Drake Maverick recently returned to WWE as a member of the creative team, as first reported by PWInsider.
Maverick posted a message on his personal Linkedin page confirming his new role. Towards the end of 2021, he accepted a \”wonderful offer\” to be part of the WWE Creative Writing Team a Writer/producer.
\”I now have the opportunity to expand my horizons even further in the industry I love as well as many other avenues including film & television,\” he wrote. \”After a career beginning in 2001 as an in ring performer I have personally exceeded all of my personal expectations from a geographical & physical standpoint in a line of work somebody like myself should have never succeeded in.
Needless to say, all thanks to the people I have had the pleasure of being around on the journey & this industry as a whole – I am in a blessed position in life. It owes me nothing yet I owe it everything.\”
Maverick, real name James Curtin, made a name for himself in TNA Wrestling as Rockstar Spud and became the first-ever winner of Impact Wrestling\’s British reality competition series British Bootcamp. While with TNA, he was used as a wrestler, personality, manager, and ring announcer from 2012 through 2017.
Maverick first joined WWE in 2017 for the 205 Live brand by appearing as the General Manager. He also was short-term manager for the Authors of Pain on the Raw brand. While on Raw, he had his actual wedding to Renee Michelle as a backdrop for a WWE 24/7 Championship angle. He also held the championship several times before being let go in 2020.
Right after his release, Maverick released an emotional promo on social media and that got the fans behind him in a big way. It led to the company signing him once again for the WWE NXT brand until he was cut again in November 2021 as part of the blamed budget cuts excuse.
WWE confirmed a match for WrestleMania 38 that is expected to get mainstream attention as Logan Paul is slated to step into the ring to team with The Miz.
On Monday Night Raw, there was a Miz TV segment where The Miz introduced a “pioneer,” someone who comes from a “fighting family” and is a “celebrity, but Rey Mysterio interrupted before he could announce his partner for WrestleMania
Rey and Dominik Mysterio did a promo on Miz as Rey stated that he knows Miz can’t get a partner from the roster because everyone hates him and the outsider that Miz can get will just have to go back to where he came from after getting his WrestleMania moment.
This is when Miz introduced Paul as his tag team partner for the WrestleMania match against The Mysterios. Paul and Miz attacked them and they left them laying after shoving both of them into the steel ring posts.
Miz connected with the Skull Crushing Finale to Rey while Paul hit the Skull Crushing Finale on Dominik. This was expected as Paul was reported to be Miz’s partner over the weekend after Miz teased getting a partner.
WWE NXT North American Champion Carmelo Hayes had an interesting exchange with AEW’s Max Caster on Monday through social media.
It all started when Caster responded to a clip tweeted out by a fan account of Hayes and Trick Williams. That clip was from Hayes’ win over Cameron Grimes at NXT Vengeance Day last week. It featured Hayes making an “A” with his fingers, a reference to how he bills himself as The A Champion of NXT.
Caster reacted to it by writing “Everyone loves the Acclaimed [smiling face with hearts emoji] [winking face emoji].” Although Hayes uses the “A” symbol for being The A Champion, The Acclaimed uses the same taunt to represent their tag team name.
This is when things picked up as Hayes responded to Caster’s tweet by knocking them for often appearing on the Dark and Elevation shows that air on AEW’s YouTube channel.
“Damn I didn’t know this was your thing, I don’t watch the YouTube show [man shrugging emoji],” Hayes wrote.
Caster later responded to it and even Williams chimed in, as seen below:
WWE is bringing in a celebrity for WrestleMania 38 who will be paired with The Miz. The former WWE Champion lost to Rey Mysterio on the Elimination Chamber Kickoff show thanks to outside inference from Dominik.
Later in the show, while doing a backstage interview, Miz stated that he would bring in a global superstar to be his partner against Rey and Dominik. Pwinsider.com reports Logan Paul is believed to be the person who will team up with The Miz with the match expected to take place at WrestleMania.
Fightful Select confirmed that they heard this pitch was made. It was added that WWE wants to go \”all out\” to sell out both nights of the show in addition to the expectation that this would be the case for two-night WrestleMania shows that happen moving forward.
