The main event of tonight’s WWE SmackDown season premiere will see Roman Reigns defend the Universal Championship against Braun Strowman. Bill Goldberg says he’ll be tuning in as a special guest in the Thunderdome.

Goldberg posted a photo of himself with Reigns and Strowman. He teased, “To say that I have interest in tonight’s Universal Championship match on SmackDown is an understatement!” The caption includes the hashtags, #spear, #jackhammer and#whosenext.

Goldberg has recent ties to both Reigns and Strowman. He was scheduled to defend the Universal title against Reigns at WrestleMania 36. Reigns pulled out of the show on short notice due to COVID-19 concerns. Strowman filled in and went on to defeat Goldberg for the title.

This marks Goldberg’s return to WWE storylines for the first time since April. The 53-year-old legend is currently under WWE contract until 2023. His deal calls for at least two matches per year during that period.

Goldberg has already wrestled twice this year. Prior to the match against Strowman at WrestleMania, he defeated The Fiend at February’s SuperShowdown event from Saudi Arabia. It remains to be seen if he will step inside the ring again in 2020.

Discussion: Are you interested in seeing Goldberg face Roman Reigns or Braun Strowman?

Lars Sullivan is scheduled to have his first match in 494 days tonight on Smackdown. He’ll face Jeff Hardy in his first match since June 10th, 2019. According to a recent report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the reason Sullivan was gone for so long is that he developed an infection in his knee after surgery.

“Sullivan had major knee surgery, and it got infected at one point keeping him out even longer. But he has been ready for some time and they waited until this week to bring him back,” wrote Dave Meltzer.

Sullivan made his surprise return on the first night of the draft. He then attacked the Miz and John Morrison this week on RAW. He was announced as having been drafted by Smackdown on night 2 of the draft.

Titus O’Neil On Working With Lars Sullivan

• Titus O’Neil Talks Working With Lars Sullivan

Sullivan was fined $100,000 for comments he made on message boards and social media before being signed to WWE. The company was aware of his past comments before he was signed. Sullivan is said to have apologized to numerous people backstage and has been working with Titus O’Neil to become a better person.

“People automatically called for him to be fired, called for him to be ostracized,” Titus said on the E&C podcast about Lars last year.

“I looked at a man that was humbled, very apologetic, really very misguided as well,” Titus continued. “We dwelled and we talked about some things. Not to say there is ever an excuse but until you know somebody’s story, until you know someone personally, you can’t take it personally, and you can’t come up with your own conclusions. Because there is a conclusion and there is a reason why people get to a certain point and do certain things.”

Titus O’Neil’s book “There’s No Such Thing As A Bad Kid” can be purchased here.

“I believe in my heart that this situation with Lars will be a teachable moment for everybody from all walks of life,” Titus continued. “And I’m willing to put my name on this situation, just going with my gut and my heart, simply because of how he came to me as a man and came to other people as a man.” 

During the 2020 WWE Draft, a big angle from Monday Night RAW was moved to Friday Night Smackdown. The Rey Mysterio-Seth Rollins feud that also involves Murphy and the Mysterio family has switched brands.

The move leaves Smackdown with several key angles: Roman Reigns as the Tribal Chief, Mysterio-Rollins, and Bayley-Sasha Banks. Daniel Bryan is also set to return to Smackdown on tonight’s show.

According to a recent report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the reason WWE has these big angles on Smackdown and not RAW is that they have more motivation to keep Fox happy than the USA Network.

“It was noted to us by one key person in WWE that having the three big angles all on Smackdown was on purpose because Raw is a lock on USA no matter what because they need the show or USA Network collapses in the ratings,” wrote Dave Meltzer. “FOX doesn’t need Smackdown.”

RAW does still has several big angles on the show. After the draft, the Bray Wyatt and Alexa Bliss angle was moved to Monday nights. The Retribution angle with Mustafa Ali as the leader of the group (and T-Bar on social media) is also a major angle exclusive to RAW. Braun Strowman, AJ Styles, and Matt Riddle all moved to RAW from Smackdown as well.

• WWE Raw Underground “Considered Done” (Report)

Ronda Rousey is still under contract to WWE. Paul Heyman also recently hinted that WWE and Rousey may have secretly signed an extension. According to a report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Rousey is expected back for WrestleMania next year.

“Rousey is still under contract and was expected to do WrestleMania in Los Angeles,” wrote Dave Meltzer. Los Angeles is currently scheduled to host WrestleMania 37 but recent reports have suggested WWE could move the event.

• WWE Moving WrestleMania 37 Location (Report)

Rousey hasn’t wrestled in WWE since the main event of WrestleMania 35. She faced both Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair on the show.

Paul Heyman recently spoke to the NY Post about Rousey possibly having signed an extension with WWE.

• Paul Heyman Teases Secret WWE Contract Extension For Ronda Rousey

“That’s another funny thing about people who don’t discuss their business in public forums, everyone presumes that Ronda Rousey’s contract expires at a certain time,” said Heyman. “I don’t understand why people don’t realize that perhaps, just perhaps, Ronda Rousey’s contract has been extended or she has worked out a new deal and it would not benefit either WWE or Ronda Rousey to go public with that information. But why wouldn’t people understand that it would be kept secret?”

