Tonight’s WWE RAW will take place from the Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma with the red brand’s final hype for Sunday’s Royal Rumble pay-per-view.
* Finn Bálor believes he can slay The Beast
* Ronda Rousey & Natalya to square off against Sasha Banks & Bayley this Monday night
* New Superstars make their presence felt
* What’s next for Braun Strowman?
* The Bobby Lashley era has begun
Matt Hardy was on Twitter earlier today and in a response to an individual asking if he had retired, Hardy revealed that he has been physically greenlit and doesn’t plan on retiring anytime soon. Hardy was originally suffering from pain stemming from his lower back and his pelvis fusing together and he used this time away from the ring to rehab the afflicted areas.
Hardy’s last televised match was August 13, 2018, when he and Bray Wyatt lost to “The B Team’s” Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel in a match for the Raw Tag Team Championships. His final match before taking time away to rehab was at a WWE Live Event in Corpus Christi, Texas on September 25, 2018.
Hardy recently had an interview with Akhilesh Gannavarapu from Wrestling Inc. and during the discussion, Hardy explained that he sees himself returning sooner rather than later.
“As far as a timetable of when I’m going to return, I don’t have an exact timetable but I would say sooner than later,” Hardy said. “There is not a set timeline [for me returning]. Whenever I was ‘going home’ there were some issues, some nagging injuries I was dealing with. I had to go home and do some rehabilitation.”
Matt responded to the individual on Twitter with, “No, I am not retired & not going to be retiring anytime soon. I’ve worked my ass off to rehabilitate & have physically been greenlit. My body is in the best shape it’s been in in years & I’m the lightest I’ve been in 20 years.” You can read the full tweet below:
Source: WrestlingINC
Former WWE RAW Tag Team Champion, Akam from The Authors of Pain has been sidelined with a leg injury, according to Dave Meltzer in the latest Wrestling Observer Radio.
Meltzer explained that the injury is the reason AOP hasn’t been used on TV in recent weeks, and Akam is expected to be out for at least a few months.
Akam’s last television match with The Authors of Pain was on the December 17, 2018 episode of WWE RAW, losing a Fatal-4-Way tag team match to The Revival’s Scott Dawson & Dash Wilder. They would compete in a handful of WWE live events shortly after that, but remain off TV.
Along with their recent reign as the WWE RAW Tag Team Champions, AOP has also held the NXT Tag Team Championships once and won the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic in 2016.
Source: WrestlingINC
In case you missed it, Bodyslam.net first reported Dash Wilder and Scott Dawson made the request following their match on Raw and Fightful reported that there was fear The Revival were on the way out of the company.
According to Pro Wrestling Sheet, sources tell them that the tag team’s decision to ask for their releases was based on how little time and respect the division is given. We’re told the duo is frustrated about the lack of promos, backstage segments and direction of the division. Not just for themselves, but the entire division … such as the tag match on Monday being used as a cutaway segment.
One source also pointed to The Club being an afterthought on TV after coming to WWE as a major signing and Authors of Pain being absent from television not long after their debut as additional examples.
Pro Wrestling Sheet says they we’re told the The Revival’s feelings on the subject boiled over last Monday after the tag team champions Bobby Roode/Chad Gable weren’t even featured on the show, so they asked WWE officials for their release. At this point, the request has been denied.
According to Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio, The Revival’s contracts don’t expire until April of 2020.
Sources: Pro Wrestling Sheet and Wrestling Observer
Maria Kanellis has released a statement denying that she requested her release from WWE.
It was reported this past week that she and Mike Kanellis asked WWE to release them from their contracts. According to Maria, however, that’s not entirely true.
“I DID NOT ask for my release,” she wrote on Instagram. “Speculation and rumors are running rampant. Someone is playing all the wrestling news sites.”
For what it’s worth, multiple sources confirmed the story. Plus, additional publications have since confirmed their request was denied.
Read Maria’s full statement below.
Source: Pro Wrestling Sheet
Impact tonight on Pursuit Channel and on Twitch – 10/9c
* LAX vs. oVe
* Rich Swann vs. Trey
* Jordynne Grace vs. Dark Allie
* Eddie Edwards vs. Ethan Page
* Scarlett Bordeaux select winner of talent search
* Heath update on Taya Valkyrie
MLW issued the following announcement:
beIN SPORTS TO AIR NEXT LIVE MLW FUSION SPECIAL ON SATURDAY NIGHT FEBRUARY 2ND
Major League Wrestling and beIN SPORTS are excited to announce that on Saturday night February 2nd at 8pm ET, the 2300 Arena will host the next MLW Fusion LIVE on beIN SPORTS.
MLW Fusion LIVE will feature a big main event as the undefeated Hart Foundation challenge Pentagon Jr. & Rey Fenixfor the World Tag Team Titles.
Fans who tune-in for MLW FUSION LIVE will also be treated to appearances by World Heavyweight Champion Low Ki, “Filthy” Tom Lawlor, Salina de la Renta and many others.
Other matches for the live beIN SPORTS network special will be announced in the coming days.
Tickets to witness the event live in Philadelphia start at $15 at MLWgo.com.
Kenny Omega appeared at the Tokyo Sports Awards earlier this week and wished good luck to All Elite Wrestling.
“I cannot tell the future. I would like to say good luck to AEW. It is going to be amazing. I am interested because it is a group of friends of mine. Since they are my friends, I have no choice but to support,” Omega said, according to a Google newspaper translation from Japanese to English.
Omega also said he won’t be on the Tokyo Sports stage next year, for New Japan, but that he “would still be putting on Match of the Year performances on a large international platform,” according to a translation by Chris Charlton.
It’s believed that Omega will sign with AEW over WWE once his NJPW contract officially expires at the end of this month. The Wrestling Observer Newsletter has reported that Omega already turned down an offer from WWE.
Source: WrestlingINC
Impact Wrestling star Matt Sydal was pulled from a Warrior Wrestling event earlier this month due to an injury. No additional details were known until yesterday when Sydal announced he is having surgery next week to repair torn cartilage in his knee. Sydal noted he should be back to in-ring action by March or April.
Former SAnitY partners Killian Dain and Nikki Cross are now married.
There are some reports on the two just getting engaged but WWE reports that they are married. WWE congratulated the happy couple on their website.
Dain revealed the tying of the knot on Twitter. He wrote, “Only took us 10 and a half years but when it’s right, its right. I love you @NikkiCrossWWE”
Cross also tweeted on the marriage, playing off the “10 Year Challenge” meme on social media. You can see both of their posts below:
https://twitter.com/KillianDain/status/1086010554563682305
https://twitter.com/NikkiCrossWWE/status/1086010990691524611
Source: WrestlingINC
