Matt Hardy announced during one of his Twitch streams that he has signed an extension with All Elite Wrestling, keeping him there for the next couple of years.
Matt also expressed his appreciation because the company matched both his and his brother Jeff’s contracts, something he said was “very cool.”
Hardy did not exactly say how long the extension is for but whatever length it is, it will expire right with Jeff’s contract so both brothers will be both free on the same day if they decide to walk away.
Matt joined AEW in March 2020 and made his debut in an empty arena during the pandemic. He was heavily rumored to be unveiled as the leader of The Dark Order and all hints pointed to that but eventually that spot went to Brodie Lee.
MMA, or Mixed Martial Arts, is one of the most demanding sports nowadays. Without proper conditioning and techniques, an individual won’t make it far in this field. To be an MMA fighter, you need to be physically and mentally fit and possess various skills from almost every fighting discipline out there.
Professional Wrestling, staged as it is, has some of the best athletes in the world. No amount of heckling about how “fake” pro wrestling is can change the minds of spectators who know how hard wrestlers put so much work into their health and craft. Pro wrestlers are some of the best individuals that can try their hand at MMA.
In fact, pro wrestling greats such as Brock Lesnar and Bobby Lashley have already transitioned to MMA and back again to pro wrestling. Both guys have made it to MMA and have built a winning career there. Below are some of the best pro wrestlers that can or would have done well in MMA:
Becky Lynch
One of the brightest and most popular superstars in the WWE is Becky Lynch. Known for her fitness, work ethic, and ring smarts, Becky has the tools to have a good MMA run. Becky Lynch, real name Rebecca Quinn, shares her proud Irish roots with UFC odds favorite and MMA superstar Connor McGregor.
Becky Lynch is an MMA practitioner, and she does it at SBG Ireland. SBG Ireland has produced MMA greats such as Connor McGregor and Gunnar Nelson. John Kavanagh, the gym’s head coach, sees Becky’s potential when she decides to try MMA. This compliment is incredibly huge, especially coming from someone like Kavanagh, who has been training McGregor and other successful MMA champions throughout the years.
Kurt Angle
To have a successful career in MMA, you need to have a good background, such as freestyle wrestling. Kurt Angle is an example of an athlete who has the proper credentials. Winning an Olympic gold medal with a “broken freakin’ neck” is no exaggeration, as Kurt Angle indeed did it in the 1996 Olympics in freestyle wrestling.
Being a two-time NCAA Division 1 Champion in wrestling, the Olympian Angle had the right background for a promising MMA career. Although Angle is already 53 years old, he’s physically fit and still working for the WWE. Oh, what could have been if Angle tried out MMA.
Dolph Ziggler
Ziggler was a decorated amateur wrestler before the glitz and glamor of becoming a WWE superstar. Real name Nicholas Theodore Nemeth, Ziggler wrestled for Kent State University and became a 3-time Mid-American champion. At Kent State, he also became teammates with UFC fan-favorite Gray Maynard. With his tenacity and skillset, Ziggler would have no trouble taking on most MMA fighters.
Eve Torres-Gracie
More than just a pretty face, Eve Torres became one of the best divas in the WWE. Then, after a promising pro wrestling career, she called it quits to focus more on her personal life in 2013. MMA fans might have noticed by now, but for those who haven’t, she’s married to a Gracie.
Yes, that Gracie. Eve Torres is married to Rener Gracie, the grandson of grandmaster Hélio Gracie who created the famed Gracie Jiu-jitsu. The Gracies are great pioneers in the sport. Eve Torres has spent a good chunk of her life around Gracie Jiu-jitsu.
She has become a practitioner herself, becoming a spokesperson and instructor for the Gracie Women Empowered, a self-defense program designed for women. As a purple belt, Torres has the grappling skills that most female MMA fighters lack.
