Bron Breakker has captured his first title in WWE and he’s received the custom plate treatment.
Breakker challenged Tommaso Ciampa for the NXT gold back in October. The title match headlined Halloween Havoc. It wasn’t Breakker’s night as he was pinned by Ciampa in his first attempt at the championship.
WWE has posted a video of custom plates being applied to Bron Breakker’s NXT Championship. Take a look at the craftsmanship.
WWE seems determined to change everything about the NXT brand. Don’t be surprised to see an entirely new NXT Championship belt introduced in the months ahead.
The January 11, 2021 episode of WWE NXT 2.0 aired live on the USA Network from Orlando, Florida at the Capitol Wrestling Center.
WWE NXT Results
Santos Escobar def. Xyon Quinn
Cameron Grimes def. Damon Kemp.
Malik Blade and Edris Enofe defeated Harland and Joe Gacy
Tony D’Angelo def. Pete Dunne.
Wendy Choo, Persia Pirotta & Indi Hartwell def. Amari Miller, Kayden Carter & Kacy Catanzaro.
Solo Sikoa vs. Boa goes to a double countout.
AJ Styles def. Grayson Waller
Here are the takeaways from this week’s show:
AJ Styles vs. Grayson Waller
AJ Styles vs. Grayson Waller was the biggest match to be booked on this show.
These two stars have been feuding with each other for several weeks after Waller called out AJ. They’ve been trading words ever since then. Last week, AJ wanted to fight Waller right then, but Waller said he would have to wait until this show. They did a brawl with AJ standing tall.
The match was the main event and they worked hard. AJ hit an outside forearm shot. Waller hit a springboard elbow drop for 2. AJ went for the forearm shot finisher and hit it for the win. Post-match, LA Knight made his return after being taken out by Waller in the parking lot a few weeks ago. Knight attacked him and laid out Waller.
Tony D’Angelo vs. Pete Dunne in a Crowbar On A Pole Match was booked.
This feud stems from a match that took place three weeks ago, where Dunne defeated D’Angelo. Post-match, D’Angelo attacked Dunne and, with a crowbar, attacked Dunne’s fingers.
Both guys worked hard and it was the typical, one guy goes up to get the weapon then taken down. Eventually, Tony got it, but Dunne quickly grabbed it from him. A chair was brought into play, but Dunne caught him with a triangle choke. Tony hit him in the face with the crowbar, which broke, for the win.
Santos Escobar vs. Xyon Quinn with the stipulation that Elektra Lopez will leave with the winner went down.
Ever since Lopez showed up in NXT, she has been aligned with Escobar, but since losing the Cruiserweight Title, Escobar has been bumped down the card.
This was the first match of the night. At the end, Lopez distracted Xyon and then kicked him in the nuts that led to Escobar hitting his finisher for the win.
New NXT Champion Bron Breakker appeared on this show just one week after beating Tommaso Ciampa to win the NXT Title. So what did he say?
Breakker cut a promo where he got mixed reactions. He thanked Ciampa and put him over for being a great wrestler and an outstanding person. He brought up Ciampa showing respect to Bron’s father after the match. He said that there are no days off in NXT and they perform every week for the fans. Bron said that anyone who wants to challenge him, he’s already put in the work and did more than them because he’s the champ. He plans to prove why he earned the title every week. Bron then went to the back. Short and to the point.
Major League Wrestling has filed a lawsuit against the WWE.
MLW claims that the WWE is continuingly interfering with their business prospects and contracts. Courthouse news was able to obtain the full lawsuit statement. The lawsuit alleges that the WWE attempted to prevent Vice TV from working with MLW in early 2021.
It also claims that a former WWE executive called Vice TV to tell them that WWE Chairman Vince McMahon was “pissed” that Vice TV started airing MLW programs and wanted them to stop working with MLW. The Wrap’s Tim Baysinger and Tony Maglio report that the former WWE Executive is Susan Levinson.
I can tell you this MLW/Tubi deal fell apart at the absolute last hour https://t.co/n7ACqQQ30f
The report also says that MLW claims WWE prevented MLW from getting a deal with the streaming service Tubi. According to the MLW, the failure to secure a deal with Tubi resulted in “substantial losses” like not reaching a broader fan base and event cancellations. It also states that the failed deal caused a MLW 40% drop in tickets sales. MLW CEO Court Bauer spoke out against the WWE in a press release. Baysinger and Maglio transcribed Bauer statement.
“WWE has been wrongfully depriving its competitors of critical opportunities for many years, but its latest conduct has been even more unconscionable,” said MLW CEO Court Bauer. “I think we speak for the rest of the professional wrestling world when we say that this anti-competitive behavior has to stop.”
MLW Deal with Vice TV
MLW signed its deal with Vice TV on April 19, 2021. Based on the lawsuit, it’s unclear if MLW alleges that WWE requested Vice TV to stop working with them before the deal. However, the lawsuit says that a Vice TV Executive responded that “WWE’s conduct was illegal and an antitrust violation.” The lawsuit also states that Levinson couldn’t control McMahon from interfering with MLW and Vice TV’s relationship.
What’s Next for WWE and MLW
The WWE has responded to the MLW lawsuit. Baysinger and Maglio received a statement from WWE Spokesperson that believes MLW claims have no merit. The spokesperson also shared WWE will defend itself against MLW. MLW seeks compensation for losses they suffered due to WWE interference and wants to prevent future interferences. It’s unclear when MLW and WWE will go to court or if they will settle.
Former IWGP Heavyweight Champion Jay White will be making his way back to Impact Wrestling.
“Switchblade” made quite a splash on the Impact brand during his most recent stay. He was able to snag Chris Bey for the Bullet Club stable. With that said, there has been some tension between Jay and BC members Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa over the direction of the faction.
Jay will have to wait to settle things on that front but for now, he’ll be reunited with the man he recruited.
Jay White Continues ‘New Era’ In Impact
Impact Wrestling has announced that Jay White is returning to the promotion on Jan. 21. He will also attend the Jan. 22 tapings. Both set of tapings will be held inside the Charles Dodge Center in Pembroke Pines, FL.
The Television Trucks of #IMPACTonAXSTV come to Fort Lauderdale January 21-22 and so does @JayWhiteNZ!
Things are rosy between NJPW and Impact once again. The two had been in cahoots before with NJPW sending Young Lions off on excursion to TNA. In return, some TNA stars appeared at NJPW events such as Wrestle Kingdom.
The relationship soured over time as NJPW reportedly didn’t trust how TNA was using its talent. After a regime change on Impact’s part, the two sides are working together again.
WWE superstar John Cena has acted as a babyface for most of his career. However, WWE Chairman Vince McMahon contemplated making him a heel.
Cena went on Smackdown Announcer Pat McAfee’s show to promote the upcoming show Peacemaker. During the interview, McAfee asked Cena about the challenges of working in WWE as a babyface for so many years and when did Cena know he’d pursue acting.
