Raquel Gonzalez and Dakota Kai are the winners of the first ever women’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic.
Gonzalez and Kai defeated Ember Moon and Shotzi Blackheart in the opener of tonight’s NXT TakeOver: Vengeance Day event. In what was a vicious back-and-forth match, Gonzalez scored the win for her team, pinning Blackheart with a one-armed powerbomb.
The two exited the ring and celebrated with the trophy near the entrance as confetti filled the air. As a result of their tournament win, they will now face WWE Women’s Tag Team champions Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler at a later date. Lana and Naomi recently won a triple threat match on Raw that earned them a future title match.
During the tournament, Gonzalez and Kai defeated Aliyah and Jessi Kamea as well as the team of Kacy Catanzaro and Kayden Carter to advance to the finals. Moon and Blackheart defeated Marina Shafir and Zoey Stark and The Way (Candice LeRae and Indi Hartwell) to also advance to tonight’s finals.
Shotzi Blackheart & Ember Moon are headed to the finals of the first-ever women’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic.
Blackheart & Moon advanced to the finals of the women’s Dusty Classic by defeating Candice LeRae & Indi Hartwell on tonight’s NXT. Blackheart & Moon will face Dakota Kai & Raquel Gonzalez in the finals at NXT TakeOver: Vengeance Day this Sunday.
It was announced on tonight’s NXT that the team that wins the women’s Dusty Classic will receive the Dusty Cup and a shot at the WWE Women’s Tag Team titles. Nia Jax & Shayna Baszler are the current Women’s Tag Team Champions. The titles can be defended on WWE’s main roster brands and in NXT.
Blackheart & Moon defeated Marina Shafir & Zoey Stark in the first round of the women’s Dusty Classic and LeRae & Hartwell in the semifinals. Kai & Gonzalez defeated Aliyah & Jessi Kamea in the first round of the tournament and Kacy Catanzaro & Kayden Carter in the semifinals.
Here’s the updated card for TakeOver: Vengeance Day:
NXT Champion Finn Balor defends against Pete Dunne
NXT Women’s Champion Io Shirai defends against Toni Storm and Mercedes Martinez in a triple threat match
NXT North American Champion Johnny Gargano defends against Kushida
Men’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic finals: The Grizzled Young Veterans (Zack Gibson & James Drake) vs. MSK (Wes Lee & Nash Carter)
Women’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic finals: Shotzi Blackheart & Ember Moon vs. Dakota Kai & Raquel Gonzalez
Dakota Kai & Raquel Gonzalez are headed to the finals of the women’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic.
Kai & Gonzalez advanced to the finals of the women’s Dusty Classic by defeating Kacy Catanzaro & Kayden Carter on tonight’s episode of NXT. Gonzalez pinned Catanzaro to get the win.
The women’s Dusty Classic finals are being held at NXT TakeOver: Vengeance Day on Sunday, February 14. Candice LeRae & Indi Hartwell are facing Shotzi Blackheart & Ember Moon in the semifinals, with the winning team advancing to face Kai & Gonzalez at TakeOver.
In the first round of the tournament, Kai & Gonzalez defeated Aliyah & Jessi Kamea. LeRae & Hartwell defeated Gigi Dolin (Priscilla Kelly) & Cora Jade (Elayna Black) in the first round, while Blackheart & Moon defeated Marina Shafir & Zoey Stark (Lacey Ryan).
TakeOver: Vengeance Day will also feature NXT Women’s Champion Io Shirai defending her title against Toni Storm and Mercedes Martinez in a triple threat match. Storm & Martinez teamed together in the women’s Dusty Classic but lost to Catanzaro & Carter in the first round after Shirai attacked Martinez during the match.
Dakota Kai & Raquel Gonzalez are the third team to secure their spot in the women’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic semifinals.
Kai & Gonzalez advanced in the tournament by defeating Aliyah & Jessi Kamea in a first round match on this week’s episode of NXT. Gonzalez pinned Kamea after hitting a chokeslam bomb.
