Originally Posted by Observer

A Royal Rumble burger will be on sale for those in attendance at Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona on Sunday. It’s an 18 ounce pork bratwurst patty on a toasted onion roll with cheddar cheese, smoked bacon, crispy coleslaw, fried onions, and BBQ aioli. The burger is topped with fried macaroni and cheese wedges.

Originally Posted by Observer

Chris Sabin has confirmed that the knee injury he suffered earlier this month is a torn ACL.

Sabin tweeted out an injury update today, writing that the injury is a "complete ACL tear" in his right knee and that he expects to be out of action for 8-12 months.

Originally Posted by PWI

Paul Levesque met with reporters this morning for the NXT TakeOver Phoenix conference call ...

Mike asked what the status of Lars Sullivan is.

Paul said that there is always speculation and stories all the time. He said Lars is in a good place and nothing has really changed. He said you will know when you see it but nothing has changed.

Originally Posted by PWI

All Elite Wrestling applied to trademark the term 'Change The Universe' for wrestling and merchandise purposes on 1/17. That was the line Chris Jericho used when he announced he was signing with the upstart promotion earlier this month in Jacksonville, Florida.

A trademark for Starrcast was applied for by Starrcast LLC, based out of Hunstville, AL on 1/10. Obviously, that's the parent company for the Conrad Thompson-promoted gathering, which will have its second incarnation this May in Las Vegas in conjunction with AEW's Double or Nothing event.

Originally Posted by WrestlingInc

On a related note, there was some speculation on CM Punk being associated with AEW after a RedBubble designer was sent a copyright claim related to CM Punk artwork. The claim came from rights holder Creative Ventures Inc. and the listed subject matter was "All Elite Wrestling, ProWrestling Tees."

Ryan Barkan from Pro Wrestling Tees, which is working closely with AEW, explained the CM Punk speculation on Twitter and noted that he just filed copyright violations for bootleg merchandise of Punk, AEW and others, at the same time, and that is why AEW was mentioned on the Punk copyright claim.

"For the record, I file copyright violations weekly at the same time for hundreds of designs on tons of bootleg sites including new japan designs, bucks, macho man, cm punk, AEW, legion of doom etc.," Barkan wrote. "I'm not sure why this is news. People should stop bootlegging merch, THAT'S NEWS!"

Originally Posted by WrestlingInc

Rusev discussed the origin of Rusev Day and how other WWE Superstars helped promote it during an interview with Planeta Wrestling.

"It was supposed to be a one off, just a celebration after I beat Randy Orton and that was it," said Rusev. "A few weeks after I was going "Rusev Day, Rusev Day" and people really started digging it, even in the backstage with the New Day and with Aiden signing "Rusev Day" helped. People just got it and loved the whole concept and it became really big."

Originally Posted by WrestlingInc

There's been a lot of speculation on JoJo's WWE status but word is that she's just off the road due to personal reasons.

JoJo has not appeared on WWE RAW as a ring announcer since the New Year's Eve episode, which was taped in late December. PWInsider reports that she is still employed by WWE and there is nothing wrong as far as backstage heat or anything like that.

There's no word yet on when JoJo will return to WWE TV but it looks like she's expected to be gone past Sunday's Royal Rumble pay-per-view. WWE confirmed the ring announcers and the commentators for Rumble weekend and JoJo was not listed. Mike Rome will be handling the red brand ring announcing until she's back.

Originally Posted by WrestlingInc

There has been talk of linking Sin Cara with Rey Mysterio on the SmackDown brand when Cara returns to action, according to PWInsider. Cara should be returning soon after being out of action since August with a knee injury. The masked Superstar was back at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando today training in the ring.

Originally Posted by R/SquaredCircle

In the latest edition of Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer reported that WWE is planning to push unhappy talent to prevent them from leaving upon the expiration of their contracts.

This news comes on the heels of The Revival asking for their release from the company due to their unhappiness with the booking. The Revival have recently made several references on Twitter to All Elite Wrestling.

Sasha Banks has also hinted at wanting out of her contract, tweeting at Scott Dawson to "take me with you!" when he spoke about potentially leaving WWE.

Meltzer spoke to the fact that WWE does not want fans to know that unhappy talents are wanting to leave and potentially go to competing promotions like AEW.

WWE believes they can keep talents like The Revival and Andrade by giving them pushes, as this could make them want to stay with the company.

Originally Posted by Post Wrestling

The major news today was Dave Meltzer’s report in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter regarding the status of Ronda Rousey beyond WrestleMania. Meltzer reported that she is expected to be finishing up her run around that time, although is expected to continue her affiliation with the company. It is no secret Rousey has always stated she eventually wants to start a family and has hinted in the past about not being able to wrestle forever ...

Ryan Satin at Pro Wrestling Sheet added that Rousey informed the company around the Survivor Series that she would be taking a break after WrestleMania, although stated it is not set in stone.

Originally Posted by PWI

In regard to Royal Rumble surprises, we are told that if there are going to be any, the decision would have been made at TV this past week. We haven't confirmed any outside names being brought in as of this morning, but if we do confirm anyone, we'll report. Just wanted to mention that since it's been a big email topic the last 24 hours.

Originally Posted by Post Wrestling

On Thursday, I was told that the status of John Cena has not changed for this Sunday’s Royal Rumble and he is not expected for Sunday’s show. The WWE has not issued any update beyond Monday’s announcement that he was “questionable” for the show, there was also no mention of Cena’s status on SmackDown. The person I spoke with stated that if Cena were to appear in the Rumble, it would mean a lot of people were kept in the dark and I can’t imagine them going to these lengths for a surprise that isn’t even a big one when they’re still semi-advertising him.

Originally Posted by Observer

New Japan Pro Wrestling has revealed the cards for their New Beginning USA events.

The lineups for the three-show tour were affected by the government shutdown that's going on in the United States, with NJPW issuing a statement saying that they were unable to obtain visas for their Japanese wrestlers.

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter

At this point the delays were such that even if everything cleared up this week, it would still be a few weeks before they could be processed or past the point of these shows. They felt that 1/24 was the deadline for announcing the cards and thus the shows had to be changed from the original plans. The key guys this affected were Tomohiro Ishii and Yuji Nagata, who were supposed to be the headliners, as well as Hirooki Goto (who was supposed to be programmed with Jeff Cobb) and I think Satoshi Kojima (that wasn’t confirmed to me but the name was mentioned and he wasn’t booked in Japan) and Jushin Liger

Unlike with other companies who would have announced the shows originally and then been announced the changes when the shutdown screwed everything up, they waited until the last possible time, but the shows also aren’t what was originally on the books and if you know anything about Japan, they hate to change original plans because everything is intricately laid out. A number of visas were applied for in November with the idea they’d be taken care of by December and the cards could be announced after Dash. But even today, the visas haven’t been processed so they were waiting to announce the cards

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter

The Rumble itself looks to be close to a six-hour show. Right now the plan is seven matches for the main card, which starts at 7 p.m. and can go as long as until midnight. Seven matches is a lot when two 30-person Rumbles on the same show would both be around one hour duration time

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter

One of the reasons MLW went to such great lengths for Rush is because they don’t want to be just another promotion catering to the indie fans and figure that the Hispanic market is the one not being fully served in the U.S., which I agree with. Another aspect not really talked about is that even though Rush and Konnan are fine, Paco Alonso hates Konnan because they were on opposite sides of a brutal AAA vs. CMLL war in the 90s, and Konnan was CMLL’s golden boy who had one of the best Arena Mexico runs in history with Perro Aguayo, and then both left for AAA, although Aguayo was never office in AAA while Konnan was Antonio Pena’s right-hand man who was constantly trying to recruit his top talent. But MLW was going to not just sponsor Rush, but also Dragon Lee and Mistico for visas and use them as top guys.

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter

Matt Jackson talked about the OWE deal in an interview with Nuclear Convoy ... He said he fully expects OWE talent at the Las Vegas show. He said he plans on having OWE talent as among the first things people see when the promotion starts up because they will grab audience’s attention and deliver something most fans have never seen. “I plan to have OWE be one of the first things on our show, because we’ve got one first time impression and we’ve got to make it a big one.”

He also said that part of the deal would include AEW talent working OWE shows in China. “The plan is to definitely expand into China, as it’s one of the few untapped markets with lots of potential.”

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter

HHH also pretty much said without saying that the reason the Brooklyn Takeover show was moved up a day to 4/5 was because of the NJPW/ROH show in Madison Square Garden. Obviously he didn’t say it, but when asked why the date was changed, he said it was because they didn’t want to make the fan base choose

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter

It should be noted that talent is being told that when the new television money kicks in later this year, that new contracts will be way up from past deals ... There’s been talk of it being like all sports where you’re signed for a figure and that’s what you make, and anything above that is either a bonus or a contracted percentage of merchandise

The Revival’s contracts aren’t up until April 2020. They asked for their release because they are really serious about doing the best work they can do, and with tag teams not being a focus and different priorities, that wasn’t going to happen in WWE ...

It will be interesting what happens next because with some people, them being unhappy results in them getting a push because they don’t want unhappy people nor do they want people who want to leave or people starting to have a grass is greener mentality from what happened with Cody.

The last thing right now you would want is for someone to leave, go to AEW, and end up over more there and doing better in the ring there. For a lot of the guys, while money is a big thing, it’s not the only thing and the ones who grew up as fans want to have great matches. If the money is close, and the schedule is easier, and your work is better, many will find the outside better. Of course, WWE has the ability to make the money not close, and for a lot of talent, it’s money, and for some who didn’t grow up as fans of wrestling but only saw WWE, there is no emotional attachment toward anything but being a WWE wrestler as opposed to being a pro wrestler. The Revival grew up on the legend of Carolinas wrestling so that’s a different mentality to a lot of the guys who grew up where WWE was it

Both Matt & Jeff Hardy’s contracts expire at Mania season but the expectation is they are staying for at least one more year. They signed a two year deal in 2017 with a third year option. It’s believed WWE will pick up the option now, which does include a substantial pay raise in year three.

Mike & Maria Kanellis also asked for their release several weeks ago and were turned down. They haven’t been used much since. Pro Wrestling Sheet reported the story. Maria denied it. It was already done long before it broke but the original story was accurate

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter

While not a certainty, there is a school of thought that Andrade is now the new project big Latin babyface star for the future. Plus, if he’s happy, it opens the door for him as an influence in bringing in the young stars. While not a sure thing, the direction looks to be that Mysterio & Andrade end their program as a babyface tag team with Andrade getting the rub from Mysterio as part of strengthening of the tag team division. That’s likely because AEW is logically going to use tag teams on top, rather than just taking up mid-level space, and that creates the grass is greener scenario for every WWE team, which makes The Revival situation make complete sense. Plus, WWE’s most popular gimmick team, The New Day, is already friends with the Young Bucks and have wanted to work with them for years

Originally Posted by TPWW Frontpage via Triple A

As of right now, there is no planned match for The Undertaker at WrestleMania this year, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

But that could always change as the show gets closer, of course.

