NEWS

That’s why they’re gone. The WWE releases struck again this week, as several more wrestlers and employees were let go from the company. This batch focused on NXT, as several coaches and scouts were released. Some of those coaches were active wrestlers until the relaunch of NXT, and now we know why a pair of them were let go from their contracts.
According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Timothy Thatcher and Danny Burch were let go from WWE because the company did not see any kind of a future for them. WWE has changed NXT to a place for developmental wrestlers they feel can make the main roster one day. Wrestlers such as Burch and Thatcher were seen as talented but not people who would make it on the main roster. There is no word on where either of them will wrestle next.
These two have some talent. Check out what the two of them did in NXT:
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Opinio..

It’s going around these days. The Coronavirus pandemic has changed the way the world works and wrestling has been no exception. It seems that every single day sees another wrestler either testing positive for the virus or being put in quarantine over possibly coming in contact with someone who has. Now it has happened again and it has changed two upcoming title matches.
Both Impact Wrestling and AEW have announced that title matches scheduled for this Saturday have been postponed due to Coronavirus issues. Impact Wrestling Knockouts Tag Team Champions the IInspiration have come in contact with someone who have tested positive and will not be able to defend their titles against the Influence at Hard To Kill. No replacement match has been announced. In addition, AEW has announced that TNT Champion Cody Rhodes will not be able to defend his title against Sammy Guevara at Battle of the Belts. Instead, Cody’s brother Dustin Rhodes will face Guevara for the Interim TNT Title.
This is a big..

That would be a game changer. A lot of wrestlers have nicknames, but the right one can go a long way in making them feel like a top star. That can be rather tricky to pull off, but if someone finds something that clicks, it can work wonders for them. That is the case with a few current WWE stars, though one of them might not be able to use her most famous moniker any longer.
During a recent edition of his WOO Nation podcast, Ric Flair claimed that he once again owned “the Man” name. WWE had been fighting him over the name, which had been used by Becky Lynch. If this is the case, Lynch will no longer be allowed to use the name. However, according to Fightful, WWE still has permission to use the name, but has been moving away from it, with Lynch being referred to as “Big Time Becks”. WWE still sells The Man merchandise for Lynch on its online store.
Lynch got a lot of mileage out of the name. Check out some of her time using it:
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He’s next. We are less than a month away from the Royal Rumble and that means it is time to start setting up the show. As usual though, that can be rather tricky when sixty people are going to be tied up in two matches. There are a few ways to get around that problem though, and WWE is going to be doing just that in one of the show’s main event title matches.
This week on SmackDown, Adam Pearce was told to find Roman Reigns’ challenger for the Universal Title at the Royal Rumble. At the end of the show, Reigns was in his dressing room when Seth Rollins came in, signifying that he would be the next challenger. The match has yet to be officially announced. Rollins defeated Reigns for the WWE Championship at Money in the Bank 2016. Their most recent singles match came on the October 11, 2019 SmackDown, with Rollins winning via disqualification.
It was a big moment. Check out Rollins’ appearance, plus what these two do against each other:
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[Thi..

Rampage
Date: January 7, 2022
Location: Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey
Commentators: Excalibur, Chris Jericho, Taz, Ricky Starks
We’re still in New Jersey and this week’s show is featuring some big names. Adam Cole is here, but we also have a street fight, which is something that hasn’t been done (or anything close to it) in at least a week around here. Rampage has been good as of late though and hopefully that keeps up this week. Let’s get to it.
Opening sequence.
Jake Atlas vs. Adam Cole Cole takes him down with a headscissors to start but Atlas flips out and does the Boom pose. Back up and they both dodge a bunch of kicks before teasing superkicks at the same time. Atlas puts his hand in Cole’s face but gets tossed outside, where Cole sends him into the post. Back in and Atlas hits a few shots of his own, only to springboard into a Backstabber as we take a break.
We come back with Cole being sent outside so Atlas can hit a suicide dive. A springboard missile dropkick hits..

Impact Wrestling
Date: January 6, 2022
Location: Sam’s Town Live, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Matt Striker, D’Lo Brown
We’re back after two weeks off for the first show of the year but it is also the go home show for Hard To Kill. Last year ended with Matt Cardona accidentally hitting his fiance Chelsea Green in the head with a chair, thanks to Moose. That is not going to sit well and now it might be time for revenge. Let’s get to it.
The opening recap looks at the contract signing when Matt Cardona accidentally chaired Chelsea Green down.
Opening sequence.
Tasha Steelz/Lady Frost/Chelsea Green vs. Rachael Ellering/Jordynne Grace/Rosemary
Savannah Evans and Havok are the seconds here. Ellering headlocks Steelz to start before taking her down without much trouble. A gutwrench toss into the corner brings Frost in so Ellering shoulders her down in a hurry. It’s off to Rosemary vs. Steelz, with the latter being knocked into the corner. A sliding clothesline gives Rosemary two and ..

