Shayna Baszler’s return during this week’s NXT Homecoming special surprised many wrestling fans. Now, new reports have provided clarity on what may be next for the former NXT Women’s Champion in WWE. Dave Meltzer reported in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that Baszler’s appearance was a one-off. While some in WWE hope she eventually transitions into a backstage role, Meltzer added that “nothing is in place” at this time.
Fightful Select later offered an update, noting that Baszler has “been backstage at NXT fairly regularly,” despite no official deal being signed. A WWE source told them the company is simply “seeing how things go” with the Queen of Spades — leaving the door open for more appearances, whether on-screen or behind the scenes.
For now, Baszler remains a free agent on paper, though her consistent presence at NXT tapings shows she is still connected to WWE. The MMA fighter-turned-wrestler was released in early 2025 during one of the year’s larger roster cuts. She had most recently been featured on WWE TV as part of the Pure Fusion Collective before her departure, making her release all the more surprising.
With years of in-ring experience and a toughness few others in WWE can match, Baszler has all the tools to succeed as a producer or agent. For now, WWE and Baszler appear to be taking things step by step following her unexpected NXT Homecoming cameo.
Adriana Rizzo promised herself she wouldn’t date anyone within WWE when she first joined, but that vow proved easier said than done. Speaking with sports media personality Justin Stuckley, Rizzo revealed that she has broken her rule and is now in a relationship with Cutler James of Dark State.
Rizzo’s relationship flies in the face of the rule she made not to date anyone. For Rizzo, she felt it was best to avoid any potential drama in the work place.
“I actually had the plan to not date anyone in there because I had previously, you know, tried to date someone on a team in the past and I was like, ‘Oh, this is too much. Too much.’ So I thought, ‘Let me not get into that.’“
That rule held firm for two years until Rizzo found herself spending more time with James. According to her, James “had a crush on me for the longest time,” while she had “really liked him” for about a year despite her no-dating policy. Eventually, their feelings won out.
“Finally, I thought, ‘All right, I’ve had a crush on him for over a year. He’s been trying to date me. Let me give it a shot.’ And it turned out to be the best thing.“
Now, Rizzo and James join WWE’s list of power couples, alongside CM Punk & AJ Lee, Seth Rollins & Becky Lynch, and Jimmy Uso & Naomi. The pair can now look forward to growing together, both personally and professionally, as part of WWE NXT.
WWE Women’s Champion Tiffany Stratton has dominated in 2025, but the ‘Buff Barbie’ is now facing a serious obstacle. Stratton is currently dealing with an injury, one that prevented her from competing in a six-woman tag-team match at the WWE NXT Homecoming special. In the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter Dave Meltzer reports Stratton’s setback could force WWE to alter creative plans.
One possibility would see the company scrap the originally planned triple threat match, which was set to feature Stratton defending the WWE Women’s Championship against Jade Cargill and Nia Jax. While WWE has yet to officially announce the match, a promotional t-shirt for Wrestlepalooza hinted that this was the planned direction for the title picture.
Bryan Alvarez of F4WOnline adds that Stratton’s injury occurred during a moonsault off the post on the September 12 episode of WWE SmackDown. The match against Jade Cargill ended shortly after in a double count-out, and Nia Jax appeared noticeably cautious during her post-match attack on Stratton.
2025 has been a career-defining year for Stratton, highlighted by her successful Money in the Bank cash-in and WrestleMania victory. With her recovery timeline still uncertain, fans are concerned that this setback could derail both her momentum and her championship reign.
For now, Stratton remains recognized as WWE Women’s Champion. However, defending the title in a triple threat would already put her at a disadvantage — and not defending it at all could create even bigger challenges for the young star.
In a new interview on Busted Open Radio with host Dave LaGreca, WWE’s Bronson Reed shared insights on his journey back to the top ahead of his high-profile tag match at Wrestlepalooza, where he will team with Bron Breakker to take on The Usos.
Reed discussed overcoming a serious injury and described this past year as a culmination of years of hard work, stating, “I’ve never been hots-hotted into a position. I’ve always had to work my way up the ladder, whether that was the independents, NXT, or during my time away in Impact and New Japan.”
He credited a grueling rehab regimen and self-discipline for returning at a higher level than before, with the support of a strength and conditioning coach.
Reed & Bron Breakker
Reflecting on his on-screen partnership with Bron Breakker, Reed acknowledged there was an adjustment period but emphasized their strong chemistry as two singles stars who have come together as a formidable tag team.
Reed also expressed excitement about WWE’s growing relationship with ESPN, calling it “very exciting times” and highlighting the company’s global expansion.
Looking to tomorrow’s Wrestlepalooza bout, Reed said he and Breakker are ready to make a statement against the renowned Usos tag team.
He ended with gratitude for the opportunity, crediting WWE for recognizing his value and reinforcing his “don’t quit” approach to the wrestling business.
Triple H is making big promises for WrestlePalooza.
