This week’s edition of Monday Night Raw takes place from the Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. WWE has been on a roll as of late, with fans and pundits largely in agreement that Raw has been consistently enjoyable shows. The company looks to keep the momentum going with another eventful episode.
Approximately 5,900 tickets have been distributed for Raw, according to Wrestletix. The venue is configured to accommodate over 6,200 fans, so attendance could top 6,000 by the time Raw goes on the air.
WWE is advertising several matches and segments for tonight:
Brock Lesnar will appear. The Beast Incarnate made a surprise return last week and destroyed Bobby Lashley. Will Lesnar address The Almighty, or does he have other plans in mind?
Seth Freakin’ Rollins will defend the United States championship against his rival, Matt Riddle.
Dexter Lumis battles The Miz, If Lumis wins, he’ll earn a contract to become a full-time member of the Raw roster.
The Good Brothers (Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson) vs. The Alpha Academy’s Chad Gable and Otis.
Elias returns. What will the multi-talented wrestler/musician have to say about his brother Ezekiel appearing for WWE during his time away?
WWE Crown Jewel takes place two weeks from this Saturday, so expect to see more build towards WWE’s next premium live event.
A new episode of Table for 3 premiered last week featuring an eclectic group of WWE Hall Of Famers. The series features legends reminiscing about their careers and memorable moments in wrestling history.
Airing on Peacock and the WWE Network (outside of the United States), the newest installment is titled “New Generation Gathering.” There, WWE Hall of Famers Jerry “The King” Lawler, Bret “The Hitman” Hart, and Kane gathered to discuss the respective era of the company.
The New Generation’ era would roughly begin amidst WWE’s debut and introduction of Monday Night RAW in January 1993. The time period would extend to about 1997, a lead-in of sorts for the beloved Attitude Era in WWE.
WWE posted a preview clip of the Table For 3 episode, taking a sneak peak at another previous persona of Kane (real name Glenn Jacobs). The video description reads:
“Kane looks back at his first foray into the business, portraying the “Christmas Creature”, in this sneak peek at the newest edition of Table for 3: New Generation Gathering.”
Before he was Kane, Jacobs would also embody the personas of Isaac Yankem and Fake Diesel. Yankem would find himself aligned with Jerry Lawler during his tenure, in a storyline that rivaled Bret Hart. Lawler and Hart famously met in June of 1995 to compete in a “Kiss My Foot” match, which saw “The Hitman” take home the victory.
Former CEO Vince McMahon actually came up with the stipulation concept, as Lawler revealed in the episode. Coinciding with Lawler’s royalty gimmick, he often demanded the WWE Universe to “kneel down and kiss my royal feet”. Accordingly, McMahon sparked the “Kiss My Foot” match idea. Leading up to the bout, Lawler was instructed to disgust the audience with mention of his “hammer-toe”, “bunions”, and “calluses”. Bret Hart regarded Lawler as a “master heel” during the time, which made their work and the build to the match even more effective.
The newest Table for 3 episode is now available for streaming on Peacock and WWE Network.
After extended teases, Bray Wyatt at last made his return to WWE television at Extreme Rules. The comeback has sparked quite a bit of speculation. In particular, a great deal of reporting suggested that Vince McMahon was constantly at odds with Wyatt’s creative vision during his original run with WWE. The conventional wisdom is that Triple H will be a better creative partner. One way or another, there are quite a few fresh matchups and storylines available for The Eater of Worlds. There’s also some merit in looking backward, revisiting some concepts that could work better on a second run-through.
What Went Wrong For The Original Wyatt Family
The Wyatt Family originally launched on NXT, and got over enough that the faction was fast-tracked to the main roster. The core group consisted of Bray Wyatt, Luke Harper, and Erick Rowan and got some immediate buzz with upper card feuds, culminating in Wyatt working his first WrestleMania match opposite no lesser opponent than John Cena.
The biggest challenge to the success of the Wyatt Family came down to inconsistency. The group more than once got together, went their separate ways, and reunited without much clear rhyme or reason. Moreover, there inconsistency in how Wyatt was pushed, getting built up only to job to Cena at WrestleMania 30, then encounter the same dynamic opposite The Undertaker at WrestleMania 31. Wyatt rose up so far as to win the WWE Championship heading into WrestleMania 33, only to drop it to Randy Orton there (despite the use of newfound magical powers to get in The Viper’s head).
