The TNA X Division champion, Moose, made a surprise appearance on NXT last night, confronting NXT champion Oba Femi in the opening segment of the show.
Moose told Femi that he is the one man that he can’t rule over and pushed for a match between the two.
“Oba, this has to happen, Oba Femi vs Moose,” the TNA X Division champion said.
“Don’t worry, it will,” responded Femi as both held their respective titles above their shoulders.
This was Moose’s first appearance on WWE television.
Ricky Starks signed his NXT contract last night on The CW, but the name is no longer Starks, but rather Saints.
While quite a few have moved on from AEW or indies to WWE and kept their name, not everyone is that fortunate, and the former AEW Tag Team title holder is a casualty of a name change.
The contract signing was headed by NXT General Manager Ava, who called Ricky the hottest free agent at the moment. During his in-ring promo, he was interrupted twice, once by Ethan Page and once by Wes Lee. Eventually, Je’Von Evans also showed his face, attacking Page.
The new arrival challenged Wes Lee to a match for next week which will be his official in-ring debut for the company.
He then signed the contract as the camera panned over the paper work which said Ricky Saints.
WWE avoided mentioning Starks by name over the last several days since his surprise arrival on last week’s episode.
The WWE EVOLVE show which will air on Tubi in the United States starting from next month will also be available for international viewers on the WWE YouTube channel.
WWE has been using YouTube more and more over the past year, adding more content for mainly international viewers.
Announced two weeks ago, WWE EVOLVE will showcase in-ring action featuring rising WWE prospects as they wrestle with the dream of making it to NXT and, perhaps, one day to Smackdown and Raw.
The show will premiere on March 5 at 8PM ET and will be a weekly show every Wednesday on the FOX-owned streaming service Tubi.
Several weeks worth of shows have already been taped at the WWE Performance Center.
Former EVOLVE owner Gabe Sapolsky is heading up this project.
WWE is adding a men’s and women’s title belt for their ID project.
“The top independent wrestling prospects have been ID’d… and now, we’re ready to spotlight the best of the best,” Triple H said in a post on X. “Here’s your first look at the Men’s and Women’s @WWEID Championships.”
The WWE Independent Development program kicked off in late October of last year with the aim to develop and support the training of independent professional wrestlers. Several wrestling schools and other promotions received their WWE ID designation as well.
WWE ID matches are promoted on the official WWE ID X account and take place at various indie promotions between WWE ID talent. Wins in these matches can lead to being featured on the upcoming WWE EVOLVE show.
The top independent wrestling prospects have been ID’d… and now, we’re ready to spotlight the best of the best.
Here’s your first look at the Men’s and Women’s @WWEID Championships. pic.twitter.com/VxERpeas2q
— Triple H (@TripleH) February 18, 2025
TNA Wrestling today announced via Sports Illustrated that it has signed McKenzie Mitchell to a new deal which will see her become TNA’s new ring announcer.
This is the second stint for Mitchell with TNA Wrestling, having previously worked for the company for three years before signing with WWE in 2019.
Mitchell returned to TNA at the Genesis pay-per-view last month.
She heads back to her old stomping grounds of Orlando this week as TNA holds television tapings at Full Sail University, the former home of NXT.
Ricky Starks will be signing his NXT contract on tonight’s episode of NXT on The CW.
In a video which aired during Vengeance Day, Starks said that he would be at the WWE Performance Center today and sign his deal in the middle of the ring.
Starks has not been mentioned by his name yet anywhere on WWE television or social media, leaving viewers somewhat confused and wondering if he’s actually getting a different name.
Also tonight on NXT, a #1 contender’s match for the Women’s North American title will be held between Kelani Jordan, Karmen Petrovic, and Jaida Parker, Shawn Spears takes on Stacks, and a tag match with Zaria and Sol Ruca vs Jakara Jackson and Lash Legend.
The Elimination Chamber will feature an unsanctioned match between frenemies Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens.
The match was set up last night after Zayn returned to challenge Owens in Toronto. Raw General Manager Adam Pearce informed Zayn that he is aware that he is not medically cleared to compete but Zayn said that he will not leave the ring until he got what he wanted.
