Pat McAfee To Wrestle At WrestleMania 38

Now that’s a SHAHT AHT! During his first live interview in 15 years on today’s episode of “The Pat McAfee Show,” Vince McMahon invited the host to compete at WrestleMania 38. The invitation was extended due to the former NFL player and Smackdown commentator’s tremendous connection to the WWE Universe. You can see the announcement below: [This post contains video, click to play] McAfee last competed in a WWE ring at NXT Takeover: WarGames 2020. McAfee, along with Pete Dunne, Oney Lorcan, and Danny Burch defeated The Undisputed Era (Adam Cole, Roderick Strong, Kyle O’Reilly, and Bobby Fish). It is unknown at this time who his opponent will be. Editor’s Opinion: YES! This is awesome! I remember thinking all during the pandemic how absolutely terrific he has been at everything that he has done in WWE. Not only has become the best commentator in the company on Smackdown, but his in-ring work was fantastic and he has earned the right to compete at the Showcase of the Immortals. I have..

Who Will Induct The Undertaker Into The WWE Hall of Fame?

That will work. Ever since it was announced that The Undertaker would be the headliner in the WWE Hall of Fame, Class of 2022, many have been wondering who will be the person that inducts him. That question was answered on today’s episode of the Pat McAfee Show. Vince McMahon was a guest on today’s show and announced that he will be the one that officially inducts The Undertaker into the WWE Hall of Fame. You can see the announcement vai Twitter below: MASSIVE @WWE BREAKING NEWS… "I'm gonna have the distinction of inducting The Undertaker into the Hall of Fame" ~@VinceMcMahon#PMSLive pic.twitter.com/qbC6XBEGjb — ??at McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) March 3, 2022 From WWE.com: This monumental decision was destined, considering the close personal relationship Mr. McMahon and The Phenom have developed over the years. The WWE Hall of Fame Ceremony will take place Friday, April 1, at American Airlines Center in Dallas as part of WrestleMania Week. The event will stream live exclusively ..

WRESTLING RUMORS: What AEW Plans To Do With Ring Of Honor

That makes the most sense. The biggest wrestling story of the week came this week on Dynamite when Tony Khan announced that he had purchased Ring of Honor Wrestling. This created a lot of questions, as there was now another well known promotion under, or at least near, the AEW umbrella. Now we might know the answer to one of, if not the most important questions. According to Bodyslam.net’s Cassidy Haynes, the current plan is for AEW to use Ring of Honor as a developmental territory “of some sort”. There is no word on when this will begin, though Ring of Honor is planned to return from hiatus on April 1 with Supercard of Honor. It is not clear how the show will be changed now that the company is owned by Khan. Opinion: I don’t think this is the biggest surprise and that is not a bad thing. The best thing about AEW and Ring of Honor working together is the fact that they have a new place to put a lot of their wrestlers. AEW’s lower level is bigger than most Ring of Honor names so the u..

WWE Terminates Working Relationship With Russia

According to its corporate website, WWE has terminated its partnership with Russian broadcaster Match and shut down the WWE Network in Russia effective immediately. The report further states that the move eliminates access in Russia to any WWE programming, including the company’s weekly Raw, SmackDown and NXT shows, its on-demand library, and all of its premium live events, including WrestleMania 38. This is the latest in a series of economic decisions made in an attempt to punish the Russian Government and Vladimir Putin for its invasion of Ukraine. Several companies, including Apple, have stopped doing business with Russia, which is hurting their economy. In addition, the United States has placed several sanctions on Russia over the past weeks, with more to come in the future. Editor’s Opinion: This doesn’t surprise me, as we are starting to see a pattern of major industries from the west doing what they can to stand up to the Russian Government. Many people view Russia’s invasio..

WWE Makes Interesting Decision About NXT

They need the practice. NXT has been shaken up in a lot of ways over the last several months, leaving the promotion looking almost nothing like it looked in its glory days. That creates a problem as it still serves as the official developmental show for WWE, meaning the wrestlers still need to be in the ring. However, a WWE decision might make that even harder than it seems. According to Wrestling Observer Radio, WWE has no intent to take NXT on the road as a touring brand because they do not feel fans would buy tickets to see the shows. This includes running live events in Florida as the NXT did for several years before the relaunch. The only shows that NXT is currently running is its television taping, which is shown in front of people who are let in. Opinion: So to clarify, these wrestlers are supposed to improve their wrestling without wrestling? NXT wrestlers are in need of ring time more than anything else and I have no idea why WWE does not think selling tickets matter. No one..

