AEW’s Chief Brand Officer Brandi Rhodes spoke with TV Insider this week and said she recently left Twitter because she has more important things to focus on.
Rhodes made the news and social media chatter last week after she deactivated her Twitter account following fan criticism over the AEW “Heels” online community for female fans. The speculation was that Rhodes, who was regularly active on Twitter, deleted her page because the negative feedback was too much.
Rhodes told Scott Fishman of TV Insider that she’s now focusing on AEW’s “Deadly Draw” tag team tournament for the women’s division, and the “Heels” project.
“I just think that right now there are other things that need my attention a lot more,” Rhodes said of leaving Twitter. “I’m focusing on ‘Heels,’ which Friday we had our first members based event. It was extremely successful. It’s nice to come together in a community of women that really appreciated it and enjoyed it. We had a really great time on Friday night. It was nice to put my energy into that.
“My energy is also going into the ‘Women’s Tag Team Cup Tournament’…It has been a really nice weekend to put all my time and energy into what I want to be focusing on right now.”
Tonight is @AEW_Heels first official event! Sign up and hang out with us at exclusive events.
We've got lots of stuff in store tonight, including a Q&A with yours truly!
— Aubrey Edwards – AEW Referee (@RefAubrey) August 7, 2020
Rhodes directly addressed the feedback to “Heels” and said the plans are already laid out for the project for the next year, and she believes word of mouth will be the best thing for it. She touted last Friday’s event for members, calling it a success.
“I think the word of mouth on ‘Heels’ is going to be the best thing for it,” she said. “After the event on Friday the word about it was positive. There was not a single person of the two hundred and change people who showed up that said I did not get what I expected or asked for…We want to keep the women excited and looking forward to different things. The plans are very much laid out for ‘Heels.’ We’ve got a course of action for an entire year here.
“That course of action can change a little bit as the conditions of the world improves, but I think for now we’ve got plenty of events and virtual meet-and-greets and contests and cool things for these women. Not just monthly, but weekly…It’s a cool thing to talk to each other and motivate each other and share their slices of life and just have fun, which is so much of what is missing in life. These are trying times with current events. If ‘Heels’ can be the bright light at the end of the tunnel for them, we’re happy to do whatever it takes to make it that.”
Rhodes also talked about how money isn’t the most important thing when it comes to the “Heels” project. She said “Heels” is not intended to be “super profitable” for the company.
“Another thing for people to know out of the gate is that ‘Heels’ is not ever going to be something I look to as a super profitable thing,” she said. “It’s not intended to be. It’s intended to be something they can count on and grow with and learn with and get something out of.
“In order to run a multi-faceted platform like that, it costs money. It’s not cheap by any means. This is not going to be a huge cash grab for AEW. But it’s something fans will love and appreciate, so it’s worth all the work and effort. Not everything is about a dollar. Some things are about what’s right.”
Last week on Dynamite, Sammy Guevara chucked a chair at Matt Hardy. The end result was a deep laceration to the 45-year-old’s head. Hardy posted a video to Twitter recently to talk about the incident.
“You ever have those moments in life where it seems like time stands still?” Hardy asks to begin the video. “I had one of those last week, AEW Dynamite, when I got into a brawl with that little weirdo bitch Sammy Guevara.”
Hardy then continued to mention that the chair Sammy hit him with was not the usual kind seen in pro-wrestling.
“I was thinking ‘that’s no average steel chair, folding chair, that you see in pro wrestling. No, that’s 3 or 4 times heavier, heavy-ass industrial-grade chair, that’s what is flying at my face.’”
The chairshot was referenced this week on Being the Elite as well. Hardy said he felt fine but then switched between several of his many personas in short succession.
“Sammy, that literally could have killed me,” Hardy continued. “Congratulations, you are going to go down in pro-wrestling history as the guy who threw the most dangerous, reckless, vicious chairshot in history.”
Hardy then promised to get revenge on Guevara.
“It’s my mission to rid you from this business because you don’t deserve to be in the same industry I’m in,” Hardy said to Guevara.
GIMME AN OL' RE-TWEET if you're excited to watch @AEWrestling's #AEWDynamite tonight.. Here's my in-depth thoughts on last week's @AEWonTNT incident & what I'm going to do to that weird & reckless piece of shit, Sammy Guevara. pic.twitter.com/Nnw3oI1k58
This week’s edition of WWE RAW ended with Randy Orton turning on Ric Flair. The 16x World Champion had been serving as something of a manager for his former Evolution stablemate as of late. Orton said Flair was a liability to his career, as his ego was what led to his match Monday night against Kevin Owens.
Flair took to Twitter recently to send a message to both the WWE Universe and Orton regarding the events from RAW.
“I Wanted Last Night To Go Differently. What I Would Have Said Is I Don’t Know What Would’ve Happened If My Son Was In This Business. But I Do Know What Charlotte Has Done, And Like You Randy, She Is Much Better Than I Ever Was, Just Like You Have Surpassed Your Father. That’s it.”
Flair’s son Reid passed away in 2013 at the age of 25.
