One of AEW’s biggest success stories has been the rise of Wardlow, who will challenge Scorpio Sky for the TNT championship on this evening’s edition of Dynamite.
Mr. Mayhem’s journey towards being a babyface superstar went through the path of the company’s top heel, MJF. For years Wardlow acted as the Salt of the Earth’s muscle until he eventually turned and vanquished his former boss at Double or Nothing back in May.
However, Wardlow’s momentum would play second fiddle to the controversy caused by MJF, who for months had been butting heads with AEW President Tony Khan, which culminated in MJF begging for his boss to fire him during AEW’s debut show in Los Angeles. He has not been seen since.
Wardlow spoke about the MJF drama on the latest edition of the Wrestling Classic. The War Pig begins by saying he doesn’t even really want to discuss the issue, but feels like he has grounds to say something considering how much time he spent with the man.
“Honestly, I shouldn’t even give this subject the time of day, and I really don’t care to, but I do understand — people gotta understand, we were together for three years. He was the first three years of my career, he was a big part of my career. So if anybody is allowed to touch on this subject, it probably is me.”
Wardlow would then tear into MJF, calling him a horrible person and fitting of the character he portrays on-screen.
“I’ll just say this, he’s not a good person. He really is a piece of shit. It was not enjoyable working with him. He put me through more stress than anything and his behavior inside of the business and outside of the business is unacceptable. But that’s all I’m gonna say about that.”
There have been multiple sources speculating that perhaps the entire fiasco is an elaborate work, though it would be hard to see who it would benefit.
This year’s WWE Money in the Bank was a memorable night with several notable moments. It was also successful for the company.
Fightful Select posted a backstage update on last Saturday’s event in Las Vegas as an internal document that has been making the rounds in the company to executives to tout the event’s success.
The memo noted the event was the “most-viewed” Money in the Bank show in history and drew the second-highest gate in the event’s history.
Merchandise sold at the show is said to have increased 95 percent from last year’s Money in the Bank show, which was previously the highest-selling merchandise for the event.
The event didn’t start to a strong start, as it was originally announced at Allegiant Stadium. After weak ticket sales, WWE pivoted and moved the show to the MGM Grand Garden Arena. After moving to the arena, the event sold around 12,000 tickets.
The event featured three championship matches and the two traditional Money in the Bank ladder matches for both men and women. Theory won the men’s bout while Liv Morgan won the women’s match and later cashed in to win the SmackDown Women’s Championship from Ronda Rousey.
Former WCW wrestler Buff Bagwell recently spoke with SEScoops correspondent Steve Fall for NBC Sports Boston about if he is the one running his twitter account.
It turns out Buff was never running his account.
I have informed Michael that our business relationship is over, and that he needs to get people what they are owed. I will continue on him to do so. For now on the only merch available is through my PWT store, https://t.co/e3YnMkI3Vu or in person at conventions.
— Marcus Bagwell ? (@Marcbuffbagwell) July 3, 2022
Steve Fall asked “I just want a simple yes or no and you can add a little bit, people say you don’t run your twitter account.”
Buff replied with “Not true……I don’t even get everyone. I don’t understand…. they actually came up with I got Diamond Dallas Page to run it ….. like Dallas Page has time to run my twitter account.”
“I had the fight with Strowman….. yeah even Dallas goes you know I know we have some guys help us and stuff I know you’re doing uh most of your stuff if not all he said, but I knew you said this and he was talking about part of the Strowman apologizing to me… Uncle Buff baby.”
AEW has been plagued with injuries over the past month, with several stars being taken out of action.
AEW World Champion CM Punk announced his injury just days after he captured the title from ‘Hangman’ Adam Page, and Bryan Danielson is also said to have suffered an injury and hasn’t wrestled in over a month.
Former World Champion Kenny Omega continues to be away recovering from surgery after dealing with multiple injuries, and now another star is out of commission.
Santana injured
During the recent Blood and Guts match, Santana competed and had a spot that didn’t go according to plan.
Santana had an awkward uranage spot with Daniel Garcia mere minutes after he entered the double cage, which led many to believe Santana is injured.
While speaking on Busted Open Radio, AEW President Tony Khan confirmed the news that Santana is injured, saying it “could be a relatively long injury.”
Khan added that he spoke to Santana after Blood & Guts, ensuring the wrestler that the company will stand by him throughout his recovery.
Khan gave no specific time window as to when Santana will be back in the ring.
His previous injury
This is a bad time for Santana, but not the first time he’s had to deal with an injury.
In May 2019, while working for Impact Wrestling, Santana suffered a stage two tear in his MCL.
Santana was cleared to wrestle that same month, but would finish up with Impact in early August, and debuted for AEW at All Out on August 31.
