WWE Backstage Returning For One Night Only With Renee Young, Paige And Booker T

WWE and FOX Sports have announced a special edition of WWE Backstage on FS1.

The special episode will air during Royal Rumble Weekend on Saturday, January 30 at 8pm ET on FS1. A replay will air later that night at midnight, and another replay will air at 5pm ET on Royal Rumble Sunday, as a lead-in to the Royal Rumble Kickoff pre-show.

The special edition of WWE Backstage will be hosted by Renee Paquette (Renee Young), Paige, and WWE Hall of Famer Booker T.

WWE Backstage aired from November 2019 through mid-March of this year after production was stopped due to the COVID-19 pandemic. FOX Sports then announced in June that the show was no longer airing. A special post-SmackDown edition of the show was scheduled to air back on October 23, but it was nixed at the last minute and replaced with an airing of Talking Smack.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Tama Tonga Calls Out Kenny Omega And The Good Brothers For “Bullet Club” Reunion

Many wrestling fans were stoked to see a Bullet Club reunion with Kenny Omega, The Young Bucks and The Good Brothers throwing up the “Too Sweet” symbol on AEW Dynamite. The trio of Omega and The Good Brothers then took part in a six-man tag match at Impact Wrestling’s Hard to Kill as part of the AEW-Impact partnership.

But one person who wasn’t thrilled to see this reunion is founding Bullet Club member Tama Tonga. He called out Omega and The Good Brothers for being part of the “Bootleg Club” on his Tama’s Island podcast.

“If I was Dave Meltzer, I would have given the shirt 5 stars and given Kenny Omega 2 stars because his tan was more orange than a damn pumpkin! Who taught you how to tan, bro? Damn! You need to stop using that maple syrup as tanning because that’s not it, bro. That’s not it,” said Tonga.

“And let me tell you something, Karl Anderson, nice sweatshirt. I like it. I’ll give you props cause you’re an OG. But I’m gonna correct everybody that’s been saying, ‘Oh he’s an OG.’ Are y’all f***ing crazy? Are y’all f***ing out of your mind? You haven’t been in the group for five f***ing years, bro! You’ve gone onto greener pastures and you don’t have no say no more in Bullet Club. You know no longer claim Bullet Club. You were the OC. You were Bullet Proof. You were Bullet Brigade. You were the Bullet nobody cares. You were this. You were that. How many godd**n times are you gonna try, dog? It ain’t gonna work. When you ain’t got the heart and soul in it, it’s just bulls***.”

Anderson and Gallows departed the Bullet Club – and New Japan – in 2016 to join WWE and then Omega departed two years later to form AEW. Thus, the three didn’t leave the stable on the best of terms as they were essentially kicked out by the remaining members.

Tonga says that the reunion would have been great if it had taken place back in Japan but since it didn’t, the reunion made no sense for three people who were originally kicked out of the group.

“It would have been all gravy if they came back to Japan. There would have been a big ass reunion. I would have thrown a party. I would have gotten like 900 sponsors all over the place. We would have thrown out everything for these guys,” stated Tonga.

“And you sold out to the one team that we kicked out? How are you gonna have a reunion with guys that got kicked out? What kind of sh** it that, bro? What kind of sh** is that? That’s the dumbest, stupidest sh** I ever heard, bro. Y’all can’t get any dumber than that but I expect that. I expected you guys to play that stupid card. C’mon, you can do better than that, Karl Smanderson and Luke Smallows. Come on man!”

After being released by WWE, The Good Brothers could have returned to New Japan where they were three-time IWGP Tag Team Champions. But they elected to join Impact Wrestling and that doesn’t sit well with Tonga.

“Once a sellout, always a sellout. Never forget that,” Tonga said of Gallows and Anderson. “They’re always about that quick buck and whoring off, knowing the right time to pull the trigger. You guys are a bunch of, ‘Click. Click. Click. Click… No BANG!’ Nothing.

“The ‘Too Sweet’ heard around the world? F**k all that nonsense. That stupid-ass f***ery. That sh** is whack anyway. We done moved on. We done moved on.”

