Author: John Bass

Jim Ross Announces Cancer-Free Diagnosis

The legendary Jim Ross says he is now cancer-free.

“I’m CANCER FREE! We did it! See you tonight on #AEWDYNAMITE at 8 ET! [folded hands emoji x 2] [cowboy hat face emoji],” he wrote.

JR originally planned to work while undergoing the 22 radiation treatments, but he has been away from AEW programming since they began. He will make his return tonight during the New Year’s Smash edition of Dynamite on TNT, which will air live from Daily’s Place in Jacksonville.

https://twitter.com/JRsBBQ/status/1476233642695598081

The veteran AEW and WWE commentator first announced his skin cancer diagnosis back in late October, noting that he had the issue for more than one year. He began undergoing treatments at the end of November.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

AEW Dynamite ‘New Year’s Smash’ Preview 12/29/21

The New Year’s Smash edition of AEW Dynamite on TNT will air live tonight from Daily’s Place in Jacksonville, Florida.

* Jim Ross returns

* Adam Cole, Bobby Fish and Kyle O’Reilly vs. Best Friends and Orange Cassidy

* Jade Cargill vs. Thunder Rosa in a semi-finals match for the AEW TBS Title Tournament

* Eddie Kingston, Santana and Ortiz vs. Daniel Garcia and 2point0

WWE NXT Preview 12/28/21, Brian Kendrick Returns

Tonight’s WWE NXT 2.0 episode on the USA Network will feature the go-home build for next week’s New Year’s Evil special.

WWE has announced that Grayson Waller will appear on tonight’s show as a follow-up to last night’s RAW segment with AJ Styles. He is also scheduled to face Dexter Lumis. Tonight’s NXT will also see Brian Kendrick return to the ring to face Harland. RAW Tag Team Champion Riddle is also scheduled to appear tonight as MSK calls out NXT Tag Team Champions Imperium.

WWE has announced the following for tonight’s NXT:

* The go-home build for New Year’s Evil

* Grayson Waller vs. Dexter Lumis, Waller goes viral following his RAW appearance

* Harland vs. Brian Kendrick

* NXT Women’s Tag Team Champions Gigi Dolin and Jacy Jayne vs. Cora Jade and Raquel Gonzalez in a non-title match

* RAW Tag Team Champion Riddle joins MSK as they call out NXT Tag Team Champions Imperium

* Wade Barrett moderates New Year’s Evil contract signing for the Title vs. Title Unification Match between NXT Cruiserweight Champion Roderick Strong and NXT North American Champion Carmelo Hayes

Lacey Evans Hints At WWE Return Being Imminent

While an official date hasn’t been announced, Lacey Evans has teased a return to WWE being right around the corner.

It appears as though Lacey Evans might be nearing a return to WWE. After going on leave to have another baby, Evans teased a return to the company and potential in-ring action being not far off when she answered a fan on social media asking when she’d be back. Evans noted, “Tell her I’m coming,” followed by an hourglass emoji.

https://twitter.com/LaceyEvansWWE/status/1475220391631237125

The video was of a young girl opening a Christmas stocking and a Lacey Evans action figure being inside, which absolutely delighted the young female fan. The mother of the child tagged the video and wrote, “she asked when Lacey would come back” to which Evans responded that she was coming soon and teased her return was right around the corner. Evans didn’t give an exact date and WWE hasn’t promoted her return to either Raw or SmackDown, but the Royal Rumble is not far away and Evans gave birth to her new baby in October.

Instagram posts in early November showed Evans was training in the ring and with the 2021 calendar year almost over and some of WWE’s top talents potentially being removed from shows due to ta COVID outbreak, one has to wonder if WWE pushes up Evans’ return or if something is scheduled.

Source: TheSportster

WWE Reportedly Ends Mandatory COVID Testing For Talent

WWE personnel have reportedly been told that they are no longer required to take COVID-19 tests — and they’re not all happy about it!

WWE talent have been told that they are no longer required to undergo regular COVID-19 testing … and some people aren’t happy about it.

According to Sean Ross Sapp over at Fightful Select (subscription recommended) members of WWE’s main and developmental rosters were informed of the change via email. Several WWE Superstars are believed to be in isolation after testing positive for COVID-19 and the reported rule change didn’t sit well with everyone.

Prior to the change of strategy, testing was mandatory and developmental talent at the Performance Center were required to submit two test results per week, while main roster talent on the road were required to submit one.

Fightful’s report comes the day after WWE was forced to make several last-minute changes to its Madison Square Garden house show card. Seth Rollins, Becky Lynch, Bianca Belair, and WWE Champion Big E all missed the show, and while the reason for the absences has not been officially confirmed, Rollins did seemingly confirm that he has COVID in a recent tweet.

