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Welcome to KB’s Old School (and New School) Reviews. I’ve been reviewing wrestling shows for over twelve years now and have reviewed over 6,000 shows. Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, I’ll be posting a new review here on Wrestlingrumors.net. It could be anything from modern WWE to old school to indies to anything in between. Note that I rate using letters instead of stars and I don’t rate matches under three minutes as really, how good or bad can something that short be?
Royal Rumble 2004
Date: January 25, 2004
Location: Wachovia Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Attendance: 17,289
Commentators: Jim Ross, Michael Cole, Tazz, Jerry Lawler, Jonathan Coachman
It’s a big night and one of the most important shows of the year as we officially start the Road to Wrestlemania. The Royal Rumble is more wide open than in recent years and that’s often the best thing that can happen for the match. Other than that we have a pair of World Title matches, with Raw’s likely being too long and Smac..

He doesn’t sound pleased. There are a lot of wrestlers under the WWE umbrella and several of them do not get to appear as often as others. That can create some issues for those wrestlers, which has seemed to be on display in the number of wrestlers who have walked away from the company in recent years. Now another wrestler does not seem thrilled with how he is being used and has let fans know about it.
Over the weekend, SmackDown’s Ricochet sent out a tweet saying that a wrestler’s nickname is how most people refer to them. Ricochet said that his name should be “Best Match On The Show”. This comes as Ricochet has not been used frequently on television, appearing in only three televised matches since November. He has also not won a televised match since the September 9, 2021 edition of WWE Main Event.
So your nickname is what most people call you by?? So my nickname should be “best match on the show” Ricochet!
— Ricochet (@KingRicochet) January 16, 2022
Opinion: I’m not sure if Rico..

His opinion matters. Vince McMahon is the biggest force in the wrestling world and that has been the case for a very long time now. His opinions and ideas can shape the way the wrestling world works and that can lead to some rather confusing moments. Sometimes McMahon makes some decisions that feel out of left field, which was the case again when it comes to giving the fans something to cheer about.
During a recent edition of his The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy podcast, Matt Hardy explained McMahon’s thoughts on giving babyface wrestlers major wins. Hardy told a story about how, at an unspecified time, the Hardy Boyz were scheduled to win the World Tag Team Titles in a Tables Ladders and Chairs match. However, McMahon changed the outcome because he felt the ending was too predictable, deciding instead that the title change would happen on the next show. Hardy summed up McMahon’s philosophy as “If you’re over as a babyface, there are times where you don’t need to win, it doesn’t make a ..

It was a thing for them. You will hear all kinds of strange stories about WWE, and some of those stories involve WWE making up some rules that seem a little strange from the outside. WWE must have some kind of a reason for them, but that does not mean they make any sense to everyone involved. That was the case again back in the day and now a wrestler is explaining one of WWE’s bizarre decisions.
Former WWE star Colin Delaney appeared on the Wrestlinginc Daily podcast and spoke about a time when WWE would not allow anyone to throw chops in a match except for Shawn Michaels. The announcement was made during a meeting but was removed about a month later, when Delaney had left the company. There is no word on why WWE put the rule in place or why they dropped it so soon. Delaney appeared for the company from December 2007 until August 15, 2008, when he was released from his contract. He has appeared on WWE television a few times since, often as an enhancement talent.
Opinion: This is the ..

The show is still growing. In less than two weeks, WWE will be presenting one of its biggest shows of the year with the Royal Rumble. The show will go a long way to setting the stage for WrestleMania 38, as you will likely find out who will be involved in the show’s main event matches. Those matches will be set up by the Royal Rumble matches, and now some more names have been added.
Some more names were announced for the men’s and women’s Royal Rumble matches this week on WWE Monday Night Raw. First up, Kevin Owens announced that he will be taking part in the men’s Royal Rumble match. The announcement came during an edition of the Kevin Owens Show, as he said that he would win the match to face his guest, Seth Rollins, who would win the Universal Title at the Royal Rumble. Owens is the fifteenth entrant out of thirty in the match.
Also during the show, Liv Morgan and Bianca Belair announced that they would be entering the women’s Royal Rumble match. The announcements came before the ..

That would be a change of pace. AEW has shaken up the wrestling world by allowing a lot more wrestlers a chance to appear on mainstream television. That is the kind of thing that fans have been wanting to see for a long time now and AEW has provided that platform. Now though, a wrestler seems to be wanting to perform elsewhere, despite being an AEW regular.
AEW’s Pretty Peter Avalon has announced that he is now available for all independent dates and appearances going forward. This announcement leaves his AEW status unclear, though Avalon wrestled at the most recent set of AEW Dark television tapings, teaming with JD Drake in a loss to Orange Cassidy and Wheeler Yuta. Nothing in his announcement says or suggests that he has left AEW or will be anytime soon. Avalon has not wrestled on Dynamite in nearly a year, but has wrestled on the company’s streaming events. He has also been wrestling on the independent circuits on occasion in recent months.
ANNOUNCEMENT
My career status: #LFG
T..

