It appears that one-half of the former NXT tag team champions Chad Gable is done being Shorty G and the former NXT star will not be using the gimmick moving forward.
This week’s episode of SmackDown saw Shorty G losing a quick match to The Freak Lars Sullivan. In the post-match interview with Kayla Braxton at the ringside, the WWE star said that he was quitting.
Producer Adam Pearce reached out to the former champion in the trainer’s room later in the show and asked Gable about his comments on quitting.
The former American Alpha member then ranted about being tired of lying to people that they can achieve what they want by believing in themself and said that he is done being the Shorty G character.
The former NXT star listed some of his accomplishments as an amateur wrestler and declared that only one man can achieve anything he wants: Chad Gable. You can check out the segment below:
The Shorty G character was introduced in Gable’s feud with Baron Corbin in 2019. Corbin originally called him Shorty Gable as a tease but WWE later decided to adopt the gimmick and they officially changed his name to Shorty G.
Now these segments suggest that WWE is doing away with the gimmick and it would be interesting to see what the company is planning for the future of the SmackDown star.
WWE SmackDown aired from the ThunderDome in the Amway Center. It was the final episode of SmackDown before WWE Hell in a Cell this Sunday night.
SmackDown Results (10/23)
Kevin Owens, Daniel Bryan & Kevin Owens def. Nakamura, Cesaro, Ziggler, Roode
Bianca Belair def. Zelina Vega
Lars Sullivan def. Shorty G
Seth Rollins def. Murphy
Here are the takeaways from this week’s show:
Owens, Bryan & Street Profits Picked Up A Win
Kevin Owens kicked off this week’s show with an episode of the KO Show. Owens welcomed everyone to the first edition of the KO Show in his new home on SmackDown. Owens announced Daniel Bryan as his guest. Bryan said that they have pushed each other to be better in the past and that is the attitude he wants everyone to have on SmackDown.
Bryan stated that his vision for SmackDown was for it to highlight the best superstars in the world. Daniel added that the Intercontinental Championship should be defended in the ring every week on SmackDown. Owens brought up the SmackDown Tag Team Championships and said that he has never been a tag team champion.
Daniel joked that Owens has betrayed a lot of friends in the past and Kevin suggested that they become a team. Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode interrupted and claimed that they were two of the greatest SmackDown acquisitions in history. SmackDown Tag Team Champions Street Profits joined the party and came to the entrance ramp.
Street Profits said that they were excited to be on SmackDown because they want the smoke. Cesaro and Shinsuke Nakamura interrupted and said that they have been carrying the SmackDown tag team division for months. A brawl then broke out as SmackDown went to a break. When SmackDown returned, Adam Pearce made an 8-man tag team match.
.@ScrapDaddyAP should call Teddy Long and get some pointers on how to handle situations like this.
Match Recap: Cesaro beat Angelo Dawkins down and tagged in Robert Roode. Roode bounced Dawkins face off the top turnbuckle and then missed with an Elbow Drop. Montez Ford tagged in and leveled Roode with a shoulder tackle. Ziggler tagged in and connected with a Dropkick on Ford for a two count.
Shinsuke hit Montez with a cheap shot as Dolph distracted the referee. Roode tagged back in and continued to beat Ford down in the corner of the ring. Roode connected with a Backbreaker and went for the cover but Ford kicked out at two. Cesaro tagged in and stomped on Ford’s head.
Cesaro hit Montez with an uppercut and tagged Shinsuke in. Nakamura hit a Knee Drop for another two count before tagging Cesaro in. Cesaro applied a submission hold as Owens, Dawkins, and Daniel Bryan pleaded for a tag. Ford battled back and caught Cesaro with a kick to the face.
Daniel Bryan tagged in and unloaded some uppercuts on Cesaro. Bryan sent Cesaro out of the ring and hit him with a Suicide Dive. Back in the ring, Bryan climbed to the top rope and went for a Crossbody. Cesaro caught him but Bryan escaped and connected with a running kick.
Competing in his first @WWE match since June, @WWEDanielBryan hasn't lost a BEAT!
Bryan tweaked his knee and Cesaro capitalized with an uppercut. Owens checked on Bryan but Cesaro broke it up and targeted his attack on Bryan’s knee as SmackDown went to another commercial break. When SmackDown returned, Bryan was still trapped in the ring and Ziggler wrapped his injured right knee around the bottom rope.
Cesaro tagged in and locked in a Half Crab on the injured knee. Dolph tagged back and started to taunt Bryan. Dolph waited for Bryan to get up and went for a Dropkick but Bryan blocked it. Daniel launched Ziggler into the turnbuckle and both superstars fell to the canvas.
