Jim Ross spent some time recently on his “Grillin JR” podcast discussing changes to WWE’s cannabis policy in 2008.
“I’m not advocating yay or nay. I’m 420-friendly in my personal life. It works for me when done correctly. People are going to make a big deal out of this. I’m sure it’ll be a clickbait thing,” JR said. “I’d rather have a talent go to his room or her room and smoke a joint, get some room service, watch a movie, as opposed to be out gallivanting around.”
Conrad Thompson noted on the show that in 2008 the policy was changed so that testing positive for cannabis was not counted as a wellness violation. Additionally, testing would only occur once per year. The fine for a positive test was made $1000.
“I think marijuana should be legal and it should be taxed and it should create new money,” he continued.
“Look at how the NFL does it, they don’t discourage it,” JR continued. “They say they do, they have to say they do but if they did they would have a much more stringent testing program.”
Jim Ross’ comments on WWE’s cannabis policy can be heard in the player below:
We are just 9 days away from WWE’s Elimination Chamber 2021 PPV. Only 3 matches have been announced for the show thus far. According to a recent update from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, however, there is still one main event match yet to be announced. A second Elimination Chamber match, this one for Roman Reigns’ Universal Championship, is evidently being planned for the show.
“The main events as things stood on 2/11 was to be two men’s Chamber matches for the two key WWE titles,” wrote Dave Meltzer.
Drew McIntyre will face Sheamus, Miz, Jeff Hardy, Randy Orton and AJ Styles in the first Chamber match. An Elimination Chamber match featuring Roman Reigns defending the Universal title is also in the works.
“At press time there was to be a Smackdown match with Roman Reigns defending the title. We don’t know the participants, other than Kevin Owens is an obvious one.”
Top names that could be included in a Smackdown men’s Elimination Chamber match include:
Daniel Bryan
Cesaro
Shinsuke Nakamura
Otis
King Corbin
Rey Mysterio
Dominik Mysterio
Seth Rollins
Sami Zayn
Kevin Owens
The following matches are already confirmed for the event:
WWE Championship Elimination Chamber Drew McIntyre (c) vs vs. AJ Styles vs. Jeff Hardy vs. Randy Orton vs. Sheamus vs. The Miz
RAW Women’s Championship Asuka (c) vs Lacey Evans w/ Ric Flair
United States Championship Bobby Lashley (c) vs Keith Lee vs Matt Riddle
A little over a year ago, Jon Moxley faced Minoru Suzuki at NJPW’s New Beginning in Osaka. Moxley successfully defended his IWGP United States Championship in the match. In a recent interview, Moxley talked about what the match meant to him.
“I just never thought our paths would cross, you know?” Moxley said about Suzuki. He continued to say that wrestling Suzuki was a dream of his.
“It’s one of those things that it’s cool to be able to manifest your dreams,” he continued to say about facing Suzuki.
He then spoke about the similarities between him and Suzuki.
“We both know exactly who we are,” Moxley said. “That was a thing in 2019 coming into New Japan and around the world – especially in New Japan, you know it’s a different style – (I) definitely didn’t want to come in here and try to pretend to be something that I’m not.”
“When you’re really comfortable in your own skin, you have complete freedom in the ring to do whatever you want. I think, me and him, and a lot of people are like that. We know exactly who we are and what we do and that’s what we bring every time.”
“It’s all about the moment and conflict of the fight and the struggle. That’s where the magic happens,” he continued.
Moxley’s comments can be heard in the player below:
Boxer Anthony Joshua is expected to fight Tyson Fury later this year. As it turns out, Joshua shares the same WWE ambitions that his upcoming opponent has. Much like Fury has wrestled in WWE, Joshua said in a recent interview that he would like to do the same.
“I’m gonna do WWE because that’s what Muhammad Ali did, so I’m going to do WWE,” Joshua said to Alternative Sport.
Muhammad Ali has a long history with WWE. He was the guest referee in the main event of the first-ever WrestleMania. His shoot-style match with Antonio Inoki in 1976 was also one of the first events Vince McMahon Jr. ever promoted. Vince sold tickets to a closed-circuit viewing of the fight.
Joshua’s comments can be heard in the player below:
Tyson Fury Sends Message To Anthony Joshua
With a match between the two pending, Tyson Fury sent a message to Joshua recently in an interview with The Sun. According to Fury, he’s got the edge in a fight between the two.
“I’ve got a bigger heart, tougher, mentally and physically stronger,” he said in the interview.
“I punch harder, everything’s in my favor,” he continued. “When I take it to them, they can’t deal with it. It’s like wrestling a T-Rex. They can’t win. I’m indestructible.
