Here is your news for January 23, 2020.
We're starting off today with some news from the late Rocky Johnson, as the WWE
Hall of Famer has been laid to rest.
Though the world has mourned the passing of the Soul man, the funeral did have
some drama, according to Superstar Billy Graham, and Devon 'Hannibal Nicholson'.
The pair are claiming that during the service, Vince McMahon and Pat Patterson were
disrespectful to the late Johnson, which caused people to get upset at them, and in a
now-deleted Facebook post, Graham claims that "Patterson described the former Tag
Champion with some very unkind language. He said:
out of nowhere Patterson goes into this rant and called Rocky Johnson, lying dead in
the casket right below him, a mother F-er and started this vulgar rant about how
worthless Rocky was and a bunch of guys had to drag Patterson off the church
platform and sit him down.”
“Patterson who just turned 81 must be losing his mind literally. Only in pro wrestling
folks, very sad to hear about this and I actually feel a bit ill over this bizarre behavior.”
Nicholson said everything that he has heard so far on his YouTube channel, claiming:
“I’ve asked around some other people that were there. I won’t mention their names.
Billy Graham said that Vince and Pat were very rude on the podium. This other person
who I spoke to said he wasn’t really going to defend what Vince did.”
“Pat apparently said ‘goddamn’ a few times in the church, and he said the word ‘sh*t.’
The exact speech of Pat’s that Billy Graham alleged Pat was escorted off the stage.
Now I guess we’ll find out more as more people come out that were at the funeral.
From the people I spoke to they said that there was some drama.”
“There was frustration that I guess the preacher spoke for more than an hour and was
very negative toward professional wrestling. So, Pat and Vince’ attitudes on the stage
may have had to do with the preacher who — this is not a joke — but, apparently
some people were saying he is acting like wrestling was fake and more of a joke.”
“Also, the funeral was supposed to take place at a much smaller place in front of only
about one hundred friends and close family members, but it was moved to a massive
church and there was a lot of people there.”
We'll have to see if anyone was recording the speeches of Vince McMahon and Pat
Patterson that apparently ruffled some feathers, but the sermon going long and the
pastor's attitude to pro wrestling probably didn't help the congregation.
In a second video by Hannibal, the indie star had a letter from Harry Smith, who was
too busy at the time to talk, but could confirm what had happened:
“He said lots of people could confirm this because lots of people are asking him what happened.”
“He said: ‘I think Vince and Pat were really strange or they were drunk, or they were a
bit of both probably. Pat’s microphone got cut off because he was talking so long at
the funeral. Pat’s ending line was: ‘Last night I was drunk, and I was drinking water or
what I thought was in the sink and then the toilet seat fell on my head.'”
“‘Vince said: ‘Rocky Johnson was a great wrestler, but the greatest thing he ever did
was marry Ata and Ata had some kids.’ Then he walked out of the building.”
“‘Vince strutted on and off the stage like he was doing a promo. He looked like he
really shrunk too’ — I assume he means in size. Harry goes on to say ‘Vince and Pat are
completely out to lunch. I thought they were drunk, but I spoke to Pat and maybe he’s
just going senile.'”
“He’s not the only one I’ve heard that’s said Pat is gong senile.”
“He said: ‘I don’t think Pat’s memory is all that good.'”
This certainly isn't a good look for Patterson or McMahon, and though Billy Graham is
known to be a vocal critic of WWE, it seems he's being accurate on this occasion.
We've got news from WWE Women's Tag Team Champion Asuka now, as the Empress
of Tomorrow was at the Fashion Show Mall in Las Vegas, around the time of the
shooting that left three people injured.
On Twitter, Asuka let her fans know that she had just escaped from the incident, as
police report that three juveniles got into an argument, though when it looked like a
fight was going to break-out, one pulled out a gun and fired into a crowd.
A witness at the scene told the media that she saw two people with gunshot wounds,
and one of the victims was an elderly man, and though there's no word on any arrests,
local reports are saying the mall is on lockdown.
As Asuka is from a country with one of the lowest gun-crime records in the world, this
is probably the first and hopefully last time that she will have been in a situation like this.
With that in mind, it's great to see that the Empress is fine, and for now, there doesn't
appear to be any fatal casualties from this awful incident.
Onto some lighter news now, and Kofi Kingston was the guest on this week's edition of
the Bump, and before his incredible WrestleMania 35 storyline and 2019 run as WWE
Champion, the New Day star claimed that he was best known for his remarkable Royal
Rumble spots.
Therefore, it makes sense that Kofi would announce himself for this Sunday's 30-Man
rumble match, and he'll be bringing Big E along too.
