Impact on AMC drew 171,000 viewers last week, just 3,000 viewers down from the debut episode. A larger drop was expected but it looks like, a least for week two, TNA retained the majority of its audience. The show had a 0.03 rating in 18-49, down 0.01 from the prior week. (Ratings credit: Programming Insider)
More names added to the 2026 Royal Rumble matches
More names were added to the Royal Rumble match yesterday.
All four members of The Vision – Bron Breakker, Bronson Reed, Austin Theory, and Logan Paul – were told they were in the Rumble by Raw General Manager Adam Pearce.
Former NXT champion Oba Femi, who has not been seen on television ever since he relinquished the NXT title several weeks ago, will be making his Rumble debut as well this Saturday. Fellow former NXT star Je’Von Evans is also entering his first Rumble in Riyadh.
Meanwhile, WWE Intercontinental champion Becky Lynch also declared for the Rumble.
This makes it 15 men and 17 women who have so far announced their intentions to enter the two Rumble matches.
Rey Mysterio suffers another injury during Raw
Rey Mysterio suffered yet another injury during his Raw match against Austin Theory last night.
Mysterio, who lost his match, was seen holding his shoulder and the referee threw up the X hand sign, signifying a real injury and for medics to come.
The Hall of Famer managed to finish the match but was not part of what happened afterward, with The Vision destroying Dragon Lee and Penta.
Mysterio only recently returned after a groin injury late last year and was kept off TV for a bit over the past few weeks due to another minor injury.
AEW Grand Slam: Australia to be a 2.5 hour broadcast
The AEW Grand Slam: Australia on Saturday, February 14 will have a running time of two and a half hours according to the listings published.
The show, which replaces Collision just for the night, will be held at the Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney and will air on tape delay on TNT and also on HBO Max.
This is the second Grand Slam: Australia episode after last year AEW went to Brisbane. Unfortunately, this year the attendance is so far half of last year’s, with the show around the 5,000 mark for now.
AEW lost its broadcast TV deal in the country with ESPN at the beginning of the year and it’s only accessible through a Disney+ subscription.
The company will also have a rare non-televised live event in Brisbane the following day before heading back to the United States.
Mick Foley’s mother passes away
WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley announced the passing of his mother in a post on social media.
Titled Goodbye Mom, Foley wrote, “It is with a heavy heart I report the passing of my mother, following a lengthy battle with dementia. She was a strong, fiercely independent woman who beat polio as a child, became the first member of her family to attend college, and instilled in me a belief that I was capable of doing anything.”
He continued, “She made me feel no dream was too big to dream, and nurtured my imagination and my love for reading, writing and storytelling. Simply put, without Mrs. Foley and the gift she gave me, no one would know Mrs. Foley’s baby boy. I love you Mom.”
You can read Foley’s full post about his mother on his Facebook page.
Sports Business Journal looks at the custom WWE replica titles craze across sports
The Sports Business Journal has a story on how the replica WWE championship titles have become WWE and Fanatics’ fastest-growing trophy business.
While replica WWE championships have been sold for years, it was only a few years ago that WWE started sending sports teams around the world custom-made WWE replica titles after winning a league title.
Now, the MLB, Big 12, NFL, and soccer teams in Europe all have their own customized WWE replica titles.
In research for the story, SBJ said that NFL‑branded title belts have been the most successful. The Philadelphia Eagles’ Super Bowl LIX title belt sold out and ranked among Fanatics’ top non‑autographed collectibles for Super Bowl LIX merchandise and since 2023, sales of collegiate legacy title belts have increased nearly fourfold.
“They’ve evolved from a powerful brand extension for WWE into a must-have for fans of all sports, a credit to Michael Rubin and the entire Fanatics team for recognizing the commercial opportunity,” said Scott Zanghellini, co-head of revenue at WWE. “We see significant growth potential across individual athletes, international sports and other genres, such as music and entertainment, and we’ll continue working collaboratively with Fanatics to evolve the business.”
Documentary on Bayley’s Lodestone all-woman wrestling camp published
Former champion Bayley published a 17-minute documentary on the multi-day Lodestone training camp which she held in Orlando, Florida in December.
A total of 22 women were brought in to the seminar as they lived together and trained together while listening to some of the brightest minds in the industry.
Bayley paid for the training and accommodation out of her own pocket and had Superstars such as John Cena, Rhea Ripley, Natalya, Charlotte Flair, and many others come in to talk to the women. WWE referees assisted in the ring, officiating the short matches which were held in front of the whole class and the special guests.
The camp was held at Flatbacks Wrestling School, owned and run by Shawn Spears and Tyler Breeze.
WWE meet and greet event in Riyadh sells out immediately
The meet and greet event at the WWE Fan Zone in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia ahead of the Royal Rumble sold out in no time as thousands of fans flocked to the WeBook.com website to get their tickets.
All the top WWE Superstars, including Cody Rhodes, Roman Reigns, CM Punk, Drew McIntyre, Rhea Ripley, and others are all scheduled to appear to meet with fans who are making the trip to watch the first Royal Rumble outside of North America.
