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PROGRESS Release Recap Video Ahead of Best of 3 Series Finale

Jake Skudder
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PROGRESS Wrestling has confirmed that the final match in their Best of 3 Series for the PROGRESS Women’s Championship will take place in just under two weeks.

Kanji and Gisele Shaw will do battle for the third time in as many chapters to determine who will be the next Women’s Champion on Saturday May 22.

Former Champions Jordynne Grace and Jinny commented on the importance of the title ahead of the final match between the two stars.

“The PROGRESS Women’s Championship is tied as one of the most prestigious belts I’ve ever held, on par with the IMPACT Knockout’s Championship” Jordynne Grace said recently. “Only the best women’s wrestlers in the world have held that belt, and it’s an honor to be among them.”

PROGRESS Chapter 111

“PROGRESS gave me my start in wrestling” NXT UK Superstar Jinny recently noted. “It allowed me to make my dream a reality. There wasn’t a Women’s Championship when I started.”

“From having the first women’s match on a Chapter show and proving we need a Championship for the women of PROGRESS, to becoming a two-time PROGRESS Wrestling Women’s Champion, makes the title that much more special to me,” Jinny concluded.

The company has also released a video ahead of the final match between Kanji and Gisele Shaw hyping the trilogy match:

WWE 2K22 Developers Provide Behind-The-Scenes Update (Video)

Michael Reichlin
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WWE 2K22 is the next WWE video game currently in development by Visual Concepts, a 2K Studio. We got a first look at the title during WrestleMania 37 weekend. You can see that 30-second teaser video here:

2K sent in word that the developers of WWE 2K22 will be providing an “unprecedented behind-the-scenes look” at the game’s production.

WWE 2K20 was plagued by technical issues and universally panned by critics and gamers.WWE 2K21 was scrapped entirely so the franchise could be reimagined from the ground up.

2K and Visual Concepts will chronicle the development of WWE 2K22 with a “social media content series providing ongoing access to work-in-progress production and development.”

https://twitter.com/WWE2Kdev/status/1391785420673802240

Visual Concepts is promising “frequent and in-depth communication” with the press, content creators and the WWE 2K community.

Check out SEScoops’ official WWE 2K22 Review

AEW Announces Return To Live Touring: Miami, Austin & Dallas

Michael Reichlin
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AEW sent in the following press release:

“AEW DYNAMITE” IS BACK ON THE ROAD WITH LIVE, TICKETED EVENTS IN MIAMI, AUSTIN, DALLAS

— Rescheduled Dates Announced for St. Louis and New Orleans Shows —

May 10, 2021 – After safely hosting 27 live, ticketed events throughout the past nine months at Daily’s Place in Jacksonville, Fla., AEW is bringing the excitement of its flagship show AEW DYNAMITE to Miami, Austin and Dallas this summer. AEW will become the first major wrestling promotion to safely return to a traveling schedule since March 2020.

The dates for the live shows in Miami, Austin and Dallas are:

  • Wednesday, July 7: James L. Knight Center in Miami.
  • Wednesday, July 14: H-E-B Center in Cedar Park, Texas (greater Austin area)
  • Wednesday, July 21: Curtis Culwell Center in Garland, Texas (greater Dallas area)

General tickets for the three shows will go on sale this Friday, May 14, at 11 a.m. ET / 10 a.m. CT via AEWTIX.com. At the same time, tickets for the Miami and Austin shows will be available via Ticketmaster.com, while tickets for the Dallas show can be purchased at CurtisCulwellCenter.com. Tickets start at $30 (not including service charges or fees).

Each event will be held in compliance with state COVID safety guidelines, and seating capacities will adhere to state and local mandates.

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“We’re so appreciative of our fans in Jacksonville who have been with us these past nine months, ” said Tony Khan, CEO, GM and Head of Creative of AEW. “Their support and incredible energy have lifted us week after week, and viewers have fed off their enthusiasm and support. Daily’s Place will always be our home.

“Looking ahead, we’re thrilled to welcome our fans back to become part of the action in Miami, Austin and Dallas. We’ve missed touring cities, meeting the fans and hearing their roar during our live shows. Please be assured, we are working closely with the venues to comply with state and local regulations in each city. Miami, Austin and Dallas are the first of many as we gear up the trucks to travel around the country again! ”

In the near future, AEW will be announcing additional live events for the late summer.

The company also announced two rescheduled dates for St. Louis and New Orleans:

• The show at Chaifetz Arena in St. Louis on June 23 has been rescheduled for Friday, November 5, 2021. The live event will be an AEW TNT television taping.

• The show at the UNO Lakefront Arena in New Orleans has been rescheduled for Wednesday, January, 12, 2022, as an AEW DYNAMITE event.

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Fans who have already purchased tickets to either show will have their original tickets valid for admission to the respective rescheduled show, or they can receive a refund via the point of purchase.

As AEW continues to deliver the best matches and most entertaining moments in professional wrestling today, be sure to tune into AEW DYNAMITE every Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT on TNT.

Dark Side of the Ring Creators Talk Potential Crossover With MLW

Chris Stephens
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Dark Side of the Ring Season 3 premiered last week with an episode on Brian Pillman. The show airs on VICE TV which recently signed a deal with Major League Wrestling. MLW shows now air on VICE Saturdays at noon est.

Co-creators of Dark Side of the Ring, Evan Husney and Jason Eisener, recently appeared on the WINCLY podcast and spoke about a potential crossover between MLW and Dark Side of the Ring.

“Court Bauer, he’s awesome. I’ve talked to him many times about this,” Husney said. “He had reached out to me, I think, when season two was airing. He reached out to me and and sort of had the idea of ‘wrestling is getting big on this network. What do you think?’ And obviously, because we did the Von Erich story, I knew Ross and Marshall Von Erich from the episode, and them being such a huge part of MLW, I thought it was a cool idea because Vice, the way the network launched originally to where what it’s kind of evolved into, it seems like now Vice TV, as a network, is open to a lot more different types of storytelling.”

In MLW, the Von Erichs are currently feuding with Tom Lawlor and Team Filthy. They lost the tag-team titles earlier this year to Los Parks from Azteca Underground.

