Impact Wrestling’s Bound For Glory PPV saw some unscheduled changes take place. In the Call Your Shot Gauntlet match, Heath was in obvious discomfort and needed the ropes to hold himself up. Alex Shelley was taken out of the 4-way tag-team match early and Kylie Rae did not perform in her scheduled match against Deonna Purrazzo.
According to updates from the Wrestling Observer, Heath suffered a hernia in the gauntlet match. At the time, he thought he suffered a torn groin. Heath was also scheduled to win the match but the plan changed after he was injured. In storyline, one of either Heath or Rhino needed to win the match or they would both be gone from Impact. An on-the-fly decision saw Rhino defeat Sami Callihan in the finals of the match. This keeps Rhino and Heath in the company from a storyline perspective, though now it is Rhino who has a title shot owed instead of Heath.
The North attacked Alex Shelley before the tag title match at Bound For Glory. This forced Chris Sabin to wrestle the match by himself. The North would regain the tag titles in the match. Shelley provided his own detailed medical evaluation on Twitter:
Wrestling is a really dangerous sport and sometimes things don’t work out the way you want them to. I apologize to @BLabelPro and @SORBilly who was coming out of retirement as well as any independent companies I was negotiating with. Piledrivers are very dangerous. https://t.co/VzRCxTUlJq
So, the C6 nerve root controls your pointer finger and bicep and C5 can refer to your pectoralis. If you feel intense burning in either of these areas following trauma, please seek medical attention. I feel somewhat grateful to have the education to know what the red flags are.
Kylie Rae also missed the show. According to a report from PW Insider, she traveled to Nashville but was unable to make it to the venue Saturday evening. The reason she missed the show is a private matter and Impact has said they won’t publicly comment on it. She is said to be doing well and is in good-standing with the company. She’ll be back when she is ready to be.
At Impact Wrestling’s Bound For Glory PPV over the weekend, the company announced the Knockouts tag team championships will be returning. New champions will be crowned on the next Impact PPV at Hard to Kill on January 16th.
BREAKING: You've asked for it – the Knockouts Tag Team Titles are BACK!
Sarita and Taylor Wilde were the first-ever winners of the Knockouts tag team championships. They won a tournament and defeated Madison Rayne and Velvet Sky in the finals. Awesome Kong and Hamada would defeat them for the belts 106 days later.
The titles were then vacated when Awesome Kong left the company in 2010. The Beautiful People would then win the vacated belts that March.
In March of 2012, Eric Young became the first male wrestler to win 1/2 of the titles. His team with ODB defeated Gail Kim and Madison Rayne to win the belts. Impact executive Brooke Hogan would eventually strip them of the titles due to Young being a male competitor, however. The titles were eventually deactivated.
Randy Orton added another impressive achievement to his long list of accomplishments when he defeated Drew McIntyre at tonight’s Hell In A Cell PPV to win his 14th world title.
The new WWE Champion was interviewed backstage after the show where he was asked if the 14th world title is the sweetest yet. Replying to it, the Legend Killer mentioned how he has put many legends out to pasture.
Orton then discussed how there is a very short yet impressive list of competitors who have won the world title for 14 times in their careers and claimed that if this win doesn’t make him a legend, at least it’s sweet:
“There is a very short yet impressive list of men that have held this title for 14 times or more. My mentor Triple H, my mentor Ric Flair, one of my greatest opponents, John Cena.
That’s a short list I am now a part of.” said Randy “So yes I would say if tonight’s win didn’t make me a legend, well at the very least it definitely is sweet.”
This title change with Randy Orton makes the upcoming few weeks very interesting considering the fact that Survivor Series is the next big show in WWE’s yearly lineup of PPVs.
The company has focused on the rivalry between brands for the last few years of the Survivor Series PPV and fans are waiting to see if officials continue this approach this year as well.
Check out the complete Hell In A Cell results here
WWE Hell in a Cell 2020 aired on the WWE Network from the ThunderDome in the Amway Center. Drew McIntyre defended the WWE Championship against Randy Orton in the main event.
Hell in a Cell Results
Roman Reigns def. Jey Uso to retain the Universal Championship
Elias def. Jeff Hardy via DQ
The Miz def. Otis to capture the Money in the Bank contract
Sasha Banks def. Bayley to capture the SmackDown Women’s Championship
Bobby Lashley def. Slapjack to retain the United States Championship
Randy Orton def. Drew McIntyre to capture the WWE Championship
Here are the takeaways from the PPV:
Roman Reigns Retained In An Incredible Match With Jey Uso
Roman Reigns defended the Universal Championship against Jey Uso in a I Quit Hell in a Cell match. Before he entered the ring, Roman Reigns asked for forgiveness for what he was about to do.
