Competition among promotions is always good for the workers. It appears that The OC have taken advantage of the rivalry of AEW and WWE.
The duo of Gallows and Anderson weren\’t seen at Royal Rumble last month. They missed the following Raw episode as well, making people wonder about their status.
\”People were asking why The Good Brothers were not at the Rumble or at Raw. In their new deals they said if you\’re not going to use us, we don\’t want to be there.\”
– Sean Ross Sapp
\”Just don\’t send us there. [With] all due respect we will do our jobs but we don\’t want to be there for not being used, and WWE said okay,\”
This wasn\’t the case previously as there are many stories of WWE bringing in talents to tapings for months without using them.
Gallows and Anderson returned to WWE in October 2022 after a two-year absence. They reunited with AJ Styles and started feuding with The Judgement Day.
If you use the quotes from this article please credit SEScoops with an H/t for transcription
Matt Hardy has been in the wrestling business for over 3 decades. He has worked for many different promotions and under many different bosses in this time. According to him, Tony Khan is the best boss he has ever worked for, because the AEW president cares for their wrestlers.
The wrestling veteran answered fan questions on the latest episode of his podcast. A fan asked what is the best thing about working for All Elite Wrestling. Hardy mentioned how the AEW schedule allows for much greater work life balance:
\”The schedule is much more friendly to someone who has a family like I have. because my kids, they grow so fast. It\’s crazy. It seems like yesterday Maxwell was just born, and he\’s seven and a half now. So time flies, and I get a lot more time at home with my kids and my wife and my family, which is really important to me in this day and age. I have a very healthy balance of like professional life and personal life.\”
\’The Best Boss I\’ve Ever Worked For\’: Matt Hardy
Matt Hardy
Matt Hardy explained that generally, he is only on the road for three days a week. There are exceptions such as PPV weeks but even then, Tony Khan lets them go home if they are not appearing on the PPV:
\”I know this for a fact Tony Khan is the best boss I\’ve ever worked for, because Tony looks at his wrestlers as human beings. They\’re not just cogs in the machine where he\’s focused on what they\’re going to do for him in wrestling. He realizes they have a personal life at home, especially people who have families and kids.
If I\’m away and he knows I\’m not going to be on the pay per view on Sunday and I finish at the Fan Fest on Saturday, he lets me go home on Saturday. He doesn\’t want to just keep you around just in case. He\’s usually pretty set. So he\’s very lenient, and I\’m very grateful for that. If I\’m not needed, he\’ll let me go home and be with my kids. He wants me to be with my kids. So I really appreciate and I\’m very grateful for the care and love he has for people having personal lives.\”
WWE has confirmed that The Beast Incarnate Brock Lesnar will be competing at Elimination Chamber. He will be going up against Bobby Lashley.
Lashley eliminated Lesnar from the Royal Rumble match last month. Brock cut a promo on this week\’s Raw mentioning how it has been bothering him.
He challenged the All Mighty for a match at the upcoming PLE and presented a \’multi-million-dollar contract\’. While Bobby Lashley did come out, he refused to sign a contract saying that things will be done on his terms.
This angered Brock Lesnar who then delivered an F5 to Lashley and placed the contract on his chest. Lesnar delivered another F5 on fan demand before leaving.
Elimination Chamber Updated Match Card
WWE has announced a contract signing segment for next week\’s Raw to make this match official. Including this bout, here is the updated match card for Elimination Chamber:
WWE Universal Championship Match: Roman Reigns vs. Sami Zayn
Elimination Chamber Match For US Title: Austin Theory vs. Seth “Freakin” Rollins vs. Johnny Gargano vs. Bronson Reed vs. Montez Ford vs. Damian Priest
Elimination Chamber Match To Determine #1 Contender For Raw Women\’s Title: Raquel Rodriguez vs. Liv Morgan vs. Nikki Cross vs. Asuka vs. Natalya vs. Carmella
Mixed Tag Team Match: Beth Phoenix and Edge vs. Finn Balor and Rhea Ripley
Singles Match: Brock Lesnar vs. Bobby Lashley
Elimination Chamber will be taking place on Saturday, February 18 from Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Lita is back and she hasn\’t forgotten how to kick ass.
