Io Shirai is back on NXT TV.

This week’s episode of NXT saw one-half of the current NXT tag team champion Candice LeRae continuing her rivalry with singing star Poppy.

She occupied the ring during a segment on the show and said that she was tired of the Grammy-nominated singer. LeRae mentioned how Poppy hijacked her interview last week.

The current champion then called Poppy out and demanded an apology for her recent actions. The lights went out and Poppy came out with her entrance music.

Though she didn’t get in the ring and Poppy stayed on the stage instead. She said that she doesn’t wrestle but she knows someone who does. Then the music of Io Shirai surprised the fans.

The Japanese star then made her return and unloaded on LeRae. She took down Candice and Shirai then hit a 619 on her rival as the fans cheered.

The returning star delivered a missile dropkick, forcing Candice LeRae out of the ring. The segment ended with Io Shirai and Poppy standing tall in the ring as LeRae retreated on the stage.

This is Io Shirai’s first appearance for the brand since the NXT Takeover: Stand & Deliver event in early April. She dropped the NXT women’s title to Raquel González on the show, ending her 304 days reign as the champion.

• WWE NXT Results (6/8): TakeOver Go-Home Edition, Poppy Returns, Ember Moon vs. Dakota Kai

Roman Reigns’ current run as the top heel of WWE has helped him win over many haters. Former rival CM Punk among those impressed by Reigns’ work as of late.

Punk recently appeared on the Wrestling Perspective podcast and discussed how organic stories produce the best content and storylines. He singled out Roman Reigns as an example to making his point and had glowing things to say about WWE’s reigning Universal Champion. He said the Tribal Chief storyline is one of the things WWE is doing right these days and praised Reigns’ character work.

“A lot of the times the best stuff you also just got to go with the flow with it, I’ll use Roman Reigns as an example because if we’re talking about good stuff,” said Punk. “If the WWE does anything good, this is the one thing they’re doing right now is Roman Reigns. His character work, his in-ring stuff, it’s all great.”

Punk took a shot at the company by claiming they are always “late” to execute plans correctly. WWE spent years trying to get Roman Reigns over as the ‘next John Cena.’ It took a heel turn and an alliance with Paul Heyman to truly win over the WWE Universe.

Far and Away The Best In WWE

“Maybe he needed that adversity and that backlash to finally be this guy but this is the one thing they’re doing right, what can you say bad about what Roman Reigns is doing right now? He’s far and away the best guy they have. When you talk about storylines, in-ring work and all that stuff, right now he’s the total package. For the first time in his career, and I’m not being mean to Roman Reigns, I just feel like he’s finally where they pushed him to be, it just took a minute.”

CM Punk left WWE in 2014 and subsequently retired from professional wrestling. He stayed away from the business for the next 5 years, before making a surprise return during a WWE Backstage episode in November 2019.

He has been vocal about the company’s policies since then. Punk recently commented on issues such as the latest WWE releases and John Cena’s apology to China.

Former WWE writer Matt McCarthy recently talked about John Cena on his We Watch Wrestling podcast. He revealed how close the cenation leader was to a heel turn in the company at one point. McCarthy was talking about the time when the former world champion was still a full-time performer.

Vince McMahon was trying to figure out a way to incorporate some heelish qualities in his character but not turn him completely. However, the Hollywood star wanted to do a complete heel turn. He was committed to the idea to a point where John Cena even had new ring gear made for him:

“Vince kept trying to figure out how do we do like a Bret Hart thing? Where he’s a heel in some places, but he’s a babyface in the rest of the places. Cena was like, ‘If I’m going heel, I want to go full heel,’ and it did get close enough to the point where, and I’m sure he still has this gear, like Cena had gear made for the heel turn, you know? No longer the jorts. I don’t know what the gear was, but he had specific gear made ready and waiting.”

Though as we know the heel turn never happened. Revealing the reason behind it, Matt explained that the company cooled down on the idea after they couldn’t reach an agreement. The officials decided that a heel turn wouldn’t change things for Cena. So it was best to keep things as they were:

“And then obviously we know it never happened, and there was a point in the discussions where it was like, ‘Well, the people who are gonna cheer him are going to continue to cheer him and the people who are gonna boo him, are just gonna keep booing him.’ So the thinking was, that’s the most heelish thing he can do is to stay that white meat, smiling, pure babyface…”

• John Cena To Compete in Money in the Bank?

