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REVIEW: March To WrestleMania IX: They’re Marching The Wrong Way

March 19, 2022 • Admin

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? March To Wrestlemania IX Date: March 28, 1993 Location: Cumberland County Memorial Auditorium, Fayetteville, North Carolina Commentators: Vince McMahon, Bobby Heenan I don’t know how but the last three of these that I’ve picked at random have all been full shows. This time around it’s….well I think the name speaks for itself in this case. We’re about a week away from Wrestlemania IX and we get to see some glorified warmup matches. Let’s get to it. We start with the contract signing between Yokozuna and Bret Hart ..

AEW Rampage Results – March 18, 2022

March 19, 2022 • Admin

Rampage Date: March 18, 2022 Location: Freeman Coliseum, San Antonio, Texas Commentators: Excalibur, Taz, Ricky Starks We’re on late this week due to the NCAA Tournament so I’m not sure what kind of an audience this show is going to have. The good thing is Rampage is rarely the show that features a lot of important developments, but it does offer some good action more often than not. Let’s get to it. Opening sequence. Butcher vs. Darby Allin Sting is in Allin’s corner. Allin charges right at him to start but gets sent into the corner and out to the floor. Back up on the apron and Allin slaps him in the face. They change places though and Allin hits a hard suicide dive into the barricade. Back in and Allin starts working on the hand but Butcher knocks him down again as Jericho talks about how a hand injury could hurt Butcher’s music career. A hard clothesline drops Allin and they head outside, with Butcher glaring at Sting. We take a break and come back with Butcher putting on a Tex..

SmackDown Results – March 18, 2022

March 19, 2022 • Admin

Smackdown Date: March 18, 2022 Location: Spectrum Center, Charlotte, North Carolina Commentators: Pat McAfee, Michael Cole Wrestlemania is two weeks from tomorrow and we have most of the card set. There are still some matches to be made, but most of this show is probably going to be about building on what has already been started. That can make for some successful shows, but the stories need to be good in the first place. Let’s get to it. In memory of Scott Hall. We open with a recap of Roman Reigns attacking Brock Lesnar at Madison Square Garden, leading to Lesnar trying to eat Paul Heyman last week. Here is the Bloodline to get things going. Reigns tells the crowd to acknowledge him before moving on to Lesnar. Hold on though as Heyman interrupts, saying that due to a bad weather pattern, Lesnar is stuck in Canada and will not be here tonight. The fans want Lesnar and Reigns says he wants the same thing. Reigns talks about how he would have smashed Lesnar had be been here but kee..

New Stipulation Added To WrestleMania 38 Grudge Match

March 19, 2022 • Admin

That’s a better fit. Celebrities have a weird history in wrestling, as some have done very well but others have clearly been in over their heads with no reason to be there in the first place. That can create some problems if they try to have a match without a lot of catering to their individual cases. WWE seems to understand this and is making such an adjustment to an upcoming celebrity match. Sami Zayn is scheduled to face Jackass’ Johnny Knoxville at WrestleMania 38, following a months long feud between the two of them. This week on SmackDown, Zayn requested that the match be made anything goes, with Knoxville accepting the stipulation later in the night. Knoxville and Zayn have been feuding since January, with Zayn eliminating him from the Royal Rumble and Knoxville flying Zayn’s phone number behind a plane over Los Angeles last week. Opinion: This isn’t much of a surprise and is the right move for everyone involved. Knoxville can do his Jackass style stuff and probably bring in s..

WrestleMania 38 Title Match Gets Even Bigger

March 19, 2022 • Admin

The more the merrier. WrestleMania is the be all and end all for WWE and the last few years have seen the show get even bigger than ever before. This year’s WrestleMania 38 will be the third straight edition to feature a two night event, meaning even more wrestlers will have the chance to be on the card. Now the number of wrestlers on the show has grown even higher. This week on SmackDown, Sonya Deville added Natalya and Shayna Baszler to the Women’s Tag Team Title match at WrestleMania 38, making the match a fatal four way. Natalya and Baszler interfered to cause a double DQ in a match between the original challengers, Liv Morgan/Rhea Ripley and Sasha Banks/Naomi. After the match, Baszler and Natalya motioned to the champions, Queen Zelina and Carmella, that they wanted the titles. Opinion: Sure why not. This is one of those matches that didn’t have much of a story in the first place as the two challenging teams were thrown together in the first place. SmackDown commentary even poin..