WWE’s Day 1 pay-per-view is just a few days away and, as always, the card is subject to change. If Rollins tested positive for COVID over the weekend he will presumably have to quarantine for at least 10 days (unless he is a-symptomatic, in which case the CDC recommends a 5-day quarantine), which means he’ll likely miss the event at which he was initially scheduled to participate in a Fatal Four-Way match for the WWE Universal Championship with Kevin Owens, Bobby Lashley and WWE Champion Big E.

If, as some people suspect, WWE is currently dealing with an outbreak, its next few shows could be very interesting. But It wouldn’t be the first time the company has had to think fast and instigate last-minute changes in order to ensure its programming goes ahead. As you might recall, SmackDown was invaded by NXT talent when several members of the main roster became stranded in Saudi Arabia back in November of 2019.

Source: TheSportster

WWE RAW Preview 12/27/21

Tonight’s WWE RAW will take place at the Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan with the go-home build for the WWE Day 1 pay-per-view.

* The go-home build for WWE Day 1

* AJ Styles vs. Omos

* WWE United States Champion Damian Priest defends against Dolph Ziggler

* Austin Theory vs. Finn Balor

* RAW Tag Team Champion Randy Orton vs. Otis

* The Miz and Maryse renew their vows in the ring

Backstage Notes On WWE’s Approach To This Week With The COVID-19 Positives, Seth Rollins Reveals He Tested Positive For Covid-19

WWE has reportedly taken an approach of “the show must go on” to the upcoming week despite there being a number of wrestlers and staff who are unable to work due to positive COVID-19 tests, according to PWInsider.

Regarding talent availability for Saturday’s WWE Day 1 pay-per-view, word is that if the show was held tonight, multiple matches would have ot be changed, according to @Wrestlevotes. WWE officials are hopeful that they can keep the card as is, but everything is “fluid” at this point.

WWE will present a live RAW tonight from the Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, a live WWE NXT on Tuesday from the Performance Center, and then the live pay-per-view on Saturday from the State Farm Arena in Atlanta.

WWE Superstar Seth Rollins took to Twitter to reveal that he has tested positive for COVID-19.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

AEW Rampage Preview 12/25/21

Tonight’s AEW Rampage Holiday Bash edition will air on TNT from the Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, NC.

* TNT Championship: Sammy Guevara (C) vs. Cody Rhodes

* Hook vs. Bear Bronson

* Jungle Boy vs. Isiah Kassidy

* “Legit” Layla Hirsch vs. Kris Statlander

WWE SmackDown Preview 12/24/21

Tonight’s Christmas Eve edition of WWE SmackDown on FOX will not air live. The episode was taped this past Friday from the Allstate Arena near Chicago, IL

*  SmackDown Women’s Championship: Charlotte Flair vs. Toni Storm

* 12 Days of Christmas Gauntlet Match to determine the new #1 contender to WWE Intercontinental Champion Shinsuke Nakamura

* Miracle on 34th Street Fight: The Usos and Madcap Moss vs. Drew McIntyre and The New Day

WWE Reportedly Has More COVID-19 Positives, Update On Holiday Tour Plans

WWE reportedly had more talents and staff who tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday.

As noted, it was reported on Wednesday morning how several WWE wrestlers and crew members have tested positive for COVID-19, and how it’s very likely that the spread of the Omicron variant will lead to more schedule and/or talent changes. You can click here for that original report.

In an update, PWInsider reports that there were additional talents and staff members who tested positive throughout Wednesday. Those talents have not been identified for obvious reasons, but there were also a number of talents who were contacted and asked to get tested out of an abundance of caution.

As of Wednesday afternoon, WWE officials still expected to go forward with all live events and tapings planned for the United States, but there has been a lot of phone calls being made and “a lot of running around” as the company tries to stay ahead of the situation while receiving additional details on talents and staff who may not be cleared to travel this weekend.

One WWE source noted that they are dealing with the same issues that Broadway and other sports leagues have dealt with in recent weeks, and that it’s nothing they could have avoided as they have held regular COVID-19 testing before allowing people into venues.

While no schedule changes have been confirmed as of this writing, it was noted that WWE is working on alternative line-ups for live events just in case a talent isn’t able to perform this weekend. A worst case scenario would see WWE fill up the undercard slots with wrestlers from WWE NXT, if necessary.

There’s hope that if wrestlers are unable to perform on the annual post-Christmas Holiday Tour of live events, then the WWE Day 1 pay-per-view is far enough away that wrestlers would be cleared in time to perform on that show, which is now less than 10 days away.

The Holiday Tour is returning this year after being nixed in 2020 due to the pandemic, and there are still no plans to nix any of the tour dates in the United States next week. The tour kicks off this Sunday in Tampa and in New York City at Madison Square Garden, and wraps next Thursday with a show in Buffalo. Next Thursday’s show scheduled for Quebec has been postponed until March, but that is the only change as of now. The other Canadian date, which is Wednesday in Toronto, is still on as of now.

Source: Wrestling Inc.