NEWS

Stick around for a bit. AEW has come a long way in a not very long amount of time. The company has not even been around four years yet and already has a history of its own. A lot of this has been built around its inner core of wrestlers, which has remained mostly unchanged since the company started. It is time for one major contract to come up though and now we know a bit more about the situation.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: He’s In: AEW Contract Status Of Former WWE Star
According to Wrestling Observer Radio, Kenny Omega’s AEW original four year contract was expected to expire at the end of January 2023. However, he is currently advertised for the March 14 Dynamite in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. There is a possibility that Omega has signed a new deal, or that his contract was extended due to Omega missing several months due to injury.
Omega is a star in AEW. Check out what he has done in the company:
[This post contains video, click to play]

[This post contains video, click to play]
..

Monday Night Raw
Date: December 19, 2022
Location: Wells Fargo Arena, Des Moines, Iowa
Commentators: Kevin Patrick, Corey Graves
It’s the last show before Christmas and possibly the last show of the year depending on what they do next week. There is still a lot of time before the Royal Rumble but we have another big match coming up on December 30. John Cena is on his way back to WWE and that should have some people talking. Let’s get to it.
Paul Heyman and Roman Reigns are here, with Reigns saying he is around here to deal with Kevin Owens. Reigns has been dealing with Owens and now he has to take care of John Cena again. Now, he is going to torture Owens until Raw acknowledges the Bloodline.
We cut to the rest of the Bloodline beating down Mustafa Ali.
Opening sequence.
Street Profits vs. Judgment Day Finn Balor/Damien Priest for the team here, with their friends and Akira Tozawa at ringside too. Ford goes nuts on Priest to start but gets sent into the corner. We go split screen ..

How to wrap things up. We are getting very close to the end of the year and than means it is time to look back at everything that happened over the course of 2022. WWE has had quite a collection of memorable moments and some of them are worth at least one more look. That is what we are going to be getting as WWE will be presenting a special edition of Monday Night Raw.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: BREAKING: Former NXT Champion Makes Surprise Return On Monday Night Raw
It was announced this week on Monday Night Raw that next week’s December 26 edition will be the “Absolute Best Of 2022”, featuring highlights and clips from throughout the year. This comes after WWE had no television taping announced for Monday night, as the company will instead be running a pair of live events at the same time. The show will return to its regular schedule on January 2.
There have been some great moments this year. Check out what you might be seeing next week:
[This post contains video, click to play]

[Th..

Welcome back. One of the biggest trends of the new WWE regime has been the amount of returning superstars. After several wrestlers were released over the course of about a year and a half, a good number of them have returned now that Triple H is in a position of power. All kinds of returns have taken place and now another former champion has made a surprise appearance.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: The Other Ring: Former WWE Star Makes Pro MMA Debut
This week’s Monday Night Raw featured a ladder match between the Miz and Dexter Lumis. Late in the match, Bronson Reed, known elsewhere as Jonah, made a surprise return to take Lumis out, allowing Miz to win the match. Reed, 34 years old, is a former NXT North American Champion who was released from WWE in 2021. Following his departure from WWE, Reed wrestled for Impact Wrestling and New Japan Pro Wrestling.
Reed was a star in NXT. Check out some of his time there:
[This post contains video, click to play]

[This post contains video, click to..

It’s a different world. Wrestlers have a difficult time in being seen as legitimate athletes. They have to do some very athletic things and their efforts are anything but easy. At the same time though, it can be difficult to shake the stigma of their matches being pre-determined. Occasionally a wrestler will try their hand at another sport though, which was the case again this week.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: WRESTLING RUMORS: WWE Discusses Brock Lesnar Intercontinental Title Reign
Former WWE star Jack Claffey, better known as Jack Gallagher, competed in his professional MMA debut this weekend. Claffey fought Marlon Jones at FCC 32 and was defeated via TKO in the first round, with the event airing on UFC Fight Pass. Claffey posted a photo of himself and Jones following the fight. Following the end of his wrestling career, Claffey has competed in bare knuckle boxing and amateur mixed martial arts, compiling a 1-0 and 2-0 record respectively.
You might remember him. Check out Claffey in t..

