Here's your wrestling news for December 11th 2021
And your headlines for today include
Brock Lesnar's Hillarious Segments On Smackdown; Is Paul Heyman Coming Back?
What Happened After WWE Smackdown Went Off Air?
What Really Happened At The WWE Live Event With Jeff Hardy Finally Revealed?
Jeff Hardy Missed Public Appearances Prior To WWE Release ; Matt Hardy Drops A Breaking News!
Johnny Gargano Opens Up About His Aprehensions With WWE; Inside Details About Johnny Gargano's NXT Farewell Promo!
WWE Removes Johnny Gargano & Kyle O’Reilly From Internal Roster!
Drew Mcintyre And A Higher Power Storyline On Smackdown?
Toni Time On Smackdown As The Day 1 Match Is Seemingly Teased!
Chris Jericho Provides Update After Recent Hospitalization
Future Of The NEW Day And More!
We’re kicking off with SmackDown, where Sami Zayn appeared in a wheelchair, following what happened last week.
On the previous show, Lesnar goaded Zayn into taking his Universal title match with Roman Reigns that night, rather than wait until Day 1.
Decimated shortly by the Beast, it only took mere seconds for Reigns to retain his title, and this week, Zayn had a face to face with Lesnar.
In an interesting segment showing the new babyface side of Brock, the former Universal Champion had his longest individual promo he’s had in a very long time,
speaking to the wheelchair using, neck-brace wearing Zayn.
Given how well the Roman Reigns heel turn went, there’s nothing wrong with experimenting with Lesnar’s character.
The usually stoic Brock treated fans to some hilarious segments, and by stepping out of Paul Heyman’s shadow, showed how funny he is.
Whether it was interacting with Zayn in the wheel chair, or pulling out a flip phone in Adam Pearce’s office, Lesnar was gold, and showed that he is
clearly the top babyface on SmackDown. Lesnar is clearly having the time of his life, and fans are just as entertained, but when Paul Heyman
provoked Brock to attack Sami, things got real interesting.
Lesnar still claims that Heyman is his advocate, and we’re excited to see who’s side Heyman is truly on when the two face off at Day 1.
SmackDown also saw an interpromotional match, as RAW Tag Team Champions RK-Bro faced SmackDown Tag Team Champions the Usos and the New
Day, but that wasn’t the only appearance from RAW Superstars. After SmackDown went off the air, the ans were
treated to a massive fatal-four-way dark match, pitting SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair against RAW Women’s Champion Becky
Lynch, Bianca Belair and Sasha Banks.
That match saw Banks get the win, and in an interesting move, the Boss pinned the RAW Women’s Champion to pick up the big win.
WWE has a stacked women’s roster right now, with Liv Morgan and Toni Storm making their way into the RAW and SmackDown Women’s
Championship pictures, but The Boss showed that fans can never count her out after her impressive win this week.
This week, Jeff Hardy was released from his WWE contract, bringing his latest run with the company to an unfortunate end.
Jeff’s departure comes after some concerning events that unfolded at a live event, and we have new information what happened.
In his report for the Observer, Dave Meltzer explained how Jeff was posing for photos with fans before the match in Edinburg, Texas,
something that is typically reserved for after the match. It’s possible Jeff knew he wouldn’t be sticking around
at this point in time, as when he made the tag during the 6-man tag match, he fled through the crowd and wasn’t seen again.
Drew McIntyre, who was tagging with Jeff on the night, thought on the fly to address the situation, grabbing the mic to say that his team seems to be
missing a partner, and if found, please point him in the direction of the ring.
After the show, Jeff was sent home from the tour, and didn’t work the Corpus Christi event as planned the next night.
After refusing to attend rehab, Hardy was released, and while fans eagerly await to see him reunite with Matt in AEW, this latest problematic Chapter in Jeff’s
career could deter Tony Khan from making a move.
Jeff’s behaviour during the Edinburg, Texas Live event may have been a turning point for WWE, but it wasn’t the only time the Charismatic Enigma h
had acted strangely. Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful reports that in recent weeks, Jeff had missed signings and appearances,
and WWE would have other wrestlers step in and fill the space he left. For the Corpus Christi show, which WWE didn’t allow
Jeff to be on, he was replaced by Rey Mysterio in the six-man tag team main event, which saw Rey, McIntyre and King Woods defeat the Bloodline.
It’s still yet to be determined if Jeff was under the influence of any substances that caused his erratic behaviour at last week’s live event, but this strange
behaviour sadly wasn’t a one-off for the former World Champion.
More from the Jeff Hardy incident, as even before his release, fans were calling on him to join AEW.
Hardy’s booking prior to being drafted to SmackDown certainly had fans believing he’d do better in the All- Elite promotion, where his brother Matt currently works.
On Twitter, Matt teased a reunion with his brother, saying he feels xtremely good about the future, and spelled the word like their days in Team Xtreme.
Jeff’s wife has said that he’s okay, and with a 90-day non-compete clause, we know that Hardy will be free to seek out other wrestling opportunities in the first
quarter of 2022. Team Xtreme may soon be reuniting in AEW, but only if Tony Khan agrees to bring Jeff on board,
and while having the former WWE Champion would be another huge signing, signing the Charismatic Enigma also means bringing
all of his personal issues to the company.
This week, Johnny Gargano left WWE, after his contract with NXT 2.0 expired.
On this week's episode, Gargano was attacked by Grayson Waller, which some fans believed was going to set up a new feud, but the former NXT
Champion is now a free agent. We now know more about what the plans were had Gargano stayed, as in the Wrestling Observer
Newsletter, Dave Meltzer said that the ex-Superstar's role would have been much different than what fans were used to:
"With the new direction, he would not be the focus, but he probably would be kept somewhat strong with the idea of having him mean something to teach and
put over the talent they are looking for on the main roster.”
