Here's your wrestling news for January 25th 2022
And your headlines for today include
WWE reveals weakness of Brock Lesnar on final RAW before Royal Rumble
Former Tag Team Champions tease break- up on latest RAW
Wrestlers rally behind Free Ali movement: Former Superstar and WrestleMania main eventer are just some of the names on board
WWE making “major push” to bring former RAW Women’s Champion back to the company
A “huge name” will return at this Saturday’s Royal Rumble
Has WWE spoiled Royal Rumble title match result with Elimination Chamber advertisements?
Medical issues and constant rewrites causes difficult taping for Impact Wrestling And more!
We’re kicking off today with RAW, which served as the go home edition of the red brand before this Saturday’s Royal Rumble.
RAW also saw an appearance by WWE Champion Brock Lesnar, who throughout this run, has been seemingly bulletproof, with Bobby Lashley, for
all his accolades, considered the underdog in their upcoming match.
Sure, both men have a background in MMA, but Lesnar has competed on a significantly higher level, and is the heavy favourite to retain his title.
WWE are fully aware of this, as on RAW, the company tried to make a title change seem more likely, but with an interesting way of doing so.
The subtle message on RAW was that Lesnar isn’t taking Lashley seriously at all, and instead was more interested in making a show of himself,
complete with Cowboy hat. Since Lesnar’s entire career has made him out to be the favourite in this match, having Brock not
take Lashley seriously may be the only way the Beast can demonstrate a weakness that the Almighty could possibly exploit.
Even with this, it’d be a surprise to see Lashley become a two-time WWE Champion this Saturday, but stranger things have happened in WWE.
Raw also saw the Street Profits in action against the Mysterios, but what happened after the match was more important than what happened during it.
After coming up short against the Mysterios, Angelo Dawkins dumped Montez Ford out of the ring, showing that it’s every Superstar for themselves
at the Royal Rumble, but this action had much bigger ramifications. It’s no secret that Ford is the star of the Street Profits,
and after being dumped over the top rope this week, we can’t help but wonder whether Montez will return the favour this Saturday during the
Men’s Rumble match, leading to a permanent split between the two.
Every team has a Shawn and a Marty, and in the case of the Street Profits, Ford is the Heart Break Kid of the group.
Whether that break-up happens as soon as this Saturday’s Royal Rumble remains to be seen, but what fans saw last night may just be the start
of the end of the Street Profits.
Now, ever since Mustafa Ali requested his release from WWE, a release that has since been rejected, there’s been a huge push online for the company
to let him go.
Over the past week, the hashtag #FreeAli has been trending off and on, and it’s not just fans who think he could do better outside WWE.
In a tweet of her own, former WWE Superstar Mia Yim gave her support for the Free Ali movement, after being released herself on November
4th last year. Fans will remember that Yim and Ali were in Retribution together, and although that group
disbanded almost an entire year ago, the former Reckoning still has Ali’s best interests at heart.
Mia Yim isn’t the only wrestler who believes Ali should be let go, as one of WWE’s very top Superstars has expressed their support for
the Free Ali movement. In a tweet, Amanda Huber, the wife of Brodie Lee said she knows what it’s like to see
someone get stuck when their request is denied, referencing her late husband who wasn’t let go when he asked to be released in 2019.
Huber’s tweet was promptly liked by Sasha Banks, in an interesting move for the Boss to make.
Ali will eventually leave WWE, though he may have to wait until his contract expires before he can spread his message outside the company,
but even the former SmackDown Women’s Champion believes he should be freed from his current deal with the company.
More Royal Rumble news, as this year’s event marks 4 years since the WWE debut of Ronda Rousey, who hasn’t competed since WrestleMania 35.
Since then, Rousey has been focussed on becoming a mother, a goal that came true in September last year, and now WWE want the former RAW Women’s
Champion back more than ever.
Fightful Select reports that there is a “major push” within WWE to bring Rousey back into the fold, and that this has been a “poorly kept secret.”
It’s so poorly kept that WWE has bee mentioning their desire for Rousey to return to talent outside the company, as they are well aware that having
the Baddest Woman on the Planet back would generate revenue and headlines for WWE.
One idea being discussed within WWE is for Rousey to return this Saturday, either to compete in the Women’s Rumble match, or possibly just
appear on the show.
Whatever the plan is, WWE wants Rousey back in a major way, but it’s ultimately Ronda’s decision whether she ever gets back in the ring.
Ronda Rousey may or may not be returning this weekend, but something big is coming at this Saturday’s Royal Rumble.
During Wrestling Observer Radio, Bryan Alverez said that at least one huge name WILL return this Saturday, but didn’t disclose wither this person is
male or female. Given that WWE has been making a play to bring back Ronda Rousey, she is a definite possibility,
but so is Paige, as it’s being speculated that she has been cleared to compete, over 4 years since her last match on Boxing Day 2017.
We know that The Undertaker will be at the show to support his wife Michelle McCool in the Women’s Rumble Match, and he could be the big return
Alverez is alluding too. There’s also the fact that WWE has been working on another Forbidden Door entrant, I.E. someone
working for another company, who WWE plans on competing in the Men’s Rumble match. We’ll only know for sure who this huge return will be,
but one thing we know is that Mickie James won’t be the only big name making an impact at this Saturday’s Royal Rumble.
After the Rumble, WWE’s next big show will be Elimination Chamber, which’ll air for the first time from Saudi Arabia.
So far, no matches have been confirmed for the show, other than at least one Elimination Chamber match, but some names have already been
announced.
In local advertisements for the Premium Live Event, Roman Reigns, Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair have all been confirmed.
Seth Rollins and Bobby Lashley have also been announced, as well as Saudi star Mansoor, who’s consistently booked strong in his homeland.
Interestingly, the reigning WWE Champion Brock Lesnar, hasn’t been advertised for the show, but his Royal Rumble challenger Bobby Lashley has
been, and time will tell if the Almighty returns to Jeddah with the WWE title.
And we’re ending today with news from Impact Wrestling, as the company had tapings last weekend in Pembroke Pines, Florida, but this was
an exceptionally difficult time for everyone involved. PW Insider reports that a number of staff and talent had to miss the tapings due to medical
protocols, as they’d either tested positive, or come into close contact with someone who had tested positive.
One source within the company called the issues this past weekend “the worst they had seen” in a very long time, and the shows had to undergo
several re-writes over the course of the weekend.
Despite this, Impact were able to record several episodes of content, but we’re opting not to share any spoilers about what transpired at these tapings.
It’s never good a promotion to have to deal with a situation like this, but with Impaxt now having some sort of partnership with WWE, one that’ll
see Mickie James appear this Saturday, and possibly other wrestlers appear at the Royal Rumble, this outbreak could not have
come at a worse time for Impact Wrestling.