Former WWE Superstar Trinity Fatu was backstage at the ROH Supercard of Honor last night and then moved to ringside during the Athena vs Sakazaki ROH Women’s championship match.
Fatu, who’s officially no longer part of WWE, has kept a low profile wrestling-wise since she quit WWE along with her former tag team partner Sasha Banks last May. While she has appeared at multiple conventions throughout the year, she stayed largely out of the spotlight when it comes to wrestling.
Fatu is appearing at WrestleCon this weekend. She recently filed to trademark her new name Trinity Starr.
Following yesterday’s incident between Rick Steiner and Gisele Shaw, WrestleCon issued a statement and later put an end to Steiner’s participation in the fan convention.
“WrestleCon regrets the events that took place at yesterday’s convention and apologizes to Gisele Shaw,” WrestleCon said earlier today. “We aim to promote a safe and inclusive environment for all LGBTQAI+ members of the wrestling community. The issue has been addressed and we hope the remainder of the convention can be a positive experience for all.”
PWInsider.com later reported that Rick Steiner was told that he was not welcomed back at the convention for the remainder of the weekend events.
WrestleCon also added that they are trying to facilitate a meeting between the parties involved to talk about the incident but has not be successfully able to do it yet.
Meanwhile, Impact Wrestling also issued a statement, writing, “IMPACT Wrestling stands in full support of @GiseleShaw08 and the LGBTQ+ community. We are saddened by the incident Friday afternoon at Wrestlecon in Los Angeles and hope everyone can learn and be better from it. Thank you to the millions worldwide who have read Gisele’s statement and showed full support for her. Particular thanks go to the organizing staff of Wrestlecon as well as the IMPACT roster and crew who all handled an ugly situation with the utmost professionalism.”
Impact Wrestling star Gisele Shaw wrote on social media that she was heckled by WWE Hall of Famer Rick Steiner at WrestleCon yesterday and was insulted with several homophobic remarks.
“I was at an autograph signing today at Wrestlecon and while I was walking to my table, I hear someone yelling ‘you’re a man,’ ‘you’re a dude,’ ‘you’re a piece of trash,’ ‘You are filth,’ ‘get the f*ck away from here,'” Shaw wrote.
“I kept my head down and kept walking as I did not want to acknowledge that hate. When I arrived at my table, I spoke to another Impact Wrestling talent who was at the signing with me and mentioned the incident. It didn’t sit well with me and I wanted to know who was saying that because it’s unacceptable,” Shaw added, before outing Steiner’s name.
She said she wasn’t writing the post to get sympathy, but rather because she was being bullied to be silenced on International Transgender Day of Visibility.
Shaw thanked all her Impact Wrestling co-workers who were present during the incident and tried to diffuse the situation.
“Unfortunately, a member of that same peer group was also verbally accosted by Rick Steiner being called a ‘faggot’ earlier in the day,” she continued.
Shaw came out as transgender last year with the full support of her employer, Impact Wrestling.
Here are the results from NXT Stand & Deliver premium live event which took place from the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California:
Chase University and Tyler Bate defeated Schism in an eight-person mixed tag team match to retain the control of Chase University in the Kickoff show; Indie Hartwell defeated Roxanne Perez, Zoey Stark, Gigi Dolin, Tiffany Stratton and Lyra Valkyria in a six-woman ladder match to become the new NXT Women’s champion; Gallus defeated The Creed Brothers and The D’Angelo Family in a triple threat tag team match to retain the NXT Tag Team titles; Wes Lee defeated Dragon Lee, JD McDonagh, Ilja Dragunov, and Axiom in a fatal five-way match to retain the NXT North American title; Johnny Gargano defeated Grayson Waller in an unsanctioned match; Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn defeated Fallon Henley and Kiana James to become the new NXT Women’s Tag Team champions; Carmelo Hayes defeated Bron Breakker to become the new NXT champion.
During media interviews this weekend, Cody Rhodes highlighted his real-life rivalry with Seth Rollins, saying that the two don’t like each other and it’s purely due to business decisions and jealousy.
Cody said he almost got in a fight backstage once with Rollins and while the two can’t stand each other, there is respect. He said he has no problems with Seth’s wife Becky, who he described as great and wonderful, but there is a level of dislike when it comes to Rollins.
Speaking to Daniel Cormier of ESPN, Rollins confirmed that and said that considering what he has done over the past several years, he feels he should be in the position that Cody is in right now. He said when Cody left to do his own thing, he was the one who held it down here.
