AEW commentator Tony Schiavone believes CM Punk elevated Darby Allin.
Punk returned to the wrestling industry on the Aug. 20 edition of AEW Rampage. After addressing the fans who had been missing him for seven years, he turned his attention to Darby. This led to a match at the All Out PPV. Punk ended up winning the match after hitting the GTS.
Schiavone, who called the match between Punk and Darby, appeared on the AEW Unrestricted podcast. During his appearance, he explained why he feels Darby benefited from sharing the ring with CM Punk.
“I know there’s a lot of trolls on here, as they are on social media. They’re gonna say, ‘CM Punk put Darby over? No he didn’t. CM Punk beat Darby.’ It’s not about wins and losses you freaking dumb asses. It’s about making stars, and CM Punk made Darby an even bigger star, elevated Darby’s career that night. What she’s talking about, and I wholeheartedly agree that, these veterans and known stars coming in working with our younger talent is making everybody better. It’s not wins or losses anymore.”
Punk has moved on to feud with members of Team Taz. He’s due to face Powerhouse Hobbs on the Sept. 24 edition of Rampage. As for Darby, he’s got some issues with Tully Blanchard and members of The Pinnacle. Darby and Sting will meet FTR in a tag team match at the AEW Grand Slam Dynamite on Sept. 22.
Matt Riddle recently confirmed that there has been a little heat on him backstage in WWE for comments he made recently about Roman Reigns. Riddle was being interviewed by the Bleacher Report and said that Reigns “doesn’t move the needle” and this reportedly rubbed some the wrong way backstage in the company.
During a recent interview with the International Business Times, Riddle confirmed that his comments were met with a negative reaction in WWE.
“I’m not trying to rub anybody the wrong way or say anything [wrong], but I made some comments [and] I’ll say this: I think they were all factual, just so you know. Kind of like I said, [I am] kind of telling the truth here. But I think, maybe, even if they were factual, they weren’t the most professional things to say, especially with me being on the Raw brand and him being on SmackDown,” Riddle said.
“I think maybe I got a little too big for my britches, you know what I mean? Maybe I got a little backstage heat. Maybe a tiny bit.”
Matt Riddle Comments On Backstage Heat For Roman Reigns Comments
Riddle has made headlines for comments he’s made about top WWE Superstars in the past as well. He made several statements regarding wanting to retire Brock Lesnar that led to the two having a backstage altercation at the Royal Rumble in 2020. Riddle has also made several statements regarding Bill Goldberg, referring to him as unsafe.
“Unfortunately, I said some things that some people may not have liked and I’m not going to mention names, but they didn’t like it. I won’t say it again. I get it,” Riddle continued.
“Right now, all hail the Tribal Chief. Good for Roman [Reigns]. Acknowledge him. Everybody, acknowledge him, okay? That’s all I’m saying.”
Riddle and his RK-Bro teammate Randy Orton are the current RAW tag team champions. They defeated AJ Styles and Omos for the belts at SummerSlam. It is the second title Riddle has won on the main roster. He is also a former United States champion. He won that title at Elimination Chamber in February but then lost it to Sheamus at WrestleMania.
Paul Wight spent over two decades of his career in WWE and did everything there was to do. He knows the in and outs of how the company does everything. The former WWE star talked about few different topics during his recent interview with Adam’s Apple YouTube Channel. The former world champion also explained the difference between how the two companies produce matches.
Wight mentioned how there is not a team of writers backstage at AEW and the upper management is not micromanaging things when they want something:
“There’s not 15-20 writers backstage in AEW. If you have a promo, you have a promo, and if you have a match, you have a match, There’s not as much upper-level handling on what they want during the match and what they’re trying to present for the extra property they own.”
Paul Wight Never Had As Much Freedom
Paul Wight went on to claim that he has never had as much freedom in his almost 3 decades long career as he has now in All Elite Wrestling:
“Even for me, I’m doing Paul Wight but I’ve never had as much freedom as I do now in AEW doing this. Before, when I was in WWE as Big Show, it was a committee to get anything done.”
Like Mark Henry, Paul Wight’s last WWE appearance was also during the Raw legends night in January this year. He made his AEW debut in March. He defeated QT Marshall at All Out in his in ring debut for the promotion.
Buff Bagwell was arrested in May on a slew of driving charges, including driving under the influence. He has a jury trial scheduled to begin in November. He recently spoke about his situation and recent communication he’s had with WWE on his “Rebuilding Buff” podcast.
