Before departing the United Kingdom from the WWE tour, Charlotte Flair spoke with Metro regarding her bond with the rest of the Four Horsewomen – Becky, Sasha, and Bayley.
Coming off a backstage incident where Lynch confronted Charlotte over a botched title swap segment, Charlotte said the four share “an unspoken bond” and while their respective careers took different turns, the “level of respect is always there,” no matter what.
“You just don’t… maybe we should talk about it more, but we all know how we feel about each other, what we did and what it took and how hard we worked to get where we are,” Flair said.
Flair reserved a lot of praise for Sasha Banks, who she spoke highly of. The two main evented all the shows the Smackdown brand did in the UK and noted that she and Sasha have “this crazy chemistry” dating back to FCW.
“We’re both extremely competitive. So, when we’re in the ring together and I know there’s just a whole level of competition of wanting to be the greatest. You just push each other that much more,” Flair said.
Recently, Becky Lynch said that she and Flair are no longer friends and don’t talk to each other. The two will be meeting at the Survivor Series in a one-on-one match.
There were two injuries coming out from Full Gear this past Saturday with both Eddie Kingston and Malakai Black missing a next-day convention in New York.
Northeast Wrestling, which booked Kingston at The Big Event NY Convention wrote in a post on social media that he contacted them late at night and due to a shoulder injury he would be unable to fulfill his booking obligations.
Kingston underwent a series of medical tests yesterday morning to determine the extent of the injuries. PWInsider.com added that this was more of an accumulation of injuries rather than one specific attributed to the CM Punk match.
There was no specific injury listed as to why Black also missed his appearance at the convention and there’s no information at this point.
Former NXT North American champion Bronson Reed made his New Japan Pro Wrestling debut yesterday during the NJPW Battle in the Valley event in San Jose, California.
The 33-year-old made his presence felt after Impact Wrestling champion Moose defeated Juice Robinson. Now going by the name of Jonah, the Australian had a face off with Moose but attacked Robinson instead. Robinson’s partner, David Finlay, tried to make the save but Jonah got rid of him as well.
“New destination in the JONAHVERSE,” he wrote on Twitter after the show.
He signed with WWE in early 2019 and spent two years as part of NXT, eventually winning the North American title from Johnny Gargano in May of this year. Around a month later, he dropped the belt to Isiah “Swerve” Scott and in August he was one of those cut by the company.
WWE will be presenting the 19th annual Tribute to the Troops broadcast today on FOX. The matches were taped on October 15 after the Smackdown tapings in Ontario, California.
Only three matches were recorded, featuring WWE champion Big E vs Dolph Ziggler, Bianca Belair vs Liv Morgan, and Universal champion Roman Reigns vs Shinsuke Nakamura.
With the start time up to the FOX affiliates, there’s no set time when the show will start nationwide so check out your local FOX affiliate guide. Tribute to the Troops will run for an hour.
CM Punk hit the moves of a couple of former WWE Superstars last night in his match against Eddie Kingston, one of which was very popular, while the other not so much!
Punk, who shared a big rivalry with John Cena back in the day, decided to hit Cena’s “five moves of doom” on Kingston, with two shoulder blocks and then the side slam. Fans obviously picked it up, and when Punk put his hand up, usually Cena’s cue to do the “You can’t see me” sign, fans booed, flipped the finger, and made the thumbs down signals. Instead of following with the rest of the Cena routine though, Punk leaned over and gave Kingston a middle finger and several blows to the head.
The other move was the Three Amigos, made famous by Eddie Guerrero. Yesterday was the anniversary of Guerrero’s death and there were some “Eddie” chants in the building. Punk doing the three suplexes in quick succession was appreciated by the fans as expected.
“To me, it’s fun just to f*ck with people,” Punk said in his post-match press conference. “That’s the whole juice for me. It’s getting different reactions and kind of getting to play with that.”
Punk mentioned Guerrero passing away 16 years ago and he thought when he hears the fans chanting for Eddie, he’s going to give them the Three Amigos.
“Is that not what you want? I never expect to get booed or get cheered. I have a pretty good idea and what I think what I’m really excellent at is reading the room,” Punk continued.
It took a minute, but “Hangman” Adam Page is finally the AEW World champion after last night he defeated Kenny Omega in a near 25-minute thriller at Full Gear.
Page had to deliver two buckshot lariats and although The Young Bucks were at ringside for the final moments of the match, they did nothing to prevent Page from winning and Matt Jackson even nodded, somewhat in approval, to Page before he went for the second buckshot lariat that eventually sealed the pinfall.
After the match, The Dark Order, or as the AEW announce team called them, Page’s adopted family, came out on the ramp and Page invited them over. All of them had a group hug before he was lifted on their shoulders to end the pay-per-view in celebration.
