NEWS

He’s a big deal. There are certain wrestlers who become the biggest stars in WWE and you know them when you see them. It makes a difference to have one of them around as it makes any show they are on feel that much bigger. WWE still has a small handful of that kind of stars around and now one of them seems ready to make an appearance at one of the biggest shows of the year.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: He’ll Be Back: Here’s Why Kenny Omega Has Been Missing From AEW TV
This weekend, WWE will present its annual Royal Rumble. According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, John Cena is expected to appear at the event in some way. There is no word on if Cena will be entered into the Royal Rumble match. This comes less than a month after Cena reportedly filmed material with Austin Theory at the December 30, 2022 SmackDown, though the footage has yet to air. Theory is set for the men’s Royal Rumble match.
Cena has a history at the Royal Rumble. Check out some of his time at the event:
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The international slowdown. There are all kinds of wrestling stars from around the world and several of them appear on national television on a regular basis. You can see many of them every week on WWE and AEW programming but they do have issues that American wrestlers do not have to face. One of AEW’s biggest stars is having just that problem at the moment and it could be a bit before he is back.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: He’s In For Now: Former WWE Star Set For AEW Debut
According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Kenny Omega is currently dealing with a visa issue that is keeping him off AEW TV. Omega has not appeared on the last two weeks of Dynamite and was said to have “badly” wanted to be on the Jay Briscoe tribute show. AEW is hoping that Omega will be able to return on February 1 but that is yet to be guaranteed so far.
Omega is one of their biggest stars. Check out some of his AEW work:
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The new history. There have been all kinds of moments and incidents throughout WWE history, some of which are more notable than others. In most cases, the issues are written in black and white, but there are some cases that can be a bit more of a gray area. Now WWE is changing something up from what once was pretty straightforward to something a bit more complicated.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Extension Granted: Sami Zayn’s Original Plans With The Bloodline Were Very, Very Different
In the 2023 edition of the Rumble By The Numbers video, the all time longevity record is once again held by Rey Mysterio in the 2006 Royal Rumble. This changes from previous editions, which listed Daniel Bryan’s 2018 performance in the Greatest Royal Rumble in Saudi Arabia as the longer run. There is no word on why WWE made the change but the Greatest Royal Rumble stats are included in other records in the video.
There’s the history. Check out Rumble By The Numbers and a look at both runs in the Royal Rumble..

It wasn’t in the cards. WWE has a lot going on at any given time and it can be a bit difficult to keep track of everything taking place at once. You know a special story or moment when you see one though and that is certainly the case with the top story in WWE today. However, it turns out that the original plan for the angle went a lot differently than what wound up on television.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Mystery Solved: Missing WWE Star Explains Her Four Month Absence
The Bloodline has been the top story in WWE for over a year now and the last several months have focused on Sami Zayn’s involvement. This is expected to continue at the Royal Rumble, where Zayn is to show his loyalty to the team. According to Wrestling Observer Radio, there was no original plan to make Zayn a star. Zayn’s story with the team was expected to last about three weeks but he kept making everything work. Eventually WWE decided to let him run with it and he became a much bigger star as a result. There is no wor..

That’s a good reason. There are all kinds of reasons for a wrestler to miss time from the ring and some of them are a lot more serious than others. Sometimes a situation can cause a wrestler to just vanish from the public eye out of nowhere and there is not much that can be done about it. That seems to be the situation again with a WWE star who has been missing for a long time.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Double Shot: Two More Possible WWE Returns For The Royal Rumble
WWE star Doudrop recently spoke with Denise Salcedo of Instinct Culture and revealed that she has been absent from WWE TV due to a bout with Covid. Doudrop said that she had serious symptoms that caused worries about her heart, but every test came back “clean as a whistle”. While she said that she would be around the Royal Rumble in some capacity, she stopped short of saying she would be taking part in the match. Doudrop has not wrestled since September 2022.
Doudrop being back would be an impressive return. Check out what ..

Welcome back? The Royal Rumble is taking place this weekend and that means it is the season for returning wrestlers. The question about the show’s namesake matches is who will be showing up after not being around for a long time. That can make for some interesting guesses, but now we have a good idea of two more stars who are making their returns.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Switch: WWE Changes Plans For Upcoming Women’s Title Matches
According to PWInsider.com by way of Ringsidenews.com, Chelsea Green and Matt Cardona are believed to return to WWE at the Royal Rumble, with Cardona returning as Zack Ryder. The two would return to the main roster rather than appearing in NXT. This is still not confirmed, though it is believed that Cardona finished up with Impact Wrestling at their latest TV tapings.
They have some history. Check out the two in WWE, plus in a tag match together:
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That’s different. We are officially in the busy season for WWE as the Road To WrestleMania is set to begin on Saturday at the Royal Rumble. That is the kind of show that changes the way WWE operates and several important moments can take place during the night. WWE has already changed things around on the show though and one big match is not going to take place.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Already: Bray Wyatt Receives Surprise Designation On WWE SmackDown Roster
According to Fightful Select, WWE has made a change to a planned Royal Rumble title match. The December 30 SmackDown Women’s Title match featuring Ronda Rousey successfully defending against Raquel Rodriguez was originally scheduled for the January 28 Royal Rumble but WWE changed the plans. In addition, Charlotte’s return and title win were moved to SmackDown as well, in an effort to beef up the show. There is no word on what this means for other planned matches, including Rhea Ripley vs. Rousey and Charlotte vs. Bianca Belair. It..

