Tonight’s AEW Dynamite episode airs on TNT from Daily’s Place in Jacksonville, Florida.
* Chris Jericho’s 30 year celebration
* Chris Jericho and Jake Hager vs. Chaos Project (Luther and Serpentico)
* Brian Cage (c) with Taz vs. Will Hobbs (FTW Championship)
* Brodie Lee (c) vs. Cody (Dog Collar Match for the AEW TNT Championship)
* FTR (c) with Tully Blanchard vs. TH2 (AEW World Tag Team Championship)
* Big Swole vs. Serena Deeb
Tonight’s WWE NXT episode will air live on the USA Network from the new Capitol Wrestling Center in Orlando, formerly known as the WWE Performance Center.
This will be the first episode to air from the renovated CWC. The show will feature fallout from last Sunday’s “Takeover: 31” event.
Triple H held a media call last week and teased a “game changing” look and feel for NXT TakeOver: 31.
“So this Sunday’s TakeOver will have a very unique look and feel, something totally different that hasn’t been done so far,” Triple H said. “You’ll find out more on Sunday, but it will be very unique, and I think hopefully, at least for us, game changing.”
It was later reported WWE was moving all NXT tapings — including tonight’s TakeOver — from the NXT Arena on the campus of Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida to the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida. Since RAW and SmackDown headed to the Amway Center (WWE ThunderDome) that left the WWE PC available for NXT.
Sports Illustrated is reporting the Performance Center has a newly remodeled TV set, and will now be known as the Capitol Wrestling Center. This is a tribute the the Capitol Wrestling Corporation, founded by Jess McMahon in 1953 and run by Vincent J. McMahon.
“It’s a historic callback to where this all began,” Triple H said about the new name. “We gutted the Performance Center and it’s now rebuilt, so it feels like we’re going back to the beginning. To me, it feels like we’re going back to 1953. Just like then, we’re doing something different and new, taking the business to a whole new level.
“The Capitol Wrestling Center captures the feel and the vibe of NXT. We will have all the bells and whistles of the ThunderDome, but we’ll keep that NXT feel. It’s edgier, darker and raw — you’re walking into the ultimate heavy metal soundstage.”
Along with the virtual fans, there will be fans in attendance in a limited capacity of around 100 people at tonight’s show.
“There will be a contingent of fans in attendance, some of which will be talent, others will be friends and family and some will be fans,” Triple H stated. “We will take every safety precaution that there is. All of this was signed off by our medical staff. Everybody that walks in the building will be PCR tested, take a questionnaire and be medically screened. There will be plexiglass pods with fans that are in groups, and the groups will vary in size. Everyone will wear masks, and each group will never be near anyone else.”
Triple H also noted there was talk of running NXT at the ThunderDome, but he was resistant as he wanted NXT to keep its own unique feel. The move to the Capitol Wrestling Center does not mean WWE’s relationship with Full Sail has ended.
“We are not severing our relationship with Full Sail,” Triple H confirmed. “I’m very proud of all we’ve done there. This move is the right decision for us from a tech standpoint, but I look forward to returning there soon and the partnership remains strong.”
Source: Wrestling Inc.
There are very few women’s wrestlers still around who performed during the 1990s but former WWE Women’s Champion Jazz is still going strong. She’s spent over 20 years in the ring and has had stints in WWE, ECW and NWA where she was recently the Women’s Champion.
Jazz discussed still wrestling like she did 20 years ago while also revealing that she is now retired from in-ring competition when she joined The Chris Van Vliet Show.
“Maybe I was a few months ago, but honestly, I just had my last match this past Sunday,” revealed Jazz. “I’m done with in-ring; last match. Yeah, I’m going to say ever. I’m done. I’m limping right now, so I’m done yes. Yeah, but I’m not going to Terry Funk it. I’m done.
“I was going to do a whole tour in 2020, but with the pandemic happening, that kind of screwed everything up. But we’ll see for 2021. I may try to do a little tour around.”
Jazz’s retirement plans were previously unknown so she was asked to confirm that she is indeed retired.
“Well, I’m really done. But I go out there and do 45 seconds – 1 minute. That’s all I got,” stated Jazz.
Her first big break in the business came in 1999 when Jazz joined ECW under the name of Jazzmine. Paul Heyman played a big part in helping kickstart her career and Jazz talked about Heyman’s influence.
“I always give Paul E credit because the birth of Jazz happened in ECW. So, without Paul E, there would be no Jazz and he not only gave me an opportunity, he pushed me to just go out there and let it happen. But he would tell the guys, ‘Don’t go easy on her.’ It’s pretty scary before a pay-per-view match and he’s over there telling your opponent, ‘Beat the f–k out of her!’ and you’re already nervous and then, he comes over there to me, ‘I want you to put it on him. Beat him like he stole from your mama!’ That’s how Paul E is,” recalled Jazz.
“He likes to get in your mind and he’s good at it. But yeah, he’s the one who gave me my first opportunity and it was up to me. I was given the opportunity and it was either nut up or shut up.”
When ECW went bankrupt, lots of talent ended up joining WWE but if you ask those former ECW Originals, most would say that they would have stayed in ECW if the company stayed afloat. There was a special kinship amongst ECW wrestlers and Jazz was asked if WWE was on her radar at that time.
“No, because everyone in ECW… that was our home. We were such a family and I don’t know if you ever go to any signings – WrestleCons or whatever – but if you see any ECW people there, it’s nothing but love. There was no jealousy because everybody had the opportunity to shine. I mean, the ring crew, they even got a chance to wrestle every night,” stated Jazz.
