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Ric Flair On Big Show Joining AEW: “I Didn’t See It Coming”

Anutosh Bajpai
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The announcement of Big Show aka Paul Wight joining the All Elite Wrestling roster caught a lot of people off guard and it appears that the wrestling legend Ric Flair was one of them.

The 16 time world champion recently appeared on Busted Open Radio where he talked about a number of things and also discussed the big decision by the giant.

Flair was asked about the surprising turn of events with the now-former WWE star. Replying to the question, he mentioned how he met Big Show recently and claimed that he didn’t see it coming:

“To answer your question, I was just with him, and I did not see it happening. He did not mention a word to me, and I was with him, what two weeks ago, three weeks ago, and whenever they had the Legends Reunion, he was there.”

“So, I didn’t see it coming, and I’m sure they must have made him a spectacular deal over there. Do I wish had would stay with us personally? Yes.” said Flair, “But, at the same time, he has earned my respect, and I think he has earned the respect of everybody and should be able to make the choice he wants.”

The WWE Hall Of Famer interestingly also explained that in past they all used to be aware of what’s going on but now it’s a different world. He is better off not asking and instead of trying to catch up, he just pretends like he is there.

Apart from this, Ric Flair also talked about his history with the former WWE star and told a funny story about the time they first worked together.

Mark Henry Planning In Ring Return For One More Match

Anutosh Bajpai
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WWE Hall of Famer Mark Henry is gearing up for a return to the ring. Henry says he is “lighter, trimmer” than he’s ever been and plans to wrestle at least once in the next six months.

Henry discussed his intentions on a recent episode of Busted Open on SiriusXM. He is open to wrestling anybody, but spoke about battling a former rival, Randy Orton.

“I’d rather get punked out than to get my a– whooped, Randy is not somebody to mess around with if you’re not 100%,” said Henry.

“Now I’m walking on two feet, I’m 325 pounds; I’m lighter, trimmer than I’ve ever been. I plan on having a match sometime in the next six months. I just want to have one match, and if Randy is the guy, then so be it. Believe me, I’ll be ready and I won’t be on one foot on a push scooter.”

The former World Champion made his WWE debut way back in 1996. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2018.

Although Mark Henry never had a formal retirement, he has not been an active competitor since 2013. He’s worked for WWE in various behind the scenes roles in recent years.

You can listen to Mark Henry’s comments in the tweet embedded below:

Daniel Bryan Cuts Promo On Part-Time Wrestlers, Namedrops CM Punk

Anutosh Bajpai
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Former world champion Daniel Bryan appeared on the latest Talking Smack and the former champion cut an interesting promo on the show, targeting the part-time wrestlers from the SmackDown brand.

Bryan, who has endured two big losses in the past week including his loss at the Elimination Chamber and a double count-out in his match against Jey Uso on SmackDown, said that he feels like he has failed himself.

The former NXT star then targeted the part time stars and he mentioned how he has wrestled more matches in the last few days compared to the two men who are going to main event WrestleMania this year in Edge and Roman Reigns:

“You have two guys in the main event of WrestleMania who have wrestled a total of three matches this year,” said Daniel Bryan, “In the last eight days, I have wrestled more matches than the two of those men combined.

On Sunday, I sat on the ground while two men — who’ve wrestled only three matches this year – are going to main event WrestleMania. I failed myself. So, if you wanna ask how it felt to win the Elimination Chamber for the third time, it didn’t feel good.”

Daniel Bryan also namedropped CM Punk and claimed that he is going to take back his reign as the best wrestler in the world:

“I have a message for you to give to Roman Reigns. I am no longer putting myself on the back burner. I am no longer putting other people first; I am going to take what’s mine. And that’s the reign that I’ve had — before CM Punk — and that’s the best damn wrestler in the world.”

Daniel Bryan is currently set to face Jey Uso in a steel cage match at next week’s episode of SmackDown. He will get a shot at Roman Reigns’ Universal title if he wins the bout.

NWA Removes All Content From YouTube, New Coming Soon

Anutosh Bajpai
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National Wrestling Alliance or NWA is making headlines after some bizarre turn of events and reports of some future news about the company.

The whole thing started when the Billy Corgan owned promotion took down all their content from YouTube, leaving their channel on the site completely blank.

NWA youtube

The NWA ring announcer and the creator of Championship Wrestling from Hollywood David Marquez then took on his Twitter to respond to the fans and he admitted that he doesn’t know the reason behind it.

NWA’s Future

Dave Meltzer of F4Wonline later provided some updates on the situation. He noted that the company would be announcing something good in the next few days, though it’s not something related to AEW:

 “I was told it will be something announced in the next few days which is a good thing. Would not have to do with AEW.”

NWA, like many other promotions, also faced hardships last year due to the coronavirus pandemic and they had to halt production of their weekly series Powerrr due to the same.

Though the owner Billy Corgan had shot down rumors about the promotion shutting down and he also revealed late last year that their weekly show will be returning soon.

