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Tony Khan Admits It’s Time To Be ‘Discerning’ With New AEW Signings

Anutosh Bajpai
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Tony Khan has been on a signing spree the last few months. The AEW president has signed over 25 new stars to his company in 2021.

The sheer number of acquisitions however has also attracted some criticism from fans, with many worrying that the new signings have overshadowed the Day 1 AEW talents in many cases.

Khan was asked about his strategy for new stars heading into 2022 during a recent interview with TVInsider. Replying to it, Tony admitted that it’s time to be discerning about talent acquisition:

“I do think I have to be more discerning than ever in talent acquisition because we have such a strong roster. I was aggressively expanding with the launch of Rampage.”

Tony Khan went on to list some of the major names that have joined their roster in recent times before discussing AEW’s partnership with other companies:

“We’ve also continued our partnerships with great international companies like New Japan Pro Wrestling and Lucha Libre AAA. We have a lot of great talent working, but it’s time for me to be more discerning than ever in terms of acquisitions.”

Inspite of this claim, Khan promised that the list of talents will continue to expand. When asked if we will see more talents coming in next year, he said “Absolutely, there will be more people coming into AEW.”

What do you think about AEW’s hiring strategy in 2021? Let us know your thoughts on all the signing of the year in the comment section below.

Tony Khan Discusses The Owen Hart Cup

Jake Roberts Reveals COVID-19 Diagnosis

Anutosh Bajpai
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AEW star and WWE Hall of Famer Jake Roberts has revealed that he has tested positive for coronavirus.

The wrestling veteran revealed the news on Twitter. He wrote “I’ve waited so long. Actually thought I was bulletproof. Yes I’ve gotten Covid-19!”

The former WWE star followed this up with another tweet. He mentioned how he hasn’t made an AEW appearance in nearly 3 months. Jake Roberts claimed that Tony Khan has gone above and beyond to keep everyone safe:

“Yes after not going to do my AEW work for nearly 3 months. Tony Kahn knows I’m high risk and has gone above and beyond all expectations trying to keep everyone safe. Pretty sure I got it from family or when I was out shopping.”

Jake Roberts revealed in July earlier this year that he has signed a new 2-year contract with AEW. Though he had been off TV in recent months after undergoing a foot surgery where he had pins inserted in his toes.

A positive test for the wrestling legend is concerning news, especially because of his battle with COPD which makes it hard for Roberts to breathe. COVID-19 is known to attack the lungs of its patients.

SEScoops wishes a speedy recovery to Jake Roberts.

“He’s An A**hole”: Jake Roberts Blasts Vince McMahon For Using His Personal Troubles Into Storyline

Watch Mercedes Martinez Make Her Return On Dynamite

Anutosh Bajpai
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Mercedes Martinez is all elite.

This week’s episode of AEW Dynamite featured the second and last semi-final match of the TBS championship tournament. It saw Thunder Rosa and Jade Cargill going up against each other.

Towards the ending of the match that was mostly dominated by Cargill, Rosa got a figure four locked in. However, Cargill got to the ropes forcing the break.

Mark Sterling then created a distraction that led to a hooded figure attacking Thunder Rosa. This interference allowed Cargill to hit Jaded for the pinfall victory.

Thunder Rosa tried to attack Cargill after the match but the hooded figure returned. She put Rosa down once again and then revealed herself to be the former NXT star Mercedes Martinez:

https://twitter.com/AEWonTNT/status/1476376186460819457

Martinez and Cargill continued the post-match beatdown until Ruby Soho ran down to the ring and forced both the women to retreat.

Tony Khan took on his Twitter after the show. The AEW president confirmed that the wrestling veteran has officially signed with his promotion:

The former WWE star had made a number of appearances for AEW in 2019 before she got re-signed and returned to NXT.

Mercedes Martinez was released from her WWE contract in August. Before making her AEW return, she also made her Impact Wrestling debut in October.

AEW Dynamite New Year’s Smash Results: Trios Match, TBS Tournament, Mercedes Martinez

Backstage News On Toni Storm’s WWE Release

Anutosh Bajpai
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The release of Toni Storm is the most shocking wrestling news of this week. It’s especially surprising due to the fact that she appeared on WWE TV just last Friday and competed in a championship match on SmackDown.

The former NXT star also competed in last night’s Live Event from Washington, DC. She was part of a triple threat match also featuring Charlotte Flair and Sasha Banks.

While the reason for Storm’s departure has not been revealed yet, PWinsider is reporting that it was not related to yesterday’s match and the bout went as planned.

The story making rounds is that the former NXT UK women’s champion flew herself home from Baltimore after the live event and then asked for a release.

The internal WWE announcement regarding her departure doesn’t state the release as another budget cut. Fightful select has noted that many in WWE were ‘blindsided’ by Toni Storm’s request.

The site also noted how it would have been difficult for officials to not grant the release after firing a lot of talents over the last several months due to budget cuts.

Toni Storm had recently opened up about the lack of opportunity on the main roster. She had only wrestled 7 televised matches since being called up in July.

There is no word yet on what the former champion is planning for her future. She should have the standard 90 days non-compete clause that is expected to expire on March 29 next year.

Toni Storm Discusses Her Main Roster Call Up, Vince McMahon

AEW Dynamite New Year’s Smash Results: Trios Match, TBS Tournament, Mercedes Martinez

Robert Lentini
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AEW Dynamite New Years Smash aired live from Daily’s Place in Jacksonville, Florida. Jim Ross made his return to the commentary team for the final Dynamite of 2021. Adam Cole, Kyle O’Reilly, and Bobby Fish battled Best Friends and Orange Cassidy in a Trios Match in the main event.

Dynamite Results

  1. FTR & HFO def. Jurassic Express, Lucha Bros & Christian
  2. 2point0 & Daniel Garcia def. Eddie Kingston, Santana, Ortiz
  3. Wardlow def. Colin Delaney
  4. Jade Cargill def. Thunder Rosa to advance to the finals of the TBS Championship Tournament
  5. Kyle O’Reilly, Adam Cole, Bobby Fish def. Best Friends & Orange Cassidy

Here are the takeaways from this week’s show:

FTR & HFO Picked Up A Win

Jungle Boy, Luchasaurus, Christian, and AEW Tag Team Champions Lucha Bros (Pentagon JR., Rey Fenix) battled AAA Tag Team Champions FTR (Dax Harwood, Cash Wheeler) and Matt Hardy, Private Party (Isiah Kassidy, Marq Quen) in a 10 man tag team match to open the show.

Cash Wheeler and Christian Cage locked up to begin the action. Christian drove Wheeler to the corner and the two separated. Christian went for the Unprettier but Cash escaped. Cage sent him to the corner of the ring and unloaded some punches.

