Chris Jericho competed in a hard-fought match against MJF in the main event of this week’s episode of Dynamite. While MJF managed to win this bout, Jericho’s performance was still recognized after the match.
Legends such as Ric Flair took on their Twitter to praise both the stars for their work in the main event match after the show. Flair claimed that Y2J made the business better for everyone.
Jericho also got applauded by the audience in the arena after the bout. As seen in the video below, the fans in the arena gave a standing ovation to the wrestling legend after the show went off air:
While the outcome wasn’t what I wanted, last nights #AEWDynamite was one of the best moments of my career….THANK U HOUSTON! The acapella version of @fozzyrock#Judas was insane! Great story about this to tell some day. As for today, I have some serious soul searching to do. pic.twitter.com/EQBb8tg0XV
Chris Jericho’s storyline with MJF began last year when the former MLW star requested to join Jericho’s Inner Circle stable. The two even formed a tag team for a short while and unsuccessfully challenged for the tag team titles.
However, MJF turned on the former AEW champion during the March 10 Dynamite earlier this year. He formed his own faction called The Pinnacle in the process.
When Jericho demanded a singles match, MJF told him that he would have to go through several opponents. Chris defeated four different opponents over the last few weeks to get the bout on this week’s Dynamite.
Reports suggested that Bo Dallas was preparing for life after wrestling before his WWE release in April this year. So many wondered if his release marks the end of his wrestling career but the former WWE star is claiming that it’s not the case.
The former NXT champion recently had an interview with Highspots Wrestling Network. During the interview, he revealed that he actually broke his neck during his final TV appearance for the company:
“Something that a lot of people don’t know is I broke my neck two years ago. The last time I was on television on SmackDown, I think it was a segment involving — it was a B-Team segment involving Braun Strowman.”
Bo Dallas On His Wrestling Future
Dallas also addressed his wrestling status during the talk. While he mentioned how he has been dabbling in a bunch of other things, Bo Dallas claimed that he is ‘1,000 percent not done’ with wrestling:
“So, my next goal, I’m definitely, 1,000 percent not done wrestling. There’s no chance in that. My next goal is to find something that I can really sink my teeth into, something that I really love and that I’m passionate about that is not a one-off.”
He continued, “It’s not a small time thing. I’m dabbling in a bunch of other things but wrestling is my passion and I’m re-finding the love for it. If I’ve lost any of it, I’m finding that passion all over again in my way and I’m really excited. “
For those who don’t know, it was reported in early 2021 that Bo Dallas has been preparing for life after wrestling. He has been running a farm with Liv Morgan and the former champion has also started a real estate business.
WWE superstar Seth Rollins recently had an interview with Metro. He talked about things such as the development of his new character and the inspirations behind it.
The former Universal champion also commented on the WWE release of Bray Wyatt during the talk. He claimed that he misses Wyatt but the former champion made it clear that he didn’t draw a lot of inspiration from The Fiend:
“Bray Wyatt – God, I miss him. But I wouldn’t say that I drew much inspiration from him. He was way out there with the stuff he wanted to do character-wise – and it worked for him.
For me, not so much. That’s not really where I sit when it comes to characters in wrestling. but it worked well for him.”
Seth Rollins On Getting Inspiration From Triple H
Someone Seth Rollins did admit getting inspiration from is Triple H. The Architect mentioned how the game played a major part in the initial stages of his career:
“Triple H is definitely someone that my character draws inspiration from. Obviously, he played a major role in the beginnings of my character and what it’s become,
But if you look at his career, his character always did the same thing; it evolved very naturally over the years. He was able to teeter back and forth to both ends of the spectrum.”
Seth Rollins is scheduled to face Edge in a one-on-one match at the SummerSlam PPV this Saturday. You can check out an updated card for the event at this link.
Both Hall Of Famer Molly Holly and former wrestling star Shawn Daivari are now working as full-time producers for WWE, according to PWinsider.
The female star had a tryout for a producer role back in June after the officials decided to hire more women for the role. She was originally offered a position at the performance center as well but she declined.
After the initial tryout, Holly went through an extended learning period to familiarise herself with the role. She worked on the SmackDown brand for the most part during the training period.