Roode tagged in and once again prevented Bryan from making a tag. Roode perched Bryan up on the top turnbuckle but Bryan battled back with a headbutt. Daniel followed it up with a Dropkick off the top rope and finally tagged in Angelo. Dawkins leveled Shinsuke with a Clothesline and then knocked Ziggler out of the ring with a Dropkick.
Dawkins planted Nakamura with a Bulldog for a near fall. Nakamura caught Dawkins with a Backstabber for a two count. Cesaro tagged in as Nakamura hit Ford with a cheap shot. Cesaro hit Dawkins with a Spinebuster and went for the cover but Owens broke it up. Owens hit Roode with a Stunner but turned around into a DDT from Ziggler.
Cesaro rolled up Dawkins and used the ropes for leverage but the referee caught it. Dawkins hit Cesaro with a Spinebuster and tagged in Montez Ford. Montez connected with a massive Frog Splash for the pinfall victory.
After the match, Daniel Bryan said he was with the smoke and shouted “fist me boys!”. After an awkward silence, Street Profits and Owens fist bumped Bryan before walking away. Intercontinental Champion Sami Zayn showed up and told Bryan that he doesn’t share Daniel’s vision of defending the IC Title every week. Zayn boasted about defeating Bryan at WrestleMania and said he is going to do things his way as long as he has the Intercontinental Championship.
Otis Will Face The Miz With The MITB Contract On The Line At Hell In A Cell
The Miz and John Morrison brought Otis to court over the MITB briefcase. Otis represented himself and APA reunited during the segment with JBL serving as the judge. The Miz immediately interrupted his lawyer and presented his case. The Miz said he was here for the truth and Otis has victimized him physically and emotionally.
Miz claimed Otis doesn’t deserve the briefcase and that he should have it. Otis said that he deserves the contract because he won the Money in the Bank Ladder match. The Miz’s lawyer said that was a good argument and he fired her.
Later on SmackDown, John Morrison said that Otis assaulted him and he hasn’t overcome the emotional scars from it. Rey Mysterio took the stand and said that Otis won the Money in the Bank Ladder match and that he should be able to cash in anytime he wants. Asuka shouted a bunch of words and then asked Teddy Long if he got any of that. Teddy said he got every single word of it.
Tucker said Miz crossed the line by having Mandy Rose traded to RAW and he deserved everything that happened to him. The Miz claimed that Otis neglected the MITB contract and Tucker said he wanted to beat the crap out of him right now. Ron Simmons demanded that everyone shut up and JBL called for a short recess.
The Miz presented a briefcase and Simmons brought it to JBL. He opened the briefcase and smirked as a cash register sound effect played. JBL decided that Otis will face at Hell in a Cell and the winner will get the MITB contract. Ron Simmons shouted “damn!” to end the segment.
Bianca Belair squared off against Zelina Vega tonight on SmackDown.
Match Recap: Vega slapped Bianca in the face and Belair responded launching her across the ring with ease. Belair followed it up with a Body Slam and then a massive shoulder tackle. Belair connected with a Standing Moonsault and then posed in the ring. Zelina held onto the ring apron out of desperation as Belair tried to drag her to the middle of the ring. Vega booted Belair in the knee and hit a Hurricanrana off the second rope. Belair hit Vega with a punch to the face and then hit the KOD for the easy pinfall victory.
Lars Sullivan faced Shorty G tonight. Before the match, Shorty G said he is fed up because he wasn’t drafted. Shorty G called it blatant disrespect and tonight he is going to prove that he belongs here.
Match Recap: Shorty G went for a Crossbody but Lars caught him and connected with a Fallaway Slam. Sullivan laughed and lifted up Shorty G but he raked his eyes. Shorty G went for a Splash but Lars dodged it and launched Shorty G across the ring. Lars followed it up with a Clothesline and then the Freak Accident for the pinfall victory. Kayla Braxton asked Shorty G how he felt after the match and he said he quit.
Adam Pearce approached Shorty Go backstage and asked if he is really quitting. Shorty G said he is done being the smiley punching bag around this place. Shorty G stated that he is going back to Chad Gable.
Chris Jericho and MJF received high praise for their Le Dinner Debonair segment.
The segment aired this past Wednesday on AEW Dynamite. Fans didn’t know what to expect from it going in, but the majority of fans liked it while a minority of the fanbase didn’t.
There was tension as they tried to one-up each other while ordering steaks until they started signing. Jericho took to his Twitter account where he touted the success of it:
Jericho wrote, “Just saw minute by minute ratings for #LeDinnerDebonair & I’m stoked that almost 800k checked out our song and dance! Fifth highest demo for #AEWDynamite as well. Add over a million views on Twitter & it looks like our experiment paid off! The #DemoGod wins again! @The_MJF.”
