Tony Khan recently had an interview with Bloomberg Business of Sports. Among other things, he also discussed the vaccine policy of All Elite Wrestling. The AEW president revealed that vaccines are not mandatory in his company as of now. Though he claimed that there are protocols in place to encourage vaccination:
“Most of the roster has gotten [vaccinated] and we have encouraged people to do so, I haven’t put in mandatory,” said Tony Khan, “but I’ve also strongly encouraged and put in protocols to encourage everyone to do so.
He was also asked if they have done anything to motivate the wrestlers to get vaccinated. Replying to it, he said that they have created a great backstage environment where people want to spend time together.
Khan explained that not being part of rigorous levels of testing and having the ability to live your life like before makes it encouraging for people to get vaccinated.
AEW saw its fair share of covid outbreaks in the past year or so. However, things have been in control ever since their return to the road in July. This is a good news for the fans as the company prepares for their biggest show in terms of live attendance in Dynamite: Grand Slam this Wednesday.
Gail Kim shared a very emotional moment with Awesome Kong at the NWA EmPowerrr PPV when the latter announced her retirement from pro wrestling during a segment. Turns out the moment between the two was as real as it could get and the TNA Hall Of Famer did not know about the announcement of her friend beforehand.
Kim revealed this information during a recent appearance on the Battleground podcast. She said that she found out about it at the same time as all the fans:
“Honestly, I didn’t know she was gonna stay in the ring that night, I found out at the same time as all the fans watching that she was retiring. Yeah, Mickie and I both.”
The NWA EmPowerrr saw Gail Kim coming out to cut a promo but she was interrupted by Taryn Terrell and two other female stars. Awesome Kong then made a surprise appearance at the show. She came to the aid of her long-term rival and friend.
After clearing the house, Kong grabbed the mic and told the former knockouts champion that she was her greatest foe. She then said that there was no other way to end her career then being in the ring with Kim.
Sean Waltman talked about a number of things on the latest episode of his Pro Wrestling 4 Life podcast. He also revealed an interesting text exchange with Triple H after The Game’s recent medical procedure.
The former WWE star first explained how he has a running joke with the WWE EVP from the time he promised to call him later but never did:
“I haven’t talked to him on the phone, but we had this running joke, Paul and I, we’d be talking forever, be on the phone for an hour or two, and finally, whenever it was time for Paul to get off the phone, he’d go, ‘Are you going to be around later?’ And he never called me later.”
Sean Waltman then revealed that he also found out about Triple H’s emergency operation like everyone else. He detailed the exchange he had with him afterward:
“I just texted him, ‘Hey man, I’m glad you’re gonna be around later,’ and he just said, ‘Me too. Love you, kiddo,’ and that’s it. That’s the extent of what I know. I wasn’t gonna say, ‘Tell me what happened.’ I don’t need to know. I just need to know he’s okay.”
Latest updates on Triple H’s status reveal that the Game is getting better after his cardiac event. He is able to talk to people over the phone. Though talent have been told not to talk business with him.
Finn Balor has not forgotten how John Cena took the opportunity of facing Roman Reigns at SummerSlam from him and he wants to settle his score with the cenation leader at WrestleMania.
The former Universal champion recently had an interview with The Mirror. He talked about things such as his time in the independent wrestling circuit and more.
Speaking of the potential match against Cena, Balor said that he can’t think of a better place to face the 16-time world champion than WrestleMania:
“I can’t think of a better place to face John Cena than at WrestleMania, I’ve got a bone to pick with John, the SummerSlam main event was mine, my name was printed on the contract, however, John signed it.
There’s certainly an issue that needs to be settled between me and John” said Finn Balor, “And if we can do that at WrestleMania all the better.”
The July 30 episode of SmackDown featured a contract signing segment where Balor was attacked by Baron Corbin before he could sign the SummerSlam contract to face Roman Reigns. John Cena then came out and signed the contract.
Though Finn Balor will get his opportunity to capture the Universal title when he faces Roman Reigns in a one-on-one match at the upcoming Extreme Rules PPV.
Stephen Amell has confirmed that he will be attending the upcoming AEW Dynamite: Grand Slam special from Arthur Ashe Stadium on September 22.
The Arrow star revealed this news in a video he posted on Instagram. He was promoting the debut of the first three episodes of his Heels series on the Starz app:
“You are gonna be seeing me in some capacity on your television I believe on Wednesday the 22nd,” said Amell, “I am gonna be at the AEW show at Arthur Ashe Stadium.”
