Big E recently addressed the #SpeakingOut movement during an interview with The Sports Bubble. According to the member of New Day, he was not surprised about the allegations that surfaced from the movement.
“Sadly enough I wasn’t surprised,” Big E said about the allegations that came out as part of #SpeakingOut. “You hear some whispers.”
“There wasn’t anything specific that I was aware of but it really saddened and disgusted me to see how prevalent this was,” he continued.
Big E then mentioned he is friends with one of the creators of the movement.
“A friend of mine actually was the one who started this all. Victoria, she was brave enough to tell her story about David Starr. This all came out and then she embolden a lot of women and even men to come out and talk about some of the things they’ve experienced, the way they were victimized in this industry.”
Big E then continued to say that too often men are willing to shrug their shoulders at such accusations or not believe the accuser.
“Our industry can no longer tolerate what’s gone on. We can no longer tolerate rape, we can no longer tolerate sexual harassment, we can no longer shrug our shoulders at the way women have been victimized in our industry.”
Big E continued to talk about hoping the industry can be cleaned up. He also said he hopes those who committed offenses are gone from the business.
Tony Khan is said to have been interested in building a wrestling promotion with CM Punk long before he began working with the Elite. It never materialized, however, and neither did a deal to bring Punk to AEW once the promotion had been created.
On a recent episode of his podcast, Konnan addressed the reason CM Punk didn’t join AEW.
“I do remember when I was negotiating with AEW and they were telling me about him, they were telling me that he was asking for like (an) astronomical amount of money,” Konnan said on the show. “They really wanted to work with him but…”
“I’m sure if they wanted to do something with him and Jericho or him and Cody, I’m sure they could,” Konnan continued. “Like I said, from what they told me, he was just asking for way too much. And this is a company that is willing to spend, so who knows what he was asking for?”
Did the UFC and WWE Backstage Hurt CM Punk’s Potential Drawing Power in Wrestling?
Disco Inferno and others on the podcast felt that Punk’s drawing power has decreased recently. They noted that he did not draw big ratings for WWE Backstage. They also noted that his drawing power in wrestling was hurt by his 2 fights in the UFC. Konnan disagreed with this sentiment, however.
“I don’t think that he’s damaged irreparably,” Konnan said. “I think if he was in a real good storyline and the type of promos he can cut, people would get behind it but I don’t think that joining AEW right now is going to mean anything. Timing is a lot of everything.”
Kenny Omega is currently 1/2 of the AEW Tag Team Champions along with Hangman Page. He recently spoke to the entertainment website the Natural Aristocrat about a variety of subjects including the pressure he feels after having had matches rated 6-stars and over.
“Yeah, I mean it’s a double-edged sword really because when you set that standard, that precedent that you can have a six-star match… For some people, there’s an expectation that ‘Oh, if I see Kenny Omega, this is what I expect and hope to see!’” Omega said during the interview.
Omega then commented that what is a 6-star match to one person isn’t necessarily a 6-star match to someone else. He wants to diversify the type of matches he can have to appeal to the widest range of audience possible.
“What I’m trying to do is just diversify my resume, I never want to have to give what in one person’s mind is a 6-star match. That 6-star match to him isn’t necessarily what I think is a 6-star match. It isn’t necessarily what my neighbor that was beside me thinks is a 6-star match. It’s not what little Jimmy who lives across the world and generally likes watching Sailor Moon, maybe he doesn’t consider that a 6-star match,” Omega continued.
Omega and Hangman Page have been AEW tag champs since winning the belts from SCU aboard the Jericho cruise in January. They have defended the titles successfully 6x already. They’ve defeated SCU, the Lucha Bros, the Young Bucks, Kip Sabian & Jimmy Havoc, the Natural Nightmares, and the Best Friends. This Wednesday on Dynamite, they are scheduled to face Private Party.
The full interview with Kenny Omega can be read here.
AEW has announced the matches for Dark this week and Brian Pillman Jr. is on the card. He is scheduled to face Shawn Spears who will have Tully Blanchard in his corner. Spears recently began using a loaded glove in his matches as well, so Pillman may need to be wary of this.
Pillman is signed to MLW but the two promotions appear to have a working relationship that allows talent to work for both companies. Maxwell Jacob Friedman wrestled for both promotions for months prior to going to AEW full-time in early 2020. In fact, Pillman’s Hart Foundation and MJF’s Dynasty stable had quite the rivalry in MLW.
This will not be Pillman’s first match for the promotion, however. The 26-year-old was an entrant in the 21-person Casino Battle Royale at Double or Nothing in 2019.
