Hands down the return of CM Punk at Survivor Series 2023 stole the show

Two months after being fired by AEW, CM Punk made his shocking return moments after the main event of Survivor Series. Commenting on CM Punk’s return during the post-show press conference, Triple H said it happened very quickly. Without mentioning or referencing AEW, Triple H said WWE and CM Punk have changed a lot over the last 10 years.

Cody Rhodes was asked about CM Punk’s return and he said as long as he helps move WWE forward, “welcome aboard”. It’s worth noting Rhodes left AEW 5 months before CM Punk made his AEW debut. CM Punk left WWE before Rhodes’ first WWE run happened. This will be the first time both of them will be working in the same promotion at the same time.

All that said. I straight-up said two months ago on this blog CM Punk’s wrestling career was prettymuch over. Clearly I was proven wrong and more so given it was WWE that was willing to give him a second chance. There is another guy WWE gave a second chance you all might remember: Alberto Del Rio. He just couldn’t get out of his own way. Will it be the same for CM Punk or will he become another Cody Rhodes? Time will tell.

As for which brand he ends up on. Smackdown makes the most sense to me and more so if Roman Reigns continues to work a part-time schedule next year. He’s obviously coming in as a babyface and RAW has a LOT of babyfaces at the top of its card. Not so much for Smackdown in comparison. CM Punk taking the U.S. Championship from Logan Paul would be pretty interesting to see as well.

Then again, this video footage is going viral right now:

That is a pissed off Seth Rollins flipping off CM Punk during his entrance. It certainly explains why CM Punk did not go any further than he did. Sami Zayn, Corey Graves, Michael Cole and Cody Rhodes are there to keep Rollins from approaching CM Punk.

Rollins is being consistent if nothing else. He called CM Punk a cancer after he walked out on WWE almost 10 years ago. Rollins likely was not told of Punk’s return in advance primarily for the latter’s safety. This incident would also explain why the press conference started a little later than expected. Triple H was likely dealing with the aftermath before the press conference started.

At the very least, Rollins is getting fined. He may get suspended but I don’t see him losing the title over this. That would be taking things too far. No doubt Rollins and Punk will have to be kept on separate brands though because Rollins legit hates Punk. The above footage shows why. Rollins has been outspoken over his hatred towards CM Punk for quite a while and this flareup was a reminder his beef with CM Punk is legit.

All that said. IF Rollins is willing to have a match with CM Punk, it needs to either be at the Royal Rumble or Wrestlemania. One or the other.

 

 

There is a bit of an update on Seth Rollins going off on CM Punk. Apparently, everyone involved in the Mens War Games match had been told just before the match started that CM Punk would be coming out after the match. Drew McIntyre quickly stormed out after the match before Punk came out though from how it sounds, whatever is going on with McIntyre is unrelated to Punk.

As for Rollins. From how it sounds, WWE is trying to turn it into a Work. It was a Shoot and you can tell Punk was legit confused by Rollins’ actions. We could find out if WWE was successful in turning what happened into a work as soon as this coming RAW.

 

Cody Rhodes revealed during the press conference what Randy Orton said to him after their War Games match: “Thanks for calling me.” If not for that, the Mens War Games match likely would have been 4 on 4. Once WWE knew for sure Orton would be available, that’s when Drew McIntyre was added to the match.

It will be real interesting to see if Legacy is reformed this coming Monday. This time with Orton, Rhodes and Jey Uso. The Judgement Day suffered a crushing defeat but more importantly, Orton’s return spoiled Damien Priest and Rhea Ripley’s attempted cash-in on Seth Rollins. They’ll be looking for payback soon and that could lead to a tag team title opportunity sooner than later. We’ll see.

 

For those who might not know or remember, the reason Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair have been on separate brands since 2019 is because of real-life beef between the two of them. Last year, Ric Flair revealed on his podcast that he squashed his longtime beef with Lynch. Ric Flair’s dispute was mostly copyright related but with everything going on in the world, he decided to end things and apologized to Lynch in front of her husband backstage at RAW.

I won’t pretend to know what the beef between Charlotte and Lynch was about but whatever it was, clearly both women are willing to put it behind them now. Will we see them main event Wrestlemania again? Hopefully yes. More so given Charlotte felt cheated out of main eventing Night 1 of this year’s wrestlemania. If it does happen, a title would be on the line. It’s hard to know at this point when Iyo Sky or Rhea Ripley will drop their respective titles because they’ve both been riding high for a while. Even more so now.

Lynch is being kept away from Rhea Ripley. I think it’s fair to say that now. Either their showdown is being saved for Wrestlemania or there are other plans being made for each of them. The same is clearly true for Charlotte on that note.

 

Aside from CM Punk and Randy Orton, there was another big return at Survivor Series that Triple H gave a shout out to: R-Truth.

R-Truth tore his ACL during a match on NXT with Grayson Waller around this time last year and has been out since then. He was in a backstage segment with superstars from both RAW and Smackdown so we’ll need to wait a bit longer to find out if he’ll resume being a RAW superstar or will be on Smackdown.

Triple H has said for years R-Truth is a “national treasure” to WWE. I wouldn’t be surprised if R-Truth was barred from doing high-risk moves like the one that put him on the shelf for a year as a condition for his return. When he’s not on WWE TV, you can find him recording Rap music under his real name Ron Killings on YouTube.

…Oh and yes, R-Truth really is 51 years old.

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Wrestlemania 39 Night 1 Results: It’s called “The Grandest Stage of Them All” for a reason

 

A strong case could be made for the biggest star of Wrestlemania weekend being the Wrestlemania stage itself. I’d seen pictures of it under construction online a few days ago but when Austin Theory came out during his entrance, I was so glad I wasn’t watching the event in person.

 

No offense to the 80, 471 people who were in attendance but the cameras do an outstanding job showing you just how MASSIVE the stage and ramp are. I will be looking forward to seeing if it will be involved in Sunday’s matches in particular. I think the ramp itself might be the longest Wrestlemania ramp ever constructed because it’s in a football stadium. The ring is about where the 50-yard line would be on that note.

