In a new interview following her WWE departure, Shotzi confirmed that she was slated to appear in the 2025 women’s Royal Rumble match before being replaced by the returning Alexa Bliss.
Shotzi told Daria & Toni Unwrapped that, the day before the show, she got a last-minute call from WWE about being in the Rumble match. She flew out to Indianapolis and was all set to compete before being informed that she actually would not be participating. Shotzi was getting makeup done when she received the news.
“So I heard mixed messages. Like, a couple producers said that I was always in the Rumble. But then they just told me last minute. Yeah, I don’t know, I was very confused by it. But they didn’t relay anything to me until the day before,” Shotzi said. “It was like 3 p.m. the day before Rumble and they were like, ‘Hey, can you get on a flight in a couple hours?’ And then I’m like, ‘Oh my God, I’m not ready for this.’ Just like packed my bags, I don’t even know what I put in the bags. Got to the airport in like an hour, and then it led to nothing.”
Bliss returned as a surprise entrant in the Royal Rumble, wrestling for the first time since giving birth to her daughter Hendrix in 2023. But whether Bliss was going to take part in the Rumble was legitimately up in the air until the last minute. There was a contract situation where Bliss’ new five-year deal with WWE was not completed until shortly before the match.
Shotzi noted that Bliss was gracious about the situation and apologized to her over taking her spot.
“Honestly, if you’re going to take me out for anyone, at least make it be the biggest pop of the night,” Shotzi said. “And I have to say that Alexa had no idea that someone was getting replaced. She had no idea any of that was going on. She felt so bad and she came up to me afterwards. And she was like, ‘Oh my God, I’m so sorry. I didn’t even realize they were taking someone out of the Rumble to get me in there.'”
Last month, Shotzi announced that she is departing WWE with the company choosing not to renew her contract. She is taking indie bookings and has been teased for MLW’s Summer of the Beasts show that is being held in New York City on June 26.
The full episode of Daria & Toni Unwrapped is available to watch below. The podcast is hosted by former WWE wrestler Sonya Deville (Daria Berenato) and her wife Toni Cassano.
Alexa Bliss says WWE has been great about supporting her as a new parent and bringing her baby on the road with her.
Bliss and her partner, Ryan Cabrera, welcomed their first child together, a daughter named Hendrix Rouge, on November 27, 2023. TMZ caught up with Bliss recently and asked her about being a mother.
“I wouldn’t trade it for anything,” Bliss responded.
She added that WWE has been very accommodating when it comes to bringing Hendrix on the road.
“They’ve been so great about bringing her on the road. She’s got her own, like, set up when we go and she loves it. And it’s been great.”
Asked about the maternity leave she was granted from WWE, Bliss said:
“They were so great about it. I got a whole year with her and it was fantastic.”
Alexa Bliss Praises WWE For Baby Accommodations | Click to read more 👇 https://t.co/vCtFPfc8yO
Bliss announced she was pregnant in May 2023. She hadn’t wrestled since losing a Raw Women’s title match to Bianca Belair at that year’s Royal Rumble and wouldn’t wrestle again until returning as a surprise entrant in the 2025 Royal Rumble. She then qualified for the Elimination Chamber and was the last one eliminated by match winner Belair. After missing two months, Bliss returned on the May 9 SmackDown. On Friday’s show, she qualified for Money in the Bank by winning a triple threat against Michin and Chelsea Green.
It’s Saturday and that means it’s time for Wrestling Observer Live with Jim Valley.
Jeff Cobb impressed in his WWE SmackDown in-ring debut as JC Mateo Friday, but the Greensboro crowd also thought most everything on the show was awesome even when some things weren’t.
On Monday, Becky Lynch turned heel BECAUSE OF THE FANS. Charlotte is upset BECAUSE OF THE FANS. John Cena turned heel BECAUSE OF THE FANS. The Rock is a heel BECAUSE OF THE FANS. Literally, FOUR top stars are mad BECAUSE OF THE FANS ALL AT THE SAME TIME.