Kevin Owens is one of the big names on the SmackDown roster at the moment. Even though some have felt he was being sidelined by WWE, his current rivalry with Roman Reigns has put him back in the limelight.
They have been going back and forth ever since. Some fans are complaining about the monotony of the feud, but it has produced some of the best matches of KO in his entire career. The two started feuding when Kevin Owens stood up to the ‘Head of the Table’ back in December. He then challenged him for the Universal Championship at TLC.
Following that, the two had a cage match and then another brutal ‘Last Man Standing’ match at the Royal Rumble. KO failed to secure a win on any of the occasions, thanks to help from Jey Uso and Paul Heyman. But the matches meant a great deal to him for a different reason.
Kevin Owens on Proving Your Worth
Kevin Owens spoke to FOX Sports about the significance of his rivalry with Roman Reigns. Owens says it’s been necessary to “prove his worth” to the WWE Universe as well as management.
“In a way, I never really felt like I had to show it to people, because I feel people know by now.” said KO. “But the nature of our industry and the way things work, and the amount of very talented people we have on the roster, just makes for an environment where you constantly have to prove your worth. Day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year, right?”
Kevin Owens claims it is hard to impress WWE backstage
Kevin Owens continued, “People within the industry or the company take things for granted. I think after all the years I have put in, and I am one of many… I am not just saying this about myself… but when the shows go on, the people in charge just go ‘Oh, they are gonna have a good match’. They take it for granted. They know it’s gonna be a good match, or they’re gonna be able to tell the story great, or they’re gonna be able to deliver this promo great.”
“It becomes almost as if it is expected of us, because that’s what we do. So then, it’s like… ‘Of course they had a good match’, so it’s not special. So, once in a while you have to have these special performances, that are a bit above than what you usually deliver, even if what you usually deliver is good.”
“Obviously, this story with Roman, was a big opportunity for me to do that again. And I think we accomplished it.”
All Elite Wrestling has filed two new trademarks possibly related to a working agreement between AEW and NJPW as well as other promotions. The US Patent and Trademark Office website show filings by AEW on February 8th, 2021 for the terms “Forbidden Portal” and “Forbidden Door.” Tony Khan has been using both terms as of late to describe talent from AEW, NJPW, and Impact appearing on each other’s programs.
Both filings are listed as being for: “Entertainment services, namely, an ongoing multimedia program featuring wrestling distributed via various platforms across multiple forms of transmission media; Entertainment services, namely, an ongoing series featuring wrestling provided through a global computer network.”
“I just had to open myself, and that comes from being here with you IMPACT Wrestling! Doing these paid ads, I’ve learned so much about myself. I’ve opened myself up to new experiences, and look at all the great things that have happened. We did a great rating for Dynamite this week with IMPACT people there. We had people from New Japan, who knows who is going to be there next week?”
The opening of the “forbidden door” has led to NJPW’s KENTA being on Dynamite for the last two weeks. Impact’s Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows are also regularly on Dynamite now. Jon Moxley will face KENTA on New Japan Strong later this month. Additionally, Matt Hardy and Private Party are now regularly appearing on Impact Wrestling as well.
John Cena and Nicole Byer are hosts for Wipeout, an obstacle course game show premiering on TBS Thursday, April 1st.
TBS has posted released an updated synopsis for the show, along with the official trailer.
“Hosted by multifaceted megastar John Cena and Nicole Byer, with Camille Kostek serving as field host, the all-new 20-hour series takes viewers on a white-knuckle ride, featuring new course elements that will push contestants’ athleticism, endurance and determination to even greater extremes as they fight to win the grand cash prize.
The new season of Wipeout will feature new format twists and elements that will push the athleticism and willpower of each contestant pairing to even greater extremes, all while delivering more than a few epic fails. Each game has been designed into three rounds and now features a jaw-dropping, three-stage, obstacle course consisting of multiple strategy and decision points designed to test the stamina of the competitors. The series’ iconic big balls also make a return, bringing many laughs and surprises along the way for fans.”
John Cena has two inspirational books coming out in April. You can pre-order them both on Amazon:
NXT Champion Finn Balor spoke to the New York Post to promote NXT Takeover: Vengeance Day, which airs live this Sunday on the WWE Network. Balor spoke about defending the NXT Championship against Pete Dunne, recovering from a broken jaw and more.
Balor feels like he’s working on ‘a little different frequency’ lately, when talking about his ring work. He says NXT matches feel like real fights, which is the way he was trained to wrestle in the UK.
