Mandy Rose has been drafted to the WWE RAW brand. The news was first revealed by The Miz on an episode of Talking Smack and then later reported on WWE.com. Rose herself commented on her move from Smackdown to Monday nights.
In storyline, it appears that the Miz was the one who lobbied for Rose to switch brands. Apparently, this is all part of a ploy between Miz and John Morrison to get back at Otis. On Smackdown recently, Morrison attempted to steal Otis’ Money in the Bank briefcase only to find that Otis keeps the actual contract in a smaller lunch box style MITB briefcase.
“The Miz crashed the set of WWE Talking Smack to break the news of Mandy Rose’s trade to Raw. The move was the latest tactic in The Miz & John Morrison’s ongoing quest to part Otis with his Money in the Bank Contract,” reads a WWE report on Rose being drafted.
Mandy Rose In WWE
30-year old Mandy Rose’s romance with Otis and feud with Sonya Deville have been major angles on Smackdown in recent months. She would go on to defeat Deville in a Loser Leaves WWE match at SummerSlam. Rose hasn’t wrestled since the event. She holds an 8-14-1 record in televised WWE singles matches dating back to her time in NXT.
WWE SmackDown aired live from the ThunderDome in the Amway Center. Jeff Hardy put the Intercontinental Championship on the line against AJ Styles. Bayley also addressed her brutal attack on Sasha Banks during tonight’s show.
AJ Styles def. Jeff Hardy via DQ (Sami Zayn interference)
Lucha House Party def. Cesaro & Nakamura
Nikki Cross def. Alexa Bliss, Lacey Evans, Tamina to earn a shot at the SD Women’s Title at Clash of Champions
Otis def. John Morrison
Roman Reigns & Jey Uso def. Sheamus & King Corbin
Here are the takeaways from this week’s episode of WWE SmackDown:
Corbin & Sheamus Interrupted Roman & Jey
Universal Champion Roman Reigns and Paul Heyman kicked off tonight’s show. Heyman said that two weeks ago they let the secret out of the bag and two days Roman Reigns wrecked everyone and left as the Universal Champion at Payback.
Heyman noted that Reigns’ cousin Jey Uso stepped up last week to emerge from the Fatal 4-Way as the #1 contender. Paul introduced Jey Uso and he made his way to the ring.
Jey told Heyman that he goes way back with his family and thanked him. Heyman told Jey that he doesn’t owe him any thanks because this was all Roman’s idea for Jey replace Big E last week.
Reigns said that he is proud of Jey and that he earned this. Roman told Jey that he is about to be in the main event of Clash of Champions and earn a pay day. However, he is going to whoop Jey’s ass at Clash of Champions and then it is all love.
Jey stated that they aren’t little kids anymore and that is not going to happen at the PPV. King Corbin interrupted and claimed that this was a setup all along. Corbin added that this is a classic case of nepotism and it makes him sick.
Sheamus joined the party in his ridiculous outfit and made his way down the entrance ramp. Sheamus agreed with Corbin and Jey challenged them to a tag match. Jey said it will be the The Blood versus Butt Mud and sent Corbin and Sheamus out of the ring.
Opinion: I was enjoying this promo until Corbin and Sheamus interrupted. Jey’s “butt mud” line was embarrassing and whoever came up with it needs to go live in the woods and not bother anyone. I liked how Reigns just stood there as Corbin and Sheamus went after Jey.
Jeff Hardy defended his Intercontinental Championship against AJ Styles tonight on SmackDown. Sami Zayn was shown in the production truck freaking out because he believes he is still the Intercontinental Champion.
Sami Zayn came down to the entrance ramp and once again said he is the Intercontinental Champion. Zayn noted that he won the title on March 8th and successfully defended the title against Daniel Bryan. Sami added that he is back now and this is not an Intercontinental Championship match. Adam Pearce came to the ramp with security guards and escorted Zayn to the back.
Match Recap: AJ Styles hit Jeff Hardy with a cheap shot before the match began. Hardy battled back and went for a Swanton Bomb. Styles rolled out of the way and Jeff crashed to the canvas as SmackDown went to a commercial break.
When SmackDown returned, Styles was in control and was stomping on Hardy outside the ring. Jeff bounced Styles face off the steel steps and brought him back into the ring.
Jeff connected with an Atomic Drop and followed it up with a Leg Drop. Hardy hit Whisper in the Wind and went for the cover but AJ kicked out at two. Jeff went for Twist of Fate but AJ countered into a Neckbreaker for a near fall.
Hardy connected with a Dropkick and followed it up with a Splash for a two count. Styles battled back and set up for the Phenomenal Forearm but Sami attacked AJ from behind. Zayn sent Styles into the steel steps and hit Hardy with the Helluva Kick. Hardy collapsed on the entrance ramp and it was reported it was from dehydration for some reason. Styles was then interviewed and said he wants to prove he is the real Intercontinental Champion.