Paul made his WWE television debut during the build to WrestleMania 37 where he was ringside for Kevin Owens‘ match against Sami Zayn. Following the bout, Owens laid Paul out with a stunner.
WWE stacked the deck in storyline against Bobby Lashley when he put his WWE Title on the line against Brock Lesnar, Austin Theory, Riddle, Seth Rollins, and AJ Styles in an Elimination Chamber Match at the themed PPV event on Saturday afternoon (February 19, 2022).
The match was saved as the main event with Theory and Rollins starting it off. Rollins powerbombed Theory through one of the pods. Lashley was in the pod and WWE did an injury angle to get Lashley out of the match. It was said that Lashley was in concussion protocol. Riddle was the third entrant and then Styles and finally Lesnar. Lesnar eliminated Rollins and Riddle with the F5. Moments later, Styles was given the same fate. Theory and Lesnar were last to remain. Lesnar with an F5 off the top of a pod.
The stars in the match earned their way in by winning qualifying matches on the January 31st edition of Raw. Theory beat Kevin Owens with the ATL while Riddle defeated Otis and tyles defeated Rey Mysterio. Rollins Rollins declared his entry for the Chamber match on the Kevin Owens Show.
As far as Lesnar goes, he was added to the bout during the opening segment of the show when he challenged Lashley to a title match that night, but Lashley declined. Adam Pearce then just announced Lesnar for it.
There had been some speculation about WWE doing a champion vs. champion bout between Lesnar and WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns for their match at WrestleMania 38. That\’s exactly what is happening.
Lita was the latest star to step up and challenge WWE Raw Women’s Champion Becky Lynch for her title, which happened at the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view event.
The match was saved for later in the show. It was all Lynch in the early going as she hit a few different leg drops for near falls. The tide turned when Lita hit a DDT as a counter. At one point, Lita hit twist of fate for a near fall. Lynch with a rock bottom for a near fall as Lita put her foot on the bottom rope. Lynch did miss a moonsault, which set up a near fall as Lita hit the twist of fate and moonsault. Lynch with the one-handed slam for the win.
After making her return by working the women’s Royal Rumble match, the following night on Monday Night Raw, Lita appeared in the closing segment as WWE served fans in thinking that Ronda Rousey would challenge Lynch for the strap at WrestleMania. That wasn’t the case as instead, Rousey hit Lynch with a judo thrown.
After Rousey left Lynch laying, Lita\’s music hit, and the WWE Hall of Famer came out to the ring while wearing Lynch’s merchandise. She put over Lynch and stated that while Rousey may not be ready to challenge Lynch, she was always up for a challenge so she issued it. Lynch agreed and here we were.
Lynch is slated to defend her title against the winner of the Elimination Chamber match later in the show that features Doudrop, Liv Morgan, Rhea Ripley, Nikki ASH, Bianca Belair, and a mystery star.
Lita had been offered a deal by AEW to come join the promotion, but as the WWE Hall of Famer previously explained, WWE has been her home for 20 years and it didn’t feel right to leave.
What are your thoughts on Lynch retaining the Raw Women’s Title? Was this the right call by WWE officials? Sound off in the comment section.
WWE upped the stakes for the women’s Elimination Chamber match in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia from the Jeddah SuperDome as Rhea Ripley, Bianca Belair, Liv Morgan, Doudrop, and Nikki A.S.H. competed in the bout. The sixth participant, who had been previously unknown for weeks was revealed as Alexa Bliss.
The stipulation of the match was the winner getting the next shot at the Raw Women’s Title. The bout started off with Nikki and Liv. Doudrop entered the match third. Rhea was in fourth. Rhea hit her finisher to Nikki for the first elimination. Bliss earned the fifth entry and last was Belair. Morgan went to the top rope, but Doudrop tossed her into the pod. Morgan eliminated Doudrop with a sunset flip powerbomb. Bliss hit twisted bliss to eliminate Morgan. Belair eliminated Rhea with her finisher.
As a result of the win, she will challenge Becky Lynch for the Raw Women’s Title at WrestleMania 38 on either April 2 or 3. At the Elimination Chamber, Lynch faced off with Hall Of Famer Lita.
