Bret Hart discussed his legendary rivalry with “Stone Cold” Steve Austin during his appearance on this week’s episode of WWE Backstage. Looking back to their initial matches together, Hart shared how he felt Austin was “nervous” during that time. He added how Austin would eventually “find his voice” following their Survivor Series match back in 1996.
Hart recalled how the two had wrestled a few times prior, but never in a big matchup. He considers their Survivor Series clash to be their “first real consequential match.” He had been looking forward to working with Austin before sharing how, “[…] in all fairness to Steve, he would get a little nervous. He was pretty intense. Anxious — I think — about working with me.”
According to Bret Hart, this anxiety showed itself in how Austin was “going to come at me with everything he had.” He shared how their Survivor Series bout remains one of his favorite matches against Austin. Bret Hart believes it is very close to, if not on par with, their matchup at WrestleMania 13.
The WWE on FOX Twitter account would share a clip of Bret Hart’s comments. It wasn’t long until “The Rattlesnake” saw and responded with his thoughts. According to Austin, he wasn’t nervous. Instead, his confidence was “sky high” and called his intensity on point.
No, not nervous. Just running on the edge of a razor blade. Confidence was sky high. Intensity was on point. Great time working with the best there is, was, and ever will be.
Chris Jericho recently sat down with AEW referee Aubrey Edwards on an episode of his podcast, Talk Is Jericho. During their conversation, the two discussed the promotion’s use of disqualifications and the need for an established rulebook.
Edwards confessed she liked working with Jericho as he’s “super easy to work with.” She noted how Jericho is always interested in telling a story, making her job that much easier. The two then turned their attention to Jericho’s matchup at AEW Revolution against Jon Moxley.
During that match, Chris Jericho was physically pushing Edwards at points in the match. Turns out he was doing so to hit the right story beats and camera angles. Although he tried to express this to her during the match, Edwards admitted she did not hear him. To fans, however, it appeared as though Jericho was trying to get himself disqualified.
“There has to be that kind of psychology behind it where it’s like, why wouldn’t she DQ him?” Chris Jericho said. “Well, it’s like a title match or a boxing match. It’s like a knee in the in the groin for example, maybe if it was an earlier fight, a prelim fight, there would be a DQ, but in the main event, that people paid millions to see, you got to let these guys fight.”
Chris Jericho added how he loves that aspect about pro wrestling. He argued how they weren’t “bending the rules” but were instead telling a story and “making things fit into what we need because we have the right to do that.”
Edwards would reveal that she has been given permission by AEW President Tony Khan to scribe an official AEW rulebook. Chris Jericho stressed how it’s “important to establish that.”
She explained how when she first accepted the Project Coordinator Job, she “wanted to have our rules written down.” Edwards recalled how Tony Khan had previously expressed his interest in having their rules public to give AEW a sports company dynamic.
“So I started writing everything down and realize there’s all these holes of like what happens if the illegal person hits a legal person. How do we treat that at AEW? It was funny. I had like the rules printed out. We’re talking about it. Hangman comes and goes over, ‘oh, are the refs meeting to talk about the rules? Actually, we are, but we talk about things and figure out how do we want to treat this situation? How do we want to treat this? And I got a thumbs-up from boss man. So hopefully that will come out soon.”
Chris Jericho is scheduled to compete against Orange Cassidy during AEW Fyter Fest, which takes place on July 1 and July 8.
All Elite Wrestling and Natural Nightmare member QT Marshall has discussed his on-screen pairing with Allie during a recent interview. Speaking with The Wrestling Inc. Dailypodcast, Marshall opened up about his new partnership. He also addressed Diamond Dallas Page giving him permission to begin using the Diamond Cutter.
QT Marshall noted how they may integrate the Diamond Cutter into more a defined angle “just to get it public.” He then shared how he and DDP had a “true, genuine conversation” about his using the finishing move.
“I asked, ‘Do you really want me to [use the Diamond Cutter]?’ He said I would really do it justice. I said it’s an honor but I’d love to make it part of something entertaining as well,” QT Marshall said. “Of course, the sappy story is really good as well but for the fans, we kinda want them to have fun with it as well. That’s why we filmed those videos.”
Looking to his new relationship with Allie, Marshall reflected on how their pairing came to be. He shared how he was searching for his apple but couldn’t find it. He would look up to see Allie eating it which was “her way of saying that she likes me.” Marshall confessed that his tag team partner Dustin Rhodes and Brandi, however, aren’t fans of Allie. Despite their history, Marshall stressed how “we’re just trying to be one big, happy family. And we’re winning – at the end of the day, that’s what it’s about. We’ll see where it goes and I’ve been more successful since she’s been around.”
QT Marshall and Dustin Rhodes competed last night in a losing effort against the AEW Tag Team Champions, Kenny Omega and Hangman Page.
WWE Hall of Famer Bret Hart was a recent guest on WWE Backstage. During his time on the show, Hart opened up about his regret signing with WCW in late 1997. Reflecting on his time in the promotion, Hart stated how it was clear they had no idea how to utilize him.
Hart noted how Vince McMahon had previously warned him how WCW wouldn’t know “what to do with a Bret Hart.”
After three or four months with the company, Bret Hart realized how true Vince McMahon’s words were. He stressed how WCW “really didn’t know what to do with me.”
According to Hart, WCW had no appreciation for his in-ring skills and abilities. He shared how he would often go to Eric Bischoff to pitch ideas and feuds. Every time, he would apparently be shot down with “the most lame reason.”
Bret Hart recalled how he would ask “’how about throwing me with this guy? How about putting me with Booker T? How about I do this?’ They would always come up with the most lame reason why I couldn’t wrestle you [Booker T] because you were wrestling someone else. I remember going, ‘that’s not even a reason.’ They really didn’t know what they were doing, and I’m not sure what the politics of all that [was].”
Hart then stressed how, if he could have the opportunity to reconsider his decision, “I’d think I’d try to figure out a better way to stay in WWE.”
Given his experience in WCW, Bret Hart added how he was sorry he ever signed to the company.
