WWE has had its share of questionable angles and segments, from Katie Vick to Kurt Angle & Sharmell. In 2016, one segment left a current AEW star feeling very uncomfortable but was thankfully changed before it made it to TV.
In the Rolling Stone article ‘Inside the WWE Writers Room, ‘A Kingdom Ruled by Fear’, the publication delves deep into the environment within WWE’s creative team. One example given comes from a segment planned for the January, 18, 2016, episode of WWE Monday Night Raw that aired on Martin Luther King Day.
Former creative team member Michael Leonardi recalled working on a segment that would have featured Mark Henry, Titus O’Neill, R-Truth, and Neville (now AEW’s Pac.) Leonardi described how the original script had Neville, a white wrestler, say, “I’ve got a dream too, and that dream is to win the Royal Rumble,” a direct reference to Dr. King’s iconic speech.
Neville felt incredibly uncomfortable about delivering the line. Due to time constraints and the fact that they were in the middle of taping, Leonardi made a quick adjustment to the script. Instead of Neville, the line was reassigned to R-Truth. This change happened on the fly, and the segment aired as planned.
This is just one of many examples of how WWE under Vince McMahon sparked controversies, often with the writing team being forced to work with ideas they did not personally agree with. Last year, a former writer alleged that several racist and offensive storylines were pitched, including Mansoor being responsible for 9/11. Now, McMahon’s is gone from WWE, and for those on the creative team, they’re likely breathing a heavy sign of relief that the 79-year-old’s era is a thing of the past.
The work culture of World Wrestling Entertainment has been under scrutiny since Janel Grant filed her lawsuit against former Chairman Vince McMahon. Now more former employees have spoken up about unfair treatment during their time in the company.
Rolling Stone recently published a piece giving insight into the chaotic writer’s room under Vince’s leadership. Several former writers described the day-to-day hardships of working in the challenging environment in detail, including one saying that WWE is a ‘kingdom ruled by fear.’
The women who ended up a part of the mostly male-dominated space say that they became hyper-aware of their gender because of how they were treated. On the condition of anonymity, one former female writer claimed that she was touched inappropriately by her colleagues:
“They would touch me where they would have me come closer [to them], they would pull me by my waist to come somewhere or move closer to them. I’m just super aware that it’s kind of close to my butt and most people don’t touch me by the waist ever. I thought, ‘This is strange.’”
While this behavior was not explicitly sexual, the female employee says that it felt like a means of controlling her in a way that didn’t happen to male writers.
Another former writer revealed that she was fired from her position when she complained to HR. When enough female writers complained about the treatment, a Zoom call was held by the leadership in 2020. While the writers were encouraged to speak on their issues, the leadership was ultimately dismissive of their problems.
The Zoom call was followed by an in-person meeting with the entire writer’s room. The leadership there allegedly told everyone not to go HR if they had any problems in the future and that they were acting like ‘middle schoolers.’
When asked about the allegations made into the Janel Grant lawsuit back in January, WWE’s current head of creative Triple H had told reporters that he didn’t want to get ‘bogged down’ by the negative and focus on the positives instead.
One former writer told Rolling Stone that they don’t believe there will be any major changes in the overall work culture of the company despite the leadership change. They said that there are ‘a lot of people complicit’ in continuing this culture and they don’t have faith that it can be undone overnight.
The October 18, edition of WWE SmackDown featured some huge names appear including Roman Reigns, Cody Rhodes, Nia Jax, and the debuting Motor City Machine Guns. Michael Cole was not part of the broadcast in a rare absence for the voice of WWE and now more has come to light about his hiatus.
Without Cole around, Monday Night Raw’s Wade Barrett filled in behind the announce desk alongside Corey Graves. While speaking to Sal Licata of WFAN recently, Cole shared that he was taking a 10-day vacation in Cozumel, Mexico with his family.
“I’m actually leaving tomorrow for Cozumel, Mexico, for a 10-day family vacation with the entire family and grandkids.“
On SmackDown, Graves explained Cole’s absence by saying he was away on a ‘special assignment.’ After filling in for Cole, Barrett shared that he’s curious as to what this assignment was for the veteran broadcaster.
Despite my male-resting-bitch-face, I had a lot of fun being back on #SmackDown last night.
This week marks the third time Michael Cole has missed an episode of WWE programming throughout his 27-year career with the company. Cole missed Monday Night Raw’s season premiere in October 2023 due to a personal commitment. Before that, he missed a show back in September 2017 to attend his son’s wedding.
Michael Cole’s WWE Future
With Cole signing a new contract with WWE earlier this year, fans can expect much more of him in the future, despite his absence this week. Cole is set to reunite with Pat McAfee in January 2025 once the popular sports broadcaster returns to WWE after hosting College GameDay. That same month, WWE Raw will move to Netflix, marking a new era in broadcasting for the red brand, one that Michael Cole will be a part of.
It’s near serendipitous that NXT went up against AEW Dynamite two weeks ago considering the two brands once competed for television supremacy. While AEW won that initial ‘piss-ant’ battle back in 2019, NXT dominated Tony Khan’s company in the ratings going mono-a-mono in 2024.
Granted, AEW was saddled with Tuesday night instead of Wednesday, but the numbers for Dynamite were extremely jarring even for a day change. NXT finally won the face-off, but if AEW were to parse through the tea leaves, there’s a bit more AEW could garner from their longtime rival.