Jungle Boy tagged in and continued to beat Cash Wheeler down. Wheeler escaped and tagged in Dax Harwood. Dax and Jungle Boy locked up in the middle of the ring. Dax connected with a shoulder tackle but Jungle Boy responded with a Clothesline. Penta and Lucha hit Dax with some punches before Christian tagged back in.

Harwood caught Cage with an uppercut and tagged Jungle Boy back in. Jungle Boy applied the Snare Trap but Wheeler broke it up with a Dropkick. Kassidy tagged in and a brawl broke out. Lucha Bros beat Kassidy down before Fenix applied a Headlock.

Hardy tagged in and hit a Side Effect but Jungle Boy kicked out. Matt bounced Jungle Boy’s face off the turnbuckle several times and then Tully got in some cheap shots as referee Aubrey Edwards was distracted. FTR and Hardy Family Office isolated Jungle Boy in the corner and controlled the next few minutes of the match.

Jungle Boy eventually battled back and tagged in Penta. Penta hit Private Party with a couple Slingblades and tagged in Fenix. Lucha Bros beat Wheeler down with a series of kicks and planted FTR with a DDT. Fenix hit a Swanton on Quen but he kicked out at the last moment.

Quen connected with a DDT and dragged Rey to the corner. Harwood tagged in and dropped an elbow for a two count. Harwood connected with a Brainbuster but Rey kicked out at two. Dax perched Rey up on the top rope but Fenix knocked him down. Fenix hit a crazy springboard flip onto FTR and tagged in Luchasaurus.

Luchasaurus cleaned house and sent everyone flying all over the place. The big man launched both members of FTR into the turnbuckle and delivered some monstrous Splashes. Luchasaurus sent Kassidy out of the ring with a Clothesline before doing the same to Marq Quen. Luchasaurus leveled Dax with a Clothesline and followed it up with a Chokeslam.

Pentagon JR. tagged himself in before Luchasaurus could go for the cover. Penta hit a Backstabber but Dax powered out at two. Another brawl broke out and Matt Hardy shoved Luchasaurus into the ring post. Jungle Boy jumped onto HFO as Christian & Penta argued in the ring. FTR capitalized on the distraction and knocked Penta to the floor. FTR then planted Christian with the Big Rig for the pinfall victory.

https://twitter.com/tde_gif/status/1476362321110970368?s=20

Eddie Kingston Didn’t Want Chris Jericho’s Help

Eddie Kingston, Santana, Ortiz faced 2point0 (Jeff Parker & Matt Lee) and Daniel Garcia in a Trios Match. The action spilled out of the ring with all 6 wrestlers brawling. Jeff Parker got Kingston in the corner of the ring and unloaded some punches. Eddie shrugged them off and dragged Parker to the corner. Ortiz tagged in and applied a Headlock.

Matt Lee hit a kick to the midsection but Ortiz responded with a Dropkick for a near fall. Santana and Daniel Garcia tagged into the match. Santana hit an uppercut and followed it up with an Enziguri to the face.

Santana connected Three Amigos and tagged Ortiz back in. Ortiz hit a slam and went for the cover but couldn’t put Garcia away. Garcia broke out of an Abdominal Stretch and Matt Lee tagged in. Matt dragged Ortiz to the outside and Garcia leveled him with a running knee. 2point0 isolated Ortiz in the ring as Dynamite went to a commercial break.

When Dynamite New Years Smash returned, Kingston tagged in and unloaded some chops to Garcia’s chest in the corner. Kingston planted Parker with an Exploder Suplex and tagged in Santana. Ortiz hit a DDT and Santana hit a Moonsault. Parker rolled up Santana for the pinfall victory. After the match, 2point0 and Garcia attacked Santana. Garcia grabbed the ring bell and bashed Santana in the face with it.

Chris Jericho rushed the ring with a baseball bat. Jericho got in a shot before waving the bat around like a madman as the crowd cheered. 2point0 and Garcia retreated out of the ring and Jericho bashed the rope with the bat. Eddie Kingston shouted for the music to cut and asked what Jericho is doing here. Eddie shouted at Jericho that he doesn’t need his help and these are his friends. Kingston and Jericho were about to fight but Ortiz broke it up.

Wardlow Dominated

MJF had a backstage promo with Spears by his side. Wardlow was sitting behind MJF and was completely disinterested. MJF suggested that if he were working for a more professional wrestling company, having to deal with Sting wouldn’t happen to him. MJF noted the bidding war of 2024 is approaching before bringing up CM Punk. MJF told Wardlow to start chasing some wins to get in the ladder match for a TNT shot. MJF added that if Wardlow wins it he will have to relinquish immediately to MJF. Maxwell had Mark Sterling read Wardlow’s contract which basically was that MJF owns everything he has. MJF closed the promo by vowing to become AEW Champion.

Wardlow came down to the ring with Shawn Spears. Wardlow battled the great Colin Delaney in a match that was over quick. Wardlow hit a big Clothesline and followed it up with another one. Wardlow hit two Powerbombs for good measure for the pinfall victory. Shawn Spears bashed Colin with the chair after the match and waved Wardlow to follow him.

https://twitter.com/AEW/status/1476371309819052034?s=20

Brandi Rhodes Interrupted Dan Lambert

Dan Lambert, Scorpio Sky, and Ethan Page got greeted with a chorus off boos. Lambert said seeing Arn Anderson suck up to Cody, who sucks up to Tony Khan. Lambert joked that Arn used to be a horseman and now he’s just a whore. Dan said that is a perfect segway to Brandi and joked about her name sounding like a stripper’s name. Dan mocked Cody’s tattoo and how he skipped the line over more deserving talent backstage by cutting a deal with Tony Khan. Lambert added that AEW fans may be idiots but they don’t like the taste of the shit sandwich Cody is shoving down their throats.

Brandi Rhodes interrupted and got in the ring. Brandi referred to Lambert as a bobble headed Paul Heyman wannabe. Lambert said he prefers Jim Cornette and joked that the sound of Brandi’s voice makes him wish Jericho was stapling his balls again like in the Minneapolis Street Fight. Brandi challenged Lambert to a fight and Dan accepted after saying he is a black belt. Brandi said she is a “black bitch” which got an awesome pop from the crowd. Dustin Rhodes rushed the ring and Men of the Year hit him with a cheap shot before retreating.

Jade Cargill Advanced To The Finals After Mercedes Martinez Interfered

Jade Cargill faced Thunder Rosa in the semifinals of the TBS Championship tournament. Thunder knocked Jade to the outside to start off the action. Rosa hit Jade with some kicks to the leg but Cargill shrugged them off. Thunder Rosa went for a Crossbody but Jade caught her. Cargill hit a Backbreaker and posed. Thunder Rosa hit a Dropkick and went to work on Cargill’s leg. Thunder rolled into the ring to break the count before slamming Cargill’s knee into the steel barricade. Cargill sent Thunder Rosa into the ring post before the action finally got back to the ring.

