The longest-reigning NXT UK Women’s champion, Kay Lee Ray, will be returning to NXT tonight in a match against Sarray.
Ever since she lost her title across the pond to Meiko Satomura, KLR has appeared multiple times on NXT television but has not showed up since the September 21 episode.
Other matches scheduled for tonight include Kushida and Ikemen Jiro vs The Creed Brothers, Joe Gacy vs Boa, and a six-woman tag team match with Io Shirai, Kayden Carter, and Kacy Catanzaro vs Mandy Rose, Gigi Dolin, and Jacy Jayne of Toxic Attraction.
Eddie Kingston is the latest AEW star to pen a piece for The Players’ Tribune, where he discussed his previous mental health problems as well as drug and alcohol abuse.
Kingston, who admits that he still suffers with anxiety and depression, wrote that he almost quit the wrestling business but his brother made him change his mind. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, things got tough and had to sell some personal items to even make a mortgage payment.
The AEW star then talked about how a promo he taped in New Jersey caught the eye of Cody Rhodes, who was the TNT champion at the time, and was invited for the open challenge.
“I have been everything in this life. I have been an angry kid. I’ve been a depressed teenager. I’ve been an addict. I’ve seen so many holding cells it would make your head spin. I’ve messed up and self-destructed and burned bridges,” Kingston wrote. “I’ve been down to my last dollar. The only reason I’m still doing this, and really the only reason I’m still on this earth is because of all the friends who never stop having my back.”
The popular Ruthless Aggression docuseries on the WWE Network will return for part two with five new episodes starting on Sunday, November 21.
The first episode will air on the day of the Survivor Series with the remaining four being made available the next day on Monday.
The new episodes will have new interviews from John Cena, Batista, Shawn Michaels, Triple H, Hulk Hogan, Rob Van Dam, Edge, Goldberg, Trish Stratus, Torrie Wilson, Kane, Mick Foley, Lita, Randy Orton, Kurt Angle and many more who were part of that era.
In the text promoting the new season, the synopsis reads, “Witness The Rock’s acting career crossover, the growing fan resentment it created, and the unforgettable Hollywood character that was born as a result. Relive the first revolution of women’s wrestling, as superstars like Trish Stratus and Lita break down doors and set a new standard for the industry. Experience the birth of several innovative match concepts, such as the Elimination Chamber and Money in the Bank. Witness the resurrection of Shawn Michaels, as The Heartbreak Kid writes a second chapter to his already legendary career. And learn about the early days of WWE’s developmental system – from Ohio Valley Wrestling to new ventures like Tough Enough.”
Smackdown commentator Pat McAfee will be narrating the second part of this series.
Doing the media rounds to promote his latest Netflix movie Red Notice, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson shot down a match against Roman Reigns at next year’s WrestleMania.
Johnson told Dish Nation that “there is no truth to that right now,” although he did not completely eliminate the idea, saying, “possibly down the road.”
In another interview with Comicbook.com, The Rock said that a return for him has “to make sense” and doesn’t know if he has another WWE title run in him, although anything is possible.
Johnson also explained how he’s very close with Roman Reigns, saying he’s very proud of him and everything he’s doing.
“I think he’s doing a great job with his promos, his execution, his in-ring work, it all continues to improve and grow,” Johnson said.
He also had high praise for The Usos and what they’re doing with The Bloodline storyline.
“I like what they’re doing together,” he continued.
The WrestleMania 38 seating chart has been released with tickets going on pre-sale starting today.
It looks like the whole stadium will be used with a typical huge stage and a long ramp. The ring is at the 50-yard line. A ton of floor seats have been added as well unlike some of the recent stadium shows so seats pretty much cover the whole floor.
Tickets for WrestleMania night one start from $91 and tickets for night two start from $79. Combo tickets for both days start from $216. These prices are without fees and expect to pay around $30 at least in extra fees for the cheapest tickets around.
Tickets are available starting today using the pre-sale code UNIVERSE at SeatGeek.com.
AEW Rampage on Friday night did 599,000 viewers, down 24,000 viewers from the previous episode. The show did 0.22 in the 18-49 demo and placed #5 for the day on the cable chart. That was also down 0.02 from the October 29 episode. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)
Well-known Canadian wrestler Rocky Johnson has an HPI (Historical Popularity Index) of 63.96%. Rocky Johnson is from Toronto, Canada. As well as becoming Georgia’s first black heavyweight champion, he was the NWA television champion during his stay there (2 times). His victory against Tony Atlas in the World Tag Team Championship in 1983 was the first time a black WWE tag team had triumphed in the event’s history. He has a son named Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, who used to wrestle professionally.
