Welcome to the February 5th Inside The Ropes Live blog, bringing you the latest news from WWE, AEW, NJPW, IMPACT Wrestling and more.
Today’s biggest stories:
Matt & Jeff Hardy sit down to rewatch some of their greatest moments, including Ladder Matches, their Extreme Rules brawl against each other, and their epic return to WWE at WrestleMania 33!
Check it out below!
Jade Cargill’s continued absence from WWE television has been a major talking point among fans, but a new update suggests that her return could be happening sooner rather than later.
The former WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion was last seen in November 2024, when she was mysteriously attacked backstage and left laid out on top of a car. The assault led to her being taken away in an ambulance, with no clear answers as to who was behind the attack. To keep the Women’s Tag Team Championship active in her absence, Naomi was named as Bianca Belair’s new partner, ensuring that the titles remained in play.
While the attack was initially a storyline cover-up for a real-life injury, details on Cargill’s condition have remained scarce. However, recent sightings at the WWE Performance Center have fuelled speculation that she is preparing for an in-ring return. Many had expected her to make a surprise comeback at the Royal Rumble, but that did not materialize.
Now, according to a new report from Mike Johnson of PWInsider, Cargill has been spotted training at the Performance Center again in recent days. The report states that the “belief is she will be back in time to wrestle at WrestleMania 41.”
With WrestleMania season in full swing, all eyes will be on SmackDown to see when and how Jade Cargill re-emerges—and more importantly, whether her mystery attacker will finally be revealed.
The February 4th episode of WWE NXT delivered a major surprise when former NXT Tag Team Champion Fandango made an unexpected return to the brand, receiving a raucous ovation from the fans in attendance.
Interrupting reigning NXT Heritage Cup Champion Lexis King, the arena erupted as Fandango’s iconic theme music hit, signaling his shocking appearance. Now competing under the name JDC in TNA, the former WWE star made it clear that he hadn’t been forgotten, soaking in the reaction before addressing King.
Taking full advantage of the working relationship between WWE NXT and TNA, JDC wasted no time in laying down a challenge for the NXT Heritage Cup, announcing that he would face Lexis King on the February 11th episode of NXT.
King, never one to back down from a confrontation, welcomed the challenge, but the segment ended without any physicality—setting the stage for what promises to be an exciting TNA vs. NXT showdown next week.
Fandango is back 🕺🏻💃
— ITR Wrestling (@ITRWrestling_) February 5, 2025
This surprise return further highlights the ongoing collaboration between WWE and TNA, which has already seen Jordynne Grace compete at the Royal Rumble and stars like Josh Alexander and Joe Hendry appear on NXT programming. With JDC now stepping back into WWE’s squared circle, fans are eager to see how this cross-promotional rivalry continues to unfold.
The fallout from the 2025 Royal Rumble continues to shape the road to WrestleMania 41, and a major match involving three of WWE’s biggest names could be on the horizon. While the night was headlined by Jey Uso’s shocking victory, one of the most talked-about moments of the event came when CM Punk eliminated both Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins in controversial fashion.
As Reigns and Rollins were battling near the ropes, Punk seized the opportunity and dumped both men out of the ring, leading to a furious post-elimination sequence. Moments later, Punk himself was eliminated by Logan Paul, but the chaos didn’t stop there. In a fit of frustration, Rollins attacked Reigns, delivering a vicious stomp at ringside. Tensions escalated further when Rollins landed a second stomp on Reigns, this time onto the steel steps, leaving the Undisputed WWE Champion incapacitated.
On the following episode of Raw, Michael Cole announced that Roman Reigns would be sidelined indefinitely due to the brutal attack. Now, according to a report from Mike Johnson of PWInsider, this storyline is setting the stage for an epic WrestleMania showdown. The current plan is for CM Punk, Seth Rollins, and Roman Reigns to collide in a massive Triple Threat Match at WrestleMania 41.
After months of speculation, Alexa Bliss made her long-awaited return to WWE as a surprise entrant in the 2025 Royal Rumble match. The former Women’s Champion had been absent from in-ring competition for over two years, leaving fans uncertain about her future with the company. Reports ahead of the event suggested that contract issues had put her return in doubt, but a last-minute agreement was reached, allowing Bliss to compete in the highly anticipated match.
In the days following the Rumble, initial reports stated that Bliss would be joining the Raw brand moving forward. This came as a surprise to many fans, as there was heavy speculation that she would be involved with The Wyatt Sicks, a mysterious faction that had been moved to SmackDown as part of WWE’s Talent Transfer Window. Given her history with Bray Wyatt and the eerie supernatural elements of her past character, many assumed she would play a role in the faction’s storyline.
However, new reports from Mike Johnson of PWInsider suggest that WWE may be reconsidering Bliss’ placement. She was notably absent from the February 3rd episode of Raw, fueling speculation that her brand designation is still up in the air. According to the report, there have now been pitches within WWE creative for Bliss to move to SmackDown instead of Raw.
Bron Breakker was one of the standout stars of the 2025 WWE Royal Rumble, not only did he have a dominant showing but his insane spear on streamer IShowSpeed has amassed over 100 millions views across social media.
However, one fan has spotted a very sneaky Easter egg in Breakker’s elimination, the rising WWE star was eliminated in identical fashion to how Roman Reigns (the man who eliminated him) was thrown out in his first Royal Rumble appearance.
Check out the video below!
Roman Reigns was eliminated the same way in his first Rumble as Bron Breakker was in 2025 rumble
Did you notice this throwback? pic.twitter.com/2DEprz9COj
— Jazz (@wrestling_jazz) February 3, 2025
Taking to social media, WWE star Scarlett shared a behind the scenes moment between herself and Raw’s Logan Paul.
During the video, Scarlett asks Paul advice on growing her new YouTube channel (Scarlett & Shotzi) and Logan Paul responds with some brutal life advice.
“Just give up… That’s my advice, it’s better to quit and even try.”
Scarlett & Shotzi’s YouTube channel currently has just shy of 30,000 subscribers and features the WWE stars exploring the worlds most haunted locations. Joined by special guests who add to the thrills, the channel promises ghostly adventures and unforgettable scares!
Logan Paul had some brutal advice for Scarlett Bordeaux on how to grow her YouTube channel 😮
(Source : @Lady_Scarlett13 & @ShotziWWE) pic.twitter.com/EecOO3Tgkg
— ITR Wrestling (@ITRWrestling_) February 5, 2025
Are you subscribed to the Scarlett & Shotzi YouTube channel? Let us know using the thumbs below!
WWE has kicked off 2025 with a mountain of highs including most recently a record breaking Royal Rumble PLE.
However, SmackDown has kicked off 2025 by seeing it’s average viewership drop by over a third…but WWE won’t be worried, here’s why.
Looking at SmackDown’s average viewership during January 2025 vs the YoY comparison of 2024 shows a 39% drop from 2.43 million down to 1.48 million.
This viewership drop is harsher than any other show produced by WWE or AEW including the recently scrapped AEW Rampage show.
However, and this is where context is always crucial when looking at data like this, firstly these numbers are all United States only, additionally, in the past year SmackDown switched from FOX to USA Network meaning the show went from readily available cable television to network TV reducing the number of homes that the show was readily available in massively.
As a result WWE will not be losing much sleep over this drop, especially with their mammoth Netflix deal now in effect for international viewers and potentially SmackDown down the line.
Hello and welcome back to the ITRWrestling live blog
My name is Liam and I will be with you from 2pm to 6pm (UK) covering all the biggest stories from the past 24 hours across the world in wrestling.
Kicking things off today we have:
