NEWS

That’s a big change. There are a lot of titles in WWE and one of them changing hands can make a huge difference to both the company and the wrestlers’ future. Even a short title reign ending can mean a lot and it is always noteworthy when someone wins a championship. That was the case this weekend as a title change hands not long after it was won in the first place.
Over the weekend, WWE presented its Crown Jewel 2022 event from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. In the second match on the show, Damage Ctrl defeated Asuka and Alexa Bliss to regain the Women’s Tag Team Titles. The title change came after interference from Nikki Cross and ended Asuka and Bliss’ reign after five days. This was the only title change to take place during the show.
Opinion: This is the kind of title change that makes Crown Jewel feel important but at the same time doesn’t change much of anything. The titles are right back where they were coming into this week’s Monday Night Raw and that makes things feel a bit less imp..

Crown Jewel 2022
Date: November 5, 2022
Location: Mrsool Park, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Commentators: Michael Cole, Wade Barrett
We’re back in Saudi Arabia and in this case that means we are going to be seeing Logan Paul getting a shot at Roman Reigns. It’s a straight up celebrity match and the question is how well Paul can do in the situation. This show feels like a regular pay per view which happens to be taking place in Saudi Arabia so hopefully they can make that work. Let’s get to it.
The opening video features Titus O’Neil talking about how this is the countdown to impossible. The idea is tied into Logan Paul needing to hit that one lucky shot to beat Roman Reigns.
Brock Lesnar vs. Bobby Lashley Lesnar came back a few weeks ago and randomly attacked Lashley to cost him the US Title, setting up the showdown. Lashley goes after him on the floor before the bell and takes out the leg. They go inside for the opening bell, then another spear drops Lesnar inside. The spear sends Lesnar t..

Get your brackets ready. Tournaments are one of the easiest concepts to understand in wrestling. You take a bunch of wrestlers, put them together into a bracket, and have the winner get some kind of a prize. The reward could be just about anything, which is why they can be so commonly used. Now it seems that we are going to be getting another one for something.
This week on SmackDown, WWE announced the beginning of the SmackDown World Cup next week. The eight person tournament will begin on the November 11 SmackDown with the winner receiving a future Intercontinental Title shot. There were no other details given, including the entrants or date of the final. WWE has previously presented a World Cup tournament, with the one night event taking place at Crown Jewel 2018 with Shane McMahon winning despite not being entered.
Opinion: Sure why not. Tournaments are an idea that often work rather well in wrestling and that should be the case again here. WWE does know how to run tournaments an..

Rampage
Date: November 4, 2022
Location: Jim Whalen Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey
Commentators: Jim Ross, Excalibur, Mike Tyson, Tony Schiavone
You might notice an interesting guest star here as Iron Mike Tyson is making another appearance for the company. I’m not sure how well that is going to go, but Tyson is likely going to bring some energy. The big match this week is a special appearance by Katsuyori Shibata as he challenges Orange Cassidy for the All-Atlantic Title. Let’s get to it.
Opening sequence.
Mike Tyson gets a special entrance.
Video on Katsuyori Shibata, who hits people very hard and is back after what appeared to be a career ending injury.
All-Atlantic Title: Orange Cassidy vs. Katsuyori Shibata Cassidy is defending. They stare each other down so Shibata grabs a headlock takeover. A headscissors gets Cassidy out of trouble before cranking on the ankle. Shibata misses the big kick to the head and gets forearmed off the apron, setting up the suicide dive…

It’s time to go overseas again with the latest WWE in Saudi Arabia endeavor. As usual, the show doesn’t have the best reputation but this one does feel a bit different. Instead of some weird special show with some one off gimmick or competition, it feels like a regular pay per view which happens to take place in Saudi Arabia. Now if only they can make it work well. Let’s get to it.
Women’s Tag Team Titles: Asuka/Alexa Bliss(c) vs. Damage Ctrl This was a last minute addition as Damage Ctrl dropped the titles to the returning Asuka and Bliss this week on Raw. I’m not sure how much of a chance there is to have the titles change back here, but it is the kind of thing that could be set up for a short title reign to give the show a moment. The Saudi Arabia shows do need to feel more important and a title change, even of a minor title, would help with that.
However, I think I’ll go with the titles being successfully defended here as Asuka and Bliss coming back on Monday to win the titles an..

That could have been different. Managers can be very valuable for a wrestler as they can cover up a lot of gaps that a wrestler might have. Putting the right people together can make for some great moments, but having the wrong combination can do quite a bit of damage. Now we know an idea that WWE had which wound up not being used as one of the two wasn’t wild on the idea.
According to Fightful Select, WWE originally planned for Scarlett to manage Damian Priest when the two were in NXT. However, this pairing never came together as Priest did not feel it was a good fit for him. Instead, Scarlett was held back until her future husband Karrion Kross came to NXT when she was paired with him. While the date of a potential pairing was not specifically known, it was thought to be around the time NXT debuted on USA in September 2019.
Opinion: That is a pairing that could have worked out very well had WWE chosen to go in that direction. It would have been interesting to see Priest with a mana..

