WWE Raw will air live tonight on the USA Network from the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon.
Kofi Kingston vs. Ludwig Kaiser
Becky Lynch’s autobiography, ‘The Man: Not Your Average Average Girl,” will be released on March 24, and the former “WWE Raw” Women’s Champion has admitted that she has written a truthful account of her story. However, while that’s a positive for the reader, Lynch admitted it might be a negative for her.
“I’ve written very truthfully, maybe sometimes at my own detriment… I think people will appreciate the candidness of it, and I think it’s pretty funny,” she told “The Casual Podcast.” “I think it’s a pretty funny, hilarious read –- this is just me thinking I am hilarious, but I hope people enjoy it.”
Lynch has been open and honest within the book, to the point where she’s admitted to realizing she was the a**hole at times when recounting past stories. However, even though it has been an eye-opening experience at points, Lynch has also found the writing process to be one of the most rewarding periods of her entire life. She has become the latest professional wrestler to jump into the autobiographical world, taking after one of her idols, Mick Foley. Like him, she didn’t use a ghostwriter to tell her story, opting to do it herself, but she let Foley see an early manuscript.
“Actually, I had him to bounce things off; he was one of the first people to read it and give me feedback,” she revealed about Foley. “Then I implemented that and kind of almost changed it completely since he probably read it. Not completely, but really improved it to the point where now I am so proud of what I have.”
Source: Wrestling Inc. with credit to “The Casual Podcast”
Cody Rhodes was victorious in a singles match against Shinsuke Nakamura during Saturday’s WWE house show at the Spokane Arena in Spokane, Washington.
Rhodes noticed after the match that a fan held up a sign, asking him to be the best man at his upcoming wedding. Rhodes accepted the fan’s request.
Source: eWn
Rumors have circulated about the possibility of WWE moving “WWE Raw” from The USA Network to a Warner Bros Discovery channel, possibly TBS or TNT, which would put them in conflict with WBD’s current wrestling product, All Elite Wrestling. As a major year for media rights negotiations, in wrestling and beyond, AEW President Tony Khan is seemingly unfazed by the rumors.
“It’s part of sports. Everybody discusses contracts and free agency and things of that nature,” Khan told “Going Ringside” on News4JAX. “I think everybody’s aware that everybody’s gonna be talking to everybody in the media this coming year. So they’ll certainly be a lot of opportunities. We have a great history with Warner Bros. Discovery and continue to produce great ratings so we should be in a very good position next year.”
WBD’s negotiations with both WWE and AEW are likely hamstrung by the media conglomerate’s current negotiations with the National Basketball Association, as NBA programming has been the central pillar of the Turner Networks programming and the amount of money offered to either promotion would likely be affected by whether or not WBD retains the Basketball league. AEW has been with WBD since the beginning of the wrestling promotion, which premiered “AEW Dynamite” on WBD networks in 2019, soon adding “AEW Collision,” “AEW Rampage,” and quarterly “Battle of the Belts” specials.
WWE has already signed a deal with The CW to bring “WWE NXT” there in 2025 when its current deal with USA is up, and USA has already landed the rights to “WWE SmackDown,” which is set to move from Fox.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
The first WWE SmackDown of 2024 will air live tonight on FOX from the Rogers Arena in Vancouver, BC.
After WWE Monday Night Raw, the hot topic of discussion was the potential showdown between Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Roman Reigns, fueling speculation that it could happen at WrestleMania 40.
Many believe that this marked the beginning of the highly anticipated match between the two.
Dave Meltzer reported in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that WWE may hold the match at Elimination Chamber next month instead of WrestleMania or in Saudi Arabia.
“But nothing is official. Everyone is tight-lipped completely past Johnson would not have said what he did at the time he did without the plan being to build to such a match. While one would think WrestleMania would be the place, it also could be in Perth, Australia, given the story that the government there specifically requested Johnson on the 2/24 Elimination Chamber show, and it also could be at the next show in Saudi Arabia, which does not have a date. The government there is paying ridiculous money for shows already and bringing Johnson in could possibly negotiate a bonus that would make it the biggest money event in company history,” Meltzer wrote.