I Wanted Last Night To Go Differently. What I Would Have Said Is I Don’t Know What Would’ve Happened If My Son Was In This Business. But I Do Know What Charlotte Has Done, And Like You Randy, She Is Much Better Than I Ever Was, Just Like You Have Surpassed Your Father. That’s it. pic.twitter.com/TNOsjSodVi
Flair and Orton have a long history together in WWE dating back to the formation of Evolution in 2002. Orton would be kicked out of the group shortly after winning the World Championship at SummerSlam 2004 in Toronto.
Orton and Flair have wrestled each other 6x (not including house shows). They have split their all-time series with 3 wins apiece.
AEW has released its latest series of top-5 rankings ahead of tonight’s episode of Dynamite.
AEW Men’s Singles Division
AEW World Champion: Jon Moxley (15-0) TNT Champion: Cody (17-1)
MJF (8-0)
Lance Archer (10-1)
Brian Cage (6-1)
Brodie Lee (5-1)
Scorpio Sky (7-1) (previously unranked)
#5 Scorpio Sky replaces Darby Allin in the final spot in the rankings this week. Sky has been racking up the wins as of late on Dark and will challenge Cody for the TNT Championship tonight on Dynamite. Allin falls out of the rankings after dropping his AEW World Championship shot to Jon Moxley on last week’s episode.
#4 Brodie Lee pinned Hangman Page in tag action last week when the Dark Order defeated The Elite and FTR.
#3 Brian Cage and #2 Lance Archer each had the week off.
#1 Contender MJF is preparing for his upcoming World Championship match against Jon Moxley on PPV next month.
AEW Women’s Division
AEW Women’s Champion: Hikaru Shida (15-1)
Nyla Rose (7-2)
Big Swole (6-3)
Penelope Ford (6-4)
Abadon (3-1)
Dr. Britt Baker (4-4)
There was no movement in the women’s singles division this week but #2 Big Swole picked up a couple of victories. She defeated Rebel (aka Reba) on Dynamite and teamed with “Lil Swole” Nicole Savoy in victorious fashion in the 1st round of the Women’s Tag Team Cup. Swole still has to worry about Britt Baker, who is scheduled to return from injury in time for next month’s All Out PPV.
#3 Penelope Ford also picked up a singles victory this week on Dark. She defeated Rachael Ellering.
Champion Hikaru Shida, #1 Nyla Rose, and #4 Abadon had the week off from in-ring competition.
AEW Tag Team Division
AEW Tag Team Champions: Kenny Omega & “Hangman” Page (11-0)
FTR (5-0)
Best Friends (13-4)
Dark Order (8-1)
Young Bucks (5-2)
Jurassic Express (5-2)
Champions Hangman Page and Kenny Omega, #1 FTR, and #4 the Young Bucks all teamed together last week and lost to 6 members of the Dark Order including #3 ranked Stu Grayson and Evil Uno.
#2 The Best Friends defeated the unranked Santana and Ortiz. Sue’s van was damaged in the aftermath, however.
Tonight on Dynamite, Hangman Page and Kenny Omega will look to defend the titles against the #5 ranked Jurassic Express.
The National Wrestling Alliance will be returning to live events starting next month. The promotion recently announced a partnership with the United Wrestling Network. The two companies will produce an ongoing series of weekly PPVs beginning September 15th.
The United Wrestling Network is a group of united promotions. These include Championship Wrestling From Hollywood, Championship Wrestling from Arizona, and Championship Wrestling From Memphis. It was created in 2013 by David Marquez.
? BREAKING: The United Wrestling Network, @nwa & @Thunder_Inc are partnering to launch a new, live, weekly wrestling PPV series on national cable / satellite TV and streaming on @FiteTV!
“United Wrestling Network’s Primetime LIVE” will premiere on Tuesday, Sept. 15 at 9 pm ET. pic.twitter.com/KBnIGqnNIO
— United Wrestling Network (@unitedwrestling) August 10, 2020
The shows will air live from Thunder Studios in Long Beach. They will be 90-minutes long and air on traditional PPV outlets as well as on the FITE app.
“My goal here is simple: to provide the best contests possible with the greatest talent available, carrying on the great legacy of the National Wrestling Alliance as an independent governing body. And in that we hope to feature at least one championship match on every live broadcast,” said NWA Owner, Billy Corgan in a press release.
The tapings will adhere to strict COVID-19 protocols. These include testing, temperature checks, and a zoning system which prevents people from entering certain areas.
“In my 30 years in both television production and promoting wrestling, this project will be the biggest of my career,” said UWN: Primetime LIVE Executive Producer David Marquez.
Former WCW President and WWE Executive Director of SmackDown Eric Bischoff recently appeared on AEW Dynamite. ‘Easy E’ appeared in a segment with Orange Cassidy and former AEW ‘Le Champion’ Chris Jericho.
One of the more interesting aspects of this week’s 83 Weeks podcast was Bischoff’s take on Tony Khan. Eric Bischoff and Tony Khan have previously had heated words online but after a recent Patreon-exclusive podcast the two are now on amicable terms, at least publicly.
“That was really interesting. Now, you know I got to meet Tony [Khan] because of you (co-host Conrad Thompson). You put us together to do a thing on Patreon” Eric Bischoff would begin on 83 Weeks.