The Royal Rumble 2020 event saw the start of Drew McIntyre’s journey to becoming the WWE Champion as the Scottish Psychopath won the battle royal at the event and earned the opportunity for a title match at WrestleMania 36.
The same event was also the start of a new road for Edge who made his in-ring return after 9 years of absence from active competition due to his neck injuries.
During a recent interview with Sportskeeda, The current WWE Champion discussed the Rated R Superstar’s return and McIntyre commented on the possibility of facing Edge in the future:
“You know Edge had this amazing career. I was thankful that I traveled the world with him. Learned a lot from him as a kid, but to see him back… of course the wheels started turning.
And I thought to myself, ‘Oh yea, we’re going to have that big match.'” said Drew McIntyre “And I’m absolutely ready for that big match now, you know, physically and mentally.”
During the interview, the former NXT Champion also shared a concern he had in the Royal Rumble mentioning how Edge was returning after such a long time.
So McIntyre was worried that the crowd may turn on him if they realise that Edge was not winning the match. Although thankfully, this didn’t turn out to be the case and fans were as thrilled to see him win the bout as everybody hoped.
Though it will be a while before we can actually hope to see a match between Drew McIntyre and Edge as the latter has suffered a serious injury during his match at Backlash. You can check out a report on the matter at this link.
WWE has re-hired at least one of the producers they had released as part of their coronavirus budget cuts in April earlier this year, according to latest reports.
According to reports from PWinsider, the company has rehired Pat Buck and the producer worked on both Raw and SmackDown tapings in Orlando this week.
Buck co-owned Create-A-Pro wrestling school with former WWE star Curt Hawkins and he also ran the Wrestle Pro promotion before originally being hired by WWE in August 2019.
The site notes that at least one other wrestling company had an internal discussion about bringing him in as a producer after his WWE release before his re-hiring. Though the report does not reveal the name of the promotion.
Pat Buck is not the only name who has been rehired by WWE after being released in April and Drake Maverick was recently offered a new contract by the company.
The former 205 Live GM was taking part in the Cruiserweight Championship tournament and even though he lost, the compelling story about Maverick fighting for his job created a lot of buzz, forcing the company to re-think their decision.
With WWE officials now planning to return to their regular schedule and start producing events with fans once again slowly, it would be interesting to see if any other released names are brought back by the promotion in near future.
R-Truth is one of the most experienced stars in WWE currently and he is one of the few Attitude Era wrestlers who is still active in the business at a significant level.
The 24/7 Champion recently appeared on WWE’s The Bump where he talked about things like the current situation in America, the Black Lives Matter campaign and more.
When asked about his favourite moment in the company, Truth said that it’s hard to pinpoint one moment as such. Though when asked about his favourite match, the current champion replied instantly:
“It would have to be myself and The Miz versus The Rock and John Cena, I remember me and Miz were looking at each other and said, ‘Bro, we’re right here at Madison Square Garden.’ Bro, that’s a goosebump moment.”
The match R-Truth is talking about took place at the Survivor Series PPV in 2011. It was The Rock’s first WWE match since his departure from the company in 2004.
The Great One had teamed up with John Cena for the fight and the duo won the match. However, The Rock attacked the Cenation Leader after the bout, hitting him with a Rock Bottom. The two icons then faced off in a singles match at WrestleMania 28.
AEW has confirmed the former World Champion Chris Jericho’s opponent for the upcoming Fyter Fest event, announcing that he will face Orange Cassidy at the show.
The former WWE star had brutally attacked The King of Sloth Style on last week’s episode of Dynamite and Y2J had beaten him down with a bag of blood oranges.
This week’s episode of the show then saw Jericho teaming up with Sammy Guevara to face the Best Friends in a #1 contenders match for the AEW World Tag Team Championships.
The ending of this bout saw Guevara being tripped by a cameraman which led to the Inner Circle members losing the match. Cassidy then revealed himself as the cameraman.
The former Chikara star then went on to attack Chris Jericho and the company confirmed a match between the two for the upcoming event as the show went off air.
Fyter Fest this year will be taking place on July 1 and July 8 at 8 pm ET on TNT. You can check out the updated match card for the event after the latest announcement below:
AEW World Championship Match: Jon Moxley (c) vs. Brian Cage
AEW World Tag Team Championship Match: Hangman Page and Kenny Omega (c) vs. Best Friends
AEW TNT Championship Match: Cody (c) vs. Jake Hager
AEW Women’s Championship Match: Hikaru Shida (c) vs. Penelope Ford
AEW Dynamite aired from Daily’s Place in Jacksonville, Florida. Kenny Omega & Hangman Page put their AEW Tag Team Championships on the line against the Natural Nightmares. Le Sex Gods battled Best Friends to determine the #1 contenders for the tag titles.
Dynamite Results (6/17)
Hangman Page & Kenny Omega def. Natural Nightmares to retain the AEW Tag Team Championships
Abadon def. Anna Jay
MJF def. Billy
Cody def. Ricky Starks to retain the TNT Championship
Young Bucks def. Superbad Squad
Best Friends def. Le Sex Gods & will face Omega & Page at Fyter Fest for the AEW Tag Team Championships
Here are 6 takeaways from this week’s show:
Hangman Page & Kenny Omega Retained
Hangman Page and Kenny Omega defended the AEW Tag Team Championships against the Natural Nightmares (Dustin Rhodes & QT Marshall). Brandi Rhodes accompanied the Natural Nightmares to the ring.
Match Recap: Omega and Dustin started it off by locking up in the middle of the ring. Omega hit Rhodes with a chop and went for One Winged Angel but Dustin escaped. Rhodes hit a Hurricanrana off the second rope and regrouped in the corner of the ring after Omega accidentally caught him with a headbutt to the face.
Hangman Page and QT Marshall tagged in and locked up in the middle of the ring. QT took control and leveled Page with a Dropkick. Hangman popped up and leveled Marshall with a boot to the face. Omega tagged in and QT beat him down in the corner.
