Author: Joseph Currier

Joseph Currier is the lead editor of F4WOnline.com, directing daily news coverage and writing articles on professional wrestling. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, obtaining a journalism degree in 2016. Joseph joined F4W during his time at UMass and has now been writing about the industry for nearly a decade. In addition to his work with F4W, Joseph has previously contributed to Sports Illustrated's wrestling coverage. He lives in Massachusetts and is a diehard fan of the Boston sports teams and Liverpool Football Club.

Updates on Dominik Mysterio, Brie Bella ahead of WWE Raw

Posted on by Joseph Currier

– Dominik Mysterio’s return from injury could come as soon as tonight’s post-Royal Rumble episode of WWE Raw.

PWInsider reports that Mysterio, who has been sidelined since late December due to a shoulder injury, is expected to return “imminently.” The report adds that there has been talk regarding Mysterio potentially being at tonight’s Raw, which is being held in Philadelphia at Xfinity Mobile Arena.

In the weeks since Mysterio suffered his shoulder injury, there have been optimistic reports stating that he would not be sidelined too long. He has remained the WWE Intercontinental Champion and AAA Mega Champion during his absence — and it’s already been confirmed that Mysterio will be defending the latter title against El Hijo Del Vikingo at AAA Rey de Reyes next month.

Mysterio’s return looks likely to coincide with dissension ramping up within Judgment Day. WWE has already been teasing a potential Finn Balor turn. And at the Royal Rumble last weekend, Liv Morgan eliminated her stablemate Raquel Rodriguez prior to winning the women’s Rumble match. Rodriguez is challenging Women’s World Champion Stephanie Vaquer for the title in a Philly Street Fight on Raw tonight.

– PWInsider also reports that, following her return in the women’s Rumble, Brie Bella has officially been added to the Raw roster internally. Her twin sister Nikki Bella is on the Raw roster as well, and it looks like they could factor into the women’s tag team division now that Brie is back. Our Dave Meltzer confirmed following the Rumble that Brie’s appearance was not a one-night thing and she is back in WWE for at least the time being.

WWE confirms location for WrestleMania week SmackDown, Raw episodes

Posted on by Joseph Currier

WWE is continuing to roll out its plans for WrestleMania 42 week in Las Vegas.

WrestleMania is now just over two months away, and WWE confirmed today that T-Mobile Arena in Vegas will be hosting SmackDown and Raw episodes surrounding the event. The Friday, April 17 episode of SmackDown and Monday, April 20 episode of Raw will each emanate from the venue, serving as the last stop before Mania and the first show coming out of the event.

Special combo tickets for the two episodes are going on sale to the general public at 1 p.m. Eastern time on Friday, February 13. Prior to that, a pre-sale will begin on Wednesday, February 11.

This is the second straight year that Las Vegas has hosted WrestleMania, and T-Mobile Arena was also the venue for these WrestleMania week editions of SmackDown and Raw in 2025.

WrestleMania 42 takes place at Allegiant Stadium on Saturday, April 18 and Sunday, April 19. WWE has partnered with the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority for WrestleMania and its surrounding events, which also includes the WWE World convention returning from April 16-20.

The road to WrestleMania officially began this past weekend with Roman Reigns and Liv Morgan winning their respective Royal Rumble matches. WWE has not yet revealed which champions they’ll be challenging at WrestleMania.

Mr. Iguana emotionally reflects on WWE Royal Rumble inclusion

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Being able to participate in WWE Royal Rumble 2026 was an emotional experience for Mr. Iguana.

Two members of the Lucha Libre AAA roster — Mr. Iguana and La Parka — made the trip to Saudi Arabia to appear as surprise entrants in the men’s Royal Rumble match last weekend. For Mr. Iguana, the moment was a dream come true and something he never thought would actually be possible. He was nearly moved to tears while speaking in a promo after the match.

