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Wrestle Kingdom XVI Night One
Date: January 4, 2022
Location: Tokyo Dome, Tokyo, Japan
Attendance: 12,047
Commentators: Chris Charlton, Kevin Kelly
It’s back to Japan for the first time in about a year, though the company does feel a good bit colder this time around. The pandemic and a slew of injuries have battered New Japan, but this show’s reputation is more than enough to warrant a look. The main event of this first night is Kazuchika Okada challenging Shingo Takagi for the IWGP World Title, with the winner facing Will Ospreay tomorrow night. Let’s get to it.
Note that I do not regularly follow New Japan so I won’t know much in the way of storylines or recent character development. Please bear with me if I miss something that commentary does not explain.
Pre-Show: New Japan Ranbo
This is a 19 man Royal Rumble and over the top/pinfall/submission eliminations with one minute intervals. The final four advancing to a four way on night two for the Provisional King Of Pro Wrestling 2..

That could have been a lot worse. We are in the middle of a horrible global pandemic caused by the Coronavirus. There are only so many ways around the situation and a lot of people have gotten sick. That is certainly the case in the wrestling world, where several wrestlers have tested positive. Another huge name did so last week, but it might already have turned a corner.
Last weekend, WWE presented the first ever Day One event, which was scheduled to feature a Universal Title match between champion Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar. Before the show, Reigns announced that he had tested positive for the Coronavirus and would be missing the show. However, WWE has announced that Reigns has been medically cleared to return and will be appearing on this week’s SmackDown to confront Lesnar, who won the WWE Title at Day One.
The champ is back. Check out what is waiting for Lesnar on SmackDown:
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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?
Thunder
Date: March 21, 2001
Location: O’Connell Center, Gainesville, Florida
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Mike Tenay
We’ve arrived at the final shows. We’ll start off the final episode of the corporate mandate that was Thunder, which has somehow gotten even less important over the years. The big story coming out of Monday is Ric Flair’s face being pressed onto the back of a donkey and the upcoming Night of Champions on Monday. Let’s get to it.
We open with a recap of Monday and most of the major stories. I’m st..

It does happen to everyone. One of the most common criticisms against wrestling is that it is “fake”. While the matches are pre-determined, the wrestlers are indeed in the ring and doing every physical thing themselves. There is nothing fake about the work that they are putting in and it is going to cause some physical problems. That seems to be the case again with a WWE star.
According to PWInsider.com, Monday Night Raw’s Carmella is dealing with some form of an injury. The exact nature of Carmella’s injury is not known, but her matches are being said to be set up to work around the injury. That was the case this week on Monday Night Raw, when Carmella and Queen Zelina retained the Women’s Tag Team Titles over Rhea Ripley and Nikki Ash with Carmella never getting in the ring. Carmella also did not wrestle on WWE’s recent holiday tour. In addition, the WWE locker room is said to have gained respect for Carmella working through the injury and doing everything that she can.
Carmella ha..

It can happen at any time. There are certain dangers that are always possibilities in wrestling and one of the worst of those is an injury. You never know what is going to happen and unfortunately it can take place even when something simple takes place. That seems to be the case again this week, as a wrestler has been injured in a match that most people have yet to see.
According to PWInsider.com (link contains spoilers), Jake Atlas was injured during his match with Adam Cole during this week’s edition of AEW Rampage. Atlas suffered a knee injury during the match, but was able to continue. There is currently no word on how severe the injury maybe. Atlas made his AEW debut last week and signed with the company earlier this week.
Atlas is good when he is in the ring. Check out what happens when he can go:
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Opinion: That is some amazing timing and hopefull..

What could have been. Last weekend, WWE presented its first ever Day One event, marking what might be a new tradition for the company. The show did have a big card, but it was not the one that was originally advertised. The announced main event of Universal Champion Roman Reigns defending against Brock Lesnar did not happen due to Reigns contracting the Coronavirus. Lesnar wound up winning the WWE Title instead after being inserted into the match. Now we might know what was coming before the change.
According to Dave Meltzer in an article for Sports Illustrated, the original plans for the WWE Title match at Day One would have called for Seth Rollins to win the title. There is no word on what would have been next for Rollins after he won the championship. In addition, the Reigns vs. Lesnar match would have featured Paul Heyman officially siding with Lesnar, which wound up taking place two days later on Monday Night Raw instead.
It was a busy night. Check out how the match went down an..

