At TakeOver 36, Samoa Joe will return to the ring for the first time since February 2020. Joe was concussed while filming a commercial and has been out of action ever since. This weekend, he’ll face Karrion Kross with the NXT Championship on the line.
Joe spoke to Sports Illustrated recently about finally being cleared to return.
“My goal has always been to get healthy and get back in the ring,” Joe says. “[Getting cleared], it was a feeling of reassurance and relief. It was very reaffirming. Everything we did, all the therapy, all that work was worth it.”
Joe spent a little under a year as a commentator on RAW. He was released from the role earlier this spring. He says it gave him something to put his energy towards while he was out.
“Commentary gave me something to focus on and put my energy into while I was recovering. I enjoyed my time in the commentary booth. I threw myself so deeply into that because it kept me from driving myself crazy. Only time and healing were going to solve anything, so doing commentary helped me alleviate a little bit of that stress I put on myself.”
Shortly after being cut from the main roster, Joe signed with NXT. At first, he was William Regal’s enforcer but that only set the stage for his feud with Karrion Kross and return to the ring.
“This is very real to me,” Joe continued. “The hours of training to come back, those are very real. It’s been very real to me for a long time. I can’t wait to get back in the ring and mix it up.”
Joe has a chance to enter the record books this weekend as the first person to hold the NXT Championship 3 times. He already holds the record as the first person to hold the title twice. Since Joe’s second title reign, Shinsuke Nakamura, Finn Balor, and Karrion Kross have all won the title a second time as well.
Ahead of his match at #NXTTakeOver 36, @SamoaJoe told @SInow, "@WWEKarrionKross is very different from the many people that I’ve faced. He presents a very unique challenge. He’s unlike anyone I’ve ever seen in NXT. It’s going to be something new.” https://t.co/U4aiKh72iE
Bianca Belair’s SmackDown Women’s title defense against Sasha Banks at SummerSlam will take place as scheduled, following several days of caution and concern.
The first indication that this match was at risk occurred over the weekend. Sasha Banks and Bianca Belair were both advertised for WWE’s live events from Charlotte, North Carolina and Columbia South Carolina. Unfortunately, they did not attend due to “unforeseen circumstances.”
Uh… Bryon Saxton just announced that both Sasha and Bianca will not be appearing due to unforeseen circumstances.
SEScoops can confirm there was concern within WWE that the SummerSlam SmackDown Women’s Championship match was in jeopardy. Thankfully, with just a few days until SummerSlam, WWE can breathe a sigh of relief.
According to PWInsider, both women have been medically cleared for Saturday’s WWE pay-per-view from Las Vegas, NV. Barring “something unforeseen,” they will also be on hand for Friday’s go-home edition WWE Smackdown.
Bianca Belair vs. Sasha Banks is the highly anticipated rematch from their encounter this past April at WrestleMania 37.
IWGP United States heavyweight champion Hiroshi Tanahashi will defend his title against Kota Ibushi at Wrestle Grand Slam on September 4th in Tokorozawa, Saitama, Japan.
“…the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship will be on the line on September 4, as Hiroshi Tanahashi defends against the returning Kota Ibushi. This match was made official after an exchange of video messages from both men earlier today,” said NJPW.
Tanahashi defeated Lance Archer to win the championship at NJPW Resurgence on August 14th at The Torch at LA Coliseum in Los Angeles, California. The win helped Tanahashi become the second Grand Slam winner in NJPW.
Four days after his victory, Tanahashi released a video challenging Ibushi to face him at Wrestle Grand Slam. In the video, Tanahashi said, “…I know you want the IWGP World title. But there’s nothing wrong with a detour once in a while. There’d be risk for us both. A lot on the line, but Ibushi, have your comeback match against me.”
Kota Ibushi Return to NJPW
Ibushi will make his return after recovering from aspiration pneumonia. In his response video to Tanahashi, Ibushi admitted that he’s not fully healthy. However, he accepted the challenge and said, “… the direct path for me is the best. That means I must face you, Tanahashi.”
Before his illness, Ibushi earned an opportunity to challenge for the IWGP heavyweight championship in July. NJPW didn’t share in their press release if Ibushi gets another chance, now that he is returning. However, Ibushi has a new opportunity to win his first IWGP U.S heavyweight championship. If Ibushi wins, he would be the third grand slam winner in NJPW.
PROGRESS Wrestling has confirmed that a former TNA X-Division Champion will be making their return to the company this weekend as part of Chapter 118.
Doug Williams recently made his way back from retirement, performing for the likes of ICW and Rev Pro in the UK. This weekend will see the Ambassador of British Wrestling take on ‘Smash Mouth’ Chris Ridgeway.
Williams was part of the British Invasion faction during his time in TNA, and he won the X Division and TNA Television Championships during his tenure with the company in the last decade.