Dustin tagged back in and planted Kenny with a Suplex. QT tagged in and continued to beat Omega down as Britt Baker passed Tony Schiavone notes at the announce desk. Dustin planted Omega with a Back Body Drop but Kenny battled back with an elbow to the face. Kenny connected with a Kotaro Crusher and finally got to the corner to tag in Hangman.
Page hit QT with a Fallaway Slam and then delivered a Crossbody to Rhodes outside the ring. Back in the ring, Hangman connected with a Lariat and went for the cover but Marshall kicked out at two. Omega tagged in and hit a Moonsault off the middle rope for another near fall.
Hangman tagged in and walked into a right hand from QT. Marshall followed it up with an Enziguri and both men fell to the canvas. Rhodes and Omega tagged in and Dustin hit an Atomic Drop. Rhodes followed it up with a Bulldog and then a Powerslam. Hangman hopped in the ring and Rhodes greeted him with a Powerslam.
Rhodes climbed to the top rope and flipped onto both Page and Omega. Rhodes threw the champs to the outside and tagged in QT. Dustin hit another Senton off the apron as Marshall hit the QT Special onto Omega outside the ring. Back in the ring, QT went for a Diamond Cutter but Omega countered with a Snap Dragon Suplex.
Dustin got in the ring and hit Kenny with a Destroyer. Omega leveled Rhodes with a Clothesline but turned around into a Diamond Cutter from QT. Allie came down to the entrance ramp to try and encourage QT. Marshall went for a Moonsault off the top rope but Omega got out of the way.
Hangman tagged in and hit a German Suplex but Dustin broke up the cover. Omega tagged in as Hangman hit QT with a Powerbomb. Omega hit QT with a V-Trigger to the back of his head but Marshall kicked out at the last moment. Hangman and Omega hit the Last Call on QT for the pinfall victory. Hangman Page and Kenny Omega are still the AEW Tag Team Champions.
Abadon completely dominated the match and defeated Anna Jay with ease. After the match, Dark Order’s music hit and Brodie Lee led them to the entrance ramp.
Stu Grayson and Evil Uno approached Colt Cabana with an envelop and Cabana read it as Brodie nodded his head. Dark Order helped Anna Jay out of the ring and Brodie shook her hand. Dark Order helped Anna Jay to the back to end the segment.
Match Recap: Billy controlled the action early and MJF retreated backstage. Billy chased after him and brought MJF back to the ring by carrying him over his shoulder. MJF hit a Neckbreaker over the ropes but Billy no sold it. MJF posed as if he had won and Billy got back in the ring behind him.
MJF hit Billy with a chop block and then stomped on his knee several times as Dynamite went to a break. When Dynamite returned, Billy tripped up MJF and slammed him into the second turnbuckle. Billy planted MJF with a Tilt-a-Whirl Slam and hobbled to the ropes.
Billy went for a knee strike and wound up crashing into the turnbuckle. MJF locked in a Calf Crusher and used the ropes for leverage but referee Aubrey Edwards caught him.
Wardlow hopped on the apron and distracted Billy. Wardlow threw the Dynamite Diamond ring to MJF before Billy knocked him off the apron. MJF put the ring on and punched Billy in the face for the victory. MJF is still undefeated in 2020. After the match, Jurassic Express hopped over the barricade and attacked Wardlow & MJF. A massive brawl broke out until the locker room and AEW officials broke it up.
Cody Defeated Ricky Starks To Retain The TNT Championship
Cody Rhodes with the AEW TNT Championship (Photo: AEW)
Cody came down to the ring with Arn Anderson. Arn said that with age comes maturity and wisdom. Arn said Cody’s opponent tonight is someone that he can get better against. It was then revealed that Cody’s opponent tonight will be former NWA World Television Champion Ricky Starks. Jake Hager was shown watching the match backstage.
"The only two things I had when I had nothing else in this world was work ethic and grit, the same two things that @CodyRhodes has."
Match Recap: Starks controlled the action early and beat Cody down in the corner. Cody battled back with a Dropkick and knocked Starks out of the ring. Cody connected with a Suicide Dive as Hager watched on from backstage.
Back in the ring, Starks sent Cody into the bottom rope ribs first and unloaded some punches to his face. Arn Anderson shoved Cody out of harms way and traded some words with Starks.
Ricky planted Cody with a DDT and went for the cover but Cody kicked out at two. Starks went for another DDT but Cody escaped and hit a Powerslam for a near fall. Ricky battled back and connected with a Superplex.
Starks knocked Cody out of the ring with a Crossbody. Back in the ring, Cody went for the Disaster Kick but Starks got out of the way and hit a Spear for a two count. Cody and Starks traded roll-up attempts before Cody hit Cross Rhodes for the pinfall victory. Cody is still the TNT Champion.
Young Bucks faced Jimmy Havoc and Kip Sabian tonight on Dynamite.
Match Recap: Havoc and Sabian targeted Matt Jackson’s injured ribs throughout the match. Butcher and Blade came down to the ringside area and FTR came down as well.
Havoc and Sabian isolated Matt in the corner of the ring and took turns beating him down. Jimmy poked Matt in the eye while the referee was distraction and rolled Matt up for a two count.
Kip tagged in and went for a Hurricanrana but Matt caught him and hit a Powerbomb off the top rope. Nick finally got the tag and unloaded a flurry of kicks to Kip and Havoc. Nick hit Havoc with a Crossbody and then locked in a Sharpshooter on Sabian in the middle of the ring.
Sabian reached for the bottom rope but Matt hit him with an Elbow Drop. Havoc hopped on the apron with a mallet and the referee was distracted. Penelope Ford hit Nick from behind to break up the Sharpshooter.
Kip connected with a DDT and went for the cover but Nick kicked out at two. Nick hit Sabian with a Superkick and tagged Matt in. Havoc tagged in as well and Matt hit him with two Northern Lights Suplexes. Nick tagged in and hit a Moonsault for a near fall.
FTR and Butcher & Blade started arguing ringside and Nick got distracted. Havoc knocked him out of the ring and tagged in Sabian. Kip hit Matt with a Double Stomp and went for the cover but Nick broke it up. Matt hit Sabian & Havoc with a double Northern Lights Suplex.
