Since making a name for himself in the NWA and finding more success in AEW, fans have compared Ricky Starks to Dwayne \”The Rock\” Johnson. Although there are some similarities as Starks carries himself and looks like the former WWE Champion, he is his own man.
Starks will challenge MJF for the AEW World Title this Wednesday at Dynamite: Winter is Coming. Last week during their promo exchange on Dynamite, MJF stated that Starks was a \”dollar store, Dwayne.\”
For Stars, he knows who he is and opened up on the comparisons while doing an interview with ComicBook.com\’s Liam Crowley.
The Comparisons
(AEW)
\”I tell this all the time, The Rock wasn\’t my favorite wrestler. He was like my number three favorite wrestler,\” Starks said \”That\’s not to discredit The Rock from any type of talent he has, but I say that to say he wasn\’t a big inspiration.\”
\”I always tell this: I don\’t hate the comparisons,\” Starks continued. \”What I do hate though, is being discredited for my natural creativity in lieu of someone saying, \’Well, you\’re just literally copying The Rock,\’ which isn\’t true at all.\”
Starks pointed to his hometown of New Orleans for how he talks and doesn’t look to Rock as a mentor but respects him for having a great business mind and everything he has done in wrestling.
Starks added, “If some by chance, somebody thinks that I\’m Rock-lite, then that\’s cool.\”
The Wall Street Journal published an article on Tuesday titled, WWE’s Vince McMahon Faces Fresh Demands From Women Alleging Sexual Abuse.
In addition to McMahon facing new legal challenges stemming from alleged sexual misconduct, WSJ also reports that the former WWE boss is planning a comeback to the organization he stepped away from in July 2022 after running it for 40 years.
The internal reaction to the news of McMahon wanting back in WWE has been quite negative, according to Fightful Select. One source in WWE told Fightful that the news was “exhausting.” This person is hopeful that McMahon’s run with the company is in the rearview despite having a positive relationship with their former boss before he left in the summer.
Another star said they were concerned for the wrestlers that have been re-hired if McMahon did return as it was WWE Chief Content Officer Triple H who brought back numerous wrestlers that were cut by the McMahon regime.
A high-ranking WWE official isn\’t concerned about a McMahon comeback, despite Vince still having final control over the company due to his stock holdings. The company has been in great shape since Vince left, with the stock price, television viewership and overall morale improving in the second half of this year.
“It would be a really selfish move for Vince to come back under any circumstances. The reason he left, how business has done since then — it’d be really selfish. But selfish activities are what led to him leaving in the first place.”
– Anonymous WWE source on Vince McMahon wanting to return
One staff member stated that morale had increased tenfold since McMahon resigned and didn’t believe he would be back, whether he wanted to be or not.
A longtime employee said they also believe McMahon’s family will actively encourage him to remain retired, and they think McMahon\’s return would do irreparable damage to the WWE brand. The same source said that the few doubters that thought WWE would collapse internally have been proven wrong, with one notable name even admitting as much.
The unanimous reaction among numerous WWE staffers, talent, and employees was that McMahon was not wanted back in his previous roles.
The New Day is known to incorporate pop culture phenomena into their ring gear as they have sported things such as Power Rangers and Dragon Ball.
The New Day (Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods) went down to NXT last week to start a program with Pretty Deadly, which led to them working a match over the weekend where Kingston and Woods beat Pretty Deadly to win the NXT Tag Team Championships at the NXT Deadline premium live event.
The Influence
WWE
The tag team had ring gear to honor Avatar: The Way of Water, the sequel to the 2009 smash hit “Avatar.” Shawn Michaels, who oversees NXT creative, stated after Deadline that he is hoping to have The New Day around through the Vengence Day special in February.
Here is the synopsis for the movie that was written and directed by James Cameron:
“Jake Sully and Ney\’tiri have formed a family and are doing everything to stay together. However, they must leave their home and explore the regions of Pandora. When an ancient threat resurfaces, Jake must fight a difficult war against the humans.”
The movie, set to come out December 16, stars Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldaña, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, and Kate Winslet.
Sting is still going strong after decades of being in the pro wrestling business, but from time to time, he needs to repair his body.
Two years ago this month, Sting made his debut for All Elite Wrestling at ‘Winter Is Coming’ and to promote the third annual Winter Is Coming event on Wednesday, Sting appeared on The K&C Masterpiece.