“It’s something that kind of suits my style more,” Balor said. “I feel like maybe I was guilty of trying to please too many people at once and not really please myself in the past with some of my performances and I’ve gone back to what I really like in the ring, which is kind of like scrappy, gritty, mat wrestling, not too much high flying, not too much outside the ring and really get back to basics. That’s really what I’ve been focusing on is going back to.”
WWE presents a very specific type of wrestling on Raw and SmackDown. The wrestlers have to be hyper-aware of the fact that they are on television, play to the camera and strive for that “fight forever” moment. NXT is more of a “back to basics” style. Finn Balor says he made a conscious effort to get back to his technical roots and he feels more comfortable.
NXT Champion Finn Balor
Finn Balor on His Perfect Opponent
Balor defends the NXT Championship against Pete Dunne this Sunday at NXT Takeover: Vengeance Day. Balor says Pete Dunne is a great matchup for him, but he considers everyone his perfect opponent.
“I’ll find a way or I’ll work around regardless of their style, whether it’s Damian Priest who has a very distinct style, Gargano has a distinct style, Matt Riddle, Timothy Thatcher who has a completely different style and we tore it up. I feel like for me the real challenge has been being able to adapt and kind of swim in the current of these guys’ different styles.”
Pete’s style is kind of very similar to where I’m at right now in the ring. So I think it’s either gonna be a clash or it’s gonna complement each other (laughs). So I don’t how the match is gonna look. It could either be great or it could be terrible. But Pete is someone who I’ve respected in the ring for a long time.”
Lasting Effects of his Broken Jaw
Finn Balor says he’s still dealing with the lasting effects of breaking his jaw last year. He is still in pain, grinds his teeth a lot and is very reluctant to take any strikes to the face.
“One thing that still hasn’t come back is the feeling in my bottom lip,” said Balor “It’s still numb. It’s like I’ve been to the dentist and you get that shot. Pretty much my bottom lip down to my chin I’ve still got no feeling, but the doctors are a little hopeful that might come back in a couple of months. They say nerves take a little longer to heal. Sometimes you’ll see me out there now if I’m doing a promo licking my bottom lip more or I’ll be rubbing it a little bit. It still feels like there’s Novocain in there and it’s numb.”
Finn Balor fractured his jaw in October 2020
Finally, Finn Balor discussed the possibility of defending the NXT Championship at WrestleMania. It sounds like a cool idea, but NXT typically holds Takeover events during WrestleMania. If it means that the NXT Championship match would have to take place at WrestleMania instead of Takeover, he’d rather not do that.
“Once we’re protecting the NXT brand without having it diluted by the big show at WrestleMania it’s something I’d be willing to do. If there’s the possibility of defending the title back to back nights, TakeOver and WrestleMania, then I’m all for it.”
Butch Reed passed away at 66-years-old on February 5th. His cause of death has been reported as being due to heart complications but his family has told Fox News 4 that they attribute his death to COVID-19, which they said he tested positive for around January 12th, 2021. He then suffered two heart attacks later in the month.
“It’s like a dream,” Reed’s sister, Joyce Reed Crittenden said.
“He’s going to be missed. He’s much-loved. I’m just glad I had him as long as I did,” Butch’s son, Bryan Reed said.
His younger brother Ronald also spoke about Butch during the interview.
“For me, I guess him being a brother, I didn’t pay too much attention to it because he was always great to me, because I was always looking t him on the football field or something. He’s always been great to me,” Ronald Reed said.
Reed was actively following current wrestling before his death. Most notably, he seemed to be a fan of Will Hobbs, as well as the Hurt Business.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CJKnkmSJzSD/
https://www.instagram.com/p/CJJHdESJVda/
“Nearly one-fourth of those hospitalized with COVID-19 have been diagnosed with cardiovascular complications, which have been shown to contribute to roughly 40% of all COVID-19-related deaths,” reads a section from the American Heart Association’s website.
“It is much safer if having symptoms that could represent heart attack or stroke, to come into the emergency department than to try to ride it out at home,” said Dr. Gregg Fonarow, chief of the division of cardiology at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Velveteen Dream hasn’t been seen on NXT programming since his match with Adam Cole in December and Triple H was recently asked about his status.
The Game held a media conference call ahead of the NXT TakeOver: Vengeance Day which is scheduled to take place this Sunday, on February 14.
During the call, the former World Champion was asked about Dream, who has been a controversial figure since he was accused of inappropriate behavior with minors, and Triple H said that he has nothing to add:
“There’s really nothing to add with Velveteen Dream. We’ve gone over it a million times. Status update – he’s still training. He had a little bit of a physical thing here for a bit. But, still there, still with us, still PC, still training, still on the roster.”
