Josh Alexander appeared on Busted Open Radio Friday and announced he has a torn tricep, will undergo surgery on Friday, and is vacating the Impact Wrestling World Title.
“The Walking Weapon” had two upcoming title defenses before his injury. KUSHIDA on March 30 at Multiverse United co-promoted show with NJPW and Steve Maclin on April 16 at Rebellion. Now it will be Maclin taking on KUSHIDA for the vacant title at Rebellion.
To say this is a bad beat for Josh Alexander would be an understatement.
Major League Wrestling (MLW) is making moves to increase its footprint in the pro wrestling space. MLW lost its streaming deal with REELZ once the channel joined Peacock.
NBC Universal owns Peacock, and WWE’s long-standing business relationship with the company meant curtains for MLW on the platform.
Despite the setback, MLW has found a new International home.
First announced on WWE’s The Bump on Wednesday afternoon, Japanese legend The Great Muta will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame on 3/31/23, joining Rey Mysterio.
Ric Flair, who will induct Muta into the Hall of Fame, stated on The Bump, “He’s a tremendous guy, a tremendous athlete, a great person, a great man,” and went on to say Muta has a special place in his heart due working with his late son Reid In Japan during his time in All Japan Pro Wrestling.
Keiji Muto, aka The Great Muta, recently completed a retirement tour where he wrestled his last match. The tour included a match against Shinsuke Nakamura on New Year’s Day for Pro Wrestling NOAH. Many assume WWE allowed Nakamura to work the show in exchange for Muta entering the Hall of Fame.
Keiji Muto wrestled his final match as The Great Muta on January 22, teaming with Darby Allin & Sting in a six-man tag team match. His final match as Muto occurred last month, where he faced Tetsuya Naito, followed by a last showdown with Masahiro Chono.
Tony Khan announced Wednesday on Dynamite that AEW has “leveled up” the All-Atlantic Championship, and it’s now the AEW International Championship. Orange Cassidy will make the title’s inaugural defense against Jeff Jarrett next week on Dynamite when AEW debuts in Winnipeg.
Nine months ago, the All-Atlantic Championship was created to represent AEW fans in the United Kingdom. AEW touts they are the #1 wrestling promotion in the UK via their presence on television.
Plus, the British Isles are bordered by the Atlantic Ocean. In a nutshell, it was AEW’s way of creating a UK Title without calling it the UK Title.
However, the physical belt had a geographical error. Japan, which resides in the pacific ocean, is one of six countries represented on the title’s main center plate.
The current design of the title will remain intact. Simply the wording is changed from All Atlantic to International.
The grandest stage of them all is upon us. WrestleMania 39 emanates from SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, CA. WWE will again go with the two-night format on Saturday, April 1, and Sunday, April 2, and stream live on Peacock.
While the lineups for each night have not been announced, Royal Rumble winner Cody Rhodes versus WWE Undisputed Universal Champion Roman Reigns is the official main event and is expected to headline on night 2.
WrestleMania 39 Official Match Card:
–WWE Undisputed Universal Championship: Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes
–SmackDown Women’s Championship: Charlotte Flair vs. Rhea Ripley
–Raw Women’s Championship: Bianca Belair vs. Asuka
–WWE United States Championship: Austin Theory vs. John Cena
-Brock Lesnar vs. Omos
-Becky Lynch, Lita & Trish Stratus vs. Damage CNTRL
-Seth Rollins vs. Logan Paul
Rumored Matches:
Sami Zayn & Kevin Owens vs. The Usos
Edge vs. Finn Balor
Bray Wyatt vs. Bobby Lashley
Rey Mysterio vs. Dominick Mysterio
Gunther vs. Drew McIntyre vs. Sheamus
Twelve matches, between the official and rumored lineups, will give each night of WrestleMania six matches. If this ends up as the final card, it falls in line with the reports of Triple H wanting fewer matches on the show, leaving many wrestlers off the Premium Live Event.
While not officially announced, Logan Paul stated on his podcast Wednesday that WWE sent him confirmation his match with Seth Rollins will occur on night 1, which is his birthday.
If Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens versus The Usos becomes official for WrestleMania, it absolutely needs to headline night 1. I know that will not be a popular opinion. Rhea Ripley won the Royal Rumble and deserves one of the two main event spots, but this is show business. Sami/KO vs. Usos would be the second-biggest match on the card by a country mile.
The Bloodline saga is the best story WWE has told in decades. The rest of the matches are fighting for a distant third place.
An experiment occurred on this day in wrestling history 19 years ago. WWE taped several weeks of programming in Bethlehem, PA heading into WrestleMania 10, which occurred on 3/20/94.
Lex Luger and Bret Hart were co-winners of the 1994 Royal Rumble when they eliminated each other simultaneously as the final two competitors. As a result, both would vie for the WWE Title against Yokozuna.
Lex Luger was the favorite to leave WrestleMania 10 as champion. WWE had been pushing him as the new top babyface to fill the void left by Hulk Hogan’s departure. However, fan support for Luger waned to the point where the company considered a course correction, but they needed to be sure.
Sami Zayn lost his bid to capture the WWE Undisputed Universal Championship in front of his hometown in Montreal on Saturday at Elimination Chamber.
Roman Reigns’ 900-day dominion over the title will roll on to WrestleMania 39 in the main event against Royal Rumble winner Cody Rhodes.
While Cody Rhodes is WWE’s top babyface, Sami Zayn has engaged in an odyssey with The Bloodline that has not only produced one of the greatest storylines in company history but has made Zayn WWE’s most popular babyface.
The finish to Saturday’s main event begs the question, did WWE make the right call?
“I would like to be clear that unless I have direct involvement and input as Executive Chairman from the outset, I will not be able to support or approve any media rights deals or strategic transaction” – Vince McMahon 12/31/22
This response above is the loaded gun Vince McMahon threatened the WWE Board of Directors with to facilitate his return to the company. And he’s not coming alone. Michelle Wilson and George Barrios, former company co-presidents and WWE Network architects McMahon fired three years ago, are coming with him.
This follows Thursday’s news by the Wall Street Journal that McMahon was plotting his return to WWE in order to pursue a sale and be involved in the company’s upcoming media rights deals.
New Japan Pro Wrestling’s Wrestle Kingdom 17 emanated from the Tokyo Dome on January 4th, as it does every year. The show returned to a one-night offering and boasted a twelve match card.
It’s time for Ringside Logic’s “Best of the Year” honors. 2022 will go down as the year to remember in professional wrestling. Between Cody Rhodes leaving AEW, Steve Austin’s return to the ring, and Vince McMahon’s retirement, there was enough earth-shattering news to last four lifetimes.
2022 also produced one of the best years in between the ropes. Action-packed matches, wild angles, and memorable moments encompassed all major promotions. We will list our picks for the best matches in Impact Wrestling, NJPW, AEW, and WWE, and the big one, the overall Match of the Year.
Ringside Logic 