BREAKING RUMOR: Cody Rhodes Has Signed With WWE

March 19, 2022 • Admin

The nightmare returns. According to a report from Mike Johnson of PWInsider.com, Cody Rhodes has signed a new deal and will be returning to WWE. The report states that Rhodes signed his new contract about 10-14 days ago. The current plan is to have Rhodes debut during Wrestlemania 38 weekend, with the early word among those in the company saying that Rhodes will be on the Raw brand. It has been heavily rumored that The American Nightmare will be facing Seth Rollins at WrestleMania, but nothing is finalized yet. We will continue to monitor this situation and provide any updates as they become available. Editor’s Opinion: If I’m being honest, I’m surprised that this is happening. There has to be something in place where he has a little bit more creative control over his contract, because if they try to have him revert to his old gimmicks, the return may fall flat on its face. That being said, he is one of the most incredible talents globally and will be a fantastic addition to the r..

Meet The New WWE Performance Center Class (14 New Wrestlers)

March 18, 2022 • Admin

You have to restock the shelves. There have been all kinds of wrestlers released from WWE over the last few years. These changes have completely reshaped the company’s roster and those adjustments will be felt for a long time to come. At some point WWE is going to have to do something to replenish their roster, and now they are taking some steps to help take care of the problem. WWE has announced its latest class of 14 NXT wrestlers, who will be reporting to the performance Center over the coming weeks. Some of these names have appeared on WWE television before, though some are still waiting to make their debut. The highest profile names include former Ring Of Honor Women’s Champion Rok-C and Fallon Henley, who has already appeared on NXT television. Here are WWE’s looks at everyone in the new class: Theresa Schuessler who debuted on NXT 2.0 as Fallon Henley, is a 24-year old Tampa, Fla., native with five years of experience under her belt competing in the independent circuit under t..

WRESTLING RUMORS: WWE “Beats The Creative” Out Of Its Creative Team

March 18, 2022 • Admin

That isn’t a good thing to see. There are several common criticisms of WWE these days and a lot of them seem to be focused on the way WWE presents its storylines. This is often blamed on the creative team, but the situation is a little more complicated than that. WWE has all kinds of people on its creative team, but that comes with some issues of its own. Now we know something more about how things tend to go. According to the Mat Men Pro Wrestling podcast, WWE writers have said that WWE “beats the creativity out of you”, with some of the writers having lost all of their confidence in their abilities. This comes despite the writers having experience on top level television shows. WWE creative is responsible for coming up with the ways stories are presented, though Vince McMahon has the final say on who is pushed in what way. Opinion: Is this a surprise in any way? WWE has a long history of turnover on the creative team with all kinds of stories about how they are often seen as being ..

Natalya Explains How Close She Came To Quit Wrestling

March 18, 2022 • Admin

It would have been a big loss. There have been a lot of stars in WWE over the years but there are only some who have been around for so long that they become one of the company’s regulars. Some names have been around for well over ten years and they are still big deals in the company to this day. It turns out that one of them almost never got to WWE in the first place. During an appearance on My Love Letter To Wrestling, Natalya spoke about how she nearly quit wrestling after tearing her ACL in 2006. However, she was talked out of quitting by her uncle Bret Hart and future NWA owner Billy Corgan, who she met at Hart’s Hall of Fame induction and considers to be a good friend today. The two both told her to continue with her career, which included spending six months recovering from her injury. Natalya was signed by WWE less than three months after she returned to the ring and has stayed with WWE for fifteen years since. Opinion: It really is kind of hard to fathom that someone making ..

WWE Amazing Argument In Monopoly Lawsuit (This Is Kind Of Nuts)

March 18, 2022 • Admin

They don’t own the whole thing. WWE is the biggest and most powerful wrestling promotion in the world. This has been the case for a long time now and no one has given WWE any kind of a serious threat for years. However, that does not mean WWE is the only wrestling promotion around, and now they have had to admit that in front of a judge as part of a lawsuit. Earlier this year, Major League Wrestling, alleging that WWE is a monopoly on the wrestling industry. WWE has since filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit and, according to Dave Meltzer, presented a copy of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, which showed that AEW defeated WWE head to head in a thirty minute period. As a result, the company showed that they were not a monopoly on the wrestling business. There is no word on if the lawsuit will be thrown out or when a decision will be made. In the WWE's response to the MLW lawsuit, besides the written response they provided an exhibit. The exhibit was the October 18, 2021 issue ..

