Alexa Bliss:
WWE have set up a special ring for Alexa Bliss at the PC. It has a 1 foot thick crash mat, used for stunt scenes on movie sets, with ropes around it, to absorb any impact she takes as their medics test her for concussion syndrome. The set up is usually used for kids to bump on at WrestleMania Axeess.
Impact:
Eli Drake says Impact should not go to a streaming only format, and that to continue to grow, they need a TV deal...
"At the end of the day, TV is still king. Will that hold over for much longer? I don't know. As far as advertisers and what not, there is money in streaming but there's also still a lot of money in TV. I think TV is still important to reach out to different sections of the audience. But I think also moving forward, streaming and the internet are valuable and making our footprint there is necessary."
Old boy arrested:
Justin Credible has been arrested again. He has been charged with breaching a protective order, causing criminal mischief, breach of the peace, and assault. he has also walked away from his WWE sponsored rehab. He currently sits in jail with a $50,000 bond.
PCO says sorry:
Pierre Ouellet has apologised for having to pull out of all indie bookings because of his new ROH deal.
Stone Cold wants rule change:
"I was watching a tag match on Monday Night RAW just the other night and there was a guy in the corner standing there with that white rope in his hands and that is supposed to be, when you hold onto it, when you hold onto the end of the rope, that's the furthest you can get down that apron. You must be in contact with that rope, so you just don't walk up and down that apron or try to edge your way out there to try to get a tag. This is supposed to negate that, but guys don't know how to work the ropes anymore. Dude's sitting there holding the midway part of the rope or they're alligator-arming their partner or their opponent and no one's controlling the ring, no one is cutting off the ring, and so the rope serves a purpose. And, back in the day, man, we used to use those things to choke people and do stuff like that behind the referee's back." Austin summarized, "obviously, these days with so many corporate sponsors, you can't use the ropes for half the s--t we used to use those ropes for, but they are essentially there to keep a person within a certain boundary in a tag match."
TV show return:
Rapper Ice Cube is bringing back 'Celebrity Deathmatch.' The wrestling themed celebrity parody / roast show was huge during the attitude era, with it's no-holds barred gore and cutting swipes at the stars featured on it. The original creator is involved in the project, but Ice Cube will produce and star.
Contract updates:
AJ Styles will be out of contract with WWE in April, but his BC buddies Gallows & Anderson are tied down until September.
WWE want NJPW star:
WWE are hopeful of signing Kushida for NXT in 2019.
Double J plugs WWE:
Jeff Jarrett wore a SmackDown tee at an NFL game last night.
WWE updates:
Rhyno has been moved to the Alumni roster after retiring on Raw this week and a number of new stars have joined the NXT / NXT UK roster, including the first female UK champion, Rhea Ripley. The rest were Eddie Dennis, Io Shirai, Marcel Barthel and Xia Brookside.
Top women not cleared:
WWE have not cleared Alexa Bliss to return to the ring. Their medical team have given her a limited licence to engage in physical ring work, so they can monitor her health, but are far from convinced she is ready to go.
Becky Lynch is also still waiting for medical release to compete, despite being booked for TLC. She is expected to get it within the next 10 days.
Tazz takes credit for WWE angle:
Tazz says WWE used an angle he suggested they run for Daniel Bryan on his podcast. He said if Daniel Bryan had ended the Yes movement he should have removed the yes plates from his title. Bryan did so this week, leading to Tazz taking some less than subtle swipes at the promotion's creative team on social media.
NXT:
Tommaso Ciampa vs Aleister Black will headline the first NXT special of 2019.
Nia blasted:
Ember Moon's husband has called Nia Jax out for her poor ring work. He said in a now deleted message to a UK paper...
"Hope this unsafe moron doesn't hurt my wife again."
New PPV:
WWE are planning on bringing back the King Of The Ring PPV format next year, but as an all female event called Queen Of The Ring.
LU wedding:
Brian Cage and Melissa Santos got engaged at an LU event this week.
