Lita is set for another appearance on Raw ahead of her title match against Becky Lynch at the Elimination Chamber.
WWE has announced that Lita will be making an appearance on Monday’s Raw, which is the brand’s go-home show for Elimination Chamber. Lita is challenging Lynch for the Raw Women’s Championship at the Saturday, February 19 pay-per-view in Saudi Arabia.
WWE wrote:
Two weeks after making her return to Monday Night Raw and just five days away from her Raw Women’s Championship Match against Becky Lynch at WWE Elimination Chamber, WWE Hall of Famer Lita is back on the red brand!
What will the four-time Women’s Champion have in store for the WWE Universe and Big Time Becks as she gets set for an extreme showdown at the Jeddah Premium Live Event?
On Raw earlier this week, Lynch interrupted an in-ring promo by Lita. Lynch said that there would be no Becky Lynch without Lita. But now that there is a Becky Lynch, there can be no Lita.
Lita told Lynch that she may not have had a title match in 15 years, but the fans still support her to this day. Lita said that, as long as the fans are there, there will still be a Lita.
Lynch attacked Lita at the end of the segment. Lynch went to leave the ring but then came back to attack Lita again. When she did that, Lita countered the Manhandle Slam, gave Lynch a Twist of Fate, and hit a moonsault.
Monday’s Raw is taking place at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana. The show is airing on Syfy due to the Winter Olympics being on USA Network.
Here’s the updated lineup for the episode:
Brock Lesnar appears
United States Champion Damian Priest defends against AJ Styles
Randy Orton & Riddle will hold an “RK-Broga Party” to celebrate their Academic Challenge win against Chad Gable & Otis
In an interview with Ring The Belle, WWE Hall of Famer Lita explained why she’s wrestling in Saudi Arabia despite previously criticizing WWE’s relationship with the country.
Lita will challenge Becky Lynch for the Raw Women’s Championship at WWE’s Elimination Chamber pay-per-view in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on Saturday, February 19. Lita told Ring the Belle that women now being able to wrestle in Saudi Arabia, along with positive experiences she’s heard from other talent, made wrestling there an opportunity she wanted to take.
So I will say I was outspoken on the early relationship between WWE and Saudi. ‘Oh, they say they want women to wrestle over there, but like, I don’t know if I believe it. There’s no women on this card.’ There’s women on the card [now] — and I’ve talked to the women personally that have been over there. And they’re like, ‘It’s unbelievable. There are women crying, never thinking they would get to see two women be so strong in the ring.’ They’re like, ‘It’s really powerful. You’re gonna enjoy that.’ And so, sure, do they have a long way to go? Do we as a society have a long way to go? Absolutely, but you’ve got to take the opportunities when they’re there.
Lita had said in a 2018 interview with WrestleZone that she thought WWE’s relationship with the Saudi government was a “direct conflict of interest” with the promotion’s efforts to push forward women’s wrestling.
“I understand that they are a business, a global business and they are always looking to expand their global presence. However, I do feel this was a direct conflict of interest with them maintaining any integrity or truth to the fact that they say they would like to push forward women, their roles and their reputations in this business as anything resembling equal to a male,” Lita said in the May 2018 interview.
“Make the money, that’s fine, but don’t try to cover it up. Don’t say, ‘No, we are doing this because in the future we would like to help progress their culture forward!’ No, you want the money, you’re a business and businesses make money. That’s okay. From my perspective over here, I don’t own your business so that’s your call. From a PR perspective don’t say you are doing it because, ‘We want to help progress that culture forward.’ No, it’s a direct conflict of interest, in my opinion.”
This year’s Elimination Chamber will be WWE’s seventh event in Saudi Arabia since the company’s 10-year deal with the Saudi government began in 2018. WWE’s first women’s match in Saudi Arabia took place in October 2019.
Lynch vs. Lita was set up for the Elimination Chamber when Lita confronted Lynch on the post-Royal Rumble episode of Raw. Lita was also an entrant in this year’s women’s Royal Rumble match.
Lita told Ring The Belle that she was initially supposed to go home after the Royal Rumble, but WWE asked her if she wanted to wrestle Lynch.
Lita was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2014.
