On just a week’s notice, Jon Moxley and Darby Allin met inside of the squared circle.
Moxley made his latest defense of the AEW World Heavyweight Title against the rising star in the main event of Wednesday’s episode of AEW Dynamite.
Moxley successfully retained the title over Allin from Jacksonville, Florida at Daily’s Place. During the match, MJF came out and hit Moxley with the title, which busted him open. Despite this, Moxley managed to pull through and hit Allin with a Paradigm Shift and scored the clean pin.
AEW set up this contest last week when Moxley and Allin defeated Brian Cage & Ricky Starks in a Texas Tornado Tag Team Match in the main event.
After the match, Tony Schiavone announced as the show was about to go off the air that AEW President Tony Khan had told him that these two stars would meet in a title bout. They proceeded to have a staredown.
The AEW All Out pay-per-view event will take place on Saturday, September 5, 2020 in Jacksonville, Florida at Daily’s Place. At this show, MJF will challenge Moxley for the
AEW Dynamite aired from Daily’s Place in Jacksonville. Jon Moxley put the AEW Championship on the line against Darby Allin. Chris Jericho and Orange Cassidy had a debate with a special moderator during tonight’s show as well.
Dynamite Results (8/5)
Dark Order def. The Elite & FTR
Best Friends def. Santana & Ortiz
Cody & Matt Cardona def. Alex Reynolds & John Silver
Big Swole def. Reba
Jon Moxley def. Darby Allin to retain the AEW Championship
Here are 6 takeaways from this week’s show:
Dark Order Picked Up A Win
The Elite & FTR battled Dark Order in a 12-man tag team match to begin the show.
Match Recap: Brodie Lee and Nick Jackson started off the action. Matt tagged in and blasted Brodie in the face with a Dropkick. Young Bucks tried to beat Brodie down some more but exploded out of nowhere with a Clothesline that took Matt and Nick down.
#9 tagged in and Young Bucks beat him down in the corner. Omega tagged in and went for the cover but Evil Uno and Grayson broke it up. FTR, Page, and Omega connected with a triple Suplex on Dark Order for another near fall.
Dark Order took control and isolated Kenny Omega in the ring for the next couple of minutes. Omega battled back with a Backbreaker and tagged in Dax Hawwood. Dax hit #5 with an elbow to the face and followed it up with a headbutt for a two count.
Cash tagged in and planted Grayson with a Back Suplex. Hangman tagged in and #5 rolled him up for a near fall. The Elite teamed up on Five and beat him down. Nick Jackson took out some of the Dark Order with a flip outside the ring.
Harwood tweaked his knee and Kenny tagged in. Omega hit a Powerbomb but Dark Order broke up the cover. Dax was assisted backstage by the rest of The Elite as Kenny was left alone in the ring. Matt hopped on the apron and tagged in. Brodie planted Matt with a Slam and Stu tagged in.
Dark Order beat Matt down and Colt Cabana hit a Splash for a near fall. Hangman Page went backstage with FTR as Dark Order dominated Omega and the Young Bucks. Hangman made his way back to the ring and planted #5 on the apron. Page climbed to the top rope and hit a Moonsault onto Dark Order outside the ring. Brodie Lee leveled Hangman with a massive Lariat for the pinfall victory.
Santana & Ortiz Destroyed Trent’s Mom’s Car
Best Friends squared off against Santana & Ortiz tonight on Dynamite.
Match Recap: Santana beat Chuck down and tagged in Ortiz. Chuck quickly turned the tables and brought Ortiz to the corner. Trent tagged in and went to work on Ortiz’s arm. Trent connected with Double Knees and followed it up with a Northern Lights Suplex for a near fall.
Trent hit Santana with a Tornado DDT and then delivered a Cutter to Ortiz. Best Friends shared a hug as Dynamite went to a commercial break. When Dynamite returned, Trent and Ortiz were trading shots in the middle of the ring. The action spilled to the outside and Ortiz launched Trent into the barricade.
Back in the ring, Santana tagged in and hit Trent with Backbreaker for a two count. Chuck Taylor finally tagged back in and hit Santana with a Michinoku Driver for a near fall. Chuck followed it up with a Falcon Arrow for another two count. Santana planted Trent with a Powerbomb for a two count. Ortiz tagged in and got rolled up by Trent for the pinfall victory. Santana and Ortiz then went to Trent’s mom car and hit it with a sledgehammer several times.
Best Friends later called Santana and Ortiz cowards for destroying Trent’s mom car. Best Friends said they wanted a rematch and after they beat them, Santana and Ortiz will have to apologize to Trent’s mom on speaker phone.
As expected, Eric Bischoff made an appearance on AEW Dynamite, which marked his promotional debut.
All Elite Wrestling had previously announced that Chris Jericho would debate Orange Cassidy with a special guest moderator on Wednesday’s broadcast from Jacksonville, Florida at Daily’s Place. It marked the first appearance for Bischoff on TNT since the summer of 2000 on WCW.
The promotion hadn’t announced who the moderator would be, but it turned out to be Bischoff. His appearance on this show was leaked last week.
Bischoff was behind a desk on the stage while Jericho and Cassidy were in the ring at podiums. Jericho mostly trash-talked Cassidy during the segment.
