Matty Breisch Articles - Page 147

And just like that, it’s official, the Philadelphia Eagles are NFC East Champions, NFL regular season champions, and the top overall seed in the NFC playoff picture. That’s right, despite playing well below their usual standards, with Jalen Hurts by his own admission not close to 100 percent and a number of mistakes allowing the […]

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s career is in the middle of a very interesting spot at the moment. On paper, he remains one of the hottest names in, well, basically all entertainment, as he starred in a major motion picture, sold an absolute ton of his signature tequila, and just generally dominated all things social media […]

Before Ethan Page was all about “never letting go of his ego” in AEW, the co-owner of The Firm was a member of The North, one of the most dominant tag teams in the history of Impact Wrestling and of this current generation, period, alongside Josh Alexander. Initially dubbed the Monster Mafia – a name […]

After closing out the WWE calendar year with Deadl1ne, NXT has been afforded the first named show of 2023 in New Year’s Evil, a show that technically isn’t a “Premium Live Event” – the next NXT PLE isn’t until Vengence Day in February – but features a card worthy of a commercial-free experience thanks to […]

2022 was supposed to be the year of “The Great Elite Civil War” in AEW. In an immaculate twist of fate that seemed borderline impossible until it happened, Nick Khan somehow allowed Bobby Fish, Adam Cole, and Kyle O’Reilly to all hit the open market without having their contracts extended, and Tony Khan quickly capitalized […]

Though Grayson Waller has a match on the books against Bron Breakker for the NXT New Year’s Evil for the NXT World Championship, he isn’t settling for that being his biggest bout for the brand. No, because Waller is a – self-proclaimed – pillar of NXT, he needs to have marquee matches to draw additional […]

CM Punk is popular. Now granted, some members of the AEW locker room aren’t particularly fond of “The Best of in the World” for his brash attitude, willingness to call out other wrestlers when they aren’t even in the building to defend themselves, and for… oh yeah, getting into a literal fight with three of […]

Folks, it’s official: “Hangman” Adam Page versus Jon Moxley is happening. The doctors have signed off on the deal, both performers have agreed to the bout, and when the lights go up in the “Fabulous” Kia Forum in Inglewood, California, on Wednesday, January 11, Page and Mox will go toe-to-toe in the ring, or maybe […]

Though Charlotte Flair didn’t make her surprise return to WWE television until the final SmackDown of 2022, besting Ronda Rousey for the SmackDown Women’s Championship in a matter of seconds, not minutes, she actually discussed the prospects of returning a few months prior when she sat down with “Stone Cold” Steve Austin on Broken Skull […]

Though it’s officially been announced that Mercedes Moné isn’t going to be Saraya’s mystery partner on Dynamite, fans of AEW, NJPW, and beyond are still holding out hope that “The Boss” will be in Los Angeles on January 11th either in the ring with Hikaru Shida or someone else or as a guest sitting ringside […]

Ricochet has been one of the biggest beneficiaries of Paul “Triple H” Levesque’s elevation to the Chief Creative Officer of WWE. Now sure, technically, King Ric won the Intercontinental Championship under Vince McMahon and held the belt from March through June, but he only had five title defenses and none of which came on a […]

Folks, it’s official: Vince McMahon has un-retired from the WWE and is returning to his former spot as the Executive Chairman of the company’s board. …but what exactly does that mean? Will Vinny Mac be back on the headset in Gorilla barking orders to Michael Cole and reprimanding him any time he calls a “sports […]

On the final Saturday in January, LA Knight will be taking part in a Mtn Dew Pitch Black match at WWE’s first “Premium Live Event” of the calendar year, the Royal Rumble. What, you may ask, is a Mtn Dew Pitch Black match? Well, WWE is keeping that under wraps, but one person who does […]

There was a time when Shaquille O’Neal was the hottest name in AEW. … yes, you read that correctly; it may seem crazy for fans who are relatively new to the second-biggest wrestling brand in America, but before Jade Cargill was the undefeated wonder with a Goldberg-esque TNT Championship reign, she was known simply as […]

When Kenny Omega and Will Ospreay were duking it out in a 35-minute match for the ages at NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 17, fans online had one not-so-surprising name trending on Twitter: Dave Meltzer. That’s right, the Roger Ebert of Pro Wrestling himself has been one of the biggest champions of both “The Best Bout Machine” […]

The Young Bucks and FTR are AEW’s oil and water; the former are fun, flashy, and frantic in the ring, with occasionally over-choreographed maneuvers, high-flying antics, and enough Superkicks to garner a cease and desist from HBK himself, whereas their formerly WWE foils represent tradition, legacy, and the old-school way of doing things. They like […]

Folks, it’s official: Mercedes Moné is not going to be Saraya’s tag team partner when AEW takes Dynamite to the “Fabulous” Kia Forum in Los Angeles for a tag match with current AEW Women’s World Champion Jamie Hayter and former AEW Women’s World Champion Britt Baker. I know, Moné made her surprise NJPW debut at […]

Drew McIntyre does not like The Bloodline one bit. He doesn’t like that he has lost every single WWE title match he’s wrestled against Roman Reigns, doesn’t like that Solo Sikoa ruined his big match at Clash at the Castle, and doesn’t like that The Usos – plus Sami Zayn – jump from show to […]

It’s hard not to feel at least a little bit bad for LA Knight over the past few weeks in WWE. Sure, he’s working a program with Bray Wyatt, his first since returning to the company in October, and has a ton of eyes on his efforts as a result, but has that additional exposure […]

Folks, it’s official: Charlotte Flair is back in WWE, and “The Queen” is a champion once more thanks to a minute-long victory over Ronda Rousey to open up her 14th reign with one of the promotion’s main roster belts. Stopping by The Bump to discuss her return to WWE, Flair explained how her return to […]