Lita’s full interview with Ring The Belle can be seen below:
Date: February 7, 2022 Location: Ball Arena in Denver, CO
Show Recap —
Jimmy Smith announced that the first hour of Raw on Syfy tonight would be commercial-free. Tonight’s show will have appearances by Lita and WWE Champion Bobby Lashley here in his hometown, as well as Riddle vs. Seth Rollins.
Academic Challenge: Quiz Bowl — Randy Orton & Riddle defeated Chad Gable & Otis
Chad Gable, who received pretty good heat, interrupted Kevin Patrick’s introduction. Gable explained the rules and said the first team to five points would win.
Patrick ran down the nine categories. Gable chose “U.S. Presidents” and the question asked who was the first to be elected to office with a college degree. Gable said he knew all about degrees thanks to his Master’s degree and told the fans not to boo education. Gable called George Washington a dumb-dumb before correctly guessing John Adams. 1-0 Alpha.
Riddle chose “Biology” and corrected guessed that an octopus has three hearts. 1-1. Gable chose “Greek Mythology” and correctly guessed that Icarus flew too close to the sun. 2-1 Alpha. Orton chose “Cartoons” and Riddle correctly guessed that Michelangelo was the Ninja Turtle that used nunchucks. 2-2. Gable was offended by the question.
Orton said Otis should answer the next one. Otis chose “Geography” and correctly guessed that Texas was the biggest of the 48 continental states. 3-2 Alpha. Otis said if it was the state was the lowest IQ, it would be Colorado.
RK-Bro chose “Pop Culture” next and the question was about the Baldwins. Neither of them knew the answer and Orton incorrectly guessed Alec Baldwin. Gable guessed it right to steal the point. 4-2 Alpha.
Gable asked for “Film & Movies.” Gable got it wrong as Otis kept saying, “ham” (which was a clue). Riddle correctly guessed that Hamlet is the Shakespeare play that has been adapted the most. 4-3 Alpha.
Orton asked for “Sports” and the question asked which quarterback threw the most touchdowns in team history. Orton knew the answer but let the Denver crowd help him correctly guess John Elway. 4-4. Gable wasn’t happy. The crowd told him that he sucked.
The last question was “Metric Conversions” and asked how many grams were in an ounce. Gable got it wrong. Riddle was about to answer but Orton said he’d take it and told Riddle he’s not the only one that bakes, bro. Orton correctly guessed 28 grams. RK-Bro win the Quiz Bowl and earn a tag title match.
Gable was pissed. Orton and Riddle bragged before they left. Gable whined and fell to the floor as the buzzer repeatedly went off.
The Street Profits entered and rubbed it in. Gable said they were about to get their asses kicked. Otis knocked down Montez Ford from behind. (We were about 22 minutes into the show by the time this was done.)
Non-title match: Raw Tag Team Champions Alpha Academy defeated The Street Profits (5:36)
Angelo Dawkins almost had it won after giving Gable a Silencer but Otis broke up the cover. Ford knocked Otis out of the ring and wiped him out with a flip dive. Dawkins and Gable exchanged counters until Gable caught him in a rollup for the pinfall win.
********
There was a Lita video package.
Even though they said the first hour would be commercial-free, there was a Syfy ad for one of their shows followed by a trailer for WWE2K22.
********
Bobby Lashley and MVP segment
MVP introduced Bobby Lashley the way Paul Heyman introduces Brock Lesnar. The hometown crowd gave Lashley a standing ovation. MVP ran down recent events and the crowd booed the insinuation that Lashley only beat Lesnar because of Roman Reigns.
MVP said it should have been declared Bobby Lashley Day after his win but instead, they found out that he’d have to defend his title inside the Elimination Chamber. MVP said Lesnar did deserve credit for winning the Royal Rumble and deserved to face Reigns at WrestleMania. However, it was pure fantasy to think that Lesnar would take Lashley’s title at the Chamber.
MVP didn’t want to discredit the other Chamber competitors. He called AJ Styles and Seth Rollins two of the best to have ever done it, while Riddle and Austin Theory were the future of the company. But none of them compared to Lashley who was the baddest monster of them all.
