Category: Wrestling News

NXT Stars making transition to the main roster?

It is being reported via wrestlinginc.com that word within WWE is that the direction of NXT has changed as of late. HHH loves the praise he gets on NXT and he’s looking to capitalize on that.

Originally NXT was meant for “rookies” to learn and eventually establish themselves as stars to be called up to the big leagues known as Raw and SmackDown. However that tune has changed as of late. Now what HHH wants to do is take well established indie wrestlers (more specifically the ones in ROH) wait till their contracts expire and then call them up to NXT. Right now the feeling is NXT is a brand within itself and if you have experimented wrestlers your bound to get great matches.

Now as far as well known faces of NXT there has been no talks of NXT champion Kevin Owens or former champion Sami Zayn being called up to the main roster just yet. There  has been talks though of calling NXT women’s champion Sasha Banks up to the main roster along with Adrian Neville and possibly Charlotte. Word is that if these calls up happen it’ll be sometime after WrestleMania.

That doesn’t surprise me especially if one of those 3 debut on Raw the next night. The raw after mania is always a highly rated Raw and further more last year when Paige debuted is proof that there’s no better way to do it.

How do you guys feel about these reports? Does it make you excited and hopeful for the future? I know it does for me. Let us know your thoughts in the comment section.

-Vanessa (@GreatLove91)

TNA Announced The Re-Signing Of A Couple Of Stars

TNA’s John Gaburick announced that Matt Hardy has signed a contract with TNA and that Angelina Love has re-signed with TNA.

Intercontinental Hot Potato

The first sighting of the Intercontinental Championship on the March 2nd RAW was of Dean Ambrose carrying it. While Wade Barrett is indeed the champion, Ambrose was physically holding it after he had stolen it from Barrett. While the two contested in a non-title match, R-Truth stole the title as he was ringside for commentary. Luke Harper then took it after Truth gave it to him to prevent getting hit with a steel folding chair. Harper then left with the belt as the distraction allowed Ambrose to perform Dirty Deeds on Barrett and win.

If I hadn’t seen wrestling in a couple weeks, I may wonder who really is the Intercontinental Champion having come in during the middle of the match. While it was announced that the title will be defended in a ladder match at WrestleMania 31 with Truth, Ambrose, and Harper in the mix as of press time, it is interesting to see will this “hot potato”-esque storyline will continue to Levi’s Stadium or will perhaps one wrestler a week hold the title. There can be a lot you can do with so many characters vying for a single title, but it is also easy to get lost in the shuffle. Here’s hoping the build up and the match will both be full of pure excitement.

-Celine

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#GiveDivasAChance In the Hall of Fame

On the March 2nd edition of Monday Night RAW, it was announced that Alundra Blayze/Madusa was going into the Hall of Fame for the 2015 class. With three WWF Women’s Championship title reigns in the mid 90’s (1993-95), Blayze was instrumental in reviving the women’s division after her feuds with the likes of Bertha Faye and Bull Nakano. She was the first woman to win Pro Wrestling Illustrated’s Rookie of the Year in 1988 and even became the WCW Cruiserweight Champion in 1999, being the first woman to accomplish that feat.

It is interesting that her induction is announced the first Monday after the #GiveDivasAChance movement took the Internet by storm. Was this just a coincidence or was it a strategic way to time when this announcement was made on WWE’s part to help push the women of professional wrestling in as positive of a spotlight as possible. Regardless, it is wonderful to see Blayze become a member of the WWE Hall of Fame with the likes of “Macho Man” Randy Savage, Arnold Schwarzenegger, The Bushwhakers, and Rikishi.

-Celine

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NJPW- New Japan Cup Results: 3/8/15

YOSHI-HASHI def. Jay White

Manabu Nakanishi, Mascara Doraga, Ryusuke Taguchi, Satoshi Kojima & Tiger Mask IV def. Captain New Japan, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Jushin Thunder Liger, KUSHIDA & Tomoaki Homma

Hiroshi Tanahashi & Tohei Komatsu def, Sho Tanaka & Yuji Nagata

Kazuchika Okada, Kazushi Sakuraba, Tomohiro Ishii & Shinsuke Nakamura def. The Bullet Club (Cody Hall, Doc Gallows, Karl Anderson & Tama Tonga)

New Japan Cup Quarterfinal Match: Togi Makabe def. Yujiro Takahashi

New Japan Cup Quarterfinal Match: Kota Ibushi def. Toru Yano

New Japan Cup Quarterfinal Match:Tetsuya Naito def. Bud Luck Fale

New Japan Cup Quarterfinal Match:Hirooki Goto def. Katsuyori Shibata

Samoa Joe Negotiating With WWE

Samoa Joe was guest on Chris Jericho’s podcast Talk Is Jericho. Joe didn’t talk about any negotiations with WWE during the interview, but told Jericho as he was leaving that he wanted the fans to know that there have been discussions and “there’s some negotiations going on.”

Source: WrestlingINC.com

GFW To Announce TV Tapings Soon?

Jeff Jarrett’s Global Force Wrestling is expected to announce TV tapings for Las Vegas soon. PWInsider reports that one source claims there are tapings tentatively planned for the first week of May, while another source claims that TV taping dates are for July will be announced.

