Tag: rey mysterio

Rey Mysterio sounds like he’ll be ready for WWE return before WrestleMania

It’s taken a little longer than expected, but Rey Mysterio should be back in a WWE ring soon.

It’s been a little more than three months since WWE fans last saw Rey Mysterio in the ring, but the wait for his return could be coming to an end soon.

Mysterio dropped the WWE United States Championship to Logan Paul at Crown Jewel in November (though the Maverick took a shortcut to victory) before having knee surgery to repair a torn meniscus that he said he had been working through for months. At the time, he was expected to miss eight weeks at most, and that timeframe has already come and gone.

In this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter (subscription required), Dave Meltzer notes that the lucha legend is “pretty close” to appearing on WWE programming again.

Rey Mysterio’s return now looks to be in a few weeks. He was hoping for late January but is pretty close to being ready to return

When Mysterio does make his comeback, he’ll be hopping back into a situation that has only continued to boil over in his absence. The betrayal of Santos Escobar was the storyline reason for Rey’s time on the shelf, as Escobar turned his back on the LWO.

Escobar’s main beef seemed to be with Carlito joining the group, though WWE hasn’t really pushed a feud between the two of them. Instead, Escobar reformed Legado Del Fantasma with new wingmen Angel and Berto, later adding Elektra Lopez, who was part of the stable in its NXT days.

With WrestleMania looming less than two months away, it would seem an easy fit for a Mysterio vs. Escobar match on one of the two nights in Philadelphia. Even if that’s not how it plays out, WWE fans will be glad to see the masked Hall of Famer back in action soon.

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Royal Rumble winners list: Every wrestler to win a WWE Royal Rumble

Check out a full list of WWE Royal Rumble winners over the years, plus fun stats on entry number, most eliminations and more.

There’s nothing in pro wrestling quite like the Royal Rumble. While there have been and always will be other battle royals, WWE has distilled the over-the-top extravaganza into something that has withstood the test of time.

Since 1988, the promotion has had at least one Royal Rumble a year, with one for men and women held annually since 2018. Not only have fans fallen in love with the core concept, to the point that they enthusiastically count down from 10 each time a new wrestler enters the fray, they’ve also come to expect legends and surprises — which WWE generally delivers.

Another great aspect that has become part of the Royal Rumble’s DNA over time is the prize: an opportunity to challenge for a world championship at WrestleMania, making the Rumble the official kickoff on the road to WWE’s biggest show of each calendar year.

Naturally, that means it’s quite an honor to win a Rumble match. Even with the event heading toward its 40th anniversary later this decade, the list of Royal Rumble winners is still a pretty exclusive club.

Let’s take a look at every Royal Rumble winner ever, year by year.

WWE SmackDown results 11/10/23: Damage CTRL grows even stronger with a surprise addition

The all-star team assembled to take on Damage CTRL on WWE SmackDown didn’t even make it through one match.

Was the stunning return of Kairi Sane at Crown Jewel a boon to Damage CTRL or the beginning of the group’s end? That’s going to be one of the big questions that may get answered tonight on WWE SmackDown from Columbus.

It was Sane, not Bayley, who helped ensure that IYO SKY remained WWE Women’s Champion at the end of a hard-fought encounter with Bianca Belair in Saudi Arabia. And of course, Sane and SKY go way back.

But it was Bayley who was mostly responsible for running Sane out of WWE (in storyline, anyway). So is Sane back for some revenge? And if so, will SKY side with her or with Bayley? The future of Damage CTRL certainly seems like it might be hanging in the balance.

Another highlight for tonight will be LA Knight (no, all that rhyming wasn’t intentional) taking on Grayson Waller after the two superstars got into it on social media. Knight is undoubtedly looking for someone to beat up after his valiant but losing effort against Roman Reigns at Crown Jewel, while Waller is just stirring the pot as per usual.

Oh, and Kevin Owens is on commentary tonight, filling in for new dad Corey Graves (congrats to Corey and Carmella). KO has already punched Waller in the face once and would probably like to continue doing so, but GM Nick Aldis made it a condition of his announcing gig tonight that he can’t touch anyone or he’ll be suspended.

Also, he needs a tie, but Aldis promised to hook him up.

