Author: John Bass

WWE NXT Preview 1/25/22

Tonight’s WWE NXT 2.0 episode on the USA Network will feature the final first round matches in the 2022 Men’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic.

Impact TV Tapings Reportedly Hit Hard By COVID-19

The weekend Impact Wrestling tapings in Pembroke Pines, Florida were reportedly hit hard by COVID-19.

Impact officials dealt with a lot of issues related to COVID-19 at the tapings on Friday and Saturday, according to PWInsider. A number of talent and staff missed the tapings due to medical protocols, whether it was testing positive for COVID-19 or being in close contact with someone who had tested positive.

It was noted by one Impact source that the COVID issues this past weekend were the “worst they had seen” in a long time, and that there were a lot of pivots & re-writes over the course of the week.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE Reportedly Attempting To Persuade Ronda Rousey To Return

According to a recent Fightful report, WWE is hoping to lure former WrestleMania main-eventer Ronda Rousey back to the ring.

WWE bosses reportedly want Ronda Rousey to get back in the ring and are doing all they can to make it happen.

Per Fightful Select, WWE is attempting to persuade Rousey to return to the company for the first time since 2019. Fightful reports that a potential Rousey return has been discussed so much that it is considered a “poorly kept secret” as even some people outside the company are aware of the efforts to lure Rousey back. Fightful also reports that Rousey’s name was mentioned as a potential surprise entrant in the 2022 Women’s Royal Rumble.

Rousey hasn’t been seen on WWE programming since April 2019, when she competed in the main event of WrestleMania 35 with Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair. Becky Lynch won that match, bringing an end to Rousey’s 231-day reign as Raw Women’s Champion. Lynch believes Rousey wants to return to get her win back.

“We have a lot of people,” Lynch said in an interview with Graham Matthews of Bleacher Report last November. “Then, of course, is Ronda Rousey going to be champing at the bit to get back now that she sees what I’ve accomplished? Maybe she’d want to accomplish the same, maybe she’ll want to get retribution for the loss I gave her at WrestleMania 35. The same loss that’s caused me to be champion ever since,” Lynch added.

According to Wrestling Inc, Rousey’s contract came to an end in April of last year, and since there’s been no word of her signing a new deal, she is almost certainly a free agent.

Last September, Rousey and her husband Travis Browne welcomed their first child as a couple, La’akea Makalapuaokalanipō Browne, to the world. La’akea is the first child Rousey and Browne have had together, and Browne’s third child overall as Rousey is a step-mom to two from Browne’s previous relationship.

Source: TheSportster

Brian Kendrick Has Requested His Release From WWE

The WWE release train refused to stop rolling in 2021, and it doesn’t appear to be running short on steam this year either. WWE kicked off the year by letting go of a number of its backstage staff in NXT. That was followed up by Mustafa Ali requesting his release, although the former Retribution leader doesn’t appear to have been granted his request at the time of this posting.

According to PWInsider, Ali isn’t the only Superstar waiting for WWE to grant a release request. The site has confirmed with multiple sources that Brian Kendrick asked to be released as far back as six weeks ago but is yet to be told he is free to leave. Kendrick hasn’t wrestled on WWE TV since October 2020 and even said he had retired from in-ring competition.

Kendrick has remained busy behind the scenes though, working with talent in NXT and on 205 Live. He even briefly returned to TV recently as a part of an angle involving NXT 2.0 stars Joe Gacy and Harland. Kendrick was thrown down the stairs during one of Harland’s fits of rage. That was supposed to lead to a match between the two, but it never came to fruition.

The timing of the angle and Kendrick’s reported release request is certainly very interesting. What’s unclear is when exactly Kendrick requested his release, and therefore what triggered it. Whether WWE knew he was unhappy with his lot in the company and started up an angle in an attempt to appease him, or if the angle was WWE’s idea and his involvement is what led Kendrick to ask if he could leave the company.

Source: TheSportster

WWE RAW Preview 1/24/22

Tonight’s WWE RAW will take place from the Huntington Center in Toledo, Ohio with the go-home build for the Royal Rumble.

WWE NXT Stand & Deliver, WWE Hall Of Fame And More Confirmed For WrestleMania 38 Week

The second WWE NXT Stand & Deliver event has been confirmed for WrestleMania 38 Weekend near Dallas, TX.

WWE announced today that NXT Stand & Deliver, without the Takeover name, will take place in the Dallas area leading up to WrestleMania 38, which takes place on Saturday, April 2 and Sunday, April 3 from AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX.

