Carmelo Hayes and Kofi Kingston Tease Future Showdown

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NXT North American champion Carmelo Hayes took to Twitter following last night’s SmackDown and teased a matchup with the New Day’s Kofi Kingston. Hayes writes, “Kofi should come to

@WWENXT real quick tho.”

Kingston, seemingly unafraid of the challenge, responds to Hayes and invites him to SmackDown, adding that it is Royal Rumble season. He states, “Bruh… just bring yo ass to Smackdown! It is rumble season after all…”

You can see their full exchange below.

Bruh… just bring yo ass to Smackdown! It is rumble season after all…🤔 https://t.co/v3BYLLkazk pic.twitter.com/74UXeCQCw9 — 🎅🏿 Sir Kofi Krampus 🎅🏿 (@TrueKofi) January 15, 2022

As a reminder Hayes recently unified the N.A. championship and the NXT cruiserweight championship, making him the final cruiserweight champion.

Kofi Kingston Responds To Complaints About New Day Vs Usos Matches

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Kofi Kingston knows there are fans, like Macaulay Culkin, who feel The New Day and The Usos are in too many matches together but he doesn’t agree with them. Kingston says the teams, “laugh all the time,” about the feedback they see from fans who feel they share the ring too often.

“I never heard so many people complain about a guaranteed great match,” Kingston told Bleav In Pro Wrestling. “You know what I’m saying? Like, you don’t go out there and complain, ‘Aw, I gotta watch another great match!” Every match that we’ve had with The Usos, we pride ourselves on making it better than the last. I always say this and I don’t mean to compare myself to the Dudleys and the Hardys and Edge & Christian but with their ladder matches, that was the standard that they set, was to outdo themselves every single time.

Since last October’s WWE Draft, The New Day and The Usos have been involved in five televised matches on SmackDown. Kofi Kingston and King Woods unsuccessfully challenged The Usos for the SmackDown Tag Team Championship on last Friday’s episode. The New Day came up short in another title match against The Usos at the Day 1 pay-per-view on New Year’s Day.

“It’s so easy working with The Usos,” Kingston said. “We have the same mentality no matter where we are on the card. We seek to steal the show as you saw on Day 1. You gonna put us first? OK. Well, you know, we’re gonna try to set the table a little high. You’re gonna need a booster seat to sit up there and eat. You know what I’m saying?

“So, yeah, we just love going out there,” Kingston continued. “And you’re blessed when you have an opponent who you jive with, you know? And we jive with The Usos so well and on so many different levels, from conceptualizing how to construct a match all the way into the finish and everybody has unique ways of just getting in there.”

Kofi Kingston says he doesn’t often watch his own matches but he makes an exception any time he shares the ring with The Usos.

“I don’t really like watching many of my matches back,” Kingston explained. “But with The Usos I always go out of my way to watch it back because, again, we just take a lot of pride in being able to put together matches that are compelling time and time again.”

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Bleav In Pro Wrestling with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.

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Kofi Kingston Was Proud Of Big E’s Run As WWE Champion; Knows A Lot In WWE Is ‘Out Of Their Hands’

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Kofi Kingston comments on the end of Big E’s run as WWE Champion.

Big E had the opportunity in the latter half of 2021 to be the WWE Champion. With that opportunity came a pay-per-view main event against Roman Reigns, and multiple opportunities to showcase why he should be one of, if not, the perennial face of the company.

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His run came to an end at WWE Day 1 at the hands of Brock Lesnar. Somebody who knows a lot about their first championship run coming to an end at the hands of Brock Lesnar is Big E’s brother in The New Day, Kofi Kingston.

Kofi had the opportunity to express how proud he was of Big E in a new interview with Rick Ucchino of Bleav in Pro Wrestling. Kofi Kingston not only addressed the positives but also what E had to say about his own run during a recent interview with Sports Illustrated.

Kofi explains that he understood why E was so critical of himself and says that The New Day hold themselves to a higher standard.

“I thought he did great. We’re always the biggest critics of ourselves. You go back to criticisms and everything online, or people giving us feedback on matches. We’ve always taken pride in holding ourselves to the highest standard. Nobody is going to hold us to a higher standard than we hold ourselves to. So we expect nothing but the best of ourselves, myself, Woods, and E, that’s just the way that we roll. So I wasn’t surprised to see some of the things that he had said about the way things went. He gave what he felt was an honest look at his time. It makes him that much more hungry to do it again, and now, you’ve gotten like that, that first shot out of the way, right?”

Kofi continued, “There’s something about — when I won the title, people were like,’ Okay, so now that you won the title now what?’ I’m like, ‘Oh, how about another one?’ There are so many things that come with being a champion, there are so many labels and you take a lot of pride, at least you should, at being able to be the face of the company and put the whole company on your back, and go out there and not your, you always go out there and you want to have a great match. But to do it with a championship, you realize that like, this is the stamp of approval from everybody in the industry, right? Like you were put in this role, and you are trusted to be the face of the company.