Dark Side of the Ring Creators on How To Produce A Wrestling Show

The Dark Side of the Ring creators continued to talk about wanting to change the way wrestling is shot.

“If there is a way to innovate with MLW and to do something different, hey, if they want us to maybe look at some different lighting tweaks or camera tweaks, we can kind of bring a more cinematic lens to wrestling because that for me, as a whole, is the thing that makes wrestling really hard for me to watch today because I think the in-ring talent is great. I think there’s a lot of awesome talent across the board,” Husney continued.

He then continued to say he’s had discussions with MLW about possibly doing a cinematic style FMW show. It’s not clear if Bauer is into this idea, however.

“We’ve talked about it,” Husney stated. “It’s funny because I’ve talked to him about FMW, and I’ve been like, ‘Yeah man, we got the smoke, and the fog and the da da da.’ I have mentioned it a few times to him. I don’t know if he thinks I’m totally out of my mind or if he thinks that it would be cool. But hey, I think obviously being on the same network, there’s got to be some possibility of collaboration. If my schedule frees up, we can do a Halloween themed PPV.”

Dark Side of the Ring returns to VICE TV on May 13th. The episode will focus on Nick Gage.

https://audioboom.com/posts/7858584-eva-marie-returns-to-wwe-tv-feat-dark-side-s-jason-eisner-and-evan-husney

Darby Allin & Miro Exchange Trash Talk Ahead of TNT Title Match

Michael Reichlin
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Darby Allin is in for the fight of his life this Wednesday on AEW Dynamite. The reigning TNT Champion will face his toughest challenge to date when he defends against Miro.

Last week on Dynamite, Miro declared his intention to take Darby Allin’s title. He delivered a sobering warning by billing the match as, “The man who doesn’t mind dying meets the man who doesn’t mind killing him.”

Later in the show Darby Allin was thrown down a flight of steps by Ethan Page. Allin said his shoulder is in bad shape, but he is not going to let that phase him.

Miro replied by warning Allin that denial will get him hurt. He took another dig at Sting, calling him Darby Allin’s emo face-paint Daddy.

Darby Allin vs. Miro

Darby Allin replied to Miro’s comments with some trash talk of his own. He knows exactly who he is, but is Miro in touch with his own self? The Bulgarian brute came into AEW with great fanfare, but was soon relegated to playing video games and serving as Kip Sabian’s sidekick.

“Do you know who you are Miro?” he questioned. “You show up the hottest free agent just to talk about video games and be some best man. You’ve gotta be the most underwhelming Thing I’ve seen.”

He finished by warning Miro, “You ain’t taking shit away from me.”

(Update) On Tuesday, Miro posted this menacing video message:

https://twitter.com/ToBeMiro/status/1392195596312788993

WWE Management’s Reaction To AEW Blood & Guts Match

Chris Stephens
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Last week, AEW presented a War Games style match titled Blood & Guts from Daily’s Place in Jacksonville. According to PW Insider, WWE management hated the match with at least one person believing it will have serious negative implications for the industry.

“That just set the business back 30 years,” one person from WWE management reportedly said anonymously to PW Insider.

The match featured several wrestlers bleeding and Chris Jericho being pushed off the cage at the end.

The term “Blood & Guts” was actually a reference to similar criticism lobbied against AEW by Vince McMahon. At WWE’s 2nd quarter earnings call in 2019, McMahon stated he didn’t feel TNT would put up with AEW’s “blood and guts” approach for too long.

“As far as competition is concerned, the old adage is ‘competition is good for everyone,’ I think that’s generally the case,” McMahon said on the call about AEW. “We’re hoping that, to the extent that they are competition, they don’t continue with blood and guts and gory things that they have been doing, which would be bad. I can’t imagine, I can’t speak for TNT, but I can’t imagine they would put up with that.”

WWE has had similarly violent matches and segments recently, however. At Extreme Rules in 2020, Rey Mysterio’s eyeball was completely removed from his head in storyline. Bray Wyatt was also set on fire recently on WWE RAW.

MSK Reveal Meaning Behind Team Name (But Not What It Stands For)

Chris Stephens
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Wes Lee and Nash Carter, formerly known as Zachary Wentz and Dezmond Xavier, are the current NXT tag-team champions. They spoke to Metro UK recently about their time in NXT and the meaning behind their new team name “MSK.”

“It’s us. MSK is Wes Lee and Nash Carter. It’s what we stand for, it’s who we are,” said Wes Lee. He wouldn’t give away what the letters actually stand for, however.

“It’s what we do. It’s a lifestyle. It’s a mentality,” he continued.

What does MSK stand for?

The duo continued to say they like to “keep people guessing” about what MSK actually stands for.

 “It’s like our matches,” Lee continued. “You never know what to expect from us. People identify us as highflyers, but that’s not all we do. We learned highflying because that’s what was exciting to us, but we know how to punch somebody in the mouth, we know how to snap an arm. We know how to get gritty and nasty as well – so you never know what you’re gonna get with us.”

Nash Carter continued to talk about how quickly everything has come since signing with WWE.

“The story of MSK has just been ready, set, go. Not even set! It’s just been ready, go. Everything just happened so fast, where it’s kinda hard to process. ‘Once we got the call, at least for me, I knew this is the place I wanted to be. I’ve always wanted to be a WWE superstar, I always loved WWE and this place, what we have access to, is second to none. It’s the greatest thing in the world.”

Visit Metro.co.uk to read the full interview with MSK.

Mickie James Talks Cancelled WWE Angle With Chelsea Green

Jake Skudder
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Former WWE Superstar Mickie James appeared on this week’s episode of Renee Paquette’s Oral Sessions. The former Women’s Champion and trailblazer discussed a number of subjects during her time on the podcast, including of course the ‘trashbag’ incident that saw her calling out WWE for their treatment of released talent.

When Mickie James was released just a few weeks ago, her belongings were sent back to her in a ‘trash bag,’ prompting James to write a message to WWE on social media. The anger from James meant that Triple H and Stephanie McMahon would apologize publicly, and Vince McMahon called her directly.

