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I guess he needs the practice. AEW has come a long way in just under a year since their debut event. It really is kind of amazing how much progress they have made in that length of time and there is no indication that they are slowing down anytime soon. With all of the moves that they are making, one of their biggest strengths has been their ability to create stars, and one of them was doing something a bit out there earlier this week.
One thing that AEW has done well is create stars. They have a lot of names who came in from WWE, but they also have several wrestlers who they have taken from relative obscurity and turned into something on their own. There may be no one better in this category than Darby Allin, who has turned into a star in AEW. That star power was on display recently, albeit in a unique place.
You don’t see this every day. Check out what happened in a convenience store (this does contain strong language and is not entirely safe for work):

AEW star Sammy Guevara has..

It had been previously reported that last week’s episode of AEW Dynamite saw major talent not being able to perform on the show, due to travel restrictions caused by the Coronavirus pandemic that is sweeping the world. But what does this mean for future shows going forward?
According to the latest issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, it will be difficult to tape shows weekly, as Jacksonville’s largest Coronavirus testing center will be in the parking lot of HIAA Field, about 100 yards from where AEW is taping at Daily’s Place. Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry has also talked about cracking down on businesses and employees, to prevent them from taking unnecessary risks.
AEW has been working with the city regarding the ability to continue to use Daily’s Place for taping each week. It should be noted that the only people around this week’s show were the wrestlers in the one room for the skits, those in the actual, open-aired building, a few production people outside the building in..

It’s no secret that the Coronavirus pandemic has changed the world that we live in currently, with multiple major sports events, including WrestleMania, being either canceled, moved or postponed. Professional wrestling is currently one of the only live sports that is still occurring in today’s world.
Last week on AEW Dynamite, several notable superstars were missing from the show. According to the latest issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, due to travel restrictions, Pac and Pentagon Jr., who live in the U.K. and Mexico, were unable to come to the United States for this week’s episode of Dynamite. As a result, the Death Triangle group has been put on hold for now.
The talent that lives in California, such as The Young Bucks, SCU, Rey Fenix, Excalibur, referee Rick Knox, and others were unable to travel as well. Jim Ross and Taz weren’t there either, but it is unknown whether that was because of self-quarantine, or inability to travel. Tony Schiavone did the announcing on his ..

It’s just the beginning. WrestleMania 36 is not going to be like your normal show. In addition to the whole lack of fans in attendance thing, there is also going to be the issue of having the show taking place over two nights and even taped on top of it. Then there’s the whole pandemic issue to deal with, and that one might have taken things down even further than expected.
On Thursday, news broke that Roman Reigns was not likely going to be wrestling at WrestleMania. This was quite the blow to the show as Reigns was scheduled to challenge Goldberg for the Universal Title in one of the show’s headlining matches. The title match will likely still take place, albeit with a different challenger. However, it turns out that more changes are likely taking place.
According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, multiple people on the WrestleMania card have either taken themselves off of the show, are not being allowed to wrestle, or have not flown in to the show whatsoever. At the moment, it..

That’s a big negative. If there is one thing that I have learned in wrestling over the last few years it is to never say never. It seems that almost every few months, we see something happening that did not seem possible shortly before and that continues to be the case. It may be someone returning from injury or a match you didn’t think was possible, but it keeps happening. However, that doesn’t seem to be the case here.
Back in 2014, CM Punk walked out on the WWE, citing burnout and a series of injuries among other things. For years, it seemed unlikely that he would ever do anything with WWE again, but then FOX stepped in and made him an analyst on WWE Backstage. That got people talking about another possible return to the ring, but that seems to be off the table completely.
According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Vince McMahon has no desire to work with Punk no matter what. Punk being used on Backstage was not WWE’s decision and they did not want him on the show and had his..

That’s a big hit. There are a lot of wrestlers who might not be around very frequently due to the outbreak of the Coronavirus. At the end of the day, several of them are not comfortable with going out to the ring and performing when there is a chance that they will not be healthy as a result. Some have already dropped out of WrestleMania and one more will be gone just after it.
Daniel Bryan is a special wrestler to put it mildly. He is one of the most popular wrestlers to come along in ages and has the in-ring abilities to back it up. There is something about him that makes you want to like him and hopefully he gets to be around as long as he wants to this time. However, he might be taking some time away from the ring due to the Coronavirus, but not for the traditional reasons.
During this week’s edition of the Bellas podcast, Bryan’s husband Brie Bella mentioned that Bryan will be self quarantining in a hotel near his home after WrestleMania. Bella is pregnant at the moment and Brya..

