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In a recent development, the wrestling business can be brutal, and Shotzi Blackheart’s story is the latest reminder. After a tough ACL injury and months of grue...
New holders. Title changes can mean a lot in wrestling as you can see a fresh name holding a championship, perhaps for the first time. That is the kind of thing that can make all the difference in the world to a wrestler as it makes them seem like bigger stars than ever before. Multiple new champions were crowned over the weekend as a few title changes took place. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Homecoming: Two Surprise Returns Take Place At AEW Dynamite There were five title matches over the weekend at AEW Revolution, with two title changes taking place. First up, the House of Black defeated the Elite to win the Trios Titles for the first time. Later, Wardlow defeated Samoa Joe to retain the TNT Title. AEW World Champion Maxwell Jacob Friedman, Women’s Champion Jamie Hayter and Tag Team Champions the Gunns all retained their titles. It was a big night. Check out some of the new champs: [This post contains video, click to play] [This post contains video, click to play] [This post contai..
In case you want to know. BetOnline has released its early betting odds for AEW’s Revolution 2023 pay-per-view, which takes place on Sunday, March 5. You can see the odds below: AEW World Heavyweight Title Match: MJF (champion) -5000 vs. Bryan Danielson +900 AEW TNT Championship Match: Samoa Joe (champion) +350 vs. Wardlow -500 Texas Death Match: Jon Moxley +650 vs. Hangman Page -300 Singles Match (Everyone is Banned From Ringside): Chris Jericho +250 vs. Ricky Starks -400 AEW Women’s World Championship Match: Jamie Hayter (champion) -1000 vs. Ruby Soho +350 vs. Saraya +500 AEW Trios Title Match: The Elite (champions) -200 vs. The House of Black +150 For reference, a moneyline bet is when you bet on only one team to win. Let’s say the two teams are the Browns(+150) and the Steelers(-110). The +150 means you’ll win $150 if you place a $100 bet and the Browns win. The -110 means you’ll need to bet $110 to get a $100 payout if the Steelers win. Editor’s Opinion: So, The Elite, J..
There he is again. There are all kinds of reasons for wrestlers to take some time away from the ring, some of which have nothing to do with someone being unable to wrestle. Sometimes the departures are merely ways to advance a storyline and set up something down the road. That was the case this week, when a wrestler returned after a two month hiatus to set up a showdown. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: WATCH: Bray Wyatt Sets His Sights On Some Huge Targets The main event of this week’s edition of AEW Rampage saw Dustin Rhodes defeat Swerve Strickland via DQ when Parker Boudreaux attacked Rhodes. After the match, Keith Lee made his return to save Rhodes and end the show. This was the first time that Lee had appeared since December, when Strickland and Mogul Affiliates had crushed a cinder block over Lee’s chest. Lee also appeared clean shaven and his hair was gray instead of black. It was a big deal. Check out Lee’s return, plus what is back: [This post contains video, click to play] [This..
Rampage Date: February 10, 2023 Location: County Coliseum, El Paso, Texas Commentators: Jim Ross, Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Chris Jericho We are still in Texas with less than a month to go before Revolution. That should make for a few interesting weeks but this week’s lineup doesn’t exactly offer much in the way of hope. The Blackpool Combat Club is here though and that is one of the better things Rampage could do. Let’s get to it. Opening sequence. Blackpool Combat Club vs. Butcher and the Blade/Kip Sabian Sabian drives Yuta into the corner to start but a sunset flip gets Yuta out of trouble. Yuta is sent outside and Castagnoli comes in, with Butcher getting to come in as well for the power staredown. They yell at each other and slug it out, with both of them staggering. Moxley and then Yuta come in to take turns on Butcher as Jericho talks about the Impractical Jokers cast stealing his baseball bat. Sabian is able to grab a flipping Stunner on Yuta for a breather and Blade gets ..
