Finn Balor has broken his silence after the implosion of The Judgement Day faction as seen on last night’s SummerSlam 2024 event from Cleveland.
The former Universal Champion finally turned on Damian Priest after weeks of teases. He ended up costing the 41-year-old the match against Gunther, which signaled the end of Priest’s first world title reign with the company at 118 days.
The former Bullet Club leader took on his Twitter earlier this morning to react to the events of last night. He wrote a short message saying that he woke up in a good mood this morning:
Balor wasn’t the only one who made a comment. JD McDonagh posted some photos of himself ripping off a Judgement Day shirt, claiming that he never liked it:
The other side of the equation at SummerSlam was Dominik Mysterio’s betrayal of The Mami. Dirty Dom cost Rhea Ripley a women’s title match against Liv Morgan, leaving Ripley in disbelief. Morgan also made a post on Twitter this morning:
The big question coming out of the PPV event is if we will see the remaining members of the Judgement Day sticking together or if each star will go their separate ways.
The future of this storyline will depend on the revelation of whether Finn Balor acted on his own or Liv Morgan was the mastermind behind his turn as well. We will have to tune in to Raw this Monday night to find the answers.
Sammy Guevara has made his return to AEW TV after 6 months and proclaimed that he is not stuck in a vortex anymore.
The former AEW TNT Champion originally made his wrestling return during the August 1 episode of ROH. He saved Dustin Rhodes from The Dark Order.
The 31-year-old made his AEW return during the August 3 episode of Collision. He spoke with Rhodes and The Von Erichs (Marshall and Ross Von Erich) in a backstage segment.
Sammy noted that Dustin may not trust him due to his past record but he is looking to earn that trust. Guevara then stated that he had been stuck in a vortex for a long time and for the first time in 5 years, he was ready to be his own man:
The Spanish God reiterated his words about earning the trust of the wrestling veteran before saying that he wants to team with Dustin and Von Erichs.
Sammy Guevara Wants To Be His Own Man
Sammy Guevara had wrestled Jeff Hardy in a No Disqualification match during the February 14 episode of Rampage this year. His knee hit Hardy’s head during a spot in the bout and Guevara was suspended from AEW for not following the concussion protocol and stopping the match after this spot.
The young star has been associated with Chris Jericho in AEW since the early days of the company. He was one of the members introduced as part of Jericho’s Inner Circle faction during the premiere episode of Dynamite.
This partnership has continued on and off for the last 5 years but the latest promo from Guevara suggests that he has finally ended that association and he is ready to do things on his own.
WWE has announced yet another shake-up to their commentary teams and confirmed that Michael Cole will be leaving Raw for SmackDown in the near future.
The company had announced earlier last month that famed ESPN announcer Joe Tessitore will be joining their ranks this Summer.
The newest WWE broadcast signee made an appearance on the Countdown to WWE SummerSlam pre-show and spoke with Michael Cole.
The longtime WWE announcer welcomed Tessitore, before confirming that the ESPN personality would be starting with the company on September 2 and be part of the Raw crew from Denver Colorado.
Cole then confirmed that he would be leaving his current position at the Red Branded Show at the same time and moving to the SmackDown booth instead.
Joe Tessitore currently appears on ABC and ESPN as a broadcaster for college football and Top Rank boxing. He is expected to continue his current roles alongside his new WWE duties.
The belief is that the current SmackDown broadcast team of Corey Graves and Wade Barrett will be moving to Raw to join Tessitore.
As for Michael Cole, his partnership with Pat McAfee will likely continue with this change. Though the former NFL star’s move to the Blue Branded Show has not been confirmed officially.
Cody Rhodes has revealed something WWE did during the SummerSlam PPV for the legends in attendance that warmed his heart.
The big WWE shows usually attract many superstars from past and present who are not part of the regular WWE programming or do not have a backstage role with the company.
One such name was Arn Anderson who made an appearance on tonight’s show to support Cody Rhodes. The American Nightmare was asked about Arn’s presence during the post-show media scrum.
The Undisputed WWE Champion mentioned how Arn has been a part of his journey since his AEW days. He explained the significance the wrestling veteran has for him:
“I had made that decision. When I was with AEW, I’d made the decision that, ‘Hey, I can’t have my dad for this stuff. He’s not here physically. I want someone who was with him.’ They didn’t have to be an ally, they could have been an adversary. He came in and he was such a piece of sanity for me during a really chaotic time.”
Cody Rhodes Reveals WWE’s Gesture For Legends
Cody Rhodes said that getting the moment with Arn Anderson was really special for him and he hopes to see more of the former champion. He then revealed an incredible gesture from WWE top brass to make sure the visiting legends all got the respect they deserved from young stars:
“This is an internal thing, it’s inside baseball, if I get in trouble for sharing this, I apologize. But something that WWE did today that I thought was incredible. I’ve never seen this before, was all the wrestlers got a text. All of us, Byron you got it. We all got it about the legends that were going to be here tonight.
