The company is known for switching things up with its performers. Whether it’s on Raw, SmackDown, or NXT, WWE will make changes to its characters in an attempt to shake things up.
For better or worse, the company is not afraid to switch up entrance music, gimmicks, attire, and of course the names of the performers.
In this situation, it is an NXT star who will be going by a new name.
Goodbye A-Kid, Hello Axiom
(via WWE)
During NXT’s The Great American Bash show, a vignette aired promoting a “new” superstar who goes by the name of “Axiom.”
As it turns out, this is a name change for A-Kid. The man now known as Axiom had been competing on the NXT UK brand but has made the move to NXT 2.0.
It’s unknown if this re-debut has anything to do with the mysterious QR code that aired earlier in the show.
SEScoops had you covered with results and video highlights from NXT’s The Great American Bash. There was also a major title change on the show.
Peep the homepage if you missed any of the action.
Former AEW wrestler Marko Stunt recently spoke with SEScoops correspondent Steve Fall for NBC Sports Boston about hearing his name on AEW Dynamite in a negative context during a heel Christian Cage promo.
“Let me put it this way: I was not aware. I was not aware that it was going to be said or anything or that when my name was going to be thrown out in any context because it hasn’t been since October and for them (AEW) to do it in that context I thought it’s kind of lame.”
He continued, ”I mean, it makes sense though in a way you know like I was and I was a part of that group before him and what he’s basically saying is he came in and got me fired. So in story sense, love it. In real life sense you know….it is what it is.”
Did Christian take Marko’s Spot in Jurassic Express?
A brotherhood shattered
Later, Marko Stunt was asked if he feels like Christian intentionally “took his spot” in Jurassic Express.
“I don’t think that he necessarily took my spot because we are two completely different roles for sure,” said Stunt. “I was more of a hype guy and he was more and he’s more of a more of a like leader role.”
Stunt says he didn’t think Christian added anything to Jurassic Express.
“I did not think that he fit with the group at all. I didn’t think he added any sort of dynamic. I think it would have been better to have him mentor, or really, what it was, was him mentoring Jack and that’s ultimately the the whole goal with that.”
I and you know they’re setting up Jack to do great things you know they’re setting him up to have this great push right now … and I’ve known that he was going to do that from the start. He’s one of my best friends that I made there and like we still talked to the day and he even texted me when it happened”.
Catch Steve Fall’s full interview with former AEW star Marko Stunt:
WWE has not given any idea what the message means, but that hasn’t stopped fans from trying to decipher the code.
With Triple H recently returning to NXT, some have suggested that the set of numbers has something to do with him, given that H is the eighth letter of the alphabet.
However, that doesn’t explain 10 or 11, which would represent the letters J and K.
Others have suggested that this is a countdown timer, and if the 8 represents weeks, would countdown to the Tuesday, August 30, episode of NXT.
Some fans have googled the combination of numbers that send them to verses from the Bible.
None of these passages can be seen to be directly related to any kind of story that could happen in WWE NXT 2.0.
The July 5, 2022 episode of WWE NXT aired live on the USA Network from Orlando, Florida, at the Capitol Wrestling Center.
WWE NXT Results
Cora Jade & Roxanne Perez def. Toxic Attraction to become the newWomen’s Tag Team Champions.
Trick Williams def. Wes Lee.
Tiffany Stratton def. Wendy Choo.
Carmelo Hayes def. Grayson Waller to retain the North American Championship.
The Creed Brothers def. Roderick Strong & Damon Kemp to retain theTag Team Championships.
Bron Breakker def. Cameron Grimes to retain NXT Title
Here are the takeaways from this week’s show:
NXT Title Match
NXT Champion Bron Breakker vs. Cameron Grimes was the main event of the show. WWE set up the match a few weeks ago when Grimes challenged Breakker to a title match.
Grimes said last week that he decided to go after Bron because he doesn’t have a back-up plan because wrestling is just that because he couldn’t make it in the NFL. Bron said next week, he will spear him in half and will make him regret challenging for the title. They brawled with Grimes tossing Bron into the turnbuckle and it popped off. Grimes said that he might not be able to beat him 100%, but maybe he can if Bron isn’t.
The match saw them go back and forth. In the end, Bron hit a spear for the win. After the match, JD McDonagh, formerly known as Jordan Devlin, laid out Bron by putting him through a table.