Originally Posted by TPWW Frontpage via Triple A

Impact Wrestling was “very close” to signing deals with both Kenny Omega and Chris Jericho last year before AEW entered the picture, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

Don Callis, who is close to both Omega and Jericho, was the main person brokering the deal.

The expectation with Omega was that he would still work for NJPW and would do about 30 dates a year at Impact. When AEW became a thing, plans obviously changed.

With Jericho, he wanted to work another year in New Japan and would have also worked in Impact during that time. Jericho said last week that he was in negotiations with Impact until late last year and they made him a big offer and he “really, really thought about going there” until AEW came in with the biggest offer of Jericho’s career.

Originally Posted by Observer

ESPN wrote about the testing that Daniel Bryan goes through after every match: “Daniel Bryan walks backstage after finishing a match, something he's done thousands of times over the course of his 19-year career. Instead of heading right to the locker room to shower and change before driving on to the next town, Bryan has to first take the number eight and multiply it by three, multiple that number by three and divide it all by four. If he can't come up with the correct answer, he's not wrestling. This is the cost that Bryan has to pay if he wants to wrestle for the WWE. It's just one of the tests a WWE doctor performs on Bryan after he's endured any physical activity in the ring. First, he gets his eyes checked. Next, he goes through a series of balance tests. And in the final step, as we've covered, the doctor asks Bryan to solve a math equation -- nothing too complicated, but something challenging enough to determine if his brain is functioning properly. The series of tests can be strenuous given that they occur night in and night out, but the WWE isn't taking any chances with a performer who has suffered 10 documented concussions.”

Originally Posted by Observer

WWE and Bunim-Murray Productions are partnering together for another reality series.

WWE has announced that they're developing a reality show with Bunim-Murray that will "document the search for the next great female competitor." Bunim-Murray are also partners with WWE on Total Divas and Total Bellas.

"Search for the Next Female Superstar" is the working title for the show. Casting applications are now open.

Originally Posted by PWI

Any word on the Bellas in The Rumble?

I haven't heard anything about them working the Rumble match but the word around Evolution was that they would be teaming at Wrestlemania together. Whether those plans have changed, I have not heard.

Originally Posted by Observer

Minoru Suzuki is set to appear at Game Changer Wrestling's WrestleMania week Bloodsport event for the second straight year.

It was announced today that Suzuki will be wrestling at Josh Barnett's Bloodsport, which is taking place at White Eagle Hall in Jersey City, New Jersey on Thursday, April 4. The event will begin at 4 p.m. Eastern time.

Barnett, Hideki Suzuki, Timothy Thatcher, Jonathan Gresham, Simon Grimm, Tom Lawlor, Frank Mir, Dan Severn, and Suzuki have now been announced for Josh Barnett's Bloodsport. Mir will be making his professional wrestling debut at the show.

Originally Posted by Post Wrestling

A new edition of WWE Chronicle featuring Paige will air on the WWE Network following TakeOver: Phoenix on Saturday night.

Originally Posted by Post Wrestling

Denny Burkholder of CBS Sports has a tremendous piece on the original Royal Rumble match the WWF promoted in 1987. Prior to the Royal Rumble in Hamilton in January 1988, they tried out the concept on a house show in St. Louis the previous October at the Kiel Auditorium. The 12-man Rumble ended with One Man Gang eliminating Junkyard Dog but the other participants in the match are unknown beyond the assumption those on the undercard worked twice. The match was considered a failure as the show didn’t draw well and was fumbled by a mid-show announcement.

The battle royal was designed to set up a title challenger for Hulk Hogan when the promotion returned to the market in November, however, as was customary at intermission they announced tickets for the next event and the main event would be Hogan vs. One Man Gang for the title eliminating any suspense for the main event. The match, always credited to Pat Patterson, was shelved until January when they ran a special on the USA Network opposing the NWA’s Bunkhouse Stampede pay-per-view and revisited the Rumble idea and improved its presentation.

Burkholder also uncovered a similar-themed battle royal from 1976 in Bangor, Maine that advertised an 18-man battle royal with participants entering “two at a time” for a $5,000 prize.

Originally Posted by Observer

Total Bellas on Sunday did 454,000 viewers, a record viewership low for the series.

Originally Posted by Observer

PWInsider reported that MLW has departed ways with Sammy Guevara. They reported that Guevara double-booked himself for select MLW dates, including the show this weekend and felt there was no way to use him consistently

Originally Posted by Observer

Ricochet is the latest WWE/NXT wrestler to be announced for a two-show return to EVOLVE.

EVOLVE has announced that Ricochet will be wrestling at their shows in March. He'll be in action at EVOLVE 123 in Melrose, Massachusetts on Friday, March 15 and EVOLVE 124 in Queens, New York on Saturday, March 16. Meet and greets with Ricochet will be available to purchase at both events.

EVOLVE 123 is taking place at Melrose Memorial Hall, while EVOLVE 124 is being held at La Boom.

Opponents for Ricochet have yet to be revealed.

Originally Posted by PWI

On 1/10, Riki Paul Johnson, the ex-husband of Charlotte Flair was granted an extension to file an amended lawsuit against Ric Flair, World Wrestling Entertainment, Charlotte Flair and author Brian Shields Johnson's original lawsuit surrounded claims made about him in the WWE book Second Nature, which told an intertwining story about the careers and lives of Ric and Charlotte. He is being given until 3/15 to file. The defendants have been given until 3/28 to respond to the original lawsuit in case there is no new version filed. If there is, the clock on their response would be reset by the U.S. District Court, Western District of North Carolina

Originally Posted by PWI

PWInsider.com sources have independently confirmed that Ambrose was offered a new, five year contract worth a little over seven figures per year, but turned the deal down. The news that Ambrose had given notice had been kept very quiet during last night's Raw taping but began to spread among wrestlers after the show was over. One source categorized the move as Ambrose being able to "do what he wants" as he doesn't live an expensive lifestyle and has made great money over his WWE run.

Originally Posted by PWI

Former IWGP Junior Heavyweight and ROH TV Champion KUSHIDA officially ended his run with New Japan Pro Wrestling today, wrestling IWGP Champion Hiroshi Tanahashi in his final appearance for the company.

Originally Posted by Post Wrestling

LIDET Entertainment has purchased a majority stake in Pro Wrestling NOAH. The group has purchased a 75% ownership stake in the group and is expected to install their own executives with many of the current staff set to depart the company. NOAH’s chairman Masayuki Uchida is among those departing the company and will take on an advisory role with Lidet, which is a similar agreement that Dixie Carter made with Anthem Sports when the purchase of Impact Wrestling was completed. Company president Yusuke Fuwa will stay on board with NOAH, but the company will be overseen by Yukihiro Takeda, who reports to LIDET’s owner Hiroyuki Suzuki.

Originally Posted by WrestlingInc

In numbers available on SullyGnome (a Twitch statistics and analysis website) for the 7 day period of January 22nd-28th, IMPACT Wrestling peaked at 8,732 viewers (at some point on Friday night), an 11% increase from last week's 7,866 viewers ...

IMPACT was the most watched program in the Wrestling category. In comparison, AAA was ranked second. The AAA promotion peaked at 3,464 viewers and streamed 147 hours of content. It averaged 155 viewers with a total watch time of 23,152 hours.

Originally Posted by TPWW Frontpage via Triple A

Kurt Angle’s spot in the Royal Rumble match was originally booked for Zack Ryder, according to Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio.

The decision was made to put Kurt Angle in the match just the day before the Royal Rumble and rather than come up with something specific for him, they just inserted him into the same spot and role that was originally meant for Zack Ryder.

WWE figured that Angle would obviously get a bigger reaction than Ryder, so they put him in the spot instead.

Angle entered at #4 and lasted only 3:15. He was eliminated second (by Nakamura), after Jeff Jarrett. So the reason that WWE basically put him in a “nothing” role in the match was because the spot was supposed to be Zack Ryder’s.

Originally Posted by TPWW Frontpage via Triple A

The plan for the Raw women’s title match at WrestleMania is still a triple threat between Ronda Rousey, Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair as of now, according to Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio.

On Raw last night, Becky Lynch challenged Rousey for the title at WrestleMania and the match was officially announced, but as of last night after Raw, the plan was still to eventually add Charlotte Flair. Of course, WWE’s plans could always change and the one on one segment between Rousey and Lynch got a great reaction from the crowd, so we’ll see what happens depending on reactions going forward and how Vince McMahon feels.

But as of last night, the plan is for a triple threat match and WWE has a storyline in place to add Charlotte.

Originally Posted by Noid (Post 5218165)

Interesting note aboiut that 1987 Rumble. I can't remember if I've heard that before or not, but I seem to recall something about One Man Gang winning one once. I know Owen Hart has won one in MSG and The Undertaker won one in Japan. Are there any other "secret Rumbles?" Eddie Guerrero won one on SmackDown once.

Originally Posted by 411Mania

Good news for The Big Dog, you might be seeing him on WWE TV again sooner than you thought. In the latest edition of Wrestling Observer Radio (via Cageside Seats), Dave Meltzer said that he spoke with a doctor about Roman Reigns’ leukemia and the fact that he’s starring inthe movie Hobbs & Shaw.

The doctor said that Reigns filming a movie soon after his diagnosis suggests that his leukemia is “not a deadly form” and “with that form he would be wrestling soon.” This means that he could be back sooner than whenever he was expected. A timetable was never announced when he said he was going on hiatus this past fall.

Originally Posted by PWI

Impact Wrestling and MLW issued the following:

IMPACT Wrestling and Major League Wrestling Announce Collaboration for April 4 Events ...

April 4 show details for both organizations are below:

Major League Wrestling
MLW will host “Rise of the Renegades” tapings on April 4 at 7:00 p.m. ET for its weekly television program “Fusion” airing on beIN Sports. Tickets start at $20 and are already on sale atMLWTickets.com. The live event will take place at Melrose Ballroom (36-08 33rd St.) in Long Island City, NY. Click here for directions.

IMPACT Wrestling
IMPACT Wrestling presents “United We Stand” on Thursday, April 4 at Rahway Recreation

Originally Posted by WrestlingInc

The fact that Chris Jericho signed with All Elite Wrestling was somewhat of a surprise in itself. But Jericho saying that his AEW contract is better than any previous wrestling contract he's signed was downright shocking.

While the exact numbers aren't known, word of his AEW contract did make its way back to the WWE locker room. Dave Meltzer spoke about the reaction Jericho's contract received on Wrestling Observer Radio.

Meltzer said that people backstage in WWE were stunned or freaked out, depending on their position. While it's not as much as what John Cena or Brock Lesnar is making, it would be more than almost any other star in the company.

