Chelsea Green is set to appear on the end of an era ROH Final Battle 2021 PPV card tonight, in what could end up being Ring of Honor’s final ever pay-per-view event.
Green will be teaming with The Hex to take on Miranda Alize and The Allure on the actual card itself.
According to a report from Fightful Select, Chelsea Green is currently on a per-appearance deal with the company, meaning that she will likely not be getting any live event pay from ROH until at least 2022.
Fightful noted: “Chelsea Green confirmed to us that she’s on a per date deal with the company.”
Green does also work independent dates as well as being part of the IMPACT Knockouts division.
It is not confirmed if Green will be returning to ROH if and when they come back from their hiatus, but it is clear that she will not be getting paid by the company unlike other contracted stars who have deals that run until the end of March 2022.
Chelsea Green ROH Contract Update
Here’s the full card for the PPV event tonight:
Jonathan Gresham vs Jay Lethal
ROH Tag Team Championships Match: The OGK vs The Briscoes
Ring of Honor Pure Championship Match: Josh Woods vs Brian Johnson
ROH TV Championship Match: Dalton Castle vs Rhett Titus vs Silas Young vs Joe Hendry
Ring of Honor Six-Man Tag Team Championships Match: Shane Taylor Promotions vs The Righteous
ROH Women’s Championship Match: Rok-C vs Willow
Fight Without Honor: Shane Taylor vs Kenny King
Homicide, Brody King & Tony Deppen vs Taylor Rust, Tracy Williams & Eli Isom
Dragon Lee vs Rey Horus
Chelsea Green and The Hex vs Miranda Alize and The Allure
ROH Final Battle 2021 is the end of an era for Ring of Honor in more ways than one, with the company set to go on a hiatus until 2022 following this PPV event.
Several issues have already plagued the card, with the ROH Championship match between Bandido and Jonathan Gresham having already been pulled due to Bandido testing positive for COVID-19.
Having said that, there are still a number of big matches on the card and some “surprises” coming that could be exciting for fans watching the show live or on-demand.
Final Battle Full Card
Here’s the full card for the PPV event tonight:
Jonathan Gresham vs Jay Lethal
ROH Tag Team Championships Match: The OGK vs The Briscoes
Ring of Honor Pure Championship Match: Josh Woods vs Brian Johnson
ROH TV Championship Match: Dalton Castle vs Rhett Titus vs Silas Young vs Joe Hendry
Ring of Honor Six-Man Tag Team Championships Match: Shane Taylor Promotions vs The Righteous
ROH Women’s Championship Match: Rok-C vs Willow
Fight Without Honor: Shane Taylor vs Kenny King
Homicide, Brody King & Tony Deppen vs Taylor Rust, Tracy Williams & Eli Isom
Dragon Lee vs Rey Horus
Chelsea Green and The Hex vs Miranda Alize and The Allure
How To Watch
ROH Final Battle 2021 is available to watch on Honor Club, which is available to subscribe to via FITE TV.
HonorClub VIP is a special annual membership that includes everything from Ring of Honor including FREE unlimited streaming access to all ROH Pay Per Views!
HonorClub membership provides access to ROH On Tour, TV episodes, ROH TV archive, ROH historical footage, HDNet exclusive interviews, compilations, and 50% OFF all ROH Pay Per Views.
Final Battle Worldwide Start Times
ROH Final Battle 2021 is set to start at the following times globally:
United States – December 11, 2021 8 PM EST/7 PM Central/5 PM PST
Canada December 11, 2021 7 PM CST
United Kingdom – December 11, 2021 1 AM GMT/1 AM BST
ROH star Shane Taylor spoke to the Battleground podcast ahead of his Final Battle match against Kenny King.
The Ring of Honor star discussed several topics during the interview, including how he plans on facing major Champions outside of the company going forward.
“I make no bones about it that I see myself as a world champion of any company” Taylor began. “As it stands currently, Hangman Page, Moose, Hammerstone, Shingo Takagi, somebody, somewhere is going to lose their spot.
“I’m telling you right now. The next few weeks, enjoy the time that you have with your championship, enjoy your time at the top of the ladder, enjoy your time on the throne because in a few weeks, I’m coming to take it all from you” Taylor continued.
“I forgot one. Will Ospreay. I can’t disrespect my guy like that because like he’s been saying, he’s the real IWGP World Champion, so I would be disrespecting him if I didn’t mention his name as well” the ROH star concluded.
Shane Taylor on World Champions
Here’s the full card for the PPV event tonight:
Jonathan Gresham vs Jay Lethal
ROH Tag Team Championships Match: The OGK vs The Briscoes
Ring of Honor Pure Championship Match: Josh Woods vs Brian Johnson
ROH TV Championship Match: Dalton Castle vs Rhett Titus vs Silas Young vs Joe Hendry
Ring of Honor Six-Man Tag Team Championships Match: Shane Taylor Promotions vs The Righteous
ROH Women’s Championship Match: Rok-C vs Willow
Fight Without Honor: Shane Taylor vs Kenny King
Homicide, Brody King & Tony Deppen vs Taylor Rust, Tracy Williams & Eli Isom
Dragon Lee vs Rey Horus
Chelsea Green and The Hex vs Miranda Alize and The Allure
Jonathan Gresham discussed his ROH Final Battle opponent Jay Lethal ahead of their match on the PPV card Saturday night.
Speaking to Scott Fishman of TV Insider, Gresham talked about Lethal leaving ROH and joining AEW, with Lethal being officially revealed at the AEW Full Gear 2021 PPV event.
Gresham was originally slated to face Bandido in a match for the Ring of Honor Championship, until Bandido was unable to take the event due to contracting COVID-19.
