears that King Xavier Woods might be returning to the WWE TV sooner than first thought and we might see him at the Royal Rumble event as well.
Mike Johnson of the PWinsider recently provided some update on the New Day star who has been off TV due to his injury for the past few weeks.
According to the report, Woods is expected to join the WWE crew back on the road starting this Friday. Though it’s unknown whether he has been cleared for active competition.
The King Of The Ring winner tore his Plantaris muscle during a Street Fight with The Usos on the January 7 episode of SmackDown earlier this month.
At the time it was assessed that Xavier Woods will miss four to six weeks of action. Kofi Kingston had confirmed that he will not be competing in the Royal Rumble.
Though his recovery period is short enough for WWE to keep the New Day member on TV until he gets cleared for in-ring action by the doctors.
Woods won’t be the only unexpected star backstage at SmackDown as reports suggest that several NXT stars are scheduled to be in the arena for the show as well.
WrestleMania this year will once again be a two-night event. It will be taking place on April 2 and 3 from AT&T Stadium in Dallas, Texas.
WWE has also announced the NXT Stand & Deliver PPV event and the Hall Of Fame ceremony for the Mania weekend.
All these announcements had confused fans about the scheduling of these events. PWinsider has now provided an update on the current plans for these shows.
According to the site, the current working plan is for the Hall Of Fame ceremony to air on Friday night, after the SmackDown broadcast has gone off the air. There is no word yet on if the ceremony is expected to air live or be taped ahead of time.
As for the NXT event, the plan right now for the Stand & Deliver PPV is to air the show on Saturday afternoon, prior to night 1 of WrestleMania 38.
These events will of course be in addition to the WrestleMania go home episode of Raw on Monday and the weekly NXT episode on Tuesday.
With over 2 months remaining to the show of shows, these plans are still “very preliminary” and could change as the event comes closer.
Now that his WWE contract has officially expired, Johnny Gargano is free to show up anywhere he wants to wrestle the people of his choice. He is certainly not backing away from naming the people he wants to get in the ring with. There are a couple of top AEW stars he seems to have his sight set on at the moment.
During a recent Twitch stream, Gargano offered his thoughts on the former AEW champion Kenny Omega. He said “I think Kenny Omega is one of, if not the, best wrestler in the world currently. I know that it is a legitimate dream match for a lot of people, me and Kenny, and it is definitely a dream match for me too.”
Gargano was later asked if he watched the Hangman Page vs Bryan Danielson AEW world championship match from the Winter Is Coming special of Dynamite. He replied positively before claiming that Danielson is the best wrestler in the world:
“I did. It was fantastic. They’re both amazingly talented and I wrestled Bryan twice on the Indies, both times for AIW in Cleveland. I [have] said time and time again that he’s the best wrestler in the world. I know I say a lot of people are one of the best wrestlers in the world. I truly believe that Bryan is the best wrestler in the world.”
Johnny Gargano Wants Rematch Against Bryan Danielson
Johnny Gargano
Johnny Gargano continued by saying that he can’t explain why he thinks Bryan is the best wrestler in the world. He claimed that you have to step in the ring with the former world champion to know, before expressing the desire of doing so himself:
“The guy for my personal opinion just because I have been in the ring with him. So, I kind of know from experience, I don’t know how to explain it or say why he’s the best wrestler in the world. You just got to be in there with him and you just know, like, you just know. Bryan is the best and it’s a shame that we never got a chance to have entangled in the last couple years but hopefully at some point down the line that can happen.”
Johnny Gargano ended his six years long stint with WWE earlier this month. He let his deal expire and chose not to re-sign with the promotion. His last bout was the WarGames match between Team Black and Gold and Team 2.0. The belief is that he will take some time off to be with his wife until the birth of their first child in February before making a decision about his future.
If you use any quotes from the article please credit SEScoops with an H/t for the transcription
Randy Orton has revealed that he missed a couple months of action back in 2021 after catching COVID and losing a lot of weight because of it.
The Viper recently had an interview with The Ringer Wrestling Show. During the talk, he revealed that he tested positive for COVID-19 in June:
“In June, I got COVID. I missed seven weeks of TV because my blood inflammation levels were so high that they were worried that it was going to turn into a mild cardease or echo cardease or something with the heart.”
