Banks revealed this during a recent interview with Bleacher Report. Sasha said that being part of the show was incredible but she won’t be appearing on the next season:
“I’m not on the next season, but it was incredible being on The Mandalorian on Star Wars. To be on a franchise that is so huge and so loved, just look at the reception from fans outside of the WWE Universe. It was the best feeling of all time.”
Sasha Banks Teases Future Projects
Though not being part of The Mandalorian doesn’t mean fans will not get to see Sasha Banks in the acting world anymore. According to her, the show was a learning curve and she can’t wait for her fans to see what’s next:
“It was such a learning curve and something I wasn’t expecting, but now I’m in this whole new Hollywood world and it’s going amazingly. I’m so excited for the fans, and I can’t wait for my fans to see what’s next.”
Apart from this, Sasha Banks also talked about the Luke Skywalker appearance during the final episode of season two. She discussed how she was at SmackDown when the episode was released and claimed that it was really cool to see her co-workers freak out about something that she was part of outside wrestling.
Bret Hart is considered to be one of the greatest technical wrestlers of not only his own generation but all of wrestling history. The Hitman has now revealed which past and present stars he considers to be the best.
The former world champion was asked which stars he would put in his Mt Rushmore of the best technical wrestlers during a cameo appearance. Hart responded with names such as Curt Hennig and AJ Styles:
“If I was gonna do a Mt Rushmore of all the heads and put the best technical wrestlers of the world on that list.” said Bret Hart, “I would have to put Dynamite Kid on that list. I would have to put Curt Hennig on that list.
I would probably put AJ Styles and maybe CM Punk or Daniel Bryan. Those will be some of the guys that I think would be fitting for a monument of that task.”
Bret Hart's Mount Rushmore of Technical wrestlers, although he named 5.
This isn’t the first time Bret has praised some of these names. He has called Hennig his favorite opponent of all time in the past. Bryan has also previously been compared to a modern-day version of Bret Hart.
The former WCW champion has not made a wrestling appearance in a while. He presented the AEW world title at the inaugural Double Or Nothing PPV and then made a brief appearance at SummerSlam 2019. He was last seen congratulating Ken Shamrock on his Impact Hall Of Fame induction in a video package in October 2020.
The Undertaker has got people talking with his latest public appearance In Saudi Arabia ahead of the WWE Crown Jewel 2021 PPV this Thursday.
The dead man donned his iconic gear ahead of the big WWE show. He showed up at the concert of rapper Pitbull for a sold-out event at The Boulevard in Riyadh.
The concert kicks off the 2021 Riyadh Season Festival and The Undertaker introduced the Grammy Award-winner to the audience.
You can check out some videos of him at the show below:
While WWE has not confirmed anything regarding the former world champion, this appearance is obviously stirring up rumors about a potential return for the last outlaw.
The Undertaker was last seen on WWE programming during the Final Farewell segment at last year’s Survivor Series PPV. He has since maintained that he is retired and he won’t be stepping back in the ring for a fight.
Though this doesn’t necessarily mean that the legendary star cannot make a non-wrestling appearance for the promotion. The high-stakes Saudi show seems to be just the place for one such comeback.
Apart from Taker, the Crown Jewel event is expected to feature stars such as Brock Lesnar and Goldberg. Here is the final Crown Jewel match card.
The Undertaker appears at Pitbull concert in Saudi Arabia!
Acey Romero has detailed why he decided to request his release from Impact Wrestling.
Back in August, Fightful brought word that Romero asked Impact to be let go from his contract. Near the midway point of October, Jon Alba reported that Romero got what he was asking for. Romero is now free to sign wherever he pleases and already has a couple of independent bookings secured.
During an interview with Cultaholic, Romero revealed the final nail in the coffin as far as his run with Impact Wrestling is concerned.
“I just want people to know I’m not talking sh*t or trying to bury IMPACT. The last straw was we were going to be booked in August but we were pulled the week of. I’ll be honest, IMPACT was a big chunk of my income and my deal was if I wasn’t there, I wasn’t paid. I was paid per appearance. So I was counting on that loop to help me financially.
“I was ready to go. We were leaving on a Friday and it was a Monday and just, ‘Hey, bad news. Creative has gone in a different direction and you guys aren’t on the loop this month.’ That’s when the frustration really built, like ‘What the hell?’ I would call them and say, ‘Can we do something better? What can we do to come back?’ I just felt like we were getting d*cked around, for lack of a better phrase.”
Acey Romero had been one-half of the XXXL tag team along with Larry D. He had been with Impact since Oct. 2019. Romero hadn’t been used by the company since a set of tapings back in April.
Mustafa Ali recalls a key piece of advice WWE Chairman Vince McMahon gave him during a time of confusion.
Ali has been seen on WWE TV since 2016. He made his Monday Night Raw debut the following year. Ali found himself in a big spot at the beginning of 2019 and was even scheduled to challenge for the WWE Championship in the Elimination Chamber match. Ali ended up suffering an injury and was replaced by Kofi Kingston.
Soon, Ali found himself appearing less on the main show and more on Main Event. Ali was confused by this and asked Vince McMahon what went south. Speaking to Metro, Mustafa Ali revealed what Vince’s answer was.
“Even pre-pandemic, I was struggling to maintain television presence – and I know it was all character-based. When you pitch a million and one ideas as far as stories, characters, promos, this and that – and you always get told that you’re good, but then nothing happens – you start pointing the finger at everybody except for you.
“After sitting at home for seven months and then finally coming back to Monday Night Raw, only to pick up a few victories and then to go back to not being on Monday Night Raw and now being stuck on Main Event, you’re kinda scratching your head.
“Like, what have I gotta do? And then you realize, you’ve gotta go ask the hard questions. I went up to Vince McMahon himself and said, ‘What am I missing?’ [He said], ‘Too polished, too clean, too nice, I don’t know if you have it in you!'”
Ali eventually made a heel turn. He became the leader of Retribution. Once the group disbanded, he began teaming with Mansoor. Lately, Ali has become frustrated with Mansoor, shoving him down to the mat after their tag team loss to Shelton Benjamin and Cedric Alexander of The Hurt Business.
Chris Jericho has given his take on when we could be seeing AEW make its way to the United Kingdom.
It’s no secret that fans in the UK love some wrestling. The crowds always seem to be red hot for WWE shows in the UK and even Impact Wrestling had success there under the reins of Dixie Carter. AEW had plans of making the trip to England in 2020 but the COVID-19 pandemic put a halt to that idea.
Chris Jericho spoke to Alex McCarthy of talkSPORT and discussed when he believes AEW will finally put on a show in the UK.
“It’s kind of out of my pay grade. I do know that we just saw a WWE tour in England. I know that Fozzy is coming to England in December and I know that we’re almost 100 percent sold out the whole tour, like 14 gigs or whatever. So that’s a good barometer that people are waiting to see us again.
“Obviously with the connection of Tony and Fulham and his relationship in the UK, we have a place to go in Craven Cottage for a stadium show. I think it’s just a matter of time. I’d say probably, if I had to guess, probably in the summer when all questions are gone. I think once the Khans start going to England to attend some of those games, that’s a good indication because I don’t think they’ve been to the UK since.”
AEW head honcho Tony Khan has returned fire on Eric Bischoff.
There was a time when Bischoff was the top mover and shaker outside of Turner executives for WCW. He helped lead the charge that defeated Vince McMahon and WWE for 83 straight weeks in the TV ratings. While his success during that period of time will never be forgotten, neither will WCW’s rapid implosion.
Khan and Bischoff have been both cordial and combative towards one another over the past couple of years. Bischoff recently took issue with Khan saying he won’t repeat WCW’s mistakes. Eric believes that Khan has been creating new problems and should just “shut up and wrestle.”
Tony Khan Hits Back At Eric Bischoff
Appearing on Busted Open Radio, Khan offered the following response to Bischoff.
“I was amused by Eric’s comments. I like Eric when we’re together, but this is the ultimate example of glasshouses, knowing how Eric conducted himself when he was the President of WCW and he did ask for the head-to-head competition, he said publicly I should be going to that, but I don’t decide when these shows are on.
“This time slot, we looked at a couple of different slots and this was one they thought would do well and I was supportive of because it allowed for a good block of wrestling on Friday night and I knew there would be a good amount of people watching on Friday and it was effectively an opportunity for people to watch everything in one night. When we got the head-to-head competition, I thought we need to respond and need to win. We did.”
Khan went on to say that Bischoff’s remarks are “laughable.” He reminded the former WCW President that he was the man who challenged Vince McMahon to a fight on his own show and had himself lowered from the ceiling on a motorcycle. Tony Khan believes Bischoff is simply putting on an act and trying to stir up controversy.
Black and Vega are in the wrestling industry but in different promotions. The two used to be able to call WWE home. They were both released by the promotion and while Black landed on his feet in AEW, Vega ended up returning to WWE.
Being a star for a top wrestling promotion means you are bound to be on the road. During an appearance on The Zaslow Show, Malakai Black admitted that while things get tough, he and Zelina Vega knew exactly what they were getting themselves into.
“Do I see her as much as I want to? No, but we both made a conscious decision. The one we made years ago that we wanted to be professional athletes, and we know what comes with that. She’s no stranger to being on the road. She’s been doing this for 12 years, I’ve been doing this for 21 years. We made a commitment to each other, so yes, sometimes it gets tough, and yes, it requires extra travel and extra sacrifice. But at the end of the day, you have to realize it’s temporary. It’s not going to last forever.”
Black went on to say that he and Zelina are in the midst of building their own mini-performance center near Tampa. The goal is to help aspiring wrestling hone their craft and eventually wrestle for promotions.
Black also said that he sees himself having 10 more years in the wrestling business as a performer. He believes that he’ll remain as a top guy for five years, while the other half will be dedicated to elevating the next generation of talent.
Vince McMahon believes that he owns the wrestling genre and that’s why he doesn’t like losing to any other company such as AEW, according to Jim Ross.
JR discussed the end of Wednesday Night Wars on the latest episode of his Grilling JR podcast. Ross says McMahon is a fiercely competitive person and didn’t take kindly to NXT coming up short against AEW.
Discussing how WWE moved NXT to Tuesday nights after their long losing streak against AEW Dynamite, Ross said that he respects and appreciates the competitiveness of his former employer:
“He didn’t like getting his ass beat every Wednesday night. And I know we didn’t win every Wednesday night, but we won most of them. Winning one is too many for him. He’s very competitive; he believes he owns the genre.He is the godfather and I get it, I understand it, and I respect and appreciate his competitiveness.
He works better when there’s a little pressure on him and I think that’s been proven time and time again. He’s a different breed of cat when it comes to that stuff.”
The AEW commentator continued by saying that Dynamite beating NXT in ratings for most nights was definitely an issue leading to WWE switching nights. Jim Ross also discussed the recent big AEW signings such as Bryan Danielson, CM Punk and Adam Cole. He said that competition is ultimately good for the industry.
The Usos vs. Shelton Benjamin and Cedric Alexander has been announced for the kick-off pre-show of the upcoming Crown Jewel PPV from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The match was first announced by Kayla Braxton on the latest episode of The Bump. The news has since been confirmed by WWE on their official website.
As of this writing, the Usos are not scheduled to defend their SmackDown tag titles against The Hurt Business at Crown Jewel. The company is only promoting this match as a classic showdown between the two teams.
The Usos have long been associated with Roman Reigns. They have formed the bloodline faction with Reigns after his heel turn.
Benjamin and Alexander, on the other hand, reunited with Bobby Lashley during a recent Raw episode after their break-up earlier this year. Though they haven’t been seen with the All-Mighty all that much in the last couple weeks.
With this latest announcement and the confirmation of the King Of The Ring and Queen’s Crown finals, the match card for the upcoming PPV seems to be complete.
Miro loves to mention both his God and his hot and flexible wife in his promos these days. According to comments his wife CJ Perry (FKA Lana) made during a Highspots live signing, Miro didn’t want his wife creating an OnlyFans account.
“I stay open to all forms of entertainment except for OnlyFans because my husband doesn’t allow me,” Perry said during the signing. “Every time he’ll be like, ‘Do what you want!’ I’m like, I guess that means don’t do it.”
The former Lana continued to say that she has suggested Miro could be involved in the account. This was not something the former TNT Champion was interested in, however.
“I was trying to get Miro to do OnlyFans and [shakes head no]. Really? I feel like you just have to find your group of people. But there might be a ton of people that might want to see Miro’s naked body. Or not even naked, just those jacked thighs. But also he loves himself so much. I wasn’t going to do totally nude, anyways. With him, it’s just the idea and just the name, even. I’m like, ‘I wouldn’t be naked, it could be just your feet.’”
Finally, Perry continued to say that Miro loves to flex and do other things in front of the mirror frequently. The “helicopter” was even mentioned.
“Also, with Miro, the thing is he loves himself. Truly, I love my husband. I adore him, but I really think that no one — like when Miro looks in the mirror, no one loves himself more than he does. It’s also so entertaining that I walk into a room and he’s like standing in front of the mirror flexing and doing the helicopter naked.”
Miro has yet to wrestle since dropping the TNT title to Sammy Guevara. He returned to AEW programming recently and cut a promo indicating he is looking to regain his championship.
Miro’s TNT title reign lasted for a total of 140 days. That ranks 2nd all-time behind Darby Allin’s 186-day reign with the belt. Miro also defended the title 8 times before dropping it to Guevara. He had successful title defences against Dante Martin, Lance Archer, Evil Uno, Brian Pillman Jr., Lee Johnson, Fuego Del Sol 2x, and Eddie Kingston.
Cody Rhodes has an important rule that the camera crew for Rhodes To The Top must follow.
Cody has become quite busy since AEW got off the ground. Not only is he an active competitor, but Rhodes also stars in the TBS game show Go-Big Show. Throw in the fact that Cody is now a father and he has his own reality show along with his wife Brandi, the work seems to never end.
Cody Rhodes Reveals Rule For Rhodes To The Top Camera Crew
With Rhodes To The Top in full swing, Cody Rhodes revealed to Busted Open Radio the one rule that the camera crew must follow.
“I mean no disrespect to Shed media or our friends at Warner Media, but it’s very annoying. The annoyance of it is a great complaint to have that these people want to document this company as it grows, and they want to document our family as it grows. It did get to the point where some of the reasons I think the show is real quality, is it got to the point where I said, ‘Hey guys, I’ll wear this mic and you can follow me with that camera, but don’t stage anything. Don’t ask me to repeat something. Don’t ask me to frame something up. Just film. If you just film, you’ll be very happy ultimately with what you get.’”
On AEW TV, Rhodes has been feuding with Malakai Black. Cody is down 0-2 against Black. Their third meeting will take place on the Oct. 23 episode of AEW Dynamite.
Cody’s real-life workload has played a role in his storyline with Black. Cody’s mentor, Arn Anderson, has told the former two-time TNT Champion that he’s too Hollywood these days and needs to snap out of it in order to defeat Malakai Black.
H/T to WrestlingNews.co for the transcribed quotes
AEW star Maxwell Jacob Friedman thinks Roman Reigns is “absolutely incredible” – but not as good as him, of course.
AEW Rampage topping WWE SmackDown in the key demo during last week’s head-to-head collision has been the topic of discussion among fans the past few days.
The self-proclaimed Fastest Rising Star in Pro Wrestling appeared on Rasslin’ with Brandon Walker this week. In typical MJF fashion, he complimented Roman Reigns while also getting in some not-so-subtle digs.
“Roman Reigns lost in the key demographic to Ruby Soho, and Ruby Soho sucks so I don’t know what to tell you,” he said. “Don’t get me wrong, that’s not me shitting on Roman Reigns. I think Roman Reigns is a hell of a performer, he really is.”
He added, “I think [Reigns] is absolutely incredible. Am I better than him on the mic and in the ring? Sure, but I’m not gonna go out of my way and talk shit about him because I respect him.”
MJF with Pinnacle
“I know that they’re all watching our stuff.”
– MJF
WWE executives have said they do not consider AEW to be competition. MJF isn’t buying it.
MJF is under contract with AEW until 2024. He loves working for AEW, but he’s a businessman first and foremost. He’d consider jumping to WWE (for the right price) and would welcome the chance to work with Roman Reigns.
“Again, someday I might work there. I’m also sure if he sees this, he’ll pretend he doesn’t know who I am because that’s what they do over there. When in reality, I know that they’re all watching our stuff. Again, I cannot stress this enough, a huge fan of Roman Reigns. I think he’s great. Would love to work with him one day.”
WWE extended last Friday’s episode of SmackDown an extra half hour to go head to head with Rampage. Though despite putting out a segment between Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns, the company still lost to Tony Khan’s promotion in key demo ratings. You can check out a detailed breakdown of numbers from Friday here.
Bray Wyatt would rather team up with Danhausen than face the current ROH star in a dream match inside an All Elite Wrestling ring.
A fan recently made a tweet about potential dream matches that people would want to see in AEW if there were no contractual barriers. He listed Orange Cassidy vs. Danhausen as the match he would like to see.
Someone else then said that they would want to see the former WWE star facing Danhausen in a tooth match. Joining in on the conversation Wyatt suggested that he would rather unite with the former FIP star:
The Fiend was released from his WWE contract back on July 31. Assuming a standard 90 days non-compete clause, he should become a free agent later this month on October 29.
There has been a lot of chatter about where Bray Wyatt should go next but no clear indication of where he might actually end up. Impact wrestling is reportedly interested in signing the former world champion.
Tony Khan on the other hand is taking a cautious approach because of his contractual status. The AEW owner has said that he would like to talk to the eater of worlds ‘at the right time.’
Alexa Bliss has got people speculating about a potential return to her old gimmick for her inevitable comeback to WWE programming.
The former women’s champion recently posted a GIF from her Twitter. In the tweet, she is first seen in her current persona which then changes to a more normal look:
Don't miss what's going on here in this image. @AlexaBliss_WWE changes from evil Alexa back to somewhat normal Alexa & is smiling. What exactly does that mean? Is she going back to the Goddess? Is she transforming into a new @WWE character that blends the best of both characters?
Bliss has been playing the character originally introduced by Bray Wyatt. She first got involved in this storyline during a match between Wyatt and Braun Strowman at last year’s Extreme Rules PPV.
She took over the persona completely after WrestleMania 37. Randy Orton defeated The Fiend at the show in what would be Bray’s final PPV appearance for WWE. The female star then announced following the event that she didn’t need Wyatt anymore.
This year’s Extreme Rules PPV saw Alexa Bliss going up against Charlotte Flair. Flair not only defeated Bliss in the bout but she also tore up her doll Lily.
The former champion took time off from WWE programming for a surgery afterward. Though, unlike other injured stars, she was picked by Raw during the recent Draft, suggesting that the female star would not stay out of action for long.
Now it would be interesting to see if Bliss really returns to her goddess persona upon her comeback and when she actually comes back.
This week’s Crown Jewel go-home episode of Monday Night Raw managed to keep the overall ratings steady but the show saw a big decline in the key demo in face of some tough competition.
This a small 0.7% increase from last week. The Raw episode featuring Drew McIntyre and Big E facing The Usos in the main event had drawn 1.582 million viewers.
The stat that didn’t go into WWE’s favor is the key demo rating. The show drew a 0.39 rating representing a total of 510,000 viewers of the 18-49 demographic.
This is a big 7.14% decline in the key demo numbers compared to last week’s episode of the show. The October 11 episode had scored a 0.42 rating in the 18-49 demo.
In comparison, last week’s episode of Dynamite that aired on Saturday night drew a total of 727,000 viewers and a 0.28 rating. A week prior on its usual timeslot, the AEW show had drawn a 0.37 rating in the key demo.
A viewership decline was expected for Raw with competition from NFL and MLB games. Though it’s still a concerning figure for officials considering that it’s the lowest key demo rating in the red brand’s history.
WWE is all set to present the Crown Jewel 2021 pay-per-view event from the Mohammed Abdu Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia this Thursday, October 21.
The fifth show in the partnership between the Vince McMahon owned promotion and Saudi General Sports Authority will feature stars such as Brock Lesnar, Goldberg, Edge, Roman Reigns, Becky Lynch, and Sasha Banks.
Crown Jewel will serve as an important stop for WWE on their road to the next WrestleMania event. It will determine whether the rivalry between Lesnar and Reigns will conclude or carry on.
The show will also feature the crowning of a new King Of The Ring and reveal the winner for the inaugural Queen’s Crown tournament in the historic finals.
Fans can watch the WWE Crown Jewel 2021 event on Peacock in the USA and WWE Network around the rest the world from 12 PM EST. Here is the worldwide start time for Crown Jewel:
Eastern – 12 pm
Pacific – 9 am
India (New Delhi) – 9:30 pm
Japan (Tokyo) – 1 am
Germany (Berlin) – 6 pm
Australia (Melbourne) – 2 am
Brazil (Rio De Janiero) – 1 pm
UK – 5 pm
WWE Crown Jewel 2021 Final Match Card
Apart from the Universal championship match and the tournament finals, the PPV event will see Goldberg facing Bobby Lashley in a no holds barred SummerSlam rematch. Also, Edge will be going up against Seth Rollins inside Hell In A Cell.
Here is the final Crown Jewel 2021 match card:
Universal Championship Match: Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns
WWE Championship Match: Drew McIntyre vs. Big E
Triple Threat SmackDown Women’s Championship Match: Sasha Banks vs. Bianca Belair vs. Becky Lynch
Raw Tag Team Championship Match: AJ Styles and Omos vs. Randy Orton and Riddle
No Holds Barred Match: Bobby Lashley vs. WWE Hall of Famer Bill Goldberg
Hell In A Cell Match: Edge vs. Seth Rollins
Singles Match: Mansoor vs. Mustafa Ali
King Of The Ring Tournament Final: Xavier Woods vs. Finn Balor
Queen’s Crown Tournament Final: Doudrop vs. Zelina Vega
Kickoff Match: The Usos vs. Cedric Alexander and Shelton Benjamin
WWE’s Saudi Arabia events such as the upcoming Crown Jewel PPV are usually associated with being one of the biggest paydays for the company and all the talents working the show, but it’s not the case for Mustafa Ali.
The former Retribution leader recently made a tweet about the upcoming show. In the post as seen below, he revealed that he will be donating his earnings from the event:
Earnings from the 10/21 event will be donated to charity.
Mustafa Ali will be facing hometown star Mansoor in what is expected to be a concluding match for their ongoing rivalry at the upcoming Crown Jewel PPV.
These two have been engaged in a storyline since June this year after Mansoor officially became a member of the Raw roster in May. The former 205 live star was trying to convince Mansoor that the rest of the WWE superstars were backstabbers.
They had their first match during the July 5 episode of Raw which was won by Mustafa Ali. Ali faked a knee injury to outsmart his opponent and win the match.
These two later started teaming together but their alliance was short-lived. The Saudi Arabian star was attacked by his partner after their loss to the Hurt Business during the October 11 Raw, setting up their upcoming match.
Bron Breakker & Tommaso Ciampa def. Grizzled Young Veterans
Here are the takeaways from this week’s show:
Here are the takeaways from this week’s show:
Opening Segment
Carmelo Hayes came out to open the show to cut a promo about how he doesn’t miss when he shoots and he’s the leader of the new school. As long as he’s the North American Champion, it’s the A-championship. He doesn’t care if anyone has a problem with it.
Johnny Gargano came out to the ring and said he had his eye on Hayes. He reminded us of his past reigns as champion. He congratulated him for the title win. He said that he has lost his way with Austin Theory and Indie Heartwell no longer with him. He said what’s next for him is going back to what he does best and that’s wrestling. He challenged Hayes for the title. Dexter Lumis appeared and a brawl nearly broke out before Trick Williams and Hayes left the ring. Gargano held the title in the ring and that ended the segment.
"Mr. A-Champion … why don't you take a shot at ME?"
A singles match was booked between Grayson Waller and LA Knight to decide who will be the host of next week’s Halloween Havoc special.
The match was set up when they went back and forth on Twitter over who should be the host of the special. Once Waller lobbied to be the host of the special, Knight responded by calling Waller’s video trash. Knight said he didn’t even know who Waller was until 24 hours ago. Shotzi Blackheart was the host of last year’s NXT Halloween Havoc.
The match was short in the second hour with Knight going over with his finisher.
Andre Chase vs. Odyssey Jones in a singles match took place.
This was the first match of the night. Chase beat him down in the early going, which was interesting due to the size difference. Throughout the beatdown, Jones would use his power to kick out of the pin attempts.
Jones made his comeback with a series of suplexes. Jones with a standing splash for the win.
WWE has already confirmed that Io Shirai & Zoey Stark will defend the NXT Women’s Tag Team Titles against Persia Pirotta & Indi Hartwell, and Jacey Jayne & Gigi Dolan.
Ahead of that title showdown, WWE had a member from each team to work a triple threat match on this show. Those wrestlers were Jade, Io, and Pirotta.
The match saw the ladies have plenty of time to tell their story. Io went over with a moonsault off the top rope to Persia for the win. Post-match, Io spun the wheel revealing it would be a Scareway to Hell Ladder Match.
Bron Breakker and Tommaso Ciampa vs. The Grizzled Young Veterans in a tag team match took place in the main event.
The match was set up last week on NXT by a confrontation between Ciampa and Breakker and The Grizzled Young Veterans in the back after Ciampa had beaten Joe Gacy in a non-title match.
A simple comment made by Zack Gibson when he said he and James Drake can’t wait to watch Ciampa lose the NXT Championship to a rookie. Of course, Ciampa will make his next title defense against Breakker on next week’s episode of NXT.
Breakker won the match for his team with his finisher after getting the hot tag. Ciampa didn’t celebrate with Breakker after the match. Instead, they had a staredown.
Former UFC Heavyweight Champion Junior dos Santos has taken a liking to the folks in AEW.
We’ve been seeing members of the renowned MMA gym American Top Team feud with The Inner Circle. Among those members have been dos Santos and UFC welterweight Jorge Masvidal. ATT has aligned itself with The Men of The Year, Ethan Page and Scorpio Sky.
Junior dos Santos Is Quite Happy With AEW
Junior dos Santos appeared on The MMA Hour and told Ariel Helwani that he’s feeling the love from AEW.
“I like playing the bad guy in pro wrestling because it brings me a kind of comfort. I was feeling so excited for this debut. In the MMA world I was feeling a lot of pressure with people demanding things all the time and not caring about you and now I was there [in AEW] and I was being appreciated to be there so I felt amazing and I said man this is an amazing feeling, this is something that I felt at the beginning of my [MMA] career and the middle of my career when I became champion and it’s great to be feeling it again.”
On the Oct. 15 episode of AEW Rampage, dos Santos made his in-ring debut. He teamed with The Men of the Year to take on Chris Jericho, Sammy Guevara, and Jake Hager. Despite being put through a table, dos Santos and his team picked up the win thanks to inferences from Paige VanZant and Jorge Masvidal.
The Inner Circle appears to be throwing down a challenge for a 10-man tag team match. It looks like it could be all members of Inner Circle vs. The Men of the Year and three members of ATT. One has to figure that dos Santos will be back to participate in that match.
Jay Lethal says there are two goals left that he has in mind with his ROH run.
Lethal has been a mainstay for Ring of Honor. His second run with the company has been in effect since 2011. Lethal is a former two-time ROH World Champion. He’s also held the TV Title twice, the Pure Championship, and is a former tag team champion.
What Does Jay Lethal Have Left To Do In ROH?
Many have wondered what could possibly be left for the 36-year-old in ROH. Speaking to Wrestlezone.com, Jay Lethal answered that question.
“I constantly ask myself that, every day. Where do I go from here? And I think I’m in a place where I can only answer that in two ways. One, I would love to be the Ring of Honor World Champion again. And two, I just wanna help as many people as possible. I enjoy helping guys like Eli Isom, or anybody who comes to me with any questions they think that I can help them with. Oh man, I love that. So I mean, [the] only two things I can see myself doing, when I ask what is left, another Ring of Honor World Championship and helping as many people as I can along the way.”
Lethal went on to say that if he were to walk away from the wrestling business tomorrow, he’d be satisfied. For years, fans have wondered if Lethal will ever transition to a company such as WWE. With AEW now in full force, that question has only grown stronger.
Paul Heyman has unveiled his pick for Brock Lesnar’s ultimate rivalry.
Throughout the years, Brock Lesnar has had some classic rivalries. Some of his matches with Kurt Angle, The Undertaker, and John Cena will long be remembered by WWE fans. There’s one man who stands out above all in the mind of Heyman, however.
During an interview with SportsKeeda, Heyman explained why he views Roman Reigns as the top rival in the career of Brock Lesnar.
“Roman Reigns because we’ve done multiple WrestleMania main events between the two of them and will most likely do more. This is a really interesting situation. The Undertaker was very simple. History was made. Brock Lesnar conquered The Undertaker’s undefeated streak at WrestleMania.”
A Completely Different Dynamic
Heyman insists that Roman Reigns is a different animal than the likes of The Undertaker and even John Cena.
“With John Cena, that was an intense rivalry between the poster boy for WWE. The most heavily hyped sports entertainer on the face of the planet against a former NCAA Division I Heavyweight Champion and former UFC Heavyweight Champion, Brock Lesnar. With Roman Reigns, you have a completely different dynamic.”
The story behind Reigns vs. Lesnar this time revolves around Paul Heyman’s allegiance. For years, Heyman served as the advocate for Lesnar.
During “The Beast’s” absence, Heyman became the Special Counsel for Roman Reigns. Fans are now left to wonder if Heyman will turn on Reigns or if he’ll stick with “The Tribal Chief.”
Garcia has been featured prominently since his recent arrival. He’s mixed it up with some of AEW’s top stars including CM Punk, Jon Moxley, and Darby Allin. He’s come up short in each of those matches, but he’s been booked strongly nonetheless.
Tony Khan announced on Tuesday that the 23-year-old mat technician has signed with the company. Garcia has put pen to paper and is officially a full-time member of the roster.
TK says Garcia came in with a great reputation and has built upon the hype since arriving in AEW. “He’s shown no fear, never backing down from anything, even the best in the world,” wrote Khan.
Daniel Garcia on Joining AEW
(Photo credit: Scott Lesh)
Garcia says he didn’t want to sign with a promotion just because. He was looking for a place to call home, a company that would help him become the best wrestler in the world. “I plan on being a major player in this company for a very long time,” he wrote.
I told myself that I didn’t want to sign somewhere just to say I got a contract. I wanted to go somewhere that would help me become the best wrestler in the world. I know AEW is where I can become that.
I plan on being a major player in this company for a very long time. https://t.co/3yTQPwIRf2
During a recent interview with Fanbyte, Garcia had this to say about his time in AEW thus far:
“I really think that I have the potential right now to be a major player in AEW in the very near future. I feel like they handed me the ball and I just keep running with it.”
CM Punk has dealt a “receipt” to Sasha Banks following AEW’s impressive showing against WWE last Friday night.
The Internet has been buzzing about the Friday night ratings showdown between AEW Rampage and WWE SmackDown. Rampage aired in its usual time slot, while SmackDown aired on FS1 instead of the Fox broadcast network. WWE took the fight to AEW by extending SmackDown an extra 30 minutes (commercial-free) to go head-to-head with the first half of Rampage.
Prior to the showdown, Sasha Banks tweeted, “It’s Clobberin time #SmackdownonFS1” – a clear reference to CM Punk’s famous catchphrase.
Overall, the 2 1/2 hour SmackDown broadcast averaged 866,000 viewers. The 60-minute Rampage show did 578,000 viewers. Both shows did a 0.24 rating in the Adults 18-49 demographic, which caught many people by surprise.
Even more surprising was the 30-minute block when Rampage and SmackDown went head-to-head. Looking at that key demographic, AEW Rampage actually topped WWE SmackDown 328,000 viewers to 285,000, a 15% margin.
CM Punk has since responded to Sasha Banks’ tease that it would be “clobbering time” when WWE and AEW went head-to-head for 30 minutes. With AEW coming out on top, Punk agrees: “Indeed, it was.”
Booker T isn’t a fan of how Tony Khan is approaching the “ratings war.”
AEW went head-to-head with WWE for a half-hour this past Friday (Oct. 15). SmackDown was featured on FOX Sports 1 instead of the main FOX channel due to the MLB playoffs. WWE decided to run the show an extra half-hour, going one-on-one with the first half-hour of Rampage.
As expected, WWE won the overall viewer total. One huge positive for AEW, however, was that Rampage beat SmackDown in the 18-49 demo for that half-hour. Overall, both shows took in a 0.24 rating in the key demo.
While that’s impressive for a company that has only been around for two years, not everyone is happy with Tony Khan taking a victory lap about it on Twitter. Eric Bischoff has expressed his belief that Khan is losing focus.
Booker T Disagrees With Tony Khan’s Approach
Booker T is in agreement with Bischoff. During a new episode of his Hall of Fame podcast, the former five-time WCW Champion and former World Heavyweight Champion had the following to say on Khan’s social media posts.
“I’m of the sentiment that Tony Khan is doing a lot of talking about nothing. Go out and produce a good show. At the end of the day, we’ll know who won if that’s what we’re looking for, if that’s your goal post, if that’s where you’re trying to score in. But all of this talk about what you’re doing, this and that, back and forth, I swear man, it sounds like a little school girl saying how pretty she is over the other girls on the schoolyard.”