Kai & Gonzalez will face Kacy Catanzaro & Kayden Carter in a semifinal match on NXT next Wednesday. Catanzaro & Carter became the first team to advance in the women’s Dusty Classic last week, upsetting Toni Storm & Mercedes Martinez. NXT Women’s Champion Io Shirai attacked Martinez during that match.
On the other side of the women’s Dusty Classic bracket, Candice LeRae & Indi Hartwell advanced to the semifinals by defeating the debuting Gigi Dolin (Priscilla Kelly) & Cora Jade (Elayna Black) on 205 Live this past Friday. LeRae & Hartwell will face either Shotzi Blackheart & Ember Moon or Marina Shafir & Zoey Stark (Lacey Ryan) in the semifinals. Stark is making her NXT debut in the tournament.
The finals of the women’s Dusty Classic will be held at NXT TakeOver on Sunday, February 14.
WWE has added three matches to the lineup for the final NXT episode of 2020.
After returning to NXT television last week and attacking NXT Women’s Champion Io Shirai, Mercedes Martinez will return to action on NXT tonight. Her opponent for the show hasn’t been announced.
Bronson Reed vs. Isaiah “Swerve” Scott will kick off NXT tonight. Breezango (Tyler Breeze & Fandango) vs. The Grizzled Young Veterans (Zack Gibson & James Drake) has also been added to the episode.
Reed returned to the ring on NXT last week and quickly defeated Ashante “Thee” Adonis. Scott was also victorious last Wednesday, defeating Jake Atlas in what was a rematch after Atlas had defeated him earlier this month. Scott used a headbutt during the match and then hit the Confidence Boost to get the win. Scott — who had declined a handshake from Atlas after their previous match — then offered Atlas a handshake. Atlas left the ring and didn’t accept the handshake.
WWE has also announced that tonight’s NXT will feature a special look at the history between Rhea Ripley and Raquel Gonzalez ahead of their Last Woman Standing match at New Year’s Evil next Wednesday. Here’s the updated card for tonight’s show:
NXT North American Champion Johnny Gargano defends against Leon Ruff
Roderick Strong vs. Pete Dunne
Mercedes Martinez returns to action
Breezango vs. The Grizzled Young Veterans
A special look at the history between Rhea Ripley and Raquel Gonzalez
The announcement of the 2020 NXT year-end award winners
Bronson Reed vs. Isaiah “Swerve” Scott (will kick off tonight’s show)
A Last Woman Standing match will be the next step in the rivalry between Rhea RIpley and Raquel Gonzalez.
WWE has announced that Ripley and Gonzalez will face off in a Last Woman Standing match at NXT New Year’s Evil. The show is taking place on Wednesday, January 6 and is the first NXT episode of the new year.
The announcement of the Last Woman Standing match was made after a confrontation between Ripley and Gonzalez on tonight’s NXT. Though she was banned from ringside, Gonzalez came out to the stage during Ripley’s match against Dakota Kai. Ripley and Gonzalez then went face-to-face in the ring after Ripley defeated Kai. They started to brawl and referees and producers struggled to keep Ripley and Gonzalez away from each other.
In the main event of last week’s NXT, Ripley lost to Toni Storm due to interference by Gonzalez. Ripley and Gonzalez had also gone face-to-face the previous week after Ripley made a save for Ember Moon.
Ripley defeated Gonzalez when they faced each other at Halloween Havoc this October.
Here’s the updated lineup for New Year’s Evil:
NXT Champion Finn Balor defends against Kyle O’Reilly
Karrion Kross vs. Damian Priest
Last Woman Standing match: Rhea Ripley vs. Raquel Gonzalez
Fight Pit match: Tommaso Ciampa vs. Timothy Thatcher
We look at New Japan’s road to the Tokyo Dome and the first group of major shows in 2021 as the lead story in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
We look at the realities of business, the set up, the announced matches, and the last few shows leading up to the Dome events. We also have complete coverage from the Budokan Hall show and Super J Cup.