Wade Barrett
Aside from wrestling, another skill that an athlete should possess to have a blooming MMA career is striking. Stuart Alexander Bennett or more popularly known as Wade Barrett is a bare-knuckle champion from Liverpool. Think of Tyler Durden and Fight Club; those were the brawls and matches that Wade Barrett won in real life. Being a legit brawler, Wade could have made a career in MMA by easily knocking out his opponents.
Alberto Del Rio
In 2000, a masked pro wrestler named Dos Caras Jr. went into the ring and faced MMA great Mirko Cro Cop. Although that match ended brutally for Dos Caras Jr, he had amassed a 9-5 MMA record. Dos Caras Jr., as we all know, is Alberto Del Rio.
Alberto Del Rio is one of the few pro wrestlers with actual MMA experience. In his 9 MMA wins, most came from submission. If Del Rio had developed his striking more, he could go back to MMA and start all over again.
Shelton Benjamin
Following Brock Lesnar’s college dominance in wrestling, Shelton Benjamin also wrestled at the University of Minnesota, becoming a 2-time All-American. With his superior background in wrestling, he could have easily transitioned to the MMA game.
Although he lacks in the striking department, he could have easily adapted due to his freakish athleticism. However, instead of trying out for the Olympics, he chose to follow a career in professional wrestling. Today, he’s one of the most physically gifted athletes in the WWE.
Conclusion
Both MMA and Pro Wrestling require their athletes to have the best physical and mental conditioning. The pro wrestlers mentioned above are some of the best in the business. With the right skills, these wrestlers could have a promising MMA career.
William Regal publicly apologized for going over his allocated time when doing his promo on Dynamite this week.
The former NXT General Manager talked to fans and viewers after Moxley and Danielson beat JD Drake and Anthony Henry in a tag team match but apparently lost track of time and his segment went way over than it was supposed to.
“This is a professional note from me as I have no other form of SM and would rather my new colleagues see this as I don’t like gossip,” Regal wrote on Twitter. “I’m am very sorry to everyone effected by my time issues last night. I apologized to everyone personally effected. I should be showing people by example and being a pro and hitting my times.”
With Regal going over his time, some other segments that came after had to be cut short to keep the show on track.
The post-Revolution Dynamite on TBS drew 945,000 viewers, down 21,000 viewers from last week’s broadcast. This was the second least-watched Dynamite on TBS this year. The show did top the cable chart in the 18-49 demographic with a 0.40 rating, up 0.05 from last week’s show. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)
Former TNT champion Miro has signed a four-year extension deal with AEW according to Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Wrestling.
Miro has not wrestled in AEW since the Full Gear pay-per-view back in November 2021, where he lost to Bryan Danielson in the final match of the AEW World Title Eliminator Tournament.
A few promos of him were shown on TV after that but they amounted to nothing as the former WWE Superstar vanished from AEW television for the past four months.
The man formerly known as Rusev is now contracted with the promotion through the beginning of 2026. He originally signed with AEW in September 2020, five months after he was released from WWE.
The new Peacock original series WWE Evil will be making its debut on March 24.
With John Cena as host, creator, and executive producer, WWE Evil looks behind the scenes of what it takes to be a heel in this business.
“As Peacock continues to expand its WWE programming, we are thrilled to bring the new original series ‘WWE Evil’ to platform, working with the one and only John Cena,” said Benny Reuven, Vice President of Entertainment Unscripted Content at NBCUniversal Television and Streaming. “There is no one better to take viewers into the minds of WWE’s fiercest villains than Cena himself. We can’t wait for WWE fans to devour this series.”
The eight-part documentary series has sit-down interviews with “Hollywood” Hulk Hogan, The Miz, Sasha Banks, Undertaker and Kane, Randy Orton, Stephanie McMahon, Ric Flair, and Roman Reigns.
“Each one-hour episode of this psychological exposé dives deep into a single infamous heel, unveiling rare behind-the-scenes details from some of the biggest names in the industry,” Peacock said in a press release. “These ‘evildoers’ undeniably shaped pop culture through the decades, making a tremendous nostalgic impact that bled into mainstream culture today.”