Sting revealed that he underwent surgery six or seven weeks ago to have his knees cleaned out.
“I just had surgery. It’s been six, seven weeks ago now. Basically just a clean out on my very old knees.”
Needed a Clean
Sting
Sting was most recently in action for AEW at Full Gear, where he and Darby Allin scored a win over Jeff Jarrett and Jay Lethal.
Sting recalled a story about how he blew his shoulders out in a match against Kurt Angle in TNA Wrestling and the surgeon telling him that it looked like a bomb went off inside of his shoulder.
His recovery from surgery may explain why he didn’t accompany Darby to the ring for his TNT Title match on December 7th.
William Regal is set to leave AEW and return to WWE starting in the new year.
On last week’s episode of AEW Dynamite, Regal cut his final AEW promo in a pre-taped video where he explained why he turned on Jon Moxley at Full Gear to side with MJF by costing Moxley the AEW World Heavyweight Title.
Regal said that he was teaching the last lesson to the Blackpool Combat Club – to keep eyes in the back of their head.
The Latest
(via AEW)
According to a report by Pwinsider.com, Regal has officially come to terms on his new deal with WWE, and is set to start in the new year. Per the report, Regal will have a Vice President position in the company upon his return, although there has been no word on his official title or role.
Last week during the ROH Final Battle media call, AEW/ROH President Tony Khan explained his reason why he let William Regal leave AEW and return to WWE, which was due to Regal asking the company not to renew his existing deal so he could go back to NXT to be with his son who currently wrestles as Charles Dempsey.
Regal’s AEW departure has a clause that he would not be able to appear in an on-screen role for WWE upon his return.
Taz has called out the UFC for taking one of his ideas, and that idea is the FTW Title, which he first introduced in ECW.
His son, HOOKis the current FTW Champion in AEW. Taz recently accused UFC of ripping off the FTW title. In a post on Twitter, Taz noted the FTW Title belt had had a buzz around it from the ECW years, negative or positive.
He thinks the most important thing is that the belt is still around while all the others that wrestlers created are long gone. Taz claimed that the UFC BMF concept is a complete ripoff of the FTW title.
Taz’s Claims
(via AEW)
“Correct. Some fans don’t like it or feel it should be around, but that’s ok to me! It has had buzz around it from the ECW years, negative or positive..don’t matter. FTW belt is STILL here, all the others that wrestlers created been long gone.”
Taz followed up with another tweet that read: “Yes, that BMF concept is a complete ripoff of the FTW title… I really don’t give a shit because fans who know the history know that’s the vibe I started with the FTW title in late 90’s….”
The UFC BMF (Baddest Motherf*cker in the Game) belt was commissioned for a UFC 244 fight between Jorge Masvidal and Nate Diaz in November 2019 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The Rock awarded Masvidal the championship when he beat Diaz.
Correct. Some fans don’t like it or feel it should be around but that’s ok to me! It has had buzz around it from the ECW years, negative or positive..don’t matter. FTW belt is STILL here, all the others that wrestlers created been long gone. https://t.co/tCkex1FS4e
Yes, that BMF concept is a complete ripoff of the FTW title… I really don’t give a shit because fans who know the history know that’s the vibe I started with the FTW title in late 90’s…. https://t.co/vhbKpivt46
There have been several reports about WWE’s plans for WrestleMania 39 and the company looking to bring back past stars. Now, the question of who Brock Lesnar will be wrestling at the company\’s biggest event of the year has been answered.
WrestlingNews.co reports that Lesnar is Gunther is planned for the show. One person familiar with creative plans stated Lesnar vs. Gunther is one of the matches listed internally for the event.
Gunther has talked about wanting the match with Lesnar because he feels a match with him would be his biggest possible challenge. He called it his dream match and spoke highly of Lesnar’s mind for the business.
Lesnar’s Other Dates
(via WWE)
The report added that Lesnar is scheduled to work the Royal Rumble in January and Elimination Chamber in February.
WWE is still months away from WrestleMania 39, and while plans can change, the report stated Triple H has all of the top matches laid out. Also, unlike under creative by Vince McMahon, “people in the company are not seeing the scripts being ripped up like before and chances are that, barring an injury, the current WrestleMania plans will not change.”
William Regal has opened up on the kind act that Vince McMahon did for him after working for WWE for over 20 years.
