Tony Khan spoke with the socially-distanced crowd inside Daily’s Place before Dynamite began last night in Jacksonville, Florida. Khan spoke to the crowd about the importance of wearing masks, keeping distanced, and not chanting things which may incur a fine for the promotion.
“You guys gotta promise me a few things, okay?” Khan said to the crowd. “Please, promise me you guys will wear masks. We can’t shoot the crowd if you’re not wearing masks. You guys have done a great job spacing out, please, stay in your groups, try not to leave your groups.”
“And then we’re on live TV. It’s been a long time since we’ve had live fans. If you guys could please avoid a couple of things: Please do not, the F-word, please do not chant holy blank, even though it happens at wrestling shows. Please don’t do it. The other thing, can you guys just be hot? Because you guys represent this entire place, you can be the hottest wrestling crowd in the world.”
Pro Wrestling Illustrated has selected Jon Moxley as the top wrestler of the year. Moxley unseats his former stablemate in the Shield, Seth Rollins, who topped the list in 2019.
Moxley ranked 20th in 2019 and 106th in 2018.
PWI-500 Top 10 For 2020
Here are the top-10 rankings for this year’s PWI 500:
(Last year’s ranking in parenthesis)
Jon Moxley (20th)
Adam Cole (18th)
Chris Jericho (Unranked)
Drew McIntyre (36th)
Tetsuya Naito (25th)
Kazuchika Okada (5th)
Cody Rhodes (15th)
Seth Rollins (1)
Kofi Kingston (4)
AJ Styles (3)
Since the cover is already making its way around online, no point in waiting any longer: Congratulations to @AEWrestling's @JonMoxley on being the #1 ranked wrestler in this year’s PWI 500! Preorder your print copy now at https://t.co/EuUXs75XJBpic.twitter.com/O0JrkyvJ6U
— PWI (Pro Wrestling Illustrated) (@OfficialPWI) August 27, 2020
Previous PWI Top-500 #1 Ranked Wrestlers
Moxley joins a prestigious list of the top wrestlers in the world who have been ranked #1 by Pro Wrestling Illustrated for the year.
Joseph Melton James, better known to wrestling fans as “Bullet” Bob Armstrong, has passed away. He was 80 years old. Armstrong is a WWE Hall of Famer, having been inducted in 2011.
Armstrong’s 4 sons, Scott, Brad, Steve, and Brian all became professional wrestlers as well. Brian Armstrong (aka Road Dogg) currently works backstage in NXT. Scott Armstrong is a WWE referee. Brad Armstrong wrestled in the NWA and WCW for years before taking a job as a producer in WWE. He died in 2012 at the age of 50. Steve Armstrong wrestled for years as well in WCW and briefly in WWE.
Bob Armstrong’s son Scott announced the news on Twitter:
It is with a very heavy heart we announce the passing of our Father and @WWE Hall of Famer “Bullet” Bob Armstrong. Information regarding funeral arrangements will come at a later date.
It is with a very heavy heart we announce the passing of our Father and @WWE Hall of Famer “Bullet” Bob Armstrong. Information regarding funeral arrangements will come at a later date.
WWE is saddened to learn that “Bullet” Bob Armstrong, a WWE Hall of Famer and patriarch of the legendary Armstrong wrestling family, has passed away at age 80.https://t.co/VC0Lzr0RGO
Tributes to Bob Armstrong have been pouring in online.
“AEW and the wrestling world mourn the passing of the legendary “Bullet” Bob Armstrong, our thoughts are with his family, his friends and his fans. #RIPBulletBob” wrote AEW on Twitter.
“Everyone here at CAC is deeply saddened to hear that wrestling Legend and WWE Hall of Famer “Bullet” Bob Armstrong has passed away at the age of 80. Our sincerest condolences to his family and friends during this most difficult time. Your legacy is etched in stone rest easy Sir,” wrote the Cauliflower Alley Club.
AEW Dynamite aired live from Daily’s Place in Jacksonville. Matt Hardy battled Sammy Guevara in a Tables Match tonight. Groups of fans were allowed into Daily’s Place for the show and Chris Jericho joined commentary.
Dynamite Results (8/27)
FTR won the Tag Team Gauntlet Match and earned a title shot at All Out
Big Swole def. Britt Baker Rebel & Penelope Ford to earn a match against Britt Baker (Swole picks stipulation)
Sammy Guevara def. Matt Hardy in a Tables Match
Here are the takeaways from this week’s show:
Hangman Page Was Kicked Out Of The Elite & FTR Earned A Title Shot At All Out
FTR (Photo credit: AEW)
QT Marshall and Dustin Rhodes faced Young Bucks in the first round of the Gauntlet Match. The winners of the Gauntlet Match will go on to face Kenny Omega & Hangman Page for the AEW Tag Team Championships at All Out.
Match Recap: Matt and Nick dominated early and isolated QT int he ring. Rhodes tagged in and hit Matt and Nick with a couple Powerslams. Marshall tagged in and connected with a Dropkick to Matt’s face for a two count. Young Bucks battled back and knocked QT out of the ring. Matt and Nick hit Dustin with a Bulldog/Dropkick combo for a two count.
QT and Nick tagged in and Marshall hit a Clothesline that knocked Nick to the canvas. Young Bucks leveled Marshall with a couple Superkicks but QT battled back with a big punch to Matt’s face. Young Bucks hit QT with the BTE Trigger for the pinfall.
Young Bucks then faced Best Friends in the next round of the Gauntlet Match. Trent and Chuck isolated Nick in the corner and beat him down. Nick battled back and tried to Moonsault onto Trent outside the ring. Trent got out of the way and leveled Nick with a Spear.