History has been made! AEW has not been around all that long but it already has quite the history under its belt so far. They have done a lot of things right in different places throughout the company, including their championships. The company has done a good job of protecting their titles by not having them change hands very often. Now though, it has taken place again.
This week’s AEW Dynamite featured three title matches over the course of the two hour show. In the main event, the Jurassic Express defeated the Lucha Bros to win the AEW Tag Team Titles for the first time. The win came when Jungle Boy countered Penta El Zero Miedo’s Made In Japan into a cradle for the pin. This is the first time that the titles have changed hands on a regular version of Dynamite, though Kenny Omega and Hangman’s Page’s win aired on Dynamite after being taped on Chris Jericho’s Rock N Rager At Sea.
It was a big moment. Check out what happened, plus the new champs in action:
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I’ve been watching wrestling for over thirty years now and over the course of time, I have seen a lot of people come and go. There are some that have made a bigger impact than others, but when you look back, there are a few names who just stick in your mind more than other people. Sometimes it is for a more positive reason than others, but those people and memories stick out rather hard. This week we are going to look at one of them, for no reason other than something struck me about her.
Earlier this week, Dolph Ziggler challenged Damian Priest for the United States Title on Monday Night Raw in a losing effort. I got to thinking about how nutty it was that Ziggler made his main roster debut as part of the Spirit Squad just about sixteen years ago (January 23, 2006 to be exact) and has been around ever since (save for a few hiatuses here and there).
Over his career, Ziggler has won just about every title there is to win and has had some pretty big moments. I’m sure you remember him w..

You hate to see it. According to a report from Bryan Alvarez and F4WOnline, Rey Fenix suffered a broken arm in the main event of this week’s episode of AEW Dynamite.
Fenix broken arm heading to hospital
— Bryan Alvarez (@bryanalvarez) January 6, 2022
From the report [h/t to f4wonline.com]:
Near the end of The Lucha Brothers’ AEW Tag Team title match against Jurassic Express, Fenix suffered a broken arm when Luchasaurus chokeslammed him off the apron and through a table on the outside. Fenix was headed to the hospital after the show and will likely need surgery.
It was immediately apparent that Fenix was injured after taking the chokeslam. He grabbed his arm and motioned for the medical staff. In the ring, Jungle Boy countered out of a package piledriver by Penta El Zero Miedo — but Penta countered out of the Killswitch. Jungle Boy then countered Penta’s Made in Japan into a pin to win the AEW Tag Team titles for Jurassic Express.
We will continue to monitor this story and provide..

History has been made. On tonight’s episode of AEW Dynamite, Jade Cargill took on Ruby Soho in the finals of the tournament to crown the inaugural TBS champion. But who talked out as the victor?
After a hard-hitting contest, Jade Cargill would defeat Ruby Soho to become the first-ever TBS Champion.
Check out how both competitors got here:
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From our own Thomas Hall:
Jade powers her around to start and Soho thinks she might need another plan. That doesn’t seem to work very well as Soho is sent outside in a hurry, but here is Mercedes Martinez to yell. Cue Thunder Rosa to fight Martinez to the back and we take an early break. Back with Rosa managing an STO and kicking away at Cargill’s leg.
That earns her a heck of a shoulder breaker for two though and Soho is right back in trouble. A belly-to-back suplex gets Soho out of trouble so Sterling gets up on the apron. That’s good for an ejection so Carg..

We’re not done yet. WWE’s string of releases has shaken up the company, as dozens and dozens of wrestlers have been released to the free agent market. It allows other promotions to restock their shelves in a hurry and that is the kind of thing that can be a complete game changer. Now it seems to be the case again, as more NXT wrestlers are being let go.
Earlier today, WWE released several names from NXT, though there were no wrestlers included. According to Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful.com, WWE has released some wrestlers from NXT, including Hideki Suzuki, Danny Burch and Timothy Thatcher. All three had been absent from television, but had been coaching at the Performance Center. Cathy Corino, better known as Allison Danger, has also been let go from her coaching role. There is no word on if any more releases are coming.
Hideki Suzuki of Diamond Mine has been let go from WWE, Fightful has confirmed with the company.
— Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful.com (@SeanRossSapp) January 5, 2022
Tim..

Dynamite
Date: January 5, 2022
Location: Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Jim Ross
It’s the debut on TBS and that means it is time for a stacked card. We have a TBS Title match, a Tag Team Title match, and a rematch of last month’s instant classic between Hangman Page and Bryan Danielson for the World Title. This time around there are going to be judges though, and that should work. Let’s get to it.
Opening sequence.
AEW World Title: Bryan Danielson vs. Hangman Page Page is defending and there are three judges in case we hit the sixty minute time limit, with Mark Henry, Jerry Lynn and Paul Wight at ringside. They take their time to start and Danielson runs away a few times. Back in and Danielson dodges away again, allowing him to get in some more jumping jacks. That’s enough for Page, who sends him outside again and this time takes Danielson down.
Back in and the big dive is countered with a toss into the barricade for a hard crash. Dan..