Regal served as the on-screen GM for NXT and was active behind the scenes as a scout and coach before he was let go this past January. He made his AEW debut at AEW Revolution on March 6 by breaking up a fight between Jon Moxley and Bryan Danielson.
While speaking at ITR Live, which was taped in October but recently released on YouTube, Regal revealed that McMahon ended his non-compete clause early so he could join AEW.
The Story
\”Mr. McMahon was very good to me, to the point of, I will say this because whatever he\’s going through, he was excellent to me. I had a talent contract, as well as an employee contract and it didn\’t run out until the end of April because I played William Regal. I started for AEW on the seventh of March. I didn\’t call anybody else, I sent a message straight to the boss, \’Hey Boss, I\’ve got this thing with Bryan,\’ and he loves Bryan as well. \’Absolutely, you go\’ and still paid me until the end of my talent contract. I was the only person who ever got paid by both companies at the same time.”
As previously reported, Regal requested AEW not pick up his option at the end of the year, and AEW President Tony Khan honored his request as Regal wanted to join his son Charlie Dempsey in NXT. Regal will be working behind the scenes in WWE.
The WWE NXT Deadline event aired live on Peacock from Orlando, Florida at the Capitol Wrestling Center.
WWE NXT Deadline Results
Roxanne Perez won the Women’s Iron Survivor Challenge Match.
Isla Dawn def. Alba Fyre.
The New Day def. Pretty Deadly to win the NXT Tag Team Titles.
Grayson Waller won the Men’s Iron Survivor Challenge Match.
NXT Champion Bron Breakker def. Apollo Crews.
Here are the takeaways from this week’s show:
Tag Title Bout
Pretty Deadly (Kit Wilson and Elton Prince) put the WWE NXT Tag Team Titles against The New Day (Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston).
Prince and Kingston had a twerk off. Woods did some springboard spots with Kingston. Pretty Deadly gained the momentum and beat down Kingston. Woods with a headkick then a spring board DDT for a near fall. Both teams did the Eddie Guerrero spot with the title and all four stars were down on the ground. Behind the referee’s match, Wilson hit Woods with the title for 2. In the end, Kofi with a double foot stomp off the top rope to Prince for the win.
Isla Dawn vs. Alba Fyre in a singles match took place.
The match saw Dawn control the majority of it. Down the stretch, Fyre did some near falls, including a glory bomb. The referee fell down and was puking up black liquid. Dawn tossed Fyre head-first into an exposed turnbuckle before connecting with her finisher for the win.
The Men’s Iron Survivor Challenge match saw Carmelo Hayes vs. JD McDonagh vs. Grayson Waller vs. Joe Gacy vs. Axiom take place.
The match\’s regulations stated that after the first two competitors, a new competitor would enter the match every five minutes until all five were there. In 25 minutes, the individual who has the most falls will win. A pinfall awards one point to the winner, and the loser is forced to spend 90 seconds in the penalty box. The winner will receive a future NXT Title shot.
Axiom and JD started things off followed by Hayes, Gacy, and Waller.
Hayes picked up the first fall on Axiom. Waller was out next and hit his finisher to Axiom and JD for double pinfalls. Waller with a back suplex to Hayes on the announce table. Axiom rolled up Waller for a pinfall. Axiom with a canadian destroyer then hit his finisher for another fall on JD. Gacy put him in a submission hold for the submission fall. JD beat up Axiom in the penalty box as Gacy picked up a pinfall on Hayes.
Axiom hit a back flip off the penalty box. Hayes with the crossface to Waller for the submission fall before Hayes went for a spring board move, but JD headbutted him. The finish saw Hayes connect with his leg drop finisher to Axiom for a near fall as Waller pulled him out of the ring.
Zoey Stark vs. Cora Jade vs. Kiana James vs. Roxanne Perez vs. Indi Hartwell in the Women’s Iron Survivor Challenge match was booked.
The match rules were the same as the men’s bout. The winner will receive a future NXT Women’s Title shot.
The match opened the show. Stark and Perez started things off followed by James, Jade, and Hartwell.
Stark hit a superkick on Perez for the first fall. Hartwell hit a big boot to Perez for a pinfall. Perez rolled up Stark for a pinfall. Indi with a suplex to Stark on the floor. They did some outside dives. James with a spanish fly to Stark off the top rope. Perez won the match with two falls.