The previous Stand & Deliver event was a two-night event, but there’s no word yet on if Stand & Deliver II will take place over two nights.

WWE also confirmed that RAW, SmackDown and the 2022 WWE Hall of Fame induction ceremony will take place in the Dallas area during WrestleMania 38 Week. There will also be “an unprecedented” Superstore Axxess for fans.

WWE will be announcing full details on the WrestleMania 38 Week events in the coming weeks.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

NJPW Cancels/Postpones Remaining Shows In January

New Japan Pro-Wrestling has canceled or postponed all of its remaining shows scheduled for January. New Japan made the announcement early Monday.

“With a number of wrestlers presenting elevated temperatures or being in close contact with same, and in accordance with event protocols, New Japan Pro-Wrestling has arrived at the difficult decision to cancel or postpone remaining live events on the schedule for January.

“We deeply apologize to fans for the inconvenience, disappointment, and concern caused by this decision, and appreciate your understanding.”

New Japan canceled three shows. They were scheduled for Tuesday, January 25 at the Toyota Crown Arena in Fukushima, Saturday, January 29 at Tokyo’s Korakuen Hall, and Sunday, January 30 at Kamisu Bousai Arena in Ibaraki.

New Japan postponed and rescheduled the fourth show. It announced a new date on Monday. The show scheduled for Friday, January 28 will now be held on Monday, April 18 at Nagoya Congress Center Event Hall in Aichi.

Monday’s announcement came after New Japan pulled six wrestlers from a show last Friday. Toru Yano, Satoshi Kojima, Tomoaki Honma, Minoru Suzuki, Taichi, and TAKA Michinoku had participated in a 6-man tag team match on last Thursday’s New Japan show at Korakuen Hall. New Japan said one of the participants in the match was found to have a high temperature. It did not specify who that wrestler was.

New Japan held events over the weekend in Gunma and Tochigi. None of the wrestlers pulled from Friday’s card appeared on those shows.

All of the shows are part of the company’s Golden Series tour. It’s part of the celebration of the company’s 50th anniversary.

New Japan plans to resume live touring on Sunday, February 6 with its show in Chiba. Its next major show is at Xebio Arena Sendai on Friday, February 11. The scheduled main event for that card is El Desperado defending the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship against Master Wato.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

The Wrld On GCW Results 1/23/2022

Kickoff Show

– Big Vin wins the Pabst Blue Ribbon Battle Royal – Thunder Rosa and Lufisto also entered as surprises

– The Grim Reefer def. Shane Mercer vs. Alex Zayne vs. Jack Cartwheel vs. Ninja Mack vs. Dante Leon in a Scramble match

Main Show

Grab The Brass Ring Ladder Match
AJ Gray defeated Jordan Oliver vs. Jimmy Lloyd vs. Alex Colon vs. G-Raver vs. PCO vs Tony Deppen
Winner can choose any match at any time.

Team Gringo (Gringo Loco, Demonic Flamita, Arez) defeated Team Bandido (Bandido, Laredo Kid, ASF)

Blake Christian defeated Lio Rush

Matt Cardona with Chelsea Green defeated Joey Janela

WWE Hall of Famer X-Pac didn’t wrestle, but he did rush the ring with his DX music blaring in an attempt to help out Joey Janela. The Bad Boy was battling deathmatch legend Matt Cardona and ultimately failed to beat the former GCW Champion despite X-Pac’s best efforts. Marko Stunt, Hornswoggle, Brian Myers, and Virgil also got involved in the match.

Ruby Soho defeated Allie Katch

Jeff Jarrett defeated Effy

GCW World Title Match
Jon Moxley (c) defeated Homicide

Open Challenge for the GCW World Tag Team Titles
Matt Tremont & Nick Gage w/ Dewey Donovan defeated The Briscoes (c) to become the new GCW World Tag Team Champions

AEW Rampage Preview 1/21/22

Tonight’s AEW Rampage on TNT will be a live show from the Entertainment & Sports Arena in Washington, DC.

* Hook vs. Serpentico

* The Young Bucks vs. Roppongi Vice (Trent Beretta and Rocky Romero)

* AEW TBS Champion Jade Cargill defends against Anna Jay

* Jon Moxley vs. Ethan Page

WWE SmackDown Preview 1/21/22

Tonight’s WWE SmackDown on FOX will take place at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee with more build for the Royal Rumble.

Naomi gets an important rematch with SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair

WWE is also teasing another confrontation between Seth Rollins and WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns for tonight’s show.