Search Results: "belts"

NEWS

Feel The No: Update On Naomi’s WWE Status (And It’s Not Looking Good)

February 7, 2023

She won’t be around. One of the biggest WWE stories from last year was the departure of Naomi and Sasha Banks. The team, then WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions, walked out on the company, vacating the belts in the process. Banks has since resurfaced in New Japan, but Naomi has not wrestled again since. Now there is a hint that it might be even longer than that. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: It’s A Big One: Huge Grudge Match Set For WWE Elimination Chamber In the last few days, Naomi has updated her Instragram biography to say “Just Trinity”, with no reference whatsoever to her WWE name of Naomi. There is nothing to suggest that she will be returning to WWE at any point in the near future, though there have been reports that the two sides have been in negotiations. Naomi has not wrestled a match since May 15, 2022. Naomi was a heck of a star during her time in WWE. Check out some of the things she did in the company: [This post contains video, click to play] [This post contains video, click..

NEWS

Delaware State Police Issue Full Statement And Details On Jay Briscoe Accident

January 18, 2023

The more we know. Tuesday night, Ring Of Honor Hall Of Famer and reigning Tag Team Champion Jay Briscoe was killed in a car crash in his home state of Delaware. The crash rocked the wrestling world and now all that can be done is grieve and hope that everyone else involved pulls through. Now we know a little bit more about what happened and it is not good. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: NXT Superstar Amari Miller Reveals She Attempted To End Her Life Last Week The Delaware State Police have issued a statement on the incident, including several new details. Briscoe’s death was caused by a car crash when a truck went into the wrong land and hit Briscoe’s truck head on. The other driver, Lillyanne Ternahan, 27, was killed as well. Briscoe was not wearing a seat belt while Ternahan was. Briscoe’s daughters were in the truck with him and were wearing seat belts. There is no word on any possible alcohol involvement in the crash. You can see the full statement below: State Police Investigating Two..

NEWS

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..

NEWS

WATCH: Kayla Braxton NAILS IT In Latest WWE Halloween Costume

October 28, 2022

The tradition continues. Wrestlers are a lot of things but at the end of the day they are performers. They spend a long time getting to the point where they can do what they do at such a high level, including mastering their characters. Figuring them out can be rather difficult, but it can be quite the compliment when someone else figures them out almost as well. Over the last few years, Kayla Braxton has dressed as Paul Heyman and Sami Zayn for Halloween. WWE’s The Bump Instagram page has posted a video of Braxton and an unidentified person dressed as the Usos for this year’s Halloween. The two have Uso hats, painted on bears and a pair of title belts each. There is no word on if this will be mentioned on WWE TV. This is pretty impressive. Check out Braxton as an Uso: [This post contains video, click to play] Opinion: This is a case of imitation being the sincerest form of flattery as Braxton has clearly studied the Usos enough to make something like this work. The Halloween costu..

NEWS

REVIEW: Halloween Havoc 1999: The Zaniness Is Upon Us

October 18, 2022

Halloween Havoc 1999 Date: October 24, 1999 Location: MGM Garden Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada Attendance: 8,464 Commentators: Bobby Heenan, Tony Schiavone The Russo Era is officially upon us as we got a big time preview this past Monday. However, this show is the real thing with Russo getting to direct where things go from here. Expect to see a lot more pointless talking, a lot more insanity and a lot more shouting about what I did to deserve this. Let’s get to it. The opening video focuses on Sid vs. Goldberg and mentions the whole “Goldberg can’t touch him” bit, which has basically been ignored. Hogan vs. Sting gets even less hype. A LOUD Weasel chant is ignored by Heenan as Tony announces that due to Rey Mysterio being injured, the Filthy Animals have been stripped of the Tag Team Titles. The solution? A triple threat hardcore title match for the belts with Kidman substituting for Mysterio. Well why bother having a match when you can just make it hardcore? They run down the rest of ..

NEWS

AEW Battle Of The Belts IV Results

October 8, 2022

Battle Of The Belts IV Date: October 7, 2022 Location: Entertainment And Sports Arena, Washington DC Commentators: Jim Ross, Excalibur, William Regal, Chris Jericho We’re back to another of these things and that does not offer the most inspiration. The series does not seem to be a priority for AEW but the action tends to be rather good. This is also a live show so maybe things can be picked up a little bit from its usual status, which would be appreciated. Let’s get to it. All-Atlantic Title: Trent Beretta vs. Pac Pac is defending and is still in the ring after wrestling in the 20+ minute Rampage main event. Trent has Chuck Taylor in his corner and wins an early slugout for a bit of a surprise. A running clothesline puts Pac on the floor and there’s the dive to take him out for a bonus. Back in and Trent hammers on the ropes, setting up a dropkick to take it outside again. A spear on the floor drops Pac for two back inside but he kicks Trent outside this time. The table is set up bu..