Last September, WWE NXT underwent its biggest change in close to a decade, being revamped into NXT 2.0.
The revamp saw a huge change to the roster, with stars like Bron Breakker and Joe Gacy thrust into the spotlight, while established names including Bronson Reed and Bobby Fish were cut.
It wasn’t just the roster that was changed however, as the power dynamics behind the scenes altered drastically.
Vince McMahon took over the reins of the brand from his son-in-law Triple H, a decision that fans were vehemently opposed to.
The Current Creative Team
It was recently reported that Triple H has returned to full-time duties with WWE, following his cardiac event last September that forced him to retire as an in-ring Superstar.
Given Triple H’s association with WWE NXT, many believed that this is a sign that the former WWE World Heavyweight Champion is back in charge of the revamped brand.
According to PW Insider, that isn’t the case, as the creative team still reports to Bruce Prichard, who was brought to NXT by Vince McMahon during the September relaunch.
Johnny Russo is serving as head writer, working with others including Nick Bonnano.
George Carroll has also returned to WWE to serve as part of the creative team for NXT, after being released from the company in January this year.
The WWE locker room is brimming with talent, but the company is about to lose one of their most-established stars.
Paige’s contract will expire tomorrow, July 7, bringing an end to her lengthy run in WWE.
The former Divas Champion has said that this was not her decision, but that WWE has chosen not to renew her contract with the company.
Paige’s Letter
In an emotional letter, Paige said that fans can call her Saraya now, as this is her real name, and what she will be working as from now on.
While Saraya has made it clear she would rather stay with WWE, she has come to terms with her departure tomorrow and is pleased with what she has accomplished.
“I’ve known this moment would be coming for a while, but it almost didn’t seem real. Now that it is real, though, I’m just overwhelmed with gratitude.”
Saraya.
Saraya also spoke about several issues outside the ring, including her neck injuries, her Wellness Policy violations, and a sex tape being leaked.
“I became less of an asset to WWE, and more of a liability, for a long time. I’m sure of it. But they never lost faith in me.”
Saraya
The former Divas Champion also appreciated being given a segment for her retirement speech, saying it meant a lot that she was being treated the same as Edge and Daniel Bryan, who had similar segments in 2011 and 2016.
Saraya concluded by speaking of interim WWE CEO and Chairwoman Stephanie McMahon who comforted her during a battle of anxiety ahead of her on-screen return in 2017.
“she [Stephanie] just held me for a minute. She gave me the biggest, longest hug. And she said, “Hey — everyone out there loves you. They’re going to be excited to see you. You want to know why? Because you’re a survivor
Saraya.
You can read the entire letter by clicking the link here.
When news broke that Logan Paul signed with WWE there was the usual response. You know. The one where certain fans have that knee-jerk reaction of, “Here comes _____insert celebrity___ to collect their payday.”
They can’t stand when someone, an “outsider,” comes into the pro wrestling world to take up television time or a spot from someone else. The common response has become a “one size fits all.” In actuality, it has been a mixed bag.
Mr. T may have not been the easiest to work with for the likes of Roddy Piper, but boy did it create big business in the 1980s. His involvement helped put WrestleMania on the map. Even Lawrence Taylor put on a stellar performance against Bam Bam Bigelow in the main event at WrestleMania 11 no less. Dennis Rodman helped take WCW and the nWo further into the mainstream through his involvement.
Over the years WWE Hall of Famer Mike Tyson, Floyd Mayweather, Kevin Greene, and countless others could be credited for a positive uptick. Along with Paul, Bad Bunny, and Johnny Knoxville are among notable recent successes. You can even mark MMA legends Ken Shamrock and Ronda Rousey in that upper echelon of seamless crossovers.
Celebrities who excel in pro wrestling
Usually, those who tend to do well come in humble with a willing-to-learn attitude. They genuinely wanted to pick up each facet of this unique form of sports and entertainment.
Of course, there was Jay Lenos, Drew Careys, and Kevin Federlines. Though even not-so-good outings, the one constant remained. Drawing new eyes to the product The pro wrestling fan base tends to live in a bubble without thinking big picture.
Bunny merch was right up there in top merch sellers during his run. Whether you like Paul or not, he brings buzz and a massive social media following. And in 2022 that’s prime currency.
The 27-year-old also looks seemingly committed to putting in the work. That was evident at WrestleMania 38 where he teamed with The Miz against the Mysterios and impressed a global audience. Yes, Miz and Rey Mysterio are veterans who know how to elevate opponents, but Paul also brought athletic ability and somewhat of a fighting background. He has done some serious training. The viral YouTube star demonstrated how to work an audience working alongside true pros in Sami Zayne and Kevin Owens.