Months of preparation behind me and I will finally make my debut for All Elite Wrestling! This is quite literally the BIGGEST opportunity of my life and I hope that everyone tunes in to see what I've been cooking up ??? #AEWDark#PillmanDebuthttps://t.co/CN9sXTevT3
AEW Star Brian Cage recently appeared on the official All Elite podcast, AEW Unrestricted. The former IMPACT and Lucha Underground star would discuss a number of topics on the podcast, including why he opted to leave IMPACT and head to Wednesday nights on TNT.
“Well, you know, there was multiple factors as to why I came here” Brian Cage began. “Personally, I was more excited to come here than anywhere else. That wasn’t the be all end all, but this is where I wanted to come.”
Brian Cage on Leaving IMPACT
Brian Cage would elaborate further, saying “secondly? I felt like for me to break through the barriers that like I’ve kind of been capped out with? Especially as far as the reach that I’ve had? That helped here.” Cage would of course be referring to the greater audience that AEW has in television viewership compared to IMPACT.
“Most importantly? This place [AEW] had the most amount of…not only unique or awesome matches that I wanted? But so many would be first time ever” Brian Cage would continue. “Almost everywhere elsewhere there was a lot of repeats; which isn’t a bad thing, but there’s just so many matches I wanted that I haven’t ever had that I like the idea of. That is of course artistically speaking. I’m like ‘well I feel like this would be the most fun place to go.'”
Brian Cage is set to face Jon Moxley for the AEW Championship on July 15th at the Fight For The Fallen event. The match was originally scheduled for Fyter Fest but was postponed due to concerns surrounding Moxley and potential COVID-19 exposure.
Who do you want to see Brian Cage face in AEW? Let us know in the comments
Bully Ray is no longer with Ring of Honor. The news first came out yesterday that Bully’s contract with the promotion had not been renewed. It was first reported by the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. The report also stated that ROH is not offering new deals at the moment. Some in ROH disputed the report that ROH was not offering new deals, however.
ROH commentator, Ian Riccaboni, noted on Twitter that this was not the case. He released a lengthy series of Tweets regarding this.
“People out here saying ROH isn’t offering contracts. How do you think the most frugal man in wrestling, me, could afford a MOC LJN Macho Man? I’m not saying bang down the door for a contract because ROH can’t sign *everyone* but I’m tired of this rumor being out there,” Riccaboni Tweeted.
The 90-day no-compete clauses from the WWE wrestlers released on April 15th is likely up on July 14th or 15th, 2020. Riccaboni’s series of Tweets made reference to 7/18, which is the date of Impact Wrestling’s Slammiversary PPV.
Update On Bully Ray’s Departure From ROH
PW Insider has since reported that Bully’s contract with the promotion expired on April 1st. He had been planned to end his time with the company at the Supercard of Honor show WrestleMania weekend until the pandemic hit. The report states that ROH and Bully have a good relationship but each came to the “realization that he had done all he could do there.”
Former legendary deathmatch wrestler Necro Butcher announced on Facebook recently that he has been diagnosed with Stage 3 Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. The 46-year-old retired in 2016 but returned in 2019. He made his return at GCW’s Joey Janela Spring Break 3 in April of 2019. Butcher did a few shows in Japan last December as well.
“Finally got that elusive diagnosis, stage 3 Hodgkins, it was taking forever, multiple biopsies and procedures, I might be that happiest guy ever to hear he has cancer,” he wrote on his Facebook page.
He is scheduled to receive between 6-8 cycles of chemotherapy as treatment. Butcher is the father of 6 children.
Necro Butcher in Wrestling
Butcher was voted “Best Brawler” by the readers of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter in 2008 and in 2009. He has held titles for numerous promotions including CZW, where is a former Ultraviolent Underground Champion, tag champion, and won the tournament of Death in 2005. In JCW, the promotion run by the Insane Clown Posse, Butcher is a former heavyweight and tag-team champion along with Mad Man Pondo.
We wish the legendary deathmatch wrestler the best as he undergoes treatment. Necro Butcher vs Low-Ki from IWA-MidSouth can be seen in the player below:
When Cody Rhodes left WWE in 2016, he began simply being called “Cody.” This was due to WWE owning the trademark to his name. In April, Cody attempted to trademark the name after WWE let it expire. To some, it seemed as though WWE was finally taking the higher road and allowing the 35-year-old use of the Rhodes name his family has become so associated with. Evidently, that was not the case. WWE re-filed for the trademark in May and stated that the impacts of the pandemic are what caused their delay in renewing.