Match Recap: Roman Reigns and Jey locked up to start off the match. Reigns threw Jey to the ropes and leveled him with a shoulder tackle. Roman followed it up with a massive right hand to the face and then a Suplex. Reigns knocked Jey to the canvas with a Clothesline and said that he was wasting his time.
Jey caught Roman with a boot to the face and followed it up with an Enziguri. Jey launched Roman into the cell and then connected with a Crossbody. Reigns leveled Jey with a Spear and told Jey that in a few minutes he is going to wish that he never came here.
Uso hit Reigns with a Dropkick and went for another one but Roman caught him with a right hand to the face. Reigns hit Jey with another massive Spear but Jey refused to quit. Roman went for another Spear but Jey blocked it and connected with a Superkick.
Jey made his way to the top rope and hit the Uso Splash. Jey followed it up with another Uso Splash and Reigns said “the head of the table never quits”. Uso grabbed a leather strap and brought it into the ring. Jey whipped Reigns across the back several times but Roman shrugged it off and hit Uso with a third Spear.
Reigns grabbed the leather strap and started whipping Jey across the back. Roman tied the strap around Jey’s wrist and whipped him across the chest. Jey dodged a Superman Punch and tied the strap around Roman’s neck. Jey started choking Roman and Reigns passed out.
Jey grabbed a steel chair but Roman popped up and hit a Superman Punch. Reigns then locked in the Guillotine choke as Roman shouted that he will make Jey take his last breath. Jey didn’t give up and Roman released the hold. Roman leaned over Jey and told him to quit or he is going to take this next level.
Roman brought Jey the apron and connected with the Drive By. Reigns put Jey’s head up against the ring post and set up the steel steps next to him. Roman patted Jey on the head and hit another Drive By that sent the steps into Jey’s head. The referee tried to stop the match but Reigns prevented it and launched him out of the ring.
Officials rushed the ring and tried to stop Roman but he threw the steel steps into the ring. Roman put the steps on top of Jey and said that he is better, he is the man, and is the Tribal Chief. Reigns was about to bash the steel steps on Jey’s head but Jimmy Uso got into the ring.
Jimmy had tears in his eyes and told Roman that he didn’t have to do this. Reigns got choked up and sat down in the middle of the ring. Jimmy told Reigns that whatever he is going through they will help him but this is not it. Reigns stated that he doesn’t even know who he is anymore and that he is sorry. Roman hugged Jimmy and then locked in the Guillotine choke. Jey grabbed Jimmy’s hand and said that he quit. Roman Reigns is still the Universal Champion. After the match, Reigns’ uncle and father (Afa and Sika) presented him a lei as the Tribal Chief.
Opinion: I thought that this match was awesome. The performances by Reigns, Jimmy, and Jey were amazing and I was completely invested for the 45 minutes. I haven’t seen storytelling executed this well in wrestling in a long time. The Hell in a Cell was largely irrelevant during this match but I didn’t care. Reigns and Jey could have this match at a mall and I would have been just as riveted because of their performances.
Jeff Hardy faced Elias tonight at WWE Hell in a Cell.
Match Recap: Jeff Hardy controlled the action early and focused his attack on Elias’ arm. The action spilled out of the ring and Elias sent Jeff into the barricade. Jeff got back into the ring right before the referee counted to ten and Elias greeted him with a stomp to the back.
Jeff went for the Twist of Fate but Elias countered into a Powerbomb for a near fall. Jeff hit Whisper in the Wind and then a Twist of Fate. Hardy climbed to the top of the ring post but Elias rolled out of the ring. Jeff hopped down and then hit Elias across the back with the guitar to end the match in a DQ.
It has been over 1 year since I have lost a match. #HIAC
The Miz battled Otis tonight at Hell in a Cell. The Money in the Bank contract was on the line and Tucker & John Morrison were ringside for the match.
Match Recap: Otis dominated early and The Miz begged for mercy. Miz sent Otis out of the ring and went for a Dropkick but Otis got out of the way. Otis hit Miz with a Clothesline and then bounced Miz’s head of the announce table a couple of times.