Cena admitted that being a babyface for so long is a challenge but embraces it. He also reveals that McMahon almost turned him into a heel in his feud with The Rock for Wrestlemania 28 on April 1, 2012.
“…In playing a character that, like I said, a character of virtue. A character that started as a generic wrestler and then morphed into this hip hop persona and then morphed into this character of virtue, to play the same character for a long time that’s a challenge, said Cena.”
He continued, “…I remember Vince toyed with the idea of possibly turning me heel for The Rock 1 in Miami. And I told him, hey, no problem, 100 percent I’ll do it, but just remember that we’re so deep into this point, we can’t do and then jump back because we’ll be sunk at both ends. So if we do it, I’ll have to be the opposite of virtue. I have to be pure evil, and we have to go all in.”
More on John Cena Almost Turning Heel
WWE fans in the past had wanted Cena not be a babyface. Former WWE writer Kevin Eck also shared with Pro Wrestling Torch’s Wade Keller that the company almost turned Cena. However, the company never made the change.
During the interview, Cena pinpointed the conversation he had with McMahon during his feud with The Rock being the deciding factor as to why he never turned heel. While fans never got to see Cena change character, he believes it led to great opportunities.
“…From a believability standpoint, people always see me in uniform. Go figure that, said Cena wearing the Peacemaker costume.
He continued, “If you didn’t see me in a suit in WWE, you saw me ballcap, t-shirt, jean shorts, sneakers, you saw me in uniform. I want people to know that what they see is somebody they can relate to. He (Vince) decided against it and it’s at that point he was like ‘Listen I don’t think we’re ever going to do it.’ So that’s me getting okay you have the luxury of playing this character, but you’re always are going to play this character. Which was great, because it got me to dive into nuances that kind of spawned the creation of like the Firefly Funhouse match, were like yo what if I went on a meta-experience through all of my flaws and through all like my timeline, so you know you can do stuff like that.”
Unfortunately for WWE fans, it seems we’ll never get to see Cena as a heel. However, Cena being a babyface did create moments like his match with Bray Wyatt and his feud with Roman Reigns. In the end, it seems WWE may have made the right decision.
Fans can expect to see at least two more former WWE stars make a return to work the Women’s Royal Rumble match.
According to PWInsider, former Superstars Cameron and Melina are booked to be surprises for the bout. There are currently 11 spots available in the match and with these names added, WWE will have to fill 9 more spots.
Melina worked for WWE from 2004 through 2011 where she was a two-time Divas Champion and a three-time Women’s Champion. There was some talk of her returning to the company in September 2020, but she confirmed a few months later that while the two sides did have a discussion, they couldn’t come to an agreement. She was last seen on WWE TV on January 4, 2021 at WWE Raw Legends Night.
Cameron was under contract from 2011-2016. She did wrestle a match for AEW in 2020.
The following women have been announced for the match: Nikki A.S.H., Rhea Ripley, Tamina, Dana Brooke, Zelina Vega, Carmella, Aliyah, Natalya, Naomi, Shotzi Blackheart, Shayna Baszler, Charlotte Flair, Mickie James, Nikki Bella, Brie Bella, Lita, Michelle McCool, Kelly Kelly, and Summer Rae.
The fourth voyage for Chris Jericho’s Rock ‘N’ Wrestling Rager At Sea will have to wait another year.
In a statement released on Tuesday, it was revealed that the March 2022 cruise has been pushed back until 2023. Among the factors listed as rationale for the decision were a quick turnaround time from the cruise that just took place in October, as well as the continued spread of Covid-19 and the state of the world currently.
The fourth cruise is now scheduled for February 2nd through February 6th, 2023. The official statement on the cruise postponement reads as follows:
“Chris Jericho’s Rock ‘N’ Wrestling Rager at Sea is an incredibly special event and that is because of our amazing cruisers!” the statement read. “Since announcing the event during the Triple Whammy in late October 2021 and gearing up to set sail in March 2022, we’ve heard overwhelming feedback from the Rager at Sea family. Members of this awesome community would love to attend but are unable to due to the current environment and the quick turnaround between cruises.
“After compiling feedback and researching the options, we have made the decision to postpone the Four Leaf Clover to 2023. The Four Leaf Clover will now sail February 2-6, 2023 aboard Norwegian Pearl from Miami, Florida to Great Stirrup Cay, Bahamas. We’ll spend the day on our very own private island (a new destination for the Rager at Sea!) where the beach is steps away, the food is free, and any purchased drink packages will be honored!”
Of course, numerous wrestling stars have been part of Jericho’s cruise in the past. The second cruise in January 2020 featured a taping of AEW Dynamite on the ship itself. Reviews among fans and attendees of the previous Jericho cruises have generally been very positive.
Check out the Top Rope Nation wrestling podcast for your weekly dose of pro wrestling talk featuring interviews, analysis and exclusive news: Apple – Spotify – YouTube.
Killer Kross has given his reason for picking WWE over AEW.
Towards the end of 2019 going into 2020, Kross became the hottest free agent in pro wrestling. Reports surfaced claiming that WWE, AEW, and NJPW were all interested in signing Kross.
WWE ended up winning the sweepstakes and Kross put pen to paper in early 2020. Given his size and talent, many felt Kross was a shoo-in for a top spot on WWE’s main roster. Before 2021 could come to a close, Kross was out of a job.
Why Killer Kross Choose WWE Over AEW
(via WWE)
Chris Van Vliet got a chance to speak with Killer Kross, who had a simple explanation as to why he signed with WWE instead of AEW. It boils down to the childhood dream.
“Well, I feel like there’s a lot of people out there who are gonna relate to this and there’s a lot of people who are not gonna relate to this. But I wanna be honest with you.
“I was honest with you last time. I knew since I was a little kid when I was watching this on TV that I could be there and I could do this and perform at the highest level. I knew that since I was a little kid and little kids think they know everything.
“So, it’s hard for your parents and your family and your friends to really get behind statements and these ideas that you have as a child because they wanna steer you in the right direction. They don’t wanna burst your bubble but as time went on, nobody in my family was ever doing anything like this.
“… It just seemed like such a foreign idea to get involved with that but to me, it wasn’t. I’m telling you, man I felt something here as a kid that told me that I could do it. It was the first thing I ever watched was WWF/WWE and part of me always wanted to be there.”
Kross was released back in November and he’s currently waiting for his 90-day non-compete clause to wrap up. Kross is expected to be a free agent on Feb. 2, so he’ll be free to sign with any promotion that wants to scoop him up.
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Impact Wrestling made history at Hard to Kill on January 8th with the first Women’s Ultimate X match. According to the winner, Tasha Steelz, she had to push for the match to happen.
Steelz appeared on Busted Open on SiriusXM with Dave LaGreca and Bully Ray to discuss her win and how the Women’s Ultimate X match happened. She shared that her win on January 8th is one of the biggest accomplishments in her professional wrestling career. The win earned Steelz an Impact Knockout Championship opportunity for a later date. She also revealed she and Jordynne Grace had to repeatedly pitch the match to Executive Vice President Scott D. Amore last year.