Triple H has previously claimed that the company has looked into the accusations about the 25 year old star and they have moved on from the controversy because they didn’t find anything.
The King Of Kings also provided an update on the status of Pat McAfee and explained that the former NFL player is just taking a break from his busy routine:
“He’s a busy dude. We’ve been talking about it. He had said, ‘Look, give me a moment to breathe when the Super Bowl is over.’
He just got married not that long ago. He’s like, if I don’t take a breath for a minute after this Super Bowl, I might not be married for much longer. My words, not his. I think he just needed to take a breather.”
McAfee has been away from WWE programming since December as well and he hasn’t been seen on NXT TV since his team lost the WarGames match to Undisputed Era.
Carlito made his return to WWE during the Royal Rumble PPV after staying away from the company for more than a decade following his release in 2010.
After his surprise return during the PPV, the former Intercontinental Champion joined Corey Graves for his After The Bell podcast where he talked about his release from the company, his time away and more.
Discussing the reason for his return to the promotion, Carlito said that he came back because he didn’t like the way things ended in his last run:
“[I came back because] I just didn’t like the way things ended. I didn’t expect it to take 10 years to get back but at least if I came back once, I just wanted to leave a better taste in someone’s mouth.
Bury the hatchet; everything is on the up and up, happy to be back and happy to be around.” claimed Carlito, “If that was my last time, I was glad to finally get a chance to come back and end things on better terms.”
When asked about his future with the promotion, the former champion claimed that he doesn’t know what the future holds for him and he would love to be back if the conditions are right:
“As of now I don’t know, we’ll see what the future holds, I don’t know, if the conditions are right I’d love to be back. That was always my goal, was to go away, take a breather and come back.”
Previous reports have suggested that the company is looking to hire Carlito as a backstage producer and it wouldn’t be a surprise if he ends up having an on screen run as well.
Former WWE star Rusty Brooks, who wrestled for the company during the mid 80s has passed away at the age of 63, as reported by PWinsider.
Real name Kurt Koski, the wrestling veteran had been dealing with some health issues recently. He also underwent a surgery a few weeks ago, though the exact cause of his death is not known.
Brooks started his wrestling career in 1982 and he went on to wrestle for many North American promotions such as International World Class Championship Wrestling (IWCCW), Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) and the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA).
He was signed by WWE to a contract only two years after his wrestling debut and the heavyweight star had matches against the likes of André the Giant and Ricky Steamboat during his time with the promotion.
Rusty even had a match with the then WWF World Champion Hulk Hogan on national television before being released by the company in 1985. He made a brief return to the company in 1988 and continued wrestling in the independent circuit before eventually retiring from active competition in 2013.
We at SEScoops send our deepest condolence to the family and friends of Rusty Brooks.
WWE Superstars Keith Lee and Mia Yim are engaged to be married.
Yim announced the news on social media Thursday afternoon. She posted a photo of them together, including a look at the engagement ring. She included the caption, “I said yes. Mr. & Mrs. Lee”
Mia Yim has been out of action since recently testing positive for Covid-19. She announced her diagnosis prior to the WWE Royal Rumble pay-per-view.
Keith Lee was off television for about three weeks and missed the Rumble out of precaution. He returned to WWE this week on Raw. He will be compete at Elimination Chamber later this month.
SEScoops extends our congratulations to Keith Lee and Mia Yim!
TV ratings are in for for the February 10th editions of AEW Dynamite and NXT. Both shows were “in the mud” this week due to extensive news coverage of former US President Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial. 19 of the top 20 shows on cable were cable news on CNN, MSNBC and Fox News.
Here’s the Wednesday Night War breakdown for February 10th, courtesy of ShowbuzzDaily:
AEW: 741,000 viewers, 0.29 rating, 21st in demo
NXT: 558,000 viewers, 0.12 rating, 62nd in demo
AEW was down 12.2% in viewership and 9.4% in the A18-49 demo. NXT was down 8.52% in viewership and 20% in the demo.
If there is a silver lining to be found, AEW Dynamite was the #2 non-news program on cable, behind only Challenge on MTV. They outdrew the NBA’s Lakers vs. Thunder game, which was competitive and went into overtime (Lakers won 114-113).
You can check out our Results and Takeaways from both shows here:
WWE Superstar Braun Strowman reveals he’s been dealing with a scary medical episode over the past week.
The 6-foot-8 montser posted some videos on his Instagram story detailing the situation.
