The Great Muta Announced for the WWE Hall of Fame

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.

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AEW: New Title, Same Ol’ Stuff

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.

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WrestleMania 39 Match Card and Rumors.

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.

Imagine Lex Luger as WWE Champion

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.

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Did WWE Get It Right?

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?

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Guess Who’s Back: Vince McMahon Returns to WWE

“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.

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Ospreay vs. Omega Soars at NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 17

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.

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Best Wrestling Matches of 2022

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.

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Miracle on 34th Street Fight Delivers Holiday Cheer

There are few guarantees in life. Death, taxes, and WWE will celebrate the holiday season with Yuletide beatings. Miracle On 34th Street Fight, an in-ring staple for the last eleven years, serves as the annual festive highlight of Raw or SmackDown.

Decorated trees, oversized presents, giant candy canes, and delectable sweets fill out the ringside aesthetic of this Christmas-time spectacle.

While those yearning for a five-star classic loathes these over-the-top affairs, in reality, it’s not for them. Wrestling is a variety show and a match where one contestant gets a bowl of eggnog thrown in their face in a nod and a wink to the audience. Don’t think about it too much; sit back, relax and have fun.

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Bret Hart: It Was Time For A Change

Bret Hart is arguably the best storyteller to ever don a pair of wrestling boots. His exquisite technical prowess and pink and black in-ring attire are a hallmark of his legendary career. However, despite Hart’s intense portrayal of an anti-American heel in 1997, it wouldn’t have cut the mustard in 1998.

If the Montreal Screw job had never happened (November 1997) and Hart never went to WCW, WWE’s Attitude Era would have still been the most famous period in modern professional wrestling. The anti-establishment bravado spearheaded by “Stone Cold” Steve Austin made the era a time of reinvention.

Austin was already tailor-made for the highly volatile TV-14 product. Everyone else, however, charged their stripes to match the contemporary look of the times. If Bret Hart had stayed on, he would undoubtedly have to change as well.

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