Harper and Rowan faced a similar rollercoaster journey, pushed as monsters only to fail in their bids to take the tag titles off The Usos. They peaked as The Bludgeon Brothers—away from the faction—but when that run got cut short due to injury, WWE dropped it altogether. Braun Strowman experienced a similar story—brought into the group to dually play an impressive heater on screen and to sit under Wyatt’s learning tree backstage, but he enjoyed the greatest successes of his tumultuous run away from the group.
WWE Can Incorporate Firefly Funhouse Personalities
Whether WWE calls a new Bray Wyatt faction the Wyatt Family, The Wyatt 6, or something else altogether, there remains the possibility of leaning into Firefly Funhouse lore more so than the original swamp cult sensibility Wyatt put forth. Costumed figures, mirroring the Funhouse cast, appeared around the arena at Extreme Rules before Wyatt showed his face. Indeed, fans also picked up on hints—the fact that they were human beings rather than puppets, not to mention the women’s championship belts beside the Abbie the Witch figure—that these characters would become physical presences in the ring moving forward.
It’s unclear how well received a wrestling rabbit or pig character would be. The fact that fans are discussing this very real possibility now, though, speaks to the unique aesthetic Wyatt brings to professional wrestling. These unconventional, presumably masked personas would also open the door to radically rebrand some talents whom fans have been conditioned not to take seriously, or who don’t have very well-defined characters out on their own.
A New Wyatt Family Could Offer A Home To Other Talents
One of the more promising elements of a new Wyatt faction is the idea of revisiting old connections and doing them justice, in contrast to the up-and-down booking The Eater of Worlds and his associates have faced in the past. Alexa Bliss has been directionless most of the year, and teaming up with Bray Wyatt again could reignite her career. Braun Strowman still has some buzz from his own return to WWE, but enough time has passed that fans may welcome seeing him team up with Wyatt again, too, before long. As far as the public knows, Erick Rowan is a free agent whom might be recruited back to WWE as well.
The rumor mill suggests Bo Dallas is set to return to WWE. The company shied away from acknowledging he’s Bray Wyatt’s real-life brother in the past, but it may be time to play that card. A number of fans have speculated that between the tease of women’s title belts and her seemingly casting off her Almost a Super Hero persona recently, Nikki Cross would be an aesthetic fit to team up with Wyatt, too.
One of the refreshing aspects of Triple H taking the reins of WWE creative has been how open he seems to factions, with The Brawling Brutes sharpening their focus, Hit Row re-signing, Imperium and The Club reuniting, Legado Del Fantasma getting their call up to the main roster, and Damage CTRL taking shape. (That’s not to mention The Bloodline continuing their dominant run and Judgment Day getting some momentum.) The Wyatt Family, or some variation on the concept, could offer another group with built in creativity and genuinely different identity than anything else WWE has going today, besides giving a wide swathe of talent something interesting to do in the months ahead.
Bray Wyatt is back with WWE, 15 months after his controversial release from the company, but what’s next for him?
Wyatt returned to WWE during the closing moments of Extreme Rules 2022, earning a thunderous response from the fans in Philadelphia.
During last Friday’s SmackDown, Wyatt cut a passionate promo about his departure and return, which has racked up more than 5 million YouTube views in the first 12 hours.
Unfinished Plans
There has been a ton of buzz about Wyatt and what the future holds for him, and fans are unsure what will come next.
According to Dave Meltzer, those within WWE aren’t too sure either, with many being kept in the dark.
“I’ve certainly heard names for a faction but then I heard other people say those aren’t the names. And someone even told me it’s not even all worked out exactly how it’s all gonna go down.”
Dave Meltzer.
The Wyatt-6
Rumors of a faction for Wyatt began at Extreme Rules, as his return featured several other performers.
For his return, individuals dressed as members of the Firefly Fun House, including Huskus the Pig Boy, Rambling Rabbit, Abby the Witch, Mercy the Buzzard, and the Fiend.
Names rumored for the group include Grayson Waller, who is believed to have played Mercy the Buzzard at Extreme Rules.
During a recent video on Twitter, Waller teased involvement, as a Bray Wyatt Head-Lantern was in the background of the video.
Liv Morgan and Alexa Bliss have both been rumored to play Abby the Witch.
John ‘Bradshaw’ Layfield’s return to WWE may be a matter of hours away as the company has plans to use the former WWE Champion.