NXT Champion Bron Breakker made his latest title defense against Apollo Crews.
After defeating JD McDonagh on a recent edition of NXT, Crews revealed during a vignette on the November 22nd episode of NXT that he earned the next title match. During the vignette, he said that he had been looking forward to this moment for six months and couldn\’t wait to meet Breakker.
The match had a slow start as Crews hit a back flip off the apron
After a slow start, Crews caught him with a drop kick. Crews with a back flip off the apron. Bron connected with a brain buster before a standing moonsault for 2. Breakker with a leaping dive over the top rope to the floor. Crews with a powerbomb then two more for a near fall. Crews with a frog splash for 2. Bron hit a bulldog off the top rope for 2. Crews with a powerslam for a near fall. Bron with a spear for the win. Post-match, Grayson Waller laid out Breakker and ended the show standing tall with the title.
WWE NXT Champion Bron Breakker made his latest title defense against Apollo Crews at Saturday’s WWE NXT Deadline event.
The match had a slow build, with Crews controlling most of it. Crews with a back flip off the apron before Bron with a brain buster then a standing moonsault for 2. Breakker with a dive over the top rope to the floor. Crews with a powerslam for a near fall. Bron with a spear for the win.
Post-match, Grayson Waller, who earned a future title shot earlier in the show after winning the Iron Survivor Match, laid out Breakker and ended the show standing tall with the title.
On the November 22nd edition of WWE NXT, the match was confirmed in a vignette with Crews announcing he would be getting the next title match after defeating JD McDonagh on a recent episode of NXT. He said during the vignette that he had been waiting six months for this moment and couldn’t wait to step into the ring with Breakker.
Breakker won the NXT Title for a second time on the April 4th edition of Raw when he beat Dolph Ziggler. Breakker previously won the NXT Title from Ciampa at New Year’s Evil in January from Tommaso Ciampa.
Breakker’s recent title defenses have come against Ilja Dragunov and JD McDonagh at Halloween Havoc, Tyler Bate at Worlds Collide, JD McDonagh in August, and Cameron Grimes on July 5th.
In the first-ever Men’s Iron Survivor Challenge match, WWE loaded up the match by booking Carmelo Hayes vs. JD McDonagh vs. Grayson Waller vs. Joe Gacy vs. Axiom.
The match\’s regulations stated that after the first two competitors, a new competitor would enter the match every five minutes until all five were there. In 25 minutes, the individual who has the most falls will win. A pinfall awards one point to the winner, and the loser is forced to spend 90 seconds in the penalty box.
The entrant list be Axiom, JD, Hayes, Gacy, and Waller.
Hayes picked up the first fall on Axiom. Waller hit his finisher to Axiom and JD for double pinfalls. Waller with a back suplex to Hayes on the announce table. Axiom rolled up Waller for a pinfall. Axiom with a canadian destroyer then hit his finisher for another fall on JD.
Gacy with a clothesline to Axiom for a near fall then put him in a submission hold for the submission fall. Gacy picked up a pinfall on Hayes. Hayes with the crossface to Waller for the submission fall. Waller pinned Axiom after Axiom received a leg drop from Hayes and that was the final fall.
Pretty Deadly (Kit Wilson and Elton Prince) put the WWE NXT Tag Team Titles against The New Day (Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston) at Saturday’s WWE NXT Deadline.
Prince and Kingston had a twerk off. Woods got a tag and did some springboard spots with Kingston. Woods with a headkick then a spring board DDT for 2. Both teams did the Eddie Guerrero spot with the title and all four stars were down on the ground. Kingston connected with a double foot stomp off the top rope to Prince for the win to become the NEW champions.
WWE set up this bout during this past Tuesday’s episode of NXT when Pretty Deadly were in the ring reading their version of A Christmas Story. Once they were done reading their poem, The New Day came out as they wanted to challenge them to a match.
The two teams eventually got into a braw. The New Day gained the upper hand after putting Christmas presents on top of Pretty Deadly’s heads and superkicking them off the apron and to the floor.
At Worlds Collide in September, Pretty Deadly defeated the Creed Brothers, Gallus and Brooks Jensen and Josh Briggs in a Fatal 4-Way Tag Team Elimination Match to unify the NXT and NXT UK Tag Team Championships.
