AEW is teaming up with Joe Hand Promotions again to air this Sunday’s Revolution pay-per-view in select theaters, bars, and restaurants across the United States and Canada.
Participating theaters include AMC, Cinemark, Regal, Marcus Theatres, Harkins Theatres, Showcase Cinemas, Megaplex Movie Theatres, Southern Theatres, Emagine Entertainment, Galaxy Theatres and additional bars and restaurants nationwide. Fans in Canada can catch the event in select Landmark Cinemas and Cineplex locations.
“We are proud of our partnership with AEW and excited to see continued growth in bars and restaurants for the upcoming Revolution event on March 5,” said Joe Hand, Jr., President, Joe Hand Promotions. “There’s truly nothing like watching AEW with a group of friends and enjoying the action, and now fans can do that at select Dave & Buster’s or Tom’s Watch Bar locations and many of America’s premier movie theaters.”
To locate a theater, bar or restaurant showing Revolution, fans can check the Joe Hand Promotions’ website.
With WrestleMania marketed as being in Hollywood, you need an A-lister as the host, and what bigger A-lister can you get than…The Miz!?
The only two-time grand slam champion announced last night on Raw that he will be the host of the two-night WrestleMania next month. WWE did not have hosts for last year’s WrestleMania but Hulk Hogan and Titus O’Neil were the hosts for WrestleMania 37.
Meanwhile, Brock Lesnar has accepted the challenge to take on Omos at WrestleMania 39. The former WWE champion was on MVP’s VIP Lounge yesterday and shared a drink with MVP to celebrate the match…only for MVP to get an F5 for spitting the drink on Lesnar.
And in another WrestleMania update, Finn Balor has challenged Edge for a match on the show. The two were supposed to wrestle at the Rumble but filming commitments from Edge put a pause on the encounter. Edge has not yet accepted the challenge.
Out first Jimmy Uso and Solo Sikoa. Jimmy says from the outside looking in, there appears to be cracks in the Bloodline but family fight all the time. The Street Profits came out and began talking about Jey and joking about him coming from the crowd, but he did not show up. Then they get in the ring and Jimmy cuts them off and talks about already being beat down by the Bloodline. Montez then cuts Jimmy off and he hit Jimmy as Dawkins hits Solo and a fight ensued.
Jimmy Uso & Solo Sikoa VS. The Street Profits
As the Street Profits set Jimmy up for a team maneuver off the top rope, Solo recovers and pushes Montez off the top rope and superkicks Dawkins. Solo then hits Dawkins with the Samoan Spike and gets the win.
Winners: Jimmy Uso & Solo Sikoa
After the match, Jimmy and Solo continue to beat on the Profits. Solo sets Montez up in the corner with Montez down with a chair around his neck and as Solo runs toward Montez he is met with a superkick from Kevin Owens. Owens then gives Jimmy a stunner and leaves the ring.
Brock Lesnar is out next to answer the challenge of Omos from last week for a match at WrestleMania. As Lesnar enters the ring, the ring is set up for the VIP Lounge but MVP is not out here yet. Lesnar sits down on the loveseat in the ring. MVP’s music hits and he comes out. Lesnar tells MVP he apologizes for being early and welcomed him to join him in the ring, but MVP is hesitating and Lesnar says he is there to talk business. Lesnar promised MVP no suplexes tonight.
Lesnar said he wanted to hear MVP in person and wants MVP to sell him a fight. MVP says Lesnar can put his hands on anyone and F5 anyone and beat them but he won’t be able to do that to Omos. Lesnar said he accepts his challenge. They said they need to shake hands and drink to the match and MVP wanted to open champagne but Lesnar pulls out a flask and says he is just a farmer and he grows his own and takes a big drink and then makes MVP drink it and MVP spits it all over Lesnar and after helping Lesnar clean it off him, Lesnar gave MVP an F5.
Cathy Kelly interviews Lita and Becky Lynch about their Tag Team Championship match tonight against Damage Control. Lita says to walk as tag champs would be great and she has been making history for years and she is not done yet. Becky says its been a secret bucket list to be a tag team champion but she doesn’t play well with others and there is no other woman she respects more than Lita. And if Bayley gets involved they will deal with her as well.
Cody Rhodes was shown walking backstage he has a match tonight with Chad Gable.
Cody Rhodes VS. Chad Gable
Otis outside the ring is distracted looking into the audience and Gable gets bounced off the announce table and Rhodes throws Gable back in the ring. He goes over to Otis and puts his arm around Otis and they begin to talk and says yes she is pretty and Otis looks, then looks again. Otis goes after Cody only for Cody to dump him over the barricade into the crowd. Cody gets back inside, runs up the ring ropes and jumps down and hits Gable with a Cody Cutter, then Cross Rhodes for the win.
Winner: Cody Rhodes
After the match, Cody gets a microphone and he says he thinks they are 33 days away from WrestleMania and he has not even stood in the same ring with his opponent and says Roman is going to be at Smackdown Friday and he is excited because he is going to be there too.
Byron Saxton interviews Baron Corbin backstage. Corbin says its no secret things have not been going his way. And Byron cuts him off and runs and finds Kevin Owens.
Byron asked if Kevin is afraid of repercussions of his actions against the Bloodline tonight. Kevin says he is not and is not going to stop until he gets what he wants and does not want any help doing it.