Eric Bischoff on Tony Khan
“I enjoyed talking to him then. But when I was backstage, and it was most noticeable for me… I hope Tony doesn’t mind me sharing this! I doubt that he would, but in case you do Tony I apologize” Bischoff continued.
Bischoff would then discuss the time just before he appeared for the segment on AEW Dynamite. “But while I was getting ready to go out? We’ll call it in the ‘gorilla position,’ but when I was standing backstage? Ready to be introduced for the segment? I was within earshot of Tony when he was at at the gorilla position and on monitors.”
“I couldn’t help overhear Tony” Bischoff would elaborate. “[He was] talking to probably Keith Mitchell in the truck or somebody in the truck. I’m assuming it was Keith. Tony’s…into this. Tony’s the guy with the chequebook who’s a big fan who’s ALSO a good producer. And more importantly, loves producing.”
Bischoff would finish by praising Khan further, saying “It is his passion in the product. He’s obviously a very intelligent and experienced businessman so check those boxes. But when you have passion, and you like producing and you’re willing to grab it by the balls? As opposed to putting someone else in that position and hoping that they’re going to do the work that you want them to do? Therein lies the magic. By the way, that’s what I did to a large degree, that’s a mistake that I made in WCW.”
Do you feel that AEW has had a good run in terms of production over their short tenure? Do you agree with Eric Bischoff? Let us know in the comments
Impact Wrestling presented a show on AXS TV and Twitch last night. The card was the go-home show before the 2-week Emergence event that starts next Tuesday night. It featured the in-ring return to the promotion of Brian Myers, who now wishes to be referred to as “The Most Professional Wrestler.”
Impact World Championship Eddie Edwards (c) defeated Brian Myers
Here are 10 takeaways from Impact 8/11:
“The Most Professional Wrestler” Brian Myers Faces Eddie Edwards
Brian Myers returned to Impact Wrestling in the main event this week. He answered Eddie Edwards’ open challenge for a shot at the belt. Edwards had called out Eric Young for a match but Myers answered instead. He told the champion that in Edwards’ hands, the Impact World title is a “belt” but in Myers’ hands, it would be a “championship”, which is perhaps a nod to what Myers means when he says he’s “The Most Professional Wrestler.”
Myers would give the champion all he could handle but in the end he couldn’t dodge multiple Boston Knee Party attempts, allowing the champion to retain his title. Edwards will continue his Open Challenge for the Impact World Championship at Emergence as well.
The Good Brothers To Face Ace Austin & Madman Fulton At Emergence
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rifVthN7ckw
It was announced this week that Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows will face Ace Austin and Madman Fulton next week on night 1 of Emergence. Recently on Impact, Austin planted a trap for the Good Brothers which resulted in Gallows being arrested. This allowed Austin and Fulton to attack Anderson 2-on-1. This week on Impact, Anderson and Gallows were on the search for Austin and Fulton.
Later in the show, The Good Brothers told Scott D’Amore that they were headed out to the ring to search for Austin and Fulton. This caused D’Amore to remark that he was getting some real “Hall and Nash” vibes from Anderson and Gallows.
Anderson and Gallows then interrupted the match between Dez and Suicide. They called out Austin and Fulton but only got them to appear on the big screen. Austin and Fulton said they will fight the Good Brothers on their terms, which will be next week on night 1 of Emergence.
EC3 says he is returning to Impact Wrestling to destroy his past. Part of his past is the TNA World Heavyweight Championship and EC3 let the current self-proclaimed holder of that title, Moose, know this week that he is coming to destroy him.
EC3 found a rather interesting way to deliver his promo this week as well. As Moose was backstage, an image of EC3 was projected on the wall. The former champ let Moose know that he is coming to destroy what he currently holds as it is synonymous with his past.
Susie Showed Cousin Jake Her True Self Then Blamed Alisha For Their Bad Date
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRe5CXhxsSM
Wrestle House sure has developed into a showcase of Impact’s humorous side. This week saw Susie, Alisha, and the Deaners all involved in an interesting angle.
Susie and Cousin Jake seemed to have a bit of a budding romance going. Alisha was helping Susie with her dating game but things didn’t go too well. Cousin Jake got all dressed up in his best Fantastics gear and Susie repeatedly mentioned that she has the runs, which set the stage for their dinner date. Unfortunately, when Jake was saying he had a good time, Susie showed him her “true self” which is, of course, a dark and frightening undead soul. Upon seeing this, Jake fled. Susie then blamed Alisha’s dating advice for this and the two ended up having a match.
With Crazzy Steve serving as a rather unorthodox referee, Susie was able to secure the victory with a roll-up pin.
After the match, Taya attempted to get everyone back in the living room to continue watching “The Best of Taya Valkyrie.” Kylie Rae suggested they go to bed instead and this seemed to irritate Taya, as most things Kylie says seem to do. Taya mentioned that while Kylie is the #1 contender to the Knockouts title, she’s never defeated a champion. This led to Kylie challenging Taya but Taya mentioning she’s “all booked up” right now.
