Former World Champion Swerve Strickland is set to make his AEW return very soon.

The Premier Athlete has not been seen on AEW TV since he suffered a gruesome loss at the hands of Hangman Adam Page in their unsanctioned match at All Out.

The company finally confirmed Swerve’s return on this week’s episode of Dynamite. They announced that Strickland will be making an appearance at the upcoming WrestleDream PPV on October 12:

• AEW’s Swerve Strickland Makes DC Comics Debut in Batman #153

What’s Next For Swerve Strickland?

Prior to his loss to Adam Page, Strickland had suffered another major defeat at All In. Bryan Danielson ended his 126-day-long reign as the AEW World Champion and saved his career in the process.

That means the former champion has a long road ahead to build himself up again if he plans on pursuing the world title he lost.

There is also the question of The Hurt Syndicate looming around. MVP expressed the desire to work with Swerve upon his AEW debut a couple of weeks ago.

Shelton Benjamin has also made his debut for the company as MVP’s business partner and the debut of Bobby Lashley is highly anticipated.

With all the new players in town, it’d be interesting to see how Swerve will interact with them and if they’ll prove to be friends or foes for the former NXT star.

• Swerve Strickland Reveals How Shawn Michaels Influenced His Current Success

Bronson Reed has given Triple H the credit for having a vision for his feud with Braun Strowman that led to the rivalry going viral.

The heavyweight star has established himself as a huge threat to the WWE roster in the past few weeks. His encounters with Braun Strowman have played a crucial part in presenting Reed as a serious competitor after his past mishaps in the company.

The 36-year-old was asked if he anticipated his work with Strowman going viral during a recent interview with Chris Van Vliet. Reed explained that he didn’t expect it to be such a huge hit but was excited to work with Strowman nonetheless:

“No, I don’t think so. I was excited to be able to work with Braun. I think there was a natural chemistry there, we have maybe touched one time before in the Andre the Giant battle royal last year. And I was like, oh, we could do something there with me and him. But then it’s like, what do you do?

• Bronson Reed Never Doubted WWE Return After 2021 NXT Release

It Worked: Bronson Reed

Bronson Reed specifically mentioned giving Tsunami to the Monster Among Men on top of a car. He said that all this was the vision of WWE’s Chief Content officer Triple H:

“Then Hunter obviously had great vision for things, came up with the car angle and everything. And then once we were filming that, it’s in the moment, I was like, Okay, this is gonna be cool. I think people were gonna really respond to this.

And then it ended up being WWE’s most viral moment of the week. I think it got almost 13 million views across social media platforms. So it worked.”

Bronson Reed had the upper hand during most of his feud with Braun Strowman. Though he ended up losing their most recent Last Monster Standing match last week on September 30 due to the returning Seth Rollins.

Reed previously laid out The Architect at the start of his terror run. After his comeback last week, Rollins has now challenged the former NXT star to a match at the time and place of his choosing.

The War Raiders have returned.

The duo of Erik and Ivar have not been seen together on WWE TV since September last year but they have finally returned to action.

WWE taped the October 14 episode of Raw in advance this week from St. Louis, Missouri because of an upcoming UK Tour. The show saw the start of a tournament to determine new #1 Contenders for Finn Balor and JD McDonagh’s Tag Team Championships.

The Viking Raiders made their return to the Red Branded Show for the first match of the tournament, defeating Alpha Academy. Notably, the duo reverted back to the War Raiders name upon their return:

• WWE Raw (10/14) Spoilers: Rhea Ripley, Cody Rhodes And More

The War Raiders in WWE

The tag team last competed together during the September 15, 2023 episode of SmackDown. They suffered defeat in a Denver Street Fight at the hands of Alpha Academy.

After this match, it was announced that Erik had suffered a foot injury that will keep him out of action for an undisclosed amount of time.

The duo was moved to the Raw brand during the 2024 Drafts. In the absence of Erik, Ivar continued appearing on TV as a singles competitor.

The 40-year-old unfortunately also suffered a spinal injury in April this year. He was written off TV with an attack from Gallus during the May 14, 2024 episode of NXT.

Erik and Ivar notably wrestled in the indies under the name of War Machine before their WWE signing. The War Raiders name was given to them during their NXT debut in early 2018.

The duo was repackaged as The Viking Experience upon their main roster debut in April 2019. They were later renamed to The Viking Raiders after backlash on social media.

• Ivar: ‘No One Was Happy About The Viking Experience Name Except One Man’

WWE taped the October 14 episode of Monday Night Raw from St. Louis, Missouri tonight because of the upcoming UK tour. The show featured the return of a tag team and more. Here are the full results of the episode:

• Rhea Ripley Promo: Ripley calls out Raquel Rodriguez for costing her the women’s title at Bad Blood. Ms. Money In The Bank Tifanny Stratton comes out instead and says that she has a message from Nia Jax. Before she could deliver it, however, Liv Morgan and Rodrigez attack them both from behind. A match between the two teams is made official for later in the night.

