NWA World Champion Nick Aldis has revealed how, after refusing to take a check for the first six months with NWA, he is now on a six-figure contract. Speaking with Busted Open Radio, Aldis shared his pride in working for NWA and how he considers himself “blessed” to be in his current position.
“I’m very blessed in the NWA. I make six figures. That’s not the case for everyone and I had to earn that. The first six months I worked for this company, I didn’t take a check. I said, I’ll get whatever I get from independent bookings and I’ll prove my value and I made plenty of money from the independents. I defended the title in 7 different countries on 4 different continents. I was doing just fine. I’ve been all in on this, no pun intended.”
Aldis explained how, after six months, he finally accepted NWA’s contract offer. This was because a clear goal was set for the promotion, and Aldis had shown he could “do business.” Not only that, he could do “big business.” At that point, he felt ready to receive a salary from the promotion as he committed to helping them grow.
Nick Aldis On Impacting NWA
Nick Aldis stressed that he’s been fortunate, but reiterated how it came through hard work. Aldis noted how wrestling companies don’t start and just hand out six-figure contracts to its talent.
Aldis acknowledged how there have been “a few guys who have had a few sideways things to say about the NWA in that regard but ultimately I generate that revenue for the company. This company, even at this point, is still generating like over 5 figures in monthly revenue. That’s largely due to me.”
He added how his comments weren’t about putting himself over. Aldis pointed out how NWA has a wealth of incredible talent who have worked hard to make NWA successful.
That being said, he argued how “[…] deep down, if you are really truthful with yourself, is there really anybody else at this point for whom if they were to leave this brand that this company is in serious trouble. You know the answer. It’s no.”
Nick Aldis recently penned an open letter to NWA fans regarding recapturing momentum post-coronavirus pandemic.
Former WWE Superstar EC3 has opened up about his frustrations during his WWE tenure in a recent interview with Busted Open Radio.
When asked if he felt he had anybody supporting him backstage, EC3 shared how “I think I had people in my corner but nobody that would openly step up because everyone is job scared and apprehensive.”
He continued, explaining how “no one wants to rock the boat.” EC3 would be frequently told how they found it difficult to understand how he wasn’t being given promo time. However, when these same people were in production meetings where they could say something, nobody seemingly pushed for him.
EC3’s Pitch Meetings With Vince McMahon
EC3 then revealed how he had been in several “one on one” meetings with Vince McMahon. According to EC3, Vince saw him for what he was:
“I look good, work good, but I’m not the workhorse. He doesn’t make money off those guys. He makes money off guys with charisma which I have. I have natural ability,” EC3 argued. “Whatever promo he saw of me, he saw one promo and thought it was over the top. Well, that was one, and you know I can always scale it back.”
He conceded how, although how WWE used him was “killing” him on the inside, the production was ultimately Vince McMahon’s show. He would leave those meetings feeling good but was continually disappointed when nothing ever came from them.
“I pitched him a bunch of different things. There’s a video I shot with Drake Maverick and we think this will be great. Ha, I love it! That’s great and then it never happens,” EC3 said. “After a while, you become desensitized and I will take accountability that I stopped caring because nothing mattered. So, I’m totally to blame for nothing towards the end from happening besides the fact I was out with a concussion, but, it all worked out, I guess, how it should.”
Responding to a fan via social media, Cody shared that the championship design will be completed on August 12. He also added how he has seen a video of the plates, describing them as being “very elegant.” He accompanied his comment with a diamond emoji.
The TNT Championship was first presented to Cody Rhodes following his Double of Nothing victory. He beat Lance Archer in the finals of the TNT Championship tournament that night to claim the belt. It would then be presented to him by boxing legend “Iron “Mike Tyson.
Debuting to a mixed reaction from fans, AEW commentators explained that the championship was, in fact, “incomplete” at that time. It was revealed how the production of the belt had unfortunately been delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Created by belt maker RED Leather for AEW, the company previously addressed the ‘in progress’ status of the championship:
“Unfortunately due to Covid-19 the platers I used are working on skeleton crews and can only work on respirators / emergency equipment. Once regular business resumes this belt will get some much needed highlights in nickel and gold as well as a relief TNT logo.”
Cody Rhodes is set to defend his TNT Championship this week on AEW Dynamite. He faces off against Warhorse.
All Elite Wrestling World Champion Jon Moxley has explained how he dealt with the “pressure” of delivering scripted promos at the behest of a “74-year-old madman.”
Speaking with Busted Open Radio, Moxley opened up about how AEW gives him creative freedom on the mic. According to Moxley, the promotion simply doesn’t give him a script to work off of. Moxley then juxtaposed this experience with his time in WWE.
He shared how, “If I had to boil it down to one thing that drove me crazier than anything was the fact that I got handed a script and told what to say.”
He recalled how the first time it happened was when he was in The Shield with Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins. Moxley revealed they had never been handed a script before, even in developmental. Hearing the term “scripted promos” blew his mind the first time he heard it.
Jon Moxley’s Script Pressure
When first going over the script, he was surprised at how detailed and specific he needed to be. At first, Moxley had assumed the writing was more of a “suggestion.”
