Here is your news for January 7, 2020
We're starting off with some huge news from this week's Monday Night RAW, as WWE
Champion Brock Lesnar made his return to the red brand.
Appearing in Oklahoma City alongside Paul Heyman, Lesnar's advocate said that there
is no-one worthy of facing the Beast for the title at this month's Royal Rumble, so
Lesnar has inserted himself in the Men's Rumble match.
Not only that, but Lesnar has chosen to enter at the dreaded number 1 slot, meaning
that the Beast, who has had plenty of short matches in the past, will have to go the
distance if he hopes to win.
A victory for the Beast at the Rumble would give him a shot at the Fiend's Universal
title at WrestleMania, as it seems Lesnar is hoping to make history, being the first man
to hold both belts simultaneously.
From one Champion to two more now, as this week's edition of Monday Night RAW
also saw tensions boil over between RAW Women's Champion Becky Lynch and
Women's Tag Team Champion Asuka, mere weeks ahead of their title match for the Man's gold.
In the ring, Lynch spoke about how she had refused to sign a contract with WWE until
she had her match with Asuka guaranteed but was quickly interrupted by the Empress herself.
The only woman Lynch has failed to beat, Asuka certainly seemed confident as she
sneered at The Man in Japanese, but that smug grin quickly vanished when Lynch
dropped her with a stiff right.
Sending the Kabuki Warrior from the ring, Lynch certainly seems confident, though
fans should remember her failed attempts to defeat the Empress on Pay Per View,
meaning fans could be looking at Asuka Two Belts at the Royal Rumble.
We're next looking at some romance news from WWE, and viewers will be pleased to
hear it's not from the Rusev and Lana angle.
Instead, we're looking back to WrestleMania 33 where John Cena proposed to Nikki Bella,
but after the pair called their Mexican wedding off, it seems both have moved on.
Recently, Nikki revealed that she is set to marry Artem Chigvinstev from Dancing with
the Stars, and according to Hollywood Life, Cena is very happy for his ex and her
fiance. They wrote:
“He is very happy that she has found someone that treats her so amazingly well. Nikki
was an extremely important part of John’s life so it does remind him of what they had
and he is also reminded of his proposal to her at WrestleMania a few years ago but he
also has thought that they have both grown from their relationship and they both have moved on.”
Another report from Hollywood Life says that Cena and Nikki are quote "on great
terms" and "he wants nothing but the best for her," in this new relationship.
As for the 16-time WWE World Champion, Cena is now with Shay Shariatzedeh, who
he met whilst shooting his movie Playing with Fire, which is in theatres at the moment.
Nikki has previously stated in interviews that she told Cena about any date she went
on, but he was not as candid after meeting Shay in Canada.
Time will tell where these relationships will go from here, but for now, things seem to
be going great, both for the former WWE World Champion, and the longest ever
reigning Divas Champion as well.
Back to RAW now, and though we've already mentioned that Brock Lesnar announced
himself for the Royal Rumble, he wasn't the only Superstar to make his intentions clear
During the three-hour show, Drew McIntyre kept his winning streak alive, as he
crushed No Way Jose, who joins Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder as the Scotsman's victims.
Post-match, McIntyre declared for the Men’s Royal Rumble Match, looking to earn the
first World Title challenge of his WWE career, whilst also lamenting that he has never
held a World title, or even had the opportunity to contend for one.
It wasn't too long ago that many fans considered McIntyre a guaranteed future World
Champion, though those same fans also said the same about Braun Strowman, who is
still yet to win a singles title on the main roster.
As one of the most gifted stars on RAW, McIntyre can easily be considered a dark
horse to win the entire match, and it may be just a matter of time before the Scottish
Psychopath crosses paths with our beastly WWE Champion, this time in the main
event of WrestleMania 36.
One Superstar who hasn't been doing as well recently though is Jeff Hardy, who is still
dealing with issues stemming from his DUI arrest last year.
Hardy will have another hearing about his case on January 13th, and with that in mind,
there doesn't seem to be any plans for an in-ring return.
PW Insider is reporting that Jeff's contract with WWE will not expire at the same time
as his brother Matt, and the report reads:
“We are told that WWE has pushed Hardy to address his personal health in the wake
of the arrest and Hardy has been working hard at doing so, which is a great thing.”
In the past, WWE has added any time missed onto the end of a Superstar’s contract,
often meaning stars stay long after their contracts are supposed to expire.
For now, the Charismatic Enigma's contract is frozen so he can focus on himself, as its
clear he needs to work out his legal issues, whilst also trying to heal from his damaged
knee, that has kept him on the shelf.
From a wrestler with a past of substance abuse issues, to the Straight Edge Superstar
now, as CM Punk has once again denied a return to the ring, this time in a strange way.
On Twitter, one fan questioned their followers about whether they'd want to see Punk
wrestle 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin in Saudi Arabia, and asked fans who don't want to
see the match to like, and those who do to retweet.
Though the tweet got a fair amount of correspondence, we doubt the fan actually
expected Punk to get involved, as he liked the tweet, meaning he doesn't want to be a
part of this dream match.
We’re not clear whether CM Punk doesn’t want to face Steve Austin, wrestle in Saudi
Arabia, or wrestle at all. Something about the question definitely seemed to cause
Punk to speak his mind by clicking a button.