Not just ‘Hey the legends will be here tonight. Go say hello. Go say thank you.’ There was a one sheeter with each of their pictures and a biography because we got a lot of young guns. Tiffany Stratton, for example they may not know everybody, probably does.
But just the idea that the legends are going to be treated that way here, as WWE’s entered its greatest era ever. Really hats off to Chris Legentil, Matt Altman, Nick Khan. Triple H, Bruce [Prichard], whoever came up with it. I thought it was a really brilliant thing.”
Cody Rhodes defeated Solo Sikoa with help from Roman Reigns to retain his championship at the latest WWE PPV. You can check out what happened with Sikoa after the show went off air here.
Triple H has confirmed Stephanie McMahon’s status with WWE.
The former WWE Chief Brand Officer was present at the ringside for the company’s latest PPV. She was seen hugging CM Punk after his match in a fan made video.
The WWE Creative Head was asked about Stephanie’s status with the company during the SummerSlam 2024 post-show. He confirmed that the daughter of the former WWE chairman currently does not have an official role with the company:
“She does not have an official role right now, but I can tell you this, she loves this, absolutely loves it. Sometimes harder to love it, sometimes easy to love it. It’s easy to love it again for her. She’s enjoying watching it. She’s enjoying coming to the shows, seeing everybody in the back, she loves it.
She’s Enjoying It: Triple H
Triple H explained that Stephanie McMahon is just enjoying being a fan at the moment and she is busy taking care of their kids:
“If I’m the little kid booking or writing or however you want to say it, but she’s sitting next to me, a little kid, enjoying it and loving it. It’s been her whole life, since she was little. No official role right now. Right now, her official role is enjoying our kids getting too old too fast, but we’ll see what the future holds. I would expect to see her around, because she loves it and she’s enjoying being around it again.”
Triple H also commented on WWE’s partnership with companies like TNA and NOAH saying that they’re open for business. He mentioned how territories do not exist anymore and the partnerships helps young talents get the reps they require to get good.
Drew McIntyre is finally done with CM Punk after defeating the Straight Edge Star at the SummerSlam 2024 PPV, or so he thinks.
The bitter rivals faced each other in a singles match with Seth Rollins as special guest referee at the latest WWE PLE. Punk, who was returning from an injury delivered a great performance alongside the other WWE stars.
At the end, however, the Straight Edge Star let his emotions take over. He had the match won on two occasions but trying to get his named bracelet back and getting physical with Seth Rollins cost him the opportunities. At the end, McIntyre won the match with a Claymore Kick.
The former NXT Champion appeared on the SummerSlam post-show to gloat about his victory. When asked if he’s done with CM Punk, Drew McIntyre said that he did exactly what he had promised:
“Of course, this is over. I did exactly what I said I was going to do. I defeated CM Punk. I humiliated CM Punk, and I took everything from CM Punk. I should have taken more, but [the bracelet with Larry and AJ Lee’s name] is going to be a nice reminder of when punk tried McIntyre and failed.
Drew McIntyre gave CM Punk credit for bringing a fight he wasn’t expecting from the wrestling veteran, but explained that he is better than the former AEW star:
“I’ll give CM Punk credit. I didn’t expect him to bring the fight like he brought it, but realistically in 2024, Drew McIntyre is the absolute best in the world, the total package in every way. Who is Punk going to blame?
I know he’s probably going to come out on Raw; maybe he’ll post a little social media promo, ‘It was Seth’s fault,’ maybe it was the cameraman’s fault, or he’ll make some kind of excuse. In the end, not just CM Punk, nobody on this planet is as good as Drew McIntyre, and Punk found that in that ring, on this microphone, Drew McIntyre is the man.”
It’s unknown what McIntyre is planning for his future but it seems likely that he will be going after the new World Heavyweight Champion Gunther on Raw.
The new WWE World Heavyweight Champion Gunther does not feel that his victory at SummerSlam 2024 was undeserved in any way.
The Ring General challenged Damian Priest for the title at the show in a hard-hitting match everyone expected. Finn Balor showed up at the ringside halfway through the bout to cheer up his teammate.
The ending of the bout saw Priest delivering a Razor’s Edge and South of Heaven to his opponent. As he went for the pin, however, Balor put Gunther’s foot on the rope.
Damian tried to go after the former Universal Champion after he saw the replay but Gunther didn’t allow him to do so. The challenger then took out the Judgement Day star with a sleeper hold to win his first world title in WWE.
The new champion was interviewed backstage during the SummerSlam post-show and he said that the win felt ‘deserved.’ When asked if the victory was tainted in any way due to Balor’s interferences, Gunther proclaimed that he is not ashamed of the way he won:
“Nothing’s tainted, no reservations. Nothing to be ashamed of. From this day forth, Monday Night Raw and the legacy of the World Heavyweight Championship belong to me. If anybody out there thinks I don’t deserve this, they know where to find me,”
The Dissolution of Judgement Day?
