Monday’s edition of WWE RAW averaged 1.896 million viewers with a 0.58 rating in the key 18-49 demographic. This was down from last week, which did 2.028 million viewers and a 0.66 demo rating.
It has to be noted that last week’s show got a big boost thanks to it coming the night after SummerSlam. In fact, that show did the best viewership number since April 6th, the day after WrestleMania in addition to the best demo number since March.
This was the post-show for Sunday’s Payback pay-per-view event and the second episode of RAW that was held from the ThunderDome.
To compare, just one year ago, RAW averaged 2.507 million viewers.Here’s the hourly viewership breakdown for Raw, courtesy of Showbuzzdaily.com:
Hour 1: 2.104 million, 0.63 in the 18-49 Demo
Hour 2: 1.882 million, 0.59 in the 18-49 Demo
Hour 3: 1.703 million, 0.53 in the 18-49 Demo
RAW featured three singles match that served as qualifying matches for the main event that saw Keith Lee, Randy Orton, and Seth Rollins to determine the new #1 contender for the WWE Title and challenge Drew McIntyre for the strap at Clash of Champions.
SmackDown Viewership
Friday’s SmackDown averaged 2.144 million viewers on FOX. This is down from the 2.198 million viewers that the show did for the previous week.
SmackDown averaged 2.181 million viewers in the fast nationals, which was up from the 2.168 million viewers a week ago. This number measured the top metered markets.
The first hour drew 2.210 million viewers while the second hour did 2.151 million viewers. For comparison, the first show of last week’s show did 2.189 million viewers while the second hour did 2.146 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.
The Retribution faction that has been terrorizing episodes of RAW and Smackdown as of late will apparently only be doing that to the RAW brand now. According to a report from John Pollock of POST Wrestling, a source has confirmed to him that the angle will now be exclusive to RAW.
“One source noted to us that Retribution is expected to only appear on Raw moving forward,” wrote Pollock.
The faction appeared on WWE RAW last night. They attacked during the Street Profits vs Andrade and Angel Garza match. Garza took off along with his date from the Bachelor to avoid the attack but would run into the group backstage later in the show. During this attack, Garza left Demi Burnett on her own as well.
Who Is In Retribution?
There has been a lot of online speculation about who the members of Retribution are. The talent currently taking part in the angle may not be the finalized group, however.
Dominik Dijakovic, Chelsea Green, Vanessa Borne, Dio Madden, and Mia Yim’s names have all been speculated on as possible members of the group. Kayden Carter possibly as well.
Jim Ross recently spent some time with Conrad Thompson talking about an episode of RAW from 2001 on his Grillin JR podcast. During the conversation, Ross offered up his opinion on Stephanie McMahon as a performer.
“Stephanie was a great heel, by the way,” JR said on the show. Conrad then asked Ross if there was any hesitation to putting Stephanie on-screen in such a role.
“She’s got a lot of the old man in her and I had no issues whatsoever because she worked very diligently to improve,” Ross said. “And because she had a major name to carry. She was more like Vince than Shane was like Vince, in my view, and Vince has even said that to me.”
“But she became a great heel and just followed in the footsteps of her old man who was the hottest heel we had in the Attitude Era.”
Stephanie’s first appearance on WWE programming came in 1998 when she was 22-years-old. By 2001, Stephanie was the storyline new owner of ECW and one of the major figures in the Invasion angle.
Last night on WWE RAW, The Iiconics were booked in a match against the Riott Squad. The winners would receive a tag title shot. The losers would have to disband. After Ruby Riott scored a pinfall on Billie Kay, it meant the end for the longtime Iiconics tag-team.
WWE correspondents caught up with the Iiconics backstage in an interview exclusive to WWE’s social media.
“Ever since we started in NXT 5.5 years ago, this has been us,” Royce said backstage. “It’s just very unnatural.”
“It’s scary thinking that we won’t be by each other’s sides when we walk through that curtain, we won’t be in that ring together, we won’t be on the outside cheering them on, we are going to be in this alone. That’s scary but that’s life,” Billie Kay said.