Plus, Jim talks AEW Collision Beach Break from Chicago, NWA Crockett Cup from the 2300 Arena, Best of the Super Juniors, and more.
Two wrestlers have qualified for WWE Money in the Bank ladder matches for the MITB PLE on Saturday, June 7.
Alexa Bliss won a qualifying match on Friday’s WWE SmackDown to become the first qualifier for the women’s ladder match at Money in the Bank. Bliss won a triple threat match also involving Chelsea Green and Michin to become the first woman to qualify for MITB.
On the men’s side, Solo Sikoa defeated Jimmy Uso and Rey Fenix in a three-way to become the first man to qualify for the MITB ladder match on June 7.
Qualifying matches will continue on Monday’s WWE Raw and next Friday’s SmackDown. The raw qualifiers have yet to be announced, but the lineup for next Friday includes Charlotte Flair vs. Giulia vs. Zelina Vega in a women’s qualifier, plus LA Knight vs. Aleister Black vs. Shinsuke Nakamura in a men’s qualifying contest.
The Money in the Bank ladder match winners will earn a title shot at the championship of their choice good for up to one year.
WWE Money in the Bank, Saturday, June 7 —
Men’s Money in the Bank ladder match: Solo Sikoa vs. five TBD
Women’s Money in the Bank ladder match: Alexa Bliss vs. five TBD
Alexa Bliss is back in WWE after a two-month absence.
Bliss returned to action on Friday’s WWE SmackDown as the mystery partner to United States Champion Zelina Vega in a tag team encounter against former US champ Chelsea Green and Piper Niven. Vega and Bliss defeated Green and Niven after Bliss connected with Twisted Bliss and her version of the Sister Abigail for the victory.
Later on SmackDown, Bliss had a backstage interaction with Charlotte Flair after a storyline segment where Flair announced that she was walking out of the company due to negative fan response. A tag team pairing with Bliss and Flair could be in the offing.
Bliss was last in the ring at Elimination Chamber on March 1 in the number one contender’s Elimination Chamber match won by Bianca Belair. She made her initial return to the promotion at this year’s Royal Rumble after a two-year hiatus.
Full coverage of AEW Revolution, business numbers, what matches showed the most interest, match order, PPV buys, live numbers, what the PPV number means, Dynasty card and more
WrestleMania update, MSG angle with Reigns, Punk and Rollins, card and interest level of the show.
New Japan Cup update with notes on every tournament match
Full UFC 313 coverage, looking at the main event decision, what comes next, fight of the year candidate and business notes.
Lex Luger goes into the WWE Hall of Fame and notes about his life and career from the highs to the lows.
Latest update on the Vince McMahon/Janel Grant lawsuit
The classic Frank Deford story on the life of Mildred Burke
We look at “Queen of the Ring,” deciphering what was and wasn’t real about the movie, the facts regarding the career of Burke, the breakup with Billy Wolfe, the characters in the movie and how they were portrayed and Burke’s significance in the history of pro wrestling.
The most detailed look at the ratings of all the pro wrestling and MMA shows this past week, how they ranked for the week and for the night, competition, how Raw did on Netflix as well as how the other shows did worldwide.
A look at the all-women’s Friday night show at Arena Mexico.
More on the Stardom Tam Nakano angle.
Notes on a week with some of the best matches of the year.
Notes on Dark Side of the Ring for this coming season.
New books out on wrestling.
What pro wrestling legend is Gable Steveson attempting to tie the record of?
Hodge Trophy candidates
Forming boxing celebrity back doing pro wrestling.
Notes on Bruno Sammartino and others with Madison Square Garden longevity.
Full details on the 16 Carat gold tournament
WBD news story regarding sports and how this affects wrestling.
Notes on AEW booing.
Advance ticket sales for WWE & AEW
More notes on the 18-49 record low number for Dynamite on a Wednesday.
More on the Dana White/Nick Khan/Turki Alashikh boxing promotion and who is the person responsible for originally putting them together.
More on the next WWE & UFC media rights talks.
