Here's your wrestling news for December 2nd 2021
And your headlines for today include
WWE May Bring Back Hall Of Famer For Edge vs Miz Storyline
Fans Call Out Bryan Danielson’s AEW Debut As A Masked Luchador
Tony Khan Announces Bryan Danielson’s AEW World Title Shot
Video Of WWE Employee Giving Instructions To Seat Fillers Leaked
WWE Approached Current NXT Wrestler About Re-Signing With Company
Current WWE Wrestler's Contract Was Extended Due To Injury
GREAT Gesture By Braun Strowman And Former WWE Superstar!
Ric Flair Criticizes CM Punk & MJF Promo For Bringing Up WWE
WWE Schedules Two Cage Matches
WWE NXT Star Reappears As A Different Character & More
We’re kicking off today with RAW, as both Edge and The Miz returned during this week’s show, kicking off their new feud.
The Miz didn’t come alone, as his wife Maryse was by his side upon his return, and Edge may be getting some marital backup of his own.
PW Insider reports that WWE are interested in doing another couple vs couple storyline, which would require Beth Phoenix returning
to the main roster and getting physical in the ring. With Maryse back with the company full-time, and Beth previously saying she’s open to the
idea of wrestling matches in addition to being a commentator for NXT 2.0, it seems to be just a matter of time before the two get physical in the ring.
Edge had little help with his promo this week, as he’s allowed a lot more creative freedom than other Superstars, and his line about Miz living
rent free in a lot of heads, a reference to CM Punk and MJF who brought up the A- Lister last week, was an improvised line.
The last major couple vs couple angle saw John Cena and then-partner Nikki Bella defeat Miz and Maryse at WrestleMania 33, and we’re sure
WWE’s It Couple are looking for a different result when they inevitable face Edge and the Glamazon.
AEW news now, as this week’s Dark saw Infinito make his debut, a masked luchador who defeated Ray Jaz with an airplane spin and a roll-up.
Fans were quick to speculate who the masked mystery man could be, and many argued that with his mannerisms, size and moveset, that it’s
Bryan Danielson portraying Infinito. Those fans had a lot of fun with the idea of Danielson being under the mask, with one
joking that Infinito is married to former female wrestler Briefinity, a play on Brie Bella. Another joked that it couldn’t be Danielson,
and said that like Cody Rhodes and Fuego 2, the former WWE World Champion and Infinito are two separate people.
Rhodes faced accusations of playing the masked character after Fuego 2 debuted during an October taping of AEW Dark,
and while the company has kept quiet on these rumours, now Bryan will have to face similar accusations.
Danielson may or may not be Infinito, but under his real name, he’s the number one contender for the AEW World Championship.
Earning a shot at Full Gear, Tony Khan has now announced that this title match will see Danielson challenge Adam Page on the December 15th
Winter is Coming edition of Dynamite. We’ll have to wait and see if Bryan can become the next AEW World Champion,
as Page’s journey to the gold was a long one, but the American Dragon intends on making his reign a very short one.
Back to WWE, as the company is known for using seat fillers during shows, who fill in empty seats when fans get up to go to the
bathroom or for refreshments. The idea is to look like the arena is always full, at least as far as the camera can see,
and now new footage has emerged, detailing the rules laid out to these seat fillers. On Twitter, user @MachoBeard4Life shared two
undercover videos, which shows a WWE employee giving instructions to fillers, as well as what to say when they’re confronted
by the person who paid for that seat: “Somebody who hopefully paid a lot of money for the seat you’re sitting in comes back and
is every confused as to why you are sitting there. Kindly and politely explain, ‘Hey, listen, I’m a seat filler. I’m with WWE. I’m only sitting here until you
get back. Most of the time, that will solve all problems.” The representative for WWE also gave instructions
to those seat fillers who get a front row experience, saying that under no circumstance should they even think about hugging Carmella
or touching Finn Balor’s shredded abs. This rule applies to all Superstars, and the fillers were also told to not throw anything at the talent
These videos gave an interesting look into a process most people will never experience, and we imagine WWE are being extra careful
who they choose after the attack on Seth Rollins. It’s interesting that WWE realised that fans who
paid for seats won’t be thrilled to see someone in their spot, so if you ever notice a change in the crowd at future WWE events, now you
know why.
In September, WWE revamped NXT into NXT 2.0, in arguably the biggest change to the show and it’s roster since the 2012 relaunch of the original
reality show into its own brand. NXT 2.0 has already gone through a dramatic change in it’s roster, losing names like Bobby Fish,
Bronson Reed and Adam Cole in favour of Von Wagner, Bron Breakker and Joe Gacy. Now, Fightful report that in 2019, Kyle O’Reilly
passed on a new deal for the then-gold brand, and this resulted in his deal winding down, and it’ll expire before the end of the year.
The fact that his contract will expire soon was reportedly a “surprise” for O’Reilly, and while the company has approached him about a new deal,
it’s unclear whether a brand new contract has been signed. O’Reilly isn’t the only big name NXT 2.0 could lose
very soon, as Johnny Gargano’s deal with NXT is up next week, and would’ve expired tomorrow had a one-week extension not been agreed,
allowing him to work WarGames this Sunday. Ultimately, it’s O’Reilly’s decision as to whether he stays in NXT 2.0 or not, but with one half of the
Undisputed Era already in AEW, WWE is hoping to keep anyone else making the move to Tony Khan’s company.
