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Smackdown
Date: February 4, 2022
Location: Paycom Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Commentators: Pat McAfee, Michael Cole
We’re done with the Royal Rumble and it’s time to get going on the Road to Wrestlemania. That is going to get going on this show with a pair of big talking points. First up, Paul Heyman will be explaining why he sided with Roman Reigns and Ronda Rousey might be announcing her Wrestlemania opponent. Let’s get to it.
We open with a recap of Brock Lesnar getting screwed out of the WWE Title at the Royal Rumble but then coming back to win the Royal Rumble later in the night. Then he announced that he will be challenging Roman Reigns for the Universal Title at Wrestlemania.
Here is the Bloodline to get things going, complete with a look at Reigns retaining the Universal Title over Seth Rollins at the Royal Rumble. Paul Heyman talks about how there was no plot or plan, because he made a huge mistake by telling Reigns what he thought. He felt that Reigns needed to be pro..

That’s what’s next. We are less than two months away from WrestleMania 38 and you can see the card starting to take shape. The problem with that is there are still a lot of matches to be made, some of which are among the biggest on the card. WWE has a long way to go with some of its stories, but now we know another big step that they are going to take before we get there.
This week on SmackDown, Goldberg made his return to WWE television and challenged Roman Reigns to a Universal Title match at Elimination Chamber on February 19 in Saudi Arabia. The match was made official later in the night. This will be the first time that the two have ever faced off, though they were scheduled to do so at WrestleMania 36. However, Reigns pulled out of the match due to issues involving the Coronavirus pandemic.
Opinion: This is a match that WWE has been teasing for a VERY long time now and it will be nice to finally get it out of the way. I’m not sure how much interest there is in having Goldberg g..

Welcome back. There are a lot of wrestlers on the WWE roster and several of them do not get to appear on television at times. This could be the case due to a variety of reasons, some of which might be due to an injury. Sometimes a wrestler is going to miss time because they are forced onto the sidelines, but now one of them will be back on the active roster going forward.
According to Fightful Select, Xavier Woods has been moved to the active internal roster after missing several weeks due to a calf injury. There is no word on when he will be back on television or back in the ring. Woods was not in action at either last week’s SmackDown or the Royal Rumble. This should lead to a New Day reunion, as Big E. has been moved back to SmackDown along with Kofi Kingston.
Opinion: It is always great to see someone getting to return to the active roster as Woods was injured for a good while. He is one of the more entertaining stars on SmackDown, though I don’t know what New Day is going to do ..

It’s a different way to go. We are on the Road To WrestleMania 38 and that means it is time to start getting the build for the show. There is a big show to get through first with Elimination Chamber, which will feature an Elimination Chamber match for the WWE Championship. Bobby Lashley will be defending the title against five challengers, and now we might know what this is going to mean.
According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the current plan is for Brock Lesnar to win the WWE Championship at Elimination Chamber, making his planned match against Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 38 title vs. title. Vince McMahon feels that the match needs some extra hype because Reigns and Lesnar have fought so many times before. Lesnar and Paul Heyman have been pushing for the title for title match and McMahon is likely to go in that direction.
Opinion: This makes me think of two things. First and foremost, if Reigns and Lesnar have fought so many times before that it needs a special stipulatio..

It won’t be quite the same. The Royal Rumble has come and gone and a few wrestlers made surprise appearances in the show’s namesake matches. These moves have allowed the company to have some new options on the Road To WrestleMania, as there are now some more wrestlers available for bigger matches. That includes one of the bigger names in WWE, who is back ahead of schedule.
Drew McIntyre made a surprise return to action in the men’s Royal Rumble, lasting all the way until the end before being eliminated last by Brock Lesnar. According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, McIntyre was hidden from the rest of the roster to make his return as big of a surprise as possible. McIntyre is expected to continue his feud with Happy Corbin and Madcap Moss but will only be appearing on television. He will not be making live event appearances in an effort to allow his neck to heal and rehab as much as possible.
Opinion: It’s great to hear that McIntyre is back in the ring as he is one of the bigg..

NXT UK
Date: January 27, 2022
Location: BT Sports Studios, London, England
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Andy Shepherd
It’s time for a big title fight but things are a bit different this time. Ilja Dragunov will be putting the United Kingdom Title on the line against Jordan Devlin but the match will be in the empty arena. I’m not completely sure why that is going to be the case, though the match sounds like it has some serious potential. Let’s get to it.
The opening video looks at the title match.
Opening sequence.
Die Familie vs. Gallus Joe Coffey and Teoman slug it out to start until Teoman is taken into the Gallus corner. Mark Coffey comes in for a chinlock, which is broken up without much effort. That means Mark can go up top, where a quick distraction lets Raja pull him down and take over. Teoman comes in and gets driven into the corner but comes right back with some arm cranking.
Now it’s Dempsey getting a chance with a front facelock and a rather nasty arm crank. Raja’s f..