Daivari on the other hand had already worked as a producer for WWE before. He was hired as a full time producer in January 2019 but had to be released due to the coronavirus budget cuts in early 2020.
He returned to wrestling after getting released. Shawn Daivari wrestled for promotions such as Impact Wrestling and MLW in the time following his departure.
He also worked as a producer for a set of NWA tapings and was brought back by WWE right after that. The 37-year-old was brought back in June this year.
With the return of crowds, both Molly Holly and Shawn Diavari have assumed full-time positions in the company. It’s likely that WWE will hire more producers in future.
AEW has announced that the world tag team champions The Young Bucks will be defending their titles in a steel cage match at the upcoming All Out PPV next month.
This week’s episode of Dynamite saw the tag champs defending the titles in a match against Jurassic Express. The Bucks retained the championships in a bout filled with many interferences from the Elite.
The Elite were featured in a backstage segment after this bout. Don Callis claimed that The Young Bucks are very dominant and they should take a break.
Though he got interrupted by Tony Khan. Khan announced an eliminator tournament to determine the new #1 contenders for the tag belts.
He confirmed that the tournament will feature Varsity Blonds, Private Party, Jurassic Express and Lucha Bros with the winner getting a title shot at All Out in Chicago.
The schedule for this title tournament has not been revealed as of yet. With only a couple of weeks remaining to the PPV, the competition should begin soon. After the latest announcement, here is the updated match card for the show:
AEW World Championship Match: Kenny Omega vs. Christian Cage
Steel Cage Match For AEW Tag Team Championship: The Young Bucks vs. TBA
Singles Match: PAC vs. Andrade El Idolo
Singles Match: Paul Wight vs. QT Marshall
AEW All Out will take place on Saturday, September 5 from the Now arena in Chicago.
While it doesn’t look like we will get an official confirmation of CM Punk’s AEW debut, people are still very excited about the same. The list appears to include the officials from the promotion’s broadcast partners TNT and WarnerMedia.
According to Fightful Select, the people involved with WarnerMedia and TNT are working under the assumption that the former champion is coming to the company.
The officials have spoken about the excitement of bringing someone like CM Punk to the promotion. It was also noted that Punk will have its full promotional machine behind him upon his return.
It’s unknown whether AEW officials have communicated the details of his comeback with their broadcast partners, though TNT and WarnerMedia are said to be ‘very aware’ of the situation.
TNT officials are also very impressed with AEW for selling four shows in the Chicago area within a few weeks. They are thrilled about Punk’s return being tied in with the City Of Chicago, United Center, and NBA team Chicago Bulls as well.
AEW will be presenting ‘The First Dance’ edition of Rampage from United Center in Chicago this Friday night. CM Punk is expected to make his debut for the promotion during the show.
Recent reports of WWE management looking to shake things up with NXT have made fans worried. However, Samoa Joe is not startled by these changes. He seems to believe that constant change is in the fate of WWE’s third brand. The former NXT champion recently appeared on Busted Open Radio.
Among other things, he also commented on the reports of the expected changes to the black and yellow brand. Joe explained that NXT has always been at the impetuous for experiments. According to him, it won’t be anything different in the future and the show will always be in a state of chaotic flux:
“That evolution is going to continue. NXT has always been at the impetuous for experiment and change and doing things differently in WWE. A lot of that change has reverberated down to the SmackDown and Raw brand. I don’t think it’s going to be anything different in the future. It’s always going to be in a state of chaotic flux and the state of change just by the nature of what it is.”
Samoa Joe continued his explanation mentioning how they are always finding new talent and introducing them to the world through the NXT brand:
“We’re finding brand new talent and introducing these people to the world. In able to do that, you have to be able to keep mixing up the pot. It makes a lot of fans a little uneasy at times, but at the same time, it’s exciting to get in on the ground floor and see somebody become a star in front of your eyes.”
The former Raw star went on to name people such as Finn Balor, Bayley and Sasha Banks who grew up with the audience in NXT and have become big stars now. Samoa Joe is currently scheduled to challenge Karrion Kross for the NXT championship at the TakeOver: 36 event. This will be Joe’s first match in 18 months.
The surprising WWE release of Bray Wyatt is still a topic of discussion among fans. Wrestling veteran and current AEW commentator Jim Ross reacted to the news on the latest episode of his Grilling JR podcast.
