Author: John Bass

Miro Reportedly Recovering From Hamstring Injury

Miro has been absent from AEW programming since Full Gear (aside from vignettes) due to a hamstring injury.

AEW star Miro has reportedly been nursing a hamstring injury for some time, which explains why he has worked a match since losing to Bryan Danielson at Full Gear on November 13.

According to Fightful Select (subscription required and recommended), Miro injured his hamstring prior to taking a hiatus from in-ring duties, which is why his leg was bandaged up during his last few matches. There’s been no official word from either Miro or AEW regarding recovery time, but the former TNT Champion appeared in a hype vignette on the Christmas Day (which also happens to be Miro’s birthday) edition of Rampage.

In the aforementioned vignette, the man who used to be “God’s Favorite Champion” cut a promo on God himself.

“You didn’t cast me from heaven. You kept me from my home. I will return with no flaws,” Miro said in the vignette, perhaps alluding to his injury. “I will become champion to show your lack of power over me. You sit up there not because you feel power but because of your fear,” he continued.

“Everyone is going to find out that redemption doesn’t come with a smile. It comes with a price. So unlike you, I will look them all in the eye. You will either feel the joy of my cruelty or the shame in yours. This is the Word of The Redeemer!” Miro proclaimed.

https://twitter.com/AEW/status/1474929543936978946

As you might recall, The artist formerly known as Rusev won the TNT Championship after defeating Darby Allin in the main event of the May 12 edition of AEW Dynamite on TNT. Miro plowed through veterans like Lance Archer and demolished upstarts like Dante Martin during his 141-day reign, but lost the title to Sammy Guevara on the September 29 edition of AEW Dynamite.

Source: TheSportster

Mercedes Martinez Makes Dynamite Debut, Signs AEW Contract

Former NXT Superstar Mercedes Martinez returned to AEW and made her Dynamite debut at New Year’s Smash.

Mercedes Martinez is officially ALL ELITE! The viscous veteran returned to AEW for the first time since 2019 during this week’s special New Year’s Smash edition of AEW Dynamite.

It all went down at AEW’s home venue of Daily’s Place in Jacksonville, Florida on December 29. Martinez made her Dynamite debut when she interfered in the TBS Championship Tournament semi-final match between Jade Cargill and Thunder Rosa. The former NXT Superstar emerged from the crowd in a hoodie and mask, which concealed her identity until she was ready to reveal it. She then attacked Thunder Rosa while Cargill’s other accomplice Mark Sterling distracted the referee. After that, all Jade had to do to book her spot in the finals was hit Rosa with the Jaded for the 1-2-3. Cargill will now face Ruby Soho in the final on next week’s Dynamite.

https://twitter.com/WrestlingSheet/status/1476376384591171584

After the bell, the mysterious figure revealed herself, and gloated alongside Cargill and Sterling, hinting that some kind of arrangement had taken place off-screen.

Immediately after her appearance, AEW president Tony Khan took to Twitter to confirm that Martinez had signed with AEW.

Mercedes Martinez actually debuted for AEW at All Out in 2019 when she entered the Women’s Casino Battle Royale as the Joker. The 40-year-old’s journey as a professional wrestler began in 2000. She signed with WWE in January of 2020 and was released by the company back in August of 2021, along with several of her now-former colleagues.

 Martinez has been incredibly active since leaving WWE, competing in Shimmer, Impact, GCW, and 2CW, where, interestingly, she wrestled Thunder Rosa back in October.

Source: TheSportster

Toni Storm Parts Ways With WWE

Toni Storm has reportedly parted ways with WWE following a three-year stint with the company.

According to Fighful’s Sean Ross Sapp, sources within WWE believe that Storm was granted her release following a request. Sapp also reports that a company memo did not mention budget cuts, which adds to the likelihood that Toni’s release was granted via mutual consent.

It appears the Australian star was not released, nor did she request to be released. According to Bodyslam.net, a source close to the situation revealed Storm just “up and quit”. In fact, she boarded a plane home, which she paid for herself, right after competing in a triple threat match at a live event. “Worked a triple threat at a house show last night and then paid out of her own pocket to fly herself home.”

Although WWE hasn’t officially broken the news that Storm is gone, it’s believed the company is treating it like a release simply because that has become the norm this year. It’s also believed Storm will still have to wait 90 days before she is allowed to wrestle elsewhere. Since the alleged reason she decided to walk out of WWE is due to burnout, the former NXT UK Women’s Champion will likely welcome the opportunity to stay at home for a while.

On top of the information alleging Storm quit WWE out of the blue and jumped on a plane, an unnamed female WWE Superstar also shed some light on the situation. “t’s f*cking wild. She’s just gone. Didn’t really tell anyone,” the wrestler said. A third source said that Storm deciding to depart the company in this way took everyone by surprise, and clearly blindsided Storm’s now-former employers in the process.

 It seems as if the want to leave WWE may have come as a surprise to Storm herself as well as everyone else.

Just last week, Storm went one-on-one with Charlotte Flair for Flair’s SmackDown Women’s Championship. The previous week, Storm scored a pinfall victory over Flair in a tag match that featured Sasha Banks as Storm’s partner and Shotzi Blackheart as Flair’s.

Outside of the ring, Storm is engaged to New Japan Pro Wrestling star Juice Robinson. The couple announced their engagement back in October. Robinson and Storm’s relationship status was confirmed in the summer of 2020. The Mae Young Classic winner revealed that the two of them had been seeing each other for a while after Bea Priestley, who is now NXT UK’s Blair Davenport, posted photos of the two of them together on social media. Storm and Davenport are close friends.

Source: TheSportster

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.