Cargill missed with a Splash but caught Thunder Rosa with a couple knees to the face. Thunder Rosa hit a Dragon Screw and climbed to the top rope. Rosa hopped down as Cargill got back up. Jade hit a massive kick to the face as Dynamite went to a commercial break.

When Dynamite returned, Cargill hit a Samoan Drop and followed it up with a Backbreaker. Rosa connected with an Atomic Drop and then applied a Figure Four in the middle of the ring. Jade broke free and Sterling gave her a water bottle. The referee kicked out Mark but someone in a mask attacked Thunder Rosa. Jade capitalized with the Jaded for the pinfall victory. Jade will face Ruby Soho to crown the first TBS Champion next week.

Thunder Rosa attacked Jade after the match but the masked woman got into the ring and beat her down. It was then revealed to be Mercedes Martinez and they beat Thunder Rosa down some more. Ruby Soho rushed the ring with a pipe and they retreated.

CM Punk Made His Daily’s Place Debut

CM Punk made his Daily’s Place debut to a great reaction from the crowd. Punk said he’s never been to Daily’s Place and noted that it is awesome to see Jim Ross back in the booth. CM said that this has been a home for AEW and it gets him thinking about Brodie Lee. Punk stated that he watched the tribute show to his friend from Daily’s Place and it made him want to come here.

Punk called MJF a twitter troll in the flesh and is somebody that talks a big game but hides behind FTR and Wardlow. CM Punk brought up MJF claiming that he’s done with him and Punk claimed that he was fine with that. Punk boasted about defeating MJF and FTR last week and suggested that Maxwell was scared.

CM Punk brought up the AEW Championship and stated that he wanted to be a champion too. Punk said that MJF is a waste of time and a bigger waste of Khan money than Tim Tebow. The Jacksonville crowd popped for that line and then Punk quoted the pipe bomb. Punk said MJF has learned that in this ring, on the mic, even on commentary nobody can touch him. He then closed the promo by saying “it will be a real shame if somebody interfered with MJF’s quest for gold”.

Brian Pillman Jr. Warned Malakai Black

Tony Schiavone interviewed Brian Pillman Jr. tonight on Dynamite. Pillman ripped the microphone away and cut a promo on Malakai Black. Pillman said that he learned from his father that you only get one life and he’s not giving his to Malakai. Brian vows to be a new man in their match next week. The lights went out and Malakai Black appeared. Malakai pointed at Pillman before leaving. Malakai Black and Brian Pillman Jr. will battle next week.

Young Bucks Helped Cole, Fish, and O’Reilly

Kyle O’Reilly, Bobby Fish, Adam Cole faced Trent, Chuck Taylor, and Orange Cassidy in a Trios Match in this week’s main event. O’Reilly beat Trent down to start off the match. Orange Cassidy and Bobby Fish then tagged in. Fish went for a Senton but Cassidy rolled out of the way. Orange avoided Fish and put his hands in his pockets. Cole hit Cassidy with a Clothesline and Fish hit the Senton this time.

Adam Cole tagged in and Orange shoved him to the corner. Best Friends and Orange Cassidy then hit him with a series of Clotheslines. Kyle O’Reilly and Bobby Fish broke the beat down up but got thrown out of the ring. Best Friends went for a hug but it was broken up. Cole sent Taylor to the apron and Kyle connected with a Dragon Screw. Fish tripped Taylor up as Dynamite went to a break.

When Dynamite returned, Cole hit Cassidy with a Superkick that knocked him off the ring apron. Kyle O’Reilly tagged in and Chuck caught him with a kick to the face. Trent knocked Cole out of the ring and delivered a Suplex to Bobby Fish. Kyle went for a submission hold but Trent countered into a Slam. Trent planted O’Reilly with a Tornado DDT and went for the cover but Kyle kicked out at the last moment.

Cole hit Trent with a boot to the face and Fish tagged in. Bobby drove Trent to the corner and hit him with a Backbreaker. Kyle followed it up with a Knee Drop to Trent’s face. Fish went for the cover but Trent kicked out and the match continued. Trent hit a Double Stomp on Fish and tagged in Orange Cassidy.

Orange hit Kyle with a Crossbody and then a Suicide Dive to Fish. Cassidy hit Cole with the Stundog Millionaire but O’Reilly and Fish caught him with a slam. Adam Cole tagged in and hit Cassidy with a Superkick. Fish and O’Reilly followed it up with the High Low but Chuck broke up the cover.

Trent knocked Fish out o the ring and followed him to the entrance ramp. Bobby botched a Suplex onto the ropes and turned around into a kick from Chuck Taylor. Adam Cole went for Panama Sunrise but Chuck countered into a Back Body Drop. Trent hit a Spear and rolled Cole into the ring. Orange Cassidy hit the diving DDT off the top rope but Cole kicked out at two. Cassidy hit Beach Break and went for the cover but Bobby Fish broke it up.

O’Reilly dragged Cole to the corner and tagged himself in. Kyle booted Cassidy in the face a few times but Orange grabbed his leg. O’Reilly unloaded some strikes but accidentally hit Cole. Cassidy rolled Kyle up for a two count. Chuck tagged in and hit O’Reilly with a knee to the face. Trent hit O’Reilly with a Clothesline and delivered a Suplex to Fish. Best Friends shared a hug as Brandon Cutler ran into the ring. Young Bucks hit a couple Superkicks of the distraction. O’Reilly and Fish hit their finisher on Chuck for the pinfall victory. O’Reilly and Fish didn’t seem too pleased that the Young Bucks helped them and the two teams traded words to close the show.

https://twitter.com/AEW/status/1476388991549198345?s=20

X-Pac Open To Discussing WWE Return In 2022

Fernando Quiles Jr.
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0

Sean Waltman, better known to WWE Attitude Era fans as X-Pac, is gearing up for an in-ring return.

Waltman appeared to be done with wrestling back in 2019. He teamed with Jushin “Thunder” Liger and Hurricane Helms to defeat Caleb Konley, Jake Manning, and Zane Riley. After the match, Waltman claimed to be done with in-ring work.

As we get ready to roll the calendar over to 2022, it appears Waltman, a WWE Hall of Famer, has had a change of heart. In fact, he’s getting back in ring shape.

X-Pac Opens The Door

  • X-Pac
    (via WWE)

During an appearance on WWE’s The Bump, X-Pac said that if WWE gives him a call, he’ll be ready to listen.

“I’m just gonna get in better and better shape. I’ll be ring-ready beginning of next year and in case my phone rings [I’m open].”

Waltman also listed some talented individuals on the WWE roster. He named a current champion and three NXT 2.0 wrestlers.

“I was mentioning Damian Priest but everyone already sees how great he is and how great he’s gonna be. Carmelo [Hayes] down at NXT, Xyon [Quinn]. I mean there’s a lot going on. Obviously Bron Breakker so yeah, the future is very bright.”