“Thank you all. You’ve made me feel like a champion,” Page wrote in a tweet, attaching also a photo of the celebrations with The Dark Order.
Page became the number one contender for the AEW World title after he won the Casino Ladder match at September’s All Out. He was the surprise entrant and was off TV for a while before that on paternal leave.
Omega and Page had a year-long feud, winning the AEW Tag Team titles together, then Omega turning on him, and Page losing the final of the AEW World Title Eliminator match against Omega as well at last year’s Full Gear. Page was also in the first match for the AEW World title against Chris Jericho when the promotion started, a match which Jericho won.
Omega now becomes the fourth AEW World champion following Jericho, Moxley, and Omega.
The battle between UFC and WWE has been present for quite some time. It would seem that Dana White is on a bit of a confidence boost after his more recent event. Dana White has come out to mock Vince McMahon. Even though they both operate sports that offer life-threatening action and high combat, they have been at each other’s throats for years now. WWE is merely a wrestling-based program and it is all pre-scripted. When you look at UFC, you will see that it is more MMA-based and it was formed long before WWE hit the screens. That being said, McMahon has produced far more household figures.
The reality-based feature at the UFC is what urged Dana to take his dig at Vince. There was a nail-biting interim fight at the event UFC 265 and it was then when Dana chose to express his views. He explained why Vince could never hope to pull off something similar. He said that it doesn’t get any better than this and that you couldn’t script it either. Even though WWE and UFC are known for their PPVs every month, they do not compete against each other. Both of the companies have their mixed fanbases and this helps to guarantee a particular benchmark. Interestingly, you can also bet through a legal UFC betting site in Indiana, just as you can bet on the WWE during a PPV. It’s similarities like this that breed healthy competition.
WWE VS UFC
Over the years, you have fighters such as Ronda Rousey and CM Punk. You also have Cain Velasquez and even Brock Lesnar, who have had a career through both companies. It didn’t go too well for CM Punk and Cain Velasquez though. Punk faced a somewhat harsh reality when he entered the octagon and he had two fights before he announced his retirement. Velasquez was doomed by Lesnar inside the ring. If he went up against him in the octagon though then he could probably better him without much effort, but in the WWE ring, things are very, very different.
The Success of UFC and WWE
The WWE and UFC companies have both shared a lot of success over the years and it is safe to say that they have both prospered. Both chairmen are very good at their jobs and they are good business owners as well. That being said, more needs to be done to make sure that people are aware of the differences. It is just not easy to say that one company is better than the other, or that one fighter can best the other when they compete in different sports. The only fair comparison would be to compare those who are in the UFC, to those who fight within the same company, in the same weight division. That being said, people will always try and compare the two and this helps to create a level of friendly competition that helps to push both companies to be the best that they can be. It also creates drama between Dana White and Vince McMahon.
Jay Lethal is All Elite! The former ROH World champion appeared live on stage at Full Gear last night with Tony Schiavone and immediately challenged TNT champion Sammy Guevara for a title shot this coming Wednesday on Dynamite.
After the appearance, the AEW social media announced that Lethal has signed a contract with the company.
The 36-year-old had a pretty successful career in both ROH and Impact Wrestling, winning countless titles in both promotions and had one of the most epic promo battles with Ric Flair during their feud in the then TNA.
Here are the results from the AEW Full Gear pay-per-view which took place from the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Thunder Rosa and Hikaru Shida defeated Nyla Rose and Jamie Hayter in the Buy-In match; MJF defeated Darby Allin; The Lucha Brothers defeated FTR to retain the AEW Tag Team titles; Bryan Danielson defeated Miro to win the AEW World Title Eliminator tournament and earn a future title shot; Christian Cage, Jungle Boy, and Luchasaurus defeated Adam Cole and The Young Bucks in a falls count anywhere match; Cody Rhodes and PAC defeated Malakai Black and Andrade El Idolo; Britt Baker defeated Tay Conti to retain the AEW Women’s title; CM Punk defeated Eddie Kingston; The Inner Circle defeated Men of the Year and American Top Team in a Minneapolis street fight; Adam Page defeated Kenny Omega to win the AEW World title.
All Elite Wrestling is live in Minneapolis tonight for their last big show of the year with Full Gear and who knows, maybe the crowning of a new world champion! Today we take a look at the betting odds for the full card which consists of 10 matches.
Remember, be careful when placing bets, if you are of legal age to bet, of course, with real money because odds will likely change by the time the show goes on air.
The AEW World title is on the line as Kenny Omega defends against his former tag team partner Hangman Page. Page remains the favorite to walk out of the Target Center with the title, with his odds at 1/6 while the champion is 13/4 to retain.
In the AEW Women’s title match, Dr. Britt Baker is the overwhelming favorite to retain the title with her odds at 1/20 while her challenger Tay Conti is 7/1 to win.