• Tag Team Match: Women’s Tag Team Champions Bianca Belair & Jade Cargill def. Kairi Sane and IYO SKY.
• Tag Team Match: A tournament to determine new challengers for the Tag Team Championship begins. The Viking Raiders return to action, reverting back to The War Raiders name. They defeat Alpha Academy.

• Cody Rhodes Promo: Gunther interrupts Cody during his promo. Gunther attacked Cody after an exchange but Rhodes was the one standing tall in the end.
• Singles Match: R Truth def. The Miz: Karrion Kross and the crew come out to distract Miz, allowing Truth to get the pin. They toss Truth back into the ring for Miz to attack him.
• Singles Match: Bron Breakker def. Kofi Kingston
• Tag Team Match: Tiffany Stratton & Rhea Ripley vs. Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez: The match ends in a disqualification when SmackDown’s Nia Jax shows up. She goes after Liv Morgan before Dominik pulls Morgan out of the ring.

WWE reverted back to the two-hour format for Raw this week which will continue till the end of the year. The show will be leaving USA Network for Netflix at the start of next year. You can check out what the company’s planning for the Netflix premiere here.

• Triple H Asked About Raw’s Length On Netflix

Triple H says the length of Raw on Netflix is not fixed and they’re still working out the details of what the company’s flagship show will look like on the streaming platform.

The Red Branded Show is set to revert back to two hours after 12 years this coming Monday. The show will continue with the format for its final three months on USA Network before moving to the streaming giant in January next year.

The WWE Chief Content officer was asked about this change and what to expect from the show when it crosses over to Netflix during the Bad Blood post-show. Triple H joked that he’ll let us know as soon as he finds out himself, before explaining that they’re still working on the finer details:

“When we get to Netflix, we are still working through all of that. So I think the truth is, you guys will have to watch and see and I am gonna wait and see, but we will deal with it.”

• WWE Bad Blood 2024 Results: Hell in a Cell, Multiple Returns and more

We Are Making A Movie Every Week: Triple H

Triple H also advised people to not get too caught up in details like this. He explained that their approach while booking shows is to figure out the stories they wanna tell first and worry about the rest later:

“The truth is, no matter what the length of time is, it’s just about putting out the best product we can, telling the best possible stories we can. At the end of the day, that is what this is all about – telling stories. Sometimes in our business, we get so caught up in two hour – three-hour, one-hour, this [that]…the movie is the movie.

When the movie is over, it was either really good, or it was not good, or too long, or too short. Whatever it is. But we are just making a movie every week, twice a week, three times a week, actually, with more to come. We kind of approach it in that matter. Let’s write the best stories and then we’ll try to figure out how to jam it into whatever timeslot we have available.”

Apart from this, Triple H answered questions regarding The Rock’s return to WWE programming during Bad Blood and the lack of Black representation on WWE PLEs. You can check out the full PPV post-show below:

Damian Priest might be looking to become a champion again after his big Bad Blood 2024 victory against Finn Balor.

The PPV match between the two rivals saw Carlito and JD McDonagh trying to help their Judgment Day teammate. Priest managed to outsmart the two in the end and picked up the victory with a South of Heaven.

The former World champion took part in the post-show press conference after the latest PLE where he was asked if he is done with Judgment Day and if he sees himself pursuing the world title again after this victory. Priest said that it’s something he’s gonna think about on his day off on Sunday:

“That’s something I have to think about. Obviously, today felt good. To get that win, beat the man that I said was gonna regret everything he did. I feel like I accomplished that. Am I done with the Judgment Day? I don’t think so, but who doesn’t want to be the champion?

That is something I’m going to have to think about, something I’m gonna have to consider. I have [a day] off tomorrow. So that’s what I’ll be considering, and come Monday, you’ll probably get my answer.”

• WWE Bad Blood 2024 Results: Hell in a Cell, Multiple Returns and more

The Ring General is the one who dethroned Priest at SummerSlam with some help from Finn Balor. So a rematch between the two would make sense.

Gunther is currently scheduled to defend his title against Sami Zayn on Monday’s Raw from Enterprise Center in St. Louis, Missouri. After his remark, it’s possible that Damian Priest will be watching this encounter very closely.

• Damian Priest Pays Homage To Scott Hall At WWE Bad Blood

The awkward finish of Liv Morgan vs. Rhea Ripley Women’s Championship match at Bad Blood was seemingly the result of an audible called during the bout.

According to Fightful Select, the original plan for the bout was Liv winning the match with help from a returning Raquel Rodriguez. Things went into disarray when the referee called for the bell before that:

“It was implied that the original finish to Rhea vs. Liv was Liv winning with Raquel’s help. However the referee couldn’t justify not doing a DQ finish as he saw everything unfold.”

• Watch: What Happened With Cody Rhodes After Bad Blood 2024 Went Off Air

Rhea Ripley vs. Liv Morgan

The shark cage match at Bad Blood saw Dominik Mysterio being suspended in a cage at the ringside while Rhea and Liv battled inside the squared circle.