In recent weeks, Morgan and Doudrop had both unsuccessfully challenged for Lynch\’s title as Doudrop got her title shot at the Royal Rumble by defeating Morgan and Belair in a number one contender\’s match. In a heel move, Lynch interfered to prevent Belair from winning in that triple threat match.
In the last match on his current WWE deal, Goldberg challenged WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns for the title at the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view event.
The match opened the main card. They brawled early until Goldberg caught him with a spear. When he went for the jackhammer, Reigns reversed it with a rock bottom-like move. After hitting the superman punch, Reigns went for the spear, but Goldberg caught him with one of his own. Reigns won with the guillotine choke and Goldberg passed out.
The match was set up during the February 4th edition of SmackDown as Reigns and Paul Heyman celebrated their accomplishments at the Royal Rumble, which was costing Brock Lesnar the WWE Championship.
The WWE Hall Of Famer came out and said that he acknowledged Reigns, but as his next victim. Goldberg told Reigns he wanted the Universal Championship match. That match was confirmed later in the show.
Of course. This match was originally scheduled for WrestleMania 36 back in 2020, but Reigns took time off due to the COVID-19 pandemic so WWE got Braun Strowman to face and beat Goldberg for the Universal title instead
Goldberg challenged for the WWE Championship at the 2021 Royal Rumble pay-per-view but lost to Drew McIntyre before losing to then-WWE Champion Bobby Lashley at the SummerSlam only to win the rematch when he previously competed at Crown Jewel where he beat Lashley.
Reigns will make his next Universal Title defense against Lesnar at WrestleMania 38. As of this writing, Goldberg’s WWE future let alone his WrestleMania status is currently up in the air.
AEW has announced two big matches for their upcoming Revolution pay-per-view event including the main event of “Hangman” Adam Page defending his AEW World Title against Adam Cole.
Also booked for the show included Powerhouse Hobbs beating Dante Martin on Friday’s Rampage episode to earn a spot in the Face of the Revolution ladder match for a TNT Title shot and Thunder Rosa vs. AEW Women’s World Champion Britt Baker.
Cole, who is the top-ranked contender in the latest AEW rankings, confronted Hangman Page on the February 9 episode of AEW Dynamite then came face-to-face on Wednesday\’s AEW Dynamite.
Baker and Rosa faced off in an Unsanctioned Lights Out Match at St. Patrick\’s Day Slam on March 11, 2021. Last Wednesday on Dynamite, Rosa defeated Mercedes Martinez
AEW Revolution Card
The AEW Revolution pay-per-view event will take place on Saturday, March 6, 2022 from Orlando, Florida.
AEW World Heavyweight champion “Hangman” Adam Page vs. Adam Cole
AEW Women’s Champion Britt Baker vs. Thunder Rosa
Dog collar match: CM Punk vs. MJF
Face of the Revolution ladder match for a TNT Title shot: Keith Lee vs. Wardlow vs. Powerhouse Hobbs, vs. TBA vs. TBA vs. TBA
AEW World Tag Team Champions Jurassic Express vs. TBD vs. TBD
The February 15, 2022 episode of WWE NXT aired live on Syfy from Orlando, Florida at the Capitol Wrestling Center.
WWE NXT Results
Pete Dunne def. Tony D’Angelo
NXT Women’s Tag Team Champions Toxic Attraction def. Indi Hartwell and Persia Pirotta
NXT North American Champion Carmelo Hayes def. Cameron Grimes
The Creed Brothers def. MSK
NXT Champion Bron Breakker def. Santos Escobar
Here are the takeaways from this week’s show:
Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Finals
Men’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Finals took place between MSK and the Creed Brothers.
The match was the co-main event. MSK got the early advantage. There was a wild spot where Lee was tossed onto the announce table. Following the break, MSK got the hot tag and hit some dives off the top rope. The finish called for The Creeds hitting their finisher.
MSK won last year’s tournament while this marked the first time that the Creed Brothers worked the tournament since signing with WWE.
Pete Dunne and Tony D’Angelo battled inside of a steel cage match at this show. This was the opener and various weapons were used including a fire extinguisher, tables, chairs, and more. They both kicked out of their finishers. Dunne won the match.
Dunne and D\’Angelo have feuded in recent months as Dunne defeated D’Angelo on the December 21st edition of NXT only for D’Angelo to then defeat Dunne in a Crowbar on a Pole match on the January 11 edition.
