In this WrestleTalk News, WWE want Stone Cold to wrestle at this year’s WrestleMania,
Samoa Joe may be returning soon, Oli’s review of Raw, and more.
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Look at it.
It’s gorgeous.
This weekend is Elimination Chamber, where Goldberg has returned to challenge Roman Reigns
because…well he said so I suppose.
And if you’ve already used up Goldberg’s contracted dates before WrestleMania, what
other part-timers and old legends do you have left to use at WrestleMania?
Well as it turns out, WWE might be pitching for one of the biggest returns they could
possibly do.
According to a report from Fightful Select, WWE has made a “significant overture”
towards Stone Cold Steve Austin, specifically for an in-ring return at WrestleMania 38.
Austin hasn’t wrestled since WrestleMania 19, 19 bloody years ago.
According to the sources Fightful spoke to, “at the very least Austin is expected for
a physical role”.
But if he is having an actual match at WrestleMania, in Texas no less, then who would he be facing?
According to the “many” on the roster that Fightful spoke to, Kevin Owens was the
one being groomed for that role, based off his anti-Texas angle on Raw, but that wasn’t
confirmed.
Fightful also noted that this had been discussed as far back as January and that internally,
Kevin Owens is listed as Stone Cold’s opponent currently.
Stunner vs Stunner, Texas vs Anti-Texas, not a bad little story that.
Also Owens vs Stone Cold, hot damn, that’s a dream match right there.
Austin has appeared in several physical roles over the years in WWE, delivering Stunners
wherever they were needed, but we’ll have to see if he’s up to wrestling a full match.
Can’t think of many better opponents to make him look good than Kevin Owens though.
Someone else that might be returning soon to the ring is Samoa Joe.
Joe was released from WWE in April 2020, was then re-hired, found a role in Triple H’s
NXT, brought back to TV, beat Karrion Kross for the NXT Championship, dropped it when
he was supposedly injured the week before NXT’s 2.0 relaunch, and was then released
again after Triple H’s backstage crew were all let go.
To say people are itching to see a full Samoa Joe return is an understatement.
It might not be long now before we see one, as Joe has posted a cryptic post on his Instagram
page.
His 90-day non-compete clause has now expired, and he seemed to celebrate that, sitting in
front a huge jigsaw puzzle, with the caption: “Enjoyable week up on the mountain with
friends and family.
As the pieces are beginning to come together.”
Actually Joe, looking at that jigsaw, those pieces aren’t together.
Might need to look into that.
Hey, do you remember when Elias died on Raw?
Good times, right?
This was all in an attempt to repackage Elias into something different, and there have been
conflicting reports as to what the gimmick was and when this was supposed to happen,
but one idea that had reportedly been pitched was for Elias to take on a Macho Man-like
persona.
There now seems to be proof that this might have been the plan, as Elias’ render for
the new 2K22 game shows him in bright trunks and armbands which he has never worn on TV
before.
Some may call the attire Macho Man-like.
This is just speculation of course, but perhaps we’ll see Elias’ new gimmick in the game
before we ever see it on TV.
If we ever do.
Just like Veer.
And now hot tag
to Oli.
Now it’s time for my review of last night’s go-to-Saudi show…
it’s like a go-home show, but with more mechanical flight issues!
…edition of Monday Night Raw… in about 5 minutes.
Move aside, Alexa Bliss.
You’re not even here, Veer.
Because the hottest new gimmick repackaging on the Road to WrestleMania just debuted with
the opening sting now having a voiceover guy saying the words: Then, Now, Forever, Together.
Coming on a little strong there on Valentine’s Day, voiceover package.
I only saw this as more of a casual hook up kinda thing.
Speaking of casual hook ups, I think the WWE Championship’s going to break up with Bobby
Lashley real soon.
The episode opened with MVP doing his best Scott Steiner calculations.
Bobby has a one in six chance of winning in the Elimination Chamber.
But when you factor in him being the Almighty, that goes all the way up to a 100% chance
of winning.
At Sacrifice.
You’ll never guess who took issue with that and interrupted?
Only everyone else in the Chamber match!
Riddle tried to invite everyone to his RKBroga party, but Brock must’ve read the invitation
wrong, as he came out for a snuggly cowboy party, dressed like a snuggly cowboy.
I’m not going to tell him.
Putting over the young star, Brock used Austin Theory has a coatstand, suplexed him into
oblivion, then took a selfie, while everyone else ran away.
AJ Styles vs Damien Priest could’ve been the perfect way to throw some intrigue at
AJ’s chances in the Chamber.