Good stuff.

WWE SmackDown results from Columbus:

(please scroll down for full details on any match or segment in bold)

  • Kevin Owens is dressed like he normally is, but also has a tie on as he joins the commentators.
  • The LWO is in the house, but not united for long as Carlito blames Santos Escobar for Rey Mysterio’s loss to Logan Paul at Crown Jewel
  • Bobby Lashley def. Carlito by pinfall; after the match, Santos Escobar decides not to save Carlito from a beating by Lashley and the Street Profits and ends up finally turning on Rey Mysterio
  • Escobar is asked why he attacked Mysterio on his way out of the building, and simply says “Rey had it coming”
  • Bayley reluctantly accepts that Kairi Sane is now part of Damage CTRL, but Bianca Belair, Charlotte Flair and Asuka are ready to see how united the group really is later tonight
  • Dragon Lee def. Cedric Alexander by pinfall
  • LA Knight says Crown Jewel didn’t go exactly as he’d hoped for, but that he did what he said he would and would be champion now if not for Jimmy Uso; Knight also says he won’t go to the back of the line and he’s not done with The Bloodline, but Grayson Waller wonders if he’s just “not the guy,” which turns out badly for the Aussie
  • LA Knight def. Grayson Waller by pinfall
  • Waller comes back out with Austin Theory, spilling water on KO and throwing a bottle at Michael Cole, so Owens pursues and catches them on the ramp, eventually hitting Waller with a Stunner in the ring
  • Jimmy Uso says he’s happy to take on Knight next week, and the phone call from Roman Reigns doesn’t seem like it’s stopping him from doing it
  • Damage CTRL (Bayley, IYO SKY and Kairi Sane) vs. Asuka, Bianca Belair and Charlotte Flair ends in a no contest after Asuka turns on her teammates, seemingly joining Damage CTRL and helping them beat down Belair, Flair and Shotzi

WWE Crown Jewel 2023 takeaways: Roman Reigns keeps dominating, Logan Paul is a champ

Here’s what caught our Vaughn Johnson’s eye the most during WWE Crown Jewel 2023.

Let’s jump into the biggest happenings from Saudi Arabia:

Roman Reigns wins … again

It may sound like the same old story, but it has been an effective one for more than three years.

Roman Reigns retained his Undisputed WWE Universal Championship Saturday, and did so with the help of his Bloodline family members.

The latest victim in the Tribal Chief’s reign of dominance was LA Knight, who came into Crown Jewel with the fans firmly behind him.

I don’t think anyone thought Knight had a realistic chance of winning the title, but the key for me was making sure Knight looked like he belonged in the same league with Reigns despite losing. I think WWE accomplished that in Saudi Arabia.

Not only did Knight lose due to constant interference, Reigns didn’t even kick out of Knight’s finisher, Blunt Force Trauma. Instead of kicking out, Reigns managed to get his foot on the ropes to stop the count, which only happened because Jimmy Uso put it there.

Where does Knight go from here? Well, I see him playing a key role in WarGames, which was made official during Crown Jewel. From there, I think he could have a very entertaining feud with Logan Paul over the United States championship.

For Reigns, see you in 2024, I guess. Enjoy the holidays.

Logan Paul is a champion

As I just mentioned, a YouTube star is the new WWE United States Champion.

But while that may sound like another farcical decision done to merely generate mainstream eyeballs, in reality, this was the fruition of a carefully crafted plan that has been executed over the course of multiple years.

Paul first appeared in WWE in 2021 and signed a contract with the promotion in 2022. WWE could have easily put a title on him back then and it could have caused a stir, but it would have been looked at as merely a publicity stunt.

But having Paul work against a variety of opponents, lose to some, defeat others, and actually prove himself in the ring made him topping the legendary Rey Mysterio for the prestigious United States digestible for wrestling fans. That’s because Paul put the work in before being put in such a coveted position.

And to his credit, Paul has delivered. Even in the ring with a legend like Mysterio, Paul didn’t look out of place. He didn’t look like a fish out of water. He looked like someone that has been working to improve his skill in the ring.

Like him or not — and I completely understand if you do not — he has earned this opportunity. And yes, this is still a publicity stunt, but it is one that was well thought out and executed.

