Here's more wrestling news for February 3rd 2022
And your headlines for Afternoon include
Ex-WWE Superstar pulled from AEW debut after shocking comments come out
2,949 day streak is broken on latest edition of AEW Dynamite
WWE SmackDown Superstar sets another world record with Royal Rumble appearance
“That’s where I’m from!” Canadian Wrestling legend recalls WWE’s attempts to make him American.
New update on WWE 2K22. New arenas and technology revealed in latest video
Released WWE Superstars now free to work anywhere after 90 day non-compete clause expires
Former WWE Superstar confirms that vaccination status played a role in their release last year And more!
We’re kicking off with AEW, as Brian Kendrick was meant to make his debut on last night’s Dynamite against Jon Moxley, after requesting his release from
WWE as one of their trainers.
That match never took place however, and it’s not due to an injury for either man, but rather some awful comments Kendrick made 9 years ago.
In a 2011 interview which has been shared over social media this week, Kendrick made abhorant comments related to the 2010 Haiti earthquake
claiming that “Jewish medics” were flown to the devastate country minutes after the quake to scoop up body parts and take eyeballs.
In a video from 2013, Kendrick shared similar antisemitic remarks, saying that the Holocaust was “overblown,” and promoted the unfounded,
disproven conspiracy theory that the 2012 Sandy Hook shooting, in which a total 28 people died, was a staged event.
In a statement after his match was pulled, Kendrick apologised for the hurt he’s caused with his words, saying what he said was never his beliefs, and he’ll
regret these comments for the rest of his life. Tony Khan also issued a statement, saying that there’s no room in AEW for the views expressed
by Kendrick, and that he was pulled from the card, and presumably any future appearances, as the company gathers more info about this situation.
In his place, Wheeler Yuta face Job Moxley on Dynamite, and although Kendrick’s decades of experience would make him an asset to AEW,
his future with the company is in great jeopardy.
This week’s Dynamite did see CM Punk in action, having his long-awaited match with MJF.
With this week’s show taking place in Chicago, it’d be easy to expect that Punk would get the win in his hometown, but it was instead MJF who picked
up the victory, marking Punk’s first loss since joining AEW.
The Salt of the Earth did admittedly get a big assist by Wardlow, who passed him the Dynamite Diamond Ring when the referee was distracted, allowing
MJF to mail Punk with the ringed hand to get the 1-2-3. For context, this marks Punk’s first Pinfall in 2,949 days, with his last pinfall loss being to the rookie
Roman Reigns on the January 6th 2014 RAW, and we’ll have to see how the former WWE World Champion bounced back after this setback
Back to WWE, as Natalya competed in this year’s Women’s Royal Rumble match, and the third- generation Superstar now has yet another
World record to her name. In a post-Rumble video, Natalya pointed out that she now has the record for the longest cumulative
time in the Royal Rumble, with a total 2 hours, 14 minutes and 35 seconds in her five rumble match appearances.
For those counting, this is Natalya fifth world record she’s claiming, as she already has the most Pay Per View matches of any female Superstar, most matches
of any female Superstar, most wins of any female Superstar, and the quickest loss, that being to Aliyah A 13-year veteran of the main-roster, Natalya is one
of the longest tenured Superstars, male or female, to be working in WWE today, and this latest record is just the latest accolade for the Hart Dungeon graduate.
Speaking of proud Canadians, Bret Hart is one of the most decorated wrestlers to ever hail from the great white north, and is deeply proud of his homeland.
Bret’s Canadian heritage was a key part of the 1997 Canada Vs. USA story, which was one of Bret’s final angles before leaving to WCW, but that would’ve never
happened if he hadn’t stood up for himself early in his career. Speaking to SportsNet, Bret explained how upon
joining the WWF, the plan was to bill him from the United States, which the Hitman was completely against:
I remember going, ‘I’m Bret Hart from Calgary.’ That’s where I’m from, that’s where I want to be from. I stuck to my guns and made them. I stayed ‘Bret Hart
from Calgary’ with my dad’s history which eventually got worked into my storylines about The Dungeon
Sure enough, Bret was billed from Canada, and is so beloved in his home-land that he was cheered there even when he was an on-screen heel, so it’s probably
for the best that the two-time Hall of Fame was never billed as from the U.S. of A.
Back to the present, as next month, WWE will release WWE 2K22, the first game in the series since the disastrous release of 2k20 in late 2019.
We’ve already seen trailers for the new game, but we’ve now had a new gameplay feature for the upcoming game.
In the new video, the first of the WWE 2K22 Ringside Reports, fans got to see some of the features and details in the new game, including the completely
revamped combat engine.
The new game will have 55 arenas, including the Thunderdome, and will have a special showcase about the game’s cover star Rey Mysterio.
This feature will focus on some of Rey’s greatest ever matches, and it’s reported that his WrestleMania 21 opener with Eddie Guerrero, and Cyber
Sunday 2008 match with Kane will be just some of the matches fans will get to play. The Report also pointed out new mechanics with
blocking and dodging moves, and details with weapons that’ll break in new ways to create a more authentic match experience.
The finished game won’t hit shelves until March 11th, and we’ll just have to see if the wait for 2K22 has been worth it.
On November 18th, several big names were released in the name of budget cuts, and now those names are free to wrestle anywhere they desire.
90 days has passed since the release of names such as Karrion Kross, Nia Jax, Keith Lee and Ember Moon, meaning they’re all free to sign with any promotion
Oney Lorcan, Eva Marie and the Lucha House Party are all free to sign elsewhere as well, and it’ll be interesting to see where these Superstars go from here.
As to where these names will go is still anyone’s guess, but with the amount of talent now available, expect some of these free agents to be signed very soon.
And we’re ending today with Nia Jax, who was one of the most surprising cuts last November, as she’d been prominently featured on the main roster
for years, and had reigns as both RAW Women’s Champion and Women’s Tag Team Champion. At the time of her release, it was rumoured that Jax
was unvaccinated, and that was the release for her departure, and she’s now confirmed that her vaccination status did play a part in the company’s
decision. Speaking with Renee Paquette on Oral Sessions, the former WWE Superstar said that she sat down
with Vince McMahon and explained that she was not going to get the vaccine, calling it a “personal choice,” and that she’d never tested positive.
In response, McMahon told her that she wouldn’t be able to fulfil some of her “contractual duties,” a reference to venues and arenas which Jax would
simply be unable to appear in, due to several vaccine protocols across the U.S. When Jax was released, she said it wasn’t due to
her vaccination status, but said it was WWE’s way of sending a message to talent, after she’d requested more time off to deal with her mental health
Jax has said it’s extremely unlike she’ll get back in the ring, and has told fans on Instagram that she plans to launch her own business, and we’ll just have
to see what she does now her wrestling career is seemingly over for good.