A new number one contender for the AEW World title will be decided tonight in the final of the AEW World Title Eliminator tournament. Bryan Danielson is at 11/20 favorite to face whoever the champion will be while the former TNT champion Miro is 5/4.
The Lucha Brothers defend their AEW Tag Team titles against the AAA Tag Team champions FTR. Fenix and Penta are 1/9 to retain their gold while FTR are 17/4 to add to their collection.
CM Punk will battle Eddie Kingston in another dream match for the AEW faithful. Punk is still yet to suffer a loss in AEW and tonight does not like that will change as he is 1/8 favorite to beat the once indie darling Eddie Kingston who is at 4/1 in his odds.
A six-man tag team match will see Christian Cage teaming up with Jurassic Express to take on former NXT champion Adam Cole and The Young Bucks. The Superkliq are favorites with 7/20 odds while Cage, Jungle Boy, and Luchasaurus are 19/10 for the upset.
In tag team action, Cody Rhodes teams up with PAC to take on two former WWE Superstars in Malakai Black and Andrade El Idolo. The heels are currently favorites with 11/20 odds while Rhodes and PAC are 5/4 for the win.
Darby Allin and MJF go one-on-one in a singles match with MJF favorite at 1/3 while Allin is at 2/1 in his odds.
A Minneapolis street fight will see The Inner Circle regroup to take on American Top Team and Men of the Year in a five-on-five match. Jericho and company are 2/13 to get rid of Dan Lambert and his crew, who themselves have odds of 7/2.
And in the Buy-In match, former AEW Women’s champion Hikaru Shida teams up with Thunder Rosa as they face Nyla Rose and Jamie Hayter. Shida and Rosa are 1/5 to win while the heels are 3/1.
Deadline.com is reporting that former WWE Superstar Dave Bautista is teaming up with Jason Momoa for an untitled buddy comedy action movie which MGM is close to win the rights for.
The two have already worked together in the Apple TV+ drama series titled See. Both movie stars pitched their project, written by Jonathan Trooper, to prospected bidders this week. The film came from an original idea from Momoa, Bautista and Tropper according to Deadline.
The movie calls for Bautista and Momoa to play brothers in a Lethal Weapon-esque buddy cop comedy likely to shoot in Hawaii. While no director has been chosen yet, the tentative date for filming is 2023 because both stars are busy with other projects.
Friday Night Smackdown on FOX drew an overnight rating of 1,998,000 viewers, up 10,000 viewers from last week’s overnight. Last week’s number ended with 2,093,000 viewers when the final rating came in.
The first hour of Smackdown did 2,059,000 viewers and then dropped to 1,938,000 for the second hour. The show had a 0.5 rating in the 18-49 demo and was level with Shark Tank and S.W.A.T for the night. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)
Live from the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, All Elite Wrestling presents its final pay-per-view of the year, Full Gear on pay-per-view. The full card is as follows:
Kenny Omega vs Adam Page for the AEW World title; Britt Baker vs Tay Conti for the AEW Women’s title; Lucha Brothers vs FTR for the AEW Tag Team titles; Bryan Danielson vs Miro in the AEW World Title Eliminator Tournament final; Darby Allin vs MJF; Christian Cage, Jungle Boy and Luchasaurus vs Adam Cole and The Young Bucks in a falls count anywhere match; CM Punk vs Eddie Kingston; Cody Rhodes and Pac vs Malakai Black and Andrade El Idolo; Chris Jericho, Jake Hager, Sammy Guevara, Santana, and Ortiz vs Ethan Page, Scorpio Sky, Junior dos Santos, Andrei Arlovski, and Dan Lambert in a Minneapolis street fight; and Hikaru Shida and Thunder Rosa vs Jamie Hayter and Nyla Rose in the Buy-In match.
The pay-per-view is available on Bleacher Report as well as on FITE.TV and through traditional PPV providers.
Former ECW and WWE champion Rob Van Dam tied the knot this past Thursday in Las Vegas with long-time girlfriend Katie Forbes.
Van Dam, 50, and Forbes, 30, have been dating for five years. This was RVD’s second marriage and the first one for Forbes. Former WWE Diva Candice Michelle conducted the ceremony.
“Katie & Rob 4ever,” Forbes wrote in a post on Instagram along with a photo of the two getting married. Forbes appeared on Impact Wrestling with RVD during his last stint there.
Speaking of RVD, Reelz will debut his documentary, Rob Van Dam: Headstrong tonight at 8PM ET.
Impact Wrestling on AXS TV drew just 79,000 viewers this week, down 39,000 viewers from last week’s broadcast. This was the least-watched Impact since July 1. The show did 0.02 in the 18-49 demo, same as last week. (Ratings credit: Wrestlenomics)
After Keith Lee wrote a tweet saying that he paid all his medical bills, WWE responded to the allegations four days later, labeling them “erroneous.”