Revealing the effects of the disease on him, Randy Orton explained that he lost 20 pounds due to the infection and was stick skinny:
“I lost 20 pounds during Covid. I had it so bad. I was stick skinny, stick thin. I had a chance to rebuild. I’m either going to do it this way or I’m going to do it that way.”
Orton later explained that as part of his recovery he cut down sugar and alcohol from his diet. He also started seeing a physical therapist for some of his shoulder issues and Randy said that he is now feeling the best physically since he can remember.
Randy Orton missed a couple of months of action in mid-2021. He wrestled during the June 21 edition of Raw and didn’t compete in another match till 9 August.
A lot of people have criticized how Vince McMahon and company handled Killer Kross on the main roster. Though the former WWE star himself does not have anything bad to say about the boss. The former NXT champion recently appeared on Busted Open Radio where he discussed a number of things.
When asked if he had a relationship with McMahon, he claimed that the chairman always made himself available:
“Not necessarily, but he always made himself available to me, I would be able to knock on his door and go in and talk to him about anything.” said Killer Kross, “But the information that he had given me about what he wanted from me was usually at Gorilla, at the end of the matches.”
The former NXT star explained that the information he needed for his character was given to him by writers. According to him, Mr McMahon told him he was very happy with everything Kross was doing:
“He told me he was very happy with everything that I was doing.” revealed Killer Kross, “And in terms of bringing a character to life, aside from the outfit, I mean, I wasn’t really given much direction,”
The former Impact star later mentioned how he felt his presentation was amputated because his theme song was still sung by Scarlett but she wasn’t at his side. According to him, what went wrong with his character was that the presentation of it didn’t provide a lot of explanation of what was going on.
Atleast four of the current WWE NXT superstars are slated to be at the SmackDown taping this Friday from Kansas City, Missouri.
Per PWInsider, former NXT women’s tag team champion Dakota Kai, and former NXT women’s champion Io Shirai are both expected to be in the arena for the episode.
On the men’s side, both former Million Dollar champion LA Knight and Diamond Mine Leader Roderick Strong are slated to be at SmackDown.
There is no word yet on what these stars will be doing on the show but they are most likely to be working dark matches as part of the process for their main roster callup.
Lo Shirai hasn’t wrestled on a main roster show since 2019. She was a surprise entrant for the Women’s Royal Rumble match that year.
Dakota Kai hasn’t wrestled on the main roster this year either. Though she was brought in for some dark matches late last year.
Both Strong and Knight, on the other hand, have wrestled several dark matches in recent weeks. The latest of them took place at last week’s SmackDown episode which was won by LA Knight.
These four aren’t the only wrestlers being evaluated as Tommaso Ciampa and Pete Dunne too have been working main roster shows recently. It would be interesting to see how many of them show up at Royal Rumble this Saturday.
The betting odds for the matches featured on the WWE Royal Rumble card have been released ahead of the show taking place in St Louis, Missouri from The Dome at America’s Center this Saturday.
There are no titles expected to change hands. Brock Lesnar and Big E are the favorites to win the men’s Royal Rumble match while Bianca Belair is the leading favorite to win the women’s match.
