Author: John Bass

WWE SmackDown Preview 12/3/21

Tonight’s WWE SmackDown on FOX will take place from the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas as the road to Day 1 continues.

What will happen when Brock Lesnar returns to SmackDown this Friday?

Last week’s SmackDown saw Sami Zayn win a Black Friday Battle Royal to become the new #1 contender to Reigns, and there should be a follow-up to that this week.

It’s also expected that Kofi Kingston will return to TV tonight to assist King Xavier Woods. Kingston had taken some time off to be with his wife for the birth of their third child, but he returned last week in a dark main event.

There’s no word on if the top blue brand match for WWE Day 1 will be announced tonight, but it’s possible after this week’s RAW led to Kevin Owens vs. Seth Rollins vs. WWE Champion Big E being announced for the New Year’s Day pay-per-view.

Freddie Prinze Jr Hints At Launching His Own Pro Wrestling Promotion

Freddie Prinze Jr was interviewed on The Ariel Helwani Show lately and he revealed he’s interested in creating a wrestling promotion. He admitted that the recent releases actually make him hungry to possibly start things.

“No, it makes me want to start a wrestling brand is what it makes me want to do,” he claimed. “Like, everybody sees that and they get sad, I see that and I get hungry. I was in Karrion Kross’ DMs the day it happened, I was like, ‘hey man, I didn’t go back to work for fun. I went back to work to invest in things.’ Imagine having Keith Lee and Karrion Kross on the same roster and making people wait to watch them fight. Just keeping their stories connected but separate. Even if it was just indie shows, which is what it would have to be. I’m not trying to go in and put $50 million on something. But there’s so much talent out there now that I think people would love to watch.”

Freddie Prinze Jr went on to make it clear a return to wrestling is on his mind. However, going to a big main scale company is not.

“Yeah, in an independent fashion, but never on a huge main scale thing,” he stated. “I’ve flirted with Brian Kendrick’s Wrestling Pro Wrestling which is basically comedy cosplay wrestling. If the kids in the hall and Vince McMahon had a baby and it wanted to start its own wrestling brand it would be this.”

Freddie Prinze Jr admitted that he almost returned to wrestling recently. He nearly took a role with Women Of Wrestling.

“I got close on a couple of things, man,” he admitted. “I almost took over creative control of Women Of Wrestling for WOW Wrestling before AJ ended up doing it. Like I said, I spoke with Brian about him and his brand because I thought it was really fun and interesting.”

However, even though he did not get that role, Freddie Prinze Jr, is serious about starting a promotion. So much so that he spoke with his accountant about the steps he has to make.

“The most that I am comfortable saying, and we can talk more. Before I took the Netflix movie I spoke with my accountant about, ‘hey, if I wanted to screw around with like an indie wrestling league. What would I need to do?’ He said, ‘you would need to do A, B, and C.’ So then I did A, and I am getting ready to do B and C,” he revealed. “So you know, it’s definitely something I think about a lot.”

Freddie also spoke about the possibility of the promotion happening in 2022. He admitted it is down to the number of movies he shoots.

“It depends how many movies I do in 2022,” he said. “I have one that I am going to do. If I do two, then that’s A, B, and C and yeah, it’ll be something that I start pursuing aggressively.”

Source: Wrestling Inc. with credit to The Ariel Helwani Show 

Impact Wrestling Preview 12/2/21

IMPACT! returns to Las Vegas with a loaded lineup on the road to Hard To Kill. Don’t miss any of the action this Thursday at 8/7c on AXS TV and 8:30pm ET on YouTube for IMPACT Insiders!

* At Turning Point, JONAH put the entire wrestling world on notice when he decimated Josh Alexander with a brutal blindside attack in his IMPACT debut. This Thursday, JONAH returns to the IMPACT Zone for the first time since the assault and there’s no telling what chaos he might unleash. Why did JONAH target Josh Alexander and what will his next move be?

*  Matthew Rehwoldt vs. Chris Sabin

* VBD w/Eric Young vs. Rich Swann and Willie Mack

* The action begins Before the IMPACT, this Thursday at 7/6c on AXS TV and 7:30pm ET on YouTube. Hikuleo w/Chris Bey vs. Jake Something

Beth Phoenix Reveals WWE NXT Announce Team Departure

WWE Hall of Famer Beth Phoenix is moving on from the WWE NXT announce team.

Phoenix took to Twitter today to announce that Sunday’s WarGames event will be her final night on NXT commentary with Vic Joseph and Wade Barrett. She confirmed that she will remain a part of WWE, but she is stepping away from the weekly WWE gig to spend more time with family.

Phoenix thanked Joseph, Barrett, Nigel McGuinness, Tom Phillips, Mauro Ranallo, Triple H, Shawn Michaels, and Michael Cole. She also said the brand will always be a part of her.