Hardy and Sami Zayn then battled in the trainer’s room as SmackDown went to a commercial break.
Opinion: I couldn’t tell if Jeff Hardy stumbling around and collapsing was a reference to the Matt Hardy situation at All Out and a shot at AEW, or he was actually just hurt. The dehydration explanation was bizarre and I’m not entirely sure of WWE was going for with that. Either way, I’m looking forward to a Triple Threat match between these three superstars.
Lucha House Party faced the SmackDown Tag Team Champions Cesaro and Shinsuke Nakamura in a non-title match tonight.
Match Recap: Kalisto and Cesaro started off the action and the SmackDown Tag Team Champions took control. Nakamura tagged in and hit Kalisto with a knee to the face for a near fall. Cesaro tagged back in and applied a Headlock. Street Profits were shown on the jumbotron partying and Cesaro and Nakmura got distracted. Kalisto rolled up Cesaro for the pinfall victory. Street Profits will battle Cesaro and Nakamura this Monday on “RAW: In Your Face”.
The next challenger to WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley will be Nikki Cross and it’s the latest match to be added to the card of the upcoming Clash of Champions event.
During Friday’s episode of SmackDown on FOX, WWE held a match that would determine who is next in line for a title shot.
A Fatal 4-Way Match between Alexa Bliss, Nikki Cross, Lacey Evans, and Tamina took place with the winner becoming the next challenger to the title. It was a decently lengthy match that featured a finish where Cross scored the pinfall.
Cross was victorious, earning the right to challenge Bayley for the SmackDown Women’s Women’s Title.
WWE presents the Clash of Champions pay-per-view event on Sunday, September 27, 2020 in Orlando, Florida at the Amway Center that will air on the WWE Network. WWE will be announcing more matches for this show in the coming weeks. Here is the updated card:
Updated WWE Clash Of Champions Card
WWE Champion Drew McIntyre vs. Randy Orton
WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns vs. Jey Uso
WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley vs. Nikki Cross
WWE is looking to load up this coming Monday’s episode of RAW.
WWE had previously announced that RAW Women’s Champion Asuka will put her title on the line against Mickie James and Shinsuke Nakamura & Cesaro vs. The Street Profits (Montez Ford & Angelo Dawkins) in a Champions vs. Champions non-title match would take place.
During Friday’s episode of SmackDown, WWE confirmed two new matches for the broadcast, which has the tagline of “In Your Face.”
Dominik Mysterio vs. Seth Rollins in a Steel Cage Match and WWE Champion Drew McIntyre vs. Keith Lee in a non-title match has been added to the show.
This coming Monday, WWE will face some heavy competition. Not only is it the premiere of the 2020 NFL Monday Night Football season, but WWE will face two games airing back-to-back on ESPN.
The Pittsburgh Steelers vs. the New York Giants and the Tennessee Titans vs. Denver Broncos will air during the same time as RAW.
The viewership for Monday Night RAW has dropped the past two weeks after getting a bump for the post-SummerSlam episode.
Last Monday’s edition of WWE RAW averaged 1.725 million viewers with a 0.47 rating in the key 18-49 demographic.
On Thursday, WWE made a series of cuts that was across the board in the company. The number was in the range of 60 through 70 people who lost their jobs. None of the firings included wrestlers.
Wrestling Inc reports that more WWE cutbacks took place on Friday. It was noted that WWE’s live events department is “in shambles.”
Per the report, there were between 12 – 15 people from WWE’s live events division that were let go. This includes a high ranking Vice President, which should be made public soon.
It was noted that news was heartbreaking and would seem to signal WWE will not be getting back to doing live events anytime soon. Although the cuts were said to be extensive, some of the “higher ups” could be retained.
Mike Rotunda’s release was an indicator that WWE’s plans for more upcoming live events have been scrapped. Many of WWE’s furloughed employees will be let go and the cuts were “spreading like wildfire” in every part of the company.
Although WWE live events have been declining for decades, in recent years, attendance has fallen hard.
Earlier this year, McMahon told investors that he wasn’t sure whether WWE would remain operating the live event business the way they had been.
Although WWE Clash of Champions is still a few weeks away, the company already has matches in mind for the show.
The company has only announced two matches thus far. Dave Meltzer reported in the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that Intercontinental Champion Jeff Hardy vs. AJ Styles vs. Sami Zayn in a Triple Threat Match or a singles match between Hardy’s title and Zayn’s championship is expected.
The original plan called for Asuka to defend the RAW Women’s Title against Shayna Bazler, but that won’t be happening as Bazler is one half of the Women’s Tag Team Champions with Nia Jax, who will also defend their titles against unknown opponents. Natalya could end up being the challenger for Asuka’s title.
Cesaro and Shinsuke Nakamura are believed to be defending the SmackDown Tag Team Titles against either Heavy Machinery or Street Profits.
