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WWE NXT Results (3/3): Title Match, Group Therapy, Balor vs. Strong

Andrew Ravens
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The March 3, 2021 episode of WWE NXT aired live on the USA Network from Orlando, Florida at the Capitol Wrestling Center. 

WWE NXT Results 

  • Danny Burch & Oney Lorcan def. Timothy Thatcher & Tommaso Ciampa
  • Ember Moon def. Aliyah
  • Women’s Tag Team Champions Nia Jax & Shayna Baszler def. Dakota Kai & Raquel Gonzalez
  • Cameron Grimes def. Bronson Reed thanks to help from LA Knight
  • Finn Balor def. Roderick Strong – non-title match

Here are the takeaways from this week’s show:

We Get A Big Title Announcement, Balor vs. Strong

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Roderick Strong came out and cut a promo about how he demanded to see Adam Cole, who attacked him last week as the implosion of The Undisputed Era continues. 

Instead, Finn Balor came out to the ring. Strong said that everything was fine until Balor showed up and blamed Balor for the chaos. Balor challenged Cole to a title match next week. He told Strong that he would never be a leader, but rather will always be a follower. Balor said that until Strong gets a killer instinct like him, he’ll never…Strong attacked Balor and Balor got the better of it until the referees came out to break it up. 

A hot segment with a big random title match on a random episode of NXT. It’s interesting that WWE isn’t saving this for the TakeOver special next month. 

Balor and Strong worked the main event, but it was a non-title match. Balor dominated the majority of it as it was a technical bout. They did some near falls down the stretch. Balor won with the 1916. Post-match, he had a staredown with Cole.

https://twitter.com/WWENXT/status/1367310396030410753

Group Therapy 

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The Way’s storyline with Dexter Lumis continued on this show as NXT North American Champion Johnny Gargano, Candice LeRae, Indi Hartwell & Austin Theory went to therapy. 

This came after Gargano said last week he was sending Theory to therapy for having stockholm syndrome Theory was showing after being abducted by Lumis at TakeOver: Vengeance Day last month as he walked with the group to the ring, which featured Gargano retaining his North American Championship against Kushida. 

Theory returned to NXT the following Wednesday but thought he had been on vacation for the past three days. Last week’s show saw Lumis defeat Gargano in a non-title match after Theory refused to hit Lumis with a steel chair.

The opening line of this segment was Theory telling Gargano that the place didn’t look like Chuck E Cheese. An older woman was their therapist. The whole group was there. Theory said he doesn’t have a Dexter Lumis problem and thinks he went on vacation. He said Dexter needed a friend. Gargano wanted Lumis arrested. Gargano freaked out and was kicked out. He sent text messages to Candice so both Candice and Indie got thrown out as well. 

Non-Title Match

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NXT Tag Team Champions Danny Burch & Oney Lorcan vs. Tommaso Ciampa & Timothy Thatcher in a non-title match took place. 

Of course, Lorcan & Burch were originally set to defend their titles against men’s Dusty Classic winners MSK (Wes Lee & Nash Carter) on the episode. That was nixed due to Lee suffering a broken hand.

While he injured the hand in the finals of the Dusty Rhodes Classic last month, WWE did a segment where The Grizzled Young Veterans attacked MSK on NXT last week. Thus, WWE claimed Lee suffered his broken hand when The Grizzled Young Veterans used steel chairs in the attack.

After Thatcher defeated Ciampa in a Fight Pit match, the former rivals became partners as they teamed together since then. They fell short in winning the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic. 

This match was solid with the champs going over with their finishers. Thatcher sold his left shoulder after the match. Imperium came out during the match to watch on, but they didn’t do anything past that. 

https://twitter.com/WWENXT/status/1367283179724406788

Women’s Tag Team Title Match

MatchGraphic NXT feedcard WomensTT Tonight 8871c957ddea5e9ec662cc3e7c7d92a8

Women’s Dusty Classic winners Dakota Kai & Raquel Gonzalez challenged Nia Jax & Shayna Baszler for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles.

The match took place right around the top of the second hour. There was a referee spot and Jax and Raquel brawled to the floor. Shayna locked in the rear-naked choke for the win after Adam Pearce came out with a new referee. It turns out that Kai wasn’t the legal person for her team. 

Kai & Gonzalez defeated Aliyah & Jessi Kamea in the first round of the tournament, Kacy Catanzaro & Kayden Carter in the semifinals, and Shotzi Blackheart & Ember Moon in the finals at the NXT TakeOver: Vengeance Day special. 

WWE set up this feud two weeks ago on NXT as the two teams did a face-off where Jax and Baszler looked down on the fellow heels. In fact, on Monday, Jax put out an Instagram post noting that they were going down a level to face them. 

Paul Wight Makes AEW Debut, Teases ‘Hall Of Fame Talent’ Signing

Andrew Ravens
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As advertised, Paul Wight, formerly known as The Big Show, made his AEW debut on Wednesday’s episode of Dynamite. 

He will be Tony Schiavone’s co-host on AEW Dark: Elevation on Monday nights starting later this month. He was interviewed by his commentary partner on the stage where he cut a promo bout how he looks forward to working with the AEW talent and he looks forward to his new role on Elevation.

He then teased that a Hall Of Fame worthy talent will get hired at AEW Revolution. He did botch the line by calling it Elevation instead of Revolution, but that happens from time to time on live television. He added that this talent signing “is not who you think” and fans should tune in to find out who this person is.