One of the things that sets Wrestlemania apart from the other PLEs is almost everyone gets a special entrance as they’re introduced. In recent years we’ve started seeing more of both sides in each match getting a special entrance. For example Logan Paul used a zip line–a reference to his status as an internet celebrity–while a conductor came out for Seth Rollins’ entrance to literally conduct the audience.

As a reminder, NXT Stand & Deliver was that afternoon. WWE takes over whatever city they’re in akin to when the NFL takes over for the Super Bowl and the NBA takes over for its All Star Weekend. I hope Boston gets to host Wrestlemania again in my lifetime on that note. Boston hosted Wrestlemania 14 (1998) which I attended in person.

 

Now, let’s get to the match results:

• U.S. Champion Austin Theory def. John Cena
• The Street Profits win Mens’ Tag Team Wrestlemania Showcase
• Seth Rollins def. Logan Paul
• Becky Lynch, Lita and Trish Stratus def. Damage CTRL
• Rey Mysterio def. Dominik Mysterio
• Rhea Ripley def. Charlotte Flair to become the new Smackdown Women’s Champion
• Pat McAfee def. The Miz (impromptu match made on the spot)
• Main Event: Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens def. The Usos to become the new WWE Undisputed Tag Team Champions

…Except for the Mens Tag Team Match and the main event, all of the match outcomes were pretty easy to guess in advance. It’s easy to see most of the matches on Night 1 were likely already set in advance. Bobby Lashley’s Wrestlemania status is not currently known as a reminder. There is rampant speculation now former NXT Champion Bron Breakker could be be brought in as Lashley’s surprise Wrestlemania opponent. If that is the case, it could be a hell of a match.

Speaking of Hell. If you paid attention during wide shots, you could see the Hell in a Cell structure hanging from the top of the stadium. I’m pretty sure we can expect the other members of The Judgement Day to somehow get involved in that match. I’m counting on Beth Phoenix or Mia Yim getting involved if Rhea Riply’s around.

It was heavily teased Trish Stratus was going to turn on Lynch and Lita either during or after their match with Damage CTRL. That ended up not happening. Either WWE changed those plans, it will happen on RAW or that was never planned. I hope it’s the latter personally but that’s just me.

Triple H addressed Charlotte’s criticism of her match with Rhea Ripley not being made the main event for Night 1. He plainly stated the reason the Tag Team Championship match was made the main event was because of the longterm storytelling behind it going back almost 12 months. I think if it hadn’t been announced until hours before ‘Mania started, it wouldn’t have felt controversial to some. Triple H also seemed to dispute some reporting by the dirtsheets that implied Flair/Ripley would be Night 1’s main event for “political reasons” as in because it was a Women’s Championship match.

As for the match itself, it’s a contender for match of the year. They stole the show, I’ll just put it like that. It was EPIC and main event worthy to say the least. As it happens, it was announced online Charlotte is stepping away to train for a bodybuilding competion. Her absence this time probably won’t be that long and when she does return, she’ll be going for her record-tying 16th title reign.

Getting to the main event. Is this the beginning of the end of The Bloodline? We’ll know for sure if Cody Rhodes is able to beat Roman Reigns but at the very least, the Usos’ dominance over the Tag Team division is now over. We’ll have to wait and see if that also holds true for Roman Reigns tonight!

 

Breaking News:

UFC’s parent company Endeavor Group has reached a deal to purchase WWE Sunday afternoon for over $9 Billion. The fact that the deal was finalized during Wrestlemania weekend speaks to how serious both sides were about getting this done. Vince McMahon was in Los Angeles for the weekend and the company’s sale is reportedly the talk of everyone backstage.

As a reminder, Brock Lesnar and Ronda Rousey are both UFC Hall of Famers. Matt Riddle and Shayna Baszlet also spent time in UFC. This is to say nothing of UFC legend Daniel Cormier being involved with WWE last year. There’s also the fact Connor McGregor has talked about wanting to cross into WWE for almost a decade. Now it’s much easier for him to do that.

The purchase is mutually beneficial. For Endeavor, their media reach now extends to NBCUniversal (Peacock and USA Network), WWE Network (outside the U.S.) and FOX. WWE gets access to UFC’s backlog and now has the resources to massively expand its podcast programming. In case you haven’t noticed, the only WWE Podcast still getting new episodes right now is After The Bell.

The sale is expected to be officially announced by both sides Monday but I’ll watch the press conference after Wrestlemania Sunday to see if Triple H mentions it. I don’t expect him to say too much but I’ll be shocked if no one asks him about it.

 

 

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I agree with Corey Graves’ Idea of Eliminating Specialty Match Pay Per Views

The TLC PPV is likely to happen in December once again this year.

I was listening to Corey Graves’ After The Bell Podcast and he said something interesting that most wrestling fans have felt for quite a while: Before specialty matches like Money in the Bank, Hell in a Cell and Elimination Chamber became PPVs, they would happen as part of existing PPV events. After they got their own PPV, you stopped seeing them at any other time of the year unless The Undertaker was a part of it. The same is true of Ladder Matches and Table Matches–both folded into TLC and Money in the Bank–though to a lesser extent. Chair

Matches don’t really happen anymore mostly because of New Concussion protocols.In the mid-2010s WWE pivoted hard away from. For those who don’t know, WWE barred chair shots to the head over new concussion and brain injury concerns. The decision was made mostly in reaction to the new data released at the time in the NFL about Traumatic Brain Injuries closely associated with American Football and blows to the head.

WWE (and other promotions) did their own internal investigation and banning chair shots to the head was one the things that were decided for talent safety reasons. This is why chair shots are now focused on the torso on that note. Hopefully now you can understand and appreciate why Chair Matches are a rarity these days. Seth Rollins’ Curb Stomp Finisher was banned for over a year for similar reasons.

In general, speciality matches like TLC Matches and Hardcore or Extreme Rules Matches don’t happen much because of the high risk of bodily harm to talent per match. This is why they only happen a handful of times each year these days. Decentralizing these matches and making it possible for them to happen at any time would greatly increase anticipation for when they do happen.

