Here's more wrestling news for February 22nd 2022
And your headlines for Afternoon include
Update on Bobby Lashley. Will he miss WrestleMania 38?
WWE has new policy for their creative team when it comes to pitching WrestleMania matches
WWE teases Cody Rhodes return on RAW. Celebrity returns instead
WWE Hall of Famer set for in-ring return next month
Huge Championship match could change WWE’s WrestleMania main event plans!
Why did WWE cut the SmackDown Tag Team Title match from Elimination Chamber?
The Rock’s XFL announces huge partnership with the NFL
NWA World Heavyweight Champion Matt Cardona says he’ll defend against top AEW wrestler And more!
We’re kicking off with Bobby Lashley, who lost his WWE Championship at Elimination Chamber without being pinned.
Instead, Lashley was taken out of the Men’s Chamber match and WWE reported that he’d suffered a concussion, when he’s in fact been dealing with
shoulder injury he suffered at the Royal Rumble.
We now have an update on the Almighty, as PW Insider reports that Lashley is currently in Birmingham, Alabama visiting WWE’s doctors.
Birmingham has become the place to go when WWE Superstars need surgery, which isn’t a good sign for Lashley, and reports add that his shoulder is being
checked by doctors at the Andrew Sports Medicine and Orthopedic Center. If Lashley does need surgery, he’s guaranteed to
miss WrestleMania, and it’s highly likely that he will, and we’re continuing to wish the two-time former WWE Champion the best on his road to recovery.
WrestleMania will very likely have to go on without Bobby Lashley on the card, which may explain WWE’s attitude when putting the show together.
We already know some matches for this year’s two-night event, including the Winner Takes All main event and the RAW and SmackDown
Women’s Championship matches, but some of the card still needs to be decided.
Ringside News has learned that WWE currently has “no limitations” for their creative team, and that anything can be pitched at this point.
One source within WWE said that something as absurd as Hulk Hogan Vs. Linda McMahon could be pitched, adding that “nothing is off the table.”
Just because something is pitched, it doesn’t mean it’ll happen, as Vince McMahon has the ultimate say, and some storylines may never be mentioned
again after being pitched
With just weeks away from WrestleMania, it’s interesting that the entire show hasn’t already been confirmed months in advance, but we’ll just
have to wait and see which ideas make it to WrestleMania and which ideas don’t.
One name we can confirm will be at WrestleMania is Logan Paul, who’ll be making his in-ring wrestling debut this April.
During a Miz TV segment last night, the former WWE Champion brought out the YouTuber/Boxer and confirmed that they’ll team up to face the
Mysterios at WrestleMania 38. The Miz did have some fun with his announcement, as when he said his partner comes from a
fighting family and is ‘Dashing’ many assumed it would be Cody Rhodes, who’s rumored to return to WWE very soon.
The pair ended their segment by attacking Rey and Dominik, and Paul looked very capable against the Ultimate Underdog and his son.
It had been previously reported that WWE was looking to bring Logan Paul back, believing that he had proved himself last year during Sami Zayn’s f
feud with Kevin Owens. That feud ultimately saw Paul take a stuner by the Priefighter and though some fans aren’t
on board with the idea of bringing the YouTuber back, Logan Paul is once again n the road to WrestleMania.
Now, last year, Rob Van Dam was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, after an incredible career in and outside the company.
While many see the Hall of Fame as the definitive end of their wrestling career, RVD doesn’t feel that way, as he’ll be making his in-ring return next month.
The former WWE and ECW World Champion will be competing at Over The Top Wrestling’s Scrappermania event, which’ll take place in Dublin,
Ireland on March 12th. Other WWE alum on the show include Jordan Devlin, who’ll compete in the main event world title
match, Shane Strickland, formerly Isaiah ‘Swerve Scott’ and Scotty 2 Hotty. Scrappermania will mark RVD’s first singles match
in nearly two years, as his last came back in September 2020 for Impact Wrestling, in what’ll be a huge night for the fans in Dublin.
Back to WWE now, as WWE Champion Brock Lesnar will defend his title against Universal Champion Roman Reigns in a colossal Winner Takes All Match
at WrestleMania.
It’s arguably the biggest main event in WrestleMania history, but Lesnar may not enter AT&T Stadium as WWE Champion.
On RAW, it was confirmed that Lesnar will have to defend his WWE Championship next week on March 5th, inside Madison Square Graden.
Interestingly, Paul Heyman announced that Lesnar will be defending the WWE Championship against Bobby Lashley, saying the Almighty will be cleared
for the match, but if not, a suitable replacement will be just a big a challenge to the Beast Incarnate.
At this time, there’s no word on who Lesnar’s opponent will be, as all signs have pointed to the fact that Lashley won’t be cleared to compete
next week, and in all likelihood, won’t be cleared for several months. With WrestleMania getting ever closer, it’s unlikely
that WWE would do a title change this close to their Winner Takes All main event, but this impromptu title match has made for an interesting stop
on the road to Dallas.
Now, at Elimination Chamber, a SmackDown Tag Team Championship match between The Usos and the Viking Raiders was meant to happen, but the bout never
took place. Instead, the Usos attacked the Raiders during their entrance, leading to the match being called off,
leaving fans wondering why plans were changed. It turns out that the plans at Elimination Chamber weren’t changed, as WWE always intended
on the Usos attacking the Viking Raiders before the match, though it’s unclear why WWE announced the match in the first place.
WWE’s plan is no to have the tag-title match on SmackDown, though it could always be pushed back until WrestleMania 38.
Despite being one of the top teams in recent years, The Viking Raiders have never held the SmackDown Tag Team Championships, and if the plan is
for Erik and Ivar to dethrone the Usos, they’ll just have to keep waiting for the right moment.
XFL news now, as after two failed runs by Vince McMahon, the football league will return next year with Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson running the show.
The Brahma Bull is certainly hoping that it’ll be third time’s the charm for the XFL, and he’s going to have some help from his biggest competition.
ESPN reports that the XFL and NFL have entered into an agreement, where the leagues will collaborate on player safety and game innovation.
In a tweet from the XFL account, it was said that working with the NFL will allow them to create “increased player development opportunities
on and off the field.” The Rock’s business partner Dany Garcia has said she doesn’t see a situation where the XFL
will have any sort of talent exchange with the NFL, and time will tell if Garcia and The Rock can finaly make the XFL work, now with the backing of the NFL.
And we’re ending today with news from Matt Cardona, who has been on a roll since his release from WWE.
With runs in AEW, Impact, GCW and most recently the NWA, the one-time WWE Jobber has become one of the hottest stars over the past two years
, and captured the NWA World’s Heavyweight Championship earlier this month.
The former Zack Ryder is yet to put his 10 pounds of gold on the line, but he has a specific opponent in mind for his first title defence.
Responding to a fan on Twitter, Cardona said he’ll defend his NWA World Championship against Sting, a former two-time holder of the title.
Neither Sting, nor Tony Khan, who was tagged by the fan, have responded to the challenge, but we imagine the AEW President would love to have
one of his top stars carry the NWA World title once more. We imagine there’d be plenty of negotiations
between AEW and the NWA should Sting agree to the challenge, but it may be a matter of time before arguably the most iconic World championship
of pro-wrestling is defended on AEW programming.