The Judgement Day and Dominik says Rey is a horrible wrestler and father and he is going to be there again Friday to have a heart to heart with him as Rhea will take on Liv Morgan Friday. Rhea says she didn’t have to say a word to Charlotte and she is going to beat her at WrestleMania. Balor says to Edge it is not over until he says it’s over. Balor challenges Edge to a match at WrestleMania.
Otis is approached by Maxine Dupri, and asked Otis if he thought about their offer and she wanted to see Otis in a match and Otis says he can do that and starts yelling for Adam Pearce and Adam says yes they can do that.
Asuka VS. Carmella
After several reversals Asuka locked in the Asuka lock and Carmella had no choice but to tap out.
Winner: Asuka
Asuka gets a microphone and calls out Bianca Belair who comes to the ring. Bianca tells Asuka she doesn’t know what she said but hopes it is that they are going to tear the house down at WrestleMania because you can’t spell WrestleMania without EST. As both Asuka and Bianca are looking at the WrestleMania sign, Carmella attacks Asuka from behind causing her to go headfirst into the jaw of Bianca.
Piper Niven VS. Candace LeRae
Nikki Cross follows Candace out to ringside.
As Candace goes to the top rope, Niven pushes her off and Candace falls to the floor. Niven throws Candace back in the ring and turns and sees Nikki and grabs Nikki by her hair and slams her against the barricade. Niven rolls back in the ring and looks out at Nikki and smiles and Candace rolls Niven up and gets the pin.
Winner; Candace LeRae
Byron interviews Johnny Gargano who will have a match with Otis tonight. As Johnny talks, the Judgement Day show up and Johnny says Byron is interviewing a grown up not a bunch of people going through a goth phase. Balor says if Otis doesn’t gobble you up tonight, I will finish the job next week and Johnny says sounds delicious see you next week.
Out next The Miz for Miz TV. He says he will reveal what the note Maryse gave him last week. The Miz brings out the Host of WrestleMania and introduces himself as the host of WrestleMania. As he goes over some of the matches and says he is excited about hosting WrestleMania, he gets interrupted by Seth “Freakin” Rollins. The crowd continued to sing Seth’s song and Miz tried to quiet the crowd which did not work and asks Seth what he is doing here.
Seth says he just came out to congratulate him and not rain on his parade and Miz said you have been raining on my parade for the past three weeks. Seth says he stomped him last week because he was being a bit of a B-hole. The Miz said I am a B-nothing I am an A lister so Seth says so you’re an A-. The Miz stopped him and Seth said look I just wanted you to do me a favor and get a hold of Logan Paul for him. Seth says no because Logan is his problem not his and he is going to WrestleMania not him because Seth is just a goof in a stupid jacket and Seth superkicks the Miz.
So Seth picks up the Miz’s phone which flew out of his hand after the superkick. Seth goes over and puts the phone up to the Miz’s face and unlocks the phone and Seth is making a call and Logan says Miz stop calling me and Seth says sorry but the Miz is a little out of commission. Seth says to show up next week and go face to face with Seth “Freakin” Rollins and Logan says sounds good. Seth says one more thing “Bye, Bye Bitch” Seth then stomps the Miz.
Cathy Kelly in the back and finds Damage Control and Bayley says Becky and Lita does not stand a chance against Damage Control.
Austin Theory walks up to Cathy Kelly and he is shocked no one is talking about him and his achievements, but they are talking about John Cena coming back next week. Austin says next week he is going to look John Cena in the face and give him all the respect he deserves and just hopes Cena does the same to him.
Bobby Lashley VS. Elias
Elias was getting the upper hand while the fight was going on outside the ring, But Bobby throws Elias back in the ring and hit the flatliner, a spear and locked in the Hurt Lock and Elias immediately tapped out.
Winner: Bobby Lashley
After the match, Lashley said he dominated Brock Lesnar and now he gets Bray Wyatt and his little kid games and Lashley said he doesn’t play games and tells Wyatt to keep his name out of his mouth.
Bray is shown on the screen and a song of doing a muscle man dance which had Lashley pictured several times then it turns dark and says You should run.
Lashley just looked and walked in the back.
Chelsea Green in Adam Pearce’s office and Chelsea is still complaining about travel issues and Adam says he has a phone call to take and Carmella walks in and Adam says yes you can get your hands on Bianca next week and leaves and Carmella and Chelsea start talking.
Otis VS. Johnny Gargano
As the action spills out of the ring the Maximum Male Models went after Gargano and Dexter Lumis dressed in Black grabs Mace’ and pulls him as Gargano superkicks Mansoor. Gargano then kicks Otis and jumps in over the rope and hits his DDT on Otis for the win.
Winner: Johnny Gargano
Cathy Kelly in the back gets to interview Paul Heyman who says this is his favorite time of year. Paul says that Cody is coming to confront Roman Reigns and Cathy says he never actually said that he just said he was going to be there too. Paul says lets up the ante and says Cody Rhodes is coming to Friday Night Smackdown to confront Roman Reigns or Cody Rhodes will be confronted by Roman Reigns.
Iyo Sky & Dakota Kai VS. Lita & Becky Lynch for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship
As Becky is getting worked over in the ring and is in bad need of a tag, Bayley slides one of the titles in the ring and pulls Lita off the apron onto the floor. Iyo and Dakota did not get a chance to use the title but did a double team move on Becky but Becky kicks out.
