Minutes to Bell Time

                    Body Slam Brigade February 5, 2021

                    Body Slam Brigade February 5, 2021

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                    In my mind, the biggest news story of the week pertains to the newly formed relationship between New Japan and All Elite Wrestling. Having said that, the WWE also held their second biggest pay per view event of the year with the Royal Rumble. The Minutes To Bell Time conversation thread had people chiming in from around the world to say what they thought of the event.I also went on air with a special Royal Rumble post show edition of the Daily Wrestling News Show. We had tons of participation with people sending in comments about both Rumble matches, the Universal Championship match, Goldberg v. Drew, and everything else. It was a fun night!

                    If you’re interested in any of the shirts below, you can click the image and it will take you to the Minutes to Bell Time shop where you can make a purchase. Each shirt comes in multiple colors and sizes for $20 (clothesline is a little different, but the rest follow that pattern).

                    Enjoy this week’s issue of the Body Slam Brigade Newsletter!

                     

                    Have a Great Weekend!

                    Ryan Joy











                    WWE General News

                    • WWE Released Lars Sullivan and Steve Culter from their contracts earlier this week.
                    • The next WWE Pay Per View is Elimination Chamber, and it is scheduled for February 21, 2021. As of now, no matches have been announced.
                    • The next NXT Pay Per View event is NXT TakeOver Vengence Day on February 14, 2021. There current match card includes:
                      • Finals of Men’s Dusty Cup
                      • Finals of Women’s Dusty Cup
                      • NXT North American Championship Match between Johnny Gargano (c) and Kushida
                      • NXT Women’s Championship Triple Threat Match between Io Shirai (c), Mercedes Martinez, and Toni Storm
                      • NXT Championship Match between Finn Balor (c) and Pete Dunne.
                    • Edge and Bianca Belair won their respective WWE Royal Rumble matches, which means they will be featured in a title program at WrestleMania. WWE consistently says that the winner of the Royal Rumble will main event WrestleMania, but that is often not the case. Having said that, Bianca and Edge will be in featured matches. As of press time, Edge and Bianca have not decided which champion they will challenge.
                    • Edge competed on Monday Night Raw, appeared on NXT, and will appear again on Smackdown this week. All of this is being done to support the angle that he has not chosen his WrestleMania opponent.
                    • WWE’s Untold documentary series continues with an APA (Farooq and Bradshaw) dedicated show on 2/7.
                    • The next Broken Skull Session will debut on February 21st. Steve Austin will interview Sasha Banks on this episode.
                    • Also Coming to WWE Network (as announced during the Royal Rumble): WWE 24: Big E, WWE Icons: Beth Phoenix, and a Bill Goldberg documentary.
                    • Christian Returned at the Royal Rumble, and he is expected to remain as a part-time talent. Multiple news outlets are reporting that he was cleared for competition days prior to the Royal Rumble.
                    • Carlito returned during the Royal Rumble, and he appeared on Monday Night Raw on the next day. Whether he will sign a longer term deal is currently unknown.
                    • Rhea Ripley is still planned for the main roster, but a final determination has not been made as to whether she will be a Raw or Smackdown talent.
                    • Drew McIntyre’s memoir, “A Chosen Destiny” will be released on May 4, 2021.
                    • The Yokozuna Icon documentary debuted on the WWE Network on Sunday. The documentary focused partially on Yokozuna’s quick rise to the top of the WWE and partially about the rapid decline of his health. Bret Hart, Undertaker, Hulk Hogan, Savio Vega, and Rikishi had prominent roles in the documentary as well as several members of Yokozuna’s family (Afa, Sika, Tonga Kid, Usos, etc.).

