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Heath Slater Returns On WWE RAW For One More Match

Andrew Ravens
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Heath Slater made one more appearance on WWE television. 

The released WWE star was featured on Monday’s episode of RAW in Orlando, Florida at the WWE Performance Center on the USA Network. He did so by being part of the opening segment as Dolph Ziggler brought Slater out to do a promo with WWE Champion Drew McIntyre.

Slater said McIntyre left him behind and that when McIntyre was released by WWE, he was for him, but when things flipped, McIntyre was not there for him. Slater wanted a match with McIntyre then proceeded to push and slap him in order for McIntyre to agree to the match. The match was booked with McIntyre beating Slater in quick fashion. They made up after the match once McIntyre saved Slater, who was being attacked by Ziggler.

Slater was just one of many wrestlers and staff who were released by WWE back in April. The reason at the time of this mass firings was due to budget cuts related to the financial impact of the coronavirus. 

For those who are wondering as to why Slater was able to appear on the show despite the fact that he was released by the company, WWE’s mentality is that talent who were released but are still being paid until their non-compete deals expire, can still be used on television. 

Slater falls into this category as he along with other talent are awaiting their non-compete deals to expire on July 15. 

Impact Wrestling has teased that Slater and Rhino could be reuniting their team under their umbrella. This comes at a time where Slammiversary takes place a few days after those released by WWE in April are legally able to sign with other promotions. 

Details On Vince McMahon Enforcing Mask Policy

Andrew Ravens
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0

Last week, it was revealed that WWE came up with a mask policy for those who will be working TV tapings. This was the latest addition to WWE’s precautionary measures that have been implemented since the COVID-19 pandemic kicked off in March. 

Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Select reports that WWE had made several moves over recent weeks such as splitting the RAW and SmackDown tapings to separate days in order to have fewer people around at the shows. The move was said to help ease the mind of some on the roster that raised concerns.

Regarding the mask policy, apparently, it all started when a returning RAW star was said to have approached Vince McMahon shortly after his arrival last week for the TV tapings. 

Per the report, the wrestler was said to have expressed his concerns about proper measures not being taken seriously enough to the WWE Chairman and CEO. These concerns included mask utilization and social distancing.

Sapp wrote, “This led to McMahon adding the rule that masks are mandatory and failure to comply will result in a fine.”

As to why McMahon hadn’t already instituted the changes, a wrestler told him that McMahon is usually in his office at the Performance Center during the majority of the taping days.

Thus, he doesn’t typically see whether or not the practices are put in play. It was added that McMahon does appear at Gorilla Position, as well.

WWE Star Shares Cryptic Message

Andrew Ravens
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Liv Morgan got WWE fans talking after taking to her official Twitter account where she made an interesting message. 

The cryptic tweet appears to be teasing an upcoming reveal of some sort as she noted the date October 14, 2019 and said all will be revealed soon. Check it out here: 

What we do know is the date, which marks when Morgan was brought back to television as a member of the RAW roster in the 2019 WWE Draft. She was the final overall pick.

Prior to this move, she had been a member of the SmackDown roster. This came after being sent there as part of the 2019 Superstar Shake-up on April 16. 

Once being moved to the RAW brand in October of last year, WWE officials decided to keep her off of television before airing vignettes for her return. 

Morgan ended up making her return to WWE television in December by crashing the wedding of Lana and Bobby Lashley. This led to a brief feud between Lana and Morgan but Morgan hadn’t been used on a regular basis after it. As of late, she had recent storylines with Natalya and former tag team partner Ruby Riott. 

In fact, WWE has teased a potential reunion of The Riott Squad although Sarah Logan is not only no longer until contract with the company but recently announced that she was pregnant with her first child with her husband, WWE star Erik. 

 WWE Star Posts Cryptic Mental Hospital Video 

CM Punk Reacts To Cody Rhodes’ Open Challenge Question, Tony Khan Chimes In

Andrew Ravens
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0

CM Punk noticed a tweet from AEW TNT Champion Cody Rhodes so he decided to respond to it.