Strowman says he got “really sick” over the weekend. He developed some sort of infection that entered his blood stream, which can be very dangerous. He’s been taking antibiotics, but admits, “it’s been awful.”
He has dropped about 15 pounds this week, but feels like he’s gained 50 pounds of water weight. He complained about his joints being swollen and is itching to get back to training.
Thankfully, doctors have told him the antibiotics are working and he is feeling a little better.
Strowman just returned to WWE television in late January after being out since November due to a leg injury.
Joey Ryan has launched several lawsuits against multiple of his accusers from the #SpeakingOut movement last summer. He still has other ongoing lawsuits against other accusers, however. He also has active suits against Impact Wrestling and another person who spoke out against him online.
In an update to this story, according to documents obtained by HeelByNature, 3 of Joey Ryan’s lawsuits against female accusers have been dismissed. The cases were dismissed without prejudice, however, meaning Ryan has the option to re-file. The judge dismissed this case due to Ryan’s legal team missing a February 5th deadline to file additional information.
“The OSC required not only the POS, but also either Defendant’s response to the Complaint or Plaintiff’s Application for the Clerk to Enter Default. Plaintiff has not adequately responded to the OSC. It is well-established that a district court has authority to dismiss a plaintiff’s action due to her failure to prosecute and/or to comply with court orders,” reads a section of the documents. “Accordingly, the action is DISMISSED without prejudice.”
A judge recently awarded Ryan a default judgment against another one of his accusers. This was due to the accuser not responding to the lawsuit in time. He has an ongoing lawsuit against former ROH Wrestler, Pelle Primeau as well. Several GoFundMe accounts have been set up for people dealing with legal expenses. Primeau’s can be found here or in the below Tweet:
Someone needs to beat Ryan in court. If he succeeds it's going to create a blueprint for people like him going forward. Do what you can:https://t.co/7CDyiiSnnU
Tama Tonga recently addressed Kenny Omega and the Bullet Club reunion angle in AEW and Impact. Tonga was on his “Tama’s Island” podcast and addressed the angle as well as KENTA showing up on Dynamite last week.
“I was so surprised, I didn’t no nothing, I didn’t know anything,” Tonga said about KENTA showing up on Dynamite.
“KENTA is there for one reason and one reason only, Moxley,” Tonga continued.
“That US title belt belongs to KENTA. That’s the only reason that he’s there.”
Tonga then continued to say he doesn’t believe reports about a working agreement between AEW and NJPW having been reached.
“That sounds like a lot of horses**t to me, man,” Tonga said about a “forbidden door” being opened.
“Is the door wide open? Hell no, the door is not wide open. Is it cracked open? Maybe, maybe this can be something but is it open? Hell, no.”
Tama would continue to say that the situation with Moxley and travel restrictions due to the pandemic are what led to the current situation with AEW and NJPW. He would say the situation could lead to the two organizations working together in the future, however.
“Can this lead to the door opening more? Yes, it’s like building trust.”
WWE Superstar Buddy Murphy has been missing from WWE programming over the past couple of months. Murphy has been side-lined ever since the Mysterio Family had positive COVID-19 results back in December. Buddy Murphy had to quarantine himself as he was heavily involved on WWE programming with the Mysterio family; specifically in an angle with Aalyah, Rey Mysterio’s daughter.
The whole Seth Rollins, Buddy Murphy and Mysterio family storyline was moved over to SmackDown during last year’s WWE Draft. Since then the angle appears to have been dropped. Both Rollins and the aforementioned Buddy Murphy needed to take time away from WWE for separate reasons. Seth Rollins’ partner Becky Lynch gave birth to their first child Roux at the end of December 2020.
Fightful Select confirmed that Buddy Murphy was listed as an ‘alternate’ for the Royal Rumble show just over a week ago. RAW Superstar Cedric Alexander was also listed as an alternate for the Men’s Rumble match.
Two names that were not listed as alternates were Montez Ford and Andrade. Ford was backstage at the show supporting his wife Bianca Belair as she went on to win the Women’s Royal Rumble match. Fightful also reported that Andrade’s backstage status was unknown; and that he wasn’t listed as an alternate in the Royal Rumble match itself.
There’s currently no confirmation on when WWE plans to bring Buddy Murphy back to television. The angle featuring himself and Aalyah Mysterio has not been mentioned for some time on WWE programming, so it may have fallen to the wayside. Several WWE fans were not happy with the ongoing love story between the two; with Aalyah being only 19 years old whilst Buddy Murphy was 31.