Chelsea Green was also given the ‘trashbag’ treatment upon her release, although she was accidently sent Natalya’s gear, something Green addressed on her new podcast ’50 Shades of Green.’

Mickie James Talks Chelsea Green Feud

Mickie James revealed on Oral Sessions that her and Chelsea Green were actually set to have a feud on WWE programming, before WWE nixed this and the two were forced to try and make something work on social media.

“That would’ve been fun,” James said on the podcast. “We started actually doing that on Twitter after the fact. I really didn’t think it was going to happen at that point because they had already pulled it. Because we shot the stuff and everything for it and for whatever reason it just never got approved prior to us even going out there and having the match.”

“That was supposed to be my comeback or whatever” James recalled. “That was part of my comeback from my injury and stuff. I was like ‘oh this will actually be really cool. And it’s a cool way to flip the script, do it differently but then hopefully build Chelsea up and do something. And maybe she even retires me or whatever.’”

Would you like to see Chelsea Green and Mickie James appear for another promotion? Let us know in the comments

MJF Says He’d Jump To WWE For The Right Price: “I’m A Businessman”

Jake Skudder
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AEW star and leader of The Pinnacle MJF recently spoke to Steel Chair Magazine. One of the questions posed to the outspoken and controversial character involved WWE and his Four Horseman-esque group potentially being lured over to the company.

“Me and my boys, we’re willing to go wherever the money’s at, it’s that simple” MJF began, speaking to Steel Chair. “Don’t get me wrong, AEW runs deep in me. I don’t want to leave, but I am a businessman at the end of the day. I can’t help myself if somebody’s got an offer for me, I’m going to listen to it.”

“I’m a prodigy” MJF claimed. “But people have been saying that about me since birth and the reason why it doesn’t shock me, but it shocks everybody else, is because, let’s face it, there’s ageism in this world.”

MJF on Being a ‘Prodigy’

“When people hear the number 25? They think, ‘Oh, that person probably doesn’t have their ducks in a row, he’s probably immature; he’s probably not ready for a big opportunity’” The Pinnacle leader concluded.

It’s highly unlikely that Maxwell Jacob Friedman or The Pinnacle would be heading over to WWE anytime soon. FTR themselves left the company to join AEW; citing a want to have more creative freedom and to be in an environment where they felt tag team wrestling was more ‘respected.’

WALTER Names His ‘Dream’ Opponents from NXT and SmackDown

Jake Skudder
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WWE Superstar and the United Kingdom Champion WALTER recently appeared on Corey Graves’ After The Bell podcast. The Austrian performer discussed a number of topics during the interview, including the three names in WWE that would be ‘dream’ matches for him.

“When I first got into watching other wrestling, I was watching Ring of Honor” WALTER began, somewhat giving a clue as to the performers he wants to go up against. “A lot of those guys are the top guys in WWE right now.” 

WALTER Talks Dream Matches

“Daniel Bryan is a match I would want to do” WALTER noted. “Obviously, Cesaro. I’ve never worked with (Cesaro). He’s a great role model for all of us German-speaking talent. He’s always been super supportive.”

“As soon as we stepped foot in WWE, he reached his hand out to all of us” WALTER revealed of the Swiss Superstar. “He’s a fantastic wrestler. Regarding NXT, the one match I wanted before COVID was Finn Balor. Those are the three.”

The biggest reason that we have not seen WALTER appear more on the main roster is his want to stay in Europe. Reports have indicated that WALTER is settled and happy to perform in the UK/Europe; so he isn’t looking to relocate to the United States anytime soon.

Backstage Update On NXT Referee Drake Wuertz

Chris Stephens
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Controversial NXT referee Drake Wuertz was reportedly suspended by WWE earlier this year and has had his responsibilities reduced backstage. This comes on the heels of journalist David Bixenspan’s reporting on Wuertz’s extreme political views.

In November, Bixenspan published an article titled “WWE appears to have a Drake Wuertz problem.” The article details Wuertz’s relationship with a a QAnon-adjacent “anti-child trafficking” charity, and his activity on Parler including his following the official “Proud Boys” account. According to the report from Fightful, WWE officials were “horrified” by what they read in the article.

Then more recently, Bixenspan posted Wuertz’s appearance at a Seminole County Board of County Commissioners meeting.

https://twitter.com/davidbix/status/1387259525040943104

According to a report from Fightful, Wuertz is no longer the head referee in NXT. That job has now gone to Darryl Sharma. Wuertz was also not given the role of timing matches in NXT in favor of giving that role to the returning Scott Armstrong. Wuertz is said to have been banned from the Capitol Wrestling Center for a period, either formerly or informally as well. He has since returned, however.

Drake Wuertz Response On Facebook

Wuertz published the following response to the reports about him on Facebook:

“My wife said some folks are apparently writing about our “Radical Views “. *Human Trafficking is modern-day slavery and we seek to eradicate it *Abortion is Murder and needs to be Abolished *Children in my community that are being forced by local government to wear masks for 8 hours a day against their parents wishes is abuse. We have a God-ordained duty to speak up for the ‘least of these’ and petition our magistrates to prevent harm upon children. If this is “Radical” then label me an extremist for Christ. Were not called to fit in with the world. Were called to serve God!…”We ought to obey God rather than men.” Acts 5:29”

What Is Qanon?

In April, a report was published by the global security-focussed non-profit group the Soufan Center, and stated that Qanon messaging and conspiracy theories were being amplified by foreign countries with the goal of sowing civil discontent within the United States.

“Our data collection and analysis has demonstrated that QAnon has been weaponized by America’s adversaries,” cautioned Zach Schwitzky, Founder of Limbik. “Actors from Russia, China, Iran, and Saudi Arabia have all entered the fray amplifying QAnon messaging, most likely as a means to sow further discord and division among the American population.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/CN2LybiJu8r/

Jon Moxley & Yuji Nagata Comment On Their Title Match On Dynamite

Chris Stephens
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Jon Moxley will defend his IWGP United States championship against Yuji Nagata on Dynamite this Wednesday. Moxley teamed with Chris Dickinson on NJPW Strong this week and they defeated the team of Yuji Nagata and Ren Narita. Following the match, Nagata locked Moxley in an arm-bar. Both teams were interviewed after the match and Nagata and Moxley both spoke on their upcoming title match.

