In the perfect world, Bianca Belair would put her differences aside to create a faction.
Belair is the former SmackDown Women’s Champion. She defeated Sasha Banks for the gold at WrestleMania 37. Belair ended up losing the championship to Becky Lynch at the SummerSlam PPV back in August. During an interview with the Hindustan Times, Belair revealed who she’d start a faction with.
“I think, if we can all get along – me, Sasha and Naomi will be a great faction,” said Belair. “We would mesh really well. We could work really work together. I just can’t trust Sasha right now. So, we cannot create this faction right now.”
She continued, “But I have seen on social media as well, that they want this faction. I think it would be cool. But I don’t know if it would ever be possible, because we just cannot seem to get on the same page.”
Belair, Sasha & Naomi
Bianca Belair and Sasha Banks haven’t exactly been chummy over the past few months. Banks took a break from in-ring action following WrestleMania but returned and unleashed a series of cheat shots on Bianca. The two will meet again in a triple threat match along with Becky Lynch at WWE Crown Jewel on Oct. 21.
As for Naomi, right now she finds herself at odds with Sonya Deville. Deville serves as an authority figure on Monday Night Raw and Friday Night SmackDown. Naomi believes Deville has been disrespecting and ignoring her for weeks. Many believe this is building towards a match between the two.
AJ Mendez has responded to the question of whether or not she will wrestle for Women of Wrestling.
Mendez stunned the wrestling industry when she announced her return to the business. She will be an Executive Producer for WOW. Not only that, but she’ll also be in the booth as a color commentator.
Of course, this has led many to wonder if AJ Mendez will lace up her boots once again to mix it up with the current generation of female talent. Speaking to Izzy on the official YouTube channel of WOW, Mendez answered that question.
“So I will say, I say the same thing in every interview. It’s always, ‘never say never,’ but don’t hold your breath. And what I mean by that is that I never say never to anything. Physically, mentally, emotionally I’m healed from everything I’ve gone through in wrestling. I could technically do it, but I am so enjoying letting the next generation have their spotlight. I got to do everything I wanted to do so it really would have to be is that challenge there? I don’t think the girls need me there. I think that they are going to take over the world all by themselves.”
Regardless of whether or not she returns to the ring, the good news here is that there is no injury preventing Mendez from wrestling again. When she left WWE back in 2015, she cited damage to her cervical spine as one of the reasons for her decision.
Mendez will be playing a crucial role in the relaunch of WOW. The promotion had gone dark during the COVID-19 pandemic. Along the way, the promotion lost its TV deal with AXS after AXS purchased Impact Wrestling.
WOW is expected to make its return in the Fall of 2022.
If you use the quotes in this article for your website, please drop a h/t to SEScoops with a link back to this article.
Fans have been puzzled by WWE’s treatment of Davey Boy Smith Jr. He wrestled a dark match for WWE in July, but has disappeared from competition since then.
Dave Meltzer provided some updates on the former MLW star on the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter. He revealed that the reason the heavyweight star was pulled from the ring is that he had contracted COVID-19:
“One of the reasons Harry Smith hasn’t been seen since he did the one dark match with Austin Theory is that he contracted COVID. He’s fine now and was backstage for the draft show in Baltimore.”
The former NJPW star first made his name with his WWE run from 2005 to 2011. He went on to wrestle for promotions such as NJPW, MLW, and AJPW after his release from the company.
Davey Boy Smith Jr. worked a dark match before a SmackDown episode in July this year. He teamed up with Austin Theory to defeat Odyssey Jones and Xyon Quinn.
It was reported afterward that the 36-year-old had actually been signed back in April. People aware of his signing were asked to keep it quiet until he returned.
Many expected him to make his TV return during the Drafts but it didn’t happen. There is no word yet on when or if he will make his return to WWE programming.
Johnny Gargano gave people something to talk about when he removed references about NXT from his Twitter profile. This created buzz as it was reported earlier that Gargano’s WWE contract expires later this year. Dave Meltzer recently provided some updates on him in the latest edition of Wrestling Observer Newsletter. He noted that the exact date for the expiry of his contract is December 3.
As for Gargano removing NXT references from his profile, Meltzer noted that the company has angles planned for the former NXT champion for future shows. Despite the outside speculations about his future with the company, nobody internally has been alerted of any status change regarding the former DIY member.
After wrestling for promotions such as Chikara, Dragon Gate, and PWG, Johnny Gargano signed with WWE back in 2015. He started his TV career for the company teaming with Tommaso Ciampa. Their team known as DIY competed in the inaugural Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic tournament.
The NXT star evolved into a main event talent through his feud with Ciampa following their split. He was one of the pillar stars of the black and yellow brand during the Wednesday night wars. Though fans have been concerned about the future of stars of his build after the recent revamp of NXT. It would be interesting to see what decision Johnny makes about his future once his contract expires.
Drew McIntyre has been moved to SmackDown from Raw because of the lack of credible contenders for the Universal champion Roman Reigns, according to latest reports. Dave Meltzer noted on the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter that the Scottish psychopath is next in line for a shot at Reigns after his match with Brock Lesnar. This rivalry will likely begin around December:
”McIntyre was moved over since Roman Reigns desperately needs a new opponent, and on paper right now there is essentially nobody else for him. Plus, McIntyre goes over with multiple losses at the end of his Raw run and presumably another to Big E, and then will become Reigns’ big contender probably around December,”
The roster changes announced during Draft are expected to take effect after the Crown Jewel PPV. Drew McIntyre will be facing Big E for the WWE title at the show on October 21. Roman Reigns on the other hand will be defending his Universal title against The Beast Incarnate. A title change at the show seems improbable.