It appears Waltman already has a willing dance partner if he does end up making his WWE return. Ricochet threw down the challenge on Twitter.

Waltman hasn’t had a match under the WWE banner since 2002. He’s wrestled for the likes of TNA Wrestling and other promotions throughout the years.

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Eddie Kingston Explains Why He Doesn’t Like Being Called A Locker Room Leader

Fernando Quiles Jr.
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Eddie Kingston is widely seen as a locker room leader but he doesn’t like it.

Kingston has become an important addition to the AEW roster. He joined the promotion back in July 2020. Since that time, he has been praised for his personality and no-nonsense style in the ring.

He was also given props for his heartfelt backstage speech following the passing of Brodie Lee.

How Eddie Kingston Feels About ‘Leader’ Label

Eddie Kingston spoke to Alex McCarthy of talkSPORT and he detailed why he isn’t a fan of being viewed as a leader of the locker room.

“I don’t like it. I don’t wanna be a leader. I just do whatever I do cause people aren’t gonna always like what I do when it comes to the locker room and stuff like that.

“I have my own barometer for what I feel is right and what I feel is wrong. It’s not the same as everybody so I don’t wanna lead nobody [laughs].

“If you decide to follow then God bless, I’m sorry. I apologize now.”

Kingston went on to say that the perception of him being a leader probably boils down to his authenticity.

“I just speak. Everything I do — I’m an extremist, so everything I do I do with a passion. It doesn’t matter what it is, so when I speak I’m just passionate. I say it’s the Irish and the Puerto Rican in me.”

Kingston has been feuding with Daniel Garcia and 2point0. He finally has some backup as he’ll be teaming with Santana & Ortiz of Proud N’ Powerful to take on Garcia and 2point0 on the Dec. 29 episode of AEW Dynamite.

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WWE Hall Of Famer: Sammy Guevara’s Short AEW TNT Title Reign Doesn’t Hurt Him

Fernando Quiles Jr.
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One WWE and WCW legend doesn’t believe Sammy Guevara’s loss to Cody Rhodes has damaged him.

On the Christmas episode of AEW Rampage, Guevara put the TNT Championship on the line against Cody. The match was highly-praised and ultimately ended with Cody defeating Sammy to become a three-time TNT Champion.

Some fans questioned the decision to end Sammy’s reign at just 84 days. When you factor in that he was able to dethrone Miro, who has been dominant since displaying The Redeemer gimmick, it puzzles those fans even more.

Booker T Thinks Sammy Guevara Will Be Fine

On an episode of his Hall of Fame podcast, Booker T expressed his belief that Sammy Guevara won’t lose any steam after dropping the TNT Title to Cody Rhodes.

“I really don’t think so just because when you win the title, that says one thing. That says the company, they believed in you enough to say, ‘Hey man, let’s put the belt on this guy. Let’s give him the rub, let’s bring him up but we can’t bring everyone up and just focus on this one guy.’

“Sammy is good, Sammy’s young he’s got a lot of time left in the business. He’s got a lot more title reigns to capture.

“Just imagine man, if people were talking about, ‘Booker T won the TV Title, man. He should be in the world title picture right now.’ Can you imagine what that would’ve done for me as far as what kind of pressure that would’ve put me under?

“But winning the Television Championship six times before I moved on? Man, that on-the-job training for me was worth its weight in gold and I think that’s what Sammy is getting right now is on-the-job training.

“I think he’s done a damn good job being a young kid thrust in the spotlight the way he has been over this last year.”

It’ll be interesting to see what will happen next now that Guevara doesn’t have the TNT title. Sammy posted this on Twitter following the loss.

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Bully Ray Understands NXT 2.0’s Vision But Doesn’t Want To Watch ‘Minor Leagues’

Fernando Quiles Jr.
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0

Bully Ray gets why WWE has switched up the formula for NXT but he hasn’t been entertained by the change in direction.

NXT went from the black and gold to Splatoon-like colors. The brand has also gone from focusing on indie talent to shifting gears to bigger wrestlers with athletic backgrounds.

Some believe the new change could be beneficial for the main roster but it’s clear that the talent is very green. If the brand was airing on Hulu like FCW and the early NXT days it would be one thing but NXT 2.0 airs live every Tuesday night on USA Network.

Bully Ray Not Satisfied Watching NXT 2.0

  • NXT 2.0
    NXT 2.0

Taking to the Busted Open Radio show on SiriusXM, Bully Ray said that NXT 2.0 simply doesn’t grab his attention.

“Here is my thought walking away from the show, I don’t wanna watch the JV squad anymore. I don’t wanna watch the Triple-A of the WWE anymore.

“I understand why it’s important, I understand why it’s on, I get it. From a business point of view, I understand every last detail of what they are trying to accomplish on Tuesday nights at 8 o’clock on USA.

“As a fan who’s been around the wrestling business obviously 40+ years, I’m not as much into the up-and-coming developmental talent right now. To me, these new characters, these new talents are doing well but I wanna be entertained at the highest level.

“That’s why I’m watching a Raw, a SmackDown, a Dynamite. Those are the top of the food chain when it comes to the different brands we have at our disposal to be entertained by.

“Last night I felt very much like I was watching the minor leagues because NXT is the minor leagues now. Me calling NXT the minor leagues, I’m not being disrespectful. It’s not a detriment, it just is what it is.”

Many agree that the one highlight of NXT 2.0 has been Bron Breakker. He is the son of Rick Steiner and there is no doubt that he takes after both his father and his uncle, Scott Steiner.

Breakker is set to challenge Tommaso Ciampa for the NXT Championship in a rematch. The title match will take place at New Year’s Evil on Jan. 4.

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Toni Storm Released By WWE

Ryan Droste
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In what can only be described as a shocking end of the year move, WWE has reportedly released Toni Storm. The SmackDown roster member worked WWE’s live event just last night in Washington. D.C.

The news of Storm’s release was broken on Wednesday afternoon by Fightful’s Sean Ross Sapp via Twitter. Storm is a former NXT UK Women’s Champion and also a Mae Young Classic winner (2018).

https://twitter.com/SeanRossSapp/status/1476292502550372358

Details on Storm’s release are scarce at the moment. Sapp confirmed that he had received confirmation from WWE on the release but was not yet aware of why the move was made. He later went on to mention that the memo that went out across the company concerning Storm’s release did not mention budget cuts, as has been the case with most of WWE’s recent releases. There’s a belief internally that she asked for her release, though that is still in the process of being confirmed.

Storm became a sensation from 2015-2018 while part of PROGRESS Wrestling. She competed in the 2017 Mae Young Classic tournament and was then signed by the company in May 2018. She went on to win the 2018 Mae Young Classic that fall, defeating Io Shirai at the WWE Evolution PPV event.

Storm was part of the NXT UK brand from 2018-2020, holding that brand’s women’s title for 231 days. She lost it to Kay Lee Ray at NXT UK TakeOver: Cardiff in August 2019.