JR, who worked as the talent relations head for a major part of his WWE career, mentioned how there is politics involved with these things nowadays because of the massive salaries offered to the wrestlers:
“There’s politics nowadays because of the immense salaries, Bray Wyatt gets cut, he’s got to be making north of a million on a downside guarantee and he’s been sitting home. That’s not good management.”
Jim Ross continued by mentioning how the company got rid of a very talented star. He claimed that the former champion wouldn’t have any issues finding work elsewhere:
“I’m not saying the guy should’ve been cut, he should’ve been used if you’re going to pay him that kind of cash. How that happened is a story for another day because I don’t know the details.
I do know they got rid of a very talented kid and I’m sure he won’t have any issues finding work, speaking of Bray Wyatt.”
Bray Wyatt was shockingly released from his WWE contract last month on July 31. He has only made a single tweet since his release, where he posted a picture of a new Fiend mask with a cryptic message.
Apart from this, Jim Ross talked about possibly adding a six men tag team championship to AEW. You can check out his comments at this link.
Otis and Tucker collectively known as Heavy Machinery were a fairly popular tag team during their time in WWE. Their names were also liked by everybody except apparently Triple H. Tucker recently had an interview with Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling. He talked about things such as his WWE release, losing weight after his firing, and more.
During the interview, the former WWE star also revealed that Triple H didn’t like the Heavy Machinery name. According to him, the game thought it was too gimmicky:
“Everybody loved the name Heavy Machinery except Triple H. From what I understand, he was not a fan of that name. He thought it was too gimmicky, I guess. I guess thinking like fat men in construction hats, but we explained that we are Heavy Machinery. It’s not a gimmick.”
‘Tank And Dozer’
Tucker continued talking about their names and revealed that the duo originally wanted to be called Tank and Dozer. However, the WWE legal team shot down the idea because they couldn’t get it trademarked:
“I wanted to be called Tank and he wanted to be called Dozer, Tank and Dozer, Heavy Machinery. That was our initial pitch, but we were told that ‘We can’t get those names. We’re not going to be able to register those names, so we can’t do it.”
Tucker and Otis formed Heavy Machinery during their NXT days back in 2016. The team split up during the WWE drafts in 2020 and Tucker was released from the company in April earlier this year.
Seth Rollins’ team with his wife Becky Lynch for their 2019 feud against Baron Corbin and Lacey Evans got a mixed reaction from fans. It appears Rollins himself is not very keen on reuniting with her on TV for another storyline in the future.
The former universal champion talked about it in his recent interview with Sports Media podcast. He explained why he wouldn’t want to team with his better half again:
“We tried to make the best out of it, but I don’t think either of us were terribly comfortable with it. And even though we have incredible chemistry as people, as performers our characters never really vibed on-screen.
And so I think it’s just kind of one of those things that if she comes back, more than likely we’ll stay away from it. We just won’t touch on it.”
‘She Doesn’t Need Anybody’
Seth Rollins went on to claim that Becky Lynch’s character is a loner and it doesn’t feel good to see the former women’s champion in a relationship. According to him, The Man’s gimmick is not built for a number two:
“Even when I was pre-Drip God, Visionary, Monday Night Messiah – it didn’t work. But her character – she’s a loner. She doesn’t need anybody. To see that character in a relationship… it doesn’t feel good. It never felt good. And so especially now, I don’t know what it would look like.
Her [Becky’s] character’s not built for a number two, it’s just really not. No harm in that, but I don’t think we need to touch on it ever again. We’ll see what happens, but that’s how I feel at the moment.”
Becky Lynch has been training for her in-ring return for a while now but an exact date for her return is not known. Seth Rollins on the other hand is currently scheduled to face Edge at the SummerSlam PPV this Saturday.
Samoa Joe will be competing in his first match in nearly 18 months this Sunday. However, despite his hiatus from the ring, Joe does not have any doubts about himself. He is ready to take on even the top WWE star in Roman Reigns in a single call.
The former NXT champion recently had an interview with Give Me Sport. He talked about things such as his recent WWE release, upcoming SummerSlam PPV, and more.