Update On Future Of Returning AEW Star

There is a place for him. AEW has been built on a rather strong roster, which is a blend of several wrestlers and styles, many of whom have been around for a long time. It can be difficult to find something for everyone to do, but AEW has managed to make it work well enough. Every now and then you get a bit of a surprise, which was the case again this week as a wrestler returned to the ring. Now we know a bit more about his future. Opinion: The more I see of Daniels wrestling this well so late into his career, the more impressive he really is. Daniels is 51 years old but you would be able to imagnie him being in his mid to late 30s. I’m not sure what Daniels is going to be doing going forward in AEW but he is certainly someone who could offer quite a bit, if nothing else just based on the incredible experience that he has. What did you think of Daniels’ appearance? How should he be used in AEW? Let us know in the comments below. Thomas Hall has been a wrestling fan for over thirty ye..

New Grudge Match Confirmed For WrestleMania 38

Add it to the card. We are less than a month away from WrestleMania 38 and the card is starting to come together. There are two different nights to fill in though and that is going to be easier said than done. WWE needs to add in some more matches to bolster the card and they do have some things set in motion. Now they have officially announced another match for the show. WWE has announced that Drew McIntyre vs. Happy Corbin will take place on the first night of WrestleMania on April 2. The match comes after Corbin and Madcap Moss injured McIntyre in January and put him out of action for several weeks. McIntyre and Corbin were scheduled to face off last week on SmackDown but Moss took Corbin’s place instead. This is the fourth match set for the fight night of WrestleMania. Opinion: I don’t think this is any kind of a surprise but that might not make it the most interesting match. The feud has been going for about two months now and it makes sense for WWE to want to (presumably) blow ..

REVIEW: Vengeance 2005: Lock Them Up

Welcome to KB’s Old School (and New School) Reviews. I’ve been reviewing wrestling shows for over twelve years now and have reviewed over 6,000 shows. Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, I’ll be posting a new review here on Wrestlingrumors.net. It could be anything from modern WWE to old school to indies to anything in between. Note that I rate using letters instead of stars and I don’t rate matches under three minutes as really, how good or bad can something that short be? Vengeance 2005 Date: June 26, 2005 Location: Thomas & Mack Center, Las Vegas, Nevada Attendance: 9,850 Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler, Jonathan Coachman I’m actually looking forward to this one as the card is stacked. We have HHH vs. Batista inside the Cell, John Cena facing Christian and Chris Jericho in a triple threat in his first defense as Raw World Champion and Kurt Angle vs. Shawn Michaels II. The rest of the show might not be great but those three matches should be more than enough. Let’s get to it. ..

AEW Interested In Introducing New Titles With One Condition

That might be what’s next. Titles are some of the most important things in all of wrestling as they are the perfect ground work for a feud. The winner (or winners) of a match getting a shiny gold belt (or belts) is a fine way to go and something that is still regularly used today. Sometimes you need a new one though and that might be the case soon, albeit after one other thing happens. AEW President Tony Khan held a media call this week and revealed that the company is interested in introducing trios titles, albeit not until Kenny Omega returns from injuries. Trios titles have been rumored for AEW since the company’s inception but nothing has ever been made official. There is no word on when Omega will be returning to the ring as he recovers from several surgeries. Opinion: This is something that has been rumored for so long that I won’t believe it until I hear an actual announcement. AEW has a good deal of titles already and while I’m not sure that these titles are the best idea, th..

WWE Releases Another Backstage Name In Shot At Triple H

The changes continue. We are in the middle of a huge shakeup backstage in WWE and that has caused some of the most notable series of changes throughout the company. A lot of this seems to stem from WWE wanting to get away from the Triple H period, which has seen several of Triple H’s favorites eliminated from WWE. It turns out that WWE is still not done with the changes. According to PWInsider.com, WWE has fired Lisette Pineda, the Manager of Global Talent Strategy & Developmental. Pineda was a close ally of Triple H and was described as his “top executive assistant”. Since Triple H has been out of action recovering from his cardiac event last fall, Pineda has been working in a limited role in WWE and her departure was expected. Pineda had been working for WWE since 2020. This is also seen as a possible sign that Triple H will not be returning to a full time role for a long time to come. Opinion: For the life of me I’m not sure I get the idea of Triple H being almost erased from the ..

