For fans of WCW, Steve ‘Mongo’ McMichael was one of the stars to watch during the mid to late 1990s.
Unfortunately, these days, Mongo is doing very poorly and is battling a case of Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS.)
Now, a sad photo has surfaced online featuring the former wrestler.
McMichael Resurfaces
On Twitter, a photo surfaced of McMichael which was heartbreaking to see.
As seen in the image below, Mongo appears to be confined to his bed, which follows on from reports by his sister last year, that her brother can no longer use his arms or his legs.
Despite his condition, McMichael seemed to be in good spirits as seen in the image below.
Ric Flair recently revealed on his podcast that accommodations will be made for McMichael to travel to Nashville so he can be in attendance for Flair’s last match later this month.
— My Wrestling videos And pics (@MarksWrestling1) July 10, 2022
McMichael: From the Gridiron to the Ring
Long before McMichael was in WCW, he was making a name for himself in football, playing for the New England Patriots, Chicago Bears, and Green Bay Packers.
It was with the Bears in 1986 that Mongo became a Superbowl champion, as they defeated his former team the Patriots.
After an appearance at WWF WrestleMania 11 to aid fellow football star Lawrence Taylor, McMichael was signed to a lucrative deal with WCW.
Mongo’s time with the company would see him feud with fellow football alum Bill Goldberg, join the Four Horsemen, and capture the WCW United States Heavyweight title in August 1997 at Clash of the Champions XXXV.
A new report has surfaced explaining a strange stipulation that is happening on next week’s edition of AEW Dynamite.
The Mad King Eddie Kingston will be clashing with his current Rival Chris Jericho in a barb-wired deathmatch, one that should be a fitting end to their months long feud. However, Jericho’s faction, the Jericho Appreciation Society, will all be hovering above the ring inside of a shark cage as the guaranteed bloodbath occurs.
According to Dave Meltzer from the Wrestling Observer, this is happening on a request from Warner Bros Discovery. The publication notes that the network asked AEW to add some sort of tie-in promoting their annual programming event, Shark Week. The deep dive (no pun intended) of one the sea’s most unique creatures began back in 1988.
Kingston holds a victory over Jericho from their clash at Revolution earlier this year, but the rivalry only intensified after The Wizard through a fireball in Kingston’s face. This has led to the critically acclaimed Anarchy in the Arena brawl from Double or Nothing, and the more recent Blood & Guts showdown in Detroit.
For many wrestlers, the ultimate goal of their careers is to one day work for WWE.
While there are other wrestling promotions around, none are as big as the McMahon-founded promotion, which continues to air across the globe.
Only a select handful of wrestlers will ever be called WWE Superstars, but one wrestler is wanting out now.
Naomi Wants Out
It’s been close to two months since Sasha Banks and Naomi walked out of the May 16, Raw, over a creative difference with the planned main event.
Reports have come out that Banks has parted ways with WWE, though haven’t been confirmed by either side, but now Naomi wants out.
Responding to former WWE Superstar Lince Dorado, who asked the former SmackDown Women’s Champion when they’ll work together on “some lucha things” Naomi said she hopes to do so “Asap.”
Naomi debuted on WWE TV in 2010, boasting two reigns as SmackDown Women’s Champion and one as WWE Women’s Tag Champion.
After coming up short in season 3 of the original NXT reality show format, Naomi debuted as part of the Funkadactyls before branching out as a singles competitor.
She is also married to Jimmy Uso and had previously discussed in the past wanting to join her husband and their family on-screen as part of the Bloodline.
That idea seems highly unlikely now given her suspension and her desire to get out of the company and work with others as soon as possible.
Former WWE Raw Women’s Champion Lina Fanene (Nia Jax) is rocking a new look.
Fanene was released from her WWE contract back in Nov. 2021. During her time with the company, she became a Raw Women’s Champion and a two-time WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion.
In the months that she’s been away from the wrestling business, Fanene has been quite active on social media.
She recently revealed a switch-up in terms of her appearance.
Nia Jax’s New Look
Nia Jax took to her Instagram account to show off her new hairstyle.
Fanene was expected to be a part of the first World Entertainment Series event.
Eventually, she shot down being on the show and urged fans not to give the company any money as they were still advertising her appearance.
“I do not know why I am still on this poster, but I will REPEAT myself again…I will NOT be at the show. Please do not buy a ticket thinking you will see me perform or get a chance to meet me. I hate that this misleads people!”
Nia Jax on WES advertising
WES ended up canceling its first show and while the company claims it’ll be sticking around, the general feeling is that this one is over before it even got started.
Chris Jericho’s first real angle in WWE was with Chyna. WWE was pushing her as someone who can compete with male talents and put the IC belt on her. Jericho feuded with her over the championship and put her over. Though according to Y2J, his own experience of working with the Attitude Era star was terrible.
The AEW star recently appeared on True Geordie podcast. He talked about things such as fans calling out stars for botches and more. When asked about his feud with the late star, Jericho claimed that she was terrible in the ring:
“Terrible. She was terrible to work with. She wasn’t good, but she thought she was. She also was in a position where they were pushing her really big that she could beat up guys. She couldn’t. I never got that credit [for carrying her]. No one ever once said, ‘You’re making her look good. It was the other side of the coin.”