After approaching the writer with some ideas to add, he quickly found out how he was expected to recite the lines verbatim.
“I remember having this feeling in the pit of my stomach, like oh my God, I made a terrible mistake…I’ll tell you what pressure is. Pressure is having a two-page script written by a 74-year-old madman that makes no sense to you that’s going to make you look stupid and your on worldwide TV live and you have to memorize every single line and somehow try to pull it off and not look like a total jackass. That’s pressure.”
Jon Moxley added how he felt he managed to pull it off most of the time. He did acknowledge there were plenty of times where he wasn’t able to. With AEW, however, Moxley will “never have to be in that situation again.”
WWE Hall of Famer Mark Henry featured in several segments during this week’s episode of Monday Night Raw. During the night, he shared the screen with WWE Champion Drew McIntyre. In another segment, he was speaking with both Bianca Belair and Ruby Riott.
According to Dave Meltzer via Wrestling Observer Radio, Mark Henry’s appearance was meant to connect to Ron Simmons’ recent appearance. Simmons appeared on last week’s episode.
Both Simmons and Henry were allegedly brought in to kickstart plans for a rebooted version of the Nation of Domination. These plans, however, have reportedly been nixed.
Plans were speculated to have the new version of the NOD be led by MVP, who recently declared himself the new WWE United States Champion. He made the claim during The Horror Show at Extreme Rules. The group would also have included Bobby Lashley and Shelton Benjamin.
“The deal with Mark Henry was – Mark Henry and Ron Simmons were brought in for these tapings for the Nation of Domination angle that they scrapped,” Meltzer said. “So I guess they just figured since Mark Henry is there, they just put him on TV for no reason.”
In recent weeks, the pairing of MVP and Lashley were referred to as The Hurt Business. Assuming the Nation of Domination reboot has been permanently shelved, this may become the permanent name of MVP’s stable going forward.
Monday’s edition of WWE Raw averaged 1.620 million viewers with a 0.47 rating in the key 18-49 demographic. This was virtually even with last week, which did 1.628 million viewers and a 0.46 demo rating.
The positive is that WWE is staying steady compared to the number that the show did two weeks ago, which was the least-watched episode in the 27-year history of the show.
The bad news is that just one year ago, Raw averaged 2.321 million viewers and the third hour for the show plunged.
Third hour of RAW, which was actually great in terms of in-ring wrestling, hits a brand new all-time low, 1.463 million.
Here’s the hourly viewership breakdown for Raw, courtesy of Showbuzzdaily.com:
Hour 1: 1.699 million, 0.52 in the 18-49 Demo
Hour 2: 1.688 million, 0.50 in the 18-49 Demo
Hour 3: 1.463 million, 0.41 in the 18-49 Demo
This week’s RAW featured two extreme Rules rematches such as Drew McIntyre vs. Dolph Ziggler in a non-title match and RAW Women’s Champion Asuka vs. Sasha Banks. WWE also kicked off the build to SummerSlam by making two title matches official.
SmackDown Viewership
Friday’s SmackDown averaged 1.924 million viewers on FOX. This is up from the 1.912 million viewers that the show did for the previous week.
SmackDown averaged 1.971 million viewers in the fast nationals, which was up from the 1.893 million viewers a week ago. This number measured the top metered markets.
The first hour drew 1.985 million viewers while the second hour did 1.956 million viewers. For comparison, the first show of last week’s show did 1.919 million viewers while the second hour did 1.867million viewers.
SmackDown pulled in a 0.50 rating in the 18-49 demos, the same from the 0.50 rating as last week’s show.
Major League Wrestling is partnering with WAVE.tv, a sports media company specializing in the distribution of sports content tailored for social media across its portfolio of brands.
The agreement will involve the social media distribution of MLW content with an emphasis on WAVE.tv’s combat sports media brand “HAYMAKERS.” WAVE.tv will take highlights from MLW programming and blast it out to its audience of Gen Z and Millennial sports fans.
MLW CEO and Founder Court Bauer touted the partnership in a press release sent out on Tuesday.
“Wrestling has the most active social media fan base in combat sports, so being able to expand and connect with fans in a deeper sense to share our immersive rivalries, fights and athletes with WAVE.tv is a great next step for us. MLW embraces emerging trends and tech and WAVE.tv is a perfect match for the league.”
one week after @WaveTV announced that it secured $32m in series a funding, it has since partnered with @MLW to increase the league's coverage across the sports media brand's 18+ digital portfolios.https://t.co/hlHutFw0w7
WAVE.tv network of brands reaches over 60 million people. Daniel Maas, WAVE’s VP of Partnerships, touts MLW’s rapid growth and the league being a perfect fit for the HAYMAKERS brand.
“MLW is a welcome addition to our fast-growing Combat Sports vertical — powered by the HAYMAKERS media brand — where we’ve added over 10 new rights partners in 2020, covering boxing, MMA, wrestling and much more.”
Former WWE, WCW & TNA head writer Vince Russo recently discussed the WWE Extreme Rules PPV. Russo was critical of the event, much like other notable industry names such as Jim Cornette. One of the matches that Russo was quick to jump on was the Eye For an Eye Match featuring Rey Mysterio and Seth Rollins.