It was revealed that Jericho will battle Cassidy next week in a singles match. The stipulation is that if Cassidy loses then he’ll have to pay $7,000 for the expensive shirt that he destroyed when he dumped orange juice on him and fellow members of The Inner Circle.
.@EBischoff has arrived and is your special guest moderator in this debate!
Bischoff had been in WWE while serving as the SmackDown Executive Director for a few months in 2019. He was replaced by Bruce Prichard as the Executive Director of SmackDown.
Since that time, he has continued his 83 Weeks podcast with Conrad Thompson.
The next challenger to WWE NXT Women’s Champion Io Shirai will be Dakota Kai and it’s the latest match to be added to the card the upcoming WWE NXT TakeOver: 30
During Wednesday’s episode of NXT on the USA Network in Winter Park, Florida at Full Sail University, WWE held a match that would determine who is next in line for a title shot.
A singles match between Rhea Ripley and Kai took place with the winner becoming the next challenger to the title. It was a lengthy match that featured a finish where Mercedes Martinez hit Ripley with a big boot that allowed Kai to capitalize on it.
Kai was victorious, earning the right to challenge Shirai for the NXT Women’s Title.
WWE has adjusted its TV taping schedule from Orlando, Florida at the WWE Performance Center.
Dave Meltzer reported on F4Wonline that “due to problems regarding organization, yesterday’s Smackdown tapings only taped one show instead of the scheduled two. The one show taped will air this Friday.”
As a result, WWE will have to make up for that and has updated its schedule. Currently, WWE will tape the August 17th episode of RAW on August 13th in addition to the August 14 episode of Smackdown and the August 17 episode of RAW on that date.
This will come one day after WWE holds NXT TV tapings. Meltzer noted that due to this, several people will have to stay an extra day. WWE will need to find a new date for August 21 Smackdown taping that was to be taped on August 17.
WWE taped two episodes of RAW this past Monday – one for this week’s show and then the August 10 episode. It was reported at the time that the situation backstage was described as being more chaotic than usual due to constant changes.
WWE has already confirmed two matches for next week’s episode of RAW.
Those matches are Kevin Owens facing Randy Orton in a singles match in addition to Asuka vs. SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley in a non-title match with the stipulation that if Asuka wins then she earns the right to challenge RAW Women’s Champion Sasha Banks for the title at SummerSlam.
It was believed that this may have had something to do with the Cole vs. McAfee rivalry, which began back in 2018 at a NXT house show. McAfee later announced that he will be appearing on tonight’s NXT episode, and WWE has since confirmed the appearance.
McAfee and Cole are set to appear tonight for a follow-up to the recent incident on The Pat McAfee Show. For those who missed it, Cole appeared on McAfee’s podcast last month and stormed off the set after things got heated between the two, and Cole shoved one of McAfee’s hosts to the ground.
McAfee, a former NFL player turned podcaster & sports analyst, revealed on Instagram that he is leaving his honeymoon to confront Cole on tonight’s show. He was just married this past Saturday.
“Wifey just gave us the go ahead.. About to take a mid honeymoon daytrip to clear up some drama in my life,” McAfee wrote in the following Instagram post. He continued, “Well.. sometimes a little face to face conversation in the middle of a honeymoon is exactly what is needed to clear up some drama.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/CDgoFAlJlgN/
It will be interesting to see what goes down between McAfee and Cole on tonight’s show. Cole was expected to be ringside for the championship match that will see Imperium defend the NXT Tag Team Championships against Kyle O’Reilly and Bobby Fish of The Undisputed Era.
Cole has been out of the main event scene since losing the NXT Championship to Keith Lee in early July. The Undisputed Era made a statement last week by attacking Imperium, which led to tonight’s championship match. Cole announced then that they were reminding everyone how NXT still belongs to The Undisputed Era.
Here is the updated card for tonight’s NXT episode on the USA Network:
* Pat McAfee appears to confront Adam Cole
* Imperium defends the NXT Tag Team Championships against Kyle O’Reilly and Bobby Fish
* Shane Thorne vs. Bronson Reed
* NXT Champion Keith Lee vs. Cameron Grime in a non-title match
* Dakota Kai vs. Rhea Ripley to determine the new #1 contender to NXT Women’s Champion Io Shirai
* Damian Priest vs. Oney Lorcan vs. Ridge Holland in a Triple Threat qualifier for the NXT North American Championship Ladder Match at Takeover: XXX
A bizarre post on Facebook by Marty Jannetty has led to an investigation by police. The former member of the Rockers posted a story about having made a man “disappear” when he was 13.
“That was the very first time I made a man disappear. They never found him. They shoulda looked in the Chattahoochie River,” Jannetty says in the post. The post has since been deleted but several outlets grabbed screenshots of it before it was taken down.
A screenshot of Jannetty’s comments can be viewed below:
Local police responded to TMZ stating that they would be looking into the matter.
“We are going to look into this,” a Police representative said to TMZ. “The first step will be seeing if we have any missing persons or unidentified remains cases that match the limited information in the post.”
The police department also noted that they have “several current active homicide investigations underway and they will have to remain the priority.”
Jannetty is 60-years-old. The alleged incident would have happened in 1973 if he has his age correct in the post.
Jannetty teamed with Shawn Michaels as the Rockers from 1985 until 1992. They were voted the Tag Team of the Year by subscribers to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter in 1989.