After an eight month hiatus, Storm started working the regular NXT brand in the fall of 2020 consistently. She then moved to the SmackDown roster this past summer. Storm was part of the Queen’s Crown tournament in October, losing to Zelina Vega. She was also part of Team SmackDown at last month’s Survivor Series PPV event.

Storm wrestled on Tuesday night at WWE’s live event in Washington, D.C. in a triple threat match against Charlotte Flair and Sasha Banks. She worked the same match the previous night at the WWE live event in Orlando. Interestingly, Storm had recently spoken about lack of opportunities on the WWE main roster.

The wrestling world reacted appropriately to Storm’s release, including Britt Baker evidently calling for a match with Storm.

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.

Toni Storm On Lack Of Opportunity After Main Roster Call Up, What She Learned During Pandemic

Kurt Angle Reveals Which Attitude Era Wrestler He Thought Would Be A Huge Star

Fernando Quiles Jr.
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Kurt Angle thought that one WWE wrestler from the Attitude Era was destined for stardom but it didn’t pan out.

We’ve seen many wrestlers come and go over the years. On the surface, some talent come across as having massive potential. Of course, it doesn’t always work out that way for a variety of reasons.

For Angle, there was one Attitude Era wrestler who he thought would surely make his way to the top of the card.

This Is A Test

  • Test
    (via WWE)

During an episode of The Kurt Angle Show, the Olympic gold medalist admitted he feels Test should’ve been elevated higher than his ceiling ultimate was in WWE.

“Well, I started in the business with Test. He was at the Dory Funk dojo. I thought the guy had all the tools. I mean he had size, he had great looks, he had in-ring ability, he could talk, he had everything. I thought he was gonna be a huge star and I was really surprised that he didn’t get to the level that he deserved to get to.”

Test did get some shine being involved in an angle with Stephanie McMahon. The two were dating in storyline but HHH ruined their wedding during a segment on Raw and Test ultimately found himself pushed down the card.

When the Ruthless Aggression era was in full swing, he had an infamous feud with Scott Steiner before the two became partners. Test was released by WWE in Nov. 2004.

He made his way back to the company under the ECW brand in 2006. While many hoped this would be a fresh start for Test, he was released the following year although he claimed it was a mutual parting of ways.

Unfortunately, Test is no longer with us. He passed away on March 13, 2009. He was just four days shy of his 34th birthday.

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Jim Ross Announces He’s Cancer-Free

Fernando Quiles Jr.
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0

Jim Ross has stomped a mudhole in skin cancer and walked it dry.

Back in October, Ross revealed that he was going to the hospital for what he expected to be skin cancer around his ankle. Ross’ fears were correct and he was diagnosed but a solid game plan with his doctor has led to a quick and full recovery.

Jim Ross has taken to his Twitter account to reveal that after spending some time away from the AEW booth to catch up on all his treatments, he is now cancer-free.

https://twitter.com/JRsBBQ/status/1476233642695598081

During an episode of his Grilling JR podcast, Ross admitted that he had some nights where he pondered the possibility of not being cancer-free after his final treatment. With that said, he maintained a positive attitude and was determined to beat the cancer.

The legendary commentator trusted the process as he never missed any of his scheduled treatments.

Ross has been in this situation before. He was diagnosed with skin cancer back in 2016. He had a procedure done and then two years later, he had surgery to fully remove the cancer from his shoulder.

JR will be back doing commentary on the Dec. 29 episode of AEW Dynamite.

Christian Cage: ‘To Get My Career Back After 7 Years Is A Gift’

Anutosh Bajpai
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After 7 years of absence, Christian Cage made his in-ring return at the Royal Rumble PPV earlier this year in January. He subsequently joined AEW in March where he has been really able to showcase his talent once again.

The former world champion recently had an interview with ET Canada. He discussed a number of things such as whether or not he would like to see Jeff Hardy join AEW.

Speaking of his own time in AEW so far, Christian explained that being able to get his career back after losing it is like a gift for him:

“It’s a gift. It really is. To get my career back, to be able to take it back after losing it for seven years is pretty special. And you know, for me at this stage, I just wanted the right platform where I could finish my career the way that I wanted to.”

Christian Cage On What Convinced Him To Join AEW

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yuTqx4SMcg

Christian Cage then recalled his first conversation with the AEW president Tony Khan. He claimed that it was enough to convince him to join the promotion:

“Having one conversation with Tony about it,” recalled Cage, “I wasn’t even halfway through the conversation with him and I was like, ‘this is the place for me.’ It was based solely on him.”

Apart from this, Christian Cage also talked about things such as getting the chance to work with younger talents and more. You can check out his full interview below:

https://youtu.be/pX4jOFVC5EU

Jim Ross: Battling Skin Cancer Has Made Me A Better Man

Fernando Quiles Jr.
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Jim Ross has been taking the fight to skin cancer and he feels he’s better for it.

The legendary play-by-play commentator announced his diagnosis back in October. He ended up taking time off from his AEW commentary duties in order to keep up with his treatments. JR will be making his return on the Dec. 29 episode of Dynamite.

Jim Ross’ Fight With Skin Cancer

Hours before stepping back in the AEW booth, Jim Ross will find out whether or not he’s cancer-free. During an episode of his Grilling JR podcast, Ross said he and his doctor created a plan that they believe can work.

“I just got my eye on December 29 and getting back on Dynamite. It’s my goal, it’s always been my goal.

“I designed this plan with the doctor’s advice and their counsel that we can pull this off. So, as we had it, the 29th, that morning’s my last treatment and that’s when I’ll have my consultation with the cancer specialist and hope they send me on my merry way.”

JR went on to express his belief that fighting through skin cancer has made him a better man.

“I’m just working through it. It’s really made me a better man I think cause this is a challenge. This whole thing’s really been a challenge physically and mentally.

“You sit there at night sometimes and wonder, ‘Well, what if on [the 29th] I don’t get declared cancer-free and I still gotta battle this son of a b*tch?’ So, what do we do then? We battle. Just keep fighting until it’s all gone and that’s how I look at it.”

Ross has battled skin cancer in the past. Back in 2016, he underwent a skin procedure. Two years later, he had the cancer completely removed through surgery.

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Dax Harwood Takes Shot At Former WWE PC Coach

Chris Stephens
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Dax Harwood believes that FTR has helped to usher in a rejuvenated era of tag-team wrestling, one that incorporates the team aspect more than just two singles stars being paired together. Evidently, there is a former coach at the WWE PC who disagreed with them on this philosophy. Dax Harwood mentioned in a recent interview with Elite POV that there is a former coach from the Performance Center that they laugh at now when they look back upon. Harwood would stop short of mentioning who that coach was, however.

“There’s a former coach at the PC, that I hope he’s looking at us and knowing that we are laughing at him in the face. Well, I won’t put Cash in that position,” Harwood said. “Knowing that I am laughing at him in the face.”

