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Here's your wrestling news for January 2nd 2021
And your headlines for today include Several WWE Superstars Decline New Contract Offers! Will Erick Rowan Join AEW? AEW News! WWE News! 4 00:00:06,523 --> 00:00:10,527 Several WWE Superstars Decline New Contract Offers!
WWE No Longer In ‘Talent Hoarding Mode’!
Billie Kay's confusing booking on WWE SmackDown, and in a sense, Roman Reigns' as well!
WWE SmackDown feuds continue Even after TLC 2020!
Title Match Booked For WWE Smackdown Next Week!
Erick Rowan’s AEW Status After Brodie Lee Tribute Appearance!
Brodie Lee Jr Beats Adam Cole At AEW New Year’s Party!
Tony Khan Thanks Brodie Lee’s Family For Joining AEW To Celebrate His Life!
AEW Reveals New Video From After Brodie Lee Dynamite Tribute!
What WWE Is Planning For Bray Wyatt & Randy Orton At Royal Rumble!
Sonya Deville returns to WWE television for the first time since SummerSlam 2020 And More!
We’re kicking off today with WWE, and with a New Year, the company will be looking to make big plans for many
Superstars, even though many big names in the company may not be around for much longer.
According to Fightful, several new contracts were offered to the roster in mid to late 2020, but Superstars were
disappointed with the deals, especially compared to the massive contracts that were offered 12 months prior.
Those massive contracts were offered in 2019 to stop Superstars going to rival promotions such as AEW or Impact,
as the company would rather Superstars go underused in WWE than be out of their control.
It’s been reported that at least half a dozen talent refused the new contracts that were offered in 2020, although it
was also noted that some are waiting until things get back to normal and the company can start touring again
before they consider re-signing. It’s also possible that some wrestlers are waiting for a better deal to be
presented to them, either by WWE themselves, or by a rival promotion, before they put ink to paper.
Whatever the case, WWE’s roster may be slimming down in 2021, and time will tell if any big names end up leaving the
company over the next 12 months.
It wasn’t too long ago that WWE were signing as many big names as they could get, and locking their current
roster into lucrative, multi-year deals. That’s now no longer the case, as Fightful’s report added that these lower
offers made by WWE compared to the end of 2019 is because the company is no longer in what’s being described as
Talent Hoard Mode.’ WWE NXT is also offering different deals, which are shorter than what were
previously offered, as the company isn’t in the mood to keep people on their payroll if they’re not being used.
WWE seemingly isn’t too worried about members of their roster signing with AEW, a factor that led to some of the
huge contracts being offered in 2019, so it’s possible that AEW’s roster may see more former WWE Superstars join their
ranks soon enough.
SmackDown news now, as Billie Kay added the role of manager to her resume this week, as she put together the team
of Natalya and Tamina together to face the Riott Squad. The match was confusing to say the least,
as despite being the manager of Natalya and Tamina, Kay was cheering for Ruby Riott and Liv Morgan throughout the match.
Over the past few weeks, the Australian Superstar has made it abundantly clear she wants to become third member
of the Riott Squad, and even if this does happen, we’re not entirely sold on this idea.
There’s a huge disconnect between her over-the-top vibe and the Riott Squad’s Punk-Rock gimmick, and though we’re
sure it could make for some comedy at first, we imagine fans would grow tired of it quickly.
One of WWE’s main issues with SmackDown is how badly some Superstars are written, and if Kay does
indeed join the Riott Squad, we expect her to be split from the group without much of an explantion, if any, within a
month’s time. Speaking of strange booking, we couldn’t help but notice how Roman Reigns
took much longer than the rest of the world to figure out Adam Pearce had made the main event, leaving us to
believe that the Universal Champion doesn’t watch his own show.
Perhaps he finds all his SmackDown news from watching Slat Rock Wrestling, and whilst we certainly hope he does,
the Tribal Chief should probably be watching the show he’s on.
Kay and Reigns weren’t the only odd-ball decisions made during this week’s edition of the blue brand, as the start of a
new year doesn’t mean new feuds for SmackDown. Instead, the storyline between Roman
Reigns and Kevin Owens continued this week, despite the Tribal Chief beating him in both a TLC match and a Steel
Cage match last week, and it looks like the SmackDown Women’s Championship feud between Sasha Banks and Carmella
will be carrying on also. SmackDown has one of the best rosters in all of WWE right now, and yet Reigns
seems destined to tussle with Owens forever, rather than someone like Aleister Black, Murphy or even Daniel Bryan.
That’s not to say the feud hasn’t been entertaining, as Owens and Reigns have had some great matches,
but even the biggest fan of both men is probably getting bored of the two trading beatdowns, especially after it’s been
established not once but twice that Reigns is the superior Superstar when the Universal title is on the line.
It looks like WWE is more than happy to coast until the 2021 Royal Rumble Pay Per View at the end of this month,
which should hopefully give us something new and fresh on the road to WrestleMania 37.
Last week’s edition of team blue was regarded as one of the best episodes of SmackDown in a long time, but WWE
simply failed to continue their momentum on this week’s show.
Hopefully next week’s edition of SmackDown will be better, and the show is already off to a promising start
with the first title defence for Intercontinental Champion Big E booked for the January 8th show.