Matt Riddle Shares Some of His WWE Dream Matches

Jake Skudder
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WWE United States Champion Matt Riddle recently spoke to ViBe & Wrestling. The ‘Original Bro’ discussed a number of topics during the interview, including some dream matches that he wants in WWE.

“Edge is one of my dream matches” Riddle mentioned on the show. “I mentioned him already on my dream scenario for a tag match. He is so good, and brings the presence.”

“It is the same with Randy Orton” Matt Riddle continued. “Randy is so good, so big, so athletic and such a household name. He is a dream match.”

Matt Riddle on Dream Matches

Matt Riddle finished by naming another of WWE’s veteran performers. “AJ Styles, especially with this new giant, he is a dream match. So if you can be in a program with them or get in a rivalry with them certainly is career making.”

Matt Riddle’s WrestleMania 37 match has not yet been confirmed publicly. There were unsubstantiated reports that WWE were planning a Goldberg vs Riddle match at the Show of Shows; but again these have not been confirmed with any verifiable sources.

Edge and Randy Orton are already set for WrestleMania programs with Roman Reigns and The Fiend respectively. A potential United States Championship match between Riddle and AJ Styles is however a possibility.

credit to eWrestlingNews for the transcription

EC3 Reveals Why He Signed With Ring of Honor Wrestling

Jake Skudder
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Ring of Honor recently confirmed that former WWE Superstar EC3 has signed with the company. The company issued a press release yesterday confirming that the former IMPACT World Champion will be joining the promotion going forward.

Essential Character 3rd took to Twitter to react to the news now going public. “A #message from the #essentialcharacter??” EC3 began. “I have agreed to terms with @ringofhonorwrestling as my chosen three-letter wrestling company.??”

EC3 Talks Signing With ROH


“Ring Of Honor will provide me the corporate platform required to #free this industry” EC3 continued. “It’s competitors, and it’s fan base from conformity, toxic groupthink, archaic storytelling, paint by number movesets, banal, character development.”

The former IMPACT World Champion finished by writing more cryptic messages.

“Ring of Honor is aware of the extreme value in a #FreeEC3, and has provided me not only beyond fair #financial compensation, but the #freedom to push forward #TheNarrative, it’s #content and most importantly it’s ideals:

  • Control
  • Freedom
  • Purpose

    I very much look forward to etching my name amongst (and above) those who built the foundation Ring of Honor, competing with it’s exceptional roster, finishing what I have started with Jay Brisco, and carrying the #brand forward into the future it deserves.

    #ControlYourNarrative”

Are you excited to see EC3 appear in Ring of Honor? Let us know in the comments

MJF Talks Learning From Jim Cornette Whilst in MLW

Jake Skudder
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AEW Star MJF recently appeared on the Wrestling Perspective podcast. Maxwell Jacob Friedman discussed a number of topics during the show, including how he learned from Jim Cornette whilst working in MLW.

“So I worked with Jim Cornette more than I think people realize when I was in Major League Wrestling” MJF began. “And getting to go back and forth with him — look, is he a fan of guys on my roster? Absolutely not, but if I’m being honest, neither am I.”

MJF on Jim Cornette

“But he’s a very smart guy” MJF continued. “He understands how to manipulate an audience. I loved his work, I loved Bobby ‘The Brain’ Heenan’s work. Even Grand Wizard. He might not have necessarily been the greatest promo of all time? But the guy understood how to manipulate a crowd without even speaking.”

MJF finished by praising one of WWE’s biggest managers/special councils. “I mean, there’s been so many great managers of the past. Paul Heyman obviously. We’re both Jews, we’re both very affluent. And we’re both very good at speaking and we’re both from New York. so Paul Heyman also another guy who is most certainly a big influence on me.”

MJF and Chris Jericho will be taking on The Young Bucks at AEW Revolution in March.

Backstage News On Plans For The Miz At WrestleMania 37

Anutosh Bajpai
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The Miz surprised everyone when he successfully cashed in his Money In The Bank contract and became the WWE Champion once again after 10 years.

However, it appears that he will not be keeping the belt for long and reports from the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter suggest that the A-Lister will be dropping the championship soon.

According to the reports, despite his championship win, The Miz is still ‘earmarked’ for a tag team match with John Morrison against Bad Bunny and Damian Priest at WrestleMania 37.

If these reports are true, then it will mean that the current champion will not be keeping the belt for very long and he will be dropping the title before the event.

The Miz cashed in his Money In The Bank contract on Drew McIntyre after the main event of the Elimination Chamber PPV. He managed to win the world title from the Scottish psychopath with some help from Bobby Lashley.

He is now scheduled to defend his title against Lashley in a one on one match at next week’s episode of Raw. In light of the latest reports, it wouldn’t be a surprise if he ends up losing the championship to the all mighty on Monday.

Cesaro Comments On Reports About His WWE Future

Anutosh Bajpai
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Cesaro has made some headlines recently with reports about his current WWE status and his future with the company becoming a topic of discussion.