An NXT North American Title match between champion Carmelo Hayes and Cameron Grimes took place.
Grimes became the number one contender to Hayes\’ title by defeating Tony D\’Angelo in the main event of the January 25th edition of NXT.
The match started off slow and kicked off the second hour. They went back and forth with some near falls down the stretch. Grimes took out Williams at ringside. Back in the ring, Hayes hit his finisher for the win.
NXT Women’s Tag Team Champions Jacy Jayne and Gigi Dolin defended the titles against Persia Pirotta and Indi Hartwell.
The match was short. The babyfaces hit their finisher, but it was broken up on the pinfall. Persia was sent into the ring steps. Indi was knocked off the top rope and the heels hit their finishers for the win.
Over the past few weeks, the two teams have been feuding dating back to when Hartwell, Pirotta, Kay Lee Raydefeated all three members of Toxic Attraction in a six-woman tag team match.
NXT Champion Bron Breakker vs. Santos Escobar was saved as the headliner.
The match was presented commercial free. Bron was in control in the early going. Santos fought back, sent him to the floor, and hit an outside dive. Dolph Ziggler ran out and superkicked Bron, which led to a near fall for Santos. Ciampa came out and took out Ziggler. Bron with a spear then his finisher for the win.
Breakker won the NXT Championship from Tommaso Ciampa at New Year\’s Evil last month. Since that time, Escobar has taken exception to Breakker becoming champion so soon into his career. Escobar has stated that he despises the opportunities Breakker has been given, and Breakker winning the NXT Championship before him.
Bron Breakker made his first title defense as NXT Champion against Santos Escobar in the main event of Tuesday’s episode of NXT 2.0, titled Vengeance Day.
The match was a slow start with Bron in control. Santos took over after tossing him to the floor and hitting an outside dive before picking apart the champion. Dolph Ziggler ran out and superkicked Bron, which led to a near fall for Santos. Tommaso Ciampa came out to fight Ziggler to the back. Bron with a spear then hit his finisher for the win.
The storyline coming into the bout was how Escobar objected to Breakker becoming champion so soon into his career and that he does not like that Breakker has been given so many opportunities so soon.
Leading up to the bout, Breakker has been offering for weeks to face Escobar in the ring, but the heel star had been delaying the match. Last week, Breakker and Santos met for a “Championship Summit” segment to hype the match.
Escobar won the Cruiserweight Title in May 2020 where he held the title for 321 days before dropping it to Kushida in April 2021. Since that time, he has been feuding with various stars, but this was his first time challenging for the top prize in NXT.
Bron won the NXT Title from Tommaso Ciampa last month at the New Year’s Evil special of NXT 2.0.
The 2022 men’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic is in the books as the final two teams battled it out for the trophy.
At NXT Vengeance Day, MSK wrestled The Creed Brothers in the finals of the tournament. MSK got the early advantage in the coo-headliner. Lee was tossed off the apron onto the announce table. After the commercial break, Carter got the hot tag and cleaned house. Carter hit a back flip off the apron. He went to the top rope and hit a front senton then Lee hit a dive off the top rope for a near fall.
The finish saw The Creeds hit their finisher. As a result, they’ve received the Dusty Cup and earned a shot at the Tag Team Champions Imperium.
The first round matches took place last month with MSK beating Jacket Time (Ikemen Jiro and Kushida), Edris Enofé and Malik Blade beating Legado Del Fantasma (Joaquin Wilde and Raul Mendoza), The Creed Brothers (Brutus Creed and Julius Creed) over Brooks Jensen and Josh Briggs, and Grizzled Young Veterans (James Drake and Zack Gibson) defeating Chase U (Andre Chase and Bodhi Hayward).
The second round bouts included MSK over Enofé and Blade and The Creed Brothers beat Grizzled Young Veterans. Past winners include:
2015: Finn Balor and Samoa Joe
2016: The Authors of Pain
2018: The Undisputed Era (Adam Cole & Kyle O’Reilly)
2019: Aleister Black and Ricochet
2020: The BroserWeights (Matt Riddle & Pete Dunne)
An NXT North American Title match between champion Carmelo Hayes and Cameron Grimes was one of the top matches featured on the card of Tuesday’s episode of NXT 2.0, titled Vengeance Day.