Bobby Lashley defending the United States Title against Apollo Crews is rumored, but not confirmed. Finally, if WWE brings back Sasha Banks from the injury angle in time then she’ll challenge Bayley for the SmackDown Women’s Title.
WWE presents the Clash of Champions pay-per-view event on Sunday, September 27, 2020 in Orlando, Florida at the Amway Center.
Jeff Hardy recently mentioned that he would like to bring his Willow character to WWE. He even suggested he would like for Willow to feud with Bray Wyatt’s “Fiend” character. Hardy was speaking with BT Sport when he mentioned possibly bringing Willow into WWE.
“Years ago, I would be Jeff Hardy and then I’d be this guy Willow and Willow is my go-to wrestling persona. So, man, and that’s another dream of mine that I would like to do before I’m done, to bring Willow into the WWE Universe and see what happens,” Hardy said.
“I just have a strange feeling that something crazy cool could happen between Willow and The Fiend.”
We never knew we needed a Willow vs. 'The Fiend' @WWEBrayWyatt feud until @JEFFHARDYBRAND said it to us ???
Hardy used the Willow persona in the OMEGA promotion he founded with his brother Matt in the late 90s. The promotion only lasted a couple of years and was folded after the Hardys signed with WWE. Hardy would bring the Willow character back in TNA in early 2014. He would return to his Jeff Hardy character later that same year.
Hardy will face AJ Styles on Smackdown tonight for the Intercontinental title. Hardy defeated Styles for the title on the August 21st edition of Smackdown. This is the 5th time in history Hardy has held the title.
The man behind the legendary voice of TNA’s promo packages, Barry Scott, has passed away. He was 65 years old at the time of his passing. No cause of death is currently available.
Impact Wrestling and TNA stars have been paying tribute to Scott online.
“We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Barry Scott. For years Barry was the iconic voice of TNA Wrestling, lending us gravitas and credibility. He will be dearly missed,” Impact Wrestling Tweeted.
“Very saadened to hear about the passing of Barry Scott, the longtime TNA Voice behind some of the most Iconic Videos in IMPACT History. Here was the last one he voiced, featuring Moose as TNA World Heavyweight Champion. Godspeed. Rest Well and Thanks Barry,” wrote Impact referee Brandon Tolle.
“Sad to learn the passing of Barry Scott the voice of all those @IMPACTWRESTLING (TNA) packages, PPVs voice overs,” wrote Tommy Dreamer.
“RIP Barry Scott… Barry was a great talent but even a better man… Barry’s voiceover work in the early days of TNA was so instrumental for our product… This picture was taken from production work for Slammiversary XV “cold open”…Love ya my friend!” wrote Jeff Jarrett.
“I am heartbroken to hear about Barry’s passing. Not only was he an amazing talent, he was a true gentleman that I adored. You will be missed Barry. Sending love and prayers to your family,” Tweeted Dixie Carter.
Very saadened to hear about the passing of Barry Scott, the longtime TNA Voice behind some of the most Iconic Videos in IMPACT History. Here was the last one he voiced, featuring Moose as TNA World Heavyweight Champion. Godspeed. Rest Well and Thanks Barryhttps://t.co/Q0HuugSG11
WWE has been releasing staff this week who had been furloughed at the start of the pandemic. According to a report from PW Insider, two names recently released include Mike Rotunda (the former IRS/VK Wallstreet) and Sarah Stock.
Rotunda had been with the company as a road agent since 2006. As the pandemic caused a halt to WWE live events, he was furloughed in April. Rotunda is the father of current WWE Superstars Bray Wyatt and Bo Dallas. He is a 5x former WWE tag team champion having won the titles 3x with Ted Dibiase (as Money Inc) and twice with his brother-in-law Barry Windham.
Sarah Stock wrestled under the names Dark Angel and Sarita. She wrestled all over the world before signing with TNA in 2009. Stock then was hired by WWE in 2015 as a developmental trainer. Like many others, Stock was furloughed by the company in April.
It was also confirmed recently that longtime WWE employee Gerald Briscoe had also been released by the company. He had been with the company for 36 years working as a talent scout and in other roles. Briscoe had been furloughed in April as well.
Wednesday’s edition of AEW Dynamite from Jacksonville, Florida at Daily’s Place averaged 1.016 million viewers, up from 928,000 last week. This was the most-watched episode of the year and their best number since the October 16th episode last year that did 1.014 million viewers.
The show did a 0.37 rating in the Adults 18-49 demographic, which was up from last week’s 0.36, and finished #7 on cable for the evening.
This was the fourth consecutive week that AEW ran unopposed and without direct competition from WWE NXT, which aired on Tuesday night on the USA Network.
This episode went up against competition from NBA and NHL playoffs. Both did good numbers. Next week’s episode of Dynamite could air in its normal day and time slot, but we won’t know for sure until Monday.
