media

It’s a different career. Professional wrestlers are very talented people. You don’t get to the top level of your profession without a good deal of skill and that is often on display. However, it does not mean that wrestling is the only thing these wrestlers can do well, though you do not get to see it very often. Now though, you might be seeing someone getting to showcase their talents in another way.
Lio Rush has announced that he has signed a deal with the Universal Music Group, Thump Records and Virgin Music. There is no word on what this means for Rush or if he will be releasing an album or singles in the near future. Rush had previously stepped away from the ring to work on music before returning. Earlier this month, Rush announced that his AEW contract would be expiring, making him a free agent.
Today I signed a deal with @UMG #UniversalMusicGroup , @ThumpRecords and @virginmusic . ??? ? #LioRush pic.twitter.com/GvaXC7CtZX
— Lio Rush (@IamLioRush) January 28, 2022
Opinion: I’..

He has earned it. NXT is in a unique spot in the wrestling world, as it is both the developmental promotion for WWE while also being its own weekly television shows. The promotion has to find a way to balance these positions out, but one of the bigger problems is losing its talent for the sake of a main roster promotion. It seems that we will be seeing that take place again soon.
According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, LA Knight is likely in line for a promotion to the main roster after WrestleMania 38 in early April. Knight is 39 years old and WWE has been pushing for younger wrestlers on its main roster shows, but the company is said to be very high on Knight’s work. There is no word on which show Knight would be brought up to should he be called up.
Opinion: I have been a fan of Knight’s for a long time now and it would be great to see him get a shot on the main roster. Knight has a great look, can talk, and is good enough in the ring to back it up. There is something to W..

There’s a game changer. We are less than a day away from the Royal Rumble and that means the show’s namesake matches are mostly set. WWE does like to bring in some last minute names though and some of them can be some pretty big deals. Sometimes they are names you might not have seen coming, and that very well may have been the case with someone who popped back up this week.
This week’s SmackDown began with Charlotte talking about how no one could beat her in the women’s Royal Rumble. Several women came out to object, capped off by the return of Sasha Banks. After staring Charlotte down, Banks cleared the ring, including throwing Charlotte over the top. Later in the night, Banks was officially announced as a participant in the women’s Royal Rumble.
Banks’ return comes after she missed several weeks of action due to a foot injury suffered in a match with Charlotte. It was not clear when she would be back in the ring, though a Royal Rumble return was a possibility. This will only be Ba..

That’s a big move. There are a lot of wrestlers on the WWE roster, to the point where the company can split the roster into multiple groups on their own shows. These wrestlers rarely interact with each other, but you do see it happen from time to time. Usually this is the case before some of the bigger shows of the year and that seemed to be the case again. Now though, we are seeing a more permanent change.
This week on SmackDown, it was announced that Big E. has officially been moved from Monday Night Raw back to SmackDown. The move allowed Big E. to reunite with his former New Day teammates Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods, with Big E. teaming with Kingston in a tag match on this week’s show. There is no word on why the move was made or if this will be an official reunion of the New Day.
Big E. was moved into a singles run in the 2020 WWE Draft, when New Day was officially split up. The team was then reunited for a few weeks, only to have Big E. jump over to Monday Night Raw after wi..

Rampage
Date: January 28, 2022
Location: Wolstein Center, Cleveland, Ohio
Commentators: Taz, Chris Jericho, Excalibur, Ricky Starks
It’s another Friday and Jon Moxley is back in the ring. That should be enough to make the show work, but we also have a pair of title matches, as Jade Cargill defends the TBS Title against Julia Hart and Private Party challenges for the Tag Team Titles. That’s not bad for an hour so let’s get to it.
Opening sequence.
Anthony Bowens vs. Jon Moxley Moxley gets a great ovation and Caster’s rap is about every thing happening to Moxley as of late, save for his rehab. Moxley jumps Bowens before the bell and beats him up, including taking it to the floor. He even stops to bow to and pose with referee Aubrey Edwards. The fight goes into the crowd with Bowens getting beaten up out there too. Back to ringside with Bowens managing to post him to slow things down.
They get back in with Bowens starting in on the arm but Moxley fights out of a suplex. Bowens neckbre..

Smackdown
Date: January 28, 2022
Location: T-Mobile Center, Kansas City, Missouri
Commentators: Michael Cole, Pat McAfee
It’s the go home show for the Royal Rumble and that means it is probably time for the fabled face to face showdown. In this case, that likely means Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins, who just don’t have that much history together. Other than that, we are likely going to get the final push towards tomorrow night. Let’s get to it.
Opening sequence.
Here is Charlotte to get things going. She promises to do what Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs will never do: bring a championship to Kansas City! Charlotte promises to win the Royal Rumble on Saturday, where there will be returns and betrayals. There are going to be people fighting and clawing to go to Wrestlemania. Cue Shayna Baszler to interrupt, saying that this is her language. Baszler is going to win, but here is Aliyah to brag about her world record. She is feeling confident, but here is Natalya to interrupt, calling Al..