There was a time when FTR’s number one contendership for the AEW Tag Team Championship was one of the biggest in-jokes among smart marks of professional wrestling. FTR outlasted The Lucha Brothers, Jurassic Express, The Young Bucks – who took the belts off of them in the first place – and Swerve in our Glory […]

Jay White vs. Kazuchika Okada is a main event-caliber match. You put that match on 100 cards – especially in NJPW – and it’s worthy of the final spot 99 times easy. Unfortunately, Wrestle Kingdom 17 was that rare exception, as the duo were booked to follow up Kenny Omega’s return to NJPW after four years of […]

Wrestle Kingdom 17‘s first 10 matches were all good to very good – with one lone expectation – but when Kenny Omega and Will Ospreay made their way into the ring – scored to “One Winged Angel” and “Elevated,” respectively – fans in the Tokyo Dome were treated to nothing short of a legendary bout, […]

The Great Muta, or, as he’s known to the NJPW World, Kenji Muto, entered Wrestle Kingdom 17 with a heavy weight on his shoulders. One of the defining performers in the promotion during one of the boomiest periods of professional wrestling history, Muta came into the match, a six-way bout with Shota Umino and Hiroshi […]

To call Karl Anderson’s second NJPW match since re-signing with WWE anything but weird would be an incredible understatement. Advertised for the match with Doc-now-Luke Gallows by his side, who ultimately didn’t show up due to being used for a nothing burger spot on Monday Night RAW, Anderson came out expecting the sort of hero’s […]

I have bad news for you, Samoa Joe, your reign as the unquestioned King of Television has officially been challenged, as Zack Sabre Jr. has officially become the NJPW World TV Championship with a huge win over Ren Narita. That’s right, with his run in Suzuki-Gun officially over following a team-on-team blow off eight-man tag […]

After losing the Ring of Honor Tag Team Championship belts to The Briscoes at Final Battle and then dropping the Lucha Libre AAA belts to Hermanos Lee in their final match before Dragon Lee jumped ship to WWE as part of the NXT Brand, AEW’s FTR duo of Cash Wheeler and Dax Harwood entered NJPW […]

Though she may have lost her last name on the trip over the pacific, Kairi looked every part the superstar worthy of making her debut appearance in the Tokyo Dome in her biggest bout back in Japan yet at NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 17. Passing through a pair of grim reapers on her way to the […]

Folks, it’s official: Sasha Banks is no more, as the performer now known as Mercedes Moné officially made her New Japan Pro Wrestling debut at NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 17 just after her old WWE rival Kairi (Sane) successfully defended her IWGP Women’s Title for the first time against Stardom’s Tam Nakano. Walking down to the […]

After looking like the most complete team in the NFL for much of the season, the Philadelphia Eagles are keeping things a bit too close for their fans’ comfort down the stretch, with their once-perfect record now boasting three losses and their number one seed – and a first-round Bye – in the playoffs still […]

When it was announced that Seth “Freakin’” Rollins and Austin Theory would close out the first televised episode of WWE programming with a match for the WWE United States Championship, it felt like a massive deal. The duo were working the match across the WWE Holiday Tour circuit, albeit in a cage match, and even […]

FTR, the podcast, has been the gift that keeps on giving for fans of AEW, WWE, and professional wrestling, period. Though the show only began during the penultimate week of 2022, with Dax Harwood taking over The Gentleman Villian podcast when William Regal jumped ship from AEW to WWE, the balder half of FTR the […]

With New Japan Pro Wrestling’s marquee card of the year, Wrestle Kingdom 17, just over the horizon, fans will finally be afforded the biggest treat of the year: WWE’s Karl Anderson back in a “King of Sports” wrestling ring. … okay, maybe seeing “Bright Lights” back in an NJPW ring in a singles match against […]

A lot has been said about the co-main events of Wrestle Kingdom 17, especially by (most) of their participants, Jay White, Kenny Omega, and Will Ospreay. White has blamed his opponent for running Jonah out of the promotion, Omega has called Ospreay an unintelligent hot head, and “The Commonwealth Kingpin” has called “The Cleaner” the […]

It’s officially 2023, which means one thing and one thing only: AEW fans will soon find out the identity of Saraya’s mystery partner for the January 11th edition of AEW Dynamite. That’s right, soon fans will see if Sasha Banks will be back in a professional wrestling ring, learn what moniker she’ll be using moving […]

As Will Ospreay prepares for one of the biggest matches of his career, the co-main event of Wrestle Kingdom 17 against “The Cleaner” of AEW, Kenny Omega, fans across the professional wrestling world are wondering what’s next for “The Commonwealth Kingpin.” If he can go the distance, retain his IWGP United States Championship, and go […]

With 2022 officially over, the “Year of FTR” has come to an end; two of their belts have been lost, first to The Briscoes and then Hermaons Lee at Lucha Libre Noche De Campeones, with a third potentially joining the legacy collection at Wrestle Kingdom 17, when they take on Chaos’ Bishamon in the middle […]

Jay White has a bone to pick with Kazuchika Okada ahead of their match at New Japan Pro Wrestling’s Wrestle Kingdom 17. Two of the highest-profile performers working outside of “The Big 2,” WWE and AEW, today, White and Okada held the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship for 361 of 2022’s 365 calendar days, with the […]

It’s hard to imagine WWE without Kevin Owens. Sure, the “Prizefighter” hasn’t held championship gold in quite some time, since July of 2017 to be exact, but from his feud with Ezekiel to his on-again, off-again war with Sami Zayn, it’s clear the well-traveled veteran is a flexible talent capable of working up and down […]