Notably, Vince Russo did not like the fact that Mysterio actually lost the match; “Rocky didn’t lose to Apollo in Rocky 2 okay? Rocky didn’t lose his second fight to Clubber Lang” Russo began on The Brand podcast.
Vince Russo on Mysterio vs Rollins
“You always have to payoff…you gotta send the audience home happy” Russo would continue. “So with that being said, I’m reading some of the results [from Extreme Rules], first of all the babyface Rey Mysterio challenges Seth Rollins to an eye for an eye match. The babyface LOSES and gets his eye ripped out of his head. I’ve never heard of that. Not in my life!”
Russo would elaborate further, saying “especially a guy like Rey Mysterio that’s been around forever. But the babyface challenges, and the baby face loses. So now bro? They do something where they show a fake eyeball for like one quarter of a second. And bro, on top of that? The heel is puking ringside realising what he did.”
Vince Russo would then discuss the stipulation of the match, saying how if he had come up with the concept it would’ve been lambasted by fans and critics alike. “I’m like bro, if I would have wrote this sh*t? Forget about it.”
Russo continued, “I’m looking at this sh*t and I’m like ‘oh my god bro, the stuff that I get criticized for!? If my name was on this? That’s all you would have been in reading about. And again bro, keep in mind this is the great Vince McMahon! This is the great ‘filter.'”
Do you think that the Eye For an Eye Match was as bad as some of Russo’s worst? Let us know in the comments.
Eric Bischoff was recently asked on an episode of 83 Weeks if he feels WWE goes out of its way to bury or kill-off old WCW ideas or gimmicks. Bischoff feels WWE does not do this, however, and actually does a good job at cashing-in off of some of WCW’s bigger successes such as the NWO.
“No, I don’t think that,” Bischoff said when asked if he felt Vince McMahon buries WCW ideas or gimmicks. “I understand why people might think that but I don’t think that’s the case. I honestly believe Vince will take advantage of, exploit, use anything that he possibly can to make his business healthier, and generate revenue including anything that was WCW.”
“But I also do believe that there is a certain culture, a corporate culture, whereby WWE, the brand and all the things that are created as original intellectual property will always be positioned as a priority. I’m not so sure that that’s not a great idea.”
Eric Bischoff on How WWE Markets The NWO Still To This Day
Bischoff used the example of the NWO to showcase how WWE still uses and earns money off WCW creative.
“The NWO to this day is still to this day one of the most successful products in the WWE catalog in terms of merchandise,” Bischoff continued.
“The fact that WWE is promoting the NWO as much as they have and are and the fact that they are still selling their merchandise kind of contradicts the statement that they are trying to kill it. I think they are trying to make money off it. But, I also at the same time think that the NWO will always take a backseat or anything that was WCW original including Sting’s return and his positioning at WrestleMania against Triple H, it will always be positioned as secondary to anything that’s WWE. But that’s not the same as killing it.”
On a recent episode of “Grillin Jr” Conrad and Jim Ross talked about the Fully Loaded PPV from 2000. It was around this time that Michael Hayes began to move up the ranks backstage in WWE. Hayes is now reportedly a member of Vince McMahon’s inner circle. Ross commented on Hayes’ mind for the wrestling business on the show.
“I remember Bill Watts used to say that Michael Hayes had one of the best minds in wrestling,” JR said. “Even though Michael will still tell you the story that he thinks he got screwed on a payoff in the Superdome one year, 88 years ago.”
“Michael’s got a great mind and that comes from a young kid getting into the territories and only earning the tickets that you sell. That’s your grocery money, rent money, car payment money, living money. So he understood what it took to be a good heel, he understood the value of heat. I’m sure he still does.”
“I don’t know that he’s allowed to do everything that he would generally want to do if he had complete autonomy but Michael Hayes is a brilliant wrestling mind.”
Nick Aldis has responded to Bruce Prichard’s recent comments about him.
Prichard is a Senior Vice President in WWE and serves as the Executive Director for Raw and SmackDown. He also hosts the popular Something to Wrestle podcast with Conrad Thompson.
A recent episode of the podcast coved Impact Wrestling’s Slammiversary XV pay-per-view, which took place in 2017. Prichard and Aldis were both working for Impact at the time.
Prichard provided detailed information about the company’s operations in the months leading up to the event. Aldis did not wrestle at Slammiversary that year, but Prichard was asked why we never saw Nick Aldis work for WWE.
Prichard says that Nick Aldis is talented, but does not have the “it” factor that gets people to the next level. He said Aldis was a big fish in a small pond, but comes across like he is “playing wrestler.”
The champ says that he does not want to participate in an online feud or be controversial just for the sake of it, but he is compelled to address Prichard’s comments. Prichard is not the first podcast host to critique his career, but he is far more than a podcast host. He is a top executive at WWE, the leader of his professional industry.
Nick Aldis added that Prichard needs to “keep my name out of his mouth” and should stop trying to deliberately devalue someone and their ability to make a living.
Aldis appeared on Busted Open Radio on Sirius XM this week to further address Bruce Prichard’s remarks about him. Aldis says Prichard has exposed the fact that he hasn’t been paying attention to what he’s been up to in recent years. He also says Prichard was “asleep” during his stints with Impact Wrestling and does not have a great track record when it comes to the viewership of television shows he’s apart of.