Missing WWE Star Reveals Injury Status, Says He Isn’t Retired

March 18, 2022 • Admin

He’ll be back. Retirement is a weird thing in wrestling, as it is rare for a wrestler to ever truly walk away from wrestling as a whole. There is always the chance to see someone get back in the ring for a one off appearance or one final run, which can take some fans by surprise. Now another wrestler who seemed like he might have been done has clarified his status and explained where he has been. Titus O’Neil Appeared on 95.3 WDAE (St. Petersburg, Florida) and revealed that he is currently rehabbing from a medical procedure on his knee. O’Neil made it clear that he has not retired from the ring and plans to wrestle again. There is no word on what O’Neil had done or when he will be back in the ring. O’Neil’s most recent match took place on the November 9, 2020 edition of Monday Night Raw when he lost to Bobby Lashley. Opinion: O’Neil is one of the most fascinating cases in WWE as he has never had the greatest success in the ring, but everything else he does outside of it more than mak..

Here’s Why AEW Is Letting One Of Its Wrestlers Move On

March 18, 2022 • Admin

There’s the reason. One of the biggest wrestling stories of the last few years has been WWE releasing several wrestlers from the company. That has not been a normal thing for other companies as several promotions have had minimal releases save for special circumstances. Sometimes wrestlers leave a bigger promotion when their contract expires, which is the case again in AEW. Now we know a bit more about what led to the decision. In an interview with Denise Salcedo, Joey Janela revealed that he would be leaving AEW when his contract expired on May 1. Janela also said that he believes accidentally breaking Eddie Kingston’s orbital bone in a match was the final straw for his time in AEW, as he was labeled a dangerous wrestler. According to PWInsider.com, the Kingston injury was part of the reason for Janela’s departure, but he was also believed to have injured other wrestlers in the ring. Janela has not wrestled for AEW since January 15. Opinion: Being a dangerous worker, or being labele..

WATCH: John Cena And Steve Austin Backstage

March 18, 2022 • Admin

From one legend to another. There are very few wrestlers who have reached the top of WWE. You have all kinds of main event stars, but there have only been a handful who have become the face of the company. That is not something that is always around as WWE can take a while to find a new one. Every now and then you will see two of them together, and this time it was a rather nice moment. In honor of Austin 3:16 Day, WWE has uploaded a video of Steve Austin running into John Cena backstage at Raw Reunion in 2019. Austin says he is proud of what Cena did in his segment on the show. After Austin leaves, Cena says he is glad that was caught on camera, as Austin saying he was proud melted Cena’s heart. Austin is scheduled to be a guest on the Kevin Owens Show at WrestleMania 38 while Cena is not currently scheduled to appear. It was a pretty cool moment. Check out Cena and Austin backstage: [This post contains video, click to play] Opinion: That is quite the meeting, both from a fan’s p..

WRESTLING RUMORS: WWE Running Major Event Over AEW All Out Weekend

March 17, 2022 • Admin

Call it a scheduling issue? Wrestling has been put together in a similar fashion for a long time now. Most of the time, television shows have been designed to set up the bigger events down the line, often in the form of pay per views. Most major promotions in the world operate this way, but now we might be seeing two big shows taking place pretty close together. The WrestleVotes Twitter account is reporting that WWE will be returning to the United Kingdom for a pay per view on September 3 at Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales. This is on the same weekend as AEW All Out 2022, though it is not clear when All Out will be taking place. This will be the first major WWE pay per view event in the United Kingdom since Summerslam 1992. Source states the long-awaited WWE United Kingdom PPV return will take place Saturday, September 3rd at Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales. That is the same weekend as AEW’s ‘All Out’ PPV. — WrestleVotes (@WrestleVotes) March 17, 2022 Opinion: This i..

Ring Of Honor TV Results – March 9, 2022

March 17, 2022 • Admin

Ring Of Honor Date: March 9, 2022 Host: Ian Riccaboni We’re done with the Hall of Fame shows so I have no idea what to expect this week. We could be in for something interesting out of the vault, but Ring of Honor has a tendency to throw in a surprise here or there. The relaunch is less than a month away though so they don’t have much more time to fill. Let’s get to it. We open with a look at how Ring of Honor has come up through the years and the foundation of what it was built on. Ian Riccaboni welcomes us to the show, which will be a Hall of Fame special looking at the original class. First up we look at the Briscoes, who have been around since the first match in Ring of Honor history and are the greatest tag team the company has ever had. We see some clips of their greatest feuds and a highlight reel of some of their big matches, from title wins to grudge matches. Jay Briscoe’s World Title wins are included as well. Riccaboni brings in Cary Silkin for a chat about the Briscoes..