“Jay Lethal owed it to himself to depart from Ring of Honor, regardless of the company’s situation” Gresham began. “He accomplished everything.
Jonathan Gresham on Jay Lethal
“I’m very happy to see him go elsewhere to show the rest of the world what he is capable of” the former ROH Pure Champion continued. “Hopefully, he can become a champion in AEW.
“[But] Ring of Honor continues to be where the best wrestlers of the world have grown and been impacted by being there. Stylistically, Ring of Honor has influenced wrestling for the last 20 years. I wouldn’t be surprised if more people show up when they return from hiatus” Gresham concluded.
Here’s the full card for the PPV event tonight:
Jonathan Gresham vs Jay Lethal
ROH Tag Team Championships Match: The OGK vs The Briscoes
Ring of Honor Pure Championship Match: Josh Woods vs Brian Johnson
ROH TV Championship Match: Dalton Castle vs Rhett Titus vs Silas Young vs Joe Hendry
Ring of Honor Six-Man Tag Team Championships Match: Shane Taylor Promotions vs The Righteous
ROH Women’s Championship Match: Rok-C vs Willow
Fight Without Honor: Shane Taylor vs Kenny King
Homicide, Brody King & Tony Deppen vs Taylor Rust, Tracy Williams & Eli Isom
Dragon Lee vs Rey Horus
Chelsea Green and The Hex vs Miranda Alize and The Allure
Current ROH Pure Champion Josh Woods signed a contract with WWE at the end of 2014 and trained at the WWE Performance Center. He appeared on a few episodes participating in battle royals and on house shows. He was released in 2016 from the company. During his time in the black-and-yellow brand, he found out that he was going to train with Daniel Bryan, who was making his return at the time.
Woods was told by Coach Matt Bloom that he’d be fired if he hurt Daniel Bryan by injuring him. Speaking to Inside the Ropes, Woods recalled the intense moment:
“When I was in NXT, Bryan was coming back from a neck injury and they do a lot of rehab for the WWE guys there and he was coming in and rolling around,” Woods stated. “I don’t remember how this conversation got started, but Matt Bloom was the coach or my coach at the time, and I was like, Yeah, I’ll get in and I’ll go with them as I have like a jujitsu background because Bryan’s a really big jujitsu guy and he’s pretty good.
“So I’m like, all right, cool. Yeah, I’m taking my shoes off because you don’t wear shoes and like, this fricking awesome and Matt goes, hey, man, he’s coming off a neck injury. If you hurt him, you’re fired. I’m just like, I don’t want to get in there anymore because I’m scared because like, I’m a little bit bigger than Brian. I’m like, Oh s***, this is Bryan Danielson. Like, Well, oh god, I’m like, s***. It’s like, I get in there and it was pretty cool and It was so fun.”
Woods also stated that he it is not impossible for him to defend his ROH Pure title against Bryan Danielson in AEW.
After WWE purchased WCW, they took their former rival company’s unbranded “World Championship” and unified it with the then WWF Championship at Vengeance in 2001. Chris Jericho became the first Undisputed WWE Champion (also the first undisputed champion in over 50 years of wrestling, in general). One of the competitors he beat to achieve this feat was Kurt Angle, who was unable to win the match. It turns out that if plans hadn’t been changed then Angle would have made history instead by becoming the first Undisputed WWE Champion.
On a recent episode of The Kurt Angle Show, the Hall of Famer discussed the tournament that took place featuring himself, Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, and Chris Jericho to unify the championships. According to Angle, Jericho was never planned to win the title. Instead, it was Angle who was supposed to win the championship.
Conrad asked Angle if he knew about the plans on the day of the show or if he had a good idea that he’s not going to win on the way to San Diego (where Vengeance 2001 took place).
“Well, the first thing was, you know, the week before the pay per view, I was still supposed to be Undisputed Champion. Vince McMahon had me pinned as the Undisputed Champion and wanted me to win the two titles. Vince came to me at the week prior to the pay-per-view and said ‘Listen, is it okay if I give it to Jericho ’cause I want to start pushing Jericho and I think this would be great for him.’ I said ‘No Vince, you should do that. I think Jericho needs it and it’s a great opportunity for him.’ So I was supposed to win the Undisputed Championship but Vince McMahon changed it at the last second and gave it to Jericho.”
During the four-man tournament, Jericho would go on to win against The Rock and then Steve Austin in the final to win both the titles and becoming the first wrestler in history to unify the championships.
AEW boss Tony Khan has revealed why it has taken him this long to showcase Hook inside the squared circle.
Hook has the internet wrestling community buzzing. Fans online can’t get enough of Hook and neither can live audiences.
The young prospect, who is the son of Taz, finally made his in-ring debut against Fuego Del Sol on the Dec. 10 episode of Rampage. The general consensus is that he did not disappoint, demonstrating solid mat skills and transitions.
In fact, he looked very much like his father at certain points. He even ended the match with a Tazmission, which he’s calling the “REDRUM.”
Why Was Hook’s In-Ring Debut Delayed?
It’s clear that Hook has some skills in the ring but Tony Khan says that patience is key. He told Dave LaGreca and Mark Henry on Busted Open Radio that the timing was finally right.
“It’s really important we haven’t rushed him. There’s been plenty of times where I thought Hook in training and in practice looked fantastic.
“He’s got every bit of the skill it would take to wrestle on Dynamite or Rampage but the reason I held off till tonight for Rampage on Long Island, I really felt like to give Hook this chance to debut tonight in front of the big audience, give him a chance to debut in his hometown [was ideal].
“I think people are gonna see the way the crowd reacts to Hook tonight and all the fans watching at home when Rampage and Dynamite come to their city, they’re gonna see how fans have reacted to Hook and that’s how they’re conditioned to see him as a star.