Many wondered how did Jeff Hardy enter AEW last night on Dynamite using his WWE theme song. Did WWE give permission?
Well, no, not really, because the original Hardy Boyz theme song is not owned by WWE and it is a production track that is used in several television and radio commercials.
The track is called Loaded and performed by Zack Tempest from the album The Unleashed Beast of Rock Destruction, released in 1999. So all AEW had to do was license the original song to be able to use it on their television broadcast.
While Matt Hardy had a few theme songs throughout his career, the Loaded song is often attached to Jeff or when they are wrestling as a tag team.
WWE announced that they will be returning to Europe for a quick, four-day tour in England, France, and Germany.
The tour starts in Newcastle at the Utilita Arena on Thursday, April 28, then they go to London at The O2 on Friday, April 29, before going to Paris at the Accor Arena on Saturday, April 30, and finishing off in Leipzig at the Quarterback Immobilien Arena on Sunday, May 1.
Tickets for the England shows go on sale this Monday while tickets for the France and Germany shows are available now.
The Smackdown brand will be doing this tour headlined by Ronda Rousey. Others advertised are Charlotte Flair, Sasha Banks, Big E, Drew McIntyre, Sami Zayn, Sheamus, Shinsuke Nakamura and others. This will be the first time Rousey has performed live in London and Paris since 2018.
All tickets for previously scheduled WWE Live events in Paris and Leipzig remain valid. Ticketholders who cannot attend the new dates should contact their point of purchase.
The Roadblock themed episode of NXT on USA Network drew 613,000 viewers, up 62,000 viewers from the prior week. It was the best number since February 1 in terms of viewership. The show did a 0.13 in the 18-49 demo, the same as last week, and placed #55 in the top 150 cable chart for the night. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)
Paige VanZant, the former UFC star who was once a target of WWE, has signed a deal with AEW.
VanZant made her presence felt in the closing moments of Dynamite and attacked Tay Conti who came to the aide of her boyfriend Sammy Guevara. The distraction caused Guevara to lose focus on the match, allowing his opponent Scorpio Sky to hit the TKO for the pin and become the new TNT champion.
Following the match, VanZant signed the deal in the ring to close the show. In storyline reasons, VanZant agreed to sign a contract in return of Sky getting a TNT title shot.
The 27-year-old had a UFC record of 5-4 and currently fights for Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship where she lost both her fights so far.
Tony Khan tweeted the usual “All Elite” graphic after the show, officially welcoming her to the promotion.
Jeff Hardy wasted no time and on his first day of free agency, he made his debut with All Elite Wrestling, appearing on Dynamite.
Hardy made his debut during the AHFO emergency board meeting segment where the rest of the AHFO turned on Matt Hardy. That prompted the arrival of Sting and Darby Allin who made the save but it was still not enough.
Cue the iconic Hardy Boyz theme and out came Jeff to a gigantic pop from the crowd, who cleaned house and even hit the Swanton Bomb on The Blade.
After the segment, the usual “All Elite” graphic was tweeted to signal the official signing of the former WWE champion.
The post-Revolution Dynamite airs live on TBS tonight from the Hertz Arena in Fort Myers, Florida. While Tony Khan didn’t promise any huge announcements this week, he did mention in a tweet that post-PPV shows “tend to be newsworthy” and tonight will be no exception.
Matches and segments announced for tonight include Sammy Guevara vs Scorpio Sky for the TNT title, Thunder Rosa vs Leyla Hirsch in a Women’s title eliminator match, Bryan Danielson and Jon Moxley teaming up with William Regal in their corner against a team yet to be announced, Chris Jericho will be addressing Eddie Kingston, and there will be an “emergency board meeting” with the AHFO.
Former UFC fighter Paige VanZant is also scheduled to sign an AEW deal on the show as part of the agreement of Scorpio Sky getting a TNT shot.