“Everyone goes through changes of growth and times where you have to evolve and we’re at that point. So as scary, and as sad as we are, we both know that we can achieve anything we set our mind’s to. And even though we won’t be supporting each other out there, back here we will have each other’s back 1000% every single damn day for the rest of our lives. And that’s something that will never go away.”
The Iiconics WWE Stats
The Iiconics became the 2nd WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions at WrestleMania 35 after winning a fatal 4-way match. They would hold the belts for 4 months before dropping them to Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross.
WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships:
The Kabuki Warriors (1x champions) 171 days as champions.
Sasha Banks and Bayley (2x champions) 145 days as champions.
Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross (2x champions) 123 days as champions.
The Iiconics (1x champions) 120 days as champions.
Nia Jas & Shayna Baszler (1x champions) 2+ days as champions.
WWE RAW aired from the ThunderDome in the Amway Center. It was the first episode of RAW following WWE Payback. Drew McIntyre’s challenger at Clash of Champions was determined during this week’s episode. Rey Mysterio was unable to compete due to suffering a torn triceps at Payback and Dominik replaced him in the match against Seth Rollins.
Keith Lee def. Dolph Ziggler to advance to the #1 Contender Triple Threat match
Mickie James def. Lana
Randy Orton def. Kevin Owens to advance to the Triple Threat match
Cedric Alexander & Viking Raiders def. The Hurt Business
The Riott Squad def. The IIConics and earned a shot at the Women’s Tag Team Championships
Seth Rollins def. Dominik to advance to the Triple Threat match
RETRIBUTION interfered in Street Profits vs. Garza & Andrade
Randy Orton def. Keith Lee & Seth Rollins to earn a shot at the WWE Championship at Clash of Champions
Here are the takeaways from this week’s episode of RAW:
Keith Lee Advanced To The Triple Threat Match
Randy Orton kicked off the show and said he took it as a sign of disrespect that McIntyre offered him a title rematch out of pity. Orton added that the only thing McIntyre deserves is the fractured jaw he gave him. Randy added that he shouldn’t have to face Owens and compete in the Triple Threat match later tonight because he is entitled. Randy vowed to win the Triple Threat match and then showed a photoshopped picture of Edge, Michaels, Ric Flair, Big Show, Christian, and McIntyre at the hospital.
Keith Lee interrupted and made his way to the ring. Lee said Orton is fixated on the havoc he has caused and doing his best to forget that he beat him last night at Payback. Keith added that he gave Orton no choice last night but to bask in his glory. Lee said that since he beat Orton maybe he deserves the title opportunity. Ziggler attacked Keith Lee from behind and planted him with a DDT as RAW went to break.
Strike first. Strike hard. Show no mercy. @HEELZiggler
Match Recap: Keith dominated early and sent Ziggler flying into the turnbuckle. Dolph rolled out of the ring to by himself some time. Back in the ring, Ziggler connected with a Neckbreaker and went for a cover but Lee powered out at one. Dolph followed it up with a Fameasser for a two count. Ziggler connected with the Zig Zag but Keith Lee kicked out again. Lee then planted Dolph with the Spirit Bomb for the pinfall victory. Lee advanced to the Triple Threat match later on the show.
RAW Women’s Champion Asuka said that she has defeated many great women and that she is ready to face anyone. Mickie James interrupted and said she recognizes greatness when she sees it. Mickie told Asuka that she is coming for the RAW Women’s Championship. Lana and Natalya interrupted and called Mickie selfish.
Lana boasted about her fashion and claimed Natalya is the leader of the women’s division. Asuka said she is ready for all of them and a brawl broke out as RAW went to a break. When RAW returned, Lana faced Mickie James and Asuka was on commentary. Natalya was ringside for the match. Lana controlled the match early but Mickie battled back and hit the Mick Kick for the pinfall victory.
