In this WrestleTalk News, big Royal Rumble returns leaked, AJ Styles’ New Japan plans,
how much money Vince McMahon really has revealed, and more…
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Happy 30th birthday, Monday night Raw.
Or, in sports entertainment marketing terms, happy XXX birthday!
Which makes it sound like there’s going to be strippers.
Shane McMahon Raw Underground return confirmed.
While Raw Underground probably won’t feature on the special episode, because WWE presumably
only wants to focus on the stuff people actually liked from the last 30 years - although the
way this year has started already, we cannot rule it out - the show will celebrate far
less divisive pieces of wrestling nostalgia, like Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair.
Both wrestling legends will be joined by the Undertaker, which appears to have helped sell
out the 13,000+ capacity Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, according to WrestleTix.
To build excitement, WWE have released a nostalgia filled 3 and a half minute hype video of Monday
Night Raw’s 30 year plus history.
Which doesn’t just use David Guetta’s I’m Good as the backing track, a song that
samples Eiffel 65’s annoying 90s dance track Blue, for a brand that is famously RED.
Does that make anyone else irrationally angry?
It also includes a bunch of wrestlers who are now in AEW!
In the old Vince McMahon days - which are definitely really far behind us now - WWE
would erase any trace of wrestlers that left for rival promotions, cutting them out of
everything from YouTube Top 10 lists to replays of famous match finishes.
But the Raw XXX video, remember enable incognito browsing before searching that title, includes
Jim Ross’ voice, Mark Henry post-sex with Mae Young, Christian Cage, Daddy Ass, aka
Billy Gunn, the Big Show, Matt Sydal, Chris Jericho, Bryan Danielson and Jon Moxley - all
talent currently signed with AEW.
Jericho himself has retweeted WWE’s post, adding:
“Pro wrestling transcends any given company.
Pro wrestling is about memories….and this video contains some LEGENDARY ones!”
PWInsider is reporting that the pre-announced Roman Reigns Acknowledgement Ceremony segment
for the show has been canceled.
It was previously thought WWE would use the special occasion to have multiple generations
of the Anoa’i Bloodline, like Rikishi, Sika, and potentially even Rock ‘The Dwayne’
Johnson, acknowledge their Tribal Chief.
Instead, we will be getting The Trial of Sami Zayn, following Kevin Owens wiping out the
Bloodline on Friday’s SmackDown, leaving the excellent foreshadowing visual of Sami
holding the title shot contract, with Roman on the floor.
Very ucey.
One extra surprise that’s being reported, either for Raw XXX, the Royal Rumble Premium
Live Event itself, or maybe the episode of Raw or SmackDown following the Rumble, is
one of Triple H’s favourite NXT acts that got away.
A team he never fully realised under Vince McMahon’s main roster control.
The Authors of Pain, complete with original manager Paul Ellering!
Fightful is reporting WWE have had internal discussions about bringing back the Authors
of Pain’s Akam and Rezar, along with Ellering as their manager.
After a slew of injuries and teaming them up with various other acts on Raw, AOP were
released in September 2020 - outside the mass batch of releases from earlier that year at
the start of the pandemic.
This is speculated to be because Rezar was still recovering from a biceps injury, and
WWE don’t typically fire people when they’re on the shelf.
In NXT, AOP reigned over the tag division, winning the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic,
and held the NXT tag team titles for 8 months, feuding with The Revival (now called FTR)
and DIY.
They were called up to Raw the night after WrestleMania 34 with Ellering, who they then
immediately broke up with - which Rezar has since revealed was Vince McMahon’s idea.
They won the Raw tag team titles under their new manager …Drake Maverick.
Feels good to do that again.
I hope he comes back in the Rumble too.
They disappeared for a bit, then came back as Seth Rollins’ enforcers, before disappearing
again due to injury to be eventually let go.
AOP haven’t wrestled since, but not through lack of trying.
The most noteworthy wrestling thing they’ve done in the last 3 years was a terribly botched
attempt at launching their own wrestling promotion Wrestling Entertainment Series, which had
its first show mysteriously canceled last July amidst talent allegations of false advertising
and bad organization, and a report that claimed it had only sold 350 tickets - despite being
the first and still only post-WWE wrestling date for Nia Jax.
In their statement, they blamed it on the talent they’d booked.