Lashley insulted Lesnar, bringing up how infrequently he defended the title and wondered when was the last time he even wrestled on Raw. Lashley looked forward to pinning Lesnar once again. When Lesnar wakes up in the hospital, he could look forward to wrestling Reigns while Lashley went on to main event WrestleMania.
********
Alexa Bliss segment
The psychiatrist admitted that Alexa Bliss and the replica Lilly looked good together (Bliss appeared to be in a good mood). He asked her to hand over the toy. She did but began crying. There was cheesy music playing in the background as they faded to black.
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AJ Styles defeated US Champion Damian Priest in a non-title match (4:58)
They had a back-and-forth match. After a strike exchange, Styles hit a Pelé Kick which resulted in Priest collapsing on Styles for a nearfall. Priest knocked Styles off the top rope as he went for a Phenomenal forearm but as Priest ran off the opposite rope, Styles hit a great-looking Phenomenal forearm for the pinfall win.
The crowd liked Styles more than Priest and popped for the finish. Priest turned on his angry face after the match. (So they’re still teasing a heel turn for Priest.)
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They announced a Women’s Elimination Chamber match with the winner earning a Raw Women’s title match at WrestleMania. The competitors so far are Liv Morgan, Rhea Ripley, Bianca Belair, Doudrop and Nikki ASH. One more wrestler is still to be determined.
There was an NXT commercial.
Seth Rollins approached Kevin Owens as he warmed up. Owens said he would beat Theory tonight and they would have no choice but to put him in the Chamber match. Rollins acted like he was on Owens’ side but Owens didn’t believe him.
(The “commercial-free” first hour of Raw was very talk-heavy which I’m sure was deliberate. Of course, the second hour is starting with…)
[Second Hour]
Miz TV with Miz & Maryse and guests Rey & Dominik Mysterio
Miz introduced their guests Rey and Dominik Mysterio who received a good reaction. Rey basically accused Miz of cheating to win last week and Miz took offense. The crowd called him a cheater, too. Miz said Edge and Beth Phoenix cheated in their match and it never bothered anyone when Eddie Guerrero cheated. Miz said it was the Mysterios’ own fault that they lost last week.
Miz was offended that Rey got an opportunity to qualify for the Chamber while he didn’t. Miz noted that he was Mr. Money in the Bank and Rey said he cheated to win that, too. Miz said he beat Drew McIntyre and Rey again said he cheated to win. Miz ranted at the crowd for not getting enough credit. Miz thought he or Maryse should be on the cover of the video game, not Rey.
Dominik got in Miz’s face and told him to show his father some respect. Miz was amused and called for a rematch. Dominik accepted. Miz noted that Dominik was much taller than Rey and said, “are you sure you’re not Eddie’s son?” The crowd chanted for Eddie. Dominik decked Miz.
(There’s been way too much talking so far but I enjoyed this more than I thought I would and the crowd was into it.)
Dominik Mysterio (w/Rey Mysterio) defeated The Miz (w/Maryse) (1:40)
Maryse blatantly tripped Dominik a minute into the match. The ref told them not to call for the bell and instead tossed Maryse from ringside. As the ref told her to leave, Rey tripped Miz for real this time which led to Dominik using a schoolboy for the pinfall win. (Byron Saxton called this the biggest win of Dominik’s career.)
********
Austin Theory was shown speaking with Vince McMahon in his office.
Bianca Belair defeated Nikki ASH (3:59)
Nikki targetted Belair’s leg and applied a single leg crab. Belair came back with a fallaway slam, body slams and a delayed vertical suplex for two (while still selling her leg). Nikki hit a tornado DDT for two. Belair kicked Nikki’s head into the ring post before hitting a KOD for the pinfall win.
********
R-Truth, Tamina and Akira Tozawa were shown running through the back. They unknowingly ran right past Dana Brooke and Reggie. Brooke thanked Reggie for everything he’s done for her and she kissed him on the cheek. He asked her what that meant and she said it meant that they were friends (the crowd expressed their disappointment in that response). They hugged and teased kissing on the lips but they didn’t. They eventually ran off upon seeing the 24/7 crew coming in their direction.