The favorites to win are listed as – while the underdogs are listed with +. Odds call for all three titles to change. Here are the betting odds, courtesy of Bet Online:
WWE Champion Brock Lesnar -230 vs. Bobby Lashley +160
Edge and Beth Phoenix -500 vs. The Miz and Maryse +300 – Mixed Tag Team Match
WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns -240 vs. Seth Rollins +165 – The Usos are banned from ringside
WWE Raw Women’s Champion Becky Lynch -1200 vs. Doudrop +750
Royal Rumble Betting Odds (Men’s)
Brock Lesnar +350
Big E +350
Roman Reigns +800
Drew McIntyre +900
AJ Styles +1000
The Rock +1200
Omos +1400
Bobby Lashley +1600
Seth Rollins +1800
Kevin Owens +2000
Finn Balor +2000
Damian Priest +2200
+2500 (Edge, Randy Orton, Austin Theory, John Cena, Riddle)
Braun Strowman +3300
+4000 (Samoa Joe, Sheamus, GUNTHER, King Woods, Sami Zayn, Bray Wyatt)
+5000 (Tommaso Ciampa, Gable Steveson, Bron Breakker)
+6600 (Shinsuke Nakamura, Happy Corbin, Pete Dunne, Rey Mysterio, Ricochet, Apollo Crews)
+10000 (Dominik Mysterio, Angelo Dawkins, Montez Ford, Johnny Knoxville, Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Undertaker, Mick Foley, Shane McMahon, Mr. McMahon)
Royal Rumble Betting Odds (Women’s)
Bianca Belair +300
Bayley +550
Alexa Bliss +600
Rhea Ripley +800
Sasha Banks +1200
Raquel Gonzalez +1200
Charlotte Flair +1200
Paige +1400
Ronda Rousey +1400
Liv Morgan +1600
Asuka +1800
Shayna Baszler +2200
Io Shirai +2500
* Lita +2500
Mandy Rose +3300
Sonya Deville +4000
Shotzi +4000
Carmella +5000
Trish Stratus +5000
+6600 (Lacey Evans, Dakota Kai, Kay Lee Ray, Natalya, Beth Phoenix, Nikki ASH, Queen Zelina, Mickie James)
+8000 (Maryse, Aliyah, Nikki Bella, Brie Bella)
+10000 (Candice LeRae, Kacy Catanzaro, Tamina, Dana Brooke, Michelle McCool, Kelly Kelly)
Sheamus wanted to return to his original Written In My Face theme song when he came back from an injury in 2019, but Vince McMahon apparently shot down the idea.
The former world champion suffered a concussion on the post-WrestleMania 35 episode of SmackDown which kept him out of action from April to September.
During a recent interview with FanSided Daily DDT, Sheamus revealed that he wanted to return with his original music, but Mr McMahon didn’t approve the idea:
“When I came back, I really wanted to bring that song back, but it was shot down. Vince hates it, some other people didn’t like it or didn’t agree, but it’s very nostalgic. I haven’t given up on it.
I guarantee you I will get that song back,” said Sheamus, “I just don’t know when, and nobody is going to know when, but I will get a chance to bring it back.”
Oklahoma State wrestler AJ Ferrari and track athlete Isai Rodriguez were involved in a car crash on Monday night while in a 2019 Dodge Durango on Highway 33 near Perkins, Oklahoma around 8 p.m.
Ferrari was driving when he attempted to pass 3 vehicles while cresting a hill and hit an oncoming vehicle before flipping the car several times until it came to a halt in a ditch. The other driver wasn’t injured and all drivers were wearing seat belts.
Ferrari was transported via helicopter to a hospital in Oklahoma City and is listed in fair condition. Rodriguez was taken to a hospital in Stillwater. The police report stated the multiple-time NCAA All-American in cross country was listed in fair condition with internal, arm, leg, and head injuries.
Oklahoma State said in a statement that neither of the two athletes suffered life-threatening injuries.
OSU football offensive coordinator Kasey Dunn, who was at the scene, was able to pull Ferrari to safety after the SUV caught on fire, according to ESPN. He had to get the NCAA champion in the 197-pound weight class out through a window.
Ferrari’s father said in a Facebook post that his son had no broken bones, but he has fluid in his lungs that is affecting his oxygen levels and bad bruising with some internal bleeding so he will remain in the hospital.
Ferrari signed a NIL deal with the WWE’s “Next in Line” program in December.
?I am extremely excited to announce that I OFFICIALLY have signed an agreement with @WWE ?? and I AM going to be a @WWE SUPERSTAR.? You can bet all your ?money? on ??Mr. Fast Twitch?? I am coming? for the?WWE Championship Title? and belt! ?????????????? pic.twitter.com/Ssk7UShhxx
Santos Escobar came out for a promo about wanting the NXT Title and wanting to be the next in line to challenge Bron Breakker for it. He took shots at Bron by saying he despises how fast Bron got here and all the opportunities he got. He doesn’t like how Bron won the title before him and how that makes him sick.
Bron came out and said that he was taught to handle his challenges head on. Bron said if Santos wants it then make the challenge. Santos said that things are done his time and when he’s ready, Bron will know.
Bron attacked Raul Mendoza and Joaquin Wilde to end the segment. At the end of the show, The heels tried to attack Bron in the parking lot, but Tommaso Ciampa walked up and it looks like we’re getting a 3-on-2 handicap match next week.