“…This is something that a lot of people weren’t expecting us, women, to do, said Steelz. She continued, “…I believe since last year like Jordynne Grace and I, we were bugging the hell out of Scott. We were just backstage, like, we can do it, we can do it, we can do it. I know we can do it. Slammiversary, we saw that structure go up for the guys, and we climbed up there ourselves, and we were like, Scott, we can do this.” Steelz believes that Amore had to see Grace and her climb the structure to accept the idea. However, once Amore saw Steelz climb, he began to think about when the Women’s Ultimate X match could happen.
An emotional weekend for @IMPACTWRESTLING#HardToKlll This photo sums it up. Ultimate X is special! Our KOs are special! Every member of our team in front or behind the camera is special! We make MAGIC!!!
Impact Wrestling fans were excited to see the historic match at Hard to Kill, and the anticipation added pressure for the wrestlers to perform well in the match. The company also decided to have the Women’s Ultimate X match start the Hard to Kill event. With the spotlight on the wrestlers, some fans felt that the match exceeded expectations and proved that female wrestlers could participate in an Ultimate X match. After the match, Steelz says all participants were happy with the match.
“…After it was all said and done, the emotions came out of all of us. I mean, we were all backstage just bawling our eyes out. You know me. I’m a thug. I don’t like to cry, but I couldn’t help it, said Steelz. She continued, “It’s just one of those things where like I said, there were people kind of doubting that we wouldn’t be able to do it and that we did do it and no one got seriously injured. No one got seriously hurt, and we put our bodies on the line, and we accomplished the match, and we got all the chants. We got the Holy ish chants, we got the this is awesome chants, and it just ran through us. It was just something backstage, like that emotion we just grouped hugged and said we did it.”
Later in the night, Mickie James defeated Deonna Purrazzo to retain her Impact Knockout Championship. James will also compete in the WWE Royal Rumble on January 29th. It’s unclear when Impact will have Steelz challenge James for the title. However, she’s looking forward to getting her opportunity and taking the championship away from James.
Bully Ray believes that veterans will be crucial to the success of the WWE women’s Royal Rumble match.
We’re in January, which means another Royal Rumble event is around the corner. It is the first stop on the road to WrestleMania. WWE turned a lot of heads by announcing most of the women’s Royal Rumble participants ahead of time.
Fans were happy and surprised to see the likes of Impact Knockouts Champion Mickie James and Lita revealed for the Royal Rumble match. Veterans such as those two could be the key to giving the younger talent a boost.
Bully Ray Thinks WWE Should Lean On Vets
Bully Ray is well aware of the importance of elevating homegrown stars. Taking to Busted Open Radio, he explained how the veterans in the women’s Royal Rumble can make talent such as Bianca Belair look good.
“If I’m the WWE, if I’m a producer on this match and I know I have — we just mentioned Mickie and Lita. Should Mickie or Lita win the women’s Royal Rumble? No, it has to be one of the homegrown talents.
“It has to be one of the women there but what are Mickie James and Lita that a lot of the younger women in the WWE are not? And some of the older women also. They’re leaders, they’re leaders in that ring.
“I’m leaving a Lita and a Mickie James in there with a Bianca Belair and a Liv Morgan deep into the Rumble so that the fans are completely invested. I’m sure there are gonna be plenty of fans there who would love to see a Mickie James win, love to see a Lita win just as much as they’d like to see a Bianca Belair or a Liv Morgan.
“Leave the veterans in with the young talent.
“Keep it wide open where anything can happen but allow those veteran women to help guide the younger women deep into the rumble, so it just doesn’t look like a big choreographed battle royale as opposed to a true fight to throw that other woman over the top rope and get your shot at the women’s world champion at WrestleMania.”
This year’s Royal Rumble event will take place on Jan. 29. It’ll be held inside The Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis, Missouri.
Here are the 19 participants announced for the women’s Royal Rumble match thus far.
Rhea Ripley
Nikki A.S.H.
Dana Brooke
Carmella
Queen Zelina
Tamina
Shotzi
Natalya
Aliyah
Naomi
Shayna Baszler
Charlotte Flair
Nikki Bella
Brie Bella
Lita
Michelle McCool
Kelly Kelly
Summer Rae
Mickie James
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It appears that the recent visual overhaul was only the beginning of the end for the old NXT, not only from a presentation viewpoint but from how the brand operates behind the scene as well. PWinsider is reporting that the officials have made some big changes to the creative approach for the development brand and its creative team is no longer operating independently.
During Triple H’s time as the head of the brand, NXT’s creative team had been ‘autonomous’ in nature. It operated as a separate bubble within the promotion. However, the creative bench has been informed that at least for now they will be reporting to Bruce Prichard and Christine Lubrano, similar to how the teams for Raw and SmackDown operate.
With the departure of Road Dogg, Johnny Russo is now said to be leading the creative team under the supervision of Prichard and Lubrano. Russo has been with WWE since 2011. He has worked on the Raw and SmackDown creative teams. He was promoted to the role of Senior Creative Writer/Producer in 2018. Johnny Russo has been working on the NXT creative since 2019 and he was apparently made the head writer in July 2020.
Dewey Foley, the son of WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley also remains a part of the NXT creative team. He has been overseeing the 205 Live brand for some time now. This comes after the promotion released a number of key personnel last week that were integral part of Triple H’s NXT team, including William Regal and Samoa Joe.
Dustin Rhodes plays an important role backstage working as a coach with AEW’s women’s division. He recently sat down with Renee Paquette on “Throwing Down” and spoke about wanting to help the division get to a point where they are having multiple matches each episode of Dynamite and Rampage.
“I want to get them to where they have two matches on Dynamite or Rampage,” Rhodes said. “It’s not fair, but we’re getting there and making leaps and bounds. The female talent coming in are very athletic and in some cases they are just as good, if not better, than some of the guys, and that’s awesome.”
“I want them to get to the level that all the guys are at,” Rhodes continued. “They deserve that. Sometimes, it’s not fair that they don’t get those chances and now they are starting to get those chances.”
“They are not there yet, but they’re getting there, and they want it now. When I teach them how to do something and they do it and you see this smile on their face, that’s the payoff for me,” Rhodes said.
On last week’s edition of AEW Dynamite, the TBS tournament final match between Ruby Soho and Jade Cargill was the highest rated segment. It beat out even the AEW World Championship match between Hangman Page and Bryan Danielson.
Confirmed: Jade Cargill vs Ruby Soho 1,048,000 Viewers & 583,000 in 18-49
?#AEWDynamite's PEAK in 18-49, Men 18-49, Men 18-34 & Men 35-49?
"I am the one that will make these nobodies stop flipping through their channel just to see my fine ass" -Jade Cargill#AEWonTBSpic.twitter.com/YlzUsRDCou
Cargill defeated Soho to win the inaugural TBS Championship. She is still undefeated in her AEW career. This week on AEW Dynamite, the scheduled match in the women’s division sees Hikaru Shida take on Serena Deeb. Shida leads the head-to-head series between the two 2-1.