Dynamite drew 753,000 live viewers on TNT and ranked #13 among the top 150 shows on cable by doing a 0.30 in the 18-49 demographic.
Next Wednesday’s AEW Dynamite Card
TNT Champion Cody Rhodes vs. Orange Cassidy
Wardlow vs. Hangman Page (AEW Tournament Match)
Kenny Omega vs. Penta El Zero M (AEW Tournament Match)
Inner Circle Town Hall Meeting to decide if MJF will join the group
Mark Henry has made it clear that he’s willing to do one more match if it can be against The Rock.
The WWE Hall of Famer did an interview with Heavy.com’s Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson where he noted that if he was to wrestle again then it would be against the fellow Nation Of Domination member
“I’m 2-0 against The Rock,” Henry said. “I think I should give him the opportunity to get one, to get a ‘chip against me. I think if I was to come out of retirement and wrestle somebody, I would say, “Hey man. You wrestling again, huh?
You know you never beat me. Don’t that bother you a little bit? You should wanna get that ‘chip…” and see what he says. He would say, ‘Your ass is going down this time! You might as well go on and look up at the lights!’ I would have to look at the lights.”
Henry has been with the company since 1996. During his career, he has held three championships. The WWE World Heavyweight Title, ECW Title, and European Title. He was also a three-time Slammy Award winner.
Henry’s last match came when he worked a Royal Rumble match at the Greatest Royal Rumble pay-per-view event back in April 2018.
Impact Wrestling is back with another show, so let’s take a look at the card for the Bound For Glory pay-per-view event.
Bound For Glory takes place on Saturday, October 24, 2020 from Skyway Studios in Nashville, Tennessee. Impact Wrestling World Heavyweight Champion Eric Young vs. Rich Swann is expected to serve as the headliner.
The show kicks off at 8:00 p.m. ET and will be distributed on cable, satellite and digital pay-per-view, including DISH, DirecTV, iN Demand, Vubiquity, Rogers, Bell, Shaw and Sasktel across North America, and streaming live globally exclusively on the FITE.tv app
This will be the third PPV event of the year for Impact. The card that features several big matches appears to be finalized.
Bound For Glory Final Card
It’s possible the promotion announces more matches but here’s how the card looks like for now:
World Champion Eric Young vs. Rich Swann
Knockouts Champion Deonna Purrazzo (C) vs. Kylie Rae
X-Division Champion Rohit Raju (C) vs. Jordynne Grace vs. Willie Mack vs. TJP vs. Chris Bey vs. Trey Miguel – 6-Way Scramble Match
World Tag Team Champions The Motor City Machine Guns vs. Ace Austin & Madman Fulton vs. The North vs. The Good Brothers
Moose vs. EC3 – Unsanctioned Match
Ken Shamrock (with Sami Callihan) vs. Eddie Edwards
Heath, Rhino, Hernandez, Acey Romero, Larry D, Tenille Dashwood, Taya Valkyrie, Brian Myers, Tommy Dreamer, Havok and more – Call Your Shot Gauntlet
The Rascalz (Dezmond Xavier & Zachary Wentz) vs. The Deaners (Cody Deaner & Cousin Jake) – Pre-Show
Rey Fenix has been forced to pull out of AEW’s World Title Eliminator Tournament due to injury. Penta el Zero M will take his place in the semi-finals, which takes place next week on AEW Dynamite.
AEW released a video on Friday featuring Eddie Kingston announcing the change. Kingston did not specify the nature of Fenix’s injury, but assured him this is not about him, it’s about ‘the family.’
Throughout its near two-decades in existence one thing Impact Wrestling/TNA has consistently received praise for is its Knockouts division. Even during periods where women’s wrestling wasn’t a featured part of other promotions, Impact has seemed to have always had a pretty stacked division.
Impact Hall-of-Famer Gail Kim was recently interviewed by Forbes and talked the past and present of the Knockouts division.
“Just to see where we started, and to be along for that whole ride to see where the Knockouts division is now…of course, there are so many women—not just in our company, but across the board in the industry—so many talented women that I would have loved to have worked with,” Kim said.
“I guess it is a little more special to me to have broken out in a time when women’s wrestling wasn’t so hyped up as it is now, and as big as it is now, so I wouldn’t change a thing,” she continued.
Kiera Hogan On The Present Knockouts Division
Forbes also spoke with Kiera Hogan during the interview. Hogan has been teaming with Tasha Steelz as of late in the promotion and feels the Knockouts division is the best in the business.
