NEWS

Smackdown
Date: December 30, 2022
Location: Amalie Arena, Tampa, Florida
Commentators: Michael Cole, Wade Barrett
It’s the final show of the year and that means we are going to be seeing more than a few big things this week. First and foremost, John Cena is back for his only match of the year as he teams with Kevin Owens to face Sami Zayn and Roman Reigns. In addition, we have the Women’s Title on the line as Ronda Rousey defends against Raquel Rodriguez. Let’s get to it.
Here’s is Bray Wyatt for an opening chat. Wyatt does not see himself as a good person but he does try. Looking back at how he got here, he doesn’t regret much, but last week he did something that he did regret. Last week, he apologized a cameraman in cold blood and….here is LA Knight to interrupt.
Knight cannot believe that the master of the mind games is here to apologize because he doesn’t buy any of this. Wyatt has been playing mind games and now it is time to pay the check. Knight remembers Wyatt being somethin..

Impact Wrestling
Date: December 29, 2022
Hosts: Matthew Rehwoldt, Tom Hannifan
It’s the final show of the year and that means we’re going Best Of. It has been a pretty strong year for Impact, as there have been quite a few stars coming and going, along with some rather awesome matches throughout. We’ll also get the Year End Awards, which are often rather fun. Let’s get to it.
Note that I’ll be posting the full versions of the matches shown rather than the clipped versions in the broadcast.
Opening sequence.
The hosts bid us welcome.
From Hard To Kill.
Impact World Title: Moose vs. Matt Cardona vs. W. Morrissey Moose is defending and it’s one fall to a finish. Cardona gets sent outside to start and Morrissey boots Moose down for an early two. Everyone winds up outside, with Moose powerbombing Cardona onto the apron. Back in and Morrissey hits some running splashes in the corner until Moose crossbodies him down. The middle rope chokebomb gives Moose two, with Cardona making the sav..

That’s a comeback. There are all kinds of ways for a wrestler to return to the ring and some of them can be rather impressive. If a wrestler has been gone for several months, any way that they come back is going to feel like a big deal but if they do something special upon returning, it can get even more interesting. That was the situation this week, even if it was something we have seen before.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: WATCH: Bray Wyatt Thinks He Has A Broken Finger
This week on SmackDown, Ronda Rousey successfully defended her Women’s Title against Raquel Rodriguez. After the match, Charlotte made a surprise return and challenged Rousey to an impromptu title match. Charlotte would go on to defeat Rousey, beating her in less than one minute to become a fourteen time Women’s Champion. This was Charlotte’s first appearance since WrestleMania Backlash on May 8, when Rousey defeated her in an I Quit match.
It was a fast title change. Check out the win and more of Charlotte in action:
[T..

That’s a nasty one. There are all kinds of injuries a wrestler can suffer, with some of them being more serious than others. While there are certain injuries that are going to leave a wrestler out of action for a very long time, others can seem rather small but wind up being more nagging than anything else. That might have taken place again to a big WWE name at a recent live event.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: WATCH: WWE Referee Drops Sami Zayn With A Stunner At Live Event
WWE held a live event in Miami, Florida earlier this week, featuring Bray Wyatt in action. Following the match, Wyatt spoke to some fans in the audience and noted that he could not shake hands due to breaking his finger during the match. There is no word on if Wyatt’s finger has officially been diagnosed as broken or if he will miss any ring time. Wyatt has yet to wrestle on television since his return at Extreme Rules.
That could be a rough one. Check out Wyatt’s statement, plus some more of him since his return:
[Thi..

From both sides! A wrestling match is not a complicated concept. You have (usually) two wrestlers in the ring at once with the match most often ending via pinfall or submission. That is a pretty simple formula, but at the same time there is often a third person in the ring: the referee. While the referee is supposed to be impartial, that is not always going to be the case. Now a referee has gotten involved with a match and changed it in a big way.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: WATCH: WWE Releases Never Before Seen Roman Reigns Match
Earlier this week, WWE held a live event in the Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, North Carolina. In the show’s main event, Braun Strowman, Ricochet and Kevin Owens teamed up to face the Bloodline. Late in the match, Sami Zayn yelled at referee Jessika Carr, prompting Carr to hit him with a Stunner. Owens then came in and hit another Stunner to win the match for his team. A video of Carr’s Stunner has made its way online.
It was a good one. Check out the Stunn..

He has a plan. There are all kinds of wrestlers throughout history but only a few become legends of the sport. You know these stars when you see them and it can be a lot of fun to watch them keep getting in the ring. However, they all have to hang up their boots at some point and now an active legend is dropping some hints about how he is going to end his amazing career.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Farewell? Wrestling Legend: “I’m Getting Too Old For This S***”
AEW’s Sting was interviewed by the Ringer and discussed his retirement plans. While Sting would not go into specifics, he revealed that he had a few people in mind to be involved. Sting did say that Darby Allin would be involved in some way and that his last match would not be a singles match. Sting, 63 years old, debuted in AEW in December 2020 and has wrestled on a part time basis since, always teaming with Allin and occasionally another partner.
He has done well in AEW. Check out some of Sting’s time with the company:
[This po..