MSK (Wes Lee & Nash Carter) vs. Jacket Time (Kushida & Ikemen Jiro) in a Dusty Rhodes Classic tournament first-round match took place with the winners of this bout taking on Malik Blade and Edris Enofe, who beat Legado Del Fantasma last week.
The match opened the show and was a fun match with MSK hitting some impressive moves. MSK won with their finisher. Post-match, the four stars shook hands.
The Grizzled Young Veterans (Zack Gibson & James Drake) vs. Andre Chase & Bodhi Hayward in a Dusty Rhodes Classic tournament first-round match took place with the winners of this bout taking on The Creed Brothers, who defeated Briggs and Jensen.
The Grizzled Young Veterans went over with their finisher. Post-match, Von Wagner attacked Hayward and Chase before putting on a suit jacket. Robert Stone said that Wagner has been reinstated and is under new management.
Toxic Attraction (Mandy Rose, Gigi Dolin & Jacy Jayne) vs. Kay Lee Ray, Indi Hartwell & Persia Pirotta went down.
These two teams have been feuding for the last few weeks as Ray has been making it clear that she wants the NXT Women’s Title, currently held by Rose.
This was a solid match that included Kay hitting a dive from the top rope to the floor. At the end of the match, Ray chased Rose to the backstage area with a bat. Persia hit her finisher for the win.
Solo Sikoa vs. Boa in a falls count anywhere match took place.
The match started after Boa hit Solo with a kendo stick several times. Chairs and trash cans were also used. They brawled to the backstage area. Solo locked the garage door to the outside, but Boa opened it and Solo spread a fire estigher in his face before going back to the ring.
Solo hit a dive off the top rope to the outside to send Boa through a table.
Cameron Grimes vs. Tony D’Angelo in a North American Title number one contender’s match was booked.
This match was set up last week after D’Angelo held a memorial service for Pete Dunne following their match two weeks ago. D’Angelo said he was now setting his sights on the North American Championship, held by Hayes.
Following a back and forth promo segment, the match was proposed by Hayes after Grimes and D’Angelo each wanted a shot at his title. Hayes defeated Roderick Strong in a match to unify the NXT North American and Cruiserweight Titles.
The match was saved for the main event and it was a sold bout. Dune came out and hit Tony in the hand with a cricket bat and Grimes hit his finisher for the win. The match will happen at Vengence Day
WWE is bringing back the NXT Vengeance Day special once again.
The company announced during week’s NXT 2.0 that the special will take place Tuesday, February 15 on the USA Network. Also, it was revealed the special will feature the finals of the 2022 Men’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic.
During NXT 2.0, MSK defeated Jacket Time in a first-round match of the Dusty Classic Tournament to advance where they will now face Edris Enofe and Malik Blade in the semi-finals. Also on the show, Grizzled Young Veterans beat Andre Chase and Bhodi Hayward to advance to face The Creed Brothers in the next round.
WWE held the inaugural NXT Vengeance Day special on Sunday, February 14, 2021, and a lot of things have changed for the brand since that time. That show featured matches such as Finn Balor retaining the NXT Title over Pete Dunne, Dakota Kai & Raquel Gonzalez winning the Women’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic finals, and MSK winning the Men’s Dusty Classic finals.
Also, Johnny Gargano retained the NXT North American Title over Kushida while Io Shirai retained the NXT Women’s Title over Toni Storm and Mercedes Martinez in a Triple Threat Match.
Randy Orton has an idea of when he’ll retire from the wrestling business.
Orton has been with WWE since 2001. He first underwent a development process in OVW before making his television debut for WWE in 2002. Orton has become a legend in the industry and is a surefire WWE Hall of Famer.
Randy Orton On When He’ll Wind Things Down
Appearing as a guest on Ringer Wrestling podcast, Randy Orton said he can see himself retiring by the age of 50 (via PWMania.com).
“I’m 41. By the time I’m 50, I think I’m done. I’ll do auditions every once in a while, but I only do them because my wife says, ‘Oh do them because what if you don’t and then you’ll wonder, what if you did?’