According to Bagwell, WWE recently turned down his request for rehab. WWE has been paying for former and current talent’s rehab as part of its Wellness policy for many years now.
“You ready for this one? The WWF turned me down on going to rehab,” Bagwell said (transcriptions via Wrestling Inc.) “I want to put that in your head and let you run with that and just think about Scott Hall going 4 and 5 times, that crazy, crazy, crazy ass girl, that Dustin Rhodes was married to, that went 5 and 6 times. Not to mention Road Dogg… you kidding me? You think he went once? They went every time they could, I ask once and they deny me. They deny me, bro. Here I am trying to get better, I’ve come to them, on what they want me to do, which is get better, and it’s not like I’m off the chain.”
I want to clear up some rumors that are going around based off the video that has been used by new sites, Buff was 100% not intoxicated during the podcast, I would never let Buff record or release anything if he was.
Renee Paquette appeared on Busted Open Radio on Friday morning. She spoke with Dave LaGreca and Bully Ray for her new segment, Keeping It Real With Renee.
Paquette spoke in-depth about Big E becoming WWE Champion earlier this week. As somebody who has known Big E for many years, it makes her so happy for him to reach the top of the mountain in WWE.
“It just makes me so happy,” she began. “I tweeted out, it’s so cool to see this outpouring of love for someone like Big E. I’ve never heard anybody say a bad thing about the dude.”
The outpouring of love for E on my timeline ??? this dude is the most legit. Love when organic magic happens.
Paquette continued by talking about the grassroots-nature of Big E’s rise to the top. A situation like Big E’s rise only comes along every few years. WWE has lightning in a bottle with Big E and a chance to give fans exactly what they want.
“It’s been, I guess you could call it, a slow burn for Big E. You get that huge payoff, him cashing in that Money in the Bank contract, becoming WWE Champion. What I love about it is the organic way that Big’s career has kind of gone. When you get the fans behind you, now you know the company is behind him, it’s time just kind of ‘strap that rocket on to him and shoot him off.’ That trajectory is just going to keep going.”
“If we want to get into ratings and blah blah blah, I think Big E could be that guy to really help to push WWE Monday Night Raw, Friday Night SmackDown, wherever he decides he wants to show up. It’s that organic side of things that I think WWE fans have been craving and they want that payoff and they finally got it with Big E and I couldn’t be happier for that dude.”
“You Kind of Worry”
Bully Ray asked Paquette if she felt that Big E’s title win was a longterm plan that finally came together, or if it was a knee-jerk decision based on competition from Monday Night Football and AEW. Renee didn’t want to call it a knee-jerk reaction, but said there was definitely a ‘business side’ to that creative decision.
“As you see AEW nipping at the heels of WWE, they’ve got to start making some bigger moves and they’ve got to start making fans happy. So, you give them big E, that’s going to make people happy.”
– Renee Paquette
Dave LaGreca asked if Big E could be the new franchise player for WWE. Paquette said he could absolutely be the franchise player for WWE. He has the athletic ability and the charisma. However, there are pitfalls to be cautious about.
“If he is given the creative liberties that he deserves and that he needs to be able to continue being the Big E that everybody knows and loves, absolutely. I think he for sure could be that guy. But like anybody else, you kind of worry, ‘What is going to happen? Are they going to drop the ball on this? Where’s it gonna go?’
“I do think he has all the tools, if you look at him from an athletic standpoint or an entertainment standpoint, just him as a human being, the things that he stands for, the things that he talks about, I do think that he really could be that guy to put the company on the back of.”
Busted Open Radio airs weekday mornings on SiriusXM Fight Nation Channel 156.
Keeping anything secret in today’s digital world is almost impossible and that’s why AEW president Tony Khan had to take extreme measures to make sure Adam Cole and Daniel Bryan’s All Out debut didn’t get spoiled.
As the former NXT champion detailed during a recent interview with Sports Illustrated, he had to fly to a different city a day before the show to make sure no one spotted him at the airport. He then stayed at a different hotel than Bryan:
“I didn’t even fly into Chicago [the site of All Out], I flew into a different city the day before,” recalled Adam Cole, “I didn’t even stay in the same hotel as Bryan”
“The Most Secretive Debut”
The former WWE star then remembered how they both showed up at the Now Arena after the show had already begun and waited outside in the trailer until the time for their debut had come:
“We showed up to the building while the show was going on,” said Cole, “And we waited outside in a trailer.
