Here are WWE Raw results for July 15, 2024 from Dayton, Ohio at the Nutter Center. You can also check out our roundup of WWE Raw Video Highlights (7/15/24).
Rhea Ripley’s return: Ripley opens the show after a 3-month absence, declaring “Mami’s home.” She blames Liv Morgan for her time away and calls her out regarding the Women’s World Championship. Liv responds via video, taunting Ripley about seducing Dominik Mysterio during her absence. This leads to Ripley challenging Morgan to a title match at SummerSlam, which Morgan accepts. Ripley vows to end Morgan’s career.
Sheamus vs. Bronson Reed: Sheamus defeats Reed in their match. However, the victory is short-lived as Pete Dunne turns on Sheamus post-match, attacking him from behind and leaving him vulnerable to Reed’s Tsunami finisher.
Sonya Deville vs. Zelina Vega: Deville, accompanied by Shayna Baszler and Zoey Stark, defeats Vega. After the match, the trio attempts to attack Vega, but Kayden Carter and Katana Chance come to her rescue.
Damian Priest and Gunther confrontation: The two engage in a heated exchange about championship prestige. Gunther criticizes Priest’s reign and background, while Priest defends his journey and vows to retain his title at SummerSlam.
Damian Priest vs. Braun Strowman: Priest emerges victorious in this match. Gunther attempts to ambush Priest afterward but fails to gain an advantage.
Tag team match: Shayna Baszler and Zoey Stark defeat Kayden Carter and Katana Chance. Lyra Valkyria accompanies Carter and Chance for the match.
Drew McIntyre’s return segment: McIntyre discusses a potential match with CM Punk. When asked by Adam Pearce to apologize to referees, he refuses, leading Pearce to keep him suspended. The situation escalates, prompting Seth Rollins to intervene and protect Pearce and the officials.
“Wyatt Sicks” VHS promo: A distraught and emotional Erick Rowan reflects on losing his wrestling “family” in a new VHS tape segment. He describes falling into despair after losing two “brothers” and feeling lost. Uncle Howdy is portrayed as Rowan’s savior, giving him new purpose through the mask and a mission to help others like himself.
Jey Uso vs. Dominik Mysterio: Jey Uso wins the match, but the focus is on the drama surrounding it. Liv Morgan interferes to help Dominik, leading to a compromising position with Jey. Rhea Ripley appears to scare Morgan away but ends up taking a spear. Backstage, Ripley reasserts her dominance over Dominik, forgiving him but reminding him that he belongs to her.
Chad Gable’s trap for Bo Dallas: Gable calls out Bo Dallas, claiming he’s solved the mystery of Uncle Howdy’s identity. When Dallas appears, the Creed Brothers ambush him. However, the plan backfires as Dallas laughs, signaling the arrival of the other Wyatt Sicks members. Gable and the Creeds retreat, leaving the Wyatt Sicks to unite in the ring.
Intercontinental Championship match: Sami Zayn defends against Ilja Dragunov, but the match ends in no contest due to Bron Breakker’s interference. Breakker attacks both competitors, closing the show with this chaotic scene.
On June 27th, 2024, Donovan Dijak, known simply then at DIJAK to the WWE Universe, announced his upcoming departure from the company he had called home for nearly eight years.
The star’s approach to his impending free agency starkly contrasted the countless others that had come before him. Rather than simply allowing his WWE contract to expire, which it would the following day, Dijak released a raw, honest, and detailed letter regarding his ongoing negotiations – or lack thereof – with the promotion. Claiming that WWE had made no effort to contact him regarding a new deal following his call-up to Monday Night RAW and had ultimately decided not to renew his contract at the “eleventh hour.”
The news came as a complete shock to wrestling fans everywhere. Dijak had just concluded a widely praised and objectively entertaining second run in NXT, where had the chance to expand his character, both on WWE TV and on social media. Becoming the King of the Ratios of X. Overall, Dijak’s WWE career seemed to be finally heading in the right direction, following the debacle of the RETRIBUTION faction. A group that Dijak has previously noted significantly set him back character-wise in the eyes of the WWE Universe.
Despite this, Dijak remained a loyal soldier for the company, always putting on high-quality bouts inside the squared circle. Because of this reputation, WWE fans assumed his call-up to Monday Night RAW in late April as part of the WWE Draft was due to the company finally deciding to give the star the proper push he had always deserved. Unfortunately, those hopes never came to fruition.
While others may allow a departure from the most globally recognized wrestling promotion to crush them, Dijak sees his release from the company as an exciting opportunity. In an exclusive sit-down interview with SEScoops, he noted that he’s finding no shortage of work on the independent circuit, especially in promotions where he made his bones before joining WWE.
Life After His Now-Famous ‘Letter’ on social media:
“I’m excited, Things are going well, my calendars booking up very solidly. I’ve made a few appearances as you alluded to, and they’ve gone well, they’ve gone really well the reception has been great. I mean, these are these are kind of places where I made my mark before I was in WWE, so they were obviously excited to have me back I was excited to be back. It’s been really positive. For the most part…”
While incredibly proud of how the first few weeks of his free agency have gone, he does say he’s been surprised at the reaction from a certain portion of the professional wrestling fan base—specifically, those who equate Dijak’s words and actions as a direct affront to WWE. While the 37-year-old star said he was prepared for some level of toxicity from those within the internet wrestling community, it seemed to be taken aback by the sheer volume of it.
“There tends to be this trend amongst groups of fans, and not a small group, right? There’s, there’s a large congruent conglomerate of whichever thing that you prefer, whatever your your, your preference of professional wrestling is, you tend to gravitate towards that. And you want to love that and defend it, right? It’s difficult to watch it happen because you can mentally prepare yourself for it. But the reality of the situation is there’s some people out there, there’s a good number of people out there, who are now like the, we’ll call it the honeymoon period, is has worn off, and now they’re actively looking for reasons why to dislike me or “side with the WWE.”
Dijak would go further:
“I’ve supported all my coworkers, I’ve been thankful to the people who gave me those spots…If it were up to me, I’d still be WWE, right? Like I want, I want to actively negotiate and they did not. So. So these divisive moments happen. And it creates this split. amongst some, this chunk of fans, were very vocal there just actively looking for reasons to long story, you know, there’s a lot of pieces to it, but basically, they’re looking to affirm WWE, because that makes them feel good, right?…”
His Non-Existent Heat With CM Punk, Despite What Some Fans Think:
He would continue saying that some fans hold onto topics or issues that are already settled. As an example pointed out by Dijak, some fans of CM Punk are under the impression that the former NXT star has some underlying problems with the Second City Saint. This all stems from when Punk, while still technically signed to AEW, visited backstage of Monday Night RAW, sparking a massive reaction from the WWE Universe on social media. Fans began to speculate that the rumors of Punk’s desire to depart AEW for his old home of WWE were, in fact, true.
While surveying the scene, Dijak had no gripe with CM Punk, but he grew frustrated that fans were more focused on people from outside the company than those inside the company who could not get significant TV time. This led to him sending out what some could see as a passive-aggressive tweet, leading some to accuse Dijak of having a case of sour grapes and real-life heat with the former world champion. However, Dijak makes it abundantly clear that this couldn’t be further from the truth.
