Minutes to Bell Time

                    Body Slam Brigade January 22, 2021

                    Body Slam Brigade

                    Body Slam Brigade January 22, 2021

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                    Don’t miss the big announcement at the end of this block! Body Slam Clothes has officially started!

                    WrestleMania Season

                    Everything seems to be happening so fast in wrestling these days. As of last week, we didn’t know the status of WrestleMania this year. By Sunday, we had the dates and locations of not just WrestleMania 37, but WrestleMania 38 and WrestleMania 39 too. By the time WrestleMania 37 occurs, it will be the first WWE event to have a sizable audience in over a year. While WWE has not officially announced anything pertaining to tickets, speculation is running that between 10,000 and 25,000 fans will be permitted.

                    Florida Wrestling

                    Ignite
                    I sat down with Kim Artlip of Ignite Wrestling on Monday. Kim is one of a handful of female wrestling owners across the country, and she has some great stories. Ignite will be running their 5th anniversary show on 1/23 at Walking Tree Brewery in Vero Beach, FL. Kim spoke about launching Ignite, dealing with stereotypes, introducing women’s tag team championships, and how Ignite is focused on delivering lasting memories for wrestling fans. In the beginning, people like Lince Dorado offered Kim support, and as time went on she became inspired by wrestlers like Serpentico. This was a really fun interview. Watch it here and follow Ignite on Facebook to stay up to date.

                    Coastal Championship Wrestling (CCW)
                    I went to a couple of CCW shows in the Fort Lauderdale area over last weekend. The crowd was so energetic, and the shows were jam packed with action. They had technical wrestling, a battle royal, high flying, and a bit of hardcore – something for everyone really. Eddie and Carlito Colon were defending the Tag Team Championships, but unfortunately for them they didn’t leave with those titles. CCW has a weekly You Tube show called Alive that you can check out on their channel.

                    Body Slam Clothes – The Big New Project!

                    I’m really excited to announce our new clothing line inspired by the illustrated characters in all the logos across the Minutes to Bell Time Brand. Body Slam Clothes brings you creative, simple, and colorful wrestling apparel to fit any situation. We love the graphics, and you will too.

                    The debut shirt from Body Slam Clothes is called “The Clothesline.” We printed it on the super soft Bella + Canvas 3001 shirt, which has just the right amount of stretch. The unisex style is comfortable and flattering for both men and women. The best part is we’re selling the shirt for $20, and that includes 4-6 day shipping. The clothesline is probably the most popular move in wrestling (after punch and kick) and has been used as a setup or finisher by some of the all time greats like Stan Hansen, JBL, Kazuchika Okada, and Jake Roberts. “The Clothesline” from Body Slam Clothes features our massive wrestler executing a lariat across our small masked wrestler. As you can see from the image, the impact of this lariat was like getting hit by lightning. Make sure you are one of the first people to pick up this awesome new shirt. Buy it here or click the image below.

                    Have a Great Weekend!

                    Ryan Joy

                     

                    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.

                    WrestleMania

                    WWE announced the locations and dates of WrestleMania 37, 38 and 39.
                    • Wrestlemania 37 will be a two night event on April 10th and April 11th. The event will take place in Tampa.
                      • Regarding fan attendance at WrestleMania 37, the event will take place inside the same venue as the Super Bowl. The Super Bowl is expected to have roughly 14,000 fans. WWE has yet to make any announcement regarding the number of seats or ticket sales.
                    • WrestleMania 38 will take place on April 3, 2022 at AT&T Stadium in Dallas.
                    • WrestleMania 39 will go to Los Angeles on April 2, 2023 in SoFi Stadium

                    Royal Rumble

                    The Royal Rumble takes place on January 31. There are currently just four matches scheduled.
                    • Male Rumble Participants: Daniel Bryan, Bobby Lashley, AJ Styles, Randy Orton, Otis, Jeff Hardy, Jay Uso, The Miz, Cesaro
                    • Female Rumble Participants: Nia Jax, Charlotte Flair, Bianca Belair, Bayley, Mandy Rose, Dana Brooke, Shayna Baszler, Alexa Bliss, Peyton Royce,
                    • Roman Reigns v. Kevin Owens – Universal Championship
                    • Drew McIntyre v. Goldberg – WWE Championship