“There are a ton of stories I could tell about that, but I don’t, I keep it to myself. I put my head down, I work hard, I vouch for this company. I feel like, what he’s getting..I’m just not entirely comfortable with it,” Seth said.
He noted that what Cody is getting and what he thinks he should be getting creates “some natural friction” between the two of them.
“When tempers flare, tempers flare. There is a little truth to that, but I can’t get into too many details. There is some level of mutual respect, there has to be in this industry, but at the same time, there is animosity as well,” he said.
It’s WrestleMania Saturday and we are just a few hours away from night one of #39. We are bringing you the latest betting odds this afternoon but always keep in mind that numbers can change, so be careful when betting.
Cena and Theory will kick things off and the United States champion remain firmly in control betting-wise, with Theory having 3/10 odds of retaining while Cena is 11/5 to tie Flair’s title record.
Smackdown Women’s champion Charlotte Flair is in danger of losing her gold as Rhea Ripley is the favorite with 1/6 odds and Flair stands at 33/10.
Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn are looking to dethrone the Bloodline members Jimmy and Jey Uso from their historic reign and they might just do that tonight, with the challengers having 1/10 odds and favorites while the Usos are 24/5 to retain.
A six-woman tag team match will feature tag team champs Becky Lynch and Lita teaming up with Trish Stratus to take on Damage CTRL. Lynch, Lita, and Stratus are favorites with 1/2 odds right now while Bayley, Dakota, and IYO are at 7/5.
Father and son Rey and Dominik Mysterio will finally battle in the ring after months of build-up and it’s Dominik who is favorite in this match, with odds of 4/9 while his dad is 31/20.
In the fatal four-way tag team showcase match, The Street Profits have now moved based Strowman and Ricochet as favorites, with their numbers at 17/20. Strowman and Ricochet are at 2/1 along with Viking Raiders, and Alpha Academy are 7/1.
And last and certainly not least, Seth Rollins will seek revenge against Logan Paul for eliminating him at SummerSlam and Rollins looks to have the upper hand in the bets so far with 1/2 while Paul is 7/5.
Multiple industry insiders are reporting that Drew McIntyre is in his last few months of his WWE contract and so far there have been no agreement over a new deal.
Dave Meltzer of the Observer adds that both sides are “not close” at all to agreeing a contract which would keep him locked to WWE for the next few years.
The 37-year-old Scottish star returned to the company in 2017, first in NXT where he also had a run as NXT champion, and then moved to the main roster a year later. He has enjoyed a relatively successful career in the company since then, even winning the WWE championship twice.
Unfortunately for McIntyre, his run at the top had zero fans as both reigns came during the COVID-19 pandemic. He often noted how he wishes to win a title in front of the WWE fans.
McIntyre is in a triple threat match for the Intercontinental title today at WrestleMania along with Sheamus and champion Gunther.
WWE is receiving a total of $1.8 million in subsidies from Puerto Rico to hold the Backlash premium live event in San Juan this coming May.
Brandon Thurston of Wrestlenomics revealed the news today after receiving information from the Puerto Rico Conventions District Authority. WWE is getting $1.5 million in subsidies plus a non-monetary “in kind” contribution of an additional $300,000 for hosting the event there.
The $300,000 figure will basically cover the costs of renting the Coliseo de Puerto Rico Jose Miguel Agrelot where Backlash will take place.
This is not the first time that WWE were paid, in subsidies, to host an event in a city. Cardiff paid WWE millions to host Clash at the Castle there this past September.
Live from SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, WWE presents WrestleMania 39 night one on Peacock and WWE Network. The full card is as follows:
John Cena vs Austin Theory for the United States title; Charlotte Flair vs Rhea Ripley for the Smackdown Women’s title; The Usos vs Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn for the Undisputed WWE Tag Team titles; Becky Lynch, Lita, and Trish Stratus vs Bayley, IYO SKY, and Dakota Kai in a six-woman tag team match; Seth Rollins vs Logan Paul; Rey Mysterio vs Dominik Mysterio; and Braun Strowman and Ricochet vs The Street Profits vs Alpha Academy vs The Viking Raiders in a fatal four-way tag team match.
Popular DJ Valentino Khan will be welcoming fans inside SoFi Stadium while Becky G will be performing America The Beautiful.