“So far from home, but so close to everyone,” Mr. Iguana said. “A great experience. The dream came true and we’re here. A year ago, I didn’t know where I’d be. And today, I’m here with all these superstars on the other side of the world. I just want to thank the WWE Universe, the fans, and everyone. A dream came true. And honestly, it really moves me. It’s a wild ride that I never imagined possible. And it’s happening, and there’s so much to come. But listening to the reaction and everything, that’s why we’re here and we’ll continue here.”

Mr. Iguana — a former Mixed Tag Team Champion for AAA — has become a fan favorite with WWE audiences since AAA was acquired by WWE last year. He plays a comedic character alongside his puppet sidekick La Yesca.

In Mexico, AAA now airs on Fox every week. The card for the upcoming February 7 episode includes Mr. Iguana & Lola Vice challenging Ethan Page & Chelsea Green for the Mixed Tag Team titles.

CM Punk hopes to work more WWE tag matches with wife AJ Lee

Posted on by Joseph Currier

CM Punk is hoping that he and his wife AJ Lee will get to work more mixed tag matches together in the future.

In what was Lee’s first match in more than a decade, she and Punk teamed up together to defeat Becky Lynch & Seth Rollins at WWE Wrestlepalooza in September 2025. Punk reflected on that moment in a new interview with Complex, saying he had the time of his life and selfishly hopes that it was not a one-off.

“I don’t have the words to explain exactly how enjoyable all that was for me,” Punk said. “You know, I’m her biggest fan. So to have a front row seat, literally, for her return and to help kind of put it all together behind the scenes and the anticipation, like, knowing it was going to happen and just knowing how great it was going to be and what an amazing moment it was going to be. Yeah, time of my life, 100 percent. Selfishly, I want to tag with her more. It feels like that might have been a one-off, but I don’t know. We’ll have to see.”

Lee retired from WWE in 2015 but is now back with the company under a new deal. She’s taking a “trepidatious” approach to her WWE schedule and has only wrestled twice since her return, but it looks like Lee facing Lynch for the Women’s Intercontinental title is in the works for WrestleMania 42 this April.

Punk was recently unveiled as the cover star for WWE 2K26. In the interview with Complex, he was asked if we could potentially see Lee as a playable character in the video game.

“Fingers are crossed,” Punk responded. “I’m not spoiling anything for anybody.”

AEW TNT Champion Tommaso Ciampa announced for indie appearance

Posted on by Joseph Currier

New AEW signee Tommaso Ciampa is coming to the Chicago area next month for an indie appearance.

Indie promotion AAW has announced that Ciampa will be in the building for its 22nd Anniversary Event on Friday, March 20. It’s billed as a “special appearance,” with no further details having been announced about what Ciampa’s role will be.

Ciampa previously wrestled for AAW from 2014-2016. Based in Chicago, the promotion is among the top indies in the Midwest. The upcoming 22nd Anniversary Event — titled “Epic” — is being held at the Eagles Club in Berwyn, Illinois.

The start of 2026 saw Ciampa make a big career change as he opted not to renew his WWE contract when it expired. He officially departed WWE last week and immediately debuted for AEW, arriving on Dynamite before then winning the TNT Championship from Mark Briscoe on Collision a few days later.

Ciampa has no bad words to say about WWE or his time there, but he’s determined to maximize his potential as a wrestler and show that, right now, he is the best version of himself that he’s ever been. Making the decision to leave WWE and bet on himself was something that Ciampa had been considering long before making the final decision not to renew his contract.

“My interest in doing this has been for at least two or three years. For the last six months, I’ve had a foot out the door,” Ciampa recently told CBS Sports. “It was one of those things: do you bet on yourself, see this through and see if you were right, or do you stay put and take the safe bet? 

“I have a seven-year-old. I want her to know that you get one life. You get one career, you get one chance at this. You don’t want to leave it with ‘What if?’ That was the final determining factor.”

When Ciampa announced his departure from WWE, he noted that he was taking bookings for appearances, signings, photo ops, seminars, movies, TV appearances, fitness collaborations, sponsorships, and more.

