NEWS

The prodigal son has returned. After weeks of rumors and reports, Cody Rhodes officially made his return to WWE on Night 1 of WrestleMania 38. He was the surprise opponent for Seth Rollins, chosen by Mr. McMahon.
You can see the return below:
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For weeks, Rollins had been seeking an opponent for WrestleMania, attempting to jump through multiple hoops with Adam Pearce and Sonya Deville. This eventually led to him having a personal meeting with Mr. McMahon, where it was revealed that Rollins would compete at the Showcase of the Immortals.
Rhodes announced that he was departing AEW, the company that he helped co-found, on February 15 of this year. It was unknown what he would be doing during that time; however, rumors had begun to circulate that be had re-signed with WWE.
Editor’s Opinion:
Wow. While I had hoped it was coming, to be able to watch that moment and feel the excitement from the crowd gave me goosebumps. I was grinning from ear to..

That was scary. Injuries are one of the few constants in all of wrestling and that is one of the worst parts about the whole sport. You never know when someone might get taken out of action, as it could be something built up over time or something that happens all at once. The latter might have taken place over the weekend, as a nasty landing could have put someone on the injured list.
NXT’s Grayson Waller may have been injured during NXT Stand & Deliver on Saturday. During a five man ladder match, Waller climbed to the top of a ladder and dove off, only to land on another ladder bridged between the ring and the barricade. After his landing, referees checked on Waller, who did nothing else for the rest of the match. His injury status is not known at the moment.
This was bad. Check out the big crash:
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Opinion: That isn’t exactly a surprise as that was an insane jump and a horrible looking landing. There is only so much that a human can take a..

The gold is gone. Titles are one of the most important concepts in all of wrestling, as whoever has a title is probably going to be one of the top people in the promotion. It makes sense to give someone a title if you want them moving up the card or take it away if it is time for them to move down a bit. That was the case this week, as several titles changed hands Saturday afternoon.
There were three title changes on Saturday at NXT Stand & Deliver. First up, Dakota Kai and Raquel Gonzalez defeated Toxic Attraction to win the Women’s Tag Team Titles on the Kickoff Show. In the regular show’s opening match, Cameron Grimes won the North American Title from Carmelo Hayes in a five man ladder match also involving Santos Escobar, Solo Sikoa and Grayson Waller. Finally, MSK defeated champions Imperium and the Creed Brothers to become Tag Team Champions for the second time. Women’s Champion Mandy Rose and NXT Champion Dolph Ziggler retained their titles.
Opinion: You can’t say it was an une..

In the words of new WWE Hall of Famer Vader, it’s time. It is time for Wrestlemania XXXVIII and that means the card has finally (and I do mean finally) been set. We now know what to expect on each night and the card is…well it certainly exists. There are some interesting matches on both nights, though I’m not sure what to expect from the show. That can make it fun though so let’s get to it.
Smackdown Tag Team Titles: Usos(c) vs. Rick Boogs/Shinsuke Nakamura
Since the New Day is busy, the Usos actually need someone else to fight for once. That opens the door for Boogs and Nakamura, who at least seem like a team. How can you not be ready for a title match after doing Toyota commercials together? This should be good enough as Nakamura knows how to work well with anyone and Boogs is basically an ox with a guitar.
I’ll go with new champions here, on the grounds of “well, someone has to beat the Usos.” They feel like they have held the titles forever, so let the new team get the belts off..

Welcome to KB’s Old School (and New School) Reviews. I’ve been reviewing wrestling shows for over twelve years now and have reviewed over 6,000 shows. Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, I’ll be posting a new review here on Wrestlingrumors.net. 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 VIII
Date: April 5, 1992
Location: Hoosier Dome, Indianapolis, Indiana
Attendance: 62,167
Commentators: Gorilla Monsoon, Bobby Heenan
This was one of the names mentioned for a possible redo so I’ll throw it in as a bonus. On his podcast, Bruce Prichard mentioned this as one of the worst Wrestlemanias ever and I’m really not sure why. The show features a double main event with Ric Flair defending the WWF World Title against Randy Savage and Hulk Hogan’s possible retirement match against Sid Justice. Le..

Never say never. Wrestling is not like other sports when it comes to retirements. While mainstream athletes walk away for the sake of not having to endure another season, a wrestler is able to jump back in and get right to it without having to wait for a year’s worth of matches. That opens a lot of doors, and another one might have been left open just a bit by a certain legend.
The Undertaker was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame on Friday night. During his induction speech, Undertaker teased the idea of wrestling again by saying “never say never” after hanging up his hat and coat. Undertaker officially announced his retirement from the ring at Survivor Series 2020, marking thirty years since his WWE debut. His last match came against AJ Styles at WrestleMania 36.
Opinion: I can’t say I’m surprised by this, as almost no one actually stays retired after saying they’re going to retire. It just isn’t in a wrestler’s nature, and it would be plausible to see Undertaker pop in for a quick..

