Trish Stratus Coming Out Of Retirement For Match At WWE WrestleMania 39

Trish Stratus will officially come out of retirement at WrestleMania 39, joining forces with WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Becky Lynch and Lita in a six-woman match against Damage CTRL. The match was made official on this week’s “WWE Raw” where Lita and Lynch thanked Stratus for helping them even the odds in their rivalry against Bayley & Co. 

Stratus stepped out and told Lita “I’ll always have your back” and that it was a pleasure to watch her win gold with “The Man.” At this point, Damage CTRL confronted the three women in the ring.

“You two [Lita and Stratus] are legitimately the reasons why we are in this ring right now,” Bayley said, thanking the Hall of Famers for their contributions to the business. “That said, the three of us [Damage CTRL] are going to be the reasons you never come back!”

At this point, Stratus referenced her promo from “Raw” last August, where she teased stepping out of retirement. 

“I warned I could go real quick from ‘I am retired’ to ‘I was retired,'” Stratus reiterated. “I couldn’t think of a better place to shut your mouth up than at the Grandest Stage of Them All!”

Stratus then looked at the WrestleMania sign and issued the challenge to Damage CTRL.

Bayley immediately accepted the challenge, something that seemed to upset IYO SKY and Dakota Kai. Thereafter, Stratus and Lita delivered tandem offense to throw SKY and Kai out of the ring, leaving Lynch and Bayley to come face-to-face in the ring. The segment ended with an upset Damage CTRL retreating from the ring.

It remains to be seen if Damage CTRL implodes at WrestleMania 39, seeing as WWE teased some tension between the trio on Monday’s show.

Stratus had previously retired following her loss to Charlotte Flair at SummerSlam 2019 in her hometown of Toronto. Subsequently, Stratus teased the possibility of unretiring for a match against Lynch, especially when Lynch was portraying her “Big Time Becks” heel persona. Stratus would also get physical at a pair of WWE live events last August, coming to the aid of Alexa Bliss and Asuka during their rivalry with Damage CTRL. As such, the news of Stratus coming out of retirement has been widely expected and is not surprising in the least.

Besides the aforementioned six-woman match, the confirmed lineup for WrestleMania 39 includes Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes, John Cena vs. Austin Theory, Rhea Ripley vs. Charlotte Flair, Asuka vs. Bianca Belair, Brock Lesnar vs. Omos, and Logan Paul vs. Seth Rollins. Other rumored matches include Bobby Lashley vs. Bray Wyatt, Edge vs. Finn Balor, Rey Mysterio vs. Dominik Mysterio, and Sami Zayn & Kevin Owens vs. The Usos. 

Source: Wrestling Inc.

John Cena Accepts Austin Theory’s Title Challenge For WrestleMania 39

John Cena made his much anticipated WWE return last night on RAW and accepted a major challenge from reigning United States Champion Austin Theory for a title match at WrestleMania 39.

Cena hit the ring and as he was about to speak, Theory popped up, interrupted The Champ, and issued a challenge to face him for the WWE United States Title at WrestleMania 39.

Cena initially rejected the challenge and roasted Theory on the mic, noting that the latter didn’t believe in himself and lacked any heart or soul. This led to Theory asking Cena where his “Hustle, Loyalty, and Respect” have been.

Theory added that Cena would disappoint the WWE Universe if he refused to compete at WrestleMania, to which the 16-time World Champion declared that he was trying to protect Theory.

According to Cena, Theory wasn’t ready to face him at WrestleMania and would lose everything in such a high-stakes bout. Cena then asked the WWE Universe about their opinion, and the live audience cheered for him to wrestle Theory.

Ultimately, Cena accepted Theory’s challenge, and the match was made official.

Source: eWrestlingNews

WWE RAW Preview 3/6/2023

WWE Raw will air live tonight on the USA Network and emanate from TD Garden in Boston, MA.

AEW Revolution 3/5/2023 (Results)

ZERO HOURTRIOS MATCH
Mark Briscoe and Lucha Brothers defeated Ari Daivari and The Varsity Athletes by pinfall

(JAS Banned From Ringside)
Ricky Starks defeated Chris Jericho by pinfall

THE FINAL BURIAL
Jungle Boy Jack Perry defeated Christian Cage

AEW WORLD TRIOS CHAMPIONSHIP:
The House of Black defeated The Elite (c) by pinfall to become new AEW World Trios Champions

AEW WOMEN’S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP:
Jamie Hayter (c) defeated Ruby Soho and Saraya by pinfall on Soho

As soon as the bell rings Toni Storm jumps Britt Baker and Jamie Hayter as they beat down the originals. However, Soho finally chooses a side and she teams with the originals, sending them out of the ring. She gets respect from the champion but then she turns and Soho takes both women down. Storm attacks a cameraman and smashes the camera while Soho spray paints the women and officially joins Saraya’s group.

TEXAS DEATHMATCH:
“Hangman” Adam Page defeated Jon Moxley by submission

AEW TNT CHAMPIONSHIP:
Wardlow defeated Samoa Joe (c) by submission to become new TNT Champion

AEW WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP –FOUR-WAY :
The Gunns (c) defeated The Acclaimed, Jay Lethal & Jeff Jarrett and Orange Cassidy & Danhausen by pinfall (on Danhausen)

The Gunns celebrate their win in the ring before being interviewed by Renee Paquette. They take a moment to brag, asking the crowd “who’s an Ass Boy now!?” They talk about the teams they have beaten, declaring themselves the best tag team in the world…before FTR’s music hits as they hit the stage, rushing down the ring to go after the champs! This ends with a spike piledriver on Colten, followed by a Big Rig (Shatter Machine) on Austin!