When the idea of Brock Lesnar possibly signing with AEW with the amount of money that they're throwing around, Meltzer noted that Vince McMahon would probably pay anything to not lose Lesnar to UFC or AEW. However, Meltzer did say that Jericho wants a match with Lesnar, and Jericho "has a lot of sway" in AEW, although that doesn't mean that the company would make a bad deal.

Originally Posted by WrestlingInc

It was reported yesterday on Wrestling Observer Radio that Charlotte Flair will eventually be added to the WWE RAW Women's Championship match at WrestleMania 35, making it a triple threat between Flair, Ronda Rousey and Becky Lynch. On today's WOR, Dave Meltzer went into greater detail about how the plans with all three women have rearranged over the past year and lead us to this upcoming match.

According to Meltzer, WWE's original idea was to gradually build toward a Charlotte Flair vs. Ronda Rousey one-on-one match at WrestleMania 35. The push for both women started at last year's WrestleMania 34, where Flair defeated Asuka's 914 winning streak to retain her WWE SmackDown Women's Championship and Rousey debuted in an impressive showcase many media outlets called the match of the night.

WWE then decided to start building toward a Natalya vs. Rousey feud because Flair and Lynch were in the midst of a heated rivalry on WWE SmackDown. Unfortunately, the sudden loss of Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart put a halt to the WWE's plan to turn Natalya heel and face Rousey.

November and WWE Survivor Series rolled around, and it was scheduled to be a one-off match between Rousey and Lynch - Champion vs. Champion - however, it's well documented how Lynch suffered a broken face and severe concussion after a punch from Nia Jax. This injury, just days prior to her Survivor Series match, would force Lynch to sit on the sidelines and watch her friend-turned-rival, Flair face Rousey one-on-one at the PPV.

Meltzer noted how the ending of the Flair vs. Rousey match was the exact same plan they set for the Lynch vs.Rousey match, where Flair went berserk with a kendo stick and crushed Rousey's throat with a chair. The waves that the Rousey vs. Flair match caused convinced WWE management to rearrange things once more. A new plan that originally saw Charlotte Flair vs. Ronda Rousey at WWE Royal Rumble and Becky Lynch one-on-one with Ronda Rousey at WrestleMania 35 also got scrapped because they wanted Flair, Rousey, and Lynch to all be a part of the same match at WrestleMania this year.

Originally Posted by WrestlingInc

On the creative side of things, Meltzer reported that the majority of the creative team was unaware that Ambrose was exiting, and they had no idea that the program with Nia Jax was made to humiliate him on his way out of the company. Ambrose's fellow employees are surprised that he turned down such a lucrative five year deal with WWE, but Meltzer emphasized that he is unhappy and doesn't care about the money. Meltzer added that Ambrose is very good friends with AEW's Chris Jericho and Cody Rhodes.

Originally Posted by WrestlingInc

WWE Champion Daniel Bryan wasn't wearing the most heelish attire on SmackDown last night. As seen in the photo below, the shirt that Bryan wore on the show read:

"No violence
No homophobia
No sexism
No racism
Freedom
Peace
Love"

Daniel Bryan's shirt we love a woke king pic.twitter.com/htJiskJW8O
— Omar (@EC3WinsLOL) January 30, 2019

Originally Posted by WrestlingInc

As noted, WWE Champion Daniel Bryan revealed a new title belt on this week's SmackDown after tossing the regular title in the trash can. The new belt is made from hemp and wood from a naturally fallen oak tree, according to Bryan.

WWE had two new designs in mind for Bryan's replacement title, according to @Wrestlevotes. They posted details before tonight's SmackDown of the version that was unveiled on the show. The other design was said to be not as "drastic" as the one that was revealed. The other design included an "eco sourced" strap and "recycled materials" to make up the plates. That design also still had a shine to it.

Originally Posted by TPWW Frontpage via Triple A

Trent Barreta, Chuck Taylor, Sammy Guevara and Kylie Rae are all rumored to be heading to AEW soon, according to Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio.

Barreta and Taylor are likely done with NJPW. Baretta was offered a contract and reportedly was expected to get a big push by New Japan, but he is choosing to not re-sign, Meltzer says. No word on if Taylor was also offered a deal. Trent and Chuckie T frequently team with each other as “The Best Friends” and have appeared on “Being the Elite” before. Chuck Taylor also wrestles for ROH and is a two time former PWG World Champion. Trent Barreta worked in WWE from 2007-2013 and has most recently been in NJPW and ROH.

Originally Posted by Observer

Today is Becky Lynch’s 32nd birthday.

Originally Posted by Damian Rey 2.0 (Post 5221114)

Nia Jax is grossly unathletic, has no charisma and lacks any real presence. She's just fat and a beneficiary of nepotism. Why they seem intent on positioning her to be strong outside of being related to the Rock is beyond me.

Originally Posted by Observer

Jeremy Borash tweeted that Vic Joseph and Shawn Michaels will be calling Halftime Heat, which is taking place from the Performance Center during halftime of Sunday’s Super Bowl and airing live on the WWE Network, WWE.com and the WWE app, YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook. Velveteen Dream, Aleister Black & Ricochet are facing Tommaso Ciampa, Johnny Gargano & Adam Cole.

Originally Posted by Observer

Lawyers hired by the Lawler family have issued subpoenas to the Hardeman County Sheriff's Office and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation as part of their investigation into the death of Brian Christopher Lawler. The subpoenas are part of a civil action “to pursue a civil rights claim against Hardeman County, and the deputies that were supposed to protect Brian Christopher Lawler."

Originally Posted by Observer

Killian Dain posted a tweet asking “#WHEREISSANITY ?!?”, with Alexander Wolfe quote tweeting “Sick of this” in response. The group, which includes Eric Young, haven’t been on television since December 18.

Originally Posted by Observer

All Elite Wrestling issued a press release today hyping next week's Double or Nothing ticket announcement party.

The ticket announcement party will take place at the Splash Pool at the MGM Grand Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada at 9 p.m. Eastern time (6 p.m. Pacific) on Thursday, February 7. AEW is promoting that Cody Rhodes, The Young Bucks, and Brandi Rhodes will "reveal spectacular new signings, exciting new partnerships, ticket on-sale information, and a surprise special guest" at the party.

Originally Posted by PWI

TheWrap is reporting that Charlie Ebersol's Alliance Of American Football has signed a multiyear cross-platform agreement with Turner Sports with the first season starting February 9. So when the XFL starts February 2020, Vince McMahon will find himself in a very familiar situation with Turner Sports.

Originally Posted by Fightful.com

An update on Cody Rhodes' knee injury.

Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer reports that Cody Rhodes will undergo arthroscopic knee surgery on Feb. 12 in Atlanta. He is expected to miss two to three months of action but is not scheduled to wrestle until AEW Double or Nothing on May 25.

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter

There is a lot of talent expected at the AEW Double of Nothing Ticket Announcement Party. CIMA is likely going to be there. They want some surprises. They're trying to bring in names that were not in Jacksonville. Kenny Omega is not signed, but I believe he is going to AEW and this is a good shot that he may be there. The only name that I've heard among women is STARDOM's Bea Priestley, who WWE was pushing hard for, but AEW looks closer with her. She’s not signed as of yet.

All Elite seems like a great choice for newer women to go right now. WWE has a lot of great wrestlers, but there is so many people, that it's easy to get lost in the talent pool, or take forever to make it up the ranks. AEW, if a success, they're going to feature women at a top level, so there is more opportunity to be featured and make an impact quicker. There are arguments for both sides but AEW wants to push women and the roster is thin, just Britt Baker and Brandi Rhodes. They are heavily scouting Japan. A good woman wrestler would be featured on major television far quicker in AEW.

When comparing with current ticket sales that WWE is having for RAW, Smackdown, or the Rumble, AEW selling 3,000 tickets on release date would using logic be a good number for modern pro wrestling for a group with no TV. Look at ROH and they have TV or Impact’s history when they had good TV.

The only indicator right now are AEW's merchandise sales, that have completely exceeded projections since launch. Furthermore, activities like the pool party, the Young Bucks appearances at DEFY and Bar Wrestling, the rallies, are there to try and keep the buzz going for Double or Nothing, working as the week to week promotion for the show. The rallies are very expensive, described as expensive as an ROH TV taping but with no revenue coming in except some merch money.

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter

So far, there have been no conversations between NJPW and AEW, and given the situation with the New Beginnings US tour missing all of their Japanese talent, the shows could have benefitted from the return of the talent from AEW, but with so many politics involved, NJPW didn't reach out. Harold Meij made a statement, saying "AEW is a new organization to start from now, and I do not know what kind of relationship we would make, I think it is necessary to figure out what policy they would develop on pro wrestling". The statement seems to imply that NJPW is waiting to see where AEW goes and whether it is successful or not. The style of pro wrestling that AEW wants to have is likely to be very compatible with NJPW, not an exact copy since AEW does have certain ideas that they want to implement. AEW is looking to bring in the sports aspect of wrestling to their promotion for fans to have something to grasp on.

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter

A.J. Styles contract expires in April. He couldn't be asking for a better time for this to happen. Even though he has friends in AEW he appears to be staying with WWE.

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter

With WWE releasing the Ambrose contract story to the media, that he was leaving because he turned down a new deal, and his contract expires in April, a lot of people are thinking that this whole thing is a work, that is including people within WWE. When I asked for confirmation on Monday night, wrestlers didn’t know, although some may have, but it definitely hadn’t gotten around. Creative didn’t know, although most believe the key people in company were well aware of it. But most of the creative team had no idea, not even that the last things written for him were in a way write him off ...

He turned down a five-year contract with a downside of just over $1 million per year. At this point, we only know he'd be a free agent in April, assuming that WWE doesn't freeze the contract to make up for last year's nine month absence with his surgery for a torn triceps. But the company outright gave April as the date, so it appears they aren’t going to say they froze his contract. Still, Daniel Bryan found out just before his deal was to expire that they claimed he was under contract for yet another year. We know Ambrose is friends with Jericho and Cody. We also know he hasn’t been talking to AEW about coming. However, in April, if he wants to continue wrestling, they would very much be interested in making a deal with him.

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter

As for Renee Young, there's really no idea what her status would be. ESPN had interest in her in the past but she stayed with WWE. There's no reason to believe that she would leave WWE, many people work with WWE while their spouses don't. But she’s in a spot where she’s not being used effectively right now.

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter

Jericho has not signed with NJPW, but he's been in talks with Gedo. It seems that there are some ideas that both parties want to play out. AEW's contract allows Jericho to do NJPW, so it's now just a matter of them signing a new contract for 2019. Jericho has said that he has interest in wrestling Tanahashi and Okada, and from the NJPW side, there is interest in Jericho against both of them as well as Minoru Suzuki.

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter

ROH is hurting for losing the Bucks, Cody and Page, and numbers are down, but it wasn't a death blow as a lot of people expected.

Originally Posted by WrestlingInc

In January 2019, Ring of Honor ran 5 shows. Utilizing numbers from The Wrestling Observer / Wrestling Observer Radio, the company drew a total of 3,900 fans and averaged 780 fans per show.