It happened on Monday afternoon when Rhodes asked fans about who they would like to see answer his next open challenge. 

This led to Punk reacting to it in a joking way by bringing up people like former WWE star Domino with valet Cherry, “Fearless” Jack Bull, former HWA star Dean Visk, and former ECW wrestler New Jack.

AEW President Tony Khan then commented on Punk’s response by recalling how he witnessed Punk work a house show that also featured Deuce & Domino. He wrote the following: 

“Duly noted. Fun facts: I saw you on a house show in Champaign on Super Bowl Sunday 13.5 years ago with Domino and Cherry (and Deuce). Also, New Jack was really really nice to me when I was a 13 year old kid visiting Philadelphia. My dad loved New Jack.

Punk finds himself on the sidelines in the pro wrestling business as FOX Sports decided to cancel WWE Backstage, which Punk had been working on as a part-time analyst.

As of this writing, there’s been no reports about any interest from WWE about bringing him back. 

More WWE Personnel Test Positive For COVID-19

Andrew Ravens
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Following the latest round of COVID-19 testing, more people in WWE have tested positive for the coronavirus.

Pro Wrestling Sheet reported the news on Monday about those who were at the Performance Center last week during the most recent round of testing before TV tapings. 

Since WWE started doing COVID-19 testing, there have been at least 30 people in total who’ve tested positive for the virus over the past three weeks. It should be noted that these numbers include behind the scenes workers and in-ring talent.

Per the report, the company has administered nearly 1,500 tests since doing the testing at TV tapings at the end of June.

So far only Renee Young, Jamie Noble, Kayla Braxton, and Adam Pearce have all confirmed that they tested positive through social media. 

Just last month, WWE noted in a statement that they will “continue COVID-19 testing of its talent, production crew, and employees in advance of TV productions for the foreseeable future.”

It was reported last week that the company instituted an official face mask policy at tapings. This policy comes with a penalty for those who don’t follow along. People who do not wear a mask will be fined $500 for the first violation and $1,000 for each thereafter.

Jim Ross Talks Bret Hart Renegotiating With WWE In 96

Chris Stephens
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When Bret Hart re-signed with WWE in 1996, it seemed as though he would spend the rest of his career with the company. Vince McMahon would famously ask to be let out of the deal the following year, however. What this ultimately led to was the infamous Montreal Screwjob and Bret’s departure to WCW.

Jim Ross recently spent some time on his “Grillin Jr” podcast talking about Bret Hart’s career in 1996. During the discussion, he spoke about the 20-year deal Bret signed with Vince in 1996.

“It was a very creative offer,” JR said. “Nothing like that offer had ever been made prior to and I’m not so sure anything has been made since of that nature. You don’t offer a pro-wrestler a 20-year contract, it’s not feasible.”

“As far as Bret getting a deal, getting that deal, first of all, not very many people knew what the deal was, only a few of us. But I had no issues with it because if Vince believed that was financially going to be feasible to do, then he would know that better anybody else.”

“Those in the inner circle there at that time were happy that we were keeping Bret. You don’t want to lose Bret. I don’t think the Patriots wanted to lose Tom Brady.”

JR then addressed if he thought Vince McMahon felt pressure to re-sign Bret.

“Yeah, of course. He would not have broken the mold and created a new financial package and presentation,” JR said. “If WCW wasn’t in the picture and offering massive money it wouldn’t have motivated Vince to try to get in that game. So yeah, I’m sure he was uncomfortable with that situation.”

JR’s comments can be heard in the player below:

Arn Anderson Comments On Working With David Flair

Chris Stephens
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Arn Anderson’s in-ring career ended in 1997 due to significant neck and upper back injuries. He actually participated in two wrestling matches in the year 2000, however. Both matches took place on Thunder.

Anderson was defeated by David Flair on the May 9th, 2000 episode of Thunder. He then teamed with Ric Flair and defeated Crowbar and David Flair on the next week’s episode. Anderson wasn’t cleared to compete and had limited physical involvement in the matches.

