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Another WWE Hall Of Famer Reportedly Returning To Television

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WWE Hall of Famer Trish Stratus is reportedly set to return to television on next week’s episode of Friday Night SmackDown. According to a report from WrestleVotes, the seven-time Women’s Champion will be back on the blue brand, likely to begin a storyline for the upcoming Evolution 2 all-women’s premium live event next month.

Stratus, who retired from full-time competition in 2006, has made several appearances in 2025. She competed in the Royal Rumble match and teamed with Tiffany Stratton to defeat Nia Jax and Candice LeRae at Elimination Chamber.

Her rumored return follows that of another Hall of Famer, Nikki Bella, who appeared on the June 9 edition of Raw. That segment saw Nikki confronted by Women’s Tag Team Champion Liv Morgan, ending with Nikki being laid out. Nikki later confirmed on social media she would be back on Raw for revenge.

“Annnnd still feeling that ObLIVion… Ooooh Bella Army I can’t wait for Green Bay this Monday!! So grateful for all of you!! It’s just the beginning!” Nikki posted on Instagram.

The return of multiple Hall of Famers suggests WWE is building a stacked card for the Evolution 2 event. There have been no reports of who Stratus could work with at the show.

WWE’s Highest-Paid Superstar Has Been Revealed

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A new report has identified WWE’s highest-paid active superstar. According to Dave Meltzer in the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Roman Reigns is the company’s top earner among the full-time roster.

This distinction excludes The Rock, who is compensated differently through TKO Group Holdings shares. The report notes that seven wrestlers in WWE currently earn over $5 million per year, with Reigns at the top of that list. His status as the highest earner is a direct result of his multi-year run as the face of the company, which included a historic 1,316-day reign as Universal Champion.

Reigns has been one of WWE’s top earners for several years, but he signed a new lucrative contract following WrestleMania 38 in 2022. This current deal is reportedly set to expire after WrestleMania 42 in 2026.

For context, Reigns’ salary is significantly higher than the current starting wage for a WWE main roster talent.

AEW Star Closing In On Future As A Lawyer

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Outside of the ring, wrestlers hold all sorts of jobs, from political office to, in the case of Britt Baker, being a dentist. Now, AEW’s Beast Mortos is ready to step out of the ring and into the court room as he is close to becoming a lawyer. On X, Mortos shared that he is nearing the end of his studies and is eager to take on cases.

Mortos, previously known as Black Taurus, debuted for AEW in December 2023 and would debut for Ring of Honor that same month. A member of La Facción Ingobernable, Mortos has had several matches as part of both promotions. Mortos was part of the 2024 Continental Classic but finished with 0 points as part of the Blue League.

With a future in law coming, Mortos’ efforts demonstrate the value of a wrestler having an alternative source of income outside of the ring. While Mortos hopes to have many more years in the ring ahead of him, the minotauresque wrestler could be practicing in a court room near you one day soon.

John Cena Takes Aim At CM Punk’s ‘Hypocrisy’ Ahead of Saudi Showdown

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Undisputed WWE Champion John Cena will put his gold on the line against CM Punk at Night of Champions, in perhaps the final chapter of the epic story between the two. On WWE SmackDown, Cena spoke at length about his future title match with the Best in the World. In one of his more scathing lines, Cena declared that “If CM Punk really wants to take this, he has to admit to himself that he’s a hypocrite.”

This line was a nod to Punk’s upcoming appearance in Saudi Arabia despite his previous criticism of WWE’s partnership with the nation. In an infamous X post from 2020, Punk told The Miz to “Go suck a blood money covered d*** in Saudi Arabia you f***ing dork” after a comment by The Miz Punk took as a slight at him. The pair reconciled backstage at a WWE Raw taping in 2023.

Ironically, Cena himself also avoided Saudi Arabia events for years following the original event, the Greatest Royal Rumble in 2018. WWE’s partnership with the nation has been met with backlash due to the nation’s restrictive laws against women, LGBTQ+ people, and others. WWE has defended its presence in Saudi Arabia as intending to implement positive changes through the medium of Sports Entertainment.