Nick tagged back in and Young Bucks hit Superbad Squad with a Superkick. Young Bucks then booted Sabian in the face for the pinfall victory. After the match, Butcher and Blade and FTR got in the ring for a brawl. FTR hit Butcher with Goodnight Express. Young Bucks and FTR then hit Butcher and Blade with Mindbusters and had a stare down to end the segment.
Best Friends Will Challenge For The Tag Titles At Fyter Fest
Le Sex Gods (Chris Jericho & Sammy Guevara) squared off against Best Friends (Trent & Chuck Taylor) to determine the #1 contenders for the AEW Tag Team Championships. Best Friends were already #1 contenders but put their title shot on the line to get their hands on Inner Circle after they brutally beat Orange Cassidy down last week. Matt Hardy joined commentary for the match.
Match Recap: Best Friends dominated early and beat Le Sex Gods down outside the ring. The action returned to the ring and Chuck hit Sammy with a Neckbreaker for a two count. Jericho tagged in and hit Taylor with a Dropkick for another two count.
Jericho leveled Chuck with a shoulder tackle and went for the Lionsault but Taylor got out of the way. Sammy and Trent tagged in and Trent lit up Sammy with a couple chops. Sammy went for a Splash but Trent got out of the way and hit Guevara with another chop.
Trent hit Sammy with a Suplex and then delivered a Dropkick to Jericho outside the ring. Jericho grabbed Floyd the bat and hit Trent in the midsection as Dynamite went to a commercial break.
When Dynamite returned, Le Sex Gods were still in control and had Trent isolated in the ring. Trent battled back and stomped Sammy to the canvas. Chuck tagged in and knocked Jericho off the apron.
Taylor hit Sammy with a Falcon Arrow and went for the cover but Guevara kicked out at two. Chuck climbed to the top rope and went for a Moonsault but Sammy got out of the way. Taylor landed on his feet and hit a Powerbomb but Jericho broke up the cover.
Trent went for a DDT but Jericho blocked it. Sammy hit Taylor with a Suicide Dive as Jericho applied the Liontamer to Trent in the middle of the ring. Trent battled through the pain and reached the bottom rope to break the hold.
Sammy tagged in and walked into a massive Clothesline. Trent went for the cover but Jericho broke it up at two. Jericho raked Trent’s eyes and Sammy rolled him up for a near fall. Chuck Taylor sent Jericho into the barricade outside the ring and grabbed a steel chair.
The referee ripped the chair away from Chuck and Jericho capitalized by sending Taylor over the barricade. Sammy hit Trent with the bat again and followed it up with a Shooting Star Press for a near fall. The cameraman tripped Sammy and Trent hit him with Piledriver for the pinfall victory.
The cameraman was revealed to be Orange Cassidy and he hopped in the ring with Jericho. Cassidy tacked Jericho and unloaded a flurry of punches to Jericho’s head. Orange Cassidy knocked Jericho out of the ring with a massive Superman Punch to end the show. Kenny Omega & Hangman Page will defend the AEW Tag Team Championships against Best Friends at Fyter Fest. It was also announced that Chris Jericho will face Orange Cassidy at Fyter Fest as well.
Opinion: This week’s episode of Dynamite was a very good show. Abadon immediately made an impact with her unique character and there were several great tag team matches on this week’s episode. I thought Cody and Ricky Starks had the match of the night. The card for Fyter Fest is coming together well and I’m looking forward to the event on July 1st and July 8th.
The June 17th, 2020 episode of WWE NXT aired live on the USA Network from Winter Park, Florida at Full Sail University.
WWE NXT Results (6/17)
NXT Tag Team Champions Imperium (Marcel Barthel & Fabian Aichner) (c) def. Breezango (Tyler Breeze & Fandango)
Damian Priest def. Killian Dain
Aliyah def. Xia Li
Dakota Kai (w/Raquel Gonzalez) def. Kayden Carter (w/Kacy Catanzaro)
Bronson Reed def. Leon Ruff.
Women’s Tag Team Champions Sasha Banks & Bayley def. Tegan Nox & Shotzi Blackheart
Here are the takeaways from this week’s show:
WWE NXT Tag Team Titles
NXT Tag Team Champions Imperium defended their titles against Breezango.
It was a decent back and forth match that opened the show. WWE gave Fandango and Tyler Breeze quite a bit of offense. In the end, the champions retained the titles.
Indus Sher made their way out to make their presence known. However, they were interrupted by Danny Burch & Oney Lorcan as the match continues.
A Triple Threat Match to determine the new #1 contender’s for the Tag Team Titles took place back on June 3rd as Breeze & Fandango battled The Undisputed Era (Bobby Fish & Roderick Strong) and Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch. The babyfaces went over to win the contest.
It’s clear that the majority of fans didn’t think Breezango would win and didn’t take them seriously, but it was a nice change and we got a title match out of it.
Tegan Nox and Shotzi Blackheart challenged Bayley and Sasha Banks for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles.
WWE saved this contest for the main event of the show. It was a fun match with Bayley and Banks successfully retaining the titles. Post-match, Io Shirai came out and attacked both Bayley and Banks. They had a staredown to close out the show.
It was nice to see Bayley and Banks, who are NXT originals, come back to the yellow and black brand, but it’s not likely that many fans thought they would drop the titles to the makeshift team of Nox and Blackheart.
NXT doesn’t really have a tag team division in NXT so it appears they’ll go back to being singles stars.
NXT Champion Adam Cole decided to respond to Karrion Kross’s challenge from last week’s show. Of course, last Wednesday’s show closed with Scarlett walking out to the ring and placed an hourglass in the ring then there was a Kross logo placed on the screen.
Cole did a promo backstage about how Kross tried to scare him but he’s not worried because he’s seen this film play out many times, but knows how it ends. It ends with him overcoming a challenger and standing tall as the NXT Champion.
This led to Keith Lee walking up and telling him that his time is coming to an end as NXT Champion. However, it won’t be Kross taking the title from Cole, it would be him. Lee smashed the hourglass and Cole walked away.