NXT Women’s Tag Team Champions Toxic Attraction defended the titles against Roxanne Perez and Cora Jade.
Jade and Perez won a number one contendership match by defeating Katana Chance and Kayden Carter last week. The two teams confronted one another the previous week leading to a brawl over who should face Toxic Attraction next.
The match opened the show and went back and forth. Mandy Rose got removed from ringside due to outside interference. Perez hit her finisher on Jayne for the win.
NXT North American Champion Carmelo Hayes vs. Grayson Waller took place.
Last week, Waller asked Hayes if he could sign some memorabilia. This led to Hayes agreeing, but later found out that he had unwittingly signed a contract for a title defense.
The match saw Waller have a few moments where it looked like he was going to win it. Trick Williams got involved until Wes Lee took him out. Hayes hit a codebreaker and the leg drop off the top for the win.
NXT Tag Team Champions Creed Brothers vs. Roderick Strong and Damon Kemp was booked.
Strong and The Creed Brothers confronted one another in a backstage segment on last week’s show after dissension in a tag team match against The Dyad and Joe Gacy led to a defeat. Strong was upset so he challenged The Creeds to a title match for next week.
The match was the co-main event. The Creeds were in control for the majority of it. Kemp ate the pinfall. Post-match, The Creeds helped Kemp up while Strong looked frustrated and stared at the Creeds.
WWE NXT Champion Bron Breakker made his latest title defense against Cameron Grimes in the main event of the Great American Bash special of NXT on Tuesday night.
The match saw Bron get a fast start only for Grimes to work him over in the commercial break. Bron won with a spear. Post-match, JD McDonagh, formerly known as Jordan Devlin, laid out Bron by putting him through a table.
WWE set up this match on the June 14th edition of NXT when Grimes issued the match challenge and Breakker accepted it. This was after Breakker gave Grimes an encouraging word by telling Grimes that he will be a champion again someday after his North American Title loss. Grimes said that he was not looking for sympathy from anyone.
Later in the show, after Breakker’s successful title defense against Duke Hudson, Grimes insinuated that Breakker had been fast-tracked due to his family name as the son of Rick Steiner. He said that everyone knows Breakker’s dad and no one will remember Grimes’ late father’s name.
Breakker previously made a title defense against Joe Gacy in the main event of the In Your House event in Orlando, Florida at the Performance Center on Peacock last month.
AEW held it’s first ever event back in the spring of 2019, a show that saw a surprise appearance from the legendary Kia Stevens, better known as Awesome Kong.
The former multi-time Knockouts champion was immediately paired with Brandi Rhodes, but her momentum never quite took off after that initial debut. The faction that featured the duo was eventually disbanded in February of 2020, and Kong took even more time off that year to film the latest season of GLOW.
Kong remained with AEW until 2021. She recently appeared on Insight With Chris Van Vilet to discuss her time with the promotion, one that she says was not all bells and whistles.
“I don’t want to sound like I’m bashing the crew over there at AEW, especially since we were just up and running.. I felt unheard. I wasn’t in control.”
The now retired legend explains that it wasn’t due to her lack of trying.
“All I could do was say, ‘I have this idea of XYZ.’ I couldn’t get in the room where final decisions were made. I tried to get into that last meeting where decisions were made. Never had a chance to.”
In the end Kong realized that it was out of her control, otherwise she would have stolen the show every single time.
“It’s out of my control. If I had control, give me 15 minutes of Kia. Kia’s 15 Minutes of Fame. ‘Go out there and steal the show from them boys. You, you, you. Nyla (Rose), go steal the show from the boys.’”
Kong retired from the sport of wrestling back in the summer of 2021 after wrestling her last match at NWA Empowerrr.
Cora Jade and Roxanne Perez are the new WWE NXT Women’s Tag Team Champions as they dethroned Toxic Attraction (Jacy Jayne and Gigi Dolin).
In the opening match of Tuesday’s special edition of WWE NXT Great American Bash, the bout opened the show and went back and forth. NXT Women’s Champion Mandy Rose got involved as she pulled the referee out of the ring when the challengers were going for a pin attempt, so she got thrown out.
Moments later, Perez hit her pop rocks finisher on Jayne for the win, marking the first time Jade and Perez held gold in NXT.
