If you had Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Joey Janela on your bingo card for 2025, Saturday was your night.
The NJPW legend made a surprise appearance to come out of retirement at the annual WrestleCade convention in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, to answer Joey Janela’s open challenge.
According to reports, the match lasted just four minutes with Liger picking up the victory.
Nearly three weeks after celebrating his 61st birthday, Liger returned to the ring nearly five years after retiring following his tag team match at 2020’s Wrestle Kingdom 14 when he and Naoki Sano fell in defeat to Hiromu Takahashi and Ryu Lee.
Liger was inducted into the RevPro Hall of Fame this past August after being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2020. He left the sport as an 11-time NJPW Junior Heavyweight Champion, six-time Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champion, CMLL Middleweight Champion, and even had runs as WWF Light Heavyweight Champion in 1997 and WCW Light Heavyweight Champion in 1991-92.
AEW Tag Team Champions Brodido will be working The Good Brothers in an indie match later this month.
It’s been announced that a non-title bout between Brody King & Bandido and Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson will take place in Winston-Salem, North Carolina on Saturday, November 29. The match is part of the annual WrestleCade SuperShow — which is a Thanksgiving weekend tradition in Winston-Salem during the WrestleCade convention.
🚨See The Good Brothers vs Brodido at the WrestleCade SuperShow, part of #WrestleCade Weekend.
The show is happening at the Benton Convention Center and will be broadcast via Title Match Network. Also announced for the card is a singles bout with Killer Kross (w/ Scarlett Bordeaux) facing Psycho Boy Fodder (w/ Angelina Love).
Originally put together as a makeshift team, Brodido have thrived in the AEW tag division, becoming champs this August. They have a title defense coming up soon against FTR (Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler) at AEW’s Full Gear pay-per-view on November 22.
This will be the first time Brodido have faced The Good Brothers. Gallows & Anderson — who have experience in WWE, NJPW, TNA, AEW, and more — are set to debut for MLW on November 20.
WrestleCade 2025 is being held from November 28-30, with Sting, Trish Stratus, Kazuchika Okada, Jushin Thunder Liger, The Hardys, and Arn Anderson among those who will be attending the convention portion of the weekend.
A first-time-ever match between Shelton Benjamin and “Speedball” Mike Bailey is happening on the indies this month.
WrestleCade has announced Benjamin vs. Bailey for their annual SuperShow that’s being held in Winston-Salem, North Carolina on Saturday, November 30. The pay-per-view is being broadcast live on Title Match Network.
Benjamin vs. Bailey pits a newly signed member of the AEW roster against one of the top stars in TNA Wrestling. Benjamin made his AEW debut this October and has teamed back up with Bobby Lashley and MVP as The Hurt Syndicate. Bailey signed with TNA/Impact in 2021 and is a three-time X-Division Champion, recently dropping the title to Moose.
WrestleCade is a convention and wrestling event that is held at the Benton Convention Center in Winston-Salem during Thanksgiving weekend every year. WWE Survivor Series (from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada) is also taking place on that Saturday.
The WrestleCade SuperShow has a start time of 5 p.m. Eastern. Here are the first three matches that have been announced:
Shelton Benjamin vs. “Speedball” Mike Bailey
Nic Nemeth & Ryan Nemeth vs. Matt Cardona & Brad Attitude
Joe Hendry vs. Raj Dhesi (former WWE wrestler Jinder Mahal)
Soberano Jr. vs. Negro Casas for the Mexican national welterweight title
Caristico & Felino & Ultimo Guerrero vs Angel de Oro & Cavernario & Volador Jr.
WWE has a major dual branded show in Mexico City on Saturday night. The last lineup was Bray Wyatt vs. Rey Mysterio in a cage match for the Universal title, Seth Rollins vs. Randy Orton, Roman Reigns vs. King Corbin, Asuka & Kairi Sane vs. Charlotte Flair & Becky Lynch for tag titles and Cain Velasquez & Humberto Carrillo vs. Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson. We’re looking for reports on the show.
WWE STARRCADE SUNDAY NIGHT FROM ATLANTA ON WWE NETWORK
Kevin Owens show with Ric Flair
Asuka & Kairi Sane vs Charlotte Flair & Becky Lynch vs. Nikki Cross & Alexa Bliss vs. Bayley & Sasha Banks for tag title
Bobby Lashley vs. Rusev
For the live house, they also have Wyatt vs. Braun Strowman in a cage match for the Universal title, Reigns vs. Corbin, Rollins vs Orton, Miz vs. Shinsuke Nakamura & Sami Zayn, New Day vs. Revival for tag titles and Owens vs. A.J. Styles.
We’re looking for reports on that show as well.
Raw is Monday night in Nashville.
F4W NEWSLETTER: NXT’s Survivor Series involvement Joseph Currier looks at how WWE featured NXT at Survivor Series and in the build to the PPV.
Even with how forced the battle for brand supremacy can admittedly be, Survivor Series is one of the bright spots on the WWE calendar.