“CM Punk, I wouldn’t say we’re friends. But like, if we’re in the same room, we go into, we talk to each other, we have a conversation because we both enjoy each other’s presence…It’s not like it’s like we’re best friends, and I’m going to his birthday party, but if I walk into a locker room, and he’s in there, we’ll have a conversation. It’s a nice, pleasant light hearted conversation. That being said, before I met him, I had two of my actual best friends. These are guys who I will go to their birthday party, and I know their children had been to there. And that’s MXM, the former Maximum Male Models, Mason and Mansor..they’re flown out to TV and they don’t have anything that week. So I hear through the grapevine that that CM Punk is backstage and everybody’s blowing up…And in my mind, I’m thinking ‘my best friends are also backstage at RAW and nobody cares.’ Nobody. There’s not one mention of it. There’s not one tweet, there’s not one. And I understand why. Right? I understand that. CM Punk is this huge… That being said, I’m not just going to sit back well, my friends are being ignored, and are going to get released and all these negative things are going to happen that people that I love, and I want to see succeed. So I’m going to use what’s happening to benefit them.
So I posted something, and again, probably not the probably not the best or smartest thing I’ve ever done or it was honest. It’s honestly how I felt at the time…I wanted to shift the narrative as much as I could To get focused on the people that I love and respect at that time, well, CM Punk fans did not see it that way. And they destroyed me. They eviscerated me. They hate my guts. To this day there’ll be a lot of times where I’ll see like hate comments pop up, and I’m like, why is this guy hate me? And [after clicking on their profile” it’d be like, “CM Punk number one fan” and I’m like, Oh, well, they never got over it. Right? Usually, there’s a pretty obvious reason, when someone’s just spewing hate at me…I met CM Punk, and we have a great relationship.”
WWE Contracts and The Realities of Being “Stuck In Catateoring”:
As he’s touched upon and discussed in previous interviews, Dijak’s made it a point to try to explain to fans both the problematic ways WWE’s contracts are structured and why “sitting in catering” is a particularly anxiety-ridden existence.
“We tried to keep our minds focused on that, right. I’m getting paid a good amount of money to basically do nothing. I need to keep I need to keep that in my mind that there are a lot of people out There are struggling to make ends meet. And I need to, you know, be thankful and gracious. Here’s the reality of the situation. We don’t know when that’s going to end and it could end any second. And when it does, you’re in trouble, right? Because you’ve been sitting in catering, you’re not gaining any momentum, this can end in a second.”
“…I love the the platform and the compensation, but I hate the fact that they do not need to have a reason [to release a Superstar] and it kind of defeats the purpose of the word ‘contract’. They don’t have to hold up their end of the three-year bargain, right? Again, this is written in there, and we read it and we know it, but just feels like that part of the contract should be more solid to me…
“If Just you’re sitting in the back, that’s a really good reason for you to get released. If you’re just not doing anything, they don’t have any creative. So it’s difficult, it’s a dark place to be in because you’re trying to do these things you’re trying to get on TV, you’re trying to show them how much value you’re worth. And that’s that’s a hard thing to comprehend for someone who’s saying, you’re just getting this huge deposit in your account every week. Yes, correct. Still difficult mentally, because the future is uncertain. We’re professional wrestlers, we can’t do this our entire lives, our bodies will break down when we’re 45 years old. So we need to have enough money to retire by that age. Or we’re going to be limping around a ring trying to do because a lot of us don’t have a backup skill set, right? You can’t just go ‘oh, well, I’ll be a lawyer’. The only thing I can do is lock up and grant a headlock. So I need a backup plan for when I turn 45 I don’t have enough money to live for the next 40 years of my life, God willing, and to support my children send them through college, you know, I need all that money saved up by X amount of days. So if I get released at this point, and these are all the dots that are connecting in our heads is we’re sitting in catering, staring at the wall, praying that someone reads our pitch…”
The “War” Between WWE and AEW and his visit to AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door 2024:
In 2019, the professional wrestling world was turned upside down when All Elite Wrestling broke onto the scene, providing fans with a true large-scale alternative to WWE for the first time in nearly two decades. Since then, a section of the audience has become increasingly tribalistic, mimicking the battle cries of the Monday Night Wars of the Attitude Era.
On one hand, the landscape of professional wrestling has never been stronger, with more opportunities for wrestlers to find work and for fans to be given many options. On the other hand, according to Dijak, the desire for “war” between the companies may exist more in the echo chamber of social media than in each locker room.
“Nobody wants the fans to like ‘pick a side’ that doesn’t exist from our point of view…Most of us have all the same friends. And we’re all we’re all working towards the same goal, which is let’s make this the most entertaining, profitable, pro wrestling landscape possible for all of us. So the fans can enjoy it as much as possible, and the wrestlers can make as much money as we possibly can. I mean, that’s the goal.”
However, the former WWE talent clarifies that healthy competition among wrestlers for rival promotions is natural. Citing that he himself is very “team-oriented,” going back as far as his days as a young athlete. When asked if his former employer perpetuated the drums of war with their talent, he detailed the only time ever such a significant conversation about AEW took place, when it was announced that Tony Khan’s flagship program Dynamite would directly compete with WWE’s developmental brand NXT, which had just been announced to debut on the USA Network.
” So basically…let’s keep it vague and say “the office” is like, hyping us up like ‘hey, that. That’s our time slot. They’re coming for our time slot’… That was true; WWE NXT was on historically on Wednesday nights at 8pm or whatever it happened to be, and then They took that. I don’t know if they took that personally, but they took that as a attack on business which it was right? It’s trying to divide a market share of fans and make them choose between one product to the other. It’s a business decision, right? It’s a business decision at the end of the day. And but they, a lot of the office was trying to let us know…”We’re going head to head, and we need to show them what we’re all about. We need to show the world what we’re all about…”
As fate would have it, WWE NXT and AEW Dynamite would eventually find themselves on separate nights. NXT moved to Tuesday nights, where it has found strong results. At the same time, Dynamite continues to reign supreme on Wednesday nights for TNT.
AEW has become one of the top landing places speculated by fans since Dijak’s. On June 30th, AEW hosted its annual Forbidden Door pay-per-view at the UBS Arena in Long Island. Dijak later teased showing up to the event, which he did, but only as a visitor and not a performer. Dijak told SEScoops during his visit to Forbidden Door he never entered the locker room, noting that he doesn’t believe in entering locker rooms of promotions he doesn’t work for.
Dijak states that his overall experience visiting AEW was pleasant but very limited.
“I think people were surprised to see me there. But since it was so fresh, and it was so kind of out of left field. But you know, quite frankly, I was surprised to be there. You know, if you told me. You told me two weeks before, you know, I was I was in the web locker room on speed on web speed wrestling Xavier Woods, like three weeks ago or four whatever the time, right? …It was nice, it was nice to see my friends. And it was nice to catch up with people. Other than that I didn’t get like ‘the full experience'”
Dijak made it clear that he never got to visit “gorilla”, and never spoke to Tony Khan at the event. He would praise the company’s production quality, noting it had “all the bells and whistles you could want” for a “full scale operation”.
