AJ Styles and Kevin Nash both revealed recently that they tested positive for the COVID-19 virus. Both wrestlers appear to be doing well.
Styles was on Twitch discussing The Rock’s recent comments about his family having tested positive when he noted he had as well.
“I tested positive a couple of weeks ago, almost a month, I think, ago. I feel for people who have to deal with this,” Styles said. He would continue to talk about his experience with the virus.
“I didn’t have many problems with it. Hopefully, The Rock and his family are safe and nobody has too bad of symptoms. It’s not good for anybody. I went through it, I was one of the lucky ones. I had a headache but never had a fever. Maybe a couple of boogers, that’s about it.”
Styles was gone from WWE for a month. He did not participate in tapings from the 3rd week of July until the 3rd week of August.
Kevin Nash responded to the Rock’s social media post and noted that he and his family had tested positive for the virus as well.
“Welcome to the team. Very sorry you’re family is infected. I was tired for a while didn’t train for the 4th day. My wife still hasn’t got smell or tastes back. Son was asymptomatic. Pray you heal up quickly. Thank you for making people realize it’s real,” Nash Tweeted.
“Sorry to hear that brother. Not a team we want to be on for sure. You guys stay strong too (still haven’t got my tastes back either),” The Rock responded.
Welcome to the team. Very sorry you're family is infected. I was tired for a while didn't train for the 4th day. My wife still hasn't got smell or tastes back. Son was asymptomatic. Pray you heal up quickly. Thank you for making people realize it's real
AJ Styles infamously left the Raw roster to get away from Paul Heyman but the ECW founder has since found his way onto the Blue Brand’s roster as well.
The Phenomenal One returned for his weekly twitch stream recently where he talked about a number of things including his most memorable title win, Shane McMahon possibly taking over Raw and more.
A fan asked Styles about Reigns’ pairing with the former Raw Executive Director during the stream and the former TNA star said that it’s surprising for him too:
“It’s surprising, isn’t it, he fought with Brock for so long and now he’s associating himself with Paul Heyman. It’s surprising. I would love to know how that came about.”
AJ also commented on the reports of Brock Lesnar becoming a free agent and rumors about his future, claiming that he doesn’t know what the future holds for the Beast Incarnate:
“Is Brock done? Are we not going to see him anymore? Is his contract up? I don’t know. I hear the rumors just like you guys. Everyone always assumes that we know what’s going on, but that’s rarely ever the case.”
For those who don’t know, Roman Reigns returned to WWE programming during the SummerSlam PPV. He attacked Braun Strowman and Bray Wyatt after their match on the show, turning heel in the process.
Reigns then aligned himself with Paul Heyman on the following episode of SmackDown and Heyman has since helped the Big Dog recapture the Universal Championship.
Former WWE Champion The Rock revealed in an Instagram post that he and his immediate family have contracted COVID-19 and they are currently recovering from the coronavirus.
The Great One posted a video on the social site and he revealed that he along with his wife Lauren Hashian and the two daughters from his current marriage Tiana and Jasmine have tested positive.
The Rock also has another daughter in Simone from his first marriage. The young star is currently signed to a development deal in WWE and it appears that she hasn’t caught the virus.
In the video, the former World Champion talked about the positive tests and said that this has been one of the most difficult things they have had to endure as a family.
Though The Rock later mentioned that they are now doing better. The People’s Champion claimed that they are “on the other end” of their recovery and he revealed that they are no longer contagious.
It was revealed by the Hollywood star that they caught the virus from a very close family friend. He added that the friends are devastated over what happened and they do not have an idea of where they got the virus from.
We at SEScoops wish the Great One and his family a speedy recovery.
AEW Dynamite aired from Daily’s Place in Jacksonville. It was the final episode of Dynamite before All Out this Saturday night. Excalibur returned to the announce team tonight. In addition to the takeaways below, Britt Baker attacked Big Swole from behind and got her in the Lockjaw. Baker will face Big Swole in a Tooth and Nail match during the preshow at All Out.
Young Bucks & Jurassic Express def. Private Party & SCU
Chris Jericho def. Joey Janela
Thunder Rosa def. Serena Deeb
Jon Moxley def. Mark Sterling
Here are takeaways from this week’s Dynamite:
Santana & Ortiz Defeated Best Friends
Santana & Ortiz (Photo: AEW)
Best Friends faced Santana and Ortiz in the first match of the night. Best Friends attacked Santana and Ortiz during their entrance and Trent connected with a Crossbody off the stage. Best Friends tried to Suplex Ortiz on the steel steps but Santana broke it up.
Ortiz started choking out Trent as Chuck sent Santana over the barricade. Trent escaped and leveled Ortiz with a Spear. Chuck set up a bunch of chairs on top of each other but Santana launched a chair into his face. Santana set up for a Powerbomb but Chuck countered into a Back Body Drop. Santana then launched Chuck onto the chairs set up ringside.
Match Recap: Santana and Trent finally got in the ring and the match officially began. Trent hit Santana with Double Knees and followed it up with a chop to the chest. Ortiz held up Trent and Santana connected with a big boot. Ortiz tagged in and hit a Body Slam for a two count.