The new issue also covers:
TLC show, Smackdown live and taped shows, new television shows being considered, WWE Network special offer, Bill Goldberg talks who he’d like to wrestle, details on a new contract negotiation, more about wrestlers being sent for regular training, upcoming NXT matches, Hall of Fame, injury updates, new signing, new TV show, international ratings, how WWE & AEW fare compared to sports programming, new TV character identified, WWE market value and the most-watched shows on the WWE Network.
UFC monopoly lawsuit and its ramifications on both the MMA and pro wrestling business regarding competition, ability to hold people to long-term contracts, and competitor pay, and the kind of money we are talking about and why.
A bio of Dr. Alfonso Morales, the legendary Lucha Libre and boxing announcer, who passed away this past week. We look at his background and legacy and why he became so good at what he did.
Major lawsuit involving Lucha Underground and AAA and money figures for streaming content that AAA has received.
UFC 256, with the background of the show, match-by-match coverage and the stories behind the show.
TripleMania, with business notes, popularity, match-by-match coverage with star ratings and the story behind the show.
Tokyo Sports awards for 2020 covering Japanese wrestling, as well as a history for some of the major awards.
Television business, looking at stats not available elsewhere to get the deepest read into how shows are doing, what categories are doing well and how shows compare with previous weeks and one year ago.
Results of all the major pro wrestling events around the world over the past week.
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Daniel Bryan told BT Sports that his contract is coming up soon, and may consider transitioning into becoming a part time wrestler. “Now I have things in my life that I love more than wrestling,” he said. “I’m switching priorities in my life. My contract is coming up soon, and we’ll be looking at me transitioning to less than a full-time wrestler. I’ll be a full-time dad, part-time wrestler.”
William Regal announced on Twitter that Raquel Gonzalez would be banned from ringside during tonight’s Rhea Ripley vs. Dakota Kai match.
Ronda Rousey spoke to Digital Spy about her WWE run. While she enjoyed wrestling, she didn’t like the travel. “All I wanted to do between shows is lay down with my legs up and travelling you’re just sitting upright all the time and my back would kill me,” she said. “So the actual act of travelling I do not miss it all, it was the absolute [worst].”
Free matches added to their YouTube page today include an eight woman gauntlet match featuring Bayley, Sasha Banks, Natalya, Ember Moon, Dana Brooke, Alicia Fox, Mickie James, and Ruby Riott from the December 17, 2018 Raw, and Rey Mysterio vs. Seth Rollins for the United States championship from the December 23, 2019 edition of Raw.
Kevin Owens spoke to Comicbook on why NXT should be included in the WWE Draft.
A “10 Best Matches of 2020” special will be added to the on demand section of the WWE Network this Sunday.
Non-WWE indie content being added to the Network on Saturday includes EVOLVE 140, ICW Fight Club 151, wXw Catch Grand Prix #6, and The Best of PROGRESS Wrestling: Deep Cuts.
Other Wrestling
Attendance for large-scale events in Tokyo have been limited to 5,000 as a result of a resurgence in COVID-19 cases in Japan. This could end up having an effect on Wrestle Kingdom 15, though NJPW has yet to confirm any changes regarding their attendance.
Darby Allin spoke to Forbes on why he doesn’t watch WWE or other outside promotions. “I just watch skating videos. That’s it,” said Allin. “I don’t want to be inspired by anything. I want my body of work to be its own thing. I know it’s like that with skaters, a lot of skaters don’t watch certain videos because they don’t want their skating to be inspired just like I do with wrestling. I respect everybody’s hard work and stuff, but there comes a point where I just want to be in my own brain about things, I don’t want to be inspired by anybody.”
Impact’s first Year in Review episode last night scored 133,000 viewers, and did not make the top 150 shows on cable. This is down from last week’s 177,000.
The Acclaimed have released a diss track on The Young Bucks prior to their match tonight.
Zicky Dice wrote on Twitter that his contract with the NWA ends on January 1.
Erick Rowan talked to The Crash Report about being released by WWE, The Wyatt Family, and pitching alternative ideas to Paul Heyman regarding what was in the cage he would carry to the ring.