“I do auditions here and there crossing my fingers that I don’t get a call back because I love what I do. I don’t want to stop. I don’t want to have to stop because of my body.
“I’ve taken it upon myself to make sure I’m doing everything I can on the daily that physically I’m able to continue, but if it was up to me, and I knew physically it wouldn’t be a problem, I’d say I would wrestle until I’m 50 years old, I would go out and have that last match when I’m 50, and say I was able to do it on my own terms. That’s nine years from now.
“I don’t see an end to my career anytime soon. I would like to continue to go.”
Ring of Honor World Women’s Champion Deonna Purrazzo wants to be a fighting champion.
Sporting News Daniel Yanofsky interviewed Purrazzo about becoming the ROH World Women’s Champion and her plans. She defeated Rok-C to win the title on the January 13th Impact Wrestling episode. Although ROH is on hiatus, the company has allowed there champions to defend the title for different wrestling promotions.
Yanofsky transcribed the following quotes. He asked Purrazzo if she’d try to represent ROH elsewhere as a champion like ROH World Champion Jonathan Gresham.
“Absolutely, especially with the unprecedented times, they are in. It’s interesting to have Jonathan Gresham wrestling on Impact, fighting Steve Maclin in a Pure Rules championship match. I love that Ring of Honor is represented, whether on Impact Wrestling, an independent show, wherever it is. It is a brand that means a lot to me personally from my time there,” said Purrazzo. She explained, “It helped develop who Deonna Purrazzo, “The Virtuosa,” was going to be as a wrestler. Now that I have the championship, I don’t know if I will be defending it under Pure Rules, but it does mean the world to me to be the ROH Women’s World Champion. I want to defend it and carry on the ROH brand wherever and however I can.”
What’s Next for ROH
ROH announced on January 20th that they would return with Supercard of Honor on April 1st. They revealed a unification title match for the ROH World Championship between Bandido and Gresham. However, the company doesn’t plan to sign talent to exclusive contracts. Instead, they will act like other independent promotions and get wrestlers to work dates. It’s unclear if the Bandido vs. Gresham match winner will defend the championship for different promotions.
Impact Wrestling doesn’t have an event scheduled for April 1st, and Purrazzo could appear for ROH’s return event. Although, ROH would have to figure out whom she would defend the title against now that they don’t have signed talent.
Keith Lee has taken steps to secure the rights to his “Limitless” moniker.
Last week, Lee (via attorney Michael E. Dockins) applied to trademark the name for professional wrestling and entertainment purposes.
The complete ‘goods and services’ usage description at the US Patent & Trademark Office reads:
Entertainment in the nature of wrestling contests; Entertainment services, namely, wrestling exhibits and performances by a professional wrestler and entertainer; Entertainment services, namely, live appearances by a a professional wrestler and sports entertainer; Entertainment services, namely, personal appearances by a professional wrestler and sports entertainment personality; Entertainment services, namely, televised appearances by a professional wrestling and sports entertainment personality; Providing wrestling news and information via a global computer network; Providing online interviews featuring a professional wrestling and sports entertainment personality in the field of professional wrestling and sports for entertainment purposes.
He also applied to trademark the following Limitless logo, for merchandising purposes:
Keith Lee was released from WWE on November 4, 2021.
An AEW star says he nearly walked out of Stadium Stampede with one less finger.
The main event of Double or Nothing back in May 2021 featured a Stadium Stampede match between Inner Circle and The Pinnacle. A stipulation was in place and had Inner Circle lost the match, they would’ve disbanded.
Ultimately, Inner Circle won the match, which meant Chris Jericho, Sammy Guevara, Jake Hager, and Proud N’ Powerful got to remain a faction.
Entrance Almost Led To Severed Finger
During an interview with Digital Spy, Ortiz of Proud N’ Powerful said that he nearly severed a finger during Inner Circle’s special entrance.
“I wasn’t wearing gloves. So when I jumped, out of instinct I grabbed the rope in front of me. But you have this carabiner hooked up and it’s like this thick metal carabiner, so with the slack of me getting pulled up, it cut my finger.
“So I actually wrestled the rest of Stadium Stampede with a bandage around my finger and it cut pretty deep – it left a scar.
