News

BREAKING: Cody And Brandi Rhodes Leaving AEW

February 15, 2022 • Admin

Fare thee well? AEW has only been around for a few years now but the company has made some amazing strides in such a little time. The company has gone from an idea to the second biggest wrestling company in the world. That is not something you see take place very often and a lot of its progress is due to a core group of names. However, some of those names might not be around any longer. As announced on their Twitter accounts, Cody, the reigning TNT Champion, and Brandi Rhodes have announced that they are leaving AEW. Cody and Brandi have both posted messages thanking several members of the AEW roster and people who work backstage though he does not give a reason for the departure. AEW President Tony Khan has also posted a message thanking them for their time and efforts in the company. According to F4WOnline.com, Cody’s contract with AEW expired in December and he has been a free agent since. There has been discussions about him returning to WWE but nothing has been confirmed. pic.tw..

WWE Trying To Get Steve Austin For A WrestleMania Match

February 15, 2022 • Admin

I think that qualifies as a big deal. We are less than two months away from WrestleMania 38 and WWE has its work cut out for the show. Not only is the show taking place at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, but it is going to be taking place over two nights. That means about 200,000 possible tickets being sold and WWE is going to have to work hard to make that work. They might have an idea of how to do just that this time. According to Fightful Select, WWE has made a “significant overture” to Steve Austin about wrestling a match at WrestleMania 38. While WWE has not said anything about the situation, people backstage at WWE are said to have a mixed response, with some thinking the match will take place. According to PWInsider.com, WWE made its offer to Austin around the end of 2021 to see if he had any interest, though there is no word on if Austin is interested. There is no word on any potential opponent or storyline, though Austin is expected to appear at the show in some role. Aust..

WWE Makes A Weird Change To Its Television Shows

February 15, 2022 • Admin

Call it a fresh start. With so many wrestlers on its roster, WWE has to have quite a bit of television time at its disposal. The company needs a good number of shows to get that many people a chance to showcase themselves to the audience. As a result, WWE puts quite a bit of effort into making its shows look good, but now they are trying things with a bit of a twist. This week’s edition of Monday Night Raw began as usual, with its traditional montage of clips from throughout the company’s history. At the end though, a voice over said the words “THEN, NOW, FOREVER”. After the montage ended, the WWE logo came up, again as usual, but this time the same voice said “TOGETHER”, which appears underneath the logo. WWE has also referenced the change on its Twitter account. THEN NOW FOREVER TOGETHER#WWERaw — WWE (@WWE) February 15, 2022 Opinion: I’m not sure how much of a difference this is going to make but this feels like a very WWE thing to do. The company loves to tout itself and everyth..

REVIEW: Elimination Chamber 2021: The Chamber In The Dome

February 15, 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? Elimination Chamber 2021 Date: February 21, 2021 Location: Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, Florida Commentators: Samoa Joe, Byron Saxton, Tom Phillips, Michael Cole, Corey Graves The long Road to Wrestlemania continues here as we have one of the two pay per views between the Royal Rumble and Wrestlemania. This time around they are doing something a little different with the Elimination Chamber matches as the Raw World Title is on the line, but the winner of the Smackdown Chamber gets an immediate title shot. Let’..

WATCH: AEW Signs A Brand New Star (And This One Is A Bit Different)

February 15, 2022 • Admin

The roster keeps growing. There are a lot of incredibly talented wrestlers on the AEW roster and the combination they have put together is a major reason for their success. AEW has found a great balance between all kinds of wrestlers and as a result, they are able to offer all kinds of matches and feuds. Some of their wrestlers are quite young, but now the company has reached another level. Over the weekend, Nick Wayne faced Christopher Daniels in the main event of a Defy Wrestling event. Following the match, AEW’s Darby Allin came to the ring and offered Wayne an AEW contract. After thinking about it for a few moments, Wayne accepted the deal, but it is not that simple. According to Wrestling Observer Radio, the deal is similar to an apprenticeship, as Wayne is sixteen years old and must graduate high school. Once he is 18 years old, he will be a fully contracted wrestler. This was a special moment. Check out the surprise contract offer: [This post contains video, click to play] A..

Former World Champion Confirms Free Agency, But There Is A Problem

February 15, 2022 • Admin

It could be a little while. The amount of talent available in the wrestling world is almost hard to fathom these days, as a variety of companies have signed so many great wrestlers that it is almost hard to watch any promotion without seeing some great action. There are some great free agent wrestlers as well, and now that list has grown again, albeit there will be a bit of a delay before we get to see someone in action again. Last week, news emerged that former Impact Wrestling World Champion Josh Alexander may be on his way out of the company and into the free agent market. Alexander has since taken to Twitter and offered more details, including a confirmation that his Impact Wrestling contract has expired. In addition, Alexander’s American work visa has expired as well, meaning that he will be forced to miss this month’s Terminus event. There is no word on when Alexander will be able to return to the ring, though he said that he hopes to have the issues resolved soon. Today my con..