Damian Priest wasn’t the only Judgement Day member who had to face betrayal from his own teammate at tonight’s Premium Live Event.
Rhea Ripley who was challenging Liv Morgan for the Women’s World Championship had Dominik Mysterio on her side. Dirty Dom, however, ended up helping Morgan in the end, causing Rhea to lose the bout.
With the latest developments, it seems likely that we have seen the last of The Judgement Day as a group and the WWE stars will be pursuing individual rivalries in the coming time.
Jacob Fatu was helped to the back by Solo Sikoa and the referee once SummerSlam 2024 went off air following an exploding main event.
The self-proclaimed Tribal Chief tried everything he could to defeat Cody Rhodes and win the Undisputed WWE Championship in the main event of the latest PLE.
This included taking advantage of the Bloodline Rules stipulation and having his family members interface. Tonga Loa and Tama Tonga were the first to cause a distraction but they were taken out by Kevin Owens and Randy Orton respectively.
Jacob Fatu was the last to come out just as Cody was looking to win the match. He took Rhodes out of the ring and delivered a top rope splash, crashing both himself and the WWE Champion through the announce table.
Fatu stayed on the outside after this spot and it appeared that he had injured his leg. Though a video shows Fatu walking to the back with some help after the show went off air, suggesting that he was just selling the spot:
Jacob Fatu was helped to the back by Solo and the ref after the show. Seems like he's fine, just selling
— Anutosh Bajpai || SEScoops || Wrestling News (@AuthorAnutosh) August 4, 2024
What’s Next For The Bloodline
The ending of the main event match saw the long-anticipated return of the original Tribal Chief Roman Reigns. Reigns delivered a Superman punch and a spear to Solo. This allowed Cody Rhodes to pin him for the win.
It’s likely that the former World Champion will be focusing on taking back his throne from Sikoa in the coming weeks, but he will need some help.
It’s expected that we will see the original Bloodline reuniting under Roman Reigns to take on the challenge of Solo and his disciples.
The wise man Paul Heyman was missing from the PPV tonight and one interesting thing to see would be which side he chooses in the upcoming Bloodline civil war.
Rhea Ripley has always been a fan of The Miz and her time in WWE has given her the opportunity to form a friendship with the A-Lister over a shared interest.
SEScoops correspondent Ella Jay caught up with The Mami during SummerSlam 2024 media day. They discussed topics such as the female star’s WrestleMania 40 entrance, Damian Priest’s world title run, and more.
The former Women’s Champion has always been open about looking up to The Miz. Now that she will be competing in an event hosted by the hometown star in Cleveland, we asked Ripley how her dynamic with the wrestling veteran has changed.
The Judgement Day star revealed that she has actually formed a friendship with the former WWE Champion, after they bonded over music:
“It’s funny because I don’t think I’ve actually talked to him about it. Yeah, so I think he obviously knows, because all the interviews that I’ve done putting him over, but I feel like we’ve actually started to have a friendship as well, which is nice. We bond over music. He’s always showing me different bands and different songs.”
Rhea Ripley revealed that they got the opportunity to strengthen their friendship while spending the long hours of WWE tours singing and sharing their favorite songs:
“We had a few road trips where we’d be on the same bus for hours, and we’d end up just like, blasting music and head banging the whole trip. He’s like, screaming. It was him, me and [Damian] Priest, and we were just going, absolutely ham, just screaming all the lyrics, singing and head banging.
We were, like, all drenched by the end of it, just sweating absolutely grossly. But I feel like our friendship has blossomed over music, which is really cool, because it’s something that I didn’t think we would blossom a friendship over which is weird. But yeah, I think it’s good.”
The Mami is set to compete against the Women’s World Champion Liv Morgan at the event from the Cleveland Browns Stadium tonight. You can check out her final message for Morgan before the PLE here.
Rhea Ripley is not only fighting to score a victory over Liv Morgan tonight at the grand stage of SummerSlam, but she is also looking to eradicate the current champion for everything she has done.
SEScoops correspondent Ella Jay caught up with The Mami before the upcoming WWE PPV. They talked about Damian Priest proving himself as a champion, her WrestleMania 40 entrance and more.
When asked if she has any final messages for her SummerSlam opponent before their encounter in the Cleveland Browns Stadium tonight, Ripley told Morgan that there is no more hiding:
“You want to manipulate my family, and you want act like you’ve done nothing wrong. You want to play the victim. You want your fans to put over this little ‘victim mentality’ story of yours. Well, it all comes to an end at SummerSlam. There’s no more running, there’s no more hiding.”
Rhea Ripley hasn’t forgotten how Liv Morgan tried to win over Dominik Mysterio and the rest of The Judgement Day in her absence due to an arm injury. She pledged to absolutely eradicate the Women’s World Champion for everything she’s done:
“You can’t escape the nightmare that I’m gonna put on you, and when I walk out with my Women’s world Championship, then your little revenge tour? It ends. So say goodbye to everything you know and love, because you know me. You know me better than a lot of people and I will stop at nothing to absolutely eradicate you.”