‘I Got In So Much Trouble’: Chris Jericho
Chris Jericho then told the story of how he got into trouble for injuring Chyna during one of their encounters. According to him, it was a tough position for him to be in since it was his first real angle in WWE:
“I got in big trouble from working with her. Because at one point I remember when I first started working with her, Vince was like, ‘Don’t treat her like a woman, treat her like a wrestler.’ She was really stiff too which means she worked very strong. Listen, I am not talking bad of her, I’m just telling the truth. So when we worked together, it was a solid fight in a lot of ways.
I remember one time she got a little bit of a black eye from me, and you would have thought I cut her arm off with a chainsaw. I got in so much trouble. I was like, ‘Fuck I didn’t do it on purpose.’ So it was a tough position for me to be in. It was my first real angle in the WWE. My first story. But once again, I did the best that I could. I think her best matches that she ever had were with me. [It] hopefully proved something to the people that I had to prove things to, but there was a lot of issues with working with her.”
You can watch Chris Jericho’s full interview below:
A new foundation has been launched in honor of the legend, The American Dream, Dusty Rhodes.
The family of Dusty Rhodes has announced a new foundation named after the WWE Hall of Famer. The mission of the foundation is to honor and pay homage to Dusty Rhodes, who passed away in 2015, and his dedication to sports and young athletes.
Dusty Rhodes Foundation Mission
The foundation, via The Rhodes family, shared its mission statement on Instagram:
Our foundation was started in loving memory of one of the greatest and most influential professional wrestlers of all time: “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes. Long before he entered the squared circle, Dusty’s dreams began on the playing fields of his youth. He was a gifted athlete in many sports and his baseball & football abilities earned him a full athletic scholarship which made him the first in his family to attend college.
Throughout Dusty’s storied career, he reached through the television and entertained millions, but a lesser-known passion was his role with youth athletics. Dusty gave this time, talent, and treasure to helping children play sports. He was a coach and mentor to many young athletes, some of whom went on to attend college on athletic scholarships themselves.
Dusty was an inspiration to all those who knew him. For his dreams to live on, we must inspire and support the next generation of athletes. Many children today do not have the opportunity to play sports because of the yearly rising costs associated with organized leagues & travel ball. Additionally, many underserved communities simply don’t have the ability to offer sports programs for children.
By supporting the Dusty Rhodes Foundation, you can help carry out Dusty’s legacy and dreams by helping children play sports who couldn’t otherwise. Together we can inspire and support youth athletics in disadvantaged and underserved communities and make a big difference in the lives of these amazing children.
Michelle & The Rhodes Family
Starrcast V Involvement
The Dusty Rhodes Foundation will be involved in the Starrcast V festivities on SummerSlam weekend. Ricky Starks, Preston ‘10’ Vance, Aaron Solo, QT Marshall, and Buttercup will be doing meet and greets in support of the Foundation. Starrcast V will be headlined by the final match of arguably, Dusty Rhodes’ greatest rival, Ric Flair.
My Mom & Sister will be bringing something special to @StarrcastEvents w/The Dusty Rhodes Foundation! (More info coming this week)
Wrestling fans are some of the most passionate fans in the sports world. However, this passion also leads to some tense situations when people forget the line between the character and the person. What Chris Jericho hates the most is when fans attack superstars online over a misstep in a match.
The former AEW world champion recently had an interview with True Geordie podcast. Speaking about the fans, Jericho discussed how he hates the word ‘botch’:
“Things happen in a match. The fucking word I hate the most that fans use is botch. ‘Oh, you botched that one.’ Shut your fucking mouth. There is no such thing as a botch. This is a live show. Mistakes happen. Why? Because we are human beings and we’re live.”
Chris Jericho explained that mistakes happen in other forms of live art as well. Though the fans do not go after the performers in such cases:
“If it happens in a hockey game, the fans don’t start chanting in unison ‘You fucked up, you fucked up’. If you go to a Broadway play and someone fumbles their lines, people don’t start chanting ‘You fucked up, you fucked up.’ You go to a wrestling match and miss a hip toss. People start chanting. That’s bullshit. It’s fucking disrespectful. And wrestling fans walk the line of being disrespectful. WWE Hall of Fame and people are fucking booing the Bushwhackers for being in the Hall of Fame? Fuck you.
“So that to me is like yeah, I love wrestling fans.” said Jericho, “If there were no fans there will be no career of Chris Jericho, but you guys gotta keep it in check sometimes and show some respect.”
A part of what makes Bianca Belair such a once-in-a-lifetime star is the fact that she makes her own amazing gear for special events. Unfortunately, one of them has been stolen.
Survivor Series 2021
The Raw Women’s Champion Bianca Belair has quickly become one of the top stars in the company over the past two years due to her Royal Rumble victory, WrestleMania matches, and title reigns.
Last year at Survivor Series, Bianca was the sole survivor for Team Raw. She led her brand to victory over Team SmackDown’s Sasha Banks, Shotzi, Shayna Baszler, Natalya, and Toni Storm.