Solo Sikoa beats the brakes off John Cena

Man, is this really it? Is the last time we’re really going to see John Cena in the ring was him being beaten to a pulp by Solo Sikoa? It sure looked like it on Saturday in Saudi Arabia.

But something tells me that isn’t quite the way Cena would even like to go out. I think this story isn’t quite over and Cena will ultimately pick up the win he has been desperately looking for — and it could happen over Sikoa. 

But maybe that is my wrestling fan naivete talking. Maybe Cena simply wanted to ride off into the sunset by putting a young star over in dominant fashion. If so, what a way to go out. 

Women’s matches receive little reaction from fans

Look, I understand why this happened. I understand the cultural differences as to how women are viewed in Saudi Arabia. I don’t personally agree with it, but I am aware of the situation at hand here.

However, I still feel like I have to acknowledge it because it is such a stark contrast to what we’re used to hearing from the women’s matches. It’s not for a lack of quality. I feel like the five-way was fine, but the title match between Bianca Belair and IYO SKY was great. 

But when the fans don’t seem to be interested, it hurts the quality of the match.

Sky Pirates are back

One of the biggest moments of the show was during a women’s match, as Kairi Sane made her official return to WWE television by helping SKY retain the WWE Women’s Championship and reunite the Sky Pirates from NXT.

I feel like if Sane’s return happened elsewhere, it would have received a much bigger ovation. But alas, it didn’t.

However, that doesn’t take away from the importance of Sane’s return as it adds a new wrinkle to the to the SKY-Belair-Bayley story and adds depth to an already deep women’s division in WWE.

WWE Crown Jewel 2023 results: Logan Paul is golden thanks to some brass (knuckles)

Logan Paul took a shortcut to beat Rey Mysterio for his first WWE title at Crown Jewel.

Logan Paul is shown driving the desert in a dune buggy before driving right onto the stage for his ring entrance. The fans come to life for Rey Mysterio as he makes his way down the ramp. Wade Barrett puts over Paul’s punching power, but of course he can fly as well.

Paul looks typically confident as he works through the opening wrestling exchanges. Rey has some tricks, of course, including a rolling throw out of the corner.

Mysterio hits a high cross body but sees Paul roll through into a fireman’s carry. A springboard moonsault gets the challenger a near fall.

Paul opens up with strikes in the corner, and Rey stumbles forward and falls at his foe’s feet. A waistlock takedown has Mysterio in trouble, and a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker gets Paul another two count.

A gorilla press slam leads to a Warrior splash and yet another near fall for the challenger. Paul grabs and lifts Rey into a bearhug, though Mysterio is able to get his feet under him on the mat. Logan uses a gutwrench backbreaker but gets arm dragged to break the hold.

That only slows Logan for a second as he taunts Rey in the corner. But he misses a corner charge and ends up splattered out on the floor. Mysterio rolls Paul back into the ring and heads up top for a senton and a springboard cross body that forces the challenger into a kickout.

Rey tries a couple more pinning predicaments for two counts each time. Paul fires back with a Buckshot lariat, then covers for his own two. Mysterio grabs a crossface, but Paul manages to crawl to the ropes even with one arm trapped.

Mysterio goes for a springboard moonsault, but Paul grabs and plants him for another near fall. Both men head to the top rope, where Paul is knocked to the canvas before fighting back up to meet the champ. Logan pulls off a moonsault fallaway powerslam (which probably has a name of which I am unaware) that nearly wins it.

After mocking the late Eddie Guerrero, Paul is forced to roll through a frog splash attempt, and now Mysterio is on offense. They head up to the turnbuckles again, where Paul is able to pull off a sunset flip bomb, then a Code Red that gets a very close near fall.

As Logan is over by the ropes, one of his podcast dudes hands him a pair of brass knuckles … though he quickly gets them knocked back out to the floor. Santos Escobar prevents Paul’s crony from grabbing them again, though they end up on the mat.

Paul takes a 619 but grabs the knux, and he’s able to smash Mysterio in midair to get the pinfall and Rey’s title.

