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Eric Young Praises Miro Amid AEW/IMPACT Angle, Virtual Basement Roster Teases | Fight-Size Update

Wrestling WWE Ric Flair Charlotte Flair Bayley
Robert DeFelice Jan 8, 2021 7:28PM

Here is your fight-size update for Friday, January 8th, 2021:

AEW Collision (4/20) Viewership Slightly Down, Demo Rating Remains The Same

- Eric Young revealed to Inside The Ropes that he was floored by WWE's decision to release Rusev.

“I did share the ring a little bit with Miro, really good buddy of mine, a guy that I think is one of the most talented guys in the world – and I’m not blowing smoke. I believe that. Him being released blew my mind and now him signing with AEW is awesome for him, awesome for wrestling fans – because I feel you’re going to get, you know, a real version of who he is and that’s the guy that I would love [to wrestle].”

- In video game news, Virtual Basement is teasing new names for its Wrestling Code game. Can you guess who they are?

- In more video game news, MDickie released a new trailer for Wrestling Empire on Switch highlighting Career mode.

- Bayley revealed her women's wrestling Mount Rushmore to Steve Austin.

- Here's everything you need to know before tonight's SmackDown.

- Steve Austin told Ryan Satin of FOX Sports that Ric Flair is the "GOAT." Steve also feels Charlotte Flair isn't far behind.

"Charlotte Flair. Okay, she is a wrestler in her own right and will go down as one of the all-time GOATs of women’s wrestling or in the whole business. But, her dad is the world champ GOAT in my opinion. Badass."

- Speaking of Stone Cold, WWE is celebrating 25 years of Steve Austin in WWE.

- ICYMI: Salina De La Renta is the executive producer of the next MLW Fusion:

The announcement comes amidst a storm of controversy for the Puerto Rican powerbroker. From allegations surrounding taking money from CONTRA in exchange for access to MLW as well as rumors that Promociones Dorado is facing financial hardships.

As part of Salina de la Renta’s contract with MLW, the league granted de la Renta three episodes to executive produce.

Salina de La Renta is the founder of Promociones Dorado, which acts as a pipeline to the stars of Latin America for sports leagues, TV and film in the United States and abroad. A powerful player in sports and entertainment in Latin America, Salina de la Renta is one of today’s most sophisticated and driven entrepreneurs.

What will Salina unleash on MLW Wednesday night?

- According to a report by Mike Johnson of PWInsider.com, Gino Medina is earmarked for a big push in MLW as is Myron Reed.

Per a report from Dave Meltzer, The WWE Network will no longer be available in its current form in India. The WWE has instead sold the Indian rights to the network to SONY, its television provider. For those who had the network in India and tried to renew, they got a message stating, “We'd like to inform you that beginning January 2021, WWE Network in India will exclusively be available via SonyLIV. As a result, your current WWE Network subscription will not renew. You can still catch your favorite WWE action on Sony Ten 1 and Sony Ten 3 channels. Please check out local listings for more details about when this programming is scheduled in your local area."

- Below is the updated Dusty Rhodes Tag Tem Classic field for 2021.

From WWE:

The Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic is back!

The tournament honoring the late WWE Hall of Famer and one of the pioneers behind NXT's success, returns for 2021, with the winners earning an NXT Tag Team Championship opportunity.

This year's field includes The Undisputed ERA's Adam Cole & Roderick Strong, North American Champion Johnny Gargano & Austin Theory, Kushida & Leon Ruff, The Grizzled Young Veterans, and more.

Action kicks off Wednesday on NXT as Cole & Strong battle Breezango, while The Grizzled Young Veterans take on Ever-Rise.

The unlikely duo of Pete Dunne & Riddle won last year's tournament, and they went on to win the NXT Tag Team Titles at NXT TakeOver: Portland. Other previous winners include Ricochet & Aleister Black, current NXT Champion Finn Bálor & Samoa Joe, and Cole & Kyle O'Reilly.

Who will raise The Dusty Cup this time around?

2021 Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Participants

  • August Grey & Curt Stallion
  • The Bollywood Boyz
  • Breezango
  • Drake Maverick & Killian Dain
  • Ever-Rise
  • The Grizzled Young Veterans
  • Imperium
  • Jake Atlas & Isaiah "Swerve" Scott
  • Kushida & Leon Ruff
  • The Undisputed ERA (Adam Cole & Roderick Strong)
  • The Way (Johnny Gargano & Austin Theory)

- JTG recalls NXT: Redemption helping Vince McMahon notice him in a new interview with Sportskeeda.

"I remember during that time when I was on NXT that made me stand out even more, was that I kept asking for the mic. That was one of the best things I did because Vince started noticing me a little bit more. And he noticed I was very good on the mic, I was very comfortable on the mic. And I was having fun with it. I don’t think that wasn’t enough to… It got me noticed but it didn’t get me on the main, back on Raw."

- WWE stock today closed at $48.24 a share

- In case you missed it, leading up to IMPACT Wrestling’s 2021 Hard to Kill pay-per-view, AXS TV and IMPACT have announced that they will be hosting what they call “Wrestle Week.”

Wrestle Week will be a series of IMPACT Wrestling specials and AXS TV programming featuring the stars of IMPACT Wrestling. Wrestle Week begins on Tuesday, January 12, 2021, with an airing of Bound For Glory prior to a brand new episode of IMPACT on AXS and will continue all the way through the pre-show of the pay-per-view on Saturday, January 16.

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