Taker, Austin, Rhodes, and more
Several newsworthy items came to the pro wrestling forefront this week, so let’s take a look at them.
Taker headed to Hall
WWE announced Friday that The Undertaker, the greatest character in WWE history, will be inducted into the promotion’s Hall of Fame during WrestleMania weekend.
We will have a deeper look at this closer to Mania.
While some feel Taker should be inducted alone, look for WWE to induct others as well.
Austin to wrestle at Mania?
More and more sites are reporting that “Stone Cold” Steve Austin has been approached by WWE about returning to the ring for a match at WrestleMania 38.
Tickets sales have been beyond abysmal for the two-day event, and with WWE having to sell 200,000 tickets over the two nights for the event at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX, it is looking at every potential avenue to boost ticket sales.
Just last week, WWE ran a Buy One, Get One free special to the event. During the holidays, WWE had other specials as well.
When is the last time WWE gave away tickets to WrestleMania?
Since WWE permanently moved from arenas to stadiums for “The Granddaddy of them All” in 2001, the show has all but sold out the first day just about every year.
If Austin does wrestle, who would he face?
He hasn’t wrestled since Mania XIX in 2003, and WWE has tried to lure him back to the ring several times, but to no avail.
If Austin were to return, could he possible face Kevin Owens?
Owens has been badmouthing Texas as of late, so it could be a way of setting up a potential Austin return for one last match in his home state.
Owens, with Austin’s permission, has been using the stunner as his finisher for a while now.
Whether Owens or anyone else, the odds are against Austin wrestling.
WWE approached him in late-December or early-January, according to www.pwinsiderelite.com, but unless WWE is keeping things close to the vest, don’t expect to see Austin on the show.
Rhodes leaves AEW
In a surprising announcement Tuesday morning, Cody and Brandi Rhodes announced they were done with AEW, and Tony Khan put out a statement through AEW thanking them for their time with the company.
Rhodes can be looked at as one of the most important, if not the most important, people who got AEW going.
AEW has become the place to be for many wrestlers, and Rhodes helped establish this fandom.
Ironically, as AEW brought in more and more people, Rhodes became expendable.
With his contract up, he and Khan had been working on negotiations, but to no avail.
As top names came to AEW, like Bryan Danielson and CM Punk, these new wrestlers signed bigger deals and now that Rhodes’ deal was up, he wanted a deal similar to Danielson and Punk.
However, Khan would not pay Rhodes what he thought he was worth, and rightfully so.
Rhodes has never been, and will never be, at the level of Danielson or Punk.
Could this all be part of a storyline?
Of course.
But there has also been major talk that Rhodes and WWE have been negotiating a deal for him to return to the company, and by the time this column goes live online Sunday, Rhodes could have technically already debuted at WWE’s show in Saudi Arabia Saturday.
When, where, and for who will Rhodes next appear?
Time will tell, but if he returns to WWE, could he be relegated to midcard status once again?
That was what led him to leave WWE in 2016 after a decade with the company, and after a big push to start back in WWE with a potential big match at Mania, could he be lost in the shuffle like so many others have?
Jericho next?
Rhodes isn’t the only star whose AEW has come, or is about to come, to an end.
Word is Chris Jericho’s deal is also nearing its end and he, too, could follow the money trail to WWE.
This Day in History
In 1978, Bob Backlund defeated “Superstar” Billy Graham to win the WWWF (now WWE) championship. Graham’s foot was on the bottom rope for the pin, but the ref didn’t see it.
It has been said that this was poetic justice as Graham used the ropes for leverage when he defeated Bruno Sammartino to win the title.
In 1989, Ricky Steamboat defeated Ric Flair to win the NWA championship at the Chi-Town Rumble.
In 2005, Rey Mysterio and Eddie Guerrero defeated Doug and Danny Basham to win the WWE tag titles at No Way Out in Pittsburgh.
Also on the card, John Cena defeated Kurt Angle.
This week’s question
So The Rock did a pregame promo at the start of the Super Bowl. Does this mean he is no longer a part of getting the XFL off the ground? Tom, Uniontown.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is very much still involved with the XFL. But as arguably the biggest star in Hollywood, when the opportunity arises to be seen by the millions (no pun intended) of NFL fans, he is going to jump on it.
Did you happen to see how annoyed some of the football players were as The Rock did his promo? You can tell they were ready to get the game going!
Ironic that the game took place at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, right outside of Los Angeles. WrestleMania 39 takes place there next year and The Rock is penciled in to face Roman Reigns at the event.
Email questions/comments to powerhousehughes@gmail.com or tweet them to @BillHughes_III.