In the following segment, Cole did a promo in the ring to open the second hour. He said he’s never taken his reign for granted. He said Kross throwing his name out for a title shot doesn’t work. He put over Kross for beating Ciampa.
Cole addressed Lee’s threat and noted maybe he wants a second title. He likes the sound of champ-champ. This led to Lee coming out to do another straight promo segment with Cole, but Johnny Gargano came out for a promo. Gargano brought up coming after the NXT North American Title but questioned why he would stop there and thinks he should go after the NXT Title as well.
Finn Balor followed and said they can stop being marks for themselves and go back to being a mark for him. Balor said that he’s never held the NXT North American Title and sent a warning to Lee about taking his title before telling Cole that he’s coming for his title. He called Cole a transitional champion.
William Regal appeared and announced Lee defending the title against Gargano and Balor next week. The winner of that match will take on Adam Cole in a Champion vs. Champion Winner Takes All Contest on July 8th.
In a return after a hiatus, Killian Dain took on Damian Priest in a singles match that served as the second bout of the night.
Dain controlled the majority of the match with Priest making a comeback in the later stages of it. It was a hard-hitting style between two big men with Priest going over in the end.
Dain hadn’t been seen since the March 25th episode of NXT and was absent since then. Up until his most recent hiatus, he had been working squash matches in order to build him up further as a monster.
He took a clean loss in this match, which only further shows how high WWE officials are of Priest.
We saw Adam Cole, Bobby Fish, and Roderick Strong in a limo where they were trying to get Strong to go see a therapist in order to get him over his fear of Dexter Lumis.
They tried to hype him up about how this therapist is the best in the world. It turns out that the therapist was Kyle O’Reilly, who was dressed up with glasses and a hat.
Strong detailed how he couldn’t stop thinking of Lumis and how he hates people staring at him.
They showed him various pitches and asked Strong to describe what he saw. O’Reilly told Strong that he needed to face the trunk that is behind his fears of Lumis. They tried to get him to go into the trunk, but he ran away.
Cole said he thought he made progress but they needed to go get Strong.
The former NWA star made his AEW debut on this week’s episode of Dynamite in Jacksonville, Florida at Daily’s Place on TNT. He did so by answering the open challenge set out by Cody Rhodes in the middle of the show.
After an in-ring promo by Rhodes and Arn Anderson, a video hyped Starks’ debut.
This saw him challenge Rhodes for the AEW TNT Championship, which featured a back and forth contest that ended with “The American Nightmare” hitting his signature finisher, Cross Rhodes, for the win to allow him to retain the title.
Based on social media, Starks had an impressive performance in his first outing under the All Elite Wrestling banner.
Just last month, Starks announced his departure from the NWA and free agency status. Clearly, his time on the market didn’t last long.
Starks had been with the NWA since August of 2019. During his time with the NWA, he had been praised by many and seen as a rising prospect in the pro wrestling business.
The trend of WWE stars deciding against working TV tapings while the world deals with the coronavirus continue.
Kevin Owens did not attend Wednesday’s WWE RAW TV tapings, per a report at Fightful. Owens had communicated to WWE that he wouldn’t be at the set of tapings on Wednesday morning.
Owens’ decision came just two days after it was revealed that a WWE developmental talent had tested positive for COVID-19 after working last Tuesday’s TV taping.
The word going around backstage is that Owens expressed his decision respectfully and he was not pressured to participate once he spoke up.
WWE is hoping to have Owens back by the next set of tapings. However, his status is unclear at this point.
Roman Reigns was the first star to decide against working the tapings and followed by Sami Zayn, who was eventually stripped of the Intercontinental Title.
WWE continues to make plans in order to have fans attend their shows again.
Earlier this week we noted how WWE officials are preparing to host fans at events again by the end of this summer. There are several people in the company who are hoping to start in August.
Fast forward to Monday, WWE allowed friends and family to attend television tapings. There was also reports that local fans were allowed to be in attendance, but those reports were dismissed.
In an update, it was reported by Wrestling Inc that having limited fans is just the “beginning” phase of having full crowds again.
The next phase would see NXT recruits be removed from being used as fans in order to use just family, friends, and a select group of fans who knew someone to be able to attend. NXT recruits would still have to be available for tapings if they needed more people.
The third phase would be to have only fans in the audience with likely at least 50% capacity to show people watching at home that things are returning to normal and it’s okay to attend live events again when the company holds shows.
Finally, the last stage in the phase would be a return to touring for at least TV and pay-per-view events in the fall.
Rusev told a great story in a recent video that was posted on his Youtube channel involving Vince McMahon and The Undertaker.
The former WWE star took on the legendary pro wrestler in a Casket Match at the Greatest Royal Rumble event in 2018.
Originally, WWE had wanted Rusev to face Taker at this show. However, plans changed with Chris Jericho being Taker’s opponent and then a third change was made with Rusev finally being booked against “The Deadman.”
After putting over Taker and stating that not only was it great to wrestle Taker, but it was a dream come true, he recalled Vince McMahon telling him about the match.
“I thought it was a rib. I got called in the office by Vince. He said ‘Miro, I got you working with The Undertaker in Saudi Arabia’. I’m like (laughs) and ‘I’m winning right?’ That’s exactly what I said, that’s what exactly my reaction was. Because I thought he was joking.”
Rusev noted that he knew at that time he was nowhere near the level of being able to work with such a legendary star. While he had his Rusev Day gimmick going on at the time, he never thought he would wrestle Taker in Saudi Arabia in such a large crowd.
“So I said and ‘I’m going over, right?’ He was like ‘hahaha.’ He looked at me kind of weird. I’m like ‘Alright sir, I’ll see you next time'”
“Then I went out and Road Dogg goes, ‘why did you act like this?’ I’m like ‘what do you mean?’ He’s like ‘why would you say that?’ I’m like ‘well, he’s joking with me, I would joke back with him, I’m not gonna just sit there.’ He’s like ‘no that’s not a joke, you are actually working Taker.’ I was like, ‘no freaking way! I’m such an a**hole’ Yeah, it was a funny story.”