On a recent episode of the Arn Show, Double-A spoke about working the matches.

“I told them ‘guys, I should warn you, I haven’t been cleared and I won’t get cleared because I already tried to get cleared once before,'” Anderson said on the show.

“Whoever it was I just said ‘I’ll do whatever I can to help David,'” Anderson continued.

He then spoke about a rather reckless moment that happened in one of the matches.

“Here’s the crazy thing. They had a gimmick, they had a vase or something but they hit me right on the scar with it. Now, I know that was to get sympathy but it seemed kind of reckless afterwards, you know? Why would you hit me anywhere lower than that?”

He continued to mention that he was fine after the spot.

Arn Anderson On David Flair

Double-A and Conrad Thompson continued to talk about David Flair. They concluded that David should have been trained beforehand but that WCW was simply throwing everything against the wall at this point.

“This was a time when there was a mad scramble on and I got a feeling that David was caught up in that mad scramble,” Anderson continued.

Anderson’s comments can be heard in the player below:

Released WWE Star Reportedly To Appear On RAW Tonight

Chris Stephens
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0

One of the many Superstars WWE released in April is reportedly going to be on tonight’s episode of RAW. According to a report from PW Insider, Heath Slater will be on tonight’s show. Slater is still technically under contract with WWE.

The names WWE released in April are all to be paid for 90-days following their release. Slater is believed to be under WWE contract then until July 15th, 2020. Slater is rumored to be one of the many names headed to Impact Wrestling for their Slammiversary show on July 18th, 2020.

Is Heath Slater Going To Impact Wrestling?

On a recent episode of Impact Wrestling, the promotion teased that Slater and Rhino could be reuniting their team under their umbrella. Rohit Raju told Rhino backstage during a segment that he should be treating him like a tag-team partner and Rhino responded that he has a partner already and his partner “has kids.”

“I know that by July 18, I’m gonna have to start making some moves and get my name out there again. I can do whatever I want then. I’m hanging in there until then and just working on myself – mentally and physically and all that good stuff,” said on the WINCLY podcast.

Eric Bischoff On Dusty Rhodes’ Commentary Work

Chris Stephens
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0

One of the highlights of WCW PPVs used to be that Dusty Rhodes would provide commentary. In a time before podcasts, a WCW PPV used to be a great way to hear someone like Dusty Rhodes talk about wrestling for 3 hours.

Eric Bischoff recently discussed Dusty Rhodes’ commentary work on an episode of the 83 Weeks podcast. Bischoff and Conrad Thompson were discussing the Great American Bash from 1996 during the episode.

“I laughed my ass off during this show listening to (Dusty’s) commentary,” Bischoff said. “He was so entertaining but he was entertaining in a way that added to the quality of what was going on.”

“To hear Dusty Rhodes in his commentary, it made me miss Dusty even more,” Bischoff continued. “I said to myself that old saying ‘you don’t know what you have until it’s gone.’ Dusty Rhodes here in this PPV is the personification of that saying.”

Bischoff continued to praise Tony Schiavone and Mike Tenay as well.

“Nobody has been consistently as good as Tony Schiavone as long as he has that I can think of.”

Bischoff’s comments can be heard in the player below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awGjtOsZW48

Vince Russo Comments on #SpeakingOut Movement

Jake Skudder
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Former WWE and WCW head writer Vince Russo recently discussed the #SpeakingOut movement and in particular the ‘Bra and Panties’ matches that he frequently gets marked with creating.

“I noticed Alexa Bliss made a comment about Bra and Panty matches, something to the effect of, she ‘respects the women but she wouldn’t do those matches’ or something like that, Russo began on The Brand.

Vince Russo on Gail Kim

“Gail Kim had a comment about how that was traumatic for her and that she had to do a bra and panties match; and she never felt like she could say no. First of all, I love Gail Kim. And, you know, the I’ve talked about this a lot, the mentality of talent thinking that they can’t say no? I just want to say bro, when I was writing? Anybody could have said no, and people did say no.”