The PPV this Saturday is going to be the first show of WWE’s new partnership with ESPN. Both Brock Lesnar and AJ Lee are set to make their in-ring return at the event and many other big names are also advertised for this PLE.
Though the WWE Chief Content Officer Triple H is suggesting that they have some tricks hidden up their sleeve as well. The Game talked about the PPV during his appearance on ESPN’s Get Up, and claimed that fans can expected a spectacle filled with surprises this weekend:
“Nobody does big events like WWE, with possibly the exception of ESPN. What you guys do, the hype that you put around it— shows like this, coming up here and having the honor of being here with you.
All of this, First Take, ESPN, it builds those events to be bigger than anything. Then, we deliver on them bigger than anybody. Expect spectacle, expect surprises, expect to have a lot of fun and ESPN is going to deliver.”
While Triple H did not reveal many details on what kind of surprises fans can expect, reports from different sources have revealed a couple of potential returns that could take place at the PLE.
The latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter notes that former World Champion Gunther is expected back on TV soon. Similarly a WWE source has told Fightful Select that Hall of Famer Rey Mysterio is also gearing up for a return.
The Ring General has not been seen on WWE TV since he dropped the World Heavyweight Championship to CM Punk at SummerSlam last month. Seth Rollins ended up cashing in his MITB contract on Punk right after the Gunther match.
Mysterio on the other hand has not wrestled since April this year due to multiple injuries. He was present for the Worlds Collide event earlier this month where Rey presented the AAA Mega Championship to his son Dominik Mysterio.
AEW star Eddie Kingston has pulled back the curtain on the immense personal struggles he faced during his lengthy injury absence, revealing that he seriously contemplated retiring from professional wrestling. In a candid interview with CBS Sports, Kingston detailed the dark days of his recovery from a severe leg injury, a period in which he battled mentally and physically before finding the inspiration to make his return.
Kingston has been sidelined since May 2024, after suffering a torn ACL, torn meniscus, and a fractured tibia during a No Ropes Last Man Standing match against Gabe Kidd at an NJPW STRONG event. He explained that the physical pain was manageable compared to the mental toll of the recovery process. “The hardest part of anything in life is the mental game. Pain is whatever. I’ve had eight or nine surgeries already,” Kingston said. He revealed he spent a significant portion of his recovery in isolation. “I told her to get out and that I’d be alright, lying, of course. For two months, I was by myself. I wasn’t doing PT, sitting there days in the dark by myself. Thank God I don’t really drink much anymore. I coped with food, which didn’t help”.
The mental and physical challenges led Kingston to a point where he was unsure if an in-ring return was possible, and he began trying to talk himself into retirement. “I went from beating myself up, not knowing if I’d get back in the ring, and trying to be satisfied. I told myself, ‘Well, I reached this goal and I reached that goal.’ I was trying to convince myself that it’s OK to call it,” he stated. However, when asked if he could find closure with that decision, Kingston’s response was blunt. “I couldn’t (find closure). Nothing. Death. Honestly. I tried to find everything. I would lie to myself”.
Ultimately, Kingston found his motivation to return from his mentor and friend, Homicide, who was forced into retirement due to his own health issues earlier in 2025. “He didn’t get to go out his way. So he’d tell me, ‘Go out your way. I know this is not the way you want to go out.’ I want to go out on my shield. I want to go out swinging to the end,” Kingston recalled. “People can say whatever they want about Eddie Kingston, but one thing they can’t say is that I wasn’t defiant to the end. That’s what kept me going”.
Kingston is now scheduled to compete for the first time in over a year this Saturday, September 20, at the AEW All Out pay-per-view, where he will face Big Bill.
An former WWE star has shared the difference between WWE and TNA creative processes.
The duo of Cassie Lee & Jessica McKay, collectively known as The IInspiration recently had an interview with TMZ Sport. The current TNA stars talked about things such as their childhood wrestling crushes, setting boundaries for fans at Meet & Greet events and more.
The tag team formerly known as The IIconics in WWE also detailed the difference in the creative process of their former and current wrestling home. Cassie Lee who was known as Peyton Royce in the Endeavor owned promotion, explained that TNA officials trust them to deliver a message as it fits their character:
“I think that’s one of the reasons why we have so much fun at TNA, they just trust us. When we are able to cut a promo, or if we are doing a backstage segment, they just trust that we know ourselves well enough to deliver the message in a way that we truly would.”
She then went on to explain how things were a lot more complicated in WWE. According to Lee, they had to get approval from higher ups for any and all changes they felt were needed back then:
“It was somewhat of a battle at WWE when we were still there where, like, one little word would have to be approved and that would take an hour to get approval and it’s like, do you go wait outside of an office for six hours to see if you can get this line changed because it doesn’t really fit us?”
The IIconics were part of the WWE roster from 2015 to 2021 starting their run in NXT. They were called up to SmackDown in 2018 and had a run with the Women’s tag titles before their release during the COVID era.
Notably, the two only got to work under the Vince McMahon regime on main roster and many current stars have said that they have a lot more freedom since Triple H took over the creative.
