According to comments made by Triple H on a recent media call to promote TakeOver XXX, Triple H isn’t interested in fielding any more questions relating to the Velveteen Dream controversy. Triple H was asked about comments made online by Dream’s accusers on the call but Triple H said he’s ready to move on to other topics.
“Obviously, we take all of these things very seriously. Allegations, misconduct, of any nature, we take very seriously,” Triple H said.
“I’ll stand by what I said to CBS, we looked into it, didn’t find anything there in the manner of what we were looking for and we moved on. It doesn’t change the fact that we take it seriously. If there is something else there we’ll look into it.”
“We’ve already talked about it so I’d rather just move on to other topics,” Triple H concluded.
In light of the dismissive comments made by Triple H during the NXT media call, accuser Matthew Jimenez tweeted this:
Want more? Here’s @DreamWWE turning the conversation sexual immediately after I disclosed my age (17). He tells me I’d be “better off in porn” and that if I was “packing” I’d be better off. We have our evidence @WWE@TripleHpic.twitter.com/MQJ3CtTLVo
During a recent interview with Triple H took part in an interview with CBS Sports, Triple H said WWE investigated the matter internally and decided to simply move on.
“Everything that we have done, we are comfortable with him continuing to do what he does and everything else. But he had a car accident. It stemmed down to people thought we removed him from TV for different reasons. We didn’t. He was in a car accident. Once he was medically cleared to be able to return to the ring from his car accident, we continued forward the way we did. We looked into what was there and we didn’t find anything.”
WWE Superstar Riddick Moss was allegedly in line for a significant push in the company prior to the coronavirus pandemic.
When the pandemic hit, Moss was the WWE 24/7 Champion. However, with the pandemic risk, Moss wanted to protect his brother who has cystic fibrosis. Because of this, Moss wanted to shield as much as possible to help protect his brother from possibly contracting COVID-19.
WWE was reportedly respectful of his request. Moss subsequently dropped the belt to R-Truth on the 3/22 episode of Monday Night RAW.
According to Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Select, Paul Heyman did all he could to avoid Moss receiving any potential heat for his decision. It was reported that “Heyman was very high on Moss at the time and a big push was in order.”
Despite having been absent from WWE programming until recently, Moss’s decision allegedly hasn’t scuppered any long-term plans WWE has for him. Additionally, WWE officials are still said to see great potential in him.
Riddick Moss recently returned to television on the 8/10 episode of RAW. He participated in a RAW Underground segment, defeating Cal Bloom via knockout. On this week’s episode of RAW, he faced off against Arturo Ruas. Their bout would end after both men had to defend themselves from crowd members.
It is unknown if Moss will continue to participate in RAW Underground segments at the time of writing or if WWE will soon involve him with a new storyline or feud.
News broke recently that Renee Young is leaving WWE. According to comments made on Wrestling Observer Radio, Young is finishing up with the company this weekend.
“She gave notice last week, this weekend coming up is her last with the company,” said Dave Meltzer.
“As far as the reason, if you look at the timing I think it’s fairly safe to say the whole COVID thing is a huge part of this,” Meltzer continued. Young confirmed on Twitter in late-June that she had contracted the COVID-19 virus.
Man. What a few days. My show gets cancelled and I get Covid. Wear your masks and wash your hands. Stay safe, everyone ??
“She’s going to have offers, I don’t think there is any question that she is going to land on her feet somewhere. Where that will be, it could be many places,” Meltzer continued to say about Young’s future prospects.
The 34-year-old from Toronto has been with the company since 2012. Prior to signing with WWE, Young was a host on TheScore in Canada and worked with Mauro Ranallo and Jimmy Korderas covering WWE on Aftermath from 2009-12.
English explained how “the mind that is Vince McMahon is a very wild place.”
He noted Vince’s reaction to chants could be taken two ways: “it literally could just be point face, what it was, or he could have been saying that to try to get Miro, like angry, and like yeah, fire him up.”
He added that he wouldn’t put it past Vince McMahon to try a tactic like this to encourage a Superstar. English opened up about how there always seemed to be a creative hesitation in “pulling the trigger” with himself and Rusev.
This hesitation led him to believe there could be some truth behind Vince McMahon’s opinion of the chants, even if the reality was drastically different.
English also believed WWE’s reluctance lay in its desire to build Rusev as a heel at the time:
“They were trying to push him [Rusev] as a really strong heel, so I get the urge to be like ‘No, let’s not immediately jump into like everybody loves him,’ I get it. You don’t want to jump into anything too fast.”
Regardless, the ‘Rusev Day’ chants would continue gaining popularity week after week.
Both Aiden English and Rusev were released by WWE earlier this year. Their releases were attributed as a cost-cutting measure to offset the impact coronavirus has had on business.