Former WWE Superstar and 205 Live Cruiserweight Champion Enzo Amore/nZo recently appeared on SiriusXM’s Busted Open Radio to discuss a number of topics from his recent career in and out of a pro wrestling ring.
Enzo Amore would bring up the fact that it has been a while since he has had a ‘major’ run in a wrestling company. The former WWE Superstar did appear at the ‘Talk n Shop-a-Mania’ show this past weekend, but his appearances in general have thus far been sparse.
Enzo Amore on ‘monumental plans’
“You know Big Cass’ trials and tribulations? You know like they…they way down, you know?” Enzo Amore began on the show. “A lot of what it is that I wanted to achieve in pro wrestling at that time and where my head was at? We were planning on doing together, as opposed to now ‘okay Eric you’re on your own again. What are you going to do? how do you see yourself getting involved in the forefront?'”
Amore would then reveal that he has ‘monumental’ plans in the pipeline for when he does return to pro wrestling. “I can say like as far as pro wrestling goes? I’m working out some things right now that are f*cking monumental. Things that the world is not gonna see coming from a million miles away. Something that I’m working on that’s going to be very unique, that I just can’t give any details about.”
“And I don’t want to blow any smoke up anybody’s a**” Enzo continued. “But we’ll see what happens…when it happens. Bottom line is, wrestling is a part of me. But, I couldn’t bring myself in this present climate to get out there in front of no fans. I don’t want to say rest assured, but I can almost guarantee to you that you won’t see me pop up unless there’s a big ass crowd there, because I’m out.”
AEW star MJF recently appeared on SiriusXM’s Busted Open Radio show. The ‘Salt of The Earth’ appeared on the show to discuss his ongoing role with All Elite Wrestling, specifically his recent promo on AEW Dynamite where he called out AEW Champion Jon Moxley.
During said promo, MJF stated that he would be wrestling for AEW for “another 25 years.” Maxwell Jacob Friedman clarified those statements on Busted Open, comparing his career trajectory to that of Chris Jericho.
MJF on Chris Jericho
“That’s just accurate, nothing, nothing that came out of my mouth wasn’t something that I hold true” MJF began on the show. “There was no hyperbole, it was just all facts. I said, ‘grab a calculator’ because in fact, right now? Who’s one of the top stars in pro wrestling? The guy’s name is Chris Jericho, my hat’s off to him. The man’s 49.”
“In 25 years from now? I will be 49” MJF continued. “So that is why I was so comfortable saying that, and to be honest with the way I wrestle? My style? I’m probably going to be able to wrestle till I’m 70 on top. Because I’m not being an idiot.”
MJF would elaborate on this further, saying this his in-ring style is not the ‘car-crash’ that his peers appear to have adopted. “I’m not doing what everyone else in my generation is doing; which is succumbing to this car-crash style that ‘Dictator Jon [Moxley]’ wants us to succumb to. I’m not going to jump into that style, because I want to make sure that I am helping our company. I want to help them go from being the alternative, I’m not saying I want to monopolise professional wrestling, that didn’t come out of my mouth. What I am saying, though? Is I want AEW to be number one, and there’s nothing wrong with that.”
Do you think that MJF will be a major star for at least the next 25 years? Let us know in the comments
All Elite Wrestling has announced a new “dynamic membership platform” for female wrestling fans, AEW Heels. The new female-forward community led by Brandi Rhodes will hold its first event this Friday, August 7th. Rhodes also spoke with Sports Illustrated this week about the initiative.
AEW Heels began earlier this year with two online video conference events. AEW says the Heels program is “designed to celebrate and inspire” female wrestling fans around the world.
AEW sent in the following press release regarding the AEW Heels subscription platform:
August 5, 2020 – AEW Heels, the new female-focused wrestling community led by AEW Chief Brand Officer Brandi Rhodes and the stars of AEW’s women’s division, today announced the launch of its new fan membership platform. Powered by Wonderful Union’s secure digital platform, female wrestling fans can seamlessly access AEW Heels’ exclusive content and other special benefits — all in a safe environment for engaging in conversation and developing friendships worldwide.
With an annual paid subscription of $49, members receive access to a variety of features including virtual meet-and-greets, video conference discussions with industry experts, exclusive AEW talent Q&A sessions, customized merchandise, special promotions, themed parties and more. The secure space enables AEW Heels members to connect, learn and thrive together through shared passions for women’s wrestling.
Female fans can subscribe to AEW Heels at: AllEliteHeels.com
The first event for AEW Heels members is scheduled for Friday, August 7, which is included in the annual subscription. The virtual event will be curated on the platform and feature a Q&A session with Aubrey Edwards, a social media strategizing discussion with Brandi, and a special session on respect and empowerment in the workplace with Keisha-Ann Gray, partner at Proskauer.
“AEW Heels is a first-of-its-kind community designed to celebrate and inspire our female fans around the world,” said AEW Chief Brand Officer Brandi Rhodes. “With our new platform, we look forward to the next step in connecting the AEW Heels community and making this the best time ever to be a female wrestling fan.”
AEW Heels debuted earlier this year with two special video conference sessions designed for women. Session elements included a Q&A with former AEW Women’s World Champion Nyla Rose, a tutorial with renowned AEW makeup artist Stella Kae, and a mental health seminar with AEW Chief Legal Officer Megha Parekh, as well as a sweepstakes program and donation opportunities to support The George Floyd Memorial Fund and The Trevor Project.
