SquaredCircle

They went ahead and uploaded this full match from a few weeks back, so enjoy!

'cause if BSG taught me anything: Time is circular.

Edit: Dave Meltzer adds no one in WWE has confirmed the injury but the speculation is Punk tore his triceps. You will note he tore his triceps once before, at a barely memorable show in Sept

Edit:

PWInsider.com can confirm that Punk suffered a torn triceps during the Men's Royal Rumble match and is believed to heading towards surgery after an appearance on tonight's Raw. Punk is in Tampa for the show.

https://www.pwinsider.com/article.php?id=179789

Edit: For what it's worth -

SRS: "For those asking, we've been working on an update regarding CM Punk since the WWE Royal Rumble. There was an initial fear that he sustained an injury, but we've not confirmed that. Fightful's @CoreyBrennanFF was told that Punk waved off a doctor towards the end of the match."

So who knows atm.

Edit: SRS seems to have flipflopped, whoda predicted that. I'm calling him injured myself on my own authority as owner of the community. There, I'm done with this lmao.

Near the Beginning of the Rockin' Robin vs. Sherri Martel title defense in Paris Guerrilla Monsoon tells Bobby the Brain Henin that if Sherri didn't defend it tonight she would lose it anyway as it had been 29 days since her last defense.

Obviously, the major news of the week for TNA was Knockouts Champion Jordynne Grace appearing and wrestling in the 2024 WWE Royal Rumble bout. We are told this was an overture made by WWE to TNA. One WWE source believes it was a Paul Levesque idea. We are told the deal came together really quickly as a way for WWE to surprise everyone with an "outside the box idea." There were no TNA officials backstage at the Rumble event as Scott D'Amore was on the Chris Jericho Cruise. TNA official Tommy Dreamer was in Tampa over the weekend for SiriusXM's Busted Open but was not at the Rumble. Grace teased there would be more TNA/WWE crossover in the future but we have not heard if there is any definitive plans. Grace was absolutely excellent in the Rumble and blew a lot of people in WWE away.

I respect everyone has different goals in wrestling media but we get to ask only a few questions per month to WWE EVP Paul Levesque and rarely have access to any other executive. A sex trafficking lawsuit was filed a few days ago against 3 parties: Vince McMahon, John Laurinaitis, and against the company itself, WWE. It alleges trafficking and sexual assault (including claims of instances inside WWE HQ).

But not only that. Janel Grant says multiple executives (at least 4, who are anonymized, and we can’t rule out Levesque or Nick Khan are among them) had knowledge of the relationship between she (an entry-level employee) and Vince McMahon (the CEO) and did nothing to intervene.

Keep in mind WWE itself disclosed in 2022 there are multiple additional NDAs between Vince and other women, whose stories we barely know anything about.

Given the context and profoundly disturbing new allegations, to ask Levesque about any other subject last night in particular is a disservice to the industry and the people in it.

Even if further questions produce only bits of transparency or non-answers, those responses and the media’s attention to the subject send a message to the public and business partners. If every question would’ve been about by far the most important story in wrestling this week (this decade?), it would’ve sent a more resounding signal regardless of the responses. Instead it feels like there’s some headroom where WWE can evade questions about sexual misconduct at the company, a possible cover-up, and instead get to talk about the great business run they’re on and how today’s product compares to the Attitude Era.

Having access carries a responsibility that sometimes matters less but last night mattered a lot, and half the questions to Levesque were about relatively trivial subjects.

I don’t mean to put anyone down. Many stories including this one involve complicated details. If you feel unsure what to ask, I find talking with other reporters about possible good questions helps. My DMs are open too and I had a dozen questions I could’ve shared.

If you’re afraid of losing access, I can only speak for myself: I have never been dissuaded before or after, and I think WWE anticipates what kinds of questions I’m going to ask before I’m called on, which they’ve done at each presser I’ve attended. And ultimately there are things more important than access, like transparency and accountability.

I'll admit I have not watched the Rumble this year so I don't know for certain, but I'm posting this because it feels like a pretty even handed take from a self-confessed AEW mark.

The last line - just because something isn't for me, doesn't mean it isn't for you - is very good advice.

It's Meme Monday! Use this space to share all the funny memes, gifs, pics, and shorts from the week that was in wrestling.

💥 TOP VOTED MEME WILL BE NEXT WEEK'S THUMBNAIL!! 💥

Remember to link your memes so our friends on Lemmy can see them! Thanks guys.

The world of pro wrestling is vast. Let us know what you're watching, what you've seen and what your thoughts are this week!

🤦‍♂️

I love Abadon rofl

Saturday night's alright for fighting!

