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Here we go again. The biggest wrestling story of 2021 was the amount of releases taking place over the course of the year, as over 100 names left WWE in one way or another. The vast majority of those people were released from the company, with several of those releases coming out of nowhere. Now it is a new year and it seems that we are seeing it happen again.
Several names have been released from NXT, according to PWInsider.com. These names include:
William Regal
Road Dogg
Dave Kapoor (aka Runjin Singh)
Ryan Katz (creative producer)
Scott Armstrong
George Caroll (writer)
In addition to the NXT releases, Senior Vice President of Consumer Products Sarah Cummins has left the company, though it is not clear what led to her departure. This is the first batch of releases of the new year and it is not clear if any more releases will be coming at the moment.
There are a lot of talented people leaving. Check out who is out the door:
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Ring of Honor
Date: December 29, 2021
Location: UMBC Event Center, Baltimore, Maryland
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman
We have finally arrived at what seems to be the last original content episode of the show. That causes some mixed feelings, as it is sad to see the show go but it also finally puts it out of its misery. That should not be the case with any wrestling show, but it has been around here for a long time. Let’s get to it.
Opening sequence.
Dalton Castle promises a Christmas surprise.
Quinn McKay gives us the opening welcome and rundown.
Josh Woods gets to draw his names for the Christmas Surprise twelve man tag team main event and seems rather pleased.
Brian Johnson draws his names and is less impressed, as is his custom.
Women’s Title: Holidead vs.Rok-C Holidead is challenging and says it is time for the dark reign to begin. Rok-C is ready for whatever Holidead brings at her because Holidead doesn’t have heart or the title. She still isn’t great at this ..

They’re doing well. WWE may have a lot of problems, but they are certainly good at making money. The company knows how to take everything that they do and turn it into a fortune, often by way of licensing their content to another outlet. That was the case when they moved from the WWE Network over to Peacock, but how are things doing over there? Now we have a bit more information.
According to Puck News, three million Peacock subscribers have viewed WWE content since the switch to the new service took place in March 2021. More than half of the three million subscribers moved over to Peacock solely because of the WWE content. In addition, one million of the 1.1 million WWE Network subscribers have moved over to Peacock. WWE’s deal with Peacock is scheduled to last for five years.
There have been some great moments on Peacock. Check out what has happened in WWE since the move:
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That could be worse. Injuries can happen to any wrestler at any time and they are never a good thing to see. Every injury leads to the unfortunate question of how long someone will be out of action, which can range from no time at all to the end of their career. Most of them are somewhere in the middle though, and that very well may be the case again with a recent injury.
Over the weekend, SmackDown’s Sasha Banks suffered some sort or a knee or leg injury during a match against Charlotte. The match was stopped, with Banks having to be helped to the back. According to PWInsider.com, Banks suffered a sprained leg, which can take about six weeks to heal. There is no word on if Banks will miss any time, or if she will be available for the Royal Rumble.
Banks is still one of the best in WWE today. Check out what she can do in the ring:
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Opinion: The fact that..

It’s a family thing. There are certain wrestling families that have been around for a very long time and whose names are going to be immediately known. Some of these families go on for more than one generation as some of the wrestlers’ children get into the business as well. That was the case again recently, and now one of the new generation has an accomplishment to share with the family.
The main event of this week’s NXT New Year’s Evil saw Bron Breakker defeated Tommaso Ciampa to win the NXT Title. WWE has posted a video from after the show went off the air, featuring Breakker celebrating with his father, Rick Steiner. The video’s caption identifies Steiner by name, though Breakker has never been directly identified as part of the Steiner family on NXT TV. Ciampa also shook Steiner’s hand as he left the arena.
It was an awesome moment. Check out the celebration, the title match, and the family in action:
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That’s never good to hear. The Coronavirus pandemic has changed the way the wrestling world works and that is likely to be the case for a very long time to come. The virus is spiking again with hundreds of thousands of cases in America a day. It is no surprise that the wrestling world will be impacted as well and now another wrestling star has contracted the virus.
The Young Bucks have updated the biography on their Twitter account, revealing that Matt Jackson has tested positive for the Coronavirus. There is no word on when Jackson will be returning to AEW television, though neither he nor the Young Bucks are scheduled for a match on this week’s AEW Dynamite or Rampage. The team did appear on last week’s edition of Dynamite.
pic.twitter.com/Xiwz7PSmbh
— Young Bucks Bio (@bio_bucks) January 5, 2022
The Bucks are a rather good team. Check out some of their better moments in AEW:
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They went for the gold. Titles are the most important thing in all of wrestling and have been for a very long time now. In theory at least, every wrestler who gets in the ring wants to win the biggest title around. That is how wrestling has worked for pretty much all of wrestling history and it is still the case to this day. Title changes make a difference, and that was the case this week.
NXT presented its annual New Year’s Evil event this week, featuring three title matches, with two titles changing hands. First up, North American Champion Carmelo Hayes defeated Cruiserweight Champion Roderick Strong to unify the titles, with the North American Title being the name of the championship going forward. Then in the show’s main event, Bron Breakker defeated Tommaso Ciampa to win the NXT Title. The win marks Breakker’s first title in WWE. In the other title match, Women’s Champion Mandy Rose defeated Raquel Gonzalez and Cora Jade to retain her title.
It was a big night. Check out how the..

