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Roman Reigns Retains Universal Title At WWE Royal Rumble

Andrew Ravens
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The third and likely final match for the foreseeable future between Roman Reigns and Kevin Owens was memorable. 

Reigns put the Universal Title on the line against the SmackDown star in a Last Man Standing bout. at the Royal Rumble. The match saw Reigns toss him off the platform with all of the screens through tables. Owens crawled to the backstage area, but Reigns ran him over in a golf cart. Owens climbed a forklift and hit a swanton bomb off it. 

Owens handcuffed him to the stage support beam, but Reigns shoved the referee into the beam. Moments later, Paul Heyman came out to let Reigns free. Reigns locked in the guillotine choke to make Owens pass out for the win.

Their first match took place at last month’s TLC pay-per-view event where “The Big Dog” walked out victorious. The rematch took place on the December 24th edition of SmackDown inside a Steel Cage that also saw Reigns retain the title. 

It appeared that WWE was moving on from this feud, but that wasn’t the case. WWE held a Gauntlet Match on the January 8th edition of SmackDown that featured Daniel Bryan, King Corbin, Shinsuke Nakamura, Sami Zayn, and Rey Mysterio. 

It was later revealed that WWE agent Adam Pearce would be the final competitor after Paul Heyman pulled some strings so that way he could face Nakamura. The plan went accordingly as Uso and Reigns beat down Nakamura, which allowed Pearce to win and become the #1 contender to the Universal Title.

A few weeks passed by that eventually led to Owens replacing Pearce and he was declared as the new challenger. 

What are your thoughts on Roman Reigns retaining the Universal Title? Was this the right call by WWE officials? Sound off in the comment section.

Bianca Belair Wins 2021 Women’s Royal Rumble Match

Andrew Ravens
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The winner of this year’s women’s Royal Rumble match has been revealed and it’s Bianca Belair. Now, her journey to WrestleMania 36 begins.

A cool spot saw Naomi get tossed to the floor, but landed on her back and wasn’t eliminated. Naomi lasted 47 minutes. 

Belair outlasted the likes of Rhea Ripley, Natalya, and Charlotte Flair in the Final Four at the WWE Royal Rumble pay-per-view event. Ripley fought Belair in the final two. 

With her beating out 29 other stars, she has earned the right to be in one of the main events of Mania and will have her choice to go after one of the top titles in the company.

The decision for her comes down to the Raw Women’s Title, which is held by Asuka. The other option is challenging SmackDown Women’s Champion Sasha Banks, who also defended her championship against Carmella on this show.

Royal Rumble List of Entrants

Here’s a list of the entry of superstars who competed in this fan-favorite match:

  1. Bayley
  2. Naomi
  3. Bianca Belair 
  4. Billie Kay
  5. Shotzi Blackheart
  6. Shayna Baszler
  7. Toni Storm
  8. Jullian Hall
  9. Ruby Riott
  10. Victoria
  11. Peyton Royce
  12. Santana Garrett
  13. Liv Morgan
  14. Rhea Ripley
  15. Charlotte Flair
  16. Dana Brooke
  17. Torrie Wilson
  18. Lacey Evans
  19. Mickie James
  20. Nikki Cross
  21. Alicia Fox
  22. Mandy Rose
  23. Dakota Kai
  24. Carmella
  25. Tamina Snuka
  26. Lana
  27. Alexa Bliss
  28. Ember Moon
  29. Nia Jax
  30. Natalya

What are your thoughts on Belair winning this match and being placed in the main event scene at WrestleMania 37? Was this the right call by WWE officials? Sound off in the comment section.

Drew McIntyre Retains WWE Title Against Goldberg At WWE Royal Rumble

Andrew Ravens
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The big clash between Drew McIntyre and Goldberg took place at the WWE Royal Rumble pay-per-view event. This is where McIntyre put the WWE Title on the line against the WWE Hall of Famer. 

The match featured a hot start as before the match even started, McIntyre hit a spear to the legend only to have Goldberg spear McIntyre through the barricade moments later. They hit their finishers for near falls once the match started. The finish had Goldberg miss a spear and McIntyre hit the Claymore Kick for the win.

It went about 2 and half minutes. Post-match, Goldberg told McIntyre that he passed the test and they shook hands. 

This was Goldberg’s first match of 2021, which means he’s slated to compete at least one more time as his current WWE contract calls for him to work two matches per year. He hadn’t wrestled since WrestleMania 36 last April where he dropped the Universal Title to Braun Strowman. 