AEW WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP – 60-MINUTE IRON MAN MATCH:
MJF (c) defeated. Bryan Danielson 4-3

Danielson locks in another single-leg crab and MJF’s ring is taken from him by the official. He grabs the ropes but also taps at the same time so Danielson thinks he has won. Danielson then looks over the apron but he gets smashed in the head with the oxygen tank and then MJF locks in the Lebell Lock, and despite Danielson fighting against it, he eventually taps. 

AEW Rampage Preview 3/3/2023

Special live AEW Revolution 2023 “go-home” episode tonight of AEW Rampage from the Cow Palace in San Francisco, California on TNT at 10/9C.

  • Top Flight (Darius Martin & Dante Martin) vs. Dark Order (Alex Reynolds & John Silver) vs. Blackpool Combat Club (Claudio Castagnoli & Wheeler Yuta) vs. Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis)
  • Naturally Limitless (Dustin Rhodes & Keith Lee) vs. Mogul Affiliates (Swerve Strickland & Parker Boudreaux)

WWE SmackDown Preview 3/3/2023

WWE SmackDown will air live tonight on FOX, and emanate from the Capital One Arena in Washington, DC.

Jay White Officially A Free Agent, No Confirmation Of Upcoming Jump To WWE, AEW Possibility

Jay White is officially on the move, but where to seems to still be up in the air.

In the latest edition of the weekly Wrestling Observer Newsletter, veteran pro wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer confirmed that the former IWGP World Heavyweight Champion is officially a free agent after his NJPW contract expired at the end of last month. 

Meltzer reported that all indications point toward White heading to WWE but “there has still been no confirmation of that.” He added, “If he is going to WWE, it’s not something well known within the company by many because multiple people who normally know haven’t heard his name mentioned.”

White’s tenure with NJPW has been seemingly wrapping up over the past two months. In January, the former Bullet Club leader dropped the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship to Kazuchika Okada in the main event at Wrestle Kingdom 17. 

Then last month, he lost two apparent farewell matches, first losing to his former stablemate Hikuleo in a “loser leaves Japan” match at The New Beginning in Osaka and then losing to Eddie Kingston in a “loser leaves NJPW” match at Battle in the Valley. After White’s loss to Hikuleo, the wrestler posted photos of his time in Japan on social media with the caption, “Peace. #SwitchbladeEra.” And after his loss to Kingston, his opponent bowed to him after leaving the ring and joined the crowd in applauding him.

Several reports have since indicated WWE has heavy interest in bringing White into the fold and that officials there are “confident” he’s coming, though a jump to AEW or the broader independent scene also remains possible.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

AEW Revolution 3/5/2023 (Card)

  • Date: March 5, 2023
  • Location: Chase Center in San Francisco, California

For the United States, AEW Revolution commences on Sunday at 5 PM PT (8 PM ET; 7 PM CT), preceded by a pre-show (Zero Hour) an hour earlier.

While the pay-per-view option is available for $50, AEW Revolution can also be streamed via Bleacher Report’s app or website for the same cost.

CARD

AEW WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP – 60-MINUTE IRON MAN MATCH:
MJF (c) vs. Bryan Danielson

TEXAS DEATHMATCH:
“Hangman” Adam Page vs. Jon Moxley

AEW TNT CHAMPIONSHIP:
Samoa Joe (c) vs. Wardlow

AEW WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP –FOUR-WAY :
The Gunns (c) vs. The Acclaimed vs. Jay Lethal and Jeff Jarrett vs. Orange Cassidy and Danhausen

THREE-WAY TAG TEAM MATCH FOR THE AEW WOMEN’S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP:
Jamie Hayter (c) vs. Ruby Soho vs. Saraya

(JAS Banned From Ringside)
Chris Jericho vs. Ricky Starks

AEW WORLD TRIOS CHAMPIONSHIP:
The Elite (c) vs. The House of Black

THE FINAL BURIAL
Christian Cage vs. Jungle Boy Jack Perry

ZERO HOURTRIOS MATCH
Varsity Athletes and Ari Daivari vs. Mark Briscoe and Lucha Brothers

Impact Wrestling Preview 3/2/2023

The fallout from No Surrender begins on an all-new IMPACT! this Thursday at 8/7c on AXS TV and 8:30pm ET on YouTube for IMPACT Insiders.

  • Impact Wrestling Tag Team Champions The Motor City Machine Guns vs. Bullet Club’s Ace Austin & Chris Bey.
  • X-Division Champion Trey Miguel vs. PCO.
  • Kenny King vs. Kevin Knight.
  • Speedball Mike Bailey vs. the debuting Shane Haste.
  • Impact Knockouts Champion Mickie James to appear

ROH TV Preview 3/2/2023

ROH will air the first episode of the New Era of Honor weekly television show tonight at 7 pm ET on HonorClub. 

The new era of Honor begins at 7/6c on http://WATCHROH.com

You can sign up for the streaming service here.

  • ROH World Championship: Claudio Castagnoli (c) vs. AR Fox
  • NJPW World Television Championship: Zack Sabre Jr (c) vs. Blake Christian
  • Mark Briscoe vs. Slim J
  • The Kingdom (Matt Taven & Mike Bennett) vs. The Infantry (Carlie Bravo & Shawn Dean)
  • Christopher Daniels vs. Rohit Raju
  • Konosuke Takeshita vs. Josh Woods
  • The Embassy (Bishop Kaun, Brian Cage & Toa Liona) vs. Joe Keys, LSG & Rex Lawless
  • Ari Daivari vs. Metalik
  • Madison Rayne & Skye Blue vs. The Renegade Twins
  • Willow Nightingale vs. Lady Frost