Cody commented on WWE’s trademarking of his name recently on Twitter. According to Cody, he holds no grudge against the company for doing so.
“It’s not as sultry/scandalous as reported. It’s just business. They’ve seen the same data we have, and they know they can make big money off the brand(even though it’s not in their house). Trying to license me is flattering, but it doesn’t stop this train from moving. No grudge,” Cody Tweeted.
It’s not as sultry/scandalous as reported. It’s just business. They’ve seen the same data we have, and they know they can make big money off the brand(even though it’s not in their house). Trying to license me is flattering, but it doesn’t stop this train from moving. No grudge. https://t.co/7pkPtU1Cry
Cody also commented recently on WWE using the “Great American Bash” name in NXT.
“The marketing of the event reminds me a lot of what Disney currently does. If you go to Disney World, they still sell Haunted Mansion shirts and they’re all done retro-style. They market nostalgia.”
Following the New Japan Cup 2020 Semifinals which took place yesterday, New Japan Pro-Wrestling has revealed matches to take place on their next major events. The New Japan Cup winner will be crowned at the tournament final on July 11th. The next day, Dominion 2020 in Osaka-jo Hall, traditionally one of NJPW’s biggest events of the year, will take place. Notably, these two events will be the first NJPW events since late February to take place in front of a live audience, albeit with reduced capacities to accommodate social distancing between attendees.
WWE SmackDown aired from the Performance Center in Orlando. AJ Styles defended his Intercontinental Championship against Drew Gulak tonight on the show. It was announced that New Day will defend the SmackDown Tag Team Championships against Nakamura & Cesaro next week.
AJ Styles def. Drew Gulak to retain the Intercontinental Championship
Bayley def. Alexa Bliss via DQ
Shinsuke Nakamura def. Kofi Kingston
Here are 4 takeaways from this week’s show:
Matt Riddle Defeated John Morrison In A Great Match
Michael Cole interviewed Matt Riddle to open up this week’s SmackDown. Riddle stated that to be on SmackDown is a “lovechild of a lot of work and a lot of dreams, bro”. Matt said that he likes AJ Styles and respects him but after beating him he is pretty sure Styles doesn’t like him. Cole brought up Riddle wrestling in his bare feet and Matt said it was a long story. Riddle stated that his family took him on vacation in Wisconsin and he got frostbite on his feet.
Matt added that the doctors almost amputated his toes and because of that he never wears shoes. King Corbin interrupted and told Matt that nobody is happy that he is here. Corbin vowed to make Riddle pay for second he is out here. Riddle said “you do you, bro” and challenged Corbin to a match. King Corbin declined and said that Riddle is wrestling John Morrison tonight. King Corbin joined commentary for the match.
Match Recap: Morrison controlled the action early and connected with a springboard Corkscrew Crossbody for a near fall. The crowd got behind Riddle as Morrison applied a Headlock. John hit Riddle with two knees to the face and went for the cover but Matt kicked out at two. Morrison poked Riddle in the eye but Matt battled back with a Fisherman’s Suplex. Morrison and Riddle hit a headbutt at the same time both superstars fell to the floor. Riddle launched his flip flop in Corbin’s face as SmackDown went to a commercial break.
When SmackDown returned, Matt hit the Bro to Sleep and followed it up with a German Suplex for a near fall. Riddle climbed to the top rope and went for the Floating Bro but John got his knees up. Riddle locked in the Bromission but Morrison escaped. Riddle and Morrison battled on the second turnbuckle and John slammed Matt to the canvas. John followed it up with a Standing Spanish Fly for another two count. Riddle hit the Ripcord Knee and followed it up with a Powerbomb for a near fall. Matt then rolled up Morrison for the victory.
After the match, AJ Styles attacked Riddle while he was posing on the entrance ramp. Drew Gulak quickly made the save before the brawl was broken up by WWE officials.
Opinion: I’m not sure Matt Riddle’s feet needed a backstory but I guess this satisfied those who wanted to know why he wasn’t wearing shoes. Riddle and Morrison put on a excellent match tonight and I’m positive it will be much better than the eventual bout between Riddle and Corbin.
AJ Styles Retained The Intercontinental Championship
AJ Styles defended his Intercontinental Championship against Drew Gulak tonight.
Match Recap: AJ dominated early and beat Gulak down in the corner of the ring. The crowd got behind Gulak and started banging on the plexiglass. Daniel Bryan joined commentary through Zoom and essentially stated that Gulak was looking good in the match. Corey Graves asked Bryan if Styles had any holes in his game and Bryan said that he didn’t think so.