WWE set up this match on the January 4th edition of Raw, which was a special Legends Night episode after McIntyre had successfully retained the title over Keith Lee in the main event. Goldberg accused McIntyre of looking down on various legends and he was here to step up and put an end to it. After an insult by McIntyre, Goldberg pushed him down and the show went off the air.

What are your thoughts on Drew McIntyre retaining the WWE Title? Was this the right call by WWE officials? Sound off in the comment section.

Nia Jax & Shayna Baszler Win WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles

Andrew Ravens
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Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler have captured the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship for a second time. 

It happened when they dethroned Charlotte Flair and Raw Women’s Champion Asuka at the Royal Rumble.  The match finish saw Ric Flair and Lacey Evans come out. After multiple instances of interference from Evans, it led to her hitting Flair in the face with what looked like brass knuckles. Thus, this allowed Jax to hit a leg drop to Flair for the win.

This was a rematch from last month’s WWE TLC pay-per-view where Asuka and Flair dethroned their opponents to become the champions. WWE had just announced this match last week on Raw. On the show, Jax, Baszler & Lacey Evans defeated Charlotte, Mandy Rose & Dana Brooke in a six-woman tag match. Before this, in the same episode, Charlotte vs. Baszler took place but ended in a disqualification as Jax attacked Charlotte as she was going to put Baszler in the Figure Eight. 

https://twitter.com/WWEUniverse/status/1356027532609515521

Charlotte, Jax, and Baszler declared for the women’s Royal Rumble match so they all ended up pulling double duty at the PPV. WWE played this up leading into the Royal Rumble as there had been dissension between Jax and Baszler over them both being entrants in the Royal Rumble.

What are your thoughts on Nix Jax and Shayna Baszler winning the WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles? Was this the right call by WWE officials? Sound off in the comment section.

CM Punk Returning To The Ring For Role In Wrestling Drama Series

Andrew Ravens
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CM Punk is getting back into a wrestling ring but it’s not to get ready for another run. Instead, it’s the latest Hollywood role for him. 

Actor Stephen Amell took to Twitter today in order to welcome the former WWE star to the Starz series, Heels, as Punk will be on the show and making a return to the squared circle. 

Amell wrote, “Please welcome @CMPunk to @HeelsSTARZ — He was a little rusty in the ring yesterday, but I assured him it was just like riding a bike.”

Pwinsider.com reported after the photo was posted that the former WWE Champion is currently filming for the show after being in Atlanta for several weeks. He mentioned on social media that he was quarantining in advance for a work-related thing, which turned out to be this show. He’s slated to be a rival of Amell in a potential recurring role.

Punk impressed casting directors for the role of Jack Spade back in 2017, but never got the role because the project was put on hold. Amell later filled that role so now Punk will be portraying his adversary.

After dealing with injuries and not wanting to wrestle anymore, Punk decided to walk out of WWE on the Monday following the Royal Rumble pay-per-view event in 2014. He recently celebrated the anniversary on social media.

Peyton Royce On How Split With Billie Kay Has Affected Her, Why She Needs To Win Royal Rumble

Anutosh Bajpai
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0

Peyton Royce once looked to be getting ready for a singles push after her split with IIconics partner Billie Kay but her momentum has dwindled since then and the female star has got lost in the shuffle.

The former NXT star was recently interviewed by Instinct Culture where she opened up about her current position in the company among other things.

Royce first discussed the upcoming Royal Rumble event and she explained that she needs to win the battle royal because she needs a breakout performance:

“I feel I really need that breakout performance so that I can get myself into the top level which I’ve been trying to get to for so many years now

And I feel that’s the way I am going to be able to do it. To win the Royal Rumble and have a championship match, at Wrestlemania and in the same year, what more can you ask for?”

Peyton Royce also opened up about how her split with Billie Kay has affected her and the Australian star said that Kay was the support system which she has lost:

“She’s just my support system that I feel like I have lost and I am trying to rebuild that within myself. I am trying not to rely on somebody else for that. So it has been really tough.

I am so happy for her, she’s absolutely killing it on SmackDown right now, she’s a comedic genius and she’s just thriving. And I hope that I can get there too.”

The IIconics made their main roster debut in April 2018 and while the duo have had a reign with the women’s tag team championships, fans believe that Peyton Royce has the potential to be a main event star if given the chance.

Roman Reigns Thinks Competing In The Attitude Era Would Have Been ‘Too Easy’

Anutosh Bajpai
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0

Roman Reigns has become the flag bearer of WWE after John Cena and many fans believe that the current Universal Champion is the epitome of how the company has changed in the last two decades.

A lot of people think that he would have not risen through the ranks as he has done during the Monday Night Wars era, but the former WWE Champion believes that it would have been too easy to compete during the Attitude Era.