NEWS

Sasha Banks Changes Twitter Handle; No Longer Includes WWE

September 29, 2022

She’s The Boss of something different. Sasha Banks caused a buzz on social media earlier today when she abruptly changed her Twitter handle. She is now using her real name, with no mention of WWE in the handle. She went from “SashaBanksWWE” to “MercedesVarnado”. You can see the change below: Tweets by MercedesVarnado Banks has been away from WWE programming since her and Naomi walked out of the company on May 16 of this year. They were the Women’s Tag Team Champions at the time, but were unhappy with the direction that the company was going. On that day, they walked into WWE Head of Talent Relations John Laurinaitis’ office with their suitcases in hand, placed their tag team championship belts on his desk, and walked out. It had been previously reported that WWE was trying to mend fences with the two following the transition of power from Vince McMahon to Triple H, but nothing had been solidified. We will continue to monitor the story and provide updates as they become available. ..

NEWS

WWE Plans To Introduce Several New Titles

September 28, 2022

Shine them up real nice. Titles hold a special place in wrestling as any fan can understand the idea. Someone with a shiny belt is one of the most important wrestlers around or in this case, the reigning champion. That is something that has made sense in wrestling since its inception and it is still the case today. Now though we seem likely to be seeing some brand new titles. According to Fightful Select, WWE has at least three new sets of titles on the way and already in their possession. There is no word on which titles WWE will be changing or when the new belts will be unveiled. WWE occasionally debuts new championship designs, with the most recent change being the newly designed Intercontinental Title, which was unveiled back in 2019. Opinion: The term “sets of” titles has my interest as that might mean tag team titles or something else. New titles would certainly be welcome, as some of the belts that have been around for a long time now are showing their age. It would be great t..

NEWS

Another AEW Star Injured During Battle Of The Belts, Pulled From Independent Shows

August 7, 2022

That’s a painful one. There are all kinds of injuries in wrestling and you never know when you are going to see one. It could be something built up for a long time or something that happens all at once. The latter can be more devastating as they can come out of nowhere, and that seems to be the case again, as a star was injured during a match that took place this week. This week, AEW presented its third Battle Of The Belts event. During the show, AEW Women’s Champion Thunder Rosa successfully defended her title against Jamie Hayter. According to Fightful Select, Hayter suffered a broken nose during the match, though she did finish the match without issue. Hayter has been pulled from her scheduled appearances with Icons of Wrestling, though it is not clear if she will miss any time from AEW. Opinion: That’s one of those injuries that can pop up out of nowhere, as Hayter probably took a shot to the face and was injured in the blink of an eye. The good thing is that she should be able t..

NEWS

AEW Battle Of The Belts III Results

August 7, 2022

Battle Of The Belts III Date: August 6, 2022 Location: Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids, Michigan Commentators: Taz, Excalibur, Tony Schiavone It’s time for another of these specials and I’m not sure what to expect from something like this. AEW does not seem to be the most interested in running these shows but that very well might have a lot to do with the shows being network mandates. At least we should get some good action so let’s get to it. TNT Title: Jay Lethal vs. Wardlow Lethal, with Sonjay Dutt and Satnam Singh, is challenging. Wardlow shoves him around to start and a big toss sends Lethal outside. Lethal gets in a cheap shot though and scores with an enziguri back inside. A tilt-a-whirl slam gets Wardlow out of trouble but Lethal knocks him outside for the suicide dive. That means Lethal can get in the strut before wrapping Wardlow’s leg around the post. We take a break and come back with Lethal having to escape the powerbomb. Instead Wardlow goes with a clothesline to turn Let..