Rusev then brought up why he was pulled from the match. WWE wanted to turn him babyface and not have him drop a loss to Taker.
Thus, he was pulled, but when the Crown Prince asked why Rusev wasn’t wrestling Taker, McMahon changed the plans for the third time.
CM Punk shared an interesting story that he hadn’t told in recent memory that involves John Cena.
The former WWE Champion did so during Tuesday’s episode of WWE Backstage on FS1. The match was the Men’s Royal Rumble bout that took place at the pay-per-view event in 2008.
It turns out that Punk was supposed to win the contest. However, plans changed as WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon decided to have Cena win the contest instead.
This was a big surprise return at the time as Cena was out of action with a torn pectoral muscle at the time. However, Cena, who’s known to recover fast, made a quick turnaround and returned earlier than anyone anticipated.
“I was supposed to win! I was supposed to win that Royal Rumble, then John Cena comes back after three months from a torn pec. Thanks a lot, John.”
While plans for the winner of this contest did change, that didn’t stop WWE’s plans to push CM Punk as a top player in the company. Just months after the Royal Rumble event, WWE had him win the Money in the Bank ladder match at WrestleMania 24.
This allowed him to later cash in to become World Champion.
Randy Orton recently spoke with Brent Brookhouse of CBS Sports about his beef with Tommaso Ciampa and past comments made by the former NXT Champion.
Last December, Ciampa came out and stated that if he’s ever called up to the main roster whether that be RAW or SmackDown, he would retire. The reason for that is due to his history of neck problems.
Last March, Ciampa suffered a neck injury that ultimately led to him getting surgery and relinquishing the NXT Title.
Orton started out by talking about how he watched Ciampa’s ‘Black Heart’ documentary on WWE Network that followed him around after his neck surgery. Orton admitted that he teared up a bit when he saw Ciampa wake up from surgery and his beautiful little daughter was sitting on his lap. He called it heartwarming.
Orton stated that he wants Ciampa to have a long, healthy career and retire instead of going to get a new trade or work somewhere else to provide for his family. He stated that wrestling is a business and wrestlers need to make money.
“I would think, no matter how much you love NXT, you’ve got to look at the bigger picture. If you don’t think you’re going to last on the road for Raw and SmackDown? Do something about it. Go and sign a contract that calls for you to only show up at TV.
They do NXT every week and they do a TakeOver whenever. They’re wrestling about as much as we’re wrestling, especially right now. With the future and no one knowing how many shows we’re going to be putting on, I think it’s a bit of a cop out to say, ‘I can get four years of NXT versus one year of Raw or SmackDown.'”
Orton continued by noting that the type of hustle Ciampa has shown makes him believe that Ciampa is capable of doing that.
“I think he’s a big fish in a relatively small pond. I don’t mean that as a knock, to be clear.”
Orton noted that he wants to see Ciampa become a big fish in a bigger pond. He also wants to see Ciampa under the pressure to have something like the greatest wrestling match ever. He added that he would love to work with Ciampa.
The AEW video game is in development, but do not expect to play it any time soon.
AEW referee Aubrey Edwards was Chris Jericho’s guest on the latest installment of the Talk is Jericho podcast. During their discussion, Edwards revealed that she is involved in the game’s development.
Edwards not sure what she was authorized to reveal, aside from saying that the game is “very, very early on” in the development cycle. “It’s definitely a way’s out,” she said.
AEW Executive Vice President Kenny Omega, an avid gamer, is also involved. Edwards says she talks to Omega a lot about the project.
Chris Jericho asked what makes a good wrestling game. They know expectations are high. “It has to kick ass.” They are listening to feedback and will give the people what they want. They spoke about the importance of a robust Create-a-Wrestler suite.
She spent several years working on mobile games and believes that experience will help AEW deliver a great product. WWE’s release of 2K20 was an all-out disaster. Edwards talked about what went wrong with that game.
Her gaming console of choice is the Nintendo Switch. She likes that it affords her the flexibility to play from home or while on the road traveling. This bodes well for a Switch release of the AEW game.
Former WWE Superstar Ryback recently commented on the creative direction of the company on his Conversation With The Big Guy podcast. The ‘Big Guy’ talked about Paul Heyman being removed as the Executive Director of RAW; plus the reasons he feels the company made that decision.
Ryback on Paul Heyman
“Vince [McMahon] is in control at the end of the day” Ryback would begin. “Heyman? Even with the little issues that I had with him from a personal standpoint and working together? He’s a creative individual, and I knew that being down at Ohio Valley Wrestling. Heyman had some good stuff down there.”
Ryback then claimed that anyone in that position with WWE ends up being Vince McMahon’s ‘bitch.’ “The problem is when…anybody who gets put in that position up there? You’re just Vince’s bitch. You’re going to work non stop, your stress level is going to go through the roof and your blood pressure is going to go through the roof. You are that much closer to a heart attack each and every day.”
The ‘Big Guy’ elaborated further, saying “you draw your best pictures and he [Vince] just rips it up and says ‘draw me another picture! Draw me another picture!’ There’s only so much you can do. Out of 100% of your ideas? You might see 10% make it to TV, but even that 10% is not your true 10%. It’s just Vince taking whatever scraps he takes from it to put out there.”
Do you think that Paul Heyman being removed from the position of Executive Director was a mistake? Let us know in the comments
Mustafa Ali will be competing on WWE Raw when he returns to action. The news was first reported by PWInsider.
Ali has been off television since February. He was scheduled to challenge for the WWE Championship in the main event of Elimination Chamber. He was pulled from the match after suffering a concussion at a live event, according to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer.
It was an unfortunate break for the former Chicago Police officer, who was in the midst of a strong push on the SmackDown brand. He first arrived on the scene in WWE back in 2016 during the Cruiserweight Classic tournament. After some time on 205 live, he was called up to SmackDown in 2018.
There has been speculation that Mustafa Ali is the man behind the SmackDown hacker vignettes that have been airing in recent months.
Ali’s move to Raw comes amid the recent shakeup of WWE’s creative structure.