Following the main event of last night’s AEW Dynamite, Kenny Omega, Don Callis and the Good Brothers spoke about recent comments made by NJPW Bullet Club members, Jay White and Tama Tonga.
“I actually feel bad because they’re our brothers over there,” Callis said.
“The bottom line is when the 3 brothers here left the Bullet Club, it was actually a good thing because it created opportunity for some mid-card guys to move up the chain and fly the flag.”
Callis then compared it to a baseball fantasy camp.
“I think we’ve done something really good here, this is a nice thing that we’ve done. We’ve created opportunity here. Those guys are good guys but you don’t replace Michael Jordan.”
Callis then pretended not to know who the NJPW Bullet Club members are.
“I think the Bullet Club guys in Japan are great, I’m not familiar with what the names are just yet but they are flying the flag so I’d like to put a stop to all these bad feelings.”
Callis then encouraged fans to purchase Bullet Club merchandise to help the faction out.
“I’d like to encourage all the fans out there, please buy the merch. Let’s get them back in the top-40 on Pro Wrestling Tees.”
MLW Fusion 2/10 featured a title vs title match between MLW World Middleweight Champion Lio Rush and AAA Cruiserweight Champion, Laredo Kid. The full show is available in the player below.
MLW Fusion 2/10 Quick Results:
ACH defeated Brian Pillman Jr.
Calvin Tankman defeated Zenshi
Daivari & Simon Gotch vs Jordan Oliver & Myron Reed – No Contest
ACH came into his match against Brian Pillman Jr. with taped ribs due to the recent attack by Team Filthy and his title match against Contra Unit’s Jacob Fatu. Not long after the match began, Team Filthy sauntered out to get a closer view. The finish of the match came when ACH kicked Pillman in the face as he was on the top turnbuckle and followed that up with a brainbuster for the win.
Team Filthy attacked after the match but ACH was saved by The Von Erich brothers. ACH then played up the Texas roots of him and the Von Erichs as a reason for their alliance. ACH & The Von Erichs versus Team Filthy could be in the works.
Savio Vega Will Not Sell IWA, Will Face Mil Muertes In Aztec Jungle Fight
Last week, Salina de la Renta offered to purchase a controlling interest in Savio Vega’s IWA promotion in Puerto Rico. Vega said this week that the promotion is not for sale. Later in the show, Salina says turning down Promociones Dorado was not an option. Next week, Vega will be made a sacrifice to the new temple, Salina continued, when he faces Mil Muertes in an Aztec Jungle Fight!
Calvin Tankman is moving up the rankings in MLW fast and he helped his cause this week with a win over Zenshi. This was the second time the two have fought, and while Zenshi got in some offense, it was Tankman who came out with the W once again after delivering a Tankman Driver for the win.
MLW Top-10 Rankings via Pro Wrestling Illustrated
MLW announced updated top-10 rankings this week as well.
MLW World Champion: Jacob Fatu (Contra Unit)
Alexander Hammerstone (National Openweight Champion) (Dynasty)
We were supposed to get a tag-team match between Simon Gotch & Daivari versus Injustice this week but the match was thrown out. As Jordan Oliver and Myron Reed were making their way to the ring, they were both attacked from behind by Jacob Fatu. This allowed Contra Unit a 3-on-2 advantage. Despite this, Injustice got the advantage after Myron Reed dove on top of the faction and Injustice then delivered a double team cutter move on Fatu. Jordan Oliver has been saying he’s coming for the MLW World Championship and he might get his wish soon.
Next week on Fusion, MLW heads to Filthy Island. This “Fyre Festival” type situation may have seen all its sponsors pull out, but this week several matches were confirmed for the event.
It was clear early in this match that Lio Rush was going to wrestle a heavy heel style. Laredo Kid had to chase after him as he continuously bailed to the outside.
Near the end of the match, Laredo Kid looked as though he had injured Lio’s knee. He had him in a modified figure four by Rush was able to get to the ropes. The finish of the match came shortly after when Laredo Kid missed a senton and Lio Rush followed that up with a springboard stunner followed by the Final Hour frog splash for the win.
The show came to a close as Lio Rush celebrated with both his championships in the ring.
Cody Rhodes may have suffered a shoulder injury on Dynamite last night. Rhodes was favoring his shoulder during his tag match with Lee Johnson against Peter Avalon and Cezar Bononi.
The injury could be just storyline-driven, however, and the reason for Johnson appearing to step-up and get the win for his team. Nightmare Family coach Arn Anderson discussed the interview on “Coach’s Corner” after AEW Dynamite.