Survivor Series on November 22 will follow Crown Jewel. If WWE follows the tradition we will see a clash between the two world champions in Reigns and Big E at the PPV. This means Reigns will not be ready for his next challenger until after. It’s only logical that his feud with Drew McIntyre will commence in late November or early December.
The Rock’s rumored Survivor Series return is a factor that can affect these plans. Though the head of the table has shown that he can handle multiple feuds at the same time. With the Roman Reigns vs. The Rock match not expected until WrestleMania, it seems less likely that it will affect the plans for Drew in any way.
The Undertaker is not shying away from his 9-year-old daughter Kaia pursuing a wrestling career. He is promising to coach her the best he can if she does decide to follow in the footsteps of his parents. The Dead Man recently appeared on ET Online to promote his new Netflix interactive movie with The New Day.
During the talk, he was asked about his daughter possibly joining the pro wrestling world. Replying to it, the former world champion said that it’s up to his daughter what she wants to do. Though if she does decide to step inside the ring, Undertaker said that he would do his best to prepare her:
“I tell you what, I don’t know, I mean, if it’s in her heart and that’s what she really truly wants to do one day, I’ll do my best to coach her up and obviously her mom will too, but yeah, we’ll see what happens. We have a long way to go before actually worrying about that.”
The Undertaker On His In Ring Status
The Undertaker had his final farewell last year at Survivor Series
Even though he has said numerous times over the last year and half that he is now retired from active competition, you can never count The Undertaker out for good. The last outlaw was once again asked about his in-ring status and he explained that his heart still wants to go out and wrestle. However, his body can’t deliver what his mind can envision. So he wants to stay retired to make sure he doesn’t cheapen the legacy of his character:
“As of this moment, yeah, my days in the ring are done, and it’s not because I don’t want to be in the ring, I mean, that is where I’ve spent most of my adult life — my whole life, really,” More than half of my life has been spent in the wrestling or sports entertainment ring. So, in my mind, I still can see everything and, in my heart, you know, I want to be out there, but it’s just at a point where my body can’t deliver what my mind and my heart see.
My body can’t deliver that and I just don’t want to cheapen the legacy of that character and I’d hate for people to pay money to see me work and be disappointed.”
The Undertaker competed in a cinematic boneyard match against AJ Styles at WrestleMania 36 last year. It was his last match as an active competitor. While Styles has expressed interest in having a live rematch with the wrestling veteran, Taker has maintained that he is done with wrestling.
Impact Wrestling on 10/7 featured future opponents Christian Cage and Josh Alexander team up in the main event against Ace Austin and Madman Fulton. This was also the go-home show for this weekend’s Knockouts Knockdown event.
Impact 10/7 Quick Results:
Bullet Club (Chris Bey, HIKULEO, & El Phantasmo) defeated Chris Sabin and FinJuice (David Finlay & Juice Robinson)
Tasha Steelz, Savannah Evans & Mercedes Martinez defeated Lady Frost, Kimber Lee & Brandi Lauren
X-Division Title Match Qualifier Steve Maclin defeated Petey Williams and Black Taurus
Rich Swann & Willie Mack defeated The Learning Tree (Zicky Dice & Manny Lemons)
Christian Cage & Josh Alexander defeated Ace Austin & Madman Fulton
Impact’s Bullet Club faction of Chris Bey, HIKULEO, and El Phantasmo picked up a win in the opening contest against Chris Sabin and FinJuice. The finish of the match came when Sabin had Bey set for the Cradle Shock but HIKULEO attempted to enter the ring with a chair and distracted the ref. This allowed ELP to hit what appeared to be a low blow on Sabin, and Bey then hit the Art of Finesse for the win.
Meanwhile, Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson were shown in the back watching the match. They’ll face one of FinJuice or Bullet Club with their titles on the line at Bound For Glory.
Heath came out and talked about his long recovery from injury. He noted that during that time he lost his best friend Rhino. Heath said Rhino never called him, never returned his messages, all the time he was with Violent By Design. Eric Young and VBD then came out, but Rhino was not with them. Young said Rhino belongs to him and then VBD attacked Heath. The fans chanted for Rhino but he never came out. VBD draped their flag over top of Heath to end the segment.
In a preview of this weekend’s Knockouts Knockdown tournament, Tasha Steelz, Savannah Evans and Mercedes Martinez and took on Lady Frost and Su Yung’s minions of Kimber Lee and Brandi Lauren. The finish fo the match came when Mercedes entered the match illegally and took out Kimber Lee with a big knee but the ref wouldn’t allow her to make the pin because she wasn’t the legal competitor. This allowed Tasha Steelz to cradle Kimber Lee for the win. Steelz refused to tag in Martinez throughout the match and the two ended up jawing at each other after.
Alisha Edwards then hit the ring with a kendo stick (Kendra) and took out Su Yung’s minions. She was doing this out of revenge for Lauren and Kimber attacking one of the Swingerellas in the back recently. Later on, Alisha challenged Kimber Lee. Gail Kim entered the picture and told Alisha she’ll be in the Monster’s Ball match at Knockouts Knockdown and she can get her revenge there.
Steve Maclin Qualifies For X-Division Title Match At Bound For Glory
In the second triple threat qualifying match for the triple threat X-division title match at Bound For Glory, Steve Maclin defeated Petey Williams and Black Taurus. He now joins Trey Miguel as the second person to qualify for the match. The finish of the match saw Williams deliver a Canadian Destroyer to Taurus but then get caught in Maclin’s Mayhem for All finisher.
Christian Cage was being interviewed backstage when he was confronted by Christopher Daniels. The Fallen Angel told Cage that he wants a shot at his title and it doesn’t matter to him if it is in an Impact or AEW ring. Daniels then told Christian he’d give him some time to consider his challenge.
The Learning Tree Use Numbers Advantage To Beat Down Willie Mack and Rich Swann
Rich Swann and Willie Mack teamed up to defeat the Learning Tree team of Zicky Dice & Manny Lemons this week. After the match, however, Brian Myers and the rest of his faction attacked and beat down both Swann and Mack.
Mickie James To Pick Deonna Purrazzo’s Opponent At Knockouts Knockdown
Mickie James and Deonna Purrazzo got in a backstage altercation this week. Scott D’Amore then announced there is a no-contact clause in their Bound For Glory contract. Gail Kim then announced that they will each have the opportunity to pick the others’ upcoming opponents beginning at Knockouts Knockdown this weekend when James will choose who Purrazzo faces.
Christian Cage & Josh Alexander Defeat Ace Austin & Madman Fulton
Christian Cage and Josh Alexander teamed up this week ahead of their title match at Bound For Glory. The finish of the match came when Alexander seemed to have everything in control against Austin, he landed Chaos Theory suplex but Christian tagged himself in and gave Austin the Killswitch while looking at Alexander for the win. The two future opponents jawed at each other a little at the end of the show as Alexander was frustrated, saying he had Austin where he wanted him.
Coming Up In Impact Wrestling
Knockouts Knockdown airs on 10/9. The lineup for the show is below. Veda Scott and Mickie James will be on commentary.
Knockouts Knockdown 10/9:
Knockouts Knockdown Tournament (1st Round) Tasha Steelz vs. Jamie Senegal
Knockouts Knockdown Tournament (1st Round) Chelsea Green vs. Renee Michelle
Knockouts Knockdown Tournament (1st Round) Lady Frost vs. Rachael Ellering
Knockouts Knockdown Tournament (1st Round) Brandi Lauren vs. Mercedes Martinez.
Daffney Memorial Monster’s Ball Match Alisha Edwards vs Kimber Lee vs Jordynne Grace vs Savannah Evans
Knockouts Tag Team Championships Decay (Rosemary & Havok) vs The Influence (Madison Rayne & Tenille Dashwood)
Knockouts Championship Deonna Purrazzo vs TBD (Mickie James’ choice)
Bound For Glory (October 23rd)
Impact World Championship Christian Cage (c) vs Josh Alexander
Knockouts Championship Deonna Purrazzo (c) vs Mickie James
X-Division Championship (Vacant) Trey Miguel vs Steve Maclin vs TBD
AEW star PAC recently suffered a concussion, according to AEW broadcaster Mark Henry on Thursday’s edition of Busted Open Radio.
Henry was expressing concern over PAC taking a big bump off the ladder on this week’s Dynamite when he noted that the Death Triangle member had suffered a concussion a month and a half ago.
“I would not have had a guy that was injured recently take a big bump off the top of the ladder to the floor on his back,” Henry said about PAC’s big bump in the Casino Ladder match. “I watched PAC, I watched his head snap back and hit the mat and he just had a concussion like a month and a half ago.”
PAC went from August 20th to September 8th, 2021 without wrestling. It’s not clear if this is the time period that Henry is referring to, however. PAC and Andrade were supposed to wrestle on the All Out PPV on September 5th but it ended up being postponed to the following week’s Rampage.
“I mean I’m probably breaking HIPAA laws but everybody saw that,” Henry continued.
“Maybe he’s the one that called it, I don’t know, but it scared me because I’m concerned about the guys and girls.”
PAC’s rival Andrade also commented recently on the big spot from the ladder match.
Seriously!! @AEW I feel angry, upset, injured by @BASTARDPAC fault, but I also feel satisfied to return soon. I will have a bad memory but I never forget what happened. ??????? https://t.co/KsgNZX0GCM
Canadian professional wrestler and legendary belt maker Reggie Parks has passed away after a battle with COVID-19. He was 87.
Parks began his wrestling career in 1958, competing for Stu Hart’s Stampede Wrestling promotion. He wrestled till 1986 before retiring from active competition.
He also worked as a referee for the then WWF for a brief period after the end of his career as a wrestler but his stint as an in-ring official did not last very long.
Parks designed the legendary Winged Eagle belt
Known as the “King of Belts”, the wrestling veteran made his first belt in 1962 and never looked back. He kept making belts even when he was active in the ring and he devoted himself to the craft completely after hanging his boots.
During his career, Reggie Parks made a number of iconic belts including the winged eagle WWF title belt. The belt that was used between February 1988 and March 1998 is one of the most popular designs of the WWE championship.
SEScoops extends our condolences to the family and friends of Reggie Parks.
Here are some reactions to the passing of Reggie Parks:
The world lost a true icon today.
If you grew up loving wrestling in the 80s or 90s, you grew up loving his work.
— Conrad the Mortgage Guy (@HeyHeyItsConrad) October 8, 2021
Godspeed, Reggie Parks. It’s easy to thank you for your incredible contributions to our wrestling world, but I am more grateful for how cool you always were to me. Rest well, sir. ?
Sad to hear of the passing of Reggie Parks. He was the man who crafted the SHIMMER Championship and the SHIMMER Tag Team Championship belts, along with many other iconic titles in wrestling history! pic.twitter.com/m3iFsqijR9
CM Punk, Adam Cole, and Bryan Danielson made their AEW debuts in close succession. These major arrivals helped AEW create an incredible buzz, even leading to them beating Raw in the 18-49 demo for a couple of weeks.
The straight edge star had compared this momentum to the time the Outsiders and Hulk Hogan made the jump to WCW. He had gone even as far as to claim that their moment in AEW was bigger.
Though after the backlash from fans, Punk clarified his comments in a recent interview with Sport1. He explained that he never said that the trio of himself, Bryan and Cole were bigger than the founders of nWo:
“If you look at the long-term effects [of Hogan, Nash, and Hall joining WCW]: it burned out relatively quickly. Five years later, WCW came to an end.
So ask me in five years where will AEW be. As for the comparison, I never said Adam, Bryan and I were bigger than the nWo. I said: The change felt bigger for us than the changes back then.” said CM Punk, “This is my opinion. Others may disagree, cool too. In five years you will be able to judge it correctly.”
The effect of the buzz surrounding these big debuts seems to be wearing off already. AEW Dynamite has seen big declines in viewership ratings in the past couple of weeks and Raw has increased the lead in the 18-49 demo.
Apart from this, CM Punk also talked about things such as future opponents he wants to face in AEW, his role in wrestling-based TV series Heels, and more.
The quotes in the article have been translated via Google translate.
WWE’s plan to try and attract younger viewers with the recent NXT revamp is not working very well but the officials have not lost hope just yet.
According to Andrew Zarian of Mat Men podcast, a source within the company said that the revamp is aimed at bringing in a younger audience. The exes are hoping that the brand will bounce back from the recent decline:
“[This] is all to bring a new younger viewer who is connected with pop culture & trends. Needless to say, the demo numbers are disappointing but we are hopeful this is just a bump in the road”
Spoke to a source this morning regarding NXT's direction & what the expectations are.
"The is all to bring a new younger viewer who is connected with pop culture & trends. Needless to say, the demo numbers are disappointing but we are hopeful this is just a bump in the road" pic.twitter.com/M9fpl8oXsL
This week’s episode of NXT, with the fatal four-way elimination match for the tag team titles in the main event, drew a total of 632,000 viewers per Showbuzz Daily. The show did a disappointing 0.13 rating in the 18-49 key demographic.
A 0.13 rating represents a total of 170,000 viewers of the age group, down from 183,000 viewers last week. This was the lowest key demo rating for the NXT 2.0 revamp.
It’s also the lowest rating for the key demo for a live episode on USA Network since the June 29 episode earlier this year.
The 0.13 rating is the fourth-lowest viewership for the key demo ratings the development brand has done on the USA Network.
This Wednesday’s episode of AEW Dynamite suffered another big drop in overall viewership and the key demo numbers were down significantly as well.
The episode featuring Adam Page’s return and big win in the casino ladder match for the main event drew a total of 1.053 million viewers, according to Showbuzz Daily.
This is a big 8.59% decline from last week’s episode of the show. The September 29 Dynamite featuring the TNT championship main event between Miro and Sammy Guevara had drawn 1.152 million viewers.
As for the key demo ratings, the show drew a 0.37 rating in the 18-49 demo. A 0.37 rating represents a total of 480,000 viewers who were in the age group.
This is another big 18.36% decline from the 588,000 viewers of the 18-49 demographic the show had scored last week. Last week’s Dynamite drew a 0.45 rating in the demo.
In comparison, this past Monday’s episode of Raw which was the final night of the WWE Draft drew an average of 1.857 million viewers. The show increased its lead in the key demo with a 0.52 rating representing 680,000 viewers.
Dynamite ranked #4 on the Cable Top 150 with its 0.37 rating. This ends the shows’ six-week-long streak as the #1 program in the Cable Top 150 for Wednesday nights.
Will Ospreay continues to make his mark in NJPW and RevPro, but now MLW has entered the fray.
That right, the self-proclaimed “real” IWGP World Heavyweight Champion will be making his debut for MLW. The announcement was made during an MLW Embedded segment on the MLW FIGHTLAND special.
Will Ospreay will make his MLW debut sometime in the fall.
MLW boss Court Bauer had teased on social media, “Someone is coming to MLW and it has a certain billionaire tripping over himself to undermine it.”
Back in August, Ospreay made his surprise return to NJPW. He had been out of action with a neck injury and was even stripped of the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship. Will Ospreay showed up at Resurgence in Los Angeles.
Ospreay declared himself to be the real IWGP World Heavyweight Champion. This is despite the fact that Shingo Takagi is the actual titleholder. Don’t tell that to the leader of the United Empire, however, as he considers Shingo to be an “interim” champion.
Ospreay, who also holds the British Heavyweight Championship in RevPro, said he’d make NJPW Strong his home. He vowed not to come back to Japan until NJPW apologizes and recognizes him as the true IWGP World Heavyweight Champion.
Perhaps the MLW announcement shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise. After all, Ospreay did warn fans that you never know where he might show up.
SEScoops recently interviewed Ospreay, who took shots at AEW stars CM Punk, Bryan Danielson, and Kenny Omega.
The sky is the limit for Ospreay just about anywhere he goes, and MLW is no exception. Who will he target first? Could he be looking to recruit an MLW talent for the United Empire?
AJ Mendez is a part of Women of Wrestling and she’s spoken out about the move.
Mendez shocked the pro wrestling world with the announcement of her return to the business. While she won’t be back in the ring, she will serve as the Executive Producer for WOW. Mendez will also put on the headset for color commentary duties.
AJ Mendez took to her Instagram account to issue the following statement on joining WOW.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CUvZ718Pl1C/
“Swerve. I’m joining ViacomCBS & WOW as an Executive Producer alongside Jeanie Buss!
“It’s possible when I got the call from the president of the Lakers, I thought I was being drafted to the Lakers. Which was confusing, given my height. But then I learned all about WOW, David McLane, and their mission to create female superheroes in a family-friendly show, and I was psyched to bridge my two worlds of wrestling and storytelling to help the next generation feel represented on screen. You’ll see me on camera too as a color commentator! Which, given my penchant for running my mouth, seems fitting.
“Thanks to Chris Farina/ViacomCBS for the photos!”
Mendez made her exit from WWE and the wrestling world back in 2015. Damage to her cervical spine was the main reason for her decision to walk away from the ring. Her presence alone, however, has seemingly given WOW a morale boost ahead of its big relaunch. The promotion is expected to be back in the saddle in the fall of 2022.
All Elite Wrestling talent Lio Rush is opening up about what led to him announce his retirement from pro wrestling earlier this year.
Rush appeared on Excuse Me: The Vickie Guerrero Show to discuss his road from WWE’s NXT brand to AEW. During their discussion, Rush shared that AEW President Tony Khan offered him a contract after his debut at AEW Double or Nothing on May 9th. Unfortunately, he sustained separated AC joint that night. The injury, coupled with personal and financial issues, led him to consider leaving pro wrestling entirely.
“… I was doing a lot of stuff with New Japan. I just finished up with MLW and Triple-A. It was a lot,” Rush admitted. “I was also going through a lot of personal things during that time too. Part of that was financial because of the huge hit that me and my family took with being released from WWE and trying to find consistent work without being under contract.”
The WWE released Rush in April of 2020. After being released by WWE, Rush also contemplated retiring from pro wrestling. However, he wrestled for independent promotions and focused on his music career for the remainder of 2020. Rush caught the attention of MLW this year and made his debut on January 6th.
Rush defeated Myron Reed for the MLW Middleweight Championship in his MLW debut. The following month, he defeated Laredo Kid to win the AAA Cruiserweight Championship. He also made appearances for New Japan Pro Wrestling during this time. His work in MLW and NJPW helped Rush gain the attention of wrestling fans and AEW.
Lio Rush (@TheLionelGreen) has hit it big in business and now he's after a wealth of success in #AEWpic.twitter.com/sbE4ScPHSE
Rush made his debut as the Joker in the Casino Battle Royal at Double or Nothing. His performance at Double or Nothing earned Rush a contract offer. However, he abruptly announced his retirement after thinking about how his career was affecting his family life.
The time-off from wrestling helped Rush focus on his music career to help with his family finances. It also helped Rush spend more time with his family.
“…For me, I never really got that opportunity to be the dad that I’ve always wanted to be because I kind of got pushed in the wrestling world, like pretty quickly,” said Rush. He continued, “That was around the time I had my first son, and then when I had my second son, I was with the WWE. So I definitely wasn’t at home as I wanted to be. Again, with being released from WWE and having to work during the pandemic, now I have to work twice as hard, twice as much to try to make up for the money that I need to make for me and my family.” He planned to retire after finishing the remaining dates with NJPW once he recovered from his injury.
Rush was able to avoid surgery with stem cell treatment. On August 2nd, Rush announced that he could compete again. He made his return to NJPW at NJPW Resurgence on August 15th. Since NJPW Resurgence, Rush has made appearances on several NJPW events.
On September 29th, Rush made his return to AEW on AEW Dynamite. The following week, he appeared on AEW Dynamite, offering advice to Dante Martin. It’s unclear when Rush signed a contract with AEW. However, Rush seems to be giving his pro wrestling career another chance.
Chelsea Green has once again been blocked from creating an OnlyFans account.
Since being released from WWE, Green has had the opportunity to utilize other platforms for income. She currently competes for Impact Wrestling and has her own podcast. Green has been trying to make her way to OnlyFans but it hasn’t panned out.
The first time she was denied, Green told Metro that she wasn’t given a reason.
“We don’t know why they denied me but apparently, it’s not totally unusual! A couple of my friends said they were denied the first time too. I’m going to reapply and see what happens!”
Well, second time wasn’t the charm. Green took to her Twitter account to vent about the second denial.
“Apparently OnlyFans doesn’t wanna take my money… SECOND REJECTION!”
If OnlyFans ultimately doesn’t work out, many have pointed other options for Chelsea Green. One platform she might be willing to try out is Patreon, as suggested by one of her followers.
Green’s money-making endeavors don’t end here. She told Metro that she’s toyed with the idea of having a reality TV show with her fiancee, Matt Cardona.
“Matt and I have spoken about it here and there. People who know us know that we’re such an odd couple. We are so in love and we work together so well, but I’m such an extrovert and he’s such an introvert. There’s a funny dynamic that we have. He shares it on his podcast, and I’m gonna try to share my view on mine.”
Bryan Danielson leaving WWE to join AEW is one of the most impactful wrestling moments of the past decade. Brie Bella recently revealed what she told Bryan before he had made his choice. The female star appeared on Sippin’ the Tea. She mentioned how her husband took the summer off and he kept contemplating the decision.
Detailing her conversation with Bryan at the time, Brie revealed that she told the AEW star he had to let his heart decide where he wanted to go. She also mentioned to him that she may not make her comeback after all:
“I was like, I’m not helping you make this decision, you are 40 years old. This is probably going to be your last run, so you have to just let your heart tell you where to go. I was like, just because I’m with WWE doesn’t mean you have to be there. I don’t know if I’ll make a comeback. I told Nicole maybe in a year or so, but right now in my life, we’re so busy with our companies and the kids..”
Brie Bella discussed how she went back and forth about the decision of her return. She mentioned that she had to leave Birdie at home every week when she made her return at Royal Rumble 2018. Now that she has two kids, it would be that much more difficult to leave them at home, especially with Bryan being on the road as well.
Bryan Danielson’s WWE contract expired in April this year. He took time off to consider his future options. The former world champion was written off TV after losing a career vs. title match to Roman Reigns. After staying away from spotlight for 4 months, the former US champion made his AEW debut during the All Out PPV on September 5.
All Elite Wrestling talent Chris Jericho calls AEW President Tony Khan a genius for running Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Jericho appeared on Reinvented with Jen Eckhart and discussed AEW’s first show in New York City. Eckhart asked him what it was like wrestling at Arthur Ashe Stadium on September 22nd. Jericho shared that he enjoyed the experience and praised Khan for hosting an event in that venue.
“It was unbelievable. There is a little bit of genius on Tony Khan’s part because everyone was talking about the Garden in NYC, Madison Square Garden,” said Jericho. He continued, “What people don’t understand is to play the Garden is very expensive for one. So you don’t really make money when you’re at the Garden. You just do it because it’s MSG.”
Khan Decision to Host AEW at Arthur Ashe Stadium
AEW became the first wrestling company to have an event at Arthur Ashe Stadium. Khan called their NYC debut event AEW Grand Slam, promoting a live AEW Dynamite show and a taped AEW Rampage show for September 24th. However, fans attending the event were able to watch the four-hour event on September 22nd. AEW Grand Slam was so successful that Khan wants to run Arthur Ashe annually.
In the interview, Jericho explained what made the stadium unique and thought it was better than MSG. “…The moment I went in there, I was like, oh my gosh. This place is amazing. It’s better than the Garden,” said Jericho. He continued, “…The seats go straight up in the air, so all the noise comes right down into the ring. People are just kind of just over top of you, and it was just really cool to see this place. I was going this atmosphere is off the charts crazy. We don’t need to go to the Garden now because we’ve created a new place for us.”
He suggests other wrestling companies may be trying to run an event at Arthur Ashe Stadium. However, Jericho also believes that the stadium will always be the home for AEW in professional wrestling.
AEW will make its return to New York on December 8th. It will be AEW’s first event in Long Island, NY, at the UBS Arena. Both AEW Dynamite and Rampage will be taking place at the venue.
Will Ospreay is fed up with people like CM Punk, Kenny Omega, Bryan Danielson and others dropping his name.
The self-proclaimed “real” IWGP World Heavyweight Champion is gearing up for a clash against Alex Zayne. That match will take place at NJPW Showdown, a 2-night event taking place October 16th & 17th from Philadelphia’s historic 2300 Arena.
Ospreay spoke to SEScoops correspondent Samira this week about his preparation for that event, why he can’t stand American wrestling fans, and much more.
When asked who he wants to wrestle in the months ahead, ‘Big Match Billy’ named Kazuchika Okada as the only person he cares about from Japan. “The guy’s been ducking me for a while now,” he said.
However, there are several other people on his radar. Ospreay tells SEScoops that he’d “love” to wrestle CM Punk, as well as some of the other AEW stars who have called him out in recent months.
Ospreay Ready to Embarrass AEW’s Top Stars
CM Punk named Will Ospreay as someone he’d like to work with during a March 2020 appearance on the Swing & Mrs. Podcast. Punk is now an active competitor for AEW, bringing this potential dream match one step closer to reality.
“I would still love that match with CM Punk,” he began. “He’s the one that called me out. He said, ‘I want to wrestle Will Ospreay.’ So with that, Bryan Danielson, he said ‘I want to wrestle Will Ospreay’ and I get it. Kenny Omega wants to wrestle Will Ospreay. Take a ticket and I’ll get to you when I get to you guys. They called me out. Sammy Guevara, he’s another one that called me out.”
He continued, “There’s a list that goes on and on and on. They all call me out and there’s a reason why. Because when Big Match Billy is in town, their stock goes up. Everyone that wrestles me – and you can’t deny it – every single person that wrestles me ups their game because they know they’re going to be in the ring with one of the best wrestlers in the world right now. So, I completely understand it.”
These Guys Don’t Want Me To Show Up
Ospreay continued railing against Punk, Danielson, and Omega.
“If you guys really want it that bad, you know what to do. You just gotta call my number and I’ll show up. I’ll show up. But 9 times out of 10, these guys don’t want me to show up. Because A, I’ll embarrass them. I’ll embarrass them.”
“Guys like Bryan Danielson made a living being one of the best wrestlers in the world. But if I showed up, he would not last in the ring with me. Kenny Omega was THE guy in New Japan Pro Wrestling. He left. I took over. Nobody could compete with me in 2019. If I got in the ring with him, I’d embarrass him.”
Best in the World
CM Punk
“CM Punk called me out when he wasn’t a wrestler. So in that case, he was keeping an eye on me the entire time, looking at me and thinking I’m a challenge – and damn right, I’m a challenge. I’m THE challenge. So, if those guys want it, I’m ready. But, you guys hit me up. I didn’t hit none of you guys up.”
Ospreay took offense to the notion that CM Punk could still be considered the best in the world. “Is he though? He says he’s the best wrestler in the world. When was he saying that, 2011? Was he the best in the world, or was he the best of the bad bunch? Maybe you were the best at that time. Are you the best now? No. You’re nowhere near Will Ospreay’s level. So step up, brother. I’m ready for you.”
WWE legend Booker T has someone in mind to halt the momentum of Roman Reigns.
Many agree that since taking on the “Tribal Chief” persona, Reigns has been the hottest act in WWE. He has had a dominant run with the WWE Universal Championship. With that said, everyone has to lose at some point and many are wondering who will finally be able to dethrone the “Head of the Table.”
Reigns is set to put his gold on the line against Brock Lesnar at WWE Crown Jewel on Oct. 21. Taking to his Hall of Fame podcast, Booker T said that while it would be easy to have Lesnar defeat Reigns, it’s not the route he would take.
“For me, I’ve been talking about this for a minute now, to beat Roman Reigns you gotta really make that a moment. I always say with moments, you only get a chance to have it one time and it goes away pretty much as far as these kind of situations. Undertaker’s streak being broken, stuff like that. For me, you look at Brock Lesnar. Could he be the guy? Of course.
“But for me, I’m looking to make somebody. I’m looking to make somebody in big fashion, in a huge way. And there again, man I look at that kid WALTER and I say he’s a star. He’s what wrestling is today. He’s international, he can bring so many eyes to American professional wrestling from that side of the world. It’s not gonna be funny. I look at this thing almost like the UFC does with that Ciryl Gane and Francis Ngannou matchup coming up. There’s gonna be a lot of eyes on that thing, there’s gonna be a lot of money made. At the end of the day, if we’re not looking at it that way, we’re just gonna have another match and we’re gonna just flip the title, we’re gonna lose.”
WALTER had an incredible run with the NXT United Kingdom Championship. He held onto the title for 870 days. His reign finally came to an end when he was submitted by Ilja Dragunov at TakeOver 36 back in August.
WALTER remains on the NXT UK brand after not being drafted by Raw or SmackDown. WWE officials have reportedly been wanting to do something with him beyond the NXT brand. Time will tell when WALTER will get the call to the main roster.
If you use the quotes in this article for your website, please drop a h/t to SEScoops with a link back to this article.
Kurt Angle admits he was nervous ahead of the major announcement that he signed with TNA Wrestling.
When Angle signed with TNA back in 2006, it was a big deal. TNA Wrestling was the new kid on the block. The promotion hired a slew of former WWE stars but at that point, they hadn’t signed a megastar who was in their prime. That’s why when the promotion announced that Kurt Angle put pen to paper, it threw the wrestling world for a loop.
During a recent edition of The Kurt Angle Show, the Olympic gold medalist reflected on shooting the secret vignettes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqIB4CWDkiM
“They were very quick. There were background lights and water falling and it was just me doing poses and revealing myself at the end of the pay-per-view when I made my debut. ‘It’s real, it’s damn real’ and I started laughing. Those were the vignettes that I did. It didn’t take us very long. We got them done and out of there.”
Angle took note of fans chanting Goldberg’s name before the announcement was made and he went from being excited to sweating bullets.
“Everybody thought it was Goldberg. I was scared. When they were chanting ‘Goldberg’ I was like, ‘oh sh*t. I hope they’re not disappointed it’s me.'”
It’s safe to say that no one inside the Impact Zone was disappointed on that night.
Angle would stick around with TNA until 2016. He made his return to WWE the following year and earned a spot in the WWE Hall of Fame. Angle is now retired from the pro wrestling industry, citing injuries throughout his career, his age, and wanting to focus on other things.
If you use the quotes in this article for your website, please drop a h/t to SEScoops with a link back to this article.
Big E says that he wants to give his presentation a little bit of spice now that he’s the WWE Champion.
E successfully cashed in his Money in the Bank briefcase on the Sept. 13 episode of Monday Night Raw. He found his opportunity after Bobby Lashley had a successful title defense against Randy Orton. Big E hit the Big Ending on Lashley to capture the gold.
Appearing on Renee Paquette’s Oral Sessions podcast, Big E said some small changes could be made now that he’s WWE Champion.
“I suppose it has sunk in. For me, I don’t want there to ever be a moment where I feel I had an ‘I made it’ moment where like, ‘alright you’ve done it. Now you’re good, you can coast.’ Because that’s when you stop growing, that’s when you stop getting better. Nothing good comes from that.
“I don’t necessarily feel the pressure but I know there is an added responsibility. So for me, it’s still just go out there and perform to the best of your ability. That’s always been my perception. But I do think there are ways that I think I wanna tweak my presentation. When you’re the guy it’s a little bit different than when you’re in a three-man group working tag team matches.”
E has already had a successful title defense. He defeated Lashley in a steel cage match on an episode of Raw to maintain his hold on the gold. He’s due for his second title defense at WWE Crown Jewel on Oct. 21. He will share the ring with Drew McIntyre.
If you use the quotes in this article for your website, please drop a h/t to SEScoops with a link back to this article.
Major League Wrestling presents FIGHTLAND tonight at 10 PM est on VICE TV following an all-new episode of Dark Side of the Ring. The show was filmed on October 2nd from Philadelphia’s 2300 Arena.
Two title matches will air on tonight’s 1-hour special. In a title for title match, MLW World Champion Jacob Fatu will face MLW National Openweight Champion Alexander Hammerstone. MLW is billing this as the biggest fight in league history. SEScoops was on hand for the taping and this match is a must-see. Spoilers from the full show are available here.
The MLW World Middleweight Championship will also be on the line when champion Myron Reed defends against Yoshihiro Tajiri, Arez, and Aramis in a 4-way bout.
Court Bauer has also announced that a new big talent acquisition will be revealed on tonight’s show.
MLW has been getting mainstream attention ahead of Fightland. The Washington Post also sent a correspondent to the show. Their coverage of the event is available here.
“We’ve been the best-kept secret in wrestling for a long time,” Alexander Hammerstone said to the Washington Post. “It’s time to get in front of more eyes, and if tonight is any indication of what we’re going to do moving forward, it’s going to be some pretty big things.”
Court Bauer also spoke to the Washington Post about losing talent to other promotions recently. He noted that his promotion is essentially a “free agent” in terms of a big-league television rights deal.
“We couldn’t afford to keep them,” Bauer said about departing talent. “But as our rights deals get better, we’ll pay the talent. We always tell the talent, we’ll grow with you. If you believe in the system, trust the process. This is why all the promoters want you, because we’ve got you.”
ECW original The Blue Meanie took part in the show. He also spoke to the Washington Post about MLW and the promotion’s future.
“The thing that bums me out is that everyone is so focused on AEW and WWE right now, but here you have MLW, who’s putting on just as good, or maybe even a better product than the two big two,” Meanie said. “I think MLW is definitely more intriguing than WWE right now. Hopefully, this next venture they’re doing with Vice TV leads to more growth.”
Tonight’s episode of Dark Side of the Ring is on the life and career of Johnny K9.
After being drafted to SmackDown, Drew McIntyre is looking forward to a future feud with the Universal champion Roman Reigns, who he calls the ‘final boss’ of WWE.
The former WWE champion recently had an interview with DAZN. He discussed things such as Big E finally becoming a world champion and his return to SmackDown.
McIntyre was asked if he feels he has unfinished business with Reigns. Replying to it, he said that there is definitely some unfinished business with him and he is looking forward to completing the story when the time comes:
“There’s unfinished business there with Roman 100 percent. In WWE, he’s the final boss, and I’m excited when the time comes for that story. Maybe it’s not right now. Perhaps it’s the future. But when it happens, it’s going to be big.”
Drew McIntyre was also asked if he thinks a match with Roman Reigns is the biggest money match for him and he replied positively. He mentioned how the tribal chief was already the top dog of the company before his heel turn.
The Scottish Psychopath said that he has been operating at a very different level over the past year. He wants to step up to that level and put the head of the table down.
Former Spirit Squad member Kenny Dykstra, real name Ken Doane has been hired by WWE as a performance center coach according to reports from PWinsider. The 35-year-old, who was trained by WWE Hall Of Famer Killer Kowalski, has already joined his new position. He has been working at the PC for at least the last several weeks.
Dykstra made his wrestling debut at the age of 15 in 2001. After making several appearances as an enhancement talent, he was signed to a development contract by WWE in June 2004. He made his main roster debut as part of the Spirit Squad in January 2006. They were used by Mr McMahon in his feud against Shawn Michaels.
Kenny, alongside fellow squad member Mikey even won the tag team championships back in April the same year. They defeated the team of Big Show and Kane with help from the other three members of their group.
They went on to have a feud with a reunited DX, alongside other people such as Ric Flair. The faction disbanded in November after being defeated by the team of DX and Flair. Kenny was repackaged as Kenny Dykstra after the group ended but he couldn’t find a lot of success. He was released from his contract 2 years later in November 2008.