Last week on Impact, Kimber Lee struck a deal with Deonna Purrazzo. Kimber Lee said she would take out Jordynne Grace for the champion so long as she was granted a title shot in return. She wasn’t able to take out the former champion, however. The end of the match came when Grace countered a swanton into a choke and got the tap out.
Later in the show, Deonna Purrazzo cut a promo and informed fans that when she faces Grace on night 2 of Emergence it will be a 30-Minute Ironman Match.
Sami Callihan Attacks Rob Van Dam On Locker Room Talk, Heath Purchases Advertisement
Madison Rayne hosted another edition of Locker Room Talk this week. She also announced that the show this week had a sponsor. A 38-second ad from Heath was then played. He encouraged fans to use the hashtag “Heath4IMPACT” to help get him a contract in the promotion.
Rayne brought on Katie Forbes and Rob Van Dam as her guests this week. When the couple began ignoring her and making out, Rayne opted to just leave. Eventually, Sami Callihan managed to teleport himself into Madison’s chair and then began attacking RVD, furthering the ongoing rivalry between the two. Forbes ended up spraying Callihan in the face with an aerosol can and this allowed RVD to turn the tables of the melee.
Eric Young Defeats An Emotional Willie Mack
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9phnKUQIvU
Before this match began, viewers watched highlights of Rich Swann’s emotional retirement speech and the brutal attack from Eric Young that followed. This week, Swann’s tag-team partner Willie Mack sought revenge on Eric Young when they faced each other in singles competition.
The match kicked off the show but only because the two began brawling in the backstage area before the show began. They eventually made it to the ring and decided to have their match earlier then scheduled.
Mack seemed in control of the match but he eventually let his desire for revenge cloud his judgement. He put a chair over EY’s leg, perhaps intending to injure him as he had done to Swann, and then went to the top rope. This gave Young a chance to recover, however, and he countered with a stalling pile driver for the win.
Kiera Hogan & Tasha Steelz defeat Neveah & Havok In A No Disqualification Match
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_coRaLn3peg
The ongoing tag-team rivalry between Kiera Hogan and Tasha Steelz and Neveah & Havok continued this week. The two teams faced off in a no disqualification match that seemingly favoured Neveah and Havok. For weeks, it seemed as though Neveah and Havok were on their way to getting revenge on Hogan & Steelz for the two singles victory they had stolen from the team as of late. No such revenge would happen here, however.
The finish of the match came when Hogan and Steelz super kicked Havok off the apron and through a table. This allowed Hogan to hit a spinning fisherman suplex for the win. Big win for Hogan and Steelz as they likely walk away from this rivalry here the strong victors.
Team XXXL Fight Following a Spell From Rosemary
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xck8FXeXRBs
Rosemary is having a difficult time trying to seduce John E Bravo on Wrestle House. Bravo’s frequent attention given to Taya Valkyrie seemed to frustrate her this week. She opted to cast a magical spell on Larry D from Team XXXL which seemed to cause him to fall in love with her. Perhaps, Rosemary was doing this in an attempt to make Bravo jealous.
With Larry D under a spell, he gets into an argument with his tag-team partner, Acey Romero over his apparent change in attitude (and lack of appetite.) This led to a match between the two partners which Larry won with a Knockout punch. He’d then point at Rosemary and say “that was for you.”
Booker T doesn’t believe that former WCW President Eric Bischoff belongs on anyone’s WCW Mount Rushmore. As far as the Hall of Famer is concerned, Bischoff’s “not in the conversation.”
Booker T shared his thoughts on his Hall of Fame podcast. He explained how people like Bischoff who “haven’t put time in the ring wrestling for years” don’t deserve consideration. He stressed that this was just his opinion on the matter.
Extrapolating on his opinion, Booker T reflected on Bischoff’s impact on WCW and the wrestling business. He acknowledged how Bischoff did a lot for him and his career in WCW. However, he noted that when business and pleasure mingle, problems can occur.
“When Eric Bischoff stopped being the president, stopped being the boss and wanted to start being one of the boys and wanting to be one of the talents on the show, that’s when everything got clouded.”
Booker T continued, “Judgment totally didn’t come into play in certain instances because you got a lot of guys around you that you think are your friends. Eric Bischoff should have never been in a position to even be considered to be a part of Mount Rushmore.”
FTR has shared their approach to tag team psychology and whether they believe AEW needs a 6-man championship.
Speaking with Fightful Select, Cash Wheeler and Dax Harwood explained how they approach tag team psychology. They revealed how, when it comes to finally hitting a hot tag, “you don’t want to come in and do a bunch of flips and roll like that.”
FTR shared how, because their partner has been beaten down for minutes on end, they would come charging with fists instead of flips.
“I’m going to come in and throw fists. I’m going to come in and beat the sh*t out of you. That’s the psychology of tag team wrestling that you can build so much around that.”
FTR On 6-Man Tag Team Championships
When asked if they thought AEW needed 6-man tag team championships, FTR’s Wheeler expressed how the promotion could consider it “down the line.”
He explained how including them now would be akin to “trying to run before we can walk.”
