Here's your wrestling news for March 24th 2022
And your headlines for today include
Top AEW Star Makes Popular WWE Reference On Dynamite!
Former WWE Champion Confirms Cody Rhodes Has Signed With WWE!
WWE Criticized For Disrespecting Current Talent With Steve Austin Headlining WrestleMania 38!
What Is Kofi Kingston Role At WrestleMania?
Major Leaks Concerning Brock Lesnar’s WrestleMania 38 Booking And Immediate WWE Future!
Massive Name Missing From WWE Hell In A Cell Advertising!
Released WWE Star Confirms Steamy “Exclusive Content” Is Dropping Soon!
The Undertaker FINALLY Opens Up About Scott Hall!
Ex WWE Performance Center Coach Slated For In- Ring Return!
Dax Harwood and CM Punk Put On A Classic On AEW Dynamite!
Jeff Hardy Rolls Back The Years Once Again!
Veteran Pro Wrestler Reportedly Signed To Multi-Year MLW Contract! And More!
We’re kicking off today with AEW, as the company has never shied away from making references to WWE, and this week’s episode has proven to be no different.
This time it was Chris Jericho’s turn to reference the promotion he once worked for, as during a backstage segment with the Jericho Appreciation Society, the former World
Champion said he and Daniel Garcia were going to “future endeavour” John Silver and Alex Reynolds of the Dark Order, just like they did with Santana and Ortiz.
This is of course in reference to WWE releasing talent and wishing them the best in their future endeavours, which has become a meme with fans on social media.
Jericho also photo of himself and a 12-year-old John Silver which AEW had broadcast prior to the segment, he said:
“What a beautiful picture and a heartwarming story of a 12- year-old John Silver meeting his idol. And now in 2022, he actually gets to be in the ring with The Influencer.
Lets be honest Hungie, you being in the ring with the Big One puts you on a different level, but it doesn’t put you on my level. I’m gonna take you to school tonight.”
At this point Garcia reiterated that the JAS was formed to beat up pro wrestlers, and borrowed a line from WWE saying that the AEW roster can’t hang with sports entertainers.
True to his word, Jericho and Garcia went on to beat Silver and Reynolds in the main event, and the JAS had plenty of fun doing so, and making reference to WWE.
Now, when Cody and Brandi Rhodes left AEW last month, it was immediately speculated that Cody would return to WWE, six years after his initial departure.
After weeks of conflicting reports, it was reported last week that has signed a contract to return, and now Chris Jericho has also confirmed Cody’s imminent return:
On his podcast, Jericho worked Michael Dockins, the attorney AEW has gone to countless times for trademarks and during their discussion, Y2J let it slip that Cody is a WWE Superstar
once more: “I’m pulling back the curtain a little bit on the wrestling business. You’re gonna discover how I’ve been able to be Chris Jericho no
matter what company I work for or where I wrestle. You’ll hear how Danhausen gets to keep his name and gimmick from promotion to promotion.
How Cody got to reclaim Rhodes from WWE even though he’s back in WWE…”
Cody is rumoured to face Seth Rollins at WrestleMania, who has grown more and more desparate each week as he’s yet to have a confirmed match.
Fans in Chicago chanted Cody’s name at the former Universal Champion as the show went off the air this week, and Rollins has threatened to hijack next week’s Raw until he gets
match at WrestleMania. Time will tell whether Rhodes returns on next Monday’s show in Pittsburgh, or is saved for
WrestleMania, but his return is seemingly definitely happening next week
Next Saturday, WWE will host their first of two nights of WrestleMania 38, which could be even more of a history -making night for the company.
According to reports, WWE is planning for Stone Cold Steve Austin’s segment with Kevin Owens to headline the show, marking the first time in WrestleMania history that the event
doesn’t end with a match. While Austin will no doubt get a thunderous ovation in his native Texas, not everyone is on board
with the idea, as during the Busted Open podcast, Bully Ray said it was a sign of disrespect to the current roster to have Austin close the show:
“If you have to announce it as a match, you have to announce it obviously as his last time ever. I don’t agree with it being the main event of Night 1. You seriously cannot put that
match on last, in my eyes. That is a direct kick in the a** to the talent that is there now. Yes, it’s an attraction, yes, it’s Steve Austin, but I think even
Steve Austin would tell you, ‘No, I should not go on last.’ The women should go on last or any other main event… you know what, forget about
man or woman. Whatever main event that’s been built, that has earned the right to go on last. But not Steve and Kevin. Steve and Kevin belong in the middle of the show. It’s going
to be very hard to follow Steve and Kevin.” To his credit, Austin is said to be in the best shape he’s been in years ahead of the WrestleMania
confrontation, and is expected to do much more than deliver a stunner as we’ve seen in past segments over the years.
With that said, Austin is expected to main event WrestleMania, something he’s already done three times already, and while he will be the most popular star next weekend
that only shows the poor job WWE has done building talent as of late
Austin is one of many former World Champions booked for WrestleMania 38, but there are some who haven’t made the cut.