As Damage Control all look frustrated some familiar music starts to play and Hall of Famer Trish Stratus arrives and runs down the aisle and immediately jumps on Bayley. Trish knocks out Bayley and runs over and hugs Lita and Lita climbs back up on the apron as Iyo tags Dakota back in. Becky gets up and drops Dakota chin first on her head and tags in Lita.
Iyo back in Lita going up for a moonsault but Iyo pulls her off the ropes and goes to the top rope herself. Lita moves and Iyo misses her moonsault. Lita climbs the ropes, but Bayley is back up and Trish again pulls Bayley down and delivers a chick kick. Dakota comes over to try and pull Lita down but Becky stops her and locks her in an armbar lock on the apron. Lita finishers her climb and hits the moonsault and gets the pin.
Winners and New WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions: Lita & Becky Lynch
Trish comes in to celebrate with the new champions as Raw goes off the air.
Trish Stratus made her return on Raw last night and helped Becky Lynch and Lita defeat Damage CTRL to win the WWE Women’s Tag Team titles in the main event of the show.
Bayley kept interfering on behalf of Damage CTRL and that led to the arrival of the WWE Hall of Famer, who sprinted to the ring and took down Bayley. She then hugged Lita at ringside.
The ending game when IYO missed a moonsault on Lita and Lita hit the Twist of Fate and went for her own moonsault but Bayley interfered again. Trish took her down and delivered the Chick Kick to finish her. Dakota then tried to grab Lita’s leg but Becky locked the Disarm-her on the apron, allowing Lita to hit the moonsault on IYO and cover her for the pin.
Lita, Becky, and Trish then celebrated in the ring as fireworks went off.
Glasgow, Scotland (February 27, 2023): FITE announced that Insane Championship Wrestling (ICW) will now be exclusively on FITE+, joining an ever-growing array of live and on demand content from some of the most exciting pro-wrestling and combat sports providers.
ICW was founded in Glasgow in 2006 by Mark Dallas and went on to present shows throughout the UK and be named the UK Promotion of the year multiple times by Fighting Spirit magazine along with documentary features by VICE and the BBC. Noted talent includes ICW World Heavyweight Champion Leyton Buzzard, Molly Spartan, former NXT UK star Kenny Williams and new ICW Woman’s Champion Rhio.
“What ICW has done is incredibly impressive,” said Michael Weber, COO of FITE. “The production quality, the talent, the storylines are all top notch and they’ve created a really distinctive place in pro-wrestling that the UK knows and loves. It’s ready to get its due in the States.”
ICW on FITE+ will include every new weekly show on Fridays at 7 PM BST / 3 PM ET TIME and exciting monthly drops from their massive past catalog of more than 1,000 hours. The first Friday show will stream on FITE+ March 3rd!
Also, FITE will offer four PPV tentpole events from ICW each year.
“Everyone at Insane Championship Wrestling is incredibly excited to be partnering with FITE,” said ICW Founder Mark Dallas. “We couldn’t think of a better place to be the new exclusive home of our unique brand of pro wrestling insanity than the world’s leading global combat sports platform.”
FITE+, the Best Value in Combat Sports, is only $7.99 monthly and $69.99 yearly. New customers can enjoy a 7-day free trial. Subscribers get a special selection of premium events from pro wrestling promotions including Game Changer Wrestling and NWA; as well as leaders in boxing, MMA, BJJ and more such as Triller Fight Club Fight2Win, SlapFight Championship, Shamrock FC, and Star Boxing. The subscription also offers unlimited on-demand access to the entire FITE+ library with over 4000 hours from more than 100 organizations from around the world.
Sami Zayn will get another shot at the WWE Undisputed Universal title…at a non-televised live event this weekend in Canada.
Roman Reigns has been added to the March 4 show at the Coca-Cola Coliseum in Toronto featuring stars from Smackdown. This is a rare house show appearance – and title defense – by Reigns who is no longer part of the traveling crew except for special occasions.
Also on the show will be Gunther vs Drew McIntyre for the Intercontinental title, Charlotte Flair vs Sonya Deville for the Smackdown Women’s title, Kevin Owens vs Solo Sikoa, and Bray Wyatt vs LA Knight in a lights out street fight.
Tickets for this event are still available at Ticketmaster.ca.
The March 6 episode of Monday Night Raw featuring the return of John Cena has surpassed the 10,000 tickets sold. This marks another strong television crowd for the company which has been breaking record after record when it comes to gate money in different markets.
This episode of Raw was already at around 7,000+ tickets sold but when Cena was announced to be appearing, nearly 3,000 more tickets were quickly sold, showing the drawing power of the 16-time world champion. Cena is expected to be at WrestleMania as well and this appearance will most likely set up his match.
The TD Garden is currently configured for just over 11,500 fans and around 1,500 tickets remain after more sections were opened according to @WrestleTix.
WWE was at the TD Garden last for Survivor Series 2022 where over 15,000 fans witnessed WarGames for the first time on the main roster. That was the highest-grossing WWE event in TD Garden history.
In an interview with Ariel Helwani for BT Sport, WWE Superstar Bayley discussed her relationship with the former Sasha Banks and said that she thinks she will eventually come back to WWE because “that’s where her heart is.”