Back in the ring, Trent hit Nick with a Dropkick in the corner and went for the cover but Jackson kicked out at two. Chuck tagged in and connected with a Suplex for another near fall. Nick hit Trent with a Superkick to the face and followed it up with a German Suplex on the ring apron.
Matt finally tagged in and hit Best Friends with a series of chops to the chest. Matt hit Chuck with a DDT and sent Trent to the corner. Matt went for a Tombstone Pilediver but Trent escaped. Matt planted Trent with three Northern Lights Suplexes in a row and went for a fourth but Trent countered into a DDT.
Best Friends shared a hug in the ring and Nick rolled up Trent for a two count. Matt held Trent up and Nick connected with a Swanton outside the ring. Young Bucks followed it up with a 450 Splash on Trent and went for the cover but somehow Trent kicked out at two.
Hangman Page came out of nowhere and held up Nick Jackson on the ring apron to prevent the Young Bucks from hitting the Best Meltzer Driver. Trent rolled up Matt for the victory to advance. Hangman Page wouldn’t look Young Bucks in the eye and walked away after the match. FTR battled Best Friends in the final round of the Gauntlet Match. Tully Blanchard accompanied Dax Harwood and Dash Wheeler to the ring.
FTR dominated early and isolated Chuck in the ring. Chuck booted Dax to the corner and Harwood knocked Wheeler off the apron by accident. Wheeler went around the ring and planted Trent with a Suplex outside the ring. Dax hit Chuck with a chop block and tagged Wheeler in. Cash stomped on Chuck’s knee before Harwood tagged in and locked in a Knee Bar on Chuck for the submission victory. FTR will face Hangman and Omega for the AEW Tag Team Championships at All Out.
Later on the show, the Young Bucks confronted Hangman Page at the bar. Matt and Nick said Hangman was nothing but a drunk and launched his drink in his face. Young Bucks then kicked Hangman Page out of The Elite. Young Bucks broke a mirror on the door as they slammed it shut. Hangman Page looked at his reflection in the broken mirror to end the promo.
Opinion: I enjoyed this match and am interested in why Hangman Page screwed over the Young Bucks. I did not enjoy commentary just talking over the finish after FTR had been targeting Chuck’s knee the entire match.
Wednesday’s edition of NXT from the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, FL averaged 824,000 viewers, down from 853,000 last week. The show did a 0.24 rating in the Adults 18-49 demographic (even with last week) and finished 24th on cable for the evening.
This was the second consecutive week that NXT ran unopposed and without direct competition from AEW Dynamite, which airs tonight on TNT.
The post-Takeover episode of NXT went up against the Republican National Convention and news coverage of the Hurricane Laura storm.
NXT saw Karrion Kross relenquish the NXT Championship due to injury, Breezango capture the NXT tag team championships from Imperium and a hot main event featuring Dakota Kai & Raquel González defeating Io Shirai & Rhea Ripley.
AEW has been preempted the past two weeks due to the NBA playoffs. Next week, NXT will also be preempted and will air Tuesday night instead of Wednesday.
The main event of next week’s ‘Super Tuesday’ edition of NXT will feature a 60-minute 4-way Iron Man Match to determine the next NXT Champion. The participants will be Finn Balor, Tomasso Ciampa, Adam Cole and Johnny Gargano.
Sable had two stints in the WWE. She first began working for the company in 1996 after WWE hired her then-husband Marc Mero. By 1999 things had gotten contentious backstage in WWE and she left the company. Sable would return in 2003, however. Jim Ross recently spent some time on his Grillin Jr podcast talking about Sable’s departure from the company again in 2004.
“I think she wanted to be a Mom,” JR said when asked why he thinks Sable left the second time.
“She had made massive money. Sable made more money in a year than in the best year of a guy like Lou Thesz or Buddy Rogers. I would say for the majority of their career. She may have had years that surpassed Ric Flair. And the talents all become aware of that, what somebody’s making.”
JR and Conrad then spoke about Marc Mero finding out that Sable and Brock Lesnar had gotten together. Mero was considerably less willing to confront the person Sable was with after finding out it was Brock Lesnar.
JR continued to talk about Sable’s legacy in wrestling and successes in life.
“She’s made full circle, from housewife to wrestling star back to being a housewife and Mom,” JR said. “So I think that her life in my estimation, Sable’s life was a great success story.”
“If somebody said to me ‘did you hear Sable is going in the Hall of Fame?’ I’d say ‘great! She earned it.'”
Booker T recently commented on his controversial loss to Triple H at WrestleMania 19. He made the comments on his Hall of Fame with Booker T and Brad Gilmore radio show and posted to his Reality of Wrestling YouTube channel.
Triple H defeated Booker T in a World Heavyweight Championship match at WrestleMania 19. Many fans felt that due to the nature of the rivalry between the two, it would have made more sense for Booker to win, however.
“I would change the outcome in the WrestleMania match with Triple H, that’s about the only thing that I would do differently,” Booker said when asked about his career on the show.
The match result doesn’t appear to bother him too much, however.
“Even with the Triple H match, I’ve said this several times, I forgot all about that match after I got the check,” Booker continued. “When you get a check big enough where you can pay for your house, you don’t think about the title or the match or anything like that.”
“The thing is you can’t get the check if you ain’t championship quality. You got to be a guy that they are giving the ball to.”
Booker T on Kofi-Mania
Booker was then asked what impact it would have had on Kofi-Mania had Booker T been victorious at WrestleMania 19.
“I think the moment that we are in right now in society, I think that’s one of the really, really big reasons we needed Kofi to win that night. Just because of what’s going on in our culture right now.”
“The moment of Kofi winning was so much more important for him winning than it was for me,” Booker continued. “That moment pretty much solidified Kofi Kingston as being a guy that came through this business, a guy that won the World Championship. For me, I won so many world titles, it ain’t even funny. Big difference. I won all the titles except that one!”