A few announcements have been made for tonight’s post-TakeOver WarGames episode of NXT.
An appearance by NXT Champion Finn Balor will kick off tonight’s show. Balor hasn’t wrestled since suffering a broken jaw during his match against Kyle O’Reilly at TakeOver 31 this October. This will be Balor’s second in-person appearance since that event.
Two matches have also been announced for tonight. Tommaso Ciampa will face Cameron Grimes and Ember Moon will take on Raquel Gonzalez. Moon vs. Gonzalez will be tonight’s main event.
Ciampa and Grimes were both in action in singles matches at TakeOver: WarGames this past Sunday. Ciampa defeated Timothy Thatcher, while Grimes lost a strap match to Dexter Lumis. Gonzalez and Moon were on opposite sides of the women’s WarGames match.
Tonight’s NXT will feature a special look at the “Casualties of WarGames.” In the men’s WarGames match, Undisputed Era (Adam Cole, O’Reilly, Roderick Strong & Bobby Fish) defeated Team McAfee (Pat McAfee, Pete Dunne, Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch) when O’Reilly pinned Lorcan. The women’s WarGames match saw Team Candice (Candice LeRae, Dakota Kai, Gonzalez & Toni Storm) defeat Team Shotzi (Shotzi Blackheart, Moon, Rhea Ripley & NXT Women’s Champion Io Shirai) when Gonzalez pinned Shirai.
On his post-TakeOver media call, Paul “Triple H” Levesque said LeRae suffered a possible broken arm in WarGames and Fish suffered a laceration on his elbow. Levesque said other injuries at the show looked to be limited to bumps and bruises.
The final member of Team Shotzi was revealed as the babyface team earned the advantage heading into Sunday’s women’s WarGames match.
In the main event of last night’s go-home edition of NXT, Shotzi Blackheart defeated Raquel Gonzalez in a ladder match for the women’s WarGames entrance order advantage. It appeared that Gonzalez had the match won after both WarGames teams and Indi Hartwell got involved, but NXT Women’s Champion Io Shirai appeared and stopped Gonzalez from retrieving the advantage briefcase. Shirai then sent Gonzalez out of the ring and hit a moonsault onto a pile on the outside.
With everyone else down, Blackheart climbed the ladder and got the briefcase. WWE then confirmed Shirai as the final member of Team Shotzi. It will be Blackheart, Ember Moon, Rhea Ripley & Shirai vs. Candice LeRae, Dakota Kai, Gonzalez & Toni Storm at TakeOver: WarGames this Sunday.
The men’s WarGames match on Sunday will be Undisputed Era (Adam Cole, Kyle O’Reilly, Roderick Strong & Bobby Fish) vs. Team McAfee (Pat McAfee, Pete Dunne, Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch). McAfee cut a promo last night and promised that Team McAfee will end Undisputed Era.
A new match was also confirmed for TakeOver: WarGames on last night’s NXT. Tommaso Ciampa will face off with Timothy Thatcher on Sunday. Leon Ruff vs. Johnny Gargano vs. Damian Priest for the NXT North American Championship and Dexter Lumis vs. Cameron Grimes in a strap match round out the card for Sunday’s event.
For the second straight week, there will be a WarGames advantage match on NXT.
During a promo by Candice LeRae on NXT tonight, it was announced that Shotzi Blackheart and Raquel Gonzalez will face each other on NXT next Wednesday. The winner will earn their team the entrance order advantage in the women’s WarGames match. LeRae didn’t state whether Blackheart vs. Gonzalez will be a ladder match like tonight’s Pete Dunne vs. Kyle O’Reilly match for the men’s WarGames advantage. The winner of that match had to retrieve a briefcase that was hanging above the ring.
Team Shotzi (Blackheart and three partners to be announced) are facing Team Candice (LeRae, Dakota Kai, Gonzalez & Toni Storm) in a WarGames match at NXT TakeOver: WarGames on Sunday, December 6. LeRae’s team members were revealed on NXT tonight, with Storm turning heel and attacking Ember Moon on the show.