Center Stage hosted the first show of 2019 and was the usual 700 person sellout. Concord, NC was down from shows that drew 1,000-1,100 in 2017-2018 and drew only 750 this month. Dallas was down from 800 in attendance in 2018 to 700 in January. San Antonio was down from last year's 800 in attendance to 750 this year. Houston drew 1,000 in a very large building. There is no comparable number for Houston as the last time ROH hit the market was for WrestleMania weekend many years ago (outdrawing this show by nearly double).

In 2017 and 2018, the company only ran one show in the month of January and drew 700 and 1,400, respectively, in Atlanta's Center Stage and the Nashville Municipal Auditorium. In 2016, the company ran 4 shows and drew a total of 3,200 and an average of 800. In 2015, the company drew 3,700 over 4 shows and averaged 925.

Many are watching for an All Elite Effect - in that, did the Young Bucks, Cody Rhodes, etc. migration influence attendance drops? It is early to say, but during the first half of 2018, the company averaged 1,412 but in the second half of the year, the average for ROH was 964 (a 46% drop in attendance). The first half of the year will be stronger as well with the company's upcoming sold-out show at Madison Square Garden on April 6th.

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter

Lesnar’s sponsorship deal with Jimmy John’s Gourmet sandwiches expired and wasn’t renewed which is why he no longer has that logo on his ring outfit.

Originally Posted by WrestlingInc

According to Sports Illustrated, sources close to WWE have said the current plan is to have WWE RAW Women's Champion Ronda Rousey vs. Becky Lynch be the main event of WrestleMania 35. WWE's biggest show of the year will go down on April 7 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

Originally Posted by TPWW Frontpage via Triple A

There was a “big flurry of activity” backstage at SmackDown on Tuesday, with WWE officials meeting with wrestlers whose contracts are set to expire in the next year or two and seeking to lock them into new longer-term deals, according to PWInsider.

PWInsider said that the departure of Ambrose and the possibility of him going to AEW when his deal expires appeared to set things off with a new sense of urgency, though WWE had already been trying to lock wrestlers into longer-term deals since the announcement of AEW and even before that (Kevin Owens and The Miz signed new five year deals before the announcement of AEW).

Originally Posted by Innovator (Post 5221275)

I feel bad for Cole now considering how much shit he has to do, hit, and get across. All with a guy yelling at him in his ear.

Originally Posted by Conspiracy Victim Vito (Post 5221225)

I dunno, I enjoyed the Cole/Tazz and Cole/JBL teams on 2002-07 SmackDown. Vince wasn't micromanaging the commentators then, especially not on the blue brand as Vince was always heavily prioritizing Raw.

There would still be arguments now and then, but it came across as friendly banter. Fast forward to 2012 and the heel announcers are made to be confrontational dickheads for the entire duration of the show.

Originally Posted by Observer

The NWA also confirmed that Ian Riccaboni will be part of the announce team for the Crockett Cup tournament, which is taking place in Concord, North Carolina on Saturday, April 27. The NWA and ROH are partnering together for the tournament.

Originally Posted by PWI

Wrestling DVD Network is reporting that WWE will be including the following matches on the DVD release of HBO's Andre the Giant documentary this May:

Handicap Match
Andre the Giant vs. Jose Estrada & Tony Russo
All-Star Wrestling • August 30, 1978

Andre the Giant vs. Hulk Hogan
Showdown at Shea • August 9, 1980

Steel Cage Match
Andre the Giant vs. Big John Studd
Philadelphia, PA • September 24, 1983

$15,000 Body Slam Match
Andre the Giant vs. Big John Studd
WrestleMania • March 31, 1985

WWE & NFL Battle Royal
WrestleMania 2 • April 7, 1986

WWE Championship Match
Hulk Hogan vs. Andre the Giant
WrestleMania III • March 29, 1987

WWE Championship Match
Hulk Hogan vs. Andre the Giant
The Main Event • February 5, 1988

Originally Posted by PWI

Oliver Luck (Andrew's dad, the XFL commissioner shared some details on the league yesterday on WFAN.

1. Vince has a minority stake in Draft Kings and the plan is to encourage legalized gambling on the games and do fantasy on the XFL via Draft Kings.
2. Vince owns 100% of the XFL and Oliver Luck is the commissioner.
3. Luck is trying to avoid stuff like "He Hate Me" on the back of the jerseys.
4. There will be drug testing for PEDs.
5. All 8 head coaches will make the same money - $500,000 annual salary.
6. The top players can make up to $250,000 with the possibility of bonuses to teams for winning games like the old XFL.

Originally Posted by PWI

There was some grumbling among talents that Impact announced their 4/7 event had been moved from Queens, NY to New Jersey publicly without telling the talent first. It wasn't so much about the move as it was the talents being caught unaware when they are also trying to strategize other appearances and bookings on the biggest weekend of the year. More than one talent commented to me that this was a good example of where Sonjay Dutt will be missed as he was the most communicative member of management when it came to talent.

A big part of the reason for the move to New Jersey was concern about the New York State Athletic Commission curfew on pro wrestling. In New Jersey, there is no commission, hence relative freedom. One thing Impact will have to make sure is that their event on Thursday 4/4 is over before the last New Jersey Transit train back to NYC leaves Rahway, NJ, which as of the current scheduled, would be 1:52 AM as the next train would not be until after 4:30 AM. With an 11 PM start, that's going to require their live production to be really right.

Originally Posted by PWI

For those of you with Verizon Fios, please be aware that if you did a series record for Impact Wrestling last week, the network listing featured the two hour broadcast as FOUR different half-hour episodes with only the 8-8:30 PM segment listed as a new episode. So, unless you set your DVR to record new episodes AND repeats, you are chancing the possibility of not getting the entire episode. We have heard Impact has made the network aware of the issues with the program guide, but Pursuit has been slow in responding in general.

Originally Posted by PWI

Jerry Lawler claimed on his podcast R-Truth was really upset Nia Jax attacked him? Come on. That's some b******* right there. Who's going to believe that?

Well, that's not what Lawler actually said. He stated that Truth was upset about how hard Jax laid it in on him when she attacked him and that his face got banged up. I can absolutely see a pro wrestling being upset if they felt someone took liberties. It happens, accidentally and on purpose, on a regular basis.

Originally Posted by WrestlingInc

Lance Archer spoke with Pro Wrestling Sheet about why he's not allowed to spit water into NJPW crowds any longer. When asked if he did it to the wrong person, here was Hoyt's response:

"I guess so, a small portion of the NJPW audience—the majority of them loved it," Archer began. "I would go through the audience and do the water spraying, spitting throwing, and stuff. People were holding signs in Japan—in English—saying, 'water, please.' I came around the corner one time and an adult father had his child, maybe two years old, holding it up for me to come around the corner and spray the child. I said, 'nope,' went around the child and he was disappointed! There was a small portion of the audience that was complaining about bags and their hair. That got listen to and now I can't do it."

Originally Posted by TPWW Frontpage via Triple A

Dean Ambrose is working WWE house shows this weekend and is scheduled for upcoming Raw shows, PWInsider says, in case there was any doubt.

WWE said that he’s leaving in April, so he’ll still probably be on TV until then.

Originally Posted by Post Wrestling

Heavy Machinery’s profiles on the WWE website have been altered with the duo simply referred to as “Otis” and “Tucker” as they appear to have had their last names dropped.

Originally Posted by Observer

Big E tweeted about Otis and Tucker’s apparent name change: “Welcome to the club, boys. Silver lining: autograph sessions are much quicker.”

Originally Posted by Observer

Katsuya Kitamura posted the following after news broke he had left NJPW (via translation): ”Lastly, thank you for your continued support and encouragement over the past three years. Your support meant everything to me. I am thankful and hope you continue to support Katsuya Kitamura when he goes to a new stage."

Originally Posted by Observer

The NWA has revealed the commentary team for the return of the Crockett Cup tag team tournament.

In a video uploaded by the NWA today, Jim Cornette announced that he'll be doing color commentary for the event. The NWA's Joe Galli and ROH's Ian Riccaboni will be calling the show with him.

Originally Posted by PWI

Jim Cornette, in making those announcements, noted the tournament would feature teams from the National Wrestling Alliance, Ring of Honor, Japan, Mexico and more.

Originally Posted by Observer

After their 10-year deal began with two controversy-filled shows, WWE is set to make their return to Saudi Arabia this May.

Fightful reported today that WWE's next show in Saudi Arabia will take place on Friday, May 3. Dave Meltzer has confirmed that WWE will be returning to Saudi Arabia in early May.

Originally Posted by Observer

Starrcast announced that Sting will appear at Starrcast II in Las Vegas this May.

Who will be the first official Superstarr announced as appearing at Starrcast II this Memorial Day weekend in Las Vegas?
As Tony Schiavone used to say, “IT’S STING!”
Stay tuned to https://t.co/VShyAsTu00 for more info regarding “the Man Called Sting!” pic.twitter.com/AmsMa0QKTn
— #StarrcastOnFITE (@StarrcastEvents) February 5, 2019

Originally Posted by WrestlingInc

WWE reportedly wanted Lars Sullivan at last week's RAW, according to Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio. Sullivan was not at the show, and his status is unknown.

Originally Posted by Post Wrestling

Kris Wolf has announced she has been dealing with symptoms from concussions and is about to take part in her final tour and appears to be stepping away from professional wrestling. She has been talking about having her final match in London later this year and is going to fulfill her remaining bookings. She said she has noticed changes from her concussions and doesn’t want to do further damage that won’t be evident until much further down the road.

Originally Posted by TPWW Frontpage via Triple A

Seth Rollins has a bad back and is going to be rested, according to Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio.

It was reported yesterday that he may not be cleared for physical action for the next month.

He should be fine for WrestleMania, but he may not be at Elimination Chamber since it’s under two weeks away.

Originally Posted by TPWW Frontpage via Triple A

AJ Styles has a hernia, according to Meltzer, but it’s unclear how much time he’ll miss. He wasn’t at house shows this past weekend.

Originally Posted by Slik (Post 5217829)

On this week's OH YOU DIDN'T KNOW Podcast Brad Shepard said WrestleMania 36 is 100% in Florida. He did not confirm TAMPA as the host city, but he did not deny it either. JACKSONVILLE, as crazy as that might sound, has also been rumored as a favorite.

Originally Posted by Observer

Ring of Honor and New Japan Pro Wrestling's War of the Worlds tour is back for 2019.

ROH announced today that this year's War of the Worlds tour will begin with a show in Buffalo, New York on Wednesday, May 8. It will continue in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on Thursday, May 9 and Grand Rapids, Michigan on Saturday, May 11 before wrapping up in Chicago, Illinois on Sunday, May 12.

Originally Posted by Observer

Fox Entertainment CEO Charlie Collier said about Fox sports networks having other WWE programming: “The Fox sports networks, FS1, and others, will have some other wrestling -- not live SmackDown, not Raw, but other ties to the WWE world." FS1 having a weekly WWE studio show had been reported last May.