As of this writing, it’s anyone’s guess who this person is. AEW does have an open spot left in the Face Of The Revolution Ladder Match at Sunday’s Revolution pay-per-view event. The winner gets shot at Darby Allin’s TNT Title at a future date. Cody Rhodes, Scorpio Sky, Penta El Zero Miedo, and Lance Archer are just some of the competitors. 

Last month, it was announced that AEW and Wight had come to terms on a multi-year deal. WWE and Big Show were unable to come to terms on a new deal financially.

Shaq Wins AEW Debut Match, Goes Through Table

Andrew Ravens
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The Shaquille O’Neal & Jade Cargill vs. Cody Rhodes & Red Velvet match took place on Wednesday’s episode of AEW Dynamite. Originally, Rhodes was supposed to team up with his wife, Brandi Rhodes, in this match, but she was replaced by Red Velvet due to Brandi being pregnant. 

The match featured Jade and Red working the majority of it with AEW saving spots for Shaq. Shaq and Cody did start things off with the NBA Legend getting in some chops and even performed a back body drop.

There was a spot where Cody knocked Shaq off the apron and this allowed Austin Gunn to him Shaq in the back with a chair, but Shaq did not sell it. He took Austin and his brother out as a result. At one point, Shaq hit a powerbomb only for Cody to follow up with a powerslam. There were two tables set up on the floor with Cody taking out Shaq over the top rope sending them both crashing through it. Jade hit her finisher to Velvet for the win. After the match, Shaq sold it as if he was knocked out. 

Shaq in AEW

Originally, it looked like the match would take place at the AEW Revolution pay-per-view on March 7th. However, it was revealed that the reason Shaq was wrestling on Dynamite instead of the PPV is due to the NBA holding the All-Star Game on the same night as the Revolution PPV and he is needed to cover the NBA game.

AEW has a crossover with the NBA since All Elite Wrestling airs their weekly television show, Dynamite, on TNT while the network also airs NBA games.

Shaq first made an appearance on Dynamite back on the December 9th, 2020 episode to do a sit-down interview with Brandi. To show the drawing power of the NBA legend, the show did 995,000 viewers. It was a strong segment of the show as it did over 1.2 million viewers. The quarter featuring Shaq averaged 1,063,000 viewers and 618,000 viewers in 18-49.

Cargill later appeared and issued the challenge for this match. Shaq has stated in recent years that he wanted to wrestle Cody and now he achieved that goal. With Paul Wight, formerly known as The Big Show, now in AEW, perhaps that is the next match for the NBA Champion.

Bobby Lashley Shares What Vince McMahon Told Him After Winning WWE Title

Andrew Ravens
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0

Bobby Lashley had his big crowning achievement by winning the WWE Title. 

He did just that this past Monday night on Raw when he beat The Miz in the main event. The newly crowned champion spoke with FOX Sports to talk about it. 

During it, he looked back on what WWE Chairman Vince McMahon told him after the big win. He began by noting that Booker T told him one time that he should be in the main event and realized to stop just having fun, but strive to get more of his career. 

Lashley stated that McMahon doesn’t want you in the promotion to have fun, but rather wants to get in an argument with you because you’re fighting for something that you want. He said McMahon wants you to step out of the box and do something bigger such as a spot at WrestleMania and the crowd to form them to give you the title. 

“When I was able to go through that curtain [after winning the WWE Championship] and give Vince a hug, he grabbed me and he held me for a while and was like, ‘Man, I’m proud of you.’”

There’s still no word yet on who he’ll defend the WWE Title against at Fastlane on March 21st.

NJPW Talents ‘Not Happy’ That Marty Scurll Was Backstage at Strong Tapings

Jake Skudder
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0

As we reported earlier today, Marty Scrull will not be part of New Japan going forward as originally expected. News broke last week that Marty Scurll had filmed content that would be shown on an upcoming episode of New Japan Strong. As it turns out, NJPW has no plans to air the footage or have Scurll back in the company anytime soon.

The news was first reported by the Super J-Cast podcast and has also been confirmed by Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. In an update to the news, Fightful Select have confirmed that talent backstage were not informed of Scurll’s involvement before he turned up to the tapings.

Scurll is believed to have filmed an angle with NJPW’s Rocky Romero at the promotion’s Los Angeles Dojo. Upon news of this leaking, there was a negative response amongst fans due to accusations against Scurll as part of the #SpeakingOut movement.

Fightful noted that there were several people who worked the tapings that were not happy with the situation. These talents stated that would have been made aware of Scrull’s involvement ahead of time? They would have made it clear to New Japan officials that they didn’t want to work at the tapings.

It was also confirmed by Fightful that “everything at the actual tapings was said to have been fine, and without incident.”

Marty Martinez Training At Nightmare Factory

Andrew Ravens
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0

Former Lucha Underground star Marty “The Moth” Martinez has been training at the Nightmare Factory, which is operated by AEW star Dustin Rhodes and QT Marshall. 

Martinez, real name Martin Casaus, shared the news in a post on Instagram. He mentioned that he suffered a spine injury in his L4 and L5 by hugging a dog. 

“Yes, I got injured hugging my adorable dog. Docs said I needed surgery. I opted for stem cells instead. I’ve spent the last 2 years relearning how to walk without pain from sciatica & muscle tension. I had to relearn how to run on the treadmill. Spent more time on rehab than heavy weights. My stream watched the struggle. I learned that progress is just as important as results. I had already beat sleep apnea, learned to manage my Lyme disease, & I spent way to much time fighting to be healthy that there was not a chance in hell I wasn’t chasing my dream with it.”