Zoey Stark vs. Cora Jade vs. Kiana James vs. Roxanne Perez vs. Indi Hartwell competed in the first-ever Women’s Iron Survivor Challenge match at Saturday’s WWE NXT Deadline.
The way the match was five stars competed in the match that would last 25 minutes where they would battle each other and the clock. Two stars started the match and every five minutes a new star entered the bout until all five were in the ring.
The goal was to have the most falls (pinfalls, submission, DQ) by the time the clock hits 25 minutes. Each fall a star earned they get one penalty while if a star lost a fall then they had to enter a penalty box for 90 seconds.
The match opened the show and Stark and Perez started things off. James was the third star in the bout. Stark hit a superkick on Perez for the first fall. The fourth star was Jade.
Jade rolled up James for a pinfall before Hartwell hit a big boot to Perez for a pinfall.Perez rolled up Stark for a pinfall. There were a lot of dives to the floor. Perez with a sunset flip powerbomb to Jade for a pinfall. Perez won the match with two falls.
WWE is looking to line up its next reality show after finding success with past series such as Tough Enough, Total Divas, Miz & Mrs, and Total Bellas.
In the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer reported that WWE is in talks with E! about a new reality show.
Meltzer said, \”they are looking for legitimate wrestling couples, so some upcoming signings could relate to that if the project is finalized.\”
Meltzer noted that Matt Cardona\’s name was mentioned as a possibility because of Chelsea Green\’s expected return to WWE. Green\’s husband, Cardona, previously wrestled under the Zack Ryder name in WWE before he was released in April 2020.
Past Success
Matt Cardona and Chelsea Green
Cardona completely reinvented himself when he started working on the indies. He also found success in Impact Wrestling, NWA, GCW and other promotions over the past two years. Cardona is set to challenge for the NWA World title at the company\’s unannounced next pay-per-view.
WWE and E! have worked together on several different projects over the years. Total Divas ran for more than six years, from July 2013 to December 2019, before doing the Total Bellas spinoff, which ran from October 2016 through January 2021.
WWE announced they are working on a Bianca Belair/Montez Ford show for Hulu last month.
AEW World Heavyweight Champion MJF will be in attendance at UFC 282, which takes place on Saturday night in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The top AEW star previously traded shots with UFC fighter Paddy Pimblett on social media, where MJF called Paddy a \”dollar store Connor McGregor.” He also claimed he wouldn\’t last two seconds in a wrestling ring.
Pimblett told MJF to meet him when AEW travels to England in 2023, which led to MJF stating that he\’s more than game to knock Pimblett out. Marc Raimondi of ESPN first reported on Friday that MJF would be at the UFC 282 pay-per-view event following the exchange.
The Confirmation
(AEW)
MJF seemingly confirmed the news in a tweet of his own as he told Pimblett that he\’d see him in Vegas, as seen below:
At the event, Pimblett will fight Jared Gordon. With a win, he would continue his undefeated streak in the UFC.
For MJF, he is scheduled to defend the AEW World Championship against Ricky Starks on the December 14 episode of AEW Dynamite. After winning the title with help from Wiliam Regal when he beat Jon Moxley for it at Full Gear, MJF turned on Regal by attacking the respected wrestler.
Warner Bros. Discovery, the parent company of TBS and TNT that airs AEW programming, has cut more prominent leaders.
Variety has an article looking at the company releasing HGTV and Food Network chief Jane Latman and “D-Nets”/”T-Nets” exec Nancy Daniels, both of whom were well-liked at the company and served as longtime legacy Discovery execs.
Travel Channel’s Matthew Butler and D-Nets/T-Nets’ head of franchise series expansions and tentpole programming Scott Lewers are also gone.
The Moves
Latman served as the home and food content president at HGTV and Food Network. Her content programming responsibilities will move under execs Betsy Sanner Ayala (for Food Network) and Loren Ruch (for HGTV).
Daniels had overseen content across “D-Nets” Discovery, Animal Planet and Science Channel on the legacy Discovery side and recently took over content for Warner Bros. “T-Nets,” TNT, TBS and truTV,
Daniels is handing the reins over to TLC and Travel Channel exec Howard Lee for the D-Nets, while Jason Sarlanis of ID and HLN crime content will oversee the T-Net side.
These are notable cuts as AEW President Tony Khan has praised Nancy Daniels and Scott Lewers as advocates for the promotion. AEW’s TV deal with Warner Bros. Discovery expires at the end of 2024.