The locker room didn’t even know until the absolute last moment. It was the most secretive debut I’ve ever been involved in, and Tony Khan took every measure to make this as big of a surprise as possible.”
Andrade was not happy that Chavo Guerrero interfered in his match with Pac recently. The former La Sombra then attacked Guerrero and left him for Death Triangle. Guerrero being written off AEW programming was addressed recently in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
According to Dave Meltzer, Guerrero was always supposed to be written off television at this time. He works as the wrestling coordinator for NBC’s “Young Rock” and the filming of the show’s second season has begun. Guerrero has done similar work in the past for Netflix’s GLOW as well. He is expected back with AEW after the show wraps filming.
? truth is that Forrest Gump scene inspired our final scene here at the end with my real mom. I’ve lived such a wild, unpredictable Forrest Gumpian life this was an homage. What a box of chocolates huh???#YoungRockhttps://t.co/lPVmlz6uP3
Guerrero spoke to Wrestling Inc earlier this year about how he got involved with Young Rock. He noted that he received a call from show producer and former WWE writer, Brian Gewirtz.
“I got a call from Brian and said, ‘Hey, we have this show called Young Rock. We can’t film. We’re ready to go. It’s all green lit, but we can’t film in Los Angeles because of everything going on. Everything’s shut down. So we’re going to Australia to film. Do you know any wrestling coordinators in that area?’ And I’m like, ‘First of all, a wrestling trainer and wrestling coordinator for TV are two completely separate things. That’s like apples and oranges. I know one person, me.’”
I did keep my promise and bought my parents their very first house in 2000 (we lived in apartments & trailer parks our whole lives). Then is 2004 they divorced and at all went to hell but at least the enjoyed it for a while ?#YoungRockhttps://t.co/Y0ii1CymQr
On Impact 9/16, the promotion continued to build to this Saturday’s Victory Road event. The main event featured a 10-man tag match between Christian Cage’s team and Ace Austin’s.
Impact 9/16 Quick Results:
Fallah Bahh & No Way defeated Hernandez & Johnny Swinger (Before the Impact)
In recent weeks, we’ve seen videos of Eric Young saying he needs to cleanse the sickness out of Rhino. This week, Rhino finally had enough of Young and his cronies. Violent By Design lost another one this week when Deaner accidentally hit Rhino with the VBD flag and then took a second-rope DDT from Crazzy Steve for the pin. After the match, Young was berating Rhino but had enough and grabbed Young’s arm. Deaner then attacked Rhino and the segment ended with Young breaking the VBD flag over Rhino’s back.
Petey Williams got some revenge on TJP this week after TJP cost him a match last week. This all stems from the illegal underground gambling operation that Johnny Swinger is running in the back and TJP betting against Williams last week.
Williams countered a cradle attempt into a pin for the win on TJP. After the match, however, both TJP and Williams were attacked by Steve Maclin.
Willie Mack Returns For Revenge Against The Good Brothers
After being injured at the hands of the Good Brothers a few weeks ago, Willie Mack returned this week and along with his partner Rich Swann attacked the Impact tag champs. Shortly after the melee, Scott D’Amore granted Swann and Mack a title shot against Anderson and Gallows this weekend at Victory Road.
John Skyler cut a promo this week on Laredo Kid who defeated him recently on an episode of Before the Impact. He said that tonight when they meet again, the luchador won’t be so lucky. Skyler pulled out all the stops in this match and the finish came after he twisted Laredo Kid’s mask, cradled him and pulled the tights to get the pin.
Taylor Wilde invaded the set of the Influence’s various talk shows this week. She didn’t come alone, however, but brought Jordynne Grace and Rachael Ellering as backup. Wilde then informed Tenille Dashwood that they have a match this weekend at Victory Road.
In a recent match, Rohit Raju hit Chelsea Green with a Tiger knee to the face. Cardona has taken exception to this and the two were brawling in the back this week. It was later announced that Cardona and Raju will face each other at Victory Road in a no DQ match on Saturday.
Mickie James Saves Trey Miguel From Deonna Purrazzo and Drama King Matt
Trey Miguel used his submission skills to pick up a win over Drama King Matt this week. After the match, however, Deonna Purrazzo attacked Trey from behind and began delivering the boots to him. This brought out Mickie James to make the save. James then dove onto both Purrazzo and Drama King Matt on the outside to end the segment.