Bret Hart (1957 – )
In the early 1990s, he altered mainstream North American professional wrestling by stressing technical pro wrestling performance. As a professional wrestler, he had an enormous following, with followers following him from all over the world. Many wrestling fans, including those who passionately bet on the best sports betting sites Canada, would consider Hart to be one of the best professional wrestlers of all time. He was the WWF’s public face on New Generation at the time. Hart’s playing style has been described by the moniker “Hitman.” In 1976, his father owned and ran Stu Hart’s Stampede Wrestling, where Hart worked as a referee. His professional wrestling career began in 1978 when he was on the WWE roster for the first time. When he was in charge of the Hart Foundation, they won several World Wrestling Federation titles (now WWE). After the infamous “Montreal Screwjob,” WCW hired him in November 1997, and he stayed there until October 2000. Due to a concussion, he sustained in December 1999, Hart was unable to compete until January 2000. He announced his retirement in October 2000, barely months after leaving the industry.
As well as being the show’s headliner, Hart served as an enforcer and referee in 1997’s main event at Starrcade, which took place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. When the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame was first established in 1996, Hart was still competing professionally. During the 1970s, Hart won 32 titles, including 17 with the WWF/WWE and 7 with WCW (WCW). He was the WWF Heavyweight Champion five times and the WCW Heavyweight Champion twice. When it came to days as WWF Heavyweight Champion in the 1990s, Hart was the most active contender. He was also the first foreign-born employee of WCW (654). His achievement of winning the WWF and WCW Triple Crown Championships in one calendar year remains unmatched to this day. Up till this point (together with Goldberg).
Edge (1973 – )
Edge is the third most well-known wrestler in Canada, according to the HPI. His autobiography has been translated into 42 different languages. Adam Joseph Copeland, better known as Edge, was a professional wrestler and actor in Canada.
In 1992, Copeland made his entrance into the world of professional wrestling. He performed as a single and in tag teams with Christian Cage. Copeland joined the World Wrestling Federation (now WWE) in 1997 as a developmental wrestler and made his televised debut as Edge in 1998. As a tag team, Christian and Edge won the WWF Intercontinental Championship seven times between 1999 and 2002. Due to their involvement in Tables, Ladders, and Chairs bouts, they were well-known in the tag team division at the time. Edge has had great solo success after his August 2001 breakup with Christian. R-Truth has the most titles (37), although Edge is just behind him with 31 triumphs.
He’s also won the WWE Championship four times and the Intercontinental Championship five times, in addition to the World Heavyweight Championship. Additionally, he’s won the US Championship once, as well as a record 12 times in the World Tag Team Championship with his teammates. He holds the WWE Triple Crown record and is the 7th Grand Slam Champion in WWE history. As a result of his victories in the first-ever King of the Ring tournament, Money in the Bank in 2005, and the Royal Rumble in 2010, Edge has established himself as a legitimate triple threat. Following a series of neck problems that forced his retirement in 2011, Edge was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. The following year, he returned to the Royal Rumble match and won it again in 2021, making him one of just eight individuals in WWE history to achieve this feat. Many WWE pay-per-view events have featured him throughout the years, including WrestleMania XXIV (his first) and WrestleMania 37 (his second).
Chris Benoit (1967 – 2007)
According to the HPI statistics, Chris Benoit is the fourth most popular wrestler among Canadians. Christopher Michael Benoit was a Canadian professional wrestler who competed in the industry from 1967 until his death, which occurred on June 24, 2007. Throughout his 22-year career, he has worked for a variety of companies and independent enterprises, including WWF/WWE, WCW, ECW, and NJPW (NJPW). With 22 championships under his belt, Benoit has won a lot of prestigious titles throughout his time in the WWF, WWE, WCW, and NJPW. He was slated to earn his third global championship the night before he died, in addition to his WCW and WWE belts as World Heavyweight Champion. His other accomplishments include his two world boxing titles. Benoit was one of only four wrestlers in history to hold the WWE and WCW Triple Crown belts simultaneously a second time. Other than Shawn Michaels in 2003, the only other top contender to win a Royal Rumble was Edge.
