Hello and welcome to the WrestleTalk MECHA NEWS, I am Luke Owen. Press the subscribe
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Oli Davis asked you yesterday about your AEW dream matches, and S Aleksander Caradonna
asked for Dean Ambrose vs. Jimmy Havoc in a death match, Kaziklu Bey wants Kenny omega
vs Dave Batista vs Chris Jericho, and Alan Monzon wants a triple threat between the WrestleTalk
hosts to determine the Best in the World. But we all know Shane McMahon will just enter
himself into the match and win. On today’s Mecha News we’ve got word on why Asuka won’t
be part of Elimination Chamber this Sunday, AEW opening up about inclusivity, and WWE’s
Jimmy Uso being arrested. But first.
With all of the rumoured names to be joining All Elite Wrestling - like Dave Bautista and
Bill Goldberg - one of the biggest names asked for by fans is CM Punk. Punk left the wrestling
world in 2014, going on to have a lacklustre run in the UFC. But he’s had for more success
in presenting roles - and his next gig has been revealed! As he will be part of this
awesome new YouTube series called The Science of Mortal Kombat.
CM PUNK FATALITY CONFIRMED. The show debuts next Tuesday, and is presented
by a guy with hair that could give Hiroshi Tanahashi a run for its money.
The next instalment of Mortal Kombat had a reveal party a few weeks ago, which was attended
by WWE wrestlers Xavier Woods, Kofi Kingston and Zelina Vega in cosplay - and it was announced
at that show that Raw Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey will be in the actual Mortal Kombat
game in the role of Sonya Blade. And in a new Ronda on the Road video, Rousey revealed
that she will be donning a Sonya Blade inspired outfit for this Sunday’s Championship match
against Ruby Riott.
And speaking of Kofi Kingston, and he was announced as Mustafa Ali’s Elimination Chamber
replacement following Ali suffering a concussion last weekend along with multiple other injuries.
Kofi then lasted for over an hour in a gauntlet match against his other Chamber entrants on
Smackdown Live - pinning Jeff Hardy, Samoa Joe and WWE Champion Daniel Bryan in the process.
Many people including us here at WrestleTalk theorised that this Gauntlet story would have
been the same, but with Ali in that role given the underdog story they’ve been telling
with him since his Smackdown debut - and that has seemingly been confirmed.
WrestleVotes - who have an excellent track record of scoops - posted on Twitter that
Kofi, “being in the ring nearly an hour was the same story that was to unfold with
Mustafa Ali” - adding that “an opportunity has now opened for Kofi, and he has momentum.
Both w/ fans & backstage after his performance.”
But someone who currently doesn’t have any momentum is Smackdown Women’s Champion Asuka.
Despite winning the title at TLC and defeating eventual Royal Rumble winner Becky Lynch clean
in the ring, Asuka hasn’t been on Smackdown Live since January 22nd - and doesn’t have
a match at this Sunday’s Elimination Chamber. However according to WrestleVotes, there is
a plan in place for Asuka leading into WrestleMania, and the reason she doesn’t have a Championship
match this Sunday is because the rest of the Smackdown roster is busy with other things.
Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair are tied up in a storyline with Raw’s Ronda Rousey,
and Mandy Rose, Sonya Deville, Naomi, Carmella, and The IIconics are inside the Elimination
Chamber to crown the WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions. WrestleVotes add that WWE didn’t
want to do “excessive brand jumping prior to WrestleMania” - which only left Lana
and Zelina Vega as potential opponents, which WrestleVotes report were “not PPV matchups
WWE wanted.”
Despite advertising that Vince McMahon would be on the show - who has been a proven ratings
draw in the past - Raw averaged 2.4 million viewers this week which is down 2% from last
week - with the show steadily losing viewers throughout the night despite the show-long
storyline of Becky Lynch answering the ultimatum set by Stephanie McMahon and Triple H - with
that third hour being the lowest since the Monday before the Royal Rumble. To show how
much Raw has been losing its audience, the show is down 20% to this time last year even
though they were competing against the Winter Olympics then. But what did you think of the
show? Oli Davis gave it a low poor and 26% of you agreed, while a larger 42% felth the
show was better with AvRAWge.
Smackdown on the other hand jumped up 20% from its record low last week when it went
head-to-head with Donald Trump’s state of the union address, to average just over 2
million viewers. While climbing 20% is a good thing, it is still the third lowest rating
for the show in 2019 and only just above the average number of viewers for the 2018 Christmas
Day episode. And like Raw, Smackdown is down 17% from the same week last year. But what
did you think? I thought it was awesome with that fantastic Gauntlet Match taking up the
entire second half of the show - and 32% of you agreed, with a larger 58% thinking the
show was slightly worse with a SmackTastic.