“Mr. Jon Moxley. Under this COVID-19 situation, I, Yuji Nagata, came for you here in America,” Nagata said. “And I had a match with you. I still want more. I got some good attacks from you. Your move was not bad. However, that was not enough. I am not satisfied with today’s tag match. When is the next match with you? The next one is the US Heavyweight Championship match. I am going to give it all I got. Do same thing to me. And then, I will win. Zea!”

Following Nagata’s comments, champion Jon Moxley and his partner Chris Dickinson were also interviewed backstage.

“Let me tell you about Nagata-san,” Moxley began. “Let me tell you about this guy who got on a plane and came all the way across the Pacific Ocean to do me a favor, to come here and glad handle the American citizens and all the fans. The great respected Yuji Nagata making a tour of the United States, problem is he’s going back to Japan in a body bag.”

“Tonight, what I saw after this match, that’s the Nagata I want! I want an angry Nagata, I want a mean Nagata, I want a pissed off Nagata,” Moxley continued.

7 More NJPW Wrestlers Test Positive For COVID-19

Chris Stephens
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NJPW is experiencing a COVID-19 outbreak. 7 additional wrestlers have now tested positive for the virus. This brings the total number of 9 infected people on the NJPW roster. 2 wrestlers also tested positive for the virus following Wrestling Dontaku Night 2.

While NJPW has not announced which wrestlers have tested positive, Kazuchika Okada, Minoru Suzuki, El Desperado, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, SHO, and YOH were the wrestlers removed from Wrestling Dontaku Night 2. According to updates from NJPW1972.com, 2 of those wrestlers presented to the May 3rd show with a fever. Those wrestlers would later test positive for the virus, while 4 additional wrestlers were kept off the show as well.

Following these positive tests, NJPW tested its entire roster and 7 more additional positive tests were confirmed.

“In light of this news, all those who had close contact with the infected parties, in addition to every wrestler on the roster, received PCR tests, with a further seven wrestlers testing positive,” an NJPW update reads.

All 9 wrestlers who tested positive are said to be experiencing mild or no symptoms.

“All those who tested positive are experiencing mild symptoms or are asymptomatic. According to protocols and under medical advice, all are isolating and receiving appropriate treatment,” NJPW’s statement continues.

NJPW recently cancelled planned shows in Yokohama on the 15th and inside the Tokyo Dome on May 29th.

EC3 Shares Update After Hospitalization

Andrew Ravens
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EC3 announced on social media last month that he had been hospitalized and now he has written a long blog to detail the situation. 

He had been dealing with an infection that has caused him to miss out on work for the past month. The severe infection happened months after he had COVID-19 last year. He cited a torn toe tendon procedure and a cut suffered during a match. 

“A couple of weeks ago, I noticed a swelling developing in my arm, and in other areas of my body,” he wrote. Paying it very little attention while using bro-science and internet diagnosis, I continued my daily missions and the overwhelming burdens I place upon myself in training, performing, business, and creative endeavors. When I thought about getting it looked at professionally, another thing would come up that I’d give priority.

This repeated and I lived life normally, consistently going, no rest,” he continued. “Finally, after an attempt at some athletic based therapy, my arm became a gigantic, swollen, horrifying, ungodly, painful atrocity and I went to the ER. Next thing I knew, words like cellulitis, staph, and stenosis were thrown around, I was being pumped full of fluids, antibiotics, and morphine, and was in an ambulance to my STAYCATION DESTINATION, Advent Health Downtown Orlando.”

He continued by noting that for 10 days, he shut down both physically and mentally.

“It was a reminder of both a childhood spent very ill, and a career spent where when things were very promising, began to reach an apex, and accomplishments being achieved I would drasticly be shattered with catastrophic injuries (torn ligaments, tendons, concussions etc.) Completely unforeseen. Completely unnecessary.”

EC3 added that he is at home now where he can continue to heal and rest. He also circled three dates on his calendar with the first date being May 27th. 

EC3 has not wrestled since April 9 where he lost to Moose by DQ at a Game Changer Wrestling event.

Jon Moxley Victorious On NJPW Strong, Attacked By Yuji Nagata

Michael Reichlin
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IWGP United States Champion was in action on Friday’s edition of NJPW Strong. He and Chris Dickinson teamed up to defeat the team of Yuji Nagata and Ren Narita.

Moxley picked up the pinfall victory by hitting a paradigm shift on Narita. Post-match, Nagata attacked Moxley. The two will battle in a historic singles match next Wednesday on AEW Dynamite. It will be the first time in history that a championship sanctioned by NJPW is defended on AEW programming.

Here are full results from Friday’s NJPW Strong:

  • Barrett Brown and Adrian Quest defeated The DKC and Kevin Knight
  • The West Coast Wrecking Crew (Royce Issacs and Jorel Nelson) defeated Misterioso and Jordan Clearwater
  • IWGP US Champion Jon Moxley and Chris Dickinson defeated Yuji Nagata and Ren Narita

You can stream the episode now on NJPW World.

Court Bauer Comments On MLW/WWE Rumors

Chris Stephens
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Court Bauer’s MLW promotion is gearing up for the start of a new era. El Jefe from Azteca Underground was revealed on Fusion this week and a big show from the 2300 Arena has been scheduled for July.

It has also been reported in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter recently that MLW and WWE were developing some type of relationship. Bauer recently spoke to Forbes about those rumors. Bauer noted that his company is in talks with some “interesting people” but any relationship would have to benefit both parties.

“A collaboration must have a long-term vision and a genuine commitment to enriching both parties,” said Bauer. 

“We’re having some interesting conversations with some interesting people, and if there is a two-way relationship that feels like it’s a win-win for the companies, the talent and the fans—and has a long-term sustainability to it—we’ll always examine it. You can’t do one-sided. I don’t kiss rings, I don’t need the validation,” Bauer continued.