Prison Dom managed to pickpocket the lock and opened the cage door towards the ending of the match. While the door was open, Mysterio had nowhere to go because of his fear of heights.

Ripley took advantage of the situation and brought Liv outside to punish her right in front of Dom’s eyes. After a while, Dom couldn’t take it anymore and he tried to get out. Unfortunately for the 27-year-old, he forgot about the chain securing his leg to the cage and he found himself hanging in the air.

Rhea Ripley took the opportunity to get her revenge on her ex, and she picked up a kendo stick to punish Dominik. This is when Raquel Rodriguez made her return and she blindsided Rhea.

Raquel then threw Ripley back into the ring and after an awkward pause, the bell rang to signal the end of the bout. Rodriguez unsure of what to do after the sudden change in plans, still put Liv on top of Ripley for the pin but then picked Morgan up.

Rodriguez had been diagnosed with Mast cell activation syndrome in January this year. She competed at the Elimination Chamber in February despite her condition but was pulled from the active roster in March.

• WWE Bad Blood 2024 Results: Hell in a Cell, Multiple Returns and more

Drew McIntyre was understandably banged up after his brutal Hell In A Cell match at tonight’s Bad Blood PPV from Atlanta Georgia.

One of the spots in the grueling match featured Punk bashing McIntyre with the metal toolbox that the Scottish Psychopath himself had introduced in the bout.

Drew was legitimately busted open from this spot and according to PWinsider, the former World Champion required as many as 16 staples to close the wound after the show.

The site says McIntyre was ‘banged up’ coming out of the PLE but they didn’t confirm if he suffered any other injuries besides the obvious one tonight.

• Triple H: The Rock Can Do What He Wants, We’re Grateful to Have Him

What Happened At Bad Blood

Things didn’t turn out as Drew McIntyre would have hoped at the PPV. The ending of the brutal match saw Punk wrapping a chain around his thigh and following it up with a GTS on his opponent for the win.

The year-long feud between the arch-rivals is believed to be over after tonight’s PPV. It’s unknown what the Triple H regime has in store for either of these stars after the Hell In A Cell match.

While the future of Punk and McIntyre is in question, there are some other major storylines that have been teased at and after tonight’s show.

Apart from an appearance of Goldberg in a segment featuring the World Heavyweight Champion Gunther, the show also saw the electrifying return of the Rock. If all this wasn’t enough, WWE also pulled the plug on a long-teased heel turn, after the Bad Blood broadcast was over. You can check out more about it here.

• Watch: What Happened With Cody Rhodes After Bad Blood 2024 Went Off Air

Cody Rhodes just made Triple H and Nick Khan’s job harder by adding another name to the list of potential cities in line to host a WrestleMania.

The Undisputed WWE Champion picked up a big win in the main event of tonight’s Bad Blood PPV from State Farm Arena in his hometown of Atlanta, Georgia. With some help from a returning Jimmy Uso, the team of Rhodes and Roman Reigns defeated The Bloodline.

The original Tribal Chief and his cousin left the ring after the PPV went off the air but as always, Cody stayed around to greet the fans. Before that, he cut a promo about his hometown and advocated for the city to get a bigger event after they set a new record for WWE in Atlanta:

“You heard the statistics about how many people, you heard that we set a business record for WWE. We did that here. We did that in Atlanta. I don’t know anything, I’m not a manager or anything like that, but I would wager that after a night like tonight, somehow something even bigger than Bad Blood comes to Atlanta.”

• Triple H Addresses Black Representation On WWE PLEs

Cody Rhodes also talked about growing up in the area and said that people would never know how much it means to him that a cocky kid from the South holds the biggest prize in the business.

Not everything worked out in favor of the American Nightmare tonight, however. Apart from the electrifying return of an old rival, Cody also had to suffer betrayal at the hands of a longtime friend after Bad Blood.

Kayla Braxton has revealed that she wasn’t thrilled with the Paul Heyman pairing at first but she learned the genius of the former ECW owner as time went by.

The former WWE personality recently had an interview with Denise Salcedo. She talked about things such as her love for horror movies, the reason she left WWE, and more.

During the talk, Braxton was asked about her work with Heyman which was one of the highlights of her later run in WWE. Kayla revealed that she wasn’t a fan of the wise man when he first started appearing on Talking Smack with her:

“Yeah, probably one of the most—if not the most—brilliant mind in wrestling. Paul’s been around forever, for like many different leaderships and eras of wrestling. That really happened very organically back during the Thunderdome era, during the pandemic, when they put us together on Talking Smack.

So we had the panel show.  I didn’t really know Paul, hadn’t worked with Paul that much at the time. I just knew that this really big, loud man was on my kickoff show all of a sudden, taking up all my airtime. I was getting really frustrated with him, but then the more I got to work with him…man, I would not have become the broadcaster I had become if it weren’t for Paul Heyman.”