There is most of the field. We are less than a month away from the Royal Rumble and that means it is time to start getting the fields put together. There are sixty slots to be filled and only a handful of names have already been announced. That can make for some interesting announcements and we got a ton of them all in a row, including more than one Hall of Famer, and a big surprise.
This week on SmackDown, Charlotte announced nineteen entrants for the women’s Royal Rumble match:
Rhea Ripley
Nikki Ash
Nikki Bella
Brie Bella
Shotzi
Natalya
Michelle McCool
Dana Brooke
Carmella
Queen Zelina
Mickie James
Tamina
Kelly Kelly
Aliyah
Summer Rae
Naomi
Shayna Baszler
Lita
Charlotte
The Bella Twins and Lita are all retired and have been inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. James is currently the reigning Impact Wrestling Knockouts Champion, which was acknowledged by commentary. Charlotte will be the first reigning champion to enter the Women’s Royal Rumble. There is no word on if any other entr..

Smackdown
Date: January 7, 2022
Location: Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncastville, Connecticut
Commentators: Michael Cole, Pat McAfee
It’s the first show of the year and that means we’re in for a special night with two World Champions in the house. Last Saturday, Brock Lesnar became the WWE Champion and tonight he is here to confront Roman Reigns, who was not around at Day One due to health issues. I think that’s going to make for a sufficient explosion so let’s get to it.
We open with a recap of Paul Heyman aligning with Brock Lesnar on Raw, revealing that he got Lesnar into the WWE Title match at Day One.
Here is Roman Reigns for a chat. He was gone for a week and everything fell apart….but here are Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman to interrupt. We get the big staredown and Heyman loads up the catchphrase but Lesnar gets in Reigns’ face to introduce himself. That means Lesnar does Heyman’s catchphrases and tells Reigns to acknowledge him.
Last Saturday, they both got what they wanted: Lesnar ..

Triple H has been a major focus of pro wrestling headlines over the past several days. The ironic part however is that it’s not due to anything that the WWE Hall of Famer has specifically done. The reason for his constant name dropping is because of WWE’s latest round of talent cuts.
The most recent target was NXT. The Road Dogg, William Regal and Samoa Joe are now all gone from the company. Each man has direct ties to Triple H and the same is true of many in-ring talents that WWE has released over the past two years. Many fans are crying foul, but is Triple H the common denominator, or is something else going on?
Extremely fortunate and grateful to all the young & amazing talent I had the pleasure of working with in the past months. Only saddened at the loss of an “excuse” to see their continued growth & achievement . I am very excited for there future,….. and mine ?
— Samoa Joe (@SamoaJoe) January 7, 2022
Building a Brand It’s easy to sit back and presume that Hunter’s handiwork ..

NXT UK
Date: January 6, 2022
Location: BT Studios, London, England
Commentators: Andy Shepherd, Nigel McGuinness
We’re in a new year over in England and that means it is time for a major title match. This time around that means we have the Women’s Title on the line, with Meiko Satomura defending against Blair Davenport. Other than that, we could be in for almost anything else. Let’s get to it.
We open with a recap of Meiko Satomura vs. Blair Davenport.
Opening sequence.
Ashton Smith/Oliver Carter vs. Symbiosis Eddie Dennis is here with Symbiosis. Primate drives Carter into the corner to start before cranking on the arm. Carter kicks his way to freedom and brings Smith in to flip T-Bone over by the arm for a change. A slingshot shoulder drops T-Bone again and it’s Carter grabbing the armbar. Smith comes back in for his own shoulder and Carter’s slingshot splash gets two as this is one sided so far.
T-Bone finally powers Carter over to the corner but Smith breaks up a double suplex ..

Can you blame them? Possibly the biggest wrestling story over the last year and a half has been WWE’s long string of releases. The company has not stopped lately either, letting go another dozen people this week. That kind of turnover is going to have some kind of impact on the people who are still around and now we have a better idea of just how they are reacting to what happened.
According to Mike Johnson of PWInsider.com, the latest batch of releases made for a sad day in WWE, with several people who rarely show empathy being shaken up by the news. People were said to be upset or sad about the releases, with one joking that they were now in Nick Khan’s WWE. One of the statements was that WWE is not the company it once was. No one spoken to was happy with the situation, as the question is now who might be next to go.
A lot of talented people were let go this week. Check out what some of them have done in their careers:
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There was nothing for him? The biggest wrestling story of the week has been the latest batch of WWE releases, as the company let several names from NXT go. This latest group was mainly on the coaching/training side of NXT, including a few well known names. One of those names in particular was quite the surprise but it seems that WWE might have had a specific reason for letting him go.
Longtime NXT General Manager William Regal was one of the names released from WWE this week. According to Wrestling Observer Live, the reason for Regal’s departure was due to WWE having nothing for him to do in NXT. Regal no longer serves as an on-screen character and since WWE is no longer signing talent from independent promotions, Regal was not needed as a scout.
Regal was a pretty big deal in NXT. Check out what he did while he was around:
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Opinion: This is one of the m..