Booker’s comments can be heard in the player below:
Triple H’s Promo, March 3rd 2003
On an episode of RAW leading up to WrestleMania 19, Triple H cut a promo that many fans perceived to have racist undertones to it.
“Booker, I think you’re a little bit confused in your role in life here,” Triple H said during the promo. “You see Booker, you’re going to get to go to WrestleMania but see the fact is Booker, somebody like you doesn’t get to be a World Champion. You see people like you don’t deserve it. That’s reserved for people like me.”
“See Book, that’s where the confusion is. Your confusion is… see you’re not here to be a competitor, you’re here to be an entertainer.”
Triple H would later say at a WrestleMania press conference that it was not his intent for the promo to be perceived as his character being racist to Booker. He said he only meant to refer to legal problems Booker encountered earlier in his life when he said “People like you.”
Bruce Prichard has since said that the whole angle was meant to portray Booker as the flag-bearer of WCW at the time.
“The way it was intended and the way it was written, and the way that the whole angle was laid out, was about Booker T being the standard-bearer of WCW. Because at that time, Booker was the biggest star to come out of WCW,” Prichard said on his podcast in regard to the angle.
All Elite Wrestling returns tonight for a special Thursday episode of AEW Dynamite. Next week’s show will also take place on Thursday before Dynamite returns to its usual Wednesday night timeslot September 9th.
We are less than two weeks away from the All Out pay-per-view. The card is starting to take shape and Dynamite will bring the All Out card further into focus.
Scheduled for tonight’s stacked AEW Dynamite live on TNT:
– All Out Contract Signing between AEW World Champion Jon Moxley and MJF. MJF has demanded that Moxley be barred from using his Paradigm Shift finisher be banned from their match. We will find out tonight if Moxley agrees to the stipulation.
– Brodie Lee’s TNT Championship victory celebration continues. The Dark Order leader destroyed Cody Rhodes last week to capture the gold. Cody is expected to be out of action for an extended period of time due to injuries he sustained during and after their match.
– Sammy Guevara and Matt Hardy will square off in the first-ever Tables match in AEW history.
– A Tag Gauntlet match between the young Bucks, The Natural Nightmares, Best Friends and FTR. The winners of the gauntlet earn the right to face Kenny Omega and “Hangman” Page for the AEW Tag Team Championships at All Out.
– Big Swole will face Britt Baker, Penelope Ford and Reba in a 3-on-1 handicap match.
– The Lucha Bros., The Butcher & The Blade (with Eddie Kingston) vs. Joey Janela, Sonny Kiss, Brian Pillman Jr. and Griff Garrison
WWE Hall of Famer and co-host of SiriusXM’s Busted Open Radio Bully Ray recently commented on the 20th anniversary of the first TLC match in WWE.
Whilst the ‘triangle’ ladder match from WrestleMania 2000 was essentially a TLC bout? SummerSlam 2000 saw the first official Tables, Ladders and Chairs match between The Dudley Boys, Edge & Christian and The Hardy Boyz.
During that match Bully Ray took a massive bump off of the top of the ladder onto tables in the aisle way. Ray would jokingly mention how WWE icon and Hardcore Legend Mick Foley would mock him so taking such a risky bump to the floor. It’s ironic as of course Foley himself is probably best known for his Hell in a Cell spot. That was when The Undertaker threw him of the top of the cage.
Bully Ray on SummerSlam ‘Spot’
“I wanted to have a memorable moment” Bully Ray began on the show. “Everybody in wrestling wants to have that; that moment in time that can live forever. Obviously with Mick Foley? It was taking the bump off of the Hell in The Cell. And that was kind of like what I had in mind.”
“I’m like, ‘Mick [Foley] will always be remembered for his bump off the cell no matter what'” Bully Ray continued. “No matter how entertaining Mick was with Mr Socco, Dude Love or Rock and Sock? What do you think of when you say Mick Foley? The bump off the top [of the cage]. So I wanted to have a moment like that and I figured, ‘well I’m gonna go stand on the top of that ladder; I’m going to reach for the belts and then I’m going to get pushed over. and I’m going to crash and burn through the floor tables.'”
Bully Ray would then talk about how Mick Foley brought up the bump in conversation shortly after. “It was interesting, because after about a month after that match was over? I saw Mick. We were talking and he was congratulating us and me on a great match. And he then said to me ‘why did you take that bump?’
“I said ‘well Mick to be honest with you I wanted to do something memorable'” Bully continued. “When I’m dead and buried and long gone I want people to be able to remember me for some cool moment. You know? I was trying to emulate what you did’. And he [Foley] goes, ‘you do realize you would have gotten paid the same amount of money if you took a clothesline!?’ And I was like, ‘oh my god, you’re such a buzzkill.'”
The wrestling world is continuing to grapple with the seriousness of what took place at Sonya Deville’s residence in the early hours of August 16th. Several updates are now available concerning the case.
Deville is scheduled to appear in court this morning. The purpose of today’s hearing is to seek a restraining order against Phillip Thomas in case he is released in the future.
Deville also testified a week ago today at a court hearing. That hearing ultimately ruled Thomas would not be granted bond and will remain in prison until his trial.
Deville noted that after learning the person’s name, she checked her social media and found countless threatening messages from him.
“I found hundreds of messages he sent from his account and two other accounts threatening my life. threatening my baby niece, saying he knew she was my world and he’d make sure she was dead,” Deville said, “saying that he’d cut off my ex-girlfriend‘s head and deliver it to my doorstep and do various forceful sexual things to me and my family members. I was horrified.”
Fox 13 published the following report which features security footage of the man entering Deville’s residence.