WRESTLING RUMORS: More On Tony Khan Purchasing Ring Of Honor, Possible Price

That’s a lot. There are several wrestling promotions around the world but only a few are ever able to make it that high up the ladder. While you might hear about a promotion here or there, it is rare for a company to make it to one of the top levels in wrestling. One such wrestling promotion went into hiatus last last year but now has a new owner. We may have found out something new about the deal. This week’s edition of AEW Dynamite opened with AEW President Tony Khan announcing that he has purchased Ring of Honor Wrestling. According to Cassidy Haynes of Bodyslam.net, the cost for the Ring of Honor purchase could have been in the $30-$40 million range. However, this was not able to be confirmed and it is seen as speculation. In addition, Ring of Honor is said to most likely be used as a developmental territory, with AEW stars making appearances. Opinion: This is one of those situations where we will probably never know the exactly number that Khan gave for the company but you can i..

AEW Star Returns To The Ring After Year Long Injury

Welcome back. Injuries are a terrible thing in wrestling as they can take someone out of action for any length of time. While there are some that are not as bad as others, there are also injuries that keep can keep wrestlers out of action for a long time. That is never good to see, but it can make for some great moments when they return. That was the case this week after a long layoff. Darius Martin made his return to the ring this week on AEW Dynamite. Martin teamed with his brother Dante under their Top Flight moniker in a tag team battle royal, finishing runners up to the Young Bucks. The match was Darius’ first since February 2021 when he tore his ACL. There is no word on when Darius will return to the ring as a singles wrestler or if Top Flight will be continuing as a team. Opinion: This was one of those nice things to see and Darius looked awesome when he returned. It is great to see him get back in the ring and show that he doesn’t seem to have lost a step. Top Flight was a te..

WWE Hall Of Famer Suffers Nasty Injury

That isn’t good to hear. Wrestlers are larger than life characters who get your attention no matter what they are doing. That can make for some interesting moments, which is exactly what a promotion is hoping they can do. The more interesting these wrestlers are, the better the business is likely to do, but the people are still humans. That means they have problems, and that was the case again recently. According to Jerry Jarrett’s Facebook page by way of PWInsider.com, WWE Hall of Famer Scott Hall has been hospitalized after breaking his hip in a fall. Jarrett said that he spoke to Hall, who informed him about the incident. Hall is currently scheduled to appear in Dallas for WrestleMania weekend as a guest at WrestleCon though it is not clear if that is still the case following his injury. Opinion: That is never good to hear and hopefully Hall makes as fast of a recovery as possible. It is a terrible situation and something that could take a good while for him to get better. Hall is..

BREAKING: AEW Makes Huge Announcement On Dynamite

The next big step. AEW has not been around for very long now but they have already made some huge strides. The company has come a long way and is already the second biggest wrestling promotion in the world. It can be interesting to see what they have done and they continue to do going forward. That was the case again this week as AEW has made another major announcement. This week’s edition of AEW Dynamite opened with AEW President Tony Khan announcing that he has purchased Ring of Honor Wrestling, officially making him the new owner. This comes after Ring of Honor went on hiatus in December with a planned relaunch for next month. There is no word on what Khan will do with Ring of Honor or how it is going to be tied in with AEW. Opinion: That is a heck of a headline and I’m curious to see where it goes. That is the problem though, as I’m not sure exactly what is going on here. I would assume that Ring of Honor is the new developmental territory and that is not a bad idea. Use the name..

AEW Dynamite Live Coverage And Results – March 2, 2022

Dynamite Date: March 2, 2022 Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida Commentators: Excalibur, Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone This is an interesting show as we have both the go home show for Revolution but Tony Khan himself is also making a major announcement. That could go a lot of different ways and I’m curious to see what he has next. Other than that, we need the final push towards Sunday and we should be in for something good. Let’s get to it. Opening sequence. Tony Schiavone is in the ring with Tony Khan for the big announcement. Khan talks about how far AEW has come in three years and how proud he is of everyone, including the fans. He has also been a fan of another company that started twenty years ago called Ring of Honor. That’s why he is proud to announce that as of today, he is officially the owner of Ring of Honor Wrestling. Two of the men in the first Ring of Honor main event are here in AEW and that’s our opening match. Bryan Danielson vs. Christopher Daniels Danielso..