NEWS

AEW Rampage Results – August 5, 2022

August 6, 2022

Rampage Date: August 5, 2022 Location: Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids, Michigan Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Jim Ross We’re a day away from Battle Of The Belts and that is probably not going to mean very much. Other than that, we have a street fight this week between Keith Lee/Swerve Strickland and Josh Woods/Tony Nese, after Woods attacked Lee last week. In addition, Madison Rayne will be making her AEW debut which could be interesting. Let’s get to it. Opening sequence. Jon Moxley vs. Mance Warner Non-title and William Regal is on commentary. Before the match, we get a video from Warner, who is quite the Tennessee style talker. He promises to fight Moxley (rather than dance with him) because he has heard Moxley talk about how much he loves to bleed. Now Ole Mancer is here to become the man. It’s a brawl in the aisle to start with Warner sending him into the steps before biting Moxley’s head. They get inside for the bell and are back on the floor literally two seconds l..

NEWS

AEW Dynamite Results – August 3, 2022

August 4, 2022

Dynamite Date: August 3, 2022 Location: Schottenstein Center, Columbus, Ohio Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Excalibur, Taz We’re rapidly coming up on All Out but first we need to get through this weekend’s Battle Of The Belts, which is apparently a thing that is happening. So far there is one match announced and that means we will probably get the rest of the card announced. Whether that is in rapid fire or with more traditional announcements remains to be seen, but Excalibur is probably warming up his throat. Let’s get to it. Jay Lethal vs. Orange Cassidy Cassidy rolls him up to start and knocks Lethal up the ramp, setting up the lazy kicks. Lethal crawls away but it’s Satnam Singh waiting at the top of the ramp. Cue the Best Friends, with Trent on Taylor’s shoulders, to be taller than Singh, who leaves for no logical reason. With that HILARIOUS visual gag out of the way, we get back in and Cassidy hits a high crossbody but the tornado DDT is countered into a dragon screw legwhip. Ca..

NEWS

Even More Gold: AEW Introducing A New Set Of Titles, First Champions Coming At All Out

July 28, 2022

Keep them coming. There are a lot of titles in wrestling today and it can be interesting to see the directions they take. Most of them are pretty straightforward, but occasionally you will see some that are different enough that they get your attention. That seems to be the case again, as AEW is introducing some new titles that have been teased almost since the company was founded. AEW officially introduced the Trios Titles this week on Dynamite, with the belts being shown in front of the commentary table. The inaugural champions will be crowned in the finals of a tournament at All Out on September 4, though no other details about the tournament were given. The titles have been discussed since AEW began but have never actually been introduced until now. Opinion: You could all but guarantee that these titles were coming, but the question was more about when and where the champions would be crowned. AEW does indeed love running tournaments but that is what makes the most sense for titl..

NEWS

That’s Unique: Surprise Title Change Takes Place On AEW Dynamite

July 28, 2022

Keep it in the family. There are a lot of titles in wrestling and that is not much of a surprise. It makes sense to have people fighting over belts, but when a promotion has a lot of championships, something needs to be included to make it stand out. That is the case with an unofficial AEW title, and now that championship has changed had in one of the most unique ways imaginable. This week on AEW Dynamite, Ricky Starks successfully defended the FTW Title against Danhausen. Following the scheduled match, Starks issued an open challenge for another title shot, with Hook answering and defeating him to become champion. Hook happens to be both Starks’ student as well as the son of Taz, who invented the FTW Title in ECW and owns the title itself. Opinion: That is one of the most unique as well as special moments that you are going to see. The title is literally Taz’s property and he got to see his son win the title on national television. You never see something like that happen and I can’..

NEWS

Multiple Titles Change Hands At ROH Death Before Dishonor

July 24, 2022

That’s a busy night. Titles are the easiest concept in all of wrestling and they always will be. Anyone can understand the idea of someone with the big shiny belt being the best around and in wrestling, those belts have to be defended. When one of them changes hands, it feels like something special has happened and that was the case again this weekend, multiple times over. Saturday night, Ring Of Honor made its return to pay per view with Death Before Dishonor. The card featured six title matches, with two title changes taking place. First up, Claudio Castagnoli win the Ring Of Honor World Title from Jonathan Gresham in the show’s opening match. Then, the Righteous lost the Ring Of Honor Six Man Tag Team Titles to Dalton Castle and the Boys, marking Castle and the Boys’ second reign as champions. The Pure Title, the Women’s Title, the Television Title and the Tag Team Titles were all retained. Opinion: This was quite the eventful night for Ring Of Honor, as having a single title chan..