The Custom Gear
Bianca wore and created custom gear for the show with the Raw logo on it. While many wrestlers auction off old ring gear, that’s not the case for this one, even if you see it on sale.
Bianca Belair at Survivor Series 2021 (Credit: WWE)
Raw Women’s Champion Speaks Out
Bianca took to her Instagrams story to reveal that her special, custom Team Raw gear had been stolen.
She wrote:
“If y’all ever see my RAW Survivor Series gear being sold online… Just know it’s stolen…”
Belair recently had another bad fan interaction when she told a story last month about a fan following her and The Street Profits out of an arena.
AEW wrestler Bryan Danielson has been out of action for over a month after sustaining a concussion. There is now another update on his status and recovery.
Danielson’s Injury History
Last week, Dave Meltzer described Danielson’s concussion as “very concerning” considering his history of head injuries.
As many remember, the former four-time WWE Champion was forced into early retirement in 2016 as a result of his injuries. However, was cleared to wrestle again in 2018.
The Update
Dave Meltzer provided an update on his original report. Luckily, this time he has more positive things to say about Danielson’s condition.
Who knows what the play on words would be for Duke Hudson if he joins the stable or if WWE would give him a new name altogether.
There is an official website for Maximum Male Models where “applications” are being taken.
With that said, the website notes that this is purely for fun and WWE will not be taking any applications into consideration when it comes to hiring talent.
Does Duke Hudson titillate the juices of your guilty pleasures?
There is a new update regarding Kevin Owen’s WWE absence over the last two weeks.
Owens strikingly missed the go-home episode of RAW for Money in the Bank. He was supposed to participate in a qualifying match for the Money in the Bank ladder match between him and Ezekiel.
Owens wasn’t on last week’s Raw, and now it seems like we may have to wait a bit longer for his return.
This week, a video of Owens saying it’s “in their hands right now” circulated. The video led fans to believe that he’s personally ready to return, it’s just a case of WWE making it happen.
Owens Update
Dave Meltzer, on the Sunday Night’s Main Event podcast, reported that Kevin is “fine,” but he’ll likely be back in a few more weeks.
It was previously reported that the former WWE Universal Champion had been out of action due to a minor injury.
NHL Draft Appearance
Kevin Owens recently made an appearance at the NHL Draft to surprise a high-profile fan, Bruce Boudreau, the head coach of the Vancouver Canucks.
Various wrestling promotions hosted Friday, Saturday & Sunday night shows this weekend. West Coast Pro Wrestling, On Point Wrestling, STARDOM, National Wrestling Alliance, Wrestling REVOLVER, Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling, NJPW STRONG, Pro Wrestling NOAH, Game Changer Wrestling, Revolution Pro Wrestling, and Jersey Championship Wrestling all presented events from 7/8-7/10.
We have compiled results for the independent shows below along with ways to stream them, if possible.
7/8
West Coast Pro Wrestling
West Coast Pro Wrestling hosted its Cruel Summer event in San Fransisco, California. The event took place on July 8 at the United Irish Cultural Center. The event aired on IWTV.
WCPW Cruel Summer Results (7/8)
The Conglomerate (D-Rouge, Alpha Zo & Midas Kreed) def. Manders, Levi Shapiro & Michael Hopkins
Masha Slamovich def. Zeda Zheng
Vinnie Massaro def. Alan Angels
Nick Wayne def. ACH
Kevin Blackwood def. Jordan Cruz
Titus Alexander def. Jack Cartwheel
Speedball Mike Bailey def. Starboy Charlie
West Coast Pro Wrestling Championship: Jacob Fatu (c) def. Tom Lawlor
Motor City Machine Guns def. West Coast Wrecking Crew
On Point Wrestling hosted its Nightmare in Westville event in Westville, New Jersey. The event took place on July 8 at the Skidrow Academy. The event aired on IWTV.
OPW Nightmare in Westville Results (7/8)
On Point Wrestling Championship: Kit Osbourne (c) def. BLK Jeez
AKIRA def. Blanco Loco (w/ Dream Girl Ellie)
Fantastic Four Way: Steve Scott def. Jay Curcio, Azrieal, & Billy Tipton
Jordan Oliver def. Jason Kincaid
TSF (Rosario Grillo & Hunter Knott) def. YDNB (Ellis Taylor & Charlie Tiger)
Axton Ray def. Action Andretti
Matt Tremont def. Mike Law
Dog Collar Match: Marcus Mathers def. Brandon Kirk by Referee Stoppage
STARDOM hosted its New Blood 3 event on July 8. The event took place at the Shinagawa Intercity Hall in Tokyo, Japan. The pay-per-view can be ordered here.
STARDOM New Blood 3 Results (7/8)
Mai Sakurai def. YuuRI
Ami Sourei def. Nanami
STARS (Hanan, Saya Iida & Momo Kohgo) def. JUST TAP OUT (Tomoka Inaba, Aoi & Misa Kagura)
MIRAI vs. Suzu Suzuki ended in a 15-minute draw
After the physical draw between these two, Suzuki called out Giulia. Giulia challenged Suzuki to a tag team Hardcore Match. Mai Sakurai will team with Giulia while Risa Sera will team with Suzuki for the match.
