NEWS

That’s a way back in. There have been almost countless wrestlers on the WWE roster over the years and some of them have been able to make a bigger impact than others. At some point, those wrestlers are going to have to leave for one reason or another. Occasionally they make a return though, and that might be the case with a former champion returning in a different role.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Ouch: Ronda Rousey Blasts Women’s Division, Calls For More Title Defenses
This week on SmackDown, a new edition of the Firefly Funhouse aired, featuring a series of clips presented like a local television station. There was a voiceover announcing what was taking place, and according to Wrestlingnews.co, the voiceover sounded like Eric Young. This comes after rumors that Young was to be returning to WWE, though this is only speculation at this point, with nothing being confirmed. Young, 43, wrestled in WWE from 2016-2020.
The voiceover guy sounds like Eric Young. pic.twitter.com/lvpS4bf71e
— Wr..

She kind of has a point. Women’s wrestling in WWE has come a very long way in the last few years, as the division has gone from little more than a side show to one of the company’s featured attractions. There are more women’s titles and stars being given a chance than ever before, but that does not mean everyone is pleased. One of the bigger stars in the division has something to say about her colleagues.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: WATCH: WWE Superstar Continues To Show Change In Attitude
This week’s SmackDown featured Shayna Baszler, with Ronda Rousey, defeating Natalya, with Tegan Nox. The match marked the first time that Nox and Natalya had worked together, with a vignette showing them setting up their newly formed partnership earlier in the day. Following the show, Rousey took to Twitter to say the SmackDown women’s tag team division consists of Natalya and anyone she can find that week. Rousey also criticized WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Damage Ctrl of not defending their titles. ..

To the other side. With so much television time to fill in WWE, it can be easy for some of the company’s stars to start feeling stale. At some point a change needs to be made and that can be accomplished in a few different ways. One of the easiest is to turn someone either from good to bad or vice versa, and it seems that we saw that take place earlier this week.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: It Fits: Important Details On Next WWE Event In Saudi Arabia, Possible AEW Competition
Following the February 10 SmackDown, WWE released a video of Santos Escobar and Rey Mysterio backstage after they both took part in a fatal four way. The two talked about respect and exchanged masks. This week, the two were backstage when Rhea Ripley and Rey’s son Dominik interrupted and insulted Rey. Escobar defended Rey and seemed to set up a match with Dominik. This would indicate that Escobar is moving further towards a full babyface turn, which would be a first in his WWE career. There is no word on what this wo..

NXT LVL Up
Date: February 24, 2023
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Blake Howard, Byron Saxton
It’s another LVL Up and again I’m not sure what to expect. The best formula around here seems to be having some midcard NXT stars in the main event and the younger stars filling in the rest of the show. That has worked well in the past, but you never know what direction the show is going to take. Let’s get to it.
Opening sequence.
Axiom vs. Kale Dixon Dixon works on the arm to start but Axiom reverses into an armbar of his own. A springboard kick to the side of the head drops Dixon but he’s right back with some clubbing forearms. They trade kicks to the ribs until Dixon gets two off a delayed vertical suplex. Axiom strikes his way out of a chinlock and there’s a high crossbody. The Golden Ratio finishes for Axiom at 4:35.
Result: Axiom b. Kale Dixon – Golden Ratio (4:35)
Myles Borne and Tank Ledger are different on paper but they can win together tonight..

Impact Wrestling
Date: February 23, 2023
Location: Osceola Heritage Park, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Matthew Rehwoldt, Tom Hannifan
It’s the go home show for No Surrender and the card is set up. There is one thing though that we need to cover, which involves who gets to talk first in a live edition of Busted Open Radio. Therefore, we have a Beat The Clock Challenge between Bully Ray and Tommy Dreamer. Let’s get to it.
Opening recap.
Motor City Machine Guns vs. Jonathan Gresham/Mike Bailey Non-title and Gresham takes Shelley down by the leg to start. Bailey comes in and kicks away at said leg, with Gresham and Bailey taking turns on it. Shelley manages to knock Bailey outside though and it’s the Guns taking over for a change. Back in and the limping Shelley strikes away at Bailey, who comes right back with the bouncing kicks to Sabin.
Gresham and Sabin slug it out until Gresham does one of those stupid looking deals where he sends the Guns together and kicks Sabin, making him dr..

Rampage
Date: February 24, 2023
Location: Footprint Center, Phoenix, Arizona
Commentators: Jim Ross, Chris Jericho, Excalibur, Tony Schiavone
We’re still in the desert and Rampage is still searching for a more viable formula. I’m not sure why AEW seems to punt on this show so often but it does produce some enjoyable results. If you can get by without the star power after the first match, you should be in for a fun one and hopefully that is true this week. Let’s get to it.
Opening sequence.
Aussie Open vs. Young Bucks Kenny Omega is here with the Bucks. The Aussies deck the Bucks to start and isolate Matt for a kick to the chest and backsplash. Matt manages to backflip away from both of them and brings in Nick to walk the ropes into a wristdrag/headscissors combination. The Bucks clear the ring but the bigger Davis comes back in to slam them both at the same time. Nick’s pop up dropkick sends Davis to the floor though and Matt grabs a running flipping neckbreaker to send Fletcher int..

