Dolfan in NYC Posted January 20 Posted January 20 Hey, nevermind what I said about this being a two night thing. Maybe that's in the future? What's in the present? Yes, this is in Riyadh. Yes, they're still trying to make that happen. No, we don't want to hear your opinions on the sociopathic regime in charge there! WHEE (More like Apologist in NYC! amirite folks? .... sigh) THE CARD~ FOR THE UNDISPUTED WWE CHAMPIONSHIP - Drew McIntyre (c) vs. Sami Zayn CAREER THREATENING MATCH - AJ Styles vs. GUNTHER THE 2026 MEN'S ROYAL RUMBLE MATCH THE 2026 WOMEN'S ROYAL RUMBLE MATCH -- Men's Entrants - Cody Rhodes, GUNTHER, An Uso, Rey Mysterio, Dragon Lee, Penta, Roman Reigns, Solo Sikoa, Jacob Fatu, Bron Breakker, Logan Paul, Bronson Reed, Austin Theory, Je'Von Evans, Oba Femi, and 15 others Women's Entrants - Iyo Sky, Rhea Ripley, Roxanne Perez, Liv Morgan, Raquel Rodriguez, Bayley, Lyra Valkyria, Asuka, Chelsea Green, Jordynne Grace, Charlotte Flair, Alexa Bliss, Nia Jax, Lash Legend, Giulia, Maxxine Dupri, Becky Lynch, and 13 others
hammerva Posted January 20 Posted January 20 (edited) The amount of hype for the Royal Rumble at the championship game last night feels like the same on WWE TV right now. Which is a damning indictment for their product and for the "please come to Riyadh for WM" group Edited January 20 by hammerva 1
Dolfan in NYC Posted January 23 Author Posted January 23 Potential match spoiler: Spoiler Reports are AJ Styles' contract expires on Sunday, February 1st. so.... 1 1
Phantom Lord Posted January 23 Posted January 23 It's nice that they remembered to start throwing people in the Rumble matches since it's next week and all. 2
Curt McGirt Posted January 23 Posted January 23 When did they start with CAREER THREATENING MATCH? Was that Flair/Michaels? It sounds so... Japanese. Like almost broken English. CAREER THREATENING TIME BOMB EXPLODE ELECTRIFIED BARBED WIRE CAGE MATCH or maybe TIME BOMB EXPLODE ELECTRIFIED BARBED WIRE CAGE MATCH - CAREER THREATENING DANGER OUTCOME
DreamBroken Posted January 24 Posted January 24 11 hours ago, Curt McGirt said: When did they start with CAREER THREATENING MATCH? Was that Flair/Michaels? It sounds so... Japanese. Like almost broken English. The lead up to that yes, since the story was the next time Flair lost, his career would be over, so every singles match he had from Nov-March was a Career Threatening Match Spoiler 1
Curt McGirt Posted January 24 Posted January 24 Awww so Mr. Kennedy didn't have to retire after he lost? Boooooooooooooo 4 1
The Natural Posted January 25 Posted January 25 (edited) Ever since the location was announced, I've felt for the women who'll be wrestling in full length body suits. That must suck replacing your usual attire plus the weather there. It's usually one or two shows a year, right? Edited January 25 by The Natural 1
The Natural Posted January 25 Posted January 25 AJ Styles 10 best matches ever: 10. AJ Styles vs. Daniel Bryan. WWE Smackdown, 13th November 2018. 9. AJ Styles vs. Chris Sabin vs. Petey Williams. TNA Final Resolution 2005. 8. AJ Styles vs. The New Daniel Bryan vs. Samoa Joe vs. Randy Orton vs. Jeff Hardy vs. Kofi Kingston. WWE Elimination Chamber 2019. 7. AJ Styles vs. Christopher Daniels. TNA Against All Odds 2005. 6. AJ Styles vs. Shinsuke Nakamura. NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 10. *****. 5. AJ Styles vs. John Cena. WWE Royal Rumble 2017. *****. 4. AJ Styles vs. John Cena. WWE Crown Jewel 2025. *****. 3. AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe. TNA Turning Point 2005. *****. 2. AJ Styles vs. The New Daniel Bryan. WWE TLC 2018. *****. 1. AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe vs. Christopher Daniels. TNA Unbreakable 2005. *****. I've got some AJ Styles in NJPW gaps I need to fill in. What I've seen was great which is fitting as inside the ring, he's an all time great.
NoFistsJustFlips Posted January 26 Posted January 26 AJ is my favorite current worker. It's kind of a bummer they teased a meaningful retirement run and it's apprently just one match in Saudi. Bummer man. 1
Shartnado Posted January 27 Posted January 27 On 1/25/2026 at 6:08 AM, The Natural said: Ever since the location was announced, I've felt for the women who'll be wrestling in full length body suits. That must suck replacing your usual attire plus the weather there. It's usually one or two shows a year, right? Wow, that's going to be super awkward, but I guess they could have been working overtime with the design crew to make the outfits as character-based as possible? Anyway, what's the start time of the show proper in the UK? That's how I can figure out when the show would start over here if I try to catch it live(ish)? 1
odessasteps Posted January 27 Posted January 27 Imagine if they were doing a stadium show in most of the US this weekend, the ladies would prob be happy to be wearing body suits in freezing weather. 1
The Natural Posted January 27 Posted January 27 17 minutes ago, Shartnado said: Wow, that's going to be super awkward, but I guess they could have been working overtime with the design crew to make the outfits as character-based as possible? Anyway, what's the start time of the show proper in the UK? That's how I can figure out when the show would start over here if I try to catch it live(ish)? Main card starts 7pm UK time, my Finnish friend. 1
Shartnado Posted January 27 Posted January 27 2 minutes ago, The Natural said: Main card starts 7pm UK time, my Finnish friend. So nine o'clock in the evening for me. That sounds very doable, although my wife probably will see things differently. 1
Eivion Posted January 27 Posted January 27 21 hours ago, NoFistsJustFlips said: AJ is my favorite current worker. It's kind of a bummer they teased a meaningful retirement run and it's apprently just one match in Saudi. Bummer man. The thing is they really didn't tease that. It was just kind of assumed since Cena went on his tour that AJ might do the same in WWE. In reality we kind of just missed that his retirement run had probably started in his mind the second he announced it in Japan.