NXT had grandiose plans for their second episode on The CW as the black and gold brand aimed to put the show on at The Enterprise Center, home of the St. Louis Blues. However, ticket sales weren’t up to standards and WWE decided to pivot by moving the show over to The Factory at The District.
The venues have quite the difference in capacity. The Enterprise Center houses over 18,000 while The Factory slices that in sixths, seating only 3,000. It is an absolute downgrade, but ultimately the product benefitted from the change.
With a smaller venue, you obviously fill the seats easier and it creates a more intimate aesthetic to your television presentation. Courtesy of The Factory’s website, the venue already sets up a unique set-up, touting an “industrial style” as it “takes cues from old factories and manufacturing spaces with appointments like weathered wood, open metalwork stairs, exposed brick, industrial lighting fixtures and polished concrete.”
WWE was cagey enough to understand the limitations that a big venue would present and embraced the downgrade, which in turn, upgraded the episode. NXT pulled a page from Paul Heyman book of ECW in so many ways by downplaying their weakness (not a big audience) and playing to its strengths (the intimacy of the venue). Back in his “extreme” swing, Heyman was well-aware that it’s better to turn 1,500 away than make that 1,500 try to fill a 3,500-seated arena.
If WWE makes the decision to continue NXT on the road, they’ll likely be more cognizant of how much attraction value the brand currently has. The hope would be to build to those bigger venues once again, but NXT likely realized that they need to build those stars again to the Triple H operation days. AEW should very much get the jump on them, but NXT is reportedly a step ahead by booking the original ECW arena for the month of November.
Yes, Wembley and ALL IN is a tent-pole event for AEW that speaks to the potential reach of the All Elite brand, but domestically, it’s been a different story for All Elite Wrestling. The company has encountered low ticket sales and sparse audiences. However, the fans that do go to the show are typically rapid and invested.
The week before their “black Tuesday”, AEW came to Pittsburgh and played at the Peterson Events Center. “The Pete” is not where Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins hoisted four Stanley Cups, but it is were the University of Pitt Panthers struggle to remain relevant as a collegiate basketball team (Pitt basketball used to be good, but the arena itself is still very nice). The place was packed and the crowd kept the energy up for the majority of the show.
— Dominic DeAngelo | One True Sport (@DominicDeAngelo) October 3, 2024
It’s a new era for the company considering the television deal and a key aspect of making each episode feel special is to make the venue and the crowd you’re playing to feel special. Embrace the ambience, make the most of your environment. If you do that right, pair it up with sensical storylines, then those environments will grow. Consistency of all that will put more butts in those seats.
MVP has made his presence felt in AEW in recent weeks. An impressive in-ring debut for Shelton Benjamin only further reinforced their collective potential as individual talents and, all the more so, as a unit.
All too often, though, fans have seen acts start out hot in AEW, only to get lost in the shuffle. While the easy critiques on MVP, Benjamin, and other talents who may or may not joint them—particularly Bobby Lashley—is that they’re WWE alumni and that they’re relatively old, there’s still plenty of potential for them to change the game in AEW.
The Hurt Is Back In Business
The Hurt Business will be in action at Crown Jewel
WWE’s Hurt Business was a landmark faction. They were one of the coolest parts of WWE programming in the pandemic era and the group succeeded in finally getting Bobby Lashley all the way over as a WWE Champion after stop-start pushes and never quite reaching the mountain top throughout either of his WWE tenures prior to that point.
The Hurt Business experiment fizzled, though, with Shelton Benjamin and Cedric Alexander fading further and further into the background and MVP on the outs. Lashley enjoyed some successes, including fans seeing a lot of potential in him teaming up with The Street Profits, but it never went anywhere and The All Mighty’s final months in WWE were conspicuously quiet.
Now, MVP and Benjamin have shown up in AEW, launching The Hurt Syndicate. WWE has done a nice job of slow-playing this act, including creating initial intrigue between MVP and Swerve Strickland, before rolling out Benjamin and immediately establishing him as far more of an in-ring threat than he got to play for most of his WWE career.
AEW Can Push Black Talent To The Moon
While WWE has been on fire under Triple H’s creative leadership, one critique that’s only gaining momentum is that The Game hasn’t done enough to push black talent. Fans have noticed an absence of black men in particular from PLE cards. Moreover, Helmsley’s attempt at quieting the haters in the Bad Blood post-show press conference came across as uncharacteristically tone deaf and outdated as he claimed not to see color.
It doesn’t seem fair to actually think of The Cerebral Assassin as actively racist, but he has nonetheless left an opening for AEW to distinguish itself by more overtly pushing black stars. Swerve Strickland’s celebrated run as AEW Champion laid some strong groundwork. MVP and The Hurt Syndicate have the tools to take things to the next level.
A Swerve Strickland Vs. Bobby Lashley Feud
Swerve Strickland and Shelton Benjamin look as though they’re on a collision course right now in AEW, but between Benjamin’s age and the damage his credibility took in WWE, this wouldn’t feel like a satisfying end game for the story AEW has been rolling out. Rather, things really feel as though they ought to be building toward Strickland vs. Bobby Lashley.
Lashley is an awesome physical specimen and with WWE world title credentials under his belt (not to mention a history as the world champ in TNA), he’s a suitably credible opponent for Strickland. Moreover, The All Mighty represents a worthy mountain to climb. Though Strickland should ultimately have his sights set on reclaiming the AEW Championship, winning a feud over Lashley and The Hurt Syndicate could do a great deal to further solidify Strickland as a bona fide main event fixture.