Helwani brought up the subject of Mercedes Varnado and pointed out how Bayley traveled to Japan to see her best friend make her NJPW debut at Wrestle Kingdom.
Bayley said she flew to Japan after Raw went off the air and landed two hours before Wrestle Kingdom started. She said she sat in the crowd incognito and there was no way she was going to miss it. Bayley mentioned that Mercedes has been there for her for the big moments in her career and wanted to do the same for her as well.
Helwani said that there was some hope when Triple H took over that the now IWGP Women’s champion would be back in WWE and Bayley quickly said, “I’ll never give up hope. I’ll never give up home that she’ll come back.”
Asked point blank if she thinks her best friend would ever come back to WWE, Bayley answered, “Hm…I’ll say yes. Because, I mean, this is her home, this is her dream.”
Bayley said that she’s looking forward to see what Mercedes will do over the next few months, taking over the world by storm.
“But I know this is her home and this is where her heart is,” Bayley said, before jokingly adding, “And by ‘her heart’ I mean mean me…she comes back to me!”
Former WWE champion Drew McIntyre has issued a challenge to Intercontinental champion Gunther for a match at WrestleMania 39.
McIntyre, whose run as a champion came during the pandemic era and never walked out with – or won – the titles in front of fans, made the challenge during the Smackdown Lowdown show.
The Scotsman won the Intercontinental title once during his first run with the company but won the WWE title twice since his return several years ago.
Gunther had a match of the year with Drew’s buddy Sheamus at Clash at the Castle last September.
Cody Rhodes had a Bullet Club reunion with Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson last night at the non-televised live event in Champaign, Illinois.
Following his win against Finn Balor, Judgment Day came out to rescue Balor, and Gallows and Anderson came out to even the odds. Earlier in the show, Gallows and Anderson beat Priest and Mysterio in a tag match.
After all the dust cleared, Rhodes grabbed the mic and addressed Gallows and Anderson.
“At one point I was part of…The Club! I tried to change the logo, and I am sorry about that but it doesn’t change what’s in here,” Rhodes said, pointing to his chest.
“Guys, I’m just like everybody else…I still want to be part of The Club,” he continued.
After a few seconds thinking about it, Gallows and Anderson threw up the Too Sweet hand sign and Cody went in as well to make the fans pop.
Ring of Honor begins tapings for their new weekly TV series today at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida.
Tapings will be held at Soundstage 19 later tonight and they will also be taping additional episodes tomorrow night.
The new episodes, which will air on Ring of Honor’s HonorClub streaming service only, will start on March 2.
AEW will also make use of Soundstage 19 to film episodes of AEW Dark tomorrow. Those tapings start at 1PM and will go on for three hours before the evening tapings of ROH.
If anyone wants to attend these tapings they can purchase tickets from AEWTix.com starting at $20, or $30 for the ROH two-day tapings, or $45 for both ROH tapings and Dark as well.
Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer is reporting that Kenny Omega’s AEW contract has been extended due to his time injured.
Omega’s original deal was for four years expiring on January 31, 2023 but Omega spent nine months on the sidelines due to several injuries and surgeries he had to undergo.
It’s not known how many more months have been added to his original agreement but his contract did include an injury clause to make up for time spent away from the company.
Omega was one of the several stars suspended from the company in the aftermath of the All Out brawl but those two months out were not added.
It has been rumored that WWE were willing to go after Omega after his deal expires to try and lure him away from AEW.
Here are the results from last night’s No Surrender 2023 which aired live from Sam’s Town Live in Sunrise Manor, Nevada on the Impact Plus and YouTube streaming services.
Gisele Shaw defeated Deonna Purrazzo in the pre-show; Jonathan Gresham defeated Mike Bailey in the pre-show; Frankie Kazarian defeated Kon; Jessicka and Taya Valkyrie defeated Allysin Kay and Marti Belle to retain the Impact Knockouts Tag Team titles; Joe Hendry defeated Moose in a Dot Combat match to retain the Impact Digital Media title; Steve Maclin defeated Brian Myers, Heath, and PCO in a four-way match to determine the #1 contender for the Impact World title; Ace Austin, Chris Bey, and Kenta defeated Alex Shelley, Chris Sabin, and Kushida in a six-man tag team match; Mickie James defeated Masha Slamovich to retain the Impact Knockouts title; Josh Alexander defeated Rich Swann to retain the Impact World title.
Smackdown opens with a recap of the ending of Roman Reigns and Sami Zayn’s Elimination Chamber match and Monday Night Raw’s interaction with Sami and Kevin Owens.
In the back, Kayla Braxton stops and interviews Jimmy Uso and Jimmy says he has not talked to Jey Uso and left a message for him to meet him in the ring tonight to get everything off his chest.
Braun Strowman & Ricochet & Madcap Moss VS. Imperium
As the battle spills outside, Gunther comes to Braun from behind and gives Braun a couple chops that had no effect. Madcap comes in and goes after Gunther but Gunther counters and powerbombs him for the win.
Winners: Imperium
During the match, Drew McIntyre comes out to look on and after the match The Viking Raiders attack Drew. Sheamus comes out and they get help from Braun and Ricochet and the Raiders go running.
