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Here's your wrestling news for December 16th 2020 Is WWE Teaching A Lesson To Keith Lee? WWEs Underutilized Superstars! AEW News! Wrestling News! 3 00:00:04,254 --> 00:00:06,356 And your headlines for today include
Is Keith Lee Being Taken "Down A Few Pegs" By WWE?
The Real Reason Why Lana Got Sidelined From WWE TLC Despite Defeating Nia Jax Is Finally Revealed!
WWE Asked Writers To Create List Of Underutilized Superstars!
Is Jim Johnston Being Inducted Into The WWE Hall Of Fame?
Kenny Omega Trolls Xavier Woods And WWE!
Shane McMahon Contacted Vince Russo? The Reason Behind Their Meet Is Finally Revealed!
Mike Chioda Drops A Bombshell About Montreal Screwjob In A Way That Fans Had Never Heard Before!
AJ Styles’ Reaction To Swoggle’s ‘Weenomenal One’ Parody On Impact Wrestling!
Ryback Calls Vince McMahon An ‘Old Cuck B*tch’ While Dragging WWE RAW This Week And More!
We’re kicking off with RAW, as Keith Lee lost clean to the Miz and John Morrison this week, and it may be the
first of many losses for the former NXT Champion. Following reports that Lee is one of five
Superstars to be sent to the Performance Center for further training, Vince Russo discussed the Limitless One’s situation
on the latest edition of SK Wrestling’s Legion of RAW, saying: “Here's the fascinating thing to me.
Okay? We read earlier in the week that Keith Lee was sent back to NXT for training during the week. So when I'm
seeing Keith Lee get beat here, this is them taking Keith Lee down a few pegs. I know how it works - 'This guy thinks
too highly of himself, let's take him down a few pegs'.
Russo added that Vince McMahon sending Lee to the Performance Center was once again an indicator that the
Chairman doesn’t watch NXT’s product, adding: Vince did not watch ECW. Vince did no .
not watch WCW. It was WWE 24X7. He never watched the competing product. I'm just getting blown away because
now Vince is sending Keith Lee back to NXT because Vince is deeming that he's not ready. Okay so then my question is,
then why was he brought up in the first place, which leads me to answer, Vince never saw him work in NXT.
So I understand you don't watch ECW, NXT is the WWE bro, it ain't WCW. This is your minor league company. Bro
he's not watching it. For you to bring this guy up and deem he's not ready and he needs to go back down, you weren't
watching him Lee is a hugely talented Superstar, though does need more of a character on the
main roster, and here’s hoping this latest loss is a blip and we see big things for the former NXT Champion down the line.
Speaking of RAW, this week’s show also saw Lana defeat Nia Jax, only to be attacked by Jax and Shayna Baszler
post-match, with Asuka being attacked backstage, before she could make the save.
Lana once again gave a great performance selling the ambush, garnering even more sympathy, though
the WWE creative now has some big decisions to make regarding this Sunday’s Women’s tag team title match.
Coming out of RAW, there was some speculation that since Lana’s injury is just for storyline purposes, that she
could appear at TLC and help Asuka win, presumably by putting Nia Jax through a Table similarly to what the
Irresistable Force has done to her for months. PW Insider are now reporting though
that Lana is expected to be off WWE TV for several weeks, mauybe even a month, and the footage from WWE of
Lana being stretched from the ring only helps this idea.
In regards to Lana’s replacement, the popular theory is Charlotte Flair, who promised to wrestle before 2020 is over
and is in phenomenal shape according to her Instagram. The Women’s tag team titles is one of
few accolades the Queen is yet to accomplish in WWE, and that could change this Sunday.
While the Queen is no stranger to gold, the same can’t be said for everyone as their no shortage of Superstars that the
company isn’t pushing. It looks like the WWE is more than aware of this, as WrestleVotes are
noting that writers were recently asked who is underutilised in the company, as WWE wanted to know which names
could shine in the right circumstances. There were plenty of names from across the company, but nearly all those
lists included some fan favourites, including Cesaro, Angel Garza, Chad Gable, Carmella and Peyton Royce.
Time will tell if any of these names receive any better treatment down the line, but at least the WWE themselves
are aware there’s a problem.
Now, if you’ve been watching WWE long enough, you’ll know that a theme song can make or break a character,
and many themes fans love were created by Jim Johnston. WWE’s composer from the 1980s until
2017, Johnson spoke to Reece Reilly on the Kiwi Talkz YouTube channel this week, and despite creating themes
for the likes of The Rock, The Undertaker, the Ultimate Warrior and Stone Cold Steve Austin, revealed he
hasn’t been asked to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. Despite speculation of stage fright,
Johnson dismissed claims that this would be the reason he’d decline an induction, but noted it’s bizarre he
hasn’t even been asked. Talking about names like Snoop Dogg and Drew Carey being inducted,
Johnson said nobody understands what criteria makes someone an inductee, but said he wouldn’t be happy
with WWE quote “booting my brass out of the door and now saying we want you in the Hall of Fame.”
There’s clearly no love lost between WWE and Johnson, especially after he was fired three years ago after decades
of work, so don’t expect to see, or hear him in WWE anytime soon.
Now, 2020 is coming to an end, and not a moment too soon, and after a difficult year for everyone, WWE gave the year
send off and welcomed in 2021 with a pretty great video. The animated version of 2020, which
was kicked to the curb by Drew McIntyre, was animated to look like the Mucinex monster, and this got a lot of
reactions online. When Xavier Woods said he stands in complete awe of this year, Kenny
Omega had some fun, and joked that he thought Woods said he stands in AEW, and was ready to ask for his release
rather than share the same company with the New Day star.
