February was an explosive month, that kicked off with the Royal Rumble, but February also had Vengeance Day and Grand Slam Australia. Each uniquely delivered a fun show that has laid ground work for the remainder of the year.
February 1st the Royal Rumble landed in Indianapolis at the Lucas Oil Stadium. Once more WWE announced another broken gate record. I will say every time they do, I'm not sure why audiences cheer at a billion dollar company openly admitting they are charging more and more for your ticket with each passing month. In what feels like tradition, the Women's Rumble match opened the show. Who was the first two entrants? Iyo Sky and Liv Morgan, a great selection. Iyo and Liv have strong chemistry and were both favorites to win. The buzzer rang for #3 and Roxanne Perez headed to the ring. If you're not a fan of her at this point I really don't know why. She broke the record for longest time in a women's Rumble match at one hour and seven minutes. The record of Rumble Iron Man is prestigious in my eyes, and to be 23 and hold that accolade is beyond impressive. This rumble was the better of the two for the night. The only hang up most people seemed to have was Nia Jax unceremoniously eliminating six women, included odds favorites to win like Iyo, Liv, and Bianca Belair. Jordynne Grace seemed to finally arrive in WWE. NXT and International stars, Giulia and Stephanie Vaquer also showed up as entrants in this match. The biggest shocks of the contest, were Nikki Bella and Alexa Bliss both returning. I am very excited for both, although Nikki's appearance was not a full time return unlike Alexa's. Perez managed to make it to the final two and stood across from the returning Charlotte Flair, who was the obvious winner going into this. The Queen's return was advertised for weeks and revealed that she would return in person at the rumble. I personally prefer when returns are kept close to the vest. A Royal Rumble without a surprise is one I don't want to watch. Flair's return was welcome regardless, her winning means she can have the rubber match between her and Rhea or challenge Tiffany Stratton, both were choices that excited me.
Few words were needed to get me to look forward to the next match: DIY, Motor City Machine Guns, 2-out-3 falls. The WWE Tag Teams titles were defended by Gargano and Ciampa who have had a character shift over the past few months, willing to do anything it takes to hold onto the titles. Unfortunately following a royal rumble match, is a bit of a death sentence. The Indi crowd was exhausted, stunting the reactions this match maybe deserved. Even for myself and friends watching together it was hard not to tune out here and there following such a hectic and exciting Rumble match. DIY outsmarted MCMG, this time thanks to an unexpected variable, The Street Profits, who attacked Alex Shelley giving DIY the clear to retain. Following the bell, The Street Profits made it clear, this was not a friendship, this was a message and attacked DIY as well. I'd love a triple threat tag match for the titles at WrestleMania, but knowing how WWE treats tag teams, that would main event the Smackdown before Mania.
Kevin Owens and Cody Rhodes' feud came to a boil in a ladder match that ended in devastation. Both Cody and Kevin truly put their bodies on the line taking bumps that seem like they will legitimately shorten a career. Rhodes has felt like a very sanitized champion coming into this match. Too cookie cutter, too corporate. This was a breath of fresh air needed for his reign. Despite Kevin Owens holding the record of most title opportunities at the Royal Rumble event. Tonight was not his night. Owens hit Cody with a nightmarish fisherman buster off the second rope, perfectly dropping Cody's neck on the rungs of the ladder. The car crash of a match wasn't done yet, a ladder draped from the apron to the announce table. The two battle a top the announce desk. It looked like Kevin was preparing to power bomb Cody. The American Nightmare reversed into an Alabama Slam. Kevin's body whipped through into the ladder. As the ladder crumbled under the impact, Owen's body followed. The aftermath was a scary sight, KO's head stuck in between rungs of the crumbled ladder, and KO's legs above his head. There was silence amongst my household watching as we waited awkwardly for confirmation KO was indeed not dead. As if Cody's Homelander-esque energy couldn't get worse, he stood celebrating while a broken Kevin was bleeding on the floor.