Warner Bros. Discovery’s U.S. networks chief Kathleen Finch announced the changes in a memo to staff Friday. This is the latest post-merger cost-cutting move made at Warner Bros. Discovery.
Although the build-up to the show was criticized for being lackluster, AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door in June 2022 ended up being one of the best PPVs of the year and did good business for the promotions.
A second Forbidden Door show has been speculated about, but a new report suggests Forbidden Door II could be set for 2023.
In the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer was talking about AEW/ROH President Tony Khan’s recent pre-ROH Final Battle media call, particularly Khan’s claims that 2022 was AEW’s strongest year for PPV buys.
During the call, Khan was asked about the possibility of AEW adding more PPVs to their yearly rotation.
The Plan
Meltzer wrote: “When asked if he’d add more PPV shows, he didn’t give an answer but said that he wants to not do so many that they aren’t special, but that they just finished their best PPV year in their history, and the adding a fifth event worked out (the plan is for another Forbidden Door show coming year).”
Khan noted on the call that they would internally discuss the right number of PPV shows per year.
The 2022 event did over $5 million on pay-per-view after drawing over 100,000 buys and over $1 million in ticket sales. Jon Moxley became the interim AEW World Heavyweight Champion when he beat Hiroshi Tanahashi in the main event.
Sasha Banks and Bayley are slated to reunite next week.
Bayley announced via Instagram that Banks would be part of her charity stream on December 14 to benefit the Family Giving Tree. The two stars are former WWE Women\’s Tag Team Champions and have been good friends for years as part of the WWE Four Horsewomen.
Banks walked out of WWE alongside Naomi due to creative differences. While WWE and Banks had talks regarding a return, it\’s been reported that the talks have stalled due to money. She is reportedly set to attend NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 17.
Bayley’s Announcement
(via WWE)
“You’re welcomeeee!…. Because my 3rd guest joining me on IG live Dec 14 to benefit @familygivingtree is the one and only @themercedesvarnado. A main event of Wrestlemania, a star in The Mandalorian, killing the runways on Fashion weeks, co-owner of an award winning CBD company (@kanndelabs), and that’s all I’ll say for now because she’s gonna get a big head over this.
The best thing about having her on is that Mercedes asked ME to be a part of this interview to help spread the love.
Please join us next Wednesday, Dec. 14, as I’ll be hanging out with some amazing people. We can share some hot cocoa, answer some questions you may have, play games, and enter to win raffles! Click the link in my bio to see how you can contribute to @familygivingtree this year.”
Bayley is currently part of WWE Raw as a member of Damage CTRL alongside Dakota Kai & IYO SKY.
The final betting odds have been released for the WWE NXT Deadline.
The card for the show that takes place this Sunday appears to be finalized as only five matches have been announced.
So far, two normal NXT titles are on the line, but none are expected to change hands. Some of the more notable odds include Carmelo Hayes expected to win the Men’s Iron Survivor Challenge Match, while Cora Jade is favored to win the Women’s Iron Survivor Challenge Match.
Winners of these matches will receive a title match for the NXT women\’s and Men\’s top titles that are currently held by Mandy Rose and Bron Breakker.
WWE NXT Deadline Odds
As a reminder, we will be providing coverage of the show this Sunday. The favorites to win are listed as – while the underdogs are listed with +. Here are the final betting odds, courtesy of BetOnline:
NXT Champion Bron Breakker -1250 vs. Apollo Crews +550
Carmelo Hayes -150 vs. JD McDonagh +250 vs. Grayson Waller+500 vs. Joe Gacy +300 vs. Axiom +900 – Men’s Iron Survivor Challenge Match
Zoey Stark +300 vs. Cora Jade +200 vs. Kiana James +1400 vs. Roxanne Perez -140 vs. Indi Hartwell +500 – Women’s Iron Survivor Challenge Match
NXT Tag Team Champions Pretty Deadly -250 vs. The New Day +170
Over the past few years, there has been a trademark dispute between WWE and Ric Flair over The Man’ nickname as Becky Lynch has used it on television.
Flair stated that he owns the trademark ‘To Be the Man’ as he filed for it in 2019 and was not in agreement with ‘The Man’ being trademarked for Lynch by WWE.