Blackheart’s partners for WarGames have yet to be confirmed by WWE, but Moon, NXT Women’s Champion Io Shirai, and Rhea Ripley appear to be the most likely options. LeRae, Kai, Gonzalez, and Storm laid out Shirai and attacked Ripley tonight.
In the main event of tonight’s NXT, Dunne defeated O’Reilly in a ladder match to give Team McAfee the entrance order advantage in the men’s WarGames match at TakeOver. Undisputed Era (Adam Cole, O’Reilly, Roderick Strong & Bobby Fish) are facing Team McAfee (Pat McAfee, Dunne, Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch) at the event.
Team Candice is set for NXT TakeOver: WarGames — and the group includes an unexpected final member.
It was revealed on NXT tonight that Candice LeRae, Dakota Kai, Raquel Gonzalez & Toni Storm will be on Team Candice for the women’s WarGames match against Team Shotzi at NXT TakeOver: WarGames on Sunday, December 6. Storm turned heel tonight by attacking Ember Moon.
LeRae defeated Moon on NXT tonight after Indi Hartwell, Kai, and Gonzalez got involved. Moon hit an Eclipse on Hartwell, but LeRae then won with a stomp. Storm came out after the match and acted like she was going to help Moon, but she then turned against Moon and threw her into the ring so LeRae, Kai, and Gonzalez could beat her down.
After LeRae announced her team members, Storm was interviewed and pointed out that she did say when she came to NXT that she was going to be a whole new Toni Storm.
Moon & Storm had teamed together and defeated Kai & Gonzalez on NXT last week. After that match, LeRae and Hartwell helped Kai and Gonzalez attack Moon and Storm.
Blackheart’s team members for TakeOver have yet to be confirmed by WWE. Later on tonight’s NXT, LeRae, Kai, Gonzalez, and Storm laid out NXT Women’s Champion Io Shirai and attacked Rhea Ripley.
Blackheart will face Gonzalez on NXT next Wednesday to decide which team gets the WarGames advantage.
Here’s the updated card for TakeOver: WarGames:
WarGames match: Undisputed Era (Adam Cole, Kyle O’Reilly, Roderick Strong & Bobby Fish) vs. Team McAfee (Pat McAfee, Pete Dunne, Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch)
WarGames match: Team Shotzi (Shotzi Blackheart and three partners to be announced) vs. Team Candice (Candice LeRae; Dakota Kai, Raquel Gonzalez & Toni Storm)
NXT North American Champion Leon Ruff defends his title against Johnny Gargano and Damian Priest in a triple threat match
WWE has made their first match announcements for NXT Halloween Havoc.
Halloween Havoc is taking place on Wednesday, October 28. Candice LeRae will challenge for Io Shirai’s NXT Women’s Championship on the episode, while LeRae’s husband Johnny Gargano will challenge Damian Priest for the NXT North American Championship. Both of those are rematches from NXT TakeOver 31. This time, those two matches are going to have stipulations that will be determined by “Spin the Wheel, Make a Deal.”
Rhea Ripley vs. Raquel Gonzalez has also been announced for the Halloween Havoc episode.
LeRae became the number one contender to the NXT Women’s Championship by defeating Shotzi Blackheart on NXT tonight. LeRae got the win after using brass knuckles to strike Blackheart. The brass knuckles were given to LeRae by Indi Hartwell. An alliance between LeRae and Hartwell first started to be revealed last week, with Hartwell sending LeRae and Gargano a new TV that came with a USB drive showing all of the times Hartwell helped LeRae during a number one contender’s battle royal last month.
NXT General Manager William Regal was interviewed on tonight’s show after the LeRae vs. Blackheart match. Regal said he wasn’t happy with the finish of the match, but the referee’s decision is final. Regal said he’s thinking of upping the stakes for Shirai vs. LeRae.