Ram Kaichow def. Waka Tsukiyama
Oedo Tai’s Rina will team with Kaichow at the new NEW BLOOD show to face Waka Tsukiyama and a partner of her choosing.
Young OED (Starlight Kid, Ruaka & Rina) & Haruka Umesaki def. Cosmic Angels (Unagi Sayaka & Mina Shirakawa) & COLOR’S (Rina Amikura & Yuko Sakurai)
Giulia def. Miyu Amasaki
7/9
National Wrestling Alliance
The most recent episode of NWA USA debuted on July 9. The episode is available on their YouTube here.
NWA USA Stream And Results (7/9)
NWA Junior Heavyweight Champion Homicide def. VSK
Jennacide def. Angelina Love
NWA National Champion Jax Dane def. Anthony Andrews
Wrestling REVOLVER
Wrestling REVOLVER hosted its Cage of Horrors event in Clive, Iowa. The event took place on July 9 at the Horizon Events Center. The event aired on FITE.
Wrestling REVOLVER Cage of Horrors Results (7/9)
IMPACT X-Division Championship: ‘Speedball’ Mike Bailey (c) def. Steve Manders
STARDOM hosted their MidSummer Champions event on July 9. The event took place at the Tachikawa Stage Garden in Tokyo, Japan. The pay-per-view can be ordered here.
STARDOM MidSummer Champions Results (7/9)
Lady C def. Hina and Yuko Sakurai
Future of Stardom Championship: Hanan (c) def. Waka Tsukiyama
This was V8 in Hanan’s Future of Stardom Championship reign, extending her record.
This was V5 in AZM’s High-Speed Championship reign.
After the match ended, Rina attacked AZM to make a challenge for the championship.
Cosmic Angels (Tam Nakano, Unagi Sayaka & Mina Shirakawa) & COLOR’S (SAKI & Hikari Shimizu) def. Donna del Mondo (Giulia, Mai Sakurai, Himeka, Maika & Natsupoi) in an Elimination Match
Mai Sakurai eliminated Himeka and Mina Shirakawa via over-the-top-rope
Hikari Shimizu eliminated Mai Sakurai via Spinning Buzzsaw Kick
Maika eliminated Unagi Sayaka via Michinoku Driver II
Maika eliminated Hikari Shimizu via Michinoku Driver II
SAKI eliminated Maika via flash pin
Giulia eliminated SAKI over-the-top-rope
Natsupoi turns on Giulia, eliminating her via German Suplex on the Apron, forcing her over-the-top-rope
Natsupoi rolls off the apron and joins Cosmic Angels after the match
Wonder of Stardom Championship: Saya Kamitani (c) def. Starlight Kid
This was V7 in Kamitani’s Wonder of Stardom Championship reign.
SAKI challenged Kamitani to a Wonder of Stardom Championship match.
Nanae Takahashi revealed she would be KAIRI’s partner against Saya Kamitani. Lady C stepped up as Kamitani’s partner.
World of Stardom Championship: Syuri (c) def. Momo Watanabe
This was V6 in Syuri’s World of Stardom Championship reign.
Tam Nakano challenged Syuri to a World of Stardom Championship match.
Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling
Tokyo Joshi Pro-Wrestling hosted its Summer Sun Princess event in Tokyo, Japan. The event occurred on July 9 at the Ota City General Gymnasium. The event aired on Wrestle Universe.
TJPW Summer Sun Princess Results (7/9)
Moka Miyamoto def. Juria Nagano
Aja Kong, Pom Harajuku, Raku & Yuki Aino def. Hyper Misao, Kaya Toribami, Haruna Neko & Nao Kakuta
International Princess Championship: Alex Windsor def. Maki Itoh (c) to become the new champion
Miyu Yamashita def. Thunder Rosa
After the match, Rosa said Yamashita has an AEW Women’s World Championship match waiting for her when she wants it.
Princess Tag Team Championship: Saki Akai & Yuki Arai def. Magical Sugar Rabbits (Yuka Sakazaki & Mizuki) (c) to become the new champions
Princess of Princess Championship: Shoko Nakajima (c) def. Rika Tatsumi
NJPW STRONG
NJPW aired their newest episode of NJPW Strong on July 9 on NJPW World. The tapings took place on June 19 at the Vermont Hollywood in Los Angeles, California.
NJPW STRONG Results (7/9)
NJPW STRONG Openweight Tag Team Title Tournament First Round: Christopher Daniels & Yuya Uemura def. The Factory (Aaron Solo & Nick Comoroto)
JONAH def. Taylor Rust
NJPW STRONG Openweight Tag Team Title Tournament First Round: TMDK (Mikey Nicholls & Shane Haste) def. West Coast Wrecking Crew (Jorel Nelson & Royce Isaacs)
After @Mr_Freakbeast puts @Im_YuyaUemura down with a neck breaker, @AaronSoloAEW hits Uemura with a double stomp. Will this be enough to earn The Factory the victory?