The Men's Royal Rumble Match was the main event of the evening. Coming in first was Rey Mysterio, who is no stranger from not only winning the rumble, but winning from #1. He was followed by PENTA, who joined WWE in January, and is entering his first Rumble. WWE put a lot of emphasis on the hall of fame line up participating in the match, decorated world champions and future hall of famers. Just under half of the 30 men, have held world titles in WWE. All but 3 entrants have held some kind of gold in WWE. This actually made predicting a winner difficult, so many competitors had valid reasons and story lines in place to have a justifiable victory. Amongst the living legends, popular streamer IShowSpeed was in attendance, and was pulled into entering the Rumble match after Tozawa was attacked preventing him from entering. This was a fun spot that ended in Speed getting speared in half by Bron Breakker. The spear was so devastating it looked like a cartoon. If you haven't seen the now viral clip, please do. Continuing on, CM Punk made it out of the Rumble this time with no torn ligaments. Punk eliminated Seth Rollins and Roman Reign. In frustration Rollins hit a double foot stomp to the back of Roman's head. Then dropping another stomp, this time onto the steel steps. Somehow the final 3 were Logan Paul, Jey Uso and John Cena. To myself and those watching, it felt like a guaranteed Cena victory. Next thing we knew, Jey Uso is pointing at the WrestleMania sign. I personally like Jey Uso, however I felt disappointed by this result and I think the general consensus I've read is the same. Jey and Gunther have encountered each other several times, with each one being Gunther's worst matches. I hope I am proven wrong and they put on a great match in Vegas in April.
The Jey/Gunther match was all but confirmed on Raw when Gunther interrupted Jey's celebration to tell him he wasn't interested in facing him again. PENTA picked up another victory, this time over Ludwig Kaiser. Pete Dunne interjected himself at the end of this match, keeping a strong feud going. Unlike the Jey Uso, Charlotte Flair appears to tease who she would pick as her Mania opponent. Rhea Ripley arrived to demand that Charlotte choses her. These two titans have fought twice before at WrestleMania, with each having one win over the other. Rhea has a score to settle with Charlotte, but it seems The Queen had her focus elsewhere.
In an elimination Chamber qualifier, The first two entrants of the women's Rumble faced off once more. This seemed to be Iyo's match to win, until Rhea got involved and inadvertently cost Iyo her spot in the Chamber. The show's main event was CM Punk against Sami Zayn. A back and forth contest that ended in Punk's hand being raised, earning him a spot in the Elimination Chamber. it seemed like the show would fade to black on a CM Punk and Sami Zayn handshake. As Punk turned his back, Kevin Owens came barreling through flattening Sami. Owens' with fresh stitches on his head and limping from his battle over the weekend. He dropped Sami on his head and neck with a package pile driver. All while wearing a "Sami Zayn Forever" shirt.
February 5th's edition of AEW Dynamite featured a reveal of the newest member of the Don Callis family, Former United Empire Mark Davis, rejoining his Aussie Open partner Kyle Fletcher. Will Ospreay quickly toppled his former partner and friend. Omega came out to defend Will and extended an olive branch of Davis, saying that they would forgive him if he didn't want to be aligned with them.
The new Tag Team Champions The Hurt Syndicate made their way to the ring to be interrupted by the returning Gunn Club—Austin and Colten Gunn. MVP respected the confidence of the young men, and quickly agreed and granted the Gunn's a title opportunity for the following week. The newly dubbed Hounds of Hell, Brody King and Buddy Matthews faced off in tag action against Konosuke Takeshita and Kyle Fletcher. AEW called this an International All-Star Tag Match, which was an accurate title. These are 4 of the best workers in the company who should be the faces of not only AEW but the industry within the next few years.
The main event was the anticipated Ricochet and Swerve Strickland match. Before the bell rung, Ricochet ambushed Strickland with a steel chair, leading to the match almost ending before it started. After evading Swerve's double stomp off the ropes, Ricochet hit a low blow and finished him off with a Spirit Gun. Following the match, Ricochet accosted Prince Nana and forcibly took his Sentimental Embassy Robe. The following week of Dynamite felt like a mixed bag. Max Caster was squashed by Hangman Adam Page. Mariah May promised a mercy killing of Toni Storm, an ending is needed for her. The Gunns and Hurt Syndicate was fantastic and worth a watch. Harley Cameron cut her best promo to date ahead of her match against Mercedes Moné.