“I really wanted to give him a great debut. I think Hook is a great, great prospect and I’m really excited about his debut tonight.”
As you can tell, that interview was conducted hours before Rampage aired. Khan was quite pleased with Hook’s performance and has given him a full-time deal.
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Eddie Kingston spoke to Jon Moxley before Mox went into rehab and he gave his friend a message about the things that matter the most.
The wild card recently had an interview with NY News 12 Long Island. He was there to promote the recent AEW Dynamite episode from the area.
Speaking of the former AEW world champion, Kingston revealed what he told Mox before the former WWE star checked into rehab:
“I told Moxley before he went and did what he had to do, I told him, ‘man, none of this matters. The only thing that matters is your wife and your kid. I don’t even matter.
You have to do this for them, and I’ve got your back regardless.” said Eddie Kingston, “Whether you go or not, I’m here,’ And he was like, ‘okay man.’ He’s very one-word answered with everybody.”
The AEW star continued by saying that Jon is showing people that everyone is flawed and we are allowed to be flawed. What we are not allowed is to not change.
Eddie Kingston later claimed that he is proud of Moxley for taking the right and healthy steps so he can be around for his daughter.
The Bella Twins have both captured the WWE Divas Championship during their career in the company. Brie Bella captured the championship once in her career and Nikki Bella has two reigns to her name. While WWE didn’t do make any custom changes to the title for the champion holding it, the Bella Twins have decided to look back on their days as champions and have made a custom title for themselves.
In a video uploaded on their YouTube channel The Bella Twins, the twins unbox their custom Divas Championship belts which are red in color instead of the signature pink. Brie’s title had “Brie Mode” printed on it while Nikki had “Fearless 02” printed on the left side of the belt.
“Honestly, if we embark for one more run, I think I would have to replace the Raw Women’s Championship, the SmackDown Women’s Championship or the Women’s Tag Team Championships with this,” Nikki said. “Ooh, how much would people hate us?” questioned Brie. The twins added that the belts are available to purchase from WWE’s online store.
Brie Bella won the Divas title from Eve Torres in April 2011. Two months later in June, she would drop the title to Kelly Kelly on an episode of Raw. She would only hold the title for one reign of 70 days.
Nikki Bella would then win the title in April 2012 by defeating Beth Phoenix in a lumberjill match on Raw. This would be the first time Nikki would win the title. The title reign didn’t amount to much, however, as she would lose the belt at Extreme Rules six days later to Layla, who had just made a return at the time.
Nikki would hold the title again at Survivor Series 2014 from AJ Lee and this time she would hold the title for 301 days, becoming the longest-reigning Divas Champion of all time.
AEW star Hook made his debut on this week’s episode of AEW Rampage, beating Fuego Del Sol in impressive fashion.
Fans were extremely excited to see how the son of ECW legend Taz would fare in the ring, with the young performer already having amassed a huge following of “hookers.”
Taz reacted on social media to the outpouring of support for Hook since his in-ring debut for All Elite, and the former ECW Champion also confirmed that the Tazmission finisher has now officially been changed.
“Folks, I really need to say THANK YOU to all of you for the tons of tweets toward me about the kind words about @730hook – it’s just too many to reply to lol!!” Taz tweeted.
“And yes, it was SO special for me to call his first worldwide TV match. Tazmission is now – ‘REDRUM'” the AEW commentator and head of Team Taz confirmed.
For those eagle-eyed fans out there, yes, REDRUM is MURDER spelt backwards. Also, did you know that Rellik is Killer spelt backwards?
Hook Changes the Tazmission Name
It’ll be interesting to see how Hook is used going forward, with the company reportedly ecstatic with his first-ever match in front of a crowd.
Fightful Select recently noted that Hook has been working on his in-ring game for some time: “We’re told it didn’t appear originally if Hook would get into wrestling, despite knowing plenty about it and respecting the business.
“Based on those we spoke with, it became evident during his first training session, he was going to get it. Hook has been training ‘non-stop’ with Create-A-Pro Wrestling, as well as QT Marshall, and had a lot of early help from MJF.”
WWE SmackDown has jumped back over the 2 million viewers level with this week’s episode.
According to Spoiler TV, SmackDown drew 2.172 million viewers on Friday, December 10th.
The number is up from last week’s episode which only drew 1.966 million viewers, meaning a decent jump back up for the company on FOX.
WWE SmackDown Ratings
There’s a number of factors as to why the show was a draw this week, with Brock Lesnar’s continued appearances being highlights of WWE programming over the past month or so.
There may as well have also been fans tuning in to see if WWE addressed the situation regarding Jeff Hardy, although there was no mention whatsoever about the former WWE Champion on Friday night, not that we expected them to bring him up.
The show drew 2.219 million viewers in the first hour and 2.124 in the second, which is a drop-off but not massive. The show also garnered a 0.5 rating in the 18-49 demographic.
The December 6 episode of WWE RAW on USA Network drew 1,599,000 viewers, so the Monday night show is still a long way off of SmackDown but the gap isn’t as big as it has been previously.
This is mainly due to SmackDown losing viewership overall, rather than RAW being able to claw back numbers over the past few months.
Fozzy is currently on a tour of UK. They were supposed to perform in Swansea on Friday before Jericho was admitted to the hospital back on Thursday.
The news of his hospitalization was revealed by the arena where the band was expected to perform. The official statement on the matter claimed that the former champion had been admitted for a treatable health issue that was not covid related.
Chris Jericho later released a statement on his health. He stated that he was feeling good and the medical personnel just wanted to observe him overnight
The former WWE star was last seen on AEW TV during the December 1 Dynamite. He was written off TV for his tour with an attack from 2point0 and Daniel Garcia.