Earlier in the discussion, Harwood had mentioned that around 2014, the art of the tag-team wrestling had been lost. He said that tag-team matches had become about two singles stars tagging in and out and doing their moves. Him and Cash wanted their tag-team to be different.

“I’ll say this to pat ourselves on the back. Before us, you didn’t see tag matches, of the modern era at least, the heels grab a hold and the babyfaces working for the tag. You didn’t see that,” Harwood said. “You didn’t see hope spots that were slightly elaborate to give that baby a little bit of hope and have the heel stop them there. What you saw was a hold, the fans would start to come up. The two guys would start to come up, bring the elbows to the stomach. They’d hit the ropes and the heel would do something and the heel would hit some kind of cool move.”

The full interview can be viewed in the player below:

H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the above transcriptions.

Liv Morgan Has Found “Angry Liv Girl”, Wants To Bring Her To Day 1

Chris Stephens
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When Becky Lynch cheated to retain the RAW Women’s Championship against Liv Morgan, many fans in the crowd were upset. There was one fan who had such a disappointed face that she began to be known as “Angry Liv Girl.” Morgan revealed that she has found the fan and hopes to bring her, and the “Angry Becky Girl” who appeared on RAW after, to the Day 1 PPV on Saturday.

“I have found Angry Liv Girl,” Morgan said in an interview with CBS Sports. “She’s awesome and I’ve been waiting to reach out. I found her and I’m going to send her a little DM. I would love for Angry Liv Girl and Angry Becky girl to both be there [at WWE Day 1]. They’ve both been stars during this feud. I would love for them to both be there.”

Morgan also spoke about her title match with Lynch headlining an episode of RAW on the 17th anniversary of Trish Stratus and Lita becoming the first-ever women to main event an episode of the show.

“That day was the 17th anniversary of the infamous Trish vs. Lita [match]. The first-ever women’s main event match for the Women’s championship,” Morgan continued. “It felt so weird to me. It felt like it was meant to be. Everything felt so aligned. Becky has red hair. I have blonde hair. We have this match 17 years to the date and we were the main event, which we didn’t know until later in the day because we weren’t the main event and then we got switched to the main event. As soon as I realized that, I was like, ‘I’m doing a dive.'”

Liv Morgan will get another crack at winning the RAW Women’s Championship on Saturday at Day 1. If she wins, she would become just the 11th Superstar to win the title since its debut in 2016. Nobody has held the championship for more combined days than Becky Lynch. She’s been the holder of the title for 437 days split between 2 reigns.

Tony Khan Comments On Signing Kyle O’Reilly

Chris Stephens
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Tonight on AEW Dynamite from Jacksonville, Adam Cole, Kyle O’Reilly, and Bobby Fish will team up to take on Chuck Taylor, Trent, and Orange Cassidy. The 3 original members of the Undisputed Era were competition to the promotion when they were on NXT Wednesday nights. Tony Khan recently spoke to Sports Illustrated about what it’s like to now have them on his show.

“Kyle O’Reilly is a huge addition for AEW. He’s a great, great wrestler. And not only did we get Kyle O’Reilly, we also got Bobby Fish and Adam Cole. These are huge signings individually, but even more massive together,” Khan said. “Adam Cole’s debut at the end of All Out, that’s one of the most important moments ever in AEW, and now he’s surrounded by his former partners. To have Kyle O’Reilly debut and help Adam Cole get the win over Orange Cassidy in a great wrestling match last week on Dynamite, that builds more interest in AEW.”

Kyle O’Reilly debuted for AEW on last week’s “Holiday Bash” show from the Greensboro Coliseum. He interfered in the match between Cole and Orange Cassidy, leading to Cole picking up the victory. Cole, Fish, and O’Reilly left the ring area after the match, leaving the Young Bucks in the ring by themselves.

“Kyle makes his debut in the ring this week, and it’s symbolic that it is happening on the final Dynamite on TNT,” Khan continued. “So much of our run on TNT was spent battling these guys—Adam Cole, Bobby Fish and Kyle O’Reilly. When we were head to head, it was threatening to us every time they were on camera. Now we’ve added them to our team in AEW, which is such an advantage.”

Cole, Fish & O’Reilly vs The Best Friends On AEW New Year’s Smash

In addition to Cole, O’Reilly, and Fish teaming up to take on the Best Friends, 2 other big matches are scheduled for tonight’s show. 2.0 and Daniel Garcia will team up to take on Eddie Kingston and Santana & Ortiz. In the TBS title tournament semi-finals, Thunder Rosa will also take on Jade Cargill.

Renee Paquette Details Her Epic Wedding To Jon Moxley

Anutosh Bajpai
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Jon Moxley is one of the people who lives and breathes wrestling. His wrestling gimmick is just an extension of his real-life self. This point is only proved further by the story of his marriage. Mox’s wife Renee Paquette welcomed the duo of Killer Kross and Scarlett Bordeaux on the most recent episode of her Oral Sessions podcast.

Scarlett first told the story of her engagement to Killer Kross in September this year. She recalled how both of them were having a bad day and there were no friends around. But Kross explained that together they could turn even the bad days into something special.

Naturally, the topic of their marriage was brought up and Renee asked about their preparation for it. Bordeaux revealed that they haven’t finalized anything but claimed that she would like to elope:

“I was on the road most of this month. I got to try on a couple dresses. I haven’t thought anything yet but I think I’d really like to elope. I want to go somewhere where there’s mountains. I was looking at Montana. I really just want close friends and family there because we’re talking about it and I’m like, ‘I don’t think a 100-person wedding or more people is for me. A lot of these people we might not even see in 10 years.’

I feel like I want [it] to be for us. I want to be surrounded by people who care about us. I just want to do it somewhere beautiful and have really good food. When we plan [it] it’s going to be maybe two or three weeks ahead. We’re just gonna call up our people and be like, ‘Alright, get on the flight. we’re going.'”

How Renee Paquette And Jon Moxley Got Married

Jon Moxley with Renee Paquette
Jon Moxley aka Dean Ambrose with Renee Paquette

In response, Renee Paquette told the story of her own marriage to Jon Moxley. The couple got married in an impromptu ceremony. It took place in the early hours of April 9, 2017, at their home in Las Vegas. They had hired a 24-hour pastor from yelp. Paquette revealed that they spent a total of $500 on the marriage:

“That’s the way to do it I feel. You spent so much money trying to cater things and get people somewhere and booking a venue and blah blah blah. It’s like you really just want it to be you guys. You want it to be nice and simple.

Jon and I got married for $500 which included the tip and that was it. We called it a day. I happen to have a white dress hanging in my closet. Same thing we were like, we had a weird bad day. I went up to bed and a bit of a mood. He comes storming up after me. [He was like] ‘We’re gonna get married right now.’ [I was like] ‘Okay, shit, here we go.'”

