In the latest Road to Double or Nothing video it was announced UK Wrestler, Bea Priestley, has been signed by AEW. Brandi Rhodes made the call to Priestley to welcome her to the promotion.
Rhodes told Priestley they wanted her to join up in July at their Fight for the Fallen event in Jacksonville, Florida.
Priestley has previously worked for promotions like Stardom, World of Sport Wrestling, and Defiant Wrestling.
The current AEW women’s division includes: Bea Priestley, Aja Kong, Brandi Rhodes, Britt Baker, Kylie Rae, Nyla Rose, Penelope Ford, and Yuka Sakazaki.
Last night on SmackDown Live, Kevin Owens returned to the ring for the first time since undergoing double knee surgery last October. His best friend, Sami Zayn, is ready to return to action as well, according to Dave Meltzer on the latest Wrestling Observer Radio.
Zayn has been recovering since undergoing double shoulder and rotator cuff surgery back in June. It appears that Zayn is now just waiting for WWE to work on a way to bring him back.
It is unknown if Zayn will return as a face and work with Owens, or continue working as a heel. It is also not known what brand he will be appearing on.
Throughout the time of the injury, Zayn was not rushing to get back into the ring. This past December, Zayn appeared on the Talk is Jericho podcast and stated why he’s not itching to return as soon as he can.
“Maybe I’m overstating my lack of desire to return,” Zayn prefaced. “I do miss performing, but like [Jericho] said, I’ve been doing this a super long time. We’re on the road a lot. [Jericho] know[s] how it is. I just know that when I’ll be back, I’ll probably enjoy it. But I’m not sitting there itching and clawing [to return]. And I don’t know that my employer will want to hear that, like, ‘does this guy not care?’ But, no, I’m not even close [to being cleared to return]. I need a couple more months!”
The former NXT and PWG Champion has been rehabbing inside the Performance Center down in Florida. WWE aired the promo below for his return last December, however have not run any other promos hyping his return since.
Word from within WWE is that the company invoked a clause in their contracts that will see the deals roll over for one more year. The brothers signed a two-year deal back in 2017 for the WrestleMania 33 returns and those deals included a third year option. WWE picked those options up and they reportedly include a significant pay raise for the third year.
Below is video of The Hardys talking to the WWE camera after defeating Sheamus and Cesaro on SmackDown. Matt said the experience was exhilarating.
“I mean, I can say on my end it was absolutely exhilarating,” Matt said when asked about the return. “Any time when we get back together, obviously the first thing I think about is us first chasing our dreams, us first appearing for WWE, and then I think about us returning for WrestleMania 33. And I’m sure Jeff has some major feelings going on as well.
Jeff added, “Oh yeah, to be in North Carolina, Charlotte. We used to come here and watch WWE back in the day as kids. And now to reunite once again, a year later since we’ve teamed. It’s always a powerful thing when we can reconnect and still wow the people.”
The Hardys were last on the RAW brand together but they split up during the 2018 Superstar Shake-up when Jeff was sent to SmackDown. They will be on SmackDown for this run. The WWE cameraman asked them what kind of message they would send to current SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Usos and that’s when Matt indicated that his “Woken Hardy” gimmick will be put to the side for the time being, at least for the most part.
“I think we sent a very specific, special message today,” Matt said. “And basically that is this – myself, Matt Hardy and The Charismatic Enigma, Jeff Hardy, we are the greatest tag team in all of time and space, and we are back together to prove that, without a shadow of a doubt. Myself, I know the last time people saw me I was ‘Woken Matt Hardy’ and well I have learned how to control the Woken Wonder that’s inside of me, the Broken Brilliance inside of me. And together, everyone’s going to learn that myself and my Brother Nero, Jeff Hardy, we’re unstoppable, we’re indestructible, we’re unkillable. The greatest tag team of all time and space!”
Word going around backstage is that WWE invoked a clause in Matt Hardy’s contract and Jeff Hardy’s contract that will see the deals roll over for a third year, according to PWInsider. The contracts were set to expire next week if WWE decided against rolling them over.
The Hardys returned to WWE at WrestleMania 33 in 2017 and signed two-year deals that included a third-year option. We noted back in January that it was believed WWE would pick up that option, which includes a significant pay raise for the third year.
Tonight on SmackDown Live, just as Kofi Kingston was about to sign WWE Championship match contract, Vince McMahon came out and announced that he was replacing Kofi with Kevin Owens to face WWE Champion Daniel Bryan at WWE Fastlane.
Later in a match Owens suggested to Stephanie and Shane McMahon, Kofi and Owens defeated Bryan and Rowan.
Tonight’s WWE 205 Live will take place from the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina.
After WWE Cruiserweight Champion Buddy Murphy defeated Akira Tozawa in a thrilling title bout during the WWE Elimination Chamber Kickoff, WWE 205 Live General Manager Drake Maverick announced a tournament to determine Murphy’s next challenger.