Reigns made these comments during his recent interview with Sports Illustrated and claimed that it’s a real challenge to be PG and not go the ‘cheap route’:

“To be honest, and this is gonna make some good headlines, but it would’ve been too easy, I feel like [John] Cena said it before. It’s a challenge to be PG. It’s a challenge to not have to go the cheap route.

Being able to shove everything up everyone’s ass, to do that stuff, to just chug beers—and I’m not taking anything away from the performance and the physicality of what they did and the stories they told in the ring—these guys were great performers and great in-ring wrestlers.” according to the Big Dog, “But the character development was easier.”

Roman Reigns Says The Business Is Bigger Now

The former Shield member continued by saying that the things they do now are more challenging and that’s why the business is bigger compared to that time:

“If I could just start chugging bourbon and smoking cigars, imagine what my character could be. We could go even further on this mob boss thing. It’s more challenging what we do now. It’s the facts.

That’s why the business is bigger. That’s why we have a bigger platform now. And that was all due to the work done before us to get us to this point, but at the same time if we don’t do it the way we do it now, it wouldn’t be that way. It was a different time.”

During the same interview, Roman Reigns also responded to Undertaker’s comments about the current generation of wrestlers. You can check out his thoughts on the matter at this link.

What do you think about the Tribal Chief’s remarks about the current era? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.

Matt Riddle Reacts To Goldberg’s ‘Younger Talent’ Comments

Jake Skudder
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WWE Superstar Matt Riddle recently reacted to Goldberg’s comments about WWE’s modern roster being too ‘soft.’ Goldberg recently appeared on the After The Bell podcast and discussed the hot button topic. Goldberg’s comments on AFB were in response to what The Undertaker said on Joe Rogan’s podcast.

The Undertaker’s recent comments from Joe Rogan’s podcast sparked this ongoing ‘feud’ between older talent and those who sit in the WWE locker room today. Undertaker stated during the podcast that he finds it “difficult” to enjoy modern WWE and that the talents are “too soft.”

Speaking on After The Bell, Goldberg said that “times are quite different than they were back in the day, but people are soft. People take offence to things way too quickly, I mean you know, grow a little thicker skin, boys and girls, that’s all I can say.”

Matt Riddle on Goldberg

The Original Bro Matt Riddle did not take too kindly to these words, with the former UFC fighter and Goldberg having had an ongoing real life beef over the past few years.

Riddle took to Twitter to release a video firing back at the former WCW Champion. “Let’s talk about some thick and thin skin, shall we?” Riddle began. “Bro. Really? Really? Okay. You have very, very, very thin skin — it’s like sheepskin thin. It’s ultra thin. It’s extra sensitive thin. That’s how thin your skin is. Let’s be real, I’m not going to go down the chart of reasons why, but you know why your skin is thin, bro. We all know it. And you know what? You really need to stop crying about it. It’s embarrassing, stop being a baby. And good luck tomorrow, bro, you’ll need it.”

credit to WrestlingINC for the transcription

There is a chance that we see Goldberg and Matt Riddle against each other in the Royal Rumble match tonight. Would you like to see the two square off? Let us know in the comments

Big E – “I Want To Feel Like I’ve Earned a Main Event Spot”

Jake Skudder
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WWE Superstar Big E recently appeared on Renee Paquette’s Oral Sessions podcast. During the show, Big E would discuss a number of different topics regarding his ongoing WWE career and being Intercontinental Champion.

Big E was previously a heavy favorite to win this weekend’s Men’s Royal Rumble match. However, when Big E won the IC title on the Christmas Day episode of SmackDown his odds shifted and he is now down the rung quite a bit. Despite this, Big E did mention during the podcast that his wish is for a WrestleMania match against ‘The Big Dog’ Roman Reigns.

Big E on WrestleMania Wish List

Paquette asked Big E how he feels about potentially facing Roman Reigns at WrestleMania; with Renee saying that this a match that the fans ‘want to see.’ “When you look at the WWE pecking order, he’s at the very top” Big E began. “Having that match is the biggest moment, and I hope we’re at a point in another month or two, where I feel like I’m established enough and I’m hot enough where it makes sense.”

“In the same vein, I have no idea what the plan is” Big E continued. “I also want this to feel earned. I think sometimes you get too much too soon. That’s also weird to say for someone who’s been around for eight years, I don’t feel like I just came up and they just handed me this world title opportunity, but like obviously gun to my head? [My dream WrestleMania is] a match with Roman for the World Title.”