While Rhea Ripley will be looking to take back the title she never lost in a match, the rest of The Judgement Day might find themselves hanging in the balance.
There have been indications that the group will be torn apart when they have to choose between the two female stars and this implosion may very well come at the PPV tonight.
WWE SummerSlam 2024 will kick off at 7 PM ET for US audience. For international start times, you can check our guide here.
Over the years we have seen a number of successful wrestling stars taking advantage of the fame to jump into politics. People such as Jesse Ventura and Glenn ‘Kane’ Jacobs have made successful transitions while even someone like The Rock has toyed with the idea of running for office.
If The Great One does decide to enter politics, however, he might very well find a familiar face contesting against him, as Cody Rhodes has now shown interest in joining politics as well.
During a recent interview with Gabby LaSpisa, The American Nightmare was asked about the discussion about him potentially running for president one day. Replying to it, the WWE star revealed that he’s actually been approached by both the Democratic and Republican parties with offers:
“So it’s funny that it’s been kind of brought up a bunch lately, because as shocking as this might seem to people, both…we live in a society where it’s really like, you got your Democratic Party, you got your Republican Party.
So few get to fall in the moderate range anymore, even though so many of us have a moderate mindset. But I actually got approached by, I won’t say people directly, but I got approached by individuals from both parties about potentially running for an office in Georgia.”
Cody Rhodes Wants To Help People
While Cody Rhodes didn’t provide any further detail on the offer made to him, he did confirm his interest in the possibility. The Undisputed WWE Champion explained that the idea of using his fame to help people is appealing to him:
“That’s probably as far as I can say, but it’s something that was really genuinely appealing. Here’s what’s appealing to me, politics is policy. Policy is one thing to me. But the idea that you can take your sphere of influence, whatever, this modicum of fame that wrestling and sports entertainment gave me to help people. Seems like the greatest gift.
Again, I don’t know if it’s something…. depending on how long I stay in this game. I don’t want to outstay my welcome, but that’s something that’s become very appealing, especially when presented to me, the possibilities that could come.”
Cody Rhodes is set to defend his WWE title against Solo Sikoa at the SummerSlam PPV this Saturday. A big change was made to this match during the latest SmackDown. You can read more about it here.
The SummerSlam main event between Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes and Solo Sikoa will now be contested under Bloodline Rules.
This week’s episode of SmackDown featured the final build for this match. The two contestants came face to face in the opening segment of the show and exchanged some intense words.
When Rhodes brought up his win over Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 40, Solo claimed that Reigns was a weak Tribal Chief and challenged the WWE Champion to a Bloodline Rules match of his own.
The American Nightmare claimed that he is not afraid of any Bloodline member and he then accepted the stipulation for their match.
Roman Reigns has long been rumored for a SummerSlam return to finally confront Sikoa. A Bloodline rules match will only make it easier for the former champion to stop his cousin from winning the World title.
WWE SummerSlam 2024 Updated Match Card
The final SummerSlam match card features a total of 7 singles matches with all but one featuring a title defence. Here is the updated card for the PLE:
WWE World Heavyweight Championship Match: Damian Priest vs. Gunther
WWE Women’s Championship Match: Bayley vs. Nia Jax
Women’s World Championship Match: Liv morgan vs. Rhea Ripley
United States Championship Match: Logan Paul vs. LA Knight
Intercontinental Championship Match: Sami Zayn vs. Bron Breakker
Singles Match: CM Punk vs. Drew McIntyre with Seth Rollins as special guest referee
Bloodline Rules Undisputed WWE Championship Match: Cody Rhodes vs. Solo Sikoa
WWE SummerSlam 2024 will be taking place from the Cleveland Browns Stadium in Clevland, Ohio on Saturday, August 3. SEScoops with have full coverage of the event.
The Yeet Party continued after the SummerSlam go-home episode of SmackDown from Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland, Ohio went off air.
There were two dark matches that took place after the broadcast ended. The first bout saw Braun Strowman picking up a victory over Chad Gable in a singles match.
The second dark match of the night featured the team of Rey Mysterio, Jey Uso, The Miz and R Truth taking on The Judgement Day in an 8 men tag team bout.
The babyfaces had a lot of fun in this match and they all danced to Uso’s theme song for an extended period. They even got the World Heavyweight Champion Damian Priest to do the Yeet at one point.
The ending of the match saw Rey Mysterio doing 619 on all four JD members. He then pinned Dominik to pick up the win for his team and the faces continued to celebrate long after:
SmackDown dark match #2:
– Rey Mysterio, Jey Uso, Awesome Truth d. Judgment Day *SUPER fun dark match. Babyfaces kept restarting the song for the crowd, Dominik interferes which gets a ton a heat. Babyfaces win, more yeeting afterwards. pic.twitter.com/HOi5eyOd1n
— Dr. Chris Featherstone, Ph.D. (@chrisprolific) August 3, 2024
What Happened On SmackDown
This week’s episode of the Blue Branded Show saw the final build for some top SummerSlam matches. The show opened with a confrontation between Cody Rhodes and Solo Sikoa before their encounter on Sunday which has now been made a Bloodline rules match.