Chris was expected to return to AEW TV after completing his tour on December 12. Though now we will have to see if the AEW star is brought back on TV this week or if the officials hold off his return in wake of his health issue.
John Cena is a name synonymous with WWE. He was the franchise player for the wrestling company. There are only a few names in the industry who can evoke such strong emotions and reactions from the crowd as Cena did. He has tied Ric Flair’s record for most world championships reigns at 16. He served as the company’s top stars for more than a decade. However, before taking on the superman gimmick in the company, Cena still had to gain the trust of the company to fully believe in him.
Before using his popular The Doctor of Thuganomics gimmick, John Cena was about to be let go by the company. WWE Hall of Famer JBL said in a recent interview that Vince McMahon personally asked about his first impressions of Cena and whether he thinks Cena has potential to be in the main event scene.
“There weren’t a ton of believers in Cena,” Layfield said while appearing on the Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling podcast (via Sportskeeda). “I don’t think there were un-believers. But Vince asked me one day, he said, ‘How is he?’ I said, ‘He’s your guy, man.’ Vince said, ‘He’s that good?’ I said, ‘Yeah.'”
“It’s a different dynamic going from, say, eight minutes to going to 30 minutes,” JBL added. “Now, I think he had done it with Kurt Angle too, obviously one of the greatest of all time. But when I first got out there with him, some guys never make that transition. It’s hard.”
John Cena has transitioned to Hollywood as a successful actor and wrestles sporadically. Most recently, he made a brief return to the WWE, where he challenged Roman Reigns for his WWE Universal Championship at SummerSlam. He was unsuccessful in capturing the title. Cena was asked at the Florida Supercon back in September if we would ever see him wrestle in another company. Cena reiterated pro wrestling’s famous “never say never” philosophy. Though he added that he is certain it would never happen.
“There’s a whole like ‘never say never’ philosophy and I’m also that way in life because you never know what life will bring you. But, I can with certainty say no.”
Many of the attitude-era veterans have unique and entertaining stories about how they got into the world of professional wrestling. Mark Henry is one of them. The world’s strongest man was the most recent guest on Shot of Brandi. He discussed things such as his childhood, his weight lifting career, and more.
When Brandi asked who was his discovery committee in wrestling, Henry explained that Jim Ross had a lot to do with it. He then told a funny story of his first interaction with Vince McMahon:
“Jim Ross had a lot to do with it. He brought me up to Vince McMahon and Vince wanted to know how does that [his weight lifting background] gonna translate to pro wrestling.” recalled Mark Henry, “Jim said you need to see him and meet him because the guy is kind of colorful which is short for being a clown.
The first conversation [with Vince], I get this call, I think it’s one of my friends joking with me. ‘It is Vince.’ And I said ‘Yeah right Vince’, and I hang up on him. And I get a call back from my coach and my manager and he is like ‘hey did you hang up on Vince McMahon?’ And I was like ‘that was him for real?’ [he goes] ‘Yeah, how about you take his call.’ I was like ‘all right, my bad'”
Thankfully the mistake didn’t ruin things for Mark. After a successful negotiation with Mr. McMahon, Henry made his WWE debut at the age of 24 in 1994. He went on to have a two-decade-long career with the company where he is a former world heavyweight champion. Mark Henry was inducted into WWE Hall Of Fame in 2018.
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This week’s WWE SmackDown saw some special appearances including Raw Women’s Champion Becky Lynch. While she didn’t compete on broadcast, she did get in the ring after the cameras were off.
Becky Lynch participated in a fatal four-way match that featured SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair, Sasha Banks, and Bianca Belair, who is also from Raw.
Fans captured the dark match and from the footage it can be seen that Sasha Banks pinned Becky Lynch, much to the fans’ delight. It’s also interesting to note that Lynch was last pinned on television by Banks too, on the October 15 edition of SmackDown.
Meanwhile on the main show, Banks offered advice to Toni Storm in a backstage segment after she picked up a victory against Charlotte Flair in a contender match. Storm was awarded the win by disqualification as Flair wouldn’t stop attacking her. This effectively made her the number one contender for the title.
Lynch, on the other hand, may be facing Liv Morgan to defend her Raw Women’s Championship in a rematch. We saw Lynch using ropes for advantage while rolling up Morgan for the win on this week’s Raw. Of course, the referee didn’t notice this illegal move, so it is likely that we’d see a rematch to settle things fairly.
Morgan recently got in hot water for a promo on the 29 November edition of Raw. During the promo, Morgan said, “You’re the reason why your friend is gone, just like the reason why your big, fat greedy contract is the reason why my friends are gone.”
She explained her stance in an interview and said she’s not apologetic. “…Becky brought up my friends. She’s brought up my friends not being here,” said Morgan. She continued, “… After my segment aired, I got texted from my friends saying how proud they were and how amazing they thought it was. I don’t think there were hard feelings, kind of anywhere around. I know I’m kind of addressing something that may feel like an elephant in the room or maybe taboo, but these are things that are happening. You know, and I don’t think I said anything wrong.”
Xia Li has finally made her main roster debut. During last night’s episode of SmackDown, we saw WWE SmackDown co-general manager Sonya Deville and Naomi come face to face in the ring for a match. Deville, however, revealed that Natalya was the special guest announcer for the match, along with Shayna Baszler who would serve as the special timekeeper. Naomi went to work on Baszler and Natalya to get them out of the way before focusing on Deville one on one.
While Deville got away and helped Natalya and Baszler up on their feet to attack Naomi, a new entrance music blared through the arena, with the newest SmackDown superstar Xia Li coming out to the ramp.
Xia Li’s new music suited her persona and the entrance seemed pretty cool. She removed her headgear on the entranceway, and performed several moves while carrying two blades. The entrance looked unique as lightning and other special effects were added while she was doing the moves.