Trent battled back and planted Ortiz with a Tornado DDT. Chuck got back into the ring and knocked Ortiz and Santana tot he outside. Chuck then flipped onto Santana and Ortiz before bringing Santana back into the ring. Chuck Taylor connected with a Falcon Arrow and went for the cover but Ortiz broke it up at two.
Santana and Ortiz slammed Trent on the steel steps outside the ring. Back in the ring, Trent slammed Ortiz to the canvas and went for the cover but Santana got Ortiz’s hand on the ropes. Santana hit Trent in the back with a steel baton and then they followed it up with the Street Sweeper.
Opinion: I thought this was a very fun match but the ending was clunky. The announce team seemed to miss Santana putting Ortiz’s hand on the ropes to break up the cover and sounded like they didn’t know what was going on. It was still a good match though and Chuck Taylor’s spot on top of the chairs was great.
Young Bucks and Jurassic Express faced Private Party & SCU tonight on Dynamite. The winning team with face each other at All Out this Saturday night.
Match Recap: Frankie and Jungle Boy started the action off by locking up in the middle of the ring. Frankie leveled Jungle Boy with a shoulder tackle and rolled him up for a near fall. Jungle Boy missed with a kick and Frankie caught him with a Clothesline for another near fall.
Marq Quen and Matt Jackson then tagged in. Matt unloaded some body punches and stomps to Quen and knocked him to the canvas. Marq battled back and caught Matt with a Dropkick and Kassidy tagged in. Kassidy sent Matt out oft he ring with a Hurricanrana and Matt saw a fan with a Hangman Page sign. Matt ripped the sign in half and poured the beer over the fan’s head.
Back in the ring, Daniels and Nick tagged in. Nick caught Daniels with a boot to the face and tagged Matt back in as Luchasaurus and Jungle Boy asked for a tag. Frankie Kazarian tagged in and Clotheslined Nick to the outside. Christopher Daniels Moonsaulted onto the Young Bucks outside the ring.
Kazarian hit Jungle Boy with a springboard Leg Drop for a two count. Private Party planted Jungle Boy with a Facebuster for a two count and tagged Daniels back in. Christopher connected with a Suplex and went for the cover but Jungle Boy kicked out at two.
When Dynamite returned from a commercial break, Jungle Boy hit Kassidy with a Samoan Drop and finally tagged in Luchasaurus. Private Party hit Luchasaurus with a couple Dropkicks but he shrugged them off and leveled them with a Clothesline. Luchasaurus followed it up by flipping onto SCU outside the ring.
Back in the ring, Luchasaurus hit Private Party with a Chokeslam and they followed it up with stereo Risky Business. Daniels and Jungle Boy traded shots in the middle of the ring. Daniels sent Jungle Boy to the canvas and hit the Best Moonsault Ever. Marq Quen followed it up with a Shooting Star Press and went for the cover but Luchasaurus broke it up at two.
Luchasaurus Clotheslined Kassidy out of the ring and then tagged in. Jungle Boy took out Frankie and Kassidy with a Suicide Dive as Matt Jackson tagged himself in. Young Bucks hit the BTE Trigger on Quen for the pinfall victory. Young Bucks will face Jurassic Express at AEW All Out this Saturday.
This week’s special Super Tuesday edition of NXT on the USA Netework averaged 849,000 viewers. The show did a 0.26 rating in the Adults 18-49 demographic to finish 10th on cable for the evening. The data comes courtesy of ShowbuzzDaily.
It was NXT’s second highest viewership and best performance in the key demo this year.
NXT has aired unopposed without competition from AEW for the past three weeks.
At this point, it is becoming abundantly clear that NXT and AEW benefit from running without direct competition from one another.
There is buzz within the industry that the USA Network has expressed interest in moving NXT off Wednesday nights. We’ve heard that WWE is receptive to the idea, but talks are still preliminary.
I talked about this very idea last night, moving #WWENXT permanently to Tuesdays if the numbers held up well. Would be best for all involved. https://t.co/9TlRkjSjBj
It has been 14 months since 51-year-old Triple H wrestled. His last match was on a June 29th, 2019 house show event in Tokyo, Japan. Triple H teamed with Shinsuke Nakamura and defeated Robert Roode and Samoa Joe that night. In a recent interview, however, Triple H expressed that he is unsure if he’ll ever wrestle again. Also, if he is done with his in-ring career, he’s fine with that.
“If the opportunity does not come for me to step back in the ring, I get asked it a lot,” Triple H said on the Bill Simmons podcast recently. “It would not bother me. I would not be like, ‘Oh, man, I missed those last two years. I should have done it when I could have.'”
When asked if he’s officially retired, however, Triple H was uncommital.
“I’d rather just not say it and if the right opportunity comes up that everybody believes is right, and I believe I can do it without it falling apart, me or the match, then okay, I would consider it,” Triple H said. “I am not at a point where I would say, ‘Absolutely not, under any circumstances, but probably not that far off.'”
Triple H would continue to say that he gets a lot of excitement from his work with NXT and backstage on the main roster.