Big E lost the WWE Championship on the Day 1 PPV to Brock Lesnar. He originally won the title from Bobby Lashley on the September 13th edition of WWE RAW. Big E recently spoke to Sports Illustrated and admitted he was a little disappointed in how his title run went and ended.
“I wanted it to be a five-course meal, and it was more of an appetizer,” Big E said. “I’m overly critical of my work to begin with, so I wouldn’t say I was happy with it. My hope was to knock it out of the park, and I fell a bit short. So it’s motivating to start that climb back.”
“I love being myself and being entertaining, but you can’t go from dropping a world championship to saying everything is golden. This title meant a lot to me, and it meant to a lot of people, too. My focus is clawing back to that spot.”
Big E continued to say he had never been given a finish for the fatal 4-way match he was scheduled to have at Day 1. He also didn’t hear about Roman Reigns being removed from the show until that afternoon.
Big E continued to say he was disappointed that his title run ended in the way that it did.
“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed to see it end that way,” Big E continued. “And it’s not anything against Brock. Brock is a very special athlete, human and performer. There is no shame in losing to Brock Lesnar.”
In total, Big E held the WWE Championship for 110 days. He defended it successfully a total of 3x against Bobby Lashley, Drew McIntyre, and Austin Theory. On WWE RAW last night, Big E was defeated by Seth Rollins.
John Cena is not sure if he will be able to make it to WrestleMania this year but he is assuring his fans that he hasn’t had his last dance inside the pro wrestling ring yet.
The Cenation leader recently made an appearance on the The Ellen DeGeneres Show. He spoke spoke about what he did for Christmas and more.
During the talk, Ellen asked if plans to appear at WWE WrestleMania 38 in April. The 16-time World Champion is not sure if his schedule will allow for it.
“WrestleMania is usually in the cusp of late March, early April,” said Cena. “I don’t know if I’m going to make it this year. That’s a good conundrum to have because there are a lot of good opportunities coming up, which I would love to take. If all those things line up, I don’t know if I’ll be able to make WrestleMania.”
Though John Cena did assure all his fans that he is not done with wrestling. He mentioned his most recent WWE return and claimed that it’s his home:
“I will tell everybody out there watching, I’m not done with WWE by a long shot. That’s my home, I love it. I was able to go back during the summer for a few months and entertain audiences when they welcomed audiences back to arenas. I’ve far from had my last performance.”
John Cena made his most recent WWE return during the Summer time last year. He had a feud with the Universal champion Roman Reigns leading to a match between the two at SummerSlam.
Watch John Cena talk about his WWE future on Ellen:
Eric Bischoff made his surprise return to Raw a few weeks ago during the December 27 episode of the show. This was only months after he made an appearance for AEW on Dynamite in June. The former WCW president talked about his return to the red brand on the latest episode of his 83 weeks podcast. He detailed how it all came together.
Bischoff revealed that he drove to Florida with his family for the vacations. He got the call from Bruce Prichard on the Thursday before the show:
“We finally got in and got settled, and I got a call from Bruce Prichard. He said, ‘Hey Eric. So, do you think you can make TV Monday?’ This was Thursday afternoon. I said, ‘Well, first of all, where is it because I’m in Florida?’ If it was a West Coast trip, I couldn’t have made it. He said, ‘It’s in Detroit, your hometown.’ I said, ‘Ok, I can make that.’”
Eric Bischoff then explained how he wasn’t given a lot of details as to what he would be doing on the show. The officials just told him that there was going to be a wedding. They asked him to bring a pastel suit and expect it to get trashed:
“He said, ‘Well, why don’t you get a really light colored pastel suit and expect it to get trashed. There’s going to be a wedding.’ That’s all he told me, no details, not who, nothing. I got there, and what’s funny is I didn’t even know Bruce wasn’t going to be at TV until about four in the afternoon. I had fun.”
Bischoff also talked about his experience at the show. He mentioned how he got to hang out with people such as Edge and Kevin Owens during his visit. He praised The Miz as well. He claimed that the A-Lister is a really good performer and that’s why he has been around this long.
Rok-C is one of the top prospects in all of women’s wrestling. At 20 years old, she has already won championships and drawn attention from the industry’s top promotions.
Rok-C is the Ring of Honor Women’s Champion. She was just named the ROH Women’s Wrestler of the Year. However, is not expected to be affiliated with the company for much longer. Warning: Spoilers ahead.
Following an appearance at Saturday’s Impact Hard to Kill pay-per-view, she dropped the ROH women’s title to Deonna Purrazzo the following night at Impact’s latest round of TV tapings. This got people questioning what’s next for the Laredo, Texas native.
On the latest Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer and Bryan Alvarez commented on Rok-C’s future. “I was told that, not 100% she’s going anywhere, but they [ROH] are expecting that she’s probably going to end up going somewhere. Therefore, she’s no longer champion,” said Alvarez.
Last weekend, she competed for New Texas Pro Wrestling and received a big sendoff from the fans of her hometown promotion. This typically indicates a wrestler is moving on to the next chapter of their career.
Not often do you get your flowers on your journey in this business
We don’t know the future, nor are we confirming anything but we will forever be grateful for @TheRokC_ and her impact with us
Thank you Carla, you deserve the world, and you’re destined to be one of the best.? pic.twitter.com/s0EgE97sHZ
Rok-C recently had a WWE tryout at the Performance Center in Orlando.
She’ll debut for MLW later this month at Blood & Thunder on January 21st from Dallas, Texas. After that, she could go anywhere.
This is completely speculative, but what better way to make a splash in WWE than to appear in the Women’s Royal Rumble match just one week later? Rok-C is talented beyond her years and would fit in perfectly at NXT 2.0.
Tony Khan has said that the #1 thing he looks for in any talent while hiring is professionalism and Tully Blanchard is a great example of the same. The wrestling veteran has been in the industry for more than four decades.
If he wants, he can sit back & relax and let others do the work for him. However, he has the old-school mentality of helping wherever he can. Even at 67 years old, he actively makes sure that his presentation on the AEW programming is unique.
Cody Rhodes recently had an interview with Barstool Wrestling. Talking about the wrestling legend, Cody gave an example to prove how professional he is:
“You wanna know how professional Tully is? Tully puts on his really cool sequined outfits or whatever he’s got that week and he’ll come into my office or he’ll check in with MJF. He’ll check in with others. He’ll say ‘hey, are you wearing something similar in terms of suit.’ Cause we do have a similar suit game.
This is a guy who has no reason to be checking in with us. That’s our job. Tully can wear whatever he wants. But he is such as good wrestler. That’s such an old-school thing. He is going around checking with the boys.”
During the same interview, Cody Rhodes also discussed his current character. He revealed whether he should be considered a heel or a face. You can check out his comments here.
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Both former NXT champion Tommaso Ciampa and former NXT UK champion Pete Dunne were brought in to the main roster for trial matches once again this week. They were in the arena for the Raw episode from Philadelphia, PA.