About AEW Heels
AEW Heels is a new community for females who love wrestling. The female-forward movement, led by Brandi Rhodes and the stars of AEW’s women’s division, is designed to celebrate and inspire our female fans around the world. AEW Heels is dedicated to making this the best time ever to be a female wrestling fan. Be who you are and come as you are, because we’re all going to come together as a community to change the world. For more info, check out @AEW_Heels (Twitter) and @AEW_Heels (Instagram).
AEW has released new rankings ahead of tonight’s episode of Dynamite. FTR debut in the rankings at the #1 spot after being officially signed to contracts last week.
Here are this week’s AEW Top-5 rankings:
AEW Men’s Singles Division
AEW World Champion: Jon Moxley (14-0) TNT Champion: Cody (17-1)
MJF (8-0)
Lance Archer (10-1)
Brian Cage (6-1)
Brodie Lee (5-1)
Darby Allin (7-4)
There was no movement in the men’s single’s rankings this week. Many of the top stars of the division had the week off. TNT Champion Cody did successfully defend his title against Warhorse on last week’s Dynamite, however. He’ll team with Matt Cardona tonight to go up against the Dark Order.
#5 Darby Allin teamed up with World Champion Jon Moxley last week to defeat #3 Brian Cage and Ricky Starks. After the win, it was announced that Allin will face Moxley this week for the title.
AEW Women’s Division
AEW Women’s Champion: Hikaru Shida (15-1)
Nyla Rose (7-2)
Big Swole (5-3)
Penelope Ford (5-4)
Abadon (3-1) (+1)
Dr. Britt Baker (4-4) (-1)
Abadon continues her creepy climb up the rankings this week. She moves into the #4 spot, replacing the injured Britt Baker after picking up another victory on Dark.
Champion Hikaru Shida picked up a win last week over the unranked Diamante.
The Women’s Tag Team Cup kicked off this week. #1 Nyla Rose’s team with Ariane Andrew was ousted in the first round by the Dark Order’s Anna Jay and the debuting Tay Conti. Allie and Brandi Rhodes also picked up the victory over #3 Penelope Ford and the unranked former member of the Nightmare Collective, Mel.
#2 Big Swole is suspended and #5 Britt Baker is injured.
AEW Tag Team Division
AEW Tag Team Champions: Kenny Omega & “Hangman” Page (11-0)
FTR (5-0) (previously unranked)
Best Friends (12-4)
Dark Order (8-0) (-2)
Young Bucks (5-2) (-1)
Jurassic Express (5-2) (-1)
The biggest news this week in terms of the rankings is FTR debuting in the #1 contender position. FTR is undefeated in 2-on-2 tag matches since arriving in AEW. They’ve defeated The Butcher and the Blade, SCU, Lucha Bros, Brandon Cutler & Peter Avalon, and Brian Pillman Jr. & Griff Garrison.
Last week, the champions successfully retained over the Dark Order. As a result, Evil Uno and Stu Grayson drop down 2 spots in the rankings.
Tonight on Dynamite, #1 FTR teams with #4 the Young Bucks and the tag champions to face 6 members of the Dark Order.
#2 The Best Friends will also take on the unranked Proud and Powerful on Dynamite tonight.
Gina Carano recently praised both Sasha Banks and Shayna Baszler on Twitter. This somehow led to Banks taking a shot at the former MMA fighter turned actor. Carano, who recently starred in The Mandalorian from the Star Wars franchise, posted the following message to Twitter in response to an angle from WWE RAW this Monday:
Banks, perhaps still upset at taking the shot from Baszler, then said she’d whoop Carano too.
And just like that, I wanna whoop your ass too… you wouldn’t last in my Universe but you’re welcome to try ? #2BeltzBankshttps://t.co/vqjaB3OKb8
— Mercedes Moné Varnado (@MercedesVarnado) August 4, 2020
Baszler has been lobbying for a title shot since coming back to RAW. She most recently fought to a double count-out with Nia Jax. Next week on RAW, Asuka will take on Bayley in single’s action. If Asuka is victorious, she’ll get the next RAW Women’s title match at SummerSlam later this month.
Banks holds the record for most reigns with the RAW Women’s Championship with 5. She rarely holds the title for long, however. As of this writing, her combined days spent with the title across 5 reigns is only 97 days. That’s less than 3 weeks per title reign.
RAW Women’s Title Combined Days Spent as Champion:
Impact Wrestling on AXS TV for August 4th, 2020 featured an emotional retirement speech from Rich Swann followed by a heinous attack by Eric Young. Both the TNA and Impact World Championships were on the line and Wrestle House was back as well.
Impact 8/4 Quick Results:
TNA World Heavyweight Championship (Unofficial) Moose (c) defeated Heath
Wrestle House Susie & Alisha Edwards defeated Johnny Swinger (referee: Cody Deaner)
Impact World Championship Eddie Edwards (c) defeated Sami Callihan
TJP & Fallah Bah defeated Chris Bey & Rohit Raju
Wrestle House Kylie Rae defeated Rosemary (referee: Taya Valkyrie)
Here are 8 takeaways from Impact 8/4
Rich Swann’s Retirement Speech Ends With Vicious Assault By Eric Young
Rich Swann made a surprise return in the main event of Slammiversary. Swann was returning from an injury that doctors said might end his career. He cut a promo this week and spoke about how hard he had to work to return only for Eric Young to assault him on the PPV. With his leg in a walking boot, Rich Swann announced he was retiring.