AJ Lee rocked the wrestling world with her return to WWE on the September 5 edition of SmackDown, and it didn’t take long for WWE to confirm the presumptive plans—that she would team up with her husband CM Punk against Becky Lynch and Seth Rollins for a mixed tag team match of epic proportions at Wrestlepalooza.
With the possible exception of Triple and Stephanie McMahon vs. Kurt Angle and a debuting Ronda Rousey, this would have to be considered the biggest mixed tag team match WWE has ever built to. Between the buzz of Lee’s return, and the three other performers all being well-respected talents at or around the top of their game, anchored by a long, hot feud between Rollins and Punk, this bout has the makings of something special. While the presumptive main event for Wrestlepalooza will be the final match between John Cena and Brock Lesnar, the mixed tag really should close the show.
AJ Lee’s Surprise Return Outperformed Brock Lesnar’s
AJ Lee. Photo: WWE.com
Brock Lesnar made a splash with a surprise return at the end of SummerSlam and, surely, a lot of the buzz there came down to legitimate surprise as most indications suggested the fall out from the Janel Grant situation and The Beast’s advancing age meant he was done in WWE. WWE touted that over 75 million people watched clips of Lesnar’s return across their social media channels.
AJ Lee’s return was—by the time it happened—less of a shock, as WWE had planted clear seeds and the rumor mill was working overtime. Nonetheless, the moment tallied nearly three million views in the first hour and was cited to have garnered 130 million views on socials in the first 24 hours.
There are factors that complicate the statistics, like a widely watched SummerSlam streaming on Peacock versus a SmackDown episode that was not streaming in most markets. Still, there’s also the reality that while Lesnar is at best polarizing both on account of the scandal and arguably feeling played out as a WWE Superstar, Lee is beloved and fans were all to excited to see the trailblazer back in WWE. The pops in the live venues themselves attest to these reactions as well.
There’s More Buzz Around The Mixed Tag Team Feud Than John Cena Vs. Brock Lesnar
Seth Rollins and Becky Lynch. Photo: WWE.com
Blame it on the controversy surrounding Brock Lesnar, on fans tiring of John Cena’s farewell tour, or on the booking. Whatever the case may be, there’s simply not a lot of buzz around Lesnar vs. Cena at Wrestlepalooza.
To be fair, the two have established chemistry, including a great match at Extreme Rules 2012 and a very memorable outing at SummerSlam 2014. As such, it’s possible they’ll turn fan perceptions around in the late stages of the build to this match or after the opening bell rings. Still, WWE may be swimming upstream if tries to program this match after what’s sure to be a white hot reaction for the mixed tag.
The Stakes Are Higher If Fans Reject Brock Lesnar In The Main Event
Photo: WWE
It’s entirely possible the live audience and social media alike will turn on Brock Lesnar. Besides the aforementioned reasons for him registering as, at best, polarizing right now, there’s the history of his outing at WrestleMania 20 to reckon with—a showdown with Goldberg that got totally overshadowed by boos and catcalling.
Yes, Lesnar is playing a heel, so there’s room for him to absorb or even feed off a poor reaction. That’s not to mention that he’s much more experienced than he was in 2004 and will share a ring with John Cena, one of the very best at working an opinionated live crowd.
Still, WWE is clearly investing a lot in Wrestlepalooza as a stadium show and the launch of a new PLE deal with ESPN. The stakes are high if the crowd really turns on Lesnar, and that goes double if its in the last match of the show.
AJ Lee And CM Punk Vs. Becky Lynch And Seth Rollins Will Be More Reliably Great In The Ring
Image credit: WWE
Brock Lesnar hasn’t wrestled in two years and John Cena is not the in-ring performer he once was. While Cena’s capable of flashes of greatness—indeed, his last two PLE performances were significantly better than his preceding ones in 2025—and Lesnar is a freakish athlete, it still feels far from certain that the match between the two will deliver in 2025.
By contrast, Becky Lynch and Seth Rollins are at the top of their game, turning in consistently strong in-ring performances on top of drawing good heat. CM Punk has proven his haters wrong for the most part in this WWE run as well, not only holding up his end of hot feuds but doing his share to deliver in big match scenarios time and again. AJ Lee is the ex-factor, but she was a strong worker, looks to have stayed in incredible shape, and the fan enthusiasm behind her should be more than enough to cover for any ring rust in this first match back.
The Mixed Tag Team Feud Has More “Juice” Looking Ahead
CM Punk and AJ Lee on SmackDown. Photo: WWE
Even for those fans who are sold on John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar, the reality is that this stands to be their last match with one another. Alternatively, if it is just chapter one of a new story between them, WWE is entering dicey territory as so much of the audience isn’t sold on Lesnar being part of the show anymore and, more so, fans have other opponents they’re more excited to see Cena face as he burns daylight on this retirement tour.