Dolin and Jayne had been in their second reign as Tag Team Champions. Their first reign started last October when they defeated Io Shirai & Zoey Stark and, Indi Hartwell & Persia Pirotta in a triple threat Scareway to Hell ladder match to win the titles.
Although they later lost the titles to Dakota Kai and Raquel González at Stand & Deliver this past April, WWE had them win the titles back three nights later.
WWE has seen its popularity decline for several years since the Attitude Era, but they’ve been able to stop the huge drop that they had been experiencing in recent years. WWE consistently dropped in popularity (TV ratings and attendance) from 2017 to 2021. However, that has largely halted.
Since launching in 2019, All Elite Wrestling has grown rapidly as they were able to secure a television deal with WarnerMedia just months after launching and have been able to draw over 100,000 PPV buys with every event they’ve presented thus far.
Dave Meltzer went into detail about how WWE is getting more interest than usual of late during today’s Wrestling Observer Radio.
“WWE being up was interesting to me. Almost across the board, whatever they are doing… another interesting thing about that is they’re up (and) one of their biggest drawing cards Roman Reigns is not even on these shows other than Nashville (SummerSlam), which is doing pretty well.
Whatever it is, there’s definitely an upswing in interest in the product, for whatever reason. So that was kind of an interesting thing to see. The ratings of WWE have been up… WWE is on an upswing right now, so they’re doing something right, whatever it is.”
Meltzer noted that although AEW’s TV ratings have been down over the last few months, he cited the mega-list of injuries they’re dealing with as several stars are out of action, including CM Punk and Bryan Danielson.
Brandon Thurston of WrestleNomics has posted an article looking at the key performance indicators for WWE and AEW and how they compare.
This report notes WWE still leads in nearly every category in terms of numbers (TV tapings and attendance). It was said, “AEW’s lower profile consistently grew in previous comparisons, and still is growing.”
For WWE, they have yet to reach popularity to the heights of the years following the launch of the WWE Network in 2014, but it was stated the Peacock deal for its Network rights had come at the same time they were seeing stabilization and improvement in multiple areas.
TV Ratings
Raw’s ranking among other programs on Monday remains strong and improved in the second quarter of 2022. SmackDown continues to remain among the most-watched shows on Fridays.
Dynamite’s key demo ranking is up strongly year-over-year, although the show is having its first negative year-over-year comparisons just slightly after several consecutive quarters of growth.
Attendance
WWE averaged higher attendances for TV events than AEW through all four quarters since returning to touring in July 2021.
WWE also has the edge with premium live events/pay-per-views compared to AEW because they run stadium events.
Other metrics such as YouTube views and social media engagement can be found in the complete report here.
AAA announced a unique match for the Ring Rock StAAArs event on September 10 as married couple John Morrison and Taya Valkyrie are slated to wrestle each other.
Valkyrie will team up with Impact star Laredo Kid to take on her husband under the name Johnny Caballero and Christi Jaynes.
— Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (@luchalibreaaa) July 5, 2022
They have worked for AAA since the start of this year, with the latest show being TripleMania XXX: Tijuana, where Taya called out AEW Women’s World Champion Thunder Rosa and Morrison teaming with Matt Hardy to take on Dragon Lee and Dralistico as a replacement for Jeff Hardy, who was pulled due to his recent DUI arrest.
This marked the second time Morrison headlined an AAA event as he had previously headlined AAA Rey de Reyes, unsuccessfully challenging Hijo del Vikingo for AAA Mega Championship.
At the June 26th tapings, Taya sided against Johnny, cornering Arez and AEW star Rey Fenix as they took on Johnny and Absimo Negro Jr. Taya previously scored a win over her husband at the WrestleCon Supershow.
Since hitting the free-agent market after being let go by WWE, Valkyrie has found a lot of success as she is currently the AAA Reina de Reinas Champion, one-half of the Impact Knockouts Tag Team Champions with Rosemary, the inaugural MLW Women’s Featherweight Champion, and the inaugural XPW Women’s Champion.
A recent report from Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio indicates that WWE is very high on Montez Ford. In fact, the report suggests that the commentary team’s comments on Ford’s physique during Money In The Bank were meant to lead to a singles push for Ford.
There are reportedly those in WWE management who are very high on Ford, and his new physique was a big part of that. The commentary team also laid the foundation for a future split of The Street Profits by suggesting there was tension between the two.