Xia Li got in the ring after wrapping up her entrance and faced off with Naomi as everybody in the ring was unsure of what was coming. Li then helped Naomi throw out Natalya as a brawl broke out in the ring. Pretty soon, they cleared the ring together.
Naomi faced off with Deville, who turned around and faced Li. She then turned back to Naomi and ducked a punch, only to get hit with a roundhouse kick by Li that put her down. Deville then ate a split-legged moonsault off the top rope but Baszler and Natalya pulled Deville out of harm’s way. Naomi and Li stayed in the ring and bowed to show respect to each other and ended the segment.
Xia Li has been part of WWE and its NXT roster since 2017, and she made her in-ring debut during the inaugural Mae Young Classic Tournament. Li is also the first Chinese woman to compete in a WWE ring.
After more than a year of building anticipation, Hook finally made his in-ring debut on this week’s episode of AEW Rampage.
The hometown star got a huge response from the crowd. He took on Fuego Del Sol in a one-on-one bout in his first match for the company.
The 22-year-old impressed everyone with his performance. Hook performed some impressive moves, living up to the hype that had been built for so long.
The young star went on to pick up a victory in his first match for the promotion. He put Fuego to sleep using the Katahajime submission for the win.
After the match, Tony Khan took on his Twitter to confirm that the youngest member of Team Taz has officially been signed by All Elite Wrestling.
AEW Stars React To Hook’s Debut
Though the AEW president wasn’t the only person who was impressed by their newest star. Many fans commented on how impressive he looked in his first outing. Several AEW personalities also reacted to his arrival on Twitter.
Among the prominent AEW names reacting to the debut was Hook’s father Taz, who made a short tweet expressing that he was very proud of his son.
Thunder Rosa, Dustin Rhodes, and MJF were some of the other names who reacted to Hook’s debut. You can check out all the reactions below:
Last year Hook was a young lion. Just hung back next to his Dad. Did nothing. Then did something. Then a little more. Then his look got more interesting each week. Then he got psysical a bit. Then a bit more. Then Punk mentioned him. Then he made his debut. A perfect build. Bravo
We waited a year for the HOOK debut and it was worth the wait. He carries himself like a legit dude, he's smooth as hell in the ring, and he's got the athletic credentials to back it up. And that was only his first match.
IMPACT Wrestling legend Gail Kim recently discussed some of the names that she would like to see join the company in the near future, especially for the Knockouts division.
Speaking to Renee Paquette on her Oral Sessions podcast, Kim mentioned some veterans of the IMPACT locker room as well as one recently released WWE Superstar: Ember Moon.
“I just want girls who are talented and passionate and all those things, but it’s important to have a good locker room,” Gail began. “It’s so important for the girls to support each other and work for the business of the match, for the company, and in the end, it benefits everyone.
“People like Taya [Valkyrie], Mia Yim, of course, was part of our family too” Kim continued. “I would love for her to be able to show who she really is as her authentic self because she’s really talented.
Gail Kim on Ember Moon
“I’m curious about Ember Moon” Gail added as almost a throwaway line, but it’s clear that IMPACT see her as a potential signing down the line.
“Now ROH has so many girls, I mean, I love Maria [Kanellis] just as a leader, as well, in terms of the women’s wrestling world, and because we have Mickie [James] in our locker room now and I just love that there’s different types of girls in there that the girls can look up to.
“Just be able to lean on or go to for advice because, listen, in all realistic situations, even though I’m a leader there, some girls might not feel comfortable to come to me for whatever reason it may be.
“Whether they see me as ‘too office,’ that’s why we need the Madison’s, the Mickie’s, the Maria’s, and the people who are in that locker room that they can turn to if they don’t feel comfortable with other people” Gail Kim concluded.
After more than a year of patience, fans finally got to see the highly anticipated debut of the newest member of Team Taz during this week’s Rampage. The match took place in his hometown of Long Island, NY. The crowd was behind the young star.
Hook took on Fuego Del Sol in a singles match and held his own. The 22-year-old showed some impressive athleticism before picking up a victory with Katahajime.
After his impressive debut on Rampage, AEW president Tony Khan took on his Twitter and confirmed that the Team Taz member has officially signed with the company:
Hook is the son of wrestling veteran and AEW star Taz. His AEW debut was first teased over a year ago during a promo battle between Taz and Cody Rhodes.
Taz had called out the AEW management during his promo and in response, Rhodes revealed that Taz’s own son was training at the Nightmare Factory.
Hook has been seen on TV numerous times over the past year. His debut had been teased multiple times and the young star got physical on AEW TV as well.
Fans had been anticipating this debut for a long time. The long wait not only helped build the hype for him but it also allowed fans to have some fun. People took every opportunity to joke about his debut, making him a viral sensation online.
When the moment finally came, Hook not only backed himself on the physical aspect but his theme song also got people talking. You can check out his theme song by rapper Action Bronson below:
MJF is ready to do his absolute best to take the All Elite Wrestling world championship from Adam Page in 2022 or die trying.
The salt of the earth recently had an interview with Josh Martinez. He talked about things such as coming home to long island, CM Punk and more.
Speaking about Adam Page winning the AEW world title recently at Full Gear, MJF reminded everyone that he has beaten Hangman before:
“Here’s the problem, I’ve already beaten him [Adam Page], and I know I can beat him again, especially with something on the line as important as that world title.”
The fastest rising star in pro wrestling then said that there is nothing in the world that MJF wants more than seeing the AEW title around his waist:
“There is nothing in this world that I want more than that strap around my waist, you’re going to see me become the world champion [In 2022], or I am going to die trying,”
MJF also talked about what it would mean for him to become a world champion at 25. He mentioned how he could become one of the youngest world champions among guys such as CM Punk and Bryan Danielson.