“But I was like, ‘Man if I would have grabbed it differently my finger would have just went flying off but I would have had no choice but to do the entrance because it was one take, that’s it. But yeah, luckily I didn’t lose my finger.”
The entrance made for quite a visual, although many watching live were instantly concerned for the safety of the performers.
Luckily, nothing serious went down and all fingers remained intact.
Nick Khan was featured in a piece by the Sports Business Journal where he talked about his role as president and chief revenue officer in WWE.
Over the past two years, there have been mass talent releases and WWE cited budget cuts as the reason for them despite the company making more money than ever. Many have blamed Khan for the cuts and speculation has been that he is setting the company to be sold in the coming years. By cutting talent and employees, it makes the company even more profitable.
The article cited Khan stating “the company has taken some inbound calls from companies looking to buy. But he stressed that WWE is not in active conversations trying to sell the company and is not actively looking to sell.”
The article mentioned WWE’s big media deals in recent years including WWE’s $1 billion streaming deal with Peacock and the multipart documentary on the life of Vince McMahon, which is being produced by Bill Simmons.
One strategy done by the company is shifting PPV events from Sundays to Saturdays, which was first done with SummerSlam and later Day 1. Royal Rumble will also be one of those events to be held on a different night of the week from its traditional Sunday night slot.
Khan noted that this move is “a huge opportunity to grow revenue in the live events business” and ticket sales for this month’s Royal Rumble are tracking at an all-time high.
We are just days away from the 2022 Royal Rumble and the rumor mill is in overdrive regarding potential surprise appearances.
According to Fightful Select, WWE has discussed Asuka returning to compete in the Women’s Royal Rumble match. This is not a confirmation that she will appear, but the report states that several wrestlers in WWE believe Asuka will be there this Saturday.
Asuka has been away from WWE for over six months. Her last televised appearance took place at Money in the Bank on July 18, 2021. The report shares that she had been dealing with injuries since her last WWE appearance but can’t confirm if doctors medically cleared her to wrestle.
Some of the talent in WWE also wouldn’t know if they will be on the Royal Rumble card until that day. While WWE discusses Asuka as a surprise, they could also change their minds.
The 2022 Royal Rumble premium live event airs this Saturday on Peacock in the United States and the WWE Network everywhere else.
She is also Steve Austin’s guest on the next installment of Broken Skull Sessions. The episode drops this Friday.
WWE has released a teaser clip for the episode. Steve Austin invites Becky Lynch to play The Game of GOATs, which involves the contestant naming the ‘greatest of all time’ for various categories. Some of the questions are wrestling-related, but not all of them.
Becky Lynch plays The Game of GOATs
Here are Becky Lynch’s picks for the greatest of all time:
WWE Champion: Herself
Workout Song: Bulls on Parade (Rage Against the Machine)
Finishing Move (other than her own): Shooting Star Press
Movie: What’s Eating Gilbert Grape?
TV Show: Saved by the Bell
WrestleMania Entrance: Any of Triple H’s
Athlete Outside of WWE: Conor McGregor
Advice Giver: Seth Rollins
Breakfast: Oatmeal or Toast
Watch Becky Lynch play The Game of GOATs with Stone Cold Steve Austin:
Catch Becky Lynch on Steve Austin’s Broken Skull Sessions this Friday on Peacock in the U.S. and WWE Network everywhere else.
Proud and Powerful shared that they also wanted to go their separate ways and believed that the group had accomplished all they could.
“…I just felt like we had done so much, and we have proven to be very successful at being the group and stuff, I just felt like it was it was time for all of us to, like you said, go our separate ways and start establishing our own selves and whatever we’re going to continue doing and stuff like that and then maybe eventually later down the line we could bring it back together for a major moment and rock and roll again,” said Santana.
Ortiz also believes that while the Inner Circle members have separate feuds sometimes, he likes the option to go back to being a faction.
WIll the Inner Circle Break Up Soon
The current storyline with the Inner Circle seems to be setting up disbanding. Eddie Kingston remarked that Proud and Powerful could be AEW Tag Team Champions if they weren’t with the Inner Circle. Both Santana and Ortiz walked away from Jericho during a backstage segment showing that they were having issues. In the interview with Chase, Proud and Powerful acknowledge that AEW could break up the faction soon, but it’s still speculative.
