Former Champion Makes WWE Return After Long Absence

Welcome home. There is something very special about a return in wrestling. A wrestler might have been gone for a long time before getting to show up again without much warning. They might have been gone for all kinds of reasons, but an injury is one of the most common. That was the case again this week and now another WWE star is back in action.
Asuka made her surprise return to WWE television this week on Monday Night Raw. Becky Lynch was in the ring and promising to get her Raw Women’s Title back, which means no one will be able to stop her. This brought out Asuka, to say that she would stop Lynch. No match was officially announced. Asuka had been out of action since last July with an arm injury.
Opinion: This is great to see as it has been a long time since Asuka has been around. She is instantly one of the major players in the women’s division and could be slotted into any spot WWE needs her to take. Starting off with Lynch is a great way to go and the match itself could be a hec..

Monday Night Raw Live Coverage And Results – April 25, 2022

Monday Night Raw
Date: April 25, 2022
Location: Thompson Boling Arena, Knoxville, Tennessee
Commentators: Jimmy Smith, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton
We are less than two weeks away from Wrestlemania Backlash but we have a special milestone to cover first. This week is twenty years to the day of Randy Orton’s WWE debut and a special tribute is planned. I’m sure nothing will happen to cause that to be derailed in any way. Let’s get to it.
The ring is surrounded by wrestlers and Riddle introduces us to a tribute to Randy Orton’s career. There are clips from every major moment of his career (save for that first World Title win of course) and my goodness there have been a lot of them. With that out of the way, Riddle introduces Orton, who talks about how he was actually born right here in Knoxville.
Orton thanks a lot of the people who helped get him here, including a special mention of Mick Foley for turning him into the Legend Killer. There have been a lot of moments over the years, but h..

Not So Fast: WWE Star May Be Shifting Into New On-Screen Role

It’s something for him to do. There are a lot of people on the WWE roster and it can be difficult for the company to find something for everyone to do. It is not uncommon to see a wrestler sitting on the sidelines for long periods of time, which can be rather frustrating for the wrestlers and their fans. Now one seems to be back in a different role, but it might just be a setup for something else entirely.
Over the last two episodes of SmackDown, Drew Gulak has been auditioning to be a part of the broadcast team, only to be beaten up by Charlotte and Ronda Rousey. According to Wrestling Observer Radio, this may result in Gulak becoming a new authority figure in WWE. Sonya Deville is returning to the ring and Adam Pearce may have Gulak replace her as his secondary authority figure. This is not a guarantee though and is still seen as speculation.
Opinion: Sure why not. Gulak is a name that people know and he can talk well enough, so why not see how this goes? If WWE just has to have tw..

Impact Wrestling Results – April 21, 2022

Impact Wrestling
Date: April 21, 2022
Location: 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Matthew Rehwoldt, Tom Hannifan
It’s the go home show for Rebellion and we should be in for a solid night. The card is mostly set with the World Title being more than ready, so now it might be time to focus on just about everything else. I’m actually looking forward to the pay per view and if they can get in one last push, we should be in for a nice Saturday. Let’s get to it.
Opening recap.
Opening sequence.
Violent By Design vs. Decay Non-title and it’s Eric Young/Deaner vs. Black Taurus/Crazzy Steve. Taurus hits Deaner in the face to start but Young gets in a cheap shot from the apron to take over. A running knee in the corner gives Deaner two but Taurus knocks him down and brings Steve in to clean house. Steve dropkicks Young off the apron and hits the Cannonball for two on Deaner, with Young dropping a top rope elbow for the save. Everything breaks down and Taurus is sent into th..

RUMOR: Here’s Why AEW Pulled Stars From Upcoming Independent Shows

It takes priority. The rise of AEW has changed the way the wrestling world works in a lot of ways. One of the biggest has been allowing wrestlers to get a better chance to showcase themselves on a major stage. That is going to let those wrestlers land several bookings on smaller shows, but now that is not going to be the case with some wrestlers on an upcoming show.
According to PW Torch, AEW has pulled a group of wrestlers from some upcoming independent events as they have changed a Dark taping from April 30 to May 1. As a result, Lee Moriarty and Skye Blue have been pulled from a Black Label Pro event and JD Drake, Top Flight and Wheeler Yuta have been pulled from a Pro Wrestling Guerrilla event. Both promotions have promised replacements.
Unfortunately Lee Moriarty, Skye Blue and Jake Something will not be appearing at Fancy Wrestling next week.
Updated matches and championship repercussions will be announced very soon.
— Black Label Pro (@BLabelPro) April 22, 2022
Unfortunate..

WATCH: WWE Pays Special Tribute To Randy Orton

I think he has deserved it. There are certain wrestlers who have been in WWE for so long that they have become legends in their own time. As rare as these people can be, you know that you are seeing someone special, just due to how WWE treats them. That is the case again this week, as a legendary WWE star is getting some very special recognition as he reaches a milestone.
WWE has released a new video looking at the 20 Greatest Randy Orton Moments in honor of Orton making his WWE TV debut twenty years ago on April 25, 2002. The video includes various title wins, RKOs and segments from Orton’s career. WWE has also announced that there will be a special ceremony honoring Orton’s success on this week’s edition of Monday Night Raw.
That’s a worthy tribute. Check out Orton’s greatest moments:
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Opinion: Orton may not be everyone’s favorite but at the end of the day, he has been around for so long that he is one of the only constants in WWE over th..

