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Keith Lee On How Involved Vince McMahon Is With His ‘Beartcat’ Persona

Anutosh Bajpai
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Keith Lee underwent some character changes during his absence from WWE programming. He recently re-emerged on WWE TV as Bearcat Lee.

The Raw star recently appeared on Out of Character. He discussed the thought process behind the changes in his persona, his love for videos games, and more.

The heavyweight star was then asked how involved Vince McMahon is with his new gimmick. Replying to it, Lee said that the boss is quite hands on:

“I would say he’s been quite hands on, which is honestly something I need because I want to know what he wants as opposed to making a guess or estimation or hypothesis.

If I know what he wants directly, it makes it that much easier to give him what he’s looking for. He’s the man,” said Keith Lee, “he runs this, if he wants a specific thing out of his talent, then the talent is to give him what he wants.”

The former NXT champion also discussed how his character is different than before. He explained that it’s the guy that makes people uncomfortable by just looking at them instead of giving a smile and speaking to them kindly.

Keith Lee had mostly been absent from WWE programming since the Elimination Chamber PPV in February. He returned during the September 27 episode of Raw and the WWE star has been renamed Bearcat Lee since then.

H/T to Fightful for the transcribed quotes

Mark Henry & Bully Ray Share Advice For Keith Lee

Tony Khan Shares TNT’s Reaction To Rampage vs. SmackDown

Fernando Quiles Jr.
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AEW founder Tony Khan has revealed TNT’s reaction to Rampage and WWE SmackDown going head-to-head.

Rampage takes the 10 p.m. ET slot every Friday night. This follows SmackDown, which is typically on from 8 p.m. ET through 10 p.m. ET. Things were a bit different on Oct. 15. That’s because SmackDown was forced to move to FOX Sports 1 due to a scheduling conflict with MLB. WWE decided to add an extra half-hour to SmackDown, competing with Rampage.

As expected, SmackDown had the clear edge in overall viewers. The talk of the town, however, has been the fact that AEW beat WWE in that half-hour in the key demo. It’s been a polarizing discussion as some feel it’s a massive win for AEW, while others believe people are trying to spin things since SmackDown was clearly ahead in overall viewership.

Tony Khan Says TNT Is Thrilled With Rampage’s Numbers

No matter how you feel about the situation, TNT appears to be quite happy with how the head-to-head battle played out. Appearing on Busted Open Radio, Tony Khan discussed TNT’s positive reaction to the numbers for Rampage.

“I thought it was even more impressive given that I was forced to take a couple breaks. It was really great of TNT to work with us, I thought, on short notice to push our breaks back, so we could have that match uninterrupted. To me, it’s not up to us when the show is on. In this case, somebody moved aggressively into our timeslot and it was really important for us to do a good number and win the night. And we did. I really wanted to rally the fans and put some attention on it. I also really believed we were going to win, and we did. We’ve done really well in the demo, which is the thing advertisers and the TV networks use to rate the shows. I know TNT was over the moon and very excited about what we did.”

The head-to-head madness didn’t stop there. FOX ran an encore presentation of SmackDown against a live episode of Dynamite on Oct. 23. On Oct. 29, WWE will run Talking Smack, which is going head-to-head with Rampage.

H/T to Wrestling Inc for the transcribed quotes

WWE 2022 PPV Calendar Reveals Stadium Shows, AEW Conflict

Chris Stephens
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WWE has released its PPV schedule for 2022. 9 events have been confirmed thus far. WWE has also noted that there will be additional PPV dates announced in February and October, bringing the total to 11 events.

  • Saturday, January 1 – Day 1 at State Farm Arena in Atlanta
  • Saturday, January 29 – Royal Rumble at The Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis
  • Saturday, April 2 and Sunday, April 3 – WrestleMania at AT&T Stadium in Dallas
  • Sunday, May 8 – Pay-Per-View at Dunkin’ Donuts Center in Providence, R.I.
  • Sunday, June 5 – Pay-Per-View at Allstate Arena in Chicago
  • Saturday, July 2 – Money In The Bank at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas
  • Saturday, July 30 – SummerSlam at Nissan Stadium in Nashville
  • Saturday, September 3 or Sunday, September 4 – Pay-Per-View at TBD location
  • Saturday, November 26 – Survivor Series at TD Garden in Boston

Nick Khan, WWE President & Chief Revenue Officer, had this to say about WWE’s 2022 PPV Calendar:

“Since returning to live events this past July, our fans have graciously expressed a tremendous appetite to attend WWE shows. As they begin to make plans for next year, we wanted to make sure that the 2022 schedule and locations of our pay-per-views was made available to them.”

AEW vs WWE PPV Clash Over Labor Day Weekend 2022?