That would be new. We are almost to the start of WrestleMania season and that could make for some interesting developments. As we move towards the biggest show of the year, some of the bigger WWE stars begin making more appearances. That can make for some unique stories and now WWE is at least talking about doing something that has never been done before.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: WATCH: Velveteen Dream Arrest Video Released
Earlier this month, a report came out suggesting that Gunther vs. Brock Lesnar was possible for WrestleMania 39. According to Xero News on Twitter, there has been at least some small discussion of having Lesnar defeat Gunther, the reigning Intercontinental Champion, for the title, which would be the first of Lesnar’s career. There are some who feel this would help boost up the midcard titles, as WWE has been attempting to do in recent months. The match has yet to be announced and Gunther and Lesnar have had no interactions.
There has been atleast some small talk of..

A serious situation. Wrestlers portray either heroes or villains in the ring, but that does not mean that they are the same way when the cameras stop rolling. You never know what you might be seeing behind the scenes, but every now and then, a glimpse comes through. Now we can see something else from a former wrestler in a serious situation and it is not the nicest thing.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Upgrade: Road Dogg Explains Changes Coming To NXT Call-Up System
Back in August, former NXT star Velveteen Dream was arrested in Orlando, Florida on charges of first degree battery and trespassing. TMZ has released video of Dream being arrested outside of an Orlando fitness center. The video shows Dream yelling at the officers, asking for his phone to call his lawyer and repeating that he had not been read his rights. The case was later dropped with the alleged victim did not wish to press charges.
This is a rough sit. Check out the arrest footage:
[This post contains video, click to play]

..

That’s a better system. NXT has been a game changer for WWE, as the company now has its own developmental system to grow the next generation of talent. That is a rather important effort to make work and the right kind of process needs to be included. The process has been an issue over the years, but now things might be changing in a positive way.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Thank Goodness: Jim Ross Reveals How He Saved WWE Hall Of Famer’s Life
During a recent edition of his Oh. You Didn’t Know podcast, WWE executive Road Dogg talked about the changes in the process to call wrestlers up from NXT to the main roster. Dogg said that under Triple H’s regime, there will likely be a better method of bringing a star up, as Triple H understands the idea of wrapping things up for someone in NXT. There were previously issues of wrestlers being called up with no notice, leaving NXT stuff with loose ends and no closer to character arcs.
NXT has been doing well as of late. Check out some of their rece..

Hanging them up. Wrestlers have a weird situation when it comes to retirement. Since they can always wrestle one more match and then step away again, it is hard to find someone who actually retires and then stays gone for good. Those moments are fairly rare, but you hear about them quite often. Now we are hearing about another legend who has an end date in sight.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: ACTION! Chris Jericho Lands Role In Upcoming Wrestling Film
During a recent edition of his ARN podcast, Arn Anderson announced that he had a year and a half left in his AEW contract and that he planned to retire when that was up. Anderson spoke about wanting to train his son Brock and help him get ring time, be it in AEW or on the independent circuit. Arn also originally said that he would be finished in 2023, but later sent out a message on Twitter, saying that he misspoke and had a year and a half left on his contract, which would end in the middle of 2024.
A revision of my statement on @adfreeshows..

Not so fast? There have been all kinds of wrestling stars throughout the years but only a handful have reached the level of Goldberg. Armed with a spear and Jackhammer combination, Goldberg’s quick matches became one of the most popular attractions in WCW and built up his WWE career. While Goldberg only wrestles on occasion these days, he does have a future in wrestling, at least in theory.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: WRESTLING RUMORS: Edge Returning For Huge Match At WWE Royal Rumble
Goldberg’s current WWE deal expires at the end of the year, though he has no remaining matches on his contract. While there have been rumors of Goldberg signing a new deal, according to Fightful Select, that would be “news to his reps that negotiate those kinds of deals”. Goldberg’s most recent match took place at Elimination Chamber in February, when he was defeated by Roman Reigns. There is no word on Goldberg signing elsewhere once his contract expires.
Goldberg has done well during his WWE run. Check ou..

That’s a big one. We are coming up on the Royal Rumble and that means there are going to be several stars busy. With sixty wrestlers being used in the show’s namesake matches, there is not much room for anything else on the show. That means WWE is going to need to have something big to make up for it, and they might have one of the biggest matches available.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Bro? Conflicting Reports On Matt Riddle’s Absence And Possible Suspensions From WWE TV
According to Wrestlingnews.co, Edge is expected to return to WWE TV for the Royal Rumble, where he will continue his rivalry with Finn Balor. While not confirmed, the match is expected to be a gimmick match, with Hell In A Cell looking likely. Edge has not been seen on WWE television since Extreme Rules in October, when Balor defeated him in an I Quit match.
It’s a big rivalry. Check out how we got to the Cell:
[This post contains video, click to play]

[This post contains video, click to play]

[This post contains vi..