“I feel like, as a unit, we are the best. As separate personalities and characters, we are the best, so I feel like if it was ever a thing—if it was company vs. company vs. company (WWE vs. AEW vs. IMPACT)—IMPACT would win hands down,” she said.
The Knockouts title will be on the line at Bound For Glory this weekend. Champion Deonna Purrazzo will defend the title against challenger Kylie Rae.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOVBjLeOnNA
Knockouts Championship History
Purrazzo became the 24th wrestler in history to win the Knockouts title when she defeated Jordynne Grace at Slammiversary this year. Gail Kim leads almost all historic categories when it comes to the championship aside from longest single-reign. That record belongs to Taya Valkyrie (377).
During the recent WWE Draft, Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston were drafted to RAW but Big E remained on Smackdown. In recent months, Big E had started a singles career when both Woods and Kofi were on the shelf with injuries. Big E recently spoke to Fox Sports and talked about how he found out that he would be on separate brands from his teammates.
“We probably got two days in advance,” Big E said. “Which, I think a lot of it was to ensure that we didn’t show up to work and if we heard the news then, I assume that people just imagine that we would be tearing up the halls, knocking down doors, crying in public, just fits of rage.”
He continued to talk about how when they were first informed of the change, they weren’t happy about it.
“Initially, obviously, we were not pleased,” Big E continued. “I’d heard some rumors maybe a month prior that it was something discussed. But I’ve heard rumors for years that we’re gonna be broken up, that one of us is gonna turn on the other, and we’ve been able to weather a lot of those storms.”
The New Day had their final match together (for awhile, at least) on last week’s Smackdown. They defeated Shinsuke Nakamura, Cesaro, and Sheamus in 6-man tag action.
“We got to do something that I think was emotional, but was unique in that I can’t think of another time we got to see a faction that had as much staying power split up in the way that we did.”
Rey Mysterio suffered a torn triceps on the Payback PPV back in August. He teamed with his son Dominik on the show and defeated Buddy Murphy and Seth Rollins. According to a report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Mysterio should be cleared to return soon.
“Rey Mysterio should be back any time now as far as in the ring. He said his partially torn triceps healed slower than he had expected but was at about 99 percent,” wrote Dave Meltzer.
Rey Mysterio & Dominik In WWE
Dominik recently commented on possibly facing his father in WWE someday.
“Yes, most definitely. I think that’ll be — that’s still a long time from now, but I remember all the spankings he gave me as a kid. So, I’m sure our match will come.”
Mysterio and his son Dominik were both traded to the Smackdown brand in the recent draft. The 23-year-old Dominik Mysterio has now wrestled 9 professional matches, all on WWE main roster programming. He is 1-4 in singles matches. Dominik is 1-1 against Murphy in singles matches and 0-3 against Seth Rollins. Rey and Dominik are 2-0 in tag matches against Seth Rollins and Buddy Murphy. Dominik and Humberto Carrillo have teamed together twice now, losing both matches.
Dark Order member Alex Reynolds has provided another update on his condition after getting ‘knocked out’ during the main event of this week’s AEW Dynamite.
In a statement issued Friday afternoon, Reynolds thanked everyone who has reached out to him this week. He wrote on social media:
“Hey guys, just wanted to thank you for all the concerns for my health. It means the world to me. I truly believe the ref and our doctor handled the situation great on Wednesdays show. Injuries happen in wrestling, but I feel completely safe with our team here. Thanks again and I’m looking forward to seeing you soon.”
The incident took place during the 4-way tag team match that closed the show. Reynolds was injured while taking a series of moves from Private Party, which you can see below.
WWE Superstars soon undergo mandatory ‘relationship counseling’ sessions. According to the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter, WWE has engaged the Total Life Counseling organization to lead the initiative.
“All WWE talent on 10/28 have a mandatory counseling session to attend via streaming on keeping healthy relationships. Total Life Counseling will present a mandatory session for all talent on that subject,” wrote Dave Meltzer.
Per their website, “Total Life Counseling, Inc (TLC) provides individual, marital and family counseling that integrates sound psychological, spiritual and social principles to help people grow in their life satisfaction. Our counseling principles help clients develop a positive self-image, emotional stability, communication skills, healthy thinking patterns, strengthen their ability to cope with stressful situations and enhance their physical, emotional, interpersonal and spiritual development.”
The Observer report states there will be two counseling sessions. The first will be a large presentation. The second will be smaller ‘breakout groups’ where talent will be able to ask questions.
News that WWE roster members will be undergoing a mandatory counseling session on healthy relationships, comes on the heels of the #SpeakingOut movement and allegations against some members of the WWE roster.