As Corey Graves eluded to, what made Hell in a Cell so exciting back in the day was at the time it was first introduced, it was the match through which feuds were settled once and for all in the most brutal ways imaginable. I feel like a lot of the mystique and awe in regards to just the Hell in a Cell Match could be brought back if they got rid of the PPV and just held the match as a part of other PPVs or on TV (RAW, Smackdown or even NXT).

Same with the Money in the Bank matches. Originally, the match was introduced at Wrestlemania back in the day. They could either move the matches to Summer Slam or to a “minor” Pay Per View like Battleground or Payback.

Do I think there are too many championships in WWE? Absolutely not. Each show has their own set of titles for the sake of parity. The U.S., Intercontinental and North American Championships are all mid-tier titles. I get those who think they should be done away with but keeping them helps elevate who hold them. More so in recent years where we’ve been seeing the midcard title holder feud with the top title holder. How do you not like seeing that kind of thing?

It’s been almsot 4 months since WWE last had a Double Champion. That person was Raquel Gonzales (NXT Women’s Champion and NXT Women’s Tag Team Champion). Before her, Asuka was both RAW Women’s Champion and Women’s Tag Champion at the end of last year. Before her, Keith Lee held both the NXT Championship and the North American Championship at the same time last year though very briefly.

Becky Lynch is currently the only woman to hold both the RAW and Smackdown Women’s Championships at the same time on that note. Her husband Seth Rollins held both the WWE and U.S. Championships at the same time  about 6 years ago. It just doesn’t happen much though there are now quite a few superstars who could be Double Champions and want to be.

The last time there was a Title Unification was before the second brand split when the Heavyweight Championship and WWE Championships were unified by Randy Orton back in 2013 (he beat John Cena). The NXT Cruiserweight Title is likely to be either retired or merged with the North American Championship and more so given there no longer is a Cruiserweight division anymore (only 5 such superstars remain right now).

WWE knows how to create surprise in this internet and social media-filled when they want to and these are just some ideas that can help with that. AEW’s rise has forced WWE to stept things up and it’s the wrestling fans who have much to look forward to thanks to that.

 

 

 

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NWO and Kane Headline the 2020 and 2021 Hall of Fame Classes

Don’t let the second picture fool you, the other 2021 Hall of Fame inductees gave their acceptance speeches remotely. Jushin “Thunder” Liger, The Great Khali, Ozzy Ozborne and William Shatner all gave their acceptance speeches remotely though Liger and Khali’s were obviously prerecorded.

On that note, both ceremonies were pre-recorded. This is why you didnt see the “WWE LIve” watermark in the top right corner. We knew they wouldn’t be live or at least not entirely live due to COVID-19 anyway. The 2020 Ceremony ran for about 90 minutes while the 2021 ceremony ran for about an hour.

For those who don’t know who the trio between Titus O’Neil and JBL are, they’re the children and niece of the late British Bulldog. His son Harry is a professional wrestler and is currently with NJPW.

Sean Whitman (123 Kid and X-Pac in WWE, Styxx in WCW) is the first person to be inducted in back to back years. He was inducted in the 2019 Class as a member of DX and into the 2020 Class as a member of NWO. This is also the second overall induction for all four NWO Members, the other three having been inducted as individuals already. I do not think Whitman will get a solo induction on that note.

As a reminder, Batista was not inducted as a member of the 2020 Hall of Fame class per his request last month. He will be inducted as a member of another Hall of Fame class in the future. It could be as soon as 2022 or sometime later in the future.

Wrestlemania Week continues tonight with Night 1 of NXT TakeOver: Stand and Deliver on USA Network. Night 2 and NXT UK: Prelude will be tomorrow on Peacock while Smackdown will be Friday night on FOX. Wrestlemania 37 is this Saturday and Sunday night on Peacock, RAW is Monday night while the Tuesday night ipremiere of NXT is the following day.

8 straight nights of WWE!

I will do a recap of both nights of NXT Takeover: Stand and Deliver Friday morning. I will do a recap of Night 1 of Wrestlemania 37 Sunday afternoon and Night 2 Monday afternoon.

 

A bit of breaking news that just broke Wednesday Evening: The Smackdown Women’s Championship match set for Night 1 of Wrestlemania 37 will be the main event. Drew McIntyre and Bobby Lashley, who were originally going to be the main event both as well as Bianca Belair all separately said they think the Smackdown Women’s Championship match is main event-worthy and now it is official.

The match was already going be historic as the first singles title match involving two African Americans to headline Wrestlemania. That can now be upgraded in two regards. Not just the first Main Event Match involving two African Americans but the first Women’s Singles Title Match to Main Event Wrestlemania.

The first Women’s Match to Main Event Wrestlemania happened two years ago but that was a Triple Threat Match. This time, it will be a Singles Match. This weekend is sure to be a bit more interesting!

 

 

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WWE Icons Episode 1: Yokozuna is about the man behind the late Superstar

The Anoa’i and Fatu families peel back the curtain and give a deep dive into the life and legacy of Rodney Agatupu Anoa’i, known to the world as Yokozuna.

As everyone (should) be aware by now, Yokozuna is actually Samoan. Not Japanese. The documentary reveals it was Sergeant Slaughter who pitched the idea for the character being a Sumo Wrestler. In terms of family wrestling legacy, Yokozuno was the bridge between his uncles Afa and Sika and his cousin Rikishi, who came into WWE around the time Yokozuna was released from the company.

As a wrestler, Yokozuna can be compared to Keith Lee: Able to do things in the ring men his size should not be able to do. He was also WWE’s first Monster Heel during most of his career. Yokozuna won the 1993 Royal Rumble and went on to win the WWE Championship at Wrestlemania 9 later that year. He would also become the first member of the Anoa’i family to win the top title in the company. Fast forward to current Universal Champion Roman Reigns. Yokozuna would win the WWE Championship again the following year, both times from WWE Hall of Famer Bret Hart. Before leaving the company, he would become a two-time Tag Team Champion alongside Owen Hart.

The episode doesn’t shy away from what ultimately killed him: His weight. His cousins and uncles suspect he was dealing with Depression and did not want to make lifestyle changes that might have extended his life. He was just 34 years old when he died. He would have 55 years old if he was still alive. Rodney weighed 586 lbs at the time of his death. He was in the UK on an independent wrestling tour at the time. He went to sleep and never woke up.