Ric Flair’s wife, Wendy Barlow, has been diagnosed with COVID-19. The Nature Boy recently appeared on Booker T’s Reality of Wrestling YouTube show and Hall of Fame ESPN radio show to give an update on her condition.
“She’s doing great, much better. Not 100% but she’s doing much better,” Flair said of Barlow’s condition. “It’s been over 3 weeks now but it was a nightmare. All of a sudden, it just came on her, and then, of course, you backtrack and figure out where it came from.”
“She was real sick. I had to take her to the hospital twice. For I.V once and then just to make sure she was okay. You never know and of course, they released her both times after keeping her for a couple of hours. You can’t be careful enough.”
Flair also spoke about how the two are social distancing while living in the same house.
“The house is pretty big which is nice and she’s way upstairs. She’s isolated and I don’t think she needs to come downstairs but once just in the last couple of days for the first time, not down there to see me, just down the stairs to the front door and stuff. Even though they say 2 weeks and this has been 3, you just never know, right?”
Eva Marie is set to host a new show on women’s wrestling for “Now This.” The show is titled “Faces and Heels” and will follow the lives of 7 female wrestlers. The show premieres on July 30th, 2020.
The below trailer for the show features women’s wrestlers such as Kiera Hogan, Jordynne Grace, and more.
“I’m so pumped to announce that I’m the host of a new show about women wrestlers on @nowthisnews. Faces and Heels follows 7 amazing women who are kicking ass in the real world of wrestling. Let’s just say I can relate to these women in more ways than 1,” Eva Marie Tweeted.
Eva Marie is asking fans to keep an eye out for the first episode on her Facebook page.
“Check out the trailer and keep an eye out for the first episode on Thursday 7/30 on my Facebook page,” she posted on Instagram.
The 35-year-old Eva Marie was with WWE from 2013 until 2017. Since leaving the company she has appeared on the television shows Celebrity Big Brother, Celebrity Showdown, and performed as Jade on the show Paradise City.
Last week on Smackdown, Kofi Kingston revealed he will be out of action for 6 weeks. This leaves Big E as the only currently active member of the New Day. Kingston said the stars have aligned for Big E to have a single’s run.
WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley posted a video to Twitter offering his thoughts on a potential Big E singles push.
Mick Foley: Strap The Rocket to Big E
“I’ve been thinking about this upcoming single’s run (Big E’s) going to have,” Foley said. “I really believe WWE is in unprecedented times. Ratings have been dropping. It’s time to make a bold statement and go with a couple of really talented guys, people we’ve had all along.”
“When it comes to being successful and really getting to that next level, it’s really about having the ability and the willingness to shift gears and get out of your comfort zone.”
“The way I see it, Big E’s been in this really enjoyable, very successful holding pattern for a few years. New Day is one of the great acts in WWE history. They always will be looked on that way. But I believe, and I don’t want to overdo the racing metaphors, if Big E can shift into high-gear and really put the foot down on the accelerator and remind people of the work it took to look the way he does, that you don’t get to be one of the most powerful men the sport has ever known through good humor alone.”
“I believe if he can show a little different side of himself. A little bit more seriousness, a little bit more anger when the situation calls for it, that he will go down in history as one of the great WWE Superstars and I hope it happens.”
New Japan Pro-Wrestling held a press conference today at which they made two major annoucements going forward.
The first announcement, made by wrestler Kazuchika Okada, was to announce a new NJPW championship. He referred to it as “KOPW 2020” which is presumably short for “King of Pro-Wrestling 2020.” Okada stated that this championship would be unconventional and, for some, harken back to the past of NJPW. These are the details that we know about the new KOPW Championship.
The KOPW Championship is not represented by a championship belt; the Champion at the end of the year is presented with the KOPW trophy
The KOPW Championship is vacated at the end of each calendar year
On August 26th, an event will be held that includes four singles matches; each wrestler can suggest a stipulation for their own singles match, and the fans will decide whose choice they want to see for each of the four matches
On August 29th, Summer Struggle in Jingu Stadium will hold a four way match involving the four winners from three days prior to determine the provisional KOPW 2020 Champion
From that point, the Championship will continue to be contested with fans voting for their choice of the involved wrestlers’ suggested stipulations; Okada stated “two out of three falls matches, steel cage matches, ladder matches” were all possible
The second announcement was to book the two top matches for their next major event, Summer Struggle 2020 in Jingu Stadium. In sum, three matches for this event are now known.
EVIL (c) vs. Tetsuya Naito for the IWGP Heavyweight and IWGP Intercontinental Championships
Hiromu Takahashi (c) vs. Taiji Ishimori for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship
Four Way Match for the Provisional KOPW 2020 Championship (Participants To Be Determined
Two major title matches official for Summer Struggle in Jingu!
EVIL vs Naito for the IWGP Intercontinental and Heavyweight Championships!
It appears that Monday’s episode of RAW was the final appearance for Kairi Sane in WWE for now.
Leading up to this show, it had been reported for several weeks that Sane had decided to return to Japan in order to live there full-time with her husband.
