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Top 10 Wrestling Stories of the Week 2/24: Sami Zayn Wants Kevin Owens’ Help, New AEW Show, Mercedes Moné Wins Gold, More

By Matthew Fowler • Published 24th February 2023
Sami Zayn Kevin Owens

Welcome back, TJR readers! Did you spend all day Friday figuring out how to say “F*ck You Roman” in French, and missed WWE Smackdown? Perhaps you spent all day Monday trying to remember why all the banks and post offices were closed, and missed Raw?

Worry not for I have returned with another edition of the Top Ten Wrestling Stories of the Week.

10. Lita and Becky Lynch to Challenge for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships

Lita is going to have a chance to add another title to her already Hall of Fame resume. This past Monday on Raw, Bayley hosted her Ding Dong Hello talk show along with her fellow Damage CTRL members IYO SKY and Dakota Kai. Damage CTRL was quickly interrupted by both Lita and Becky Lynch however, with Lynch and Lita challenging SKY and Kai to a match for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships. Bayley quickly accepted the challenge, with the match scheduled to take place this Monday on Raw. It has been widely reported that WWE Hall of Famer Trish Stratus was supposed to be a part of this segment as well, with her being written out of the segment at the very last minute. It is unclear why the plans were suddenly changed, or who for that matter reminded creative that they had Women’s Tag Titles to begin with. (TJRWrestling)

9. Adam Cole to Return to the Ring in March

For the first time since June of 2022, Adam Cole will be competing in a wrestling match. Cole has been absent from AEW since then due to concussion issues that have kept him out of the ring. This past Wednesday on Dynamite, however, Cole announced that he has been cleared and will be competing in a match in March. It is unknown at this time who Cole’s opponent will be for his return match, with Tony Khan likely having a “huge announcement” about it very soon. (TJRWrestling)

8. Omos Challenges Brock Lesnar to Match at WrestleMania 39

Brock Lesnar got a surprise challenger this week. This past Saturday at Extreme Rules, Lesnar once again faced off against Bobby Lashley. The finish of that matchup saw Lesnar get disqualified, after intentionally low blowing Lashley in front of the referee. This past Monday on Raw, MVP called Lesnar a coward for his actions. MVP then told Lesnar that Omos is officially challenging him to a match at WrestleMania 39. Upon hearing that he may be facing Omos at Mania, Lesnar complained by stating that “he was supposed to be the lazy one in his matches.” (TJRWrestling)

7. More Matches Announced for AEW Revolution

With AEW Revolution just over a week away, AEW announced three more big matches for the event this week. Chris Jericho and Ricky Starks will once again face off, with the JAS being barred from ringside. Also, it was announced that Jamie Hayter will defend the AEW Women’s Championship against both Saraya and Ruby Soho. Finally Jeff Jarrett and Jay Lethal won a Battle Royal, to earn a spot in the Fatal Four-Way Match for the AEW Tag Team Championships. Jarrett and Lethal will now face AEW Tag Champs The Gunns, The Acclaimed, and another unannounced team in the match. With the addition of these matches, AEW Revolution is scheduled to take place on March 5th, 6th and possibly 7th. (TJRWrestling)

6. John Cena to Appear on the March 6th Episode of Raw

Soon you will be able to see John Cena. This week it was announced that Cena would be appearing on the March 6th episode of Monday Night Raw, from his hometown of Boston MA. It is heavily rumored that Cena will be appearing to start a feud with Austin Theory, who he is expected to face at WrestleMania 39. If Cena does face Theory at Mania this year, it will be Cena’s first WrestleMania match since losing to Bray Wyatt in a Firefly Funhouse Match at WrestleMania 36. Cena has not actually won a WrestleMania match since teaming up with Nikki Bella to defeat The Miz and Maryse at WrestleMania 33 in 2017, although one could argue that Cena ended up losing that one in the end as well. (TJRWrestling)