Christian Cage’s Team Stands Tall Ahead of Victory Road
Several of Impact Wrestling’s top feuds played out in this match. Chris Sabin and Josh Alexander were on the same side in this match but will be on opposing sides at Victory Road. W. Morrissey and Moose will take on Sami Callihan & Eddie Edwards at Victory Road but also had a chance to face each other here. Finally, when the smoke cleared Christian hit Brian Myers with a spear and Josh Alexander gave him the C4 Spike to give the win to the babyfaces to close the show.
Fans can expect newly debuted NXT star Bron Breakker to get ‘quite the push’ in the coming weeks according to a new report from PWInsider.
The son of WWF and WCW veteran Rick Steiner made his debut for the promotion on this week’s rebranded episode of NXT 2.0. He defeated LA Knight in the opening match of the night. Though this wasn’t the only segment he had during the show.
Breakker also had a confrontation with the new NXT champion Tommaso Ciampa at the end of the show. Their segment reminded many of the moment between John Cena and Undertaker from years ago.
As far as why WWE did not use the initially planned Rex Steiner name for the star, one source pointed out that the possible reason for the switch was their policy to trademark and own the ring names for all their talent.
Bron Breakker & NXT 2.0
WWE introduced the revamped version of NXT this week. The show saw the debut of a new stage and changes in overall presentation for the brand.
Apart from Bron Breakker, the first episode of this new era of NXT also saw the debut of a number of other stars. You can check out a list of the names that made their first appearance on the show here.
It looked like the Street Profits would win the match when the Tribal Chief rushed to the ring and attacked Montez Ford. He locked Ford into a Guillotine.
The disqualification caused by Reigns’ run-in resulted in The Street Profits being declared the winner. Though the Usos remained the tag team champions.
Updated Extreme Rules Match Card
Now WWE has announced that we will get a rematch between these two at the upcoming PPV. This is the fifth match that has been announced for the show. Below is the updated card for the event:
Universal Championship Match: “The Demon” Finn Balor vs. Roman Reigns
Raw Women’s Championship Match: Alexa Bliss vs. Charlotte Flair
SmackDown Women’s Championship Match: Bianca Belair vs. Becky Lynch
WWE United States Championship Match: Sheamus vs. Damian Priest
SmackDown Tag Team Championship Match: The Street Profits vs. The Usos
Extreme Rules this year will take place from the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio on Sunday, September 26.
After making his triumphant return to pro wrestling last month, CM Punk had ‘blamed’ Renee Paquette for paving the way for his comeback by convincing him to join WWE Backstage on FS1. The female star recently had an interview with WrestlingInc. Among other things, she also discussed the former WWE champion’s return to wrestling.
During the interview, Paquette explained why she thinks Punk chose AEW over WWE for his comeback, claiming that there was nothing fresh for him in WWE:
“I don’t think there was anything fresh and new in WWE that he really wanted to do. I don’t think there was anyone there that he wanted to work that he hasn’t already worked, storylines he’s not already been able to do.
Whether it was at AEW, or Ring of Honor or what have you, to now looking at things being busted wide open at AEW And having Adam Cole there now. You’ve got Kenny Omega, The Young Bucks, for him to be able to tag with Bryan Danielson, that was one thing that he mentioned to me on my podcast.”
Renee Paquette continued her explanation by mentioning how the straight edge star was driven more by the different avenues he can take rather than a truckload of cash:
“I think it’s just those other opportunities and different avenues that he can kind of take his career now. I think that’s what really spoke to him more so than somebody driving a truck of cash up to his house, which hopefully he got that too.”
Morale in the AEW locker room is very high heading into next week’s Dynamite: Grand Slam event from Queens, according to reports from PWInsider.
According to the site, the people in the company realize that’s their NYC debut is going to be a huge milestone for the promotion and everyone wants to appear on that show in some fashion.
This is going to be AEW’s biggest crowd till date and talent realize that the Grand Slam event will outdraw the live attendance figures for WWE’s return to Madison Square Garden at last Friday’s Super SmackDown event.
WWE announced an official attendance figure of 14,425 for the Super SmackDown special with advertised appearances such as Brock Lesnar and John Cena but the real attendance is believed to be close to 13,000.
The Arthur Ashe Stadium has a capacity of 23,771. The expected capacity for Dynamite is 18,692 and it was reported last week that the promotion had already sold more than 18,000 tickets for the Grand Slam special.
AEW has announced big matches such as the women’s title match between Britt Baker and Ruby Soho and a nontitle match between AEW champion Kenny Omega and Daniel Bryan for this show.