WWE had announced a Steel Cage match between Becky Lynch and Bayley for this week\’s Raw. The match was originally supposed to take place at Raw XXX but was cut due to timing issues.
The bout main evented this week\’s episode of the red branded show. Lynch came alone for this fight while Bayley was accompanied by Dakota Kai and IYO SKY as expected.
The Damage CTRL leader hit a Bayley-to-Belly on The Man towards the ending of the match but she failed to get the pin.
Bayley then tried to escape the cage by climbing out but Becky climbed up to stop her. Lynch sent Bayley crashing. It looked as if she might escape to win the match but SKY interfered.
Lita is Back!
SKY forced Becky Lynch to go back and Dakota Kai handed Bayley a crutch. This is when Lita\’s music hit and she came to the aid of The Man.
The Hall of Famer first pulled SKY off the cage and took down Kai using her own crutch. She hit a Twist of Fate on SKY and then stopped Bayley from escaping the cage.
This allowed Becky Lynch to hit the Man Handle Slam on her opponent to win the bout. Lita and Lynch celebrated in the ring to end the show.
Bayley is currently involved in a feud with \’The Man\’ Becky Lynch. The two were supposed to have a Steel Cage match at Raw XXX but it was cut due to time.
Last Monday\’s Raw saw Lynch challenging Bayley to redo the Steel Cage match. The Damage CTRL leader initially declined but Adam Pearce later made the match official for Raw this Monday.
Toxic Attraction has been left with two members after the abrupt release of their leader Mandy Rose. The duo of Jacy Jane and Gigi Dolin have been feuding with the NXT Women\’s Champion Roxanne Perez recently.
They both challenged Perez for the title in a Triple Threat match at the Vengeance Day special this past Saturday. Roxanne, however, was able to overcome this challenge and retain her title.
There is no word yet on if Bayley will be bringing her partners Dakota Kai and IYO Sky with her to NXT. We will have to see if this turns out to be a one-off appearance or if the main roster star sticks around for a run like some others have done recently.
AEW has finally announced its version of non-televised live events after a lot of chatter over the past few months and the reaction to it within the company has been positive.
Fightful Select provided reactions from some of the talents. They noted that many people within the company knew something like this was coming. There were multiple people who actually pushed for it.
One talent said that they would rather get their in-ring reps under the company banner instead of working for outside promotions.
Some talent have spoken highly of the experience they can get wrestling on Dark. Being able to work longer matches on the road will help them grow further. They expect to see more creative matches on these shows
As far as the contractual status of the stars go, the site noted that most talents do not reach even close to the number of yearly dates in their contracts. AEW seems prepared for more shows in that aspect and it shouldn\’t be a problem.
AEW Announced their \’House Rules\’ live event series that will take place in different cities across United States earlier this month.
The first \’House Rules\’ event will be taking place on Saturday, March 18 from Troy, Ohio at the Hobart Arena. The show will feature Ohio\’s own Jon Moxley among others.
AEW has carved their own place in the wrestling world in a relatively short period. They have shown that there is demand for an alternate wrestling product that doesn\’t follow the set formula of WWE. Jon Moxley thinks it\’s exactly what they should continue doing.
The former AEW world champion recently spoke to Kev Nash on The Justin Kinner Show. He spoke about things such as his love for professional wrestling and leaving WWE. Speaking about what makes AEW the success it is, Mox explained that they have deviated from the set formula of WWE. Per Mox, it\’s something they have to keep up:
\”I think what we always have to remember is that it\’s an alternative. I think the other promotions in the past that have tried to be the standard kind of WWE formula that\’s kind of the known, typical [thing]. What people in North America think of as major league wrestling,” said Jon Moxley, “It comes off as WWE light and it comes off like some kind of Triple-A baseball or something. I don\’t think we should ever be that.