Five years after Punk labelled the benefits of this partnership as ‘Blood Money,’ the Chicago-Made star hopes to win gold in Saudi Arabia. It remains to be seen if Punk can be the one to dethrone the ‘Unseen Seventeen.’




Bryan Danielson Discusses How Vince McMahon Treated Him In WWE

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Bryan Danielson finds it hard to describe his feelings towards Vince McMahon.

The former WWE owner is facing serious allegations of sexual harassment and sex trafficking by former employee Janel Grant. For Danielson, the situation is tough not only because McMahon is his former employer but his co-accused John Laurinaitis is the ex-husband of Bryan’s mother-in-law Kathy Colace.

The AEW star expressed the difficulty of the situation when asked about working for Vince in his recent interview with MJ In The Midday. Danielson first said that he’s not going to say too much about it because there are things that are sensitive to his family. Though when pressed about it, he noted how Mr. McMahon had both good and bad traits as a boss:

“There’s the idea of ‘career’ and what he did for my career, and I consider that kind of a separate thing. When I’m looking at Vince McMahon, the human being, how he was to me when I was backstage, we’re also talking about a guy who, when my dad passed away, gave me the best hug I had ever gotten.”

The host mentioned how Vince pushed the wrestling veteran during his time in WWE, even putting him in the main event of WrestleMania 30. The former WWE star admitted that he is greateful for the opportunity.

Bryan Danielson then explained that even in his own mind, he has a hard time dealing with the whole concept of Vince McMahon because how he treated him personally compared to the accusations made against him:

“I’m somebody who is not necessarily concerned with career advancement. Being a World Champion was never this thing I aspired to. I loved the fact that I could do this thing that I loved and make a living doing it.

There is his treatment of me as an employee, but there was his treatment of me as a human being, and that’s the part that is hard to rectify with the things they are accusing him of.

The way he treated me as a human, he treated me very well in a way that is kind of hard to describe to people if they are coming at you from a negative perspective of Vince McMahon. There are also negative aspects about Vince McMahon,”

Apart from this, Bryan Danielson also discussed his health and revealed his current in ring status. You can check out what he said here.

The Rock Opens Up About Untimely Passing Of His Grandfather

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The Rock says you should take care of your health.

The Great One recently appeared on Dr. Mark Hyman’s podcast. He discussed the importance of taking care of your health and opened up about a number of health issues Dr. Hyman has helped him through.

During the interview, The Rock also told the story of his grandfather, High Chief Peter Maivia. He noted how the late WWE Hall of Famer had the old school mentality of toughening it up whenever he faced health problems:

“?My grandfather was a prime example of that, of just toughing through it, and he was a tough guy. He was a Samoan. He was one of the first Samoan professional wrestlers. Wow. And his name was High Chief Peter Maivia. He toughed through it and he had all these aches and pains, refused to go see the doctor.”

That Was It: The Rock

The former World Champion discussed how the habit led to Maivia’s untimely death, emphasizing the need to get in front of health issues as soon as possible:

“He was 45 when he died….Cancer, and he refused it for months and months, and then it had metastasized to a point where there was just no going back, and that was it. By the time they caught it, reached a point where ‘I gotta go see a doctor and see what’s happening.'”

The Rock later also commented on how there’s a lot of noise when it comes to health issues on social media, with many gurus and influencers telling you what you’re doing wrong.

He explained that with actual data about your health, you can cut out the noise and really inform yourself about how to move forward. He told people that ‘you want to take control of your life.’

UFC Icon Mark Kerr Shares Why WWE Run Never Happened

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Several UFC names have made their presence felt in WWE, including Ken Shamrock, Brock Lesnar, Matt Riddle, and Ronda Rousey. Speaking to the JAXXON podcast, UFC icon Mark Kerr shared why he never made the jump from the Octagon to the squared circle.

“I go ‘I’m making really good money fighting right now. Why would I go to pro wrestling?’… [The Rock] was making $150,000 a year. He was on the road 325 days out of the year. He was paying to be on the road basically. If you do the math, you’re making like, $400 a day, that’s brutal.”

