Type Caption Text Here
Here's your wrestling news for December 23rd 2020
And your headlines for today include Today's Pretaped Smackdown! Trish Stratus Comes Back As NXT Coach! WWE Plans For Big E! WWE News! 4 00:00:06,523 --> 00:00:13,263 5 Spoilers You Need To Know On WWE Smackdown - Major Title Change, Former Champion Gets Handcuffed And
More!
Sasha Banks Botches Entrance During WWE SmackDown This Week! An LOL Moment Indeed!
Shad Gaspard’s Wife Filed A Lawsuit Over His Death!
Major News Of A Wrestler And Her Mother Being Arrested!
Trish Stratus Had Talks About Becoming WWE NXT Coach!
Mandy Rose Details Real Life Doubts Over Tagging with Dana Brooke!
Ben ‘Skulu’ Masalosalo Passes Away At 47-Years-Old!
A NEW Video Of WWE Wrestler Pranking Vince McMahon Is Out!
Chris Jericho Says He Would Have Saved Kevin Owens At WWE TLC!
Randy Orton Receives Open Invitation To Join WWE Retribution Stable! And more.
We’re kicking off today with SmackDown, as though it’s only Wednesday, this Friday’s show has already been taped.
That’s because this week’s episode will air on Christmas Day, so WWE are letting the blue brand Superstars spend
the big day with their families instead, and here are five huge Spoilers for the Christmas Day 2020 edition of SmackDown,
so if you don’t want to be spoiled, skip the first 5 minutes.
5: A Big win for Big E
After weeks of avoiding a match, Sami Zayn’s time is up, as this Friday, he’ll lose the Intercontinental Title to Big E,
E’s second reign with the title. Zayn will try running away, but given that it was a Lumberjack match,
the Superstars carry him back to the ring, allowing Big E to hit the Big Ending for the win.
Big E split from Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods during the draft, though, and whilst his ex-partners lost the RAW
Tag titles at WWE TLC, Big E is doing much better. This match was rumoured to take place
at WWE TLC, and when Ringside News asked, sources revealed the match was planned for last Sunday
This changed because WWE wants a feel-good moment to bring in viewers for their Christmas episode, and the huge
push that has been rumoured for him since he split from the New Day is finally happening.
4: The Tribal Chief stands tall
Universal Champion Roman Reigns stood tall over Kevin Owens when the two clashed at WWE TLC last week,
and now the Tribal Chief has two victories over the Prizefighter. In their Universal title Steel Cage match
this Friday, Owens will hit everything he has, including a Stunner and a powerbomb, but won’t be able to get Reigns to stay
down for the three-count. Despite the cage match stipulation, Jey Uso will interfere, chaining Owens to
the cage, allowing Reigns to win and defeat KO, even if it took two men to do so.
3: Jey Uso’s rough night
Though Jey Uso will help his cousin retain the Universal title, things won’t be easy for Jey, who’ll face Daniel Bryan.
If you remember, Jey Uso defeated Daniel Bryan, not long ago, in addition to Kevin Owens ahead of WWE Survivor
Series 2020. There’s not much information regarding their match, though we do know that it
was originally planned for WWE TLC, and we assume like the Big E Vs. Zayn match, it was moved to help boost the
blue brand’s ratings. We also know that Uso jumps Bryan before the match will begin, but with the
Yes! Man still able to defeat Jey, we imagine Bryan will be challenging for the Universal title soon.
2: The Street Profits feel festive
Outside of the ring, the Street Profits are known for their hilarious antics, and on this week’s show, will be in the giving
mood, much to the chagrin of Sami Zayn. After his title loss, Zayn will be gifted a new shirt from the SmackDown Tag
Team Champions, letting fans know he was the IC Champion, emphasis on the word WAS.
We doubt Zayn will be too happy about receiving this new piece of Merchandise, as this Christmas will be one that the
soon-to-be former Champion will hope to forget.
1: The Women’s Tag Team Champions stand tall
As the Women’s Tag Team Champions, Asuka and Charlotte Flair can come and go as they please, and this will lead to a
huge triple threat elimination tag title match this Friday. That match will see Bayley and
Carmella team up, as will SmackDown Women’s Champion Sasha Banks and Bianca Belair, and though the Boss will
pin Bayley to eliminate her team, Flair will pin Belair to retain the gold.