We have seen a number of former WWE stars showing up at different companies in the past few months, though there is one star who is certain that he will never work for any other promotion – John Cena.
The cenation leader took part in a Q&A at the Florida Supercon over the weekend. Among other questions, the former champion was also asked if we would ever see him wrestling for another promotion.
Replying to it, Cena reiterated pro wrestling’s famous “never say never” philosophy. Though he later added that he is certain this won’t be the case:
“There’s a whole like ‘never say never’ philosophy and I’m also that way in life because you never know what life will bring you. But, I can with certainty say no,”
John Cena also talked about the ECW One Night Stand event in 2006 where he defended his WWE championship against RVD. He revealed that he found out that he was losing the WWE title to the Hall Of Famer four hours before the show.
The 16-time world champion made his most recent WWE return at Money In The Bank in July. He then faced Roman Reigns at SummerSlam. He completed this stint with his MSG appearance. There is no word on when we will see him in WWE again.
We now know what feud is being built up for a title match in AEW down the road.
The Sept. 17 episode of Rampage was taped on Sept. 15 following Dynamite. The action was held inside the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Fans got to witness a TNT Title match between Miro and Fuego Del Sol.
This spoiler may not come as a surprise but Miro did successfully retain his gold against Del Sol. After the match, Del Sol’s best friend, Sammy Guevara entered the ring and blasted Miro on the mic during his promo. He even held up the TNT Championship.
Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio reports that the plan is indeed to go with a future TNT Title match with Miro and Guevara. Meltzer took it a step further and said he feels Guevara should be the one to take the title from Miro. Bryan Alvarez was in agreement. Whether or not AEW feels the time for a title change is on the horizon remains to be seen.
As it stands now, Miro has held onto the TNT Championship for over 127 days. He captured the gold against Darby Allin on the May 12 edition of Dynamite. He is the second longest-reigning TNT Champion in the title’s young lineage.
WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns will face Brock Lesnar at Crown Jewel in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on October 21st.
WWE made the match official today. The company also noted that the match, for now, isn’t for the Universal Championship. Reigns will defend the title against “The Demon” Finn Balor at Extreme Rules at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, on September 26th.
If Reigns defeats “The Demon,” he will defend the Universal Championship against Lesnar at Crown Jewel.
Lesnar returned to WWE and confronted Reigns at Summerslam on August 22nd at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada. He was inactive for over a year. On the September 10th episode of Friday Night Smackdown, he officially challenged Reigns to a match. Both have faced each other in the past. However, Reigns is currently a “Heel” and will have Paul Heyman as his manager. If Lesnar wins, he will become a four-time Universal Champion.
Roman Reigns vs “The Demon” Finn Balor
Reigns successfully defended his title against Balor on the September 3rd episode of Smackdown. Although he won, the WWE decided to have Reigns defend the championship against Balor again at Extreme Rules. However, Reigns was surprised he would be competing against Balor’s alter ego, “The Demon,” at the event.
Balor’s alter ego hasn’t competed in a match in over two years. It’s unclear why he is becoming “The Demon.” WWE also didn’t say if Reigns loses to “The Demon,” will he get an immediate rematch in the press release. The only guarantee is that Lesnar will face Reigns at Crown Jewel.
WWE continues to file trademarks and this time there’s a new one for Becky Lynch.
Lynch is the reigning SmackDown Women’s Champion. She captured the gold in a surprise appearance at this year’s SummerSlam event. Becky nailed Bianca Belair with a cheap shot followed by a pump handle slam for the victory.
“BIG TIME BECKS™ trademark registration is intended to cover the categories of entertainment services, namely, wrestling exhibitions and performances by a professional wrestler and entertainer rendered live and through broadcast media including television and radio, and via the internet or commercial online service; providing wrestling news and information via a global computer network; providing information in the fields of sports and entertainment via an online community portal; providing a website in the field of sports entertainment information; fan club services, namely, organizing sporting events in the field of wrestling for wrestling fan club members; organizing social entertainment events for entertainment purposes for wrestling fan club members; providing online newsletters in the fields of sports entertainment; online journals, namely blogs, in the field of sports entertainment.”
Back in August, WWE filed a trademark for “The Man,” another nickname of Lynch. Ric Flair had been at odds with the promotion over trying to secure the trademark but both parties were able to work something out.
The 2nd half of Vice’s Dark Side of the Ring season 3 begins airing tonight. Tonight’s episode will be focused on the infamous “Plane Ride From Hell.” Jim Ross was interviewed for the show. He also spoke to Sports Illustrated recently about what went down on May 5th, 2002 as the WWE roster flew home from a European tour.