He continued: “I think we should always do the opposite thing. The more subversive thing. The cooler thing. We should always be one step ahead and we should be on the precipice of like, what the next big thing in wrestling is. We should always be looking ahead you know. I think it\’s important for us to always be an alternative. To see things and people and wrestlers and styles that you wouldn\’t see anywhere else. [Things] that aren\’t put into a blender and made to be part of a fancy polished product. \”
You can check out Jon Moxley\’s full interview below:
Zilla Fatu had a rough teenage. After losing his father Umaga in 2009, the Anoa\’i family member got mixed up with the wrong crowd early in his life and ended up going to prison at a young age. Though he is now trying to put his life back together. His father was a legend of the wrestling business and he is now trying make a name for himself in the industry as well.
The 22-year-old was recently interviewed by Muscle Man Malcolm. He discussed his past life and his future aspirations. Fatu was charged with aggravated robbery at the age of 15. He spent six years at the Texas State Penitentiary before being released in March 2022. When asked what led to him going to prison, Fatu attributed it to lack of a plan:
\”What led up to me going in prison I want to say just me not having a plan. Me just being lost bro, just being a kid. Then obviously at that time, my mom or anybody that I was dealing with, we were just living in poverty. When you’re living in poverty there\’s so much things that\’s going on that\’s out of your control.\”
\’I Didn\’t Want That For Me\’: Zilla Fatu
Now that he is finally out of prison, Zilla Fatu is trying to put his life back together. He has announced his entry into the wrestling business. For this, he has joined Booker T\’s Reality of Wrestling school. Speaking about his struggles and aspirations, the young star said that he wants to re-establish himself:
\”Obviously, when I lost my dad, I mean, I don\’t want to use it as a excuse, but it was kind of a big on not just me but my whole family. After my dad died, we went downhill from there. But going in there and seeing that prison is not a joke.
That a lot of people does not make it home, a lot of people die in there. I didn\’t want that for me. I wanted to come out here and regroup and re-establish myself into a better man. A man that my mom and my dad grew to raise me.\”
You can check out Zilla Fatu\’s full interview below:
Shawn Michaels has provided an update on the gnarly-looking injury of Donovan Dijak from tonight\’s NXT Vengeance Day special.
The NXT star challenged Wes Lee for the North American Championship on the show. He appeared to have suffered a broken finger during the bout and images of his injury went viral online.
Michaels was asked about Dijak\’s health during the post-Vengeance Day media call. He mentioned that it\’s a miracle that the 35-year-old\’s figure is not broken:
\’It\’s A Modern Miracle\’: Shawn Michaels
\”Yeah, everybody is good. I announced it at gorilla, it got to be a miracle. It\’s not broken. We got him x-ray. They said it\’s not broken. And so yeah, I guess what you do is you kind of numb it and put it back in place and that\’s what\’s happening now.
But it is, again, a modern miracle because we all saw it, it was pretty gnarly looking. But apparently, he\’s going to be okay, which is obviously fantastic news for us and him.\”
Donovan Dijak was unsuccessful in capturing the title. The ending of the bout saw Lee hitting a superkick on his opponent and then pinning him after a strike to the face.
Apart from this, the NXT Vengeance Day special featured a couple of title changes and the return of a Raw Underground star. You can check out the results of the show here.
If you use any quotes from the article please credit SEScoops with an H/t for transcription
Dabba Kato is back and he is done making alliances.
The NXT Vengeance Day special saw Apollo Crews going one on one against Carmello Hayes in a two out of three falls match.
Hayes picked up the first fall in the bout. He nailed Crews with a cutter and then locked him up in a Crossface, forcing Apollo to tap out.
Trick Williams who was at the ringside then tried to help Hayes with the second fall. He took out the turnbuckle pad but Crews attacked him. The former IC champion then sent Hayes into the exposed turnbuckle.
Dabba Kato is back
Williams tried to get involved again with a chair. This is where Dabba Kato made his return. Kato stopped Williams from getting involved but it didn\’t help Crews. Carmelo Hayes hit a Nothing But Net and then picked up the second fall to win the match.