Back in the ring, Morrison hopped on the apron for a distraction and Miz capitalized with a DDT for a near fall. Morrison hit Otis with a cheap shot and Miz hit some It Kicks in the corner of the ring. Otis took back control and Morrison hopped on the apron once again. The referee kicked Morrison out as Otis rolled up Miz for a two count. Tucker hit Otis in the head with the briefcase and The Miz covered him. The Miz is now Mr. Money in the Bank.
After the match, Tucker said that they were supposed to be a team but he did everything for the team. Tucker claimed that Otis cannot function without him and he was the one that gave him the confidence to ask out Mandy Rose. Otis showed up and chased Tucker away.
The third match between Drew McIntyre and Randy Orton ended up serving as the main event of the WWE Hell in a Cell pay-per-view event.
The contest was held inside of the Hell in a Cell structure. It was a long match with them using various weapons.
Orton used bolt cutters to get out of the cell only for them to climb the cell and brawl on top of it. They crawled down the cell until Orton sent him flying through the air and crashing onto the announce table. Back in the ring, McIntyre missed the claymore kick and Orton hit the RKO to win the title. Orton is now a 14-time world champion.
This feud dates back to August. McIntyre successfully retained the WWE Title over Orton at SummerSlam with a backslide.
Orton would then drop a loss to Keith Lee at Clash of Champions. So, WWE decided to have three separate singles matches with the winners of those bouts advancing to a Triple Threat Match later in an August 31st episode of RAW.
Orton beat Kevin Owens to advance to the finals where he would defeat Lee and Seth Rollins to earn a second title match. However, at Payback, McIntyre retained the WWE Title in an Ambulance Match.
The third match was set up with McIntyre wanting to get revenge on Orton, who attacked Big Show, Ric Flair, Christian, and Shawn Michaels on an episode of RAW. These legends got involved in their Payback match with Orton blaming them for costing him the title.
Sasha Banks didn’t come up short while trying to get revenge on Bayley
As seen at Sunday’s WWE Hell in a Cell pay-per-view event in Orlando, Florida, Bayley defended the SmackDown Women’s Title against her former best friend inside of the Hell in a Cell structure.
It was a slow start and then they started using various weapons such as tables, kendo sticks, a fire extinguisher, and the cell. The finish saw Banks use a chair while putting Bayley into the Bank Statement for the win.
This snapped Bayley’s 380-day reign as champion and the first time that Banks has been the SmackDown Women’s Champion.
Last month on an episode of SmackDown after failing to reclaim the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship from the team of Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler, the betrayal happened. Bayley turned on Banks, who was kept off television to sell the angle.
After Bayley retained her SmackDown Women’s Title via disqualification at Clash of Champions, Banks returned to attack Bayley with a steel chair.
Time will tell whether WWE continues this feud or goes into a different direction heading into the Survivor Series pay-per-view event on November 22nd.
Roman Reigns and Jey Uso brought a different intensity to their rematch.
Unlike their previous encounter, which was a singles match, WWE booked them in a Hell in a Cell I Quit Match at the Hell in a Cell pay-per-view event.
The match with the Universal Title on the line saw them open the show. Reigns got the early offense while talking trash. The trend of the match was Reigns dominating with Jey having moments of life only for Reigns to put him down again.
Reigns hit Uso with back-to-back drive-bys on the apron with one of them being with a steel step. Reigns attacked a referee for trying to stop the match. Reigns was about to hit Jey with the steps until Jimmy Uso talked him out of it. When Reigns put Jimmy in the guillotine choke, Jey said he quit and that was the finish.
Their first match took place last month at the WWE Clash of Champions pay-per-view event. Reigns beatdown Jey so much that Jimmy, his brother, had to come out while still injured to throw in the towel.
The following week on SmackDown, WWE set up the rematch during a celebration ceremony was held to crown Reigns as the tribal chief. When Reigns refused to be named as such because Jey did not acknowledge him, it led to this contest being made.
We have an update on AEW star Abadon, who was injured earlier this week at a taping for AEW Dynamite. She wrestled Tay Conti at Thursday’s TV tapings from Jacksonville, FL in a match is scheduled to air next week on Dynamite.
The injury took place mid-way through the match, which was cut short before Abadon was sent to the hospital for an evaluation. Brian Alvarez reports (via Wrestling Observer Radio) that Abadon took an elbow to the throat, which rendered her unable to breathe. This made for a very scary situation and
Despite the serious nature of the injury, doctors determined that she will be fine without any longterm damage. We wish Abadon a speedy recovery.