Contrary to popular belief, Rodney didn’t die from a heart attack or heart failure. An autopsy determined he died from Pulmonary Edema. Basically, he drowned from a buildup of fluid in his lungs. Without going into graphic detail, all you can do is either wait to die or hope someone notices and turns you on your side to help relieve some pressure. A third option if you’re awake and laying on your back is trying to muster enough strength to turn on your side so you can at least try to cough. If you can cough then air is going in at least.

This is a health concern very common in those who are morbidly obese as you can probably imagine. A family member of mine died under very similar circumstances two years ago. Like Rodney, this family member left behind a child. In both cases, they were not willing to take steps to help themselves.

Yokozuna was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2012 by his cousin and then future Hall of Famer Rikishi. Rikishi had just come into WWE during the height of Yokuzuna’s run as one half of the Head Shrinkers. Rikishi is of course the father of 5-Time Tag Team Champions The Usos, who are well on their way to entering the WWE Hall of Fame. The same can easily be said for Roman Reigns for obvious reasons.

The legacy of Yokozuna not just in the Anoa’i and Fatu families but in Wrestling goes without saying. I mentioned Keith Lee earlier. Mark Henry, The Big Show and Kevin Nash are a few others who came after Yokozuna. They had what Mark Henry affectionately calls “Big Guy Magic”. Braun Strowman is another example: He is able to move like a man a third of his size. These guys proved there is still a place for Super Heavyweights in the business.

 

 

…Before I forget. The next episode of WWE Icons will be on WWE Hall of Famer and NXT Commentator Beth Phoenix but it’s not going to air until March. My guess for the delay is they are going to add new content to the episode to reflect more recent events. She literally wrestled her husband and fellow WWE Hall of Famer (and 2021 Mens Royal Rumble Winner) Edge last year ahead of his shocking return to WWE at the 2020 Royal Rumble after his forced retirement due to a neck injury.

I also think they are trying to stall for time since the late British Bulldog was supposed to be inducted into the 2020 WWE Hall of Fame last year but it was postponed due to the ongoing Pandemic in progress. They probably want to include footage from his induction ceremony is why they are delaying his episode.

RVD being showcased might seem to be a weird choice given the circumstances behind his departure from WWE. For those who don’t know, he smokes Weed and that’s why he was released about 10 years ago. It was nothing personal. My guess for his inclusion all but confirms he may return to WWE later this year in some capacity. That aside, he is a wrestling legend in WWE and ECW. He is not currently wrestling as far as I’m aware but don’t quote me on that. He does keep himself in shape however.

Lex Luger is definitely an odd choice if he is not being inducted into the 2021 WWE Hall of Fame class. While it’s true he never won a title during his WWE run, he did challenge for all of them. He did win the Royal Rumble in 1994 with Bret Hart  as a co-winner though. Yes, I know that was weird, and its why it’s never happened again. The second time it did 16 years later (involving Batista and John Cena), they restarted the match with just the two who remained. Luger is a 7-time WCW Champion and 3-time WCW Tag Team Champion among other accomplishments. As a reminder, Sting and Booker T were both inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame for their WCW accomplishments so the precident is there.

We will have to wait and see if the Documentary series will just be about these five former Superstars or if others will be covered. I assume they are not covering full time wrestlers so Beth Phoenix being included makes sense.

Here’s my short list of people to cover down the road:

• Booker T
• Kevin Nash
• Lita
• Kurt Angle
• Teddy Long

 

…Yes, I know all of them are WWE Hall of Famers but they would be GOOD. One can easily make the case for all five of them at the least!

 

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10 Appearance Predictions for the 2021 Royal Rumble Matches

 

Tonight is the Night!

We know Randy Orton and Edge will start the Mens Match while Natalya will be #30 for the Women’s Match. Rather than predict who I think will win each match–I think it will be a first time winner each time personally–this post will be about predicting 10 people who will appear in each match.

Let’s not kid ourselves, the second reason to watch the Royal Rumble Match is to find out who will be in it. Edge’s return last year is arguably the biggest “OMG!” moment in the history of the match simply because of his backstory. Who could appear this year? That’s what this post is about!

Here’s my 10 predictions for who we might see in the Mens Royal Rumble Match:

• CM Punk
• Adam Cole
• NXT Champion Finn Balor
• The Big Show
• Smackdown Women’s Champion Sasha Banks
• Brock Lesnar
• Beth Phoenix
• Conor McGregor
• Tyson Fury
• Cain Velasquez

CM Punk goes without saying further. It’s really a matter of weather he’d be willing to do it knowing he’s not booked to win the match. Cole, Balor, McAfee and Big Show would be fillers. If any combination of Lesnar, Fury or Velasquez appear, it’s a safe bet they will be on the card for Wrestlemania 37. Lesnar is rumored to be part of a planned Triple Threat Match involving Drew McIntyre and Keith Lee so we’ll see.

It’s been heavily teased Sasha Banks might be in the Mens match. I do think we could also see Beth Phoenix in the Mens Match at the same time as her husband. We’ll see.

Conor McGregor has made it no secret over the last 10 years he likes WWE. In a recent interview, Sheamus basically said it’s only a matter of time before his fellow countryman comes to WWE. What better time than during the Royal Rumble match? All WWE has to do is use the same formula they used for Rousey’s introduction at Wrestlemania 34: Book him in a non-title match at Wrestlemania 37, problem solved.

 

Here’s my 10 predictions for who we might see in the Womens Royal Rumble Match:

• Brie Bella
• Alicia Fox
• Naomi
• Ember Moon
• Shotzi Blackheart
• NXT Women’s Champion Io Sharai
• Beth Phoenix
• Simone Johnson
• Becky Lynch or Michelle McCool
• Ronda Rousey

…Whew. For those who need a reminder, Nikki Bella can’t wrestle anymore BUT her sister Brie–wife of WWE Superstar Daniel Bryan–still can. Commenting on this last year, Brie revealed she is very open to returning to the ring as part of a tag team (with her sister as a manager of course). Her return in the Royal Rumble match would lay some foundation.