• Kayla Braxton: WWE Got Way Better When Triple H Took Over

Something Really Special: Kayla Braxton

Things changed once Paul Heyman started working his magic. Kayla Braxton mentioned how even before her time, Talking Smack was a destination for some big storyline developments. Her mini-feud with Heyman also made its way to SmackDown when Paul Heyman started doing his thing:

“From there, we’d create little mini storylines on the panel—which a lot of times, Talking Smack, things that would happen on there, even that the Renee Paquette, then Renee Young and Daniel Bryan – things would end up on TV at storylines. That’s kind of what inched our way into this whole Bloodline feud that I had.

And listen, there were a lot of times we’d be going live, I’d be handed a script of what to say in my interview. and Paul’s like ‘You don’t need that.’ I’m like ‘Yo we’re going live and I don’t know if I can just tell them in the truck hey, I’m not saying that’ But we would just go off the cuff, and anything Paul touched turned to gold. It was really fun. And that’s also something that’s really special. Not a lot of people can say that they got to work that closely with the wise man.”

Kayla Braxton left NXT for the main roster in April 2019. She was made host of Talking Smack in August 2020 and the show was renamed to SmackDown LowDown. She left the company in June this year.

• Kayla Braxton Opens Up About Emotional WWE MSG Farewell

Chelsea Green is not happy with the fans and fellow WWE superstars gloating about her loss in the dumpster match on this week’s episode of SmackDown.

Former General Manager Vickie Guerrero suggested the return of the match during the show’s Fox premiere. Current GM Nick Aldis made the match official.

The Bad Blood go-home episode of the show this week saw Green taking on Michin in the stipulation match. Chelsea’s partner Piper Niven tried to help her friend win the bout but she failed.

The ending of the match saw Michin first sending Niven crashing through the side of the dumpster. She then power-bombed Chelsea Green through a table set inside the dumpster and closed the lid to win the match.

• Spoiler Behind Mysterious ‘Coming Soon’ Vignette On (10/4) SmackDown

Chelsea Green Is Not Happy

The Canadian star was understandably not happy about her defeat at the Blue Branded Show. She went on a Twitter tirade after the show went off air, calling out fans who mocked her defeat.

A number of WWE stars also joined in on the fun. Chelsea Green has responded to tweets from the likes of Corey Graves, Hurricane Helms and more:

Apart from the Dumpster match, the SmackDown episode also featured the TV return of AJ Styles. The former World Champion unfortunately ended up suffering an injury during his match on the show.

Cody Rhodes was also in action tonight, though his match took place after SmackDown. You can check out everything that happened after the broadcast ended here.

Cody Rhodes picked up a dark match victory after this week’s episode of SmackDown from Bridgestone Arena in Nashville went off air.

A number of matches took place after the Blue Branded Show this week. WWE first taped the finals of the Women’s Speed Championship Tournament set to air on X on October 11.

The first dark match of the night then saw Liv Morgan with Dirty Dom defending the Women’s Title against Lyra Valkyria. Morgan picked up the victory in the bout.

The second dark match featured Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes facing Austin Theory. The latter had his A Town Down Under partner Greyson Waller on his side.

While Waller tried to help his partner win the bout, Rhodes ended up outsmarting them. He sent Theory crashing into Greyson when he hopped up on the apron and then picked up the victory with a Cross Rhodes.

• Spoiler Behind Mysterious ‘Coming Soon’ Vignette On (10/4) SmackDown

What Happened On SmackDown

The Bad Blood go home episode of SmackDown was full of many noteworthy moments. The show saw the TV return of AJ Styles who unfortunately seems to have suffered an injury during his match with Carmelo Hayes.

The event also featured the return of the Dumpster match. Michin picked up a victory over Chelsea Green in the bout, sending Green into a Twitter tirade.

The Bloodline defended their tag titles in a triple threat ladder match in the main event of the show. They went up against DIY and Street Profits. The duo of Tonga Loa and Tama Tonga managed to retain the titles without any outside help.

Tomasso Ciampa wasn’t very happy with the outcome of this bout and he can be seen refusing a handshake from Street Profits in a fan-made video after the show.

The mystery personnel behind the vignette on this week’s episode of SmackDown from Bridgestone Arena in Nashville have been revealed.

The Blue Branded show this week featured a ‘Coming Soon’ vignette with a speeding car seemingly running away from law enforcement in a metro city.

The first sign of the persons behind the video package was observed in the skyline shown in the video. Fans recognized it as a scene of Detroit, the hometown of the veteran tag team Motor City Machine Guns.

If the hints weren’t enough, the WWE Brazilian announcer Marco Alfaro confirmed during the broadcast that the teaser belonged to the legendary tag team:

Motor City Machine Guns To WWE

The duo of Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin became free agents in April this year after their TNA contracts expired. Initially believed to be AEW bound, the Guns have come much closer to making their WWE debuts in recent months.

Shelley and Sabin regularly competed in independent promotions in the months after their departure from TNA but they have since said goodbye to the indie scene.