The Hurt Syndicate Vs. The Blackpool Combat Club
The Blackpool Combat Club has been one of the most compelling parts of AEW programming for much of the last two and a half years. The recent tonal shift, with Jon Moxley turning heel and recapturing the AEW Championship, intrigue around their mission to fundamentally change AEW, and the additions of PAC and Marina Shafir have brought the group right back to the spotlight as one of the most buzzworthy acts in the promotion, if not all of wrestling.
Feuding with The Blackpool Combat Club would be a great place for The Hurt Syndicate to land, offering a formidable, fresh challenge and series of matchups, up to and including the possibility of an AEW Championship reign for Bobby Lashley. At minimum, one of the most important parts of a modern faction’s success is having other credible factions to feud with, and this is where these two groups could help one another significantly.
In the end, only time will tell what AEW has planned for MVP and his Hurt Syndicate. Early signs have been promising, though, and there’s a real chance for the creative to follow to end the mainstream careers of MVP, Shelton Benjamin, and Bobby Lashley on a high note, while also bettering AEW and the careers of several of its other stars.
Samantha Irvin’s time as a WWE Raw ring announcer has come to end, via a lengthy statement shared on social media. On Instagram, Irvin shared her news and had plenty of thanks to those who have helped her along the way.
WWE Universe, my time has come to an end as your Monday Night Raw Ring Announcer. I love you all tremendously and this does not mark the end of my art, I have a lifetime more to share. Thank you to every WWE fan who accepted me.
To the Women’s Locker Room: you are the most incredible group of people on the face of this Earth. I am beyond proud to be your colleague and friend.
To the Crew & Cameramen: I can’t thank you enough for the encouragement, the laughs. You created such a wonderful positive atmosphere for me. Love you all.
To the WWE Superstars, past and present: I have thank you since 1989 and will continue to thank you for the rest of my days for entertaining us. For raising the bar over and over again. For risking your bodies and finding new ways to keep us shocked and wanting more. There is no form of entertainment like this and not just any entertainer can be a wwe Superstar. The respect I have for you is more than I can express. Thank you for making it so easy to pour emotion and excitement into your introductions. You are the stars that the stars idolize. It doesn’t get any bigger and I’m proud to have used my voice to let the world know it.
Thank you Paul Heyman, Michael PS Hayes & Michael Cole. I will continue to apply what I learned from you to every aspect of my career. Thank you for invigorating my creativity.
Thank you Brian ‘Road Dogg’ James, Scott Armstrong, Gabe Sapolsky, and George Carroll Jr. for giving me my first opportunities to rise to the occasion.
Thank you to HHH for trusting me and showcasing me on this platform.
Thank you Mark Henry for giving me my big break. I hope I made you proud.
Thank you to all the Coaches, Producers, Medical, Writers, Talent Relations, Makeup, Photography, Social Media, Digital, Travel, Department, Catering, Merch, 2K Team, Referees, Security and Announce Team for everything you did to help me along the way.
To my fans, my entire career I’ve been waiting for you! We are meant to be and I can prove it. Stay tuned.
All my love! And still…
Samantha.
Many of those in the comments took Irvin’s statement as a sign of her exit, not just from the role of Raw’s announcer, but from the entire WWE. At this time, Irvin has not confirmed that she is leaving WWE, nor did she specify any role in the company outside of her recent announcing duties. Irvin has removed all references to WWE in the bio of her Instagram and X accounts.
Irvin joined WWE in 2021, initially as the ring announcer of 205 Live, but her skills behind the mic would see her moved to the main roster the following year. At this year’s WrestleMania, Irvin announced 14 matches and was praised by announcing icon Michael Buffer after the Showcase of the Immortals. Stay tuned to SEScoops for all the latest on Samantha Irvin and the next chapter of her career.
Dolph Ziggler says his Money In The Bank Cash in was only made possible because the fans stuck by him even when he was constantly losing.
The Nemeth Brothers were the most recent guests on Stories with Brisco and Bradshaw podcast. They talked about things such as their inspiration to get into wrestling, training under names such as Dusty Rhodes, and more.
JBL who was on commentary for Ziggler’s big moment mentioned how has never experienced anything like that. Dolph explained that before the cash in people had started thinking that he would lose the briefcase:
“The reason that reaction and that moment happened was 100% the fans. Like at the time, I was the guy with the briefcase who always kept trying to cash in—would catch a brogue kick or something in the face.
It got to a point where they thought they were either going to take it off of me or when I came to cash in, that I wasn’t going to get it. I was going to lose the match or something. But the reason the crowds were so great, even leading up to that, was Vince at the time,
He said, ‘Listen, I know you lose a lot’—[I’m like] about 99% of the time—but he goes, ‘I know you lose a lot and now with this briefcase, you’re going to lose even more, and it’s going to be a bigger deal. But the next day after you finally cash this in, everything changes.’ So we did that, kept [losing] more and more.”
I’ve Never Heard Anything Like That: Dolph Ziggler
Dolph Ziggler won the Money In The Bank during the namesake PPV in July 2012. He held on to the briefcase for almost 9 months before cashing it in during the April 8, 2013 episode of Raw. He defeated Alberto Del Rio to win his second world title.