Alicia Fox, Naomi, Moon, Sharai and Blackheart and Phoenix would all be filler. Having Simone Johnson–daughter of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson–debut in the Royal Rumble would be LIT. More so if she is in the ring at the same time as Nia Jax and Tamina.

I know Becky Lynch just gave birth two months ago–and released a picture of herself with her newborn baby girl the other day online–but I am not ruling out the possability she might make a surprise appearance in the Royal Rumble. If she doesn’t return then we could see Michelle McCool appear instead. She did say last year she is very open to coming back and having her appear in the Royal Rumble match would be a safe move.

As for Ronda Rousey…whew. The fact that WWE didn’t release her shows they still think she can be useful. She hasn’t appeared in WWE in almost two years now, mostly of her own volition. Honestly, I don’t think anyone will care and she probably knows that by this point herself. So, a reintroduction would be in order. Should be interesting if done right.

 

 

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Sheamus on Conor McGregor coming to WWE and other non-Royal Rumble News

A few days after UFC’s Conor McGregor suffered his first career KO at UFC 267, Sheamus responded to renewed speculation his fellow Irishman could be coming to WWE: “It’s a matter of when, not if.” He took it a step further and said he wants to be the first one to get in the ring with the charismatic UFC star.

Of course, McGregor would not be the first UFC Fighter to come to WWE. UFC Hall of Famer Ronda Rousey made the jump three years ago and debuted at Wrestlemania 34. Her WWE debut appearance at the end of the Inaugural Women’s Royal Rumble in 2018 helped give WWE some legitimacy in the MMA world.

 

WWE and NBC Universal announced today they have reached a deal that will see WWE Network merging with Peacock, which is NBC’s Premium Streaming service. In exchange, WWE Network is going away. It will be shutting down on March 22, which is about two weeks before Wrestlemania 37.

There is actually more to this deal than most realize behind the scenes. ESPN, which is owned by Disney was so pissed off by the WWE Network sale that they’ve sworn off airing any WWE-related content moving forward. There are rumors Disney may have been looking to buy WWE outright down the line.

Many experts believe the WWE-Peacock deal moves NBCUniversal closer to their intention of buying WWE down the road. USA Network, which is owned by NBC has hosted RAW for the better part of 30 years. They also host NXT and hosted Smackdown for almost almost 20 years. Speaking of, NBC reportedly plans to reclaim Smackdown once the FOX deal is up so we’ll see.

How the Peacock-WWE deal may affect those who use prepaid WWE Network cardshas yet to be revealed. WWE has promised to explain how current subscribers will be impacted a little closer to when the switch-over will happen. I assume those who have an active subscription that would take them past March 22 will either be able to transfer their existing subscription to Peacock (which I plan to do if offered) or be offered a partial refund. I just bought a 2-month WWE Network Card and I will redeem the code once my current subscription expires on February 6.

Peacock offers two sets of subscriptions: One for $5/month with ads and another for $10/month without ads. You won’t see an increase in how much you pay per month when you switch over and that is the silver lining. That’s not a bad proposition to say the least but I will do some research before I decide if I will switch over or not. If you have certain Comcast packages, Peacock is free for you already right now.

 

As was announced last weekend–the weekend before this one–Wrestlemania 37 will take place where it was supposed to take place last year: Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida on April 10. Two weeks from now, the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers will make history by being the first NFL team to host a Super Bowl. It’s never been done before but when the Quarterback is one Tom Brady, anything’s possible.

As everyone knows by now, Rob Gronkowski hosted Wrestlemania 36. He had retired from football at the time but returned to the NFL play with Tom Brady. The two won several Super Bowl rings together with the New England Patriots. Assuming the Bucs win, I would not rule out Gronk being brought back to host Super Bowl 37.

Gronk initially had longterm WWE plans but then Brady signed with the Bucs and that changed everything. Gronk won the 24/7 Championship at Wrestlemania 36 but R-Truth got it back offscreen shortly after news Gronk was coming out of retirement broke. WWE likely planned to use Gronk on Smackdow the same way NXT is using Pat McAfee: Make him a legit wrestler and have him feud with top talent. Gronk left WWE on good terms and there’s no doubt WWE would welcome him back down the road.

 

In an interview recorded in November but recently released, Jon Moxley revealed he is open to returning to WWE in the future. The former AEW Champion famously left the company on bad terms, bashing WWE at every opportunity in interviews shortly after he signed with AEW two years ago.

Moxley is obviously very happy where he is now but the fact that he has said he is open to making a return to WWE should excite those who liked him during his previous tenure with the company. In the same interview, Moxley revealed he does keep in touch with his former Shield brother Rollins on a monthly basis. He does keep in touch with Roman Reigns but nowhere near as much in comparison because of how busy Reigns has been over the last two years.

 

New Japan Pro Wrestling owner Takaaki Kidani recently revealed in an interview he to collaborate with WWE and won’t take no for an answer. This revealation should come as no surprise in the aftermath of AEW and Impact Wrestling collaborating in recent months. Most famously, Kenny Omega took the AEW Championship and brought it with him to Impact two months ago.

Kidani’s new business aspiration is also calucating. It’s no secret WWE is looking to set up NXT in Japan. It’s also no secret NJPW has been making waves in North America in recent years. Weather or not WWE would be willing to hear an offer is another matter.

Most WWE fans might not know this but Kidani wasn’t exactly happy when AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura–two of their top guys at the time–both elected to leave NJPW for WWE back in 2016:

 

I watched both of them when they happened in 2016and even though I didn’t know either of them at their debuts, I immediately knew I was about to witness something special when their music hit. AJ Styles has done just about everything in just 5 years while Nakamura is set to have another great year, even more so now that he’s a Babyface again.

 

 

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The Mortician: The Story of Paul Bearer gives a deep dive into Legendary Manager’s Career

From the way the documentary was done, WWE may have originally planned to do it around the time of his Hall of Fame induction in 2013. The fact that we had to wait seven years after his death to know the story of the man behind the character is all the sweeter.