KB’s Review: It’s Not Their Fault

I don’t think I’m breaking any new ground when I say that Monday Night Raw is not an exciting television show at the moment. With three hours a week, the show has worn a lot of fans down, to the point where it rarely feels entertaining. That has been the case for a long time now and it feels like it is getting worse by the week. The same was mostly true this week, but something stood out to me on the most recent edition and it illustrates a very important reality about WWE TV as a whole. This week’s Monday Night Raw featured a six woman tag between Nikki Ash/Doudrop/Becky Lynch vs. Bianca Belair/Rhea Ripley/Liv Morgan. That doesn’t sound like much and it is because it is a match that we have seen in various forms for months. It may have been the first time all six were in there at once, but these six have been feuding with each other in singles action for a long time. That’s all well and good and it made all the sense in the world to have this match on the show. We’ll get back to th..

Update On The Return Status For Some Long Injured WWE Stars

WWE has a plan for them. We are a month away from WrestleMania 38 and the show is starting to come together. The show already has a few matches set but there are still several spots that need to be filled. That means WWE is going to need some stars to fill in those gaps, but the roster is a bit thin at the moment. It would help to have some returns, and now we know a bit about what to expect from some missing wrestlers. PWInsider.com has updates on the statuses of three wrestlers who are either missing or not currently booked for WrestleMania. First up, Alexa Bliss, who returned to the ring at Elimination Chamber, is not expected to start her next storyline until after WrestleMania 38. Bliss did not appear on this week’s Monday Night Raw, which was held in her hometown of Columbus, Ohio. Second, Asuka is medically cleared to return to the ring and is waiting for WWE to come up with a storyline for her. Asuka has not wrestled since Money In The Bank 2021 due to having elbow surgery. F..

Update On Injured NXT Star After Scary Moment

That could have been worse. Injuries are one of the worst things that can happen to a wrestler as their careers can be knocked off course in the blink of an eye. Some of them are built up over time while others happen all at once. What makes matters worse is you might not know how long someone is going to be out or just how bad it is. That was the case again this week but now we know a bit more about what happened. Amari Miller was defeated by Lash Legend during this week’s NXT. Following the match, Miller was stretchered out of the arena during a commercial break in a moment that was not mentioned on the broadcast. Miller has since sent out a tweet, announcing that she suffered a concussion during the match. There is no word on when the injury took place or how long she will be out of action. Opinion: As bad as a concussion is, this could have been worse and thankfully it is nothing more serious. What matters now is getting Miller back in the ring, which could take some time as conc..

AEW Seems To Release A Star Without Telling Him

Maybe he missed the memo? Wrestling is not exactly like other sports, as the show just kind of keeps going. With no off season, there is not exactly a beginning or end to anything. Sometimes wrestlers will stick around longer than others, but it can be very surprising to see someone leave a promotion out of nowhere. That seems to be the case again, with the wrestler himself being surprised. Chavo Guerrero debuted in AEW in 2021 and served as Andrade El Idolo’s manager before their association ended in September of that year. Guerrero left the company to continue his work on Young Rock Season 2, with the expectation that he would be back in the company once filming ended. However, Guerrero has since removed Guerrero from their roster page. According to Wrestlinginc.com, Guerrero sent and then deleted a tweet showing his surprise, saying: “That’s news to me! I guess having @TonyKhan telling me to go film Young Rock Season 2, & my job will be waiting for me when I’m done, didn’t mean mu..

Here’s What Was Planned Before Randy Orton Was Injured On Monday Night Raw

It happens sometime. With so much wrestling content being produced every single week, WWE is going to have some things that do not work out as planned. The company can try to put things together as well as they can but it does not mean that it is going to work out as well as it is supposed to. That was the case this week, and now we know what was supposed to happen. This week’s Monday Night Raw featured a match between the Street Profits and RKBro. The Street Profits won the match when Montez Ford frog splashed Randy Orton, who was injured taking the move, causing the match to end early. According to Fightful Select, the original plan for the match called for Orton to hit a series of RKO’s to get the pin. RKBro is expected to challenge American Alpha for the Raw Tag Team Titles next week in a triple threat match also involving Kevin Owens and Seth Rollins. It is not clear if Orton will be cleared for the match. Opinion: This is the kind of thing that is going to happen from time to t..