There is a clear interest in Paul joining WWE. His name trended on Twitter while his image became the most liked photo on Instagram in company history. It’s a good start, but wrestling fans are hard to please. The keyboard warriors, the trolls that lurk on Twitter and the like. Paul is used to managing the social media waters. But pro wrestling has proven to be its own animal that can’t be put in one category or box.
His first test comes in a program with The Miz. Someone who came into WWE from Real World notoriety, which put a similar target as Paul will experience on a certain scale. Through unwavering determination, Miz changed many detractors’ minds and clawed for every accolade. Paul is going to have to do the same.
We’ll see what happens heading into SummerSlam. Whether he excels or has a run that goes up in flames, one thing is for sure. People will be watching.
Former AEW wrestler Marko Stunt recently spoke with SEScoops correspondent Steve Fall for NBC Sports Boston about original AEW talent being pushed out for WWE free agents.
“I think that there was a point where they got a taste of what that star power could do…. you know and you know it’s kind of like a drug I guess in a way you you get a little bit and you’re like ooh that felt good that was nice let’s let’s let’s get a little more in here so it just starts waterfalling and waterfalling ….. you’re like oh this guy’s not there anymore let’s bring him in and so that’s kind of where it got you and like it wasn’t that bad when I was like being weaned out, but uh it definitely uh got that way it’s definitely more that way now it feels like.”
Gerald Brisco has shared some details on the first-ever meeting between Vince McMahon and Brock Lesnar.
Brisco was recently interviewed by Sportskeeda where he detailed the meeting between the three, where McMahon was extremely impressed with the former NCAA Division I Heavyweight Champion.
Lesnar’s physical appearance certainly impressed McMahon, but it was his determination in his voice that also seemed to get “The Chairman Of The Board” excited about the potential of “The Beast.”
“We’re at a PPV. Brock has on one of those tight T-shirts for that pull real tight and his bicep looks huge. Vince can’t resist a good bicep. All of a sudden, he (Vince) stopped in his tracks, walks over to Brock, and shakes his hand.
“Vince said, ‘’Young man, congratulations on winning the national championship. Are you ready for showbiz?’ Brock Lesnar looked him right in the eye and said, ‘I’ve been ready all my life.’ What an answer to give the boss. I see that smile come on Vince. That really showed Vince that this guy is ready to do this and wants to do this,” Brisco said.
In terms of financials, Lesnar’s asking price was high. So high, in fact, that Brisco claims that WWE’s budget guy would complain that signing Lesnar would kill their entire developmental budget.
Brisco was of the belief that it was worth the investment, recognizing that Lesnar is a once in a generation talent. As it turns out, he was right.
“Vince and I got together and he said. ‘What’s it going to take?’ I said, ‘I don’t know. That’s J.R.’s department. I got the guy here, now you guys do your job.’ There was resistance. I know Brock was asking for a lot of money. Looking back, it seemed kind of silly with the numbers. I mean, he’s just looking for a six figure number to sign on.
“I would get complaints from the budget guy that this guy is going to kill our entire developmental budget with one guy. I kept telling him, ‘He’ll make you more money than that. Overlook this one year. This guy is one of those guys that comes along once in a lifetime’, and sure enough he was.
“So they threw all that stuff aside and said, ‘Okay, let’s figure out what it’s going to cost and how we can manipulate it into our budget.’ They figured that out and they finally came to an agreement with Brock. It was probably a two or three month negotiation period back and forth.”
Since signing with WWE, Lesnar has become one of the company’s biggest names of all time. He’s a 10-time World Champion, a King Of The Ring winner, a Money In The Bank Winner, and a two-time Royal Rumble winner.
He’s currently slated to challenge Roman Reigns for the WWE Undisputed Title at SummerSlam.
WWE Hall Of Famer Bully Ray wasn’t a fan of SmackDown Women’s Champion Liv Morgan’s recent promo.
Ray recently took to his radio show, “Busted Open Radio,” to offer his thoughts on Morgan’s promo this week after winning the SmackDown Live Women’s Title when she cashed in her Money In The Bank briefcase on Ronda Rousey shortly after winning it.
The Hall Of Famer noted that he feels like the support from the fans has died down a bit behind Morgan, and her prom felt like “somebody who’s playing a pro wrestler as opposed to being a pro wrestler.”
“I didn’t think it was a strong promo from her. But I will say this, the people were behind her, at first, but then it started to trail off a bit.
“I believe she was trying to memorize a promo last night – they’re never going to hand Liv Morgan a microphone and say, ‘Here’s five minutes, go say whatever the hell you want to say.’ Unfortunately, when I hear Liv talk last night, I feel like I’m watching somebody who’s playing a pro wrestler as opposed to being a pro wrestler.
“This whole, ‘We did it guys, if it wasn’t for you guys, you guys got me all the way through,’ it’s uber babyface, chase-the-hug stuff and I understand why they do it. But, I want to see Liv come out there and stand on her own two feet – verbally and physically.”