We also saw a promo battle between US Champion Logan Paul and LA Knight before their title match. A Women’s Tag Team Championship match between The Unholy Union and Jade Cargill & Bianca Belair ended in a disqualification.
The main event of the show was DIY defending their Tag Team Titles against Jacob Fatu and Tonga Loa. The Bloodline won this match and the show ended with the faction standing tall.
The Miz has offered big praise to Pat McAfee for the way he’s been able to adapt to the WWE climate and excel at the art of storytelling.
The A Lister recently appeared on The Rich Eisen Show to promote this Sunday’s SummerSlam event. The WWE star will be hosting the event that will be held in his hometown of Cleveland, Ohio.
During the interview, they talked about the former NFL star. The Miz mentioned how Pat brings a unique energy to the WWE programming with his work on the commentary desk:
“He’s been amazing for us in WWE. He’s a ball of energy. You know? He usually flies in, because he does his show, and then he’ll fly right in, and he’ll do our show, and it’s very difficult to do. A lot of people are like, ‘Oh, color commentary, it’s not that hard,’ It’s very difficult. It’s a whole different mindset.”
We Tell Stories: The Miz
The Miz explained that wrestling is all about telling stories. According to him, the way Pat McAfee has been able to adapt to it and connect with the audience is unmatched:
“The way he’s been able to come into WWE and really just take the bull by the horns and really go out there and do just a fantastic job of storytelling. That’s what we do. We tell stories, and the way he’s able to communicate that to our audience is unmatched. He’s been doing a great job at it.”
McAfee joined WWE back in 2018 when he started appearing on pre-show panels for NXT: Takeover events. He officially signed a contract with the company in 2019 and he has been a regular part of the WWE crew since then.
The former football player has recently exchanged words with NXT personnel over the new WWE 2K24 DLC pack that features his talk show co-hosts alongside McAfee himself. It appears very likely that we’ll be seeing him getting a match on the development brand sooner or later.
The Undertaker says the one thing that worries him about professional wrestlers today is the longevity of their careers because of all the crazy moves they do.
During the talk, Taker was asked for his thoughts on the current era of wrestling. The former World Champion first mentioned how WWE is breaking new records with each show so there is not a lot for him to complain. There is one thing, however, that the wrestling veteran is worried about:
“There’s nothing that I can say that like, ‘They should probably be doing this,’ Because they’re killing it. They’re killing it. The only thing that worries me, because I know the physical shape and condition that I’m in, and the things that I’ve had to do since I’ve been in the business, is I worry about their longevity, because of how much they continue to push the envelope.”
Get Them Invested In The Character: The Undertaker
The Undertaker claimed that the lack of character development made a lot wrestlers turn towards high risk moves. Though he still believes that getting the audience invested in your story is the best way:
“What ends up happening a lot of times. You mentioned it a little bit earlier, about like the character development. There was a time period there, where the character development was really lacking and the athleticism part was there. So they would, they started doing these crazy moves to [compensate].
Then what they end up trying to do is like, okay, well, after two or three times of seeing a double backflip twist off the top rope to the floor, your audience gets desensitized to that, like ‘I’ve seen that. What do you got now?’ Now you have to push the envelope a little bit further, and there’s limitations to what the human body can do. But if you can get them invested in the character, you either gotta make them love you, or you gotta make them hate you.”
The Risks of Wrestling
The Dead Man closed his argument saying that a lot of people do not understand the risks involved in wrestling. That’s why he wishes that talent would focus more on character side of things:
“That’s kind of the one thing that I wish, as a whole, that there would be more of, just because, you know what most people don’t realize about wrestling. What people really don’t realize is that within any given match, on any given night, you’re two inches away from something catastrophic happening. Regardless of how much training you’ve had.
Then when you think about the number of dates per year that you’re working, that risk factor goes up exponentially. When you’re doing double back flips off of the top rope into a group of people, it only takes one time.”
You cannot talk about the career of Undertaker without talking about Paul Bearer. The legendary manager not only provided a much-needed edge to the character on screen, but he also helped the former world champion in subtle ways that many may not have realized.
The Dead Man recently joined “Mighty” Demetrious Johnson for an interview on his YouTube channel. He talked about things such as his WrestleMania 40 appearance, how he feels about today’s wrestling and more.
When the topic of Paul Bearer was brought up, Taker explained how the pairing first came about. He recalled how Bruce Prichard was his original manager, but they had to find a new one because of Prichard’s other commitments:
“So originally, I had my manager. They brought me in with Brother Love. So Brother Love, his name is Bruce Prichard. He was on the creative team. So he was trying to make the towns with me. Back then we travelled all the time. We’d be out 30-40, days in a row, and he just couldn’t cover both of them.