WWE crowns men’s Royal Rumble 2026 winner

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At WrestleMania, Roman Reigns has the chance to ascend back to the summit of WWE.

Reigns will challenge for either the World Heavyweight Championship or WWE Championship at WrestleMania 42 this April. He earned the title shot by winning the 2026 men’s Royal Rumble match in Saudi Arabia on Saturday, entering at number 22 and outlasting the rest of the field to win the Rumble for the second time in his career.

The final four left at the end were Reigns, Gunther, Randy Orton, and Logan Paul. It came down to Reigns and Gunther after their respective eliminations of Paul and Orton. Reigns hit a spear on Gunther — who was pulling double duty after having already defeated AJ Styles earlier in the night — and then threw him over the top rope for the victory.

WWE has not yet confirmed which champion Reigns will be challenging at WrestleMania. World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk and WWE Champion Drew McIntyre are the current title holders.

The last time Reigns held WWE gold was his record-breaking World Championship run that was ended by Cody Rhodes in 2024. In today’s Rumble, Reigns and Rhodes were positioned among the biggest threats to win. But Rhodes ended up being eliminated in an angle where McIntyre interfered and blindsided him with a Claymore.

On commentary during the Rumble, WWE briefly mentioned the “controversial” comments Reigns made on The Pat McAfee Show this week. Reigns cut a promo during that appearance where he challenged the rest of the roster to get over — and he said WWE needs to be able to keep up creatively during the times that he’s not around. Though he’s shifted more toward a part-time schedule in recent years, the 40-year-old Reigns said he still feels like he is 25 and is physically good to go.

Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas is hosting WrestleMania 42 on Saturday, April 18 and Sunday, April 19. Liv Morgan will also be challenging for gold at Mania after winning the women’s Royal Rumble.

Result of AJ Styles WWE Royal Rumble career-threatening match

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The in-ring career of AJ Styles appears to have come to an end at WWE Royal Rumble 2026.

At Saturday’s PLE in Saudi Arabia, Styles lost to Gunther in a career-threatening match. The bout went nearly 25 minutes before Styles passed out in a sleeper, giving Gunther the win and seemingly ending Styles’ time in the ring. However, a moment that took place after the match raised some questions over whether this is really it for Styles.

Styles took in the support from a shocked Riyadh crowd after the bell rang. He then removed his gloves and went to leave them in the ring, but Styles instead put the gloves back on and posed for the fans. It was not clarified what Styles meant by the gesture.

It’s been known for months that the 48-year-old Styles would be retiring at some point in 2026. If this is the end, his final match came rather abruptly. Gunther used underhanded tactics to beat Styles when they faced off on the January 12 episode of Raw. WWE then ran an angle where Gunther forced Styles to put his career on the line in order to get a rematch.

Gunther — who has been nicknamed the “Career Killer” by WWE — had already retired both Goldberg and John Cena before defeating Styles today.

On January 28, Styles made a couple of trademark filings that have led to speculation about his next move and whether he could potentially continue his career in some form outside of WWE. He applied to trademark the term “The Phenomenal AJ Styles,” along with the “P1” logo that he’s used dating back to at least 2012.

WWE crowns women’s Royal Rumble 2026 winner

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Liv Morgan is set for a big 2026 with a WrestleMania title shot already secured.

Morgan was crowned the winner of the 2026 women’s Royal Rumble match on Saturday, entering the bout at number 14 and last eliminating Tiffany Stratton to get the victory. This is the first time Morgan has ever won the Rumble. She joins Asuka, Becky Lynch, Charlotte Flair, Bianca Belair, Ronda Rousey, Rhea Ripley, and Bayley on the list of wrestlers who have won the women’s edition of the match since it was introduced in 2018.

The final four in this year’s Rumble were Morgan, Stratton, Sol Ruca, and Raquel Rodriguez. Dissension within The Judgment Day looks like it will be a story heading into WrestleMania after Morgan took advantage of an opportunity to eliminate her fellow faction member Rodriguez.

