Tonight’s AEW Rampage on TNT at 10/9C.
- Hangman Page vs. Wheeler Yuta
- AEW Women’s Champion Jamie Hayter vs. Emi Sakura in a title eliminator match
- Best Friends & Danhausen vs. Jeff Jarrett, Satnam Singh & Jay Lethal
- Powerhouse Hobbs vs. TBA
Author: John Bass
WWE SmackDown Preview 1/27/2023
Tonight’s WWE SmackDown will air live tonight on FOX, and emanate from the Sames Auto Arena in Laredo, Texas. This is the go-home show for this Saturday’s Royal Rumble.
WWE Royal Rumble 1/28/2023 (Card)
Date: January 28, 2023
Location: Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas
CARD
30-MAN ROYAL RUMBLE MATCH:
Participants: Austin Theory, Baron Corbin, Bobby Lashley, Braun Strowman, Cody Rhodes, Drew McIntyre, Gunther, Karrion Kross, Kofi Kingston, Rey Mysterio, Ricochet, Santos Escobar, Seth Rollins, Sheamus, Omos, Dominik Mysterio and TBD
30-WOMAN ROYAL RUMBLE MATCH:
Participants: Candice LeRae, Emma, Liv Morgan, Raquel Rodriguez, Rhea Ripley, Shayna Baszler, Zelina Vega and TBD
MOUNTAIN DEW PITCH BLACK MATCH:
Bray Wyatt vs. LA Knight
UNDISPUTED WWE UNIVERSAL CHAMPIONSHIP:
Roman Reigns (c) vs. Kevin Owens
RAW WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP:
Bianca Belair (c) vs. Alexa Bliss
Latest News On Why Stephanie McMahon Resigned From WWE
Earlier this month, Stephanie McMahon stepped down as Chairwoman and co-CEO of WWE. The news came just days after her father, Vince McMahon, reinstated himself to WWE’s Board of Directors after retiring last summer amid multiple sexual misconduct allegations. More details have now emerged regarding Stephanie’s resignation.
According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Stephanie was “about to be demoted” following her father’s return, so she ultimately decided to completely step away from the company with the knowledge that she didn’t require the job — or its paycheck — moving forward. Of course, Stephanie began a sabbatical last year, but was brought back into the fold when the allegations against Vince were made public by the Wall Street Journal. Additionally, WON notes that her departure signaled “a lot stronger move,” instead of resuming her leave of absence and remaining on WWE’s Board.
Stephanie, who became a full-time employee of WWE after graduating from Boston University in 1998, posted a statement online revealing her resignation and clarified that she would still support WWE “from the other side of the business.” Meanwhile, her husband, Paul “Triple H” Levesque, remains in charge of WWE’s creative as Chief Content Officer, despite Vince’s comeback. Her father, now serving as Executive Chairman once again, is seeking out “strategic alternatives” for the promotion regarding upcoming U.S. media rights negotiations and a potential sale of the company. WWE has brought financial experts JP Morgan on board to assist the sale process, with several suitors reportedly interested in buying the organization, including Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
Warner Bros. Discovery Reportedly Banned The Briscoes For More Than Jay’s Offensive Slurs
Mark Briscoe appeared on “AEW Dynamite” this past Wednesday and took on Jay Lethal to honor the memory of Jay Briscoe, who passed away earlier this month. However, Tony Khan confirmed that he “fought hard” to get Mark on the show as Warner Bros. Discovery executives previously banned them from appearing on AEW programming on TBS and TNT. Furthermore, their reasons for doing so were reportedly two-fold.
Previously, it was noted that WBD had a problem with Jay’s homophobic tweet from 2013, for which he apologized several times in the years that followed. At first, it was assumed that Mark had been banned because he was associated with his brother, but the latest edition of the “Wrestling Observer Newsletter” reported that WBD executives had issues with the Briscoes for wearing the Confederate Flag on their gear in the past.
Per the “WON” article, this is why AEW wasn’t allowed to host a tribute show for Jay on TBS or TNT following his death. AEW’s deal with WBD means that the media company has the power to ban anyone from AEW programming, so the situation was out of Khan’s hands until he convinced the relevant executives to reconsider.
It now seems that WBD has relaxed its stance regarding Mark Briscoe showing up on AEW television. Earlier this week, it was revealed that he’s been given the green light to appear on AEW television going forward. Meanwhile, the latest episode of “Dynamite” featured a tribute video for Jay and discussions about his career from the show’s commentary team.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
Jerry “The King” Lawler Wrestles In Match For 53rd Straight Year
Jerry “The King” Lawler has competed in at least one wrestling match for 53 straight years.
Lawler can claim that distinction after working on an independent show on January 21 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The WWE Hall of Famer defeated the Beer City Bruiser at the event, titled Acts of War Games 2.
