NEWS

It might be a bit. Injuries can happen to anyone at any time and that is never a good thing to see. At the end of the day, no matter how much someone trains or plans what they are going to do in the ring, there is always the chance that someone could get hurt. Now that seems to be the case again, and now it might be a little bit before you see a rather decorated wrestler again.
Former AEW Women’s Champion Riho has sent out a tweet saying that she is taking a little rest. The tweet also includes a photo of Riho, whose arm is in a sling. Riho’s most recent match took place at AEW Battle of the Belts on January 8. There is no word on how long she will be out of action or what is wrong with her. Riho has not been announced for any other matches in the near future.
I’m taking a rest a little. pic.twitter.com/CSx3UJswtK
— RIHO ?? (@riho_gtmv) January 28, 2022
Opinion: That is never good to hear and hopefully Riho is back in the ring sooner rather than later. Riho has been one of the stro..

Got to beat the count. WWE has posted a new video to its YouTube channel in which they show the full Last Man Standing match between Roman Reigns and Kevin Owens for the Universal Championship from the 2021 Royal Rumble pay-per-view.
You can see the match in its entirety below:
[This post contains video, click to play]

From WWE.com:
The risks grew higher and higher as the brawl sprawled throughout the WWE ThunderDome. In one of the more terrifying scenes, Reigns launched KO off a high staging area through a table, but Owens got to his feet in the nick of time. Moments later, as Owens staggered into the backstage area, Reigns drove into him with a golf cart, sending Owens crashing through the plexiglass windshield. Still, Owens fought on.
When Reigns took the opportunity to mock Owens’ grandfather, as he did two nights ago on SmackDown, it awoke a new fighting spirit in the challenger, and Owens launched a revised attack that culminated with a senton off the top of a forklift thro..

Welcome back! Injuries can be a terrible thing in wrestling as they can derail someone in the blink of an eye. Something can happen to a wrestler to put them on the shelf out of nowhere, no matter what they are doing at the time. That can happen to anyone of any level, and unfortunately the injury bug bit a current WWE champion. That isn’t going to keep him away forever though and now you should be seeing him again soon.
According to Wrestlingnews.co, WWE Intercontinental Champion Shinsuke Nakamura has been cleared to return to action, saying he is “clear to FIGHT”. This comes after Nakamura out of action since mid-December, with Rick Boogs revealing that Nakamura had suffered a hand injury. There is no word on when Nakamura will be returning to the ring, though Sami Zayn has become #1 contender in his absence.
Opinion: That is great to hear, as Nakamura being gone has been a bit strange. I’m going to assume that WWE knew he would not be out of action for that long, as leaving the ti..

That’s a big deal. WWE is the biggest wrestling company in the world and has made a fortune through its licensing deals. By merely allowing other companies and platforms to air its content, WWE has managed to make enough money that it is guaranteed to be profitable for a long time to come. That has not stopped them from pushing on further though, and that is the case again with an international deal.
WWE and Disney+ Hotstar have announced, by way of 411mania.com, that the WWE Network will be available on Disney+ in Indonesia. This is similar to Peacock airing WWE Network content in the United States, with the deal including this weekend’s Royal Rumble. The deal is WWE’s first of any kind with Disney, though it is not clear if the two sides will be entering into any more agreements going forward.
Opinion: I know it is just one country and a relatively small deal, but WWE having any kind of a relationship with Disney is a good thing. That is about as big as it gets from an entertainmen..

That’s a lot of money. WWE has made a fortune by producing so much content that they are constantly in demand. Other platforms are interested in bringing over WWE and everything that they can showcase, which comes with a built in audience. That can come at a high price tag, and now it seems that one of WWE’s biggest partners has paid for quite a few of those price tags.
According to Variety, Peacock, the official platform for the WWE Network in the United States, lost $1.7 billion in 2021, doubling its losses from last year. Peacock is entering its third year of availability and features Universal films, NBC television and WWE content. There is nothing to suggest that Peacock will be shutting down, as it is reportedly not expected to be profitable until 2025.
Opinion: This is one of those things that is kind of hard to get my head around, as losing nearly two billion dollars sounds catastrophic to any business. That being said, NBC Universal is a mammoth company and something on the ..

He’ll be sticking around. We are less than two days away from the Royal Rumble and that means things are starting to get serious around WWE. The Road To WrestleMania will officially begin and WWE will be turning things up a bit. Some wrestlers are going to be in more prominent roles, including some of the bigger names in the company. Now it seems that we will be seeing one of them even more than expected.
According to 411mania.com, Brock Lesnar is being advertised for the Elimination Chamber event on February 19 in Saudi Arabia, as well as multiple Monday Night Raw and SmackDown events. The television appearances begin on the February 14 Monday Night Raw and end on the March 11 SmackDown, though Lesnar is not advertised for every show. Here is when he is being advertised:
* January 30: WWE Raw (Cincinnati, Ohio)
* February 14: WWE RAW (Indianapolis, Indiana)
* February 19: Elimination Chamber (Jeddah, Saudi Arabia)
* February 21: WWE RAW (Columbia, South Carolina)
* February 25: WWE ..