So, whereas Cena vs. Lesnar is a one-off novelty, AJ Lee and CM Punk vs. Becky Lynch and Seth Rollins has legs. There’s no telling for sure what WWE has planned, but it’s not unrealistic to imagine this being one more installment in a journey that arrives at Rollins and Punk main eventing WrestleMania 42 with the World Heavyweight Championship on the line, while AJ Lee vs. Becky Lynch, perhaps for the Intercontinental Championship climaxes at the same super show. Even if the feuds don’t run that long, Wrestlepalooza all but certainly doesn’t spell the end, and WWE would be well served to spotlight a feud among top stars who are going to keep beefing over a one-and-done encounter.
AEW’s Brody King sparked significant discussion earlier this year when he wore an “Abolish ICE” shirt at AEW Grand Slam Mexico. The shirt and its message quickly drew attention not only in wrestling circles but also in mainstream media, with major outlets such as TMZ, CNN, and Fox News covering the story.
During the AEW All Out media call, Jonathan Ore of CBC asked Tony Khan about how AEW differs from WWE, a company known for its ties to former President Donald Trump. Khan emphasized that AEW is a place where wrestlers are encouraged to be their authentic selves.
“It’s really important to note that the wrestlers in AEW are presented very much so as their authentic selves. In the case of Brody King and Hangman Page, that’s who those guys are. That’s them being themselves,” Khan explained.
He went on to reflect on how professional wrestling brings together people from diverse backgrounds. However, Khan clarified that King’s role in AEW isn’t defined by political views. Instead, he stressed that King and Page are part of the company “because they are awesome wrestlers.”
Any backlash King may have faced for expressing his views on AEW programming hasn’t slowed his momentum. He is a former Trios Champion and currently holds the AEW World Tag Team Championship alongside Bandido.
As for as Khan is concerned, King will continue to be his authentic self for as long as he is part of AEW. Stay tuned to SEScoops for the latest updates on Brody King.
AJ’s in-ring return will be merely the latest for Rollins, who WWE has relied upon in the past to bring the best out of Superstars making comebacks. Speaking to SI Media with Jimmy Traina, Rollins reflected on his role in multiple returns.
“I’ve been a part of some big returns over the past few years… CM Punk was gone for a while, but he was wrestling elsewhere during that period of time. Cody Rhodess, same thing. It wasn’t like these guys were taking time off and taking a vacation. Punk did, but he was active for a couple years before he came back to WWE. These guys had jumped back on the bike for a while or in Cody’s case, never left.”
While both Rhodes and Punk had been active in the ring just months before their respective WWE comebacks in 2022 and 2023, AJ’s situation is different. Rollins admitted he’s been impressed by her return since early September, but noted that the real test will come in the ring.
“AJ, it’s going to be tricky, man. It’s gonna be very tricky and we’ll see how she manages. As you’ve seen over the past couple weeks, she can hold her own on a microphone, but the bells ring Saturday in Indy and we’ll let the chips fall where they may.”
Rollins’ comments reflect the feelings of many who are eager to see how AJ Lee performs in her first match back. Since her WWE exit in 2015, fans have long hoped for her return, but it will now be up to the former Divas Champion to prove she can still deliver in the ring.
WWE Wrestlepalooza will take place on September 20 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana. Stay tuned to SEScoops for the latest from Wrestlepalooza, including breaking news and live results.
ODB, one of the most iconic TNA Knockouts of all time, made an appearance on the latest episode of TNA iMPACT! on AXS TV. During the show, ODB was spotted in the crowd and received a loud ovation from the audience. McKenzie Mitchell acknowledged the four-time former Knockouts Champion.
ODB first signed with TNA in 2007 following her run with WWE’s developmental territory, OVW. In 2019, she revealed that Triple H had encouraged her to sign with TNA rather than remain with WWE, as John Laurinaitis believed she wouldn’t fit in with the Divas division at the time. ODB remained with TNA until 2014.
ODB made a one-off return to the ring as part of a Wrestlecade battle royal last November, and, in recent years, has focused on running her food truck business. While her days as an in-ring competitor may be behind her, her appearance on iMPACT! made it clear there’s still plenty of love from fans for the former Knockout.
Many of WWE and UFC’s biggest events have traditionally taken place in the United States, but the largest portion of their fanbase resides overseas. Speaking on The Varsity with John Ourand podcast, TKO President Mark Shapiro emphasized that the company’s “superfandom” is found outside the U.S.
“We have a billion TKO fans, and the majority of those fans are outside the U.S. The majority of our economics are in the U.S., but outside is where our superfandom is.”
Before heading to Riyadh, WWE will host a Premium Live Event in Italy in 2026, the company’s first PLE in the country. WWE last brought cameras to Italy earlier this year for a SmackDown on the Road to WrestleMania in Bologna.
While the U.S. remains the financial center of TKO’s operations, the company has made it clear that international growth is a top priority. And with Shapiro pointing to “superfandom” abroad, more major WWE and UFC shows overseas appear inevitable.
The WWE NXT Homecoming featured plenty of returning stars from the brand’s past, including Rhea Ripley, Finn Balor, Tyler Breez and the returning Shayna Baszler, to name just a few. One name missing, however, was Baron Corbin—now competing as Bishop Dyer—a snub that left the former WWE Superstar feeling disappointed.