The WrestleMania Kickoff show will start at 6PM ET and airs on WWE.COM, Peacock, WWE Network, and all WWE social media platforms including YouTube and TikTok.
Dante Martin, one half of the AEW tag team Top Flight, suffered a horrific leg injury at the ROH Supercard of Honor last night.
The injury occurred when Penta went for a Canadian Destroyer from a ladder which was set up as a platform and through several tables stacked outside the ring. On the bad landing, Martin’s left leg was totally squashed under the weight and you could see it snap in half.
Several referees immediately rushed to his aid as his left leg was dangling and cameras quickly switched to keep eyes away from it.
Following the show, AEW President Tony Khan confirmed that Dante was in hospital and his brother was with him as well. He did say that it will be a long time before we see him on television again.
Malakai Black, Buddy Murphy, and Andrade El Idolo were all at the WWE Hall of Fame induction ceremony last night accompanying their significant others: Zelina Vega, Rhea Ripley, and Charlotte Flair.
The AEW stars were even spotted on camera once or twice during the ceremony, although Murphy disappeared when they ran the angle of Mysterio, Ripley, and Priest walking out during the Rey speech. Ripley was seated in between Dominik and Murphy during the whole ceremony up until then.
With husband-and-wife teams working for different promotions, this is not uncommon although usually cameras steer away from getting them in frame to avoid any potential issues. Once, Britt Baker was shown on camera during an NXT event when Adam Cole was there and later the company apologized to her.
WWE Superstars usually bring their family to WrestleMania so that often ends up with stars from other promotions hanging out at the WWE hotel for the weekend.
Fans attending WrestleMania today and tomorrow should know that there’s a very strict bag policy at SoFi Stadium and unless your bag matches one on the approved list, you will not be allowed in with it.
Permitted bags should be clear plastic, vinyl or PVC and not exceed 12″ x 6″ x 12”. Other permitted bags include one-gallon clear plastic freezer bags (Ziplock bag or similar) and small clutch bags, which cannot exceed 4″ x 6″ in size, with or without a handle or strap.
Bag types not allowed include, but are not limited to purses larger than a clutch bag, coolers, briefcases, backpacks, fanny packs, diaper bags, cinch bags, non-approved seat cushions, luggage of any kind, computer bags and camera bags or any bag larger than the permissible size.
Speaking of stuff you cannot take in, there’s also an extensive list of prohibited items which you cannot carry with you inside the stadium. Thinking of getting great pictures with a long lens and a tripod or monopod? Nope, that won’t fly. Or maybe you’re planning to take a selfie using a long selfie stick? You better have long hands because that’s not allowed either. What about video cameras? Of course that is not allowed, but no one will stop you from filming through your phone.
And don’t get airhorns, balls – including beach ones – or banners or signs larger than 3 feet x 5 feet. And if you’re bringing a sign, no obscene or offensive signs in nature are allowed.
And then there are the obvious ones: firearms, knives, fireworks (there will be plenty from WWE), drugs, or laser pointers are not allowed.
So yeah, don’t be a jabronie, follow the rules and you will be alright. Don’t try to sneak in something you’re not allowed because chances are you will get caught and ejected.
The town of Oyster Bay, New York, is presenting AEW World champion MJF with the key to the town this coming Monday at a ceremony held at the Oyster Bay Town Hall.
Town Supervisor Joseph Saladino will be doing the honors and MJF, a 2014 graduate of Plainview-Old Bethpage JFK High School, will be there in person to accept it.
“Known to millions as “MJF,” the Town will also proclaim “Maxwell Jacob Friedman Day” in the Town of Oyster Bay in honor of the Champ, who, despite his international success, is exceedingly proud of his hometown roots in the Town of Oyster Bay and has given back through numerous charitable endeavors,” a press release said.
All Elite Wrestling is returning to where it all began for an episode of Dynamite at the Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C. in June.
The company announced that the June 14 episode will be from the nation’s capital and back to the larger Capital One Arena for the first time since the first episode back in October 2019.
Tickets for this Dynamite go on sale on Friday, April 14 on AEWTix.com.
AEW sold out the first episode of Dynamite at the Capital One Arena but then moved their events to the much smaller Entertainment & Sports Arena when visiting Washington.
