NEWS

Seth Rollins came face to face with Triple H on the December 31 edition of Monday Night Raw. The Kingslayer and The Game had words after Rollins demanded his Intercontinental Championship rematch against Dean Ambrose. Hunter said no and that he wanted much more from Seth. Rollins reminded Triple H, as well as the rest of the world, that he had been carrying the program over the past 12 months. But then Seth said precisely what many fans wanted to hear. Rollins said he would take out Brock Lesnar and his Universal Championship. It’s a statement that had to be made at some point. Now that it’s been said, what are the chances that Seth Rollins is indeed headed to the very top of Monday Night Raw?
One key issue for fans to remember is that the red brand’s top spot is the company’s top spot. That’s because both belong to Roman Reigns. The Big Dog may be on the shelf right now but he will be back eventually. The only question is, will WWE move forward with someone else in Roman’s place unti..

Main Event
Date: December 27, 2018
Host: Scott Stanford
It’s another one of these recap shows this week…and I need to be more specific on that one. In this case there isn’t any original wrestling, though that’s to be expected when they had two shows taped in a single night. That’s probably best given the circumstances and the show was such a breeze last week. Let’s get to it.
Opening sequence.
Stanford welcomes us to the show in the studio.
From Raw.
Elias vs. Bobby Lashley Miracle on 34th Street Fight so there are weapons around the ring, including Christmas trees. Lashley fires off shoulders in the corner to start until they head outside with Elias hitting him with a Christmas tree. Elias knocks him down again and we take a break. Back with Lio Rush helping put Elias in trouble and Lashley loads up a present. They come back in with Lashley throwing him in an overhead belly to belly and pouring out….Legos.
Lashley loads up a superplex that wouldn’t put Rollins on the Legos whats..

Over the past few months, the man behind The Velveteen Dream has been really active on social media to the chagrin of NXT and WWE officials. His activity has ruffled some feathers behind the scenes and there have been rumors about him having backstage heat for a while now. The saving grace for him is The Dream is red-hot as a performer.
Despite all the rumors, it’s tough to pinpoint if The Velveteen Dream has backstage heat with WWE officials or if it’s all part of the rumor mill created by the WWE Universe. It’s been reported by RingSideNews that The Dream has acknowledged his heat with WWE in a tweet that claims “he’s ready to deal with the ramifications of being his true self.”
Related: Velveteen Dream Might Be In Trouble 2 The Offices of @WWE / @WWENXT
? AM READY 2 DEAL WITH THE RAMIFICATIONS OF BEING MY FULL SELF.
NOTHING SHOULD SURPRISE U.
— The DREAM (@VelveteenWWE) December 31, 2018
It’s unclear if Velveteen Dream is being pushed behind the scenes. He’s one of the bigge..

The champ vs. The face. WWE has posted a new video to their YouTube channel in which they show the full match between John Cena and AJ Styles for the WWE Championship from the 2017 Royal Rumble.
You can see the match in its entirety below:
[This post contains video, click to play]

From WWE.com:
It’s official! At Royal Rumble 2017, John Cena did the impossible: He tied Ric Flair’s hallowed record of 16 World Title wins after defeating AJ Styles in an emotional match witnessed by 52,020 frenzied fans inside the Alamodome.
For years, it seemed inconceivable that any Superstar could approach Flair’s record, let alone match it. Year after year, however, The Champ continued his hard work and determination, relentless in his drive to elevate himself. And though he captured the United States Championship just 14 months ago, he hadn’t won a World Title since June 29, 2014. That perseverance, however, would pay hefty dividends at Royal Rumble in his pursuit of the WWE Championship.
Editor..

Nice to meet you. There are all kinds of roster moves throughout a year. Someone might be put on the shelf with an injury and then come back, or make a long awaited return from a hiatus. It might be a surprise or it might be something you knew was coming for a long time, but there is one big one left: the initial debut. There were several over the course of the year and WWE is looking back at them.
Well hello there. Check out WWE’s best debuts of 2018:
[This post contains video, click to play]

WWE has posted a new video looking at the Top Ten Most Memorable Debuts of 2018. The video is exactly what it sounds like, with a look back at people making their first appearance in one way or another. These include both people showing up on NXT TV for the first time as well as recent callups debuting on the main roster. The entries are not people who had previously appeared and were making returns as everyone is new.
Opinion: The future is pretty bright around here with all kinds of people..