“So again, it’s no surprise that he was that hard on himself. But for me, in particular, I’m real proud of him in the way that he carried himself as champion, he was able to kind of switch things up, but also not change, and stay true to himself, which a lot of people can’t say. I feel like when he was in the ring, and this has always been the case, but he’s always had the support of the people, he’s always able to go out there and entertain and do things that as a man that large should not physically be able to do. But he goes out there and showcases his athleticism every single time he touches the mic, he’s able to move people and make people feel and that’s so it’s hard. It’s a lot harder to do than you would think. So yeah, no, I’m super proud of him for being able to fulfill that role, and for him to be able to, again, put the company on his back and be the face of the company and to get that shot to chase that shot. That’s what he deserved.”

Asked if he had any advice for him because of the similarities in how their runs ended, Kofi Kingston said he didn’t really have any advice for Big E and in truth, he knows that there is a lot that they cannot control so he likes to stay focused on the positive and the things that he can control in between the ropes.

“I don’t necessarily have any advice. I mean, I would never tell someone how to feel. You feel how you feel. It makes you grow if you feel a certain way. But for me, in particular, A lot of this ain’t up to us. For me, if it was up to me, I wouldn’t have made myself have to fight for 11 years to get one title shot, you know what I’m saying? So like, yeah, there’s a lot that we can’t control. I’m really big on controlling what I can control, I can go out there when I have a match, and I can knock it out of the park, and that’s about it. As far as what happens the next week, or what happens afterward, completely out of my hands.

“It is what it is. Like, if you are the kind of person that’s going to let something bad tear you down and hold you down for a long time, then you’re probably not going to progress any further this business is so like, ’next man up,’ so you have to be constantly on your grind, even after a huge loss. Yes, it stings. But again, when those things that stick in those things that hurt, make you better you fit you, you remember how that feels. Then you go out there and you have a certain level of just a different level of mentality going out there. It reflects reflected in your work. It’s reflected in the physical things that you do out there, the way that you speak, the way that you feel, and your competence level. Your desire and passion, that all comes out, and that comes out because of the experience that you had. So I take everything as a growing experience, as an opportunity to get better. That’s what these situations do. They make us stronger.”

Big E has declared himself for this year’s Royal Rumble. Kofi Kingston has yet to do so but Xavier Woods will not be declaring for this year’s Royal Rumble match because he is injured with a torn Plantaris muscle. Learn more here.

If you use any of the quotes above, please credit the original source with a H/T and link back to Fightful for the transcription.

WWE Smackdown Results (1/14) – Lita Gave Charlotte Flair a Twist to Remember; Sheamus Defeated Ricochet by Pinfall; Madcap Moss w/Happy Corbin Defeated Kofi Kingston by Pinfall; Seth Rollins Makes Foo

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WWE Smackdown Results (1/14) – Lita Gave Charlotte Flair a Twist to Remember; Sheamus Defeated Ricochet by Pinfall; Madcap Moss w/Happy Corbin Defeated Kofi Kingston by Pinfall; Seth Rollins Makes Fools Out of Roman Reigns and the Bloodline

Get real time updates directly on you device, subscribe now.

WWE Smackdown Results returned as Michael Cole gave a well deserved epic introduction to Lita.

Lita came out to a loud pop and she said she’s home and gets chills when the fans chanted her name.

When asked why she’s coming back for the Royal Rumble match, she listed some of her career highlights like being the first woman to main event Raw with Trish Stratus and ladder matches.

But they didn’t have a women’s Royal Rumble match, but now she does and feels she has another run in her. She plans to win and main event WrestleMania.

And of course, Charlotte Flair came out to stake her territory and took over the interview, and said she didn’t know it was flashback Friday and mocked “it’s so extreme.”

Flair pointed out when she wins the Rumble, she gets to pick her opponent and when she eliminates Lita her dream is over. She then asked how Lita will handle her ending her dreams.

Lita compared Flair to Tanya Harding and asked how she’ll throw anyone over the top rope with her giant head.

Flair responded about her win over Trish Stratus in 2019 and how she broke Stratus and she retired. She promised to do that to Lita at the Royal Rumble.

So, Lita clocked her, then hit a Twist of Fate.

Sheamus vs. Ricochet

Sheamus was looking for payback for Ridge Holland’s broken nose, but Ricochet managed to hold on early on to counter Sheamus’ brawling style, but it was only a matter of time and Sheamus nailed him with a shoulder and went to work.

Ricochet took Sheamus over the top rope with a leg scissors, then hit a twisting dive on the floor.

Sheamus took out Ricochet’s legs on the apron to gain the advantage, then put Ricochet partly under the ring to hit a slingshot into the ring’s underside as we headed to commercial.

Ricochet slipped free and created some space to hit Sheamus with a series of moves, including a lionsault off the second rope for a near pinfall.