“So, I always will use this analogy, for me, NXT for me in a way, and even the main roster, watching the guys and the girls because they all come through there, it’s the difference between as exciting as your own career is, it’s watching your kids succeed at something.”
Tyson Fury recently issued a challenge to Drew McIntyre. Fury, who defeated Braun Strowman via Count Out last year at Crown Jewel last year, took to Twitter to post a video challenge to the WWE champion, who has since responded.
“Drew, where are you, Drew? You big sh**house. Don’t make excuses, cracked jaws or not. Let’s fight. Let’s get it on, chump. You got kicked in the jaw in a broken jaw, imagine what this big fist will do to your jaw? Shatter it in a million pieces.”
“You have before the Wilder fight, after the Wilder fight, or before the AJ fight but don’t be a sh**house Drew, let’s get it on, chump.”
McIntyre has since issued a response to the boxing champion. He noted that before he gets to Fury, he has some unfinished business to attend to on RAW.
Unlike you Tyson, I don't duck a challenge. I'm a fighting Champion. Before I get to you I have some very personal business to handle on #WWERAW
This week on RAW, Randy Orton won a triple threat match to earn a championship rematch at Clash of Champions against Drew. At SummerSlam, McIntyre defeated Orton with a backslide pinning combination.
McIntyre originally called out Fury shortly after he defeated Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 36.
“I know Tyson Fury is on the show today, as well. I need to bring up Fury because he was talking trash about me, so I know he’s coming on the show,” McIntyre said.
AEW has released new top-5 rankings ahead of tonight’s episode of Dynamite.
AEW Men’s Singles Division
AEW World Champion: Jon Moxley (15-0) TNT Champion: Brodie Lee (6-1)
MJF (8-0)
Lance Archer (13-1)
Cody (18-2)
Brian Cage (6-1)
Scorpio Sky (7-2)
There was no change in the men’s singles rankings this week but one of the biggest title matches in AEW’s young history takes place on PPV this weekend. Somebody’s “0” has to go as the undefeated champion, Jon Moxley (15-0), takes on the #1 ranked MJF (8-0).
Elsewhere in the division, #3 Cody looks like he could be out of action for sometime after the beating he took at the hands of the Dark Order.
#2 Lance Archer and #4 Brian Cage are both gearing up for the Casino Battle Royal at All Out. #5 Scorpio Sky will team with the Natural Nightmares and Matt Cardona on the PPV to take on the Dark Order as well.
AEW Women’s Division
AEW Women’s Champion: Hikaru Shida (16-1)
Nyla Rose (8-2)
Big Swole (7-3)
Abadon (5-1) (+1)
Penelope Ford (7-5) (-1)
Dr. Britt Baker (4-5)
AEW Women’s Champion Hikaru Shida will face the NWA Women’s Champion Thunder Rosa at All Out. Elsewhere in the division, however, the frightening Abadon keeps rising up the rankings as she picks up wins on Dark.
#4 Penelope Ford dropped one spot in the rankings this week as she lost a handicap match along with Rebel (aka Reba) to #2 Big Swole on Dynamite. #5 Britt Baker was technically involved in that match as well, so she takes an L and drops below .500 for the year.
AEW Tag Team Division
AEW Tag Team Champions: Kenny Omega & “Hangman” Page (12-0)
FTR (7-0)
Best Friends (14-5)
Young Bucks (6-3)
The Natural Nightmares (6-2)
Jurrasic Express (6-3) (+1)
#1 FTR maintained their top ranking this week after winning the tag gauntlet match on Dynamite. In fact, the top-4 rankings in the tag division all stayed the same as nobody in the match lost to a lesser-ranked opponent. #3 The Young Bucks defeated #4 the Natural Nightmares, then #2 The Best Friends defeated #3 The Young Bucks before #1 FTR finally defeated #2 The Best Friends to earn the tag title shot at All Out.
The Dark Order fell out of the rankings this week. #5 Jurassic Express took their place. The dinosaur themed team will tag with the Young Bucks tonight to take on Private Party and SCU. The winning team will face each other at All Out.
Peyton Royce & Billie Kay no longer comprise the Iiocnics. After losing to the Riott Squad’s Liv Morgan and Ruby Riott on RAW, the team is being forced to disband. Both Peyton Royce and Billie Kay took to Instagram to post tributes to each other and the time they both spent as the Iiconics.
“Last night was one of the most emotional nights of my life,” Billie Kay wrote. “Realizing that The IIconics are no more was devastating & heartbreaking. Peyton Royce you have been my rock, my strength, my heart & inspired me for the past 5+ years.”
The Iiconics won the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships at WrestleMania 35 from Sasha Banks and Bayley. They drop the titles 4 months later to Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross.
“You’ll always be my high school sweetheart, my life partner, my iconic duo, my icon.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/CEnY_q6gc1F/
“24 hours removed from this moment & it’s been a rough day. I’m emotionally exhausted, I’m so sad but I realize there is a silver lining. I believe everything happens as it is supposed to. Billie Kay & I have been the eyes in the back of each other’s heads for 5+ years. It’s time for us to make some growth as individuals. I know we can do this, it just sucks I won’t have her by my side through all of it.”