He had to learn how to run and walk again. He went on to state that he’s back in the ring training at what he calls the best school in the country. 

Martinez added, “So I’m here training at the @nightmarefactoryga. You’re never done learning in wrestling & progressing everyday.”

Martinez made a name for himself while working for Lucha Underground from 2014-2018 where he won the world title. His last match came at an ASP show in October 2020. 

https://www.instagram.com/p/CL99Y9QF80Q/?igshid=kmcstacebt6g

Pat McAfee Reacts To Cody Rhodes’s Claim That He’s Been Angling For A Job With AEW

Andrew Ravens
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0

Pat McAfee gave his reaction to the comments made by Cody Rhodes during today’s media conference call as the AEW Executive Vice President claimed McAfee has been trying to get a job with AEW.

Rhodes was asked about NBA Legend Shaquille O’Neal stating that his AEW match alongside Jade Cargill against Rhodes and Red Velvet would top all other celebrity matches in pro wrestling.

Rhode stated he likes that Shaq made the comment because it raises the bar when another match like this happens. 

“I think….I didn’t see this particular comment, especially from Pat, which is super bizarre because….just bizarre because I’m pretty sure Pat’s trying to get a job at AEW like every other day, but that’s another conversation.”

McAfee reacted to the comments made by Rhodes during The Pat McAfee Show.

“Cody Rhodes just said I’ve been trying to get employed by the AEW, or whatever, every other day. So I’d like that to be known, that is not true. OK, I’ve actually talked about retirement here more than I’ve ever contemplated going to AEW.”

McAfee then brought up his Twitter exchanges with AEW star Miro regarding the Shaq interview comments. He plans to watch the match, but made it clear, “I am not [trying to get hired by AEW]. I’d just like that to be very clear.”

Cody Rhodes Comments On Second AEW Show On TNT

Michael Reichlin
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All Elite Wrestling Executive Vice President Cody Rhodes took part in a media call this afternoon to promote Sunday’s AEW Revolution pay-per-view.

You can listen to full audio from the 45-minute call here.

SEScoops asked Cody about the second AEW show coming to TNT some time later this year. Will the show have a different format from Dynamite, and if so, what can fans expect?

“I think all of our shows will end up with a different format,” said Cody. “It’s a bit of a braintrust in forming those formats. Right now the focus is AEW Dark: Elevation, how we can make that different, and how we can feature our younger stars to get to know them. I’ll tell you one thing we won’t do with AEW Dark: Elevation, we’re not going to bait and switch. We’re not going to give you a show on night one that doesn’t reflect what that show will be like the rest of the year.”

Cody Rhodes once again was careful to state that the additional hour of content on TNT is not a third hour of AEW Dynamite. AEW officials have already decided upon a name for the second TNT show. Cody expects the cat will be out of the bag by the time AEW hosts its next media call.

“When it comes to the additional hour of content on TNT, and I’m careful to say third hour since people sometimes think we’re going three hours, which we are not. When it comes to that, I can only tell you that it has a name and I love its name, but I can’t tell you what it is. Hopefully, on the next media call, we’ll be talking about it, but it will happen in 2021.

He also teased that AEW talent will be appearing on another high-profile show that is part of the Warner Media family.

“In addition to that, there’s some other news featuring some other AEW talent regarding another show that is also in the Warner Media family.”

Cody Rhodes teams with Red Velvet against Shaquille O’Neil and Jade Cargill tonight on AEW Dynamite.

John Silver Shares Memories Of Brodie Lee

Chris Stephens
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The wrestling world was dealt a giant blow this winter with the untimely death of Brodie Lee. An outpouring of tributes and respect for the man has followed in the time that has passed since. John Silver recently took part in an interview with Chris Van Vliet and shared some of his memories of Brodie Lee including how Brodie purchased ring gear for him to help make him a bigger star.

“He was the man. He was such a happy good guy,” Silver said. “There was no negativity, he was always laughing, he would always have this big smile, especially with this big beard he had going on. But he’s just a good guy. He bought the ring jacket I have just because it would help me look more like a star if I had it. He also bought me matching gear that I wore at the Brodie show.”

Silver continued to talk about Brodie purchasing ring gear for him.

“It was just supposed to be for the BTE sketch, and then I asked him he’s like I want to buy you this stuff it’s going to be cool. I’m like that’s so cool what’s the sketch. He’s like I don’t know, we’ll think of something. He didn’t have a real idea in mind, but he thought it would be funny if Silver dresses like me one day. It wasn’t cheap gear, altogether it cost over $1,000 that he spent on me that he didn’t have to, I didn’t ask for it. Just because he thought it would be good for BTE and for me and the skits we do.”

Silver also said that when they were filming BTE sketches, Brodie would always try and get him to laugh.

“We’re trying to get through these sketches, and he would purposely try his absolute hardest to make me laugh. If I laugh, we’ve got to do it again. You see so many sketches of him getting right into my face and screaming sh*t at me, and just trying to make me laugh. It always worked, which is why we had to start pretending we were crying because we were always laughing.”

Silver also spoke about working the Brodie Lee tribute show and how difficult it was to do.

“I’m a pretty emotional guy, so that was difficult, but I thought I was going to be worse. The whole day was difficult, being around people. It was good too, but I’m like I can’t stop thinking about this.”

Silver actually missed a Dark Order entrance during the show. He also detailed what happened with that during his discussion with Chris Van Vliet.