Appearing on Off The Ropes with Jonathan Coachman, Dyer admitted his frustrations about being excluded. Despite being a key figure during NXT’s formative years and later returning to the brand, he was neither invited to the show nor featured in its tribute package.
“I was a little butthurt about the whole thing. That opening package they did for the show was super dope, and they had a lot of Superstars from the past… I didn’t make the cut.”
According to Dyer, the only reference to Baron Corbin at NXT Homecoming came when he noticed someone in the crowd wearing one of his T-shirts. While he appreciated the nod, he reiterated feeling “butthurt” over the lack of official recognition.
Dyer suggested that his recent WWE release may have been a factor. As he explained, “you’ve gotta kinda give it a year or so before they start acknowledging your existence.”
Corbin played a major role in the celebrated 2015–2016 era of NXT—widely considered one of the brand’s peaks—and years later returned to capture the NXT Tag Team Titles. Though no longer with WWE, Dyer emphasized that NXT remains a meaningful part of his career, which made his absence from Homecoming all the more difficult to accept.
WWE’s historic Wrestlepalooza weekend kicks off tonight as SmackDown rolls into Toledo, OH at the Huntington Center. This is the high-stakes go-home show before tomorrow night’s Premium Live Event, with all hands on deck and major storylines converging for WWE’s first-ever PLE on ESPN.
Confirmed Matches and Appearances:
Sami Zayn defends the United States Championship against Carmelo Hayes
Brock Lesnar appears live in advance of his showdown with John Cena
Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes returns to address Drew McIntyre
Anticipated fallout from last week’s double count-out between WWE Women’s Champion Tiffany Stratton and Jade Cargill, with Nia Jax looming large
Other top stars scheduled: Randy Orton, LA Knight, and more surprises possible
With the stage set and momentum building, tonight’s SmackDown is a must-see lead-in to Wrestlepalooza. Follow SEScoops all weekend for complete coverage of all the action.
WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins has shared his thoughts on the announcement that WrestleMania 43 will be held in Saudi Arabia. The decision to take WWE’s biggest event of the year to an international location is part of a strategy that has seen the company hold major Premium Live Events in countries like Australia, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom in recent years because of big rights fees. WWE is reportedly getting paid major money from Saudi Arabia for bringing the show there.
This global push is set to continue, with reports of a PLE coming to Italy in 2026 and the Royal Rumble also heading to Saudi Arabia in January of next year. During a recent appearance on the “Nightcap” podcast, Rollins was asked about the decision to hold WrestleMania in Riyadh in 2027.
“WWE’s a global brand. We just announced we’re doing WrestleMania, we’re going to Riyadh in 2027. So that’ll be our first… yeah, it’s amazing. We’ve had a partnership with the athletic commission there in Saudi for the last six years and this is a continuation of that.”
The partnership between WWE and Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority has been in place since 2018.
WWE Hall of Famer Nikki Bella has revealed her personal picks for the Mount Rushmore of women’s wrestling, and she used the opportunity to take a direct shot at WWE Women’s Intercontinental Champion, Becky Lynch. The former longest-reigning Divas Champion, who has recently returned to WWE and had been in a feud with Lynch, made her selections during a recent conversation with SportBible.
Before naming her final four, Nikki explained her philosophy on the concept, stating that she believes every era of women’s wrestling is strong enough to warrant its own Mount Rushmore.
“So my Mount Rushmore of female wrestlers are- now this is tough for me because I feel you could actually do a Mount Rushmore in every era of female wrestling. I feel like when you look at all the different eras of from when women’s wrestling started, there’s always an iconic four that have helped build a division or have taken the division to the next evolution of the division growing. So this one’s very hard for me to do, and there’s so many people I want to put on this.”
She then revealed her four picks, which included a direct insult to her current on-screen rival.
“First, so I’m going to try to pick maybe some from different generations. So let’s put on Mae Young for what she did for women’s wrestling and let’s… do Trish Stratus for what she’s done for women’s wrestling. So it’s like another generation, another era. If we’re gonna talk present right now, let’s put up Rhea Ripley for what she’s doing for women’s wrestling. The fourth spot I thought about Becky Lynch, but she doesn’t deserve that. So we’re not gonna put up Becky Lynch and I mean, if she was on there, then I would definitely put my head on there to take over her spot. But I’ll just save that for our title match. Maybe we could battle out who deserves to be on Mount Rushmore. The fourth one I’m going to put on for myself, it would be Nattie Neidhart because to put on someone who comes from a wrestling family, I think how being the only female from the Hart family to do what she’s done, to come from the dungeon, she doesn’t get enough credit for what she’s done for women’s wrestling, but just how she’s carried on legacy and the pressure of that. So I think that definitely deserves a spot on my Mount Rushmore.”
Tony Khan is seemingly planning to fill the void of WrestleMania 43.
WWE has made a deal with Saudi Arabia to bring the Show of Shows to the Middle Eastern country in 2027. This will mark the first time the company’s biggest PPV is not held in the North American continent.