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WWE Crown Jewel 2023 results: Reigns, Paul, Sikoa big winners in Riyadh

Get full results for WWE Crown Jewel 2023, where Roman Reigns and Logan Paul were among the night’s big winners.

Roman Reigns has been champion for a historically long time by 21st century standards, backing up his claim to be the Head of the Table. LA Knight is the brash newcomer who got over mostly on his own and is getting his first shot at gold. Something will have to give today at WWE Crown Jewel.

The annual Saudi Arabian show has perhaps its best card to date, packed with title matches and big on star power without relying on nostalgia as much as the first events WWE held in this country. There’s still a bit of that thanks to John Cena (who takes on Solo Sikoa), but thanks to the Hollywood actors strike, even he has been a regular in recent weeks.

The main event doesn’t appear to have that much intrigue, as Reigns appears likely to head to WrestleMania next year with his record-setting Universal Championship reign fully intact. But WWE also has lightning in a bottle with Knight, so as they say, you never know. It certainly feels like there is more of a chance for a shocking upset this year than in 2022, when Reigns had a title defense against Logan Paul.

Speaking of Paul, he’s widely expected to claim his first WWE championship of any kind when he faces Rey Mysterio. Does that mean he’ll be a more regular presence on WWE programming in the months ahead?

And there could be title changes in the women’s division as well, where both championships are on the line. Time to see how it all unfolds.

WWE Crown Jewel 2023 kickoff show results:

  • Sami Zayn def. JD McDonagh by pinfall

WWE Crown Jewel 2023 results:

(please click on any match with a link for full details)

  • Seth Rollins def. Drew McIntyre by pinfall to retain the World Heavyweight Championship
  • Damian Priest attempts to cash in his Money in the Bank briefcase afterward, but is foiled by a figure in black who takes his case … and reveals himself as Sami Zayn
  • Rhea Ripley goes by a distraught McIntyre backstage as if to say “I told you so”
  • Rhea Ripley wins the Fatal 5-Way match to retain the Women’s World Championship, pinning Shayna Baszler
  • Solo Sikoa def. John Cena by pinfall, though Cena receives a standing ovation from the fans when he leaves the ring
  • The Miz welcomes Saudi movie star Ibrahim Al Hajjaj to Miz TV only to see the segment hijacked by Grayson Waller; together they manage to fight off Waller, though, who takes a Skull-Crushing Finale from Miz and a People’s Elbow from the actor
  • Logan Paul is shown cruising around the desert in a dune buggy and then driving right into the arena for his ring entrance
  • Logan Paul def. Rey Mysterio by pinfall to become the new WWE United States Champion thanks to a shot from a pair of brass knuckles
  • Bianca Belair says she’s on to Phase 2 of her revenge plan against Damage CTRL, which involves her getting her title back tonight
  • Bianca Belair def. IYO SKY by pinfall to retain the WWE Women’s Championship, thanks in large part to a returning Kairi Sane
  • Cody Rhodes def. Damian Priest by pinfall after Jey Uso manages to fight off interference from other members of The Judgment Day
  • Roman Reigns def. LA Knight by pinfall to retain the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship, with some help along the way from Jimmy Uso

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WWE Crown Jewel 2023 predictions: What will go down in Saudi Arabia?

Will LA Knight dethrone the Tribal Chief? Can John Cena actually … win one? We pick all the WWE Crown Jewel winners.

Paul “Triple H” Levesque being at the head of WWE’s creative process has created a lot of positive ripple effects for the company.

But one I did not expect to see was an increase in anticipation for WWE’s Saudi Arabia events. 

We have come a long way from the early days of WWE’s arrangement with Saudi Arabia in 2018, when the shows felt shoehorned into the promotion’s already packed premium live event schedule and Vince McMahon relied too heavily on acts of yesteryear to generate interest.

Remember when Shawn Michaels came out of retirement just to participate in arguably the worst match of his illustrious career? I’m willing to bet Michaels prefers everyone forgot it ever happened.

But I have to give credit where credit is due, because the latest WWE event in Saudi Arabia, Crown Jewel, actually has a card that I am looking forward to watching and one that actually feels connected to the product viewers consume on a regular basis, which was not the case back in 2018.