Booker T discussed the possibility of Ford getting a singles push during a recent episode of his podcast, “The Hall Of Fame.” Booker said he hopes this lights a fire under Angelo Dawkins.
“I’m gonna tell you right now, if Angelo Dawkins ain’t listening to the internet and people talking about Montez Ford being a singles, and people wanting to treat him like a star, if that don’t motivate his ass, nothing will,” Booker said. “If he don’t think the chatter is real, that’s on him, okay?”
In regards to seeing Ford as a singles star, Booker certainly sees the potential in the young star. However, he believes the tag team division needs a team like The Street Profits right now, and thinks WWE should let them ride things out as a team a bit longer in order for them to find a replacement for them before splitting them up.
“Montez can definitely be a singles star. But I do think we need a strong tag team division right now, and I think over a period of time, Street Profits can be replaced, but I don’t think they can be replaced overnight. So I say let this thing roll for a little while longer, because we got something now.”
One recently retired UFC star is looking to become the “female Undertaker” of WWE or All Elite Wrestling (AEW).
A growing number of mixed martial arts (MMA) stars seem to be gaining interest in transitioning to professional wrestling once their fighting days are done. Names that have already made the jump include Shayna Baszler, Ronda Rousey, Valerie Loureda, Paige VanZant, and so many more.
Now, former UFC flyweight title challenger Jessica “Evil” Eye is looking at a transition to professional wrestling. Eye retired over the weekend after suffering a defeat to Maycee Barber at UFC 276.
It was Eye’s fourth-straight defeat, thus deciding to hang up the gloves for good. Speaking at the post-fight press conference, Eye expressed interest in becoming the “female Undertaker” of professional wrestling.
“I’ve always wanted to dabble in wrestling,” Jessica Eye said (via MMA News). “In pro wrestling. I want to be the female Undertaker. I want to ride a motorcycle down to the Octagon and DDT somebody. I’d love to do that.
“I tried out a couple of years ago during COVID and I ended up making it. Suffered a lot of health issues — I lost my gall bladder, found out about the parasites so — AEW, WWE lets go. Jessica “Evil Eye” is ready. Jessica “Evil” Eye does not end here, she’s just starting a new journey.”
Should Eye decide to pull the trigger on the move, it would be interesting to see where she ultimately ends up. WWE has a track record of picking up former mixed martial artists such as Rousey, Baszler, Sonya Deville, and many more.
However, AEW recently signed VanZant, a former UFC star and current bare-knuckle boxing competitor. Eye certainly has no shortage of opportunities should both promotions show interest.
At Money in the Bank 2022, Liv Morgan won the Women’s Ladder Match, guaranteeing her a championship match at a time of her choosing for up to a year.
Morgan didn’t waste time in picking her moment, as mere hours later she cashed in on Ronda Rousey, who had retained the SmackDown Women’s Championship against Natalya.
Winning the title from Ripley, many felt this was the perfect moment for Morgan, though not everyone is pleased.
Korderas Weighs In
Speaking on his ‘Reffin Rant,’ former WWE official Jimmy Korderas said he wasn’t a fan of Morgan’s booking.
While Korderas said it was a nice surprise, he believes that Morgan shouldn’t have cashed in the way she did (via Wrestling Inc.)
“It was a nice surprise. It got the huge pop it wanted, but is it the way a babyface should win a championship and cash in their Money In The Bank? That’s the only issue I had. Yes, the crowd did love it, but at the same time, babyfaces don’t do it that way. Maybe, if she came in and said to Ronda Rousey, ‘I want to cash this in, are you ready?’ And Ronda said, ‘Okay,’ and then do it, then you can make a case for that.”
“Is it the way a babyface should win a championship and cash in their Money In The Bank?”
Jimmy Korderas on Liv Morgan’s Money in the Bank cash-in
Faces Cashing In
While babyfaces have cashed in Money in the Bank in the past, it is rare to see them cash in on a fellow babyface.
In 2006, Rob Van Dam announced in advance he was cashing in on face WWE Champion John Cena, who received a hostile reaction from the ECW One Night Stand 2006 crowd.
While Daniel Bryan, Kane, and CM Punk (in 2009) were all faces when they cashed in on babyfaces (Big Show, Rey Mysterio, and Jeff Hardy respectively,) the three briefcase holders all turned heel shortly after.