Live from the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California, WWE presents NXT Stand & Deliver on Peacock and WWE Network. The event will start at 10AM PT / 1PM ET and the full card is as follows:
Bron Breakker vs Carmelo Hayes for the NXT title; Roxanne Perez vs Zoey Stark vs Gigi Dolin vs Tiffany Stratton vs Lyra Valkyria vs Indi Hartwell in a six-woman ladder match for the NXT Women’s title; Wes Lee vs Dragon Lee vs JD McDonagh vs Ilja Dragunov vs Axiom in a fatal five-way match for the NXT North American title; Gallus vs The Creed Brothers vs The D’Angelo Family in a triple threat tag team match for the NXT Tag Team titles; Fallon Henley and Kiana James vs Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn for the NXT Women’s Tag Team title; Johnny Gargano vs Grayson Waller in an unsanctioned match; Chase University and Tyler Bate vs Schism in an eight-person mixed tag team match for the control of Chase University.
Former ROH World champion Nigel McGuinness returned to Ring of Honor at the Supercard of Honor pay-per-view, joining the commentary team.
It’s been over six years since McGuinness was seen at an ROH show and the British star was introduced at the beginning of the Zero Hour show, doing commentary for the entire event.
AEW President Tony Khan welcomed back McGuinness with a tweet, writing, “Great to have you here in LA now at #ROHSuperCardOfHonor for this great ppv event, calling the action with our great hosts @IanRiccaboni and @CapriceColeman tonight for this awesome @ringofhonor show!”
McGuinness worked for ROH between 2003 and 2009 and then from 2012 to 2016 as commentator. He left in late 2016 to join WWE where he did commentary for NXT, NXT UK, and 205 Live. He was released from WWE in October 2022.
The Usos open the show tonight. Before they were even able to say WrestleMania, Sami Zayn’s music hits. Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn are out on the stage and Sami says this will all come to an end tomorrow and we don’t want to leave anything unsaid. Kevin says when he first came to WWE it was the Usos who made him feel welcome. Kevin said he respected them but at the Royal Rumble they tried to take away what he does for a living and if it wasn’t for Sami he wouldn’t be here, but he is, and tomorrow night they are taking those tag team titles.
Jimmy starts talking about family and Jey is his blood and Kevin and Sami wish they had what they have. Sami interrupts and says blood is not the only thing that makes you family, loyalty makes you family. Jey says what do you know about loyalty and Sami says he was always loyal to them but Roman was never loyal to them and they chose blood over loyalty and tomorrow night this all comes to an end.
Jey says no, after you lose tomorrow, Kevin is going to turn on you. And all you will hear is still your Undisputed Tag Team Champions the Usos.
As the Usos walked to the back, The Street Profits came out for the first match, a short stare down with the champs occurred.
Montez Ford VS. Ricochet VS. Chad Gable VS. Erik
After Ford soars over the top taking everyone out on the floor, he throws Gable back in the ring and hits the high frog splash. As he rolls out of the way, Ricochet climbs the ropes and hits the 450 splash and gets the win.
Winner: Ricochet
A recap of Rhea Ripley’s path to facing Charlotte Flair tomorrow night for the Smackdown Women’s Championship.
The Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal
Baron Corbin was eliminated first. The final four are Braun Strowman, Bronson Reed, L.A. Knight and Bobby Lashley. Reed eliminates Knight. Reed eliminates Strowman. Lashley eliminates Reed.
Winner of the 2023 Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal: Bobby Lashley
Raquel Rodriguez VS. Shayna Baszler VS. Sonya Deville VS. Natalya
Rodriguez picks Deville up for the Chingona bomb, Baszler comes in to stop it but gets a boot to the face. Rodriguez slams Deville and pins her.
Winner: Raquel Rodriguez
A recap of Dominik Mysterio taunting Rey and what led to Rey finally hitting him last week and accepting the match at WrestleMania.
Rey is then shown in the back in his tuxedo and Legado del Fantasma comes in and Rey thanks them for helping him last week. Escobar tells Rey if Judgement Day gets involved they will have his back and Rey says if you do, we do it in style and hands them all shirts and kept one for himself and Rey says that is right we are officially the new L.W.O. (Latino World Order).
Sheamus & Drew McIntyre VS. Ludwig Kaiser & Giovanni Vinci
After getting knocked into Drew, Sheamus gets covered by Vinci but only a 2 count. Sheamus then delivers a brogue kick to Vinci and goes for the pin but Kaiser comes in but Drew is back and gives Kaiser a Claymore, so Sheamus covers Vinci and gets the win.