We then saw Stratton eliminate Ruca, but Morgan followed up on that by connecting with Oblivion on Stratton for the victory.

After spending several months out of action with a shoulder injury, Morgan made her return to WWE programming at Survivor Series in November 2025. She’s now set to challenge for either the Women’s World Championship or WWE Women’s Championship at WrestleMania 42 this April. Those respective titles are currently held by Stephanie Vaquer and Jade Cargill.

Morgan challenging for the Women’s World Championship would make the most sense given that she and Vaquer are both on Raw — and Vaquer is already feuding with Rodriguez over the title. Vaquer is set to defend against Rodriguez in a Philly Street Fight on Raw this coming Monday.

WWE reveals date and location for Backlash 2026

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WWE Backlash 2026 will have a different location than expected.

Last month, it was reported that WWE was planning to hold Backlash in San Juan, Puerto Rico. That won’t be the case, though, with Paul “Triple H” Levesque announcing today that Tampa, Florida will host the PLE. It’s set for Benchmark International Arena on Saturday, May 9.

Backlash will be the first WWE PLE to take place after WrestleMania 42, which is being held in Las Vegas this April. The road to WrestleMania officially kicks off with today’s Royal Rumble event.

“We are moments away from the Royal Rumble here in Saudi Arabia. An epic night, the road to WrestleMania begins. But when WrestleMania finishes, there’s a big event called Backlash,” Levesque said. “Here tonight I’m going to let you know that on Saturday, May 9 [at] Benchmark International Arena, Tampa, Florida — Backlash returns. It’s going to be big. So Tampa, Florida, I’ve just got one question: are you ready?”

Benchmark International Arena is the home of NHL team the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Last year’s edition of Backlash took place in St. Louis, Missouri and was headlined by John Cena vs. Randy Orton. The two years prior to that, the PLE was held in Lyon, France and San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Here’s a look at the updated WWE PLE calendar over the next several months:

  • Saturday, January 31: Royal Rumble in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
  • Saturday, February 28: Elimination Chamber at United Center in Chicago, Illinois
  • Saturday, April 18 and Sunday, April 19: WrestleMania 42 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada.
  • Saturday, May 9: Backlash at Benchmark International Arena in Tampa, Florida
  • Saturday, August 1 and Sunday, August 2: SummerSlam at US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota
  • Sunday, September 6: Money in the Bank at Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, Louisiana

Cody Rhodes on his WWE goals: ‘I want to run the score up’

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As he prepares for WWE Royal Rumble 2026, Cody Rhodes’ mindset is to run the score up.

Rhodes outlined his WWE goals during an appearance on ESPN’s SportsCenter this morning in advance of the Royal Rumble. Ultimately, he wants this era to be remembered as bigger than the Attitude Era was. Rhodes’ plan to get there is to keep stacking accomplishments on top of accomplishments.

“I’m a big proponent of, even if the score is up, we’re not punting away,” Rhodes said. “Since I’ve returned, I have every statistic you can think of: winning the WWE Championship, King of the Ring, Crown Jewel. Again, you said it, two Royal Rumbles. I want to run the score up. One more Royal Rumble, tie ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin. The argument about the Attitude Era versus what we’re doing now, it’s put to rest. That would be the biggest thing done in my career yet. A near-impossible feat. Looking to get it done in a matter of hours.”

Rhodes won the men’s Rumble match in both 2023 and 2024, while Austin holds the record with wins in 1997, 1998, and 2001.

Among the participants confirmed for this year’s edition of the Rumble are Rhodes, Roman Reigns, Brock Lesnar, Gunther, Bron Breakker, Bronson Reed, Logan Paul, Austin Theory, Oba Femi, and Randy Orton.

A victory for Rhodes would open the door for him to continue his ongoing feud with Drew McIntyre, who won the WWE Championship from Rhodes on SmackDown earlier this month. McIntyre has a title defense against Sami Zayn on the card for today’s Rumble PLE in Saudi Arabia.