Following the match Dabba Kato hugged Apollo Crews but he then quickly turned on his former partner. He delivered a headbutt and then slammed him onto the steel chair:
Kato was first seen on WWE TV as part of Shane McMahon\’s Raw Underground segments. He was later paired with Apollo Crews as Commander Azeez during his IC title run. The giant had been off tv since Crews returned to the development territory.
Kyle O\’Reilly has been out of action since last June due to various health issues. According to his good friend Adam Cole, he is in good spirits despite the struggles and is getting better.
The former NXT champion recently appeared on Wrestling Observer Radio. He opened up about his own injuries and recovery before providing an update on his friend.
Cole said that he talks to O\’Reilly every day and he is doing good. Per the AEW star, his teammate is working hard but not rushing anything:
\”Kyle was really banged up and it got to a point where he kind of couldn\’t take it anymore. I\’m so glad that he got fixed and got healthy and is recovering day by day, every day.\”
– Adam Cole
Kyle O\’Reilly Is Doing Better
Kyle O\’Reilly underwent neck fusion surgery in September. In January, he revealed that he was dealing with a post-surgical issue. Adam Cole mentioned that the early parts of recovery were discouraging for Kyle because he wasn\’t able to do a lot. His mood however has improved with time:
\”He\’s starting to be able to do more and more in therapy and rehab, you see the excitement and wheels turning of him already thinking about how he can\’t wait to get back. He\’s in good spirits and he has a lot of people around him that love him a lot.\”
Adam Cole has been dealing with his own health issues since last year. He spent the second half of 2022 on the shelf due to concussion issues. He is expected to return to the ring soon though with Cole\’s first match back expected at AEW Revolution.
Seth Rollins made his stand on a potential CM Punk WWE return very clear recently and it appears Matt Hardy was amused by The Architect\’s clear vision.
On the latest episode of his podcast, Hardy talked about a number of things. During the AMA episode, the hardcore legend discussed things such as his tag team with Bray Wyatt and more.
Matt was also asked about Seth Rollins recently calling CM Punk a cancer and telling him to stay away from WWE. The Broken One claimed that the WWE star won him over with his statement:
“He especially won me over just because of his comments on Punk the other day, I popped huge when I saw that. I was laughing out loud. Very funny stuff.”
– Matt Hardy
Seth Rollins appears to be building a feud with Logan Paul for WrestleMania 39. The YouTube star eliminated him from Royal Rumble. Rollins has since called him out, and said that he doesn\’t need Logan Paul in his locker room.
The former Shield member is also set to enter the Elimination Chamber match for Austin Theory\’s US championship in Montreal, Quebec, Canada on February 18.
Matt Hardy on the other hand has been involved with The Firm in AEW. The trio of Hardy, Ethan Page and Isiah Kassidy unsuccessfully challenged for the AEW Trios Title during this week\’s Rampage.
WWE fans in attendance on tonight\’s SmackDown got a rare treat after the show went off air. They got to see Bray Wyatt wrestle in only his sixth match since his return to the company last year.
The main event segment of this week\’s show featured an appearance from Roman Reigns. The Tribal Chief cut a promo but he was interrupted by Sami Zayn who attacked him from behind.
The Honorary Uce issued a challenge to Reigns for a world title match at Elimination Chamber. He was then taken out by Solo Sikoa and Jimmy Uso. The broadcast ended with Reigns standing tall after accepting his challenge.
SmackDown Dark Matches
After this segment, Solo Sikoa and Jimmy Uso had a match. The duo picked up a win over The Good Brothers in a tag team bout.
The final match of the night saw Bray Wyatt coming out to face LA Knight. The two SmackDown stars competed in a street fight.
Both competitors used multiple weapons during the match. Knight almost defeated Wyatt after knocking him out using a kendo stick.
After a failed pin fall attempt, LA Knight brought a table in the ring. Wyatt however, used it against him and he pinned the former NXT star after delivering a chokeslam through the table.
MJF is known to blur the line between reality and kayfabe. He has kept everyone guessing about his AEW contract and future, but a latest report suggests that he has actually been telling the truth.
It all started when the current AEW champion no-showed an event before Double or Nothing in May last year. He was unhappy with his pay in the company compared to some newer signings.