“There was just such a lack of respect on the flight,” said Ross, who at the time was WWE’s head of talent relations. “We made significant changes because of it. Guys lost their jobs and it hurt people’s reputations. They acted so wrong. We couldn’t do business with people like that, and we rebuilt our locker room after that.”
Ross continued to admit that the open bar provided for the wrestlers on the flight was probably a bad idea.
“The bottom line is I was very upset in how the talent conducted themselves,” Ross continued. “We made mistakes from a management standpoint. We had wanted to make the trip as comfortable as possible, so we chartered a sports plane with first-class seats and upgraded the food. But the open bar was obviously a mistake. It went off the rails, with a small group of guys that just went crazy. It is still a black eye to be affiliated with the Plane Ride from Hell.”
A flight attendant who sued WWE for alleged sexual harassment stemming from the flight will also be interviewed for the episode. Also interviewed were Terri Runnels, who was serenaded by Dustin Runnels over the PA system during the flight. Former WWE/ECW stars Rob Van Dam, Tommy Dreamer, and Justin Credible were also interviewed.
Next week’s episode will focus on the life and career of Chris Kanyon. Other episodes set to air cover Luna Vachon, FMW, XPW, and the Vince McMahon steroid trials.
Vice’s “Dark Side of the Ring” returns tonight, with an episode detailing WWE's infamous “Plane Ride From Hell” from 2002https://t.co/f2auEQmgZC
It looks like Rhino is staying in Impact Wrestling.
PWInsider is reporting that Rhino has re-signed with the promotion. The terms of the new deal have not been revealed. Rhino’s previous deal with Impact Wrestling began back in 2019 after he made the decision to leave WWE.
During an interview with Sporting News back in 2019, Rhino explained why he chose Impact as his landing spot.
“It’s a company on the right path for almost two years,” Rhino said when asked what signing with Impact meant to him. “They have been moving in a direction where wrestling fans want a company to go in terms of letting the talent be the talent, having bookers booking the matches on the card as opposed to writers.
“I think a lot of fans are drawn to a promotion like that. Not speaking against other promotions, but other promotions are doing it differently because they’re very successful. But I think there’s a niche where you have to let talent be talent and have enough talent where it’s not drowned out too much and where you don’t have enough TV time and run enough shows to use them. It’s up to the talent, whether to sink or swim. And Impact because guys have more control when their contracts are up.”
Rhino has had success with Impact. Back when the promotion was called TNA Wrestling, he captured the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. He also won tag team gold in the company alongside members of Violent By Design.
WWE superstar Bianca Belair has shared her thoughts on losing the Smackdown Women’s Championship to Becky Lynch.
Belair spoke with Tennessee sports radio station WNML’s Vince Ferrara to promote Friday Night Smackdown in Knoxville, Tennessee. In the interview, Belair shared how she got into the WWE and her journey to becoming the Smackdown Women’s Champion.
Ferrara also asked Belair what WWE fans should expect when she faces Lynch at Extreme Rules on September 26th. She responded by saying that she still feels hurt losing the championship but is looking forward to the rematch.
” …I’m still very hurt by how I did lose the title at Summerslam. I was excited to get in the ring with Becky. I wasn’t expecting this title match, and it happened so quickly. So right now, I’m just trying to regain what I lost as quickly a possible,” said Belair.
Becky Lynch Controversial Win at Summerslam
Lynch defeated Belair for the Smackdown Women’s Championship at Summerslam on August 22nd at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada. The title match received criticism from WWE fans and ex WWE superstars like Nikki Bella.
During a post-Summerslam event, Bella voiced her frustration on Bianca’s championship loss. “…You have someone like Bianca, who is such an incredible talent, and you can’t help but get frustrated when you see moments like that of like, a championship that meant so much and was lost within seconds,” said Bella.
Bianca Belair vs. Becky Lynch at Extreme Rules
Since the loss, Belair has been trying to get a rematch with Lynch. She had to win a fatal four-way elimination match on the August 27th episode of Smackdown to challenge Lynch at Extreme Rules.
In the interview with Ferrara, she shared that she expects a different result when they have their rematch. “…Becky, she’s been ducking and dodging me. I finally got her to sign the contract last week for my rematch so that we can finally go toe to toe. I know that if we really go toe to toe, in a long match, the outcome is going to be different,” said Belair. She will look to become the Smackdown Women’s Champion for a second time at Extreme Rules.