Who will walk away a winner on Saturday? Let’s get to the predictions …

WWE SmackDown preview, spoilers 11/3/23: Rey Mysterio, Logan Paul weigh in before Crown Jewel

Also tonight on WWE SmackDown, Bianca Belair continues her Damage CTRL revenge tour against Bayley.

How can the superstars of WWE be on a SmackDown here in the U.S. the night before they’re going to be taking part in Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia? There’s an easy answer to that one: They can’t, which is why tonight’s episode was taped ahead of time last Friday.

To its credit, WWE doesn’t treat these pre-taped shows that much differently, promoting roughly the same amount of matches and segments in advance. Tonight, for instance, it’s focusing on the weigh-in between Rey Mysterio and Logan Paul, who will clash for Mysterio’s United States Championship on Saturday (a bout that Paul is expected to win).

Non-spoiler: Paul weighs more. Book it.

Bianca Belair, who is on a mission for payback against all of Damage CTRL, gets another chance toward that when she faces Bayley. Kevin Owens just feels Austin Theory has a punchable face, so he’ll no doubt punch it a few times when they have a match on SmackDown.

And since Pretty Deadly is back in the fold, it will be great to see them in action as well, as they take on the Brawling Brutes in a Donnybrook Rules Match, whatever that is.

If you want to see all of this play out like it was live, feel free to skip out now and rejoin us at 8 p.m. as we’ll be recapping the show like we always do on Friday nights. On the other hand, if you would like WWE SmackDown spoilers to know if you should tune in, please keep reading.

Seriously, this is your chance to leave if you don’t want to know what happened. Think of it like those “Last Exit Before Tunnel” signs.

(New Jersey/New York natives, you feel us.)

Alright, here we go …

WWE SmackDown spoilers for November 3:

  • Kevin Owens def. Austin Theory by pinfall w/ Grayson Waller on guest commentary
  • Charlotte Flair and Shotzi def. Chelsea Green and Piper Niven in a non-title match
  • Paul Heyman and Solo Sikoa cut a promo on John Cena ahead of Sikoa and Cena facing off at Crown Jewel; Cena comes out to retort and physicality breaks out, with Cena getting the upper hand (interesting … )
  • Pretty Deadly def. Brawling Brutes in a Donnybrook Rules match
  • LA Knight gets a chance to cut one more promo but Roman Reigns also makes an appearance to prevent the Megastar from getting in the last word; they tease a brawl but are kept from doing so by officials, referees, etc.
  • Bianca Belair def. Bayley, then adds an exclamation point to her victory by putting the Damage CTRL leader through the announce table

Interestingly, there are no spoilers for the Mysterio-Paul weigh-in, meaning it had to have been filmed some other time. That could mean other people getting involved (Jake Paul, maybe?) or other fun stuff, so the only way to find out is to watch SmackDown tonight.

WWE SmackDown preview 10/27/23: Roman Reigns, LA Knight, 1 ring, 1 pen

Also on WWE SmackDown in Milwaukee, the LWO takes on the Street Profits.

Sometimes you just need to see two wrestlers in the ring together to feel how their chemistry might play out. The WWE Universe, as the company is so fond of calling it, got to see that last week with LA Knight and Roman Reigns, and it’s going to start to pay off tonight on WWE SmackDown in Milwaukee.

Reigns needs no introduction, of course. Neither does Knight, really, as fans have been clamoring for him to get a pay-per-view slot in line with his ridiculous popularity over the last year or so.

He’s getting exactly that when he faces Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship at Crown Jewel the first weekend of November. And if there’s a huge match coming up, wrestling tradition dictates there should be a contract signing on TV not long before.

That takes us back to tonight, when Knight and Reigns are in the ring together to put pen to paper. What will they say when face-to-face again? Will one of them try to get physical? And will new-ish SmackDown GM Nick Aldis prove up to the challenge of keeping things under control?

The other big hook for tonight’s episode involves the ongoing beef between the LWO and the Street Profits. While the Profits still seem like they are trying to prove something to Bobby Lashley, they’ve been picking off LWO members one by one. In Milwaukee, the group will turn to its two highest profile members, Rey Mysterio and Santos Escobar, to see if they can put a stop to it.