Randy Orton faced Kevin Owens tonight on RAW. The winner of the match will advance to the Triple Threat match later tonight. Before the match, Orton was seen leaving the locker room of Aleister Black. Aleister then attacked Kevin Owens during his entrance and hit him with Black Mass.
Owens demanded that the match begin and got hit with an RKO right away. Orton and Keith Lee have advanced to the Triple Threat match.
The next challenger to WWE Champion Drew McIntyre will be Randy Orton and it’s the first match to be added to the card of the upcoming WWE Clash of Champions pay-per-view event.
During Monday’s episode of RAW from Orlando, Florida on the USA Network, WWE held three separate singles matches with the winners of those bouts advancing to a Triple Threat Match later in the show.
The singles matches were Keith Lee vs. Dolph Ziggler, Kevin Owens vs. Randy Orton, and Dominik Mysterio vs. Seth Rollins. The winners of these bouts were Lee, Orton, and Rollins.
In the main event, the three stars battled it out with Orton coming out on top. Because Orton was victorious, he earned the right to challenge McIntyre for the WWE Title.
McIntyre didn’t have a match booked at this past Sunday’s Payback pay-per-view event due to an injury storyline thanks to Orton hitting him with a punt kick to the head last week on Raw. At this same show, the former WWE Champion put over the ex-NXT Champion in a clean finish.
WWE presents the Clash of Champions pay-per-view event on Sunday, September 27, 2020.
Fans of The Big Show’s sitcom on Netflix can stop wondering if the show will be back for a second season.
Deadline reported today that the streaming service has decided not to order a second season of “The Big Show Show.” The good news is that there will be one more episode of the series as a new Christmas special will be released on Netflix this December.
Per the report, the episode isn’t a series finale, but rather it’s a standalone episode that was filmed before the COVID-19 pandemic. It also doesn’t continue the storylines of season one. Thus, there’s no official ending to the series.
“The Big Show Show” co-creator Jason Berger sent out a tweet about the series not being renewed by writing, “On behalf of the staff, cast, and crew of #thebigshowshow…thank you to everyone who watched either with your fam or alone in your basement. Netflix was a dream to work with AND we had a blast making the show. Rare air! Please take care of each other!”
The series premiered on Netflix this past April and eight episodes aired. It starred The Big Show, Allison Munn, Reylynn Caster, Juliet Donenfeld, Lily Brooks O’Briant, and Jaleel White.
The description for the sitcom was: “When the teenage daughter of Big Show, a retired world-famous WWE Superstar, comes to live with him, his wife, and two other daughters, he quickly becomes outnumbered and outsmarted. Despite being 7 feet tall and weighing 400 pounds, he is no longer the center of attention.”
Unfortunately, Rey Mysterio is on the sidelines with a torn triceps.
On Monday evening, WWE issued a statement on its website to confirm the news. The injury happened at Sunday’s pay-per-view event when he took part in a tag team contest.
Rey teamed up with his son Dominik to defeat the team of Seth Rollins and Murphy at this show.
“Rey Mysterio suffered a torn triceps during his match at WWE Payback Sunday night, WWE.com has learned.”
WWE had announced last week that the former WWE Champion was slated to compete against Rollins in a singles match on Monday’s episode of RAW on the USA Network. However, plans had to be changed due to this injury. As a result, WWE moved Dominik into a match against Rollins.
The winners of not only this match but two other matches would then compete in the main event of the show in a Triple Threat match to determine who would challenge Drew McIntyre for the WWE Title.
This will serve as the top match of WWE’s next pay-per-view event, Payback, which takes place on September 27th from the WWE ThunderDome.
Roman Reigns is heeling it up on both WWE television and social media.
A fan was complaining on Twitter about how WWE is shoving the Universal Champion down the throats of people once again.
The fan wrote, “Roman being forced down people’s throats again…..such an overrated performer. The belt has changed hands so many times it just has no prestige. Rubbish.”
Reigns responded to the fan with, “Only reason I’m down your throat, is because you keep your mouth open. I’m the best performer of this generation period and the title is finally in the right hands for it to hold true value.”