The person tasked with running the debut episode of NXT 2.0 has reportedly been revealed.
NXT aired live on Sept. 14 and it was a special edition. This was the revamp episode that had been reported for weeks. It’s a new era of NXT that will focus on younger and bigger talent.
WWE showcased the exact type of talent that had been in reports by PW Insider and WOR but the result of the NXT Title match surprised many. Tommaso Ciampa ended up winning the gold in a fatal four-way match that saw Kyle O’Reilly removed in favor of the debuting Von Wagner.
We also saw the debut of Rick Steiner’s son, who is being called Bron Breakker. He had quite the debut, defeating LA Knight in the opening match and then ending the show by staring down Ciampa backstage.
Dave Meltzer has reported that Shawn Michaels was in charge of the NXT 2.0 debut show. He also said that Vince McMahon and Bruce Prichard weren’t present for the taping. Meltzer’s co-worker, Bryan Alvarez, was told that McMahon and Prichard would be producing NXT 2.0 but the Wrestling Observer Newsletter updated this saying that is actually not the case.
Meltzer notes that McMahon did look over the script for the show and had a hand in creative. With that said, his role doesn’t appear to be as prominent as once believed. It’s clear, however, that his vision for the NXT brand becoming a developmental hub again is in full effect.
Michaels’ role in leading the charge for NXT 2.0’s debut episode came to be after Triple H needed to take care of a cardiac event.
Ricky Starks believes WWE takes liberties with its fanbase.
There has been plenty of criticism hurled WWE’s way over the past few years. Many believe that the promotion insults the intelligence of the fans. Starks, who wrestles under the AEW banner, shares this belief.
Appearing as a guest on SiriusXM’s Throwing Down w/ Renee & Miesha, Starks said he feels the higher-ups at WWE know they can get away with insulting the fans.
“Everyone says AEW is the alternative. I really think it’s the first choice now. AEW is great in the fact that, I think WWE has such a fanbase that they can insult the audience and get away with it. If you watch a TV show, let’s say like Lost, I feel like Lost insulted my intelligence halfway through and I kind of fell out of love with it. AEW is the opposite of that. You stay attached and you’re rewarded for watching so long. Even for people who haven’t followed wrestling, there are people on the show that you can connect to because they are authentic personalities.
“Watching it, there is something for everybody. Having new viewers or someone who is getting back into wrestling, AEW provides that sweet spot where you can watch it, have fun, you won’t feel stupid for watching it, you’ll be rewarded. There are great moments that are organic that you can fall in love with. The wrestlers are badass. We have men and women who are badass wrestlers.”
Ricky Starks is currently involved in a feud with Brian Cage. Cage was a member of Team Taz before being betrayed by Powerhouse Hobbs. Many believe that once Starks wraps up his rivalry with Cage, he will move on to CM Punk.
The match featuring Nikki ASH vs Tamina Snuka on RAW this week ended on a strange note. Nikki hit Tamina with a tornado DDT and then went for the pin. Tamina appeared to get her shoulder up before the 3-count but the ref counted 3 regardless. Things then got even stranger as Tamina’s music played and the ring announcer declared her the winner. The referee, however, awarded the match to Nikki.
According to a report from Dave Melter on Wrestling Observer Radio, Tamina was supposed to win the match but the referee didn’t see her shoulder come up on the pin attempt. WWE referees are instructed to call things as if they are real, so they declared Nikki the winner.
“The Tamina match, Tamina was supposed to win that match,” Meltzer said.
“What happened was, the ref botched the call. Tamina kicked out, the ref did not see her kick out and called it as a shoot,” he continued.
Tamina’s music played as she was the expected winner. The ring announcer declared her the winner as that was the expected result.
“The ref backstage just said ‘I didn’t see it’, was apologetic and everything like that but it was the ref’s fault, he blew the call.”
It was also noted that all the performers involved began improvising after the bell. Nikki didn’t hesitate to celebrate the victory despite it not being the planned finish.
“There was nothing there as far as what was going on after the pin that was scripted, in that sense, they were all going with the flow. Everyone involved did a good job,” Meltzer continued.
Paul Heyman doesn’t believe Brock Lesnar will ever make his way back inside the Octagon.
Lesnar is a former UFC Heavyweight Champion. He won the title in just his fourth pro MMA bout. Lesnar stepped away from MMA competition following a Dec. 2011 loss to Alistair Overeem. He made his comeback in July 2016, initially defeating Mark Hunt via unanimous decision. That result was changed to a No Contest after Lesnar tested positive for banned substances.