WWE is usually very strict about allowing contracted talents to make outside appearances. The Guns wrapping up their indie dates was a big hint towards their future.

The reports that first suggested that they would be joining the NXT brand have subsided. The tag team is now believed to be heading directly to the main roster.

The new vignette pretty much confirms that the former Impact stars will be joining the SmackDown brand in the very near future.

WWE began a tournament to crown the new Speed Women’s Champion last month and now the name that becomes the inaugural champion has been revealed.

The company taped the finals of the Speed Women’s tournament alongside this week’s episode of SmackDown from Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.

They first taped the Semifinal match between Kairi Sane and Candice LeRae in which the latter picked up the victory and made her way into the finals for the match against IYO SKY.

The former member of The Way faction was able to defeat SKY as well and she was crowned the first-ever Women’s Speed Champion:

WWE Speed On X

The concept of WWE Speed was introduced back in April this year in partnership with X. The program airing on the social media platform sees stars from all three brands competing against each other in matches that have a 5-minute time limit.

The inaugural Speed champion was determined with a tournament that ran from April 3 to May 3. Former WWE star Ricochet was crowned the inaugural champion on the men’s side after he defeated Johnny Gargano in the finals.

The Women’s Speed championship was first announced by Triple H in early August. A tournament featuring names such as Naomi, Lyra Valkyria, Blair Davenport, Piper Niven and more began on September 4.

The speed title is the first singles championship for Candice LeRae in WWE. The only other championship she has held in the company is the NXT Women’s Tag Team title with Indi Hartwell.

Austin Theory has revealed that his viral SummerSlam 2024 moment with Jelly Roll was part of his own idea.

The former US Champion recently had an interview with Battleground podcast. He talked about things such as his partnership with Greyson Waller, how the creative approach has changed in Triple H regime, and more.

During the interview, Theory was asked about the company trusting him with celebrity moments such as the segment with The Rock or his SummerSlam encounter with Jelly Roll. Talking about the latter, Austin Theory revealed that it was actually his idea for the rap star to give him a chokeslam during their interaction:

“Speaking of the Jelly Roll situation, it wasn’t going to be a choke slam. I heard little ideas of—maybe a choke slam or this—but I think a scoop slam was actually gonna be what it was. I remember being in the ring with everybody and going to Triple H, being like, ‘Hey, just trust me on this. Let him give me a choke slam; I’ll make it look amazing. All he has to do is put his arm up.’ Sure enough man, we went out there, and it looked amazing. It trended like crazy; it was all over the place.”

• Austin Theory WWE Contract: Rumored expiry, dates and more

Not One Other Place I’d Ever Go: Austin Theory

While some other people would take being booked in spots like these negatively, Austin Theory keeps a positive mindset. According to him, his focus is always on what the company needs from him because it’s the place he’s always wanted to be in:

“But it’s just understanding that job, of what you need to do that night. I think always understanding why I’m doing something—ok is this gonna help this. Is this what we’re trying to do for the company right now and the position they’re putting me in—And I’m just, I’m all in. I’m never like, ‘Ah,’ or disappointed in stuff like that.

I have a huge opportunity; I got a moment. It’s the WWE— it’s the place I’ve wanted to be my entire life. There’s not one other place I’d ever go. This is it. So, I’m locked in, man. So whatever the opportunity is at the moment, or whoever the guy is—it doesn’t matter if it’s The Rock or Jelly Roll—it doesn’t matter. I’m all in.”

Austin Theory and Greyson Waller are scheduled to compete at the upcoming October 8 episode of NXT. They will challenge Nathan Frazer & Axiom for the NXT Tag Team Championships.

Austin Theory says the new WWE regime is allowing wrestlers to be truly creative with their characters.

A number of WWE stars have spoken positively about the creative changes from Vince McMahon to Triple H regime. Names such as Becky Lynch, Randy Orton and Sami Zayn have explained that the new regime is thinking months in advance and they have long-term plans for everything that you see on TV.

Another aspect of this conversation is allowing talent to have input in their own characters. Austin Theory spoke up about it during an interview with Battlegrounds podcast, saying that the creative process now is very hands-on:

“I would have to say, man, with the creative process now, it’s very hands-on. There’s a lot of opportunity for us superstars to make tweaks, make changes, have our own ideas and them not be shut down; them actually having the opportunity to be looking at and say, ‘Well, maybe we could go somewhere with this.’ Or, ‘Ah, that’s not really the plan, but that might have something to it.’

So, it’s very hands-on, but it’s also very, it being the creative – it’s very creative for all of us. Because we’re all being able to create. When it comes to what we do as sports entertainers, professional wrestlers, is showing our art. So, that creativity is so important for us to have in our own hands. And I feel that way now that we do have it.

• Austin Theory WWE Contract: Rumored expiry, dates and more

Austin Theory is currently involved in a tag team with Greyson Waller. The duo known as A Town Down Under previously won the SmackDown tag team championship which was renamed to the WWE Tag Team Championship during their reign.

