Top 10 Wrestling Stories of the Week 12/17: AEW’s Hangman/Danielson 60 Minute Match, Owens Staying in WWE, More
Welcome back TJR readers! Did you spend all day Friday watching classic ROH matches, and missed WWE Smackdown? Perhaps you spent all day Monday praying for the people of Kentucky, and missed Raw.
Worry not for I have returned with another edition of the Top Ten Wrestling Stories of the Week.
10. Harland Debuts for NXT 2.0
NXT 2.0 featured a huge debut this week. Harland (real name Parker Boudreaux) debuted by destroying Guru Raaj, while Joe Gacy watched from ringside. Gacy then entered the ring and asked Harland if he now felt better, with Harland shaking his head no. Harland then continued to attack Raaj, until Gacy had him stop. Later on in the evening, a backstage segment was shown with officials trying to convince Harland to leave the arena. Harland then grabbed WWE producer and former superstar Brian Kendrick and threw him down a flight of stairs. Getting thrown down a flight of stairs did hurt Kendrick, but he was excited that he got more air time than his entire run on 205 Live. (TJRWrestling)
9. FTR Attacks The Briscoes
Two of the top tag teams in the world may be on a collision course. This past Saturday night at ROH’s possible last show titled Final Battle, The Briscoes were able to defeat Matt Taven and Mike Bennett to become 12x ROH Tag Team Champions. After the match, Jay Briscoe laid out a challenge for any tag team to face them. The lights then went out in the arena and when they came back on, AEW’s FTR were in the ring. FTR and The Briscoes then brawled for several minutes before they were separated. We will have to see if the Briscoes, along with the ROH Tag Team championship belts, will now make their way to AEW. If they do, they will join titles from AAA, NWA, NJPW and Impact Wrestling that have all been defended on AEW television. At this rate, if Tony Khan can just get title belts from 150 other wrestling federations, he will have enough belts for every wrestler on his roster.
8. Indy Wrestler Brutally Attacks Referee
As any long-time fan of wrestling knows, sometimes professional wrestling makes it into mainstream media for all the wrong reasons. This, unfortunately, was the case at a World Class Pro Wrestling event in Irving, Texas. During the event there was a planned spot where a wrestler known as “Hannibal” was supposed to hit the referee Lando Deltoro with a metal spike in the head. Deltoro was then supposed to “blade” himself, causing him to bleed. When Deltoro did not make himself bleed enough for Hannibal, however, he decided to take matters into his own hands. Hannibal then proceeded to continuously ram the spike into Deltoro’s head, until he was bleeding profusely. Eventually, Hannibal was pulled off of Deltoro, but not until he needed to go to the hospital and receive multiple staples in his head. As someone who has begun refereeing himself, I, like most people, find Hannibal’s actions to be horrendous and inexcusable, even for Texas.
https://twitter.com/theslopdrop1/status/1470122421202133002?s=21
7. Hook Debuts in AEW
AEW sent in Hook this last Friday on Rampage. Hook is the 22-year-old son of AEW manager/commentator and ECW legend Taz. Hook has been appearing as a member of Team Taz for almost a year now, but up until this past Friday had not competed in a match. Hook took on, and defeated, Fuego del Sol while his father did commentary on the match. Hook’s debut got a lot of buzz on Twitter, and caused Tony Khan to officially sign him to a contract. We will have to wait and see if Hook can continue this momentum, or if he will eventually be taken out by Rufio. (TJRWrestling)
6. Jimmy Rave Passes Away
The wrestling world lost another of their own at far too young of age this week. This past Monday it was announced that former ROH and TNA superstar Jimmy Rave had passed away at the age of 39. The cause of death is unknown at this time, but Rave did recently have to have both his legs amputated due to a MRSA infection. The wrestling world immediately reacted to the news, with countless positive memories being posted by Rave’s peers. I personally would also like to send my condolences to Rave’s friends and family. (ITRWrestling)
5. “The Titan” Adam Scherr (fka Braun Strowman) Appears at ROH Final Battle
If this past Saturday truly was ROH’s last show, they decided to go out with a bang. After EC3 and Foundation lost a eight man tag match to VLNCE UNLTD, EC3 cut a promo about the issues with “corporate wrestling.” Brian Johnson and Dax Draper then came down to confront EC3. EC3 then proceeded to call out Wesley Blake, The Fodder and Braun Strowman. Strowman (now going by “The Titan” Adam Scherr) then proceeded to destroy Johnson and Draper with the help of Blake and The Fodder. Later in the week, Karrion Kross seemed to join EC3, Fodder, Blake and Scherr in a faction they are calling “Control your Narrative” likely because “The Budget Cuts” didn’t look as good on a shirt.
