Here's your wrestling news for January 22nd 2022
And your headlines for Afternoon include
Has WWE Given Away The Universal Title Match Result For The Royal Rumble?
Former AEW World Champion Referenced On Latest Smackdown !
Mustafa Ali Sends Message To WWE After Release Request Is Denied !
Smackdown Superstar Sends Controversial Tweet About Dead Celebrity, Instantly Regrets It !
Braun Strowman Reveals Future Plans Outside Of WWE !
Huge Moment Takes Place At Latest Impact Taping !
WWE Legend Confirmed To Be At The Royal Rumble !
RAW Superstar Defends Gunther’s Controversial Name Change !
Former WWE Writer Reveals Word That Hall Of Famer Was Banned From Saying!
WWE Could Face Another Lawsuit After Shocking Comments In Article !
The Rock Teases Appearance In AEW! And More !
We’re kicking off today with SmackDown, which was built around a RAW Superstar this week: Seth Rollins.
Bringin Kevin Owens with him, the pair were instantly thrust into the main event, a non-title match against SmackDown Tag Team Champions
the Usos with huge stipulations. If Rollins won, then the Usos would be barred from ringside for his upcoming Universal title
match with Roman Reigns, but if the Usos emerged victorious, this title match would’ve been cancelled.
The second situation was never going to happen, especially as when you look at the SmackDown roster, and the need by WWE to bring Rollins
over, it’s clear there’s a severe lack of credible contenders for the Tribal Chief on team Blue. Sure enough, Rollins and Owens won, but only
DQ, as when the Visionary was on the verge of a victory, Reigns appeared to attack his Shield brother, giving him the DQ win.
Now, the Usos are barred from ringside, and there’s a few things WWE hinted at with this result. First, it appears that Rollins is playing two roles in
WWE, as a heel on RAW and face on SmackDown, which is a testament to his skills as a character
Second, Rollins does have multiple wins over Reigns, including dethroning him as WWE Champion in 2016, and could do exactly the same
next weekend. Third, and most important of all, is that Rollins could indeed be the one to end the Universal
title reign of the Tribal Chief, who has already broken Brock Lesnar’s record. It was last week that Reigns surpassed 503 days
as Champion, the record held by Lesnar, and typically when a record is broken, WWE doesn’t have the new record holder remain champion
for much longer. When the New Day broke Demolition’s record as the longest reigning WWE Tag Champions
they lost the gold almost immediately, allowing WWE to have a new team break the record if needed down the line.
Should Rollins be the one to end Reigns’ time as Universal Champion, then it’ll free the Tribal Chief to challenge Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania,
assuming the Beast doesn’t lose the WWE title to Bobby Lashley, and this week’s SmackDown proved that WWE is at least considering
bringing the epic run of the Head of the Table to an end.
Rollins didn’t just have an impressive showing in the ring, but he also had some choice words to say during his opening promo.
Speaking about their time in the Shield, Rollins said Reigns was carried by the other two members, and referenced AEW’s Jon Moxley.
Not only did he reference the former AEW World Champion, but Rollins referred to him as ‘Mox’ rather than by his WWE name Dean Ambrose.
It’s believed that this line must’ve been approved by Vince McMahon himself, as typically, WWE will use their own names no matter what, rather than use
a name one of their ex-Superstars can use outside the company. For what it’s worth, there has been some
speculation that Moxley will be in this year’s Men’s Rumble Match, despite reports that there’ll be no AEW talent walking through WWE’s
Forbidden Door, but that didn’t stop Rollins referencing one of the All-Elite promotion’s very top wrestlers.
Last weekend, Mustafa Ali requested his release from WWE, a request that has been denied by the company.
During discussions between the two sides, the term “value” was overheard by sources within the company, and now Ali has once again issued
statement against the company. On Instagram, the SmackDown Superstar shared an image from 2008 Batman movie ‘The Dark
Knight’ where Heath Ledger’s Joker is seen burning a mountain of cash. In the scene, the Joker says how what he’s
doing isn’t about money, but about sending a message, a similar sentiment to Ali’s own attitude.
In his initial request, Ali said he has a message, one he feels he can’t share whilst employed by WWE, and although the company have denied
his request, no amount of money will make Ali give up on his plans.
Yesterday, the music world lost Meat Loaf, as the American singer and actor died aged 74, on a day when Louie Anderson also passed away.
Meat Loaf didn’t make many WWE appearances, but he did appear once and took an RKO back in 2010, and WWE sent out a tweet offering
their condolences. Shotzi Blackheart fired off a tweet of her own, but one that earned her significant backlash,
as after hearing the news, she said that she’d eaten meatloaf last night.
This joke was seen as far too soon, and after a series of replies criticising her, Shotzi deleted this tweet.
Shotzi did delete her tweet, but thanks to screenshots, nothing really disappears from social media, and we imagine the SmackDown
Superstar will think carefully the next time she hears of a celebrity’s passing.
When WWE released Adam Scherr in June 2021, his departure came out of nowhere, and fans speculated on where he’d sign to.
We know that Impact Wrestling tried to sign the former Braun Strowman in time for their Bound for Glory event, and that he appeared at Ring of Honor’s
Final Battle last December, but this won’t lead to anything long-term. In an interview with CBS Sports, Scherr discussed
his future plans in the ring, and said that ge’s not looking for any lengthy, long-term deals with any promotions, because he wants to enjoy his
time and wrestling. Scherr added that spending eight straight years in WWE took a toll on him, and he’s
making up for lost time by competing in as many promotions as he chooses. Calling it a “reset” on his career, only time will
tell where Scherr shows up next, but wherever he goes, he won’t be sticking around for the long haul.