Waller and Theory are scheduled to compete at the upcoming October 8 episode of NXT. They will challenge Nathan Frazer & Axiom for the NXT Tag Team Championships.

Both Sammy Guevara and indie wrestler Kelly Madan seem to be doing well after being stretchered out of the latest ROH tapings before the Dynamite anniversary show.

Guevara was knocked out after delivering a cutter to Serpentico during their match. There were serious concerns among colleagues and the management about his well-being after the incident.

Though PWTorch is reporting that the former TNT Champion was seen walking around on his own backstage after being treated and evaluated. Anyone who didn’t know about his match, wouldn’t have guessed about it.

Independent star Kelly Madan also found herself in a similar situation. She was knocked out during her match with Lady Frost last night in Pittsburgh.

Madan was taken to the Peterson Events Center next door after being stretchered out of the arena. Per PWinsider, the word-making round among AEW talents was that she suffered a concussion but was coherent and alert last night. She did not suffer any other injuries.

It’s worth noting that concussion symptoms can appear within a few days of the injury so it’s likely that both the stars will be kept away from action for a while for further evaluation.

Fans would remember Adam Cole dealing with some scary symptoms that developed a month after his Forbidden Door 2022 concussion that kept him out of action for almost 9 months.

SEScoops wishes a speedy recovery to both the wrestling stars.

• Caution – The following article contains details of a domestic violence incident

Former WWE star Nikki ‘Bella’ Garcia filed a restraining order against husband Artem Chigvintsev this past Monday after the latter’s domestic violence arrest back on August 29.

According to TMZ, Nikki submitted a sworn declaration to the court revealing details of the alleged domestic violence incident and the judge signed off on the order. Nikki explained that Artem grew ‘increasingly angry’ after learning that he won’t be part of the new season of Dancing With The Stars and he snapped at her.

On the morning of the incident, Artem snapped at Nikki over the fact that their son’s English muffin should be toasted. He screamed that the retired wrestling star had made their son a ‘picky eater.’ The incident escalated from there and according to Garcia, Chigvintsev “tackled me multiple times and pinned me to the ground while our child was present.”

Overwhelmed by the yelling, Nikki threw their son’s toddler-sized shoes toward Artem which hit his leg. Though she argues that the light shoes could not have hurt him. Artem then grabbed Mattero and ran upstairs and when she tried to get into the room, Artem grabbed her arm and held her on the ground for about 30 seconds.

The Russian Dancer went into their son’s room again and closed the door. When the female star tried to push open the door again, Artem came out and pushed her across the hall into the couple’s bedroom. Nikki alleges that Artem then forced her to the floor in their bathroom and had his hands on her chest near her sternum. Nikki felt like she was suffocating and she grabbed his neck in an attempt to get him off. When the police came, Mettero told them that ‘Daddy hurt my hand’

Nikki Garcia also detailed a previous incident of physical violence in mid-2023. According to her, he ‘violently grabbed me around my waist’ to keep Nikki away from Mattero. There were numerous other instances of verbal abuse.

Garcia wants Artem to get the help he needs with therapy and anger management because she doesn’t want her son to grow up in a tumultuous environment. She wants her and Matteo to have enough space away from Artem until he has bettered himself.

Garcia also asked the judge if she could leave the country with her son for a filming project in London but the court denied her request. The Judge has prohibited Artem from contacting or coming within 100 yards of her, their son, or their home with the exception of visitation or exchange of the child per court-ordered visits

Prosecutors previously declined to file charges against Artem for his arrest citing a lack of evidence. In a statement from her representative, Nikki claims that she requested the Napa District Attorney not to file charges as she does not want Artem to go to jail but she wants him to be accountable for his actions. In the meantime, the former WWE star has also filed for divorce from her husband.

You can call 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) for Domestic Violence Hotline or text START to 88788. More details about the issues can be found at US Department of Justice website here.

AEW has released a video of Tony Khan and Bryan Danielson thanking the fans after the 5-year anniversary special of Dynamite from Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia went off air.

Khan first mentioned that Pittsburgh was one of the first places they visited when Dynamite started and thanked the fans. He then thanked Bryan for his 3-year run with the promotion.

The AEW World Champion took the mic and credited TK for creating an alternative to WWE. Addressing the crowd, Danielson thanked them for making him a WrestleMania main eventer:

“First of all, I’d like to thank Tony Khan, without whom, AEW wouldn’t be here. You wouldn’t have an alternative. It is better that AEW exists – for the wrestlers, for the production people, and for professional wrestling fans. I first wrestled in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 23 years ago. And I don’t know if you guys remember, but you were the crowd that made me into a WrestleMania main eventer. So, I just wanted to say thank you, Pittsburgh.