Omega is having a blast as the AEW World Champion, and whilst we’re sure Woods would be a good fit in AEW,
the five year deals the entire New Day signed last year means that won’t be happening.
We’re looking at former WWE Superstar Vito next, who’s found quite an interesting way to make money thanks to his years
in wrestling.
The former WWE and WCW star has started up Vito Super Souvenirs, with the catchy slogan ‘Buy with finesse from VSS’
and is selling off some of his own wrestling memorabilia, with some items being hand delivered to some lucky
auction winners. One item up for auction was the often forgotten WCW Hardcore Championship,
a title Vito won twice, and with a career that lasted from 1990-2014, the Full Blooded Italian will have plenty more
to sell when the auction resumes this Saturday.
Back to RAW, and as United States Champion, Bobby Lashley has had a lot of fine treatment lately, and this is
reportedly down to Vince McMahon himself. Ringside News has learned that Lashley’s
fortunate booking is because he may be being groomed for something bigger down the line, and is seen as more of a
star by the boss than others on the roster. It doesn’t seem that WWE is building Lashley up for anything specific however,
though a lot of fans, as well as the Almighty, want to see Lashley face Brock Lesnar in the future.
Of course that match isn’t possible right now as Lesnar isn’t part of WWE, and we’ll have to see what comes next for
the Almighty and his protective booking.
Speaking of the red brand, earlier this year the company nixed their RAW Underground segments, as they didn’t
want contamination across the three brands, and despite plenty of critics of the worked shoot fights, there were
plenty of fans, including Vince Russo. On the latest episode of Legion of RAW, Russo said that he was emailing Shane
McMahon about the RAW Underground concept, and the Boss’ son was asking for Russo’s opinions on the segments.
It’s entirely possible that RAW Underground will return when things get back to normal and Superstars can
intermingle again, and with Shane not being seen on WWE TV since the Underground got scrapped, it could be
matter of time before the Best in the World is back on our screens.
We’re looking back at Survivor Series 1997, a show that lives in infamy for the Montreal Screwjob, and now we know
more about that fateful night. During his Monday Mail Bag show, former WWE referee Mike Chioda spoke
about the show, saying that Bret Hart was nervous on the day, and felt that someone was going to happen.
Chioda added though that Bret hoped that the company would play fair with him, as he’d always been a professional
to the company, and that what fans saw happen, wasn’t the only thing planned.
Chioda explained that during one part of the match, he was supposed to run down and start a three count when Shawn was
pinning Bret, only to be blocked by Owen Hart. That never happened as whilst Chioda
and Owen were waiting, Bret got screwed, leaving both men to wonder what happened, as referee Earl Hebner fled
the scene. Even over twenty years later, the Montreal Screwjob continues to be one
of the most controversial nights in the history of wrestling, and now we know that even those backstage were being
fooled.
Over to Impact next, as Hornswoggle recently emerged with an AJ Styles parody gimmick, and now the Phenomenal
One has weighed in on the Wee- nomenal One. According to Fightful, Styles wasn’t
aware that his character would be used on Impact before the show, but with that being said, Styles thought the character
was great based on those Fightful spoke to. There’s no known issues with Impact
using AJ’s TNA theme song and entrance as they’re still the company’s property, and the parody is reportedly
a big hit backstage in both the Impact Wrestling and WWE locker rooms.
With custom ring gear to emulate the former two-time WWE World Champion, Impact clearly invested in the AJ Swoggle
gimmick, and we’ll have to see if he comes around again.
Back to WWE, and Pat McAfee’s team came up short at NXT TakeOver WarGames, but despite this setback,
the former NFL Punter caught the attention of someone very important.
In an interview with ESPN, ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin praised McAfee’s performance in the ring, and on the
microphone, saying: His verbal skills — he’s slaying everybody, but he’s not afraid to go out there and put
it all on the line. You wouldn’t expect it from someone who goes out there and kicks a football, but Pat McAfee
Afee is badass Austin’s praise didn’t stop there, as he gave McAfee an A for all his work, and
the Rattlesnake follows on from CM Punk, who recently said that everyone in NXT should be embarrassed that
McAfee has walked in and become the best on the mic. McAfee might take a break from the ring
after his physical loss at WarGames, and although the Undisputed Era thinks the NFL punter doesn’t belong in a WWE
ring, there’s plenty of bigger names who disagree.
One man who fans certainly won’t be seeing in a WWE ring is Ryback, who’s once again levelled a barrage of insults
at Vince McMahon. During this week’s edition of Monday Night RAW, the big guy made his
feelings known on Twitter,
Watching Raw just doesn’t feel like I’m watching the best or biggest wrestling show or promotion anymore. The entire
production lacks energy. Work on that @vincemcmahon you old Cuck b***h
It’s interesting that the former WWE star singled out this week’s show, as we reported that the latest RAW was much
calmer backstage than in recent months, and given that Ryback isn’t alone in his criticism of the product, let’s see if
Vince McMahon can turn things around.
And we’re ending today with news from New Japan Pro Wrestling, as Chris Jericho last appeared for the company
back at Wrestle Kingdom 14, where he picked up a hard-earned win over Hiroshi Tanahashi.
Of course due to the ongoing global situation, fans haven’t been able to see Jericho in New Japan since then,
but that’s not the only reason he’s competed for the promotion.
On Wrestling Observer Radio, Meltzer explained that New Japan CEO Harold Meji held off bringing Jericho back due
to the cost of the former AEW World Champion, though now Meji has been replaced by Tankami Ohbari
Meltzer went on to explain that Jericho doesn’t have a contract with New Japan, but there is renewed interest in bringing
him back, after the world has got back to normal. Until then, fans shouldn’t expect to see
Jericho back in a New Japan ring, and we’ll have to wait and see if Y2J is able to compete at New Japan Dominion next
summer.