“The match itself, if you look at the first match [Colt Cabana and The Young Bucks vs Matt Hardy and Private Party] If you look, I wasn’t there for the entrance, I come in late because I went to the back. I went to my room and I was not in a good mood. I forgot Colt was up and I forgot I had to do the entrance. When I heard the music and I thought screw it, I started running. You don’t see me coming out with them, but when Colt eventually does the pose, I’m there.”

The full interview is available in the player below:

Marty Scurll’s New Japan Strong Appearance Scrapped

Chris Stephens
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0

News broke last week that Marty Scurll had filmed content that would be shown on an upcoming episode of New Japan Strong. As it turns out, NJPW has no plans to air the footage or have Scurll back in the company anytime soon.

The news was first reported by the Super J-Cast podcast and has also been reported by Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

Scurll is believed to have filmed an angle with NJPW’s Rocky Romero at the promotion’s Los Angeles Dojo. Upon news of this leaking, there was a negative response amongst fans due to accusations against Scurll as part of the #SpeakingOut movement.

Last week, Scurll filming content for NJPW in Los Angeles was addressed on Wrestling Observer Radio.

“Marty Scurll worked the New Japan tapings a couple of weeks ago in California,” said Dave Meltzer.

“I’m not at all surprised at Marty Scurll working for New Japan, that’s just how they do things and in Japan, it’s not going to be an issue. In the United States, it’s going to be an issue to a lot of fans. There are people who want him black-balled for life.”

Scurll is a former IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion with New Japan Pro Wrestling.

Cody Rhodes Says Breaking AEW Title Stipulation Would Be The “Easiest Heel Turn In Wrestling”

Chris Stephens
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At AEW Full Gear 2019, Chris Jericho defeated Cody Rhodes in a match that carried a significant stipulation in addition to the world title being on the line. As a result of the loss, Cody can never challenge again for the AEW World Championship again. This has led many fans to wonder if AEW will stick to its guns and adhere to the stipulation for the long haul.

In a recent interview with WFAN Sports Radio, Cody commented on his desire to stick to the stipulation. He also noted, however, that ultimately it is Tony Khan’s decision.

“I’m going to stick to my word on the AEW Title, but ultimately, that decision will rest on AEW owner Tony Khan. It’s the easiest heel turn in wrestling if I was to break it,” Cody laughed. “I love that we’re disciplined and conservative, and presenting wrestling backwards.”

Rhodes would continue to say that he hopes he never “needs” to hold the title.

 “I don’t want to sound braggadocious or egotistical, but my goal is to never need the World Championship. Yeah, it sucks to watching Kenny Omega or Jon Moxley with the title when I consider myself the 1A of the group, but I gave my word.”

Cody has a big match tonight with no titles on the line. He will team with Red Velvet to take on Shaquille O’Neal and Jade Cargill.

The Case for Sasha Banks & Bianca Belair Main Eventing One Night of WrestleMania 37

Staff
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On the February 26th edition of WWE SmackDown, Women’s Royal Rumble winner Bianca Belair selected Sasha Banks as her WrestleMania 37 opponent. With over 6 weeks of build-up and with two women at the top of their game, this match should headline night one of WrestleMania 37 on April 10th

Bianca Belair battled in the Women’s Royal Rumble for almost an hour, entering at number 3 and winning the match. At the same time Sasha Banks fought of Carmella, ending the storyline she was involved in leading up to the Rumble. Since then, it had been rumored that Bianca would choose Sasha as her opponent at WrestleMania.

The two have been involved in tag-team action up until last Friday and are now set to enter their own feud leading up to the big showdown. The only previous time a women’s match headlined WrestleMania was in 2019, but this matchup has all the makings to be a lot better and holds the potential to be a main event that lives long in the memory.

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Bianca Belair & Sasha Banks

With the benefit of WrestleMania being spread of two nights again, there is more opportunity for exposure and appreciation. Edge and Roman Reigns will deservedly be the main event for night 2 of WrestleMania, but Bianca and Sasha have just as much claim to also close out the show.

Bianca has only been a part of the main roster since last year’s WrestleMaina, where she was put with the Street Profits, but her meteoric rise since has been admirable. After being transferred to the blue brand of WWE, Bianca has been involved in exciting feuds with Billie Kay and Natalya as well as representing SmackDown at Survivor Series. She then went on to become the second-ever African American Superstar to win the Royal Rumble, lasting a total 57 minutes in the match.

On the other hand, we have Sasha Banks, who has finally been given the opportunity to hold on to the Women’s Championship belt for a sustained period of time. After a lengthy back-and-forth with the company, Sasha stayed with WWE despite there being rumours she was set to leave the promotion. The Boss entered a memorable feud with long-time best friend Bayley, from whom she captured the SmackDown Women’s Championship from at the 2020 Hell in a Cell pay-per-view.

Prior to this defence, Sasha had lost all of her title matches where she held the belt going into the match. After beating Bayley in the rematch, she ended a drought of unsuccessful defences with a main roster singles title, finally opening up a new chapter in her era of being champion.

With the match now made official, we have just over a month until WrestleMania where both women have the opportunity to prove why they should be headlining one of the nights.

Both Sasha and Bianca’s promo-cutting skills are only bettered by their in-ring abilities, providing us with a plethora of entertainment. May the best woman win.

NXT Preview: Nia Jax & Shayna Baszler In Action

Michael Reichlin
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0


WWE returns to the Capitol Wrestling Center in Orlando, Florida tonight for an all new episode of NXT.

WWE is advertising the following items for tonight’s broadcast of NXT on the USA Network:

  • WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Nia Jax and Shayna Bazsler return to NXT. They will put the belts on the line against Dakota Kai and Raquel Gonzalez
  • NXT Tag Team Champions Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch will face Tommaso Ciampa and Timothy Thatcher in a non-title match.
  • Johnny Gargano is taking The Way to a therapy session.

Plus, we’ll see the fallout of Adam Cole turning on Roderick Strong and effectively ending the Undisputed Era faction.

Join us here later tonight for our weekly NXT Results and Takeaways feature.

One of the top headlines of the week is the news of NXT leaving Wednesday nights very soon. Check out the article below for more on this developing story:

Impact Results (3/2): 3 Matches Added To Sacrifice

Chris Stephens
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Impact Wrestling is less than two weeks away from their next big event, Sacrifice on March 13th. This week’s show added several matches to the show.

Impact 3/2 Quick Results:

  1. X-Division #1 Contendership
    Ace Austin defeated Black Taurus and Chris Bey
  2. Tenille Dashwood defeated Havok
  3. The Good Brothers & FinJuice defeated Reno Scum & Team XXXL
  4. Eddie Edwards defeated Brian Myers via DQ (Referee: Matt Cardona)
  5. Deonna Purrazzo defeated Jordynne Grace and Kiera Hogan

ODB To Challenge Deonna Purrazzo At Sacrifice

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aInz3XwBKWc

This match was originally supposed to be just Purrazzo vs Grace but after Fire N Flava interrupted a backstage promo earlier in the night, Kiera Hogan was added to the bout. The finish of the match came shortly after Grace dove to the outside and took out Susan and Kimber Lee. Grace then attempted to deliver a splash to Hogan but Tasha Steelz pulled her out of the ring. This then allowed Purrazzo to roll up Grace for the win.

After the match, as Grace and Tasha Steelz brawled to the back, Purrazzo was left alone in the ring. ODB then bolted out from the back and attacked the Knockouts Champion. Last we saw ODB, she had been attacked and left unconscious in the back. Based on ODB’s actions here, it seems she knows exactly who attacked her. Shortly after, it was revealed that ODB will challenge Purrazzo at Sacrifice.

The Good Brothers To Defend Tag Belts Against FinJuice At Sacrifice

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhFyh9A4VFo

Impact Wrestling didn’t waste any time getting Juice Robinson and David Finlay into the tag-team title hunt. There had been dissension between teams when The Good Brothers and FinJuice teamed up to defeat Reno Scum and Team XXXL this week. Later in the show, FinJuice managed to bait the Good Brothers into challenging them to a match for the belts at Sacrifice. Just like that, two of the best tag-teams in the world will clash in just 10 days.

Tony Khan Says AEW and Impact Are On The Same Team

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6h1cNdBDfc

There was a stark difference in attitude from the two Tony’s this week. After Tommy Dreamer was critical of the tone that has been used in the AEW ads as of late, this week Khan stated that AEW and Impact are on the same team. Don Callis, Kenny Omega, and the Good Brothers are on the other team although Khan didn’t specifically say as much. The two Tony’s then ran down the card for tonight’s episode of Dynamite.

Matt Cardona Disqualifies Brian Myers In Match Against Eddie Edwards

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2vX91-GDb0

Matt Cardona and Brian Myers are former tag partners, longtime friends, and podcast co-hosts. They have not gotten along well so far in Impact Wrestling, however. Earlier in the show, Cardona told Myers he was going to call the match “right down the middle” which Myers didn’t like. Then during the match, Cardona caught Myers loading up his elbow pad and disqualified him after he hit Edwards with it. Something is brewing between these two.

Ace Austin Qualifies For X-Division Title Shot

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qpd9jNFQIxI

Ace Austin earned a shot at the X-Division title with a win in triple threat action this week. He had actually teamed with Black Taurus and Chris Bey last week in a victory over Willie Mack, Trey Miguel and Josh Alexander in 6-man action with the stipulation that the winning team would face each other this week.

An X-Division match between Ace Austin and champion TJP was then made for Sacrifice.

Sami Callihan Invades Trey Miguel’s Wrestling School

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URlg6ILt6Sc

Callihan continued his harassment of Trey Miguel this week. He has been critical that the former Rascalz member has no loyalty or passion. Callihan showed up at the school where Miguel is a head teacher. He was confronted by one of the school’s trainers, CK3, and a student before the segment cut out.

Tenille Dashwood Picks Up Win Over Havok

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUALio1m0kE

Tenille Dashwood had been lobbying for Havok to be her new tag-team partner but things didn’t work out as planned. Instead, the two would face off in singles action this week. Dashwood picked up the win off of Kaleb Konely’s distraction. She hit the Spotlight Kick on Havok to get the pin. Havok’s tag partner came to the ring and took out Kaleb after, leading to speculation that Havok and Neveah may have resolved their recent conflict with each other.

Coming Up In Impact Wrestling

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pv-id68ur0I

Impact Wrestling: Sacrifice on March 13th:

  • Impact World Championship
    Rich Swann (c) vs Moose
  • Knockouts Tag Team Championships
    Fire N Flava (Kiera Hogan & Tasha Steelz) (c) vs Jordynne Grace & Jazz
  • X-Division Championship
    TJP (c) vs Ace Austin
  • Knockouts Championship
    Deonna Purrazzo (c) vs ODB
  • Impact Tag Team Championships
    The Good Brothers (c) vs Juice Robinson & David Finlay

AEW Dynamite The Crossroads Preview: Shaq & Paul White Debut (3/3)

Michael Reichlin
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0

All Elite Wrestling returns to Jacksonville, FL tonight for a special edition of AEW Dynamite dubbed, The Crossroads. This is the ‘go home’ edition of Dynamite ahead of Sunday’s AEW Revolution pay-per-view.