Flair spoke highly of Seth Rollins on Busted Open Radio when his name was mentioned. He did note that he thinks Rollins is mad at him over the trademark situation.
Flair revealed that Rollins ignored him at a recent signing with The Undertaker as Rollins walked past him and did not speak. He agrees that Rollins should take Lynch’s side in the situation.
On The Situation
“And Seth Rollins is a damn good worker. He’s mad at me because I’ve been up and down with his wife but I don’t really care. He ain’t me [Flair laughed]. I can say that. He’s good but he ain’t me. I got no problem with saying that. He walked right by me at an autograph session. I thought, you gotta be kidding me. Because of you and Becky [Lynch] and this ‘Man’ trademark, you’re gonna ignore me pal? Wow. I went, ‘Okay.’ I’m sitting by Taker, I said, ‘I guess I’m on timeout.’ I’m not mad at him. Everybody should take their wife’s side in any debate there is… It’s not worth it. You’re gonna take their side and I totally understand that and as long as that’s come and gone but that was a sensitive point for me.”
Flair stated that he has been saying the term since 1981, but it doesn’t matter to him anymore because he’s too happy to be upset with anybody else.
Flair also commented on Rollins’ program with Cody Rhodes and credited him for being unselfish.
Becky Lynch made her return to the ring at WWE Survivor Series, competing in the WarGames match, which marked her first bout since WWE SummerSlam when she suffered a separated shoulder against Bianca Belair.
At Survivor Series, Lynch scored the pinfall for her team (Belair, Asuka, Alexa Bliss, & Mia Yim) against Bayley, Dakota Kai, IYO SKY, Rhea Ripley, & Nikki Cross. The finish saw her jump off the top of the cage and hit a leg drop onto SKY & Kai through a table.
Just because Lynch is back doesn’t mean she’s 100%. While speaking with The Verge, Lynch discussed her return to the ring.
Wrestling Through It
“Truth be told, my shoulder still isn’t feeling right. So to say I was nervous is probably a bit of an understatement. But once you get out there, once you get in front of the crowd and you feel that energy, then you forget everything else. There’s not another feeling like it.”
Lynch admitted the table spot was terrifying and painful, but she wanted something that fans could remember from the match.
“If I come back then I’ve got to put my body on the line and I can’t half-ass it because then I’m not The Man and I’m not the Becky Lynch that people paid to see. I had in my head that I wanted to flatten somebody, flatten some fools with the leg drop through the table. When the opportunity came up and it was time to go, well, then there’s nothing left to do but do it.”
Lynch wrestled earlier this week on Monday\’s WWE Raw by competing in a triple threat match against Bliss and Cross.
Matt Riddle won’t be working some upcoming WWE events.
On this week’s episode of WWE Raw, Riddle was supposed to team with Elias to take on Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions The Usos. In an angle to open the show, Elias was taken out by The Bloodline backstage.
Riddle teamed with Kevin Owens instead on the show, but the babyface tag team came up short in challenging the champions. After the match, Solo Sikoa hit Riddle with the Asiatic spike and the Samoan Bulldozer (hip attack) in the corner of the ring.
These two moves were made famous by the late great Umaga. Solo performing them was a tribute to the former WWE star as it happened after what would have been Umaga\’s 49th birthday.
Written Off
Riddle had a neck brace put on and was taken out on a stretcher, seemingly writing him off television.
Pwinsider.com reported today that Riddle has been pulled from working this weekend’s live events. There’s no word yet on why Riddle is off the road. It could be due to him dealing with an injury, asking for time off, or simply selling the storyline injuries from the attack.
WWE has not commented on Riddle’s status, and Riddle has not made any public comments since the Raw match.
Some fans are still holding out hope to see Ric Flair step back into the ring for one more match despite promising that he wrestled his last bout this past July when he teamed with Andrade El Idolo to beat Jeff Jarrett & Jay Lethal.
The 16-time world champion previously revealed that he’d been invited to be part of the 30th Anniversary of Monday Night Raw (“Raw is XXX”) on January 23 from Philadelphia, PA as well as the Royal Rumble five days later in San Antonio, TX.
Flair has gone on record noting that he wishes he didn’t say that his most recent match would be the last as he enjoyed the experience. There has been some speculation that Flair could come back to wrestle another match, and some even think it may happen in the Men’s Royal Rumble match.
The End
Flair’s son-in-law, Conrad Thompson, has ruled out Flair wrestling again.
