Here's more wrestling news for March 1st 2022
And your headlines for Afternoon include
Young Bucks Visit WWE Headquarters!
WWE Making Big Plans For WrestleMania 38 Title Unification Match!
Why Triple H Might Never Wrestle Again In WWE Revealed!
Goldberg Accused Of Separating WWE Talent’s Shoulder!
WWE’s Current Plans For Asuka’s Return!
Are The Mysterios in for a big shock at WrestleMania?
Why Kevin Owens Had To Approach Vince McMahon Backstage?
Vince McMahon Has Decided To Give A Big Push To Underutilized Smackdown Star!
WWE Has Big Plans For Big E’s 4 Wheeler!
WWE’s Decision On Jeff Hardy & Braun Strowman Being Part Of WWE 2K Roster!
Hulk Hogan Announces Divorce From 2nd Wife To Explain Pictures With New Girlfriend! And More!
We’re kicking off with AEW, who were recently in Bridgeport, Connecticut for Dynamite and Rampage, and the Young Bucks had some fun
while in the Constitution state. On their trip, the Bucks decided to stop at WWE’s headquarters, Titan Tower, as the pair discussed
their lengthy trip to Connecticut and where they were going to go for lunch. This is hardly the first time, and it won’t be the
last time, that the Bucks have trolled WWE on their show, and it made for one unique way to kick off the latest episode of their hit YouTube series.
At Wrestlemania 38, Universal Champion Roman Reigns will face off against WWE Champion Brock Lesnar in arguably the biggest main event in the
company's history. Not only will the winner take all the gold, but the titles will be unified into one World Championship,
but having one sole top Superstar across both brands won't last long. That's according to Dave Meltzer, who reports
that following WrestleMania a new world title will be introduced to fill the hole left by the title unification.
Meltzer compared the situation to the Undisputed title, as Chris Jericho became the sole World Champion in December 2001, but less than a
year later, there was two world Titles on WWE TV. Meltzer didn't say what this new world championship will be called, but added that
despite the title unification, WWE has no plans on ending the brand split. With WWE set to introduce a new World
Championship, we, alongside countless fans, have to question why the WWE and Universal Titles are being unified in the first place,
but there'll soon be some new gold on our screens for the Superstars to chase.
But how do you feel about a new World Championship being introduced after unifying the WWE and Universal titles? Let us know
in the comments below.
WrestleMania will certainly be a huge night for WWE, with a new unified World Champion to be crowned and some huge returns
rumored for the show, but for the third straight year, WWE’s biggest event will happen without a match from Triple H.
On Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer gave a grim update on the cerebral assassin, saying that following his cardiac event last
September, Triple H’s days in the ring are over: “Triple H would be a terrible idea. I mean, his heart situation is, he can't. I don't want to say
never because that's unfair because maybe he can do something, but that would be a horrible idea for him, and it's not gonna happen this year.
There's no way.” The Game’s health scared forced him to take a break from his roles with NXT, and since then,
he’s lost control of the brand to his father in law, who’s rebranded the show as NXT 2.0. In recent years, fans have seen miraculous
returns from the likes of Edge and Bryan Danielson, who at one point were seemingly never going to wrestle again, but if that even
is possible for Triple H, an in-ring return is very unlikely at this time.
For decades, Bill Goldberg has mowed down opponents with the spear, capturing titles in WCW and WWE with the move.
Some of wrestling’s biggest names have fallen to Goldberg’s spear, but Rene Dupree has some harsh words for the former Universal Champion.
Speaking of his Café de Rene podcast, Dupree accused Goldberg of separating his shoulder during a segment between them on RAW in 2003,
saying: “Did you get out alive? Because I got a separated collarbone from working with Goldberg. What
happened was we did a backstage vignette with me, Rob, and Sly and then Goldberg was the USA representative, and he grabbed our flag
and we did five takes and he hit me across the shoulder every single time, right here where your collarbone connects.’
Seriously, he hit me so hard, like three or four times in a row to where it actually f****** detached my collarbone. I was living in Louisville.
We had a team doctor there. We had to go get a cortisone shot. Cortisone, man, long- term it does more harm than good, right?
Because it just eats at your joints.”
After his loss to Roman Reigns, Goldberg is now a free agent, and could even sign with AEW should he wish, but between his advanced age,
the quality of his more recent matches and horror stories about separating shoulders, we doubt the All-Elite promotion is drawing up the paperwork to
give him a contract.
Now, last July, Asuka competed in the Women's Money in the Bank ladder match, in what would be her most recent match to date.
The former Women's Champion had been out with an arm injury, but has since healed from that and is medically cleared to compete.
There had been reports that Asuka was set to return in February as the last entrant in the Women’s Elimination Chamber, but that
obviously didn't happen as Alexa Bliss competed instead, and we now know what's taking so long with the Empress of Tomorrow
When asked about the situation Mike Johnson of PW Insider noted that WWE has no creative plans to being her back at this time, saying:
“Nothing yet. The hope internally was for Asuka to return this month but obviously there’s been nothing for her creatively.
Other than hearing from fans who spotted her in Los Angeles recently, we haven’t heard anything additional on the Asuka front.”
After dominating in both NXT and the main roster, Asuka has proven herself as one of WWE's most versatile Superstars,
and its incredible that WWE can underutilise someone who not only is fantastic in the ring, but was able to be a star during the crowdless
era from 2020-2021. One of WWE’s most literal colourful characters, Asuka would be a huge name for WrestleMania,
but it appears the show will come and go without the Empress to be seen.