“Ahead of WarGames, I wanted to share that this Sunday will be my final night in NXT,” she wrote. “While I will remain a part of WWE, I have made the choice to step away from the weekly broadcast booth to spend more time with my family. This was not an easy decision, as I have loved my three plus years and 135 episodes with NXT and am incredibly proud of the brand. I will forever be grateful to Vic Joseph, Wade Barrett, Nigel McGuinness, Tom Phillips, Mauro Ranallo, Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Michael Cole, and my entire NXT family both in and out of the ring for the amazing opportunity. NXT will always be a part of me and Auntie Betty will always be a part of NXT. Leave the porch light on for me!”

Phoenix, who is married to WWE Hall of Famer Edge, joined the NXT commentary team back on May 15, 2019. She recently got into the country music business, releasing her “Stone Rose & Bone” debut EP on November 12.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE Announces Groundbreaking NIL Program

WWE has announced a new NIL program that will provide a pathway for athletes to go from college to WWE.

RAW Superstar and Olympic gold medalist Gable Steveson was signed to WWE’s first NCAA NIL (name, image, likeness) deal back in September, shortly after the NCAA began allowing athletes to make money from their own name, images and likeness.

Now WWE has announced their own NIL (Next In Line – name, image, likeness) program to enhance the talent development process through collaborative partnerships with college athletes.

WWE’s Executive Vice President of Global Talent Strategy & Development Paul “Triple H” Levesque noted in today’s press release that the WWE NIL program has the potential to change the business.

“The WWE NIL program has the potential to be transformational to our business,” he said. “By creating partnerships with elite athletes at all levels across a wide variety of college sports, we will dramatically expand our pool of talent and create a system that readies NCAA competitors for WWE once their collegiate careers come to a close.”

The first class of NIL partnerships will be revealed in the coming weeks.

All athlete partnerships will have access to the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, along with other resources such as brand building, media training, communications, live event promotion, creative writing, and community relations. Some athletes will be offered a WWE contract after completing the program.

Stay tuned for more on the WWE NIL program. Below is the full press release issued to us today:

WWE® LAUNCHES NIL PROGRAM: NEXT IN LINE™

New Program to Provide Clear Pathway from Collegiate Athletics to WWE

STAMFORD, Conn., December 2, 2021 – WWE (NYSE: WWE) today announced the launch of a groundbreaking NIL (Name, Image & Likeness) program that will provide a clear pathway from collegiate athletics to WWE.

Following a historic new policy by the NCAA effective July 1, 2021, which ushered in the NIL era allowing college athletes the ability to monetize their name, image and likeness, WWE has constructed a comprehensive program to recruit and develop potential future Superstars. Dubbed “Next In Line™,” the NIL program aims to enhance the talent development process through collaborative partnerships with college athletes from diverse athletic backgrounds.

“The WWE NIL program has the potential to be transformational to our business,” said Paul Levesque, WWE Executive Vice President, Global Talent Strategy and Development. “By creating partnerships with elite athletes at all levels across a wide variety of college sports, we will dramatically expand our pool of talent and create a system that readies NCAA competitors for WWE once their collegiate careers come to a close.”

All athlete partnerships will feature access to the state-of-the-art WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Fla., in addition to resources across the organization including brand building, media training, communications, live event promotion, creative writing and community relations. Upon completion of the NIL program, select athletes may earn an exclusive opportunity to be offered a WWE contract.

In September, WWE announced its first NIL deal with heavyweight freestyle wrestler Gable Steveson who captured a gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics. The agreement allowed Steveson to return to the University of Minnesota for his senior season where he is defending his NCAA National Championship while beginning his Superstar training with WWE.

WWE will unveil the first class of NIL partnerships in the coming weeks.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

AEW Shares Photos Of Cody Rhodes’ Back After Flaming Table Spot

The American Nightmare took more of the terrifying bump than he intended.

Cody Rhodes and Andrade El Idolo attempted to settle their differences once and for all on Dynamite this week. The two competed in what wound up being a pretty brutal Atlanta Street Fight in Wednesday night’s main event. The match included Rhodes being whacked over the head with a laptop, and even an appearance from rapper T-Pain.

The match also included the on-screen return of Brandi Rhodes. Brandi popped up wearing a hoodie and a mask, pulling the latter down to reveal her face before dousing a table in kerosene and setting it alight. Cody was already preparing to put El Idolo through the table as the two of them were precariously perched atop the turnbuckle.

Cody proceeded to go ahead with his plan, hoping to further hurt El Idolo now the table was engulfed in flames. While the daredevil manoeuver won Cody the match, he was the one who appeared to take the must damage from the fire and the table. The American Nightmare opted for a reverse DDT through the table which meant it was his own back that took the brunt of the burning bump.

