Month: April 2024

Rhea Ripley Forced To Vacate Women’s World Title On WWE Raw

Sometimes it’s best to get the bad news out of the way first. Such was the case for the Rhea Ripley tonight, as the WWE Women’s World Champion kicked off “WWE Raw” by confirming rumors that swirled all day saying she was dealing with a serious injury and may need to vacate her title. That indeed turned out to be the case, with Ripley blaming the backstage attack from Liv Morgan last week as the reason for her now having to miss “quite a few months” and being forced to relinquish the title she has held since

Ripley entered with her right arm in a sling and though she raised her title to show the crowd, her entrance was otherwise devoid of its usual flair. Her face told the story even further, carrying a scowl all the way down the ramp. And when she took the ring, immediately, she addressed the issue at hand. “So, obviously, you guys know what’s going on right now, yeah?” she asked. “I’m angry right now. I’m pissed off. You know why? Because I’ve been told that I need to vacate the one thing that means the most to me: my Women’s World Championship.”

With the crowd chanting “bulls***,” Ripley concurred, saying, “Yeah, it is,” before laying down her belt and calling out Morgan, saying this was all because of her “stupid revenge tour.” Morgan took the stage, surrounded by security, and Ripley was soon flanked as well, with officials doing enough to keep the two apart, despite Ripley headbutting one guard and staring off another. In a backstage segment to follow, Ripley was embraced by the rest of The Judgment Day and she told them to keep the group on top before parting with a “Te amo” toward her stablemates.

PWInsider reports that Ripley was injured last week during a backstage segment between her and Liv Morgan, where Morgan attacked Ripley with a chair. No details were provided on the type of injury Ripley suffered, but it is believed to be severe enough that it could lead to Ripley being forced to vacate the Women’s World Championship on tonight’s episode of “Raw.” It’s unclear what direction WWE would take should Ripley be forced to vacate.

Though Ripley’s focus had largely been on Lynch over the past several months, the Judgment Day star has had issues with Morgan throughout 2024, since Morgan returned during the Women’s Royal Rumble match back in January. Morgan had missed six months of action before returning due to a shoulder injury, and was written off of TV after being brutally attacked by Ripley with a chair prior to a scheduled match between them on “SmackDown.”

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE RAW Preview 4/15/2024

Tonight’s WWE Monday Night Raw live on the USA Network from the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

  • Intercontinental Championship: Sami Zayn (c) vs. Chad Gable
  • The return of Sheamus
  • Women’s World Champion Rhea Ripley addresses Liv Morgan’s chair attack from last week
  • Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Cody Rhodes to appear
  • Jey Uso vs. Judgment Day’s Finn Balor
  • Andrade vs. Dominik Mysterio
  • Katana Chance and Kayden Carter vs. Chelsea Green and Piper Niven
  • Candice LeRae and Indi Hartwell vs. Ivy Nile and Maxxine Dupri Dupri

Matt Hardy Comments On AEW Contract Expiring, Possible Return

Matt Hardy confirmed he is a free agent after his AEW contract expired earlier this month. Hardy reportedly rejected a new deal with AEW following his own admission that he had a formal contract offer on the table, and he provided further context on the matter during “The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy.” 

“I am a free agent right now,” he confirmed. “I have interacted with everyone, still interacting with AEW, and that’s where we’re at right now. Whenever my deal ended up running out, that allowed me the opportunity to negotiate and speak to everyone available, you know, really weigh all my options. That’s what I’m doing right now.”

Hardy joined AEW in 2020, not long after his WWE contract expired. Before his 2017 WrestleMania return to WWE, he had carved his way through the independent circuit and promotions like Ring of Honor and TNA. He confirmed that he has received many offers to return to the indies, but warned promoters that he was looking to get the best deal possible at this stage of his career. 

“Yes. I mean, I have [talked to other companies]… If you’re an indie promoter and you’re listening to this… I’m working on things, but if you don’t hear back from me don’t take it personally because I’m very overwhelmed with all the people that have reached out and requested… I’m working to get back to everybody as much as possible… I’m also gonna say I wanna make sure I go to the best place possible.” Furthermore, this could mean a return to AEW at some point.

Matt Hardy last wrestled for AEW during the January 5 episode of “AEW Rampage,” teaming alongside his brother Jeff Hardy and Mark Briscoe to defeat The Butcher, The Blade, and Kip Sabian. However, even as a free agent, Matt Hardy refuses to rule out a return to the promotion. 