Per the former World Champion, he was hoping the crowd would react favourably to him. The people in the arena did not disappoint:
“[I] finally cashed in. I was like, ‘Man, I hope this crowd’s into it. They seem kind of lively and fun.’ I’ll never forget my music hit—it was a two-second delay—and it’s just like prickers all over my body.
I went, ‘Whoa! what’, and I still had to stay focused and be in the moment, walk down there to do it. But I’ve never heard anything like that in person ever.
It was because they stuck by the guy who kept losing and kept failing to cash in. They said, ‘All right, we’re going to help this guy,’ and they did. We got it, and they lost their minds. It was so fun.”
Ziggler also revealed that the original plan was for him to just cash in the briefcase and win at once. He had to convenience Vince McMahon to let the match go a little longer and have several false finishes before he finally defeated Del Rio.
‘Timeless’ Toni Storm came up short in her debut for Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) but it’ll take more than one setback to keep the AEW star away. During the October 18, edition of Viernes Espectacular, Storm made her long-awaited in-ring debut for the promotion. The match had been scheduled for earlier this month before Hurricane Milton made Storm’s journey to Mexico City impossible.
Inside the legendary Arena Mexico, Storm and Catalina held nothing back, in what was also Storm’s first time competing in Mexico. The finish of the match saw Catalina hit a diving splash to pick up a huge win over the former AEW Women’s World Champion. After the match, Storm grabbed the microphone and vowed to return to Arena Mexico soon.
¡Timeless llega a La Catedral de la Lucha Libre! Toni Storm está lista para su duelo.
With this win under her belt, La Catalina’s attention turns towards the 2024 Women’s Grand Prix, which will include Willow Nightingale, Zeuxis, and more. This win is the latest momentum-building victory for the luchador, who has also won the 2023 CMLL Women’s Universal Championship Tournament.
As for Storm, fans eagerly await her return to AEW programming as she has been missing since her title loss to Mariah May at AEW All In: London in August. More recently, Storm promoted AEW Grand Slam 2025 in Australia and has teased facing May for the gold in her home country. Stay tuned to SEScoops for the latest on Toni Storm and her efforts in and out of AEW.
Dominik Mysterio is rightfully tired of old men with bad hair coming in and trying to steal his much-deserved spotlight in WWE. The Raw star recently talked with Foundation Radio about things such as not wearing a mask like his father, Jey Uso being his next target, and more. Dominik was also asked about his heat with CM Punk and The Rock.
Mysterio first mentioned his history with The Straight Edge Star saying that he would like to get into the ring with Punk now. Coming to The Rock, the former NXT North American Champion expressed that he is tired of the old heads coming back to WWE and thinking they can hang with the young generation:
“Honestly, I’m just tired of these old heads, thinking they can hang and come in here with this younger generation. I don’t even want to speak for everyone else. I’m speaking for just myself. At the end of the day, I’m my own person. I’m the greatest Mysterio of all time.”
Dominik Mysterio also claimed that people like Punk and The Rock are all mad at him because he has the best hair and Mustache in the business:
“If these old heads want to come in and get it, they all can. CM Punk, The Rock, it doesn’t matter. They’re just mad because they don’t have hair, and I have the best hair and the best mustache.”
Mysterio previously crossed paths with CM Punk way back in 2010. The former world champion was leading the Straight Edge Society at the time and Dominik along with sister Aalyah made an appearance on TV to support their father Rey Mysterio.
Since Bad Blood, Kevin Owens has attacked Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton, seemingly payback for Rhodes’ willingness to team Roman Reigns at the PLE. The Prizefighter did not appear during the latest episode of WWE SmackDown, but cast doubt on his future via a video shared to social media.
Earlier this week, Owens said he’d been silenced by WWE and gave the company’s higher-ups until SmackDown to share a video, detailing his side of what’s happened. Taking matters into his own hands, Owens has now shared a video on his own X account, in which he claims Randy betrayed him, not the other way around.
“I would have never done that to you [Orton]. I thought what we had was different. I can’t believe you picked Cody Rhodes over me.”
Owens added that between WWE disrespecting him and Orton’s ‘betrayal’ of the former Universal Champion, he doesn’t know “if or when” he’ll return to WWE TV.
WWE has gone a different way with the presentation of this angle, including relying on fans to record and share Owens’ attack on Rhodes. Similarly, the full footage of Owens’ attack on Orton was first shared by Sports Illustrated, which obtained CCTV footage of the attack. Now, it remains to be seen when Owens will be back on WWE programming (if ever,) as the Prizefighter continues to believe he is the victim of these betrayals. Stay tuned to SEScoops for the latest on Kevin Owens, Randy Orton, and the Undisputed WWE Champion.
Cody Rhodes proved once against why he is the face of WWE after the October 18 SmackDown from Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, South Carolina went off air.
There were two dark matches that took place after the show. The first dark match saw Sami Zayn teaming with The New Day to defeat Pete Dunne and The Judgment Day.
The Undisputed WWE Champion came out for the second dark match. He successfully defended his title against Solo Sikoa in a Columbia Street Fight.
The American Nightmare grabbed the mic after his win but his promo went into an unexpected direction. Rhodes spotted a sign from a cancer survivor in the crowd.
Cody Rhodes then went into the crowd himself to gift his weight belt to the specific fan before he concluded his promo and sent the crowd home happy.