He was also asked about Roman Reigns during the talk. Replying to it, Joe, who has faced Roman on multiple occasions before said that the tribal chief merely needs to say his name and he will show up to take the challenge:
“What Roman’s been doing has been fantastic. He’s really embraced what he probably should have been a long time ago. He’s built a hell of a squad around him. And you know, Head of the Table – that’s an interesting moniker. But Roman knows what’s up. I’m never too far away.
He merely needs to say my name, and I will show up. No problem.” said Samoa Joe, “He knows that. And I ain’t interested in sitting at your table, man. I’ll flip it over and I’ll eat your birthday cake in front of you. That’s about it.”
The Samoan submission machine has crossed paths with the head of the table before. The two feuded over the intercontinental championship back in 2018.
Samoa Joe is currently scheduled to face Karrion Kross for the NXT championship at the upcoming NXT TakeOver: 36 event on Sunday, August 22.
At 54 years of age, it’s safe to say that Goldberg has more wrestling years behind him than in front. Though he is willing to continue his current role for as long as he can.
The former WCW star recently had an interview with Sports Illustrated where he talked about things such as his early career, returning to pro wrestling and more.
During the interview, he also talked about the effect his age has on his performance. While Goldberg claimed that he will still be him regardless of what age he is, he did admit that it has become harder for him to continue physically:
“Whether I’m 25, 35, or 105, I’m still Goldberg,” he says. “My mentality allows me to still get in the ring and entertain the people to an extent that I don’t tarnish anything or everything that I’ve done.
Those are considerations you need to make when you come back. I don’t need to come back, I don’t have to. I’m here because I want to be here. Mentally, I know I can do it. Physically, it’s a little harder. But given enough time, I still can do it.”
‘The Payoff Is Not Mandatory’
Though talking about his future, Goldberg claimed that he is willing to take the opportunities presented to him as long as he thinks that he can still provide something as the character:
“As long as I can still provide something as this character, I’m willing to take these opportunities, because these chances pale in comparison to the payoff, the payoff is not monetary or glory-driven. It’s a chance to provide moments with my family that are few and far between in this world.”
Goldberg is set to challenge Bobby Lashley for the WWE championship at the SummerSlam PPV this Saturday. You can check out an updated match card here.
Getting the desired fan reaction had always been a struggle for Roman Reigns until the Universal champion decided to turn heel. Reigns has been universally praised by the audience since he introduced his new character last year. This reaction has carried over from the pandemic era shows. For the first time in his singles career, Roman Reigns is now getting a unified reaction from the fans in the arenas.
The tribal chief spoke about finally getting the reaction they want in an interview on Out of Character podcast. The head of the table detailed the psychology of the current era fans calling them a ‘fast food-oriented audience’. He explained that getting that reaction even after a year shows the hard work they have put into his story:
“We have a very fast food-oriented audience nowadays. It’s a ‘what have you done for me lately’ situation, everybody wants kind of some change as soon as they feel like they’ve gotten the portion that they were looking for. For me to still be almost a year now and for it to still to be interesting, for it to still be compelling, it just goes into, not just the performance, but just the hard work and the brainstorming and everything that goes in to being able to develop these types of stories.”
Roman Reigns went on to claim himself as the best storyteller in the world of sports entertainment today. He mentioned how we live in the world of storytelling where people want to know what’s going on by the minute. According to him, nobody else can do that on the highest level with the consistency that he does:
“That’s what I hang my hat on right now is I’m the best storyteller in sports entertainment today, and that’s all entertainment is, it’s storytelling. We live in a world of storytelling now with social media. I mean, on Instagram, you literally have stories and people want to know, by the minute, what’s going on. To be able to do that on the highest level and consistently do that, can’t nobody else say it but me.”
There have been reports of an internal power struggle in WWE after NXT lost the Wednesday night wars but Tyler Rust believes that it’s all just speculation.
The former NXT star recently had an interview with WrestlingInc. He talked about things such as the rise of AEW, why the company should continue growing, and more.
Rust was asked about the reports of Triple H being blamed for the loss of NXT. Replying to it, Tyler explained that it’s likely just a rumor because things were very controlled in NXT when he was there:
“Honestly, I would think they’re just speculation, personally, because the vibe around NXT has always been very good, it’s always been very controlled.
When we did move to Tuesday, for example, it was made very clear that, hey, this is a total network thing. This doesn’t have anything to do with the Wednesday night deal.”