So they had to find somebody else for me. So they find Paul Bearer, name’s William Moody and come to find out. This is just how everything works out the way it’s supposed to. He was a legitimate funeral director.”
The Undertaker then discussed how Paul Bearer’s personality and his background as a funeral director was the perfect mix for his character:
“He had a degree in mortuary science or whatever the degree is. So he’s a legit Undertaker. What was so good about it is like he had all this insight into, like language that I could use.
Like If I talked about embalming somebody, I knew exactly what, a trocar or whatever, to use. So it was a really cool mix. He had a really high voice. I had a really low voice. It was just…it was meant to be.”
Apart from being a funeral director, Paul Bearer was also a soldier once and he served in the US air force for 4 years. He made his first appearance for WWE in February 1991 and went on to become a legend in his decade long run with the company.
Shawn Michaels’ ladder match with Scott Hall at WrestleMania X is one of the most iconic bouts in the history of wrestling. It was the first ever match of the stipulation to be featured on a WWE PPV, which would later become a staple of WWE programming.
The two stars were tasked with recreating the magic at SummerSlam 1995. Even though both the wrestling stars delivered what was asked of them in a big way, HBK believes the match doesn’t get the credit it deserves because of one reason.
Michaels was originally scheduled for a match against Sycho Sid at the Pittsburgh PPV. A late change was made when the feud failed to garner the interest of the audience. During a talk with Sports Illustrated, Shawn mentioned how it was a challenging task to build a face vs. face match in the limited time:
“This one was very different, the whole story going into it was different and very challenging. I will say this–Scott and I did everything we could to make it epic. I think it was.”
While the match ended up stealing the show, Shawn Michaels believes the bout doesn’t get the recognition it deserves, only because it was a rematch:
“Sequels are always tough, but this is one I think that doesn’t quite get the recognition it deserves, there’s a simple reason for why: it’s number two. Number one is always first. That’s when the moment shifts. There’s only one first time. I’m still proud of it, but it’s not as special because it’s not the first.”
Scott Hall had picked up the win in their WrestleMania encounter but the former DX member got his revenge in their SummerSlam rematch. This would end up being the final time the two legends faced each other in a singles match.
Giulia is looking to start a revolution when she moves to America.
The Japanese wrestling star recently announced that her last match in the country will be taking place next month, after which she will make her long-anticipated move to America to join the ranks of WWE.
The former Stardom star spoke to Tokyo Sports after her big announcement, and noted that she is determined to make it big in WWE:
“It’s a decision I’ve been thinking about for a long time, so now I have an unwavering resolve. I’ll definitely become big over there and start a revolution so that I can do something that no one has done before.”
Though while American wrestling is in her future, Giulia remains as determined to promote Japanese wrestling. During the interview, she talked about being backstage at the most recent WWE show in Tokyo and noted that the event was on a much different scale than any Japanese promotions.
Giulia Has Big Goals
The female star mentioned how the fans who attended the WWE show were Japanese and wondered why the local promotions can’t attract the same audience. She said that one of her goals now is to improve her performance to gather more fans and make Japanese women’s wrestling as big as possible:
“So I’m going to absorb a lot of things over there and definitely liven up the world. And I’m going to make Japanese women’s wrestling, which I love, big.”
Giulia also talked about Sakurai Mai who she will be facing in her last match in Japan at the August 19 event from Korakuen Hall in Tokyo. The former champion said that she wants Sakurai to lead the women’s wrestling in Japan after she leaves.
WWE has not yet confirmed the plans for their newest star. The belief is that she will be introduced in NXT alongside other recent signees Stephanie Vaquer and Delta.
The quotes in the article have been translated using Google Translate
Sami Zayn believes Bron Breakker is more than just a guy with incredible agility and fans will realize that he is a complete package sooner or later.
The current WWE Intercontinental Champion recently appeared on Busted Open Radio. He discussed things such as his ability to always be an underdog and more.
Speaking about his ongoing rivalry with the former NXT Champion, Zayn mentioned how the 26-year-old has had an incredible rise. He then claimed that Breakker also has a very magnetic personality that fans haven’t seen yet:
“Anybody who takes a look at him, his trajectory has been incredible. His strength and speed obviously, it’s like it jumps off the page. Even personality-wise, I know he’s not there yet in the sense that the fans haven’t seen it yet, but this guy will have a very magnetic personality, eventually, when fans start to see that side of him.”
The Ultimate Underdog claimed that with time Bron Breakker is going to become a very complete player. Per Sami Zayn, there is a lot about him that fans have not seen yet:
“I think with enough time and enough finessing and just the right people telling him the right things, which as you know in our industry could always go awry with the wrong people telling you the wrong things.
I think if he stays the path, he’s going to be a very complete player and he’s gonna be about more than just a strong guy who runs really fast and hits a great spear. I think there is a lot more to his game than that. He’s going to be good; I just hope it’s not at my expense at SummerSlam,”
The son of wrestling legend Rick Steiner, Bron Breakker is one of the biggest success stories of the NXT 2.0 brand under the leadership of Shawn Michaels.