Impact 9/1 featured a changing of the guard as Eric Young defeated Eddie Edwards to win the World Championship. Additionally, the Knockouts Champion’s black-tie event did not go as she hoped and Rob Van Dam squared off with Sami Callihan.
Impact 9/1 Quick Results:
Sami Callihan defeated Rob Van Dam w/ Katie Forbes
Rhino defeated Reno Scum
Wrestle House Susie defeated The Deaners & Team XXXL
The Rascalz defeated Ace Austin & Madman Fulton
Wrestle House Taya Valkyrie defeated Rosemary (John E. Bravo – referee)
Impact World Championship Eric Young defeated Eddie Edwards (c) – New Champion
Here are 9 takeaways from Impact Wrestling 9/1:
Eric Young Wins Impact World Championship
For the second time in his career, Eric Young is the Impact World Champion. In the main event, Young took advantage of a distracted referee to hit Edwards with a hockey mask followed by a pile driver for the win. After the match, Young continued the assault on the former champion, targeting his leg much like has done previously to Rich Swann.
Young returned to the promotion at Slammiversary and immediately unleashed his vicious maniac side. Now, he’s the new world champion.
EC3 took the TNA World Heavyweight Championship belt from Moose recently and this week Moose spent the whole show searching for him. EC3 said he’s going to destroy the title belt and send it back to Moose piece by piece.
In the final segment of the show, Moose discovers a room that has photos of him plastered all over it. It looks like someone, likely EC3, has been watching Moose and perhaps plotting something against him. Moose is concerned as the show goes off the air.
Tenille Dashwood Returns, Interrupts Deonna Purrazzo’s Black Tie Celebration
Deonna Purrazzo had a special segment planned for this week to celebrate her victory over Jordynne Grace. Purrazzo and Kimber Lee were in the ring as several members of the roster surrounding the ring area. Purrazzo talked about having painted a masterpiece in her matches against Jordynne Grace at Slammiversary and Emergence. This brought out Grace, however, who told the champ her reign is not going to last.
As Grace was talking, Tenille Dashwood’s music hit and she came out for the first time in months. Dashwood joked about how everyone must be there to celebrate her return. She told Purrazzo that she’s never defeated her. Grace, Purrazzo, and Dashwood were arguing when the cast of Wrestle House teleported inside the ring. This requires its own subheading:
The Cast Of Wrestle House Teleports Back Into The Impact Zone
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yxz55pbWlws
Storylines concluded, mysteries were solved, and character arcs were completed this week, leading to the cast of Wrestle House returning to the Impact Zone. In fact, they teleported there.
Taya Valkyrie defeated Rosemary in a match that was “Winner Takes All” this week. John E Bravo was included in the “All”. Valkyrie picked up the victory with the Road to Valhalla but the real developments took place after the match. Bravo proposed marriage to Rosemary, who was at first reluctant due to the fact that she is a demon. Taya then appeared to briefly overcome her selfishness and gave the union her blessing. These developments pleased Kylie Rae who has been hoping to get back to the Impact Zone as she is the #1 contender to the Knockouts title. Taya agreed that the cast can go back and as they celebrated this fact, they all disappeared. They would reappear in the middle of the ring during Purrazzo’s celebration.
After the cast teleported in the ring during Purrazzo’s black tie affair, Kylie Rae ducked an attack from Purrazzo and ended up in a skirmish with Kimber Lee. Kylie super-kicked Kimber Lee out of the ring and held up the Knockouts title and celebrated with Susie.
Susie Has Blood On Her Hands
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BdPQG45NJrs
Team XXXL and The Deaners also got into this week on Wrestle House. The Deaners have been searching for who stole their beer and Larry D and Acey Romero are easy targets for such accusations. They comically brawled throughout the whole house until Susie involved herself in the match. Susie and Cousin Jake went on a rather bad date recently and Susie seems motivated to ensure the Deaners and Team XXXL abide by the truce they brokered earlier.
When Susie realized the two teams had broken the truce, she was not pleased. Her anger seemed to cause some visual disturbances on-screen and the audience did not see exactly what she may have done to Cousin Jake and the others involved in the match. When she came out of the room, however, Tommy Dreamer made the call to just name her the winner of the match. As he raised her hand it became clear that Susie literally had blood on her hands.
It was later revealed that Crazzy Steve is the one who took the beer, as he was not able to read the labels and didn’t know whose it was.
Heath Helps Rhino Beat Reno Scum
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtbRzZCBfHg
Heath disguised himself as a cameraman this week to help his tag-team partner, Rhino, defeated Reno Scum. The former Heath Slater has been lobbying Impact management for a contract in recent weeks but Scott D’Amore didn’t sign him in time to team with Rhino for this match.
With Heath still unsigned, Rhino started the match against Reno Scum on his own. The finish of the match came when Heath put down the camera and hit the Wake Up Call on Adam Thornstowe with the referee distracted. Rhino then covered him for the win.
After the match, D’Amore came to ringside as Rhino and Heath celebrated in the ring. Security chased Heath out of the ring and D’Amore looked upset at Rhino.