Pearce said that if he wanted a match, it would have to be an unsanctioned one with no rules. Pearce tried to persuade Zayn to let it go, explaining everything that could go wrong, but Zayn said he understood the consequences and wanted the match nonetheless.
“In Toronto, at Elimination Chamber, it will be Kevin Owens one on one with Sami Zayn,” Pearce said. “Sami, it’s not official…it’s unsanctioned!”
The final two entrants of the Elimination Chamber matches advanced last night on Raw after two more qualifying matches took place on the broadcast.
In the first qualifier, former NXT Women’s champion Roxanne Perez defeated fellow former NXT Women’s champion Raquel Rodriguez to book her spot in the match. It had the interference of Liv Morgan, Bianca Belair, and Naomi, with the distraction being enough for Perez to pin Rodriguez with the Pop Rocks.
Then in the main event of the show, Seth Rollins defeated Finn Balor in another battle of former NXT champions. Rollins won a long, hard-fought match with the stomp.
The two matches are now complete, with Liv Morgan, Alexa Bliss, Bianca Belair, Bayley, Naomi, and Perez in the women’s match and John Cena, CM Punk, Drew McIntyre, Logan Paul, Damian Priest, and Rollins in the men’s match.
The winner of the men’s match faces Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania while the winner of the women’s match faces Rhea Ripley at WrestleMania.
AEW will hold back-to-back television tapings in Boston next month, their first time back in the city since their Big Business event in March of last year.
The April 16 Dynamite will be live from the MGM Music Hall while Collision tapings will be held the following night on April 17. If Collision airs on Saturday that week, it will go against WrestleMania night one.
The arrival of Mercedes Mone at the TD Garden was the last time AEW visited Boston. The MGM Music Hall is a smaller venue with a max of 5,000 seats, slightly smaller than the Agganis Arena which is where AEW held TV tapings before.
Tickets go on pre-sale this Thursday.
2K today unveiled the full roster for the WWE 2K25 video game with a total of 250 playable characters and 17 non-playable characters.
There are also different versions of certain WWE Superstars who will be part of the video game but are not listed separately in the official roster reveal due to spoilers.
The roster includes stars from Raw, Smackdown, NXT, WWE Hall of Famers, Legends, and former Superstars.
These are AJ Styles, Akam, Akira Tozawa, Alba Fyre, Alexa Bliss, Alundra Blayze, Andrade, Andre Chase, Andre The Giant, Angel, Angelo Dawkins, Apollo Crews, Ashante “Thee” Adonis, Asuka, Austin Theory, Axiom, B-Fab, Baron Corbin, Batista, Bayley, Becky Lynch, Berto, Bianca Belair, Big E, Blair Davenport, Boogeyman, Booker T, Braun Strowman, Bray Wyatt, Bret Hart, British Bulldog, Bron Breakker, Bronson Reed, Brooks Jensen, Bruno Sammartino, Brutus Creed, Bubba Ray Dudley, Cactus Jack, Candice LeRae, Carlito, Carmella, Carmelo Hayes, Cedric Alexander, Chad Gable, Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo, Charlie Dempsey, Charlotte Flair, Chelsea Green, Chyna, CM Punk, Cody Rhodes, Cora Jade, Cruz Del Toro, D-Von Dudley, Dakota Kai, Damian Priest, Dexter Lumis, Diamond Dallas Page, Diesel, Doink The Clown, Dominik Mysterio, Dragon Lee, Drew McIntyre, Dude Love, Duke Hudson, Dusty Rhodes, Eddie Guerrero, Eddy Thorpe, Elektra Lopez, Elton Prince, Eric Bischoff, Erik, Ethan Page, Eve Torres, Faarooq, Fallon