The former AEW star has distanced himself from The Bloodline drama after his Bad Blood victory. During SmackDown, he cut a promo talking about his upcoming Crown Jewel match with fellow world champion Gunther.
The story of the faction continues in the meantime. This week’s episode of the Blue Branded Show featured an appearance from the Intercontinental Champion Jey Uso.
Uso confronted Solo Sikoa in the opening segment and asked him why he was dividing the family. Though the IC Champion still denied joining forces with Roman Reigns when the two ran into each other backstage later in the night.
Reigns then had another brawl with his cousins in the main event of the show. He even got his hands on the Ula Fala for a short while before the numbers game overwhelmed him. The show once again ended with Solo Sikoa and his partners standing tall.
The Motor City Machine Guns have officially arrived in WWE, debuting during the October 18, edition of WWE SmackDown after weeks of vignettes. Now, fans can look forward to seeing Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin in action next week in what will be nothing short of a dream match for fans of tag-team wrestling!
On this week’s SmackDown, MCMG won their debut match against A-Town Down Under and Los Garza, advancing in a tournament to determine the number one contenders for the WWE Tag Team Championships. The show also saw DIY (Johnny Gargano and Tomasso Ciampa) advance in the tournament with a win over Pretty Deadly and the Street Profits. DIY and the Motor City Machine Guns will face off next week with the winners earning a shot against The Bloodline.
DIY and MCMG are two talented teams who both established loyal fanbases on the independents before arriving in WWE. Now, fans will get to see these four talented wrestlers do what they do best with a shot at the WWE Tag Team Titles on the line.
WWE SmackDown – 10/25/2024
Next week’s SmackDown will be the penultimate episode of the blue brand before WWE Crown Jewel on November 2. Here is the confirmed card as it currently stands.
DIY (Tomasso Ciampa & Johnny Gargano) Vs. Motor City Machine Guns (Chris Sabin & Alex Shelley (WWE Tag Team Championship No. 1 contenders match)
World Heavyweight Champion GUNTHER will come to SmackDown to come face-to-face with Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes ahead of Crown Jewel.
Stay tuned to SEScoops for full coverage of SmackDown including breaking news and live results.
The October 18, edition of WWE SmackDown saw the blue brand continue on the road to WWE Crown Jewel, as well as the latest developments in the Bloodline saga. While the crowd inside the Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, South Carolina got a stacked show with top names, commentator Michael Cole was nowhere to be found.
Instead of Cole, Monday Night Raw’s Wade Barrett donned the headset alongside Corey Graves. Graves shared that Cole was on a “special assignment” and as a result would not be a part of the show this week.
This marks the third time Michael Cole has missed an episode of WWE programming throughout his 27-year career with the company. Cole missed Monday Night Raw’s season premiere in October 2023 due to a personal commitment. Before that, he missed a show back in September 2017 to attend his son’s wedding.
Michael Cole’s WWE Future
With Cole signing a new contract with WWE earlier this year, fans can expect much more of him in the future, despite his absence this week. Cole is set to reunite with Pat McAfee in January 2025 once the popular sports broadcaster returns to WWE after hosting College GameDay. That same month, WWE Raw will move to Netflix, marking a new era in broadcasting for the red brand, one that Michael Cole will be a part of.
The Motor City Machine Guns say it’s a dream come true to finally make their WWE debuts after teaming together for almost 2 decades.
The duo had been teased on WWE programming in recent weeks and the company officially announced their signing before this week’s episode of SmackDown.
Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin would go on to make their in-ring debut on the October 18 show and win a triple-threat tag match to put the whole tag division on notice.
The duo appeared on SmackDown LowDown after their big debut and made their first comments. Sabine said that it’s pretty crazy to finally be in this position:
“It’s pretty surreal. I’d like to say it’s a dream come true, but it’s more than that. This is a goal accomplished for us. It might have taken over 20 years to get here, to get to this position, but being one match away from being number one contenders for the WWE Tag Team Championships? That’s pretty crazy. Just saying it out loud kinda blows my mind a little bit,”
Best Tag Team On The Planet: Motor City Machine Guns
The Motor City Machine Guns defeated both Los Garzas and A-Town Down Under upon their arrival. The win is a step towards winning the Tag Team Championships and the duo will now face DIY in a #1 contenders match next week.
Speaking about their upcoming bout, Alex Shelley claimed that they have come to WWE to prove that they’re the best tag team in the world. The team of Johhny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa are the perfect opponents to do this against:
“We take things one step at a time, but DIY is exactly why we came to WWE. Exactly why we want to declare ourselves the best tag team on the planet, because we beat all the great tag teams that already exist in the WWE Universe. So I apologize to you in advance DIY, but you’re looking at the next WWE Tag Team Champions.”
Motor City Machine Guns first started teaming together in 2006. They made their TNA debut in April 2007. The duo never looked back after that and they have revolutionized tag team wrestling with their unique style since then.
Since his 2020 transformation into the Tribal Chief, Roman Reigns has called on fans and Superstars alike to acknowledge him with many doing exactly that. On this week’s SmackDown, it was Reigns’ turn to acknowledge somebody else, though things didn’t go well for the Original Tribal Chief.
During the October 18, edition of SmackDown, Reigns and Jimmy Uso shared a backstage segment. Jimmy mentioned that Paul Heyman would likely suggest talking to Jey Uso. Roman, however, promised he would “fix things tonight.” When Jimmy asked how he planned to do that, Roman replied, “I’m going to acknowledge Solo.”