This brings the number of male entrants to 24, or 25 if you're including R-Truth in the
situation, and The Bump also discussed the women's Royal Rumble, as five Superstars
have confirmed their place in the match: Charlotte Flair, Alexa Bliss, Nikki Cross, Sarah
Logan and Natalya.
Though only five women have announced themselves for the Rumble match, one
Superstar fans could expect to see is Naomi, who last appeared on TV against Sarah
Logan on a July 2019 edition of Main Event.
According to the sources speaking to PWInsider, the former Women's Champion will
be in Houston this Sunday for the Pay Per View and given that she's rumored to be
returning to SmackDown soon, her return could come as part of the Women's Rumble match.
Naomi's absence from WWE in July matched up with the Usos break from TV, which
was the same month as Jimmy Uso's DUI arrest.
The former SmackDown Women's Champion hasn't been completely gone however,
as she has appeared on Total Divas during this time period, and the Usos recently
returned to SmackDown, helping Roman Reigns fend off the trip of King Corbin, Dolph
Ziggler and Robert Roode.
Speaking of the Rumble, one shocking name fans could see enter the men's contest is
Booker TV, who has been teasing on social media that he could be appearing on the show.
Online, the two-time Hall of Famer has said he's in shape just he gets the call to
participate in the Men's Rumble match.
For what it's worth, WWE recently applied a trademark for Harlem Heat, so we'll have
to see how things go for Booker, especially with the Rumble happening in his hometown.
From WWE to AEW now, as three matches have been announced for next week's AEW Dynamite.
On the show, the Inner Circle, represented by Chris Jericho, Santana and Ortiz, fresh
from their victory over the Jurrasic Express, will take on Darby Allin and Private Party,
whilst the Young Bucks will take on the Butcher and the Blade.
In singles action, Cody Rhodes will face Kip Sabian, and fans will also hear from the
number one contender to the AEW World title Jon Moxley, who defeated Pac to earn
the spot in the main event of this week's Dynamite.
Following his huge win on Dynamite, Moxley had a stare down with Chris Jericho who
was on commentary, and the match has been made official for next month's AEW
Revolution.
Though there'll be plenty of big matches for Dynamite next week, WWE NXT will also
have a stacked show, as the Broserweights will face the Grizzled Young Veterans in the
finals of the 2020 Dusty Classic.
On this week's show, Zack Gibson and James Drake got the upset victory over the
Undisputed Era, whilst Pete Dunne and Matt Riddle defeated Imperium's Fabian
Archer and Marcel Barthel to round out the finals.
A match that'll feature four of the top stars from NXT, next week's show will be must-
see, as we crown the next Dusty Rhodes Classic champions.
More news from NXT now, as CM Punk could have picked anyone to win the WWE
Royal Rumble but has decided to go with Keith Lee.
An interesting pick given that Lee hasn't been announced for the match, the Limitless
Superstar saw what Punk said about him on Backstage and said that should he ever
get to meet the Straightedge Superstar, he'll have to share his gratitude.
Following his incredible appearance at Survivor Series, Lee has become a favorite of
many people, leaving WWE the choice whether to find a spot for him on the main
roster, or leave Lee in a major spot in NXT.
Whatever the company choose, expect CM Punk, and millions of fans, to be paying
close attention to what he does in the ring.
We're looking ahead to Wrestle Mania now, as it looks like the 36th show under the
name has confirmed its first celebrity.
On his youtube channel, Gabriel 'Fluffy' Iglesias is scheduled for the WrestleMania
weekend in Tampa Florida, and is also scheduled for both WrestleMania 36, and
Monday Night RAW.
Another sign that those dates are for WWE, is that those dates aren't listed on his
website for Comedy tour, implying that the WWE has booked him for these days, and
though a Hall Of Fame induction would seem more likely than a stand-up appearance
at Mania, anything is possible with WWE.
Fans may know that Iglesias is a long-time WWE fan and friend to many current and
former Superstars, and fans will have been able to catch him this week on Chris
Jericho's cruise around the Bahamas.
From one possible future Hall of Famer to a woman who more than earned her spot in
the group, as Trish Stratus will soon be adding another award to her list of accolades.
As confirmed on her website, the Canadian legend will be inducted into the George
Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame, and a statement on her site read:
"She is the first female to receive the organization’s highest award. Past recipients of
this prestigious honor named after Lou Thesz, a 15-time World Champion, include
Edge, Booker T, Jim Ross, JJ Dillon, and most recently, Thunderbolt Patterson.
Stratus became the first female to receive Cauliflower Alley Club’s Iron Mike Award in
2016 and as she continues to find herself in trailblazing roles, she is overwhelmed to
be recognized by the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dan Gable Museum.”