Last week, Logan Paul returned to WWE as The Miz’s mystery partner for WrestleMania, and their match with the Mysterios has been confirmed
for Night 1. On this week’s RAW, Rey and Dominik had a verbal back-and-forth with Miz before facing
the Hurt Business, and in a surprising turn, it was Cedric Alexander and Shelton Benjamin who got the win.
We’re not sure what the reasoning behind this was, but it made the Mysterios look weak, and if this is building to a loss at WrestleMania,
it could be setting up the long-awaited Dominik Mysterio heel turn.
Whatever the case, this match had fans scratching their heads, and time will tell what the plan is for the Mysterios after this week’s loss.
Now, in January, Kevin Owens’ contract was set to expire, but that was before the Prizefighter signed a new, multi-year deal
with the company. Whether fans think Owens would be better in AEW is now a non-factor, and during an
appearance on Ryan Satin’s Out of Character podcast, the RAW Superstar gave a couple new details about his deal.
Owens explained that the new contract was finalised a few weeks before news broke online that he’d re-signed, and that the matter was
handled by Vince McMahon himself. He explained: “WWE really didn’t let me think about it much,
in terms of — they made it clear they wanted me to stay... I dealt with Vince directly, and he made it clear he wanted me to stay. We made an
agreement right then and there. It wasn’t — I’m a big believer in, my career is going to go the way it goes, and
I’m gonna do my best with it. So I’m there now for a couple more years, and I’m going to do my best to get opportunities, and knock
em out of the park, and reap the benefits, y ou know? “As I’ve documented before, there are ups
and downs to this thing: to WWE, to wrestling, to the industry. I feel like I’m a really great upswing right now, and I’m enjoying what I do
Like I’m really enjoying myself a lot lately. So that’s great and hopefully it keeps going that way. And if it eventually stops feeling that wa
way and I feel like I’m on the downswing, then it’s up to me to find a way back up. I’ve always taken that outlook, and yeah — I’m really having
a great time these days.”
Owens said that he didn’t talk much with McMahon about what he wants to do in the next few years, but is just happy being with WWE.
The new contract, estimated at over $2 million would certainly make a lot of people happy, but Owens is clearly enjoying getting consistent
TV time and being in prominent storylines. With a rumored match with ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin, its hard to say that Owens
would be better off outside WWE, so expect the Prizefighter on our screens for many years to come.
On SmackDown, Ricochet is one of the show’s most talented performers, but you wouldn’t know it from the booking he often gets.
When he is booked, Ricochet is often on the losing end of matches, but it seems his look is about to change thanks to Vince McMahon.
Mike Johnson of PW Insider reports that McMahon has decided on giving Ricochet a big push, and is considering the One and Only as a possible
number-two babyface on the blue brand behind Drew McIntyre. This Friday, Ricochet will challenge Intercontinental
Champion Sami Zayn, and with a new push from the Chairman, it may be a matter of time before the high-flyer holds the gold.
Last November, Keith Lee was released from WWE, after a fantastic run in NXT and underwhelming run on RAW.
Since then, the former Bearcat has landed on his feet, joining AEW and qualifying for the Face of the Revolution Ladder match that’ll
happen this weekend at AEW Revolution. Speaking with Busted Open Radio recently, Lee discussed his release from WWE and
while others may stress about losing a job with the biggest promotion in the world, the Limitless One wasn’t too bothered:
“I think that when it happened, I was extremely calm. I don’t think that it was because I had any sort of plan. It was more so that I had a lot of
confidence, and even with sudden changes occurring and things of that sort, I was confident that one way or another, I would
figure out what I needed to do to move forward and continue doing what I love to do.”
Lee’s debut for AEW was a closely guarded secret and we still don’t know all the facts, but it seems he’s signed a multi-year deal
with the company. As to whether Lee will earn a TNT Championship shot this weekend, that remains to be seen, but
after his run on WWE’s main roster fell flat, he’s certainly ready to grab the brass ring in AEW.
Back to WWE, as on this week’s SmackDown, Big E rode to the ring on a four wheeler, in an entrance we’ve never seen before from the
former WWE Champion.
After the segment, fans questioned what WWE is planning, and it appears that the four wheeler will be here to stay.
That’s according to Fightful, who note that WWE is making big plans to merchandise Big E’s four wheeler, so fans can expect a new toy from
Mattel of this unique entrance. Mattel has been making merch for WWE since 2010 and the lucrative deal between
the two shows no signs of slowing down, so expect a Big E four wheeler play set at some point this year
Speaking of merch, WWE 2K22 will finally hit shelves this month, nearly 15 months after the disastrous release of 2K20.
Jeff Hardy was meant to be in the upcoming game, but now that he’s been released, the Charismatic Enigma has been pulled.
Hardy isn’t included on WWE 2k22’s official roster page, but interestingly, Braun Strowman will be in the game, despite being released
months before Hardy. We can’t help but wonder that had the circumstances behind Jeff’s release been
different, then maybe he would still be in the game, but for any fans of the former WWE World Champion
they’ll have to make do with a fan creation of Hardy in the upcoming game.
And we’re ending with Hulk Hogan, who has gone through a divorce for the second time.
On social media, Hogan explained why he’s been In photos with a woman who’s not his wife, saying that he’s been divorced from Jennifer McDaniels
for a while now, and assumed everyone knew. TMZ later clarified that Hogan filed for divorce last October, and we hope that the Hulkster
and his new girlfriend Sky are very happy now that they’re together.