When Vince McMahon retired from WWE in July, his son-in-law Paul ‘Triple H’ Levesque replaced the ex-Chairman as Head of Creative.
As both the Head of Creative and Head of Talent Creative, Triple H has implemented several changes, bringing back several Superstars released under the previous regime.
The change in WWE management has also had an impact on the in-ring action, as the wrestling in ‘World Wrestling Entertainment’ has become more prominent.
More Wrestling
Since the “King of Kings” took over as head of WWE’s Creative department, there has been a notable uptake in the amount of wrestling, fans get to see.
Data from Brandon Thurston of Wrestlenomics reveals that in the four weeks of Raw’s since Triple H took over, there has been an increase in the number of minutes dedicated to wrestling per hour.
Raw and Smackdown since Paul Levesque took over WWE creative 4 weeks ago have had more minutes of wrestling on them than almost any episodes in the months prior. pic.twitter.com/B0MZYoOSWk
The most action-packed Raw was the August 1, 2022, episode of the red brand, which saw 26 minutes of wrestling per hour, totaling one hour and 18 minutes of in-ring work over the three hours.
In the data, the show with the lowest amount of wrestling as the April 4, Raw, the night after WWE WrestleMania 38, which averaged 12 minutes of in-ring action per hour, or 36 minutes in total.
For SmackDown, the most action-packed episode was the July 29, 2022, show, the go-home event before Summerslam, which had 25 minutes of wrestling per hour, or 50 minutes in total.
The worst offender was the July 8 episode, the first SmackDown after Money in the Bank 2022, which saw seven minutes of wresting per hour, 14 minutes across the entire show.
WWE fans have been eager to see what this “new era” brings. With Triple H serving as the new head of talent relations, he’s already brought back several performers including Dakota Kai, Io Sky, Hit Row, Karrion Kross and Scarlett. As the head of creative, it’s encouraging that we’re already seeing more in-ring wrestling per week.
After uneasiness over the future of NXT UK for several weeks, WWE finally confirmed that the territory will be rebranded as NXT Europe earlier this week.
This announcement, unfortunately, was followed by the release of over a dozen names associated with the brand. This included talents such as Flash Morgan Webster and Mark Andrews among others.
Fightful Select provided more details on this announcement. They noted that many UK talents knew that a change was coming, but they were unaware of the gravity of it.
As far as the releases go, it wasn’t all about WWE cutting talents they didn’t want. Several names were released because they didn’t want to move to US. There were others who didn’t think it made financial sense to continue with the promotion.
Many UK-based promoters are hopeful that the reinvigorated free agents market will help the UK indie scene that was affected by NXT UK’s formation.
Flash Morgan Webster had been out of action due to an injury since last year. It’s been said that he signed a long-term deal with the promotion only months before his release.
WWE has confirmed that the NXT Europe brand will be launching sometime in 2023. Though they haven’t provided much details beyond that.
It’s been one year since CM Punk made his triumphant return to pro wrestling, and according to the Straight Edge Star, this has been the best year of his wrestling career. Amid all the controversy surrounding his promo on Dynamite, the AEW champion took on his Instagram to reflect on the one-year anniversary of his return.
He posted some behind-the-scenes photos of his AEW journey so far. Seemingly commenting on the reports that he wanted to quit the company, Punk noted that he wouldn’t stop ‘until the wheels fall off’:
“One year ago began the best year of my professional career. Too many great moments, not enough space to post all the great pics. Rekindled passion, made new friends, reunited with old ones.” wrote CM Punk, “Can’t stop smiling, won’t stop until the wheels fall off. Thank you most of all to all the fans who made it possible. I’m having the time of my life, as there’s a drive into deep left field by Castellanos and that’ll be a home run. And so that’ll make it a 4-0 ballgame.”
CM Punk left wrestling when he walked out of WWE back in 2014. He mostly stayed away from the industry for almost 6 years before finally making his return during August 20, 2021 episode of Rampage. Punk has reclaimed his spot in the wrestling world since then and he became a world champion once again. He defeated Hangman Page at Double Or Nothing in May to win his first title in almost 9 years.
You can relive CM Punk’s iconic return to wrestling below:
Chris Jericho and Vince McMahon have quite a history.
The current AEW superstar spoke about a specific moment with the now retired WWE Chairman during his recent appearance on the Inside the Ropes Live show. The leader of the Jericho Appreciation Society recalled the lead-up to his WrestleMania 18 main event showdown with Triple H, and how a rehearsal with The Game got him heated with McMahon.
Jericho begins by remembers how he got heat with Triple H.
“The last couple of weeks, right before the match, I did get some serious heat on Triple H. I think I hit him in the leg with the sledgehammer and all this sort of thing. I remember one time we were rehearsing it, me hitting Triple H with a sledgehammer, and Vince [McMahon] would want you to rehearse as if it’s real. You can’t rehearse if you’re really doing it because there’s no crowd, the crowd is where you get the vibe and the adrenaline, and your whole energy comes [from] that. “
During the rehearsal McMahon demanded that Jericho put in some further effort, then later insulted him. It was here that Jericho revealed how angry McMahon’s comments made him in the moment.
“Vince would be like, ‘Do it harder! Do it harder!’ and I’m like, “I’m not in the moment yet,’ and I remember he goes, ‘Oh you don’t wanna do it? What are you on the rag or something?’ I remember thinking, ‘You big-eared, big nose motherf*cker. I’m going to punch you right in your stupid face right now. Knock that toupee right off his head’.”
In the same interview Jerichoh did praise McMahon, saying that there will never be another mind like his in the pro-wrestling industry again.