Comparing His 2 Runs with NXT
Like Dijak’s on-screen character in WWE, the company’s NXT brand itself has gone through some major redesigns in its history. Dijak is one of only a few stars in WWE history to have extensive runs in both the original “Black & Gold” version of NXT, which was run almost exclusively by Triple H, and the current “White & Gold” version.
When asked to compare both runs, and even reveal if he preferred one over the other, Dijak remarked that he looks back on both runs fondly, each for different reasons. However, he especially enjoyed his most recent NXT run. As he feels it provided him with an opportunity to expand his character and be a bit more outside the box than he traditionally had been.
” I think they were both incredibly strong in terms of a product presentation… for me, on a personal level, the second run means a lot more to me, because I got a lot more of what I wanted to do in terms of presentation. I had a lot more matches, I was on TV a lot more. I was on premium live events a lot more. So On a personal level, it was much more fulfilling for me. It seems that the fans sentiment, for the most part, is split. If you look at like ratings and stuff and things like that, I think YouTube views and maybe social media stuff was probably higher for black and gold…”
“For me, I prefer what was happening more recently, because it had more elements of of character integration and storytelling in that aspect. And I prefer a little bit more than that, rather than just the sole focus on in ring product, which isn’t to say that’s what NXT black and gold was. But it was, it was more in that direction. Right?…Like yes, we’ll do some vignettes, backstage or whatever. But for the most part, it’s like ‘hey, we’re wrestlers. And we’re wrestling and here’s why we’re wrestling and we’re trying to win championships’, whereas the newer version of NXT seemed like it had more like, ‘Oh, I’m a vigilante renegade cop, and I’m investigating this guy. And this is and this guy’s in the mob, and he’s taking guys and throwing them off a bridge’, That it had more of that stuff, which I can sink my teeth into a little bit. That being said, it still had the presentation. Of course, I’m an in ring guy.”
Donovan Dijak’s Longterm and Shorterm Goals
As he enters free agency for the first time since 2017, the world of independent wrestling has significantly changed since Dijak last participated. Something Dijak is excited to take advantage of.
He expressed a similar sentiment when asked about his goals for the near and distant future. Overall, Dijak’s objective is to improve and refine his standing in the eyes of wrestling fans. He plans to achieve this by winning titles and getting the chance to compete overseas.
“…The things that have been kind of evading me the most [through my career], are championships, right? You think about how many championships I’ve had, beetween WWE and Ring of Honor, the answer is zero…Even outside of WWE, before I was in Ring of Honor, I didn’t have a lot of championships, and that’s just a fact, I just didn’t have a lot of them…outside of Chaotic Wrestling, I had one championship in my entire life. That doesn’t sit well with me…
Number two is wrestling in Japan. I never had the opportunity to wrestle in Japan. For whatever reason, I wrestled for the IWGP Intercontinental Championship before, but I never wrestled for it in Japan. I obviously didn’t win… I feel like I’ve wrestled for every championship, but I just lost all of them (laughs). So I feel like I want to change that narrative. I want to work in a place that’s a prestigious and hotbed of professional wrestling.”
In terms of long-term goals, Dijak’s mission is to return to a larger platform where he can perform in front of fans who know him and those who have never seen him before.
“You asked about longterm as well. That’s getting back to a platform where I can do those things that I’m talking about in terms of my brand and representing myself, and then also continuing to have those outstanding, excellent matches in front of the biggest audience possible, right? Because now we’re talking about getting in front of people who aren’t aware of a new audience who’s not familiar with me.”
The sky is truly the limit for Donovan Dijak. Promotions and fans are highly familiar with the quality of his in-ring abilities and on-screen character. Any promotion would be instantly better by having him on their roster.
WWE’s Wyatt Sicks faction hacked into Pat McAfee’s The Pat McAfee Show on ESPN on Monday ahead of tonight’s 7/15 WWE Raw. This clip of the group’s latest psychological warfare towards McAfee sets the stage for what’s to come in a matter of hours on live on the USA Network.
The Wyatt Sicks have had everyone in WWE on edge since their violent debut on the June 17, 2024 edition of WWE Raw. The faction has been leaving mysterious VHS tapes at various locations, including the announce desk and Pat McAfee’s show, containing cryptic messages and featuring Bo Dallas and Uncle Howdy. Bo Dallas’ recent invasion of Raw General Manager Adam Pearce’s office on a recent RAW episode shows that nobody is safe.
Pat McAfee appears to be a primary target of the Wyatt Sicks, with multiple incidents of interruptions and cryptic messages directed at him. McAfee should be in a great mood for tonight’s WWE Raw as fans wait to see how the Wyatt Sicks follow through on their taunts.
Pat McAfee’s Message to WWE
WWE Raw announcer Pat McAfee unusually addressed WWE in a public message on X.
A fearful McAfee wrote, “Hey WWE, I’ll be bringing this [Wyatt Sicks] box tonight to WWE Raw. Could you please let the Wyatt’s know that I am a massive fan and I believe Michael Cole would be a much better handler of the box… and also let them know that it has been an ABSOLUTE HONOR to transfer it a couple of times now but, it’s very ok for me not to. CAN’T WAIT FOR TONIGHT”
Could you please let the Wyatt’s know that I am a massive fan and I believe @MichaelCole would be a much better handler of the box… and also let them know that it has been an ABSOLUTE HONOR to transfer it a… pic.twitter.com/2WKnamc1Io
On the July 15, 2019, edition of Monday Night Raw, the WWE Universe was introduced to one of the company’s most creepy yet captivating characters. Just over an hour into the show, Finn Balor defeated Samoa Joe, but the night was going to get much worse for the Irish Superstar. After the match, Balor would become the first victim of ‘The Fiend’ a demonic new side to Bray Wyatt that had been teased for months. Today, on the fifth anniversary of the character’s arrival, we look back on what brought the Fiend to TV.
Before The Fiend
In the six years on WWE’s main roster before the arrival of The Fiend, Bray Wyatt had been one of the most consistently captivating Superstars. In 2016, Wyatt captured the SmackDown Tag Team Titles and followed up by becoming WWE Champion the following year.
More important though than titles, was how Wyatt was able to draw in a crowd with his mastery of character work. From John Cena to The Undertaker to Roman Reigns, it seemed nobody could escape Wyatt’s mind games as he played on potential weaknesses in some of WWE’s biggest stars. This work rightly earned Wyatt a ‘cult-like’ following who were eager to see what was next for him.
After vanishing from our screens in early 2019, Wyatt returned in April of that year with a character far different than what we’d seen. Gone was the Max Cady-inspired swamp-dweller, now replaced with an excitable sweater-donned Bray who looked like more like Mr. Rogers than an ‘Eater of Worlds.’
Introducing the WWE Universe to the Firefly Fun House was a brilliant stroke by Wyatt as it added some much-appreciated lore to a character fans had already learned so much (and yet not enough) about. The idea of a children’s presenter with a twisted side proved especially chilling for any parents watching and delivered a sense of dread never before seen in WWE.