During a recent media call to promote the 2025 All Out PPV, the AEW President was asked about potentially producing an event in the US around the same time to counter program WrestleMania in Saudi Arabia. Tony Khan replied positively saying that they’re going to run a huge event in spring of 2027:
“I have a lot of interest in it. I can promise we’re going to run a huge event in the spring of 2027. I think spring 2027 is going to be a great time for AEW.”
The Revolution PPV has been held in early March the last 5 years, but it’s possible that Tony Khan would move the show closer to April to attract the US audience usually attending Mania in 2027.
Some details have been confirmed about WrestlePalooza.
WWE has announced a total of 5 matches for the reinstated ECW PPV this Saturday. The marquee bouts for the show are John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar and AJ Lee’s in-ring return in a mixed tag match.
This will be the company’s first PLE as part of their new deal with ESPN. There has been a lot of talk about which match will main event the show, that will compete against AEW All Out.
On the latest episode of his show, Pat McAfee cleared this confusion. The WWE announcer revealed that the match between John Cena and Brock Lesnar will be officially kicking off the WWE-ESPN era:
“Kicking off the ESPN-WWE era will be John Cena versus Brock Lesnar here at Gamebridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana. This is obviously gigantic. What a way to start.”
AEW has announced a special start time of 3 PM ET for All Out. The decision to put the Lesnar vs Cena match first was likely made by officials to pull any viewers away from the rival PPV if the AEW show goes long.
The announcement also means that AJ Lee teaming with CM Punk to face Becky Lynch and Seth Rollins will be the closing bout of WrestlePalooza.
There is another bout that is rumored to be added to the Saturday show but it will depend on the health of a current champion. You can check out more about it here.
People started speculating about the status of Kiera Hogan after the young star was removed from the roster page on the company’s official website.
Fightful Select has now confirmed that the 31-year-old who joined the promotion back in August 2021 has officially left the company owned by Tony Khan.
AEW had sent birthday wishes to Hogan on social media earlier this week. The wrestling star had responded to these posts as well, and reports suggest that there is no ill will behind her departure.
Kiera last wrestled for an indie promotion in April this year, though she hadn’t been seen in an AEW ring for more than 18 months. There have been reports of her release being the result of contract expiration, but this hasn’t been confirmed.
The now former AEW star has been busy in her time away from wrestling. She was announced to be part of season six of Joseline’s Cabaret earlier this year and is expected to tour with them this fall.
Kiera Hogan ended up suffering an unfortunate shoulder injury during the shooting of the show, and it’s one of the reasons behind her recent absence from the ring.
Though the former Impact Wrestling star has not left the business behind. She trained with Cezar Bononi last year to prepare for an in-ring return, and the belief is that she will wrestle again somewhere down the line.
WWE has officially announced a total of 5 matches for the upcoming PPV as of this writing. It includes a match between IYO SKY and Stephanie Vaquer for the vacant Women’s World title as well as AJ Lee’s in-ring return in a mixed tag team match.
Now Fightful Select has provided an update on a second women’s title match that could potentially be added to the show from Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana this Saturday.
According to them, a triple threat match among Tiffany Stratton, Nia Jax, and Jade Cargill for the Women’s Championship has been discussed for the PPV event. This report comes after the bout was featured on a leaked WrestlePalooza merchandise that went viral on social media earlier.
Tiffany Stratton VS Jade Cargill VS Nia Jax for the WWE Womens Championship is featured on #WrestlePalooza merchandise ahead of this weekend.
Tiffany Stratton was pulled from her scheduled six-woman tag match at this past Tuesday’s Homecoming special of NXT at the last minute. Lyra Valkyria ended up replacing her in the bout.
WWE claimed that the reigning Women’s champion was not medically cleared, but did not provide any more details behind this change.
It’s likely that we will get an update on Stratton’s health at this Friday’s SmackDown and the triple threat will be announced for WrestlePalooza if she is cleared to compete by then.
Raja Jackson, son of UFC legend Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, was arrested Thursday morning on felony charges stemming from a brutal assault at a Knokx Pro Wrestling event in Los Angeles last month.
According to TMZ, the 25-year-old was taken into custody and booked on a felony charge, with jail records showing he remains behind bars on a $50,000 bond. The arrest follows an incident on August 24 where Raja violently attacked wrestler Syko Stu (Stuart Smith) during the event.
Video footage shows Raja slamming Smith to the mat before delivering nearly two dozen punches to the unconscious wrestler. The assault continued for 10-11 seconds until other wrestlers intervened and pulled Raja off the victim.
Smith, who had gotten into a dispute with Raja before the event, was hospitalized for several days with multiple injuries including a fractured maxilla bone. He has since been released and is recovering at home.
In a surprising twist, Rampage Jackson publicly stated his son should face jail time for his actions, suggesting “a little community service,” anger management courses and therapy would benefit Raja.
The incident has raised serious questions about security protocols at wrestling events and the consequences of taking scripted entertainment too far into real violence.
