This week on Raw, Stephanie McMahon made yet another historic announcement concerning the women’s division, announcing that for the first time ever, there would be a women’s Elimination Chamber match at the upcoming pay-per-view of the same name. The match, like the women’s Rumble match, had been long rumoured online and the announcement won’t have come as a surprise to many people.

The women’s roster delivered a nostalgia-filled and hugely enjoyable Royal Rumble bout and the company will be very keen to capitalise on that momentum. The important thing for them heading into the Elimination Chamber is to get the right entrants and if they can do that, then the women could really deliver a classic chamber match. Let’s take a look at who should enter the first-ever women’s elimination chamber match.

Alexa Bliss

Let’s get this one out of the way. Bliss is the current women’s champion and therefore the first confirmed entrant into the match. Is there a chance she will lose the title before the event? It seems highly unlikely, and even if she did, she would definitely be in the match regardless.  The match will be used to set up Alexa’s bout at Mania, with either Asuka coming down after the match to confirm she is going to face her, or Alexa having an altercation with someone (Nia Jax, most likely) during the match that sets up a feud.

Bliss has been an excellent champion and is an integral part of the women’s roster, having her compete in this match gives her the chance to be a part of history as, obviously, she didn’t get a chance to partake in the first ever Rumble.

The post Women’s Elimination Chamber Match: Predicting All The Entrants appeared first on Wrestling News & WWE News, Rumors & Spoilers.

Russo is joined on today’s show by “Starmaker” Kenny Bolin.

Bolin speaks about his rocky friendship with Jim Cornette. He informs that he’s been friends with Cornette for many years, but they’ve had their disagreements during that time as well. Just recently they had a huge fight which led to Bolin leaving Cornette’s podcast, and joining Russo here on The Brand. Luckily the two old friends were able to make up and thinks were looking fine again.

Just last week, Cornette called Bolin while he was recording a podcast with Russo and Bolin answered. This led to Cornette’s voice being heard on Russo’s podcast, and Bolin immediately felt bad about this given the history between Cornette and Russo. He called Cornette and told him what had happened; Cornette hung up on him and he hasn’t heard from him since.

Bolin says that sometimes Cornette acts like a 5-year old bipolar kid who refuses to take his medicine. He’s sick of Cornette bullying him emotionally because this type of thing has happened many times in the past. They’ve actually had physical disputes in the past as well and Bolin always came out on top in those, but Cornette’s emotional games have really taken a toll on him.

Russo points out that he, Cornette and Bolin are all in their mid to late 50s, and none of this childish crap should matter to any of them. Bolin agrees and says he’s done with Cornette because he refuses to be a part of this nonsense moving forward. He adds that Cornette should “…get some help because normal people don’t act like you.”

The post Vince Russo’s The Brand Recap – Cornette’s Childish Behaviour, Enzo Amore’s Demise, Rape Culture Within the Wrestling Business, More! appeared first on Wrestling News & WWE News, Rumors & Spoilers.

Lawler is joined on today’s show by his co-host, Glenn Moore.

When Lawler first walked back into The Manhattan Center last Monday, he quickly realized how far WWE has come in terms of what buildings they host their shows in. The building was smaller than he remembered, but that’s probably because he’s been accustomed to working in arenas for the last several years.

He had an amazing time paying tribute to the history of RAW on this show, and it was also great seeing so many of his old friends. He points out that the WWE Universe tuned in to see a lot of the legends of days gone by, and the ratings for this show did a great number for WWE. He likes to think that he and Jim Ross reuniting had at least a small part in those fans tuning into the show.

He’s pretty sure that Triple H made a call on the fly to get some of the talents from Barclay’s Center to jump in a car and make their way to Manhattan Center, because he felt like those fans needed to get more for their money. By the end of the night, Lawler thinks the fans there were pleased and satisfied with the show.

Lawler thinks the crowd would have been happier if they weren’t even shown what was happening at Barclay’s Center. He thinks the crowd there would have been happier with constant action, and the 205 Live matches certainly didn’t give the crowd what they wanted. After RAW went off the air, Seth Rollins, The Miz and Ric Flair all showed up at The Manhattan Center, and the fans got to see those stars up close and in person.

The post Dinner With the King Recap – RAW25 Thoughts, Royal Rumble Preview, McMahon Re-launches XFL, More! appeared first on Wrestling News & WWE News, Rumors & Spoilers.

Ross was very sad to hear about Paige’s injury situation this week. He points out that Paige needs to find a way to move to “Plan B” now, and he thinks she has loads of potential as an entertainer in a variety of fields. Ross thinks Paige could have a lot of success continuing as an on-air personality for WWE, or she could move into television and film because she has a great look.