Though, unlike the last time, their matches were taped this time around and they will be airing as part of this week’s episode of Main Event.
Ciampa faced off against former Retribution member T-Bar during the show while Pete Dunne ended up competing against Akira Tozawa.
Both these NXT stars were brought in for the SmackDown tapings last week as well. They had competed in a dark match against each other. That match was won by the former DIY member.
Tommaso Ciampa dropped the NXT championship to Bron Breakker during New Year’s Evil. He seemed to suggest a main roster move with his post-match tweet.
Pete Dunne on the other hand, has been feuding with Tony D’Angelo. The former NXT UK star will be facing D’Angelo in a “Crowbar on a Pole” match on NXT this Tuesday.
The officials seem to be evaluating both the NXT stars for an official main roster call-up soon. With the Royal Rumble being around the corner, it will be interesting to see if they enter the upcoming battle royal.
Cody Rhodes has developed a unique personality for himself on AEW TV. There are aspects of his character which are generally associated with babyfaces. However, he has also stated multiple times that he cares only about winning. That’s a mentality that is usually found in heels.
The TNT champion recently had an interview with Barstool Wrestling. He was asked whether he would describe himself as a babyface or a heel. Replying to it, Rhodes mentioned his most recent shirt that promoted him as a winner. He claimed that the shirt sums up his character really well:
“I think the shirt really sums it all up. I don’t have to be a babyface. I don’t have to be a heel. I just want to be a winner. I sincerely do. That’s the type of stuff I grew up on. In my household, we’re [New York] Yankees fans. Diehard Yankees fan.
Here’s why. Because Dusty grew up in Tampa, Little Yankee Stadium is in Tampa. We are Tom Brady fans. We are a New York Yankees fans.” said Cody Rhodes, “We like winners and part of being a winner is a lot of people are gonna root for you to lose and I am okay with that.”
Only caring about winning is generally a mentality that is found in the villains of the pro wrestling world. When asked about it, Rhodes claimed that it’s actually the wrestling mentality no matter how you look at it:
“No, it’s wrestling no matter how you look at it. Whether you are so immersed in the suspension of disbelief or you are somebody who covers it from just the behind-the-scenes aspect [of] wrestling. The winning guys make the most money. The winning guys get the most opportunities. That is a real thing.”
If you use any quotes from the article please credit SEScoops with an H/t for the transcription
There has been a lot of conversation of late surrounding AJ Styles and his future with WWE. Styles debuted with the company almost exactly six years ago as a surprise entrant in the Royal Rumble and has won multiple championships with the promotion since.
Styles has been pulling double-duty of late, wrestling for both the Raw brand and appearing on NXT in a feud with Grayson Waller. Some had been speculating that Styles might soon be on his way out of the promotion.
Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter commented on Styles’ status recently on Observer Radio and contradicted those claims.
“He just signed, I don’t know if it’s a three or a five [year deal],” Meltzer said. “It wasn’t that long ago when he signed it. He’s not going anywhere. He had the chance to go if he wanted to but he was not interested. There were certainly overtures made for him and they were good money overtures but he’s in his mind, I think he’s a lifer there. Whether that’s the right or wrong call, I couldn’t tell you.”
Styles talked about signing a contract with WWE back in 2019 during an appearance on Lillian Garcia’s podcast. It’s not clear whether Meltzer is discussing that 2019 contract or a newer deal here. However, Styles did say at the time it would be his last deal and concluded by saying, “…this is where I’m going to end my career no matter what happens.”
During this week’s edition of WWE Monday Night Raw, Styles wrestled and defeated Austin Theory via DQ. Grayson Waller interfered in the match and attacked Styles.You can check out our full Raw report at this link.
Check out the Top Rope Nation wrestling podcast for your weekly dose of pro wrestling talk featuring interviews, analysis and exclusive news: Apple – Spotify – YouTube.
WWE RAW aired live from the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. RK-Bro defended the RAW Tag Team Championships against Alpha Academy. Bianca Belair, Doudrop, and Liv Morgan competed in a Triple Threat match tonight. The winner will go on to face Becky Lynch for the RAW Women’s Championship at Royal Rumble.
RAW Results
Alpha Academy def. RK-Bro to become the new RAW Tag Team Champions
Dolph Ziggler, Robert Roode, Apollo Crews def. Angelo Dawkins, Montez Ford, Damian Priest
Seth Rollins def. Big E
Omos def. a Nick Sanders
AJ Styles def. Austin Theory via DQ
Doudrop def. Bianca Belair & LIV Morgan in a Triple Threat match to earn a shot at the RAW Women’s Championship at Royal Rumble
Here are the takeaways from this week’s show:
Lashley Confronted Lesnar
WWE Champion Brock Lesnar and his advocate Paul Heyman kicked off this week’s RAW to a great reaction from the crowd. Heyman introduced Brock and he fired up the crowd. Bobby Lashley quickly interrupted and he came to the entrance ramp with MVP.
Lashley stared at Brock before marching to the ring. Lashley said “as one super athlete to another super athlete, with all due respect, it is an honor to tell you that you have been ducking & running from me for 20 years”. Brock responded ” with all due respect, it is an honor for me to be in the ring with me”. Lesnar boasted about winning titles in this ring and other rings.
Brock told Lashley that he didn’t know he was until he met him at Day 1 and joked that he would have already beaten him. Lesnar mocked MVP and Lashley’s suit and Bobby told Brock that he’s money as a stand up comedian. Brock did a knock knock joke and it resulted in Heyman asking “Bobby who?”. Lesnar said “exactly” and told Lashley that he was just a Lesnar wannabe. Brock left the ring and Hurt Business attacked Lashley for whatever reason. Bobby beat them down and bashed Cedric into the ring post a couple times.
RK-Bro defended the RAW Tag Team Championships against Alpha Academy in the first match of the night. Riddle and Gable started off the action and battled to the ropes before the referee broke them up. Gable took control and got Riddle in a headlock in the middle of the ring. Riddle countered into a submission hold of his own but Gable reached the ropes.
Gable and Riddle went to lock up but Chad hit a cheap shot to the face. Riddle responded with a leg lariat and then a Senton. Gable rolled out of the ring to regroup and got a foot to the face. Riddle then hit a springboard flip onto Gable and posed with Orton as RAW went to a commercial break.
When RAW returned, Otis had tagged in and sent Riddle to the corner. Riddle booted Otis in the face and flipped onto him. The crowd got behind Riddle as he made his way to the corner. Orton tagged in to a big pop and started unloading Clotheslines. Gable tagged in and Orton greeted him with a Powerslam and set up for the draping DDT. Otis distracted Orton and Gable capitalized with a chop. Chad climbed to the top rope but Orton tripped him up. Orton then connected with a Superplex and both superstars crashed to the mat.
Riddle fired up the crowd as Orton set up for an RKO. Otis hit Riddle with a shoulder tackle and tagged in. Orton didn’t see it and went for an RKO on Gable. Otis broke it up and planted Orton with a Powerslam for the pinfall victory. Alpha Academy are the new RAW Tag Team Champions.