Doug Williams originally retired from PROGRESS after losing his ATLAS Title at the Hello Wembley show in September 2018. Williams would lose to Trent Seven in the biggest show of the company’s history, inside of Wembley Arena.
Doug Williams Returns To PROGRESS
The Ambassador of British Wrestling Returns…for a date with Smash Mouth
AEW star Chris Jericho recently confirmed on his Talk is Jericho podcast that two former WWE NXT Superstars have signed deals to stay with All Elite.
2.0, Matt Lee and Jeff Parker have apparently signed deals with AEW and will remain with the promotion going forward.
The tag team were previously known as Ever-Rise in NXT and were released from their WWE contracts in late June as part of the ongoing budget cuts from the company.
Chris Jericho Reveals 2.0 Signing
Interestingly, AEW has not posted the now-iconic graphic confirming that the stars are now contracted to All Elite. Cody Rhodes did mention back in November that there was a tier system for contract in AEW:
“The exclusivity thing is case by case, but we guarantee you x amount of dates. The goal is you don’t want to pay someone agree to appear, Chris Harrington would handle this much better than I am, you don’t want to keep giving them their weekly, their weekly, their weekly, their weekly vs. tier 1-ing them, which is our base contractor agreement. That’s another thing, we’re just talking about Tony, we built a middle card and a lower card. We have tier 1’s, tier 2’s, tier 3’s, tier 4 and tier Jericho.”
It is not clear what tier 2.0 are on, but they are officially signed to the company.
Recent reports of WWE management looking to shake things up with NXT have made fans worried. However, Samoa Joe is not startled by these changes. He seems to believe that constant change is in the fate of WWE’s third brand. The former NXT champion recently appeared on Busted Open Radio.
Among other things, he also commented on the reports of the expected changes to the black and yellow brand. Joe explained that NXT has always been at the impetuous for experiments. According to him, it won’t be anything different in the future and the show will always be in a state of chaotic flux:
“That evolution is going to continue. NXT has always been at the impetuous for experiment and change and doing things differently in WWE. A lot of that change has reverberated down to the SmackDown and Raw brand. I don’t think it’s going to be anything different in the future. It’s always going to be in a state of chaotic flux and the state of change just by the nature of what it is.”
Samoa Joe continued his explanation mentioning how they are always finding new talent and introducing them to the world through the NXT brand:
“We’re finding brand new talent and introducing these people to the world. In able to do that, you have to be able to keep mixing up the pot. It makes a lot of fans a little uneasy at times, but at the same time, it’s exciting to get in on the ground floor and see somebody become a star in front of your eyes.”
The former Raw star went on to name people such as Finn Balor, Bayley and Sasha Banks who grew up with the audience in NXT and have become big stars now. Samoa Joe is currently scheduled to challenge Karrion Kross for the NXT championship at the TakeOver: 36 event. This will be Joe’s first match in 18 months.
The surprising WWE release of Bray Wyatt is still a topic of discussion among fans. Wrestling veteran and current AEW commentator Jim Ross reacted to the news on the latest episode of his Grilling JR podcast.
JR, who worked as the talent relations head for a major part of his WWE career, mentioned how there is politics involved with these things nowadays because of the massive salaries offered to the wrestlers:
“There’s politics nowadays because of the immense salaries, Bray Wyatt gets cut, he’s got to be making north of a million on a downside guarantee and he’s been sitting home. That’s not good management.”
Jim Ross continued by mentioning how the company got rid of a very talented star. He claimed that the former champion wouldn’t have any issues finding work elsewhere:
“I’m not saying the guy should’ve been cut, he should’ve been used if you’re going to pay him that kind of cash. How that happened is a story for another day because I don’t know the details.
I do know they got rid of a very talented kid and I’m sure he won’t have any issues finding work, speaking of Bray Wyatt.”
Bray Wyatt was shockingly released from his WWE contract last month on July 31. He has only made a single tweet since his release, where he posted a picture of a new Fiend mask with a cryptic message.
Apart from this, Jim Ross talked about possibly adding a six men tag team championship to AEW. You can check out his comments at this link.
The latest episode of Being the Elite features teases of both Bray Wyatt and Bryan Danielson/Daniel Bryan. During the episode, members of the Elite discover a 2-pack of WWE action figures in a store. The two wrestlers featured in the pack are Bray Wyatt and Daniel Bryan.
“Hey Kenny, what’s behind you?” Matt Jackson and Brandon Cutler ask Kenny Omega in the video. When Omega turns around he sees several AEW action figures as well as a 2-pack of WWE action figures. He then pulled out the 2-pack of Wyatt and Danielson.
Omega recognized Wyatt but didn’t seem to know who the other guy in the pack was.
“One guy is a fiend, I don’t know about…” Omega says before putting his own action figure in front of the pack on the shelf.
The segment begins around the 20-minute mark of the below video:
Are Bray Wyatt and Bryan Danielson Headed To AEW?