After the Bullet Club Reunion on Dynamite, AEW has filed a trademark to the ‘Too Sweet’ phrase. Omega, Gallows and Anderson then teamed as “The Elite” on an episode of Dynamite and some fans have argued that the Elite is further promoting the Bullet Club brand.

Tonga argues against that notion and says the members of the Elite are only out for themselves and don’t care about the Bullet Club.

“The only people they’re advertising are themselves, not Bullet Club. And you all should have known that when they did the whole Elite thing,” said Tonga. “‘Oh, the Elite made Bullet Club more famous.’ B***h, the Elite made the Elite more famous, not the Bullet Club. But that’s how they were able to go on. They used Bullet Club to go on and do their other sh**. They used us as a platform and let’s not forget that bulls***. Come on now! They used us, they used ROH. Who else did they use?

“I’m gonna tell you this – remember this – how you treat people on the way up is how they’re gonna treat you on the way down. Don’t forget that! Look at them struggling right now, man. Struggling so bad and so desperate, ‘Oh, let’s bring Bullet Club and all the ex-members.’ What kind of dumb sh** is that? I’ve never seen anything so dumb before. Karl Anderson, I expected more man. But I guess I was wrong. I guess five years out there in New York really cluttered your brain.”

Source: Wrestling Inc.

AEW Confirms Sting Will Compete In A Street Fight At Revolution

All Elite Wrestling has officially confirmed that Sting will team up with Darby Allin to take on Team Taz in a Street Fight at Revolution

In case you missed it, Team Taz laid down a challenge to “The Icon” and Darby on this week’s edition of Dynamite.

“You wanna take it to the streets? Balls in your court, bitches,” Taz said in a backstage promo aimed at Sting and the TNT Champion, who were in the ring.

“Be careful what you wish for,” Darby replied, before leaving with the ring alongside the WWE Hall of Famer.

The match was officially confirmed by AEW on social media on Thursday. It will be Darby Allin and Sting vs. Brian Cage and Ricky Starks in a Street Fight at Revolution February 27.

This will be Sting’s first match since retiring due to injury following a match with Seth Rollins in September of 2015.

Source: Pro Wrestling Sheet

Men’s And Women’s Dusty Classic Matches Set For WWE 205 Live

This week’s WWE 205 Live episode will see the WWE NXT Men’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic and the NXT Women’s Dusty Classic continue with first round matches.

The men’s tournament will continue this Friday night with the final first round match. Tony Nese and Ariya Daivari will face Tommaso Ciampa and Timothy Thatcher. As noted, Thatcher and Ciampa are replacing Ashante “Thee” Adonis and Desmond Troy after Karrion Kross injured Adonis during their squash match on last night’s NXT show.

The second first round match in the women’s tournament will take place on 205 Live with The Way (Candice LeRae, Indi Hartwell) vs. Gigi Dolin (Priscilla Kelly) and Cora Jade (Elayna Black). This will be the first time a women’s match has been held on 205 Live.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE Confirms New Signings Including Priscilla Kelly (Gigi Dolin)

WWE has confirmed that female wrestlers Lacey Ryan, Priscilla Kelly, and Elayna Black are officially part of the company’s roster.

The signings were announced on the NXT Twitter account on Wednesday.

All three women have undergone WWE name changes:

  • Lacey Ryan will be performing under the name Zoey Stark
  • Priscilla Kelly will now be known as Gigi Dolin
  • Elayna Black’s new moniker is Cora Jade

Stark, Dolin and Jade will all participate in the Women’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic.

Dolin and Jade will team up to take on Candice LeRae and Indi Hartwell in the first round, while Zoey Stark will join forces with Marina Shafir to take on Shotzi Blackheart and Ember Moon.

Gigi Dolin will already be familiar to some WWE fans as she performed in the 2018 Mae Young Classic.

Source: Pro Wrestling Sheet

WWE To Have Fans At WrestleMania 37

WWE is set to have actual fans in attendance at Raymond James Stadium for WrestleMania 37, which will take place across two nights on April 10 and April 11 in Tampa, FL.