Kerr didn’t make the jump to pro wrestling but did share that he had a meeting with Shane McMahon and Jim Ross to discuss making the move. It wasn’t just money that sunk any hope of Kerr in WWE, as he was also wary of having to reinvent himself for a new career.

“Part of the conversation was there’s no way to go from where I was to where I wanted to be without this developmental part, because they would have to see if they can even put me over as a character.”

Kerr never became a WWE Superstar, but WWE icon Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson will play Kerr in the upcoming Smashing Machine biopic from A24. With Kerr having led an incredible life in and outside of the cage, fans are excited to see Johnson bring Kerr’s life to the big screen in a role much different than his usual blockbuster status.

The IInspiration Discusses Potential WWE Return After TNA Appearance

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The IInspiration are open to a potential WWE return.

The duo of Jessie McKay & Cassie Lee made their surprise return to the wrestling world at TNA Against All Odds PPV earlier this month. This was their first TV appearance in three years.

The tag team formerly known as The IIconics in WWE spoke to Sports Illustrated about their comeback. McKay first explained why the Anthem-owned-promotion was the right place for them to make their return:

“TNA is the right place for us as when we stepped away three years ago, it was from TNA. We really enjoyed our time there and loved the people and performers we were able to grow into. So, it only felt right to make our return to TNA.”

The IInspiration are former WWE tag team champions. With the recent partnership between TNA and NXT, there is a real possibility of the duo returning to the Black & Silver brand as representatives of the Canada based promotion.

Commenting the potential of the same, Lee mentioned how they got to learn a lot during their time with WWE’s development brand and returning to it would be a full circle moment for them:

“We learned so much at our time in NXT and the women’s roster there now is so talented so it would definitely be a full circle moment for us.”

The IInspiration confronted the current TNA Knockouts tag team champions The Elegance Bran on their return to the promotion. So it’s possible we might see them returning to NXT with the titles in coming times.

The New Day: No Team Deserves A Shot At Us, This Isn’t Our Final Form

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Fans can expect the New Day to hold the World Tag Team Titles for a long time as they’re in no hurry to put their gold on the line. Speaking in a WWE Digital Exclusive on YouTube, the pair shared that they won’t be defending the gold until worthy challengers emerge. Xavier Woods said:

“No team is currently prepared to fight us for these…  if we kill their confidence, that kills their ability for growth. And if you’re not growing, you’re not living. If you’re not living, you’re dying, you’re dead. And that’s exactly what this division is when New Day is not holding these championships.”

Kofi Kingston added that while it may be hard to believe, the New Day works hard to ‘cultivate’ a positive tag team division in WWE. The problem, at least according to Kingston, is everybody else.

“Y’all don’t wanna hear that, but it’s the truth, that is the truth…  you think that your favorite tag team deserves a chance to fight for these? Look, man, these teams can barely even keep it together. Every team right now is middle of the road, man. Middle of the pack, no team is better than the other.”

Kingston shared the bold declaration that “this isn’t even our final form,” teasing further developments for the once-beloved tag team. Until that new form is revealed, don’t expect many, if any, title matches, from the most decorated champions in WWE tag team history.

WWE SmackDown Makes History With Stipulation Action

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The June 13, edition of WWE SmackDown saw the King and Queen of the Ring tournaments continue with four exciting fatal four-way first-round matches. Their results are:

  • Cody Rhodes defeated Damian Priest, Shinsuke Nakamura, and Andrade
  • Alexa Bliss defeated Charlotte Flair, Alba Fyre, and Candice LeRae
  • Jade Cargill defeated Piper Niven, Nia Jax, and Michin
  • Randy Orton defeated LA Knight, Aleister Black, and Carmelo Hayes

Not only did the tournaments continue, but SmackDown saw history be made. This show marked the record for the most four-way matches to be held on one WWE event. The previous record-holder was the appropriately-named WWE Fatal Four-Way pay-per-view from 2010 which featured three four-way matches.