Would you like to see Big E in a main event run? Do you think that he’ll get a shot at Roman Reigns at the Universal Championship at some point? Let us know in the comments

D-Von Dudley Claims A Lot Of Young Talents Are Disrespectful And Rude

Anutosh Bajpai
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0

The discussion that stemmed from the recent comments of The Undertaker about the current generation of wrestlers is still going on and now D-Von Dudley has shared another interesting opinion about the new generation of stars.

The Attitude Era star recently appeared on the Table Talk podcast where he was interviewed along with former WWE star Fred Rosser aka Darren Young.

During the discussion, Dudley noted how Rosser is one of the great talents which isn’t always the case with the younger generation. According to D-Von, many of the young guys who are brought up in the business are disrespectful and rude:

“You’ve got to understand nowadays in this business the young guys that are brought up in this business, they’re disrespectful, they’re rude. Generation X, which is my generation, the Attitude Era, and all of that. Yes, we had attitude we had problems,

But there was one thing I will say about my generation is that we respect those who came before us.” said D-Von Dudley, “And that’s one of the problems that we have with a lot of young talent.”

The former champion did not name any talents who have been disrespectful to him but he did list some of the young guys who have respect for older talents.

D-Von Dudley said that people like Drew McIntyre, Rusev, and Sheamus always came in to pick their brains and it was great being in the locker room with them. You can check out the Hall Of Famer’s comment marked in the video below:

Stephanie McMahon On The Future Of Live Events

Anutosh Bajpai
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0

WWE’s Chief Brand Officer Stephanie McMahon recently had an interview with TVinsider where she talked about things like the upcoming Royal Rumble PPV and more. Discussing how they announced the details of three upcoming WrestleManias together, the WWE official said that they wanted to give fans some hope during these challenging times.

When asked about the announcement of WrestleMania returning to the standard one night schedule from next year, Stephanie McMahon suggested that the decision is not permanent. She explained that their approach is to wait and watch what happens:

“We want to maximize the value. The two nights are unique to the times. [We have plans] to go back to one night for future WrestleMania events, but of course we will see what happens this year. We want to deliver the best possible value we can for our fans who are hopefully able to attend and for those watching all around the world.”

The coronavirus pandemic has forced the company to close its doors for the public and while fans will finally be returning for WrestleMania this year, a lot of people believe that the live event business will never be the same again.

Stephanie McMahon On The Future Of Live Events

The former Raw General Manager was also asked where she sees the future of live events going. Replying to the question, Stephanie McMahon explained that the fans are the secret sauce of their recipe:

“Our fans are our secret sauce. When we pivoted to the ThunderDome, we brought our fans back [virtually] as well as the lights, the lasers, the pyro. There is an intersection of technology and live attendance.

It happened faster than I think anyone anticipated, but we are absolutely looking to merge those worlds together the biggest and best way we possibly can. I know that our audience will be very vocal in telling us what they do and don’t like, which is certainly appreciated.”

Apart from this, Stephanie McMahon talked about things like filming the WrestleMania commercial with Triple H and more. You can check out her full interview at this link.

Possible Spoiler For Surprise Royal Rumble Entrant

Anutosh Bajpai
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A latest photo from Natalya might have spoiled a big surprise for the Royal Rumble PPV this Sunday and revealed an interesting entry for the women’s version of the battle royal.

The former SmackDown women’s champion recently posted a photo of herself with WWE Hall Of Famer Trish Stratus and wrote that she ‘can’t wait for Sunday’.

However, Natalya quickly deleted the picture as seen in the screenshot below and her actions have started the rumors about Stratus possibly being one of the surprise entrants for the upcoming bout:

Natalya Trish Stratus scaled

Trish Stratus was a part of the inaugural women’s Royal Rumble match in 2018 where she entered at #30 and was eliminated by the Boss Sasha Banks.

Though she did not participate in the next two Royal Rumble matches and her last wrestling appearance was during SummerSlam 2019 where she faced Charlotte Flair in a one on one match.

Trish Stratus is a WWE Hall Of Famer who was part of the company’s roster and wrestled as a full-time star from 2000 to 2006. During her active years, the female star won the women’s championship seven times.

She has been making sporadic appearances for the company since 2006 and an in-ring return for the former champion is not completely out of question.

Rey Mysterio Teases Surprise In His Ongoing Feud With King Corbin

Anutosh Bajpai
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0

Rey Mysterio and his son Dominik have recently been involved in a feud with King Corbin and the high flying star is now teasing a big surprise in this storyline.

The former world champion recently had an interview with Forbs where he talked about things like winning the Royal Rumble in 2006 and more.