Date: March 8, 2022
Arena: WWE Performance Center
City: Orlando, Florida
Women’s Dusty Cup: Raquel Gonzales and Cora Jade vs Dakota Kai and Wendy Choo in the Women’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic tournament semi finals
The show kicked with the much-anticipated semifinals of the Dusty Rhodes Women’s Tag Team Classic. Fans have been looking forward to watching former partners, Gonzales and Kai, compete against one another.
While the match began with an impressive performance by both teams, audience members and television watchers alike were quickly distracted by doings outside the ring. Current Women’s Tag Team Champions, Toxic Attraction, ambushed Gonzales, injuring her leg, and leaving Jade to fight on her own for much of the match. Jade’s moves were quite impressive, however, the ambush may have distracted some viewers from catching them.
I would also like to give a shout to Wendy Choo. While her narcoleptic gimmick is quite ridiculous, her opponents would not want to be caught napping while fighting against her. If they are, they will quickly find themselves in a pickle.
However, it was Gonzales, who, mustering all her strength, managed to fight on one leg, but ended up being pinned giving Kai and Choo the win.
Winners: Dakota Kai and Wendy Choo
Tiffany Stratton vs Fallon Hanley
The segment should have been an opportunity for two relative newcomers, Stratton and Hanley, to show the fans what they can do. However, the powers that be didn’t, in my opinion, take advantage of prime opportunity to display talent. Rather than do so, they chose to use the match as another opportunity to begin a new feud.
At first, Stratton looked as though she would quickly overpower Hanley, however Sarray distracted Stratton allowing Hanley to get the pin. Stratton and Sarray began feuding last week when Sarray refused to give Stratton her prized necklace, which is said to have belonged to her Japanese grandmother. Because Sarray cost Stratton this match she and Stratton will fight one another next week.
Winner: Fallon Hanley
Parking lot segment involving the Creed brothers. Fans were taken to the parking lot where we saw the contenders for the men’s tag team championship, The Creed Brothers severely beaten in the parking lot. The assailants were unknown, however, the announce team had many speculations including Imperium the Creed’s opponents for the evening, and MSK the team that the Creeds had beat out for the opportunity. The Creeds were later declared unfit to compete in their match.
Grayson Waller vs LA Knight in a last man standing match
Last night, appeared to be the night for matches which were not won cleanly. Of course, we would expect nothing less during a Last Man Standing match, which has no disqualifications. Waller and Knight certainly took advantage of this rule.
The two used everything from trash cans to folding chairs to incapacitate the other. While the crowd seemed to be cheering for Knight, due to his superior wrestling ability, it was Waller who with the help of his bodyguard was able win the match.
Winner: Grayson Waller
Io Shirai and Kay Lee Ray versus Kacy Catanzaro and Kayden Carter in the Women’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic tournament semi finals
Finally, we see a match which was won cleanly, and without any interference from outside parties. Both teams use impressive mat work as well as highflying maneuvers and pinfalls to try to outsmart or out compete their opponents. While Carter and Catanzaro used of all their impressive teamwork to great effect, the veteran team won this time. Although, I’m sure will be seeing more of Carter and Catanzaro.
Winners: Io Shirai and Kay Lee Ray
Imperium vs MSK
This is yet another example of a match which did not have a clean finish. An intense match between worthy groups of competitors was ruined by an ambush. Although the Creed Brothers appeared to be injured earlier in the night, they gain strength in order to cause Imperium to win via DQ. I think the match would be better as scheduled.
Winners: Imperium
Bron Breakker vs Tommaso Ciampa vs Dolph Ziggler triple threat match for the NXT title
This match would have been an excellent opportunity for the new NXT to triumph over the old. Bron Breakker could have put the old guys through the paces to prove that the new brand is the best one after all. That seemed to be where the storyline was headed. I will have even been satisfied if Ciampa would have won establishing a return to the black and gold era.