Winners: Sheamus & Drew McIntyre
Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns face to face for the final time before their match Sunday for the WWE Undisputed Universal Championship. Cody says he is the most ready he has ever been but he also feels unprepared. Cody says something feels broken inside and the only thing that can fix it will be beating Roman Reigns. As Cody begins to say this Sunday at WrestleMania he finishes his story, Roman finally comes out.
Roman says Los Angeles…then says Wiseman I don’t care about any of them (the fans). And turns to Cody and says Cody Rhodes…acknowledge me!!! They stare at each other as Roman drops the microphone and the show ends.
Here are the results from the ROH Supercard of Honor 2023 pay-per-view which took place from the Galen Center in Los Angeles, California.
ZERO HOUR: Jeff Cobb defeated Tracy Williams; Konosuke Takeshita defeated Willie Mack; Willow Nightingale defeated Miranda Alize; Stu Grayson defeated Slim J
PPV: El Hijo del Vikingo defeated Komander to retain the AAA Mega Championship; The Embassy defeated AR Fox, Blake Christian, and Metalik in a six-man tag team match to retain the ROH World Six-Man Tag Team titles; Athena defeated Yuka Sakazaki to retain the ROH Women’s World title; Samoa Joe defeated Mark Briscoe to retain the ROH World Television title; Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated Daniel Garcia; The Lucha Brothers defeated Top Flight, The Kingdom, Aussie Open, and La Facción Ingobernable in a “Reach for the Sky” ladder match to become the new ROH World Tag Team champions; Katsuyori Shibata defeated Wheeler Yuta to become the new ROH Pure champion; Claudio Castagnoli defeated Eddie Kingston to retain the ROH title.
AEW Rampage tonight comes to us from the Chaifetz Arena in St. Louis, MO. After last week drawing 373,000 & a 0.10 in the 18-49 demo.
So there’s yet another major announcement coming Wednesday. We’ll see if it lives up to the billing…
*****
Konosuke Takeshita vs Sammy Guevara
Backstory: Guevara wants to prove himself worthy of a shot at MJF’s belt
For the most part, all I ask from a match is the outcome be unpredictable. Guevara’s in the title hunt; Takeshita’s only had one televised win since vowing to return to Japan because he keeps losing.
Also helps that these two are awesome.
Sammy was still stripping as we started, right to a waistlock, Sammy ran through his series of flips into a dropkick then his spinning pose. Crowd absolutely dead as Jungle Boy was shown watching backstage; Takeshita levelled Guevara with a forearm.
Before coming out of a cannon with a Takeshita-line, followed by the import mimicking Guevara’s pose and smiling broadly as Darby Allin too was shown watching
(Like that they’re doing this, all interested in one another’s matches/scouting the other as they compete for a title shot).
The announcers reported on Don Callis being left bloody by the BCC Wednesday, explaining his absence here.
Guevara responded by blocking an avalanche German then draping Takeshita across the ropes for a dropkick. Takeshita answering via big boot before taking flight with a tope con hiro: nasty landing for both, Takeshita on his back but also partly on Sammy’s knee.
Break.
Takeshita fired shots to the gut, Guevara loudly announced a brainbuster; Takeshita countering into one of his own as Melo looked on in shock. Both thought jumping knee strike, banging joints; Sammy missed a roundhouse then ate a release German with Takeshita still on his knees. Impressive.
Elbow strike from Guevara out of the corner, Takeshita caught him into something like a Styles Clash before Sammy flipped out of a deadlift German into a Spanish fly for two. Heading to the top, Guevara landed on his feet out of shooting star press, briefly favoring his knee but recovering to hit a destroyer.
Not learning, he headed back upstairs, paying for it when caught out of a cutter into a blue thunder bomb for another two.
Takeshita himself headed up top, Guevara raced to meet him, both stood atop the buckle, Takeshita finally hit a release German then battered Sammy with a lariat for another close count.
Until Tay grabbed the leg, Sammy hit a leaping knee then the GTH to sneak the win as Excalibur screamed that ‘this is theft!’ Backstage, Allin half-mockingly applauded; Perry shook his head.
Some very cool moves and sequences; felt like it was still getting going. Didn’t have the time to be as good as it could.
It was Perry last week, presumably Wednesday will be Sammy’s turn to confront MJF one-on-one since whoever does so in Long Island will be booed anyway.