The entire Impact locker room emptied out and banged on the mat in support of Swann. As the former X-Division champion looked to take one final moment on the stage, Eric Young sprinted out and assaulted his already badly injured leg before running away. Young has quickly become the most hated man in the promotion since returning.
Rob Van Dam Takes Out Sami Callihan Ahead Of World Title Match
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQdmdBqnfA0
Sami Callihan was set to take on Eddie Edwards for the world title this week. As he was making his entrance, however, he was assaulted by Rob Van Dam and twerked at by Katie Forbes. Callihan had interrupted Forbes’ new website reveal last week.
Despite the assault, Callihan managed to make it to the ring for a match with his longtime rival. Even after taking a beating before the match, Callihan was competitive and almost won the title for a second time. He grew frustrated after not being able to pin Edwards after several piledrivers, however. Callihan picked up a chair but then thought better of using it. He then took two Boston Knee Parties from the champion and was pinned. One has to wonder how this match would have gone had Callihan not been assautled by Rob Van Dam beforehand.
Doc Gallows Arrested, Ace Austin & Madman Fulton Assault Karl Anderson
The Good Brothers are walking back to their truck when they noticed it was open and beer cans were on the ground next to it. As it turns out, this was a trap set by Ace Austin and Madman Fulton. During a melee with Austin and Madman, Gallows accidentally gave a back elbow to a police officer who had arrived to investigate. The police then arrested Gallows, leaving Anderson on his own.
Later in the show, Karl Anderson was on the phone saying he was going to get Gallows out of jail. He was then jumped by Ace Austin and Fulton and the two delivered a 2-on-1 beatdown to the Good Brother.
Wrestle House Returns
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TaZKFs1aGlc
Wrestle House continued this week and there is a lot to cover here.
Susie and Cousin Jake seem to have a budding romance. Alisha offered to help Susie with her love-interest but this drew some comments from Johnny Swinger. As a result, Susie and Alisha took on Swinger in a 2-on-1 match at Wrestle House with Cody Deaner as the referee. It didn’t take long for the two Knockouts to land a double splash on Swinger for the win.
Kylie Rae is motivated to get back to the Impact zone as she is the #1 contender for the Knockouts title. Rosemary said nobody is leaving until John E Bravo (who Rosemary has been trying to seduce) “gets the hint.” Later, Kylie would inform Bravo of this who then seemed to not really understand and left the house. This infuriated Rosemary and set up a match between her and Kylie Rae.
Taya would be the special guest referee here, which is notable as she seems to find Kylie quite annoying. Kylie seems comedically oblivious to this. With the referee in her back-pocket, Rosemary seemed to have the match won. John E Bravo then returned and began cheering for her. Bravo’s reappearance seemed to please Rosemary and while she was distracted, Kylie super kicked her in the face. Taya reluctantly and slowly counted the pin and awarded the match to Kylie.
Heath Suffers Loss To Moose, Still Without Contract
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-q8b4Pnlj0
Scott D’Amore granted Heath a match against Moose this week with the stipulation that if he could defeat the self-proclaimed TNA champ, he’d earn a contract. While Moose isn’t officially the TNA World Heavyweight Champion, he has been victorious in numerous unofficial title defences. He would do the same thing here, finding a way to snatch victory from the claws of defeat.
The referee got bumped during an irish whip into the buckle. With the ref down, Heath hit a reverse bulldog which he is now calling “The Wake-Up Call” but there was no ref to count the pin. Moose then hit a low blow and got the 3-count after the ref recovered.
The North Cashing In Rematch Clause Against The Motor City Machine Guns At Emergence
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sx82UXKIcHY
Yesterday, Impact Wrestling announced a special 2-week event called Emergence. The branded shows will take place August 18th and 25th. The North announced during this segment that they will be cashing in their rematch clause on one of the two shows.
Jimmy Jacobs sat down with Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin for an interview this week. The team talked about how they had been training together for a return and decided to reunite. Ethan Page and Josh Alexander then came out and said MCMG didn’t beat them when they were at 100%. Page said that defending the titles for over a year had left them injured and far from the team they can be. The North said they will be at 100% for Emergence.
TJP Makes X-Division Champ Chris Bey Submit In Tag-Team Match
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZQnsopmph0
Chris Bey defeated Willie Mack to win the X-Division Championship at Slammiversary. This week, he teamed with Rohit Raju to take on the team of TJP and Fallah Bah. The finish of the match came when Bey went for his patented springboard cutter finish but was countered by TJP. Bey then submitted to a cross arm-breaker possibly setting TJP up for a future shot at the X-Division title.
Kimber Lee Agrees To Take Out Jordynne Grace For Deonna Purrazzo
There was a backstage segment this week featuring Knockouts Champion Deonna Purrazzo and the newly signed Kimber Lee. Purrazzo is set to defend the title against Jordynne Grace at Emergence. Kimber Lee offered to take Grace out ahead of the match on the condition that she receive a title shot after. Purrazzo agreed to the deal.
Hulk Hogan and “Macho Man” Randy Savage had an on-again off-again friendship both on-screen and off. Hogan was recently interviewed by WWE.com about his year-long angle with Savage from WrestleMania IV to WrestleMania V. During the discussion, Hogan talked about having reconciled with his former Mega Powers teammate before his death.