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Kevin Owens defeated Austin Theory (9:05)
Theory tried driving Owens back-first into the steel steps like he did last week but Owens fought him off and hit a senton off the steps which led to break.
Owens nailed a cannonball followed by a splash off the apron. (Corey Graves was surprised to hear that the fans were cheering Owens.) Owens went for a stunner but Theory countered into a back suplex for two. Owens hit a rolling fireman’s carry off the top which really popped the crowd. He tried a senton but Theory got his knees up.
However, Owens followed soon after with a stunner for the pinfall win. This felt like a pretty decisive win for Owens. The crowd was really into him, too.
********
Riddle told Orton how excited he was to wrestle for the tag titles. Orton told him he had a huge opportunity to main event WrestleMania on top of that, but also had to focus on Rollins tonight. Riddle seemed focused. He left. But then he came back and told Orton they should have a party next week. Orton told him to focus on tonight.
********
There was a video on Olympian Jacqueline Joyner-Kersee who Bianca Belair recently had the opportunity to meet.
[Third Hour]
Veer Mahan is coming.
Lita/Becky Lynch segment
Lita entered. She was excited to be on Raw in Denver. She was thrilled she got to be in the Rumble with the likes of Charlotte Flair, Ronda Rousey, Bianca Belair, and Rhea Ripley. Lita began speaking about Becky Lynch until Lynch interrupted.
Lynch mentioned Rousey running scared before saying it was great to hear her teenage idol say such nice things about her. She declined Lita’s challenge last week but there was a reason. Lynch idolized her growing up. On top of that, a lot of people turned up their noses at her when she arrived in WWE, but Lita didn’t and she was grateful for that. The crowd cheered.
Lynch said there would be no Becky Lynch without Lita but now that there was a Becky Lynch, there should be no Lita. The title was the most important thing to her and this was the most important time of the year. She had to get rid of friends and the fans to keep her title and had no problem doing that. She’d also have no problem putting down Lita.
Lita admitted that Lynch was the odds-on-favourite but she had no problem being the underdog. She was a punk-rock, dumpster-diving kid who chased her dreams, but it was the fans who helped her become a 4-time champion. The fans chanted her name while she lived her dream. She hasn’t had a title shot in 15 years but the fans still support her and she liked her odds.
Lita said Lynch should worry about how she’d feel when Lita became 5-time champion. Lynch said the fans were all Lita would ever have.
Lynch attacked but Lita fought back and gave her a Twist of Fate and moonsault.
This was pretty good.
********
Owens approached Adam Pearce and Sonya Deville (who had her arm in a sling thanks to Rousey). Owens asked them if he’d be in the Chamber thanks to his win. They said no — the qualifying match was last week. Owens couldn’t believe it. They were pretty dismissive and Deville said Owens may not even be on WrestleMania.
Owens said they can’t take this from him or the people of Texas because Texas loved him. Owens said he became Universal champ in Texas and he had his first Mania in Texas. He knew everything about Texas — the cowboy boots, the rodeos, the bulls (he pointed at his bull tattoo). He told them that he needed this and asked them to think about this.
********
Doudrop defeated Liv Morgan (8:04)
A Doudrop crossbody led to break one minute into the match. Doudrop remained in control until Morgan came back with a dropkick off the middle rope, followed by a Codebreaker for two. Doudrop followed with a facebuster for two. Morgan went to the middle rope but Doudrop yanked her down and hit a Vader Bomb for the pinfall win.
This was short thanks to the commercial break but the action was good while it lasted.
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Alexa Bliss segment #2
The psychiatrist said Bliss cried when she handed back the doll but she remained calm and that was progress. Bliss also recalled getting cut off by another driver recently but she didn’t retaliate. Someone else took her parking spot but she remained calm and got another spot instead.
On top of that, an evil creature of a woman jumped in front of her in line at the grocery store. He asked what this creature looked like. Bliss basically described Lilly before saying she chucked her down in the aisle before hitting her with a loaf of bread. The guy said they had more work to do.
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Next week on Raw on Syfy:
Damian Priest defends US Title against AJ Styles
Brock Lesnar appears
RK-Broga Party
********
Rollins told Patrick he planned on main eventing WrestleMania as the champion.