H/T to @WWEStats for uncovering this stat. Stay tuned to SEScoops for more interesting wrestling facts and statistics.

Now, Rhodes, Orton, Bliss, and Cargill join Sami Zayn and Roxanne Perez, who advanced to the next round of their respective tournaments on Raw. Time will tell who emerges as WWE’s next King and Queen and earn future World Championship opportunities.

Nixon Newell Details Car Crash She Was In Days After WWE Release

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Nixon Newell was released from WWE in late 2024, marking the second exit of the former Tegan Nox. Speaking to Busted Open Radio, Newell shared how losing her job was just the start of a very bad period in her life, both personally and professionally.

“Wrestling had to take a backseat for me. Like, literally within days of being released, I was in a massive car wreck. So I’d been dealing with that.”

As she recovered and contemplated her life post-WWE, wrestling was no longer the focus for Newell, something that was “tough to admit.” Now though, Newell is back and ready to make an impact.

I’m taking the initiative—doing promos, taking pictures, putting myself back out there—doing everything I can to get the name Nixon Newell back in people’s minds.

Newell has already made waves in several promotions since her release. With wrestling firmly back in the forefront of her life, Newell shared that she never plans on leaving this business.

I see myself doing nothing but wrestling for the rest of my life. Whether that’s being an active wrestler, a producer, a trainer, a coach—whatever it is. Wrestling has been my life since I was 16. This is my 14th year in wrestling.

Time will tell what Nixon Newell does next, but not even a car wreck or a release can keep her doing what she loves the most in this world.

Blake Monroe Pitches Selling Bathwater After WWE Debut

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Blake Monroe has arrived in WWE NXT and the Glamour is wasting no time in making an impression as part of the roster. When a fan on X joked that Monroe should sell the bathwater from her video vignette to fans in bars of soap, the former AEW Women’s World Champion revealed that she has discussed this with WWE’s higher ups.

The idea was inspired by Sydney Sweeney, who is selling some of her bathwater that is infused into soap for fans ready to pay high prices. Sweeney’s bars sold out in seconds with some resellers making as much as $2,000 on eBay per bar.

Monroe revealed her new name during her soapy video vignette which took inspiration from music star Sabrina Carpenter. On the June 17, episode of WWE NXT, Monroe will make her WWE NXT arrival official with a contract signing. With Blake already setting her sights on the NXT Women’s Championship, it remains to be seen if anyone crashes the proverbial party of her contract signing.

Fire Them: Rikishi Goes Off At WWE Creative After Jey Uso Title Loss

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Rikishi has called for some changes in the creative team of WWE.

The WWE Legend went off about his son Jey Uso’s title loss on the latest episode of his Off The Top podcast. The Yeet Man dropped the championship back to Gunther on this past Monday’s Raw, ending his first world title reign at just 51 days.

The WWE Hall of Famer mentioned how Uso has been a top merchandise seller for the company recently. Rikishi said that you’re supposed to do what’s best for business and questioned why the same wasn’t done for Jey Uso:

“You have a kid that put his heart and soul…to get to that main event spot. And finally, when he gets there, you know what I feel? This is what I feel.

I feel that those that are writing for this kid, his storyline, you didn’t do him justice. You didn’t feed this champion right talent to be able to continue to make this champion. Not a fair shot in my eyes. So you go 51 days.”

You Can’t Write: Rikishi

Jey Uso had defended his World title only twice since WrestleMania 41 before dropping the belt back to Gunther. Even in that, he only won the one match against Logan Paul, while the other bout against Seth Rollins ended in a DQ.

Rikishi questioned why his son was not put in the position to succeed as the champion, and called for the people behind the booking to be fired:

“I say fire. Fire those that are writing for this kid here. If you can’t come up with something simple to promote and push your champion, that you, not me, you decided to put this kid in that position.

And then that’s it. All of a sudden, the brains went just cloudy. You can’t write, you can’t think of an angle for Jey. Well you can’t do your job. I say best endeavors, get the hell out the way. Put somebody in that position.”