Tyler Rust On Upcoming NXT Changes
Tyler Rust also offered his thoughts on the reports of the upper management wanting to overhaul the NXT product. He said that we will have to see how it works out:
“I know there’s a lot of rumors now as far as Vince wanting to overhaul the NXT product and everything. Sometimes, rumors, maybe they’re right.
We’ll see how it is going forward from there, but from my experience there, there wasn’t really many eggshells as far as upper management not being happy.”
Tyler Rust signed with NXT back in December 2020. He spent early 2021 working with Malcolm Bivens. Rust was revealed as a member of the Diamond Mine stable in June but he was released from the promotion on August 6.
Olympic Gold Medalist Gable Steveson has been creating buzz by teasing a WWE run. However, the current WWE champion Bobby Lashley believes that Steveson should hold off on the idea until he has retired.
The All-Mighty was asked about Steveson during a recent interview with TVinsider. Replying to it, he said that the amateur wrestling star is doing the right thing by getting his name out there:
“When I met him, he seemed like a really humble kid. I wish I had his potential at such a young age. That kid is going to make so much money in his life because he has so many years ahead of him.
He is tagging Dana White on social media. He tagging Vince McMahon, Jon Jones. That is what he should be doing. He should be getting his name out there.”
Bobby Lashley then discussed the prospect of Gable Steveson coming to WWE. He explained that while Gable will do very well in WWE, he should wait until Lashley has retired because that’s when he will have an opportunity:
“I think if he comes to WWE, he would do really well. He is a big kid and very athletic and charismatic. I think he should wait a little bit. He is 21. Wait until I retire at least. When I’m gone, he’ll have an opportunity to possibly win another world title.”
In light of Lashley’s comments about the young wrestling star, do you think we will see a confrontation between the two at the PPV this Saturday? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.
The recent string of WWE releases combined with the low TV ratings over the last few months have made many wonder if we are witnessing the downfall of the company but Bobby Lashley believes it’s not the case.
The WWE champion recently had an interview with TVinsider. He talked about things such as his feud with Kofi Kingston, his desire to face Brock Lesnar, and more.
Lashley was also asked about the backstage atmosphere in WWE in light of the recent releases. Replying to it, Bobby said that the feeling is good before claiming that they are never going to be beaten:
“I think the feeling is good. We get tested with so many things. Everyone will say, “This is it. This is the downfall of WWE.” It’s never going to be. We have so much talent in WWE.
WWE is never going to be beaten or contested. It’s always going to be the flagship of professional wrestling.That’s never going to change.” – Bobby Lashley
The current champion went on to talk about his own release from the company in February 2008. He mentioned how he never burned any bridges and kept grinding.
Bobby Lashley will be defending his WWE championship against Goldberg at the SummerSlam PPV this Saturday. You can check out the updated card for the event at this link.
While The Usos originally opposed the Universal champion Roman Reigns when he first turned heel, the duo has since joined the Tribal Chief in his quest to be acknowledged as the Head Of The Table.
Though there is one more member of their family on the WWE roster who hasn’t joined this bloodline story yet – the wife of Jimmy Uso, Naomi.
When asked about the possibility of the former women’s champion joining their group during an interview with New York Post, Reigns claimed that it’s just not something that they have come up with:
“I do believe if she was put in that position, coupled with all of us surrounding her along with Paul Heyman and the rest of our creative brainstorming system that we have and how we craft our narratives, I think we could put her in a good position.
It’s just not something we’ve had time to come up with a thorough game plan. If we did, I think she’s definitely a superstar who could step up and take advantage of it.”
During the talk, the current champion was also asked about the recent DUI arrest of Jimmy Uso. Replying to it he said that he doesn’t condone that kind of behavior.
Though Roman Reigns later went on to claim that all humans make mistakes and explained how he likes to handle such situations. You can check out his detailed comments about the matter here.
New Day members Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston teamed up for a tag team match against The Miz and John Morrison for the dark main event after tonight’s episode of Raw from AT&T Center in San Antonio.
The original advertised main event for the show was The New Day going up against MVP and WWE Champion Bobby Lashley but the bout was changed.
Woods and Kingston received a big babyface reaction from the crowd. The duo also ended up winning the bout which was said to be filled with many comedy spots.
