Here's your wrestling ews for january 10th 2022
And Your Headlines for today include
WWE’s Forbidden Door Is Opening Again! Company In Talks With Rival For Crossover Production !
Paige Responds To Rumours Of Women’s Royal Rumble 4 Years After Her Last Match !
Worrying Updates On Ring Of Honor As Details Of Contracted Wrestlers Comes Out !
AEW Wrestler Explains Lengthy Absence Following Reports That Company Is Looking To Release Him !
RAW Superstar Reveals Shocking Name She Was Almost Given By WWE !
“I See Why It Was Tone-Deaf” Cody Rhodes Never Wants To Face AEW Wrestler After Awful Angle Last Year !
Former Smackdown Women’s Champion Rules Out Returning At The Royal Rumble. ! And More !
We’re kicking off today with WWE, who shocked everyone last week by announcing that Mickie
James will be in this month’s Women’s Royal Rumble match, despite being
the reigning Impact Knockouts World Champion.
Traditionally, WWE has always opposed working with other companies, but it appears things are
different now, and Impact aren’t the only company on Vince McMahon’s radar.
According to a source who spoke to Ringside News, WWE has been in discussions with AEW about
future projects, and these negotiations are happening between Tony Khan and John Lauriniatis.
The source added that the two have been getting along well so far, and that one idea being
discussed is for AEW talent to feature in WWE produced biographies.
No exact names were stated, but the logical choices are ex-WWE talent that are now in AEW, such as
Chris Jericho, Jon Moxley, JR, Cody Rhodes and more.
With so many former Superstars in AEW, it’s hardly surprising that WWE wants some big names for
biographies, but this is still a huge step for both promotions.
It wasn’t noted if there’s any discussions at the moment for AEW talent to wrestle in a WWE ring,
but as Impact Knockouts World Champion Mickie James will prove later this month, anything is possible in 2022.
James isn’t the only big name returning for the Women’s Rumble, as The Bella Twins, Kelly Kelly,
Lita, Michelle McCool and Summer Rae will also be making a comeback.
One name who hasn’t been announced, at least not yet is Paige, but many fans have been vocal
about wanting to see the former Divas Champion have one last match.
On Twitter, Paige didn’t confirm or deny an appearance in this year’s Women’s Rumble, but did say
that it’s incredible to see people miss seeing her wrestle, four years after her last match.
Paige’s last match was back at a December 2017 Live event, where she suffered a concussion that
would ultimately force her to retire the next year.
It’s been believed for years that Paige would never wrestle again, but people used to say the same about
Bryan Danielson, Edge and Nikki Bella, so perhaps the British Superstar could finally have that one last run later this month.
Ring of Honor news now, as December’s Final Battle was the last show for the promotion before they went on a long hiatus.
ROH officials have said they will be back this Spring with a fresh approach, but If
that happens they’ll have to do so with a much different roster.
It was previously reported that a ton of contracts were set to expire in December last year,
with some carrying on into 2022, but now these deals have been ended early.
Mike Bennett, Beer City Bruiser, Josh Woods, Rhett Titus, Danhausen and Brian Milonas were all on contracts set to
expire on March 31st, but Fightful Select reports they’ve all been grated their releases and are now free agents.
It’s also reported that ROH World Champion Jonathan Greshem is now a free agent, but plans on
defending his Ring of Honor World title and remains loyal to the company
With so many names in ROH now free agents, the future remains uncertain, as despite officials insisting that
the company will be back this year, many people believe they’ve seen the end of Ring of Honor.
Recently, we reported on Marko Stunt, who it’s believed won’t be having his AEW contract renewed when it expires.
After all, Stunt hasn’t been on TV in quite some time, and didn’t celebrate with Jurrassic Express during last week’s
World Tag Team Title win, with his role as the third man of the group being usurped by Christian Cage.
Now, Stunt has addressed his absence on Twitter, as he claims that him trying to get on The Voice
has kept him especially busy as of late.
Stunt added that things have been weird lately, but didn’t specify how they’ve been weird,
and went on to thank the fans for all their support.
It’s been noted that while AEW doesn’t want to release talent, to set them apart from WWE, that doesn’t mean
nobody’s jobs are at risk, and they could easily chose not to re-sign Stunt whenever his contract next expires.
We’re not sure just how sending off an audition for the Voice could keep Stunt away for the extended
absence he’s been on, but AEW could get some serious exposure if one of their stars was on the hit show.
That’ll only happen if Stunt’s submission for the show is accepted, and if his contract doesn’t
expire first, as the clock is ticking for the young wrestler.
Back to WWE, and ever since the Riott Squad split, Liv Morgan has made a name for herself as a
singles star, most recently taking RAW Women’s Champion Becky Lynch to the limit.
Morgan is quickly becoming a big name on the red brand, but that name could’ve
been much different according to Liv herself.
Speaking to Inside the Ropes, Morgan opened up about the start of her career, and said that one
name originally pitched to her would’ve made her the sibling of another WWE Superstar at the time:
I show up to TV one day at Full Sail for NXT taping and they pulled me aside and they were like,
‘Alright, you’re either Liv Morgan or you’re ‘Liv Gallows. I was like, I guess I pick ‘Liv Morgan.’
Calling her Liv Gallows was an interesting idea, as WWE already had Luke Gallows, but Liv didn’t explain
whether she would’ve had some sort of on-screen role with the former RAW Tag Team Champion.
Now, Gionna Daddio is making a name for herself as Liv Morgan, but we wonder how things
would’ve been had Liv Gallows been what WWE had picked.
When AEW was founded, Cody Rhodes established himself as a babyface, and has said he will always
remain a babyface for the rest of his career.
This is despite a hostile response from fans, and things weren’t helped last year when the three-time
TNT Champion began a feud with Anthony Ogogo.
Facing off against the black Olympic bronze medalist, Rhodes very quickly made the angle about
race, and had a promo about racism and the birth of his bi-racial daughter, an in famous weigh-in
segment, before a match at Double or Nothing which Rhodes would win.
Appearing on the Rasslin’ podcast, Rhodes discussed the angle with Ogogo, and admitted he regrets
nearly everything about how it was executed:
I thought the intentions were good. However, a white guy talking about race relations, who has an
American flag tattoo on his neck, I can see why people would use the term, 'tone deaf'
At the time, it was reported that Rhodes’ promo about racism had been workshopped by a focus
group, which didn’t earn Cody any more fans with AEW’s audience, especially as Ogogo had shown
little to any anti-American sentiment until that point.
Rhodes added that there was a rematch planned, and that he was going to cut more promos in the
UK, but that obviously didn’t happen, as AEW is yet to host shows across the pond.
There may have been plans for more in this angle, but the reigning TNT Champion now says he never
wants to think about this storyline again, and given the response at the time and now, that’s probably for the best.
And we’re ending today with Bayley, who suffered a horrific injury last year while training at the
Performance Center, and has had to undergo reconstructive knee surgery.
During her absence, the former SmackDown Women’s Champion has remained active on social media,
and with the Women’s Royal Rumble approaching, some are wondering whether her return could happen in the 30-woman match.
When a fan made it clear they want to see Bayley in the Rumble, she fired back in character, saying
that the fans want a lot from her, never stopping to think what she wants
At the time of her injury in July 2021, it was said that Bayley will need 9 months off to recover, meaning she
won’t be back until early April, so don’t expect to see the former Women’s Champion make a return later this month.