As a pioneer of women's wrestling and seven-time WWE Women's Champion, Stratus
has definitely earned this award, and the ceremony will take place on July 23rd
through to the 25th in Waterloo, Iowa at the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dan
Gable Museum.
We're taking a break from WWE now, as one wrestler who knows how to make an
impact both in and out of the company is KENTA, formerly known as Hideo Itami.
The New Japan star has made quite a splash in 2020 already following his Wrestle
Kingdom appearance, and now looks to have a phenomenal run with the promotion,
which starts with his pursuit of the double champion Tetsuya Naito.
Though KENTA has his eyes set on Naito, there's quite a few stars who have been
calling out the former NXT Superstar in the hopes of getting a match, and one such
name is Enzo Amore, who competed with the Japanese star in their WWE days,
though KENTA isn't entertaining the idea of a rematch against the Certified-G.
KENTA will have his hands full with Naito and many other stars after him, as the
Japanese star hopes to have a career renaissance outside of WWE, where he had an
underwhelming time.
The fact that KENTA doesn't want a match won't stop Amore from poking the bear, as
well as antagonizing the entire wrestling community, as the former Cruiserweight
Champion knows he is considered deeply unpopular in the business for a variety of reasons.
Since his WWE departure though, Amore has proven he doesn't care about what
people have to say about him, as all he wants is to succeed and prove his doubters
wrong, and a match against the master of the GTS could do just that.
Back to WWE now, and though Daniel Bryan is a beloved star in 2020, it wasn't too
long ago that he was despised by the fans.
Around this time last year, Bryan was in the peak of his run as the Planet's Champion,
ahead of his title loss at Wrestle Mania 35, but what fans may not know is that he was
instructed to stop talking about the environment.
Speaking to MySanAntonio, Bryan revealed that WWE asked him to stop talking about
the environment, as they saw it as a political issue, whilst Bryan argued back that it's a
science issue instead, but the decision was made to cut the verbiage. He said:
“When I was doing the environmental thing, they actually told me to stop talking
about the environment because they told me it was a political issue and we don’t
want to deal with politics. I said, ‘It’s not a political issue. It’s a scientific issue, and the
sciences pretty much prove it.’ So rather than looking at it from a right or left point of
view, let’s look at it as, ‘Hey, improving the environment is a bulletproof idea to
improve all of our children’s lives.’ And I think that’s also something that people can
get behind, too. But how you do that in a wrestling format? I have no idea.”
Though he may no longer be a heel, Bryan is still very vocal about the environment,
but doesn't let that come through on the microphone in WWE.
This seems like another example of WWE trying to keep their nose out of politics, even
if the science proves that this isn't quite the political issue, they believe it to be.
And finally today we're recapping from the Wednesday Night Wars, as both shows
once again fought for ratings.
In a somber albeit hilarious moment, the NXT Universe paid tribute to the passing of
Mr Peanut, as the beloved mascot sacrificed his own life to save others at the age of 104.
In the ring, the Grizzled Young Veterans defeated the Undisputed Era in the Dusty
Classic Semifinals, whilst Toni Storm defeated Io Shirai by Disqualification, thanks to an
attack by Bianca Belair.
Finn Balor picked up the win over Joaquin Wilde, whilst Shayna Baszler, still furious
about being eliminated from last week's battle royal by up-and-comer Shotzi
Blackheart, got her revenge with a win over the green- haired-grappler.
After Pete Dunne and Matt Riddle earned their spot in the Dusty Classic finals with a
win over Imperium, it was time for the main event, as Keith Lee defeated Roderick
Strong to become the new NXT North American Champion.
This clearly wasn't a good night for the Undisputed Era, as they lost both one of their
titles, and the chance to become two-time Dusty classic winners, and it'll be
interesting to see what happens next week for the group.
NXT wasn't the only show that saw title changes though, as this week's AEW Dynamite
saw Kenny Omega and Adam Page defeat the SCU for the AEW Tag Team gold.
In singles action, Britt Baker defeated Priscilla Kelly before berating Tony Schivone
post-match, whilst the Inner Circle got an impressive victory over the Jurrasic Express.
MJF got the upper hand this week with a victory over Joey Janela, and though Cody
Rhodes can't lay a hand on his cocky former protege, the Young Bucks did lay a foot on
him, dropping MJF with a superkick to end the segment.
And in the main event, Jon Moxley and Pac battled for a shot at the AEW
Championship, though it was ultimately Moxley who won the contest.
With this win, the former WWE Champion will have another shot at Jericho, this time
at AEW Revolution, and fans will be able to check that match out March 1st this year.