The WWE Network has quietly removed several documentaries from its streaming library featuring WWE Hall of Famer Bret “The Hitman” Hart.
Although there is no official word as to why these specific documentaries have been removed, the decision is reportedly related to footage from Stampede Wrestling.
Bret Hart owns the rights to his Stampede Wrestling matches, having bought them from his parents before they passed away. That being said, WWE owns the Stampede Wrestling tape library. So, although the library can be featured on the WWE Network, unless WWE and Hart come to an agreement, footage of his matches will be missing.
This issue has occurred in the past, with several episodes of Stampede Wrestling being removed in 2015. Since these episodes were removed, any footage of Stampede Wrestling included on the WWE Network will be noticeably missing Hart and his in-ring skills.
WWE Network removed the following documentaries from their streaming library:
Bret Hart: The Best There Is, The Best There Was, The Best There Ever Will Be (2005)
Hart & Soul: The Hart Family Anthology (2010)
WWE’s Top 50 Superstars (2010)
Greatest Rivalries: Bret Hart vs. Shawn Michaels (2011)
Bret Hart: The Dungeon Collection (2013)
The Most Powerful Families In Wrestling (2019)
If Hart and WWE eventually come to terms, the matches and documentaries will likely be re-added to the WWE Network. However, at the time of writing, it is unknown whether any future negotiations are planned.
Following last night’s episode of NXT, fans took to Twitter and began using the #FireVelveteenDream hashtag to share their frustration with WWE’s decision to bring Velveteen Dream back to television.
In addition to the trending hashtag, fans also started a petition to convince WWE to once again investigate Velveteen Dream and the allegations made against him.
The #FireVelveteenDream hashtag managed to gain momentum after Jacob Schmidt helped to boost it. Schmidt is one of the people accusing Velveteen Dream of sexual misconduct. He used the hashtag and shared his alleged conversation with the Superstar. It was stressed that WWE never contacted him despite WWE’s claims a thorough investigation had been conducted.
During last night’s episode of NXT, Dream faced off against Finn Balor for a spot in the NXT North American Championship Ladder Match at NXT TakeOver: XXX.
Dream ultimately won the matchup despite the controversy currently surrounding him. He will now take on Johnny Gargano, Bronson Reed, Damien Priest, and Cameron Grimes for the championship opportunity.
NXT TakeOver: XXX takes place this Saturday, August 22, from Full Sail University, Winter Park, FL.
SummerSlam is a hot topic among fans right now with the PPV being only a few days away and CM Punk also recently joined in on the conversation, revealing which is his favorite SummerSlam match.
The former World Champion recently held a Q&A session on his Twitter account where he answered questions related to life lessons, his film Girl on the Third Floor and more.
In light of the recent revelation that Renee Young will be leaving WWE, Punk was asked how it was working with her on WWE Backstage and he said “Renee is the best. Super excited for her! Can’t wait for the cook book and the podcast….”
A fan then asked the former WWE star which was the favourite SummerSlam match of his WWE career and CM Punk claimed that it was the one against the Beast Incarnate Brock Lesnar.
The former WWE Champion also answered questions related to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, possibly writing a book and more. You can check out some of his top replies below:
Renee is the best. Super excited for her! Can’t wait for the cook book and the podcast….
Despite some recent reports about his position in WWE, Triple H is still perceived as the successor of Vince McMahon and fans believe that he will take over as the head of the company when the Boss retires.
There is an interesting dynamic between the two as well because Mr McMahon is the father in law of The Game and the grandfather of his kids.
Triple H talked about his relationship with the Boss during his appearance on The Bill Simmons podcast and explaining how they handle arguments with each other, the former World Champion claimed that they get over it pretty quickly:
“In terms of arguments, we both kind of get over it quickly, you have moments and things happen and come up and we just get past it and get over it.
If it came down to it and it meant the difference of my kids having their grandfather in their life or not, I’d have no problem just walking away.” said Triple H “I’d walk because it’s not worth it at the end of the day. Family business is awesome, though. I love it and wouldn’t change a thing.”
The King Of Kings also praised the work ethic of the chairman saying that he is a machine. He explained that Mr. McMahon has never missed a day at the office and even when nobody else was there, he was still working.
Explaining the reason behind this dedication, Triple H said that Vince McMahon still has passion for his work even after all these years, and everyday he gets up looking forward to work instead of dreading it.
There have been reports of Randy Orton wanting to work with NXT talents. His exchange with Tommaso Ciampa in particular have made many wonder if we can see the Viper going down to NXT for a feud with the former NXT Champion and other stars from the brand.
Triple H was asked about the possibility of The Viper coming to the Black And Yellow brand during a recent media call and the Game said that there are always conversations around this stuff. However, the former World Champion went on to explain that while they always have these options, getting them to fruition is a little bit more difficult:
“So changing things and trying to build in things on different days is very very difficult and a lot more challenging than people would think. While those options are always there and always discussed, getting them to fruition at this point in time, sometimes, is a little bit more difficult, but I can tell you this, Randy’s a little more public about it and puts it out on social [media].
I field calls all day long about talent wanting to do something in NXT and vice versa. There’s a constant there. I know from my end, as a performer, when you see talent and you see somebody that’s very good, and it peaks your interest. ‘Well, I’d like to work with them.’ That’s what Randy’s doing.”
We have seen people like Finn Balor or Charlotte Flair moving to NXT for feuds in recent times so the possibility of Randy Orton going down there to work doesn’t seem too farfetched. With the Survivor Series PPV being not too far away, another possibility is that we can see a cross brand feud between The Legend Killer and the NXT star but whether or not it actually happens will be revealed in future.
While Ricochet hasn’t been able to score a lot of big wins in the main roster so far, many believe that he will be a big star in the future and it appears that AJ Styles is one of the names who believe in the high flying star.
The former World Champion recently appeared on WWE’s The Bump where he talked about things like Jeff Hardy being a great tag team competitor and more.
Talking about the former NXT North American Champion, Styles said that Ricochet is one of the best high fliers he has ever seen and claimed that the young star will go on to become a much bigger name than he is now:
“Well, I can tell you, Ricochet is definitely one of the best high fliers that I’ve ever seen, he’s unbelievable; he’s a talent that will go on to be a much bigger name than he is now. Everything he does just seems so effortless. I have so much respect for him and where he’s come from.”
AJ Styles also responded to the praise from Bret Hart saying that he has gotten to know Bret over the years and it means a lot for him to have someone like the Hitman sing his praise.
Styles is currently set to defend his Intercontinental Championship against Jeff Hardy at this week’s episode of SmackDown and it’s believed that this bout will lead to a rematch between the two at the upcoming SummerSlam PPV.
Various people related to the wrestling industry have been reacting to the news of Renee Young leaving WWE since the news broke yesterday and one of the surprising reactions came from Paul Heyman.
The former Raw Executive Director took on his Twitter to comment on the departure of the female star saying that she brought out the best in everyone she worked with.
Heyman continued the praise on Instagram as well and the ECW founder said that he is forever indebted to Young for her on-screen generosity and trust:
“She always brought out the very best in everyone she worked with, and I am forever indebted to her for her on-screen generosity and trust. I look forward to whatever projects she chooses to grace with her passion and personality and thank her for the opportunity to work with such a professional.”
The news broke today that @ReneeYoungWWE will be leaving @WWE to pursue other dreams.
Renee Young has been with WWE since 2012 and she has worked her way up from NXT to the main roster and from being a backstage interviewer to one of the prominent faces of the WWE broadcast team.
Reports suggest that she will be working the SummerSlam PPV. Though there is no word yet on when she will wrap her duties with the promotion or what she is planning for her future.
Velveteen Dream def. Finn Balor in an NXT North American Championship Ladder Match Qualifier
Here are the takeaways from this week’s show:
Tag Team Action
Rhea Ripley
Rhea Ripley and Shotzi Blackheart were looking for payback on The Robert Stone Brand as they battled Aliyah and Mercedes Martinez.
This contest was set up last week when Martinez & Aliyah defeated Kayden Carter & Kacy Catanzaro and after the match, Ripley came out to the ring and fought with Martinez. This led to Blackheart helping Ripley even the odds against Martinez and Aliyah.
If you recall, just two weeks ago, Martinez interfered in Ripley vs. Dakota Kai where she cost the former NXT Women’s Champion from becoming the number one contender to the NXT Women’s Championship.
Both stars have both feuded with the Robert Stone Brand since declining offers to join the group.
The finish saw Ripley powerbomb Mercedes over the barricade to the floor while Shotizi hit a dive onto Aliyah for the win.
Adam Cole and Pat McAfee were able to meet face-to-face ahead of their match at NXT TakeOver: XXX. This will be the promotional debut for the former NFL punter.
On the show, Cole came out with the rest of The Undisputed Era while McAfee came out with a few of his guys. McAfee stated that he knew Cole wouldn’t come alone so Cole told the group to leave and McAfee did the same. McAfee reminded him of when he laid him out with a punt kick and that outsmarted him in his own house.
McAfee said that it took one minute to knock out Cole, who claims to be the face of NXT. He said that he made Cole look like an amateur. He said that he has made money everywhere and Cole better hope that he doesn’t stay around. He said that he’s going to make Cole look bad in front of the fans and vowed to win come Saturday.