NEWS

NXT UK Results – June 2, 2022

June 7, 2022

NXT UK Date: June 2, 2022 Location: BT Sports Studios, London, England Commentators: Andy Shepherd, Nigel McGuinness It’s time for another title match as the Tag Team Titles are up for grabs, this time in a triple threat. Moustache Mountain will be defending against Die Familie and Ashton Smith/Oliver Carter, the latter of whom has been on quite the roll lately. Other than that, we could be in for a bit of anything so let’s get to it. The opening video looks at the Tag Team Title match and how the teams all want to leave with the belts. Opening sequence. Sam Gradwell vs. Von Wagner Wagner gets the better of a slugout to start and some elbow drops have Gradwell breathing rather deeply. A fall away slam drops Gradwell again as commentary puts over Wagner as much as they can. The crossface chickenwing is broken up so Wagner knees him in the back to cut him off again. Gradwell fights out of a bearhug but gets put right back in it just a few seconds later. The second comeback works a bi..

NEWS

International Team Makes Surprise Debut On AEW Dynamite, Lays Out Champions

May 26, 2022

Meet your invaders. One of the most interesting parts of AEW has been the amount of international promotions that have worked with the company. AEW has brought in several wrestlers from around the world and it can offer more than a few cool moments. That was the case again this week, as two international stars appeared for a preview of something coming next month. This week on AEW Dynamite, New Japan Pro Wrestling’s Great O’Khan and Jeff Cobb interfered in a match between FTR and Roppongi Vice for FTR’s Ring Of Honor Tag Team Titles. Following the match, O’Khan and Cobb attacked both teams and held up the title belts. This comes just over a month before the New Japan/AEW co-promoted Forbidden Door event, though no matches have been announced. The interference marked O’Khan’s AEW debut and Cobb’s first appearance in AEW since February 2020. Opinion: This is the kind of story that can get my interest, as Cobb and O’Khan are part of the United Empire in New Japan and not just two people..

NEWS

BREAKING: Sasha Banks & Naomi Stripped Of Women’s Tag Team Championships

May 21, 2022

The biggest story of the week in professional wrestling has undoubtedly been the events that occurred on Raw this past week. Sasha Banks and Naomi were not happy with the creative direction of their characters that evening, left the Women’s Tag Team Championship belts on the desk of John Laurinaitis and left the arena before the show went on the air. WWE addressed the controversy on Smackdown this week. Right before the main event, Michael Cole said that Banks and Naomi “let us all down.” He would then explain what had happened on Monday night and said that the duo disappointed millions of fans and their fellow superstars. Cole concluded by saying that Banks and Naomi have been suspended indefinitely and that an upcoming tournament would determine the new WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions. You can see the entire announcement below: Sasha Banks and Naomi have been suspended indefinitely. There will be a future tournament to crown the new WWE Women's Tag Team Champions. pic.twitter..

NEWS

KB’s Review: Those Belts Are Made For Walking

May 19, 2022

The wrestling business can be kind of funny, as last week there was absolutely nothing worth talking about for a column, but this week there is one topic that is screaming for a closer look. That is because on Monday, Naomi and Sasha Banks walked out on Monday Night Raw, causing the show to be changed on the fly, with a completely different main event (because they were going to be in the main event) to be set up. So yeah, I think we’re covered for a topic this week. Before we get into the specifics, let’s get a few things out of the way. First of all, there is a chance that this is some kind of a worked shoot story. I don’t think it is, but that is always a chance in wrestling. For the sake of simplicity, we’re going to assume that it is 100% a shoot, even if it might be turned into an angle later. Second, keep in mind that we do not know exactly what happened. We have an idea from what people have said, but there are so many different versions and details that you can’t get a comple..

NEWS

WWE Issues Statement On Sasha Banks/Naomi Walkout

May 17, 2022

It has been previously reported that Sasha Banks and Naomi walked out of the Raw taping this evening due to their unhappiness with the creative direction of the show’s main event. As a result, the original 6-pack challenge match had to be changed. WWE has released a statement about the incident, which reads as follows: When Sasha Banks and Naomi arrived at the arena this afternoon, they were informed of their participation in the main event of tonight’s Monday Night Raw. During the broadcast, they walked into WWE Head of Talent Relations John Laurinaitis’ office with their suitcases in hand, placed their tag team championship belts on his desk, and walked out. They claimed they weren’t respected enough as tag team champions. And even though they had eight hours to rehearse and construct their match, they claimed they were uncomfortable in the ring with two of their opponents – even though they’d had matches with those individuals in the past with no consequence. Monday Night Raw i..