The Rascalz To Challenge Motor City Machine Guns For Titles
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NyaD1OUCH0k
Wentz and Dez of the Rascalz defeated Ace Austin and Madman Fulton this week. They utilized their tandem offence to keep the big man on the outside of the ring and double-team Austin.
After the match, Impact tag champs the Motor City Machine Guns appeared on the ramp. MCMG defeated the Rascalz in an Open Challenge match at Slammiversary. The MCMG noted that the Rascalz were not prepared for who they would be facing in that match and offered up a title shot to them next week.
RVD and Katie Forbes Attack Sami Callihan After Match
In the opening match this week, Sami Callihan faced off with Rob Van Dam. This rivalry has been brewing ever since Katie Forbes mistook Callihan for a fan backstage. Callihan then interrupted a segment where Forbes was going to release new photos from her website.
Madison Rayne noted on commentary during this match that Forbes’ frequent attempts at interfering often don’t work out well for RVD. Forbes would get involved at the end of this match as well. As Callihan was going for a pile driver, Forbes got in the ring and began twerking. Callihan then chased her out of the ring and RVD attempted to roll-up Callihan into a pinning combination. Callihan reversed the pinning combination, however, and got a 3-count on RVD.
After the match, RVD attacked Callihan as his attention was focused on Forbes. Forbes and RVD closed the segment by attacking Callihan with a chair in the corner.
This week on Monday Night Raw, The IIconics suffered a loss to the Riott Squad. The stipulation of the match meant the winners would receive a WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship opportunity. The losers, however, would be forced to disband.
WWE’s decision to split up the IIconics lies in management’s intention to push Peyton Royce as a singles star. It is important to note that although Royce is primed for a push, this does not mean that Billie Kay will be leaving the company or is being punished.
OBille Kay got beat up quickly on Raw Underground this week, which is likely a way to get her off television for a while as they rally behind Peyton Royce.
The pair commented on their disbanding following their Raw loss. The IIconics reflected on their longterm real-life friendship and history in the company together, starting in NXT. They acknowledged how it’s “scary” to think they won’t be by each other’s side going forward. Regardless, they stressed it won’t stop them from supporting one another.
Having signed with All Elite Wrestling, Matt Hardy addressed why his brother, Jeff Hardy, has remained with WWE during an interview with Chris Van Vliet.
Hardy explained how his brother had accrued a lot of time away from the ring while under contract. Because of this, WWE simply extended Jeff’s contract to make up for the time away from in-ring competition. Matt shared how he managed to work through his contract without getting injured, allowing him to leave and sign with AEW.
“Jeff had two major surgeries during his deal. He had shoulder surgery and then he had the knee surgery. He also had some personal time off he needed to take. Altogether it was about a year and eight months,” Hardy explained. “Once that happens in WWE if they still continue to pay you, they can extend his contract so he had a year and eight months tacked on to his deal as opposed to my deal. I worked all the way through without ever being injured, so that is why Jeff is still working there now.”
During the course of their discussion, Hardy also addressed the current status of his Broken gimmick in AEW. He noted how, if his debut had taken place in front of fans, then Broken Matt Hardy would have been a lot more viable.
Hardy explained this was due to the gimmick’s subtleties. He argued that these intricacies would have been picked up and enjoyed by a live audience. In lieu of that connection, Hardy has decided to “hold off” on the gimmick and return to a “character-based in reality” until the time is right to re-introduce Broken Matt Hardy.
Eric Young is the new Impact World Champion. He defeated Eddie Edwards last night on Impact’s weekly show. Young hit Edwards with a hockey mask as the referee was distracted and then hit a piledriver for the win. After the match, Young continued the attack on Edwards’ leg, much like he has done to Rich Swann recently.
Young returned to the promotion at Slammiversary and was entered into the 5-way match for the world title that night. After getting eliminated, Young assaulted Rich Swann, causing the injured former X-Division champion to retire (in storyline).
Eddie Edwards’ second reign with the belt ends after just 28 days. His first title reign came in 2016 when he defeated Bobby Lashley. Edwards would then drop the title back to Lashley in early 2017.
This is the second time that Young has won the title. His first reign came when he defeated Magnus (Nick Aldis) in 2014. Young would drop the title to Bobby Lashley 70 days later.
Young begins the 50th reign in the title’s lineage. Overall, 27 wrestlers have won the title throughout its history dating back to 2007. Prior to 2007, Impact/TNA used the NWA World Heavyweight Championship as its major title.
Maxwell Jacob Friedman (MJF) has revealed how a fan once attempted to kidnap him whilst dressed as a pilot. In an interview with the New York Post, MJF shared how this fan attempted to convince security that he was scheduled to fly him on a private jet following an episode of AEW.
“At AEW, a fan tried to dress up I believe like a pilot and was trying to convince our security that they were supposed to fly me out on a private jet after the show,” MJF said. “I can assure you that that guy was most certainly not my pilot, so there was once a fan who literally tried to kidnap me. I’ve seen it all. When I was in Mexico, people threw a car battery at me and urine at me. That’s because I don’t tiptoe around. I don’t hide how I feel.”
MJF is set to face off against AEW World Champion Jon Moxley at this weekend’s All Out event. The show takes place on September 5 from Daily’s Place in Jacksonville, Florida.