Mustafa Ali is still listed as a SmackDown wrestler on the WWE website.
WWE has once again canceled a planned taping of WWE Smackdown. The company was originally supposed to tape the show yesterday. A positive COVID-19 test from a developmental wrestler then caused yesterday’s taping to be postponed. The WWE roster underwent testing for the virus yesterday instead.
Reports are now coming out that today’s planned taping of Smackdown has also been cancelled. Gary Cassidy of Sportskeeda was the first to report that the show was being called off. John Pollock has since reported that today’s tapings of 205 Live, Main Event, and next week’s RAW are going ahead as planned, however.
The Smackdown taping was delayed for 40 minutes due to yesterday’s COVID-19 test results still coming in. Now, the plan is to tape Smackdown this Friday.
Can confirm that today's SmackDown taping at the Performance Center is off, first reported by @WrestlingGary.
This was for the June 26th episode (this coming Friday's show has already been taped).
WWE still plans to tape 2 episodes of NXT tonight from Full Sail University. Tonight’s episode will air live. They will then tape next week’s episode immediately following.
WWE released the following statement to media earlier this week:
“A developmental talent, who was last on site at WWE’s training facility on Tuesday, June 9, has tested positive for COVID-19. Since that time, no other individuals that attended the facility have reported symptoms. However, out of an abundance of caution and to ensure the health and safety of the company’s performers and staff, all talent, production crew and employees on site at the training and production facilities will be tested for COVID-19 immediately. Following the test results, WWE plans to proceed with its normal television production schedule.”
AEW has released updated top-5 rankings ahead of tonight’s edition of Dynamite. MJF continues to top the men’s single’s rankings with an undefeated 6-0 record.
#3 Penelope Ford and #4 the Dark Order also made gains in the rankings this week.
AEW Men’s Single’s Rankings
AEW World Champion: Jon Moxley (13-0) TNT Champion: Cody (12-1)
MJF (6-0)
Lance Archer (6-1)
Brodie Lee (5-1)
Kenny Omega (4-0)
Chris Jericho (2-1)
There was no movement in the men’s single’s division this week in AEW. TNT Champion Cody successfully defended his title against Marq Quen. #2 Lance Archer picked up a single’s victory on Dark. Champion Jon Moxley, #1 MJF, #3 Brodie Lee, #4 Kenny Omega, and #5 Chris Jericho all had the week off.
#4 Kenny Omega will team with Hangman Page tonight to defend the tag belts against the Natural Nightmares. #5 Chris Jericho will team with Sammy Guevara to take on the Best Friends with the winners facing the champions at Fyter Fest. #1 MJF will face Billy from the Gunn club tonight as well.
AEW Women’s Division
Champion: Hikaru Shida (11-1)
Nyla Rose (6-2)
Kris Statlander (4-4) (injured)
Penelope Ford (4-3) (+2)
Britt Baker (4-4) (injured) (-1)
Yuka Sakazaki (1-1) (-1)
#3 Penelope Ford moves up 2 spots after pinning the champion in tag-team action last week. She teamed with #1 Nyla Rose to earn the victory over champion Hikaru Shida and #2 Kris Statlander last week.
Unfortunately, Statlander announced this week she’s out with a torn ACL that will require surgery. #4 Britt Baker is also on the shelf/in a “Role’s Royce” for awhile.
AEW Tag Team Division
Champions: Kenny Omega & Hangman Page (7-0)
Best Friends (9-3)
The Natural Nightmares (5-0)
Private Party (4-2)
The Dark Order (6-0) (previously unranked)
Young Bucks (2-2)
SCU drops out of the tag rankings this week and #4 the Dark Order are ranked once again. Stu Grayson and Evil Uno picked up a win on Dark this week after having been absent for weeks due to travel restriction between the US and Canada.
It’s a big week for the tag division tonight, however. The tag titles are on the line as the champions defend against #2 the Natural Nightmares. #1 The Best Friends will put their previously earned title shot on the line against Chris Jericho and Sammy Guevara (Le Sex Gods) as well.
Impact Wrestling has been going all out teasing wrestling fans that some free agents will be appearing at Slammiversary on July 18th. On this week’s show, it was noted on commentary that what happens at Slammiversary will change the company’s course for possibly years to come. The tagline for the event is “Our World Will Change.”
On the Impact post-show with Jimmy Jacobs and Don Callis last night, the co-Vice President of the company teased that another name could be on their way to the promotion. Callis noted that he learned a lot from this person beginning in 1999. That was the year Callis began working for Extreme Championship Wrestling.
“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. “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?”
A few names are possible here. One is Gabe Sapolsky, who was a writer with ECW from 1993 until the company closed in 2001. Sapolsky had been with EVOLVE but the company recently announced a hiatus in the wake of the global pandemic.
Another option here is Lance Storm, who was recently furloughed or released by WWE. Storm closed down the Storm Wrestling Academy last year to accept the position with WWE. He had actually worked at least one taping for Impact in a similar role before signing with WWE.
Many fans have suggested Paul Heyman as someone Callis could be referring to here. Heyman is still under a performer’s contract with WWE, however, in spite of being let go from the creative team. It’s not clear when Heyman’s contract as a performer with WWE is up.
Steve Corino is a dark horse possibility here too. Corino is currently a trainer in NXT and there has been no news that he was released or furloughed but that doesn’t mean it hasn’t happened and the news simply hasn’t leaked out.
Another dark horse theory suggested by some is Joey Styles. The reasoning here being that Callis and Styles worked commentary together from 99-01. Callis mentioned the person recently “underwent some changes” though, and there hasn’t really been any news relating to Styles since he left the industry in late 2016.
After a scheduled taping of WWE Smackdown was canceled yesterday, it appears WWE is filming nearly 2 weeks’ worth of content today.
A positive COVID-19 test of a developmental wrestler who had been acting as a fan at tapings caused WWE to change plans. Instead of taping Smackdown yesterday, WWE instead had its roster tested for the virus.