Abadon is the #3 ranked female competitor in AEW. She first competed for AEW back in March in an AEW Dark match against current Women’s Champion, Hikaru Shida. She currently holds a 5-1 record.
Former WWE Superstar Ryback recently discussed the contentious AEW Dynamite segment featuring MJF and ‘Le Champion’ Chris Jericho.
The musical segment caused a ton of conversation since it aired on Wednesday, with the actual low rating for that quarter hour of the show adding to the back and forth. It would turn out that the quarter hour had an audience of 676,000 viewers.
Chris Jericho, however, would tout the success of the actual musical number, saying that the minute by minute rating proved it was a success. Jericho tweeted, “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!”
Ryback’s Take
“I watched the entire thing and was entertained by it” Ryback began on the Shooting Blanks Wrestling podcast. “It caught me completely off guard, I was not expecting that at all. I don’t know if anybody was expecting that!? We’ve ever seen it.”
“I’m not against stuff like that at all” The Big Guy would continue. “Because I think you do need to try things. I mean, that was why I asked that question ‘let’s see what the rating said and if the rating showed an increase? It’s not something you’re gonna do every week. They’re not gonna have Jericho and MJF just do Broadway’s every week you know?”
Ryback would further praise the pair for the creativity of the segment. “I think it was a way to do something outside the box in a creative way at a time where creativity is kind of. We need creativity right now with everything going on. I didn’t hate it at all and I enjoyed it. I watched the entire thing, and I go ‘whoa I’ve never seen anything like this before.’ And I thought, both of them? They pulled that off as well as they could have.”
The Big Guy would finish by discussing how the segment worked from a character standpoint. “They had the the character stuff up front, and I thought it created a really interesting dynamic and story with them. Just how they’re both kind of scumbags and dropping the girls at the same time and doing little things like that. I thought it was really cool and interesting.”
Do you agree with Ryback? Did you enjoy the segment? Will this help the MJF and Chris Jericho feud? Let us know in the comments
WWE Superstar Charlotte Flair recently signed with the VaynerSports Agency. The agency is owned by entrepreneur and internet personality Gary Vaynerchuk as well as his brother AJ. The agency launched in 2016 and is under the successful VaynerMedia umbrella. Charlotte Flair looks to be their first wrestler that they have publicly represented on their books.
Gary V reacted to the news with a response of “BEEN WAITING TO ANNOUNCE THIS! So pumped!!!” whilst Flair replied, “So excited!!!”
As noted, Flair appears to be the company’s first ‘acquisition’ in professional wrestling. On a recent episode of The Jim Cornette Experience, Corny himself would question why the agency would be taking their first steps in the pro wrestling bubble by representing a major WWE talent.
Jim Cornette on VaynerSports
“If your wrestling agent dealing with wrestling people for you has 30 years of experience in and around the wrestling business? That’s fine” Jim Cornette would begin on the podcast. “But when your wrestling agent starts trying to negotiate a Motion Picture deal…?”
“What I’m saying here…I wish all the best for Charlotte, but does she have to be the canary in the coal mine? The first wrestler they [VaynerSports] represented?” Jim Cornette would continue. “They’ve never talked to any people in the wrestling business and they’re going to start by negotiating with the WWE!?”
Cornette would elaborate further, saying “I’m just…you know that perked my ears up a little bit. But I hope everything works out for the best. I’m sure that they could probably negotiate a wonderful contract for if she was gonna play for the f*cking Chicago Bears, because they’ve represented a bunch of football players. I’m just trying to figure out why they’re getting into wrestling, and she’s their maiden voyage?”
Do you agree with Jim Cornette? Do you think that this could have a detrimental effect on Charlotte’s WWE career? Let us know in the comments
WWE Superstar Dana Brooke recently appeared on SiriusXM’s Busted Open Radio. The newly traded RAW Superstar discussed a number of topics on the show, including her charity work and performing in arenas and buildings with no live fans in attendance.
“I always say ‘never take things for granted.’ But I feel as though now I can look back and say maybe I did a little bit” Dana Brooke began on the show. “Because it was show after show after show on the road travelling night after night after night.”
Dana Brooke on ‘Live’ Crowds
Dana Brooke would then describe the difference in her schedule pre-pandemic and now. “Now only doing it, one or maybe two times a week? And going into an empty arena? The first time I did this, I felt like I’m practising, and then when I’m doing it again I had to come into a mindset where it was ‘okay they’re (the fans) not here with us presently but that red light is on, and there’s cameras all around us.'”
