Women’s Royal Rumble is set
A few weeks ago in this column we looked at a women’s Royal Rumble match.
And while I thought it wouldn’t take place at next month’s Royal Rumble, it is indeed taking place.
This past Monday on Raw, Stephanie McMahon announced that the first-ever women’s Rumble will take place at the PPV, and the announcement was met with thunderous applause.
There are so many questions involved with the match and we will get some answers leading up to the event.
How many women will take part?
At first, there was talk of 15 but my guess would be between 20 and 30.
Will Ronda Rousey show up, and if so, will she win it?
And if Rousey shows up, will she be an announced entrant or will she be a surprise?
Speaking of surprise entrants, who else could be in the match?
Legends like Trish Stratus and Lita come to mind.
Will the winner earn a title shot at WrestleMania?
This concept has long been a staple for the men’s Rumble, so will the same philosophy be used with the women?
Will both current women champions take part in it?
There are a lot of questions and look for them to be answered in the upcoming weeks heading into the show.
Ambrose has surgery
Dean Ambrose had surgery earlier this week to repair a tear in his triceps tendon.
It was not a complete tear, which would have kept him out of action six months to a year.
No word yet on the actual timetable for his return.
Batista returning?
A report surfaced late in the week via the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that former WWE champion and current actor Batista is interested in returning to WWE.
One holdup is if he is cast for a movie role as to whether it would have to go through WWE or Batista himself.
McMahon starting Alpha Entertainment; XFL returning?
At the end of the 30 For 30 on ESPN about the XFL that aired in February, it ended with Vince McMahon and Dick Ebersol talking about how they would do things differently if they restarted the XFL.
Well, last Saturday word broke that McMahon is starting Alpha Entertainment which will focus on sports and entertainment landscapes, including professional football.
WWE filed a trademark for the “XFL” earlier this year, so we shall see.
Alpha Entertainment, LLC applied to trademark “URFL” and VKM Ventures filed trademarks filed included “United Football League”, “UFL” and “For the Love of Football.”
It was announced on Thursday that McMahon sold $100 million of shares, 3.34 million shares to be exact, in WWE on Thursday to fund Alpha.
McMahon announced that he has no intentions of stepping away from his WWE duties.
Raw and Smackdown will air commercial free
WWE announced on Thursday that the first hour of both Raw and Smackdown Live this week will air commercial free.
The thought here is that commercials may air with a split screen while continuing to show the action in the ring.
Hall of Fame class leaked?
Take it with a grain of salt, but several names are being tossed around for WWE’s Hall of Fame induction class the night before WrestleMania.
The headliner, according to the list, will be Goldberg with other inductees being Bam Bam Bigelow, The Dudley Boyz, Ivory and Kid Rock as the celebrity inductee.
I am not sure whether to buy the list or not as that is only five induction speeches, but it is a solid start to the class if it is legit.
WWE tickets on sale
WWE is running a live event in Pittsburgh on Thursday and it is running a ticket special.
Ticketmaster has a “Me+3 Four-Pack offer” with great seats available.
Tickets start at $20 per ticket just off the floor level.
More information can be found at www.ticketmaster.com.
This week’s question:
When will John Cena and The Rock return? I think Cena will break Ric Flair’s heavyweight title record and retire. Bishop Swope, Lemont Furnace.
Cena will be back Monday for Raw
Look for him to appear on the 25th anniversary episode of Raw, and I would not be surprised to see The Rock film a pretaped segment for the show.
As far as an in-ring return for The Rock, it is hard to say because of how busy he is as an actor, but my guess is that he will only wrestle at WrestleMania’s from here on out.
Email questions/comments to Bill at powerhousehughes@gmail.com or tweet them to me @BillHughes_III