It’ll be interesting to see how AOP is welcomed back by the locker room, many who will have
friends that were booked for the WES show, and some who were literally on the card, like
Braun Strowman, who tweeted at the time: Straight garbage to try and blame talent not
showing up.
I’m not a stooge but the truth will come out.
Y’all are good at finding it.
and a potentially returning to WWE for the Rumble Chelsea Green, who posted:
“Instead of blaming the talent who took weeks off to come work for your NEW company
under the impression you could be trusted…
try refunding the fans & apologizing for your lack of organization.”
WES claims to have refunded all fans for the show.
All that aside, are you excited to see an NXT packaged AOP on the main roster?
Tell me DO IT QUICKLY TRIPLE H, VINCE IS GOING TO FIRE EVERYONE YOU LOVE AGAIN in the comments
down below.
Luke, Laurie and I actually talked about an AOP Rumble return in our Tables, List and
Chairs show.
You can watch the full show clicking the link in the video description below once you’re
done watching this!
WWE could do with a few surprises here and there, especially because it seems Rock ‘The
Dwayne’ Johnson will not be returning for one final WrestleMania match.
Or maybe he is!
But maybe he isn’t.
BUT MAYBE THAT’S A SWERVE!
Or maybe that’s the literal truth because he’s currently making 112 different movies
and launching his own sports league.
The Wrestling Observer Newsletter has reported that The Rock will not return to WWE because
“he won’t have time to get into the kind of shape he feels he needs to be in.”
Which poses the rather worrying question: how can the Rock be in more shape?!
Dave Meltzer has now followed up that report on Wrestling Observer Radio, adding that although
“most [people in WWE] are of the opinion that it’s not happening, and it’s been
[off] for months,” “...anything is possible, and it’s certainly possible he could be
keeping everything a secret from all by one or two people.”
January isn’t just the start of WrestleMania season.
It’s also the beginning of disinformationania too.
Every year, the typically very reliable wrestling news reporters are flooded with rumours - some
true, some false - likely by WWE, to keep the real WrestleMania plans a surprise.
So take things like ‘The Rock probably won’t do the last opportunity he’ll ever have
to wrestle again in Hollywood against Roman Reigns because he doesn’t feel in shape
enough.’
If the Rock wants to do something, he’ll just cut down on those three hours of sleep
he currently gets and does it.
A report from Fightful emerged hinting that WWE’s Rumble plans for surprises this year
are “non-traditional” [QUOTE].
This has caused people to consider a Forbidden Door-type scenario under Triple H’s more
open approach to working with other promotions not run by Tony Khan.
Pro Wrestling NOAH, New Japan and AAA all currently owe WWE favours - with WWE loaning
them Shinsuke Nakamura, Karl Anderson and Dragon Lee respectively this month to wrestle
matches.
Perhaps we could see some of their talent, like the Great Still Not Fully Retire Muta
or Kairi Sane, appear in the Rumbles.
According Rocky Romero, who handles a lot of the American talent bookings for New Japan,
NJPW could’ve been even more in WWE’s debt.
Romero said AJ Styles “thought it would be cool if he showed up” [QUOTE] at New
Japan’s WrestleKingdom show on January 4th.
But any plans fell apart when Styles suffered an ankle injury at a WWE house show on the
30th December.
This plays into the rumours at the time Styles would be accompanying Karl Anderson out for
his Never Openweight title defence.
It’s a new world under Triple H. I hope it lasts.
Because according to a new report, Vince McMahon is more powerful than ever.
After forcing his way back into WWE by holding the potential company sale hostage, many believe
it’s just a matter of time before he starts to tinker in creative too.
But right now, by all accounts, he is focusing solely on the company sale.
And on paper at least, that’s finally made him what CM Punk said he should really be.
A billionaire, not a millionaire.
Forbes has updated Vince McMahon’s realtime net worth to $3 billion - making him the 1,016th
richest person in the world.
This is based on him owning about 30% of WWE stock, and the rumoured sale price expected
to be between $7 and 9 billion.
That’s the lesson, kids.
Don’t take responsibility for your actions, cheat the system, and you become one of the
richest people on earth.
But enough of depressing wrestling news.
This is Rumble week after all.
Go watch mine, Luke and Laurie’s Tables, Ladders and Stairs show now, where we count
down the most ridiculous potential WWE returns…