This episode of RAW saw Sasha Banks beat Asuka to win the WWE RAW Women’s Title by count out when Bayley was attacking Sane in the backstage area. Asuka lost the title as she was walking to the backstage area to make the save for her friend. As a result of the stipulation heading into the contest, she lost the title.
After the segment, Sane took to her official Twitter account where she issued the following statement:
“My time in the NXT & WWE locker rooms was incredible. Everyone was kind, funny, & talented, so every day was full of happiness. Also, I was saved by the supportive staff behind the scenes. I will forever love & respect all these professionals I had the pleasure of working with.”
I was able to accomplish so much in the last three years, but it wasn’t because of my ability or my strength. It was because of all of the constant, warm support from the fans. I am so thankful I could meet you all. Thank you from the bottom of my heart, Kairi Sane???? pic.twitter.com/BaH2UBi9wn
Sane ended her current tenure with WWE on good terms. There have even been reports about how WWE officials have pitched her different ideas to keep her with the company by being in various roles.
Asuka has been knocked off the top of the mount of the women’s division on RAW after failing to retain the title in her latest defense of it against Sasha Banks.
Banks won the RAW Women’s Title when she beat Asuka on Monday’s episode of RAW. The title could’ve changed hands via pinfall, submission, count out, disqualification, or if anyone interfered.
The competitive match came to an end when Bayley had attacked Kairi Sane in the backstage area. Asuka walked out to save her friend from the attack and was counted out as a result.
Thus, Banks is the new champion. With Sane leaving WWE and reports that this was her last appearance on WWE television, it appears that this is the way that WWE wrote her out of storylines.
This was a rematch from the WWE Extreme Rules pay-per-view event. It ended in controversy when Asuka accidentally sprayed the green mist into the eyes of the referee. Bayley hit Asuka in the back with the title.
Bayley put the referee shirt on and counted the pinfall as Banks pinned Asuka. Other than the finish, fans seemed to praise the two stars for the match. In fact, their previous encounter went to a count out finish at last month’s Backlash pay-per-view event.
Kris Statlander is slated to undergo the knife this week.
The AEW star first revealed that she suffered an ACL tear back in June in a post on social media. However, at the time, she didn’t mention when the surgery would actually take place.
That has changed. Statlander took to her official Twitter account where she noted that she’ll be getting the surgery done on Tuesday. She wrote the following:
“Tomorrow is surgery day and I’m either going to spend my night watching #AEWDark or sleeping. Luckily I’ll be entertained Wednesday as well on my first day of recovery knowing #AEWDynamite is LIVE Wednesday at 8/7c pn TNT. Who’s watching with me?”
We wish her a speedy recovery. She was last seen in action back on the June 10th episode of AEW Dynamite when she teamed with Hikaru Shida to take on Nyla Rose & Penelope Ford. The injury happened when she did a dive onto Kip Sabian.
Clearly, there’s no word yet on when fans can expect to see Statlander back in action by making a return from injury. Before the setback, she had been on the rise and played a role as one of the regulars in the AEW women’s division.
In fact, she won the AEW Women’s Title at AEW Revolution pay-per-view event in February but fell short.
Despite being sidelined and not working a match in over one month, Statlander is still the number four ranked competitor in the official AEW women’s rankings.
WWE has made the first match to be featured on the card for this year’s SummerSlam pay-per-view event official.
The next challengers to WWE RAW Tag Team Champions The Street Profits will be Angel Garza and Andrade.
During Monday’s episode of RAW on the USA Network, WWE held a match that would determine who is next line for a title shot.
Triple Threat Tag Team Match that saw Angel Garza & Andrade vs. Viking Raiders vs. Ricochet & Cedric Alexander took place with the winners becoming the next challengers to the title.
It was a lengthy match that had a finish of Garza hitting his finisher to Alexander while staring at the champions.
Garza and Andrade were victorious, earning the right to challenge Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford for the RAW Tag Team Titles. The champions were at ringside for the contest and the challengers attacked them after the bout was over.
WWE holds the SummerSlam pay-per-view event on Sunday, August 23, 2020 from a location to be announced. WWE has already confirmed that it would not take place in Boston, MA from the TD Garden.
As expected, WWE went forward with the initial angle to kick off the feud between Randy Orton and WWE Champion Drew McIntyre.
WWE had been hyping that Orton would be opening the show to “announce his next target.” Orton did a promo in the first segment by talking about how he has the desire to become WWE Champion again. He said that the accomplishments between himself and McIntyre are much different.
Orton brought up McIntyre’s background from being the Chosen One to getting fired and hustling his way back to the company to the point where he won the WWE Title by beating Brock Lesnar.
Orton challenged McIntyre to a WWE Title match at SummerSlam. He said that McIntyre has what he wants and vowed to take it from him.
Later in the show, McIntyre was booked to take on Dolph Ziggler in a non-title match, which had been originally announced with the WWE Title on the line but later changed. This was a rematch from the Extreme Rules pay-per-view event that saw McIntyre successfully retain the WWE Title.
WWE RAW aired from the Performance Center in Orlando. Sasha Banks and Asuka battled for the RAW Women’s Championship during tonight’s show.
