00:00 Brock Lesnar removed from WWE plans!
00:03 Record breaking viewership for the Royal Rumble!
00:05 And Tony Khan is teasing great things for AEW in 2024.
00:10 And by things, I probably mean Mercedes Monet and Kazuchika Rikardan.
00:13 I'm Oli Davis, and this is the WrestleTalk News.
00:19 Saturday's Royal Rumble, premium live event, saw my favourite women's Rumble match ever,
00:28 TNA to WWE confirmed - another boring Roman win - and Cody Rhodes set to finally, surely,
00:33 I don't know if I can wait another year, to finish his story.
00:37 They are not flinching.
00:39 It capped the end of an amazing week for WWE, announcing Rock 'The Dwayne' Johnson is
00:44 joining their parent company's board of directors, a deal with Netflix worth $5 billion
00:49 and, most importantly of all, a reported working relationship with TNA.
00:55 An amazing week full of only positives, and all the Slim Jims you can eat!
01:05 Just one more thing.
01:06 The 'amazing week' for WWE aren't my words.
01:09 They're the words of WWE Chief Content Officer Triple H during the post-Royal Rumble media
01:15 conference.
01:16 And it is.
01:17 If you haven't read the lawsuit accusing your company's founder and former chairman
01:21 Vince McMahon of sexual abuse which forced him to resign just the following day, please
01:25 watch the WrestleTalk News episodes in the video description below for all the information
01:28 on that suit, Vince's departure and Triple H's addressing of it.
01:32 As Endeavor boss Ari Emanuel had already separated McMahon from WWE creative back in September,
01:38 making Triple H solely in charge of that area, the lawsuit's ramifications should've only
01:42 affected the behind the scenes business business business operations in the company.
01:46 But one allegation in the suit has directly impacted the onscreen WWE product - massively
01:52 changing the Royal Rumble show itself, which will have huge consequences for the promotion's
01:58 plans for WrestleMania.
01:59 Janelle Grant alleges that in the summer of 2021, Vince offered her for sexual favours
02:04 to a world famous athlete and former UFC heavyweight champion with whom WWE was actively trying
02:10 to sign a new contract.
02:12 The Wall Street Journal then reported that people close to the situation believe that
02:17 person is Brock Lesnar.
02:19 Fightful Select, PWInsider and the Wrestling Observer then all reported Lesnar was set
02:23 to make his surprise return during the men's Rumble match, but those plans were pulled
02:28 because of the lawsuit being filed two days before.
02:31 I once got to sit with a wrestling promoter when they were booking just a 20 man Rumble.
02:35 I thought, this'll be cool.
02:37 Rumbles are the most fun gimmick match to watch, with surprises and eliminations and
02:42 someone new coming out every 90 seconds.
02:45 Turns out they're also the hardest to keep track of.
02:48 Four hours later in that room, barely halfway through, I realised it's almost as much
02:53 as an algebra equation as a creative process.
02:56 If Austin Theory enters at No. 9, and Jey Uso has been in for a total of 17 minutes,
03:01 43 seconds, should Shinsuke Nakamura eliminate Luthor Kizer?
03:05 So I do not blame WWE for how they dealt with Lesnar being pulled from the match just 48
03:10 hours from the show.
03:11 They just directly replaced him with Bron Breakker, complete with all Lesnar's pre-planned
03:15 spots.
03:16 Which is fine for the Rumble, but what about the road to WrestleMania?
03:21 Rumble spots and eliminations, particularly for Brock feuds, often sow the seeds for matches
03:25 that'll happen over the next three to four months.
03:28 Like how we were supposed to get that huge Brock Lesnar vs Dominik Mysterio match we've
03:33 all been asking for.
03:34 Breakker was eventually eliminated by Mysterio, which post-wrestling has confirmed was the
03:39 original plan for the Beast Incarnate, because it was going to set up a match between the
03:44 two at the huge Elimination Chamber Stadium show in Perth, Australia the following month.
03:50 Meltzer has since corroborated this in his F4WOnline daily update, writing "There were
03:55 a number of changes made for Mania in the last few days.
03:58 The way it was explained to me is that it involves the creative plans for Brock Lesnar
04:03 and a domino effect when the decision was made at the last minute to not have Lesnar
04:07 on the show due to the lawsuit.