He was asked to confirm whether he has signed a new contract with the company during his recent interview with Ryan Satin of WWE on Fox and he said “Well … I could. I certainly could confirm or deny that.”

Cesaro went on to say that he loves the mystery of the situation and he feels like the air of mystery needs to stay because it makes things special:

“What I love about this whole thing is there’s always some mystery to everything, right? And I feel like that air of mystery needs to stay with a lot of things because that’s what makes it magic, and that’s what makes it special. So, you know, who knows?”

Cesaro’s current WWE deal is set to expire after WrestleMania 37 but latest reports on the matter claim that the Swiss Superman has either already agreed to a new deal or signed the contract altogether.

Apart from this, the former champion also talked about his passionate Talking Smack promo before the Elimination Chamber PPV which created a lot of buzz and more. You can check out his full interview at this link.

Drew McIntyre To Return To WWE Raw Next Week

Rayan Sayyed
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Drew McIntyre defended his WWE Championship successfully against five former world champions at the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view event on Sunday. He was unable to walk out of the arena with the title around his waist, however, as Bobby Lashley unleashed an attack on him after the Chamber match. This was all part of “business”, as Lashley’s attack on McIntyre was to help The Miz successfully cash in his Money in the Bank contract and win the WWE Championship himself.

Drew McIntyre was not present on this week’s Monday Night Raw, and Bobby Lashley earned the opportunity to face Miz one-on-one in a title match on the March 1 episode of Raw. On this week’s episode of SmackDown, WWE made the announcement that “The King of Claymore Country” will appear on the same episode of Raw. It would be interesting to see the former WWE Champion address The Miz after his title was taken away from him by the “A-Lister”, as well as Bobby Lashley for the surprise attack which was the main reason why McIntyre lost his Championship.

It’s also highly likely that Drew McIntyre could interfere in the title match and stop Bobby Lashley from winning the title. The Miz on the other hand, has expressed no signs of slowing down since becoming champion. He has made his plans clear: that he has no plans to be a transitional champion. The idea that fans think his reign after a strong champion like McIntyre is going to be just a one-off fuels his fire.

“It makes me think back to when I cashed in the Money in the Bank contract and won the belt in 2010. People thought I would lose, but I didn’t. Instead, I won the WWE Championship,” The Miz said. He recalled how he was told he would just be a transitional champion but he went on to main event WrestleMania. The Miz said that this time too, he is going to exceed expectations and prove everyone wrong.

Conor McGregor Teases Match With Finn Balor, Triple H Comments

Rayan Sayyed
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Conor McGregor, the former UFC Champion has expressed interest in pro wrestling and working with WWE over the years, with many wrestlers offering their takes on whether he would be a good fit at the company or how he would fare as a champion with some even expressing their desire to work with him in the squared circle. While it doesn’t appear that McGregor has any plans of walking away from MMA for pro wrestling yet, he teased another possible link-up with WWE involving none other than current NXT Champion Finn Balor.

On Friday, Finn Balor uploaded a photo on Twitter of action figures of himself with the NXT Championship, Conor McGregor with the UFC titles, and Triple H in the center of both inside a toy WWE ring. McGregor took notice of the post, and retweeted it with the quote, “No more mr. nice guy!”

This caught the attention of Triple H, who responded by saying, “Just say when.” Triple H has talked about Conor McGregor working with the company many times before.

Triple H has always been interested with the idea of Conor McGregor working with WWE. Speaking on how he would be a good fit with the company, Triple H said: “I think Conor McGregor versus Vince McMahon with the billion-dollar walk on the line, I think that’s a match made in heaven.” Triple H joked. “I think the nature of what we do — even being entertainment — it lends itself to combat sports. It lends itself to people like Conor McGregor or Ronda [Rousey], as it does with Tyson Fury. It did in the past with Mike Tyson and Floyd [Mayweather]. Entertaining people are what makes those fights, a lot of times.”

Back in 2016, Triple H said Conor McGregor could come to the WWE anytime he wants to, stating that one doesn’t need to be huge to be a big star anymore. “He could come over, he’s got it all, man — he’s got the personality, the skills, the talk. He’s an entertainer, for sure. What does he walk around at? 180lbs? I have smaller guys now in the WWE. We have 200lb guys who are stars. You don’t need to be 300lbs anymore,” The Game said of McGregor.

WWE has seen many MMA stars join the company in the past — namely Brock Lesnar, Ronda Rousey, Shayna Baszler and Matt Riddle. Conor McGregor could also have a good stint at the company with someone like Finn Balor who has expressed interest in working with him before too.

Apollo Crews Debuts New “Nigerian Royalty” Character

Rayan Sayyed
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Apollo Crews has gone through a significant change over the past few weeks on SmackDown. He has gotten a bit more aggressive and finally turned heel a week ago. Crews’ full heel turn was definitely around the corner, as he showed us glimpses of his destructive side over the weeks.