Using interview footage from 2011, William Moody explains his humble beginnings in the wrestling business first as a wrestler in the 1970s. He also spoke fondly of achieving his other childhood dream of being an actual undertaker which he continued until his wife died in 2009. This was in addition to working in the wrestling business at the same time.

It may or may not surprise WWE fans to know like Paul Heyman, Moody worked as a manager and promoter prior to signing with WWE in 1990. Outside WWE, he was well known by his other wrestling name Percy Pringle III. Moody recounted his interview with Vince McMahon and when the chairman saw “Licensed Mortician” on his resume, no doubt he was seeing dollar signs. The fact that Moody, who was an actual undertaker would be managing a character called The Undertaker helped elevate the latter early on.

Bruce Prichard aka Brother Love, who managed The Undertaker at first explained he was working backstage in addition to being ‘Taker’s manager. He didn’t want to keep doing both and when he decided to just work backstage, the search began to find someone to replace him as ‘Taker’s on-screen manager. Prichard also hilariously revealed it was Road Warrior Hawk, who died last month who gave the idea for the name Paul Bearer.

Moody later explains the Urn was his idea and his doing. “In my line of work as a mortician, getting my hands on an Urn wasn’t hard at all”. Moody wasn’t just Mark Calaway’s on-screen manager but did the work of an actual manager too. He handled all their travel and lodging bookings and made sure Calaway had everything he needed to feel successful.

‘Taker revealed both he and Moody felt the decision for their characters to be split up in 1996 was too soon though things worked out in the end. As history recorded, Paul Bearer was the centerpiece for the introduction of a superstar as dark and dangerous as the Deadman himself: Kane.

The Undertaker’s transition to the The American Badass character put the Paul Bearer character on the shelf. Moody worked backstage during that time patiently waiting for the opportunity to make an onscreen return which he did at Wrestlemania 20 (2004). Moody sporadically appeared alongside Kane or The Undertaker until 2011 when his declining health forced him offscreen for good.

Moody died in 2013 from  heart attack. He was 58 years old. ‘Taker revealed he was informed of Moody’s death by Michael Hayes, who called him to deliver the news.

That brings me to this.

Prichard revealed ‘Taker didn’t feel comfortable making Moody’s death into a storyline but when he explained Moody would have liked it, he reluctantly agreed to incorporate Moody’s death into his feud to CM Punk during the build for their match at Wrestlemania 29.

Most fans were shocked and understandably felt it was disrespectful WWE thought it was a good idea but given Moody’s sons signed off on it, it happened. This was obviously not the first time WWE blurred the lines between fiction and reality, not would it be the last. The feud got real personal real quick to say the least. The Undertaker’s win over CM Punk at Wrestlemania 29 would be his last before his legendary Wrestlemania streak was ended at Wrestlemani 30 by Brock Lesnar.

William Moody will always be remembered for his role as Paul Bearer and his Hall of Fame induction in 2013 was well deserved.

 

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The Undertaker announces his retirement after 30 years in The Last Ride Finale

No one should be surprised by this with how the first four episodes were built.

The Undertaker revealed in the 5th and final episode that he found the peace of mind to hang it up for good he’d been seeking for almost a decade. After watching back his Wrestlemania 36 match with AJ Styles, he announced he’s at peace mentally and is good about hanging it up for good.

He did indirectly reference the 15-year contract with WWE he signed last year that keeps him on WWE’s payroll until he’s 70 by saying he will make himself available “in case of  emergency”. Assuming he’s not a surprise 2020 Hall of Fame Inductee, he’s a first Ballot Hall of Famer for the 2021 WWE Hall of Fame no question. The year would also coincide with the length of his Wrestlemania Streak, which reached 21-0 before Brock Lesnar ended it at Wrestlemania 30.

Here’s just a few of The Undertaker’s MANY Accomplishments spanning 30 years and four decades:

• 6 WWE Championship Title Reigns
• 21-0 Wrestlemania Streak
• Part of the Greatest Wrestlemania Match EVER alongside Shawn Michaels at Wrestlemania 25
• Only Superstar to beat the same Wrestlemania opponent three times (Triple H)
• Introduced Five Specialty Matches: Buried Alive, Casket, Inferno (Involved the first of the only two ever done opposite Kane, who was also involved in the second opposite MVP), Boneyard (involved in the only one so far) and of course, Hell in a Cell.

…Just a few of many.

The Undertaker made a post via Twitter late last night simply saying “Thank You”. Noticably absent from his Twitter handle were mentions of WWE for the first time. Speaking of which, that reminds me. The Undertaker spoke about his scheduled appearance at Starrcast last year that was cancelled along with his interview with Mick Foley in Episode 4.

He made reference to AEW without obviously naming it since Double or Nothing was booked for the following weekend and Optics matter. Vince McMahon called him and he  confirmed they had a bit of a falling out over that but things have smoothed over. Of course Vince knew ‘Taker was loyal to WWE but like I just said, Optics matter. ‘Taker was understandably pissed even though he clearly understands the business side.

There’s only so much you can actually cover in a 5-part Documentary series when it comes to The Undertaker. Ask anyone and they will give you a long list of topics they wished it covered.

Here’s my short list:

• His pre-‘Taker Wrestling Days: He wrestled in NWA as Mean Mark Callous and famously locked horns with Jerry Lawler before they separately made their way to WWE. In his Broken Skull Sessions interview, ‘Taker mentioned he initially thought he would be introduced in WWE as a totally different character.
• His friendship with Glenn Jacobs: Jacobs (Kane) unemphatically stated many times he gives full credit to ‘Taker for Kane being so successful. We do know ‘Taker endorsed him when he ran for mayor of his home town so…yeah.
• His first wife, Sara: This was a big omission though it is understandable. If you watch footage of his matches before their divorce about 15 years ago, it’s hard to miss the tattoo of her name on his throat. ‘Taker’s busy work schedule at the time and his wanting to maintain the character were what ultimately led to their divorce in the mid-2000s.
• Hepatitis B Scare: For those who don’t know, Randy Orton’s father “Cowboy” Bob Orton has Hepatitis B. Near the end of their Wrestlemania match, the senior Orton got hurt and started bleeding. ‘Taker didn’t find out until after he got backstage that Bob Orton has Hepatitis  B and was allowed to bleed very close to him. The younger Orton and presumably WWE obviously knew in advance but ‘Taker–and staff around the ring–did not know and they were exposed. ‘Taker was off TV for a few weeks afterward since he needed to be tested and quarantined until he knew the results (Results came back negative).
• Paul Bearer: ‘Taker does talk about much of the prepwork that went into filming The Funeral Parlor (remember that?) very briefly. It would have been nice if he talked about his partnership with William Moody aka Paul Bearer in much more depth. For those who don’t know, the real reason Moody stopped working with The Undertaker 15 years back is because of health issues and also because he wanted to spend more time with his family. He passed away in 2013 and was posthumously inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame the same year.