John Cena has since moved on from his role as the face of the company. After a 15 year-long run at the top, the former champion now only makes sporadic appearances for the promotion. Although he is expected to make a return very soon. Latest reports suggest that we may see the former US champion competing in a big championship match at SummerSlam.

The latest wave of WWE releases saw the company parting way with some surprising names. One of them was the Riott Squad leader Ruby Riott.

Bryan Alvarez talked about Riott and her time in WWE during the latest episode of Wrestling Observer Live. He revealed the original WrestleMania 37 plans for her.

Ruby Riott teamed up with Liv Morgan to compete in the tag team turmoil match at night one of the show which also featured four other teams.

According to the wrestling journalist, the team of Riott and Morgan were originally scheduled to win this match and go on to challenge the then women’s tag team champions Nia Jax & Shayna Baszler on night two of the show.

However, the company changed the plans on the day of the event. Natalya and Tamina went on to win the bout and challenge for the titles. Jax and Baszler were scheduled to retain the title in the original scenario as well.

• Ruby Riott Posts Statement On WWE Release

While Natalya and Tamina couldn’t cash in their opportunity at WrestleMania, the match opened the doors for more opportunities for them. They finally won the tag team titles on an episode of SmackDown last month.

Things are always changing in WWE but one can only wonder what would have happened if Ruby Riott and her partner would have got the opportunity and if they would have gone on to win the championships instead.

Jake Atlas has had an interesting journey to WWE. It all started when the former indie star came out to Stephanie McMahon as gay without realizing who she was.

The young star recently appeared on WWE’s The Bump alongside guests such as Hall Of Famer Bret Hart, current NXT women’s tag team champions Candice LeRae & Indi Hartwell, and more.

Discussing his infamous interaction with Stephanie McMahon, Atlas revealed that he hadn’t discussed his sexuality before his conversation with the WWE official:

“I wasn’t an ‘out’ performer before I met Stephanie. Meeting Stephanie undercover and not knowing it was Stephanie was so much better and helpful in a way, I don’t know if I would have been able to talk to her if I knew it was Stephanie.

“Meeting Stephanie and coming out to her… I mean, I came out to one of the most powerful people in professional wrestling. [After filming] I was a mess, and I was crying, and she hugged me.”

• Bret Hart On The Origin Of Hart Attack Finisher

The 26-year-old appeared on an episode of Celebrity Undercover Boss as an undiscovered wrestler in 2018. The episode also featured WWE Chief Brand Officer Stephanie McMahon as an undercover boss.

During the show, Atlas explained to Stephanie that he wanted to become the first openly gay WWE champion. He was hired in an ambassador role by WWE after that and he was officially signed as a wrestler in 2019.

Before becoming one of the most celebrated singles wrestler of all time, Bret Hart made his name in tag team wrestling as part of The Hart Foundation.

The WWE Hall Of Famer discussed the legacy of the group during his recent appearance on The Bump and talked about the various aspects of his team with his brother in law Jim Neidhart.

One of the most exciting things about their team was the Hart Attacker finisher. Revealing the origin of it, Bret detailed where it came from and why it was a great finisher for their tag team:

“You know, it came from me using a running clothesline in Calgary. I remember thinking about it, and it was a lot of things Jim and I did, Jim was a 280-pound man.

To launch him like a missile, you know, 10-15 feet across the ring, was a serious consequence.” said Hart, “So many things we did as a team including, the Hart Attack, were great team wrestling.”

• Bret Hart Names His All-Time Favorite Opponent

The wrestling veteran also commented on the recent women’s tag team title win of his niece Natalya and Tamina during the May 14 episode of SmackDown.

Bret Hart said that both Jim Neidhart and Tamina’s father, Jimmy Snuka would be proud of their daughters. He claimed that the duo will surprise everyone by being around as a team for a long time.

Former NXT star Ezra Judge is one of the many names released by WWE in the past couple of months. He was released alongside names such as Alexander Wolfe, Jessamyn Duke, and more.

The now-former WWE star recently had an interview with WrestlingInc where he opened up about his release from the promotion and discussed it in detail.

Due to his massive physique, Judge was considered a big future star by many and so his release sparked many rumors as well. Discussing the various rumors, he claimed that he didn’t have any backstage heat in the company:

“I don’t know why I was released. Do I want to know why? Of course. I got the generic response, budget cuts. Do I believe that? No, but it is what it is. I’m the type of person that respected everybody, got along with everybody.