Impact Wrestling will present Bound For Glory on October 24th, 2020. Several big matches are confirmed for the show including a Call Your Shot Gauntlet match. Scott D’Amore recently revealed to Rhino that if neither him nor Heath win the match, they will be gone from the promotion.

Impact recently announced 10 wrestlers who will participate in the gauntlet match:

• Heath
• Rhino
• Hernandez
• Acey Romero
• Larry D
• Tenille Dashwood
• Taya Valkyrie
• Brian Myers
• Tommy Dreamer
• Havok.

“At last year’s BOUND FOR GLORY, Eddie Edwards emerged victorious after a brutal struggle in the inaugural Call Your Shot Gauntlet. Eddie bided his time until this past July’s Slammiversary, picking exactly the right moment to strike and win the World Championship,” said Scott D’Amore in a press release.
 
“As you can imagine, everyone on the roster wants to win the Call Your Shot Gauntlet and we’re excited to announce the first 10 participants.”

The rest of the participants will not be revealed until the day of the show.

• IMPACT World Championship
  Eric Young (C) vs. Rich Swann 
• Knockouts Championship
  Deonna Purrazzo (C) vs. Kylie Rae
•  X-Division Championship: 6-Way Scramble Match
  Rohit Raju (C) vs. Jordynne Grace vs. Willie Mack vs. TJP vs. Chris Bey vs. Trey Miguel 
• World Tag Team Championship
  The Motor City Machine Guns (C) vs. Ace Austin & Madman Fulton vs. The North vs. The Good Brothers 
• Unsanctioned Match
  Moose vs. EC3 
• Ken Shamrock (with Sami Callihan) vs. Eddie Edwards
• Call Your Shot Gauntlet 
  Heath, Rhino, Hernandez, Acey Romero, Larry D, Tenille Dashwood, Taya Valkyrie, Brian Myers, Tommy Dreamer, Havok  … and more to be announced.

• Impact Results 10/13: Moose Finds EC3, Rich Swann Cleared For BFG

Beginning October 25th, 2020, the WWE Network will air a new documentary on the Undertaker every Sunday for 5 straight weeks.

In an effort to build upon the success of “The Last Ride” docs-series, WWE has announced “30 Days of the Deadman.” You can see a trailer for ’30 Days of the Deadman’ in the video player embedded below:

The first documentary on the Undertaker will be an episode of “WWE Untold” titled “The Phenom and the Legend Killer”. The episode will focus on classic matches between the Undertaker and Randy Orton.

The second documentary in the series is titled “Meeting Mark Calaway” and will air on Sunday, November 1st. This documentary will focus on interviews with WWE Superstars as they tell stories about the first time they were introduced to the Undertaker.

The 3rd documentary will air on November 8th. It is titled “The Mortician: The Story of Paul Bearer”. This documentary will focus on the life and career of Taker’s long-time manager William Moody, aka Paul Bearer.

The 4th documentary is titled “Brothers of Destruction” and will air on Sunday, November 15th. This episode will focus on the longtime rivalry and alliance between Kane and the Undertaker.

Finally, the 5th instalment of the “30 Days of the Deadman” will air on Sunday, November 22nd. The Undertaker will return to 3:16 Gimmick street for another session on “Stone Cold” Steve Austin’s Broken Scull Sessions for this episode.

• The Undertaker: Vince McMahon ‘Did Not Like’ Original Ending To The Last Ride

Roman Reigns says he doesn’t see his character as a babyface or a heel. According to comments he made recently during an interview with CBS Sports, Reigns just considers his character as someone in a storyline who has to make tough choices.

“A lot of people want to say, ‘Oh, he’s a heel.’ And, ‘Oh, he was a babyface,” and this and that. I try not to look at it as that. I try to look at it as this being a character in a storyline and he has choices like anyone else.”

“Some of his choices are going to be perceived as good, some of them are going to be perceived as bad and some of them people won’t understand because they won’t understand where he’s coming from,” Reigns said.

Jey Uso Feud

Reigns echoed sentiment recently expressed by his cousin about their feud. He said that the real-life aspects to their angle have helped them connect with the audience.

“I’ve taken these real-life qualities and experiences and put them in a storyline. That has been able to connect with our audience in a really cool way because they’ve seen me grow and they’ve seen my path and they’ve seen me operate on this top tier of WWE for a long time. For me to actually emote and explain the dimensions of it, I think they dig that and the feeling that the fourth wall is down from time to time. To me, this is Roman. He’s not Joe. I’m able to connect to everything I’m doing now way stronger than anything I’ve done before.”

Reigns is scheduled to defend the Universal Championship against Braun Strowman on Friday’s Smackdown season premiere. During a recent interview with ESPN, Reigns said he doesn’t know why the match is even happening.

“To be honest, I don’t think Braun Strowman deserves the opportunity,” Reigns said. “I beat him, I pinned him, I took the Universal Championship from him.” 

• Jey Uso Reveals His Dream Match & Talks Feud With Roman Reigns

Multiple wrestlers have tested positive for COVID-19 after performing at the Collective series of independent wrestling events in Indiana this weekend. As a result, Ring of Honor will reportedly not be using wrestlers who took part in the shows for their upcoming set of tapings.