The match took place in the second hour and was back and forth. Although Grimes had some momentum down the stretch, Grimes took out Trick Williams at ringside and back in the ring, found himself on the receiving end of Hayes’ finisher.
This was set up on the January 26th episode of NXT 2.0 when Grimes secured himself the title opportunity by defeating Tony D’Angelo in the main event. Pete Dunne made his return on this show to cost D’Angelo after losing to D’Angelo in a ‘Crowbar on a Pole’ match. He hit D’Angelo over the hand with a Cricket bat.
At New Year’s Evil in January, Hayes unified the North American and Cruiserweight Titles by beating Roderick Strong. This marked Grimes’ first shot at the North American Title since TakeOver XXX in 2020 when he worked a 5-Way Ladder Match with Johnny Gargano, Bronson Reed, Damian Priest, and Velveteen Dream. Since then, Gargano, Reed, and Dream are no longer with WWE.
The North American Title was first introduced in April 2018 and won by Adam Cole. There had been 13 champions in the original history of the title.
Lita is slated to challenge Becky Lynch for the Raw Women’s Championship at Elimination Chamber on February 19, which will mark her first singles match since 2006 where she dropped the Women’s Title to Mickie James at the Survivor Series.
While speaking with Sports Illustrated to promote the show, the WWE Hall Of Famer talked about how her training has gone for the bout:
“I really feel good. I have been away from the ring [and traveling with WWE], so I haven’t been beating myself up. I’m sleeping in the same bed and holding a regular training schedule. They gave us quite a bit of heads up for the Rumble this year, so I’ve had time to prepare, and that has shifted into making my workouts more intense. Plus, combine that with a group I’ve linked up with in the Bay Area called Hood Slam—I have an open invitation to their ring and that’s helped so much. That’s really helped put any doubt to rest.”
Prior to Lita’s latest WWE return, it was reported that she considered going to AEW. She gave some additional details on how the talks went and why she eventually decided to stay with WWE.
“They reached out to me initially, and I was intrigued. They’re doing a lot of cool stuff. It’s exciting whenever there is competition—it stokes the industry as a whole. And they’ve really fostered the rise of the star of Britt Baker. I was intrigued, but as we ended up talking, it felt like it wasn’t the right move for me. We ended it with, “Not right now. I wish you the best and I’ll be watching.” It’s a fun product and I’m glad for their success. I ultimately feel I’m home in WWE. There is something that feels right about that.”
Lita also stated in this interview that there are currently no plans for her in WWE following the Elimination Chamber event.
Footage of the stage and set for WWE Elimination Chamber days ahead of the show has surfaced online.
As seen below in the video, WWE already has set up the stage, ramp, ring, and tent-like structure that goes over the ring where the chamber structure is housed. All that’s left is adding the seating chairs on the floor.
The event takes place this Saturday, February 19 from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia from the Jeddah SuperDome. The pre-show will begin at 11am ET, and the main card will begin at 12pm ET. This will be the first Saudi show for WWE of 2022 with the second event expected to take place in October or November.
Eight matches have been confirmed for the main card and the pre-show bout has yet to be revealed. 5 of those bouts will feature championships on the line including WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns vs. Goldberg and WWE Raw Women’s Champion Becky Lynch vs. Lita.
There will be two chamber bouts – WWE Champion Bobby Lashley vs. Brock Lesnar vs. Seth Rollins vs. Austin Theory vs. AJ Styles vs. Riddle and Doudrop vs. Liv Morgan vs. Rhea Ripley vs. Nikki A.S.H. vs. Bianca Belair vs. Alexa Bliss with the winner challenging for the Raw Women’s Title at WrestleMania 38.
Josh Alexander announced via a statement on his Twitter account that his contract with Impact Wrestling has expired. As a result, his United States work visa has also expired.
He has been pulled from all events he was scheduled for this month including TERMINUS and AAW. He wrote the following:
“Today my contract expired & subsequently also US work visa. Unfortunately as a consequence I will not be able to honour my commitments to both @TERMINUSpro & @AMLWrestling later this month. I’m disappointed & I’m sorry. Hopefully I’ll have everything in order soon.”