During a recent discussion with SEScoops correspondent Steve Fall for NBC Sports Boston, Chelsea Green spoke about what her and Matt Cardona’s characters would look like in WWE or AEW.
Chelsea & Matt On The Independents
Chelsea Green and her husband Matt Cardona have been everywhere on the independent scene after their releases from WWE. On April 15, 2021, Chelsea Green was released from her WWE contract. Matt was released exactly one year before Chelsea on April 15, 2020.
Chelsea and Matt have been regulars in promotions like Impact, NWA, GCW, and many other indy promotions. Matt is currently injured, but prior to his injury, he was the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion.
The National Wrestling Alliance actually named a pay-per-view titled ‘Alwayz Ready’ after Matt because of all of his recent success. Chelsea and Matt have proven themselves to be valuable commodities with them receiving multiple bookings every weekend, even with Matt injured.
The Cardonas In WWE Or AEW?
Chelsea spoke about the possibility of going back to WWE or heading towards AEW, and the changes that they would need to make to become PG, “I think that that’s exactly it. Go out there, let’s see the reaction. Let’s see the ideas that you have and what you want to do because we’re not doing things that are necessarily PG.
“This is the struggle that I have going from GCW to Impact and NWA, the chants that people have at GCW. I mean it’s hilarious, we get such a kick out of them, but those are not chants you can hear on TV. So, there would have to be some tweaking, I mean, no matter what there would have to be some tweaking.
“I still think the idea, the general idea, of what we want to bring to the table which is very much like a package of 90’s, early 2000’s like sexy and defying, like stick it to the man, stuff like that. I think that you can still do that in WWE and AEW, but it just has to be a little more PG. Boring, but I mean you can still figure it out.”
Chelsea In Impact
Mrs. Cardona can still be seen on Impact Wrestling as she recently competed, in a losing effort, for the Knockouts World Championship in a first-ever Queen of the Mountain match at the Slammiversary pay-per-view.
Green was able to have a memorable moment with Deonna Purrazzo when they both fell off of a tall ladder to the outside of the ring and through two tables.
Front row view of the Chelsea/Deonna table spot from #Slammiversary !! Fkng terrifying!!?? Glad they’re both OK.
Chuck Taylor has been with AEW since the early days of the company, signing with the promotion in February 2019.
Taylor has spent much of his time in the All-Elite promotion teaming with Trent Beretta, though the pairing are yet to hold AEW World Tag Team Championship gold.
In 2022, Taylor has spent much of his time on AEW’s developmental shows Dark and Dark: Elevation, but recently, some believed that they had seen the last of him in AEW.
Taylor’s Contract
Last week, Taylor got a lot of fans talking when he blacked out his social media account.
Many saw this as Chuck signifying that his career with AEW has ended, as several three-year deals signed in 2019 are set to expire this year.
In an update on Twitter though, Taylor confirmed that he is still with AEW, at least for the time being.
In the tweet, which features a GIF from AEW Dark: Elevation, Chuck said that he hasn’t been fired yet.
Taylor didn’t explain why he blacked out his social media profile, which has since been returned to normal.
Departures from AEW
Chuck Taylor may still be with AEW for the time being, but the company has experienced something of an exodus in talent this year.
Joey Janela, Alan Angels, Marko Stunt and Stu Grayson have all left AEW in recent weeks, and it has been reported that several ‘under the radar’ stars have also parted the company.
AEW’s biggest departure this year was Cody Rhodes, who returned to WWE at WrestleMania 38.
Tyson Fury could be making his way back to WWE this summer but it isn’t set in stone.
Fury is the WBC and The Ring Heavyweight Champion of boxing. He claims to be done with professional prizefighting but some are skeptical. “The Gypsy King” insists he’s retired from pro boxing but will dabble in exhibition bouts.
Fury has also hinted at stepping back inside the squared circle. He has been teasing a potential showdown with Drew McIntyre for months.
Could we be on the verge of seeing Tyson Fury back inside a WWE ring?
Tyson Fury-WWE Talks
(via WWE)
Tyson Fury has been in talks with WWE about potentially returning sometime this summer. The report notes that nothing has been finalized at this time and there are no concrete plans for him to appear on any of the upcoming shows yet.
Fury had a match with Braun Strowman in Saudi Arabia back in 2019. Fury knocked Strowman off the ring apron with one punch and won via count out.