All Elite Wrestling’s Matt Hardy has reflected on the damage Sammy Guevara’s errant chair shot caused during an interview with Chris Van Vliet.
Guevara would accidentally hit Hardy with a chair, causing Hardy to require 13 stitches after being busted open. Looking back on the incident, Hardy revealed how he still suffers from numbness, soreness, and headaches. He recalled how he suffered from severe headaches in the days following the impact:
“I was really lucky I wasn’t concussed badly,” Hardy admitted. “I was able to hit the chair a little bit and slowed it down. If I wasn’t able to slow it down, I’m sure it would have knocked me completely unconscious. But even knocking it down and slowing it down, it still split me open.”
Hardy highlighted how he needed 13 stitches. He revealed how the chair shot also did some damage to the back of his neck and caused whiplash that he still suffers from alongside the stiffness and headaches.
Matt Hardy added how he was given a few weeks off to recover and is now “back and ready to go again.” In the fallout of the chair shot, Hardy faced off against Guevara in a tables match in the main event of the 8/27 episode of Dynamite. Hardy lost the match to Guevara after the Inner Circle member was able to successfully drive him through a table.
Adam Cole vs. Johnny Gargano vs. Finn Balor vs. Tommaso Ciampa ends in tie
Here are the takeaways from this week’s show:
Timothy Thatcher vs. Bronson Reed
Timothy Thatcher vs. Bronson Reed in a singles match took place with the two stars putting on a stiff yet entertaining contest.
Austin Theory attacked Reed during the match and laid him out on the floor when the referee wasn’t looking. Once back in the ring, Thatcher locked on an armbar for the win.
This was expected coming off last week’s segments with the first being Thatcher thinking he should be the #1 contender to Damian Priest’s North American Title. Later in the show, Reed also did an interview where he questioned the request by Thatcher and pointed out that he holds a win over Priest.
Perhaps, WWE is building towards a Triple Threat Match between Priest, Reed, and Thatcher for the title. Whether they keep it for an upcoming episode of NXT or the next TakeOver special remains to be seen.
NXT Cruiserweight Champion El Hijo Del Fantasma is now Santos Escobar
The feud has continued as Legado del Fantasma, which consists of NXT Cruiserweight Champion Santos Escobar with Raul Mendoza and Joaquin Wilde, battled Isaiah “Swerve” Scott and Breezango in a six-man tag team street fight.
This comes after the two teams have squared off before in addition to Scott recently coming up short against Escobar in a match with the Cruiserweight Championship on the line.
There were typical spots such as ladders, fire extinguisher, and other weapons used in the contest.
The finish was wild as Scott and Fandango jumped off a forklift onto everyone else who was in the ring. Scott hit his finisher to Escobar for the win.
As expected, the final hour of the show featured a 60 Minute Iron Man Fatal 4-Way Match to determine the new NXT Champion. Adam Cole vs. Johnny Gargano vs. Finn Balor vs. Tommaso Ciampa were the competitors in the contest.
As expected, the way the match worked was that whoever had the most points at the end of the match won it whether that be pinfall, submission, or DQ. This was due to Karrion Kross suffering a separated shoulder and vacating the championship.
The match was really good as it allowed everyone to shine given the amount of time that it played out. It wasn’t just a spot fest, but it told a story of who could overcome the odds in not just the competitors in the ring, but the time that they had to survive.
Balor scored the first point when he pinned Cole. Ciampa joined the scoreboard when he hit a facebuster on Cole. When the match was over, Balor and Cole had two points while Ciampa and Gargano had one point apiece.
This led to William Regal coming out and announcing that Balor and Cole would face off next week in a sudden death match to determine a new champion.
Rhea Ripley did a backstage segment where she issued a challenge to Mercedes Martinez to a Steel Cage Match for next week.
Ripley stated that she is sick and tired of not only Mercedes but also the Robert Stone Brand getting in her business. She said that she thought that Mercedes got the message when she powerbombed her on the floor, but she is too thick-headed for that.
She said that now she’ll have to rip her limb from limb and wants to do it in a Steel Cage Match. Mercedes later agreed to the match and now it’s on.
Heading into Tuesday’s episode of WWE NXT fans were promised that there would be a new NXT champion crowned and that didn’t happen.
WWE booked a unique contest as there was a 60 Minute Iron Man Fatal 4-Way Match to determine the new NXT Champion. The contest took place in the final hour of the broadcast on the USA Network from Winter Park, Florida at Full Sail University.
Adam Cole vs. Johnny Gargano vs. Finn Balor vs. Tommaso Ciampa was booked. So the way that the match worked was whoever had the most points at the end of the match whether that be by pinfall or submission was declared the winner.
However, there wasn’t a winner. Instead, WWE booked an angle where Cole and Balor were tied with the most points, which was two while Gargano and Ciampa each had one point.
Balor will face Cole in a singles match on next week’s episode to crown a new NXT Champion.
The title became vacant on last week’s show in the opening segment as Karrion Kross relinquished the championship. He’s on the sidelines due to a separated shoulder.