The Fiend Arrives
In the episodes of the Firefly Fun House, the jovial Wyatt teased that somebody was coming and that he wouldn’t be able to stop them. That force proved to be the Fiend who from the moment fans saw him, captivated audiences. With a striking design crafted by horror effects staple Jason Baker, the Fiend’s chilling look was another success story to Bray’s latest creation.
The Fiend was able to handle himself in the ring, as seen with his two reigns as WWE Universal Champion, but the character’s best work arguably came outside the squared circle. In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic forced WWE to think outside the box without crowds, and Wyatt would again show his creative chops in the cinematic Firefly Fun House match. The WrestleMania 36 showdown with John Cena saw both participants craft a rich story that saw The Fiend best the man he failed to defeat at the event six years earlier.
In August 2023, Bray Wyatt passed away at the tragically young age of 36 and WWE has, for all intents and purposes, retired The Fiend character. Nevertheless, the creative vision of Windham Rotunda can still be felt today with the recently introduced Wyatt Sicks. Like all great creative minds, Rotunda’s legacy has surpassed his own mortal life, and the WWE Universe will always appreciate (and fear) The Fiend.
Matt Cardona made independent pro wrestling his kingdom. “The Indy God” was in the middle of the most successful run of his career until he was sidelined with a torn peck a few months ago. He had surgery, underwent stem cell therapy, and began the rigorous road back to the ring.
While many have sat on the sidelines until they were cleared to perform again, that is not Cardona. The veteran is still making towns, currently serving as the general manager for Game Changer Wrestling. He recently returned to the gym, leaving the question of what’s the latest on when we may see him compete again.
What’s Next for Matt Cardona?
“I’m kind of keeping that close to the vest. I want it to be a surprise or at least the announcement to be a surprise. I know in my head when I’m coming back. But I don’t want the rest of the world to know until it’s time.”
How to Stay Relevant
Cardona is fueled by the motivation to fulfill all the goals he sets for himself. He is constantly moving the goalpost. And if anyone knows the importance of staying in the mix, even without wrestling, it’s the former Zack Ryder.
“In this business, it’s what have you done for me lately,” Cardona said. “You have to chase that buzz and stay relevant, especially on the independents. I knew when I got hurt I had to pivot and readjust. I contacted all the promoters I was working for and told them the deal and my situation and rescheduled the ones who didn’t just want me to trash talk. Luckily, for me, I’m able to come to a lot of these places and just trash talk and sell merchandise…
I’m proud that I’m able to make these towns and provide value to these promoters and these fans with much more than just wrestling inside those ropes. At the same time, trust me, I” ‘m rushing to come back. It’s very important. You can’t let the momentum die.”
Z! True Long Island Story
Cardona knows how to make the most of every situation and the tools available to him. A shining example of this is when he launched the Z! True Long Island Story in 2011. The used the YouTube show as a vehicle to build a connection with the audience. In a lot of ways, what the creator helped blaze a new trail for pro wrestlers. He continues to do that in all facets of the business whether it’s marketing himself, branding, podcast, and business ventures including the successful action figure lines.
“I think what made Zack Ryder successful was the time,” Cardona explained. “If I were to do it now, I feel like I would be anyone else…Writing [the show] the show myself, funding it myself, editing myself. You go back and watch some of those episodes, the editing was atrocious. It’s just me in my iMovie.
That was the charm of the show. That’s what the fans could relate to. Including fans on the journey, ‘Broski of the Week’ videos or ‘Sign of the Week,’ encouraging fans to bring signs and sending out trading cards for people that buy my shirt. This wasn’t done back then. If it happened now, it wouldn’t be as special or important. Anybody can do stuff like that now.”
Chelsea Green
Being on the shelf has also allowed Cardona time to really appreciate the success of his wife Chelsea Green in WWE. The couple shares similar traits when it comes to drive and determination. It’s what has gotten Green respect among peers and fans alike. With GCW doing a show nearby the night before, Cardona was able to witness one of Green’s biggest matches at Money in the Bank firsthand. The alum likes to keep to himself when he goes to WWE shows as to not make it seem like he is angling for a job and to keep the focus on supporting Green.
“Even when she was my girlfriend, I couldn’t believe when she was doing the ‘Hot Mess’ stuff on Impact that WWE didn’t want to hire her. Then I couldn’t believe they fired her. Then I couldn’t believe that in-between at NXT they weren’t using her. I’m glad she now getting the recognition she deserves…
Obviously, super proud of everything, not only what she did in that match, but even if it’s a pretape on SmackDown or falling off a ladder through tables. It’s nice to see the wrestling world giving her the flowers finally I think it’s a matter of time before she gets what she deserves. I hate saying deserves because she would have earned it.”
GCW
Cardona is proud to be part of GCW. He believes the company also deserves proverbial flowers with what the promotion created. Cardona named as one to watch with a bright future.
“GCW is a company I feel I put on the map with that death match with Nick Gage,” he said. “At the same time, they put me on the map with that death match with Nick Gage. The relationship has been mutually beneficial. That match changed my life and career. I owe so much to GCW.
I don’t think GCW gets the credit it deserves. This company is truly an independent company run all over the world and every weekend. I think it’s WWE and GCW. I don’t think any other company runs as much or as consistently here as GCW runs. With WWE, I wouldn’t be surprised if they do stuff with GCW. They already kind of are with the Bloodsport.”
The lifelong pro wrestling fan can even picture a GCW invasion likened to what ECW did on Raw. Laying out the hypothetical booking, “Imagine if Matt Cardona comes down the ramp at Raw and, Joey Janela, Effy, Nick Gage, Steph De Lander, and Mance Warner. Brett Lauderdale could be the new Heyman on commentary. I’m getting goosebumps. Talk about a perfect way for Matt Cardona to make his debut in GCW. You want to talk about moments. That’s a moment.”
John Cena Retiring
Another thing he wants is a match against John Cena, who announced he’ll be retiring in 2025. The two were close for many years with Cena a big advocate for the Long Island broski. This would involve Cardona returning to WWE, but how would all that work?
“He is just a pro’s pro. What a way to go out. What a smart way to go out. A whole year plus because he is hyping it up in July. I’m thinking about the merch. John is such a great guy. Someone who helped me in my career. Those posts I make on social media are not BS. I would love to wrestle John Cena one last time.
I think with the way things with WWE are now, I think it could happen where I could just walk in one day or make a return. I think John Cena versus Zack Ryder was fine. They were what they were. John Cena versus Matt Cardona. That’s where the story is. I could say, ‘John Cena, you’re the reason why my WWE career didn’t take off.’ So many things that we can play into. I know that if I walked through the doors of WWE, surprise or not, I could get a reaction…I’m happy he gets to go out on his own terms.”
Hanging Up His “Indy God” Crown
When Cardona does come back to wrestle, he plans to hang up “The Indy God” hat. He is looking for another change in presentation after feeling he has done it all. The true freelancer will weigh his options, believing he can fit into any wrestling landscape. Alwayz ready isn’t just a catchphrase, but a life mantra. He doesn’t just want to work for peanuts. Cardona is looking for the whole jar.
