Tonight’s WWE RAW will take place from the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, PA with more build for the upcoming Royal Rumble event.
Category: WWE
WWE’s Medical Update On Sasha Banks Says She Will Miss The Royal Rumble
WWE provided an update on former Women’s Champion Sasha Banks earlier today, confirming reports that she is dealing with a foot injury. The full announcement can be seen below:
“Sasha Banks injury update
Sasha Banks suffered a foot injury Sunday evening at a WWE Live! event in Fayetteville, NC. After seeking emergency medical attention, it was determined nothing was broken. Sasha underwent an MRI and it was discovered she has a bruised calcaneus bone. She is at home recovering and undergoing physical therapy. She is expected to be out of action for 6-8 weeks. Stay locked in to WWE Digital for the latest updates.”
With the timeline provided, Banks is expected to miss the upcoming premium live event, WWE Royal Rumble 2022, taking place on Saturday, January 29. Stay tuned for updates on Banks’s status.
Banks wrestled SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair at last Sunday’s WWE live event in Fayetteville, NC, and appeared to hurt her leg or knee while taking an over-the-knee backbreaker. She kicked out of a pinfall but stayed on the mat while the referee checked her out, before they went to the finish with Flair getting the win after a Natural Selection. Banks was then helped to the back.
Banks posted an update for fans later that night, writing, “I’m good [fist emoji] Thank you for the love always. [heart emoji]”
It looked as though WWE may have been building towards Banks vs. Flair at Royal Rumble, as the two have been wrestling both on television in tag matches and at live events. However, if WWE’s report holds true, Banks will miss the Rumble and as noted, Flair will be appearing as the SmackDown Women’s Champion in the rumble. If she wins, Charlotte claims she will choose her own challenger for WrestlerMania this year.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
Impact Wrestling Knockouts Champion Mickie James Announced For WWE’s Royal Rumble
Impact Wrestling Knockouts Champion Mickie James will compete in the upcoming 2022 WWE women’s Royal Rumble match.
Mickie James is about to walk through the forbidden door … and straight into the 2022 women’s Royal Rumble match.
During this week’s edition of WWE SmackDown Charlotte Flair revealed the names of several women who are set to compete in this year’s women’s Royal Rumble match — including Impact Knockouts Champion Mickie James, who was released by WWE in April of last year.
But it gets weirder … on top of announcing that Mickie would be in the Rumble, Impact Wrestling was actually mentioned on air. At one point, SmackDown color commentator Pat McAfee referred to Mickie as “the Impact Knockouts Champion.”
Soon after, both WWE and Impact referenced one another in tweets announcing Mickie’s participation in the Rumble, while Impact’s EVP Scott D’Amore congratulated WWE for finally walking through the forbidden door.
The other participants announced for the women’s Royal Rumble match are as follows:
Charlotte Flair, Rhea Ripley, Nikki A.S.H., Nikki Bella, Brie Bella, Shotzi, Natalya, Michelle McCool, Dana Brooke, Carmella, Queen Zelina Vega, Tamina Snuka, Kelly Kelly, Aliyah, Summer Rae, Naomi, Shayna Baszler, and Lita. The match will feature 30 competitors in total meaning there are still 11 more participants to be announced.
As you might recall, Mickie James was released by WWE back in April, allegedly due to budget cuts necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mickie James returned to Impact after a six-year absence during the company’s Slammiversary pay-per-view back in July. Her relationship with the company first began way back in 2002 when it was called TNA. She signed for WWE in 2003 but returned to Impact in 2010. The legend kicked off her fourth reign as Impact Wrestling Knockouts Champion with a win over Deonna Purrazzo at Bound For Glory last October.
The 2022 Royal Rumble Premium Live Event will take place on Saturday, January 29, 2022, at The Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis, Missouri.
Source: TheSportster
WWE SmackDown Preview 1/7/22
The first WWE SmackDown on FOX of 2022 will take place tonight from the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, CT.
It’s believed that the first blue brand participant for the WWE Royal Rumble will be revealed on tonight’s show. Austin Theory, The Street Profits and The Mysterios were confirmed for the 30-Man Royal Rumble Match on this week’s RAW.
Sami Zayn is due for a title shot against WWE Intercontinental Champion Shinsuke Nakamura, and it’s possible that there will be an update on that feud tonight.