After embracing that side and going through it by attacking Big E and Shinsuke Nakamura last week, Crews debuted a new character with new attire and all. On Friday Night SmackDown, Crews came out and declared that he is proud of what he did and he talked about his ancestors that we had no knowledge of before this.

Apollo Crews said that he’s a “real African American” and that his ancestors were “real Nigerian royalty.” Apparently, Crews’ grandfather was ruler of large swathes of land in Nigeria, going to bed with his five wives draped in gold, if we are to go by his words. “My grandfather — he ruled, and he commanded some of the richest lands in Nigeria. He spent his days draped in gold and his nights with his five wives. His word was law and he was feared,” Crews declared during a promo on SmackDown.

Apollo Crews’ new attire consisted of a scarf and new white and green color on his gear. Crews explained that the colors signify wealth, dominance, and power. He said that he would make a point of anyone who challenged him, and Shinsuke Nakamura came out to take revenge for what happened during last week’s SmackDown.

Apollo Crews didn’t let Shinsuke Nakamura get in the ring though, as he assaulted him again and used the steel steps outside of the ring before the match even began. However, as the match began, Crews was able to be dominant throughout the bout and interestingly used an Olympic slam — also known as the Angle slam popularised by Kurt Angle — as his finisher to pick up the victory over Nakamura.

The Miz On When He Found Out About His MITB Cash In

Anutosh Bajpai
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The Miz made history last Sunday when he cashed in his Money In The Bank contract to become not only the WWE Champion but the first ever 2-time grand slam champion in the history of the company.

The A-Lister appeared on Renee Young’s Oral Sessions podcast after his big win where the new champion talked about a number of things.

The Miz also discussed his cash in during the interview, and he revealed that he only found out about the plans for his title win on the day of the Elimination Chamber pay per view itself:

“I didn’t… I had no idea! I went in there, and no one was talking to me. Like, all of the creative, I was like, ‘Is anyone going to talk to me?’

And then, I went in and figured out what was going on,” said The Miz, “And I was like, ‘Ok, this is it.’ You don’t believe it’s going to happen until you hear the 1-2-3.”

Drew McIntyre defended his WWE Championship in the main event of the Elimination Chamber PPV and he won the match by last eliminating AJ Styles.

However,  Bobby Lashley attacked McIntyre after the bout. The Miz, taking advantage of the situation, cashed in his guaranteed title opportunity and became the WWE champion once again after 10 years.

Stone Cold Steve Austin Garbage Pail Kids Action Figure Announced

Anutosh Bajpai
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0

A new Stone Cold Steve Austin action figure based on his Garbage Pail Kids illustration has been announced by the artist Brent Angstrom who revealed the news on his Instagram account.

While Engstrom did not reveal the exact release date for the figure, he noted that they have partnered with The Loyal Subjects for them:

“New Stone Cold Steve Austin GPK WWE figure coming soon to a Wal-Mart near you from The Loyal Subjects and Topps #theloyalsubjects #stonecoldsteveaustin #wwe #stunner #garbagepailkids #gpk #topps #basuritas”

https://www.instagram.com/p/CLIwFfYF8x1/?igshid=1lupjdopmgatc

Garbage Paint Kids is a famous trading cards brand produced by Topps which was originally released in 1985. Several different series of the cards have been released since then.

Stone Cold Steve Austin is one of the most recognizable professional wrestlers of the world and he became famous during the Monday Night Wars era.

Many consider Steve Austin to be the greatest pro wrestler of all time and his rivalry with WWE chairman Vince McMahon is considered to be one of the best feuds in the history of professional wrestling.

While the former world champion retired from active competition in 2002, he has continued his involvement in the industry one way or the other and he remains to be one of the most popular wrestlers to this day.

Sasha Banks On Her Mom’s Reaction To Her Ring Name

Anutosh Bajpai
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SmackDown women’s champion Sasha Banks was recently a guest on Broken Skulls Sessions with Stone Cold Steve Austin where she talked about the various stages of her wrestling career in detail.

During the interview, the Boss talked about her early days in the company and she revealed the story behind the origin of her ring name:

“I remember my first week they were like give us a list of names, I just remember putting Sasha with a different last name and Banks with a different first name.

And then I had a match the week after that and Sara Del Rey came into the locker room like ‘You’re Sasha Banks.’ Yanno what? I love that, that sounds like money, it sounds like gold.”

Sasha also recalled her mother’s reaction to the name. She revealed that her mom didn’t like it at first and she wanted it changed:

“I remember telling my mom and my mom looked it up and she goes ‘I hate it. It sounds like a porn star’s name, Mercedes. Change it right now! Call them up!’ I’m like ‘I cannot tell WWE to change my name, are you kidding me?’ “

Apart from this, Sasha Banks talked about the creation of her character and she explained how Tyler Breeze and Xavier Woods went out of their way to help the current champion.

John Morrison Reportedly Injured On Raw

Anutosh Bajpai
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0

Former Intercontinental Champion John Morrison apparently suffered some sort of knee injury during this week’s episode of Monday Night Raw.

According to reports from the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the former champion injured his knee in his match against the current US champion Matt Riddle on the show.