Mysterio also discussed his son Dominik’s recent string of losses against rival Baron Corbin and the Master Of 619 teased a surprise for the storyline:

“I have a little surprise that eventually will pop up, I’m just waiting for the right time for that, and the whole SmackDown family will know…we do know that Corbin was a former Golden Gloves boxer, so we might go down that route.”

While Rey Mysterio did not elaborate further, there are a couple of interesting possibilities stemming from his comments about Corbin’s abilities as a striker.

The former champion has previously aligned himself with former UFC Fighter Cain Velasquez and Tyson Fury has also shown interest in returning to the company after his match with Braun Strowman at Crown Jewel 2019.

With the WrestleMania season about to begin, it wouldn’t be a big surprise if the company brings either of these two names back to boost the ratings and uses the Mysterio family’s ongoing storyline as the catalyst for it.

Paige Feels Goldberg Shouldn’t Be In The WWE Championship Match At Royal Rumble

Anutosh Bajpai
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0

A lot of people are not thrilled with WWE’s decision to bring back Goldberg as the opponent for Drew McIntyre at Royal Rumble and it appears that Paige is one of the stars who thinks that the former WCW star should not be in the spot.

The former Diva’s Champion returned as one of the hosts for the special Royal Rumble edition of WWE Backstage alongside Renee Young and Booker T.

During the episode, the trio talked about the upcoming show, and while discussing the WWE title match featuring Drew McIntyre and Goldberg, Paige said that she feels like the former champion shouldn’t be in it:

“Honestly, like I’m a fan of Goldberg, right, I just don’t feel like he should be in this kinda thing. I think Drew has been having this massive buildup over the last year. He’s been completely carrying as the babyface of the company. I think he’s been doing so freaking well.”

Paige went on to explain how there are many people who have been waiting for such an opportunity for a long time and she feels that Goldberg should at least not be the one to win this Sunday:

“Then you’ve got people who have been there for a long time who want to have that opportunity and unfortunately, they’re not getting it. I just don’t feel like it’s needed and I don’t think he should be the one to, at least, win it.”

Goldberg will be challenging Drew McIntyre for his WWE Championship at Sunday’s Royal Rumble PPV taking place from the Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, FL.

NJPW Confirms Date For Jon Moxley vs. Kenta

Anutosh Bajpai
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0

NJPW has confirmed that the IWGP US Champion Jon Moxley will be defending his title against the #1 contender Kenta on February 26 at New Beginning USA 2021. This announcement came after the former AEW world champion made his NJPW Strong debut earlier this week and confronted the Bullet Club member.

Kenta had been calling out Moxley for a while. The confrontation between the two finally took place during the main event segment of the show. Kenta, El Phantasmo, and Hikuleo were in the ring and the lights went out.

Mox was there when the lights came back and the US champion quickly got rid of El Phantasmo and Hikuleo so he can take on his challenger alone. The segment ended with the AEW star delivering a Death Rider to the NJPW star.

The company announced the details of their match alongside several other bouts for The New Beginning USA 2021 after this confrontation via the following tweet:

Jon Moxley won the IWGP United States Championship by defeating Lance Archer at Wrestle Kingdom 14. Kenta then became the #1 contender for the title when he won the New Japan Cup USA tournament in August last year.

WWE Royal Rumble: Final Card, Entrants Announced For Men’s & Women’s Rumble

Andrew Ravens
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The card for this year’s (Sunday, January 31, 2021) WWE Royal Rumble pay-per-view event has been updated.

The company hasn’t officially announced the pre-show match for the event, but fans can get hyped before the main card with a two-hour Kickoff Show. 

FS1 aired a special edition of WWE Backstage on Saturday night to preview the event. On the broadcast, Natalya defeated Tamina to become the #30 entry in the Women’s Royal Rumble Match.

Also on the show, it was announced that Randy Orton would enter the Men’s Royal Rumble Match at #1 while Edge would coming in at #2.

As a reminder, we will be providing live play-by-play coverage of this special on Sunday evening starting at 5 PM EST.

