Professional Wrestling

Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe and All Elite Wrestling.

---

Sasha Banks Reportedly Expected to Attend NJPW Wrestle Kingdom

Sasha Banks will reportedly be present next month at New Japan Pro-Wrestling's Wrestle Kingdom event.

According to PWInsider.com's Mike Johnson, NJPW is bringing her in for Wrestle Kingdom 17, which will emanate from the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan, on Jan. 4.

The second day of Wrestle Kingdom will take place over two weeks later on Jan. 21 at the Yokohama Arena in Yokohama, Japan.

Women's wrestling in Japan was previously relegated to all-female companies such as Stardom, but since Stardom and NJPW are sister companies, a working relationship was forged, and the IWGP Women's Championship was recently created.

Former WWE Superstar Kairi holds the title, and she is putting it on the line against Tam Nakano on Jan. 4. That has led to speculation that Banks may confront Kairi after the match, leading to a bout between them on Jan. 21.

Johnson noted that it hasn't been confirmed if Banks will appear in front of the crowd at Wrestle Kingdom or if she will merely be in attendance.

Banks has not appeared on WWE programming since May when she and tag team partner Naomi walked out prior to an episode of Raw. WWE condemned their actions by suspending them and stripping them of the WWE Women's Tag Team Championships.

Multiple reports suggested that the walkout was because of unhappiness on the part of Banks and Naomi for how WWE was handling their title reign.

While there has been plenty of speculation since then, there has been no concrete proof regarding whether Banks and Naomi are still under contract with the company or if they were released or allowed to have their contracts lapse.

Banks potentially appearing at Wrestle Kingdom could be a sign that she is no longer with WWE and is free to work anywhere, or it could merely be a working arrangement between WWE and NJPW.

WWE leadership has changed significantly since Banks and Naomi were suspended by Vince McMahon, as he retired and was replaced by the combination of Stephanie McMahon, Nick Khan and Triple H.

They have already shown more of a willingness to work with other companies, as Shinsuke Nakamura is being permitted to wrestle Great Muta for Pro Wrestling Noah on New Year's Day, and WWE roster member Karl Anderson is still a champion for NJPW.

If Banks is still under a WWE contract, Wrestle Kingdom could be a precursor to her WWE return, especially since the Royal Rumble is on Jan. 28.

---

Regal Reportedly Returning to WWE in January

William Regal's official return to WWE is reportedly only a few weeks away from happening.

According to Johnson, Regal is set to start again with WWE during the first week of January following his departure from AEW.

AEW president Tony Khan discussed the Regal situation during a media call on Wednesday. Per Fightful's Sean Ross Sapp, Khan said Regal requested that his AEW contract not be renewed so he could return to WWE.

Khan said Regal had "a lot of good reasons" for wanting to return to WWE, including the desire to coach his son, who wrestles under the name Charlie Dempsey in NXT.

It was also noted by Khan (h/t Marc Middleton of WrestlingHeadlines.com) that it was a conditional release, meaning Regal will be permitted to work backstage for WWE once 2022 ends, but he won't be allowed to appear on television until 2024.

Regal was a longtime wrestler in WWE before transitioning into a backstage role in 2014. He had a lengthy run as the general manager of NXT, but much of his work involved coaching up-and-coming wrestlers and recruiting new talent to WWE.

He was surprisingly released from the company in January amid a firestorm of releases, especially in relation to the NXT brand.

Regal arrived in AEW in March and formed the Blackpool Combat Club with Jon Moxley and Bryan Danielson. Wheeler Yuta and Claudio Castagnoli eventually joined as well.

He shockingly turned on Moxley at Full Gear last month, allowing MJF to become the AEW world champion. MJF then double-crossed Regal on the Nov. 30 episode of Dynamite by hitting him with brass knuckles, thus spelling the end of Regal's AEW tenure.

Regal has long been close to Triple H, and his rise to power following the retirement of Vince McMahon in July undoubtedly has plenty to do with Regal's desire to return to WWE.

Lynch Says Shoulder Still Isn't 100 Percent

Although she returned to action at Survivor Series WarGames last month, Becky Lynch suggested this week that she doesn't feel like she's all the way back from her shoulder injury.

Speaking to Matthew Connell of Verge, Lynch said the following about her health: "Truth be told, my shoulder still isn't feeling right. So to say I was nervous is probably a bit of an understatement. But once you get out there, once you get in front of the crowd and you feel that energy, then you forget everything else. There's not another feeling like it."

Lynch was out for about four months with a shoulder injury suffered during her Raw Women's Championship match against Bianca Belair at SummerSlam in July.

She returned on the go-home episode of SmackDown prior to Survivor Series WarGames to be announced as the final member of Belair's WarGames team.

The team of Lynch, Belair, Alexa Bliss, Asuka and Mia Yim was victorious, as they took down Bayley, Iyo Sky, Dakota Kai, Rhea Ripley and Nikki Cross.

Lynch was arguably the star of the show, as she won the match for her team with a leg drop off the top of the cage and through a table.

Despite perhaps not being 100 percent healthy, Lynch has been active since her return, as she also competed in a Triple Threat match against Bliss and Cross on Monday's Raw for a chance to challenge Belair for the Raw women's title.

Damage CTRL members Sky and Kai interfered and cost her the match, which suggests she is trending toward a rivalry with Damage CTRL leader Bayley.

---

Listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot wrestling topics. Catch the latest episode in the player below (warning: some language NSFW).

There is a lot to like about Triple H's creative direction since taking over the booking of WWE television at the end of July.

From a greater emphasis on championships to the utilization of talent who flew under the radar for too long, he has injected much-needed life into a product that had grown stale and formulaic under the previous regime.