““There are so many guys in AEW I would love to wrestle,” Cardona said. “There are ones I would love to wrestle for the first time like Kenny Omega. I would love to wrestle MJF. Long Island versus Long Island. Then WWE. WWE is on fire right now. Cody Rhodes, WWE champion. All I’m saying is when he left WWE, he left because Zack Ryder beat Stardust. It sent him out of the company. There are so many potential matchups.
… At the same time, I won’t sacrifice everything I built. If it doesn’t make sense for me to go to WWE or AEW, I will reinvent myself and reinvent the whole god damn independent scene. That’s what I will do. I’m grateful for my time WWE, highs and lows, but I’m not finished left. I have so much left in the tank, body-wise, and creatively. That’s why being injured sucks so bad. It’s also good for me to kind of rethink some things and plan some things out. I’m very excited for the next couple of months to see what happens for me… 2025 will be a fun year for Matt Cardona. We’ll see.”
Ring of Honor founder Cary Silkin has spoken against Tony Khan’s handling of the promotion which he believes falls well below expectations.
On the Madison Square Gardenpodcast, Silkin shared his thoughts on Khan’s handling of the promotion that Silkin and others founded in 2022.
“Ring of Honor of that era tried to show some respect to professional wrestling. Sure we had some wacky stuff. Sure we had the the flippy dippy do was coming into fashion. The flippy dippy do was going on with Édouard Carpentier too…Ring of Honor, there was some good pro wrestling going on in that segment of it. Right now, Ring of Honor it’s like no one cares at all. I don’t care how much money Tony Khan has. It’s not being treated very well.”
Tony Khan and Ring of Honor
Khan announced in March 2022 that he had purchased ROH, mere months after the promotion went on an indefinite hiatus following the Final Battle pay-per-view. In April, ROH held its first event of the Khan era as Supercard of Honor XV saw Johnathan Gresham become the Undisputed ROH World Champion.
Unlike AEW Dynamite, Rampage, and Collision, Ring of Honor does not have a presence on syndicated television. Instead, it was announced in late 2022 that ROH shows would air on the relaunched Honor Club streaming platform.
Criticism Of Khan’s ROH
While Khan is to credit for allowing ROH to not finish for good in 2021, many feel that his handling of the promotion has been sub-par. On an episode of his K100 podcast, Konnan said in November 2023 that Khan was not appealing to a wider fanbase outside of “hardcore marks” who were always going to watch ROH anyway. Eric Bischoff said on his Strictly Business podcast in 2022 that buying ROH was a bad investment for Khan and that the company was “insignificant” in the eyes of the vast majority of fans.
WWE has announced details for two upcoming premium live events for the company’s developmental brand: NXT No Mercy and NXT.
Sunday, Sep. 1: NXT No Mercy (Denver, CO at the Ball Arena)
Sunday, October 27: NXT Halloween Havoc (Hershey, PA at the GIANT Center)
WWE Senior Vice President of Talent Development Creative Shawn Michaels provided the following quote in the press release sent in to SEScoops:
“We look forward to returning NXT to the road and delivering an unforgettable night of action to the amazing fan bases of Denver and Hershey, and for those watching at home.”
Tickets
The venues hosting each of these NXT PLE’s will also host WWE Raw the following eventing.
Special combo tickets for the events go on sale on Friday morning, July 26 at Ticketmaster.
How to Watch
NXT No Mercy and Halloween Havoc will stream live in the U.S. exclusively on Peacock.
Advertised Talent
Note: These talent announcements are always ‘subject to change’ and wrestling fans should not not read into these advertised champions as ‘spoilers’ for any matches coming up in the months ahead.
WWE is advertising the top stars from NXT will be at these shows, including NXT Champion Ethan Page, NXT Women’s Champion Roxanne Perez, NXT North American Champion Oba Femi, NXT Women’s North American Champion Kelani Jordan, Trick Williams, Sol Ruca and more
Is Scott Steiner, ‘Big Poppa Pump’ all natural? The WWE Hall of Famer wants you to do the math on it.
A&E aired the WWE Legends Biography on The Steiner Brothers and during the episode, Scott Steiner discussed the notion that he used steroids. Steiner pushed back, stating that, “You can make all the accusations you want. I’ve never failed a drug test.” Steiner said he made a concerted effort to make the transformation from Scottie to ‘Freakzilla’ in 1998.
“Take that information and do what you want with it. When I made the transition from Steiner Brothers to Big Poppa Pump, I wanted to get in the best shape I possibly could. A lot of strict diet. Once you are leaner, you’re naturally going to look bigger.”
During a previous interview with Slam Sports, Steiner noted that he was asked to take a drug test back in 2003. Steiner says that he told WWE to take him and Triple H in a limosuine and the two can take a test together. “They never asked again,” Steiner said laughing.
Both Rick and Scott Steiner were inducted into the WWE Hall Of Fame back in 2022. Steiner was greatly known for his main event run in the late days of WCW, but did have a program with Triple H when he eventually made his way over into the WWE.
Former NXT UK Women’s Champion Meiko Satomura will compete at WWE live events later this month in the veteran’s first match since March of last year.
Satomura is being advertised for the upcoming tour of Japan that will begin in Osaka’s Edion Arena on July 25. The tour will then feature back-to-back events in Tokyo’s Ryogouko Arena on July 26-27. Other names being advertised for the show include Shinsuke Nakamura, Kairi Sane, Dakota Kai, Bianca Belair, and Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. Interestingly, Asuka is also being advertised despite the Empress currently being out with an injury.
These events will mark Satomura’s long-overdue return to the ring as she has not been used in any capacity by the company in over 16 months. Satomura’s most recent match took place at WWE NXT Roadblock 2023 and saw her unsuccessfully challenge NXT Women’s Champion Roxanne Perez.
Meiko Satomura in WWE NXT
Satomura debuted in WWE in 2018 as part of the Mae Young Classic but was eliminated in the semi-finals by eventual winner Toni Storm. In October 2020, Satomura signed with WWE and in addition to being an on-screen talent, served as a coach in NXT UK.
In June 2021, Satomura captured the NXT UK Women’s Championship from Kay Lee Ray (now Women’s Tag Team Champion Alba Fyre.) Dubbed the ‘Final Boss’ long before Dwayne Johnson had the moniker, Satomura defeated all challengers for over a year. Her reign, alongside NXT UK, would end at Worlds Collide in September 2022 when she lost to then-NXT Women’s Champion Mandy Rose.
Meiko Satomura’s Pre-WWE Days
While Satomura hasn’t competed in WWE in some time, fans can see matches from her career outside of WWE on the Network/Peacock. Decades before joining WWE, a young Satomura competed in WCW as part of a cross-promotional effort with the Gaea Wrestling promotion.
Satomura competed in a tournament to crown the first WCW Women’s Champion. She was eliminated in the first round by eventual winner Akira Hokuto. Ironically, when Satomura entered a tournament to crown the first Women’s Cruiserweight Champion, she was eliminated in the first round by eventual winner Toshie Uematsu.
Rikishi saw a lot of money for WWE if they made Jey Uso the men’s Money In The Bank winner, but that briefcase went to Drew McIntyre.