Roderick Toombs (1954 – 2015)
Roddy Piper is the sixth most well-known wrestler in Canada, according to the HPI rankings. He was the most well-known wrestler in the WWF (now WWE) and WCW to a worldwide audience (between 1984 and 2000). In spite of being a Canadian, his Scottish ancestry led many to mistake him for a Glaswegian, and his unusual entrance music, which included kilts and bagpipes, made him famous. Rowdy was given the nickname because of his “Scottish” quick temper, impulsiveness, and sense of humor. He is regarded as one of the best heel wrestlers of all time by certain fans, according to The Daily Telegraph. As a result of his WWF/E “Piper’s Pit” interview segment, he was able to capture 34 titles. While introducing Piper to the WWE Hall of Fame in 2005, Ric Flair called him “the finest skilled wrestler ever.”. Additionally, Piper is well-known for his parts in cult films such as 1988’s They Live, in which he played the starring role of John Nada, and for his portrayal as Da’ Maniac in the FX comedy Professional wrestler Sunny in Philadelphia is insane and always sunny. As Sam Hell in the horror-comedy Hell Comes to Frogtown, he became instant fame overnight.
After announcing the Survivor Series teams on social media this past weekend, WWE already made one change to the Raw team.
While none of the team members had to qualify to be part of the team, Dominik Mysterio found himself in that spot last night and had to overcome Bobby Lashley to keep his place on the team.
Obviously, that didn’t turn out so well for Dominik as Lashley easily beat him to join the team. Lashley is the only one on the team who was on Raw prior to the WWE Draft as the other four individuals were all on Smackdown until a few weeks ago.
Raw’s team is now Seth Rollins, Kevin Owens, Finn Balor, Rey Mysterio, and Bobby Lashley. They take on Drew McIntyre, King Woods, Sami Zayn, Jeff Hardy, and Happy Corbin.
Judy Bagwell, the mother of Marcus “Buff” Bagwell who appeared multiple times on WCW television back in the late 90s, has passed away at age 78.
The Twitter account of Rebuilding Buff, Bagwell’s podcast, announced the news today, saying that Judy suffered from dementia.
“It is with a heavy heart we must announce that this past Friday the matriarch of the Bagwell family has passed away,” a statement read. “Judy Bagwell was blessed with three amazing children, a loving husband and so many great memories over the years. Thank you to everyone that has asked about her over the years, and have kept her in your prayers during her battle with dementia.”
Perhaps Judy’s most infamous moment came during the New Blood Rising pay-per-view in 2000 when her son Buff defeated Chris Kanyon in a Judy Bagwell on a Forklift match. She is also a former WCW World Tag Team champion with Rick Steiner!
All Elite Wrestling announced that the first episode of the TBS era of Dynamite will take place at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
This episode will be on Wednesday, January 5, 2022 and will be the second time that AEW has visited the Prudential Center following the September 15 episode. The company drew nearly 13,000 fans last time around. Tickets for this show go on sale this Friday at AEWTix.com with prices starting from $29 plus fees.
AEW also announced their Greensboro debut for the Dynamite on Wednesday, December 22. The show takes place at the Greensboro Coliseum, a frequent WWE location. Tickets for this show also go on sale this Friday with the same prices as the Newark one.
Meanwhile, a scheduling conflict has pushed back the planned Dynamite from the UNO Lakefront Arena in New Orleans from January 12, 2022 to Wednesday, April 13, 2022. All tickets for the January 12 date will be honored.
AEW President Tony Khan has said that most of the AEW roster is vaccinated against COVID-19 but there are some who are not, and that might pose a problem in the future with touring.
Khan discussed the issue during an interview with Pro Wrestling Torch editor Wade Keller which comes after WWE dismissed 18 of its Superstars, some of who did not want to get vaccinated against coronavirus.
Khan said that when AEW starts doing international tours, those who are not vaccinated will encounter a problem, mentioning Canada and England.
“Places like that, it’ll be very difficult for wrestlers to travel without it,” said Khan, who noted that he has been vaccinated as well.
Khan also mentioned that places in the United States like California will be tough to perform with strict mandates so it becomes even more important for everyone to get jabbed.
“Most of the roster is vaccinated and as we continue touring I think it’s something that may come up. So, I understand why for some people especially with the return to touring, international touring looming, why that would be an issue.”
Khan also said that he has not specifically had to do one-on-one talks with anyone who has not been vaccinated yet but at some point they will be going to a place where it’s mandated to perform and that scenario will likely happen.
There will be six different packages in total: Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, VIP, and Championship.
All packages will include tickets to WrestleMania, Smackdown, Monday Night Raw, round-trip bus transport to AT&T Center, travel package concierge, and a Dallas downtown area hotel. All packages except Bronze will also include WrestleMania Axxess tickets. The Championship package will also have an exclusive gift bag and a Fort Worth Stockyards Experience with WWE Superstars and Legends.