Reigns made his return at SummerSlam after the main event before aligning himself with Paul Heyman as his advocate.
At this past Sunday at the Payback pay-per-view event, he beat Bray Wyatt and Braun Strowman in a No Holds Barred Triple Threat Match to win the Universal Championship. He did so in heel fashion by coming out at the end of the match after Strowman and Wyatt had collapsed the ring.
The reason for the alliance between Heyman and Reigns is due to WWE needing to justify Heyman’s big-money deal as he hadn’t been on television since WrestleMania.
All Elite Wrestling has announced a new match for their upcoming All Out pay-per-view event and it’s certain to be an extreme one.
It was confirmed on Monday night that the bout between Matt Hardy and Sammy Guevara will be a Broken Rules Match. This comes after the two stars have been in a heated feud on television and even on social media.
The heat was turned up when Hardy got busted open when he took a chair shot to the face a few weeks ago. Fast forward to last Thursday’s episode when Guevara was bloodied during a Tables Match against Hardy.
The AEW All Out pay-per-view event will take place on Saturday, September 5, 2020 in Jacksonville, Florida at Daily’s Place.
AEW World Heavyweight Champion Jon Moxley vs. MJF
Mimosa Mayhem Match: Chris Jericho vs. Orange Cassidy
AEW Women’s Champion Hikaru Shida vs. Thunder Rosa
AEW Tag Team Champions Kenny Omega & Hangman Page vs. FTR (Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler)
Dark Order (Brodie Lee, Colt Cabana, Stu Grayson, & Evil Uno) vs. Natural Nightmares (Dustin Rhodes & QT Marshall), Matt Cardona, & Scorpio Sky – Eight-Man Tag Team Match
Darby Allin, Lance Archer, Brian Cage, Ricky Starks, Pentagon Jr, Rey Fenix, The Butcher, The Blade, Eddie Kingston – Casino Battle Royale
“I appreciate the opportunity I had to realize my childhood dream of working in sports entertainment, and I wish WWE well in the future. Now I want to direct my focus and devote my time to my other projects and to my mental health charitable activities and the well-being of my mother and myself.”
WWE confirmed the situation Monday night with a brief statement confirming they have “amicably agreed to part ways.”
WWE and Mauro Ranallo have mutually and amicably agreed to part ways. Mauro’s passion and enthusiasm left an indelible and exciting mark with WWE and its fans, and we wish him the best in his future endeavors. https://t.co/9y99UhfRhl
Ranallo was not present at last week’s NXT and or at TakeOver: XXX event nor did he work the NXT TV tapings from Winter Park, Florida at Full Sail University. This taping included last week’s show as well as this Tuesday’s episode.
At TakeOver, Corey Graves filled in for Ranallo while Wade Barrett replaced him at the last set of tapings. The reason for his absence was due to him needing to fly back to Canada to tend to a family issue.
It was reported on Monday that Barrett is in talks with WWE about a full-time return to the company. Whether that has anything to do with Ranallo’s departure remains to be seen.
Mauro Ranallo Talks Pop Culture References and Tegan Nox Botch
Brock Lesnar is a free agent after he and WWE failed to come to terms on a new agreement. The news was first reported by PWInsider.
As of this writing, Lesnar’s bio remains live at the WWE website. However, his page has been pulled from WWE Shop and WWE is no longer selling Lesnar merchandise.
Brock Lesnar’s most recent appearance for WWE took place at WrestleMania 36 back in April, where he dropped the Universal Championship to Drew McIntyre. Lesnar has been one of the highest paid and most prominently featured performers since returning to WWE back in 2012.
As seen on WWE television this past week, Lesnar’s advocate, Paul Heyman, has aligned himself with new Universal Champion Roman Reigns. In light of the news that Brock Lesnar is no longer with WWE, the company’s decision to pair Heyman and Reigns together indicates they do not expect Lesnar back in the fold any time soon.