One of the most publicly known off-screen stories in WWE over the last year has been the heated feud between Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch, two of the company’s top superstars and staples in their competitive women’s division.
The Queen recently joined WWE Hall of Fame Steve Austin on his Broken Skull Sessions podcast to discuss her ongoing irritation with Big Time Becks, where she remind fans that the rivalry comes from two performers who want to be the best of the best.
“You have two women who want to be the best. There’s no other way to put it. I want to be the best. She wants to be the best. Natural courses of life.”
Flair and Lynch both found love outside of the sport, so the need for them to be a crutch for one another after coming up together on television slowly disappeared.
“She got married and had a baby. I met Manny [Andrade El Idolo] on the road. Maybe we were each other’s crutches at one point.”
It was at this part in the interview that Flair opened up regarding each woman’s desire to be better than the other, which has left them on opposite sides.
“But now, she wants to be the best. I want to be the best. You have two alphas who don’t see eye-to-eye. We grew up together on TV, and you see that. People didn’t know how close we were.”
The two have had numerous in-ring encounters over the last several years, some that many fans would call some of the best matches WWE has put on in that time. A title exchange gone wrong prior to last year’s Survivor Series seems to be all anyone remembers at this point, with the story of Flair vs. Lynch continuing on.
Triple H has made a number of changes to WWE programming since coming to power. These alterations have generally been received positively by the fans. However, former WWE star Shane Thorne is not sure that they will stick to this formula.
The former Retribution member recently had an interview with Fightful. He talked about things such as his main roster run and more.
During the interview, Shane Thorne was asked if WWE can abandon the recent changes and revert back to how the programming was before Triple H took over. The former NXT star explained that people can get sick of the current formula in the future as well. This can potentially lead to further change:
“It’s a burnout process. You know what I mean? Like, it depends how long they can keep it up for. Because then who says in a year or two that this, we don’t get sick of this formula. [People can be like] ‘It’s too much change, I can’t keep up with it.’ People are fickle as they say.” said Shane Thorne, “It’s good though. I hear good things, I don’t watch it. I see things on the internet and it looks good. There is good buzz. People getting jobs back is good.”
Shane was part of the WWE roster from 2016 to 2020. He teamed up with Nick Miller and together they were known as TM-61. The two made some appearances on Raw in 2020 but were later sent back to NXT and disbanded. Thorne was then put in the Retribution faction and renamed to Slapjack. He was released from his contract in November last year.
Wrestling veteran Bobby Fulton has been rushed to the hospital and diagnosed with double pneumonia earlier this morning.
Dillon Hines, The son of the retired wrestler provided this update about his father on the wrestling stars’ Twitter account. He asked all the fans to keep his dad in prayers:
“Came back home from NC for the weekend with dad, an hour out had to rush him to the hospital. They’ve pronounced that dad is sepsis and has double pneumonia! Please keep him in your prayers thanks!” he wrote.
Bobby Fulton made his wrestling debut on June 17, 1977. He stayed active in the business up until a couple years ago. He retired in July 2020.
The 61-year-old was best known for his tag team with Tommy Rogers known as The Fantastics. They feuded with teams such as The Midnight Express and Bushwhackers.
Fulton also started his own wrestling promotion in Ohio back in 1990. It was called James Hines presents Big Time Wrestling which was the precursor to Smoky Mountain Wrestling.
The Fantastics made a brief appearance in the then WWF in June 1997. The veteran wrestler competed in his final match at a show dubbed as Bobby Eaton: A Night of Appreciation in December 2019.
The team of Jungle Boy and Lucharsaurus finally won their first championship in All Elite Wrestling earlier this year. However, the second-generation star wasn’t a fan of how it all went down.
The AEW star recently had an interview with Steven’s Wrestling Journey. Among other things, he talked about Jurassic Express’ AEW tag team title win over The Lucha Bros at the start of this year.
Speaking about the ending of the bout where Rey Fenix got injured, Jungle Boy admitted that he didn’t like the way this match concluded:
“I kinda didn’t like the way it happened exactly. There was some stuff that kinda went wrong at the end. Fenix got hurt, which is never nice, and there were some hi-jinx going on that I didn’t fully love,
But still, to win the tag team belts in the best wrestling company in the world with my best friend was just a really special experience.”
Jungle Boy and Lucharsaurus defeated The Lucha Brothers in a tag team championship match during the January 5 episode of Dynamite. Fenix unfortunately broke his arm towards the ending of the bout.
The duo held the titles for 122 days. They dropped them to The Young Bucks in a ladder match during the Road Rager special of Dynamite on June 6.
Many people have called Triple H the best boss they have worked for. According to Scarlett, he is someone who is very accessible and a boss that she is very comfortable sharing ideas with.
When asked about working for Triple H, Scarlett explained that he is someone who actually loves wrestling. With him, you always feel like you’re in great hands:
“Sometimes you feel, as a woman you feel very shut down, you don’t feel comfortable talking to boss about certain ideas. Hunter is always there a text away. We just messaged him yesterday with certain ideas and certain character arcs and storylines, things like that.
It feels great to be able to have that kind of relationship with a boss who is accessible that way. You actually feel like he loves wrestling.” said Scarlett, “He actually loves wrestling. He wants to make the best show possible. So you just feel like you’re in great hands all the times.”
The former NXT duo were split up when they were brought up to the main roster during their initial run. Vince McMahon changed the gimmick of Kross and released the duo in November last year, only a few months after their call-up.
Triple H brought the two back not long after taking over the WWE creative earlier this month. Karrion Kross and Scarlett have been paired back, and they are now feuding with Drew McIntyre.
In 2008, Ric Flair was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, marking the first-time an active Superstar had received the honor.