                    NXT

                    • Anthony Henry has signed with WWE. Henry is a former Evolve Tag Team Champion.
                    • Stardom wrestling star Saree has announced that she has had her final match in Japan. Saree will move the United States to join WWE as part of the NXT brand.
                    • WWE announced the signing of Lacey Ryan, Elayana Black, and Priscilla Kelly. All will be given new ring names, and they will all compete in the NXT Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic.
                    • The Brackets for the Women’s Dusty Cup have been revealed. Below are the current standings for the Dusty Cup.
                    • Karrion Kross defeated Ashante Thee Adonis on the 1/20 episode of NXT.  Based on the brutality of the victory, Adonis is not cleared to compete in the Dusty Classic. A new team consisting of Ciampa and Thatcher will take their place. Thatcher and Ciampa competed against one another in a fight pit match to end their feud on the 1/20 episode of NXT.
                    • NXT for 1/27 will include the following matches:
                      • Finn Balor and O’Reilly v. Burch and Lorcan
                      • MSK v. Drake Maverick and Killian Dain – Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic
                      • GYV v. Kushida and Ruff – Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic
                      • Santos Escobar v. Curt Stallion – NXT Cruiserweight Championship
                      • Raquel Gonzalez and Dakota Kai v. Aliyah and Jessi Kamea – Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic
                    • NXT from 1/20 did 659,000 viewers. That’s an increase from last week’s 551,000.
                    • The Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic for both Men and Women continues on the 1/22 episode of 205 Live.
                      • Timothy Thatcher and Tommaso Ciampa vs. Tony Nese and Ariya Daivari.
                      • Gigi Dolin and Cora Jade vs. Candice LeRae and Indi Hartwell.

                    NXT UK

                    • Kay Lee Ray made another successful defense of her NXT UK Championship. She defeated Jinny on the 1/21 episode of NXT UK.
                    • The number one contender to Gallus’ tag team championship will be determined on 1/28 in a four-way match: Pretty Deadly v. Flash Morgan Webster and Mark Andrews v. The Hunt v. Oliver Carter and Ashton Smith.

                    Monday Night Raw

                    • The Monday Night Raw rating was 1.854 Million viewers. This is up from 1.819 last week.
                    • Gillberg returned for a comedy segment with The Miz. As Drew McIntyre v. Bill Goldberg is official for Royal Rumble, The Miz still carries the Money in the Bank briefcase. The Miz has been teasing that he’ll cash in at Royal Rumble, but that has been the storyline from the moment Miz took the briefcase.
                    • Alexa Bliss got a clean win over Raw Women’s Champion Asuka. While that would seemingly indicate a future championship match, Bliss has already announced herself for the Royal Rumble.
                    • After getting hit with a fireball to the face by Alexa Bliss, Randy Orton is now wearing a mask to cover up his burns.

                    Smackdown

                    • WWE Elimination Chamber will take place on 2/21
                    • WWE Fast Lane will take place on 3/21
                    • During the contract signing, Adam Pearce swerved Roman Reigns. Pearce feigned injury and claimed he would be unable to compete. Kevin Owens will be the replacement.
                    • Smackdown for 1/15/21
                      • Bayley v. Bianca Belair in an Obstacle Course
                      • Big defends the Intercontinental Championship against Apollo Crews

                    Here and There

                    • Dave Bautista is offering a $20,000 reward for the arrest of the person that defaced a manatee.
                    • Steve Austin had Ice T on Straight Up Steve Austin.
                    • WWE is debuting “My Way: The Life of Pat Patterson” on 1/24
                    • Fox will air a special episode of WWE Backstage on 1/30 (the night before the Royal Rumble). Renee Young will host the show.
                    • WWE Superstar Spectacle will air on the WWE Network at 9:30 AM on January 26th.