That’s a lot of money. WWE is a company that makes more money than it knows what to do with most of the time and that has put them in a very strong spot. They know how to bring in all kinds of money and often find new ways of doing so. The company is willing to accept almost any method of bringing in extra money and now we know how they did so again recently. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: LOOK: Bray Wyatt/Uncle Howdy Storyline Gets Even More Confusing At WWE Live Event Last month at the Royal Rumble, WWE presented the Pitch Black match between Bray Wyatt and LA Knight, presented by Mountain Dew. The match saw both wrestlers wrestling in neon gear with the lights turned down and several mentions of the drink. According to Wrestling Observer Radio, the match was a “million dollar deal” for WWE. A WWE executive has already announced that another sponsored match will take place at WrestleMania 39 without giving any details. Mountain Dew got a lot out of this. Check out how things went for them..
It’s a different kind of match. There are so many varieties of matches that a promotion can run that you almost never see a lot of them. Some will always pop up, such as No Holds Barred or a lumberjack match or a cage match, but occasionally something will come up that is brand new or at least not used very often. We might be seeing something like that again on a big stage. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: WRESTLING RUMORS: Huge Title Match Considered For Top WrestleMania 39 Match Last month, WWE presented the first ever Pitch Black match, sponsored by Mountain Dew. During an interview with the Hollywood Reporter, WWE Senior Vice President of Global Sales and Partnerships Craig Stimmel announced that there would be another sponsored match at WrestleMania 39, though he did not give any further details. There is no word on who will be involved, what kind of match it will be or who will be sponsoring it. WrestleMania 39 takes place on April 1 and 2. WWE has had some sponsored moments before. Che..
It’s that time of year again as we are beginning the Road To Wrestlemania. That means we are going to be seeing some of the biggest shows of the year and things are about to get a lot more exciting. WWE has done a nice job setting up the Royal Rumble matches this year as there are a lot of open spots remaining, though the men’s match is more or less a two horse race. Let’s get to it. Bray Wyatt vs. LA Knight Let’s get the goofy out of the way first. This is the Pitch Black match, which is a product placement match from Mountain Dew. WWE still hasn’t exactly explained what it’s going to be, but knowing Wyatt’s involvement, things are going to get more than a little strange. By strange I mean ridiculous, but it’s a new Wyatt so I’m trying to hold on to false hope for as long as I can. Of course Wyatt wins here, as there is zero reason to have Knight beat him in his first match. Save or some Uncle Howdy shenanigans, I can’t imagine there being any reason to think that Wyatt is in any da..
The new history. There have been all kinds of moments and incidents throughout WWE history, some of which are more notable than others. In most cases, the issues are written in black and white, but there are some cases that can be a bit more of a gray area. Now WWE is changing something up from what once was pretty straightforward to something a bit more complicated. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Extension Granted: Sami Zayn’s Original Plans With The Bloodline Were Very, Very Different In the 2023 edition of the Rumble By The Numbers video, the all time longevity record is once again held by Rey Mysterio in the 2006 Royal Rumble. This changes from previous editions, which listed Daniel Bryan’s 2018 performance in the Greatest Royal Rumble in Saudi Arabia as the longer run. There is no word on why WWE made the change but the Greatest Royal Rumble stats are included in other records in the video. There’s the history. Check out Rumble By The Numbers and a look at both runs in the Royal Rumble..
That’s some praise. AEW has come a long way in just a few years and a lot of that has been due to its talent roster. The company has seen all kinds of people come through its doors since its inception and many of them have had quite the run. Only a few stand out as top stars though and now one of them is receiving a very special distinction from the most important person in the company. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: WATCH: Another Tag Team Splits On AEW Rampage AEW President Tony Khan appeared on the In The Kliq podcast, where he said that he felt Jon Moxley was the company’s MVP in 2022. Khan talked about how Moxley had been a great World Champion for the company and was there week in and week out, doing the best work of his entire career. Moxley helped form the Blackpool Combat Club and won the AEW World Title twice in 2022. Moxley did have a heck of a year. Check out some of the better parts of his 2022: [This post contains video, click to play] [This post contains video, click to pl..
The changes continue. There have been all kinds of changes taking place in WWE in recent months and there is nothing to suggest that those changes are ending. The majority of the changes have involved wrestlers returning to the company after being released or fired, but those are not the only movements. In addition, there have been some behind the scenes changes, and now we are seeing more of them. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: It’s Something: First Details Set For Royal Rumble Pitch Black Match According to Fightful Select, WWE made cuts to its office staff on Friday, though it is not clear how many cuts were made or which departments they came from. WWE has not made any announcement about the cuts and there is nothing to suggest that there have been cuts to the roster. This comes as Vince McMahon has taken control of WWE again and has been bringing in some of his former staff. There have been a lot of WWE firings on screen over the years. Check out some of the better ones: [This post co..
There’s a hint. With just a week to go before the 2023 Royal Rumble, WWE has mostly put the entire card together. While the matches are ready though, there are still a few questions that need to be answered. One of the more wide open spots on the card is the Pitch Black match between LA Knight and Bray Wyatt, as we don’t know much about it. Now that has changed, at least a little. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Switch It Up: Raw XXX Bloodline Acknowledgment Ceremony Canceled, Replaced With New Idea According to Fightful Select, the match will include some form of “neon” elements, though it is not clear what that will mean. In addition, it is said that WWE either has done or will be doing some run throughs for the match. This week on SmackDown, commentary mentioned that the match will be won by pinfall or submission. There are no other details on the match, with Knight saying that he does not know what it means either. The match has been set up. Check out how the build has gone: [This post ..
And they’re done. Tag teams have been a major part of AEW’s history since the promotion was founded and continue to be to this day. AEW pushes tag teams like few other promotions today and it allows multiple wrestlers to appear on television in prominent roles. It can also lead to something when the teams split, and now another one has done just that this week. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: It’s Not The Same: Thunder Rosa Announces AEW Return, But Not To The Ring Another AEW tag team split this week on Rampage. Eddie Kingston and Ortiz had a face to face meeting in the ring, with Ortiz asking Kingston about his recent behavior. Ortiz went on to ask what their mentors would have said about Kingston, resulting in Kingston hitting him with a chair. This was presented as the House Of Black attempting to split the team apart and succeeding. It was a nasty situation. Check out the showdown, plus the two on their own: [This post contains video, click to play] [This post contains video, click to..
The trip continues. Back at Extreme Rules 2022, Bray Wyatt made his return to WWE, revealing himself to be the White Rabbit after weeks of speculation. Once Wyatt was back though, the question became what is he supposed to do now. That is the tricky part, as Wyatt is one of the most complicated stars in all of WWE. A few months have passed and we might have a better idea, but now things have taken another twist. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Glow On? Details On Naomi’s Current WWE Status, Possible Future Last week on SmackDown, Wyatt said that he was the Eater of Worlds, referring back to his original persona. This week, Wyatt returned in the Firefly Fun House, complete with all of his puppet characters. This was the first Fun House since 2021 and there is no word on if there will be more of them going forward. Wyatt will wrestle his first televised match since his return at the Royal Rumble when he faces LA Knight in a Pitch Black match. It was always a weird trip. Check out the Fun House..
That could be bad. Injuries are one of the worst things that can happen in wrestling. Not only do they put a wrestler on the shelf for an undetermined period of time, but they also can happen out of nowhere. Some injuries are built up over time and then flare up during a match, which appears to have been the case with a national star who was appearing for a major independent show. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: The More You Know: AEW’s Kyle O’Reilly Opens Up About His Absence, Dealing With Health Issues Over the weekend, Pro Wrestling Guerrilla presented its annual Battle Of Los Angeles tournament. According to Wrestling Observer Radio, Bandido was injured during the two night event, though he was still able to wrestle both of his matches. Bandido is said to have injured his neck in a match with Black Taurus and El Hijo de Vikingo and was slowed down during his match the following night with Kommander. The injury is described as something that has “flared up” multiple times over the last few..