Bradshaw was a staple of WWE programming from the mid-90s to 2009, when he retired from in-ring competition at WrestleMania 25.
In 2021, JBL was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame as part of the 2020 class, which had been delayed due to the Covid-19 Pandemic.
JBL Returns
It’s been over a decade since JBL last competed for WWE, but his return to programming is said to be imminent.
PW Insider reports that during last week’s SmackDown tapings, there were talk backstage about the former World Champion.
It’s reported that people were discussing that JBL will be at the next several episodes of Monday Night Raw in some capacity.
It is unclear what exactly WWE has planned for the Texan legend.
Manager?
WWE has not publicly confirmed JBL’s appearance, but the former wrestler may be back as a manager.
After losing to Shinsuke Nakamura on the August 27, 2022, SmackDown, Happy Corbin was approached by someone in a white limousine.
While the passenger’s face was not seen, the voice was distinctly that of JBL and many believe that the Hall of Famer will be Corbin’s manager going forward.
Speaking in February this year, JBL said he would love to manage Corbin if given the chance.
“I Love Baron Corbin. I think Baron Corbin is a really smart guy, and I think Baron Corbin is a guy I would like to manage.”
It looks like it’s going to be ‘one and done’ for WWE Day 1. Earlier this year, WWE held the inaugural ‘Day 1’ premium live event on January 1st from Atlanta, GA. The show was headlined by Brock Lesnar winning the WWE Championship in a Fatal 5-Way match to end Big E’s reign.
Day 1 was scheduled to return to Atlanta on January 1st, but a report by Brandon Thurston of Wrestlenomics states that the show has been scrapped entirely. The company has no plans to reschedule or even rebrand the show, which means WWE will not have any PLE’s between the Survivor Series on November 26th, 2022, until The Royal Rumble on January 28th, 2023.
Wrestlenomics were unable to confirm the reasoning behind this cancellation. There is speculation that the cancellation may be due to the company stepping aside as their business partner NBCUniversal would’ve run head-to-head with each other on January 1st had the show gone ahead.
It was also reported in the October 3rd Wrestling Observer Newsletter that changes would be made to the Day 1 PLE at some point down the road. Some of the recent moves made within the structure of the WWE umbrella have been intriguing.
From bringing back former WWE talent’s, to putting more of an emphasis on the in-ring product on television. This could mean more concise builds with TV storylines and a stronger focus on the PLE’s that the WWE runs moving forward.
The cancelation of WWE Day 1 is part of a broader format change coming to premium live events coming next year. You can read more about that story here:
Seth Rollins captured the United States Championship from Bobby Lashley last week on RAW and is already scheduled to put the title on the line this week.
The Visionary won the US Title in controversial fashion last week on the red brand. Seth was attacked Bobby Lashley two weeks ago following his successful title defense against Mustafa Ali.
The All Mighty responded to the attack and issued a challenge for a title match against Seth last Monday. Seth was coming into the bout at a bit of a disadvantage as he had just lost to Riddle two days prior in a Fight Pit match at WWE Extreme Rules.
However, Brock Lesnar made his way to the ring and attacked Bobby Lashley before the match. The Beast planted Bobby with a couple of F5s and left him laying in the ring. Seth capitalized on the attack and easily defeated a weakened Lashley to become the new champion.
Seth Rollins To Defend The Title Against Matt Riddle On WWE RAW
The bitter rivalry between Matt Riddle and Seth Rollins has not come to an end. WWE announced that Seth will put the United States Championship on the line against Matt this Monday night on RAW. The rivalry between Matt and Seth had gotten extremely personal as of late, with Rollins making references to Riddle’s struggles with his family life.
UFC legend Daniel Cormier was named the special guest referee for the Fight Pit match between the two at Extreme Rules. Matt won the match via submission and posed with Cormier at the conclusion of the PLE.
Bobby Lashley was scheduled to defend the United States Championship against Seth Rollins last Monday on WWE RAW.
Rollins was just coming off a loss to Matt Riddle at WWE Extreme Rules and was coming into the match at a disadvantage. However, Brock Lesnar’s theme hit and he made his way to the ring to confront the champion.
Brock planted Lashley with a couple of F5s and left him laying in the ring. Rollins attacked Bobby’s pride and got him to accept the title match anyway following the attack. Seth took advantage of a wounded Lashley and easily defeated him to become the new United States Champion.
