WWE Crown Jewel was this past weekend and the big story coming out of the show is just how impressive Logan Paul looked in his third professional wrestling match ever. The guy is absolutely a natural.
Not many people could handle the pressure of main eventing a show in their third match and delivering the performance that the social media star showed to the WWE Universe. He did epic frog splashes, standing moonsaults, the buckshot lariat, and sold a beating like a champ.
Roman Reigns made him look like a worthy contender but in the end, Reigns retained the belt. Here are some highlights:
Logan Paul gave it his all, injuring his ACL and possibly his MCL in the process, which means we won't see him back in the ring for another six months. But, as a very cynical wrestling fan, I tip my cap to Logan Paul.
If you haven't seen Crown Jewel, I would recommend this match, the two women's matches and Brock vs. Lashley, which was everything I wanted.
MJF Joins Zac Efron in the Von Erich Movie
The A24 featured film, The Iron Claw, based on the story of the legendary Von Erich brothers now has added an AEW wrestler to its cast.
Future AEW world champion Maxwell Jacob Friedman has been cast as Lance Von Erich, playing opposite Zac Efron as Kevin Von Erich, the sole living member of the family. MJF is expected off the AEW live dates until next Saturday, although he will have a segment air tomorrow, likely a pre-tape, since he's shooting the movie.
Directed by “Martha Marcy May Marlene” director Sean Durkin, “The Iron Claw” will also star Jeremy Allen White as Kerry, Harris Dickinson as David, and Maura Tierney and Holt McCallany as Doris and Fritz Von Erich.
Deadline describes the movie as "based on a true story, The Iron Claw follows the rise and fall of the Von Erich family, a dynasty of wrestlers who made a huge impact on the sport from the 1960s to the present day."
What happened on Raw?
This was easily the best thing on Raw this week:
Also, the Club finally debuted their insurance policy to take care of Rhea Ripley, the returning Mia Yim.
In the most perplexing segment on the show, Seth Rollins offered an open challenge for his US title. Bobby Lashley went to answer the challenge, but instead of waiting for the bell to ring, he just badly attacked Rollins. Seeing Rollins down, all of the sudden Austin Theory appeared and cashed in his Money in the Bank contract! It's the first time the contract was cashed in for a non-world championship. And what happened? Lashley came back, beat Austin's ass and then Rollins won the match. Austin Theory becomes the fifth person in history to unsuccessfully cash in his contract. It was very perplexing booking.
What's on TV this week?
NXT is live tonight on USA Network at 8pm. Here's what's scheduled:
- NXT Women’s Tag Team titles: Kayden Carter and Katana Chance defend against Zoey Stark and Nikkita Lyons
- Five-minute challenge: Brutus Creed vs. Damon Kemp
- Andre Chase vs. Charlie Dempsey
- Cameron Grimes vs. Joe Gacy
- Hank Walker vs. Stacks
- Grayson Waller Effect w/ Bron Breakker and Von Wagner.
- JD McDonagh vs. Axiom
AEW has a big show tomorrow night. Dynamite will air at 8pm tomorrow on TBS:
- Bryan Danielson vs. Sammy Guevara in a two out of three falls match
- AEW World title eliminator tournament match: Eddie Kingston vs. Ethan Page
- Jon Moxley promo
- Britt Baker and Saraya face-to-face confrontation
- Jamie Hayter vs. Skye Blue
- The Acclaimed & FTR vs. Swerve in our Glory & The Gunns
Smackdown will have the fall out from Crown Jewel and Rampage will have some world title tournament eliminator matches. I'll have more on those in my Friday column.
Wrestling News and Gossip
The Young Bucks have filed a trademark for the term "The Wayward Sons." In an old episode of their backstage show, Matt Jackson once said he would love to come out to the Kansas song "Carry On Your Wayward Son," so this might be their new theme song.
Nick also made his first public appearance since the suspension at a Clippers game:
R-Truth has confirmed he has torn his quad and will be out for the better part of a year after needing surgery.
AEW Games said there will be a major announcement about their new video game at AEW Full Gear next Saturday, but they denied reports that the game would initially be released on any subscription service like XBox One Pass.
WWE Survivor Series is less than three weeks away and will feature a men's and women's War Games match. The first time the match will happen in the main WWE show. The women's match has announced Damage CTRL (Bayley, Dakota Kai, IYO SKYE), Nikki Cross, and one more partner will take onBianca Belair, Alexa Bliss, Asuka, and two partners.
WrestleVotes says John Cena is expected to wrestle at WrestleMania this year in Hollywood.
Jim Ross revealed he will be granting an interview to the producers of Dark Side of the Ring for a new episode about Junkyard Dog. This confirms a new season is coming, likely next year.
FTR will be defending the IWGP tag team titles at WrestleKingdom in the Tokyo Dome on January 4th. They will be missing Dynamite that night.
WWE announced a special 30th-anniversary celebration episode of Raw for January, and this is the actual logo:
Vince McMahon was recently spotted at a restaurant in New York City by a fan:
Don’t forget, Tuesday nights, Knotfest Wrestling will go live on the Knotfest Youtube with hosts Alicia Atout, Colin Young, and Jordan Olds. So make sure to tune in!
Do you enjoy pro wrestling? Knotfest Wrestling has a bi-weekly column filled with wrestling news. Read previous editions of this column here. You can always follow me @robinjection on Instagram and Twitter and @Squaredcirclpit.