Morrison did a twisting dive during the match but his leg got caught in the ropes and the high flying star landed awkwardly with his knee hitting the floor.

While he chose to continue the bout after getting checked by the referee, the Raw star was seen limping later in the match. The two stars then completed the match without Riddle working on his opponents’ knee.

It was noted that John Morrison was also seen limping and walking slower than his normal pace later in the same episode when he came out with the WWE champion The Miz for a segment.

The former champion also seems to have taken a note on the chatter about the botch on Raw and he posted a comparison video of himself practicing the move:

https://twitter.com/TheRealMorrison/status/1365424904590548997

With The Miz winning the WWE title, John is likely to get involved in the title picture sooner or later. There is no word yet on if his injury is serious and if Morrison will have to take a break from in-ring action but we will keep you posted on his status.

WWE SmackDown Results (2/26): Bianca Belair & Sasha Banks, Daniel Bryan vs. Jey Uso

Robert Lentini
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WWE SmackDown aired from the ThunderDome inside Tropicana Field. Daniel Bryan faced Jey Uso in this week’s main event and Bianca Belair selected her WrestleMania opponent tonight.

SmackDown Results (2/26)

  1. Otis & Chad Gable def. Rey Mysterio & Dominik
  2. Apollo Crews def. Shinsuke Nakamura
  3. Tamina def. Liv Morgan
  4. Street Profits def. Sami Zayn & King Corbin
  5. Daniel Bryan vs. Jey Uso ended in a double count out

Here are the takeaways from this week’s show:

Daniel Bryan Will Earn A Title Shot If He Beats Jey Uso

Universal Champion Roman Reigns kicked off the show with Paul Heyman and Jey Uso. Reigns boasted about his victory over Daniel Bryan at Elimination Chamber and claimed he operated at a higher level than anyone else in the ring. Roman said Edge got one when he hit him with the Spear at Elimination Chamber but he doesn’t really want this match.

Roman said he will give Edge a chance tp back out of the match and go back to his beautiful family. Daniel Bryan interrupted and mocked Roman for cowardly defending his title right after the Elimination Chamber match was over. Bryan added that he was baffled at how the Head of the Table decided to defend his title in the 2nd match of the night, and not the main event. Bryan suggested a title match at WWE Fastlane.

Jey got in Bryan’s face and said he was tired of Daniel’s excuses. Jey told Daniel that he will have to go through him if he wants another shot at the Universal Championship. Jey then attacked Bryan and beat him down. It was later announced that Bryan will earn a shot at the Universal Championship if he defeats Jey Uso later tonight.

Alpha Academy Picked Up A Win

Rey Mysterio and Dominik faced Otis & Chad Gable tonight on SmackDown. Otis and Rey started off the action and Otis connected with a shoulder tackle. Otis launched Mysterio around the ring and started unloading punches before Gable warned him to not get disqualified.

Chad tagged in and planted Rey with a Gutbuster. Mysterio connected with an Enziguri and made his way to the corner to tag in Dominik. Dominik hopped up to the middle turnbuckle and hit Gable with a Tornado DDT for a near fall. Mysterio tagged in and connected with a Senton.

Rey and Dominik hit a double 619 and then Rey quickly hopped to the top rope. Mysterio connected with a Splash and went for the cover but Otis broke it up at two. Otis slammed Mysterio to the mat and followed it up with a Splash off the middle turnbuckle for the pinfall victory.

Apollo Crews def. Shinsuke Nakamura

Apollo Crews came to the ring with some new ring gear and was sporting a scarf around his neck. Crews stated he has been nice, humble, and respectful for too long and he’s not receiving any of the same respect in return. Apollo said he is not from the streets, he is from Nigeria and is a real African American.

Crews explained how his family comes from royalty and how his grandfather ruled land in Nigeria. The colors of his new gear represent power, dominance, and wealth. Crews boasted about his attack on Big E last week and claimed that the Intercontinental Champion will never disrespect him again. Crews vowed to do the same to Shinsuke Nakamura tonight.

Apollo attacked Nakamura during his entrance and sent him into the steel ring steps as SmackDown went to a commercial break. When SmackDown returned, Apollo was in control of the match and was stomping away on Nakamura in the corner of the ring. Crews planted Shinsuke with a Suplex for a near fall and then applied a Headlock in the center of the ring.

Nakamura battled to his feet but Crews connected with a German Suplex. Shinsuke hopped right up and hit a knee to the face that sent both superstars to the canvas. Nakamura connected with another knee to the face and went for the cover but Crews was able to power out at two.

Shinsuke hit the snap German Suplex for a near fall and then the action spilled out of the ring. Apollo sent Shinsuke into the steel steps and rolled him back into the ring. Crews used his scarf to send Shinsuke to the corner and hit him with the Angle Slam for the pinfall victory.

Opinion: I really liked Crews’ promo and hopefully this version of his character works out because the talent has always been there.