Later in the episode, the wrestling veteran also discussed Uso’s IC title reign last year which had ended very quickly as well. He questioned if the company had done the same if it was John Cena or Randy Orton.

Latest reports suggest that Gunther is set for a big match in coming times and it was the reason behind this title change. You can check out more about it here.

H/t CageSideSeats

Cody Rhodes And More Advance In King and Queen of The Ring on SmackDown

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Cody Rhodes is among the names that advanced to the semi-finals of the ongoing King and Queen of the Ring tournaments at tonight’s SmackDown from Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky.

WWE held 4 first-round matches for the ongoing tournaments. On the women’s side, we first saw Jade Cargill defeating “Michin” Mia Yim, Nia Jax, and Piper Niven to advance to the semi-finals of the Queen of the Ring tournament.

Alexa Bliss did the same in the second qualifying match. She defeated Charlotte Flair, Candice LeRae and Alba Fyre to advance to the next stage.

Cargill will now face Roxanne Perez in the semi finals at next week’s SmackDown, after Perez won her own first round match on Raw. Bliss, on the other hand, will have to wait for the match between Asuka, Stephanie Vaquer, Ivy Nile, and Raquel Rodriguez to know who she will face.

On the men’s side, Randy Orton was the first to advance during the night. He defeated Aleister Black, Carmelo Hayes and LA Knight for the spot. The Viper will have to overcome the challenge of Sami Zayn to advance to the finals.

Cody Rhodes won his qualifying match in the main event of the show, defeating Andrade, Shinsuke Nakamura, and Damian Priest for the spot. His next opponent will be among Bronson Reed, Jey Uso, Rusev, and Sheamus, all of whom will be fighting in a first-round match of their own.

John Cena vs. R-Truth Rematch Confirmed

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John Cena vs. R-Truth rematch is on.

The 17-time world champion opened tonight’s episode of SmackDown from Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky, following the Money In the Bank PPV last Saturday. Truth cost John his match at the PPV.

Cena cut a promo before he was interrupted by Cody Rhodes. The American Nightmare was followed by Randy Orton and LA Knight both coming out with words of their own.

The WWE champ finally had enough, and he looked to leave the arena but once again, he got blindsided by Ron ‘The Truth’ Killings. The segment ended with security having to break Killings away from John.

John Cena vs. R-Truth II

An irate John Cena had an animated argument with General Manager Nick Aldis backstage. Though this wasn’t the last of Truth he saw during the night.

The Peacemaker star stormed the ring once again later in the night, demanding a fight with Killings. It was CM Punk who came out, however, and the two old rivals exchanged words. Before the end of the segment, Ron Killings attacked Cena out of nowhere, once again having to be pulled away by security.

Nick Aldis confronted the 53-year-old backstage after the second attack. The SmackDown GM asked Truth what he wanted and the wrestling veteran demanded a rematch with Cena. Aldis granted his request, making the match official for next week’s episode of the Blue Branded Show.

Hikuleo Makes WWE Debut Before SmackDown

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After a year under contract with WWE, Hikuleo has officially made his in-ring debut for the company. The former NJPW star competed in a match taped for WWE Main Event prior to the June 13th episode of Friday Night SmackDown in Lexington, Kentucky.

Hikuleo, who was reported to be backstage at the event, faced Kit Wilson of Pretty Deadly. This marks his first official match since signing with WWE in the summer of 2024, an arrival that fans have anticipated for the past several months.

The debut follows a period of speculation regarding his status. Hikuleo signed with WWE shortly after his brothers, Tama Tonga and Tonga Loa, joined Solo Sikoa’s version of The Bloodline. While his brothers were immediately featured in a prominent storyline on SmackDown, Hikuleo had remained off television, reportedly training at the WWE Performance Center.

At 6-foot-8, Hikuleo brings an intimidating presence to WWE. Given his direct family ties to the most dominant faction in the company, his debut, even on WWE Main Event, is a significant first step. It’s unclear when he will show up on TV.