Flair retired (the first time) the next night, losing to Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania 24, but wasn’t finished being inducted.
Four years later, Flair was inducted yet again, this time as part of the Four Horsemen faction, becoming the first-ever two-time inductee into WWE’s Hall of Fame.
Doesn’t Belong
At this time, there are a total 234 entries into the WWE Hall of Fame, consisting of individual Superstars, Tag-Teams, Stables, Celebrity inductees, and Warrior Award recipients.
The Warrior Award is in honor of the Ultimate Warrior, who during his 2014 induction, addressed the idea of an award for the unsung heroes working within WWE.
On the latest edition of his ‘To Be The Man’ podcast, however, Flair addressed the Warrior’s legacy, and why he feels he doesn’t belong in the Hall of Fame (via WrestleTalk.)
“You hold up the company, then you sue them – which he [The Ultimate Warrior] did, and then you end up in the Hall of Fame… There’s a lot of people in the Hall of Fame that are there for – I can’t figure out any rhyme or reason why they would be other than political stuff.”
Suing the Company
Flair is referencing Warrior’s lawsuits against WWE in 1996 and 1998, when the two sides fought for ownership of the Ultimate Warrior character.
The courts ruled that Warrior was legally entitled to use the gimmick, costuming, face paint designs, and mannerisms of the WWE character.
In January 2006, Warrior would again sue WWE, this time for libel following the release of the ‘The Self-Destruction of the Ultimate Warrior’ DVD.
The documentary saw several Superstars have unflattering comments about Warrior, though his libel case was thrown out in September 2009.
AEW has confirmed that the Casino Ladder match will be returning at the upcoming All Out PPV from Now Arena in Chicago, Illinois.
The unique match combines the elements of the Money In The Bank ladder match with the Casino Battle Royal, with the winner receiving a future world title shot.
The bout sees two competitors entering the ring every 90 seconds. Whoever retrieves the casino chip suspended above the ring is declared the winner. The match can end before all the participants have entered.
AEW confirmed during the August 19 Rampage that this match will be returning for All Out 2022. Though no participants for it were announced.
The company has held two Casino Ladder matches till now. The concept was originally introduced during the Double or Nothing PPV in 2020. Lance Archer won the first Casino ladder match but he was unsuccessful in winning the world title.
Hangman Page then won the second Casino Ladder match held during the October 6, 2021 episode of Dynamite. Page went on to defeat Kenny Omega for the AEW championship at Full Gear 2021.
Apart from this, the upcoming PPV will feature the finals of the trios title tournament, Thunder Rosa vs. Toni Storm for the AEW Women’s title, and The Pinnacle vs. The Lethal Connection.
WWE then confirmed on this week’s episode of SmackDown that Stratus will also be making an appearance on Monday’s Raw. The former champion took on her Twitter after this announcement to share her excitement:
AEW Rampage was taped Wednesday night following Dynamite in West Virginia.
Rampage Results (8/19)
Swerve in our Glory def. Private Party to retain the AEW Tag Team Championships
Buddy Matthews def. Serpentico
Athena def. Penelope Ford
Best Friends & Orange Cassidy def. Trustbusters in the Trios Tournament
Here are the takeaways from this week’s show:
Claudio Castagnoli Issued An Open Challenge
Claudio pointed out Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat in the front row and said it feels great to be standing in front of his mentor. He issued an Open Challange and Dustin Rhodes’ music hit. Dustin said he’s dreamt of being in Claudio’s spot for the last 30 years. Dustin claimed that the match was a dream of his and vowed to bring the best version of himself. Claudio accepted and shook his hand. The ROH Championship match will happen next week.
Swerve in our Glory Retained The AEW Tag Team Championships
Swerve in our Glory (Keith Lee & Swerve Strickland) defended the AEW Tag Team Championships against Private Party (Isiah Kassidy & Marq Quen). Private Party controlled the action early and sent Swerve out of the ring. Kassidy caught Strickland with a Suicide Dive through the ropes as Rampage went to a commercial break.
When Rampage returned, Swerve battled back and was able to tag in the big guy. Keith Lee launched Isiah across the ring before following it up with a Splash in the corner. Lee followed it up with a Clothesline for a two count. Marq Quen tagged in and Keith beat him down in the corner of the ring. Swerve got the tag and connected with the JML Driver for the pinfall victory.
Reality TV star Zack Clayton battled Hook for the FTW Championship. This went how everyone expected and Hook applied Redrum right away for the submission victory. Hook retained the FTW Championship.
After the match, Matt Menard and Angelo Parker were interviewed. It was reported earlier today that the tag team has recently signed contract extensions with All Elite Wrestling. They claimed that it was time for the FTW Championship to be held by a sports entertainer.
Buddy Matthews battled Serpentico on this week’s edition of Rampage. The House of Black member dominated Serpentico for a quick victory after connecting with a Pump-Handle Slam.. House of Black will battle Dark Order in the Trios Tournament next week. After the match, Miro made his way to the ring with Malakai Black’s mask. Miro brawls with Buddy and beat him down.
Tony Schiavone interviewedBritt Baker backstage with Jamie Hayter and Rebel. Britt claimed that ThunderStorm is a “shit show” and AEW Women’s Champion cannot defeat Toni Storm, and that is why she teamed up with her.
DMD may not have a #1 Contender on their team but they will be carefully watching as #AEW Women’s World Champ Thunder Rosa defends her title against tag team partner & #1 contender #ToniStorm at #AEWAllOut Sun 9/4 LIVE on PPV!
