Danhausen Signs With AEW, Debuts At Dynamite Beach Break

Former Ring Of Honor star Danhausen is officially ALL ELITE!

After months of teases, Danhausen is officially ALL ELITE! The former Ring Of Honor star made his AEW debut last night at Dynamite Beach Break and was confirmed as an official member of the roster shortly afterward by Tony Khan.

It all went down at the Wolstein Center in Cleveland, Ohio on Wednesday, January 26 for AEW’s third annual Beach Break-themed edition of its weekly flagship show on TBS. During the Lights Out main event between Adam Cole and Orange Cassidy, Cole tried to pull a steel chair out from underneath the ring … but there was no chair, only a very evil man by the name of Danhausen. Danhausen emerged from under the ring and pointed at Cole, who was visibly baffled. AEW’s newest acquisition then hobbled up the ramp and disappeared.

https://twitter.com/AEW/status/1486530869368086529

If you’re unfamiliar with his work, Danhausen is a spooky-looking guy with demonic face paint and an extravagant cape who walks around carrying either a cartoonish sack of “human money” or a regular jar filled with human teeth — or both! Danhausen speaks in an exaggerated high-pitched voice which sounds like a cross between Mark Hammil’s Joker and Conan O’Brien, from whom the artist behind Danhausen admits to drawing inspiration.

Danhausen’s addition means that CM Punk is no longer the only man on the AEW roster who uses the GTS as a finisher. Danhausen adopted the move for himself, but not before asking both Punk (and KENTA’s) permission.

“So as Danhausen saw it, CM Punk, wonderful fellow, gave Danhausen the GTS as his finisher. Then Kenta got a little angry at him, but then said he doesn’t care who uses it besides CM Punk,” Danhausen said on an episode of Renee Paquette’s Oral Session’s Podcast. “So Danhausen got two blessings as far as he can see it, CM Punk and Kentahausen… Even named it Very Nice, Very Kneevil.”

Source: TheSportster

AEW Dynamite Beach Break Preview 1/26/22

The 2022 Beach Break edition of AEW Dynamite on TBS will air live tonight from the Wolstein Center in Cleveland, Ohio.

* CM Punk will speak

* AEW Women’s World Champion Britt Baker will speak

* Red Velvet vs. Leyla Hirsch

* The Inner Circle’s Chris Jericho, Santana and Ortiz vs Daniel Garcia and 2point0

* Lights Out Unsanctioned Match: Adam Cole vs. Orange Cassidy

* Ladder Match: AEW TNT Champion Cody Rhodes vs. Interim AEW TNT Champion Sammy Guevara

ROH Announces Establishment Of A Hall of Fame

This past weekend, Kevin Eck teased online that a “major announcement” will be revealed this week that will excite “anyone who has ever been an ROH fan.”

Via the Ring of Honor Website, it was announced this morning that the company will be establishing a Hall of Fame to coincide with ROH’s 20th Anniversary.

You can see the full press release below:

To coincide with Ring of Honor’s 20th anniversary, the company is proud to announce the establishment of the ROH Hall of Fame.

Since its inception, ROH has created excellence in professional wrestling by giving the best wrestlers on the planet a platform to showcase their talent.

Now ROH will honor the outstanding athletes who have contributed greatly to making it one of the most influential pro wrestling promotions in the industry.

The first inductee in the inaugural ROH Hall of Fame class will be revealed this Monday. Subsequent inductees will be announced on Feb. 7, Feb. 14 and Feb. 21.

Also, each episode of Ring of Honor Wrestling in February will be devoted 

The company’s next major event, ROH’s Supercard of Honor XV, is set for this April. It was announced that Bandido vs. Jonathan Gresham to crown the Undisputed ROH World Champion will headline the Supercard of Honor event.

Supercard of Honor XV will mark ROH’s return from a hiatus. The event is scheduled for Friday, April 1 from the Curtis Culwell Center in Garland, TX. The only match announced as of this writing is Bandido vs. Gresham.

Founded on February 23, 2002 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Ring of Honor has spent the last 19 years as a place for stars to hone their craft inside the squared circle. Standout alumni include Bryan Danielson, CM Punk, Samoa Joe, as well as stars like Adam Cole, Kevin Owens, and Jay Lethal.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Possible Major Spoiler On WWE’s WrestleMania 38 Plans For Ronda Rousey

According to a report, WWE may have huge plans involving former Raw Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey for WrestleMania 38.

Former Raw Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey could be returning to the WWE very soon.

As previously noted, WWE is reportedly trying to bring back Ronda Rousey. Some are wondering if she’ll make a surprise return at Saturday’s Royal Rumble pay-per-view.

Speaking on Wrestling Observer Radio (h/t Inside The Ropes), Dave Meltzer reported that Rousey is “scheduled for WrestleMania” weekend on Apr. 2-3. Meltzer is assuming that Rousey will face current Raw Women’s Champion Becky Lynch.

Rousey’s last WWE match took place in the main event of WrestleMania 35 three years ago. Rousey (then the Raw Women’s Champion), Lynch and Charlotte Flair (then the SmackDown Women’s Champion) squared off in a triple threat match for both titles, which Lynch won (in controversial fashion) by pinning Rousey.