WWE accused of trying to kill UK scene:
WOS champion Justin Sysum has written an open letter to British wrestling fans, sharing his fears for the future of UK wrestling, now that WWE are on the scene, to which a number of WWE stars have hit back at, including Tyler Bate and Trent Seven, who both defended WWE and told Sysum he should be ashamed of what he said for shaming UK stars for living their dreams. He said that was not his intention, and that he was sharing his hopes and concerns for a UK scene without the WWE, and apologised for hurting any feelings, but stood by his words.
Lita confesses she begged Vince to change her retirement angle:
Recalling Cryme Tyme throwing out underwear and sex toys to the crowd whilst she was making her goodbye speech in 2006...
"I mean, I've always been the red-headed step child and it was not gonna end any different way. I was literally the red-headed, step child. It's ok. I never was quiet about it. I was super uncool with it. I went up the chain. I went to the producers, I went to the writers, I went to Vince, I went back to the producers, back to the writers, back to Vince. It was a hard, 'no'."
Legend dies:
Larry The Axe Hennig, father of Mr. Perfect and grand-father of current star Curtis Axel, has died. He was 82.
TLC:
Natalya vs Ruby Riott is booked for TLC, it will be a tables match.
Jeff Jarrett:
Jeff Jarrett will be guest of honour at his local NFL teams next game.
**Pete Shelley**
SmackDown:
Undertaker, Michelle McCool and Mark Henry were backstage at last nights taping.
Tribute To The Troops:
WWE taped their annual thank you to US service personnel last night.
Y2J:
Chris Jericho says he has a few months off from his music commitments soon, and is open to a wrestling return, other than dates already booked in Japan, but, where will he go?...
"Impact, I had a great conversation with them the other day in Toronto and there's some great matches I could have there... There's a lot of matches in Japan that I would still like to have. Is Tony Khan opening his own company? I've heard nothing that says he's not, and of course, WWE is WWE and I have a 20-year history there. I could walk in the door tomorrow and know exactly what to do to get a reaction. I'll tell you one thing: there won't be a list. It's done. I don't feel it anymore."
Wrestling film:
HBO are working on a documentary of Kenny Omega's time in Japan.
Fandango:
Fandango has reported to the PC, as he closes in on his ring return.
Legend dies:
Arguably the best wrestler not in the HOF, Britain's finest, Thomas 'The Dynamite Kid' Billington had died. He was 60 years old and had been incredibly ill for a number of years. The one time WWE Tag Team champion last competed for the American giant in 1988, but also made himself a true great with his work in Japan, and of course inspired many hat have come since, most famously, perhaps, Chris Benoit, who modeled himself closely, on Dynamite. He of course also showcased British wrestling to the best of his ability all around the world, to great success. His death came on his 60th birthday.
Hardy not done yet:
Matt Hardy says he still has ideas for his wrestling career
"No, it's not over. I took time off to heal some nagging injuries and I'll be back sooner rather than later. So, I've been doing this twenty-six years. I was just a little beat up. I was given a little time off. From when I've been back, for over a year and half, I was full time. I did everything. Jeff was off with the surgery, so just had a little bit of time off. I think Bray needed a little time off. He'd had a car accident. So, I think it was just a little bit of time off for everyone. So, I think you'll see an evolution of Bray Wyatt and an evolution of Matt Hardy."
XFL:
XFL will launch on February 8, 2020, Vince McMahon has revealed today.
Evolution:
WWE have released Evolution, the all women's PPV, without any hype, as a Walmart exclusive.
Raw tribute:
WWE dedicated Raw last night to a former US President, George Bush, who died last week, aged 94.
WWE star retires:
Rhyno announced his retirement to the live crowd during an ad break, following a loser gets fired match on Raw last night. He is still booked for a tour of South America, but it may just be that WWE, who have not yet confirmed his status, have not gotten around to updating their tour page.
Vince McMillions:
Vince McMahon sold $22 million of WWE stock last week.
Fastest ever:
Neville vs Will Ospreay is already setting speed records, and the match won't happen until February. The venue hosting the match has sold out of all tickets in a record time. The match was only announced yesterday.