Henley, Finn Balor, George “The Animal” Steele, Gigi Dolin, Giovanni Vinci, Grayson Waller, Gunther, Harley Race, Headshrinker Fatu, Headshrinker Samu, Honky Tonk Man, Hollywood Hulk Hogan, Hulk Hogan, Hunter Hearst Helmsley, Ilja Dragunov, Indi Hartwell, Isla Dawn, Islander Haku, Islander Tama, Ivar, Ivy Nile, IYO SKY, Jacob Fatu, Jacy Jayne, Jade Cargill, Jaida Parker, Jakara Jackson, Jake “The Snake” Roberts, JBL, JD McDonagh, Je’Von Evans, Jey Uso, Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart, Jimmy Uso, Joaquin Wilde, Joe Coffey, Joe Gacy, John Cena, Johnny Gargano, Josh Briggs, Julius Creed, Kairi Sane, Kane, Karl Anderson, Karrion Kross, Katana Chance, Kayden Carter, Kelani Jordan, Ken Shamrock, Kevin Nash, Kevin Owens, Kiana James, Kit Wilson, Kofi Kingston, Kurt Angle, LA Knight, Lash Legend, Lex Luger, Lexis King, Lita, Liv Morgan, Logan Paul, Lola Vice, Ludwig Kaiser, Luke Gallows, Lyra Valkyria, Mark Coffey, Maryse, Mankind, Maxxine Dupri, Michelle McCool, Michin, Mick Foley, Mighty Molly, Molly Holly, Montez Ford, Mosh, Mr. Fuji, Mr. Perfect, Naomi, Natalya, Nathan Frazer, Nia Jax, Nikki Cross, Nikkita Lyons, Noam Dar, Oba Femi, Omos, Oro Mensah, Otis, Pat McAfee, Pete Dunne, Peter Maivia, Piper Niven, R-Truth, Randy Orton, Randy Savage, Razor Ramon, Raquel Rodriguez, Rey Mysterio, Rezar, Rhea Ripley, Rick Rude, Rick Steiner, Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat, Ridge Holland, Rikishi, Rob Van Dam, Roddy Piper, Rocky Maivia, Roman Reigns, Rosey, Roxanne Perez, Sami Zayn, Santos Escobar, Scarlett, Scott Hall, Scott Steiner, Sensational Sherri, Seth Rollins, Shawn Michaels, Shawn Spears, Shayna Baszler, Sheamus, Shinsuke Nakamura, Shotzi, Sol Ruca, Solo Sikoa, Sonya Deville, Stacy Keibler, Stardust, Stephanie McMahon, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, “Superstar” Billy Graham, Syxx, Tama Tonga, Tamina, Tatum Paxley, Tegan Nox, Terry Funk, The Fiend, The Great Muta, The Hurricane, The Iron Sheik, The Miz, The Rock, The Sandman, Thea Hail, Thrasher, Tiffany Stratton, Tommaso Ciampa, Tonga Loa, Tony D’Angelo, Trick Williams, Triple H, Trish Stratus, Tyler Bate, Tyler Breeze, Ultimate Warrior, Umaga, Undertaker, Vader, Valhalla, Wade Barrett, Wendy Choo, Wes Lee, Wild Samoan Afa, Wild Samoan Sika, William Regal, Wolfgang, X-Pac, Xavier Woods, Yokozuna, Zelina Vega, and Zoey Stark.
The non-playable characters are Ava, Adam Pearce, Afa, Armando Alejandro Estrada, Bobby “The Brain” Heenan, Brother Love, Captain Lou Albano, Cathy Kelley, Jimmy Hart, Mick Foley, Miss Elizabeth, Nick Aldis, Paul Bearer, Paul Ellering, Paul Heyman, Stephanie McMahon, and Theodore Long.
WWE 2K25 is available for pre-order now and it will be out in stores on March 14.
The Elimination Chamber photo ops are now available for purchase through Leap, the company tasked with doing the photo and autograph events at WWE premium live events.
WWE Superstars will appear from Thursday to Sunday at the Rogers Centre Gate 1 Store to meet with fans.
Scheduled so far are Chelsea Green, Damian Priest, Street Profits, and Tiffany Stratton on Thursday, Alexa Bliss and Drew McIntyre on Friday, Shinsuke Nakamura on Saturday, and Liv Morgan on Sunday.
More are set to appear during the Elimination Chamber weekend and you can keep up with the schedule at https://store.epic.leapevent.tech/elimination-chamber/2025.
AEW star Buddy Matthews suffered an ankle injury at the Grand Slam: Australia show on Saturday.
