{"id":131507,"date":"2022-01-10T16:23:27","date_gmt":"2022-01-10T22:23:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/recovery\/?p=131507"},"modified":"2022-01-17T15:12:50","modified_gmt":"2022-01-17T21:12:50","slug":"fanns-take-new-year-new-challenges-big-es-loss-breaker-and-hayes-victories-nxt-cutbacks-shibata-goes-into-business-for-himself-walters-abs-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2022\/01\/10\/fanns-take-new-year-new-challenges-big-es-loss-breaker-and-hayes-victories-nxt-cutbacks-shibata-goes-into-business-for-himself-walters-abs-more\/","title":{"rendered":"FANN&#8217;S TAKE: New Year, New Challenges &#8211; Big E&#8217;s loss, Breaker and Hayes victories, NXT cutbacks, Shibata goes into business for himself, Walter&#8217;s abs, more"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"pwtor-3239138628\" class=\"pwtor-before-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><hr \/><b>SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)... <\/b>\r\n\r\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/widget.spreaker.com\/player?show_id=3076978&theme=light&playlist=false&playlist-continuous=false&autoplay=false&live-autoplay=false&chapters-image=true&episode_image_position=right&hide-logo=false&hide-likes=false&hide-comments=false&hide-sharing=false&hide-download=true\" width=\"100%\" height=\"140px\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\r\n<hr \/><\/div><p>Welcome to the first Fann\u2019s Take of 2022. I\u2019m looking forward to getting into more of a groove with these on the free side of the house, in addition to my podcasting and newsletter column duties. There\u2019s a good bit of meat on the bone for the first few days of the new year so let\u2019s get started!<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/post\/2021\/03\/HeadshotFann2020_160pix.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-115990 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/post\/2021\/03\/HeadshotFann2020_160pix.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"160\" height=\"187\" \/><\/a>Big E Day 1:<\/strong> Not only does Big E lose the title, but the former WWE Champ gets thrown outside of the contenders&#8217; circle &#8211; with Bobby Lashley and Brock Lesnar up next. With the announcement that Roman would be appearing on this past Friday\u2019s SmackDown, it gets a bit frustrating the company most associated with \u201cwait and see\u201d couldn\u2019t wait and see before jumping the gun on a WWE Title change. Was Day 1 such a \u201cpremium live event\u201d such that a four-way matchup for the title wouldn\u2019t suffice a delay in seeing Roman-Brock end with shenanigans?<\/p>\n<p>Sadly, there were a number of firings as well within WWE as well on the NXT side, with the releases of the following people as of writing this:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Gabe Sapolsky<\/li>\n<li>William Regal<\/li>\n<li>Tim Thatcher<\/li>\n<li>Danny Burch<\/li>\n<li>Scott Armstrong<\/li>\n<li>Road Dogg BG James<\/li>\n<li>Dave Kapoor<\/li>\n<li>Ryan Katz<\/li>\n<li>Allison Danger<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Each of the releases are a head shake, but when you have the longevity and track record of a William Regal it boggles the mind there\u2019s no room for someone like that in a wrestling company. That is, until you realize this is more a cull of the Triple H crew that have to, for no fault of their own, pay for the sins of not taking out another territory like Vince McMahon would\u2019ve in the day. With the holidays barely in the rear view mirror, I hope all land on their feet and are better for this.<\/p>\n<p><strong>AEW on TBS Title Matches:<\/strong> Wednesday\u2019s Dynamite on TBS featured a tremendous Bryan Danielson vs. &#8220;Hangman&#8221; Adam Page match. Seriously, go watch that match now if you haven\u2019t seen it. I liked it as much as their first affair, but the addition of Danielson\u2019s fully veganated blood to the equation, coupled with the fantastic finish, put this slightly ahead. However, TBS would be treated on its debut hosting Dynamite with two other title matches: a solid coronation of Jade Cargill as the first TBS champ, and the Jurassic Express as tag champs.<\/p>\n<p>In both, families were shown ringside, but with Jade\u2019s child being shown pre-match, I spent a good bit of the match hoping we weren\u2019t going to be treated to a sad little one as their mom lost in the middle of the ring. In the case of Jungle Boy\u2019s family, showing them with the thrill of his victory was coupled sadly with the agony of the injury to Rey Fenix.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Walter + Abs = Problems:<\/strong> I joked this week that Walter having abs in January meant we\u2019re all in trouble. This tweet confirmed my worry.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Former <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/NXTUK?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#NXTUK<\/a> Champion <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/WalterAUT?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@WalterAUT<\/a> has a major announcement. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/LtXRioLjTn\">pic.twitter.com\/LtXRioLjTn<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; WWE (@WWE) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/WWE\/status\/1479200571093663744?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 6, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Walter having his last NXT UK match and (potentially) coming to the U.S. is bad news for anyone whose chest is averse to being turned into hamburger in NXT or the WWE main roster.<\/p><div id=\"pwtor-3851318635\" class=\"pwtor-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280 __336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p>I see this going two ways &#8211; Walter becomes the heavyweight monster he\u2019d been on the indies, or Vince gets tired of him early and drops him, which leaves Walter for New Japan, MLW, GCW, Terminus, AEW, or any promotion smart enough to know that if you have an available Walter, you use him.<\/p>\n<p><strong>New Japan Mayhem:<\/strong> New Japan had to handle the amazingly wild situation of recently returned Katsuyori Shibata going into business for himself and declaring his return match a regular match, instead of the specific catch rules outlined prior to the show. New Japan president Takami Ohbari, however, was happy to declare that \u201cThe Wrestler\u201d would be punishment free:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"ja\" dir=\"ltr\">5\u5e74\u8fd1\u3044\u82e6\u96e3\u3092\u4e57\u308a\u8d8a\u3048\u3066\u5fa9\u5e30\u3057\u305f\u67f4\u7530\u9078\u624b\u306b\u3001\u82e6\u3057\u307f\u304b\u3089\u7acb\u3061\u4e0a\u304c\u308b\u59ff\u3092\u4f53\u73fe\u3057\u305f\u9078\u624b\u306b\u30da\u30ca\u30eb\u30c6\u30a3\uff1f<\/p>\n<p>\u305d\u3093\u306a\u3082\u306e\u4e0e\u3048\u308b\u6c17\u306f\u3042\u308a\u307e\u305b\u3093\u3002<\/p>\n<p>There is no way NJPW will give him a punishment. The social significance of NJPW is to energize people through our battle.