RAW Results (7/27)
Andrade & Garza def. Viking Raiders, Ricochet & Alexander to earn shot at RAW Tag Titles at SummerSlam
Lashley def. Mustafa Ali
Sasha Banks def. Asuka via count-out to win RAW Women’s Championship
Murphy def. Humberto Carrillo
Drew McIntyre def. Dolph Ziggler to retain the WWE Championship
Here are 7 takeaways from this week’s show:
Randy Orton Wants A WWE Championship Match At SummerSlam
Randy Orton kicked off the show by boasting about his resume and claimed that The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin couldn’t hold a candle to him. Orton added that something is missing and that he desires to once again become WWE Champion.
Orton joked that if he compared resumes with Drew McIntyre it would be a short conversation. Randy said that McIntyre was called the chose one 10 years ago but back then he had his head up his ass and got fired.
Randy claimed that McIntyre has his respect for earning his way back to WWE and beating Brock Lesnar in quick fashion at WrestleMania. Orton looked directly into the camera and stated that McIntyre has what he wants. Orton said he wanted a WWE Championship match at SummerSlam and vowed to take his title.
Nia Jax made her way to the ring and said she was listening to Orton talk and knows exactly how he feels. Jax complained about being screwed out of the RAW Women’s Championship by a certain referee. Shayna Baszler interrupted and marched down to the ring.
Shayna got in Nia’s face and told her that nobody gives a damn what she wants. Jax leveled Baszler with a punch to the face and launched her across the ring. Shayna battled back with a couple of punches before WWE officials rushed the ring and separated them.
Basler and Nia Jax then competed later on RAW. The action quickly spilled out of the ring and the two superstars were counted out. Security tried to separate them again but Baszler locked in the Kirifuda Clutch on one of them. Jax booted the other security guard out of the ring and then knocked Shayna off the apron.
Viking Raiders, Cedric Alexander & Ricochet, and Anrade & Garza competed in a Triple Threat Tag Team match to determine who will face Street Profits at SummerSlam for the RAW Tag Team Championships. Street Profits joined commentary for the match.
Match Recap: Andrade and Garza snuck out of the ring when the match started but Viking Raiders brought them back inside. Ricochet and Alexander beat Garza down as Ivar slammed Andrade to the floor. Erik then Body Slammed Ivar on top of Andrade.
Erik Dropkicked Garza to the corner as RAW went to a break. When RAW returned, Andrade hit Double Knees and went for the cover but Erik kicked out at two. Ricochet tagged in an connected with a Standing Moonsault on Garza for a near fall.
Ivar made his way to the top rope and hit Alexander and Ricochet with a Senton outside the ring. Back inside the ring, Garza planted Alexander with the Wing Clipper for the pinfall victory. Andrade and Garza will face Street Profits for the RAW Tag Team Championships at SummerSlam.
Seth Rollins and Murphy made their way to the ring at the beginning of the 2nd hour of RAW. Rollins said he should be in a good mood but isn’t because somebody is always standing in the way of the greater good. Seth added that Kevin Owens, Rey Mysterio, and Aleister Black are all injured because they got in the way of the greater good.
Rollins pointed out that the last time Dominik said he was going to confront him, he jumped him from behind and things got a lot more violent than he wanted. Seth claimed to have a soft spot in his heard for the Mysterio family and asked Dominik to come to the ring so they can talk this out.
Dominik appeared at the top of the entrance ramp and Rollins asked him to come to the ring. Rollins told Dominik that everything is okay and he is here for him. Dominik tackled Rollins but Murphy quickly attacked him from behind. Rollins and Murphy launched Dominik into the barricade and stomped on him.
Rollins and Murphy were about to shove Dominik’s eye into the steel steps but Aleister Black broke it up. They then beat Aleister Black down and threw him into the plexiglass. Seth then hit Black with the Stomp and told Murphy to shove Aleister’s eye into the steel steps. Murphy hesitated and Rollins slapped him in the face. Murphy shoved Aleister’s eye into the corner of the steel steps. Dominik hit Rollins and Murphy with a kendo stick and they retreated.
MVP, Lashley, and Shelton Benjamin were in the ring for an episode of the VIP Lounge. MVP said he wants to help Mustafa Ali see the light and asked him to come to the ring.
MVP welcomed Mustafa to the VIP Lounge and stated this is where made men congregate. Mustafa Ali said that he was happy to be back and to finally have an opportunity to become a champion. MVP told Ali that he needs to hang out with the right people and the right things will happen.
Mustafa Ali told MVP that he thinks for himself and always will. MVP stated that Apollo Crews went down that road and is now sitting at home on the couch. Mustafa once again declined to join MVP’s group as R-Truth rushed the ring. R-Truth tried to roll-up Shelton Benjamin to win the 24/7 Championship but Shelton kicked out. Lashley and Mustafa Ali then competed in a singles match and Bobby picked up the win via submission.
Sasha Banks Won The RAW Women’s Championship Via Count-Out
Bayley and Sasha Banks cut a promo and called Stephanie McMahon a bully. Banks claimed that Stephanie was jealous of them because they run the whole company. Bayley added that they lead by example and stand against injustice. Bayley once again claimed that she did the right thing by putting on the referee’s shirt and counting to three at Extreme Rules. Banks and Asuka then battled for the RAW Women’s Championship.