He went on a hiatus from AEW programming after the PPV. He was given a more prominent role once he returned at All Out. The 26-year-old went on to win the AEW world championship at Full Gear in November.
Many fans believe that this push is a sign that MJF has signed a contract extension with the company. The AEW star himself however has maintained that it\’s not the case.
According to Whatculture, the Wrestling Devil is actually telling the truth. He has not signed a contract extension and his current deal is set to expire in January 2024.
The young star is still undecided about his plans past his current deal. It\’s possible that he explores other possibilities instead of re-signing with the company.
Would you like to see MJF possibly jumping ships to WWE when his current deal expires? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section.
Royal Rumble was one of the biggest nights of his career for Cody Rhodes. He was making his return from a gruesome injury after months and he went on to pick up one of the biggest wins of his career. In the heat of the moment, however, Rhodes committed what he calls a \’cardinal sin\’ in the wrestling business.
The winner of the 2023 Men\’s Royal Rumble recently appeared on After The Bell podcast. Speaking about his performance at the PPV, Rhodes revealed that he did not know where the hard cam was:
\”I did commit what I\’d call kind of a cardinal sin in the wrestling game. My dad would be really irked if he knew this. I did not walk the arena earlier in the day. I did not walk the ramp. I did not get in the ring. I was very much held behind doors. Because of that, I will admit I had no clue and I still have not figured it out. I didn\’t know where the hard cam was.\”
\”Okay, Welcome Back\”: Cody Rhodes
Cody Rhodes explained that his father the late great Dusty Rhodes would have not been too happy knowing this detail. It ended up not mattering in the end per Rhodes because the cameras managed to capture the best moment of the night:
I tried. Then at a certain point, I just figured I had found it but then the sign was that way and I figured \’Nope that can\’t [be it]\’. So I really was just looking to get all [corners] \’Let\’s just get all fours.\’ That was one of those [reminding moments] \’Okay, welcome back.\’ Because that\’s something you absolutely have to cover.
That\’s part of being a professional. Put your face to the camera and here I am claiming to be one of the world\’s top professionals [not knowing]. I would have got a kick in the ass from the old man, and my brother for that matter, but it didn\’t [matter in the end]. In the case of WWE, there\’s 1000 cameras who captured every second of it. They got to capture the sweetest second of it and that\’s when Gunther went over the top rope.”
Cody Rhodes has come a long way in the last few years and established himself as one of the top stars of the current generation. After winning the Royal Rumble, he is only one step away from realizing his life\’s dream. His journey, however, wasn\’t always as glorious. The American Nightmare had to go through some dark times before he was able to get on the path to redemption.
The former AEW star opened up about his journey and his mental health struggles during an appearance on After The Bell. Rhodes was asked about a conversation he had with his wife Brandi Rhodes before leaving WWE. The WWE star recalled how he was tired of not being considered a top guy:
\”I\’m sitting in a rental car with Brandi. It\’s freezing because we were in Scranton, it’s freezing, freezing. We were outside the bus. [The] crew bus was right in front of us. It had The Rock and had the John Cena photo on it from the second Mania. So we\’ve already seen this bus for over a year now but this story was encompassing really two years. This story, the John vs Rock saga and it was wonderful. But when you\’re on the card, not close to that [it\’s discouraging].
At my level, I had been chipping away a little bit as brass rings here and there, brass rings here and there but I hadn\’t broken through by any means. I just got so tired of seeing their dang faces. I love John. He was my role model in the business. He\’s a rental car guy with me until he got a bus but as much as I did, I just was getting so upset. I told her \’I can\’t keep looking at the same guys. I can\’t.\’ I got out the car and I threw a yoo hoo glass bottle up against beautiful Dwayne Johnson\’s face.\”
\’That Was Rough\’: Cody Rhodes
Cody Rhodes detailed his mental state at the time saying that he was \’dead\’ inside. He mentioned how being Stardust in front of Brandi was especially hard and he didn\’t want to lower himself in front of her. The conversation ultimately led to him making the decision to leave the promotion:
\”Getting it out for me, ultimately would lead to me leaving. It was the only way I could get it out. It was pinned up. It was pinned up for too long. Today you\’ve got a medical team at WWE that includes mental health services. I\’m not saying that I was deep down the rabbit hole, but it\’s still so helpful to talk to somebody. I only had other wrestlers to talk to. Myself to talk to. You never want to lower yourself in front of your beloved. In front of your wife.