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

Scarlett Bordeaux Has A Good Reason To Want NXT 2.0 To Be Successful

Cody Rhodes: “We’re Not Going The Direction You Think”

Chris Stephens
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Cody Rhodes won the TNT Championship for a record 3rd time on Rampage last Friday. The crowds continue to give him a mixed reaction and many fans are wondering if he’ll turn heel.

Rhodes was recently featured on Sammy Guevara’s vlog and teased that they are “not going the direction you think” with the angle.

“I’m thankful to the fans that cheer me, and I’m thankful to the fans that boo me because both sets of fans are getting ready to go on a ride that’s just bizzare, and not… it’s not the path that you think. We’re not doing what’s been done before,” Rhodes said.

https://twitter.com/TranquiloClubYT/status/1475892964635389961

The full vlog can be viewed below:

Cody Rhodes Wins The TNT Championship

Cody Rhodes holds the record of most title reigns with the TNT title (3). Darby Allin holds the record for most combined days with the title and the longest single reign with the belt at 186.

Rhodes holds the record for the most combined total defenses with 10. Darby Allin, Miro, and Rhodes are tied for most title defenses in a single reign with 8.

He also holds the record for most wins in a TNT title match with 13, including his 3 title victories and 10 defenses.

Scarlett Bordeaux Has A Good Reason To Want NXT 2.0 To Be Successful

Anutosh Bajpai
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The rebranding of NXT has mostly been met with criticism from the fans. The new version of the show has failed to attract the younger audience as officials had hoped. Many believe that WWE should either revert back to the old presentation of the show or shut it down. However, Scarlett Bordeaux who was one of the last stars to be trained under the development brand before its repackaging is rooting for NXT 2.0 to succeed.

Scarlett and her fiance Killer Kross recently appeared on the latest episode of Oral Sessions with Renée Paquette. When asked for their thoughts on NXT 2.0, Bordeaux claimed that she wants it to be successful. She explained the reasoning for it, saying that a failure for the brand would lead to more of their friends losing their jobs:

“We have so many friends there. No matter what we want everyone to be successful and have jobs. We want it to do well, because if it doesn’t do well, that’s even more people we care about out of jobs. So we want [it] to be successful.

Scarlett Bordeaux continued: “It’s different. I’ll say this. It maybe feels a bit more sterile compared to what it was for me. We understand why they’re trying to appeal to the largest market and we want it to do well. I prefer the old grungy underground NXT personally. I just think there’s a lot of really talented, awesome people in that company. We want to see our friends do well.”

During the same interview, Killer Kross also gave his thoughts on his time with WWE. He explained that he doesn’t regret his run with the company overall. Though the former NXT champion also revealed the one thing he would change about his tenure. You can check out his comments at this link.

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

Killer Kross & Scarlett Comment On Their WWE Departures

Jake Atlas Debuts for AEW at Dark Elevation Taping

Ryan Droste
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Jake Atlas, who formerly worked for the WWE NXT brand, made his debut for All Elite Wrestling on Tuesday night. Atlas debuted during an AEW Dark Elevation taping in Jacksonville, taking on Serpentico. Atlas was victorious in the match.

Following the bout, AEW President and owner Tony Khan met Atlas on the ramp and shook his hand. While nothing has been made official, many took that to mean that Atlas has officially signed with the company. Check out the video below.

https://twitter.com/christina_tries/status/1476022184082653185

Atlas signed with WWE in 2019 after appearing with Stephanie McMahon on CBS’ Celebrity Undercover Boss in 2018. He had been garnering quite a bit of attention on the independent scene on the west coast prior to this and was looked at as a top tier signing at the time. He first served as an ambassador as part of WWE’s Be A Star program, then signed as a wrestler and made his debut appearance on an episode of NXT in April 2020.

That year, Atlas was involved in the NXT Cruiserweight Championship tournament. He defeated Drake Maverick and Tony Nese in his first two matches of the tournament before being defeated by Kushida. Later in the year, Atlas would feud with Santos Escobar for the cruiserweight title.

In early 2021, Atlas teamed with Isaiah “Swerve” Scott in the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic. The team lost to MSK in the tournament.

Following his WWE release, Atlas worked for GCW (Game Changer Wrestling) and ROH (Ring of Honor) this past fall. After briefly working for ROH, Atlas announced he was retiring from wrestling. His final match had been a loss to Taylor Rust at ROH’s Death Before Dishonor PPV show on September 12th. That changed on Tuesday evening.

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.

Jake Atlas On Coming Out To Stephanie McMahon As Gay

Christian Cage Believes Jeff Hardy Will Join AEW

Ryan Droste
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The careers of Christian Cage and Jeff Hardy have been closely linked for more than 20 years. The ladder match that featured Edge and Christian taking on The Hardy Boyz at WWE’s No Mercy PPV in 1999 essentially put both teams on the map and led to a spectacular three year stretch of tag team wrestling in the company.

Christian was interviewed this week by ET Canada and the topic of Hardy came up. Following his release from WWE earlier this month, Christian said that he believes that Hardy will join his brother Matt in AEW eventually.

“Yeah, of course (expects him to join AEW). There’s so much history there and, obviously, I’m very close with Matt [Hardy] as well,” he said. “It’s been great to reconnect with him in AEW. He’s kind of doing the same thing as far as mentoring the younger generation the same way. He’s also got a wealth of knowledge. Jeff is an extremely talented guy. A really good guy. I’m sure at some point that will happen.”

Jeff Hardy’s Status Up In The Air Following WWE Release

Jeff Hardy

Jeff Hardy was sent home from a WWE live tour in Texas on December 5th. This followed an incident at a show on December 4th where Hardy walked out through the crowd during the middle of a tag team match. On December 9th, he was officially released from the company. Rumors have swirled that substance abuse had something to do with it, and it was reported that WWE offered to pay for Hardy to attend rehab but he refused the offer.

“Before anyone rushes to judgment, obviously they [WWE] drug tested him after all this stuff, wait until you hear the results of that and when that comes back clean then hopefully people will feel better about it,” Matt Hardy said during a recent Twitch broadcast. “They [WWE] felt like they were backed into a corner because of his [Jeff’s] history. Even though they may have jumped the gun with this a little bit, they made a decision and it is what it is.”

He continued, “Jeff is in the best place I’ve seen him in a very long time. As far as the details of what went down on that evening, and in that match, I’ve talked with Jeff, I feel good about everything he said and that’s Jeff’s story to share. And he told me he will when he’s ready to.”

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.

Kurt Angle on Jeff Hardy: “He Needs to Look Himself in the Mirror”

WWE NXT 2.0 Results (12/28): Contract Signing, Grayson Waller Speaks

Andrew Ravens
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The December 28, 2021 episode of WWE NXT 2.0 aired live on the USA Network from Orlando, Florida at the Capitol Wrestling Center. 