As seen in the video above, WWE Chief Brand Officer Stephanie McMahon spoke with TMZ Sports this week and said the current plan is to have fans in the crowd at WrestleMania 37.

“I’m thrilled and excited because, hopefully, this will be the first opportunity for us to have our fans back in attendance,” she said of WrestleMania 37. “You know, that’s the current plan. Of course ticket information is not available yet because we’re still trying to figure out all the different machinations.

“We’re really lucky though because the NFL Super Bowl is our lead-in this year, from Raymond James Stadium. So, we’re going to learn a lot from them, logistically, etc., and really best practices, what works, what doesn’t work. But man, we can’t wait to come in and for two nights, hopefully, really rock that pirate ship.”

Stephanie later reiterated that the current plan is to have fans at Raymond James Stadium. She was asked how they determine if they go forward with that plan, and how the COVID-19 pandemic affects things.

“I mean, pretty much it really is working with the local organizing committee and all of the health professionals,” she said. “Health & safety is first and foremost, of course. You know, for our fans, for our performers, for the employees, for the staff working the building.

“There’s a lot of different logistics that need to be determined, but hopefully it’ll all work out and this will be the first WWE event where we actually bring the WWE Universe back together, in person, and I cannot wait.”

Stephanie was later asked if WWE knows how many fans they want to try and bring to Raymond James Stadium for the big event. She said they do have a plan but she wouldn’t announce it yet.

WWE Champion Drew McIntyre also confirmed that there will be a limited crowd at WrestleMania 37 during a new interview with FOX 13 in Tampa.

McIntyre talked about why WrestleMania 36 was disappointing to him as he hoped to win the WWE Title from Brock Lesnar in front of 90,000 people before the coronavirus pandemic forced the event to move to the closed-set WWE Performance Center. He then confirmed that tickets for WrestleMania 37 will be announced soon.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

MLW Fusion Preview 1/20/21

•World Heavyweight Championship: Jacob Fatu (c) vs. ACH

•Grudge Match: Simon Gotch vs. Jordan Oliver

•Daivari vs. Zenshi

MLW returns TONIGHT at 7pm ET with Fusion, featuring an World Heavyweight title fight between two of the best in the world, and available on Fubo Sports, Roku Channel, DAZN and YouTube.  Learn more about where to watch.

ACH attempts to do the impossible and take down the unstoppable Jacob Fatu as CONTRA unleashes its army on this edition of Fusion, presented by newlawoffice.com.

Tenacious, Texas powerhouse ACH steps into the ring with the 300 pound juggernaut Jacob Fatu as the top ranked, hybrid heavyweight from Austin attempts to make history and dethrone the undefeated and seemingly unstoppable CONTRA kingpin.

After being suspiciously attacked, ACH vows he will not be denied as he chases his lifelong dream. ACH now challenges for the World Heavyweight Championship!

The collision course nearly a year in the making finally reaches its boiling point as rising heavyweight Jordan Oliver steps into the ring with CONTRA’s grappling general Simon Gotch! Just weeks removed from CONTRA’s vicious and humiliating attack on Injustice, Jordan Oliver wants some justice as rumbles with Gotch in a grudge match.

Speaking of CONTRA, the global dealers in violence unleash their newest soldier on the league as Daivari takes on the high flying Zenshi in his debut!

Mads Krügger issues a challenge for National Openweight Champ Alexander Hammerstone!

Team Filthy will go on record regarding the allegations they attacked ACH. What will Tom Lawlor and his team have to say? Tune in to find out.

Who is the new owner of Promociones Dorado? Alicia Atout looks for answers as she speaks exclusively with the now former owner Salina de la Renta.

Self-proclaimed Caribbean Heavyweight Champion Richard Holliday and Savio Vega address rumors of an impending fight to decide once and for all who is the rightful owner of the Caribbean Championship.

Join Rich Bocchini, fight analyst Saint Laurent, and backstage correspondent Alicia Atout for a night of top ranked competition headlined by a highly anticipated MLW World Heavyweight title fight.

Fans can also watch nationwide on cable and dish via beIN SPORTS on Saturday nights at 10pm ET and on demand anytime, anywhere on DAZN.  Learn more about where to watch.

