Hello and welcome to the WrestleTalk Super News - I’m Oli Davis.
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We’ve got a show more packed than my pectoral muscles in this t-shirt today - with an update
on Alexa Bliss’ return to the ring, a Twitter bust up on the UK wrestling scene, WWE’s
week of shockingly low ratings and news on a hopeful Roman Reigns return soon - click
the timestamps in the video description to go straight to any of those.
But first…
Daniel Bryan Shouted At A Kid Celebrating Their Birthday
Daniel Bryan shouted at a kid celebrating their birthday.
While Bryan’s surprise heel turn and consequent WWE title win might’ve come more out of
nowhere than Randy Orton in a ninja outfit - allegedly - his new villain character already
appears to be fully formed.
After adding a new environmental activist dimension to his heel persona on this week’s
episode - along with yet another comfy looking cardigan - Bryan levelled up again in his
dark match against The Miz following the show by picking on a child in the crowd celebrating
their birthday: “We’ve got a kid over there with a birthday
sign.
What does that say?
It’s your birthday, congratulations - you’re stupid.
And your parents should be very proud because on your birthday it got recognised that you’re
stupid.
Don’t wish him happy birthday!”
And that insult… is Samoa Joe approved.
Bryan has thankfully been given a second chance after being initially forced to retire due
to multiple concussions…
Alexa Bliss In-Ring Return Update Hopefully we’ll soon be saying the same
for Alexa Bliss.
Bliss hasn’t wrestled on WWE TV since October’s Hell in a Cell pay-per-view against Ronda
Rousey, and now Mark Henry has revealed how bad her condition was on Busted Open Radio:
“She said she was in a bad way, and then she came back too soon, banged her head again,
and really was in a bad place… ...she was like, 'Yeah, I was really bad off.
I couldn't remember where I was, I couldn't remember what I was doing in the city.'
We were flying from London to Switzerland and she said, 'I couldn't remember what flight
or anything.
I had to rely one everyone else telling me what to do.
I couldn't stand up straight, I had vertigo.'”
Henry then revealed “She’s been cleared.”
- even putting a percentage on how cleared she was, at “100%”.
Sadly, it seems Henry was taught maths at a Steiner School.
Which is a really good joke because of both Scott Steiner’s infamously bad maths promo,
and that Steiner Schools are also a real-life group of experimental European academies that
don’t really focus on maths.
I read an article on it.
Rebutting the 100% claim, F4WOnline are reporting Bliss “is not yet cleared for in-ring action”,
only having “limited clearance for physical activity… she was taking light bumps at
the WWE Performance Center last week with WWE medical nearby monitoring her” - which
Alexa herself tweeted about, posting pictures of her two days at the facility.
Bliss not being 100% cleared is supposedly why she’s currently in the non-wrestling
role of Raw’s women’s General Manager.
Unfortunately, hardly anyone is watching her because WWE just suffered one of their worst
weeks ever in the ratings…
Depressing Segway.
WWE Raw & SmackDown Ratings Both Raw and SmackDown this week sunk to record
low TV ratings - with Raw pulling in a terrible average of just 2.29 million viewers (their
new worst ever number in the modern era - so historic); and SmackDown only drawing an average
of 1.95 million viewers - which is the first time the show has dipped under the two million
threshold since the brand split in mid-2016.
And it wasn’t just TV viewers at home not tuning in, as fans live in attendance for
Monday’s Raw have posted photos of how empty the arena was.
But what about your thoughts on the shows?
46% thought Raw was AvRAWge, with 35% going slightly lower at Poor, but 71% agreed with
me and Luke that this week’s SmackDown was a very solid SmackTastic.
Enough of our thoughts, though.
Let’s get some from not WWE Hall of Famer Stone Cold Steve Austin… remember, for legal
reasons, this is not Stone Cold Steve Austin: “Oh hell yeah, it’s Basement Steve, live
from the basement of ACD, Andrew David Cox, at the ADC’s of wrestling.
And that’s the bottom floor, swig a beer for WrestleTalk.
I’ve some ideas for a new nickname for the new Daniel Bryan.
No. 1: The Avocado Aficionado.
Get it?
He’s vegan.
Ain’t nothing more heel than telling a bunch of people about the stuff they do wrong.
And how a guy likes to get his protein without hurting stuff.
What a jerk.
No. 2: He Who Likes Hemp and Shawn Camp, ‘cos he looks like Seattle McGrungeyFace.
One of the listeners of the ADCs of Wrestling suggested the Alpha Kale.
I love that one.
You can hear about it on the pod this week.
And that’s the bottom line.
Tune in where you can hear me being fickle, fickle, fickle, fickle, fickle.
Give us a subscribe.”
Check Out The ADCs Of Wrestling Thank you Basement Steve - who, again for
legal reasons, is not WWE Hall of Famer Stone Cold Steve Austin - who you can hear plenty
more of over at the ADCs of Wrestling YouTube channel.
