Here's your wrestling news for February 23rd 2022
And your headlines for today include
Major News About NXT’s Crossover With Monday Night RAW. Why Is It Happening?
Former World Heavyweight Champion Set For NXT Title Match At Stand And Deliver!
“The Hell With Cody Rhodes!” WWE On- Screen Personality Bashes The Founder Of “Terrible” AEW!
Jason Baker Gives Update On Film Project With Bray Wyatt!
Vince Mcmahon Always Planned On Ending The XFL 2020 Early! Why Did The Boss Really Give Up?
Damian Priest Accomplishes Huge Record Following Win On RAW!
Former WWE Champion Signs New Multi-Million- Dollar Contract. Plans To Work With WWE After Retiring!
Fans Are Calling For Unique Idea For The Undertaker’s Hall Of Fame Induction! And More !
We’re kicking off with NXT 2.0, which has felt the presence of the main=roster as of late.
It wasn’t too long ago that AJ Styles was feuding with Grayson Waller, and on this week’s RAW, Tomasso Ciampa made a move to the red brand, teaming with
Finn Balor to beat the Dirty Dawgs. These crossovers seem to have been popular so far, and fans should get used to them, as on
Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer said WWE’s plan is do more crossover angles with RAW and NXT.
This has reportedly been the plan ever since the show relaunched as NXT 2.0, and WWE officials want to see at least one main roster talent involved
with the paint-splattered brand at all times.
The goal of all this is to attract more viewers to NXT 2.0, which has struggled to win over fans since the relaunch.
We’ll have to see if this strategy is what turns around the ratings of NXT 2.0, as many fans still prefer how NXT was before, but for now, expect more top-tier talent
like AJ Styles to make appearances.
Dolph Ziggler is the latest main roster Superstar to get involved with NXT 2.0, and will have a shot at championship gold very soon.
During this week’s NXT 2.0, Ziggler got the win over Tommaso Ciampa, earning himself an NXT Championship match with Bron Breakker at NXT Stand and Deliver.
Ziggler did get the help of a cameraman, who later revealed himself as Robert Roode who celebrated with the ShowOff.
So far, the Ziggler-Breakker match is the only bout confirmed for Stand and Deliver, and with a former NXT Champion in his corner, it may be a matter of time
before Ziggler holds the title.
Now, Cody Rhodes is expected to return to WWE very soon, after his shocking departure from AEW last week.
It’s been reported that Vince McMahon will treat Cody as a big deal in a way to entice other AEW talent to jump ship, but not everyone is onboard with the return
of the former TNT Champion. On his show, Pat McAfee bashed Cody for starting AEW, WWE’s biggest competition in decades, saying:
“I guess Cody Rhodes is coming to WWE. I guess, who cares? Him and his little friends started something, it was terrible. We actually went head to
head with them on Wednesdays. We beat them a couple of different times. Who cares? The hell with Cody Rhodes.”
Pat did admit that he’ll be “pumped” if Cody comes to SmackDown, and joked that Rhodes should return as Stardust.
WWE still has the trademark for Stardust, which was filed back in October 2014, and when Rhodes does eventually come back, things could get pretty
tense between him and the SmackDown commentator.
One name who isn’t coming back to WWE is Bray Wyatt, who’s shown no sign of wrestling for any company after his release last July.
In November, special effects artist Jason Baker, who worked on the design of The Fiend, said that he and Wyatt were working on a movie, and we now
have an update on that project. On the Rock ‘n Roll Beer Guy podcast, Baker confirmed that this project is still happening,
and said that its coming along with a lot of “really good people involved.” Praising Wyatt as an “amazing collaborator” and
one of the smartest people I know,” Baker stopped short of giving an actual release date for the film, but said they’ve been working on a lot of stuff for it.
It was Baker who worked with Wyatt and WWE for the first eight episodes of the Firefly Fun House, which won over fans back in 2019, and we’ll just have
to keep waiting for this new movie by the former Universal Champion.
In 2020, Vince McMahon brought back the XFL, nearly two decades after the disastrous first season.
This revamp didn't last long, thanks to the Covid pandemic meaning no fans could attend and matches couldn't be played.
The ongoing situation was a problem for McMahon, but according to Meltzer, the Chairman of WWE was ready to cut his losses before the world shut down.
On his show, Meltzer said that McMahon's original plan was to invest huge amounts to get ratings, which would be a huge financial blow to him, but believed
he'd make that money back when the ratings drew in a lucrative TV offer.
The problem was that McMahon had agreed to a multi-year contract, meaning he couldn't earn any more money from a new TV deal even if he had the
greatest ratings, and decided to cut his losses mere weeks into the season. Next year The Rock will revamp the league once
more, and we'll have to see if the Brahma Bull, with a partnership with the NFL, can stick to his guns, unlike McMahon.
Over to RAW now, as United States Champion Damian Priest was in action this week and defeated Shelton Benjamin in non-title action.
Not only did Priest get the win on Monday, but he also set a new record in the process, as his reign as United States Championship is now the longest
of the pat 8 years. Winning the title back at Summerslam, the Archer of Infamy has been champion for 187 days now,
the longest run since Dean Ambrose held the title from 2013-2014. This also means Priest has the longest reign of any
U.S. Champion with the current title design, but with Finn Balor set to challenge for the title next week, Priest’s reign may be coming to an end very soon.
From the U.S. Champion to a former U.S. Champion, as AJ Styles continues to wow fans with his skills in the ring and will continue to do just that in WWE
for a long time to come.
Fightful Select has learned that Styles has signed a new deal with the company, which is believed to be worth over $3 million.
This new deal doesn’t just come with a high price, but also includes some extra buss travel accommodations for the former World Champion.
Sources within WWE have said that Styles deserves every penny, as the company believes AJ will easily make back his contract, seeing him as a huge draw
at events. Styles’ last contract was set to expire this Summer, according to Sean Ross Sapp, who also confirmed
that this is a multi-year deal for the Phenomenal One. Despite many WWE Superstars being released or choosing to leave over the past two years, Styles is
said to be very happy in the company, and plans to work for them after his wrestling career, but for now he’ll remain on WWE TV with a new contract to his name.
And we’re ending today with The Undertaker, who on April 1 will take his rightful place in the WWE Hall of Fame after an incredible 30 years with the company.
Few Superstars can claim to have had a career similar to the Phenom, and now Bully Ray has a unique idea to celebrate the former WWE World
Champion. On Twitter, Bully Ray, a 2018 WWE Hall of Fame inductee, suggested that this year’s ceremony
should be all about The Undertaker, with no other names being announced for the event on April 1st. With three decades in WWE without ever jumping to
WCW or another promotion, we’re sure The Phenom has plenty of stories to tell which could easily fill the entire Hall of Fame ceremony.
Bully Ray isn’t the only person suggesting the idea, as on social media, countless fans agree that having the show entirely about the Undertaker is a fitting
thank-you for his loyalty over the decades. At this time, WWE has neither confirmed nor denied whether they plan on having this year’s
ceremony be exclusively about the former World Champion, so we’ll just have to wait and see whether the Deadman’s career comes to an end
with a unique Hall of Fame induction.