NXT Vengeance Day was the first special on valentines weekend. Stephanie Vaquer defeated Fallen Henley for the North American Title. Fraxiom sucessfully defended their Tag Team Titles against Josh Briggs and Yoshiki Inamura. I didn't expect the contest to be bad but I was shocked at how great this match up was. Eddy Thorpe and Trick Williams put themselves through a Strap Match. Ethan Page and Je'von Evans finally faced each other ending in the young Evans spitting up blood once more. The Men's NXT title was defended by Oba Femi against both Grayson Waller and Austin Theory. Following the match, a mysterious group of edgy looking guys showed up and laid out Oba Femi. From the men I recognized, they are going to need to work very hard to make me think they are a formidable group. A incredibly fun triple threat and an interesting surprise that left me amped for the main event.
After weeks of chaos and build up, The Women's NXT Championship was on the line in a fatal 4 way match. Giulia was defending her title against, Bayley, Cora Jade and Roxanne Perez. I didn't exactly think Giulia had any shot of losing her title, especially as Cora, Bayley and Perez all have more intertwining problems with each other. Any time Bayley and Giulia locked up, or even glanced at the other, the audience erupted.
This match proved once again that NXT is ran by the women, consistently out performing their peers in the men's division. Giulia has main evented 2 NXT PLE's now, I fully expect this trend to continue. The whole match felt like each woman had a strong opportunity to win. Bayley's veteran status shined through as any opportunity to strike she took. The Beautiful Madness had Bayley in a octopus hold that she pulled into a crucifix driver that might've ended the match if not for Roxanne's interruption. The 4 competitors delivered a High Octane match came to a close after a series of near falls and Cora Jade dropping Roxanne with her DDT finisher. Giulia cut the pin fall attempt with an arriverderci knee strike to Cora, and then one to Roxanne for good measure. The Beautiful Madness retained her title in this match of the year contender. As if the electricity wasn't high enough. Stephanie Vaquer came to stand aside Giulia both holding up their respective titles, Stephanie's eye locked on Giulia's championship. Then the sirens of The Juggernaut hit the arena, Jordynne Grace officially arrived in NXT. The show closed out with Jordynne Grace, Stephanie Vaquer and Giulia staring daggers at each other.
Late on the same evening, AEW put on their Grand Slam Australia show. Which waited to air until after the NBA All Star Games. Grand Slam had some hiccups since its announcement. It was strongly implied that this would be a stadium show, at Suncorp Stadium which holds over fifty thousand people. However as the days got closer, it was revealed in late November that it would be at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre. Definitely a disappointment for everyone involved but this doesn't lessen how fantastic this show ended up being.
AEW's biggest names collided in a huge tag team match, Will Ospreay and Kenny Omega faced their counterparts; Konosuke Takeshita and Kyle Fletcher. A reasonable "This is awesome" chant rang through the arena before the bell could ring. With four of the best wrestlers on the planet, this was a match that demands attention. Every moment felt precise, not a foot out of place. The match came crashing to an end as Ospreay and Omega combined their signature maneuvers. Kenny lifted Takeshita up on his soldiers setting up for his One-Winged-Angel while his partner Ospreay climbed up to the top rope, jumped off and strikes Takeshita in the back of his head with his Hidden-Blade elbow strike. The impact pushed Konosuke down into the driving force of Kenny's maneuver. This is no where near the end for either of the feuds involved in this match and I have no complaints.
Home country girl Harley Cameron looked for her second win ever in AEW against Mercedes Moné for the TBS title. Ultimately The CEO had other plans, and crushed the dreams of Harley but not without some fight. Harley has absolutely everything she needs to become a real star, in fact if you just watched this show, you'd assume she already is. I don't think I have seen a puppet get over in professional wrestling since Socko and Mankind. Puppet Mercedes was brutally stomped to presumed death by Human Mercedes.
Somehow (in my opinion) Jon Moxley and Claudio Castagnoli against Adam Copeland and Jay White was not able to follow up these two matches. Don't get it twisted, this was very fun, however being placed after not only another chaotic tag team match, but also a hot title match. the contest felt lost in the shuffle of the card, and blurred in with every other segment The Death Riders have had over the previous weeks.
In another home country hero match, Buddy Matthews challenged Kazuchika Okada for the Continental Title. I've been a fan of Matthews for a long time and it felt very vindicating to see him portrayed as a threat to one of - if not the best in the world. I wish I had more to say, but this was a spectacular performance, and Okada needs to continue legitimizing talent on this roster. Even in defeat Matthews' stock has been raised, The Hounds of Hell will have a break out year in 2025.