• Chris Jericho Evokes Jay Briscoe, Will Challenge Mark At AEW WrestleDream

Best Wrestling Company In The World: Bryan Danielson

Bryan Danielson then claimed that AEW is the best wrestling company in the world. It has the best locker room and fans, for whom he left a lifetime job at WWE:

“And last but certainly not least, I want to thank all the men and women in the back because they’re the ones who made this place so great that I had a lifetime job at WWE, and I chose to come here because they were the best wrestlers in the world, the best fans in the world, and this is the best wrestling company in the world. Now, next week, check out WrestleDream, cause at WrestleDream in Tacoma, Washington. I am gonna kick Jon Moxley’s fucking head in.”

The 5 Year Anniversary show gave fans a lot to talk about with both good and bad news coming out of the show. The episode saw a huge debut and the return of Jay White from his injury.

Prior to Dynamite, however, a couple of wrestling talents suffered injuries during the ROH tapings. This included the current ROH tag champ Sammy Guevara who had to be stretchered out of the arena.

• Tacoma Comic Store Promises Free Books If Bryan Danielson Wins At WrestleDream

‘Switchblade’ Jay White has returned to AEW TV after spending the last three months on the shelf due to a foot injury.

This week’s 5-year anniversary special of Dynamite featured a singles match between Hangman Adam Page and Juice Robinson.

The ending of the bout saw Robinson setting up for The Juice Is Loose but Page countered with a low blow. Hangman then connected with a Buckshot Lariat to pick up a pinfall victory.

The former AEW World Champion took off his cowboy buckle belt and started using it to choke Robinson out. This is when White’s music hit and he made his return.

Jay White took out Page from behind with a clothesline. He continued beating Page down before sending him crashing through a table at the ringside to end the segment.

• Jay White Wasn’t ‘Thrilled’ With AEW Full Gear Booking

Jay White’s Absence

The former IWGP World Champion last wrestled during the July 6 episode of AEW Collision. The Owen Cup semifinal match saw Page defeating White after using his belt, very similar to how he attacked Robinson tonight.

Prior to the injury, Jay White and The Gunns had held the AEW Trios Title. They were stripped of the championships by Christopher Daniels when they tried to invoke the Freebird rule to give Robinson a share of the title.

Jay White wasn’t the only big name that made a surprise appearance during tonight’s Dynamite. A former WWE star also made his long-awaited debut for the promotion during the show. You can check out more about it here.

• Chris Jericho Evokes Jay Briscoe, Will Challenge Mark At AEW WrestleDream

Sammy Guevara has suffered a legitimate injury during the Ring of Honor taping before the 5-year anniversary special of Dynamite.

One-half of the current ROH tag champions wrestled Serpentico in a match during the taping. SEScoops correspondent Dominic DeAngelo was in attendance for the show. He noted that Guevara landed awkwardly while delivering a cutter to his opponent and then he didn’t get up.

The match was stopped immediately after it and a video of medical professionals attending to the former TNT Champion has surfaced online. Guevara was then stretchered out of the arena.

This was one of the two injuries reported during the night as a female enhancement talent was also stretchered out after suffering an injury during a match with Lady Frost.

Frost landed a move off the top rope which appeared to have knocked the female talent out. PWInsider has since identified her as indie wrestler Kelly Madan.

• Shelton Benjamin Makes AEW Debut At Dynamite 5-Year Anniversary

Sammy Guevara had only returned to action in August this year. He had been off TV since February after being suspended for not following concussion protocols in a match with Jeff Hardy.

Guevara has formed a team with Dustin Rhodes since returning to TV and has been working on ROH regularly. The duo won the ROH tag team championships during the August 17 episode of AEW Collision.

Stay tuned for more updates on his health.

Shelton Benjamin is All Elite.

The former WWE star had been expected to make his debut for Tony Khan’s promotion ever since MVP made his first appearance for the company last week.

This week’s 5-year anniversary special of Dynamite then saw Renee Paquette interviewing MVP backstage where he was getting ready to make an announcement.

Before he could do so, however, Prince Nana interrupted and reminded everyone that he once was a wrestler. In response, MVP said that he was not the one who handled complaints like that and then the camera panned out to the one who does deal with complaints – Shelton Benjamin.

Benjamin got a huge pop from the crowd as MVP introduced him as his business partner and ‘President of the Complaint Department.’

• MVP Says AEW Run Is ‘Quite Possibly The Final Chapter’ Of His Career

Shelton Benjamin Is Not Done

Shelton was released from his WWE contract back in September 2023. While a lot of people expected him to go to AEW straight away, it took over a year for the wrestling veteran to arrive.

Now that he has arrived, however, the 49-year-old is expected to make a big impact along with his Hurt Business partner.

The group is still one member short as Bobby Lashley is yet to be introduced on AEW TV. Though after the arrival of MVP and Benjamin, it seems only a matter of time before the former WWE Champion makes his way to the company as well.

• Shelton Benjamin Confirms Scrapped Plans For Hurt Business Reunion

Bron Breakker is someone who is very proud of his heritage and he is never afraid to tap into it. The 26-year-old always finds different ways to pay tribute to his family history.