They had a staredown with security in between them. Cole took out the guards and made McAfee look intimidated. Until the groups came back down to the ring. Cole said that he would make McAfee his b*tch at TakeOver. Cole walked out of the ring to end the segment.
Johnny Gargano vs. Ridge Holland was the first of two second chance qualifying matches in order to decide the final two participants for the ladder match for the vacant North American Championship at TakeOver.
Both Gargano and Holland obviously had previous chances of winning their qualifying matches but failed. Holland is from the NXT UK brand, but has been on NXT TV more as of late.
It was a hard-hitting type of match. They actually left the botch spot that was scary, which was a powerslam by Holland that went wrong and saw Gargano land right on his neck.
Gargano went over in the contest with his finisher. He advances to the match. Mauro Ranallo mentioned on commentary that this will be Gargano’s 18th appearance at TakeOver, which is impressive.
Finn Balor vs. Velveteen Dream was the second of two second chance qualifying matches in order to decide the final two participants for the ladder match for the vacant North American Championship at TakeOver.
Dream had just returned last week after a hiatus. He filled the spot of the unknown star in a triple threat match that featured Kushida and Cameron Grimes, which saw Grimes win. Post-match, Dream snapped and attacked Kushida. This led to Balor appearing in the ring and having a staredown with him
In this contest, there was a lot of outside interference including a referee bump. Johnny Gargano, Damien Priest, and Cameron Grimes got involved. Eventually, Dream hit his finisher to Balor for the win.
After the match, Bronson Reed came out and laid out Dream with his finisher. He stood tall with the title to close the show.
EVERYBODY has their sights set on the NXT #NATitle!!
NXT Cruiserweight Champion El Hijo Del Fantasma is now Santos Escobar
Legado del Fantasma (NXT Cruiserweight Champion Santos Escobar, Raul Mendoza & Joaquin Wilde) vs. Isaiah “Swerve” Scott & Breezango in a six-man tag match was booked.
Yet another week with these guys. It’s been pretty clear that WWE is building to Scott challenging Escobar for the NXT Cruiserweight Title, but when that will happen still remains to be seen.
Escobar hit his finisher on Breeze for the win. The match was solid and it continues to the dominance of this group, but more importantly Escobar. It’s just a matter of time before they book Scott challenging Escobar for the title.
Scott nearly pinned the champion in this contest. Plus, they kept him strong by having Breeze take the pinfall.
WWE has confirmed the final two competitors for the Ladder Match at the WWE NXT TakeOver XXX event.
During Wednesday’s episode of NXT, WWE held two second chance qualifying matches to decide the final two participants for the ladder match for the vacant North American Championship at TakeOver XXX.
Those two qualifying matches were Johnny Gargano vs. Ridge Holland and Finn Balor vs. Velveteen Dream. The outcomes of those contests saw Gargano and Dream win.
As a result, they’ll join Cameron Grimes, Bronson Reed, and Damian Priest in the contest.
Also, Legado del Fantasma vs. Breezango vs. Danny Burch & Oney Lorcan in a #1 Contender’s Match will take place on the pre-show.
WWE presents the NXT TakeOver XXX event on Saturday, August 22, 2020 in Winter Park, Florida.
Updated WWE NXT TakeOver XXX Card
WWE NXT Champion Keith Lee vs. Karrion Kross
WWE NXT Women’s Champion Io Shirai vs. Dakota Kai
Bronson Reed vs. Damian Priest vs. Cameron Grimes vs. Johnny Gargano vs. Velveteen Dream – Ladder Match to crown new NXT North American Champion
Adam Cole vs. Pat McAfee
Legado del Fantasma vs. Breezango vs. Danny Burch & Oney Lorcan – #1 Contender’s Triple Threat Match
Triple H has confirmed reports that WWE is planning to hold another Draft / Superstar Shakeup later this year. The Game commented on the situation during a media call to promote this Saturday’s NXT TakeOver: XXX event from Orlando, FL.
“That definitely has changed that mindset, there is different protocols and procedures, ‘hey, we’d like to move this talent, we’d like to do that,’ and you’ll see that coming up in the Draft later in the year. You definitely have to think about it a lot more and think about those changes, but I think long-term, it’s better for everybody.”
Triple H stated that it’s the opportunity where somebody who has their run on the main roster they can come change gears on a brand that feels totally different with a different style in NXT.
He thinks it could be a situation where they get a fresh coat of paint or somewhere they could start differently with a gimmick. He later stated that it opens up the door for them to be able to do that because each brand has its own primetime and live spot.
Dave Meltzer reported in a recent edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that the current plan is to hold the Draft in October, which had been previously reported by Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful.
There will be two dates with one Draft show for RAW and another for SmackDown.