The All Mighty took to Twitter today to deliver a warning to The Beast ahead of tomorrow night’s edition of the red brand. Bobby challenged Brock to show up tomorrow night on WWE RAW.
Bring your ass to #WWERaw tomorrow Brock. No more games. No more surprises.
Brock Lesnar and Bobby Lashley battled earlier this year at the Royal Rumble Premium Live Event. Lashley emerged victorious in the match and captured the WWE Championship. Roman Reigns interfered towards the end of the bout and helped Lashley defeat The Beast.
Lashley was set to defend the title in the Elimination Chamber but was ruled out of the match following a Buckle Bomb from Seth Rollins. The Visionary Powerbombed Theory onto Bobby’s pod and the impact resulted in Lashley being removed from the match due to “concussion protocol”.
Brock went on to win the match and battled Roman Reigns during Night 2 of WrestleMania 38 to determine the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion. Roman defeated The Beast at the biggest show of the year and went on to successfully defend the title against Brock in a rematch at this year’s SummerSlam PLE.
Xavier Woods ran a wildly successful campaign amongst wrestling and video games in order to be named a host for the G4 network.
The video game network had recently been revived and was looking for some new personalities to carry the brand forward. Woods got the job and was named the host of “Arena” on the network. Xavier was also recently named the host for “Attack of the Show” on G4 as well.
Comcast Cancels G4TV, Xavier Woods Comments
Unfortunately for fans of G4, the network’s revival was short-lived and has come to an abrupt end.
As reported by Deadline earlier today, Comcast CEO Dave Scott sent out a memo and announced that G4 is immediately being discontinued. Dave explained that the network was being canceled because is it was not financially sustainable.
You can check out the full memo from Comcast CEO Dave Scott below:
Team:
As you know, G4 was re-introduced last year to tap into the popularity of gaming.
We invested to create the new G4 as an online and TV destination for fans to be entertained, be inspired, and connect with gaming content.
Over the past several months, we worked hard to generate that interest in G4, but viewership is low and the network has not achieved sustainable financial results.
This is certainly not what we hoped for, and, as a result, we have made the very difficult decision to discontinue G4’s operations, effective immediately. I know this is disappointing news, and I’m disappointed, too.
I want to thank you and everyone on the G4 team for the hard work and commitment to the network.
Our human resources team is reaching out to you to provide you with support, discuss other opportunities that may be available, and answer any questions you may have.
Thank you again for all of your hard work for G4.
Sincerely,
Dave Scott Chairman and CEO Comcast Spectacor
Xavier Woods sent out the following tweet less than a half hour ago and apparently found out the news on social media.
On a flight currently. Decided to get the wifi so I could shoot a text. Out of habit opened twitter….
On a flight currently. Decided to get the wifi so I could shoot a text. Out of habit opened twitter…. pic.twitter.com/sH8b8txgPi
WWE is reportedly expected to make changes to Premium Live Events starting in 2023 and has already canceled Day 1.
WrestleNomics exclusively reported earlier today that the Day 1 PLE has been canceled. Brock Lesnar captured the WWE Championship at the event on January 1st earlier this year. The event was held at the State Farms Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. WWE said that the PLE was the beginning of a new tradition for the company on New Year’s Day.
There are currently no Premium Live Events scheduled after Survivor Series on November 26th until Royal Rumble next year on January 28th.
Bryan Alvarez of The Wrestling Observer and shared that WWE is changing it’s strategy in regards to Premium Live Events with his “Super Followers” on Twitter. Alvarez reported that WWE is moving away from “gimmick events” next year to focus on international events like Clash at the Castle. Many fans have been critical of WWE having entire events based around gimmick matches (Hell in a Cell, TLC, Extreme Rules, etc).
Triple H recently spoke with LADBible and outlined his vision for the NXT product. The Game said that he wanted to take NXT around the world and build it into an “almost a World Cup scenario”. WWE held Clash at the Castle at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales.
It was WWE’s first stadium show in the United Kingdom in over 30 years and it was a massive success, with over 60,000 fans attending the Premium Live Event. It appears that WWE will focus on reaching more markets with their PLEs in 2023.
WWE legend Kurt Angle appeared today at the Pittsburgh Steelers game and got the crowd excited before kickoff.