The freak incident happened when Matthews made his entrance, rolling his ankle as he came off the ropes. He wrestled the match as expected but was limping going to the back. Matthews lost against Kazuchika Okada during the show.
In a post on Instagram, Matthews’ wife Rhea Ripley wrote that “ain’t no Roly-Poly ankles” gonna keep them down.
“Let the honeymoon commence,” she wrote, adding photos of the two together, with Matthews on a crutch and also without it.
The AEW/ROH Global Wars which was recorded prior to Grand Slam: Australia this past Saturday in Brisbane will be airing tonight on the ROH HonorClub streaming service at 7PM ET.
A total of five matches were recorded for the broadcast including The Learning Tree vs Bandido and The Outrunners, Athena vs Alex Windsor for the ROH Women’s title, Lee Moriarty vs Robbie Eagles for the ROH Pure title, The Sons of Texas vs MxM Collection for the ROH Tag Team titles, and Mark Davis vs Tommy Knight.
Global Wars was an event held multiple times a year by ROH from 2012 until 2019. It was originally named Border Wars but underwent the name change two years after its inception when ROH and NJPW announced a partnership.
ROH’s HonorClub is $9.99 a month and a subscription is required to watch the show.
Professional wrestlers are charismatic fighters who know how to make colorful shows. This is a unique art form that combines physical strength with elements of theatrical production. It is interesting in itself and also as a source of inspiration.
Video games, especially fighting games, actively borrow ideas from wrestling, from mechanics to visual style. These borrowings have made virtual fights more entertaining. Such elements are often present in games for cyberpunk and Rock and Roll fans.
One key feature of professional wrestling is that it is incredibly dramatic and characterized by emotional intensity. It is a theatrical production in which one fighter plays the hero and the other the villain. After that, they play out the confrontation in the ring. Each fight is carefully thought out, and a storyline unites those held within one event.
Wrestling’s ability to create tense confrontations filled with charisma and spectacle inspired fighting game developers. Franchises such as Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter have incorporated many wrestling elements into their mechanics and storylines. They borrowed unique fighting styles and utilized wrestling’s characteristic dramatic narrative. As a result, gamers’ emotional involvement in the process increased significantly. However, wrestling’s influence goes beyond the fighting game genre—its elements are reflected in other gaming areas.
Thus, gambling titles also often borrow the dynamics and spectacle of wrestling. For example, Plinko, a classic game with falling balls, in some variations, is designed in the style of battle arenas, where each throw resembles the decisive moment of the fight. This spectacular element of randomness makes the game particularly exciting. You can master the rules with the help of gambling-related information websites, the most visited of which is plinkogames.in. The latter also features a selection of online casinos offering to play Plinko for real money.
While fighting games continue to develop wrestling’s ideas by adding increasingly realistic moves and techniques, the sport’s influence on the gaming industry remains undeniable.
Wrestlers always have colorful personalities, each with their own incredible style. In essence, they are the same characters, only live. Game developers borrowed this idea, and as a result, fighters became not just a part of the gameplay but unique personalities. Signature moves, special abilities, dramatic pre-fight stances, and celebrating victory are elements taken from wrestling and have become an essential part of fighting games. Spectacular throws and fancy combos are also borrowed from wrestling, making the game fights look as stunning as possible.
Of course, professional wrestling has also influenced cybersport tournaments based on fighting games. Such events are incredibly entertaining and maintain emotional intensity, keeping the audience maximally interested in watching them. Thanks to this approach, a strong community has formed around cybersports games.
WWE today announced that John Cena will be at the March 17, March 24, and March 31 Monday Night Raw from Brussels, Glasgow, and London respectively.
“In many ways, this Farewell tour started that July night in London. Some of the loudest (and latest) nights on tour have been in Glasgow. I haven’t seen the beauty of Brussels in over a decade,” Cena wrote on X. “For all of these reasons and many, many more, I’m grateful I can to say ‘Thank You’ to these cities and have one FINAL night together as a family. It’s MY LAST Road to #WrestleMania! LETS GO!”
