Here is your news for February 8, 2020.
We're kicking off today with some huge news from SmackDown, as Goldberg returned
to the blue brand this week, albeit via satellite.
Claiming to be inspired by the Royal Rumble Pay Per View, the Hall of Famer laid out
the challenge to Universal Champion Bray Wyatt, which the Firefly Funhouse host
accepted, and the pair will battle on February 27th at Super Showdown.
It's been nearly three years since Goldberg last held the Universal title, though
hopefully this match will go better than his last encounter in Saudi Arabia, when he
knocked himself out against the Undertaker in June last year.
More Super Showdown news now, as this week's SmackDown saw King Corbin
challenge Roman Reigns to one more match in Riyadh, but this time in a Steel Cage.
It's a bit strange that the pair's feud is continuing, especially after their Falls Count
Anywhere encounter at the Rumble, but the Big Dog was more than happy to accept,
in what may be the last encounter between the two, before both move on to
WrestleMania feuds.
The last time Reigns competed in a cage in Saudi Arabia, was all the way back at 2018's
Greatest Royal Rumble, where he accidentally gave Brock Lesnar the win by spearing
the Beast through the cage wall, a mistake Reigns will be hoping to avoid this time.
More news from the Big Dog now, as the Grand Slam Champion and former Royal
Rumble winner already has a lot of accolades to his name and can now add voice-over
artist to his resume.
This week, Reigns revealed that he will be doing voice-over work for Disney's Elena of
Avalor, where he will be playing Kizin.
As one of the most popular WWE Superstars around, especially for younger fans,
having Roman in the Disney hit show is a winning combination, and following on from
his appearance in last year's Hobbs and Shaw film, who knows how far Roman's career
will go in entertainment, out of the ring.
Back to SmackDown now, and this week's show saw a fatal- four-way main event, as
Carmella, Naomi, Alexa Bliss and Dana Brooke all competed to become the number
one contender for the Smack Down Women's Championship.
After a hard-fought match, it was Carmella who got the win, hoping to reclaim the title
she last held at Summerslam 2018, but it didn't take long for the Staten Island Princess
to be attacked by her former best friend Bayley.
There's no date on when Bayley and Carmella will have their Women's Title match but
expect the match to be coming up in the next few weeks, as both women forge their
own path on the road to WrestleMania.
One person who knows all about championship gold at the moment is Buddy Murphy,
but the RAW Tag Team Champion has become the latest victim of a company name change
On WWE.com's Roster page, Murphy is known by just his last name, and Post
Wrestling is reporting that this will be how he's addressed moving forward.
Murphy now joins the ranks of Superstars who have had their names shortened
including Alexander Rusev, Elias Samson and Big E Langston, and whilst there's a
chance he could ger his first name back, like Mustafa Ali, only time will tell.
From one Australian star to two more now as it's been quite a while since fans have
seen the IIconics on WWE TV.
Given their absence, some fans have speculated that either Billie Kay or Peyton Royce
may be injured, but that apparently isn't the case according to Dave Meltzer.
On Twitter, Meltzer said that a decision was made to take them off TV, and that when
they come back, it may be under a repackaged gimmick.
Though the Australian duo captured the Women's Tag Team Titles last year, their reign
was often treated as an afterthought, due to the planned Bella Twins feud never
happening, and hopefully, 2020 will be a better year for the IIconic pair.
We've got some troubling news to report now, as former WWF Superstar Adam Bomb
has been arrested on narcotics charges.
Clark, aged 55, alongside 73- year-old Dennis Miccolis have pleaded not guilty to
"conspiracy, illegal control of enterprise, transporting or selling narcotics, drug
possession and possessing a weapon during a drug offense," with Clark's attorney
describing the charges as unreliable and false information.
Wrestling fans may remember Clark's Adam Bomb character as part of the New
Generation Era, though he also wrestled in the AWA as the Nightstalker, and as one-
half of Kronik in WCW, alongside Brian Adams.
With the case ongoing, there's little we can actually report, but hopefully the right
verdict will be reached, whatever it may be.
Onto some lighter news now, as Alexa Bliss and singer Ryan Cabrera are reportedly
saying, according to TMZ.
Threat report states that the pair met during SmackDown's debut on FOX back in
October, and it was the Miz who played matchmaker.
Weeks later, the pair were spotted together at concerts in Chicago and St. Louis, and
TMZ also noted that the pair were spotted together on New Years Eve.
Fans will recall that Bliss previously dated RAW Superstar Buddy Murphy, and though
neither the Goddess nor the singer have commented publicly on their alleged
relationship, there certainly seems to be a lot of evidence of their romance, and we
wish the best of luck to both of them.
Speaking of Alexa Bliss the pop punk band for soup has a new music video out today starring
the goddess titled Alexa Bliss
We're heading to NXT now, and though Matt Riddle has made plenty of fans over his
WWE tenure, one person who isn't a fan is Vince McMahon.
According to Dave Meltzer in the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter, McMahon is
annoyed at the King of Bros over some of his social media posts, especially those
where he challenges main roster stars.
It's well-known that Riddle has threatened to retire WWE Champion Brock Lesnar,
who reportedly confronted the NXT Superstar backstage at the Rumble, and Riddle
has been highly critical of WWE Hall of Famer Goldberg, especially after the much-
maligned Undertaker match at 2019's Super Showdown. Meltzer said:
"McMahon sees Riddle as an outside guy and feels Riddle has no respect for the
hierarchy of the business by challenging Goldberg and Lesnar."