This was The Miz’s second match of the night. He made his in-ring return for the first time since WrestleMania 37 during the show and faced Damian Priest in a losing effort.
The New Day, on the other hand, did not wrestle on camera. They did stand behind the team of The Miz and Morrison for a backstage segment, where they advertised their new merchandise.
Woods and Kingston have not wrestled as a team on WWE TV since the July 5 episode of Raw last month. They defeated MVP and Bobby Lashley in that match.
This wasn’t the only dark match on the episode as Keith Lee once again worked a non televised match before the show. You can check out the news about Lee’s match here.
WWE announced a couple of new matches for the upcoming SummerSlam PPV during tonight’s go home episode of Raw including a new championship match.
The first new match that was announced is between Alexa Bliss and Eva Marie. The two have been feuding in recent times. Tonight’s show featured a segment confirming their upcoming match.
The episode also saw the company announcing the Raw tag team championship match between Randy Orton & Riddle and the current champions AJ Styles & Omos for the SummerSlam PPV.
This week’s Raw saw Randy Orton declaring that R-K-Bro was back after Riddle saved him from a post match beatdown from Styles and his partner. WWE made the title match official after this.
Apart from this, a new stipulation for the match between Drew McIntyre and Jinder Mahal was announced. McIntyre defeated Veer and Shanky in a handicap match, resulting in the duo being banned from ringside at SummerSlam.
Updated SummerSlam Match Card
After the latest announcements, the card for the upcoming show looks to be almost complete. Here is the updated SummerSlam match card after tonight:
WWE Universal Championship Match: John Cena vs. Roman Reigns
WWE Championship Match: Bill Goldberg vs. Bobby Lashley
Triple Threat for the RAW Women’s Championship: Rhea Ripley vs. Charlotte Flair vs. Nikki A.S.H.
SmackDown Women’s Championship Match: Sasha Banks vs. Bianca Belair
SmackDown Tag Team Championship Match: Rey Mysterio & Dominik Mysterio vs. The Usos
WWE United States Championship Match: Damian Priest vs. Sheamus
RAW Tag Team Championship Match: Randy Orton and Riddle vs. AJ Styles and Omos
Singles Match: Edge vs. Seth Rollins
Singles Match: Drew McIntyre vs. Jinder Mahal, Veer and Shanky are banned from ringside.
Ember Moon was originally announced for a match on last week’s episode of NXT. However, the female star was abruptly pulled from the show on the day of the event.
The sudden change made fans worried about her status and health especially after her tweet on the matter. Now Fightful select has provided some update on the situation.
According to the site, Moon has been recovering from a dental procedure. This procedure is the reason why she wasn’t cleared to compete and had to be pulled from NXT last week.
Despite not being cleared, the former NXT women’s champion was still backstage for last week’s show. She was willing to work the event regardless of her condition but the officials decided to keep her off TV.
Ember Moon was scheduled to face Sarray in a singles match on NXT. She was replaced by Dakota Kai in this bout and Kai ended up winning the one on one match.
The former Raw star has not competed inside a WWE ring since the July 13 episode of NXT. She had faced Dakota Kai in a match on the show which Ember lost.
There is no word yet on how long Ember Moon is expected to stay out of action. We will keep you posted about any further updates on her health.
Malakai Black had a bittersweet run in WWE. While he was able to impress everyone with his performance in NXT, his main roster run can only be described as lackluster.
The former NXT champion recently appeared on the Pro Wrestling 4 Life podcast. He talked about a number of things including the WWE release of Bray Wyatt and more.
Talking about his recent debut at AEW, Black said that it’s a great company to be a part of. He then claimed that he doesn’t see himself going back to WWE in future:
“I think AEW is making really cool waves. It’s a great company to be a part of, and I think I came in at the right time.
I don’t see myself going back to WWE, and it’s not out of spite. That’s just because I feel this is a right move for me. This is a better position for me.”
Apart from this Malakai Black also discussed the much-talked rumors about Daniel Bryan and CM Punk possibly joining the AEW roster very soon.
The former champion said that he would love to see Bryan make the transition while also claiming that he doesn’t know anything about Punk’s future. You can check out his comments at this link.