The Collective social media account has released a statement on the matter as well. They are asking fans who attended the shows to get tested for the virus.

“Thank you to all the fans that attended #TheCollective in Indianapolis! On behalf of the 8 participating promotions, we thank you for your energy and enthusiasm at a time when we all needed this feeling of normalcy.

Not only did you attend but you followed guidelines and were respectful and mindful of the safety of not just yourselves, but also of those around you and for that we are grateful.

With that being said, over the last 24+ hours, we have learned of a handful of positive COVID tests from those who attended The Collective. We have been in contact with some of them and will continue to be and offer our support as they navigate through the coming days and weeks.

We encourage everyone who attended the events in any capacity to get a test as soon as possible and notify those they may have interacted with of their situation.”

Dan the Dad posted the following about his COVID-19 test results:

Cabana Man Dan also tested positive after having worked the event:

Ring Of Honor Will Not Use Talent Who Performed At The Collective

As a result of the positive tests, ROH reportedly will not be using talent who worked the shows on upcoming tapings.

“While Ring of Honor does not publicly discuss specific internal decisions, ROH is taking every measure to preserve the integrity of its rigorous health and safety protocol for the upcoming tapings,” Koff said in an email to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

Danhausen posted the following about having tested negative:

Eddie Kingston has certainly made an impact in AEW in the short time he’s been with the promotion. He answered Cody’s open challenge for a TNT title shot in July and has since become a pivotal part of the show. Kingston attacked Jon Moxley following the main event of Wednesday’s Anniversary show. He then cut a promo that continued after Dynamite went off the air.

“Excalibur, you want to talk bad about me again? I’ll rip your tongue out of your face,” Kinston said to the commentary team.

“This is what you want huh? Big bad Jon Moxley. Ladies and gentlemen boo me all you want but this son of a b*tch sold out. He said to me the day he signed that contract to go to the land of the sports entertainers, you low life, you told me that the inmates were going to run the asylum,” Kingston said.

Kingston continued to bash Moxley for having worked in sports-entertainment while he was a pro-wrestler.

“You son of a b**ch, you’re going to pay for leaving me behind,” Kingston continued.

Footage of Kingston’s promo can be viewed in the tweet embedded below.

A fan urged AEW President Tony Khan to the promo on a future episode of Dynamite. Khan assured him that Kingston’s promo will receive a wider audience.

WWE’s Raw Underground concept appears to be winding down. The latest issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter states that Shane McMahon’s underground fight club concept is, “considered done” for now.

Raw Underground premiered in August and ran for approximately two months, but we haven’t seen anything from it in recent weeks.

WWE did not film any Raw Underground segments for the September 28th episode of Raw due to the company’s most recent round of COVID-19 infections. There was no sign of it on the October 5th or 12th episodes, either.

There is concern in WWE about another COVID outbreak. WWE had been using NXT talent, Performance Center trainees and outside extras Raw Underground fights and as extras in the crowd. The decision was made to isolate WWE Superstars as much as possible, which contributed to this ‘hiatius.’

Riddick Moss, Dabba-Kato and Arturo Ruas were featured prominently on RAW Underground. All three competitors were drafted to the Raw brand as part of the 2020 WWE Draft. It remains to be seen how they will be used in the weeks and months ahead.

All Elite Wrestling just celebrated the 1-year anniversary of Dynamite on TNT. Tony Khan spoke to Bleacher Report this week and revealed that several other networks were interested in carrying the show before they reached a deal with Turner Sports.

“It was a long process,” he said about finding a television partner. “It was probably about a year from when I started pitching the show to when it got picked up. There were other networks interested in it, but I think we ended up at the best possible place for us.”

Khan continued, “TNT is where I always wanted to go. From a marketing standpoint, there was such a great promotional push around the debut and they [TNT] were so happy with the results that we got a four-year contract extension all within the first four months. It was a very successful debut, but it was a long road to get there.”

Khan has been a lifelong wrestling fan. He was an avid ‘fantasy booker’ in his teen years and always dreamt about having a wrestling show on TNT. “I’ve been writing shows in notebooks, Microsoft Word files and even Word Perfect going back to 1995.”

TV Rights Fees

AEW has actually produced more episodes of Dynamite in the pandemic-era than before it. With live crowds restricted in most places, the TV rights AEW receives for Dynamite plays a more important role in the company’s bottom-line.

Khan also spoke about how just because they can have packed crowds in Florida now, doesn’t necessarily mean they will do so.

“Live events have changed in the past year, more so probably than in all the previous years combined. TV rights now more than ever are the most important revenue stream. Now all of a sudden, things are possible to do legally. That doesn’t mean you should try to pack the place.”

The full interview with Tony Khan can be read here.

• AEW Dynamite Results (10/14): One Year Anniversary, All Titles On The Line

The Brood was a staple of the Attitude Era and the group helped launch the careers of both Edge and Christian. However, the leader of the group Gangrel recently revealed that the latter wasn’t originally going to be a part of the stable.