Following this reveal, it explains why Alexander was removed from the No Surrender card this coming Saturday night. He is Canadian and in order to stay in the United States, he needs a work visa.
Alexander started working for Impact in 2018 and since that time, he has found a lot of success including runs as a World Heavyweight, X-Division, and Tag Team Champion.
Moose will defend his Impact World Championship against W. Morrissey at the No Surrender event on FITE TV and Impact Plus.
WWE is slated to have a presence during Sunday\’s Super Bowl LVI broadcast. WWE told employees on Friday that \”multiple\” commercials for WrestleMania 38 will air during the Super Bowl (via PWinsider).
Recent Peacock commercials have highlighted WWE programming. It’s unclear whether the Peacock ads on Sunday will be dedicated WWE WrestleMania commercials, or simply ads for the Peacock streaming service.
The big game kicks off at 6:30 p.m. Eastern time from SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. and will feature the Los Angeles Rams and the Cincinnati Bengals. This makes sense as this year\’s Super Bowl airs on NBC and Peacock as Peacock houses the WWE Network in the United States.
The stadium is also scheduled to host WrestleMania 39 in 2023.
WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar and WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair vs Ronda Rousey have been the only matches confirmed for WrestleMania 38. WWE has been building towards next Saturday\’s Elimination Chamber event so once that show is over, the company will have over a month to build towards its biggest show of the year.
WWE\’s last Super Bowl ad aired in 1999, as seen below:
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has honored his legendary father, Rocky Johnson, in a post on social media. WWE put together a special tribute video with help from the former WWE Champion as part of Black History Month.
The Rock wrote the following in the caption of the Instagram post:
“This one makes me emotional to watch, but man I’m smiling with goosebumps of gratitude, mana and pride. My dad, Rocky “Soulman” Johnson was a trailblazer and became the first black @wwe tag team champions w/“Mr. USA” Tony Atlas. As a little boy, my dad was always the hardest working man I knew. Now as a man, I understand where many of my old habits come from. Shared DNA. I miss my old man and wish I had a chance to say goodbye. Thank you dad for paving the way for me. For all of us. I will forever be proud of who and what I am. I love you.
* a special thank you to my entire WWE family who worked very closely with me to create this powerful tribute to The Soulman in honor of #BlackHistoryMonth.”
He started his pro wrestling career in the mid-1960s in the NWA and later became a star in WWE when he joined the promotion in 1983. He had memorable rivalries with the likes of Greg “The Hammer” Valentine, Don Muraco and Adrian Adonis. The “Soul Man” retired from the ring in 1991.
Rocky Johnson passed away on January 15, 2020 at 75 years old.
WWE is quickly approaching the Elimination Chamber event and the card is nearly complete as the company has already announced the top matches for it. However, one match that has yet to be revealed features Ronda Rousey.
WWE is airing a live episode of SmackDown tonight (February 11) and also taping next week’s show that will air on February 18 as the talent and crew will be making the long trip to Saudi Arabia ahead of the show on February 19.
Fightful Select reports a big tag team match is scheduled to be added to the Elimination Chamber lineup as the current plans call for the opening segment of the February 18th edition of SmackDown to be an announcement that a women\’s tag team match between Ronda Rousey and Naomi taking on Charlotte Flair & Sonya Deville will take place at WWE’s next premium live event.
On this week’s show, Naomi is scheduled to take on Charlotte Flair for the SmackDown Women\’s Championship.
Rousey made her return at the Royal Rumble pay-per-view event in St Louis, Missouri by being a surprise entrant in the Women’s Royal Rumble match. And winning the bout to earn the right to challenge Flair for the title at WrestleMania 38.
Prior to Lita’s latest return to WWE programming, it was reported that she considered going to World Wrestling Entertainment\’s rival promotion, AEW.
The former WWE Women’s Champion was asked in an interview with Esquire Middle East about why she stayed with WWE and didn’t join AEW. She first put over AEW for doing exciting stuff and they brought new life into the industry. She feels that any time there’s competition, it’s good as it revives the industry.
“When they reached out to me, I did consider it. I said, we can talk, I’m interested, you guys are doing some interesting stuff. But ultimately, upon talking to them, it just made me say to myself, ‘but I have all of these things already!’