WWE NXT Results 

  • Grayson Waller def. Odyssey Jones.
  • Harland (w/Joe Gacy) def. Andre Chase via referee’s decision.
  • Tiffany Stratton def. Fallon Henley.
  • Solo Sikoa def. Santos Escobar.
  • Von Wagner def. Malik Blade.
  •  Cora Jade and Raquel Gonzalez def. Io Shirai and Kay Lee Ray

Here are the takeaways from this week’s show:

Grayson Waller Kicks Things Off

nxt 3 1

Grayson Waller started the show with a promo in the ring after having a promo segment with AJ Styles on last week’s show. Waller also appeared on Monday’s episode of Raw to continue the feud. 

Waller talked about how he wants to give AJ a proper send off and said Styles’ entrance song is the top 5 worst of all time. He said that he was supposed to wrestle Dexter Lumis, but that’s not happening so he will take care of who steps up. That was Odyssey Jones. 

The finish saw Jones be sent into an exposed turnbuckle before Waller hit his finisher to win a fun match. Post-match, Styles appeared on the big screen and said he will be at NXT New Year’s Evil.

Brian Kendrick Doesn’t Return To In-Ring Action

nxt 1 1

Brian Kendrick was supposed to work his first match in over a year against Harland. The match was set up two weeks ago when Harland threw Kendrick down a flight of stairs. Last week, Harland and Joe Gacy cut a promos saying that Kendrick owed Harland an apology and only had himself to blame for the attack. Later in the show, Kendrick stated that if Harland wants his apology, he can get it from him in the ring.

Kendrick didn’t come out. Gacy said that Kendrick is afraid to admit he was the problem and in the wrong. Andre Chase came out said at his university, they don’t accept negatives, but turn them into positives. Gacy said Harland was in Chase university, but was expelled. Chase was the new opponent and got destroyed by Harland. 

Tag Team Match

nxt 2

WWE had a tag team match  with Raquel Gonzalez and Cora Jade teaming against Toxic Attraction’s Gigi Dolin and Jacy Jayne. This comes one week from Gonzalez and Jade challenging Mandy Rose for the NXT Women’s Championship in a triple threat match at New Year’s Evil on January 4. 

There was a backstage segment with Rose announcing she was giving her girls the night off with Kay Lee Ray and Io Shirai replacing them to take on Raquel and Cora with the winning team being her opponents at New Year’s Evil. 

The match served as the main event and it was back and forth. Raquel pulled Jade off Ray because she wanted the pin fall. Jade ended up rolling up Ray for the win. 

Contract Signing

NXT 6

There was a contract signing  for the North American and Cruiserweight Championship unification match at New Year’s Evil as North American Champion Carmelo Hayes will face Cruiserweight Champion Roderick Strong in that bout.

Wade Barrett hosted the contract signing. Strong pretended to not be able to understand Hayes and Trick Williams. Strong promised to kick his ass. Trick said he’s never been outnumbered. Bivens tried to translate. Hayes told Strong to not play with him or he would put him on a t-shirt. He said he will take the Cruiserweight Title from Strong next week. Strong next week, they will have life changing experiences. For him, it will be when he becomes another champion and for Hayes, he will be carried out and be known as Humble Hayes. 

Williams ended up being put through a table.

The Callout

pjimage 2021 12 28T195446.137

MSK came out to the ring to confront NXT Tag Team Champions Fabian Aichner and Marcel Barthel of Imperium. MSK cut a promo about how they found Riddle, who appeared on the big screen. Riddle said he’s going to be there in a higher power way and there’s one thing left to do and that’s to challenge Imperium for the straps. 

Imperium said MSK can talk all they want, but they need to understand that they will never be able to touch them. Imperium said the titles will stay with the best tag team the division has ever seen and the titles belong to them. WALTER appeared on the big screen and called MSK a disgrace. He said MSK doesn’t deserve a title match, but only a beat down. Riddle came back on the screen. Riddle challenged WALTER and Imperium to a six-man tag team match alongside MSK. WALTER accepted. 

Bill Goldberg Needs Surgery, Reveals Why He Refuses to Have It

Ryan Droste
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Bill Goldberg recently joined The Pat McAfee Show as a guest and revealed a lot about what his future in pro wrestling and WWE may hold. Plus, he discussed a pretty significant injury that he has been dealing with for years.

During the discussion with McAfee, Goldberg revealed that he has a “destroyed shoulder” that needs surgery. However, he’s been delaying the necessary surgery because he wants to wrestle again. His current plan is to wait until he’s done wrestling for good to have the surgery. Once he does have the procedure, he would need to be out of action for a considerable length of time.

“They haven’t given me very much time (to prepare for matches),” Goldberg revealed (H/T Wrestling Inc). “This last time with Lashley was the longest time they gave me to prep, and I think – you see the results. I felt pretty good.

“And I won’t tell everybody on national radio or television that my shoulder’s been destroyed for the last three years – five years, eight years. And I need surgery but, you know, I’ll get it when I’m done. I’ll get it when I’m finished. If Vince calls me tomorrow and says, ‘Hey Goldberg, we need you in a month,’ what am I gonna do if I get surgery? So I’ll get ‘er done when it’s time.”

Goldberg reportedly has one match left on the deal with WWE he has currently been working on (see video above). He returned to WWE originally in 2016 after previously leaving the promotion back in 2004. He’s worked at least one match in every year except 2018 since that return.

“I came back for a number of reasons. First and foremost, because I owed the business something,” Goldberg said of his WWE return in 2016. “I owed the business something that I hadn’t given in the past. And after a 16-year hiatus, and obviously the birth of our son, it all changed. I felt really guilty about receiving so much from the business and then not really giving back, per the fans.”

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 Day 1 Betting Odds

Andrew Ravens
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The betting odds for most of the matches that will take place at the WWE Day 1 pay-per-view event have been released.

The card for the show that takes place in Atlanta, Georgia at the State Farm Arena on Saturday night is still being finalized. So far, eight matches have been announced for the show. WWE is dealing with a COVID-19 outbreak that has caused some stars to be sidelined because they’ve either tested positive or been in contact with someone who has the virus. 

There are no titles favored to change hands. There are no odds right now for Madcap Moss vs. Drew McIntyre, WWE Intercontinental Champion Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Sami Zayn, and WWE Raw Tag Team Champions Randy Orton and Matt Riddle vs. The Street Profits.

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 Universal Champion Roman Reigns -250 vs. Brock Lesnar +170
  • WWE Champion Big E -165 vs. Seth Rollins +250 vs. Kevin Owens +500 vs. Bobby Lashley +350 – Fatal 4 Match
  • Edge -700 vs. The Miz +400
  • WWE SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Usos -250 vs. The New Day +170
  • WWE Raw Women’s Champion Becky Lynch -300 vs. Liv Morgan +200
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