If the series between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Houston Rockets ends in 6 games on Monday then Dynamite will air on Wednesday at 8pm ET. However, if the series goes to 7 games then the regular weekly Dynamite episode will air at 8pm ET on Thursday night.
AEW will also air a one-hour edition of Dynamite, which will air following the Wednesday NBA game at around midnight.
Former WWE on screen personality and NWA commentator Jim Cornette recently commented on Mauro Ranallo leaving WWE and NXT.
Mauro Ranallo recently parted ways with the company reportedly to focus on his mental health work and other projects. During the Jim Cornette Experience, the outspoken Cornette would comment on Ranallo leaving the NXT commentary booth.
Jim Cornette on Mauro Ranallo
Initially, Jim Cornette would question why Mauro would leave the company during the pandemic era. “Believe me, anybody wants to quit the WWE? If you’re f*cking on the road every week and doing TV in that environment? I can understand that fully. But why pick now where you’re doing a TV show once a week from your house?”
“Mauro Ranallo was perfect for NXT” Jim Cornette continued. “He did get amped up every once in a while a little too far over the sh*t that obviously he didn’t need to be amped up for. But still he was just, I don’t know how they’re gonna replace him?”
Cornette would then discuss the man who seemingly will be replacing Ranallo on the show. Wade Barrett recently appeared on NXT as a ‘one-off’ but he is reportedly negotiating a longer term deal with WWE.
It’s an interesting piece of news for Cornette to comment on, as he himself was replaced by Wade Barrett/Stu Bennett in NWA. “Wade Barrett, a nice enough straight man there, you know color guy whatever but Mauro had the energy. Beth is the female voice, she’s doing a good job. But Mauro put a lot of energy into that programme sometimes when there wasn’t a lot.”
Do you agree with Jim Cornette on the situation with Mauro Ranallo? Let us know in the comments
John Cena has his latest acting gig lined up as he’ll be hosting “Wipeout” on TBS.
The former WWE Champion first sent out a cryptic tweet on Thursday noting that he’s training for something. He then made a video to reveal the announcement. He also showed off a different hairstyle and a goatee.
“I couldn’t be more excited for what’s in store for this radically absurd show that has its own fair share of legendary faceplants.” Cena told Deadline. “The power of Wipeout is its ability to gather people of all backgrounds for fast paced, physical FUN! I look forward to seeing fan responses both new and existing. This’ll be a hosting experience unlike anything I’ve ever done! I can’t wait to get started in rooting for our contestants!”
He’ll be joined by co-host Nicole Bayer and Camille Kostek. The show first premiered on ABC in 2008 and moved to TBS this year.
It was touted that the rebooted version of the show will include new twists.
TBS is also doing another reality competition series that will feature Cody Rhodes as a judge on another TBS reality show, Go-Big Show.
WWE Hall of Famer and co-host of SiriusXM’s Busted Open Radio Bully Ray recently discussed AEW’s ALL OUT PPV. Bully Ray would mention a number of topics from the show, including the winner of the Casino Battle Royale and Matt Hardy’s potential concussion.
AEW held their ALL OUT event this past weekend from Daily’s Place in Jacksonville Florida. The PPV was notable for a number of reasons, some unwanted, such as the aforementioned Matt Hardy fall.
The Casino Battle Royale during the show determined a new number 1 contender to the AEW Championship. The ‘Murderhawk Monster’ Lance Archer won the match and now he is set to take on Jon Moxley at some point in the future.
Bully Ray on Lance Archer
“No doubt the right guy won, 100%” Bully Ray began on Busted Open, discussing the Battle Royale match. “Lance Archer. In my opinion? He has not been used in his wheelhouse for a while. When you call yourself the MurderHawk? Nobody should be standing after you plough through everybody.”
Bully Ray would then discuss why Lance Archer and Jon Moxley will be a good main event feud for AEW going forward. The tag team wrestling legend would say how Moxley is a strong babyface with the audience fully behind him.
“I hope they can get back on track [with Lance Archer]. Because when you have a champion like Moxley? Okay, I want to see Moxley sell. I know Moxley can do all his stuff with his CZW-esque style matches and his toys…but? I know he can wrestle also. Jon doesn’t need all of the bells and whistles to work as he can have a great wrestling match that we’re emotionally involved in. Because? We [the audience] genuinely like Jon Moxley.”
Do you agree with Bully Ray? Do you think this’ll be a great feud in the AEW main event scene going forward? Let us know in the comments
WWE Hall of Famer Gerald Brisco is no longer with the company after 36 years of service.
Brisco took to Twitter this morning and announced that he was informed of the departure by Vince McMahon, who called him with the news last night. Brisco, who has worked as a talent scout in recent years, said he will still be around to work with talent if they need help.