Up to this point, no Australian has walked out victorious, I was convinced this was going to continue. 2024's feud of the year, turned its page to a new chapter. Luther returned to usher in Timeless Toni Storm, who came adorned in blue velvet. By the time the bell rang, I understood that this was not the end of these two tangled icons. This was the explosion of emotions that Toni promised to her former student. Determined to put the other through hell, Mariah and Toni beat the tits off each other. After dropping Toni with two May-Day finishers and Toni STILL kicked out. Mariah propped up Toni on the turnbuckle, and delivered a hate filled kiss, which ignited Toni to escape and drive Mariah into the canvas with a power bomb. Eventually it looked as if Mariah had the match won and was going to crush Timeless once more. Mariah rocked Toni with a headbutt and short pile driver, the World Champion lifted Toni up one more time looking for an exclamation point victory, Toni rolled Mariah into a small package pin! 1... 2... 3... She did it! Toni became the first ever four time World Champion! Both women crying, one in shock and joy, the other in shame and anger. Toni celebrated in front of her home country, she truly deserved this.
The remainder of February felt light compared to the three huge shows in the first two weeks. Monday Night RAW on the 17th had PENTA and Pete Dunne face off, Roxanne Perez qualifying for the Elimination Chamber over Raquel Rodriguez and Seth Rollins against Finn Balor. Sami Zayn convinced Adam Pearce to give him a match against Kevin Owens, however it would be unsanctioned.
NXT the following night had the three big women who closed out Vengeance Day; Giulia, Jordynne and Stephanie walked through Fatal Influence. It really is surreal to have these three under the same roof. The show's closing segment was the arrival of the formerly known as Ricky Starks, who arrived to sign his NXT contract. Ricky revealed his new name: Ricky Saints, likely in homage to his New Orleans roots. It felt like a silly choice, but has settled nicely and seamlessly. Despite Ethan Page's interrupted and the hundred of tweets about re-heating AEW's nachos, it looks like Ricky's first opponent in NXT is going to be Wes Lee, which will be must see.
AEW opened with MJF trying to poke the buttons of Adam Page, which wasn't too hard once MJF criticized Christopher Daniels. The man Hangman left for dead only a few weeks ago. Page's cognitive dissonance rose to the surface, claiming Christopher Daniels died a warriors death and he is happy he could give it to him. MJF's psychological warfare is the perfect foil for Hangman right now. MJF might walk out of this feud victorious, but by the time its over I believe Adam Page will be on the right path.
New World Champion Toni Storm, stood in the ring to celebrate her victory. "...Women of wrestling lend me your ears. Because whether you’re Kris Statlander or Willow Nightingale or Wendy Richter, I’m not hard to find. For god is a woman and her name is ‘Timeless!’” Is there anything I could even add to this?
Kris Statlander faced off against the newest member of the AEW Women's Roster: Meghan Bayne. Few women can match the size and strength of Statlander. In a strong back and forth contest, Bayne picked up a victory after an interference from Penelope Ford who knocked Kris Statlander off the top rope. Bayne scored the pin fall following an F5, her singles career in AEW is starting on a high note.
A tragedy took place on Collision when the new AEW Women's Champion was set to continue her celebration. Before she could make it to the stage, Mariah attacked her, slammed her head into production boxes, then dragged her and the world title to the top of the stage for all in attendance to see. With tears in her eyes, Mariah delivered a headbutt and a short pile driver. Mariah demanded for Toni's spotlight. A limp and lifeless Toni, placed into her lap, Mariah wept. "Look what you made me do!" Mariah promised to write the ending of Toni storm in her blood. She continued to cry and embrace the unconscious champion, as the proclaimed that this is THEIR moment, and begged to be stars together. I feel we will be seeing a lot of crash out Mariah May going forward.
February 24th featured two women's title matches both of which surpassed expectations. We had a rematch from January as Dakota Kai earned another opportunity to challenge for the Intercontinental Title. Lyra Valkyria retained the title, in a contest that scraped by at being a overall better match. I do feel like this was a wasted moment for her and a defense for Lyra. Kota had a lot of momentum going through the tournament leading up to their first match. Having her challenge again just to lose, just makes me feel like they could've given the opportunity to someone else.