Former WWE and WCW wrestler Marcus “Buff” Bagwell was hospitalized after a serious collision in Cobb County, Georgia earlier this week.
Bagwell was driving his 2013 Chevrolet Tahoe on Cumberland Boulevard this past Sunday at around 5:18pm local time when the collision occurred, according to the Cobb County Government Website. Investigators believe he was impaired by prescription medication at the time of the accident.
Investigators say Bagwell was traveling west on Cumberland Boulevard, approaching Cumberland Parkway, when he lost control while going through a curve. Bagwell collided with a center median and the fence on that median, before continuing west across the eastbound lanes. The Tahoe then collided with a curb before crashing into a free-standing restroom at the Cobb County Transit bus station.
Bagwell, age 50, has been hospitalized at Wellstar Kennestone Hospital with serious injuries. There were no other injuries reported.
Daniel Cormier is a big fan of pro wrestling and now that he’s no longer competing as an MMA fighter, the door to a potential pro wrestling run is still open.
The former UFC Light Heavyweight and Heavyweight Champion has previously expressed interest in doing something with WWE. The company, mainly Triple H and Stephanie McMahon, have also expressed doing something with the former UFC star.
While doing an interview with Sports Illustrated, Cormier stated that wrestling would be a vacation compared to being a full-time MMA fighter.
“That’s not my retirement,” says Cormier. “That would be a vacation.”
Cormier also expressed a desire to have a moment at the Royal Rumble by competing in the main event, the 30-man Royal Rumble contest.
“I’d love a Royal Rumble moment where I throw a dude into the ropes and I clothesline his ass over the top, or I dropkick somebody over the top rope,” says Cormier. “And I’ll take my bump and get thrown out.
“Let me chase somebody down, clothesline him with a Bradshaw-Layfield clothesline from hell and eliminate somebody from the Royal Rumble, then throw me over the top. Pro wrestling? I’m all in.”
Cormier recently retired from MMA as he lost for the second time to Stipe Miocic with the Heavyweight Title on the line in the headliner of the UFC 252 pay-per-view event.
EC3 is scheduled to make his debut for Ring of Honor this week.
EC3, who is currently back with Impact Wrestling, is at the ROH TV tapings in Baltimore and will be working this week’s TV tapings, according to PWInsider. It remains to be seen exactly what he will be doing, and if this is a one-time gig.
This week’s ROH TV tapings will be their first since they were forced to change their schedule in February due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The tapings will include the ROH Pure Title tournament.
It was recently reported on Wrestling Observer Live that ROH has big plans for these tapings. Bryan Alvarez noted that the tapings will be unlike anything fans have seen in pro wrestling. He also said “hardcore” fans, meaning dedicated fans of the sport, will be pleased with what ROH has to offer, especially if they feel like they’ve been missing something from their pro wrestling as of late.
EC3 was released from his WWE contract in April as the company made dozens of cuts due to the negative impact of COVID-19. He returned to Impact in July and is currently feuding with Moose for the TNA World Heavyweight Title.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35ix1EZLL3k
Stay tuned for spoilers from the ROH TV tapings and more on EC3’s future.
Bully Ray and Velvet Sky both felt that Shawn Michaels should have sold more for Randy Orton’s punt on RAW this Monday. This week’s show concluded with Orton punting yet another legend, much like he did to Ric Flair the week prior.
Bully took to Twitter to express his opinion on HBK’s RAW performance from Monday:
An RKO and a punt to the head from Randy FUCKING Orton and Shawn is on his feet??????????????????#WWERaw@BustedOpenRadio
Bully’s partner, Velvet Sky, also expressed her opinion of Michaels performance on Twitter:
So Shawn takes Orton’s RKO PLUS punt to the head & sits himself up in the corner & tries to get up like nothing happened.Basically no selling both moves.Way to bury Randy.Then Drew takes RKO alone & stays down selling like ur supposed to. Complete disrespect to Orton by Shawn.?????
“When u take someone’s finish, it’s more than just your face u sell. Imagine for instance, me taking Kong’s implant buster & trying to get up or crawl away, and only selling with my facial expressions. Ya just don’t do that. Its very disrespectful to the person executing the move,” a follow-up Tweet from Velvet Sky reads.
An Owen Hart fan account noted that perhaps Michaels was trying to make up for his over-selling from his SummerSlam 2005 match against Hulk Hogan:
Maybe he was trying to balance out over selling in Hulk Hogan match at Summerslam 2005
Orton has punted several people in recent months. Edge, Christian, Big Show, Ric Flair, and now Shawn Michaels have taken the move. At SummerSlam on Sunday, Orton will challenge Drew McIntyre for the WWE Championship.