Vince Russo would then go on to describe situations where talent did come to him with concerns. “I can remember specific angles that some people were uncomfortable with, and when they expressed that to me? We would ixnay those angles. There’s this mentality in wrestling, and you know bro? Maybe this holds true with Vince McMahon and other people? But there’s this mentality in wrestling if you don’t do what they say, you know, then it’s gonna be held against you.”

Not on His Dime…

The former WWE writer would continue, saying “your career is over and maybe that’s so. But that never happened on my dime. So you know, something very interesting happened. I said to myself ‘okay bro. Now, is this how they’re going to speak out on Vince Russo?’ [using the Bra and Panties match as a weapon against him] But they have to look at the facts.”

Russo would go on to say that he never booked a Bra and Panties match himself, that the ‘Tuxedo Match’ concept was what he copied for certain WCW angles. Therefore the matches he put together were never ‘sexual’ in nature. Vince Russo would make it abundantly clear that he never asked anyone to take part in an angle they were uncomfortable with.

Also Check Out:

Bully Ray Says NXT Great American Bash Match is What “Pro Wrestling Is Meant To Be”

Jake Skudder
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0

WWE Hall of Famer and co-host of SiriusXM’s Busted Open Radio Bully Ray recently discussed the NXT Great American Bash show on USA Network. One of the standout bouts on the card was between Timothy Thatcher and Oney Lorcan, which Bully Ray had huge praise for.

“I’m watching Timothy Thatcher and Oney Lorcan. I’m like, ‘man, this is really good'” Bully Ray began on the show. “This is what it was meant to be back in the day; a spirited contest, a fight, aggression, everything looks tight and snug and everything means something.”

Bully Ray on Lorcan vs Thatcher

Bully Ray continued, saying “they blew me away with something that they did last night that nobody else does. They made something so small and normally thrown away in wrestling matches, and they made it mean something. It was something so small that normally we take for granted in wrestling matches, and we don’t even care about anymore because they really don’t mean anything.”

Ray would then elaborate on the point, saying “it’s chops. When they were chopping each other? They weren’t chopping each other just to make a sound. Or even just for a crowd to go ‘woo,’ or for one guy to chop somebody, and then just wait five minutes to chop them again. It was like they would chop each other to open each other up to go for a move.”

Bully Ray would finish by praising the match even further, saying “they [Lorcan and Thatcher] used something so basic as a chop to make psychological sense of their offence. I love that.”

Did you enjoy the match? Let us know in the comments

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Bully Ray
Bully Ray

SummerSlam To Be Held At WWE Performance Center (Report)

Michael Reichlin
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WWE SummerSlam will not be taking place from Boston’s TD Garden arena as previously scheduled. The show will be held on Sunday, August 23rd from the Performance Center in Orlando, FL. Pwinsider reported the news Monday morning. WWE has yet to announce the change, but we have reached out to the company for comment.

WWE has been holding all live events from the Performance Center since March due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Back in May, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh held a news conference stating that there would be no large-scale events, festivals or parades in the city until after Labor Day (Sept. 7).

WWE SummerSlam Weekend

Prior to this change, Boston’s TD Garden was scheduled to host the following events as part of SummerSlam weekend:

  • Friday, August 21: SmackDown Live
  • Saturday, August 22: NXT TakeOver
  • Sunday, August 23: SummerSlam
  • Monday, August 24: Monday Night Raw

SummerSlam Weekend Considered for WWE Hall of Fame Ceremony

Sarah Logan Announces She Is Pregnant

Chris Stephens
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Sarah Logan and husband Raymond Rowe (aka Erik of the Viking Raiders) are expecting their first child. The couple announced that Sarah is pregnant on their YouTube channel “The Wild and Free TV.”

The couple released a video from 5 weeks ago where a pregnancy test came back as positive.

“I got fired from WWE and it felt like our lives got turned upside down. It felt scary and I didn’t know what I was going to do and this happened. This beautiful thing happened,” Sarah says in the video.