Sheamus avoided a splash and hit an Irish Curse backbreaker to turn the tide once more.

Ricochet slipped free on the top rope to hit some kicks and a sunset powerbomb for a near pinfall.

Ricochet somersaulted into a Brogue Kick for Sheamus to claim the victory.

Backstage, the mystery of the messed up thermostat was solved when Deville took her jacket off and Naomi came in but Adam Pearce got between them.

Naomi pled her case and Pearce agreed with her and gave Naomi another match against Flair next week.

In the ring, Kofi Kingston announced Xavier Woods will miss the Royal Rumble, but Woods decreed he should enter the Rumble in his place.

Kofi Kingston vs. Madcap Moss w/Happy Corbin

The match started fast as Kofi ducked a strike and Moss grabbed him. Kofi grabbed onto the rope to send Moss to the floor and hit a dive as we headed to commercial.

Back in the ring, Moss hammered away on Kofi, but Kofi fought back and hit a missile dropkick and a pair of elbows and a dropkick.

After a back and forth, Kofi went for an SOS, but Moss reversed it into the Punchline for the win.

Rollins stakes his claim

Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns headed to the ring for their faceoff for their Royal Rumble match.

Reigns demanded Omaha to acknowledge him before Rollins said anything, and the response was mixed.

Rollins offered a fist bump for old time’s sake after the fans chanted “Roman” and he said it’s beneath him now.

Rollins wanted to acknowledge the look on his face when he showed up in his office last week, and mentioned how their singles matches for championships is one sided.

Reigns laughed it off and said he’s in God Mode nowadays, Tribal Chief, Head of the Table, Greatest of their generation and the greatest Universal Champion in history.

Rollins said he didn’t come out to rain on is parade, but to acknowledge his success, and then asked if Reigns can look in the mirror and say he’s done all that by himself.

Without Reigns, Rollins was fine and how Reigns needs his Bloodline to hold everything up, and asked if he really understands who the greatest really is.

He added that he created Reigns and he can destroy him.

Reigns called him a waste of his time and called Rollins a clown and doesn’t have the star power Reigns has.

Rollins wouldn’t have been the one he would’ve chosen from his own household as Becky Lynch would’ve been a better choice.

Rollins then ducked a double clothesline attempt from behind by the Usos, and avoided them and slipped out of the ring without being touched.

This was a great way to end the show and made Reigns look scared of Rollins as they begin moving toward the Royal Rumble.

What did you think of it? Let us know in the comments below and thank you for joining WWE Smackdown Results. We had a blast and can’t wait to hang out with you all next week.

See you then!

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5 Things WWE Subtly told us on SmackDown: Incredible future plans for Seth Rollins, Title change to lead to top faction breaking up?

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Welcome to this week’s edition of things WWE subtly told us on SmackDown. The build-up to the Royal Rumble continued in Omaha, Nebraska, and this episode saw the fastest win in WWE history.

Natalya bragged about being in the Guinness Book of World Records, and said that she was going to add one more to her name by beating Aliyah in less than 3.8 seconds - the previous record.

The former NXT Superstar was beaten down before the match but pulled off the win, setting a new record of 3.17 seconds.

Madcap Moss got a big win over Sir Kofi Kingston. Apart from that, here are the things that WWE subtly told us on a good episode of SmackDown:

#5 Seth Rollins’ character tease and his future after SmackDown

The only problem with the Roman Reigns-Seth Rollins feud on SmackDown is the fact that it seems to be a foregone conclusion that Reigns is winning. This is even despite the fact that The Tribal Chief has never beaten Rollins in a World Title match.

To add salt to the wound, two out of four World Championship wins of Seth Rollins happened by pinning Roman Reigns.

Rollins made sure to acknowledge the fact that Roman Reigns’ track record against him in World Title matches isn’t anything great.

Rollins even tried putting out his fist for a “Shield moment” for old times’ sake, but Reigns said he was over that, which was another subtle but clever dig at his past.

Seth Rollins seemed to get the better of the verbal exchange between the two on SmackDown, pointing out the clear difference between their career paths. Rollins said that he “made” Roman Reigns, something that The Tribal Chief didn’t seem to debate.

Not only this, but he said that Reigns has always needed help, while Rollins scratched and clawed his way by himself.

There were a few moments where it seemed like they were blurring the lines between reality and fiction, which is what makes wrestling a unique form of entertainment in itself.

So what did WWE subtly tell us in this segment on SmackDown? More than you might think. For one, Seth Rollins is the babyface of the feud despite still being a heel. Secondly, Roman Reigns is more than likely to win and retain, but that doesn’t mean that The Messiah won’t see championship gold.

We can see Seth Rollins emerging as the WWE Champion on the road to WrestleMania. Whether it’s at Elimination Chamber or otherwise is yet to be seen, but there are going to be big changes coming soon.

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Edited by Alan John