Styles focused his attack on Gulak’s knee before Drew locked in a submission hold. AJ escaped out of the ring and banged on the plexiglass out of frustration. Gulak leveled Styles with a Dropkick through the ropes as SmackDown went to a commercial break. When SmackDown returned, Styles was back in control as Bryan stated that Drew was more technically sound than him and he wants to learn from him.
AJ controlled the next several minutes as Bryan said that he wasn’t losing hope for Gulak in the match. Gulak battled back with three Dropkicks in a row and a Body Slam for a near fall. AJ battled back with a Powerbomb and followed it up with a Styles Clash. Styles didn’t go for the cover and made his way to the apron. AJ connected with the Phenomenal Forearm for the pinfall victory. AJ Styles is still the Intercontinental Champion.
Opinion: Styles and Gulak put on a solid match tonight. Bryan’s pre-recorded Zoom call segments were useless and hopefully they don’t try that again. It was obvious that he wasn’t actually watching the match at that moment and it didn’t work at all.
Women’s Tag Team Champions Bayley and Sasha Banks came down to the ring and boasted about being on all three shows. Bayley claimed that The Undertaker called her and said that he is embarrassed about all the tributes he has been getting when she is clearly the best champion WWE history. Bayley stated that The Undertaker told her that he cannot wait for them both to win at Extreme Rules to hold all the gold in WWE. She claimed that The Undertaker wanted WWE to have a tribute for them and they agreed.
Sasha Banks claimed that Bayley was better than Trish Stratus, John Cena, and Lita during the tribute to themselves. Banks started to chant a “thank you Bayley!” chant before Bayley started a “thank you Sasha!” chant. Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross interrupted and said that they didn’t want to be left out so they prepared a list of their own accomplishments. Bliss said that Nikki was 325th in line to the thrown of England and Nikki stated that Bliss was the first woman to drive across Antarctica in a go kart.
Alexa and Cross got into the ring and told Banks & Bayley that they sounded ridiculous. Cross told Bayley that she got here because of her heart and that she puts everything she has into this she can take the SmackDown Women’s Championship. Bayley laughed and Bliss slapped her in the face. Sasha Banks then announced a match between Bliss and Bayley.
Match Recap: Alexa controlled the match early and slapped Bayley in the corner of the ring. Alexa connected with Double Knees to Bayley’s ribs for a two count. The SmackDown Women’s Champion battled back and sent Alexa to the ring apron. Bliss tripped Bayley up and got distracted by Banks. Baley capitalized and stomped on Alexa’s hand several times and Banks mocked Bliss’ pose. Bayley hit Bliss with an elbow in the corner of the ring and continued to go after Alexa’s hand.
Bliss battled back with a punch but grabbed her hand in agony. Bayley brought Alexa to the apron and slammed her hand once again. Bayley connected with a Bulldog and went for the cover but Bliss kicked out at two. Banks hit Alexa with a cheap shot. Nikki got pissed off and leveled Banks with a Clothesline. Cross then attacked Bayley in front of the official and the match ended in a DQ. Banks and Bayley then retreated out of the ring.
Opinion: Bayley’s Undertaker impression was hilariously terrible and I thought their tribute to themselves was very entertaining. I think Bayley and Banks have become the best thing going in WWE right now. I can tell you that right now I’m more invested in Banks versus Asuka, and Bayley versus Cross at Extreme Rules than I am Ziggler versus McIntyre for the WWE Championship. I enjoyed how Sasha Banks finally put Bayley in a match that she wanted no part of after Bayley had done that to her for weeks.
Sheamus held a toast for Jeff Hardy at the conclusion of this week’s SmackDown. Jeff Hardy came down to the ring first and demanded that Sheamus join him. Sheamus showed up on the screen from the bar in his house and told Jeff it must have felt great to honor The Undertaker last week on SmackDown.
Sheamus claimed that Hardy is looking for a quick fix and that Jeff has a problem facing reality. Sheamus boasted about beating Jeff at Backlash and said that it was pathetic that Hardy thinks everything is right again after he beat King Corbin. He added that the solution to Jeff’s problems was in one of the bottles and joked about Hardy’s addiction issues.
Jeff Hardy wondered if Sheamus really thought it was funny to joke about all the pain he has caused his family with his alcohol addiction. Sheamus’ personal bartender entered the ring and Sheamus told Jeff to take a drink. Hardy grabbed the glass of champagne and brought it to his lips. Jeff then poured the drink on the bartender’s head and broke the glass over his face. Hardy climbed to the top rope and hit the bartender with a Swanton Bomb to close the show.