The Attitude Era star recently joined Chris Van Vliet for an interview on his YouTube channel where he talked about things like the formation of the group, their theme music and more.

During the interview, Gangrel was asked if the intention of the stable was always to launch the career of Edge. Replying to it, the wrestling veteran confirmed the theory and went on to praise the Rated R Superstar:

“Absolutely, 100 percent. They told me from day one it was to help bring Edge in and get around. He was just a great human being; there’s something special about him. There’s a lot of people.

You’ll go through the world and meet a tremendous amount of people, and shake a lot of hands, and you’ll meet a handful of people that are just really good people, and he’s a really good person.”

• Also Read: Paul Heyman Teases Secret WWE Contract Extension For Ronda Rousey

Gangrel also revealed that Christian wasn’t originally going to be a part of the group: “Edge brought him in [through the] back door to go, that was supposed to be [Christopher] Daniels’ spot,”

Apart from this, the former WWE star talked about things like being part of the WWE roster during the Attitude Era, their feud with the Ministry of Darkness and more. You can check out his full interview below:

New Japan Pro-Wrestling thirtieth annual G1 Climax tournament has arrived!

Watch live on NJPW World with a paid subscription. English and Japanese commentary are available! This event will have reduced attendance capacity to comply with COVID-19 social distancing restrictions.

Start Times:

• Pacific: 10/16 2:30AM
• Eastern: 10/16 5:30AM
• UK: 10/16 10:30AM
• Japan: 10/16 6:30PM
• East Australia: 10/16 8:30PM

NJPW World Live Stream (English Commentary)

NJPW World Live Stream (Japanese Commentary)

G1 Climax 30 Day 17 Results

Yota Tsuji def. Gabriel Kidd (6:52)
It feels good being back in Sumo Hall for the first time since late last year. It’s a hopeful atmosphere, and pro-wrestling desperately needs more of those these days. Yota Tsuji and Gabriel Kidd did not practice any formalities in this match, throwing bombs and loud strikes at each other from the bell. Gabriel Kidd took the early advantage, but he got cocky and started talking trash to Tsuji, in Japanese, about how he represents the LA Dojo. Tsuji replied with a mighty spear, followed by a giant swing into the Boston crab to submit Gabriel Kidd.

A Block: Yujiro Takahashi def. Jeff Cobb (10:30)
The match began as predictably as possible, with Jeff Cobb being too strong to be vulnerable to anything that Yujiro could do. Yujiro, smartly, fled for his life, but upon Cobb following him, Yujiro planted him with a DDT on the outside mats, and he was able to methodically work over the dazed Cobb for that point forward. Jeff Cobb’s comebacks were explosive but short-lived until a powerful lariat put Yujiro on the back foot once more. Cobb landed the Athletic-Plex but Yujiro managed to slip out of the Tour of the Islands. He hit Cobb with his cane after pushing the referee and hit an olympic slam followed by Miami Shine for a two-count, and then the Pimp Juice DDT to put Cobb away. Yujiro avoids the fate of being the first winless G1 Climax participant since Tomoaki Honma in 2014.
Yujiro Takahashi’s final score is 2 points (1 win, 8 losses)
Jeff Cobb’s final score is 8 points (4 wins, 5 losses)

A Block: Shingo Takagi vs. Minoru Suzuki
Their championship match at Summer Struggle told us what a match between Minoru Suzuki and Shingo Takagi will be: a battle of wills and hard heads. Shingo took control and perhaps pushed his luck, rubbing his boot against Suzuki’s head repeatedly. The angered Suzuki caught Shingo in a sleeper hold and tried early for the Gotch-style piledriver, but Shingo wiggled his legs to force Suzuki to put him down, and then hit a fireman’s carry bomb to get the edge back again. He came off the ropes for a Pumping Bomber but Suzuki caught him in an armbar! Shingo tried to stand up and powerbomb Suzuki with his trapped arm, but he could barely lift Suzuki off the mat. The complexion of this match changed as Suzuki continued wrenching on Shingo’s right arm with a Fujiwara armbar. Shingo was able to crawl and get his foot to the bottom rope to force Suzuki off of him, but he was still in trouble. However, as Shingo applied a chokehold yet again, Shingo wrested Suzuki off of him and hit a big punch with the force his hurt right arm could still produce, and then hit Last of the Dragon for the pinfall victory.
Minoru Suzuki’s final score is 6 points (3 wins, 6 losses)
Shingo Takagi’s final score is 8 points (4 wins, 5 losses)