Final WWE Royal Rumble Card

Here is the final card for the show:

  • WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns vs. Kevin Owens – Last Man Standing Match
  • WWE Champion Drew McIntyre vs. Goldberg
  • Daniel Bryan, Bobby Lashley, AJ Styles, Randy Orton, Otis, The Miz, Jey Uso, Cesaro, Jeff Hardy, Sami Zayn, Dolph Ziggler, Shinsuke Nakamura, Big E, John Morrison, Sheamus, Mustafa Ali, Edge, King Corbin, Dominik Mysterio, Rey Mysterio, Braun Strowman, 9 mystery entrants – Men’s Royal Rumble Match: 
  • Nia Jax, Charlotte Flair, Bianca Belair, Bayley, Mandy Rose, Dana Brooke, Peyton Royce, Shayna Baszler, Alexa Bliss, Liv Morgan, Ruby Riott, Tamina, 17 mystery entrants, Natalya (entering at #30) – Women’s Royal Rumble Match
  • WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Asuka & Charlotte Flair vs. Nia Jax & Shayna Baszler
  • WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion Sasha Banks vs. Carmella

Corey Graves Talks Benefits of Peacock/WWE Streaming Deal

Jake Skudder
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WWE and NBC recently revealed that the WWE Network, at least the United States version, will be moving exclusively to the Peacock streaming service. Corey Graves recently discussed the benefits of the move on his WWE After The Bell podcast.

“It actually saves you money, it’s going to cost less than WWE Network costs right now” Corey Graves began on the podcast. “This is terribly exciting. I actually already subscribe to Peacock and I have for a really long time. I subscribed actually for reasons that have nothing to do with what I knew, or what was advertised on Peacock. It was the Universal horror movies; Dracula, Wolf Man all those classics, like Frankenstein, they were available on Peacock.”

“This is who I think the move benefits the most” Graves continued. “That would be the lapsed fan. The fan who loves WWE, or loved WWE, maybe hasn’t watched for a few years? Maybe doesn’t tune in every Monday or Friday and isn’t quite familiar with the product? But let’s say as you’re going to turn on The Office on Peacock and you see the WWE Network logo pop up. Now maybe a fan who goes ‘oh man I used to really love Goldberg, I used to love Stone Cold,’ you scroll down and you click a button and there’s modern content. Now you can try and bring fans back.”

Corey Graves on Lapsed Fans

Corey Graves finished by reiterating how important it is for WWE to try and engage with lapsed or even new fans. “It’s so easily accessible. I wasn’t looking for The Office, I never watched The Office but I got the app and I got all the the promotion that came with it. I said ‘I heard this show is great, I’m gonna check it out.'”

“Now that’s all I’ve watched for basically two months straight. I think this is a great opportunity for lapsed fans who have not followed or maybe they just aren’t as in tune with WWE as they should be. Because let’s be honest, there’s a lot of content, we’re moving really fast” Graves continued. “If you miss two or three weeks? You may have no idea what’s happening. I think it’s all about access it’s all about accessibility. I think it’s very very exciting. And oh, it’s cheaper than it already is. So what’s it’s a win win win.”

Are you excited for WWE to join the NBC Peacock streaming service? Let us know in the comments

Mia Yim Reveals She Has Tested Positive For COVID-19

Chris Stephens
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Mia Yim has tested for COVID-19. The wrestler also known as Retribution member Reckoning says she tested positive for the first time this afternoon. In a statement issued on Twitter, she wrote:

“This morning at around 10:30am, I debunked a rumor stating I was positive with Covid. For that, I must make a statement. I have been getting tested every week for several months now, all have been negatives. I was negative last week, I got tested this afternoon less than an hour ago and it came back positive. Please respect my privacy. Please stay safe, wash your hands, and wear a mask. See you all soon!”

Evidently, there had been some rumors going around this morning that she had tested positive. This may have been a result of both her and Keith Lee having missed RAW lately. Reckoning hasn’t wrestled in WWE since December 28th on Main Event and Lee hasn’t wrestled since January 11th’s RAW.

Based on this news, it is likely that Yim will not participate in tomorrow’s WWE Royal Rumble. The news also makes it unlikely that Keith Lee will be on the show either. Neither Keith Lee nor Reckoning are currently advertised as participating in the event.

We will post an update when more details become available.

Ryan Nemeth Slams Dolph Ziggler Fans

Chris Stephens
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Ryan Nemeth wrestled Hangman Page on Dynamite this week. Nemeth is the younger brother of WWE’s Dolph Ziggler. The Nemeth brothers have been sharing a few interesting interactions on social media relating to Ryan’s AEW debut over the last few days.

It started when Dolph requested that people not watch his brother’s match:

Then when someone remarked to him that his brother “killed it” on Dynamite, Ziggler had the following response:

Ryan then took issue with Dolph Ziggler’s fans.

“I have no problem with you (even tho Mom & Dad play favorites) but I do have a problem with deranged Dolph Ziggler “fans” who are too stupid / mentally dense to know if they’re supposed to like me or hate me, stumbling over their own shoelaces to defend you. THAT is pathetic,” he Tweeted at his brother.