It remains to be seen what’s next for Morgan after winning the SmackDown Live Women’s Title. A program with Natalya was teased on Monday Night RAW, however, it’s also expected that Morgan gives Rousey her rematch, likely at SummerSlam.
Things should become a bit more clear on this week’s episode of SmackDown Live this Friday.
A major player for WWE may not be on the docket for one of its premium live events.
The wrestling business has certainly had its share of circumstances that haven’t been ideal this year. There have been a slew of injuries impacting top promotions such as WWE and AEW.
Some top performers also haven’t been around often due to reduced schedules.
For this top superstar, in particular, he may be missing out on a key event set to take place in a few months.
Roman Reigns Missing Extreme Rules?
(via WWE)
The poster for Extreme Rules has been released and the current WWE Undisputed Universal Champion Roman Reigns is nowhere to be seen. This doesn’t serve as a confirmation of his absence but it certainly isn’t a good sign.
Reigns inked a new deal with WWE that sees him work fewer dates. While some thought the “Tribal Chief” would only be reducing his house show schedule, he has been MIA for many TV shows and he wasn’t present at the Money in the Bank premium live event.
A report from WrestleVotes claims that when the decision was made to unify the world titles with Reigns as the champion, the belief was that it would allow the “Head of the Table” to make more appearances on Raw and SmackDown.
The Blackpool Combat Club has become a real favorite among AEW fans. The faction features some of the company’s best-liked stars in Jon Moxley, Bryan Danielson, and most recently Claudio Castagnoli, not to mention up and comer Wheeler Yuta, and the foundation of William Regal standing in their corner. Together, they tap into a combination of a hard-nosed but technically sound style, real life bonds, and an undeniable cool factor.
Now that Moxley reigns as interim AEW Champion, it feels like only a matter of time before CM Punk will clash with him to decide an undisputed champ after he returns from injury. Might that be the gateway, though, to a much longer story in which Punk crosses paths with the other members of Mox’s faction?
Punk Defeats Moxley in the AEW Championship Unification Match
When CM Punk returns from injury, it stands to reason that he would win a title unification match over whomever reigns as the interim champ. After all, Punk was a major score for AEW to sign in the first place, and every indication is that Tony Khan wholeheartedly believes in him as a standard-bearer for the company. So, we can expect Punk to pick up where he left off when he is able to return to action.
It’s hard to predict where creative will go in the months ahead, and, all the more so, recent months have demonstrated that fans can’t take anything for granted when it comes to wrestling injuries. If he stays healthy and there aren’t major creative shifts, though, it seems likely Jon Moxley will hold the interim title until he can face Punk.
Rather than a one-off confrontation between Punk and Mox for who gets to call himself champion, it be a multi-match feud, and also the starting point for Punk fighting his way through more of The Blackpool Combat Club.
CM Punk Successfully Defends The AEW Championship Against Bryan Danielson
Since CM Punk and Bryan Danielson both arrived in AEW in late summer 2021, it became an instant dream scenario that the two might reprise the classics they previously put on together in ROH and WWE rings.
Danielson worked in the AEW Championship picture immediately upon his debut, challenging Kenny Omega and Hangman Page, while Punk bided his time, getting the ring rust off before he had his first title opportunity at Double or Nothing.
Moving forward, Danielson is the kind of talent who will never feel out of place in a main event scenario, and there’s every potential for him to put on a classic against Punk in one of his first major AEW Championship defenses. Adding on some ongoing animosity between Punk and the stable Danielson and Jon Moxley have been such an integral part of would only enrich their issue.
CM Punk Passes The Torch, Dropping The AEW Championship To Claudio Castagnoli
CM Punk worked his WWE debut opposite Darby Allin and went onto PPV feuds opposite Eddie Kingston, MJF, and Hangman Page—each less established stars who more than held their own, but also benefited from the rub of feuding with Punk.
In facing Jon Moxley and Bryan Danielson, Punk would be taking a step away from this trajectory, working fellow WWE alumni and wrestlers who have won world titles in their pasts. Punk can get back to giving back to the business in a feud with Claudio Castagnoli to wrap up his engagement with The Blackpool Combat Club.
There remains an open questions whether talents who defect from WWE to AEW are better off. Christian Cage, Toni Storm, Keith Lee, Miro, Samoa Joe, Ruby Soho, and others are among the big names who remain in a gray area of making a big splash when they arrive, and then moving into the background.
Castagnoli could wind up being the case to prove AEW’s willingness and ability to elevate underappreciated talents. He’s long overdue to be booked as a top guy, and it would make a major statement for him to get a legit main event push and world title reign after beating Punk in the classic match this duo is more than capable of putting together.