Bryan Danielson Confirms He Is Not Medically Cleared To Compete

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Bryan Danielson has been absent from AEW television since losing the AEW World Championship to Jon Moxley at the Wrestle Dynasty pay-per-view. In a recent interview, Danielson revealed the reason for his absence is that he is not currently medically cleared to wrestle.

Speaking on the Daly Migs Show, Danielson addressed his status and confirmed he would not be competing anytime soon. He did, however, note that he would still make a live appearance for fans at an upcoming event in Kent, Washington, though it would likely be off-camera.

“I don’t know, but right now, I’m not cleared to wrestle,” Danielson said. “Even if I wanted to, if I said, ‘Hey, I’m going to be there.’ I will be there in Kent. I will be there live in front of the people, but probably not on television. It’ll just be for the people there live.”

This news comes after a period where Danielson has been open about his ongoing battle with neck injuries. His match against Moxley at Wrestle Dynasty was promoted as his final match as a full-time performer. It is currently unclear if this medical issue is a temporary setback or part of the planned conclusion to his full-time in-ring career.

While he is not cleared for competition, Danielson is continuing to do promotional work for the company. Fans will have a chance to see him, but it will not be inside an AEW ring in the immediate future.

Jey Uso Enters King of the Ring Tournament After World Title Loss

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Jey Uso is no longer the World Heavyweight Champion but he could soon add the King of the Ring crown to his trophy cabinet. On Instagram, Raw General Manager Adam Pearce shared that Jey will join Sheamus, Rusev, and Bronson Reed in a Quarter-Finals match during the June 16, episode of the red brand.

While this is a golden opportunity for Jey, many fans aren’t happy with Uso’s entry into the King of the Ring tournament. The comments of Pearce’s video was flooded with messages from fans supporing Karrion Kross as part of the growing favor of the former NXT Champion. Ilja Dragunov and Mr. Iguana were also thrown out as tournament entrants instead of Jey.

Jey lost the World Heavyweight Championship to GUNTHER on the June 9, Raw, kicking off the second reign of the Austrian powerhouse. It remains to be seen if Uso can bounce back with a win next week over three very game adversaries.

‘Indy God’ Shotzi Blackheart Intensifies Matt Cardona Beef In Parody Video

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Since being released from WWE in April 2020, Matt Cardona has established himself as the ‘Indy God’ but now there is a challenger to the throne. Since her own release, Shotzi Blackheart has made a stir outside WWE, leaving Cardona frustrated that a new ‘Indy God’ has emerged.

On YouTube, Shotzi shared a ‘formal apology’ to Cardona, though she seemed anything but remorseful. Shotzi’s video parodied Cardona’s ‘Z! True Long Island Story’ from his days as Zack Ryder, complete with her own ‘Independent Championship,’ a playful nod to Cardona’s Internet Championship.

Dubbing herself “the new Indy God,” Blackheart dubbed Cardona her ‘Broski of the week’ even promising to send a signed photo to her fellow WWE alum. Pointing out how much Cardona posts about her, Blackheart saw this as a clear sign of his support. You can check out some of Cardona’s posts below.

A war is clearly brewing between Cardona and Blackheart, all over the title of the top name in independent wrestling. It remains to be seen who stands tall when the pair battle in GCW this July.

Injured WWE Star In Town For SmackDown

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Fightful Select reports Kiana James was brought to Lexington, Kentucky, for the June 13th episode of Friday Night SmackDown. It is not yet known if she is scheduled to appear on the broadcast.

James has been sidelined with a leg injury since June 2024. Her last televised match was a Money in the Bank qualifying match on Raw against Iyo Sky and Zelina Vega. Shortly after being drafted from NXT to Raw in the spring of 2024, the injury halted her initial push on the main roster.

Before her injury, James had made a name for herself in NXT, where she held the NXT Women’s Tag Team Championship with Fallon Henley. Reports from May 2025 indicated that she was close to being medically cleared for an in-ring return. Her presence at the SmackDown event suggests her return to WWE programming could happen soon.

However, that has yet to be confirmed. What has been announced are three notable appearances.

