Rey Mysterio Announced As First Inductee Into The 2023 WWE Hall Of Fame

Rey Mysterio was announced as the first inductee into the 2023 WWE Hall of Fame class. The most famous luchador of all time..

The WWE has announced its first inductee into the 2023 Hall of Fame Class and it’s a somewhat surprising name. Rey Mysterio will go into the Hall and while he’s completely deserving, that WWE has chosen to induct an active competitor who is not announcing his retirement or is close to being finished with his in-ring career, is the surprising part of this announcement.

Rumors circulated that the Great Muta might be the first name announced, so when a video package featuring Rey started showing as WWE announced their first entrant into this year’s class, fans were thrilled, but also a bit stunned. By every stretch of the imagination and by any measuring stick, Rey’s career is Hall of Fame worthy. That said, he wasn’t on anyone’s radar for being inducted this year, simply because he’s not finished as an active competitor. There have been names inducted that have come out of retirement, but it’s rare to see WWE put someone in the Hall of Fame who has plenty of gas left in the tank and hasn’t announced his departure from active competition.

Mysterio made his debut in WWE in 2002 and quickly became one of the most popular wrestlers in the company. He won numerous championships, including the WWE Championship, World Heavyweight Championship, Intercontinental Championship, and United States Championship. He is also a multiple-time Tag Team Champion, having won the belts with partners such as Eddie Guerrero, Batista, and Edge.

Known for his high-flying wrestling style and his signature moves, including the extremely popular 619 finisher, he is perhaps the most famous Luchador of all time and his elaborate masks have become a trademark of his persona. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest high-flyers in the history of professional wrestling and has been a mentor to many high-flyers who followed.

AEW Rampage Preview 3/10/2023

AEW taped this Friday night’s episode of Rampage at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, CA after Dynamite went off the air.

  • Konosuke Takeshita vs. Preston Vance
  • Sammy Guevara vs. Action Andretti
  • Riho vs. Nyla Rose
  • The Acclaimed in tag team action
  • Jungle Boy to speak

WWE SmackDown Preview 3/10/2023

WWE SmackDown will air live tonight on FOX, and emanate from the PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, PA.

  • Fatal Five-Way Intercontinental Championship Qualifying Match: Drew McIntyre vs. Sheamus vs. LA Knight vs. Karrion Kross vs. Xavier Woods
  • WWE announced on Thursday that Woods will replace the injured Kofi Kingston in the Fatal-Five Way. The winner will go on to challenge Gunther for the Intercontinental Championship at WrestleMania 39.
  • The Viking Raiders vs. Braun Strowman & Ricochet

AEW Is Working On Long-Term Deals For The Elite

Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks will have to decide whether they want to sign new AEW deals or see what they can get on the free agent market soon. 

Omega’s deal had been slated to expire earlier this year, but due to the time, he missed while on hiatus, time had been added to his existing deal. 

Dave Meltzer reported in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that AEW is keen to tie down The Elite to new deals.

“AEW is working on signing the Young Bucks and Kenny Omega to new long-term deals well before they become free agents.”

The Elite lost the AEW Trios Championships to the House Of Black at Revolution. Next week’s Dynamite, The Elite vs. Jericho Appreciation Society vs. House of Black, will take place.

Source: eWrestlingNews

WWE To Start Announcing Hall Of Fame Inductees Today?

WWE will be holding this year’s Hall of Fame ceremony on Friday, March 31, after SmackDown that night in Los Angeles.

WWE is just a few weeks away from WrestleMania weekend and has yet to announce any inductees for this year’s class. That will be changing, according to WrestleVotes. 

Per the report, WWE will start announcing the inductees today. 

“The plan as of Monday was to begin announcing this years Hall of Fame induction class today. The annual HOF ceremony is 3 weeks from tonight in Los Angeles following SmackDown.”

WWE is operating with the idea of keeping things shorter than in previous years. 