Kayla interviews Rey Mysterio backstage and Rey says he is going to put an end to Karrion Kross once and for all and is interrupted by Santos Escobar who says he wants to show the WWE Universe how much he respects Rey. They get interrupted by Dominik Mysterio and Santos says he will teach Dominik respect. Rhea comes in and Santos stares at Dominik. Santos tells Rey not to let Dominik bother him and Rey says how can I not let it bother me he is my son.
Jimmy Uso is shown talking to Solo Sikoa with Paul Heyman in the background about Jey. Jimmy says he thinks Jey is spooked over this whole Sami thing and Paul says if that is the case why doesn’t Solo stay back here with me and you handle Jey…Uso to Uso…twin to twin. And Jimmy agrees.
L.A. Knight is in the ring next and says he didn’t come here to have a WrestleMania moment he came here to make money, win titles and how he is going to do that is by going to WrestleMania. He is going to give WrestleMania an L.A. Knight moment. The New Day came out. Xavier asked him how long he has been here two and a half months and who he thinks he is to demand anything.
Knight says I don’t remember calling the Nerd Day out here. Xavier says being nerds have made them a lot of money. And goes on to say WrestleMania moments are not just handed out they are earned. Xavier talked about Kofi’s WrestleMania moment and Knight asked how that worked out for you? Kofi says pretty well since I won the World title but he is not going to wait to shut Knight up tonight. Knight says if that is a challenge come on in the ring.
Xavier says Adam Pearce if you’re listening, and I know you are because you are good at your job let’s make this happen.
L.A. Knight VS. Kofi Kingston
After Knight climbed the ropes, Xavier distracted him by playing the trumpet and Kofi knocked him down off the rope and as Knight comes off the rope, Kofi lands a trouble in paradise kick and pins Knight.
Winner: Kofi Kingston
Charlotte Flair comes to the ring and asks if Rhea is scared or having second thoughts about choosing her and Dominik comes out and says he is not going to let her talk Rhea down. Charlotte says this is adult time to go get his mami so they can talk. Dominik says she sounds jealous.
As Dominik goes on, Charlotte stops him and says she has a real Latino man at home who calls her mami and with a real thicker accent so she doesn’t know what Dominik is talking about. Dominik tells Charlotte they have a lot in common, she is second generation superstar, he is third, both have fathers who they are better than, and called Rey a deadbeat father again, and after the crowd boos him for several minutes Dominik continues by says after mami beats you at WrestleMania you will know that your father was right. “You are just not good enough.”
Charlotte says unlike you Dom, I love my dad. She says her Dad is 73, well 74 tomorrow, and says he can still go and if he was here he would kick your butt but since he is not here she drops the microphone and starts to take off the title. As she steps to Dominik, Rhea’s music hits.
As Rhea comes in the ring and gets in Charlotte’s face, Dominik pulls her back and they leave the ring, Charlotte holds out her arms then picks up her title and holds it in the air. Rhea comes back in the ring and Charlotte just waves at her and says “Bye Rhea” and blows her a kiss and Dominik again pulls her back and they exit the ring again.
Natalya with Tegan Nox VS. Shayna Baszler with Ronda Rousey
Natalya goes out and throws Shayna back inside and Natalya argued with Ronda and then turns to get in the ring and Shayna hits her with a knee then locks in her arm submission and Natalya taps out.
Winner: Shayna Baszler
As Shayna and Ronda go to beat down Natalya more, Tegan makes the save as Shayna pulls Ronda to the back Ronda says Tegan is done next week.
Firehouse Funhouse is shown with Bray Wyatt.
Jimmy with Solo and Heyman and Heyman says he just received a text from the Tribal Chief and Jimmy needs to handle Jey tonight or he will handle him next week personally.
Rey Mysterio VS. Karrion Kross
As Rey sets Karrion up for the 619, Scarlet crawls up on the ring ropes on the opposite side and as Rey runs into the ropes, Scarlet tumbles over into the ring, Rey looks back they begins to run again, this time is pulled out of the ring by Dominik right before he hit Kross.
Dominik then tries to get Rey to hit him as Kross is in the ring recovering. As Dominik asks if Rey is going to hit him, Rey just puts his head down and slides into the ring. Rey then turns right into a forearm shot from Kross and gets locked in the Kross Jacket. The referee checks Rey and calls for the bell.
Winner: Karrion Kross
After the match, Dominik gets in the ring and kicks at Rey then tells Rey to get up and hit him. Rey gets up and Dominik pushes Rey and says what are you going to do about it and pushes Rey again. Dominik asks if Rey wants to hit him and then pushes Rey in the face. Dominik pushes Rey back with both hands into the ropes, this time Rey stands up and goes chest to chest with Dominik. Rey has his hand clenched and Dominik says be a man and do it. Rey then calms down and begins to turn. Dominik says that’s exactly what I thought, Rey turns his back to Dominik and Dominik spins Rey around and yells at Rey to DO IT. Dominik then headbutts Rey and says you’re not going to do it. And Rey says he can’t hit his son and kicks the bottom rope and slides out of the ring as Dominik yells you see this.
Jimmy Uso now in the ring and says to Jey if you’re not here I know you are out there watching somewhere and I know your turn and I know your hurting and when you hurt I hurt. I am always going to be here for you Uce, like I need you here with me now. We have a Sami Zayn problem, a Kevin Owens problem. We need to defend these tag team titles and I know you have issues with the Tribal Chief and I can’t do this alone.