<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/njwk16?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#njwk16<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/njwk16Day2?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#njwk16Day2<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Zft7XDQzP9\">https:\/\/t.co\/Zft7XDQzP9<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; \u5927\u5f35\u9ad8\u5df1\/Takami Ohbari (@TAKAMIOHBARI) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TAKAMIOHBARI\/status\/1478403743737860096?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 4, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>While it was cool to see Shibata back, his first match back violating the rules and precautions and saying \u201cI\u2019ll take the punishment\u201d was a wild way to open the 2022 wrestling account. Credit to Ohbari for being as magnanimous as he was on Twitter, but at some point I\u2019d hope the NJPW USA head trainer gets parameters that are irrefutable and are held to them.<\/p>\n<p>Seriously, no more headbutts my guy.<\/p>\n<p><strong>NXT Title Matches:<\/strong> Bron Breakker and Carmelo Hayes were big winners last Tuesday, with Bron picking up the NXT Title and Hayes the WWE Cruiserweight Title in addition to the North American title. With Hayes\u2019s win, the Cruiserweight Title is now retired, after five years of re-use. Looking back prior to retirement, this run of the Cruiserweight Title had been for the most part successful: smaller wrestlers were given the time to shine, particularly in NXT. Carmelo and Trick Williams are a great tandem and going forward I look forward to seeing Melo \u201cnot miss\u201d his opportunities to show he\u2019s one of the best young talents in WWE.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"fr\" dir=\"ltr\">Trophies.<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/BornChampion?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#BornChampion<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/e4kmdOa5yD\">pic.twitter.com\/e4kmdOa5yD<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Carmelo Hayes (@Carmelo_WWE) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Carmelo_WWE\/status\/1479114697651548175?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 6, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>On Bron\u2019s side of the ledger, with his win as NXT champion, at this point I feel like we\u2019re all screaming at the tv\/tablet\/phone \u201cjust call him Steiner already!\u201d From the finishing sequence of the bulldog and the Steiner Recliner, to his dad Rick being out to celebrate him after the match, or the references to Steiner math and being a dog-faced gremlin, it\u2019s clear he\u2019s family. Bron Steiner may be relatively new to wrestling, but in less than 20 matches he\u2019s proven a solidity in the ring that belies his inexperience. In a perfect world, Bron would have a few months to get ready for main roster, wrestling the likes of Roderick Strong, Walter, Matt Riddle and whomever else are solid main roster \u201cdrop downs\u201d to help in his growth. I presume that the reality will be Bron being up by the Royal Rumble and perhaps having a Gable Steveson showdown enroute to feuding with Lashley or Seth Rollins.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWell well well, how the turn tables\u2026\u201d &#8211; Michael Scott<\/p>\n<p>And to close off this first piece of 2022, a moment to ponder courtesy my man Benno:<\/p><div id=\"pwtor-3040666937\" class=\"pwtor-content-1 pwtor-entity-placement\"><!-- Tag ID: pwtorchcom_test_300x600 -->\r\n<div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280 __300x600\" id=\"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">&quot;How is your territory doing&quot; <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/kIpYDL4zKd\">https:\/\/t.co\/kIpYDL4zKd<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/oDRrlifKGU\">pic.twitter.com\/oDRrlifKGU<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Benno (@BensonRichardE) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BensonRichardE\/status\/1478871884611690500?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 5, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s to a hopefully less stressful \u201822. As always, feel free to follow up on twitter (<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Rich_Fann\">@Rich_Fann<\/a>) or via email &#8211; <a>everythingwithrich@gmail.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"pwtor-end-article-groups pwtor-entity-placement\" id=\"pwtor-1528340223\"><div id=\"pwtor-3959251217\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\nTHANK YOU FOR VISITING<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>Welcome to the first Fann\u2019s Take of 2022. I\u2019m looking forward to getting into more of a groove with these on the free side of the house, in addition to my podcasting and newsletter column <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2022\/01\/10\/fanns-take-new-year-new-challenges-big-es-loss-breaker-and-hayes-victories-nxt-cutbacks-shibata-goes-into-business-for-himself-walters-abs-more\/\" title=\"FANN&#8217;S TAKE: New Year, New Challenges &#8211; Big E&#8217;s loss, Breaker and Hayes victories, NXT cutbacks, Shibata goes into business for himself, Walter&#8217;s abs, more\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":126758,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[52,6514,53],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-131507","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opnionandanalysis","category-fanns-take","category-opinion_stafftakes"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/post\/2021\/09\/Big-E-Champion.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131507","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=131507"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131507\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":131508,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131507\/revisions\/131508"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/126758"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=131507"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=131507"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=131507"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}