The Wrestling Roundup is here to bring you all the news and rumors you need to know in one place.
NXT Results
This week on NXT marked the return of The Queen. Charlotte Flair returned to where she honed her craft in order to face off against Bianca Belair. Austin Theory tried to get a measure of revenge on Tommaso Ciampa. What else was on the NXT card last night? Here are the full results:
- Cameron Grimes def. Dominik Dijakovic
- Xia Li def. Mia Yim
- Tommaso Ciampa def. Austin Theory
- Killian Dain def. Bronson Reed
- Grizzled Young Veterans def. Forgotten Sons
- Charlotte Flair def. Bianca Belair
NXT Takeaways
Charlotte versus Bianca was a great match to the surprise of no one. WWE is running the risk of Belair losing all of the organic momentum she has developed by losing clean consistently. She needs a big, signature win in order to capitalize on all of this rising popularity.
With the NXT Championship being defended at Wrestlemania, NXT was going to need something else for the women’s division at TakeOver: Tampa. Tonight’s show brought that idea forward – a four woman ladder match to be #1 Contender. It’s a great way to value the title by having so many competitors fighting over a chance at it. Qualifying matches start next week, and with a roster so deep it will be an amazing match on Wrestlemania weekend.
The No. 1 Contender to the NXT #WomensTitle will be determined in a Ladder Match at #NXTTakeOver: Tampa.https://t.co/WvzJF5EDwf
— WWE NXT (@WWENXT) February 27, 2020
I remember quite a while ago reading that Vince McMahon didn’t really want to have just clear cut babyfaces and heels any more. He wanted some wrestlers to exist in shades of grey. It seems like Finn Balor is going to be in a shade of grey instead of just a pure heel. Balor talked on this week’s episode about how he has conquered everywhere and wondered about what is next. It turns out Imperium and NXT UK are next.
Balor could be a great challenger for WALTER at TakeOver: Dublin. The Irishman would be welcomed as a hero there while still being a heel everywhere else, giving off big Bret Hart in 1997 in Canada vibes.
Next week we’ll have a pair of cage matches – Tegan Nox vs Dakota Kai, and Roddy Strong vs Velveteen Dream. Logically it makes sense to have both cage matches on one night instead of bringing the cage in on back to back weeks. It does run the risk of one of the matches looking worse by comparison on the same show.
The next chapter in the bitter rivalry between @DreamWWE and @roderickstrong will be written NEXT WEDNESDAY on #WWENXT when they clash inside a Steel Cage!https://t.co/56S0ynXQRU
— WWE NXT (@WWENXT) February 27, 2020
AEW Results
The final show before AEW Revolution was on Wednesday night. We’ll have a bigger breakdown of the whole show on the site later today coming from Kaden. What were the results of the matches on the go-home Dynamite? We’ve got them right here:
- Kenny Omega def. PAC 2-1 in sudden death in an Iron Man match
- Jurassic Express def. Ortiz, Santana & Sammy Guevera
- Best Friends def. Butcher & The Blade
- Hikaru Shida def. Big Swole, Shanna and Yuka Sakazaki in a four-way match
ALL HELL BREAKS LOOSE AT #AEWDYNAMITE ‼️‼️‼️ pic.twitter.com/3yZ1KClF99
— All Elite Wrestling on TNT (@AEWonTNT) February 27, 2020
AEW Sign Lance Archer
One of the biggest free agents on the wrestling market is now All Elite. AEW announced on Twitter on Wednesday that they have signed Lance Archer.
Welcome to the team. #LanceArcher is #AllElite pic.twitter.com/O4VMbXr3BW
— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) February 26, 2020
Archer had teased fans on Twitter about whether he would sign with AEW, New Japan, WWE or somewhere else. AEW has won out, and Archer will join their already loaded roster. Archer had a breakout run with New Japan in 2018 and 2019, including a run as IWGP United States Champion at the end of 2019. He is also known for his tag run as one half of Killer Elite Squad alongside Davey Boy Smith Jr.
WWE Super ShowDown Full Card:
On Thursday WWE will showcase another one of their super-shows from Saudi Arabia. The shows continue to be divisive among wrestling fans and tend to use big names to try and draw eyeballs. If you’re interested, the show starts with the pre-show at 11 am EST and the main show at 12 noon EST on Thursday. The full card is here:
- “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt (c) vs Goldberg – Universal Championship
- Brock Lesnar (c) vs Ricochet – WWE Championship
- Bayley (c) vs Naomi – SmackDown Women’s Championship
- New Day (c) vs Miz & Morrison – SmackDown Tag Team Championships
- Seth Rollins & Murphy (c) vs Street Profits – Raw Tag Team Championships
- Roman Reigns vs King Corbin – Steel Cage match
- A.J. Styles vs R-Truth vs Andrade vs Rey Mysterio vs Erick Rowan vs Bobby Lashley – Gauntlet match
- Mansoor vs Dolph Ziggler
- Humberto Carrillo vs Angel Garza
- Viking Raiders vs Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson
One for the Road:
We are getting the official singles debut of Orange Cassidy in AEW at Revolution. His opponent is a bastard. It should be one hell of a match.
IT'S OFFICIAL!@BASTARDPAC VS. @ORANGECASSIDY!
Get your tickets at https://t.co/5WsWwyDkwZ or watch LIVE this Saturday via @brlive or @fitetv pic.twitter.com/5FvJzZICFU— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) February 27, 2020