Opinion: I thought this was going to be a much better segment since it closed the show, but this fell flat for me. This storyline started off with an interesting hit & run angle and has devolved into piss throwing and now Sheamus daring Jeff to take a drink. Overall, I still really enjoyed this week’s show. Every match delivered tonight and that makes it even more puzzling why this was the final segment of the show.
Taz took exception to a fan making the comment that WWE saved his in-ring career.
The ECW Original got fans talking earlier this week when he knocked WWE while doing a promo during Wednesday’s Fyter Fest edition of AEW Dynamite to further hype the scheduled match between Brian Cage and AEW World Heavyweight Champion Jon Moxley.
It’s been reported that people in WWE were upset with the line. Of course, Taz accused WWE of running a “sloppy shop” which was a reference to their COVID-19 testing and outbreak.
A fan wrote on Twitter, “I agree to a point. #TAZ might be correct but IMO it’s an unnecessary jab to a company that saved his career after wrestling & prepared him in a career of announcing. If Taz never had the opportunity to announce he may never of had his podcast & other gigs over the years.”
Taz saw the message from the fan and dismissed the idea. While he appreciates what WWE did for him, he’s under the belief that it helped both sides. He replied:
“Saved my career??? Lmao, NO! They gave me opportunity (which I appreciated & accepted) but you NEED to understand…that’s a 2 way street. I was supplying them with a need & providing my services. They did that to capitalize on $ invest in me & they NEEDED a new fresh voice.”
Moxley is slated to defend the title against Cage on the July 15th edition of Dynamite that’s being hyped as Fight For The Fallen.
Big Show chatted with Connor Casey of ComicBook.com for a new interview where he spoke about the impact on WWE due to the coronavirus.
The virus has caused various changes for the company. Most notably, WWE had to move down to Orlando, Florida to hold shows at its Performance Center to hold shows in front of no fans.
For months after the outbreak in the United States, WWE stars had to work in front of no crowd. This was the way that WWE presented its weekly television shows until recently.
According to the former WWE Champion, younger WWE stars are actually getting the opportunity to really isolate and work on their craft.
“There’s a lot of things you can hide in a match when you have, 10,000, 20,000, 100,000 people in the audience. You can hide a lot of things when it’s a situation that we have now with no live audience.
Everything is exposed between the execution of your psychology, the execution of your moves. There isn’t any shortcuts that you can take. I think in the long run, this is going to be, I think it was difficult at first that I can personally see since this pandemic started how much better the matches are getting all the way around.”
Big Show continued by noting how he thinks it’s going to be a good thing and once WWE gets over this hiccup, and starts to get in front of live crowds again, he thinks the talent is really going to appreciate that live crowd. He also thinks they’ll be able to use it better to their advantage.
The latest on what WWE has planned for the Swamp Fight between Bray Wyatt and WWE Universal Champion Braun Strowman has surfaced.
Of course, Strowman is not putting the Universal Title against Wyatt at WWE’s next pay-per-view event, Extreme Rules.
Wrestling Inc reports that the match will be filmed next week although there’s no word yet on the location. WWE has also brought in stunt coordinator Ellis Edwards to help out with the stunts in the match, which is said to be several, but not all stunts will be big, in addition, to explain how everything should happen in a safe manner.
WWE came up with the idea of “Three Faces Of Wyatt” for this feud. Firefly Funhouse Wyatt has lost to Strowman and there’s a belief that Wyatt could win at Extreme Rules due to it being a non-title match.
With each star holding a win over each other it would lead to a third and final match that could take place at SummerSlam for the Universal Championship. If this third match is booked then Wyatt would portray “The Fiend.”
WWE presents the Extreme Rules pay-per-view event on Sunday, July 19, 2020 in Orlando, Florida at the WWE Performance Center that will air on the WWE Network.
WWE is slated to air its night 2 episode of NXT Great American Bash next week. The company taped the show on Thursday, but due to one developmental talent, a major result got leaked.
Keith Lee and Adam Cole will be competing for both the NXT North American and World Titles in a Winner Takes All Match on the show that is likely to be the main event.
For whatever reason, one half of Indus Sher, Saurav Gurjar, decided to share a photo of the winner. We won’t spoil it here, but for those who haven’t seen it, click here.
Bryan Alvarez noted on the latest episode of the Bryan and Vinny Show that company officials within WWE are “furious” about the leak and this was purely a mistake on the part of Gurjar.