“It was so tough when we had that blow-up when he got divorced. He didn’t want to have anything to do with me for eight years. I just thank God that we got back together before he passed away,” Hogan said during the interview.
Hogan then detailed the story of him and Savage reconciling just a few months before Savage died. Savage died on May 20th, 2011 at the age of 58. He suffered a heart attack and crashed his Jeep Wrangler into a tree.
“We ran into each other at a doctor’s office. I was on my seventh or eighth back surgery,” Hogan said of what sparked their reconciliation.
“We talked on the phone a couple of times,” Hogan continued. “I invited him over to have a barbeque, and really got back on track, which was cool. Later, I was with Lanny, his brother, at an independent wrestling show. He told me their mom wasn’t doing so well with [Randy’s father] Angelo passing away. So we had planned on having a barbeque at her house — because I got along well with Randy’s mom — and try to cheer her up. So, Lanny and I called Randy from the arena. Three days later, he had the heart attack. It was crazy.”
WWE Champion Drew McIntyre has addressed RAW’s declining viewership and ratings in a recent interview with TVInsider.
McIntyre shared how the numbers don’t negatively affect him. He talked about how he’s personally been through so many ups and downs during his career, highlighting how there had been some real low points. Despite those troubles, he doesn’t “let it get to me or distract me from the goal at home.”
He noted how previous champions have allowed ratings to get to them. When they did, he shared how they “suffered in their personal life as a result and lashed out on social media. I don’t allow it to get to me from that standpoint.”
McIntyre stressed how the WWE Universe is such a core component to their shows and that, during the coronavirus pandemic, WWE is “giving it all we can.” He added how everyone is “learning through this period.”
Drew McIntyre On Audience Investment & Character Depth
Drew McIntyre argued that the audience that has stuck with the show is getting to learn about their characters on a “deeper level.” McIntyre believes that this deeper investment and character understanding will boost viewership when WWE can finally permit fans once again.
“I think we will reach new heights to be honest because we’re going to have so many compelling characters. A lot of superstars are maximizing their opportunity in this environment.”
McIntyre continued, “Right now you can really develop your character on a deeper level through this unique lens. I think when we do get back in the arenas they will attract the attention of fans. I hear what is going on. I see what’s going on social media. Things are going well there, but they can also be better. Once we get back to normal, I think we’ll reach new heights as a company.”
Drew McIntyre is scheduled to defend his WWE Championship against Randy Orton at SummerSlam. The event takes place on August 23.
Impact Wrestling’s Doc Gallows, formerly WWE Superstar Luke Gallows, has expressed his interest in Impact developing a working relationship with New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW).
Gallows joined a recent episode of This is Wrestlingon TSN 1200, where he spoke about what he hopes to achieve with his new run in Impact Wrestling.
“I’m in my prime,” Gallows said. “I’m not slowing down. I just want to grow this IMPACT brand as big as we possibly can and keep it pushing forward. Yeah, this ain’t my last wrestling contract. Oh hell no! I’m not going to stop.”
Luke Gallows On Momentum & Working Relationships
Luke Gallows noted how he wanted to keep The Good Brothers’ momentum going now they have arrived in Impact Wrestling. He shared how he believes there are more tag team championships in the future for the team. He noted how they will, in some shape or form, always be together as a team. That being said, he added how they would naturally support each other in a singles run.
Ultimately, Gallows wants to see Impact Wrestling continue to grow and evolve. He would also like to be in a position to help their friends sign once their contracts have expired with other promotions.
He then stressed how part of this promotional growth would see Impact Wrestling engage in working relationships with other promotions:
“I think it would be great. I would love to see New Japan and IMPACT form a working relationship at some point. I think it would be beneficial for both sides, and I would really love to see that. Hopefully, [I] can be a part in making that come together.”
Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson recently made their in-ring debut in Impact Wrestling. The team are former IWGP Tag Team Champions in NJPW. They were released by WWE earlier in the year as part of the company’s cost-cutting methods due to the coronavirus.
Lumis’s ankle injury was initially reported on last week’s NXT Injury Report. Since then, however, it is now feared to be worse than first thought. The NXT Superstar reportedly suffered an osteochondral lesion to his talus after the matchup. Lumis would win the Triple Threat matchup, besting both Balor and Thatcher and earning a place at NXT TakeOver XXX.
However, with the “growing severity of his ankle injury,” WWE Digital speculated over Dexter Lumis’s ability to participate in the North American Championship Ladder Match at the event.
NXT has been featuring several Triple Threat matchups over the past few weeks. Like Lumis, the winners of these clashes are being put into a 5-man Ladder Match for the North American Championship. At the time of writing, Lumis is still scheduled to be a part of the match. Bronson Reed has also earned his spot into the match. Tonight’s episode of NXT sees Oney Lorcan, Damien Priest and NXT UK’s Ridge Holland vie for the next open spot.
NXT TakeOver XXX takes place on August 22 from Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida.
One of All Elite Wrestling’s newest signings is Matt Cardona, formerly WWE Superstar Zack Ryder. In an interview with Busted Open Radio, Cardona spoke about his recent debut in AEW after saving Cody during last week’s episode of Dynamite.