There are catches. WWE is the biggest wrestling company in the world but they are not the only option out there. In addition to WWE, there are all kinds of wrestling promotions around the world that have quite the followings of their own. Those companies are able to offer major matches, but in this case WWE is working with one of the other promotions. There just happen to be some special rules to follow.
It was recently announced that WWE’s Shinsuke Nakamura would be facing Great Muta at the January 1, 2023 Pro Wrestling Noah event as part of Nakamura’s retirement tour. According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the match is being allowed to take place, but with certain restrictions. While Pro Wrestling Noah is allowed to create the hype video and match graphics, but they are not allowed to mention WWE anywhere outside of Japan or in anything written in English. There is no word on if WWE will promote the match.
Opinion: This is one of those things that probably has some busines..

Yeah that would be big. There are only so many names who have become the face of WWE and arguably the biggest star of all time. You do not see that happen very often but you know it when you see it. Keeping those stars around for as long as possible is something any promotion would want to do and now there is a chance that another one might be heading back to the ring one more time.
The main event of the first night of WrestleMania 38 earlier this year saw Steve Austin defeat Kevin Owens in an impromptu no holds barred match. The match was Austin’s first in nineteen years and he has not been seen on WWE TV since this year’s WrestleMania. However, according to WrestleVotes via Givemesport and a followup Tweet, Austin was reportedly so happy with his match against Owens that WWE believes he would consider wrestling again. The report states that Austin, 57, would listen to a proposal for WrestleMania 39, though there is no word on what he would say to such an offer.
I’ll follow up on th..

Smackdown
Date: November 4, 2022
Location: Enterprise Center, St. Louis, Missouri
Commentators: Wade Barrett, Michael Cole
It’s time for a taped show as everyone else is already in Saudi Arabia. The main event this week is Gunther defending the Intercontinental Title against Rey Mysterio in a match that has some potential. Other than that, we probably get the final push towards Logan Paul challenging Roman Reigns for the Universal Title, because celebrity. Let’s get to it.
Liv Morgan vs. Sonya Deville No DQ. It’s a brawl to start with Deville grabbing some kendo sticks and driving Morgan into the apron. Back in and Deville unloads with the stick but Morgan is smiling. Morgan fights up and sticks her down, meaning it’s table time. That’s broken up and Deville puts the table back under the ring. Back up and Morgan hits a suicide dive to drop Deville and then she does it again. Now we can get the table set up with Liv driving her through it as we take a break.
We come back with a bunch..

It’s a different way to go. There have been a lot of changes in WWE this year and some of them have been shifts that can move the company into a different direction. Some of these changes have involved a new path for some of the biggest events in the company, with several matches being changed into something new. Now we know a few more details about where things are going.
One of the changes that has been mentioned in recent weeks has been a move away from themed premium live events. According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the only thing confirmed is that there will be fewer of the events, with no word on what could happen to which events. One likely possibility is that events such as Hell In A Cell will no longer take place, though the match itself probably will somewhere. This is part of Triple H’s attempt to move WWE into a direction different than the one Vince McMahon followed.
Opinion: This is more or less what was expected but it is nice to have things a bit more clari..

She has their eye. There have been a lot of returns to WWE in the last few months and there is nothing to suggest that they are going to calm down. Some of these returns have come out of nowhere with names who never got a serious chance in the company being brought back. That might be happening again as WWE is reportedly interested in bringing back another past star.
According to Fightful Select, WWE is interested in bringing back Mia Yim. This comes about a year after Yim was released from the company in November 2021 as part of the Retribution stable, where she was known as Reckoning. Since then, Yim has wrestled on the independents and in Impact Wrestling, where she lost to Mickie James at Bound For Glory in October. There is no word on when Yim would be returning, if she does indeed sign with WWE again.
Opinion: This is the kind of signing that could help WWE as the company needs fresh blood where it can find it. Yim was never given a chance to become a serious player in WWE and ..

Impact Wrestling
Date: November 3, 2022
Location: Sam’s Town Live, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Matthew Rehwoldt, Tom Hannifan
We are about two weeks away from Overdrive and the card is starting to take shape. While the World Title match is already set, we still need to get the X-Division Title match ready, which is where this week comes in. Odds are there are going to be more tournament matches this week and that should be a good thing. Let’s get to it.
Opening recap.
Eddie Edwards blames PCO for the destruction of Honor No More and invites him to come fight him in the desert.
Opening sequence.
X-Division Title Tournament First Round: Kenny King vs. Mike Bailey Feeling out process to start with King being weary of the big kick. An exchange of rollups get two each until they both try kicks to the ribs. Bailey dropkicks him for two and King is sent outside, but it’s too early for the dive. Back in and Bailey cranks on the leg, with a leglock sending King over to the rope. King’s..