Sami Zayn comes to the ring. He says he is not here to fight he is here to talk, and he is hurting because it was Jimmy who made him the honorary Uce. He is the one that believed in him before Jey. He said at the Elimination Chamber he took him down without hesitation that hurt.
As they start talking about family and Sami says family doesn’t make you prove yourself week after week to prove your worth something. Sami then tells Jimmy what he told Jey there is a way out and you don’t have to go down with the ship. As Jey arrives in the crowd, Jimmy goes right after Sami. Sami takes advantage while Jimmy was looking back at Jey and hits Jimmy with a Helluva kick. Sami then rolls out of the ring and looks at Jey as Solo Sikoa comes in the ring to assist Jimmy and Sami jumps into the crowd.
Last Week’s Rating: 287,000 overall; 0.07 in 18-49 demo
Those are both record lows. With the obvious caveat that it was out of timeslot. Though it did 0.14 in the demo for the same show last year.
It’s Friday Night, and you know what that means… it’s time for our Rampage Review!
…..
Young Bucks vs Aussie Open (Mark Davis & Kyle Fletcher)
Backstory: None
Straight to the ring, Matt and Mark Davis setting us off as a Kyle Fletcher cheap shot immediately put AO on top. Davis got two with a cocky cover from his knees
Before a Nick tejeiras took out both as the Bucks celebrated. Certainly faces, at least this week.
(Callis joined on comms as the announcers mentioned Omega/Ospreay for the second week running while Omega’s friends just happen to be facing Ospreay’s. Hmm…)
Nick grabbed a headlock, the Bucks both in as Davis dropped each individual with a bodyslam then hoisted up both at the same time.
Barely two.
(Omega was out at ringside. It’s just been reported by the Observer that his contract is injury-extended and would’ve expired in Jan.
He’s also in the new (remastered) Yakuza Ishin game if anyone’s interested.)
Matt slipped out of a running powerslam, dropkick to the midsection, Nick chestbreaker, Matt with a flipping facebuster and again the Bucks had the ring to themselves as the crowd cheered. But were caught on stereo dives and dumped back-first across the apron, then crashed together backs-first while in bear hugs.
Break.
The Aussies on top, Nick in the wrong corner, being blasted with chops by Davis. Nick slipped out, dropped Davis across the ropes then springboard hurracanrana’d Fletcher off the top. Scrambling, he made the tag as Matt unloaded on Fletcher with a flying clothesline then used the chest of Davis to sliced-bread Fletcher.
Then dived outside onto Davis before dropping the elbow onto Fletcher for two. Crowd enjoying this.
Bulldog/dropkick combo from the Bucks, Davis knocked back outside off the apron, Fletcher hung off the bottom rope to be squashed via Nick senton, Davis just made the save.
Nick hit his punt kick to Fletcher but was caught and brainbustered on the mats at ringside as Davis destroyed Matt with a wicked lariat. Nick slipped out a double team but was drilled in the corner with a basement elbow as AO hit a double team move (like a back body drop out of a Razor’s Edge).
Nick countered another attempted double team into a cutter, rolling through to tag his brother who was immediately wiped-out by another Davis lariat. Both Bucks in, both ate superkicks by AO, the Bucks desperately avoiding the killing blow at this point, hitting a superkick party, missing a BTE Trigger but being dropped once more by brutal lariats.
Nick and Fletcher fought up from their knees, Nick stumbling back to tag his brother, both illegal men dragging the opposing legal man out through the ropes as the Bucks hit dives on either side of the ring.
The Bucks had the Meltzer Driver ready, the lights went out, allowing Fletcher to turn it into a tombstone of his own, getting a visual pin as Davis counted.
Matt was drilled with ‘coreolis’(??), Nick stopped the count just before three. Still in trouble, the Bucks ducked a clothesline, Davis took out Fletcher, superkick party, made Davis piledrive Fletcher by kicking his legs out then drilled the latter with the BTE Trigger for the win.
This was fantastic. Impossible to keep up with. But fantastic.
Then the lights went out again, the HOB surrounded the ring. They went out again and the trio were gone. I believe that’s what’s known as false advertising. Boos from the crowd who had been chanting for the HOB.
WINNER: Young Bucks
Lexi with the Best Friends ahead of next week’s battle royale. They were immediately attacked by Big Bill, Moriarty, the Gunns and a lead pipe. The latter of which was by far the most interesting of the heels.
….
They actually followed up on this after the break. The Friends still down and a very serious Orange Cassidy demanding to know who did it.
Toni Storm vs Willow Nightingale
Backstory: None
Willow’s reaction easily eclipsed either Saraya or Storm. Who attacked from behind as the bell rang, clubbing the back but being dropped by a Nightingale shoulder block and series of lariats. A senton followed for two.
Then a bodyslam, an angry Willow pursuing Storm corner-to-corner until Storm pulled the hair then dropped Nightingale off the apron via hip attack, whipping her around ringside into the apron and the barricades.
Well in control as the break beckoned.
And avoiding a Willow corner-cannonball as we came back, countering with her usual brutal hip attack then a ddt from which Willow kicked out at two. Psyching herself up, Willow this time blasted Storm with a cannonball in the corner, DVD, very close two. Bringing Saraya to the apron to be dragged in by Willow, literally in her hands in front of the ref as Storm attacked the knee from behind then hit Storm Zero for the win.