                    NXT

                    • The Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic and NXT TakeOver Vengence Day Programs were the subject of this week’s show. Current angles that do not have an announced match include:
                      • Escalating tension between Santos Escobar (Cruiserweight Champion) and Karrion Kross (Former NXT Champion).
                      • The introduction of Tian Sha as a mysterious ancient presence that has been responsible for the training of Xia Li and Boa.
                      • Austin Theory has been haunted by the presence of Dexter Lumis
                    • Next Week (2/10)
                      • Cameron Grimes Returns
                        Legado del Fantasma v. MSK – Dusty Cup
                        Ember Moon and Shotzi Blackheart v. Indi Hartwell and Candice LeRae – Dusty Cup
                        Grizzled Youn Veterans v Ciampa ant Thatcher – Dusty Cup

                    NXT UK

                    • For the second straight week, someone over the 205 weight limit confronted Jordan Devlin on NXT UK. While all roads appeared to lead to an eventual Devlin v. Escobar program in the future, it’s curious that both champions are currently wrestling outside their division. It is possible that Devlin is being groomed for a match with NXT Champion Walter down the line.
                    • Pretty Deadly has earned the right to face Gallus for the NXT UK Tag Team Championships, but we continue to wait for the match announcement.
                    • Rampage Brown and Joe Coffey have agreed to face each other, but the match date has not been announced.
                    • Meiko Satomura was announced for the 2.11 show.
                    • Noam Dar’s Supernova Sessions returns on 2.11 with Sha Samuels
                    • The Hunt v. Flash Morgan Webster and Mark Andrews in a Street Fight.

                    Wins and Losses Book Now Available

                    My 1,360 page e-book has the 2020 win-loss data for over 400 wrestlers that competed in AEW, WWE, ROH, Impact, and NXT. Every page is in full color, and I’ve also included a bunch of retrospective articles and top 10 lists.

                    Purchase Here: www.TheWinsandLosses.com

                    One customer printed out several pages and has been getting them signed by wrestlers. That’s a really fun use for this reference book.

                    I have this massive collection of wrestling stats and articles priced at $20, but I want people to see my work. If you email me ([email protected]), I’ll happily give you a discount code for 50% off.

                    If you have a wrestling podcast or if you write for a wrestling website, this could be a valuable tool when discussing professional wrestling in the year 2020.

                    AEW and New Japan Working Relationship Established

                    • New Japan Wrestler made a surprise appearance at the conclusion of this week’s episode of AEW Dynamite. He attacked AEW talent and New Japan’s current IWGP United States Champion Jon Moxley. The attack comes days after Jon Moxley attacked Kenta at a New Japan Strong taping, and it has kicked off a working relationship.
                    • The writing has been on the wall for quite some time when you consider that AEW and Impact have both made liberal use of the “Bullet Club” name which is protected Intellectual Property of New Japan.
                    • As pertains to the United States Championship, Moxley won the title on January 4, 2019. As a result of the pandemic, Moxley has been unable to defend the championship since February 2019. Kenta was named the number one contender when he won the New Japan Cup USA tournament several months ago. At this point, Kenta has defended his “right to challenge” more times than Jon Moxley has defended the championship.
                    • The Young Bucks and Good Brothers have been stirring the pot with New Japan Pro Wrestling’s IWGP World Tag Team Champions The Guerilla’s of Destiny (GOD). The social media exchanges between this trio of tag champions has garnered a lot of attention from fans and media.
                    • Kenta will challenge Jon Moxley for the IWGP United States Championship on February 26th, but the match could not have happened without approval of Tony Khan. Moxley’s AEW contract specifically prevents him from wrestling for another wrestling company in the United States.
                    • AEW has signed the first inter promotional match with Kenta and Kenny Omega facing Jon Moxley and Lance Archer in a light’s out match on next week’s Dynamite.
                    • While we currently know all of the aforementioned details, we do not know whether the working relationship will be a long term deal or a couple of quick programs to tie up loose ends. It seems that the relationship will be more than a couple of quick matches.

                    AEW Revolution

                    • AEW Revolution is the next major PPV from All Elite Wrestling. The event takes place on March 7th from Jacksonville.
                    • Matches Announced
                      • Chris Jericho and MJF v. The Young Bucks – AEW World Tag Team Championships
                      • Sting and Darby Allin v. Brian Cage and Ricky Starks of Team Taz

                    AEW Dynamite

                    • AEW Dynamite (844K) resumed leadership in the Wednesday Night Ratings War with NXT (610K).