One such way the former IC Champion always shows his admiration for the generation before him is through his ring gear. A memorable example of it is when Breakker replicated his father, Rick Steiner’s gear from the very first episode of Raw for his Spring Breakin’ 2022 match.

Breakker has now revealed that he has one more such gear planned for near future. The WWE star recently talked about it on Casual Conversations With The Classic podcast. He revealed that he has a very special ‘Steiner Math’ singlet in the works:

“Man, I don’t want to give any spoilers away, alright? I’m gonna try…I’ve got some ideas in the works for some gear that’s…Okay, so I’ll put it this way – all my PLE singlets are a tip of the cap or salute to the Steiners, for the most part. Some of them have my little bit of…You know I’ll change a little bit.

But most of them are, I’m bringing back the classics. There’s going to be one coming up soon that is a Bron Breaker version of the Steiner math. Cause I already did the pink one; it was huge, it was a cool thing. But I’m gonna do something different with that. I’m in the shop a little bit with the creative team. We’re gonna make something cool.”

• Bron Breakker Opens Up About NXT Segment With The Undertaker

Bron Breakker is referring to the infamous promo of his uncle Scott Steiner from his TNA days. Steiner was promoting the Sacrifice 2008 match between him, Samoa Joe, and Kurt Angle for the TNA World Title when he cut the promo that became a classic.

Apart from this, Breakker also talked about things such as his UpUpDownDown appearance, his extended family, his IC title run and more.

Roxanne Perez says being part of a promo segment with CM Punk was a ‘pinch me’ moment.

The Straight Edge star has become a mentor for many NXT talents since returning to WWE. Two names that have especially become close to the wrestling veteran are Cora Jade and current NXT Women’s Champion Roxanne Perez.

The latter recently got to share the screen with Punk as well prior to her title defense against Giulia. She opened up about the segment while speaking to New York Post, and claimed that the experience was really insane:

“Oh my gosh. I mean to have an in-ring promo with the best promo I think ever, was so insane. It definitely was a pinch me moment. But the fact that I’ve been able to create a friendship with him and sit under his Learning Tree for months now. I think being able to have that relationship definitely made me so much more comfortable.”

• Roxanne Perez & Cora Jade Give Gift To CM Punk, Reference Brawl Out

Everything I Have Been Working For: Roxanne Perez

CM Punk played the role of a moderator in the segment between Roxanne Perez and Giulia during the September 17 episode of NXT. Perez talked about Punk being her childhood hero but said that she should have been a Drew McIntyre fan instead.

Speaking about her promo on the night, the NXT Women’s Champion said that it was ok for her to give Punk some attitude, because it was something he would have done himself a few years ago:

“I do remember getting in the ring and starting to say my lines and just really feeling it. Because I was just like, ‘Wow, this is insane. I’m standing in the ring with someone that I looked up to my entire life.’ A part of me was like, ‘Well I can’t believe this.’

But another part of me was like, ‘Wait, I can believe this, because this is everything I’ve ever worked for.’ And I felt like I definitely stood my ground. I said a little…I gave him a little bit of attitude, something that he would have done a few years ago. So it was really fun. It’s everything that I’ve been working for.”

Perez was successful in her title defence against Giulia at the CW Premiere episode of NXT last night. Though she had help from a returning superstar. You can check out more about it here.

WWE has been under scrutiny recently due to a lack of representation for African American wrestlers in the company’s PLEs, and now Jinder Mahal has spoken up about similar treatment for South Asian talent.

The former WWE Champion who now goes by the name Raj Dhesi recently responded to the reports about representation on Twitter.

Mahal noted that despite the huge population of the region, there is currently only one South Asian talent signed to the promotion. He explained that talents from other sports can become stars if given the opportunity to be themselves:

The former champion is not the only one who has spoken up about this issue recently. Former WWE star Sanga had previously criticized the company for wanting the viewership from India but not giving any representation to talents from the country.

• WWE Response To Criticism Over Lack Of Black Male Superstars At PLEs

Indian Talents On International Stage

The debate about lack of people to sign doesn’t work when Indian talents have shown their abilities on the international stage many times. Indian wrestlers have won at least one medal in the last 5 summer Olympics.

Names such as Sakshi Malik, Bajrang Punia, and Aman Sehrawat are proving every day that talents from the region can make it big when given an opportunity.

This is not even counting someone like Vinesh Phogat who unfortunately missed her chance at a gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics after being disqualified due to being above the stipulated weight on the day of the finals.

The unforeseen events led to many veteran wrestlers speaking up in support of Phogat. Prior to that, she had ended the incredible 82-0 international winning streak of Japan’s Yui Susaki in the quarterfinals of the tournament.

Editor’s Note

Forced inclusivity at the top at the cost of someone more deserving is never the goal of these talks. Mahal is not saying that people should be forced into the position because of their background. The question that we ask is how are talents supposed to reach that level without a fair opportunity to showcase their potential.

With the general lack of resources for people in these parts of the world, its industry leaders like WWE who have to step up to provide a chance to talents from all backgrounds to truly become global in every sense of the word.