WATCH: Seth Rollins Appears On The Tonight Show

March 17, 2022 • Admin

That’s some star power. Wrestlers are in a weird place when it comes to celebrity status. While they are known for appearing on national television, they are still going to be viewed as wrestlers. That does not leave them with a wide variety of options available in mainstream appearances, though they do happen occasionally. It took place again this week, with quite the theme situation. Monday Night Raw’s Seth Rollins appeared on the Tonight Show during the Audience Suggestion Box segment. The suggested asked for a combination of WWE and St. Patrick’s Day, which led to Rollins hitting the Stomp on a leprechaun. Rollins did not speak during the segment but was introduced by name and did his full entrance, complete with his theme music playing. It does kind of fit. Check out how Rollins did on the show: [This post contains video, click to play] Opinion: This is the kind of thing that you do not get to see very often but it is something pretty cool. If nothing else it gives WWE some pu..

Two AEW Stars Undergo Name Changes

March 17, 2022 • Admin

That’s what they’ll be called. A wrestler’s name is one of the most important parts of their entire presentation. If a wrestler has the wrong name, it could leave them fairly low on the ladder, as no one will be taking them seriously. Sometimes you will see a wrestler change their name for one reason or another, and that was the case again this week with a pair of names. This week’s edition of AEW Dynamite featured the first interview with the newly formed Jericho Appreciation Society. During the interview, Chris Jericho said that 2.0 was a bad name from “bad creative” and announced that they would not be going by their previous names of Matt Lee and Jeff Parker. Instead, they would not be known as “Daddy Magic” Matt Minard and “Cool Hand Ang” Angelo Parker. Opinion: I’m not sure how much of a difference the changes are going to make, but at least they have done something interesting with them for a change. 2.0 have been fairly successful during their time in AEW but they haven’t exa..

WATCH: Finn Balor Explains His Recent WWE Absence

March 17, 2022 • Admin

It’s a good excuse. WWE has a rather diverse roster with wrestlers from all over the world. That can make for some interesting matchups as you can see different styles coming together to face off on some rather big stages. There are some setbacks to having so many international wrestlers though, which apparently was the case with one such star a few months ago. During a new interview with BT Sports, WWE United States Champion Finn Balor revealed that he missed a significant amount of time in January, including the Royal Rumble, due to visa issues. Balor’s visa was expiring and he had to return to Ireland to get it renewed, which resulted in him not having a match from January 17 until February 21. The renewed visa will keep him in good standing for the next ten years. He would know best. Check out Balor’s announcement: [This post contains video, click to play] Opinion: This could be a lot worse for everyone involved and the fact that it was something beyond WWE’s control makes it a..

Update On Batista’s WWE Hall Of Fame Status

March 17, 2022 • Admin

It’s a delayed honor. There are very few honors in the WWE world as important as an induction into the company’s Hall of Fame. While there have been a lot of different names inducted over the year, there are very few major names in the company’s history that are not inducted. The induction ceremony can be quite the moment, and now we might have an idea when an overdue entry will take place. Former WWE star Batista was announced as part of the WWE Hall of Fame class of 2020. However, the induction ceremony was postponed until 2021 due the Coronavirus pandemic. Batista was unable to attend the ceremony due to a scheduling conflict. WWE removed him from the class as per his request, leaving him to be inducted later. According to PWInsider.com, Batista will be in attendance in Dallas this year for Undertaker’s induction but is not expected to be inducted until 2023 in Los Angeles over WrestleMania 39 weekend. Opinion: This is the kind of thing that makes sense and I could see WWE’s logic..

REVIEW: WCW Monday Nitro – March 17, 1997: The NWO Does St. Patrick’s Day

March 17, 2022 • Admin

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? Monday Nitro #79 Date: March 17, 1997 Location: Savannah Civic Center, Savannah, Georgia Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Mike Tenay, Larry Zbyszko, Bobby Heenan It’s the night after Uncensored and the big story is that Sting has declared his loyalty for WCW by attacking the NWO to close the show last night. At the same time though it’s not all good for the purple and gold (WCW for you young people out there) as the NWO won the main event last night, basically giving them unlimited power in the company. There are ele..