Match Recap: Asuka controlled the action early and hit Banks with a Hip Attack. Asuka applied an Arm Bar but Sasha was able to get to the bottom rope to break the hold. Sasha took Asuka to the canvas and locked in a Half Crab. Banks then focused her attack on Asuka’s left knee before Asuka booted her out of the ring. Banks threw the RAW Women’s Championship to Asuka and pretended that she hit her with it. The referee wasn’t buying it and Asuka connected with a kick to the face as RAW went to a commercial break.
When RAW returned, Banks was back in control and hit Asuka with a DDT for a near fall. Asuka went for the Hip Attack but Banks dodged it and slammed Asuka’s knee onto the ring apron. Sasha followed it up with a Meteora for a two count before locking in the Half Crab again.
Asuka escaped and applied an Ankle Lock in the middle of the ring. Sasha Banks broke free and sent Asuka into the turnbuckle. Banks climbed to the middle rope and leaped into Double Knees from Asuka.
Asuka planted Sasha with a German Suplex and followed it up with a Hip Attack for a two count. Asuka perched Sasha up on the top turnbuckle but Banks hit her with a headbutt. Sasha connected with a Frog Splash for a two count and then applied the Bank Statement in the middle of the ring. Asuka escaped and Sasha threw her out of the ring. Banks then slammed Asuka’s knee off the announce desk.
Sasha rolled back into the ring and the referee started counting. Asuka got into the ring at the last second and Sasha couldn’t believe it. Sasha locked in the Bank Statement again but Asuka countered into the Ankle Lock. Banks broke free and Asuka hit her with a Dropkick. Bayley and Kairi Sane were then shown ont he jumbotron backstage.
Bayley slammed Kairi into the wall several times and continued to beat her down as Asuka looked on. Asuka rushed backstage to help Kairi Sane as the referee started counting. Sasha Banks won the RAW Women’s Champion via count-out. After the match, Asuka flipped out when asked about Kairi’s condition.
Opinion: I wasn’t a fan of the ending but this was WWE’s way of writing Kairi Sane off of television. Despite the ending, Banks and Asuka put on awesome match tonight. It will be interesting to see where this storyline goes from here. Asuka is clearly going to want revenge and who knows if something will come from Banks & Bayley calling Stephanie McMahon a bully before. the match.
BREAKING: HHH’s birthday is officially cancelled. Moving forward July 27th will now be known as #2BeltzBanks day! The day the #LegitCEO took over the entire company! Run me my check ? pic.twitter.com/ChalAG7OWh
— Mercedes Moné Varnado (@MercedesVarnado) July 28, 2020
My time in the NXT & WWE locker rooms was incredible. Everyone was kind, funny, & talented, so every day was full of happiness. Also, I was saved by the supportive staff behind the scenes. I will forever love & respect all these professionals I had the pleasure of working with.?
Drew McIntyre defended his WWE Championship against Dolph Ziggler in the main event. McIntyre said it is official that he will defend his title against Randy Orton at SummerSlam. Drew said he hopes Randy underestimates him and Dolph Ziggler came to the entrance ramp. Ziggler wanted to know what the stipulation was and McIntyre announced it was an Extreme Rules match.
Match Recap: McIntyre sent Ziggler flying into the ring post and then launched him into the plexiglass. Drew brought a table and several chair into the ring. McIntyre set up the the corner and stuck Dolph with a chair. Ziggler hit McIntyre with a low blow and the WWE Champion fell to the canvas. Ziggler controlled the action for the next few minutes until McIntyre slammed him through the barricade as RAW went to a commercial break.
When RAW returned, McIntyre planted Dolph with a Belly to Belly Suplex and followed it up with a Flying Clothesline off the top rope. Ziggler dodged the Future Shock DDT and connected with a Fameasser.
Dolph made his way to the top rope but McIntyre caught him with a punch to the face. McIntyre connected with a Superplex and went for the Claymore but Dolph countered with the Zig Zag for a near fall. McIntyre leveled Ziggler with a Claymore through the table for the pinfall victory. Drew McIntyre is still WWE Champion. Randy Orton hit McIntyre with an RKO out of nowhere to close the show.
Opinion: Orton’s promo and the RAW Women’s Championship were great and the rest of the show was terrible. I thought it was title match but I guess it was switched and Ziggler vs. McIntyre wound up being a complete afterthought. Humberto Carrillo lost tonight to Murphy, but for some reason didn’t assist Aleister Black when he was getting his face shoved into the steel steps. Mustafa Ali made his triumphant return last week and he’s already back to the same place he has always been after losing tonight.
It’s been reported that Vince McMahon is eager to hold WWE shows with fans again, but spikes in cases of positive COVID-19 tests have delayed that.
Obviously, WWE was forced to stop holding live events and TV tapings with fans in attendance because of the virus. Since March, WWE has been holding shows in Orlando, Florida at the WWE Performance Center.
During the annual WWE stockholders meeting earlier this month, the WWE Chairman and CEO commented on when investors can expect the company to resume holding shows with fans again.