The PPV has given us some of the main roster’s best matches in recent years. Last year, we got Brock Lesnar vs. Daniel Bryan and Ronda Rousey vs. Charlotte Flair (filling in for the injured Becky Lynch). In 2017, Lesnar faced AJ Styles. Those matches wouldn’t have happened without the brand vs. brand concept. And while there would ideally be more substantive stakes involved, the brands facing off has given some life to the traditional Survivor Series elimination tag matches.
The added involvement of NXT this year only improved things. The battle of the brands would have been even more forced without their inclusion. Viewers can believe that NXT really wants to prove that it’s better than Raw or SmackDown. It’s much harder to suspend your disbelief and buy into Raw and SmackDown’s wrestlers being undyingly loyal to their brand just weeks after a draft.
Coverage of Survivor Series weekend and five shows in six nights in Chicago, as well as the business, polls and more, heads this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
We look at the directions things are going, how DVR viewership affects all the major shows, the decision on match order, what Vince McMahon was doing during the Survivor Seres main event, the next two major shows as well as Survivor Series and Takeover with full coverage and star ratings for every match.
The issue also covers:
The myth of NXT as developmental, World’s Collide, the next Takeover, the mention of Britt Baker on the air and more.
The tragic death of Aniah Blanchard, the stepdaughter of UFC fighter Walt Harris.
Changes in the UFC drug policy, regarding levels, what drugs are low levels now allowed, what UFC is encouraging fighters to do as far as supplements, .
The situation with Corey Graves and Mauro Ranallo, what happened, why Graves should have been more careful, and where things stand.
Jim Cornette’s apology, how his departure from the NWA took place, more of the background as to why Cornette was castigated for things that nobody would have batted an eye about had others said and why, what NWA wanted to do with him and why their hand was forced.
C.M. Punk signing with FOX, Vince McMahon’s thoughts on Seth Rollins pushing the Punk match, TV ratings in Canada and overseas, WWE get awarded, legend selling home, Oney Lorcan talks future, Mike Bennett talks wanting to leave, Injury updates in WWE, WWE market value and the most-watched shows of the past week on the WWE Network, plus notes on the house shows.
Full coverage of all the WWE and AEW television shows from the past week.
In-depth looks at the ratings of all the major shows, the key demos and quarters for AEW and WWE, what happened head-to-head and what can be learned from them.
Results of all the major pro wrestling events around the world over the past week.
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FRIDAY NEWS UPDATE
We have a Black Friday sale for $3.99 for one month of the web site, audio shows, newsletters including the Hall of Fame issue, for new subscribers.
The documentary on Bruno Sammartino opens tonight at Cinema Village in New York and at the Monica Film Center in Santa Monica, CA. It runs in both theaters until Thursday.
Two shows will be broadcast this weekend from Wrestlecade in Winston-Salem, NC
Tonight at 7 p.m Eastern has:
Ladies Night Out title: Ivelisse vs. Kiera Hogan vs. Diamante vs. Miranda Alize
More championship: Brian Cage vs. Willie Mack
Wrestling Revolver championship: Killer Kross vs. Billy Brash
AML title: C.W. Anderson vs Ethan Page
World Class Revolution title: Stephan Bonnar vs. MVP
Fest tag tam titles: The Carnies vs. The Gymnasty Boys
PWI Ultra J title: John Skylar vs. Andrew Everett
ASW title: Rocky Rage vs. Brian Pillman Jr. vs. Jason Kincaid
Innovate US tag titles: Heatseekers vs. Jordan Cage & Caleb Courageous
Saturday at 5 p.m. Eastern:
Taya Valkyrie vs. Rosemary vs. Jordynne Grace
Great Muta w/Sony Onoo vs. ?
Nick Aldis & Rock & Roll Express vs. Homicide & Hernandez & Thomas Latimer
Matt Cross & Ethan Page & Jason Kincaid managed by Teddy Long vs. Daga & Andrew Everett & Matt Justice managed by Bill Alfonso
Brian Cage vs. Crazzy Steve
The Dawsons vs. Cryme Tyme
Kaz Hayashi vs. Shannon Moore
Rich Swann & Hawk Aerie vs. Willie Mack & Gymnasty Boys
Battle Royal with Shane Douglas, Gangrel, Swoggle, Blue Meanie,Scott Norton, James Ellsworth, Too Cold Scorpio, Aldo Montoya, Sandman, Mr. Hughes, Pitbull Gary Wolfe ad more
Kofi Kingston interview promoting tonight’s show (thanks to Mike Kuzmuk)
MISCELLANEOUS
AAW tomorrow night in Chicago at the Logan Square Auditorium at 7:30 p.m. has Josh Alexander vs. Ace Romero for the AAW title, Jessicka Havok vs. Kris Statlander for the women’s title, Mat Fitchett & Davey Vega vs. Dezmond Xavier & Zachary Wentz for the tag tam titles, Myron Reed vs. Hakim Zane, Good Brother #3 vs. Nick Gage, Joey Lynch vs. Travis Titan and Curt Stallion vs. Eddie Kingston, plus Jake Something, Sami Callihan, Killer Kross, Josh Briggs, Ace Austin, Clayton Gainz and Paco.