Impact Wrestling Date: January 5, 2023 Location: Charles F. Dodge City Center, Pembroke Pines, Florida Commentators: Matthew Rehwoldt, Tom Hannifan We’re back after last week’s Best Of 2022 event with the first show of 2023. That means we are just over a week away from Hard To Kill and the card is mostly set. There is always room for a little more effort though and now we might be getting to do just that. If nothing else, getting some of the lower card built up should help so let’s get to it. In Memory Of Don West. Opening recap. Masha Slamovich vs. Taylor Wilde Deonna Purrazzo is on commentary. Wilde is in all black and apparently has a new attitude, as seen on Before The Impact. Purrazzo doesn’t think much of Wilde’s resume, asking how long it has been since Wilde was a champion. Fair enough really, as it was a long time ago. They grapple to the mat to start with Slamovich spinning out of a wristlock into an armbar. Wilde avoids a charge in the corner though and some choking has..
Another one on the list. We are less than a month away from the Royal Rumble as WWE is going to be starting their new year in a big way. With so much going on, it is time to start building up one of the most important nights of the year. That is going to include some major matches and now we have one more thing added to the card outside of the show’s namesake matches. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: BREAKING: Surprise Return Leads To Impromptu SmackDown Title Change Over the last few weeks, LA Knight and Bray Wyatt have been having issues, including Knight accusing Wyatt of attacking him multiple times. This week on SmackDown, Knight challenged Wyatt to a match at the Royal Rumble, with Wyatt accepting. Later in the night, the match was announced as a Pitch Black match, which had been advertised in advance without participants. There is still no word on what the stipulations or rules of the match will be. It’s been a big feud. Check out how we got here: [This post contains video, click to p..
Crossing company lines. The rise of AEW has changed the wrestling world. After years of WWE dominating the industry, AEW has offered a new platform for the wrestlers and fans to go. There are several prominent stars on the AEW roster, including many former WWE names. A WWE star has now posted a video of herself and her significant other, a member of the AEW roster, getting ready to work. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Almost: WWE Faces Visa Issues Preventing World Champion From Working WrestleMania WWE’s Rhea Ripley has posted a video her of herself and her boyfriend, AEW’s Buddy Matthews, training in the gym. The video shows Matthews spotting Ripley as she lifts weights and encourages her during the workout. This comes as Ripley is being portrayed as the on-screen girlfriend of Dominik Mysterio on Monday Night Raw. Matthews is currently part of the House Of Black in AEW. It’s a unique setup. Check out the two of them training, plus the two of them in action on their own: [This post contai..
That’s, uh, something. We are coming up on the beginning of the new year and that means it is time to start getting ready for some new stuff. For WWE, that means continuing the build to the Royal Rumble, which will include sixty wrestlers being used in two matches. Now though, WWE is advertising something else for the show that might be quite the featured attraction. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: WATCH: Bray Wyatt Returns To Action At Madison Square Garden WWE Live Event A new advertisement is airing before videos on WWE’s YouTube channel advertising the “Mountain Dew Pitch Black Match” for the Royal Rumble. There is no word on what the match will be, though Mountain Dew is relaunching its Pitch Black flavor on January 1. The Royal Rumble is set to take place on Saturday January 28 from the Alamodome in San, Antonio, Texas. It could be anything. Check out the announcement, plus some other Royal Rumble matches other than the Royal Rumble: [This post contains video, click to play] [This po..
They got paid. There are several talented stars on the AEW roster, many of whom have been getting the biggest exposure of their wrestling careers. In some cases, wrestlers who have wrestled elsewhere for years are getting a chance to show their skills to the masses. Now one such wrestler, plus two younger stars, are getting quite another reward to go with what they have already earned. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Well Deserved: This Recent AEW Match Praised “Unanimously” Backstage This week’s edition of AEW Rampage featured a Three Kings Christmas Casino Battle Royal with the winning team winning $300,000. The team of AR Fox and Top Flight won the battle royal and the money, last eliminating the Blackpool Combat Club to win. Fox was signed to AEW last month, following a several years long career on the independent circuit. Top Flight has teamed in AEW for over a year, thoguh both members have missed several months each due to injuries. They’re worth it. Check out the teams in action, plu..