“I’m doing this for the people on the other side of the television” Brooke would continue. “Knowing that they may have had a hard day at work, maybe they had been let go [from their jobs]? The children are rambunctious at home? This is bringing families together, and this is the reason why I’m doing it. I’m doing it for the people on the other side of the TV knowing that we may be gaining new fans, we have returning fans and we have the loyal fans as well too.”
ThunderDome
Dana Brooke would also describe performing in front of the ThunderDome fans, saying how it differs to a live crowd and energy. “So at that point in time? We didn’t have the virtual fans, it was just an empty arena. Now that we have the virtual fans? It’s fun, it’s exciting to see the faces and everybody in the arena. It’s just such a different time.”
The RAW Superstar would finish by saying how she is looking forward to a point in time when the crowds can be let back physically into arenas. “I wish I could go back and be that much more excited for the opportunities that I did have when there were thousands of people in the arena. When that time does come? You best believe that I’m going to take full [advantage] of it, every single night that I’m allowed to do so.”
Are you enjoying the ThunderDome compared to the Empty Arena shows like WrestleMania earlier this year? Let us know in the comments
UFC 254 took place this weekend from the Flash Forum at Fight Island in Abu Dhabi. The main event of the historic card saw Khabib Nurmagomedov unify the UFC Lightweight Championships against interim Champion Justin Gaethje.
Khabib took the win in the second round via Submission. Following the fight the 29-0 Champion would announce his retirement from Mixed Martial Arts, following the death of his father (and trainer) Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov to COVID-19 complications.
Several WWE Superstars reacted to the massive main event and emotional ending to Khabib’s career.
CM Punk, who himself fought in the UFC on two occasions tweeted “Best in the World! @TeamKhabib#UFC254.” NXT Champion Finn Balor simply wrote “Khabib #UFC254.”
NXT UK Superstar Eddie Dennis also reacted to the fight on Twitter. Dennis wrote “It’s a shame he never fought Tony [Ferguson].”
The Rock actually admitted to missing the fight, tweeting “gotta crush this training session now but #UFC254 just started. 2pm fights threw me off dammit. Best of luck to all the fighters and put on a great show! Training comes first.. checking my phone for updates. #ineedmyfix #hardestworkersintheroom“
Did you watch the fight? Let us know in the comments
Daniel Bryan has had a great run since his return to in-ring action from a career-threatening injury in 2018 and he has had memorable feuds with foes such as The Fiend, AJ Styles, Kofi Kingston and more since his comeback.
Unfortunately, it appears that we won’t be seeing a lot more of these long feuds featuring the former WWE champion, as according to the SmackDown star himself, his current run is his last stint as a full time WWE superstar.
Daniel Bryan talked about his status on the special episode of Talking Smack that aired this past Friday and the former champion explained that he has made up his mind about this run being his last full time outing:
“I haven’t said anything about this, but in my mind, this is kind of my last run, you know what I mean? This is my last run as a full-time Superstar.”
Bryan also talked about his mentality through his current run saying that he is not thinking that he has to ‘prove to everybody’ that he’s the best and instead it’s about proving things to himself.
While Daniel Bryan did not reveal how long he is planning to continue working as a full-time superstar for WWE, previous reports have confirmed that he signed a new three year deal in 2018.
His current contract is expected to be up in September next year and it’s likely that he will resort to a part-time schedule after the expiry of his current deal.
James Storm had revealed recently that WWE actually wanted to sign him to a contract earlier this year but the coronavirus pandemic derailed those plans.
The Cowboy recently appeared on Busted Open Radio where he talked about things like his previous WWE appearances, being a veteran in the wrestling world, and more.
During the interview, Storm provided some details on the talks he has had with WWE and revealed what role the company wanted him to play upon his signing:
“I think they wanted me to come in and work with the younger talent on RAW and SmackDown. They were basically saying with your personality and stuff like that, I know I would have gotten over, no matter what. I can work with anybody and still make myself get over. As you say, you can go over; you can get over as well,”
When asked which of the current wrestling storylines he is enjoying, James Storm said that he is really enjoying the ongoing storyline with the New Day.
The former champion made his return to Impact Wrestling during the Bound For Glory PPV this week and it would be interesting to see if he sticks around for a longer run.
After being signed to WWE for more than a decade, Big E finally seems to be ready to take his place in the main event scenes of the company and potentially have a run with the world title.
