The Time Splitters are reuniting in NXT for the 2020 Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic! Mauro Ranallo announced during last night’s show that Alex Shelley will team with Kushida next week against The Grizzled Young Veterans in the first round of the tag team tournament. {:class=“restrict-width”} The Time Splitters were an active team from 2012-2015 and last competed together in 2016. Alex Shelley is most famously known for his time in TNA/Impact Wrestling as one half of the Motor City Machine Guns with Chris Sabin.

It is being reported that popular Indy wrestler and current AWS Champion Mercedes Martinez has signed with WWE. 39 year old Martinez has performed inside of a WWE ring in the past. Including, appearances in the Mae Young Classic and on NXT TV. {:class=“restrict-width”} Martinez was also a surprise entrant in AEW’s women’s pre-show Casino Battle Royal, at their ALL OUT PPV in August 2019. It is expected that Mercedes Martinez will report to the Performance Centre in Orlando within the next month, and that her AWS championship will be vacated and put up for grabs in a tournament at their next big show in February.

The advocate for current WWE Champion Brock Lesnar, Paul Heyman announced on last night’s RAW (6th Jan 20) that ‘The Beast’ will be a participant in this year’s Royal Rumble match. {:class=“restrict-width”} This is a particularly unusual situation for any WWE or Universal Champion to be a part of the Rumble match itself. As the winner of the Rumble match would usually go on to face either the WWE or Universal Champion at ‘The Showcase of the Immortals’ WrestleMania.

After an epic night one of Wrestle Kingdom (4th Jan 2020) the main event of night two (5th Jan 2020) has been cemented. As newly crowned IWGP Intercontinental Champion Tetsuya Naito will face the reigning IWGP Heavyweight Champion, Kaszuskda Okada. {:class=“restrict-width”} Earlier in the evening Naito managed to regain the Intercontinental title after defeating Jay White, in a hard fought semi main event, inside of the sold out Tokyo Dome. While Okada battled for over 30+ minutes in an epic main event against Kota Ibushi.

{:class=“restrict-width”} With the eight teams for the tournament announced, the brackets for this year’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic has now been revealed. Imperium (Marcel Barthel & Fabian Aichner) vs. The Forgotten Sons (Wesley Blake & Steve Cutler) and Matt Riddle & Pete Dunne vs. Mark Andrews & Flash Morgan Webster are the matches on the left side of the bracket. The right side of the bracket has The Grizzled Young Veterans (Zack Gibson & James Drake) vs.

BT Sport announced earlier this week that NXT and NXT UK will be joining their line-up of WWE programming. WWE’s deal with BT Sport will commence January 1st 2020. Like Raw and SmackDown, NXT will air live on BT Sport at the same time as it airs in the United States. The first show on BT will be this week’s taped episode of NXT, which begins at 1 a.m. local time on January 2nd for those in the UK and Ireland.

The big wrestling event to kick off the year 2020 will be NJPW WrestleKingdom 14, which will feature the final two matches of Jushin Liger’s career. While you would think that the legend might unmask when he retires, that will not be the case. In an interview with Tokyo Sports Liger said that he will keep his mask even when his time in the ring is done. He said: “If you wear a mask even if you retire, it’s okay to take the name Liger.