There could be a roadblock with WWE’s potential plans for Fury, however.
“The Gyspy King’s” brother, Tommy, reportedly has been denied entry into the United States due to family ties with former boxing promoter and suspected crime boss Daniel Kinahan.
If things don’t get cleared up soon, Tyson Fury may not even be able to make any U.S. shows, although Clash at the Castle in Cardiff, Wales on Sept. 3 wouldn’t be an issue.
There had been multiple reports over the last week hinting that Major League Wrestling was working on a new media rights deal ahead of their FURY ROAD event later this month, which will be the promotion’s debut in El Paso, Texas.
Today MLW has confirmed that news by announcing a new broadcast partnership with Ayozat TV on SKY based out of the United Kingdom. Starting this Wednesday (July 6th) the League will have their content aired, both current and classic, on a weekly basis.
The full details of the deal can be found below, which include quotes from Ayozat TV chairman Umesh Perera, and MLW CEO Court Bauer.
(LONDON, UK) – Major League Wrestling (“MLW”) and Ayozat TV have today announced a broadcast partnership, bringing the league to UK airwaves Wednesdays at 9pm on SKY channel 191, with classic MLW content airing Fridays at 9pm.
The partnership will allow fans to watch new episodes of MLW’s flagship weekly series FUSION each week, as well as classic content from the league’s library, which dates back to 2002.
With such a prestigious roster of talent, UK fans can expect to see the likes of World Heavyweight Champion Alex Hammerstone, Killer Kross, Jacob Fatu, Real 1, Scarlett Bordeaux, Davey Richards, Mads Krugger, Taya Valkyrie and other exciting fighters from around the world.
MLW FUSION will premiere Wednesday July 6 featuring a fight card from Philadelphia with a trios bout as well as the debut of Jacob Fatu’s Samoan SWAT Team.
“We are really pleased to be the UK TV partner for Major League Wrestling and look forward to showcasing the weekly show to UK wrestling fans,” said Ayozat chairman Umesh Perera.
“Our fans have made it clear how much they wanted MLW to come the UK and now it is official with a great partner in Ayozat,” said MLW CEO Court Bauer. “We are delighted to work alongside them and show a wider fanbase how exciting and engaging MLW is.”
About Ayozat TV Ayozat, is a leading British media and technology company, which has a video-on-demand (VOD) platform and live TV network featuring over 150 TV channels. This includes Ayozat TV which broadcasts on SKY ch191.
Ayozat.com is an over-the-top (OTT) platform that is available on Android, iOS, Google TV and Amazon Fire. Ayozat TV channel alongside the OTT product completes Ayozat’s full-stack media offering.
About Major League WrestlingMajor League Wrestling (MLW®) is a sports media holding company, offering television content, action figures, apparel, live events, and ancillary entertainment. MLW operates in major markets throughout the United States and Mexico, including New York, Philadelphia, Dallas, and Tijuana. One of the fastest growing wrestling leagues today, MLW programming is available worldwide on YouTube, FITE.tv, beIN Sports, Ayozat TV on SKY in the United Kingdom and in over 20 countries and counting.
O’Reilly has not wrestled since the June 8 AEW Dynamite where he won a battle royal to face Jon Moxley in the main event of the same episode. He would lose to Moxley who would go on to compete in and win the Interim AEW World Title match at AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door.
On the June 17 episode of AEW Rampage, Kyle was hit in the balls with a bat by Sting. As a result, O’Reilly claimed that his “testicles were swollen.”
O’Reilly On His Career
The Undisputed Elite member provided an update on his injury when speaking on This is VANCOLOUR.
Kyle said, “This October, I’ll be wrestling for 17 years now. It’s a lot of bumps, a lot of wear and tear on your body. Fortunately, nothing serious has really happened to me. I’ve been hurt a lot, I’ve been injured, but I’ve always grinded through, made the date, showed up and performed as well as I can in the ring despite whatever I was nursing. Sometimes, the medical staff needs to save us from ourselves.
“As wrestlers, we’ll go until the wheels fall off. ‘My shoulder is hurt? Okay, I won’t do any moves where I land on my shoulder.’ We’re crazy like that.
“This is something I’ve been dealing with, it’s a nagging thing that I’ve been dealing with, specifically, pretty bad for the last five years. In the last few weeks of wrestling on AEW, I’ve been really banged up and didn’t know the extent of it until now.