6-Man Tag: Kaito Kiyomiya, Yuya Susumu & Yoshinari Ogawa def. Los Perros Del Mal de Japon (Katoro Suzuki, Super Crazy & NOSAWA Rongai)
8-Man Tag: Timothy Thatcher, Hideki Suzuki, El Hijo del Dr. Wagner Jr. & Takashi Sugiura def. Daiki Inaba, Yoshiki Inamura, Masa Kitamiya & Shuhei Taniguchi
Kongo (Hajime Ohara & Kenoh) def. Satoshi Kojima & Atsushi Kotoge
Game Change Wrestling hosted the first part of their Settlement Series events in Ridgefield Park, New Jersey. The event took place on July 10 at the Knights of Columbus. The event aired on IWTV.
GCW Settlement Series Part 1 Results (7/10)
Nick Wayne def. Dyln McKay
Big Vin def. Austin Luke
Ellis Taylor def. Charlie Tiger
2 Hot Steve Scott def. Brandon Kirk
Alec Price def. Marcus Mathers
Axton Ray def. Azrieal
Akira def. Janai Kai
Best of 7 Series: Griff Reefer (4) def. Deklan Grant (2)
Yoya def. Charles Mason after BUSSYPREMECOURT reversed the decision.
Jersey Championship Wrestling hosted their Great American Birthday Bash event in Ridgefield Park, New Jersey. The event took place on July 10 at the Phil Sheridan Building. The event aired on their YouTube channel.
The Undertaker’s mythical WrestleMania streak began with a quick win over the late ‘Superfly’ Jimmy Snuka at WrestleMania 7
The 260-second win over the controversial WWE Hall of Famer was, at the time, just another win for the undefeated rookie. Over the next twenty years, the Undertaker would rack up win after win at WWE’s biggest event of the year.
The phenomenon would grow to be known simply as, ‘The Streak.’
The Streak
The Undertaker had always won at WrestleMania, but it wasn’t until much later in his career that the concept of a winning streak gained traction.
In a recent interview with Peter Rosenberg on A&E Biography: WWE Legends, “The Phenom” revealed that the idea of the streak only came around after Michael Hayes checked the records.
“It was WrestleMania [18] against Flair actually in Toronto that I think it was Michael Hayes that figured it out that I had not, I hadn’t lost. And that’s the first time that I acknowledged it is at the end of that route. I’m on the apron and I throw up all the fingers. And from that point on, it really kind of got the gas thrown on it and every year it just continued to get bigger and bigger and bigger.”
“It was Michael Hayes that figured it out that I had not, I hadn’t lost. And that’s the first time that I acknowledged it.”
The Undertaker on the origins of ‘The Streak.’
Breaking the Streak
The Undertaker’s winning streak would reach 21-0, with “The Phenom” dispatching of legends including Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Kane, and Edge.
In 2014, Brock Lesnar seemed the next to fall victim, but in a true shock to fans, Lesnar broke the Streak.
The match is not fondly remembered, as during the bout, The Undertaker suffered a concussion and was barely able to compete.
Now retired, The Undertaker’s record at WrestleMania remains an impressive 25-2.
Last night, WWE hosted their Sunday Stunner event at the Reno Events Center in Reno, Nevada, with eight matches (three of them title matches) on the card.
The show saw Gunther retain his Intercontinental Championship against Ricochet while new SmackDown Women’s Champion Liv Morgan held off both Ronda Rousey and Natalya to keep the gold.
The Usos defeated The New Day to retain the WWE Undisputed Tag team Championships while in the main event it was Drew McIntyre who bested Sheamus.
The Rattlesnake Slithers into Town
While the Reno, Nevada event had a stacked card, perhaps the biggest name at the show didn’t appear in the ring.
On Twitter, Natalya revealed that ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin was backstage at the event, calling it the coolest part of the event.
“The coolest part of tonight in Reno was having @steveaustinBSR at our show watching every match backstage… Steve is the best. Truly. ??”
Austin replied to Natalya’s comments, calling the Reno untelevised “a helluva show.”
“Reno was a damn good crowd. In it from start to finish. Y’all gave em a helluva show and that’s the bottom line.”
Reno was a damn good crowd. In it from start to finish. Y’all gave em a helluva show and that’s the bottom line.
This year has been a huge year for Stone Cold Steve Austin, who competed at WrestleMania 38.
In his first match in 19 years, the Rattlesnake defeated Kevin Owens in the main event of Night One, a moment fans for years thought would never happen.
Despite his near two-decades spent not as a wrestler, Austin looked very impressive and held his own against the former Universal Champion.
Austin has said that he has no plans to wrestle ever again after being able to end his in-ring career in his native Texas.
The event also saw the newly crowned SmackDown Women’s Champion Liv Morgan successfully defending her title against Natalya in a one-on-one match.
A video of the bout that surfaced after the show saw Natalya getting up moments after being pinned. She left the ring after saying something to Morgan.
The video made it look like the wrestling veteran wasn’t happy with Liv and the anger led her to break kayfabe after the bout.
Natalya responded to these rumors on Twitter claiming that she was actually thanking the SmackDown women’s champion. Though she has interestingly deleted the tweet since then which you can see in the screenshot below:
There is no word yet on if anything happened during the bout that could have angered the former Hart Dynasty member. The deletion of the tweet has led to further speculations on the whole incident.