…These are some of the notable omissions I noticed.

One interesting thing I wanted to comment on is ‘Taker’s reasoning for transitioning from his Ministry persona to American Badass. While I don’t dispute the reason he gave–he said he felt the character was getting stale–it certainly wasn’t the only reason. I am assuming he didn’t want to talk about the OTHER reason for the change.

For those who don’t know by now, WWE had been receiving letters from Conservatives and concerned parents regarding The Undertaker’s  ritual sacrifices onscreen and dark, occult overtones at the time. ‘Taker referenced his former persona a few years later saying “I might not dress like Satan anymore but I’m no less dangerous.” WWE will never confirm it but it’s hard to believe they didn’t consult with someone given how realistic and precise the character was.

The Undertaker brought back his Deadman persona at the 20th Anniversary of Wrestlemania but it was far less focused on the occult compared to past incarnations of the character. The Last Ride powerbomb he introduced as the American Badass was brought back and for the first time, The Undertaker now had a signature submission move: The Hell’s Gate triangle submission.

As he revealed in Episode 5, the version we saw in the Boneyard Match was a mix of the Deadman and American Badass with a bit of Mark Calloway mixed in. He fought and moved as the two personas combined but spoke as himself and that made it feel pretty epic. While true he would have preferred to have a traditional match, he was very happy with how the Boneyard Match went given the build.

Weather or not we will see The Undertaker wrestle again remains to be seen but as the man himself said, he’s done. I do think we will see him on-screen again at some point though but time will tell when exactly.

 

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Superstar Updates, Live Crowd Testing and more going into June

I want to open by first commenting on the fact that dozens of WWE and AEW Superstars, Wrestling Legends and Hall of Famers wasted no time expressing their outrage and anger online at the death of George Floyd, an African American man who was killed by now former Minneapolis Police Officers on Memoria Day.

Almost all of the current and former talent who happen to be White said in no uncertain terms “Unfriend or Unfollow me if you disagree with my position.” Many international superstars made posts with the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter as a show of solidarity. To say this incident is personal for many not just across the country but around the world goes without saying.

It’s now been a few weeks since WWE started using Performance Center Trainees and select NXT Superstars to act as the audience at the WWE Performance Center. The change has been well received by fans obviously as it breaks up the two and a half months of silence outside the in-ring action and promos. The RAW and Smackdown Superstars obviously appreciate it given the current circumstances as well.

After reports surfaced of the Trainees and NXT Superstars playing the audience being forced to pack their own lunches, eat in tents, and stand for almost 12 hours (!), former Women’s Tag Team Champion Nikki Cross ordered pizza for them last week. RAW, Smackdown and NXT episodes are being taped in advance. NXT TakeOver: In Your House and the upcoming BackLash were both taped in advance as well.

 

Former UFC Fighter and NXT Tag Team Champion Matt Riddle is confirmed to be going to Smackdown. Dominik Djakovic confirmed via Twitter he is heading to RAW.

The lockdown due to the ongoing Pandemic cut Riddle’s title reign with Pete Dunne short and its a damned shame since they were clearly being primed to run through the emerging NXT Tag Team division. Dunne, who was in the UK when the lockdown began was unable to return to the U.S. With no end to the lockdown in sight, the decision was made to officially take the NXT tag titles off of them. My guess is plans for Riddle being moved to Smackdown was what forced NXT to move the tag titles when they did.

Djakovic is a stud and had some epic clashes with Keith Lee throughout 2018 and 2019. He never won a title in NXT and mostly because the timing just wasn’t there for him through no fault of his own. On RAW, Djakovic wiill need to be careful he doesn’t fall into midcard hell like many before him have. He had trouble building momentum in NXT and entering RAW as a Heel could help bigtime. We’ll see.

I would be remiss if I did not talk about the Tsunami of Abuse and Harassment alliegations being levied against British wrestlers mostly in the UK in recent weeks. Most of the alliegations go back years and yes, some NXT UK Superstars as well as some AEW Superstars are among the accused.

The number of alleged victims grew so quickly, the Twiter Account Expose Wrestling was quickly set up to help coordinate the overall effort of helping to give people a safe space to speak up. It’s surprisingly well organized and not a place for baseless allegations. I do know NXT Superstar Pete Dunne and Smackdown Superstar Big E separately voiced support for the #SpeakingOut, the tagline used to spread awareness and it’s how I learned of it myself earlier this week.

Things have escalated so quickly, NXT UK tapings have been suspended and Triple H reportedly called an emergency meeting regarding the flood of allegations. It’s now been confirmed former 205 Live Superstar and British native Jack Gallagher, who recently returned after a long hiatus a few months back was released due to Sexual Assault alliegations that were presumably verified as factual.

The Friday night of his Smackdown debut, Matt Riddle faced allegations of Sexual Assault from Nancy Cartright, who is an independent wrestler from an alleged incident that took place in May 2018. Riddle’s attorney wasted no time revealing the allegations from Cartright are not only false–and clearly has proof of it on that note–but she apparently has a long history of harassing and Cyber Stalking Riddle and his family.

The reason I am willing to give Matt Riddle the benefit of the doubt off the bat is because of Triple H. Given Riddle was signed by WWE to NXT not long after this allegedly happened, no question Triple H would have known about the alliegations back then and he would not taken the risk of signing someone with that kind of baggage if he wasn’t 100% sure the alliegations were false.