The TV star is friends with the Elite and especially with Cody Rhodes. His friendship with Rhodes dates back to the time he teamed up with Neville to face Cody and Wade Barrett at SummerSlam 2015.
Stephen Amell has made several wrestling appearances since then. He has also competed in matches for different promotions including a tag match for ROH and a singles match against Christopher Daniels at All In.
Cody Rhodes is set to make his return to AEW programming during next week’s Grand Slam special as well. He is announced for a singles match against Malakai Black.
There is no word yet on what Amell will be doing at the show but the obvious speculation is that he might get involved in this bout in some capacity.
When CM Punk made his AEW debut during the August 20 episode of Rampage, he took the name of two AEW stars in his promo – Darby Allin and Britt Baker. Even out of these two, Punk took Baker’s name first and according to the current women’s champion, it was a very very cool feeling for her.
The current champion recently had an interview with ESPN. When asked how she felt when Punk mentioned her on his promo, she said that Punk is an idol of her:
“So you gotta remember I am a fan. I grew up watching CM Punk, Daniel Bryan, Christian, Matt Hardy.” said Britt Baker, “So all these guys I get to work with now is surreal. It’s like a ‘pinch me’ moment. That my idols are my co-workers.
So I am in the back at the screen watching as a fan, watching CM Punk and he says my name, I am like ‘Did everybody hear that?’ I mean it’s so cool. Sure, we share the stage and we are both stars but that’s somebody that I was a fan of. So that’s a very very cool feeling as a wrestler, as a wrestling fan, for someone you idolize to say your name.”
Britt Baker was also asked about the rise of Becky Lynch and if she sees herself becoming the biggest star in AEW to which she replied positively. The current AEW women’s champion is set to defend her title against Ruby Soho at next week’s AEW Dynamite: Grand Slam special from Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Please credit SEScoops.com if using any quotes transcribed from this article.
Before she found a new welcoming home in AEW, Ruby Soho made her name in WWE. Though there was a time when she thought she would never make it to the company because of her appearance.
The former WWE star recently had an interview with Digital Spy. She talked about things such as her expectations for All Out, her theme song, and more.
Discussing her time in WWE, Soho mentioned how she initially didn’t think she would be hired by the promotion because they didn’t hire people that looked like her:
“I never thought that I was going to make it to WWE, at the time that I had started [wrestling], they weren’t hiring women that looked like me. but then, right, place, right time, they started hiring people that looked different.”
Though even after being signed by WWE, Ruby Soho couldn’t find a place for herself there. On the other hand, she felt like she was at home immediately in AEW:
“But I still felt like I couldn’t quite find my place and didn’t quite fit in and then coming to AEW, it was instant. It was immediate, I felt like I was home.”
Ruby Soho made her surprise AEW debut at All Out. She is set to challenge Britt Baker for the women’s championship at next week’s Dynamite: Grand Slam special.
Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer has confirmed that WWE has added time to the contract of Sami Zayn for the period he missed after his shoulder surgeries in 2018.
The wrestling journalist previously reported that the former NXT champion’s WWE contract was going to expire sometime before the current year ends. Though later reports contradicted these claims.
Meltzer corrected his report about Zayn recently and he wrote that WWE “may have extended it as much as nine-and-a-half months so it could be March or April depending on the length of time it was frozen before he’s a free agent.”
The former IC champion signed a three-year deal with WWE back in June 2018. So his contract would have already expired if it wasn’t for the added time.
Unfortunately for Sami Zayn, he missed about 10 months of action after having double shoulder surgeries right after the signing of his current deal. This means he will have to wait until next year before he can get free.
His friend Kevin Owens seems to be on track to leaving WWE and joining his pals at AEW once his contract expires in January 2022.
The fans of Sami Zayn on the other hand will have to wait for an extended period before we can know what decision he makes about his future.
Talents have been told not to talk about WWE business while speaking to Triple H after his emergency procedure earlier this month according to the latest reports.
Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer recently provided some updates on The Game’s health and status. He noted that the former world champion is in good enough shape to take calls:
“Everything remains quiet regarding Paul Levesque [Triple H]. We are told that he’s in good enough shape that he is taking calls. Talent was told that they can call him and wish him well but that they are not to talk any WWE business with him.”
WWE sent out a statement earlier this month announcing that the Executive Vice President underwent a successful procedure following a cardiac event.