Court Bauer on MLW and VICE TV

Bauer also spoke about MLW’s new deal with VICE TV and how it helps both parties.

“Vice TV has found an audience in pro wrestling. They’re the fastest-growing entertainment cable network in America, and in this day in age to be growing in linear cable a lot—and their success with Dark Side of the Ring and finding this audience—[the pro wrestling audience] is a very loyal audience. It always has been. That’s why Turner Sports grew in the ‘70s, because of the Atlanta Braves and pro wrestling. The reason USA Network found its way in the ‘80s was because of WWF. Pay-per-view thrives because of wrestling. This formula worked for them, and in us they have a partner that’s very true to their audience, which is full of Gen Z and millennial viewers.” 

MLW is looking to add some fresh faces to its roster before the show on July 10th. The promotion announced a draft of sorts will take place in the coming weeks.

https://twitter.com/courtbauer/status/1391014642772807681

Paul Heyman Discusses Potential Roman Reigns vs Brock Lesnar Match

Jake Skudder
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Paul Heyman recently spoke to DAZN. The Special Council To The Tribal Chief discussed a wide variety of topics during the interview, however his answering of a question regarding Brock Lesnar returning to face WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns as particularly intriguing.

Although Reigns and Lesnar have already fought on multiple occasions, including WrestleMania main events, a meeting between the two now would be arguably the one that draws the most intrigue from the audience. With Heyman now aligned with Roman, and Reigns portraying his Head of The Table character, it means that Lesnar has a different reason to go after the Samoan Champion.

“The problem that I have with your question is that it’s based on a hypothetical” Heyman said to DAZN during the interview. “My father was a far smarter man than I will ever be, which is a testament to my father. My father used to have a saying, ‘If your aunt had balls, she’d be your uncle.’ She doesn’t. So she’s not.”

“If Brock Lesnar were to return, ‘if’ is a hypothetical. Brock Lesnar does what Brock Lesnar wants to do” the former ECW owner continued. “How you can be cognizant of the fact that Brock Lesnar does not want to challenge Roman Reigns for the Universal championship, or at least not yet, is because he hasn’t done it.”

Paul Heyman on Brock Lesnar

“Because if Brock Lesnar wanted to it, it would have happened already” Heyman noted, in an extremely telling manner. “And it hasn’t happened already because he doesn’t want to.”

“Now, there may be reasons why he doesn’t want to” Heyman added. “And that’s for Brock Lesnar to reveal if Brock Lesnar ever decides to reveal it. Man doesn’t tweet. He doesn’t post pictures on Instagram. He’s not a public persona. He’s a very private beast. He does enjoy being on his tractor and on his combine, and the man loves the farm.”

“If Brock Lesnar ever decides to appear in public, it’ll be when Brock Lesnar wants to appear in public because Brock Lesnar does what Brock Lesnar wants to do” Paul Heyman concluded, leaving the door open to a potential mega match down the line.

Shawn Spears Talks Possibility of Peyton Royce and Billie Kay in AEW

Jake Skudder
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AEW star and husband of former WWE Superstar Peyton Royce, Shawn Spears, recently spoke to Inside The Ropes. During the interview, the member of The Pinnacle discussed Peyton and her IIconics tag team partner Billie Kay potentially joining him in All Elite Wrestling.

“Obviously they [the fans] would assume that would be the plan that because I work there” Spears said during the interview. “Her [Peyton] husband works there, that it’s just, naturally she’s going to… Those questions are above my pay grade.”

“I don’t have anything to do with the hiring process” Shawn Spears continued, discussing the popular tag team unit and them potentially signing. “Selfishly, of course! Why would I not want my wife working there? Not only do I feel it’d be great to see her on a weekly basis with me, but what her and Jess can offer our women’s division and the entertainment world as a whole is just second to none.”

Shawn Spears on The IIconics

Shawn Spears then seemed to almost ‘pitch’ the duo, saying “you’ve seen how entertaining they are. I don’t need to explain to you what they bring to the table, and I don’t think I would need to explain to Tony Khan what they bring to the table either. That guy knows everything about every talent.”

With Billie Kay and Peyton Royce being almost shock releases from WWE a few weeks ago, there’s a good chance that they’re on the radar of many promotions. Whether we will see the duo end up in AEW remains to be seen, as IMPACT, NWA or even a return to Australia are all viable options.

WALTER Explains Why He Never Thought About Signing With WWE

Jake Skudder
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WWE Superstar and United Kingdom Champion WALTER recently appeared on WWE’s After The Bell podcast w/Corey Graves. The Austrian Superstar discussed a number of topics during the interview, including how WWE was never his end goal and a destination he never expected to end up.

“I was never thinking about signing with WWE,” WALTER said in the interview with Graves. “It was never a goal. I was happy in the process, sometimes you get lost too much when thinking about the future. Sometimes, your brain is way ahead of you so I always have to focus on what I’m doing right now.”

WALTER then confirmed prior rumors regarding his status with the WWE ‘main’ roster. It has been reported in the past that WALTER is unwilling to move away from Europe, thus why he has not been moved over to either NXT, RAW or SmackDown, despite the company wanting him to.

“I was never too keen about leaving Germany or Europe to live in the United States. It’s a big step” WALTER said. “Most of the other wrestlers are willing to do it because it’s their goal from day one or early in their career. For me, it was never a realistic thing that I could ever wrestle for WWE.”

WALTER on WWE Landscape

“When I started ten years ago, the wrestling world was different” the NXT United Kingdom Champion continued. “WWE was very protected and isolated from everyone else. They opened up a few years ago when they realized how much talent there is. When everything came to talks with NXT UK, they talked to me right when it started and I was doing well on the Indies.”

“I wanted to wait and see what happens” WALTER revealed, clearly wanting to see how the pieces fell before he committed to the then new brand. “When everything came together with NXT UK, I was thinking about myself. The travel schedule on the Indies was really rough. You’re working for a different guy every day and have to organize everything. If you rely on the promoter, there’s a chance you get stranded somewhere.”