The women got a rare main event, the tag team titles were defended by Bianca Belair and Naomi. Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez, and Judgement Day as a whole have been in desperate need of championship gold to legitimize them. Their bickering about new members and them slow burning Finn's departure has left them feeling awkward. Bianca and Naomi are the great champions who have been consistently defending them, but this night was The Judgement Day's. One part of the build to this match, is that Bianca believes it was Liv and Raquel are the ones who attacked Jade Cargill. Sure enough this fight started before the bell could even ring. In typical Judgement Day fashion, Dominick was a necessary X-factor for them. Dominick essentially saved this match after Bianca and Naomi hit a match ending KOD on Liv Morgan. Dom ran past pulling Liv's foot onto the rope nullifying the pin attempt. This distraction turned the tides for the challengers, as Dominick distracted Naomi and the ref, When Naomi went for her split legged moonsault, Raquel caught her leg preventing the jump, Raquel then slammed Naomi's face into the ring post sending her falling into the arms of Liv Morgan who scored the pin. Bianca and Naomi's 177 day reign comes crashing to an end.
The final NXT of the month had Stephanie Vaquer successfully defend the North American Title against a rapidly improving Karmen Petrovic. The Hardy Boyz made their first ever appearance in NXT against No Quarter Catch Crew, who looked like absolute stars next to Matt and Jeff. Rick Saints made his in-ring NXT debut teaming with Je'Von Evans against Ethan Page and Wes Lee. Ricky looked great here, In the few backstage segments he has had since arriving in NXT have felt flat, as the camp of the show contrasts with his confused one liners. In the ring, he was a perfect fit.
Dynamite's last stop in february had a bounty placed on Will Ospreay's head by Don Callis, and of course Bryan Keith answered the call. This match ended up having no tension as it was obvious Keith was eating a pin. Just another reminder that Keith should not be Chris Jericho's lackey and should be on his own. During the contest, Callis and Kyle Fletcher watched from a suite in the crowd. Following a signal from Callis, Keith attempted a Tiger Driver '91, a move that Ospreay has forgone, due to risk of long term injuries. Ospreay overcame the Bounty Hunter and gets some extra momentum for Revolution.
Somehow the Outrunners became #1 contenders for the Tag Title.
Adam Copeland's road to revolution has been paved in blood. Cope's mission has been to eliminate each of the death riders one by one, leaving Moxley alone at Revolution. Jay White and Willow Nightingale joined the initiative. Copeland and Nightingale delivered Con-Chair-TOs in stereo to Claudio Castagnoli and Marina Shafir. Leaving Mox and Wheeler Yuta as the final two.
New fan favorite Harley Cameron picked up her second win in AEW this time against The Virtuosa Deonna Purrazzo. This was a mtch of someone who has been great for years, falling behind a hot new star. Purrazzo is a brilliant wrestler that has cooled down, mostly due to AEW's refusal to book more than one or two womens storylines at a time. Hopefully Deonna can get some fire back soon.
A series of matches around the International Championship blazed forward. Orange Cassidy defeated Roderick Strong last week, to challenge Takeshita for the title. If Cassidy were to win, he would defend it against Kenny Omega at Revolution. Despite the obvious neccesity of Takeshita retaining her. OC and Takeshita are genius' in the squared circle. Somehow near falls felt so close, it made me believe for a breif moment the match was over. Takeshita has been a dominant champion up to this point OC, felt like a REAL challenge for him. Takeshita stomped on Cassidy's sunglasses, and when he pulled out a second pair, they were also taken, this time generously donated to Don Callis at ringside. When Orange got the glasses back, he attempted a dive which was met with a right hand to the jaw. Setting up for Takeshita to win the match. As The Alpha celebrated, he stole the sunglasses one more time and rocked them, maybe better than their original owner dare I say. February closed out with a spectactular title defense.
February was short but impactful. The landscape of pro wrestling continues to shift. March will barrel in with Elimination Chamber and Revolution just over a week after. Both of which have already happened as of the release of this, but you'll have to wait until "Wrestling in March" for that. In the meantime, I am going back to playing WWE 2k25\
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