Here is your news for December 18, 2019
We're kicking off with some news from WWE TLC, as one half of the Women's Tag
Team Champions Kairi Sane got hurt bad.
We're not quite sure how bad off her injury is, but it must have been serious, as after
taken a few really bad bumps in a row, her tag partner Asuka was left to finish the match alone.
Charlotte Flair probably didn't know how badly Sane was hurt, as she insisted on
slapping the petite Superstar around, and power bombing her on the outside before
Sane was able to communicate to Becky Lynch that she was injured.
Now, fan footage from Reddit user 'The Fooking Man' has emerged showing The Man
roll Sane under the ring to protect her for the remained of the TLC match, though this
wasn't shown on TV, and we shudder to think what could have happened if Lynch
hadn't taken action.
According to Pro Wrestling Sheet, Sane was checked out by doctors after the event
but was declared unable to compete, and though she did appear on RAW for Asuka's
match against Deonna Purrazzo, the pirate princess didn't get physical.
From a report by the PW Insider, Sane has been removed from several upcoming
shows, including next week's Boxing Day event in Madison Square Garden.
The show was supposed to see the Kabuki Warriors defend their titles against Flair and
Lynch in a steel cage match, but has now been changed to a singles cage affair
between the Empress and The Man.
This same report has also said that whilst Sane has said privately she's fine, and given
a thumbs up tweet to her fans, the company is not wanting to take any risks with one
half of the reigning WWE Women's Tag Team Champions.
Though Sane will eventually return to a WWE ring, the same can't be said for Sin Cara,
as after nine years, the character is officially over.
The Cara name, that debuted shortly after WrestleMania 27, has been most recently
used by Hunico, but after released by WWE, went to Instagram to reveal his new
name of Cinta de Oro.
A name steeped in tradition, the moniker is to honor the legendary Mexican luchador
of the 1980s, and the former Superstar revealed that he received the blessing of both
sons of the original Cinta de Oro.
According to Luchablog, the name is from the same man who helped train him, and
Cara has also been spotted sporting a golden ribbon on his mask as a tribute.
The new Cinta de Oro filed a trademark for the name back in July, but it hasn't been
approved yet, as there is a woman named Maria Zarate who claims to have owned the
name since 2016.
Obviously, WWE wasn't going to let him keep the Sin Cara name, but according to
Mike Johnson of PW Insider, the masked marvel is telling potential bookers that they
shouldn't worry about the standard 90-day no compete clause that follows all released
WWE Superstars.
That same report is also stating that Cinta de Oro is close to signing a contract with
AAA, after making a run-in appearance over last weekend.
Even if Cinta de Oro doesn't sign with AAA, there are still plenty of promotions out
there, such as All Elite Wrestling.
This week, AEW VP Cody Rhodes spoke to talkSPORT's Alex McCarthy, and was asked
about the recently released Luke Harper.
It seems that the former Wyatt family member is certainly a target for the new
promotion, as Cody revealed:
"He would be great as part of AEW. He's a name that when you hear they've asked for
their release, you definitely think about that and the next steps, for sure. I think he's
going to flourish with what he does next, he's very special."
Time will tell whether Harper, now going as Brodie Lee signs with AEW, but the former
Intercontinental Champion should know that there is a spot waiting for him in the
young company.
Back to WWE now and though TLC may have been a huge sendoff for the Pay Per
Views of the 2010s, this wasn't reflected in the RAW viewing figures.
According to Showbuzz Daily, the red brand averaged 2.05 million fans, down from last
week's 2.15 million, and ranked fourth, sixth and eleventh in terms of the 18-49 demographics.
Ahead of the first hour was “Monday Night Football,” its pre-show, and the
“Sportscenter” that was after it. Three episodes of “Love & Hip Hop” outdrew the
second hour in terms of demo ratings, and “Below Deck” and “Monday Night
Countdown” beat out RAW’s third.
Breaking the numbers down, the show started with an average 2.2 million fans, which
dropped to 2.09 million in hour two, before descending to 1.85 million in hour three,
making this week's RAW the lowest of the year.
Hopefully, things will improve next week when Rey Mysterio defends his US title
against Seth Rollins, and it's very likely that Rey will have his son at ringside.
Speaking to Sportskeeda this week, Rey said that he hopes for Dominick to have an
official match by the end of next year, though said it was up to the 24-year-old
whether he wanted to wear a mask and keep on the Mysterio name.
The Ultimate Underdog did say that he would love to share the ring with his son in
some sort of tag team capacity, but interestingly didn't mention whether he would
wrestle Dominick as opponents.