The women’s and men’s Royal Rumble matches usually feature several surprise entries, but we’ll just have to wait and see if Rousey makes an appearance. Some of the top names who are returning for the women’s Royal Rumble match include Impact Knockouts Champion Mickie James, Michelle McCool, Summer Rae, Kelly Kelly and Hall of Famers Lita, Nikki and Brie Bella.

Source: TheSportster

WWE NXT Preview 1/25/22

Tonight’s WWE NXT 2.0 episode on the USA Network will feature the final first round matches in the 2022 Men’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic.

Impact TV Tapings Reportedly Hit Hard By COVID-19

The weekend Impact Wrestling tapings in Pembroke Pines, Florida were reportedly hit hard by COVID-19.

Impact officials dealt with a lot of issues related to COVID-19 at the tapings on Friday and Saturday, according to PWInsider. A number of talent and staff missed the tapings due to medical protocols, whether it was testing positive for COVID-19 or being in close contact with someone who had tested positive.

It was noted by one Impact source that the COVID issues this past weekend were the “worst they had seen” in a long time, and that there were a lot of pivots & re-writes over the course of the week.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE Reportedly Attempting To Persuade Ronda Rousey To Return

According to a recent Fightful report, WWE is hoping to lure former WrestleMania main-eventer Ronda Rousey back to the ring.

WWE bosses reportedly want Ronda Rousey to get back in the ring and are doing all they can to make it happen.

Per Fightful Select, WWE is attempting to persuade Rousey to return to the company for the first time since 2019. Fightful reports that a potential Rousey return has been discussed so much that it is considered a “poorly kept secret” as even some people outside the company are aware of the efforts to lure Rousey back. Fightful also reports that Rousey’s name was mentioned as a potential surprise entrant in the 2022 Women’s Royal Rumble.

Rousey hasn’t been seen on WWE programming since April 2019, when she competed in the main event of WrestleMania 35 with Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair. Becky Lynch won that match, bringing an end to Rousey’s 231-day reign as Raw Women’s Champion. Lynch believes Rousey wants to return to get her win back.

“We have a lot of people,” Lynch said in an interview with Graham Matthews of Bleacher Report last November. “Then, of course, is Ronda Rousey going to be champing at the bit to get back now that she sees what I’ve accomplished? Maybe she’d want to accomplish the same, maybe she’ll want to get retribution for the loss I gave her at WrestleMania 35. The same loss that’s caused me to be champion ever since,” Lynch added.

According to Wrestling Inc, Rousey’s contract came to an end in April of last year, and since there’s been no word of her signing a new deal, she is almost certainly a free agent.

Last September, Rousey and her husband Travis Browne welcomed their first child as a couple, La’akea Makalapuaokalanipō Browne, to the world. La’akea is the first child Rousey and Browne have had together, and Browne’s third child overall as Rousey is a step-mom to two from Browne’s previous relationship.

Source: TheSportster

Brian Kendrick Has Requested His Release From WWE

The WWE release train refused to stop rolling in 2021, and it doesn’t appear to be running short on steam this year either. WWE kicked off the year by letting go of a number of its backstage staff in NXT. That was followed up by Mustafa Ali requesting his release, although the former Retribution leader doesn’t appear to have been granted his request at the time of this posting.

According to PWInsider, Ali isn’t the only Superstar waiting for WWE to grant a release request. The site has confirmed with multiple sources that Brian Kendrick asked to be released as far back as six weeks ago but is yet to be told he is free to leave. Kendrick hasn’t wrestled on WWE TV since October 2020 and even said he had retired from in-ring competition.

Kendrick has remained busy behind the scenes though, working with talent in NXT and on 205 Live. He even briefly returned to TV recently as a part of an angle involving NXT 2.0 stars Joe Gacy and Harland. Kendrick was thrown down the stairs during one of Harland’s fits of rage. That was supposed to lead to a match between the two, but it never came to fruition.

The timing of the angle and Kendrick’s reported release request is certainly very interesting. What’s unclear is when exactly Kendrick requested his release, and therefore what triggered it. Whether WWE knew he was unhappy with his lot in the company and started up an angle in an attempt to appease him, or if the angle was WWE’s idea and his involvement is what led Kendrick to ask if he could leave the company.

Source: TheSportster

WWE RAW Preview 1/24/22

Tonight’s WWE RAW will take place from the Huntington Center in Toledo, Ohio with the go-home build for the Royal Rumble.

WWE NXT Stand & Deliver, WWE Hall Of Fame And More Confirmed For WrestleMania 38 Week

The second WWE NXT Stand & Deliver event has been confirmed for WrestleMania 38 Weekend near Dallas, TX.

WWE announced today that NXT Stand & Deliver, without the Takeover name, will take place in the Dallas area leading up to WrestleMania 38, which takes place on Saturday, April 2 and Sunday, April 3 from AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX.

The previous Stand & Deliver event was a two-night event, but there’s no word yet on if Stand & Deliver II will take place over two nights.

WWE also confirmed that RAW, SmackDown and the 2022 WWE Hall of Fame induction ceremony will take place in the Dallas area during WrestleMania 38 Week. There will also be “an unprecedented” Superstore Axxess for fans.

WWE will be announcing full details on the WrestleMania 38 Week events in the coming weeks.

Source: Wrestling Inc.