The former WWE & UFC Champion is legally able to gauge interest from All Elite Wrestling, should that be an avenue he wants to explore. Lesnar instantly becomes the hottest free agent in all of professional wrestling, but it remains to be seen if AEW is willing to meet the sky-high price tag Lesnar is sure to command on the open market.
WWE purchased independent wrestling promotion EVOLVE this summer. Some of the promotion’s events are already available on the WWE Network.
According to a recent report from PW Insider, WWE has signed 5 wrestlers from the promotion and assigned them to its developmental program:
Josh Briggs
Anthony Greene
Brandi Lauren
Curt Stallion
Leon Ruff
WWE Signs EVOLVE Stars
Josh Briggs is a 6ft 8 270lbs monster and the last holder of the EVOLVE Championship. He debuted in late 2016. Briggs defeated Austin Theory to win the EVOLVE title back in November.
Anthony Greene is an 8-year pro from the New England area. He was trained by Spike Dudley and Ryan Waters.
Brandi Lauren is a 23-year-old from Tampa who has been used as an extra at WWE shows over the past few months. She was trained by Jay Lethal and made her debut in 2016. Lauren also worked some tapings for Impact Wrestling in 2017/18. Also in 2018, Lauren worked an NXT taping and lost a match to Lacey Evans. Her Instagram account sometimes features cameos from Joey Janela:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CDpPEyKJzJ4/
Curt Stallion is a 7-year pro out of Texas. He’s had matches with several wrestlers now signed to WWE while in EVOLVE. He’s wrestled Jake Atlas, Dexter Lumis, and Matt Sydal in the promotion.
Leon Ruff is a 23-year-old who made his debut in 2017. News of his signing was reported in late July. He once held the EVOLVE tag titles along with AR Fox. Ruff worked 9 matches for WWE during the pandemic era before news of his signing was reported. His last match was a loss to Drake Maverick on the July 21st episode of 205 Live.
Lawler previously tweeted to reveal that he had filmed the interview with Austin. The interview was done on Saturday, August 22nd, during WWE’s SummerSlam weekend.
This will be the 8th “Broken Skull Sessions” interview on the WWE Network. Austin’s other episodes are with Mark Henry, Ric Flair, Bret Hart, The Big Show, Kane, Bill Goldberg, and The Undertaker.
Wade Barrett returned to WWE recently to work at the NXT commentary booth last week. Mauro Ranallo is out dealing with a family issue at the moment.
According to multiple sources, WWE and Barrett are currently negotiating an agreement that would see him return to the promotion full-time as a commentator.
Barrett’s Superstar Profile has already been added back to the NXT section of WWE.com:
The 40-year-old former Nexus leader with WWE from 2006 through 2016. Barrett joined the broadcast team for episodes of NWA Powerrr in December of 2019.
Barrett was the winner of season 2 of NXT back when the program was a reality game-show style competition. He would then serve as the leader of the Nexus faction beginning in 2010. Barrett would go on to be a 5x Intercontinental Champion. He also won the King of the Ring tournament in 2015.
Wade Barrett WWE Return Reportedly In The Works
Shortly after Barrett made his WWE return as a commentator on NXT, his former stablemate in the Nexus, Bray Wyatt/Husky Harris, commented on his return.
AEW star Lance Archer recently appeared on SiriusXM’s Busted Open Radio. The ‘Murderhawk Monster’ answered a litany of questions on the show, mostly surrounding AEW’s recent television night moves and how the company have appeared to ‘retain’ their audience.
Lance Archer would also discuss the ‘Demogod’ Chris Jericho. Archer would talk about Jericho’s recent character nuance where he would tout his ratings success; saying how backstage Jericho doesn’t actually ‘broadcast’ the success to the whole locker room but just as an aside if you spoke to him directly.
The ‘Demogod’ character plays on AEW’s success in the 18-49 demographic. The 18-49 demo has been referred to by numerous members of AEW staff as a measuring stick for success; it is the pivotal demo for advertisers and AEW have consistently drawn well in this range, mostly bettering Wednesday night rivals NXT.