“I was only home two or three days a week. When NXT UK came up and we talked, obviously the focus was to build something in Europe and it was the logical first step in the process” WALTER concluded.

Do you think at some point we will see WALTER in NXT, RAW or SmackDown full time? Let us know in the comments

Pat McAfee Comments On Unaired Smackdown Scene

Chris Stephens
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Last night, WWE presented a throwback edition of Smackdown. New Smackdown commentator Pat McAfee appeared to resemble Vince McMahon on the show but as it turns out, McAfee had planned on doing a much larger VKM impersonation on the broadcast.

McAfee took to Twitter to comment on an unaired scene from Smackdown last night with him dressed up and acting as Vince McMahon himself.

“Tonight was gonna be a memorable 1. I was prepared to have no voice for weeks.. Got the Bentley driven DAHN there. Shaved my face 4 the first time in my life. Ideas got changed immediately after filming this,” McAfee Tweeted. “I’m thankful we got the clip. All in all fun night on Smackdown.”

McAfee recently spoke to the New York Post about his approach to commentary.

“I’m trying to be something that provides a little more assist for stories that are happening as opposed to interjecting myself in stories. But it was difficult not to be a heel full-time in there, I will say. I think that will naturally turn up a little bit, but I don’t think you’ll ever expect me going on to commentary … maybe it will happen, but I don’t think so, though … of me saying, ‘it must suck to suck’ or whatever to whoever is listening. I don’t know if that’s going to happen. Maybe it will. Maybe that’s how it will kind of feel and lead to. But for me, I’m naturally more of a heel, but I also want to make sure I’m not distracting from all the incredible things going on SmackDown.”

Brian Cage Reflects On His Time In Lucha Underground

Chris Stephens
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Brian Cage defeated Hangman Page last week on AEW Dynamite. He’s currently ranked #4 in the men’s singles division. Cage recently took part in an interview with the Jobbing Out podcast and spoke about his career leading up to AEW. In particular, Cage had positive things to say about his time in Lucha Underground.

“I remember the last time I was part of something that kind of slowly took the wrestling world by storm was Lucha Underground, which is still one of my favorite times in wrestling,” Cage said (transcriptions via 411Mania).

“I absolutely loved it there. And now that we’re here with another alternative – the biggest problem with Lucha Underground was finances and TV network. (In AEW), we’ve got the finances to back to the company, and we’ve got TNT. If Lucha Underground was on TNT instead of El Rey, it would have done a little better and lasted a little longer to say the least.”

Lucha Underground’s former Dario Cueto character recently debuted in MLW. Now known as El Jefe, he is expected to become a major part of the show. The Azteca Underground faction in MLW is thought to be El Jefe’s new venture following the demise of his “old temple.”

Paul Heyman Reflects On John Cena’s ECW One Night Stand Performance

Chris Stephens
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In 2006, at the second ECW One Night Stand PPV, Rob Van Dam defeated John Cena to win the WWE Championship. The atmosphere inside the arena that night was intense and Cena played into the negative reaction he got that night. Paul Heyman recently spoke to Metro UK about Cena’s performance on the show.

“John Cena feeds off of the interaction with a live audience like very few people on the face of the planet in history ever have, ever could, ever would, or ever have the ability to generate that level of passion from a live crowd,” Heyman said.

Cena threw his t-shirt into the crowd as he normally does during this show, only this time the ECW faithful tossed it right back at him.

“I think John Cena, to this day, loved every single micro moment of it.”

“Anybody that says that they wouldn’t cherish the opportunity to work with John Cena on any level is a fool,” he continued.

Heyman continued to reflect on the ECW shows in 2005 and 2006. He also reflected on the type of atmosphere the promotion regularly had before going out of business.

“Everybody talks about the atmosphere of Rob Van Dam versus John Cena at the 2006 show, or The Sandman’s entrance at the 2005 show, or the atmosphere of the entire night at the 2005 show,” Heyman reflected.

“I’m happy the memories of those two shows are so vivid to so many people – and I will use the word “and” instead of “but”. And I would add to that statement – we did this every night in ECW. That was the atmosphere every night in ECW.”

WWE SmackDown Results (5/7): Cesaro Earns Universal Title Shot, Jimmy Uso Returns

Robert Lentini
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WWE SmackDown aired live from the ThunderDome and this week was a special Throwback Edition of the show. Seth Rollins faced Cesaro tonight in a WrestleMania 37 rematch. If Cesaro won the match, he would earn a shot at the Universal Championship at WrestleMania Backlash.

SmackDown Results (5/7)

  1. Cesaro def. Seth Rollins to earn a title shot at WrestleMania Backlash
  2. Carmella def. Ruby Riott via submission
  3. Tamina def. Reginald via disqualification
  4. King Corbin, Alpha Academy, Sami Zayn, Apollo Crews def. Shinsuke Nakamura, Street Profits, Kevin Owens, Big E

Here are the takeaways from this week’s show:

Jimmy Uso Returned

This week’s episode of SmackDown was a throwback edition as part of a promotion for Fox this weekend. Universal Champion Roman Reigns came down to the ring with Paul Heyman and Jey Uso.

Heyman said that Reigns has asked him to eulogize the career of his victim, Daniel Bryan. Paul asked for a ten bell salute and hilariously made “ding” sounds with his mouth instead of ringing the bell.

Reigns noted that he gave Daniel Bryan what he wanted because he didn’t want to be here anymore. Roman claimed that they have replaced Daniel Bryan and introduced Jimmy Uso.

Jimmy shared a hug with everyone in the ring before Cesaro interrupted. Cesaro said that you can never replace Daniel Bryan. Seth Rollins attacked Cesaro from behind before Teddy Long joined the party. Teddy Long said Adam Pearce gave him some authority tonight and announced that if Cesaro beats Rollins he will face Roman Reigns for the Universal Championship at WrestleMania Backlash.

Cesaro Will Face Roman Reigns At WrestleMania Backlash

Reigns attacked Cesaro from behind as SmackDown went to a. break. When SmackDown returned, Jimmy and Jey Uso were ringside for the match as Paul Heyman watched Roman Reigns watching the match backstage.