It might be a bit. Injuries can happen to anyone at any time and that is never a good thing to see. At the end of the day, no matter how much someone trains or plans what they are going to do in the ring, there is always the chance that someone could get hurt. Now that seems to be the case again, and now it might be a little bit before you see a rather decorated wrestler again.
Former AEW Women’s Champion Riho has sent out a tweet saying that she is taking a little rest. The tweet also includes a photo of Riho, whose arm is in a sling. Riho’s most recent match took place at AEW Battle of the Belts on January 8. There is no word on how long she will be out of action or what is wrong with her. Riho has not been announced for any other matches in the near future.
I’m taking a rest a little. pic.twitter.com/CSx3UJswtK
— RIHO ?? (@riho_gtmv) January 28, 2022
Opinion: That is never good to hear and hopefully Riho is back in the ring sooner rather than later. Riho has been one of the stro..

Got to beat the count. WWE has posted a new video to its YouTube channel in which they show the full Last Man Standing match between Roman Reigns and Kevin Owens for the Universal Championship from the 2021 Royal Rumble pay-per-view.
You can see the match in its entirety below:
[This post contains video, click to play]

From WWE.com:
The risks grew higher and higher as the brawl sprawled throughout the WWE ThunderDome. In one of the more terrifying scenes, Reigns launched KO off a high staging area through a table, but Owens got to his feet in the nick of time. Moments later, as Owens staggered into the backstage area, Reigns drove into him with a golf cart, sending Owens crashing through the plexiglass windshield. Still, Owens fought on.
When Reigns took the opportunity to mock Owens’ grandfather, as he did two nights ago on SmackDown, it awoke a new fighting spirit in the challenger, and Owens launched a revised attack that culminated with a senton off the top of a forklift thro..

Welcome back! Injuries can be a terrible thing in wrestling as they can derail someone in the blink of an eye. Something can happen to a wrestler to put them on the shelf out of nowhere, no matter what they are doing at the time. That can happen to anyone of any level, and unfortunately the injury bug bit a current WWE champion. That isn’t going to keep him away forever though and now you should be seeing him again soon.
According to Wrestlingnews.co, WWE Intercontinental Champion Shinsuke Nakamura has been cleared to return to action, saying he is “clear to FIGHT”. This comes after Nakamura out of action since mid-December, with Rick Boogs revealing that Nakamura had suffered a hand injury. There is no word on when Nakamura will be returning to the ring, though Sami Zayn has become #1 contender in his absence.
Opinion: That is great to hear, as Nakamura being gone has been a bit strange. I’m going to assume that WWE knew he would not be out of action for that long, as leaving the ti..

That’s a big deal. WWE is the biggest wrestling company in the world and has made a fortune through its licensing deals. By merely allowing other companies and platforms to air its content, WWE has managed to make enough money that it is guaranteed to be profitable for a long time to come. That has not stopped them from pushing on further though, and that is the case again with an international deal.
WWE and Disney+ Hotstar have announced, by way of 411mania.com, that the WWE Network will be available on Disney+ in Indonesia. This is similar to Peacock airing WWE Network content in the United States, with the deal including this weekend’s Royal Rumble. The deal is WWE’s first of any kind with Disney, though it is not clear if the two sides will be entering into any more agreements going forward.
Opinion: I know it is just one country and a relatively small deal, but WWE having any kind of a relationship with Disney is a good thing. That is about as big as it gets from an entertainmen..

That’s a lot of money. WWE has made a fortune by producing so much content that they are constantly in demand. Other platforms are interested in bringing over WWE and everything that they can showcase, which comes with a built in audience. That can come at a high price tag, and now it seems that one of WWE’s biggest partners has paid for quite a few of those price tags.
According to Variety, Peacock, the official platform for the WWE Network in the United States, lost $1.7 billion in 2021, doubling its losses from last year. Peacock is entering its third year of availability and features Universal films, NBC television and WWE content. There is nothing to suggest that Peacock will be shutting down, as it is reportedly not expected to be profitable until 2025.
Opinion: This is one of those things that is kind of hard to get my head around, as losing nearly two billion dollars sounds catastrophic to any business. That being said, NBC Universal is a mammoth company and something on the ..

He’ll be sticking around. We are less than two days away from the Royal Rumble and that means things are starting to get serious around WWE. The Road To WrestleMania will officially begin and WWE will be turning things up a bit. Some wrestlers are going to be in more prominent roles, including some of the bigger names in the company. Now it seems that we will be seeing one of them even more than expected.
According to 411mania.com, Brock Lesnar is being advertised for the Elimination Chamber event on February 19 in Saudi Arabia, as well as multiple Monday Night Raw and SmackDown events. The television appearances begin on the February 14 Monday Night Raw and end on the March 11 SmackDown, though Lesnar is not advertised for every show. Here is when he is being advertised:
* January 30: WWE Raw (Cincinnati, Ohio)
* February 14: WWE RAW (Indianapolis, Indiana)
* February 19: Elimination Chamber (Jeddah, Saudi Arabia)
* February 21: WWE RAW (Columbia, South Carolina)
* February 25: WWE ..