Search Results: "2017"

NEWS

REVIEW: Royal Rumble 2017: All The People

January 19, 2023

Welcome to KB’s Old School (and New School) Reviews. I’ve been reviewing wrestling shows for over ten years now and have reviewed over 5,000 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? Royal Rumble 2017 Date: January 29, 2017 Location: Alamodome, San Antonio, Texas Attendance: 52,020 Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton, Mauro Ranallo, John Bradshaw Layfield, David Otunga, Tom Phillips It’s kind of amazing how much this show has been forgotten in just about a year. Other than AJ Styles vs. John Cena, I can barely remember a single thing about this show. I know who won the Rumble and who were some of the bigger stars in the match but the rest is kind of a blur, which isn’t a good s..

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Reunion: WWE Legend Backstage At This Week’s Monday Night Raw

January 5, 2023

They’ll pass. There have been all kinds of wrestlers throughout WWE’s history and quite a few of them have been memorable. While it might not always be for the most positive reasons, there is something about a wrestler that keeps them in fans’ minds. One former WWE star was backstage at this week’s Monday Night Raw after a rather long absence from the company. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Next Batch: More WWE Biographies Coming Next Month According to Fightful Select, former WWE star Summer Rae was backstage this week at Monday Night Raw in Nashville, Tennessee. According to Fightful Select, Rae was only visiting friends and WWE has no plans to bring her back in a full time role. Rae worked for WWE from 2011 – 2017 and returned last year as an entrant in the Women’s Royal Rumble match. Rae did some good things in WWE. Check out some of her time in the company: [This post contains video, click to play] [This post contains video, click to play] [This post contains video, click to play]..

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WRESTLING RUMORS: NXT Set To Change Title Belt Designs

December 15, 2022

An old look. Titles are some of the most important things in a wrestling promotion. A wrestler holding a title is one of the signs that the company has made an investment into them and it makes them feel like more important deals. The titles themselves are easy to identify as they are big shiny belts, but sometimes they need to be replaced. Now that is the case again, albeit with an old taste. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: BREAKING: Mandy Rose Released By WWE According to Belt Fan Dan on Twitter, NXT is planning on replacing their current collection of championship belts. NXT’s rainbow championships will be replaced by their previous non-colored designs. There is no word on when the change will take place or when the titles will be switched back to their previous designs. The older versions had been in use since March 2017. Word on the street is the rainbow NXT belts are going to be replaced with the prior non-colored ones. — Dan Beltzer (@BeltFanDan) December 14, 2022 There have been so..

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Really, Him? Road Dogg Alleges Brock Lesnar Would Not Work With This One WWE Star

November 26, 2022

Just him? There are very few wrestlers in the history of WWE on the same level as Brock Lesnar. Immediately upon his debut, Lesnar was presented as The Next Big Thing and he has been a monster in the company during his on and off career. It means something for a wrestler to be paired with Lesnar, but there is reportedly one name that he would not work with for some reason. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: When Worlds Collide? WWE Veteran Would Return After 11 Years To Work With Roman Reigns One of the feature matched at Survivor Series 2017 was AJ Styles vs. Lesnar in a battle of World Champions. Styles defeated Jinder Mahal to win the WWE Title less than a month before the match, following an announced match between Mahal and Lesnar. According to Road Dogg on his Oh You Didn’t Know podcast, Lesnar had no problem working with Mahal, but rather felt that he could have a better match with Styles. Dogg said he had never heard of Lesnar not wanting to work with anyone in WWE, save for only Kevin O..

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33 Year Old Former WWE Star Makes Surprise Return After 5 Year Absence

October 29, 2022

Welcome back! There have been a lot of stars to come through the WWE’s doors over the years and it can be quite a moment when someone leaves. There are some departures that can shake up the company, while others leave without getting to prove themselves well enough. Occasionally those stars will get to make a return and that is the case again with a long departed star. Emma made a surprise return this week on SmackDown, marking her first appearance with the company in just under five years. Emma answered Ronda Rousey’s open challenge for a SmackDown Women’s Title shot, ultimately losing via submission. This was Emma’s first appearance for WWE since October 2017. She previously wrestled in WWE and NXT from 2012-2017 and has stayed on the independent circuit since, plus a stint in Impact Wrestling. Opinion: I’m glad to see Emma back as she is someone who could be put into the middle of the card to fill in a spot. She has the talent and charisma needed to be interesting and I could go f..