Winner: Sammy Guevara
Unfortunately, QTV’s not dead as the quest to make a new top heel continues. Oh, you thought I meant Hobbs? Nope, see this one was all about Marshall’s new finisher.
The ‘Dirt Sheet Driver’, which he ‘stole from Kobashi’. ‘Sausage?’ enquired Solo.
‘The marks already love it cause it’s from Japan,’ QT continued.
Before it was suggested he hit it four times in a row and call it the Dirt Sheet Symphony as they all chanted ‘QTTTTTTT, QTTTTTT’ a la Wardlow.
Burnt my knuckle on a grill the other day, far less painful than watching this excruciating exercise in televised masturbation.
Hobbs, thankfully, was nowhere to be seen. So now we’re only wasting television time rather than wasting television time and dragging down a young talent. Progress.
*****
Lexi Nair with Matt Hardy & Ethan Page – Matt has handled all the paperwork for Ethan’s upcoming match with Hook since Stokely’s absent. ‘You got my back? Gimme yours…’ said Page with a big smile as he used Matt’s back to sign the doc while Hardy gave a can you believe this guy? look to the camera.
This angle’s a lot of fun.
Kings of the Black Throne vs Best Friends
Backstory: None
Damn man, the HOB are neither opening or closing? And still we don’t get Malakai’s entrance. Been far too long.
Sparked by JR, all four commentators listed people with sleep apnea. Not making that up.
Malakai hit a shot to the gut, Trent responded with a leaping double knee but was quickly blasted by a stiff kick. Tag to Taylor, Malakai ducked a wild swing and hit a flurry ending with a knee to the gut.
To the corner for chops and deliberate, measured punches, Black dragged Taylor to the heels’ corner as the HOB doubled up; Taylor briefly fought back with a boot to the face but ate one from Malakai into a King lariat, Trent broke up the pin before it got dangerous.
The House then beat the Friends around ringside as the ads arrived.
Slugging it out in the middle, Trent got the tag, knocked Brody off the apron, discus shot to Black, avoided Brody in the corner, dropped Malakai with a suplex, hit a tornado ddt on Brody who rolled outside where Beretta hit a crisp tope then a shotgun dropkick on Malakai back inside for two.
Then spoiled it all with a half-and-half soul food combo before the stupid hug. Fittingly, King smashed Chuck immediately, Trent bridged him outside but was caught and chokeslammed neck-first against the apron after being caught mid-tope.
Why on earth does Beretta keep doing these things on his surgically repaired neck? Please stop.
Chuck prevented a Black chairshot, paying for it by being blasted through the table at ringside via King powerbomb as Trent hit King with a chair and Malakai did likewise to Trent for a rare DQ/stoppage.
The hell?
The House were beating down Taylor, readying their finish as Cassidy’s music hit. Though he was quickly taken out by Buddy Matthews. Excalibur insinuated that this was all part of the HOB’s plan. See they knew Trent was itching to hit someone with a chair mid-match.
They then completed Dante’s Inferno.
That’s quite a comedown from facing the Elite & Jericho. The HOB continue to be overlooked, even after winning back to back matches against big stars.
Winner: Kings of the Black Throne
A look at the everlasting rivalry between Swerve and Keith Lee. Lee said Swerve was upset he took out his guys, who are apparently still gone.
Then warned Swerve that he knew what he had to do and had a nice line about burying Swerve to make him an ‘underground rapper’.
Strickland said he’ll ‘cherish the day I take you out for good’.
Look forward to that one in 2025.
Taya Valkyrie vs Marina Shafir
Backstory: Taya’s threatened with a court order courtesy of Jade Cargill if she uses Road to Valhalla/Jaded
Interesting to see Shafir used this way after Jon Moxley talked her up on Renee’s show this week. On the subject, she very deliberately removed her shoes and socks before the match, as Moxley had suggested because he likes the way she moves barefoot in Bloodsport.
Jade etc. came out to watch.
Shafir targeted the arm, transitioning into a choke, missing a running knee, Valkyrie hit a knee and a clothesline for an unsuccessful pin attempt.
More Shafir kicks to the shins, Valkyrie struggling, Shafir looking for a body scissors, Taya blocking it, blocking a knee strike too, another lariat, up into Road to Valhalla for the win.
This was a match trying to do two things at once and achieving neither as a result.
The court processor Jade hired brought a court order to Taya. Who smilingly took the document then hit Road to Valhalla on her too.