Notes on a time slot change for WWE & AEW shows over the next few weeks.
Idea being discussed for a WWE PPV show.
Netflix and how much WWE is worth to them and the key change coming.
Lots of backstage notes.
This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter Back Issue
Seemingly responding to speculation about her WrestleMania status after she was pulled from a scheduled appearance at WWE World during WrestleMania week, Alexa Bliss tweeted a gif from the show “Friends” that has the following caption: “I’m fine, okay? I’m great!”
In their top 50 countdown, WWE ranked Daniel Bryan vs. Triple H (WrestleMania 30) as the 28th greatest match in WrestleMania history.
Seth Rollins was featured on a new episode of WWE Break It Down, where he discussed some of the best ring gear he’s worn throughout his career.
AEW/Other Wrestling
TMZ Sports posted an article about the spot from AEW Dynamite last night where Jon Moxley was slammed into a bed of nails by Adam Copeland. Moxley went on to win their street fight and retain the AEW World Championship.
In an interview with Sports Illustrated, Saraya praised Toni Storm for how much she’s grown as a performer:
She’s one of the best promos and characters, I think, of all time. And she’s one of my favorites all together right now. She is making wrestling fun and exciting and I love that. And it’s just funny seeing her from two years ago… when she was scared to pick up a microphone.
Once you have a character and something that you’re enjoying in wrestling, you wanna put a hundred percent of your mind, body, and soul into it. And she’s doing it. And she’s so humble about it and I love that for her. She’s just like, ‘I hope I’m doing a good job.’ I’m like, ‘Babe, you are smashing it! You are the best thing in wrestling right now.’
Viva Van was the guest on this week’s episode of AEW Unrestricted. She opened up about now officially being signed to AEW after having worked as an extra for so long:
First person I told was my boyfriend and then my family, so I celebrated with my boyfriend and my family. What it means to me? The world because I’ve been training, wrestling for eight years, working for seven and it just felt like all the hard work finally paid off.
For a few years, I was like, ‘Man, what do I got to do?’ I mean, I feel like I’m on the same show with everybody except, you know, I just don’t have a contract yet. But I kept telling myself that: ‘Not yet.’ And I think that’s what kept me going.
I feel great. I feel good, except my knees are a little bit under the weather. I had my right knee replaced about seven months ago – six or seven months ago. And they said it takes about a year to get that back to normal. And then my left knee needs to be replaced too, but I’m going to wait a while on that one.
Lawler said that, while he’s feeling good, the effects of his 2023 stroke still impact his life every day:
Well, that’s something that’s here constantly every day. I want to say gotten over – I haven’t gotten over [it] because the effects of the stroke, they’re always there. I mean, my whole right side of my body is damaged. I can’t really write too good. I can’t draw worth a darn, but I can still sign an autograph, thank goodness. But other than that, I feel fine.
Indi Hartwell uploaded a new vlog documenting her House of Glory match against Mercedes Mone.
Alexa Bliss will no longer be appearing at WWE World during WrestleMania Weekend in Las Vegas.
Fanatics confirmed Bliss’s removal on X in response to a fan asking why she was no longer listed on the event page. Fanatics replied, “Hi, Roger! Regrettably, Alexa Bliss is no longer attending.”
Hi, Roger! Regrettably, Alexa Bliss is no longer attending. Please send me a DM if you have any questions! -Marissa https://t.co/n291Rp7n7f
Despite still being featured in some advertising materials, Bliss is no longer listed under “appearances” on the website. Big names still scheduled for the five-day interactive event at the Las Vegas Convention Center from Thursday, April 17 to Monday, April 21 include Steve Austin, The Undertaker, Cody Rhodes, CM Punk, and more.
WWE originally planned for Bliss to return as part of a storyline involving The Wyatt Sicks on the January 13 episode of Raw in San Jose, but the idea was scrapped due to Bliss and WWE being at an impasse in negotiations over a new contract for the 33-year-old. She finally made her in-ring return at the Royal Rumble after nearly two years away due to maternity leave.