We say this most weeks, but the card is pretty stacked. Dynamite will see the AEW in-ring debut of basketball legend Shaquille O’Neil, Paul White’s first AEW appearance, the finals of the AEW Women’s World Title Eliminator tournament and more.

The following items are scheduled for AEW Dynamite: The Crossroads:

  • NBA legend Shaq & Jade Cargill vs. Cody Rhodes & Red Velvet. This match will open the show.
  • We will hear from AEW’s newest signee, Paul Wight.
  • Tully Blanchard comes out of retirement to team with FTR against The Jurassic Express.
  • AEW Women’s World Title Eliminator Tournament Finals: Nyla Rose vs. Ryo MIzunami. The winner of this bout challenges Hikaru Shida for the AEW Women’s World Championship at Revolution.
  • The Dark Order vs. Matt Hardy & Private Party & Hybrid2
  • Max Caster vs. 10 of the Dark Order (Preston Vance) to earn a spot in the Ladder Match at Revolution.
  • Inner Circle leader Chris Jericho and MJF will hold a press conference ahead of their tag title match against the Young Bucks this Sunday.

Immediately after Dynamite goes off the air, AEW and TNT will present the Countdown to Revolution special.

Join us here tonight for our AEW Dynamite Results and Takeaways.

Kacy Catanzaro Confirms Knee Injury: Partial LCL Tear

Michael Reichlin
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0

NXT star Kacy Catanzaro has confirmed that she is battling a legitimate knee injury.

WWE recently ran an injury angle that saw Catanzaro suffer a leg injury at the hands of Xia Li. During the latest NXT injury report, the company noted that she is not medically cleared to compete.

https://twitter.com/WWENXT/status/1367127637714436097

Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer commented on the situation, noting that it was essentially a ‘storyline’ injury. “It’s not like she’s 100% but she’s fine,” he wrote.

Catanzaro took to social media to give her side of the story. She revealed that she’s recovering from a partial LCL tear, which will keep her out of action for at least the next several weeks.

Kacy Catanzaro Confirms Injury

“It’s been a tough week..” she began. “Coming to terms with a partial LCL tear, but working with a medical staff to get back as soon as I can. You can’t keep me down.”

SEScoops wishes Kacy Catanzaro a speedy recovery. You can view her photo and message in the Instagram post embedded below.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CL8QoXRjvdz/

Charlotte Flair Says She’s Pitched To Be Paired With Andrade In WWE

Chris Stephens
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0

Charlotte Flair is engaged to fellow WWE Superstar, Andrade. During a recent interview with TV Insider, Charlotte noted that she has pitched WWE to work with her fiancé on-screen.

“I’ve actually pitched that,” Flair said when asked about working with Andrade. “I would be very much open to that. I’ve done a lot in my career, but nobody has seen me in an on-cam relationship, or in that light. I can come across cold on TV.”

Andrade has not been a fixture on WWE programming since the fall. His lat official match with WWE was on October 12th, 2020 in a loss to Angel Garza.

Flair also spoke about her segment with her father from the February 22nd edition of RAW.

“I loved the back-and-forth because originally it wasn’t supposed to be that way. My dad comes from an era where he can cut a promo and not have to memorize things. I’m so in the zone right now where for the first time in my career I’m comfortable to ad lib out there. I’m an emotional person as it is, so trying to channel certain things that have frustrated me was very easy. I was never expecting to be back on screen with my dad in 2021 and have him across the ring from me [supporting someone else]. So I was able to bring out certain emotions.”

Bobby Lashley On WWE Title Win: “I Promised Myself This Would Happen”

Chris Stephens
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0

This Monday on RAW, Bobby Lashley defeated The Miz to become the 53rd person in history to hold the WWE Championship. Lashley begins the 141st reign in the title’s lineage. He spoke to SI.com recently about what the title win means to him.

“I promised myself that this would happen,” Lashley said during the interview. “There have been times when I didn’t know if this was going to come, but I worked my ass off and refused to be denied. Now that we’re here, it’s surreal.”

“Seeing so many people ringside—like Ricochet, Elias and Braun—that meant a lot,” he continued. “I’ve shared moments with all of them. Sharing it with Shelton, Cedric and MVP, that’s very meaningful, too. I’ve had so many calls and messages—I heard from my college wrestling coach, my high school wrestling coach, even people I trained with in Japan. It’s been amazing.”

Lashley was a 4x World Champion with TNA Wrestling/Impact. He also held the ECW title while in WWE twice. Lashley is also a 2x Intercontinental and 2x United States Champion as well.

“I went into professional wrestling believing that the world title would be my world medal,” Lashley continued. “This has always been my goal. Even when times were tough, I didn’t stop. I never stopped, I kept working to get better. My dad taught me hard work, and I’m teaching that to my kids. And it’s true—the harder I work, the luckier I get.”

Dakota Kai Talks Being WWE’s First Female Performer From New Zealand

Chris Stephens
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0

Dakota Kai made her debut as a full-time NXT Superstar in 2017. She is the first female wrestler from New Zealand to have ever signed with WWE. Dakota spoke to SI.com recently about moving from New Zealand to the United States to start her WWE journey.

“I miss home. I miss my family,” Kai said. “That’s a sacrifice I made.”