Originally Posted by PWI

A reference was made by Collier to Smackdown being on Fridays "short term", which certainly leaves the window of opportunity for the series to be moved to another night down the line ...

As far as the FOX Network itself, their current deal is for Smackdown and Smackdown alone, nothing else.

Originally Posted by Observer

Bret Hart has been announced for the Double or Nothing weekend Starrcast convention in Las Vegas. Sting, Bruce Prichard, Tony Schiavone, Eric Bischoff, and Sean Mooney have also been confirmed for the convention.

Originally Posted by PWI

Regarding several reader questions about rumors relating to several talents:

AJ Styles - The former WWE Champion denied he had come to terms with WWE on a new deal on Twitter several days ago. We are told the two sides have been in discussions for some time and that WWE has made a strong play to keep Styles. Obviously, given Styles' relationships with The Young Bucks and others now in the All Elite Wrestling fold, one would think there is strong interest in acquiring him if he opts to leave WWE.

The Usos - PWInsider.com has been told by multiple sources that the duo's current deals are slated to expire in April. WWE has been in discussions with the former Tag Team Champions about a new deal.

Dolph Ziggler - We are told that the company's "relationship" with Ziggler is continuing.

Originally Posted by Fightful.com

AJ Styles sets the record straight.

On Tuesday morning, Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer reports that AJ Styles suffered a hernia that kept him off live events over the weekend. Styles appeared during the main event segment of SmackDown Live, getting physical during a brawl with his Elimination Chamber opponents.

Fightful's Sean Ross Sapp said on the post-SmackDown podcast, "I was told people backstage didn’t hear of AJ Styles sustaining any type of a hernia or anything like that.”

On Wednesday afternoon, Styles took to social media to shut down the report of him suffering a hernia.

Yeah, about that. I don’t have a hernia. -- https://t.co/ilqge7BlZw

— AJStyles.Org (@AJStylesOrg) February 6, 2019

Originally Posted by Fightful

Randy Orton is the Viper, but could he slither his way out of WWE?

On Tuesday, Twitter account WrestleVotes had wrestling fans curious as to the name behind a potential "offer."

Seems like the first real shot has been fired... source says AEW has made an “outstanding” offer to a current, big time WWE superstar. An offer that is almost too good to turn down. Things are really about to get interesting.

— WrestleVotes (@WrestleVotes) February 5, 2019

On the post-Smackdown Fightful Podcast (and Fightful Select prior) we revealed that WWE sources have told us that Randy Orton has expressed his willingness backstage to speak to All Elite Wrestling. This doesn't mean we've heard of any contract offer or actual discussions. That was, however, the wrestler referenced in the tweet.

In fact, when we reached out to AEW, we were told they weren't interested in tampering and were looking to take. They told me their recruitment mission is more targeted towards fresh and independent, and that the source of the original tweet was likely a wrestler or agent hoping to leverage more money out of WWE by planting info. It should be noted this was before the Orton information emerged.

Originally Posted by WrestlingInc

As reported earlier this week, NJPW has announced that one of its rising stars, Katsuya Kitamura, has decided to leave the company. On the latest edition of Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer had some more details about what took place with Kitamura on the road to recovery from his shattered leg.

Meltzer explained that Kitamura actually broke his leg in an unfortunate scooter accident, which is the reason he hasn't competed in a NJPW match since last March when he teamed up with Manabu Nakanishi in a loss against Tomohiro Ishii and Toru Yano. Officials at NJPW were unsure if Kitamura would ever be able to wrestle again but they still offered him a contract at the start of the year, one that he obviously has turned down since. It was noted that it was a situation similar to Daniel Bryan, where Kitamura wouldn't have been cleared to compete for a very long time, possibly forever.

Meltzer notes that Kitamura feels ready to compete and doesn't want to wait around for NJPW to finally give him the green light. It is believes that Kitamura will sign with another Japanese company that will clear him for in-ring competition.

Originally Posted by Observer

From Dave Meltzer on Trent Barreta/AEW/NJPW: “New Japan is not upset at AEW over Trent Barreta. The issue is that they felt Baretta had made a commitment to them for 2019 to key people and then decided to leave but they have no beef with AEW over them signing him.”

Originally Posted by Observer

On Thursday, WWE released their highly-anticipated fourth quarter and year end earnings numbers but while their numbers were impressive, the stock market has yet to respond with a big surge in price.

Some key revenue numbers for the year:

• Revenues were just over $903 million for the year, beating out 2017's $801 million.
• They had $99.6 million in net income, up from $32.6 million in 2017.
• The WWE Network closed the year with 1.563 million subscribers, 1.528 million paid and 35,000 free. Over the fourth quarter, they lost nearly 100,000 subscribers.
• Revenues were $63.5 million for Q4, up from 2017's $20.6 million.

Other interesting numbers and facts:

• WWE will no longer release a Network subscription number the day after WrestleMania.
• Live event revenue was $144.2 million, down from 2017's $151.7 million. That encompasses 308 total events, down 18 from 2017.
• Q4 attendance averaged 5000, down from 5400 in 2017's Q4.
• Raw and Smackdown viewership numbers were down year over year, 15% and 14% respectively.
• They forecasted $1 billion in revenue for 2019, bolstered by new TV deals that kick in during Q4.
• They forecasted a slight increase in paid Network subscribers for Q1, up to 1.59 million.

On the call, Vince McMahon was asked about Ronda Rousey's much-rumored departure following WrestleMania and how that would damage the brand. He put her over big, cited other stars being absent over the past year, and said they can work around her schedule if they know the dates she'll be gone for.

Originally Posted by PWI

In today's WWE 2018 earnings release, the company announced that paid subscriptions to their WWE Network streaming service have risen to "approximately" 1.59 million paid subscribers.

WWE noted in the release they are developing the "next iteration" of the Network, which likely means the long-planned tiered version.

Originally Posted by PWI

Barrios on no UK TV deal yet: "...hasn't happened. I think it's fair to say all the agreements will be made by the middle of the year [2019]."

Originally Posted by PWI

PWInsider reports that even though her husband Dean Ambrose is leaving WWE when his contract expires in April, Renee Young is expected to remain with the company.

Originally Posted by PWI

MLW’s weekly TV series FUSION will be moving to a new timeslot shortly, the promotion announced today. An official announcement about the change is forthcoming.

Originally Posted by Fightful.com

A new video shows Chyna -- real name Joanie Laurer -- wanting to make amends with WWE. The video, which was released by Rob Potylo, was filmed two months prior to her passing.

"One of the things I'm having difficulty with still is my communication with WWE. I've been trying to convey that through the Hall of Fame and asking for sitdowns," said Chyna in the clip. "The more I go to these shows and appearances, it's about family. I miss my family. I don't want to show up at these places with my brothers and sisters who I was on the road with, that I love, to see them and feel awkward because the battle with WWE. It's something I would love to resolve. I would like to do it privately where I can atone and say I'm sorry for the things I've said and done. I feel bad about having said certain things under duress and pain and things I haven't resolved privately. That's all I want to do."

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter

The actual Monday injury report on Styles listed him as out with a hernia. On Tuesday, when he was cleared, he was listed as still having injuries to “shoulder/abdominal.”

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter

WWE is believed to be returning to Saudi Arabia on 5/3. We were told early May and November for two Saudi Arabia shows in 2019. I can’t confirm 5/3 but I would be right around that date. WWE’s only official word was that they have not confirmed a specific date. Reader Nawaf Zubar noted that due to Ramadan starting on 5/5, there could be no entertainment event in the country in May after that date. 5/3 is a Friday and the previous two events were on Fridays

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter

Canadian wrestler El Phantasmo, who works in the U.K. and won the British J Cup tournament Dave was at in Manchester last year, is expected to debut for NJPW at Best of the Super Juniors.

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter

There haven't really been any big changes since the McMahon family announcement on Raw December 17th about how there would be changes. There also haven’t been any changes to house shows since three months ago when Vince McMahon said they understood the problem and were going to make changes to the house shows to fix the problem and bring attendance up.

Originally Posted by TPWW Frontpage via Triple A

WWE had representatives in Japan last week to talk to different companies about potentially opening up an NXT Japan, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. No other details are available right now.

Originally Posted by TPWW Frontpage via Triple A

Becky Lynch vs. Stephanie McMahon is an idea that was suggested in WWE and is currently being talked about, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, but they added that it is “most definitely not a done deal.”

If it is the plan, the groundwork was obviously laid on Monday’s Raw when Stephanie McMahon suspended Becky Lynch and Lynch attacked her. Then on SmackDown, Becky slapped Triple H. The angle is clearly “inspired” by the Austin vs. McMahon feud.

Originally Posted by Observer

Today would have been Jim Neidhart’s 64th birthday. Sherri Martel was also born on this date in 1958 and Freddie Blassie was born on this date in 1918.

Natalya wished her father a happy birthday: “Happy birthday to my dad. What an amazing life he lived!!! So grateful we got so many wonderful years together”

Originally Posted by Observer

AEW’s Nyla Rose is the first transgender wrestler to sign with a major promotion in the United States.

Originally Posted by Observer

There will be representation from New Japan Pro Wrestling and CMLL when the Crockett Cup returns in April.

The NWA announced today that NJPW and CMLL "will be sending teams" to the Crockett Cup, which is taking place at Cabarrus Arena in Concord, North Carolina on Saturday, April 27. The NWA didn't reveal further details on which NJPW and CMLL teams are going to be in the tournament.

Originally Posted by PWI

I remember watching an old ECW show where there was a match called Ultimate Jeopardy, and the ending of the match was Shane Douglas pinning Terry Funk via the piledriver for the title. Could you help explain the history of this match as I also saw other wrestlers involved in this match as well?

Ultimate Jeopardy was a 1994 Steel Cage match that headlined a Valley Forge, PA ECW event. The match had Wargames rules with the idea that everyone was facing a stipulation if they lost. The result of the match saw Shane Douglas, Mr. Hughes and The Public Enemy defeating Road Warrior Hawk, Kevin Sullivan, Tazz and Terry Funk in a WarGames Match. Terry Funk's ECW Heavyweight Title on the Line. Douglas pinned Funk. As a result of stipulations, Douglas won the ECW Title. Had Hawk been pinned, he would have had to give up the Road Warrior gimmick. Had Douglas lost, his head would have been shaved. Public Enemy would have been forced to split up. Tazz & Sullivan would have been forced to split up, etc. ECW did the stipulation again in 1996 where everyone had something to lose and it ended up with The Sandman pinning Raven substitute Steve Richards, winning the ECW title.

Originally Posted by WrestlingInc

Kofi Kingston recently spoke with The Canton Repository and said The New Day works so well together because their chemistry is unbelievable ...

Kofi also talked about what WWE Chairman Vince McMahon saw when the group brought their original idea to him - three preachers serving up the gospel of positivity.