Wheeler stressed how AEW is still building its tag team division and establishing all of its tag talents:
“We don’t need to bring more championships into the fold when these aren’t even established and are less than a year old. We don’t need to bring 6 man teams into the fold when we are still trying to establish the 2 man.”
He reiterated how AEW may consider it at some point in the future. However, until their current tag team division is firmly established, it would be an unnecessary endeavor.
WWE Hall of Famer Booker T has agreed with Lance Storm’s recent comments on intergender wrestling. Speaking on his podcast, The Hall of Fame, Booker T addressed the issue as well as the backlash Storm received. During the episode, he also shared his thoughts on who he believes the MVP of WWE’s COVID-19 era is.
Addressing Storm’s recent comments stating that intergender wrestling should be abolished, Booker T pointed to the backlash Storm’s words received on social media. Despite the negative response, the Hall of Famer shared how he seconded Storm’s feelings.
“I second that emotion as far as definitely abolishing intergender wrestling. I don’t think it does a whole lot for female wrestlers. If it is to ever be done on an independent level, for women to be able to get a little more training because there are less women out there working at the top level or better level that can get a lot of practice in working with guys, but as far as intergender wrestling ever making it to the big stage in professional wrestling, I think it would screw everything up.”
He recalled his thoughts from earlier in the year pertaining to Tessa Blanchard’s intergender matchups.
Booker T stressed how he didn’t agree with it but didn’t dispute her talent. He added how he didn’t agree with Impact Wrestling’s decision and reiterated how he 100% agrees with Storm’s sentiments.
Booker T Names His WWE COVID-19 Era MVP
Booker T then turned his attention to WWE’s current product and how it has been forced to pivot due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Acknowledging how COVID-19 has forced both WWE and its Superstars to change and evolve, Booker T shared who he believes is WWE’s current MVP. He stressed that, even though it’s been a relatively short period of time, his MVP is MVP and The Hurt Business.
Booker T explained his decision, noting how MVP has been “going out and creating some really good drama.”
He stressed how MVP has managed to do this by going out and cutting promos. He believes this career resurgence is more memorable than MVP’s first run in WWE and thinks the Superstar has really found his “groove” during this time.
All Elite Wrestling’s TNT Champion Cody Rhodes has opened up about what the company looks when considering indie talent. During a sit-down interview with Tony Schiavone, held ahead of his championship match with Scorpio Sky, Cody also revealed when fans can expect to finally see the completed TNT Championship.
Cody Rhodes addressed how most of his Open Challenge opponents have been selected following online social media support from wrestlers. Cody has recently faced talents such as the recently signed Eddie Kingston and Warhorse in successful defenses. He noted that the finalized version of the TNT Championship will be debuted on tonight’s episode of AEW Dynamite.
When it comes to what the promotion seeks in its potential talent, Cody explained its process. He pointed to how AEW President Tony Khan and Arn Anderson have done a “really great job at looking at the overall landscape.”
He stressed that this is true regarding talent in AEW as well as those not currently signed.
“I think it has less to do with polished talent and pedigree and more to do with work. Those are the type of individuals I like to hang with, to work with, to train with and of course to compete with, Cody said. “I think that’s a big part of it – your ability to do the work. It went from a fun motto and hashtag but it’s applicable to everything especially in this era of wrestling on TV. Content is what matters.”
Cody explained how Tony Khan is an individual who has his “ear to the ground.”
He highlighted how Khan is a youthful person in management. This makes him more in tune with “what people want.”
Because of this approach, Cody Rhodes believes he’s been able to face some great opponents during his Open Challenge.
Big E is getting a shot at a singles run due to the injuries of Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston but E has made it clear that he is still a representative of the New Day even when he is competing on his own. However, several stars have spoken up against this mentality and people like CM Punk have said that the former NXT Champion should ‘dump’ his teammates to advance further in his career.
During his recent appearance on the Battleground podcast, Xavier Woods responded to these comments and he said that he loves the fact that people have enough passion about what’s going on to talk about it. He mentioned how it keeps people’s names in the zeitgeist but Woods went on to explain that their friendship is more important to the three than anything else:
“We’ve explained many times that, again, our friendship and bond is more important than anything else, Thee interesting thing about people saying things like this about E is, ‘oh, well you said the same things about Kofi.’ That worked out okay, I think. I think this is the vocal minority again, which is fine, everyone have your voice and use it the way you want, just don’t be disrespectful to people.”
Xavier Woods continued to explain that fans demand things that are different than the usual and we have seen people make it to the top using one specific toolbox. However, now that they are attempting something different they want the trio to go back to the old tools and according to Woods no one is right or wrong for having an opinion:
“Everyone has their opinion and everyone is entitled to it, and no one’s is right, no one’s is wrong because we can’t tell the future, we don’t know.” said Xavier Woods, “It’s great that people talk about it and want something to happen because I want something to happen too. I want E to hold all the titles, I want Kofi to hold all the titles; I want to hold all the titles. And so the way that we get there, we’re going to do it our own way.”
This is not the first time a New Day member has spoken up against the idea of the group being dismantled. During a recent interview, Big E had explained the importance of Xavier Woods for their group, saying that there would be no New Day without the former NXT star.