A Block: Will Ospreay def. Kazuchika Okada (17:04)
Will Ospreay’s performance at the start of this match was the dictionary definition of “guns-blazing.” He hit a Sasuke Special in the first fifteen seconds. Out of overconfidence, or perhaps desperation, he tried for the Oscutter and the Stormbreaker soon after, but couldn’t make either of them stick. A great athlete in his own right, Okada understood that he would not be able to keep up with Ospreay’s speed, and tried his best to keep him grounded, with limited success. Ospreay lifted Okada to the top turnbuckle, then dropkicked him to the floor, mimicking a pattern that Okada often does. He followed that with a mental plancha over the corner post to Okada, then brought him back in the ring and tried again for the Stormbreaker, to no avail. Okada applied the Money Clip, but Ospreay was able to get the rope break before being worn down sufficiently. He felt Okada taking control and went for the kill, hitting a reverse frankensteiner followed by the Oscutter, but Ospreay would avoid the Stormbreaker once more and then try again for the Money Clip. We saw Bea Priestley, Will Ospreay’s girlfriend, show up at ringside and cheer Ospreay on. Okada persisted with the Money Clip, but then Bea entered the ring and got in the referee’s face. With the referee’s back turned, a large man entered the ring and chokeslammed Okada. This man was Tomoyuki Oka, AKA The Great O-Kharn, who had been on excursion in England with Revolution Pro-Wrestling. Until now, apparently. Will Ospreay acted surprised, but lifted Okada and finally hit the Stormbreaker for the win nonetheless.
Kazuchika Okada’s final score is 12 points (6 wins, 3 losses)
Will Ospreay’s final score is 12 points (6 wins, 3 losses)

Ospreay kissed his girlfriend after the match. He then entered the ring and hit the Hidden Blade on the fallen Okada. He told Okada that he was holding Ospreay back, and that he hoped Okada would be in pain tomorrow.

A Block: Kota Ibushi def. Taichi (17:12)
Whether as parts of tag teams or not, Kota Ibushi and Taichi have been at each other’s throats all summer. At this point, they had more to prove than just who could win. Japanese wrestlers will frequently let themselves be hit to show both their opponents and the fans just how much they can endure, but this was that taken to another level. For the first five minutes, all they did was kick the soul out of each other, and they even sat down and took turns letting themselves be kicked. The first other move was a backdrop driver from Taichi, which Ibushi dramatically backflipped out of to land on his feet. Their kicks became more ferocious after that, until gradually becoming more feeble. They were visibly getting both worn down and exhausted. Ibushi finally hit a high kick that put Taichi on his back, then called for the Kamigoye, but Taichi kicked his legs out from under him, and both men struggled to their feet. Ibushi caught Taichi’s leg as he tried for a buzzsaw kick, then stood up and kicked his leg to bring him to his knees, then hit a buzzsaw kick of his own. The Kamigoye sealed Taichi’s fate.
Kota Ibushi’s final score is 14 points (7 wins, 2 losses)
Taichi’s final score is 8 points (4 wins, 5 losses)

A Block: Tomohiro Ishii def. Jay White (24:35)
Jay White masterfully pushed Tomohiro Ishii’s buttons, testing his patience and challenging his hubris. Ishii is plenty a match for Jay White, and he’s defeated Jay White before. However, Jay White’s ego is bigger than Ishii’s neck is short, and he was hyperfocused on toying with his prey as much as possible, to make Ishii furious before defeating him and gloating. Eventually, Gedo called for Jay to finish Ishii off, and he suplexed Ishii into the turnbuckle pad. Turnabout is fair play, though, and Ishii made it to his feet and delivered his own German suplex into the pad. Finally taking Ishii as seriously as he deserved, Jay pivoted to attacking Ishii’s bandaged right knee, using the TTO submission and dragonscrew leg whips. Ishii barely made it to the ropes to break the TTO, but when he did, he decided to retaliate in much the same way. As Ishii wrenched on Jay’s knee, Gedo came in and Jay pushed Ishii into Gedo and the referee. However, Ishii was not out. He caught Gedo’s kick and pushed him into Jay, and then suplexed Jay for a near fall. He tried for the vertical drop brainbuster, but White dropped down out of it and hit Ishii with a low blow. Jay White tried multiple times for the Blade Runner, but couldn’t make one stick. Ishii hit a vertical suplex cutter, lariated Gedo inside out when he tried to interfere again, and hit a sliding lariat for a near fall! Finally, Jay White went up for the vertical drop brainbuster, and then came crashing down. Tomohiro Ishii wins, and with that, Jay White is out. Kota Ibushi is your G1 Climax 30 A Block Finalist!
Tomohiro Ishii’s final score is 8 points (4 wins, 5 losses)
Jay White’s final score is 12 points (6 wins, 3 losses)

G1 Climax 30 Standings

A Block:
14 points – Kota Ibushi (Block winner)
12 points – Jay White, Kazuchika Okada, Will Ospreay
8 points – Jeff Cobb, Taichi, Shingo Takagi, Tomohiro Ishii
6 points – Minoru Suzuki
2 points – Yujiro Takahashi

B Block:
12 points – Tetsuya Naito, EVIL
10 points – SANADA, Zack Sabre Jr.
8 points – Hirooki Goto, KENTA
6 points – Hiroshi Tanahashi, Toru Yano, Juice Robinson
2 points – YOSHI-HASHI

With reports confirming that Ronda Rousey’s current WWE contract expires shortly after WrestleMania 37, fans are wondering if and when we’ll see the former UFC star return to the ring. During an interview with the New York Post this week, Paul Heyman shed some new light on the situation.

Heyman addressed the buzz surrounding some recent pictures of Rousey training in a pro wrestling ring, suggesting she’s gearing up for a WWE return. The ECW mastermind floated the possibility that Rousey might have signed a contract extension with the company.