After praising her husband, Paquette responded to Ray’s critique about her husband’s return and that he believes that Moxley should’ve apologized to fans for taking time off. She didn’t want to address Ray’s comments, but she felt that Ray crossed the line talking about her husband.
“…The Bully Ray thing, I saw it all over my Twitter, and I was like, do I even address this? But it’s like that thing. People can talk sh*t about me all day long, whatever it’s fine. You talk sh*t about my husband. You talk sh*t about my family that becomes more personal for me,” said Paquette.
She said it also bothered her because she had a good relationship with Ray. Moxley appeared at Northeast Wrestling Wrestlefest 26 on January 22nd, which Ray also attended. However, it’s unclear if they have spoken to each other.
More on Paquette Response to Bully Ray Comments
Ray comment’s about Moxley, which bothered both wrestlers and fans. His SiriusXM Busted Open show co-worker Mark Henry also criticized Ray’s remarks about Moxley. While Ray has yet to apologize, Paquette is not expecting one. She also addressed Moxley’s decision to deal with his issues and that the wrestling business has a troubled history with wrestlers that suffered or died from addiction issues.
“…He wanted Jon to apologize to the fans, and it’s like yeah, he took time off to take care of himself. Him being there and having longevity in this business is plenty. The guy’s already put his body through the wringer with the job that he does,” said Paquette. She continued, “…Three months is also nothing in the scope of what wrestling is and also the scope of his life. Three months is nothing. So for him to go and do the things that he needed to do for himself, for our family, for our daughter, that’s for us. That’s for us, that’s not for anybody else, and I can not be more proud of him for doing that.”
“In a business that is so notorious with addiction issues, we’ve seen the untimely passing of so many wrestlers. It has been a thing that has affected the business for such a long time. It’s a stigma that comes with the business, so the fact that Jon is one of those guys in the spot that he is in, and he’s going against the grain and doing the things that he needs to do, I think, speaks volumes to the fans,” said Paquette.
Paquette made it clear that this is not an angle or a storyline. She also shared that Moxley wasn’t aware of Ray’s comments until she told him.
Becky Lynch has commented on the rumors circulating that Ronda Rousey could be on her way back to WWE. News broke recently that WWE officials are pushing for Rousey to return in the upcoming Royal Rumble premium live event this weekend.
Lynch responded to a Tweet from Bleacher Report noting that Rousey could be returning to WWE soon.
“Was wondering if you’d show up again. I’ve still got her and she’s doing great,” Lynch Tweeted.
Rousey gave birth to her first child in September but is said to have been training for an in-ring return.
The last time Ronda Rousey was in a WWE ring she was pinned by Becky Lynch in the main event of WrestleMania 35. There was some controversy to that match, however, as Rousey’s shoulder appeared to come off the mat during the pin.
Lynch would also take time away from the company to have her first child. She vacated the RAW Women’s Championship to Asuka the night after Money in the Bank in 2020. She’d return this summer at SummerSlam and regain the title in just 23 seconds in an impromptu match against Bianca Belair. Lynch is scheduled to defend the title on Saturday against Doudrop.
Brian Kendrick, who has been working backstage in a producer’s role for NXT and 205 Live, has reportedly asked for his WWE release. According to PWInsider, Kendrick asked for his release 6 weeks ago but remains with the company as of this writing.
“We can confirm that Brian Kendrick, who had most recently been working as a producer on WWE NXT and 205 Live, requested a release from the company weeks ago and has not been to any TV tapings in Orlando in some time,” wrote Mike Johnson.
“We are told Kendrick has been waiting for a release ‘at least’ six weeks.”
– PWInsider on Brian Kendrick’s status with WWE
Brian Kendrick finds himself in a similar situation as Mustafa Ali. Mustafa Ali publicly requested his WWE release earlier this month. WWE has yet to grant that release, prompting fans on social media to use the hashtag, #FreeAli.
He was with WWE from 2005 to 2009. During that run, he won tag team gold along with Paul London twice. He’d return to WWE in 2014 as a trainer but then got back in the ring for the 2016 Cruiserweight Classic and 205 Live.
Kendrick is also a former WWE Cruiserweight Champion. He and former tag team partner Paul London won Pro Wrestling Illustrated’s Tag Team of the Year award in 2007.