Gargano was NXT's first Triple Crown Champion, and for years was a top star of the brand, but that would've changed had he stayed.
The split between Gargano and WWE has been called incredibly amicable, and WWE are ready to welcome him back.
For now, NXT 2.0 will need a new big name to work with younger talent, in a massive blow to a show that's once more focussed on developing new Superstars.
Before being attacked on NXT 2.0, Gargano gave an incredibly heartfelt promo, which unlike most of what we see on TV, wasn’t scripted.
A source who spoke to Fightful said that Gargano was given a lot of leeway for his last promo in the company, and was afforded a decent amount
overrun time after 10pm, which he mentioned to the crowd.
WWE are also happy with the way the Waller run-in came across on TV, believing it set up a new character for the fans to hate.
Unscripted promos are a rarity in WWE, as fans and wrestlers alike have complained about the lack of creative freedom, and the fact that Gargano
was allowed to say what he felt, even with WWE knowing his time was coming to an end, shows just how much respect those running the show
have for him. Despite having no non-compete clause, it’s been reported that Johnny Gargano is likely going to
wait until his wife Candice LeRae gives birth to their first child next year, before he makes any decision regarding his pro wrestling future.
In his years with NXT, Gargano worked some incredible matches and remained loyal throughout the Wednesday Night Wars, and this hard work
and loyalty paid off with an opportunity very few Superstars ever get the chance to have.
Gargano is gone from WWE, but he isn’t the only one on the way out, as Kyle O’Reilly’s contract was also set to expire this month.
WWE had hoped to retain at least one of the two, but that won’t be the case, as now O’Reilyl is also a free agent.
That’s according to Mike Johnson, who reports that both men have been removed from the company’s internal roster, indicating that there are no plans
for them in any capacity on any brand whatsoever. O’Reilly was a key member of the Undisputed Era, and with Adam Cole and Bobby Fish now in AEW,
the only remaining member in NXT 2.0 is Cruiserweight Champion Roderick Strong. O’Reilly’s departure comes at an interesting time,
as with him being a former ROH World Champion and three-time Tag Champion, one can’t help but wonder if he’ll be at tonight’s Final Battle event.
With a baby on the way, O’Reilly will need to make some big decisions about his wrestling future, but we now know that his future won’t include WWE.
Back to SmackDown, as it wasn’t too long ago that Drew McIntyre was excluded from the Black Friday Battle Royal, which ultimately saw Sami Zayn earn
Universal title opportunity. Confronting Sonya Deville about his exclusion, she told Drew that Adam Pearce made the call, and
when McIntyre confronted Pearce this week, the Authority figure teased a higher power being responsible for what happened.
Putting that matter aside, the former WWE Champion faced his old-rival Sheamus, a man he seemingly can’t have a bad match with.
After another incredible match, McIntyre picked up the win with a Claymore kick, as he’s been heavily protected ever since his loss to Big E at Crown Jewel.
With Jeff Hardy gone from WWE, SmackDown is down one of their top faces, and though the temptation will be there to thrust him in the Universal title
picture quickly, this higher power storyline should play out over the next few months instead.
SmackDown also saw Toni Storm in action, and it was truly Toni Time during the show in Los Angeles.
With the crowd firmly behind the former NXT UK Women’s Champion, Storm didn’t earn a SmackDown Women’s title match yet, but did get in the
head of Charlotte, beating her in non-title action. The positive crowd reaction towards Storm is a good sign for her future push, as Flair simply
couldn’t get one over her, and resorted to attacking her excessively, getting DQ’d in the process.
The direction now is clear: Day 1 will see a SmackDown Women’s title match between the Champion Charlotte Flair against Toni Storm.
Unfortunately for Storm, it's a little too early for her. It's rare for women to debut in WWE and win their first titles within a month or two.
There are some exceptions to this rule, such as Rhea Ripley and Flair herself, but just because Storm isn’t expected to win the title on January 1st,
2022 could be her biggest year to date as a WWE Superstar.
We’ve got news from Chris Jericho, who was hospitalised during a tour of his band Fozzy, which forced one of their performances to be cancelled.
Fozzy were meant to be performing in Swansea, Wales, before the venue announced that the show was off, but made it clear that it wasn’t due to a
a positive test.
Now, the former AEW World Champion has given an update on his condition, as he tweeted:
“I’m feeling good. They just wanted to observe me overnight and I’m in the right place. Not COVID related.”
Jericho didn’t explain what led to doctors wanting to observe him in the first place, but that information is his choice whether to share or not.
Fozzy have two dates left on their tour, set for tonight and tomorrow evening in Bournemouth and London, England respectively, and whatever caused Jericho
to be hopsitalised, we’re pleased to see he’s doing better.
And we’re ending today with SmackDown’s main- event, which saw interpromotional warfare, mere weeks after an entire Pay Per View, Survivor Series,
was sold as the one night you can see SmackDown Vs. RAW.
Sure, the triple threat tag-match between RK-Bro, the Usos and the New Day was entertaining as you’d expect, but it all seemed quite pointless.
The objective of the main-event was to further the feud between the Usos and the New Day, which will see them collide at Day 1.
Their feud may be the greatest tag-team feud this century, but there was something missing, an X- Factor, that just wasn’t quite there during this
week’s match. In any case, one can’t complain when three of the best tag teams in the world today take each other
to the limit, and let’s hope that other tag teams, such as the Viking Raiders or Los Lotharios, get their due very soon.