It’s a concept that works. Stables have been around for a very long time in wrestling and they make a lot of sense. Wrestlers are able to be on television at the same time for whatever reason, which often gives them a near guaranteed look from the audience. That is something that could be very valuable to a lot of wrestlers, and now they might be getting another chance.
According to Fightful Select, WWE is considering giving Edge a heel stable of his own. The stable has been talked about “heavily” and could come together “imminently” but the plan has not yet been finalized. The only name considered for the team so far is Damian Priest, who currently does not have a match on the WrestleMania card. There is no word on how many members the team could have.
Opinion: The more I think about it, the longer it has been since we have had a major non-Bloodline stable in WWE. There have been a few groups here and there, but how many have an a-list star as their leader? The Bloodline is great, b..

It was a busy night. There are a lot of titles to be won in the wrestling industry and some of them have deep histories. It means something when those titles change hands, especially on a show of magnitude. In his case, a lot of the titles had not been defended or even seen in a very long time, making the changes all the more important. That was the case this week in a big way.
There were four new champions crowned at Ring of Honor’s Supercard of Honor 2022 event, which served as the company’s first new event since December 2021. First, Mercedes Martinez defeated Willow Nightingale to become the new Interim Women’s Champion, setting up a unification match with Deonna Purrazzo. Second, FTR defeated the Briscoes to win the Tag Team Titles. Next, Minoru Suzuki took the Television Title from Rhett Titus, followed by Wheeler Yuta becoming the Pure Champion by defeating Josh Woods. The show’s main event saw Jonathan Gresham defeat Bandido to become undisputed World Champion.
Opinion: That ..

Welcome back. A return can be a very special thing in wrestling as you never know when you might see one. That can make it all the more interesting when you see someone pop up that you didn’t expect. It can be all the more emotional when it is someone who is coming back after a serious issue. That was the case this week, though it wasn’t something that took place on camera.
According to Fightful Select, Triple H surprised the WWE roster by making an appearance at a talent meeting this week. This was one of Triple H’s first appearances in any official capacity after his heart issue in August of last year. In an interview with Metro, Kevin Owens said that the message of the speech was “enjoy this”. There is no word on when Triple H will be back to work full time for WWE, or if he ever will be. In addition, also according to Fightful Select, the wrestlers were told they would be making more money off of third party deals, including Cameo, signings and more, making it a “great” start to t..

The prodigal son has returned. Tonight at the 2022 ROH Supercard of Honor, Samoa Joe made his return to professional wrestling, appearing in the final segment of the show.
You can see the return below:
WHAT A RETURN TO #ROH WE ARE WITNESSING RIGHT NOW! @SamoaJoe just arrived and business has picked up! What an incredible night it has been at #SupercardofHonor! pic.twitter.com/P5ssPlI333
— ROH Wrestling (@ringofhonor) April 2, 2022
Joe appeared after Jonathan Gresham defeated Bandido to become the new undisputed ROH champion.
Bandido handed him his belt and helped him celebrate his victory before leaving the ring. Gresham closed the show with a speech, but he was interrupted by Jay Lethal. The show ended with Lethal and Sonjay Dutt attacking Gresham until Joe showed up. He choked Dutt out while Lethal watched.
[h/t to Bleacher Report]
Joe has not been seen in professional wrestling since late 2021 when he was forced to vacate the NXT championship after being sidelined with an inj..

Oh happy days. Tonight on WrestleMania Smackdown, WWE held the annual Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal in honor of one of the most remarkable big men of all time. But who was the winner of this year’s prestigious trophy?
Madcap Moss outlasted the remainder of the field to become the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal winner this year. You can see a clip of the action below:
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After the match, Moss put himself over and told one of his traditional jokes. Later in the show, he was the special guest on Happy Talk with Happy Corbin. Eventually, Drew McIntyre came out, knocked down Moss with one punch, and chased Corbin out of the ring to end the show.
Editor’s Opinion:
This was somewhat unexpected for me, but I am extremely happy for Moss! He’s done the best he could with the gimmick he was given and has made more out of it than I think anybody thought he would. This indicates that he could potentially have an excellent 2022, and he dese..

That’s a compliment. There are very few wrestlers in history who became a star on the same level as John Cena. As the face of WWE in this generation, Cena reached a level that is almost impossible to surpass and he held it for a very long time. It is interesting when you look back at what he did to get there, and now he is mentioning one of his most well known periods again.
During an interview with Forbes, Cena praised AEW’s Max Caster, saying that Caster is a better rapper than he is and that he could not beat Caster in a rap battle. Cena said that he wishes Caster the best of luck but can’t offer him any tips because Caster is on a higher level than he ever was. He described Caster as “spectacular” and said Caster shows great potential.
Opinion: That is some high praise and something that you don’t see from the star of one company to another that often. That being said, it helps that Cena is a star on a completely different level than anyone in AEW so him praising a midcard star l..