In the show’s closing segment, Reigns came out alone, declaring that the fans would acknowledge him “for the last time.” Solo Sikoa then arrived with The Bloodline and Sikoa demanded that Reigns acknowledge him. Roman, in a rare moment, complied: “I acknowledge you, does that make you feel better?” But Solo wasn’t satisfied. He wanted Roman to acknowledge him as the Tribal Chief.
Solo pressed Reigns to acknowledge him as Tribal Chief, telling him to do it “or else.” As the fans changed “no,” Reigns fired back, stating “or else, what?” Solo laughed, saying neither man has truly changed, before the Bloodline brought out a beaten, limping Jimmy Uso, clearly the victim of a backstage attack.
A brawl broke out and while Reigns tried to fight the Bloodline by himself, the numbers proved to be too much. As SmackDown went off the air, fans chanted “Solo sucks” while Solo Sikoa stood tall, declaring that the ring now belonged to him.
Motor City Machine Guns, Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley, officially signed their WWE contracts Friday afternoon.
The decorated tag team will be on the SmackDown brand, and will make their in-ring debuts in a matter of hours. They’ll face Los Garza and A-Town Down Under tonight in a triple threat match.
Triple H officially welcomed Sabin & Shelley to the WWE family, recognizing their illustrious careers as one of the premiere tag teams over the past twenty years.
SmackDown General Manager Nick Aldis knows the MCMG well. They wrestled in Impact Wrestling at the same time, and even competed against each other. Aldis teamed with Lio Rush against the Guns on July 6, 2023.
Each year, WWE adds new inductees into its Hall of Fame, with the annual tradition honoring the very best in the world of wrestling and entertainment. For better or worse, Vince Russo is arguably the most well-known writer in the history of wrestling, but the former WCW World Heavyweight Champion has no plans to be a Hall of Famer.
On his Legion of Raw podcast, Russo discussed WWE’s Hall of Fame and those who want nothing more to be inducted. The 63-year-old on the other hand, shared that he would say no if WWE made an offer to him.
“Bro, I know guys where the most important thing in their lives was getting into the WWE Hall of Fame. I would turn down an invitation. Not that it will ever happen, it won’t, but I would turn down an invitation. That’s me and my freaking opinion, bro.”
Saying No to the Hall of Fame
Russo isn’t the only notable name who’d say no to the WWE Hall of Fame if presented with a potential induction. Last month, Jonathan Coachman shared on Cafe de Rene that he’d turn down the honor if asked, and shared his issues with the current crop of inductees.
“The Hall of Fame is supposed to be the absolute very best at what they do whether it’s a manager, talent, whatever. And that’s not what they do. They check boxes every year so they can have a good show.”
In 2021, WWE released Jeff Hardy after he refused to enter rehab, only to learn that his concerning behavior at a live event was not due to the influence of drugs. When trying to coax Jeff back (an act that’d keep him from AEW,) WWE reportedly offered Jeff a Hall of Fame induction, but he said no.
Becoming a WWE Hall of Famer is a huge deal to many, but not everyone has an acceptance speech prepped in their pocket. Stay tuned to SEScoops for all the latest from Vince Russo, but don’t expect him at a Hall of Fame ceremony anytime soon.
Jesse Ventura’s first assignment as a contracted ‘WWE Legend’ is scheduled for this December. Ventura will appear at Saturday Night’s Main Event (SNME), according to the Wrestling Observer. The event will siumcast live on NBC and Peacock on Saturday, December 14 from the historic Nassau Coliseum in Long Island, New York.
The upcoming SNME promises a nostalgic atmosphere, highlighted by the use of the classic 1984 hit “Obsession” by Animotion in event advertisements.
With Survivor Series: WarGames on November 30 marking WWE’s final premium live event of 2024, SNME will take center stage as the company’s biggest December showcase. The inclusion of Jesse “The Body” Ventura guarantees that fans are in for something special.
December 14 will be a homecoming for WWE, Saturday Night’s Main Event, and Ventura. The former Minnesota Governor was on commentary with Vince McMahon for the very first SNME, held on May 10, 1985, at the Nassau Coliseum.
Cody Rhodes has revealed the one WWE rule that only John Cena is allowed to break.
Vince McMahon was notorious for his weird rules for wrestlers during his reign. This included things like not using certain words such as ‘belt’ and not acknowledging the achievement of talents outside of the WWE bubble.
The new management under Triple H has relaxed a lot of these restrictions. Many current and former talents have praised the Game and his team for these changes, which have allowed talents to feel more relaxed in the company.
During a recent interview with SportBible, Cody Rhodes discussed how he has been allowed to break a lot of rules since he came back to WWE in 2022. The one instruction that still stands firm even for the Undisputed WWE Champion, however, is not to talk into the camera directly:
“When I went away and came back, I was allowed to bring everything back with me, including breaking a lot of the pre-existing rules. We’re out of the frame of looking at monitors sideways now. You know, what’s still a pretty big on-air rule but it’s good for production purposes, is not to talk into the camera.”
The American Nightmare mentioned how the only person who is allowed to break this rule is John Cena. The 16-time world champion always acknowledges the cameraman Stu before his run to the ring:
“That’s John’s thing. John looks at the camera and mentions Stu the cameraman, runs to the ring. I don’t want to see anyone, including myself, do it – and I probably have done at some point. But that’s his [thing] and that’s the reason why it’s a rule – until somebody beats him and then it’s his.”