Court Rules To Keep Evidence Sealed
According to a report from PW Insider, The Hillsborough County Court ruled against a motion from local Florida media recently. The motion was for the release of evidence regarding the case to the public. Such evidence includes video messages sent by the suspect through social media. This evidence will remain sealed as a result of the court ruling against the motion.
Deville Has Received Additional Threats
A court-document obtained by HeelByNature, appears to indicate that Deville has received additional threats following the attack. Such messages reportedly read “I’ll finish the job that Phillip started”, and “My knife is sharper than Phillp’s.” These messages are addressed in the below document’s 3rd note:
7-years ago yesterday, AJ Lee delivered a promo that has lived in the memories of many wrestling fans ever since. The promo from 2013 took place just after AJ had turned down a spot on the Total Divas reality series. Vince McMahon approached AJ backstage and asked her why she didn’t want to be part of the cast. The conversation led to Vince asking AJ to air her grievances with Total Divas, and some of its cast members, live on RAW.
“OMG you guys, I just watched last night’s episode of Total Divas and it was insane, oh my gosh,” AJ said in the promo.
“It was great, it really was, it was the end of the world and it’s Sunday nights on the E Network, ahhh!”
“Do you want to know what I see when I look in that ring?” AJ continued, speaking to the Bellas and other Total Divas cast members. “Honestly? A bunch of cheap, interchangeable, expendable, useless women. Women who have turned to reality television because they just weren’t gifted enough to be actresses. And they just weren’t talented enough to be champion. I have done more in 1-year than all of you have done in your entire collective careers. I have saved your Divas division, I have shattered glass ceilings, I have broken down doors, why? So a bunch of ungrateful, stick-plastic mannequins, can walk on through without even as much as a thank you?”
AJ is currently working with Aimee Garcia on Scrappy Heart Promotions. They co-wrote a “GLOW vs the Babyface” comic book series and are currently working on a Dungeons and Dragons comic book due for release in October.
Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson and Under Armour had been planning a promotional event today to launch the new Project Rock gym training shoes. In the wake of the police shooting of Jacob Blake on August 23rd, The Rock and Under Armour have announced they will postpone the launch.
The Rock Tweeted the following to announce the postponement and to comment on the situation:
“Out of respect for Jacob Blake & his family we’ll postpone our @projectrock@underarmour PR3 launch today. I’ll keep you posted on our relaunch date. Unbelievable we’re here again. Shot 7xs. In the back. In front of his kids. There’s no progress without humanity.”
Out of respect for Jacob Blake & his family we’ll postpone our @projectrock@underarmour PR3 launch today. I’ll keep you posted on our relaunch date. Unbelievable we’re here again. Shot 7xs. In the back. In front of his kids. There’s no progress without humanity.
This news comes on the heels of the NBA canceling all playoff games scheduled for yesterday. That was announced after the Milwaukee Bucks, the team closest to the shooting in Kenosha, Wisconsin, boycotted their game against the Orlando Magic. Several MLB teams also followed suit and did not play yesterday.
The shoes the Rock and Under Armour were set to announce have been in the works for a year now. The Rock has been personally testing out the sneakers. He posted to Instagram about them earlier this week:
Karrion Kross & Scarlett Kicked It Off, But Said Goodbye To NXT Title
Karrion Kross defeated Keith Lee to become the new NXT Champion
Karrion Kross & Scarlett opened the show with an in-ring promo. Kross was wearing a sling.
Of course, Kross is coming off his biggest win thus far in his career under the WWE NXT banner as he dethroned Keith Lee to win the NXT Title this past Saturday night at NXT TakeOver: XXX. However, in the process, Kross suffered a shoulder injury.
Kross said that he warned everyone and it happened, he kept good on his word when he ripped the NXT Title from Lee’s hands. He said that when you go to war, you should casualties on all sides. He said that his shoulder is separated and he’s in pain, but he enjoys it.
He said that he’s a realist and there’s no way that WWE will allow him to defend the title. He said that the obstacles in his way are part of the path. Kross put the title down and said that this is a warning as it changes nothing.
He said that everyone will pay the toll and god help the person who is champion. Thus, he has given up the title.
Later in the show, William Regal announced that there will be a 60 Minute Iron Man Fatal 4-Way Match to determine the new NXT Champion on next week’s show. Adam Cole vs. Johnny Gargano vs. Finn Balor vs. Tommaso Ciampa is booked.
Imperium put the NXT Tag Team Titles on the line against Breezango in what seems to be a feud that will not end. However, Fandango did earn the title shot.
Cruiserweight Championship Match
NXT Cruiserweight Champion El Hijo Del Fantasma is now Santos Escobar
After weeks and weeks of build, Isaiah “Swerve” Scott finally got his shot at the Cruiserweight Championship from Santos Escobar.
This was a solid match as both guys worked hard to put on a compelling story. The finish was interesting as Scott was close to winning the title. However, Escobar put on his old mask and hit a headbutt to score the pinfall.
Their history goes back quite some time as Scott defeated Escobar earlier this year in NXT’s Cruiserweight Title Tournament.
What’s more interesting is that Scott is the only person who’s beaten Escobar in WWE. Scott almost got another win over Escobar just last week in a six-man tag match, but failed to do so.
After being crushed by Karrion Kross at the NXT TakeOver: In Your House event, Tommaso Ciampa had been kept off television. That all changed on Wednesday’s episode of NXT.
Ciampa did so when he took on Jake Atlas in a singles match. He destroyed the poor guy and controlled the entire match.
He took him outside of the ring for further damage that led to him getting stretchered out, but Ciampa added insult to injury when he hit a DDT off the stretcher. There was no winner.
This was a good showing for Ciampa, who is apparently going back to his old ways.