Lita continued, “I have those things with my home that I’ve known for 20 years, with the people that I’ve worked with for 20 years. Basically, I gave them my blessing. I said, I will watch you and I support you. And I want you guys to do great, but this just doesn’t feel like the right fit for me right now.”
Lita made her in-ring return by working the Women’s Royal Rumble match last month and is slated to challenge Becky Lynch for the Raw Women’s Championship at Elimination Chamber on February 19.
Despite it not being likely, there has been speculation that Shane McMahon could wind up in AEW considering All Elite Wrestling is very fond of opening The Forbidden Door. As seen in the past, the promotion welcomes anyone willing to walk through the door.
Shane McMahon was reportedly let go by WWE following the Royal Rumble event this year due to several backstage issues. It was said McMahon wanted to make the men’s Royal Rumble match all about himself and tried to pitch various ideas to make himself be the star of the bout.
AEW President Tony Khan talked about the possibility of McMahon working in someway for the promotion while doing an interview with Sports Illustrated:
“I’d certainly take the call,” Khan says. “I’m sure he’d be an interesting person to talk to about wrestling. I’m not sure exactly if he would be a fit. I have not heard from him, and I don’t expect to hear from him, but in this business, you never know.”
AEW just opened The Forbidden Door with NJPW/Impact Wrestling star Jay White making an appearance on Wednesday’s Dynamite.
The Limitless one was revealed to be Isiah Kassidy\’s mystery opponent in the Face of the Revolution qualifier. Lee was in top form as he disposed of Kassidy and punched his ticket to the upcoming AEW Revolution pay-per-view.
On Thursday, Lee commented on this next chapter of his storied career. He\’s changed his Twitter name to \”All E Leet\” and sounds ready to get to work.
He also alluded to \”sad family times\” that he hopes are behind him.
We got a lot of work to do still. But I more than appreciate the warm welcome back.
The person with the sign that had the same silhouette that's on the front of my hoodie…. thank you. Touched my soul.
And with sad family times hopefully behind me….let's grind. #ForwardMarch
Keith Lee found a lot of success in WWE, but also found some disappointing moments as hee was pushed as a top star in NXT. While there, he became the North American Champion and NXT Champion.
He was later called up to the main roster and when that happened, there was a lot of optimism for him and his future. However, it was first derailed with a case of COVID-19, which led to heart issues, WWE brought him back to TV only to repackage him with the “Bearcat” gimmick.
WWE tried to use him as a heel in dark matches, but it wasn’t getting over as he’s a likeable guy. Although he was used on TV for a few months with the new gimmick, Lee was part of the most recent round of talent cuts and was waiting for his 90-day non-compete clause to expire.
“Switchblade” Jay White made an appearance on Wednesday’s episode of Dynamite when during a backstage segment where The Young Bucks and Adam Cole attacked Roppongi Vice members Trent Baretta and Rocky Romero.
White has been mentioning All Elite Wrestling in recent weeks while doing promos. In a night full of surprises, White was just one of them that AEW President Tony Khan was talking about.
White broke into the pro wrestling business in 2013 and first worked for NJPW in 2015 before going to ROH in 2016 then back to New Japan Pro Wrestling. While working for the Japan-based promotion, he held the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, Intercontinental Championship, NEVER Openweight Championship, and United States Heavyweight Championship.
Through NJPW\’s affiliation with Impact Wrestling, White started working for the promotion last year. His most recent win in Impact came on the January 22nd episode of Impact when he teamed with Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa to defeat Violent By Design (Deaner, Eric Young & Joe Doering).
White hasn’t worked a match in Japan since NJPW Wrestling Dontaku 2021 – Tag 2 on May 4, 2021. Instead, the promotion has been using them for the NJPW Strong brand here in the United States.
White is slated to wrestle Eric Young at next Saturday’s Impact No Surrender special.
The February 8, 2022 episode of WWE NXT aired live on Syfy from Orlando, Florida at the Capitol Wrestling Center.
WWE NXT Results
Creed Brothers def. Grizzled Young Veterans
Tiffany Stratton def. Wendy Choo.
Pete Dunne def. Draco Anthony.
LA Knight def. Sanga.
Sarray def. Dakota Kai.