During a recent AEW media call, SEScoops asked Cody Rhodes about the possibility of Bray Wyatt ended up in the promotion.
“I tell a lot of my peers in wrestling and people I use as a sounding board, I always tell them, ‘you can’t wish away good talent,’ especially when you get in a groove as a talent yourself,” Rhodes responded. “And it’s not unlike the world that Tony [Khan] comes from already, the world of the NFL and football in the UK. If there’s a free agent out there that can move the needle and be something significant for us… personally, I think you have to go after them.”
As for Bryan Danielson, a report from BodySlam last month stated that he has signed with AEW. The rumored date and location for Bryan’s debut is the Dynamite Grand Slam event from Arthur Ashes Stadium on September 22nd.
The number of releases coming from WWE this year has been fast, thick, and ruthless. One such star to find himself out of work is former NXT Tag-Team champion, Tyler Breeze. He and his partner Fandango were released as part of the NXT cull in June this year.
Talking on a recent episode of Insight with Chris van Vliet, Tyler Breeze spoke about how he was preparing to be fired from the very minute he signed his developmental contract with WWE.
This was not because he knew of their ruthlessness with getting rid of talent, but simply because he knew life was a lot longer than an in-ring career.
“I was preparing to get fired the day I got hired,” Tyler Breeze said. “There is a lot of life to live after wrestling. I immediately started to make a plan, got ready. I remember looking at contracts. When I got my first contract, you have a 3- or 5-year developmental contract. But then I signed my main roster contract. I went ‘okay I’ve got 3 years. Realistically in a perfect world, I will last 3 years. I don’t want to have to sign it. I would like to, but if I don’t want to, I want the freedom to say no.’”
Tyler Breeze Understands there is More to Life than Wrestling
Wrestling is not a career to begin without love. Nobody is going to have a successful career if they do not love the thrill of taking bumps and getting in the ring night after night. However, there is a long time to go once most peoples’ in-ring careers have come to an end. Some are wrestling through and through and continue through into old age.
Tyler Breeze didn’t ever want to be in a position where he had to wrestle just because people were throwing money at him.
At that moment in time, I was not happy. All they said was ‘I’m sorry, we can give you more money.’ I said ‘I’ve been really smart with my money. I don’t need more money. That was when I had the conversation to go back to NXT. But I was ready to leave right then. I had accomplished everything I had wanted to achieve of having that goal of the freedom to not sign that contract.”
While he is still only just 33 and has a lot of gas left in the tank, Tyler Breeze is clearly a man with a sensible head on his shoulders, and a vision of where he wants to go. It will be another month before we can see Breeze back in the ring. While nothing has been said yet about his future destination, fans of Prince Pretty will be hoping to see him sign somewhere and maybe get the push he deserved in WWE.
There is possibly nobody active right now better connected to the wrestling world than Jim Ross. He may be known as the voice of a generation, but his role in professional wrestling runs far deeper. He has been there and done it all for a range of promotions and knows the business inside and out, and when he speaks; many people will stop and listen.
Talking on a recent episode of his Grilling JR podcast, he spoke at great length about several topics. One of which was the constant debate among wrestling fans that AEW needs more titles. Currently, AEW only has four title belts, and Ross feels this is enough.
We discuss the career of one of the more polarizing figures in wrestling – Terry Taylor! Topics include breaking into the business in Florida, working Mid-South, The Red Rooster, The York Foundation, being an agent in WCW & WWE + more! pic.twitter.com/PIDFdD1IXp
They have a heavyweight title, the TNT title, a Women’s Championship title and Tag-Team belts. For Jim Ross, this is enough of a selection for the company to thrive. He feels that too many title belts devalue the company and lessen the prestige of the titles themselves.
“Too many titles really spoils the soup for me, you don’t need that many.”
– Jim Ross
While Jim Ross could see a benefit in adding a six-man tag championship, given the faction driven nature of AEW, he doesn’t feel it should be the primary change on executive minds.
“I wouldn’t be against it, but it wouldn’t be something I’d be breaking my door down and running up and down the halls for.”
Jim Ross Wants Championship Belts and Fights to Hold their Prestige
Talking more about the subject of title belts, Jim Ross feels too many companies fall into the trap of bringing in titles to appease the fans and give mid-card wrestlers a more easily achievable goal. While a competitive roster with people following clear paths for specific titles just makes every match and each storyline more important.
“It’s hard to maintain a positive focus on multiple titles. Which one is the most important? I think that the trend nowadays is let’s just add more titles, it’ll solve our issues. No, it doesn’t and if you get too many, they become watered down.” Jim Ross explained.
There is nothing wrong with the concept of a ‘TV’ title (TNT) being defended frequently, the main championship defences reserved for special occasions and a tag title for the teams. Jim Ross feels there is a brand and roster strength to be found in this construct. It also provides locker room clarity on what wrestlers are fighting for.