Undisputed WWE Champion John Cena, Ms. Money in the Bank Naomi, and WWE United States Champion Jacob Fatu have been announced for the show.

Konnan: Nick Khan Had Huge Praise for Worlds Collide

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The WWE x AAA Worlds Collide event delivered on many fronts with Nick Khan having major praise for the crossover show. Speaking on the Keepin’ It 100 podcast, Konnan discussed being nervous about the show flopping before it aired, and was thrilled to see how the event turned out.

“It ended up being the number one trending topic, okay? And across all their social media platforms—and I’m sure it’s even more now—they had 32 million views in just the first 24 hours. So, yeah, it was a success.”

It wasn’t just Konnan, who commented at Worlds Collide, who was pleased. On his podcast, Konnan recalled a brief interaction with Nick Khan after the event.

“I spoke to him briefly—Nick Khan, yes, I’m a Nick Khan guy. I said, ‘I think we hit a home run,’ and he said, ‘No, we hit a grand slam.’ So there’s that—that’s the President. They’re happy.”

With huge matches and the viral popularity of Mr. Iguana, Worlds Collide was an undisputable success. The show, and Khan’s praise, bodes well for the future of AAA under WWE.

Latest on GUNTHER Regaining WWE World Title on Raw

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GUNTHER defeated Jey Uso to become a two-time WWE World Heavyweight Champion during the June 9, episode of WWE Raw in an exciting main event. 51 days after losing the gold to Jey at WrestleMania, the Austrian proved his might by forcing Jey to pass out in his dreaded sleeper hold.

The title change from Jey to GUNTHER came from Paul ‘Triple H’ Levesque, the Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports. The plan is for GUNTHER to face Goldberg in the latter’s retirement match at WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event on July 12. Goldberg will return on the June 16, Raw, where fans can expect his feud with GUNTHER to begin.

The idea has always been for GUNTHER vs. Goldberg to air at Saturday Night’s Main Event, which will go head-to0head with AEW All In: Texas. Levesque believed the match would be more captivating as a title match to attract viewers to WWE’s show in the head-to-head battle.

Jey had just two successful title defenses as champion, his first ending as a no contest and his second being at Saturday Night’s Main Event in May against Logan Paul. Now, the era of the Ring General has returned as GUNTHER holds the gold.

Carlon Colker, Peak Wellness Say Employee Involved in ‘Sexual Contact’ No Longer with Company

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In a pre-action discovery filing on Wednesday in Connecticut Superior Court, Dr. Carlon Colker and Peak Wellness said they became aware of an alleged sexual assault of Janel Grant by Vince McMahon and a Peak Wellness employee from media reports and the employee said the act was consensual.

Grant said in a complaint filed in Connecticut federal district court in January 2024 (and amended earlier this year) she was assaulted by both McMahon and a Peak Wellness employee. Grant alleged McMahon forced her to take part in the act and McMahon defecated on her.

“After the federal complaint involving Plaintiff was made public, defendants became aware through a news media report that a now former Peak Wellness employee stated that he had what the defendants understood was a single act of consensual, sexual contact with Plaintiff,” tge motion said.

“According to that former employee, his consensual contact with plaintiff was outside the context of his employment at Peak Wellness. Plaintiff was never a patient that the former employee treated and all his contact with plaintiff was off the premises of Peak Wellness. Defendants have no knowledge of any other instances of sexual contact between plaintiff and any Peak Wellness employee, nor possess any reason to believe that it occurred.”

The defendants said they treated Grant with a “vitamin tray” once and she was given an IV treatment, but denied the treatment made her unwell.

In Grant’s complaint, she alleged McMahon had told her to get a recommendation from Colker for an attorney to represent her in the non-disclosure agreement she later signed with McMahon. The filing said Colker recommended an attorney for Grant when she asked, but didn’t know she was promopted by McMahon. It said Colker didn’t know the specifics of the NDA and was only told some details which were told by Grant. The filing also said McMahon paid for all of Grant’s treatments at Peak Wellness.