This Saturday is shaping up to be a historic day for wrestling as AEW broadcasts All Out and WWE showcases Wrestlepalooza. While the companies have coincided and competed over dates before, including the Wednesday Night War and WWE’s NXT specials running up against AEW offerings, this may well be the combined biggest between the two companies since AEW’s inception in 2019.
All Out and Wrestlepalooza will not actually run against each other, though given the propensity for AEW shows to run long, it’s quite possible there will be some overlap. Nonetheless, each show feels as though it’s making a statement about the respective companies’ identities and what they offer the modern wrestling fan.
Featured Tag Team Matches Tell The Tale
Image credit: AEW
For AEW, the tag team match pitting Cope and Christian Cage against FTR has to be the most hotly anticipated affair. The reunite legendary tag team worked Forbidden Door together, but it’s hard not to read that bout as a dry run to shake off the ring rust of the pairing. By contrast, stepping into the ring with FTR—deep personal friends, heated on-screen rivals, and one of the best in-ring tag teams of their generation—has all the makings of an instant classic.
Meanwhile, in WWE, though John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar has now been announced as the Wrestlepalooza main event, the match with the most buzz is AJ Lee and CM Punk vs. Becky Lynch and Seth Rollins. That interest largely owes to the novelty of seeing Lee in a WWE ring again for the first time in a decade, combined with the other marquee talent and the hot feud at hand.
In AEW’s case, the tag bout is largely a testament to nostalgia and the legends at hand having some creative freedom, as a testament to both Cope and Cage picking AEW over WWE to presumably wind down their careers. What’s more, the match quality is all but guaranteed to be there for the talents involved and their relationships.
For WWE, Punk and Lee represent a past generation of top WWE Superstars, and the match itself is a lowkey dream match. This scenario demonstrates Triple H’s patient booking style as well. There’s every possibility this is the first of multiple mixed tag team encounters between these pairings. What’s more, there’s every possibility both Punk vs. Rollins and Lee vs. Lynch have enough juice to carry all the way to WrestleMania.
Wrestlepalooza Boasts A Quintessential WWE Main Event
Image credit: WWE
Though a vocal portion of the WWE audience would advocate for the mixed tag team match or Cody Rhodes vs. Drew McIntyre main eventing Wrestlepalooza, there is something quintessentially WWE about spotlighting John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar.
Both of these men are defining faces of the Ruthless Aggression Era. Moreover, when they met again in 2012 and in their 2014-2015 issue, it represented how timeless they are WWE main eventers—guys with superhero physiques, their own brands of charisma, and the ability to work the WWE main event style at the highest level.
So it is that putting on Cena-Lesnar last, with all the extra trimmings of Cena’s retirement tour and implications this is the last time these two will share a ring embodies a lot of how WWE develops attractions that feel must-see, especially for casual or lapsed fans.
Women’s Matches Are Representative Of The Respective Divisions
Both AEW and WWE are staging one women’s singles match, each for a title, on the main cards of their respective shows. In WWE, it’s Stephanie Vaquer vs. Iyo Sky for the vacant Women’s World Championship. In AEW, Mercedes Mone defends the TBS Championship against Riho.
On the WWE side of things, the scheduled match feels a lot like a fight for the future as two of the best in-ring talents square off. Sky has been heavily featured all year as her upset title win over Rhea Ripley on the Road to WrestleMania set her up to then successfully defend the Women’s World Championship in a banger at ‘Mania. Meanwhile, Vaquer’s a fresh face who garnered an early springboard promotion from NXT to become a featured player on the main roster. The victor here feels telling who will carry the division forward and ultimately prove the next major rival for Rhea Ripley over the belt—Vaquer is looking like the favorite.
On AEW’s side, Mone has been a largely dominant champion for over a year now, but faces a fresh challenge in Riho, who was the original AEW Women’s World Champion. This pairing represents a clash of AEW generations in a sense, from its earliest days when many considered their women’s division a relative weak point to the present, when Mone has contributed to elevating the TBS Championship to feeling an awful lot like a second top prize for women to go after, bespeaking a deep division with ample stars to chase each belt.
Both of these matches are all but assured to be pretty great. It does feel reflective of WWE’s growth that Vaquer will presumably advance to her first world title here, while it also bespeaks AEW’s steady, sustained push for its top female talents that Mone will likely keep rolling along.
The Macro-Scale Cards Reflect Each Company
The card for AEW All Out is largely reflective of the company. There are ten announced matches as of press time, featuring a range that includes a Tables ‘N’ Tacks Match as well as a Coffin Match, each of which all but guarantee hardcore plunder and blood given the gimmicks and talents involved.
By contrast, at press time Wrestlepalooza has five matches on the docket, sticking to a tighter formula Triple H has grown famous for that allows longer individual match times, the show itself not running to marathon lengths, and leaving plenty of meat on the bone for free TV and to hold off major bouts for other big events down the road. The card composition is also steady with one men’s world title match, one women’s world title match, a tag match, the mixed tag team bout, and a main event showdown between two marquee talents.