Of note regarding WWE’s PPV schedule, is the planned event listed for either September 3rd or September 4th over Labor Day weekend 2022. The PPV is unnamed and the location is listed as TBD.

AEW has run its All Out PPV over Labor Day weekend dating back to 2019. The ROH/Elite “All In” PPV also ran over Labor Day weekend in 2018. This year, AEW ran the PPV on a Sunday.

In 2020 and 2019, however, the event ran on a Saturday. All In in 2018 ran on a Saturday as well.

Details On Sonya Deville Confronting Charlotte Flair Backstage

Chris Stephens
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Becky Lynch was not the only person angry with Charlotte Flair following the title-exchange segment on Smackdown. According to a report from PW Insider, Sonya Deville confronted Flair as well.

“Two different sources described Sonya Deville as ‘mad enough to want to fight Flair’ and at one point, also having an argument with Flair backstage at Smackdown,” wrote Mike Johnson.

The report continued to say that Flair made it clear she thought the booking of the segment made her and the championship look weak. Flair is also said to have ruffled a few feathers in other instances in the past few months. These include a visibly stiff confrontation with Nia Jax during a live match on RAW. A further report from Wade Keller states that Flair has been “‘increasingly difficult to work with’ over the course of the year.”

One source, speaking to PW Insider under the condition of anonymity, said that Flair has been very protective of her position in the company as of late.

“Let’s be honest, that’s what stars do,” the source reportedly said. “They make sure their star power remains the same or greater.” 

Another source stated that resentment towards Flair has been building and it was “just a matter of time” before something happened.” Flair was escorted out of the building on Friday night.

Flair was also reportedly not backstage at AEW’s show in Orlando on Saturday night. Although she has accompanied Andrade el Idolo in the past to AEW events.

More on the Charlotte Flair situation:

Carmelo Hayes Seen As A Shawn Michaels ‘Project’ In NXT

Anutosh Bajpai
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Carmelo Hayes has already got people talking about him in his short run with NXT. It appears that fans aren’t the only ones that have started liking him for his performance.

The NXT star has impressed ‘people of influence’ in NXT. This includes none other than the heartbreak kid, Shawn Michaels, (via Fightful).

Michaels apparently sees a lot of himself in Hayes and many see him as a ‘project’ of the Hall Of Famer. These claims seem to be backed up by the photo HBK took with Carmelo following his North American title win.

The former Christian Casanova was already impressive but he opened the door for a lot more opportunities with his match against Kushida in June. This included a follow-up match with Adam Cole.

Regarding the title switch that saw Carmelo Hayes cashing in his title shot at Isaiah “Swerve” Scott, sources say that it was done to establish Hayes as a new star while also protecting Scott on his way to the main roster.

The report also reveals that the current champion was discussed for the cruiserweight division as part of a major revamp. These plans were nixed after the mass releases.

Carmelo Hayes had been rewarded a title opportunity of his choice after winning the NXT breakout tournament. Isaiah Scott successfully defended the North American title against Santos Escobar on October 12 NXT. Hayes then cashed in his title shot on Scott and won the championship

Carmelo Hayes Reveals ‘Top Guy’ Conversation with Shawn Michaels

Chris Jericho On If He Pitched Idea To Unmask Juventud Guerrera In WCW

Anutosh Bajpai
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0

The SuperBrawl VIII was an important event for the careers of Juventud Guerrera and Chris Jericho. It saw the latter unmasking the former in order to keep his WCW cruiserweight championship.

These two wrestling veterans recently sat down together on an episode of Talk Is Jericho podcast. They discussed their time in WCW among other things.

During the episode, Juvi asked Jericho if he was the one who pitched the idea of his unmasking. Replying to it, Chris explained that it was all Eric Bischoff,

“It wasn’t me at all. I had no power or anything at that point. You and I worked many times and Eric went through this idea that luchadors should lose their mask and you were a handsome guy. I was never really asked or consulted.

We were working and it was, ‘You’re going to have this match with Juvi and you’re going to take his mask.’ I was like, ‘Really?’ ‘Yes, that’s what Eric wants.'” said Chris Jericho, “I didn’t have anything to do with it.”

Y2J explained how you develop influence as you go up the ladder in any company but at the time he was not an important enough star in WCW to be pitching ideas.

Chris Jericho joined WCW as a cruiserweight star in 1996. Jericho was never really seen a main event talent during his three-year-long run with the company and he only won the cruiserweight title and the TV title during his time there.

Eric Bischoff Claims Tony Khan Manipulates Ratings Data To Make AEW Appear Competitive

Chris Stephens
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Eric Bischoff and Tony Khan have been having a bit of a public back and forth recently. It started earlier this month when Tony Khan sent out a Tweet stating that Ted Turner didn’t know 1% of what he does about wrestling.