4. Bobby Lashley Added to WWE Championship Match
Big E got yet another challenger for his WWE Championship at the Day 1 PPV on January 1st this week. During the opening promo segment on Raw this past Monday, Bobby Lashley said that he wanted to be added to the WWE Championship match at Day 1. This led to WWE official Adam Pearce announcing that if Lashley could defeat Kevin Owens, Seth Rollins and Big E in three separate matches he would be added to the title match. By the end of the night, Lashley had done exactly that, and now will join Owens and Rollins in challenging Big E for the title in a Fatal 4-way. With these three wins, Bobby Lashley now has 26 televised singles victories this year, with Nick Khan being the only person in WWE to go through more superstars. (TJRWrestling)
3. Liv Morgan to Face Becky Lynch for Raw Women’s Title at Day 1
Liv Morgan will be getting another opportunity to become Raw Women’s Champion. This past Monday on Raw, Morgan and Lynch exchanged words, with Morgan then challenging Lynch to a title match at Day 1 on January 1st. The two rivals ended up getting into a physical confrontation, with Lynch trapping Morgan’s arm against the steel steps. Lynch then repeatedly kicked the steps while Morgan’s arm was still trapped. Lynch then accepted Morgan’s challenge, before telling her to go put some ice on her arm. Later, WWE announced that Morgan has a deep bone bruise and a strained radial collateral ligament in her left arm, which although not ideal still makes her healthier than most of the NFL this week. (TJRWrestling)
2. Kevin Owens Re-Signs With WWE
WWE decided to go against their current trends and actually keep a wrestler this week. This past Wednesday it was reported that Kevin Owens had signed a new lucrative multi-year deal to stay with the WWE. It’s believed to be a three-year deal in the range of $2-3 million per year. Owens’s contract was set to expire at the end of January, with AEW reportedly interested in signing him if he became available. Upon hearing the news Shahid Khan was forced to have a difficult conversation with his son, that Santa Claus cannot always get you everything you want. (TJRWrestling)
Kevin Owens confirms he has re-signed with @WWE. pic.twitter.com/k9EHNNgsvz
— WWE on FOX (@WWEonFOX) December 16, 2021
1. Bryan Danielson and Adam Page Wrestle to a One Hour Time Limit Draw
There was a last-minute entry into for Match of the Year. This past Wednesday’s Dynamite opened up with Adam Page and Bryan Danielson competing for the AEW World Championship. A full hour later the two men were still wrestling, with the match ending in a one-hour time limit draw. This match was absolutely incredible and was officially the longest match in AEW history. This is the second time this year that Danielson has gone to a time limit draw, as he went to a 30 minute draw with Kenny Omega in September. Danielson has yet to lose in AEW, but he had two draws. Danielson and Page was so good that John Canton gave it five stars and Dave Meltzer gave it his first born child. (TJRWrestling)
That will conclude another edition of The Top Ten Wrestling Stories of the Week. Thank you for taking the time to read this each week. Although I often joke, I have recently started refereeing with NYCW 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 getting kicked by your head coach, then feel free to listen to my brand new podcast The Smark and the Noob and follow me on Twitter @Fowlerwrestlin1 as well.