As covered in the past, the members of The Elite are now finished with Ring of Honor for the time being. The group members wrestled their final matches for the promotion during the Final Battle show over the weekend. Afterwards, The Elite bid the promotion and the fans farewell before teasing an announcement in January while also asking the fans if they are “All Elite,” likely alluding to the rumored All Elite Wrestling promotion that the group will allegedly be launching in 2019. Several days later, Cody Rhodes posted a message on Twitter thanking the promotion and the ROH staff for all that they have done for him over the past few years. Meanwhile, Matt Jackson of The Young Bucks left a more cryptic message stating “see you on the other side.”
Thank you to all the fans. Thank you to a wonderfully talented locker-room. Thank you to an outstanding crew/production top-to-bottom. Thank you Joe Koff & Greg Gilleland. Thank you ROH, I needed “shelter from the storm” & you gave me a home the past 2 years. Beautiful experience pic.twitter.com/MLWBRAKIQd
— Cody Rhodes (@CodyRhodes) December 16, 2018
Leaving the territory. See you on the other side.
— The Young Bucks (@MattJackson13) December 16, 2018
During WWE’s TLC pay-per-view last night, Drew McIntyre and Finn Balor squared off after feuding on Raw for the past couple of weeks. Balor was able to pick up a win over McIntyre, but only after Drew’s former tag team partner, Dolph Ziggler, interfered in the match and attacked the Scottish wrestler. In a backstage segment later in the show, Ziggler confronted Balor. When Balor told him that he did not need his help to win, Ziggler shoved him. WWE was then quick to announce that Ziggler and Balor will be facing each other in singles competition on tonight’s episode of Raw. That match, along with Vince McMahon’s planned return, are the only matches/segments announced for tonight’s Raw show as of right now.
TOMORROW NIGHT: @FinnBalor goes one-on-one with #TheShowOff @HEELZiggler on #RAW! pic.twitter.com/669ColFCEB
— WWE (@WWE) December 17, 2018
The “old Daniel Bryan” is dead, and in his place, a new edition of Bryan has risen. Ever since winning the WWE Championship from AJ Styles, Bryan has called out the fans on numerous occasions, including their impact on the environment. Given Bryan’s stance on animal rights, fans have naturally assumed that Bryan would be replacing the WWE Championship’s leather strap with an alternative of some kind. Sure enough, prior to his match against AJ Styles, Bryan appeared on the TLC Kickoff Show and outlined his plans to replace the title strap following his win over Styles. Bryan was able to retain the WWE Championship last night, so only time will tell if Daniel Bryan will be making some adjustments to SmackDown’s top title.
“I am going to take this leather strap that was made from a skinned cow,
that I like to name Daisy, and I am going to replace it with stuff that’s sustainable.” Bryan said.