Open the vault. WWE has been around for decades now and during their time, they have acquired several video libraries. As a result, WWE owns by far the biggest collection of wrestling footage in history with nothing coming close to it. This allows them to release almost anything they like whenever they choose, and now they are letting you see another match you have probably never seen before.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Farewell? Wrestling Legend: “I’m Getting Too Old For This S***”
This week on The Bump, a never before released match between King Corbin and Roman Reigns was aired. The match took place following the February 28, 2022 SmackDown in Boston, Massachusetts. Corbin and his manager John Bradshaw Layfield did commentary from the Bump studios, along with hosts Matt Camp and Kayla Braxton. There is no word on if more unreleased matches will be shown on the Bump in the future.
This is pretty cool stuff. Check out the match, plus some more from the two of them:
[This post contains ..

You have to hang it up sometime. Wrestling is a unique sport in that the wrestlers can have trouble getting out of the industry. Since they are always able to wrestle one more time, it can be easy to stick around that much longer. For other people involved in the industry, getting away is a bit easier, and now a wrestling legend sounds like he is considering wrapping up his career.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: That’s A Hot One: How A Former WWE Star (Literally) Set Backstage On Fire
During a recent edition of his What Happened When podcast, AEW broadcaster Tony Schiavone talked about how Tuesdays and Wednesdays, the days he travels for AEW, “kind of wear” him out. Schiavone, 65 years old, said that he feels he is “getting too old for this s***” and said that his future is in podcasting and maybe playing video games. At no point did Schiavone say that he was retiring or considering retiring. Schiavone debuted with AEW at its launch and has provided commentary since.
Schiavone is a legend. ..

It might have been a factor. Wrestlers have come and gone from WWE over the years but only some make an impression. You never know when you are going to see someone in the ring for the last time, but in one case, a wrestler with a unique character was gone after his first match. It turns out there is a very specific reason for his departure and it could have been much worse.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: That’s A Hot One: How A Former WWE Star (Literally) Set Backstage On Fire
During a recent edition of Something To Wrestle With, Bruce Prichard told a story about Phantasio, a magician character who wrestled one match on WWE TV in July 1995 before being let go from the company. According to Prichard, prior to his match, Phantasio dropped a bottle of liquid fire in the Gorilla Position, causing the drapes to catch on fire. The company did not know he had a fire spot planned and the accident resulted in Phantasio’s time with the company ending.
It was something. Check out Phantasio’s match, p..

They had a plan. NXT is a unique wrestling promotion, as it has its own television show but it is also the official WWE developmental territory. That means the wrestlers’ goal is to move up to the main roster and get out of NXT, no matter how well they have done there in the first place. We might know who WWE has in mind as some of the next callups from NXT to the main roster.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: BREAKING: AJ Styles Injured At WWE Live Event, Helped To The Back
Earlier this month, WWE released Mandy Rose from the company in a surprise move. The release, reportedly due to a series of risque photos Rose had released online, came less than twenty four hours after Rose lost the NXT Women’s Title to Roxanne Perez. This left Rose’s Toxic Attraction teammates Gigi Dolin and Jacy Jayne with nothing to do, but according to Wrestling Observer Radio, WWE has plans to bring the two to the main roster without Rose. There is no timetable on when this would take place.
The team has potential. C..

Uh oh. Injuries can happen to anyone at anytime in wrestling and there is no way to prevent them entirely. No matter who you are or how much experience and training a wrestler might have, there is always the chance that you could get hurt. It seems that was the case this week, as one of the most talented in-ring stars of his generation has suffered an injury.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: They Split: Becky Lynch’s Ex Explains The Breakdown Of Her Relationship With Charlotte
According to PWInsider.com, AJ Styles suffered an injury during a six man tag at a WWE live event in Hershey, Pennsylvania. During a match between the OC and the Judgment Day, Styles is believed to have injured his ankle and had to be helped to the back. Styles will get the ankle checked out as soon as possible and there is no word on the severity of his injury. There is nothing to suggest that this is an angle of any kind and there is no word on if he will miss any ring time.
That doesn’t look good. Check out Styles be..

The other version. One of the biggest wrestling stories of the year has been the backstage brawl after AEW All Out. The brawl resulted in several major names being suspended and a reshuffling of the top AEW storylines. You hear about backstage issues like this every so often, and now we are hearing about something else that happened between a pair of AEW wrestlers.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Only Him: MJF Wins Award From ESPN And He Is Not Happy About It
In the debut episode of the FTR With Dax podcast, Dax Harwood revealed that he and Bobby Fish got in a backstage altercation during Dynamite. Harwood said that he felt Fish was taking advantage of him during a match. The match also involved Harwood punching Kyle O’Reilly, who Harwood felt was getting involved in the altercation with Fish. Harwood said that the two had to be separated backstage but thirty minutes later, the two hugged and were fine. Harwood did not give a date of the match, but the only time the two were involved in an AE..