Source: eWn
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson made a surprise return to WWE on Monday night’s ‘Day 1’ themed episode of RAW, confronting Jinder Mahal and teasing a potential match with his cousin, Roman Reigns.
Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Radio is reporting that a potential dream matchup between The Rock and Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 40 is not yet confirmed.
However, it was noted that Reigns began using the “Head of the Table” and “Tribal Chief” as nicknames years ago to set up an eventual blockbuster clash with The Rock.
Meltzer said, “That whole thing, ‘The Head of the Table’ and all that, and ‘Tribal Chief,’ was all done originally to build up the Roman Reigns-Rock match.”
It was further stated that a matchup between The Rock and Reigns has been on WWE’s radar before, with The Great One previously turning down an offer to lay the smackdown on The Tribal Chief at WrestleMania 38 in Arlington, TX. Meltzer said,
“I remember they were gonna do the Dallas show [WrestleMania 38] and then it was gonna be Los Angeles [WrestleMania 39]. He turned down the first one to do the second one, which would have been Los Angeles. Then Los Angeles ended up being canceled, kind of in December, I think.”
During an appearance on ESPN’s College GameDay this past September, The Rock confirmed that his dream match with Reigns was in the works for WrestleMania 39, but plans later fell through.
Only time will tell if The Rock vs. Roman Reigns finally happens at WrestleMania XL this year.
Source: eWn
Ever since joining Impact Wrestling/TNA Wrestling in April 2022, it’s been all sunshine and roses for Trinity, who is currently entering her sixth month as Knockouts Champion. It may also be her last month as champion, however, as Trinity appears to be contemplating a career move back to her old stomping grounds.
Fightful Select reports that Trinity’s contract with Impact/TNA is set to expire in the not-so-distant future and that the Knockouts Champion will be finishing up with the promotion. It’s unclear if Trinity’s last date will be the upcoming Hard to Kill PPV, where the promotion will officially rebrand back to TNA, or if she will continue to work through the end of the month.
As for what Trinity’s next move will be, those within WWE expect that she will return to the company, where she worked for over a decade under the name Naomi. One person within WWE believes a deal is so close that something drastic would have to occur to prevent Trinity from re-signing, though they pointed out that anything could happen in the current free agency market. WWE had previously sought to bring Trinity back last year but was prevented due to an unofficial hiring freeze. The move isn’t a surprise to those in TNA, who have long thought Trinity would return to WWE when her contract expired.
Trinity’s departure from WWE came under controversial circumstances, after she and then WWE Women’s Tag Team Title partner Mercedes Mone, then Sasha Banks, walked out of the promotion in May 2022 after disagreements with WWE Chairman Vince McMahon. While Trinity’s return to WWE is expected, the same cannot be said for Mone, who has broken off talks with WWE and is expected to sign with AEW.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
Tonight’s WWE NXT New Year’s Evil Live on USA Network from the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, FL.
After tons of speculation this week about “a former WWE champion” returning to WWE on tonight’s episode of “Raw,” the thousands of fans in the San Diego, California crowd, and the millions at home let out an audible sigh when Jinder Mahal hit the ring. But as “The Modern Day Maharaja” chastised the United States, expectations boomed for something more, and none other than The Rock made his way down the ramp, sending the place into a frenzy. From there, things only got more intriguing.
As Rock sang a custom rendition of the United States National Anthem to Mahal, things ended with more physicality than we’ve seen from “The People’s Champion” in several years, hammering Mahal with his trademark right hands, dropping him with a Spinebuster, and putting an end the altercation, of course, with The People’s Elbow.
From there, Rock thanked San Diego, told the crowd he loved them, and said he was hungry. He noted plans to go out and get something to eat but asked the crowd if he should sit in a booth, or maybe at the bar (which drew a pop from the audience, gleefully ending the holiday season themselves), or maybe, just maybe, he should take a seat at the head of the table.
Could that finally mean what the collective would think it to mean? Common sense would say that he wouldn’t utter those specific words without a specific payoff in mind. With WrestleMania season right around the corner, as well as a massive Elimination Chamber event in Perth, Australia, the conversation is only just getting started.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
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