One of the hardest things for me was being Stardust in front of Brandi. That was rough. When Brandi married Cody Rhodes, he was the Intercontinental Champion. He was wrestling Randy Orton every night and we were absolutely tearing the joint down. Next thing you know, I\’m running around in a space outfit and trying to make the best of it but I was very dead inside. Also to this day, I don\’t know why I was drinking a yoo hoo.\”
Sami Zayn has proven in the past few months that he belongs at the top of the WWE mountain. He has shown the world that he can hang on his own with main eventers such as Roman Reigns. According to the WWE star himself, this has all happened only after Triple H took over creative.
The WWE star had an interview with BT Sport before Royal Rumble. He talked about his storyline with The Bloodline and noted that he wasn\’t given screen time with The Tribal Chief during Vince McMahon\’s reign.
Zayn mentioned that stars aligned for him to get to share the screen with Roman the first time in Montreal. It took the storyline to the next level. He is not sure if things would have gone the same way without the management change:
\”All I know is I can definitely point to the time he wasn\’t in charge and say I was kept away from being on screen with Roman. Then once he was in charge, all of a sudden, I\’m on screen and it\’s allowed to breathe and see where it goes.\”
– Sami Zayn
The former IC champion mentioned how they got more room to breathe after the first interaction since the pairing started to work. He doesn\’t know if it could have happened with the previous management as well.
Do you think Sami Zayn would have been given the chances he has been given in the last few months under Vince McMahon? Let us know your thoughts in the comment.
Royal Rumble always brings in many surprises and there is a lot of chatter about which stars may or may not show up at the PPV from Alamodome this year.
Fightful Select provided some update on the names fans are expecting to see on the show tonight including The Rock, Ronda Rousey and more.
Switchblade Jay White is expected to leave NJPW at the end of his deal. As of now however, he is still under contract which likely means he won\’t be at Royal Rumble.
When asked about a potential surprise appearance at the show, Matt Cardona said \”In San Antonio the day before the Rumble? What am I, a mark?\”
Doudrop who has been out of action since last September is in town and taking part in media events. She has been training for an in-ring return for a month.
Ronda Rousey wasn\’t originally expected to be part of the Royal Rumble after losing the SmackDown women\’s title to Charlotte Flair back in December.
Several people with connections to the company \’swear The Rock is showing up.\’ His latest Instagram post on the other hand, suggests that it\’s not likely.
There are Uncle Howdy outfits set for use during the show. Bo Dallas, who has been the rumored name behind the character is also in town.
People have speculated that Pat McAfee could be returning from his hiatus. There is one talent who claims to have heard his name being mentioned for Rumble.
Which surprise appearance would you like to see at Royal Rumble this year? Let us know in the comment section below.
The Rock has been long rumored for a match against Roman Reigns. Despite recent discouraging updates, people have been holding on hope for the Great One to make surprise appearance somewhere on the road to WrestleMania. His latest post however, suggests that he won\’t be showing up at least at Royal Rumble.
The Great One recently shared a video on his Instagram account. The footage shows him shooting a scene for his upcoming Christmas movie late on Friday night:
\”2 am on a Friday night and we’re still going strong. May not look very sexy right now but in our Christmas movie, this will become a thing of beauty.\”
Red One is an upcoming Christmas action movie featuring The Rock, Chris Evans and J.K. Simmons among others. The film is said to reimagine the holiday mythology but the plot for it has not been revealed yet.
The Rock vs Roman Reigns?
It\’s been established before that The Rock cannot risk taking part in active competition while shooting a movie. The risk of potential injury can cause the insurance costs to skyrocket and put financial pressure on the producers. During an active shooting session, even a non-wrestling appearance seems out of question.