Ross fantasy books Ronda Rousey debuting in WWE during the Royal Rumble match, which would lead to her challenging Charlotte for the Smackdown Women’s Title at WrestleMania. He says under the right circumstances with the right build, he’d have no issue with Charlotte and Rousey headlining WrestleMania. He also shoots down the theory that other women on WWE’s roster might resent Rousey, pointing out that Rousey sells tickets and draws viewership, which means more money for everyone involved.

He says he’s quite excited about travelling to Brooklyn for the 25th anniversary of RAW next Monday night. It was reported that he will be reuniting with Jerry “The King” Lawler for this show, and while nothing has been confirmed to him yet, he has a feeling that he and Lawler will be calling the action at The Manhattan Center.

The post The Ross Report Recap w/ Bruce Prichard & John Pollock – Undertaker’s Arrival in WWE, McGregor/Rousey WrestleMania Status, Will Lesnar Re-sign With WWE? More! appeared first on Wrestling News & WWE News, Rumors & Spoilers.

While speaking to CBS Sports, Triple H was asked about Chris Jericho facing Kenny Omega at Wrestle Kingdom next month.

“I think it’s great. Good for Chris,” Triple H said. “It’s phenomenal. Good for Kenny, good for New Japan. We were aware. That was a conversation that was had.”

Triple H continued, “It’s great, it’s good for him. Chris is one of the greatest talents in the history of the business, so I think it’s great. Good product is good product. I’m happy for them, happy for Chris and happy for everybody.”

Click here for the full article.

The post Triple H Reacts to Chris Jericho Facing Kenny Omega appeared first on Wrestling News & WWE News, Rumors & Spoilers.

Russo is joined on today’s show by his co-host Jeff Lane.

On one of his shows this past week, Dave Meltzer discussed the merchandise sales of Finn Balor. He said that Balor has to be one of the top merchandise sellers in WWE because there are plenty of ‘Balor Club’ shirts at each WWE event. However, he doesn’t see many Balor shirts outside of WWE events.

Russo says that’s because there aren’t any wrestling shirts outside WWE events anymore. Back during the attitude era there were several wrestlers whose merchandise could be seen anywhere in public including Austin, The Rock and the NWO. Nowadays, you don’t see anyone wearing wrestling merchandise unless you’re at a WWE show.

Meltzer also adressed the Brock Lesnar/A.J. Styles Survivor Series match, calling it a success while pointing out that nobody would have cared about a Lesnar/Jinder Mahal match. Russo says, “Screw you, Meltzer”, adding that Meltzer’s problem is that he talks out of place, putting words in everybody else’s mouths. Russo says he would have much rather watched a Lesnar/Mahal match.

At another point last week Meltzer discussed RAW’s 3-hour run-time, saying that it doesn’t matter what WWE writes, fans are always going to tune out towards the end of a 3-hour program. Russo disagrees entirely, saying that he and Ed Ferrera wrote several 3-hour episodes of Monday Nitro and those shows held their audience right until the end.

The post Vince Russo’s The Brand Recap – Preferring Lesnar vs. Mahal, Elias Stuck in Second Gear, Meltzer & Satin go to War on Twitter, More! appeared first on Wrestling News & WWE News, Rumors & Spoilers.

Charlotte Flair has penned a letter to her father on the Players Tribune. Here is an excerpt:

“Dear Dad,

It’s that moment when you appear from behind the curtain.

Every single night, before I perform, I think about what you told me. That the single most important part of any match is when you walk out onto the stage — and the crowd sees you for the first time.

“Whether it’s 50 people in an auditorium or 100,000 in a stadium,” you said. “The instant they see you, they can tell right away whether or not you really believe in yourself.”

I remember my first match, standing in the dark, listening to my heart racing. I knew the crowd was just waiting — not waiting for me, but waiting to judge the next person they saw emerge onto the stage. I knew my peers were watching on the monitor just a few feet away. I felt the walls closing in. I could barely breathe. It was like I had forgotten everything I had learned about wrestling up to that point.

People were going to think I was a fraud — that I was just trying to piggyback a career off of your name. I wasn’t Charlotte Flair yet. I was still just Ric Flair’s daughter. I feared the worst.

I mean, how could I really be prepared? How could anyone live up to the legacy of Ric Flair? The Nature Boy! The limousine-ridin’, jet-flyin’, etc. etc. — Ric Flair! One of the most decorated superstars in the history of sports entertainment. It was an impossible expectation to live up to.

In that moment, I actually feared that I wasn’t made for WWE. Quitting wasn’t an option … but how was I going to commit 100 percent when I was afraid of my own shadow?

I was nervous about the fans in the crowd. I was nervous about the Superstars in the back. But most of all, I was nervous about one very specific thought.