Fightful Select later reported that Bliss and WWE agreed on a new five-year contract that extends into 2030.
Three more wrestlers have qualified for the Elimination Chamber.
On Friday’s SmackDown, Drew McIntyre, Alexa Bliss, and Bianca Belair all advanced to their respective Elimination Chamber matches. The premium live event will take place on March 1 in Toronto.
Belair was the first to advance on SmackDown, defeating Piper Niven with an impressive-looking KOD. Later in the show, Bliss defeated Candice LeRae with the Sister Abigail, earning her a spot in Toronto.
The sole men’s eliminator match saw Drew McIntyre defeat LA Knight and Jimmy Uso. The finish had McIntyre striking Knight with the claymore kick right as Knight was about to lay out Uso with the BFT, allowing McIntyre to cover Knight for the win.
Two more qualifying matches will take place on next week’s SmackDown. Chelsea Green will face Naomi, while Damian Priest, Jacob Fatu, and Braun Strowman will square off in a three-way.
The updated card for the Elimination Chamber:
Men’s Elimination Chamber: John Cena vs. CM Punk vs. Drew McIntyre vs. 3 TBD
Women’s Elimination Chamber: Liv Morgan vs. Alexa Bliss vs. Bianca Belair vs. 3 TBD
A pair of Elimination Chamber qualifying matches have been confirmed for WWE SmackDown tonight.
Bianca Belair vs. Piper Niven and Alexa Bliss vs. Candice LeRae will take place on tonight’s show with the winners earning spots in the women’s Elimination Chamber match. After making her return in the Royal Rumble, this will be Bliss’ first one-on-one match in more than two years.
Qualifying for Elimination Chamber began on Raw earlier this week with CM Punk and Liv Morgan picking up victories. John Cena has also declared that he’ll be in the men’s Chamber match. The PLE is being held in Toronto on Saturday, March 1 with the men’s and women’s winners earning World title shots at WrestleMania 41.
FedExForum in Memphis, Tennessee is hosting SmackDown tonight. It’s the Royal Rumble fallout edition of the show.
WWE SmackDown (Friday, February 7) —
Elimination Chamber qualifying match: Drew McIntyre vs. LA Knight vs. Jimmy Uso
Elimination Chamber qualifying match: Bianca Belair vs. Piper Niven
Elimination Chamber qualifying match: Alexa Bliss vs. Candice LeRae
Royal Rumble winners Jey Uso and Charlotte Flair will appear
Alexa Bliss has signed with Paradigm, a Hollywood talent agency that represents several WWE stars.
Deadline first reported on Thursday that Bliss has signed with Paradigm for representation. She will also continue to be represented by Michael Garnett at Leverage Management and Marc Cabrera and Dan Abrams at law firm Polsinelli PC.
Damian Priest, Tiffany Stratton, CM Punk, Drew McIntyre, Liv Morgan, and Jade Cargill are among the other WWE wrestlers that have signed deals with Paradigm. It’s one of the top agencies in Hollywood, ranking behind WME (William Morris Endeavor), CAA (Creative Artists Agency), and UTA (United Talent Agency).
Paradigm launched a sports division in 2024 with a specialized team of agents to represent athletes.
Last weekend, Bliss returned in the women’s Royal Rumble for her first WWE match in two years. It was her first time wrestling since giving birth to her daughter Hendrix. Bliss has signed a new five-year contract with WWE.
Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer is back with tons to talk about including the “Ring Boy” lawsuit, what’s up with The Rock and Drew McIntyre and Alexa Bliss and Duke Hudson and Conor McGregor, Curry Man is retiring, the WWE Raw report and Royal Rumble fallout, and more!
A fun show as always so check it out~!