"From the very inception of New Day, we told Vince McMahon no matter what he gave us we would be able to make it work, because we believe in the chemistry we had," Kofi said. "Going back and forth with Vince, we had a very different idea of what we wanted it to be. The idea he came back with, we said, 'OK, he's really gonna test us on this guarantee we gave him of making anything he gave us work.' But we just kept doing it, and we evoked a lot of emotion from people, and really, that was what it was all about. Eventually, we kind of got to do what we first wanted, and over time it turned into what it is now."

Originally Posted by WrestlingInc

According to The Wrestling Observer Newsletter, New Japan Pro Wrestling's "THE NEW BEGINNINGS USA" tour drew a total of 2,118 fans over 3 shows, with an average of 706 per show. In comparison, Ring of Honor drew 3,900 fans over 5 shows in January, and averaged 780 per show.

Originally Posted by CageSideSeats.com

Rumors for the Day:
* Kota Ibushi is expected to work with All Elite Wrestling once he’s cleared from the concussion he sustained at Wrestle Kingdom 13.

Originally Posted by TPWW Frontpage via Triple A

WWE officially announced today that Ronda Rousey will defend the Raw Women’s Championship against Ruby Riott at Elimination Chamber.

Originally Posted by Slik (Post 5224047)

Yeah, I wonder if he was really drunk.

He really was attacking people right and left last night on Twitter. Was even more 'over the top' than his CM Punk Twitter meltdown.

Originally Posted by Slik (Post 5224047)

Yeah, I wonder if he was really drunk.

He really was attacking people right and left last night on Twitter. Was even more 'over the top' than his CM Punk Twitter meltdown.

Originally Posted by Observer

All Elite Wrestling has announced the first women's match in company history.

AEW released episode three of their Road to Double or Nothing video series tonight. It confirmed another match for Double or Nothing, with Britt Baker, Nyla Rose, and Kylie Rae set to face off in a triple threat match at the show.

Originally Posted by PWI

WWE Hall of Famer Booker T Huffman filed a lawsuit today against video game producer Activision Publishing, Inc., Activision Blizzard, Inc., and Major League Gaming Corp., alleging that the look of Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 game character David “Prophet” Wilkes is based on the comic book version of Booker's former pro wrestling persona of G.I. Bro, which he used while breaking into the business in Texas in the early 1990s and then brought back to life for a time in World Championship Wrestling in the late 1990s.

In the lawsuit, which was filed today in the United States District Court for Eastern Division of Texas, Huffman alleged that Activision and the other defendants based Prophet on the comic book version of the G.I. Bro character, which had two books released about it in 2015. Huffman noted he created and owns the copyrights to the character, but Activision "began utilizing Booker T’s G.I. Bro image in Call of Duty: Black Ops4 which went on sale in late 2018. "

Originally Posted by Observer

Daniel Bryan mentioned on Total Divas this week that his new contract with the WWE runs through 2021.

Originally Posted by PWI

There has been talk of NXT star Candice LaRae working some Smackdown live events.

Originally Posted by PWI

We are told WWE will likely start announcing 2019 Hall of Fame Class members after the Elimination Chamber PPV.

Originally Posted by Fightful

Total Bellas drew 396,000 viewers this past Sunday. It's another series low.

Originally Posted by Fightful

During Monday's episode of Raw, many fans were surprised to see Dean Ambrose support his friend-turned-foe Seth Rollins in his upcoming WrestleMania 35 bout against Brock Lesnar. Following a dueling mics segment between Rollins and Lesnar's advocate Paul Heyman, Ambrose made his way to the ring, was handed a microphone by Rollins and said, "I've only got one thing to say to you: Slay the beast."

According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer, Ambrose was originally scripted to do a longer promo discussing the history of The Shield and Roman Reigns before delivering the "slay the beast" line, but Ambrose reportedly "wasn't feeling it." As a result, Ambrose decided to keep his promo short and sweet. The show of support to Rollins was designed to turn Ambrose back into a babyface.

Originally Posted by TPWW Frontpage via Triple A

It doesn’t sound like anything serious, but Eva Marie said in a recent interview with TV Insider that since she left WWE (in 2017), she’s had “talk and exchanges” with them about a possible return.

Originally Posted by TPWW Frontpage via Triple A

The first week of Impact Wrestling on the Pursuit channel on January 11 drew only 12,250 viewers, according to Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio ...

Impact’s viewer numbers on Pursuit are usually not publicly available since the show doesn’t break the top 150 cable shows for the day, so it isn’t listed in the rankings. But week 1’s numbers apparently leaked to Meltzer.

Here’s what Meltzer said: “The first week of Impact on Pursuit did 12,250 viewers. That shocks me. Even though it’s a channel that nobody gets, you would think that they have at least like, 50,000 fans who are going to follow them, right? You know, hardcore, hardcore, right? No…”

Originally Posted by Slik (Post 5224818)

Casey from Squared Circle Sirens w/ some surprising news today


Ronda Rousey and Sonia Deville:

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Two New Additions To ‘Total█Divas’ <a href="https://t.co/1n8JwEUGmq">https://t.co/1n8JwEUGmq</a> <a href="https://t.co/KFbnyz7rv3">pic.twitter.com/KFbnyz7rv3</a></p>&mdash; squared circle sirens (@SCsirens) <a href="https://twitter.com/SCsirens/status/1095686942321266689?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 13, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Originally Posted by Observer

Two of Ring of Honor's top new signees will be facing off at the promotion's 17th Anniversary pay-per-view.

ROH has announced that Rush will face Bandido at the PPV, which is taking place at Sam's Town Live in Las Vegas, Nevada on Friday, March 15. The match was set up in a video where Bandido issued the challenge and Rush accepted it.

Originally Posted by Observer

Sasha Banks has been cleared to return to in-ring action after being out following the Royal Rumble.

Dave Meltzer reported on last night’s Wrestling Observer Radio that Banks was cleared to compete at WWE Elimination Chamber on Tuesday. She was given partial clearance on Monday, which allowed her to do the barricade spot.

Originally Posted by Observer

Squared Circle Sirens reported that Ronda Rousey has had cameras at her farm the last few weeks filming for Total Divas. Sonya Deville has joined the cast as well, while Lana and Rusev won’t be back for the next season. Pro Wrestling Sheet also reported that Nikki & Brie Bella and Paige won’t be part of next season’s cast.

Originally Posted by Observer

WWE Network News reported that tomorrow’s Valentine’s Day-themed Hidden Gems section additions are:

• Johnny Valentine vs. Lou Thesz (Championship Wrestling from Florida, 1973)
• A brief video where Greg Valentine “showcases the devastating effects of his elbow drop as he prepares for battle” (Championship Wrestling from Florida, 1976)
• Bob Backlund defending the WWWF title against Greg Valentine in an hour-long match (WWWF, 1979)
• Ric Flair vs. Greg Valentine (Mid-Atlantic Wrestling, 1980)

Originally Posted by Observer

Lucha Central reported that Texano Jr. is the latest wrestler to file a lawsuit over Lucha Underground contract issues.

Originally Posted by PWI

Baron Corbin vs. Braun Strowman this Sunday at the WWE Elimination Chamber is now a No DQ match, WWE announced this evening.

Originally Posted by Fightful

The video of Vince McMahon revealing that Charlotte Flair will replace Becky Lynch at WrestleMania is now the most hated WWE YouTube video of all-time. The video currently has over 60,000 dislikes. Roman Reigns' "This is my yard now" promo following WrestleMania 33 was the previous most disliked video with over 38,000 dislikes.

Originally Posted by Fightful

The latest on WWE's potential expansion plans.

According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer, WWE had representatives in Japan during the week of Feb. 4 to discuss business relations with different companies. No companies were named but Meltzer reports that this "opens the door for NXT Japan."

Originally Posted by WrestlingInc

WWE is planning on doing more crossing over between the RAW and SmackDown women's divisions, according to @Wrestlevotes.

It was noted today that the female Superstars are "slowly going to be crossing over more between both shows" here soon.

@Wrestlevotes also noted that the plan is to have the new WWE Women's Tag Team Champions appear on both RAW and SmackDown at first, but not on a weekly basis.

Originally Posted by Observer

WWE has posted a tribute video for Pedro Morales, which you can see below.

Originally Posted by Observer

WWE Network News reported that WWE Confidential is coming to the Network in this month’s classic content drop. Episodes from the show’s premiere through at least early 2003 will be uploaded to the Network on Monday (February 18). The news/behind-the-scenes show was hosted by the late “Mean” Gene Okerlund.

Originally Posted by Observer

Dash Wilder wants WWE to bring back their classic Tag Team title belt design.

Originally Posted by Observer

New Japan Pro Wrestling has started to hype up their return to the United Kingdom this August.

When NJPW's upcoming big show schedule was announced during Wrestle Kingdom 13, it was noted that there would be an event at the Copper Box Arena in London, England on Saturday, August 31. It's now been announced that the show will be named "NJPW Royal Quest."

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter

At the WWE house shows, Asuka vs. Charlotte have been wrestling for the title, with Becky Lynch coming in and costing Charlotte the title, laying both out. AJ Styles vs. Randy Orton is the Smackdown main event since Daniel Bryan is not on the tour. Elias is back as a babyface wrestling Drew

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter

It sounds like Kenny Omega is in charge of the AEW Women's division, thought that would be Brandi Rhodes's department. Dave noted it is Brandi but Omega has recommended talent. They all work together but Brandi is doing the negotiations for the women.

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter

On the financials, it's the same thing we've been talking about for a while now, with the Saudi shows and the FOX deals, they are going to be solid even if they had incompetent people running the company, and that is hardly the case. They will be beyond flourishing for at least the next five years. Smackdown going to FOX is going to be a big test, since Smackdown's ratings have gone down considerably since the deal was made. This was the most profitable year in WWE history, and next year will greatly surpass that, particularly in the fourth quarter when the new TV deals come into play.

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter

Another thing that I find so interesting is that there is a big pool of free agents that came lately with The Bucks, Bandido, Rush, Cody, Kenny Omega, Adam Page, Jericho, Juice Robinson and a few others, and WWE wanted all of them, but they didn't really get any of those. They got some people, but they didn't get the big ones, and we know they tried with all of them.

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter

They [AEW] are betting hard on their ability to build new stars. Some of the "unknowns" have already signed six figure deals.

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter

The new group at the Performance Center reported on 2/11 of Karen Yu (Karen Q), Rachael Ellering (who has worked as Rachael Evers in NXT), Trevor Lee Caddell, Albert Hardie Jr. (ACH), Sam Shaw, Jeff Parker (Scott Parker), Matthew Lee (Shane Matthews), Elliot Sexton, Jonah Rock, Nick Comoroto, Omari Palmer(a 6-foot-3 315 pound former offensive right guard and three-year starter at Syracuse, playing from 2012 to 2016, now 24 years old, who is very strong but was considered too slow for the NFL and went undrafted) and Ricardo Miller (a 26 year old, 6-foot 4 226 pound former tight end at the University of Massachusetts). Parker and Lee had background cameos in the Kevin Owens bowling vignette on Raw. Kushida is also there but WWE wants to keep that name secretive for now.