                    Upcoming

                    • Next Week
                      • Joey Janela v. Darby Allin – TNT Championship
                      • Chris Jericho and MJF v. The Acclaimed
                      • Cody Rhodes and Lee Johnson v. Peter Avalon and Cezar Bononi
                      • Kenta and Kenny Omega v. Lance Archer and Jon Moxley
                    • March 3rd Episode of Dynamite: Shaq and Jade v. Cody Rhodes and Red Velvet
                    • Upcoming
                      • Women’s Tournament will take place in the United States and Japan.
                        • US Field: Serena Deeb, Riho, Britt Baker, Tay Conti, Thunder Rosa, Nyla Rose, Anna Jay, Leyla Hirsch
                        • Japanese Field – Aja Kong, Yuka Sakazaki, Veny, Emi Sakura, Ryo Mizunami, Mei Suruga, Rin Kadokura, Maki Itoh

                    Introducing the Daily Wrestling News Show

                    The Body Slam Brigade Newsletter comes out on Friday, but if you want news closer to real-time, Body Slam Brigade author Ryan Joy is hosting a new podcast called the Daily Wrestling News Show!

                    The show is live every day at 10 AM on Facebook and You Tube or you can subscribe to the audio version on Apple, Spotify, or pretty much anywhere else you get podcasts. Use the links below to find the show!

                    Subscribe on Apple Podcast: Click Here
                    Subscribe Spotify: Click Here
                    Watch Live on Facebook: Click Here
                    Watch Live on You Tube: Click Here

                    Jay White Returns!

                    • Following the events of Wrestle Kingdom 15 on January 5th, Jay White delivered a press conference address stating that he was finished with New Japan Pro Wrestling. It was well understood that White was selling a wrestling angle.
                    • White competed on the next day’s New Year’s Dash event as advertised and was pinned by Tomohiro Ishii. Jay was not seen again for several weeks.
                    • White resurfaced last weekend and returned to action on February 2nd. White and GOD competed in an elimination style match against various members of the Chaos faction including the NEVER Openweight Six Man Tag Team Championships.
                    • Following the vicious beat down by Jay White and the Bullet Club, White challenged Ishii, Goto, and Yoshi-Hashi for those NEVER Championships.

                    New Japan Partners with the Roku Channel in the US, Canada, and UK.

                    • Bottom Line – New Japan will have a new one hour show at 5PM on Thursdays. Roku will also have a block of library content.
                    • From the Press Release on NJPW1972.com
                      • “The eponymous New Japan Pro-Wrestling, a one-hour weekly series featuring the athletic action of the world’s preeminent pro-wrestling organization, will air episodes featuring top matches and events that have yet to air on television outside of Japan.”
                      • “Premiering February 11, episodes of New Japan Pro-Wrestling will air every Thursday beginning at 5 pm on The Roku Channel, beginning with ten special episodes that will see the US, UK and Canadian television premiere of Wrestle Kingdom 14, available on-demand thereafter. Additionally, The Roku Channel will host a block of library content, featuring key highlights from the 2020 NJPW catalogue, with potential for the introduction of more historical content in the future.”

                    The Next Big Shows for New Japan Occur on February 10th and 11th

                    • The New Beginning in Hiroshima on February 10th
                      • Gabriel Kidd, Yuya Uemura, Yota Tsuji v. Yoshinobu Kanemaru, El Desperado, Minoru Suzuki
                      • Master Wato v. Bushi
                      • Toru Yano, Yoshi-Hashi, Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii, Kazuchika Okada v. El Phantasmo, Taiji Ishimori, Yujiro Takahashi, Evil, Jay White
                      • Tomoaki Honma and Kota Ibushi v. Sanada and Tetsuya Naito
                      • Tana Loa and Tama Tonga v. Zack Sabre Jr. and Taichi – IWGP Tag Team Championships
                      • Hiromu Takahashi v. Sho – IWGP Junior Heavyweigth Championship
                    • The New Beginning in Hiroshima on February 10th
                      • Gabriel Kidd, Yuya Uemura, Yota Tsuji v. Douki, Zack Sabre Jr, and Taichi
                      • Yoshinobu Kanemaru, El Desperado, Minoru Suzuki v, El Phantasmo, Taiji Ishimori, and Yujiro Takahashi
                      • Master Wato, Sho, Tomoaki Honma v. Bushi, Hiromu Takahashi, Tetsuya Naito
                      • Toru Yano and Kazuchika Okada v. Dick Togo and Evil
                      • Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii, Yoshi-Hashi v. Jay White, Tanga Loa, Tama Tonga – NEVER Openweight 6 Man Championships
                      • Kota IBushi v. Sanada – IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental Double Championship