The bar has been set. WWE has recently posted a new video to its YouTube page in which they show the entire 2012 Royal Rumble match. Sheamus was the victor that year and went on to WrestleMania to challenge for the championship of his choosing.
You can see the match in ins entirety below:
[This post contains video, click to play]

From WWE.com:
It was a grueling battle for the powerhouse who drew No. 22. Entering before a sold-out crowd that had already witnessed Ricardo Rodriguez rolling to the ring in an ’85 Datsun, Kofi Kingston walking on his hands to avoid elimination and Michael Cole jumping over the top rope to escape the wrath of Kharma, The Celtic Warrior immediately made his presence felt by launching Kingston out of the ring.
From there, the Rumble became a demolition derby of battered bodies and unpredictable arrivals. Booker T, Jerry “The King” Lawler and Michael Cole all left the broadcast booth at one point to try their luck in the bout, but were quickly sent back t..

Sami Zayn has been out of action for several months after tearing both of his rotator cuffs this summer. With the Royal Rumble coming around, most people are wondering if the “Underdog From the Underground” will be an entrant in the match. WWE officials do like to surprise the WWE Universe, but the chances of him wrestling are really slim.
During a recent appearance on Talk is Jericho, Zayn explained that he’s still a couple of months away from being medically cleared. He also went into detail about not being in a hurry to return to the road and enjoying his time away from the ring. A lot of people will take that out of context, but Sami really means is he’s enjoying the time he has off.
Related: Update On Return Dates For Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn WWE has been running vignettes for his return to Raw for the past few weeks. If Zayn is really still a few months off, that’s unfair to set the expectation that Sami will be back in time for the Royal Rumble. Depending on how close they ar..

Fusion #36
Date: December 28, 2018
Location: Scottish Rite Temple, Miami, Florida
Commentators: Rich Bocchini, Tony Schiavone
It’s time for one of the biggest matches of this taping, if not the main event of the whole thing. This week we’ll be seeing Konnan come out of retirement to challenge Low Ki for the World Title in a match that is almost destined to go the way of shenanigans. Other than that, it’s time for more build towards Super Fight, which should be a changing of the guard. Let’s get to it.
We open with a recap of the war between Konnan and Salina de la Renta, which has seen Konnan bringing in one name after another to go after Low Ki. With all of them having been vanquished, it’s Konnan’s time to do it himself.
Opening sequence.
The announcers preview the World Title match.
We look back at Tom Lawlor choking out Simon Gotch last week.
Here’s Gotch for the $20,000 open challenge.
Simon Gotch vs. Ace Romero Romero weighs about 400lbs and Gotch knows he screwed up. Some..

Fusion Christmas Day Special
Date: December 25, 2018
Location: Cicero Stadium, Chicago, Illinois
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Rich Bocchini
So this is exactly what the title says it is: a special show that aired as a surprise on Christmas Day. It’s not quite as long as the regular episode of Fusion but in this case that might be a good thing. For a special show like this, you don’t want to overstay your welcome and if you get a good show out of it, cool. Let’s get to it.
Opening sequence.
PCO says he’s not human and Brody King can’t handle the electricity.
PCO vs. Brody King No DQ and a rematch of a match that went insane. They slug it out to start with King being sent outside for a quick suicide dive. King’s chop hits the post and he hurts his hand trying to chop PCO again. A chair shot slows PCO down a bit and King sits him in said chair for a running cannonball. It takes a few seconds but the chair does indeed break underneath the two of them.
PCO is right back with a DDT on t..

After three years in exile, Hulk Hogan made his first appearance with WWE for Crown Jewel. His brief appearance was just to say hello and acknowledge the rumors that he’s been speaking with WWE officials again. However, he hasn’t been mentioned and there has been no update on the WWE Hall of Famer’s next appearance with the company.
With WrestleMania 35 approaching fast, the WWE Universe is wondering if Hulk Hogan will make an appearance on the grandest stage of them all. Hogan won’t do more than a brief promo or interact with someone for fun. The odds of him working a match or even getting physical in the ring are very low, but that’s not stopping some WWE Superstars.
Related: Current WWE Star Challenges Hulk Hogan For WrestleMania 35. According to a report from RingSideNews.com, Brad Shepard replied to a Twitter post from Bryan Alvarez stating that Hulk Hogan would be involved with WrestleMania 35 in some shape or form. Other than being the host, the roles for him at limited. He co..

Say that again? While the most important part of wrestling would seem to be wrestling, the more important part is actually everything else. If you can’t get people to come and see the shows or watch them at home, it doesn’t matter what happens in the ring. The microphone means more than anything else and can do more harm or good to anyone on any given wrestling show. That sounds worthy of a look back.
In a new article posted to WWE.com, WWE is taking a look at the Top Ten Mic Moments of 2018. Instead of a compilation, this set is a series of stand alone videos, with each one showing most of if not all of the speech in question. They are all from the main roster and most of them happen to come from SmackDown Live. The full list can be seen at the link but here are numbers three thru one:
3. Paul Heyman Says The Show Must Go On: [This post contains video, click to play]

2. Becky Lynch Has A Backup Plan: [This post contains video, click to play]

1. The YES Movement Is Dead: [This po..