Riddle defeated Seth Rollins via DQ (7:42)
Rollins powerbombed Riddle into the barricade barely a minute into the match and that led to a break. Rollins remained in control until Riddle came back with a Pelé kick, forearms and a suplex. Riddle followed with a PK before wiping out Rollins with a dive.
Owens ran out through the crowd and attacked Riddle for the abrupt DQ. Orton ran down and laid out Owens with an RKO. Graves wondered what might happen next.
Seth Rollins & Kevin Owens defeated Riddle & Randy Orton (8:09 of TV time)
Jimmy Smith couldn’t believe what we were seeing, a tag team match.
Owens was down and Rollins tried to get him back into it by smacking him on the shoulder. Owens screamed at him and told him he just got hit with an RKO (which was funny).
Orton gave Rollins a backdrop onto the announce table. Riddle tagged in but so did Owens and he cut off Riddle with a superkick. They worked over Riddle until Riddle dodged a Rollins frog splash before hitting Owens with a knee strike.
Orton made the hot tag and hit Rollins with clotheslines, a powerslam, and draping DDT (Owens ate a powerslam too). Rollins blocked an RKO as Riddle tagged himself in. He knocked down Owens and Rollins with kicks but Rollins came back with consecutive elbow strikes. Rollins followed with a curb stomp for the pinfall win. (The finish felt a bit flat.)
Orton gave Owens an RKO following the match. Rollins laughed and walked away.
A match between Seth Rollins and Riddle, along with an appearance from Lita, is scheduled for this coming Monday’s Raw.
Rollins and Riddle are both in the Elimination Chamber, which takes place on February 19 in Saudi Arabia. Rollins announced he had been added to the match on the Kevin Owens Show this past Monday on Raw. Riddle qualified on Raw after defeating Otis in a match.
Following her appearance at the Royal Rumble, Lita appeared on Raw and challenged Lynch to a match at Elimination Chamber for the Raw Women’s Championship. Lynch, who had just confronted Royal Rumble winner Ronda Rousey, at first said no. But after Lita asked if she was scared, Lynch ended up accepting the challenge.
Already announced for Raw, which will air on the SYFY channel due to ongoing coverage of the Olympic Winter Games, is a Quiz Bowl in the third and final stage of the Academic Challenge between RK-Bro and Alpha Academy.
After winning the women’s Royal Rumble match, Ronda Rousey made her return to Raw last night.
Rousey appeared in last night’s main event segment and discussed her impending WrestleMania decision. She said that she has unfinished business with both Raw Women’s Champion Becky Lynch and SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair.
Rousey said she could choose Lynch, but Rousey’s attention is something Lynch doesn’t deserve.
Lynch made her way down to the ring and went face-to-face with Rousey. Lynch pointed out that she’s the only person who has been able to beat Rousey in WWE — and she said Becky Lynch vs. Ronda Rousey is the biggest match on anyone’s mind.
Lynch wanted Rousey to make her decision, but Rousey instead took Lynch down with an arm throw. Rousey said she’ll reveal her WrestleMania decision on SmackDown this Friday night.
When Rousey left, Lita came down to confront Lynch. Lita challenged Lynch to a Raw Women’s Championship match at the Elimination Chamber. Lynch initially turned down the challenge, but she accepted after Lita called her scared.
The field for the WWE Championship Elimination Chamber match was also set last night. Bobby Lashley will defend his title against Brock Lesnar, Seth Rollins, Austin Theory, Riddle, and AJ Styles.
Ronda Rousey returned to the show, teasing that she would reveal her WrestleMania opponent after winning Saturday’s women’s Royal Rumble match. Instead, Rousey hit Lynch with a judo thrown and told her that she will reveal whether she will challenge Lynch or SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair on Friday’s SmackDown episode.
After Rousey left Lynch laying, Lita’s music hit, and the WWE Hall of Famer entered, wearing Becky Lynch merchandise.
She said that while Rousey may not be ready to challenge Lynch, Lita was always up for a challenge, then challenged Lynch. After initially begging off, Lynch agreed to the match for Saudi Arabia.