Tyler Breeze was something of an underground hero during his time with both NXT and WWE. He never received the push that many fans wanted him to get. Yet, his crazy antics won their appreciation. There was no reason for the Fashion Police angle to get over, except for the way Breeze and Fandango sold it.
“Dolph Ziggler gave me the perfect thing when I started working with him. He says ‘look, man. It’s very clear who the guy is. If it’s not you, chances are it will never be you. They won’t hand you the ball, but you will work with those guys. Even when you steal the ball from those guys, they still won’t give it to you. But you will always be used because they know they can rely on you.’” Tyler Breeze explained.
Tyler Breeze Knew There Were Other Ways to Succeed
There is no denying that Tyler Breeze is a talented wrestler. He was chosen to be the opponent for Jushin Thunder Ligers only match in WWE. He is a former FCW heavyweight champion, FCW tag champion – alongside Roman Reigns – and a former NXT Tag Team Champion. However, he knew he was never going to be ‘the guy!’.
However, thanks to further advice from Dolph Ziggler, Breeze realized there was another way to get over. By connecting with the fans, by working and being reliable.
“You get this underground following which Dolph did, which I did. The people know that they want something to happen, and it just won’t happen. It builds this cult following for you that translates into everything you do. I love being in that category. I think it’s really cool that people get behind you because the machine never did.” Tyler Breeze and Fandango shared a special bond with the WWE universe.
Tyler Breeze and his tag team partner were both released from their WWE contracts on June 21st. As of the time of writing, there is no word on where the pair will head next.
Last week on Smackdown, John Cena stood up to Roman Reigns and delivered a classic ‘Cena promo’ where he pushed buttons and get the reactions he needed. This time bringing up current AEW darling Jon Moxley, or rather his previous incarnation as Dean Ambrose. Talking recently to SK Wrestling, Seth Rollins reflected on Cena’s namedrop and how it made him chuckle.
“I had a good chuckle about it,”
– Seth Rollins
“John likes to cross some lines occasionally if you look at his history of promos in the ring, especially his face-to-face promos heading into big matches. He likes to cross the line.”
There is no denying that when fired up, John Cena can bring it with the microphone. His promos in the run-up to big main event matches can often set the WWE universe ablaze. This time, breaking the fabled ‘fourth wall’ made sense given the history between Reigns, Seth Rollins and Moxley nee. Ambrose.
Seth Rollins Admits He Would Do the Same Thing in John Cena’s Position
Talking more about the promo in which Cena reminded Reigns “You’ve been protected, Roman, you’ve been protected by The Shield. Hell, you almost ruined Seth Rollins. You ran Dean Ambrose out of WWE.” Rollins said he would do exactly the same thing if he were in Cena’s shoes.
I would do the same thing if I was in his position with his name. That’s the nature of the business. That’s how we sell tickets. And that’s how we get people like you talking.”
Seth Rollins cannot allow himself to be distracted by the inciteful talk of a different feud, not when he has his own Summerslam match to prepare for. While Cena and Reigns will clash for the Universal Championship, Rollins is set to face Hall of Famer Edge, with whom he has been feuding ever since Money in the Bank.
In truth, the feud between Seth Rollins and Edge stretches back to 2014. With Rollins and the Authority threatening to curb stomp a still retired edge and break his long-damaged neck.
Otis and Tucker collectively known as Heavy Machinery were a fairly popular tag team during their time in WWE. Their names were also liked by everybody except apparently Triple H. Tucker recently had an interview with Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling. He talked about things such as his WWE release, losing weight after his firing, and more.
During the interview, the former WWE star also revealed that Triple H didn’t like the Heavy Machinery name. According to him, the game thought it was too gimmicky:
“Everybody loved the name Heavy Machinery except Triple H. From what I understand, he was not a fan of that name. He thought it was too gimmicky, I guess. I guess thinking like fat men in construction hats, but we explained that we are Heavy Machinery. It’s not a gimmick.”
‘Tank And Dozer’
Tucker continued talking about their names and revealed that the duo originally wanted to be called Tank and Dozer. However, the WWE legal team shot down the idea because they couldn’t get it trademarked:
“I wanted to be called Tank and he wanted to be called Dozer, Tank and Dozer, Heavy Machinery. That was our initial pitch, but we were told that ‘We can’t get those names. We’re not going to be able to register those names, so we can’t do it.”
Tucker and Otis formed Heavy Machinery during their NXT days back in 2016. The team split up during the WWE drafts in 2020 and Tucker was released from the company in April earlier this year.
Seth Rollins’ team with his wife Becky Lynch for their 2019 feud against Baron Corbin and Lacey Evans got a mixed reaction from fans. It appears Rollins himself is not very keen on reuniting with her on TV for another storyline in the future.
The former universal champion talked about it in his recent interview with Sports Media podcast. He explained why he wouldn’t want to team with his better half again:
“We tried to make the best out of it, but I don’t think either of us were terribly comfortable with it. And even though we have incredible chemistry as people, as performers our characters never really vibed on-screen.