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter

Hefty garbage bags are very pleased with their John Cena ad campaign. They are going to heavily push Cena as a sex symbol pitching the garbage bags for women shoppers in their 30s and 40s.

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter

Right now the update on the Vice Documentaries on pro wrestling (Bruiser Brody, Gino Hernandez, Fabulous Moolah and other subjects) is they will air on Viceland TV in the first half of the year. That could change. A piece on AEW will air on Vice News Tonight on HBO very soon put together by Emmy winning producer Elle Reeve.

Originally Posted by PWI

For those who have asked, we know of no one within Impact who have received viewership numbers for Pursuit yet. As I noted on my Elite audio yesterday, it is in that company’s best interest to find any other TV home ASAP

Originally Posted by 411Mania

According to a report by Ringside News, WWE is said not have any significant plans for 205 Live. As of now, the show is simply considered as another hour of WWE programming that can be aired on the network. As a result, there will not be any significant attention paid to 205 Live in terms of special events or live events around the 205 Live roster.

Originally Posted by 411Mania

A trend toward scripts coming in late has been causing issues on Raw. Ringside News reports that scripts for the show have been coming in late over the last few weeks and that has led to staff and stars not knowing what’s been going on. According to the site, the lateness is being cause not only due to script changes, but because it takes so long to make decisions about what will go on. This has led to segments having to be cut for time and the like, and people being left to prepare for segments that don’t happen.

Originally Posted by 411Mania

WWE is reportedly considering a change to their plans for the 2019 Hall of Fame class. Brad Shepard of the Oh, You Didn’t Know? Wrestling Show reports on Twitter that as of right now, the Hart Foundation “are not a lock” for the 2019 Hall and the company may go with another group instead.

Speaking on the Oh, You Didn’t Know Wrestling Show (via Ringside News), Brad Shepard had an update on the in-ring status of WWE Hall of Famer Kurt Angle. According to Shepard, Kurt Angle is planning on finishing up his career this year, and WrestleMania 35 will likely be his last match at WrestleMania.

Originally Posted by PWI

World Wrestling Entertainment filed a new trademark on the Ultimate Warrior's iconic facepaint design on 2/11:

Originally Posted by PWI

World Wrestling Entertainment has come to terms to acquire the rights and trademarks for the Wargames match from Major League Wrestling, PWInsider.com has confirmed with multiple WWE sources.

Originally Posted by PWI

With the promotion [MLW] now looking to run exclusively on Saturdays, Tony Schiavone won't be around as much for the time being due to his other broadcasting commitments. The promotion has noted he will be back in the spring.

Originally Posted by Fightful

Brad Shepard claims that WWE and Fox are looking to bring back Saturday Night's Main Event, while Wrestling Observer denies this claim.

Originally Posted by Fightful

NJPW continues to have visa issues, keeping talent from appearing stateside.

Pro Wrestling Force, an Independent company out of Illinois, is set to hold a show this weekend in Riverton, IL. The company has been promoting NJPW talent EVIL as part of the show, but due to visa issues, EVIL won't be able to make the event.

Originally Posted by WrestlingInc

As reported earlier today, during an Impact Wrestling media call, Disco Inferno defended his stance about women's wrestling and stated that he's not sexist. One of his comments about women wrestling involved him comparing it to the WNBA and saying that, "They're not as good as the guys."

Inferno was also quoted saying, "I am a fan of the women's wrestlers that can combine good looks with good work. If there's a girl out there whose work isn't as good but she's hotter and has sex appeal, I'm a fan of that." He also mentioned that there was too much TV time dedicated to women's wrestling.

Former Women of Honor Champion Kelly Klein shared a link to a story about Disco Inferno comments with the caption: "Dude you are so gross but congrats on finding a way to get some attention."

Former ECW and WWE star Lance Storm quickly replied to Klein's tweet with, "I don't want to bother reading. Is his reason because he's upset most are having better matches and accomplishing more than he did during his run?"

Originally Posted by WrestlingInc

As seen below, ESPN's Twitter posted a video remembering the finish of WWE No Way Out 2004. On that night, fifteen years ago today, Eddie Guerrero would pin Brock Lesnar with a frog splash to win his first-ever WWE Championship.

On This Date: 15 years ago, Eddie Guerrero defeated Brock Lesnar for the WWE Championship ?? (via @WWE)pic.twitter.com/WIUdEhIgCg
— ESPN (@espn) February 15, 2019

Originally Posted by Slik (Post 5226875)

Per Big Dave Meltz on Wrestling Observer Radio the following are being discussed as WWE tries to determine who will face DBry at WM. Dave said not Kofi at this time.


Kevin Owens
Bray Wyatt
Sami Zayn
Undertaker
Kurt Angle

Originally Posted by Conspiracy Victim Vito (Post 5226898)

Angle and Undertaker can barely fucking move

Originally Posted by Slik (Post 5226906)

Out of those options I would do DBry vs KO

Originally Posted by Slik (Post 5226875)

Per Big Dave Meltz on Wrestling Observer Radio the following are being discussed as WWE tries to determine who will face DBry at WM. Dave said not Kofi at this time.


Kevin Owens
Bray Wyatt
Sami Zayn
Undertaker
Kurt Angle

Originally Posted by Observer

Rikishi on Instagram hinted about the Usos possibly becoming free agents soon.

Originally Posted by Observer

Additional tickets for Double or Nothing that were initially held for production went on sale and sold out today. Cody Rhodes noted that it’s possible they’ll free up more space as they make production changes

Originally Posted by PWI

The Wrap is reporting that over the three day weekend. "Fighting with My Family" has made $131,625 on four screens, two each in New York and Los Angeles. This breaks down to $32,906 per screen; The overall total is expected to grow to $163,000 after, bringing the breakdown per screen to $40,750. These are pretty solid numbers. The film is scheduled to open nationwide this week.

Originally Posted by PWI

Charlotte Flair versus Becky Lynch is no longer being advertised on the Quicken Loans Arena website for the 3/10 WWE Fastlane PPV. The two stars are each advertised but not, facing each other in a match.

Originally Posted by Fightful

The WWE Raw debuts of NXT stars caught many by surprise, including those in the company.

Fightful's Sean Ross Sapp reports that a lot of people within WWE were caught off guard by Ricochet, Johnny Gargano, Tommaso Ciampa and Aleister Black appearing on Raw.

"There were people on the SmackDown brand and NXT who had no idea this was happening today," reported Sapp on the Fightful post-Raw podcast.

Originally Posted by Fightful

While most were excited to see NXT talents Ricochet, Johnny Gargano, Tommaso Ciampa, and Aleister Black on WWE Raw last night, TJP took to social media to vent his frustrations with a certain debut and his position in the company.

The former Cruiserweight Champion took to Twitter following the debut of Ricochet, claiming he "wrote" the segment, seemingly for himself and not Ricochet. Ricochet ended up making his debut by saving Finn Balor from a two-on-one attack at the hands of Bobby Lashley and Lio Rush.

Originally Posted by WrestlingInc

There's been some speculation on the status of WWE NXT UK General Manager Johnny Saint. Saint's profile is no longer accessible on the WWE website and he's been removed from the NXT UK roster page. Saint's assistant, Sid Scala, has ran most of the storylines on recent NXT UK TV episodes. It's worth noting that Scala also does not have a profile page on the WWE website.

The 77 year old Saint has not tweeted since late January, but it's possible that he was never the one running the account. The UK wrestling legend was announced to be the NXT UK GM in June 2018. Saint was mentioned on the recent NXT UK TV episode but we should know more about his status after the NXT UK TV tapings in Coventry, England this coming Friday and Saturday.

Originally Posted by WrestlingInc

WWE reportedly had big storyline plans for The Young Bucks to "invade" the promotion during their recent contract talks.

It was noted by Dave Meltzer on the latest edition of Wrestling Observer Radio that WWE had a full storyline pitched to The Bucks with their contract offers that were made before the brothers decided on signing with All Elite Wrestling.

The storyline would have seen The Bucks lead an "invasion angle" for WrestleMania 35 season, presumably involving The Bucks, Cody Rhodes, Kenny Omega and "Hangman" Adam Page. Meltzer did not confirm that those other talents would have been involved with the invasion, just that this invasion angle was pitched to The Young Bucks.

Originally Posted by WrestlingInc

WWE recently teased in-ring retirement for WWE Hall of Famer Kurt Angle on RAW and that was apparently done for a major reason as we get closer to WrestleMania 35.

There has been talk within WWE of Angle doing a retirement match soon, according to Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio. That retirement match could come at WrestleMania 35 in April.

There's no word yet on who Angle might wrestle for his retirement match but he will likely work the WrestleMania 35 card even if they decide against the retirement stipulation. Meltzer noted that Angle has definitely been in recent talks to wrestle a match on the biggest show of the year.

Originally Posted by TPWW Frontpage via Triple A

New WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Bayley and Sasha Banks announced on Raw that they’ll be defending the titles on multiple brands.

Sasha said, “We plan on defending these titles against anybody. Past, present, future, here on Raw, SmackDown and even NXT.”

Originally Posted by TPWW Frontpage via Triple A

Impact Hall of Famer “Abyss” officially started working as a backstage producer for WWE last week, according to PWInsider, and he was working backstage at Raw tonight.

He signed with WWE last month.

Originally Posted by Observer

One of the match types from All In is returning for All Elite Wrestling's first show.

Episode four of AEW's "Road to Double or Nothing" series was uploaded today. It was announced that the Over Budget Battle Royale is returning for Double or Nothing, with Sonny Kiss, United Kingdom wrestler Kip Sabian, and Brandon Cutler being spotlighted as three of the entrants for the match.

Cody Rhodes mentioned that they have a "really great incentive" for the battle royal winner but said he can't speak about that now.

Originally Posted by PWI

The first rounds and semi finals of the 2019 Dusty Rhodes Tag Classic will be held at the WWE NXT tapings tonight.

There will also be a #1 contenders match for NXT Women's championship between Bianca Belair and Io Shirai

Originally Posted by PWI

The tournament brackets for the 2019 Dusty Rhodes Tag Classic are as follows:

Left side:
*Moustache Mountain vs. Street Profits
*Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch vs. Forgotten Sons

Right Side:
*DIY vs. Undisputed Era
*Aleister Black and Ricochet vs. Fabian Aichner and Marcel Barthel

Originally Posted by PWI

The 2/17 episode of Total Bellas on E! brought in 426,000 overnight viewers, up from last week's 396,000 overnight viewers. That reversed the trend of the series hitting new lows this season, although 426,000 viewers would still be the second lowest audience in series history.