Allegations & Lawsuits
Matt Riddle was the subject of allegations from one person during #SpeakingOut. Riddle has denied the allegations. After reports came out that Riddle’s accuser planned on filing a suit against WWE, Evolve, & Riddle, WWE released the below statement:
“WWE has not been served with a lawsuit by Ms. Tavel. However, if served, we will vigorously defend ourselves and contest it,” WWE’s statement reads.
Riddle’s legal team had at one point stated they would be filing a civil suit against his accuser. His lawyer released a statement saying that they planned to do so. At this time, it is not clear if either lawsuit has actually been filed.
The Rock and Kurt Angle have both responded to a Tweet posted by ESPN’s Ariel Helwani on the 20-year anniversary of WWE’s No Mercy 2000 PPV. Kurt Angle defeated the Rock that night to win his first-ever WWE Championship. The event was held in the Pepsi Center in Albany, New York on October 22nd, 2000.
Angle responded to Helwani, noting this was the most important match of his career:
This was the most important match of my career. I won my 1st wwe world title against one of the most popular WWE Superstars of all time, not to mention most popular celebrity I know. @TheRock helped me so much very early in my career. I will always hold him in high regard. https://t.co/t9Ars1Uw8e
The Rock then responded to Helwani’s comments as well.
Love this match! It was a brilliant build up and promotion. Honored to “do the honors” for Kurt. He’s one of the good guys AND one of the greatest athletes of all time. Rare combo. Didn’t know your wrestling roots go this far back, Ariel. We gotta talk ???
“It’s one of my favorite matches ever. I just told my kids about the whole build-up on the way to school today. Been a fan since 85! First event I ever went to was 1991 at the Montreal Forum. @BretHart, my favorite as a kid, and Mr. Perfect fought to a draw. Will never forget it,” Helwani continued.
The Rock’s 8 reigns with the WWE Championship is 3rd all-time. Only John Cena (13) and Randy Orton (9) have won the title more times. His combined 367 days spent with the title ranks 15th all-time. As for Kurt Angle, he held the title for a combined 297 days (across 4 reigns) which is good for 17th all time.
At Full Gear on November 7th, 2020, Matt Hardy and Sammy Guevara’s feud will continue with an Elite Deletion match. According to comments made recently on Wrestling Observer Radio, this will be a cinematic match taped ahead of time.
“This will be a cinematic match,” said Dave Meltzer on the show. “I don’t know if they are going to do it at the Hardy compound, I didn’t ask. But I know that it’s going to be a taped match and it’s not going live.”
The feud between Guevara and Hardy has been somewhat plagued by injuries. Hardy was busted up on an episode of Dynamite after Guevara tossed a heavy chair at his head. Then at the All Out PPV, Hardy was knocked unconcisous after both wrestlers jumped off a lift through a table. The match was re-started after Hardy was cleared to continue.
“I know that the original idea was to do it at Hardy’s house,” Meltzer continued. “I don’t know that they are or they’re not, I haven’t asked that one yet. That was the plan for this feud going back to March. At the beginning, they couldn’t do it there. So, that may be what this is, the plan they always had and finally getting to do this match.”
“Hardy and Sammy Guevara at the Hardy Compound was an idea that they had dating back well before the pandemic,” he continued. “The idea of them doing a cinematic match was always planned.”
AEW Full Gear Card
The following matches are now confirmed for AEW Full Gear, which takes place Saturday, November 7th from Jacksonville, FL at Daily’s Place.
AEW World Heavyweight Champion Jon Moxley vs.Eddie Kingston (I Quit Match)
AEW Tag Team Champions FTR vs. The Young Bucks
AEW World Heavyweight Title Tournament Finals
Matt Hardy vs. Sammy Guevara – Elite Deletion Match
Serpentico is All Elite. The popular independent wrestler confirmed the news to Inside The Ropes earlier this week.
The high flying star spoke to the site and discussed his signing with AEW. The “Snakeman” says he’s beyond grateful to work for a company that cares about their talent.
“SNAKEMAN is ALL ELITE! I’ve been under a deal for a few months now. This is going to sound like I’m playing favorites because I work for the company now but I’m beyond grateful to work for a company that cares so much for the people that work for them. Before signing I was already made to feel at home.”
He added that everyone in AEW has been very welcoming. Unlike other places he’s worked, he feels that you can approach anybody for advice and that is welcomed.
Serpentico made his AEW debut back in March. He has been a regular for AEW Dark since then and has made a number of appearances on Dynamite too.
The newest AEW star has already made his PPV debut for the promotion as well and he faced Joey Janela in a singles match at the All Out Buy-In.