Penelope Ford battled Athena tonight on Rampage in a singles match. Kip Sabian is still wearing a box over his head and was shown in the crowd cheering for his wife Penelope. Athena controlled the action early but Penelope caught her with a Dropkick. Athena battled back and hit the O-Face (Eclipse) for the pinfall victory.
After the match, Jade Cargill destroyed part of Athena’s ring gear with a sledgehammer. The TBS Champion and The Baddies then attacked Athena.
It was announced that Billy Gunn will face his son Colten next week on Dynamite.
TBS Champion and the Baddies, with Stokely Hathaway, are here at #AEWRampage sending a message to Athena in the most despicable way possible. Watch TNT right now. pic.twitter.com/JR2MhCT24e
The Trustbusters battled Orange Cassidy & Best Friends in the first round of the Trios Tournament. Before the main event, Mark Henry interviewed both teams. Orange Cassidy tried to steal Mark Henry’s. “it’s time for the main event line” during the interview.
Daivari and Trent started off the match and Ari hit a Neckbreaker before applying a headlock. Slim J tagged in and got into a staring contest with Orange Cassidy. Best Fiends beat down Slim J and Daivari. Parker Boudreaux and battled with Trent in the ring. Chuck Taylor and Orange Cassidy joined in and leveled Parker with a triple Dropkick in the corner of the ring.
Trent connected with a Spear that sent Parker into the barricade. Cassidy followed it up with an Orange Punch to knock Parker over the barricade. Orange climbed to the top turnbuckle but Orange tripped him up. Danhausen showed up to put a curse on Daivari. Sonny was getting in the way and but Danhausen stepped aside. Best Friends and Orange Cassidy isolated Slim J in the middle of the ring. Cassidy connected with a Splash of Best Friends shoulders for the pinfall victory.
#BestFriends and Orange Cassidy score the victory, with a little help from Danhausen, to advance into the semifinals of the #AEW World Trios Championship Tournament! What a night of action it’s been on #AEWRampage on TNT! pic.twitter.com/qQQ6sTyXd9
Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens got to share a touching moment after this week’s episode of SmackDown from the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
The final segment of this week’s show featured a confrontation between the WWE Universal champion Roman Reigns and the #1 contender for the title Drew McIntyre.
The promo segment turned into a brawl towards the end. When McIntyre first tried to hit Reigns with a Claymore Kick, Sami Zayn interrupted and took the hit instead.
Roman Reigns then tried to hit a Spear on his opponent but the Scottish Warrior managed to counter. He hit a Claymore this time, and the show ended with McIntyre holding up the titles.
After the show went off air, Kevin Owens came out and shared a moment with his longtime best friend. Owens said that he is proud of Sami and that Zayn is finally getting the recognition he deserves.
Though Kevin also mentioned that the former El Generico is too good to be ‘Roman’s bitch.’ Riddle then came out and got the two stars to hug.
The fans then got to see a tag team match where Kevin Owens teamed up with Riddle. They defeated the team of Butch and Ridge Holland. You can check out photos and videos from the dark segment below:
After SmackDown went off air, Kevin Owens came out & said that he's proud of Sami Zayn
Kevin Owens and Riddle beat Butch and Ridge Holland.
Before that, Owens & Zayn shared a cool moment in the ring. Owens praised Sami, but said he's too good to be Roman's b!tch. Riddle then came out and got Owens & Sami Zayn to hug#WrestlingIsLifepic.twitter.com/yZC3Tx9iYx
The 1,200th edition of WWE SmackDown aired live from the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns and Drew McIntyre will meet face-to-face tonight ahead of their title match at Clash at the Castle on September 3rd. In addition to the takeaways below, Trish Stratus was announced for Monday’s episode of RAW in Toronto.
Toxic Attraction def. Natalya & Shayna Baszler to advance in the Women’s Tag Team Tournament
Sheamus won the Fatal 5-Way to become #1 contender for the Intercontinental Championship
Liv Morgan def. Shotzi
Here are the takeaways from this week’s WWE SmackDown:
Ronda Rousey Arrested, Roman Reigns Arrives
Ronda Rousey kicked off the show and entered the ring through the crowd to great reaction. Rousey said she is not leaving the ring until she is reinstated. She was suspended following her attack on Liv Morgan and the referee at SummerSlam.
WWE official Adam Pearce interrupted and stated that he just cannot lift Ronda’s suspension because he wants her to do so. Security entered the ring and Ronda beat them down. Rousey locked in an Armbar on one of the guards before she was arrested and escorted out of the arena. Roman Reigns then arrived to the arena and got a big pop from the crowd.
Toxic Attraction Advanced In The Women’s Tag Tournament
Sonya Deville and Natalya battled Gigi Dolin & Jayce Jayne of Toxic Attraction in the Women’s Tag Team Tournament tonight on SmackDown. Shayna beat Gigi down in the corner to start off the action. Toxic Attraction battled back and launched Natalya into the steel steps outside the ring. Bayley, IYO SKY, and Dakota Kai were shown in the front row as SmackDown went to a break.
When SmackDown returned, Jayne and Deville were battling in the ring. Sonya knocked Gigi off the ring apron and but turned around into an elbow to the face from Jayce. Jayne mocked Natalya and went for the Sharpshooter but Sonya blocked it. Natalya tagged in and went for the Sharpshooter but Jayce booted her away.
Gigi tripped Natalya up and followed it up with a Clothesline but Sonya broke it up. Jayne and Deville battled to the outside of the ring. Jayce threw Sonya into the barricade right in front of Bayley, IYO SKY, and Dakota Kai. Back in the ring, Gigi rolled up Natalya for a near fall. Natalya responded with a Clothesline and some punches in the corner of the ring.