WWE NXT Great American Bash – Night 2
WWE has confirmed four bouts for the card. Here is the updated lineup:
North American Champion Keith Lee vs. NXT Champion Adam Cole – Winner Takes All match
Santos Escobar, Raul Mendoza, Joaquin Wilde vs. Drake Maverick and Breezango – Six-Man Tag Team Match
Bully Ray’s contract with Ring of Honor has reportedly expired. He was not offered a new deal with the promotion owing to the fact the company is not offering new deals at the moment. According to a report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, ROH is high on Bully despite not renewing his contract.
“Bully Ray’s contract expired and he wasn’t given an offer for a new deal because ROH isn’t offering people new deals right now,” wrote Dave Meltzer. Bully signed with ROH in 2017.
“Nobody whose deals are up are getting new offers right now,” Meltzer continued.
At one point, Bully Ray was heading up the Women of Honor division. According to a report from Squared Circle Sirens, however, he was replaced in the role by Jonathan Gresham earlier this year.
Bully’s free agency comes at a time when Impact Wrestling is heavily teasing his former faction, Aces and Eights, could be returning to the promotion. While the leader of the faction, Bully had arguably his highest-profile single’s run as TNA World Champion in 2013.
Don Callis also heavily teased a former big-name from ECW who wasn’t originally thought to be available is on their way to the promotion.
“So, Jimmy, you might want to bring your autograph book because I just got the scoop. Someone who we didn’t even think was available might be coming, I’m just saying,” Callis said on a recent Impact post-show stream. “I’ll say this, I learned a lot from him, Jimmy, I learned a lot from him from 99 to 2001, do your homework, everyone. All you internet people out there, you figure out, who am I talking about? Who’s undergone some changes recently?”
Shayna Baszler spent 549 days as NXT Women’s Champion split across two title reigns. She was the first to win the title a second time and holds the record for most combined days as champion. Baszler then debuted on the main roster and was pitted against Becky Lynch at WrestleMania.
The future looked bright for Baszler on the main roster but as of this writing, she hasn’t wrestled for WWE since May 12th. Her last match was a victory over Natalya in a submissions match on RAW.
According to a report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the reason Baszler is no longer on television is that Vince doesn’t get her character.
“Vince also soured on Baszler completely because he never conceptually grasped the style that an MMA fighter should use in pro wrestling and she doesn’t check his buttons when it comes to women in wrestling,” wrote Dave Meltzer.
The report also stated that Baszler had been scheduled to win the women’s Money In The Bank match before Vince scrapped the idea. He then decided to remove Baszler from television altogether. This was done before Paul Heyman was removed from his role on the creative team.
The 34-year-old Baszler debuted for WWE in the 2017 Mae Young Classic. In addition to her pro-wrestling career, Baszler has a 15-11 MMA record.
IMPACT Wrestling have reportedly looked to the free agency market to bolster their roster over the coming weeks.
Fightful recently reported that the AXS TV hosted brand are specifically looking at recently released WWE talents. With former NXT Superstar Deonna Purrazzo having already debuted there’s a chance that other released Superstars aren’t far behind.
Gallows and Anderson to IMPACT
Arguably the two biggest names, already somewhat confirmed, are Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson. The former Bullet Club and OC stablemates have teased heading to AXS TV over the last few weeks, with a return to New Japan Pro Wrestling also on the horizon for the two. There have been teases for the two on IMPACT recently, with Scott D’more stating that he was on a call to some “Good Brothers.”
As we reported recently, EC3 has sent a stark warning to the AEW roster; seemingly showing his intent to debut for the TNT hosted company in the near future. IMPACT themselves have teased the arrival of EC3 over the past month, and there’s a good chance that Ethan Carter III makes his way back to the brand that elevated him to main event status.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MieE1M_b5o
Eric Young
Another name that is being considered is Eric Young. EY was once viewed as a stalwart an ‘lifer’ at TNA/IMPACT, having been a lower to mid card level comedy act with Team Canada before rising the ranks and winning the TNA World Heavyweight Championship in 2014; defeating now NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion Nick Aldis.
There has not been any confirmation on whether Heath Slater will be heading to IMPACT in the near future. Slater’s former tag team partner Rhyno teased that he had a tag team partner who’s “got kids.” So there’s a more than good chance he’ll be coming into the fold.
There’s not much opportunity of these talents ‘moving the needle’ for IMPACT if they’re brought to AXS TV. However, all five are competent performers who have the benefit of being ‘underutilized’ by WWE over the past few years. This gives IMPACT the opportunity to really highlight the abilities of Gallows, Anderson, EC3, Young and Slater and it not feel like they’re purely taking scraps from WWE’s table.
Who would you like to see IMPACT bring into the company in the coming weeks? Let us know in the comments
The next stage in the careers of Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows appears to be set. According to a report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, not only have Anderson & Gallows reached a deal with Impact, but they’ve also reached a deal in principle with NJPW.