The San Antonio Express-News recently interviewed WWE superstar Kevin Owens to promote the upcoming Royal Rumble event this Saturday. He discussed a number of topics, including his upcoming championship match with Roman Reigns, Sami Zayn, Stephanie McMahon and more.
Below are some highlights from the interview:
On his championship match with Roman Reigns:
“I don’t know if I expected it (to come full circle), but I certainly hoped it would,” said Owens, whose real name is Kevin Steen. “Because when our whole feud started, we were doing it through the pandemic in empty buildings. So it’s gonna be nice to have at least one match in front of an actual crowd, considering we had some of our best matches against each other with nobody in the arena.”
On Sami Zayn:
“(His success) is no surprise to me. I’ve known how good (Zayn) was and how special of a talent he is for 20 years now,” Owens said. “It just took a while for him to get into a situation where he can showcase just how good he is..

Here comes the next generation. Earlier today, WWE issued a press release, detailing the names of 15 new college athletes who will join the company’s NIL (Name, Image & Likeness) program, “Next In Line.” This program was created to give an opportunity to collegiate athletes that want to be a part of WWE.
The names are as follows:
Name College Sport Height/Weight Hometown Abby Jacobs South Alabama Soccer 5’7 Gulf Breeze, Fla. Alexandra Jaksec Mary Washington Tennis 5’4 Pittsburgh, Pa. Alia Armstrong LSU Track & Field 5’4 Baton Rouge, La. Cameron Jones Cincinnati Football 6’8, 320 lbs. Hindman, Ky. Dee Beckwith Kentucky Football 6’5, 235 lbs. Florence, Ala. Greg Kerkvliet Penn State Wrestling 6’3, 250 lbs. Inver Grove Heights, Minn. Isaiah Iton Rutgers Football 6’2, 290 lbs. Houston, Texas Jaiden Fields Georgia Softball 5’9 Kennesaw, Ga. Landon Jackson Arkansas Football 6’7, 275 lbs. Texarkana, Texas Mady Aulbach Youngstown State Basketball 5’3 Slippery Rock, Pa. Nick Dawkins Penn Stat..

That’s a special place. There are a lot of wrestlers on the WWE roster and that adds up to quite a bit of talent. It takes a lot for someone to move up the ladder and reach the top of the pile but you know someone special when you see them. Now WWE is seeing something in one of its stars and thinks enough of them to put them above most of the roster all at once.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Again: Vince McMahon Facing Another Lawsuit Over Alleged Sexual Harassment Payments
According to Wrestling Observer Radio, Bray Wyatt is currently slotted in as the #1 babyface on the SmackDown roster and the #1 star that Roman Reigns has not worked with during his title reign. There is also no word on if Reigns will be feuding with Wyatt anytime soon, as Reigns is said to know that people who feud with Wyatt wind up looking “a lot worse than going in”. Wyatt is scheduled to have his first televised match after his return this weekend at the Royal Rumble.
There is a history between them. Check out Reig..

That could be worse. There are all kinds of injuries in wrestling and some of them are a lot more severe than others. You never know when you are going to see someone get hurt and put on the shelf for a long time. That is the kind of thing that can derail a lot of plans, but thankfully in this situation it seems that the injury is only going to cause a minor delay instead of a big change.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: He’s In For Now: Former WWE Star Set For AEW Debut
This week, AEW announced that Britt Baker had suffered an undisclosed injury and would be pulled from her scheduled triple threat match along with Toni Storm and Ruby Soho. Baker did appear during the match, offering a distraction to Storm so Soho could pick up the win. According to Wrestling Observer Radio, Baker’s injury “wasn’t serious” and she should be returning to the ring soon. Baker could have wrestled this week but AEW erred on the side of caution and held her out instead.
Baker is a star worth waiting on. Check out ..

Jay Briscoe: A Celebration Of Life
Date: January 26, 2023
Location: Save Mart Center, Fresno, California
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Carpice Coleman
As you might have guessed, this is a special show honoring the life of Jay Briscoe, who passed away last week. The show was filmed after last week’s AEW taping and features special matches, plus presumably tributes and maybe classic matches from Briscoe’s career. That should be more than enough so let’s get to it.
We get the tribute video from this week’s Dynamite.
Ring Of Honor Pure Rules Title: Hagane Shinno vs. Wheeler Yuta Yuta is defending under Pure Rules and Shinno is from Big Japan. They go with the grappling to start with Yuta working on a head/wristlock. Shinno shrugs that off and strikes away but gets caught with an Angle Slam for two. Yuta starts in on the leg and the cranking sends Shinno to the ropes for the first break. That’s fine with Yuta, who grabs a Gory Stretch to work on the back.
Something like the Octopus sends..