Here is your news for December 19, 2019
We're starting off with news from the final episode of NXT of the decade, as at long
last, the gold brand has a new Women's Champion.
When Shayna Baszler locked in the Kirifua Clutch on Rhea Ripley, the match was
seemingly over, but when the referee raised her hand, Ripley grabbed the ref's shirt in
a sign of defiance.
Rallying back, Ripley was able to lock on the Prism and Avalanche Ripride for the win,
ending Baszler's second reign at 416 days, after it begun by defeating Kairi Sane at
Evolution 2018.
As the only woman to hold the NXT Women's title twice, Baszler's combined number
of days makes her the longest reigning champion ever, whilst Ripley is the first woman
to ever hold both the NXT and NXT UK Women's Championships.
This week's edition of NXT on the USA Network also kicked off in a major way, as NXT
Champion Adam Cole defended his title against number-one contender Finn Balor.
Though it was a match fans were looking forward to, it did seem like the WWE had
booked themselves into a corner, as they needed either Cole's reign to end or Balor to
take the loss.
In the end, it was the latter that transpired, but not without a way to protect Finn in
their commercial-free opener.
After about twenty minutes of both men giving everything, Balor would tweak his
knee after missing the Coup de Grace, but after kicking out of Cole's last-shot pin
attempt, would be distracted after hitting his finishing stomp.
That distraction came at the hands of Johnny Gargano, who Finn put on the shelf over
a month ago, and though the first-ever NXT Triple Crown champion didn't get
involved, his presence put Balor off his game long enough for Cole's second Last Shot
to get the win.
Post-match, Cole was quick to escape with his title, whilst Gargano leveled Balor with
a steel chair, making it clear that the feud between these two is back on.
Outside of NXT, the legal troubles of Jimmy Uso were a topic of discussion this week,
as the former Tag Champion appeared in court after his July DUI.
Pulled over by the Escambia County Sheriff's Deputy in Pensacola, Florida, Jimmy was
allegedly driving erratically at over 100mph and was arrested on the spot without a
field sobriety test took place.
After hearing the case this week, the jury took about an hour before finding USA not
guilty, and his attorney Greg Whibbs told a local FOX affiliate:
“And that is what the jury system is for. A cop cannot convict you. A cop can arrest you
but they cannot convict you and that’s why we took it to the next level and plead not
guilty and set out for a case trial.”
Since his arrest, Uso, his brother Jey and wife Naomi have all been on the sidelines,
and hopefully this verdict will mean a swift return to TV for all three.
From one absence to another now, as whilst Matt Hardy's contract with WWE is set to
expire in a few weeks, his brother Jeff will have to stay much longer.
Despite both signing at the same time to return, Jeff's recent injury has caused his
contract to be frozen, though according to Fightful, his knee injury was set for a
medical clearance in early November.
So far, the Charismatic Enigma hasn't returned to the ring, as much like Jimmy Uso, he
too has been dealing with legal issues following a DUI arrest.
At this time, Jeff is still waiting on another court date as it has been moved once again,
and hopefully the former WWE Champion will be able to sort out his personal demons
and return to WWE sooner rather than later.
We've got some Hall of Fame news next, as Hulk Hogan is set to be presented with his
second Hall of Fame ring next year, the first accolade he'll receive since returning from
his controversial hiatus.
Now that Hogan is fully back in the WWE fold, fans will have to wait and see whether
the Hulkster gets his proposed WrestleMania match against Mr McMahon, but the
former World Champion did hint at something this week.
On Twitter, Hogan shared a few selfies, whilst telling his followers:
“Something really big is about to go down, Hollywood 4 Life 2 Sweet.”
With the holidays around the corner, it's possible that Hogan has something planned
to get his fans in the festive spirit, but for now, this tease by the Immortal Superstar is
enough to pique our interest, brother!
From a legend of wrestling to a relatively fresh-faced star, as Killer Kross has finally
been released by Impact Wrestling.
Kross, who was vocally unhappy with remaining as part of Impact, was released this
week with a short statement by Impact confirming this, and fans have started to
speculate on Kross' next move.
With his girlfriend Scarlet Bordeaux recently signing with WWE, many are expecting
Kross to do the same, as the self-professed Smokeshow is waiting for her debut on
NXT and could now be entering the gold brand with her man on her side.
Back to WWE, and the company aired its latest edition of Back stage, featuring Alexa
Bliss, Ember Moon and Star Trek's William Shatner.
Unfortunately, the Captain Kirk couldn't beam up some ratings though, as Showbuzz
Daily is repoting that this week's episode did just 95,000 viewers, the lowest rating
since the show's debut episode that did 49,000.
For comparison, last week's show did a much healthier 127,000, though that did
feature both CM Punk and Baron Corbin as guest stars.
We'll have to see what WWE Backstage has planned for their special Christmas
episode next week, as Maria Menounos just recently posted an Instagram story on set
with Renee Young.
Well we've already mentioned that CM Punk was part of last week's WWE Backstage,
and this week the Best in the World has been part of the headlines thanks to
Stephanie McMahon.
Speaking to The Metro for a quick interview, McMahon said that she wouldn't say no
to a Punk in-ring return, admitting:
‘I think Punk’s been pretty vocal that he’s not interested in an in- ring return right now,
but for sure, that would be interesting.”
Since leaving the WWE in 2014, Punk has shied away from wrestling, except for one
indie show earlier this year, and Punk's current contract for Backstage on FS1 is with
FOX, not WWE.