Kyle Doesn’t Know Recovery Time Yet
“I still don’t know all the information, so I don’t want to disclose exactly what is happening with me. I need more information and I should know probably this week what the recovery time is going to be and what the recovery will entail.
“All I can do is, if there is time off, use it to remotivate myself, get in better shape, and come back stronger than ever before.”
It is still unknown when O’Reilly will return to AEW TV. His reDRagon partner, Bobby Fish, is also sidelined with an injury.
H/T to Jeremy Lambert of Fightful for the transcription
Chris Jericho will be appearing in the July 7 episode of Impractical Jokers on truTV. The trailer has now been released.
Since the creation of All Elite Wrestling, the company has explored different crossover opportunities with other Warner Media properties. AEW’s Chris Jericho is next to further the partnership.
The special appearance was even promoted during this past week’s episodes of AEW Dynamite and Rampage.
Impractical Jokers & Chris Jericho/AEW
On this Thursday’s episode of Impractical Jokers, the former AEW World Champion and current leader of the Jericho Appreciation Society will be a guest star.
Chris Jericho will be appearing alongside the regular crew of Sal, James, and Brian. Earlier this weekend, the trailer of the episode was released.
Jericho is not the first wrestler to appear on the show as Tommy Dreamer has been a guest star in the past.
The Impractical Jokers crew are no strangers to the AEW company. At the Double Or Nothing fan fest earlier this year, Q and Sal appeared for a stage show with The Acclaimed.
At Money in the Bank 2022, Theory captured the Men’s briefcase, earning a guaranteed championship opportunity at a time of his choosing.
Theory has certainly been on the receiving end of a major push in recent months, but many have questioned this decision.
Right now, the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship is firmly in the grasp of Roman Reigns, and many doubt how the cocky young Superstar could be a threat to “The Tribal Chief.”
Booker T’s Comments
Speaking on his Hall of Fame podcast, Booker T discussed Theory’s win last Saturday night, and said that dethroning Roman Reigns makes sense for the former United States Champion.
“It’s not losing, but it’s how you lose. He could beat Roman, he could beat anybody on the card if the situation is right. If a person is unconscious when I cash in, who loses? If you book it properly, Theory is not going to be one of the guys that got the briefcase and didn’t cash it in and win it. I don’t see that happening.”
He continued, “This kid has got way too much upside for something like that to happen. That’s just me and what I would be thinking if I had Theory in this position.”
“He could beat anybody on the card if the situation is right.”
Booker T on Theory possibly cashing in on Roman Reigns.
Theory could (in theory) be the next Undisputed WWE Universal Champion, but that’s not the only piece of gold on his mind.
It has been confirmed that at Summerslam, Theory will take on new United States Champion Bobby Lashley for the title.
Theory lost the U.S. Title to Lashley at Money in the Bank prior to winning the Men’s Ladder match, making him the first Superstar to lose a title and win the coveted briefcase on the same night.
The Next Face of WWE
On the topic of Who is the next Face of WWE?, we recently wrote this feature looking at 5 WWE Superstars that we feel have the potential to carry the company after Roman Reigns:
Cameron Grimes has been on a roll as of late in WWE NXT 2.0 and is a former NXT North American Champion.
Grimes has proven himself to be one of the biggest stars of NXT 2.0 right now, but he is ready to step into the ring with arguably WWE’s biggest ever name.
Grimes lays out the Challenge
Cameron Grimes has faced plenty of names in WWE NXT 2.0 so far in his career, but he now has his sights on John Cena.
Speaking to Sportskeeda, Grimes was asked about his future plans in WWE and laid out the challenge to the 16-time WWE World Champion.
“When I win the NXT Championship, I would love to defend that against John Cena. I feel like anyone that’s in this business would love the opportunity to be against John Cena in any type of light. You can book it in a Coconut show in Largo. I don’t care if it’s on television. You can just do it in the Performance Center, and we won’t even have to turn the cameras on and I would love that opportunity.”
“Anyone that’s in this business would love the opportunity to be against John Cena.”
Cameron Grimes explains why he wants to face John Cena.
What’s next for Big Match John?
It may be a while before fans see John Cena Vs. Cameron Grimes, but Cena did recently return to WWE.
On last week’s Raw, Cena returned to the show to mark the 20th anniversary of his main roster debut and had a backstage confrontation with Theory.