Both Anderson and Gallows are still technically under contract with WWE until July 15th. This means neither their deal with NJPW or Impact is official as of yet.
“In fact, they’ve already cut the New Japan deal with Gedo and Nobuyuki Sugabayashi, although it likely doesn’t go into effect until New Japan’s hiring freeze ends,” Dave Meltzer wrote. It’s not clear at this moment when NJPW will lift their hiring freeze.
Anderson and Gallows’ agreement with Impact, while not yet official, has been reported by various outlets already as a “done deal.” Impact is said to have offered the team good money and are willing to work around their NJPW dates.
On the most recent edition of Impact, Scott D’Amore was heard on the phone talking to a couple of “Good Brothers.” There have also been teases in recent weeks of the return of the Aces and Eights stable, of which Gallows was a member.
Anderson spent 8 years with NJPW from 2008 to 2016. He has won the promotion’s tag league tournament on 3 occasions with 3 different partners. In 2009 he won the G1 tag league with Giant Bernard, in 2012 he won the World Tag League with Hirooki Goto and in 2013, he won it with Gallows. Anderson and Gallows are 3x IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champions as well.
Renee Young went public with her positive COVID-19 test recently. Last week, it had been reported that Young was at one point bed-ridden with the virus but was steadily improving. According to a report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Young is doing much better.
“As of midweek, (Renee Young) still felt funny and her chest felt heavy but overall felt a lot better,” wrote Dave Meltzer.
Also according to the report, WWE was not happy that Young opted to go public with her diagnosis.
“It is known that they were not happy at all that Young posted what she did,” Meltzer continued.
Adam Pearce, Kayla Braxton, and Jamie Noble all went public with their positive COVID-19 tests as well.
Due to Young’s positive COVID-19 test, her husband, AEW World Champion Jon Moxley, missed the AEW tapings for Fyter Fest. As a result, his match with Brian Cage has been pushed back to July 15th. This fact was brought up during a segment from Wednesday’s episode of Dynamite by Taz. During a promo to hype up Cage vs Moxley, Taz said that AEW doesn’t run a “sloppy shop” which many took as a shot at WWE’s COVID-19 policies.
Kairi Sane has not wrestled since taking a nasty bump into the steel steps during a match taped on May 26th, 2020. Sane was thrown into the steps by Nia Jax during the bout, which aired on the June 1st episode of RAW. According to a report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Sane is headed back to Japan and there had been plans in place to do a career-ending angle with her before she left.
“Sane, 31, is returning to Japan to be with her husband. This has been in the works for a while and the company has known about it since May if not earlier,” wrote Dave Meltzer.
The report continues to say that had Sane not been injured in the match against Nia, the idea was to do a career-ending injury angle. This could have possibly involved Charlotte Flair, Shayna Baszler, or another wrestler injuring Sane before then facing Asuka at SummerSlam.
A report was also released by Fightful recently, stating that Sane’s situation with WWE is complicated. At one point, she had been talked about for an ambassador role with NXT Japan. Plans to start a developmental territory in the country have since been scrapped due to the ongoing pandemic, however.
“While there’s been no talk about it of late, there had been talk that once her contract with WWE was up that she would wrestle one more year in Japan and then retire,” Meltzer continued.
Mickie James has confirmed she has been medically cleared to return to in-ring action. James has been away from the ring since tearing her ACL. She received surgery last July at the Andrews Sports Medicine and Orthopaedic Center in Birmingham, Alabama. It was projected she would be rehabbing and recuperating for anywhere from 7 to 9 months.
Speaking with Chris Van Vliet, Mickie James revealed she had been medically cleared and had been preparing to return to the squared circle. At that point, however, the coronavirus pandemic forced all initial plans to be delayed.
“The doc had already cleared me, so I was literally just getting that last two weeks to get cleared to come back to in-ring action and everything got shut down,” Mickie James explained. “So, I went home and I just haven’t been back since.”
Considering COVID-19, James noted how there’s no point in her being at the WWE Performance Center. If she isn’t being utilized, she would rather wait for a better opportunity to return and make an impact.
Regarding her future plans once she has returned to action, Mickie James is quick to share her championship aspirations. According to her, she intends to come back and “take all the championships.”
She joked how she would become her own tag team partner to claim the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships. James then added that she would also claim both the RAW and SmackDown Women’s Championships for herself.
Bobby Lashley continues to express his interest in a matchup with former WWE Champion Brock Lesnar. Joining the Table Talk podcast, Lashley argued how now is a good time for WWE to finally book a clash between the two Superstars.