However, neither of those happened, instead, Dolph Ziggler, who is in fact a Raw Superstar, came in to rob the brand of its championship. In my opinion, this made both brands of NXT look weak and established Raw as the superior show.
WWE Superstars Sasha Banks and Xavier Woods (as Austin Creed) have been nominated for this year’s Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards.
Former Raw and Smackdown Women’s champion Sasha Banks got nominated for Favorite Female Sports Star and fellow former Raw and Smackdown Tag Team champion Xavier Woods was nominated for Favorite Male Social Media Creator.
Both of them have some very tough competition in their categories, with Banks going up against Chloe Kim, Serena Williams, Naomi Osaka, Simone Biles, and Candace Parker while Woods has MrBeast, Spencer X, Ninja, Unspeakable, and Ryan’s World in his category.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and John Cena also received nominations in the Favorite Movie Actor category.
Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards will be airing live on Saturday April 9 at 7:30PM ET on Nickelodeon and will be hosted by Miranda Cosgrove and another former WWE personality and NFL player Rob Gronkowski.
Jeff Hardy is officially a free agent as of today, March 9, and can legally negotiate, sign, or appear with any other wrestling promotion.
Hardy was dismissed from WWE on December 9, a few days after he was sent home from the WWE tour after he walked out midway through his six-man tag team match where he teamed up with Xavier Woods and Drew McIntyre to take on Roman Reigns and The Usos.
Hardy made the hot tag during the match and exited the arena through the crowd and never came back. Jeff was said to be “sluggish” during the match.
Due to his past problems, Hardy underwent a few drug tests but WWE fired him before the results came back, which were negative. His brother Matt said at the time that WWE might have jumped the gun in getting rid of Jeff.
A month before, Hardy was a guest on the Steve Austin Broken Skull Sessions series and spoke freely about his drug and alcohol addiction and said he disappointed Vince McMahon far too many times, but was grateful for the latest opportunity, saying he was told there there would be no more chances if he messed up again.
WWE eventually reached out to Jeff Hardy via John Laurinaitis to offer him a spot in the 2022 WWE Hall of Fame, an offer which Hardy refused.
Several industry insiders are reporting that Hardy is expected backstage at Dynamite tonight and could be making his debut with AEW on the post-Revolution show.
Cricket is known to be one of the most popular games in India. And let us say IPL is another big festival in the country. The fans go crazy during the IPL session, getting their eyes glued to the tv and supporting their favourite teams, and guessing the winning team beforehand becomes their pastime hobby. Similarly, some people out there take guessing too seriously to result in betting their money online. And if you are a fan of IPL and guessing games, then you are at the right destination. In this article, you will come to know five things about IPL betting. Let us get started.
GET DETAILED KNOWLEDGE ABOUT IPL
If you are a beginner in the betting industry, then try not to bet on any match with little knowledge. As a beginner, try to get more and more information. Get to know about every team and the members of the team. Get some information about IPL betting from some experts and try to look back at the betting process and its results from the previous years. Don’t forget the most vital thing, keep a track record of the performances of each team.
2. PRACTICE BEFORE YOUR ACTUAL BET
As a beginner, one must practice before setting an actual goal of the bets with actual money. Betting is indeed a game of guessing but yet, it needs a lot of practice. But there is no point in investing during your practice phase. Hence, a beginner must practice through various online applications or sites that provide free bets and bonuses. Keep on practising till you attain perfection.
3. TAKE TIME TO MAKE THE DECISION
According to the studies established in the New York Times, cricket and betting goes hand-in-hand with each other. Observe before placing the bet. For example, if a match is taking place on a bright sunny day, then you know that the ball is not going to swing. Therefore, the weather will favour the players batting in that match at first. You should know all such factors which may affect the game and only after that you have to place your bet.