End Of Triple H’s NXT?
The timing of this health event was unfortunate for NXT talents as the show’s rebranding brought a lot of uncertainty to the NXT locker room and the absence of Triple H created an environment of trepidation.
Paul Wight spent over two decades of his career in WWE and did everything there was to do. He knows the in and outs of how the company does everything. The former WWE star talked about few different topics during his recent interview with Adam’s Apple YouTube Channel. The former world champion also explained the difference between how the two companies produce matches.
Wight mentioned how there is not a team of writers backstage at AEW and the upper management is not micromanaging things when they want something:
“There’s not 15-20 writers backstage in AEW. If you have a promo, you have a promo, and if you have a match, you have a match, There’s not as much upper-level handling on what they want during the match and what they’re trying to present for the extra property they own.”
Paul Wight Never Had As Much Freedom
Paul Wight went on to claim that he has never had as much freedom in his almost 3 decades long career as he has now in All Elite Wrestling:
“Even for me, I’m doing Paul Wight but I’ve never had as much freedom as I do now in AEW doing this. Before, when I was in WWE as Big Show, it was a committee to get anything done.”
Like Mark Henry, Paul Wight’s last WWE appearance was also during the Raw legends night in January this year. He made his AEW debut in March. He defeated QT Marshall at All Out in his in ring debut for the promotion.
Keeping anything secret in today’s digital world is almost impossible and that’s why AEW president Tony Khan had to take extreme measures to make sure Adam Cole and Daniel Bryan’s All Out debut didn’t get spoiled.
As the former NXT champion detailed during a recent interview with Sports Illustrated, he had to fly to a different city a day before the show to make sure no one spotted him at the airport. He then stayed at a different hotel than Bryan:
“I didn’t even fly into Chicago [the site of All Out], I flew into a different city the day before,” recalled Adam Cole, “I didn’t even stay in the same hotel as Bryan”
“The Most Secretive Debut”
The former WWE star then remembered how they both showed up at the Now Arena after the show had already begun and waited outside in the trailer until the time for their debut had come:
“We showed up to the building while the show was going on,” said Cole, “And we waited outside in a trailer.
The locker room didn’t even know until the absolute last moment. It was the most secretive debut I’ve ever been involved in, and Tony Khan took every measure to make this as big of a surprise as possible.”
Fans can expect newly debuted NXT star Bron Breakker to get ‘quite the push’ in the coming weeks according to a new report from PWInsider.
The son of WWF and WCW veteran Rick Steiner made his debut for the promotion on this week’s rebranded episode of NXT 2.0. He defeated LA Knight in the opening match of the night. Though this wasn’t the only segment he had during the show.
Breakker also had a confrontation with the new NXT champion Tommaso Ciampa at the end of the show. Their segment reminded many of the moment between John Cena and Undertaker from years ago.
As far as why WWE did not use the initially planned Rex Steiner name for the star, one source pointed out that the possible reason for the switch was their policy to trademark and own the ring names for all their talent.
Bron Breakker & NXT 2.0
WWE introduced the revamped version of NXT this week. The show saw the debut of a new stage and changes in overall presentation for the brand.
Apart from Bron Breakker, the first episode of this new era of NXT also saw the debut of a number of other stars. You can check out a list of the names that made their first appearance on the show here.
It looked like the Street Profits would win the match when the Tribal Chief rushed to the ring and attacked Montez Ford. He locked Ford into a Guillotine.
The disqualification caused by Reigns’ run-in resulted in The Street Profits being declared the winner. Though the Usos remained the tag team champions.
Updated Extreme Rules Match Card
Now WWE has announced that we will get a rematch between these two at the upcoming PPV. This is the fifth match that has been announced for the show. Below is the updated card for the event:
Universal Championship Match: “The Demon” Finn Balor vs. Roman Reigns
Raw Women’s Championship Match: Alexa Bliss vs. Charlotte Flair
SmackDown Women’s Championship Match: Bianca Belair vs. Becky Lynch
WWE United States Championship Match: Sheamus vs. Damian Priest
SmackDown Tag Team Championship Match: The Street Profits vs. The Usos
Extreme Rules this year will take place from the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio on Sunday, September 26.
After making his triumphant return to pro wrestling last month, CM Punk had ‘blamed’ Renee Paquette for paving the way for his comeback by convincing him to join WWE Backstage on FS1. The female star recently had an interview with WrestlingInc. Among other things, she also discussed the former WWE champion’s return to wrestling.