AEW Dynamite Preview 1/20/21

Tonight’s AEW Dynamite episode airs on TNT at Daily’s Place in Jacksonville, Florida.

* Peter Avalon vs. Cody Rhodes

* Penelope Ford vs. Leyla Hirsch

* Chris Jericho and MJF vs. Santana and Ortiz vs. Sammy Guevara and Jake Hager (Winner is the official tag team of the Inner Circle)

* Hangman Page, Colt Cabana, John Silver, and Alex Reynolds vs. The Hybrid2 and Chaos Project (Page to give his answer on joining the group after the match)

* Top Flight and Matt Sydal vs. Matt Hardy and Private Party

* Miro to give an update on his new butler Chuck Taylor

* Jon Moxley in action

* Sting to congratulate AEW TNT Champion Darby Allin

* AEW World Champion Kenny Omega to reflect on his dominance

WWE NXT Preview 1/20/21

Tonight’s WWE NXT episode on the USA Network will see the return of the Fight Pit, plus the kick off to the first-ever NXT Women’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic.

AEW/Impact Partnership Continues, Tony Khan, Jerry Lynn, Matt Hardy And Private Party Appear On Impact

AEW President & CEO Tony Khan appeared on tonight’s Impact Wrestling episode, along with several AEW wrestlers.

The opening segment on tonight’s show featured a clip of AEW World Champion Kenny Omega, Impact World Tag Team Champions The Good Brothers, and Don Callis hanging out and celebrating their main event win over Impact World Champion Rich Swann, Moose and Chris Sabin at last Saturday’s Hard To Kill pay-per-view. The clip was from backstage after Saturday’s win. Callis noted that he and Omega were headed back to Jacksonville for Dynamite and to “disappear for a while,” but he didn’t want anyone to forget what they’ve done while here at Impact. He also said that Omega and The Good Brothers were already planning what’s next and while they are taking a hiatus from Impact, they will be back.

Tonight’s show also featured an in-ring segment where The Good Brothers came to the ring to brag about last Saturday’s Hard To Kill main event. They were interrupted by Sabin, who said he wanted a rematch for the titles. The Good Brothers pointed out how Alex Shelley wasn’t here again tonight, but Sabin said he had another guy. That’s when James Storm made his return to the company. Storm and Sabin went to the ring to make a case for a title shot, but were interrupted by AEW’s Matt Hardy and Private Party. Matt praised Private Party and said they should be the ones getting a title shot. He also plugged the six-man match on this week’s Dynamite, which will see Hardy and Private Party take on Matt Sydal and Top Flight. Hardy also mentioned that he saved Impact from collapsing in 2016, and that he and brother Jeff Hardy technically never lost the Impact World Tag Team Titles.

It was then announced that the main event would feature Storm and Sabin vs. Private Party with the winners being named the new #1 contenders to The Good Brothers.

Khan and Tony Schiavone later released another “paid advertisement” segment on tonight’s Impact, but this time AEW producer Jerry Lynn was featured at Khan’s side. They plugged tomorrow’s AEW Dynamite and revealed that they were in Nashville for tonight’s show.

Shortly after the tag team main event began, Khan and Lynn brought two chairs out to get a closer look at the action. Hardy was also out as he accompanied Private Party to the ring. The finish saw Lynn interfere to help Private Party get the pin to win, and become the new #1 contenders to The Good Brothers’ World Tag Team Titles.

After the main event, The Good Brothers faced off with Private Party until Sabin and Storm attacked them. Impact went off the air after a big brawl broke out.

There is no word on when Private Party vs. The Good Brothers will take place for the titles, or if Sabin and Storm will be added to the match due to the interference.

On a related note, Swann appeared on tonight’s show and mentioned that he’s not sure if his feud with Omega is finished, but he did know that Omega was not in the building tonight. Swann then continued his feud with TNA World Heavyweight Champion Moose.

AEW has announced that Omega will be on tomorrow’s Dynamite show to “reflect on his dominance” as of late. Callis will be with him, but there’s no word yet on if any other Impact stars will be appearing.