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REVIEW: WCPW Pro Wrestling World Cup Finals: The Big Finish

September 27, 2022

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? WCPW Pro Wrestling World Cup Finals Date: August 26, 2017 Location: Sport Central, Newcastle Upon Tyne, England Commentators: Dave Bradshaw, James R. Kennedy So back in 2017, What Culture Pro Wrestling (later Defiant Wrestling) set up a massive tournament with wrestlers from around the world taking part. As you can guess, this is the big final, with both the semifinals and finals taking place. This was a cool concept and I didn’t get to see any of it but here’s the big ending. Lets get to it. Opening sequence. S..

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WATCH: AJ Styles vs. Kevin Owens From Battleground 2017

July 19, 2022

He knows what it’s like to be a champion. WWE has posted a new video to their YouTube page, in which they show the full match between AJ Styles and Kevin Owens from Battleground 2017. It was here that Owens defeated Styles to become the United States Champion. You can see the match in its entirety below: [This post contains video, click to play] From WWE.com: Fittingly enough for a rivalry that has hinged on heartbreakers and shockers in equal measure, KO and Styles seemed to be one minute away from a full-on fistfight from the second the bell rang. Owens was particularly rabid, looking to avenge his honor after losing the title in a stunning upset to The Phenomenal One at a WWE Live Event in Madison Square Garden three weeks ago. The proud champion swooped on The New Face of America like a Georgia-born bird of prey. Owens employed a ground-and-pound strategy to counter, muscling Styles down to Chinlock City. Even when Styles rallied to hit some of his more breathtaking maneuver..

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REVIEW: Fastlane 2017: At Least It Isn’t Slow

July 16, 2022

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? Fastlane 2017 Date: March 5, 2017 Location: Bradley Center, Milwaukee, Wisconsin Commentators: Michael Cole, Byron Saxton, Corey Graves It’s the final show before Wrestlemania XXXIII and it’s fairly clear that this is just a way to fill in time before Orlando. The main event is Kevin Owens defending the Universal Title against Goldberg, which has a serious chance of being a squash. Of course it also has the chance of Chris Jericho interfering and costing his former friend the title. Let’s get to it. Pre-Show: Noa..

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He’s Done: AEW Name Confirms He Is Officially Retired From The Ring

July 15, 2022

He’s saying never. Wrestlers have a strange career trajectory as they have to get out of the ring one day, but it is easy for them to stick around for one more match. Several wrestlers over the years have done just this for a very long time, but there are others who are able to get out of the ring for good. It might not be their choice though, and that seems to be the case again. AEW’s Sonjay Dutt appeared on the AEW Unrestricted podcast to discuss his current role in the company and his own career. Dutt mentioned that he now works full time behind the scenes for AEW, as well as acting as Jay Lethal and Satnam Singh’s on-screen manager. As for wrestling a match, Dutt said there will be “zero chance” that he will ever wrestle again. Dutt mentioned that he had a variety of physical issues that were keeping him out of the ring. Dutt’s most recent match took place on December 28, 2017. Opinion: It’s nice to see someone with this kind of a perspective on wrestling, as well as someone who ..

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REVIEW: Money In The Bank 2017: Climb Faster!

June 14, 2022

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? Money in the Bank 2017 Date: June 18, 2017 Location: Scottrade Center, St. Louis, Missouri Commentators: Tom Phillips, John Bradshaw Layfield, Byron Saxton It’s time to climb. Tonight is all about the ladders and the briefcases, which could be cashed in tonight, assuming we have a bit of luck. This has the potential to be an interesting show with a five match card, though two of them are major ladder matches whose entrances alone will take about ten minutes. Let’s get to it. Kickoff Show: Hype Bros vs. Colons Th..