“I think if you had your own personal conversation with him [Jericho]? Yeah absolutely” Lance Archer began on the show, discussing the ratings success and Jericho’s approach to it. “It’s not a situation where I think; we’re not all coming together and having a big meeting and going rah rah rah ‘here we are’ and whatnot.”
“Because everybody’s very focused on doing the very best they can at what they’ve got on the show” Lance Archer continued. “If you need to speak to him [Jericho] or anybody that has that information? He will absolutely let you know and keep you abreast of what’s going on and what needs to be done. And he absolutely is one of those locker room leaders when you start talking about it that way.”
Do you like Chris Jericho’s new shtick as the Demogod? Let us know in the comments.
WWE Hall of Famer and co-host of Busted Open Radio Bully Ray recently commented on an ‘under-utilized’ talent in NXT. Namely, backstage member of staff Jeremy Borash.
Borash was previously part of TNA/IMPACT Wrestling, and would’ve had a fair amount of dealings with Bully Ray. The ECW legend would state how NXT needs to work on getting fans to ’emotionally invest’ in characters, and how Borash’s recent work with Io Shirai’s video packages would work wonders for the rest of the locker room.
Bully Ray on Emotional Investment
“When it comes to emotional investment? A lot of guys don’t get you emotionally invested with moves” Bully Ray began on the show. “Remember, if you think you’re emotionally invested in somebody? You’re probably just ‘responding’ to the move, and not the person. Emotional investment is all about the person, so emotional investment normally comes on the microphone.”
“That’s what I want to see more of in NXT” Bully Ray continued. “I want to see more of these guys and gals speaking from the heart. And they have something there at NXT, they have a weapon there that I think is under-utilised when it comes to tapping into the emotions of wrestlers.”
Bully Ray would then name Jeremy Borash as someone who needed to work more with NXT talent to help produce more related segments. “That weapon is Jeremy Borash. I think Borash does a phenomenal job of putting together these packages, the stuff that he is/has been doing with Io Shirai? The packages they’ve been doing with her are off the charts.”
Ray would also praise Borash’s work on the Boneyard Match from this past WrestleMania. “The stuff that Borash was behind when it came to ‘Taker and AJ Styles? The Boneyard Match? That’s all Jeremy Borash. Don’t let anybody else fool you, don’t let them smoke and mirror you. It’s Jeremy Borash because Borash was right by Matt Hardy’s side during all of the Final Deletion stuff. He understands all of this newer stuff that gets guys and gals over. I wish they were tapping into him a little more when it comes to letting people talk.”
Do you agree with Bully Ray on Jeremy Borash? Let us know in the comments
In January, WarnerMedia and AEW struck a new deal that was also said to include plans for a second television show. Then the pandemic hit and the President of TNT, a noted supporter of AEW, was let go from his position recently. According to recent comments on Wrestling Observer Radio, however, a second AEW show is still in the works and should debut before the end of the year.
“Yep, soon,” Meltzer said in response to a question about if the second AEW show is still happening. “Before the end of the year.”
Second AEW Television Show
It was noted back in January that when the new show does debut, it will not replace AEW Dark.
“When the new show launches, the Wednesday tapings would expand and also include matches taped for the streaming show Dark, which would not be going away,” wrote Dave Meltzer. “This means there will be about four hours a week of the product being taped.”
Although the former President of TNT, Kevin Reilly, is no longer with the company, he also spoke about a second AEW show back in January. Reilly departed TNT earlier this month.
“Let’s bring it onto the network and make it a place where you truly plant up and coming talent,’” Reilly said about a second AEW show. “I think we’ll start doing more packages there and filming some behind-the-scenes stuff, not for the matches that night but with other talent to plant stories and grow things that could eventually become another show in and of itself.”
Major League Wrestling is coming back. The promotion announced today plans to film new content in October that will begin airing in November. MLW’s Court Bauer spoke to SI.com about the news.