“Ok, want to get this out the right way. Last night I received a call from @wwe Chairman Of The board @VinceMcMahon to let me know after 36 years of dedication to @wwe i an no longer needed. I’m ok withthis. I will still be around to help talent. More info will follow. Thanks,” Brisco wrote on Twitter.
Ok, want to get this out the right way. Last night I received a call from @wwe Chairman Of The board @VinceMcMahon to let me know after 36 years of dedication to @wwe i an no longer needed. I’m ok withthis. I will still be around to help talent. More info will follow. Thanks
Brisco’s departure comes after he was furloughed back in April along with other cuts brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Brisco isn’t the only WWE employee getting cut today as the company is making another round of releases. PWInsider reports that the cutbacks planned for today are related to office staff who were furloughed back in April, but not brought back to work yet.
WWE started bringing some of the furloughed employees back to work in the last 6-8 weeks, with a few employees returning each week or so. Many of the employees being released today were some who had been waiting for confirmation on when they would be brought back to work.
Today’s WWE cuts are from all across the board, but there’s been no word yet on talents being released. It was noted that the live events and travel departments are being hit the hardest. This is because there is a reduced need for those departments due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Andrew Yang made headlines recently when he noted on Twitter that if he is in a position to cause change after the next election, he plans to take action on WWE’s classification of talent as independent contractors. Yang said that if Joe Biden wins the next election, he’ll either be the Secretary of Labor himself or have close contact with that person.
Chris Van Vliet recently interviewed Yang about his comments.
“You should know Chris, this is not like ‘I’m going to talk about this and forget about it’. This bothers me and I’m not going to rest until something changes,” Yang said about WWE’s independent contractor policy.
During the interview, Yang said that WWE has been trying to play it both ways for years.
“It infuriated me because I know that the WWE has been trying to play it both ways for years where they are saying on one hand you can’t do anything without our say so, we own you, but you are an independent contractor and we have nothing to do with your health, retirement, any of the benefits that you would get that would accrue to an employee.”
Yang is a noted wrestling fan and says he won’t simply drop this issue later.
“You know it’s time that someone calls Vince out for this particularly because if Joe (Biden) and Kamala (Harris) win, I may be in a position to do something about it,” he continued.
Yang would say his favorite wrestlers of all time were Randy Savage, Ricky Steamboat, Rick Rude, Curt Hennig, British Bulldog, and others. the full interview with him can be viewed in the player below:
“From the contacts that I have and the information I have received, WWE wants us to interact with our fans and that includes streaming. They want you to have a YouTube channel. There are things they want you to do to interact with fans. The information we got was a little vague at first, but we’re going to get together and talk about what needs to happen.”
He confessed how some things were being done that WWE Superstars “knew we couldn’t do.” Styles explained how these options were on the “borderline” of what they could and could not do, before adding how “those things will be answered.”
AJ Styles then stressed how streaming and YouTube did not fall into that category and will not be “taken away.” He reiterated how WWE “wants us to stream and interact with our fans.”
AJ Styles On Owning His Name
When first informed about the issues with third-party platforms, Superstars were reportedly informed that WWE contractually owned not only their ring names but also their real names. This would allegedly remain true until a Superstar is no longer under contract with WWE.
Styles explained how he actually has rights to his own name, not WWE:
“Let me just let you guys know – I own my name. That’s how I’ve been able to use it no matter where I’ve been. I’ve given permission for WWE to use it as long as I’m with them. Therefore, it’s their property as long as I’m under contract.”
He added how he will continue using his name for streaming purposes. Styles noted how the name issue wasn’t a problem for him as he was happy to pivot his streaming usernames if it came to it.
WWE Hall of Famer Kurt Angle has revealed how a deal with AEW is currently “off the table.”
Speaking with theWrestling Inc. Daily podcast, Angle admitted he occasionally watched Dynamite. He shared how he’s a huge fan of Chris Jericho and Cody Rhodes, noting how he loves “watching those guys work.”
Angle then reflected on a statement he made a year ago regarding AEW. He claimed how AEW would “never” be the number one wrestling company. He recalled how he said AEW should “be happy with number two” before adding, “I also said I don’t know if they’ll stay in business only because of what we’ve seen in history.”
When asked if fans could expect to see Angle make an appearance on Dynamite, however, Kurt Angle nixed the idea. He explained how “Right now, I would say it’s off the table. I’m OK where I am. The thing is, when I came back to WWE, I wasn’t expecting what I got, and I was very grateful. I got the Hall of Fame. I wanted the Hall of Fame, but I didn’t want it first. I wanted it last, and I wanted to wrestle first.”
Kurt Angle then listed the global talent he had been able to compete against before his Hall of Fame induction. He pointed to Rey Mysterio, Cody Rhodes, Alberto Del Rio, Joe Coffey and Zack Sabre Jr. Angle would ultimately wrestle his last matchup against Baron Corbin at WrestleMania 35.