Welcome back. With so many wrestlers on the AEW roster, it can be easy for one or more of them to get lost in the shuffle. You never know when someone is going to drop off of the radar and not appear again for a little while. That can make for some annoying absences, but it can also make for some very nice returns. Two of the latter took place this week on the same show.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: It Fits: Important Details On Next WWE Event In Saudi Arabia, Possible AEW Competition
Jake Roberts and Lance Archer made their returns to AEW television this week on Rampage. Archer, with Roberts in his corner, returned and defeated Bryce Saturn. This was Archer’s first match in AEW since the November 18 edition of Rampage and his first match anywhere since December 23. There is no word on why he was out of action or what is next for him in AEW.
Archer is a monster. Check out his return, plus some of his previous destruction:
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Mark your calendars. WWE is quite the international wrestling promotion and runs major events in different countries around the world. Most of these take place fairly at random, but there are two that you can pencil in just about every year. Those would be the two events that take place in Saudi Arabia every year, and now we might know some more about the next one.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: LOOK: Bray Wyatt Changes Up His Appearance In A Weird Way On SmackDown
Earlier this week, a new report announced that WWE was bringing back King Of The Ring as a stand alone event, with the Queen Of The Ring tournament taking place on the same night. According to PWInsider Elite, the event will be held in Saudi Arabia on Saturday, May 27. WWE’s most recent Saudi Arabia show was Crown Jewel in November 2022. This is Memorial day weekend, which is when AEW normally holds its Double Or Nothing event, though this year’s edition has not yet been announced.
There have been some great King Of The Ring mome..

Smackdown
Date: February 24, 2023
Location: Ford Center, Evansville, Indiana
Commentators: Michael Cole, Wade Barrett
It’s a crossover night as we have some guest stars from Monday Night Raw. Not only is Rhea Ripley here to confront Charlotte, but Dominik Mysterio is here to meet his dad Rey. In addition, Rey is going to be facing Karrion Kross again, because just beating Kross isn’t enough. Let’s get to it.
We open with a recap of Roman Reigns retaining the World Title over Sami Zayn at Elimination Chamber. Kevin Owens came out for the save but he and Zayn are still not on the same page.
Jimmy Uso arrives but hasn’t been able to get in touch with Jey. He has left Jey multiple messages, saying they can meet in the middle of the ring so Jey can get everything off his chest.
Madcap Moss/Ricochet/Braun Strowman vs. Imperium Vinci and Moss start things off by running the ropes until Moss shoulders him down. Ricochet comes in with a slingshot hilo but a hard clothesline drops him. Kaise..

That’s a look. There are several aspects to a wrestler’s overall presentation and one of the biggest is how they appear. A wrestler has to do something to catch the fans’ attention and looking a distinct way is one of the best. Changing appearances can make a big difference and that is what took place this week, as a top WWE star debuted something of a fresh appearance.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: All For One? More Details On WWE’s Interest In Signing Kenny Omega
This week’s SmackDown featured an edition of the Firefly Fun House. During the show, Bray Wyatt played a news anchor, game show host and weatherman while asking if you could keep a secret. Wyatt then appeared in a mask to ask the question again. This appears to be the same mask that he put on after his match at the Royal Rumble, though it is the first time it has been seen close up on camera.
IMG Credit: WWE Wyatt is…something. Check out the Fun House, plus some more of his recent exploits:
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It’s a little complicated. The rise of AEW has changed a lot of things in the wrestling world, as there is now another large scale wrestling promotion where stars can go. That is the kind of thing that has been lacking in wrestling for a very long time now but things can go in the opposite way too. Wrestlers are going to leave AEW at some point and now we have some more details about that possibly taking place.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: WRESTLING RUMORS: WWE Discusses Introducing New Star For Major NXT Angle
The Wrestling Observer Newsletter has more details on WWE’s interest in signing Kenny Omega. While Omega signed a four year deal with AEW on February 1, 2019, there is a chance his deal was extended due to missing nine months with various injuries. If AEW adds on the full amount of time that Omega missed, he would not be able to begin negotiations with WWE, or any other promotion, until November.
Omega and the Young Bucks are all represented by Barry Bloom and the feeling is they w..

That’s a way to go. While WWE is on the Road To WrestleMania, NXT has its own major event coming up. The afternoon of Night One of WrestleMania 39 will see NXT Stand & Deliver, the biggest NXT show of the year. The show will be in a major arena and that means they are going to need something special. Now we have an idea of one of what one of those bigger matches might be.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: The Big Spot: WWE Internally Discusses WrestleMania 39 Night One Main Event
Over the last few weeks, Grayson Waller has tormented NXT executive Shawn Michaels, including mentioning Stand & Deliver. This has led to speculation about the two of them facing off in some way, though no match has been announced. According to WRKD Wrestling on Twitter, there has been discussion of Michaels introducing Dragon Lee, who signed with WWE in December 2022, to face Waller, though nothing has been officially determined. Michaels has wrestled once in nearly thirteen years, coming out of retirement at Crown Je..