“I think as time continued to move on and we were so close to the finish line, I do think I wanted to wait until everything ran out, and where I could weigh all my options. I could do things correctly from a legal standpoint and figure out what I wanna do next,” Hardy reasoned before reiterating, “I love AEW. I think AEW is paramount to the health of the pro wrestling industry. I’m a big advocate of the schedule they have, especially having four young children and a family, that kind of changes everything. You want your schedule to be as smart as possible when you get a little older, especially if you wanna be here to see your kids grow up. I am certainly not ruling [returning to AEW] out. I would love to do that because I do love the schedule.”

Hardy has previously said that either as a singles talent or teaming with his brother, he wants to ensure that he is optimized as he knows he has little left in the tank. Jeff Hardy reportedly remains signed with AEW, so any move elsewhere could spell the end of their reunion run. The brothers reunited in AEW in 2022 and looked on the cusp of capturing tag team gold again in the summer of that year. However, Jeff Hardy was arrested on a DUI, and they were subsequently removed from their championship match. 

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Backstage Report On The 2024 WWE Draft

The dust around WWE WrestleMania 40 has finally settled, and the company is now set to turn its attention to freshening up the roster with the annual WWE Draft. Beginning on April 26 on “WWE Smackdown” and concluding on April 29 on “WWE Raw,” it seems as if all three of WWE’s brands will be getting some shake-up in this year’s draft, with a reported renewed focus on “WWE NXT” in particular.

Sources close to “NXT’s” creative process told Fightful Select that there is a push to make it more of a third main roster brand, similar to how things were before the COVID-19 pandemic when “NXT” was also included in the brand warfare storyline at Survivor Series 2019. This means that there is a strong chance that main roster talent can be drafted to “NXT” in the upcoming draft, with Fightful reporting that appearances from Ivar and The Final Testament are examples of how stars from “Raw” and “Smackdown” are likely to make Tuesday nights their new home.

“NXT” names that have been thrown around as those who will be leaving the brand include Ilja Dragunov and Carmelo Hayes, who are reportedly seen as locks for a main roster call-up. Roxanne Perez, Baron Corbin, and Tony D’Angleo’s Family have also been discussed as potential draftees. However, Shawn Michaels has apparently told several talents he doesn’t know who will be called up. “NXT” will reportedly have a draft-heavy focus on the upcoming “Spring Breakin'” episodes of the show on April 23 and 30, with the roster being more or less finalized by Battleground, which takes place on June 9.

This year’s draft will take place on April 26 and 29, as WWE is looking to capitalize on the 2024 NFL Draft, which will take place between April 25 and 27. Fightful Select confirmed this, and the outlet also noted that this year’s draft could potentially have input from WWE’s upcoming media partners, Netflix and The CW.

“Smackdown” will move from FOX to the USA Network, and “NXT” will move from USA to The CW in October 2024, while “Raw” will begin its new era on Netflix at the beginning of 2025. While USA will also be able to have some input on who appears on “Smackdown,” the CW and Netflix have the chance to try and secure some big stars for their launch dates if they choose to. However, Fightful was told by one WWE source that “Raw’s” debut on Netflix is closer to the 2025 draft than the 2024 one, meaning that they won’t be worrying about what the rosters look like for a little while. 

“Smackdown” and “NXT” will both be moving to Netflix in 2025 for fans in the United Kingdom, Latin America, Canada, and various other markets at the same time as “Raw’s” move. Still, there has been no word on whether that will impact any of the movement in this year’s draft or whether the rules may become relaxed at the turn of the new year.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Jon Moxley Wins IWGP World Heavyweight Title with Historic Victory at NJPW Windy City Riot, Event Results

AEW’s Jon Moxley has added another massive accomplishment to his legendary career by becoming the new IWGP World Heavyweight Champion. 

In the main event of NJPW Windy City Riot, Moxley dethroned Tetsuya Naito for the gold. Naito had held the title since Wrestle Kingdom 18 in January 2024, where he had dethroned Sanada. 

Not only did Moxley win the gold, but he has also made history in the process. With this victory, the AEW star has become the first person to win the richest prize in New Japan, All Elite Wrestling, and WWE. 

After the match, Jon Moxley said he would not be decking any challengers and specifically singled out the Young Lions. He did, however, want to issue his first challenge and name his first title defense but fate had other plans.