Liv Morgan has not yet responded to the claims in any way. We will keep you posted on any further development in the story.
Chris Jericho has revealed some shocking details on his shoot confrontation with Brock Lesnar.
Brock Lesnar had a gruesome match with Randy Orton at SummerSlam 2016. The Beast won this match via TKO after busting The Viper open with his elbows. This match blurred the lines between reality and kayfabe. Many were worried about the health of Orton coming out of the bout.
Jericho recently made an appearance on True Geordie Podcast. Talking about the bout, Y2J who was in the arena, mentioned how Lesnar could have killed Randy:
“He was doing a match with Randy Orton. He was basically like just butchering him with elbows to the head. I didn’t know if it was planned or not, and nobody would tell me. But elbows, to the side of the head can kill you. If you get hit hard enough in the temple, you die. I was in gorilla and I was fucking angry about it.”
Things That Will Get You Canceled
Chris Jericho then detailed his confrontation with The Beast Incarnate backstage after the bout. He claimed that Lesnar actually said some homophobic terms that would get him canceled:
“He was actually saying things that would probably get him canceled, like homophobic terms that you shouldn’t be saying.”
– Chris Jericho
“Brock came through and he saw me angry about it and decided he wanted to come challenge me. We had gotten into a little bit of an issue. I was like, ‘fuck this guy. I don’t give a shit how big he is. I don’t fucking care, It’s fucking wrong. I will fight to the death. I will stand up for what I believe in to the death.’ I remember being literally nose to nose with the guy. He’s laughing. He was actually saying things that would probably get him canceled, like homophobic terms that you shouldn’t be saying.”
Jericho later noted how he was ready to bite Lesnar’s nose off even if Brock killed him. Thankfully, Vince McMahon interfered. The boss broke up the fight before it could lead to serious consequences.
A number of wrestling personalities were in attendance for the beginning of the second half of the NASCAR Cup Series season with Quaker State 400.
The Raw Women’s Champion Bianca Belair shared some photos from the show. The pictures also featured Montez Ford and WWE Hall of Famer Nikki Bella.
From AEW’s side, the TBS Champion Jade Cargill made an appearance. The company shared photos of her at Atlanta Motor Speedway, noting that she was the guest of honor for the race:
This is not the first-time wrestling personalities have made appearances during the NASCAR Cup Series event. Suspended star Sasha Banks was named the grand marshal for Daytona 500 last year.
The Street Profits have been feuding with The Usos in recent times. They had an impressive match at Money In The Bank and a rematch for the unified tag titles has been announced for SummerSlam.
Bianca Belair similarly defended her title against Carmella at Money In The Bank. Nikki Bella on the other hand is enjoying her life as a mother and retired WWE star with no immediate plans for a return.
Jade Cargill is on the run of a lifetime since winning the TBS championship in January. She has been a dominant champion and impressed everyone with her title reign despite very little experience in the ring.
For wrestlers, meeting and greeting fans around the world is just one perk of the job.
It can be a deeply rewarding experience for wrestlers to meet the people who admire them and give fans an experience they’ll remember.
Darby Allin has a ton of fans, some of whom came to meet him this weekend, but one person arrived looking to cause trouble.
The Attack
Allin appeared at the Southcenter Mall in Seattle for what he had planned on being a standard meet and greet session.
Before Allin began with what would be a four-hour autograph signing, he was ambushed by Brody King, who put him in a sleeper hold.
Not finished with the former AEW TNT Champion, King proceeded to powerbomb the young wrestler through a table before leaving the area.
After a brief window of time, Allin eventually recovered and completed the event as planned much to the surprise and delight of the fans who had paid to see him.
This attack follows on from the recent Royal Rampage, where Allin and King were the last two in a match to determine the number one contender for the Interim AEW World Championship.
King put Allin to sleep and threw him over the rope to win the match but failed to dethrone Jon Moxley.
After Malakai Black came out to check on King, Sting did the same with Allin, telling King he belonged in AEW and asking for a handshake, an offer that King would refuse.
Former five-time world champion Booker T made his grand return to the squared circle at last night’s ROW (Reality of Wrestling) event in Texas, his first in-ring competition in roughly two years.
The WWE Hall of Famer wrestled in a 10-man tag team contest alongside of Bryan Keith, Blake Cortez, Gaspar Hernadez, and Mysterious Q, who all competed as the Team Booker group. They faced off against the pairing of Edge Stone, Ryan Davidson, Stephen Wolf, Will Allory, and MLW star Gino Medina.
That’s not all. Booker also gave fans at the event a treat by wearing a throwback outfit of his days in WCW, where he became one of the companies biggest standout stars. The 57-year old has remained a prominent figure in pro-wrestling due to his panel work with WWE, and his hit weekly “Hall of Fame” podcast.
Booker took to Twitter to give his thoughts on wrestling for ROW, which he founded in 2005. He writes, “Got to step back in the ring last night at Reality of Wrestling and it felt GOODT!”
You can see photos and video of his return in the tweets below.
Roman Reigns is WWE’s reigning Undisputed Universal Championship, and has decimated the competition over the past two years.