Natalya locked the Sharpshooter on Dolin but didn’t realize Jayce Jayne tagged in. Jayce broke it up and rolled up Natalya for the pinfall victory. Toxic Attraction have advanced in the Women’s Tag Team Championship Tournament.
Sami Zayn approached Roman Reigns’ locker room. His security guard said that Roman wanted to see Sami. Roman asked Sami to take a seat next to him and Roman wondered how everything has been going. Zayn ranted about Jey Uso always being on him about “having to level up”.
Sami noted that he took a Claymore from Drew McIntyre and called Jey ungrateful. Roman agreed and joked that Jey doesn’t care about anything. Roman exited but left his phone behind. Reigns asked him to answer and Jey was shouting. Sami told Roman that The Usos are stuck at the border and are not going to be here tonight. Zayn brought up the Fatal 5-Way later and Roman told him the IC title would look good in The Bloodline. Roman brought up Kevin Owens shouting at The Usos that Roman owes him one on RAW. Reigns told Sami that he doesn’t owe Kevin Owens anything.
Max & Maxiine Dupri made their way to the ring with Mace and Mansoor. Hit Row interrupted and beat the hell out of them before cutting rapping for a bit. Hit Row got a good reaction from the crowd and Maximum Male Models were made to look like fools in the segment.
Karrion Kross and Scarlett had a vignette about Drew McIntyre. They brought up him being “The Chosen One” in the past and claimed that WWE were wrong in doing so.
Ricochet, Sheamus, Happy Corbin, Madcap Moss, and hometown hero Sami Zayn competed in a Fatal 5-Way to crown the #1 contender for the Intercontinental Championship. Ricochet hit Sami with a Hurricanrana and knocked him out of the ring. Corbin planted Ricochet with a Chokeslam and went for the cover but it was quickly broken up as SmackDown went to a commercial break.
When SmackDown returned, Corbin launched his former tag team partner Madcap Moss into the turnbuckle. Happy did the same to Ricochet and sent him out of the ring. Ricochet battled back and planted Happy with a Tornado DDT and followed it up with a Shooting Star Press for a near fall.
Sheamus hit Madcap and Sami with a couple of Irish Curse Backbreakers in the middle of the ring. The Celtic Warrior then mocked Gunther’s pose before delivering the 10 Beats of the Bodhran to Moss as the crowd chanted along at each impact. Sami Zayn hit a flip onto Sheamus and Ricochet outside the ring.
Back in the ring, Sami went for the Blue Thunder Bomb but Ricochet blocked it. Sami responded with a Michinoku Driver for a close two count. Moss went for a Fallaway Slam but Sami escaped and hit him with the Blue Thunder Bomb for a close two count. Zayn made his way to the top rope but Ricochet joined him up there.
Sami shoved him down but then Sheamus joined him on the turnbuckle. Sheamus lifted Sami up on hit White Noise off the middle turnbuckle. Zayn grabbed his arm in pain and rolled out of the ring immediately. Sheamus planted Ricochet with a Powerslam but Corbin hit him with Deep Six. Ricochet hit a Crossbody and everyone was down on the canvas. Sami was being helped backstage as SmackDown went to a commercial break.
When SmackDown returned, Madcap sent Sheamus flying across the ring with a Fallaway Slam. Moss went for the cover but Sheamus kicked out. Ricochet hit a springboard Moonsault for another near fall. Happy Corbin unloaded some punches on Ricochet but got sent out of the ring. Back in the ring, Corbin leveled Ricochet with a big boot and followed it up with a Torture Rack Neckbreaker for a near fall.
Sheamus set up for the Brogue Kick but Moss dodged it. Moss slammed Sheamus to the mat but turned around into a Recoil from Ricochet. Ricochet made his way to the top rope and hit a Splash on Sheamus but Corbin broke it up at two. He sent Corbin out of the ring as Sami Zayn hobbled back down the entrance ramp while holding his arm.
The crowd erupted into a “Sami!” chant as he entered the ring. Sami planted Ricochet with an Exploder Suplex and followed it up with the Helluva Kick. Zayn went for the cover but Happy Corbin broke it up at two. Corbin then launched Sami shoulder-first into the ring post. Sheamus hit a Brogue Kick on Happy Corbin for the pinfall victory.
Viking Raiders held a “Viking Funeral” for The New Day. Erik and Ivar warned Kofi and Xavier. It appeared that Sarah Logan was in the promo as well but she was only shown from behind.
SmackDown Women’s Champion Liv Morgan battled Shotzi tonight in a non-title match. Liv sent Shotzi to the corner and hit her with a Splash. Shotzi responded with a Bronco Buster against the ropes and went for the cover but the champ kicked out at two.
When SmackDown returned, Shotzi lifted Liv up but she escaped with a few elbows to the head. Shotzi planted the champion with a Northern Lights Suplex and went for the cover but Liv kicked out at two. Liv hit Oblivion for the pinfall victory and celebrated in the ring.
Shayna Baszler attacked from behind and made it seem like she was going to stomp on Liv’s arm. Shayna booted her in the face instead and exited the ring. Liv Morgan will defend the SmackDown Women’s Championship against Shayna Baszler at Clash at the Castle.
Roman and Drew were shown getting ready backstage. McIntyre picked up his jacket to reveal that Karrion and Scarlett had placed an hourglass in his locker room. Reigns got a massive reaction from the crowd as he made his way to the ring. Roman held out his hand and a WWE employee handed it to him.
Reigns noted that he’s not here every week anymore and sometimes people say stupid stuff. Reigns said that there is only one man that can claim he’s the face of the company and that is him. Drew interrupted and said that Roman Reigns doesn’t represent the titles the way they deserve to be represented.
