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Impact Results 6/17: Don Callis Is Fired, Sami Callihan Reinstated

Chris Stephens
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Impact Wrestling from 6/17 featured an episode-long story of Anthem sending a representative to deliver a message regarding Sami Callihan’s firing from Against All Odds.

Impact Wrestling 6/17 Quick Results:

  1. TJP defeated Black Taurus
  2. Josh Alexander defeated Madman Fulton
  3. Steve Maclin defeated Jason Page
  4. Tenille Dashwood defeated Rachael Ellering
  5. Satoshi Kojima defeated Rhyno

Chris Sabin Returns To Confront Moose

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGKMgb51Tzw

After TJP defeated Black Taurus in the show’s first match, Moose attacked him from behind. Moose got on the microphone and berated Scott D’Amore for what happened to him at Against All Odds. Security came out to attempt to get Moose to leave but then Chris Sabin appeared out of nowhere and clocked Moose with a chair. Later, Sabin challenged Moose for a match at Slammiversary. The match was then made official.

Shera Takes Out The Entire X-Division

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RFQqeuBR-4

Josh Alexander defeated Madman Fulton this week. After the match, Austin attacked Alexander but this caused every member of the Ultimate X match at Slammiversary to come out for the save. Then Rohit Raju and Shera came out, however, and Shera took out everybody. By the end of the melee it was clear that Raju, Shera, Austin, and Fulton have reached some type of agreement. How their alliance will impact the Ultimate X match at Slammiversary is unclear.

Deonna Purrazzo Fires Kimber Lee & Susan

Knockouts Champion Deonna Purrazzo is done with Kimber Lee and Susan as her run-in buddies. She fired them in a backstage segment this week. This caused Susan to call her a “degenerate millennial” and a match between her and the KO champ was made for next week.

W. Morrissey Doesn’t Believe In Friends

W. Morrissey cut a backstage promo this week about how many people in Impact Wrestling are of the belief that they have friends. Morrissey doesn’t believe in friends. He noted that he is the only person that he can trust.

Steve Maclin Impresses In His Debut

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySp5CsbqxnQ

A very serious and angry looking Steve Maclin made his debut this week. He defeated Jason Page rather convincingly. D’Lo Brown noted on commentary that there is no wasted motion with Maclin, everything is very straight forward. He finished off Page with what look liked a reverse Michinoku Driver or Falcon Arrow type move.

Tenille Dashwood Picks Up Win Over Rachael Ellering

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHMhEE4PFQA

Rachael Ellering seemed like she could have used some help on the outside during this match. Her tag partner Jordynne Grace wasn’t at ringside. Ellering had things in control but when Kaleb Konley got involved on the outside to allow Dashwood to pick up the win with a crucifix pinning combination.

Fire N Flava Find Mickie James’ Gear In The Trash

Fire N Flava were causing problems in the back when Rosemary and Havok appeared. They tossed the tag champs into the trash where they discovered a bag with a label marked “Mickie James” on it.

Satoshi Kojima Defeats Rhyno

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-rcZtpdGtM

Kojima side-stepped the Gore and gave Rhino the Koji-Cutter to set up the finish of this match. Kojima then bounced off the ropes with a lariat and got the 3-count. Eric Young and Violent By Design were not happy on the outside as this means they will have to defend the tag belts next week against Edwards and Kojima.

Don Callis Is Fired, Sami Callihan Reinstated

All episode long fans were told that the Anthem board was sending a representative to the show to handle the Sami Callihan situation. That representative was revealed to be Tommy Dreamer in the night’s final segment. After teasing that he was going to fire D’Amore, Dreamer announced that Callis had been fired from the company. He also noted that Sami Callihan was reinstated and that Callihan’s match against Omega at Slammiversary will go ahead as planned.

Coming up in Impact Wrestling

Next Week:

  • Impact Tag Team Championships
    Violent By Design (Rhino & Deaner) (c) vs Eddie Edwards & Satoshi Kojima
  • Kiera Hogan vs Rosemary
  • Rohit Raju & Shera vs Petey Williams & Trey Miguel
  • Deonna Purrazzo vs Susan

Slammiversary:

  1. Impact World Championship
    Kenny Omega (c) vs Sami Callihan
  2. X-Division Championship
    Ultimate-X
    Josh Alexander (c) vs Rohit Raju vs Chris Bey vs Trey Miguel vs Ace Austin vs Petey Williams
  3. Moose vs Chris Sabin

News On Backstage Reaction To Aleister Black’s WWE Release

Anutosh Bajpai
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Many fans were not happy with WWE releasing Aleister Black. It appears that there are a lot of people within the company who feel the same and believe that he should be brought back to the promotion.

PWInsider had reported earlier this month that there were some people within the promotion who were already pushing for the former NXT champion’s return to the company following his release.

In an update to the story, the site notes that people going ‘all the way up to top WWE executives’ believe that Black’s release was a premature decision. There has been talk of AEW being interested in signing the former champion.

These rumors have sparked additional discussion within WWE. People are second-guessing about firing the former NXT star after spending time rebooting his character.

Aleister Black was released from his contract on June 2. His firing was especially surprising for people as Black had only made his return to WWE TV on the May 21 episode of SmackDown after a long hiatus.

We saw Samoa Joe, who was also released from his main roster contract, making his comeback recently. He signed a new deal with NXT and returned to the brand as the special enforcer on this week’s episode of the show.

It remains to be seen if the officials will make a similar decision with Aleister. Though these reports at least confirm that there is some talk of doing the same.

Tony Khan On Rivalry With WWE: “It’s True Competition”

Anutosh Bajpai
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Tony Khan believes All Elite Wrestling is a viable competitor to WWE. AEW’s CEO an head of creative appeared on the Moose and Maggie show this week to announce AEW’s first shows from New York and New Jersey this September.

In discussing AEW’s rivalry with WWE, Khan says it’s “intense” and he’s excited to offer fans an alternative wrestling product.

“It’s intense,” he said. “It is a competition. There is no way around it. It’s a true competition. I’m really excited about being a challenger brand and taking on a huge company. And I think for a long time fans were demanding an alternative, and AEW on TNT has given them that.”

Tony Khan also discussed winning the Wednesday night wars against NXT as the competing brand moved to Tuesday nights. He said that they were very successful head to head against other wrestling:

“We’ve really carved out a great fanbase, and Wednesday nights we’ve made a great tradition for ourselves. We had competition on Wednesday nights and we don’t anymore. I think we were very successful head to head against other wrestling on Wednesday nights, we’ve carved out that night for ourselves.”

Apart from this, Tony Khan talked about their announced second show in Rampage and more. Rampage premieres on TNT on Friday August 13.

WWE Working On New Sets For Raw And SmackDown

Anutosh Bajpai
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WWE is looking to make their return to the road as big as possible and it appears that their efforts include new sets for both of their premiere shows in Monday Night Raw and Friday Night SmackDown.

Lead WWE Production Designer Jason Robinson recently had an interview with Edward Douglas of Below The Line and he confirmed the recent rumors about new stage designs for both shows.

Robinson first talked about their return to touring. He confirmed that both Raw and SmackDown will have distinct sets, before discussing how they are going to integrate augmented reality into their plans:

“We’re headed forward, so we’re looking at new sets, new staging that we’re building. My next phone call is to the graphics department, talking about augmented reality and how AR is going to interface with our set,

And how we’re going to make some really cool graphics for set entrances as our superstars enter.”

The WWE employee also talked about the SummerSlam PPV taking place at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas this year. He mentioned that they have already started working on the roof designs for the show:

“It’s going to be our first SummerSlam in a stadium since Wembley, years and years ago [in 1992]. The next phone call after that, we’re going to talk about a roof structure that we’re going to put in at Allegiant Stadium.”

WWE will return to touring with the July 16 episode of SmackDown in Houston. The SummerSlam PPV will be taking place from the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on August 21.

Roman Reigns Comments On Potential SummerSlam Match With John Cena

Anutosh Bajpai
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0

John Cena is heavily rumored for a match against Roman Reigns at the SummerSlam PPV and the Tribal Chief is not shying away from this bout.

The Universal Champion recently appeared on ACC Network where he talked about things such as how the Thunderdome shows have allowed performers to showcase some different skills and more.

When asked about the rumors of a rematch with the Cenation Leader at the upcoming WWE PPV, Reigns said that if John Cena wants to ‘get smashed’ then he knows where to find the Big Dog:

“If John wants to get smashed, then he knows where I’m at, when it comes to whooping people’s ass, I do not discriminate. Luchadores, mat wrestlers, legends, Hollywood superstars, anybody. Anybody can get it.”

The 16-time world champion has admitted that he misses WWE in previous interviews and he more or less confirmed his return during a recent talk.

This isn’t the first instance of Roman Reigns taking a shot at the former world champion either. He recently advised his opponent to stay away from WWE and “keep pumping out these streaming service movies.”

All signs seem to be pointing towards a match between these two being in the works. The only question is how long it will take before it’s officially confirmed.

Kenny Omega vs Sami Callihan Set For Impact Slammiversary

Anutosh Bajpai
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0

Impact Wrestling has officially confirmed the main event for their upcoming Slammiversary PPV, announcing that Sami Callihan will challenge Kenny Omega for the title at the show.

Last week’s episode of their weekly show saw Scott D’Amore announcing that the winner of the match between Omega and Moose at the Against All Odds event will face Callihan at their next PPV.

However, Callihan didn’t wait until Slammiversary. He showed up at Daily’s Place this past Saturday after the world title match to confront his future opponent.

Unhappy with his move and concerned about Omega and The Young Bucks, Impact EVP Don Callis had rushed to the ring before Callihan could do anything and he fired the Impact Wrestling star from the company.

This week’s episode of Impact then saw Tommy Dreamer who was representing Anthem Sports & Entertainment; reinstate the former world champion’s job.

Dreamer also informed Callis that his job as the Executive Vice President of the company was being terminated. Don Callis has already finished his stint as an Impact executive and he has only been working as an on-screen personality for the company.

Updated Slammiversary Match Card

After the latest announcements, here is the updated match card for Impact Wrestling’s Slammiversary PPV, taking place on Saturday, July 17:

  • Impact World Championship Match: Kenny Omega vs. Sami Callihan
  • X Division Championship Ultimate X Match: Josh Alexander vs. Trey Miguel vs. Ace Austin vs. Chris Bey vs. Rohit Raju vs. Petey Williams
  • Singles Match: Moose vs. Chris Sabin

Roman Reigns vs. Rey Mysterio Hell In A Cell Match Moved To Friday’s SmackDown

Anutosh Bajpai
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The Universal Championship Hell In A Cell match between the current champion Roman Reigns and his challenger Rey Mysterio has been moved to this Friday’s episode of SmackDown.

The master of 619 took on his Twitter today and said that he couldn’t wait until Sunday: “It’s eating me up inside. I can’t wait any longer. I want the Hell In A Cell match tomorrow night. @WWERomanReigns @HeymanHustle”

The tribal chief responded to this tweet from Mysterio. Accepting his challenge Reigns wrote:  “Sunday. Friday. Any day.   Makes no difference to me. It’ll be my pleasure to disgrace what’s left of your family name tomorrow night inside Hell in a Cell! My Special Counsel @HeymanHustle will handle the paperwork. I’ll PERSONALLY handle the warfare!”

There is no word yet on why this match was moved from the PPV on Sunday to Friday’s show. This change leaves Sunday’s PPV with only one confirmed cell match between Bobby Lashley and Drew McIntyre for the WWE championship.

Updated SmackDown Preview

After the announcement, here is the updated line up for this Friday’s SmackDown:

  • Universal Championship Hell In A Cell Match: Roman Reigns vs. Rey Mysterio
  • Singles Match: Baron Corbin vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, Corbin’s crown will be on the line
  • Singles Match: Otis vs. Angelo Dawkins
  • Tag Team Match: Apollo Crews & Commander Azeez vs. Kevin Owens & Big E

Mickie James Compares Her WWE Releases From 2010 and 2021

Chris Stephens
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Mickie James will be the executive producer of the NWA’s all-women’s PPV this summer. James was recently interviewed by Chris Van Vliet and spoke about the show as well as her releases from WWE in both 2010 and 2021.

James made headlines shortly after her release this spring when she posted to social media that WWE had sent her items to her in a trash bag. As it turns out, WWE did the same thing to her when they released her in 2010 as well.

“This is the crazy thing, I posted that picture to kind of go yeah this still a thing. We have put up with so much crap in wrestling that we had become desensitized. We live in our own world and I forgot that the trash bag was offensive,” James said. “There was more to that too. I rewound back to the 2010 Mickie James, where I was mentally then when it happened the first time. It was like a stab in the heart to an open wound.”

The trash bag incident had major ramification in WWE. Longtime executive with WWE, Mark Carrano, was released from the company as a result. The entire department was shaken up not long after, with John Laurinaitis now taking on a major role.

James continued to say talk about how receiving her items in a trash bag impacted her.

“I took it then as they think I am trash,” she continued. “I was with the company for 4 years, and they think I am trash. All these thoughts were running though my head. If you are already broken, they can be devastating. I am thinking about all of that and all the people who also got released beside me. I see my name on the bag and it defines which bag is in which box. I’m thinking about the girls and they wouldn’t say anything, because you don’t want to mess up an opportunity for the future. But this Mickie James don’t give a sh*t. I am super grateful for my career and my ability; I couldn’t do it without WWE.”

Since her release, James has appeared on NWA programming. She announced that she would be the executive producer of the company’s all-women’s PPV in St. Louis this summer.

James also spoke about how she’s glad future released talent won’t receive the same treatment.

“But I am grateful that no one else will get that. This recent set of releases are getting theirs in Gucci [laughs].”

The full interview with Mickie James can be viewed in the player below:

MJF Now Has His Own Cryptocurrency: $MJF Coin

Chris Stephens
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AEW star Maxwell Jacob Friedman is the first pro wrestler to have his own cryptocurrency. MJF Coin ($MJF) is now live on the Rally platform.

You can purchase $MJF coin here at Rally.io.

“My crypto coin is better than yours and you know it. Check Twitter for random giveaways for whoever is holding the most $MJF,” reads a description for the currency.

Early investors in $MJF coin are making big returns. The cryptocurrency opened at $2.262 per coin. As of this writing, it’s trading at over $9.

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E4Gyy0aXMAQT8T7

The Rally platform allows celebrities and influencers to launch their own online currency. The idea is that celebrities can accept their own currency in exchange for exclusive content, as well as physical and digital products.

“Rally offers anyone with an online community the ability to launch their own coin without the complexity of coding on the ethereum blockchain. Rally is a decentralized platform completely governed by the community. This means that creators and their communities have unfettered control to use their social tokens across all social platforms.”

Impact Announces The Return Of Ultimate X At Slammiversary

Chris Stephens
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Impact Wrestling has announced that Josh Alexander will defend the X-Division Championship at Slammiversary next month in an Ultimate X match. Impact announced today that he’ll face Trey Miguel, Ace Austin, Chris Bey, Rohit Raju and Petey Williams on July 17th.

Alexander recently successfully defended the title against TJP in a well-reviewed 1-hour Ironman match.

Sami Callihan is also scheduled to face Kenny Omega for the Impact World Championship at Slammiversary. Callihan was then fired from Impact by Don Callis at Against All Odds. Callihan had attacked Omega after the conclusion to his match against Moose in that night’s main event.

Previous Ultimate X Winners

This will be the 44th Ultimate X match in history. It dates back to 2003 when Michael Shane beat Kazarian and Chris Sabin in the first match. Since then, Sabin has gone on to win more Ultimate X matches than anyone else with 8.

Winningest Ultimate X match participants:

  1. Chris Sabin (8 victories, 17 appearances)
  2. Christopher Daniels/1st Suicide (5 victories, 8 appearances)
  3. Alex Shelley (4 victories, 7 appearances)
  4. Frankie Kazarian (3 victories, 8 appearances)
  5. Doug Williams (2 victories, 2 appearances)
  6. Eddie Edwards (2 victories, 2 appearances)
  7. Michael Shane (2 victories, 5 appearances)
  8. Petey Williams (2 victories, 5 appearances)
  9. AJ Styles (2 victories, 5 appearances)

WWE Hall Of Famer Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake Dealing With Health Issues

Anutosh Bajpai
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WWE Hall Of Famer Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake is dealing with some health issues and his wife is asking for fans to pray for the wrestling veteran.

The wife of the former WWE star Missy Leslie recently noted on Facebook that the 64-year-old has a blood pressure reading of 170/110. He is also feeling shortness of breath and a headache.

Brutus Beefcake was taken to see a doctor on Wednesday morning but there is no further update available on the former WCW star’s health as of this writing.

The former wrestler started his career in the industry in 1977 and wrestled regularly until 2000. He continued making sporadic wrestling appearances even after this until 2015.

Beefcake is best known for his run with the World Wrestling Federation from 1984 to 1993. His original gimmick in the company was of a male stripper. He started teaming with Greg “The Hammer” Valentine in 1985 and the duo became known as The Dream Team.

After the end of his tenure with WWF, the wrestling legend also had a couple of stints with WCW from 1994 to 1996 and 1998 to 1999. He was inducted into the WWE Hall Of Fame by Hulk Hogan in 2019.

Ricochet On Why He Has Started Wrestling In Jeans

Anutosh Bajpai
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Ricochet has made some interesting changes to his gear recently. The One and Only has ditched his wrestling trunks in favor of a pair of jeans.

The former NXT star talked about a number of things during his recent interview on Table Talk and explained the reasoning behind the change in his ring gear.

Ricochet mentioned how the tradition in Japan calls for young wrestlers to start with black trunks and work their way up to a gear. This change helps him get in a mental state to fight:

“I just stripped away all the….not flash, I don’t want to say flash. I just set a goal. In Japan, all the new kids start with black boots and black trunks. You have to work your way up to get gear.

It’s a mental thing. In the ring, I’m more direct and will come at you straight.” said Ricochet, “I’m more in a mental state of; I’m in the ring for business. I’m here to fight,”

The former NXT North American champion also talked about a potential match with Sheamus. He wondered if the company will let the US champion compete at the upcoming PPV after his recent gruesome injury.

A match between Ricochet and Sheamus has not been announced for the upcoming Hell In A Cell PPV as of this writing but the company could add the bout before the show this Sunday.

Virgil Sends Message To Million Dollar Champion LA Knight

Chris Stephens
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LA Knight defeated Cameron Grimes to become the new Million Dollar Champion at TakeOver: In Your House. According to former champion Virgil (aka Soul Train Jones, aka Vincent), Knight is just the latest holder of the title to rip off something of his.

“First Stone Cold steals my haircut now this dude? Is it just me or am I seeing this guy rip off my exact pose when I legitimized this title? May have to show up this week and put my foot in yo ass,” Virgil wrote on Instagram.

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

Million Dollar Championship History

Virgil defeated Ted Dibiase for the Million Dollar title at SummerSlam 91. He’d drop it back to Dibiase that November. Dibiase then abandoned the title after winning the tag belts along with IRS. He brought the title back in 1995 when he began managing Steve Austin as “The Ringmaster.” The title was then deactivated when Dibiase left for WCW the following year. It would be brought back briefly again in 2010 when Ted Dibiase Jr. held the belt.

LA Knight Comments On Match With Cameron Grimes

Knight was interviewed recently by PW Insider and spoke about his match with Grimes at In Your House.

“Well, hell, at this point, I think we’re both just trying to get our bodies in one piece after last night,” LA Knight said. “He took a hell of a spill at the end. And then, I took a couple of nasty spills in there. And I know if he’s feeling anything like I’m feeling today, we’re both feeling like complete crap. And at this point, it’s just take it a day at a time, and look, tomorrow’s another episode of NXT on USA. So, who knows what could happen if he shows up, if he doesn’t. Maybe he decides to take a little time off. Nobody knows, but I guess in the coming weeks, we’ll find out.”

Jim Ross Calls The Curtain Call “Selfish”

Chris Stephens
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Jim Ross and Conrad Thompson recently discussed the 1996 King of the Ring tournament on “Grillin JR.” The tournament was won by Steve Austin that year but the original plan had been for Hunter Hearst Helmsley to come out on top. The result is said to have been changed after Triple H took part in the Curtain Call at Madison Square Garden.

JR and Conrad discussed the infamous curtain call on the podcast.

“Everybody looks at things differently. I thought it was a lack of institutional control quite frankly,” said JR. “The guys shouldn’t have done it, in my view. But they loved each other so much, they had to say goodbye, it was the Garden, it was bulls**t. That’s what it was.”

JR continued to say that the Kliq wanted to show their defiance through their actions at Madison Square Garden that night.

“They’re so indebted to each other, they are such great friends, I wonder how often they talk now? So my point is, was it really that big of a deal? Or was it just for them to show their deviance? That they could do what they wanted, when they wanted, because of who (they) were. And you got to blame Vince for a lot of that because he let a lot of that s**t slip by.”

JR continued to say that Vince was possibly too talent-friendly at the time. This may have been because the company was losing talent to WCW during this period.

“That’s what they wanted to do and Vince was going to support those guys. Sometimes bookers, owners, whatever, can be too gracious in their quest to be talent friendly. I thought that was an example of that.”

Finally, JR said that he felt the curtain call was selfish and other wrestlers at the time felt similarly.

“I thought that thing in the Garden was kind of selfish. We’re going to defy tradition, we’re going to turn our back on kayfabe in this world’s most famous arena because we want to and we can and a lot of the other guys that I heard from were not happy about it.”

Katie Hebner Training Under Cody Rhodes, Hopes To Wrestle For AEW

Michael Reichlin
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Earl Hebner is one of the most famous referees in pro wrestling history. His son Brian followed in his footsteps and currently works as a referee for Impact Wrestling. His daughter, Katie Hebner, is also looking to step into the ring. However, instead of officiating, she wants to wrestle.

During an interview with Pro Wrestling Junkies, Hebner commented on his daughter’s wrestling training. “I wanted my son in the business, I don’t want my daughter in the business,” Hebner joked. “She’s at AEW training with Cody and Cody is giving her so much help, it’s unreal. Hopefully, she can be the next Gail Kim.”

Back in April, Katie Hebner posted a message on Facebook talking about her experience training with Cody Rhodes and her desire to work for AEW.

She said Cody is, “first and foremost is a wrestler but more importantly the VP of AEW, the company that I had my eyes set on.”

AEW has no shortage of second generation wrestlers on their roster, including Cody and Dustin Rhodes, the Gunn Clubb (sons of Billy Gunn), Hook (son of Taz) and Brock Anderson (son of Arn).

Check out this video to see Katie Hebner in action (from last year):

Britt Baker Says Fans Have Made Her One Of AEW’s Top Stars

Chris Stephens
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New AEW Women’s Champion Britt Baker was recently interviewed by the NY Daily News. During the interview, Baker noted that she sees herself as one of the top stars in AEW.

“I don’t see myself as a woman anymore. I see myself as an AEW superstar,” Baker said.

“Maybe it’s not a humble statement, but I see myself as one of the top stars in the company and that’s not just because of my talent. It’s how I’ve been booked and how the fans have reacted.”

Baker has been involved in several high-profile matches and angles AEW. Her rivalry with Thunder Rosa led to a “Lights Out” match between the two headlining an episode of Dynamite. Baker says that if fans hadn’t responded positively to the angle, the main event match would not have been booked.

“The fans write the show. They dictate what happens next,” Baker continued.

“That feud with me and Thunder Rosa could have gone two months if the fans didn’t like it. But they loved it so they ended up getting a main-event, lights-out match that was arguably one of the best matches of the year.”

AEW announced yesterday plans for a show from Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York. The tennis venue will likely provide a unique environment for a wrestling show. Baker continued to say fans are excited to get out of their houses and be there with them in person.

“The fans are on board for everything because they just want to get out of their house and stop watching wrestling on TV,” Baker continued.

“They want to be there with us and we’re going to ride that wave for a little bit.”

Stephanie McMahon Says WWE Has Surprises Planned For SummerSlam

Jake Skudder
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WWE’s Chief Brand Officer Stephanie McMahon confirmed that there will be some surprises at SummerSlam this year. Speaking to Yahoo Finance, McMahon also said that there are currently no plans for her to back into the ring herself anytime in the near future.

“Ever since Ronda Rousey broke my arm, I have a little PTSD” Stephanie McMahon stated in-character, remembering her WrestleMania 34 match with Kurt Angle, Triple H and Ronda Rousey.

“I’m not sure you’re going to see me in the ring anytime soon; but I guarantee for SummerSlam, there is going to be a lot of surprises” McMahon confirmed.

Stephanie McMahon on SummerSlam Surprises

It’s not clear exactly what the surprises may entail, but we do have some indication as to what WWE is planning.

It was reported in the last few months that Cardi B is being considered as the ‘host’ of SummerSlam. This hasn’t been officially confirmed by the company, but there were multiple sources including the Mat Men podcast who stated that WWE are working hard to get her on board.

The other potential surprise would arguably be John Cena returning to WWE, although this would be announced prior, so it’s difficult to see this as a ‘surprise’ of sorts. Cena would be returning for a match against Roman Reigns, which has been heavily touted over the past few weeks.

What surprises would you like to see at WWE SummerSlam 2021? Let us know in the comments

Roman Reigns Tells John Cena and The Rock To ‘Stay Away’ from WWE

Jake Skudder
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Universal Champion Roman Reigns recently made some incendiary in-character comments towards two of WWE’s biggest names of the past, The Rock and John Cena. Speaking to ESPN’s SportsNation, the ‘Big Dog’ would warn the former WWE Champions to stay away from the company and his Championship.

Yeah, that [a match with The Rock] is a dream for a lot of our fans, but it ain’t a dream of his, you know what I mean?” Roman Reigns would begin. “I get a lot of this with both Dwayne and John. These guys are doing very well for themselves, there’s no question about it.”

“If I were these guys, I don’t know if I’d wanna come back and deal with me” Roman noted. “I am a problem right now for everybody. If I were them, I’d stay on set and keep pumping out these streaming service movies.”

Reigns vs Cena

It’s currently being rumored that WWE are looking to bring back John Cena for a match at SummerSlam. With the company wanting to make this year’s Summer event the ‘WrestleMania of 2021,’ the plan is reportedly to get Cena in the ring with Roman Reigns for the Universal Championship.

Roman is defending this weekend against Rey Mysterio, however the plan for Cena vs Reigns is likely to go ahead if John Cena is available. The match is probably the biggest box office draw that the company could put together right now, arguably with Rock vs Reigns being the only other match that could fill out a major stadium.

John Cena’s Vacation Friends Lands On Hulu August 27th

Michael Reichlin
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John Cena is currently doing the media rounds to promote F9 (Fast and Furious 9), in theaters June 25th. Later this summer, the 16-time world champion has another movie coming out that will showcase his comedic chops.

Cena will will star in Vacation Friends, directed by Clay Tarver and written by John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein. The cast also includes Lil Rel Howery, Yvonne Orji and Meredith Hagner.

The synopsis reads, “Vacation Friends will follow the story of a straight-laced couple that has fun with a rowdy couple on vacation in Mexico. When they return to the States, they discover that the crazy couple they met in Mexico followed them back home.”

Vacation Friends premieres Friday, August 27th on the Hulu streaming service.

John Cena in Vacation Friends

Cena hyped the movie on social media this week. He wrote, “A fun movie guaranteed to leave some … lasting memories. Come on vacation with Lil Rel Howery, Yvonne Orji, Meredith Hagner and me in #VacationFriends, streaming August 27 on @Hulu!”

John Cena has had a busy year in the entertainment world. In addition to F9 and Vacation Friends, he hosts the Wipeout game show on TBS and The Suicide Squad, premiering August 6th (in theaters and on HBO Max).

https://www.instagram.com/p/CQM6Iakg5fs/

Vince McMahon, Triple H & Stephanie Named In Lawsuit Against WWE Over Saudi TV Deal

Anutosh Bajpai
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Top WWE officials including Vince McMahon, Stephanie McMahon, Triple H, and others have been named in a new lawsuit filed against the company for allegedly selling shares at inflated prices. The lawsuit claims that the company executives sold more than $300 million worth of stock while keeping the public in the dark about the collapse of their broadcasting deal in the Middle East.

McMahon and others are accused of telling investors that the promotion was set to renew their broadcasting agreement with Orbit Showcase Network in Riyadh.

OSN shut down all their sports channels back in March 2019 and left sports broadcasting. The lawsuit alleges that the company knew about this change and they also misled investors about the chances of finding a replacement deal once the network was out.

Vince McMahon sold a total of 3.5 million shares worth more than $280 million and other exes sold stock worth more than $30 million allegedly based on “non-public information regarding the company’s key contracts, business metrics, and financial prospects” in the middle eastern region.

The complaint mentions that WWE’s stock prices fell down from $62 to $44.50 a share when the truth about the company’s ‘rapidly deteriorating’ business in the Middle East emerged.

The plaintiff is seeking ‘punitive and actual damages, costs, and fees’ in this lawsuit filed against the top company officials. The cause of action is listed as “breach of fiduciary duty; unjust enrichment; aiding and abetting.”

This isn’t the first instance of the company being sued over their dealings in the country. They previously settled a lawsuit for $39 million regarding their relationship with Saudi Arabia in November 2020.

You can check out the new lawsuit here.

Drew McIntyre On Nixed Gimmick Planned For His WWE Debut

Anutosh Bajpai
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Drew McIntyre originally made his debut with ‘The Chosen One’ character in WWE but the gimmick that was pitched before that was very different.

The former WWE champion recently had an interview with Ryan Satin on the Out of Character podcast where he talked about a number of different things.

During the interview, Drew revealed that the company wanted him to play the role of a male model when he was originally brought to the main roster:

“When I was about to come out of FCW, I remember the character, and some people have heard of this but many haven’t,

But my character pitch was gonna be The Runway Man where I was gonna be a male model. I think this is what became of Fandango eventually.”

McIntyre thankfully didn’t debut as a male model on WWE. Explaining how the plans changed, Drew McIntyre mentioned that he had a sit down with Vince McMahon who decided to let him be himself:

“I was getting ready to be a male model and then I went to TV, I had my sit down with Vince, and I made it clear that I didn’t love it but I’ll make it work.

Whatever he thinks is best but thankfully he did not feel it was best and just kinda let me be myself.”

Vince McMahon cut a promo about the Scottish star a month after his WWE debut in August 2009. He claimed that he had personally signed Drew McIntyre, marking the beginning of his chosen one character.

Evil Uno Thought Dark Order Was Done After Infamous Segment

Anutosh Bajpai
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The Dark Order had to go through some tough times before they became one of the most beloved stables in wrestling. There were times when they had to face harsh criticism from fans for some spots. Evil Uno recently talked about one such moment which he thought would be the end of the faction.

The AEW star was talking about the infamous segment where The Dark Order beat up The Elite and SCU to end an episode of Dynamite back in December 2019. Not only did the segment didn’t go over with the fans but it later got criticized for a very bad botch. Videos of a creeper delivering punches to Dustin Rhodes went viral where the unnamed wrestler was seen throwing punches that didn’t even come close to connecting to the wrestling veteran.

Evil Uno and Stu Grayson both recently appeared on the latest episode of Talk Is Jericho where they talked about this segment and revealed their reaction to it. Uno admitted that they thought the group would be done after that. However this didn’t turn out to be the case and the Dark Order member gave credit to Tony Khan for coming up with the idea to revive the faction:

“We thought we were done after that to be honest, I mean, even on the lead up, we were a little nervous because originally, that wasn’t what was planned. We didn’t know we were going to end the last Dynamite of the year on this big beat down on all the faces

We thought we were done because we were supposed to have a follow up to that, which was on the first show of January, and they had cut us entirely from it, and then they cut us from the next couple of weeks too. We’ve had a lot of uncertainty throughout the year of AEW, and that was one of those moments where I was like, well, we’re done. I don’t think we can come back, but to Tony’s credit, he thought of The Exalted One hook right away.”

Thankfully for the Dark Order, Brodie Lee was revealed as the leader of the group in March 2020. The former WWE star helped them in becoming a fan favorite and took the group to new heights before his unfortunate passing in December 2020. Since then, Lee’s son dubbed as Negative 1 has been named their new leader.

Vanessa Borne On Nixed Plans For Her Main Roster Debut

Anutosh Bajpai
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Former NXT star Vanessa Borne recently had an interview with PWInsider where she revealed how she came close to making her main roster debut multiple times but the plans never materialized.

The former WWE star first discussed how Paul Heyman had shown interest in her during his time as the in charge of Raw. She had been backstage for multiple Raw and SmackDown episodes in early 2020 but never used.

Borne then moved back to Arizona and stayed there through the COVID-19 pandemic. WWE brought her back with the idea for a stable when the restrictions eased up but these plans were also nixed:

“When COVID calmed down, they brought me back with Chelsea [Green] and Santana [Garrett], and told us we were going to be in a trio, which I was super excited about. Any time you’re working with others that closely, it’s fun. Being able to bounce ideas off each other and everyone thinks differently.

We were excited and we all got main roster contracts, which was exciting.” said Vanessa Borne, “Things just never worked out and the idea got scratched. I feel like that happens a lot.”

This wasn’t the last time the company discussed a main roster run for the female star. She revealed that there were also plans for her to be part of the Retribution stable but she was dropped when she asked too many questions.

Vanessa Borne was originally signed by WWE back in April 2016 and she had a run in NXT. The female star unfortunately never made it to the main roster despite coming close to it so many times. She was finally released from her contract as part of budget cuts last month in May.

Rosemary On Which Released WWE Stars She Wants To See In Impact

Anutosh Bajpai
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There has been a lot of discussion on the future of the recently released WWE stars and which companies they should join next. Impact star Rosemary recently revealed her picks for the stars she wants to see in their promotion.

Impact Wrestling has been teasing the signing of at least one of the released WWE stars from the latest wave of budget cuts and there has been some speculation on who it could be.

While appearing on The Angle Podcast, Rosemary named The IIconics and former Knockouts champion Laurel Van Ness as stars she would like to see in Impact:

“The IIconics in particular tingles in the back of our minds with the reformed Knockouts Tag Team Championships, bringing in a seasoned tag team and one that’s quite clever and unexpectedly successful. So their addition to the Knockout’s division would be very intriguing indeed.

You called her Chelsea Green, but she’s our Laurel Van Ness” said Rosemary, “And we do have unfinished business with her so to have her return to the IMPACT realm would be something sweet indeed.”

The debate of whether or not WWE should hold another all-women’s PPV after Evolution in 2018 has picked up in recent times and Triple H’s comments have added a spark to this discussion.

Rosemary talked about how Impact used to do their own version of an all-female show called Knockouts Knockdown and hoped that it will return in future.

WWE Superstars Pushing For Another King Of The Ring Tournament

Anutosh Bajpai
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WWE brought back the King Of Ring tournament in 2019, which was won by Baron Corbin. Now a recent exchange between King Corbin, Xavier Woods, and Adam Pearce has fans wondering if the royal competition will be revived again in the near future.

The Lone Wolf is set to defend his crown against Shinsuke Nakamura on this week’s SmackDown. Corbin appeared on the latest episode of The Bump to discuss the challenge. Host Kayla Braxton mentioned the fact that Xavier Woods has repeatedly expressed his desire to become King of the Ring. Corbin was asked if he’s feeling the ‘heat’ as WWE’s reigning king.

Corbin says everybody has their eye on his crown, which he believes is on par with WWE’s championship titles. He appreciates Xavier Woods’ interest and would love the chance to for wanting to earn an opportunity at the crown. He welcomes the opportunity to defeat Woods in hypothetical KOTR tournament.

With live events returning in just a matter of weeks, WrestleVotes says there has been talk of WWE holding ‘theme events’ such as King of the Ring, Old School nights, etc. on these non-televised shows to encourage fan interest.

King of the Ring Returning?

Corbin’s comments on The Bump elicited responses from Woods and WWE official Adam Pearce. The former NWA Champion says he’s had many conversations with Corbin about the possibility of holding another tournament.

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