“That’s another funny thing about people who don’t discuss their business in public forums, everyone presumes that Ronda Rousey’s contract expires at a certain time,” said Heyman. “I don’t understand why people don’t realize that perhaps, just perhaps, Ronda Rousey’s contract has been extended or she has worked out a new deal and it would not benefit either WWE or Ronda Rousey to go public with that information. But why wouldn’t people understand that it would be kept secret?”

Paul Heyman also implied that if Ronda Rousey does make her in-ring return, it will be on a big stage which rules out the possibility of the most dangerous woman on the planet making an appearance at WWE Thunderdome.

Apart from this, Paul also labeled Rousey as a trailblazer and said that the next time you see her; she will be making history in whatever she does.

You can check out the full interview at this link.

Paul Heyman Provides Update On ‘Free Agent’ Brock Lesnar’s Status

Wade Barrett has shown interest in making an in-ring return after joining the NXT brand as a commentator and he has also exchanged words with the current WWE Champion Drew McIntyre in recent times.

However one of the biggest hurdles in the former Nexus Leader’s way back to in-ring action would be his physical shape. During a recent interview with BT Sport, the WWE star revealed how long it will take him to get back in the ring shape.

Barrett explained that even though he is not in the ring shape at the moment, he is still in good shape and claimed that he will need about three months to get his ring rust off:

“I’m not in ring shape at the moment, but I’m in good shape. To get in ring shape I will probably need three months of knocking out that ring rust to step back in the ring, but currently, my focus is purely on the announcing booth in NXT.”

Wade Barrett also reiterated his words about possibly getting back in the ring if the right opportunity arises and discussed how there are many WWE stars who are older than him and are still doing great work.

Do you think Wade Barrett should make an in-ring return at this stage of his career and who would be the best opponent for his return match? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.

WWE has brought back a number of people after moving to Thunderdome who they fired or furloughed during the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic but unfortunately, Shane Helms is not one of them.

The former WWE star recently had an interview with WrestlingInc where he talked about things like working with the boss Vince McMahon and more.

During the talk, Helms also provided an update on his status with the company and the former cruiserweight champion confirmed that he is still on furlough:

“Yeah, I guess it’s a furloughing, until I go back. To me, it’s the same thing as being released if I go back or whatever, April 15, Tax Day, of course, always sucks but it wasn’t anything that was unexpected for me anyway.”

• Also Read: Paul Heyman Provides Update On ‘Free Agent’ Brock Lesnar’s Status

Shane Helms also talked about how his interactions with the Boss Vince McMahon have changed over the years and he explained that what Mr. McMahon wants from a producer is very different than what he wants from a wrestler.

The star formerly known as Hurricane Helms went on to praise the chairman of the boards saying that McMahon is a visionary guy and one of the hardest working human beings. You can check out his full interview at this link.

.

AEW scored another win over NXT this week with its Dynamite Anniversary special. Both shows were up this week and benefitted from less competition.

AEW widened the gap over NXT, but expectations were higher since this was a heavily promoted episode. Dynamite viewership was up 9.7% from last week, while NXT increased 1.9%. Here’s the breakdown, courtesy of ShowbuzzDaily:

• AEW: 826,000 viewers, 0.30 rating (15th on cable for the night)
• NXT: 651,000 viewers, 0.17 rating (51st on cable for the night)

For comparison, Monday’s Raw featuring Night 2 of the 2020 Draft averaged 1.855 million viewers with a 0.57 in the key demo.

You can find full results and our takeaways from both shows below:

• AEW Dynamite Anniversary Results (10/14): All Titles On The Line
• NXT Results (10/14): Priest vs. Lumus, LeRae vs. Blackheart

Daniel Bryan is returning to WWE television. The company announced today that the former WWE Champion will be appearing on this Friday’s episode of SmackDown although they didn’t mention what he’ll be doing on the show whether that’s a promo or wrestling. 

It’s been reported that he had been away from WWE TV tapings likely as a COVID-19 precautionary measure. 

He hasn’t wrestled since June 12 where he lost to AJ Styles in the Intercontinental Title tournament finals  This was around the time that Brie Bella was in the latter her pregnancy with their second child, who was born on August 1st. 

WWE has also announced that Robert Roode and Dolph Ziggler vs. SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Street Profits has been added to the show. 

WWE is hyping this as the season premiere of SmackDown on FOX. As a result, a loaded show is being advertised from Orlando, Florida at the Amway Center.

SmackDown Card

• The New Day vs. Cesaro, Sheamus and Shinsuke Nakamura
• WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns vs. Braun Strowman
• Jeff Hardy vs. Lars Sullivan
• Daniel Bryan to return
• Robert Roode and Dolph Ziggler vs. SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Street Profits

Latest On Daniel Bryan’s Absence From WWE TV

MVP has revealed in previous interviews that his WWE return was only expected to be a one-night deal but plans changed and he ended up sticking around for a longer run.

Since then the former US Champion has signed a new contract with the company and during a recent interview, he explained how his WWE return was arranged.