Back in the ring now, and as a publicly-traded company, the WWE always goes out of
its way to make sure that they present a certain image on television meaning if they
see a sign that they don’t like then it has to go.
Recently, one fan was able to sneak a sign in that said #83Weeks on it, and though the
sign didn't mention anyone by name, fans will recognize 83 weeks as the amount of
time WCW beat WWE in the Monday Night Wars, and it's also the name of Eric
Bischoff's podcast.
On Twitter, the fan spoke about how his sign was confiscated, and so was a sign
promoting a local indie company in Memphis. He wrote:
“He just said, ‘hey 83 weeks. I gotta take that sign.’ I was like wtf u serious? He was like, ‘yep.'”
“Guy in front of me had his sign taken as well. All it said was 901 wrestling! 901 is the
Memphis area code!! So stupid.”
WWE has a lot of people watching their shows and they don’t want to provide free
advertising for anyone, and that rule apparently expands to mentioning projects that
involve the disgraced former SmackDown Executive Director.
Back to the ring now, and ever since his wife revealed her affair with Bobby Lashley,
fans have come to learn a lot about Rusev.
One tidbit of information fans recently picked up about the Bulgarian Brute is that he
is a patient man, as he waited inside their wedding cake to attack the Destroyer last week.
While speaking to Booker T’s Hall Of Fame podcast, Rusev revealed that he was in that
oversized wedding cake for half an hour, but it was worth the wait as the final RAW of
the previous decade ended in a huge way. He said:
“I was in that cake for about 30 minutes. I kind of ribbed myself because as soon as I
got in, five minutes later I was drenched in sweat. You have no idea how hot that cake
was. If I was back to 310 (pounds), it would have been impossible to fit in the cake. Call
it fate or whatever you want that I was able to lose the weight so now I was able to fit in
When I was able to get in there is a tricky question because the lady who made it is
a huge Rusev Day fan.”
“Thanks to her and her helpers, they were able to sneak me in when the timing was
right. That’s what happens when you’re a Rusev Day fan. We find ways to help each
other. The cake was in two parts. There was no way anyone was going to have a
bigger cake than Lana. That backfired for her. If it was a regular cake, I would not have
been able to pop out. Lana wanted the hugest cake.”
With 2019 behind him, Rusev will now look to 2020, as WWE attempts to put all of the
pieces together that were strewn all over the RAW stage last week.
Who knows when the former United States Champion will need to hide for an
extended period of time next, but hopefully if it happens again, he will be more comfortable
After last week's wedding, Bobby Lashley and Lana were not in a good mood on RAW
this week and though the pair did tie the knot in a much quieter ceremony this week,
the couple's proverbial honeymoon isn't getting off to a great start.
Interrupting the happy couple via satellite, Rusev gave them the gift of a wedding
album, that featured last week's humiliating situation, that left his ex-wife in hysterics.
To defend his blushing bride, Lashley challenged Rusev to a match next week, and
though Rusev accepted, one person who was conspicuous by her absence was Liv
Morgan, who made her shocking return last week during the wedding, revealing a
relationship between her and the Ravishing Russian.
In a post-show segment though the former Riott squad member said that Rusev may
need someone in his corner next week to cancel out Lana, so fans can expect to see
this new side of Morgan back on RAW next week.
Another week of RAW meant another Erick Rowan match, as once again, a local talent
felt the wrath of the former Wyatt family member.
This week, it was KJ Orso's time to feel the pain, and though Rowan handily defeated
him, the former SmackDown Tag Champion seemed more open to showing other
people what he has been carrying in his pen for the past few months.
After showing Mojo Rawley backstage, an act that left the Andre the Giant battle royal
winner shaken, Rowan also showed Orso, which similarly caused a shocked reaction
from him, and also left the enhancement talent covered in a strange red liquid.
Whatever's in that pen is still anybody's guess, but it looks like we’re getting closer and
closer to the day where we finally find out.
This week's show also saw not one, but two title matches open up the new year, as
Andrade defeated Rey Mysterio to retain the United States Gold.
Later on, in the night, the Viking Raiders were able to retain their RAW Tag Team titles
against both the Street Profits and the OC, though Gallows and Anderson's pal AJ
Styles had much better luck.
Facing off against Akira Tozawa, the Phenomenal One channeled his inner Apex
Predator, hitting a middle-rope DDT and an impressive RKO to end the match, as well
as send a message to Randy Orton, who he'll face next week.
After Charlotte Flair defeated Sarah Logan en route to being in the Women's Royal
Rumble, and Aleister Black defeated Shelton Benjamin, only to be attacked by Buddy
Murphy after the bell, it was time for a huge 6-Man Tag main event.
After weeks of being assaulted by Seth Rollins and the Authors of Pain, Kevin Owens
and Samoa Joe were hungry for revenge and promised a big surprise as their mystery
partner for that match.
That big surprise ended up being the Big Show, who made his return to the ring, after
over a year away.
Perhaps realizing the monumental task on his hands, Rollins chose to take the DQ loss
after hitting Show with a chair, though it would be Owens, Joe and Show would have
the last laugh, as the World’s Largest Athlete downed the Architect with a KO punch
post-match.
Despite Show's last match taking place on the November 20th, 2018 edition of
SmackDown, the seven-footer didn't show any signs of ring rust, and we can't help but
wonder what will happen next for the former World Champion, as the road to
WrestleMania draws near.