BE REALISTIC WHILE SETTING YOUR BETTING GOALS
It is the general thinking that your money may get quadrupled while going for IPL betting via an online mode. But that is not the case. Although there is no surety of your success, there is no surety of you losing the game. So, it is a 50-50. And whenever there is a 50-50 in any game, you have to go for a smart move. Try and set something of a reasonable amount. So that even if you lose the amount in a particular match, it won’t affect you in the whole betting session. Also, another piece of advice is always to have a track of your betting records, it helps you in improving your games.
4. TRY TO FIND OUT THE BEST ONLINE BETTING PLATFORM
As previously discussed, betting is a very risky task, but somehow your chances of winning or losing the game are affected by the kind of betting application or website you choose. There are loads of online applications to click on with your bet game but choose carefully. Do have a look at the reviews and have a background check to know if it is legit or not.
The points that are mentioned in this article above are a few of those very things that one must know about IPL betting. I hope this will help you guide through the entire process of gaming.
The pre-sale for NXT Stand & Deliver went live today and fans wishing to purchase tickets for the event on WrestleMania Saturday can do so now by inputting the code TRAVEL on Ticketmaster.com.
Prices are very “friendly” for this event, with awesome views starting from $21 and going up to $656 for ringside seats. As it’s often the case, anyone purchasing aisle seating will need to purchase two tickets next to each other as Ticketmaster will not allow you to check out with just one aisle seat.
The American Airlines Center will not be used fully for this event and expectations are in the region of a few thousand fans. The pre-sale shows seats available in a “J” shape with one row open and one row not. Only the 100 level and floor seating is opened and it looks like the rest of the arena from 200 level up with taped off.
This will be the first NXT event filmed outside of Orlando since the NXT Takeover: Portland in February 2020.
NXT Stand & Deliver will start at Noon CT exclusively on the WWE Network.
Monday Night Raw drew an average of 1,775,000 viewers this week, up just 22,000 viewers from last week’s broadcast.
The first hour of Raw started strong with 1,910,000 viewers and the second hour retained a good portion of the viewership with 1,839,000 but the third hour tanked to 1,577,000 viewers. Raw suffered a drop of 333,000 viewers from the first to the third hour.
Raw was #1, #2, and #3 in the top 50 cable chart for the night with 0.48, 0.47, and 0.41 ratings respectively for an average of 0.45, down 0.02 from the prior week. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)
Dolph Ziggler won the NXT title last night in a triple threat match involving champion Bron Breakker and Tommaso Ciampa, ending Breakker’s title reign after just 63 days.
The match had some interference from former NXT champ himself Robert Roode, who for the finish “saved” Breakker from Ciampa’s running knee, allowing Ziggler to superkick Ciampa for the win.
That means that Breakker lost the NXT title without getting pinned and potentially setting up a one-on-one match against Ziggler at NXT Stand & Deliver on April 2.
Breakker won the NXT title from Ciampa on the New Year’s evil episode of NXT.
Speaking to Sports Illustrated, former UFC Welterweight champion Colby Covington said that he wants to move to WWE once his UFC career is over.
Fresh off a victory over Jorge Masvidal last weekend which improved his record to 17-3, Covington said he loves being a UFC fighter and was put on this earth to fight. But once that phase of his career is over and done with, he’d love to cross over to the WWE.
“After my career with the UFC is done, WWE is something I’d love to dabble in,” he told Justin Barrasso.
Covington also praised Ronda Rousey, saying she has impressed him in WWE and is banking on her to be the best wrestler in the years to come.
“Her promo game has come on strong. She’s just a true entertainer. She knows how to put on a show for a crowd. She is the baddest woman in combat sports,” he said. “Look at her track record — she’s a trendsetter. The things she did in the UFC are unheard of. I’m a big fan of Ronda Rousey and I love the way she competes. I think she’s going to be the best WWE wrestler for a long time to come.”
The 34-year-old from California made a few appearances for Impact Wrestling in 2017 along with other American Top Team members.