04:09 The Lesnar creative, which at this point he's not going to be involved with unless they
04:13 decide they would bring him back, was Lesnar vs Dominik Mysterio in Australia."
04:19 Meltzer then speculated that Lesnar's plan for WrestleMania was to face Gunther for the
04:23 Intercontinental Championship.
04:26 So is all this now about to go to Brom Breaker?
04:29 Talking to Cathy Kelly after the Rumble, where Breaker eliminated four people in 5 minutes
04:33 20 seconds, and was one of the standout performances of that match, it seems to be far more than
04:38 just an NXT cameo WWE booked to replace Lesnar last minute.
04:42 "Things didn't go my way, but I'm not done with the Judgment Day by any means."
04:47 Oh, ok, maybe it is.
04:48 And Judgment Day, they're just going to go down to NXT and do a month's storyline
04:53 with him and Baron Corbin.
04:56 Wolfdogs.
04:57 My favourite team at the moment.
04:58 But just one more thing, Breaker then added, "I think tonight I've proved that I belong
05:03 in the main roster.
05:04 This is my home now.
05:06 I'm ready for the work.
05:07 I'm ready to prove to my peers and to the people, everyone out there who believes in
05:11 me, that this is where I belong and this is what I was born to do.
05:15 I'm here.
05:16 I'm ready to go."
05:17 Which is amazing news for both Breaker and WWE, as he could be a jolt of energy to the
05:22 Raw roster, and perhaps be catapulted into superstardom if they do decide to book him
05:27 beating Gunther at Mania.
05:29 Unfortunately that does come at the expense of his Wolfdogs tag team with Baron Corbin,
05:32 who have been genuinely awesome in NXT's Dusty Rhodes Classic, for which they're
05:36 in the final.
05:37 How would you capitalise on Brom Breaker's unplanned main roster call-up?
05:40 Let me know in the comments down below because I'll be replying to people FROM OUTTA RUNNING
05:43 THE ROPES REALLY REALLY FAST.
05:47 While Breaker is a hugely exciting talent, WWE will likely now have to scramble for some
05:51 extra star power for the Elimination Chamber show.
05:54 Similar to the Saudi Arabia Backlash or Clash at the Castle events, the Chamber isn't
05:59 funded by fan ticket sales.
06:01 Instead, the city of Perth have paid WWE to run the show in their town.
06:06 And with those big money deals comes big money expectations.
06:11 If WWE decide not to use Lesnar, it's time to dial 9-1-ROCK.
06:17 As for the rest of the WrestleMania card, Meltzer has confirmed the major matches remain
06:21 in place.
06:22 There's also Sky vs Bayley for the SmackDown Women's title following Bayley's Rumble
06:26 win.
06:27 Rhea Ripley vs Becky Lynch for the Raw Women's Championship.
06:29 Seth Rollins vs CM Punk for the World Heavyweight title, Seth's injury pending.
06:34 And Roman Reigns vs Cody Rhodes is the planned main event.
06:38 Reigns vs The Rock is still on the boards, but for later, as long as The Rock is open
06:42 to doing it.
06:43 Which is wrestling speak for…
06:45 Rock, we want you to work Saudi Arabia.
06:48 I'm having fun using the telephone prop.
06:51 Brombreaker wasn't the only main roster debut, though, as Jade Cargill put in an excellent
06:55 showing in her first WWE match as the Women's Rumble 28th entrant - eliminating Nia Jax,
07:01 Naomi and kind of Becky Lynch, and lasting to the final three.
07:05 It seemed as though WWE were positioning Cargill as a focus on the road to WrestleMania, perhaps
07:10 for an often fantasy book dream match against Bianca Belair as they had several interactions
07:15 in the Rumble.
07:16 But Brian Alvarez has noted there are some obstacles she still needs to overcome first.
07:21 Mainly, Alvarez has been told from people behind the scenes, she has a hard time remembering
07:25 a lot of stuff in regards to her in-ring work.
07:28 Alvarez recommends the best way to improve that is to include her in WWE's live events
07:33 tour, to get the reps in with veteran talent.
07:35 Because AEW never really did many house shows, Jade has only wrestled 65 matches in her almost
07:42 three year career.
07:43 Far below the amount many need to hone their craft early on.
07:46 As for the Women's Rumble match, Fightful Selective reported it was rehearsed on Thursday
07:50 at the Performance Center, which is where everyone found out that both Naomi and TNA's
07:55 Jordan Grace would be in the match.