5. Logan Paul Attacks Seth Rollins

It appears we now know who Seth Rollins will be facing at WrestleMania 39. This past Saturday, Seth Rollins competed in the Men’s Elimination Chamber Match. During the match, Logan Paul made a surprise appearance to attack Rollins. Paul then hit a Curb Stomp on Rollins, allowing Austin Theory to pin and eliminate Rollins. On Raw, Rollins then promised that he was going to physically hurt Paul. Rollins should be careful with threatening Paul with harm, as Paul has a lot of experience with dealing with mental damage with his YouTube videos. (TJRWrestling)

4. Asuka to Face Bianca Belair at WrestleMania 39

Asuka officially punched her ticket for WrestleMania this week. This past Saturday at WWE Elimination Chamber, Asuka defeated Carmella, Raquel Rodriguez, Liv Morgan, Natalya and Nikki Cross in the Women’s Elimination Chamber Match. With the victory, Asuka earned the right to challenge Bianca Belair for the Raw Women’s Championship at WrestleMania 39. Asuka just recently returned to WWE television at the Royal Rumble after a brief hiatus, debuting a new look that is similar to her old NJPW persona Kana. Asuka’s new appearance has so far done well with the WWE audience, but has been nowhere near as popular as Mandy Rose’s new look has been. (TJRWrestling)

3. Mercedes Mone Captures the IWGP Women’s World Championship

It did not take long for Mercedes Mone to make an impact in NJPW. This past Saturday at NJPW Battle in the Valley, Mone defeated KAIRI to capture the IWGP Women’s Championship. This was Mone’s first match in NJPW, with her just debuting for the company last month. With the win, Mone is now the only woman to ever hold the NXT, Raw, Smackdown and IWGP Women’s Championship. In related news, all executives in NJPW are no longer allowed to have desks. (TJRWrestling)

2. New Reality Show Announced for AEW

Earlier this week, Tony Khan promised to have an “important announcement” on this week’s episode of Dynamite. This past Wednesday on Dynamite however, it was Adam Cole and not Tony Khan who made the announcement. Cole announced the arrival of AEW: All Access, a new reality show that will follow the trials and tribulations of AEW stars. This is set to premiere sometime next month and will air directly after Dynamite. The show promises

“Each episode will showcase AEW’s stars as they navigate the week-to-week challenges to remain at the top, and will track the rivalries between talent as they vie for fans’ attention. Over the course of the series, viewers will get the chance to follow the contentious lead-up to AEW’s major wrestling events and matches. “AEW: All Access” will complement TBS and TNT’s portfolio of top-rated wrestling content, including “AEW: Dynamite” and “AEW: Rampage” respectively.”

I am skeptical of how popular this new show will be, as it is not like anything interesting ever happens in the AEW locker room. (TJRWrestling)

1. Kevin Owens Comes to Sami Zayn’s Aid At Elimination Chamber

There were 17,000 screaming Canadians loudly behind Sami Zayn, as he challenged Roman Reigns for the WWE Undisputed Universal Championship at WWE Elimination Chamber. Unfortunately for Zayn and all of Canada however, after two referee bumps and outside interference from fellow Bloodline members Jimmy Uso and Paul Heyman, Reigns was victorious in the match. After the match, Jimmy Uso and Reigns attempted to continue the attack on Zayn. Suddenly however Kevin Owens came out, saving his old friend and fellow Canadian. This past Monday on Raw, Zayn asked Owens to join him in taking on The Bloodline. Owens however turned down Zayn’s request, telling Zayn to ask his buddy Jey Uso to join him instead. Luckily for Zayn, if Owens does continue to refuse to team up with him, fellow countryman John Canton is available to step in. (TJRWrestling)

That concludes another edition of The Top Ten Wrestling Stories of the Week. Although I often joke, I have recently started refereeing with and GroundZero and FCWA, and respect more than ever what wrestlers do every week. I wrote an article all about it all right here. If you like what I do, despite my jokes being almost as bad as losing in your home country, then follow me on Twitter @Fowlerwrestlin1 and listen to my Podcast The Smark and the Noob. Thank you to all of those who read this every week.