“Cody dinged his shoulder up pretty early on,” Anderson said. It looked like the injury occurred as Rhodes landed after a suplex from Bononi. “It handicapped him for the last half of the match,” he continued. “He did fight through it and Lee Johnson now is going to take the flag and stick it right in the middle of the ring.”
Arn Anderson on Lee Johnson
Arn Anderson then continued to talk about Johnson, who picked up his first win on Dynamite.
“Back when this pandemic started and a lot of the talent couldn’t be here, and they couldn’t travel, that kid was the first one here just asking for a chance. Then you started to see this kid’s got talent,” Anderson said.
“I’m going to spend some time with Lee Johnson. I’m going to devout some time and some knowledge to Lee Johnson. Remember that name, because you are going to be hearing it again and again.”
You can watch Arn Anderson’s Coaches Corner segment below:
#CoachsCorner Arn (@TheArnShow) breaks down @BigShottyLee Johnson's first win, and are we going see the next generation of the Anderson family soon?
Former WCW President Eric Bischoff returned for his 83 weeks podcast and during the latest episode of the show, he made some interesting comments about the current state of AEW.
The former SmackDown Executive Director was talking about Chris Jericho’s comments about TNA in 2011 where Y2J had called the company out for not believing in themselves and wasting their resources.
Bischoff said that these comments could come back to haunt the former AEW Champion in future because his company has flatlined in the past year:
“I think it’s going to come back to bite him in the ass is what I think, AEW last week they did about 800,000 viewers, they opened the door with 1.5 million viewers and haven’t been able to crack 1 million since or if they have it’s been only on 1 or 2 occasions. They’ve essentially flatlined at 7 or 800,000 viewers on average for the last year and a half.
“That’s an observation that could, unless something turns around in the next 18 months, come back to haunt someone like Chris.” said Eric Bischoff, “Quite frankly, AEW has flatlined and it’s been that way essentially for a year.”
The former WCW official continued to say that it’s easy to talk about a business you are not in. He mentioned how Chris Jericho had never run a business when he made the statement and he was making them from a position of a talent.
What do you think about Eric Bischoff’s comments about the current state of AEW? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.
The Royal Rumble match between Kevin Owens and Roman Reigns had many interesting spots, though one of them didn’t go as planned.
The handcuff botch during the match became a talking point among fans after the show and the former NXT champion recently discussed the spot during his interview on The Jake Asman Show.
Owens stayed in character during the interview and when asked about the spot, he claimed that he has never been cheated by a referee in this way before:
“I’ve never been cheated by a referee that way before, he [Reigns] brought handcuffs, I handcuffed him to something and I thought I had him, I really did have him. Some screw-ups from the referees and here I am, sitting in my car without the Universal Championship.”
For those who don’t know, the Last Man Standing match between Roman Reigns and Kevin Owens at Royal Rumble 2021 featured a spot where Owens handcuffed his opponent to a metal structure.
The Universal Champion couldn’t get out of it in time so he knocked out the referee who had already reached a nine-count. Reigns then called in Paul Heyman for help as a second referee came out and restarted the count.
However, Heyman had some trouble with the cuffs. The second referee stopped the count when it became clear that Paul would not be able to free Roman in time and this botch became a point of discussion among fans after the show.
AEW has officially announced the signing of indie star Lee Johnson after the high flying star picked up his first victory in the company during this week’s episode of Dynamite.
The announcement was made by President Tony Khan himself, who mentioned how Cody Rhodes was the one who first recommended his name in April and how the indie star has worked hard since then:
Lee Johnson has wrestled a number of matches for AEW in the past year and the former indie star has competed against talents such as Rey Fenix, Colt Cabana, Eddie Kingston and more in recent months.
This week’s episode of Dynamite then saw the Nightmare Family member teaming with his mentor Cody Rhodes to take on the team of “Pretty” Peter Avalon and Cezar Bononi.
Johnson actually picked up the victory for his team in this bout. Lee got the hot tag during the match and he hit a cutter on Avalon as soon as he got in the ring.
His pin attempt was broken up by Cezar Bononi but Bononi got taken out by Cody Rhodes. Johnson then avoided a double knee from Avalon and rolled him up for the win. This was Lee Johnson’s first victory in AEW.
The February 10, 2021 episode of WWE NXT aired live on the USA Network from Orlando, Florida at the Capitol Wrestling Center.
WWE NXT Results
MSK def. Legado Del Fantasma
Xia Li def. Cora Jade.