Wrestlepalooza Vs. All Out: Which Show Will Be Better?
CM Punk and AJ Lee on SmackDown. Photo: WWE
In an increasingly tribalistic world of wrestling fandom, the question a lot of fans will boil things down is which show as better: Wrestlepalooza or All Out? Perhaps the biggest demonstration of how well each show shapes up to represent its companies is that earnest cases will come from both sides on the companies respective merits.
Fans who burn out on long shows and who privilege star power, not to mention the return of AJ Lee will but assuredly come out in favor of WWE and Wrestlepalooza. On the flip side, fans who just can’t get enough wrestling and applaud four-hour-plus shows—and especially those who like a little blood and guts mixed in—will probably enjoy the heck out of All Out. The coexistence of these shows is a very healthy thing for wrestling on the whole as there’s really something for everyone coming this Saturday.
The six-sided ring was once synonymous with TNA Wrestling, but AJ Styles has little desire to return to the hexagonal setup. Speaking with Chris Van Vliet on Insight, Styles explained just how painful the ring could be.
“There was a point in time where Kurt [Angle] and I were wrestling and he was gonna give me the belly-to-belly off the top. I remember taking that and I go, ‘Never taking that again. Don’t ask me, Kurt!’”
Styles and Angle wrestled multiple times during their TNA careers, and when Angle later suggested the move again—this time in a traditional squared ring—Styles reluctantly agreed. To his surprise, the landing was far more forgiving.
“He gave me it in a squared ring and I was like, ‘Oh.’ I landed and it was nothing compared to what it was.”
Styles had been angry about TNA moving from six sides to the squared ring at first, as the six sides had set TNA apart from countless other promotions. Once he took the top rope move from Angle, Styles’ view change, as he shared “‘Eh, I’m okay with the squared ring now.'”
While Styles isn’t a fan of the six sides, he acknowledged the design as a defining part of TNA’s identity.
“We made it who we were. I think they lost their identity to a certain extent, when they went to just a regular ring.”
Now approaching a decade in WWE, Styles’ days inside the six-sided ring are well behind him. Still, the memories—both painful and meaningful—remain a lasting part of his career.
WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion Charlotte Flair recently reflected on her first-ever main roster championship win, admitting that at the time, she was not ready for the responsibility that came with being a champion. The moment took place at the Night of Champions pay-per-view in September 2015, when a still relatively new Charlotte defeated Nikki Bella to win the Divas Championship, ending Nikki’s record-breaking 301-day reign. The win was a pivotal moment in the “Divas Revolution” storyline of that era, but “The Queen” now believes that she had not yet grown into the role of a top champion.
In a new interview with Kate Mackz, the multi-time world champion explained her feelings about that first championship run.
“When I won the Diva’s Championship from Nikki Bella, I wasn’t ready. The title owned me, I didn’t own the title. You don’t want it to be about the title, you want it to be about you. It’s about the person holding it. So I didn’t think I got to that until I became the inaugural Raw Women’s Champion at WrestleMania 32 and I retired the Diva’s Championship.”
Her reign as Divas Champion lasted 196 days before the championship was retired at WrestleMania 32 and replaced with the new WWE Women’s Championship, which she also won. The transition marked a significant step in the evolution of women’s wrestling in WWE, and for Flair, it was the moment she truly felt she had become a champion. Today, she currently holds the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships with her partner, Alexa Bliss.
WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins has pulled back the curtain on his elaborate “Ruse of the Century,” where he faked a career-threatening knee injury for weeks before making a shocking return at SummerSlam to cash in his Money in the Bank briefcase and win the championship. The long-term storyline was one of the most talked-about angles of the year, completely fooling a large portion of the fanbase and even some of his closest friends in the business.
Speaking with Jimmy Traina on the SI Media podcast, Rollins was asked how many people were in on the plan. “You can probably count on two hands.”
He also discussed the origins of the idea and his own commitment to making it a success.
“I’m not exactly sure where it was hatched. It was presented to me in advance, quite some time, which in our business is a few weeks. I thought the idea was brilliant when I first heard it. Obviously, the execution was going to be important, and the details were going to need to be ironed out. I felt the crux of the idea was brilliant. I was the guy to be able to pull that off. I was very excited at the prospect of it. My level of commitment to our industry is second to none. I was the guy for the job.”
When asked if he felt any guilt about deceiving his colleagues and the fans, Rollins was unapologetic.
“I didn’t feel guilty. I let my wife [Becky Lynch] take all the guilt. She has the Irish guilt anyway… If someone did this to me, I wouldn’t feel bad in the slightest. I would totally get it. Even my closest friends. Maybe John Cena. John reached out and I had to do my best to wiggle around it. John and I are cut from the same cloth, so when John saw the final outcome, he was very happy and proud.”
The storyline will culminate this Saturday at the WWE WrestlePalooza Premium Live Event, where Rollins will team with Becky Lynch to face CM Punk and the returning AJ Lee.