What we saw was good action, ruined by the standard garbage finish in these two’s matches.
After the bell, Ruby Soho saved Nightingale from being spray-painted and Jamie Hayter got into it with her fellow Brit, beating Saraya backstage. Apparently, Ruby was ‘again caught in the middle’. Not really sure how.
On the plus side, AEW need to have more people beating established opponents. On the other, Willow is the latest victim of their start/stop booking, not appearing on tv for the best part of a month (perhaps linked to what happened to Anna?)
WINNER: Toni Storm
Lexi with the Acclaimed and Billy after Dynamite. Cue another heel attack, the J’s this time as Singh devastatingly slightly moved Billy Gunn towards a wall at a medium pace.
….
Fittingly, a Jade Cargill promo was next. She challenged ‘all competition’ including ‘your favorites’ (i.e. she’s run out of opponents). Good promo tbf.
Lance Archer vs Bryce Saturn
Backstory: None
On the subject of start/stop, Lance Archer was so hot and cool and different when he debuted. Nothing was done with him. Now he’s lucky to appear on tv.
Did get a hell of a pop from the Arizona faithful as he came down with Jake Roberts. A wicked throw, charging shoulder in the corner, series of slaps to the chest, nasty elbow strike, running cross body, devastating lariat, 1, 2, 3.
Unlike the HOB, no Blackout needed.
Great to see Archer back; no faith they’ll do anything with him.
WINNER: Lance Archer
Very quick video package with Dustin Rhodes and Keith Lee challenging Swerve and the Mogul Affiliates for next week. Again, not exactly what they advertised on Dynamite.
…..
Daniel Garcia cut a promo on Sammy’s behalf. Andretti promised he was the real deal and ‘the sight to see’.
…..
The Firm promo as the they basically forced Matt Hardy to face Hook as Stokely quickly ‘had to take a phone call’.
Surprised at first, Matt countered back, along with Isiah, firing up and promising that he was so confident of beating Hook that if he loses, Hook gets a match with Stokely and the Firm will be banned from ringside. Page, being a dumb heel, was convinced by this.
Nice segment.
Sammy Guevara vs Action Andretti
Backstory: Andretti stopped Guevara interfering last Friday, allowing Ricky Starks to beat Daniel Garcia
Athletic start with AA flipping out of a hurracanrana then clotheslining Sammy outside before launching into a clothesline off the barricade.
Back in the ring, Guevara fired back with a step-up knee but Andretti muscled him up impressively into a falcon arrow out of a sunset flip.
Then followed Sammy back to ringside and was introduced to the barricade. But continued to counter everything Guevara threw by turning a suplex into one of his own, hitting a kick from the apron then a 450 to the floor as the ads arrived.
Excellent start, Andretti looking very good.
There were barely a few minutes left as we returned. Looked like they’d been going all-out during the break.
Sammy got a knee up to block a moonsault then hit an over the shoulder/face-first drop (never seen anything like it) from which the youngster just kicked out. Before heading upstairs, missing with a shooting star, dropkick and kip-up frm AA, springboard punt, Guevara dead weight as AA looked for a GTH, Sammy landed on his feet.
Fading, they exchanged yay/boo elbow strikes, AA missed an enziguri, Sammy hit a knee strike, thrust kick, another knee strike, then was plucked out of the air into a Spanish fly from a dead sprint. Bagging Andretti another close count.
From the apron, Andretti kicked Garcia at ringside then blasted Sammy with a running dropkick but was slugged by Garcia as he went for a moonsault. Straight into the GTH as Sammy stole the win.
Unlike the other tainted finishes this week, this one was very well done, clearly behind the ref’s back.
Hell of a match. And a reminder of how great Guevara is.
WINNER: Sammy Guevara
…..
Next Dynamite:
The second Tag Team Casino Battle Royale
Hook vs Matt Hardy (if Hook wins he gets a match with Stokely Hathaway)
Toni Storm vs Riho
Orange Cassidy vs Big Bill, All-Atlantic Title
MJF and Danielson promo
Jericho vs Peter Avalon
Face of Rev Ladder Match (Takeshita, Ortiz, Action Andretti, Sammy Guevara, Will Hobbs, Eddie Kingston, AR Fox, Komander (a Lucha guy making their debut) – Samoa Joe on comms, winner gets title shot
Added to Revolution:
the Elite vs House of Black, Trios Title
…..
Overall impressions
The best Rampage I’ve ever seen?
This was a very good hour of wrestling with two quality matches, a solid women’s match and a fun squash with Archer.
Still have reservations about the long-term quality of the booking though.
Impact Wrestling last week drew 87000 viewers, the third least-watched episode of 2023 so far. It was down 5,000 viewers from the prior week. The show did a 0.01 rating in the 18-49 demo and did not chart. (Ratings credit: F4Wonline)
Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Wrestling is reporting that James Kimball, WWE’s Senior Vice President of Talent Operations & Strategy, has departed the company.
Kimball’s termination last week came after what was described as an “HR violation” although there was no other information released over his dismissal.
He started with WWE in August 2020 as Vice President of Business Operations within the office of the Chairman and CEO and then was promoted to SVP of Global Talent Strategy & Development in June 2021. He was promoted to his latest position in August 2022.