Former All Elite Wrestling Tag Team Champion Kenny Omega has revealed his intention to return to singles competition. He made his feelings clear during an interview with Jim Ross on last night’s episode of Dynamite.
Reflecting on his time in tag team competition, Omega praised AEW’s tag team division. He labeled it as “one of the best tag team divisions in all of wrestling.”
He admitted how he and his former partner, Hangman Page, had to “dig deep” and find themselves as a team.
Omega admitted how “The part that I learned about Hangman is a part I don’t particularly like” before acknowledging he was proud of their time as a team and as champions.
However, Kenny Omega stressed that if Page intends to strive for a tag team championship rematch, “he better make other plans.”
He then turned his attention to his future in-ring goals, noting how he’s got his own dreams to pursue.
“There are things I’m destined to do here. I gave a year of my life to the team, to Hangman, and to tag team wrestling. I think it’s time I go back to singles action and give everyone a piece of what they were hoping to see since day one.”
All Elite Wrestling’s latest acquisition, Miro, has stressed he “meant every word” of his impassioned promo during last night’s episode of Dynamite.
Miro followed up his Dynamite debut with a video uploaded to YouTube. He stressed how he meant everything he said, revealing how “This was not just a promo, but my actual feelings.”
In the run-up to his debut, Miro confessed he tried to make himself numb. The closer it got, however, the more excited he got. Pointing to his AEW moniker as ‘The Best Man,’ Miro explained how it’s not just a gimmick. Instead, the name reflects his feelings that he is the “best professional wrestler in the world.”
The former WWE Superstar reflected on being able to debut in AEW in front of a crowd. He stressed how “[…] unlike the other place, in AEW, we actually do have a crowd. We had about 1,000 people [at Daily’s Place] and its such a fantastic feeling being in front of them.” He noted how he had goosebumps after stepping out from behind the curtain.
Miro, formerly known as WWE’s Rusev, was revealed to be Kip Sabian’s best man during a segment of the show. During his first appearance, Miro talked about how he was finally free from being “under the same house, under the same glass ceiling with an imaginary brass ring.” He then declared his previous employers could “take that brass ring and shove it up your ass.”
During a recent Twitch session, Styles opened up about his personal experiences with coronavirus. He clarified how “I had that like a month-and-a-half ago, whenever it was to the point where the CDC says you have to be quarantined for ten days.”
Styles stressed how he got tested for the virus before returning home for ten days. He isolated himself in the basement of his home. According to Styles, the scheduling WWE had set for him allowed him to quarantine without impacting plans to have him on TV. Having safely isolated, Styles noted how he was able to simply “go back to work” without issue.
AJ Styles acknowledged how his case isn’t necessarily representative of everyone who has caught COVID, however. He stressed how he’s okay before noting how “had I not been tested I never would have never known I had it and I could have spread it.”
Styles then credited WWE’s testing procedure and how it let him know he not only had COVID but had to take the next steps accordingly.
AEW Dynamite aired from Daily’s Place in Jacksonville, Florida. Jericho and MJF were interviewed upon arriving at Daily’s Place. They both complimented each other and guaranteed that they will be AEW Champion soon. Jericho and MJF both said “what a loser” while walking away. It was also revealed that Moxley will defend the AEW Championship against Lance Archer on October 14th.
Brodie Lee def. Dustin Rhodes to retain the TNT Championship
Here are the takeaways from this week’s show:
Jurassic Express Picked Up A Win
Lucha Bros battled Jurassic Express in the first match of the night. Eddie Kingston, Butcher, Blade were ringside for the match.
Match Recap: Fenix went for a Dropkick but Jungle Boy got out of the way. Jungle Boy went for a Dropkick of his own but Fenix avoided it. Fenix hit Jungle Boy with a Dropkick this time and tagged in Pentagon.
Pentagon connected with a Splash but Jungle Boy kicked out at two. Luchasaurus tagged in and Pentagon sent him to the corner. Jungle Boy tagged in and sent Lucha Bros out of the ring with a couple of Arm Drags.
Jungle Boy hit Fenix with a Suicide Dive and hopped back on the apron. Pentagon shoved him off and Fenx connected with a Superkick to the face. Back in the ring, Pentagon went for the cover but Jungle Boy somehow was able to kick out at two.
Luchasaurus tagged in and hit a series of Clotheslines and then a Body Slam to Fenix. Luchasaurus followed it up with a gigantic Chokeslam and a Standing Moonsault but Pentagon broke up the cover.
Jungle Boy tagged back in and Fenix connected with a slam/Leg Drop combo on Jurassic Express. Pentagon hit Jungle Boy with a Backstabber and followed it up with a Piledriver but Jungle Boy wouldn’t stay down. Pentagon accidentally hit Fenix and Jungle Boy rolled him up for the victory.