MSK def. Blade/Enofe
Mandy Rose def. Kay Lee Ray to retain NXT Women’s Title
Here are the takeaways from this week’s show:
Sarray vs. Dakota Kai
Sarray vs. Dakota Kai was set up when Sarray returned with a new look and a new attitude.
Last week, Kai confronted Sarray, who dedicated her first win to her grandmother. Kai said she didn\’t care about Sarray’s lineage and stated that the sun will always set, no matter the changes.
The match was decent with Sarray going over with her finisher.
LA Knight vs. Sanga in a singles match took place. Grayson Waller and Knight have been feuding for several weeks as Waller attacked him in a parking lot once.
The match saw Knight fight from underneath. After Waller took off the turnbuckle padding, Knight sent Sanga into it then hit a neck breaker for the win. Post-match, Waller tried to attack Knight, but Knight laid him out with his finisher.
NXT Women’s Champion Mandy Rose defended her title against Kay Lee Ray on this show.
Last week, Ray appeared to kidnap Gigi Dolin and Jacy Jayne before throwing cake and spaghetti on Rose. She threatened her with a baseball bat until she agreed to a title match on this show.
The match was saved for the main event. Ray hit an outside dive early in the match. They went back and forth and did some near falls near the finish. There was some outside interference by Dolin and Jayne. Rose hit her finisher for the win. Post-match, Io Shirai ran out to make the save for Ray.
The Creed Brothers vs. The Grizzled Young Veterans in the semi-finals of the Men’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic.
The match opened the show. At one point, Brutus was sent throat first into the steel part of the ring frame and he sold his throat. The Creed Brothers made a comeback only for GTV hitting an outside dive then a doomsday device for a near fall. The Creed Brothers hit their tag team finisher for the win.
Bron Breakker and Santos Escobar met for a “Championship Summit” segment to hype their NXT Title match on next week’s Vengeance Day episode.
Bron said that he respects Santos, but he’s going to beat him and there’s nothing Santos can do about it. Bron wanted to fight right then. Santos said he doesn\’t expect anything less from someone so new. Santos said he’s pulling all the strings and he has everything under control. Santos said he will put an end to Bron’s career before it starts.
Dolph Ziggler came out to the ring and said what a night, what a moment with these two wanting to fight until he showed up. He congratulated Bron for knowing how to use Twitter. Dolph said that he works Tuesday’s now with a bonus. He said that he’s not paid by the hour and asked who Bron was. Bron said he’s the champ and would handle Dolph after he’s done with Santos. Dolph said that’s what a rookie would do. Dolph rattled off his accomplishments, but is missing one title and that’s the NXT Championship. He said that he’s in the head of Bron.
Tommaso Ciampa came out and said what a moment it was for Ziggler to be in NXT. He said Dolph as the NXT Champion is a hard pass. Santos said once he becomes champ then he will handle Ciampa and Ziggler. Dolph said that Ciampa thinks NXT is his home and wants to know when it ends. Ciampa kicked him in the face and cleared the ring. They brawled to the backstage area. Legado Del Fantasma jumped Bron and put him through a table.
Mandy Rose put the WWENXT Women’s Championship on the line during Tuesday’s episode of NXT 2.0 against Kay Lee Ray.
The match took place in the main event with it airing commercial free. Ray got the hot start including an outside dive. Back in the ring, Rose took over as she hit a spinebuster before slowing down the pace. Ray fought back and went for a powerbomb, but Rose rolled through for a near fall. There was some outside interference by Dolin and Jayne, which led to Rose hitting her big boot finisher for the win.
On last week\’s NXT, Ray terrorized Rose throughout the show until Rose would finally agree to give her a title match. It took for Kay Lee Ray to kidnap Gigi Dolin and Jacy Jayne along with dumping food onto Rose for it to happen, but here we were.
Rose defeated Gonzalez to win the NXT Women’s Championship at Halloween Havoc with the help of Dakota Kai.
Ray signed with WWE NXT UK in 2019. She had been the NXT UK Women’s Champion for nearly two years, but dropped the title in her most recent match on June 10th to Meiko Satomura.
What are your thoughts on Mandy Rose retaining the NXT Women’s Title? Was this the right call by WWE officials? Sound off in the comment section.
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