“It was hard to move my life here,” Kai continued. “The sacrifice I made equates to the way I work in the ring. I sacrificed everything to be here. That’s why I have a fearless approach.”

“I’m the first-ever Kiwi woman signed to WWE, so I’m blazing a new trail,” she continued. “And there is still so much to accomplish.”

Dakota Kai On Her Team With Raquel Gonzalez

Dakota also spent some time talking about her team with Raquel Gonzalez during the interview. They will challenge for the WWE Women’s Tag-Team titles on tonight’s NXT.

“We’ve been together for a little over a year, and we’re building on that,” Kai said. “Raquel has been at the Performance Center longer than I have, and I have seen the work she’s put into this. There is some real-life connection, and that shows in our team. She is big and powerful, and I am quick on my feet, and that juxtaposition works well for us.”

Dakota also spoke about how her and Raquel Gonzalez like to emulate the former “Two Dudes with Attitude” Shawn Michaels and Diesel.

“We like using their pose during our entrance,” Kai said. “And if anyone sees similarities in our work, then that’s the biggest compliment in the world.”

https://twitter.com/JackJacksharpe5/status/1279893122785456128

Dakota Kai On Bianca Belair

Dakota also spent some time talking about her former Performance Center classmate, Bianca Belair, during the interview.

“Bianca is the definition of superstar,” Kai said. “We were really close in NXT, and she’s one of the sweetest people in the world, and she always gives me so much strength. I’m so happy for her. Her in-ring presence is just insane. She deserves the world, and I can’t wait to watch her face Sasha at WrestleMania.”

Shaq On What Fans Can Expect From Him In The Ring

Chris Stephens
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0

Tonight on AEW Dynamite, Shaquille O’Neal will team with Jade Cargill to face Cody Rhodes and Red Velvet. Shaq has long been around the wrestling industry, and even performed in the 2016 Andre the Giant memorial battle royal. Tonight will be his first time in a tag-team match, however, and his first match in AEW.

Shaq spoke to the Associated Press about what fans can expect from him once he gets in the ring.

“I’m not a professional wrestler, but I’ve been in a match before,” Shaq said. “I’ve got a lot of moves in my arsenal. When you step inside somebody’s world, you have to stick to what you’re masterful at. I’m not acrobatic. I’m not going to be jumping off the ropes. I’m coming with the power game. When I get hands on him, I’m going to display this power.”

“I’m the type that if I have a look and see you do it, I got it,” Shaq continued.

Shaq On What He Said To Hulk Hogan

Shaq also mentioned what he said when he met Hulk Hogan during the interview.

“I told him, ‘you broke my heart when you body-slammed Andre the Giant,’” O’Neal said. “I cried as a kid. I really did.”

Shaq also said that his match tonight will blow away all other matches by retired athletes.

“This one will top them all,” O’Neal continued.

The full interview with Shaq can be read here.

Joey Ryan Drops Lawsuit, Charity Show Canceled

Chris Stephens
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Yesterday, a charity show titled “Wrestling for Women’s Charity” began circulating a poster. Joey Ryan’s face on the poster drew a heavy reaction from fans online. It was later revealed that Ryan’s “Bar Wrestling” had some affiliation with the show.

AEW’s Tony Khan then stated AEW talent would not be appearing on the show if Ryan was involved. The promotion then Tweeted out that they were canceling the event. This all happened within the span of a few hours.

https://twitter.com/SwoleWorld/status/1366827607589851137

Wrestling journalist, David Bixenspan, has been providing updates via Twitter.

https://twitter.com/davidbix/status/1366874542900207616
https://twitter.com/davidbix/status/1366855285139202052

Joey Ryan Drops Lawsuit

Joey Ryan has dropped the lawsuit he won a default judgment on against his accuser. This could potentially mean some agreement was made between the two parties but that is just speculation. Although the name is being redacted on reports (including this one), the accuser deactivated their Twitter recently. Ryan’s Twitter has been wiped of all Tweets as well, it seems.

Ryan’s legal team filed to dismiss the lawsuit yesterday, the same day he appeared on the poster for the women’s charity show. Via HeelbyNature:

“TO THE COURT AND ALL PARTIES IN THIS ACTION, PLEASE TAKE NOTICE THAT plaintiff, Joseph R. Meehan (Meehan), voluntarily dismisses without prejudice defendant, REDACTED. REDACTED has not answered or filed a motion for summary judgment. This notice is made pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 41(a)(1)(A). Dated: March 2, 2021, Los Angeles, California UTZURRUM LAW OFFICES, A.P.C”

Former ROH Wrestler, Pelle Primeau, is fundraising for his legal defence.

RAW Superstar Mustafa Ali Currently Wrestling With Injury

Jake Skudder
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WWE RAW Superstar Mustafa Ali recently revealed that he is wrestling with an injury. The leader of the RETRIBUTION stable took questions from fans recently on Twitter and confirmed that he is working with a torn PCL.

A fan asked Mustafa Ali during the Q&A what his biggest frustration was and how had he adapted to it. Ali replied, saying “it’s right now actually. wrestling with a torn PCL is incredibly frustrating.”

Mustafa Ali on Riddle Match

Ali also confirmed during the Q&A that the finish to his match against Riddle on Monday was ‘scary’ and had to be changed on the fly. Mustafa Ali said that the finish was meant to be “a backstabber. Things obviously got scary, but last second adjustments were made and everyone is okay. We will be able to battle another day.”