Timestamps:
Start: Maryland Supreme Court holds up law allowing ring boy suit to move forward
6:22: The Rock’s status for WrestleMania, other WrestleMania plans
15:47 Update on Drew McIntyre, what happened with Alexa Bliss
22:25: Duke Hudson released, Curry Man retires from wrestling, Jericho Cruise, Elias joining forces with The Righteous
27:48: Conor McGregor spit on someone, Dana White says he never wants to retire, ratings
The new issue of the Observer is up on the site today:
All-time records for WWE business that will be broken at the Royal Rumble
What 38 years old company attendance mark goes down this week
Rumble favorites and news on the show
Things AEW should look to do regarding the creative on Dynamite to avoid things like redundancy, not getting key people over, and examining what the actual purposes of angles are and making them work
Full coverage of Saturday Night’s Main Event from this past week, business numbers and what they mean, Dory Funk Jr., Jesse Ventura and match-by-match coverage.
Paul Levesque goes into the Paul Levesque picked WWE Hall of Fame
One of the most notable pro wrestling arenas in the world closes this year after nearly 50 years of running major shows. A look at some of the biggest matches held there including Inoki, Jack Brisco, Hogan, Andre, Monsoon, Hansen, Dusty Rhodes, Backlund, Volk Han, Nobuhiko Takada and even the Crush Gals.
The life and times of Ed Wiskoski aka Col DeBeers. A look at a 25 year career that went all over the world with a variety of gimmicks, including rises and falls of major territories, the making of his most famous gimmick and its controversial nature.
The GFL draft is basically admitted to be a fraud as to how it was presented and all the major names from the past part of the new team-based promotion.
Bryce Mitchell says some of the dumbest things possible and Dana White counters. But should the company cut ties with him.
The life and times of 50s and 60s star Bill Melby, including the angle that put the Cow Palace on the map as a regular wrestling building, and the most accomplished wrestler/bodybuilders.
The most detailed look at the ratings for all the television shows, as well as WWE shows on Netflix. Quarters, year-to-year comparisons and more. Plus competition and demo numbers
CMLL’s second biggest show of the year coming
Hot Arena Mexico main event
Announcer leaves promotion after 30 years
TripleMania news for 2025
Stardom awards
Dark Side of the Ring 2025 notes
How the major TV cable stations are doing
Former WCW star in jail
AEW international TV notes
Lots of notes on AEW Grand Slam Australia
International TV numbers
Christopher Daniels talks the end of his career
AEW star wants to box and do MMA
Giant fight talked about is for sure not happening
Death of legendary sportswriter Michael Katz
WWE star in one of the top box office movies of all-time
Jordynne Grace talks leaving TNA
WWE injury notes and thoughts about the policy of not stopping matches
Top YouTube numbers for the week
This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter Back Issue
— Both of our weekend shows are up on the site right now. The Friday show with Garrett Gonzales talks about the news of the past week and the Observer notes from the week. Last night’s show with Bryan goes heavily into both the Royal Rumble and the Janel Grant lawsuit filing and the new claims, the arguments against arbitration, and more. All the stuff on the Rumble, the Alexa Bliss story, the Drew McIntyre story and more are covered on the show.
— The Rumble attendance ended up funny with a graphic saying 65,407 and then on the air claiming 70,347 and then, the graphic being up with one number and Paul Levesque at the same time claiming the higher number. Either way the number is gigantic. We hope to get an actual real number in the next few weeks but even the smaller number breaks the Hogan-Orndorff 1986 record for the largest non-Mania crowd in North American history. The gate of about $17 million was the third largest in history behind only the two days from last year’s WrestleMania, although it will be fifth place after the two days of this year’s Mania. It’s really a testament of how many people are willing to pay such high prices for major show wrestling tickets. There has never been anything like this in pro wrestling history, adjusted for inflation or not, when it comes to fan willingness in giant numbers to spend so much on tickets when it comes to the major shows.
— The Men’s Rumble match went 80:04. They spaced more time between entrances this year in both Rumbles than any year in history. While there was an August 22, 1964, match in Madison Square Garden with Bruno Sammartino vs. Waldo Von Erich being listed as an 81:00 draw, in those days, they always made up the times of the longest matches and exaggerated them. I don’t know if anyone alive has a real time of that match but I’d be pretty sure it wasn’t nearly that long. Last night was likely the longest match in WWWF/WWF/WWE history.