The next WWE event in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia called Crown Jewel 2021 will be held on Thursday, October 21 from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
According to reports from PWinsider, the decision for the schedule was made last week. There was talk of the event being held in the first Thursday of November as well but the officials ultimately settled for October 21.
The last WWE event in Saudi Arabia was the Super ShowDown PPV in February 2020. It took place from the Mohammed Abdu Arena in Riyadh with the Fiend defending his Universal title against Goldberg in the main event.
The company and the Saudi General Sports Authority had announced a 10-year partnership in 2018. Though they had to halt the deal after the Super ShowDown last year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The officials have already started planning the card for the event. Reports suggest that WWE is planning to hold the King Of The Ring and Queen Of The Ring tournaments later this year.
The tournaments are expected to begin on Raw and SmackDown in early October. The finals are being planned for the upcoming event in Saudi Arabia.
There is no word on what other matches are being discussed for the event but we will keep you posted on the plans as more details about the show come to light.
Shortening names of superstars is a common trope within WWE. Former Heavy Machinery member Tucker has a theory as to why the company takes bits out of some superstar’s names.
The former WWE star recently had an interview with WrestlingInc. He talked about things such as what they were told during their main roster debut and more.
The duo were known as Otis Dozovic and Tucker Knight in NXT. Speaking about how the officials cut off their last names when they got on the main roster, Tucker admitted that he wishes it wasn’t the case:
“I wish they wouldn’t have, but it is what it is I guess, what the boss says goes. That wasn’t a hill I was going to die on, I’ll just say that. I just said, ‘Okay. No problem. Thank you.’”
The former 24/7 champion then provided a theory as to why he thinks the ring names get shortened. According to Tucker, it could be because of the time it takes to announce the names:
“I honestly think it has to do with how long it takes the announcer to say like, ‘Otis Dozovic! Tucker Knight! Heavy Machinery!’ I think that’s too long. I think that’s one of the reasons anyways. I have no idea. That’s pure speculation on my part.”
Apart from this, Tucker also talked about Heavy Machinary’s storyline with Mandy Rose, his heel turn and his release from the company this past April as well.
Kenny Omega suffered a big loss at the premiere episode of Rampage where Christian Cage beat him for the Impact Wrestling world title in the opening bout of the night.
The now-former Impact champion took on his Twitter after the show to react to the loss. He made a tweet on his way to the airport, claiming that he feels cheated and disrespected after tonight’s events:
“Not a cheerful ride to the airport. Baggage is light and I feel so cheated and disrespected. You’re all on notice. I’m taking this personally.”
Not a cheerful ride to the airport. Baggage is light and I feel so cheated and disrespected. You’re all on notice. I’m taking this personally.
Kenny Omega defended the Impact world title against Christian in the opening match of the premiere episode of Rampage. The match saw both the competitors pulling some impressive offense.
Towards the ending of the bout, Don Callis came up on the apron. He distracted the referee, allowing Omega to hit a low blow on his opponent.
The Young Bucks then came out and slide a chair in the ring for Omega to finish the job. However, Christian countered Kenny’s attempt of a one winged angel.
The former WWE star hit Kenny Omega with a kill switch instead. As the referee brought his attention back to the match, Christian pinned Omega to become the new Impact world champion.
Former NXT star Mercedes Martinez will be challenging for Impact Knockouts Championship in her first booking after being released from WWE.
Indie wrestling promotion WrestlePro has announced that the female star will be challenging Deonna Purrazzo for her title at their show from Rahway, New Jersey on Saturday, October 16.
Martinez won’t be the only former WWE star who will be part of the event. Former 205 Live roster member Tony Nese and former SmackDown star Fandango both are also announced for the show.
Fandango who is now going by the name Dirty Dango will face Impact wrestling star Brian Myers while Tony Nese will be competing against Bobby Wayward.
Mercedes Martinez had made appearances for WWE in 2017-18. She competed in the Inaugural and the second Mae Young Classic tournament and made several NXT appearances during the time period as well.
She returned to the company in 2020 after signing a contract in January. She even made her main roster debut as part of the Retribution faction but decided to withdraw from the group. She was released from her WWE contract on August 6.
The October booking suggests that Martinez was still under a standard NXT contract when she was released. NXT contracts feature a 30 days non-compete clause opposed to 90 days for main roster stars.