Rollins controlled the action early and kept Cesaro rounded. Seth applied a Headlock and then went for a Suplex but Cesaro blocked it. Cesaro connected with a big Clothesline and went for the cover but Seth kicked out at two.

Cesaro went for the Gotch Neutralizer but Rollins countered with a Back Body Drop for a near fall. Rollins hit a Superplex and quickly followed it up with the Falcon Arrow for another two count.

When SmackDown returned from a commercial break, Cesaro locked in the Sharpshooter in the middle of the ring. Rollins reached for the ropes but Cesaro blocked him. Seth eventually broke free and dropped Cesaro with a forearm to the back of the head.

Rollins started arguing with Jey and told him that he didn’t want to interfere. Rollins shoved Jey Uso to the floor and Jimmy hit him with a Superkick while the referee wasn’t paying attention. Cesaro capitalized with a Crossbody and rolled Seth back into the ring. Cesaro connected with the Gotch Neutralizer for the pinfall victory. Cesaro will face Roman Reigns at WrestleMania Backlash next Sunday.

After the match, Seth Rollins stormed into Reigns’ locker room and claimed that Jimmy cost him the match. Roman told Rollins that he will handle Jimmy Uso and that Seth’s loss cost him as well because now he has to face Cesaro at the PPV. Reigns vowed to defeat Cesaro and Rollins said that if he will deal with Jimmy Uso if Roman doesn’t.

Roman later confronted Jimmy Uso and scolded him for making a mistake. Jimmy told Reigns that he isn’t going to talk him like he does Jey because he isn’t anyone’s bitch. Jimmy then walked away and Roman told Jey to deal with it.

Carmella def. Ruby Riott

Ruby Riott faced Carmella tonight on SmackDown. Liv Morgan was ringside for the match. Riott slammed Carmella’s face into the middle turnbuckle and connected with some strikes in the middle of the ring. Riott slammed Carmella to the mat for a near fall.

Riott climbed to the top rope but Carmella caught her with a kick to the face. Carmella went for the cover but used the ropes for leverage and Liv Morgan alerted the referee. Riott and Carmella then traded roll-ups until Carmella transitioned into the Code of Silence for the submission victory.

Bayley Sent A Message To Bianca Belair

Bayley came down to the ring and said she was here to pay tribute to some of the women’s champions of the past. Bayley brought up Alundra Blayze, Jacqueline, Lita, Trish Stratus, Ivory, Beth Phoenix, and Molly Holly.

Bayley boasted about herself after bringing up everyone’s name. She then put Bianca Belair’s name on the screen and claimed that she was blind to the world around her. Bayley added that if Belair is not careful, she is going to wind up like all of those other women, not on her level.

She vowed to defeat Bianca Belair at WrestleMania Backlash and show the WWE Universe that she was right about her all along. Bianca Belair interrupted and said it was her confidence that bothers Bayley. Belair told Bayley to worry about herself because she is on her way to becoming the new longEST reigning SmackDown Women’s Champion.

Bayley cackled into the microphone and tried to tackle Bianca but Belair blocked it. Belair sent Bayley to the corner and then launched her across the ring. Belair connected with a Dropkick but Bayley hopped up and ripped away at Bianca’s earring. Bayley then planted Bianca with the Rose Plant to end the segment.

Jimmy Uso Wants To Go For The Tag Titles

Jey Uso confronted Jimmy Uso backstage. Jey told Jimmy that whatever Roman does benefits the family. Jimmy disagreed and said that Jey has become Roman’s bitch and all he is doing is fighting the Universal Champions’ battles. Jimmy said it would be representing the family as well if Roman was the Universal Champion and The Usos were SmackDown Tag Team Champions.

Dominik def. Dolph Ziggler

Rey Mysterio was set to face Dolph Ziggler tonight on SmackDown. Ziggler and Roode will defend the SmackDown Tag Team Championships against Rey and Dominik at WrestleMania Backlash.

Before the match, Ziggler said there is no better throwbacks than the Dirty Dawgs. Dolph told Dominik that he doesn’t really belong here and is nothing besides Rey’s little kid. Ziggler added that Dominik should leave the ring and let the real men handle their business. Dominik told Rey that he wanted the match instead and Rey agreed.

Dominik hit a Dropkick that sent Ziggler out of the ring to begin the action. Dolph tripped Dominik up on the apron and then delivered a Body Slam on the floor outside the ring. Back in the ring, Dominik battled back with some punches but Ziggler halted his momentum with a Neckbreaker for a two count. Ziggler taunted Dominik and it backfired. Dominik rolled up Ziggler for the pinfall victory and celebrated with Rey after the match.

Tamina def. Reginald

Tamina faced Reginald tonight. Shayna Baszler, Nia Jax, and Natalya were ringside for the match. Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler will defend the Women’s Tag Team Championships against Tamina and Natalya on next week’s show.

Reginald rolled out of the ring until the referee made Tamina go to the corner. Tamina went for a couple Clotheslines but Reginald flipped out of the way. Tamina sent Reginald to the turnbuckle and he climbed to the top rope. Reginald then stood on top of the ring post and flipped to the canvas as Tamina started to climb.

Reginald danced around and turned around into a Superkick. Tamina went for the Superfly Splash but Baszler attacked her to end the match in a disqualification. Nia and Shayna then beat Tamina and Natalya down. Shayna stomped on Tamina’s elbow and Nia delivered a Samoan Drop onto the barricade to end the segment.

King Corbin, Alpha Academy, Apollo Crews, & Sami Zayn Picked Up A Win

Intercontinental Champion Apollo Crews, Alpha Academy, King Corbin, and Sami Zayn faced Big E, Street Profits, Kevin Owens, and Shinsuke Nakamura tonight. Sami originally asked Teddy Long for an Intercontinental Championship match but Teddy announced that he will be facing The Undertaker tonight. After Sami informed Teddy that The Undertaker retired, Teddy and Sonya eventually made the 10-man tag match official.