The AEW star previously faced Adam Page during a Dynamite episode in 2019. He defeated the current AEW champion for the Dynamite Diamond Ring.
AEW Rampage aired from the UBS Arena at Belmont Park. Lucha Bros defended the AEW Tag Team Championships against FTR tonight. Hook made his in-ring debut against Fuego del Sol and Adam Cole faced Wheeler Yuta in the main event. In addition to the takeaways below, FTR attacked Sting and Darby Allin backstage. Tully Blanchard then delivered a low blow to Sting.
Lucha Bros def. FTR to retain the AEW Tag Team Championships
Nyla Rose, The Bunny, Penelope Ford def. Anna Jay, Tay Conti, Ruby Soho
Hook def. Fuego del Sol via submission
Adam Cole def. Wheeler Yuta
Here are the takeaways from this week’s show:
Lucha Bros Retained
Lucha Bros defended the AEW Tag Team Championships against FTR in the first match of the show. FTR isolated Rey Fenix to start off the action but Fenix battled back. Pentagon Jr. tagged in and connected with a Splash on Dax for a two count. Cash Wheeler tagged in and Penta greeted him with a Superkick.
FTR took control of the match and isolated Fenix again. Penta eventually tagged back in and connected with a couple Slingblades. Tully hopped on the ring apron for a distraction and tried to punch Fenix but it didn’t work out to well. Fenix blocked it and punched Tully in the face and he tumbled off the apron.
Back in the ring, Harwood connected with a Liger Bomb and went for the cover but Fenix was able to kick out and the match continued. Dax and Cash grabbed the AAA tag titles and tried to bring them into the ring. Wheeler went to hit Fenix but wound up accidentally hitting Dax with the title. Fenix hit Wheeler with a splash but Harwood was able to hit him with the title this time.
Harwood went for the cover but Fenix somehow kicked out at two. FTR planted Fenix with the Big Rig but Penta broke up the cover. Both teams traded punches and were exhausted at this point. Lucha Bros battled through and hit Fear Factor for the pinfall victory and retained the AEW Tag Team Championships.
Nyla Rose, The Bunny, Penelope Ford Picked Up A Win
Ruby Soho, Anna Jay, Tay Conti faced Nyla Rose, The Bunny, and Penelope Ford in a 6-woman tag team match tonight on Rampage. Tay Conti and The Bunny started off the action. Conti dominated and connected with a series of elbows to the face. Vickie Guerrero was ringside and distracted Conti. The Bunny capitalized and beat Conti down.
Penelope Ford tagged into the match and connected with a pump kick to Tay’s face. Nyla Rose joined in on the beatdown for a bit before tagging The Bunny back in. Tay eventually escaped to the corner and tagged in Ruby Soho. Ruby got in some offense as Rampage went to a commercial break.
When Rampage returned, Anna Jay and Nyla Rose were battling in the ring. Anna connected with a Crossbody before a brawl broke out between all six wrestlers. The Bunny grabbed brass knuckles and hit Anna Jay with them while the referee was distracted. Nyla followed it up with the Beast Bomb for the pinfall victory.
Hook made his in-ring debut and faced Fuego del Sol on this week’s Rampage. Hook got a tremendous reaction from the crowd and Fuego was booed. The two locked up in the middle of the ring to start off the action. Hook got the better of the exchange and started trash talking. Fuego capitalized with a roll-up and almost stole the victory.
Fuego battled back with a Dropkick and beat Hook down in the corner of the ring. Fuego went for a Tornado DDT but Hook was able to block it and leveled Fuego with a Clothesline. Hook ripped away at Fuego’s mask before applying the Tazmission for the submission victory.
Adam Cole def. Wheeler Yuta, The Elite Attacked Best Friends
Adam Cole battled Wheeler Yuta in the main event of this week’s Rampage. Bobby Fish, Young Bucks, Brandon Cutler, and Best Friends were all ringside for the match. Before the match, Mark Henry interviewed both competitors in split screen. Cole and the Young Bucks poked fun at Trent’s new haircut. Adam told Wheeler that he has a lot of potential but he is hanging around the wrong crew. Cole vowed to whoop Wheeler’s ass in front of his “Best Friends”.
Cole and Yuta traded punches to begin the match. Adam got the better of the exchange and leveled Wheeler with a shoulder tackle. Cole avoided a Dropkick and rolled up Yuta for a two count. Wheeler connected with a Dropkick but Cole quickly responded with a Superkick and Yuta fell to the canvas.
Wheeler got in some offense and made his way to the top rope. Cole dodged his Crossbody attempt and then planted him with a Suplex in the middle of the ring. Adam mocked Orange Cassidy and hit some lazy kicks as Cassidy looked on from ringside. It almost cost Cole as Wheeler rolled him up for a near fall.
Cole caught Wheeler with a forearm to the face and then hit a couple knee strikes to his lower back. Adam elbowed Wheeler in the face and lifted him up in the Fireman’s Carry. Cole hit a Hangman’s Neckbreaker before sending Yuta to the outside. Adam Cole once again got distracted with Orange Cassidy and allowed time for Yuta to regroup. Wheeler connected with a Crossbody off the top rope and went for the cover but Cole kicked out at two. Yuta followed it up with a Dropkick, an Atomic Drop, and a Splash in the corner.
Wheeler hit another Crossbody off the top rope but couldn’t keep Cole down. Cole hit a Pele Kick but Yuta responded with a Northern Lights Suplex for a near fall. Wheeler stumbled to the corner and climbed to the top but Cole caught him with a jab to the head. Cole went for a Superplex but Yuta held onto the ropes. Yuta unloaded some punches and Cole fell to the canvas. Wheeler hit a Samoan Drop and went for the cover but Cole kicked out at two.