I didn’t have bridges that were burnt or anything like they say.” said Ezra Judge, “I was told, actually, before I left that I was a catalyst in a locker room.”

The former WWE star also commented on his future in the wrestling business. He confirmed that he will continue his wrestling career and claimed that we are going to see him soon.

A former Football player and Bodybuilder, Ezra Judge was signed to a contract by WWE in August 2019 after multiple tryouts. He was released in May 2021.

• Update On What Led To Braun Strowman’s WWE Release

Eva Marie will finally be returning to Raw next week.

WWE had been teasing the return of the All Red Everything with promos for weeks but there was no confirmed date for her actual return to the company.

The promotion finally confirmed during this week’s episode of Monday Night Raw that Marie will be making her return during next week’s Hell In A Cell go-home episode of the show:

Reports suggest that the modeling star will not be coming in alone. It’s believed that she will have a female star as her bodyguard upon her return.

The two names which are being discussed for the role as of now are Piper Niven from NXT UK and former Retribution member Mercedes Martinez.

Eva Marie’s first run with WWE started in 2013. Many believed that the female star who had no background in wrestling was too green for TV at the time.

• Bayley Calls Out Eva Marie Over New ‘Role Model’ Gimmick

This led to the former Raw star going back and forth between the main roster and NXT a number of times. She was finally released from her contract in August 2017.

Marie’s return to the company was first reported in October last year. After months of rumors, WWE finally confirmed her re-signing with a vignette last month during the May 3 episode of Raw.

Bret Hart is considered to be one of the greatest in-ring performers of all time. It’s said that he could make any opponent look good in the ring.

The WWE Hall Of Famer recently had an interview with Barstool Rasslin where he talked about a number of things and the wrestling veteran also revealed who was his own favorite opponent to face.

Hart was discussing his matches with Curt Hennig who he shared the ring with over 60 times. He claimed that Mr Perfect was his favorite opponent, with Owens Hart being a close second:

“I’ll always say this about Curt, if I could wrestle one guy again, it would’ve been Curt. He was my favorite opponent ever. My brother Owen [Hart] is a close second.”

Bret Hart got involved in the wrestling business at the young age of nine when he started his training as an amateur wrestler. His professional wrestling career kicked off in 1976 when he started competing for Stampede Wrestling.

The former world champion first gained fame when he made his debut for WWE in 1984. He went on to become one of the top stars for the promotion. Bret Hart’s career, unfortunately, ended due an injury he suffered in 1999.

• Eric Bischoff Says Bret Hart Never Played Politics In WCW

Kurt Angle went through a dark period in his career in 2006. The former world champion was working through many injuries and the pain caused him to get addicted to painkillers.

The Olympic Gold Medallist was not only harming himself with the addiction but he got out of control to a point where he started sending threatening text messages to Vince McMahon.

Angle opened up about the time during the latest episode of his podcast. He recalled how he started behaving out of control because of his problem:

“Up until 2006 we were pretty close but my behavior became erratic, I started behaving out of control, sending Vince text messages threatening to beat him up. I had the painkiller problem that nobody knew about.”

• Kurt Angle On Vince McMahon Turning Down Request For Alien Gimmick

The former WWE champion explained that he wasn’t able to take time off because a lot of other talents were on the shelf. This led to him sending more and more texts to Vince McMahon:

“I was texting Vince more and more and he wouldn’t respond and that pissed me off even more. After I joined ECW it got even worse. [I sent those texts] because he wouldn’t get back to me. I understand why now, I wasn’t making any sense.

When I went to a meeting with Vince after I decided to leave after ECW 2006, he had a whole list of text messages and I’m reading these saying ‘Gosh, I don’t remember texting this.’ It was really graphic, ‘I’m going to beat the sh** out of you.'”

Kurt Angle finally decided to quit WWE only a month after he was moved to ECW. He was granted an early release from his contract in August 2006.

Jim Ross talked about the WWE career of Mick Foley on the latest episode of his Grilling JR podcast and during the talk; he also revealed the origin of a famous Vince McMahon line. The former WWE commentator was talking about an interview with the WWE Hall Of Famer in June 1997.