The tickets for photos were just 25 Saudi Riyal, or the equivalent of $6.50 USD. As you can probably imagine, tickets vanished as soon as they hit the website.
The event will start at 6PM at the Fan Zone located at the King Abdullah Financial District just next to the outdoor arena which was specifically built for the Royal Rumble.
Shane McMahon congratulates wife Marissa on Academy Award nomination
Shane McMahon congratulated his wife Marissa on receiving her first-ever Academy Award nomination for the movie Train Dreams.
When the nominations were announced last week, McMahon’s name was listed as one of the five producers on the movie.
“Congratulations Marissa Mac on a dream come true. You are in rare air with your movie Train Dreams receiving 4 Academy Award Nominations,” Shane wrote in a post on social media. “This movie would not have been made without you. You are an inspiration to me and our three sons. Declan, Kenyon Rogan and I could not be happier for or more proud of you. So well deserved Let’s Go!”
Marissa said that her heart is full and she’s humbled and grateful for the nomination, something she has dreamed about since she was 12 years old.
The movie Train Dreams is streaming on Netflix.
NJPW’s EVIL departing the company, rumored to be heading to WWE
Former IWGP World Heavyweight champion EVIL is leaving New Japan Pro-Wrestling and is rumored to be heading to WWE.
New Japan made the announcement of his departure official, saying that he will leave when his contract reaches its end in a few days on January 31.
“After careful consideration and discussions with NJPW management, EVIL, who has been a long standing member of the NJPW roster will leave New Japan Pro-Wrestling at the expiry of his contract at the end of January 2026,” NJPW wrote. “We apologise to fans for the sudden nature of this announcement. New Japan Pro-Wrestling wishes EVIL the very best in his future activities.”
EVIL, who was recently the NEVER Openweight champion, lost the title to Aaron Wolf at Wrestle Kingdom 20.
The 39-year-old, real name Takaaki Watanbe, has been working for NJPW since 2015. He has held the IWGP Heavyweight title, the IWGP Intercontinental title, the IWGP Tag Team titles, the NEVER Openweight title, and the NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team title during his tenure there.
Raw ring announcer Alicia Taylor to miss Raw due to weather, Lilian Garcia to fill in
Raw ring announcer Alicia Taylor will not be at Raw tomorrow night as she announced in a post on social media that she is stuck in the United States and unable to fly to Toronto due to the weather.
The storm has wreaked havoc at airports, with thousands of flights delayed and canceled.
“Currently at the airport with all canceled flights to Canada soo… tagging in sister LIL for the fill,” she wrote.
Thankfully, Lilian Garcia is already in Toronto having done ring announcing for Saturday Night’s Main Event, so for one night only, she is back doing Raw.
The show will take place at the Scotiabank Arena where a capacity crowd is expected, with over 15,000 fans already having their ticket.
Monday Night Wars edition announced for WWE 2K26
After announcing an Attitude Era edition of WWE 2K26, WWE ran an advert yesterday for another edition, titled Monday Night Wars.
The ad starts with Scott Hall invading WCW asking the then WWF if they want a war. It then transitions to popular clips of The Rock, DX, nWo, and others from Raw and Nitro as the two TV shows went to battle against each other.
The cover art features 12 Superstars from each brand, with Steve Austin, The Rock, The Undertaker, Triple H, Kurt Angle, and Chyna on the WWE side while Hollywood Hulk Hogan, Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, Goldberg, Booker T, and Eric Bischoff on the WCW side.
Pre-orders start on January 30 but no actual release date is available. Rumors are that the game will be out in time for WrestleMania 42.
WWE vs. WCW! 🔥
Pre-order the MONDAY NIGHT WAR EDITION of #WWE2K26 on January 30th! pic.twitter.com/V9AQqZeJmS
— WWE (@WWE) January 25, 2026
Joe Tessitore misses Saturday Night’s Main Event due to weather
Joe Tessitore missed last night’s Saturday Night’s Main Event after he was stuck at the Detroit airport due to bad weather conditions, where flights were delayed and canceled.
Tess, who usually acts as the hosts of these quarterly broadcast, was replaced by Stephanie McMahon instead, who held down the fort in his absence.
He also missed Friday Night Smackdown after he was appointed as the lead play-by-play commentator for Zuffa Boxing, who happened to have their first show on Paramount+ on the same day.
Michael Cole replaced Tessitore for Smackdown.
Shinsuke Nakamura says AJ Styles told him he’s retiring at the Royal Rumble
Shinsuke Nakamura uploaded a note on Instagram after his match against AJ Styles yesterday, a note which he wrote the night before his match.
In his long note, Nakamura said that during the tour in Australia last year, he asked AJ when is he going to retire, after hearing a speech he made at a show that for him, felt like a goodbye.
“He answered, ‘The Royal Rumble. I’ve already decided,'” Nakamura wrote.
The Japanese star told AJ that before he retires, he wanted to wrestle him one more time, and AJ nodded in agreement.
That match came yesterday, coincidentally or not, one week before Styles puts his career on the line against Gunther at the Royal Rumble.
“I don’t say it out loud, but I rely on him. I respect him. And even though we don’t actually know each other as deeply as people might think, to me, he’s special,” Nakamura wrote.