Writing on his birthday, he said this was not a happy birthday, but a grateful one, after a tough year which almost killed him.
“I paid all my medical bills from the many offices and machines I frequented. There is positivity in that. And, I do find it amusing that people believe anyone but me paid for my medical expenses.”
WWE, which usually pay all expenses when it comes to health while under contract, responded with a statement of their own.
“Keith Lee’s recent comments implying WWE failed to pay his medical bills are erroneous. WWE has an extensive healthcare program for the medical care of its in-ring performers and Mr. Lee was part of this program while with the company. Should Mr. Lee have any concerns over the payment of medical bills, he is welcome to address them with WWE,” the statement read.
WWE made two further changes to the Survivor Series teams as both Aliyah and Sami Zayn were removed from their respective teams last night on Smackdown.
Aliyah, who finally made her in-ring debut on the show, got the win for her team when she teamed up with Sasha Banks and Naomi to take on Shotzi, Natalya, and Shayna Baszler. After the win, Sonya Deville informed the former NXT star that she is no longer part of the team, something that the crowd did not appreciate.
Also, Jeff Hardy and Sami Zayn wrestled with the loser getting removed from the men’s team as well. The former WWE champion won the match so Zayn once again gets the short end of the stick.
WWE did not announce who will be replacing the two.
We are just a day away from AEW’s return to pay-per-view with Full Gear live from Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Today, we will bring you the betting odds of the top matches from the show and then tomorrow, the full card and the respective odds will be examined.
In the AEW World title match, the reigning champion Kenny Omega finds himself as the underdog with his odds of retaining the title at 17/4 while Hangman Page is currently at 1/9 and heavy favorite to walk out of the Target Center with the gold.
The AEW Women’s title will also be on the line and unlike her male counterpart, champion Britt Baker is the overwhelming favorite to win this match. Baker’s odds are at 1/20 while Tay Conti is a long shot with odds of 7/1.
The Lucha Brothers will put the AEW Tag Team titles up for grabs against FTR, who recently won the AAA Tag Team titles. According to the odds, The Fenix and Penta are 1/9 to win and keep the titles while FTR are 17/4 to add to their collection.
Who will be the new number one contender for the AEW World title? It’s either going to be Miro or Bryan Danielson. Danielson is currently the favorite with his odds at 1/3 while former TNT champion Miro is at 2/1 to win the tournament.
Tickets for WrestleMania 38 went on sale to the general public this morning with night one, night two, and 2-day combo tickets available at SeatGeek.com.
Single tickets for each night start from $35 while combo tickets start from $70 plus fees. Ringside seats are going for up to $3,095 per night while you can get floor seats, although not a great view, for $541.
The closest ringside ticket for a 2-day combo is row four but these tickets – for both nights – will cost you a total of $6,136. Some combo floor seats are as cheap as $834. There are far less combo tickets available than single tickets. It’s unclear if all sections are open for sale at this point.
WrestleMania travel packages are also available at WrestleManiaTravel.com.
Meanwhile, Dallas Cowboys’ Jerry Jones joined 105.3 The Fan this afternoon and the topic of WrestleMania came up.
“I’m a fabulous fan of WrestleMania. It is really one of the real accomplishments, for me, to have that event at our stadium,” Jones said. “I am so impressed by McMahon’s ability and skills of making wrestling what it is today. I grew up when wrestling was the first time on television, and it was so much fun. I used to go to wrestling matches when I was a kid. My father used to get involved and be a sponsor, and use wrestling to call attention to his stores.”
Wooooo! Get ready because The Nature Boy is coming back…to a podcast near you!
Ric Flair is relaunching his Woooo Nation Uncensored podcast along with former WCW commentator Mark Madden as his co-host. The podcast will be part of the brand new Podcast Heat network.
The press release states that the podcast will take an in-depth look at pivotal moments and memorable matches in Flair’s Hall of Fame career and will also give the hosts the platform to give their uncensored views and opinions on the current state of professional wrestling.
The title of the podcast is the same title Flair used when he entered the podcast world. He later did another one called The Ric Flair Show.
Also joining the Podcast Heat network is Stories with Brisco and Bradshaw, a weekly dive into some of the most important moments and craziest stories in pro wrestling with Hall of Famers Gerald Brisco and John Bradshaw.
“When our team started to envision what Podcast Heat would look like, we wanted to kick things off with shows that fans will want to consume, and that will keep them talking. I’m confident that ‘Ric Flair Wooooo Nation Uncensored,’ and ‘Stories with Brisco and Bradshaw,’ will be can’t miss, weekly content,” said Podcast Heat founder Dave Greene. “Ric Flair with a wide open forum to talk about his career and the entire wrestling business? And Brisco and Bradshaw sharing never before heard stories from their storied careers? Buckle up, folks.”