Street Profits & Damian Priest faced Dolph Ziggler, Robert Roode, Apollo Crews tonight on RAW. Ziggler beat Montez Ford down to start off the action. Damian Priest tagged in and slammed Ziggler to the mat. Roode tagged in and Damian caught him with a boot to the face. Montez hit Roode with an Enziguri and both fell out of the ring. Damian leveled Ziggler with a Clothesline and posed with Street Profits as RAW went to a commercial break.
When RAW returned, Apollo slammed Ford to the mat and followed it up with a Splash for a two count. Dolph tagged in and hit Montez with a Dropkick for a two count. Dawkins tagged in and planted Crews with an Exploder Suplex. Dawkins delivered another one to Ziggler before connecting with a running Bulldog on Roode.
Angelo hit the swinging Neckbreaker and went for the cover but Crews broke it up. Damian sent Crews out of the ring but got distracted with Commander Azeez. Crews capitalized with a kick to the back of the head. Montez flipped onto everyone as Dawkins connected with a Spinebuster on Roode. Dawkins didn’t realize that Dolph had tagged in and he caught him with a Zig Zag for the pinfall victory.
Seth “Freakin” Rollins made his way to the ring to begin the 2nd hour of this week’s RAW. Rollins noted that the Royal Rumble is on the horizon and mocked Lashley & Lesnar for being meatheads. Seth added that he is excited for the Royal Rumble because it is the night where he becomes the new Universal Champion. Rollins cackled into the microphone and hyped the match. Seth stated that he doesn’t need a “penguin looking-like snake oil salesman” to do things for him and boasted about getting the Universal title match himself.
Former WWE Champion Big E interrupted and joined Seth in the ring. Big E announced that he has entered his name in the Royal Rumble match so he can main event WrestleMania. Big E added that it would be a dream to win the rumble and then beat Rollins to walk out of Mania as champion. Rollins mocked Big E for believing he could beat him in a singles match and it led to a challenge. Rollins didn’t like being put on the spot but wound up accepting.
Big E and Rollins locked up to begin the match. Big E applied a headlock but Seth quickly escaped. Rollins connected with a Dropkick but Big E responded with a Belly to Belly Suplex. Rollins went for a Suicide Dive but Big E blocked it and connected with a Splash on the ring apron as RAW went to a commercial break.
When RAW returned, the action spilled out of the ring again and Rollins connected with a knee to the face. The action returned to the ring and Rollins unloaded some chops to the chest but Big E responded with a Uranage. Big E sent Seth to the ring apron and hit him with a Spear through the ropes. Both superstars crashed to the floor outside the ring as RAW went to a break.
Back from the break, Big E connected with a Belly to Belly Suplexed and danced over Rollins before hitting a Splash. Big E set up for the Big Ending but Rollins escaped. Seth hit an Arm Drag and a rolling forearm to the head. Seth ducked under a Clothesline and caught Big E with an Enziguri for a near fall. Rollins followed it up with another kick to the face but couldn’t keep Big E down.
Rollins climbed to the top rope and hit a big Frog Splash for a two count. Seth went for the Stomp but Big E countered into a Powerbomb for a two count. Big E applied the Stretch Muffler submission but Seth reached the bottom rope. Rollins elbowed Big E in the face and went for a Slingblade but Big E countered. Big E connected with a Uranage and went for the cover but Seth kicked out. Rollins went for a Pedigree but Big E blocked it. Seth booted Big E in the midsection and followed it up with the Stomp for the pinfall victory.
Nikki A.S.H. and Rhea Ripley were interviewed in the ring and Ripley was asked if the team had run it’s course. Nikki interrupted Rhea and wondered if she was thinking of breaking up the team. Nikki claimed that they will get the titles back and Ripley stared at her. Rhea stood silently as Nikki ranted about Ripley blaming her for losses. Rhea noted that she never said that or that she was better in the ring. Ripley went to walk away but Nikki kept ranting.
Ripley told Nikki that she was uncomfortable, wanted to say goodbye and extended her hand. Nikki declined to shake Ripley’s hand because she doesn’t believe in her. Ripley told Nikki that she hopes she doesn’t stop believing in herself. Nikki got sad and said that they can still be friends. Nikki then attacked Ripley and unloaded a bunch of punches before posing on the entrance ramp to end the segment.
Omos bumped into Reggie backstage and beat him down as Dane Brooke pleaded for him to stop. Omos then faced a jobber and hit him with a Chokeslam. Omos followed it up with a slam as Reggie & Dane Brooke were shown watching backstage. Reggie was holding ice on his head for comedic effect. Omos hit the Choke Bomb for the pinfall victory.
Edge welcomed Beth Phoenix as his guest on the Cutting Edge. Edge complimented his wife and rolled a highlight package of her career highlights. Several superstars also commented on Phoenix during the video.
The Miz and Maryse interrupted and Miz mocked the crowd. Miz joked that he stands with Ben Simmons and would give up 33 million dollars just to not play in this crap city. Miz questioned Edge’s manhood and accused him of having his wife fight his battles. Edge noted that The Miz does that all time and Miz called that slander. Miz then rolled a highlight package of his own for Maryse. The narrator claimed that they will beat Edge and Beth Phoenix at Royal Rumble because with the power of their love, they are unbeatable. Miz claimed that Edge and Beth Phoenix should be honored to be in the ring with Maryse.
Edge said that Beth can lift a Buick and Phoenix noted that Maryse has become awful quiet now that she has returned. Miz tells Maryse to tell Beth how bad she is going to get beat and continued yelling at them. Maryse opted to run away instead but Miz didn’t notice. Beth then vowed to beat the hell out of Miz at Royal Rumble if Edge doesn’t get to him first. Miz finally noticed that Maryse left and looked around like a buffoon to end the segment.
AJ Styles battled Austin Theory this week on RAW. Styles controlled the match early and connected with a slam for a two count. Theory battled back and sent AJ to the outside. Grayson Waller attacked AJ Styles to end the match in a DQ. Austin Theory took a selfie before Styles battled back. Waller retreated and traded words with Styles. AJ will face Waller on NXT tomorrow night.
Alexa Bliss had a therapy session tonight on RAW. The therapist asked Bliss to take a deep breath and Alexa laughed. Bliss said she had a problem and asked the doctor to fix her. The doctor brought out an iPad and showed footage of Charlotte destroying Lily back at Extreme Rules. Alexa was asked how that made her feel and she said thirsty. Bliss poured out a pitcher of water and grabbed the cotter by the tie. She asked how that made him feel before throwing the pitcher. Alexa ripped up his calendar and smashed his keyboard. Bliss screamed as the doctor ran away.
Liv Morgan, Bianca Belair, and Doudrop battled in a Triple Threat match. The winner will face Becky Lynch for the RAW Women’s Championship at Royal Rumble. RAW Women’s Champion Becky Lynch joined commentary for the match.