Source: eWrestlingNews
WWE Royal Rumble Breaks Record For Largest U.S. Non-WrestleMania Gate
The WWE Royal Ruble 2023 PLE has broken the record for the live gate of any U.S.-based event that isn’t a WrestleMania.
The Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that with a live gate of over $7 million, the show has beaten any non-Mania event in the U.S. and has surpassed most WrestleManias.
WWE was hoping that the gate would surpass $8 million, which would have seen the show surpass Clash at the Castle for the largest non-WrestleMania live gate in wrestling.
It was reported last November that the show had reached the highest live gate of any Royal Rumble event.
WWE is off to a strong start for next year’s Royal Rumble pay-per-view event as the company announced in a statement to Pwinsider that the event has broken the largest gate in the history of the event. The statement reads as follows,
“WWE Royal Rumble 2023 – slated for Saturday, January 28 – has broken the company’s record for largest gate in the event’s 36-year history.
Over the weekend, Royal Rumble surpassed the $5M mark and previous record holder from 2017 – the last time the event was held at San Antonio’s AlamoDome.
This carries a 2022 trend into 2023 where WWE set gate records for many of its events, including WrestleMania, Extreme Rules and Crown Jewel.”
The Observer adds that WWE is expected to announce an attendance figure in excess of 50,000 since they’ve already used that number on television.
Source: eWrestlingNews
MLW Sends WWE Cease And Desist Letter
Major League Wrestling has sent a cease and desist letter to WWE, according to Dave Meltzer.
The issue stemmed from WWE reaching out to several contracted MLW wrestlers to appear on the Raw 30th anniversary show this past Monday.
Meltzer said,
“One would think it would have been members of the Anoa’i and Fatu family for the planned family acknowledgment ceremony, which ended up falling through. MLW sources have said Court Bauer told the talent to have WWE reach out to them directly, and didn’t say he wouldn’t allow them to appear, just to go through him. They never did and the segment ended up being canceled for the reasons noted earlier. WWE didn’t respond to questions regarding the cease and desist or the claim.”
Source: eWrestlingNews
AEW Hit With Copyright Lawsuit Over Luchasaurus’ Mask Design
A lawsuit has been filed over the mask design used by AEW’s Luchasaurus.
On December 20, Composite Effects, LLC made a legal complaint against AEW and Austin Matelson (the real identity of Luchasurus), claiming that copyrighted material is being used for merchandise without the designer’s permission.
Composite Effects claims that it owns licensing and design rights for the mask, which AEW has overstepped by producing merchandise. They state the following,
“Matelson was entitled to use the mask in events as a wrestler, but neither he nor anyone acting on his behalf was entitled to create merchandise that incorporated the mask design.”
The lawsuit features various examples of AEW using the mask design for merchandise, including on t-shirts and for action figures.
Matelson worked with Composite Effects in late 2016 for a modified version of their ‘Viper Silicone Mask’ and a modified version was created in March 2019 to add horns.
Composite Effects claims it wrote messages in 2022 to AEW and Matelson asking them to stop using the design or come to a licensing agreement, but no deal was made.
The case is filed in U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Louisiana, where Composite Effects is based.
Source: eWrestlingNews
MLW Fusion Preview 1/26/2023
MLW FUSION tonight at 8pm ET streaming worldwide on Pro Wrestling TV and Saturday 8pm ET nationwide on cable television on beIN SPORTS.
This week’s card:
- World Women’s Featherweight Championship: Taya Valkyrie (champion) vs Trish Adora
- Sam Adonis vs. Johnny Patch
- DRAGONGATE’s YAMATO in action!
AZTECA Lucha’s seemingly unstoppable World Featherweight Champion Taya Valkyrie puts the gold on the line against military veteran and fast rising featherweight contender Trish Adora!
Can Trish turn the division on its axis and unseat Cesar Duran’s prized luchadora, or will Taya Valkyrie knock off another top ranked featherweight and bring home the gold to AZTECA? Tune in and find out!
Jacob Fatu and the Samoan SWAT Team lay down the gauntlet on World Heavyweight Champion Alex Hammerstone and the rest of the MLW roster as they look to zero in on championship gold in the near future.
Richard Holliday speaks exclusively! TONIGHT.
“El Rudo De Las Chicas” Sam Adonis makes his MLW debut!
MLW camera’s travel to Japan as the record breaking 5-time Open The Freedom Gate Champion YAMATO competes in a DRAGONGATE ring.
Alex Kane drops big plans for 2023, but a vindictive Davey Boy Smith Jr and his cousins The Billington Bulldogs have quite the ultimatum for the disrespectful BOMAYE Fight Club captain and his team.