The freedom to break this one rule might be passed down to someone else, as Rhodes suggested, in the upcoming future.
John Cena has announced his retirement tour for 2025. Considering his recent years where Cena has given the rub to many up-and-coming stars, it wouldn’t be a huge surprise if the Cenation Leader puts over someone big on his way out.
Tonight’s episode of WWE SmackDown broadcasts live on at 8/7c on the USA Network from the Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, South Carolina.
Two weeks out from Crown Jewel on Saturday, Nov. 2, SmackDown will feature the highly anticipated arrival of the Motor City Machine Guns, the final chapter of Andrade and Carmelo Hayes’ Best of 7 series, plus appearances by Roman Reigns and Randy Orton.
Matches and Segments
Motor City Machine Guns vs. Los Garza. Chris Sabin & Alex Shelley will make their WWE in-ring debuts after weeks of teaser vignettes hyping their arrival.
Carmelo Hayes vs. Andrade (Match 7). This final match determine the winner of their intense best-of-seven series.
Randy Orton is scheduled to appear and will address Kevin Owens’ recent attack.
Roman Reigns will also be on hand, ensuring more developments in he and Jimmy Uso’s ongoing conflict with The Bloodline.
What Happened Last Week
Last week’s Oct. 11 episode of WWE SmackDown featured several solid matches and developments, including LA Knight successfully defending the U.S. Championship against Carmelo Hayes, with Andrade’s presence teasing a potential future Triple Threat.
Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill defended their tag titles, while Naomi defeated Nia Jax (with help), building more tension between Liv Morgan and Nia ahead of their upcoming showdown. Kevin Owens further solidified his heel turn with multiple ambushes, and Solo Sikoa defeated Jimmy Uso in the main event after Bloodline interference.
Catch up on the Top 10 Moments last week’s SmackDown:
The original plans for the ending of Bryan Danielson’s AEW World Title reign and his full-time run with the company were very different. The wrestling veteran’s run with AEW’s top price came to an end after only 48 days, making it the third shortest AEW title reign in the history of the company.
Since Bryan had been very open about his health issues leading up to his loss to Jon Moxley, many wondered if the company sped things up because of his problems. However, that the plan always was for Bryan to drop the title at the WrestleDream PPV, according to the Wrestling Observer. His opponent was indeed changed from Darby Allin to Jon Moxley because the officials wanted to jumpstart interest in the promotion.
Bryan won the championship at the All In event from Wembley Stadium on August 25. It was Bryan’s first title in the company and he made Swerve Strickland tap out for it. Darby originally won a shot at the AEW World Title after winning a Royal Rampage battle royal during the July 26 edition of the Friday Night Show.
Moxley then challenged him to put the title shot on the line in a match at the Dynamite: Grand Slam special on September 25. Mox would go on to win the match. He then defeated his former BCC teammate at the WrestleDream PPV on October 12. Jon Moxley won the match via referee stoppage after putting Bryan Danielson out with a sleeper.
If Mercedes Mone is indeed the ‘CEO’ of All Elite Wrestling, then she should be in tune with the company’s tech department. At the very least, she may give some added insight to the gaming department.
The AEW ‘Superstar’ kept busy in the state of California this week as she not only wrestled on ‘AEW Dynamite,’ but she made her way down to Los Angeles to be an active participate in LA Tech Week. The TBS Women’s Champion actually joined a panel involving gaming creative mastermind Notef of NEIGHBOR, Angela Dalton of Signum Growth Dot Play and Cordell Broadus, Snoop Dogg’s son. Notef specializes in creating content for Fortnite and Mone partook in a panel labeled “The New Superstars In The Future of Media.”
The Signum Growth Dot Play team will be brainstorming a future of creator empowerment in a decentralized world with CEO Mercedes Mone and CEO @notef_fn of @NEIGHBOR_FN – Thurs night in Los Angeles ????with our friends at @meta_viu, @ohmygrace Please DM if in town pic.twitter.com/zZ3auJTOu8
Mone is the cousin of Snoop Dogg so the panel may have been a bit of a family flavor, but her ties to the Fortnite world are very indirect. While her likeness has not been a featured skin on the game, Mone’s colleagues Becky Lynch, Bianca Belair, John Cena and even The Rock have been featured on the game. She also have several Mandelorian colleagues apart of the Fortnite world when the Star Wars packs get released from time to time on the platform.
On Wednesday, Mone wrestled like a Fortnite storm was closing in as she took on a game Queen Aminita in singles action. The AEW TBS Championship was on the line as Mone ultimately made Aminata tap out to The Statement Maker.
WWE Survivor Series: WarGames Premium Live Event is set to take place next month and a change has been made for the event.
The PLE is schueduled to take place on Saturday, November 30th and WWE’s official events page has listed the start of the show at 2:30pm local time, which would be 5:30pm ET.
It was previously listed as 3:30pm local time. Usually, the listing is 30 minutes ahead of the start of the show and would indicate a 6pm ET start time for WWE Survivor Series: WarGames instead of 7pm.
This marks the second time WWE has changed the start time in months. Earlier this month, WWE Bad Blood PLE’s start time was also changed than what was planned originally. The shift in the start time took place due to a UFC event taking place on the same night.