Switching gears to Punk's wife AJ Lee, Stephanie also said that she was a big fan of the
former Divas Champion, claiming:
“And I would love to see AJ Lee back in the women’s division. I think AJ Lee was an
incredibly compelling character,’ she said. ‘You know, I’m a big fan of AJ Lee’s, I really am.’
Despite the speculation by both Stephanie and countless fans, AJ has described herself
as quote "very retired", so fans shouldn't expect to see her in a WWE ring again, after
hanging up her Chuck Taylors in 2015 due to physical issues.
We've got more news from retired Superstars next, as WWE Hall of Famer Sting has
said he will come out of retirement for one more match, as long as it's on his terms.
Speaking to Sports Illustrated, the Stinger revealed his conditions, saying:
“If there was a ’Taker situation at WrestleMania, I would listen to that phone call,”
said Sting. “I could get in condition and I could pull it off."
With that said, the former World Champion said he doubts the match will ever
happen, stating:
“I think my career is done,” “I still think about the
‘Taker situation every year, but I don’t think it’s going to happen.”
Though it’s a match that fans have been pining for decades, this may be a case of be
careful what you wish for, as after the Goldberg-Undertaker incident this year, the
company will naturally be hesitant to put two part-timers together in the ring.
Speaking of wrestlers not competing, Jinder Mahal has been out with a knee injury
since June, and though he was supposed to back already, no- one has seen the Modern
Day Maharaja.
According to Fightful, Mahal was supposed to be back on November 1st, according to
a company injury report, and at this time, there hasn't been any update on his condition.
After returning in 2016, Mahal received a major push, including a WWE Championship
victory, though his career has stagnated over the past two years, and we can't help
but wonder what will happen next for Mahal, when he eventually returns.
We're looking at AEW now, as the company has confirmed a Women's Championship
match for January 1st.
On last night's show, Kris Statlander defeated Britt Baker to become the number one
contender, after reversion a submission attempt by the Dentist, to hit a package
tombstone piledriver.
Post-match, Brandi Rhodes asked Statlander about joining the Nightmare Collective,
but after rejecting the offer, the group distracted the new number one contender long
enough for Brandi to get her in the eye with the heel of her shoe.
The January 1st episode will be a huge night for the promotion, who will be
celebrating a year since their arrival, as MJF will also announce his stipulations for his
upcoming match against Cody Rhodes.
This episode will take place on January 1st at Daly's Place in Jacksonville, Florida.
We're looking at the Wednesday Night Wars now, as though we've covered a lot of
NXT and AEW Dynamite already, there's plenty more that took place on the two shows.
After the huge opener on NXT that saw Adam Cole retain his title, Damian Priest
defeated Killian Dain in a battle of two hosses, which was followed by a hype package
for the 2020 Dusty Rhodes Classic, with some teams being revealed on New Year's Day.
Cameron Grimes finally got some revenge after being embarrassed by Kushida in the
past few weeks, whilst Io Shirai continued her winning ways with a victory over
Santana Garrett.
In a preview of the When World's Collide event, NXT's Pete Dunne got a victory over
NXT UK's Travis Banks, and Roderick Strong was confirmed to be putting his NXT North
American title on the line next week on Christmas Day, in a festive open challenge.
On AEW Dynamite this week, the show started hot with the Lucha Bros defeating
Hangman Page and Kenny Omega, but a post-match angle, which saw PAC attack
Michael Nakazawa from behind, led to some awkward and confusing TV.
Though it's clear that AEW should stop shooting angles during commercial breaks, our
next match saw Cody and Darby Allin continue their effectiveness as a team, defeating
the Butcher and The Blade, and our next match saw Awesome Kong squash Miranda
Alicea, followed by another image of the mysterious bald man that has been part of
Brandi Rhodes' video packages.
In his final title defense of the year, Chris Jericho put his title on the line against Jungle
Boy, who held his own against Le Champion, as the match went to a time limit draw,
and post-match, Jericho promised a surprise for Jon Moxley, courtesy of the Inner
Circle on January 1st.
After Kris Statlander became the number one contender for Riho's Women's
Championship, it was time for the main event, as the SCU were successfully able to
defend their World Tag Team titles from the Young Bucks.
Post-match, the Creepers came into the ring, as the Dark Order appeared on the stage,
and though Uno promised to recruit the Bucks to his fold one day, this wasn't the time.
As Reynolds and Silver jumped the exhausted Bucks and SCU, the creepers also got in
on the beatdown, and despite intervention by Kenny Omega, Cody and Dustin Rhodes,
it was the Dark Oder who stood tall, complete with Uno ripping something from Matt
Jackson's mouth.
While AEW was once again another intense show this week, the company may soon
be expanding its roster next year, if a certain former WWE Super star has anything to
say about it.
This week, former WWE Superstar Alex Riley announced his return to the ring after a
three-year absence, as he will compete for Generation Championship Wrestling as
Kevin Riley on March 31st and April 1st, which is WrestleMania weekend next year.
On his Instagram, Riley confirmed the news of his return, but also teased joining AEW, saying:
“I know you may not agree, but i feel you should go back to professional wrestling for
one more run, not wwe or nxt…maybe AEW.”
Whether Riley will actually get to work inside an AEW ring remains unclear, but for the
time being, the future is looking bright for the former RAW and NXT Superstar.