Back in June when she did first test positive, Dave Meltzer reported in an edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that Young didn’t receive any contact from Vince McMahon, Kevin Dunn, Paul Levesque or Mark Carrano to see how she was doing. However, a lot of wrestlers did contact her.
Young recalled how she sent out the tweet to reveal the news and she was doing it because she got and in case there was anyone around her, she wanted to make sure those people got tested as they were exposed to the illness.
“But yeah, it was … not well-received.” She was then asked how soon after the tweet did she hear from someone in WWE.
“Well I tweeted it in the evening west coast time. So by the time I woke up was like a couple texts. You shouldn’t … not even that like you shouldn’t have posted it, but it was like, ‘We really wish that you gave us a heads up that you were gonna post it.’ It was, you know, bad for PR and whatnot.
But again, I just like, I wouldn’t have even thought to be like, ‘Hey guys, I’m gonna tweet that I have COVID!’ That was just not what I was thinking about when I posted about it.”
At the time that she had COVID, it was reported WWE officials were keeping talent in the dark regarding the names that had positive test results and how many positive cases of COVID-19 there were
Just a week after working her final date with WWE, Renee Young has discussed her decision to depart from WWE after working for the company over the last 8 years.
She did so when she appeared on the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast with Jimmy Traina. She was asked about whether there was one thing that made her want to leave, which she stated there wasn’t an exact incident.
Instead, when WWE Backstage was canceled on the same day that she tested positive for COVID-19, it did factor into her decision.
“It was really with Backstage being canceled that I was like, ‘What am I doing? I’m not really doing anything anymore and my skill set of being a host … there’s just nowhere for me to do it anymore.
Even with Talking Smack coming back, I had heard the rumblings that Talking Smack was making its way back, I was planning on perhaps doing that. But I was like, ‘You know what? I feel like I’m taking steps backward. I’m sorta spinning my wheels to go back and do a show. To not be doing it with Daniel Bryan. To not be doing it with Mike Mansury, who also is no longer with WWE. But that was sort of the magic of what that show was to me.”
Young stated that when she stepped away from doing commentary it left a bad taste in her mouth. Thus, she was happy when she was able to do something else at FOX when Backstage came up.
Young first told Michael Cole about the decision and no one from WWE tried to talk her out of leaving as she thinks they had seen her frustrations build over the years.
Young felt that returning as a backstage interviewer on SmackDown was a step back. She stated that she did make a few pitches about being used as a special correspondent for the brand.
Young is under a non-compete clause with WWE that is longer than 90-days.
MJF is just days away from the biggest match in his tenure as a pro wrestler and spoke with The New York Post to promote it.
During the interview, he was asked about his ultimate goal in pro wrestling, which he revealed to be remembered as the greatest of all-time.
“My ultimate goal is when I pass away for people to go, ‘That guy was the greatest professional wrestler in the history of our sport.’ That’s my only goal.”
The rising prospect will challenge AEW World Heavyweight Champion Jon Moxley at the All Out pay-per-view this Saturday night.
MJF knocked Moxley for coming from WWE and how he plans to be in AEW for the rest of his career.
“It’s great that they had their handheld sometimes by VKM, awesome. But I didn’t. I didn’t come from that product. I didn’t come from that land. I am AEW born and bred. I will be AEW until I die. This is my company. This is where I started. This is the company that I’ll end in.”
Dictionary.com knows its role and smells what The Rock is cooking.
The website announced today that their biggest update ever, featuring more than 15,000 additions with 650 new words, includes one word that is very popular with pro wrestling fans – jabroni.
jabroni – noun Slang. a stupid, foolish, or contemptible person; loser: She always has a comeback to own the trolls and jabronis on Twitter. Shut your mouth, you dumb jabroni!
Also called en·hance·ment tal·ent, job·ber. Professional Wrestling. a wrestler whose purpose is to lose matches against headlining wrestlers in order to build up the status and fame of the headliners: The man is a legend in the ring—he eats jabronis for breakfast.
The word was popularized by The Rock during WWE’s Attitude Era, but in past media interviews he has credited WWE Hall of Famer The Iron Sheik with constantly using the word backstage.
“Yes, we put jabroni in the dictionary. We assume @TheRock could smell us cooking up this update the whole time,” Dictionary.com wrote on Twitter in response to feedback on the word being added to the dictionary.
Yes, we put jabroni in the dictionary. We assume @TheRock could smell us cooking up this update the whole time. https://t.co/kNdHhsLYrn
This is not the first time that The Great One has helped get a WWE word into the dictionary. The word “SmackDown” was added to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary back in 2007.
The former WWE Champion spoke with Esquire Magazine in June 2015 and was asked about the word. He talked about how The Iron Sheik was known for using the “jabroni” term.
“When I was a kid, it was an inside term that guys would use,” Rock said. “When wrestlers wanted to have a private conversation when fans were present, they would start talking carny because they used to wrestle in carnivals. I thought it was so cool. Jabroni was a word that was always used in the derogatory sense. Oh, this jabroni, that jabroni.
“But the Iron Sheik was famous for saying the word constantly backstage. Jabroni, jabroni, jabroni. Around 1998, I thought, Why can’t I say it on TV? So I started saying it publicly, but the Iron Sheik was known for it.”