Earlier this week, Mick Foley revealed that he had been asked to induct someone as a part of this year’s class, although he wouldn’t offer any specifics on who had made the request or if it’d even been greenlit yet. One name that keeps being bandied about is Dave Bautista. He was initially tapped to enter the WWE Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2020. However, that event was put off as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. He was then going to be inducted the following year, but he was pulled from the slate with the wrestler-turned-actor stating that prior obligations would prevent him from attending. A later date was expected for his eventual participation, so could this be the year?

Sources: WrestleVotes and Wrestling Inc.

Taya Valkyrie Finishes Up With Impact Wrestling

Taya Valkyrie has finished up with Impact Wrestling. Pwinsider.com reports her last date for the promotion was on March 2nd at the TV tapings in Las Vegas.   

It’s worth pointing out that AEW TBS Champion Jade Cargill challenged a Canadian star to face her on Dynamite next week, and Valkyrie is Canadian so she could be the mystery person. 

Taya does currently hold the MLW Featherweight Title so if she does go to AEW then she may have to drop the title soon.

Source: eWrestlingNews

Impact Wrestling Preview 3/9/2023

Tonight’s episode of Impact Wrestling at 8/7c on AXS TV and 8:30pm ET on YouTube for IMPACT Insiders.

  • Knockouts Championship: Mickie James (c) vs. Gisele Shaw 
  • Sami Callihan vs. Rhino
  • Jonathan Gresham vs. Kushida

ROH TV Preview 3/9/2023

ROH will air a new episode of its weekly television show tonight at 7 pm ET on HonorClub. 

You can sign up for the streaming service here. 

  • Ring of Honor Television Championship: Samoa Joe (c) vs. Tony Deppen
  • Ring of Honor Pure Championship: Wheeler Yuta (c) vs. Timothy Thatcher
  • Ring of Honor Women’s Championship: Athena (c) vs. Willow Nightingale
  • Dalton Castle & The Boys vs. Marcus Cross, Guillermo Rosas & Cody Chhun
  • Rhett Titus & Tracy Williams vs. Aussie Open
  • Eddie Kingston vs. Ben Dejo
  • Serpentico & Angelico vs. RUSH & Dralistico
  • Billie Starkz vs. Trish Adora
  • Jake Crist & Man Scout vs. Ari Daivari & Slim J

The AEW All-Atlantic Title Renamed To International Championship

Orange Cassidy successfully defended the AEW All-Atlantic Championship against Jay Lethal on this week’s episode of Dynamite.

AEW President Tony Khan announced on Wednesday night’s show that the All-Atlantic Title is now “leveling up” to the AEW International Championship.

Cassidy will defend the AEW International Championship against Jeff Jarrett next Wednesday.

https://twitter.com/AEW/status/1633655024587874307

Cody Rhodes Teases That Brandi Could Make Her Return To WWE

Could Brandi Rhodes be making an appearance on WWE programming in due time? Never say never.

In February 2022, both Cody and Brandi parted ways with AEW but at this time, the American Nightmare is the only one to have made a return to WWE.

Speaking on the “Out of Character with Ryan Satin” podcast, Cody spoke about his wife, saying that it isn’t unusual for the pair to do things independently. He said,

“We always wanted to do everything separately. I think even in one of the last interviews she had done before I left, guy was making fun of me in the ring, and she went out there and didn’t even need me anywhere near her. She very much can defend herself and fight her own battles.”

Cody went on to say that given her support for his career both on and off-screen, Brandi is already playing a role in his WWE return.

The 2023 Men’s Royal Rumble winner remained cagey when discussing the possibility of Brandi returning to WWE, saying,

“I wouldn’t rule it out, but she absolutely loves watching what I’m doing. She’s got some stuff that she’s working on secretly, unrelated.”

Rhodes said he won’t spoil what his wife is working on, but he reminded fans to “never say never” when it comes to the wrestling business.

Brandi worked as a ring announcer for WWE in 2011 and then for a second run from 2013 to 2016 under the name Eden Stiles.

Source: eWrestlingNews