The Glasgow Raw from the OVO Hydro is hurting when it comes to ticket sales due to the incredibly expensive prices. Cheapest tickets available in Scotland are £172.95 each while the most expensive is £897.70.
There are also a lot of tickets available for Raw in London at The O2 Arena where the cheapest price is £223 while the most expensive is £752. The O2 Arena is also hosting Smackdown the Friday before and combo tickets are also available for those two shows.
The addition of Cena to these European events will surely add some boost to ticket sales, with the crowd over this side of the world, at least for now, resisting to the insane ticket prices that WWE is putting out.
The WWE Superstar Sunday returns on A&E tonight with three new shows – LFG, Rivals, and Greatest Moments – starting at 8PM ET.
Kicking off the three-hour block is WWE’s newest reality competition series LFG, with coaches Undertaker, Booker T, Mickie James, and Bubba Ray Dudley, along with Shawn Michaels and Triple H.
At 9:30PM ET, WWE Rivals returns with Gabriel “Fluffy” Iglesias leading the roundtable discussions. Kevin Owens, Natalya, X-Pac and John “Bradshaw” Layfield will be discussing the Steve Austin vs Undertaker rivalry on tonight’s episode.
Immediately following Rivals WWE’s Greatest Moments debuts hosted by the voice of WWE, Michael Cole. Tonight’s topic is Raw in the 90s.
Jordynne Grace has officially arrived in NXT.
Absent since her debut as a WWE Superstar at the Royal Rumble, the former TNA Knockouts champion made her presence felt at Vengeance Day last night and came to spoil the party at the end of the broadcast.
After Giulia successfully defended her NXT Women’s title against Roxanne Perez, Cora Jade, and Bayley, the new NXT Women’s North American champion Stephanie Vaquer came out to celebrate with her best friend.
With The Beautiful Madness and The Dark Angel both in the middle of the ring with their titles up above their shoulders and credits rolling, the sirens hit the speakers to a monstrous pop from the crowd.
“Oh my God guys, The Juggernaut is here,” screamed Corey Graves on commentary.
The crowd chanted “holy shit” as a smiling Grace stood in front of the new champions.
“The Juggernaut has just sent shockwaves through NXT,” said Vic Joseph as the show faded to black.
A new faction made its debut on NXT last night at Vengeance Day consisting of under-contract athletes Dion Lennox, Saquon Shugars, Cutler James, and Osiris Griffin.
The foursome attacked Frazer, Axiom, Briggs, and Inamura following their tag team title match with fans chanting “Who are you?”
That was not their only appearance of the night though as later in the broadcast, the faction came out to attack NXT champion Oba Femi following his successful title defense.
The four were wearing masks, giving bad vibes of Retribution, although it remains to be seen where this goes.
Out of all four, Dion Lennox is the only one who appeared on NXT television before.
Their debut came after several mystery vignettes aired on NXT leading up to last night’s show.
Two matches for AEW’s Revolution pay-per-view were made official after last night’s Grand Slam: Australia broadcast.
Former AEW World champion Kenny Omega issued a challenge to Konosuke Takeshita for the AEW International title. The two already have a title match against each other under their belt, with Takeshita winning the match at All Out in 2023. But there’s a roadblock for Takeshita first before he moves on to Revolution, as he has to defend the title against the winner of Orange Cassidy vs Roderick Strong first.
Will Ospreay also challenged his former tag team partner Kyle Fletcher in a steel cage match. Fletcher has upended Ospreay twice lately, costing him the International title at WrestleDream and then beat him in a highly-praised one-on-one match at Full Gear. Ospreay beat Fletcher in the Continental Classic semi final last year.
Omega and Ospreay beat Takeshita and Fletcher in a tag match at Grand Slam: Australia last night.
Stephanie Vaquer got her first taste of gold in WWE as she became the new NXT Women’s North American champion last night at Vengeance Day.
Despite interference from Jacy Jayne and Jazmyn Nyx of Fatal Influence, The Dark Angel overcame the odds and defeated Fallon Henley with the Spiral Tap in the opening match of the card with the Washington crowd solidly behind her.
Vaquer, from Chile, becomes the first-ever South American-born champion in WWE. She made her NXT debut in September of last year.