During the interview, Paquette explained why she thinks Punk chose AEW over WWE for his comeback, claiming that there was nothing fresh for him in WWE:
“I don’t think there was anything fresh and new in WWE that he really wanted to do. I don’t think there was anyone there that he wanted to work that he hasn’t already worked, storylines he’s not already been able to do.
Whether it was at AEW, or Ring of Honor or what have you, to now looking at things being busted wide open at AEW And having Adam Cole there now. You’ve got Kenny Omega, The Young Bucks, for him to be able to tag with Bryan Danielson, that was one thing that he mentioned to me on my podcast.”
Renee Paquette continued her explanation by mentioning how the straight edge star was driven more by the different avenues he can take rather than a truckload of cash:
“I think it’s just those other opportunities and different avenues that he can kind of take his career now. I think that’s what really spoke to him more so than somebody driving a truck of cash up to his house, which hopefully he got that too.”
Morale in the AEW locker room is very high heading into next week’s Dynamite: Grand Slam event from Queens, according to reports from PWInsider.
According to the site, the people in the company realize that’s their NYC debut is going to be a huge milestone for the promotion and everyone wants to appear on that show in some fashion.
This is going to be AEW’s biggest crowd till date and talent realize that the Grand Slam event will outdraw the live attendance figures for WWE’s return to Madison Square Garden at last Friday’s Super SmackDown event.
WWE announced an official attendance figure of 14,425 for the Super SmackDown special with advertised appearances such as Brock Lesnar and John Cena but the real attendance is believed to be close to 13,000.
The Arthur Ashe Stadium has a capacity of 23,771. The expected capacity for Dynamite is 18,692 and it was reported last week that the promotion had already sold more than 18,000 tickets for the Grand Slam special.
AEW has announced big matches such as the women’s title match between Britt Baker and Ruby Soho and a nontitle match between AEW champion Kenny Omega and Daniel Bryan for this show.
We have seen a number of former WWE stars showing up at different companies in the past few months, though there is one star who is certain that he will never work for any other promotion – John Cena.
The cenation leader took part in a Q&A at the Florida Supercon over the weekend. Among other questions, the former champion was also asked if we would ever see him wrestling for another promotion.
Replying to it, Cena reiterated pro wrestling’s famous “never say never” philosophy. Though he later added that he is certain this won’t be the case:
“There’s a whole like ‘never say never’ philosophy and I’m also that way in life because you never know what life will bring you. But, I can with certainty say no,”
John Cena also talked about the ECW One Night Stand event in 2006 where he defended his WWE championship against RVD. He revealed that he found out that he was losing the WWE title to the Hall Of Famer four hours before the show.
The 16-time world champion made his most recent WWE return at Money In The Bank in July. He then faced Roman Reigns at SummerSlam. He completed this stint with his MSG appearance. There is no word on when we will see him in WWE again.
It appears that fans may have to wait a bit longer to see Sami Zayn reuniting with his friends at All Elite Wrestling than originally expected.
Author Pat Laprade recently provided some update on the WWE star’s contract. He recalled how the former NXT champion told him back in June 2018 that he had signed a three years deal with the company.
This means that Zayn’s deal would have already expired if it wasn’t for the time that was added to his contract for the period he spent on the shelf after his shoulder injuries in 2018.
The former champion missed around 10 months of action from June 2018 to April 2019 back then after tearing both of his rotator cuffs. So his contract will likely expire sometime in March or at the beginning of April next year.
This is excluding the time Sami Zayn missed while sitting out at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic from April to August 2020. WWE officials had allowed wrestlers to stay home at the time without any penalty.
This means KO will be able to join his friends of the Elite at least a couple months earlier. Zayn, on the other hand, will likely have to wait a few extra months before being able to jump ships if he chooses to.
Some recent reports claimed that Jim Ross will be stepping away from full-time AEW commentary in coming times but the wrestling veteran is ready to continue his run for as long as he can.
The AEW star talked about things such as the recent debut of CM Punk that created a lot of buzz among other things on the latest episode of his Grilling JR podcast.
Ross claimed that he felt the emotional side of Punk’s return in Chicago. He then referenced the reports about his future, saying that he will keep doing what he is doing until he decides he has had enough:
“I got the best job in the world. I’m in the business that I love. I want to do this as long as I can. I don’t know how long that is, but until I or somebody including me decides I’ve had enough, then I’m going to keep doing it.