Cardona confessed he was nervous leading up to his debut. He recalled how he felt as though he was “walking in there like the new kid in school.” He shared how he was familiar with so many of the talent backstage through their work or social media. That being said, he “didn’t really know them.”
“It was weird introducing myself to these people who I know. Some people I watched wrestle for years, Cardona said. “Everyone was very welcoming and very inviting. They made me feel like I was there the whole time.”
Cardona then spoke about his continual love for pro wrestling. He explained how there had been times when it has “sucked and there was no light at the end of the tunnel.” He stressed that it’s during those times you “really have to love it.”
“It is so easy to love it when you are on TV every week and in a great spot. Who wouldn’t love that. You have to love it when you are sitting in catering. You have to love it when you are not booked. You have to love it when things aren’t going your way.”
Pointing to his Dynamite experience last week, Cardona explained how moments like that feel “so much better and sweeter” because of his previous frustrations.
Matt Cardona teams up with Cody tonight on AEW Dynamite. They face off against Dark Order’s Alex Reynolds and John Silver.
CM Punk has shared his thoughts on RAW Underground. The new segment was introduced by Shane McMahon this past Monday night on RAW. The segment featured a faux-MMA, Fight Club aesthetic.
Punk joined Renee Young and WWE Hall of Famer Booker T on the latest episode of Watch Along. During the show, Punk revealed he “absolutely loved” RAW Underground. He stressed how he wants to see Nia Jax and women get involved with the concept.
Punk added how he enjoyed the idea of Shane McMahon and all of RAW Underground’s participants hanging around the WWE Performance Center with the show occasionally cutting to them. He explained how “Three hours of no barred fights and strippers” is all he wanted to see.
Luring CM Punk Back To WWE
Booker T then told Punk how, upon seeing the preview for RAW Underground’s shoot-fighting concept, he thought of CM Punk.
He acknowledged how the money would have to be right for Punk to be interested. Booker T then suggested how “maybe this thing will lure Punk back to WWE.”
Punk, who has lost both UFC bouts he has been involved with, responded to Booker T, joking, “You want me to get that first MMA win, right?”
You can view the SummerSlam 1992 Watch Party featuring CM Punk, Bret Hart, Booker T, Finn Balor and Renee Young below:
Cesaro has achieved a lot in his wrestling career which spans over two decades. However, with his 40th birthday approaching slowly, the talks about his retirement have started creeping in as well.
The SmackDown star recently had an interview with Sport1 where he talked about a number of things including his partnership with Shinsuke Nakamura, potential singles run and more.
When asked how long he plans to continue wrestling, the former US Champion revealed an advice he got from John Cena and Cesaro said that he will stop when he can’t get any better:
“I want to get better every day, that’s how I handle my career. If I can’t do it anymore, it’s time to stop. A wise man named John Cena once told me that you are only as good as you were in your last match.
I want my last match to be great. When I see that this is no longer possible, you have to stop. I don’t know when that is.”
Cesaro was also asked about potentially pursuing a career in acting like Cena or the Rock and the Swiss Superman said that he would take the chance for an acting role if he gets one.
Apart from this, the WWE star talked about things like the rise of German-speaking stars in WWE, the future of NXT UK Champion WALTER and more. You can check out his full interview at this link.
This week’s episode of WWE Monday Night Raw saw the debut of a number of new things including concepts like Raw Underground and the arrival of a new mysterious faction as well.
While the new faction didn’t get a lot of screen time, it did became a talking point among the fans and now the company has officially revealed the name of the new group.
WWE announced on their website that the group responsible for the technical glitches on the broadcast of the show is calling themselves ‘RETRIBUTION.’
Previous reports have revealed that the storyline is specific to WWE and it’s not intended to coincide with the current happenings in the country.
The group is apparently aiming to change the way the company operates. They are trying to ‘loosen control’ over the WWE superstar and they will do anything that’s necessary to get the management’s attention.
Though at the moment we don’t know much about the members of the group. It’s said that the company officials are keeping the names a secret and they intend to take their time in revealing the faction members.
What did you think about the new WWE faction and the idea that’s being presented through it? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section.
Monday’s edition of WWE RAW averaged 1.714 million viewers with a 0.51 rating in the key 18-49 demographic. This was up from last week, which did 1.620 million viewers and a 0.47 demo rating.
WWE is staying steady with its current trend of numbers, but it has to be brought up that just one year ago, RAW averaged 2.473 million viewers. The third hour dropped despite the debut of RAW Underground.
Here’s the hourly viewership breakdown for Raw, courtesy of Showbuzzdaily.com:
Hour 1: 1.710 million, 0.48 in the 18-49 Demo
Hour 2: 1.824 million, 0.55 in the 18-49 Demo
Hour 3: 1.610 million, 0.51 in the 18-49 Demo
This week’s RAW featured a minor tease of a new anarchist group, the return of Shane McMahon, and his reveal of RAW Underground. The show opened with a United States Title Match between Apollo Crews and MVP.
SmackDown Viewership
Friday’s SmackDown averaged 1.894 million viewers on FOX. This is down from the 1.924 million viewers that the show did for the previous week.
SmackDown averaged 1.892 million viewers in the fast nationals, which was down from the 1.971 million viewers a week ago. This number measured the top metered markets.
The first hour drew 1.873 million viewers while the second hour did 1.911 million viewers. For comparison, the first show of last week’s show did 1.985 million viewers while the second hour did 1.956 million viewers.