Jon Moxley would call out Shota Umino, his personal young boy, and offer him his final exam in a match for the championship. Before Umino could answer the challenge, Ren Narita laid out MOX with a reinforced push-up bar.

Shota would eventually come out to save MOX and they both agreed that they would have a match for the championship once MOX exacted revenge on Narita. MOX promised Narita that he was a dead man walking.

No official date for Jon Moxley’s first championship defense has been set.

Moxley had two important allies by his side for his latest World Championship victory, most importantly his wife Renee Paquette.

AEW President Tony Khan was also spotted at the event and congratulated Mox on winning New Japan’s top prize in the same building where he first won the AEW World Championship.

NJPW Windy City Riot (4/12) Results

* Buy In: Matt Vandagriff def. Zane Jay

* Buy In: Alex Windsor & Trish Adora def. Mina Shirakawa & Viva Van

* Ren Narita def. Minoru Suzuki

– Narita hit Suzuki with a foreign object before pinning him.

* NJPW STRONG Women’s Championship: Stephanie Vaquer (c) def. AZM

– Alex Windsor challenges Vaquer for NJPW Resurgence

* NJPW STRONG Openweight Tag Team Championships: TMDK (Mikey Nicholls & Shane Haste) def. Guerrillas Of Destiny (El Phantasmo & Hikuleo) (c), The West Coast Wrecking Crew (Jorel Nelson & Royce Isaacs), Fred Rosser & Tom Lawlor

– West Coast Wrecking Crew (Royce Isaacs and Jorel Nelson) attacked Rosser & Lawlor and cut Lawlor’s hair.

* Shota Umino def. Jack Perry

– Jack Perry played into the heat with CM Punk through the match, coming out with a Riot Squad. Ultimately, he shook Shota’s hand after the match.

* Mustafa Ali def. Hiromu Takashi

* Riot Rules Match: Gabe Kidd, KENTA, Clark Connors, & David Finlay def. Eddie Kingston, Homicide, TJP, & Jeff Cobb

– Afterward, Kingston declared that he would defend the NJPW STRONG Championship against Kidd in a No-Rope Last Man Standing Fight at NJPW Resurgence.

* NJPW World Television Championship: Zack Sabre Jr. def. Matt Riddle (c)

– Jeff Cobb wants a future title shot and has a brief confrontation with the new champion.

* Nic Nemeth def. Tomohiro Ishii

* IWGP World Heavyweight Championship: Jon Moxley def. Tetsuya Naito (c)

– After, Jon Moxley cut a promo about wanting to be a fighting champion and not ducking the Young Lions. He challenges Shota Umino to be his first challenger but instead, he is attacked by Ren Narita who uses the same reinforced push-up bar that he hit Suzuki with earlier in the night on the new champion. Umino comes out to make the save but Moxley says Narita is a dead man.

AEW Collision & Battle Of The Belts X Preview 4/13/2024

AEW Collision & Battle of the Belts live on TNT from the Truist Arena in Highland Heights, KY.

Collision:

  • Bryan Danielson & Claudio Castangnoli vs. powerhouse Hobbs & Kyle Fletcher
  • AEW Women’s World Championship Eliminator Match: “Timeless” Toni Storm (c) vs. AZM
  • Lee Moriarty vs. Katsuyori Shibata
  •  House of Black vs. Dante Martin, Action Andretti & Matt Sydal

Battle of the Belts X:

  • AEW International Championship Eliminator Match: Roderick Strong (c) vs. Rocky Romero
  • FTW Championship Match: HOOK (c) vs. Shane Taylor
  • ROH Women’s Championship Match: Athena (c) vs. Red Velvet

Another Cryptic Message Airs On WWE SmackDown,

Piper and Chelsea Green were destroyed by Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill on this week’s show. The bigger news here is that there was another screen glitch with a message.

As the short match progressed, the screen glitched and the message “You forgot about us” appeared. A similar screen glitch took place on Monday’s episode of WWE RAW with the message reading “Hello.” This appears to be something related to Bray Wyatt – likely his brother Bo Dallas with the Uncle Howdy persona. There are also some rumors that Alexa Bliss and at least one other name will be involved in this.