Io Shirai & Rhea Ripley vs. Dakota Kai & Raquel González
Io Shirai
NXT Women’s Champion Io Shirai & Rhea Ripley vs. Dakota Kai & Raquel González was booked in a tag team match. It actually served as the main event.
This match came after Saturday’s NXT TakeOver: XXX event where Shirai retained her NXT Women’s Championship against Kai. Post-match, Gonzalez attacked Shirai until Ripley made the save. After Gonzalez and Kai backed away, Ripley took a look at Shirai and her title belt before leaving.
At the end of the match, Mercedes Martinez took out Ripley on the outside. However, she managed to get the tag from Io, but wasn’t 100%. Raquel hit a power slam to Ripley for the win.
With Raquel getting the pinfall, we might see her in the title picture whether that’s her being at Kai’s side again or challenging for the title again. Meanwhile, Ripley is going to want to get revenge on Martinez for that interference.
Breezango has been able to capture the WWE NXT Tag Team Titles.
In the opening contest of Wednesday’s episode of NXT on the USA Network, Tyler Breeze and Fandango took on Imperium in their latest chase for gold in WWE.
The big upset happened when they beat Imperium for the titles in Winter Park, Florida at Full Sail University. It was a back and forth match with the heels getting the majority of the offense.
It nearly looked like there would not be a title change as Imperium went for their finisher. However, that was before Breeze managed to fight free and connected with dual superkicks that allowed Fandango to hit a double leg drop off the top rope and score the pinfall.
Breezango became the number one contenders to the titles by defeating Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch and Legado del Fantasma (Raul Mendoza & Joaquin Wilde) in a Triple Threat Tag Match at Saturday’s TakeOver: XXX pre-show.
Marcel Barthel and Fabian Aichner started their reign as NXT Tag Team Champions back on the May 13th episode of NXT when they dethroned Matt Riddle and temporary partner Timothy Thatcher.
The NXT UK stars are likely to make a return to their home country as NXT UK is about to start back up next month.
Karrion Kross was WWE NXT Champion for just a few days.
During Wednesday’s episode of NXT, Kross kicked off the show by walking out to the ring with his arm in a sling. This is where he announced that he has relinquished the NXT Title due to him separating his shoulder. Kross didn’t provide an update as to when he’ll be back.
He did however send a warning to the person who would be champion when he returns and vowed to make that person suffer for taking what is his. He said that when you go to war, you should expect casualties on all sides.
The injury happened when Kross defeated Keith Lee to win the WWE NXT Title in the headliner of NXT TakeOver: XXX on the WWE Network this past Saturday night.
Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Select reported before the show aired on the USA Network that he’s heard from multiple people within NXT that ideas have already been thrown around about crowning a new champion with one of the more popular ideas being a 4-way to crown a new champion.
He’s not heard any participants or firm plans, but several wrestlers backstage have heard of the aforementioned ideas floated.
Later in the show, William Regal announced that there will be a 60 Minute Iron Man Fatal 4-Way Match to determine the new NXT Champion on next week’s show. Adam Cole vs. Johnny Gargano vs. Finn Balor vs. Tommaso Ciampa is booked.
Ric Flair has talked about his memorable segment on Monday Night RAW a few weeks ago that closed out the show.
This is where he did a segment with Randy Orton to further his feud with WWE Champion Drew McIntyre at the SummerSlam pay-per-view event.
It was Orton who revealed during a conference call that Flair wasn’t supposed to do a promo, but rather just say some words without a microphone in hand.
I just did my own thing. At the end of the day, I think they trust me enough. Now that I’m supposedly more mature, I’m going to deliver something heartfelt… and I didn’t tell him what to say,” Flair told Wrestling Inc. “I said this is designed to get this whole [thing] over, what we’re doing here Randy. It’s designed to enhance what you’re doing right now in the business, and I’ve known him so long.
Ultimately, Flair got hit with a low blow and a punt kick to write him off television. The WWE Hall of Famer hasn’t been seen since then.
At SummerSlam, Orton fell short in his quest to become the WWE Champion once again as McIntyre connected with a backslide to successfully retain the WWE Title.
Although it appears that the ThunderDome has been a success for WWE with helping its viewership numbers get a boost, there have been moments of negativity during the shows.
Just this past Monday night on RAW, a fan showed KKK imagery on their screen during the show. The fan was a virtual audience member and decided to share an image of a man wearing a KKK robe waving a confederate flag. It happened in the final segment of the show near the front row.
Also, there have been other situations including a “Fire Velveteen Dream” sign as well as photos of Chris Benoit being shown. Up until Monday night, anyone who violated WWE’s guidelines would get kicked from the session.
On Tuesday, WWE has made it known by issuing a statement that they were working to ban the fan from being part of upcoming events.
Bryan Alvarez noted on Wrestling Observer Live today that the plan that WWE has up with will be to depend on trusted fans to be shown in front of the hard camera as those fans obey the rules no matter what.
Another aspect of the idea is to move those fans to the front row while other fans who aren’t trusted fully will be moved to the upper bowel.
Bray Wyatt took to Twitter today and issued a cryptic message to WWE Hall of Famer Goldberg.
“Dearest @Goldberg, Don’t worry old friend we fixed it,” he wrote. “Don’t listen to what they say, you and I know they’re wrong. I forgive you! But please, if you see the red walk away from it.”
Wyatt did not elaborate but social media speculation is that the post is related to the WWE Universal Championship, which Goldberg won from Wyatt earlier this year at WWE Super ShowDown.