Tamina def. Liv Morgan

Tamina faced Liv Morgan tonight on SmackDown. Natalya and Ruby Riott were ringside for the match. Tamina dominated the action early and planted Liv with a Suplex for a near fall. Liv battled back and connected with an Enziguri. Liv hit Tamina with a Dropkick that sent Tamina to the corner. Liv hit another Dropkick off the second rope for a near fall. Tamina battled back with a slam for the pinfall victory.

Banks Will Face Belair At WrestleMania

Bianca Belair joined Sonya Deville and Adam Pearce in the ring. Reginald interrupted and said that Belair’s dream will dissolve into a nightmare if she picks Sasha Banks as her WrestleMania opponent. Belair got in Reginald’s face but Sasha Banks interrupted.

The SmackDown Women’s Champion made her way to the ring and told Reginald to stop speaking for her. Banks added that Belair isn’t the “EST” of WWE because she is the champion and #1. Sasha then told Belair that makes her 2nd best and cackled into the microphone before dropping it. Belair told Banks that she is going to make Banks eat her words at WrestleMania and pointed to the sign.

Street Profits def. Zayn & Corbin

King Corbin and Sami Zayn teamed up to battle Street Profits tonight on SmackDown. The SmackDown Tag Team Champions Dolph Zigger & Robert Roode were shown watching the match backstage.

Corbin and Dawkins locked up in the middle of the ring. King Corbin went for his sliding Clothesline but Sami’ documentary crew was in the way as SmackDown went to a break. When SmackDown returned, Montez hit Corbin with an Enziguri and tagged in Dawkins.

Angelo leveled Sami with a Bulldog and went for the cover but Sami was able to kick out at two. Corbin got into the ring and Dawkins greeted him with a Dropkick. Zayn capitalized and planted Dawkins with a DDT for a near fall. Sami’s documentary crew got in Corbin’s face and started filming him. Corbin shoved them away but Montez flipped onto him. Dawkins planted Sami with a Neckbreaker and tagged in Ford. Montez hit Sami with the From the Heavens Frog Splash for the pinfall victory.

Cesaro Declined Seth Rollins’ Offer

Seth Rollins said that the letter he sent to WWE management and it trended on social media. Cesaro immediately interrupted and marched to the ring. Rollins told Cesaro that they go back a long way and give him a chance to make this right. Seth claimed that he did not call Cesaro “a loser” and Twitter blew that out of proportion.

Rollins told Cesaro that he is a star and is one of the strongest people to ever step foot in a WWE ring. Seth asked Cesaro why he seems to always come up short and wondered what he is missing. Rollins claimed that Cesaro was missing killer instinct and can give it to Cesaro.

Seth noted that he has already grabbed the brass ring and have accomplished things in WWE that Cesaro can only dream of. Rollins told Cesaro that it is never too late to start again and that all he has to do is “embrace the vision”. Seth told Cesaro to take a week or two to think it over but Cesaro opted to get Rollins in the Swing. Cesaro followed it up with an uppercut to end the segment.

Bryan vs. Jey Uso Ended In A Double Count Out

Daniel Bryan faced Jey Uso in the main event of SmackDown. If Bryan won the match, he would face Roman Reigns for the Universal Championship at WWE Fastlane.

Bryan started off the match in control and hit Jey with a few uppercuts in the corner of the ring. The action spilled to the outside and Jey focused his attack on Daniel’s injured knee. Jey drove Daniel’s knee into the announce table and then the steel ring post as SmackDown went to a commercial break.

Jey Uso was still in control after the break and planted Bryan with a Samoan Drop for a near fall. Jey made his way up the top turnbuckle and went for the Splash but Daniel got out of the way.

Bryan regrouped in the corner and unloaded some Yes Kicks. Daniel sent Jey out of the ring and hit him with a knee to the face. Back in the ring, Jey hit Bryan’s injured knee with a Dropkick and locked in a Half Crab in the middle of the ring.

Daniel escaped and caught Jey with a boot to the face. Bryan geared up for the Running Knee but Jey countered with a chop block. Jey followed it up with a kick to the face for a two count. Bryan connceted with a Butterfly Suplex and went for the Yes Lock but Jey grabbed the bottom rope before Daniel could lock it in.

Jey brought Bryan to the outside and launched him into the steel steps. Bryan and Jey then continued to fight and the referee counted them both out. Daniel tried to get Jey in the Yes Lock after the match but Reigns broke it up. Bryan applied the Yes Lock to Reigns but Jey broke it up with a Superkick. Roman leveled Bryan with a Spear and choked him out to end the show.

Bianca Belair vs. Sasha Banks Set For WWE WrestleMania 37

Andrew Ravens
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As advertised, Bianca Belair made the reveal for her opponent at WrestleMania 37 on Friday Night SmackDown. 

WWE announced earlier in the day that she would make her WrestleMania 37 decision on the show. Belair came out to the ring for a promo. She declared that she would challenge SmackDown Women’s Champion Sasha Banks for the strap. Banks came out and they trade words. It’s a babyface vs. babyface build for now. 