It looks like it’ll be a while before anyone is able to dethrone Charlotte and Asuka, but we’re wondering what will become
of Asuka’s RAW Women's Championship.
Whilst Banks won’t be a double champion, that may be for the best, as she’ll suffer an unfortunate botch with her own
SmackDown Women’s Championship this Friday. During her entrance, the Boss went to
to undo the Velcro on the title, only for the gold to fall to the floor.
Bayley, who was in the ring, wasted no time in pointing and laughing at this, though given the show won’t air until
Christmas Day, WWE has plenty of time to edit the botch out. We’re not certain if this will make it in the
final cut But fans in the ThunderDome got to see this, and hanks to the internet, so can you.
Now, Shad Gaspard tragically drowned earlier this year after he was pulled under by a riptide, and now his widow is suing
the state of California, Los Angeles and LA County.
The LA Daily News reports that the suit alleges that those three parties were negligent in regards to Shad’s death, and
provided dangerous conditions of the public property that led to his death. Silana, Shad’s widow, claims there were
not enough signs to warn of possible dangers at the beach, and it’s also claimed that the lifeguards who arrived
to save Shad were understaff, under- trained and lacked the proper equipment.
Lifeguards saved their sun Aryeh but according to the suit “left Shad Gaspard in the water to die,” though it’s worth
noting this suit isn’t official yet, and was brought on behalf on Silana and her son. They are seeking unspecified damages
and burial costs, and we’ll continue to monitor this story for future updates.
We’ve got some concerning news next, as Jonny Fairplay has been arrested on larceny charges according to TMC,
alongside his mother. A wrestler who gained celebrity status on Survivor, Fairplay was arrested in
Danville, Virginia alongside his mother Patsy Hall, and at this time, it’s unclear why the two were booked on larceny
charges, although a statement by Fairplay reads: “I (we) have been unjustly charged by
a family member. I welcome the opportunity to vindicate myself (and my mother).”
The 46-year-old reality TV star started wrestling in 1998 in North Caroline, before he formed his own ‘New Dimension
Wrestling’ promotion in Oregon. After appearing on Survivor, where he played an untrustworthy individual,
Fairplay was signed to TNA, with his most prominent feud being with a young AJ Styles, which saw Fairplay bring in
Lex Luger to deal with the Phenomenal One. This is a big story to say the least,
and we’ll continue to provide updates to this breaking news as they become available.
WWE has a lot of great minds helping out in NXT, and they may soon be adding one of the most-accomplished
female Superstars of all time to their list. While speaking to the Women’s Wrestling Talk podcast, Trish Stratus
said that she’s been in contact with WWE Performance Center Head Coach Matt Bloom about helping the black
and gold brand in some capacity. She said:
“We’ve talked about it on a number of occasions. It’s just like never the right time has come about to do that but,
I’d love to work with young minds and that was the best part about Tough Enough was just to work with these kids
and that sort of thing so, yeah, for sure.” WWE could certainly use someone
like Trish around, even if it’s for one-off appearances, and this news comes after the Undertaker revealed he’s
interested in working with NXT, and has spoken to Triple H on it.
Legends like these could definitely impart some wisdom onto the NXT Superstars and rookies, though it all
depends on whether both the Deadman and Trish can juggle their personal and professional lives.
Back to the ring now, as Mandy Rose has been teaming with Dana Brooke on RAW in recent months, and while the
two are good friends in real-life, that doesn’t mean the Golden Goddess didn’t have doubts about their team.
After all, this year has been a huge deal for Rose, who was put of huge storylines on SmackDown with Otis
and Sonya Deville, whilst Brooke, like most years, was barely being featured on TV.
During an appearance on Lilian Garcia’s Chasing Glory podcast, Rose discussed these concerns, saying:
“I was a little bit, like, not discouraged to be in another tag team, but I was, like, worried, like, is everything okay?
Did I not have a good match, or did something happen. “We all know the plans change,
you know, day by day. So, I was just… I wasn’t getting answers. I wanted clarity of, like, what’s going on. So, when they
finally told us we were going to be in a tag team, I went, ‘Okay, good.’ It’s something, you know?”
The Golden Goddess added that she’d hope to have been a singles star after the split with Deville, and though the
company would capitalise on her career -defining win at Summerslam 2020. Things didn’t play out as Rose had hoped,
and whilst she seems happy enough teaming with Brooke, time will tell whether she ever gets that singles run she wants.