McIntyre claimed that Roman doesn’t deserve to be champion because he’s got Paul Heyman and The Bloodline working for him. Drew claimed to see fear and concern in Roman’s eyes. McIntyre claimed that there isn’t a man that he can’t tear apart with his bare hands. McIntyre vowed to take the titles from him at Clash at the Castle and suggested a fight tonight.
The two stars traded punches in the middle of the ring. McIntyre got the better of the exchange and set up for the Claymore. Sami Zayn leaped in the way and Roman capitalized with the Superman Punch. Reigns went for a Spear but McIntyre countered with a Claymore. Michael Cole said Drew is right and Roman Reigns is vulnerable when The Usos aren’t here. McIntyre posed with the WWE and Universal Championships over Reigns to close the show. Roman will defend the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship against McIntyre at Clash at the Castle on September 3rd.
Two key members of the Jericho Appreciation Society have been signed to new deals and that’s 2point0 (Angelo Parker and Matt Menard).
Fightful Select reported today that Parker and Menard signed contract extensions. No terms were disclosed.
The Rise of 2point0
They made a name for themselves in WWE NXT Ever-Rise, but were released in the summer of 2021, less than two weeks after signing new deals. They went to AEW in early August in a trios match with Daniel Garcia. The announcement of their full-time deals came shortly after.
The tag team became part of Chris Jericho’s new JAS faction in March following Jericho turning on Santana and Ortiz, which officially ended the Inner Circle.
Menard, who hasn’t been in action since June’s Blood & Guts cage match, has been doing commentary work for the Dark series as of late. He’s been sidelined with a torn labrum, rotator cuff, and partial shoulder tear in the gimmick match.
For Parker, he has worked just two matches since – once in July for a dark Dark match and on a Canadian indie show in August.
WWE is making a change to the Women’s Tag Team Title tournament.
NXT stars Gigi Dolin & Jacy Jayne of Toxic Attrraction will replace Nikkita Lyons & Zoey Stark in the first round match against Natalya and Sonya Deville.
WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels has the official word below. According to the Heartbreak Kid, Stark sustained an injury at Tuesday’s NXT Heatwave event and is unable to compete.
Dolin & Jayne are former NXT Women’s Tag Team Champions, while Mandy Rose is the reigning NXT Women’s Champion.
Rose successfully beat Stark to retain her title on Tuesday’s episode of NXT 2.0: Heatwave after targeting the knee of Stark throughout the match and pinning her with a running knee strike while having Stark’s knee brace.
Stark was sidelined from October 2021 to July with a torn ACL/Meniscus.
Two segments were previously announced for tonight’s SmackDown, including The Viking Raiders holding a ‘viking funeral’ for The New Day and a face-to-face between Drew McIntyre and Roman Reigns ahead of their Undisputed WWE Universal Title bout at Clash at the Castle next month.
During this week’s episode of AEW Dynamite, CM Punk challenged ‘Hangman’ Adam Page to a title match, which was not accepted by the Cowboy.
It has since been reported that Punk’s actions were not part of the plans for the show, and that the AEW World Champion knew that Page was not scheduled to appear on the show.
Seemingly going into business for himself, Punk’s promo has sparked a discussion among fans about reported real-life beef between himself and the man he dethroned as AEW World Champion in May.
Backstage Drama
Punk and Page appear to have some issues, but they are not the only ones who are causing things to be tense behind the scenes.
Dave Meltzer reported in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that “a ton of backstage drama involving many of the top guys that has gotten much worse in recent weeks.”
Meltzer added that AEW President Tony Khan may have no other choice but to arrange a meeting with everyone to “air everything out” before things get any worse.
“It feels like a number of people are close to their breaking point if things don’t get settled.”
Dave Meltzer on the tensions within AEW right now.
Unhappy Talent
Punk may have a problem with ‘Hangman’ Adam Page, but the reigning AEW World Champion isn’t the only unhappy talent right now.
Earlier this month, Miro liked a tweet suggesting that he had it better in WWE, where he became a three-time United States Champion as ‘Rusev.’
A separate tweet, that argued that Miro was being wasted in AEW, and the same went for Andrade El Idolo, was liked by the former NXT Champion.
WWE looks to be locking in on their location for SummerSlam 2023 already.
WrestleVotes has reported that the company was so happy with how this year’s SummerSlam from Nashville turned out that the city is already on the short list to host the event yet again next year.
A decision is expected to be made by early 2023. This year’s SummerSlam was certainly a big one for the company. It was the first premium live event under Triple H after Vince McMahon’s retirement.
It certainly delivered in regards to the in-ring product. Bianca Belair and Becky Lynch showed out in an amazing curtain jerker of a RAW Women’s Title match. Logan Paul impressed with quite the in-ring performance in his win over The Miz.
Pat McAfee was entertaining as ever in a big one-on-one victory over Happy Corbin. And of course, the main event saw Roman Reigns successfully retain his WWE Undisputed Championship against Brock Lesnar in a Last Man Standing match.
(via WWE)
The match saw several big spots, including the ring nearly getting tipped over with Reigns inside, Theory teasing cashing-in his Money In The Bank, and The Usos assisting their Tribal Chief in the win by stacking several objects on top of him, preventing him from getting up.
Regardless of where SummerSlam takes place next year, it will have quite a show to follow after this year’s in Nashville, which saw an attendance of a reported 48,000.
Kenny Omega finally made his much-anticipated AEW return during this week’s episode of Dynamite after staying out of action for 9 months. He teamed up with The Young Bucks to compete in a first-round trios title tournament match.
The former AEW champion however, wrestled in a compression shirt instead of his usual ring attire. He also appeared to be in pain during the bout.