SmackDown tease:
- Becky Lynch, Charlotte Flair and Asuka sign their TLC Match contract
- Daniel Bryan to appear on a must-see "Miz TV"
- Jeff Hardy goes one-on-one with Randy Orton
- Woods, Uso and Cesaro square off in Triple Threat Match
Jericho fights fan:
Chris Jericho has reportedly gotten into a physical confrontation with a fan of his band, after a gig in Canada. A young fan was hanging around near the tour bus waiting for the band to come out of the arena, for autographs, and when they did he was reportedly let onto the bus with the band. An inebriated man saw the younger fan get on and decided he wanted to get close to the band too. The band did not want him on the bus, but he became physical, trying to get aboard, so a member of the road crew stepped in to remove him. He ended up getting thrown from the bus and suffered a broken collarbone. This infuriated Jericho, who reportedly speared the guy off the bus, and after hitting the asphalt, rained punches down upon him. He got up shouted some abuse at him, then dropped down and started with the punches again. He tried to hold him down until police came, but the guy managed to get away. He was though later apprehended, and is currently in police custody.
Roman return:
Roman Reigns will be at, and on, Tribute To The Troops, which tapes this week.
LU vs WWE:
WWE have been delayed in securing the signing of Shane Strickland after Lucha Underground started playing hardball over his contract with them.
Worst Raw ever:
This weeks Raw scored the worst viewing figures in the shows 25 year history.
Mark Henry reveals how bad Alexa Bliss was hurt:
"We sat and talked for about 15-20 minutes, and she was like, 'Yeah, I was really bad off. I couldn't remember where I was, I couldn't remember what I was doing in the city.' We were flying from London to Switzerland and she said, 'I couldn't remember what flight or anything. I had to rely one everyone else telling me what to do. I couldn't stand up straight, I had vertigo.' She said she was in a bad way, and then she came back too soon, banged her head again, and really was in a bad place. Now she's fine. She's been cleared. We are very happy she's going to be back in the fray, and I just wanted to remind her who she was. 'Remember who you are, don't go back too soon if you're not ready, and when you go back - Ronda's great, and Nia is doing her thing, and Becky & Charlotte, but you are a major player. And remember, when you come back, be who you are.'"
SD guests:
Christian, Ric Flair and Maryse are backstage at SD tonight. Flair made quite the entrance, his uber crashed into a parked car in the car park of the venue.
Raw tease:
- Corbin closes in on General Manager position
- Inoculated Ambrose promises he'll be at Raw
- The Goddess' new gig
- Rousey teams with The Queen of Harts to face Nia Jax and Tamina
Brutus blasted:
Brutus The Barber has been put on blast by a Canadian promoter after he no-showed an event, he claims he paid the Barber up front for. He has issued a warning to others not to book him. Brutus responded, denying the claims, apologising to fans for missing the shows, which, he says, was due to a family emergency, and insisted he had not been paid for the shows.
British invasion:
A UK reality TV star, hoping to make it in the States, has challenged Daniel Bryan to an MMA fight during Mania season.
Alum violated:
Jillian Hall has shared an awful experience she had at a doctor's office recently...
''Came across a situation that really upset me today. Was at a dr appt and walked out of the back to see staff looking at a large computer screen with myself pulled up on google featuring a mugshot from an awful time in my life. I immediately felt shocked & violated... This dr’s office has all of my personal info. I’ve never spoken with the receptionists about being a wrestler and this was very embarrassing to me. I’m not sure how to handle the situation but was brought to tears with embarrassment and anger! They had no good excuse to do this.. Since that I’ve had a very emotional day. I spoke with a PA about it but she completely covered for them which angered me more. I don’t know if I should let it go or file a formal complaint. It’s an awful feeling not knowing what “professionals” r doing with your private info.''
Induct her:
Billy Gunn has hit out at WWE for continuing to omit Chyna from their HOF...
"She deserves it more than anyone that's in there right now. That's a huge sore subject with me. It's just bulls--t! I just think Chyna should have been in a long time ago. She did more. It's who they send. It's political, they send who they want to send, and that's wrong. You send who deserves to go. It's about what you've done and contributed to this business and what legacy you left."
Swagger debut:
Jack Swagger will have his first MMA scrap in January, for Bellator.