For all that The Game has brought to WWE programming over the last four-plus months, though, little has been as effective as the layered storytelling and implementation of the best Attitude Era throwbacks.

His WWE Universe is one of intertwined stories that keep things fresh, never allowing for the repetitiveness that Vince McMahon oversaw for the last decade, and some of it is borrowed from the best of the company's most celebrated years.

---

An Attitude Era Throwback

In hindsight, the Attitude Era is not necessarily a shining example of pro wrestling at its best, but there are some elements that are still relevant and useful today.

One being the implementation of stories for characters up and down the roster.

Among the most credible criticisms of McMahon's product over the last five years was his overreliance on the same handful of stars. Entire shows would be built around those competitors at the expense of everyone else.

Not only did it diminish the role of some of the most talented wrestlers on the roster, but it also led to an overarching sense of sameness across WWE TV and overexposed some to the point that any eagerness to see them perform was washed away in relatively short order.

Rather than using a few established stars as a crutch and beating their effectiveness into the ground by booking the same angles and matches every week, Triple H has managed to come up with things for his roster to do besides being fed to those major stars.

Look no further than Monday's Raw. He pulled from the old APA of the early aughts to craft a series of backstage poker vignettes that both spun off in-ring action for the show and furthered ongoing stories.

For example, with nothing else better to do with The O.C., Alpha Academy and Baron Corbin, The King of Kings oversaw the execution of an angle that brought them together in a six-man tag team match.

And a brief interaction between Akira Tozawa and Dominik Mysterio created a reason for the two of them to work together on the same show.

After the JBL Poker Invitational ends in anarchy, The O.C. take on #AlphaAcademy and @BaronCorbinWWE in an impromptu Six-Man Tag Team Match. #WWERaw pic.twitter.com/TYUrOE6ujj

— WWE (@WWE) December 8, 2022

Then there was the interaction between The Miz and JBL, in which we learned that the former has financial issues after paying for Dexter Lumis' services.

Sure, the two matches were likely one-offs, but that one overarching story of a throwaway poker game created a reason for them to happen rather than just randomly trotting those guys out for a meaningless bout that no one would remember a week later.

We saw that sort of thing happen to great effect during the Attitude Era, when characters were allowed to grow, evolve and flourish in situational segments.

While wrestling has grown a bit too comfortable relying on nostalgia, it is one throwback that Triple H and Co. should utilize more often to bring talent together, especially on those three-hour Monday night slogs when content is in demand but the booker does not want to overexpose his stars.

---

An Intertwined Universe

On top of what he has borrowed from the period when he was one of the biggest wrestlers in the industry, Triple H has also ensured no story grows stale by spinning off other side angles featuring the same main event stars.

For example, it is obvious that he sees Seth Rollins vs. Austin Theory for the United States Championship as a primary program on Monday nights. Rather than having them battling every week, he has created side stories that give them something to do while keeping their eyes on the prize.

Rollins is feuding with Bobby Lashley, the man he defeated for the title in the first place, while Theory was kept busy with Mustafa Ali and Dolph Ziggler.

.@AliWWE gets a chance at @_Theory1's #USTitle before @HEELZiggler emerges to cause chaos.#WWERaw pic.twitter.com/TlbZcevmuF

— WWE (@WWE) December 8, 2022

Elsewhere, Becky Lynch is clearly on a collision course with Rhea Ripley following two tense staredowns. Rather than giving the match away too early, Triple H has paired The Man with Bayley while keeping The Nightmare strong and hanging around title contention.

Speaking of Bayley and Damage CTRL, not only are they engaged with Lynch on Monday nights, but they are also feuding with Liv Morgan and Tegan Nox on SmackDown, which will prevent too many bouts involving Lynch before the blow-off between her and The Role Model.

Tegan Nox makes her shocking return to WWE to save @YaOnlyLivvOnce from the grasp of the villainous #DamageCTRL. #SmackDown pic.twitter.com/7w8Ybh99e8

— WWE (@WWE) December 4, 2022

The Bloodline are all over WWE programming but not in just one rivalry.

At any given point, Roman Reigns, The Usos, Sami Zayn and Solo Sikoa are feuding with Drew McIntyre, Kevin Owens, The Brawling Brutes, Matt Riddle, Elias and whoever the challenger of the month is to the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship.

Triple H's understanding of the need for multiple storylines to keep from boring the audience is key to his success so far. Whereas his father-in-law could not see that the audience grows tired of seeing the same programmed against each other every week, he has managed to come up with secondary storylines while also giving something to underutilized talent to do.

Morgan had fallen off the radar in recent weeks and is now feuding with the central heel figure in women's wrestling. Ali and Ziggler could not sniff consistent television opportunities eight months ago and are now engaged in a feud with prominent villain Theory.

Even Alexa Bliss, who had been somewhat underwritten, is teaming with Asuka in pursuit of tag team gold, just won a shot to become No. 1 contender to the Raw Women's Championship and could be rekindling her partnership with Bray Wyatt.

Are we about to see Alexa Bliss reunite with Bray Wyatt soon? 👀#WWE #WWERaw pic.twitter.com/QiVB6CwwLF

— Sportskeeda Wrestling (@SKWrestling_) December 6, 2022

It is a compelling storytelling that keeps the fans' attention throughout the shows and also gives Triple H an escape door should injuries, world events or disgruntled employees force him to shift gears and go in a different direction.

Is everything perfect? No, but it was never going to be.

Paul Levesque was tasked with fixing a problem that had engulfed WWE for a decade and is only four months into his current position.

However, the 53-year-old is most definitely making the strides to craft a product that builds on everything that was put into place before him while paying more attention to details and the immense talent at his disposal.

And fans desperately seeking a better WWE than the one he took over are benefiting.