Kurt recently appeared on WWE RAW when the red brand was in his hometown of Pittsburgh. He sat ringside for a tag team match between the Street Profits and Alpha Academy.
Following the victory for The Street Profits, Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins tried to share a drink with the Hall of Famer. Angle spit it out and they chugged milk instead. Kurt Angle wrestled his final match in WWE at in 2019. The Olympic Gold Medalist was defeated by Baron Corbin at WrestleMania 35.
Kurt Angle Rallies Fans At Steelers Game
Kurt Angle took to Twitter to post a video of his appearance today before the Pittsburgh Steelers game. The 53-year-old waved the “terrible towels” with his son and rallied the crowd. Angle and his son were at the game to promote cancer awareness.
My son Joseph and I led the incredible Pittsburgh Steelers Fans with the terrible towel twirl today, to promote cancer awareness. Go Steelers!! We’re gonna beat the@Buccaneers today!!!! #cancerawareness@steelers
Kurt Angle noted that the Steelers were going to win today in his post and they did just that. The Pittsburgh Steelers pulled off the shocking upset of Tom Brady and The Buccaneers today. Steelers new QB Kenny Pickett was knocked out of the game with a concussion but Pittsburgh still was able to escape with a 20-18 victory.
“I just can’t see anything in the wrestling business that he has a hand in that’s not going to be successful. And I’m obviously biased and partial to the man, but I would go to war for him seven days a week.”
Since being appointed Head of Talent, Triple H has brought several prominent stars back, including Johnny Gargano, Karrion Kross, Braun Strowman and Bray Wyatt.
Fans of Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns should enjoy his TV appearances while they can, as he won’t appear much more in 2022.
Earlier this year, Reigns signed a new contract with WWE that has seen him appear far less.
Despite being the promotion’s top champion, Reigns does not consistently appear on TV or at WWE’s Premium Live Events.
Reigns’ Bookings
According to PW Insider, Reigns has just two Premium Live Event bookings left in 2022, the first of which being Crown Jewel, where he will face Logan Paul.
The other Premium Live Event will be WWE Survivor Series 2022 where many believe Reigns and the Bloodline will compete in a WarGames match.
On WWE TV, Reigns will be on the October 28, SmackDown in St. Louis, which will be a double-taping.
The November 4, SmackDown will also be taped, as the WWE roster will be busy in Saudi Arabia on that date ahead of Crown Jewel on November 5.
Reigns’ one and only remaining Raw appearance is booked for October 31 in Dallas, Texas.
The Tribal Chief’s final appearances booked for this year will be on the November 11 SmackDown in Indianapolis and the November 18, show in Hartford.
WWE’s Big Problem
Despite his appearances being more sporadic, WWE remains all-in on Reigns as Undisputed WWE Universal Champion.
This has created a dilemma though, as according to reports, there is a desire for two World Championship matches at WrestleMania 39.
WWE reportedly does not want Reigns to take a loss between now and WrestleMania, which has left those working backstage in the dilemma.
The most popular theories online are that Reigns will face either Cody Rhodes or The Rock at WrestleMania 39.
Styles has been feuding with the Judgment Day fr months, as the group continues to try and recruit the two-time former WWE World Champion.
Good Brothers
Despite being WWE Superstars, Gallows and Anderson are still expected to compete for New Japan.
Earlier this week, it was confirmed that Anderson, the reigning NJPW NEVER Openweight Champion, will compete at Battle Autumn on November 5.
Fightful Select reports that the duo have been working for New Japan without contracts, and have plans to use the two in the coming months.
It was also reported that New Japan officials were aware that Gallows and Anderson were returning to WWE despite dates committed through to the end of this year.
Officials at NJPW are hopeful that WWE will allow Gallows and Anderson to work Wrestle Kingdom in January 2023, but that has not been confirmed at this time.
Return to WWE
Gallows and Anderson are back with WWE, two years after they were released by the promotion.
Fightful’s report adds that Gallows and Anderson were sent feelers from WWE during their recent run in Impact Wrestling.
It was said that neither man kept WWE’s interest in them a secret behind the scenes in Impact.
Both men’s contracts were originally set to end in July, but extended for a month, meaning their Impact deals ended in late August.
Gallows and Anderson’s first match back will come on tomorrow’s Raw when they will face Alpha Academy.
Joining AAA in 1992, Mysterio spent much of his time in the promotion feuding with fellow cruiserweight Juventud Guerrera.