“The hibernation is over,” said Bauer. “We’ll air in November on a weeknight in primetime on Fubo Sports Network, and our content will also be available on DAZN, which includes exclusive content, and Saturday nights on beIN. As for the filming, we’re not going to publicly announce our location. If fans were to show up, it would just cause a wave of complications with the COVID protocol, but we are very excited to return for our fans.”
Bauer also outlined a strict COVID-19 testing protocol for all tapings. The company has hired a COVID-19 compliance officer to oversee the operations. Talent will be tested before traveling to the tapings, once they arrive, and then again before actually participating in the tapings. That is 3 tests each talent will take before actually getting in a ring.
Bauer also noted the name of the show might be changing from MLW: Fusion to MLW: Underground, the name of the promotion’s TV show from its original run. Replays of MLW: Underground have been airing in place of new episodes of Fusion in recent months.
In terms of how the returning show will look, Bauer teased the matches may have a “Raging Bull” feel to them.
“We’re going to have more of a Raging Bull setting,” said Bauer. “We’ve had the luxury to see what works in this era.”
“We spent the whole summer building our business to emerge from the pandemic ready to run on a larger scale,” said Bauer. “It’s now the right time for us to safely get back to work, and our talent is going to put on a great show in our return.”
Matt Hardy recently spoke to Chris Van Vliet and mentioned what he feels WWE would have done with him had he re-signed with the company. The 45-year-old’s last stint with WWE lasted from 2017 until March of this year. Hardy says that had he re-signed with WWE, the company wanted him to move into more of a coaching role.
“Vince and WWE, they already had it in their mind,” Hardy said. “In Vince’s mind, he was ready to move me on from being a talent into working backstage. Being a producer, helping give back and teach other guys behind the scenes. And I’m very happy to do that but a little later on.”
“These last few years that I have to do this physically, I want to do it to the highest level that I can.”
Hardy continued to say that WWE did offer him other roles during negotiations but Hardy figured they had made up their mind about him.
“Even though they offered to do other things after I expressed that was my concern, I know in my head they had already made up their mind how they see me as. So I just knew I needed to go somewhere else.”
Hardy now gets to perform and give back to younger talent in AEW. He has been working with the young team of Private Party so far in the promotion.
“On top of still being able to perform and still do what I want to do in my last few years, I also still get to help back and help young talent as well.”
New Day member Kofi Kingston has opened up about being away from in-ring competition as he heals from an injury during on appearance on WWE’s The Bump. He also acknowledged the singles run his stablemate, Big E, is currently enjoying.
Kingston revealed he feels good as he continues to recover at home. He shared how he has been working on his home gym, which has allowed him to get back into a fitness regime. He added how he isn’t pushing himself too hard right now, explaining how “number one because I don’t want to suffer a setback, you know, and be out for even longer. And number two, I’m spending a lot of quantity and quality time with my family, so I’m just trying to enjoy that.”
He stressed that, when the time is right, he will be back in WWE. Kingston also spoke about how he’s now smarter with his body and won’t be rushing back before he’s ready. He noted that, until he’s back, “Big E’s holding it down.”
Kofi Kingston On Big E’s Singles Run
Kofi Kingston admitted it’s an “awesome thing” to watch his friend succeed and thrive. He confessed it’s weird to watch Big E’s run from home before sharing how it doesn’t feel odd to support and celebrate his friend’s success and growth. According to Kingston, “we’re always supportive of each other, even when like Woods has not been with us.”
He pointed to Big E’s focus and personal drive, stressing his friend has always had these characteristics. Kingston stated how “What we do for ourselves helps the entire group, and at the same time, we’re doing it for the entire group. So when we gave him our blessing, that was us just showing our full support because I think the whole WWE universe, along with us, we all believe that Big E deserves a shot.”
Roman Reigns returned to in-ring competition during last night’s Payback event, winning the WWE Universal Championship. He signed his contract late into the match that was taking place between “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt and Braun Strowman. He then inserted himself into the fray and, ultimately, won the gold.