And so I think it’s just kind of one of those things that if she comes back, more than likely we’ll stay away from it. We just won’t touch on it.”
‘She Doesn’t Need Anybody’
Seth Rollins went on to claim that Becky Lynch’s character is a loner and it doesn’t feel good to see the former women’s champion in a relationship. According to him, The Man’s gimmick is not built for a number two:
“Even when I was pre-Drip God, Visionary, Monday Night Messiah – it didn’t work. But her character – she’s a loner. She doesn’t need anybody. To see that character in a relationship… it doesn’t feel good. It never felt good. And so especially now, I don’t know what it would look like.
Her [Becky’s] character’s not built for a number two, it’s just really not. No harm in that, but I don’t think we need to touch on it ever again. We’ll see what happens, but that’s how I feel at the moment.”
Becky Lynch has been training for her in-ring return for a while now but an exact date for her return is not known. Seth Rollins on the other hand is currently scheduled to face Edge at the SummerSlam PPV this Saturday.
Samoa Joe will be competing in his first match in nearly 18 months this Sunday. However, despite his hiatus from the ring, Joe does not have any doubts about himself. He is ready to take on even the top WWE star in Roman Reigns in a single call.
The former NXT champion recently had an interview with Give Me Sport. He talked about things such as his recent WWE release, upcoming SummerSlam PPV, and more.
He was also asked about Roman Reigns during the talk. Replying to it, Joe, who has faced Roman on multiple occasions before said that the tribal chief merely needs to say his name and he will show up to take the challenge:
“What Roman’s been doing has been fantastic. He’s really embraced what he probably should have been a long time ago. He’s built a hell of a squad around him. And you know, Head of the Table – that’s an interesting moniker. But Roman knows what’s up. I’m never too far away.
He merely needs to say my name, and I will show up. No problem.” said Samoa Joe, “He knows that. And I ain’t interested in sitting at your table, man. I’ll flip it over and I’ll eat your birthday cake in front of you. That’s about it.”
The Samoan submission machine has crossed paths with the head of the table before. The two feuded over the intercontinental championship back in 2018.
Samoa Joe is currently scheduled to face Karrion Kross for the NXT championship at the upcoming NXT TakeOver: 36 event on Sunday, August 22.
At 54 years of age, it’s safe to say that Goldberg has more wrestling years behind him than in front. Though he is willing to continue his current role for as long as he can.
The former WCW star recently had an interview with Sports Illustrated where he talked about things such as his early career, returning to pro wrestling and more.
During the interview, he also talked about the effect his age has on his performance. While Goldberg claimed that he will still be him regardless of what age he is, he did admit that it has become harder for him to continue physically:
“Whether I’m 25, 35, or 105, I’m still Goldberg,” he says. “My mentality allows me to still get in the ring and entertain the people to an extent that I don’t tarnish anything or everything that I’ve done.
Those are considerations you need to make when you come back. I don’t need to come back, I don’t have to. I’m here because I want to be here. Mentally, I know I can do it. Physically, it’s a little harder. But given enough time, I still can do it.”
‘The Payoff Is Not Mandatory’
Though talking about his future, Goldberg claimed that he is willing to take the opportunities presented to him as long as he thinks that he can still provide something as the character:
“As long as I can still provide something as this character, I’m willing to take these opportunities, because these chances pale in comparison to the payoff, the payoff is not monetary or glory-driven. It’s a chance to provide moments with my family that are few and far between in this world.”
Goldberg is set to challenge Bobby Lashley for the WWE championship at the SummerSlam PPV this Saturday. You can check out an updated match card here.
Getting the desired fan reaction had always been a struggle for Roman Reigns until the Universal champion decided to turn heel. Reigns has been universally praised by the audience since he introduced his new character last year. This reaction has carried over from the pandemic era shows. For the first time in his singles career, Roman Reigns is now getting a unified reaction from the fans in the arenas.
The tribal chief spoke about finally getting the reaction they want in an interview on Out of Character podcast. The head of the table detailed the psychology of the current era fans calling them a ‘fast food-oriented audience’. He explained that getting that reaction even after a year shows the hard work they have put into his story:
“We have a very fast food-oriented audience nowadays. It’s a ‘what have you done for me lately’ situation, everybody wants kind of some change as soon as they feel like they’ve gotten the portion that they were looking for. For me to still be almost a year now and for it to still to be interesting, for it to still be compelling, it just goes into, not just the performance, but just the hard work and the brainstorming and everything that goes in to being able to develop these types of stories.”
Roman Reigns went on to claim himself as the best storyteller in the world of sports entertainment today. He mentioned how we live in the world of storytelling where people want to know what’s going on by the minute. According to him, nobody else can do that on the highest level with the consistency that he does:
“That’s what I hang my hat on right now is I’m the best storyteller in sports entertainment today, and that’s all entertainment is, it’s storytelling. We live in a world of storytelling now with social media. I mean, on Instagram, you literally have stories and people want to know, by the minute, what’s going on. To be able to do that on the highest level and consistently do that, can’t nobody else say it but me.”