The Next WWE draft is on the horizon. Reports suggest that the company has shortlisted two dates in October for the same and Drew McIntyre has some interesting picks he would like to see change brands during the event.
The WWE Champion recently had an interview with Comicbook.com where he talked about things like his first stint with WWE, his ongoing rivalry with Randy Orton and more.
When asked which stars he would like to join the Raw brand if another WWE draft was to be held, McIntyre took the name of the current Universal Champion Braun Strowman:
“There’s a few guys, Like, Cesaro is on my list of never had a match ever. I’d love to have a big match with him. Braun Strowman and I have never had a big, significant singles match. I think that could be interesting.”
Drew McIntyre also took the name of Sheamus mentioning how they have a long history together and the former NXT Champion described his relationship with the Celtic Warrior as a “big brother, little brother relationship.”
Apart from this, The Scottish Psychopath was asked about his dream matches from the past and he took the name of people like Shawn Michaels and Triple H. You can check out his full interview at this link.
MVP recently had an interview with Sports Illustrated where he talked about things like his return to WWE, the potential of Apollo Crews, the concept of Raw Underground and more.
In his long career, the former US Champion has wrestled for a number of promotions. He has left his mark on companies like NJPW, ROH and Impact Wrestling, however, it all started with his first stint with WWE.
During the interview, MVP talked about his early career and when asked how Vince McMahon has influenced his career, the former Champion revealed the advice he got from the Boss about his segments with Matt Hardy:
I remember when I first got called up to WWE and I was doing segments with Matt Hardy in our feud, Vince pulled us to the side and said, very specifically, ‘When we’re doing these segments, I want you guys to be very involved. I want you to participate.’
Up until then, I thought my role was as talent, so I didn’t know I was allowed to do that.” said MVP, “But Vince was the one that opened that door for me, so I took a more hands-on approach.”
The Raw star continued by saying that WWE is the NFL of pro wrestling and he was able to learn from Vince McMahon and take those skills to the other places.
Apart from this, MVP also talked about his new faction called The Hurt Business, Bobby Lashley possibly becoming a world champion in future and more.
Brian Myers, formerly known as Curt Hawkins in WWE, returned to Impact Wrestling for the first time since 2015 during Tuesday night’s show.
Myers jumped right into the deep end of Impact Wrestling by answering an open challenge by World Champion Eddie Edwards. Myers put up a good fight, but Edwards ultimately put him away with his Boston Knee Party finisher.
Below you can see footage of Brian Myers answering the open challenge of Impact World Champion Eddie Edwards:
Curt Hawkins’ first run with WWE started in 2006 and it ended in 2014. The former WWE star spent most of his time during this run on the various development territories of the company.
After his release from the company, Myers had returned to the independent circuit and he had a short run with Impact Wrestling in 2015 as well where he represented the GFW promotion.
Hawkins was brought back by WWE in July 2016 and he has been making regular appearances on WWE TV ever since.
However, his latest run came to a halt due to coronavirus and the company released him as part of their budget cuts in April earlier this year.
Myers has been teasing his wrestling return in the past few weeks and he has been promoting himself as the “most professional wrestler” on social platforms.
Now it would be interesting to see if he ends up being a regular performer for Impact after his return and if his latest run lasts longer than his previous stint.
The main FOX channel is scheduled to air a WWE special during SummerSlam Weekend.
TV guides currently have a two-hour special called “WWE SummerSlam’s Hottest Moments” scheduled to air on Saturday, August 22nd. The special will begin at 4pm EST.
FOX’s SummerSlam special will air the night before the big SummerSlam 2020 pay-per-view on the WWE Network. It will be over in time for the WWE NXT “TakeOver: XXX” special, which also airs on the WWE Network.
Fans interested in catching FOX’s SummerSlam special should check their local listings because the timeslot will likely change in some markets.
The official synopsis for “WWE SummerSlam’s Hottest Moments” is as follows: “A look back at the top moments from WWE’s Summerslam.”
Below is the updated SummerSlam card for August 23rd:
– WWE Champion Drew McIntyre vs. Randy Orton
– WWE Universal Champion Braun Strowman vs. “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt
– WWE United States Champion Apollo Crews vs. MVP
– RAW Tag Team Champions The Street Profits vs. Andrade & Angel Garza
– RAW Women’s Champion Sasha Banks vs. Asuka
– SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley vs. winner of Friday’s Tri-Brand Battle Royal
– Dominik Mysterio vs. Seth Rollins (Mysterio will be allowed to use weapons)
Monday’s edition of WWE RAW averaged 1.722 million viewers with a 0.47 rating in the key 18-49 demographic. This was up from last week, which did 1.714 million viewers and a 0.51 demo rating.
Just one year ago, RAW averaged 2.473 million viewers. The third hour dropped despite the second week of RAW Underground, but last week’s third hour was down as well from the 1.610 million viewers.
Here’s the hourly viewership breakdown for Raw, courtesy of Showbuzzdaily.com:
Hour 1: 1.811 million, 0.50 in the 18-49 Demo
Hour 2: 1.754 million, 0.46 in the 18-49 Demo
Hour 3: 1.601 million, 0.46 in the 18-49 Demo
This week’s RAW featured Kevin Owens vs. Randy Orton, Asuka vs. WWE Women’s Tag Team & SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley in a non-title match, the second week of RAW Underground, the return of Mickie James, and more.