— The belief right now is Cody Rhodes vs. John Cena and Gunther vs. Jey Uso as the two men’s main events. They teased Seth Rollins vs. Roman Reigns vs. CM Punk, but with the Elimination Chamber coming up, I’d think they would all be in the Chamber and this was just to set up the chamber.
— They are doing chamber qualifying matches starting with Raw tomorrow. Paul Levesque said that because of all John Cena has done, he doesn’t need to qualify and he’s in the men’s match. Cena said he was going to Hungary to film a movie and won’t be back until the Chamber match.
— Jackie Redmond announced Cody Rhodes was injured and they didn’t know how severe. Levesque minutes later said there were no serious injuries. Nobody has said anything about a Rhodes injury since then. IShowSpeed had a nasty looking bruise on his calf but was moving around fine after taking a killer spear from Bron Breakker.
— The Drew McIntyre story was legit. We were told that he was hot, although I believe everyone cooled down. But he was clearly mad when he came through the curtain after being eliminated. We were told others were as well but weren’t as obvious about it. McIntyre and Damian Priest were to start an angle and they felt the momentum was lost when LA Knight got in the way as they were doing the Priest throwing out of McIntyre. The top guys want things to go smoothly and have their story come off as planned, and that mentality is why they’re top guys. I don’t know if that means McIntyre is also headed to Smackdown or not, but that’s a possibility. Bryan went into detail on last night’s show with how it went down.
— We’re looking for your thoughts on the Rumble show itself, you can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to [email protected]
— We’re looking for reports from the Jericho Cruise matches the next few days, although I know from experience that Internet and cell service is not the best. The Cruise is probably why they taped Collision on Wednesday. Among those who wrestled there yesterday were Will Ospreay, Curry Man, MxM Collection, Big Bill, Bryan Keith, Harley Cameron, Billie Starkz, Nick Wayne, Daniel Garcia, Jay Lethal, Mark Briscoe, Bandido, The Outrunners, Thunder Rosa, Enzo, Tommy Billington, Elijah (Elias), Nyla Rose, Komander, Lance Archer, Konosuke Takeshita, Brian Cage and others. Curry Man announced that this was his last match.
— Regarding Bliss, those in the company say the thing was settled in the last day or two. My gut was that company worked its own people because of the T-shirt being released, but we were told the T-shirt was actually to be released on 1/13 when she was to debut in San Jose so that’s not proof of anything (unlike the Triple H Hall of Fame shirt being out the day of the announcement). I’m still skeptical as I’m sure everyone is. Mike Johnson actually reported Bliss being there on the show a before the show started so nobody knew the story (which was accurate with Punk in his return) wasn’t actually the case. He had the same story multiple people in WWE told us about an impasse which two sources said had to do with Bliss having a child and we were told last night as others have reported that it was settled in the last 48 hours. I’m very skeptical of that, thinking it was settled earlier and the company told its employees differently, based on the way it was handled on the show. She may have gotten the biggest pop of the night.
— It was noted that Wednesday’s Dynamite show, which airs on Friday night in the U.K. on ITV4, had the highest first-night audience in the history of the show. The number was 190,000 but that doesn’t include people watching after whenever the show aired and the final number in the U.K. doesn’t come out for more than a week as they include DVR numbers in their ratings. I’ve heard people say it had a beneficial lead-in from darts like the big Collision number a few weeks ago after the college football playoff game had, but AEW has been doing strong numbers all month.
— The only match from last night internationally we got a recommendation on was Leon Slater vs. Leon Cage from the RevPro show in London which went 25:00. Cage is only 17 and Slater is 20.
— For Raw tomorrow they’ve announced the qualifying matches for the men and women’s Chambe shows on 3/1, plus appearances by Jey Uso and Charlotte Flair.