There have been reports of an internal power struggle in WWE after NXT lost the Wednesday night wars but Tyler Rust believes that it’s all just speculation.
The former NXT star recently had an interview with WrestlingInc. He talked about things such as the rise of AEW, why the company should continue growing, and more.
Rust was asked about the reports of Triple H being blamed for the loss of NXT. Replying to it, Tyler explained that it’s likely just a rumor because things were very controlled in NXT when he was there:
“Honestly, I would think they’re just speculation, personally, because the vibe around NXT has always been very good, it’s always been very controlled.
When we did move to Tuesday, for example, it was made very clear that, hey, this is a total network thing. This doesn’t have anything to do with the Wednesday night deal.”
Tyler Rust On Upcoming NXT Changes
Tyler Rust also offered his thoughts on the reports of the upper management wanting to overhaul the NXT product. He said that we will have to see how it works out:
“I know there’s a lot of rumors now as far as Vince wanting to overhaul the NXT product and everything. Sometimes, rumors, maybe they’re right.
We’ll see how it is going forward from there, but from my experience there, there wasn’t really many eggshells as far as upper management not being happy.”
Tyler Rust signed with NXT back in December 2020. He spent early 2021 working with Malcolm Bivens. Rust was revealed as a member of the Diamond Mine stable in June but he was released from the promotion on August 6.
Kushida has issued a brief statement on missing a title defense on WWE NXT.
He is the reigning WWE NXT Cruiserweight Championship. He was set to make a title defense on the Aug. 17 edition of NXT. Plans changed as NXT General Manager William Regal announced that Kushida wasn’t medically cleared to compete.
“Unfortunately after a medical examination, officials learned Kushida is not cleared to compete tonight. When I informed Malcolm Bivens and Roderick Strong, they expressed Roderick’s desire to compete.
Therefore, WWE NXT will begin with a Diamond Mine open challenge.”
Strong remained on the show and issued a Diamond Mine open challenge as Regal mentioned in his statement. Ilja Dragunov ended up taking the challenge and he defeated Strong.
Kushida took to his Twitter account to speak on not being able to defend his title on NXT.
“I’m sorry for everyone who was looking forward to tonight’s title match. Did not [get medically cleared]. I can’t do anything and I’m just stunned… I promise to be back on TV soon. Thank you for your support.”
There is no word on why Kushida hasn’t been medically cleared. We also don’t have an update on when he’s expected to return to the ring. For now, fans will have to wait to see when the former IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion can get back to business.
SEScoops.com will keep you updated on the status of Kushida as well as when the NXT Cruiserweight Title bout with Roderick Strong will be rescheduled.
Adam Cole has no plans of shutting down his Twitch channel anytime soon.
Cole has become a talking point in the world of pro wrestling. He is currently a member of the NXT roster but that isn’t expected to last regardless of his next move. Cole’s contract was recently extended through SummerSlam weekend after WWE reportedly made a clerical error. It’s said that the company thought Cole was under contract for a longer period of time.
While there is no word on whether or not Cole will re-sign with WWE, he has let it be known that his Twitch channel will remain intact.
“Guys, I love ya’ll so much. I wish so bad that I could stream for a few more hours. It makes me so happy to be able to stream for a little bit. It’s why, when I say there is a zero chance that this channel is ever going away, I will never give this up. I love it with my whole entire heart. I love you guys and that’s how important you are to me because you guys make me feel very important. There’s been a lot going on lately and I want to make sure everyone knows that this is going nowhere. It’s going absolutely nowhere.”
The timing of Cole’s statement is interesting. While NXT talent has been able to avoid problems with WWE as far as running Twitch accounts is concerned, main roster talent has been forced to go dark on their channels. The prevailing thought is that if Cole ends up signing a new deal with WWE, it’ll be for a main roster spot.
In what could be his final WWE match, Cole will take on Kyle O’Reilly at NXT TakeOver 36 on Aug. 22. It’ll be a best two-out-of-three falls match.
Do you think Adam Cole sticks with WWE or does he go elsewhere?
In-Dex (Indi Hartwell & Dexter Lumis) def. Robert Stone & Jessi Kamea.
Carmelo Hayes def. Duke Hudson
NXT Tag Team Champions MSK def. Imperium
Here are the takeaways from this week’s show:
Interview Segment
An interview with NXT Women’s Champion Raquel Gonzalez and Dakota Kai took place to further build their match at TakeOver 36 this Sunday.
Raquel stated that she knew Kai would turn on her just like she did on Tegan Knox. She congratulated Kai for getting a title shot before reminding her of her accomplishments and she is a superstar. Raquel vowed that Kai wouldn’t be the person to take the title from her. Kai said that she kicked Raquel’s face off and taught her everything she knows.