Belair won this year’s women’s Royal Rumble match after entering at number three and she battled it out with various stars for nearly 57 minutes before last eliminating Rhea Ripley to get the win. 

This past Sunday night at the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view, Belair and Banks teamed up but fell short when they challenged Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler for the Women’s Tag Team Titles. Belair has interacted with Banks several times since winning the Royal Rumble, but though she did also have an interaction with Raw Women’s Champion Asuka.

WWE holds WrestleMania 37 on April 10th and 11th in Tampa, Florida from Raymond James Stadium. WWE previously confirmed Edge will challenge Universal Champion Roman Reigns at WrestleMania. 

Edge speared Reigns at Elimination Chamber, which was a declaration he was  challenging for Reigns’ title at WrestleMania 37.

Top Amateur Wrestler Joins WWE

Andrew Ravens
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WWE has been on a signing spree as they’ve signed over two dozen independent wrestlers and athletes.  

Dave Meltzer reported in the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that Bobby Steveson is set to start working with WWE soon. He is a former University of Minnesota heavyweight amateur wrestler. Per the report, he’s slated to start with WWE with the next class of recruits as he’s been training at the WWE Performance Center as of late.

In 2017, he was an NCAA Qualifier and a two-time Letterwinner at the University of Minnesota. 

He won his first two career open tournament appearances at the 2015 Cobber Open and the 2015 Buena Vista Open, and then finished runner-up at the 2015 UNI Open. In addition, he was a Redshirt Senior with an overall record of 4-3 for the 2019-2020 season.

His younger brother, Olympic heavyweight wrestling hopeful Gable Steveson, is expected to come to WWE after he finishes college. 

Earlier this week, WWE announced the largest class of recruits in history. Thus, Steveson will likely be part of the next class in a few months. 

Steveson has been backstage at a few different WWE shows as he documented on Instagram. He was with Triple H and Paul Heyman at a Raw show in August 2019 and even got the chance to meet  Brock Lesnar at a WWE live event on March 9, 2018 in Minneapolis:

https://www.instagram.com/p/B1ZD5SdBKv_/?utm_source=ig_embed
https://www.instagram.com/p/BgJlcOSDmfg/?utm_source=ig_embed

Tony Khan Discusses AEW Programming Plans For This Year

Andrew Ravens
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AEW currently airs Dark on Tuesdays and Dynamite on Wednesdays, but starting March 15th, Dark: Elevation will be airing every Monday night on YouTube as well.

When this was first announced, some thought this was supposed to be the second show on TNT that was confirmed when AEW signed an extension with the network in 2020, but that’s not the case. 

AEW President Tony Khan later stated on Twitter that a second AEW show on TNT would still be coming in 2021. He then did an interview on Thursday with Wrestling Observer Radio where he further commented on their programming for this year.  

He started out by noting that he thinks it’s very appropriate to have two television series and two streaming shows as some of the most successful wrestling companies of all time have had a couple of flagship shows and then a couple of shows that are more for developmental talent. 

“So, you’ll have the two Dark properties and the two TNT properties and I’m really excited about it. I think we’re ready for it.”

He noted that he thinks you can get a lot of or most of the viewing experience by just watching Dynamite and the PPVs. He brought up how there are hundreds and hundreds of thousands of people watching Dark every week. He noted that there’s an audience for Dark and will be the same for Elevation, which turned out to be an idea by TNT. 

“It was TNT’s idea, I’ll be 100% honest. I originally had the title Elevation and they’re right, the executives made a great point to me, ‘You don’t want to create confusion with different brands.’ Elevation is an extension of Dark so they essentially said, ‘Call it AEW Dark: Elevation.’ And I said that’s a great idea.”

Paul Wight, formerly known as The Big Show, and Tony Schiavone will be doing commentary for Dark: Elevation.

AEW Interested In Zelina Vega

Andrew Ravens
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Zelina Vega could be receiving a phone call with AEW President Tony Khan in the near future. 

Khan said he’s interested in talking with the former WWE star during an appearance on the Thursday edition of Wrestling Observer Radio. He was asked about his interest in her, which he thought that she was still under a 90-day non-compete clause, which he has been waiting to pass before he could legally speak with her. 

“When we get through his (Women’s title eliminator tournament) and through (Revolution), I would be interested to see where she’s at,” he said.

Last November, she was released by WWE after having issues with the company’s new policy regarding talent making deals with third party companies like Twitch. 

Vega has an OnlyFans account, which is for cosplays only, and streams on Twitch. At the time, Sports Illustrated reported that it was due to her breaching her contract. It was later clarified that wrestlers can use the likes of YouTube and Twitch, but must use their real names to do so.

It was reported by Fightful Select that her non-compete clause expired earlier this month, which means she’s free and clear to sign with any promotion that she wants whether that’s to be a wrestler or a manager.

WWE Announces Documentary On High School Wrestling Star, Heaven Fitch

Chris Stephens
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WWE has announced an upcoming documentary on amateur wrestling standout, Heaven Fitch. The film will be released on the free version of the WWE Network and WWE’s social media platforms on March 7th.