SmackDown pulled in a 0.50 rating in the 18-49 demos, the same from the 0.50 rating as last week’s show.
Former WWE Superstar and 205 Live Cruiserweight Champion Enzo Amore/nZo recently appeared on SiriusXM’s Busted Open Radio to discuss a number of topics from his recent career in and out of a pro wrestling ring.
One of the topics discussed was the now infamous Madison Square Garden incident from WrestleMania weekend in 2019. Ring of Honor and New Japan Pro Wrestling were hosting the co-brand G1 Supercard event from MSG when Enzo and Big Cass jumped the rail and attacked Tama Tonga, Tonga Loa and The Briscoes.
Co-host of Busted Open Bully Ray was also part of the ‘angle,’ although Enzo would claim that it was a “real fight.” Only a select number of people within ROH knew about the angle, with the company trying to ‘work the boys’ and create some buzz for the promotion.
Enzo Amore on Canned Angle
“No one got on the phone after and said ‘that was a great job'” Enzo would reveal on Busted Open. Enzo would then also discuss how a small minority of fans ‘scared’ ROH online, leading the angle to be ixnayed. “They [ROH] just said, ‘oh sh*t, we f*cked up. No, you didn’t you idiots.”
Enzo would then launch straight into ROH management, saying how they completely ruined what could’ve been a hugely lucrative angle for the promotion. “This was the biggest f*cking…you (ROH) have never in your entire wrestling existence as a promotion been spoken about more! You just dropped the ball like, I had never seen anything like it in my life. I have never seen such sh*t. I could have talked Tama Tonga, Tonga Loa and the f*cking Briscoes…TWO PROMOTIONS INTO MADISON SQUARE GARDEN. AGAIN!”
“When you do that? And you don’t follow through with it? You leave such a sour taste in my mouth” Enzo would finish. “And when I walk away? I go, ‘this is what the f*cking indie promotions are like? This is what wrestling IS outside of WWE? People can’t take a joke, you know!? I hope you take d*ck better than you take a joke.”
Do you think that ROH missed out on a major angle here? Let us know in the comments
SummerSlam takes place in less than three weeks, but WWE has yet to announce where the summer spectacular will take place.
Most of WWE’s pay-per-views have taken place at the Performance Center in Orlando, FL due to the COVID-19 pandemic. There have been rumors that WWE is looking to hold SummerSlam outside of Florida. The North East United States has been discussed as a host region.
On the latest episode of Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer addressed the chatter about SummerSlam’s host venue. Meltzer says that a beach in Atlantic City, New Jersey is being discussed. Vince McMahon is hoping to achieve a “different look” for SummerSlam. Additionally, the WWE boss is pushing to have at least some fans in attendance.
With such a short lead-up time to the pay-per-view, expect the location to be finalized very soon.
WWE SummerSlam Card
WWE currently has four matches confirmed for this year’s SummerSlam pay-per-view:
WWE Champion Drew McIntyre vs. Randy Orton
WWE RAW Tag Team Champions The Street Profits vs. Andrade & Angel Garza
WWE United States Champion Apollo Crews vs. MVP
Seth Rollins vs. Dominik Mysterio
SummerSlam takes place on Sunday, August 23rd and will stream live on the WWE Network.
AEW star MJF recently appeared on SiriusXM’s Busted Open Radio show. The ‘Salt of The Earth’ appeared on the show to discuss his ongoing role with All Elite Wrestling, specifically his recent promo on AEW Dynamite where he called out AEW Champion Jon Moxley.
Busted Open co-host Bully Ray asked Maxwell Jacob Friedman how he felt being relegated to the ‘sidelines’ of the show over the past couple of months. MJF has not been a prominent figure on AEW programming really since the COVID-19 pandemic forced the company to film exclusively from Jacksonville.
MJF on The ‘Sidelines’
“You know what, it might be okay for somebody else on the roster to be on the sideline? But it’s not okay for me, I am the franchise player” MJF began on Busted Open. “I’m the guy who boasts on the microphone and in the ring, I’m a once in a lifetime professional wrestler.”
“I’m something that people are never going to get to see again” MJF would continue. “So no it wasn’t okay [that I was sidelined], and that’s why I wanted to make perfectly clear. The reason I was on that sideline? Is because certain people in our company don’t want to give up their spot. And that’s fine. You don’t want to give up your spot? I’ll take yours if that’s what I have to do.”
Feud With Jon Moxley?
MJF would then discuss his recent promo on Dynamite directly, “that’s precisely what I did this week [on Dynamite]. So, the auditory speech that I gave? It will go down in history as a career defining moment, and as a defining moment in the history of All Elite Wrestling. Because what I did was a real paradigm shift, not a fake one. I caused a real paradigm shift. I wasn’t a guy who was a top guy elsewhere, I’m a guy who BECAME a top guy inside of my company, a company that I’m so proud to be a part of.”
MJF would finish by saying how dedicated he is to the AEW brand. “Like I said, I bleed black white and gold. I’m not leaving. This is a place I’m going to stay in and make better. And that’s why it’s so important to me to be spotlighted, front and centre. Because I know when I’m on the TV screen? We ain’t losing viewers. And it’s very important to me.”
Do you think that MJF will get an AEW Championship match at All Out on September 5th? Let us know in the comments