Kai said that she is the person to make her and will be the person who beats her to become champion. Kai said Raquel can call her whatever names she wants, but in five days, she will call her champion.
Mixed Tag Team Match
Dexter Lumis and Indi Hartwell vs. Robert Stone and Jessie Kamea in a mixed tag team match took place.
The match saw Lumis throw some strikes before Franky Monet got involved and was tossed from ringside. We then got a commercial break. Lumis continues to dominate Stone although Stone did a nice outside dive. The ladies worked until Indie and Lumis locked in double headlock chokes for the win.
Post-match, Indie proposed to Lumis, who accepted.
Two weeks ago, Lumis lost a Love Her or Lose Her match to Johnny Gargano but Lumis and Hartwell still got together. Last week’s NXT featured an angle where they went on their first date. Kamea, Stone, and Franky Monet watched Hartwell and Lumis’ date where Monet called the date pathetic in a video that was posted on social media. Kamea said she would mess up Hartwell if she ever had a shot at her.
NXT Tag Team Champions MSK defended the title against Imperium.
MSK won the NXT Tag Team titles at April’s TakeOver: Stand & Deliver. Three weeks ago, a video from Imperium cut off an interview with MSK. Barthel & Aichner called MSK two immature champions with a meaningless title reign.
This was the last match on the card and what a fun match it was. Towards the end, NXT UK Champion WALTER came out to watch on. MSK went over to retain.
Post-match, Ilja Dragunov came out to attack WALTER, but failed. After WALTER took out MSK, IIja tried to mount a comeback, but was cut down.
Samoa Joe and NXT Champion Karrion Kross faced off in the ring ahead of their title match at NXT TakeOver 36.
So what happened? Joe came out for a promo about how this is one more time for him to verbally tear him down, but it’s pointless. He said he’s not a man here tonight to hurt Kross’ feelings, but here to hurt him. Joe told Kross to get out here. Kross did just that and without Scarlett. Kross said this isn’t about them, but the future of the brand.
Kross said Joe won’t take a year off and win the title back in his first match. He brought out security to protect Joe from him. Kross said he’s gonna drop Joe and do it real fast. Joe attacked him and they brawled with Joe hitting an outside dive to Kross and the security guards. Kross sent Joe into the steel steps then Joe sent him through the barricade. They went through a second barricade. This closed the show.
Carmelo Hayes vs. Duke Hudson in the NXT Breakout Tournament semi-finals was booked. Hayes went over with a leg drop off the top rope.
Hayes will face Odyssey Jones in the finals. WWE has announced when the finals will be taking place as it will be next week. The winner of the Breakout Tournament will receive a shot at the NXT title of their choosing.
Jones, real name Omari Palmer, is a former college football player for Syracuse University, who signed with WWE in 2019.
Hudson, formerly known as Elliot Sexton, also signed with WWE in 2019. He had been using his real name Brendan Vink when he teamed with Shane Thorne on both Raw and NXT.
Hit Row Brawls
Hit Row came out to the ring for a promo. They talked about Santos Escobar’s action as he pulled out the grill of Isaish Scott. Scott was about to talk trash, but Escobar appeared on the big screen in the parking lot. Santos said that he would give the grill back, but he doesn’t trust the group.
He told Scott to come out to the parking lot alone and they can handle it themselves. Scott told Hit Row to stay in the ring and walked to the backstage area. Raul Mendoza and Joaquin Wilde jumped Scott, which led to the rest of Hit Row making the save. A brawl broke out. Scott took his grill back and Hit Row walked away.
Chicago will be the home of AEW Rampage: The First Dance and fans in attendance may be required to mask up.
State officials have announced that a mask mandate will take effect this Friday. It’s the same day as AEW’s heavily hyped second episode of Rampage. This mandate applies to indoor establishments for everyone two years old and above. The mandate will be enforced regardless of vaccination status.
Here’s what Dr. Allison Arwady, CDPH Commissioner, had to say in a statement.
“With the highly transmissible Delta variant causing case rates to increase, now is the time to re-institute this measure to prevent further spread and save lives. We continue to track the data closely and are hopeful this will only be temporary and we can bend the COVID curve, as we’ve done in the past.”
Arwady added the following.
“Similar to previous mask mandates, masks can be removed at restaurants, bars and other eating/drinking establishments by patrons when they are actively eating and drinking. Masks can also be removed for certain activities that require their removal, such as beard shaves or facials. Additionally, masks can be removed by employees in settings that are not open to the public, if employees are static and maintaining at least six feet from all other individuals (office cubicles, for example).”
As of now, the United Center’s mask policy has stated that “fully vaccinated guests are not required to wear a mask while at the United Center. Masks are recommended for all unvaccinated guests and will be provided for guests upon request.” That policy is now subject to change.