Double Time: Two Missing WWE Stars May Return To TV As Early As This Week

Welcome back to back. There are a lot of wrestlers on the WWE roster and as a result it means that some are going to fall through the cracks. For one reason or another, there are a few people who just are not going to be around very often. It might be due to an injury or due to some issues backstage, but now we might be seeing one of each of them coming back soon.
Two missing WWE stars may be returning to Monday Night Raw this week. First up, according to Fightful Select, “imminent” plans for Asuka to make her return, possibly to feud with Becky Lynch in a short form story. Asuka has been out of action since July with an arm injury. There is no word on when her first match back might be. This is not considered to be definitive, as plans are not set in stone.
Second, according to Fightful Select, Mustafa Ali may be returning to WWE television as well, though there is no word on what he might be doing when he gets back. Ali has been absent from WWE television since October 2021 after a..

RUMOR: Vince McMahon Making More Changes To WWE Soon

It’s a McMahon thing. There are all kinds of stories about Vince McMahon and some of them are almost impossible to believe. At the end of the day though, McMahon is the most powerful person in wrestling and as a result, fans and employees have to put up with his ideas. That seems to be the case again and now we might be seeing some changes due to McMahon’s new ideas.
Last week on SmackDown, Xia Li made her return to WWE television, turning heel in the process by saying she will be protecting herself rather than others. According to Wrestlingnews.co, more babyface or heel turns will be taking place soon as McMahon feels that there are several wrestlers who are currently miscast. There is no word on which wrestlers will be turned or how many of them will be changed.
Opinion: This is the kind of thing that changes WWE up and that might not be a good thing. I can go with the idea of changing things up every now and then, but you need a reason to make it happen. Otherwise it’s just changi..

WWE Sends Out A Fan Survey, Hinting At Possible Upcoming New Concepts

They’re interested. WWE does a lot of things and some of them are often not that well received by fans. This can create a problem as WWE might be doing something that takes them in the wrong direction from what their audience wants to see. It can help to get some feedback on what the fans want on their shows and now that is what WWE seems to be trying to get.
According to PWInsider.com, WWE has sent out a fan survey asking about a variety of topics. Some of the ideas that fans were asked about included NFTs, a wrestler ranking system and more behind the scenes looks at wrestlers. The survey also asks about how much wrestling fans watch and what platforms they use to watch it. There is no word on if any of these ideas will be implemented.
Opinion: This is something that could help, but it doesn’t make a difference if WWE doesn’t listen in some way. Otherwise, this is little more than lip service for the sake of appearing like they’re trying. Hopefully WWE tries something new for the s..

WATCH: Theory Torments A Young Fan At WWE Live Event

That’s some good heeling. If a wrestler is a villain, their main job is to antagonize the fans. There are a lot of ways they can do this, but one of the best and easiest is just to mock them over something that they see. Maybe it is over the result of a match or over someone making the fans mad, but there are multiple ways to go. One of the easiest was on display this weekend as a WWE star went after a fan.
WWE United States Champion Theory has posted a video to his Instagram showing himself after a win at a recent live event. Theory then went up to a young fan dressed in John Cena clothes and said that the win made him better than Cena. The fan could be heard shouting “NO!” after Theory left. Theory won the United States Title last week and has called out Cena in recent weeks.
This is how you do it. Check out Theory messing with a fan:
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Opinion: I can always go for something like this as it isn’t cruel but it does make the fan that upset at..

Boxing Heavyweight Champion Tyson Fury May Be At WWE Summerslam (And More)

I think they’ll take him. Wrestlers get an unfair reputation when it comes to their athletic abilities. While it’s true that their matches are predetermined, they are still out there putting in the work and the effort every single night and that takes a lot of talent. It can help wrestling quite a bit when a mainstream athlete shows up and now that might be the case again soon.
On Saturday, boxing’s Heavyweight Champion of the World Tyson Fury retained his title via knockout over Dillian Whyte. After the fight, Fury suggested that he was ready to retire from the sport and move on to something else. During the post fight media scrum, Fury mentioned that he might be appearing at Summerslam. Fury said that he had a great time when he appeared at Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia and would love to be at the Cardiff, Wales event in September. Fury has wrestled a match for WWE before, defeating Braun Strowman via countout at Crown Jewel 2019.
Opinion: Something tells me that WWE would be thrille..

WATCH: Randy Orton Dances To Bianca Belair’s Theme After SmackDown

I guess he was a fan. While there are a lot of wrestlers going today, only a handful reach the status of being a legend in their own time. Occasionally you will see someone reach that point though and it is a special thing to see. There are a few of those stars around today and one of the bigger ones got to do something this weekend that was more than a bit out of character for him.
The main event of this week’s edition of SmackDown saw Drew McIntyre defeat Sami Zayn in a lumberjack match. Randy Orton served as one of the lumberjacks and he was still at ringside following the show when Bianca Belair came to the ring for a dark match. A video has been posted online, showing Orton dancing to Belair’s theme song as a way to hype up the crowd as he left ringside. Orton did not wrestle on the show.
I didn’t know Vipers danced. Check out Belair’s entrance (Orton is waving the shirt):
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Opinion: This is the kind of thing that happens after WWE’s cam..