Montez Ford slammed Chad Gable to the mat to start off the action. Gable took control and brought Ford over to the corner. Apollo tagged in and connected with a Body Slam. Sami Zayn tagged himself in and unloaded some kicks to Montez’s midsection. King Corbin tagged in and leveled Big E with a Clothesline. Big E battled back with an elbow to the face for a one count. King Corbin drove Big E to the corner of the ring and Sami got in some cheap shots as referee Charles Robinson was distracted. A brawl broke out and Owens hit Sami with a Splash off the ring apron as SmackDown went to a commercial break.

When SmackDown returned, Otis and Kevin Owens were battling in the ring. Otis hit Owens with a Splash in the corner and tagged in Apollo Crews. Apollo lifted Owens up but Kevin escaped. Owens went for the Stunner but Crews blocked it. Owens hit an Atomic Drop and followed it up with an Enziguri.

Otis leveled Big E with a Clothesline outside the ring. Owens tagged in Shinsuke and he hit Sami Zayn with a boot to the face. Nakamura knocked Corbin off the ring apron and delivered another kick to Sami’s face. Sami looked for a tag but nobody was on the apron.

Nakamura hung up Sami in the ropes and connected with the sliding German Suplex. Nakamura followed it up with another kick to the face and went for the cover but King Corbin broke it up. Big E hit Corbin with a Belly to Belly but turned around into a German Suplex from Crews. Owens hit Crews with a Stunner but Gable hit him with a German Suplex on the floor outside the ring. Montez Ford leveled Otis with a Suicide Dive outside the ring.

Nakamura booted Sami in the face and went for the cover but he didn’t realize that King Corbin made a tag. King Corbin planted Shinsuke Nakamura with the End of Days for the pinfall victory.

Cesaro Beat Everyone Down To Close The Show

Roman Reigns had another conversation with Jey Uso backstage. Reigns told Jey that he loves him and loves Jimmy as well. Reigns said he needs to know where Jimmy stands and we are about to find out right now. Reigns and Jey then headed out of the locker room as SmackDown went to a commercial break.

Reigns, Jey, and Paul Heyman were in the ring when SmackDown returned. Roman said that this was not how he envisioned this night going. Jimmy Uso interrupted Reigns and made his way to the ring. Jimmy asked Jey where he stands and brought up the I Quit match between Reigns and Jey. Jimmy noted that Jey wouldn’t quit until Reigns brought him into the ring and choked him out.

Jimmy said that Jey quit because he loved him and didn’t want to see him get hurt. Jimmy then rolled footage from the Universal Championship Hell in a Cell I Quit match and how Roman was about to bash Jey’s face with the steel steps. Jimmy prevented it but Roman locked him in the Guillotine Choke until Jey quit so he would let Jimmy go.

Jimmy added that he would never say “I Quit” to Reigns no matter what. Roman told Jimmy that he was still stuck on the past and that he is not going to go back and forth with him. Reigns told Jimmy Uso to fall in line, acknowledge him or he can take his ass home.

Roman said that Jimmy will have to explain to his kids why he is sitting at home watching the Tribal Chief and The Uso. Jimmy exited the ring and walked to the entrance ramp. Jey went after him and grabbed Jimmy’s arm.

Cesaro attacked Reigns from behind and beat him down in the corner. Jimmy tried to prevent Jey from helping out but he didn’t listen. Cesaro beat Jey down until Jimmy made the save. Cesaro hit Jimmy with an uppercut and then planted Jey with the Neutralizer. Cesaro then delivered a Neutralizer to Roman Reigns to close the show.

Roman Reigns vs. Cesaro Set For WWE WrestleMania Backlash, Updated Card

Andrew Ravens
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The main event from the SmackDown brand has been announced for the upcoming WWE WrestleMania Backlash PPV.

Cesaro will challenge WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns at this show. It was confirmed on Friday’s episode of SmackDown after the company had WWE Hall of Famer Teddy Long. Long announced that Cesaro would earn a title shot from Reigns if he could beat Seth Rollins in their singles match.

When Rollins ended up having words with The Usos at ringside, Cesaro managed to capitalize and get the win. Thus, he earned the right to become the new #1 contender for the top title.

Just last week on SmackDown, Reigns beat Daniel Bryan to retain the title, which had the stipulation that if Bryan lost then he would be banished from SmackDown. This was done to write Bryan off television as his contract expired. 

WWE presents the WrestleMania Backlash pay-per-view event on Sunday, May 16, 2021 from Tampa, Florida at Yuengling Center that will air on Peacock. 

Updated WWE WrestleMania Backlash Card

  • WWE Champion Bobby Lashley vs. Drew McIntyre vs. Braun Strowman
  • WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns vs. Cesaro
  • WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion Bianca Belair vs. Bayley
  • WWE Raw Women’s Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley vs. Asuka vs. Charlotte Flair
  • WWE SmackDown Tag Team Champions Dolph Ziggler & Robert Roode vs. Rey & Dominik Mysterio

Jimmy Uso Returns On WWE Friday Night SmackDown

Andrew Ravens
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The Usos were able to reunite on WWE SmackDown.

It happened in the opening segment of the Throwback edition of the show on FOX as WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns announced the return of Jimmy Uso, who came out to celebrate with Reigns, Jey Uso and Paul Heyman.

Reigns cut a promo about how after he beat Daniel Bryan on last week’s episode of SmackDown, which had the stipulation that if Bryan lost then he would be banished from SmackDown, he introduced Jimmy.

Of course, in all reality, Bryan’s contract with WWE expired and he is currently a free agent. Reigns said Bryan wouldn’t acknowledge him, so they replaced him with someone who certainly will and that’s when Jimmy walked out. 

The former WWE Tag Team Champion suffered a torn ACL while working a Triple Threat Ladder match for the WWE SmackDown Tag Team Titles during Night 1 of WrestleMania 36. 

This is where he wrestled Kofi Kingston and John Morrison. At the time of his undergoing surgery, the belief was that he would be on the shelf for 6-9 months.

In February, Jimmy was back training at the WWE Performance Center. He did make a few appearances on WWE TV last year when Jey was feuding with Reigns, but he wasn’t cleared at the time. 

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