Source: eWn

Tama Tonga Joins The Bloodline, Helps Destroy Jimmy Uso In WWE SmackDown Debut

Post-WrestleMania, the winds of change tend to blow in WWE. Last night on “WWE SmackDown,” Solo Sikoa took charge and seemingly ushered in a new era, booting Jimmy Uso from The Bloodline with the help of a debuting Tama Tonga, all to “The Wiseman” Paul Heyman’s apparent surprise.

Heyman, Sikoa, and Uso took the ring with newly-crowned WWE-Hall-of-Famer stating that they were there on the orders of “The Tribal Chief” Roman Reigns, who ordered that they give no excuses for coming up short against the new Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. After giving Rhodes his due and singling out his focus, Heyman was interrupted by Sikoa, who asked if winning and losing matters, if there are consequences to losing, and if consequences mean change. Answering in the affirmative to all, Heyman looked beyond concerned as Sikoa pushed him aside, hugged his brother Jimmy, telling him he loved him, all just to set him up for an attack from behind by an invading hooded figure, soon revealed to be Tonga. After Sikoa hit a series of Samoan Spikes, Tonga held up “the one,” and was joined by Sikoa first, and then a hesitant Heyman, who then told his iPhone to “call Roman Reigns.” Sikoa then ripped the phone away and smashed it before finishing Jimmy with a Hip Attack while Uso had a chair draped around his head.

Tonga, technically, is not family to The Samoan Dynasty but it has long been recognized that the Anoa’i-Maivia-Fatu bloodline considers him as much, as they do his father Haku and brothers Hikuleo and Tanga Loa of New Japan Pro-Wrestling Fame. With Loa, Tonga is a seven-time IWGP Tag Team Champion and a Ring of Honor Tag Team Champion, a four-time NEVER Openweight Champion, and a four-time NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Champion with Loa and various other partners.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

According to a report from Fightful Select, WWE has been interested in Tonga for a long time now. This dates all the way back to 2016 when they first signed AJ Styles, Karl Anderson, Luke Gallows and Shinsuke Nakamura. While WWE was interested, Tonga chose to stay in NJPW at the time in order to work with his brothers, Hikuleo and Tonga Loa.

WWE had interest in Hikuleo and Tama last year as well, but a hiring freeze occurred when Vince McMahon worked his way back into the company and prevented any new signings from taking place. As of this writing, there isn’t any word on whether Tonga had any talks with AEW. Additionally, it was added that it was pretty much a foregone conclusion that he was WWE-bound due to the positive relationship the two sides have.

It remains to be seen whether WWE is still interested in bringing in Hikuleo or Tonga Loa. Jacob Fatu has signed with WWE and was backstage at WrestleMania 40, so he’ll likely be added to the mix in the near future. One idea was discussed regarding Fatu and Tonga teaming up much like their fathers Tonga Kid and Haku did, but there’s no word on if that’s still the working plan.

Backstage Report On WWE Stars Seth Rollins And Becky Lynch Taking Some Time Off

Following the exciting events of WrestleMania 40, WWE Chief Content Officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque proclaimed that the company had officially entered into a new era. A pair of top stars can’t say the same, however, as they are reportedly expected to have a delayed entry in this new era.

According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, former WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins will be taking time off the road following his back-to-back performances at WrestleMania 40. The exact duration of Rollins’ hiatus is not yet known, although the hope, as of Monday, was that it would only last about four weeks (h/t Wrestling Observer Daily Update). Rollins last competed on night two of WrestleMania 40 as he unsuccessfully defended the World Heavyweight Championship against “The Scottish Warrior” Drew McIntyre. Rollins later appeared in the night’s closing contest, making good on his promise of being Cody Rhodes’ “shield” in his pursuit of capturing the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship.

Rollins’ real-life counterpart Becky Lynch is also believed to be taking some off of WWE television. Lynch last wrestled in the opening contest of WrestleMania 40 night one. Much like Rollins, though, Lynch’s efforts proved to be unsuccessful as she suffered a loss to WWE Women’s World Champion Rhea Ripley. There is no word on how long Lynch may be away from television. 

While there appears to be some answers regarding their imminent future in WWE, the long-term future of Rollins and Lynch still remains uncertain, as both their contracts are set to expire in June 2024.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

AEW Rampage Preview 4/12/2024

AEW Rampage tonight on TNT.

  • AEW TBS Championship: Julia Hart (c) vs. Leyla Hirsch
  • Jay White vs. Matt Sydal
  • Orange Cassidy vs. Alex Reynolds
  • Cool Hand Ang vs. Zak Knight