Triple H visits new WWE Saudi office ahead of Royal Rumble

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Ahead of the Royal Rumble, Paul “Triple H” Levesque stopped by WWE’s new office in Saudi Arabia for a visit.

The office, located in Riyadh, opened in the latter half of 2025, with WWE calling it a key step in strengthening their presence in the Middle East/North Africa region. Levesque tweeted out a few pictures from his visit today and hyped that exciting things are being planned for the future.

“So great to spend some time before #RoyalRumble in our brand new KAFD [King Abdullah Financial District] @WWE office with our amazing GEA [General Entertainment Authority] partners,” Levesque wrote. “Exciting things to come in the future.”

When opening the office, WWE said it would help bring the company closer to its partners.

Saudi official Turki Alalshikh, the chairman of the General Entertainment Authority, is the key person in the government handling the WWE partnership. The controversial relationship between the two sides began in 2018 and has grown recently with Riyadh set to host Royal Rumble 2026 this afternoon and WrestleMania 43 in 2027. This is the first time either of those marquee events is being held in Saudi Arabia.

A temporary outdoor stadium that was built over just a few short weeks is the venue for today’s Rumble.

AEW duo captures indie tag team gold

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In Brooklyn, New York last night, AEW stars Eddie Kingston & Ortiz won gold for indie promotion Outlaw Wrestling.

Kingston & Ortiz became the new Outlaw Tag Team Champions by defeating The Audacity (Micah Cortez & Seth Cortez) on Friday. It’s already been announced that the two teams will meet again for Outlaw Wrestling on February 20, with Kingston & Ortiz facing off against The Audacity and Silk City Kings (Kenny Bengal & Ray Pittman) in a triple threat match.

Along with their AEW work, Kingston & Ortiz are taking indie dates and teaching seminars as they get ready to open their own wrestling school. Their goal with the seminars is to learn what works and what doesn’t work so they’re fully prepared when the school opens.

“That is the method behind why we’re doing seminars,” Ortiz said on AEW Unrestricted this month. “We need to start doing them so we can learn when we do something wrong or something right and be like, ‘Okay, we’ll keep this. Hey, this kind of dragged out at this part. That’s not that important.’ And just how to really utilize the time given to us, the three, four hours or however long it’s going to be. And what we can give the people attending the best bang for their buck…

“Our whole goal is to help change wrestling culture internally by producing and trying to have solid workers just go out there and they become who they become based on their experience. But just giving them a solid foundation and just passing on all the knowledge that we still have and then just bringing in a Jerry Lynn, bringing in a Homicide, bringing in a Billy Gunn to come and do weekend seminars so you learn from all different types of people.”

Kingston & Ortiz have an indie show and seminar coming up for Pro Wrestling Junkie in New Jersey on March 1. They’ve also been announced for a Beyond Wrestling event that’s taking place in Rhode Island on February 27. Kingston is planning to no longer take indie dates by November of this year.

A timeline for when their wrestling school will open has not been announced.

WWE 2K26 full details announced

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The hype for WWE 2K26 is now in full swing with some more details about the game now being revealed.

WWE and 2K Games announced this morning that CM Punk will serve as the cover star of WWE 2K26. The game is set to be released on Friday, March 13 — and 2K is touting that it will feature the largest roster in franchise history. There will be more than 400 wrestlers/legends on the roster, with the following names already confirmed:

  • CM Punk
  • John Cena
  • Randy Savage
  • Rhea Ripley
  • Cody Rhodes
  • Roman Reigns
  • IYO SKY
  • Andre the Giant
  • Drew McIntyre
  • Bron Breakker
  • Roddy Piper
  • Seth Rollins
  • Logan Paul
  • Stephanie Vaquer
  • Eddie Guerrero
  • Liv Morgan
  • Bret Hart
  • Penta
  • Charlotte Flair
  • Randy Orton
  • Rey Fenix
  • Rusev
  • Blake Monroe

Joe Hendry is also in WWE 2K26 as the pre-order bonus character for the standard edition of the game.