AEW has released new rankings for 8/19. There was a fair amount of movement in the tag team division but the men’s and women’s divisions saw no changes.
AEW Men’s Singles Division
AEW World Champion: Jon Moxley (15-0) TNT Champion: Cody (18-1)
MJF (8-0)
Lance Archer (11-1)
Brian Cage (6-1)
Brodie Lee (5-1)
Scorpio Sky (7-2)
There was no movement in the men’s singles rankings this week. #5 Scorpio Sky was defeated by TNT Champion Cody on the last episode of Dynamite. Cody will look to defend his title on Saturday against #4 Brodie Lee.
AEW Women’s Division
AEW Women’s Champion: Hikaru Shida (16-1)
Nyla Rose (7-2)
Big Swole (6-3)
Penelope Ford (6-4)
Abadon (3-1)
Dr. Britt Baker (4-4)
There was no movement in the women’s singles division this week either. Champion Hikaru Shida picked up a victory in a non-title match over Heather Monroe last week on Dynamite.
On Saturday’s Dynamite, there is one women’s match scheduled. The finals of the Women’s Tag Team Cup will take place. The finals pits Ivelisse & Diamante against the Nightmare Sisters Allie and Brandi Rhodes.
AEW Tag Team Division
AEW Tag Team Champions: Kenny Omega & “Hangman” Page (12-0)
FTR (5-0)
Best Friends (13-4)
Young Bucks (6-2) (+1)
The Natural Nightmares (6-1) (previously unranked)
Dark Order (8-2) (-2)
Champions Kenny Omega & Hangman Page successfully defended their titles against the Jurassic Express on Dynamite last week. The loss booted Luchasaurus and Jungle Boy out of the #5 ranked spot.
#3 The Young Bucks moved up one spot in the rankings after defeating #5 The Dark Order on Dynamite. The match result sees the Dark Order drop two spots but remain in the rankings.
#4 The Natural Nightmares are back in the rankings. The team had been out of action for a while as QT Marshall was out with COVID-19.
On Dynamite this week, #4 The Natural Nightmares will team with Jurassic Express and take on the Lucha Bros and Butcher and the Blade in 8-man tag action. #1 FTR will also clash with Private Party on the show. #3 The Young Bucks will team with Kenny Omega to take on Alex Reynolds, Five & John Silver from the Dark Order.
Dominik Mysterio will take on Seth Rollins this Sunday in his first official pro-wrestling match. The 23-year-old has trained with some of the best including Lance Storm, Jay Lethal, and his own father, Rey Mysterio. Dominik and his father recently spoke with ESPN and expressed that one day they hope Dominik will wear a mask and carry on his family’s legacy as a luchador.
Rey Mysterio has already trademark the name “Prince Mysterio” for when the time is right.
“I’ve always wanted to wear a mask mainly because of tradition. It’s important to keep that tradition going,” Dominik said to ESPN. “Now with my face being out there, I think it would just have to be introduced a little bit differently so people understand. I definitely want to wear one, but it has to be introduced properly.”
“We actually talked about it. He definitely has to continue with the Mysterio dynasty. It’s in his genes,” said Rey Mysterio. “I think we’re going to incorporate that eventually and create a good story so the fans can understand the rich history behind lucha libre and the masks.”
Dominik made his first WWE appearance in 2005 as part of an angle between Rey Mysterio and Eddie Guerrero. It was actually revealed in storyline that Dominik is the biological son of Eddie Guerrero. At SummerSlam 2005, the custody of Dominik was on the line in a ladder match between Mysterio and Guerrero. Now 15 years later, Dominik is getting in the ring himself.
Mysterio also spoke about how quickly Dominik’s skills have been developing.
“I spotted right away that he was picking it up pretty fast,” Rey said. “Not only myself, but Konnan as well. He would tell me pretty much every other third roll or third bump, ‘Man, he’s a natural, bro. He’s picking it up really fast.'”
Longtime WWE broadcaster Renee Young has given notice that she is leaving the company.
Young, real name Renee Good, has been with the company since 2012. She is married to Jonathan Good, better known as AEW World Champion Jon Moxley.
News of Young’s departure from WWE was first reported by Outkick. PWInsider reports that she informed WWE of the decision last week. We have since independently verified the story.
Renee Young is expected to work this weekend’s WWE SummerSlam pay-per-view. It is unclear when she will wrap up her duties with the company.
Young has been a very popular figure during her time as an on-air talent. She has worked as a backstage interviewer, commentator and host of various programs including WWE’s kickoff shows, WWE Backstage and the beloved Talking Smack SmackDown post-show. She made history in August 2018 when she became the first woman to serve as a full-time announcer for WWE Raw.