Former Turner employee, Eric Bischoff, appears to have taken offense to these comments. He noted on his 83 Weeks podcast that Khan should be quiet about WWE and focus on his own show. Khan then appeared on Busted Open Radio and said that he didn’t ask to go head-to-head with Smackdown on Friday night.

WWE and AEW Are Not Head-to-Head Competition

Recently on his 83 Weeks podcast, Bischoff noted that AEW and WWE are not in head-to-head competition with each other. He also accused Khan and AEW of “manipulating ratings data” to make AEW appear competitive with WWE.

“AEW is not in head-to-head competition,” Bischoff said. “They are just not. They are in the same industry. Now, you can say, ‘Well they came at us, they extended that half hour into our time slot and that was an aggressive move’, and that would be a fact. But to somehow spin that and try to suggest that you are a more popular product, you are a more successful product, you are winning some kind of a ratings war that only exists in the minds of dirt sheet writers and people that want to try to spin reality, that’s not right.”

Bischoff then continued to say that Khan’s claim that AEW is winning a ratings war because of certain demos is not correct. He referred to it as “data gymnastics.”

“All I’m suggesting is, rather than claiming you’re competing against, and somehow you’re competing favorably because you’re comparing a percentage of your demos on your Wednesday night show to a percentage of the demos on Monday Night RAW, notice they don’t talk about SmackDown too much. But on Monday Night RAW, when they go against Monday Night Football, which probably has the highest concentration of male 18-49 year old than just about anything else on TV in any given week, is a false equivalency. It just isn’t real. It’s data gymnastics.”

Chris Jericho Responds To ‘Cosplay Competition’ Remark From Eric Bischoff

Eric Bischoff has been active on Twitter as of late responding to fans commenting on this issue. In some cases, he has been congratulating people for getting blocked by certain wrestling journalists.

H/T to WrestlingNews for transcriptions.

Britt Baker, Tay Conti & Jade Cargill Trade Shots On Twitter

Chris Stephens
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Britt Baker will defend her AEW Women’s World Championship against #1 contender Tay Conti at Full Gear next month. Conti came out to make the save after Baker continued to attack Anna Jay after their match on Rampage Friday night. Then on AEW Saturday Night Dynamite, Baker cut a promo on Conti stating that “All [Conti] has done since arriving in AEW is show everyone [her] ass.”

Baker’s promo led to responses from both Conti and #2 contender in the AEW Women’s division, Jade Cargill.

Conti opted to compare how certain parts of their actions figures look in her response:

https://twitter.com/TayConti_/status/1452079742501404675

Jade Cargill, who received a first round bye in the TBS Championship Tournament, responded to an earlier Tweet from Baker as well.

Baker then answered back with the following:

“Your tweets are as bad as your promos. I was the baddest bitch on the block before you even decided you wanted to play wrestler. No one mentioned “looks” but that’s literally all you have so I get it. If that was an attempt to body shame my ass, go ahead and kiss it.”

Cargill then answered back with a couple more Tweets.

“BODY SHAME!?! The Queen of talking about everyone else is playing the victim. Brittney please, I can’t help that God blessed me with great looks!”

Jade Cargill will face the winner of Red Velvet vs the Bunny in her first match in the TBS Championship tournament.

Jim Ross Criticizes WWE’s “Stale” Booking

Chris Stephens
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AEW broadcaster Jim Ross recently stated he believes WWE’s booking has gotten stale. The 69-year-old made the comments on his Grillin Jr. podcast recently. He did also mention, however, that WWE does appear to be trying to build new stars.

“I think the WWE’s booking has just gotten a little stale,” Ross said. “They’re trying desperately, as you see on NXT and so forth, to get younger. I think Big E, he’s not a young pup but he’s a new face in that role, and I think that’s what they’re trying to do. It’s like starting the race a little late in the game, it’s going to take a little while to catch up and develop young stars.”

Ross then continued to compare WWE’s booking with AEW’s. He spoke about how many of the names on AEW programming aren’t necessarily young, but they are being presented in a fresh environment against new opponents.

“[AEW] is fresher,” Ross continued.”“Even though they see Adam Cole, they haven’t seen him in this environment. They haven’t seen Adam Cole against CM Punk yet or Bryan Danielson yet. All these matches are there at Tony Khan’s disposal whenever he wants to use them. Tony Khan has done a great job of getting these talents who aren’t necessarily young, but new and fresh, and therefore, their marriages/matches with other guys is going to be fresh.”

JR also noted on Twitter that he was impressed with Bryan Danielson’s match against Dustin Rhodes on Dynamite this Saturday night. The American Dragon picked up the victory and moved on in the AEW World Title Eliminator tournament. Danielson will face Eddie Kingston in the semi-finals.

Jim Ross Battling Skin Cancer

Unfortunately, “Good O’l JR” recently revealed on social media that he has been diagnosed with skin cancer. He had recently underwent a CT scan and the results confirmed a cancer diagnosis. No treatment protocol has been recommended as of yet, but Ross noted he will most likely need radiation.

SEScoops wishes all the best to Jim Ross and a speedy recovery.

Jim Ross Diagnosed With Skin Cancer

H/T to Wrestling Inc. for transcriptions.

Tyler Breeze On Which AEW Debut Sparked Back His Love For Wrestling

Anutosh Bajpai
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Tyler Breeze had soured on wrestling a little bit after having to compete in front of no fans during the pandemic, but a major AEW debut reignited his love for the sport.

The former WWE star recently had an interview with Into The Danger Zone podcast. He mentioned how they do this for the entertainment of people and claimed that the lack of crowd had soured him.

Breeze then talked about Adam Cole’s AEW debut during the All Out PPV. He explained how hearing people go nuts for it sparked his love for wrestling again:

“What kind of sparked it again was watching [Adam] Cole debut on AEW. When he came out, dude, hearing people go nuts and people go crazy and everything else, I went, ‘Oh, that’s why we do this.’”

Tyler Breeze also talked about his release from WWE during the interview and the former NXT star revealed his immediate reaction to getting the call.

Da Party was a WWE group consisting of Xavier Woods, Adam Cole, and Cesaro alongside prince pretty. Cole has previously claimed that leaving the gaming group was the hardest part of his WWE departure.

H/T to Wrestling Inc for the transcribed quotes

Tyler Breeze Say He “Was Preparing To Get Fired The Day I Got Hired”

Tay Conti Reveals Forbidden Door Dream Matches

Anutosh Bajpai
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Fans have gotten to see a number of dream matches in recent times that wouldn’t have been possible without the opening of the forbidden door. Tay Conti has revealed her own picks for dream matches outside her current promotion.

The AEW star recently had an interview with Pro Wrestling Illustrated. She discussed things such as her life before wrestling, how she got into the business, and more.

During the interview, Conti also revealed her forbidden door dream matches, naming a couple of Japanese wrestling veterans among others:

“Ok, first of all Asuka, my dream match. Her match with Sara [Del Ray] my old coach [made me like] ah I wanna do it. I would say Giulia from Stardom, and [Meiko] Satomura.”

Tay Conti is a Brazilian professional wrestler who first started her career in WWE in 2016. She signed with AEW in August last year after getting released by WWE as part of the coronavirus budget cuts.

The 25-year-old is currently the #1 ranking female star in AEW. As a result, she will be getting a shot at the AEW women’s world champion Britt Baker at the upcoming Full Gear PPV. You can check out the other announced Full Gear match here.

Tony Nese Makes In-Ring Debut For AEW During Dark Taping

Anutosh Bajpai
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0

Tony Nese has made his in-ring debut for AEW after making his first appearance for the company during last week’s episode of Saturday night Dynamite.

The premier athlete made his debut during the latest AEW dark tapings from Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida. He faced Fuego Del Sol in a singles bout in his debut match for the promotion:

This wasn’t the only match Nese wrestled in during the night. AEW usually tapes 4 Dark episodes in one set. The former WWE star also competed in a second match against DeMarcio James during the taping.

The former cruiserweight champion had a 5-year stint with WWE. He wrestled on shows such as Raw, 205 Live, and Main Event during his time with the promotion.

Tony Nese was released from his WWE contract as part of the budget cuts in June. He has been making indie appearances after his non-compete clause expired.

The high-flying star made his first appearance for AEW during Saturday’s episode of Dynamite. He was shown in the crowd during the opening match of the night between Bryan Danielson and Dustin Rhodes.

There aren’t any details available about his deal with the promotion. So it’s hard to say if his appearance was one-off or if Tony Nese is going to stick around for a feud.

CM Punk Appears After AEW Dynamite (Video)

Kazuchika Okada Brings Back Retired IWGP Heavyweight Championship

Anutosh Bajpai
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Kazuchika Okada has kept his word and brought back the retired IWGP Heavyweight Championship as a symbol of his promise to Kota Ibushi.

NJPW Road to Power Struggle tour kicked off last night. The G1 Climax winner entered the arena with the belt instead of the usual contract as he had suggested earlier:

The finals of the G1 climax saw Okada going up against Kota Ibushi. However, Ibushi couldn’t complete the match because of a dislocated shoulder, and Okada was declared the winner.

Before the rainmaker picked up his trophy, he checked on his opponent. He promised Ibushi that they will have a rematch when he is ready to step back into the ring again.

On the G1 climax press conference, Kazuchika Okada asked chairman Naoki Sugabayashi if he can bring back the retired belt. He said that he wanted to hold it instead of the contract that’s usually awarded to the G1 winner.

IWGP Heavyweight Championship
IWGP Heavyweight Championship

The fourth championship belt was unified with the IWGP Intercontinental Championship back in March. Kota Ibushi was the final wrestler to hold both the belts.

The G1 climax winner gets to face the IWGP world heavyweight champion at the following Wrestle Kingdom event. Though Okada will be defending his title shot against Tama Tonga at Power Struggle on November 6.

Tetsuya Naito Out Of G1 Climax 31 Due To Injury

Sasha Banks Feels WWE Women’s Division Is Stronger Than Ever

Fernando Quiles Jr.
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Sasha Banks believes that there has been a significant evolution in WWE’s women’s division.

Banks is one of WWE’s top female stars. She is a five-time Raw Women’s Champion and a former SmackDown Women’s Champion. Sasha Banks is also a former two-time Women’s Tag Team Champion with Bayley.

Sasha Banks Praises WWE Women’s Division

During an interview with Bleacher Report, Banks expressed her belief that WWE’s women’s division has never been stronger.

“The WWE women’s division is the best it’s ever been. I think it’s the greatest of any era from top to bottom and I can’t wait to see what more the future brings, even from NXT 2.0. To see how many women are down there from when I first started—there was only a group of eight and now there’s maybe a group of 30—just to see the growth from then to now is so beautiful.”

WWE has seen a massive change in its women’s division over the years. In the Attitude Era, female talent were used pretty much exclusively for sex appeal. Things didn’t change overnight but throughout the years, WWE has treated its female talent like the athletes they are.

The WWE draft has come and gone. Banks remains on the SmackDown roster. She brawled with the current SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte to end the Oct. 22 episode. The brawl ended the disastrous title exchange segment.

WATCH: Jacob Fatu vs. Alex Hammerstone At MLW Fightland (Full Match)

Fernando Quiles Jr.
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0

The full title vs. title match between Jacob Fatu and Alex Hammerstone has been released for free.

On Oct. 7, Fatu put the MLW World Heavyweight Championship on the line against Hammerstone, who was the MLW National Openweight Champion. The action was held inside the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia, PA.

Alex Hammerstone Ends Jacob Fatu’s Reign

Fatu’s massive 819-day reign as the MLW World Heavyweight Champion came to an end. Alex Hammerstone won the match and became an MLW “Champ-Champ.” Shortly after defeating Jacob Fatu, Hammerstone relinquished the MLW National Openweight Championship. Hammerstone held that title for 866 days.

Here’s the full match courtesy of the official YouTube channel of MLW.

Hammerstone’s beef with Fatu and the rest of CONTRA Unit doesn’t end here.

On Nov. 6, Alex Hammerstone will be teaming with EJ Nduka, Richard Holliday, and a mystery partner to take on CONTRA Unit (Jacob Fatu, Mads Krugger, Josef Samael & Ikuro Kwon) in a War Chamber Match. The match will be part of a set of MLW Fusion tapings in Philly.

The rules for the War Chamber Match are as follows:

  • A coin toss determines which team enters first.
  • 1-on-1 for 5:00 in stage 1 of the War Chamber.
  • The winner of coin toss comes out for 2-on-1.
  • Alternating teams have wrestlers enter every 2 minutes.
  • Once all combatants are in the War Chamber, victory is won by submission, surrender or pinfall.

Daniel Garcia Is A Huge Fan Of Bryan Danielson, Talks Similarities In Style

Fernando Quiles Jr.
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Daniel Garcia admits that he admires Bryan Danielson.

Danielson made his AEW debut at the All Out PPV back in September. Since that time, Danielson has competed in some highly-praised matches with the likes of Kenny Omega, Minoru Suzuki, Nick Jackson, Bobby Fish, and Dustin Rhodes.

Garcia, who recently signed a full-time deal with AEW, spoke to Jon Alba and said that Danielson is near the top of his list in terms of favorite wrestlers.

“He’s maybe my favorite wrestler of all time. At least top three. He’s somebody who I’ve studied for years, even before I knew that I was studying wrestling, just by watching him. I would pick up little nuances that he does. I feel like our wrestling styles aren’t as similar as some people like to say they are, but I feel like our, the little things that we do, are a lot more similar than a lot of people would like to notice.”

A feud between Garcia and Danielson certainly isn’t far-fetched. Garcia had been going after AEW’s top stars before he even signed a contract. Daniel Garcia has already mixed it up with CM Punk, Jon Moxley, and Darby Allin.

Garcia has created his own faction with 2point0. The trio has been known to attack their rivals from behind. Garcia has yet to pick up a signature win but now that he’s got himself an AEW contract, that might change soon. Of course, Garcia is only 23 years old so there isn’t a rush.

H/T to Fightful for the transcribed quotes

Update On Braun Strowman & Bray Wyatt’s Negotiations With Impact Wrestling

Chris Stephens
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Many fans who tuned in last night to Bound for Glory may have been expecting Braun Strowman to show up. Last week, PW Insider reported that Strowman was all but locked down to debut with the promotion. As it turns out, however, no deal has been signed and it is not clear if one will be.

According to a report from Fightful Select, the two sides have talked but no deal has been made. It is not clear if Strowman will end up there or not.

https://twitter.com/jimmyyadig/status/1452140947781861379

In terms of Bray Wyatt possibly debuting for Impact Wrestling, he was reportedly contacted by the promotion but a deal between the two sides has never been close. It does not sound like there are currently plans for Wyatt to end up in Impact, although things could change.

Bronson Reed was also reportedly booked to be part of the upcoming Impact Wrestling tapings. He was later unbooked, however. No reason for the change has been reported.

Impact is bringing in Minoru Suzuki for this week’s tapings in Las Vegas, however.

Impact Wrestling Bound For Glory Results

Here are the results from last night’s Bound For Glory show from Las Vegas.

  1. Knockouts Tag Team Championships
    The IInspiration (Cassie Lee & Jessie McKay) defeated Decay (Havok & Rosemary) (c) (8:58) – New Champions
  2. X-Division Championship
    Trey Miguel defeated El Phantasmo and Steve Maclin (13:23) – New Champion
  3. Heath & Rhino defeated Violent By Design (Deaner & Joe Doering) (w/Eric Young) (5:59)
  4. Call Your Shot Gauntlet Match
    Moose defeated Ace Austin and Alisha and Brian Myers and Chris Sabin and Eddie Edwards and Johnny Swinger and Laredo Kid and Madman Fulton and Matt Cardona and Melina and Rachael Ellering and Rich Swann and Rocky Romero and Rohit Raju and Sam Beale and Savannah Evans and Tasha Steelz and The Demon and W. Morrissey (29:38)
  5. Impact Tag Team Championships
    The Good Brothers (Doc Gallows & Karl Anderson) (c) defeated BULLET CLUB (Chris Bey & Hikuleo) and FinJuice (David Finlay & Juice Robinson) (9:56)
  6. Knockouts Championship
    Mickie James defeated Deonna Purrazzo (c) (13:21) – New Champion
  7. Impact World Championship
    Josh Alexander defeated Christian Cage (c) (18:53) – New Champion
  8. Impact World Championship (Call Your Shot Gauntlet Cash-In)
    Moose defeated Josh Alexander (c) (0:07) – New Champion

Adam Cole Talks Challenges Of Being Cheered As A Heel

Fernando Quiles Jr.
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0

Adam Cole recognizes the challenge that comes with being cheered as a face, but he never wavers from the task at hand.

Cole is easily one of the most beloved heels in the wrestling industry. It seems every time his music hits, the crowd pops big. They also love to yell, “Adam Cole, Bay Bay” in unison.

No Boos? No Problem For Adam Cole

When your goal is to be the bad guy, it can be tough when the fans don’t want to boo you. For Adam Cole, however, it isn’t an issue at all. Appearing on the AEW Unrestricted Podcast, Cole explained how he’s able to thrive as a heel despite having the crowd on his side.

“It has been a thing that I’ve gone through for a few years, and I take it as a giant compliment. My match with Jungle Boy is a prime example. So, in the beginning, they’re excited for the entrance. They want to do the ‘boom,’ and they want to do ‘Adam Cole, Bay Bay’ and they’re into me at the start of the match, but my theory and my thought process is, if I have enough time, I’ll get them to change their mind.”

Cole has realigned himself with The Elite. As of late, he’s been feuding with Jurassic Express, Bryan Danielson, and Christian Cage. Cole has been getting pinfalls over Jungle Boy as of late and many believe it’s only a matter of time until he gets his comeuppance.

On the Oct. 23 episode of AEW Dynamite, Cole and The Young Bucks threw Jungle Boy off the stage and through a table.

H/T to Wrestling Inc for the transcribed quotes

WWE Edits Title Exchange Between Charlotte & Becky Lynch

Fernando Quiles Jr.
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0

WWE had modified the title exchange segment involving Charlotte and Becky Lynch.

Much has been made about the title exchange that took place on the Oct. 22 episode of SmackDown. Charlotte was the Raw Women’s Champion, while Becky held the SmackDown Women’s Title. Since both competitors were drafted to the opposite brands, there was a title exchange.

Things Go Awry Between Charlotte & Becky Lynch

Things didn’t exactly go according to plan. Charlotte allowed the Raw Women’s Championship to drop to the mat but the script called for Becky to snatch the belt. Charlotte handed the title to authority figure Sonya Deville. Becky threw her SmackDown Women’s Championship at Charlotte, which was said to have been done differently than the script called for as well.

WWE Edits Title Exchange Segment

On the encore presentation of SmackDown, Charlotte dropping the Raw Women’s Championship was edited out. Becky Lynch throwing her title at Charlotte remained.

PWInsider reported that Charlotte had expressed concern over the segment making her and the Raw Women’s Championship look weak before the fiasco ensued. It was said that Charlotte and Becky had a shouting match backstage but didn’t get physical.

In a follow-up from PWInsider, it was reported that Charlotte was escorted out of the building by a WWE official. The reason for this is said to have been because Becky was staying in the building for a dark match and officials didn’t want things to escalate even further.

CM Punk Appears After AEW Dynamite (Video)

Chris Stephens
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Following last night’s edition of AEW Dynamite from Orlando, CM Punk and several others appeared in front of the live crowd. PW Insider is reporting that following Dynamite going off the air, Cody Rhodes remained in the ring after defeating Malakai Black in the main event and kickstarted a post-show segment.

Rhodes asked the fans if they had a good time and also noted that his father was buried in Orlando. He then called out Brodie Lee Jr. (-1), Fuego Del Sol, Griff Garrison, and TNT Champion Sammy Guevara. He was then interrupted by the Acclaimed who rapped about Cody and Fuego and also blamed Tony Khan for them not being on Dynamite again. This brought out Tony Khan who said that the people didn’t pay to see the Acclaimed, they paid to see CM Punk. Punk’s music then hit and the babyfaces took on the heels in a melee.

Fuego hit a tornado DDT on Max Caster and Punk hit the GTS on Anthony Bowens. Brodie Jr. then pinned Bowens with the crowd chanting along with the count.

Footage of the post-event segment can be viewed in the Tweets below:

https://twitter.com/djstarion/status/1452114630990565380
https://twitter.com/Dougsdtr/status/1452107093348134914

Earlier in the evening, CM Punk came out to rescue Anthony Greene. Bobby Fish had just defeated Greene in singles action but continued the attack after the match. Punk vs Fish has been booked for this Wednesday’s Dynamite.

Malakai Black Speaks Out After Losing To Cody Rhodes

Fernando Quiles Jr.
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Malakai Black has suffered his first loss under the AEW banner and it didn’t take long for him to speak out.

On the Oct. 23 edition of Dynamite, Black took on Cody a third time. Malakai was 2-0 over Cody going into their third encounter. The story going into the match was that Arn Anderson was able to get Cody to recenter his focus from Hollywood to the squared circle.

Malakai Black Reacts After Losing To Cody Rhodes

Things paid off for Cody as he was finally able to defeat Black. After the match, the “House of Black” took to his Instagram account to explain why he feels even in defeat, he has won.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CVakb17rIik/

“The entire world is a graveyard, and if you think this was about putting my shoulders on the mat; you’re rudely mistaken. My job was to destroy you and your world. The entire world hates you, you’ve become the beast I set out to make you, and I was willing to sacrifice my blood for it. Enjoy the seeds I planted for months. House always wins.”

Black decimated Cody on the Homecoming edition of Dynamite when they first met. Cody teased stepping away from the ring for a while when Malakai Black nailed him with Black Mass after the match. Black then won their rematch at AEW Grand Slam by spitting mist in Cody’s eyes and rolling him up for the pinfall.

Update On Lance Archer After Scary Dynamite Spot

Anutosh Bajpai
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Lance Archer has provided an update on his health after his scary landing during match with Eddie Kingston on last night’s episode of Dynamite. The murderhawk monster took on his Twitter to thank the AEW officials for taking care of him. He suggested that the injury wasn’t as bad as it looked and promised that he will be back:

“Listen. We choose to do this and take our health n lives in our hands every night. I’ve done that move hundreds of times over my career. Just under rotated. Coulda been MUCH worse. Thank you to ALL at @AEW for taking AMAZING care of me and protecting me. I’ll BE BACK!”

https://twitter.com/GetTheTables_/status/1452082144038248450

Last night’s episode of Dynamite saw the former champion facing Kingston in a first round AEW world title eliminator tournament match. At one point during the bout, Lance Archer tried to hit a moonsault off the top rope. However, he couldn’t rotate completely and landed on his head.

The referee and Doctor Sampson both checked on the AEW star. The officials then wrapped up the match quickly and Kingston rolled his opponent for the win. The injured star will obviously be going through more testing. Though his tweet and the fact that he was able to walk back to the locker room area by himself are positive news for his fans. We’ll keep you updated on his status.

AEW Dynamite Results (10/23): Cody vs. Malakai Black, CM Punk & Bobby Fish, MJF Attacks Sting

Charlotte Flair Has Been ‘Increasing Difficult’ To Work With (Report)

Anutosh Bajpai
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More details have come to light about the situation regarding the scuffle between Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch, suggesting that this wasn’t the first time people have had problems with Flair’s attitude.

According to Wade Keller of PWTorch, the Queen has ‘alienated’ her colleagues backstage with attitude issues. She has been ‘increasingly difficult to work with’ over the course of the year.

Charlotte has been isolating herself more and more behind the scenes. She is believed to be only interested in how she looks and said to scrutinize everything she is involved in through ‘a self-centered filter.’

On the other hand, Becky Lynch is liked among her colleagues and respected universally. The locker room sentiment is on her side. The Man is seen as a ‘hero’ for standing up to Flair after the awkward SmackDown segment.

There were people who were trying to give Flair the benefit of doubt despite a string of issues. Though crossing Becky is seen as the final straw for her. One wrestler said that “no other women want to work with her now.”

About the SmackDown incident, Charlotte denied dropping the title on purpose. This sounded preposterous enough for her to not only be asked to leave the building but also be escorted out of the arena.

Update On Charlotte & Becky Lynch’s Strained Relationship, Vince McMahon’s Reaction

GCW War Ready Results Incl. Nick Gage vs Minoru Suzuki

Jake Skudder
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GCW War Ready took place on Saturday night from Ukrainian Cultural Center in Los Angeles.

Several stars from promotions outside of Game Changer made appearances during the event, including some from Ring of Honor/ROH, New Japan Pro Wrestling and Major League Wrestling/MLW.

The Briscoes made a shock appearance during the last weekender that GCW put on, appearing to challenge the GCW Tag Team Champions Mance Warner Matthew Justice of Second Gear Crew.

ROH’s top tag team got their opportunity to fight for the titles at this event, and the match would headline alongside EFFY vs Psycho Clown and Japanese wrestling legend Minoru Suzuki facing the Deathmatch King, Nick Gage.

Here are the full results from the show, which is available to watch back on FITE TV on demand.

GCW War Ready Results

  • Allie Katch b. Gringo Loco, Lucas Riley, ASF, Matt Vandagriff, Gaston, JTG, and Eli Everfly (Eight-Way Scramble Match)
  • Alex Zayne b. Jonathan Gresham
  • Ninja Mack b. Arez
  • Chris Dickinson and Starboy Charlie b. Jacob Fatu and Juicy Finau
  • AJ Gray b. Dark Sheik
  • Jordan Oliver vs. Nick Wayne – ended in a No Contest
  • GCW Tag Team Championship Match – The Briscoes b. Second Gear Crew (Mance Warner and Matthew Justice) – New Champions
  • EFFY b. Psycho Clown
  • Minoru Suzuki b. Nick Gage

Carmelo Hayes Reveals ‘Top Guy’ Conversation with Shawn Michaels

Jake Skudder
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WWE NXT 2.0 North American Champion Carmelo Hayes recently appeared on SiriusXM’s Busted Open Radio. The Champion discussed several topics during his time on the show, including how he revealed his ‘top guy’ intentions to Shawn Michaels backstage at the Performance Center.

“I had a conversation earlier with Shawn (Michaels) about how I want to be a top guy eventually,” Carmelo Hayes began. “He was like, ‘alright, we’ll give you the ball and you can run with it. We’ll get you where we need to get you.’”

“I told Shawn that I see myself as a top guy” Hayes continued. “I told him, ‘take me there.’ And I think that (conversation) is what gave him the belief that, ‘OK, this kid is a little different.’

“And on top of that, my mindset is every time I step out, it is WrestleMania” the new North American Champion revealed. “I’m not one of those guys who’s just happy to be here. I truly, truly want to be great – through my work, actions, attitude, and training. I’m just trying to work harder than everybody else, and I think it’s showing.”

Carmelo Hayes on Creative Freedom

Carmelo Hayes would also reveal that he has some leeway when it comes to his promos in the NXT 2.0 format alongside Trick Williams.

“They give us bullet points” Hayes noted. “But I’m big on trying to say stuff that I would truly say. So a lot of the stuff you’re hearing is 100 percent from me – with their direction.

“I’ve been lucky enough to where they’ve trusted me, to say what I want. That’s really the direction they’re going in now, they are trusting guys, especially down here in NXT 2.0. They are trusting guys to be authentic” Hayes concluded.

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