Major League Wrestling returned to taping shows this past week. Their latest tapings featured a number of former WWE stars, according to a report by Wrestling Inc.
MLW taped a total of 16 weeks of TV content at the GILT nightclub in Orlando from this past Sunday to Tuesday.
What’s interesting to note here is that the tapings saw not one but at least three former WWE stars taking part in the shows including names such as Lio Rush, Shawn Daivari and ACH.
Out of these three, Daivari reportedly worked both as a talent and a producer. Though it’s not a big surprise as he had been working as a producer for WWE since January 2019 before getting released during the pandemic.
Lio Rush was also released from the company during the budget cuts this past April. He had been in the promotion since 2017 and Rush has only worked a handful of matches since his release.
ACH on the other hand was released from WWE after a bit of controversy. He originally signed with the company back in February 2019 and debuted with the ring name Jordan Myles.
He was released from the promotion in November last year after accusing WWE of racism over a T-shirt design which some felt had a resemblance to blackface.
Jey Uso appeared on the Gorilla Position podcast this week to promote Sunday’s WWE Hell in a Cell pay-per-view. He challengres Roman Reigns for the Universal Championship inside the cage.
Uso says virtually everyone has been surprised at how good his feud with Reigns has been. To him, the rivalry feels real – and he hopes fans feel the same way.
When asked whose idea it was for him to work with the Tribal Chief, Uso said, “That old man [Vince McMahon] is a genius for a reason.” He joked that WWE’s creative team probably questioned the matchup when they first heard about it.
Uso and Reigns had a great match at the most recent WWE pay-per-view, Clash of Champions. Not only did the match live up to the hype, but their promos have also been stellar. According to Jey Uso, most of their promos are improvised on the spot.
“I am reacting to what he is saying because they can’t write our promos,” he said. “They can’t write how he feels about me and how I feel about him. We got to the level where they trust us and let us do our thing. It feels good to finally get to that level where they took the chains off us.”
Paul Heyman has been an integral part of this feud as well. Uso calls Heyman a “creative genius.” He was excited to see Heyman paired with Reigns and hopes to work with Heyman as much as he can.
IMPACT Wrestling Star Rich Swann will be challenging for the company’s World Title this Saturday. The former 205 Live Superstar will be taking on Eric Young for the IMPACT World Championship at the Bound For Glory PPV.
Swann recently appeared on SiriusXM’s Busted Open Radio to discuss his upcoming Title match as well as his horrific ankle injury. Rich Swann has previously described his near career-ending and life altering injury as his Achilles being“crushed like a soda can.”
Ankle Injury
“Once I started going after the surgery to the doctor and they saw how severe it was? I showed him some of the videos of my work” Rich Swann began on Busted Open Radio. “I showed him some of the things [I do] and some of my matches, you know? How I would perform. He [the doctor] looked at me and he said ‘oh boy, if you think you’ll be doing this? You might have another thing coming!'”
Rich Swann’s injury took place in January of this year. In a previous interview with F4W, Swann stated “my fibula was broken clean and it was broken to the point where the bone was just sticking at the skin. It was almost a compound fracture.” Swann suffered the injury at Impact’s Bash at the Brewery 2 back in January as mentioned.
Different Profession
Swann would also mention that the severity of the injury meant he might’ve had to find another career outside of wrestling. “And then he [the doctor] started getting a little bit more serious. He was like ‘you know you might have to think about another profession? You might not even be walking, you know?'”
Rich Swann would finish by stating that the injury could’ve left him struggling to walk for the rest of his life. “‘You might literally have a limp for the rest of your life'” Swann continued. “And to hear that, you know? It was like….man, I go from being told that I’ll never be able to make it in this industry? To doing it? To it all potentially being taken away with one simple move?”
Do you think that Rich Swann will beat Eric Young for the IMPACT World Title this weekend? Let us know in the comments.
New Jack has 5 children and one of them is a famous drag queen named Washington Heights. The 27-year-old uses she/her pronouns when in drag. She spoke to VICE recently after a Tweet of hers talking about her father went viral.
“My dad (New Jack from ECW) cut me out of his life 3 years ago because he didn’t want his fans to know I’m a drag queen, and he didn’t want Wikipedia posting anything about me. Clearly he doesn’t know how Wikipedia works. Anywho, I’m now an official editor for Wikipedia,” Heights Tweeted in August.
She sent out the below Tweet the following day:
Here’s my thing… Was I petty with posting this and changing his Wikipedia? Yes. Could I have handled it better? Possibly. The world is already against me being gay.. I just want someone who created me to embrace what I do and support me. End of story.
During a recent interview with VICE, Heights opened up further about her relationship with her father.