The Rock had been the frontrunner for ending Roman Reigns\’ record-breaking championship reign for long. People expected this match to take place at WrestleMania 39. These plans seem to be off the table after the former world champion informed WWE that he won\’t be able to get in shape for a match in time.
Would you like to see The Rock making an appearance on the road to WrestleMania if he doesn\’t wrestle Roman Reigns? Let us know your thoughts in comments.
WWE has seen some big management changes since the return of Vince McMahon. A number of big names have parted ways with the company in recent days. The biggest departure has been the resignation of former Co-CEO Stephanie McMahon.
There have been a lot of rumors as to the reason behind her decision to leave her post. Latest reports claim that it was to avoid being demoted.
Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer recently provided some insight on McMahon\’s exit. He claimed that Stephanie was about to be demoted:
\”This comes from those unhappy that she left, is that she had done a great job thrown into the co-CEO role, and with Vince back, was about to be demoted.\”
Meltzer noted that the female executive didn\’t need the money or the job. He mentioned that she had already decided to take a leave last year.
The last time Stephanie McMahon took a leave of absence from WWE in May 2022, she hadn\’t resigned from her position on the board of directors. So this is considered a much stronger move.
Vince McMahon announced his return to WWE on January 9 this year. Two days later Stephanie McMahon resigned from her post and from the board of directors. Vince was elected the chairman once again later that day.
Lacey Evans returned to the ring after a hiatus of two months on this week\’s episode of SmackDown and declared her entry into the Royal Rumble match.
The Sassy Southern Belle last competed on TV during the November 11, 2022 episode of SmackDown. She took part in a six-pack challenge that was won by Shotzi.
After the loss, Evans had said that she was \”done trying to please everybody\” and no longer be comfortable in the \”glitz, glamour and the lifestyle\” of being a WWE star.
The company then started airing vignettes of the SmackDown star where she was seen undergoing rigorous training with fellow United States Marine Corps.
Lacey Evans is Back
Lacey Evans finally returned to the ring on the January 27th episode of SmackDown. She competed in a singles match against Jazmin Allure.
The female star used the Cobra Clutch submission to defeat her opponent before declaring entry into the upcoming Women\’s Royal Rumble.
WWE Legend Sgt. Slaughter had recently discussed the idea of managing Evans on WWE TV. With her adopting the Cobra Clutch, it\’s very much possible that we will see this pairing on WWE programming very soon.
Lacey Evans wasn\’t the only name to announce her entry into Royal Rumble on SmackDown. A former Universal Champion also confirmed himself for the show. Click here to find out more.
Trying to win Royal Rumble just became much harder for the other 29 contestants, because Brock Lesnar has announced his entry into the match.
This week\’s episode of SmackDown featured a segment with US Champion Austin Theory. He was interrupted by Xavier Woods, Kofi Kingston and The Miz.
All four of these men started brawling before Bobby Lashley came out. The All Mighty levelled all other stars. He mentioned that Brock Lesnar cost him the US title on Raw and said that he will terrorize everyone until he gets what he wants.
The Beast Incarnate then made his entrance through the crowd. He delivered an F5 to Lashley before declaring his entry into the battle royal.
Bray Wyatt got to share a pretty special moment with The Undertaker at Raw 30th Anniversary special. The Dead Man symbolized the passing of the torch when he didn\’t capitalize on the opportunity to Chokeslam LA Knight. The Last Outlaw instead passed him on to the former Universal Champion so Wyatt can deliver a Sister Abigail. Taker then whispered something to Bray before making his way back.
The Fiend recently had a rare interview with Ryan Satin on Out of Character. He was asked the question everyone has in mind – what did The Undertaker say to him. While the former champion didn\’t betray the secret, he did claim that it was a very special segment. Wyatt who never re-watches any of his work, said that it\’s the one moment he will cherish for the rest of his life:
\”Okay, so I think everybody kind of can see it for what it was, right? When something like that happens, that\’s something that no one can take away from me.\” said Bray Wyatt, \”That moment belongs to me. No one else in the world in the history of time ever gets to have that moment. No one but me. What he said was something that only I would have understood. Something that only I would be able to appreciate, for when and where it happened.