He explained that the boss was originally not expected to be there. According to Ross, the interview not only turned around the perception of Foley in Mr McMahon’s eyes but it also gave them one of his most memorable lines:

“We didn’t know Vince was even going to be there, we had no idea, That’s where the famous line that came from Vince, where we got to a certain stopping point and heard this voice and it’s unmistakably Vince saying ‘This is good s–t.’

At that point, Mick is made. He just sold the old man. I don’t know what his thoughts would be if you asked him today,” said Jim Ross, “But at that time, he had turned the corner. He got the blessing of the most powerful man in all of pro wrestling”

• Jim Ross Recalls Discovering John Cena & Vince McMahon’s Initial Reaction

Apart from this, The AEW star also discussed how Mick Foley had no filter. He explained that the hardcore legend always wanted to do more and please the fans. Jim Ross revealed that his risk-taking habits led to him and Vince himself talking to the legend a number of times, telling him to slow down.

Keith Lee has shared his latest message to the fans wondering about his absence from the WWE TV and said that he will ‘find another way.’

The former NXT champion took on Twitter yesterday and once again shared an obscure message for his supporters saying that he wanted to do something educational for them.

Lee mentioned that that idea is off the table now for some reason. Though he also claimed that he will find another way to tell everything and it could be as simple as a video message:

The former NXT star has been off WWE programming for a while now. He last wrestled for the company in February and the heavyweight star was then taken off TV before the Elimination Chamber PPV.

Keith Lee was later revealed to be not medically cleared to compete. He underwent some testing in March. Though that was the last update on his situation and the result of the tests or the reason behind it were never shared.

• Backstage Update On Keith Lee Being Absent, Original Plans

The former champion has since made a few sporadic tweets but people have found it hard to make anything out of messages he has sent out.

Keith Lee has not been fired by the company despite the recent multiple waves of releases. So fans are still hopeful about seeing him back in a WWE ring but there is no word on when or if that will happen.

A lot of wrestlers have called the pandemic era wrestling a learning experience but it’s not the case for the former AEW champion Jon Moxley. The AEW star recently had an interview with Wrestling Observer where he opened up about his experience of wrestling in empty arenas in the past year.

Talking about whether he has learned anything from wrestling in empty arenas without fans, Mox mentioned how every company has figured out a way to make it work but claimed that he ‘didn’t learn s**t’:

“Honestly, no. I don’t wanna work in an empty building; I don’t wanna work in front of fake fans. If we have to do it, I mean, we and other companies too.

Everybody, from IMPACT, Ring of Honor, New Japan, even the ThunderDome and all that, Everybody figured out a way to make it work in wrestling and in other sports too. Like hockey and all them, you know? UFC. I mean everybody figured out a way to do it but like, honestly, I didn’t learn shit.”

Jon Moxley then explained that he wants to wrestle in front of fans and feel the adrenaline of it. The former WWE champion said that he wants to do it live in front of people and hear the crowd once again:

“I want real people. I wanna walk out of the arena, I wanna walk back through the locker room, hear the crowd outside the curtain, I wanna do it live one time. F*** the pandemic.

We figured it out, we got through it but once that’s over, I’m not, you know, I would love there to be, ‘You know, I learned a very valuable lesson’ but nah, I didn’t learn shit. I wanna do it live, live people, that’s what I want.”

Jon Moxley was the pandemic era champion for AEW after winning the title in February last year. He spent most of his record-setting 277 days run as the heavyweight champion of the company in front of no crowd.

Kurt Angle signed with WWE in 1998 and he became an instant star. His brother Eric Angle then tried to follow his footsteps when he joined the company two years later in 2000.

During the latest episode of his podcast, the Olympic Gold Medallist talked about a number of things including his brother’s run with the company and more.

Recalling some scrapped plans for the duo, Kurt revealed that the company wanted them to be a tag team. However, the plans never materialized because of the release of his brother:

“That was the plan, they wanted Eric and I too tag together, they thought if Eric improved enough he’d be a great tag team partner for me, we could have a good run as a tag team for a while. Unfortunately, he got hurt and it never transpired.”

Eric Angle made his WWE debut during the Survivor Series PPV in 2000. He helped his brother in retaining the WWE championship against the Undertaker by switching places with Kurt Angle.

• Kurt Angle On Vince McMahon Turning Down Request For Alien Gimmick

He was then signed to a development contract and sent to OVW. Unfortunately for Eric, he tore a ligament in his arm and went through nine surgeries to help correct the problems with his biceps.