Doudrop dominated the action early and knocked Liv to the mat. Doudrop delivered a Suplex to Belair but Bianca shrugged it off. Belair knocked Doudrop to the outside and battled with her. Liv flipped onto Belair and Doudrop outside the ring. Back in the ring, Belair caught Liv with a shoulder tackle but Morgan responded with a Hurricanrana.
Bianca flipped over Doudrop and unloaded some punches. Belair hit Doudrop with a Dropkick and then delivered a Back Drop to Morgan. Doudrop came out of nowhere and hit them both with a Crossbody. Doudrop got Liv in a Headlock in the middle of the ring. Morgan battled free but Doudrop sent her to the turnbuckle. Doudrop went for a Cannonball but Morgan got out of the way. Doudrop swatted Liv out of the ring and to the floor as RAW went to a final break.
Doudrop and Belair were battling in the ring when RAW returned. Liv hit a Hurricanrana on Belair but Doudrop sent her into the turnbuckle. Morgan and Belair traded punches and Bianca rolled Liv up for a two count. Liv locked in Rings of Saturn on Belair in the middle of the ring.
Bianca battled through the pain and lifted Morgan up. Morgan countered and sent Belair into the turnbuckle. Morgan hit Doudrop with a Codebreaker and battled with Bianca on the top turnbuckle. Doudrop broke it up and Powerbombed Liv to the mat. Doudrop went for the cover but Bianca broke it up with a Splash. Lynch interfered in the match and Bianca chased her around. Becky threw Bianca over the announce table and Doudrop hit Morgan with a Vader Bomb for the pinfall victory. Doudrop will face Becky Lynch at Royal Rumble. Becky smacked Doudrop after the match and went for the Manhandle Slam but Doudrop blocked it. Doudrop shoved Becky out of the ring and posed to close the show.
The Royal Rumble is just weeks away. On Monday’s WWE Raw, Becky Lynch’s opponent was determined and we also learned about more entrants to the Men’s Rumble match.
Doudrop will challenge Big Time Becks for the Raw Women’s Championship at the Rumble. She won a triple threat match on Raw to earn the championship opportunity.
Lynch cost Belair the pinfall on Morgan before the champ tossed Bianca over the announce table. Doudrop hit a splash in the corner for the win. Lynch recently retained the title over Morgan on an episode of Raw and then again at the Day 1 PPV.
Also, Damian Priest, AJ Styles, and Big E were added to the Men’s Royal Rumble Match.
WWE presents the Royal Rumble pay-per-view event on Saturday, January 29, 2022 in St Louis, Missouri.
Updated WWE Royal Rumble Card
Men’s Royal Rumble Match: competitors announced thus far – Johnny Knoxville, Dominik Mysterio, Rey Mysterio, Austin Theory, Angelo Dawkins, Montez Ford, Sheamus, Damian Priest, AJ Styles, Big E,
Women’s Royal Rumble Match: competitors announced thus far – Charlotte Flair, Mickie James, Nikki Bella, Brie Bella, Michelle McCool, Kelly Kelly, Summer Rae, Lita, Rhea Ripley, Nikki A.S.H, Shotzi, Natalya, Dana Brooke, Carmella, Zelina Vega, Tamina, Aliyah, Naomi, Shayna Baszler
WWE Champion Brock Lesnar vs. Bobby Lashley
Edge and Beth Phoenix vs. The Miz and Maryse – Mixed Tag Team Match
WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins
The Alpha Academy (Chad Gable and Otis) are the new Raw Tag Team Champions as they beat RK-Bro (Randy Orton and Riddle) on Monday’s episode of Raw.
The finish saw Orton dodging a charge from Gable, who in the process was able to tag in Otis. This led to Gable blocking an RKO attempt and shoved Orton into Otis, who then pinned Orton with a forward slam.
Orton and Riddle won the titles from AJ Styles and Omos at SummerSlam back in August. They successfully defended the titles at Day 1 back on January 1, defeating The Street Profits. Their reign lasted for over 140 days
Last week on Raw, Alpha Academy defeated RK-Bro in a non-title match. In that match to earn this title match opportunity. The finish of that bout saw Otis pin Riddle after Riddle had attempted an RKO.
The story heading into the title change was Orton telling Riddle to tag him in when he was in trouble. He even went as far as writing it on Riddle’s hands in the gorilla position right before they went out for the match.
The forbidden door has flown off its hinges with the recent news of a WWE and IMPACT Wrestling crossover.
In the anticipation of the annual Royal Rumble event, WWE revealed some of the entrants in this years Women’s Royal Rumble match, including seven legends. Nikki Bella, Brie Bella, Kelly Kelly, Michelle McCool and Lita all make their exciting returns to the match on January 29th. In addition, Summer Rae returns to WWE for the first time since 2016. Most notably though, former WWE superstar and current IMPACT Knockouts World Champion, Mickie James, was amongst the announced entrants into the Royal Rumble.
Since her release from WWE last April, James has once again risen in the ranks of professional wrestling. Leading the charge in producing NWA’s first ever all-women’s pay-per-view Empowerrr, Mickie James has simultaneously catapulted her stock over the course of the last six months. After engaging in a high intensity feud with “The Virtuosa” Deonna Purrazzo, James re-captured the Knockouts Championship at IMPACT’s Bound For Glory in October. This marked the beginning of James’ fourth Knockouts Championship reign.
Since then, she’s defeated the likes of Madison Rayne, Mercedes Martinez, and Kiera Hogan, and remains undefeated in singles competiton since August. Most recently, James rekindled her spark with rival Deonna Purrazzo in a heated Texas Death Match, in which Purrazzo invoked her rematch clause for the Knockouts Championship. Mickie James would go on to once again defeat “The Virtuosa” at IMPACT’s Hard To Kill event, guaranteeing herself to walk into the WWE Royal Rumble as the Knockouts World Champion.
The addition of Mickie James to the Royal Rumble has sparked intriguing conversations as to what James’ exact role will be in the match. With the shocking addition of Smackdown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair as well, the wrestling community, and Mickie James herself, have seemingly started the campaign for these two decorated champions to finally meet one-on-one.
During Mickie James’ second run in WWE (2016-2021), “The Queen” and herself nearly evaded any interaction in a ring together. The two fierce competitors found themselves on separate brands, until the Superstar Shakeup of 2019. There, Flair and James were both assigned to Smackdown. Charlotte would assume a feud with her WrestleMania rival Becky Lynch, reclaiming the Smackdown Women’s Championship at Money in the Bank. The same night, Flair fell victim to a successful Money in the Bank cash-in from Bayley.
Meanwhile, Mickie James was kept off screen. She would return to live events in late May of 2019, facing off against a former Smackdown Women’s Champion, Carmella. However, her return to a WWE ring would be short lived, as she sustained an ACL injury while on the live event tour. Surgery would then keep James out of action for over a year, before she made her eventual on-screen return in August of 2020.