Rhodes took a few seconds to move past the shock of getting burned before gathering himself and going for the cover. Even then, flames were still visible on Cody’s arm and leg as the announcers correctedly yelled that he was still on fire. Photos of Cody’s back have been shared via the AEW Twitter account since the show went off the air, and as you can see for yourself above, it does not look good.

Cody’s back is incredibly red, and while some of that damage will have been done before the flaming table spot, getting burned definitely wouldn’t have helped. There are red marks all over his back and neck and some black material that seems to be stuck to Cody’s back. Possibly burned or even melted parts of the tabletop that will have since been removed from his skin. Painful stuff.

Source: TheSportster

AEW Dynamite Preview 12/1/21

Tonight’s AEW Dynamite on TNT will air live from the Gas South Arena in Duluth, Georgia.

* CM Punk vs. Lee Moriarty

* Bryan Danielson vs. Alan “5” Angels

* Darby Allin and Sting vs. Billy Gunn and Colten Gunn

* Ruby Soho vs. Kris Statlander in a quarterfinals match for the AEW TBS Title Tournament

* Cody Rhodes vs. Andrade El Idolo in an Atlanta Street Fight

Jeff Jarrett Has Joined The Ownership Group Of A Baseball Franchise

WWE Hall of Famer Jeff Jarrett has joined the ownership group for Capital City Baseball’s Springfield Slidders franchise in Springfield, IL. Jarrett was approached with the idea of coming on board as a co-owner and, as we were told, he “jumped at it.” The man who approached Jarrett was Jamie Toole, a long-tenured minor league baseball executive who recently served simultaneously as the General Manager for two other teams.

Jeff Jarrett’s role with the team will see him bring more entertainment to the games. The Slidders play around 30 – 32 games a season which leaves the park empty for more than 300 days a year. Jarrett will be infusing the Slidders’ games with music and other entertainment beforehand, between innings and afterward. It is not expected that Jarrett will have a hand in the day-to-day decisions of the actual team.

On the other 300 some-odd-days a year Jarrett is expected to present circuses, live music, and, of course, pro wrestling at the park. This position was described to us as “right in Jeff’s wheelhouse.”

In a recent The Wrestling Inc. Daily interview, Jarrett discussed the opportunity so many released WWE and ROH talent creates at the moment.

“I think there’s much more of an opportunity, an exponential more of an opportunity,” Jarrett said. “The reason I say that is, 2002, there was a bad taste.

“That is something that me and Conrad have gone in-depth on My World about it. Unless you really lived it and breathed it, like me and my team did at the time, you didn’t understand the backlash that the Attitude Era caused with the decision-makers.”

It should also be noted that the entire presentation of the team is expected to see an overhaul. That includes renaming of the team from the Springfield Slidders to something else.

A live stream of the launch press conference is expected for this afternoon and will be available via the My World Facebook page.

The Sliders play in the Prospect League, a wooden-bat, summer league of college baseball players who play for different schools and regions of the country but are united as a team by their love of baseball. For those just learning about the Sliders, a wooden-bat league allows players to use the bats similar to those used in the major leagues. Normally metal bats are used by college, high school and youth baseball because they rarely break. But they also strike baseballs far differently than wooden models. Major-league scouts welcome the opportunity to see how players handle wooden bats.

Click here for more information on the Sliders and the Prospect League.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE RAW Preview 11/29/21

Tonight’s WWE RAW will air live from the UBS Arena at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York.

Nia Jax Gives Major Update On Her Pro Wrestling Future

Nia Jax has taken to social media to claim that it is “highly unlikely” she will ever wrestle again. The former WWE Superstar was released from the company on November 4 alongside 17 other talents.

The revelation came up after Nia had shared a link that some fans thought hinted at a new name. The link was previously to a fan-made website, NiaJax.com. However, that had been changed to LinaDanene.com, which some felt would be her new name.

Nia Jax took to Twitter to clarify this situation. In her post, she made it clear that a return to the ring isn’t on her mind right now.

Nia wrote:

“Lol! Newsflash…Lina is my real name. It’s not another “ring” name. It’s just MY NAME, the name given to me at birth. Calm TF down trolls. In all fairness, “Opponent Crippler” would be a SOLID front runner if I ever decide to wrestle again. but it’s highly unlikely”

If Nia Jax doesn’t step back into the ring, then her final ever match was against Shayna Baszler on the 9/20/21 episode of Raw. During her career, she was able to hold the Raw Women’s Championship and the Women’s Tag Team Titles with Baszler.

https://twitter.com/LinaFanene/status/1465333443726880776

Source: Wrestling Inc.