Colker and Peak Wellness were accused by Grant of refusing to provide her records and other recoreds for discovery in her federal lawsuit against Vince McMahon and WWE.

Janel Grant files ‘Motion of Clarification’ in Discovery Case Against Carlon Colker, Peak Wellness

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Attorneys for Janel Grant, a former World Wrestling Entertainment employee, who accused Vince McMahon and John Laurinaitis of sex assault and sex trafficking in a federal lawsuit, filed a motion of clarification in Connecticut Superior Court on Thursday in her bill of discovery complaint against McMahon doctor Carlon Colker and his business Peak Wellness.

According to the filing, the motion for clarification was made after counsel for the plaintiffs and defendants disagreed on case scheduling.

“Upon conferring with counsel for defendants, it became evident there is disagreement regarding next appropriate procedural steps in this action following the Memorandum of Decision denying defendants’ motion to dismiss,” the motion said. “To progress this matter efficiently, Plaintiff requests an order specifying the discovery schedule and clarifying that this action will proceed in accordance with Connecticut Practice Book § 13, which governs discovery in a Connecticut civil litigation generally.

“If, however, the court determines that an order finding plaintiff has probable cause is required to proceed, plaintiff proposes to submit an Order to Show Cause why such order should not be entered on the record established by Plaintiff’s Verified Petition.”

Grant filed the bill of discovery suit against Colker and Peak Wellness last year. She accused the doctor and his company of not complying with discovery requests for her medical records. In her original complaint against McMahon and Laurinaitis, she accused a Peak Wellness employee of assaulting her with McMahon.

In last year’s filing, Grant’s counsel said it was also filing to see if any RICO laws were violated.

Grant’s filing on Thursday asked Colker and Peak Wellness to provide specific items for discovery:

  • A list of employees of Peak Wellness who had taken any flights with McMahon, including the reasons for the trip, and mentioned specifically trips to Tijuana, Mexico.
  • Any documents and communications including travel and lodging receipts relating to flights with McMahon between March 2019 and May 2022.
  • Any lawsuits and grievance actions Colker and Peak Wellness had been a party to since 2015.
  • Anyone Peak Wellness or Colker has provided information to any responses in the filing.
  • Names of any Peak Wellness employees who had contact with Grant while she was at the facility
  • The location of all the security cameras on the facility, as well as any videos and photos of Grant from surveillance footage while she was there.

Laurinaitis, who said he was a victim of McMahon when Grant’s suit was filed in 2024, later became a defendant in the case before flipping last week and agreeing to testify for Grant and provide a confidential settlement.

Defendants McMahon and WWE have until Friday to file a motion for arbitration in the case. The defendants have said in prior filings the proper venue for Grant’s case is an arbitration hearing per rules of a non-disclosure agreement she signed with McMahon and WWE.

Linda McMahon, Vince McMahon, TKO file to have Ring Boy Suit Dismissed

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Linda McMahon, Vince McMahon and TKO – the parent company of World Wrestling Entertainment – filed on Tuesday to have the amended complaint in the Ring Boy lawsuit dismissed due to a lack of jurisdiction.

All three defendants made separate filings. The defendants had filed similar motions earlier in the case, challenging Maryland as improper for the case to proceed. They asked the court to dismiss the case with prejudice.

The amended complaint was filed in April after more Ring Boys were added to the suit, making a total of eight plaintiffs. The complaint alleged Vince McMahon, Linda McMahon and WWE were negligent in preventing several teen and pre-teen boys from being assaulted by employees who worked in WWE. The company often hired pre-teen and teen boys to assemble rings prior to the 1990s.

The plaintiffs allege Vince and Linda McMahon were aware of the actions of their employees and were negligent in preventing the assaults from occurring.

In Maryland, cases of negligence in sex crimes cases do not have a statute of limitations after a state Supreme Court ruling.

None of the employees have been convicted in a criminal court for sex crimes. WWE had settled with former Ring Boy Tom Cole, who said he had been assaulted. Cole committed suicide in 2021 and was one of several former Ring Boys to accuse WWE employees of sexual assault while they were children.