It has not been confirmed if Ali will have a match at the upcoming WWE Fastlane PPV event. It will be the first WWE show to air on the Peacock streaming service, so talents will want to get themselves on the show. The only potential match is possibly a United States Championship match against Matt Riddle at this point.

Cody & Red Velvet vs Shaq & Jade Cargill Opening AEW Dynamite

Jake Skudder
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0

AEW EVP Cody Rhodes confirmed last night that his match against Shaquille O’Neal will be opening Dynamite tonight. Appearing on the NBA on TNT Tuesday postgame, Cody said that he and Red Velvet will be taking on Jade Cargill and Shaq to open the TNT show as it goes on the air.

There had been speculation that the bout would be ending the show. With AEW’s Revolution PPV taking place this Sunday, tonight’s episode of Dynamite is the ‘go home’ show for that event. There’s a chance that AEW have something planned for the end of the show to lead into Sunday’s PPV and try to get some extra buys ahead of the show.

The mainstream coverage of tonight’s match has been significant. There have been many outlets reporting on Shaq getting in an AEW ring tonight for the very first time. The match itself will be intriguing to say the least, as Jade Cargill and Shaq’s in-ring abilities are as of yet untested on television.

Stick here with us tonight on SEScoops for all of the coverage on AEW Dynamite: The Crossroads. 

NWA Power Return Confirmed By Billy Corgan

Rayan Sayyed
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0

NWA owner Billy Corgan has confirmed that NWA Power is making a return. As reported earlier, the NWA will be returning to PPV with the show “Back for the Attack” in less than 3 weeks. The show was spotted in a listing on FITE TV. Now, Corgan has said in a recent interview that NWA is in a deal with FITE TV but NWA Power is also making a return as the show starts taping episodes soon.

The first episode of NWA Power will take place on March 23, two days after Back for the Attack. The episodes are set to air at 6:05 PM on Thursday nights. Back for the Attack is listen on FITE TV for a cost of $19.99 USD.

In a bizzare turn of events concerning fans of the promotion, NWA took down all their content from YouTube, leaving the entire channel blank. Power was previously hosted on NWA’s YouTube channel so fans were left wondering about the future of the company at the time.

“What I didn’t anticipate was how much people would love the format and want more of it and not less of it,” Billy Corgan told Associated Press in an interview. “In our downtime, we did a fan survey and the No. 1 thing was, don’t get rid of ‘Power.’”

Corgan said that NWA is now taking the steps that they intended to take a year ago. “I feel like we’re finally taking the steps we were hoping to take a year ago. We were never in any financial peril,” Corgan added. “We were totally on a growth pattern. The plan for last year before things kind of hit the skids was to start pivoting. We were in discussions with Live Nation about running live events to help bring in revenue and expand who was watching the product. It was more about growing pains stuff, but we didn’t have any problems internally with the product.”

It was reported this week that NWA would resume TV tapings this month. The last set of tapings for Power took place in January 2020. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the promotion had to cancel its planned Crockett Cup 2020 PPV.

The Rock On How Influential Vince McMahon Is To Him

Rayan Sayyed
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0

The Rock is singing praises for Vince McMahon. During the airing of Young Rock’s episode 3 on NBC, The Rock fielded some questions about the episode from fans on Twitter. During the Q&A, a fan asked Rock about how influential Vince McMahon has been to him. Rock had high praise for the CEO of WWE, who said that he has been one of his greatest business mentors and like a father figure to him.

The Rock wrote, “@VinceMcMahon was one of my greatest business mentors and a father figure. Not always the relationship one would want with their boss but the convergence of our lives made it to be. We laugh when we get together because we always pick right back up where we left off. #YoungRock.”

The Rock has shared many instances from his WWE career of Vince McMahon giving him advice that helped him to be the star he is today. The Rock once revealed that during the early days of his career the WWE Chairman advised him to smile. “I was told by Vince McMahon, who was a very close friend of mine still today, is a mentor in the world of business, he would tell me, ‘You gotta go out there, you gotta smile, you just gotta… you just gotta smile!’”

The Rock added, “This was my rookie year, so you can imagine. Smile! So, I said OK, and again, you’re pissing vinegar… you’re ready to get out there and bang, man. And he said, ‘I want you to be… you’re grateful that you’re here, so you gotta smile.’ And then I would go out and I would hear these fans, they just knew that I wasn’t being authentic. You know, and they would be like… ‘You f–king suck!’ And I would smile, ‘Hey, thank you, man! I know I do, right?’ I gotta smile.”

The Rock also revealed how Vince McMahon gave him an opportunity to speak his mind on live TV during Raw, when he had little experience. Rock had promised McMahon that if he bombed, then he would never have to give him mic time again. The promo was about Rock joining The Nation of Domination where he said that him being part of the faction is not a black or white thing — it’s a respect thing and he’s gonna earn it every night by kicking ass. This very promo helped Rock cement the direction his character would later take.

On this week’s episode of Young Rock, Adam Ray debuted as a younger version of Vince McMahon. In the beginning of the episode, we see Ray calling one of Rocky Johnson’s matches on the commentary booth — this was before he took over WWF from his father Vince Sr. We also see him share a phone call with Maivia later. He offers some advice on how to deal with the competition and delivers the news that he needs all his wrestlers back for a show in the Madison Square Garden besides Rocky and the Wild Samoans. Coupled with the fact that Andre the Giant was the only wrestler to get his own action figure, this creates a little hostility between him and the other wrestlers. The episode also showed a rival promoter trying to recruit Rocky to his promotion.

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