“Almost like a brother and a best friend, in my own way. And now… our final match awaits. My last chance to give him the perfect send off. Do your best, me. And pro wrestling gods, please be kind,” he concluded.
The two ended up having one hell of a match, with Styles coming out with a mask he usually donned in Japan, and Nakamura coming out to his NXT-style entrance. On this cold Montreal night, Styles came out on top and after the match, both stars showed respect to each other.
Sami Zayn earns WWE Championship shot at Royal Rumble 2026
Local hero Sami Zayn became the number one contender for the WWE Championship last night on Saturday Night’s Main Event which took place from his hometown of Montreal.
The four-way match to determine who goes on to the Royal Rumble main evented the show, with Randy Orton, Damian Priest, and Trick Williams also part of the match.
The match ended when Priest hit a Razor’s Edge on Zayn, but instead went after Williams in the corner, leaving enough time for Zayn to recover and hit Priest with the Helluva Kick as soon as he got done with Williams. A three-count later and Zayn got his ticket to Riyadh and a chance to win the big one.
After the match, Drew McIntyre came in the ring to try and attack Zayn, but the former IC champion was ready and threw McIntyre out of the ring.
The show ended with Zayn on the ropes celebrating as fireworks went off inside Bell Centre.
Collision preview for 01/24/2026
Collision will air tonight at 8PM ET on TNT and HBO Max, but this show will not be live as it was already taped this past Wednesday.
Tonight’s episode was supposed to be live from the Esports Stadium in Arlington, Texas, but a storm in the area has made things difficult and the company took the sensible decision to cancel the live show and tape it after Dynamite instead.
Scheduled for the broadcast are Kris Statlander vs Isla Dawn, Willow Nightingale vs Julia Hart, Hangman Adam Page vs Katsuyori Shibata, Konosuke Takeshita and Kyle Fletcher vs Austin & Billy Gunn, Andrade El Idolo vs Magnus, Mark Davis and Jake Doyle vs Jordan Oliver and Alec Price, and Claudio Castagnoli vs Roderick Strong for the CMLL World Heavyweight title.
Agent to several WWE Superstars, Nick LoPiccolo, leaving Paradigm
Talent agent Nick LoPiccolo, who represents several WWE Superstars, is leaving Paradigm after 17 years and is expected to take his clients with him according to a report on Deadline.
LoPiccolo represents Superstars such as CM Punk, Drew McIntyre, Jade Cargill, Liv Morgan, Tiffany Stratton, Blake Monroe, and others, and was instrumental in booking several Hollywood roles for the people who he represents.
Deadline states that both parties will maintain a professional relationship and continue working together as LoPiccolo goes independent. Paradigm, who he worked for 17 years, is helping with the transition.
LoPiccolo is known for entering in several hilarious battles on social media, especially X, with Dave Meltzer, Bryan Alvarez, and other insiders often his targets.
Saturday Night’s Main Event live tonight on Peacock from Montreal
The first Saturday Night’s Main Event of 2026 takes place live tonight from Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, where tickets have not set the world on fire.
Usually a hotbed for WWE shows, Montreal took a step back this time around thanks to extremely high ticket prices and two back-to-back shows with Smackdown also taking place yesterday in the same location.
Headlining the broadcast will be a fatal four-way match where the winner will become the number one contender for the WWE championship and will face Drew McIntyre for the title at the Royal Rumble next week. The match will pit Damian Priest vs Trick Williams vs Randy Orton vs Sami Zayn.
Also on the card, Cody Rhodes battles Jacob Fatu, Rhea Ripley and Iyo Sky put the WWE Women’s Tag Team titles on the line against Liv Morgan and Roxanne Perez, and AJ Styles takes on Shinsuke Nakamura.
How to watch
Saturday Night’s Main Event airs exclusively on Peacock in the United States and starts at 8PM ET. For international fans, every other country apart from the U.S. can watch the show live on WWE’s YouTube channel.
NXT rating for 01/20/2026
NXT drew 608,000 viewers this week, down 10,000 viewers from the prior week and the second week in a row with a drop in viewers. The show had a 0.08 rating in 18-49, down 0.01 from the previous episode. (Ratings credit: Programming Insider)
Attitude Era edition announced for upcoming WWE 2K26 video game
The Attitude Era is returning…for WWE 2K26!
In a commercial which aired yesterday during Smackdown, an Attitude Era edition of the video game was revealed, with Steve Austin, Kane, The Undertaker, Shawn Michaels, The Rock, Triple H, Kurt Angle, Chyna, Trish Stratus, Lita, Stephanie McMahon, and The Dudley Boyz on the front cover.
Pre-orders will start on January 30 but no delivery date was announced. It’s believed that the game will be out in March/April in time for WrestleMania.
There are several rumors floating around for this year’s game, including CM Punk as the cover Superstar and the addition of TNA and AAA stars as part of the playable roster.
The era that changed everything…
No rules. No filter. No apologies. #WWE2K26 pic.twitter.com/hzMvXxQqkG
— WWE (@WWE) January 24, 2026