Priest retained his North American title against Dexter Lumis in the main event of tonight’s NXT. After the match, Gargano attacked Priest with a steel chair. Blackheart, who will be the host of Halloween Havoc, then announced the return of “Spin the Wheel, Make a Deal” to determine the stipulations for Shirai vs. LeRae and Priest vs. Gargano.
Coal miner’s glove on a pole match, blindfold match, casket match, Chamber of Horrors, biker’s chain match, buried alive match, devil’s playground match, boiler room brawl, Shotzi’s choice, weapons wild match, trick or street fight, and TLS match were the stipulation options listed on the wheel.
Ripley vs. Gonzalez was announced for Halloween Havoc after a challenge that was issued by Gonzalez tonight. Ripley accepted the challenge and tried to brawl with Gonzalez, but they were kept apart by officials. Ripley vs. Gonzalez is being billed as a matchup of the biggest and baddest women in NXT.
WWE has revealed the lineup for this Wednesday’s post-TakeOver XXX edition of NXT.
Three matches have been announced for the episode. NXT Cruiserweight Champion Santos Escobar will defend his title against Isaiah “Swerve” Scott, Breezango will challenge Imperium (Marcel Barthel & Fabian Aichner) for the NXT Tag Team titles, and NXT Women’s Champion Io Shirai will team with Rhea Ripley against Dakota Kai & Reina Gonzalez.
Scott defeated Escobar earlier this year in NXT’s Cruiserweight title tournament. He’s the only person who’s beaten Escobar in WWE. Last week, Scott almost got another win over Escobar in a six-man tag match but wasn’t the legal man after he accidentally tagged in Tyler Breeze when he was knocked into Breeze.
Breezango became the number one contenders to the NXT Tag Team titles by defeating Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch and Legado del Fantasma (Raul Mendoza & Joaquin Wilde) in a triple threat tag match on Saturday’s TakeOver XXX pre-show.
Despite interference by Gonzalez, Shirai retained her NXT Women’s Championship against Kai at TakeOver. Gonzalez attacked Shirai after the match until Ripley made the save and went face-to-face with her. After Gonzalez and Kai backed away, Ripley took a look at Shirai and her title belt before leaving.
New NXT Champion Karrion Kross and Scarlett will kick off Wednesday’s show. Tommaso Ciampa will also return to television on the episode. Plus, we’ll find out what’s next for new NXT North American Champion Damian Priest.
Pro Wrestling Sheet has reported that Stu Bennett (formerly known as Wade Barrett in WWE) will be doing commentary for this week’s NXT.
A sixth match has been added to the card for NXT TakeOver: In Your House.
It was announced on NXT tonight that Mia Yim, Tegan Nox & Shotzi Blackheart will face Candice LeRae, Dakota Kai & Raquel Gonzalez in a six-woman tag match at the TakeOver special. It’s taking place on Sunday (June 7).
The match was announced after those six wrestlers were involved in a brawl on tonight’s NXT. Yim vs. LeRae on tonight’s show ended in a double countout when they fought outside of the ring. They fought to the top of the stage, with LeRae reversing a powerbomb and giving Yim a hurricanrana into the video screen. Nox came out to stop LeRae from attacking Yim further, then Kai, Gonzalez, and Blackheart all got involved.
A mixed tag match between Yim & Keith Lee and LeRae & Johnny Gargano then took place on NXT tonight. LeRae rolled up Yim to get the win after Yim was distracted by Gargano stabbing Lee in the eye with his car keys.
Lee is defending his NXT North American Championship against Gargano at TakeOver: In Your House. Here’s the updated card for the show:
NXT Champion Adam Cole defending against Velveteen Dream in a Backlot Brawl (if Cole wins, Dream can’t challenge for the NXT Championship again as long as Cole is still champion)
NXT Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair defending against Rhea Ripley and Io Shirai in a triple threat match
NXT North American Champion Keith Lee defending against Johnny Gargano
Tommaso Ciampa vs. Karrion Kross (w/ Scarlett)
Finn Balor vs. Damian Priest
Mia Yim, Tegan Nox & Shotzi Blackheart vs. Candice LeRae, Dakota Kai & Raquel Gonzalez