MVP recently talked to SportBible and during the interview, he revealed that it was him who had reached out to the company for a return and according to the former Impact star, he was blown away by their response:

“At the time, my intentions were only to come back for the Royal Rumble so my son, who is now a massive wrestling fan, could see daddy perform. It was a surprise for him and I had his mother and sister bring him out.

“When I contacted WWE and asked about coming back as a surprise entry, I was blown away by how happy they were to have me. They got floor seats for my little boy so he could have a great experience, and he got to meet Rey Mysterio.”

• Also Read: Paul Heyman Provides Update On ‘Free Agent’ Brock Lesnar’s Status

MVP later explained that Paul Heyman who was the Executive Director of Raw at the time, arranged a match between him and Rey Mysterio and the company ended up offering him a position as a producer afterward.

Apart from this, the wrestling veteran talked about things like the formation of the Hurt Business, the future of Bobby Lashley and more. You can check out his full interview at this link.

Paul Heyman has had many roles in WWE. He is currently the “Special Counsel” to Universal Champion Roman Reigns. Heyman says they are just scratching the surface of what is possible with the angle of Reigns as the “Tribal Chief”. He also says that fans don’t appreciate how truly great Reigns is.

“I think Roman Reigns and I both continue to be quite unappreciated by the sports, the entertainment and the sports entertainment world. But we’re starting to get there now,” Heyman said to Ryan Satin of Fox Sports.

Heyman would continue to say that it is the fact that fans don’t appreciate Reigns as they should which led to the two becoming aligned.

“This is part of the convergence of circumstances that led to Roman Reigns and Paul Heyman appearing together on television, is the fact that Roman Reigns is so remarkably unappreciated,” Heyman continued. “That so many people have taken Roman Reigns for granted over the years and don’t really acknowledge the level of performance that he brings forth in WWE.”

Heyman then continued to say that they are just scratching the surface of where the angle with Reigns can go.

“We’re just beginning to scratch the surface of what Roman Reigns is capable of presenting. He returned at the end of August. We’re now in the middle of October. We’re about six weeks into this. Imagine where we’ll be six weeks from now. Imagine where we’ll be six MONTHS from now.”

Reigns has a big match upcoming tomorrow on the season premiere of Smackdown. He’ll face Braun Strowman with the Universal title on the line.

• Paul Heyman Provides Update On ‘Free Agent’ Brock Lesnar’s Status

Pro-Wrestling Illustrated’s annual top-100 women’s wrestling rankings issue is now available for pre-order. The top rankings for the last year have been announced and Smackdown Women’s Champion Bayley has claimed the top spot.

The publication has unveiled which wrestlers are in the top-5 positions this year. The 4 Horsewomen of NXT are joined by Asuka in the upper echelon of women’s wrestling.

PWI Women’s Top-100 Rankings for 2020:

1. Bayley
2. Becky Lynch
3. Asuka
4. Charlotte Flair
5. Sasha Banks

The top-10 from last year’s edition were:

1. Becky Lynch
2. Charlotte Flair
3. Ronda Rousey
4. Shayna Baszler
5. Tessa Blanchard
6. Bayley
7. Natalya
8. Io Shirai
9. Mercedes Martinez
10. Nicole Savoy

This is just the 3rd time Bayley has cracked the top-5. She finished 5th in the rankings in 2016 and 2017.

Previous Top Ranked Women’s Wrestlers In PWI Rankings

• 2008: Awesome Kong
• 2009: Mickie James
• 2010: Michelle McCool
• 2011: Madison Eagles
• 2012: Gail Kim
• 2013: Cheerleader Melissa
• 2014: Paige
• 2015: Nikki Bella
• 2016: Charlotte
• 2017: Asuka
• 2018: Ronda Rousey
• 2019: Becky Lynch
• 2020: Bayley

Bayley also seems to be having fun in her career as of late. She spoke to SI.com recently about this being the best time of her WWE run thus far.

• Bayley On Current Run With Sasha Banks: ‘This Is The Most Fun I’ve Had On TV’

“One of the things we heard a lot was, ‘We can always count on you.’ We believed they could count on us to run the whole company. It took a lot of proving, but that’s what we’re doing now. We are very vocal about what we believe is right and what we want to do to help the company and help the division. It’s finally being able to shine through, and it’s very rewarding.”

Cody recaptured the TNT title from Brodie Lee on a recent episode of AEW Dynamite. He was the inaugural holder of the title and defended it 8 times before dropping it to Brodie Lee in August.

Cody sat down for an interview with AEW’s Canadian broadcast partner, TSN, and talked about the success of the title. He even teased that the promotion could introduce a “TSN title” somewhere down the line.

“It’s really so rare and makes me really happy to be partners with our partners here in the States and in Canada – there should be a TSN title now that we’re talking!” Cody said to TSN.

Cody On The Success Of The TNT Title

He also spent time talking about the success of the TNT title. He noted that they never envisioned it as a mid-card belt.

“It was never intended to be middle of the pack and a lot of people thought, ‘Oh, it’s a workhorse belt’ or ‘Oh, it’s a television belt.’ No, it’s this. And the reality is, it’s none of those things. It’s the first time a network partner wanted a title in their own likeness and looked at a bunch of people they thought would be great fits for it. I can’t wait to tell the full story of it one day.”