SmackDown Viewership
Friday’s SmackDown averaged 1.962 million viewers on FOX. This is up from the 1.894 million viewers that the show did for the previous week.
SmackDown averaged 1.956 million viewers in the fast nationals, which was up from the 1.892 million viewers a week ago. This number measured the top metered markets.
The first hour drew 1.924 million viewers while the second hour did 1.880 million viewers. For comparison, the first show of last week’s show did 1.911 million viewers while the second hour did 1.956 million 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.
It looks like there could be two WWE NXT TakeOver specials airing in the month of October.
There are plans for a NXT TakeOver event to air on Sunday, October 4th, according to PWInsider. The name of the special and the locatio have not been confirmed as of this writing.
WWE also has the NXT UK “TakeOver: Dublin” special on the calendar for Sunday, October 25th. The NXT UK TakeOver event is scheduled to air live from the 3Arena in Dublin, Ireland. TakeOver: Dublin was originally scheduled for April 26th, but it was delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The next NXT TakeOver event will air live on Saturday, August 22nd during SummerSlam Weekend. “TakeOver: XXX” will be the thirtieth special for the NXT brand. The following matches have been confirmed for “TakeOver: XXX” as of this writing:
– Adam Cole vs. Pat McAfee
– NXT Women’s Champion Io Shirai vs. Dakota Kai
– Bronson Reed vs. Damian Priest vs. 3 Superstars TBD in a Ladder Match for the vacant NXT North American Championship
Ring of Honor is getting set to return. The promotion has not run a live event since February. Previously, they were forced to cancel their scheduled 18th Anniversary PPV show on March 13th as the pandemic hit.
According to a report from PW Insider, ROH plans to film empty arena shows in Baltimore on August 22nd and 23rd. The promotion had originally planned to film the shows in July but canceled after there was a spike in COVID-19 cases. ROH is planning on using a “bubble system” similar to the NHL or NBA. Talent would only be permitted within a certain radius and everyone will be tested.
ROH will also be returning to PPV next month. They do not plan on holding a live event, however. Rather, the promotion will run a PPV on September 25th featuring previously aired matches.
ROH has continued to pay talent and staff while the pandemic has been ongoing. They have not released anyone despite not having run a show in almost 5 months.
ROH’s Marty Scurll was set to start his new role as head of creative when the pandemic hit. He spoke to the ROH Strong podcast about what he had in store for the shows.
“No one was more heartbroken then myself,” Scurll said on the podcast. “Even though I’ve sort of been hands-on with the show since January, I felt like these were really my first shows that I had full control of.”
“I put so many hours of time and thought into these shows.”
Eric Bischoff returned to WWE from June to October of last year. His short-lived time as the Executive Director of Smackdown was recently addressed on Bischoff’s 83 Weeks podcast. He spoke about what led to him returning to the company.
“It hit me out of left field. If others felt like it was a surprise to them you should have been sitting on my deck when I got that phone call in early June or May or whenever it was,” Bischoff said.
“Bruce (Prichard) and I started talking, and I think it happened at a Starrcast event, at an event Bruce and I were both at.”
Bischoff continued to say that Prichard asked him what he would think about his name being thrown out to Vince for a potential role. Bischoff suggested he was happy with this as he would enjoy working with Bruce again.
“We worked together very closely in TNA and we kind of learned how to work together.”
Bischoff also spoke about negotiating with Vince McMahon on a deal to return to the company. He said the first meeting the two had didn’t get into specifics too much.
Eric Bischoff On Meeting With Vince
Bischoff says his meetings with Vince went very smoothly.
“More social than business is how I would characterize it,” Bischoff said about his first meeting with Vince last year about coming back.
“Vince and I hadn’t seen each other in 12 years or whatever, I think the last time I had seen Vince was in 2007 or so,” he continued. “Big bear hug, how you doing, pal? It was all very social and positive.”
Bischoff continued to say that he knew when he was invited back for a 2nd meeting that talks of him returning had gotten more serious.
“That meeting went equally as well and we were off and running.”
Ken Shamrock has not been impressed by the worked-shoot style of fighting in the RAW Underground segments. The MMA pioneer sent out a Tweet yesterday to Vince and Shane McMahon suggesting they should contact him if they want the segments to look good.
“Hey @WWE and @shanemcmahon next time you guys want to do some worked shoots on #RawUnderground and actually make them look good, you got my number, give me a call!” Shamrock Tweeted.
Hey @WWE and @shanemcmahon next time you guys want to do some worked shoots on #RawUnderground and actually make them look good, you got my number, give me a call!
Shamrock’s contributions to MMA are the subject of a recent book by Jonathan Snowden.
“From his fights inside the cage with Hall of Famers Royce Gracie and Dan Severn to his even more fearsome battles outside of it, this book takes an in-depth look at one of the most fascinating men in all of combat sports.,“ reads a description of the book.