Tonight’s show will feature more fallout from WWE Day 1, and build for the Royal Rumble.
Samoa Joe Released By WWE
On Thursday, WWE released former NXT Champion Samoa Joe from his contract.
Following the news of his release, Samoa Joe issued a statement on social media that you can read below:
This is the second time WWE has released Samoa Joe over the past nine months. He was also let go from the company on Apr. 15 of last year, but WWE wound up bringing him back on a new deal. Samoa Joe returned to television as William Regal’s “Special Enforcer”.
He would go on to claim the NXT Championship at NXT TakeOver 36. Joe defeated Karrion Kross that night. Kross was among the company’s round of cuts in early November. In WWE, Joe won the NXT Championship three times and the United States Championship on two occasions. In 2015, he and Finn Balor teamed up to win the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic.
WWE has released several NXT wrestlers and employees since Wednesday. This included the stunning release of NXT mainstay William Regal, Scott Armstrong and WWE Hall of Famer Road Dogg. Wrestlers Hideki Suzuki, Timothy Thatcher, Danny Burch and Allison Danger were also released.
NXT talent contracts usually consist of 30-day non-compete clauses, and the clauses for main roster talents are traditionally for 90 days. It’s unclear how long Samoa Joe’s non-compete clause is for, but the well-respected wrestling legend shouldn’t have any problems finding a new home. Impact Wrestling could very well look to bring him back, and it obviously wouldn’t be a surprise if AEW made a play for the 42-year-old.
Various injuries unfortunately sidelined Samoa Joe for long periods of time in WWE after he joined the main roster in 2017. Still, Joe had high popularity among the fans and is an elite in-ring worker. Simply put, he should have had at least one world championship reign on the main roster, but WWE often failed to fully maximize his star power and potential. There’s little doubt that Samoa Joe will enjoy great success in his next stop.
Source: TheSportster
William Regal, Road Dogg And Others Released By WWE
WWE has made some more releases at the NXT brand. Those released include, Road Dogg, William Regal, Scott Armstrong, Timothy Thatcher, Danny Burch, Diamond Mine’s Hideki Suzuki, Cathy Carino aka Allison Danger, Gabe Sapolsky and a few other people working behind the scenes in NXT.
WWE has issued a statement to Fightful in the wake of the releases as more and more names are added to the list. “With the continued evolution of NXT 2.0, we’ve decided to part ways with some of the staff based in our Performance Center,” the statement reads. This comes after New Year’s Evil, the first NXT show of 2022 and one that marked more change for the brand as Bron Breakker won the NXT Title.
According to people close to the situation in NXT and at the Performance Center, the cuts are a continued attempt to remove everyone at the PC hired by Triple H. The biggest giveaway in that regard is the release of Road Dogg who has been close with The Game ever since the pair were in D-Generation X together.
Despite technically being under the employ of WWE since 2000, Regal was also brought into NXT and the PC in 2014 by Triple H. The former commissioner has worked closely with The Cerebral Assassin ever since, helping him to recruit talent for the NXT UK Title tournament which would eventually become the NXT UK brand. Wrestlers who worked under Regal have been sharing messages about the now-former NXT GM ever since the news broke.
The plot really does keep thickening in NXT and WWE as a whole when it comes to the company’s future. The role of Triple H, in particular, remains shrouded in mystery. The Game has been off TV and pretty much off work since he underwent surgery for a cardiac event a few months ago. While there is no reason to believe Triple H will be leaving the company, speculation will be more rife than ever before following the news above.
Sources: Fightful and TheSportster
Freddie Prinze Jr. Says WWE Offered To Sell “The Whole Product” To FOX
On this week’s Wrestling with Freddie podcast, Freddie Prinze Jr. was joined by Macaulay Culkin, as they delved into the world of WWE.
Culkin stated that he believes that WWE has lost focus of their product, as they are preparing to sell the company with current restructurings going on within. Freddie Prinze Jr. was quick to respond to reveal that WWE had previously offered to sell to FOX.