That’s why they’re #1. Despite some less than enthusiastic reactions at times, WWE is the biggest and most successful wrestling company in the world. They have been on top for a long time now and there is nothing to suggest that anyone is going to give them a serious challenge. While their product might not always be great, they know how to make money, which was on display this week.
WWE has released its fourth quarter financial reports, which show record breaking figures. The company reported a 30% increase in revenue to $310.3 million and a 131% increase in operating income to $83.6 million. This brings the company’s full 2021 revenue up 12% to a record $1.095 billion. According to Brandon Thurston of Wrestlenomics, this is the most profitable year in the history of the company and nearly twice as profitable as the 1999/2000 Attitude Era years.
Net income: The most final measure of profitability.
2021 is easily WWE's most profitable year ever. Even when adjusting for inflatio..

You need the right people. There are a lot of people involved in making a WWE show work and several of them are not often seen on camera. In addition to the wrestlers you see in front of you, there are also the people who help put the matches together. WWE has a large group of producers who work with the wrestlers to make the matches as good as they are, but one of them has not been around as much lately.
According to Sean Ross Sapp during a Fightful Select podcast, TJ Wilson, better known as Tyson Kidd, has not been backstage at recent WWE events. As a result, several women were not interested in appearing in the women’s Royal Rumble match as Wilson would not be producing it. Wilson is still with WWE, though there are conflicting reports on why he has not been working. One underlying reason seems to be frustration among Wilson and the women he works with over how the women are presented. Fit Finlay was brought in to help with the match instead.
Opinion: I’m not sure what is going on..

Keep it in the family. There are certain wrestling families that have been around for a long time with all kinds of members. Names such as the Anoa’i and Hart families have been around for a very long time and still have members debuting even in modern times. Some of these might have more success than others, but now we might be seeing a new family get itself further established.
During a recent appearance on Stories With Bradshaw And Brisco, former WWE star Santino Marella announced that his daughter, Bianca Carelli, has signed with WWE. Marella said that she will be starting at the Performance Center in two weeks and mentioned that Carelli has a background in television and was Ms. Teen Ontario. She made her debut in 2020 and has wrestled for the NWA at its Empower event.
Opinion: I’m not sure what Carelli can do in the ring but there must be something to her if she is being signed to WWE. Having her around at the Performance Center should do some good things for her career, though..

That’s a long time. With so many wrestlers on its active roster, it should be no surprise that some WWE names are not going to be happy. At some point someone is not going to see eye to eye with the company and that seems to be happening more and more often as of late. It is certainly the case with one wrestler in particular, and now we know a bit more about the particulars.
Over the last several weeks, Mustafa Ali and WWE have been in a standoff, with WWE refusing to use Ali, who has requested his release as a result. According to Fightful Select, WWE will not grant his release, leaving the two sides at a stalemate with Ali sitting at home. Ali has not wrestled since October and has since had an argument with Vince McMahon over how he is used. He has well over a year to go on his contract and WWE is refusing to release him over his perceived value.
Opinion: I don’t know how this is going to end, but I can’t imagine it is going to go well for Ali. At the end of the day, Ali needs WWE..

This is not a good time. WWE has been around for a very long time now and has been on top of the wrestling world for a good chunk of their tenure. That is a nice spot to be in, but staying there is a bit of a complicated process. While the company knows how to make money, they also have to make sure everyone else is happy. At the moment, that does not seem to be taking place.
According to Fightful Select, several WWE wrestlers are reporting that their morale is at an all time low. This comes from a wide range of wrestlers, including several who are not active to television main eventers. The problem stems from a variety of issues, including the way the Royal Rumble was set up, a lack of continuity, and WWE centering around a small handful of “maybe four” people. Several wrestlers have complained, but are either ignored or rushed out of any meeting they can get. This is not said to be a company wide issue, but multiple wrestlers are reporting the same issue.
Opinion: I have been watch..

Welcome back? We are on the Road to WrestleMania and that means things are starting to get a lot more serious. The interesting part is when you see some wrestlers make their returns to WWE, even if it has only been a few months since they have been gone. Some of these are rather important moves, and that might be the case again, as someone might be coming back for the last big stop on the way to Texas.
According to Fightful Select, WWE is planning on bringing Goldberg back to television as part of the build to WrestleMania 38. This will include an appearance at Elimination Chamber in Saudi Arabia on February 19, with the most recent plans being for Goldberg to challenge Roman Reigns for the Universal Title. However, this is not considered the final plan and the idea could change. Goldberg vs. Reigns was originally announced for WrestleMania 36 before Reigns had to drop out.
Opinion: Good. Let them finally have this match and get it out of their systems so WWE can move on. It seems th..