Can you blame them? We are coming up on WrestleMania 36 in less than ten days, but for once that date does not mean as much, at least not for the wrestlers. Instead, this time around the show has already been taped in advance, which worked out very well for WWE since they may not be able to run shows at the Performance Center, at least for the time being. With new regulations banning such events, WrestleMania was taped in advance, though not everyone is happy.
There have been a lot of criticisms and discussions about the entire situation, as there comes a point where it might have been better off to just cut the losses and wait for things to get better. That isn’t WWE’s style though and as a result, we are getting the pay per view next weekend whether we like it or not. It turns out that a lot of the wrestlers would be in the “not” category.
According to PW Insider Elite Audio, “everyone” in WWE is against going forward with WrestleMania at this point except for Vince McMahon himself..

The story of Roman Reigns’ rumored removal from the WWE Universal Championship match at WrestleMania 36 is a major headline. In fact, it’s the major headline of the moment for pro wrestling fans. The man known as The Big Dog has enjoyed a phenomenal run in Vince McMahon’s company over the past few years and he appeared to be on his way back to the top thanks to his Mania match with Goldberg.
But now that match is apparently not happening and evidently, it’s thanks to the Coronavirus. The pandemic has changed the way people are living, as social distancing has become the new norm. It’s all about trying to prevent the spread of the virus. In Roman’s case, it’s also about peace of mind, as he attempts to maintain his already compromised immune system.
Roman’s leukemia is in remission and he’s healthy. But the more contact he has with the WWE roster, the more at risk he becomes. If he contracts the virus, things could potentially get very bad very quickly. But many fans are already sear..

NXT
Date: March 25, 2020
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton
We’re back to a little more normal this time around with NXT having regular matches instead of a mini documentary show like last week. Since there was no Takeover: Tampa Bay, those matches and stories will have to be addressed and HHH will be here tonight to start that process. Let’s get to it.
The opening recap looks at Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano getting in their huge brawl last week.
Tom Phillips confirms that matches originally scheduled for Takeover will be taking place on NXT TV instead.
Austin Theory vs. Tyler Breeze Theory has his own phone with him to mock Breeze. The lockup goes nowhere so Theory talks trash, saying he’s the future and Breeze is the past. Back up and Breeze hits a dropkick, allowing him to chill on the top rope for a bit. The Supermodel Kick has Theory distracted so Breeze hits a clothesline instead. Theory is right back with a runn..

Welcome to KB’s Old School (and New School) Reviews. I’ve been reviewing wrestling shows for over ten years now and have reviewed over 5,000 shows. Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, I’ll be posting a new review here on Wrestlingrumors.net, starting today. 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?
Wrestlemania XXVI
Date: March 28, 2010
Location: University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, Arizona
Attendance: 72,219
Commentators: Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler, Matt Striker
In addition to the two main events (Shawn Michaels vs. Undertaker, career vs. Streak and John Cena vs. Batista for the WWE Championship_, there’s a third big match that people never thought would actually happen. Back on January 4, 2010, Bret Hart returned to the company for the first time in over twelve years. After burying the hat..

If you would like to see this show for free, you can check it out in full right here:

Fusion #102
Date: March 21, 2020
Location: 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: AJ Kirsch, Rich Bocchini
I’m not sure what is left from this show, but there assuming they taped their event in Mexico, they might have another four weeks left after this one. We’ll get to that later though as this one is all about fallout from last week. Therefore, it’s time for an eight man tag with Team Filthy vs. Davey Boy Smith Jr./the Von Erichs/Killer Kross, which could be a big deal. Let’s get to it.
The opening recap looks at last week’s brawl which set up the eight man tag.
Mance Warner has been attacked by the Dynasty and therefore, Maxwell Jacob Friedman is banned from the building. Warner will be in the corner of Richard Holliday’s mystery opponent though.
El Lindaman vs. Zenshi Feeling out process to start with the stronger Lindaman going for a waistlock, only to get rolled up for two. T..

Welcome to KB’s Old School (and New School) Reviews. I’ve been reviewing wrestling shows for over ten years now and have reviewed over 5,000 shows. Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, I’ll be posting a new review here on Wrestlingrumors.net, starting today. 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?
Wrestlemania XXII
Date: April 2, 2006
Location: Allstate Arena, Chicago, Illinois
Attendance: 17,159
Commentators: Michael Cole, Tazz, Jerry Lawler, Jim Ross
Really there isn’t much to talk about here. Other than the two World Title matches, the other major match on the show is Shawn Michaels vs. Vince McMahon in a match over Vince not being willing to grow up and let go of some things in his past. The card just doesn’t feel big this year which was the case with most of the stuff this year. Let’s get ..