Cody also said that the title has exceeded the expectations that had for it.

“I don’t want to jinx it, but it’s superseded what we anticipated and I think it’s superseded the general expectation,” Cody said. “I don’t want to blame people if they want to put identities on things before they happen and that’s just because WWE has been unopposed for 20 years, so they might be used to how WWE does things, but the TNT title was never going to be a midcard title.”

TNT Title Statistics

Cody become the inaugural champion at Double or Nothing 2020 by defeating Lance Archer in the finals of a single-elimination tournament. He then defended it 8 times against Jungle Boy, Marq Quen, Ricky Starks, Jake Hager, Sonny Kiss, Eddie Kingston, Warhorse and Scorpio Sky.

Brodie Lee defeated Cody for the belt on the Saturday Night Dynamite special in August. Lee then successfully defended the belt against Dustin Rhodes and Orange Cassidy. He would then drop it back to Cody on October 7th.

Cody fought to a time limit draw with Orange Cassidy this week. They will face each other again in 2 weeks.

• AEW Dynamite Results (10/14): One Year Anniversary, All Titles On The Line

Teddy Long played a number of roles during his long tenure with WWE and he served as a referee, manager, and most prominently an authority figure during his time with the company.

The Hall Of Famer recently had an interview with Hannibal where he talked about a number of things and also revealed which one of his WWE roles he prefers.

Long claimed that he prefers being the General Manager because he learned a lot during his various tenures as the GM of different WWE brands:

“Well, I prefer being the GM, because, with the GM [role], I had to not only get that role, you know, entertain the people — it helped me. I learned a lot because you had to learn a lot when you walked out on the TV and you stayed out there as much as I did.

You had to learn how to keep that audience, you know? How to keep people where they’re not tired of looking at you or not tired of seeing you either.” said Teddy Long “When they do see you, they’re ready to see you.”

• Also Read: Paul Heyman Provides Update On ‘Free Agent’ Brock Lesnar’s Status

The former WWE star continued by praising his boss Vince McMahon saying that McMahon knew when to put him out there and when not and it’s something he is now able to share with the young guys.

Teddy Long joined WWE in 1998 as a referee and he went on to portray a number of other roles in the company. He is probably best known for his two tenures as the General Manager of SmackDown lasting a total of six years.

All Elite Wrestling’s next pay-per-view, AEW Full Gear, takes place Saturday, November 7th from Jacksonville, Florida. Coming out of this week’s AEW Dynamite, the following matches are confirmed for the eveent:

• Darby Allin challenges for the TNT Championship

• AEW Tag Team Champions FTR vs. #1 Contenders, to be determined next week on Dynamite.

• Finals of the World Title Eliminator Tournament

With only three more episodes of Dynamite until Full Gear, we’ll soon know who will challenge AEW World Champion Jon Moxley and AEW Women’s Champion Hikaru Shida.

#1 contender Lance Archer came up short against Jon Moxley on this week’s show. The next two challengers in the AEW rankings are FTW Champion Brian Cage (9-1) and MJF (9-1). Nyla Rose (11-2) is the top ranked woman and could be in line for a title shot as well.

Dynamite Preview (10/21)

The following matches are scheduled for next week’s edition of AEW Dynamite:

• AEW’s World Title Eliminator Tournament begins (Full Brackets)

• Chris Jericho & MJF will share a steak dinner, Le Dinner Debonair.

• #1 Contender 4-Way tag team match: The Young Bucks vs. Private Party vs. Dark Order vs. The Butcher & The Blade. The winner challenges FTR at Full Gear.

• Dr. Britt Baker D.M.D. will be in action

People have been wondering when we are gonna see Brock Lesnar back on WWE TV since his contract expired in April and his advocate Paul Heyman recently provided some updates on The Beast Incarnate’s status.

The former Raw Executive Director appeared on Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show where he talked about a number of things and also discussed the future of his client.

While Heyman ruled out a possible UFC return for the former Universal Champion, he explained that Lesnar’s return depends on a number of factors:

“It depends on if there’s a worthy challenger and enough box office appeal, right now, he’s very happy being a farmer and a magnificent father to his children.

However, if there’s something that WWE can offer that intrigues, motivates, or inspires Lesnar, and if the money is right and the business is solid, I’m sure he would be willing to do it,”

Why Lesnar Hasn’t Returned

Paul confirmed that the former UFC star remains a free agent after the expiry of his contract and he claimed that Brock’s comeback hasn’t happened because a worthy offer isn’t there:

“At this moment, it [a comeback] hasn’t happened because it [a worthy offer] isn’t there. Again, the world changes with the snap of a finger. It could be tomorrow when Lesnar says, ‘Oh, that intrigues me.’ Again, it’s not just a sound byte, but Brock Lesnar does what Brock Lesnar wants to do.”

Paul Heyman has aligned himself with Roman Reigns in the absence of his long-term client and he has helped the Big Dog recapture the Universal title.

However, this dynamic will change when Brock Lesnar makes his return to WWE programming and it would be interesting to see which side Heyman picks when the Beast makes his comeback.

• Paul Heyman Discusses Why He Was Removed As WWE RAW Executive Director