Silas Young talks giving up dream job to stay loyal to ROH:
"The wrestling scene now is super-hot right now and I'm a big believer in loyalty. Ring of Honor gave me an opportunity five-six years back and every opportunity I've been given since, I've succeeded with. I'm the type of guy that likes to stick with the team that brought me to the table, to stick with the team that believed in me from the get-go. I'm really happy to announce I am staying with Ring of Honor. To be quite honest with you, the idea of WWE for every guy is a dream for everybody who's ever wrestled or starts wrestling, they have that dream. I won't lie, it was my dream. It was my goal, but at some point, as you grow and you mature as a person, the wrestler realizes that that top of the mountain, the peak, isn't always the top of the mountain or it's not that shiny. I'm really happy with the decision I've made."
Raven talks multiple rejected bids to save ECW:
"Billy Corgan was talking about how one day he wanted to buy ECW from Paul Heyman and Paul wanted to charge him a ridiculous mark price for it and he didn't do it. To be honest, I don't think Paul wanted to sell it. He gave you a price you couldn't match because he didn't want to sell it. That was why he didn't want to sell it to Tommy Dreamer, because he wanted it to go under with him in charge so that it was his show, and that if it continued the way it did, it was his baby. If it got buried the way Vince McMahon buried it it didn't effect the magic that he created so I don't really think he really ever wanted to sell it and he just wanted it to go down with him as the captain of the ship."
Rawbish:
A wrestling fan was so offended by the quality of this weeks Raw he edited the Wikipedia page for Milwaukee to read...
"... Milwaukee is the main cultural and economic center of the Milwaukee metropolitan area. It is also the city where wrestling died during an episode of RAW that aired from Milwaukee on 11/26/2018."
They were not the only one. A German newspaper blasted the programme and told it's readers to refuse to watch it.
The show was written entirely by Vince McMahon after getting impatient with creative output on the day.
Indie legend at PC:
Mike Quakenbush has been coaching at the PC this week.
Seth talks life after wrestling:
"I've already kind of got something going with my wrestling school back home in Iowa. I think once I get off the road and my in-ring career is done take probably at least take a few years off and relax a little bit. You know, but who knows I always like giving back to the business. It's been my passion, like you said, my entire life. So it's certainly something I feel like I'll be involved in one way or another for as long as I can as long as I'm giving something and you know making progress, not just kind of stagnating."
Jake the drug mule Roberts:
Jake The Snake says WWE provided talent with any drugs they wanted in the 80s...
"What they would do is, we'd get booked in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Now, when somebody told me this story at first, I was like, 'this is an old wive's tale because s--t like that does not really happen.' You get to Allentown/Hershey, you go to the locker room and all-of-a-sudden, somebody says to you, 'hey, they need to see you in locker room three.' 'What the f--k did I do?' Then I'd go in there and there's a doctor there and he [has] got suitcases over here, boxes here, suitcases over here, boxes there, 'what do you need, kid?' 'Excuse me?' 'What do you need?' Up, down, what?' 'What do you have for sleep? Oh, Halcion, those are good! How many can I get? As many as I want? 300.' 'I've got them right here.' 'Steriods?' 'Yeah, absolutely!' 'I'll take that, I'll take that, I'll take that.' It was grocery shopping!"
He also confessed to smuggling drugs into Canada...
"And it used to be funny, guys would be like, 'hey Jake, will you carry my s--t for me?' when we'd be going over to Canada. And I'd be like, 'sure! It's going to cost you a percentage of your s--t. Give me 10% of what you've got and I'll carry it across the border for you.' So I've got eight of 10 guys and I've got all their s--t, where am I hiding it? In the snake bag for crying out loud!"
Injury:
Riddick Moss is back after an achillles tendon surgery.
High stakes:
In a move that will likely leave some in awe and excitement and purists really p!ssed off, a UK promotion have booked a match between Will Ospreay and Neville, in London. Slo-mo technology at the ready I would guess.
JBL vs Rhodes family:
JBL has apologised for a series of angry tweets aimed at Cody Rhodes and his late father, Dusty, this week. He admitted posting them, but said he was drunk from celebrating his birthday, and was only joking, although conceded his posts were dis-respectful to the deceased HOF'er and that should not have said he would kill Cody.
WWE wedding:
Aleister Black and Zelina Vega were married this week.
TLC:
Finn Balor vs Drew McIntyre and Bobby Lashley vs Elias are booked for TLC. Bar vs New Day vs Uso's for the blue Tag is also on.