Final Elimination Chamber Entrant Revealed With Surprise Return

February 15, 2022 • Admin

She’s in. We are less than a week away from WWE’s latest Elimination Chamber event and that means the show will be built around the show’s namesake matches. This year will feature both a men’s and women’s match, with the latter being for a shot at the Raw Women’s Title at WrestleMania 38. That means the bigger names are going to be involved and now we know the match’s final entrant. Over the last several weeks, a series of vignettes showing Alexa Bliss in therapy on Monday Night Raw. This week’s show featured the final therapy session, with Bliss being released from the doctor’s care. As she was leaving, Bliss said that she would be the final entrant in the women’s Elimination Chamber match. Bliss joins Rhea Ripley, Nikki Ash, Doudrop, Liv Morgan and Bianca Belair in the match. This will be Bliss’ first match since her loss to Charlotte at Extreme Rules in September 2021. Opinion: This is one of the many directions that they could have gone, but one of the best things about the retur..

VIDEO: NXT Star Makes Surprise Monday Night Raw Appearance

February 15, 2022 • Admin

Sounds like a future to me. WWE has a huge roster, but unfortunately it is nowhere near as big of a lineup as it used to be. That is the kind of change that can make things all the more confusing and difficult for the regular television shows, but WWE has to figure something out after all of the changes. In theory that might mean some NXT stars moving up to the main roster, and now we might be seeing that happen, at least in the short term. Last week’s edition of NXT saw Dolph Ziggler make a surprise appearance on the show. Ziggler seemed to insert himself into the NXT Title picture but former NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa disagreed and got in a fight with Ziggler. Ciampa appeared on this week’s Monday Night Raw, doing commentary during a tag match between Ziggler and Robert Roode against the Street Profits. The match ended when Ciampa threw water on Ziggler, allowing the Street Profits to get the pin. Following the match, Ziggler took Ciampa out with a superkick. There is no word on a ..

Let Them Fight: New Grudge Match Added To WWE Elimination Chamber

February 15, 2022 • Admin

There’s always room for one more. We are less than a week away from WWE Elimination Chamber in Saudi Arabia, which is shaping up to be quite the big card. That is something that is going to make the company put in quite a bit of effort and that seems to be the case again. It was certainly the case this week, as WWE has added a last minute match to the show’s card. This week on Monday Night Raw, a match between the Miz and Rey Mysterio was added to the Elimination Chamber event. The match comes after Rey’s son Dominik has been having issues with the Miz over recent weeks. During this week’s show, the Mysterios were facing the Alpha Academy when Rey attacked Miz, leaving Dominik to get pilled. After the match, Miz laid Rey out with a Skull Crushing Finale. Opinion: This is something that needed to be added to the show as it was missing a few more stars. When so many of the wrestlers are involved in a pair of Elimination Chamber matches, you need something else to draw in a little inter..

Monday Night Raw Live Coverage And Results – February 14, 2022

February 15, 2022 • Admin

Monday Night Raw Date: February 14, 2022 Location: Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana Commentators: Jimmy Smith Corey Graves, Byron Saxton It’s the go home show for Elimination Chamber and that means it’s time for a lot of talking about the matches that have already been made for Saturday’s show. It also means that we are in for another limited commercial show, because if there is one thing WWE needs, it is more content. Let’s get to it. The opening video now has a voiceover saying “FOREVER. TOGETHER.” Here is Bobby Lashley with MVP to get things going. Lashley talks about having *to go through the Elimination Chamber to get to WrestleMania as WWE Champion. The Chamber has shortened careers and impacted lives….but so has he. MVP says there is 16% chance of Lashley retaining the title, but when you add in the Almighty Quotient, it is about 100%. Cue Seth Rollins to interrupt, saying that Lashley looks great, but not as great as he does. Rollins talks about how Lashley is c..