The Rock has not publicly commented on the new dictionary listing as of this writing.
Monday’s edition of WWE RAW averaged 1.896 million viewers with a 0.58 rating in the key 18-49 demographic. This was down from last week, which did 2.028 million viewers and a 0.66 demo rating.
It has to be noted that last week’s show got a big boost thanks to it coming the night after SummerSlam. In fact, that show did the best viewership number since April 6th, the day after WrestleMania in addition to the best demo number since March.
This was the post-show for Sunday’s Payback pay-per-view event and the second episode of RAW that was held from the ThunderDome.
To compare, just one year ago, RAW averaged 2.507 million viewers.Here’s the hourly viewership breakdown for Raw, courtesy of Showbuzzdaily.com:
Hour 1: 2.104 million, 0.63 in the 18-49 Demo
Hour 2: 1.882 million, 0.59 in the 18-49 Demo
Hour 3: 1.703 million, 0.53 in the 18-49 Demo
RAW featured three singles match that served as qualifying matches for the main event that saw Keith Lee, Randy Orton, and Seth Rollins to determine the new #1 contender for the WWE Title and challenge Drew McIntyre for the strap at Clash of Champions.
SmackDown Viewership
Friday’s SmackDown averaged 2.144 million viewers on FOX. This is down from the 2.198 million viewers that the show did for the previous week.
SmackDown averaged 2.181 million viewers in the fast nationals, which was up from the 2.168 million viewers a week ago. This number measured the top metered markets.
The first hour drew 2.210 million viewers while the second hour did 2.151 million viewers. For comparison, the first show of last week’s show did 2.189 million viewers while the second hour did 2.146 million viewers.
SmackDown pulled in a 0.60 rating in the 18-49 demos, the same from the 0.60 rating as last week’s show.
The Retribution faction that has been terrorizing episodes of RAW and Smackdown as of late will apparently only be doing that to the RAW brand now. According to a report from John Pollock of POST Wrestling, a source has confirmed to him that the angle will now be exclusive to RAW.
“One source noted to us that Retribution is expected to only appear on Raw moving forward,” wrote Pollock.
The faction appeared on WWE RAW last night. They attacked during the Street Profits vs Andrade and Angel Garza match. Garza took off along with his date from the Bachelor to avoid the attack but would run into the group backstage later in the show. During this attack, Garza left Demi Burnett on her own as well.
Who Is In Retribution?
There has been a lot of online speculation about who the members of Retribution are. The talent currently taking part in the angle may not be the finalized group, however.
Dominik Dijakovic, Chelsea Green, Vanessa Borne, Dio Madden, and Mia Yim’s names have all been speculated on as possible members of the group. Kayden Carter possibly as well.
Jim Ross recently spent some time with Conrad Thompson talking about an episode of RAW from 2001 on his Grillin JR podcast. During the conversation, Ross offered up his opinion on Stephanie McMahon as a performer.
“Stephanie was a great heel, by the way,” JR said on the show. Conrad then asked Ross if there was any hesitation to putting Stephanie on-screen in such a role.
“She’s got a lot of the old man in her and I had no issues whatsoever because she worked very diligently to improve,” Ross said. “And because she had a major name to carry. She was more like Vince than Shane was like Vince, in my view, and Vince has even said that to me.”
“But she became a great heel and just followed in the footsteps of her old man who was the hottest heel we had in the Attitude Era.”
Stephanie’s first appearance on WWE programming came in 1998 when she was 22-years-old. By 2001, Stephanie was the storyline new owner of ECW and one of the major figures in the Invasion angle.
Last night on WWE RAW, The Iiconics were booked in a match against the Riott Squad. The winners would receive a tag title shot. The losers would have to disband. After Ruby Riott scored a pinfall on Billie Kay, it meant the end for the longtime Iiconics tag-team.
WWE correspondents caught up with the Iiconics backstage in an interview exclusive to WWE’s social media.
“Ever since we started in NXT 5.5 years ago, this has been us,” Royce said backstage. “It’s just very unnatural.”
“It’s scary thinking that we won’t be by each other’s sides when we walk through that curtain, we won’t be in that ring together, we won’t be on the outside cheering them on, we are going to be in this alone. That’s scary but that’s life,” Billie Kay said.
“Everyone goes through changes of growth and times where you have to evolve and we’re at that point. So as scary, and as sad as we are, we both know that we can achieve anything we set our mind’s to. And even though we won’t be supporting each other out there, back here we will have each other’s back 1000% every single damn day for the rest of our lives. And that’s something that will never go away.”
The Iiconics WWE Stats
The Iiconics became the 2nd WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions at WrestleMania 35 after winning a fatal 4-way match. They would hold the belts for 4 months before dropping them to Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross.
WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships:
The Kabuki Warriors (1x champions) 171 days as champions.
Sasha Banks and Bayley (2x champions) 145 days as champions.
Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross (2x champions) 123 days as champions.
The Iiconics (1x champions) 120 days as champions.
Nia Jas & Shayna Baszler (1x champions) 2+ days as champions.