“The story of Heaven Fitch is the beginning of a new genre of storytelling for WWE Network Documentaries. She has inspired so many with her elite athleticism as well as her numerous accomplishments. We are excited to share Heaven’s championship story with the WWE Universe,” says Ben Houser, VP & Executive Producer, WWE Network Documentaries.

Fitch made headlines after she won the North Carolina High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA) state wrestling championships in the 106lbs division while competing against male wrestlers last year. The story garnered strong reactions from many wrestling personalities, including Shayna Baszler.

WWE sent out a press release today regarding the upcoming documentary. They noted it marks a departure from the typical content they produce. It will also air in March to coincide with Women’s History Month.

“HEAVEN, which premieres during Women’s History Month, marks a departure from WWE Network Documentaries’ typical subject matter focusing on the squared circle.”

Shawn Michaels: Kazuchika Okada Would Adjust “Fantastically” To WWE

Chris Stephens
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Kazuchika Okada and Shawn Michaels recently expressed respect for one another while discussing which matches first got them interested in pro-wrestling. SI.com ran an article where Okada mentioned that the Shawn Michaels vs Chris Jericho match from WrestleMania 19 taught him a lot about wrestling.

“There was one other match I used to watch a lot. It was on a DVD at my mentor Ultimo Dragon’s house, and that was Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Jericho at WrestleMania 19. I learned so much from that match,” Okada said through a translator.

The comments were then brought to Shawn Michaels, who was also interviewed for the article. HBK then gave his opinion on how he feels Okada would do if he was in WWE.

“I’m so incredibly appreciative of that,” Michaels said “I’ve always admired the style in Japan, and here’s a guy that admires my style.

“Someone once asked me how Okada would adjust if he were ever in the WWE, and I know the answer to that—he’d adjust fantastically, because he’s a fantastic talent. It’s like me. People would say, ‘Well, you only wrestled in the WWE,’ but I could have wrestled anywhere. When a guy is talented, he’s talented. So I’m thankful that Okada, this unbelievably talented young man, gained one or two things from my match.”

Okada is scheduled to face EVIL tomorrow on night 1 of Castle Attack in Osaka, Japan.

NJPW Negotiating With Multiple American TV Networks (Report)

Chris Stephens
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New Japan Pro Wrestling announced at Wrestle Kingdom that they would be returning to American television shortly. Not long after, it was revealed that the promotion had struck a deal with the Roku channel. According to a recent report from PW Insider, however, the company is in negotiations with multiple other networks.

The report states that some of the networks have been in talks with NJPW going back to early next year. Other networks NJPW is said to be negotiating with came along just recently, however.

NJPW negotiating with networks in the United States was also addressed recently in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

“Regarding the talks with AXS, the company is in talks right now with a number of U.S. stations, AXS being one of them,” wrote Dave Meltzer.

Previously, the Observer stated that talks between NJPW and AXS TV had hit an advanced stage.

“There are significant talks involving New Japan returning to AXS television. AXS was wanting the programming back, and it would likely involve more dealings with New Japan and Impact, as the Juice Robinson & David Finlay debut as regulars show,” wrote Dave Meltzer. 

A big episode of New Japan Strong will air tonight on New Japan World. KENTA finally challenges Jon Moxley for the IWGP United States Championship on the show.

Konnan Gives An Update On His Health

Chris Stephens
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Konnan was recently hospitalized after testing positive for COVID-19. His situation was complicated by the kidney transplant he received in 2007. He is now out of the hospital and gave an update on his health while speaking with Disco Inferno.

“Just so you know, from here on out, I’m a whole different mother****er. I am not cow-towing to nobody,” Konnan said.

Konnan then told a story about how his doctors were trying to get him to take his situation more seriously.

“I was in the hospital, I wake up, there’s 6 doctors in front of me,” Konnan said.

“(The doctors) are very mad with me because I’m not taking my pills, I’m being very rude, I’m not listening to instructions.”

“Because I didn’t want to believe it was as bad as they were telling me, I didn’t want to hear bad news.”

Konnan then said one of his doctors told him there was a 60% chance his heart was going to stop and his kidneys were failing.

“Then another guy walks in, a chaplain, and you know I hate religion. The mother****er wanted to pray with me, I almost threw him out the window.”

He would continue to say he considers himself lucky to be alive now, however.

“I am very fortunate, and I do not over-dramatize this, to be alive.”

“I was looking at death dude, it’s not a script.”

Konnan said at that point he was taking a survey of his life. He also spoke about how he appreciates his friendships with Rey Mysterio, Disco and others.

While he didn’t say exactly how he contracted the virus, Konnan did offer some thoughts on what may have led to it.

“I was in a 1000% compromised situation,” Konnan said when Disco asked him how he thinks he contracted the virus. “Because I’m in a business where everybody in my business is a *Bleeped*.”

Konnan’s comments can be heard in the below video:

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