Speaking on his own podcast. Rikishi gave his reaction to Jey not being the one to pull down the briefcase over a week ago in Toronto. The father of Jey and Jimmy admitted that it “kind of hit a nerve” with him. Rikishi understood not giving him the briefcase because of his “bloodline” background, but just knows there’s money to be made with “Main Event” Jey Uso.
“I’m gonna go back to the numbers. The numbers don’t lie with Yeet. The merchandise that the Yeet Man has done so much for the company. The Yeet Man, he doesn’t have a bad track record. The Yeet Man is not a liability. The Yeet Man shows up to work and does what he does.”
Despite not winning the match, WWE clearly does have full confidence in the star power of Uso. Last week on WWE RAW Uso defeated Chad Gable in the opening match before he high-tailed it out of the ring once The Wyatt Sicks appeared. Jey Uso is undoubtedly a top three babyface on RAW alongside the injured CM Punk and Seth Rollins.
Even though there are no concrete plans for Jey as WWE heads towards SummerSlam, he will likely be involved in something major, whether that’s a crossover with The Bloodline or potentially something with the aforementioned Wyatt Sicks.
Bryan Danielson will join an ‘elite’ club at AEW All In: London 2024 when he challenges Swerve Strickland for the AEW World Championship.
Danielson earned the coveted title opportunity at AEW’s biggest event by winning the 2024 Men’s Owen Hart Foundation Tournament. Danielson’s road to Wembley saw him defeat Shingo Takagi in the first round before besting Pac and eventually ‘Hangman’ Adam Page in the finals.
As pointed out by Dave Meltzer, Danielson will join a lucrative group of wrestlers, regardless of whether he wins or loses at All In. At the event, Danielson will become the fourth man to have competed at Wembley Stadium, Madison Square Garden, the Tokyo Dome, and Arena Mexico. Danielson will follow in the footsteps of Chris Jericho, Jon Moxley and John ‘Earthquake’ Tenta.
Danielson competed in MSG multiple times during his WWE career as Daniel Bryan. In early 2016, shortly after his retirement due to neck problems, WWE announced that a live event in the Garden would be ‘Daniel Bryan Appreciation Night.
Danielson competed in the iconic Tokyo Dome at Wrestle Kingdom 18 earlier this year, where he was defeated by Kazuchika Okada. Mere months later, he competed in Arena Mexico at a handful of CMLL shows. One such event saw him defeat Blue Panther in what the American Dragon called a dream match for him.
AEW All In: London 2024
All In: London 2024 will take place on August 25, from Wembley Stadium in London, England. The show will be AEW’s second event inside the massive arena after last year’s successful event. The matches announced for the show include:
Swerve Strickland (c) Vs. Bryan Danielson (AEW World Championship)
‘Timeless’ Toni Storm (c) Vs. Mariah May (AEW Women’s World Championship)
Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes is eager to see a Premium Live Event in Mexico after competing at an untelevised show in Monterrey.
In the show’s main event, Rhodes retained his championship against Santos Escobar. After the match, the American Nightmare said if anywhere deserves a PLE, it’s Mexico. Rhodes then encouraged the fans to make as much noise as they can, noting how raucous crowd reactions have been seen in England, France, and Scotland, all of which have hosted Premium Live Events.
Rhodes isn’t the only WWE Superstar who hopes to see the company host a PLE in Mexico. WWE Hall of Famer Rey Mysterio has previously advocated for a major event to be hosted in the country that is synonymous with Lucha Libre wrestling.
While WWE has yet to host a PLE in Mexico, several TV events have been hosted in the country. WWE’s most recent televised event in Mexico took place in May 2011 and saw close to 20,000 fans fill the El Palacio de los Deportes in Mexico City.
It remains to be seen whether WWE will host a PLE in Mexico, though it certainly seems more likely now than ever before. With WWE being more open to hosting major events outside the United States, it may be just a matter of time before Mexico is the home of an official PLE.
Self-professed ‘Indy God’ Matt Cardona is hoping to step in the ring with John Cena as part of the 16-time WWE World Champion’s impending retirement tour.
At WWE Money in the Bank, Cena shared that 2025 will be his final year in the ring, ending a 23-year wrestling career in WWE. In a recent interview with SE Scoops’ own Scott Fishman, Cardona made it clear he hopes to face John before Cena hangs up his jorts.
“I would love to wrestle John Cena one last time. I think with the way WWE is now, it’s something that could happen where I could just walk in, whether it be for one day, or make a return… Zack Ryder vs. John Cena, those matches were fine. They were what they were. John Cena vs. Matt Cardona, that’s that’s where the story is.”
John Cena’s Retirement
Details are scarce regarding the retirement of John Cena but fans are already excited to see what’s to come. Despite his monumental star power, Cena has said he does not feel he’s in a position where he can make specific requests regarding opponents for his retirement tour.
Cena and Cardona (Zack Ryder at the time) became a duo on WWE TV in late 2011 and early 2012 during Cena’s feud with the recently-returned Kane. To get in Cena’s head, Kane repeatedly attacked Ryder and also targeted Zack’s on-screen girlfriend Eve Torres. During an infamous episode of WWE TV, Cena would save Eve from an attack by Kane, only to be kissed by the former Divas Champion. The camera would pivot to reveal Ryder (now in a wheelchair after weeks of attacks) had seen the kiss.
Could Matt Cardona return years later to get revenge on ‘Big Match John’? Given WWE’s willingness to work with others outside the promotion, it certainly seems more possible than ever before.
WWE NXT may be where talent go to hone their skills ahead of a move to the main roster, but it appears there’s plenty of romance in the Performance Center.
In this article, we’ll look at the relationships that exist within NXT that have seen talent date fellow NXT stars, main roster talent, or other wrestlers.
Kelani Jordan & Carmelo Hayes
The first-ever NXT Women’s North American Champion, Kelani Jordan is currently dating WWE SmackDown Superstar & former NXT Champion Carmelo Hayes. In October 2023, the pair went public with their relationship with a series of Instagram posts celebrating Jordan’s birthday.
Trick Williams & Lash Legend
The Kiss Heard Around the World earlier this year between Trick Williams and Lash Legend wasn’t just for show. The Meta-Four member and the former NXT Champion are in a relationship, though keep their private lives to themselves on social media.
Sol Ruca & Tyler Bate
Sol Ruca has been making a splash in WWE NXT and is currently dating the inaugural WWE United Kingdom Champion Tyler Bate, who is unfortunately out with an injury. The couple went public with their relationship in early 2024 with an Instagram post by the English Superstar.
Stevie Turner & Kit Wilson
Turner, who is currently looking to be the official assistant of Ava, has been with Pretty Deadly’s Kit Wilson for some time now. In March 2022, the happy couple shared that they are engaged to be married.
Since arriving in WWE NXT, Roxanne Perez has been a force to be reckoned with, despite her diminutive size. The reigning WWE NXT Women’s Champion has been dating independent wrestler Gino Medina since 2022.
Bliss hasn’t competed for WWE since January of 2023 when she challenged for the RAW Women’s Championship at that year’s Royal Rumble PLE. In May of 2023, Bliss shared that she was pregnant with a social media post describing her child as the “best oops ever.” She and Ryan Cabrera welcomed their daughter Hendrix into the world in November 2023.