Ken Shamrock In Impact Wrestling
Shamrock is also part of the Impact Wrestling roster currently. He was involved in a feud with Sami Callihan but then the two briefly formed a tag-team. They unsuccessfully challenged the North for the tag belts at Slammiversary on July 18th.
WWE RAW Superstar MVP has opened up about the show’s newest segment, RAW Underground. Speaking with Newsweek, MVP addressed the creative process behind the concept and how his stable, The Hurt Business, has taken over.
MVP confessed that the idea of RAW Underground “shocked” him at first. He detailed how Shane McMahon pitched the idea and how he felt it was a good idea to try. He explained that, because the WWE locker room is full of competitive athletes, no one shied away from the idea of RAW Underground.
From a creative input perspective, MVP revealed how “it was just go in there and beat people up and that’s what we do.”
He reflected on how they had received “a lot of positive feedback” following RAW Underground’s debut. MVP added that the general reaction to the segment has been “favorable” before promising that The Hurt Business will continue “going in there and wrecking shop.”
MVP, who recently signed a new multi-year deal with WWE, admitted he’s excited to see what happens with the segment going forward. He highlighted how it provides a “different flavor, different vibe” to Monday Night RAW before acknowledging how new ideas sometimes take a little while for people to get used to. For MVP, however, he liked everything about the concept straight off the bat.
Major League Wrestling hasn’t run an event since March. Court Bauer has been adamant that the promotion would not run any events until it was safe to do so. The company recently posted an article on its website which suggests the league has been looking at how to run events safely.
“I’ve been very encouraged by how the UFC, NBA, the NHL, Top Rank Boxing and DAZN Match Room boxing have managed operations as they restart,” said Bauer. “We’re also seeing TV and film start back up in certain regions in a cautious manner and that’s the mindset you need to operate with during this moment in time: caution.”
Bauer would continue to say that the league has consulted with medical professionals. They have also spoken with NJPW, who recently returned to live events as well. MLW’s Tom Lawlor has been competing on NJPW USA shows as of late.
“We are speaking with some of the sharpest minds at Johns Hopkins University & Medicine on a restart and talked with New Japan’s people on how they’ve approached it – and they’ve done an incredible job… we also engaged some of our athletes who have competed outside of MLW during the pandemic to see what worked, what didn’t, and what could be improved upon.”
In storyline, MLW’s shut down occurred after a takeover by Contra Unit. They have been airing old episodes of MLW Underground in place of new episodes of Fusion.
WWE Hall of Famer and former WWE Universal Champion Goldberg has labeled Roman Reigns a “joke.” His words come in response to a tweet Reigns uploaded earlier this year in January. In the tweet, Reigns poked fun at Golberg’s decision to headbutt doors during his entrances:
Nothing to explain Nick. It’s a little piece of pad. So I don’t break my hand on steel grate. I gota perform like 48 weeks a year man. So that would be stupid. It would be like,? head butting a door before my match level of stupid. Anyway, have a good day Nick. ?? https://t.co/OgHEoUuDIt
Speaking with American Monster Productions, Goldberg addressed Reigns’ comments. He detailed his reasoning behind the headbutts, explaining they were an integral part of helping him get into character.
“Roman, you’re a joke, first of all. Second of all, when he ragged on me about headbutting the doors and stuff, you know, um, I never really explained my whole thought process on that.”
“For you guys to get the character that you got, I had to do certain things. Well, one of them was headbutt the door, right? And that may, on the outside, look like a stupid move…but as I mentioned, we all weigh the positives and negatives. So it’s very positive to make it as violent as humanly possible, and as real as humanly possible, and all the negative is you lose a little blood and hey, man, you get another concussion and cut a week off your life, man.”
Goldberg was due to face Reigns at this year’s WrestleMania 36 event in April. Reigns would ultimately pull out of the match, citing coronavirus concerns. Goldberg would go on to lose the WWE Universal Championship to Reigns’ replacement, Braun Strowman.
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The main event of this week’s episode of Monday Night Raw saw Randy Orton facing Kevin Owens in a singles match with the WWE Hall Of Famer Ric Flair being at the ringside.
Orton won the fight and he then cut a promo on the Nature Boy, saying Flair’s ego during last week’s backstage segment with Owens got him into this bout.
The Viper went on to insult Flair and he made things personal, causing the WWE legend to get emotional. Randy then tried to turn things around and he embraced Flair, only to low blow him from behind.
Randy Orton didn’t stop there and he continued his attack on the 2 time Hall Of Famer with a punt kick to Flair’s head. Though fans weren’t able to see the actual kick due to the technical difficulties caused by RETRIBUTION and the lights went off and they came back on right after Orton finished the spot.
The WWE Champion Drew McIntyre ran down to check on the wrestling veteran after this and the show ended with McIntyre in the ring and Randy Orton staring him down from the stage.
WWE later posted a post-show video on their official YouTube channel and the video as seen below features the footage of Ric Flair being loaded onto a stretcher and being taken out of the arena:
WWE has already announced that Randy Orton will be facing the WWE Champion Drew McIntyre for his title at the upcoming SummerSlam PPV on August 23 from Performance Center.