It was something I never thought would come but what he said exactly is between me, him, God [and] the devil. I could never [reveal it]. I\’ll never, never tell so. I\’ll go to my grave with it. But it was powerful, and it was unexpected. Very very cool. Something I will cherish for the rest of my life. That\’s a segment I can watch back. That\’s a special one.\”
You can check out the interview of Bray Wyatt below:
Bray Wyatt is one of the rare breed of wrestlers who have kept kayfabe alive. He is one who almost never comes out of his character to talk to people and it creates a mystique around him. Though sometimes it also leads to him facing all his problems on his own without involving the world into it.
The WWE star had a rare chat with Ryan Satin on the Out of Character podcast. They talked about his return promo at Extreme Rules last year where the former Wyatt Family Leader opened up about his struggles a little bit and thanked fans for saving him. He revisited the emotions during the talk and reiterated that it\’s the fans that have led him back:
\”Well, I despise the way my mind works. That\’s the truth of it all. I\’m the first person ever to tell you all my flaws. I refuse to watch myself back. I\’ve never seen pretty much anything that I\’ve ever done. I can\’t watch. I [am] just that kind of headcase man, but it\’s also kind of my superpower.
It\’s what makes me, me. [It] is the obsession. When I\’m geared on something, I\’m so deep into it that there is no separating life from anything else. It just is. When I dive deep like that, it\’s what makes me connect and it\’s the reason that I have fans that are so into what I do. It feels like it\’s part of their life too. If I didn\’t have such passionate fans, man, I wouldn\’t be here. I really wouldn\’t. It\’s them that led me back here.\”
\’It Was All Out of Nowhere\’: Bray Wyatt
The former Universal champion went through a dark period in his life just around the time of his WWE firing in 2021. He lost two of his best friends apart from losing his job. Opening up about the time, Bray Wyatt admitted that he didn\’t deal with it very well. Though he also explained that the long journey has led him to where he is now:
\”There was so much there. Just so much going on with all that. It was out of nowhere. I wasn\’t prepared for any of that. I lost my childhood best friend. I lost Brodie. I lost my best friend from college Mark. It was something that I think I didn\’t deal with very well. I think Brodie\’s wife Amanda dealt with it. The kids dealt with it better than me and Rowan did. There\’s something there that reminds me of him every single day.
I think that time period was such a conundrum for me. I wasn\’t myself. It took me a while to kind of remember what makes me, me. It was a long journey man but it\’s led me here, into this moment. This is the best I\’ve ever felt.\”
FTR didn\’t have the best year in 2021. The tag team was stuck in limbo after jumping ships from WWE to AEW and they didn\’t get a lot of opportunities to showcase their talent. The duo of Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler decided to change this in 2022 and the team that helped them in this task was none other than The Briscoes.
Harwood talked about their highly praised feud with the ROH veterans on the latest episode of his podcast. He remembered their first encounter at ROH Final Battle in December, 2021 where FTR attacked The Briscoes. Per Dax, there were no plans for them in the place at the time and they just wanted to test the waters:
\”We just wanted to test the waters. We just wanted to see what was gonna happen. Myself and Cash, really were in a low point in our career. We weren\’t doing anything. We begged Tony to let us do that.\”
– Dax Harwood
\’We Deserve To Be On National Television\’: Dax Harwood
The Final Battle confrontation led to a highly praised match between the two teams at Supercard of Honor 2022. It was the time when the future of ROH was in question. So the two teams decided to go out with a blaze of glory and prove that they deserved to be on national television every week:
\”We knew we could go. If Ring of Honor was going to go out, the four of us could go out with a blaze of glory and say, \’This is who we are. This is what we represent and we deserve a job somewhere. We deserve to be on national television every week somewhere.\’ That was our mindset going into it. Then the match happened. Man, it was f**king magical.\”
The match between FTR and The Briscoes at Supercard of Honor was awarded a five-star rating by Dave Meltzer. It helped both the teams create buzz. They went on to have two more highly praised matches that helped put them back on the map.
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