— Bryce Mitchell, who has been in the news the last few days (see the story in the last issue), has apologized, writing “I’m sorry I sounded insensitive. I definitely was not trying to offend anybody but I know I did. I know that a lot of people died in the Holocaust, and that’s a fact. Hitler did a lot of evil things. I think we can agree on that. I’m definitely not a Nazi and definitely do not condone any of the evil things Hitler did.” That’s a real sore subject with me having multiple relatives killed in the Holocaust.
— Shara “Bullet” Magomedov, who lost his first pro fight yesterday at the UFC show in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia to Michael “Venom” Page claimed he was suffering from a health issue, saying, “I knew all the risks when stepping in with such a nightmarish health condition and preparation. I felt that despite everything I could still win–but it didn’t work out and that’s it.”
— There were a ton of items relating to combat sports this weekend on Google trends. The Rumble trended higher than any WWE event in years. It had 1 million searches with Charlotte Flair being the most-searched of any WWE topic. That’s the level of the last UFC PPV show and UFC shows usually do better than even the biggest WWE shows. Tons of people finished high, notably the David Benavidez vs. David Morrell boxing match at 200,000, the UFC show at 200,000, Elimination Chamber, Penn State Wrestling, Michael Venom Page and John Cena at 50,000 plus and among those at 20,000 plus included Bliss, Kevin Owens, Trish Stratus, Nikki Bella, IShowSpeed, Jordynne Grace, Israel Adesanya, Janel Grant, Pitbull Cruz, AJ Lee, Rey Mysterio and Sergei Pavlovich. I can’t recall a weekend with so many trending so high in years.
— Stardom legit sold out Korakuen Hall today for the Saya Kamitani World of Stardom title defense over Suzu Suzuki. Actually it was an overflow crowd. This Stardom run booked by Taro Okada with no prior booking experience has been a real success these past several months, especially when the overall wrestling popularity in Japan is not that high.
— Deni Avdija of the Portland Trail Blazers has been doing the Cena “You can’t see me” deal when he scores or is fouled.
— RevPro Epic Encounter on 3/16 at the Hangar in Wolverhampton has Hechicero vs. Zozaya.
I am back with another Sunday edition of Wrestling Observer Live, talking all the latest professional wrestling news.
With the WE Royal Rumble taking place Saturday, I spend most of the episode breaking down everything that happened and all the fallout. This includes surprise winners of the men’s and women’s Royal Rumble matches in Jey Uso and Charlotte Flair, respectively.
Also, I talk all the surprises and returns including Alexa Bliss, Nikki Bella, Jordynne Grace, AJ Styles and Joe Hendry. Plus, Cody Rhodes defended his WWE title in a brutal ladder match against Kevin Owens.
With the fallout from both matches, I look at what WrestleMania programs we might get coming from this show and what appears to be an upset Drew McIntyre after the match.
Additionally, notes from AEW Collision, WWE Evolve’s premiere, press conference notes, and more!
It was a night of returns and arrivals in the women’s Royal Rumble match.
Alexa Bliss and Nikki Bella made their returns to WWE on Saturday’s show in Indianapolis, while Jordynne Grace made her official WWE debut. Hall of Famer Trish Stratus also made a surprise appearance.
Grace was the first surprise of the night, entering at number 19. Michael Cole on commentary said that while she was a part of TNA when competing in last year’s Royal Rumble, she was now officially a part of the WWE roster. She was eventually eliminated by Giuilia from NXT.
Bliss came in at number 21 after being gone from WWE since early 2023, taking time off due to pregnancy. Arriving with her doll Lily, Bliss was eliminated by Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez.
Stratus made her return at number 25 and lasted a while before encountering Nia Jax, who eventually eliminated Stratus thanks to the help of Candice LeRae.
Bella was the final entrant of the women’s Royal Rumble, arriving at number 30. She lasted towards the end of the match, but was eliminated by Jax. The returning Charlotte Flair eventually emerged as the winner, last eliminating Roxanne Perez.
Wrestling Observer Live with Bryan Alvarez and Mike Sempervive is back with FUN FRIDAY! Lots to talk about including all of the news heading into Saturday Night’s Main Event, then tons of calls and text messages on many different topics! A fun show as always so check it out~!