Since his first UFC run came to a close, Brock Lesnar has been enjoying great success in WWE. It’s a spot that he isn’t likely to give up anytime soon. In terms of potentially working out another deal with WWE that would allow him to compete in UFC, don’t hold your breath.
Speaking to Z100, Heyman expressed his belief that Lesnar’s days in the UFC are over.
“Been there, done that. If you were to tell me that Brock Lesnar would have a shoot-out in soccer with Messi, that I believe. But he has already done the MMA schtick.
“He knocked out Randy Couture, took a beating from Shane Carwin. He’s a conqueror. What more can he do in the UFC that he hasn’t done? When Brock Lesnar went out for the Minnesota Vikings in 2004, he was 295 pounds, just suffered a motorcycle accident, and he had a torn groin, broken pelvis, a wired-shut jaw, and he still ran his 100-yard dash in Olympic qualifying time.”
Lesnar is currently involved in a feud with Roman Reigns and Heyman plays a pivotal role in the storyline. For years, Heyman has served as Lesnar’s advocate. During “The Beast’s” time away from WWE, Heyman aligned himself with Reigns. This has left many to wonder if Heyman will turn on Reigns or Lesnar.
With recent reports stating that Johnny Gargano’s WWE contract expires on December 3rd, 2021, some fans have wondered what the contractual situation of Candice LeRae is. According to a report from Fightful, LeRae’s contract with WWE does not expire until “sometime in 2022.” The exact expiry date of her contract is not currently known, however.
LeRae announced her pregnancy this August. She is expected to stay on WWE programming as a character until it is no longer possible for her to do so, however. WWE is also not freezing her contract, as they have done previously for talent unable to perform for an extended period.
LeRae signed with WWE in 2017 and made her debut that year on the May 3rd edition of NXT. She’s a former 1x NXT Tag Team Champion along with Indi Hartwell.
Johnny Gargano and Adam Cole WWE Contract Expiry Dates
Gargano and WWE are said to have not yet entered into discussions on a renewal or new contract. Such discussions are expected to take place in the fall, however. It has also been noted that Gargano’s contract expires at the time when both WWE and Adam Cole were under the impression that his contract was up. Cole spoke about being surprised to learn that his contract was up about 6 months earlier than both he or WWE thought during the All Out post-event media scrum.
“I was under the impression that it was like six months later. So it was a surprise to me. It was a surprise to them,” Cole said. “It was public knowledge for a lot of people that I had signed a little extension, I was in the middle of a really serious angle with Kyle O’Reilly, which was very important to me. He’s one of my best friends in the entire world. Then after that is when stuff kind of opened up for me, but very surprising to me. It was just as surprising to me.”
You can have your beliefs on what wrestling "should be".. but I've always believed that it can be whatever you want it to be. Serious, goofy, outlandish, whatever! As long as it makes you feel something.
Kenny Omega has had a slew of high-profile matches but there’s one showdown that he never got to have.
Omega is the reigning AEW World Champion. He captured the gold on the Dec. 2, 2020 edition of Dynamite. He defeated Jon Moxley for the gold thanks to a distraction from Don Callis. This solidified Omega’s heel turn.
During his reign, Omega has defeated the likes of Rey Fenix, PAC and Orange Cassidy in a three-way match, Jungle Boy, and Christian Cage. Of course, the “Best Bout Machine” also had classics in NJPW with the likes of Kazuchika Okada, Tetsuya Naito, Tomohiro Ishii, Kota Ibushi, and Hiroshi Tanahashi.
There’s one major name who Kenny Omega wishes he had faced, however. He revealed to Adam’s Apple that the wrestler he always wanted to go one-on-one with was WWE Hall of Famer Kurt Angle.
“I felt like I just missed out on maybe wrestling Kurt Angle, and that would have been a dream match for me. He’s a guy that I consider probably one of the best of all time. Especially for what I try to do in the ring and I try to bring in athletics and real sports. He was a jack of all trades and there won’t be anyone like him ever again, I don’t think.”
Angle was the first Olympic gold medalist signed to WWE. He quickly became an elite talent thanks to his in-ring work as well as his charisma. He was a unique performer and as Omega alluded to, there really isn’t anyone quite like him in the wrestling industry.
Angle has retired from the wrestling business. He has said that AEW contacted him several times but he says his body is just too broken down to make a commitment.