The New Day member recently appeared on Corey Graves’ After The Bell podcast where he talked about a number of things and also revealed some of the names which have had an influence on his career.
Big E talked about his early wrestling career and during the interview, he credited wrestling veteran Curt Hawkins for giving him his finisher, The Big Ending:
“There’s been a lot of people along the way, just people who’ve been there, who’ve helped me like Curt Hawkins. When I was super green, my only finisher I’ve ever used is The Big Ending,
And I remember Curt Hawkins gave that to me, this had to be in 2009. It was called The Body Bag, and he showed it to me.” recalled Big E, “I forgot how we came up with The Big Ending. I remember Darren Young getting in the ring with me a little bit, showing me how to gorilla press.”
The former NXT Champion also talked about the influence former Nexus member Michael Tarver had on his career when he was only getting started with wrestling and was very green.
The SmackDown star revealed that Tarver used to sit down with him and talk about in-ring psychology and E said that the former WWE star gave him a sense of confidence like no one else.
UFC legend and veteran wrestler Ken Shamrock was inducted into the Impact Wrestling Hall Of Fame during the pre-show for tonight’s Bound For Glory PPV event by none other than The Rock via a video message.
Shamrock was announced for the Hall Of Fame in February this year and last month he asked The Great One if he could send greetings for this induction.
The Impact star had called his time with the Rock his ‘greatest memory’ in wrestling and The People’s champion had replied to his request positively.
Tonight’s pre-show then saw Shamrock receiving video messages from the likes of WWE Hall of Famer Bret Hart, WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley, Bas Rutton, Ariel Helwani, and Chael Sonnen congratulating him on his induction.
The final message was from the Rock who credited his rivalry with Ken Shamrock as a big moment in his wrestling career and congratulated the former champion for the achievement.
Shamrock then delivered a speech where he thanked his friends and family. He also thanked pro wrestling personalities like Bret Hart, The Rock, and even Vince McMahon for giving him a shot in WWE:
This induction makes Ken Shamrock the ninth person to join the Impact Wrestling Hall Of Fame alongside people like Sting, Kurt Angle, and Team 3D.
My pleasure, brother. Ken was very instrumental early in my career and I’ll always be grateful to him. Thanks to you as well for being so kind to me on that Indy show we did back in ‘97. Tell all the Impact boys (and girls) I said keep working hard and have fun ??
Former WWE star Rich Swann became the new Impact Wrestling World Champion in the main event of tonight’s Bound for Glory pay per view event.
Swann faced the former champion Eric Young in a one on one match in the main event and he got an early advantage over the champion, forcing Eric to hit the floor to collect himself.
The world champion however, came back and took control of the bout after hitting a big neck breaker on the challenger. Young continued to beat up the former 205 Live star for the next few minutes.
Though Rich Swann never stayed down for long and the two lightweight stars had a hard-hitting match for the biggest prize in Impact Wrestling.
The ending of the bout saw Rich Swann trying to hit a phoenix splash but the Impact champion wrenched his ankle against the turnbuckle.
The challenger countered this with a handspring cutter. Rich Swann then finally delivered the phoenix splash and pinned Young to become the new Impact World Champion.
After the match, several Impact babyfaces came to the ring to congratulate the new champion and the show ended with him celebrating in the ring with other wrestlers. You can check out some photos of the bout below:
This title change ends Eric Young’s second reign as the Impact World Champion of 70 days and marks the beginning of the first World title reign for Rich Swann.
Former WWE, TNA, WCW and NWA personality Jim Cornette recently discussed the role of female performers in modern wrestling. Cornette made the comments whilst discussing the potential return of Melina to WWE. This is something that has been rumored over the past few weeks.
Jim Cornette would discuss how the MNM group was massively successful in the OVW developmental territory. MNM (Joey Mercury, Johnny Nitro/John Morrison and Melina) were originally part of the Cornette run Ohio Valley Wrestling. This was back in the mid 2000s. The team were brought up to WWE television based on their impressive run in Ohio Valley.
With Melina now potentially returning? Cornette discussed how her career ‘suffered’ when she went into the ring herself, leaving behind her manager position with Mercury and Nitro.
Jim Cornette on Female Performers
“If you get a chance to be part of a really good f*cking team or unit [do it]” Cornette would begin on The Jim Cornette Experience. “Especially now that there’s so many girls matches.”