This led to speculations about his health and many wondered if Kenny Omega has been brought back prematurely. The AEW star only further fuelled these speculations with a Tweet after his return match where he talked about being a burden to the Bucks:
“The pieces aren’t all there yet but I refuse to burden the Bucks with my limitations. We have a real chance at this. I’ll be even stronger in round 2. I’ll surpass where I was at. I’ll surpass everyone.”
The pieces aren’t all there yet but I refuse to burden the Bucks with my limitations.
We have a real chance at this. I’ll be even stronger in round 2. I’ll surpass where I was at.
Dave Meltzer of F4Wonline provided some updates on The Cleaner’s health recently. He confirmed that Omega hasn’t been brought back before he was supposed to.
Per Meltzer, the whole thing where Kenny Omega seemed to be in pain was a work. It was part of a long-term storyline that will see the former champion eventually transform into the competitor fans expect him to be.
The team of Omega and Bucks have advanced to the semi-finals of the trios title tournament after their victory on Dynamite. They will now face the winners of the match between United Empire and Death Triangle.
WWE star Ciampa has offered up what he believes is the “craziest, funniest” part of Vince McMahon’s retirement.
Ciampa was recently interviewed on “Out Of Character” with Ryan Satin, where he gave his thoughts on the entire situation. The Monday Night RAW star noted that he believes the “craziest, funniest” part of it all was the fact that the 77-year-old McMahon retired via Twitter.
“The craziest, funniest part of it all was, of course the most powerful man in the history of professional wrestling tweeted out his retirement. One tweet, doesn’t need more than a 160 characters, no problem.
“It blew my mind. I heard a couple of texts before I saw it, and I looked and was like, ‘This is real.’ Aside from that, I’m not kidding you at all when I say that I just didn’t put much more thought into it.
“I’m just in such a different place in my life that I think my initial thing was, ‘I hope he’s happy. I hope he stops waking up at 3 AM to work out before his meetings. Dude, you deserve a retirement. You’re 77, go enjoy retirement.’
As we’ve noted, Vince McMahon was forced to step down as WWE CEO once allegations of sexual misconduct were levied against him. His daughter Stephanie McMahon and Nick Kahn then stepped in as co-CEOs in Vince’s place.
(via WWE)
Soon after, investigations began into the allegations into McMahon. As a result, McMahon then announced his retirement from WWE altogether, leaving his post as head of creative in WWE.
His son-in-law and multiple-time WWE World Champion Triple H would step up to fill the void. Although Ciampa has a great relationship with Triple H and Stephanie McMahon, it’s a bittersweet ending to his working under McMahon.
“Of course, Hunter coming off all the health stuff, you’re like, ‘Well, I hope you’re ready for the deep end.’ But obviously, I have a good relationship with him and Steph, and their energy – it’s very positive.
“But I was also very much enjoying my time with Vince. I think everybody who gets into this, especially from our generation, wants that Vince pat on the back and bearhug and all that.
“He was giving me great feedback, and I was really happy with how things were developing. I’m still excited because when you give me an opportunity, I will take it and run.”
Sasha Banks has been an arch enemy for Charlotte Flair inside the ring and one of the best friends outside it for long. They started together at the bottom in NXT and have served as the faces of the Women’s Revolution alongside the other Horsewomen. That’s why Flair can’t even imagine never getting to wrestle the former champion again.
The Queen was the most recent guest of Steve Austin’s Broken Skull Sessions. Among other things, she was asked for her thoughts on the situation with Sasha Banks and Naomi walking out of WWE.
Charlotte Flair mentioned how she has been away from WWE since WrestleMania Backlash, so she doesn’t really know the real story behind their walkout. Flair did admit that she cannot imagine never getting to wrestle Banks again:
“One, I haven’t been there because I left after Backlash. I know what it’s like to jump on social media and read these headlines that are so far from the truth. So I don’t know what happened but what I can say is – ‘I can’t imagine never wrestling Sasha again.'”
– Charlotte Flair
‘She Is My Ricky Steamboat’: Charlotte Flair
Charlotte Flair then claimed that Banks is her Ricky Steamboat. She explained that she is not in the position to speak on behalf of the company or the competitors:
“That would be hard for me to compartmentalize. Cause we started together. She is my Ricky Steamboat. My dad always tells her that. Then with Trin [Naomi], we just had hell of a match on SmackDown. And I’m like ‘Oh there is unfinished business there because of circumstances and storyline, whatever.’
So for me, I just can’t imagine not working with them, but in terms of what they are going through, it’s not my place to speak on behalf of the company or them because I am not there right now.”
The good news for both Flair and the fans of Banks and Naomi is that a lot of things have changed in WWE recently. The regime change has led to much positive environment being established between the talent and the management. The result of it is that both the former champions have reportedly agreed to a new agreement with the promotion.
If you use any quotes from the article, please creditSEScoops with an H/t for transcription
During this week’s episode of AEW Dynamite, in a promo that was supposed to be angled at Jon Moxley, Punk instead started it off by taking a shot at Page, calling him a “coward.”
Initial reports indicate this was not part of the script. Wade Keller of PWTorch reports that there are, in fact, issues between Punk and Page.
However, he added that some wrestlers backstage in AEW wouldn’t put it past AEW president Tony Khan to do a work-shoot type of thing with it.
AEW
Keller did add, however, he doesn’t think that’s the case here. He also stated that Punk met with Khan in his locker room before Dynamite went on-air for a “decent amount of time.”
Despite the drama that unfolded on Dynamite (and all the subsequent fallout), Punk was acting fine backstage before the show with no signs of being disgruntled.