                    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

                    AEW Revolution

                    • AEW’s next Pay Per View will be Revolution on February 27th. AEW has announced a Tag Team Street Fight featuring Team Taz v. Darby Allin and Sting.

                    AEW Dynamite

                    • Nyla Rose was removed from this week’s Dynamite due to COVID precautions. The new match was Penelope Ford v. Leyla Hirsch. On Twitter, Hirsch mentioned that she made her CZW debut against Ford in 2018.
                    • Dynamite did 854,000 viewers up from 762,000 last week.

                    Upcoming

                    • Next Week
                      • Kingston v. Archer
                      • Cody Responds to Shaq
                      • Dax v. Jungle Boy
                      • The Young Bucks and Good Brothers v. Reynolds, Silver, Uno, Grayson
                      • Shanna v. Britt Baker
                      • Chris Jericho and MJF v. Varsity Blondes
                    • February 3
                      • Tag Team Battle Royal to determine who will challenge for the AEW Tag Titles at Revolution
                      • Marriage of Kip Sabian and Penelope Ford
                      • Britt Baker v. Thunder Rosa
                      • Kenny Omega and Good Brothers v. Pac, Fenix, Moxley

                    AEW Dynamite Broadcasts Not Moving to Miami

                    • Cassidy Haynes of BodySlam.net has reported that plans changed regarding AEW’s potential move to Miami. AEW will be staying in Jacksonville.
                    • AEW subsequently announced ticket sales for all of February and March.

                    Here and There

                    • AEW announced the Women’s World Championship Eliminator Tournament. It’s funny because I was thinking about how NXT was doing the Dusty Cup while the Mae Young Classic lay dormant.
                    • AEW has filed a trademark for Too Sweet.
                    • Jon Moxley is writing a book.
                    • In a battle of Dinosaurs and Dragons, Luchasaurus turned back Brandon Cutler on last night’s episode of AEW Dark. The Brandon Cutler winning streak is now over.


                    No Major News from New Japan This Week. Below is the same schedule information as last week.

                    New Beginning Tour Announced

                    Major Match Announcements Include:
                    • The Road to New Beginning on January 23
                      • El Desperado and Yoshinobu Kanemaru defend Tag Titles against Taiji Ishimori and ELP
                    • The New Beginning in Nagoya on January 30
                      • NEVER Openweight Championship – Shingo Takagi v. Hiroshi Tanahashi
                      • Will Ospreay v. Satoshi Kojima
                      • Hiroyoshi Tenzan v. Great-O-Khan
                    • New Japan has announced title matches for their two night New Beginning in Hiroshima Event on February 10th and 11th
                      • Feb 10 – Hiromu Takahashi v. Sho
                      • Febr 10 – GOD v. Sabre and Taichi
                      • Feb 11 – Kota Ibushi v. Sanada

                    The 2021 New Japan Cup Announced

                    • The cup will take place over a series of shows starting on March 5th and running through March 21st.
                    • Unlike many other New Japan tournaments, the New Japan Cup is a single elimination tournament.
                    • Evil won the 2020 New Japan Cup, which was delayed due to New Japan shutting down at the beginning of the pandemic era.
                    • Evil would go on to face champion Tetsuya Naito for the IWGP Double Championship, which he won.


                    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.

                    Impact Hard to Kill

                    On 1/16, Impact had one of their four major PPV’s of the year. This was the first show where the new commentary team of Matt Striker and D-Lo Brown led the broadcast. Madison Rayne announced her retirement from Impact.

                    The show had ups and downs, but the story of Impact and AEW’s working relationship is still very much alive. Kenny Omega (AEW World Champion) pinned Impact World Champion Rich Swann in the main event. This will most likely lead to a singles match at some later point.

                    Hard to Kill also saw the Impact debut of Matt Cardona (FKA Zack Ryder). Scott D’Amore put Cardona in a match against Super X Cup winner Ace Austin.

                    The only new champions crowned at Hard to Kill were Fire and Flava. They defeated Havok and Nevaeh in the finals of the Knockouts Tag Team Championship Tournament.