An elimination chamber match for the WWE Championship was also announced on tonight’s show. Here is the lineup so far:
WWE Elimination Chamber, Saturday, February 12, 12 p.m. Eastern time —
WWE Championship elimination chamber match: Bobby Lashley (c) vs. Brock Lesnar vs. Seth “Freakin” Rollins vs. AJ Styles vs. Riddle vs. Austin Theory
WWE Raw Women’s Championship: Becky Lynch (c) vs. Lita
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TUESDAY NEWS UPDATE
WWE
After last night’s Raw, WWE uploaded a video where NXT’s LA Knight got into a verbal confrontation with Dolph Ziggler & Robert Roode. Roderick Strong was also shown walking by Ziggler & Roode during the video. Knight and Strong were both at this week’s Raw to wrestle matches on the tapings for Main Event. During the post-show confrontation, Knight invited Ziggler & Roode to come to NXT. Ziggler & Roode said they appreciated the invitation, but they work Mondays and are focused on winning the Royal Rumble and going to WrestleMania.
I think rolling with the punches is something I realized more recently than not that if I just accept that I’m out of control on some of these situations, and I’m talking about the business right now, if I just take what they give me and do it to the best of my ability, like I was doing stuff with The Fiend a year ago and it was hard. Some of it was rough.
They put me in the burn mask one week and then the next week I’m out of it and my skin healed. It’s tough [laughs].
Then you go to who you would imagine you would go to when you have a gripe and say, ‘Hey, I can’t do this. Aren’t they going to…’ and you hear, ‘Just do it. It’s going to work.’ Okay. You roll with the punches. You do your best job.
Even though I’m lighting a dead guy on fire and he’s the babyface, I had a very hard time trying to make that real, but I feel like I did a good enough job that even though it was a little cringe worthy for some people because I really, really, tried to just believe that I was going through this, I think it helped people buy into it a little bit more while we’re suspending that reality and trying to make them believe like they would when they’re watching the most recent Halloween movie or Jason movie,
They want to believe when they’re in there. They want to be entertained so I think the more I can accept that, make that real, and make that something I’m feeling and not just words that some 22-year-old writer wrote on paper for me, but if I believe it and make it mine, I can get them to believe. I think that’s what changed with my promos too recently.
While appearing on Throwing Down with Renee Paquette and Miesha Tate, Lita confirmed that she had other “potential opportunities floating around” before agreeing to be in the women’s Royal Rumble match: “Yeah, so definitely, like you said [Lita wanting to get one more run in], so pandemic life kind of simplified everyone’s priorities because it’s just like only what’s in front of your plate but then – so I feel like I spent the first half of the pandemic just being like – just eating too much junk and processed food and doing absolutely nothing. I’m going, ‘Okay, so like even if the pandemic ends, you can’t just slowly kill yourself just laying around and eating junk food.’ So I had already just started to like lifestyle train which is very different from like G.I. Jane training, but I was like, I’m already starting to kind of remember what it felt like to, ‘Oh, it feels good when you move your body. It feels good when you push yourself.’ And I think those kind of was – it was a very baby step that culminated with – you know, and there were like potential opportunities floating around that I was like, ‘Well, maybe, maybe, maybe’ and then this thing was just like, ‘Yes or no, do you want to do this Rumble on this day? Like yes or no? Are you in?’ And I was just like – put my feet to the fire. I was like, ‘Yes, I’m in’ and then it was like, okay, so now that I’m in, it’s time to make the most of it.”
On his Something to Wrestle podcast, Bruce Prichard said he can see Vince McMahon continuing to run WWE for a long, long time: “Yes [I always felt like Vince McMahon would continue running WWE past the early 2000s]. Absolutely. Yeah, I can’t imagine him not doing it and I am sure that he will continue to do it probably for the next 25-to-30 years. His mom’s 101 and still going so, you know, he shows no signs of slowing down at all and he’s a freak of nature and it’s hard to imagine it without him and I don’t think that we’ll have to imagine it without him for a long, long time.”
The Sporting News asked Deonna Purrazzo what it means to her that Jonathan Gresham called her the best technical wrestler in the world: “Gresham has tweeted that once or twice, and it is quite a feeling. He is the number one wrestler in the entire world. I can’t speak enough praises about him, I think he’s phenomenal and I’m so envious of what he can do out there. I wish that I can be like Jonathan Gresham. For him to give me that kind of recognition, it means the entire world to me. I fought so hard to be at Impact Wrestling and also be able to do stuff with ROH, and Gresham was one of those people who were pushing for me. For him to be on my side and give me that recognition is amazing because I always wanted to be considered one of the greatest wrestlers in the world. If someone like that thinks that, then it’s that validation and approval that means everything.”
Joey Janela will face Dr. Wagner Jr. at GCW’s If I Die First show in Dallas on Saturday, February 5.
Mick Foley posted a video responding to the “F*ck Mick Foley” gear that Matt Cardona wore at GCW’s Hammerstein Ballroom show.
Cardona tweeted about the Hammerstein event: “I love @GCWrestling_. Everyone involved wants it to succeed so badly. The fans want it to succeed so badly. I couldn’t even get through my timeline last night. So much buzz. So much heart. Some much passion. So much potential. We danced. Now let’s f*cking go!”
“Man Scout” Jake Manning has been hired by AEW to work in their merchandise department: “I’m officially employed by @AEW to work in their merch department. It’s been a long road to get here but I’m grateful for the opportunity. I’m also thankful that this job will give me the ability to continue to work on my mental health & my indy wrestling & comedy careers.”
As part of the build to the Royal Rumble, WWE Hall of Famer Lita made her return to SmackDown last night.
Lita was interviewed about taking part in this year’s women’s Royal Rumble match. Lita said she thinks she has one more run in her — and that will begin with her winning the Rumble and going on to main event WrestleMania.
Lita was interrupted by SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair, who has also declared for the women’s Royal Rumble match. Charlotte mocked Lita’s age and vowed to throw her out of the ring at the Royal Rumble.
Charlotte asked Lita how she’ll handle the humiliation of Charlotte ending her short-lived comeback and WrestleMania dreams. Lita responded by asking Charlotte how she plans to throw anyone out of the Royal Rumble with the giant head that she has.
Charlotte said she broke Trish Stratus and forced her to retire when they faced off at SummerSlam 2019 — and that’s exactly what she’s going to do to Lita at the Royal Rumble. Lita then acted like she was going to slap Charlotte in the face. When Charlotte flinched, Lita kicked her and laid her out with the Twist of Fate.
Last night’s SmackDown was headlined by a face-to-face segment between former Shield stablemates Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins ahead of their Universal Championship match at the Royal Rumble later this month. Rollins said he created Reigns and can destroy him. Reigns called Rollins a clown and said that, if he wanted to face a megastar at the Royal Rumble, he would have chosen Rollins’ wife Becky Lynch instead.
The Usos tried to attack Rollins from behind, but Rollins avoided them and was able to escape from danger.
As WWE Hall of Famer Lita prepares to make her return at this year’s Royal Rumble, she reportedly had past talks with AEW that included a pitch for a program with Britt Baker.
Fightful reported that AEW and Lita had discussions in 2021. A pitch was made for a program with the AEW Women’s Champion to happen around last September’s All Out. Both sides eventually were unable to come to an agreement.
After being done with WWE in 2006 and an indie appearance in April 2007, Lita stayed away from the ring until she returned on the 1000th Raw for a match with Heath Slater.
She then left for another five years before another indie match in 2017 followed by three WWE appearances in 2018 that included the Royal Rumble and the all-women’s Evolution pay-per-view.
Lita appeared on Friday’s SmackDown for the first time in nearly 20 years, laying out Charlotte Flair with a Twist of Fate after Flair interrupted her in-ring promo.
WWE has made a few announcements for tonight’s episode of SmackDown.
Former Shield stablemates Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins will take part in a face-to-face segment tonight. Reigns is defending his Universal Championship against Rollins at the Royal Rumble on Saturday, January 29.
Last Friday, there was an angle where Adam Pearce had to decide Reigns’ Royal Rumble challenger before the end of the show. At the end of the night, Reigns received a knock at his door. It was revealed to be Rollins, who laughed hysterically as Reigns looked befuddled.
Rollins is a member of the Raw roster. He defeated Big E this Monday.
