Here's more wrestling news for February 18th 2022
And your headlines for today include
Former WWE Superstars Announced Their Own New Promotion! TV Tapings To Start Next Month!
Ex-NXT Champion Will Be A Playable Character In WWE 2K22 Despite Being Released Last Year!
Concerning Update As WWE Legend Is Dealing With Multiple Health Problems!
John Cena Discusses If He’ll Ever Turn Heel Now He’s A Part-Time Wrestler!
WWE Veteran FIRED After 29 Years Working For The Company!
Update On Plans For WWE Hall Of Famer Competing At Elimination Chamber!
‘Twists And Turns’ Planned For This Saturday’s Elimination Chamber Event!
Former Women’s Tag Champion Is Grateful For Good Relationship With WWE After Leaving The Company! And More !
We’re kicking off with Adam Scherr, who was shockingly cut by WWE last June, and since then, the former Braun Strowman has had just a
handful of matches. Scherr’s first match post-WWE was against EC3 at the second Free the Narrative event, and now the
two ex-Superstars are set to launch their own promotion. In a statement, the pair confirmed the launch
of ‘Control Your Narrative’ a brand-new promotion, with a TV special in Dallas, Texas scheduled for March 31st.
Killer Kross, formerly Karrion Kross is already on board, as he’ll be making his debut at the Dallas event, in one of his first matches since
his release from WWE last November.
The statement says that CYN will have “no corporate hierarchy” with EC3 calling the new promotion his purpose.
In addition to the Dallas show, the first CYN event will happen on March 5th in Orlando, Florida though no matches have been announced for this show.
While AEW has proven that companies other than WWE are viable, there’s no word on what financial backing CYN has, and we’ll have to see how
the new promotion fares in the current wrestling landscape.
Killer Kross will be able to work CYN events now that his 90-day non-compete clause with WWE has expired, but his release from WWE isn’t as clear
cut as once believed.. During a video revealing the WWE 2K22 ratings for the SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Usos,
in-game footage aired showing Jey Uso facing Kross, teasing that he’ll be a playable character in the upcoming game
On Twitter, Kross practically confirmed this, firing off a tweet with the WWE 2K22 hashtag, and using a photo of himself and Scarlett Bordeaux from
their WWE days. WWE 2K22 was meant to release in the fall of 2021, but was pushed back by developers
because they had to change the roster thanks to WWE never-ending releases. We’ll have to see if any other released Superstars
have made it into 2K22 when the game releases next month, but fans of the former NXT Champion will have one last chance to play him in the
upcoming game.
We’ve got some concerning news regarding Marty Jannetty next, who is reportedly dealing with several health issues.
In recent years, the former Rocker has been prolific on social media, even admitting to killing someone in an August 2020 post before claiming it was
part of a storyline, and he’s been radio-silent for over a month now. When a fan asked if anyone has heard from him,
Marty’s friend Mike Watford said that the ex-wrestler is dealing with swollen feet, back problems and shoulder problems, but is refusing to go to a hospital.
Watford has been tagged in several posts in the past by Jannetty himself, confirming that the two are close friends.
We can only hope Jannetty feels better soon, as his fans miss his antics on social media, and we’d like to wish the former Rocker a speedy recovery.
Back to WWE now, as John Cena was the face of the company for around a decade, and was an inspiration to millions of young fans around the world.
As the company’s top merchandise seller, WWE wisely never turned Cena heel, despite older fans calling for it for years when he was a
full-time wrestler. In an interview with GQ, Cena discussed a possible heel turn, and said that there would be “another
10 year’s worth of story” if he did, but said that it was never his choice whether he was a face or heel.
It’s worth mentioning that there were several pitches by WWE’s creative team to turn Cena heel, but they were all refused by Vince McMahon,
who reportedly took great pride in keeping the 16-time WWE World Champion as a babyface throughout the vast majority of his career.
With Cena now a major name in Hollywood and his WWE career taking a backseat, it’s unlikely we’ll see another 10 years of matches from Big Match John,
but if that ever does happen, Cena knows that there’ll be plenty of stories where he’s the ultimate bad guy.
For the past 2 years, WWE has been releasing mass waves of talent, all in the name of budget cuts, and now another veteran of the company has been
future-endeavoured. Lucha Libre Online has learned that Spanish commentator Carlos Cabrera has been released
from his contract, bringing his 29-year career in WWE to an end. Joining the WWF in 1993, Cabrera provided Spanish
commentary for some of the most iconic moments in the company’s history, including the Montreal Screwjob, Stone Cold’s rise to the top and over
25 WrestleManias. Cabrera is best known for calling the action alongside Hugo Savinovich, and most recently
worked with Marcelo Rodriguez, but he’ll now have to find a new role after nearly 30 years with WWE.
At Elimination Chamber, Lita will challenge for the RAW Women’s Champion when she faces Becky Lynch, in the Hall of Famer’s first singles match
in nearly a decade. According to the booking odds, Lynch is the heavy favourite to retain her title tomorrow night,
and that certainly seems more likely thanks to Lita’s comments with Sports Illustrated.
When asked about her match, the Hall of Famer said that she has no plans within WWE for anything after Elimination Chamber, which implies that she’ll come
up short in the upcoming title match. It wouldn’t make any sense for WWE to have Lita as champion on the same night her challenger will
be determined inside the Elimination Chamber, without Lita having any plans to compete at WrestleMania.
Lita’s return to WWE came at the Royal Rumble, and she’s stuck around longer than anyone who made their returns during the women’s Royal Rumble
match, but it appears that all of this will come to and end this Saturday in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Lita may not be leaving Elimination Chamber as the new RAW Women’s Champion, but that doesn’t mean the show will be predictable.
That’s at least according to Dave Meltzer, who on Wrestling Observer Radio said that a source within the company has promised some “twists and turns”
at tomorrow night’s event. Meltzer admitted that he doesn’t know what kind of twists and turns these are, but knows that
there is a push within WWE for Brock Lesnar to become WWE Champion inside the Elimination Chamber, setting up the title for title match at
WrestleMania with Roman Reigns. The veteran journalist did say that one twist could be for outside interference in the Men’s Chamber
match to cost Lesnar the opportunity, though we question why Roman Reigns would do that, as it would ultimately cost him the chance to become
WWE Champion and Universal Champion at WWE’s biggest event of the year. The Saudis pay WWE a fortune each time the
company comes to Saudi Arabia, and expects a huge show in return, and there could be plenty of surprises left on the road to WrestleMania.
And we’re ending today with Kairi Sane, who had a solid run in WWE, including reigns as NXT Women’s Champion and Women’s Tag Team Champion.
This month, Sane’s contract with WWE expired, after reports that it had expired much earlier, but the former Superstar hasn’t ruled out a return.
Speaking to Proresu Today in Japan, Sane said that she still maintains a good relationship with WWE, and that she’s grateful to the company for keeping her
in a role after she moved back to her home country. Sane returned to Japan in 2020 and had been an ambassador for the company in the nation,
but with WWE closing their official office in Japan and plans for an NXT Japan brand practically over, there was little reason to keep her around.
The Kabuki Warrior had been discussed for the 2022 Women’s Royal Rumble match, but that obviously didn’t take place, and while she’s
currently out of the company, don’t count out a possible return by Kairi Sane thanks to the good relationship she still has with WWE.