Later in the afternoon, WWE updated its preview to reveal that John Cena will be in the house to address his recently confirmed Crown Jewel match against Solo Sikoa. And Bianca Belair will be on the show, though we don’t know yet what she’ll be doing.

This is also a great place to remind you that tonight’s show is on FS1, as FOX will be occupied with a little sporting event you may have heard of called the World Series.

Check it out starting at 8 p.m. ET, or hop back here for the latest WWE SmackDown results and updates.

WWE SmackDown results 10/20/23: IYO retains, Bianca returns, Logan gets his match

Plus John Cena sort of ended his long losing streak, but not really.

It’s back to work for Logan Paul tonight on WWE SmackDown in San Antonio.

Yes, Paul was just in a boxing match of dubious quality last weekend, and he is pretty busy with his social media empire and sports drink business on a daily basis. But he insists that WWE is his full-time gig, so we’re humoring him here.

After said boxing match, Paul said he would like to more seriously pursue a WWE title, and specifically the United States Championship. One problem: WWE Hall of Famer Rey Mysterio currently has that belt in his possession, and he’s not likely to want to hand it over.

But Mysterio responded to Paul’s interest in a positive manner, making it seem that perhaps we’re setting things up for a title showdown at Crown Jewel (or perhaps Survivor Series, which is just a few weeks later). We should know more after tonight, as Paul will be on hand and Mysterio isn’t likely to just hang out in the back if he’s being called out.

There’s also a big championship match on tonight’s card. IYO SKY has been a great WWE Women’s Champion so far, but to truly validate her reign, she needs to hold off more than one top challenger. Charlotte Flair would certainly qualify, seeing as she’s only the most decorated women’s wrestler of all time. Can SKY push herself to new heights, or will The Queen reclaim her place on the throne?

Plus, while Roman Reigns isn’t scheduled to be on SmackDown tonight, he did respond to the news today that he’ll be facing LA Knight at Crown Jewel. It seems possible, maybe even probable, that something will happen in San Antonio related to that upcoming bout.

Many eyes in Texas will be on a certain baseball game today, but we’re guessing there will still be plenty of people interested in SmackDown too. Let’s get into it.

WWE SmackDown results from San Antonio:

(please scroll down for more details on any match or segment in bold)

  • Paul Heyman chops it up with LA Knight, much to Paul’s dismay
  • Bobby Lashley and Angelo Dawkins give a pep talk to Montez Ford, whose match is up next
  • Montez Ford def. Santos Escobar by pinfall, but Carlito arrives with a steel chair to prevent any post-match liberties by the Street Profits
  • The LWO regroups backstage, but Rey Mysterio says he needs to handle whatever Logan Paul has in store by himself
  • Pretty Deadly is as excited as they’ve been since the opening night of Taylor Swift’s tour, but they’re mistaken about never seeing the Brawling Brutes again, much to their chagrin
  • Jimmy Uso is feeling pretty good about what he did earlier this week, but Heyman is more interested in who just walked into the arena: John Cena
  • Bad Bunny doing a WWE-style promo on himself to promote his host/musical guest stint on “Saturday Night Live” this weekend is shown
  • John Cena is fired up and not ready to quit yet, and he’s able to fend off an attack by Solo Sikoa and Jimmy Uso thanks to some help from one of their family members
  • Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn warn that “The Unholy Union is Coming”
  • Adam Pearce and Nick Aldis agree to disagree about Jey Uso’s fine or punishment, and when Aldis asks for security to escort Jey and Pearce from the building, Pearce has a swift response: “Let the games begin”
  • Logan Paul confronts Rey Mysterio, and the two men agree to a championship match at Crown Jewel
  • Austin Theory and Grayson Waller def. Cameron Grimes and Dragon Lee by pinfall
  • Kevin Owens tells Cathy Kelley “it doesn’t feel great” being separated from Sami Zayn, but he feels like it’s a clean slate for him on SmackDown, and he discusses some opponents he’s never faced before and some new faces he can punch
  • IYO SKY def. Charlotte Flair by pinfall to retain the WWE Women’s Championship after hitting Flair with her title belt, but …
  • … Bianca Belair returns to save Flair after the bell, delivering an emphatic KOD to close the show