Time will tell just how far the Original Bro goes in his WWE career, but if he wants to
make it, he may have to dial back on some of his comments, for his owns sake.
We've got some serious news now, as the law-firm Levi and Korsinsky has issued a
press release stating they will be investigating whether the WWE has violated any
federal security laws.
In the statement, the law firm said it will specifically be looking into whether any fraud
violations have taken place by members of the company, and cited the WWE's 2019
third-quarter financial report, which saw a large decline in money as potential
evidence of wrongdoing.
At the time, WWE compared the 2019 Q3 report to their 2018 report, citing
"unfavorable timing of working capital and lower operating performance" as the case
of the decline.
More bad news for WWE now, as Brazilian star Taynara Conti has reportedly walked
out of the company.
In a report by Fightful Select, it's implied that a disagreement over money may be the
reason why the former Mae Young Classic star left. The report reads:
"We’re told in the middle of January, Conti had a disagreement with WWE, and
“walked out.” Most at the WWE Performance Center we’ve spoken to believe it’s
financially motivated, but we’ve not confirmed that.
It was noted that her locker was cleared out."
It's unclear whether Conti will return to the company, but her husband Matheus Costa
has kept coy, saying "All we can say is that Taynara is still under contract with WWE."
Speaking of Superstars not being around, one person fans may have to wait a bit
longer to see is El Hijo del Fantasma.
The former Lucha Underground star signed with WWE a few months ago, though
according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Fantasma is currently out of action
after he blew out his knee.
With the WWE signing a ton of talent over the past year, the Performance Center is
getting pretty full, though the Observer also noted that he's expected to be back
imminently.
Now, this week, the WWE gave it's 2019 fourth-quarter report, and one thing that
made everyone's ears perk up, is when Vince McMahon said he was considering
selling the rights to some of his events.
What this means is that fans may have to go to other services to watch shows like
WrestleMania, and the Chairman also noted that if they are close enough to make a
decision about this that it will be announced during this quarter if a deal is made.
Finding a home for WWE content may be easier said than done, as the Wrestling
Observer Newsletter looked at several top candidates, such as Peacock, the new
upstart streaming service that won't be rolled out until April 15th, over a week after
WrestleMania 36.
DAZN could be a contender, though the Observer noted that their situation has
changed due to losing a lot of money with deals, especially when they've hosted
boxing content.
For many, ESPN+ is the most likely home for WWE programming if they start selling off
rights, but even this could have its problems, as Disney recently announced losses of
nearly $700 million due to ESPN+, Hulu, and the start-up costs to launch Disney+.
Even if Vince McMahon is in the market to sell, finding a buyer may be difficult, but
fans should never count out the ruthless business tactics of the Chairman of the Board.
More news from the WWE Network now, as this week, Canadian fans saw a quiet
increase in their subscription fee, from $11.99 to $12.99, and in some areas, the price
is now $13.99.
This price increase brings the Canadian cost much closer to the price in the UK, which
like the U.S. is 9.99 a month, though the British Pound to U.S. Dollar conversion means
that fans across the pound are paying nearly $13 a month.
We’ll have to see if this hike in monthly price will change their Canadian subscriber
count, as between this, and the reports of selling off content, the WWE Network could
be a very different service very soon.
We're heading back in the ring now, as, on this week's RAW, Bobby Lashley competed
for a WWE Championship shot at Brock Lesnar, but without his bride by his side.
In the Wrestling Observer News letter, Meltzer explained Lana's absence, saying it
made little sense for her to be out there, given what happened to the destroyer. He said:
"While the AOP took out Lashley and led to him losing in the Raw main event, the idea
was not for him to turn face and face the AOP. He was supposed to stay heel with
Lana. Lana was not in his corner in the three-way main event on Raw this week. […]
since AOP was going to attack him, it really made no sense for her to be there."
Lana had previously had a match against Liv Morgan earlier in the night that saw the
return of Ruby Riott, and the physicality of the Morgan match may have encouraged
WWE to leave her backstage for the main event.
One thing for sure is that this week's RAW wasn't a face turn for Lashley, despite the
attack he suffered at the hands of the AOP.
Whilst Lana didn't appear during RAW's main event, spare a thought for Rusev, who
hasn't been seen on WWE TV in quite some time.
In the Observer, Meltzer claimed that the former US Champion has been taken off
television due to a contract dispute, as the Bulgarian, unlike his wife Lana, is yet to
sign a new deal with the WWE.
Although some have speculated that Rusev has been suspended for making a joke, is
injured, or deliberately got himself suspended under the company's Wellness Policy,
all of these rumours have been refuted by the man himself, leaving fans, and us, to
wonder just how much time he has left on his WWE contract.
And finally today we're ending with the results from Smack Down, as the show started
with the Miz and Morrison running down the entire tag division.
This eventually led to a match that saw the Usos defeat Dolph Ziggler and Robert
Roode, whilst Elias defeated Cesaro in the next match.
Fans next saw another brawl between the Roman Reigns and King Corbin after the
Lone Wolf embarrassed a fan, before the Goldberg-Wyatt match was set for Super
Showdown.
In a bizarre pairing, Daniel Bryan made quick work over Heath Slater, whilst Shinsuke
Nakamura, alongside Sami Zayn and the Revival, sent a painful message to new
Intercontinental Champion Braun Strowman.
After Sheamus defeated Apollo Crews, fans saw the main event where Carmella
became the number one contender for the SmackDown Women's Championship, and
though Bayley may have gotten the upper hand after the match, expect the Staten
Island Princess to be in the mood for revenge next week.