These ratings will only become more interesting when All Elite Wrestling launches their weekly
TV show, which is rumoured to be around October this year although nothing is official yet.
Before that though they’ve got the small matter of Double or Nothing coming up in May,
which unsurprisingly sold out very quickly - with it’s pre-sale tickets selling out
in around 20 minutes, with all of their general sale tickets being picked up in 4 minutes.
One of the matches advertised for that show - a triple threat between Kylie Ray, Britt
Baker and Nyla Rose - has caused some ire among a certain subset of wrestling fans,
however. Nyla Rose is a transgender female wrestler, and because Twitter is a pretty
awful place in 2019, this has led to some fans calling the triple threat an intergender
match - hilarious. This kind of hate was highlighted to both Cody and Brandi Rhodes as they have
been promoting their company to be open to everyone, with one fan tweeting: “I’m
super appreciative of you guys showcasing trans &queer wrestlers. It’s equally important
for you guys to address the rampant homophobia in some of your fanbase w/ a lot of these
comments. A message showcasing your disapproval goes a long way” which was backed up by
another fan tweeting, “you guys need to take a stand against the transphobic responses
to this match. Take a stand and show LGBT fans they are safe at AEW events. Speak up.”
Cody responded by saying that he has only seen “excitement and happiness about the
match” - which is true when you look at many of the other replies - asking why they
should signal boost this kind of hatred. Chief Brandi Officer Brandi Rhodes added, “As
we look ahead to Las Vegas, let’s take this opportunity to make it clear that AEW is totally
inclusive. We fully support and celebrate all of our athletes, and all of our fans,
regardless of their sexual orientation, race, gender, religion or ethnicity. Period. A safe,
inclusive, respectful and very cool environment will be central to everything we do at AEW.
Be who you are, and come as you are. Because we're all going to come together as a community
to change the world.”
AEW’s Sonny Kiss, himself an openly gay wrestler, added, “This fight isn’t for
heterosexuals to glorify us—it’s simply to have the same rights that you do. There
is no “agenda.” You are more than allowed to have your beliefs. Our GOAL as LGBTQ+ people
is to co-exist with you, comfortably. Don’t take away someone else’s rights when you
don’t want it done to YOU! Period!”
This Sunday will see The Usos vying to take the Smackdown Tag Team Championships from
Shane McMahon and The Miz at Elimination Chamber, but one part of that foursome ran into trouble
with law on Thursday night.
TMZ Sports were the first to report that Jimmy Uso was arrested in Detroit after an altercation
with the police. According to TMZ Jimmy Uso - who’s real name is Jonathan Fatu - and
his wife Naomi, “were pulled over near downtown Detroit ... after cops say Naomi was driving
the wrong direction on a one-way street” adding that “According to our police sources,
cops say their 2018 Dodge Journey reeked of booze.”
TMZ’s report states that the cops asked Naomi to exit her vehicle, and while she was
talking with the cops, “Jimmy got out of the car -- despite commands from police -- and
took off his shirt and jacket and squared up like he wanted to fight.” TMZ state that
Jimmy Uso calmed down and was handcuffed and taken to jail - where he posted bond and was
charged with “disorderly conduct and obstruction”. Naomi tweeted when a fan asked if they were
okay, “Yes dear we are safe and ok thank you and love y’all.” When reached for
comment, WWE told the Wrestling Observer, “Jonathan Fatu is responsible for his own
personal actions.”
This story comes a little over one year since Jimmy’s brother Jey Uso was arrested in
Texas for DWI charges - with WWE releasing a similar statement on that issue too. While
many wondered how this would affect The Usos position in the company, Jimmy and Jey were
on Smackdown just a few days later and were prominently featured in the tag team scene
on Smackdown for the majority of 2018.
So it will be interesting to see how this plays into The Usos’ tag team title match
this Sunday against The Miz and Shane McMahon, as well as Carmella and Naomi’s chances
of winning the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships inside the Elimination Chamber. And our predictions
for that show are now live! And if you want to compete against us in predictions - along
with nearly 600 other Pledge Hammer Wrestle Fans - then sign up to our Patreon today and
get involved with WrestleLeague. Not only that but you can get other sweet bonuses like
Oli and I reviewing classic wrestling PPVs - the next episode being Elimination Chamber
2011 - and an extra rambly podcast with all three of us having a few drinks and talking
nonsense.
Become one of our Pledge Hammers on Patreon today by clicking the link on screen. And
watch myself, Laurie Blake and Oli Davis give our thoughts on this Sunday’s Elimination
Chamber by clicking the video. I’ve been Luke Owen and that was wrestling.