Cornette would go on to state that with the level of Women’s matches in professional wrestling today, it is difficult for female talent to stand out. “The girl that will stand out will be the one that doesn’t wrestle but is capable of being the 21st century manager type. With a f*cking team and an integral part of that team or with a singles [wrestler].”
The former Midnight Express manager has in the past given credit to top Women’s matches in WWE; such as the WrestleMania bout between Charlotte Flair and Rhea Ripley. However, Cornette has made it clear that in general he is not a huge fan of the level of performance from the likes of AEW’s Women’s division.
Whilst Cornette did not name examples, it was clear that he was referencing characters like Chyna and NWA’s Kamille. “That’s where you’re going to draw money with a woman that may otherwise just be on the card.”
WWE have in recent times found success with the likes of Zelina Vega playing a manager role on-screen with very sparse in-ring matches.
Do you agree with Jim Cornette? Do you think that there’s a ‘gap in the market’ for this type of female performer in 2020? Let us know in the comments
The environment backstage at Friday’s WWE SmackDown TV event was said to be chaotic.
Heading into the show, there were no matches announced, but rather a few segments. Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer reports that the reason there were no matches advertised in advance is due to the WWE creative team rewriting the show on Thursday night.
The trial segment with Otis caused things to get chaotic as the segment became the top concern and everything got delayed because of it.
Nobody backstage could understand why so much time was devoted to the show because it aired on FS1 instead of FOX. Thus, the belief just like last year is that it will have a dramatic decline in viewership as they were bumped off FOX for the World Series.
Triple H was brought in to help out with the show like he did last week.
As noted, FOX Sports 1 was supposed to air a one-off episode of Backstage following SmackDown, but things were changed at the last minute as Talking Smack took its place in the time slot.
Deonna Purrazzo spoke with Wrestling Observer Radio this week to promote her Knockouts title defense against Kylie Rae at Impact Wrestling’s Bound For Glory PPV.
Purrazzo discussed her time in Impact thus far, her NXT run and her character, The Virtuosa.
“The Virtuosa persona really started at Ring of Honor back when I was there and building their women’s division and I just kind of needed something other than Deonna Purrazzo, is kind of how it was explained to me,” she said during the interview.
Purrazzo said the name “Virtuosa” at the time was just meant to tie in her Italian heritage. The term literally means, ‘a woman who excels in the technique of an art.’
Pitching The Virtuosa
“Going into NXT right from Ring of Honor, I didn’t expect to need a character more than I was. I was just like ‘I’m a wrestler!’ you know what I mean? I’m Italian.”
She continued to talk about developing her character and pitching it to management.
“I wrote up a character synopsis. I wrote up promo ideas, I pitched to have a manager because I know promos aren’t necessarily my strongest thing. Then the feedback was, it’s too outlandish of a character, you need to be more real-life.”
She would continue to talk about not getting a great reception from NXT management about the Virtuosa character. Purrazzo said she was told that they didn’t get what Virtuosa meant.
“Then it was ‘we don’t understand what Virtuosa means’, I just felt there were so many excuses. I was the person that it didn’t matter what I said or did or changed. They had an opinion and that was that.”
After being released from NXT in April, she then pitched the same character to Impact.
“There was obviously hesitation going into Impact and pitching the same thing. I was a little hesitant to hear their feedback but because I had presented it in such a way of like this is exactly who I am, this is how I want to speak, this is how I want to dress, here’s my entrance music, here’s my gear, I just have constantly been able to evolve that. I think I gave them no choice and because it was a fresh start, they were willing to let me explore myself and explore this persona a little bit more.”
She continued to talk about how she’s happy to see the character working in Impact after having it be rejected in NXT.
“For 18 months I was told, it doesn’t work, we don’t understand, no no no, and to then have it work is kind of like ‘okay, now you see it and you missed out on it.'”
Major League Wrestling is coming back soon. New episodes of Fusion are expected to begin airing next month. Storylines for the promotion’s restart have been taking shape on episodes of MLW Pulp Fusion. One storyline involves Salina de la Renta being exposed as a spy operating on behalf of Contra Unit.
“For nearly two years the league, fans and athletes have all speculated and theorized on who could be enabling CONTRA to gain access to arenas with heavy security as well as access to MLW’s headquarters and production trucks. Now, all evidence points towards Salina de la Renta,” reads an MLW press release.