 

Source: WrestlingINC.com

The Importance of #GiveDivasAChance and Social Media 

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It seemed as if times were changing in the WWE for the better. Ever since the “Summer of AJ Lee” in 2012, the return of the Bella Twins and their rise to dominance in 2013 and the premiere and success of Total Divas on E!, plus a roster of divas that are not only beautiful, but incredibly tough and talented, such as seen with the reign of one such divas as Paige and the popularity behind NXT’s divas like Charlotte, the women of the WWE were truly stealing the show.

However, last Monday on RAW, I couldn’t believe it when a match between the Bella Twins and Emma and Paige lasted about 30 seconds—probably around 8 seconds if you don’t count bantering outside the boundaries of the match—when Brie defeated Emma immediately with a face-buster. That lead to a campaign on social media known as #GiveDivasAChance. There’s time for video packages and promos that seem to go beyond their limit yet divas, the ones who many fans tune in to specifically to see, especially taking into consideration fans who are new to WWE and were exposed to the company primarily by the divas they see on Total Divas, are given literally less than a minute.

It trended worldwide, even beating such trends Tuesday night as #ParksFinale for the series finale ofParks and Recreation, which had received widespread media coverage.

Especially in light of Patricia Arquette’s speech calling for gender equality during her acceptance speech for Best Supporting Actress at the Oscars on Sunday, there is becoming an even louder voice for equality. After Stephanie McMahon praised Arquette’s words for “#WomensRights”, AJ Lee went on Twitter and directed her thoughts at Stephanie McMahon, saying, “Your female wrestlers have record selling merchandise & have starred in the highest rated segment of the show several times And yet they receive a fraction of the wages & screen time of the majority of the male roster.#UseYourVoice”

About three hours later, Vince McMahon tweeted “We hear you. Keep watching. #GiveDivasAChance” About 5 hours after it was tweeted, it had received almost 5,000 retweets and favorites from the WWE Universe.

If anything, this campaign proved just how much power there is in the hands of the fans and with the tool of social media being used in a positive light, change can happen. Here’s to hoping these talented, athletic and amazing women get the spotlight and screen time that they truly deserve. Just one tweet can help make a difference in the world.

-Celine

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Playing Fair With Roman Reigns

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Many fans were upset when Roman Reigns won the Royal Rumble. Some cited their reasons for being so upset with the fact that they believe the WWE was pushing him on them too hard. Some claimed that he wasn’t ready yet. He wasn’t that good on the mic and wasn’t that good in the ring. As a way to appease the fans, the WWE put Reigns’ spot in WrestleMania against Brock Lesnar (which he won by winning the Royal Rumble) for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship on the line at WWE’s Fastlane against fan favorite Daniel Bryan.

In the end, Reigns was once again victorious. While what fans have said about Reigns can be seen as true, it wouldn’t be fair to Reigns to win the Royal Rumble just to have it taken away from him. TVTropes.com defines this as Retcon. It’s a situation when past plot points are reframed to meet whatever the current needs are for the story. While it would have been a possible and plausible alternative, the boos didn’t seem to be as uproarious in the weeks following Reigns’ victory. It was as if fans learned to deal with it, and that would be the best thing to do, a thought that may be seen as an unpopular opinion.

If WWE would have followed this method more often, John Cena may have had only a few title reigns, even though he is such a talented performer. Persistent cries for change can make a difference, but the flame of hate towards Reigns seemed to die down. Sure, the Internet wasn’t happy when Daniel Bryan lost, but at least they can remember the joy when he won at WrestleMania as an underdog only a year ago. There’s other matches at WrestleMania and many events have double main-events. It’s not the end of the world. While he may not have been the guy many wanted at this time, perhaps the Lesnar/Reigns feud will be a surprise hit.

The Rock was booed unmercifully when he was new in the 90’s. Now he’s a legend of the business. Who know what’ll come of having Roman Reigns in the main event title picture at WrestleMania but even with the potential retcon hurdle along the way, plans are seeming to stay to as they were in January and hopefully we’re all in for a great surprise.

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-Celine

The Bella’s vs Paige and AJ at mania? 

It’s that time again to take a trip into the rumor mill. The feeling backstage is that the divas match at mania will be the Bella’s vs Paige and AJ. AJ’s return this past Monday seems to almost have cemented that claim, so looks like my buddy Trevor may be on to something here.

AJ Lee had been absent for 3 months after dropping the tittle to the current champion Nikki Bella. In a backstage segment AJ said “since her enemy is now the enemy of her enemy that Paige and her are now friends”. Had a hard time keeping up with that tongue  twister? What AJ means is that she’s willing to look past the differences her and Paige may have had to take down a common enemy in the Bella’s.

A lot of people backstage where unsure of how AJ’s return would be recieved especially since Stephanie McMahon was legitimately upset and embarrassed over AJ calling her out in a tweet regarding the unfair treatment of the divas.

Putting all that aside though Stephanie knows that AJ’s return is “what’s best for business and knows full well that a match like this is needed at mania. All and all I hope this means that a lengthy divas match is set for mania. Paige and AJ are the wrestling communities darlings and the Bella’s have improved tremendously and right now the “Bella Army” is stronger then ever. Add these four women to a 15+ minute march and they will be sure to tear Levi’s stadium down

-Vanessa (@GreatLove91)