Each package contains different seating for WrestleMania, Smackdown, and Raw, with the Championship and VIP including ringside seats with a collectible chair.
Prices are, as you can expect, super expensive. The cheapest Bronze package is $975 for a single person of $595 per person if you are four. The most expensive package is $10,950 for a single person or $10,195 each for a party of four.
Martial arts are popular around the globe. However, when speaking of Martial Arts, Japan is one of the most famous countries in the world. In the past few decades Japan has produced many bright stars in various martial arts. Many of these athletes have held world championships in their respective disciplines. With such a rich history its easy to see the continuing popularity. What are the most popular forms of martial arts in Japan Today?
Pro Wrestling
Few countries have a more esteemed professional wrestling industry than Japan. WWE wrestling in Japan is extremely popular and has been for a long time. In more recent memory, ‘The Beast in the East’ (2015) tournament was one of the most successful WWE events of all time. Brock Lesnar took on Kofi Kingston as the headline. However, the biggest attraction was Finn Balor’s return to Japan to win the NXT Championship.
Balor was a massive star in Japan throughout his run in New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW). The most popular league for pro wrestling in Japan, the NJPW enjoyed a renaissance in 2007. A growing number of stars wrestle in the NJPW including AJ Styles, Chris Jericho, and Kenny Omega. These international names have led to a growing number of fans from around the world. One of the biggest differences between NJPW and the WWE is the wrestling style. The NJPW places more emphasis on the perseverance of the stars in the ring. This is in contrast to out of ring theatrics that are synonymous with WWE.
UFC
There isn’t a more popular league for mixed martial arts (MMA) in the world today than the UFC. The UFC has a very large fan base in Japan. Many Japanese fans have followed the UFC since its early days. Much of this fan base is attributed to the success of Japanese Kazushi Sakuraba. The UFC remains prominent with Japanese fans today. Fans from around the country tune in to the events weekly.
Sakuraba was one of the true trailblazers for MMA. His career began when he competed in the first event in Japan in 1997. The match against Marcus Silveira was stopped for technical reasons. The two did clash again later on in the same night. Sakuraba won by submission in the first round.
Takanori Gomi is one of the more recent Japanese UFC stars. He competed in the UFC between 2010 and 2017. Gomi’s most important victories came against Isaac Vallie-Flagg and Mac Danzig.
Karate
One of the most popular forms of martial arts in Japan is undeniably karate. This form of martial art originated in Japan, and has been practiced since 1879. Karate was taught throughout the early 1910s, but popularity exploded in the mid 1920’s. In around 1924, universities began organize karate clubs. By 1932, the majority of the universities in Japan had karate clubs. During the Second World War the western world was exposed to the discipline. US armed forces began practicing karate during the immediate aftermath of the war.
It wasn’t until the 1960s and 1970s that the popularity of karate reached new heights. It was during this period the discipline was featured in many movies. The Karate Kid was particularly notable. The film had a profound impact on the number of new fans drawn into the sport. 2021 has been a great year for the discipline. Karate was part of the Olympic calendar for the very first time during the Tokyo games.
Boxing
Boxing has long been one of the most popular sports around the world. As a form of exercise it is incredibly popular. For others it is a way of life and a career. Throughout history Japan has produced some impressive boxers. Fighting Harada, Koki Kameda, and Katsunari Takayama are just a few names that come to mind.
The biggest star Japan has produced is Naoya Inoue. To this day he is a superstar of the sport. Inoue has been popular since winning bronze in the light flyweight class at the Asian Youth Championships. Since turning professional, his career has gone from strength to strength. He is a three-division world champion, and is currently the unified bantamweight champion of the world. In December he will defend his WBA (Super), The Ring, and IBF championships against Aran Dipaen. The match is expected to draw record crowds in Tokyo.
With such a rich history, the popularity of martial arts in Japan is obvious. The tradition looks to continue as the popularity of new and exciting disciplines gain popularity. The future of martial arts in Japan is not in doubt.
The feud between Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Vin Diesel is pretty much public domain, with both Hollywood movie stars talking about how they really feel about each other.
But now, Vin Diesel wrote an open letter to The Rock, posted on his Instagram for the 76.1 million followers he has, imploring Johnson to return for the final Fast & Furious movie.
Addressing him as his “little brother,” Diesel said that his children refer to him as Uncle Dwayne in their house and there’s not a holiday that goes by that they don’t send well wishes.