Goldberg carried the title until WrestleMania 36, where he dropped it to Braun Strowman. That match was originally scheduled to be Goldberg vs. Roman Reigns, but Reigns backed out of the show due to concerns he had with working during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The tweet from Wyatt comes just days after Reigns returned at WWE SummerSlam, following The Fiend’s Universal Championship win over Strowman. The Fiend’s first title defense will come this Sunday at WWE Payback, against Reigns and Strowman in a No Holds Barred Triple Threat.
Wyatt’s cryptic post to Goldberg is adding to the rumors of a WWE return for Goldberg. He recently told The Pop Culture Show that he still has two years left on his WWE contract. The contract calls for two matches per year, but Goldberg has already worked his two for 2020. However, it’s always possible that WWE works something out and we see Goldberg return to mix it up in the SmackDown main event scene.
AEW has released new top-5 rankings for the week of August 26th, 2020. The big change in the rankings this week comes as a result of Brodie Lee’s TNT Championship victory over Cody on Saturday. With the loss, Cody drops to the #3 position.
AEW Men’s Singles Division
AEW World Champion: Jon Moxley (15-0) TNT Champion: Brodie Lee (6-1)
MJF (8-0)
Lance Archer (12-1)
Cody (18-2) (previous TNT Champion)
Brian Cage (6-1) (-1)
Scorpio Sky (7-2)
Brodie Lee is the new TNT Champion. He squashed Cody in the main event of Saturday’s edition of Dynamite. The former champ had to be stretchered out of the arena and could possibly be out of action for awhile. Cody drops to the #3 position in the rankings with the loss.
Everything else in the men’s singles division stayed pretty much the same. Before winning the title, Lee was ranked #4. Brian Cage drops one position due to Cody being ranked at #3 this week.
AEW Women’s Division
AEW Women’s Champion: Hikaru Shida (16-1)
Nyla Rose (8-2)
Big Swole (6-3)
Penelope Ford (7-4)
Abadon (4-1)
Dr. Britt Baker (4-4)
There was no movement in the women’s singles division this week, though there were some big developments. NWA Women’s Champion Thunder Rosa was featured in a vignette on Saturday challenging Shida to a title match. That match has been made official for All Out.
Also last week, Diamante and Ivelisse made history by becoming the 1st ever AEW Women’s Tag Team Cup winners. Rumors are AEW is working behind the scenes to sign them both.
#5 Britt Baker returns to action tonight (kind of). She’ll team with Penelope Ford and Rebel/Reba in a handicap match against #2 Big Swole.
AEW Tag Team Division
AEW Tag Team Champions: Kenny Omega & “Hangman” Page (12-0)
FTR (6-0)
Best Friends (14-4)
Young Bucks (6-2)
The Natural Nightmares (6-1)
Dark Order (8-2)
There was no movement in the men’s tag team division this week but a highly significant match has been scheduled for Thursday’s Dynamite. A gauntlet match will determine which team takes on Omega and Page for the belts at All Out. The order of the gauntlet match will be based on ranking. #4 The Natural Nightmares will start the match against #3 the Young Bucks. Whoever wins that match will move on to face #2 the Best Friends. Then the winner of that match will take on #1 FTR and whoever wins that fall will face the champs at the PPV.
New details regarding WWE’s deal with Orlando’s Amway Center have been revealed. WWE’s agreement with the venue extends until the end of October.
Orlando-based reporter for Spectrum News 13, Greg Angel, obtained a copy of the full contract between WWE and the city of Orlando. WWE is paying $12.5K for events on Sundays and $10K for RAW and Smackdown events.
WWE also will pay $7.5K for any days they work inside the venue and $2,500 for days where they are not working inside the venue. The deal runs through October 31st, but can be extended.
Orlando-based reporter Jon Alba has speculated that the reason the deal is not for longer is because of the prospect of the NBA’s Orlando Magic returning to the venue later this year.
“A thought on the #WWE and Amway Center situation: Perhaps a reason the City of Orlando has not commented on WWE potentially extending its lease at the arena could be the uncertainty of the next #NBA season. The #Magic are the primary tenants and would get priority,” Alba Tweeted.
“The #NBA has reportedly targeted beginning next season as early as December. The current #WWE lease at Amway Center for the #ThunderDome runs through October.”
WWE Saving A Fortune Running Amway
Bryan Alvarez of F4WOnline commented on how much money WWE is saving through the deal with Orlando’s Amway Center. The breakdown is staggering.
“They are paying a whopping $450 thousand dollars to run this Thunderdome from now until the end of October,” Alvarez said. “The cost to run a live RAW before the pandemic was over a million dollars an episode.”
WWE’s has a 10-week residency at the Amway Center that spans from late August through the end of October.
“Granted, there is the cost of sending it up to the satellite uplink and everything like that but the point of this is, they’re saving a lot of money right now,” Alvarez added.
Of course, there are some drawbacks to WWE’s ThunderDome setup. During the first week in operation, several “inappropriate” images appeared on WWE television. The company issued a statement on Tuesday thoroughly denouncing some of the objectionable content.
Impact Wrestling on August 25th, 2020 featured the second night of Emergence. The show was headlined by a 30-Minute Ironman match between Knockouts Champion Deonna Purrazzo and former champ Jordynne Grace.
Impact Results 8/25:
Impact World Championship Eddie Edwards defeated Rob Van Dam
Wrestle House Blindfold Match Crazzy Steve defeated Johnny Swinger
Deonna Purrazzo Retains In 30-Minute Ironman Match
After an epic encounter at Slammiversary, the current champ and the former champ clashed under Ironman rules to headline Emergence night 2.
Purrazzo would begin focussing on the hand and arm of her challenger. The bulk of her attack continued to be on Grace’s limb as the match pushed across the 20-minute mark with no falls yet recorded. Grace began mounting a comeback as we approached 5-minutes left. She locked in a rear-naked choke in the center of the ring causing the champion to fade. Purrazzo’s arm dropped 3 times and the ref signalled that Grace had won the first fall.