“So, it was no fighting for a spot. You had your top guys and that was understandable, but every night, you’re going to get an opportunity to work and that’s what it’s about.”
It was her time in ECW that led to Jazz joining WWE and she recalled the whole process it took for her to come on WWE’s radar, get signed and then make her debut.
“Yes, again, Paul E was there in WWF at the time and I saw Dreamer in Tyler, Texas, I believe at an Indy Show, and he was like, ‘Jazz, I’m going to talk to Paul and see if we can get you a tryout.’ And I was like, ‘Hell yeah! That sounds great!’ So, that got everything set up,” stated Jazz. “I went over there and I worked Ivory in a dark match and when I approached her, she was like, ‘Oh my God! Nice to meet you! Molly Holly told me all about you! She loves you. She said you’re awesome!’ So, she made the match all about me. She really did and they said that was the biggest response they ever had from a ladies’ match was our dark match.
“Paul’s like, ‘You’re going to get a call on Monday! …Three months later, I did receive a phone call from Johnny Ace. ‘Don’t really know who you are kid, but everyone, they talk good about you. But yeah, we want you to be part of the company. Your contract’s on its way to you.’ And Jim Ross was telling me, ‘Just go to OVW to get the ring rust off’ because I hadn’t been in the ring for a little while – well wrestling – but I guess to just to get back to the TV style of performing. I was in OVW for 6-to-8 weeks and they called me up to debut for Survivor Series [2001].
“Yeah and low and behold, I was always a babyface in wrestling, and then, when I get to WWF, they tell me, ‘We want you to be a heel.’ And I was like, ‘Oh wow.’ S–t, it worked out right?!”
Source: Wrestling Inc. with credit to The Chris Van Vliet Show
Recently the NWA has been featured on the United Wrestling Network but many fans have wondered if NWA Powerrr will return. NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion Nick Aldis assured fans that Powerrr is not going anywhere, and NWA President Billy Corgan confirmed Powerrr’s return. Some have recently received an email with a survey ahead of the show’s return.
The contents of the email said that the survey would help NWA “gauge your interest in the NWA,” and it would “allow us to show potential sponsors that wrestling is a product worth investing in.”
The survey asks typically questions like gender, age, education and financial status. The survey then asks fans their level of NWA fandom, if they are a subscriber to the WWE Network and any other paid wrestling subscription service, how likely they are to buy a NWA PPV and what factors would lead them to buy a PPV and if they have ever purchased merchandise from the NWA.
A return date has not been confirmed, but the email acknowledged how the COVID-19 pandemic has changed wrestling and NWA’s goal in trying to figure out the best way to bring back Powerrr.
“The landscape of wrestling has changed over this past year for no fault of anyone’s,” the email for the survey read. “We are working and trying to determine the best way to bring back Powerrr. With the answers to these survey questions, we can begin planning even further. As always our end goal is to provide you the fan great quality entertainment while honoring the history and legacy of the NWA name.”
Source: Wrestling Inc.
FOX is scheduled to air a WWE special this Sunday along with their NFL coverage.
“WWE’s Best Moments of 2020” will air alongside FOX’s NFL games this Sunday. Fans should check their local listings for when it will air.
WWE issued the following announcement on Sunday’s special:
Don’t miss WWE’s Best Moments of 2020 this Sunday on FOX
WWE brings all the action of the squared circle to FOX this Sunday with a special presentation of “The Best Moments of 2020,” alongside the NFL’s hard-hitting lineup.
The FOX special will feature a collection of the past year’s best matches and moments from The Undertaker, Universal Champion Roman Reigns, WWE Champion Drew McIntyre, John Cena, Raw Woman’s Champion Asuka, SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley, Raw Tag Team Champions The Street Profits, Sasha Banks, The Fiend, AJ Styles, Randy Orton, Edge, Seth Rollins, Braun Strowman and Matt Riddle.
Check your local listings and don’t miss a moment of the action when WWE looks back on the best moments of 2020 on FOX.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
The next chapter on the road to Bound for Glory unfolds tonight on Impact at 8/7c on AXS TV and Twitch.
* EC3 to hold a funeral for Moose’s TNA World Heavyweight Championship Belt
* Motor City Machine Guns vs. Ace Austin and Madman Fulton
* Kiera Hogan and Tasha Sleelz vs. Rosemary and Taya Valkyrie
Tonight’s WWE RAW will air live from The ThunderDome at the Amway Center in Orlando with more build for the upcoming Hell In a Cell pay-per-view.
WWE has announced a six-man main event for tonight’s RAW with WWE Champion Drew McIntyre and RAW Tag Team Champions The Street Profits vs. Robert Roode, Dolph Ziggler and Randy Orton.
The Brand-To-Brand Invitational will also continue tonight as Bray Wyatt has been invited to appear on The KO Show with Kevin Owens. This comes after Owens appeared on last Friday’s SmackDown for The KO Show with Alexa Bliss, which ended with The Fiend attacking Owens.
It’s also possible that RAW Underground will return this week. The “worked shoot-style” fighting competition took a week off last Monday due to the COVID-19 situation.
Tracy Smothers, who was diagnosed with cancer last year, has been hospitalized as he continues to battle with lymphoma and other health issues. Former ECW and WWE, Memphis Wrestling, Smoky Mountain Wrestling Superstar The Blue Meanie posted the following update on Smothers, saying,
“My mind and heart are with Tracy Smothers tonight as I’m hearing of his battle with cancer and other complications have him hospitalized. This hurts my heart. I am who I am in wrestling because he helped mold me and countless others. I love you man! Keep fighting!”
We send our best wishes to Smothers and his family.
Source: ewrestlingnews