Big E and Apollo Crews teamed together this week, and in a post-match backstage segment, Crews requested a title match,
a wish that was granted by the champion. As a former United States Champion, Apollo is sure to give Big E a challenge
in their title match, but we expect Sami Zayn will be nearby to spoil things for both competitors.
This will mark Big E’s first title defence since winning the gold on the final SmackDown of 2020, and his reign will
be a short one if Apollo Crews has anything to say about it.
AEW news next, as Erick Rowan recently showed up on Dynamite, paying tribute to his former tag team partner
Brodie Lee on this week’s show. Now going by Erick Redbeard, his appearance quickly led fans to
speculate on what his future holds, especially after it appeared that the Dark Order accepted him as part of their family.
Fans shouldn’t expect to see more of Rowan on Wednesday nights however, as the Wrestling Observer Newsletter
is reporting that his appearance was a one-off surprise. That doesn’t mean that the former
Bludgeon Brother won’t sign a deal with AEW down the line, but for now, his appearance was solely to pay tribute to
his former tag team partner who was taken far too soon.
We can’t possibly imagine how the Exalted One’s son, Brodie Lee Jr. is feeling right now, though AEW is going
out of their way to help the youngster out, even signing him to a legitimate contract.
1 is already making headlines for the company, as in a video from AEW’s New Year’s Party, Dr Britt Baker
shared a video of Lee Jr. in action, where he can be seen taking on NXT’s Adam Cole in an unsanctioned match.
Cole was more than happy to put the Exalted One’s son over, as Brodie Lee Jr picked up the win after his father’s
spinning lariat. It’s also been reported that the kid went ballistic on the Dark Order with a kendo
stick backstage at AEW Dynamite, and shortly before his passing, the Exalted One got to see his son defeat AEW
World Champion Kenny Omega in an unsanctioned title match.
Though it may be several years before we see him compete in the ring, having a win over a former NXT Champion and
the reigning AEW World Champion is an epic way for the eight year old Brodie Lee Jr. to start his wrestling career.
This has clearly been a difficult time for the entire Lee family, and in a Tweet, Tony Khan gave a heartfelt thank you
to Brodie Lee’s wife Amanda, as well as his son. On social media, Khan said it was an
honor sharing the ring with them, and added it was great to spend New Year’s Eve with them, where Lee Jr. won
countless unsanctioned matches against top stars. AEW’s Twiter account has been filled
with footage from their Celebration of Life for Brodie Lee event, including exclusive footage after the show of Tony
Khan giving Lee Jr. a huge hug in the middle of the ring. There was a Thank You Brodie chant
that echoed around the Daily’s Place, as Lee Jr. had a tender moment with his mother, who held the TNT Championship
for him. Amanda also got a chant of her own, as did Nolan, her youngest son who was
backstage during the presentation.
Brodie Lee Jr. was also described as the TNT Champion forever and now fans can watch these very emotional scenes that
happened when this week’s edition of AEW Dynamite went off the air.
Back to WWE now, and we’re looking ahead to this month’s Royal Rumble Pay Per View.
We’ve already mentioned that WWE is continuing several feuds that seemingly ended at TLC 2020, and now fans can
expect another match between Randy Orton and the Fiend. Following on from their TLC Inferno match
Ringside News are reporting that this match will have another crazy stipulation attached, whilst the Wrestling Observer
Newsletter is saying the tentative idea is for it to be a Firefly Fun House match.
The last, and so far only, Firefly Fun House match took place at WrestleMania 36, and saw The Fiend defeat John
Cena in a bizarre encounter that dove into the past of both men, including John Cena’s debut as the face of Ruthless
Agression, and Bray’s own history as leader of the Wyatt Family. As a near 19-year veteran on WWE TV,
there’s plenty that the Fiend could explore from Orton’s past, and with the two being both teammates and opponents
in the past, this could make for a very nteresting situation.
Lana news next, as the Ravishing Russian was taken off of the card for WWE TLC, and replaced with Charlotte
, who captured the WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles with Asuka. At the time of her kayfabe injury by
Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler, Lana was expected to be on the shelf for three to four weeks, but it now looks like she
may be gone even longer, for a very real injury. In an Instagram post, the RAW Superstar
can be seen wearing braces for her arm and leg in photos, as it looks like she might have a legitimate injury as well
Unsuprisingly, several fans were concerned over what they saw, especially as Lana didn’t explain what caused her
her to wear these braces, and there’s been no explanation by WWE on the matter either.
Hopefully Lana will be back in the ring soon enough, and we’re sending her our best wishes as she deals with whatever
caused her to wear these braces.
And finally today we’re ending with SmackDown news, and for all the show’s flaws this week, fans did get a huge return.
During the show, Sonya Deville made her return to the blue brand, and Corey Graves and Michael Cole noted that
she’s been reinstated by the company. The last time we saw the former MMA fighter, she lost her Loser Leaves WWE
match to Mandy Rose at Summerslam 2020, a loss that allowed her to take some much-needed time away from the
ring to recover from a traumatic incident where a fan tried to abduct her from her home.
That match was originally meant to be Hair Vs. Hair, but WWE changed the stipulation to allow Deville some time off
to deal with the legal ramifications of what happened, and after her lawyer said it’d be inappropriate for her to show
up in court with a shaved head. It’s good to see Deville back on TV, as she was certainly growing as a star
before the Summer of 2020, and hopefully we’ll get to see what she has in-store now that she’s back very soon.