While many believed this would set up a match between the two at Summerslam 2022 that no longer appears to be the case.
Theory will instead face United States Champion Bobby Lashley at the July 30 Premium Live Event.
Mr. Money In The Bank Theory has revealed who he will be facing at the SummerSlam event. Though his opponent is not who fans were expecting it to be.
After John Cena’s return was announced for the June 27 episode of Raw, it was reported that WWE was planning a match between him and the then US champion for the upcoming PPV event.
WWE even teased this bout in a backstage segment when the Cenation Leader returned to celebrate the 20th anniversary of his main roster debut last month.
The Money In The Bank event saw Theory dropping the US title to Bobby Lashley. He went on to win the Men’s Money In The Bank ladder match later in the night.
No John Cena For SummerSlam?
The young star then made an appearance on the July 4th Raw and cut a promo. He revealed that he will be getting a rematch against The All Mighty for the Championship at SummerSlam.
John Cena had claimed during his return promo that he didn’t know when he will be wrestling next. This announcement has now put a question mark over his status for SummerSlam on July 30.
Theory on the other hand has gotten a replacement in form of Lashley. We will have to see if he is able to defeat the heavyweight star this time around.
The 16-time world champion Ric Flair has been added back to the WWE intro and he has thanked the company for giving him his dignity back.
The Nature Boy’s signature ‘Woooo’ was removed from the official intro to WWE shows back in September last year.
This came after sexual misconduct allegations against the former world champion were brought in light by a Dark Side of The Ring episode titled the Plane Ride From Hell.
Flair himself had denied the allegations but he still received significant backlash from the fans. WWE had responded to it by removing him from the intro and pulling all his merchandise from their official website.
The company quietly added the wrestling veteran back to the intro on the July 4th Raw. Ric Flair commented on it on Twitter. He claimed that losing the spot was the most hurtful moment of his career:
“The Most Hurtful Moment In My ENTIRE Career Was Losing My Spot. Thank You So Much For Giving Me Back My Dignity & My Life! @WWE @VinceMcMahon #WWERaw”
The Most Hurtful Moment In My ENTIRE Career Was Losing My Spot. Thank You So Much For Giving Me Back My Dignity & My Life! @WWE@VinceMcMahon#WWERaw
Flair is currently preparing for a final match during the SummerSlam weekend. While an opponent for him is yet to be announced, the show is garnering the attention of fans and it was recently moved to a much larger arena.
The special Independence Day edition of WWE Raw is in the books and something went down when the cameras stopped rolling.
This week’s episode for the red brand featured a six-man tag match involving WWE United States Champion Bobby Lashley and The Street Profits vs. Theory and Alpha Academy. There was also a singles match between Seth Rollins and Ezekiel.
The main event was a No Holds Barred match. It was Asuka taking on Becky Lynch.
Once the USA Network broadcast went off the air, Becky Lynch addressed the WWE Universe and called herself the GOAT.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EtdsVUMpTN8
WWE also aired its Raw Talk show. Riddle was interviewed and discussed saving Ezekiel from a post-match attack at the hands of Seth Rollins.
SmackDown Women’s Champion Liv Morgan and Raw Women’s Champion Bianca Belair were also interviewed and they talked about their tag team win over Natalya and Carmella.
AEW has hired many former WWE employees into key backstage positions. WWE veteran Road Dogg says he would also ‘love’ the opportunity to join the promotion for a behind-the-scenes role.
The former SmackDown head writer recently had an interview with Chris Van Vliet. He discussed things such as making amends with Jim Ross and The Undertaker and more.
When asked about potentially joining AEW like his longtime partner Billy Gunn, Road Dogg claimed that he would love to work with the promo guys there:
“I wanted to keep my relationship with (WWE) really good even if I went somewhere else to work.” said Road Dogg, “Which, I’d love to do that. I’d love to work with promo guys backstage at AEW
Because it’s just new talent — Well, half of them are NXT talent I’ve worked with in the past, but I would love to do something challenging, you know what I mean?”
The former WWE star also talked about the notion of an ongoing wrestling war between WWE and AEW. He explained why he doesn’t believe it to be the case.
The Attitude Era star mentioned how the two companies aren’t actually going head-to-head against each other. He feels that the offices are more in competition with each other than the locker rooms.