Reigns’ list of victims is a who’s who of WWE, with names including John Cena, Bray Wyatt, and Goldberg all falling to the “Tribal Chief.”
As the unquestionable top star of WWE, matches featuring Reigns have become rarer and rarer but he returned to the ring this weekend.
Reigns Back in the Ring
Earlier this year, Roman Reigns signed a lucrative new deal with WWE, one that has seen him compete in far fewer matches.
Reigns’ most recent televised match was nearly a month ago, where he defeated Riddle on the June 17, 2022 SmackDown to retain the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship.
The Champ broke his hiatus from the ring last night, competing at the July 9, WWE Live Event in Sacramento, California. Unsurprisingly, Reigns headlined the event, successfully defending his title against Drew McIntyre.
Roman Reigns is the top heel in all of pro wrestling, but he once again broke character and delivered a heartfelt message to the fans in attendance after his match.
Below, you can see footage of Reigns addressing the audience at WWE Sacrameno:
Having the “Head of the Table” was a rarity, but it wasn’t all that happened on the show.
The show opened with Intercontinental Champion Gunther retaining his title against Ricochet, followed by a Triple Threat in which Raquel Rodriguez defeated Shayna Baszler and Lacey Evans.
The Viking Raiders defeated Jinder Mahal and Shanky while Happy Corbin got a win over Drew Gulak.
SmackDown Women’s Champion Liv Morgan retained against Natalya and Ronda Rousey and Madcap Moss defeated Humberto.
In the penultimate match, there was a triple threat for the Undisptued Tag Team Titles that saw the current champions The Usos take on The New Day and The Brawling Brutes, with The Usos retaining.
Impact Wrestling star Killer Kelly had a short (and strange) experience working for WWE. She was offered a contract during her rookie year in the wrestling industry. She made her debut at the inaugural NXT UK event. Kelly also took part in the 2018 Mae Young Classic where she lost in the first round.
Unfortunately, WWE did not use her much beyond that. The young star was occasionally used to put some other talents over before being released from her contract in January 2020.
Killer Kelly spoke with SEScoops this past week to discuss her absence from Impact for the past 2 years, her new persona and more. She also opened up about her time in the Vince McMahon owned promotion.
Watch Killer Kelly’s interview with Steve Fall for SEScoops below, followed by highlights from the conversation.
Why Killer Kelly said yes to a WWE contract with very little experience:
“So I had a good and somewhat bad experience [in WWE]. As soon as I got offered that contract. I said ‘Yes, like 100% Yes, because WWE is the dream.’ It was what I grew up watching. I was like ‘Ok, this is the thing that I want to do.’ But at the same time, I was just coming up as a professional wrestler. Basically, within the year that I decided to take a chance on myself and move to Germany to train to become professional wrestler, do this professionally. I got offered the contract. It was like everything at the same time. I had no time to read, to think, to do anything. So I felt like that came too soon to me. Because WWE was the dream. I didn’t even think about anything. I just said yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. I never stood up for myself. I was afraid to give ideas. I was afraid of doing basically anything. I was walking on eggshells all the time because I was afraid of messing that up.”
Her exhausting WWE experience due to mental health issues:
“The whole experience being like that, and now knowing of my mental issues that I have. Anxiety, depression, ADHD, all of that exhausted me mentally, to the point that I wasn’t enjoying my time in WWE. I didn’t enjoy it at all. Because I was so stressed. I was so anxious all the time. I had everything. I could have had a blast there. But I didn’t because of my brain. So that kind of sucks. It sucks that I wasn’t on medication early. It sucks that I didn’t know about that. So that whole experience was very exhausting for me. But other than that, I have nothing bad to say about WWE. It was just my brain. It was my brain. I didn’t have the spotlight on me but I enjoyed my position. They basically gave me matches to make the other people shine. So that means that they have the stress on me that I can help them shine, help them achieve whatever they need to. That was kind of an honor.”
If Killer Kelly had any problems with her WWE spot:
“I was happy with my place there. But then brain didn’t let me enjoy anything. I didn’t have the, I don’t want to say the guts, the mental capacity of saying what I wanted to do. [To share] any ideas. [To] actually have fun with it, which is what I’m currently doing with impact. My brain, it’s not 100% good, but it’s good. I am still anxious all the time. I’m still nervous, but that’s because I love wrestling. Now I feel like I could show my full potential and enjoy. Really, really enjoy what I’m doing and just be myself. I’m so excited about it.”
Ava Raine appeared at Saturday night’s NXT 2.0 live event from Orlando, Florida and cut her first promo in front of a live crowd.
Raine, the daughter of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, impressed fans who were in attendance for this historic moment in her young career.
Raine came to the ring exuding confidence and immediately put the NXT women’s roster on notice. She dubbed herself “The Final Girl” and ran down Cora Jade and the other female competitors in WWE’s developmental program.
Here are some photos from Ava Raine’s first live promo in NXT 2.0:
The Rock is considered one of the best trash talkers in wrestling history, so it should come as no surprise that Raine can hold her own on the mic.
We will update this article if video from Ava Raine’s first promo gets posted online.