There’s no shortage of great promos, storylines, and matches awaiting CM Punk opposite The Blackpool Combat Club in the months to come. It could be a testament to the faction, Punk, and AEW on the whole to see their collaborative effort ultimately elevate the uber-talented Claudio Castagnoli to new career heights.
WWE SmackDown superstar Shotzi has given an explanation for deleting her Twitter account.
After performing in the women’s Money in the Bank ladder match, Shotzi received some brutal remarks over struggling at certain spots. These comments went beyond fair criticism.
Some reminded the SmackDown talent that she had poked fun at Chris Jericho’s infamous crashpad spot at the conclusion of AEW’s Blood & Guts match back in 2021.
At the time, Shotzi insisted that she was simply making a joke and she thought the match Jericho had been in was great.
What seemingly drove Shotzi to delete her Twitter account, however, were people calling for her to be fired over a few botched spots.
Shotzi Speaks Out
(via WWE)
Shotzi took to her Instagram Stories to break her silence on deleting her Twitter account. She said that simply put, all the negativity wasn’t doing her mental health any good.
“I appreciate everyone checking on me but I swear I’m fine. I have been going through the toughest year of my personal life so it’s deeper than nasty comments, but also Twitter has not helped with my already fragile mind state. Just trying to stay motivated and positive. I am focused on my goals and not what’s on the internet.”
Shotzi on leaving Twitter
The good news from that statement is that Shotzi is doing well. Perhaps removing herself from the cesspool that is Twitter will do her some good.
Despite having an off night at MITB, Shotzi was still very over in the match as the crowd cheered every time she went to climb up the ladder.
Despite the botches, Shotzi has made it clear that she’s willing to sacrifice her body for fans’ entertainment.
The company is known for switching things up with its performers. Whether it’s on Raw, SmackDown, or NXT, WWE will make changes to its characters in an attempt to shake things up.
For better or worse, the company is not afraid to switch up entrance music, gimmicks, attire, and of course the names of the performers.
In this situation, it is an NXT star who will be going by a new name.
Goodbye A-Kid, Hello Axiom
(via WWE)
During NXT’s The Great American Bash show, a vignette aired promoting a “new” superstar who goes by the name of “Axiom.”
As it turns out, this is a name change for A-Kid. The man now known as Axiom had been competing on the NXT UK brand but has made the move to NXT 2.0.
It’s unknown if this re-debut has anything to do with the mysterious QR code that aired earlier in the show.
SEScoops had you covered with results and video highlights from NXT’s The Great American Bash. There was also a major title change on the show.
Peep the homepage if you missed any of the action.
Former AEW wrestler Marko Stunt recently spoke with SEScoops correspondent Steve Fall for NBC Sports Boston about hearing his name on AEW Dynamite in a negative context during a heel Christian Cage promo.
“Let me put it this way: I was not aware. I was not aware that it was going to be said or anything or that when my name was going to be thrown out in any context because it hasn’t been since October and for them (AEW) to do it in that context I thought it’s kind of lame.”
He continued, ”I mean, it makes sense though in a way you know like I was and I was a part of that group before him and what he’s basically saying is he came in and got me fired. So in story sense, love it. In real life sense you know….it is what it is.”
Did Christian take Marko’s Spot in Jurassic Express?
A brotherhood shattered
Later, Marko Stunt was asked if he feels like Christian intentionally “took his spot” in Jurassic Express.
“I don’t think that he necessarily took my spot because we are two completely different roles for sure,” said Stunt. “I was more of a hype guy and he was more and he’s more of a more of a like leader role.”
Stunt says he didn’t think Christian added anything to Jurassic Express.
“I did not think that he fit with the group at all. I didn’t think he added any sort of dynamic. I think it would have been better to have him mentor, or really, what it was, was him mentoring Jack and that’s ultimately the the whole goal with that.”
I and you know they’re setting up Jack to do great things you know they’re setting him up to have this great push right now … and I’ve known that he was going to do that from the start. He’s one of my best friends that I made there and like we still talked to the day and he even texted me when it happened”.
Catch Steve Fall’s full interview with former AEW star Marko Stunt:
WWE has not given any idea what the message means, but that hasn’t stopped fans from trying to decipher the code.
With Triple H recently returning to NXT, some have suggested that the set of numbers has something to do with him, given that H is the eighth letter of the alphabet.
However, that doesn’t explain 10 or 11, which would represent the letters J and K.
Others have suggested that this is a countdown timer, and if the 8 represents weeks, would countdown to the Tuesday, August 30, episode of NXT.
Some fans have googled the combination of numbers that send them to verses from the Bible.
None of these passages can be seen to be directly related to any kind of story that could happen in WWE NXT 2.0.