After the match, Eddie Kingston separated Fenix and Pentagon and scolded them for fighting with each other. They kept shoving each other and Kingston demanded that they shake each other’s hand. Lucha Bros finally shook hands and Kingston shouted that he never was eliminated from the Casino Battle Royal.
Matt Hardy Vowed To Come Back Healthy & Chase His First AEW Title
Matt Hardy came down to the ring to address the crowd following his scary injury at AEW All Out. Matt thanked the people in attendance and they started up a “Hardy!” chant.
Matt said it is so amazing to be in an arena with people and that they are a part of our magic. Hardy stated that he suffered a fall at All Out and that he knows it frightened a lot of people.
Matt thanked everyone for all the love that they have shown him and he is expected to make a 100% recovery. Hardy pointed to his wife and newborn in the crowd and apologized to his family for putting them through that Saturday night.
Hardy added that the fans showed everyone how much they care about the wrestlers that put their body on the line. Matt stated that the Broke Rules match wasn’t what he wanted it to be but he is glad that his vendetta with Sammy is over. Hardy vowed to come back healthy and chase his first AEW Championship.
Orange Cassidy squared off against Angelico tonight on Dynamite.
Match Recap: Angelico controlled the action early and connected with an Arm Drag. Angelico locked in a choke hold but Cassidy was able to make it to the bottom rope to break the hold. Angelico went for a Splash in the corner but Cassidy ducked and Angelico flew out of the ring. Cassidy hit a Suicide Dive and brought Angelico back in the ring. Orange hit Angelico with a Splash and followed it up with a Tornado DDT. Cassidy then connected with the Orange Punch for the pinfall victory.
After the match, Santana and Ortiz attacked Orange Cassidy from behind. Best Friends rushed the ring but Santana and Ortiz retreated. Best Friends told Santana and Ortiz to meat them in the parking lot next week on Dynamite.
WWE has come under fire in recent weeks regarding the company’s classification of talent as independent contractors.
Earlier this month, WWE held a talent meeting to address the issue of wrestlers generating revenue for themselves independently. WWE Chairman & CEO Vince McMahon also sent out a memo instructing wrestlers to cease money making ventures with third-parties by October 2nd.
WWE’s communication with talent was said to be vague and misleading. There were conflicting reports about whether or not wrestlers could still use services like Cameo, Twitch and YouTube using their WWE-owned names or their ‘real’ names.
WWE received a lot of pushback within the industry, amongst fans and even from that of former US Presidential candidate Andrew Yang. They addressed the controversy in a statement released over the past week. WWE comparing their need to protect intellectual property similar to Disney and Warner Bros:
“It is the control and exploitation of these characters that allows WWE to drive revenue, which in turn enables the company to compensate performers at the highest levels in the sports entertainment industry.”
A lot of the backlash about the “third party restriction” has focused around wrestlers making money on services like Twitch, but that is not the main reason behind WWE’s crackdown. Several talents have simply stopped using their ring names for these accounts (such as Paige), switched to using their real names, and can continue without skipping a beat
SEScoops has learned that several high-profile wrestlers, including Mandy Rose, have been doing high-dollar VIP meet-and-greets online and making a small fortune. One source stated, “It’s a pretty cut and dried violation of any WWE contract for the past 20-30 years.”
Monday’s edition of WWE RAW averaged 1.725 million viewers with a 0.47 rating in the key 18-49 demographic. This was down from last week, which did 1.896 million viewers and a 0.58 demo rating.
In fact, viewership numbers have fallen the past two weeks after hitting just over two million viewers two weeks ago for the post-SummerSlam episode. This was the Labor Day edition of RAW.
To compare, just one year ago, RAW averaged 2.507million viewers. Here’s the hourly viewership breakdown for Raw, courtesy of Showbuzzdaily.com:
Hour 1: 1.762 million, 0.48 in the 18-49 Demo
Hour 2: 1.800 million, 0.50 in the 18-49 Demo
Hour 3: 1.613 million, 0.45 in the 18-49 Demo
SmackDown Viewership
Friday’s SmackDown averaged 2.129 million viewers on FOX. This is down from the 2.144 million viewers that the show did for the previous week.
SmackDown averaged 2.066 million viewers in the fast nationals, which was down from the 2.181 million viewers a week ago. This number measured the top metered markets.
The first hour drew 2.018 million viewers while the second hour did 2.113 million viewers. For comparison, the first show of last week’s show did 2.210 million viewers while the second hour did 2.151 million viewers.
SmackDown pulled in a 0.60 rating in the 18-49 demos, the same from the 0.60 rating as last week’s show.
All Elite Wrestling has officially signed former NXT roster member, Tay Conti to a contract. Conti competed in the recent AEW Women’s Tag Team Cup as Anna Jay’s partner. They defeated Nyla Rose & Ariane Andrew in the 1st round. In the second round, they would lose to the eventual tournament winners Ivelisse and Diamante.
Ever since teaming with the Dark Order’s Anna Jay, Brodie Lee’s faction has been attempting to recruit Conti into their ranks.