James would begin a short series of matches against the likes of Natalya, Zelina Vega, and Asuka on Monday Night RAW before suffering from a broken nose, and disappearing from television. Mickie James would then reemerge in the 2021 Women’s Royal Rumble, which ended up being her last match in WWE.
Entering the fray at #19, James joined the match with the likes of Bianca Belair, Naomi, and…Charlotte Flair (who entered at #15).
After James knocked down her opponents, she stood tall to be met eye-to-eye by Charlotte Flair. “I’ve been waiting for this a long time, baby,” she exclaimed to Flair, before the two engaged in a series of strikes. Flair would contribute a series of chops before the two respected competitors moved to the corner turnbuckle. James would retort with a slap before landing a hurricanrana on “The Queen”, sending her flying across the ring. Flair would quickly bounce back, tossing James through the ropes and onto apron, attempting to eliminate the six-time women’s champion.
This moment would be the only moment that these superstars would ever engage in the ring together in any capacity. Mickie James wants more though.
In a recent interview with Tru Heel Heat, James revealed that she wants more magic with the current Smackdown Women’s Champion:
“I still would want a moment with Charlotte because I never got it, that’s number one. That will always be…I really wanted to have that moment with her. I don’t know why it matters so much, I’m just like ‘God, we finally got that little moment in the Rumble,’ a little beat, and it was pretty awesome. My whole tenure there, the whole time I was back, we were never in the ring together until that moment, which is so crazy to me.”
Similarly, Charlotte Flair also declared two years ago that she’d like a true match with the current Knockouts Champion:
Mickie James and Charlotte Flair barely scratched the surface last year, but now, there is hope for that true moment between the two decorated champions.
Since the announcement of James’ presence in the Royal Rumble and the surprising addition of Charlotte Flair, James has seemingly set her sights on the Smackdown Women’s Champion.
In an intriguing move by WWE, Charlotte Flair announced herself as an entrant in this year’s Royal Rumble. This will mark the first time in the history of the Women’s Royal Rumble that a champion will enter their respective Rumble match. No formal explanation has been given, but perhaps if Flair wins this year’s Royal Rumble, she will hand select her WrestleMania opponent?
It’s a definite possibility.
On the other hand, Mickie James enters the 2022 Royal Rumble as the IMPACT Knockouts World Champion. Moreover, WWE acknowledged James as the Knockouts Champion when announcing her entry into the Royal Rumble. Though James is a certified WWE legend, never before has World Wrestling Entertainment crossed over with IMPACT Wrestling in an exciting headline like this. As of this writing, Mickie James and Charlotte Flair enter the Royal Rumble match as the only two singles champions. Besides that fact though, there is one other link between the two legendary superstars that could and should cause that dream one-on-one matchup.
Though the Flair and James have never engaged in action outside of the Royal Rumble, there is a huge story and date that has the power to spark this potential forbidden door match: March 26th, 2019.
For thirteen years, WWE Hall of Famer Trish Stratus held the record the most women’s championship held by any competitors in WWE, with an outstanding seven reigns. In March of 2019, Charlotte Flair changed that. Defeating Asuka for the Smackdown Women’s Championship on an episode of Smackdown, Flair claimed her eighth women’s championship in the company. There, she cemented herself in WWE history with the most Women’s Championship reigns of all-time, now ahead of Stratus.
Upon her second return to WWE in 2016, Mickie James was one title shy of tying the record then held by Stratus. James found herself competing for various championships, including a six-pack challenge for the Smackdown Women’s Championship, an Elimination Chamber match for the RAW Women’s Championship, and against Alexa Bliss for the RAW Women’s Title on two occassions. In every opportunity however, James fell short.
James would meet Trish Stratus in the 2018 Royal Rumble, as Stratus taunted James by holding up seven fingers in her face, symbolic of her historic seven championship reigns. From 2010 until 2018, Mickie James was always second behind Stratus in the WWE history books. Every appearance of James on WWE programming following her sixth championship win, raised the stakes of her potentially tying history with Trish Stratus. Unfortunately, Mickie James never reclaimed a championship in WWE following her sixth Women’s Championship victory at the 2010 Royal Rumble.
James would forever trail Trish Stratus by one reign in the history books for the record, until 2019. Charlotte Flair would be the one to surpass Stratus on March 26th, 2019, becoming the Smackdown Women’s Champion and solidifying her eighth title reign in WWE.
Charlotte Flair reached a feat that Mickie James failed to do in her collective nine years in WWE. That realization is the fuel Mickie James needs to use upon her return to WWE. If James was never going to break Stratus’ record, perhaps a grudge match with the woman who did might provide her character some closure.
Flair has already beaten Trist Stratus’ record, and beaten Stratus herself at SummerSlam 2019. Then again, Mickie James has also beaten Trish Stratus, in her WrestleMania debut in 2006, ironically on the same day as this year’s WrestleMania: April 2nd.
Charlotte Flair will forever have a leg up on James in terms of the history books, but James might finally have a chance to change her fate this year. The addition of Charlotte Flair and Mickie James to the Royal Rumble could possibly lead to an ultimate forbidden door collision: Champion vs Champion.
Mickie wants it. Charlotte wants it. Now, it’s up to WWE and IMPACT to capitalize on the momentum and buzz.
Royal Rumble entry placements for Flair and James are still unknown at this time, but the drawing value is undoubtedly there. It is an absolute MUST that these two formally meet this year.
NOW is the time to book Mickie James versus Charlotte Flair.
Jim Ross mentioned on Twitter Monday night that he suffered a black eye after falling while on his way to Charlotte, NC for the AEW Battle of the Belts special.
He also mentioned that he will provide a cancer recovery update on Tuesday. You can check out the photo here:
Ross has had similar incidents in the past as in 2014 blog post wrote said the following:
“I was treated for stroke-like symptoms for two days in the hospital in their stroke care unit. I don’t remember Tuesday morning whatsoever including driving myself to the OKC airport, my wife as in Vegas already as I had to stay behind and record a podcast, nor do I recall boarding the plane in OKC for Vegas. I presented Terry Taylor with a much deserved Iron Mike award at the CAC and have no memory of what I said. That’s scary. About a month ago I took a fall in our home that had me hitting my head on our wood floor but I no sold it and never mentioned it to my wife. I assumed that the loss of memory and lost days were a result of that. After enduring multiple MRI’s and numerous tests on my brain and heart it was determined that my prolonged use of Ambien as a sleep aid to combat my insomnia was the primary culprit of my issues. Ambien is a ‘temporary’ solution to insomnia but I have been taking it for years. Not good. The side affects of Ambien are scary, read about them, of which now I know. If you are taking it, I strongly suggest that you consult your physician. My meds have now been all adjusted and I am back on a healthy path of diet and exercise and, obviously, NO Ambien. The hallucinogenic issues with the drug are scary and I will never use that medication again.”
In 2018, Ross also took a bump as his face hit the concrete, which resulted in bruises on his face, including a black eye. Best wishes to the WWE Hall of Famer on a speedy recovery.