The July 5, 2022 episode of WWE NXT aired live on the USA Network from Orlando, Florida, at the Capitol Wrestling Center.
WWE NXT Results
Cora Jade & Roxanne Perez def. Toxic Attraction to become the newWomen’s Tag Team Champions.
Trick Williams def. Wes Lee.
Tiffany Stratton def. Wendy Choo.
Carmelo Hayes def. Grayson Waller to retain the North American Championship.
The Creed Brothers def. Roderick Strong & Damon Kemp to retain theTag Team Championships.
Bron Breakker def. Cameron Grimes to retain NXT Title
Here are the takeaways from this week’s show:
NXT Title Match
NXT Champion Bron Breakker vs. Cameron Grimes was the main event of the show. WWE set up the match a few weeks ago when Grimes challenged Breakker to a title match.
Grimes said last week that he decided to go after Bron because he doesn’t have a back-up plan because wrestling is just that because he couldn’t make it in the NFL. Bron said next week, he will spear him in half and will make him regret challenging for the title. They brawled with Grimes tossing Bron into the turnbuckle and it popped off. Grimes said that he might not be able to beat him 100%, but maybe he can if Bron isn’t.
The match saw them go back and forth. In the end, Bron hit a spear for the win. After the match, JD McDonagh, formerly known as Jordan Devlin, laid out Bron by putting him through a table.
NXT Women’s Tag Team Champions Toxic Attraction defended the titles against Roxanne Perez and Cora Jade.
Jade and Perez won a number one contendership match by defeating Katana Chance and Kayden Carter last week. The two teams confronted one another the previous week leading to a brawl over who should face Toxic Attraction next.
The match opened the show and went back and forth. Mandy Rose got removed from ringside due to outside interference. Perez hit her finisher on Jayne for the win.
NXT North American Champion Carmelo Hayes vs. Grayson Waller took place.
Last week, Waller asked Hayes if he could sign some memorabilia. This led to Hayes agreeing, but later found out that he had unwittingly signed a contract for a title defense.
The match saw Waller have a few moments where it looked like he was going to win it. Trick Williams got involved until Wes Lee took him out. Hayes hit a codebreaker and the leg drop off the top for the win.
NXT Tag Team Champions Creed Brothers vs. Roderick Strong and Damon Kemp was booked.
Strong and The Creed Brothers confronted one another in a backstage segment on last week’s show after dissension in a tag team match against The Dyad and Joe Gacy led to a defeat. Strong was upset so he challenged The Creeds to a title match for next week.
The match was the co-main event. The Creeds were in control for the majority of it. Kemp ate the pinfall. Post-match, The Creeds helped Kemp up while Strong looked frustrated and stared at the Creeds.
WWE NXT Champion Bron Breakker made his latest title defense against Cameron Grimes in the main event of the Great American Bash special of NXT on Tuesday night.
The match saw Bron get a fast start only for Grimes to work him over in the commercial break. Bron won with a spear. Post-match, JD McDonagh, formerly known as Jordan Devlin, laid out Bron by putting him through a table.
WWE set up this match on the June 14th edition of NXT when Grimes issued the match challenge and Breakker accepted it. This was after Breakker gave Grimes an encouraging word by telling Grimes that he will be a champion again someday after his North American Title loss. Grimes said that he was not looking for sympathy from anyone.
Later in the show, after Breakker’s successful title defense against Duke Hudson, Grimes insinuated that Breakker had been fast-tracked due to his family name as the son of Rick Steiner. He said that everyone knows Breakker’s dad and no one will remember Grimes’ late father’s name.
Breakker previously made a title defense against Joe Gacy in the main event of the In Your House event in Orlando, Florida at the Performance Center on Peacock last month.
AEW held it’s first ever event back in the spring of 2019, a show that saw a surprise appearance from the legendary Kia Stevens, better known as Awesome Kong.
The former multi-time Knockouts champion was immediately paired with Brandi Rhodes, but her momentum never quite took off after that initial debut. The faction that featured the duo was eventually disbanded in February of 2020, and Kong took even more time off that year to film the latest season of GLOW.
Kong remained with AEW until 2021. She recently appeared on Insight With Chris Van Vilet to discuss her time with the promotion, one that she says was not all bells and whistles.
“I don’t want to sound like I’m bashing the crew over there at AEW, especially since we were just up and running.. I felt unheard. I wasn’t in control.”
The now retired legend explains that it wasn’t due to her lack of trying.
“All I could do was say, ‘I have this idea of XYZ.’ I couldn’t get in the room where final decisions were made. I tried to get into that last meeting where decisions were made. Never had a chance to.”
In the end Kong realized that it was out of her control, otherwise she would have stolen the show every single time.