Triple H was asked about Renee Young leaving WWE during Wednesday’s NXT media call to promote this weekend’s Takeover XXX event. He would not confirm or deny that she is leaving, instead saying that it is up to Renee to address the situation herself. Triple H then praised Renee Young as an important part of the WWE family. He said she’d done an amazing job with everything and he’s enjoyed working with her.
WWE Superstar Naomi recently appeared on WWE’s The New Day: Feel The Power podcast. The tenured Superstar discussed a number of topics from her career with the company, from FCW, to Team B.A.D and her current run with her ‘Glow’ gimmick.
When discussing her run with Team B.A.D, Naomi would say how it was the perfect point in hers, Tamina Snuka’s and Sasha Banks’ career to team up. “I just think at that time? We were just in a point in our careers with Sasha and Tamina where we just wanted more and wanting to grow and get better.”
Naomi on Sasha Banks
Naomi elaborated further, saying “there was so much changing and happening in the [Women’s] division. And just knowing what a superstar Sasha was and what she was going to be? Without a doubt, it was as always a pleasure to work with her to have insight from her for me.”
The WWE Superstar would then have huge praise for her former partner, saying “to me, Sasha is like the best we have in WWE, in my opinion. I got to work with Sasha in NXT, way before she became The Boss and really kicked off. I just thought she was always like an amazing person, and really admired her.”
Do you agree with Naomi about Sasha Banks? Let us know in the comments
Triple H appeared on the Bill Simmons podcast recently. He spoke about WWE’s handling of the global pandemic, the Thunderdome viewing experience, and SummerSlam. During the show, Simmons mentioned it has been hard for him to get into empty-arena wrestling and Triple H responded.
“The stand-up comic with no one in the building, right? He’s hitting his jokes and making himself pop,” Triple H compared empty-arena wrestling with. “It was surreal and for me, my hats off to our performers, anybody doing this.”
“The physicality hurts a lot more when there is nobody there making noice and you don’t have that adrenaline,” he continued.
Triple H also spoke about how having no crowd reactions hurts their ability to determine what is working and what isn’t.
“100%, you base almost all the reactions that we have as a company are based on how crowds are reacting,” he said.
“Crowd reaction, ticket sales, merchandise all those things factor into how you are utilizing talent and the direction you are headed with them, short term and long term, and now all that all of a sudden goes away. Because now you have merch sales but it’s different, it’s based on online sales, not in arena or whatever. You don’t have ticket sales anymore, you don’t have crowd reaction or noise.”
Triple H also continued to say using social media to judge a wrestlers popularity is tricky.
“Social media is very tricky because it can skew heavily depending on the platform, negative algorithms on some platforms are much stronger than others. So something bad happens, it trends immediately. Something good happens, it doesn’t even get out there because of how the algorithms works.”
Triple H also talked about how D-X would have done in the no-fans era, how Bray Wyatt is thriving in it, and more.
David Finlay is scheduled to face KENTA in the finals of the New Japan Cup USA 2020. He defeated Chase Owens in the quarter-finals and pulled off the upset over Tama Tonga in the semi-finals.
The 27-year-old spoke with Fightful Select recently about his career thus far. Finlay said that he knows he could have gotten his father, Fit Finlay, to get him into WWE when he first started training but he didn’t want to go that route. Instead, Finlay wanted to earn things on his own merit. Finlay began training at the New Japan Dojo in 2015 as a 22-year-old.
Finlay also said that he believes his father could still wrestle. According to David, Fit Finlay still trains daily and is in good enough shape to go.
Finlay vs KENTA will take place on August 21st, 2020.
David Finlay On Explaining Relationship To Hornswoggle
When David Finlay was in middle school, WWE ran an angle where Hornswoggle was revealed as Fit’s son. Evidently, this led to David having to go along with the angle at school. He spoke to the WINCLY podcast about the experience.
“I was in middle school about 7th or 8th grade. (His mother) sat me down, and she was like, ‘David, this is what they’re gonna do on TV tonight, which means tomorrow when you go to school, all of your friends are going to be asking if this is your brother? You have to tell them yes.’”
“But then of course, that’s not good enough for my friends, so they’re asking all these follow-up questions like, ‘how come he doesn’t live with you?’ So I’m having to like BS on my friend on the spot because my mom told me I have to tell them that that’s my brother. Wrestling family man.”
Impact Wrestling presented the first night of its 2-week branded event, Emergence, last night on AXS TV and Twitch. The card featured the Motor City Machine Guns defending the tag belts against the North in the main event.