“Sarah and Raymond Rowe just received the absolute best news of their lives!! Sarah is PREGNANT!!!! Find out if she’s still lifting and hunting, and what this means for her MMA journey. Hear Raymond’s thoughts on being a father for the first time, and how that’s going to work with his WWE travel schedule . We can’t wait to take everyone through this amazing life experience,” a description of the video reads.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtkpI22USrk&feature=emb_logo

Sarah Logan & Ray Rowe Married In Viking Ceremony

In late 2018, Sarah and Ray Rowe were married in a Viking ceremony. Several members of the WWE roster attended the ceremony and posted pictures from it.

Edge On Fans Criticizing The Length Of His Matches With Randy Orton

Anutosh Bajpai
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0

Edge made his return to in-ring action after almost 9 years of absence at Royal Rumble in January and his return has been one of the biggest stories of the wrestling world this year.

However, his comeback hasn’t been free of controversy and the former world Champion has received criticism over the length of his matches with the Viper Randy Orton.

Edge discussed the complaints from fans during a recent interview with ESPN MMA, and the Rated R Superstar mentioned how people also complain when stars like Brock Lesnar put on shorter matches:

“After nine years and a triple fusion in my neck, I went out there for 41 minutes, People complained that Bill [Goldberg] and Brock [Lesnar] go out and do four [minutes].

So what is it? What do you want? I’m going to bust my ass and I’m going to try and give you the best product I possibly can” said Edge, “Because I’m not gonna phone it in. To me, that’s what WrestleMania was, that’s what Backlash was.”

The former champion wrestled his first singles match after his return against Randy Orton at WrestleMania 36 and the two then competed in a rematch at the Backlash PPV.

However, Edge, unfortunately, suffered a triceps injury during his Backlash bout which is likely to keep him out of action for somewhere between 6 to 9 months.

Brian Pillman Jr. Excited For AEW Debut This Week On Dark

Michael Reichlin
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0

Brian Pillman Jr. is set to debut for All Elite Wrestling this week on AEW Dark.

Pillman has spent the past few years working for Major League Wrestling (MLW). He is a former MLW Tag Team Champion as part of the new Hart Foundation team with Davey Boy Smith Jr.

The 26-year-old second-generation star is still under contract with MLW. His contract allows for him to work with AEW. The fight league has temporarily suspended live events due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Brian Pillman Jr. was in attendance at last week’s AEW TV tapings from Jacksonville, FL. He tweeted a photo of the Fyter Fest stage.

Attending an AEW event is one thing. Wearing your ring gear is another. This photo with Le Champion Chris Jericho led to speculation that Brian Pillman Jr. will be gracing an AEW ring soon.

Brian Pillman to Debut for AEW

AEW has since confirmed that Pillman will make his AEW debut this week on Dark. He will face Shawn Spears.

In an interesting note of trivia, Pillman, the son of a former member of the Four Horsemen, faces a man who is managed by Tully Blanchard, a founding member of the legendary faction.

Brian Pillman Jr. says this match is quite literally the biggest opportunity of his life.

Catch Brian Pillman Jr.’s AEW debut this Tuesday on AEW Dark.

Rey Mysterio Working As Free Agent After Expiry Of WWE Contract

Anutosh Bajpai
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0

Former World Champion Rey Mysterio is currently a free agent as his last contract with WWE has expired, according to the Wrestling Observer.

The high flying star made his surprise return to the company during the 2018 Royal Rumble in January and he then made several one-off appearances for the promotion before finally signing a 2 year-long contract in September.

However, that deal has expired according to the reports. So technically, Mysterio is currently a free agent and he is not bound to a contract with WWE.

The former champion alongside his son Dominik has been involved in a feud with Seth Rollins and his disciples recently and while it hasn’t been announced yet, it’s believed that these two will face each other at the upcoming Extreme Rules PPV.

Meltzer also noted that the company had planned an “eye for an eye match” between Rey Mysterio and Seth Rollins for the upcoming WWE special, though there is no word yet on if this stipulation is still in the cards.