I couldn’t bear the thought of disappointing you.”

The post Charlotte Pens Heartfelt Tribute To Her Father appeared first on Wrestling News & WWE News, Rumors & Spoilers.

Lawler is joined on today’s show by his co-host Glenn Moore.

Moore informs that Jim Cornette will be the guest on next week’s show, and Lawler points out that Cornette appears to be the talk of the wrestling business again after getting into a verbal altercation with former WWE Superstar Santino last weekend.

Moore adds that Cornette apparently revealed himself to the studio audience at Bruce Prichard’s live show and Lawler has a hard time believing that. He says that until Cornette comes out and admits to doing that he’s going to give him the benefit of the doubt. Lawler jokes that Cornette has two languages: english and profanity.

Moore is upset at the fact that Lawler is not a playable character in the WWE 2K18 video game. Moore points out that Lawler has the most Championship wins in wrestling history and he should be in this game. Lawler says he hasn’t be contacted about having a character in the game and he thinks that could be due to the fact that WWE thinks of him solely as a colour commentator now.

The post Dinner With the King Recap w/ James Ellsworth – Cornette’s Eventful Weekend, The Shield’s Reunion, Ellsworth’s Interaction w/ McMahon, More! appeared first on Wrestling News & WWE News, Rumors & Spoilers.

As of this writing Pedro Morales holds the record of longest accumulative time as Intercontinental Champion. Morales’ 2 reigns as champion earned him an impressive accumulated reign of 619 days. This record has stood for over 34 years and while it may be impressive, it also must end. In WWE, records are almost always made to be broken. John Cena is on his way to break Ric Flair’s record, Roman Reigns broke Kane’s royal rumble record and the New Day broke Demolition’s record, with many more being born only to finally become a career highlight for a future superstar in the annals of WWE history. Choosing who breaks these records is an important decision and to take them lightly is, consequently, plain disrespectful. There is – as of this writing – only one man to break Morales’ record and that man is The Miz.

Currently in his 7th reign, The Miz could break Morales’ reign by the end of 2017. That would be a fantastic choice to make and will do wonders for The Miz in the history of WWE. As an alternative WWE could even have the Miz tie or bet Chris Jericho’s record of most ever Intercontinental Championships. However it is Morales’ record that will be the better and more natural for this time. The Miz has proved countless doubters and haters wrong and breaking this record will continue that trend.

What the Miz has done over the past year and a half is astounding. Since Maryse returned to his side following Wrestlemania 32 he is having the best year and a half of his career. He held the Intercontinental championship with pride from the night he won it until the brand split where stuff really took off. The Miz was once – 6 years ago – branded one of the worst WWE Champions of all time. Now in 2017 he is without argument one of the best Intercontinental Champions of all time. As well as that he has morphed into one of WWE’s most talented all-round superstars today.

This is one of the main reasons he deserves to destroy Morales’ record. The simple fact is The Miz as the Intercontinental Champion fits. When people think of The Miz in 15 years they will think Intercontinental Champion, not the Wrestlemania 27 main eventer. Undoubtedly the greatest Intercontinental Champion of the last 10 years, The Miz took a title which had been dragged through the mud by poor booking, a lack of creativity, terrible feuds and unmemorable reigns and made it prominent prestigious as it was less than 2 decades ago.

It is the presence of the Miz and the way he treats the Intercontinental Championship which makes it feel special. The way he talks about the title and the way he presents it on social media on TV is fantastic. The Miz makes himself look like a champion and makes his championship feel special. In his promos and in his segments The Miz makes himself and his championship the centrepiece. Many a time in the past 18 months has The Miz’s Championship felt like the most prestigious. This is even over the world championships, and most of that has to do with The Miz.

The post Why The Miz Deserves To Beat Pedro Morales’ Record appeared first on Wrestling News & WWE News, Rumors & Spoilers.

While speaking to OBJECTified on FOX News, Hulk Hogan talked about about WWE firing him after a sex tape leaked that included him racist remarks and expressing anger at the thought of his daughter dating a black man.

“When I heard this was going to happen, I called them on a Thursday or a Friday. As I hung up the phone that night, they fired me in the morning,” Hogan said. “It really caught me off guard, I didn’t expect it because the WWE knows who I am. I’m not that person, that’s not who I am and that’s not what I do.”

Hogan commented on the company erasing him from WWE History and mentioned it was best for business.

“I think they did what was best for business,” he said. “They were worried about losing sponsors and network support.”

When asked if he believes the company would ever bring him back, Hogan responded, “I’m not sure.”

You can check out the interview below:

The post Hulk Hogan Says He’s Not Sure If WWE Will Bring Him Back appeared first on Wrestling News & WWE News, Rumors & Spoilers.