Top 5 Wrestling News Stories Of The Week 11/11: Becky Lynch & Kenny Omega Returns, Top Free Agent To AEW plus WWE Fans Worried After Netflix Suffers Buffering Issues
Each and every week, the weird and wonderful world of professional wrestling never fails to captivate fans with a plethora of captivating stories that make their way into the news cycle.
Whether it’s shocking upsets, dramatic showdowns, or behind-the-scenes drama, the happenings within professional wrestling always keep fans on the edge of their seats.
Here are the Top Five Wrestling News Stories of the Week.
Roman Reigns Among New Wrestling Observer Hall Of Fame Inductees
Dave Meltzer wrote in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter about why he thinks Roman Reigns was deserving of the spot in the Hall of Fame.
With the Bloodline storyline being the WWE’s strongest since Austin vs. McMahon, the company has expanded its major shows with more stadium events and big events all over the world that local governments pay for. From a television standpoint, the company’s numbers hold their own while most shows audiences dwindle due to the competition from streaming.
The company routinely sets record gates, and more people watch the major shows than ever before. While Reigns is a part-timer, he has been the focal point whenever he’s around except when Dwayne Johnson is around, and they are linked together.
Becky Lynch To Make Return In Time For Major WWE Show
Becky Lynch’s WWE return could be on the horizon according to a new report.
Following the expiration of her contract back in June 2024 after losing to Liv Morgan, Lynch has not been seen in a wrestling capacity since. Also with a reduced presence on social media, The Man truly has become The Mom in recent months and is choosing to focus on family life instead of life on the road as a professional wrestler.
As reported by Mike Johnson of PWInsider, both WWE and Netflix sources are expecting Lynch to be back in action by the time Raw premieres on Netflix on January 6th, 2025.
Kenny Omega Confirms Plans For In-Ring Return
Kenny Omega is on the comeback trail.
During an appearance at NJPW Power Struggle, Kenny Omega gave the first public hints that he is preparing for an in-ring return. As of this writing, Omega hasn’t wrestled for 11 months, but it seems there’s some light at the end of the tunnel.
During a promo, Omega said he’d love to face one of NJPW’s young stars at Wrestle Dynasty in January, a cross-promotional event set to feature talent from NJPW, AEW, Stardom, CMLL, and ROH.
During a new interview with Sean Ross Sapp for Fightful, Omega discussed his hopes for a comeback and addressed why nothing had been set in stone. The former AEW World Champion said he didn’t want to announce a match, only to have to postpone it if his physical condition deteriorated again. But crucially, the star said that as of right now, he feels ready to wrestle again.
“How’s it going to look when January 5 rolls around if that becomes a thing, I don’t know.
I guess that’s why I couldn’t really list an opponent, number one, I don’t know if I could do it. Something may come up a couple of weeks out which would put me out from doing the match and I wouldn’t want it to look like false advertising.
Not only that, but… There’s an entry level opponent, where it’d look more like an exhibition, then there’s another tier of opponent, then there’s a tier above that and a tier above that.
I really just kinda wanted to leave it to how I felt. But as of right now, I probably feel good enough to attempt one of those.”
Omega hasn’t wrestled since getting the better of Ethan Page on the December 9th episode of Collision. He was diagnosed with diverticulitis shortly after the taping.
Top Free Agent To Sign With AEW
A highly coveted free agent is on the verge of signing with AEW.
On November 14th it was reported that Mike Bailey was a free agent after leaving TNA. The three-time X-Division Champion’s contract is believed to have expired on November 1st, and he wasn’t present at the company’s most recent set of tapings.
Bailey is incredibly well-liked within the industry and was expected to have people within AEW and WWE pushing for him according to Fightful. The star was backstage with AEW during the summer and once agreed to a deal with WWE.
A further report from Fightful Select has now confirmed that Bailey is expected to become All Elite.
Several sources, including those in TNA, pointed out that if Bailey was heading to WWE, there would have been no need to write him off television given the relationship between the two companies.
WWE Fans Worried After Netflix Suffers During Jake Paul Fight
Jake Paul and Mike Tyson’s delayed boxing match finally took place at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, the home of WrestleMania 32. Former World Heavyweight Champion Tyson went into the fight at 58 years of age and the WWE Hall of Famer lost to Paul with a unanimous decision
Many boxing fans expected the bout to last the full 8 rounds with Jake and his brother Logan Paul’s boxing matches resembling more WWE contests than classic fights.
The bout streamed live on Netflix and much of the talk afterwards was about the poor streaming quality and frequent buffering that spoiled the big fight for many.
This will concern many sports entertainment fans as Monday Night Raw moves to Netflix in January 2025 and will air live on the streaming giant every week. Netflix now has a few short weeks to ensure the same bugs that plagued the Paul/Tyson fight do not interrupt WWE’s flagship show which is currently airing on the USA Network until the end of 2024.