While Eric Angle did make a return to WWE TV for a brief run in March 2003, his run with the company didn’t last long after that. He was released from his contract the same year.

Current NWA star Tom Latimer recently had an interview with This Is Wrestling podcast where he opened up about his battles with alcoholism in detail.

The 34-year-old star was signed by WWE in 2010 and was assigned to FCW before its rebranding to NXT. The company seemed to have some plans for him but they released him in 2012 following a confrontation with a police officer.

Reflecting on his WWE firing, Latimer recalled how the company officials had told him to seek help. However, he was in a state where the former TNA star didn’t even realize that he had a problem:

“When I got fired from WWE for a drinking related thing, for touching a cop, for one I was arrogant and I was in a good position, I thought ‘oh, I’ll be fine.” Because I’d already been arrested before that, when I’d first signed with WWE, for a DUI. So they already knew I had a drinking problem.

So when they released me, they said ‘go seek some help. Ya know, you’ve probably got a problem.’  I was still like ‘nah, I don’t have a problem.’”, said Tom Latimer, “And that’s how I still carried on for 10 years.”

• WWE Has Talked About Possible SummerSlam Plans For Brock Lesnar (Report)

The former champion later discussed how his perception of being an alcoholic was of a homeless person who is begging for money to buy more alcohol. He admitted that it took him a long time to realize that he was an alcoholic.

Though the good news for Tom Latimer is that he has realized his mistakes. The NWA star has since gone sober. You can check out his full interview below:

AEW has signed a number of WWE veterans in recent times. The list includes names such as Christian and Big Show. Now the signing of Mark Henry has not only grown this list but it has also sparked a debate about the company focusing too much on veteran talents instead of younger stars.

The former world champion recently talked about this notion during the latest episode of Busted Open Radio. He first said that he loves the fans who are positive and willing to accept. However, he said that we also have to address the haters. Henry mentioned how he keeps hearing people complaining about WWE invading AEW with their veteran wrestlers.

Mark Henry then went on to explain the reason behind these hirings. He said that AEW is a new company and they need to bring in people who have experience. The world’s strongest man gave the example of making a corporate product. He explained that when you are building something you want to have people who have a lot of experience in that field:

“The reason you bring in those guys is AEW is a new company. You bring in people that have experience.  If you have Corporate America, let’s just say we’re Corporate America. We’re making tire irons, random somethings, we’re making spatulas. Are you going to let a guy who’s been making spatulas for three years be the boss, or are you going to bring in somebody who’s been making spatulas for twenty five years?  You’ve got to know what you’re doing to make the best product. So you haters out there, think about that message today.”

• Update On How Mark Henry’s AEW Deal Came Together

Mark Henry also talked about his position at AEW and explained that their job now is to fine-tune things. The former WWE star claimed that the company is successful already and their job now is to tighten everything and get everything tuned. Apart from this, Henry also discussed how they need to capture the older dynamic alongside young fans as well.

WWE’s announcement about their return to touring in July focused mainly on main roster shows in Raw and SmackDown. This led to many wondering about their plans for NXT.

The latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter provides some update on the plans for the Black and Yellow brand. It suggests that the company plans to bring it out of the performance center soon.

According to reports from the newsletter, NXT talents have been told that the brand will start running live events once again in July. Though the officials haven’t given any dates for the same.

The idea is to run shows in 200 to 400 seat buildings. Similar to what the brand was doing when they ran the central and northern Florida coconut loop.

It’s unknown whether the company plans to continue taping NXT TV episodes in the PC without an audience or if they will be held with fans in attendance as well.

WWE announced their return to touring with a 25 city tour last month. Their loop starts with the July 16 episode of SmackDown from Houston. Though the company has only confirmed 6 locations for the tour so far.

• John Cena’s WWE Return Reportedly In Works

The partnership between AEW and NJPW is growing at a good pace. It has made a lot of people wonder if we can expect to see Chris Jericho making a return to the Japanese promotion anytime soon.

The latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter weighs in on the possibility and provides some backstage news on the AEW star’s current status with the company.

The newsletter reveals that the former WWE star is no longer under an NJPW contract. Jericho’s deal with the company actually expired in 2020. His fight with Hiroshi Tanahashi was the last match of his contract.

Former NJPW president Harold Meij had a negative opinion of their deal because of its high cost. Although others in the company had a different opinion.