Switch: AEW Star Undergoing Gimmick Change

February 14, 2022 • Admin

She is moving on. There are all kinds of ways to present a wrestler to the audience and some of them can be a little bit over the top. Wrestlers have to find the right balance between absurd and believable to make things work, which can be rather tricky. Sometimes adjustments need to be made to find the right balance, which seems to be the case again with a current star. According to Wrestling Observer Radio, AEW may be changing Kris Statlander’s gimmick. Statlander’s longstanding character had been that of an alien from the Andromeda galaxy but she has recently been acting more like a normal person, with the alien characteristics being dropped. The gimmick is not said to have been entirely dropped yet but Statlander is moving in a new direction. Opinion: This is probably the right way to go, as the alien gimmick was only going to get Statlander so far. It is a pretty silly and over the top character but the talent is certainly there. Statlander is good at what she does and it makes ..

Backstage Update On Vince McMahon’s Current View of WWE

February 14, 2022 • Admin

An audience of one. Whether you are a fan of it or not, there is no wrestling promotion in the world on the level of WWE. It is the biggest wrestling company in the world and nothing is anywhere close to its level. That is at least the case from a business standpoint, as the wrestling side might not be seen as so great. WWE fans have not been so thrilled, but there is one person who is rather happy, and he is the one that matters. According to Mike Johnson in a PWInsider.com Q&A session, WWE does not make any changes to its product because Vince McMahon is happy with how everything is going. WWE made over a billion dollars in 2021 so McMahon sees no reason to change anything about the way the company is presented. McMahon presents the stories and ideas that he wants and that is not likely to change anytime soon. Opinion: I don’t think this is the biggest surprise but it is certainly disappointing. WWE certainly does make a ton of money and there is no way to argue against the results..

WATCH: AEW’s Thunder Rosa Is Not Putting Up With Racist Fan Comments

February 14, 2022 • Admin

That won’t go well. The fans are one of the most important parts of any wrestling show. While the wrestlers are the featured attraction, there is nowhere near as much energy without the fans around. Just look back at WWE’s shows in the Thunder Dome to see how much different things are without them. However, there are some lines that fans cannot cross, and that was done this weekend. Over the weekend at a Warrior Wrestling event outside of Chicago, AEW’s Thunder Rosa faced Athena (formerly known as Ember Moon in WWE). During the match, a fan reportedly shouted a racist statement to Athena, saying “tear her weave off”. Following the match, Rosa got on the microphone and told the fans to have some respect for the women who are putting their lives in danger during the matches. Rosa went on to say that fans who are disrespectful to the wrestlers in that way have no right to be at a show. Racist towards Athena (Ember Moon). A comment about weave. — thrillking722 (@thrillking722) February ..

VIDEO: WWE Airs WrestleMania Commercial During The Super Bowl (Two Versions)

February 14, 2022 • Admin

That’s some big exposure. WWE is in the middle of its biggest season of the year as we are on the Road To WrestleMania 38. With less than two months to go before WrestleMania, WWE is going to want all of the attention that it can get for the show. That is easier said than done, but WWE certainly has the money to make it a possibility. They did just that this weekend on the biggest television night of the year. WWE aired a commercial during Super Bowl LVI on Sunday night, featuring Pat McAfee using various adjectives to describe what WrestleMania will be. The advertisement promotes both Monday Night Raw and WrestleMania, which will air on the USA Network and Peacock. Those platforms are both owned by NBC Universal, which is the home of the Super Bowl. WrestleMania 38 airs on April 2 and 3. It was a pretty cool night. Check out this year’s commercial (both versions), plus the WWE’s most famous Super Bowl ad: [This post contains video, click to play] [This post contains video, click ..

Monday Night Raw And SmackDown Could Be Changing Online Homes

February 14, 2022 • Admin

The new home? WWE is a huge wrestling company that pumps out more content than they know what to do with most of the time. That makes them a rather valuable property for a lot of platforms, as WWE fans will come and watch almost anything the company presents. That has made WWE a lot of money over the years and now they might be ready to do just that again with a possible change up. The online rebroadcast rights of WWE’s weekly television shows currently belong to Hulu. According to Wrestling Observer Radio, the Hulu contract is expiring soon and Peacock is interested in picking up the rights to Monday Night Raw and NXT. Peacock currently airs Monday Night Raw and SmackDown thirty days later, though it is not clear if SmackDown would be allowed to air so soon due to the show airing on FOX. Peacock is reported to have one billion dollars to spend on acquiring new content this year. Opinion: This would be a big move for Peacock and WWE as Peacock certainly has the money and needs the co..