\”I don\’t mean to be disrespectful, but that\’s clickbait,\” Thompson told Wrestling Inc. \”Anybody who actually listens to the podcast knows that he\’s said that tongue-in-cheek, laughing. Even when he talked about the Rumble, he\’s like \’Somebody reported that I\’m going to be at the Rumble. I\’m not. I\’m going to be at the 30th Anniversary \’Raw.\’ I am going to be in San Antonio, but I\’m doing a signing for Fitterman. But I\’ll bring my gear, I\’ll bring my robe. Hell yeah, I\’ll be number 30.\’ It\’s a joke. It\’s not serious. He\’s not really going to be in the Rumble, but I know that gets people talking and it gets people buzzing. But the reality is, Ric\’s not going to wrestle again.\”
‘Woooooo! Becoming Ric Flair’, a new documentary about the life and career of Flair, will air on Peacock on December 26.
Indi Hartwell defeated Wendy Choo and Fallon Henley
Here are the takeaways from this week’s show:
Final Build
Final Build
WWE NXT Champion Bron Breakker will defend the title against Apollo Crews at NXT Deadline. So what did WWE do for the final build of this main event match?
They went on a fishing trip where they talked trash in a friendly way. That was it.
Charlie Dempsey, who is the son of William Regal, had a match with former security guard Hank Walker. Midway through the match, Drew Gulak appeared and watched on as Dempsey won his match. Post-match, Gulak walked away and was impressed with what he saw.
NXT Tag Team Champions Pretty Deadly (Elton Prince & Kit Wilson) had a segment where they read a ‘Christmas story’. The New Day (Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods) interrupted.
Woods and Kingston issued a challenge to Pretty Deadly with NXT Deadline. A brawl broke out with New Day standing tall. The match has been formally announced.
Waller roasted a fan about not being able to get laid then mocked Axion for wearing a turtleneck. He also roasted JD for being a garden gnome and Hayes for being a loser and an A-hole. JD said Hayes has been protected since he arrived in NXT. They all talked trash before getting into a brawl.
Wendy Choo vs. Fallon Henley vs. Indi Hartwell in a Iron Survivor Challenge wild card match took place.
The other competitors in the upcoming bout include Zoey Stark, Cora Jade, Kiana James, and Roxanne Perez.
The match served as the main event and saw Heartwell go over after Wendy hit a splash to Fallon and was tossed to the floor before Heartwell hit her in the back with a strike.
Tony D’Angelo returned to the ring when he took on Xyon Quin.
Stacks and D\’Angelo met Dijak in the parking lot during last Tuesday\’s NXT episode, and D\’Angelo thanked him for what he had done to Wes Lee the previous week. It wasn\’t for him, according to Dijak. Lee\’s reign as champion is about to come to an end, according to D\’Angelo, who claimed that he is now allowed to make his return.
The match saw Tony quickly take out Quinn with his finisher. Post-match, he called out Lee, who came out to the ring. Lee told him to wait until he is done with Dijak and then they can settle their business. Tony said that he doesn’t wait for anyone.
Dijak said that he plays by a different set of rules. He told Lee to keep his mind out of his way. He said neither of them will stop him from decimatingNXT.
In recent weeks, AEW and ROH owner Tony Khan has come under fire from some fans who feel that there has been too much focus put on the ROH brand with its titles and storylines.
Khan bought the promotion earlier this year and, despite not having a television deal in place for the brand, he has booked pay-per-view events for ROH and used its talent and championships on AEW programming.
\”One thing I have tried to do…I think we only have three hours of AEW TV a week so I have tried to limit the Ring of Honor focus on Dynamite to mostly the Ring of Jericho and Chris Jericho, the ROH World Champion.”
Khan stated that he has tried to keep the other ROH Title matches on either AEW Rampage or Dark: Elevation. He found it \”amusing\” when he saw someone saying they thought there was too much ROH on Dynamite as he feels that having a variety of new ROH-aligned wrestlers has been, and will continue to be, good for ROH business.
According to Khan, they have made \”good money\” on the pay-per-views since he bought the promotion, and \”frankly, (the money) has been in line with what I paid for the entire business.\”
Saturday\’s Final Battle is expected to garner some of their best numbers thanks to the main event of Jericho vs. Claudio Castagnoli, according to Khan.
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