Eight months on from the birth of Hendrix Cabrera and there’s still no sign of when Bliss will return, or what she will do once she’s back. Some have suggested that she will ae a program with the Wyatt Sicks, especially as her Royal Rumble 2023 appearance concluded with Uncle Howdy appearing on a screen and asking if she felt in control.
Bliss could work as either an ally of the Wyatt Sicks or perhaps as an adversary. After all, it was Bliss’ interference that cost Bray Wyatt his WrestleMania 37 match against Randy Orton, in what would be Bray’s final WWE match before his 2021 release. With that said, Bliss downplayed the idea of being linked to the QR codes that teased the Wyatt Sicks and she has not teased being a part of the faction.
WWE’s Wyatt Sicks faction dropped their latest cryptic message on social media Sunday afternoon. The message contains an image of someone holding a sheep mask and the word “hope” along with a string of two and three-digit numbers.
The seemingly-random series of numbers contains a hidden message in ASCII format. By pasting the numbers into an ASCII to text converter tool, it reveals the phrase:
The Wyatt Sicks has maintained an eerie presence since their violent debut last month. While they haven’t competed in any matches yet, they’ve had the entire WWE roster looking over their shoulders. Their next VHS tape is expected to be featured on the July 15th episode of WWE RAW and will focus on Erick Rowan.
This marks a departure from their previous VHS tapes, which have featured interviews between Bo Dallas and Uncle Howdy. Rowan, a disciple of Bray Wyatt, has been wearing a rabbit mask, reminiscent of the Rambling Rabbit character from the Firefly Funhouse.
MJF mocked England’s heartbreaking loss to Spain in Sunday’s UEFA EURO 2024 championship game.
The former AEW World Champion battles Will Ospreay for the International Championship this Wednesday on the 250th episode of AEW Dynamite. MJF is back in full-blown heel mode, and mocking English football fans after this loss to taunt Ospreay may be a new low for him.
Ospreay joined his countrymen in showing his support for England on social media.
— Will Ospreay • ????????? (@WillOspreay) July 14, 2024
After England’s defeat, MJF couldn’t help but use it as an opportunity to play mind games with the disappointed champion. He says Englishmen “can’t win when put under pressure” and simply aren’t equipped to be athletes. He and Ospreay have been exchanging personal attacks for several weeks, but this latest insult shows that Friedman will stop at nothing to antagonize his opponents.
Time and time again, the British prove they can’t win when put under pressure.
Whether it’s the Euro Cup.
Or this Wednesday.
Englishmen just aren’t equipped to be athletes.#EURO2024
Wednesday’s AEW Dynamite 250th episode celebration will feature Will Ospreay vs. MJF, Swerve Strickland vs. Kazuchika Okada, Mercedes Mone vs. Nyla Rose and fallout from Mariah May’s attack on Toni Storm at the end of last week.
Finn Balor wanted to make sure Dominik Mysterio flourished as a heel in The Judgment Day, but Dom already had a hold on being “Dirty.”
Speaking on the “What’s The Story?” podcast, Balor mentioned how much Mysterio took to being a heel. Finn recalled Rey Mysterio asking him and Damian Priest to take care of Dom during his heel turn. Balor respected Rey so much that he was going to make sure Dom did his best as a bad guy, but when Balor approached Dom about help on his first heel promo, he was ready to call it in the ring.
“He said, ‘No, no. I’m good.’ I said, ‘You know what you’re going to say?’ He said, ‘No, I’ll figure it out when I’m out there.And here’s me like naively thinking that me, Damian and Rhea are supposed to be helping Dominik, but in reality it’s Dominik helping us get heat and making us more of a believable heel unit.”
Finn said how at the time, he, Damian and Rhea were having an uphill battle at being heels, but Dominik really made them “guilty by association” and his involvement really helped to establish the faction as a “bad guy” act.
Now as it stands, The Judgment Day are really the fulcrum that all of WWE RAW pivots on. Damian Priest is the current WWE World Heavyweight Champion, Finn Balor and JD McDonagh are the World Tag Champs while Dom and Rhea Ripley are involved in the major Liv Morgan storyline in build for SummerSlam.
Please credit “What’s The Story?” and h/t to SEScoops for the transcription.
Rob Van Dam and John Cena had one of the most memorable matches in pro wrestling history and RVD is confident he and Cena could repeat it before John hangs up the jorts.
Speaking on an upcoming episode of his 1 Of A Kind With RVD, Rob Van Dam was asked his thoughts on John Cena announcing his 2025 retirement tour for WWE. Van Dam is still very active in the squared circle and believes the two could recreate the magic they did back at ECW One Night Stand 2006.
“I Hope they bring me in for a rematch with Cena. That would be super cool. I don’t know if they know, but I know I could have that same match, Absolutely.”
Rob Van Dam has shown he hasn’t missed a beat in the several matches he’s had in AEW and even over WrestleMania 40 weekend, competed against Speedball Mike Bailey in a memorable singles match that featured Jerry Lynn as the special guest referee.
Due to injury, RVD was unable to compete at the first WWE version of One Night Stand in 2005, but fate would have it that Van Dam would battle Cena for the WWE Championship a year later. RVD arguably had one of, if not the greatest Money In The Bank cash-in, by calling his shot ahead of time to challenge Cena at the Hammerstein Ballroom.
Van Dam was asked what it was like grappling up with Cena that night and he commended John for his pure strength, but also how he handled the hostile crowd in the Hammerstein Ballroom.
“He was able to pull the strings with the crowdvand he knew going out there that he was going to be up against a crowd that that hated him. A really vocal, physical, most opinionated crowd ever, but he was ready for it, and he handled it great, and I enjoyed working with him. And also he was very, very snug.”
WWE returns to Dayton, Ohio tonight for this week’s WWE RAW at the Nutter Center. We’re just four weeks out from WWE SummerSlam on Saturday, August 3, where the Gunther will challenge Damian Priest for the World Heavyweight championship. What will happen when Priest stares down his SummerSlam opponent tonight?
Ilja Dragunov challenges Sami Zayn for the Intercontinental Championship
Sheamus vs. Bronson Reed
Braun Strowman vs. Damian Priest
Segments
Rhea Ripley opens the show and will surely have words for Liv Morgan and Dominik Mysterio
Drew McIntyre returns from suspension. Adam Pearce will has said he’ll evaluate McIntyre’s frame of mind to determine whether or not to lift his suspension.
Gunther and Damian Priest go face-to-face
Stay tuned to SEScoops for our coverage of tonight’s WWE Raw and all things WWE.
What Happened on WWE Raw Last Week?
Last week’s July 8, 2024 episode of WWE Raw featured a main event involving Women’s World Champion Liv Morgan and Dominik Mysterio against Zelina Vega and Rey Mysterio. As Liv and Dom were celebrating their win, Rhea Ripley made a surprise return and had a chilly reunion with her Dirty Dom. Also on the show, CM Punk and Seth Rollins engaged in a tense faceoff, Uncle Howdy revealed more of his family and more.