Actor Likely Getting WrestleMania Title Shot *Contains SmackDown SPOILER*

February 14, 2022 • Admin

That’s a way to go. Titles are the easiest part of a wrestling show, as they are such a simple concept. Wrestlers are competing against each other and they want to win the top prize. That might be for the sake of money or power or just success, but every wrestler should want to be a champion for one reason or another. Now it seems that someone else is going to get a title match on the biggest stage of them all. Last week, WWE taped February 18 edition of SmackDown, during which Sami Zayn defeated Shinsuke Nakamura to win the Intercontinental Title. According to Wrestling Observer Radio, this means actor Johnny Knoxville will get an Intercontinental Title shot against Zayn at WrestleMania 38. Zayn and Knoxville have been feuding for several weeks, including during the men’s Royal Rumble match. Opinion: This might not be the most popular move in the world and I can absolutely understand the sentiment. At the end of the day, there are a lot of wrestlers who could get something out of an..

WATCH: What WWE Has To Edit Out Of Next Week’s SmackDown *MINOR SPOILER*

February 14, 2022 • Admin

You might need a reshoot. Wrestling is a complicated television product as a bunch of things need to be put together to make the show work. A company needs to have the action, the story, the wrestling itself and more, which is just in the in-ring section itself. That isn’t even considering everything that comes together to build interest to a match, which didn’t go so well this week. This week, WWE taped next week’s edition of SmackDown in advance due to the travel schedule for Elimination Chamber. The show featured a contract signing for an Elimination Chamber tag team match between Ronda Rousey/Naomi vs. Sonya Deville/Charlotte. A clip of the segment has made its way online, showing Rousey attempting to slam Charlotte’s head into the table, but it did not work as planned. According to Wrestling Observer Radio, WWE will edit the segment out of the broadcast in some way. Opinion: This is something that is going to happen at some point but it makes me worried about what is going to ha..

WATCH: The Rock Introduces Super Bowl LVI (56)

February 14, 2022 • Admin

We all smell what he’s cooking. Tonight, Dwayne Johnson provided the introduction for Super Bowl LVI (56) between the Los Angeles Rams and the Cincinnati Bengals. The Rock introduced the teams with hints of his WWE persona. You can see the introduction below: [This post contains video, click to play] .@THEROCK. INCREDIBLE OPENING TO #SBLVI ?: #SBLVI on NBC ?: https://t.co/K02y40b5Nu pic.twitter.com/Jib7mVPztC — NFL (@NFL) February 13, 2022 The Rock is no stranger to Super Bowl introductions; in 2020, he gave the introductions for the teams in Super Bowl LIV (54). He has a history with football; from 1990 to 1994, he played for the University of Miami Hurricanes. Although he would be a part of the national championship team in 1991, Johnson would appear in a backup role, starting only one game in four years. After Johnson graduated in 1995, he signed with the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League as a linebacker. He was assigned to the practice roster but was cut tw..

Ring Of Honor TV Results – February 9, 2022

February 13, 2022 • Admin

Ring Of Honor Date: February 9, 2022 It’s a special theme episode this week as we look at the first inductees into the Ring Of Honor Hall of Fame: the Briscoes. When you think about it, there isn’t anyone else it should have been if you are just looking at accomplishments. There are all kinds of classic matches here and hopefully they open the vault a bit. Let’s get to it. Opening sequence. We open with a video on the Briscoes, including a bunch of home videos. It moves on to some of their better moments and bigger feuds before welcoming them to the Hall of Fame. From Night of Champions on March 22, 2003 in Philadelphia. Tag Team Titles: AJ Styles/Amazing Red vs. Briscoes Styles and Red (only the second champions in the titles’ history) are defending and the Briscoes (both teenagers here) are making their debut as a team. Jay and Red run the ropes to start before Mark comes in to try some suplexes. It’s too early for that so we’ll go with an exchange of rollups for a standoff inst..

NXT UK Results – February 10, 2022

February 13, 2022 • Admin

NXT UK Date: February 10, 2022 Location: BT Sports Studios, London, England Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Andy Shepherd For once, we don’t have a title on the line and after last week, that might be a good thing. Last week’s Women’s Title match ended with a fluke injury to Blair Davenport and she is likely to be gone for a long time. This week’s show is about revenge though as Nathan Frazer gets his hands on Teoman. Let’s get to it. Opening sequence. Amale vs. Nina Samuels Fallout for Samuels taking over Amale’s interview and mocking her. Amale slugs away with forearms to start but Samuels grabs a hiptoss. Back up and Amale grabs a butterfly suplex but they head to the apron where Samuels trips her down. A high kick into a slingshot splash gives Samuels two and she rakes Amale’s face into the mat. The chinlock puts Amale in trouble for a bit until she fights up for the clothesline comeback. A backsplash crushes Samuels for two but she is right back with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker..