WWE once again has two sets of tag team champions.
The Raw and SmackDown Tag Team titles were split up in the six-pack ladder match at WrestleMania 40 night one. A-Town Down Under (Grayson Waller & Austin Theory) won the SmackDown titles, while Awesome Truth (The Miz & R-Truth) won the Raw belts.
Since May 2022, the Raw and SmackDown Tag Team titles had been unified. But the two sets of belts were hung above the ring separately in Saturday’s ladder match. The rules were that the match would only end when both sets were retrieved.
Waller & Theory got the SmackDown titles first. The match then ended with a crowd-pleasing moment as Truth triumphed over The Judgment Day and grabbed the Raw titles for him and Miz.
Judgment Day’s Damian Priest & Finn Balor were the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions heading into WrestleMania.
The other three teams that competed in the ladder match were DIY (Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa), The New Day (Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods), and New Catch Republic (Pete Dunne & Tyler Bate).
R-Truth feared that he would lose his career and need an amputation after complications from his 2022 quad tear.
While appearing as a guest on the Cheap Heat podcast, Truth detailed the complications he suffered after undergoing quad surgery. An infection caused a hole in Truth’s knee, and an amputation was being considered if they weren’t able to get it under control. Truth spent four or five months trying to kill the infection and was ultimately able to avoid needing an amputation.
Truth responded when asked if there was a period where he feared his wrestling career was over:
Yes, there was a period, man. I mean, I had a hole in my knee. A hole. I had five different bacterias that caused an infection along with MRSA, staph, and their cousins and kinfolks.
It started off as a routine quad tear. As a matter of fact, I tore my bottom quad. And they went in — I guess it could have happened during surgery — but I went to get the stitches out and that’s when we found out that the bacteria, the infection, was eating from the inside out, so that’s where the hole came from. I just remember the doctor never would give me a high-five. He was like, ‘We gotta get this under control. If we can’t get this under control, I’m gonna have to think of the options.’
He was straight shooting with me: ‘You’re in the woods big time. We have to get this under control.’ Like, it wouldn’t heal. It would not heal.
So then I had to go three months, I had to have a wound VAC. It was a VAC that was on my knee that kept sucking the old blood up and putting the new blood, all that stuff, like I had to wear that for six weeks along with a PICC line. So I had to have that for eight weeks. I did that, and once all that was over with, the stitches started coming out on their own. So I had stitches coming through my knee out by itself, so my body wasn’t agreeing to them – so I had to go back into surgery for a third time. Third surgery. And the infection was still there, so I had to get another PICC line as well.
So, man, it was just a good four months, five months of just trying to kill the infection, slow it down, stop it, not go mentally crazy because there was a chance, he said, the other option was amputation. You know what I’m saying? So to go from doing the 24/7 [title] stuff, running around, doing things with my kids, to NXT, me and Grayson Waller tearing it down, and doing things to like stopping and then getting told this? It was a big reality check, man. It was a pump the brakes moment.
Truth said that being able to work out again was a big turning point for him and gave a boost to his mental health after the complications.
Truth tore his quad while facing Grayson Waller on NXT in November 2022. He was away from WWE programming for a year until returning at Survivor Series 2023.
Since returning, Truth has been prominently featured on WWE Raw as part of a story with The Judgment Day. Truth has insisted that he’s a member of the faction.
Truth has been involved in a program with Judgment Day on Raw recently. His character incorrectly believes he is a member of the faction, which has led to several comic misunderstandings.
Last week, Truth was unable to comprehend that he was teaming with The Miz against Dominik Mysterio and JD McDonagh, as he believed he should have been on the Judgment Day team instead.
Tonight’s show takes place at the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon. It has tough competition in the ratings from the College Football National Championships. As of last night, 9,863 tickets have been distributed to the show, according to WrestleTix.
WWE Raw January 8, 2024, announced lineup:
CM Punk appears
Cody Rhodes vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Kayden Carter & Katana Chance defend against Chelsea Green & Piper Niven
On WWE Raw tonight, R-Truth will wrestle his first match in more than a year.
A Miracle on 34th Street Fight between Truth and JD McDonagh has been added to the lineup for tonight’s episode of Raw. The show is taking place from Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa.
This is Truth’s first match since suffering a torn quad while facing Grayson Waller for NXT in November 2022.
At Survivor Series last month, Truth made his return to WWE programming. He’s been feuding with The Judgment Day since then with Judgment Day getting mad at Truth for repeatedly invading their clubhouse.
McDonagh, Damian Priest, Finn Balor, and Dominik Mysterio attacked Truth on Raw last week until The Creed Brothers made the save.
The Creed Brothers are challenging Priest & Balor for the Undisputed WWE Tag Team titles on Raw tonight. With next week expected to be a best-of episode, this is the final new Raw of 2023.
The updated card for tonight is listed below:
Intercontinental Champion Gunther defends against The Miz
World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins addresses Drew McIntyre
Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions Damian Priest & Finn Balor defend against The Creed Brothers
Women’s Tag Team Champions Chelsea Green & Piper Niven defend against Katana Chance & Kayden Carter
Miracle on 34th Street Fight: R-Truth vs. JD McDonagh
At Survivor Series, a WWE veteran appeared for the first time in more than a year.
R-Truth returned to WWE programming by taking part in a backstage comedy segment at Saturday’s event. The segment was sponsored by Ruffles and also included Alpha Academy, Pretty Deadly, Chelsea Green, and Piper Niven.
The 51-year-old Truth (Ron Killings) had been away from WWE since suffering a torn quad in November 2022. During an NXT match against Grayson Waller, Truth suffered the injury when he didn’t fully clear the top rope on a dive attempt and landed badly on his left leg. The match ended in a referee stoppage after Truth got hurt.
Truth underwent surgery to repair the quad injury. In January of this year, Truth gave an update on his condition and said he underwent a second surgery due to an infection.
“I’m going back to WWE. I just got to heal up. I had to have two surgeries — a lot of people don’t know that,” Truth said. “I caught an infection so I had to have another surgery.”
Truth was a 53-time WWE 24/7 Champion when that title was in existence.
During a live stream on Sunday, R-Truth gave an update on his recovery from a torn quad.
Truth underwent surgery after tearing his quad during a match against Grayson Waller on the November 1, 2022 episode of NXT. Truth revealed on Sunday’s live stream that he underwent a second surgery due to an infection, but he’s healing up and will probably be back sooner than you think.
“Still healing up. Still healing up from my quad injuries,” Truth said.
“I’m going back to WWE. I just got to heal up. I had to have two surgeries — a lot of people don’t know that. I caught an infection so I had to have another surgery. So that set me back, but, y’all know me, I’m coming back probably sooner than y’all think.”
Truth said during the live stream that he started up physical therapy again last Monday.
“I’m feeling good, man,” Truth said. “I did my own P.T. today, I got P.T. again tomorrow. I just started back up physical therapy last Monday. I had to have two surgeries so I was out for a while. It pushed everything back.”
Truth suffered the torn quad when going for a flip dive during his match against Waller. Truth didn’t fully clear the top rope and landed badly on his left leg.
Truth said on Sunday’s live stream that he was enjoying being part of NXT and will be going back there.
Wrestling Observer Live with Bryan Alvarez and Mike Sempervive is back with tons to talk about including AEW Dynamite tonight, your full NXT TV report, Cain Velasquez, Teddy Hart, RAW ratings, USING AN ACT THE RIGHT WAY, and tons more. A fun show as always so check it out~!
R-Truth has confirmed that he suffered a torn quad on last week’s episode of NXT.
In a video he posted to his social media accounts on Tuesday, R-Truth announced that he was about to undergo surgery after tearing his quad while facing Grayson Waller on NXT. Truth thanked everyone for their support and promised that he’ll be back before they know it.
The injury happened when the 50-year-old Truth went for a flip dive against Waller in their match on NXT last Tuesday. Truth didn’t fully clear the top rope and landed badly on his left leg. After Truth was tended to by medical personnel, the match ended in a referee stoppage.
Dave Meltzer reported last week that it was believed Truth suffered a torn quad in the match:
R-Truth was injured on the 11/1 NXT show doing a flip dive against Grayson Waller. He didn’t quite clear the top rope on the move and came down badly and his left leg was gone. This wasn’t confirmed at press time, but the belief was that he tore his quad, which is a very serious injury that could keep him out for a long time.
R-Truth could be facing a significant time out of action after suffering an injury on WWE NXT.
Dave Meltzer noted in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that, while not confirmed, it’s believed that Truth suffered a torn quad on this Tuesday’s NXT. Truth injured his left leg during a match against Grayson Waller on the show.
Meltzer wrote:
R-Truth was injured on the 11/1 NXT show doing a flip dive against Grayson Waller. He didn’t quite clear the top rope on the move and came down badly and his left leg was gone. This wasn’t confirmed at press time, but the belief was that he tore his quad, which is a very serious injury that could keep him out for a long time.
Truth’s match against Waller ended in a referee stoppage after the injury.
This was the second straight week that Truth had appeared on NXT. There was an angle on last week’s show where Truth and Waller’s match was set up. After Truth showed up thinking it was Halloween Havoc, Waller challenged him to a match for next week. Waller went to attack Truth but got laid out by Truth and Wes Lee.
Truth was also on this Monday’s Raw, taking part in a segment where he was laid out with the End of Days after interrupting Baron Corbin and JBL.
During a match against Grayson Waller, R-Truth went for a dive on the outside. He landed badly upon impact, clutching his left knee. After the commercial break, Truth was walked to the back by medical staff as the referee ended the match, awarding the victory to Waller.
After the match, Waller cut a promo, saying he was tired of being overlooked, noting that he had just beaten a twenty-year veteran all by himself. He said that NXT was Grayson Waller’s house and no one would be able to change that.
Truth has resurfaced on TV in recent weeks, appearing on last week’s NXT interrupting a promo between Wes Lee and Waller. Truth and Waller exchanged words, with a match being set up for Tuesday’s show.
Truth also appeared on Monday’s Raw, interrupting a promo with Baron Corbin and JBL. The segment ended with Corbin laying out Truth.
A trio of Hall of Famers will be featured on the next episode of WWE Table for 3.
It was announced today that a new Table for 3 episode titled “New Generation Gathering” will premiere on Peacock/WWE Network this Friday (October 14). Jerry “The King” Lawler, Kane, and Bret Hart are appearing on the episode.
Lawler, Kane, and Hart will discuss WWE’s “New Generation” era, which began in the early-to-mid 1990s and ended with the introduction of the Attitude Era.
Hart was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2006, Lawler was inducted in 2007, and Kane was inducted in 2021.
This month marks the 25th anniversary of the Kane character’s debut. Glenn Jacobs played Fake Diesel and Isaac Yankem DDS prior to that. As Isaac Yankem, Jacobs was aligned with Lawler in a feud against Hart.
After being on hiatus since 2019, Table for 3 returned with new episodes this April. The most recent episode prior to this featured the Steiner family (Rick Steiner, Scott Steiner, and Bron Breakker).
Bad Bunny handed the WWE 24/7 title to R-Truth tonight on Raw, ending his reign with the championship.
During a backstage segment on tonight’s Raw, R-Truth tried to sneak up and attack Bad Bunny to win the championship back. Damien Priest, however, pointed R-Truth out before he could attack. Truth, who was carrying Stone Cold Steve Austin merchandise, responded by giving Bad Bunny the merch he had on him. He told Bad Bunny, however, that he wanted his title back. After some deliberation with Priest, Bad Bunny gave the championship to R-Truth, saying he respected Truth and the business.
This ends Bad Bunny’s reign with the championship after 28 days, pinning a laid out Akira Tozawa on the February 15 edition of Raw. This starts R-Truth’s 50th reign as champion.
During his run as champion, Bad Bunny showcased the championship during high profile events, including his appearances on Saturday Night Live and last night’s Grammy Awards. Bad Bunny won a Grammy last night for Best Latin Pop or Urban Album.
The celebrity flag football game aired live on ESPNews and also featured involvement from WWE’s Titus O’Neil, The Miz, and Cesaro.
Flutie was a star quarterback for Boston College in the 1980s and played in the USFL, CFL, and NFL before retiring in 2006.
This is R-Truth’s 49th reign as 24/7 Champion. After losing the title to radio personality and WWE pre-show panelist Peter Rosenberg at Sunday’s Royal Rumble pay-per-view, there was an angle filmed where R-Truth snuck into Rosenberg’s hotel room with a referee and won the title back while Rosenberg was live on air co-hosting The Michael Kay Show this Monday.
Pre-show panelist Peter Rosenberg is no longer WWE 24/7 Champion.
While Rosenberg was on the air co-hosting The Michael Kay Show on ESPN New York 98.7 FM and the YES Network today, there was a bit where R-Truth and a referee snuck into Rosenberg’s hotel room through a balcony. R-Truth confronted Rosenberg and pinned him to regain the 24/7 title.
Rosenberg had pinned R-Truth to win the 24/7 title during a segment on last night’s Royal Rumble pay-per-view. After tricking R-Truth into thinking John Cena was there, Rosenberg low blowed R-Truth and pinned him to become 24/7 Champion.
Rosenberg was part of the pre-show panel for the Royal Rumble. He then won the 24/7 title from R-Truth during a panel segment on the Royal Rumble main card. Earlier in the night, R-Truth had lost the 24/7 title to Alicia Fox during the women’s Royal Rumble match but won it right back.
Rosenberg hosts The Michael Kay Show with Michael Kay and Don La Greca. Video of R-Truth regaining the 24/7 title from him is available to watch below:
A new WWE 24/7 Champion was crowned on New Year’s Eve.
On TikTok’s New Year’s Eve party livestream, video aired of Angel Garza rolling up R-Truth to win the 24/7 title. Video of the title change is available to watch below:
This is the second straight year that the 24/7 title has changed hands on New Year’s Eve. There were two 24/7 title changes that took place in Times Square on Fox’s New Year’s Eve with Steve Harvey in 2019. Mojo Rawley pinned R-Truth to win the 24/7 title, but R-Truth then won the championship back from Rawley.
“GOLD BABY,” Garza tweeted on Thursday night. “Por segundo año consecutivo terminó el año con ORO. For second year in a row I end with GOLD. @RonKillings I’ll show you how to treat a BABY.”
This is the first time that Garza has held the 24/7 title. R-Truth’s most recent reign with the championship lasted from November’s Survivor Series pay-per-view until now.