According to Paul Davis of WrestlingNews.co, the WWE Universe can expect a lengthy title reign now that “The Big Dog” is back on WWE programming. WWE boss Vince McMahon is said to be firmly behind the push to establish Reigns as champion with the end goal still being to get him to the same level as John Cena.
A WWE source revealed how “Vince is not playing around. He wants Roman to hold onto that belt until WrestleMania at least. Everyone knows the fans will cheer him and we all expect him to be a babyface sooner than later but the games with the silly verbiage in promos are done with. Roman will have more input this time with his promos.”
Roman Reigns returned at WWE’s recent SummerSlam event, attacking both Wyatt and Strowman after their match. It was then revealed on SmackDown that Reigns had aligned himself with Paul Heyman.
Prior to his SummerSlam return, Reigns had been off WWE programming due to coronavirus concerns. He had originally been scheduled to compete against Goldberg for the Universal Championship at WrestleMania 36. Reigns would be replaced by Strowman.
Braun Strowman has opened up about struggling with suicidal thoughts in a new episode of WWE Chronicle. During the episode, Strowman recounted his frustrations with his position in the company around Elimination Chamber 2019. He admitted he got to the point where “had enough” and decided to speak directly with Vince McMahon.
Strowman revealed how he “busted in on Vince” and told him they needed to talk. According to him, Vince McMahon then cleared the room, sat down, and spoke with him man-to-man. Strowman described their talk as being almost like a father/son discussion.
“I’m very thankful to have a relationship with him like that because I might not even be here. I don’t even like talking about this out loud but I was thinking about killing myself a couple of times. That I got to that point, I should have talked to somebody sooner,” Strowman admitted.
“I never knew how much he cared about me. I thought I was just a number in a system. That day he made me realize that I’m more important than a number I can’t thank him enough for doing that.”
Braun Strowman lost the WWE Universal Championship to “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt at SummerSlam. He was unable to reclaim the gold during last night’s Triple Threat Match at WWE Payback but is primed for a major push as a top heel on SmackDown.
Bobby Lashley walked away as the new WWE United States Champion following his Payback matchup with Apollo Crews. This win marks the second time Lashley has held the title. In a WWE.com exclusive, Lashley and his Hurt Business stablemates addressed the victory and shared what people can expect next.
When asked what this title win meant to him, Lashley deferred the mic to MVP, who stated:
“Satisfaction. Ask Apollo about satisfaction because obviously he is another satisfied client of The Hurt Business. Our business is hurt, and I think if you talk to Apollo Crews right now, his neck is hurt, his ribs are hurt, and his feelings are hurt.”
Bobby Lashley then stressed how The Hurt Business isn’t a brand, clique, or a group. He urged people to remember that they are, simply, The Hurt Business. He promised how “This is just the first to come.”
MVP added how he had told everybody in the past that he knew what The Hurt Business could do in WWE. He explained how, “I told you when I first started talking to my man Lashley, when I first started talking to Shelton, I knew what we were capable of. This is step one. I promise you step two is coming.”
Bobby Lashley and MVP also celebrated the title win on their respective social media accounts. Lashley noted how his first and current United States Championship reign were 14 years apart. He first won the belt from JBL on the May 26, 2006, episode of SmackDown.
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Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax have commented on their WWE Women’s Tag Team victory following their bout on Sunday night’s Payback event.
The new WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions weren’t shy in demonstrating there is friction between them. This was evident during the photoshoot, which saw both women appear to aggravate the other whilst posing with their new gold. However, it was stressed that if they can coexist as champions, then the WWE Universe can expect a long title reign.
During the shoot, Shayna Baszler revealed how she and Nia Jax have struck up a deal to ensure they keep the belts.
“We made a deal,” Baszler stated, “and as long as she keeps her end of the deal, we’re going to reign forever.” When asked what the deal was, Baszler commented, “I help her do this, she gets off my back.”
Nia Jax then sarcastically shared how “Yeah, we got a deal. For sure, trust me. Partner,” before giving Baszler a shove as Baszler told her to leave her alone.