Having made his in ring debut only in October 2020, the former football player impressed everyone immediately. He went on to have a very successful development run with three different title wins in his 3 years with the brand.
Breakker officially got called up in February 2024 when he joined the SmackDown brand. He has since been drafted to Raw. Bron will be looking to win his first main roster title when he challenges Sami Zayn for the IC Championship at SummerSlam this Sunday, on August 5.
Kofi Kingston was a big fan of The Rock growing up and so getting to have a promo battle with The Great One was like a dream come true for him.
The New Day star recently had an interview with DraftKings. He discussed things such as his WWE title reign, his feud with Randy Orton and more.
During the interview he was asked about the best insult he has received on the mic. Kingston recalled the time the trio went toe to toe with The Rock and said that it was a really cool moment for them:
“We actually got to go toe to toe with the Rock. For me getting insulted by The Rock was really cool because in college before I went to bed every night, I would look at my Rock poster. I would jump and do a jumping elbow into my dormitory bed and pull my sheets up. That’s how I went to bed.
We brought our A game he brought his A game and he’s insulting us. We had these unicorn horns on our heads and they light up. He said that they were llama penises. You get a Rock promo cut on you, as a kid who grew up watching the Rock cut these Rock promos on other people. I’m like ‘Wait now it’s happening to me. Ooh I should be mad but this is really cool.'”
Don’t Take Yourself Too Seriously
Kofi Kingston was also inquired about any notable backstage interaction with The People’s Champion. The former champion recalled the advice he received from the Rock that he understood later in his career:
“We had done some media together. I remember like being backstage I just asked him. I said ‘Hey you have any advice or whatever’ and he’s like ‘yeah just don’t take yourself too seriously’ He said ‘Don’t worry about like oh you gotta go out there and look strong.’ At the time I had no idea what he was talking about.
I think a lot of people want to be the big tough guy all the time to the point where you’re like ‘Oh well I can’t have someone say something about me and look stupid out there because oh I’m too tough’ versus ‘Hey let this person say something to me so that I can say something to them so that the crowd and the people can be entertained’
We’re all trying to work together to tell a story. So I didn’t really understand that. Then you fast forward to the New Day and here we are again going out as grown men twerking and shaking our hips and gyrating and wearing these like crazy flamboyant colors.”
Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods have recently been involved in a rivalry with Karrion Kross. They are currently not booked for the SummerSlam PPV.
Judgment Day teammates Finn Balor and Damian Priest shared a moment after the SummerSlam go home episode of Raw from Xcel Energy Center in St Paul, Minnesota went off air.
The main event of this week’s episode of the Red Branded Show saw Gunther taking on Finn Balor in a singles match before he challenges Damian Priest for the World Heavyweight Title at the PLE this Sunday.
The one half of the current World Tag Team Champion tried to do his best to take out the Ring General before the upcoming show but Gunther ended up winning the match with a sleeper hold in the end.
When Gunther refused to let go even after the bell rang, Damian Priest ran down to make the save. The two brawled around the ring to end the broadcast.
Priest got the upper hand with help from Balor after the show went off air. The two teammates then shared a hug before posing with their titles:
Balor was not the only Judgement Day star in action tonight. Dominik Mysterio took on Sami Zayn and Carlito tried to take care of Jey Uso. Unfortunately, both of them lost their respective matches.
The faction has been involved in a long-term storyline with the Women’s World Champion Liv Morgan. It’s very much possible that we may see the group imploding at the SummerSlam PPV.
Liv originally tried to take Dominik away from Rhea Ripley when the Mami was out of action but her efforts failed when Ripley returned.
She might still have a plan b however as fans have spotted clues of Morgan working together with Balor in some capacity. Their alliance might finally be revealed at the show this Sunday.
Cody Rhodes has a very strong yet unique notion about people who are intimidated by suits.
The Undisputed WWE Champion recently went sneaker shopping with Complex. In the video, he discussed topics such as the perfect shoes for a Cody cutter, which WWE superstar deserves his own sneakers, and more.
Rhodes is someone who is meticulous with every aspect of his presentation to stand out from the crowd. This includes not only his matches or promos but also the attire he wears. When he’s not in the ring doing something physical, the SmackDown star is always neatly dressed in a suit.
When asked if he’s going to continue wearing suits forever, Cody replied positively while also saying some choice words for people who feel uneasy with his preferences:
“I think I will probably be a suit guy in the industry forever and this—I don’t know if this is appropriate for this show or not—but I’ll say it. I’ve said it in interviews prior. Anyone who I’ve ever worked with in business who’s intimidated by the fact that you wear a suit, I feel like they have a little dick…”
Cody Rhodes discussed how he is known to make very polarizing choices such as his neck tattoo. He then claimed that his aim is to do whatever it takes to be something:
“Like Clearly, I mean, I don’t know if that’s a thing we can say on the show but clearly like…come on, man—everyone does what they do. I don’t want to wear shorts with you; give me a break.