Now, before the onglong global situation, WWE Superstars used to spend countless hours on the road, leading to
some crazy stories and life-long friendships being made. One person who knows all about this
is Shane ‘Hurricane’ Helms, who recently spoke on the Talk’N Shop podcast about his road adventures, including a story
when he, Jonathon Coachman, Christian and Rhyno nearly got in an accident.
According to Helms, Rhyno wouldn’t stop talking, so when he finally told the Man Beast to shut-up, this got a big
laugh from everyone. He added: “About that time, Coach had a f***ing big red Gatorade in his mouth, and it came
out of his nose. “He started laughing, and when it came out of his nose, he swerved over into f***ing traffic, and
so now Christian’s grabbing the f***ing wheel because Coach is dying up there.”
Fortunately, everyone was able to escape the possible accident with only some spilled Gatorade, and to borrow
a line from The Rock, we hope that the next time they travelled together, Rhyno knew his role and shut his mouth.
We’ve got some sad news to report next, as Ben ‘Skulu’ Masalosalo has died aged 47.
The California-based wrestler who also competed as King Adamo began wrestling in 2002, and had his last match
in 2015, and tributes have poured in after his untimely passing.
Frankie Kazarian described Skulu as a gentle and kind soul with an aptitude for Wrestling, whilst Samoa Joe praised his
former tag partner, saying he had a great ability to make people smile. Clearly, Masalosalo influenced many
people through his work, both in and out of the ring, and we at Slat Rock would like to offer our condolences to everyone
who knew him
NXT next, as tonight’s show will see the return of Dakota Kai, who fans haven’t seen since she was injured during
WarGames. The New Zealand Superstar will return tonight to face Rhea Ripley, in what’ll be
great match for Christmas week, especially with no AEW Dynamite airing tonight on the opposite channel.
Now, we all know that anything can happen inside a wrestling ring, and for Teal Piper, the daughter of the late,
great Roddy Piper, that means getting engaged. Piper’s now-fiance Deimos popped the
question at an Atomic Revolutionary Wrestling show in Melbourne Florida, and we’d like to send our congrats to
so the happy couple at this wonderful time.
Back to WWE, as Drew McIntyre has accomplished plenty in WWE, and that includes pranking the Boss.
After Drew and Steve Austin discussed this prank on the Broken Skull Sessions, WWE have uploaded the footage of an
old promo class, where McIntyre acted like he was going to throw water on Vince, causing the Chairman to duck.
Everyone had a laugh about the situation afterwards, and we’re pleased the boss found it funny, as given what we know
about the Chairman, it’s just as likely that Drew could’ve been given the pink slip after this prank.
Although McIntyre was able to win at WWE TLC, the same can’t be said for Kevin Owens, who came up short against
Universal Champion Roman Reignson Twitter, , thanks to interference by Jey Uso.
Addressing his loss, Owens said that his own past misdeeds may explain why no-body came down to help him,
but also said that the Riott Squad must’ve had the night off. That result could’ve been much
different if one of Owens’ ex tag partners was involved however, as on Twitter, Chris Jericho said he
would’ve made the save for the Prizefighter. With Jericho locked into a deal with
AEW, a company he says he plans on finishing his career in, it’s doubtful we’ll see Jericho and Owens team up again,
but we could’ve seen a new Universal Champion crowned last Sunday, had Y2J stuck around.
And we’re ending with Retribution, as the stable has made it clear they want Ricochet in their flock, but the One and
isn't the only Superstar in their sights.
On Twitter, T-Bar of the group complimented Randy Orton's victory at WWE TLC, saying he was impressed by
how the Viper quote "viciously murdered" The Fiend Bray Wyatt during their Firefly Inferno Match.
T-Bar even offered the Viper a spot in Retribution, saying their doors are always open to the 14-time WWE World Champion
and having him join may not be a bad idea. It's no secret that Retribution has struggled
since their debut earlier this year, and having Orton, who has experience with stables, be a part of the team could be
a last-ditch attempt to save their credibility. With that said, Orton hasn't had many interactions with Retribution
on air, and though it's unlikely that fans will see the former World Champion by Mustafa Ali's side, stranger things
have happened in 2020.