Impact Results 8/18:
X-Division Championship Rohit Raju defeated TJP & Chris Bey (c) – New Champion
TNA World Championship (Unofficial) Moose (c) defeated Trey Miguel
The Good Brothers (Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows) defeated Ace Austin & Madman Fulton
Wrestle House Kylie Rae defeated Taya Valkyrie
Impact Tag Team Championships Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin) (c) defeated The North (Josh Alexander & Ethan Page)
Here are 8 takeaways from Impact 8/18:
New X-Division Champion Crowned
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bAnAgTdl2JQ
Rohit Raju had been attempting to convince Chris Bey that he would make a good run-in buddy for him. Raju even said he was only in this triple threat match to ensure Bey walked away from it still the champion. It may have been all a ploy, however, as Raju would be the one to leave with the belt here.
TJP had Bey locked in a submission but Raju grabbed Bey’s arm to stop him from tapping. Shortly after, Bey was looking to land a move on TJP from the top turnbuckle when Raju tossed TJP off the buckle and Bey landed in a tree of woe position. Raju then hit a double foot stomp on Bey and pinned him to win the championship.
I don't like to retweet comments, but this says it all!! The respect from my peers means a lot!! ??? https://t.co/3n6OssTw4O
Raju is the 46th wrestler to win the X-Division title and begins the 93rd reign in the title’s lineage. Bey’s reign ends at 31 days.
Motor City Machine Guns Retain
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9dI-v34Ajc
The main event of Emergence Night 1 saw the North cash in their rematch clause against the Motor City Machine Guns. Ethan Page and Josh Alexander had said leading up to this match that they were worn down after a year of defending the belts and that is the only reason why MCMG were able to take the titles off of them.
The North would control much of the match, forcing the MCMGs into two hot tag situations. Ultimately, however, it was the tandem moves by the innovative Sabin and Shelley that would help them prevail. They finished off Page with a combination neck-breaker splash for the win.
MCMG are in their 2nd reign with these belts. Their combined 212 days plus (as of this writing) puts them 5th all-time. They are just ahead of the Hardys (at 205 combined days as champs). They trail the North (383 days) for 4th on the all-time list.
EC3 Steals The TNA World Title
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35ix1EZLL3k
Moose defeated Trey Miguel in an unofficial TNA World title match this week. Trey fought valiantly against his much bigger opponent but in the end, Moose would pick up the win with a Lights Out spear.
After the match, EC3 came out of nowhere and attacked Moose. He delivered a reverse DDT to him before grabbing the TNA World title and leaving.
Previously, EC3 has said he wants to destroy his past, which includes the TNA World title. Impact is advertising we will hear more about EC3’s reasons for stealing the belt next week.
Wrestle House Craziness Continues
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1He-pirn1ns
Quite a bit happened on Wrestle House this week.
Larry D of Team XXXL had a spell put on him by Rosemary to make him fall in love with her. He told his partner Acey Romero this week that he is wearing the new cologne “Ring Rust” made from real ring rust. A rather dapper dressed “Lawrence D” now has a date set up with Rosemary for next week. Rosemary is just trying to make John E Bravo jealous, however.
Somebody stole The Deaners’ beer. Cody and Jake accused several people but as of yet have not gotten to the bottom of the mystery. Jake and Susie are a little awkward around each other as well after their bad date.
The big match of the week pitted Kylie Rae versus Taya Valkyrie with Rosemary as the special referee. Taya has been rather cruel to Kylie throughout their time at Wrestle House. Kylie has been hoping to get back to the ring soon since she is the #1 contender to the Knockouts title but Taya wants everyone to stay and watch highlights of her matches. Kylie would pick up the win with a superkick as Rosemary begrudgingly counted the 3.
The Good Brothers Get Revenge On Ace Austin & Madman Fulton
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHPyCBEbIeY
After weeks of sneak attacks, ambushes, and even having the cops called on them, the Good Brothers picked up a measure of revenge on Ace Austin and Madman Fulton this week.
The finish of the match came when Fulton missed a kick on the outside and got his foot stuck in the guardrail. Gallows then tossed him to the other side of the guardrail, taking him out of the match. This allowed Anderson and Gallows to hit the Magic Killer on Austin for the win.
Willie Mack was being interviewed by Jimmy Jacobs in the back about Eric Young’s recent attacks on his friend Rich Swann. Brian Myers came out of nowhere, hijacked the interview and forced Jacobs to interview him instead.
Myers said he spent years “being a good hand” and not rocking the boat but it only got him fired. He said he was sick of decisions about this business being made by a 70-year-old man. Mack then came back into the picture and the segment ended with the two brawling on the floor. A match between Myers and Mack has been scheduled for next week.
Heath has been purchasing advertising spots on Impact Wrestling as of late. He is hoping fans will use the hashtag “Heath4Impact” to get it trending and encourage Impact to sign him. He noted this week that had he been hired by now, he could have helped Rhino last week when he was beaten up by Reno Scum. Heath also noted that he still has kids.