However, this time around, no UFC event is scheduled for November 30th as of yet. UFC has several shows scheduled for every other Saturday in November, as well as the first two Saturdays in December.
There is currently no explanation for the shift in start time for WWE Survivor Series: WarGames. This will mark the third Survivor Series to take place in Canada, after 1997 in Montreal and 2016 in Toronto. However, this will be the first to be held in Vancouver.
Ahead of that show, WWE is set to host WWE Crown Jewel on November 2nd at the Mohammed Abdo Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Keep an eye on SEScoops for the latest updates on pro wrestling and you can also visit our partner site MMANews.com for more UFC news.
Frankie Kazarian is set to serve as the special guest referee for the World title match between Joe Hendry and Nic Nemeth at TNA Bound for Glory pay-per-view. TNA made the announcement during Thursday’s TNA iMPACT!
Kazarian had lost the title opportunity after losing the one contender’s match as Hendry won the bout. Kazarian is now seeking revenge as the special guest referee after losing to Hendry.
The veteran star launched an assault on the champion after the latter defeated Matt Cardona on last night’s edition of TNA iMPACT! However, Hendry came to the aid of Nemeth and Kazarian announced that he would be the special guest referee for the World Title match next weekend at TNA Bound for Glory. Another match was also announced on the show.
Nic Nemeth became the World Champion at TNA Slammiversary in July when he defeated Moose, Josh Alexander, Steve Maclin, Frankie Kazarian, and Joe Hendry in a Six-way elimination match. His latest title defense took place against Moose at TNA Victory Road. 2024
The Bound for Glory 2024 will be the 20th annual of the show. This year, the show is set to emanate from the Wayne State Fieldhouse in Detroit, Michigan.
Lineup for TNA Bound for Glory
TNA World Champion Nic Nemeth defends against Joe Hendry w/Frankie Kazarian as special guest referee
TNA Knockouts World Champion Jordynne Grace defends against Masha Slamovich
Full Metal Mayhem for the TNA Tag Team Championship: ABC vs. The Hardys vs. The System
Monster’s Ball match for the TNA Digital Media and International Wrestling Championships: PCO defends against Matt Cardona
TNA X-Division Champion Mike Bailey defends against El Hijo del Vikingo
TNA Knockouts Tag Team Champion Spitfire defend against Wendy Choo & Rosemary
TNA Wrestling’s biggest event of the year, TNA Bound For Glory 2024, is set to take place on October 26, 2024, at the Wayne State University Fieldhouse in Detroit, Michigan.
As the anticipation builds for this monumental pay-per-view, let’s dive into the exciting match card that promises to deliver an unforgettable night of professional wrestling action.
The main event of the evening will see TNA World Champion Nic Nemeth defending his title against the determined challenger, Joe Hendry. This highly anticipated clash came to fruition after Hendry defeated Josh Alexander at Victory Road and subsequently overcame Frankie Kazarian in a number one contender’s match.
With both competitors at the top of their game, this championship bout is sure to be a thrilling conclusion to the night’s festivities.
In what promises to be a chaotic and high-flying affair, the TNA Tag Team Championships will be defended in a Full Metal Mayhem match.
The current champions, The System (Brian Myers and Eddie Edwards), will face off against two formidable teams: The Hardys (Jeff and Matt Hardy) and ABC (Ace Austin and Chris Bey).
Monster’s Ball: TNA Digital Media Championship & International Heavyweight Championship
In a unique twist, PCO will put both the TNA Digital Media Championship and the International Heavyweight Championship on the line against Matt Cardona in a Monster’s Ball match at TNA Bound for Glory 2024.
This hardcore-style contest was set up after weeks of tension between the two competitors, with TNA management finally stepping in to settle their differences in this brutal encounter.
TNA Knockouts World Championship Match
The women’s division takes center stage at TNA Bound for Glory as Jordynne Grace defends her TNA Knockouts World Championship against the dangerous Masha Slamovich.
This match is a rematch from two years ago when Grace defeated Slamovich at Bound For Glory 2022, ending the latter’s undefeated streak. Now, with both wrestlers having evolved their styles, this contest promises to be even more intense than their previous encounter.
In a clash of contrasting styles, the powerhouse Moose will go one-on-one with the technical prowess of Mike Santana. This match stems from ongoing tensions between the two competitors and could potentially steal the show with its blend of power and agility.
X-Division Showcase: El Hijo del Vikingo vs. “Speedball” Mike Bailey
Adding to the already stacked card, TNA has announced an exciting X-Division match featuring the high-flying El Hijo del Vikingo taking on the dynamic “Speedball” Mike Bailey. This contest is sure to feature breath-taking aerial maneuvers and lightning-fast action, showcasing the best of TNA’s X-Division.
Full Card
Here is the full card for the event as currently confirmed by TNA:
TNA World Heavyweight Championship Match: Nic Nemeth vs. Joe Hendry – Special Guest Referee: Frankie Kazarian
TNA Tag Team Championship Full Metal Mayhem Match: The System vs. The Hardys vs. ABC
TNA Digital Media Championship & International Heavyweight Championship Monsters Ball Match: PCO vs. Matt Cardona
TNA Knockouts Championship Match: Jordynne Grace vs. Masha Slamovich
TNA X-Division Championship Match: Mike Bailey vs. El Hijo Del Vikingo
TNA Knockouts Tag Team Championship Match: Spitfire vs. Wendy Choo & Rosemary