ROH concede defeat:
ROH's COO says he does not expect to see Cody Rhodes or the Young Bucks in his promotion in 2019.
Becky Lynch:
ESPN have named Becky Lynch WWE wrestler of the month, it is the first time a woman has landed the top spot on their list.
XFL:
The 8 cities that will contest the return season of XFL are official, although earlier than planned. Someone hacked the website and released the info. A press event had been booked for next week. The plan is to expand over time to 21 teams, but only 8 will be involved in season 1, and they are...
- Dallas, Texas
- Houston, Texas
- Los Angeles, California
- New York
- St. Louis, Missouri
- Seattle, Washington
- Tampa Bay, Florida
- Washington, DC
Raw rib:
Kalisto has revealed that Sasha Banks outs him whenever he is out of kayfabe (No mask)...
"That's the cool thing about me, I guess, I get my privacy because nobody knows what I look like. I can go in and out at a restaurant or whatever, bar, anywhere! Anywhere I want to go and I don't get bothered. Now, apart from when I'm with Sasha, 'hey, that got to be Kalisto, right?' I'm like, 'eeh, hey, what's up, man? Do you want a picture?'"
Y2J makes Impact:
Chris Jericho has posted a picture of himself with Impact execs today.
Hacksaw Jim Duggan:
Jim Duggan has discussed his ''Terrifying'' health issue. He said he had been feeling some tightness in his chest, since flying back from a convention, but put it down to a muscle tear that had bothered him for years, (he hadn't had it corrected) so ignored it. He then spent the weekend helping his daughter move house and was struggling to carry boxes up the stairs due to breathlessness. He started to become alarmed at how much he was struggling to breathe and his wife decided to take him to the hospital, although he protested. He has been diagnosed with a heart complication, but says his his spirits are good.
ROH win again:
ROH have reportedly sealed a deal with another WWE target. This time PCO, FKA Quebecer Pierre. They also snagged the signature of MLW's Brody King.
Xavier Woods vs fans:
Xavier Woods has launched into a scathing attack on wrestling fans...
"You just got an awesome wrestling show on Saturday night, you just had an awesome wrestling show on Sunday, then you're gonna watch Raw on Monday, and SmackDown on Tuesday, then NXT. What are you complaining about? And then like, you can watch New Japan. You can watch Triple A. You can watch so much wrestling from all corners of the world. And it's all awesome and it's all good. It's all different guys and girls portraying their form of art that they love – that they wanna give to you. So anytime anyone complains about wrestling it's so annoying to me because people come off as these entitled infants. Because in reality, wrestling hurts so bad. And then we're hurting ourselves to entertain the masses. And sometimes the masses wanna tell us how much it sucks."
He may have been in a bad mood after a (Racial) altercation at the airport. The customs team in Malaysia pulled him aside, thinking he was Kofi Kingston. Xavier told him he was the other black guy (Implying a racial slant to the confrontation) and the agent sent him into a darkened room to meet more senior officials, where he was asked why he was lying about his identity.
Titus awarded:
Titus O'Neil was at the Ebony 100 gala last night, as one of the named honourees for 2018.
Switch back:
WWE are swapping the pre Mania NXT event and HOF ceremony back around after experimenting this year. NXT will be on Friday night, HOF on Saturday.
Brother Love reveals who trained Shane-O-Mac:
''I remember when he was on the road with us on the ring crew and as a referee. We were given strict instructions about not giving Shane any bumps and to take care of him and all this other crap, but he would get to the towns early and set up the ring and would ask me and Randy Savage whether Randy minded him showing Shane some stuff. So, Randy and I would go to the buildings early in the afternoon after the ring was set up and work with him. I was the first one that had to take some of those stiff a** crazy tackles from that crazy son of a b***h, and I remember the first time he locked up with Randy and Randy telling him to loosen up. It's a dance, not a fight, so loosen up. We would go in the ring and every day we were on the road we would get in the ring with him during the day and work out in the ring a little bit, then go to the gym and work out. That was early on when he was on the ring crew."
Cody's good deed:
Cody Rhodes has released a charity tee to support neglected animals that are caught up in disaster emergencies.