Chris Jericho also seems to be interested in making a return. The former IWGP US champion has expressed interest in facing opponents such as Jay White, Minoru Suzuki, and Kota Ibushi in the past.

• Chris Jericho Talks His ‘Unfinished Business’ in NJPW

Though even if the company is interested in bringing Y2J back to the promotion, they are going to have to get their finances back on track after the pandemic to the point where this level of deal makes sense.

Would you like to see Chris Jericho making a return to NJPW anytime in near future? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.

Brock Lesnar has been moved back to the list of active WWE stars.

The beast incarnate was quietly moved to the alumni section on the company’s website last year after WresltleMania 36. It was later revealed that his contract with the company has expired.

However as seen in the screenshot below, the company has moved Lesnar back to the list of active superstars just before their return to touring next month:

This is not the only sign that seems to be pointing towards his return being imminent.  Many sources have noted that the mention of the former universal champion’s name on this week’s episode of Raw was intentional.

Brock Lesnar has not been seen on WWE programming since WrestleMania 36. He competed against Drew McIntyre at the show and dropped the WWE championship to the Scottish warrior.

It’s been reported multiple times since then that the company does not have any interest in bringing him back to WWE programming in the absence of fans.

• Paul Heyman Discusses Potential Roman Reigns vs Brock Lesnar Match

However, the company recently announced their return to the road with a big 25 city tour. Names such as Edge are advertised for these shows and even John Cena’s comeback is said to be in the discussion.

So it won’t be a surprise if Brock Lesnar makes his return to WWE programming around the same time as well. If he does return it would be interesting to see what the SummerSlam plans for him are.

Billy Corgan recently appeared on Busted Open Radio where he talked about a number of things such as WWE’s content production strategy and more. The latest wave of WWE releases has shocked the internet. They have been a topic of discussion among fans and they were also discussed during the interview.

As an owner of a historical wrestling promotion NWA himself, Corgan admitted that he doesn’t understand the decision. He said that dumping key talents in the market at the current time seems a really odd choice:

“I don’t understand it, but again I’m not making those decisions, and whatever those reasons, there’s obviously a lot of speculation. But when you look at that list you went ‘oh man, this is pretty wild.’ Especially when things are heating up between AEW and WWE, at least in the public’s mind.

Maybe WWE doesn’t feel that way, but in terms of the public’s mind you have a bit of a rivalry going on. AEW obviously has some momentum. I think to dump key talents like that on the market at this time seems like a really odd decision.”

Billy Corgan also discussed which of the released talents he would be interested in bringing to his promotion. He unsurprisingly took the name of the former universal champion Braun Strowman :

“Braun Strowman, if he was green in NXT, I’d be jumping all over it. There aren’t a lot of big guys that have that little of ability. So you think ‘how do you let a guy like that out the door?’ I don’t mean to be critical; I’m not making the business decisions. But I don’t know how you let a guy like that out the door.”

Apart from this, Billy Corgan talked about how WWE produces a lot of content without an end game. He explained that it’s like watching a very long movie whose ending doesn’t matter.

• News On Internal Reaction To Braun Strowman’s WWE Release

Impact Wrestling is reportedly planning to elevate the X Division title and put more emphasis on the high-flying division in the coming times. According to PWinsider, the idea behind the 60-minute iron man match for the championship at tonight’s episode of the show is to elevate the title.

The Impact officials plan to feature it in a major way going forward and the match between TJP and Josh Alexander will apparently kick-start these plans. While the exact plans for the championship were not described, a source compared the X Division plans to the legendary ECW TV title run of RVD.

The WWE Hall Of Famer held the ECW TV championship for more than 700 days in his run. His reign started in April 1998 and the hardcore high flyer only vacated the championship due to injury in March 2000.

• Forgotten Sons Member Announced For Impact Wrestling Debut

This was the longest reign for the ECW TV title ever. The idea behind it was that the championship was just as important as the company’s world heavyweight title and Impact is hoping to elevate the X Division to a similar level.

Tonight’s episode of Impact Wrestling saw Josh Alexander retaining his championship over TJP in a hard-fought iron man match. If these reports are true then it likely means that Alexander will now be holding the title for a while and he won’t be losing it anytime soon.

Adam Pearce has received a small promotion in WWE and the on-screen authority figure now has a new official job title within the company.