In March 2015, days after being released from WWE, Rey returned to AAA for the first time in nearly twenty years at the Rey de Reyes (King of Kings) event.
The match Rey competed in is infamous for the death of wrestler El Hijo del Perro Aguayo, who suffered a cardiac arrest during the match.
At that year’s TripleMania XXIII event, Mysterio defeated Myzteziz (WWE’s Sin Cara) in what was billed as a dream match.
In June 2018, Rey made another return to AAA, competing in a three-way match for the AAA Mega Championship against Jeff Jarrett and Rey Wegner, which Jarrett would win.
LA Knight has left Maximum Male Models behind and is focused on becoming the top guy in WWE.
He defeated Mansoor in a singles match last night on SmackDown. It was LA Knight’s debut match on the main roster, as he had been serving as a manager for the Maximum Male Models group. His storyline sister, Maxxine Dupri, is the new manager of the group featuring Mansoor and Mace.
After his victory, LA Knight immediately turned heel and insulted the crowd after the match. He claimed that SmackDown is his game now and warned the locker room to close the promo.
LA Knight Claims To Be The Only “Megastar” In WWE
Following his successful in-ring debut on the main roster, LA Knight was interviewed on The SmackDown LowDown. Megan Morant tried to ask LA about his former protege Mansoor but Knight cut her off. LA said that Maximum Male Models were getting flushed down the toilet at the moment and claimed to be the only megastar walking around in WWE.
We want to talk about Maximum Male Models? Mace and Mansoor, right? Wrong.
Because where are they? They are getting flushed down the toilet right about now. Why is that?
It is because Mace and Mansoor, both of them, dropped on their head for their troubles. And what does that mean?
Now moving forward, now I’m going only where I can go and that is to the top. Why is that?
Because there is one, and only one, megastar walking around WWE and you are looking at him.
Why is that? Because whose game is it? It’s LA Knight’s game. YEAH.
If you use any quotes from this article, please credit The SmackDown LowDown and give a H/T to SEScoops for the transcription.
Legado del Fantasma made their in-ring debut last night on WWE SmackDown against Hit Row. They debuted on the October 7th edition of SmackDown and attacked Hit Row during their entrance.
Santos Escobar, Zelina Vega, and B-Fab were ringside as Cruz Del Toro & Joaquin Wilde battled Top Dolla and Ashante Adonis.
Legado isolated Top Dolla in the ring and connected with the Sacrificio for the pinfall victory. Zelina also attacked B-Fab during the match.
Legado del Fantasma Boasts About Their Victory Over Hit Row
Following their successful debut, Legado del Fantasma was interviewed on The SmackDown LowDown. Joaquin Wilde said that first impressions are everything and they made a statement on SmackDown.
First impressions are everything. Tonight was Legado’s in-ring debut and it is safe to say we made a statement.
Cruz Del Toro claimed that Legado del Fantasma is on a different level than Hit Row before Zelina Vega stepped to the microphone. Vega
Since people want to do diss verses on Twitter, let me respond in a way that they can understand. Everything we do, you know it’s ill. We don’t ever do it for luck, and by the way Hit Row is wack as….
Santos Escobar stopped Zelina short and said “you get the point” to end the interview.
AJ “Top Dolla” Francis released a diss track about Legado del Fantasma yesterday before WWE SmackDown went on the air. Top Dolla rapped during the song “Legado I see y’all still want beef, that’s cool I’m gonna find y’all a** at SmackDown”. You can check out the full track in the video below.
Raquel Rodriguez, Shotzi, and NXT star Roxanne Perez lost to Damage CTRL (Bayley, IYO SKY, and Dakota Kai in a 6-woman tag team match last night on WWE SmackDown.
Former tag teammates Roxanne Perez and Cora Jade are currently in a feud in NXT. On Tuesday’s show, both Roxanne and Cora will be in action against opponents selected by the rivals. Roxanne selected Raquel Rodriguez as Cora Jade’s opponent for Tuesday during last night’s edition of the blue brand.
Raquel Rodriguez On Returning To NXT For A Match Against Cora Jade
Raquel Rodriguez and Shotzi were interviewed on The SmackDown Lowdown this week. Rodriguez said that she couldn’t be more excited to go back to NXT and teach Cora Jade a lesson.