A furious Jade had to be held back from rushing the ring.
It’s like they just wrote Banned Move Angle next to this feud without any thought as to how to go about it.
Winner: Taya Valkyrie
Anna Jay with Lexi backstage. Why did she attack Julia Hart Wednesday? Apparently, Hart had irritated Jay at some point during the JAS/HOB match.
‘Pain doesn’t bother me cause I’ve got a fat ass and a bad attitude’. (I’m at least one for two on that and pain definitely bothers me.)
Before calling Hart a ‘spooky bitch’ then doing her whole ‘unhinged’ I’m gonna choke you out thing. Lexi ran for it.
Still no real idea why she attacked Julia.
*****
They replayed Robinson’s rasping promo advising Starks to watch what he did to Andretti.
*****
Battle of the Belts IV is next Friday. Nothing was announced for it.
Juice Robinson vs Action Andretti
Backstory: Robinson’s vowed to do to Andretti what he wants to do to Ricky Starks, ahead of their match next Wednesday
Similar to Takeshita/Sammy this one’s somewhat tough to predict. Presumably Juice takes the W ahead of his clash with Ricky next week. But that’d further diminish Andretti, who already feels forgotten.
Juice got at least some reaction from the crowd. More than can be said for Andretti.
Flying out the blocks, a rabid Juice was quickly rolled up for two after Action dodged a lariat. The youngster continued to get the better of the vet’s aggression: slipping out of a belly to back, blocking a lariat then taking him down via springboard armdrag.
Responding, Robinson hit stiff chops in the corner, shrieking at Andretti, very loudly in a silent arena: ‘come on Ricky Starks!’ (This feud just doesn’t have near enough behind it for either to be acting the way they are. Though at least Juice’s gimmick is that he’s unhinged.)
Andretti came back with a tejeiras, following with a tornillo off the bottom rope.
Rare break with the face on top.
A chestbreaker left Action down as a low ‘Let’s go Ricky!’ chant started. Amused me anyway.
Continuing to work the gut via kitchen sink, Juice had Action down again before flinging him hard to the buckle and continuing to call the youngster ‘Ricky’.
Andretti fled to the apron, ducked a shot, diving elbow strike, another, Juice staggering, a smooth diving-spinning uppercut, enziguri, tope suicida, Robinson down on the outside, Andretti back to the apron, springboard moonsault, landing on his feet, springboard lariat back inside, the crowd warming up a bit at this rapid onslaught as Action finished with a ddt for two.
Following with a kick to the face but running into a leg lariat; Juice is Loose for the win.
Robinson then set up Roshambeaux, posing a la Starks as Ricky’s music hit to run off the heel.
They REALLY pushed Khan’s major announcement, including going off the air doing so.
We’re one day away from night one of WrestleMania 39 and today we will bring you the early odds for the show. Tomorrow night we will update the numbers according to what the market is showing.
Please remember that these odds will likely change so be careful when betting with real money.
In the United States title match, Austin Theory is the favorite to retain his title against John Cena, with Theory at 3/10 while Cena’s odds are at 11/5. Try out a Bovada bonus code.
Will we see a new Smackdown Women’s champion? Rhea Ripley is currently the favorite to win the title tomorrow with her odds standing at 1/6 while the champion Charlotte Flair is at 33/10 to retain.
It looks like oddsmakers are thinking that not on, but two titles will change hands as Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens are also favorites to win the Undisputed WWE Tag Team titles from The Usos. The Canadian frenemies are 1/10 heavy favorites while The Bloodline members are 24/5 to retain.
Seth Rollins is set to get some freaking revenge on Logan Paul and Rollins is on course to beat him with 1/2 odds and favorite while Paul is at 7/5.
Lita and Trish Stratus return to the grandest stage of them all when they team up with Becky Lynch to take on Damage CTRL in a six-woman tag match. The faces are favorites with odds of 1/2 while the heels are 7/5 in their odds.
The Mysterios will clash in their first-ever one-on-one but it’s the son, Dominik, who has the upper hand in the numbers. Dom is is 4/7 favorite to beat his Hall of Famer father Rey whose odds are 13/10.
And in the final match, Braun Strowman and Ricochet are favorites in the fatal four-way showcase match with 1/1 odds while their opponents, Viking Raiders, The Street Profits, and Alpha Academy trail with 27/20, 7/4, and 14/1 odds.