“He said we’d keep in touch, but then why say that and afterwards you haven’t reached out to me?” Heights said during the interview. “It’s been over a year, maybe two years, since we talked.”
She also talked about how pro-wrestling and being a drag queen are pretty similar.
“When I was younger, I went to one of his shows,” she said. “I was fascinated by the entrance music, the costumes, the flashiness, the big personalities, the fireworks. That’s pretty much everything that I’m doing except drag queens don’t slam each other on the floor and attack each other.”
Thank you to @tufayel and @VICE/@VICEUK for reaching out and interviewing me about the situation with my dad! Apparently he responded to them but still hasn’t said anything to me. ????? Read the article for an update! https://t.co/Qn7owT0HZu
“My son was mentioned in my book that just came out last year, so the statement about me disowning him three years ago is simply not true. I’ve heard there was a mention on his Twitter feed that he was upset because he was only mentioned once in a chapter that was half-a-page long,” New Jack emailed to Vice.
“I spoke briefly about him and four of my other children, he was actually one of my kids that was mentioned by name. I also mentioned the fact that I keep any information about all of my kids private, because that has nothing to do with wrestling and is my own personal business, that I prefer to keep private.”
Chris Jericho and Maxwell Jacob Friedman’s steak dinner on Dynamite last night turned into a song and dance routine. The pair’s “Le Dinner Debonair” resulted in them singing a rendition of “Me and My Shadow” made famous by the Rat Pack’s Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr.
After the show went off the air, Chris Jericho came out to address the live crowd. He allowed the fans to sing his ring music and then talked about what went into filming the segment with MJF.
Users on Twitter have been posting footage of Jericho’s post-show promo.
After the show ended, Chris Jericho came out so the audience could sing his theme song and he spoke to the crowd. Here is pt. 1, his theme song. #AEWDynamite 10.21.20 pic.twitter.com/qoG4W4m0hx
Chris Jericho and Maxwell Jacob Friedman in “Le Dinner Debonair”
“If you only knew what we went through to get that up on air. Basically, we had that ready to go about 22 minutes before air,” Jericho said to the live fans. “We filmed last night until about 2 AM. So you never know what’s going to happen on live TV but you buckle up, you get the job done, you put on a great show and make sure you guys always have fun, right?”
On next week’s episode of AEW Dynamite, the Inner Circle will hold a Town Hall Meeting. They will discuss whether or not to allow Maxwell Jacob Friedman into their faction.
The recent changes in the attitude of Roman Reigns since his return have shocked many people but it appears that his former teammate Seth Rollins is not very surprised with this change.
Discussing the changes we have seen in the Big Dog since his return to WWE programming, Rollins claimed that we are seeing the true Roman Reigns now:
“Well, look, for anyone who’s known Roman Reigns for as long as I have, you’re going to know that this isn’t new. Roman had to struggle for a long time to kind of closet this side of him.
He is an alpha and he sees himself in this light and in this way.” said Seth, “I think he’s kind of just got a different lease on the situation and you’re seeing the true Roman Reigns right now.”
The former Shield member continued by saying that physically, Reigns took his time off very seriously and he claimed that the current Universal Champion is in the best shape he has ever been.
With Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns being on the same brand now, a confrontation between the two is inevitable. It would be interesting to see if we get to witness a feud between them or if they join forces against a common foe.
Alex Reynolds was rendered unconscious last night during the Dynamite main event. He was hit with a leg-drop/splash combo off the top-rope by Private Party during the match that knocked him out.
According to comments made on Wrestling Observer Radio, however, Reynolds was feeling fine after the match.
“He left on his own and the word from after the show was that he was feeling great afterwards, whatever that means,” Bryan Alvarez said. “I don’t know how you feel great after that.”
Alvarez would continue to mention that those involved in the match didn’t notice that Reynolds was injured.
“When you see it, it’s inconceivable, but if you watch everybody else in the match, like nobody notices.”
Fans on Twitter noted that Cody came out to check on him after the show went off the air:
Reynolds and his longtime partner, John Silver, were wrestling with a chance to face the tag-team champions at Full Gear. The Young Bucks won the match and will take on the champions at the PPV.
Silver and Reynolds are often featured on episodes of Being the Elite as well. They are the recruitment specialists for the Dark Order. The duo has teamed together since 2011 and are former PWG and CZW tag-team champions.
Knockouts Champion Deonna Purrazzo will not be leaving Impact Wrestling anytime soon. Impact announced during Impact Press Pass on Wednesday that the 26-year-old has signed a long-term deal with the promotion. Specific terms of the deal have not been disclosed.