SEScoops.com has reached out to AEW for comment.
The upcoming Rampage show has been highly anticipated due to a likely appearance from CM Punk. Punk hasn’t been seen on a pro wrestling show outside of WWE Backstage since 2014. AEW and even Punk himself have dropped hints about a potential appearance.
Sheamus says he fought tooth and nail to try to meet his close friend Drew McIntyre at WrestleMania earlier this year.
Sheamus and McIntyre saw themselves involved in a heated feud over a betrayal. Back in February, Sheamus nailed McIntyre with a Brogue Kick following a promo with Royal Rumble winner, Edge. At the time, McIntyre was the WWE Champion.
McIntyre ended up losing the WWE Championship at the Elimination Chamber PPV later that month. Rather than go with McIntyre vs. Sheamus at WrestleMania, the match happened at Fastlane instead. McIntyre won the match and went on to lose a WWE Title match against Lashley at WrestleMania, while Sheamus won the United States Title from Riddle at “The Grandest Stage of Them All.”
During a chat with BT Sport, Sheamus said he did everything he could to push the match with McIntyre to WrestleMania.
“We really were hoping this was gonna be WrestleMania. That’s where we felt the feud should basically climax, should come to an end at WrestleMania. I fought as hard as I could, we both did, to make that happen, but you do what you can do.”
McIntyre confirmed Sheamus’ efforts and said he himself wanted the match to take place at WWE’s biggest PPV of the year.
“If you watch the pre-match video, it was WrestleMania worthy. The story, the real story. We can come back around, there is always next year’s WrestleMania. With the fans back, it’ll be new again. It certainly was disappointing.”
Would you rather have seen Sheamus vs. Drew McIntyre at WrestleMania?
Fans hoping to see Kushida defend the WWE NXT Cruiserweight Title against Roderick Strong tonight are sure to be disappointed.
NXT General Manager William Regal has announced that Kushida is off tonight’s card as he has not been medically cleared to compete. Strong will remain on the card, however.
Unfortunately after a medical examination, officials learned @KUSHIDA_0904 is not cleared to compete tonight. When I informed @Malcolmvelli and @roderickstrong, they expressed Roderick’s desire to compete.
“Unfortunately after a medical examination, officials learned Kushida is not cleared to compete tonight. When I informed Malcolm Bivens and Roderick Strong, they expressed Roderick’s desire to compete.
Therefore, WWE NXT will begin with a Diamond Mine open challenge.”
This edition of NXT will be the go-home show for TakeOver 36. The TakeOver show will be held on Aug. 22. This will be the night after WWE SummerSlam.
At TakeOver 36, Samoa Joe will challenge Karrion Kross for the NXT Championship. Plus, Adam Cole and Kyle O’Reily will collide in a best two-out-of-three falls match. Also set for the card will be an NXT UK Title match between champion WALTER and Ilja Dragunov.
That’s not all for TakeOver 36 this weekend. Raquel Gonzalez will put her NXT Women’s Title up for grabs against former friend Dakota Kai. LA Knight will meet Cameron Grimes once again for the Million Dollar Championship. This time, if Knight wins then Ted Dibiase will become his butler.
Here’s an updated look at what’s in store for NXT tonight.
Roderick Strong vs. TBA – Diamond Mine Open Challenge
Carmelo Hayes vs. Duke Hudson – NXT Breakout Tournament semifinals
Timothy Thatcher vs. Ridge Holland
Robert Stone & Jessi Kamea vs. Dexter Lumis & Indi Hartwell
MSK (c) vs. Imperium – for WWE NXT Tag Team Titles
Interview with WWE NXT Women’s Champion Raquel Gonzalez & Dakota Kai
WWE NXT Champion Karrion Kross & Samoa Joe meet face-to-face
Omos is currently one-half of the Raw Tag Team Champions but he only trained for singles action.
After playing basketball in high school and at the University of South Florida, Omos decided to make the jump to sports entertainment. In early 2019, it was announced that Omos signed on to train at the WWE Performance Center.
Omos currently teams with former two-time WWE Champion AJ Styles. As mentioned, the two hold tag team gold but it’s something that Omos wasn’t expecting.
During an appearance on Rasslin with Brandon Walker, Omos revealed that he solely trained for singles matches at the Performance Center.
“Through my training at the PC, all I did was singles. When I came up (to the main roster), I was doing a tag team, so it was an adjustment mentally for me. Having to learn different spots where guys come in and the hot tags. It was different. I’ve been learning a lot in the past four months. I think I’m getting the hang of it now. One of the hardest matches we did was the Money in the Bank against Viking Raiders. That was very challenging for me, but after that, it was like, ‘Oh, I get it now.’ I fully get tag team (wrestling) and can remember spots and do all this stuff.”
While Omos has mostly been involved in tag team action since making his way to the main roster, he was last seen going one-on-one with Randy Orton. He lost the match via disqualification.
