WWE News & Notes 2014: Alberto Del Rio Signs With ROH, CM Punk to Work With DC Comics, NXT Update
NXT Takeover: R Evolution was considered a huge success by the higher-ups in the WWE, impressed with the show that the stars in the developmental program put on for the WWE Universe on the WWE Network.
"Hey, can anyone help me? I'm missing a whole box of brass rings," tweeted WWE COO Triple H after the event, a spin on Vince McMahon's comments during his appearance on "The Steve Austin Show" that aired on the WWE Network.
The live NXT event saw Sami Zayn defeat Adrian Neville for the NXT Championship, Sasha Banks come up short after challenging Charlotte for her NXT Divas title and the Lucha Dragons fend off The Vaudevillians for NXT Tag Team titles. NXT Takeover: R Evolution also saw Hideo Itami and Finn Balor defeat The Ascension in tag team action, Baron Corbin beat down Tye Dillinger in a squash match and Kevin Owens (formerly Ring of Honor (ROH) champion Kevin Steen) make his debut taking down CJ Parker.
It was Owen who made the biggest impact on NXT live event, however, after turning on his friend Zayn and hospitalizing him during his championship. Owens Powerbombed Zayn onto the ring apron as he was congratulating the newly-crowned champion to end the live telecast.
Neville and Charlotte look to be heading to the main roster in the very near future, with Charlotte already have appeared on Monday Night Raw, while The Ascension will be making their debut very soon, with vignettes shown on Friday Night SmackDown to hype up their promotion to the main roster.
Sami Zayn vs Adrian Neville for the NXT Championship
In other news, El Patron Alberto, formerly known as Alberto Del Rio to WWE fans, is ending 2014 on a very high note after being fired from the WWE for allegedly confronting and slapping an employee who made racist remarks about the former champion.
El Patron, who teased earlier in the year that he had signed with two North American wrestling companies after coming to terms with the WWE to shed his "non-compete" clause, has signed with ROH. El Patron will make his ROH debut at the Jan. 3 television taping in Nashville, Tennessee where he will face Christopher Daniels. The Mexican superstar will also compete in the January 30th show in Dearborn and will battle ACH, Michigan, the Jan. 31 in Dayton, Ohio and the ROH 13th Anniversary pay-per-view show on March 1.
The deal with ROH comes on the heels of winning the Lucha Libre AAA World Heavyweight Championship two weeks ago after beating El Texano Jr. at the Guerra de Titanes event, becoming the first wrestler to ever hold the Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) and AAA titles.
El Patron has also hinted he may also be competing with Lucha Underground in 2015, who works closely with Mexico's AAA, organization, while Bellator MMA also seems to be interested in signing him to compete in mixed martial arts (MMA). With former TNA World Champion Bobby Lashley (12-2 MMA record) competing for Bellator MMA as well as Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal (who has competed in TNA Wrestling), Bellator feels that El Patron would be a good fit for the MMA company in light of CM Punk signing with Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).
Unlike CM Punk, El Patron has a background in combat sports having earned a spot with the Mexican national wrestling team, and having competed in Greco-Roman wrestling competitions at the Central American and Caribbean Games and the Pan American Games. El Patron also has experience competing in MMA, sporting a 9-5 record, including battling Mirko "Cro Cop" FilipoviÄ in PRIDE Fighting Championship's PRIDE Bushido 1 event.
CM Punk, who is adjusting to life as a retired pro wrestler and a rookie amateur MMA fighter, recently added a new gig to his burgeoning comic writing career. Punk will work with DC Comics on "Strange Sports Stories," an old comic book series from 1960s and 1970s that they are currently rebooting for their Vertigo Comics book line. Punk kicked off his new writing career working on Marvel Comics "Thor Annual #1" which hits the store February 2015.
Dos Caras Jr. (aka Alberto Del Rio / El Patron Alberto) vs
Mirko "Cro Cop" FilipoviÄ at PRIDE Bushido 1
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