Yuta went for a Splash off the top rope but Cole got his knees up. Cole hit Yuta with a Superkick, taunted Orange Cassidy, and delivered the Last Shot for the pinfall victory. Young Bucks, Cole, and Fish then attacked Best Friends. Young Bucks held up Orange Cassidy and Cole made it seem like he was going for Panama Sunrise. Cole hopped off the middle turnbuckle and hit Cassidy with a low blow. Young Bucks hit Trent with the BTE Trigger to close the show.
Matt Hardy is teasing a potential reunion with his brother Jeff Hardy after the latter was released from his WWE contract only days ago.
The broken one took on his Twitter earlier today and made a tweet that has got people talking about a potential Hardy Boyz reunion. He wrote: “I feel xtremely good about the future.”
Jeff Hardy was released from his WWE contract earlier this week. It happened after the high-flying star left a match in the middle during a live event and was sent home afterward.
Reports suggest that WWE officials offered to send him to rehab. The former world champion refused the offer, and as a result, he was let go.
Matt Hardy has been talking about a potential reunion with his brother in recent times. He even said that Hardy Boyz going up against an AEW team would be the ideal retirement match for him.
There is no word yet on how AEW officials feel about the WWE star due to the circumstances of his release. This tweet from Matt has certainly got people talking.
Though since Jeff Hardy was on a main roster contract, he should have a standard 90 days non-compete clause. This means fans will have to wait at least until March to see the brothers getting back together.
WWE SmackDown aired live from the Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA. Xia Li made her SmackDown debut during tonight’s episode of SmackDown. Charlotte Flair battled Toni Storm in a Championship Contender’s match. New Day, The Usos, and RK-Bro competed in a a tag team Triple Threat match in the main event.
SmackDown Results:
Shinsuke Nakamura & Rick Boogs def. Los Lotharios
Drew McIntyre def. Sheamus
Toni Storm def. Charlotte via DQ
Sonya Deville vs. Naomi ended in a no contest
New Day def. RK-Bro, The Usos in a Triple Threat Tag Team match
Here are the takeaways from this week’s show:
Paul Heyman Motivated Brock Lesnar To Attack Sami Zayn
Sami Zayn came down to the ring in a wheelchair with some male nurses. Sami claimed that he was the toughest man in WWE history. Zayn was in a wheel chair following Brock Lesnar’s attack last week. Paul Heyman interrupted and Sami Zayn said he wasn’t done talking. Zayn got up from his wheelchair and shouted that he was not finished talking. Sami said that he knows Roman Reigns isn’t here tonight and Heyman claimed that he was away training. Zayn threatened to rip Heyman’s head off because there is nobody here to save him.
Brock Lesnar’s theme and The Beast made his way to the ring in overalls as Heyman hid behind Sami and the nurses. Brock Lesnar grabbed a steel chair and entered the ring. Brock approached Heyman and extended his hand. Lesnar wanted the microphone and not to shake Paul’s hand. Brock took a seat across from Sami and asked how he was doing.
Zayn told Lesnar that he wasn’t great. Brock poked fun at Sami’s wheelchair and male nurses. Sami told Brock to shut his mouth and Brock apologized. Lesnar wondered if Sami was really in that much pain and required a wheelchair. Lesnar was about to take Sami away on the wheel chair for a vegan dinner before Heyman interrupted.
Paul said the edibles must be kicking in because three years ago Sami would have been taken to Suplex City. Heyman added that Lesnar will most likely be the future champion and Brock got fired up. Lesnar beat the nurses down and booted Sami Zayn out of his wheelchair. Brock followed it up with an F5 to Sami Zayn as Heyman watched on with a grin on his face.
Kayla Braxton went to interview Lesnar backstage but he told her to ask his advocate, Paul Heyman. Braxton later asked Heyman if he was Brock’s advocate and he told her to stop asking that. She wondered how Roman Reigns will react to what happened tonight and Paul looked distraught as he walked away.
Los Lotharios (Humberto & Angel) battled Rick Boogs & Intercontinental Champion Shinsuke Nakamura. Humberto and Boogs started off the action. Boogs hit a big shoulder tackle and sent Angel to the floor. Humberto went for a Headlock but Boogs blocked it. Boogs spun Humberto around and dropped him to the mat. Shinsuke Nakamura tagged in as Humberto crawled to the corner but Angel was on the floor outside the ring. Nakamura hit Humberto with the Kinshasa for the pinfall victory.
Drew McIntyre faced Sheamus this week on SmackDown. Before the match, Adam Pearce told McIntyre that he could not bring Angela the sword with him to the ring. McIntyre put the sword through Pearce’s desk and made his way to the ring.
Sheamus controlled the action early and hit McIntyre with 10 Beats of the Bodhran. McIntyre fell to the floor and Sheamus went for a Clothesline off the ring apron. McIntyre ducked and planted Sheamus with an overhead throw as SmackDown went to a commercial break.
When SmackDown returned, Sheamus went for White Noise but McIntyre escaped. Drew connected with the Future Shock DDT and geared up for the Claymore but Sheamus countered with a knee to the face for a close two count. McIntyre hit the Glasgow kiss but Sheamus responded with a headbutt of his own. Sheamus sent McIntyre to the corner but Drew bounced off the turnbuckle and leveled Sheamus with the Claymore for the pinfall victory.
Sonya Deville battled Naomi tonight on SmackDown. Before the bell, Sonya Deville said she has a couple surprises and announced Natalya as the special guest ring announcer, Shayna Baszler as the timekeeper. Naomi beat Shayna down and booted Natalya off the apron. Sonya Deville retreated to of the ring and told Natalya & Baszler to attack Naomi.