Four new match types will be featured, giving you the ability to play in inferno matches, dumpster matches, I Quit matches, and Three Stages of Hell.

Along with being the cover star, Punk is the focus of this year’s Showcase mode, which allows you to play through some of his past matches and other dream bouts:

CM Punk jumps through time to relive incredible moments from his career. Narrated by ‘The Best in the World’ himself, players will relive iconic matches and battle against WWE Legends in Fantasy Warfare. For those who want to truly prove their mettle, the Showcase Gauntlet looks to push players to their limits! CM Punk’s rise, rebellion, and return make this the most personal 2K Showcase yet.

WWE 2K26 is being released on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC. Early access begins on March 6 for those who pre-order either of the three most expensive editions of the game. Here are full pricing details:

  • Standard edition: $69.99 USD
  • King of Kings edition: $99.99 USD
  • Attitude Era edition: $129.99 USD
  • Monday Night War edition: $149.99 USD

Big E to host YouTube series focused on NFL Draft

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Big E is picking up some more hosting experience as he partners with data analytics firm SūmerSports for a new YouTube series.

It was announced today that Big E will host “The Evaluation,” a 10-week show that will upload new episodes to YouTube leading into the NFL Draft. The series begins on February 12 and will feature long-form interviews, data-focused segments, and player evaluation segments with coaches and former players. Among the NFL stars and legends set to appear are Eli Manning, Maxx Crosby, Joe Thomas, Luke Kuechly, Marshall Faulk, Howie Long, Steve Mariucci, Will Blackmon, and Steve Smith Sr.

Big E (real name Ettore Ewen) played defensive line for the University of Iowa while in college. A former WWE Champion, he’s taken up hosting WWE pre-shows and post-shows in recent years, along with making frequent appearances on the Raw Recap podcast. Big E has not announced his retirement from the ring, but whether he’ll ever wrestle again remains in serious doubt after suffering a broken neck in 2022.

“I’m so incredibly grateful that my college football obsession is not in vain! I had the most wonderful experience working on this show,” he tweeted today. “Can’t wait for football fans to check this out! @SumerSports”

SūmerSports hyped that “The Evaluation” will combine “old-school football knowledge from seasoned NFL scouts and GMs with new-school analysis powered by SūmerSports’ proprietary AI technologies.”

The 2026 NFL Draft is taking place from April 23-25, with Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza widely expected to be taken by the Las Vegas Raiders with the number one overall pick.

Tommaso Ciampa: I have ‘not one bad word to say’ about WWE

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Though he’s departed the company and found a new home in AEW, Tommaso Ciampa doesn’t have anything bad to say about WWE.

Ciampa was interviewed by CBS Sports following his AEW debut and opened up about his decision not to re-sign with WWE. There were conversations about a new deal, but Ciampa felt like he never got to truly maximize his potential as the “Psycho Killer” in WWE. He feels like, right now, he is the best version of himself that he’s ever been. Ciampa is determined to prove that in AEW.

“We chatted a handful of times in the last two or three months. I just needed to do what was right for my wife and me,” Ciampa said about his decision not to re-sign. “I have not one bad word to say about WWE. They gave me an incredible opportunity and platform. Over the last 10 years, I learned a ton. I evolved a ton. It’s time for me to take all that and really apply it. The biggest part was the leap.”

Ciampa noted that he’s been thinking about departing WWE for a while. Ultimately, the deciding factor was that he did not want to look back and regret his decision.

“My interest in doing this has been for at least two or three years. For the last six months, I’ve had a foot out the door,” Ciampa said. “It was one of those things: do you bet on yourself, see this through and see if you were right, or do you stay put and take the safe bet? 

“I have a seven-year-old. I want her to know that you get one life. You get one career, you get one chance at this. You don’t want to leave it with ‘What if?’ That was the final determining factor.”

In his first AEW match, Ciampa has the chance to capture championship gold. He’s challenging Mark Briscoe for the TNT title on Collision this Saturday night.