I couldn’t be more excited to go back to NXT. I’ve been seeing what Cora has been doing around there lately and I’m really glad that Roxanne came to SmackDown and picked me to teach her a lesson.
Shotzi and Raquel were then asked about their shot at the Women’s Tag Team Championships next week when they battle IYO SKY and Dakota Kai of Damage CTRL. Shotzi stated
They (Damage CTRL) have been an absolute pain in our booties. We are sick of it.
Rodriguez claimed that they are going to take the titles from Damage CTRL next week on SmackDown.
If tonight was just a taste, just know that I am hungry now. I am so pumped for next week because those titles are coming back with us.
Raquel Rodriguez and Aliyah won the tournament to crown the new Women’s Tag Team Championships but dropped the titles to Damage CTRL a couple of weeks later on the September 12th edition of RAW.
Rey Mysterio almost quit WWE last night on SmackDown but thankfully Triple H talked him out of it. The 47-year-old has been involved in a bitter rivalry with The Judgment Day on RAW. His son, Dominik Mysterio, betrayed him and joined the group recently.
At the beginning of last night’s edition of the blue brand, Drew McIntyre attacked Karrion Kross in the parking lot. Kross defeated McIntyre this past weekend at Extreme Rules due to interference by Scarlett.
Karrion was scheduled to be in a Fatal 4-Way to determine the number one contender for the Intercontinental Championship. Rey was announced as Karrion’s replacement in the match and struck a deal with Triple H to join the SmackDown roster.
Rey went on to defeat Ricochet, Sheamus, and Solo Sikoa in the match to earn a match against Gunther for the Intercontinental Championship. Mysterio revealed that coming to SmackDown represents a new beginning for him in an interview following the show.
The Judgment Day had their fun poking fun at Rey last night for leaving the RAW roster. Rhea Ripley sent out a tweet shortly after Rey’s conversation with The Game and mocked the former WWE Champion.
Dominik Mysterio will be doing a meet & greet for Cricket Wireless on October 17th. His father was originally supposed to be the WWE Superstar at the event. Dominik took to Twitter to boast about running Rey off of RAW and said that they will need a “real man” at the event. He quote tweeted his father promoting the meet & greet the week prior.
Now that I’ve run my dad off of RAW, looks like you’ll need a real man to show up. I’ll see you there.
Former AEW World Champion went on a rant during the media scrum after All Out that the wrestling world is still talking about.
After his rant, CM Punk brawled with The Elite and everyone was subsequently stripped of their titles (AEW World Championship & Trios Championships) and have not been seen on AEW TV since the PPV on September 4th.
Jon Moxley once again captured the AEW World Championship by defeating Bryan Danielson in the finals of the Tournament of Champions at Dynamite: Grand Slam. Moxley is set to defend the title next week on a special Tuesday night edition of Dynamite.
Rob Van Dam recently joined Kenny McIntosh for an Inside the Ropes live show and discussed the former AEW World Champion. RVD hilariously compared CM Punk to a stripper during the conversation.
Anyway, CM Punk probably has as big of an ego as anybody I can think of that I met in the business. I’m not saying that necessarily in a bad way.
Depends on how you take it, but I think that he believes that he really is the best, you know, the best in the world.
I learned years ago, that strippers can be fun to date, as long as they can leave the gimmick at work and not bring it home and be normal at home.
Rob added that the guys that make it to the top of the wrestling industry often times have the biggest egos but are also the ones he finds crazy.
If you’re able to come back in the dressing room and still be that guy in the ring, that say they really believe you’re the best in the world, and you’re ready to prove it or whatever, then you know, the business looks at someone like that as like ‘Dude, you’re believing your own hype.’
There’s nobody on their own that is moving the industry, it’s everybody together. So being around him just feeling his energy, I feel like he believes that.
Hey, these guys make it to the top the guys who believe in themselves the most the guys who do the promos that convince you they really think they’re the best. They are the ones who make it to the top.
They’re also the ones that I can’t stand because I think they’re f*cking crazy.
On Saturday afternoon, the Number 6 ranked Tennessee Vols will face the Number 3 ranked Alabama Crimson Tide.
On SEC Nation, The Undertaker’s famous entrance music hit and there was a closeup of an orange casket that read “Your Number Has Been Called” on the side. Six pall bearers (Paul Bearers, if you will) dressed in Vols garb carried the Vols casket to the stage while Undertaker’s gongs continued.