Ryan also noted that he will delete Twitter if he receives any more messages calling him “Baby Dolph.”

“If one more person calls me Baby Dolph I will delete this app from my phone,” Ryan Tweeted. “Not playing.”

Dolph then casually revealed when his contract is up.

Ryan also recently Tweeted out a link to a short film he did with his brother.

https://twitter.com/HotYoungBriley/status/1355314234662346758

Dolph also posted this zinger directed at his younger brother:

Daniel Bryan On When He Plans To Retire

Chris Stephens
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Daniel Bryan stated in an interview back in October that he doesn’t plan on being a full-time wrestler much longer. During a recent interview with Solo Wrestling, however, Bryan clarified that he has no plans to retire. In fact, Bryan says he’s inspired by the likes of Jerry Lawler, Terry Funk, and Johnny Saint who continued to wrestle in their 60s and 70s.

“I’m still a full-time wrestler today but I don’t think I’ll be a full-time wrestler for much longer, but it’s weird because I’ve never considered the option of retirement,” Bryan said.

“I want to fight until I’m old, and when I say old, I mean very old. I love wrestling and have always been inspired by people like Jerry Lawler and Terry Funk, and even some European wrestlers like Jonny Saint, who was still fighting in his 60s and maybe 70s, and not because they needed the money or because of this or because of the other, they did it because they loved to do it.”

Bryan noted that as pro wrestlers get older, their in-ring styles inevitably change. He acknowledges, “I’m 50 I won’t be able to fight like I do now, and right now I can’t fight like I did when I was 25. You have to adapt and evolve.”

Daniel Bryan: “The Planet’s Champion”

Bryan also spoke to the BroBible recently and mentioned that his run as “The Planet’s Champion” was his favorite.

“Being ‘The Planet’s Champion’ was by far my favourite. It’s interesting because in WWE, my championship runs haven’t always gone very well! I won the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 30 and then had to vacate with a neck injury.”

“I won the World Heavyweight Championship in 2011 and lost it in eight seconds at WrestleMania 28. Those didn’t feel as special as when I was ‘The Planet’s Champion’ and a bad guy. I love the way it started.”

Eric Bischoff Says DX Was A Copy Of nWo

Anutosh Bajpai
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The nWo faction created by former WCW president Eric Bischoff is one of the most well-known groups of not only the Attitude Era but the history of professional wrestling.

Its WWE counterpart was the D-Generation X group which became a household name during the peak of the Monday Night Wars era as well and the former WCW official claims that it was a rip off of his original idea.

Bischoff discussed the two groups during the latest episode of 83 weeks and claimed that DX was a copy of nWo: “It should be pretty obvious that it was,”

The former SmackDown Executive Director continued by making another interesting claim and he said that Shawn Michaels overplayed his part in the group while Triple seemed a lot more natural at it:

“It was entertaining as hell; they knocked it out of the park. I wasn’t a big fan of Shawn Michaels’ character in DX, he overplayed it, he tried too hard to be cute. Triple H to me seemed a lot more natural at it. He didn’t have to force it quite as hard, I think he was having a lot of fun with it. “

Eric Bischoff on DX and nWo

Eric Bischoff later said that he thinks that former Cruiserweight Champion Sean Waltman got the faction over more than Triple H and Shawn Michaels.

He explained his remarks by saying that Waltman brought a more edgy character and him leaving WCW to return to WWE and join the group made it feel more like the Monday Night War era.

What do you think about Eric Bischoff’s comments about the two factions? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.

Update On Former Lucha Underground Writer’s Relationship With MLW

Chris Stephens
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On recent episodes of MLW Fusion, Salina de la Renta has summoned former Lucha Underground Champion, Mil Muertes to the promotion. Salina’s faction, Promociones Dorado, has also recently been purchased by a mysterious organization known as, Azteca Underground. Lucha Underground characters appearing in MLW has led to much speculation regarding the nature of the relationship.

Former Lucha Underground head writer, Chris DeJoseph, briefly worked for MLW in 2019. DeJoseph was hired by MLW but left the company just one month later to rejoin WWE. DeJoseph was then fired by WWE 6 months later. He also worked on the WWE Creative Team from 2004-2010. MLW’s Court Bauer also would have worked with DeJoseph in WWE at the same. Bauer was on the WWE Creative Team from 2005 until 2007.

According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the former creative lead for Lucha Underground recently made contact with MLW about coming back but was turned down. DeJoseph also recently interviewed with Impact Wrestling. “Chris DeJoseph recently had an interview to come in (to Impact Wrestling) as a writer. He had contact with MLW and he was turned down,” wrote Dave Meltzer.