Conti was released from her NXT contract back in April. AEW announced Conti’s signing on Twitter today:
The 25-year-old signed with WWE in 2016 and reported to the WWE Performance Center. She was eliminated in the 1st round of the Mae Young Classic the following year. She would make her NXT television debut in October of 2017.
Conti spoke about her release from WWE in a YouTube video she posted shortly after.
“As you guys know, I don’t work for WWE anymore. I was with the company for 2 and a half years or so, a little bit more I guess. Honestly, it was the most crazy and amazing opportunity of my whole life. I will always be grateful because WWE changed my life, and for the better. I came here to US and I had no English, I had no idea what wrestling was before.”
Impact Wrestling presented a big show last night on AXS TV and Twitch. The show featured a match for the Impact Tag Team Championships and a main event of Tommy Dreamer vs Eric Young.
Impact Results 9/8:
TJP defeated Chris Bey
Brian Myers defeated Willie Mack
Impact Tag Team Championships Motor City Machine Guns (c) defeated The Rascalz
New Impact World Champion Eric Young kicked off this week’s episode. He was interrupted by former champion Eddie Edwards’ wife, Alisha Edwards. She told Young that because of his attack last week, Eddie can’t even hold their young child. Alisha vowed that Eddie would be back to take back the title soon, however.
Young then looked to give Alisha a pile driver but Tommy Dreamer made the save. A match was then made between the two of them for later in the night.
Young picked up the victory via a pile driver in the main event. He would continue the attack after the match but Rich Swann returned and limped to the ring area on crutches. He used his crutch to batter the champion and chase him away from the ring area to close the show.
Previously on Impact, Moose has told EC3 he plans on destroying the TNA World Heavyweight Championship. He just doesn’t yet know how he’s going to do it. Moose has been searching for him but ended up in a rather weird predicament on this week’s show.
Moose traveled to visit his old football coach but it appeared that his coach had been corrupted by EC3 already. The coach told Moose to “control his narrative” and that he had been warned before a series of players in EC3 hoodies made weak attempts to attack Moose.
Things Are Heating Up In Impact’s Tag Team Division
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GnHM9mjDGbQ
The Motor City Machine Guns gave Wentz and Dez a shot at the tag titles this week. The two teams met at Slammiversary but MCMG said last week they felt the Rascalz deserved a title shot when they know which team they will face ahead of time.
MCMG utilized their innovative tandem offense to score the victory but after the match, things in the tag division got heated. Former champions the North came out and attacked MCMG from behind. The tag champs managed to turn the tables on the North but this only brought out Ace Austin and Madman Fulton. The North and Fulton & Austin then took it to the tag champs. This then brought out the Good Brothers, Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows, for the save.
It looks like there are plenty of teams lining up to challenge the champs in Impact’s tag division.
Sami Callihan Has Plans For Debut of The Whole F’N Talk Show
Rob Van Dam and Katie Forbes announced this week that next week they will debut a new talk show titled The Whole F’N Talk Show. Later in the show, Sami Callihan commented on what he has in store for their debut episode. Callihan said he doesn’t plan on hacking into their talk show, as he did for Katie Forbes’ website reveal before. He does have other plans for the debut episode of their show, however.
Taya Valkyrie Planning John E Bravo’s and Rosemary’s Wedding
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HbJdlfZGqxo
On the final episode of Wrestle House last week, John E Bravo and Rosemary became engaged to be married. This week, Rosemary expressed concern about being a demon and getting married. She said she has to resurrect Father James Mitchell to officiate the wedding. Bravo was put in charge of planning the wedding but Taya Valkyrie quickly took these responsibilities from him.
Taya later told both Kiera Hogan and Tasha Steelz that they will play no part in the wedding which leads to a match between Taya and Steelz on the show.
Taya managed to defeat Steelz without the help of John E Bravo. He spent more time on the phone planning his wedding than he did paying attention to the match. Taya picked up the win with the Road to Valhalla.
TJP Next In Line For X-Division Championship
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2KdaOj75Nk
TJP took on former X-Division champion Chris Bey in the opener this week. Current X-Division Champion Rohit Raju watched from ringside. TJP picked up the victory by countering a sunset flip attempt into a pinning combination. Josh Matthews suggested on commentary that TJP has now put himself in a position to challenge Rohit Raju fro the belt.
Willie Mack Unable To Get Revenge On Brian Myers
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTWuH8weTO8
The most professional wrestler Brian Myers cut a promo this week. He told Willie Mack that they had just gotten off on the wrong foot. Myers said he paved the way for people like Mack and invited him to come out and shake his hand. Mack preferred to have a match instead. Myers said he wasn’t in his gear (and hadn’t tanned) but Mack didn’t care.
Myers picked up a victory after a low blow and DDT but another match between the two has been scheduled for next week.