WWE may be losing both Kyle O’Reilly and Johnny Gargano later this month, but one name they’ve maintained a hold of is NXT
Champion Tommaso Ciampa.
In another report by Fightful Select, it was noted that Ciampa also did not ink a new deal In 2019 when given the opportunity, but he’ll be around
for longer than Gargano or O’Reilly. That’s because of Ciampa’s history of injuries, as because he was on the shelf for so long,
his deal was extended in order for him to be actively working during his entire agreed contract length.
In March 2019, Ciampa suffered a neck injury that nearly ended his career, and in addition to vacating the NXT title, was kept out of action
until October that year. With seven months added to his contract, WWE has more time to work on a deal that’ll
entice the current NXT Champion into re-signing, but like O’Reilly, it’ll ultimately be Ciampa’s choice when time eventually runs out.
This year, Braun Strowman was released from his WWE contract, and the former Universal Champion has worked closely with EC3 since then.
After working EC3’s Free the Narrative event, the pair will once again team this Saturday for the Blizzard Brawl event, which’ll take place
in Waukesha, Wisconsin. Some of the proceeds will be donated to victims of the Waukesha Parade tragedy,
and that includes money the two ex Superstars will be making from their meet and greet.
Speaking recently to CBS 58 News, Strowman spoke about the show, and how much the state of Wisconsin means for him. He said:
“We [himself and EC3] have been very blessed and fortunate in our lives with everything that has been allotted to us through professional
wrestling. Working with WWE and now working outside of WWE. Wisconsin is near and dear to my heart. My sister and I are the only ones in
my family born out of the state of Wisconsin. Waukesha is my back door, my backyard. “All the money, all the proceeds raised from the
autograph signing meet and greet will be donated to the families and the victims of the Waukesha Christmas Parade”
Strowman went on to say that he’s hoping to raise at least $10,000 for the meet and greet, and that he’ll be signing anything from pictures
to action figures, and reiterated that 100% of the meet and greet money will go to the Waukesha victims and their families
Strowman, now going by ‘The Titan’ Adam Scherr, will team with EC3 to face Jakes Something and Rohit this Saturday at the
Waukesha County Expo, with tickets still available. For those who cannot attend but still want to
support the victims, there is a way, as all proceeds from the online 8×10 and t-shirt combo will be added to the overall total.
On Twitter, EC3 encouraged fans to donate what they can to raise money, and with a stacked roster, including Jeff Jarrett, Maria Kanellis,
D’Lo Brown, Kevin Thorne, and Aubrey Edwards, we hope that plenty of money will be raised for the families affected by the horrific tragedy of
last month.
On last week’s AEW Dynamite, CM Punk and MJF started a feud fans had been waiting a long time to see, with a war of words that saw plenty
of WWE references. Punk made reference to Triple H and the Miz, saying that MJF is a less famous version of
WWE’s A-Lister, while the salt of the earth fired back, saying Punk is PG and may as well be preaching hustle, loyalty and respect, a reference
to John Cena. AEW referencing WWE is nothing new, and plenty of fans like it, but one person who
wasn’t a fan was Ric Flair. Speaking on his Woo! Nation Podcast, the 16-time World Champion said he enjoyed
the promo, except for when the two brought up another company. He explained: “I thought the segment was good. I didn’t really
like that part where Punk mentioned The Miz. Regardless, you are right, why even bring up the other company? And I am saying on behalf
of both companies and wrestlers that are WWE or AEW, but I am a big fan of MJF. The kid can talk, and more than that, he carries himself like
an absolute pro, he dresses. You know, I cannot emphasize enough how important in my estimation, it is to look professional and that kid always
look sharp.” Ironically, the promo has also been criticised for being too similar to RAW, as Disco Inferno
has said that it was too long and drawn out, that it resembled a RAW segment which sees Superstars talk in the middle of the ring for a l
large portion of the show. There’s no word on when MJF and Punk will actually wrestle, but last week’s promo got
a lot of people talking, even if the two AEW star wouldn’t be happy to hear what some people have to say
Later this month, WWE will return to Madison Square Garden, and will once again host a boxing day Live event in the world’s most
famous arena. Now, a huge card is being put together, as WWE Champion Big E is being advertised
to take on Seth Rollins inside a steel cage This won’t be the only cage match, as RAW
Women’s Champion Becky Lynch will defend inside the cage against Bianca Belair. RK-Bro, Finn Balor, Lashley, AJ Styles and Rhea
Ripley are just some of the names advertised, and with AEW making their own mark in New York as of late, WWE are doing all they can to
fill MSG on December 26th
And we’re ending today with NXT 2.0 as Mei Ying has been portrayed as a 1,000 year old force for sometime, but WWE are now turning
back the clock. Karen Q had been the one playing Mei Ying, but the character was discarded from NXT 2.0 in
October, and now we know that Mei Ying is done for good. This week, Karen Q appeared under the name
Wendy Choo, and was seen waking up on a couch with a sleeping mask on. Choo may feel rejuvenated, but what’s happened
actually rather stale, as WWE has once again spent time and effort building up a character, just to let it be wasted and tossed aside.
We’re not sure what the plan would’ve been for Mei Ying as the head of Tian Sha, but clearly WWE didn’t have any plans for her after ditching
the character this week. It was in March that it was reported that Triple H and Shawn Michaels were all in on Tian Sha
who had impressed the right people backstage, but with the reins of NXT being taken away from the game by his father-in-law, the Mei
Ying character is officially finished.