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Twice As Nice: WWE Star Does Something Amazing For Charity

June 13, 2022

That’s pretty awesome. There are all kinds of things that a wrestler can do outside of the ring and a lot of the time, it is something that can help others in need. A wrestler often has enough celebrity status to make something good happen and that is the case with one of WWE’s international stars. Not only have they done something very good, but now they have done it again. WWE star Sami Zayn has announced that his SamiForSyria charity has launched its second mobile medical unit. The units are designed to offer free of charge medical care for those displaced by the Syrian civil war. Zayn has promoted the idea since 2017, asking fans for donations to fund the units as well as their upkeep. The units serve about 100 people a day with the new unit opening access to six more villages. 5 years ago I started #SamiForSyria – a mobile clinic in Syria delivering medical care to civilians displaced by war. I am proud to tell you: thanks to your support, we now have TWO clinics currently oper..

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REVIEW: Hell In A Cell 2017: The Shane McMahon Does Something Stupid Show

May 10, 2022

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? Hell in a Cell 2017 Date: October 8, 2017 Location: Little Caesars Arena, Detroit, Michigan Commentators: Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton, Corey Graves It’s time for the Shane McMahon Does Something Stupid Show. The main event tonight is Shane McMahon vs. Kevin Owens inside the show’s namesake structure as Shane fights to defend his family’s honor. Other than that we have the Usos challenging the New Day for the Tag Team Titles inside the Cell too. Let’s get to it. On the Kickoff Show, Tye Dillinger mentions to Daniel..

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It’s Never Too Early: Possible News On 2023 Royal Rumble

May 3, 2022

Pack your bags. We are still fresh off of WrestleMania 38, to the point where WWE’s followup pay per view is called WrestleMania Backlash. WWE focuses a lot of its year around WrestleMania, but the Road To WrestleMania often begins at the Royal Rumble. Now we might know what we will be seeing for the next Royal Rumble, which might be heading for the big city. According to Fightful Select, the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas is the current favorite to host the 2023 Royal Rumble. If the Royal Rumble is held in the Alamodome, it would be the third time that the venue has hosted the show, following 1997 and 2017, plus the fourth time the city of San Antonio has hosted, including 2007. New Orleans and Seattle are also interested in hosting the event, though WWE has yet to make an announcement on the venue. Opinion: This is one of those things that doesn’t seem all that interesting but can make for some fun moments. There is something about seeing where the shows might be going that can gi..

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Yes And Yes: Two Former WWE Stars Announce Their Engagement

April 29, 2022

That’s always nice to see. Wrestlers have a rather hectic schedule which does not leave them a lot of free time. As they have to go from one city to another for every show, their personal lives take a toll because there is only so much time to take care of things. This includes relationships, but now two former WWE stars have managed to do something that is pretty cool. Former WWE stars Bray Wyatt and JoJo Offerman are engaged to be married, as revealed on Offerman’s Instagram. The two have been dating since 2017 and have a son and daughter together. Both left WWE last year, with Wyatt being released and Offerman leaving as her contract expired. There is no word on whether either of them are expected to sign next. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Joseann Offerman (@joseann_alexie) Opinion: Good for them! It is hard enough for regular people to find happiness in the world and it is even more complicated when you have a job in the wrestling industry. I’m not sure where the..

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REVIEW: Backlash 2017: They Actually Did That

April 28, 2022

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? Backlash 2017 Date: May 21, 2017 Location: Allstate Arena, Chicago, Illinois Commentators: Byron Saxton, Tom Phillips, John Bradshaw Layfield It’s time for another Smackdown exclusive, which could mean things are hit or miss tonight. The card isn’t exactly the best with Jinder Mahal challenging Smackdown World Champion Randy Orton and AJ Styles challenging Kevin Owens for the US Title. Other than that though, this is kind of a stretch for a pay per view. Let’s get to it. Kickoff Show: Tye Dillinger vs. Aiden Engl..