It’s in a name. A wrestler’s name is one of the most important parts of their entire presentation. You can only get so far with the wrong name as it is something that needs to catch your attention while also sounding good. Having something that doesn’t sound exactly right can be a big problem and now we might be seeing that again with a top WWE star.
Seth Rollins’ name has officially been changed to Seth “Freakin” Rollins, as per his WWE.com profile. This comes after WWE has been referring to Rollins with the “Freaking” moniker for several weeks, including on his name chiron. There have been no other changes to Rollins over the same time. Rollins challenged for the WWE Title last weekend at Day One but lost the match.
Rollins is great under any name. Check out what he can do in the ring:
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Opinion: This might be the most WWE decision that I have heard in ..

NXT
Date: January 4, 2022
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Wade Barrett
It’s a big night as we have New Year’s Evil featuring the main event of NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa defending against Bron Breakker. That’s big enough, but we also have a triple threat match for the Women’s Title and AJ Styles confronting Grayson Waller. Not wrestling mind you, but confronting him. Let’s get to it.
The opening video looks at the beginning of the new year with a focus on the card. Then we get to Breakker vs. Ciampa, when the video shifts into evil.
North American Title/Cruiserweight Title: Carmelo Hayes vs. Roderick Strong Title for title, with Trick Williams and Diamond Mine here too. They fight over a lockup to start until Strong grabs an armbar to take over. Back up and Hayes scores with a dropkick to stagger Strong for a change. Strong tries to take him down but Hayes nips up and scores with an enziguri. With that not working, Strong chops him har..

One more time? Retirements in wrestling are not quite the same thing as retirements in other sports. You don’t often see mainstream athletes returning to play after several years off, as there isn’t exactly a way to participate in one game. Wrestling is different though, as there is always a way for someone to come back to the ring for a one off match. That is what another legend is planning to do.
WWE Hall of Famer Booker T. has announced that he will be returning to the ring for a tag team exhibition match at a Realty of Wrestling event in Canton, Texas on January 22. Booker will be teaming with Gaspar Hernandez to face Garza and Dexx. Since retiring from the ring in 2012, Booker has wrestled four matches, three of which have been for Reality of Wrestling. In a video announcing the match, Booker talked about wanting to be a player/coach giving his students on the job training.
?? BREAKING NEWS ??
Booker T returns to the ring on Saturday, January 22nd to team with his protégé Gaspa..

Another one on the list. The rise of AEW has changed the way the wrestling world works as there is now a second major promotion where wrestlers can find work. That is a great change after so many years of WWE dominance, as you can only get so far with one company. Now a wrestler who was with WWE just last year has found a new home and it might be a better fit.
AEW has announced that former NXT star Jake Atlas has officially signed with the company. This comes after Atlas made an appearance on AEW Dark: Elevation last month. Atlas is a former NXT star who was in August 2021. He had wrestled a match at Ring of Honor’s Death Before Dishonored event before taking a hiatus from the wrestling industry. The AEW match was his first in over three months.
Congratulations on winning your tryout match last night, Jake Atlas! What a great @AEW debut, and now @kennymarquez, I’ll see you Tomorrow night in Newark at the debut of #AEWDynamite on @TBSNetwork! Safe travels, and…
Welcome to the team! #J..

There was a plan. The WWE roster has undergone a variety of changes in the last year and a half, but not all of the moves have been the same. There have been a lot that came in groups, but there have also been some individual moves. One of the bigger departures took place last month, and it seems that there was another move in mind for him before he was let go.
Last month, Jeff Hardy was released from WWE following an incident where he walked out of a match at a live event. According to Fightful Select, Hardy was the original plan for the Shaman in NXT and would have served as the mentor to MSK. The role eventually went to Riddle, who will be teaming with MSK in a six man tag this week on NXT. It is not clear if Hardy would have taken part in the match.
That could have been very interesting. Check out what could have been and what was:
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Opinion: Hardy as..