Purrazzo returned to Impact Wrestling in May this year and immediately attacked then-champion, Jordynne Grace. She won the title from Grace at Slammiversary and then successfully retained it in a 30-minute Ironman match on night 2 of Emergence.
Purrazzo took to Twitter to comment on the news:
I’ve been waiting to be able to talk about this publicly!!!
Purrazzo spoke with Chris Van Vliet in June about her decision to go to Impact Wrestling. She mentioned that other promotions had contacted her but Impact was where she ultimately decided to go.
“I mean like, some people had reached out, but it was all kind of like fleeting, there was no like, ‘You’re gonna have a meeting’ or, ‘We’re gonna sit down and do this.’”
“Luckily, I had been to Impact before, I know the people there and it was right away like, ‘We’d like to have you, let’s talk about it when we can.’ It was just more of a secure thing.”
Purrazzo is scheduled to defend the Knockouts title against Kylie Rae this Saturday at Bound For Glory.
NXT Superstar Drake Maverick recently joined Alexa Bliss for an episode of her new podcast, Uncool with Alexa Bliss. During their conversation, Maverick opened up about being a team player in WWE and why he is so willing to do things others may balk at.
Reflecting on how he was bullied when he was younger, Maverick noted how the experience helped make him tougher in the long run.
“Now, you’re talking to the guy when asked to pee himself on worldwide PPV in front of millions of people, I said, ‘yea, I’ll do it.’ A lot of people would be walking around today embarrassed that they did that. Did it entertain people? Did people think it was stupid? Maybe. Did people react to it? It’s the badge of honor of doing something like that. I do stuff that makes other people happy at the expense of myself because I can take it.”
Maverick explained how he may be the “little guy” but it doesn’t stop him from being mentally and physically tough because of his upbringing. He believes these challenges helped to shape him and make him a better person.
“This is my shield. You aren’t ever going to get past that. I’m fine. Nothing you can do can harm me because I have no problem doing it myself,” Maverick said. “I remember toasting a bunch of friends at a Comic-Con and Woods (Xavier) was there as well. I told him, here is a comic convention and all of us thought we were uncool when we were younger and I said, the nerds won.”
Drake Maverick and Killian Dain competed on last night’s episode of NXT, losing their bout against Ever-Rise via disqualification.
Aleister Black has shared how he believes he and “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt “radiate the same energy.”
Speculating at what a potential matchup with Wyatt might look like, Black stressed how it didn’t matter whether they teamed up or faced-off. He promised he’d be “ready for it” regardless.
It’s a level of preparedness he maintains, no matter who may be standing opposite him in the ring:
“I’m willing to fight anyone. Like, I’m not someone who backs down. I’ve never backed down of anything. I took on AJ Styles and his goons a couple months ago all at the same time because, you know, that’s what they want,” Black told Sportskeeda Wrestling.
Black explained how he doesn’t care if he gets beat down. He stressed he’ll always find a way to get back up. It’s this resilience that he likens to Wyatt.
“I’ve always been resilient and even for someone like Bray Wyatt, who is obviously a very ominous individual, you know, I feel at times we radiate the same energy. So whether that becomes the focus, of that same energy as a cooperation or an engagement, that remains to be seen. But I’m ready for it.”
When asked to list a few other names he may be interested in feuding with, Black was quick to point to NXT Superstar Damian Priest. He stressed how he looks at a Superstar like Priest and just knows, “I can compete with this guy. I can have matches with this guy.”
Former WWE Superstar EC3 has claimed that WWE “stole” the Raw Underground concept from him. EC3 was let go from the company earlier this year. He subsequently released a shoot-style video that bore a lot of resemblance to what Raw Underground would ultimately present.
Joining the ROHStrong podcast, EC3 claimed he “knew it was going to be stolen, so I was prepared for it. I didn’t know it’d go to that length, and I know mine played to a minor bubble of the professional wrestling audience while majority of it saw whatever the hell they put out there.”
He went on to compare the situation to the 1992 movie Wayne’s World. EC3 explained how he was “[…] producing this show in Aurora, my basement with my buddy Garth. We’ll call him J.C. in this instance, and then Rob Lowe came in, bought us and when I saw Shane McMahon in the ring, not in a real underground, mine was a real underground.”
EC3 described WWE’s take on the underground shoot-style presentation as a “[…] manufactured, heartless, desolate studio, I’m looking at Shane and it felt like when Noah was rapping on Wayne’s World after they bought him out. It was just inauthentic and like I said, it had no heart.”
He stressed that, although he “knew something would’ve been taken from it,” he didn’t expect WWE to simply replicate the “whole aesthetic.”
EC3 noted that it’s always a challenge to do something different. That being said, he stressed he plans on doing bigger and better things in ROH.