Tonight, Collision is LIVE from Bossier City, LA! The card includes:

• SIX-MAN ELIMINATION STEEL CAGE MATCH: Daniel Garcia & FTR (Cash Wheeler & Dax Harwood) vs. The House of Black (Brody King, Buddy Matthews, & Malakai Black)

• “The American Dragon” Bryan Danielson vs. “Blue Justice” Yuji Nagata

• AEW INTERNATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH: © Orange Cassidy vs. Komander

• Mariah May vs. Lady Frost

• ELIMINATOR MATCH: Continental Crown Champion Eddie Kingston vs. Willie Mack

• Blackpool Combat Club (Claudio Castagnoli & Jon Moxley) vs. Shane Taylor Promotions (Lee Moriarty & Shane Taylor)

• Serena Deeb wrestles her first match since 2022!

And more!

Show starts at 8pm EST | 5pm PST | 7pm CST | 1am BST

AEW can be found on: TNT in the US, TSN+ in Canada, ViX in Latin America, ESPN in Australia, and FITETV/DAZN in the UK, EU, and elsewhere.

Tonight, WWE Royal Rumble is LIVE from Tampa Bay, FL! The card includes:

• Men's Royal Rumble match: 30-man Royal Rumble match where the winner gets a shot at the Men's World Championship at Wrestlemania 40!

• Women’s Royal Rumble match: 30-woman Royal Rumble match where the winner gets a shot at the Women's World Championship at Wrestlemania 40!

• Fatal four-way match for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship: © Roman Reigns (with Paul Heyman) vs. Randy Orton vs. AJ Styles vs. LA Knight

• Singles match for the WWE United States Championship: © Logan Paul vs. Kevin Owens

And more!

Show starts LIVE at 8pm EST | 5pm PST on Peacock. Check your local listings for more information.

Forgot to post this one a couple days ago so: Pre Royal Rumble entertainment.

'O R A N G E W A V E 🍊 🌊 | Lofi OC to relax/study to or whatever'

Kermit confirmed on the Reddit post.

It seems during the Rumble we may see a current TNA champion show up to compete. One would assume they mean Naomi but she is no longer the Knockouts champ and Kermit would certainly know (for those unaware, he works for WWE and has leaked many, many last minute things on Reddit before.

So:

Moose
Grace
Sabin
Crazzy Steve
ABC
Decay

Who do you think it would be?

Edit: Spoiler in comments!

The spirit of the Macho Man continues today, OOOO YEAH!

A lawsuit paints WWE as an “organization that facilitated or turned a blind eye to abuse and then swept it under the rug.”

Women’s Royal Rumble is set to open, followed by the WWE Championship Fatal 4 Way, to Logan vs. KO US Title, with the Men’s Royal Rumble closing the show.

The new faction has been named.

Say hello to 'Empress Nexus Venus' or EXV and is written as E neXus V.

(Plus Xena who isn't in this photo lol)

#wrestling #prowrestling #professionalwrestling #sq #squaredcircle #stardom #EXV #joshi #puroresu #joshipuro #joshipuroresu #SquaredCircle

⚡ THIS IS RAMPAGE! ⚡

Tonight, Rampage comes to us from Savannah, GA! The card includes:

• FRESHLY SQUEEZED FOUR WAY> WINNER EARNS AN INTERNATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH ON COLLISION: Kip Sabian vs. El Hijo del Vikingo vs. Komander vs. The Butcher

• Jon Moxley vs. Lee Moriarty

• Anna Jay vs. Ruby Soho

• “The Fallen Angel” Christopher Daniels vs. “The Alpha” Konosuke Takeshita

And more!

Show starts at 10pm EST | 7pm PST | 9pm CST | 3am BST

AEW can be found on: TNT in the US, TSN+ in Canada, ViX in Latin America, ESPN in Australia, and FITETV/DAZN in the UK, EU, and elsewhere.

“I stand by my prior statement that Ms. Grant’s lawsuit is replete with lies, obscene made-up instances that never occurred, and is a vindictive distortion of the truth. I intend to vigorously defend myself against these baseless accusations, and look forward to clearing my name. However, out of respect for the WWE Universe, the extraordinary TKO business and its board members and shareholders, partners and constituents, and all of the employees and Superstars who helped make WWE into the global leader it is today, I have decided to resign from my executive chairmanship and the TKO board of directors, effectively immediately."

Edit: Nick Khan statement to Employees:

"I wanted to inform you that Vince McMahon has tendered his resignation from his positions as TKO Executive Chairman and on the TKO Board of Directors. He will no longer have a role with TKO Group Holdings or WWE."

Tonight, WWE is LIVE from Miami, FL! The card includes:

• LA Knight tangles with Solo Sikoa

• Carlito goes one-on-one against Santos Escobar

• Bobby Lashley & The Street Profits to come face-to-face with The Final Testament

• Kayden Carter & Katana Chance to defend titles against The Kabuki Warriors

• Carmelo Hayes and Austin Theory to square off in a rematch

And more!

Show starts LIVE at 8pm EST | 5pm PST on FOX. Check your local listings for more information.