media

NXT UK
Date: December 2, 2021
Location: BT Sports Studios, London, England
Commentators: Andy Shepherd, Nigel McGuinness
It’s time for a big show with the United Kingdom Title on the line as Ilja Dragunov defends against Rampage Brown. Dragunov works well against big powerful bruisers so we should be in for a good one here. Other than that, we have…well probably a bunch of UK wrestlers in a variety of matches. Let’s get to it.
We open with a video on Brown vs. Dragunov.
Opening sequence.
Women’s Title: Meiko Satomura vs. Xia Brookside Brookside is challenging after whining her way into a title match (daddy threats were made). Satomura takes her down by the arm to start and a slightly shaken Brookside gets up for a test of strength. A wristlock is broken up with some well timed flipping and spinning so Satomura takes her down by the leg for some cranking. Brookside grabs a headlock takeover but gets reversed into a headscissors.
That’s broken up with a headstand and a bit of dancin..

I don’t think that was in the plans. Almost every major wrestling show has some kind of plan. There has to be an idea of what to do during the show but that does not always mean it is going to work. At some point, something is going to go wrong and there is little way to plan for such a situation. The best you can do is hope that no one gets hurt, which had to be on someone’s mine during a pretty nasty botch this week.
The main event of this week’s edition of AEW Dynamite featured an Atlanta street fight between Andrade El Idolo and Cody Rhodes. The match also saw a brawl between Arn Anderson and El Idolo’s assistant Jose, who fought up to the ramp. During the fight, Anderson fell off of the stage, leaving Jose to help him up before the brawl could continue. There is nothing to suggest that Anderson was injured during the fall.
This could have been worse. Check out the fall, the fight, and Anderson in his own in-ring days:
[This post contains video, click to play]
[This post contai..

That could be worse. There are all kinds of injuries in the wrestling world and some of them are a lot worse than others. Some of them are the kinds that take place all at once but others are things that have been built up over the course of a long career. Either kind needs to be taken care of though and that seems to be the case again with another wrestling legend.
During the latest edition of his Table Talk podcast, WWE Hall of Famer and current producer D-Von Dudley announced that he will be undergoing back surgery in the near future. Dudley said that he has been dealing with the issue since 2010 and should be missing about two to three weeks of work. He described the surgery as having his back scraped, as a disc needs to be moved back in to place and secured.
Hopefully he gets better soon. Check out the whole show plus some of Dudley’s time in WWE:
[This post contains video, click to play]

[This post contains video, click to play]

[This post contains video, click to play]

..

That isn’t one you hear very often. There are a lot of stories about how hard life can be on the road for professional wrestlers, especially in WWE. You will hear about wrestlers having to be on the road for 300 days a year with very little time off and it can be incredibly difficult for everyone involved. Things have gotten a bit better, but time off is still precious. One current WWE star had a very unique reason for wanting time away.
SmackDown’s King Woods has posted a tweet revealing that he has requested time off from WWE to attend and cover a Golden Girls convention in Chicago from April 22-24. The convention is the first of its kind, though there is no word on if Woods has been given the time off. Woods is currently the reigning King of the Ring and has been feuding with the Bloodline.
When we ask for days off at wwe we have to give a reason as to why we would like the time off. pic.twitter.com/q1Kvyh1J6l
— Austin Creed – King of The Ring (@AustinCreedWins) December 2, 2021
..

Not right now. The Coronavirus pandemic has changed the way the world works and that is likely going to be the case for a rather long time to come. There have been all kinds of issues around the world and one of the biggest changes has been the ability to move from one country to another. That has been affecting wrestling and now it seems to be doing so again.
WWE has officially released a statement to PWInsider.com, confirming the postponement of a series of upcoming shows in Canada. Four shows were scheduled for January 21-24 but have been moved to dates in September and October. There is no word on why the shows have been postponed, but this comes soon after the Omicron strain of the Coronavirus has begun spreading. There is nothing to suggest that any American shows will be canceled.
WWE has done some great things in Canada. Check out some of their time in the country:
[This post contains video, click to play]

[This post contains video, click to play]

[This post contains vid..

So that’s what’s going to happen. We are rapidly approaching the end of the year and that means a lot in WWE. With so few shows left, WWE is going to stack the shows that they have with a series of big matches, many of which are likely to have title implications. That is going to be the case next week, and now we might already know what is to be expected in the match.
According to Wrestlingnews.co, the current plan for next week’s Raw Women’s Title match between champion Becky Lynch and Liv Morgan calls for Lynch to retain the title. Lynch is currently scheduled to defend the title at both the December 26 Madison Square Garden Live Event against Bianca Belair and against an opponent to be named at Day 1 on January 1, 2021.
Lynch is kind of a star. Check out what she has done as champion:
[This post contains video, click to play]

[This post contains video, click to play]

[This post contains video, click to play]

Opinion: This wouldn’t be a shock, but WWE has done a nice job of ..