I couldn’t have that feeling with half a house, or three, or four hundred people, or an empty audience in Daily’s Place.” said Jim Ross, “Life is good. I don’t know it could be much better.”
JR also discussed how he made a mental note on a flight and realized there are at least a year’s worth of opponents ready for CM Punk in AEW right now.
He explained how the former WWE champion will not be wrestling every week for the company before claiming that nobody should be wrestling every week.
WWE superstars have so little communication with the management that they often find out what they are doing on the show through social media, according to Kofi Kingston. The former WWE champion recently had an interview with 106 KMWL. Among other things, he also talked about his match on this week’s Raw.
During the interview, Kofi explained how as performers, they are usually the last ones to find out what they are doing. He gave the example of his tag team match on this Monday’s episode of Raw:
“You would be surprised. Usually, as performers, we are the last one’s to find things out. This week and last week, I found out on Twitter what I was doing on Raw. It was announced I would be in an eight-man tag team match and I was like, ‘Oh, good to know. I gotta prepare.’
Same thing last week when we had the tag team turmoil, I had no idea until I looked on social media and I saw it.” said Kofi Kingston, “If I didn’t look on social media, I wouldn’t have known until I got to the building.”
The New Day member went on to say that oftentimes they have no idea what the show is going to entail. Even when they do know sometimes, it always gets changed. Though Kingston explained that it’s the bittersweet part of being a WWE star. According to him, it’s a good thing because it keeps everyone on their toes.
Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods teamed up with Mansoor and Mustafa Ali to face the team of AJ Styles, Omos, MACE and T-BAR on this week’s Raw in a losing effort.
After years and years of hard work, Big E finally got the success he deserves when he cashed in his Money In The Bank contract and became the WWE champion on this week’s episode of Raw. The new champion spoke to Sports Illustrated to talk about his emotions after the big win.
The former NXT champion first detailed the minutes leading up to his victory. He recalled how he was lost in space for a moment during his match with Bobby Lashley but then he refound his focus:
“At first, I couldn’t find the hard camera, I lost where I was in space when Bobby grabbed me for the Dominator. This is the single biggest night of my career, so I wanted to get that moment right. Then, as I was going for the Big Ending, I had a very big man in my hands so I was only focused on the task at hand. After that, all I could hear was that reaction from the crowd.”
Opening up about how he felt in the moment when he finally got the pin and was handed the WWE championship, Big E said that it was a spiritual experience for him:
“It was a spiritual experience, I connected with this massive group of people that all wanted the same thing. To have that support and the people behind me, it’s a moment I’ll never forget.”
E then discussed how many people have helped him get to this point. Apart from his tag team partners of the New Day, he credited names such as Michael Tarver, Curt Hawkins and Mike Doughty for his success.
Concluding the talk was Big E’s statement that it is only the beginning of things. He said that he will stay as he is before promising to put his own spin on his title run:
“This is only the beginning, I’m still going to be myself. I’m still going to be fun. I’m going to put my own spin on this run, and I’m here with purpose and drive. I can’t wait to show everyone what I’ve got.”
The first episode of NXT 2.0 ended with the new NXT champion Tommaso Ciampa and one of the debutants of the night Bron Breakker congratulating each other and shaking hands in a backstage segment.
However, the young star stared Ciampa’s hand down for a bit before shaking it. He also kept the NXT champion’s hand held for a while, seething and staring, resulting in Tommaso staring back at him as well.
WWE later released a post-show video after the NXT 2.0 episode went off air. In the video as seen below, Breakker warned the new champion to keep his head on a swivel:
“I’m here to make a statement. Ciampa, congratulations on the win. I respect ya, I got mad respect for you and what you’ve done here in NXT, but know this – I got my eye on ya now. Keep your head on a swivel, brother.”
Bron Breakker made his debut on WWE TV during the opening segment of this week’s episode of NXT. He defeated LA Knight via a power slam in the first match of the night.
Real name Bronson Rechsteiner, the 23-year-old star is the son of former WWF and WCW star Rick Steiner. The NXT episode makes it seem like he is in line for a push.
Despite WWE’s effort to attract young viewers with the world title match and Big E’s Money In The Bank cash in, AEW Dynamite managed to beat this week’s episode of Raw in the key 18-49 demographic once again.
The September 15 episode of the Wednesday night show featuring the in-ring debut of Adam Cole and CM Punk doing commentary did a total of 1.175 million viewers, according to Brandon Thurston of Wrestlenomics.com.