In addition to cutting her first live promo on Saturday night, Raine also appeared at Friday’s NXT show from Citrus Springs, FL. She came down to ringside during one of the women’s matches, apparently scouting her competition.
Raine is a 4th generation Superstar and has big shoes to fill. It will be interesting to track her progress in the months ahead.
WWE has been plagued with a series of injuries in recent weeks which has kept a lot of top stars out of action.
Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton are just two names who are hurt, and it’s not just the men’s division missing out.
Rhea Ripley is also on the shelf, having suffered a brain injury, but the former Raw Women’s Champion may be dealing with another medical issue.
The Heart Monitor
On Instagram, Ripley showed off the new heart monitor she is now wearing but did not specify the reason.
Typically, heart monitors are used to detect and record any irregularities in the heart.
Seeing the funny side of things, Ripley joked that she’s now Iron Man, the MARVEL Comics character who uses a device on his chest to keep himself alive.
Ripley’s injury could arguably not come at a worse time for her character.
Mere weeks before her injury, the Australian Superstar had been revealed as a new member of The Judgment Day, which turned on Edge shortly before her injury.
Despite an initial strong start, The Judgment Day has struggled on WWE TV since Ripley’s absence, with Finn Balor and Damian Priest losing both matches since Rhea’s injury, albeit by disqualification.
Ripley had also been next in line for a Raw Women’s Championship match, but was pulled from the Money in the Bank Premium Live Event due to her injury.
It’s been nearly two months now since Sasha Banks and Naomi walked out of WWE Raw over a creative difference with the planned main event.
The then-WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions believed that the main event, which would have seen Naomi earn a Raw Women’s Title match, lessened the importance of their tag titles.
Since then, the duo has been suspended without pay, and WWE has done all they can to distance themselves from the pair.
Naomi’s Comment
Naomi worked for WWE for over a decade on TV before her suspension and has seemingly grown tired of the way talent are being treated.
In an Instagram Story, the former SmackDown Women’s Champion didn’t mention WWE by name but had some choice comments about being taken advantage of.
“The moment you stop people from taking advantage of you and disrespecting you is when they define you as tough, selfish or crazy. Manipulators hate boundaries.”
Naomi.
Fans were quick to assume that Naomi was speaking about WWE given how the company has treated her in recent months.
Will Naomi go?
While it has been reported that Sasha Banks has been released by WWE, Naomi is seemingly still with the company.
The big question now is will she go, as her contract is reportedly set to expire later this year.
It’s always worth considering that Naomi is married to Jimmy Uso, and that being part (albeit indirectly) of the Bloodline carries some significant influence.
The last thing WWE wants to do is draw the ire of Roman Reigns should they release his cousin’s wife.
The wrestling career of Killer Kelly has been a roller coaster ride. She was offered a WWE contract not long after she decided to pursue a career in wrestling in her mid-20s. She competed in NXT UK. She also took part in the 2018 Mae Young Classic before getting released in 2020.
Kelly then made her debut for Impact Wrestling. It looked like she was finally ready to make her mark but she then disappeared from Impact for two years. The former wXw Women’s Championship recently spoke to SEScoops about her contractual status and more.
Watch Killer Kelly’s interview with Steve Fall for SEScoops:
Under Contract with Impact for Past 2 Years
Kelly revealed that she was offered an Impact contract on the day she made her debut on November 24, 2020. Furthermore, she revealed that she has been contracted for the past two years:
“Well, it was exactly on that day. On that same day that I wrestled, I got offered a deal. So I’ve been contracted for the past two years.”
When Fall inquired about the reason for her absence from Impact programming, Killer Kelly revealed that it was due to Visa issues. She had to go back to her home country of Portugal shortly after her Impact debut. Unfortunately for Kelly, this is when the Coronavirus struck and she got stuck there:
“Well, you have to ask the good ol’ United States of America (why she hasn’t been wrestling). Its legalities, legalities, legalities…It was a very tedious process, which impact dealt with wonderfully. They took care of everything, but it was a horrible process. They were wonderful about it. After they offered the contract, I had to go back to Portugal. Then I was stuck in Portugal.
They did everything in their power to get me out of Portugal. It was a visa process that started in Portugal, and then it didn’t pan out. Then I had to come to the United States and start all over again. It was a whole process. But finally, I can say that I’m part of Impact. I can finally work and I am excited.”
Being stuck at home and not being able to compete was a horrible experience for Killer Kelly. It was during this time she found out that she had ADHD, in addition to being diagnosed with severe anxiety and depression:
“It was terrible. It was horrible. Well, at least I sought some help. I finally found out that I had severe depression, severe anxiety. Most recently, I found out that I have ADHD. So that really helped me to finally seek out mental health help. But the whole waiting, the whole being locked. It was a very horrible experience.
It really put me down. I was in lower than rock bottom. It was just awful. Without my husband, without his help and without impact, I don’t know what I would do. Impact was beyond professional, beyond professional… They were amazing, dealing with everything.”
The good news is that Killer Kelly is now back in the United States and she is ready to compete in Impact again. The July 7 episode of the show featured a vignette teasing her return with a new persona.