Shotzi Blackheart & Ember Moon def. Candice LeRae & Indi Hartwell
KUSHIDA def. Austin Theory via DQ
Grizzled Young Veterans def. Tommaso Ciampa & Timothy Thatcher
Here are the takeaways from this week’s show:
Kushida vs. Austin Theory
Kushida vs. Austin Theory in a singles match took place.
This came after Theory had announced on his Twitter account that he would be facing Kushida in a singles match on the show to get revenge on Kushida, who is supposed to challenge Johnny Gargano for the North American Title at NXT TakeOver: Vengeance Day. In this same tweet, it was revealed that Gargano was out of the contest.
Gargano couldn’t walk due to a broken arm. Yes, that was the storyline. He cut a promo about how when Kushida attacked him, he suffered a broken arm last week. He was in a wheelchair and said that he has four fractures in his arm. He said that he’s a power walker so he can’t use his arms to walk. He thinks William Regal should suspend Kushida for doing so. As he was talking, he was using his arm.
Regal came out and said that Gargano has been cleared to work. He told Gargano to stop this act. Regal pointed out how Gargano was using his arm and that it was the wrong x-ray. Regal told him that he could forfeit the title if he can’t wrestle. Kushida appeared and attacked Theory then they had a tug of war over the title, which resulted in Gargano holding onto the title.
This match was booked later on. It ended in a DQ when Gargano attacked Kushida. Theory was pulled from under the ring by Dexter Lumis. Kushida stood tall in the ring after putting in a submission on Gargano while Lumis locked in his submission on Theory.
Looks like AtJohnnyGargano is having flashbacks. ? #WWENXT
Finn Balor is slated to make his next title defense as the NXT Champion against Pete Dunne in the main event of Sunday’s NXT TakeOver: Vengeance Day special.
WWE advertised that they would do a face-to-face segment on this show. Instead, a video package aired and they saved the staredown for the last seconds of the show.
This was the go-home edition of NXT for this special so it would’ve been nice to have the main event stars actually do a final build. However, some could make the case that the build to this match has been done quite well.
Cameron Grimes Returns
Cameron Grimes made his return. He showed up in a fancy car then did a promo while in a suit. He talked about finding video games and walked into GameStop and bought their stock. Thus, he got rich. Then he invested in dog coins. He said now he has power and wrestles when he wants to do so.
Grimes worked his previous match against Timothy Thatcher on the December 9th episode of NXT. He had taken part in a Strap Match with Dexter Lumis at the NXT TakeOver: WarGames special.
Grimes underwent surgery in December, but at the time, it was not reported as to why he had to undergo the knife. Dave Meltzer later reported in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that the belief was it was for minor arthroscopic knee surgery.
Semifinal match in the men’s Dusty Classic featuring Tommaso Ciampa & Timothy Thatcher vs. The Grizzled Young Veterans (Zack Gibson & James Drake) took place.
WWE saved this for the main event spot. Ciampa sold his neck throughout the match. Ciampa eventually came to the rescue by getting the hot tag and cleared house. However, that didn’t last long as he ended up eating the pinfall when the heels hit their finishers.
As a result of this win, they’ll face MSK (Wes Lee & Nash Carter) in the finals of the tournament, which will take place at the NXT TakeOver: Vengeance Day special.
A semifinal match in the men’s Dusty Classic featuring MSK (Wes Lee & Nash Carter) taking on Legado Del Fantasma’s Raul Mendoza & Joaquin Wilde. This was the opening contest, which was a wise choice.
They did some near falls before the commercial break, but even after, the pace didn’t stop. Those who hate spot after spot, then you wouldn’t like this match. Instead, it was a blitzing pace. The finish saw MSK hit their finisher on Wilde for the win.
They’ll face Grizzled Young Veterans in the finals of the tournament, which will take place at the NXT TakeOver: Vengeance Day special.
Candice LeRae & Indi Hartwell vs. Shotzi Blackheart & Ember Moon
Candice LeRae & Indi Hartwell will also face Shotzi Blackheart & Ember Moon in a women’s Dusty Classic semifinal match.
Somehow, Blackheart had been cut over her left eye and was bleeding pretty good. The heels dominated most of the match. Blackheart pinned Hartwell to pick up the hard-fought victory when Moon hit her finisher to LeRae and Blackheart took out both heels with a backsplash off the top rope. Indie tried to save LeRae from the top rope move, but it backfired.
Now, these ladies will face Dakota Kai & Raquel Gonzalez in the finals of the tournament, which will take place at the NXT TakeOver: Vengeance Day special. Regal announced after the match that the winners of this match will also become the new #1 contenders for the Women’s Tag Team Titles.