07:57 Which is likely why that news was leaked on the day ahead of the show.
08:00 With the returns of Naomi and Liv Morgan, the debut of Cargill and seeming access to
08:05 all of TNA's Knockouts division, Triple H has constructed one of the deepest women's
08:09 rosters of all time, which he was very happy about on X.
08:14 The landscape of the WWE Women's division was altered last night.
08:18 The connections that these three have with the WWE Universe is undeniable, and I have
08:23 a feeling their momentum will be unstoppable.
08:26 Complete with obligatory pointing photos at each surprise entrant.
08:29 Look, woman.
08:30 Wait, is he just pointing at Cargill's bicep?
08:34 J Cargill's bicep main roster signing confirmed.
08:36 And it's not just Cargill's biceps that are pumped.
08:39 So is WWE's viewership.
08:40 Fightful selectors learned last night's WWE Royal Rumble saw the largest viewership
08:45 in the history of the event.
08:46 It's also the largest audience of any PLE in WWE history outside of WrestleMania, per
08:53 internal memos.
08:55 And that interest was mirrored in our own numbers for our live watchalong party, with
08:59 it getting almost 450,000 views - our biggest ever live reactions number by almost 200,000
09:07 views - even beating CM Punk's other return to wrestling on AEW Rampage in 2021.
09:13 That screenshot, by the way, is when Jordan Grace made her surprise entry.
09:17 Just thought that was a funny picture of Luke.
09:19 That was our first watchalong party since Survivor Series, where our CM Punk return
09:23 reaction was used loads on WWE TV, so thanks for the rub!
09:27 It's indicative of the still rising tide of WWE popularity, which Tony Khan looks like
09:33 he's making his own plans to capitalise on.
09:36 But before I go through that, here's a message
10:04 I've got for you. Go join over on their Patreon so you can get your name read out by me too!
10:15 Thank you The Black Play, Butch Rosser, The Cleaner, Ken Isher, The British Bulldog, Philip
10:20 Boyd J. Smith Jr. - he can last Shaun for longer than you in the ring, Starbucks, Stephen
10:26 Kosta and The Shield Maiden, The Czar Nix. Patreon.com/wrestletalk.
10:45 If you're not a WrestleTalk Pledgehammer already, you're going to want to join at
10:47 Patreon.com/wrestletalk right now! Because we're debuting our overhauled WrestleTalk
10:53 Extra show on there this Wednesday 31st - where Luke and I do a deep dive review on the Royal
10:59 Rumble 2014 in episode 1 of our series on the Breakup of the Shield. Which also includes
11:06 CM Punk walking out of the company, Daniel Bryan getting added to Mania 30, and everyone
11:10 hating John Cena, Randy Orton and unfortunately Rey Mysterio.
11:14 That's Patreon.com/wrestletalk. Flying in the face of Hangman Page's 'New
11:19 Year, New Me, dumbass' motivational speaking, Tony Khan is promising New Year, Old AEW in
11:26 his post. 2024 AEW is the next 2021 AEW, with a picture
11:33 of him wearing 2021 glasses. Which is one better than 2020 hindsight.
11:38 Despite their business increasing in 2022 and 2023, with the Extra Show collision, more
11:43 pay-per-view buys and the epic All In show at Wembley, AEW was in turmoil behind the
11:48 scenes with disgruntled talent. This coincided with WWE getting hot, and AEW's live attendance
11:54 approaching WCW in 2000 levels bird. AEW's 2021 was the year of all the surprise
12:01 signings like Malakai Black, Andrade, Bryan Danielson, CM Punk and Adam Cole. Hey, 3 out
12:07 of 5 still being there ain't bad. Ok, yep. Of course, I've just read that
12:17 Dave Meltzer's reporting Malakai Black doesn't like doing jobs, aka getting pinned. Which
12:23 is why his collision match had to escape the cage stipulation, and that he'll be going
12:27 back to WWE as soon as he can. Khan's 2024 as the new 2021, though, could
12:35 be a tease of an influx of new top tier talent to replace them, with both Mercedes Monet
12:40 and Kazuchika Okada reportedly close to signing. Deals that are now more likely than ever purely
12:45 because neither showed up in the Royal Rumble. Learn more about the Vince McMahon fallout
12:49 in WWE by watching the video on the left.
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