Lashley admitted he hasn’t spoken directly to Vince McMahon about a match with Lesnar. He shared how at one point, he believed there were discussions about “maybe teasing it” to see what could happen. At the time, however, Lesnar was feuding with Roman Reigns with a Seth Rollins feud planned to follow.
“They already had things lined up for him. I think if anytime, it is now,” Bobby Lashley said. “Now is a really good time. I think I’ve done all the paying dues stuff that I’ve done since I’ve been back.”
Bobby Lashley explained how his character has begun to develop more into who he actually is as a person. He noted how he’s finally getting the opportunity to “beat people up.” He believes that part of this evolution is in how he no longer has to “lay down” to Superstars that are 100 pounds lighter than he is. As far as he’s concerned, lighter Superstars like that “shouldn’t really even be in the room with me, let’s put it that way.”
Bobby Lashley recently lost a WWE Championship matchup to Drew McIntyre at WWE Backlash.
SmackDown Superstar Sheamus has reflected on his recent feud with Jeff Hardy. In an interview with Corey Graves on WWE’s podcast After the Bell, Sheamus opened up about the backlash he received over their rivalry.
He noted how “a lot of people really hate me right now” before stressing how he and Hardy are both ultimately portraying characters on TV. Sheamus explained how his job relies on him being hated and that he thrives in that situation.
Sheamus conceded that although he has a unique look, when it came to his promo abilities there was a lot to improve on. He shared how during his time in The Bar with Cesaro the pressure was lessened as they shared promo time.
“When I first started, the aggression part of the ring has always been easy for me. I always felt the promos in the ring was where I wasn’t sure where I needed to be,” Sheamus confessed. “I would trip over things I have to say because I have to get this promo out exactly right. It held me back quite a bit in my career.”
The SmackDown Superstar revealed he has been enjoying working with Jeff Hardy. This is primarily because it has allowed his character to “play with words.”
Sheamus explained he enjoyed watching the reaction to his promos, especially on social media. He added how the more people hate him, the more he enjoys “sticking a knife” into Jeff Hardy to further their feud.
It appears as though former UFC Champion Conor McGregor wants to face Vince McMahon in the squared circle. The Mac Life, which is a brand owned by McGregor, posted an image of the fighter. In it, McGregor is adorned with a UFC and WWE championship belt over each shoulder. It was accompanied by the caption:
“All of the belts” Do you think we’ll ever see the McGregor billi strut in the WWE?”
The Instagram post would be later re-shared via Instagram Stories, where it tagged WWE’s Chief Brand Officer, Stephanie McMahon. In addition to the tag, it included the caption “McMahon Vs McGregor CEO Flashmatch.” It’s worth noting that McGregor announced his retirement from MMA last month.
Current WWE Champion Drew McIntyre saw McGregor’s challenge to Vince McMahon. He challenged McGregor’s decision, sarcastically calling him a “Big man” for trying to pick a fight with “ANOTHER 70 year old.”
McIntyre added, “[…] you couldn’t drop a guy in a pub, you have no chance against Vince. You’re just the latest guy thinking he can have his PR team stick my title on his shoulder & walk into our world. Stick to whiskey McTapper”
Rumors have previously circulated WWE’s reported interest in bringing Conor McGregor into the squared circle. Triple H has previously praised McGregor. He once shared how a match between McGregor and Vince McMahon would be a “match made in heaven.”
All Elite Wrestling has posted a storyline update following Jake Hager’s actions at Fyter Fest Night One. Hager competed in a losing effort for Cody Rhodes’ AEW TNT Championship. After the controversial ending, Hager attacked the referee by punching him in the face.
Furthering the storyline repercussion’s of the Inner Circle member, AEW addressed his actions via Twitter. AEW revealed that Hager has been suspended and fined for the assault. He has been suspended for 10 days, with the fine being listed as an “undisclosed amount.”
Jake Hager responded to AEW’s ruling via social media, calling it “BS.” According to Hager, Cody had been choked unconscious after he had secured his Head and Arm submission hold. Cody Rhodes managed to maneuver himself on top of Hager into a pin. Hager maintained the hold throughout. The referee, however, didn’t check on Cody and instead made a three count.
Relinquishing the submission, Hager initially believed he had won the match and TNT Championship as Cody came to. Hager believes that the referee’s decision to count the pinfall instead of registering the fact Cody Rhodes had been choked unconscious was a “blown call.” He noted the situation was made worse by AEW’s decision.
AEW Fyter Fest Night Two takes place next Wednesday night on TNT.