As part of their convention in Winston-Salem, North Carolina this weekend, WrestleCade presented a show opposite WWE’s Starrcade event last night. Here are the results:
– The Extreme Horsemen defeated The Squad, The Heatseekers, and The Boys
The Extreme Horsemen won with a slingshot superkick on one of the Squad members.
– Billy Gunn defeated Carlito
Gunn sold for most of the match after being posted by Carlito on the outside. For the finish, he hit the Famouser when Carlito accidentally spit the apple in the referee’s face and they were arguing about it.
– Zane Dawson defeated Tommy Dreamer and Luke Hawx
Hawx had a bandage on his head, with Kevin Kelly saying on commentary that he was doing stunt work for a movie and was injured. Dreamer wore Dusty Rhodes yellow and black tights with the House of Hardcore logo on them.
Dawson pinned Dreamer with a lariat after Dreamer gave a Death Valley Driver to Hawx.
After the match, Dreamer got on the mic to say he wears Dusty Rhodes’ colors so nobody will forget Rhodes’ brilliance. He talked about Rhodes making Starrcade an event, saying he knows WWE’s Starrcade was just down the road and thanking the fans for selling WrestleCade out. He said this was where real wrestling and fans were.
– Jerry Lawler defeated George South
The highlight was South’s mic work before the match. He insulted the crowd and said he waited a long time to get Lawler in the ring. He said he was going to dedicate the match to his “good friend” Andy Kaufman and use the piledriver to beat Lawler. Lawler then got on the mic and said he’d use a move from his good friend Steve Austin. He hit a weak stunner on South and the match began.
Lawler won by using his feet on the ropes for the pin. The referee saw it, but he let it slide because South kept pushing him during the match.
– The Veterans of War (Wilcox & Mayweather) defeated Bobby Lashley & King Mo
VOW hit a double team cutter on Mo for the pin as Lashley was tossed to the outside.
– Caleb Konley, Juventud Guerrera & Super Crazy defeated Willie Mack, PJ Black & Jason Kincaid
Konley, Guerrera, and Super Crazy won in a wild finish. Mack went crazy and hit stunners on everyone, including his own team. He tried to hit one on the referee, but the ref blocked it and hit Mack with one of his own. Guerrera was able to hit a big splash and there was a pile on for the pin.
– Jungle Grrrl defeated Amber O’Neal by DQ in a WOW match
This was an overbooked mess. The ref was bumped, then Lana Star tried to help O’Neal but accidentally hit her with some sort of glass object. The ref was knocked down and couldn’t make the count. O’Neal hit an X-Factor, but a second ref was pulled out of the ring.
The Beast ran in and chokeslammed Jungle Grrrl, gave O’Neal a DDT, and gave Star a chokeslam when Star tried to suck up to her. It was announced that Jungle Grrrl won by DQ because The Beast touched her first.
– Dan Severn (w/ Jim Cornette) defeated Josh Woods
Severn pinned Woods suddenly as Woods was trying to lock in an armbar. Cornette and Severn shook Woods’ hand after the match and put him over on the mic.
Cornette then thanked the fans and mentioned this was his last match as a manager after 35 years. He said he didn’t want to keep coming out and risk hurting himself and being laughed at. He noted that he’s been around the world and could have chosen anywhere to end his managerial run, but the Carolinas are what started his career.
He thanked Dusty Rhodes, Jim Crockett Promotions, and The Midnight Express for allowing him to work with them and making his career.
– Hurricane Helms won a battle royal to win the Top Rope Belts title
Other wrestlers in this included Mr. Hughes, Tracy Smothers, Bobby Fulton, Kevin Thorne, Crazzy Steve, D’Lo Brown, Swoggle, and several local names.
– Ryback defeated Joey Mercury
Ryback won with the Shell Shock, which came when he popped right up after Mercury hit a Pedigree.
– The announcers said WrestleCade expected over 4,000 people this weekend.
– Helms received his title for winning the battle royal, which came off like a sponsored segment for Top Rope Belts.
– Ivelisse defeated Taya Valkyrie in a no DQ match
Ivelisse submitted Valkyrie with a choke while using a big steel chain after Valkyrie missed an elbow drop and crashed into a table. A chair, ladder, kendo stick, trash can, table, metal sheet, and chains were used in the match.
This was the only match to feature brawling in the crowd. Ivelisse bled a bit after a shot to the head from the metal sheet.
– Impact Global Champion Eli Drake defeated Johnny Impact and Jack Swagger to retain his title
Swagger was introduced by Dutch Mantell. He came out with his wife Catalina Swagger and they did a fun Dancing with the Stars bit.
Drake got the pin on Impact by using his feet on the ropes following Impact hitting Starship Pain on Swagger.
Catalina Swagger got involved during the match a lot, including Jack making the save when Drake picked her up and pressed her over his head. She slapped Impact, with Valkyrie coming out and carrying her to the back.
Drake got on the mic to brag after his win. Valkyrie and Catalina then came out as friends with kendo sticks and forced him back into the ring. Swagger and Impact held Drake so Valkyrie could chop him, then both women hit him with the kendo sticks. Impact and Swagger put Drake in a double ankle lock before letting him escape the ring.