After so many years in the ring, and various surgeries slowing him down, it's no secret
that Mysterio is looking to wrap up his legendary career, and Rey has said that after
sharing the ring with his son, he'll be able to retire peacefully.
One thing that doesn't seem to be slowing down is the WWE's use of jobbers, as there
has been an influx in enhancement talent in recent weeks.
On this week's RAW, Asuka made quick work of Deonna Purrazzo, whilst next week's
show will see Charlotte Flair beat Chelsea Green, and although both are signed by
WWE, they haven't been pushed yet, so it's fine to beat them.
Akira Tozawa, No Way Jose and others have also been used in the role of the
enhancement wrestler, and Dave Meltzer addressed this on Wrestling Observer Radio, saying:
“One of the things that Paul Heyman is trying to do is get people wins. So, they are
doing a lot of these one and two- minute matches to get over finishing moves and get people wins.”
Squash matches were a common thing at shows during the 70s, 80s and 90s, but faded
away during the Monday Night Wars when both the WWF and WCW needed to put on
competitive matches.
The problem with competitive matches every week, is that it's easier to burn through
feuds, whilst squash matches allow certain wrestlers to get a better chance of
becoming stars, whilst allowing a slower burn between established opponents.
It looks like this is what Paul Heyman is trying to accomplish as RAW Executive
Director, and proof of this strategy is the Erick Rowan segments with his cage, which is
reportedly doing good numbers in the quarter hour breakdowns.
Vince McMahon is also reportedly a fan of the Rowan angle as well, so fans should
expect a lot more jobbers to pay the price for their own curiosity, curtosy of the
colossal Superstar.
Though Vince McMahon may be a fan of Rowan's storyline for the time being, one
angle that hasn't been so well- received is the love angle between Lana and Bobby Lashley.
Not only lambasted by fans, this angle has some serious beef in WWE, as Corey Graves
has shared his disdain for the angle, and now backstage interviewer Kayla Braxton is
getting in on the action.
On Twitter, Braxton said that she'd give up her entire WWE paycheck to have Lana and
Lashley never be on TV together again, showing what is truly valuable to her.
Braxton isn't alone in her opinion of the angle, which has been going on for a few
months now, and the company recently divorced Lana and Rusev on TV, though they
remain married in real-life.
At last weekend's TLC Pay Per View in Minneapolis, Rusev defeated Lashley in a Tables
match, asking Lana to marry him next week on Monday Night RAW.
Some more love drama for you now, as John Cena isn't around Nikki Bella's life
anymore, and it's safe to say her reality TV series was doing much better when the
fans could see him.
Speaking to Health Magazine, the former Divas Champion admitted that Cena didn't
take a single paycheck from appearing on Total Bellas, as all he wanted to do was
support his then-fiancé. She said:
“The one thing I really regret about showcasing the breakup is that no one got to hear
[John’s] voice, and it just seemed so one-sided. I felt like that wasn’t fair to him
because he was on this journey with us from the beginning. What people don’t realize
is that John never took one pay check from Total Bellas. It was beautiful—he was fully
there to support me. I’ll never forget his support and his love. That’s what made me
sad—I don’t want to say it became the Nikki show, but in a way it did because you
didn’t get to see John anymore.”
With his career in Hollywood taking off, including a role in DC's upcoming Suicide
Squad movie, the 16-time World Champion is being paid handsomely for his work,
though it's nice to know that money isn't the only thing for Big Match John.
And finally today we're ending with news from Lars Sullivan, whose momentum came
to a screeching halt this year.
After being built up and brought to the main roster after Wrestle Mania 35, Sullivan
was slapped with a $100,000 fine for racist, sexist and homophobic comments made
on a message board both before and after signing with WWE, and has also been set
back with a leg injury.
Though The Freak recently uploaded a video of himself at the gym, that doesn't mean
he's close to a return, as Fightful Select are reporting that Sullivan won't be back for a
while. The report reads:
“Despite Lars Sullivan being seen training, he’s nowhere near a return, we’re told.
Internally, he’s been listed as June 2020 as a “return” date. We’ve also heard that his
recovery was going slower than originally expected, as of a few months ago.”
It's no secret that in the past, men of Sullivan's size and physique would be practically
guaranteed a big push, but it'll be interesting to see what WWE has in store for him
when he makes his return.
For now, Sullivan can only keep working to try and get back in the ring one day,
though we'd recommend he stay away from any online message boards.