With time running out, the champion had to work fast or lose her title. She landed a knee lift and quickly locked in a submission. Grace would reach the ropes, however, causing the break. With 2-minutes left Grace accidentally hit the ref in the corner. She then hit Purrazzo with a Grace Driver but the ref was down. As Grace went to help the ref, Purrazzo picked up the title belt and hit Grace with it and covered her to get the pin.
With a minute left and the score tied, Purrazzo fought feverishly to lock in the arm bar on Grace. She briefly got Grace in the Venus de Milo but transitioned to the Fujiwara armbar with seconds to go. Grace tapped and Purrazzo would retain.
Eddie Edwards Defeats Rob Van Dam, Attacked By Eric Young
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbI_gVT5pRk
Eddie Edwards kicked off Impact this week with his world title open challenge. Former TNA World Champion Rob Van Dam answered the call along with Katie Forbes. RVD looked like he might have the title won at one point too. He hit a jumping kick from the top, followed by Rolling Thunder, and then he looked to put things away with the 5-Star Frog Splash. Edwards moved out of the way, however, and then hit the challenger with a Boston Knee Party for the win.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=do08V2_qLfY
After the match, Eric Young came out from the back and attacked Edwards from behind. Young said that Edwards will face him next week.
A few segments later, Edwards came back to the ring and cut a promo on Young. He told Young to come out “right here, right now.” Young came out and said the match will happen next week as he planned. Edwards said that was fine but his ass-kicking would start now and a pull-apart began. During the melee, Young shoved Scott D’Amore to the ground.
Later in the show, Sami Callihan appeared in a vignette. He said that the reason RVD lost this match was that he is in his head. Callihan also said that he’s in Katie Forbes’ head as well. This all stems from Callihan interrupting Katie Forbes’ new website reveal a few weeks back after the two had an altercation in the back. Callihan promised to be there next week to kick RVD’s ass.
EC3 Says He Will Destroy The TNA World Heavyweight Title
"Destroying this title is the only way I'll be free."
Last week, EC3 attacked Moose and took possession of the TNA World Heavyweight Championship. He has been saying that he must destroy his past and the TNA title is a big part of that. He cut a promo this week saying he plans to destroy the title but he’s not yet sure how to go about doing that in a fitting way.
Wrestle House: Throw Powder In Someone’s Eyes and Yell “Fuji!”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipd5vaItKp4
There was a toga party at Wrestle House this week. Also, the Deaners discovered a fun game where you throw powder in someone’s eyes and then yell “Fuji!” The team again confronted Acey Romero about having stolen their beer but again the Team XXXL member says he didn’t take it. The mystery of the missing beer continues.
Swinger attempted to hit Larry D with a “Fuji” but he hit Crazzy Steve instead. This led to Swinger and Crazzy Steve having a blindfold match at Wrestle House. The stipulation was added that the loser had to dress like the winner next week. Swinger was at quite the disadvantage as Crazzy Steve is already legally blind. Steve used a bike horn to distract Swinger and eventually picked up the victory with a roll-up.
Wrestle House: John E Bravo Confronts Lawrence D
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMkfE5nBB1I
Also on Wrestle House this week, Lawrence D and Rosemary went on a date. This is all a ploy from Rosemary to make John E Bravo jealous, however. Rosemary is interested in John E Bravo because several weeks ago some tarot cards told her to be.
John E Bravo confronted Lawrence D before the date could begin and it led to a match. Lawrence made quick work of Bravo with a headbutt followed by a punch to the face for the win.
After the match, Bravo admitted to Taya that he has feelings for Rosemary. A drunken “Toga” Valkyrie did not like this news. She got in Rosemary’s face and blamed her for everything, saying she is jealous of her. Taya challenged Rosemary to a match next week in a “Winner Takes All” match and “All” includes John E. Bravo.
Brian Myers Picks Up A Win Over Willie Mack
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twsKXLRH5EM
The Most Professional Wrestler Brian Myers and Willie Mack had an altercation in the back last week leading to this match. Myers hijacked an interview featuring Willie Mack talking about his injured partner, Rich Swann. Mack then attacked Myers in response and the end result is this week’s match.
Myers resulted to under-handed tactics to gain the victory, grabbing a handful of trunks on the pinning combination.
Rhino was jumped by Reno Scum recently. The team was hired by Hernandez to get his money back after Rhino and him had a gambling dispute. Rhino cut a promo backstage hoping that his tag team partner, Heath, would team with him next week. For that to happen, however, Heath will have to be hired by Impact.
Heath purchased advertising again this time to promote the “Heath4Impact” hashtag and encouraged fans to use it so that he gets hired by Impact.
Triple H recently joined The Bill Simmons Podcast, where he broached the competition between WWE’s NXT and AEW Dynamite each Wednesday night. He also addressed Raw’s runtime and shared his thoughts on Cancel Culture.
“The Game” stressed how having competition is a good thing as it “keeps things fresh and going strong.” He refused to belittle AEW or those involved with the promotion before sharing how long-term success “[…] takes time and effort as there’s a lot of pieces to move.”
He explained how WWE is a company that has managed to recreate itself and stay relevant throughout the years.
HHH added how “The strength of this company is being able to withstand the ebbs and flows of the business.”
Triple H On Why Raw’s Runtime, Cancel Culture
When asked about why Monday Night Raw is three hours long, Triple H explained how it is a financially driven decision.
That being said, HHH stressed how it is “exponentially harder to write a third hour of television.”
He noted it’s a difficult task to achieve each week before joking about how he doesn’t even like three-hour movies.