Raw this week was watched by 556,000 in 18 to 49.
Dynamite ranked #1 in the demo among cable originals on the day, according to Showbuzz Daily. It beat MTV's The Challenge, which had a 0.44 demo rating.
This is a 10.91% decline in average viewership compared to last week. Last week’s episode of the show featuring the first Dynamite appearances of debutants such as Bryan Danielson and Ruby Soho had drawn 1.319 million viewers.
When it comes to the key 18-49 demographic which has been a matter of discussion among fans since last week, AEW Dynamite drew a 0.44 rating. This represents a total of 574,000 viewers of the age group.
A 0.44 rating means that AEW managed to beat this week’s episode of Raw in the key demo once again. Though Raw drew a 0.43 rating in the same demo so the margin for this victory was very narrow.
AEW has already announced a stacked card for next week’s Grand Slam special of Dynamite. It will feature matches such as Bryan Danielson’s AEW in-ring debut against Kenny Omega and more. So it’s very much possible that they will be able to extend their winning streak to the third week.
The new direction for NXT has been a buzzing topic of discussion among wrestling fans. Though Booker T has a different idea of what changes they should make.
The former WCW champion discussed this topic on the latest episode of his Hall Of Fame podcast. He revealed his thoughts on things such as the new logo.
Booker also explained what change he thinks should be made. He said that the thing he would push for will be to send some of the talents to different camps around the world. It will help them understand what territory wrestling is about:
“My thing is this man, I love that NXT system but the one thing I would push for is, for instance, let some of those guys go to Reality of Wrestling, Let some of those guys go to some of these really good camps around the world.
Send them there for a month, just so they can understand that territory wrestling is really about wrestling in front of different crowds,” said Booker T, “As opposed to just being under that NXT system at the Capitol [Wrestling] Center.”
The former US champion continued by saying that he doesn’t think the officials will have to spend any more money on this than they are already doing on talent development and it wouldn’t hurt the guys either.
A former world champion in his own right, Booker T not only has the experience of being a main event talent, but also running a wrestling promotion in his Reality Of Wrestling indie as well.
It appears that the WWE championship main event between Randy Orton and Bobby Lashley and the promise of Big E cashing in his Money In The Bank contract did not help the ratings for the September 13 Raw.
This week’s episode of the red branded show with the championship main event got an average of 1.670 million viewers according to Wrestlenomics. This a big 9.68% decline from last week’s episode of the brand.
Last week’s episode with the tag team turmoil match to determine the new #1 contenders for the Raw tag team championships had drawn 1.849 million viewers.
As far as the numbers for the 18-49 demographic goes, the show garnered a 0.43 rating. This is also a massive decline from last week’s episode which had a 0.52 rating.
In terms of actual numbers, a 0.43 ratings with 1.670 million viewers represents 556,000 viewers of the 18-49 demo. This is a big 17.01% decline compared to the 670,000 viewers of the same demo based on the ratings and viewership of last week’s episode.
Now it would be interesting to see how the Dynamite episode performs this week and what strategy the WWE officials devise to bounce back from this decline.
The first episode of the revamped NXT dubbed as NXT 2.0 saw multiple new debuts including the newest and first female member of the Diamond Mine – Ivynile.
The female star was introduced after The Creed Brothers defeated Dan Jarmon and Trevor Skelly in a tag team match. She signed with WWE back in January 2020.
Ivynile, real name Emily Andzulis first gained fame after winning NBC’s sports game show Titan Games. She became the first female titan champion in the game show hosted by The Rock.
Other debuts of the night included Von Wagoner who was added to the NXT championship match. Real name Cal Bloom, Wagoner is the son of former WWF and WCW star Beau Beverly of the Beverly Brothers. He was signed in March 2019.
Tony D’Angelo, who was introduced via a vignette teasing a mafia character, is Joe Ariola. He has a background in collegiate wrestling. He was undefeated state and national champion and also qualified for the NCAA tournament in 2016.
Trick Williams, who debuted accompanying Carmelo Hayes to the ring during NXT was signed in February 2021. The 27-year-old, whose real name is Matrick Belton trained at the CZW wrestling academy in New Jersey
The star who debuted under the ring name Bron Breaker is Bronson Rechsteiner. He is another second-generation talent and the son of former WWF and WCW star Rick Steiner. ‘Big Poppa Pump’ Scott Steiner is his uncle.