One of those weird rules. There is a lot that can be said about Vince McMahon but one of the strangest things are his random rules. Sometimes you hear about one of them and have to wonder what he is thinking, as McMahon has one odd choice after another. That is the case again and it continues to sound a bit confusing, especially given what it seems to go against.
According to Wrestling Observer Radio, NXT commentators are not allowed to mention the specific relatives of wrestlers. This includes mentioning that Solo Sikoa is the brother of the Usos or that Bron Breakker is a member of the Steiner Family. While wrestlers are allowed to mention Breakker’s father and uncle, they are not allowed to mention that he is related to the Steiner Brothers. It is not clear why WWE has decided these names are not allowed.
Sikoa and Breakker both debuted for NXT late last year. Sikoa is a member of the Anoa’i family and is the younger brother of the Usos. He is also the son of Rikishi, who has been..

He’s a big deal. There are some wrestling families whose names are going to get your attention no matter what they are doing. That is often a good thing and can help make stories that easier to tell. The name can give you an easy in to some kind of a storyline, as some of those names are going to offer instant interest no matter what they are doing. WWE is hoping that will be the case again as a major name is set for a return.
According to Ringsidenews.com, Shane McMahon is set to participate in the men’s Royal Rumble match this coming weekend. While not confirmed, it is expected that this will set up an unspecified match for WrestleMania 38. This would be McMahon’s first match since he was defeated by Braun Strowman in a cage match at WrestleMania 37. WWE has not mentioned McMahon in any significant way in months.
McMahon has wrestled for WWE on and off since 1999, often in high level angles and matches. He has won a handful of championships over the years, with his most recent titl..

Welcome back? There have been some huge batches of releases from WWE over the last year and a half with the roster looking almost nothing like it did before. That is the kind of thing that changes WWE, but also other wrestling promotions around the world. As a result of all of those releases, other wrestling companies have now been able to pick up some of those wrestlers. Now another one seems ready to move on from his time with WWE.
Former WWE star Gran Metalik, also known as Mascara Dorado, has posted a video to Twitter, showing him finding his old mask in a bad. Metalik also said that his return to the ring was coming soon, as his WWE no compete clause will be expiring during the first week of February. There is no word on when or where Metalik will wrestle next. Metalik was released from WWE on November 4, 2021, along with several other names.
It could be a big return. Check out the tease:
[This post contains video, click to play]
Opinion: This is the kind of thing that can mak..

So long. WWE has been shaken up in a bunch of ways and some of those moves have caused all kinds of changes behind the scenes. This has included a variety of wrestlers, trainers and more from the company, some of which have been some rather well known names. There have also been some names that might not be the most familiar, and that could be the case again this time.
According to PWInsider.com, Amanda Tustian, Director of Over The Top Content for the WWE Network, has left the company. It is not clear why she left WWE or if there was any sudden reason for her departure. Tustian has been with the company since 2010, working in creative and in various areas with the WWE Network. She took over her most recent position in September 2020.
Opinion: I’m not sure why Tustian moved on from WWE but she is the most recent person leaving the company. While I can imagine WWE has someone ready to take her place, it is someone else who needs to be moved into another role. Hopefully the company has..

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?
Royal Rumble 1997
Date: January 19, 1997
Location: Alamodome, San Antonio, Texas
Attendance: 60,235
Commentators: Vince McMahon, Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler
I’m scared to think how many of those tickets were freebies. This is the annual requested redo and I’m not sure what to expect going into it. Well I am as I’ve seen the show multiple times but it’s been awhile. The main event is of course Shawn Michaels vs. Sid II because we need the big hometown moment. Those actually existed back in 1997. Let’s get to it.
As you..

Welcome back? The Royal Rumble is taking place later this week and that means it is time for fans to speculate on who might be in the show’s namesake matches. While WWE announces a good number of the match participants in advance, there are still several spots left to go. Some of those wrestlers will be making returns, but now we might have an idea of one of the bigger surprises.
According to Fightful Select, Kairi Sane has been discussed as a potential women’s Royal Rumble participant, though it is not clear if she will be a part of the match. Sane has not wrestled July 2020 and has since relocated to Japan. She is still under WWE contract until February, though there is nothing to suggest that she will be wrestling for WWE again. There are currently twenty one names announced for the women’s Royal Rumble match.
Opinion: This is one of those situations where I will believe it when I see it, as Sane has been gone for over a year and a half now. Sane is a very talented wrestler though..