We’ve got some news from Impact Wrestling next, as a huge title change has happened during their latest taping.
This result hasn’t been aired yet, so if you want to avoid spoilers, we recommend skipping the next 30 seconds of this video.
At the latest tapings in Pembroke Pines, Florida, Matt Cardona became the second-ever Impact Digital Media Champion, defeating Jordynne Grace
Those who attended live said that Cardona was hesitant to hit moves on Grace, until a moment where he snapped, and used a steel chair
before hitting Radio Silence to get the win. This marks Cardona’s first title with Impact, and comes years after he set up his own Internet
title, and we’ll have to see how the former WWE Superstar does with his newly-won gold.
Back to WWE, as The Undertaker last competed at WrestleMania 36, defeating AJ Styles in the universally acclaimed Boneyard match.
The Deadman has made just one appearance in character for WWE since then, appearing in the recent WWE 2K22 commercial, but the former
WWE Champion may be donning his hat and trenchcoat very soon. According to the latest report from PW Insider,
the Undertaker will be present for this month’s Royal Rumble, which’ll take place this time next week.
The report didn’t specify what role, if any, the Phenom will have, but he’ll certainly be on hand to support his wife Michelle McCool, who’ll be
competing in the Women’s Royal Rumble match. As to whether he’ll compete himself, there are spots left in this year’s Men’s Rumble match
and having the Undertaker, who won the bout in 2007, compete, would certainly make headlines for WWE.
Some online have suggested that the Deadman will be on hand to be confirmed as a 2022 WWE Hall of Fame inductee, as WrestleMania 38 will be
happening in his native Texas, and we’ll only know for sure what the plan is next Saturday at the Royal Rumble.
Ever since WALTER’s announced his new name of Gunther on this week’s NXT 2.0, the change has been met with backlash from fans.
Not only have audiences been outspoken about the Gunther Stark controversy, but many fans believed any name-change simply wasn’t
necessary, but there are some who are on board. On Twitter, Finn Balor defended changing WALTER’s name to Gunther, saying that at first
everyone hated the name Finn as well. Before coming to WWE, Balor made his name as Prince Devitt, and although it took some fans
some time, the Irish Superstar has made Finn Balor into a household name. Ultimately, it’s WWE’s decision what they call the
former United Kingdom Champion, and ever despite mass backlash, we expect big things from Gunther in NXT 2.0.
One man who knows a thing or two about names is Glenn Jacobs, who after stints as the Christmas Creature, Isaac Yankem and Fake Diesel
eventually found fame as Kane. Initially a silent character managed by Paul Bearer, Kane eventually began speaking for
himself, but there’s some things the Big Red Machine was banned from ever saying. That’s according to Freddie Prinze Jr, who
this week on his podcast, discussed a promo he wrote for Kane, who was going to destroy his opponent, until Vince McMahon stepped in.
Prinze explained: “He [McMahon] was pissed off at me like I’ve done something, not wrong, but offensive.
I go ‘What?’ and he shouts, he goes ‘Kane would never say destroyed. He would say obliterate!’ There’s this long pause. A very long pause.”
Sure enough, the promo was changed and whilst Kane would go have an incredibly successful career, holding world titles and earning his
Hall of Fame induction, the one thing he never did was destroy his opponents.
Back to the present, as Bianca Belair has become a top name on WWE’s main roster, winning both the Women’s Royal Rumble and SmackDown
Women’s Title in 2021. So far, Belair has spent most of her career as a singles star, but was nearly part of one of
WWE’s most beloved recent stables. On After the Bell, MVP said he’s had discussions, both with Belair and creative, about the former
SmackDown Women’s Champion joining the Hurt Business, as WWE felt the group needed a female to compete in the women’s division on their behalf.
The Hurt Business has split up twice now, and is unlikely to get back together, but that doesn’t mean that MVP could one day find himself
managing Belair, and given his record, he’d almost certainly lead her to championship gold.
In a recent article from the Toronto Star, WWE had some harsh words to say about AEW, calling the competition to gory to work in the 21st Century
Speaking about the New Year’s Smash Rampage Street Fight which saw Anna Jay and Tay Conti defeat Penelope Ford and the Bunny, WWE called
the match “gory self-mutilation,” a line that the women involved have taken in stride.
These wrestlers may be proud of the match, but WarnerMedia is far from happy, as the Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that the company
are mad at WWE about the quote. WarnerMedia officials see the quote given by WWE as a personal attack against their company
and an attempt to hurt their advertising sales from WWE. WWE is already in a lawsuit with MLW,
who claim that Vince McMahon’s company has tampered with their business by threatening Tubi and VICE, and if WWE aren’t too careful
with what they say, they may be in another courtroom with WarnerMedia.
And we’re ending today with The Rock, who hasn’t had an official match since his 6-second victory over Erick Rowan at WrestleMania 32
in 2016. Since then, WWE has hoped for one last match by the Brahma Bull, ideally against his cousin
Roman Reigns, but the Great One could always work elsewhere. When a fan tweeted the Rock, showing his son
playing with action figures of Rock and Cody Rhodes, the former WWE Champion joked that he’s doing the job to Cody, but is happy to do it.
In AEW, Cody has earned a reputation for going over some promising stars, including Sammy Guevara, Anthony Ogogo and Orange Cassidy
and even the Brahma Bull realises what lies in store for him should he ever be All-Elite.