Xia Li made her debut with a very cool entrance and got in the ring with Naomi. Xia attacked Deville and brawled with Natalya. Kai knocked Shayna out of the ring and booted Sonya in the face. Naomi dragged Sonya to the corner but Shayna & Natalya dragged Deville out of the ring.
SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair battled Toni Storm in a Championship Contender’s match. Toni would earn a title shot if she defeated the champion. Earlier on the show, Sasha Banks had a conversation with Toni Storm backstage and hyped her up for the match.
Charlotte leveled Toni with a forearm to the face to begin the action. Storm responded with a Dropkick and then a Hip Attack in the corner of the ring. Toni connected with a Crossbody and went for the cover but the champ kicked out at two. Charlotte leveled Toni with a big boot and dragged her to the corner.
Flair climbed to the top turnbuckle and went for the Moonsault but Toni got out of the way. Charlotte then went for the standing Moonsault but the whole sequence was botched. Flair brought Toni to the apron and booted her against the ring post until the referee called for the bell. Charlotte hit Toni with a boot to the face after the match.
The Usos, New Day, and RK-Bro battled in a Triple Threat Tag Team match. The Usos cut a promo and vowed to win tonight. A terrified Adam Pearce and Brock Lesnar had a conversation backstage before the main event. Lesnar told Adam that he named a hunted moose after him and hung it on his cabin wall. Brock tried to show Pearce a picture of the moose but couldn’t figure it out on his flip phone and broke it in half.
Kofi Kingston and Riddle started off the action. Kingston took control and New Day isolated Riddle in the corner. The Usos knocked everyone out of the ring and hit a couple Suicide Dives. Jimmy and Jey got back into the ring and posed for the crowd. Kingston hit a Crossbody for a two count. The Usos took control of the match and took turns beating Riddle down. Jey went for the cover but Kofi Kingston broke it up at the last moment as SmackDown went to a final commercial break.
King Woods and Riddle were battling in the ring when SmackDown returned. Woods connected with a Suplex and went for the cover but Riddle was able to kick out at two. Woods quickly applied a Headlock on Riddle in the middle of the ring. Randy Orton eventually got the tag and delivered a Powerslam to both Jimmy and Jey. Orton bounced Jey’s head off the announce table and then slammed Woods on top of the table. Orton did the same to Kofi and got back into the ring.
Orton hit Jimmy Uso with the draping DDT and set up for the RKO. Jimmy slowly stumbled to his feet but countered the RKO into a roll-up. Orton kicked out but Jimmy caught him with a Superkick. Uso climbed to the top rope but Orton rolled out of the way. King Woods tagged himself in and Orton hit Jey with an RKO. Jimmy hit Orton with another Superkick before turning around into one from Woods. Kofi tagged in and hit a Double Stomp for pinfall victory.
Despite being injured and unable to officially compete, Danhausen is reportedly making his way to the site of ROH Final Battle 2021 today.
It was recently confirmed by Fightful Select that the “Very Nice, Very Evil” star was set to be travelling today, and it looks as though he will be making somewhat of an appearance on the PPV tonight.
Fightful noted that “we’ve also learned that despite his injury, and signing in Chicago this weekend, Danhausen was slated to travel to the site of Final Battle.”
Again it is unconfirmed at this time if Danhausen will be appearing on the PPV itself, but it would certainly make sense for the injured star to do so if able.
Danhausen at Final Battle 2021
Here’s the full card for the PPV event tonight:
Jonathan Gresham vs Jay Lethal
ROH Tag Team Championships Match: The OGK vs The Briscoes
Ring of Honor Pure Championship Match: Josh Woods vs Brian Johnson
ROH TV Championship Match: Dalton Castle vs Rhett Titus vs Silas Young vs Joe Hendry
Ring of Honor Six-Man Tag Team Championships Match: Shane Taylor Promotions vs The Righteous
ROH Women’s Championship Match: Rok-C vs Willow
Fight Without Honor: Shane Taylor vs Kenny King
Homicide, Brody King & Tony Deppen vs Taylor Rust, Tracy Williams & Eli Isom
Dragon Lee vs Rey Horus
Chelsea Green and The Hex vs Miranda Alize and The Allure
AEW’s Mark Henry is taking issue with how WWE is using Doudrop.
Doudrop was a respected wrestler for promotions such as Stardom. She went by the name “Viper” before signing with WWE and being called “Piper Niven.” When she was called up to the main roster, WWE gave her the Doudrop character.
Mark Henry Thinks Doudrop Is Above Her Gimmick
When WWE first introduced Piper Niven as Doudrop, it was done as part of storyline with Eva Marie. Now that the story is over and Eva has been cut by WWE, many want to see the Doudrop name axed.
During an episode of Busted Open Radio, Mark Henry expressed his belief that Doudrop has so much more to offer than her current character allows for.
“I will not call her Doudrop. It’s beneath her. It is absolutely beneath her. She’s a person, a Doudrop is a thing and I refuse to ever call her that.
“That match [against Bianca Belair], like why couldn’t she start like that? The hell with all the stuff she did prior to that. She should’ve had matches like that from the beginning.
“I don’t care how she looks. People can judge people for being plus size, hell I was plus size. I knew how to get over, so does she.
“She can use what she’s working with as good as anybody that they brought up in the last five years and when I say that, yes I mean everybody that was champion including Bianca Belair.
“Piper Niven, the one match that she had shows that she can be their equals if she’s revered and respected and put in a position to where she can work like that every night.”
Doudrop is currently in a feud with Bianca Belair. The two shared the ring on the Dec. 6 episode of Monday Night Raw. The match ended when Doudrop allowed herself to be counted out after almost getting hit with the K.O.D.
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