Prior to joining WWE, Kimball spent 10 years with the UFC and his latest position there was VP of Operations at the UFC Performance Institute.
Dynamite had a rebound in the ratings, helped in part with no NBA competition head-to-head, and drew 1,028,000 viewers, the second time that the show crossed a million this year so far. This was the most-watched episode of Dynamite since October 5, 2022 and up 204,000 viewers from last week. Dynamite did a 0.35 rating in the 18-49 demo, up 0.08 from the previous week and finished #1 on the top 50 cable chart. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)
Live tonight from Sam’s Town Live in Sunrise Manor, Nevada, Impact Wrestling presents No Surrender 2023 exclusively on the Impact Plus and YouTube streaming services. The full card is as follows:
Josh Alexander vs Rich Swann for the Impact World title; Mickie James vs Masha Slamovich for the Impact Knockouts title; Jessicka and Taya Valkyrie vs Allysin Kay and Marti Belle for the Impact Knockouts Tag Team titles; Brian Myers vs Heath vs PCO vs Steve Maclin in a four-way match to determine the #1 contender for the Impact World title; Joe Hendry vs Moose in a Dot Combat match for the Impact Digital Media title; Frankie Kazarian vs Kon; Alex Shelley, Chris Sabin, and Kushida vs Ace Austin, Chris Bey, and Kenta in a six-man tag team match; plus Deonna Purrazzo vs Gisele Shaw and Jonathan Gresham vs Mike Bailey in the pre-show.
When internet casino gaming hit the mainstream market back in the early 90s, no one would have envisioned faster growth than what we have seen over the past decade. Moreover, the Coronavirus pandemic for the last two years has fast-tracked the evolution even more. With everyone stuck at home for prolonged periods, there was little to no access to physical gaming venues like arcades and casinos. And so, iGaming platforms like Spin City Casino have become the saving grace for casino gamers looking to blow off some steam in their favorite gambling games.
Indeed, the gaming industry at large, including gambling, video gaming, and mobile gaming, has made great leaps since the advent of the 21st century due to several factors: good and bad. The bottom line is that the effect has been a multibillion-dollar market predicted to keep rising in the coming years. From a better user experience to more lifelike visuals and generally increasing user engagement, the evolution of games comes with a lot of perks for both players and developers.
Developers have been looking for ways to make the games even better, and a few trends are currently blazing the trail for the industry. Keep reading to find five of the main game design trends making waves in 2023 so far.
1. Blockchain-based Gaming
Web3 gaming is the new kid on the block and appeals to the modern player who is attracted by both tangible and virtual rewards. Blockchain games are flexible as they can incorporate elements of metaverse gaming where the gaming environments can expand and develop into a more interactive experience for the player. Some of the most popular blockchain-based games that you can play today are such as:
Illuvium
Magic Craft
Tearing Spaces
Bladerite
BigTime
Mirandus
2. Fitness Gaming
Home workouts have been a thing for decades. However, when Covid-19 struck in 2020, there was a need to keep active, especially given the restrictions that forced several fitness enthusiasts to stay at home. Fitness gurus, for their part, had to reinvent the industry to keep up with the changing times, and thankfully, it birthed a new way to engage gamers.
Seeing as the global gaming space was also expanding simultaneously, what could be a better plan than to harness the latter’s appeal and hit two birds with one stone? Active Video Gaming, as it came to be known, requires players to move around to play. As a result, participants can keep up with their fitness goals while enjoying a great game. Excellent examples of such games include:
Nintendo Fitness Adventures
FWFX Electronic Dance Mats
Kinect Adventures
Ring Fit Adventure
Just Dance 2023
3. Gaming as a Service (GaaS)
Gaming developers have realized that if they want to stay in business in today’s modern world, they must strike a balance between retaining the attention of their users and turning a profit. GaaS allows companies to do just that by eliminating the initial costs that users will incur before they can even access the product by introducing a subscription-style mechanic. This keeps players engaged for much longer while generating a continuous revenue stream for the developer.
4. AR and VR Gaming
This game variation goes hand-in-hand with blockchain-based gaming and, sometimes, fitness gaming. AR and VR gaming gives players a unique opportunity to completely immerse into a realistic space where they are exposed to an entirely different environment for entertainment purposes. When meshed with AI, machine learning, and blockchain, gaming is bound to expand further in the coming future as the technologies can offer players more immersive experiences.
5. Smartwatch Minigames
Like mobile games, smartwatch games can be played anywhere at any hour of the day. Despite a smaller screen, their popularity has steadily grown, particularly with the inclusion of 3D and RPG games in the equation. Some of the coolest smartwatch minigames you can try out today are such as:
Infinity Loop
Bugroid Land
Roll the Dice
Wear Maze
Bubble Shooter
Final Thoughts
As the gaming industry continues to expand rapidly due to emerging technologies in the digital economy, developers are working hard to keep up or die out. Of course, with each new trend comes some disquiet about the implications on player behavior. But then, the good news is that lawmakers and industry stakeholders have also been trying to keep up by creating relevant laws to accompany the evolving gaming technologies. After all, games are only enjoyable when players are in control.
Which game design trends are you excited the most about in 2023? Do you think we’ve missed some of them in today’s discussion? Let us know right here in the comments section; we’d love to hear your thoughts!