“It’s out of my control. If I had control, give me 15 minutes of Kia. Kia’s 15 Minutes of Fame. ‘Go out there and steal the show from them boys. You, you, you. Nyla (Rose), go steal the show from the boys.’”
Kong retired from the sport of wrestling back in the summer of 2021 after wrestling her last match at NWA Empowerrr.
Cora Jade and Roxanne Perez are the new WWE NXT Women’s Tag Team Champions as they dethroned Toxic Attraction (Jacy Jayne and Gigi Dolin).
In the opening match of Tuesday’s special edition of WWE NXT Great American Bash, the bout opened the show and went back and forth. NXT Women’s Champion Mandy Rose got involved as she pulled the referee out of the ring when the challengers were going for a pin attempt, so she got thrown out.
Moments later, Perez hit her pop rocks finisher on Jayne for the win, marking the first time Jade and Perez held gold in NXT.
Dolin and Jayne had been in their second reign as Tag Team Champions. Their first reign started last October when they defeated Io Shirai & Zoey Stark and, Indi Hartwell & Persia Pirotta in a triple threat Scareway to Hell ladder match to win the titles.
Although they later lost the titles to Dakota Kai and Raquel González at Stand & Deliver this past April, WWE had them win the titles back three nights later.
WWE has seen its popularity decline for several years since the Attitude Era, but they’ve been able to stop the huge drop that they had been experiencing in recent years. WWE consistently dropped in popularity (TV ratings and attendance) from 2017 to 2021. However, that has largely halted.
Since launching in 2019, All Elite Wrestling has grown rapidly as they were able to secure a television deal with WarnerMedia just months after launching and have been able to draw over 100,000 PPV buys with every event they’ve presented thus far.
Dave Meltzer went into detail about how WWE is getting more interest than usual of late during today’s Wrestling Observer Radio.
“WWE being up was interesting to me. Almost across the board, whatever they are doing… another interesting thing about that is they’re up (and) one of their biggest drawing cards Roman Reigns is not even on these shows other than Nashville (SummerSlam), which is doing pretty well.
Whatever it is, there’s definitely an upswing in interest in the product, for whatever reason. So that was kind of an interesting thing to see. The ratings of WWE have been up… WWE is on an upswing right now, so they’re doing something right, whatever it is.”
Meltzer noted that although AEW’s TV ratings have been down over the last few months, he cited the mega-list of injuries they’re dealing with as several stars are out of action, including CM Punk and Bryan Danielson.
Brandon Thurston of WrestleNomics has posted an article looking at the key performance indicators for WWE and AEW and how they compare.
This report notes WWE still leads in nearly every category in terms of numbers (TV tapings and attendance). It was said, “AEW’s lower profile consistently grew in previous comparisons, and still is growing.”
For WWE, they have yet to reach popularity to the heights of the years following the launch of the WWE Network in 2014, but it was stated the Peacock deal for its Network rights had come at the same time they were seeing stabilization and improvement in multiple areas.
TV Ratings
Raw’s ranking among other programs on Monday remains strong and improved in the second quarter of 2022. SmackDown continues to remain among the most-watched shows on Fridays.
Dynamite’s key demo ranking is up strongly year-over-year, although the show is having its first negative year-over-year comparisons just slightly after several consecutive quarters of growth.
Attendance
WWE averaged higher attendances for TV events than AEW through all four quarters since returning to touring in July 2021.
WWE also has the edge with premium live events/pay-per-views compared to AEW because they run stadium events.
Other metrics such as YouTube views and social media engagement can be found in the complete report here.
AAA announced a unique match for the Ring Rock StAAArs event on September 10 as married couple John Morrison and Taya Valkyrie are slated to wrestle each other.
Valkyrie will team up with Impact star Laredo Kid to take on her husband under the name Johnny Caballero and Christi Jaynes.
— Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (@luchalibreaaa) July 5, 2022
They have worked for AAA since the start of this year, with the latest show being TripleMania XXX: Tijuana, where Taya called out AEW Women’s World Champion Thunder Rosa and Morrison teaming with Matt Hardy to take on Dragon Lee and Dralistico as a replacement for Jeff Hardy, who was pulled due to his recent DUI arrest.
This marked the second time Morrison headlined an AAA event as he had previously headlined AAA Rey de Reyes, unsuccessfully challenging Hijo del Vikingo for AAA Mega Championship.
At the June 26th tapings, Taya sided against Johnny, cornering Arez and AEW star Rey Fenix as they took on Johnny and Absimo Negro Jr. Taya previously scored a win over her husband at the WrestleCon Supershow.
Since hitting the free-agent market after being let go by WWE, Valkyrie has found a lot of success as she is currently the AAA Reina de Reinas Champion, one-half of the Impact Knockouts Tag Team Champions with Rosemary, the inaugural MLW Women’s Featherweight Champion, and the inaugural XPW Women’s Champion.
