Wrestling Roundup: February 25, 2020

The Wrestling Roundup is here to bring you all the news and rumors you need to know in one place.

WWE Raw Results:

The last Raw before the next Saudi show was last night. WWE continues to be in the position of building towards both Super ShowDown and Wrestlemania, but after Thursday that won’t be a problem. What action was in store on Monday night? Check out the full results below.

Angel Garza def. Humberto Carrillo
Ricochet def. Luke Gallows
Aleister Black def. Erick Rowan
Bobby Lashley def. R-Truth
Angelo Dawkins def. Buddy Murphy by disqualification
Seth Rollins def. Montez Ford
Randy Orton def. Kevin Owens

WWE Raw Takeaways:

I am now behind this iteration of heel Rollins 100%. The main event between Orton and Owens had Orton win on a fast count from a new referee.

Afterwards, Owens was understandably pissed off. He attacked the ref and ripped off the stripes to find a Monday Night Messiah t-shirt. Rollins’ message is so effective that it is convincing officials to screw over Kevin Owens? This is the type of leader Rollins needs to be, as it gives white-hot babyface Owens a whole machine to try and bring down.

The women’s Elimination Chamber match likely won’t surprise anyone with it’s winner. This match is designed as a showcase match for Shayna Baszler on her way to facing Becky Lynch at Wrestlemania. Even if we know the ending, we get to have fun on the way there. This week had a contract signing, and it was very fun chaos. A highlight: Liv Morgan leaping over a table to take out former Riott Squad leader Ruby.

In a very simple segment, The O.C. outnumbered Aleister Black backstage and beat him down. If this means we get Black matches against Gallows, Anderson, and eventually Styles, I am very down for this development.

Less Wrestlers Headed to Saudi Arabia

WWE appears to have learned some hard lessons from the last Saudi show. According to multiple reports (h/t CagesideSeats) WWE will be sending less wrestlers oversees to Saudi Arabia so that they are not caught in the same travel predicament as last time. You may remember the last show had a delay in wrestlers travelling back to Buffalo due to what was described as plane issues, but more likely stemmed from a disagreement between WWE and Saudi Arabia. While it did lead to a memorable NXT-led SmackDown, WWE is apparently not putting themselves in that spot again.

One wrestler who apparently won’t be going is Rusev. On Raw, WWE quietly removed Rusev from the advertised Gauntlet Match, replacing him with Rey Mysterio. We haven’t seen Rusev in a little on our television sets. There are reports of contract disputes or creative not having anything for him. Whatever the reason, it appears Rusev won’t be heading across to Saudi Arabia on this trip.

Who will capture the Tuwaiq Trophy by winning the #GauntletMatch this Thursday at #WWESSD? https://t.co/H00Ckr2fxB

— WWE (@WWE) February 25, 2020

Two New AEW Revolution Matches

This weekend AEW presents it’s next pay-per-view Revolution. To fill out the card, AEW has announced two more matches. The first is an AEW Women’s Championship match, where Nyla Rose defends her championship against Kris Statlander. Rose was confronted by Statlander on the most recent Dynamite, so AEW really only has the go-home episode to build up the heat for this match.

Nyla Rose will defend her AEW Women’s Championship against Kris Statlander at “Revolution” on Saturday pic.twitter.com/b2Y5oDZfF2

— SI Wrestling (@SI_wrestling) February 25, 2020

Also added to the card is Sammy Guevera versus Darby Allin. The Inner Circle has had plenty of issues with Allin, and he has issue with them injuring his larynx. This match is a great contest between two of the best young talents AEW has and could be a show-stealer on a stacked card.

Also added to the card for “Revolution”: Darby Allin vs. Sammy Guevara pic.twitter.com/akASOgbbLj

— SI Wrestling (@SI_wrestling) February 25, 2020

One for the Road:

The New Japan Cup is back, and the full bracket has been revealed. Take a look at some of those amazing first round matchups. Okada-White! Ibushi-Sabre Jr! Shingo-Ospreay! Who do you have winning it all?

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