Instead, he lost to Priest via roll up in about 5 minutes.
This was nowhere near the match it should’ve been, and is fundamentally bad booking when
you need to build up Styles for the Premium Live Event.
Sisyphus was condemned to push a boulder up a hill every day for eternity.
Our punishment?
To watch Street Profits vs Dirty Dawgs every week on WWE TV.
At least this time there was a slight difference - Tomasso Ciampa was on commentary to build
his NXT feud with Dolph Ziggler.
Objective achieved by promoting NXT 2.0 on the main roster.
But also failed by presenting it in one of the show’s most undercard slots.
Ciampa threw a drink over Dolph, which led to Ford getting the win over Roode.
Kevin Owens said he hates your local hometown, but, specifically, people in Texas’ local
hometown, adding fire to the reports he’ll face Stone Cold at Mania.
To prove how Vince McMahon never liked the Hurt Business concept, and only had eyes for
Bobby in the far inferior Almighty gimmick, Shelton Benjamin and Cedric Alexander were
billed as the Hurt Business here to get squashed in a handicap match against Omos.
Omos can still neither wrestle, or get over.
In the same way that Ric Flair was said to be able to get a four star match out of a
broom, Becky Lynch can carry otherwise lifeless characters in talking segments.
She presented herself as a psychological trainwreck in a contract signing segment, building a
match against her own feelings of inadequacy rather than Lita, who remains at one-dimensional
‘I’m a legend’ character depth.
WWE have many, many faults.
But one stipulation they’ve been genuinely great at booking over the years is their once-every-few-months
gauntlet matches.
Here we got all five of the announced women for this Saturday’s Chamber running the
gauntlet, with the winner getting to finish last.
Yes, that does mean you have to beat all but one of the participants just five days before
the match.
That is fundamentally terrible booking.
But the measuring stick is relative, and this at least provided a great 30 minutes of wrestling,
elevating one star in particular.
Rhea Ripley ran through Nikki A.S.H., Liv Morgan and Doudrop, to face the final entrant,
Bianca Belair.
Initially, that was incredibly frustrating.
Who buys Nikki, Liv and Doudrop as credible threats now?
And putting babyface Belair in the final slot is psychologically backwards.
But then Ripley and Bianca had a terrific final two, at one point descending into New
Japan-style slap exchances.
But fatigued from wrestling so long, Belair put Rhea away with a KOD.
Which means Bianca, WWE’s prototypical ironwoman babyface, will enter the Chamber last.
Fun action, but actually very ineffective for the larger goals.
But the women’s Chamber story wasn’t done there.
In her latest, and thankfully last, Road Back to WWE vignettes, Alexa Bliss got a new Lily
doll, full with OG Lily’s stuffing, and was declared cured - at which point a graphic
announced she’ll be the last entrant in the Chamber.
That is much bigger news than it was presented, and would’ve been far better executed if
Bliss came out after the Gauntlet to reveal it in person.
Reggie and Dana Brooke tried to have a platonic meal for Valentine’s Day, which was inevitably
ruined by a 24/7 title chase.
Reggie finally asked Dana if they could take their relationship further, Brooke friendzoned
him, so he pinned her, won her title and made her pick up the bill.
Yes, take that friendzone!
Riddle was hosting his RKBroga party backstage throughout the night which, at one point,
was attended exclusively by heels.
This had a lot more potential, but ended up just being a setup for a classic WWE outdated
pop culture reference to 1978 comedy movie Animal House, when Alpha Academy jumped Riddle
when he tried to play the guitar.
Which was also actually an unintended honoring of that movie’s producer Ivan Reitman who
passed away yesterday too.
WWE is really giving Alpha Academy the chance to shine, putting them in multiple segments
on this show, where they beat the Mysterios in a tag match later, which was a way to set
up Rey vs Miz for Elimination Chamber.
And they also tried to interfere in the very solid main event, costing Randy Orton the
victory against Seth Rollins.
Which was good that Seth won heading into the Premium Live Event.
But it was hardly a cliffhanger go-Saudi angle.
What did you think of Raw?
Let me know in the comments.
70% of you voted for I ❤️ 🤠 Brock in our poll on a pole match on the community
tab.
This was actually a rather enjoyable episode of WWE TV.
The Women’s Gauntlet and main event were very good, and Alpha Academy elevate every
segment they’re in.
But I can’t get over the show’s fundamentally bad booking, pinning five of the 12 people
wrestling in Chamber matches on Saturday clean.
This week’s Raw is 50%.