Two other SEC Nation hosts opened the casket and Paul Finebaum did his best ‘Taker impression and proclaimed, “Tennessee’s not dead! The Vols win!” while waving a pom pom and wearing a Vols jersey.
Finebaum is a Vols alum. Tennessee hasn’t beat Alabama since 2006. However, it wasn’t his idea for the Undertaker entrance. Baron Miller, the show’s producer, came up with the idea.
He spoke with AL.com and said “It was a suffocating feeling being in there, but I wasn’t in it long enough for it be an issue. It was a relief to be able to get out of the casket. Most people aren’t that fortunate.”
Fans of Raw Superstar Angelo Dawkins can expect to see more of him as he is impressing the right people backstage.
Dawkins signed with WWE in 2016 and is one of a handful of people to hold the Raw, SmackDown, and NXT Tag Team Championships as part of the Street Profits with Montez Ford.
Impressing Backstage
Despite being primarily a tag team wrestler, Dawkins has competed in several singles matches in recent weeks.
Fightful Select reports that Dawkins has been impressing behind the scenes with his recent string of singles matches.
One source within WWE said that Dawkins has improved all-round, including in his fitness, in-ring work, and the style that he works.
Another source said that it is no coincidence that Dawkins has been working more and more singles matches as of late.
Dawkins has competed in more singles matches since June 2022 as he did between Wrestlemania 37 to Wrestlemania 38.
Fightful was told to expect Dawkins to keep getting put into singles matches at a rate that exceeded what we saw before the Summer.
A wrestler for AEW told Fightful that Dawkins has always had the potential to be the bigger star of the Street Profits if given the chance.
An Illegitimate Injury?
Dawkins’ singles push has come at a time when Montez Ford has been ‘injured.’
Naomi’s return to WWE TV may still be a long way away as talks between herself and the promotion have reportedly stalled.
In May, Naomi and Sasha Banks walked out of a Raw taping over a creative dispute.
In response, WWE stripped the pair of the WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions, suspended both women, and branded them “unprofessional.”
Stalled
While fans of Naomi will want her back soon, that is unlikely to happen.
In the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, it is said that certain “deal points” in a new contract haven’t been finalized.
Naomi’s most recent contract with WWE was close to expiring at the time of the walk-out, and it is believed that the promotion may have frozen her deal.
If so, it means the former SmackDown Women’s Champion will not be able to negotiate with any other promotions until the deal expires.
While talks between WWE and Naomi have slowed down, the two sides are reported to still be in communication.
Sasha Banks
While Naomi walked out of WWE during the May 16, 2022 Raw, she didn’t go alone, as Sasha Banks left with her.
For a time, it was believed that both women were finished with WWE, though that isn’t believed to be the case anymore.
At Extreme Rules 2022, Banks’ name was uttered on commentary during the Raw Women’s Championship match between Bianca Belair and Bayley.
This marked the first time Banks had been mentioned since the walk-out and a sign to some that her return is getting closer.
Ronda Rousey is the reigning, defending SmackDown Women’s Champion, but would rather be called simply the SmackDown Champion moving forward.
At Extreme Rules, Rousey captured the SmackDown Women’s Championship from Liv Morgan, making the woman who dethroned her at Money in the Bank pass out.
Rousey is a two-time SmackDown Women’s Champion and held the Raw Women’s Championship from August 2018 to April 2019.
What’s in a Name?
Rousey is arguably the biggest name in WWE’s women’s division but believes that the women’s term is redundant.
Speaking during her most recent vlog, Rousey made her feelings clear about calling titles for females the ‘Women’s’ championship (via WrestlingNews.)
“I don’t want to say ‘women’ in title anymore. And I think they are kind of resistant to taking it out. So then I was like, ‘Can I just not have to say it?’ So then that’s kind of where it’s at.”
While WWE refers to titles from that division as the women’s Championship, no male champions have their sex referenced in their titles.
Changing the Term
Rousey hopes for a day when WWE no longer uses the term ‘Women’ for their championships, but this has happened before.
In January 2020, WWE drop the ‘Women’ term from the NXT Women’s Championship, which at the time was held by Rhea Ripley.
Instead, Ripley was referred to as the NXT Champion, the same term used for NXT Champion Adam Cole.
Not long after though, the idea was scrapped, and by WrestleMania 36, Ripley defended the NXT Women’s Championship against Charlotte Flair.