It’s also been announced that WWE Hall of Famer Lita will make her return to SmackDown tonight. It will be her first SmackDown appearance in nearly 20 years.
Aliyah and Natalya are two of the other wrestlers who have been confirmed for the women’s Rumble. They’ll face off in a singles match tonight. It will be Aliyah’s first singles match on SmackDown since being called up from NXT and the first time she’s wrestled since November.
Plus, Sami Zayn will host the premiere of his new stunt show “InZayn” tonight. WWE is hyping that Zayn has promised to “out-‘Jackass'” Johnny Knoxville after the “Jackass” star threw him out of the ring last week. Knoxville will be an entrant in this year’s men’s Royal Rumble match.
Tonight’s SmackDown is being held at the CHI Health Center Arena in Omaha, Nebraska.
The WWE’s latest two autobiographical releases have been the book by Amy Dumas (Lita) and the heavily pushed “The Stone Cold Truth,” by Steve Austin.
WWE books have run the gamut, from the classic Mick Foley books and the entertaining Freddie Blassie release to the weak Rock, Fabulous Moolah and Chyna books. Like with much of wrestling, and that is the lesson in both of these books, timing is everything. When WWE first got its book deal, Austin was the biggest star and was asked to do a book, which was announced years ago. He didn’t want to at the time, and by delaying, he lost his shot at what would have been a sure national bestseller.
Now, with his career as an active wrestler basically over, he committed not only to the book, but to a national touring schedule to promote it.
I’d say both books are probably in the Kurt Angle category, in that they are good reads, but fall short of being must-reads.
Three former wrestlers launched a Kickstarter Monday in hopes of producing a pilot.
Amy “Lita” Dumas, Gail Kim, and Christy Hemme are the trio pushing Kayfabe, a one hour show they say is half story, half in-ring action.
From the Kickstarter: “It is an edgy, racy, cinematic television series about a female led professional wrestling start-up. This show is a dramatization and collection of female stories inspired by real life events.”
In the nearly five minute video for the pitch, the three introduced the concept and the crew behind it which include former WWE writer Tom Casiello, former WWE/Impact production team member David Sahadi, Jimmy Jacobs, and Chavo Guerrero.
The video also includes what best can be described as trailer-style footage showing a female fan being disenchanted with the wrestling business amid images of #MeToo articles plastered on a wall. The accompanying voiceover is that she doesn’t trust the business or how it’s run so she’s going to take matters in her own hands.
They are looking to raise $400,000 in 36 days with stretch goals of up to $4.6 million to produce a full eight episode season.
Alexa Bliss is out of WWE Evolution, at least in an in-ring capacity.
WWE has updated their preview on their website listing the new match of Trish Stratus and Lita vs. Mickie James and Alicia Fox. They also confirmed the news on Twitter after they updated their website. The preview goes on to say that Alexa Bliss will not compete in the match due to injury, which Dave Meltzer mentioned in Monday’s daily update. She will instead be replaced by Alicia Fox and will be in her and James’ corner. An angle was shot this past week on Raw where Fox and James attacked Lita and Stratus backstage.
Bliss had largely been inactive since Hell in a Cell back on September 16 due to a previous injury. She returned back on the road for last weekend’s house show loop and worked a few matches but didn’t appear as advertised in Boston on 10/21. She also didn’t appear on this week’s edition of Raw.
What were originally two singles matches have been turned into one big tag team match for WWE Evolution.
WWE had previously announced that single matches between Trish Stratus vs. Alexa Bliss and Mickie James vs. Lita would take place at WWE Evolution. That has now been changed to a tag team match, with Bliss and James teaming to square off against Lita and Stratus. The build toward the match started tonight on Raw when Alexa Bliss and Mickie James interrupted Trish Stratus, who was in the ring. After some back and forth, Stratus challenged Bliss to come to the ring.
Both Bliss and James made it to the ring, but James told Bliss not to fight her. James proposed that both she and Bliss face Stratus at Evolution. She seemed fine with the idea, but also had a tag team partner in mind. Lita’s music then hit as she and Stratus cleared the ring.
WWE Evolution will take place at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York on October 28.