Maybe you can’t use any of that but just the energy that comes from people who are like ‘Ugh, I don’t know man, he’s in that suit. He’s trying to be something’ I am not trying to be something, I wanna be something. That’s the whole thing.”
The American Nightmare is currently scheduled to defend his championship against Solo Sikoa at the upcoming SummerSlam PPV on August 5. The event still has tickets available and you can check out details of it here.
Gillberg is very happy and satisfied with his career because he got to wrestle some of the best in the business and be part of many memorable moments.
The former WWE star recently spoke to Attitude Era podcast where he discussed topics such as imitating other WWE stars, the current era of wrestling and more.
During the interview, Gillberg who made his debut in 1990 and retired in February 2020 reflected on his 3 decade long wrestling career. He said that he is a happy man because he got to live his dream:
“I loved it, man. I’m a fan who got to become a wrestler, and got to go up WWF and WWE and wrestle the biggest names in the business. I’m a happy man. My dreams were fulfilled. It’s like the kid who plays baseball his whole life and wants to win the World Series. I did.”
I Was That Emotional: Gillberg
Gillberg also talked about winning the WWE Light Heavyweight Championship in November 1998. The 65-year-old revealed that he went to Vince McMahon’s office after the title win and cried:
“I ain’t gonna lie to you the night I won the belt I went to Vince’s office to thank him and I cried. I was that emotional over it man. Wrestling’s my life man. Always has been.”
The former WWE star started working as a jobber for the company in 1991, only a year after his debut. During this time he got to wrestle the likes of Undertaker, Sgt. Slaughter and Jim Duggan.
The famous Gillberg character was introduced by the company in December 1998 as a parody of WCW’s Goldberg. The gimmick ended up being the biggest hit of his career and fans still remember many moments from that run to this day.
Carmelo Hayes says he would have loved to get in the ring with Eddie Guerrero and learn from the legend if he was still around.
IGN published a new video asking a number of WWE superstars who would be their dream SummerSlam opponent ahead of the WWE PLE on August 4.
One of the names participating in the video was none other than Carmelo Hayes. When asked about his dream opponent, the former NXT champion said that Eddie would have loved to work with the younger generation if he was still around:
“I think Eddie Guerrero man. He’s one of those guys like I truly believe if he was still around, he’d be helping coach the younger generation.”
https://youtu.be/IJyjZsmiWa0
So Much Knowledge: Carmelo Hayes
The SmackDown star mentioned how anyone who worked with Eddie Guerrero has great memories of the late star and he would have liked to experience that firsthand:
“I just think he had so much knowledge to give and I love talking to guys that got work with Eddie. Finding out like ‘Oh what he was like? What did you learn from Eddie?’ and they’ll all tell you something that’s really good, really knowledgeable. That’s a guy that I’d love to get in the ring with for sure.”
Eddie Guerrero unfortunately passed away back in 2005 at the age of 38. His memory is kept alive by fans and the many talents who chose to pursue a career in wrestling because of the Latino Heat.
Carmelo Hayes was involved in the Money In The Bank ladder match at the namesake PPV earlier this month. So far, he has not been booked for any match at the SummerSlam event.
Swerve Strickland knows Bryan Danielson is one of the best to ever do it, but he claims that despite his long career, The American Dragon has never met anyone like him.
The two AEW stars are set to square off at the biggest possible stage in the upcoming All In event from Wembley Stadium in London on August 25. Bryan has earned the right to challenge for Swerve’s World Title after winning the Owen hart Cup Tournament.
The AEW World Champion spoke about the upcoming bout in a new interview with Sports Illustrated. He first acknowledged the illustrious career of his opponent, saying that Bryan is a first-ballot Hall of Famer:
“Bryan’s not just experienced, he’s the greatest of all time. That’s who I’m going up against–a first ballot Hall of Famer. I’ve never faced anyone like him. But he’s never faced anyone like me.”
Special Breed Of Danger
Though despite this being the toughest challenge of his reign yet, Swerve Strickland is ready to give it all. According to him, he’s a special breed of danger that the former WWE star has never encountered before:
“Bryan told me I’m a special breed of talent, I’m also a special breed of danger. I know we wrestled before, but he’s never faced me like this. Bryan is facing me after my Texas Deathmatch against Hangman Page. He’s facing me after I beat Will Ospreay–and Christian Cage and Samoa Joe. I’m a different beast. I can’t wait for him to see it.”
Another thing that makes the upcoming match interesting is the AEW status of Bryan Danielson. The wrestling veteran has confirmed that his last full-time contract with the company expires on August 1.
While the former WWE star is not expected to leave Tony Khan’s promotion anytime soon, there is much speculation on what his next deal will look like.
With his health being a concern as well, it’s possible that the 43-year-old may take a long break from wrestling after the Wembley event.