Salina de la Renta In MLW Storylines
In MLW storyline, Contra Unit is a faction that has taken over the company. The last episode before the pandemic featured members of the faction taking over MLW offices in New York. On a recent episode of Pulp Fusion, Konnan revealed that he discovered Salina has been working with the faction.
It appears that Salina de la Renta’s Promociones Dorado was struggling financially. Salina is believed to have owed a significant amount of money to the “wrong people” which may have led to her aligning with Contra Unit.
The 23-year-old from Puerto Rico now lives in the Orlando area.
“All options are on the table, including suspending her license to promote in MLW,” said Court Bauer.
Last year, Salina spoke with SI.com about being the first Latina to serve as an executive producer on a wrestling show.
“This is a sign of change. Not only for women, but for Latinos as a whole. We are often not in a position of power or influence in American wrestling. For MLW to encourage me, and others, to break barriers is important and yes, historic. It is a huge honor to be able to be the first-ever at something.”
Ahead of tonight’s Bound For Glory PPV, Impact Wrestling has made its streaming service, Impact Plus, free for the entire weekend.
“In celebration of the biggest weekend on the IMPACT Wrestling calendar, IMPACT Plus has been unlocked – MADE FREE – so every fan can get ready for tomorrow’s huge event. Dive into the vast IMPACT Plus library and relive every previous BOUND FOR GLORY, all the moments, all the shock and all the championship glory,” Impact’s press release reads.
BREAKING: @IMPACTPlusApp is FREE this weekend – every single episode of IMPACT, every PPV and every event is now unlocked FOR FREE!
Impact Wrestling Roster Comments On Bound For Glory
Several members of the Impact Wrestling roster have commented on the importance of Bound For Glory.
“Headlining BOUND FOR GLORY is everything to me. I’ve trained so damn hard for this. I’ve going to soar higher than ever this Saturday. I’m bringing everything I’ve got to this match,” said Rich Swann who will challenge Eric Young for the World Championship on the show.
“BOUND FOR GLORY always has a special feeling. It’s all about creating memories. Moments that will live on for years to come, moments that we will never forget, moments that will be around long after we are gone. Last year, I won the Gauntlet Match. I feel like that victory was my reset button. That win set me on my path to becoming the IMPACT World Champion for the second time,” said Eddie Edwards who will wrestle Ken Shamrock on the show.
AEW’s Abadon was reportedly injured yesterday at Daily’s Place in Jacksonville. According to a report from the Wrestling Observer, Abadon was injured while filming a match against Tay Conti and she was taken to hospital.
No further details are currently available other than she is expected to make a full recovery.
Abadon in AEW
Abadon is a 1-year pro from Colorado. She was trained by Rocky Mountain Pro Wrestling. Her unique look and gimmick put her on AEW’s radar early into her career. She made her AEW debut on an episode of Dark in March. She lost to Hikaru Shida but has since won 5 straight and occupies the #3 ranking in the division.
Abadon’s AEW record:
3/4/20: lost to Hikaru Shida
6/11/20: defeated Anna Jay (Dynamite debut)
7/16/20: defeated Skyler Moore
7/29/20: defeated KiLynn King
8/12/20: defeated Red Velvet
8/27/20: defeated Dani Jordyn
Her opponent at the tapings, Tay Conti, was signed to the company this summer. She’s had 4 matches in the promotion thus far:
Tay Conti’s AEW Record:
7/29/20: Anna Jay & Tay Conti defeated Ariane Andrew & Nyla Rose
7/29/20: Diamante & Ivelisse defeated Anna Jay & Tay Conti
9/9/20: Nyla Rose defeated Tay Conti (Dynamite debut)
WWE has released the behind the scene footage from The New Day’s farewell match at last week’s episode of SmackDown from the WWE Thunderdome.
The trio who has been together for 6 years was split up during the latest WWE Draft when Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston were picked up by Raw while Big E remained on SmackDown.
The footage sees all three of the stars arriving in the arena for their 6 man tag team match against Sheamus, Cesaro and Shinsuke Nakamura and getting ready for the bout.
They talk about things like how it’s gonna be tough knowing that they won’t be seeing each other at shows and the emotional connection The New Day has.
The video follows them as they get into the ring for their bout which they won and features the post-match comments from the three as well. You can check out the full video below:
Reports suggest that WWE wants to give a big push to Big E. This break up of New Day is part of the plan for the former NXT Champion as the company wants him to become a more serious wrestler.
On the other hand, there is no word on what the officials are planning for Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston but they have started off strong with a recent tag team championship victory.