Although despite Mysterio’s contractual status, it doesn’t seem very likely that he will walk away from the company to join any other promotion.

His son has been featured heavily on WWE programming recently and Dominik is expected to make his wrestling debut for the company in future.

Sheamus Reveals AEW Star Who Helped Him Get Ahead in WWE

Jake Skudder
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0

WWE Superstar Sheamus recently appeared on After The Bell w/Corey Graves. The Irish Superstar would discuss a number of topics from his lengthy career; including training with Triple H and the AEW star that helped him get ahead in WWE.

“One guy I love to work with, more than anybody? And the one guy who actually was the reason that I was fast tracked from the ECW roster to RAW? It was Goldust” Sheamus began on the podcast.

Sheamus on ECW Feud

“We had this feud in ECW, we just had chemistry right away” Sheamus continued. “And he was so open to everything, it was just awesome. I think about the last match we had to end the feud was the main event of ECW. I think that was like after a couple of weeks? It just got fast-tracked, everybody was into it.”

Sheamus then discussed how the feud with Goldust would help him get onto Monday Night RAW early in his main roster run for a shot at then WWE Champion John Cena. “It was a hard hitting fight, but it was fun. And he really really fast tracked me inside the ring to getting on to RAW, then going into that programme with John [Cena]. I think even John talked with him at one stage? Because I think John and Randy [Orton] had their programme for months and months, they were feuding for a long time.”

Do you think that we’ll ever see Sheamus vs Goldust again? Let us know in the comments

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Arn Anderson Remembers Dusty Rhodes

Chris Stephens
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0

Dusty Rhodes passed away on June 11th, 2015. On a recent episode of “The Arn Show,” his old rival Arn Anderson spent some time reflecting on Dusty’s life and career.

“Working with him just taught you about what was important in this business,” Anderson said about Dusty. “It was connecting with the audience positively and negatively. That was the most important thing you could be. A moderate worker with just a fair body but if you could connect with the audience, you were going to draw money. That was the most important thing. You could learn that from Dusty.”

Anderson continued to talk about what he learned from Dusty.

“Selling. Selling was so high up on the list,” Anderson continued. “Just all those things that we kind of skip around now.”

“I would just learn from Dusty,” he continued. “Nobody was better on that stick, talking them into the building than him. They all hurt as far as the losses because wrestlers go away before they should in a lot of cases and that’s one that will always be special and just one of those when you get the news, you get kicked right in the stomach and I don’t know if you ever get over it.”

Anderson’s comments can be heard in the player below:

Big E On #SpeakingOut Allegations: “I Wasn’t Surprised”

Chris Stephens
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0

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.

Big E’s comments can be heard in the player below:

Reported Reason CM Punk Didn’t Join AEW

Chris Stephens
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0

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 Comments On The Pressure Of Having 6-Star Matches

Chris Stephens
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0

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.

Brian Pillman Jr. To Wrestle On AEW Dark This Week

Chris Stephens
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0

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.

AEW Dark Lineup

Here is the lineup for Tuesday’s episode of AEW Dark:

  • Big Swole vs Rache Chanel
  • Orange Cassidy vs Will Jobbs
  • Frankie Kazarian vs Luther
  • Michael Nakazawa vs Shawn Dean
  • Brian Pillman Jr. vs Shawn Spears w/Tully Blanchard
  • Scorpio Sky vs Serpentine
  • Lucha Bros & Butcher and the Blade vs Joe Alonzo, Brady Pierce, Tony Donati & Faboo Andre
  • Brandon Cutler & Peter Avalon vs The Dark Order

Brian Cage Talks Why He Left IMPACT Wrestling for AEW

Jake Skudder
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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

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Brian Cage
Brian Cage

Update On Bully Ray’s Departure From ROH

Chris Stephens
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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.

https://twitter.com/IanRiccaboni/status/1279120312836272130

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.”

Necro Butcher Reveals He Has Hodgkin’s Lymphoma

Chris Stephens
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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:

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