Update: SEScoops reached out to MLW to obtain clarification on this report. According to a high-ranking official, Chris DeJoseph had “no talks” with Chris DeJoseph and the Observer report is inaccurate.

Hiroshi Tanahashi Wins NEVER Openweight Championship

Chris Stephens
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Hiroshi Tanahashi is the new NEVER Openweight Champion in New Japan Pro Wrestling. He defeated Shingo Takagi today at The New Beginning in Nagoya. Tanahashi becomes the 18th wrestler to ever win the title and begins the 32nd reign in the championship’s lineage.

Tanahashi was attacked by Great-O-Khan after the match, likely leading to a championship match between the two in the near future.

Shingo Takagi had re-gained the championship in November at Power Struggle. He defeated Minoru Suzuki, who had beat him for the belt at at Summer Struggle in August. Tomohirio Ishii and Hirooki Goto are the two most decorated former NEVER Openweight Champions. Ishii has won the title 5x, defended it 6x, and held it for a combined 462 days. Goto has won the title 5x, defended it 7x, and held it for a combined 424 days. Takagi has held the title 2x, defended it 4x, and held it for a combined 294 days. This is Tanahashi’s first reign with the title.

The New Beginning In Nagoya Results

  1. Chaos (Kazuchika Okada & Toru Yano) defeated Bullet Club (EVIL & Yujiro Takahashi)
  2. Kota Ibushi, Master Wato, SHO & Tomoaki Honma defeated Los Ingobernables de Japon (BUSHI, Hiromu Takahashi, SANADA & Tetsuya Naito)
  3. Great-O-Khan defeated Hiroyoshi Tenzan
  4. No DQ
    Will Ospreay defeated Satoshi Kojima 
  5. NEVER Openweight Championship
    Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated Shingo Takagi (c) – New Champion

Kenny Omega Reacts To Kota Ibushi Wanting Competition Between Companies

Chris Stephens
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Kota Ibushi recently took to his Twitter account to say that he wants “a competition between two companies that will change the entire industry.” Ibushi’s former tag-team partner, Kenny Omega, responded.

“I never forgot his challenge to me via YouTube in 2008. I wanted to make wrestling more popular. Now the shoe is on the other foot, but this is my chance to make an appeal. I want a competition between two companies that will change the entire industry. It needs a shot in the arm,” Ibushi Tweeted (translation via Michael Nakazawa.)

Omega then responded to Ibushi. Nakazawa again provided a translation of his comments.

“Oh, so the new God still has a soul after all… I’m touched. Already feeling lonely in the Kingdom I left for you? Shall I destroy it? Take my hand, we’ll build a new one,” Omega Tweeted (translations via Michael Nakazawa.)

Omega and Ibushi are collectively known as The Golden Lovers. They formed in DDT in early 2009.

Tama Tonga then replied to both Kenny Omega and Kota Ibushi.

“You tried to destroy it once, but I got in the way. Now I’m coming for both of you heads,” he Tweeted (translations via Google Translate). “We understand everything. You are all lovers. I will break your heart.”

Jon Moxley Debuts On NJPW Strong, Attacks KENTA (Video)

Chris Stephens
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Jon Moxley made a surprise appearance on this week’s NJPW Strong. The reigning IWGP United States Champion confronted his #1 contender, KENTA. The Bullet Club’ star has been calling out Moxley since winning the New Japan US Cup tournament last summer.

The incident went down at the conclusion of this week’s NJPW Strong on New Japan World. Bullet Club members KENTA, El Phantasmo, and Hikuleo were in the ring. The lights went out and when they came back in, Jon Moxley appeared. Mox got rid of Hikuleo and ELP so that it was just him and KENTA in the ring together.

mox kenta drop 1

KENTA went for the Go To Sleep but Moxley countered into the Death Rider. Moxley then grabbed the microphone and said that borders would not stop him from facing KENTA.

“However we gotta get it done, we’ll get it done,” Moxley said.

You can see video of the confrontation here:

https://twitter.com/sescoops/status/1355548653461643270

Up until this, Moxley had not been permitted to perform for NJPW in the United States due to his AEW contract. NJPW Strong is taped in Los Angeles, however, meaning AEW likely agreed to allow this to happen.

KENTA is the #1 Contender to Moxley’s IWGP United States Championship. He defended the right to face the champion next at Wrestle Kingdom by defeating Satoshi Kojima. Moxley won the title by defeating Lance Archer in a Texas Death Match at Wrestle Kingdom 14 in 2020.

The official AEW Twitter account took notice of the confrontation:

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