WrestleMania was supposed to feature a 6-man-tag match pitting the New Day against Sheamus, Butch and Ridge Holland, but with Big E recovering from a broken neck, those
plans are a distant memory. On Audacy’s the Bart Winkler show, Kofi Kingston discussed the situation, and made it clear Big E will
not be available for WrestleMania, and is hoping to have Xavier Woods back full-time so they hae something to do.
The popular former WWE Champion admitted that he doesn’t know what his plans are for WrestleMania, if WWE have anything in mind for the man who led KofiMania
at the same show three years ago. As for Woods, he returned to in-ring competition at a recent live event after suffering an injury in
January, but if WWE doesn’t think of something soon, both he and Kofi may be spending WrestleMania 38 on the sidelines.
Over the past year, Brock Lesnar has been a regular on WWE programming, appearing weekly as a fully-fledged babyface.
At WrestleMania, Lesnar will defend his WWE Championship against Universal Champion Roman Reigns in a title unification match, but WWE’s own promotional material may have
spoiled the outcome. In the promotional material for June’s Hell in a Cell event, Lesnar is nowhere to be seen, while Reigns Is featured front and center
on the poster. According to sources, the plan is for Lesnar to take one of his lengthy hiatus’ after WrestleMania
and is expected to lose the title unification match, though his loss will be far from clean. The source explained that Bobby Lashley, who will reportedly
return to face Omos earlier in the show, will interfere during the match with Reigns, attacking Lesnar and in kayfabe, injuring the Beast Incarnate.
Getting payback on the real injury Lashley suffered during his match with Lesnar at the Royal Rumble, this injury will explain Brock’s absence from the ring, which is much harder
to justify to fans now he’s no longer heel. Not only does this give Lesnar a reason for leaving, but it’ll push Lashley back in the main-event
scene, and give WWE the option for a Reigns-Lesnar rematch as the Tribal Chief’s win won’t be clean. At this time, Reigns has held the Universal championship or
571 days, and if things turn out according to the current plan, it’ll be the Head of the Table who emerges victorious in Texas.
When Nia Jax was released from WWE last year, the \former RAW Women’s Champion made it clear that her in-ring career is over.
Now, the Irresistable Force will find new ways to make money and she’s joining the litany of wrestling stars to sell exclusive photos online.
On social media, Jax wore matching black underwear and a furry coat to tease the arrival of exclusive content, saying it’ll launch on March 30th as she’s got a lot more
opportunity for projects like this now outside of WWE.
This month, Scott Hall tragically passed after suffering three heart attacks, but his impact on the wrestling world continues to be felt.
Showing it could be cool to be bad as Razor Ramon and later in the New World Order, the impact Hall made is immense, and he also had a hand in forming one of the industry’s biggest stars.
Speaking on the Out of Character podcast, The Undertaker discussed Hall and how the two worked together when the soon-to-be Hall of Famer was new to the business:
“Scott, we go way back. I went to Japan with Scott in 1988 or ’ 89, is where I met Scott. He kind of took me along and showed me the ropes, and it’s sad. Another one of our guys we’ve
lost way too early. He was just a tremendous in-ring performer, he was really a top-flight guy. I hate it for him, I hate it for his family. It’s just another sad day in our industry.”
It wasn’t long after that tour of Japan with the Bad Guy that the Undertaker would sign with the WWF to become one of the biggest stars ever, and Scott Hall played his part
in making the Phenom the legend he is today.
From 2015-2020 Sarah Stock worked as a Performance Center coach, until she was furloughed in April two years ago and fired in September that same year.
Now, the former coach is getting back in the ring, and on YouTube announced her come back to the ring.
Stock has plenty of in-ring experience, as she worked with AAA, CMLL, TNA and various indie promotions before joining WWE, and we’ll have to see where she takes her talents next.
Over to AEW now, as CM Punk was in action on last night’s Dynamite, and kicked off the show with an instant classic with Dax Harwood.
The former Tag Champion may be a tag-team specialist, but Harwood proved that he’s more than capable of working a singles match.
Punk may have gotten the win, making Harwood tap to the Anaconda Vice, but it was Harwood who walked away as the metaphorical MVP for proving himself, both in singles action
against one of AEW’s biggest names. There’s no reports of any plans to split FTR, as the duo seem very happy with their roles in AEW, but
should they ever split, Harwood could easily make it in singles wrestling.
Dax Harwood wasn’t the only stand out star this week, as Jeff Hardy put on yet another incredible performance when he teamed with Matt Hardy, Sting and Darby Allin to face
members of the Andrade Family Office. At one point when the match spilled backstage, the Butcher and the Blade were set up on tables,
and the Charismatic Enigma levelled both men with Swanton Bomb off the ledge of the arena after climbing a ladder.
A spot that reminded fans of Jeff’s iconic ladder dive at the 2000 Royal Rumble, Hardy continues to turn back the clock, proving that coming to AEW was the right decision for the
former WWE World Heavyweight Champion.
And we’re ending today with Davey Richards, who has reportedly signed a multi-year contract with MLW.
Richards told Fightful that the deal with MLW seems “too good to be true,” and after winning the promotion’s 2021 Open Cup Tournament, Richard will be here to stay
until 2024 at the very earliest.