A little less silver. Titles are a rather simple concept in the world of wrestling as they are so easy to understand: the person who has the big shiny belt is at the top of the ladder and everyone else wants to take it away. That is something anyone can understand, but there is a limit to how many titles can still be effective. WWE seems to know this and might be dropping a title.
According to Wrestling Observer Radio, WWE is considering dropping the NXT Cruiserweight Title. The potential move would be part of a long string of changes NXT has been making in recent months. This comes before Joe Gacy, who does not meet the cruiserweight limit, challenges Roderick Strong for the title at WarGames. There is no word on if Gacy will be winning the title or if it will just be dropped with Strong retaining. Strong has not defended the title since the September 28 edition of NXT.
The title has done well when it is around. Check out some of its better moments:
[This post contains video, click..

Add it to the trophy case. Tag teams have an interesting place in wrestling history, as it has been big in just about every promotion outside of WWE. Other promotions have emphasized it more over the years and as a result, WWE teams may not be as recognized as some others. That was the case again this year as another promotion has won a prestigious honor.
Pro Wrestling Illustrated has announced that the Young Bucks have topped the PWI Tag Team 50 list. This is the second year that the list has been released and the second year in a row that an AEW team has been on top, following FTR last year. The Young Bucks were also on last year’s list at #11. The only WWE team in the top five was the Usos, who came in at #4 and were unranked last year due to Jimmy Uso’s knee injury. Here is the top 5:
1. The Young Bucks
2. Lucha Bros
3. Dangerous Tekkers
4. The Usos
5. ALK (Giulia & Syuri)
Congratulations to Matt & Nick Jackson, The Young Bucks, for ranking #1 in the second annual PWI #TagTeam50..

Fare thee well. Commentary is a very important part of any wrestling show as it serves as the fans’ guide to the show. The commentary team tells fans what they need to know and why it is so important. That is a hard task to pull off and some of the teams are quite good at their jobs. Now though, one of those teams will be missing one of its longstanding members.
WWE Hall of Famer has announced that she will be leaving the NXT broadcasting team following this weekend’s WarGames event. Phoenix says that she is leaving the position to spend more time with her family and thanked everyone who helped her during her time on the show. Phoenix began working on the commentary team in 2017 in a part time role before moving into the full time position in 2019.
pic.twitter.com/pwazRlwLP5
— Beth “Phoenix” Copeland (@TheBethPhoenix) December 2, 2021
She has had quite the career. Check out what Phoenix has done throughout her time in NXT:
[This post contains video, click to play]

[This post con..

He’s doing what? For a very long time, one of the things that wrestling fans wanted to see more than anything else was another billionaire to come along and try their hand at going up against the WWE. It is not an easy task but it has finally happened in the form of AEW owner Tony Khan. He has certainly been a success so far, though some think he might be up to something.
According Bryan Alvarez on the F4WOnline message board, there are some in WWE who believe that Khan is personally buying tickets to AEW events to beef up ticket sales. There is nothing to suggest that this has actually taken place, or where the fans who fill the paid seats came from. AEW returned to running events on the road in September after staying in Jacksonville, Florida throughout the Coronavirus pandemic.
It would be a heck of a trick. Check out some of the shows the fans have paid to see:
[This post contains video, click to play]

[This post contains video, click to play]

[This post contains video, clic..

Keep them around. The amount of wrestlers who have departed WWE, either on their own or because of WWE letting them go, in the last year and a half is astounding. The company has released well over 100 wrestlers in that time and there is still the chance that more will be released at any time. Now though, WWE is trying to keep some of them from joining the list.
According to Fightful Select, WWE has been making an effort to re-sign both NXT’s Kyle O’Reilly and Johnny Gargano, whose contracts expire soon. Negotiations with Gargano began back in October, as WWE was impressed with how Gargano built new stars. His contract is set to expire shortly after this weekend’s WarGames event. O’Reilly’s deal is up before the end of the year and WWE is working to re-sign him as well. There is no word on whether the two are interested in staying with WWE or going elsewhere.
They are some talented people. Check out why WWE wants to keep them:
[This post contains video, click to play]

[This post c..

Reunion time? It is rather rare to see a wrestling couple that sticks around. While they certainly do exist they can be few and far between. Those that do last are among some of the better known names in wrestling though and it can be fascinating to see them work together. That is what we are seeing at the moment, and now we might be getting another one together for the first time.
This week’s Monday Night Raw featured the return of Edge, who was interrupted by the also returning Miz and Maryse. Edge and Miz argued back and forth on the microphone, with Maryse insulting Edge as well. According to PWInsider.com, there is a chance that the story could include the return of WWE Hall of Famer and Edge’s wife Beth Phoenix. WWE would like to run another couple vs. couple storyline, though there is no word on if Phoenix and/or Maryse would be returning to the ring. Phoenix is currently a broadcaster on NXT.
This could be interesting. Check out how everyone can go in the ring:
[This post co..