Here's your wrestling news for February 17th 2022
And your headlines for today include
WWE will treat Cody Rhodes as a ‘huge deal’ when he returns
Who’s next to leave AEW for WWE? Is a former World Champion coming home next?
Update on what Cody’s WWE return means for Brandi Rhodes
WWE Superstar ‘livid’ at hypocritical booking for the Men’s Royal Rumble match
AEW has changed their mind on signing former WWE Cruiserweight Champion
“My life has been constant 24/7 danger.” Current Champion explains hardships before coming to WWE
“The most insensitive company in the world!” WWE Hall of Famer lashes out following recent personal setback
Unique stipulation made for CM Punk-MJF rematch next month. And more
We’re kicking off today with Cody and Brandi Rhodes, who departed AEW earlier this week.
It had been known for some time that Cody had been working without a contract, and while it was expected he’d re-sign eventually,
it now seems much more likely he’ll return to WWE. On PW Torch, Wade Keller discussed the return
of Rhodes, and said that Vince McMahon has quote “big plans” for the former TNT Champion, who will be seen as a “huge deal” once he’s back on-screen
Keller added: Everybody I talked to thinks Vince loves the idea of acquiring a co-founder and EVP and,
you know, main event wrestler. He just held their secondary singles title not that long ago, and having him show
up on WWE TV is something that Vince is very interested in taking advantage of.
Keller added that he expects Cody to be part of WrestleMania 38, either as a wrestler or in his first appearance back for WWE.
There was a time when fans thought Cody would never be on WWE TV again, but fans used to say the same for the likes of Eric
Bischoff and Jeff Jarrett, and expect a major push for Rhodes whenever he next appears.
With Cody and Brandi leaving AEW, there's been speculation as to who could leave next, with many fans expecting Chris Jericho to jump ship soon.
It was mere days before the Rhodes announced their departure that Jericho teased a WWE return, promising to settle the store with Kevin Owens
on the five-year anniversary of the Festival of Friendship.
Despite this Jericho won't be leaving AEW anytime soon, as on Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer said that Jericho signed a
contract extension two years ago, and his current deal doesn't end until 2024.
In theory, Jericho could ask for an early release, but with Tony Khan losing two huge names already this week, we'd doubt he'd oblige.
It's known that AEW has a lot of contracts coming up this year, and Tony Khan has admitted that tough decisions will need to be made, but Chris Jericho
will remain All In with All Elite Wrestling.
Cody Rhodes is reportedly set to make a return to WWE, and a very sudden return at that, but it appears that same can’t be said for his wife Brandi.
Despite also leaving her role, both as an on-screen character and Chief Brand Officer of AEW, Brandi isn’t expected to join WWE, according to Justin
Brrasso of Sports Illustrated. The reports adds that Cody could be back with WWE as soon as this weekend, and many expect
him to be at the Performance Center training for his return. Barrasso notes that a key factor in Cody’s
decision to leave is that he lost a lot of control backstage, as he was originally part of AEW’s booking process, but Tony Khan, who serves
as company President and head of creative, has taken full control. Cody won’t have that same booking power in WWE,
but is expected to have a different relationship with Vince McMahon and the writers when he returns, in what could be the first of many to jump from AEW
to WWE.
At the Royal Rumble, Johnny Knoxville competed in the Men’s Rumble match, lasting just under a minute and a half before being eliminated by Sami Zayn.
Given that Knoxville’s appearance, and rumoured WrestleMania match with Zayn has taken a spot from a full-time WWE Superstar, its not hard to
see why some fans are unhappy about his involvement, and at least one name within WWE isn’t pleased either.
Sean Ross Sapp reports that one anonymous veteran Superstar, Is “livid” at WWE for allowing Knoxville to compete, as he’s previously suffered
brain haemorrhage. The Superstar finds it hypocritical that WWE will allow Knoxville wrestle despite his condition,
but forced Bryan Danielson into retirement for over two years after his concussions.
Danielson’s retirement only ended after he made an agreement with WWE to take regular tests after every match he had, and expects his current
contract with AEW to be his last as a full-time performer. Despite reports that Knoxville’s involvement with
WWE would end at the Rumble, it’s been rumored that he’ll face Zayn at WrestleMania, where it’ll be interesting to see just how long WWE allows him
to compete.
More from AEW now, as the company is home to plenty of former WWE Superstars, and now another may soon be in the company.
Since his release from WWE last year, Buddy Matthews has been looking for a new permanent home, with his name being rumoured
to be joining Impact Wrestling in the past, though that never happened. In September 2021, it was reported that AEW was
passing on signing the former Cruiserweight Champion, but things have changed as Fightful Select has learned that the promotion is now
extremely interested in bringing him in. It’s not quite clear just how far AEW has gotten in signing him, with some sources in the company
saying that the creative program for him has already been decided, with others saying that so far, AEW have only made pitches to Matthews,
and nothing has been confirmed. Whatever the case, AEW is clearly interested in the Australian Wrestler, who has competed for
MLW and New Japan since his release, and could very soon have a permanent spot in All Elite Wrestling.
Each week, Reggie amazes fans in WWE with his athleticism, thanks to his years as a circus performer before coming to the company.
A three-time and current 24/7 Champion, its no secret that Reggie worked for Cirque de Soleil before signing with WWE in 2020, but he’s now
opened up about some of the harder times in his life. Appearing on The Bump, Reggie said he’s
prepared his entire life for dodging and rolling, key parts of being 24/7 Champion, because he’s been avoiding problems his entire life. He explained:
“My life has been constant 24/7 chaos dodging danger, bullets, drugs , violence, well it's everything in my entire life. You know I am one
of 8 kids. My mum died when I was 2 and I never knew my dad, my grandmother raised all 8 of us and you can only imagine the struggle.”
Without parents to look-up to, Reggie said he nearly followed in the footsteps of his uncle, a gang member and drug-dealer, but was able to
keep on the straight and narrow. Now, Reggie has made it in WWE, and is cheered by millions of people around the world,
the world, and after overcoming all this, has proven to be a role model to those fans who support him each week.
Earlier this month, it was reported that Ric Flair had split from his partner Wendy Barlow, after several years together.
Though Flair often called her his wife, he’s also said the pair were never technically married, and now the Nature Boy is hitting out at WWE over this split.
On his podcast ‘Wooooo Nationn Uncensored’ Flair explained that “not one person from WWE called” him after news of his split with Barlow
was made public, and brandished the promotion “ the most insensitive company in the world.”
Despite this, Flair claimed he doesn’t resent WWE for nobody reaching out, and addethat he still has a great friendship with his ex-partner.
Flair chose to leave WWE in August last year, and has been a controversial figure ever since the VICE Dark Side of the Ring covered the Plane
Ride from Hell, and after the comments this week, a return to WWE seems even more unlikely.
And we’re ending with CM Punk, who is looking for revenge on the one man who’s beat him in AEW, MJF, and will have a unique stipulation for their rematch.
Opening up last night’s Dynamite, Punk confirmed that the rematch will happen at AEW Revolution on March 6th, and to make sure the Salt of the Earth
can’t get away, it’ll be a Dog Collar Match. This is the third match announced for Revolution, in addition to the Face of the Revolution ladder
match and the Triple-threat World Tag Title match, and time will tell if Punk can finally get his revenge on MJF.