That could slow things down a bit. Injuries are the kind of things that can cause problems for anyone in wrestling at any given time. There is no way to guarantee that someone is going to be able to stay healthy, no matter how careful or skilled they may be. Sometimes these things just happen, either over time or all at once. That is the case again with a current popular star.
According to PWInsider.com, AEW star Eddie Kingston is suffering from an undisclosed injury, which will force him out of action for a few weeks. As a result, Kingston will be missing his scheduled match at this week’s The WRLD On GCW event. Kingston does not currently have a match scheduled on AEW television, though he has been feuding with Daniel Garcia and 2.0 in recent weeks.
Kingston made his AEW debut on July 22, 2020 and has become one of the more popular stars in the company. He has feuded with Jon Moxley, CM Punk and more, including challenging Moxley for the AEW World Title. Kingston has been turned in..

That makes it official. For the last several years, WWE has had a business relationship with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The company has run a series of shows in the country, often as twice a year specials. These shows have been rather big events, with some stacked cards featuring huge matches. WWE is heading back soon and now we know more about their plans.
WWE has announced that they will be returning to Saudi Arabia on Saturday, February 19. The event will feature the debut of the Elimination Chamber in Saudi Arabia, though there is no word on the names who will be included or what will be on the line in the match. WWE usually runs an Elimination Chamber event, with the show taking place in February most of the time. Nothing else has been announced for the show, which will be WWE’s first event in Saudi Arabia since October.
Opinion: This isn’t exactly a big surprise and it is nice to have the match combined into the Saudi Arabia event instead of having to run two shows in a month..

Sign him up. The wrestling world has changed a lot in recent years, with the rise of AEW being the main cause. The new promotion has allowed for several changes, including a new place for wrestlers to go. Several wrestlers have moved over to the company, which started with a rather talented core of wrestlers. Now though, one of them does not have a contract with the company.
According to Fightful Select, AEW TNT Champion Cody Rhodes is currently working without a contract, making him a free agent. Rhodes’ deal expired at the end of 2021, meaning that his deal was different than some of the company’s original three year contracts. Rhodes is still an Executive Vice President with the company and there is nothing to suggest that he will be leaving AEW anytime soon.
Opinion: I cannot imagine Rhodes going anywhere, as he is one of the founding fathers of AEW and someone who has been pushed rather hard since the company was founded. AEW certainly seems comfortable with keeping him at this ..

Monday Night Raw
Date: January 17, 2022
Location: BOK Center, Tulsa, Oklahoma
Commentators: Jimmy Smith, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton
We are less than two weeks away from the Royal Rumble and that means it is time for the card to be finalized. Last week saw Doudrop become the #1 contender for the Raw Women’s Title in what should at least be a fresh match. Other than that, we could use some more names being added to the namesake matches. Let’s get to it.
Here is Becky Lynch to get things going. She knows the Royal Rumble is coming up and it is time for some big names to come back for the Big Time. People like Lita, Mickie James and the Bella Twins are here, but for now, it is time to deal with Doudrop. Last week, Becky got Doudrop her title shot, which is what she does. That’s the only way Doudrop could get her shot, but here is Doudrop to say she got everything on her own. Becky says follow her lead and you could win tonight. Cue Bianca Belair doing her dance and saying she’s in the Ru..

It would be a welcome return. There are all kinds of wrestlers on the WWE roster and some of them are quite popular. One of the best things about having such a talented group of wrestlers is being able to see who shows up on any given week. It can be fascinating to see what you get, especially if one of them is a nice surprise. We might be seeing another one of them soon.
Asuka has not wrestled on WWE television since Money in the Bank 2021 back in July. Since then, she had been seen in a photo with her arm in a metal brace, suggesting that she was on the injured list. According to Andrew Zarian of the Mat Men Wrestling Podcast, Asuka could be back in WWE at any time as she should be cleared to return soon. There is no specific date given on when she will be back.
Asuka debuted in NXT in 2015 and won the NXT Title in April 2016, holding the title for over a year and never being defeated for it. She would vacate the championship due to an injury after a 522 day reign before moving up ..

They’re sticking around. The WWE roster has been in a huge state of change over the last year and a half and a lot of those changes have been surprises. Names that you might not have expected to leave have been let go or moved on and the question becomes who is leaving next. That question came up again recently, but it does not seem to be a threat this time around.
According to Fightful Select, there is “plenty of time” left on the Street Profits’ WWE contracts. This comes after some confusion over their status, as their deals had been described as running “at least through 2021”. The team also missed some episodes of Monday Night Raw, though this was reportedly due to Montez Ford being banged up. The team appeared on last week’s Monday Night Raw.
Opinion: It’s great to see that the team is sticking around, though it doesn’t seem like they were in any danger of leaving lately anyway. The Street Profits are one of the better teams going today and there is a chance that they could wind..