                    The cinematic match between Ethan Page and his alter ego Karate Man has been met with mixed feelings. Page went to social media to complain about the editing of the work. It was apparently something that Impact handled after Page had left the company. Page believed the job to be substandard.

                    Here are the full results.

                    • PRE SHOW: Josh Alexander v. Brian Myers
                    • Rosemary and Crazy Steve defeat Tenille Dashwood and Kaleb
                    • Kenny Omega and The Good Brothers defeat Rich Swann and The Motor City Machine Guns
                    • Eddie Edwards defeats Sami Callihan – Barbed Wire Massacre
                    • Deonna Purrazzo (c) defeats Taya Valkyrie – Knockouts Championship
                    • Kiera Hogan and Tasha Steelz defeat Havok and Nevaeh – Knockouts Tag Championship
                    • Manik (c) defeats Rohit Raju v. Chris Bey – X Division Championship
                    • Eric Young, Deaner, Joe Doering defeat Cousin Jake, Tommy Dreamer, Rhyno – Old School Rules
                    • The Karate Man defeats Ethan Page
                    • Matt Cardona defeates Ace Austin

                    Impact Wrestling This Week

                    • The AEW storyline continued this week as Matt Hardy and Private Party made an appearance. Hardy got Private Party in a number one contender’s match against Chris Sabin and James Storm. Private Party would win the match, which is why they’ll be facing The Good Brothers at No Surrender on February 3. Tony Khan and Jerry Lynn from AEW sat ringside during the match. Lynn interfered late in the match, which directly led to the finish.
                    • In storyline, Taya Valkyrie is the mastermind behind the attempted murder of Bravo. As a result, Valkyrie was carried out of the Impact Zone. This marks the end of Taya’s current run in Impact Wrestling.
                    • Match Results
                      • Eric Young defeats Rhino – 04:00
                      • Kimber Lee and Susan defeat Jordynne Grace and Jazz – 10:47
                      • Brian Myers defeats Fallah Bahh – 04:12
                      • Private Party defeats James Storm and Chris Sabin – 14:18

                    James Storm Status

                    • James Storm who returned on Impact is not under contract.

                    Upcoming on Impact

                    • Josh Alexander and Matt Cardona v. Ace Austin and Madman Fulton
                    • Joe Doering v. Cousin Jake
                    • Fire and Flava Fest
                    • Tenille Dashwood v. Rosemary
                    • Two Weeks – Rohit v. TJP – Non Title Match

                    Essential Wrestling Podcast Episode 37 – 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

                    • The Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic is chugging along
                    • DARBY ALLIN is STILL TNT Champion.
                    • Gary Mehaffy is back to Discuss the NXT UK Championship Match
                    • Travis Severance joins to discuss everything New Japan, MLW, Ring of Honor.
                    • Number 11 of Al Karl’s Top 30 Favorite WM Matches, as we continue to Count down to the Show Case of the Immortals at the End of March.
                    • We make our Picks for this Week’s Upcoming Shows, presented by Minutes to Bell Time and sponsored by Pro Wrestling Pickem.
                    • We Main Event the Show with: Alexa’s big win over Asuka
                    • We Curtain Jerk the Show with: Impact’s Hard to Kill and The Huge Six Man Interpromotional Tag Team Match

                    Jacob Fatu Successfully Defends MLW Championship

                    • Fatu defeated ACH on the 1/20 episode of MLW Fusion.

                    Next Weeks

                    • Jan 27 – Savio Vega v. Richard Holliday – Caribbean Strap Match
                      Feb 3 – Hammerstone v. Mads Krugger
                     

                    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 ?).

                    Television Title

                    • Dragon Lee successfully defended the ROH TV Title against Rey Horus

                    Next Week on ROH TV

                    • Shane Taylor Promotions (Shane Taylor and Soldiers of Savagery) vs. The Foundation (Jonathan Gresham, Jay Lethal and Tracy Williams)
                    • Pure Rules Match: Dalton Castle vs. Josh Woods

                     

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