Steve, of course, was arguably the biggest piece in the Monday Night Wars between 90s
era WCW and WWF.
WWE hasn’t had significant mainstream competition since, and if it was up to Vince McMahon - which
it is - IT’LL DAMN WELL STAY THAT WAY!
More NXT UK Contract Details WWE started their NXT UK project in late 2016,
which is thought to be the pilot promotion for Triple H’s “global localisation”
world domination master plan.
Business business business.
If a UK version of NXT goes well, with its own Network show and touring schedule, WWE
seems set to open similar promotions in other countries - with NXT Japan, Germany, South
America and even Australia being discussed.
Initially, William Regal promised wrestlers signed by NXT UK would have “no restrictions”
on where they’d work, theoretically protecting the lively independent wrestling scene in
this country.
But as reported by both us and the Wrestling Observer over the last few weeks, new contracts
handed out to NXT UK talent have put a stop to them working for the vast majority of other
promotions.
And now, according to Voices of Wrestling, those limitations are even more severe.
The site claims there are different tiers of the new contracts, with the top tier preventing
preventing talent from even appearing on WWE’s partner promotions’ VOD services, only letting
them wrestle in dark matches for the likes of PROGRESS, ICW and wXw.
This will remove a significant number of those companies’ top stars from their On Demand
platforms.
The Wrestling Observer Newsletter has added an even more potentially devastating threat
to the UK scene, though, reporting WWE’s initial “working agreements” with those
partner promotions included a clause where WWE have the right “to purchase the companies
for an agreed upon price… and then shut them down so they would no longer compete
‘with themselves’” when running shows in the country.
And the tension behind-the-scenes has now ruptured onto Twitter, with top NXT UK talents
British Strong Style blasting WOS Wrestling Champion Justin Sysum for his statement in
support of the UK scene yesterday.
In the post, Sysum declared he doesn’t want a job with WWE, and would “sooner die on
my sword in defeat than watch what makes our industry so free, diverse and inclusive for
both wrestlers and fans alike, get eroded away as part of a ‘corporate strategy’
to get a bigger share price and global market position.”
Despite also expressing his respect and understanding for those who signed with NXT UK, Pete Dunne
and Trent Seven dismissed the WWE invasion claims, with Dunne replying:
“Every step myself and other members of the NXT UK roster have taken within WWE over
the past two years has been nothing but a benefit to the independent scene.
Don’t disregard that because of hear say and rumours.”
And then on his own page: “NXT coexists with an independent scene in the US.
The UK will be no different.
Now let’s just take a look at how far British wrestling has come.
12 years ago when I started this was not a career for anyone, now it’s attainable and
thus a thriving scene of top quality has emerged.”
While Seven replied: “Hang your head in shame Justin.
We’ve all worked incredibly hard over the past few years to create a thriving scene
for all levels of talent to perform on.
Delete your tweet and stop attention seeking.”
Many fans haven’t bought into British Strong Style’s NXT UK defence on Twitter, though,
with the top reply to Dunne’s post being: “WWE “coexists” with independent scenes
the same way Walmart “coexists” with mom and pop stores”, and Sysum’s original
statement having over a thousand likes.
What do you think about the NXT UK reports?
Let me know in the comments below.
Thankfully, we have some unequivocally positive news to end on...
Roman Reigns At Tribute To Troops Taping ...Roman Reigns might potentially be returning
to WWE TV soon.
Earlier this week, WWE put on their annual Tribute to the Troops show in Fort Hood, Texas
- which was taped to be broadcast on Thursday 20th December.
The show was headlined by an interbrand tag match between heels Dean Ambrose and Daniel
Bryan taking on AJ Styles and Seth Rollins - because Raw and SmackDown superstars going
head-to-head in direct competition IS AN ALL YEAR ROUND THING, MICHAEL COLE.
Nia Jax and Tamina vs Natalya and Ronda Rousey also took place on the card, and a host of
other WWE stars and legends were also in attendance - including the currently injured Braun Strowman,
Ric Flair, Kurt Angle, JBL and more.
It also had R-Truth dressed like this.
But the most significant person in attendance was the aforementioned Big Dawg, with PWInsider
revealing Reigns was at Fort Hood for the tapings to take part in the festivities.
It’s not yet known if the final December 20th broadcast will feature Roman, but if
he is included, it will be Reigns’ first appearance on WWE TV since he announced his
leukemia diagnosis and relinquished his Universal Title back on October 22nd.
Hopefully this is a good sign for how he’s handling the disease, which he reportedly
started treatment for on November 8th.
Is Daniel Bryan the best heel in WWE right now?
Click the video in the top left to hear our argument why!
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I’ve been Oli Davis, and that was wrestling.