Punk has returned from a foot injury that required surgery to repair. He’s still the AEW World Champion, but in his absence, an interim champion in Jon Moxley was crowned.
Now, Punk will shift his focus to unifying his title with Moxley’s to determine the undisputed AEW World Champion.
Charlotte Flair is Steve Austin’s latest guest on The Broken Skull Sessions.
The two wrestling legends covered a lot of ground during the 90+ minute discussion. Topics discussed included breaking into the business, how her brother’s death changed the course of her life, coming up with the Four Horsewomen and much more.
The following are the main takeaways of what we learned from Charlotte Flair on Steve Austin’s Broken Skull Sessions.
They started off talking about her recent wedding to Andrade, which was held in his hometown in Mexico. They honeymooned in Costa Rica and were grateful to have a full 7-day break from wrestling, which is rare these days.
Charlotte said it can be difficult being married to someone in the business, especially someone who works for a different company. At the end of the day, they’re best friends. It can be tough being married in the business, but it would be even harder being a woman in the business being married to someone on the outside. Few people can understand what a woman goes through as a pro wrestler and spouses who are not in the business would have a very tough time understanding that life.
Breaking into the Business
Charlotte Flair on Steve Austin’s The Broken Skull Sessions (via WWE)
She’s done it all at this stage of her career, but becoming a pro wrestler was not a childhood dream of hers. Even at 25 years old, she had no aspirations of being a wrestler. She got emotional talking about her brother Reid’s passing and carrying out his dream.
Before she got into wrestling, she remembers going backstage at WWE shows with her father and being intimidated by how beautiful all the Divas were.
She attended the Four Horsemen’s WWE Hall of Fame induction in 2012, along with her father and brother. They were sitting at dinner and a WWE producer came up to them and asked her, “Why aren’t you doing this?”
Got to FCW, didn’t know what she was doing, felt resentment because she didn’t need to do a tryout. Her brother passing away put her on a completely different path. It propelled her to the highest heights, but she still hasn’t fully processed it.
The Four Horsewomen vs. WWE Divas
Charlotte said she learned the most from the women who she came up with, Sasha Banks, Bayley and Becky Lynch. Together, they were dubbed the Four Horsewomen, an homage to her father and the legendary Four Horsemen faction. That was her group, that’s who she learned from and that’s who she felt the need to keep up with. She looked up the other women and they all got better by competing with each other.
During the time that the Four Horsewomen were getting buzz in NXT, WWE’s Divas division took notice. There was a sense of competition between the two rosters. She doesn’t know if they were making the women on the main roster nervous, but it definitely bred competition.
She remembers the Divas being fired up as the Four Horsewomen were getting called up. Charlotte, Sasha, Becky and Bayley were getting time in NXT, while the WWE Divas were not.
“We were getting the time in NXT, they weren’t, so it was like, being territorial,” she said. “We were hungry, they were hungry, but its not like the four of us [the Four Horsewomen] sat in a room and were like, ‘We’re going to change the game.’ We just didnt know how to look at it any different. We thought we were just as good.”
When she got to the main roster, she feuded with Nikki Bella. She remembers Nikki being very hungry to prove herself, which she saw as a good thing overall. She was still pretty green at the time, but felt confident in what they had been doing in NXT.
WrestleMania 32
WrestleMania 32 was a turning point for her career. She was Divas Champion at the time and competed against Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch in a match to crown the new WWE Women’s Champion.
She admits, “I still at this point don’t know what I’m doing.” Charlotte carries herself with an aura of confidence, which has helped her during times when she wasn’t so confident.
They felt a lot of pressure going into this match. After the reputation they had built for themselves, they absolutely had to deliver. They were nervous, but knew they had to knock it out of the park to get more opportunities. “If they trust us, they’ll give us more.”
Anyone could have won that night, but in the end, she was the victor. She said, when she won the Divas Championship at Hell in Cell 2015, she didn’t feel ready. When she won the Women’s Championship at WrestleMania 32, she felt ready.
Ric Flair
Steve Austin asked about Charlotte’s father, Ric, and how consistent their views about the business are. How often are they on the same page?
“It’s up and down,” she said. Sometimes she thinks he’s spot on, sometimes, she thinks he’s way off. She has a stronger athletic background than her father did. Sometimes, he encourages her to show off more of her athletic abilities, like moonsaults, but she understands and knows he’s just proud of her abilities
Austin asked what she learned about life on the road, having grown up with a father who was always making towns. She said, she learned what not to do. Ric Flair had so much fun during his wrestling career, she’s found herself on the opposite side of the spectrum, encouraging herself to loosen up more. She joked that she’s kept all her robes, laughed and left it at that.
Charlotte admits that she craves approval, but still feels like she’s a natural heel. Her father is Ric Flair, which is not exactly a relatable trait. Over time, she learned that heel heat is just as valuable, if not more valuable, than babyface pops.
She credits her match against Natalya at the first NXT Takeover (2014) as the moment she truly arrived. It put her on the map and established her in the eyes of the fans. She attained great success on the main roster, but it wasn’t until her match with Ronda Rousey at Survivor Series 2018 that she felt that she could perform 100% on instinct.
Charlotte Flair also played the “Word Association” game, a regular feature on Broken Skull Sessions. Here’s the first thing that came to mind for Charlotte when presented with the following topics:
Bayley: Role model
Ronda Rousey: Legit
Becky Lynch: Character
Trish Stratus: Queen
Lita: Teacher
Nikki Bella: Star
Asuka: Iron
Liv Morgan: Future
Rhea Ripley: Unfinished business
Watch Charlotte Flair’s appearance on Steve Austin’s The Broken Skull Sessions on Peacock.