The company is set to resume tapings today and is filming a large amount of content. The following shows will be taped today from the WWE Performance Center:
Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson will star in and serve as a producer on NBC’s “Young Rock” next year. The network announced its fall schedule recently and noted multiple shows that had been pushed back to midseason/summer next year, one of them being the series focused on the Rock’s early career.
NBC pushed “Young Rock” back to midseason along with other new shows “Kenan” starring “Kenan Thompson” and the Tina Fey’s Mr. Mayor. Former WWE head writer Brian Gerwitz is also set to be involved with the show. The show is expected to premiere next summer.
Young Rock will focus on the Rock’s days before he was in WWE.
Earlier this year, the Rock posted a video to social media talking about what fans can expect from the series.
“We’re going to find the Rock wreaking havoc in the streets of Hawaii getting arrested,” Johnson said in the above video. “We were forced to leave the island and move to all places, Nashville, Tennessee. Those were the years that were very formative and helped shape me. The confluence of wild personalities that came in and out of my life during these times are just fascinating.”
Impact Wrestling continued its build to Slammiversary last night on AXS TV and Twitch. The promotion continued to tease that several recently released WWE wrestlers could be on their way to the promotion. In particular, EC3 was heavily teased.
Impact Wrestling 6/16 Quick Results
Impact Tag Team Championships The North (Ethan Page & Josh Alexander) (c) defeated The Rascalz (Dez & Wentz)
Neveah defeated Kimber Lee
Rhino defeated Rohit Raju
TNA World Heavyweight Championship Moose (c) defeated Hernandez
Reno Scum defeated Team XXXL
Street Fight Ace Austin defeated Eddie Edwards
Here are 9 takeaways from Impact 6/16:
Former World Champion To Return To Impact Wrestling
At least one former World Champion will make his return to IMPACT on Saturday July 18th at #Slammiversary.
Impact has been heavily-teasing that recently released wrestlers from WWE could be on their way to Impact. They have teased that Rhino’s former tag partner who “has kids” could appear at Slammiversary. EC3, Anderson & Gallows, and several others have been teased as well. This week, Impact confirmed that at least one former World Champion will be at Slammiverary.
Slammiversary will take place on Saturday July 18th, 2020. The tagline for the event is “Our World Will Change.”
EC3’s Music Plays Following Moose Victory
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hl11DSQq26g
Moose continues to claim he is the TNA World Heavyweight Champion. This week he defended the title against Hernandez. Moose hit his opponent with an inadvertent (or perhaps purposeful) low-blow before picking up the win with a No-Jackhammer-Needed spear.
After the match, EC3’s old music played briefly instead of Moose’s. This clearly unnerved the self-proclaimed champion. Eventually, Moose’s music played and he celebrated with the TNA title to close the segment.
The North Retain Over The Rascalz, Trey Attacked In The Back
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGt1UEvai9s
Ethan Page & Josh Alexander picked up a win this week over Dez & Wentz to kick off the show. The Rascalz earned the title shot by defeating TJP and Fallah Bah previously.
Page took Dez out of the match after countering a suicide dive and throwing him into the guardrail. Then, in the ring, Alexander crotched Wentz on the top-rope before the North hit their assisted-spinebuster finish for the win.
Following the match, the North went to the backstage area and were insulted to find nobody at the monitors watching their match.
When the Rascalz went to the back, they noticed someone had attacked Trey.
“The Virtuoso” Deonna Purrazzo Attacks Jordynne Grace Again
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGumQVumZzY
Deonna Purrazzo attacked Jordynne Grace last week on Impact. She locked the champion in an armbar to close the show. This week, we were shown highlights of an interview with Purrazzo who talked about debuting for Impact early in her career. She referred to herself as the best women’s technical wrestler in the world and is confident coming back to the promotion.
After the segment, Grace was interviewed in the back. She said that if Purrazzo wanted a title shot, all she had to do was ask. Purrazzo then attacked and locked Grace in an armbar once again.
Madman Fulton Aligns With Ace Austin
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtpHNAbbhuo
This week’s main event pitted former rivals Eddie Edwards vs Ace Austin in a street fight. The two will also be involved in the 5-way Impact World Title match at Slammiversary.
Edwards gave Austin a brutal neck breaker onto a table leg and looked to be setting his opponent up for the Boston Knee Party when Madman Fulton interfered. Fulton delivered a choke slam to Edwards and held him up for Austin to give him the Fold.
On commentary they revealed that Fulton was likely the man who attacked Trey in the back.
Rhino Defeats Rohit Raju As Commentary Teases Ex-WWE Wrestlers To Slammiversary
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ReWMpeTvW3k
Last week on Impact Wrestling, Rohit Raju and Rhino were involved in a mild altercation in the back. Rhino told Raju he has a tag-team partner and that tag-team partner “has kids.” This provided an opportunity for Josh Matthews and Madison Rayne to tease ex-WWE wrestlers showing up at Slammiversary. Matthews stated that what happens at Slammiversary could change the projection of Impact for years to come. Rayne said her sources confirmed that Slammiversary will be “can’t miss.”
Rhino picked up the win with a Gore. After the match, Raju looked distraught as Matthews wondered aloud if he would throw a childish fit again.
Neveah Picks Up Victory Over Kimber Lee, Kiera Hogan & Tasha Steelz Look On
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2MW1a0qLw40
Kimber Lee faced Neveah this week on Impact. Neveah is now aligned with Havok after having ominously watched her matches from the crowd in recent weeks. This week, however, Kiera Hogan & Tasha Steelz played that role. Hogan & Steelz had an altercation in the back last week with Havok & Neveah.
Neveah picked up the victory with a vicious-looking DDT. The win gets a measure of revenge for the new team after Kimber Lee had previously defeated Havok. After the match, Hogan & Steelz threw popcorn in the face of Havok and the two teams almost came to blows until Hogan & Steelz fled the area.
Reno Scum Defeated Team XXXL
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4NPGfRn3drM
Reno Scum picked up a victory over Team XXXL this week. On commentary, they noted that with The North’s victory over The Rascalz this week that the winner of this match could be in line for a title shot. It looks like the North vs Reno Scum could be a match we get some time in the near future.