NEWS

Ric Flair Was So Close To Death That WWE Made Preparations

April 27, 2022

Thankfully it wasn’t necessary. With so many wrestlers in the history of the industry, it is very rare for someone to become a top level legend. You see them occasionally though and when they reach that level, there is almost nothing that can knock them off. One of the biggest stars of all time was having some very serious health issues, to the point where WWE even made some drastic preparations. Back in 2017, Ric Flair dealt with medical issues that left him in a coma for thirty one days following complications with his kidneys due to colon surgery. Flair was a guest on the Pivot Podcast and revealed that WWE had prepared a tribute video for him, fearing that he would not survive the ordeal. Flair said that he had a 5% chance of surviving the ordeal but he has since gotten better and is hoping to have fun every day for the rest of his life. This was an intense interview. Check out the whole thing: [This post contains video, click to play] Opinion: This is the kind of thing that c..

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WRESTLING RUMOR: WWE Has Special Plans For Raw After WrestleMania

March 23, 2022

Back like it was before. There are certain shows throughout the wrestling year that a lot of fans look forward to. While WrestleMania is the biggest show of the year and in a way WWE’s season finale, the next show serves as something of a season premiere. The Monday Night Raw after WrestleMania has a long history to it, but things have slowed down a bit in recent years. We might be seeing that change. Cagesideseats.com is reporting that there is talk about making the Monday Night Raw after WrestleMania 38 similar to previous editions, including several surprises and returns. There is no word on who might be appearing on the show. WWE has treated the Monday Night Raw after WrestleMania as a major show in years past, with returning wrestlers and NXT callups, to the point where the company released a DVD compilation of the show’s greatest moments in 2017. Opinion: This is some good news, though I’m not sure who WWE has to bring in that could make the show feel like the old days again. T..

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Wrestling Legend Receives Very Special Award

March 7, 2022

I think he has earned it. Wrestling is a unique sport compared to its mainstream counterparts, as the accomplishments that wrestlers win are predetermined. In addition, the wrestlers are not permanent champions as they will lose any titles they win to someone else. There is very little that is seen as a true lifetime achievement but one legend has earned one of his own. As revealed on Twitter, Terry Funk has officially received the Stanley Weston Lifetime Achievement Award from Pro Wrestling Illustrated. Funk was presented with the award by his friend Manny Fernandez. Funk began wrestling in 1965 and wrestled his last match in 2017. He has been living in an assisted living facility in recent months due to having troubles with his memory. IMG Credit: Brian Solomon’s Twitter Opinion: Funk is one of those all time legends that would have only worked in professional wrestling. It is great to see him getting this kind of recognition, but at the same time it is sad to see what has happened..

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A WWE Title Record Was Broken This Week (And That Makes It More Impressive)

January 23, 2022

That’s what they are made for. With so many wrestlers on the WWE roster, it cannot be easy to make yourself stand out. One of the few ways to do so is win a title and then hold onto it for a very long time. There have been quite a few longstanding title reigns over the years and several records have been set in the company’s history. One of them was broken this week. Earlier this week, the Usos became the longest reigning SmackDown Tag Team Champions in history, with their reign having reached 188 days as of Saturday. This breaks the previous record of 182 days, which was also set by the Usos in their 2017-2018 reign. The Usos are currently in their fifth reign with the titles and have held the championships for a record 568 days and counting. Opinion: This is one of those records that is going to be around for a very long time to come as it is hard to imagine most title reigns making it all the way to six months. The Usos have lapped the field with these titles and no one, including..

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A Wrestling Promotion Is Changing From Live Action To Animation

January 20, 2022

That’s a different way to present things. Professional wrestling has been around for a very long time now and you can see it take place in all different forms. The style that was popular in the early days of wrestling is quite different than what we see today, which doesn’t even include all of the style changes along the way. Now though, we might be seeing something that has never been done before, even in wrestling. Aro Lucha, a lucha libre promotion, has announced that it will stop producing live wrestling events and move towards an animation project instead. In an announcement to its current investors, courtesy of Fightful Select, the company spoke about their decision, citing the Coronavirus pandemic, the market opportunity of the animation industry and the growing Latino and Hispanic market. The company has already begun working on the untitles animated series. Aro Lucha ran four events in Texas and Tennessee in December 2017 and January 2018, with most of its wrestlers now being..