“I haven’t said this before, but I’ll say it now because it has been long enough,” Prinze Jr. began. “I was talking to a dude who was interviewing to be their COO, or they wanted to interview. They ended up going with Nick Khan, he had passed but he wanted to talk to me about the company. So we were just talking about the brand and all this, and he goes ‘yeah, they wanted us to buy the whole product.’ He’s an exec at FOX. He goes ‘they wanted us to buy the whole brand but the number they wanted wasn’t a number we were going to pay, so we licensed SmackDown instead.’”
Freddie Prinze Jr. and Macaulay Culkin highlighted particular flaws they felt WWE currently had. This included the revamping of the NXT brand. Prinze Jr. believes the brand went from “the most watchable brand in the whole company, to the most unwatchable in the space of a week.”
The pair were also critical about the way WWE handled Karrion Kross’ call up to the main roster by altering his character with a new look. Prinze Jr. said he felt bad for the former NXT Champion.
“When he came out [On RAW], in like the porno dungeon mask, and the red suspenders, I literally felt bad for the guy. I didn’t even know him. I reached out to a wrestler that I do know, who I happened to know was on the road with him, and I was ‘Yo man, give that dude a hug for me!’” Prinze Jr. said.
Source: Wrestling Inc. credit to Wrestling with Freddie podcast
Booker T Comments On His Impending Return To In-Ring Action
It was confirmed this week that Booker T will be returning to the ring for his Reality Of Wrestling promotion. During his latest Hall Of Fame podcast, Booker himself discussed the situation, likening his current role when he returns to the ring as that of a player-coach.
“Player-coach baby. I’ll coach it from the outside and, hey, I’m putting myself in the game. Go in and score 30,” he added. “That’s what it’s all about. It’s about letting these young guys get a ‘rub.’ Get a rub and let them see exactly what it takes from an inside perspective.”
Booker T will be teaming with Gaspar Hernandez and the match will be taking place on January 22 in Canton, Texas. He believes it is all about on-the-job training and also spoke about the future of his tag team partner.
“I mean, on-the-job training, baby,” Booker T said about the situation. “It’s about learning this thing the proper way. A straight line is the direction that Gaspar Hernandez is going. Do you feel me?”
Booker T is taking his return to wrestling seriously. He has not been in the ring since February of 2020, where he competed for Reality Of Wrestling as well. However, the Hall Of Famer has been getting ready to get back, by spending time inside of the gym in order to get ready.
“I just finished working out in the gym. I am getting prepared, I am getting ready,” the Hall Of Famer claimed. “To go out there and do something special, the first time that it has never been done. Player-coach, Booker T, Gaspar Hernandez, Canton, Texas. It’s going to be good.”
Source: Wrestling Inc. credit to Hall Of Fame podcast
Rick Steiner Appears With Bron Breakker After WWE NXT New Year’s Evil
The legendary Rick Steiner watched from ringside as his son Bron Breakker defeated Tommaso Ciampa for the WWE NXT Title in the main event of last night’s NXT New Year’s Evil event.
As seen in the photos and videos below, Steiner cheered his son on throughout the match, and then joined him in the ring for the post-match celebration after NXT went off the air.
Steiner was also greeted by Ciampa after the match. While Steiner was still in the crowd, Ciampa went over and shared a moment of respect with the former World Tag Team Champion, former WCW World Television Champion and former WCW United States Champion.
Breakker had noted in previous interviews that his father was supposed to be in the crowd for his first title match against Ciampa, back at Halloween Havoc in October, but he wasn’t there. There was no sign of Breakker’s legendary uncle, Scott Steiner, at tonight’s show.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
For full results from last night’s WWE NXT New Year’s Evil click HERE – Wrestling INC
WWE NXT ‘New Year’s Evil’ Preview 1/4/22
NXT Title Match
Bron Breakker vs. Tommaso Ciampa (c)
Triple Threat for the NXT Women’s Title
Cora Jade vs. Raquel Gonzalez vs. Mandy Rose (c)
Title vs. Title Unification Match: NXT North American Cruiserweight Championship
NXT Cruiserweight Champion Roderick Strong vs. NXT North American Champion Carmelo Hayes
AJ Styles appears live to confront Grayson Waller
Imperium (WALTER, NXT Tag Team Champions Marcel Barthel and Fabian Aichner) vs. RAW Tag Team Champion Riddle and MSK (Wes Lee, Nash Carter)