The WWE producer recently had an interview with Give Me Sport where he talked about the company’s upcoming return to the road and more.

Pierce also confirmed during the interview that he has received a new job title in the promotion. The former Ring Of Honor star revealed that he is now officially the director of live events:

“Director of Live Events would be my official job title, yes. Frankly, it doesn’t change a whole lot of what I do. You’ll still see me officiating RAW and SmackDown, while I now have a more vested interest in what’s going to happen on our live events.

I had that anyway before receiving that title.” said Adam Pearce, “But now I have a more supervisory role and a say in what’s coming to your town.”

• Adam Pearce Still Willing to Fight Roman Reigns

The new head of the live event went on to explain that the planning of house shows will now take up a lot of time of his day-to-day. He claimed that it’s great because it’s a part of the business he has always loved.

Adam Pearce has been working for WWE in various backstage roles since 2013. He signed full time with the company in 2015 and became an on-screen character last year in 2020.

AEW star Sammy Guevara recently appeared on Busted Open Radio to discuss the Inner Circle’s recent big win over The Pinnacle in the Stadium Stampede II.

The match which was the main event of the company’s latest Double Or Nothing PPV had a unique finish. While most of the match was pre-taped, the ending of the bout was performed in front of a live crowd.

During the interview, Guevara shared some interesting titbits about the production of the bout. He also revealed that the unique ending was his own idea:

“It was my idea to have the match go from the cinematic to end it into the live crowd. And they actually went with it, I was surprised too. Tony and Chris came up to me and said ‘that was a really good idea.’

I figured others went up to them and told them that idea,” said Sammy Guevara, “But apparently no one else did. They gave me credit for it, so that was really cool.”

• Sammy Guevara On The Reports Of His Dispute With Impact Officials

The Inner Circle member also discussed his bonding with the other group members. He claimed that he feels like all the members are his big brothers.

Sammy Guevara explained that at the beginning their closeness was only a storyline. However, as time has passed on, they all have become actual friends. He feels like they are in a good group of guys.

Former WWE star Steve Maclin, better known to the fans of the company as Steve Cutler of The Forgotten Sons will be making his Impact Wrestling debut soon.

The company aired a vignette during the latest episode of their weekly show to hype his debut. The promo as seen below sees the wrestling star in a room with party music playing in the background.

Steve Cutler signed with WWE back in 2014. He stayed with the promotion until 2020, though his career did not have many notable moments.

His most notable outing in the company was as a part of The Forgotten Sons stable which he formed with Wesley Blake and Jaxson Ryker in early 2018.

The trio made their main roster debut in 2020 after spending a couple of years in NXT. However, they were removed from television due to a controversial tweet from Ryker, which effectively disbanded the group.

Steve Cutler did make a brief return to WWE TV in December 2020 when he and Blake re-debuted as part of Baron Corbin’s The Knights of the Lone Wolf stable.

However, this storyline was abandoned quickly as well. The former WWE star was then released from his contract in February earlier this year.

• WWE Releases Forgotten Sons Member Steve Cutler, Cutler Reacts

It was a big moment for both their careers when Natalya and Tamina won the women’s tag team championship and the duo received a fitting ovation backstage after their big win.

The tag champions recently appeared on Renee Paquette’s Oral Sessions podcast where they opened up about their win during the May 14 episode of SmackDown.

During the talk, Natalya explained how the locker room reacted to their victory. She revealed that Bayley got all the females into gorilla and the ovation they received even surprised Vince McMahon:

“I had no idea that Bayley rallied the troops and got all the girls into Gorilla during our match the night we won the titles. Every girl in the locker room, no matter what role, was there and they were jumping up and down.

TJ said the girls created a fan-like environment in Gorilla when we won the titles where even Vince was like, ‘Holy shit.’ The girls are ride or die.”

This was only the second title win for Tamina in her 11-year long career with the company, after briefly holding the 24/7 title in 2019.

Discussing her long run without having held any women’s title, the second generation star admitted that she had started wondering if she will ever win one:

“Knowing that it was coming up on 11 years and we had the pandemic last year and jobs were on the line, that’s why I kept saying, ‘If I never get a title, I had a great career and have been blessed.’ I still had the drive of, ‘I still want a championship,'”

Apart from this Natalya also revealed the original plans for her before she was paired with Tamina earlier this year. You can check out her comments on the matter at this link