A recent report from Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio indicates that WWE is very high on Montez Ford. In fact, the report suggests that the commentary team’s comments on Ford’s physique during Money In The Bank were meant to lead to a singles push for Ford.
There are reportedly those in WWE management who are very high on Ford, and his new physique was a big part of that. The commentary team also laid the foundation for a future split of The Street Profits by suggesting there was tension between the two.
Booker T discussed the possibility of Ford getting a singles push during a recent episode of his podcast, “The Hall Of Fame.” Booker said he hopes this lights a fire under Angelo Dawkins.
“I’m gonna tell you right now, if Angelo Dawkins ain’t listening to the internet and people talking about Montez Ford being a singles, and people wanting to treat him like a star, if that don’t motivate his ass, nothing will,” Booker said. “If he don’t think the chatter is real, that’s on him, okay?”
In regards to seeing Ford as a singles star, Booker certainly sees the potential in the young star. However, he believes the tag team division needs a team like The Street Profits right now, and thinks WWE should let them ride things out as a team a bit longer in order for them to find a replacement for them before splitting them up.
“Montez can definitely be a singles star. But I do think we need a strong tag team division right now, and I think over a period of time, Street Profits can be replaced, but I don’t think they can be replaced overnight. So I say let this thing roll for a little while longer, because we got something now.”
One recently retired UFC star is looking to become the “female Undertaker” of WWE or All Elite Wrestling (AEW).
A growing number of mixed martial arts (MMA) stars seem to be gaining interest in transitioning to professional wrestling once their fighting days are done. Names that have already made the jump include Shayna Baszler, Ronda Rousey, Valerie Loureda, Paige VanZant, and so many more.
Now, former UFC flyweight title challenger Jessica “Evil” Eye is looking at a transition to professional wrestling. Eye retired over the weekend after suffering a defeat to Maycee Barber at UFC 276.
It was Eye’s fourth-straight defeat, thus deciding to hang up the gloves for good. Speaking at the post-fight press conference, Eye expressed interest in becoming the “female Undertaker” of professional wrestling.
“I’ve always wanted to dabble in wrestling,” Jessica Eye said (via MMA News). “In pro wrestling. I want to be the female Undertaker. I want to ride a motorcycle down to the Octagon and DDT somebody. I’d love to do that.
“I tried out a couple of years ago during COVID and I ended up making it. Suffered a lot of health issues — I lost my gall bladder, found out about the parasites so — AEW, WWE lets go. Jessica “Evil Eye” is ready. Jessica “Evil” Eye does not end here, she’s just starting a new journey.”
Should Eye decide to pull the trigger on the move, it would be interesting to see where she ultimately ends up. WWE has a track record of picking up former mixed martial artists such as Rousey, Baszler, Sonya Deville, and many more.
However, AEW recently signed VanZant, a former UFC star and current bare-knuckle boxing competitor. Eye certainly has no shortage of opportunities should both promotions show interest.
At Money in the Bank 2022, Liv Morgan won the Women’s Ladder Match, guaranteeing her a championship match at a time of her choosing for up to a year.
Morgan didn’t waste time in picking her moment, as mere hours later she cashed in on Ronda Rousey, who had retained the SmackDown Women’s Championship against Natalya.
Winning the title from Ripley, many felt this was the perfect moment for Morgan, though not everyone is pleased.
Korderas Weighs In
Speaking on his ‘Reffin Rant,’ former WWE official Jimmy Korderas said he wasn’t a fan of Morgan’s booking.
While Korderas said it was a nice surprise, he believes that Morgan shouldn’t have cashed in the way she did (via Wrestling Inc.)
“It was a nice surprise. It got the huge pop it wanted, but is it the way a babyface should win a championship and cash in their Money In The Bank? That’s the only issue I had. Yes, the crowd did love it, but at the same time, babyfaces don’t do it that way. Maybe, if she came in and said to Ronda Rousey, ‘I want to cash this in, are you ready?’ And Ronda said, ‘Okay,’ and then do it, then you can make a case for that.”
“Is it the way a babyface should win a championship and cash in their Money In The Bank?”
Jimmy Korderas on Liv Morgan’s Money in the Bank cash-in
Faces Cashing In
While babyfaces have cashed in Money in the Bank in the past, it is rare to see them cash in on a fellow babyface.
In 2006, Rob Van Dam announced in advance he was cashing in on face WWE Champion John Cena, who received a hostile reaction from the ECW One Night Stand 2006 crowd.
While Daniel Bryan, Kane, and CM Punk (in 2009) were all faces when they cashed in on babyfaces (Big Show, Rey Mysterio, and Jeff Hardy respectively,) the three briefcase holders all turned heel shortly after.