“But the time has come. Legacy awaits. I told you years ago that I was going to fulfill my promise to Pablo. I swore that we would reach and manifest the best Fast in the finale that is 10,” Diesel wrote.
“I say this out of love… but you must show up, do not leave the franchise idle you have a very important role to play. Hobbs can’t be played by no other. I hope that you rise to the occasion and fulfill your destiny,” Diesel concluded.
The post received over 1 million likes in less than 10 hours.
Johnson did not appear in F9 and now has his own spinoff franchise in Hobbs & Shaw. F9 was the first movie that Johnson did not participate since Fast Five.
Impact Wrestling on AXS TV drew 118,000 viewers this week, up 18,000 viewers from last week’s broadcast. This was the best audience for Impact since September 2. The show did 0.02 in the 18-49 demo, down 0.01 from the prior week. (Ratings credit: Wrestlenomics)
The Friday Night Smackdown and Monday Night Raw during WrestleMania week next year will both be held at the American Airlines Center in downtown Dallas.
Smackdown will be live on Friday, April 1 and Raw will be live on Monday, April 4. With WrestleMania being a two-day affair again, that leaves no room for either an NXT Takeover or a Hall of Fame during that weekend.
If a Hall of Fame takes place, it could be done on a Thursday night. There has not been a Hall of Fame ceremony in front fans since 2019, with both the 2020 and 2021 events taking place during WrestleMania week on Peacock earlier this year but taped inside the WWE ThunderDome with no fans.
WrestleMania Axxess will be held at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center, the same location where Axxess at WrestleMania 32 took place.
The WrestleMania travel packages that will be on sale tomorrow contain no tickets for a Hall of Fame ceremony.
UFC star Colby Covington entered Madison Square Garden for his UFC 268 fight against Kamaru Usman last night to Kurt Angle’s WWE theme song.
The song, called Medal and produced by Jim Johnston, has been played many times in Madison Square Garden during Angle’s WWE days and the fans continued the tradition of chanting “You suck” with the song.
Covington was unsuccessful in winning the UFC Welterweight title and lost to Usman via a unanimous decision.
During the post-show press conference, Covington was asked about professional wrestling considering his choice of theme song for the night.
“I might go to WWE one day,” Covington said. “But I don’t think you’re going to see me in a second-tier promotion like AEW!”
With only a few weeks away and zero promotion on television, WWE finally announced the Raw and Smackdown Survivor Series teams on social media without any angles or matches for selection.
Two traditional five-on-five Survivor Series matches will take place, pitting the Raw men’s and women’s teams taking on their Smackdown counterparts.
In the men’s teams, Raw is represented by team captain Seth Rollins, Finn Balor, Kevin Owens, and Rey and Dominik Mysterio. Smackdown has Drew McIntyre as captain, Jeff Hardy, King Woods, Sami Zayn, and Happy Corbin.
The women’s Raw team consists of team captain Bianca Belair along with Rhea Ripley, Carmella, Queen Zelina Vega, and Liv Morgan while Raw’s team has captain Sasha Banks, Shotzi, Natalya, Shayna Baszler, and Aliyah.
The pay-per-view, set for November 21, will also have the champions of each brand taking on each other in non-title matches.
The Smackdown brand is in the United Kingdom to kick-start the second half of the WWE UK tour. Apart from the SuperShow with Raw tonight in London, the blue team will be performing in Liverpool, Leeds, Nottingham, and Manchester before heading back to the United States in time for the next Smackdown live on FOX.
The four stops will be headlined by Charlotte Flair taking on Sasha Banks for the Smackdown Women’s title. Roman Reigns is not part of the tour due to his medical condition.
Other matches which are on the card are Drew McIntyre vs Happy Corbin, Shinsuke Nakamura vs Jinder Mahal for the Intercontinental title, Tommaso Ciampa vs Bron Breakker vs Sami Zayn in triple threat for the NXT title, Finn Balor vs Sheamus, Cesaro vs Walter, Jeff Hardy vs Madcap Moss, and Natalya vs Shayna Baszler.
The Raw brand wraps up their end of the tour tonight in London.
Friday Night Smackdown on FOX did 1,978,000 viewers in the overnight ratings yesterday, down 123,000 viewers from the October 22 episode. That episode ended with 2,249,000 viewers once the final rating came in on Monday but this one will be definitely lower.
Smackdown started with 2,015,000 viewers in the first hour and then dropped to 1,941,000 viewers in the second. The show did 0.5 in the 18-49 demo and tied first with S.W.A.T and Shark Tank on CBS and ABC respectively. (Ratings credit: SpoilerTV.com)
