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
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 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!”
A fun movie guaranteed to leave some … lasting memories ?.
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).
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
"At least @AustinCreedWins wants to earn an opportunity to wear the #KOTR crown. The tournament is what's necessary to wear that crown. I would love to face him in that tournament." – @BaronCorbinWWE
With live events returning in just a matter of weeks, WrestleVotessays 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.
Since I couldn’t get my logical match against reckoning it would be greeeaaaatttttt if we could get this one right. GIVE ME A #KOTR TOURNAMENT. please and thank you sir.
Rampage will be the fourth weekly show in AEW’s repertoire. With an already packed production schedule, the company will have to make some major adjustments to make sure things run smoothly. Tony Khan recently explained how they are planning to ensure that this expansion is seamless.
The AEW president recently had an interview with PWInsider. He talked about a number of things and went into details of what changes the company is planning to make and how Rampage will fit into their plans. Khan first revealed that Rampage will not be live every week. They will instead choose between a taped show some weeks and live special on some specific markets:
“With Rampage, there’s going to be some weeks Rampage will be live and there’ll be weeks where we plan to tape Rampage after Dynamite, including here at Arthur Ashe Stadium [in NYC], where we will be filming also after. We’ll do Dynamite live and we’ll also film Rampage. And in some of the markets where we have these amazing crowds, I think it’s okay.”
Though Tony Khan confirmed that the premiere episode of their new show will be airing live and future Rampage episodes will also serve as the go-home shows for their PPVs. Regarding their non televised shows in Dark and Dark: Elevation, the AEW official revealed that they will tape Elevation before Dynamite and find a new venue for Dark:
“Before Dynamite, we used to tape Dark. That’s going to change. I’m going to tape Elevation before Dynamite now,” Khan said. “So it’s going to be a shorter Elevation and I may add matches that I’ll explain where I’ll add them from. I’m going to procure a venue for use to tape Dark and other content that’ll be great. And I’m really looking forward to this”
Tony Khan also explained that Dark will continue being their developmental show. AEW announced their expansion plans earlier this year, confirming that they will be launching their second TV show Rampage on August 13. The company confirmed that both their premiere shows will be moving to TBS in 2022.
The betting odds for most of the matches that will take place at the WWE Hell in a Cell pay-per-view event have been released.
The card for the show that takes place this Sunday (June 20, 2021) from Tampa, Florida at Yuengling Center is close to being finalized as only six matches have been announced with WWE expected to likely confirm a pre-show contest and perhaps more matches on SmackDown this Friday.
Roman Reigns is a major favorite to retain the Universal Title over Rey Mysterio while Bobby Lashley is favored to retain his WWE Title in the Hell in a Cell match against Drew McIntyre. Should McIntyre lose this match, he can’t challenge for the title again as long as Lashley is champion.
There are no titles favored to change hands. The favorites to win are listed as – while the underdogs are listed with +. Odds call for all three titles to change. Here are the betting odds:
WWE Champion Bobby Lashley -350 vs. Drew McIntyre +225 – Hell in a Cell Match (if Drew loses, he can’t challenge Lashley for the title again)
WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns -3000 vs. Rey Mysterio +850
WWE Raw Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley -400 vs. Charlotte Flair +250
WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion Bianca Belair -2500 vs. Bayley +750
After years of hard work and rebuilding himself from the bottom following his WWE release, Drew McIntyre finally got his opportunity last year. The Scottish Psychopath got a chance to challenge for the WWE championship after winning the 2020 Royal Rumble. He then defeated Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 36 and went on to have an impressive run with the world title.
However, the former champion has continued his involvement with the title even after dropping the belt to Bobby Lashley earlier this year. His continuous presence in the title picture has started attracting some criticism from fans and McIntyre himself recently addressed the fan backlash.
Drew recently had an interview with Ryan Satin of Fox Sports. Discussing the recent negative reaction to his involvement in the world title scene, the former champion said that he doesn’t think anyone questions the work he puts in. The fans instead are just looking for some fresh stories:
“I understand some fans may be like, ‘Ugh, I’d like a new fresh face in the picture,’ I have been fighting for the title, or been champion, for over a year now – which is a pretty significant time – but I don’t think anyone is saying, ‘Oh my goodness, Drew’s not working as hard as he can to give us the best matches possible and do the best he can with every interview possible.’ I think it’s more, ‘I would like to see something different here and see Drew do something different over here.’”
Apart from this, the former NXT champion talked about things such as his incredible title reign, his feud with Randy Orton, and more. Drew McIntyre will get a final opportunity to challenge Bobby Lashley for the WWE championship at Hell In A Cell this Sunday. If he loses the bout, he will not be able to challenge for the title as long as the All-Mighty is holding the belt.
All Elite Wrestling is set to invade New York City for a very special edition of AEW Dynamite this September
AEW Grand Slam will take place Wednesday, September 22nd from the famed Arthur Ashe Stadium in Queens, NY. The venue hosts the annual US Open tennis grand slam tournament and accommodates nearly 24,000 people for tennis matches.
The venue opened in 1997 and features a lightweight retractable roof. It should provide a rather unique venue for professional wrestling.
Tickets start at just $25 and will go on sale July 16th.
AEW sent in a press release for the event, including these comments from AEW CEO, GM and Head of Create, Tony Khan:
“We wanted our first show in New York City to be extraordinary and epic in scale, and there’s no better venue to bring out the best in our talent and creativity than the iconic USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. We love the concept of wrestling in a non-traditional venue and placing our AEW ring on center court in the awe-inspiring Arthur Ashe Stadium. I can’t wait for fans to experience our live AEW DYNAMITE: GRAND SLAM show in one of the coolest venues on the planet.”
Tony Khan & Chris Jericho Comment
AEW President Tony Khan was quoted by NY Daily News about the event.
“No city is more synonymous with wrestling than New York City,” Khan said. “AEW is a new company and our company is in the business of both embracing tradition and trailblazing, trying to start new traditions and new history.”
Chris Jericho was also quoted.
“It’s a real cool end to the chapter of our lives that we all want to move on from,” Jericho said.
“We’ll be vindicated as the coolest wrestling company in the world today. What fans can expect is what we’ve been doing, just at a higher intensity level and a higher energy level because of the people in the crowd giving us more inspiration and more energy and more reward for what we’re doing.”
More Reactions from AEW Stars
The greatest arena in the world, The Nassau Coliseum, is literally a 30 minute drive away.
After operating with minimal staff for more than a year, WWE is looking to refill its roster before its return to the road and they have been hiring a lot of people to fill key backstage positions.
According to the site, the company has brought back longtime WWE employee John D’Amico. He has taken back his previous role of director and production manager for live events.
D’Amico originally started with WWE back in 1989. He had been with the company for over 31 years before being released back in September 2020. Following a ten-month hiatus, he is now back with the promotion.
Wrestling personality George Carroll has also been hired by the company. Carroll who has previously worked in various roles for NJPW in United States and MLW has joined the NXT writing team.
WWE announced their return to touring last month. The company confirmed that they will be holding a 25 city tour starting with the July 16 episode of SmackDown from Houston.
A number of big names are expected to make their return to the company for these shows. Among the talents rumored to make their return include big names such as John Cena and Brock Lesnar.
United States Champion Sheamus appears to have been one of the victims of the recent Thunderdome theft. He lost an item that was an integral part of his entrance gear for a long time.
The University of South Florida Police Department had made a tweet earlier this month asking people to help identify the suspect who was caught on video while stealing some items from Thunderdome.
Sheamus recently replied to that post from the police. He revealed that his Celtic Cross pendant was one of the items taken by the unidentified man:
“A lovely fella stole my cross (on camera below). I’d appreciate it if you internet sleuths could track it down & return it via details below.. ringside seats reward when we return to your town & many beers”
..a lovely fella stole my cross (on camera below). I’d appreciate it if you internet sleuths could track it down & return it via details below.. ringside seats reward when we return to your town & many beers ? https://t.co/FtwS4fJqBWpic.twitter.com/Q47dSZMZFA
Based on the released photos from the police department, fans speculate that the thief also managed to get away with an original championship belt from the company, possibly one of the Raw tag team title belts.
The incident originally took place on May 22. It came to light earlier this month when the police department posted photos of the suspect. They noted that the person removed several items “belonging to WWE” from the premises.
ACH (Albert Christian Hardie Jr.) has announced his retirement from pro wrestling.
In a message posted on social media, ACH wrote, “No need for the dramatic or emotional word play. As of today I will officially step away from professional wrestling. Thank you all for the support and love.”
ACH has been wrestling since 2007. He competed for various organizations, including Ring of Honor, NJPW, Chikara, CZW, Dragon Gate, Impact, MLW, PWG and more. He wrestled in WWE and NXT as Jordan Myles (2019).
We wish ACH the best of luck in whatever he decides to pursue next.
NJPW has announced that Wrestle Grand Slam will now take place on July 25th from the Tokyo Dome. The event had originally been scheduled for May 29th. It was postponed following a COVID outbreak amongst members of the roster, however.
The main event for the show will feature Shingo Takagi defending his newly won IWGP World Heavyweight Championship against the former champion Kota Ibushi. The original main event of Wrestle Grand Slam on May 29th had been Will Ospreay defending the title against Kazuchika Okada. Ospreay then vacated the title due to injury and Takagi faced Okada for the title at Dominion earlier this month.
NJPW also announced that they were unable to reschedule the planned Wrestle Grand Slam event in Yokohama. That event had originally been scheduled for May 15th.
“Alternate dates for Wrestle Grand Slam in Yokohama Stadium on May 15 were carefully considered, but due to scheduling conflicts an alternate date could not be found for the immediate future. As a result, New Japan Pro-Wrestling has arrived at the decision to cancel the Yokohama Stadium card. All ticket holders will be refunded. We apologise to fans looking forward to the event and appreciate your understanding,” NJPW’s press release reads.
It was recently reported by the Wrestling Observer that IMPACT Wrestling star Moose had re-signed with the company. There were rumors surrounding the powerhouse performer looking elsewhere, with both WWE and AEW supposedly interested.
Fightful Select has now confirmed that Moose has signed a two year deal, keeping him with IMPACT until at least the Summer of 2023. Although not specific monetary details were given, he is apparently on a ‘significantly improved’ wage structure to his prior deal.
Moose on Improved Contract
IMPACT apparently have been factoring in Moose into their ongoing plans in a ‘major’ way. Whilst it isn’t clear what this means for the time being, he is consistently part of the main event scene on their weekly programming and PPV shows.
Moose recently faced Kenny Omega for the IMPACT World Championship at the Against All Odds event. Moose was unable to capture the title after The Young Bucks would interfere and cost him the match.
With the current ‘Forbidden Door’ storyline ongoing, there’s a good chance that we will see the IMPACT star appearing more at Daily’s Place, likely under the AEW banner.
PROGRESS Wrestling has announced that the PROGRESS Women’s Championship will be on the line at Chapter 113: Warp Into Monster Disco Hell. Champion Kanji will be defending against Mercedez Blaze, who pinned the Champion at the last Chapter event.
Gisele Shaw vs Alexxis Falcon was announced previously for Chapter 112, however the match turned into a tag team bout during the show. Kanji would team with Alexxis Falcon to take on Gisele Shaw and Mercedez Blaze; with Blaze getting the pinfall over the Women’s Champion with the assist from Shaw.
PROGRESS Chapter 113
This is the second time that Blaze has pinned Kanji since the return of PROGRESS earlier this year. Kanji defeated Gisele Shaw in a Best of Three Series to become the new PROGRESS Women’s Champion after NXT UK Superstar Jinny had to vacate.
Here’s the currently confirmed card for PROGRESS Chapter 113 Warp Into Monster Disco Hell:
The other matches currently confirmed for the show are:
Dean Allmark vs Chuck Mambo
Gisele Shaw vs Alexxis Falcon
Big Money Gun Dogs vs Greedy Souls
PROGRESS Tag Team Champions Lykos Gym and Warren Banks vs NorthWest Strong (Chris Ridgeway, Luke Jacobs and Ethan Allen)
TK Cooper vs Man Like Dereiss
Alexxis Falcon vs Gisele Shaw
PROGRESS World Championship Match – Cara Noir (c) vs ELIJAH
Jody Fleisch vs Danny Black
PROGRESS Chapter 113: Warp Into Monster Disco Hell will be streaming on Peacock, WWE Network and demandPROGRESS as of Saturday June 19.
After much discussion, we cannot deny that @Mercedez_Blaze deserves a shot at @KanjiDuku after pinning the Champion on two occasions in 2021
So, the Champion defends at 113#Chapter113 Saturday June 19th at 5PM BST on:
The original Wyatt Family consisting of Bray Wyatt, Luke Harper, and Erick Rowan was one of the most unique factions ever seen in WWE. One of the former members of the faction Erick Rowan was recently interviewed by SportsKeeda where he revealed how the group was originally put together.
The former champion explained that the original Wyatt character was put together by Bray and Dusty Rhodes. Brodie Lee, known as Luke Harper during his WWE days was always going to be a part of the faction:
“It started with the characters that Bray Wyatt had with the white shirts, stuff like that. Then he did some sort of vignettes with Dusty, and it was completely kind of a different thing,
And then, when they finally decided to kind of go with it, I know Brodie was going to be like the first son of, you know, Bray. He was just called the first son.”
Revealing how he was chosen to be part of this group, Rowan explained that he was trying to build a character for himself with different promos and outfits. Then just two days before a taping, he was told that he will be a part of the group:
“It was like two days before one of the NXT tapings; they were like, ‘Okay, you are going to be the second son of Bray, which was funny because we were older than him. But it’s funny, and it just kind of evolved from there with the rocking chairs and all that stuff,”
Many believe that former NXT champion Bo Dallas should have also been included in the Wyatt Family. Though when asked about it, Erick replied negatively: “No. Because it’s a character, not real life,”
The former WWE star signed with the company in 2011 and he stayed with the promotion for 9 years before being released in April 2020. Bray Wyatt introduced Erick Rowan as his ‘second son’ during an NXT episode in December 2012. You can check out his debut in the video below:
AEW President Tony Khan was recently profiled by Forbs for their Daily Cover feature which includes an interview with the wrestling promoter and a photoshoot with several wrestlers from the company.
The AEW owner talked about their competition with WWE and he said that he doesn’t want his promotion to be the next wrestling company of the past:
“I don’t want to be the next ‘blank’ wrestling company of the past—fill in the blank, We love wrestling of the past, wrestling of the present and wrestling of the future…” said Tony Khan, “That’s what gives us a great chance to retain and gain audience share.”
The co-owner of the Jacksonville Jaguar then also discussed the rise and fall of WCW and he interestingly claimed that he is glad that WCW failed:
“I’m glad that WCW failed because it created a vacancy for us to come in and succeed, but it made it a fairly bleak period for the wrestling business.”
Reiterating their commitment of providing an alternative, Tony Khan then said that the business is hotter than it’s been in a long time.He explained there is no reason why there needs to be only one wrestling company.
The interview also featured comments from the AEW president’s father Shahid Khan who revealed that he didn’t believe in the idea of the promotion at first. You can check out his remarks at this link.
WWE did an angle at the end of Sunday’s NXT TakeOver: In Your House special where NXT General Manager William Regal said it’s time for a change before walking away.
This week’s show opened with Regal coming out and saying that he’s been with NXT since the start from working as an announcer. He said he’s watched everyone develop and the product grow. Regal was clearly emotional and crying. He said that he has given everything he can and doesn’t think he can do that anymore.
Karrion Kross came out and said that they always knew this day would come, but wanted to see it for himself. He mocked Regal for crying and called him pathetic. Kross said that he told Regal that he lost control.
Samoa Joe came out to the ring and said that Regal wanted to speak with him. Regal said that Joe is the right man to become the new GM. Joe declined and said that Regal has large shoes to fill. Joe said that Regal deserves the respect from everyone and he will ensure that happens. Regal said Joe can’t be a competitor and lay a hand on anyone unless provoked. Joe accepted the offer. Thus, Joe is Regal’s new enforcer.
LA Knight’s Million Dollar Championship Coronation
Ted DiBiase presented LA Knight’s Million Dollar Championship Coronation.
This came after Knight beat Cameron Grimes at NXT TakeOver: In Your House in a ladder match to win the title.
This segment saw DiBiase show a video package to further hype Knight. LA came out for a promo where he talked about how much he respects Ted and is so thankful to carry the Million Dollar legacy. He said that all the pain he went through was worth it.
Ted gave him the title and they both started laughing with pyro going off. Knight said that now it’s time to drop the dead weight he doesn’t need and punched him. Knight told him that he is the only Million Dollar Champion. Knight put the boots to him before Cameron Grimes ran out to make the save.
Io Shirai returned to address the fans after making her return last week.
Shirai made her return to NXT TV after Poppy was called out by Candice LeRae and she brought out Shirai to beat down LeRae.
Shirai cut a promo about how she’s back and her next target is…LeRae walked out. She said that Io picked the wrong time to screw with her. Indie Heartwell attacked her from behind. Io fought back, but the numbers game was just too much. Zoey Starks eventually came out to even the odds and the babyfaces stood tall in the ring to close the show.
NXT Cruiserweight Champion Kushida defended the title in an Open Challenge, which was answered by Trey Baxton.
WWE aired a video package to hype Baxter’s arrival. This is the former Blake Christian. The fun back and forth match ended when Kushida hit his finisher. It was revealed after the match that Kushida would face Kyle O’Reilly next week.
Kushida has issued these open challenges since winning the title and has beaten the likes of Oney Lorcan and Carmelo Hayes.
Kushida won the title after accepting an open challenge that was issued by then-champion Santos Escobar back on April 13. They worked a rematch, which was a two out of three falls match, back on May 11th.
Tomasso Ciampa and Timothy Thatcher faced The Grizzled Young Veterans in a Tornado Tag Team Match.
The match saw them put on a strong style type of match with the heels mostly dominating. Ciampa hit a powerslam on the announce table. Ciampa and Thatcher hit their double team submission hold for the win.
We can only think about @NXTCiampa's surgically repaired neck. This match is BRUTAL. #WWENXT @JamesDrake_GYT @ZackGibson01 pic.twitter.com/MZYhCQO9rU
Last week on NXT, The Grizzled Young Veterans were in action against August Grey & Ikemen Jiro. During it, Ciampa and Thatcher came out to watch and tried to distract the rival team, but they still won the contest.
Post-match, The Grizzled Young Veterans said that they’re focus on getting a title shot, but Ciampa said they won’t get it until they go through them.
The Grizzled Young Veterans were in action on NXT tonight, facing August Grey & Ikemen Jiro. During the match, Ciampa and Thatcher came out to ringside and watched on from steel chairs. The Grizzled Young Veterans were momentarily distracted but still got the win. This led to this match getting booked.
Their first match took place last month where Ciampa and Thatcher went over. Three weeks ago, The Grizzled Young Veterans cost Ciampa and Thatcher their match against Legado del Fantasma’s Raul Mendoza & Joaquin Wilde.
The first match has been confirmed for the Great American Bash edition of NXT.
Adam Cole will face Kyle O’Reilly once more at this show. On Wednesday’s episode, they were shown in a backstage brawl which was broken up by Samoa Joe, who is William Regal’s new enforcer. Regal said that the match was official, but it will be a singles match.
Karrion Kross defended the NXT Title against Cole, O’Reilly, Johnny Gargano, and Pete Dunne in a fatal 5-way match at Sunday’s NXT TakeOver: In Your House.
O’Reilly and Cole have been locked in a feud since Cole turned on his former Undisputed Era friend. They previously worked an unsanctioned match at the NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver special.
NXT’s Great American Bash takes place Tuesday, July 6 on the USA Network starting at 8 p.m. Eastern time.
WWE brought back this theme last year and it marked the first time that WWE had done so since an episode of SmackDown that took place in 2012. Last year’s show took place over the course of two weeks.
The first night was headlined by Io Shirai defeating Sasha Banks while the next week, Keith Lee defeated Adam Cole in a title vs. title match where the NXT Championship and NXT North American Championship were both on the line.
Monday’s edition of WWE Raw averaged 1.742 million viewers with a 0.49 rating in the Adults 18-49 demographic, according to Brandon Thurston of WrestleNomics. This is up from last week’s 1.640 million viewers and the 0.48 rating.
This was the go-home edition of Raw for Sunday’s Hell in a Cell pay-per-view event that will feature the top match from the red brand of WWE Champion Bobby Lashley defending against Drew McIntyre with the stipulation that if McIntyre loses then he can’t challenge for the title again as long as Lashley is champion.
There’s no word yet on the hourly viewership numbers, but we will update the post when they become available.
Last week’s hourly viewership numbers were 1.667 million viewers in the first hour, 1.651 million viewers in the second hour, and the third hour had 1.602 million viewers.
This episode featured RK-Bro (Randy Orton & Riddle) vs. The New Day (Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods), Drew McIntyre vs. AJ Styles, Eva Marie’s return, and more.
SmackDown Viewership
The episode drew an average of 1.853 million viewers in the overnight ratings, up from the previous week that did 1.800 million viewers. In the 18-49 demographic, it did a 0.40 rating, which was down from the 0.50 rating the week before. The final ratings were 1.944 million viewers, up from last week’s 1.883 million viewers.
Samoa Joe is back on WWE TV as part of his return to NXT.
It happened on Tuesday’s episode when it was revealed that William Regal had declared that he can’t give anymore of himself to the brand and was about to say that there needed to be a change. NXT champion Karrion Kross came out to mock him and wanted to hear Regal say that he was right that he lost control. This led to Samoa Joe coming out and declining the offer to replace him as the GM.
Regal said Joe can’t be a competitor and can’t lay a hand on anyone unless provoked, but Joe can be his enforcer. Joe accepted the offer and Regal is still the GM.
At the NXT TakeOver: In Your House special, Regal hinted that there would be a change coming and so it did. There had been rumblings among NXT talent and staff that WWE was interested in bringing Joe back after the company released him from his contract back in April due to budget cuts.
He was last seen as part of the commentary team at WrestleMania and had been in that role for over a year. He was moved from an active in-ring performer to being an announcer after he suffered a concussion in early 2020 during a Raw commercial shoot for the USA Network.
It was recently reported that Triple H wanted to get Joe back as soon as possible because he wasn’t happy that WWE released him. He’s been a supporter of Joe for years and would rather see him in NXT instead of being in a different promotion.
In 2015, Triple H was the person who initially brought Joe to WWE for NXT. During his stint on the brand, he became an NXT Champion and was the top star for the promotion until he was called up to the main roster in 2017.
