Here's your wrestling news for December 31st 2021
And your headlines this New year even include
Huge update on Toni Storm leaving WWE! What caused her to walk away?
“They blew it out of proportion!” Drew McIntyre breaks silence on controversial incident from this year
Massive card announced for debut of Dynamite on TBS
Plans already in place for Kenny Omega’s AEW return
Incredible tag-match confirmed for tonight’s Rampage! Which wrestlers stole the show?
“An example of his manipulation.” The Rock BLASTS Hollywood star for trying to reach out to him
Impact Wrestling star announces her pregnancy during final show of 2021
Update on Bruce Prichard after weeks of missing WWE shows
Natalya breaks yet another world record this week And more!
We’re starting this New Year’s Eve edition of Slat Rock Wrestling with Toni Storm, who left WWE this week in one of the most shocking departures
from the company this year. Unlike other departures, Storm wasn’t released, but it was instead reported that she requested her
release, but now we know more about her final hours as a WWE Superstar. According to Cassidy Haynes of Bodyslam.net,
the former NXT UK Women’s Champion didn’t request her release, but instead just quit, and gave WWE no prior notice before she walked out.
Storm’s last match was a SmackDown Women’s Championship Triple Threat between herself, Charlotte Flair and Sasha Banks, but after the match
she reportedly paid out of her own pocket to fly herself home. It was only a few months ago that the 2018 Mae Young
Classic winner joined the SmackDown roster, and had been feuding with Flair over the SmackDown Women’s title, but if there ever was plans for
a title win for her, those a now a thing of the past after she quit the company.
Storm may have quit WWE, but it wasn’t out o f anger over her booking in the company, but for a much different reason.
On the latest Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer said that Storm was ‘burnt out,’ and that she could no longer handle the rigours of competing full-time for
WWE, complete with the intense travel schedule.
Burn out is something that many wrestlers have gone through in the past, and Meltzer added that he’s not heard anything about any non-compete clause.
Although WWE usually has a 90-day non-compete clause for main-roster talent, Storm’s departure was very different from others let go by the company.
If she does have the 90-day clause, the former Superstar won’t be able to work until March 29th next year, but we’ll have to see what she does
during her time away from the ring.
Speaking of departures, Jeff Hardy was released this year, after a concerning performance at a Live event.
After Hardy made a hot-tag in his six-man-tag match, he vanished into the crowd and wasn’t seen again.
Hardy also refused rehab when it was offered to him, and now Drew McIntyre has shared his view on the situation.
Speaking to DAZN, the former WWE Champion, who was at the show when all this happen, gave his own thoughts saying:
For one, as usual, the internet can take something and blow [it] out of proportion. But all I’ll say on the matter is I just want what’s best for Jeff and for
him to be healthy. Since his release, Jeff hasn’t competed elsewhere, as he’s subject to a 90-day non-compete clause,
but has appeared in a video on Matt Hardy’s Twitch, and we’ll just have to wait and see where he competes next.
AEW news, as next week’s Dynamite will kick off the new era on the show on TBS, and Tony Khan is booking accordingly for the occasion.
A huge line-up has been announced for the show, including an AEW World Championship match between Hangman Page and Bryan Danielson.
The Lucha Bros and Jurrasic Express will face off with the AEW World Tag Team Titles on the line, while Ruby Soho and Jade Cargill will determine the
first ever TBS Women’s Champion.
Malakai Black will face Brian Pillman Jr, as AEW are certainly kicking off their new home on TBS with a bang.
Next week’s Dynamite will have to go ahead with Kenny Omega, who hasn’t been in the ring since his Full Gear loss to Hangman Adam Page.
After putting off multiple surgeries and working through serious injuries, Omega is finally having some well-deserved time off, but plans are already
in motion for his return. On Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer explained that Omega’s return plans are already
playing out on TV, and he’ll be a key part of the feud between the Young Bucks and the trio of Adam Cole, Bobby Fish and Kyle O’Reilly.
On this week’s Dynamite, there was clearly issues between the three former Superstars, with Cole seemingly torn between his NXT pals and his
Superkliq teammates. Meltzer said that despite the tension in the former Undisputed Era, the plan right now is for Cole
Fish and O’Reilly to align, and to feud with the Bucks and Omega.
As for when Omega will return, there’s still no word on just how long his body will take to recover from surgery, but after years in different companies,
the Undisputed Era and the Elite will be squaring off in 2022.
More from AEW, as the company’s women’s division will be getting a new championship next week, but they’ll have a unique showcase on tonight’s show.
We won’t be spoiling any results from tonight’s AEW Rampage, but if you really don’t want to be given any details, we recommend skipping the 30 seconds
of the video.
Tonight, Tay Conti and Anna Jay will face The Bunny and Penelope Ford, in a street fight that’ll be especially brutal.
Sources who’ve seen the match have said a lot of blood will be spilled between the four, with The Bunny reportedly losing the most.
On his show, Meltzer said that “people were raving about this match,” and a stellar performance by any of these four women could elevate them into TBS
Championship contention very soon
For years, The Rock has been one of the highest- paid names in Hollywood, thanks in part to his hectic filming schedule.
The Brahma Bull has several movies come out each year, but he’s definitely not going to be returning to the Fast and Furious franchise.
That hasn’t stopped franchise star Vin Diesel from making a plea for the Rock to return, and in an interview with CBS, the Brahma Bull made it clear
he didn’t approve of this tactic: Vin’s recent public post was an example of his manipulation. I didn’t like that he brought up his
children in the post, as well as Paul Walker’s death. Leave them out of it. The Rock has also made it clear that he will never,
ever return to the franchise, and given the fortune he’s sitting on, he certainly doesn’t have to make a comeback.
Starting in 2001, it’s reported that the 2024 film, which will be the second part of the tenth film, will be the final instalment of the Fast and Furious franchise,
but tensions with Vin Diesel is keeping The Rock away.
We’ve got some fantastic news from Impact Wrestling next, as one power couple of the company are expecting their first child.
During this week’s Best of 2021 special, Su Yung revealed that she is pregnant, and the former Impact Knockouts Champion also took to social
media to share her baby registry, with the child due in February next year.
Su Yung is in a relationship with former Impact World Champion Rich Swann, and we’d like to congratulate both on this joyous occasion.
Back to WWE, as Bruce Prichard is the Executive Director of both RAW and SmackDown, but he hasn’t been around either show as of late.
As we previously reported, Prichard has missed several recent WWE TV tapings, leaving lead writer Ed Koskey in charge of production.
In an update from the Wrestling Observer Radio, we’ve learned that Prichard has been gone for weeks, but it’s not due to a positive test.
Instead, he’s been dealing with some other medical issue, but there’s no specifics on what that is, only what it isn’t.
There’s no word on if he’ll be back in time for this weekend’s Day 1 Pay Per View, but if WWE wants to kick 2022 off right, then having their Executive
Director can only help their chances
And we’re ending with Natalya, who in addition to being a multi-time Champion in WWE, also holds three world records.
Having the most matches for any woman in WWE, Natalya also has the most wins and most Pay Per View appearances, and now she’s reportedly
set another record. When a fan asked if Natalya’s match at the recent December 26th show inside Madison Square
Garden set the record for the most Garden appearances by a non-American, the former SmackDown Women’s Champion announced
that she had. This is yet to be confirmed by Guiness themselves, but given her lengthy career, it could certainly be
the case, as the SmackDown Superstar is now claiming to be a four-time World Record holder.