Riddle’s case is why although I agree with the intent of the #SpeakingOut movement, we need to be VERY careful innocent people are not falsely accused. That’s all it takes to ruin an innocent person’s career and life. Yes, victims should be heard and believed but as is the case with Riddle’s accuser some people DO lie. His accuser has a known history, chose the night of his Smackdown debut and likely knew about the #SpeakingOut Movement so…yeah. My point is you can’t generalize when it comes to alliegations this serious.

As everyone knows by now, AJ Styles just won the Intercontinental Championship. WWE stripped Sami Zayn, who hasn’t been seen since Wrestlemania of the title after his Wrestlemania appearance. WWE allowed superstars and staff who did not feel comfortable working in the WWE Performance Center to stay home for health reasons. Zayn was one of said superstars. He was presumably stripped of the title because it was not being contested because of who was holding it.

Another example is Roman Reigns, who is autoimmune compromised and returned after battling Leukemia last year. He was replaced by Braun Strowman at Wrestlemania but it was later revealed that wasn’t the only reason he pulled out: His wife just gave birth to their second set of twins and wasn’t gonna take any chances.

Getting back to Zayn. He is expected to make his return very soon and will presumably feud with AJ Styles for the title he never actually lost.  AJ Styles made a surprise return to Smackdown after Money in the Bank. He revealed in an interview he welcomed the move back to the Blue Brand after almost a year on RAW in the aftermath of Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson getting released due to COVID-19 induced layoffs. As of the June 22 episode of RAW, we now know who RAW got in exchange for AJ Styles: Dolph Ziggler and his tag team partner Robert Roode.

Speaking of. Luke Gallows recently shot down reports he and Karl Anderson were rehired by WWE via Twitter after a story surfaced they were among the batch of former Superstars who were recently rehired. Drew Gulak and Drake Maverick, who were recently rehired were among the amost 30 superstars WWE was forced to let two months back to save money.

It is rumored Rusev is on the short list of former WWE Superstars who will be rehired but we’ll have wait and see. He is still actually married to Lana, who wasn’t fired because she is storyline married to Bobby Lashley. Assuming Lana doesn’t get a singles push, it makes sense for Rusev to be brought back to work with her. We’ll see.

 

As everyone knows, The Rock made his imfamous WWE debut (as Rocky Maivia) at Survivor Series 1996, which aired on FS1 last week (the entire PPV). The match featuring The Rock’s WWE debut was imfamous for a second reason: The Fake Razor Ramon played by Rick Bognar and the Fake Diesel played by Glenn Jacobs–aka Kane–were both also part of the same match.

WWE did not shy away from the imfamous and ill-decided idea of Vince McMahon’s on WWE Network to have two different people play the iconic characters. You see, when Scott Hall and Kevin Nash–the original Razor Ramon and Diesel–left WWE for WCW (their contracts expired), they left the characters that made them famous in WWE behind. In fact, they debuted in WCW as themselves though both continued to use the gimmicks and wrestling styles of their former characters.

Hall’s imfamous “You know who we are and you know why we’re here” promo.” at his WCW debut came just before the internet and had both wrestlers AND wrestling fans of both companies believing Hall and Nash were plants from WWE. Vince’s lawsuit against WCW for copyright infringement–he admitted he didn’t like the fact Hall and Nash were using their former characters’ gimmicks in WCW and it’s why he filed the lawsuit–forced Eric Bishoff, Hall and Nash to clear the air and reveal the future NWO founders were in fact under contract with WCW only. The fact that the lawsuit forced Bishoff to do that actually boosted WCW’s ratings.

Anywho, Vince got the idea of reintroducing the Razor Ramon and DIesel characters but played by new people. WWE timed the announcement of the “return” of both superstars around the time Hall and Nash’s contacts with WCW were going to expire. As a reminder, this was before the internet was a thing. WCW believed it and backed up the Brinks truck for Hall and Nash, who LOL’d when they heard since they had no interest in returning to WWE anytime soon.

Nash revealed in later interviews he actually tuned in alongside Bischoff backstage like “I’m obviously here in Florida right now. WTF is Vince planning to–PFFT!” basically. Jim Ross, who like everyone else was clearly expecting Hall and Nash didn’t try to mask his disappointment on commentary basically saying “No disrespect to these two but they were not who fans were expecting.”

Speaking of. Apparently the plan for the Fake Diesel and Razor Ramon–if it took off obviously–included JR, who was a Heel at the time being their manager. Most might not remember JR actually did work commentary for WCW before he was hired by WWE as both a commentator and head of Talent Relations. Bugnar (Fake Razor Ramon) was released shortly afterward and Jacobs (Fake Diesel) would go on to have a Hall of Fame career when he redebuted as Kane the following year at the climax of the first-ever Hell in a Cell match involving The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels.

Bugnar died suddenly last year while Jacobs is currently the mayor of his hometown Knox County, Tennessee. For obvious reasons, Jacobs never talks about the time he played the Fake Diesel when he talks about his wrestling career before Kane. He has said he wants to have his retirement match sooner than later though.

 

Two-time WWE Hall of Famer Brett “The Hitman” Hart revealed during his WWE Backstage appearance this week WCW didn’t know what to do with him. In fact, he said he wished he stayed in WWE and if not for his falling out with Vince McMahon over the Montreal Screwjob–he didn’t mention ir by name but that was obviously what he was referring to by “circumstances at the time”–he would have.

He admitted he knew from current and former WCW talent at the time it was a badly run promotion that basically consisted of Bischoff’s cash cows (NWO, Goldberg and Sting) and everyone else. He also repeated what he said during his Broken Skull Sessions interview with Steve Austin last year regarding Goldberg.

As a reminder, Bret Hart suffered a career-ending concussion during his match with Goldberg in WCW. Bret knew Goldberg had a reputation for seriousy hurting everyone he worked with in WCW and Bret believed Bischoff was an enabler in not addressing the issue with Goldberg. Obviously The Hitman will always have certain feelings toward Goldberg but this time he focused blame on WCW more than Goldberg. My guess is the two had a chat after Bret’s interview with Steve Austin aired on WWE Network. Goldberg is obviously not the same guy he was 23 years ago and…yeah.

 

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