RazorbladeKiss87 Posted January 27 Posted January 27 1 hour ago, Eivion said: The thing is they really didn't tease that. It was just kind of assumed since Cena went on his tour that AJ might do the same in WWE. In reality we kind of just missed that his retirement run had probably started in his mind the second he announced it in Japan. I agree that they didn't really say it but I would argue that they knew what they were doing by letting him announce it during Cena's run without anything more definite than "2026." There's a reasonable expectation that he'd follow Sting and Cena's outline. Granted the fans had no reason to expect it but they had to know it would be expected.
odessasteps Posted January 27 Posted January 27 I think they probably also dont want so many people retiring at once, as it might be bad for optics.
NoFistsJustFlips Posted January 27 Posted January 27 (edited) 2 hours ago, Eivion said: The thing is they really didn't tease that. It was just kind of assumed since Cena went on his tour that AJ might do the same in WWE. In reality we kind of just missed that his retirement run had probably started in his mind the second he announced it in Japan. True, true. I think my personal opinions of AJ sometimes cloud my judgement. He hasn't really been featured as a top of the card star in awhile now. So kind of foolish for me to assume he'd get a retirement run that was as meaningful as Cena. Or anywhere close. I would love if all of this was just part of the story. Gunther beats him but the way they word it is if he loses this is his "last night". After the match they cut backstage to someone just casually say hey it's your last night and I really want to wrestle you what do you say. Let's go to Pearce and beg for one more match. And you see a lightbulb go off in Styles head and he walks away. Then he's a surprise entrant in the Rumble and wins. He gets one last match in the main event of Mania (night 1 obviously). And we get an epic title match against whoever where he comes within an eyelash if winning, but ultimately goes out on a loss. But I digress. I guess a rando match in Saudi Arabia will have to do. At least you know with it being Gunther it'll probably be a very good match at the very least. Edited January 27 by NoFistsJustFlips 1
Johnny Sorrow Posted January 27 Posted January 27 AJ's contract doesn't end until December, so there might be more to this storyline.
NoFistsJustFlips Posted January 27 Posted January 27 Everywhere Ive seen report it (to be fair they could be getting worked) is February 1st it ends. And that makes sense. His first contract started 2016 Rumble. 2026 Rumble is 10 years. 10 years and 11 months would be a weird way to structure his renewals.
Eivion Posted January 27 Posted January 27 20 minutes ago, NoFistsJustFlips said: True, true. I think my personal opinions of AJ sometimes cloud my judgement. He hasn't really been featured as a top of the card star in awhile now. So kind of foolish for me to assume he'd get a retirement run that was as meaningful as Cena. Or anywhere close. I would love if all of this was just part of the story. Gunther beats him but the way they word it is if he loses this is his "last night". After the match they cut backstage to someone just casually say hey it's your last night and I really want to wrestle you what do you say. Let's go to Pearce and beg for one more match. And you see a lightbulb go off in Styles head and he walks away. Then he's a surprise entrant in the Rumble and wins. He gets one last match in the main event of Mania (night 1 obviously). And we get an epic title match against whoever where he comes within an eyelash if winning, but ultimately goes out on a loss. But I digress. I guess a rando match in Saudi Arabia will have to do. At least you know with it being Gunther it'll probably be a very good match at the very least. I get it. I was honestly hoping he would do a more traditional retirement tour where he would set up specific matches of interest to him, but I also kind of expected otherwise with it being WWE and there being no official date for his final match. AJ & Gunther had a great match a couple of weeks back so I expect the same for the Rumble. I even get the why of it with it being his ten year anniversary in WWE. It just sucks for me both because I wanted a longer retirement road, and I don't watch Saudi shows. 7 minutes ago, NoFistsJustFlips said: Everywhere Ive seen report it (to be fair they could be getting worked) is February 1st it ends. And that makes sense. His first contract started 2016 Rumble. 2026 Rumble is 10 years. 10 years and 11 months would be a weird way to structure his renewals. Want to say contracts run anywhere form 3-5 years typically. How many times has AJ re-signed?
NoFistsJustFlips Posted January 27 Posted January 27 My point on the contract thing is that they dont all just end at the end of the calendar year. They sign people randomly and the intervals are generally 3 years or 5 years. No matter how many renewals he's had it would be a little strange for it to not coincide with the time frame when he signed. Not saying inpossible. Maybe they added injury time or something. Just curious where you saw it reported as through the end year.
Johnny Sorrow Posted January 27 Posted January 27 I thought I read that his contract was up in December, but who knows if that was correct.
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