“Sure, we obviously have to follow what’s going on and sometimes you think you have the answer and then “uh oh”, COVID-19 makes a more severe impact than you had imagined to begin with. We’re working with arenas. We have any number of tentative dates. Those tentative dates keep moving back sometimes. But again with our form of entertainment, it’s imperative that we have fans to interact with. And we continue to look forward. Pinpointing exactly when we’re going to return, it’s a whole different atmosphere than has been in the past and we’ll capitalize on it.”
Over the past few months, there’s been talk of WWE having plans to hold shows outside of the training facility, but due to increases in positive tests, those plans have pushed back.
The latest report about when this could happen is projected to be in August or September.
It appears that Vince McMahon wants to do something big for this year’s SummerSlam.
Last week, the promotion announced that the event will not take place from Boston, MA at the TD Garden arena as scheduled. They also wouldn’t confirm a new location for it.
Mike Johnson reported on PWInsider Elite that WWE has considered at least one outdoor location for the show. Per the report, there have been talks about moving the show to the beach or on a boat. The idea regarding the boat is that some or all matches on the card would be held there.
On Monday, Bryan Alvarez noted on Wrestling Observer Live that he knows after talking with people that McMahon wants to do something “wacky” for the show.
Alvarez added that McMahon doesn’t want it to be just another event in an empty arena with a bunch of fans wearing masks. SummerSlam is largely considered the second biggest event of the year for WWE just behind WrestleMania/.
Either way, WWE will have to make a decision soon as they’re just under one month until the event takes place. By hosting the event outdoors, it does reduce the chances of people getting exposed to COVID-19.
Major League Wrestling has signed another streaming deal.
MLW and Digital Original Entertainment have reached an agreement that will bring MLW Fusion to the new DOE TV streaming network starting in the fall.
“We’re thrilled that Doe TV Network viewers will get to see all of the world class fighters MLW has to offer starting this fall,” said MLW COO Jared St. Laurent. “Whether it’s World Heavyweight Champion Jacob Fatu, World Middleweight Champion Myron Reed or any of the other incredible athletes in Major League Wrestling, anybody who tunes into the Doe TV Network can expect all of the action and excitement MLW is known for.”
“At Doe TV Network we are super excited about bringing Major League Wrestling to our network this fall,” said DOE TV Network CEO Ron “Doe” Williams.
MLW’s flagship FUSION series will premiere on DOE TV in September.
DOE TV Network will soon be available on Pluto TV and be available through all internet-connected TV platforms, Android and AppleIOS/iPadOS, Android TV, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Roku, PlayStation, Xbox One, Chromecast and Virgin Media.
Maxwell Jacob Friedman (aka MJF) is currently the #1 ranked wrestler in AEW’s men’s singles division. He has yet to be pinned or submitted in the promotion.
AEW is now promoting that MJF will address the state of the wrestling industry this Wednesday night on Dynamite.
BREAKING NEWS@The_MJF will appear on Dynamite this Wednesday, to address the state of the industry.
MJF also sent out the following Tweet with just the words “40 days”. 40 days from today will be Saturday, September 5th, 2020. AEW’s “All Out” PPV is currently scheduled for that date.
MJF has been making various ominous comments about AEW World Champion Jon Moxley as of late as well. Could MJF be lobbying for a title shot at All Out? It seems we could find out on Wednesday night.
MJF has wrestled 18 times for All Elite Wrestling. He is 1-2 in battle royals, 0-1 in fatal 4-ways, 3-1 in tag matches, and a perfect 10-0 in singles matches.
5/25/19: 21 Man Casino Battle Royal (won by Hangman Page)
6/29/19: Hangman Page defeated Jimmy Havoc vs Jungle Boy vs MJF (Fyter Fest 2019- 4-way match)
7/13/19: Maxwell Jacob Friedman, Sammy Guevara & Shawn Spears defeated Darby Allin, Jimmy Havoc & Joey Janela (Fight for the Fallen 2019)
10/2/19: Maxwell Jacob Friedman defeated Brandon Cutler
11/20/19: Dynamite Dozen Battle Royal won by Hangman Page and MJF (final 2 participants would meet the following week for the Dynamite Diamond Ring.)
11/27/19: MJF defeated Hangman Page
1/15/20: The Butcher And The Blade (The Blade & The Butcher) & MJF defeated Diamond Dallas Page, Dustin Rhodes & QT Marshall (AEW Bash at the Beach)
1/21/20: MJF defeated Joey Janela
2/12/20: MJF defeated Jungle Boy
2/29/20: MJF defeated Cody (AEW Revolution)
3/11/20: MJF & The Butcher And The Blade (The Blade & The Butcher) defeated The Jurassic Express (Jungle Boy, Luchasaurus & Marko Stunt)
5/13/20: MJF defeated Lee Johnson
5/20/20: MJF defeated Marko Stunt
5/23/20: MJF defeated Jungle Boy (Double or Nothing)
5/27/20: TNT Title #1 Contender Battle Royal won by Jungle Boy
6/11/20: MJF defeated Billy
7/1/20: The Jurassic Express (Jungle Boy & Luchasaurus) defeated MJF & Wardlow