                    Impact Rebellion

                    • The Next Impact Pay Per View will be Rebellion on 4/24

                    Impact No Surrender – February 13

                    • Impact Tag Team Champions The Good Brothers defend the Tag Team Titles against AEW’s Private Party.
                    • Tommy Dreamer v. Rich Swann – Impact World Championship
                    • TJP v. Rohit Raju – X-Division Championship
                    • Hernadez and Brian Myers v. Eddie Edwards and Matt Cardona
                    • Triple Threat Revolver Match: Suicide v. WIllie Mack v. Ace Austin v. Trey Miguel v. Chris Bey v. Josh Alexander v. Blake Christian

                    News from Impact Wrestling on 2/2

                    • ODB made her return aliging herself with Jordynne Grace and Jazz
                    • Shera also made his return to align himself with his former Desi Hit Squad partner Rohit Raju.
                    • Eric Young offered Cousin Jake a spot in Violent by Design.

                    Upcoming on Impact

                    • ODB v. Kimber Lee
                    • Kiera Hogan v. Nevaeh
                    • The Good Brothers v. Chris Sabin and James Storm – Tag Team Championship Match
                    • Rich Swann and Tommy Dreamer Contract Signing

                    Essential Wrestling Podcast Episode 39 – Click Here

                    The Essential Wrestling Podcast airs every Tuesday at 6:00 PM. Join Al Karl, John D’Aconti, John Smith, Gary Mehafy, and Minutes to Bell Time’s Ryan Joy as they take you through the latest in Pro Wrestling. Find out and get the rationale behind who they think wins the week’s matches.

                    This Week’s Lineup

                    • Royal Rumble Recap
                    • Gary Tells Us how Trent Seven will cut weight.
                    • The Empire Wins 2 Big Matches at New Beginning
                    • AEW does Beach Break in Jacksonville and we Make Our Picks
                    • The Tommy Dreamer 50th Birthday Memorial Title Shot
                    • What does Scarlet see in the Tarot Cards

                    Huge Interpromotional Match

                    • Major League Wrestling has announced that MLW Middleweight Champion Lio Rush will defend his championship against Lucha Libre AAA World Cruiserweight Champion Laredo Kid.
                    • Rush won the Middleweight Championship from long-time champion Myron Reed earlier this year while Laredo Kid has held his Cruiserweight Championship since February 16, 2019.
                    • Laredo Kid recently challenged AAA Mega Champion Kenny Omega at the AAA Anniversary show, and Kid also defended his Cruiserweight Championship against Zenshi on MLW Fusion.
                    • MLW CEO Court Bauer spoke about the upcoming match: “When we started hyping #TheRestart, we promised dream matches and interpromotional title fights and this Wednesday we make good on a big one.”

                    Next Week’s Fusion 2/10

                    • Title vs. Title: MLW World Middleweight Champion Lio Rush vs. AAA World Cruiserweight Champion
                    • Injustice will take on two members of Injustice
                     

                    As a subscriber, you can join the private Body Slam Brigade Facebook Group. Click the image above to be taken to the group. I provide a daily update in that group (I often skip some weekend days ?).

                    Here and There

                    • Ring of Honor confirmed that Jay Lethal and Sledge have signed new contracts with ROH.
                    • ROH updated their on-line shopping experience. Their news release says: “Ring of Honor is turning ordinary online shopping into an immersive experience with the launch of ShopHonor.com. The new mobile-friendly design has been enhanced for better navigation and searching. There’s a “Recommended for You” feature that showcases products based on your unique preferences. You also can filter any category by your favorite wrestler, favorite color or size.”
                      • Upon first glance, the shop does seem highly navigable

                    This Weekend on ROH TV

                    • Rush, Dragon Lee, La Bestia del Ring, and Flip Gordan v. Brody King, PCO, and the Briscoes
                    • Pure Rules: Tracy Williams v. The World Famous CB


                     

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