The WWE Royal Rumble go-home edition of SmackDown on FOX will air live tonight from the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri.
Tag: WWE
WWE Royal Rumble 1/29/2022
DATE: January 29, 2022 8:00 pm
LOCATION: The Dome at America’s Center, St. Louis, Missouri
AVAILABLE ON: Peacock, WWE Network (outside of the U.S.)
30-MAN ROYAL RUMBLE MATCH
Johnny Knoxville, Austin Theory, AJ Styles, Rey Mysterio, Dominik Mysterio, Montez Ford, Angelo Dawkins, Sheamus, WWE United States Champion Damian Priest, Big E, Kofi Kingston, Sami Zayn, Madcap Moss, Happy Baron Corbin, Kevin Owens, Omos, Dolph Ziggler, Robert Roode, Randy Orton, Riddle, RAW Tag Team Champion Otis, RAW Tag Team Champion Chad Gable, 8 Superstars TBA
30-WOMAN ROYAL RUMBLE MATCH
SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair, Impact Knockouts Champion Mickie James, Rhea Ripley, Nikki A.S.H., WWE Hall of Famer Nikki Bella, WWE Hall of Famer Brie Bella, Shotzi, Natalya, Michelle McCool, WWE 24/7 Champion Dana Brooke, WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion Carmella, WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion Queen Zelina Vega, Tamina Snuka, Kelly Kelly, Aliyah, Summer Rae, Naomi, Shayna Baszler, WWE Hall of Famer Lita, Liv Morgan, Bianca Belair, 9 participants TBA
WWE TITLE MATCH
Bobby Lashley vs. Brock Lesnar (c)
WWE UNIVERSAL TITLE MATCH
Seth Rollins vs. Roman Reigns (c)
SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Usos are banned from ringside.
RAW WOMEN’S TITLE MATCH
Doudrop vs. Becky Lynch (c)
MIXED TAG TEAM MATCH
WWE Hall of Famers Edge and Beth Phoenix vs. The Miz and Maryse
WWE Reportedly Called Jeff Hardy For A Return
WWE reportedly offered a 2022 Hall of Fame induction to Jeff Hardy but he turned it down.
WWE released Hardy in early December after he reportedly turned down an offer of rehab from the company. This came after an incident at the December 4 WWE live event in Edinburg, Texas, where Hardy became sluggish as the six-man main event went on, then tagged out, and disappeared through the crowd with security following him. He was pulled from the road after that incident, and then released. Matt Hardy later stated that he didn’t feel like Jeff needed rehab at that point, and that he was in a good place in his life.
In an update, the Wrestling Observer reports that WWE Talent Relations head John Laurinaitis called Hardy a few weeks back to talk about possibly bringing him back, and offered to put him into the 2022 Hall of Fame Class.
Hardy reportedly turned the offer down and asked for his drug test results from when he was released in December, because he knew he wasn’t going to test positive for any recreational drugs. It took Hardy and his wife Beth six weeks to get the results back.
There is a feeling that Hardy is one guy WWE does not want in AEW because they’ve realized The Hardy Boyz tag team will be revitalized with so many teams in AEW to work with. Jeff and Matt have already started accepting indie and signing dates together.
Hardy is under contract to WWE through Wednesday, March 9 when his non-compete clause expires, so AEW can’t make a legal offer to him until then, but the belief is that unless he does go back to WWE, and it doesn’t look like he will, then he will end up in AEW.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
WWE Enters Multi-Year Streaming Partnership With Disney In Indonesia
WWE and Disney have entered a partnership that will see the promotion’s events streamed on the latter’s platform in Indonesia.
The parties announced as much on Tuesday, revealing the WWE Network will be heading to the Disney+Hotstar streaming service in said country. The multi-year deal will see folks in the region enjoy PPV events, as well as library content.
“Similar to the Peacock arrangement, all WWE live events will be available on Disney+Hotstar as part of a standard subscription, at no additional cost,” Deadline reports.” Programming will stream in Indonesia’s local language, Bahasa Indonesia, as well as in English.”
The partnership is set to kick off with the Royal Rumble this Saturday.
WWE president Nick Khan is reported to be keen on seeing the company’s streaming strategy mirrored overseas. The WWE Network is available via Peacock in the United States and this latest deal points to the promotion making forays into other markets.
“The Walt Disney Company has long been the gold standard in creating iconic intellectual property that serves as the backbone for international business growth,” Khan said in a statement. “Partnering with Disney+Hotstar will allow us to deliver WWE Network content including WrestleMania on a best-in-class platform to our existing fans in Indonesia while also introducing WWE to new audiences in the region as Disney+ continues to expand its reach internationally.”
This marks the first time WWE has dealt directly with Disney, however, they did have a content deal in Latin America with Fox that Disney has inherited. It also hands WWE a huge partnership with a fourth major entertainment company.
Aside from their deal with Peacock, WWE content airs on NBCU’s USA Network and FOX Corp’s FOX Network, while there’s also a deal in place with Netflix that has seen the production of an interactive horror project, as well as an incoming series about Vince McMahon.
Source: TheSportster
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.
- Kay Lee Ray and new allies Indi Hartwell & Persia Pirotta strike back against Toxic Attraction
- Solo Sikoa and Boa collide in No Disqualification, Falls Count Anywhere Match
- Cameron Grimes and Tony D’Angelo vie for a North American Title opportunity
- MSK’s journey for a second straight Dusty Cup begins with a showdown against Jacket Time
- Andre Chase & Bodhi Hayward put new pairing to the test in Dusty Classic opening-round match against GYV
- OllieJayy set to perform live on NXT 2.0
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.
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