Triple H then addressed WWE’s current approach to trialing different storylines. He brought up the concept of Cancel Culture, highlighting how “we’re in that no matter what you do or say.”
HHH stressed how WWE has to be “more calculated” with its storytelling compared to the past. He shared how WWE could once “[…] run an angle in the past and try to maintain a line and try to go far with that line, get some backlash and then you can pull it back and it goes away. Now, today, it’s just different and you have to be careful with all of that. You see it everywhere across the board. It’s too easy to put yourself in a position that people just say they’re done.”
According to Triple H, it’s difficult to “latch on to a moment in time.” He argued how this is because that moment may be intense but brief, and “two weeks later nobody’s talking about it anymore” despite having been such an issue at the time.
Triple H recently revealed WWE’s investigation into alleged incidents involving Velveteen Dream “didn’t find anything.” WWE has subsequently “moved on” from the controversial situation.
WWE Superstar Randy Orton has shared his thoughts on old school versus new school pro wrestling. He opened up about the subject during an interview with Vicente Beltran of Vibe and Wrestling.
Orton argued how, although in-ring styles have changed over the years, the core goal of telling a story and engaging fans hasn’t.
He highlighted how, although wrestling schools take a different approach now, “psychology has not changed.”
Orton stated that the basic premise of a good guy versus a bad guy remains constant within wrestling: “It’s the good guy, and the bad guy, and you play with the emotions of the audience.”
Randy Orton On Telling A Story
Juxtaposing his argument with his recent SummerSlam bout, Orton explained how he wanted to tell a story with his match against Drew McIntyre. He wasn’t interested in it being a 4 or 10-minute story. Instead, he wanted it to “be a novel.”
“I’m going to be out there for 25, 30, 35 minutes, or maybe more, and I think that’s when magic can happen – when you get comfortable and you can build, and build, and build, to a point in the match where you put people on the edge of their seat. And that is the goal that we all pursue, and it does not happen every match.”
Orton shared how he thinks wrestling’s new school is a reflected “mentality of independent wrestling.” He explained how a lot of WWE and NXT talent who are signed from the indies can tell a good story. However, he noted how “They are perhaps counted in a faster way, it is a little more – I think the most careful way to call is ‘dangerous’.”
He highlighted the dangers of the faster new school approach. Orton pointed to the speed, bumps, false finishes, and non-stop action of the new school mentality. He added how it, ultimately, “hurts the story you’re trying to sell.”
“The Viper” then acknowledged how modern-day athletes are “more and more athletic” than those before them. He praised their physical abilities and in-ring skills, highlighting how “They do things that have never been seen before, especially in the past, and are reaching heights unknown to date.”
According to Orton, he enjoys watching wrestlers from the new school. He added how he can recognize when one can tell a captivating story with that new school style. Orton then stressed how the importance of psychology remains the same regardless of approach.
WWE Hall of Famer Booker T has shared his thoughts on Renee Young’s decision to leave WWE. During his Hall of Famepodcast, Booker T also discussed last weekend’s NXT Championship matchup between Keith Lee and Karrion Kross.
Booker T thanked Renee Young before highlighting how special she is. He stressed she won’t have to “worry about a check coming in the mail” before highlighting how she’s been “working on her game” for years. Booker T added she is finally at a point where she knows her own worth and what she can provide a company.
“Anybody that snatches Renee Young up, they are going to be very lucky to have her on that team because that is who she is. She is a team player.”
Booker T On Keith Lee Vs. Karrion Kross
Booker T then turned his attention to NXT TakeOver: XXX’s main event clash. He praised how “Two guys, two big guys, two bonafide heavyweights went out and had a heavyweight match up.”
He spoke highly of Kross, who he believed “showed his toughness” after separating his shoulder during the match. Booker T highlighted how Kross was hyper-aware of “what was on the line,” which helped motivate him throughout the bout despite the injury. He also gave props to Keith Lee, sharing how he is a fan of the “throwback wrestler” and that 2020 could be his year.
“I loved it when there were two big guys fighting going back and forth and then wrestling came into play. A big suplex or a big side slam or powerslam, whatever. That part of wrestling always drew me in.”
Booker T continued, sharing what he hates about modern-day wrestling:
“Wrestling today man, one of the things that kills me with wrestling today, and I’m going to say it. I’m going to spit some lyrics right now. I know they may not want me to talk about it. That damn leg pop is the damn vain of my existence. It really is. I’m sick of these wrestlers that go out and misuse the art. I’m going to leave it at that. I’m not going to go past that but that damn leg pop and you all know what I’m talking about.”
Karrion Kross defeated Keith Lee for the NXT Championship at NXT TakeOver: XXX. Lee subsequently made his Raw debut this past Monday night.
WWE’s Samoa Joe has been impressing the WWE Universe with his commentary skills on Monday Night Raw. The Superstar is also set to lend his vocal talents to DC character, King Shark, in an upcoming Suicide Squad video game.
Despite his growing success both ringside and outside of the ring, according to Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio, Joe may not be done with his in-ring career just yet.
He pointed out how Joe’s commentary role was only ever meant to be a temporary role. However, Joe’s skills, coupled with recent injuries, made keeping him on the announce team a smarter choice for now.
“I was told that it was temporary because he’s too valuable as a talent to have him as an announcer. But obviously, minds changed from when I was told that to when they decided to revamp it and he is great as an announcer. In theory, he’s supposed to wrestle again but who knows.”
Samoa Joe hasn’t competed in in-ring action since suffering a concussion earlier this year during a commercial shoot. Prior to taking over on the Raw team from Jerry “The King” Lawler, Joe had been involved in infrequent on-air skirmishes, including a confrontation with “The Monday Night Messiah” Seth Rollins, indicating an in-ring return may be a matter of time.