In addition to appearing on Monday night’s episode of WWE RAW at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia, Roman Reigns flew to New York City to appear on ABC’s “Good Morning America” talk show on Tuesday morning.
Reigns spoke with Robin Roberts for a sit-down interview to talk about how his leukemia is in remission, and that he intends on using his reach as a WWE Superstar to help others who have, or are suffering with a similar condition.
“We’re not just gonna talk about it.” Reigns said on the show. He also noted that he and WWE are in the process of creating funds and foundations to help make a difference.
Additionally, Reigns spoke about appearing alongside his cousin, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, in the new “Fast & Furious” spin-off movie, “Hobbs & Shaw.” The host of the show read The Rock’s recent Instagram post praising Reigns for his ability to stay strong while dealing with such a great challenge.
Check out Roman Reigns’ appearance on ABC’s “Good Morning America” on Tuesday morning below.
WWE announced that The Honky Tonk Man (whose real name is Wayne Farris), the longest-reigning Intercontinental Champion in WWE history, is the latest inductee in the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2019, joining D-Generation X.
WWE issued the following:
The Honky Tonk Man to be inducted into WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2019
He’s cool, he’s cocky, he’s bad, and now, he’s a WWE Hall of Famer.
The Honky Tonk Man, the longest-reigning Intercontinental Champion in WWE history, is the latest inductee in the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2019. The news was first reported by CBS Sports. The 2019 WWE Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony takes place on Saturday, April 6, the eve of WrestleMania 35, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. Tickets for the ceremony are available now.
With slicked-back hair and long sideburns reminiscent of a certain rock ‘n’ roll icon, The Honky Tonk Man first arrived on the scene in WWE in 1986 with a wide-eyed smile on his face, trying to earn the adulation of the WWE Universe. But WWE fans didn’t quite take to the Elvis lookalike, despite the stamp of approval from Hulk Hogan, as they jeered the newcomer relentlessly. A frustrated Honky Tonk Man called for a vote of confidence from the WWE Universe, and when the results came back overwhelmingly negative, the rockabilly wrestler snapped.
Enlisting the managerial services of fellow WWE Hall of Famer Jimmy Hart, The Honky Tonk Man unleashed his evil side, setting out to make his opponents twist and shout in agony. And if the damage he inflicted on his opponents wasn’t enough, he subjected the WWE Universe to his unique talents as a singer, facetiously thanking fans and telling them they were “a wonderful audience” as he belted out his own entrance music.
The new attitude was apparently just what the crooner needed, as he racked up victory after victory on his way to becoming Intercontinental Champion in June 1987 with a shocking victory over Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat. Following his big win, The Honky Tonk Man went on to claim that he was the greatest Intercontinental Champion of all time. At first, that boast may have rang a little hollow, but his claims began to hold a little more water as his reign continued.
By hook or by crook, The Honky Tonk Man held onto the Intercontinental Championship for nearly 13 months before his reign ended in lightning-quick fashion at the hands of Ultimate Warrior at SummerSlam 1988. His record-breaking 454 days as Intercontinental Champion is a feat that has stood the test of time, as no Superstar has come close to eclipsing his unprecedented championship reign.
The Honky Tonk Man was, surprisingly, also willing to share the spotlight later in his WWE career, whether it was as one half of the tag team/band Rhythm & Blues with Greg “The Hammer” Valentine, or as the manager of Rockabilly (fellow 2019 inductee Billy Gunn of D-Generation X).
But once again, the spotlight will be on The Honky Tonk Man as he takes his place in sports-entertainment history. Don’t miss The Honky Tonk Man’s enshrinement during the 2019 WWE Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony on Saturday, April 6, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., during WrestleMania 35 Week. Tickets for this historic evening are available now!
As part of an ongoing legal battle, Jeff Jarrett is trying to win back the rights to his own name and likeness from Anthem Sports & Entertainment — the parent company of IMPACT.
According to PWInsider, Jarrett and Global Force Entertainment filed an amended lawsuit on February 22 against Anthem. Jarrett and GFE had initially filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against Anthem in August ’18 over the use of Global Force Wrestling’s Amped series, which was acquired by the company when they took ownership of Impact Wrestling from Dixie Carter.
Here’s a few interesting details from the amended lawsuit:
The lawsuit included a response from Anthem dated 11/30/18 in which they claim “the sixteen one-hour Episodes of Global Force Wrestling Amped content sought in this question no longer exist. It was deleted in the normal course of business, long prior to the onset of this litigation, in order to free up storage space on Anthem Wrestling’s systems.”
In a declaration, Anthem’s Executive Vice President Ed Nordholm explains “Anthem Wrestling was formed in order to acquire the assets of an entity called TNA Entertainment LLC, when Fight Media foreclosed on certain loans to that entity.”
Jarrett is now requesting a ruling that will cancel IMPACT’s trademark on his name and hand the rights back to him. Jarrett was recently hired to work as a backstage producer for WWE, so this ruling would make it easier for them to manufacture Jeff Jarrett action figures and include his likeness in video games/other media.