Catch up on last week’s happenings with this video from WWE recapping the Top 10 moments:
Plenty went down at WWE’s live event in Mexico City including the continuation of the ‘romance’ between Women’s World Champion Liv Morgan & Dominik Mysterio.
At the July 13, event, Morgan defended her title against Shayna Baszler. After the match, Morgan introduced Dominik for his match against his father Rey. Contrary to what we’ve seen on TV, Dominik didn’t seem as opposed to Liv’s proximity at this event.
Dirán lo que quieran de Dominik Mysterio, pero es el que más hace enojar al público mexicano ????
The latest battle of the Mysterios ended in a DQ when Carlito interfered to aid Dominik but Dragon Lee arrived to back up Rey. This set up a tag-team match the faces would win.
Dominik and Liv being aligned at this WWE live event comes at an interesting time considering the return of Rhea Ripley on Monday Night Raw. It has been confirmed that Ripley will open up the next episode of Raw and will address the Dominik-Liv situation.
Liv wasn’t the only woman making waves at the event in Mexico City. During the show, WWE Women’s Champion Bayley defended her title against Bianca Belair. After the match, Tiffany Stratton attempted to cash in her Money in the Bank briefcase but Belair put a stop to her plans. Since the bell never rang though, Stratton’s cash-in attempt never officially started and therefore she still holds the briefcase and the coveted title shot.
? ¡SE SALVÓ DEL CANJEO! ?
Tiffany Stratton quiso canjear su Money In The Bank ante Bayley pero Bianca Belair lo impidió, el campeonato no cambia de manos y el maletín no se utilizó oficialmente ??
Stratton attempted to cash in during the most recent episode of SmackDown but had second thoughts after being confronted by her ally Nia Jax. The 2024 Queen of the Ring will challenge Bayley for the title at SummerSlam, if Stratton does not cash in first.
Former WWE Superstar Donovan Dijak has captured his first championship in close to seven years, in what is the wrestler’s second match since being released.
At a July 13, event, Dijak captured the Ryse Wrestling Grand Championship. On Twitter, Ryse Wrestling shared some photos of the new champion. Dijak himself shared a photo with the gold and had a message for his followers.
This championship victory has been a long time coming for Dijak. The last time Dijak won a title came in July 2017 when he captured the Pro Wrestling Resurgence Heavyweight Championship, according to ProFight. In WWE, Dijak challenged for the NXT, NXT Tag, and North American Championships but never won the gold.
Leaving WWE
Dijak’s victory comes mere weeks after his abrupt exit from WWE. On Twitter, the former Retribution alum shared that not only would he be leaving WWE, but very little effort had been made by the company to retain his services. Dijak had been called to the main roster during the 2024 WWE Supplemental Draft after years of re-establishing himself in WWE NXT. Despite the call-up, Dijak was not used in any capacity as a RAW Superstar and has since said that he was sure he was doomed when he was the last pick in the Supplemental Draft.
This win is certainly a strong start for Dijak now that his career with WWE has come to an end. The question now is whether Dijak will be able to keep this momentum going forward in Ryse Wrestling and other promotions.
“What a rush” may have been running through Donald Trump’s mind after an assasination attempt was made on the WWE Hall of Famer on July 13.
The forthcoming Republican Presidential nominee was mere inches from death as he was doing a stump speech in Butler, PA. Trump’s ear got grazed by a bullet before secret service swarmed him to make sure he was safe.
However, once matters were settled and the shooter was taken out, Trump made certain to stand himself up and give a fist pump to the people in the crowd. The moment certainly created a lot of memorable photographs for the press and felllow WWE Hall Of Famer JBL made note that Trump must have been taking notes from a certain legendary tag team in Road Warrior Hawk and Road Warrior Animal.
Although JBL was posting in jest, it’s heaviily believed that Trump has adopted a lot of his speaking style and “promo skills” from the world of pro wrestling. There’s the urban legend that during his WWE Hall of Fame induction in 2013, Trump was really impressed with the promo work of Zeb Coulter, better known as Dutch Mantell.
Trump did issue a statement following the assasination attempt, thanking the police and the secret service for their work, but also sending his condolences to the victims of the shooter as one rally attendee was killed and two others were in critical condition.
After great speculation that Natalya could be heading to AEW once her contract expired, it appears as if the ‘BOAT’ will be sticking around WWE.
PWInisder first reported that Natalya re-signed with WWE and Fightful Select later confirmed that news. Her new deal has reportedly been in place since late June but contract negotiations seemed to begin back in May. The new contract is reportedly a multi-year deal.
Natalya had interest from companies outside of WWE and it’s understandably so considering she has been very hands-on with wrestlers from all promotions. A lot of different names have gotten some extra training at her Dungeon 2.0.
An added point of note regarding the Natalya news was that Tyson Kidd had interest from outside companies as an agent too. WWE was reportedly in the right to be concerned about losing Natalya and the company wanted to make certain they locked her down. The deal happened to get done before she hit the free agent market.
Natalya is one of the longest-tenured names on the WWE roster, being over 16 years with the company. Within the last year, she’s been a big part of helping talent in NXT and also has been major in getting rising talent over, recently competing against Lyra Valkyria on an episode of WWE RAW. There was a good deal of speculation that she could be available to head to AEW and compete in the Owen Hart tournament, but that obviously didn’t happen.
Dominik Mysterio is hoping to fix things with Rhea Ripley on the next episode of Raw following the climactic ending to this week’s show.
In the main event, Dominik and Liv Morgan defeated Rey Mysterio & Zelina Vega, marking Dom’s first WWE victory over his father. After the match, it appeared that Dominik was ready to give in to Morgan’s advances until Rhea Ripley returned and confronted her ‘Dom Dom.’
Making Things Right
While Mysterio is well and truly in the ‘doghouse’ the former NXT North American Champion is ready to fight for his (on-screen) relationship with Rhea Ripley. Speaking to ESPN, Mysterio gave his happiness on a scale of 1-10 during the Raw main event.
“I had finally beaten that deadbeat, I was about a ten. I was about a solid 9.5-10. Not even taking Liv into consideration. Just the fact that I had beaten that deadbeat. Once Mami’s music hit and everything happened afterward, I felt like I was at about a two, maybe a one.”
When asked about his current situation with Ripley, Mysterio admitted that it’s been tough to talk to her in recent days, but he’s confident thing will work out.
“I tried my best to communicate with her. She’s kind of avoided me as of now, but she kind of has no choice but to see me on Mondays. So, I’m going to fix things. I’m going to do my best to fix things on Monday.”
What’s to Come?
We don’t know what will be said between the two on next week’s Raw but fans won’t have to wait long. It’s been confirmed that Rhea will open the show and fans will no doubt be intrigued to hear what she has to say in her first promo since vacating the WWE Women’s World Championship.
As for Liv Morgan, she’ll likely continue to try and play Ripley and Dominik against one another. While Liv quickly ran from the ring when Ripley returned, backstage footage suggests that she is happy to see Rhea back (and at odds with Dominik.) With SummerSlam around the corner, some have predicted a Ripley-Morgan title match but that has yet to be confirmed. Until then, fans will remain gripped by what has become one of the most popular love triangles we’ve seen in years.