Originally Posted by Post Wrestling

205 Live will be holding a single elimination tournament with the winner facing Buddy Murphy for the Cruiserweight title at WrestleMania. The tournament kicks off next Tuesday in Charlotte with Drew Gulak vs. Brian Kendrick and Kalisto vs. Tony Nese.

Originally Posted by Fightful

All Elite Wrestling runs into trademark trouble.

PWInsider reports that AEW's application for the 'All Elite Wrestling' trademark has been given an initial refusal. AEW reportedly needs to amend their classification and Identification of Goods and Services as some identifications need to be clarified. They also need to pay the proper fee, as according to the USPTO, they classified 13 classes and only paid for 9. A disclaimer is also required that they are not claiming the exclusive right to use the word "wrestling."

Their applications for 'AEW', the AEW logo and 'Change the Universe' have all been given initial refusals for the same amending of classification and Identification of Goods and Services and paying the proper fee as well.

Furthermore, their trademark for 'AEW All Out' has also been given an initial refusal due to two pending active applications using the word 'All Out.' If registered, it might have an effect on AEW's application being registered.

Originally Posted by Fightful

The latest on WWE's plans for Daniel Bryan at WrestleMania.

According to Bleacher Report's Jeremy Botter, "unless plans change," Daniel Bryan will face Kevin Owens at WrestleMania 35 on Apr. 7.

Botter does not mention whether or not the WWE Title will be involved. Bryan is currently scheduled to defend the WWE Title against Kofi Kingston at WWE Fastlane on Mar. 10. Owens has been out of action since October 2018 following double knee surgery. In recent weeks, WWE has been running vlog style updates from Owens, who has been bowling and going to the movies with his family. On Feb. 11, the WWE social media account tweeted that there is "only one month" before Owens returns. It's unclear whether Owens will be part of Raw or SmackDown once he returns.

Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer recently reported that Bryan would be facing "a returning superstar" at WrestleMania 35. Owens was listed as one possibility by Meltzer.

Originally Posted by Fightful

Big changes were made to this past Monday's episode of Raw.

According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer, the idea to use NXT talent was a late decision that not even Triple H knew about. Meltzer stated there was "a lack of communication" throughout the process ...

Meltzer goes on to report that Ricochet was originally scheduled to face Finn Balor, but the match was changed by Triple H, who didn't want a face vs. face match or either guy taking a loss. Balor had won the Intercontinental Title the night before at WWE Elimination Chamber and Ricochet would have been making his debut. Ricochet and Balor ended up teaming together to defeat Bobby Lashley and Lio Rush.

Finally, the bout between Ronda Rousey and Ruby Riott was reportedly scheduled to be Rousey against Alexa Bliss in "a quick squash" but the match was changed when they "needed more time" out of the match.

Originally Posted by TPWW Frontpage via Triple A

According to Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio, Raw had to be heavily re-written on Monday. The original script had several Seth Rollins segments where he was supposed to get physical, but WWE learned on Monday that Rollins could not be cleared, so several segments had to be scrapped and lots of the show had to be re-written.

Rollins has a problem with a disc in his back, according to Meltzer. He doesn’t need surgery and will be fine after some rest, and he doesn’t appear to be in any danger of missing WrestleMania. It was thought that he could wrestle now if needed, but apparently that’s not the case, as WWE learned on Monday. But he’s apparently close to being cleared, so he should be OK soon.

Originally Posted by TPWW Frontpage via Triple A

Vince McMahon reportedly showed up at around 1 PM local time on Monday and from then on, the show was re-written. It was not done until 30 minutes into the show and they were still changing things into the second hour.

Originally Posted by WrestlingInc

In regards to his contract, AEW had obvious interest in the Japanese Superstar, but in an interview with ShuPro (translated by NJPW Announcer, Chris Charlton), Ibushi spoke about the factors that kept him out of AEW.

"The second I went, that would be the end of my wrestling career, I thought," Ibushi began. "What I realized [talking to AEW] was I really don't care about money. ... AEW said they just want me in their ring in some form. The ideal for them was for me to move to America and be there full-time. I turned them down just after Wrestle Kingdom. ... If I went it would be the end of my career. There wouldn't be anywhere else to go after that. No step up, nothing left to do. That would be the last step to make, and after that things would just go down. Great money, but I want to keep developing."

Originally Posted by Slik (Post 5226906)

Out of those options I would do DBry vs KO

Originally Posted by Observer

This week’s WWE Network Hidden Gems additions were:
Sputnik Monroe vs. Jack Pesek (Championship Wrestling from Florida, 1966)
Bobo Brazil & Dick the Bruiser vs. The Sheik & Bobby Heenan (AWA, 1974)
Rocky Johnson & Pedro Morales vs. Ivan Koloff & Mr. Saito (Championship Wrestling from Florida, 1978)
Junkyard Dog vs. Buzz Sawyer (Houston Wrestling, 1983)

Originally Posted by PWI

Impact Wrestling Xplosion will be airing on Twitch every Wednesday at 7 PM ET. The first episode aired yesterday with very little advance warning. It was not archived, so it's just going to be on the live stream.

Originally Posted by Observer

The Miz and Maryse's reality show officially has its return date.

WWE announced today that new episodes of "Miz & Mrs." will return to the USA Network on Tuesday, April 2. The show will again be airing in the post-SmackDown time slot at 10 p.m. Eastern time.

The new episodes are being billed as a continuation of the first season. Six episodes have already aired, and 14 more will air during the second run. The episodes are 30 minutes long.

Originally Posted by Fightful

Chris Jericho shares a fun Vince McMahon story.

Appearing on the Rich Eisen Show, Jericho spoke about a variety of subjects, including Jack Action (the name Jericho originally wanted to use in wrestling), his love of the NFL, and Fozzy. But on the subject of wrestling, it was a Vince McMahon story that caught Eisen's attention.

"In the mid-2000s, Vince McMahon decided that you couldn't be from Canada and be a babyface in the WWE, for whatever reason. 'No one would cheer a Canadian' was his mindset. I'm not kidding," recalled Jericho. "I was told that 'You can't be from Winnipeg anymore, you're from Tampa.' I only live in Tampa. I'm not from there. 'Where were you born?' Manhasset (New York). 'Ah, sounds too country. You're now from Manhattan, New York.' There was a whole bunch of us that were Canadian. Edge, Christian, Val Venis, a bunch of other guys. He just decided one time, you can't be a babyface and be from Canada. For people to really cheer you, you have to be from the United States. It probably lasted about six months."

According to an article in SLAM! Sports, the hometown change and Vince's opinion that Canadians could not be good guys, happened in 2004.

Originally Posted by Fightful

NJPW-ROH G1 Supercard To Stream Live On HonorClub, NJPW World, And Fite TV

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter

Brandon Thurston did research and estimated the revenue per episode of the various WWE reality shows at $650,000 to $920,000. In different investors calls, the reality shows have been talked about as having low profit margins. He also estimated $110,000 per episode for Mixed Match Challenge, which is nice money given the production crew is already there, but it only makes sense to do as part of an existing taping, and also shows that for all the talk of Facebook and sports rights, they spent peanuts as compared with both television and other streaming subscription services for similar content.

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter

In some of the most irresponsible reporting, Fox News actually covered the Jimmy Uso arrest story and quoted a person saying that the two did this on purpose so they could get fired and go to AEW. Like you have a contract expiring in two months and your wife drives down the wrong way on a one-way street and you get arrested in an attempt to get fired by a company that doesn’t fire stars for such things and doesn’t release marketable stars who can work for opposition, particularly now.

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter

To show just how out of touch WCW management was at one time, Dave Penzer on his podcast with Buff Bagwell talked about Eric Bischoff’s idea where they would tell the audience and all the talent that Bagwell had died in a plane crash in 1998 and then they’d shock everyone when he did a surprise run-in some time later. Work the boys? Obviously talent would figure out in an instant that there was no plane crash. The industry is paranoid enough without giving talent a very good reason to think management are pathetic liars. Plus, it draws no money with fans either. Bagwell said he had already told his parents and his wife about the angle and to keep quiet. But then Bischoff decided against doing it. Bagwell said the idea was he would return as a ghost on wires.

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter

Paul London and D-Lo Brown were working as a producers for Impact at this week’s tapings, getting tryouts for the role..

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter

FOX this weekend started advertising 10/4 as the debut of the new Friday Night Smackdown show.

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter

One of the things that threw Vince off was how much he was shocked and hurt when he found out Undertaker was doing Starrcast. Vince always treated Undertaker special, like a modern Andre (who, ironically, Vince had a falling out with toward the end of his career). It was in many ways the first sign in more than a decade that he no longer fully controls wrestling. Even though Starrcast isn’t AEW, it is part of the AEW weekend and fans perceive it as part of AEW. Once that was announced, there was a push to get Undertaker on WrestleMania from the perception standpoint. Vince wanted him off Starrcast but there may not be a legal way he can pull that off.

His conclusion about the declining ratings when looking at quarter hours and minute-by-minutes is that it’s stale, the stars are stale, and decided that they needed to immediately make new stars. He wanted to make four stars from NXT who are great wrestlers. While it is not clear whether some of this was to establish workers the level of the AEW top guys and tag teams, since AEW will feature that, the timing of this coming off the ticket demand for the AEW show made many make that connection. Even if a lot of modern fans don’t understand the significance of the AEW ticket demand, something with all their advantages, WWE only has had once every year–WrestleMania, and the demand was ahead of most Manias in history (although not the 2019 demand),

Vince understands the significance of a pre-sale with orders that would have totaled 43,500 tickets logged in within 30 minutes, something WWE has only been able to garner an interest level among the ticket consumers a few times in its history, with no television and only one star (Chris Jericho) who was ever a true major player on WWE television and Cody, who had that television but is a far bigger star without it. Others can make excuses but for Vince, he knows better and knows the significance of the magnitude of all that. It’s something he has never even come close to doing anywhere ever where he didn’t have television.

So the decision was made late last week to bring in Johnny Gargano, Tommaso Ciampa, Ricochet and Aleister Black. He made the call without consulting Paul Levesque, who seemed to be building Gargano vs. Ciampa, or at least something involving the two, for his biggest NXT show of the year on 4/5 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Ciampa was along with Rush one of the two best heels in the business and one could argue the best, and Gargano was heelish but sort of tweener, and the tension was an ongoing storyline, and now they were being introduced as a babyface tag team.

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter

Everything is still changing. Very little of Mania this year is finalized, which is unprecedented for this late in the game. Cena doesn't even have an opponent yet. When Lars Sullivan fell through, they credited Drew McIntyre with taking Cena out of the Rumble match, but then never followed through on that. Situations with Undertaker and Batista as far as their status on the show is unclear, as is the case with Kurt Angle and the idea of a retirement match.

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter

Christopher DeJoseph, one of the main producers and the head writer of Lucha Underground, was on Twitter and asked about a fifth season, and surprisingly responded saying he doesn’t believe it will return but he hopes it will.